The city of Vaes Dothrak was in a state of massive commotion and furor. Vaes Dothrak was a Dothraki city. The only permanent city of the Dothrakis. It was one of the largest cities in Essos when considering the size of the cities. The city was large enough to hold every khalasar, were they all to return at once.
But the number of permanent residents living in the city was almost negligible. The dosh khaleen, the wise elder widows of dead Khals, and slaves were the only people who lived permanently in the city.
But today the city was packed with all kinds of Dothraki khalasars that had arrived in the city from the distant corners of Essos. And though not every khalasar had arrived, a majority of them reached Vaes Dothrak.
There was no fixed occasion for all the tribes to gather in Vaes Dothrak. According to Dothraki legend and the prophecies of the dosh khaleen, all riders from every tribe were destined to return and unite in the holy city under the ultimate leader, the Stallion Who Mounts the World.
And this time all the khalasars had gathered in Vaes Dothrak on the call of Khal Aero. He had summoned all the khalasars from all over Essos to come to Vaes Dothrak.
And they had responded to his message. Some khalasars had responded because they genuinely believed that he was their prophesied leader. Some had arrived because they were curious about him. While some had arrived with the intention of challenging him.
More than one-hundred-thousand Dothraki warriors, women and children had gathered in a vast empty parcel of land inside the city. In the centre of the crowd, a ten foot high wooden platform had been erected. A solitary figure was standing atop the platform. He was none other than Khal Aero.
Just below the stage, encircling it from all sides, were the Dosh Khaleen. Though physically powerless, these elder widows were very well respected among Dothraki Khals. Their words carried a lot of weight. They were probably the only powerless people to earn respect from these savages.
Technically speaking, the Dosh Khaleen had no right or role in deciding who the prophesied leader could be. It was believed and accepted that when the time would come, the Dothraki would know that the prophecy had been fulfilled.
But as already stated, their words carried a lot of weight, and they were influential. And they had given their tacit understanding towards the fulfillment of the prophecy. They had, at least among themselves, accepted that Lord Aero was the Stallion who would mount the world. That he was their prophesied leader.
There were Dosh Khaleen as old as eight decades. These were widows who had seen generations of Dothraki warriors born, grow and die before their eyes.
They had seen a lot of things in their lives. A Dothraki Khal with sixty-thousand Dothraki in his Khalasar was not something that surprised them. They had seen Dothraki Khalsar as large as one-hundred-thousand warriors.
And obviously, Khal Aero's military ability and the strength of the Khalasar were not the reason Dosh Khaleen had been willing to accept Khal Aero as their leader. It was a factor but not a very significant one. But it was the way he led his men and the way he had introduced the subtle yet very significant changes in his own Khalasar. Changes which had changed the way the Dothraki tribes viewed their lives.
When these widows had been young, like every other Dothraki they too had been hot blooded. Violence and savagery and brutality and plundering was something they all craved and loved. They had loved the adventure when their Khalasars had ravaged merchant caravans, settlements and cities. They had loved when their Khals cleaved the heads of innocent men.
But everything obviously came back. When their Khals died or rather were killed in similar violence, their world view started to shift.
In their long lives, they began to see things from a different perspective. They began to see the unreal suffering the way of life the Dothraki lived caused.
They began to understand the pain of a child who lost his father just because his first instinct after waking in the morning was to cross blades with someone. They began to understand and accept the need for reform in their tribe. And though Dosh Khaleen did not talk about this even among themselves, this was a reality accepted by almost everybody.
But despite this, they could do nothing. Sure, they were influential and their words carried weight but not enough to change the way the Dothraki lived their lives. And thus, in the list of things that the prophesied leader was supposed to fulfill, this was another personal addition from their sides. And Khal Aero was fulfilling this objective. And in a very wonderful manner.
Khal Aero had not forcefully changed the way of life of his Khalasar. He did not prohibit a duel inside his Khalasar. He regularised it. He decreed that every duel before it commenced must be notified to a set of officials he had created and then fought in their supervision. And since he was accepted as the Great Khal, his decree was followed without question. And those who questioned him, he put them in their place. He did not kill them. Death was not something a Dotraki was afraid of. But Khal Aeor instead humiliated them. He shaved their braids. He pushed them in dirt with his leather boots on their necks. It did not stop mindless violence per se but it surely controlled it.
Khal Aero also controlled the plunder and the loot that the Dothraki committed. His Khalasar was allowed to plunder and loot merchant caravans. He could not change everything in a single day.
But they were prohibited from taking lives. They were prohibited from kidnapping women forcefully. He decreed that if you are a true warrior, ladies should come to you by their own accord. This did not end their savagery but it surely put a hold on it.
In a similar way, there were many subtle changes that he had made that changed the ways of life of Dothraki. And the Dosh Khaleen wished to see these changes implemented across all the Dothraki Khalasars.
"M'athchomaroon," Khal Aero's voice cut through the massive crowd gathered before him.
[Initially, I had planned to write a separate arc about the Dothraki conquest. Maybe around ten to fifteen chapters. And to be honest, it would have been an interesting arc.
Dealing with Dosh Khaleens and then accepting Khal Aero as the Great Stallion and then many more things. But a lot of readers were too eager to go to Westeros. I think there would be one or probably two more chapters before Lord Aeos's ship would sail for Westeros. My only request is that, do not ask me to rush when Jon reaches Westeros.]
#
#
#
[Add the book to your collection. Send it some power stones. Leave a rating and a review.]
[Access advanced chapter on P@treon. Replace @ with a. One additional advanced chapter each week on P@treon. ]
[email protected]/imaginarywriter