Chapter 5
Time: 149 - 119 Years Before the Doom
POV: Kaelen (Elias Vance)
Leaving Pentos was less of a wrench than leaving Valyria. I had learned what I needed from the shipyards, understood the commerce and flow of Essos's western cities. My goal now lay far to the east, in the fabled lands of Yi Ti. I needed to understand different forms of governance, ancient wisdom, and the long-lost secrets that might still exist in the oldest parts of this world. My empire wouldn't just be strong and well-built; it would be wise, adaptable, and informed by millennia of human (and non-human) experience.
But before I truly set sail, there was one final interaction. A strategic connection I wished to maintain for the future, based on a unique kind of obligation.
One crisp Pentoshi morning, as the harbor bustled with the usual chaos of loading and unloading, I saw a familiar banner unfurl from the mast of a newly arrived Valyrian galley: the three-headed dragon of House Balearys. My heart gave a strange lurch. Twenty years in Valyria, thirty years in Pentos. Fifty years had passed since I last saw her.
I found Vaella Balearys disembarking. She was not the fierce, vibrant warrior I remembered. Her silver hair was now almost entirely white, pulled back from a face deeply etched with lines of age and worry. Her movements were slower, her shoulders slightly stooped, yet her violet eyes still held that sharp, intelligent spark. Beside her stood a young man, tall and arrogant, with the classic Balearys features, clearly her son and heir.
I approached slowly, feeling the decades of un-aging weigh on me like an invisible cloak. "Vaella Balearys," I said, my voice soft, but carrying enough resonance to cut through the din of the docks.
She turned, her eyes narrowed, trying to place me. Then, slowly, recognition dawned, and her eyes widened, disbelief warring with something akin to wonder. "Kaelen?" she breathed, her voice a fragile whisper. "By the Fourteen Flames... is that truly you?"
I offered her a slight bow, a gesture of respect I'd learned in Valyria. "It is I. You have... aged gracefully, Archon Vaella."
A dry, brittle laugh escaped her lips. "Aged? Kaelen, I am an old woman. My youth is a distant memory. You... you are exactly as I remember you. Not a day older." She looked me up and down, then shook her head slowly. "The tales of your people's longevity are clearly no mere tales. You are truly from beyond our understanding."
Her son, who had been watching this exchange with open confusion and disdain, finally spoke up. "Mother, who is this strange fellow? He addresses you with an insolence—"
"Silence, Aelor," Vaella cut him off, her voice suddenly sharp, a flash of her old self returning. She looked back at me, her gaze both knowing and weary. "Life has continued to teach me," I replied, a subtle sadness touching my voice. "The secrets of the waves, the ways of men in distant lands. I have seen much, and learned more. But I have also carried a debt to House Balearys."
Vaella's brow furrowed, a flicker of confusion. "Debt? Kaelen, you saved my life. And your chosen payment was knowledge. That debt was settled, long ago."
"A life debt, yes, that was settled," I confirmed, my gaze meeting hers firmly. "But there is another kind of debt. For fifty years, House Balearys has kept my secret, knowing what I am, knowing what I can do. For fifty years, you honored our pact and provided me with invaluable knowledge – the very currency I chose as my payment for your life." I looked pointedly at Aelor, who merely scowled, still trying to make sense of the interaction. "That discretion, that knowledge, is a profound gift. It creates an obligation on my part. A long-term one."
Vaella studied me, a flicker of understanding passing through her eyes. She grasped my intent: a reciprocal offering, an investment in a future resource. It wasn't about loyalty, but about a pragmatic, enduring arrangement.
"My travels continue eastward," I explained. "But should House Balearys ever find itself in dire need again, know that the assistance of Kaelen, or his 'descendants'—" I gestured vaguely, hinting at an unbroken lineage without giving away my personal immortality—"will be there. A quiet resource. My terms from Sothoryos still stand: my assistance, in exchange for absolute secrecy about my nature."
Vaella's eyes softened, a new depth of appreciation in them. "I understand, Kaelen," she said, her voice filled with a quiet gravitas. "The Balearys will remember this. My son will remember this. His sons will remember this." She reached out, her aged hand surprisingly firm as she grasped my arm. "May your path be clear, Kaelen. You are a wonder."
Aelor, still confused, shifted uncomfortably. "Mother, what are you talking about? Who is he?"
Vaella ignored him, her eyes still on mine. "Go, Kaelen. Your adventures await."
I nodded, offering her another, deeper bow. "Farewell, Vaella Balearys. May your House prosper."
Then, I turned and walked away, leaving the aging Archon and her baffled son on the docks of Pentos. My journey to the East, to Yi Ti, would be long and arduous, but I carried with me a sense of accomplishment. I had secured a future anchor, a potential ally in the powerful, doomed world of Valyria, by leveraging the long-standing value of their discretion and knowledge provided to me. The next thirty years would prepare me even further for the grand design.