Chapter 248: The Hopeful Lands


    With five young dragons and only four naming rights avable, one of the Free Cities would inevitably miss out.


    “No problem,” someone remarked. “Lorath only fishes and chops wood; they don’t have much money.” The crowdrgely agreed. Lorath was the poorest of the Nine Free Cities, practically a fishing ground for Braavos, with trade limited almost exclusively to Braavosi merchants.


    After naming the blue dragon, Viserys made another decisive announcement. “In our battle against the Dothraki, much blood was shed, and even within our own ranks, there were traitors who coborated with the enemy!” His voice dripped with contempt.


    The crimes of Kambron and his co-conspirators had already been widely publicized. Not only the people of Tyrosh but also those in Lys and Myr were well aware of the treachery. Viserys’s mention of the traitors stirred the crowd’s anger.


    “Those damned scoundrels!”


    “They don’t even deserve the honor of dragonfire! Throw them into the sea to feed the fish!”


    “Their families should be reduced to very!”


    As the crowd vented their fury, Viserys continued, “But thanks to a brave band of warriors who followed me through The Sorrows, we dealt Drogo a deathblow! Miraculously, none of us contracted grayscale. From this day forward, the Disputed Lands shall be known as the Hopeful Lands!”


    “Hopeful Lands! Hopeful Lands!” the crowd chanted, embracing the new name, which was far more promising than the original.


    After renaming thend, Viserys turned to the true purpose of the auction. He dered that the funds raised from selling the dragon naming rights would be used to build several “Smallfolk''s Welfare Granary” across the Free Cities.


    Roth’s eyes widened in realization—Viserys’s ambitions extended beyond the Disputed Lands. By establishing these granaries, Viserys would secure his influence over the entire Free Cities. While this move might hurt the interests of a few, themon people would see him as a savior.


    With Viserys’s speech concluded, Connington stepped forward to oversee the auction. Inwardly, he marveled at Viserys’s brilliance. He realized he would never again need to question the prince’s orders—this was genius! From ambushing Euron to defeating Drogo, to hatching dragons, Viserys had been relentless, and all of this had urred within just two months.


    Connington was certain that when the news reached Westeros, the entire realm would tremble, and the usurper Baratheon, along with the Lannisters, would be filled with fear. If it had been up to him, Connington would have focused on making the other Free Cities fear him. But Viserys was thinking far beyond that—his sights were set on the entire world.


    Viserys’s ability to "lead" the other Free Cities came as aplete surprise to many. The first item to go under the hammer was the naming rights to the ck young dragon. Long before the auction began, Viserys had arranged for portraits of the seven young dragons to be painted and disyed all over Tyrosh. Although their names hadn’t been decided yet, that didn’t stop themon people and market vendors from giving them nicknames.


    The ck young dragon, in particr, reminded many of the legendary “ck Dread,” Balerion. However, given that this dragon was only slightlyrger than a kitten, it clearly couldn’t yet live up to that fearsome title. As a result, people began calling it “Young ck Dread.”


    “Young ck Dread” was auctioned off to Merio for 200,000 gold dragons. Although she hadn’t chosen a name yet, Merio decided to gift the naming rights to Arianne as part of her dowry.


    Next up were the naming rights to the green young dragon. Some had started calling it “Little Archon” because of its color, though this nickname was quickly dismissed. Ultimately, the right to name the green dragon was snapped up by Qohor, with the name to be decidedter.


    Then came the most sought-after of them all: the red young dragon. Its bright, striking scales had captured the attention of many. Some called it “Red me,” while others referred to it as “Scarlet Shade.”


    Alios, however, was fixated on the young red dragon. He recalled seeing it perched on Dany’s shoulder as she descended the steps of the me and knew instantly that this dragon must have hatched from the egg he had gifted to Viserys. Determined to secure the naming rights, he set his sights on the prize.


    “The egg of the ‘Red me’ was obtained by Prince Viserys in Vntis, so I’m sure the nobles of Vntis will be bidding fiercely for the naming rights,” someone in the crowd remarked.


    “I agree. The people of Vntis pride themselves on being the eldest daughter of Valyria. They’ll go to great lengths to get it,” another person added.


    Indeed, that was the case. Alios and Nyessos had set their “psychological ceiling” at 200,000 gold dragons. They even met privately with Roth, who expressed his interest in naming the green dragon. This made them confident that they would win the naming rights for the red dragon.


    However, as the bidding was about to begin, Alios noticed Benerro in the crowd. The Red Priest was staring intently at the young red dragon, its scales glowing like red agate. Thebination of dragon, me, and red resonated deeply with Benerro. To him, this young dragon could perfectly embody the Lord of Light—R''hllor’s “holy dragon.”


    Benerro imagined how magnificent it would be if Viserys, or rather the red dragon itself, could apany him during his sermons. The thought of this “holy dragon” by his side filled him with a fervent desire to im the naming rights for the Temple of R’hllor.


    “One hundred and fifty thousand gold dragons!” Benerro immediately doubled the starting bid for the naming rights to the red young dragon, catching Alios off guard. Instantly, Alios regretted underestimating Benerro. He had dismissed Benerro as a mere red priest, not realizing the full extent of his influence and wealth.


    Benerro’s temple held considerable power, often rivaling the ck Wall regime in Vntis. Alios had overlooked the fact that Benerro’s loyaltyy not with Vntis, but with the Lord of Light.


    “We have to secure the naming rights to the red young dragon, or R''hllor’s influence will expand even further,” Alios urgently whispered to Nyessos. Their original budget of 200,000 gold dragons clearly wouldn’t be enough. They had to go higher.


    “Two hundred thousand!” Alios called out.


    “Two hundred fifty thousand!” Benerro countered without hesitation. Over the years, Benerro had amassed considerable wealth in the name of the Lord of Light. In Vntis, half of the city’s guards—the Tiger Cloaks—were followers of the Red God. This made Benerro’s temple a formidable force, one that Alios and his allies had struggled to contend with.


    Moreover, Viserys nned to use the funds from the auction to build the “Smallfolk''s Welfare Granaries.” Benerro saw this as an opportunity to infiltrate the institution with R’hllor’s followers, further expanding the Red God’s influence.


    “Three hundred thousand!” Alios bid, raising the stakes.


    “Three hundred fifty thousand!” Benerro responded, still not showing any signs of backing down.


    After much deliberation, Alios and Nyessos conceded, and the naming rights to the red young dragon went to Benerro for 450,000 gold dragons. This sparked a ripple effect—Roth, who had nned to bid around 150,000 to 200,000 gold dragons for another dragon, now realized he might have to outbid Alios himself.


    Roth and Alios exchanged nces, a silent understanding passing between them, before Roth ced his bid: “Five hundred thousand gold dragons!”


    When all was said and done, the naming rights to the four young dragons were auctioned off for a staggering total of over one million gold dragons.


    ...


    These dragons, which had been norger than puppies when they first hatched, had grown rapidly. In just half a month, they had reached three feet in length. Thergest, the bright yellow dragon, was already approaching four feet, and when it spread its wings, it couldpletely envelop Viserys’s upper body. At this rate, within six months, Viserys might be able to ride a dragon himself.


    To cap off the event, Viserysmanded the seven young dragons to take flight, soaring above the heads of the crowd. The silver dragon shimmered like pure silver, the yellow like gold, the ck like obsidian, the red like agate, the blue like a precious gem, and the green and bronze dragon like emerald.


    The seven dragons, each a different vibrant color, resembled dazzling mes in the sky. The spectacle left the crowd awestruck. In attendance were not justmoners from Tyrosh, but also visitors from other Free Cities, who would undoubtedly spread tales of this marvel to every corner of the world.