Game of Thrones: King of Magic

Chapter 24

Solomon. Braavos.

For the morning I went for a short walk around the city, and a visit to the local temple of R'Glor.

Even at this early hour, the city was bustling with life, judging by the number of people going about their business. My ears picked up a symphony of voices ranging from children to old men. By my estimation, it was about seven o'clock now, and people were already displaying their wares. Some had their little benches made of a wooden frame, and others spread out right on the floor.

Last night's conversation with the "man" had gotten rather...idle. Every question I asked was answered, but not in the form I would have liked. It was either generalized or vague.

I asked about all sorts of things, but relatively little information about Valyria could be gleaned. I didn't learn about what exactly caused the cataclysm of the ancient land of dragons, but I did learn about the Many-Faced God. More specifically, about his birth.

In this world, the rule was that man creates a god, not the other way around.

The first Faceless One, who heard the prayers of these slaves, realized that they all prayed to one and only one god, though they called him by different names, and waited for him to deliver them from their sufferings, and this deliverance was death. And in the end, the god of Death, the Many Faces, was born.

Or at least I think so.

My cloaked figure walked slowly in a random direction, and I noticed someone following me. It didn't feel hostile or anything like that from him. More accurately, this 'someone' felt... nothing. A good assumption would be that this 'someone' was the Faceless One. And, most likely, his purpose was simply to observe me and, if necessary, to help me in some way. But there's no need for that. I think...

After a while, I arrived at Purple Harbor, one of the two available in the city. According to the description from the books, it was reserved for Braavos ships only and was different from the other because it was clean, well-maintained, and more luxurious. The buildings were built of worked white stone, had regular shapes, and tiled roofs. The streets were similarly paved in white stone, and perhaps I would call them a full sidewalk from modern times.

Looking up, an aqueduct came into my eyes. It towered above the houses and ran south, with powerful three-tiered arches supporting it. Again, according to the description from the books, fresh water was in short supply in the city, and so the locals built such a structure to solve this problem. The aqueduct brings fresh water running from the mainland into the city and then travels to the city's many fountains, which is where the residents get their water from. On my way here, I saw several of these, and they were located in more or less open areas.

One can remember such things from the history of my old world, or rather from the history of ancient Rome, the center of civilization at that time. However, this could also include the Titan of Braavos, as his armor definitely resembled the Roman style.

Returning to the surroundings, not everyone was busy trading. Faith was given special attention in this city. In some places there were representatives of different faiths standing and preaching their religion, while people gathered around them and listened attentively, praying at the same time.

And I managed to notice one detail, such gatherings were clearly defined in arrangement. That is, there was a certain minimum distance between them. As I understand it, this was so that each faith could act in peace, and also to reduce the risk of "heated" disputes between them. Although, it's worth mentioning that fighting inside the city is forbidden and punishable by the local authorities.

I stopped at one of the stalls and looked around. The vendor was a European-looking woman in her thirties with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail and dressed in a simple gray dress over a brown shirt. Her merchandise was bread, which still had a slight heat coming off it.