The Age of Daenerys Targaryen

Part 48: Pasha

After a long day's march, the soldiers of the 13th Infantry Division pitched their tents on the banks of Dagger Lake. Then a picket fence was built around the camp and a trench was then dug. The Imperials were now deep in enemy territory and even if scouts were watching the area, they did not want to take the risk of being caught by the Alliance Army with their pants down. A surprise cavalry attack on an unprotected camp would be devastating.

When the work was done, the soldiers got their evening meal. As they sat around the campfire, spooning their stew and drinking wine, the men and women chatted exuberantly. Some sang or played lutes and flutes.

Corporal Pasha listened to them in silence, lost in thought. Her twin sister had loved music and singing. Pasha and Shae had been girls when they fled their hometown of Lorath, away from their father who had beaten and abused his daughters.

For some time they had traveled from one Free City to another and, among other things, had made a living from prostituting themselves. Finally, the sisters settled in Volantis and earned their living as prostitutes. Almost all of the whores in town had been slaves, but some suitors preferred to use the services of free women. Especially the travelers from Westeros, for both the Seven and the Old Gods despised slavery. However, if there was no other choice, the Westerosi would have been content with a slave in bed, Pasha had no doubt.

It was the stories the suitors told about the Seven Kingdoms that made Shae want to see Westeros. Pasha, however, had wanted to stay in Volantis. After all, Shae had crossed the Narrow Sea alone. That was almost ten years before the Empire was founded.

Shae had sent letters to Volantis at regular intervals. But since the beginning of the War of the Five Kings, no more letters have arrived. In her last message to Pasha, Shae wrote that she had found a rich and powerful suitor. A short man named Tyrion Lannister. The same Tyrion Lannister who was now King Bran's right hand man, who had previously served Daenerys Targaryen before turning against her.

At first, Pasha assumed that her sister had been unable to continue sending her letters because of the war. But when there was no news even after Bran had acceded to the throne, Pasha began to worry seriously.

At the time when Daenerys overthrew the old rulers in Volantis and proclaimed the Empire, she had still harbored hope for her twin sister. But after a year had passed, Pasha realized that something must have happened to Shae. That she was probably dead.

Shortly after the outbreak of war, the Imperial Army was also opened to women. Pasha immediately volunteered. After the abolition of slavery, the suitors who preferred free women suddenly had much more choice, and Pasha was not earning as much as before. In addition, because of the loss of Shae, she no longer wanted to work as a whore anyway.

"Brooding again, Pasha?"

Colonel Wynosha sat down next to the corporal. She was lean and muscular, and her chin-length blonde hair contrasted with Pasha's long, dark hair, which she had tied into a ponytail.

"You are thinking of your sister again", said the commander of the 13th Infantry Division. It was a statement, not a question.

Pasha sighed. She had fought at Wynosha's side since joining the Army and the Colonel knew Pasha too well by now.

"Yes", she therefore admitted. "Now that there's another battle ahead and I don't know when..." Waiting for a battle was the worst.

"It will be soon", said the Colonel. "According to the latest scout reports, the enemy is marching hastily towards Qohor. If we hurry too, we could reach the city first, but I don't think the Field Marshal will want to take the risk of being attacked from behind while we are storming the walls."

"So Grey Worm wants to fight a field battle."

Wynosha patted her shoulder. "Exactly. He may be a grouchy eunuch, but he is also an experienced and cold-blooded commander."

Pasha nodded and smiled. "Yes, the enemy fears him almost as much as we do." That remark provoked nervous laughter from soldiers within earshot, but it was true. In the Army it was said that the death of his lover Missandei had completely wiped out what humanity had remained in him after his training as an Unsullied. Pasha had met Grey Worm once, while she and hundreds of other recruits were being sworn in. They had all stood in a row in the square in front of the Black Wall of Volantis, in brand new dark gray uniforms and polished steel helmets, while huge Targaryen banners hung in the background. Pasha had been in the front row when the Field Marshal walked off the formation. His face had been hard and expressionless, the cold eyes seeming to be on the lookout for any sign of weakness in the recruits.

Though the drill was not nearly as inhuman as that of the Unsullied in Astapor, it hadn't left Pasha much weakness. Despite this, the young woman felt in the right place in the army. The discipline, the esprit de corps, the certainty of being champions of a new order; she liked all of this.

"The enemy has every reason to be afraid", said Wynosha aloud. "After all, they doesn't just deal with the Field Marshal and Her Imperial Majesty, but also with the 13th Infantry Division."

The soldiers roared in agreement. The 13th Infantry Division had a reputation almost as legendary as the 7th Cavalry Division, which had caused the Alliance one defeat after another on the Eastern Front since the beginning of the war. When Wynosha was promoted to colonel after the Tyrosh uprising and assigned to the Central Army Group, she was appointed the new commander of the 13th, whose former commander had recently been promoted to general. Pasha couldn't think of a better commander than Wynosha.

"If we can defeat the enemy, it could mean the end of the war", Wynosha said quietly to her. "Maybe then you will have the opportunity to find out more about your sister's fate."

Pasha gave her a grateful smile. Despite her high rank, the Colonel treated Pasha and the other soldiers as equals. Still, there was something daunting about her and only a complete idiot would allow himself to be cheeky towards Wynosha.

Later, Pasha, who had been assigned to the first watch, stood on a wooden observation tower. The sun had set and the fires from the other camps could be seen all along the Dagger Lake. A total of twenty-two divisions were gathered here, the largest army the young Empire had ever drawn together. But would that be enough against the five hundred thousand men of the Alliance?