Difference between revisions of "Selhorys"

From A Wiki of Ice and Fire
Jump to: navigation, search
(The riverfront)
m (A Dance of Dragons)
Line 42: Line 42:
 
On the way to Selhorys the [[Shy Maid]] passes warships, Volantene river galleys crammed with slave soldiers.  Khal [[Pono]]’s [[Dothraki]] are outside the gates.  The triarchs fear an attack on Selhorys plainly.  Tyrion thinks Selhorys a small prize, he thinks to himself if he were khal he would feint at Selhorys, let the Volantenes rush to defend it, the swing south and ride hard for [[Volantis]] itself.  
 
On the way to Selhorys the [[Shy Maid]] passes warships, Volantene river galleys crammed with slave soldiers.  Khal [[Pono]]’s [[Dothraki]] are outside the gates.  The triarchs fear an attack on Selhorys plainly.  Tyrion thinks Selhorys a small prize, he thinks to himself if he were khal he would feint at Selhorys, let the Volantenes rush to defend it, the swing south and ride hard for [[Volantis]] itself.  
  
A [[Yunki]]sh envoy came to Selhorys with chests of gold and gems and 200 slaves, nubile girls and smooth-skinned boys trained in the way of the seven sighs.  His feasts were memorable and his bribes lavish.
+
A [[Yunkai|Yunkish]] envoy came to Selhorys with chests of gold and gems and 200 slaves, nubile girls and smooth-skinned boys trained in the way of the seven sighs.  His feasts were memorable and his bribes lavish.  
 
 
Tyrion is kidnapped in a brothel in Selhorys by Ser [[Jorah]],  who abducts him and takes him to [[Volantis]] by horseback.  
 
  
 +
Tyrion is kidnapped in a brothel in Selhorys by Ser [[Jorah]],  who abducts him and takes him to [[Volantis]] by horseback.
  
 
==References and Notes==
 
==References and Notes==

Revision as of 21:05, 16 October 2012

Selhorys is a walled town on the eastern continent. Although large it is still accounted a mere town - not a city - and is ruled from Old Volantis. It is situated at the confluence of the Selhoru and the Rhoyne. It lies to the north of Valysar and to the northwest of Volantis.[1]

Alone among the major towns, Selhorys stands upon the eastern bank of the Rhoyne, making it much more vulnerable to horselords than its sister towns across the river.

Tyrion journeys to Selhorys on the Shy Maid. Selhorys is seen through his eyes.

The riverfront

The Shy Maid is moored to a weathered pier on the east bank of the Rhoyne. Two piers down a Volantene river galley is discharging soldiers. Shops and stalls and storehouses huddle beneath a sandstone wall. The towers and domes of the town are visible beyond the wall, reddened by the light of the setting sun.

Tyrion and Haldon Halfmaester are sent into the town by Griff, to catch up on the truth of the rumors concerning Daenerys Targaryen. Girff tells them that if for any reason they are delayed they are to make for the Golden Company.

As dusk is giving way to darkness Tyrion and Haldon make their way along the riverfront. Some of the ships they pass appear deserted, their gangplanks drawn up. Others crawl with armed men who eye them with suspicion. Under the town walls parchment lanterns are lit above stalls, throwing pools of coloured light upon the cobbled path. Tyrion watches as Haldon’s face turns green, then red, then purple. Under the cacophony of foreign tongues, Tyrion can hear music playing from somewhere up ahead, a thin high fluting accompanied by drums. A dog is barking too, behind them.

Tyrion notices that the whores are out. He sees that they are slaves, their bondage indicated by the tears tattooed beneath their right eyes. A squad of Volantene spearmen stand guard at the river gate, slave soldiers of Volantis, marked by green stripes tattooed across both cheeks

The Square

After Tyrion and Haldon are motioned through by the slave soldiers they pass through the gate into Selhorys proper. A great square opens up before them. Even at this late hour, it is crowded and noisy and ablaze with light. Lanterns swing from iron chains above the doors of inns and pleasure houses, but within the gates, they are made of coloured glass, not parchment.

To their right a nightfire burns outside a temple of red stone. A priest in scarlet robes stands on the temple balcony, haranguing a small crowd that had gathered around the flames.

Elsewhere, travelers sit playing cyvasse in front of an inn, drunken soldiers wander in and out of what is obviously a brother, a woman beat a mule outside a stable. A two wheeled cart rumbles past them, pulled by a white dwarf elephant. Tyrion thinks to himself this is another world, …but not so different from the world I know.

The square is dominated by a white marble statue of a headless man in impossibly ornate armour, astride a warhorse similarly arrayed. Haldon tells Tyrion it is Triarch Horonno, a Volantene Hero from the Century of Blood.

Haldon swears he has heard the name Daenerys and says they’d best hear what the priest is going on about. Across the square they join the growing throng outside the red temple. With locals towering above him on every hand, Tyrion finds it hard to see much beyond their arses. He looks behind him, everywhere he turns he sees tattoos. Slaves. Four of every five of the crowd are slaves.

The inn

After listening for a while to the red priest Haldon leads them past the headless hero to where a big stone inn fronts on the square (which may be the Painted Turtle). The ridged shell of some immense turtle hangs above its door, painted in garish colours. Inside a hundred dim red candles burn like distant stars. The air is fragrant with the smell of roasted meat and spices, and a slave girl with a turtle on one cheek is pouring a pale green wine.

In the alcove two men sit over a carved stone cyvasse table, squinting at their pieces by the light of a red candle. Haldon entreats them to play Tyrion. Tyrion plays cyvasse with the customs officer Qavo Nogarys, who gives them news from downriver. Tyrion loses the game. Haldon decides it is time to get back to the Shy Maid.

The brothel

Outside the square the nightfire is still burning, but the priest is gone and the crowd is long dispersed. The glow of candles glimmer from the windows of the brothel. Tyrion tells Haldon he needs a woman. Haldon tells him he will wait for Tyrion in the tavern by the gate.

A little later in the brothel Tyrion, who is by this time very drunk, bumps into Ser Jorah, who abducts him and takes him to Volantis with the intention of delivering him to the Queen Daenerys Targaryen.

Recent Events

A Dance of Dragons

Queen Daenerys Targaryen’s name is on every tongue in Selhorys. They say she sits in Meereen sore beset, if the talk in the markets can be believed. Old Volantis will soon join in the war against her.

On the way to Selhorys the Shy Maid passes warships, Volantene river galleys crammed with slave soldiers. Khal Pono’s Dothraki are outside the gates. The triarchs fear an attack on Selhorys plainly. Tyrion thinks Selhorys a small prize, he thinks to himself if he were khal he would feint at Selhorys, let the Volantenes rush to defend it, the swing south and ride hard for Volantis itself.

A Yunkish envoy came to Selhorys with chests of gold and gems and 200 slaves, nubile girls and smooth-skinned boys trained in the way of the seven sighs. His feasts were memorable and his bribes lavish.

Tyrion is kidnapped in a brothel in Selhorys by Ser Jorah, who abducts him and takes him to Volantis by horseback.

References and Notes