131 The political conflict
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POV of Tybero sixth-ninth moon 285 AC
Dead and devastated land was all that could be seen of the lands stretching to the river. For days, we had been dedicated to burning everything, including the small villages in the area. The Westerosi mercenaries used the bodies of the dead to poison the wells from which they subsisted, to deny the Dothraki fresh water.
Fortunately, this work ended before the Dothraki started arriving, like an endless tide of riders crossing the river in search of the riches of the Free Cities. But there was almost nothing for days of travel to feed their horses. If it weren't for one of Essos' largest rivers being there, the Westerosi would have done everything possible to deny water to the Dothraki completely.
Every day, skirmishes occurred between the Westerosi knights and the Dothraki on horseback. The armor and discipline of the Westerosi guaranteed them many victories, as they never pursued the Dothraki when they tried to lure them away from the safety of the camps or trenches.
For some reason, the Dothraki had a serious fixation on Lothar, recognized by the horns on his helmet. Every time Lothar left the camp to scout the terrain and engage in battles with small patrols of Dothraki, they became crazier than they already were, desperately seeking Lothar to fight against him.
Lothar ended up almost dead on one of these outings. Hundreds of Dothraki rushed his men after attacking two groups of Dothraki that wanted to cross the trench. Although Lothar killed almost hundreds of Dothraki with his men, he felt it was a Pyrrhic victory, as he lost eight knights. For me, it would have been a great victory, even to boast about, but for Lothar, it was unacceptable. Although Lothar claimed he almost died, he returned to the camp without injuries, while his men arrived severely wounded.
From that moment on, Lothar went out on patrols less and less or only attacked once and withdrew, because the same thing always happened. The moment the Dothraki realized that Lothar was moving through the dead and dry fields, they sought to kill him almost with desperation.
But our forces have done an excellent job, considering that many mercenaries left much to be desired in their skills. We have withstood the onslaught of small bands of Dothraki with few casualties, but we must keep it that way, as honestly, we cannot defend the entire border of Myr with only thirty thousand men.
But our success in stopping the Dothraki was undeniable. Some of the few friends I had left in the city told me that the news of the mercenary who, only with sheer willpower, was stopping the Dothraki, circulated through the city streets, where it became the favorite story of the people.
Obviously, the story embellished the moment Lothar killed the mercenary captains, the traitors collaborating with the Dothraki, or ignored the unequal treatment between the mercenaries of his company and the other mercenaries. And they omitted what happened to the Dothraki they captured.
In the end I found out the work of lothar's companion and he was the torturer of the mercenaries... It wasn't nice to find out about his work... I'm no stranger to torturers... Just that man got out of hand how he works... It wasn't nice to find a skinned dothraki, without teeth, without eyes, without nails.... But he was still alive, still talking... Just repeating, I know nothing more on his tongue the moment I entered his tent... I felt my stomach clench... The worst thing is that the torturer's eyes were emotionless, they were dead as if he had been doing it forever.
But the rest of the story portrayed Lothar as a hero, so much so that thousands of people left the safety of the city walls and began migrating to the lands that had always been considered dangerous due to Dothraki attacks, and started turning them into farmland. This means that if we fail, thousands will die at the hands of the Dothraki because the story got out of control.
And that brought both good and bad things because many people were motivated, and even many came with the hope of becoming mercenaries under Lothar's command. The problem is that most were young with a gleam in their eyes who thought that war was like the tales told in the streets. Lothar calls these young ones 'meat for the meat grinder' because he doesn't expect them to live long. Many came almost unarmed; Lothar had several craftsmen who repaired and made crossbows, and that was the preferred weapon due to the short training time, but that's all Lothar gave them.
Very different with his own men, who receive the best equipment. Obviously, their skills are incomparable with other mercenaries, but they also do that with their own recruits. Lothar gets his recruits from slave children ranging from ages twelve to fifteen. But he doesn't just buy anyone with that condition; he looks for slaves with large hands and feet as an indication that they will be tall or with good bone structure, and they are given special training.
A group of mercenaries is dedicated to training these slaves. They had a brutal training where aggressiveness was instilled in them and rewarded, where they were made to fight duels among themselves bare-fisted, in a fight or a type of combat that teaches them to disarm their enemies. Finally, they instill camaraderie and brotherhood, with constant tests to prove loyalty to their comrades, and if they don't risk themselves for the group, they are brutally punished. All culminating in training with large spears from those mercenaries.
Lothar had slowly amassed the largest personal mercenary army in Essos, surpassing the Golden Company almost two to one. Although many are young with that kind of training, I wouldn't doubt that soon these children will be very similar to the Unsullied.
More mercenary companies also began arriving because Myr substantially increased the amount of gold sent to Lothar to continue fortifying the border. Myr's payment for mercenaries increased considerably, as they now saw how it was possible to save themselves from looting and paying tribute to the Dothraki.
Some captains were smart and bowed their heads to Lothar and accepted his orders; others joined the corpses buried south of the camp, as they conveniently woke up with their throats cut or their food caused them great discomfort. A group tried to remove Lothar from control of the army, but fear won, and one of the first captains Lothar spared killed those who proposed the rebellion.
But our real problem was not the Dothraki; it was the success itself. The mission against the Dothraki ceased to be a stupid idea. Politicians were now fighting to see who would be the leader who would defeat the Dothraki and take the honor and prestige of the defeat. Before, no one wanted to be here, and now everyone was dying to be the general of the area, and clearly, Lothar didn't like the idea at all.
Myr didn't take long to choose the general who would take command of the army, and we were quickly informed. Lothar was furious. It didn't take many days for the new general to arrive, accompanied by two thousand men from the city to try to take command.
Lothar had all the captains gathered in his tent when the Myr general arrived and entered as if it were his own.
"So, this is our hero from Westeros. I suppose Tybero has informed you that I am now in charge of the operation. From now on, this tent is mine, and I need a report on everything. I will place my trusted men in charge of the fortifications," said the general presumptuously. All eyes focused on Lothar, as all the captains feared him and would probably follow whatever he said.
"One of the conditions that the city of Myr gave us is that we choose the commander who will lead the entire operation, and that's me. I was chosen by the majority of votes," said Lothar calmly.
"The circumstances have changed. This operation is too important to be led by a Westerosi knight. So, you are no longer in charge and will answer to my orders," said the general, looking at the knight.
"Oh, well. This is considered a violation of the contract; therefore, I am no longer obliged to obey the orders of Myr, and I will withdraw as soon as possible," Lothar said, returning the gaze. Again, everyone looked at the general.
"You were generously paid for your services, mercenary. It's too late for that, or you'll have to return the gold," said the angry general.
"On the contrary, if Myr breaches the contract, I am not obligated to return the gold," replied Lothar without being disturbed.
"You are making a grave mistake. Just because the ignorant think you are a hero doesn't mean you are untouchable. You will earn a powerful enemy in the city of Myr," said the general, looking at Lothar with hatred.
"On the contrary, the mistake is Myr's. Without my men, this defense will collapse in days, if not tomorrow itself. I suppose you, at least for coexisting with me for a few months, won't be idiots and will escape for your lives because there are already ten thousand Dothraki seeking to breach the defenses and plunder Myr as punishment for denying them their gifts. I would like to see who will arrive first, my 'punishment,' or you hanging from the walls of your city for incompetence when the general in charge of everything fails, allowing the Dothraki to destroy everything in their path," Lothar warned the captains and then addressed the general with a victorious smile.
I could see how the general's eyes widened suddenly, and he clenched his fist in anger.
''When you return to Myr, tell your political friends that my contract is broken. And if they don't send me a new one with a new and much more generous payment than before, if there is no response in ten days, I will leave my post. You better prepare for the Dothraki," said Lothar, pointing to the exit of his tent for the general. The general shouted a bunch of curses at Lothar, but no one was paying attention, and they simply left the tent, leaving him alone.
'A general without an army... pathetic.'
For a while, I thought that the city of Myr would punish Lothar for this challenge, but apparently, the city is trapped; its armies are fighting in disputed lands. If it tries to attack Lothar, it will have to abandon its positions against Tyrosh or Lys. And even if they punish Lothar, the Dothraki are still there, and the large Khalasars have not yet arrived.
Myr only sent a new contract but demanded that Lothar accept a citizen of Myr as the commander. Lothar accepted, but he wanted to be the one to choose. This caused several politicians to come to the camp to try to win Lothar over, but they failed horribly, as they only managed to insult him.
They offered to make him a rich man. Lothar is a frugal person and is not interested in gold. They offered him beautiful slaves; hypocritical as it may be, Lothar detests slavery and all those who practice it. They offered him power, a position among the magisters of Myr, but Lothar detests them all and would prefer to die than surround himself with them because Lothar is a religious fanatic.
Every day I found him praying in the morning and evening; in some cases, flagellating himself. And due to his religious doctrine, he detests other religions.
This back and forth between Lothar and Myr lasted for several days until they finally gave Lothar an ultimatum that he had to choose someone or they would send the Golden Company and other mercenaries to restore order.
Lothar sent the name in a letter, and it was mine. More days passed, and despite many complaints, the city reluctantly accepted my appointment as Lothar's commander.
I would have said it was luck, as I could take the prestige of the victory, but there was still the risk of failure. Besides, Lothar chose me because he knew that, with this change to his contract, nothing changed since I cannot control him. So, it's just a title, as Lothar rules the mercenaries of Myr with an iron fist.
And that control would soon be tested because the observatories indicated that what we feared had finally arrived a large Dothraki khalasar.
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