Chapter 128: The Sealord Election
"Does a Sealord with two large fleets need to worry about competitors?" Symon Tetrus asked.
"If the Sealord were healthy, he wouldn't need to worry. Unfortunately, Sealord Ferrego Antaryon's old injuries have flared up severely, almost ruining his health. He doesn't know how many years he has left to live.
According to tradition, he needs to help the son of the Keyholder who helped him become Sealord win the next election. However, that man's reputation among the Keyholders is far inferior to Tormo Fregar's."
"Prince Hazan's mother, Maryam Fregar's brother?"
"That's right. For Tormo Fregar, making his nephew Hazan the 'true power' of Pentos is a strong bargaining chip in his Sealord election." The young nobleman beside Symon nodded.
"You know a lot. My father never talks to me about these things," Symon chuckled.
"Because you're not the firstborn son, Symon," the young man shook his head. "You shouldn't be bothered by this. For us, the wise thing to do is to know our place and do the work our fathers have assigned us."
"That's true," Symon nodded, changing the subject back to the trial. "I can't wait to see Ambassador Oranto's expression when he finds the Water Dancers he painstakingly invited suddenly standing beside us during the trial, hahaha!
That fool Hazan, he thinks we don't know he postponed the trial by a month to wait for the Water Dancers he invited from the Sealord's Palace to arrive."
"Hazan isn't stupid," the nobleman refuted Symon's assessment. "He's just too confident in his mother, and the competition for the new Sealord in Braavos hasn't been made public yet.
It's normal that they don't expect the Sealord to humiliate them in a mere trial in Pentos. However, in this matter, the envoy you chose absolutely deserves credit; his eloquence is truly remarkable."
"Right? I also feel like I've struck gold. Besides him, there's..." Symon said, pointing to Ander Poole not far away, "and that one too. They're a team, one skilled with words and the other with steel, both top-notch talents."
"Alright, the match has begun."
The two paused their conversation and looked towards the center of the pit.
Ian-the-raven didn't rush to leave, but instead digested their conversation, listening to as much as possible.
The amount of information they had just shared was explosive.
Many of Ian's previous questions were answered here.
For example, why Braavos allowed the so-called 'Volantene faction' to exist openly in Pentos.
For example, why Prince Hazan, despite being just the son of the 'mascot' Prince of Pentos, could rise above Magister Haucot and become the leader of the 'Braavosi faction.'
For example, why Magister Illyrio, despite being on Braavos's side, consistently refused to cooperate with Prince Hazan—Ian guessed that Magister Illyrio's allies in Braavos were probably from the current Sealord's faction.
Having learned about the core conflict of the 'next Braavosi Sealord election,' Ian immediately grasped the logic behind the series of power struggles unfolding in Pentos.
At the same time, Ian also gained some crucial information.
Firstly, there were at least two players in Ander Poole's faction, one of whom had previously served as an envoy of Symon's faction to the Sealord's Palace and successfully persuaded the Sealord.
Secondly, the two Water Dancers that Ambassador Oranto of Braavos had brought from Braavos, who were supposed to represent Prince Hazan in the trial, had sided with Symon under the intervention of the Sealord—a fact that Ambassador Oranto and his entourage were likely unaware of.
If he didn't intervene, Hazan's side, suddenly losing two Water Dancers during the trial, would inevitably fall into an irreversible disadvantage. In this trial's rule of 'until one side is completely eliminated,' such a disadvantage almost certainly meant Hazan's death.
In other words, if he used this information well, it would be an opportunity to gain a huge favor from Ambassador Oranto and Prince Hazan.
Furthermore, if Prince Hazan's uncle's faction ultimately won the Braavosi Sealord election, he would use this opportunity to establish a friendship with the future Sealord of Braavos and the Prince of Pentos.
At the same time, helping Hazan fight against Symon was also of great significance to Ian himself, since Ander Poole and his group of players had already sided with Symon Tetrus's faction.
If they could kill Ander Poole in this trial and deal a heavy blow to the entire Volantene faction, it would be quite beneficial for Ian in dealing with the other player under Symon later.
The problem was, this might conflict with Illyrio's stance. After all, according to Ian's recent guess, Illyrio was most likely on the side of the current Sealord.
Should he ask Illyrio?
No! Ian quickly rejected the idea, and a plan began to emerge in his mind.
Tomorrow, he would bring the new NPC he obtained during his second month-end settlement—Yaqqa Mor, the Water Dancer Master of Braavos—to Khal Drogo's feast, and attract the attention of Ambassador Oranto.
With the trial preparations so intense, the appearance of an elite Water Dancer before Oranto would surely lead him to invite Yaqqa Mor to fight for Prince Hazan.
Faced with the Braavosi ambassador's direct request, Illyrio would certainly be unable to object, and he could easily agree.
The reason? That was only because of Magister Illyrio!
As for factional strife? What factional strife? I don't know! You never told me.
How could I know that your ally in Braavos and Ambassador Oranto aren't from the same faction? Why did you keep this from me? You could have at least given me a warning when Ambassador Oranto made his request!
In short, I only agreed to help Ambassador Oranto because of Illyrio's concealment. If Illyrio chooses to forgive, then I'll participate fully in the trial.
If he ultimately disagrees, then I'll find another way... Anyway, Illyrio is someone I absolutely cannot offend.
Until the matches ended that night, Ian hadn't heard any other clues related to factional strife.
He had heard quite a bit about the trial itself, mostly about the proxy fighters under Symon, which might be helpful for Ian's later plans.
Upon returning to Illyrio's manse, Ian immediately summoned Ser Darren Grafton and the Water Dancer Master Yaqqa Mor, explaining the plans for tomorrow.
The pre-arranged story was that Yaqqa Mor was Darren's personal guard; Darren had saved Yaqqa Mor's life in Braavos, and since then, Yaqqa had sworn his service to Darren.
(End of Chapter)
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