Chapter 7
Time: 119 - 100 Years Before the Doom
POV: Kaelen (Elias Vance)
My decades in Yi Ti had given me a deep appreciation for the world's ancient wisdom, but my focus remained on my grand design: the Sothoryan Empire. It was time to return, to put all my accumulated knowledge to use. But first, a final, necessary stop in Valyria. I needed to ensure the long-term strategic connection with House Balearys remained firm, and to solidify my cover story for my unchanging appearance.
The voyage back across the Jade Sea and then the Smoking Sea felt like a return to a familiar, if still terrifying, beast. When the towering spires of Valyria finally rose from the horizon, they seemed grander, yet also more fragile, viewed through the lens of my gained knowledge and the impending Doom.
I made my way to the Balearys manse, its familiar fused-stone walls now appearing a little more worn, a little more weathered by the centuries. It had been nearly seventy years since I first set foot here, a young, curious scholar from an unknown land.
I was met by a guard I didn't recognize, but my old name still carried weight. "I am Kaelen," I stated, my voice calm. "I seek Archon Aelor Balearys."
The guard, a young man with a skeptical look, led me through the opulent halls. The air still hummed with arcane power, but I sensed a subtle shift, a faint tremor of decay beneath the surface of the Freehold's might.
I found Aelor Balearys in his solar, a room filled with scrolls and intricate dragon carvings. He was no longer the arrogant young man I'd met in Pentos. He was now an old, old man, his once proud features deeply lined, his silver hair thin and almost translucent. His hands trembled slightly as he poured himself a cup of wine.
He looked up as I entered, and his eyes, though clouded by age, widened in immediate, disbelieving recognition. "Kaelen?" he rasped, his voice thin, almost like a dry leaf rustling. He stared at my perpetually youthful face, his jaw slack. "By the gods... you are truly... untouched by time."
"Archon Aelor," I said, offering a respectful, measured bow. "It has been many decades."
He chuckled, a frail, humorless sound. "Decades? Try lifetimes, Kaelen. I am on the threshold of passing into shadow. My mother, Vaella... she passed some twenty years ago."
My expression softened. Vaella had been my first real connection in this world, a shrewd mind who understood the subtle power play. "I am sorry to hear that, Archon. Vaella Balearys was a remarkable woman."
Aelor sighed, a deep, shuddering breath. "She spoke of you often, in her last years. She spoke of your meeting in Pentos, of your... offer. She called you 'the promise.' She insisted on its importance to the very end." He looked at me, a flicker of the old Balearys shrewdness in his eyes. "She said you were a debt owed to us, an enduring resource. She made me swear to remember you. To ensure my children remembered you."
"She was wise," I replied simply. "And I have returned to renew that understanding. To ensure the link remains unbroken." I knew my lack of aging needed a plausible cover for future interactions.
Just then, the door opened and two younger Valyrians entered. A woman, regal and sharp, with the characteristic silver hair and violet eyes, and a man beside her, equally striking. They were perhaps in their late twenties or early thirties.
"Father, are you well?" the woman asked, her voice concerned. She looked at me with curiosity.
Aelor waved a trembling hand. "Yes, Rhaena. Come. This is Kaelen. The one your grandmother, Vaella, spoke of often. The 'promise' to our House. And this," he gestured to his children, "is my daughter, Rhaena Balearys, and my son, Daenys Balearys, my heir."
I bowed to them. "A pleasure to meet you both. Your grandmother was a woman of foresight."
Rhaena's gaze was sharp. "My grandmother spoke of a curious scholar from Sothoryos who saved her life, and to whom we owe... an unusual consideration. She said you did not age." Her eyes raked over my youthful appearance, a spark of wonder and suspicion in them.
"My people are long-lived, Lady Rhaena," I explained, adhering to my established cover. "And I have chosen to walk a path of constant exploration and learning. My travels have taken me far and wide, from the depths of Sothoryos to the wisdom of Yi Ti. Now, I embark on a new journey, and it felt right to touch base with those who have offered me such invaluable aid and discretion over the centuries."
Daenys, the son, stepped forward, his expression more guarded. "And this 'assistance' our grandmother spoke of? What does it entail, stranger?"
I looked directly at him, projecting confidence and a hint of something ancient. "It means, Lord Daenys, that the unique knowledge I possess, and the quiet assistance I can offer, remains available to House Balearys should your need be great. As long as our mutual understanding of secrecy remains absolute. It is a long-standing arrangement, forged with your grandmother and honored by your father."
Aelor coughed, a wet, rattling sound. "It is so, my children. This arrangement... it is ancient now. And it is sacred. Kaelen's discretion is... absolute. And so is ours." He looked at me, a glimmer of relief in his old eyes. "Are you leaving us, Kaelen?"
"My adventures call me back to the ancient lands of Sothoryos, Archon," I said, maintaining the facade of a perpetual explorer. "I am always seeking new understandings, new challenges. But consider me a distant, silent friend of House Balearys. My 'descendants' will always honor the compact."
Rhaena and Daenys exchanged a look, clearly intrigued but wary. They saw the value in a hidden asset, even if they didn't fully comprehend the nature of my longevity. The seed was planted. The debt, the promise, the strategic alliance for my future was firmly established for another generation.
I spent a few more days at the Balearys manse, observing the subtle shifts in Valyrian society, feeling the creeping arrogance grow stronger. I confirmed that the general knowledge of House Balearys's survival was attributed to sheer luck and their own prowess, with no hint of my intervention. My secret was safe. My education complete.
I boarded a ship bound for the long journey back to the wild continent I now called home. One hundred years before the Doom, I was finally ready. I was Kaelen, the long-lived Ael'athar, master of earth, plants, and combat, with the knowledge of Valyrian steel and Essosi trade, and the ancient wisdom of Yi Ti. I had seen the world. Now, it was time to build my own.