Far to the east of Westeros, beyond the Free Cities and Dothraki Sea, lay the waters of
Slaver’s Bay which flowed through the Gulf of Grief into the Summer Sea, an area known
best for their economic dependence on the Flesh Trade.
Yet it was not always so, as much of the land surrounding the bay was once fertile and prosperous,
with Meereen, Yunkai and Astapor, its most notable and ancient cities, originally established
under the Old Empire of Ghis which once ruled much of central essos.
As the Empire grew, its need for natural resources increased, and so they cut down many of the
trees that once grew in the region.
Then when the Dragon lords of the Valyrian Freehold started to expand beyond their peninsula,
they inevitably came into conflict with the Ghiscari, beginning a series of wars that
burned the empire’s fields and cities, reducing their lands to desert wastelands.
After the fifth and final of these confrontations, the Ghiscari were utterly vanquished, with
the dragonlords burning the city of Ghis and spreading salt and sulphur so nothing would
ever grow again.
Fortunately for the people of the area, the cities of Meereen, Yunkai and Astapor survived
the destruction of the Empire, and many of those displaced were able to found New Ghis
as a successor state.
Although the area was now ruled by the Valyrians, the population was proud of their Ghiscari
heritage, and so preserved much of their ancient culture.
Yet the influence of Freehold was also deeply felt, as their language was transformed into
varying forms of High Valyrian mixed with old Ghiscari.
With their lands no longer providing the resources necessary to survive, the settlements of the
bay turned to the slave trade to sustain their economy.
After the Doom of Valyria in 114 BC, the Freehold was destroyed and the settlements of Slaver’s
Bay became independent, now responsible for governing and defending themselves.
Those who came to rule these newly liberated areas were an aristocratic elite called the
Masters, made up of families with noble bloodlines, who had become experts in the breeding and
training of slaves.
Amongst their dark amber skinned people, the richest segments of society were usually involved
directly in the slave trade and wore long, loose shapeless sheets called a tokars, while
enjoying rich and flavorful foods, such as dog, octopus stew, and duck eggs.
Though the cities of Slaver’s Bay, shared a history and had many cultural similarities,
they each distinguished themselves as well.
Ruled by the Great Masters, Mereen was famed for their fighting pits, including the great
arena known as Daznak’s pit, where cheering mobs watched men, women, children and beasts
battle to the death.
Though it provided entertainment for the people and punishment for criminals, the fights also
had a religious component, as the matches were considered a blood sacrifice to the gods,
with the victors winning fame and prestige while the losers were memorialized upon the
Gates of Fate, at the entrance of Daznak’s pit.
Mereen is also known for their 800 foot tall Great Pyramid, built in memory of the Great
Pyramid of Ghis, and the Temple of the Graces, an important religious institution.
Further south in the yellow city Yunkai, named for their buildings of yellow brick, the Wise
Masters ruled, focusing their efforts on specialized slave training, becoming known for their pleasure
slaves, taught in the ways of the seven sighs and sixteen seats of pleasure.
In the red city of Astapor, named for their buildings of red brick, the Good Masters were
known for their training of unsullied slave soldiers, men castrated at a young age and
trained their whole lives for battle.
The Unsullied were said to employ the same fighting style as the armies of Old Ghis,
using disciplined lock-step manoeuvers to great effect in open battle.
Similarly the Iron Legions of New Ghis are trained in that style of fighting, though
their ranks were filled with free men rather than slaves.
Beyond the eastern shore of Slaver’s Bay, the area was also home to the isle of Cedars
in the south, also called the isle of a hundred battles, where the cities of Ghozai and Velos
once stood, until they were drowned during the Doom of Valyria.
Along the western coast there was the Valyrian isle of Elyria which survived the doom, and
the port city of Tolos known to produce the greatest slingers in Essos, while in the north
there were the ruins of Bhorash, connected to Tolos and Mereen through the Demon Road.
Though these were independent settlements, many of them were had strong connections to
the Meeren, Yunkai and Astapor, becoming heavily involved in the slave trade.
Yet after thousands of years of dependence on this violent practice, the mother of dragons
Daenerys Targaryen sailed to Astapor, and grew enraged upon seeing their treatment of
slaves, since she too was once bought and sold like property.
Though she had come to the city to purchase an army to take west, she instead dedicated
herself to eliminating slavery in the region.
After purchasing every Unsullied Slave soldier available in Astapor, Daenerys ordered her
new army to kill the Good Masters who ruled the city.
After her victory, Daenerys liberated all slaves, and grew her army by asking many of
them to fight for her as freed men.
Leaving a council to rule, Daenerys next led her people to Yunkai, where the Wise Masters
had hired the Stormcrows and Second Sons mercenary companies to strengthen their defenses.
However this city also fell after the betrayal of the Storm Crows, and just as before their
slaves were freed.
Travelling north she fought yet another battle and once again was victorious, establishing
her seat of power in the city of Mereen.
However, her conquest of the Slaver cities proved short lived, as she soon learned the
council of Astapor fell to a former Butcher named Cleon who declared himself king and
enslaved the former aristocracy, while in Yunkai, the Wise Masters had returned to their
old ways, and were gathering allies to fight against her forces.
Even in Meereen the Queen struggled to maintain her rule, as a rebel insurgency known as the
Sons of the Harpy attacked her followers in the streets, fighting a shadow war on behalf
of the Great Masters who once ruled the city.
And while she faced attacks within her realm, her enemies gathered around her as well, with
an alliance of powers including, New Ghis, Tolos, Qarth, Volantis and the Wise Masters
of Yunkai, joining together, as her disruption of the slave trade was devastating to each
of their economies.
This alliance then travelled to Astapor where they defeated King Cleon and reinstated their
former government, before sending a naval fleet to blockade Meereen.
Meanwhile Daenerys began to make a number of consessions to the Meereenese nobility,
in an attempt to stablalize the city and prepare for its defense, marrying a nobleman named
Hizdar zo Loraq, in the hopes this would help end the attacks from the sons of the harpy.
In addition to all these problems, the bloody flux was also starting to spread in the area,
threatening to devastate the city.
After forging an uneasy peace agreement with Yunkai, a great celebration was held in the
fighting pits of meereen, but the festivities were interrupted by the dragon Drogon who
appeared without warning and landed in the arena.
Daenerys, seeing the fighters preparing to attack the creature, charged forth mounted
it for the first time, flying away on its back and unintentionally abandoning the city.
With the Queen gone, her closest advisor Ser Barristan Selmy led a coup against her husband
Hizdar Zo loraq who he did not trust, and prepared the city for war against Yunkai,
who despite the peace was sending a fleet against them.
And while the battle approaching was a serious threat to the rule of the dragon queen, they
were soon reinforced by the second sons mercenary company under brown ben plum, who was convinced
by Tyrion Lannister to join the forces of Meereen.
In addition, the Iron Fleet under Victarion Greyjoy was sailing towards them, wanting
to ally themselves with Daenerys Targaryen.