Pentos

**Pentos** is one of the Free Cities of western Essos. It is a port located on the eastern coast of the Bay of Pentos.

## City

### Location

Pentos is a large port city, more populous than Astapor on Slaver's Bay. Located closest of all the Free Cities to King's Landing in Westeros, Pentos is one of the westernmost of the Free Cities. The city lies on the Bay of Pentos off the narrow sea, with the Flatlands and Velvet Hills to the east.

### Layout

Even though Pentos has massive, high walls, it is often regarded as the most vulnerable of the Free Cities. The city has many square brick towers. Most of the roofing is done in tiles. Pentos has walled estates, such as manses belonging to the magisters. The Sunrise Gate allows the traveller to exit the city to the east, in the direction of the Rhoyne. The fastest way to Volantis from Pentos is by sea.

A large red temple is located in the city, and the red priests are known to sing and light their night fires.

## People and Economy

### People

The Pentoshi descend from Andals, Valyrians, slaves, and ancient peoples. Like the Braavosi and Lyseni, Pentoshi are great lovers of song, and generous with those who please them. Some of their men dye, oil, and fork their beards. Pentos has a much higher population than Astapor. Bastard Valyrian is spoken in Pentos. Numerous gods are worshipped in Pentos, including R'hllor.

Pentos is a city where wealth equals power, ruled over by a prince with a council of rich magisters. The prince has a mostly ceremonial function, however, while the magisters rule. The prince, who is chosen from forty families, presides chiefly over balls and feasts. He is carried from place to place in a rich palanquin with a handsome guard. Each new year he deflowers two maidens, the maid of the sea and the maid of the fields, to ensure prosperity on land and sea. If there is famine or a war is lost, the magisters sacrifice the prince and slit his throat to appease the gods, then choose a new prince.

Slavery was heavily practiced for most of Pentoshi history, but Braavos imposed abolition after several wars. Pentoshi ships flout these laws, however, by running Lysene or Myrish banners when challenged. Pentos is full of "free bond servants", who are collared and branded like slaves in Lys, Myr, or Tyrosh. Although they are free men and women by law, the cost of their food, clothing, and shelter is higher than the value of their service and they become indebted to their masters.

Pentos is not allowed by Braavos to have more than twenty warships, nor are they allowed to hire sellswords, make contracts with free companies, or maintain an army. As a consequence, Pentoshi are less belligerent than Lyseni, Myrmen, or Tyroshi. The Pentoshi are friendly with the other Free Cities and generous with Dothraki horselords. Pentos is known for its bravos.

### Economy

The Pentoshi are involved in trade, with ships daily passing forth between Pentos and King's Landing across the narrow sea in Westeros. One such galley is the *Storm Dancer*. Pentos produces a pale amber wine. Teeming bazaars can be found in Pentos as well.

Slavery has been forbidden in Pentos since its last war with Braavos. Nonetheless, there are many servants that are slaves in all but name.One Pentoshi merchant is Magister Illyrio Mopatis, who deals in spices, gemstones, and dragonbone, as well as other, less savory things.

According to semi-canon sources, the square brick towers are controlled by the spice traders of Pentos, who send off their ships to distant locations to trade for saffron and peppers. The poorer population of Pentos, however, struggles, and many become performers, training as singers or tumblers, for multiple generations, perfecting their art.

## History

### Foundation

Pentos was founded by merchants, traders, seafarers, and farmers from the Valyrian Freehold as a trading outpost. Many were smallfolk who bred with local Andals, so the Pentoshi are less protective of Valyrian blood than other Free Cities. There are some who claim Pentos existed before the colonization and that the original inhabitants decided to pay homage to the Freehold, citing Gessio Haratis's *Before the Dragons* as their source.

Pentos grew to control almost all of Andalos, with domains stretching from the Velvet Hills and the Little Rhoyne to the narrow sea.

### Century of Blood

As the Century of Blood slowly came to an end, Pentos joined Tyrosh in their resistance to Volantis, which had conquered Lys and Myr in a Volantene attempt to seize control of all Old Valyria had left behind. Aegon Targaryen, Lord of Dragonstone, was invited to Pentos, where he agreed to support Pentos and Tyrosh. Atop Balerion, Aegon used dragonfire to destroy a Volantene fleet at Lys. He later became the first Lord of the Seven Kingdoms through Aegon's Conquest.

## Recent History

The War of the Last Dragon had ended in failure. The Golden Company retreated to Pentos, their leader badly wounded, their army in shambles. At any moment, the Westerosi could descend upon the city, and their forces lead much to be desired. Their queen’s remaining heirs, the last chance for them to return to Westeros, had been murdered as well by a cabal of Pentoshi nobles. Thankfully, even without any of the lieutenants present, the spymaster Bartimos Bolton succeeded in arresting the conspirators based on his own investigations. The city was beginning to get restless with the nobles demanding answers, the Golden Company guards uncertain. Gaelon Qoherys assumed Regency of Pentos in that time, giving an impassioned speech even with his multiple injuries, promising a reckoning upon Pentos’ enemies. It succeeded, the last vestige of authority calming the city, if only for some time, though the nobles demanded to speak with the Golden Company to determine the next move. He gathered his multiple lieutenants, leaving Uthor Lothston as acting Captain-General, till he recovered.

Uthor Lothston acted quickly and drastically, the dilapidated Golden Company still more than enough to deal with a few nobles. The nobles found to be directly responsible for the coup (a number of noble houses, accused by Bartimos Bolton) were executed, but Uthor Lothston did not stop there. With them went close relatives, confidents, those loyal to the houses were executed, those less well connected merely had the majority of their wealth seized. The offending houses were left in control of the old and infirm, the young and confused, or whichever relation would swear undying loyalty to the Golden Company. More importantly, the manors and wealth were taken by the Golden Company, guards bursting into houses late and night, and pulling nobles out, never to be seen again.

Was this what Gaelen Qohorys had ordered, or would he have called this “too far” to those who had been their allies but a few weeks ago? The world will never know. But a week after he returned he succumbed to his injuries. By the remaining leuitenants, Uthor Lothston was named Regent-General of Pentos. And he declared that this city was theirs, and it was from here they would rebuild their company.

And rebuild they did, Uthor Lothston demanding a tithe from each noble family, claiming they needed the money to return the Golden Company to its former power. At any moment, he argued, the Braavosi fleets or the Westerosi army could arrive, and they needed to be prepared. He declared martial law upon the city, with draconic punishments for any kind of crime, treating the city like the Golden Company itself. He blamed Braavos for Pentos’ loss in the war with Westeros, saying it was them, and weak, cowardly people in Braavos and the seven kingdoms who had lead to their downfall. It was that fear and resentment that allowed his control over the city to strengthen, many nobles taking the hit, and accepting that it would only be for a few more weeks, just to get the city and its fighting force back into shape.

That would not occur, and as he tithed the nobles more and more, the Golden Company grew, but showed no sign of stopping. Ships were made, the walls reinforced, and the Golden Company’s equipment refreshed. For three months they managed to live under the rule of martial rule, but then the resentment began to boil over. The magisterial families demanded to know when these tithes would end, to which the Captain-General responded tersely, explaining that it was necessary to defend the city, and that any further questioning of his judgement may be considered treason. An unproductive meeting, to be sure, and one that would only get worse.

The first arrest was made only six days later, for treasonous talk, a noble taken into prison, more wealth taken as a tax. For two months this continued, with another noble or noble’s attendant arrested for “treason” every few weeks. But a head was reached after two months when a grand conspiracy to assassinate the Regent of Pentos was revealed, with no less than seven families at the core of it, including the emmenint family of Draz.

The heads of each house were executed, with those close to them as well, wealth seized and families separated once again. The Regent of Pentos took to speaking every week, talking of the need to stay united against the foreign threat. These working against him were traitors he said, and to prove his words correct, only a few days later an assassin was found within his room. The game was on.

Scarcely a week went by without an execution or public imprisonment, occasionally nobles tortured and released, shells of their former selves, their manses confiscated and their wealth removed. Now Uthor Lothston spoke about how Daena had attacked unwisely, how their responsibility was to protect her legacy, but not necessarily her ambitions. It was Braavos who was the real enemy, he said, and the seven kingdoms were a fractous group of states merely united by their attack. And with this came yet more of the game, with factions quickly assembling: those who spoke for the Golden Company, and saw their rise to power as yet another horse to hitch their wagon too, a way to eventually regain the wealth they had lost. But yet another formed, that who vowed to rid Pentos of this scourge, and return it’s rightful masters.

No less than 18 assasination attempts or plots were unveiled by the Spymaster in the following six months, with legends forming of the Regent-Generals invincibility. He slept in a different room every night, it was said. His cooks were chosen at random every day, the food purchased by a separate person. He was said to wear armour at all times, even learning to sleep in full plate. Spymaster Bartimos Bolton began to acquire a reputation as well, of having eyes and ears everywhere. Some said he possessed mystical powers; that he always knew who to push, and who to let free.

The wealth that was seized was used purely for the Golden Company, though some was awarded to these loyal pentoshi houses, mere scraps to keep them loyal and wanting. While they still fought against the Regent-General, the Pentoshi families knew their powers waned as their money was lost, and everyone they lost merely made their opponent stronger. As more and more of their co-conspirators were found out and executed, they grew more desperate, and more uncertain.

The final straw was between but three of the final powerful houses, who attempted to use their wealth to hire a mercenary company to fight against the Golden Company in the streets of Pentos. The plot was discovered in the middle, and a siege between the hired mercenaries occurred between the Golden Company for a full eight hours, before the Company broke the siege and stormed the manse.

This purge was almost an afterthought to what they had done prior, but it was enough to break the will of the remaining nobles. The only ones who remained in relative power were the lickspittles and the bootlickers, with the now weaker smaller houses owned by heads of house desperate to return to the luxurious life they once lived. The assassinations and the investigations would continue, though far less than they once were, and the resistance hung on only barely. The Regent-General was said to believe that a little rebellion was necessary to keep his troops in order; to ensure that they still watched their backs, and stayed sharp. For all intents and purposes, the city was his.