Mae kashi. It was time.

Rhalko was growing older, and he did not want to be as his father had—no Khaleesi, and a son from some random Dothraki whore. The sun beat down on the packed earth of Vaes Dothrak, the sound of hundreds of chioris filling the air with their嘶鸣 as his khalasar set up camp outside the city walls.

It was time for him to find his Khaleesi—his Queen. Someone to sit by his side. Someone to put a son into. His son, who would grow to become the 'stallion who mounted the world'. The leather of his bracer felt warm against his forearm as he adjusted it, the scent of horseflesh and dust clinging to his skin.

So he'd had a rider alert Vaes Dothrak that he and his khalasar were on their way—and that Rhalko was now seeking a Khaleesi. The sound of his bloodriders' laughter echoed down the street as they passed by groups of hopeful women, their voices rough with amusement at some of the offerings.

Hundreds of chioris stood in the streets of Vaes Dothrak as Rhalko and his bloodriders strode through, silently assessing the hopeful women—though, some were not so hopeful. Some were offered, like horses or slaves. The hard-packed earth crunched beneath his boots, and he could taste the尘土 in the dry air.

"Ovah," Rhalko heard Tycho observe and the other three of his bloodriders laughed—fat, guttural sounds that grated on his nerves.

Kojja snorted to his right. "Me mesilat!" She exclaimed—the woman was pregnant, her belly swollen beneath her attire.

Did these people think so little of Rhalko to present him a pregnant woman? He needed strength. He needed healthy. He needed... Rhalko's eyes focused in on a woman he was near approaching. Chin held high despite the nervous flutter of her hands. The body of a goddess beneath the simple Dothraki robes, her posture radiating a quiet defiance he hadn't seen in any other woman presented to him.

He needed her.