GOT/ASOIAF: Ruler Beyond The Ice

Chapter 633 - 635: Religious Affairs (Part 1)

A few days after receiving Illyrio from Pentos, Aegor welcomed the second group of foreign guests who arrived from Volantis across the Narrow Sea. They were not official envoys sent by the Archons or Princes, but a delegation of priests from the Great Red Temple.

Within the bustling crowd of the delegation, aside from the attendants who were clearly servants and guards, the central figures were three high-ranking red priests dressed in crimson robes.

At the front stood a tall, thin, bald old man with sharp features and skin covered in flame tattoos. To his right stood the "second red priestess," with deep red hair and pale skin. Her beauty was no less than Melisandre's, yet carried a hint more elegance. Beside her stood the tall dark-skinned man Aegor already knew, Moqorro, whom he had sent back to Volantis from Eastwatch-by-the-Sea several months earlier.

"My lord, please allow me to introduce them," Melisandre said. As the accompanying priestess, she naturally took on the duty of introduction. "This is Benerro, the High Priest of the Red Temple in Volantis, the number one servant of R'hllor. Among all living high-ranking priests, he is the most senior and possesses the deepest mastery of magic. This is Kinvara, the Lord of Light's Chief Priestess, the most outstanding diviner and prophet in history, responsible for communication between the churches of the Red God and for overall external affairs. Moqorro, Dragon Mother's religious advisor, you already know, so I will not introduce him further."

After introducing the guests to the more respected party first, she turned to her colleagues.

"And before you stands the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, the hero who defeated the White Walkers, Dragon Mother's Hand, the representative of Lady R'hllor on earth, Aegor West."

The black-clad Hand and the red priests faced each other. For a moment neither side spoke.

The bald old man and the elegant priestess stared deeply at Aegor. They confirmed that his face matched exactly the one revealed in the flames by the Lord of Light. They also sensed the surging, powerful, and slightly familiar aura of the Red God emanating from him.

Without further hesitation, they slowly lowered themselves and knelt on the ground.

"The most loyal servants of the Lord of Light greet Your Excellency."

Hands, knees, and forehead touched the ground at the same time. It was a completely sincere prostration. The deepest reverence of devout believers toward the deity they worshiped filled the moment.

Although being greeted with kneeling made Aegor somewhat uncomfortable, it was far better than the doubts and scrutiny he had previously worried about. If he had encountered troublesome priests who demanded that he prove he was the chosen of R'hllor, even with preparation it would have caused a real headache.

Maintaining proper dignity was far more effective than blindly trying to blend in.

Aegor sighed softly. He neither greeted them warmly nor rushed to help them up. Instead he straightened his posture, calmly accepted the bow, then placed his hands behind his back and spoke.

"Rise, priests. I am Lady R'hllor's chosen representative on earth. My duty is to serve her ideals and goals. In that regard we are like brothers, though not born of the same parents. There is no need for such grand ceremonies in the future. If the Red God's church truly has such a rule, my suggestion is to abolish it as soon as possible. Now, let us go inside and speak in detail."

The four red priests all agreed and followed him into the room, taking their seats in order.

High-ranking priests were the highest level within the entire system of the Red God. Yet judging by their positions and the order in which they seated themselves, there was still a hierarchy among the four who were theoretically equal.

The bald old man was undoubtedly first. Kinvara, the Red God's diplomat, followed second. Last were high-ranking priests without special titles such as Melisandre and Moqorro, and between them there appeared to be no particular order.

Thinking about it this way, perhaps "high-ranking priest" was a rank, while "High Priest" and "Chief Priestess" were positions. All four possessed the same rank within the church. However, the first two held higher offices, so they naturally ranked above the latter two who were simply front-line clergy.

This was a system the Red Temple had practiced for thousands of years. Aegor would not challenge it simply because he had a closer relationship with Melisandre.

After that thought passed through his mind, he calmly began the conversation.

"I understand clearly the purpose of your long journey here. However, before beginning our discussion as servants of the Lord of Light, allow me first to fulfill the duties of my secular position. High Priest Benerro and Priestess Kinvara, I would ask you to briefly explain the changes in the situation across the Narrow Sea over the past two years, especially the political developments in Volantis."

Benerro nodded, clearly understanding why Aegor would be interested in this information.

"Regarding this matter, I believe Lady Kinvara can explain it more thoroughly and precisely."

"Then I will present it to Your Excellency," Kinvara said. This matter indeed fell within her responsibilities. The Red God's chief diplomat straightened her posture and spoke with a faint smile.

"My lord, you did not specify a time period, but I suspect you are most interested in what happened in Volantis after Queen Daenerys won the Battle of Meereen. To explain the full story, we must begin with Volantis's decision to go to war against Dragon Mother."

...

Volantis was one of the earliest military outposts established by Valyria during its westward expansion, and it had always been the strongest of the Free Cities.

During the Century of Blood after the Doom, the Volantenes proclaimed themselves the heirs of the Freehold, the beacon of the world, and the rightful leaders of humanity.

However, there had long been debate within the city about how to conquer the world.

Initially the war faction held the advantage. Yet after a series of costly foreign wars that produced few practical gains, Volantis not only failed to dominate the world, but its government was overthrown by war-weary citizens.

In the centuries that followed, the Elephant Party held most of the power in Volantis. The Tiger Party could at best occupy one of the three Archon seats, and sometimes not even that.

This situation continued until Daenerys caused a sensation in Slaver's Bay.

As the Breaker of Chains, she publicly declared the abolition of slavery, causing panic among countless slave owners. Through a butterfly effect, this allowed the hawkish faction that had been suppressed for centuries in Volantis to regain enough support. They successfully seized two Archon seats and organized a massive fleet to sail against Meereen.

In this new era, the Tiger Party hoped to display its power and restore its prestige. Instead they received news of the fleet's disastrous defeat.

The three hundred warships sent to attack Daenerys not only failed in their mission, they instead became the Targaryen navy. Over the next two years they served Daenerys and allowed her to roam freely across the seas.

This crushing blow completely disgraced the Tiger Party. In the following political reshuffle they predictably lost another Archon seat, returning to their former weak position.

"It is true that the Elephant Party now dominates Volantis, but being anti-war does not mean they are friendly toward Your Grace," Kinvara explained. "Both the Tiger Party and the Elephant Party are slave owners. Their difference lies only in how they deal with problems and enemies. The three Archons are unanimously promoting an organization called the City-State Coalition. The Tiger Party Archon hopes to use this alliance to destroy Dragon Mother by force. The two Elephant Party Archons hope to use the alliance as leverage to pressure Daenerys into abandoning abolition and paying reasonable war reparations to Volantis."

The defeated demanding reparations from the victor. The thinking of these slave owners was truly bizarre.

Yet such arrogance also demonstrated Volantis's strength. The city-state still possessed strong foundations and vitality. It truly had the capacity to fight any opponent for many rounds, especially with numerous potential slave-owning allies scattered across the seas.

If one ignored the existence of Daenerys's two dragons, the Gift Army, and the artillery forces Aegor was building, Volantis indeed held slightly more cards.

But the problem was simple. Why ignore the cards Daenerys actually possessed?

Aegor smiled faintly and offered no comment. Instead he casually asked the question that concerned him most.

"If the formation of this City-State Coalition were rated on a scale of ten, with ten meaning fully completed, what score would you give it?"

"Two points, at most three." Kinvara spoke while giving Aegor a brief, charming glance out of habit. "The three Archons have begun preparing related matters. They have received responses and support from several city-states. However, there has not yet been a formal meeting of the leaders of all nine cities, nor have any agreements been signed. At the same time, the Great Red Temple has not remained idle. We have been obstructing actions that threaten Lady R'hllor's chosen representative whenever possible. In truth, several territorial disputes still exist among the nine city-states. It is impossible for them to unite completely against an external enemy."

The overall situation matched Aegor's own judgment. Illyrio had merely been exaggerating.

Aegor relaxed slightly. At the same time he casually admired Kinvara's beauty. It differed from Melisandre's yet was equally captivating.

Red priestesses were truly remarkable. They possessed the maturity, intellect, and confidence that came with age, yet time left almost no trace on their bodies. Were it not for the ruby necklace on their chests, which seemed almost like a standard accessory...

Also a priestess, Kinvara appeared more composed and elegant. Her speech and reasoning were far stronger than Melisandre's. It was obvious why she held an important position within the Great Red Temple while Melisandre had been sent overseas on assignments.

"At this point I must apologize to Your Excellency," High Priest Benerro suddenly spoke after remaining silent for a while. "Logically speaking, since the Lord of Light has chosen a representative on earth for the first time since the beginning of creation, all high-ranking priests of the Great Red Temple should have come to pay their respects. However, the temple is currently engaged in conflict with the authorities of Volantis across many fields. We are barely maintaining our position through the support of believers among slaves and commoners. We truly cannot withdraw all high-ranking priests and leave the temple undefended."

"Oh? Why is that?"

According to Benerro, there were more high-ranking priests in the temple. Aegor wondered how many there were and what the ratio of men to women might be.

He would request a roster later. This was an important force within the mystical world, one that artillery could not replace.

"The primary reasons Dragon Mother was able to capture the Volantis fleet at Meereen were the existence of the dragons and the victory of her army on land," Kinvara explained. "However the Volantis fleet could at least have escaped. The reason they did not scatter but instead surrendered entirely was largely due to an uprising by believers of the Lord of Light among the slave oarsmen and sailors."

"Even before the war began, our church opposed the expedition against Meereen and spread the message of Dragon Mother's destiny. At the same time we used preaching and rituals to infiltrate the fleet and cultivate believers within the army, preparing the conditions for a possible uprising from within. This action followed the command revealed by R'hllor in the flames. Naturally we did not seek any reward from Your Grace."

"However the uprising within the Volantis fleet exposed the church's stance toward the slave owners. As a result the Great Red Temple has recently faced comprehensive suppression by the Volantis authorities. The three Archons of the Tiger and Elephant parties rarely cooperate, but they have united on this matter. They are purging believers of the Red God from the army and interfering with temple offerings, taxes, and supply channels. The Great Temple has become an isolated island within the city-state of Volantis. Our situation is extremely precarious."

"In times of difficulty we would normally seek guidance from the Lord of Light through fire divination. Yet recently the Lord of Light no longer answers our calls," Benerro said with a pained expression. "Therefore the Chief Priestess and I came here personally. Aside from paying our respects and witnessing the miracle, we also hope to seek help. We ask that Your Excellency convey the church's difficulties to R'hllor and ask that she remember our years of loyal service and grant us guidance once more."

Seven parts truth, three parts exaggeration, but without malicious intent.

It was likely true that the authorities of Volantis wanted to suppress the Red Temple. No ruler would tolerate a force cooperating with the enemy inside their territory.

Yet if the temple were truly isolated and powerless, how could it organize such a large delegation to travel abroad openly? As for asking Aegor to convey their plea to R'hllor, it was likely just a cautious attempt to gather information, since they did not dare directly question his identity.

Aegor was not angry, nor did he intend to expose them. These people might indeed be shrewd figures who had lived for decades or even centuries, but as the genuine representative of the Red God, they were not his enemies.

"For such a small matter, why trouble Lady R'hllor?" Aegor spoke calmly. "She has already given me clear direction and assigned me a clear task. As for how to accomplish the sacred mission she has entrusted to me, I already have a bold idea."

"What we are about to discuss is precisely this matter. If the plan proceeds smoothly, both the Great Red Temple's crisis and Daenerys's difficulty in controlling the Seven Kingdoms will be resolved at the same time. They will no longer be problems troubling us."

(To be continued.)