Chapter 479: Chapter 479: Alms at the Sept
Viserys next toured the royal tombs beneath the Great Sept of Baelor, where the Targaryen kings, queens, princes, and princesses of generations past were buried.
'The Light of the Realm' Rhaenys Targaryen I.
'Dragonbane' Aegon Targaryen III.
'The Inept King' Aegon Targaryen IV.
'The Wise King' Daeron Targaryen II.
Finally, Viserys' steps brought him to the sarcophagus of his nominal or rather merely physical father, the last king of the Targaryen dynasty, the 'Mad King' Aerys Targaryen II.
"I've heard my father's favorite pastime was watching men burn," he mused.
"Watching their skin char and blister, melt and fall from the bone, he could burn disloyal vassals, burn disobedient ministers, anyone who defied him was burnt."
Viserys' voice echoed in the empty crypt of the Sept, sending chills down the spine of the female knight who heard his words. The court steward and the portly High Septon remained silent, not daring to reply.
"Fear not, what's right is right, what's wrong is wrong."
"My elder brother often called him the 'Mad King.'"
Though Viserys came to see Aerys II's sarcophagus, he didn't linger long at his 'father's' tomb. Instead, he paused for quite some time at his brother Rhaegar's grave, eventually taking with him a book that had been buried with him.
The crypts of the Great Sept, being the burial place of many kings, were filled with valuable robes, rings, crystal crowns, and other church properties.
Viserys looked all around but said little. Once back on the surface, he casually remarked that the church seemed richer than the royal treasury, causing the portly High Septon to break into a sweat.
This was a man adored by the common folk but feared by the nobility. Many noble houses had been destroyed since the Targaryen army landed in Westeros. He was truly a killer, not caring for rules or the Faith of the Seven. If he could root out the nobility, what would he dare not do?
The common believers were unaware, but the change of his coronation venue from the Great Sept to the Red Keep spoke volumes of Viserys' lack of tolerance towards the church.
No one dared oppose the King's decision, and any opposition was quickly silenced. The political struggles at court were full of danger, and the High Septon, having attended Robert's small council meetings, knew he must tread carefully if he was to leave King's Landing unscathed.
"Because of the invasion of the White Walkers, 'Your Holiness', many refugees from the North have flooded south of the Neck, impacting the lives of the original inhabitants. White Harbor is still under repair, and they cannot return home."
Viserys shook his head as he walked, voicing his concern.
"King's Landing has too many refugees now."
The situation in the Seven Kingdoms was worse than imagined.
The collapse of the Wall and the invasion of the White Walkers had exacerbated the chaos. Countless refugees were driven south to escape the undead, arriving in the capital.
Now the White Walkers were defeated, but the Neck's causeway was not yet repaired, and the war in the Riverlands had just ended. What could the refugees do? Where could they go?
Many flooded into the cities, with King's Landing being one of their targets. Those who found work were fine, but those without resorted to theft and robbery.
That morning, the commander of the city's defenses had reported to Viserys an increase in crime, growing more extreme.
Tyrion, now an advisor to the king, had also warned Viserys, jesting that the queues at the brothels were growing, indicating a population surge in King's Landing.
Viserys heeded Tyrion's warning, reviewing the city's recent records, which showed that the population had nearly doubled this year.
The staggering number, mostly homeless and impoverished, was the reason for Viserys' sudden visit to the Great Sept.
Was he really there to rehearse his wedding amidst the nation's turmoil? No, Viserys had come to 'beg,' having heard that the church was wealthy.
The portly High Septon 'understood' Viserys' intentions and promptly agreed, wiping the sweat from his brow.
Bathed in the Father's light, the church would naturally become the last refuge for the poor.
The church would provide sufficient funds to help the capital through this hard winter and another difficult spring.
"May the gods bless us with better sunlight tomorrow."
With the King's solitary tour of the Great Sept, the church opened its coffers.
They announced the purchase of two hundred thousand bushels of wheat, a hundred thousand each of barley, oats, and rye, four thousand cattle, and ten thousand sheep to help King's Landing's poor through this trying time.
The story quickly spread throughout the city.
The image of the wise and valiant King was further affirmed, while the church, having been hit in the pocket, became a negative figure.
Many who believed in the Seven were aware that the church was wealthy, but not this wealthy.
What paupers' assembly? Call it a rich man's assembly!
The portly High Septon, so fat he could barely walk, this was a figure gained from sharing hardship and eating meager meals with the faithful? The archseptons and septons of the Faith of the Seven were all dripping with wealth.
The poor's last faith collapsed, turning love into hate. The outnumbered followers of the Red God in King's Landing seized the opportunity to stir trouble, resulting in a small-scale demonstration.
But since the church had genuinely spent money, and people's hands were tied by favors and their mouths by food, combined with the Unsullied and the Gold Cloaks maintaining order, the storm was eventually quelled.
The church was properly chastised, and King's Landing's pressing problem was resolved.
In King's Landing, the final minor turbulence on the eve of the royal wedding ended, and the wedding ceremony officially began the next day.
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