Kapitel 120: Benerro 1
291AC
The Great Temple of the Lord of light was a marvel built by the hands of man, a great towering dome that stood so tall and so wide that at its center the shadow of its roof would let no light inside, excepting that of the thousands of blazing Braziers that filled its halls with the heady smoke of incense, and occasionally on feast days with the scent of burned flesh. Across its hundreds of hallways, the fiery hand kept watch, their armor emblazoned with the symbols of their god.
It was a beautiful place, true in its dedication R'hllor, and a haven for his followers. A city of faith unto itself, and it was his to rule.
Indeed, he was the highest ordained priest of R'hllor, by right Volantis herself was his to rule, to command, for he knew that even the Triarchs feared him, and rightfully so, for he commanded the hearts of the city.
Why then, was the red witch of Asshai coming to his door and acting as if she were his superior.
"Benerro" she greeted him, and he fought to keep the sneer off of his face at her lack of use at his title. "It is good to see that the faith is well in Volantis."
He felt it difficult to accept the compliment but nodded nonetheless. "It is due to our true faith in R'hllor."
"Is that so..?" The woman said, sitting down on the sofa across from him, her eyes tracing the room, lingering on the fires. Accompanying her was another woman, a young red priestess who lacked the markings of the order on her cheeks, but blazed with his power nonetheless, and a clearly Valerian girl, one of the last Targaryens if he remembered properly.
Then there was her bodyguard. He stood a bit taller than Benerro, but by no means of great height, clad head to toe in armor like that of the Golden company or the people of Westeros, plates of black metal overlaid with red engravings of fires interwoven into their design. The breastplate featured a three-headed red dragon roaring rampant through a great orange flame, and he did not miss the symbolism.
This was no doubt Viserys Targaryen, the missing prince that had been sold as a slave in Yunkai, indeed, he had sent feelers out to see about purchasing him himself, but they had all returned with rejections.
He could see now why if the Red Witch had sunken her claws into him.
"Do not question my faith in this his temple, witch." Benerro snapped, closing his arms over his chest. "You come to me asking favors and then dare to disrespect your high-priest?"
The red witch stared at him with her blind eyes for a moment and then laughed a bitter laugh. "I ask only that you do your duty to R'hllor Benerro." She met his gaze with a toothy grin, "nothing more and nothing less."
"Well see what Rhllor thinks of your duty!" Benerro shouted, standing from the cushions. "Guards!"
The soldiers of the fiery hand all at once filled the room. "Take this woman to the dungeons at once."
"I wouldn't be so quick to do that if I were you, Benerro." The woman said, raising her staff up above the ground. "You do not wish to test my faith against your own."
"Cast your spells witch, they shall not harm the faithful," Benerro said, narrowing his eyes and raising his own hands, calling forth his own sorcery against that of the woman.
Fire leaped from his hands and was matched by that which spewed from her staff, forming into a glowing blazing ball, not unlike a small sun where the two met. Light-filled the chamber and some of the fiery handed guards began to crackle and smoke, their skin melting under the gaze of their god.
A fitting end for the faithless.
He had no time to consider their predicament, however, caught as he was in a struggle against the witch. She was crafty, and despite his greater power she was the more skilled sorcerer, trying to bend about his fire or to sneak beyond it, they stood transfixed against each other in a struggle for what felt like hours.
Then the Targaryen, the armored man moved, uttering a simple word from his formerly silent lips.
"Enough."
The young man drew up his sword and lifted it into the fire between the two. It drew into itself the fire of the sphere, and of their magic, and of all the Braziers in the room until it seemed to draw the fires out of even the burning guards. A grand conflagration about it.
Within a moment it was gone, and in its place, the fire coiled along the edge of his blade, like a serpent burning.
Benerro felt wonder in his eyes at the sight, the blazing sword in the darkness of the chamber.
He fell to his knees, overcome by faith.
"Azor Ahai," he said, too shocked by the sight to think. "You have brought the Azor Ahai."
The old woman, for her part, seemed exhausted by the exchange, leaning heavily on her staff.
"Yes, Benerro, I have brought him and forged him." The Red Witch smiled "This has been my task, as ordained by R'hllor through the fires. Will you listen now?"
Benerro turned once again towards the blazing sword, which was now reset into its sheath.
Then he nodded.
"I will follow the Azor Ahai."
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein