章 38: Sidestory 5 - The Isolated Water Wizard
Sidestory V - The Isolated Water Wizard
"The Water Wizards, ever since their reformation into the Order of Hydromancers by Arin Rada, became a highly organised and renowned military and religious force in all of Dorne, and they earned many accolades in Arin's Rebellion against House Martell and in the war against the Reach. Many independent Orphans who heard the news suddenly felt as if they were being left out, and were desperate to earn the goodwill of the new Master of Dorne." - Obela Toinad regarding the Orphans of the Greenblood
Marei was a lonely woman.
Ever since her falling out with Garen over the possibility of their prophecy being a hoax, she and the rest of her fellow Water Wizards willfully isolated themselves on their house boats [1] and refused to maintain contact with Garen's people. Every Lord still propagated the Red Edicts, what reason was there to believe things would change?
And yet the unlikely became reality.
House Martell and so many of its loyal vassal houses became extinct, the vacancies filled with Arin's people, and within half a year all of Eastern Dorne fell under the banner of the Black Fox. The Water Wizards were also slowly introduced as the religious arm of the Rhoynish faith, to reacquaint the Greenblood Dornish with their religious roots and forsake the Faith of the Seven.
And it only grew more ridiculous from there; after attaining a pyrrhic victory against the Reachmen, Arin Rada had secured dominion over all of Dorne, purging noble houses who still stood in his way. He also persecuted Septons and Septas of the Sevenist Faith on charges of being charlatans - twisting the Faith to serve their own selfish desires - while acting on accusations and evidence provided by other Septons and Septas working with Arin's people.
Personally, Marei believed the last part a hoax - imposters dressed as such to provide false testimony.
Nevertheless, Arin Rada made reality his dominion over Dorne, and the only price they paid was submission to House Targaryen, a price Arin willingly paid.
Then he issued a proclamation throughout Dorne for any remaining Orphans of the Greenblood, offering them gainful employment and a chance to integrate into Dornish society with the rewards of greater pay, a home and stable employment.
Marei, in her stubborn pride, refused to entertain the offer, content to live out her life of isolation.
Others in her coven, however, were willing to do so, lacking her stubborn pride and willing to compromise for the sake of survival or out of a desire to change things for the better for themselves.
One by one they left her, until she was all alone.
At the age of forty-and-eight, with her husband and four daughters and the rest of her coven deserting her for greener pastures, she was a lonely existence on her house boat. All she could do now was fish in the river for a meagre living, trying to scrape the bottom of the barrel.
She soon saw a single boat approach her house boat, which caused her to raise an eyebrow; no one deigned to pay her a visit ever since she was left alone.
A lone male figure was distinguishable beneath his more immaculate robes and battle-worn features, but there was no mistaking the one man she parted with over an argument.
"Garen…?" She muttered in disbelief, setting down her fishing rod.
"It's been a long time, Marei," Garen greeted, stepping onto her house boat like an old friend returned, "How have you been?"
Marei wordlessly gestured towards her entire house boat - a simple, utilitarian thing bereft of riches - with a sour grimace on her lips.
"You've been doing better for yourself, Garen," Marei remarked.
Garen simply nodded and took a seat next to Marei, but made no move to pat her shoulder or perform any other friendly gesture that she would once have been comfortable with, feeling awkward and uncomfortable around Marei.
"So, come to mock me, have you, Garen?" Asked a sour Marei, "You, looking well-fed and clothed and not wanting for material needs? Why in Mother Rhoyne's name would you come looking for me, then, a penniless beggar with nothing to her name but a rickety fishing boat?"
"Marei-"
"Spare me your false pleasantries," Marei interrupted angrily, "I don't want to deal with your sympathy or mockery or anything else you have for me; I chose to split from you, I chose to go down my path, and I certainly chose to not believe that prophecy the Mother Rhoyne showed us! So why come here to me?"
Garen flinched back a moment, surprised by Marei's level of anger and her aggressive body language. Yet he remained calm and maintained eye-contact, never standing from his seat.
"I just wanted to know you were not dead, lying in a ditch or in the sands somewhere," Garen stated, "Not the woman who helped pluck me from the streets in one of several towns, looking for scraps."
Marei scoffed slightly, "Nice way of you repaying my generosity."
"...Maybe I did bite the hand that fed me by walking away," Garen mused, his voice becoming softer, "Then again, so too did the others that stayed with you after our initial argument."
Marei scoffed again, but said nothing, stewing in anger for many long, pregnant moments of silence.
"...How did he do it?" Asked Marei, "How did he ensure our place in his new order for Dorne?"
"What did you hear?" Asked Garen.
"Only that he purged countless nobles and clerics and replaced them with his own people, and that in exchange for submitting to House Targaryen was named Lord Paramount of Dorne, or Dornia, whatever the Targaryens call it," Marei answered, "Other than that, nothing."
"Well, what you mentioned is all true," Garen said to Marei, "He named me Archmage of the Hydromancers - highest position in the order - and Duke of Skyreach."
Marei looked at Garen in shock, unable to comprehend her words, but she quickly turned her face away to conceal a look of bitterness on her face.
"Duke? What sort of fanciful title is that?" Marei questioned, "But I suppose you've climbed up high, much higher from us people in the dirt."
"Marei, will you stop stewing in your stubborn pride?" Garen said, his voice harsh and filled with annoyance, "Can you not just accept the fact that because you refused to let go of your pride, you're all alone with no one looking out and caring for you?"
"How was I supposed to know whether or not Arin Rada was trustworthy?" Marei bit back, "That he wouldn't simply hand us over to some Lord or travelling Septon looking to use us or kill us?"
"You did not know, I did not know," Garen retorted, "For all I knew, it was exactly the same scenario you described."
"And yet you chose to follow the prophecy," Marei noted.
"Yes, I did," Garen admitted, "Because when you live a life where we have nothing and no one to our name, constantly living in hiding when others can live under the sun, people start yearning for change. I yearned for change. I figured that even if it proved untrue, what else did we have to lose?"
"So either live for nothing, or die for something," Marei muttered, "...I suppose you'd choose the latter, being so restless and eager for change."
Marei sighed as she cast aside her fishing rod, frustrated that she failed to catch a fish.
"So what do you want to do with me now?" Questioned Marei.
"I want you to come with me to Skyreach, Marei," Said Garen, "I don't want you wasting away achieving nothing; you helped me, so let me help you."
Marei let out a long, suffering sigh, and her shoulders sank with the weight of regret, her eyes downcast and filled with fatigue both physical and mental.
"What else do I have to lose?" Marei said to herself, before turning to face Garen, "Take me wherever you want me; I'm not going anywhere else."
Garen allowed himself a soft smile despite their strained relations.
IIOII
Hydromancers
A military arm of water-wielding magi incorporated into the Dornian Ducal Army [2], they have distinguished themselves in several skirmishes and battles against both fellow Dornia and the Reachmen in the War. Many prominent Hydromancers occupy high positions in Arin's political order, including Grand Duke Arin Rada himself and Garen Kalran, Archmage of the Hydromancers.
When they were first formed, there were only twenty Hydromancers at the time of Arin's birth. By the time of Aegon's Conquest, there were at least five thousand Hydromancers serving in the army and navy, integrated into the various regiments and flotillas respectively.
Though the Hydromancers exist as an order of magi, in reality it operates more as an integrated military regiment that answers to the same High Command, and the ranking order is as follows in descending order:
Archmage:
The highest-ranking officer of the Hydromancers and leader of the Order, the Archmage functions as a full-fledged general, and his responsibilities are many from organising and commanding the Hydromancer regiments to planning wargames, testing battle doctrines new and old and refining them with the various senior-ranking Hydromancers under his command.
In times of war, he delegates battlefields to different Kalsur - Water-Sentinels - who lead detached regiments in his stead. The Archmage himself also acts as a general capable of commanding armies and navies.
Kalsur:
Tide-Counts in Rhoynish, the Kalsur are effectively brigadier-generals who command regiments 5,000 strong and serve as deputy commanders to the Archmage, assisting in planning and coordination of military missions.
The Kalsur also serve as commandants and deans of the Rhoyehom Arcane-University, where all manner of magical lore and spells are taught to prospective students since the coronation of Aegon the Conqueror.
Kalregan:
Tide-Lords in Rhoynish, the Kalregan act as colonels who serve as deputy commanders to Kalsur. They are both battlefield commanders and strategists who plan battles according to the prevailing strategic circumstances. At times, in light of the death of a commanding officer, they may assume command of army battalions or ships.
Kalhast:
Tide-Captains in Rhoynish, Kalhast are captains who command companies of men in a battalion of men and thus act as deputies to the Kalregan. They are meant to lead their men in person and fight alongside them as any soldier, directing them in the chaos of action while the strategists command from within the army headquarters.
Kalgysan:
Tide-Soldats in Rhoynish, the Kalgysan are platoon sergeants in charge of commanding platoons and drilling both soldiers and new recruits, getting the Hydromancers used to a life of regimentation and discipline while on campus grounds. Many times, they also organise drilling with sergeants from regular army regiments as part of cohesion-building training regimes and events.
In this way, the Hydromancers do not suffer a disconnect from the realities of military life or look down on the common soldiers, and bond together well with their non-magi counterparts in times of war and peace.
Neophyte:
The lowest-ranking member of the Hydromancers, they are privates who have graduated basic training and education and thus have earned a place in the order. They know only very basic hydromancy techniques such as forming solid but rough shapes with ice from water, and have to not only improve their casting techniques but also their leadership capabilities to be promoted to the rank of Kalgysan.
Only the top tenth of every batch of recruits or Neophytes are selected for a specialist course they undergo as cadets to become Kalgysan, ready to train the next batch of recruits after them.
Udohanar Pantheon
Long before the time of the Second Spice War and Nymeria's Exile, the various faiths of the Rhoynar were of a deeply philosophical nature, never truly united as one single religion under the rule of any Prince of any City-State. At the time, they saw no reason to practise anything like an organised religion, seeing no need for it and seeing the potential for corruption among the religious elite.
Nymeria's Exile and the Red Edicts changed all that, and the Rhoynish faith was at risk of becoming extinct.
It took the coming of the Black Fox, Grand Duke Arin Rada, to reverse the fortunes of the Rhoynish pantheon, and he reorganised them into the Pantheon of the Udohanar. Udohanar was derived from two words: 'Udonhai' which meant unity, and 'Trunhanoc' which meant tranquillity.
According to the Udohanar scriptures, the soul is comprised of three natural parts: Personality or Reason (bela), Willpower or Nature (rhea), and Desire (wina).
All three portions of the soul are entirely unique across each individual, neither truly being the same to any other, though some are more similar than others. The Bela determines the path one takes in life; the Rhea determines their ability and their willingness to act when life turns tough; the Wina determines whether they manage to pursue their dreams and goals and attain them, or if they stumble and fall halfway before deviating towards another path.
As for the worshipped gods of the Udohanar, their names and respective believers are as follows in descending order:
- Mother Rhoyne (Rhoynamharyi), Supreme Goddess of the Udohanar, Patron of all Udohanites.
- Nyolhoru, the Green Daughter, her youngest babe.
- Lhorulu, Goddess of Magic, Patron of the Hydromancers.
- Selhoru, Goddess of the Arts, Patron of Craftsmen and Artists.
- G'danhoar/Onye-Danar, Old Man of the River, Patron of Sailors and Admirals.
- Four Half-Shell Heroes, Greatest of the Gadonye'mas;
- Gazroh, Mazrok, Hosryor and Kysyar.
- Tarhuscoye the Crab King, God of War, Patron of soldiers and generals.
- The Oarsman, God of the Afterlife, Patron of Embalmers and Graveyard Keepers.
There are many other Gods than the ones mentioned, but their worship tends to be smaller and more personalised among certain groups while others have syncretised certain aspects into larger deities. Every deity has their own flock; they simply were not as popular as the Grand Six.
The clerics of the Udohanar Faith accept both men and women into their ranks, and their ranks and responsibilities are as follows below in descending order:
Maihyeram (Chief Matriarch):
The Head of the Udohanar religion, and undisputed religious authority over all matters concerning the consecration of Rhoynish Temples and shrines, and the anointing of Udohanar clerics to higher ranks and positions of power. Unlike the High Septon of the Faith of the Seven, the Maihyeram has absolutely no authority to partake of secular politics, and thus strictly oversees religious matters within the Udohanar faith without interfering in that of others.
Currently, the ruling Maihyeram is Ameline Mator, who has held her position for ten-and-four years since Arin's ascension as Lord of Arsalm. She leads the Creed from her home temple of Amtel Mar, which also serves as the Udohanar Creed's Headquarters.
Semhalru:
The Semhalru are trained architects and sculptors who build places of worship according to the sacred directives of the Udohanar Pantheon, fulfilling requirements for promoting the religious austerity, purity and simplicity of the Rhoynar. They oversee the geographical position of the temple, the composition, physical placement, dimensioning and design, and choose which materials to use in the temple construction.
They are also responsible for embellishment of the actual structure and surrounding grounds, and at times may be called upon to perform certain religious services celebrating the art and sculpture wrought by the believers' hands.
In times past, due to the decentralised nature of their faith, they never had any official study for passing down their knowledge and techniques. Now, aspiring Semhalru diligently study and train at temple grounds in conjunction with expert masons and engineers from outside the temple.
Pelhyosrathan:
Women who specialise in organising the prep work and cooking of religious offerings and dishes eaten at religious festivals, and in preparing offerings for the temple Gods and Goddesses. Every day begins with an Omgast, Sunflakes, which is a mixture of spices mixed with water to form a doughy-like paste before being thrown into a fire.
Food prepared must adhere to strict guidelines of austerity and purity in accordance with Udohanar tradition, and to properly honour the respective god/goddess it is offered to. For example, certain spices and herbs were forbidden or had to be used in reduced quantities. Other times, only certain types of grains could be used.
Foods offered in oblations are burnt in large braziers, while the remainder is served to the temple devotees, for all food prepared in the temple is sacred and must never go to waste.
Punhast (Priest/Priestess):
The clerics who perform worship services including ceremonies and rituals in the ways of the Rhoynar, be it onsite at a temple or offsite elsewhere. They often include a few Hydromancers who perform dazzling performances utilising water magic in conjunctions with musicians and dancers.
The services they perform often vary in duration and intricacy, usually performing honorary services at least once or twice a day, though for more complex, intricate or lengthy rituals they could easily perform several services several times a day.
Ever since the centralization of the Udohanar Pantheon, all Punhast receive official training and study, before being officiated by the central religious authority based in the temple of Amtel Mar.
Hanharu (Layman/Laywoman):
The lowest rank of the Udohanar faith, they are mostly in charge of menial tasks in the various temples from cleaning to cooking, and helping with religious ceremonies for every sermon and mass conducted for worshippers, and form the dancers, musicians and singers at times of musical celebration.
[1] House Boat - The standard form of housing and livelihood for the Orphans of the Greenblood, which had a cabin for habitation. They were often used as fishing boats or merchant boats with which the Orphans hawked their wares to curious passersby.
[2] Dornian Ducal Army - The official name of the military arm of Dorne that focuses on Land warfare, while the Ducal Navy handles battles at sea.
A/N: So I actually based the Rhoynish faith's ranks and their respective responsibilities on what the Hindu priests do, and it was quite an interesting take on how they perform religious services in worship of the Hindu gods. Anyway, hope you like this chapter, and stay tuned for the next public release chapter.
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