บท 56: Chapter 56
After witnessing the rituals of the red priests, Benerro continued to show me the hidden aspects of the temple. At one point, I felt an unsettling gaze, as if someone were watching from the other side of a mirror... However, by the end of my stay, I could not identify the source of the priests' magic.
"How do you find the temple of our Lord?" Benerro asked.
"It's magnificent, and I've learned much about your faith."
Benerro seemed to want to comment on my faith but held back.
"In that case, my duty is fulfilled. Do you need anything else?"
"Thank you for your assistance." I replied, glancing around as if processing something. "I think I need to reflect on this myself."
The old man felt immense pride in himself from my words and simply nodded, saying:
"Yes, I understand perfectly."
Bidding farewell to the old man, I practically flew out of the place that exuded the power of their deity.
"Is something troubling you?" Tun asked as he saw me rush out of the temple.
"Do you feel this eerie presence?"
"What do you mean?"
"Wait, you really didn't feel anything?"
Upon receiving a negative answer, I began to wonder what might be obstructing Tun.
"Tun, can you check for any barriers or something similar above?"
"It's too far; I can't examine the temple in detail from this distance."
Should I go check again myself?
"Do you want to check what blocked what you felt?"
"I don't think it's a good idea." I answered, having thought through the situation more concretely.
"Don't worry too much, if needed, we can just move far away from the city." Tun said, sensing my anxiety.
"Heh, thank you, Tun. You're right, it's a pity I can't use the eyes of other birds or animals around the temple."
I had already tried to use my warg powers, but something seemed to cut off my eyes as soon as they stepped onto the temple grounds. I could try using the powers of the Many-Faced God, but it's unclear how the priests would react if they saw that magic. At the very least, the fact that the temple blocks my eyes from entering its territory greatly alarmed me.
Meanwhile in the Temple
From ???'s Perspective
Benerro, who had escorted the person who entered their temple, went to the place where he received orders from the Lord of Light.
"Lord of Light, grant us your wisdom," he said, sitting before the Eternal Flame.
The fire, in response to his words, began to rage, and in a moment, the color of the flame turned blood-red.
"Benerro..." a rather terrifying voice, resembling the sound of a bonfire, suddenly resounded.
"My Lord..." the old man knelt.
The flame flickered and tried to form or give itself another shape.
"Have you found my chosen one?"
Benerro, attempting to make himself even smaller, replied:
"Forgive us, Lord... We have not found him yet..."
The fire went wild, and the temple almost ceased to exist, but the one controlling the flame calmed down after a few moments.
"Who was the one who entered the temple with you?"
Benerro, not understanding what was happening, simply replied:
"A trader from Braavos."
"Hahaha, that person is not just a trader from Braavos... He is the Child of Fate..."
Benerro, still not understanding what was happening, thought about what the words "Child of Fate" could mean.
"You need not know more... You must capture him, and if you manage to do so... Keep an eye on him... Because..."
The old man obediently responded:
"It will be done, my Lord..."
"And remember... The night is dark and full of terrors..."
After that, something otherworldly disappeared from the flame, and the fire returned to its usual state. Benerro, after another prayer, left to send his people after the Child of Fate.
Meanwhile outside Volantis
From ???'s Perspective
Moqorro, who had been sent to find the owner of Lightbringer, had already traveled quite far from the temple. The dark-skinned man sat by a campfire, staring into it in search of something.
"Lord, grant me some aid in finding Azor Ahai."
In a moment, the flames began to dance and change, almost hypnotizing Moqorro...
"I see..." Moqorro muttered, staring into the fire.
Before the red priest's eyes, various scenes unfolded, the first being a dragon... A Black Dragon, near which stood the Old Griffon, looking at the dragon and seeing something different than others... He also saw the Black Dragon walking along the threads spread by the Spider, with the corpses of young birds and cheeses serving as support for the threads.
Following the dragon were golden skulls, carried by other feet, clearly enjoying what was happening. The place the dragon headed for was a throne made of a thousand swords... A throne adorned with the corpses of lions, wolves, an eagle, stags, trout, and squid.
After the dragon sat on the throne, its gaze was forcibly shifted to a gigantic Wall of ice, beyond which corpses and ice demons rose.
The scene before Moqorro's eyes changed again, and now he saw a silver-haired man fighting a demon... Holding a sword engulfed in flames...
"Azor Ahai..." Moqorro muttered, staring in awe at the scene shown to him by his Lord. "Where should I search for him?"
At that moment, the scene in the fire changed... And it showed golden swords and skulls covered in gold...
"Golden Swords..."
Moqorro, who was still outside Volantis, pondered what he knew about the Golden Company.
The Golden Company is a large mercenary group operating in the Free Cities. It primarily consists of exiles from Westeros and their descendants. Many knights and former lords among their ranks still hope to return home one day.
After the defeat of the Blackfyre Rebellion, hundreds of rebellious knights and lords who supported Daemon Blackfyre but refused to bend the knee fled across the sea to the Free Cities.
There, they joined various mercenary companies, both old and new. Aegor Rivers founded the Golden Company to unite the exiles. This mercenary group quickly earned a reputation by sacking Qohor when its inhabitants refused to honor their contract.
For a hundred years, the Golden Company fought in countless wars on the Disputed Lands between Myr, Lys, and Tyrosh, always for the highest bidder. The participants of the Blackfyre Rebellion died in battle or from old age, but their sons and grandsons kept their family names and hopes of returning to their ancestral homeland.
The ranks of the Golden Company were replenished not only by mercenaries from Essos but also by new exiles from Westeros. After Robert Baratheon's rebellion, many landless knights and lords fled east.
Aegor Rivers twice invaded Westeros, in 219 and 236 AC, to overthrow the ruling Targaryen king and place his candidate on the Iron Throne, but both times he was defeated.
During the War of the Ninepenny Kings, the last of the Blackfyre line, Maelys Blackfyre, the captain-general of the Golden Company, planned an invasion of Westeros. The Golden Company even occupied the Stepstones and began preparing to transport troops across the sea, but the Targaryens struck first.
An expeditionary force from the Seven Kingdoms, which included Barristan Selmy and Brynden Tully, drove the Golden Company from the Stepstones and the Disputed Lands; Barristan Selmy killed Maelys in single combat. It took the Golden Company years to recover from this defeat.
The reason Moqorro thought of this particular group was due to their tradition. The Golden Company keeps the gilded skulls of their commanders. Aegor Rivers, their first captain-general, on his deathbed, commanded that his skull be gilded and carried wherever the Golden Company went until they returned to Westeros to reclaim the kingdom.
His successors did the same, so now the mercenaries display a ring of gilded skulls on pikes, with Aegor Rivers' skull at the highest point in the center when they set up camp.
"This is the group my Lord showed me," Moqorro said, sitting by the fire to devise a plan. "But where could they be now?"
Moqorro remembered that the Golden Company had been tasked with reducing the numbers of the stone men.
"Where could mercenaries be offered large sums of money?" Moqorro asked himself. "The Free Cities, but which one needs help?"
Moqorro tried to recall the details of what he saw in the flames. His Lord, despite what others might say, provided all necessary information. However, not everyone can correctly interpret the visions shown by the Lord of Light.
"The dragon walking on the web... where is it headed?... West! Among all directions, the dragon was heading west."
Opening a map, Moqorro tried to determine which cities lay west of Volantis.
"Of all the cities that could afford the Golden Company... only Lys, Tyrosh, Myr, and Pentos come to mind. Given Lys's location, we can disregard it. That means I need to head to the Disputed Lands."
The Disputed Lands is a territory on the eastern continent of Essos, which, after the fall of Valyria, serves as a battleground for the Free Cities — primarily Myr, Tyrosh, and Lys.
The Disputed Lands were once subjected for a relatively long time during the Kingdom of the Three Daughters and the alliance that led to the War of the Ninepenny Kings.
Currently, wars in the Disputed Lands are mainly fought by mercenaries — known for their fickle loyalties. Among these mercenaries are noblemen from the Seven Kingdoms.
"I'm sure I can find people there who know who hired the Golden Company."
20 days later
Moqorro had been on the road to the Disputed Lands for three weeks, with his Lord constantly aiding him. No one tried to kill, rob, or otherwise hinder him. It seemed the Lord of Light had done something else to assist him in his search for Azor Ahai.
Moqorro encountered a group of traders who told him about recent events in Essos. For instance, Moqorro learned about the strange happenings in Myr that required the Golden Company's help.
Myr, a city on the western coast of Essos by the Myrthic Sea, is renowned for its craftsmen. Along with Lys and Tyrosh, Myr forms the triad known as the "Three Quarrelsome Daughters," which occasionally form alliances leading to the creation of the Triarchy or engage in bloody wars over the Disputed Lands.
Myr is a slave city, with three slaves for every free citizen, and many famous Myrish craftsmen were born slaves. Like neighboring cities, trade in Myr is more respected than warfare — it is a city of merchants, protected by high walls and the swords of mercenaries hired with gold.
The city governance in Myr is similar to Pentos: it is also ruled by elected magistrates. Being dangerously close to Dothraki lands, the city pays tribute to them to secure itself from external threats and focus on the Disputed Lands.
The reason for hiring the Golden Company was due to the theft of a group of craftsmen from Myr. Given how jealously Myr guards its secrets, such drastic actions were expected.
Myr produces spyglasses known as "Myrish lenses," as well as complex crossbows, textiles, sheets, lace, and carpets. This is not to mention pale green nectar wine and Myrish fire.
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