Chapter 76: R'hllor
Alexander stood outside the Red temple of R'hllor in Asshai. It was a beautiful city now, the sun was shining, the buildings were white. Though the streets were still empty.
He slowly walked and entered the temple. He was surprised by all the red color everywhere. The floor, walls, ceiling, furniture, curtains. They were all red.
~They sure have a weird fetish.~
"For the night is dark and full of terror, welcome to the shelter of great R'hllor." A priest came to greet him.
Alexander quickly but grudgingly looked in their minds and he was more than disgusted by what he found.
All the red color he saw around him was made by the use of blood. The blood of the people they sacrificed.
Now, he was facing a dilemma. He couldn't deal with them as he did with the House of Undying. The faith of the lord of light was spread throughout Essos. There were thousands, if not millions, of followers. Even if he killed all the priests, he can't just kill all the worshippers too. So, he needed to improvise and overcome. And even is he killed R'hllor, another demon would take his place someday if God's equilibrium theory was to be believed.
He looked around and only saw one guy, he made the guy fall unconscious and then called out loudly.
"R'hllor, come down here or else I'll tell father," He threatened.
He waited but nothing happened."I will only count to 5. After that, only death will be there for you. 5...4...3...2..."
"WHAT DO YOU WANT, GOD-SON" An angry voice came from behind him.
He turned around and saw a flaming humanoid thing, it had claw-like hands and not a very complete body as most of it was fire. It also had burning horns and wings. Anyone in their right mind could not associate that image with a god.
[You can see the image of the R'hllor on Illustration channel of my Discord - .gg/DgHkrAn
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"I want you to stop burning people and showing prophecies. Tell your priests to do the same." Alexander straight away got to the point.
"And why would I do that?" R'hllor retorted.
"Well, okay then. I'll let father to deal with you. I'm sure he'll just erase you. Or maybe take away your powers and turn you back to a small-time demon. Fath..."
"Wait... Okay... I will stop the sacrifices. They were just for my entertainment anyway. However, I can not stop giving prophecies. I must use my powers in some way to sustain myself." R'hllor said.
"Hmmm... Then why don't you show prophecies to animals that cannot comprehend them? Like rats, cows, fish." He suggested.
"I can agree with that. It's better than just dying." R'hllor said, now having lost all his angry personality. But deep inside, who knew what he was planning?
"Okay, you can go now and tell your priests to spread your word of no human sacrifices. Though murderers and r*pists should still be punishable and your priests have been doing that in a violent way. Just tell them to hang or behead the evil men." Alexander said.
R'hllor nodded and left. Alexander then cast a massive curse on the position of Red Priest. If any of them commit evil, they will die of some disease. He also accio some of the evilest red priests who just liked to kill and punished people.
After that, he went back to Dobby to tell him about the situation and then leave for Valyria.
...
Highgarden, Reach.
*TING* A steel plate banged straight into Mace's face.
"You stupid oaf, I am going to kill you today. You have doomed our house. What the hell were you thinking you fat burden on the earth. Who told you to betroth Margaery and Joffrey?" Oleena roared in a fit of rage.
"Mother, our Margaery will be queen someday. Someone with Tyrell blood will become the King of seven kingdoms someday. Just imagine." Mace said, starting to drool at the idea.
"Tell me, who asked you for the betrothal?" Oleena asked.
"Oh, I received a request from Lord Tywin and Queen Cercei." He proudly said.
"I read that letter, they didn't request it. They ordered you, like a little child. And tell me, does Lord Tywin and Cercei have the authority of the King? Can they decide the future wife of the toddler crown prince?" She asked.
"Why not? Queen Cercei is the mother of Joffrey and Lord Tywin is the head of the richest house in Westeros. He also finances the crown with money," Mace proudly replied.
"Don't tell me you haven't read my reports." She looked horrified.
~Lord Stark was right. This fat excuse of a Lord will ruin this great House. I must tell Willas to quicken his studies.~ she thought to herself.
"Oh those, I-I was planning on reading them later" he stuttered.
"May the seven give you some brain. Tywin has no authority in King's Landing or on the King anymore. Lord Stark changed that when he went to King's Landing the last time. He publicly berated House Lannister. He publicly berated the Queen. And there's still been no retaliation from Lord Tywin. You know why? Because Lannisters aren't the wealthiest anymore. We are not the strongest anymore. It's the North.
Robert has also reconciled with Lord Stark and now receives help from House Stark. The betrothal they set up was so the Lannisters could garner support from us in the battle against house Stark if it came to that. You just got used like a pawn." Oleena snarled at him.
"Come on, mother. The North can't be like that. I am sure things are exaggerated in the newspaper. It's published by the North after all." Mace retorted.
"It was me who went to the North. Not you. I saw everything, and believe me, the newspaper is downplaying the strength of Lord Stark and the North. Now go and send a raven to both, the Queen and Lord Tywin." She said while rubbing her head.
...
The appearance of Alexander in the world had changed nearly everything. He had made the North too strong and also, the Northern lords loved him. He gave them methods of making money, a place to sell their goods, and a great army that can protect them on both land and water. Better ways to make roads, better-trained blacksmiths, and masons to build bigger castles.
The Smallfolkes loved him too. A stable and healthy tax rate. Job for all. Schools for children, no matter noble or not. An abundance of food, clothes, and warm houses. Beautiful cities and beautiful music too(the public radio connected with speakers throughout the city.) They now have amazing places called hospitals too. They could also take something called general health insurance from the Iron Bank. All made possible because of the great Lord Stark.
But, the world was like a coin. It always has 2 sides. If there were people who loved him. There were also people who hated him. One of them was Roose Bolton.
He was now one of the poorest houses in the North. There were less and less smallfolks working in mines and fields every day as they left for the lands of other Lords. He couldn't even force them due to fear of being caught by the Northern Police, run by those scary Wolf's sword.
He saw no way of dealing with house Stark, but no more. He had found some allies in the south and it was time to make a move. He also knew where to find more allies. After all, the Starks were too rich now and even if he divided their money, it would be a lot.
Greed always sways people. It doesn't matter if they are family or foes. Money moves all.
...
Moat Cailin,
The great castle stood tall with its towers. The Moat city now had a population of 300,000. But it didn't look crowded or dirty. All because of the amazing planning. It had become another hub for economic activities as ships used the Great Moat Canal to travel to and from the Narrow Sea and the Sunset Sea.
Ned stood in front of a closed door. On the other side of the door was his wife. Giving birth to his 2nd born. In his arms was Robb. His son was the only child in the castle so many times the boy felt lonely. But thanks to the constant gifts and visits from Alexander, the loneliness decreased a bit.
*Door Opens*
"My lord, it's a girl. A beautiful girl," the midwife announced.
Ned rushed into the room and saw his wife holding the little babe.
"She's beautiful, Ned." Catelyn warmly said.
"Aye, she is. What should we name her?" He asked.
"Sansa... Sansa Stark," she happily declared.
"A beautiful name it is" Ned slowly held the babe in his arms.
"You must be tired, Cat. I'll leave you to rest. Let's go Robb" Ned left the room.
One by one, the midwives also started to leave. But the last one dropped a parchment near Catelyn before leaving. She picked it up and read it. It was from her father. After she read its content, her face lost its color. Even in that condition, she got up and burnt the letter in the fireplace.
But those words in the letter did attach themselves to her mind. She had a big decision to make now.
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