The sacred and solemn sept was not suitable for idle chatter. High Septon Matthew first led the monks and church knights to the adjacent lecture hall, and only then did he slowly recount the extraordinary experiences he had encountered over the past few hours.
"The Holy Mother cut her flesh to feed the eagle; the white dove shed its demonic nature and became holy."
Everyone present was nearly as shocked as old Matthew had been at the time, and they too gained their own insights.
However, there was still a layer of separation. Hearing the sermon secondhand could not compare to being there in person, just as watching a scene could never match experiencing it firsthand.
Their piety had greatly increased. Quite a few non-priest monks even condensed the Mark of the Holy Mother on the spot. Yet none experienced a transformation of the soul to become a divine priest.
Even so, seeing the faint golden glow flickering on the foreheads of many priests below, High Septon Matthew felt deeply gratified and sighed, "We should revise the Seven-Pointed Star. Not only should we add a preface, but we must also adjust the explanation of compassion in the chapter of the Holy Mother, so that all believers may understand her great spirit of boundless mercy in saving all living beings."
The monks all nodded in agreement.
After discussing the path of the Holy Mother's compassion for a while longer, High Septon Matthew finally spoke of his mission.
"Oh, right. During the Andal invasion… cough, the westward crossing of the Andals into Westeros, there was also a saint named Moses who has been forgotten by history. At the very least, we should write an appendix for him."
After the story of Saint Moses was told, it once again drew exclamations of amazement.
Before long, the history books of Westeros gained another king named Egypt, and a Saint Moses who saved twenty thousand followers of the Seven Gods.
Such is what history is, more or less.
"Now, a White Walker King even more terrifying than the King of Egypt is approaching. I will follow the example of Saint Moses and lead the people of King's Landing south to Storm's End. This is the mission entrusted to me by the Holy Mother," old Matthew declared with emotion.
Lancel suddenly remembered the message from the Dragon Queen and quickly took out the letter, handing it to the High Septon. "Stannis has not yet entered the city, yet he is already calling upon the lords of the Seven Kingdoms and nations across the world to come to King's Landing to resist the White Walkers.
The Dragon Queen believes the battle at King's Landing will be extremely brutal. She wants us to immediately arrange for ordinary monks and refugees to evacuate."
Ser Theodore Wells agreed, "I participated in the Battle of Winterfell. Leaving other things aside, the White Knife River outside Winterfell is no smaller than the Green Fork, yet it still froze over.
So the Neck and the Trident, which can block living armies, will be open ground to the White Walkers. A battle at King's Landing is unavoidable.
Unless the warriors of all Seven Kingdoms gather here, the defensive pressure on King's Landing will far exceed that of Winterfell. There is no helping it, the city is simply too large."
This middle-aged, burly man was the commander of the Sons of the Warrior, ranking even above Knight-Captain Lancel.
Matthew handed the letter to the archbishop beside him and said, "There is no doubt that the Holy Mother has also delivered divine revelation to His Holiness the Pope."
Lancel asked curiously, "Your Grace, earlier it seemed your soul left your body, and you even grew wings. What was that about?"
This question struck exactly where old Matthew most wished to elaborate. His spirit lifted, and he laughed heartily. "By the grace of the Holy Mother's teachings, I gained enlightenment. My soul ascended, achieving the body of an angel."
"What is an angelic body?" everyone asked in confusion.
Old Matthew smiled. "Before indulgences appeared, only saints could ascend to heaven. Above saints, however, lies an even higher realm. Guardian angels are the first rank above saints.
Ordinarily, one can only receive the Holy Mother's blessing after death, transforming a holy soul into an angel. But with the Long Night approaching and the world in peril, the Holy Mother has granted me the power of the heavens in advance."
Seeing that the others still looked confused, lacking a concrete understanding of angels, Matthew raised his hand to stop Theodore from asking further questions and said, "The power given to me by the Holy Mother is not for display. Just as I will not tell you that she has also taught me three forms of the 'Holy Mother Divine Palm.'
Nor will I publicly show off the overwhelming might of the Divine Palm and the angelic body."
Holy Mother Divine Palm? Overwhelming might?
The expressions of the monks and knights twisted slightly. If you had not said anything, we would not even know you had learned three techniques of the Divine Palm. Now that you have said it, our curiosity is even more unbearable, yet you stop halfway, leaving us hanging.
Then they heard High Septon Matthew continue, "The Holy Mother has tasked me with leading the people of King's Landing south. Yet I do not possess the prestige of Saint Moses. I must display divine power, so that the believers understand I am an angel of the Holy Mother."
That very evening, the great bells atop the seven towers of the sept rang out, their echoes spreading across all of King's Landing. Hundreds of thousands of citizens heard them.
The bells on the towers would only ring together on major occasions, such as the death or coronation of a king. With all seven bells tolling at once, it undoubtedly signaled something momentous.
For a time, Visenya's Hill became like a giant magnet, while all the citizens and believers of King's Landing were like rusted, numbed iron filings, clustering and surging toward the source of the bells.
In the Queen Dowager's Tower of the Red Keep, Cersei was also roused from her dazed stupor by the sound.
Inside the stone tower, there was only a wooden plank bed, making the nearly 150-square-meter room appear especially empty.
If Sansa were to come take a look, she might think she had gone to the wrong place.
Yet this was indeed the Queen Dowager's Tower, built by the cruel Maegor out of filial piety for his mother.
The Queen Dowager's Tower had the best natural environment in the Red Keep.
Open the window, and one would face the sea, where white egrets stretched into the blue sky and countless sails dotted the vast waters. Step onto the balcony, overlook King's Landing, and behold palace gates opening to the heavens as envoys from all nations bowed in homage.
The furnishings had once been extravagantly luxurious. The floors were covered with Myrish carpets soft as clouds, the walls hung with colorful tapestries depicting exotic landscapes, and summer island screens separated the tea room and bedroom near the balcony. Sandalwood tables and chairs were filled with exquisite golden and jade vessels like works of art.
Now, aside from a half-human-height statue of the Holy Mother that Cersei had once purchased and placed in a corner, everything else was gone.
The floor-to-ceiling doors leading to the balcony had been sealed with brick, and the windows facing the sea were nailed shut with wooden boards.
This was Euron's doing. He claimed it was to protect his wife. Cersei believed it was to torment her. At most, others thought Euron feared she might not endure ascetic hardship and throw herself off the tower.
In truth, Euron was telling the truth.
Before the Battle of Winterfell, Arya had been spying on Cersei in King's Landing for several months.
Carpets, screens, tapestries, all furniture and decorations had been cleared away. Even the feather bedding had been replaced with straw mats and coarse linen sheets.
The dark, cold stone chamber was filled with the stench of fermented waste.
"The sept bells are ringing. Why?" The greasy, blackened straw-stuffed quilt was thrown aside, revealing a head of tangled hair like a heap of dry grass. On the dirty, bruised, withered face, one could still vaguely discern traces of a once-peerless beauty.
She blinked and listened carefully. Once she confirmed it was the seven bells of the sept, she suddenly seemed to find strength from nowhere, throwing off the heavy, moldy blanket and transforming from a curled-up shrimp into a wildly thrashing crab.
Waving her stick-like arms, she stamped and shouted, "Someone! Someone! Tell me what's happening outside! Has that bastard Euron seized the throne and crowned himself the Eunuch King?"
No one responded.
Undeterred, Cersei wrapped herself in an old sheepskin coat and hurried to the door, pounding hard on the thick oak door, solid as the wall of the world.
Beyond the door was another world.
"You just had dinner and still won't sleep. Are you howling for White Walkers?" came the stern voice of an old woman from outside.
"Sister Moelle, why are the sept bells ringing? Has Euron usurped the throne? How can you allow an evil heretic to become king?" Cersei cried out repeatedly.
With a clatter, a small window about twenty centimeters wide opened at the top of the door, letting in dim yellow light mixed with the pungent smell of kerosene smoke.
A sharp, axe-like old face blocked most of the light.
"Euron has not seized your throne. Go back to sleep," the old nun said coldly.
Hearing this, Cersei let out a long sigh of relief.
On her pale, dirty little face appeared a peaceful smile, like that of a rural wife watching her husband return home with cattle at sunset.
The anger in her heart faded, and her body quickly felt the chill of the Long Night. Shivering, she asked, "What's happening outside?"
"I would like to know as well," Sister Moelle replied impatiently.
"You're the only one here? Have the others all gone to the Great Sept? In that case, keep me company. Let's chat to pass the time, and later we can ask Sister Alantine about what happened at the sept," Cersei said with a humble smile like a servant.
The old nun outside moved her face away and remained silent, but she did not close the window. The warm yellow light shone in again, and Cersei leaned closer, greedily absorbing its brightness and heat.
"Have the White Walkers reached King's Landing?" Cersei asked expectantly.
If the White Walkers besieged the city, Euron would have to defend the walls. And if he encountered them…
"Heh, heh, heh…" Thinking of something delightful, Cersei could not help but grin, her dry lips cracking like a sun-dried orange peel.
"What are you laughing at?"
The sudden, eerie laughter startled the old woman outside.
Cersei stopped laughing and said, "What major news has there been in Westeros recently? Tell me. I am only undergoing fasting and penance, not joining the Silent Sisters. Even they can hear news from outside, can't they?"
"The Faith only requires you to repent and atone. It has not blocked your access to information. As long as it is not prayer time, your husband and the Lord Steward can visit you at any time. You can ask them," Sister Moelle said.
Cersei touched the bruises on her face and gritted her teeth. "Are you pretending to be foolish? Can't you see they have already betrayed me?
Euron used the Faith to bind me and seize the power of the queen.
And you claim to be servants of the Seven, yet you help an evil heretic torment the Holy Mother's lamb."
"You murdered the High Sparrow, then voluntarily chose ascetic penance to atone before the Holy Mother. The Faith only supervises your fulfillment of that vow and does not interfere in the power struggles of the Seven Kingdoms.
Euron is your lawful husband. Lady Tania is the Lord Steward you personally appointed. Even the commander of the Red Keep guards was chosen by you.
Aside from ensuring you repent on schedule, when has the Faith interfered in any internal affairs of the Red Keep?" the sharp-chinned nun said harshly.
Cersei was left speechless.
Though the old nun was detestable, not a single word she said was wrong. In this game of power, the Faith had not interfered at all.
It was only because she had sworn a sacred oath before the rioting citizens of King's Landing and the Sparrows to atone for the High Sparrow's death with five years of ascetic penance that the Faith had sent people to ensure she fulfilled her vow.
"It was Euron! He brought in the wyvern mercenaries! He suggested using wyvern riders to kill the High Sparrow and make them take the blame!
It was also him who made me swear that oath and forced me into penance! It's all his fault. He is plotting against me!" Cersei wailed.
(End of Chapter)
Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon
https://patreon.com/Glimmer09