"According to the message received four days ago, Cersei should have been forced by the Church to do the walk of atonement yesterday. What do you all think? Don't you feel the High Sparrow has gotten too arrogant?" said Dr. Weyland.
"She deserved it!" one of the scholars sneered.
"The supreme royal power earned through generations of Targaryen bloodshed and sacrifice was ruined in a day by that foolish woman. From now on, the Seven Kingdoms are bound to fall into a political conflict between royal and religious authority."
"I've never seen a woman more foolish than Cersei. If Daenerys were even half as stupid and reckless as her, we wouldn't be having such a hard time."
"It's strange, really. From Joffrey to Cersei, they're clearly Lannisters—so why do they both seem to have awakened the blood of the Mad King?"
The scholars continued their discussion, but none of them seemed particularly worried.
As long as there are still nobles in Westeros, the Citadel will never fall.
Who knows, perhaps in the future each High Septon will have a Maester assigned, and the Grand Septon, like the King, will be advised by a Grand Maester?
Chancellor Theobald spoke calmly, "Cersei is a thing of the past. King's Landing is now under Kevan's control. Grand Maester Pycelle also sent word—Cersei might be planning a marriage alliance with King Euron of the Iron Islands."
"King Euron? The one who claimed the Seastone Chair through the Kingsmoot, Balon Greyjoy's brother?"
Theobald nodded, hesitating slightly. "Euron may not be overly ambitious—at least, he's easier to deal with than King Balon. Since taking power, he's strictly reined in the Ironborn's piratical behavior.
Not only have the raids along the coasts of the Reach stopped, but Euron has even agreed to return the Shield Islands that were seized by Balon."
"When did the Ironborn become so reasonable?" The scholars were astonished.
"Could it be a trap?" Weyland asked anxiously.
"Heh, greed and treachery are in the Ironborn's nature. Do you think they'd change so easily?" Dr. Theobald sneered, then slowly explained, "It's complicated. First, the Ironborn don't have enough troops, yet their war front is spread too thin.
From Deepwood Motte in the North, to the Bay of Ice, to the Shield Islands, to the mouth of the Mander River, to Oldtown, to the Arbor—that's over 8,000 kilometers of coastline. If they don't make a strategic retreat, they'd truly be insane!"
"That makes sense. King Balon declared himself 'King of the Iron Islands and the North,' and Euron inherited that title. If Euron has any sense, he'll focus on consolidating the newly seized northern territories. Picking fights everywhere, like Balon did, is sheer madness." The scholars nodded thoughtfully.
The Chancellor reminded his colleagues, "Don't forget—the Arbor fleet led by Lord Redwyne is on its way back. If the Ironborn don't leave now, they won't get another chance to retreat.
Of course, if the Reach wants to buy back the Shield Islands, they'll have to pay a hefty sum in gold dragons."
"And finally, Euron was provoked by that woman," Theobald added with an odd look.
"Which woman?"
"Daenerys," the Chancellor replied with a low chuckle. "Euron was the first man to return alive from the ruins of Valyria. He acquired wealth rivaling a kingdom, even found a set of Valyrian steel armor, and a dragon egg."
Hiss— Everyone gasped in unison.
"Unfortunately, just after leaving the Storm Sea outside Valyria, he ran into Daenerys en route to Slaver's Bay. She looted him. That's how she got the funds to buy the Unsullied in Astapor."
Dr. Weyland's expression turned to disbelief. "I didn't expect such a grudge between them."
"Euron plans to form a 'Triple Alliance' with the Tyrells and Lannisters. They've already drafted some preliminary terms:
The Tyrells will pay ransom, and Euron will return the Shield Islands and swear never to invade the Reach again.
Cersei will marry Euron, and the Iron Fleet will swear loyalty to Tommen, becoming the new Royal Fleet to suppress Targaryen power on Dragonstone.
The Tyrells and Lannisters will help Euron seize one or more dragons from Daenerys."
"What? Chancellor, are you insane—seizing dragons from the Mother of Dragons?"
The scholars stared at Theobald as if he were Aerys, Joffrey, or Cersei.
"The specific method, Euron hasn't revealed. But he dared to swear by the Drowned God that he once had control over her white and green dragons. If he hadn't been too greedy, he would already be the Father of Dragons," the Chancellor said.
"Oh, well, if he swore by the Drowned God, it must be true," the scholars murmured in awe and suspicion.
Then excitement rippled through them again.
"A Triple Alliance—it really might work! The Dragon Queen—"
"I am the Light, I am—"Suddenly, as the scholars were immersed in joy, a deep, majestic, and powerful voice echoed from outside the window.
The Chancellor stood up furiously and shouted toward the window, "Which bastard is yelling out there, disturbing—ga-ga-ga! D-Dragon, demon dragon!"
The scholars' pupils shrank, their teeth chattered, and their faces turned as pale as corpses—the nightmares of the past had returned.
Crash— A massive shadow passed over the flowerbeds in front of the Chancellor's pavilion. Scholars and apprentices who had been basking in the sun on the lawn with books in hand looked up, stunned by what they saw.
"I am the firstborn of the Dragon Queen. I am the Great Heavenly Dragon, the Vanguard of Justice..."A lengthy string of titles spilled from the large black mouth—so many they couldn't even remember them.
At this moment, Daenerys had activated her "Mercy of the Buddha" mode. Like the toll of morning and evening bells, her voice shook not only the bodies but the very souls of the people of Oldtown and the scholars of the Citadel.
"A demon dragon... speaking? Seven above, I'm not hallucinating, am I?" Scholars, maesters, apprentices—even the commoners in the streets—stood in stunned disbelief, as if in a dream.
"Today, in this place, at this very hour, I am the Dragon of Judgment. In the name of the Father, I judge the Seven Deadly Sins of the Citadel!"
In the doctrine of the Faith of the Seven, the Father represents judgment and justice.
"The first sin: arrogance! Ignoring the reality of the world, shaping an imaginary 'real world' based on personal will alone." The deep voice of the Great Black rumbled as he once again explained the meaning of the "real world."
"What is the Citadel trying to do?" Most of the citizens of Oldtown were bewildered. A few who understood were utterly horrified.
"The second sin: envy! Magic is innate, and only a few are qualified to wield extraordinary power. The scholars of the Citadel, unable to practice magic or born with weak magical talent, grew envious of the royal bloodlines that held such noble power. They even ushered the entire human world into an age of declining magic.
Remember, it was only humanity that lost the power to protect itself through magic. The dark evil gods in the Land of Always Winter have always been stirring, never disappearing."
"The third sin: cruelty! The Dance of the Dragons lasted for over ten years, killing hundreds of thousands. All of it was the fault of the Citadel."
That was another thunderclap, nearly causing the people of Oldtown to faint. Were those skinny, frail scholars next door truly so formidable?
"Damn it, Perestan's sins are grave! He actually revealed the secrets of the 'real world' and the Dance of the Dragons to that woman," shouted a terrified and jealous Verin.
The Master Overseer saw stars, his mind blank, muttering incessantly, "Fake, fake, all fake. Perestan is fake, the real world is fake, the Dance of the Dragons is fake... It has nothing to do with the Citadel."
The Great Black ignored the crowd's reactions and continued: "The fourth sin: incompetence! The Citadel has existed for thousands of years, yet in astronomy, pathology, craftsmanship, economics, spiritual beliefs, and cultural customs across the Seven Kingdoms—there has been no progress.
Westeros a thousand years ago and Westeros today are nearly identical, aside from the people. If that's the case, what use are you?"
We may not have achievements, but we've worked hard!
Besides, the Free Cities next door seem to... Well, the Free Cities are indeed more advanced, but they inherited Valyria's superior industrial technology!
The scholars were deeply unsettled.
"The fifth sin: dereliction of duty! Long ago, signs of the White Walkers had already appeared beyond the Wall. Twenty years ago, even the Braavosi across the Narrow Sea knew about their presence near Hardhome.
The Sea Lord's younger brother even died in a mission to hunt the White Walkers.
In preparation for the coming Long Night, the Iron Bank secretly stockpiled food twice over the past twenty years, involving over a hundred million gold dragons.
And yet, the people of Westeros knew nothing. The Iron Throne knew nothing. The Citadel knew nothing.
Worse still, after receiving urgent reports from the Wall, the Citadel deliberately concealed information about the White Walkers, disregarding the safety of all people."
"What? White Walkers? Wasn't the history of the Long Night and the White Walkers all just a myth? That's what the scholars have always claimed!"
Just as the people of Oldtown were catching their breath, they were once again thrown into shock and confusion.
There's too much juicy news—too big, too much, too sweet to digest!
"The sixth sin: violation of guest rights! The Dragon Queen came to Oldtown under the alias 'Laila Waters' and participated in the tourney under the identity of the mysterious knight, Batman.
During this time, the Master admired her economic brilliance and invited her to the Citadel as a guest. But upon discovering her true identity, he poisoned her and attempted assassination. Hundreds of archers were also lying in wait to slaughter her dragons—me and my younger brother.
The great fire at the Citadel that day happened because of this."
"Seven save us... what has the Citadel done?!"
The people of Oldtown were on the verge of collapse. The holy dragon was revealing too much—too terrifying. They couldn't take it.
"The seventh sin: oath-breaking! The Citadel vowed to remain neutral. The Grand Maesters swore loyalty to the King. And yet, look what they have done!
From this day forward, I, on behalf of the Seven, abolish the Maesters' vows. If the vows sworn when a novice dons his chain cannot be upheld, then there is no need to maintain the pretense.
From this moment, I, on behalf of the Seven and the Dragon Queen, declare the end of all allegiance between Maesters and nobles.
Maesters will no longer wear grey robes, no longer wear chains, and there will no longer be distinctions between apprentices, Maesters, or Archmaesters. Nobles may still hire scholars, but scholars will no longer be Maesters.
From this very hour, the Citadel is disbanded. Westeros shall abolish the Maester system!"
"What? The Citadel is gone? The Maesters too?" The people of Oldtown erupted once again.
"Hey, is the dragon really telling the truth? Did the Citadel truly commit so many sins?"
"That's a holy dragon! The Great Divine Dragon! The Dragon of Judgment! Could he lie? And everything he said is well-argued and backed with facts—there's no refuting it."
"Yeah... everything the holy dragon said—if you think about it carefully, it's truly terrifying!"
"No—!" came the collective wail from the Citadel.
All across the Citadel, Maesters, Archmaesters, and apprentices alike seemed to have had their spines ripped out. Their bodies went limp, and they cried out to the heavens.
(End of Chapter)
Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon
https://patreon.com/Glimmer09