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123 AC, Naath
"What is more important is your answer. Why do you think I brought you to Naath?" It took all of Baela's self-control to stop herself from throttling the sorcerer before her in frustration at ignoring what they had just experienced in favour of this stupid question.
Baela had a hard time understanding how Harry Potter's mind worked. Every word he spoke made the world feel madder in some way, or perhaps that was what he wished, to punish her by turning her world insane. A part of her was still completely shellshocked at the fact that she had spoken to a god and that he had answered back.
And yet, despite the extraordinary experience, the young girl still did not understand the sorcerer's motivation for coming there, bar asking seemingly random questions. For one, the man had travelled to Naath to speak to a god about ancient history of all things, about what happened before most gods had even been born, something that, in her opinion, while interesting, was quite useless.
Who did that? Who risked the wrath of a god over ancient history?
Yet, despite the ludicrousness of the situation, she knew that the man was brilliant and dangerous. Even the Lord of Harmony was wary of him, speaking to him as an equal, if that wasn't a sign, she didn't know what could be. There must have been a deeper reason for everything that happened, but Baela had no idea where to start deciphering it.
Seven hells, why did he even ask Baela to try to read into his mind in the first place?
A detail niggled into her mind, and she decided to change the subject, "He called you the Lord of Space and Time."
The sorcerer snickered for a few seconds, "That is an old title of mine, one that seems to have travelled with me here. I have spent much of my youth trying to understand these two concepts, likely more than most would ever realise. It's amusing that a title could be so powerful and yet others be as meaningless as a drop of rain on an ocean. But as interesting as this is, you still didn't answer my question, did you?"
Baela gritted her teeth at that answer and confessed, "I don't know. Is it some kind of punishment or a way to tell me to be kind?"
"Oh, this isn't about sentiment, and I'm not telling you to do anything. Perhaps I am being a bit too subtle with this."
He snapped his finger, and Baela found herself on top of a hill, which looked down to the small clearing near the caves, where they met the Naathi. The sudden shift in altitude and ground almost made her trip, but the man easily stopped her.
She let out a small growl, which made his lips twitch upwards, so she stopped herself from complaining. Instead, she followed his gaze, which was looking at the gathering of Naathi below him, "What do you see when you look at them?"
Baela gave him a questioning look, wishing to give a petulant answer, but for the first time, the sorcerer looked completely serious, with his smile entirely absent from his face. Instead, she looked upon the villagers who seemed to eat fruit in comfort, the other children playing around, and she couldn't help but mutter, "They're happy."
"They are," Lord Harry agreed, "Do you think they would be happier outside of the islands?"
She looked at the kind people below and couldn't help but imagine one of them in Pentos or on Dragonstone. Baela shook her head sadly, "They wouldn't last a week outside."
"I didn't say whether they would survive or not, I asked if they were happier," the sorcerer corrected without any heat or admonishment in his voice.
That statement made her freeze. She had expected him to agree or perhaps even reprimand her pessimistic view, but not this. And so, she replied with an answer that she felt that she repeated far too many times, "I don't know."
"That's the right answer. We don't know, and we will likely never know. This island is what many would consider a paradise, aside from the few slave raids that happen, of course. There are no natural predators to humanity, and so weapons aren't needed to defend each other. Fruits are plentiful, so they never needed to hunt. Even the butterflies protect them from the outside world completely. The people here have never had to suffer and are able to live in peace among one another. They are content, but are they happy?"
Baela did not say anything. She did not know what to say, and the man continued, "It's funny, isn't it? How difficult such a simple question is. People chase happiness all their lives, wish to truly want for nothing, to feel safe, to not worry if their kids will be hungry, and to feel protected. These people have it all. A life without adversity, without struggle, even the protection of a kind god."
Baela stayed quiet for a while, her gaze still on the Naathi villagers. She didn't know how to answer him. How could she? She didn't live their lives. She didn't grow up in peace, protected by butterflies and gods. She didn't know what it meant to never be afraid.
But that wasn't true, was it?
Baela remembered her time with the Naathi girls, and while slightly more cheerful than she was used to, they seemed like normal people, just as capable of being sad or happy.
She had empathised with that. She remembered the happy times she shared with her sister, before the guilt had tainted it all, the happiness they had with their mother, before the agony they felt when the world had taken her away. Everyone looked at her and her sister and saw the daughters of the two most powerful houses in Westeros. They saw the dragons, the beautiful dresses and jewellery, without knowing a single thing about either of them, what they had gained and what they had lost.
Lord Harry was doing the same to the Naathi, and for some reason, that made her far angrier than she should have been. "And who are you to judge them? You barely even know them, and yet, you decided to paint them all with the same brush, as if there was nothing to them but them being Naathi. People are more complicated than that!"
Baela paled after finishing her rant, half-expecting Lord Harry to yell at her or something. What she did not expect was to see a soft smile on his face and have him ruffle her hair, "You're exactly right, Baela."
He didn't say anything else, not a single word. He just turned towards the small settlement and waved his hand. Butterflies started to fly upwards, rising above the island's gigantic trees, and she didn't know how she knew this, but she could feel the Lord of Harmony's gaze on them. She felt like she was on a stage or being observed, aside from the display of magic, of course.
Lord Harry moved his arm in a circle, and the butterflies followed like a colourful swarm. A few of them even released faint golden trails that lit up the sky. The sorcerer's spinning arm intensified, and the circling of butterflies and golden light followed their speed.
Soon enough, she couldn't even see the butterflies anymore, just golden light turning, creating a glowing dome in the air, becoming large enough to envelop the entire island. The wind picked up, like that of a storm. She could see the Naathi people running to the caves, hoping to find shelter from the sudden onslaught. A few brave ones seemed completely transfixed by the golden light surrounding them.
Slowly, she could make up shapes in the light, which slowly became more distinct, like strange symbols. They seemed to be shifting at first, before slowly coalescing into similar shapes, like creating a new language, whose letters Baela felt like she could tell them apart from one another. At least she did until the spinning suddenly stopped completely, and the dome of glowing symbols shrank down towards Lord Harry's hands, condensing into a small ball of glowing light that blinded her. And yet, the sorcerer's green eyes glowed with enough power to be distinct in the light of the golden ball.
The sorcerer smirked and muttered, "Let there be light!"
And just like that, the ball exploded upwards, morphing to a gigantic golden butterfly, flying over the island, showing it and its surroundings with small particles of gold, before dissipating as it flew across the sea, circling the island, turning into a gigantic field of mist in the distance that surrounded the entire island.
She couldn't help but gape at the display of power and beauty. She had always thought that magic was more related to blood and flesh. She never expected it to be so beautiful. The sorcerer seemed impressed with his work as well, given that he let out an approving whistle, "Well, that was trickier than I was expecting. I never really played with the divine energy of a god, not while he was still alive, of course."
"What did you do?" Baela asked, unable to contain her curiosity.
"Oh, nothing much. I used some of the divine magic that the Lord of Harmony used on his protectors, the butterflies, and the mist around them. It should hide the island from being found and confuse whoever is inside. And in the event that someone is being stubborn, I imprinted a few of the butterflies' essences into the mist, so no one should really survive the trip while they're lost inside, let alone survive the way back. And everyone born under the island, the golden light, should be protected, much like he had. I have to admit that I wanted to fit more into the protections, but there is only so much I can do with a god's power, especially one like the Lord of Harmony."
"Why not?"
"The Lord of Harmony is not a god of violence. His very nature is that of peace and kindness, and he is bound by this existence, no matter how powerful he is. It's already impressive that he has managed to create the butterflies. If I had to guess, there was a shift in faith that changed him into the god he is now, but the locals' faith in the butterflies as their protectors maintained his control over them. It's why he had even asked for my help in the first place. He is far more limited than he should be, especially as a 'Creator God'. I could never use his divine essence to make traps that would kill people or burn them, but misdirection is another story. To be honest, I was barely able to add the concept of the butterflies into the mist, to make it deadly enough to act as a suitable protection. For the protections to last, it needed to be tied to the island's god, and this should also not interfere with their faith too much."
Baela didn't understand most of what Lord Harry said. She thought that he couldn't create harmful protections because the god whose magic he used for the spell was too kind for it, and that he put the butterflies in the mist somehow.
The young girl shook her head. She didn't know how magic worked, and even if it looked pretty, it sounded very complicated and dangerous. Still, she had a question she wished to ask him, "How could mist interfere in their faith?"
Lord Harry didn't answer and just looked down at the Naathi people. She saw them looking in awe at the golden mist before them, some of them even kneeling in worship at it, "That's wrong. This was just a spell, wasn't it?"
"Do you think that this would have had a different reaction should this happen in King's Landing or Oldtown? Would the people not kneel and call it a gift from the gods? Would you not think the same as they were if you hadn't been there and seen me perform that magic?"
Baela found herself unable to refute his statement and looked away, and the sorcerer continued, "People often attribute what they don't understand to some kind of divine will, even when it's not. Soon, the Naathi will speak of this day, of the giant golden butterfly, servant of the Lord of Harmony, that created the sea of mist around the island, all to protect them from the dangers of the outside world. And over the years, that faith will make that a reality, and give more power to the Lord of Harmony."
The young girl remembered something that the man had said earlier: "Faith is a very powerful force."
"It is indeed. This is a nice little gift of mine, since he has been so helpful with his answers. Trust me, as far as exchanges with gods go, this is one of the better ones I've had, even if I disagree with what he turned his people into, but there's no changing that anymore. You were right, earlier; the Naathi would likely not survive anywhere else without his protection. Do you think you'd be happy here with them on Naath?"
Despite feeling slightly envious of their lives, it took Baela very little to shake her head, "I don't think so."
"Why is that? A life without worries seems nice, doesn't it?"
Baela shook her head, "I don't think that they live perfect lives."
"Ah, what was it that you said earlier, that people were more complicated than a simple description?"
"Exactly," Baela nodded, expecting the man to argue with her, like he had for most of their conversation, "And you agreed."
"I do still agree. The world is complicated, and people have hidden depths, including the Naathi. I do not wish to argue with you, only to ask why you do not give yourself the same privilege."
The young girl completely froze at that, not truly knowing how to respond to that, "I don't understand."
"I think that you do, but I'll clarify. Ever since you attacked me and my wife in our home, you have only thought of yourself as the girl who tried to do that terrible deed."
Baela shrank into herself, and the guilt that she had forgotten about during her trip returned much like she had before, "I almost killed you. I almost killed Lady Daphne and burned down your home."
"Oh, honey. You've seen a fragment of what I can do today. Do you seriously think that you could have done anything to hurt me?"
"I didn't know that. I just cared about being angry."
She could feel her eyes burn in tears, and he spoke up, "You did. You let your anger take control of you. What you tried to do was a terrible and cruel thing. And you're right in many ways, you are an emotional and reckless girl, one driven by her temper… but that's not all you are."
Baela blinked.
Lord Harry's voice didn't change. He wasn't trying to comfort her. He was simply stating a fact, "You are more than that. You're brave, passionate, kind, and love your family intensely. What you did was horrible and dangerous, but I think that you will remember that fact for the rest of your days, and you will be better for it. You will never use your dragon so recklessly again. You will think twice every time you command Moondancer to burn anyone, and you will always be watchful of your rage so that it doesn't happen again. To me, that is far better than any punishment you could ever do."
The young girl could feel herself tearing up and practically leapt to hug Lord Harry, who softly patted her head, "Remember what the Lord of Harmony said. Know Thyself and you shall know peace. You were so focused on feeling guilty about what could have been that you're forgetting what will be. You will make mistakes in the future, and learning from them is how you will grow into the woman you are meant to be. Never stifle who you are, accept it, and control it, and if you need me to say it, then I will. I forgive you, Baela."
Baela's hold on the sorcerer tightened, and she realised that she was sobbing. She didn't know how long she had cried for. It wasn't loud, but her shoulders shook with each breath she took. Lord Harry didn't push her away and just stayed there, patting her head.
Eventually, she stepped back and wiped at her face, ashamed of her reaction, but there was no doubt that she felt lighter in a way that she hadn't since before that fateful day. When she looked around, she couldn't help but blink as she noticed that they were back in front of the manse in Dragonstone, "You brought us back?"
He simply nodded with an amused glint in his eyes, "Well, we achieved everything we needed in Naath, don't you think?"
Baela couldn't help but glare at him, even if she didn't really mean it, and her lips were twitching in amusement, "You could have just told me."
"Oh, but where is the fun in that. And you have been somewhere that very few have ever had the privilege of going, not even your grandfather."
She couldn't help but grin at the comparison, but still stared at the manse. The man softly knelt down to face her, "Come on. Your family is probably worried. Do you think you can come back?"
She slowly nodded, and they walked side by side to the entrance, and this time, she didn't feel out of place. She could hear her family as she stepped through the door; she couldn't help but feel that everything would be alright.
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AN: This was trickier to write than I expected. I wanted more character development for Baela, and I wanted to use Naath to help with that, showing her both the good and bad things there as well. I thought about making it lean more towards the fact that they live in a semi-perfect society that they never tried to progress, since they're never pushed to do so, but I decided not to, but it didn't feel as fitting as this. As usual, please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.
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If you want to support me, check out my patréon at https://www.patréon.com/athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions on them, so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.