AN :
If we hit top 35 tomorrow, I will post another chapter ;)
In the Game of Stones, you either win or you wait. The more Power Stones you offer, the faster the chapters come.
...
( Septon Callrik POV )
The distant chirping of birds was drowned beneath the thundering of the Starry Sept's seven belltowers as the sun rose over the City of Oldtown, creating the tops of the Red Mountains far to the east to send brilliant shafts of light raining down through the spotty cloud cover. With each toll of the great bells, the air shook, calling each and every child of the oldest city in Westeros to rise for the new day.
Callrik was no different, though in truth he had found little respite these past two nights. Locked in his thoughts, his dreams had turned to the vision he had seen. Fires orange and green blazed in his dreams with lights and sounds unseen and unheard. Callrik had never had such vivid dreams before, nor had he seen such a vision as he'd found in the eyes of Callum Lannister.
Alas, he was not entirely sure what it meant. That was the difficulty with things like this. He believed the boy was blessed now. How could he not when so many things lined up for it to be so? But was the Gold Star Sept's interpretation of his blessing correct?
Ah, there was the rub. Just because there was something blessed, something supernatural about the child, that did not mean that one should leap to conclusions about exactly what that meant. His vision had, after all, been more than a little confusing. It was a puzzle, something to chip away at until he had a better understanding of what was truly going on.
In terms of the child's blessing, the smith was surely involved, but the boy looked more like the maiden, and it had been the Crone that had blessed him with the vision in the child's eyes.
Questioning the boy had revealed little else to go on, besides that he confirmed he could not explain where or how he received the knowledge of how to build his presses, and that he did consider it a holy mission to spread the Seven Pointed Star. It gave no special insight into his character or the character of the blessing he had received.
All he could say of the nervous boy was that he surely wasn't similarly blessed by the Warrior or the Father. He lacked that aura of confidence that great warriors or elder statesmen gave off. In fact he had spent the entire questioning looking increasingly uncomfortable. Not that he was to be blamed for that, blessed or not he was still a child.
Callrik had spent all day yesterday pondering what the vision he had seen meant for the matter. He had shared his vision with a few of his close confidants and discussed it with them, but they had all come to different conclusions regarding what the vision meant. The only parts they had agreed upon were that metalworking was clearly part of it.
The sounds of hammers on anvils, the fire and smoke, the wheel being reforged in iron, perhaps the boy was destined to perform some great feat of smithing, like rediscovering the secrets of Valyrian Steel, or making a new blade like Dawn, the sword of House Dayne. Borman and Septa Annette thought so, but that was where the agreements ended.
The city of Gold and the banner with the seven Pointed star was probably Lannisport, in Callrik's opinion, but Annette thought he might found a new city, and Borman thought it might be metaphorical and actually symbolize him hoisting the banner to the seven heavens. There was a similar debate regarding the crown of light and the ocean ablaze with fire. Whatever they meant, the boy was clearly special and had a destiny given to him by the seven.
On that, they could all agree, but nothing more, so now it was left to Callrik to figure out what to make of all this, what reply to send the Gold Star Sect, and whether to make a public announcement.
He rather hated that he didn't have more time to make such a weighty decision, but the blond boy would be leaving Old Town today once his convertees were confirmed in the light of the seven. While he could wait and make the announcement after the boy was gone, it would lessen its impact, so in a way that too would be a choice.
As he walked into the artificial evening of the central chamber, he made his decision.
The eight convertees were a motley bunch of foreigners. Six men and two women, two fat and one ugly, a brown-skinned summer Islander and a Lyseni woman that he had no doubt had once been a whore. Only two of them looked proper at all, the man in Braavosi garb and the plain woman with dark makeup around her eyes. The rest, he thought, looked like scoundrels.
He had to wonder where the Lannister boy had found them. Truly you could meet strange people in Dorne. The blond stood behind them, glancing up at the dome of stars above.
Still, while the eight before him were a mismatched bunch, the Lannister child had nonetheless persuaded each and every one of them to convert to the faith of the seven, to be confirmed in the saving light of Callrik's God. So he would treat them with respect, and not denigrate them despite their poor appearance. Callrik patted his chest and cleared his throat.
"Supplicants." his voice boomed through the hall, catching the attention of a few passing Septons and Septas, who paused to watch the ceremony. "You have come humbly into this sacred place to join the great fraternity of the holy. With Truth and love, I greet your coming, and with open arms, I welcome you, for all sons and daughters of men are saved when the seven hold them in their arms."
Conversions were fairly uncommon, mostly being associated with marriages between Andals and First Men families, but still frequent enough that Callrik could remember the words by heart. He gestured with his hand, "Come forth, each of you in turn, state your name and place your bread and salt upon the altar."
Callrik gestured first to the summer islander, who stood on the left side of the line, the dark-skinned man rose to his feet and approached the altar. In his left hand, a bowl of salt, in his right a loaf of bread. "My name is Xantri Molo," he spoke, bowing slightly to Callrik before moving to the altar. "With these gifts, I welcome the seven into my heart." his accent was thick and hard to parse, but they were the right words, and he placed his salt and bread on the altar before stepping back and returning to the line.
Next, the plain woman came forth "My name is Pella Biccadde, and with these gifts, I welcome the seven into my heart." in turn, she placed the bread and salt upon the offer and went back to the line, and the next one stepped up, and then the next after that.
"My name is Burrik Roth-
Lo'am Ducarys
Maela Losganu
Malek Bizmention
Nolo
Hashal Mo'Androsi, and with these gifts I welcome the seven into my heart." The strange skinny man with the olive skin murmured as he placed his gifts on the altar, before returning once more to the line. There were eight pairs of eyes turning to Callrik as he surveyed the lot of them.
"It is a wondrous day that you, humble supplicants have entered into this holy place and allowed the Seven-Faced God to enter your hearts, to raise your spirits and place them by his side in the heights of the heavens. May the Father's virtue flow upon your brows like wine and may the Mother watch over your path.
May the Crone's light shine where you walk even in dark places. May the Maiden's virtue settle around your shoulders like a cloak, and may the warrior's arm give you strength in times of hardship. May the smith guide your hand to make great works, and may the stranger guide you gently when you die." Callrik finished the proclamation his voice filling the hall thundering now.
"The Light of the Seven who are one shall shine from your hearts and from your minds, holy words shall be on your tongues and righteousness shall guide your hands. Go forth now, and do no wrong." Callrik took a moment to catch his breath, having finished the Confirmation, as it stood officially, the ceremony was over.
However, Callrik had a bit more to do, before any of them could stand, or the Septons and Septa's watching had a moment to return to their chores, Callrik raised his finger and fixed it squarely on the child that had brought these eight to be converted.
"Hold, one more soul will I speak of today." Callrik gestured with his hand. "Come here, boy."
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