Chapter 35
Five days has passed since they found Auron with the dead bodies of Windblown company.
At this time, Auron was still sleeping while Aidana was by his side taking care of him.
His name spread once more but not for songs and stories. Rather for what he did to one of the most popular sellsword company in Essos. It was so unbelievable that a few couldn't help but doubt the authenticity until they saw a former Windblown sellsword confirming the epic deeds of the Storyteller.
Because of the five ex-Windblown soldiers. The story of how it happened began to circulate from villages to cities. Some of it even became exaggerated hailing Auron with many titles. Some of them called him the god of war, some say he use magic, but the most prominent among his titles were The Herald of Death and Army Slayer.
As these titles about him spread, he garnered respect and fear among the citizens. Not only that, his name and title were carried by the ravens as his existence became more legendary when the news landed in Westeros.
--
Meanwhile, Auron was in a deep sleep. Aidana was worried about him entering that state after they returned from the Windblown's camp.
It's as if his body shut down from stress. If not for his steady breathing, they would think he's already dead. But what they didn't know was that, Auron was having a conversation with an unexpected individual in his dream.
Right after he fell unconscious, he felt like he was sent to a far away place. He was aware that he was dreaming but he couldn't wake up.
In his dream, he was walking into a place where fog was thick. It was so thick that he couldn't see what's ahead but he still continue walking forward or rather, he wasn't able to control his body and it was just moving forward.
Finally, he came to a place that looks like a ruins of a palace. There he saw fallen columns on the floor. Pieces of rocks scattered and it appears like a temple.
He stopped outside the temple, then he was able regain the control of his body once more. He tried to peer through inside but it was pitch black and the thick fog isn't helping.
"Come."
He suddenly heard a voice of a woman from inside the temple. The voice has a calming effect on him, though the tone was commanding, it's still pleasant to the ears.
Without any choice, he went in and braced himself for any unexpected situation. No ambush came but it was dark inside. He suddenly saw a light at the end of the corridor walking towards it.
When he came in to the room where the source of light is coming from, he saw a circular space and the center was semi-hallowed. It appears to be an amphitheater. He walk onto the edge and peered down the source of light. It was a single candle but it's burning brightly. Just as when he thought it was just a single candle, it turned out to be a group of thousands of candles. However, they were snuffed out except for that single candle. It was then that he realized it was an altar.
In front of the altar was a majestic lady with a graceful build. She had a dark hair that was braided beautifully, olive complexion and she stood there emanating a very faint aura and authority.
He couldn't help himself to be drawn towards her in the altar so he walk towards the lady slowly.
When he was close enough, he heard the lady speak.
"I have been wanting to meet you, Traveler."
Then the lady gracefully turned around to face him.
Auron was stunned because her beauty cannot be described by words alone. She had a stern face and unsmiling lustrous lips. When he look into her eyes, he noticed that they are gray and they were so clear that it seems she could see through his thoughts with just a glance. He silently admitted to himself that she was the most beautiful girl he has ever seen even in his past life.
"I appreciate the compliment but we have no time, I can only appear in front of you through dreams, at least for now."
"You can read my thoughts?"
"Your expression sells you out. Anyway, you may have already guessed my identity but it seems proper introduction is must, wouldn't you say so?"
"I-I guess..? Allow me to start then my lady. I am Auron Blackfyre, first of his name, a descendant of the Targaryen line albeit a very distant."
"I know who you are and I know that was not your original name. Both of us came from the same world. You have traveled this far and accepted your new identity so I guess I should honor it and I will address you as such."
Auron bowed and said "Thank you my lady. Can we skip the formality?"
The lady raised her brows but she agreed.
"Very well."
"So how come you can appear in my dream?"
"Going straight to the topic, are we? I like that. I like talking to intelligent people." The laid said.
Then she continued.
"You know that my domain wasn't originally here, right? My domain is in the dimension where both you and me came from. Originally, I don't have any authority here in this dimension that's why my power was weak and I can't manifest in physical form to aid you. Do you see that candle?" The lady pointed out to the candle that was burning brightly.
Auron looked at it and nodded.
"The flame in each candle represents faith. The candles that are burning with flame means they have a strong devotion and faith towards me. I was able to come into this dimension because someone started praying to me."
Auron frowned and then a realization came in. He subconsciously muttered, "Marlena."
"Yes, she started praying to me asking for guidance and protection. I don't know how you were able to make her believe to a god that wasn't known well in this world."
Auron was dumbfounded, he never thought that a bluff he just made turned to something unbelievable.
"Ahhhh uhmm..about that, I gotta be honest with you, I just made up something I thought would never exist. I thought you can't come here that's why I casually lied to her that I am your champion and the knowledge I gave her was from you."
The lady nodded in understanding and said, "If that is the case, I will grant your wish to become my champion. Let's make it true then."
"Wait.. Wai--"
"I will give you three gifts as my champion and for bringing my religion to this world."
When Auron heard gifts, he immediately shut his mouth from protesting.
The lady wave her hand towards Auron before speaking.
"The first blessing, the dominion over my sacred animal. They will abide by your wishes and come to your aid whenever you wish to."
She waved her hand once again and said, "For the second blessing, I will enhance your existing gift of power to possess the mind of anyone you wish to, be it a person or animal."
Waving her hand for a third time, she said, "You as my champion will be granted intuitive aptitude to anything battle related you remember from your past life."
A/N: It means he can do those kung fu moves instantly right after he remember them. It might seem redundant with his extraction ability but it's not. No one in Game of Thrones knew, karate, jujitsu and whatnot. Also, battle related includes tactics and art of war. It doesn't include how to make guns and bombs because it's Hephaestus domain and I don't plan to include him. Another limiter was the word 'remember'. I don't want Auron to be so overpowered that he can turn the world upside down in an instant. It won't be fun anymore if I do that and it's not my cup of tea.
After granting her three gifts, she suddenly looked exhausted and Auron didn't know if he was just hallucinating or not, but she turned transparent for a second.
"Are you okay, my Lady?"
"Sigh, I am. These gifts will take effect the moment you woke up from your sleep. I must warn you though, you must be careful, my power here is weak and I can't save you if you encounter anything beyond your capability."
"Huh? Beyond my capability? What do you mean?"
"Since the laws of this dimension allowed you in, it means it needs help from external factors. There is a reason why you are here. It may be facing something far more dangerous than the original threat. Gather your strength fast. I cannot tell you more."
"Not even a clue? Sigh, I guess I'll just have to figure it out when the time comes. By the way, do you know about the rings since the power it give seems somewhat related to your domain?"
"What rings? Can you show me?"
"I'm surprised you are unaware of something. Well, it's this rings. I hope you can check them for me."
Auron took off his rings and offered them for the lady to see.
She examined the rings and she seemed fascinated by them.
"I do not recognize these rings. They don't emit a divine power so I'm sure it didn't belong to any god. The energy it emits was a higher form of energy. It seems to be formed by the laws themselves."
She muttered her words as her gray eyes scan the rings and it's complexity. Then she gave the rings back to Auron.
"It seems the you are getting all the help that you can get."
"That's what I thought as well. But I don't know what for."
"There's a time for everything. You will eventually know what you need to know when the right time comes. I don't have much time, my champion. If you can spread my faith, perhaps we will meet again."
"I will, my Lady. Praise be to you, Athena, O Goddess of Wisdom and Warfare." Auron bowed and everything vanished in an instant waking him from a deep sleep.