Chapter 029 – Devout

[289 AC]

It was an outrageous amount of money and that was in addition to being knighted by the King himself, along with gaining land. This was essentially lifting the priest into nobility and quite far up at that.

And yet, Thoros looked on stoically.

Seemingly not moved by the great reward, while the rest of the hall fell into quiet murmurs and whispers waiting for his reaction to such a great gift.

A few years back, the priest may have been greatly tempted by such things, but after meeting Phenex and serving under him. Enacting his will by traveling to Braavos and seeing him force the most powerful Free City to its knees with a simple swing of his sword, before going to King's Landing and being part of the court for more than two years, his mindset had greatly changed.

He had only realized the true greatness of his Lord after leaving his side. Truly he did.

Thoros was a man that loved indulging in women and drink, but the amount of debauchery and perversion he had seen in the capital, along with poverty and injustice, had quickly disillusionised him of such a lifestyle.

He, of course, still laid with women and drunk on the occasion, but he took care to do so in moderation, having no ambition to fall into depravity, like the King so regularly did.

Instead he spent most of his time honing his skill with the blade and using his magic, granted by his Lord, to heal and help the poor, acting like a true Red Priest.

It was almost unimaginable that he first had to be granted freedom by his Lord and given enough wealth to enjoy himself on his journey, before he transformed into a true devout believer and priest.

Though admittedly, he was more warrior, than preacher, but the purity of his belief was equal to even Melisandre's.

And so, it was without hestitation, Thoros slowly shook his head and answered: "I am afraid I cannot accept this honor, my Lords. I only serve one Lord, and my blade will be his to direct in this life. I only fought in this war, as he guided and approved of my decision to do so. It being the right thing to do, stopping these men from spreading misery among the common people."

Silence settled in for a moment, as shock spread rapidly, disbelief at the priest's decision to acutally turn down such riches and even nobility, while clamouring immediately filled the hall.

Tywin himself, not expecting such a thing, was at a loss for words for a moment, as even Robert stared at the priest in disbelief.

Ned, on the other hand, was more than impressed by the priest, as he could feel the sincerity in his words and demeanour. Thoros of Myr was a man with a code and values – a man with honor. A department that the Lord of Winterfell found most of the nobles from the South serverely lacking in.

Suddenly Robert addressed the priest loudly, a bit of anger in his tone.

"Does your god forbid you from accepting, what is rightfully yours?! You earned this reward with your own blood and that of your enemies!"

It wasn't anger at his 'kindness' being refused, that made the King angry though. It was more akin to something like shame and self-loathing, as he saw another man deny, which he could not. A man not swayed by riches or titles.

Deep down it made him uncomfortable, as Thoros' unerring heart, forced him to look at his own weakness. Forcing him to admit, even if only to himself, that he was not a good and honorable man.

"Blood that only still flows in my veins, because of my Lord's grace. And enemies I only managed to slay, because of my Lord's blessing.", the priest countered calmly, not fazed by the angry King yelling at him.

Contrary to the rest of the hall that had quietened down considerably, as the Demon of the Trident's temper flared up.

Breathing in deeply, Robert questioned again, calmer this time: "So you want nothing? No reward at all for your merits in battle, is that what you are telling me, priest?"

Thoros, just about to turn down any reward, suddenly froze on the spot, as he felt Phenex's presence nearing. It was without hesitation that the Red Priest knelt down on one knee, his head lowered in reverence.

Taken aback somewhat, Robert was about to ask the man what this was about, all others in the room were halfway to thinking that Thoros was about to apologize in regret and finally accept the reward, fearful of the King's wrath.

It was the next moment that they were proven wrong of course, as a small flame ignited inbetween Thoros and the main table, where the Lord of Casterly Rock, the King, the Lord of Winterfell and the Lord of Dragonstone sat at.

The small flame rapidly grew, twisting and dancing. Before it formed into a fiery figure.

Fearful and thinking it an attack by the priest, the surrounding men were about to draw their weapons on the kneeling Thoros, as suddenly a heavy presence filled the room.

It was by instinct that they all realized that the figure before them was not magical in nature, but was something else entirely. Something divine.

These mortal men could feel it in the depths of their souls. The being, that had suddenly appeared in front of them, was not something that could be fought with steel. In fact, it could not be fought at all. There was only submission, as even in death there was no escape.

Absolute silence descended onto the hall, as the figure slowly approached Thoros. Crouching down, it grabbed him by the shoulders, before pulling him upwards and having him stand.

"There is no need for you to kneel, Thoros. I can see the purity of your belief easily enough.", a voice echoed in the Red Priest's mind, as he looked upon the fiery figure of his Lord.

"But I am willing to, Lord. It is out of respect that I kneel, not courtesy.", Thoros voiced out quietly.

Nodding in understanding, his Lord's voice once again sounded out in his mind, telling him of his wishes.

"I will do as you asked, Lord.", Thoros promised sincerely, the onlookers wondering how he communicated with the higher being in front of him, as they had heard no voice except the priest's.

"You have never disappointed me till now and I trust that you will not do so in the future, Thoros of Myr.", his Lord spoke to him one last time, as he raised his hand to the Red Priest's forehead.

A single finger touching it, Thoros felt pure warmth wash over his flesh, as he knew instinctively that his Lord had just granted him longevity, like he had given to Melisandre and Kinvara. And yet he felt not a smidgen of pain, his Lord explaining to him that he had already paid the painful price for this gift in his battles.

Moving his hand back, the blazing figure turned away from him and stepped in front of the main table again.

Staring silently at the King and Highlords, as they looked on tensely, sweat gathering on their brows. Their knuckles whitening, as they balled their hands into fists or gripped tighly at the armrests of their chairs, with none of them being an exception.

The next moment though the fiery figure turned away, causing them overwhelming relief.

The living flame looking to the side and staring towards the window, as if looking at something beyond the confines of the room.

Suddenly, fire errupted form the being and washed all over the castle and the surrounding area, as his aura froze every living being on the island in place, before it vanished the next moment, returning everything back to normal.

Chaos would have probably erupted all over, but it didn't. The minds of all those affected, being calmer than they had ever been – cleansed, somewhat.

"W-what just happened?", Robert asked the priest before him, shaken by what he had just experienced. Peace having settled in his heart for several precious moments, before quietly leaving a few seconds later. Once again leaving him alone with his inner demons.

"The Lord of Light happened, Your Grace. He wants me to ask that you allow a small temple to be built in his honor in King's Landing, as the reward for my performance in battle. As a sign of goodwill, he healed all the injured soldiers, even the most critically wounded.", Thoros explained serenely, the knowledge that Phenex watched over him, setting his heart at ease and giving him true and lasting peace of mind.