53 Chapter 053 – Debt

[291 AC]

"You traveled fast, Commander.", Phenex greeted the former Lord of Dragonstone, as Stannis Baratheon stepped into his solar in the Red Temple of Volantis, closely followed by Melisandre.

Kinvara and Phenex were resting on a large sofa, the gorgeous priestess brushing her fingers through his hair, as he rested his head in her lap.

"It was a smooth journey, my Lord.", Stannis answered, his face remaining impassive.

"Greetings, my Lord. Greetings, Flame of Truth.", Melisandre voiced out, bowing deeply in the process.

"Mhm, we will talk about your first task in a moment, Commander.", Phenex replied, while rising from his horizontal position, "And welcome back, Melisandre."

Grabbing Kinvara's hands, he placed a small kiss on both of her palms, before interweaving the fingers of one of their hands and turning back towards his guests.

"Let me introduce you two. This is High Priestess Kinvara, the greatest authority in the temple besides myself. And she is also my lover. Kinvara, this is Stannis Baratheon the new Commander of the Red Temple's naval forces. I have told you about him.", Phenex introduced.

"Greetings, Commander Stannis.", Kinvara greeted with a light smile dancing over her full lips.

"High Priestess.", Stannis curtly returned the greeting with a short nod.

Looking at the red-haired priestess, Phenex addressed her: "Melisandre. I also have a new task for you, for which you will need to travel to Pentos. I want you to meet Magister Illyrio Mopatis and retrieve something that rightfully belongs to House Targaryen, specifically three dragon eggs that have turned to stone."

"Two of my Feathers, Mera and Ruyu will accompany you, along with ten Fiery Hand members. You may negotiate a reasonable price for the eggs with the Magister. Though should he present himself uncooperative, you may deal with him as you please. He will not be missed, even if you have to kill him. You must return with the eggs at all costs, call for me should you find yourself at a disadvantage.", Phenex instructed with a serious tone, a hard and cold glint in his eyes.

"I will not disappoint you, my Lord. I will return with the dragon eggs.", Melisandre promised, bowing as she did so.

"I know you won't.", he answered, "Leave now, the earlier you return the better."

Bowing once again, Melisandre didn't hesitate as she turned and left, determined to accomplish her Lord's goal. Even without the Feathers and the Fiery Hand members, she could have accomplished such a task and with them, she highly doubted that anyone in Pentos could stop her from doing so.

Turning his gaze back to Stannis, Phenex could see a hint of curiosity and intrigue in his eyes.

"I believe Melisandre has told you about some of the temple's secrets, as per my instructions?"

"She has, my Lord. I know about the revival of Rhaella Targaryen, Elia Martell, and her children. Though I am not sure I understand the reason for why you brought them back from the dead.", Stannis answered with a complicated look in his eyes.

"Mhm.", Phenex mused, "The reason … Their revival was more of a gift. There is no deeper reason behind their revival. I certainly don't plan for any of them to sit on the Iron Throne, if that is your worry."

"A storm is brewing in Westeros and chaos will befall the Seven Kingdoms in the near future and while I plan to intervene, I will not just reinstate the Targaryen Dynasty. Still, those are things to discuss in the future."

"You will have a few days to settle down and meet the other Commanders of my fleet, who will be your subordinates from now on. Take your time to get familiar with them and inspect the Red Temple's armada. If there are things that need to be changed then do so, you have my permission to act based on your own judgement, though I expect regular reports."

"After you have done all that, I want you to gather the fleet and eradicate the pirate infestation amongst the Stepstones and Basilisk Isles, once and for all. Begin with the Stepstones.", Phenex ordered.

A frown appeared on the stoic man's face, as he thought about Phenex' words for several long moments, before he finally answered: "This will not be an easy thing to accomplish, nor is it something that can be achieved in a short span of time. The biggest problem will be finding them."

"Maybe.", Phenex replied, "Though you seem to forget that my priests can use magic. Finding these pirates and slavers will not be the challenge. Eradicating them with the least number of casualties and preventing the establishment of new pirate cities and hideouts will be."

"I trust that you will find a solution for this, Commander. You have the support of the whole temple to accomplish this."

"What about retaliation from Slaver's Bay? A lot of their slaves are delivered to them by these pirates, aren't they?", Stannis asked, showing off his insight on the matter at hand.

Smiling lightly, his purple eyes darkened with baleful intent, Phenex answered: "If they retaliate, crush them. I plan to deal with them in the future, but the time hasn't come yet for that."

"I will do as you command, my Lord.", Stannis replied.

…

"The Lord has tasked me to ensure that you receive this, Lord Tywin. I am sure it will be to your liking."

Looking at the man clad in blood-red robes with deep red tattoos depicting flames all over his face and a shaved head, Tywin kept an impassive face, not willing to show how much the priest's looks disturbed him.

As one of the most influential and cunning men in the Realm, it was an easy feat to hide his true emotions from showing, even more so when his thoughts were focused on the wrapped-up object in the man's outstretched hands.

Receiving the object from the High Priest, Tywin placed it down on the nearby long table in his solar, where he often held discussions with other officials and nobles from the Casterly Rock or his territory.

Unwrapping the red cloth after untying the golden band, his eyes were greeted by a sheathed longsword. The sheat was made out of smooth dark red leather with some golden, metallic ornaments, while the handle was wrapped with the same leather.

The real highlights of the blade were the pommel and the handguard. The pommel was shaped like a roaring lion head with two rubies for its eyes, while the hand guard was a slightly curved golden piece, with silver inlays and gemstones embedded into the piece, which were also rubies.

Drawing the long blade from its sheath, Tywin could see intricate lines, that shimmered with a very faint red light, streaking through the dull grey Valyrian steel, while the edge was almost glaringly sharp.

It was a masterpiece of a sword.

Smiling lightly, Tywin turned towards the priest: "Please thank your Lord for this generous gift, High Priest Benerro. And let him know that House Lannister is willing to support the Red Temple in spreading its faith through the Seven Kingdoms."

"This blade was promised, Lord Tywin. It wasn't generosity that made it find its way into your hands. A debt has been paid. I believe you are familiar with such promises.", Benerro answered calmly, before he smiled cryptically and left the old lion's solar.