Chapter 146 – Life Force Vessel

[301 AC – Winterfell]

"Lord Targaryen!"

The lower-ranked priests that had accompanied Thoros exclaimed in horror upon seeing the scene before their eyes. Both of them being sorcerers themselves enabled them to sense what the High Priest had noticed before, causing them to be unsure what to do.

And even though one of them was an older priest from the Healing Light branch and a very capable healer, he did not draw upon his magic to try and heal the young mother or the dragonrider, despite knowing how special their identities were and how important they were for the Red Temple.

Talisa Stark was the wife of the King in the North and her identity as a priestess of the temple was what allowed the Red Temple to draw closer to the North and the Riverlands without bloodshed.

Her being alive and well was of tantamount importance to the temple's further development, which was the whole reason the Lord had sent them here after sending his Feathers to save the young Queen from the Freys.

Not to mention the young dragonrider, who was even more important, being the ward of the Red God himself. Every member of the Red Temple knew that the dragonriders were special existences and that their Lord cared about each of them greatly, being a teacher and somewhat of a foster father to them.

The fact that the Flame of Truth, other High Priests and Priestesses, and even the Feathers themselves had also trained them spoke volumes of how valued and important they were.

All of them were like Holy Children to the Red Temple, letting them die was simply impossible without incurring the Red God's wrath.

Instead, he turned to the High Priest at his side and started him with helplessness in his eyes: "Lord High Priest, what shou- … we … "

In the end though, he didn't finish his sentence, as his words turned into a quiet sigh, not willing to state the obvious.

Thoros himself already knew what his subordinate wanted to ask, but couldn't bring himself to voice it out in the end.

His own sorcerer talent might only lay with the combat arts and pyrokinesis, but being a High Priest and already well over half-a-century old, Thoros' knowledge was vast in comparison to Jaehaerys.

The Undying Priest knew enough about life force manipulation and blood magic that he was aware of the fact that none of them could possibly save the young dragonrider as things stood.

Life force wasn't just contained by the physical body alone, but there existed an ethereal vessel that overlapped with one's physical form and harboured all of one's vitality. Manipulating this life force expertly was the highest form of blood magic, and also the only way to extend one's lifespan beyond the natural limits of one's mortal body.

Thoros had studied this branch of magic due to pure scholarly curiosity and knew that only magic wielders with impeccable control and talent could be successful in those kinds of rituals.

Using magic, it was possible to create a very small artificial valve in one's life force vessel, and by forcefully snatching the life force of others, one's own life force could be increased and prolonged for centuries.

Such sorcery though couldn't be done by everyone, as even the slightest mistake could lead one to accidentally damage one's life vessel, which inevitably meant death. Life force vessels were very robust if one did not try to interfere with them through magic, but once one did, they would turn more fragile than glass that possessed the thickness of a hair.

A damaged or broken life vessel could not be healed with magic, at least not without a group of high-level sorcerers that were all high-level practitioners of blood magic, and even then it was highly unlikely to succeed.

Thoros knew that the Flame of Truth, Kinvara the Red Queen, was one of the few sorceresses in the Red Temple who qualified as a high-level practitioner of blood magic, along with Melisandre the Red Shadow and Bellegere 'Black Pearl' Otherys, while the Red Queen had even taught Jaehaerys some sorcery from the field of blood magic.

Still, even without having much experience in the field himself, besides some simple divination spells and religious rituals, the High Priest could see that Jaehaerys had not been taught about life force manipulation, otherwise he would have never attempted to save the Northern Queen with it.

Jaehaerys' life force vessel had clearly been damaged during his attempts to save the young priestess using life force manipulation, and he had probably also damaged hers, though Thoros wasn't sure about that as he could only sense a very weak vitality remaining in her, which made it hard to grasp her situation accurately.

Where a normal human's life force felt like a very small bonfire, Talisa's now felt like a few glimmering embers. Jaehaerys' life force had always felt like a pyre the size of a small hill, due to his contract with a dragon and lineage. His current vitality though was hardly greater than that of a normal human, and it was rapidly shrinking.

At this stage even repairing their life force vessel would not save them, as their vitality was already greatly damaged. Sickness and old age would come rapidly and cut their life short, even if they were restored.

"Please, Lord High Priest! Help him!", Sansa urgently pleaded while kneeling beside Jaehaerys, her gaze filled with tears as she looked at the Undying Priest and the rest of the members of the Red Temple that had suddenly appeared, faint hope blooming amidst the despair in her heart.

The High Priest sported a deep frown, as he knew that there was nothing he or his subordinates could do to save either of them in this situation, but he quickly shook off those thoughts knowing that time was of the essence.

Thoros stayed composed and didn't panic, as even in such a critical moment he knew that while he may not have the power to save the young dragonrider and the Northern Queen, his Lord certainly did.

Closing his eyes in prayer, the bearded priest called out to his god through the connection that had been forged between him and the divine protector of the Red Temple all those years ago.

His call, while urgent, was filled with calm and sincerity, as Thoros was assured deep down that his Lord would never ignore the plight of his believers, that his light would purge all darkness and sorrows in his heart, as long as his faith stayed true.

And he wasn't disappointed, as only a moment later he felt the presence of his Lord in his mind, while a small candle-sized flame ignited in the space before him.

Vaguely he heard some exclamations of surprise, but his focus was on the small flame and the inviolable aura that suddenly appeared in the room. Without hesitation, he kneeled down and bowed in respect and devotion, his subordinates immediately following suit, as they recognized the aura of their Lord.

The tiny flame started to twist and dance while expanding, and a moment later it rapidly formed into a blazing figure made out of pure fire, its aura causing fear and reverence in the hearts of all those present.

By instinct they knew, without ever having seen a god, that the being before them was not mortal, its divinity being as real as the air they needed to breathe.

Absolute silence had settled on the room, as the members of the Stark household and its vassals could not even lift a single finger while in the presence of the Red God, most of their hearts surging with great shock and terror.

Simply while being in the presence of this divine being, they felt exposed and vulnerable, their senses in disarray as they stared at the blazing figure, as illusions of a fire giant and great flaming bird seemed to overlap with him, a pair of burning eyes staring at them from beyond the physical world.