True Power

Upon speaking his cold words of judgement and drawing his sword, the Soul Knights sprung into action. They slaughtered the bearded priests with great ease, leading to their swift demise. The one that was furthest away managed to speak before he joined his fellow heretics.

Aerion was rather intrigued, so he allowed the bearded priest to speak. The Soul Knight's sword, however, remained only a few inches away from the priest's neck.

"YOU... YOU DEVIL... OUR GOD WILL ONE DAY PUNISH YOU!"

Aerion laughed.

"How amusing... do you truly believe that your false, heretical, 'god' has any power here?"

After seeing the bearded priest hesitantly nod, Aerion smiled. Although it did not seem like it at first, he certainly took the priest's answer personally.

"Very well... I'll show you that he does not."

Aerion took his fellow bearded priests' souls for himself, not allowing them to leave anywhere.

The Soul Knight's fire sword remained in his right hand as he grabbed the bearded priest by his absurdly long beard and began to forcefully drag him in the direction of Aerion's red stallion. The crowd began to make way for Aerion's rather large entourage of emerald-eyed Soul Knights. As their leaders had fallen, the garrison did not resist and remained still. The original plan was to surrender... which they followed despite the outcome of their previous leaders.

Besides, there were nearly ten thousand Dothraki riders ready to storm the city. There was nothing that the weakened garrison could do in this situation. Indeed, Aerion had attained supreme power within another Free City. The rest would follow soon enough.

Aerion began to ride up the massive 300-feet tall Sinner's Steps which connected the lower city to the upper city, where the nobles lived. In the upper city laid the great fortress-temple of the bearded priests and their followers. It was the centre point of the sect... where Aerion was heading.

"After today, your false faith will be eradicated from the Known World."

Aerion coldly spoke as the fortress-temple came into view.

"Our God will not allow... this sin to go unpunished..."

"I don't believe you understand your current position, ungroomed priest." Aerion shook his head. "Currently, I hold all the power here. But you already know that... don't you? Yet you continue to deny it."

Aerion looked down on the last remaining bearded priest.

"Who did you plead for mercy earlier, your false God or me... your Emperor?"

"That..."

Aerion smiled.

"I will be kind enough to show you true, divine, power before you die."

His glimmering sword swiftly left its sheath and aimed towards the sky. The sword was engulfed in ferocious flames before the scarlet flames erupted into the sky and separated into three colossal spheres. They pierced the sky, making it bleed red...

Then they separated into a hundred and a half blasts of fire which started to hail down onto the fortress-temple. It was as if the rain of fire was divine punishment sent from God himself... something that the priest had never witnessed before. Not from his god or any other god, for that matter.

As the fortress-temple began to go up in flames, the Soul Knights surrounded it and prevented any members of the sect from leaving. They either did this by outright killing them or shoving the sect members back into the flaming fortress. Each Soul Knight had their preference when it came to killing and other matters due to their warped yet still intact souls. Eventually, half of them entered the fortress to slay those who had managed to evade the flames.

"All that my ancestors built... for it to go up in flames..."

"If I remember correctly, your sect left the Valyrian Freehold due to the religious tolerance within it... which you found intolerable. How amusing is it that I don't tolerate your strange god, unlike the Valyrian Freehold?"

Aerion chuckled.

"Though your strange sect escaped the Doom, you still doomed yourselves in the end by crossing me. This is truly how it ends, with you becoming no more than an example for those who will think of resisting my will in the future..."

The flames of the fortress temple reflected in the bearded priests' eyes as he began to think of his mistakes. Meanwhile, dozens of screams could be heard from afar as the sect members burned and attempted to leave the fortress.

"I was blind all this time... now I know that there is only one true God within this world."

Aerion frowned. "Hmm? What are you mumbling about?"

"Spare me, oh great Emperor."

He's gone mad, it seems.

"I will spread your faith and teachings to Norvos. With time, it will reach the whole World... all will serve you, as they rightfully should. You are not just an Emperor... no, not at all. You are far greater than that. You are both God and Emperor. You are the God who walks amongst men... the God who will lead the rest of us to salvation."

Both God and Emperor...

Aerion thought about what the bearded priest had said for a few moments.

Once the flames went out, the fortress was completely ruined and there was not a single living person left within it. Except for the Soul Knights, of course.

Once the bearded priest had witnessed the death of his sect in its entirety, Aerion casually waved his hand.

The bearded priest's body was torn into pieces within a moment. Aerion's emerald flames then engulfed his corpse and stole the priest's soul.

"Gather the magisters."

The Soul Knights nodded and spread out to search for the magisters. Fortunately enough, the magisters dared not go too far as the Soul Knights brought them all before Aerion. He observed them all, though with very little interest. Before he announced his judgement out loud, one hesitant magister spoke out an excuse.

"We did not wish to defy you... we only followed the bearded priests' commands. We had no choice in the matter..."

Aerion nodded as he remained mounted atop his red stallion.

"Indeed, you had no choice in the matter. I am very understanding of that. However, it was the ungroomed priests who elected you in the first place... which makes me a little hesitant. What do you have to say in regards to that, my dear magisters?"

"We were never a part of their mad sect, this I swear, my Emperor! We merely managed the city for them. That was all we did."

One of the magisters bent his knee and the rest followed.

"If you wish to live, then swear your eternal loyalty to me, your one true Emperor!"

None of the magisters hesitated, though some seemed nervous due to the terrifying aura around Aerion. They swore their oaths and were given the command to rise soon after.

"I will observe how you all perform as magisters closely through my servants," Aerion stated. "Do not fail me or you will follow the fate of the priests and another will be chosen to replace you."

The magisters looked at the three Soul Knights who were left to oversee them with great dread as Aerion rode out of Norvos, heading towards Qohor.

~

The Qohorik would follow the same fate as the bearded priests. After all, their act of defiance was the very same. They did not manage to get news of what happened to the bearded priests until after Aerion struck them as he rode his khalasar onward with very few breaks. As Qohor did not have any magisters, Aerion changed the cities' policies to align them with the rest of his occupied Free Cities, allowing him to elect the magisters himself. Seven magisters were elected within a few days, though none of them were granted the grand honour of 'Lord Magister'. Lord Magister was a title granted to the main representatives of the Free Cities... and so, there would only ever be nine of them. Aerion wasn't going to grant such an honour to people he did not trust, of course.

Aerion left a few Soul Knights to oversee the affairs of Qohor before riding back to Pentos where his navy awaited him.

Only Braavos, Lorath and Volantis remain... three more Free Cities and I have united the western region of Essos.

Three more and I have accomplished what no other man has.