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Qohor
Third Person
57 AC
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It was never truly dark in Kinvara's chambers. The curtains were always open, allowing the sun's rays to pass through easily, and at night, tallow candles burned at her window to keep away the terrors of the night.
Four more flickered beside her bed, two on each side. In the fireplace of her chamber, the fire burned day and night. The first lesson those who served her had to learn was that the fire must never be allowed to go out. The Red Priestess closed her eyes and recited a prayer, then opened them once more to face the fire in the hearth.
"One more time." She said to reassure herself. Many priests and priestesses before her had been undone by false visions, seeing what they wished to see and not what the Lord of Light had sent.
New people had arrived, their presence strange and mysterious could even be smelled from a distance. Qohor was an important city in Essos, it could even be considered the most exotic of all. Thousands of people from all over the world arrived in the city, and it was not strange to notice the arrival of those seeking to obtain mysterious things from the city, and beyond that; from the thing that called Qohor its home.
And as many times before, R'hllor would surely show her what she expected to see. "Show me the strangers, my Lord," she prayed. "Show me those who feel different, those who may become stepping stones for the great war."
The flames in the fireplace twitched, their color shifted from yellow to bright red, then to a dark purple. This had never happened. The visions dancing before her were always gold and scarlet, blinking, forming, melting, and then dissolving into one another, many were strange, terrifying, and seductive silhouettes.
But this time, the flames were a purple color, and the visions, for the first time in years, were clear and precise. She saw the faces of those who had arrived in the city two days ago, she observed them examining the city, like foreigners whom the beauty of Qohor encouraged, but it wasn't just that.
Those people, those... Strangers, had magic, something unknown was flushing in their eyes, as if the secrets that the stones and walls hid could be laid bare before them, waiting to be inspected.
That was new, starting with the fact that her visions had never been so precise, even with the strong magic in the air thanks to the fire made flesh, but even with that being a catalyst, she sensed there was another magical signature, a dormant volcano waiting to awaken, and those people were connected to whatever that was.
Bringing her face closer to the fire without fear of being burned, she stared intently, and the visions changed. The men were going to the exit, they were leaving. On horses that shone with power and were ablaze, as if they were R'hllor's creations. Curiosity grew in her.
But she couldn't leave and follow them, her work in Qohor was very important, entrusted directly under the orders of the High Priest, and leaving could cause the horrors of the night to escape.
But the visions changed. She saw a forest of strange trees with thorns, a drawbridge that lowered to let her pass, and a path that guided her to a cabin of a never-before-seen style. And inside the cabin, red eyes, shining as brightly as dragonfire.
Just seeing those eyes made her own eyes water, but she didn't look away, the visions changed, buildings being burned, collapsing as the dark tide rushed over them, surging from the depths. Shadows shaped like a goat.
Through the curtains of fire, a silhouette twisted toward the blue sky. "The Black Goat. I must find the Black Goat, that is my task." Cotarro expected that of her, and soon. It wouldn't be enough to say that the horrors of the night were strongly hiding in the city. He would want to know more, he would want to know where, and she wouldn't have that information for him. She had only seen the thing once before. "A shadow so black that even the moonless night was clearer, and a silhouette within the shadow with goat horns hidden in the darkness, and although she saw it, it collapsed and disappeared."
But then, a face took shape in the flames. "Who?" she thought, only for a moment did she think she could finally find it... but no, that thing was too elusive. -A pale face, eyes like burning embers, and brownish hair almost red-. Who was this being? Why was R'hllor showing him to her again? The man's image moved away, and in its place, she saw the strange men she had sensed entering the city a few days ago. But then, a sea of fire grew before her, and a hundred red eyes floated above the flames. With a burning heart at the center of the hundred eyes "GO TO HIM, FIND HIM. AZOR AHAI." The words resounded forcefully within her being, as if a drum had been beaten next to her.
And just as it arrived, it vanished, along with the purple flames, and she was thrown backward with force. The Red Priestess shuddered. Blood ran from her nose and mouth, red and steaming. The fire was inside her, agony, ecstasy, filling her, searing her, transforming her. Reflections of heat traced patterns on her skin, insistent, like a lover's hands. And in the midst of it all, "GO TO HIM, FIND HIM. AZOR AHAI." Those words repeated over and over in her head.
R'hllor, R'hllor had communicated with her, and a smile spread across her face. Strong and wide.
She wasted no time, quickly got up from the floor and ran out of her chamber. At the door, her two guards, members of the Fiery Hand, men who had been given by the High Priest as a token of trust, were standing on each side of the door. "Get horses, we are leaving, right now."
She re-entered the chamber, took a cloth and wiped the blood covering her face, and threw the cloth into the fire when finished, "I will do it, I will find him." She thought, while touching the necklace that adorned her neck.
Leaving the candles lit, she turned around and reached the stables of the mansion where they were staying. Her two guards already had the horses ready, and without a word, she mounted her horse and set off.
In the flames she had seen that the group of strange men were approaching the gates, the idea was to follow them from afar, but without losing their trace, and hopefully, reach wherever they were staying. They had been seen in the flames, along with the man, AZOR AHAI.
The idea that the great warrior of the dawn had awakened was astonishing. The Red Temple had waited for his arrival for years, so that he could end the Long Night and its accompanying horrors.
And now, perhaps the idea of the great war ending once and for all was close.
The three followed the group of men. She noticed that, although they had some strange magic in their bodies, even the smell of fire and ash, they did not contain magical abilities, or else, they would have already noticed that they were being followed.
But that worked for her, and after fifteen minutes, they entered the forest, and there, a camp was erected. A serene smile formed on her lips as she saw the thorn trees. And the drawbridge lower to let the group of men enter.
Those trees were strange, parts of a dragon had been used to make them grow, and the bushes in front of the sharp trees, she could hear them screaming from a distance, she felt a repulsive force rising above them, and undoubtedly pricking oneself with their thorns did not bode well.
After five minutes of observing the surroundings, Kinvara decided to approach, and noticed movement behind the drawbridge. A small window opened, and someone peeked out. "What do you want? Go away or you will die here." The language spoken by whoever was behind the drawbridge was Dothraki.
And Kinvara narrowed her eyes slightly, there was no measure that the Dothraki had had anything to do with the construction of a camp of this type, not to mention that some kind of magic had been used on the bushes.
"I wish to speak with the one in charge." Inside, she could hear more than two people arguing, and the words priestess, maegi, and Khal were spoken.
They were made to wait more than five minutes, and when Kinvara was about to speak again, she noticed the drawbridge being lowered, a serene smile formed on her face, and she made her horse advance into the camp.
The interior surprised her, there were stone and wood cabins and huts, houses made in a way that the Dothraki had never been interested in creating, she could even observe how a type of horse, smaller and with a tougher coat, was in a corral.
She understood that these Dothraki were different, unlike anything known about them, they even wore armor, armor that would undoubtedly cost a fortune each, made of plates, and she could feel residual magic in them.
Undoubtedly something was happening, and R'hllor was involved, it had to be, otherwise, he wouldn't have brought her here.
A Dothraki guided her through the camp after her two guards left their spears behind, but there was no problem, they didn't fight with steel, but with fire.
They guided them to a large cabin, and from its interior emanated a fire like no other, as if a dragon's nest was inside, her body shuddered upon feeling that sensation, even her necklace glowed faintly.
"Azor Ahai, it must be him." The Dothraki opened the door and allowed them to enter, and the interior was loaded with pure, unfiltered magic. For her, trained to feel it, it was like falling into a lake in summer, it was warm and friendly, and the sensation was maddening.
Inside, there were nine men, Dothraki, eight were standing, while the ninth was sitting, but since Kinvara entered, she did not take her eyes off one of the men who was standing.
He was identical to her visions, and she knew she had found him, but even so, she had to be careful, many had been wrong when it came to visions, and she didn't want to run the same risk, especially with R'hllor watching her steps.
"Stay outside," Kinvara ordered her two guards, and the two men, as they had been taught, obeyed immediately, turning around and exiting the cabin, leaving Kinvara alone with the others.
But she didn't feel in danger at any moment, instead, she looked calmly at everyone, and the interior of the cabin, R'hllor guided her steps, and if she had to die that day and in that place, it was the will of R'hllor.
"You must march and return to Vaes Dothraki. Qohor is under the protection of the Red Temple of Volantis. What dwells there must not be released into the world. It will be a mercy to leave... For you, of course." Kinvara did not look at the man who was pretending to be the Khal, but at the man she had seen in her visions, and who felt like standing in front of a fireplace.
Kinvara wanted to test the man first, extract information, and hopefully, erase any doubt about whether he was Azor Ahai or not. But what she didn't expect was for the man to materialize a sword out of nowhere.
And not just any sword. The sword faintly glowed with various colors, while a small mirage was visible across the entire blade of the sword, as if it were covered in fire. So much so that it made Kinvara's eyes widen in amazement, as she felt the terrifying power that said sword emanated.
"Lightbringer." The sword that Azor Ahai wielded to drive away the Long Night years ago was before her again, and having nothing else to do, Kinvara knelt before the Prince That Was Promised.