The High Sparrow could lead his followers to open the gate connecting to the pool of faith.
The Dragon Queen, on the other hand, couldn't even bear the weight of her followers' faith, let alone gather it.
This disparity had nothing to do with their personal power or their positions in worldly politics.
While researching how Blackfyre suddenly ascended to become the High Protector of True Light, Dany also discovered that the divine mark he left in the pool of faith had been placed there by the High Sparrow.
The High Sparrow, together with countless little sparrows under his command, had recognized Blackfyre's position as the High Protector of Light. He had even sent out ravens far and wide to inform every sept in the Seven Kingdoms about this history-changing event.
Undoubtedly, the High Sparrow had political motives—using the dragon's military power and prestige to expand the Faith's influence across the Seven Kingdoms, and to elevate the sanctity of the Faith in these chaotic times.
But his recognition confirmed Blackfyre's position as the High Protector of the Seven.
Thus, the initial divine office and belief surrounding the High Protector began to take shape. At that time, however, the faith was still too weak to have any effect on Blackfyre, so he remained unaware of it.
But on the day Blackfyre's statue was erected, and the High Sparrow led over a thousand followers in prayer before it, that moment served as a formal "conferment" of the High Protector title within the Faith of the Seven. The High Sparrow himself, being completely ignorant of mysticism, had no idea what he was truly doing.
In that instant, the divine office of "High Protector" imprinted itself into the pool of faith through the gateway the High Sparrow had opened. Blackfyre's divine role was inscribed in the divine ledger—his, and his alone.
Dany could not suddenly become a devout child of the Seven, so she couldn't replace the High Sparrow or accomplish what only he could.
Of course, that didn't mean the High Sparrow was irreplaceable.
If he were gone, there were still other holy men, even potential holy children, within the Seven Kingdoms.
For instance, in the Riverlands, the monk Meribald, who had received the Dragon Queen's promise, was a high-ranking devotee.
If the High Sparrow refused to cooperate, she could simply get rid of him and support Septon Meribald in his place.
The only issue was that Septon Meribald was a wandering ascetic with no allies or faction. He was also illiterate and did not study the sacred texts.
He lacked the High Sparrow's solid theological foundation, as well as his political acumen and skill.
His charisma was lacking, making it impossible for him to rally a large group of devoted little sparrows.
Without loyal subordinates, he couldn't represent the collective believers of the Seven Kingdoms. He couldn't open the gate of faith or bestow a divine office upon Blackfyre.
Therefore, even if Meribald was obedient and reliable, his efficiency and capabilities were far inferior to the High Sparrow's.
Situations like this are all too common in the workplace—those who are obedient and flattering often lack competence, while the capable subordinates tend to be rebellious and frequently push back against their superiors.
So, Dany couldn't carry out her "Hand of the Seven" religious reforms in isolation. She hoped to gain the High Sparrow's approval.
She immediately had Dragonstone send a letter to the High Sparrow explaining her plans.
The High Sparrow replied that having the statues of the Seven ride a dragon was something worth considering.
But merging the dragon with the Seven—making it the Hand of the Seven—would be altering too many doctrines. In principle, he disagreed.
However, out of respect for the Dragon Queen and consideration for the special circumstances of Slaver's Bay, he agreed to undergo fasting and prayer, seeking guidance from the Crone.
After that, the Dragon Queen planned to observe him through the faith-link and possibly influence him.
Indeed, if believers prayed before Blackfyre's statue, Dany could project her consciousness to the black dragon statue in the Great Sept through the faith-link and observe their prayers, albeit dimly.
Still, it was enough to see worshippers from across vast distances and occasionally even hear fragments of their inner thoughts.
However, this form of "faith projection" came with strict limitations.
If the believer moved out of range of Blackfyre's statue, the invocation of "High Protector" lost all effect.
Likewise, if someone stood directly beneath the statue but didn't pray to Blackfyre, Dany couldn't see them—because the faith-link wasn't connected to the High Protector.
Dany maintained her dragon-soul and "Song of the Wind" state, waiting for the High Sparrow to pray to Blackfyre. At that moment, she would disguise herself as one of the Seven and offer him guidance as the "Crone Dany."
Just like when he first built the Blackfyre statue—she had been able to speak to him then.
But after waiting and waiting, the High Sparrow, that devout Holy Child, had not prayed to the High Protector even once.
Outrageous! He didn't even treat the Protector as a deity!
Or maybe… he was lying and had never fasted or prayed at all?
Then, one day, Dany sensed someone else—someone she never would've expected.
After admitting defeat, the Braavosi acted with astonishing speed. In less than a week, they had prepared 80 sea vessels, each capable of carrying more than 400 tons, for Jello Dayne.
These ships weren't empty—they carried 50,000 tons of supplies: grain, iron ingots, butter, cheese, cotton, wool, and more.
Eastwatch-by-the-Sea is about 2,000 kilometers from Braavos. A single ship would normally take about two weeks to reach it. As a fleet of 80 massive vessels, it would take even longer to avoid falling behind.
About three weeks later, Eastwatch sounded its horn.
"Woooo—"
A single blast, signaling an ally.
The black banners bearing the red three-headed dragon were unmistakable, exciting both the Night's Watch and the wildlings at the outpost.
"The Dragon Queen is here!"
"Targaryens keep their word. The Queen made a promise, and in just a month, she's brought the entire fleet."
"By the Seven, what a grand gesture from the Queen. The sea is packed with ships—how many must there be?"
"Those ships are huge! Look at the lead one—it's 300 feet long! Even a giant would look small on it."
"Commander Cotter Pyke, there are too many ships. Eastwatch's docks are too narrow. We can't accommodate them all."
Eastwatch had never hosted such a massive fleet before—not only were there too many ships, but each one was enormous, with the smallest weighing in at 400 tons!
In the end, only half the fleet could dock. The rest had to furl their sails, drop anchor, and remain afloat in a sheltered bay.
Even before the supplies were unloaded, the Queen's fleet had already stirred wild excitement among the wildlings and the Night's Watch. Once the cargo began to arrive, countless wildlings were moved to tears by the bounty.
"We finally don't have to die."
"The Free Folk won't go hungry anymore."
"The Queen didn't lie to us. She's sending food to a hundred thousand wildlings now, so she must have prepared safe, warm land for us in the South too."
The Dragon Queen's reputation and credibility were now completely solidified among the wildlings—firm as a mountain.
From now on, the king in the South, in the hearts of the wildlings, would be split into two: the trustworthy Dragon Queen, and the other kings they needed to stay wary of.
The Night's Watch was also deeply grateful for the Queen's promise-keeping. Not only were the wildlings running out of food, but the Watch's own stores had already reached a critical low.
As the Queen's representative and a prospective White Knight, Ser Gerold Dayne received an unprecedentedly grand welcome from the Night's Watch.
The scale of the reception even surpassed that of Stannis and the Dragon Queen's own arrival at the Wall.
Even the "not to be seen" Lord Commander Jon Snow arrived at Eastwatch on the third day with a group of senior Watch officers.
At the moment when the wildlings received their first cheese and their first sack of flour from the Dragon Queen, their reverence for her came close to the level of their ancient faith in the Old Gods.
Most of the Hardfoot Hill Clan had come to Eastwatch, leaving only a small group of elites at Castle Black. Among those who arrived were Lady Lari, the chieftain's wife, her mother, and her daughter.
The Dragon Queen had miraculously saved herself from death—Lari was already deeply grateful. Now, receiving food from the Queen once again, she held her daughter, sat by the fire, and sincerely prayed for the Queen.
Her mother, a clan seer, had even lent a bronze book recording the Green Seer's sacrificial rites to the Dragon Queen. Because of that, Lari had learned a few prayers and rituals from those rites.
In fact, once her mother passed, Lari would transition from a spear-wife to a seer.
Barring accidents, her daughter would walk the same path in the future.
But that wasn't the main point. The main point was this: when Lari was using the Green Seer's prayer to express her gratitude to the Dragon Queen, the Queen herself was in Song of the Wind mode, waiting for the High Sparrow.
But instead of the High Sparrow, she received a follower—Lari!
What made things even more absurd was that the Hardfoot Clan did not worship Daenerys. They still worshiped the Old Gods, yet their faith-based power flowed entirely to Dany.
Dany wasn't a demigod; she couldn't absorb faith power. However, at this moment, Dany was spiritually linked with Drogon, and Drogon was a demigod. That made her one too—capable of absorbing faith power.
Then, the second soul within the ring absorbed that faith power, and she gained a trace of divinity.
This trace of divinity wasn't especially powerful. It merely allowed Dany to locate the Hardfoot Clan at Eastwatch, just like Drogon could locate worshippers of the Seven praying before the statue of the High Septon.
Dany was shocked to discover that, deep within the souls of the Hardfoot people, there was a hidden imprint of her spirit.
Just like the Three-Eyed Raven had once planted a mark in her soul space, Daenerys, without even realizing it, had left behind a "conductor's baton" in the minds of the Hardfoot wildlings.
Only now did she realize how reckless it had been to use soul-infusing magic to patch up the spear-wife's soul.
The soul-energy she had summoned contained traces of her own spirit.
Some of it even included Alpha-type essence capable of influencing willpower—and all of it had become part of the spear-wife's soul.
A human's soul-space is like a fortress. Normally, its control belongs solely to the individual.
But now, in Lari's "fortress," ownership of over half the structure belonged to Dany. She could now partially control it.
She decided to test it.
At the Hardfoot wildling camp, beside the fire—
After reciting a prayer to the Dragon Queen, Lari placed a clean iron pan over the flames to heat.
Next, she cut off a piece of butter and rubbed it across the base of the hot iron pan. The pan's gray metal now glistened with an oily sheen.
Then came the final step—pouring in the prepared batter.
After receiving flour and butter, Lari was planning to make scallion pancakes for her daughter and elderly mother.
Dany said to the spear-wife: Don't make pancakes tonight. Make flour dumplings instead.
Flour dumplings. Flour dumplings. Flour dumplings. Flour dumplings. Flour dumplings.
The spear-wife froze mid-motion, holding the earthen jar of batter. Her eyes went blank, her expression vacant, and she muttered, "Flour dumplings. Flour dumplings. No pancakes tonight. We're having flour dumplings. Flour dumplings."
"Lari, what's wrong?" The old seer sensed something was off. She put down her granddaughter and rushed over to touch her daughter's forehead, anxiously asking, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Seeing the effect so clearly, Dany was both shocked and pleased. She instinctively reduced her power and softened her tone: Lari, don't eat pancakes tonight. Have flour dumplings instead. Pancakes are too dry. Dumplings digest easier and warm the body.
"What?" The blank look faded from Lari's eyes. She turned to her mother. "What did you say?"
"What were you daydreaming about just now?" The old seer, relieved to see her daughter was fine, couldn't help but scold her a little.
"Nothing. I just thought pancakes are too dry. Dumplings are easier to digest and warmer for the body in the evening," Lari said with a smile.
"The pan's already hot," the seer grumbled.
"No worries. I'll boil some water and thicken the batter a little."
Lari spoke casually. Her movements were smooth as she scooped water into the pan and returned to the tent to retrieve the flour bag. Carefully, she grabbed a handful and tossed it into the batter jar.
The whispers of the dark gods—had they really worked?!
(End of chapter)
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