"Dahei, really, how could you let this happen? Your Holy Son has been starving for more than half a month, reduced to nothing but skin and bones, and you didn't even remind me."
After ending her communication with Marwyn, Dany, with the support of the black dragon spirit Dahei, invoked the Song of Wind and followed the thread of faith into the statue of the "Smith" within the Great Sept of Baelor.
The moment she arrived, her heart ached.
The High Sparrow was withered and haggard, his old face pale as death, his body shriveled into little more than a reed stalk.
This was her Holy Son, with a devotion level of 250!
It should never have come to this.
It was simple enough. Through the thread of faith that was now wide as a gateway, Dany once again drew the High Sparrow into the Pool of Faith.
Within the Seven's Pool of Faith, she could transform into whatever image of the Seven was most sacred in the High Sparrow's heart.
Usually, she only alternated between the Crone, the Maiden, and the Mother, never bothering to disguise herself as the Smith, the Father, the Stranger, or the Warrior.
This time, she became the gentle and loving Mother, gazing with genuine compassion upon the old Holy Son, who lay prostrate and weeping.
"Wuu… merciful Mother, I finally see you again," the High Sparrow sobbed, almost at his breaking point.
"My child, I have always watched over you. You have done well. You are fully worthy of receiving the stigmata," said Mother Dany with kindly warmth.
"Stigmata?" The High Sparrow's spirit jolted, suddenly roused. The real drama was about to begin, and he stopped crying.
"The Grand Paladin of Light is very devout. Through him, I can transmit divine arts to my followers in this world. The stigmata is a mark, a seal of that connection.
The stigmata can channel my divine power, and you and Daenerys are the only two Holy Sons to receive it."
"What? Daenerys is also a Holy Son?" the High Sparrow exclaimed in shock.
"She founded the Faith of the Seven in Slaver's Bay, expanded its influence into foreign lands, and her devotion to the Seven is second only to yours."
Fortunately, second only to me.
The High Sparrow let out a breath of relief. His place at the top was still secure.
But from now on, he would have to work harder. He could not allow Holy Dany to surpass Holy Sparrow.
Immediately, his spirit flared with zeal, as though ten truckloads of fertilizer had been poured into a barren field, filling it with a burning will to yield abundance.
Buzz—
A beam of light descended from the heavens, enveloping the High Sparrow.
"Ahhh—"
A warm force poured from the crown of his head through every part of his body, so comfortable he nearly moaned aloud.
"My child, you are too thin, too weak. I grant you the power of the Smith!"
The last words of the Mother echoed in his ears as the High Sparrow drifted back to consciousness.
Looking around, he found himself in the same position as last time, sprawled on the floor, drool at the corner of his mouth, as though he had been asleep.
No. When he clenched his fist, he felt a strength within it capable of killing a tiger.
Opening his palm, a pure white flame rose, sacred as freshly fallen snow.
Closing his eyes, he found countless marvelous insights flooding his mind—knowledge of forging, belonging to the Smith.
He had become the Smith!
"Your Holiness, have you finished your prayers?"
As the High Sparrow stepped out of the Sept, a flock of sparrows immediately gathered around him.
At their head, the one-armed knight Lancel let out a long sigh of relief: their High Septon would not be following in the footsteps of Saint Baelor after all.
"Your Holiness, would you like to rest in the bedchamber? I'll prepare milk and bread for you," he asked.
"No. First, bring me a hammer," said the High Sparrow.
"What do you need a hammer for?" Lancel asked cautiously.
"I must forge! The Mother has granted me the Smith's divine power, and I cannot betray Her expectations," the High Sparrow declared solemnly.
Lancel and the other Sparrows exchanged uneasy looks, each seeing the same worry in the others' eyes. The High Septon must indeed have gone the way of Saint Baelor—his mind had broken.
The Mother granted the power of the Smith?Was that not a contradiction in itself?Even if you wanted a hammer, wanted to forge, it should be the Smith who granted you divine forging power!
But by that very afternoon, the Sparrows were stunned.
By the next day, all of King's Landing had heard.
Inside the Red Keep, Maegor's Holdfast, in the Queen Mother's chamber.
After the spring rain.
Cersei's cheeks were flushed with a faint, satisfied glow. In a languid voice, she said to the exhausted Euron beside her:"Have you heard? The High Sparrow wielded a fifty-pound warhammer, moving it as swiftly as the wind. He even breathed sacred fire and forged a lump of base scrap iron into a fine steel longsword.
Its quality even surpassed the famed master Tobho Mott's sword Stingrain.
When the two swords clashed, Stingrain's blade chipped with a crack the size of a bean."
"Nonsense. That scrawny reed of a man, lifting a fifty-pound hammer?" Euron didn't even open his eyes.
"The High Sparrow claims he was blessed by the Mother, that he has gained the Smith's divine power," Cersei said oddly.
"That old fool has lost his wits," Euron sneered.
Cersei slipped from his embrace, anxiety flashing in her eyes. "You don't understand the High Sparrow. He is cunning. He would never truly go mad.
And he has already sent word to Uncle Kevan, demanding Margaery's trial be concluded within half a month. Immediately afterward, he intends to hold my trial by combat. The one representing the Faith in the duel will be himself."
"What?" Euron's eyes snapped open, and he shot upright in disbelief. "The High Sparrow wants to fight in a trial by combat? In that frail body? Any Goldcloak could cut his head off with a single swing!"
"I wish he had gone mad."
Her months of imprisonment in the Sept's dungeons had left Cersei with a deep psychological shadow regarding the High Sparrow. Even if he now appeared insane, she remained cautious, fearing he was once again plotting against her.
For Dany, encountering priestly power for the first time, it felt like a strange kind of "converter," capable of transforming the raw, neutral energy of faith into divine power with specialized functions.
Faith was like electricity. Priesthood was like an appliance. Different priesthoods were like different devices, each transforming electricity into practical use.
Like fans, rice cookers, televisions, refrigerators, and so on.
While stabilizing her cultivation, Dany also systematically studied the fundamental principles of divine authority.
It was both magical and scientific.
Divine authority is formed by the faith of believers, comes from believers, and never surpasses believers.
In her previous life, Dany had read classical xianxia novels that described something called a "divine summons." Once obtained, one could become the corresponding deity and gain knowledge related to that divine role.
For example, if one obtained the summons of a land god, they would become the land god and instantly understand the skills of nurturing all things. With the summons of a river god, they would become the river god and immediately grasp the ability to control rivers, summon clouds, and bring rain.
Divine authority was somewhat similar to these summons. Take Drogon for instance: although he was a dragon, once he received the blacksmith's divine summons, he inexplicably acquired vast knowledge from numerous craftsmen—blacksmiths, stonemasons, carpenters, bricklayers, and others.
But unlike the extraordinary nature of summons, divine authority carried no transcendence at all. In fact, it was rather lowly.
It was nothing more than the accumulation of countless believers' knowledge over countless years.
Put simply, whatever skills the followers of the Seven Gods possessed, divine authority contained corresponding knowledge. Its upper limit depended on the believers themselves and could never surpass them.
So when Drogon bore the blessing of the Blacksmith, all the smithing, carpentry, and related knowledge he gained came directly from the blacksmith and carpenter believers of the Seven Gods.
This was quite awkward.
Drogon, the so-called God of Blacksmiths, was in fact inferior to Qohor's master blacksmith Tobho. Tobho could reforge Valyrian steel. Drogon could not. It was Dany who had to teach him.
This was because the followers of the Seven Gods in Westeros had never mastered such a craft.
Still, the Blacksmith among the Seven did hold something extraordinary. His forging techniques were exceptionally refined, equivalent to the accumulation of countless blacksmiths' experience over countless years.
Thus, if Dany merged her spirit with Drogon under the blessing of the Blacksmith, she could instantly transform into the greatest blacksmith in the world.
In another world, Dany might have been able to flaunt such divine craftsmanship—perhaps as a young girl openly scorning a master artificer, astonishing the crowd by forging a supreme artifact before their very eyes.
Well, Dany still remembered how many web novels contained such storylines. Back then, she had found them utterly thrilling!
But in this world, the Dragon Queen's status was already at its peak. If she took up the hammer, drenched in sweat, and forged a razor-sharp steel greatsword, it would indeed be "terrifying and shocking," but only in a negative way.
"Hahaha, the Dragon Queen truly is the Mad King's daughter. Look at her now, madness in her blood, actually turning herself into a blacksmith!"
Her enemies would mock her like this, never marvel at her skill.
Still, the Blacksmith was one of the Seven. The High Sparrow found this divine gift particularly appealing—after all, this was a miracle!
During the reign of Saint Baelor, a stonemason who was both illiterate and ignorant of prayer was deemed by Baelor to be the Blacksmith's mortal incarnation, simply because of his exquisite craftsmanship. He was hailed as a miracle and was eventually appointed High Septon.
Compared to that stonemason, the High Sparrow's divine gift was tens of thousands of times stronger.
After personally forging a Valyrian steel greatsword, the High Sparrow's devotion to the Seven ascended to a new level.
His faith remained at 250, yet the faith power he generated multiplied tenfold.
Each believer's daily prayer provided faith power equal to piety multiplied by a coefficient.For ordinary believers, the coefficient was around 10.0. The High Sparrow's had been 10.0 as well, but at that moment it suddenly surged to 100.0. Even Dany wasn't sure what rank that placed him in.
With both coefficient and piety so high, the High Sparrow alone contributed 25,000 faith points to Drogon in a single day. After deducting a 50% profit margin, Drogon still owed him 16,666 points of divine power in return.
Heavens above, Clinton had nearly fasted himself into starvation for a week just to earn the 100 points of divine power required to bond with a wyvern.
If the High Sparrow were the one attempting such a bond, a single glance might suffice.
Compared to the High Sparrow, Clinton was as insignificant as Pogba was to the Dragon Queen in the field of fire magic.
This alone showed how astonishingly "overpowered" the High Sparrow was at this point.
Yet even knowing this, Dany could not imagine him daring to face Ser Gregor Clegane in single combat.
Still, she had neither the time nor energy to concern herself with the Holy Son's affairs. That very night, after bestowing upon him the divine gift of blacksmithing, Dany received a raven from New Ghis: they requested a short truce. An old friend, Xaro, was to be sent as envoy to Astapor to negotiate the ransom of prisoners.
Dany immediately recognized this as two opportunities: one to leave Slaver's Bay, and another to plant spies.
That same night, she penned a letter, and by the next afternoon, New Ghis received her reply:
"After a solemn day of discussion with my council, I have decided to accept the allied forces' request for negotiations, but the envoy must be Xaro himself.
Furthermore, Xaro may not ride a wyvern directly into Astapor. He must first fly to New Yunkai, then travel by sea aboard a swift ship arranged by White Knight Garth to reach Astapor."
The airspace of Slaver's Bay, she declared, was forbidden to outsiders.
That night, Dany set out with Jorah and Clinton, each mounted on Rhaegal and Drogon. Together they sped more than three thousand kilometers away, to the Little Rhoyne.
Ghozai.
It was obvious her target was the Valyrian steel sphinx statue at the entrance of Ghozai. She planned to melt it down within a day and bring back a ton of Valyrian steel to Astapor within two.
(Note: The Blacksmith does not merely represent blacksmiths. He is the "God of Labor," representing all forms of craftsmanship and labor, even farming. Among all crafts, blacksmithing simply holds the highest status and greatest symbolic weight.)
(End of Chapter)
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