"You might be dying, the Stern Face!" Rhaegar asked the Stern Face.
"We prayed to the gods, and the gods responded here. My offering will also end today!" The Stern Face took out a large piece of blue crystal. After opening the box made of black and white wood, the blue crystal revealed a wild chill. The temperature in the hall rapidly dropped, and blue frost spread across the floor. A layer of frost also covered the Faceless Men's cheeks and their black and white robes. All the statues of the gods were now covered in a layer of frost.
"After I die today, you must not seek revenge for me. We are the Nameless Ones; we only follow the will of the gods and accept offerings. This time, the killing began because of the four of us, and it ends because of it!" said the Stern Face.
"Yes!" "Yes!" The other Faceless Men also agreed.
"Then let's sign a gentleman's agreement! When we get to the Sealord's Palace!" Rhaegar was skeptical of the Faceless Men's claims. However, now was not the best time to strike.
Azure flames circulated around Rhaegar; the cold air did not invade him. Rhaegar took the blue crystal. This item was completely antithetical to him; it was not equivalent to water magic, but rather a gift from the god of cold, beloved by wights. Ice magic is incompatible with mortal magic, which belongs to fire and water. Ice magic, like shadow magic, perhaps carries the decaying scent of death—something mortals cannot touch. The Nameless Ones are also those who are about to die.
"Are you Faceless Men, or modified Others?" Rhaegar asked the Stern Face.
"The Kindly Man returned from the North; he walked the farthest on this road, but as for us, we did not receive this grace!" The Stern Face cut his finger, and the blood was still red, not blue.
It seems only the Kindly Man was blessed by the god of cold. The mentor was the most deeply misled, but this was not the case for the other Faceless Men. Perhaps the Kindly Man intended to pass the blessing and the covenant to a successor only when he was close to death. However, the Kindly Man never expected to die so quickly.
"Will those people turn into wights?" Rhaegar recalled the corpses in the empty holes.
"No!" said the Stern Face. "They died from poison, not the grace of the god of cold!"
"Bang!" The flames in Rhaegar's hand burned, and the blue crystal slowly turned to dust. Finally, a beam of blue light shot into the sky, illuminating Braavos. The blue light was pure and beautiful, and Rhaegar could not completely suppress it.
The north wind howled, and the chill was boundless. Centered around the House of Black and White, the entire Isle of the Gods had become an ocean of snowflakes. Snow fell. Blue snowflakes descended upon Braavos, vast amounts of them, and the temperature instantly plummeted.
"Snowflakes carrying magic!" Rhaegar caught a snowflake. The snowflake was intensely cold and then slowly melted. These snowflakes were icy and difficult to dissolve; it seemed Braavos was about to experience a winter.
"Let's go, it's time to talk to the Sealord about compensation and aftermath!" Rhaegar said to the Stern Face.
Snowflakes drifted everywhere, Braavos was shaken, and dragons roared. Rhaegar stopped looking at the chaotic House of Black and White hall, whose walls had been torn down, and walked down the low hill. The Stern Face followed him.
Below the hill, Rhaegar saw several black-clad water dancers holding rapiers, eager for a fight! These were the assassins of Braavos—quick to anger and unforgiving. Trivial matters, like fighting over courtesans or honor, could ignite their rage.
"What are you doing?" The Stern Face shouted. At a time like this, these water dancers still wanted to duel.
"We duel you for the honor of Braavos, Dragonlord! We have no regrets even in death!" In the cold, biting wind, the water dancers drew their rapiers.
"Come at me!" Rhaegar hadn't expected this interlude. He drew True Dragon.
The first water dancer rushed forward, displaying beautiful sword flourishes. The swordsman stood sideways, using a light thrusting sword. It was swift and deadly, emphasizing quick, elegant movement, stealth, and balance. Therefore, the water dancer's sword was lighter and more refined than a Westerosi longsword, but that was all.
The greatsword swung up, its light piercingly cold, and the first water dancer immediately fell. He had never encountered such swift swordsmanship; his defeat was not unjust! Blood stained the ground, beginning to soak into the blue snow.
"Anyone else?" Rhaegar looked at the water dancers and asked lightly. When the people who should be killed fill the valleys, these water dancers seem overly zealous.
"Ah!" A group of black-clad water dancers rushed over. Their slender, sharp thrusting swords relied mainly on thrusting and movement speed, capable of performing profound dances on water surfaces. But that was the extent of their ability; brute force overcomes skill.
Rhaegar wielded True Dragon; the sword light was like a swimming dragon, a combination of power and beauty. One strike of its cold light pierced the nineteen states. The water dancers' eyes lit up; this was the true light of a sword, the fastest and fiercest blade they had ever encountered. True Dragon drew blood upon unsheathing; blood soaked the snowflakes—a bloody night in Braavos.
A group of water dancers' corpses fell to the ground, gripping their thrusting swords tightly, refusing to let go even in death. They maintained the pride of a water dancer until death. But the snowflakes slowly descended, quickly freezing these people into ice sculptures. Unforgiving snow, a group of frustrated swordsmen.
"Proud Braavos, it seems they won't be truly convinced without a war!" Rhaegar thought.
"Why didn't you ambush me just now?" Rhaegar asked the Stern Face.
"If a Faceless Man is fearful inside, his assassination is bound to fail! Many serve the God of Many Faces, but few make it to the end!" The Stern Face sighed. Overnight, everything had been turned upside down. The Handsome Man and the Fat Man were dead, and the Kindly Man had also died at the Sealord's Palace. The situation was dizzying; he felt so hammered he didn't know which way was up.
"Dragonlord, True Dragon!" The howling voices of the Red Priests shook the heavens. Speaking of doctrine, the Red Priests actually had a mutual affinity with the True Dragon. But Rhaegar currently had no mind to deal with this group of zealots.
"I'll wait for you in the Sealord's Palace hall!" Rhaegar summoned the Silver Emperor, and the dragon flew to his side. Rhaegar flew back to the Sealord's Palace.
The sky began to brighten. This night in Braavos had been heart-stopping. The dragon group had stormed the Sealord's Palace, and the Dragonlord had killed the Kindly Man. Then the Dragonlord went to the House of Black and White, tore down its walls, and forced the Faceless Men to sue for peace. But the weather in Braavos had also become strange; this heavy snow seemed unlikely to cease.
Luxurious large ships had arrived. Westeros's Royal Fleet escorted dignitaries from many nations. They passed the Titan of Braavos, saw the swirling heavy snow, and heard the wild roars of the dragon.
In the Sealord's Palace hall, the broken glass had not yet been cleared. Naturally, everyone had spent a sleepless night.
"Winter is coming! This is the gift of the god of cold!" Rhaegar sat on one side of a long table made of purple sandalwood, and the Sealord was on the other. The Stern Face was standing, surrounded by the chief swordsman and his guards. Behind the Sealord were the dignitaries of Braavos: the Admiral, bankers, maritime magnates, heirs of ancient families, and so on.
"How do you propose to resolve this matter?" the Sealord asked the Stern Face. "The Kindly Man is dead; you are now the High Priest and Sacrificer!"
"I apologize for this sudden change. But I want the Sealord and the Dragonlord to understand that faith resides in the heart, and the heart is not unchangeable. The God of Many Faces has thousands of faces, thousands of visages—an abstract god, not a concrete one. God chose us, not the other way around. Only death is the 'grace' of the god, the end of suffering. Provided offerings are received, the god will bestow 'grace' upon everyone in this world. Assassinations by the Faceless Men are regarded as sacred rituals. However, in past years, the Kindly Man, the Fat Man, and the Handsome Man were misled and secretly worshipped one specific face, which twisted the original intention! The Faceless Men will return to their original path!" The Stern Face replied calmly.
"How can I trust you?" the Sealord looked at the Stern Face. "In the past, we were so tolerant of all gods, yet you unexpectedly became slaves of the god of cold, an evil existence!"
"That is an internal matter for you, your own fault." Rhaegar had no interest in debating scripture with the Stern Face; the Dragonlord's dignity could not be insulted. Rhaegar also guessed this possibility: the power of the god of cold was too dominant, causing the Kindly Man to lead the way in embracing the god of cold, becoming a heretic of the God of Many Faces. The Nameless Ones should be tools, not people with their own souls, and should bring the gift of death equally, rather than being completely addicted to power.
"The god of cold's gem is broken, snow is falling heavily in Braavos, and I have severed the link with the god of cold. We will compensate the Dragonlord, and we will compensate Braavos!" The Stern Face pondered. "In the Iron Bank, we have one vault of gold and one vault of silver stored. Each vault is roughly equivalent to two million gold dragons! We can give this compensation to the Dragonlord! Four million gold dragons—that is a number that cannot be refused!" "As for the relief costs for the Braavos snow disaster, we can also cover a large portion!"
Everyone—the dignitaries of Braavos, the Governor of the Third Daughter, the Archon, Magistrate Marajo of Volantis, the Governor of Pentos, and others—were startled by this enormous figure.
"Truly a business with no overhead!" Rhaegar thought. The Faceless Men's wealth was divided into two parts. The first part was collecting contributions for killing, and the contributions demanded by the Faceless Men were extremely expensive, based, of course, on the individual's means. Merchants came to the Faceless Men to request the grace of death; some gave their entire family fortune. For example, the Waif of the House of Black and White came from an ancient noble family. When the physician of the House of the Red Hands told the Waif's father what her stepmother had done, the Waif's father offered two-thirds of his property and the Waif to allow the God of Many Faces to grace his wife. The God of Many Faces answered his prayer, and the Waif was consequently brought to the House of Black and White to serve. Assassinating a king or governor was even more expensive. The second part was the property of those believers who drank poison and committed suicide directly at the House of Black and White; their possessions were also cleaned out and taken by the Faceless Men.
Another factor contributing to the Faceless Men's wealth was their relatively small expenditure; they were not extravagant or indulgent. They had no army, only elite assassins, making their organization very small and nimble.
"I don't lack money. Haven't you seen the armor on me, and the helmet on my head?" Rhaegar asked the Stern Face, showing the helmet and armor set to the crowd. The Valyrian Emperor True Dragon armor was black like smoke and light as a silk tunic to wear. The edges of the scales were reddish-gold, flashing when he moved. The metal was decorated with patterns—spirals, runes, and mysterious symbols. "This is all Valyrian steel, priceless treasures. You must pay the price for your atrocities. You need to give me another vault of gold dragons, and everything good you've discovered over the long river of time, especially anything involving the ancient Valyrian Dragonlords—I want it all! If I find out you've hidden any treasures or related items of the ancient Dragonlords, our transaction is not over!"
"One vault of gold dragons is indeed difficult. But we can give you equivalents: one vault equivalent to three million gold dragons in jewels or spices, precious wood, minerals, and so on. As for the Dragonlord relics you mentioned, the Nameless Ones will search thoroughly and return them to you!" The Stern Face felt like he was cutting off his own flesh; this was painful and miserable!
Everyone was silent. No one becomes rich without a windfall. This negotiation alone involved seven million gold dragons' worth of wealth, enough to fill carts and rival a nation's treasury.
"By the way, Lord Sealord, how are you considering the House of Black and White?" Rhaegar asked the Sealord.
"Blockade it. Blockade the island of the House of Black and White and designate it as a forbidden area. The House of Black and White is not allowed to operate publicly in Braavos!" The Sealord thought for a moment. This was the only option for now. He wanted to shut down the House of Black and White, but he also had to consider what to do if the organization went completely out of control—they were Braavos's nuclear weapon. If they truly lost the House of Black and White, how would they deal with the even more tyrannical Dragonlord?
"What about the debt the Iron Throne owes Braavos? You see, that debt of mine?" Rhaegar asked the Sealord.
"Wiped clean. This time, it's counted as the Sealord's dereliction of duty and oversight, so the two million gold dragons you owe, plus the corresponding interest, are canceled! And thank the Dragonlord for driving away the winter for us!" The Sealord gritted his teeth. The keyholders also had no objections, or rather, dared not object.
"Originally, I thought I should kill you, but now I think there is a better solution!" Rhaegar looked at the Stern Face. A ball of thick black flame appeared on his finger, specked with black. Dark like an eternal night.
"Slash!" A wound appeared on the Stern Face's arm, a black wound.
"This wound will not cease; this is my punishment for you! If the Faceless Men are not as loyal to the covenant as you claim, you will die from the continuous worsening of the wound. This is no ordinary wound; it carries a touch of magic and a curse!" The Stern Face remained silent.
"The contract, the contract for the transfer of wealth, and a guarantee that you will fulfill the agreement. As the host, I think Lord Sealord is the most appropriate person to be the guarantor. As for the rest of you, you will be the best observers, governors/archons/magistrates!"
"Also, this dome of yours is quite nice; it belongs to me now!" Rhaegar summoned the dragon. The purple dragon and black dragon began to lift the dome from the top of the assembly hall. The entire hall shook violently. The dragons forcibly tore the dome from both sides and carried the intact dome away. Since he was already here, Rhaegar decided he liked collecting such works of art.
"You!" The Sealord felt his breathing quicken. The assembly hall was about to be exposed to the elements. The Sealord's Palace assembly hall had suffered an unnamed disaster; much of the glass was broken, and now the dome had been forcibly ripped off by the dragons.
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