Chapter 49: Chapter 049 – Gift

[291 AC]

Another year had passed in Phenex' life, though nothing too major happened during that span of time.

The constructions of the temple in King's Landing though had finished, thanks largely to the priests' magic and the amount of manpower he had allocated to said task.

The same was true for the one that was still being constructed in Casterly Rock. Taking away fatigue and returning strength to the bodies of the workers was a great way to accelerate the process of building even the grandest temple.

Though Phenex had Benerro and Thoros make sure that the pay was representative of the effort those workers put in. Moqorro, the priest that Phenex had sent with Doran back to Dorne, was also supervising the construction of the temple in Sunspear.

The faith of the Lord of Light had generally gotten a lot more prominent in Westeros, though mostly in the Westerlands, Crownlands and Dorne.

The biggest reason for the faith's popularity was the priests' and priestesses' healing abilities. For only a copper dragon, the coin with the least value and smallest quantity of coin available, the priest would heal anyone regardless of the severity of the disease or injury.

Additionally, if one still didn't have even this amount of money, one would still be treated as long as one worked off that debt in the temple, which mostly accounted for cleaning the temple or helping out somewhere else for a few days.

There were exceptions though, especially amongst the wealthy and nobles, that would have to pay much much higher fees up to hundreds of gold dragons. The priests decided such by using their magic to glimpse at the true nature of those asking for their services.

That also meant that there were cases where they refused to heal someone, based on past crimes or heinous acts committed by those seeking to be healed.

Sometimes this caused anger and resentment, though most knew better than to antagonize the Red Temple, especially after a minor noble from the Crownlands had wanted to force a priestess to heal him of his venereal disease.

That particular priestess hadn't hesitated to call for a member of the Fiery Hand, while having protected herself with a shield of fire. That noble along with his guards had paid with their lives for that attempt, as the Fiery Hand warrior had killed them on the spot, before having had their bodies delivered back to the Red Keep, where that noble had stayed while in the capital.

Even the Hand of the King Jon Arryn had come and apologized to Thoros for what had happened. He had even offered to punish the family of that noble, but the High Priest had rejected that offer and simply stated that the debt had been paid.

This ultimately meant that while the Red Temple wasn't overly popular with most of the nobles, as they loathed to give up their wealth or didn't even receive help, the common people couldn't worship it enough.

Phenex though had decided to stop the expansion of the faith for the time being, until the three temples had gotten a more solid foothold, before thinking about constructing more temples in other regions like the Vale, the Riverlands and the Stormlands.

He also knew that the Reach would probably not allow a temple to be built, as the Citadel and the Maesters hated magic with a passion, and their influence in the Reach was great, with Oldtown being one of the wealthiest and definitely the largest port city in all of Westeros, which was where the Citadel was located.

The Iron Islands also wouldn't accept any other faith than that of the Drowned God, as they were too fanatic in their belief. And while the North was more open to magic, they generally didn't like outsiders that much and were also very protective of their own religion.

At the moment though all that was of little concern, as Phenex was leisurely strolling through Lys with Rhaella by his side.

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In the last few months he had often taken her around the Blessed Cities and even to Braavos, as she had never been able to travel much thanks to Aerys' obsession, causing her to be imprisoned in the Red Keep for most of her life.

Of course Daenerys had accompanied them on some of the trips, but they had also spent a fair amount of their time doing so without her. And Phenex took great joy in being able to gift these new experiences to the former Queen, as it had brought them even closer together.

Looking at her silver hair, softly moving in the afternoon breeze as she looked over some souvenirs, trying to decide which to bring back for Daenerys. Rhaella's eyes being full of life and joy, as she bit on her lower lip in contemplation.

Phenex couldn't help but smile softly while gazing at her, her beauty at this moment etched into his mind for an eternity to come, as tender warmth spread through his heart. Almost on instinct he stepped up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, while deeply inhaling the flowery scent she gave off.

“P-Phenex, n-not he-ere … “, she stammered softly, surprised by his actions, while a rosy tint appeared on her cheeks.

And yet Rhaella's hands couldn't help but come to rest on his arms, holding onto his warmth, while she pressed herself deeper into his embrace.

"Hoho, why so shy, my Lady?", the old female vendor behind the market stand asked with a nostalgic look in her eyes, "A beautiful couple like you should enjoy each other's company while young. Yes, treasure these moments as long as you can, as time will eventually take you from each other."

The longing and grief the old woman felt couldn't escape Phenex' senses, as he needed only one look to see that she missed her late husband, her mortal mind unable to hide anything from his gaze.

Taking both the little feather-shaped brooches and the flower-shaped hairpin, which Rhaella had struggled to decide between, both being made from wood and painted in beautiful vibrant colors, he addressed the elderly woman.

“For your wisdom, Larra.”, Phenex said, as he placed down two gold coins, which was enough to buy two dozens of these ornaments, while giving the old woman a slight smile.

Not waiting for a response, he pulled the shy beauty still in his arms further into the market.

The old woman's face was colored in surprise and confusion, as she hadn't mentioned her name to these two strangers.

Taking the two coins from the table, she suddenly felt warmth flowing into her body, banishing the exhaustion and pains that came with old age.

Memories suddenly sprang forth in her mind about almost forgotten days, when she had been together with her late husband, quiet and intimate moments she hadn't been able to remember until now.

With tears in her eyes, she looked at the coins in her hand, as her eyes tried to catch a glimpse of the charming couple, though they were already gone from her sight.

Folding her hands over the coins, she pressed them against her chest, as she sent a short prayer to the Lord of Light, thanking him for this priceless gift.

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