Kingdom of Casterly Rock - 18 B.C
A huge welcoming banquet had just ended, and the illustrious guest at this banquet was none other than Garth "The Scholar", the youngest Maester of the Citadel to achieve the title of Archmaester*. He was also officially the youngest leader in the history of the Citadel Conclave, having been appointed by his predecessor just days before his death.
The short young man, with short brown hair and unusual dull gray eyes, walked slowly in his humble, simple cloak and many chains made of various metals that recorded his achievements and his position in many fields of science, including the links of History (copper), Economics and Mathematics (gold), Potions (lead), Medicine and Healing (silver), and the rare and despised chain of Magic and the Occult (valyrian steel). With the clinking of his chains, he politely bid farewell to the Lord of Casterly Rock, saying that a good night's sleep was necessary to keep a sharp mind and that it also guaranteed a long life. Everyone understood that the young and talented Scholar must be tired of these many banquets…
After his investiture as leader of the Citadel, it was a tradition for the leader to travel to all the great houses of Westeros to meet all their lords and their heirs as a sign of respect and to show his neutrality…
Maester Alpha, who had possessed another body and was full of smiles for the rich and hospitable Lannisters, had his expression hardened after leaving everyone's sight…
Upon entering his chambers, the "young Archmaester" sat down and awaited someone's arrival, keeping his bedroom door open.
Minutes later, a court jester entered his room; it was the same one who had appeared during the banquet. The court jester wore a colorful and ridiculous outfit characteristic of his profession; he was hunchbacked, had a pair of asymmetrical eyes, one leg longer than the other, and smiled stupidly.
As soon as he entered the room, the court jester seemed confused, not understanding why he had walked in and entered that place. But suddenly his smiling face contorted in pain until his expression became stoic.
Seeing this happen, Maester Alpha waved his hand and a burst of wind magic closed the doors and windows of his room, then, with another wave, candles flew to him using the "Telekinesis" of soul affinity, and finally with a third wave of his hands a full-length mirror crawled to where the candles were positioned not far from him and the court jester.
Maester Alpha waved again, causing the candles to light themselves using fire magic, and after a magical pulse of unidentified magic came from them, the mirror in front of him blurred as if it were water, revealing another figure of a young man.*
He was tall and strong, with tanned skin, black hair and eyes, and a pointed chin that gave him an air of authority.
He smiled and waved from within the mirror to the young Archmaester:
"Maester Alpha."
"Lord Braganys."
After the brief, simple acknowledgment, their eyes turned to the court jester, who remained stoic. Soon, his asymmetrical eyes gained an unusual vivacity and intelligence, his entire face contorted, changing shape after the familiar use of Alteration, the blood magic continued, his legs aligned to be the same length, and even his diseased hunchback vanished, making him much taller.
The court jester, who had once been ugly and deformed, now looked like an ordinary person. But beneath his ordinary appearance covered in makeup, he possessed a sacred air, and even his flamboyant, yet simple, clothes now had an air of divine simplicity… As soon as his transformation was complete, the court jester closed his eyes and placed a hand on his temple, absorbing the memories of this individual and searching for any valuable information in his mind…
The two high-status men observing the scene were accustomed to the memory assimilation process used by their powerful leader.
When the process ended, all the memories of the Lannister court jester now belonged to the leader of their organization… Maester Alpha and Von Braganys bowed in an extremely devout and fanatical manner before the Court Jester, something they had never displayed before the other members of the Nullborn Covenant.*
Such acts of submission and complete devotion on the part of these two, in addition to the many uses of magic practiced by the hypocritical Maester, showed why they were hiding this from the extremist anti-magician Alyxia Greenhall and the mysterious and suspicious Pope of Bacalon.
As they knelt, the two men shouted together:
"Praise be to our Lord!"
The Court Jester nodded to his two Master Priests* and began this secret and exclusive meeting.
Maester Alpha was the first:
"My Lord, we confirm the beginning of a new Calamity in Asshai. We also confirm the permanent death of Master Blood Armor; the Pope of Bacalon was also one of the victims of the new Calamity, but has already returned to life. We have also received reports of a new affinity, but you must already be aware of this, right? The Special Relic in Baron Bones' possession has returned?"
"Keke, yes, the Relic has returned to my possession, and I can confirm that in addition to the Blood Primordial responsible for the Blood Affinity, there is also a new Primordial with draconic traits."
As he spoke, the Court Jester moved one of his hands, and a red energy formed above it, spreading a scent of blood throughout the room.
Von Braganys couldn't smell or feel the aura and only observed from within the mirror, but Maester Alpha reacted with surprise upon seeing the power of the new Blood Affinity. Seconds later, he calmed down and remembered the status that man held and murmured internally…
"As expected of our Lord, the Primordial of Magic. No magical affinity is denied him!"
Seeing the new affinity, Von Braganys excitedly asked:
"My Lord, as we are your Master Priests, can we already use this new affinity? What effects does it have?"
"Keke, you can, but there aren't any spells available yet… I should be able to create some basic spells in a few years when I better understand their effects and potential, but it will take a long time before we have advanced spells. Even the creator of the affinity is limited until many practitioners start using it and creating new spells…"
After receiving a prolonged look from the Primordial of Magic, Von Braganys understood that he was awaiting his report.
"This time, we lost the three Key Necklaces that were in Asshai. The Red Sage probably has them in his possession; he is also the prime suspect of being the Primordial of Blood, but I don't know who the Primordial Draconic could be… No, I think Primordial Dragon would be a better name... I've already issued all the rewards we promised to those who helped us in the last failed operation, but I wanted to confirm if we should indeed deliver "that" reward to the Master of Beasts…"
Maester Alpha smiled and said: "Unlike us, perhaps with his Shadowmancer skill, the Master of Beasts has a use for little Alyxia's ancestor…"
"Keke, yes, hand her over to him… I can't turn a Primordial into a puppet, and even if I did, it would be difficult to hide what we did to Little Alyxia's grandmother. I must remind you that I still have some uses for her and all the children of the forest…
…Besides, if I turn the Master of Beasts into the new Puppet Master of our Nullborn Covenant, he would have no choice but to follow us faithfully. With a Primordial Beast and our Puppet Special Relic, perhaps we have the power to take control of all the Shadowlands and easily get rid of these two rookie Primordials…"
After a long discussion among the main members of the Nullborn Covenant, all three said goodbye with the same gesture of a closed fist near the heart and the same familiar phrase as always:
"FOR THE END OF MAGIC!"
"FOR THE END OF MAGIC!"
"FOR THE END OF MAGIC!"
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