July 26th, early morning.
The square outside the Great Sept of Baelor was already filled with countless believers.
News had spread throughout the city in the past two days that The Faith had designated every Sunday as a day of worship, and all believers must serve devoutly and pray with quiet hearts on this day.
Devout believers were all overjoyed, and thus specifically rushed to the Great Sept of Baelor to show their sincerity.
But they arrived too early. The seven great doors of the Great Sept of Baelor were still tightly shut, and not a single Monk or Septa appeared. People could only wait in the square outside.
Most believers were either sitting or standing, eyes closed and silent, but some began to whisper amongst themselves.
"I heard that His Majesty arrived at the Sept last night and prayed without rest all night. Even the establishment of the day of worship was His Majesty's idea. No wonder His Majesty is so favored by The Gods and bestowed with infinite Divine Grace."
"Indeed, he is truly a Divine Emissary who spreads glory and gospel. The world is blessed."
"Have you heard about that?" Someone whispered mysteriously, "The Faith has always been wrong. It's not the Seven-Pointed Star, but the Six-Pointed Star, with Father in the center."
"Impossible! Those people must be spreading nonsense. The Seven Gods, The Seven Gods, what else could it be but the Seven-Pointed Star?"
Someone cautiously pointed out the fallacy, "The Gods are actually one. The Gods we worship are just one aspect of Him. The Seven Gods are merely how mortals refer to Him."
"According to that, it doesn't necessarily have to be the Seven-Pointed Star. The Six-Pointed Star or even the Circle are all fine. They are just mortal prejudices."
People couldn't help but gradually start arguing.
Someone sneered, "Debating doctrine at the entrance of the Great Sept of Baelor, how brave. A bunch of hopeless fools."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone quickly calmed down and tacitly ended the topic.
Not long after, someone suddenly complained, "This morning, there were suddenly many more Guards at the city gates. Their Eyes were wide open, as if everyone had a Dagger hidden in their arms."
"Exactly, exactly, I saw it too. They came from the Gold Cloaks' camp, those new Soldiers."
"You wouldn't know about this. To tell you the truth, my nephew is a Gold Cloaks officer, in charge of a hundred men." A spirited old man boasted excitedly.
"He told me personally that His Majesty is going to speak in the Sept today. To protect His Majesty's safety, many more people have been assigned to the seven city gates for strict checks."
"Who could harm the Divine Emissary? Who would dare do such a thing?"
"I heard someone reported that Renly is afraid he can't win against His Majesty in war, so he hired assassins to sneak into the city. Maybe they will strike at any time. It must be related to this."
"Ah, so that's what it is! How terrifying."
"How despicable!"
"Exactly, exactly. The price of bread has started to rise these past two days, and he's probably happy about it."
"I heard that Storm's End is holding banquets every day now, with endless wine and dishes. He also gathered Maidens from all over the Stormlands to dance and keep him company at night, and when he gets tired of them, he throws them to the Soldiers under him."
"Heavens, how can he do that!?"
"Heh heh, he is the dignified Duke of Storm's End. The vast Stormlands are all his, of course he won't feel any pain."
"King Robert was too merciful to him!"
"Who says he wasn't."
People's impression of Renly worsened considerably.
"Hey, look, Father's Door is open!" Someone reminded excitedly.
The square quickly became restless. Everyone looked forward excitedly, casting gazes of awe at the figures walking out of Father's Door.
The bloated High Septon wore his usual shining multicolored crown, but its brilliance was completely overshadowed by His Majesty, who was draped in infinite pure white Light, in front of him.
His Majesty took two steps forward and immediately became as tall as the Sept, the Light like the sun.
People knelt down in a rustling sound, ready to listen to the Divine Decree of the Divine Emissary.
Joffrey stood by the pulpit and looked down. There was a sea of people, at least tens of thousands. This was without a strong call, showing the influence of The Faith.
The more so, the more satisfied Joffrey was with the Miracle he performed during his coronation.
No matter how powerful The Faith developed, it could not escape its own limitations and still had to rely on the image of The Seven to propagate its doctrine.
It was fine in a normal world, where it was just about who could fool better. But here, a Miracle could usurp most of The Faith's victory fruits.
Look now, The Faith had painstakingly shaped The Seven, whom the world worshipped, for countless years, and in the end, Joffrey easily snatched the position of spokesperson, making The Seven a sacred cloak draped over him.
Reality was cruel, and no one could easily accept it.
The High Septon was unwilling to admit defeat at first, but that summons completely changed his mind. He was thus able to stand behind Joffrey and continue to be his High Septon.
Compared to him, the fate of several colleagues who chose to resist was much more tragic.
Joffrey opened his mouth, his tone sorrowful and heavy.
"My sincerely serving Brothers and sisters, I must announce here a piece of heartbreaking news."
All the believers immediately froze. What major event had happened that was worthy of the divinely favored His Majesty doing this at such a time?
The King continued, "Someone infiltrated the Sept last night attempting to commit murder. To protect everyone in the Sept, three Archbishops, nineteen Monks, and seven Septas were brutally murdered!"
Boom~
The crowd in the square erupted.
A team of Monks and Guards walked out of Father's Door. They dragged the bodies of seven assassins into the square, and the believers immediately surrounded them.
"Upon investigation, these assassins were hired by Renly Baratheon. They were well-trained and handsomely paid, even bestowed with the title 'Rainbow Guard' by Renly, specializing in assassination activities."
People lifted the white cloths covering the bodies, revealing the colors of the rainbow beneath the tattered black outer garments, one color for each person, exactly right.
"The Great Sept of Baelor is a place of such glory and holiness. Renly actually defiled it with assassins and daggers. This is not only a challenge to the laws of the world and the majesty of the Throne, but also a contempt for The Seven and a trampling of our faith!"
The King's voice carried obvious anger. "Everyone, can you accept this?"
"No! No!!" Someone immediately responded loudly, which then drew more support, finally converging into the unified shouts of countless people.
"No!"
"The Seven have bestowed a Divine Decree!" The King declared the decree, his voice echoing through the sky.
"His primary Palace in the mortal realm is the Great Sept of Baelor, and the center of where His Eyes fall is King's Landing. The holy place must be pure and clean, untouched by a single speck of filth, unstained by a shred of darkness."
"From today onwards!" The King shouted, raising his arm.
"Lambs, heed the call, cast aside all worldly vanity. We will cleanse every corner, cleanse every heart, restore King's Landing to cleanliness, and restore the Great Sept of Baelor to peace."
"Renly's assassins have nowhere to hide, liars and bandits have nowhere to flee, all shadows will be dispelled, Light Eternal!"
The King shouted with conviction and piety.
At this moment, groups of Monks, Septas, and Soldiers poured out from Father's Door, heading towards the square, towards the north, south, east, and west, to every corner of King's Landing.
The believers quietly knelt on the ground, awaiting everything that was about to happen.
Many people still didn't fully understand what His Majesty the King's words specifically meant. But after all, it was a Divine Decree; mortals were only meant to obey.
And without a doubt, the commotion wouldn't be small.
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Read 777+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский at: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Join our Discord: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------