Jon followed behind Melisandre, who walked in silence for a few moments before speaking.
"All of this began long ago," she said at last. "Centuries ago, the House of the Undying was not what it is today. Back then, it was more of an institution, a temple, an institution of faith."
She glanced at Jon briefly and continued. "The truth of that faith is buried beneath centuries of rumours. The facts are scarce, the tales have been distorted. It is difficult to tell apart between facts and fables made of fantasy."
"Still, I will tell you the story most often believed to explain the conflict between the followers of the Red God and the House of the Undying."
"It is said," Melisandre began the tale, "the House of the Undying was founded by a man who returned from death. That the man had died and then turned back alive."
"According to the accounts of previous priests and priestesses of Red Temple, the man claimed that an entity had met him after his death. Whether it was a dream or some true encounter or just a lie made out of his fantasy, no one can say."
Jon faltered slightly at that, his own experience pressing uncomfortably against the tale. He had been transmigrated into this world and an entity had spoken with him too. And that very same entity had granted him his powers.
"But what is certain," Melisandre pressed on, "is that when this man returned from his supposed death, he awakened some powers with him. Magic."
"And then and there was laid the foundation of house of undying. And this man, the founder of the house of undying became the first warlock of the house of the undying."
"Let me remind you," Melisandre said. "That was a time when magic still thrived openly."
"Valyria was still standing and was in its full glory. Its sorcerers wielded fire and blood magic to their will. Others across the world practiced their own arts. Some people in north still remembered the rune magic of the first men, blood magic among the tribes of Sothoryos, shadow binding in Asshai. Everywhere the magic was practiced. The masses did not detest it as they do it now"
"But," she added, "all of them, though, shared one common truth. Their magic required a medium. Fire. Blood. Bones. Runes. Some sacrifice, some tool. Anything. But a medium."
"But the first warlock was different," she continued, her gaze blank as if looking in past itself. "He required no medium. No time to prepare the magic. With the snap of his fingers, he bent the world. He could vanish and reappear at will. Create living doubles of himself. Summon storms of air and floods of water. He drew the power from his very surrounding itself. It was a magic that was unheard of. Unknown."
"And powers of such nature created unease in many minds. Even the powerful Valyrian elite grew wary of this man," she said. "But perhaps the first warlock was not as ambitious or perhaps not as powerful as the world believed him to be."
"Whatever the reason, he made no attempt to conquer cities or place himself above kings. He remained mostly within his own city, Qarth. There, he gathered the talented, inducted them into the House of the Undying, and passed on his strange arts, creating the first generation of warlocks."
"I still do not see the point of conflict between Volantis and Qarth," Jon remarked beside her. He had been following the tale with interest, but his curiosity about the source of strife between the two cities remained unquenched.
"I am coming to the point," Melisandre said.
"Things seemed to calm for a time. Though unease lingered over the sudden appearance of a man wielding such strange powers, it looked as if everything might eventually settle. People were optimistic that calm will prevail."
"But then," her voice grew graver, "rumours or facts began to spread, that the warlocks, including the first warlock, drew their powers from the dead. That the magic they wove was siphoned from corpses. From dead bodies."
"And this," she declared, "was something the followers of the Lord of Light could not tolerate."
"Why?" Jon asked. "Do not the Red Priests and Priestesses themselves practice blood magic? Do you not burn people alive as sacrifices for your god?"
"Yes," Melisandre admitted without hesitation. "Our institution does all these things. And to many, siphoning power from the dead might even sound preferable to burning or bleeding a living man."
"But if you ask my opinion, the first warlock's art was not anything different. In those times, any form of powerful magic involved brutality. The Valyrian made sacrifices. The shadow binder of Asshai were said to strip a person of his or her soul to turn it into a shadow. In fact, most of the people did not care about the source of the power of the first warlock. They ignored it like they ignored every other branch of magic. But my institution could not ignore it."
Jon waited for her explanation.
"My lord," she said, "the prophecy of the Prince that Was Promised, the Azor Ahai, the saviour destined to come has always been bound to the threat of the undead."
"Centuries ago, the flames were not as clear as they are now. They gave us no clarity. We just were aware of the incoming danger of the inhumane undead and the eternal winter."
"And so many among the priests and priestesses believed this new magic, this communion with the dead, might be the very evil the prince was destined to fight. They believed that just as the first warlock could summon air and water, he would bring the eternal winter too, once had gained enough power."
"In those days, any ritual involving the dead would have drawn our hatred, our fire, our wrath."
"And thus began the conflict between the house of the undying and the faith of the red temple," she said. "And in those times, Qarth was under the control of house of undead while Volantis was under control of the red temple. And thus, both the cities were invariably drawn in the conflict."
"Over centuries, the conflict between the faith has actually dimmed. We realised that this house of undead was not the danger that prophecy talks about. But centuries of blood shed could not be washed away so easily. It had been ingrained in the lineage of both of the cities."
"Qarth is no longer controlled by the house of undying and the red temple too has given up control of the city. And though the conflict faded, the memories could not be deleted. The tension still simmers between the two cities."
There was a whole lot of information that Jon had learned about. And he had so many questions in his mind. So many thoughts in his mind. And so many things to ponder. But above all, they had to set their plans in motion.
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