LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 5: the red god
Tyrosh was warm, a lot warmer than Storm's end, which was hit by an almost constant sea breeze. His guards were sweating under that metal armor, so, after a few days, they switched to leather armor, they didn't want to die of the heat. In places like these, Tyrosh, the dothraki sea or Dorne, it was preferred to wear leather armor, Metal armor heated up too fast and could lead to serious burns.
When it was time to leave for Lys, the crew couldn't be happier. Everyone knew that Lys was home to the best whores in the world and his crew were men after all. They discussed how they would get Renly his first lay when they thought he couldn't hear, though he did. Of course, his main goal was to get the dragon hatching secrets but finally sleeping with someone would also be great. He was pretty pent up. They were sailing across the ocean blue, when Ryu came running to the Captain's quarters, "Milord! Milord! Pirates!"
Renly jumped up from his chair and ran up deck. There, he could see, about 600 meters away, a ship flying a jolly roger, "How could it get so close without any of you noticing?", he glared at his crew, they were supposed to be competent sailors, this was unacceptable.
"I- we- ", one of his crewmates squirmed under his gaze, avoiding eye contact.
"Your alcohol privileges are revoked for a week", he sighed, "Well, this will be a good way to relieve some stress"
His face turned from annoyance to wicked glee, "let them approach, they have chosen the wrong people to rob"
He watched closely as the other ship got closer, the men on the ship had their weapons drawn, ready to enter the vessel. They were emboldened by the crew's lack of aggression. They got closer and closer, looking menacing. A plank was placed to connect the two ships and the pirates walked over it. Just as they were standing in a straight line, Renly smirked, "let me show you something"
"And what would that be?" Asked one of the pirates, the captain , laughing, "wanna show us how you piss yourself? My crew will kill your companions and then we will rape you. Would've preferred a girl but after so long at the sea, even a fish would do… you are a Baratheon, right? Your family will pay handsomely for your life, hahaha!"
"So you know who I am, good, have you heard about my powers?"
"Powers? Pah! We all know that magic has died, tricks of the light, all of-" the captain spat but couldn't continue as Renly had used the time he was talking to cast lightningbolt, a third level spell that created a five foot(1.5 meters) thick bolt of lightning in a straight line. Thunder cracked as the bolt electrified the pirates, none of them had expected this, so they didn't have time to dodge. There was a hole in each of their chests where the bolt hit. The captain was alive for but a few milliseconds more, in which he stared in shock and fear at the young lord who had just killed all his crew.
There was a stunned silence as the corpses fell into the water, off the plank. They looked at their lord with a mix of awe and fear. They had seen his magic but it hadn't dawned on them how devastating the sorcery could be, a single motion from his hands and a word from his mouth and bam, they were gone.
Renly took a deep breath through his nose, smelling the ozone laying in the air. He could still feel the tingle of magic within himself, "what are you waiting for? Get their supplies, we will confiscate them"
"Y- yes milord" the crew bowed and boarded the ship, taking anything valuable. Renly let his crew each keep a share of the loot. There were gemstones, coins from all over the world, jewellery, exotic animals from the summer isles and so much more. They must've had a good run for the last week, too bad they encountered Renly. As he was walking past the cages with exotic beasts, he heard a whimper, a human whimper. He pushed past the animal cages and within the far corner, found a scared little boy with long, unkempt, black hair, chained to the wall of the ship with an iron chain connected to the slave collar around his neck. He was whimpering, holding a bleeding wound on his bare chest, clearly left by a whip. There was magic slumbering within him, what kind, he couldn't say. The boy, no older than ten, looked at Renly with fear, utter fear, "please… no more, I'll behave…", the boy whispered in high Valyrian.
"Don't worry, I'm here to save you", Renly got down to his level and smiled warmly. His high Valyrian was a bit broken but understandable.
"N- no, this is a trick! I won't escape, don't worry, I'll be a good slave", he whimpered, inching back towards the wall.
It reminded Renly of Reek, or Theon Greyjoy from the show. He felt pity for the poor child. Reek had reacted the same when his sister tried to save him. Renly took the chains in his hands and cast knock. With a loud crack, the collar opened. He touched the boy's chest and cast cure wounds. The boy flinched back but was pleasently surprised by the way that the suffering eased as the wounds closed themselves, "I'm not tricking you, come with me, what is your name?"
He stood up and followed, "my name died when I was captured, I am nobody"
"Do you want a new name?"
He hesitated before nodding, flinching when Renly raised his hand to ruffle his hair, "I'll call you Percy"
"Per-cy?" Percy tried out the name on his tongue, smiling, "my name is Percy"
"Ryu, get Percy here a place to sleep, let the cooks bring him some food", he ordered Ryu, "Percy, this is Ryu, he will show you where you'll sleep and give you something to eat"
Percy nodded, turning to Ryu and walking off.
Later that day, Renly turned to Ryu as they were eating. Around Ryu's neck hung a golden chain with a locket of silver on it, a spoil from the pirates, "how is Percy doing?"
"He is good, still skittish and easily frightened but he seems to trust us, that being you, milord and myself", Ryu explained, putting some of the roast salmon in his mouth.
"Can you train him to speak the common tongue? Preferably how to read and write too?"
"Yes, I can, milord, it will take time but give it a year and he'll be able to converse passingly"
"Good, good, I will retire to my chambers now", Renly walked off to his captain's quarters.
He fell asleep soon after.
He dreamt of the white walkers, the abominations hiding in the true north. He saw the night king, converting a baby into one of them, only to awake with a sharp pain in his gut. Opening his eyes, he saw Percy standing above him, shaking, terrified. Looking down, Renly found himself stabbed with his own Valyrian steel dagger which he had laid on his desk, a few meters away.
"I- I am sorry, s- so sorry but you are a heathen, the l- l- lord of l- light has commanded me to k- kill all the non believers" he said and Renly could feel that magic within him again. He hadn't recognised it before but now he understood it was the same connection he had felt within Thoros of Myr, only even weaker than in Thoros, so weak that he hadn't recognised it. He hissed, pulling out the dagger and casting wither and bloom, draining the life out of Percy and healing Renly's wound. The boy was but a withered corpse when the spell ended. Renly dragged the corpse over ship and let it fall into the ocean, where he couldn't be burned. It was petty but he didn't want the boy to be reunited with his god. Next, he walked into the crew's rooms, one after the other. No one had been stabbed but himself, which was good. It seems as though Renly had been the only victim. Probably because he had displayed his magic so openly. He knew that the faith of the seven would have a problem with him but the lord of light too? They probably wouldn't bat an eye if he used fire magic but evidently, other magic made him a heathen. Renly went back to sleep, awaking to Ryu calling for him.
"Percy, he- he is gone, we can't find any trace of him", Ryu was panicked.
"He tried to stab me…"
"He what?!"
"He tried to stab me, he was a follower of the lord lf light and didn't take kindly to me using magic that didn't come from his god", Renly grimaced as he cut his meat with knife and fork.
"Those damned red priests…" Ryu hissed, "did you know my mother was burned by one of them for a blood ritual, I can still hear her screaming when I sleep, that horrific sound and the heat- oh the heat!"
"I am sorry that you had to witness that"
"It is in the past now", he dismissed his concern, staring into the distance.