12 Chapter - 12
As I sat on the balcony, basking in the warm sun and feeling the gentle breeze on my face, my mind wandered to something I had been thinking of ever since I left Winterfell.
I rose from my comfortable perch and set off with a determined step. One of my rats had already found what I was looking for and I knew exactly where to go.
As I made my way through the winding corridors of the keep, I couldn't help but feel as though I was being watched. A quick glance over my shoulder confirmed my suspicions; a few servants were discreetly following me, their eyes trained on my every move.
Not wanting to draw any attention to myself, I altered my course and began to wander aimlessly, occasionally stopping to ask for directions or feigning interest in some minor detail of the castle's architecture.
It wasn't long before I reached the room I had been seeking. I approached it with caution, taking care to make it seem as though I had stumbled upon it by chance.
My heart raced as I stood before the mammoth skull of Balerion, the Black Dread. Its size was overwhelming, taking up the entirety of the room and leaving me in awe. "Damn, that is one big dragon," I whispered to myself, marveling at the sheer scale of the ancient creature.
Hiding my excitement, I approached the skull and placed my palm on its surface. Suddenly, a rush of information flooded my mind, threatening to overwhelm me. I nearly lost my footing, but managed to remain standing and focused.
However, I quickly realized that this was not the place to analyze the vast amount of data I had just received. I knew I had to get out of there and find a suitable space to sift through the mountain of information at my fingertips.
Quickly Making my way back to my room, I lay down on my bed, closing my eyes as I began to sort through the incredible wealth of knowledge I had collected.
And as I sifted through the information, I came to two monumental conclusions that sent my mind reeling.
The first and very obvious one was that now I could make my own dragon. While I could have made a dragon before, it would have been more trial and error and me stumbling in the dark along with years of work until I could finally have a decent dragon. But now that I had a template from the Black Dread himself, I could skip all the unnecessary attempts and start with the last step immediately. I could hardly contain my excitement as I thought about the possibilities that this new knowledge opened up for me.
Now, I was going to have to wait until I was out of King's Landing before I made my own dragon, for obvious reasons.
In the meantime, my mind was consumed with the second conclusion I had reached.
Dragons did not come to exist in this world naturally.
Some lunatics in Valyria had used blood magic and a countless number of human sacrifices in a grand chimera-esque ritual using mainly firewyrms and a multitude of other apex predators that I had no Idea of what they were even called to create the very first dragon.
It also turned out that the dragon's abilities were not just the result of biological processes, but rather, actual magic. Most prominently, its fire breath was not the result of an organic fuel that ignited on exposure to air, but rather, the dragon converted literal magic energy into fire.
While my twenty-first century brain could not understand such a concept, my broken powers on the other hand seemed to understand it perfectly.
This was just a small part of the puzzle though, the main part was the dragon's heart, which functioned in a way that was completely different from what I had expected. Instead of pumping blood, it acted like some kind of magic reactor, creating and pumping magic energy throughout the dragon's body.
While I knew that this world had magic in it, I never thought that I would be able to wield it. I was content with the powers I had, even though I had somewhat reached the limits of what I could do without altering my physical appearance or going full on chimera garden.
But that was all about to change.
With the newfound knowledge that I had gained from studying the dragon bones, I had unlocked a whole new level of understanding about magic. It was like a game changer, a sudden twist in the story that opened up a world of possibilities that I had never even considered.
My powers, which I had previously thought were limited to the biological world, now had the ability to quantify and replicate magic, at least in ways that would still technically be called biology. It was an astounding revelation that left me reeling, as I tried to imagine all the incredible things I could now do.
"I can actually use magic now!!!!!" I exclaimed with excitement and disbelief.
"Well not now but soon" I laughed like a maniac just like the day I had entered this world
It also probably meant that I would have to venture into Valyria to uncover more secrets, but that's a problem for another day. I couldn't wait to see what other discoveries and possibilities awaited me in this new world of magic.
I spent the rest of the day studying and analyzing every bit of data I had collected, making a list of all the things I would need to do once I was out of the capital. My mind was racing with excitement as I thought about all the new paths and opportunities that lay ahead.
I finally had a new purpose and I focused solely on the task at hand.
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I spent a good few hours studying the new branch of knowledge I had just unlocked. Suddenly, one of my rats informed me of something interesting happening in the city.
I had been waiting for this exact situation to happen, even though I didn't expect it to happen too soon.
I was still riding high off my latest discovery so I finally decided to do something I had been wanting to do for a long time.
"I guess it's time to make some holier-than-thou septons shit their pants,"
I make my way out of the keep and head to the market, casually waiting near the pyre for the commotion to start. I don't have to wait long as I see a mob approaching the market with a fat balding man with a crystal crown on his head who I assume is the High Septon at the lead, followed by a few more septons and a large group of smallfolk that soon fill up the street.
"We will not tolerate the heathen sorcerers' magic being cast on us!" the High Septon yells, riling up the crowd. "We, the followers of the Seven who are one, will not stand by and watch this blasphemy be committed!"
They try to extinguish the fire by throwing buckets of water at it, but the heat from the flames pushes everyone back before they can come anywhere close to it. They start throwing anything they can get their hands on into the flame, but it doesn't even flicker.
I see the High septon frown at his plan not working but he then spots me standing near the pyre and smiles.
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The High Septon, though occupying a position of great religious significance, lacked true devotion. His ascension to power was achieved through cunning means, and he now sought to exploit his position for personal gain. When faced with the task of dealing with the White Mage from the north, he would not have acted with such haste and directness. However, enticed by the promise of a handsome payment from interested parties, who had made it clear that a generous donation awaited him upon completion of this seemingly simple task, he felt encouraged to proceed.
It had been very easy to rile up the smallfolk of King's Landing, but that's when the first problem appeared. The pyre was too hot, so no one could get very close to it. The only option was to throw water at it to put it out, but that had not been as effective as he had hoped. Even the mob taking charge and throwing anything they could find into the pyre seemed to only feed it.
That's when he spotted the mage standing next to his pyre, and it seemed that the Seven had heard his prayers. It wasn't a problem if they could not put out the pyre. If he could get rid of the main problem itself, the rest would fall into place.
He starts yelling, "Burn the mage in his pyre!" The crowd roars in agreement, their faces twisted in rage as they begin to move towards me.
The Mage raises his hand and speaks. "Stop! I am a mage but I am also a Healer. I built this pyre under the orders of the king to heal the sickness plaguing the city! I mean you no harm."
Seeing the crowd hesitate, he steps forward. "Lies! He is a mage, he is using magic and such powers must only belong to the gods so he must be burned!"
The Mage just shakes his head still trying to look brave. "I don't condone violence but if you come at me with the intent to harm you will not like the consequences."
He sneered. "You are a liar and a fraud. Burn the heretic, burn him in-!"
His words died in his throat as the mage turned his gaze on him. He froze as if he had been plunged into an icy abyss. Light faded from his vision as darkness started to claim him as if he were staring down a narrow corridor whose torches were being extinguished one by one. His body refused to move. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't talk. He - He couldn't move. All he knew was darkness. Darkness and...and fear. He'd never...never felt this fear before. This bone chilling, heart clenching all-encompassing fear tha -
As quick as it came, the darkness and the fear passed, leaving him gasping for breath and he noticed that he was on his knees. Breathing rapidly, He looked around desperately for help. That's when he noticed everyone who were in the vicinity were all on their knees looking at the mage in fear. 'What? How?!!!
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I looked at the terrified crowd barely able to stand on their knees in front of me, some of them had even pissed their pants.
'I might have overdone it a little,' I think to myself, but I can excuse it as it was the first time I had used that little trick on a group of people and I didn't know how well it would work.
That little trick was something I had figured out about a year ago. To be brief, I created a lot of concentrated Cortisol, a hormone that the body releases in stressful situations. In small doses It would only make someone feel stress and fear but the amount I had released would shut down their bodies momentarily and make them feel like they were on the brink of death.
I struggled to contain my glee at the magnificent success of my first attempt at using the terror wave, I managed to replace it with a disinterested expression.
I remained standing there, I knew the effects had worn off in a few seconds, but nobody seemed to have the balls to stand and leave.
A few moments passed in silence and I tried not to appear awkward and ruin my badass moment.
When I was very close to just leaving I finally noticed a group of men approaching. The King led them, flanked by his Kingsguard.
The king asked me to explain what had happened. I quickly recounted the events that led up to the mob forming and me using my powers to protect myself.
The King listened attentively and then spoke to his Kingsguard, "Make sure the septons are dealt with. They have overstepped their bounds and started this mess. I will speak with them personally." He then turned to me and said, "You have already done a lot to help my kingdom, healer. I will make sure your safety is guaranteed." Glancing at the trembling crowd still on their knees, he added, "Not that you seem to need it."
I thank him and walk back to the Red keep happy with the show I had put on. As I walk towards my room I notice a lot more people staring at me. They used to stare at me with awe, now there was a healthy dose of fear mixed in with it as well 'Damn i might have underestimated the range of the terror wave.'
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From her balcony in her room, which had a perfect view of the city, Queen Cersei Lannister observed the hauntingly beautiful pyre burning in the middle of the marketplace, waiting for her plan to unfold.
The White Mage of Winterfell was all everyone could talk about, but he was just a mere flavor of the moment, a nuisance that held no real power when compared to the true rulers of Westeros. However, she was forced to endure him for the day, as she was forced to hear her 'beloved husband' go on and on about how his new friend from the north had healed the smallfolk of the city and gotten rid of the smell. While she could appreciate the healer for cleaning up her city, she didn't really care much about the lives of the smallfolk.
Her husband, in his infinite wisdom, was going to give the savage from the north a lordship for his meager service to the crown, something he should be happy to just be given the opportunity to do. So, she had hatched a perfect plan to show everyone that this so-called White Mage of Winterfell was nothing more than a court jester.
She watches the high septon in front of the mob, whose ears she had whispered into to follow her plan to reach the market. She smiles as she sees the healer in front of the pyre without his beast to protect him. She had not planned for this, but this would make her plans work even better.
She smirks as she watches the mob rushes towards the defenseless mage, she says "That should show the insolent mage how to…"
She grew confused as they suddenly stopped and kneeled in front of him. "Why are those peasants –"
A gust of wind stopped her short. Her words died in her throat as she felt her breath freeze in her lungs, as if she was a little girl standing defenseless in front of a dragon. The mere thought of making a small whimper or even a twitch, would be enough for the beast to devour her whole, and all she knew was fear. It was a paralyzing dread that she had never felt before. The pressure of it all stopped just as quickly as it came, leaving her feeling confused and scared.
As she came to her senses, she realized she had fallen back into her chair, spilling her wine in the process. As she rose unsteadily to her feet, she was met with a daunting sight:
The Mage stood tall and unwavering, a towering figure amidst a cowering crowd of people who trembled on their knees in abject fear. His commanding presence seemed to fill the entire space, as if every inch of the room was imbued with his power.
Despite the chaos and terror around him, the Mage appeared utterly calm. His eyes remained fixed on the trembling masses before him, seemingly scanning their every thought and feeling, with an air of omniscience that both awed and terrified the onlookers.
