The valyrian Freehold

Chapter 14: Blood and shame

A new day had rizen and the rain had stopped, since then her brother has slept in her bed almost every night. Cattle came and went like a mindless sheep sometime even forgetting to teach them their scriptures. They would walk outside tired and restless under the passages under the church for it was the only way they could practice high valyrian. The introduction to the old tongue seemed foreign upon their lips. She remembered her first words in high valyrian was that of her brother.

"Nuha Daemond brozi lekia issa".

"My brother name is Daemond".

Nuha- my
Brozi- name
leika- brother
issa- is
Mandia- older sister

Daemond was extatic at the mention of his name in my studies so much so that he practiced for hours to say my own. "Nuha Vhaera brozi mandia isssa".

To congragulate him me and the other villagers decided to go into the city to buy exotic fruits. They were spending so much, a decent amount since they finally ranked higher than Cattle. His work with the church has made him lose sight of his duties, petty wars and lack of communication has left the city divided.

So much so they have decided to include the gods. "The morning air was dark with the smoke of burning Gods. They were all a fire now, "R'hllor, come to us in our darkness," the lady called. "Lord of the light, we offer you these false Gods these seven who are one, and him the enemy. Take them and cast your light upon us, for the night is dark and full of terrors".

"In ancient books of Asshai it was written that there will come a day after a long summer when the stars bleed and the cold breath darkness falls heavy on the world in this dread hour a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword. And that sword shall be lightbringer, the red sword of heroes, and he who clasps it shall be Azor Ahai come again, and the darkness shall flee before him".

They all listened to the stories of old as they ate a red golden apple. It was sweet just like a hibbicus. A pastry made out of flour, sugar, and many other things. They walked the streets hungry for more. They watched as a fire mage used "myrish fire, which burns so bad to help heal the lady's scars. That very same lady had beautiful braids upon her back. Vhaera always kept hers flat and unkempt. after all her mother was the one who braided her hair. Taught her to cook and clean, but now she could only do two of those things. Daemond would try to help her but she ended up with more tangles and knots than before.

Valeanna does her hair when she can but there duties and chores to attend too so it usually stayed this way. Alys told her recently "that blood runs truer than oaths and a child born of traitors seed will find that betrayal comes naturally". So she told him in the same tone that, "she'll wear her irons and hold her tongue. A man who wont listen can't hear". The message was definitely recieved at both ends as he kneeled before her pressing his brow to her hand. Laughter is posion to fear so she laughed at his gesture since then they have remained idle as she thought over their previous conversation.

"Treason is a noxious weed. It must be torn up, root and stem and seed, lest new traitors sprout from every roadside". She understood "that sometimes words can accomplish what a sword cannot".

"No one was safe".

"No life certain".

"It was dark amongst the trees, where the moon did not reach". She pondered as the world continued. She decided that the children will decide their own fate. Pressure is always adamant in these things and she for one would not hint such ludicrous speech in his direction. She saw her brother as her equal a mirror of what they lost. She hoped he viewed her the same. As they watched the show before them the elders made their thoughts known.

"Don't they know the Gods they worship are no longer...." they whispered in hush tones. Their Gods have some similarities to theirs. They believe their God is of the earth and sky.

The fourteen flames are described as such:

1. Arrax- ruler of Gods, law, order, justice, governance, and strength.

2. Aegarax- God of all creatures that walk, run, swim, or fly. Creator of the first dragon.

3. Balerion- God of death and the underworld.

4. Caraxes- God of the sea, twin of Meraxes.

5. Gaelithox- God of fire, stars, moon, sun, and the dawn, rival of meraxes.

6. Meleys- Goddess of love and fertility.

7. Meraxes- Goddess of the sky, twin of Caraxes.

8. Shrykos- Goddess of beginings, endings, transitions, and doorways.

9. Syrax- God of wine, fruitfulness, parties, festivals, madness, chaos, drunkenness, vegetation, an ecstasy.

10. Tessarion- Goddess of music, arts, knowledge, healing, plauge, prophecy, poetry, beauty,and achery.

11. Tyraxes- Goddess of reason, wisdom, intelligence, skill, peace, warfare, and battle strategy.

12. vermax- God of boundaries, travel, communication, trade, language, amd writing.

13. vermithor- God of smiths, crafts, and artisans.

14. vhager- Goddess of war

They also learned that during the dawn of the empire, the God of Arrax, in secret who pitied the dragons, create his own men, he gave them the blood of the dragon, so that these men would have a kinship with the dragons and not kill them like the the other men. This had the effect of turning the men's hair the color of silver, and their eyes of violet. For this Arrax is seen as the father of the ancient Valyrian people, something they are trying to desperately recreate. But no matter how many books they read in the catacombs nothing comes close. It makes sense really if the people of Asshai had this power why hadn't they used it to conquer. They've only found ridles and lost history of their people which they've decided to record before they're departure
so that the Velaryons wouldn't be left out of their own history. They have not yet recieved word from them only stories of their great fetes from the other sailors.

They are proud of them really. "For who would of think a shepard would become a voyager?"

They also found out that they're ancestors once took shelter in the valley beneath Mount Valyr. The same place they were chased from because of the wyverns. It is said in the scriptures that Aerion, was the first dragonrider who rode Karnax, after everything, the pages behind the book looked burnt and eaten away lost for ever. Lost to them. They also learned that dragon dreams were considered a blessing bestowed upon them by the goddess Tessarion who claim she only shares her visions with those she found worthy.

This was only the start of their investigation of their own culture. It seemed that this knowledge was hidden from them. And she figured that those very riddles were the secret to her visions. Asking the vatican or any other in this city was like handing them a weapon that could go off any minute. So they kept quite about they're findings and destroyed everything else. The children especially were taught that secrecy was the upmost of improtance if they wnated to keep breathing.

That scared them but they needed to learn and quickly as another year approached shortly. The hour has grown late so they retired from the town and returned to the inn to tell their children stories as they tucked them in. They took their time for the elders needed a breather every know and then.