End of the Year

295 AC, Isle of Love…

Gerold woke up with a groan as he felt a heaviness on himself. He saw Venus lying on his chest with an ethereal face. He had to admit that it was a memorable night and her glorious body beyond recognition was something hard to forget.

Nevertheless, all good things had to come to an end so Gerold pushed her aside, gently. Then, he pushed himself out of the bed and took his pants from the ground. It would have been great if he could have taken a bath to clean himself as he was not smelling great. However, that was not a luxury he could take here so he had to wear his clothes without any complaint.

Venus also woke up when he finished wearing his clothes. Her eyes were watching Gerold with a sly smile on her face. After all, besides having a wonderful night, she also had a wonderful deal as her people were not warmongers so there was no chance for her to win this unnecessary war.

"Breakfast has been prepared for you. After having that you can leave and I will be expecting from you to honor our agreement." Venus talked dismissively.

Gerold was dumbstruck as he was not expecting such treatment after this night but still nodded politically and proceeded to go out. When he opened the door, there was already a priestess in the clothes of a maid waiting for him.

Gerold followed the young woman and went to a room with a long table inside it. The table was full of food from various parts of Planetos. There was even a hairy big egg amongst other eggs.

Gerold sat at the table and began eating but he felt a bit weird as the table was crowded with food. Though there were many things he could choose to eat, he was sitting alone in a big room with enough food to fill at least 50 people.

After eating his fill, Gerold called the priestess standing at the door and asked her to escort him to the shore. It did not take long for Gerold to reach the shore and find his boat. The boat was the same one he sailed here but there was something inside it, he did not put.

A longbow was lying in his boat. Gerold took the bow to his hands and turned to the priest but before he was able to ask anything the priestess spoke, "Evening Star gives you this gift for the agreement."

The priestess bowed her head and turned around. She went back towards the temple before Gerold could say anything.

Gerold looked to the bow in his hands, it was obvious that this exquisite piece was carved out of a goldenheart tree. Goldenheart bows were specialized weapons of Summer Islands and after a long war against pirates and slavers nearly two thousand years ago, the export of the wood was banned. And since then only some pieces were seen outside Summer Islands as the only export was done by smugglers.

It took half a day for Gerold to return to Omburu and already, some priests from the temple and his holy guards were waiting for him on the little port of the town.

As he did not want to be seen because of his current appearance, he asked a robe from one of the priests and quickly wore it. Though many people were looking at him, he did not give his warm smile or compassionate gestures to them and went back to the temple directly.

When he arrived at the temple, he asked for Xabo, head of the temple of Summer Island. As soon as he arrived, Gerold told him of the deal he made with Venus, of course without mentioning the part about her being a goddess. Though Xabo was not happy about the deal, the man in front of him was the Prophet so he had to obey his orders no matter what.

After giving orders to Xabo, Gerold went to take a bath as he wasn't smelling good. It took exactly two hours to take a bath and later he went back to his room to rest as he was planning to return to Lys because there was nothing to do here after the deal he made with Venus.

…

It took two or three weeks for Gerold to return to Lys. His arrival was celebrated by the people of the city like he was returning from war. For these people, every one of his actions was worthy of celebrations. Gerold likened them to the fans of celebrities in his old world, though these were more like fanatics and even his actions that would be seen as wrong for others were justified in their eyes.

It was Aemar Rogare and Sargoso who greeted him at the doors of the First Temple. They followed Gerold to the meeting room and after their cups were filled with wine and they were seated, Gerold explained to them the situation regarding Summer Islands.

Sargoso welcomed the news rather warmly as he was a peaceful man when there was no aggression from the other side. Though when he saw aggression towards the temple he was the most warmongering man in the world.

On the other hand, Aemar welcomed the news with a cold face after the death of his father and sister during the siege of Lys by the allied forces of the free cities. That was the day he became a real man as he was forced to defend himself from being butchered by the vile enemies. And now he was continuously working to promote his family's interest to make his father's dream real. Though his coldness was giving him the appearance of a cruel man, inside, he was yearning for a family and that was the reason Gerold was looking for a woman to marry him, of course with political ties.

After telling them the situation regarding the Summer Islands, he asked them if there were any changes in Essos and Westeros.

There wasn't any change in Essos as the forces of heathens were still standing guard in the borders. Though there were still small clashes, they were not of importance as they did become a common thing in the years of stalemate. With this peace, Gerold was able to establish a colony in the old city of Volantis. Those families who could give birth to more than five children were given lands in the new sprawling city.

However, Westeros was boiling over religious matters. Though common men and nobles were not aware of this, the Faith and the Temple were fighting for influence in the court of the king. And the worst news was the execution of half of the Most Devout as they were found of taking bribery from the enemies of the Faith, the believers.

Though there wasn't only bad news as to when the believers approached the king for exemption of tax from the crown just like the Faith, they were strongly opposed by the High Septon and septons so, in fit drunkenness, the king declared Faith's tax exemption null and demanded them to pay it yearly.

Lucky for the believers, the Hand of the King, Lord Arryn was not at King's Landing so the law was passed, or else, he would have stopped this from happening as he was a devout follower of the temple.

And this new law marked the end of the two hundred eighty-fifth year of Aegon's Conquest.