Chapter 103 – The Hand's tourney

[298 AC]

"Welcome to King's Landing, my Lord.", Thoros of Myr voiced out with devotion while kneeling on the temple floor without hesitation, the warriors and priests following behind him doing the same.

"Forgive me for not greeting you as soon as you entered the city and escorting you to the temple, my Lord.", the High Priest continued, even though he knew that Phenex had instructed him not to do so in the first place.

"Rise Thoros. There is nothing to forgive. You have enacted my will for years now and have yet to disappoint me.", Phenex countered, looking at the man kindly.

Thoros had truly become one of the most valuable members of the temple, as his dutiful service in King's Landing had increased the number of believers in the Crownlands by leaps and bounds over the last years.

"Thank you for your praise, my Lord.", the priest continued, his well-groomed appearance not hiding the fact that he was a warrior through and through.

Phenex and his people had just arrived at King's Landing by ship roughly an hour ago. Though Stannis had not accompanied them from Dragonstone, as it would have been rather inconvenient for him to appear in King's Landing at such a time.

The Red Temple in King's Landing was very large, almost a quarter the size of the one in Volantis, which said a lot considering how massive the main stronghold of the Red God's religion truly was.

Turning towards the people following Phenex, Thoros bowed deeply as he greeted: "Lady Arianne, Lady Missandei, it is an honor to house you at the Red Temple of King's Landing. My warriors and I are yours to command."

"The honor is ours, High Priest.", Arianne answered for the both of them as she was generally more vocal when it came to official matters, while Missandei tended to observe and evaluate first, "Our husband has told us much of your deeds and your service for the temple here in the Seven Kingdoms."

The Dornish Princess knew that her status as Phenex' wife automatically gave her great authority, but through the years she had spent at Phenex' side, she had also learned something even more important, which was that respect and trust had to be earned.

Every priest, priestess, and warrior of the Red Temple would give their life for her, and Arianne wanted to prove herself worthy of such devotion. But more importantly, the young Princess did not take such respect and devotion for granted.

Arianne saw the members of the Red Temple as her own people, as much as she saw the people of Dorne as her own. It came naturally to her as she had the marks of a true Rhoynish Queen, her mind as sharp as a Valyrian blade while her spirit was just as tough.

"Thank you for the warm welcome, High Priest.", Missandei added, before she crouched low and brushed through the shadowcat's fur that sat by her side with wide and curious midnight-blue eyes.

"This is Kys, please make sure that your warriors do not attack her while she explores the temple. She is a rather curious little thing.", the golden-eyed beauty added gently, her eyes shining in innocent joy as she felt the little feline's soft fur on her hands.

"Raahh!", Kys roared cutely, seemingly protesting her foster mother's assessment. She didn't need to be protected by her mother's words, she was plenty fierce enough to protect herself. She was an apex predator after all.

Laughing lightly, Missandei answered smilingly: "Yes, yes. You are very fierce, my little shadow."

"I will see to it that everyone is informed, Lady Missandei.", Thoros assured with a smile.

The High Priest's gaze fell onto the Feathers next, but he did not greet them verbally, as he just bowed respectfully like every other member of the temple did. The Feathers were the greatest fighters of the temple, while technically not really being part of the temple.

They only took commands from Phenex and did not really socialize with the priests or priestesses besides Kinvara and exceptions like Bellegere or Phenex' lovers, as they liked to keep to themselves.

Afterwards, the High Priest personally took them to the spacious courtyard right behind the main temple that had been prepared for Phenex' party's arrival, where a hot bath and food already awaited them.

…

[298 AC]

Being able to sit on the grandstand by the jousting track was normally a great honor for any noble and also a mark of their high standing, but on the final day of the Hand's tournament almost any noble present had at some point wished to seat himself with the common folk.

The reason for such was simple, as the Red Temple had occupied a small space near the track right in the midst of the common people. A place that was currently occupied by a High Priest and Priestess, who sat behind a man and two women in obvious reverence.

They were surrounded by only half a dozen Fiery Hand members, which were too few considering that they were surrounded by common folk on all sides, though not one of the low-born would ever dare and intrude the space that was occupied by the Red Temple.

Too much had the temple done for the people of the city since its erection and the people knew it and loved the temple for it. In fact, most priests and priestesses would hardly ever bring any guards with them when roaming the city as there was simply no need for such.

Not even the poorest and darkest characters of the city would ever attempt to attack or rob a member of the Red Temple, contrary to members of the Faith or nobility in general, who wouldn't dare to leave their homes without guards.

"W-who is that?", a gorgeous red-headed girl asked her father as she gazed at the most beautiful man she had ever seen in her young life.

Short black locks, brilliant violet eyes, and facial features that seemed to have been sculpted by the hands of a god.

And while her father stared fixedly in the same direction, Lord Eddard Stark had no answer for his daughter, as he himself did not know who the man was that sat so comfortably amongst the Red Priests.

But he recognized the sigils that were painted on the flags right next to the sigil of the Red Temple, which was a blood-red bird surrounded by similarly coloured flames on a light red fabric.

The Hand though was deeply disturbed, as he saw the purple flag with the white sword and a shooting star on it, as well as the orange flag with a yellow spear piercing a red sun.

'House Dayne and House Nyermos Martell.', Eddard Stark realized with a frown.

Given his history with the members of House Dayne, the Northern Lord was shocked to see the banner of this House being set up next to the one of the Red Temple.

"Ah, I am sure you have heard the rumors about the Princess of Dorne marrying the new Sword of the Morning, haven't you Lord Stark? Though it must have been some time since you last saw a member of either House.", a voice came from a row behind the Hand of the King, belonging to none other than Lord Petyr Baelish.

"The good-looking man is Phenex Firestar of House Dayne, Sword of the Morning, husband of the Princess of Dorne, Arianne Martell, and most importantly Great Commander of the Red Temple.", Baelish continued his introduction as Sansa gazed at the man in a mixture of surprise and slight distaste.

She had heard only the worst about the Red Temple from her mother and the Septa that acted as her teacher, but the Red Priestess Melisandre had saved her direwolf from being executed, even though her father had sent it back to Winterfell to avoid any more trouble coming from its presence in the Red Keep.

Her father was quiet as he listened to the master of coin's words, his eyes sporting a complex look, while Sansa herself couldn't suppress her curiosity as she asked: "W-why do they sit down there with the smallfolk?"

Laughing lightly, Baelish gave an answer she had trouble understanding.

"Who but them could afford to sit with the small folk, Lady Sansa?"

He thankfully followed up by explaining: "Who would dare gossip about a man that even the High Priest Thoros and High Priestess Melisandre defer to? For a man like Phenex Firestar and his wife, Arianne Martell, reputation and noble etiquette are nothing more than clouds in the sky."

"With but one word of his cities fall and rise. Thousands and thousands of ships would cross the Narrow Sea for him, filled to the brim with the greatest army this world has ever seen. Even Old Valyria cannot compare to the prosperity and strength of the Blessed Lands."

"But more than that, do you see the two guards to the front? The female one with the spear and the male one with the longword?"

"They are Feathers, personal guards of the Lord of Light himself. Now, you may or may not believe in the Lord of Light, but there are only thirteen such warriors in all of the Blessed Lands and it is said that every one of them can rival an adult dragon in might."

"There are stories of the Feathers and their Lord facing off against four hundred thousand Dothraki riders alone in an open field. And that was the day the Dothraki ceased to exist. Just imagine what the Great Commander would do, should someone dare and incite his anger."

"That's enough, Lord Baelish.", Eddard Stark finally intervened, preventing the master of coin from further shocking the red-haired young Lady.

Sansa was truly shocked and found it hard to believe these words, as she could not imagine there being such powerful warriors, and neither did she believe in the Red God.

Soon enough though her attention was captured by the valiant-looking Ser Loras Tyrell, even though neither her father nor Petyr Baelish had moved their gazes from the place where red-robed temple members were preparing some refreshments for the Sword of the Morning, his lovers and companions.

…

Hearing Missandei's melodic laughter, Phenex turned towards her only to find her sitting in the vibrant grass and playing with Kys and another shadowcat with stunning sapphire-blue fur and draconic eyes.

The peculiar little shadowcat was Sapphire, who he transformed for the moment so that she could play around with Kys. Before Phenex had her transformed into a little snake and wrapped around his wrist, so she could follow along on his travels, as he knew that she would otherwise get lonely in Volantis.

This new form though made her especially happy, as it allowed her to play around with Kys in a way that she had not done since she and Jade had practically been infants. The attention she got from Missandei and him during this time seemed to have also reawakened her playful side somewhat.

And even with the eyes of hundreds of nobles on him and his lovers, Phenex did not care that Missandei acted willfully and enjoyed playing around with her bonded companion, instead of sitting quietly in her seat and trying to look like a proper Lady.

What purpose would all his power have, if he could not even allow his love to do as she pleased and be happy?

Smiling slightly Phenex turned back to Arianne, who sat by his side and had his hand in her lap, gently massaging his fingers and palm as she looked at the gathered nobles and the royal family with calm and intelligent eyes.

"Are you sure you do not want me to go fetch a lance and kill the Mountain in a joust?", Phenex asked the Dornish Princess, knowing how much every Martell craved for the blood of the Mountain and his liege.

It had been his original plan for attending the tourney, but Arianne had asked him not to do so, even though she knew that it would have been an easy task to accomplish for her husband.

"Yes, I am sure. My uncle would probably not speak to me for ten years if I let you kill the man, my love.", Arianne replied with a sigh as she turned towards Phenex, smiling up at him with affection.

"Hmm. Oberyn would probably do that.", Phenex pondered before he stole himself a kiss from her lips.

His attention soon turned back to the track, as the final round in the jousting began. And like he remembered, it was a match between Loras Tyrell and Ser Gregor Clegane.

"Who will win?", Missandei asked, as she returned to her seat on his other side, Kys curled up in her lap, while Sapphire jumped into his to do the same.

"Well, considering that the boy's mare is in heat, the Mountain will have to ride this round with a distracted steed. But like any battle there is no definite outcome, a single mistake or a lucky hit is all it takes for either side to win or lose.", Phenex replied honestly.

He knew that many things in Westeros had gone like in the original timeline while others hadn't because of his influence, but either way it was hard to predict the outcome of a battle such as this.

Loras Tyrell may have gotten himself an unfair advantage in addition to his great skill in jousting, but he could also just be unlucky or simply lose in a competition of skill.

Too many factors were involved and Phenex didn't bother to call upon his power and look into the future by imitating the Greenseer magic.

No sooner than he had answered the question however, the riders drove their mounts forward and aimed their lances at each other.

And maybe it was luck or simply fate, but after only one pass the Mountain was unhorsed and fell from his steed right before the Red Temple's tent. In anger the man called for his sword, not knowing that his day was about to get even worse.