Chapter 278: The Path of the Roar

The followers of the Dragon Cult were all captivated by the Dragon Shout, gathered around the three stone shrines, discussing eagerly.

The shrines were not made from solid stone but were composed of several layers of stone blocks. The inscriptions were carved into the surface of the stones, and inside, there were Valyrian steel strips laid out in a magical array designed to channel magical power.

Many nobles from Volantis knew Dragon Language, and they were amazed to see a completely different method of using language for reading and writing. The mages, too, were discovering this new way to release magic through language, and some began wondering if they could use the Common Tongue of Westeros to cast spells.

Renly, standing at the podium, asked, "Dragon Shouts are truly fascinating. I felt something calling to me the moment you opened the stone door!"

Wright smiled. "But you've been lazy! You've only learned one spell, Unrelenting Force!"

Renly waved his hand dismissively. "I've been running between Storm's End and King's Landing. Learning Dragon Shout... spending a year learning one Dragon Shout? It doesn't compare to my own destructive magic."

While Wright could use Unrelenting Force to knock down walls, Renly's version only made his opponents wobble a bit, so he hadn't deepened his study.

Wright said, "Dragon Shout has great potential for growth. It will strengthen as your knowledge increases."

"It sounds like you're saying Dragon Roar doesn't use any Magicka!" Renly replied.

The others didn't have the time or the opportunity to study it. Seeing the excitement of the crowd, Renly asked, "There's no clear law in the Seven Kingdoms prohibiting people from other continents from learning magic, but we've always had restrictions. Can we really open this up to them?"

Wright replied, "Dragon Shout will only be passed on to the high ranks of the Dragon Cult!"

Both the Magic Schools in King's Landing and the Citadel operated on an invitation-only system. Mages had to approach students to recruit them, and simply showing up at the school wouldn't guarantee acceptance. In the early days, too many applicants gathered at the doors, causing a huge disruption and preventing proper teaching. As a result, the system was changed to invitation-only.

It was still manageable in King's Landing, where Wright and Renly were present, but at the Citadel, things had been chaotic at first. Tens of thousands gathered at the school's gates, demanding admission, even going as far as threatening suicide if not allowed in. It wasn't until House Hightower sent knights to disperse the crowd that things settled down. There were rumors that the sewers of Oldtown were full of corpses from that time.

It was even harder for people from Essos to learn magic, as few mages from Westeros had the time to travel to the East.

Pure-blooded Valyrians often had magical talent, but they weren't part of the Seven Kingdoms and weren't under Wright's control. So, he had never cared much for them.

Mages from the Seven Kingdoms were too busy to recruit from the East. And the only magical school in Tyrosh only accepted established mages, making it a high-level institution that only took in those who were already mages.

This led to a problem. Many cults from Essos, such as the Lord of Light, the Faceless Men, and the Warlocks, had many members trying to gain the 'mage' title within their ranks, hoping to later come to Tyrosh to learn real magic.

Through intelligence networks and reports from the Dragon Cult, Wright realized that this went against his original intentions. What he thought were good deeds had benefitted others! He might as well have done it himself.

The five schools of magic Wright brought with him, plus the Skinchanger magic, were all considered part of the Seven Kingdoms. If Wright had taught people from Essos directly, it would be seen as aiding the enemy. But Dragon Shout was entirely his own, and after the Dragon Cult reached the Silver level, it was trustworthy enough for him to start teaching it internally.

Renly suddenly asked, "You had everyone study wand-making together, and now you're opening up Dragon Shout. Are you doing this to deal with the Daedric Princes?"

Wright's expression grew serious. "I don't have a good way of dealing with the Daedric Princes right now. The main goal of the Dragon Cult isn't so much to fight the Daedric Princes but to combat their minions!"

Renly nodded and then looked at the neatly arranged personal guard of Wright around the 'theater'. They wore pale gold armor, with regular soldiers carrying massive double-headed axes, while the officers held family heirloom swords or other weapons. They all wore helmets with antler designs representing House Baratheon.

After watching for a while, Renly asked, "I was planning on having my personal guard wear antler helmets, but acted first. I'll hold off on the change. But tell me this, why does the Dragon Cult center around the dragons?"

In the traditional thinking of the Seven Kingdoms' nobles, Renly thought it was better to deify humans.

"How long do you think you'll live? How long do I think I'll live? But the dragons…" Wright looked at the two complete dragon skeletons at the top of the stairs. "The death of a dragon is almost always caused by another of its kind or by another powerful being. If no such accidents happen, they can live for hundreds, even thousands of years. A single dragon can protect us for generations."

"I understand!" Renly thought for a moment and then asked without looking at Wright, "Will the Dragon Cult allow Robert and Stannis to join?"

"Seems like I've done a good job keeping it secret!" Wright laughed self-deprecatingly. "When I gave you those necklaces for disease and poison resistance, I spoke with them separately. Robert and Stannis were the first to join, but they both thought I was just joking around and didn't take it seriously."

"Speaking of Stannis, I'm sure you received his letter yesterday!" Renly began speaking, simultaneously casting a silence spell around them.

Wright: "I received it. Right now, the opinions in the Seven Kingdoms aren't favorable for him!"

The exact illness King Robert is suffering from hasn't been made public, but it's widely known among the nobility that it's a terminal disease. They speculate that with Wright and Renly around, King Robert might live a few more years, perhaps even a decade. The topic of succession is now one of the most discussed topics among the nobles, second only to the Dorne War.

King Robert's former queen and prince are both dead, and his second wife, Queen Doris Rowan, is beautiful but has a personality that clashes with Robert's. After giving birth to Princess Jocelyn Baratheon, Robert contracted a deadly disease.

After becoming king, Robert adopted many laws and systems from the Targaryen dinasty, including the succession laws. Over a century ago, during the reign of King Aegon III, the order of succession was clearly defined: if the king had no legitimate male heirs, his brothers would be considered before his daughters. Robert has no male heirs, and his first successor is now Stannis.

Stannis is a quiet man, not one for jokes or socializing. Aside from his bannermen and a few Baratheon brothers, he doesn't interact much with other nobles. Over the years, Stannis has earned a lot of money through gambling, which has made him the envy of the nobility. Followers of the Seven Faith believe he's violating religious doctrine. Recently, after a public judgment in Highgarden, the Faithful have begun to spread rumors that if Stannis ascends to the throne, the entire country will face ruin.

Such rumors have reached Stannis' ears, and he knows Renly is in Tryosh. He sent word saying he has finished refitting the royal fleet and will soon bring his daughter, Princess Shireen Baratheon, to Wright for her education.

Renly said confidently, "Stannis sending his daughter to you is definitely his advisor's idea."

Wright: "He may have heard some bad rumors and wants to arrange a safe place for his daughter."

Renly: "Right now, the safest place in the Seven Kingdoms is under the protection of Odahviing and your command of the Stepstones."

Wright isn't particularly concerned about Stannis becoming king. Even if Stannis is incompetent, he can still father children. If he has another son, Wright and Renly could help guide him. Renly, however, isn't the same man he used to be. With his prosperous business, magic, and dragons, he has more than enough on his plate. He has no intention of becoming king, even though he's next in line after Stannis.

The question of succession isn't related to the Dragon Worshippers, and this isn't the best place to discuss it. There are already people waiting not far off, so both of them quickly drop the topic.

Renly dispels the silence spell, and Wright steps forward to greet the newcomer. "Dofas Pennymion, how is this headquarters?"

Dofas: "With your castle blocking the entrance and the secretive location, this is the perfect place for a headquarters! I even saw what seemed like living quarters in the back?"

Wright: "Besides being a gathering place, this location was built to house up to three hundred people. The ventilation shafts were dug by me personally using magic, and there are magical arrays covering the openings, making it incredibly discreet. There's also a secret tunnel leading directly to the sea floor. It's impervious to smoke, fire, and water damage, though it can be a bit dark—it's like a small fortress."

Dofas: "This will make my work much easier."

As another person approaches, Wright addresses him. "Your matters will be announced later, follow me for now."

"Understood."

The newcomer is Sansa Stark, Renly's magic apprentice, accompanied by her direwolf, Lady.

"Master Renly, Lord Wright, Lord Dofas," she greets them with a noblewoman's curtsy and continues, "I have a question."

Renly: "Both Wright and I are here; your question should be easy to answer."

Sansa points to the ceiling: "When the castle gates opened, I felt something calling to me. When I entered, my heart started racing, but it wasn't until I saw the stone shrine that I realized the magical fluctuations were coming from it. When I asked others, they didn't feel anything."

Renly and Dofas turn to Wright, who walks to the side and faces the ground. "Fus!"

A Dragon Shout phrase appears on the stone floor in gold and red letters. Wright gestures for Sansa to stand before it. "Look closely at it and feel how your internal magic reacts."

Sansa gazes down at the words, and after a moment, as the magic dissipates, she looks up at Wright. "I only heard the sound echoing in my ears, but my internal magic didn't change."

Renly and Dofas nod, pondering.

Wright had originally thought that Sansa might have a special sensitivity to dragon roars, but it seems she, like other magicians, only reacted to the magical energy he infused into the Dragon Shout shrine. There's nothing particularly unusual about her. Most other magicians, being more experienced, didn't vocalize their sensations as Sansa did.

Renly, being of close blood to Wright and possessing the best innate talent to master Dragon Shout, is the laziest of them all, wasting his potential.

The pure-blooded Valyrian descendants in Volantis are many. They are not from the powerful four major dragonlord families, but their ancestors share some degree of bloodline connection. This means that, as another dragonblooded lineage, some of them can easily learn Dragon Shout. This is why Wright dared to make Dragon Shout public.

Without such a bloodline, spending decades learning a magic that only shakes the enemy's body is less effective than simply drawing a sword and slashing someone when young.

However, Wright didn't want to discourage the young girl, so he began to flatter her: "Sansa, it seems you have a high talent for learning Dragon Shout. The three shrines each contain a spell: the Unrelenting Force, which directly attacks; the Fire Breath, which spews fire; and the Whirlwind Sprint, which allows rapid movement. I'll continue adding more later. But if you want to learn them early, you can always come to me."

"Really? I've heard from my father that Unrelenting Force can crush a city wall with a shout!" Sansa's eyes sparkled at the mention of the spell.

Wright raised one finger and ignited a small flame between his fingers: "You have to take things one step at a time, just like eating a meal. Magic is the same. Basic fire magic can only light a candle, but higher-level magic is like a falling star. Dragon Shout is similar—its power grows as you deepen your understanding of the language."

"Mm-hmm! So, is Fire Breath just breathing fire? Destruction magic has that too!" Sansa asked, full of curiosity.

Wright: "Fire Breath is a dragon Shout, meaning as you master it, the temperature increases. Eventually, you could breathe dragonfire, just like a dragon!"

Dofas nodded, already beginning to study the first phrase of Fire Breath.

Wright took out a pocket watch, checked the time, and decided it was nearly time. He signaled to Captain Balon Swann.

Seeing the signal, Balon commanded his men to disperse and then shouted, "All followers of the Dragon Cult, please take your seats!"

The 'theater' was large, and the people present all squeezed into the front rows.

Sansa's cousin, Andrew, wearing a rough wooden mask, stood in the center: "I'm sure you all know me. I am Andrew Estermont, the High Priest of the Dragon Cult."

Applause erupted. He truly built the cult from nothing, and though Andrew often made mistakes, his contributions were undeniable.

Andrew continued: "I still have to help Lord Wright manage Tryosh, so I don't have enough time. Today, I announce that I will resign from the position of High Priest."

The applause continued. Andrew had already mentioned this in a previous banquet, and everyone knew it was just a matter of time before the handover ceremony.

"With the approval of the Dragon God's representative, Lord Wright, and Lord Renly, I now call on Dofas Pennymion to step forward as the next High Priest."

Dofas, sitting behind Wright, stood up and made his way down the stage to the central square. Andrew removed the mask from his face and handed it to Dofas.

The wooden mask was crudely carved and of poor quality, but it had witnessed the entire cult's rise. Former High Priest Andrew had once said that the wood for carving the mask was taken from the highest mountain in the world by Odahviing. Dofas had asked how trees could grow on such a snow-covered peak, and Andrew had answered, "Pines!" This exchange was even recorded in the Dragon Cult's scriptures.

Dofas solemnly accepted the mask with both hands and slowly placed it on his face. Dressed in a flowing red robe that matched the mask, he appeared particularly holy. He opened his arms and shouted loudly: "The Dragon God is eternal!"