Game of Thrones: Viserys the Three-Headed Dragon.

Chapter 80 Melisandre
Melisandre's chambers were never truly dark.

Even on the warship, three fish oil lamps were burning in the room, dispelling the darkness in the cabin. In addition, there were four tallow candles placed on both sides of the bed, two on each side. The cabin's rule of prohibiting open flames could not restrain her. In places where the sun could not shine, she wanted to see the flame at any time.

The first lesson any of her servants had to learn when they began to serve her was: never, ever let the fire in the room go out.

The red priestess closed her eyes and prayed, then opened them again and stared at the flames with her strange, blood-red eyes.

His Majesty Stannis now surrounds himself with those who do not believe in God, and his pride outweighs his faith in R'hllor. The king will not take her to King's Landing, but will order her to turn away from the fleet at the Throat and return to Dragonstone. She will not be allowed to contact or inquire about the bastard who has the king's blood.

She took a sip of water, put down the cup, blinked her eyes, stretched her muscles, and stood up from the chair, her whole body aching and stiff. Because she had been staring at the fire for so long, she felt very dark in the bright room, and it took her a long time to adjust her eyes. Her eyes were dry and tired, but she didn't dare rub them, which would only make them worse.

Whenever someone asked her what she saw in the flames, Melisandre would answer with a nonchalant tone, "A lot."

But watching fire for signs is never so easy.

The art of fire-watching, like all arts, requires long-term control, practice, and learning. Pain, and pain. R'hllor uses ashes and flickering tongues of fire as a language to convey omens to his chosen followers. This language is difficult and subtle, and only the god himself can master it 100% proficiently. Melisandre has spent so many years practicing this art that she can't count it herself. In addition to long-term practice, she has also paid a huge price. In the end, no one has such a deep skill as her in watching and interpreting ambiguous omens from the holy fire, including her fellow monks.

After the Bloodthirsty Star appeared, her skills improved a lot. Even stronger than when she was in Yashai. Every spell she cast, every gesture she made, was more powerful than before. Many things that she couldn't do before, she could do now.

She can create extremely terrifying shadows.

Shadows are servants of light and descendants of flames, relying on the "fire of life". The stronger the "fire of life", the stronger the shadow that can be created.

Having mastered such powerful magic, she would soon no longer have to use those petty tricks of the quacks.

Even so, creating two shadows in a row in the south was a bit too much for her.

But in the eyes of others, she would appear to be very relaxed, as if so simple that it was not worth mentioning.

She absolutely could not tell them how much effort she had put in and how many risks she had taken to perform that magic.

She had learned a lesson long before Ashai: the more effortless a spellcaster appeared, the more in awe others would hold him.

As the fleet entered the throat, the original south wind suddenly became chaotic, and Stannis's fleet was hit by a storm. The unpredictable wind blew the fleet's formation apart, and some ships were even blown into the middle of the narrow sea. It is said that the fleet is reorganizing in Blackwater Bay, where the ocean current is gentler, under the shelter of the shore ridge of Cape Marseille.

It was not a good sign that something like this had happened just as the ship taking her back to Dragonstone had left the fleet.

But now she could not see her king in the flames.

She had consumed too much power and it would take time to recover, so she needed to resort to "sacrifice" to the Lord of Light to help her watch the fire.

She had to look again. She had to make sure she was seeing it right. Countless priests had fallen for false illusions. They saw a wishful illusion in the flames, but they mistakenly believed it was given by the Lord of Light.

King Stannis is marching on King's Landing. He is Azor Ahai reborn, and the fate of the world rests on his shoulders. Of course R'hllor, the Lord of Light, would grant her a vision, a glimpse of his future in flames.

"Lord of Light, let me see Stannis," she prayed. "Let me see your king, your voice in the world."

There are still people who oppose the Lord of Light imprisoned in Dragonstone Prison. They will be the most suitable sacrifices she can offer to the gods.

Someone was knocking on the door. From the knock, she recognized that it was the captain of the guard assigned to her by the Queen's family: "Lady Melisandre, we have arrived at Dragonstone."

The Red Priestess knew the role of the guards. She traveled with them only to gain the proper respect. If she was in danger, she would not dare to count on them. She did not need to count on them. Melisandre of Asshai never worried about her own safety. She had the Lord of Light to protect her.

She responded and began to put on her bright red priest robe. Her sleeves were full of secret pockets, and she carefully checked to see if the various powders were in the correct pockets. She had to check carefully to make sure she didn't forget anything in the cabin when she left.

There are powders that turn flames green, blue, and silver, powders that make flames roar and hiss, powders that make flames jump up higher than people, and powders that create smoke. There are smokes that make people speak the truth involuntarily, smokes that arouse desire, smokes that make people fear, and there is a kind of black smoke that can kill people on the spot. These various kinds of powders, each with a small handful, are the weapons of the red priestess.

The carved box she brought from the other side of the narrow sea was less than half full. She knew the formula and process for making the powder, but she lacked many rare raw materials produced in Asia. She closed the box and locked it, hiding the key in another secret pocket in her skirt.

Perhaps soon these won't be needed anymore.

She went out and looked up at the gloomy sky. Her sight could not penetrate the thick cumulus clouds, but she knew that the Bloodthirsty Star was there.

However, the moment she got off the ship and stepped onto the Dragonstone pier.

The ruby ​​at Melisandre's throat suddenly became hot, and she felt a burning sting on her skin.

If anyone wanted to harm her, she would foresee it in the flames.

When she learned to watch the flames and see the visions, the first thing she learned was the visions that concerned her own safety. At that time, she was still a half-grown child, a lifelong slave girl in the Great Temple of R'hllor. Until now, she still remembers the creed that the priest must first consider her own safety and no warning should be ignored.

She scanned the pier, searching for flames, and among her guards she saw a knight with a torch hanging from his waist.

She went straight over to him and asked for the torch.

She held the torch in front of her and gently brushed the head of the torch with her hand, and the tung oil torch immediately caught fire.

The rear guards looked at the priest enthusiastically. They were all the most loyal rear guards.

The Queen's party are those of Stannis Baratheon's followers who convert to the Faith of R'hllor.

Queen Selyse Florent was the first to join the Queen of Light, and the "Queen's Party" was named because they were closely united around her. At the same time, they were also loyal supporters of the red priestess Melisandre. In contrast to the Queen's Party, those who always adhered to the faith of the Seven Gods were called the King's Party.

Most members of the Queen's Party embroider the Flame Heart emblem of the Lord of Light on the chest of their clothes to show their loyalty to R'hllor.

Some fanatical members of the Queen's Party even think that Melisandre's relationship with Stannis is closer than that with Queen Cerys, and that the Red Woman is the real queen.

The flames on the torches shot up high and pointed to the south in the breeze.

She returned to the boat and walked to the southernmost part of the ship.

The flame was still pointing to the south, and she could feel that the tingling sensation in her body became less severe with every inch she moved south.

"Drive the ship south." The priestess gave the order.

They are the most loyal supporters of the Red Priestess Melisandre, and no one questions her decision.

The warship that had just stopped at the port of Dragonstone set off again. This is a longship with 50 oars, a small rowing boat. It is long, narrow and light. The hull is made of wood and has a very shallow draft. It is built for optimized speed. The longship does not have a head and tail. Its symmetrical design allows it to quickly turn direction without lifting the head.

As the priestess gave the order, the longship sailed out of the harbor, following the direction of her torch. The wind was just right.

Soon, she discovered something unusual.

She didn't care about these things, but she couldn't let go of any abnormalities on the sea at this moment. She asked the captain of the guard from the Florent family beside her: "Where is the patrol fleet responsible for the blockade at sea? Who was originally in charge?"

The captain of the guard replied: "My lady, the acting lord Ser Axell Florent has ordered the blockade to be lifted, allowing all ships capable of fighting to follow the fleet led by Ser Imry Florent to attack King's Landing. Previously, Baal Amon of the Horns was in charge of patrolling."

Axell, the acting lord of Dragonstone, is known to Melisandre. He tries his best to show that he is more loyal and trustworthy than anyone else in front of the king. He hopes that the king will appoint him instead of his brother, Alister Florent, the Earl of Brightwater, as the King's Hand. He also claims that he can see visions in the flames, but Melisandre is skeptical of this.

And Baal-Ammon.

The priestess had some impression of the weak and fat fourteen-year-old boy Duran Bar-Aimon. The boy showed up on the first day the king began to summon vassals. He was timid and had no opinion of his own. He dared not say "no" to any order.

While the king was traveling south, he ordered Durran Bar-Emon, Count of Pointe City, to continue to block the throat.

This task was originally assigned to Lord Gunther Sandglass of Fellhaven, but after the king allowed Melisandre to burn down the sept on Dragonstone, Lord Gunther told Stannis directly that he could no longer support Stannis's kingly cause, so he was arrested and imprisoned. The king took Lord Fellhaven's ships with him when he went south.

The red-robed woman didn't know much about military affairs. She calmly and mysteriously asked the captain of the guard beside her: "Do you think this is right, sir?"

"My lady, the only possible threat at sea right now is that the Lannister fleet in Lannisport will travel around most of Westeros and appear here. But if they appear, the weak patrol fleet will not be able to resist them. Whether they attack Dragonstone or follow into Blackwater Bay, once your Majesty's fleet captures King's Landing, we can turn around and defeat them."

So what exactly is the flame trying to show me?
They chased the flames on the sea for several hours, and the fuel on the torches burned out several times and were replaced with new ones.

As it was getting dark, they saw the watchtower on the top of Cape Marseille on the south coast, which was burning with flames. They arrived at the foot of the pointed castle, the residence of the House of Bar-Emon.

When Melisandre the Red arrived here, the wind that blew the flames stopped.

(End of this chapter)