full of terrors

        AS KESS MADE her way to bear witness to the trial, she slowed her pace as a woman - still as a statue, engaged in a deeply pensive train of thought. was this the red priestess she had heard whispers of?  many seemed quite offended by the presence of a follower of r’hllor…  the iron islanders, for example, seemed quite bothered by it.

         “excuse me… are you a red priestess of r’hllor?”

the shuffling of her crimson skirts against the stone floor was the only sound the priestess could hear as she was ripped from her thoughts. the struggle to piece things together always seemed to transport her into an abyss that seemed unreachable. though it seemed the nobles around had a talent for it. her head nodded slowly as she steadied her mind. “yes, i am. seem to be the only priestess around here.”

“I hope he is the one responsible. The kidnapping of children is horrific. Anyone who does so deserves judgment.” As she spoke of the Lord of Light, she became curious once more. She knew the other woman was a priestess. Could she sense things as others had done in legends? “I will thank anyone who puts this whole ordeal to an end. No matter if it is gods or man.” 

“it does seem an extreme means to an end, hm,” the priestess thought aloud. she could hardly judge the methodology herself, those in her faith have been known to do worse. though ilerah’s hands were clean of that sort of practice. a sigh later and she nodded in agreement. “yes, it would be nice.” ilerah looked over at the fair, auburn haired woman. “i intend to travel north after all of this is done. that seems to be where the lord of light is calling me.”

A long breath slowly left her lungs in pure relief. Rhaena knew better to trust the words of strangers, but gods, she was so desperate to cling to any sign of hope, anything that resembled a comfort. Her heart raced and she fought the urge to slump as the reassurances of the red priestess filled her heart. But then everything suddenly changed. Lavender eyes full of confusion clung to her. “I have no idea what you mean,” she commented after a moment of hesitance. “There is only so much the royal snake, Lady Tya, can dig up.”

her dark head tilted slightly at the queen as she thought silently, visibly scanning her face. ilerah was curious about the reluctance but she just smiled at her. “ah, yes. the sneaky blonde lion,” the priestess hummed. she wanted to probe further, and thought of the potential consequences of doing such. but something whispered to play the risk. “but surely you have more resources than that, no?”

Endymion turned his head to take in the woman in red. She was far more ostentatious than her black-cad counterpart. Then again, it was far more difficult to ignore that much crimson. “So I have heard.” He said in response to her words. They had been spoken to him frequently as of late. Was he to be followed by R’hllor and his disciples forever now? He wondered what it was they saw in him and in The Wall. Endymion doubted that they could truly be spoken to by any sort of outside force, but they believed it quite fiercely. “How may I help you, My Lady?”

she watched him for some time before she decided to speak again. ilerah struggled to trust the crow enough to even speak to him, but after much thought and prayer to r’hllor, it seemed the north was in fact her next journey. ilerah wondered about the magic up there, and how being in an ancient place would effect her own powers. “there are many things you can assist me with, crow. however, seeing as i am going up north with you, and we are being joined by a friend of ours, i would like to know what your intentions are once we arrive. will you go beyond the wall? will you stay at castle black?”

The Priestess was all too accurate. Kymaera was a gladiator more than a knight, despite having a title of Ser from the fish princess. She thrived in the spotlight with one weapon or even no weapons, and no fighting chance. She lived for the show of it all. This had been a fight for those who needed rules to fight. “Does she?” Kymaera asked, leaning back with a grin on her face. “Tell Kymaera more of this.”

ilerah took no time to move closer to the other woman. the feral nature of her spoke to something dark within her as she hovered her mouth over kymaera’s. her lips pressed against hers, a tongue sharply lining the edge of the brunette’s full lips. the priestess wanted to taste her, feed off that wild energy. her hands cupped kymaera’s cheeks as the warmth of ilerah’s skin radiated. “i could show you better than i could tell you.”

zydrate comes in a little glass vial-- a little glass vial? a little glass vial.

Maybe she should read up on Essosi traditions, they sounded more to her liking. She tried to ignore the priestess’ smile, but soon her words surprised her yet again. So, she did know. Rhaena’ eyes went wide, what more could the red woman know? “You have seen,” she concluded softly before desperately continuing: “What more have you seen? Do you know if he’s alive and well?” A mother’s fear could lead her down dangerous paths.

she paused before answering, she was calculating the costs and gains in her head before she felt a heat run through her fingertips. something in her powers itched to reveal itself to this small queen, but ilerah kept her smile on her face. some would say it grew even more sinister. “he is well, yes. though, i am surprised you did not know all of this already, your grace.”

Tala could spot a priestess as easily as she could spot a pirate. Those robes they were and the way they walked and talked. The Lord of Light and his followers were a moniker of tradition and devotion. She had only met a few in her lifetime, but they had instilled her an air of caution. Tala respected religion, even though she thought it all to be fairytales people told as a sort of comfort. Everyone was entitled to believe in whatever they wished. She believed in coin, they believed in gods.

Her brow quirked curiously as she took a slow sip of her wine. “A northern lord,” Tala answered with a sigh. “Should have known better. Normally my faith isn’t o misplaced, but I was wooed with words of confidence and grandeur.”

“should never believe the words of mortals, surely you know that,” she mumbled carefully while she ran her fingers over the freshly made choker at her neck. ilerah was accustomed to a different style, but she did not mind the change. she studied the woman with dark and wicked eyes. it wasn’t that she intended any harm, it was just her nature. though typically she wasn’t so unsettled by beautiful women. “which northern lord did you place your wager on? there seems to be many of them roaming around.”