Chapter 201 Prophecy
Night falls, but Melisandre's room is never truly dark.
Dozens of grease candles are distributed in every corner, exuding raging fire, resisting the invasion of the night.
Melisandre was still wearing the scarlet robe, and was sitting in front of the fireplace with her eyes closed, reciting prayers in a low voice to the fire.
Golden and scarlet flames interweave, jump, flicker, gather and disperse in front of her, forming all kinds of wonderful and seductive, but also faintly terrifying illusions.
The red-robed witch was trembling all over, black blood flowed from her eyes, scorching hot, and green smoke was rising on the ground.
She suddenly put her hands into the fire, and let out a moan mixed with pain and joy.
The jumping flame climbed up her milk-like white and smooth skin, like a lover's warm touch, conveying desire and fascination.
"Meryl..." A woman's cry rang in my ears.
"Number Seven!" followed by a man's voice.
Melisandre was immersed in the vision and began to cry.
Tears turned into flames and dissipated in the air before dripping.
咚咚—
The knock on the door awakened Melisandre.
She opened her eyes suddenly, and the confusion and pain in her eyes quickly receded, replaced by pious indifference.
Opened the door, and saw Samwell standing outside.
"Lord Caesar." Melisandre bowed slightly.
"Are you still asleep? Ms. Melisandre."
"I rarely sleep." Melisandre invited Samwell into the house.
"Why? Insomnia?"
"Sleep is the temptation of death, and dreams are the ravings of the gods. They want to drag us into eternal darkness." Melisandre said in a low voice, "So, I would rather sit in front of the fire and pray all night, bathed in the light In the burning holy fire of the King."
What a crazy woman.
Samwell suddenly wondered if it was a wise decision for him to come to her.
"Lord Caesar, I see worry in your eyes." Melisandre stared at the man with fiery eyes, "Tell me, maybe I can help you."
"I'm going to Highgarden..." Samwell considered how to word.
"But you are worried that the Tyrell family may be against you." Melisandre then finished the man's words.
"It's almost like this." Samwell nodded and admitted.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Margaery, he was just worried that Mrs. Olenna and the inflatable fish might not obey Margaery's wishes.
If that inflatable fish goes crazy, it is really possible to tie him up and give it to the Lannister family as a gift.
But Gao Ting had to go.
It is not feasible for Boltou to grow in Yingzui Island. The potential of this place is limited, and the white dragon cannot be raised in a short period of time—although the white dragon that drank the keel soup shows signs of accelerated growth, it is still not within a year or two. Possess battlefield dominance.
If Duke Tywin re-stabilizes the situation in the Seven Kingdoms and frees up his hands to deal with Yingzui Island, then Samwell will have no choice but to flee in despair.
Therefore, he must seek the support of the High Court.
Of course, Samwell is not without a little preparation.
He intends to go to Horn Hill first, and take Lord Randall Tarly with him. It's better to call Florent of Bright Water City again, with father and grandfather as guarantees, even if the inflatable fish doesn't want to marry his daughter, he doesn't dare to do anything to Samwell.
But even after making preparations, Samwell was still a little worried, so he found the red-robed woman here.
"I don't suggest you go to Highgarden." Melisandre poured cold water on the man.
Samwell's face remained unchanged, he came here just to hear other opinions: "Why?"
"Because I saw the withering of roses from the firelight." Melisandre faced the fireplace, letting the firelight wash her cheeks red, "The black blood poured into Highgarden and devoured everything. The tide swept and fell apart. The shadows gathered into skeletons, gray and white intertwined in the sky, forming a cold wind that destroyed everything, extinguished all flames, and brought death and destruction."
The tone of the red-robed witch's chant was breathtakingly magical, but Samwell was unmoved.
He knew that this woman often made mistakes in her interpretation of prophecy in the original book.
What's more, the prophecy may not necessarily come true.
He personally tested this point when the sky reached the city.
In the fire of the sanctuary, Samwell saw that Joffrey ordered the massacre of the city, and then the whole sky and city turned into ghosts.
But in fact, when he personally killed the betrayed king, the massacre did not happen.
This made him realize that the Lord of Light may not be able to foresee everything.
For example, the scene where he kills the king does not appear in the flames, nor does the scene where he hatches the dragon.
If you insist that these two things are unimportant, so the gods don't bother to give prophecies, it will be a bit sophistry.
The real reincarnation of Azor Ahai should be one of Jon Snow or Daenerys Targaryen.
"Did every one of the pictures you saw in the firelight happen?" Samwell asked.
"It's not simply seeing," Melisandre replied. "Prophecy is an art. Like any other art, it needs to be mastered, trained, and studied. The Lord of Light communicates his will to his chosen ones through holy fire, and with smoke, ashes Talk to mortals in a language that only the gods can master, and the rolling flames.
I have spent untold years practicing this art, and paid a terrible price. No one in the world, including my companions, can decipher the secrets looming in the sacred fire as skillfully as I do. "
But you still often make mistakes. Samwell thought to himself.
And don't look at the red-robed woman who said a lot just now, but actually didn't answer Samwell's question directly at all.
You wouldn't be a news-spokesperson in your previous life, would you?
"A scholar in the Ghis Empire on the other side of the narrow sea once believed that prophecy is like a treacherous and sinister beauty." Samwell walked closer to the fire, "She will bring you endless enjoyment and joy, but when you think that you are in the world At the peak, she will sweep away all your belongings. Perhaps this is the nature of prophecy. Every time you think you are in control, it will suddenly push you to the abyss."
"So the Ghis Empire has perished." Melisandre said lightly, "They don't believe in prophecy, they don't believe in magic, and then they were wiped out by the Valyrians who controlled the dragon. Every inch of the Ghis Empire's land They were strewn with salt, brimstone, and dry bones. This is what happens to the unbelievers, my lord Caesar."
"You misunderstood me." Samwell explained, "I believe in magic, and I also have dragons. But I have always been cautious about prophecies."
There are many prophecies in the original book, and Samwell knows that even if some of them are known in advance, they still cannot avoid the doomed ending.
For example, the prediction of Cersei's fate by Toad Wu Ji has almost become an obsession that has entangled the queen's life. She tried her best to avoid the occurrence of the prediction, and did many crazy things for this, but it was in vain.
Her struggle seems to have become part of the prophecy.
"Besides, you just said that you saw the roses wither." Samwell thought thoughtfully, "Isn't this a harbinger of my bad luck?"
"It's really not. But High Court has become an ominous place. Since you have consulted me, I will suggest you stay away from there."
"Thank you for your suggestion." Sam Will said, "But I have a reason to go."
He doesn't trust me. Melisandre understood.
She could feel the man's suspicion filling the room like a black mist.
But she was not discouraged.
Doubt is the nature of kings.
Although she planned to make the prophesied prince fall in love with her and even become her puppet at the beginning, but if the other party really fell into the sweet trap she wove, Melisandre would be disappointed instead.
Now this is good, Melisandre is willing to continue dancing this inseparable dance with the prophesied prince.
"If you must go, please allow me to send the Lord of Light's blessing." Melisandre came to the corner of the room, opened a box full of hollow patterns, and took out a ruby from it.
The gem shone blood-red, and it was almost exactly the same as the one in Melisandre's throat, but much smaller.
Samwell took the ruby, felt the hot temperature through the skin, and already guessed what it was:
"What's this?"
Melisandre held Samwell's hand and the ruby, her red lips parted slightly:
"Master Caesar, please read after me—
Lakqumos. "
"Lakqumos."
A strange echo gushed out of the room, slowly burrowing into his ears like countless worms.
The ruby held together by the two suddenly burst into dazzling fire, and the light and shadow around Samwell intertwined and distorted, rippling like water waves.
In the blink of an eye, his belly suddenly protruded, his shoulders and chest became much broader, his handsome face became round and old, his smooth black hair became brown with a little white silk mixed in.
Melisandre pointed to the mirror in the room and said, "My lord, this is the blessing of the Lord of Light."
Samwell looked at himself in the mirror, his eyes widened suddenly—
Because that is the appearance of Mace Tyrell, Duke of Highgarden!
"Is this witchcraft?" Samwell couldn't help touching his completely transformed face.
"Charm, hallucination, transfiguration... call it what you want, R'hllor is the master of fire, and his servants can weave light like mortals weave silk."
"Are the faceless people in the House of Black and White using the same method to change their faces?"
"is a similar method."
"Then how do I cancel the disguise?"
"After half an hour, it will disappear automatically. When you want to disguise, just hold the ruby and recite the spell I just taught you. But please remember that the power in this ruby can only support three times Camouflage, and just now, we have already used it up once."
"Aside from the Duke of Mace, can I pretend to be someone else?"
"No." Melisandre shook her head, "This ruby is soaked in the blood of Mace Tyrell, from which only moaning and praying can recall the shadow of this man on your body."
Samwell glanced at the red robe witch, secretly wondering when did this guy get the blood of "Master Inflatable Fish", was it in Tianji City?
"I like this gift very much." Duke Mace in the mirror showed a satisfied smile, "This is much more useful than those illusory prophecies."
"It has been an honor to serve you."
(end of this chapter)