"Lady R'hllor asks to unite all the power of humanity for her, so that it will be easier to face the next invasion of her archenemy. Daenerys wishes to use external forces to suppress the local Faith of the Seven, so that both royal authority and religious authority can be controlled together, further strengthening her control over Westeros. After careful thought, I suddenly realized that these two goals can be achieved through the sa action, assisting the Red God in expanding and developing."
Under the gaze of the four high-ranking priests present, Aegor revealed the answer calmly and clearly.
"Daenerys will designate the Red God as the state religion of the Targaryen dynasty. I know this was already within your expectations. But what I want to tell the priests present is that becoming the state religion is only the beginning. Our ultimate goal is to expand the faith of the Lord of Light across the entire world together with the rebirth and rise of the Valyrian Empire, making it the largest and only official religion in the world. I want wherever humans set foot, wherever flas can rise, there will be statues and symbols of R'hllor, and praises and prayers offered to Her Majesty, the Fire God."
"To achieve this ultimate goal, I have already designed the thods to defeat our enemies and created a series of clear titables. This great holy war will begin from the land beneath our feet. Annexing the Faith of the Seven and turning Westeros into the Red God's base and stronghold will be the first phase's small objective. To achieve this, I need the help of a sufficient number of religious personnel, especially high-ranking priests."
"Please forgive my interruption, Acting Representative," Benerro spoke. His tone remained respectful, though not submissive. "I do not doubt your determination to display the might of the Red God or your ability to achieve your goals. However, you do not seem to have ntioned how to resolve the predicant the Great Red Temple currently faces."
Aegor paused briefly. His train of thought was interrupted, but he quickly recovered.
After R'hllor had fallen silent and entered a dormant state, the high-ranking priests lost the ability to communicate with her through the flas or see visions. This ant the High Priest before him had never witnessed Powder tearing apart city walls and warships. While Aegor's thinking had already advanced several levels ahead, the old priest was still hesitating between the first and second steps.
Aegor briefly considered explaining further, then rejected the idea.
He already had countless matters to deal with. He had neither the ti nor the energy to carefully explain every detail of his plan to religious figures. Besides, Benerro and Kinvara had already knelt before entering the room.
That kneeling was a complete acknowledgnt of Aegor's status as R'hllor's representative, effectively surrendering the authority and prestige that Benerro once held as High Priest. With such authority in hand, and given Aegor's personality and thods, how could he fail to use it fully?
He was the true representative of the Red God on earth. Every resource, priest, and follower of the Red God in the mortal world was rely a tool granted to him by that being who was not quite a god but might as well have been one.
The Representative gives orders. He does not explain them.
"Lady R'hllor revealed to in a dream a way to borrow the power of nature. It is a weapon called Powder. If the Lord of Light has not explained its existence to you, it ans she believes you do not need to know so much. You only need to rember one thing. Its power can destroy cities and worlds, and it is enough to defeat any enemy that stands against or Daenerys in the mortal realm."
Aegor spoke casually. Using the authority of a god as a shield was far easier than explaining the chemical principles of gunpowder and cannons to religious figures.
"Therefore, I will tell you what will happen next. Daenerys's army will launch the final war to unify the Seven Kingdoms next month. The war will end within one or two months. Then, after roughly the sa amount of ti, the warships of the Westerosi fleet will arrive outside the harbor of Volantis. They will demonstrate the true miracle of Powder to the Archons of Volantis."
"At that ti, I will require the ard forces of the Great Red Temple, the Hands of the Sacred Fire, to cooperate from both inside and outside the city. Our land and sea forces will seize Volantis together. After eliminating the core families of both the Tiger and Elephant parties, Volantis will be jointly governed by the Red Temple and the remaining families that surrender."
Aegor shrugged.
"That is how the Great Red Temple's crisis will be resolved. Do not doubt the scenes R'hllor showed . The Targaryen dragon banner flying above the walls of King's Landing is already the most powerful proof."
"After the Great Red Temple's crisis is resolved, I require the entire church to reorganize quickly. Apprentice priests must complete their training and be promoted. I need personnel prepared for the next stage. I will give you six months."
"During these six months, I will carry out a two-pronged strategy in Westeros. I will act from both the top and the bottom to completely dismantle the Faith of the Seven."
"The thod is simple. At the upper level, I will lead the army to capture Oldtown and replace all the High Septon and senior clergy with weak individuals that I can control. At the lower level, under the pretext of protecting the purity of the Faith of the Seven, I will launch a Religious Revolution. The property and moral conduct of grassroots septons throughout Westeros will be investigated and purged."
"I believe there are no saints in this world. Even if there are, it is easy to throw a bucket of filth on their heads and stain them. Using insufficient piety as an excuse, and with the help of the masses, the Religious Revolution will instantly break the backbone of the Faith of the Seven. Its core resilience and resistance will disappear."
"When the trained personnel of the Red God arrive in Westeros by ship, the Faith of the Seven will already be like the nobles of the Reach. Beaten to the ground and waiting to be slaughtered. All you need to do is collect the spoils, enter the ruined religious territory of the Seven Kingdoms, and replace the Faith of the Seven."
Aegor's tone sounded arrogant, yet in the eyes of the high-ranking priests it resembled the confidence of a divine representative.
After a mont of silence, Kinvara raised her hand.
"I have a question, Acting Representative. When Lady R'hllor granted you the weapon Powder, did she also grant you the ability to control and alter the minds of others? If not, even if you destroy the current structure of the Faith of the Seven, you cannot easily replace it. People's habits of thought are extrely stubborn."
"The faith of the Lord of Light has no foundation in Westeros. Forcing the followers of the Seven to convert to the Red God will certainly fail within three to five years. This process will also cause resistance and chaos. Can Daenerys tolerate such social unrest? Will she eventually be forced to compromise with the people? How do you plan to solve this problem?"
"Excellent question."
Aegor looked at Kinvara with clear appreciation.
"Replacing the senior clergy of the Faith of the Seven removes their leadership and prevents them from concentrating power. Launching the Religious Revolution strikes first and eliminates potential resistance before it forms. By destroying the clergy class itself, the target religion loses its ability to fight back."
"However, before completing this entire process, Daenerys will not publicly declare the Red God as the state religion."
This issue required a clear explanation.
"During those six months, together with the newly appointed leadership of the Faith of the Seven and all of you, I will revise the scripture of the Seven-Pointed Star."
"The new version will remove the term Seven-Pointed Star entirely and will simply be called the Holy Book. The most important change will be this. The Seven Gods will be described as rely seven manifestations of R'hllor, representing seven different virtues and domains valued by the one true god."
"That is why the first stage I ntioned is annexation, not destruction, of the Faith of the Seven."
The concept that the Seven were different aspects of one deity already existed in the Seven-Pointed Star. Changing that concept to claim that the Seven were rely forms of R'hllor would quietly overturn the independent identity of the Faith of the Seven.
This thod allowed the takeover of its followers and institutions without drastically altering their beliefs or habits. It also prevented the defeated religion from ever reviving. Using the enemy's own doctrine to destroy them was an extrely clever strategy.
Kinvara's beautiful dark eyes flashed with surprise.
The plan sounded unbelievable, yet it could only succeed through the close cooperation of royal authority and religious authority. Aegor, who held both identities as Daenerys's Hand and R'hllor's representative, was the ideal person to execute it.
Kinvara was impressed, but Benerro still raised an objection.
"The strategy is clever. But would this not allow a large number of unbelievers who lack true faith in R'hllor to enter our church? Even if the Faith of the Seven disappears, can the new religion that remains still be called the Red God? To be honest, it will be difficult to determine whether the Red God absorbed the Faith of the Seven or the Faith of the Seven absorbed the Red God."
The old priest's concern was reasonable.
It was the sa principle as conquering territory being easier than ruling it. Seizing the religion of the Seven Kingdoms through such spiritual substitution was certainly easier than forcing everyone in Westeros to convert to a foreign god. But it would also dilute the purity and unity of the Red God's faith.
But Aegor did not care about the purity of the Red God.
He rejected the surrender of the Reach because powerful noble factions would obstruct Daenerys's reforms. Religion was a different matter.
He wanted to replace the Faith of the Seven simply because he did not want religious authority within his realm controlled by others. He also needed a more flexible religious structure that would not oppose reforms or accuse Daenerys of incest.
The new religion that rged the Red God and the Seven was simply a governing tool.
Unity, purity, and devotion might be valuable for a nation or civilization. For religion as a tool, however, they were not necessary. A tool only needed to be easy to use.
If it beca too powerful or developed its own independent will, it would beco troubleso.
...
"Your Excellency Benerro, are you the Representative, or am I the Representative?"
Aegor showed no rcy. The authority surrounding him intensified with his anger.
"I respect your devotion and faith. But what matters more, the purity of the Red God as you imagine it, or the commands of the Red God herself? Lady R'hllor currently needs as many followers and servants as possible, not a small group of fanatics."
"Are you attempting, as High Priest, to decide what R'hllor should need and what she should receive?"
The bald old man was stunned by the harsh rebuke. Only then did he rember that he was facing the representative of the Lord of Light on earth.
Startled, he imdiately stood up, intending to kneel and beg forgiveness. Aegor stopped him with a sharp command.
"Sit down."
Aegor glared at him impatiently.
"There has never been another Representative before, so no one knows exactly how a Representative should act. But I carry the mission entrusted to by R'hllor. The responsibility on my shoulders is imnse, and I do not have the ti to debate the direction of the future with everyone who has an opinion."
"So I think we should establish so rules today."
He looked around the room and suddenly realized that R'hllor's real existence was actually quite convenient. At the very least, he would never dare speak to noble lords in such a tone.
"When I ask for your suggestions and opinions, you may speak freely. But when I issue clear instructions and assign specific tasks, in the na of R'hllor what I require is complete obedience and absolute execution."
"I do not believe that is too much to ask."
(To be continued.)
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