Hearing the Dragon Queen say that the Long Night would last more than ten years, the lords of the Reach all began to wail.
Unlike the North, which was so poor it could barely feed itself, or the Riverlands and the Crownlands, where production had been devastated by war, the War of the Four Kings had never taken place on Reach soil. The Reach had a large population, and even after subtracting those who had gone to war, agricultural production on each lord's lands was not affected. This stood in stark contrast to the North.
Robb had taken away fewer than twenty thousand able-bodied men, yet wheat rotted in the fields with no one to harvest it. Back when they supported Renly, the Reach had gathered at least twenty thousand cavalry and thirty thousand infantry, with a total force exceeding fifty thousand. Even so, they still had enough manpower and resources to hold the Honeywine tourney.
But now, even a land as wealthy as the Reach could not endure four years. How could the Seven Kingdoms survive ten years of Long Night?
They had every reason to despair.
"Actually, ten years isn't that long," Old Ma said hesitantly, voicing a dissenting opinion.
"Lord Rowan, have you lost your mind? Ten years isn't long?" Ser Lorent of Bitterbridge said with an incredulous expression.
"The last Long Night lasted an entire generation," Mathis Rowan said calmly.
Everyone looked at each other.
"I always thought the legends were false. Doctor Fomas even wrote a book called The Lies of the Ancients, claiming the Others were just a tribe of the First Men who settled in the far north and once invaded south of the Wall.
The reason the wildlings of the far north became monsters in stories was because the Night's Watch and the Starks wanted to portray themselves as heroes who saved humanity," a knight muttered.
"I've read The Lies of the Ancients too. That author Fomas is a top-tier historian with a doctorate!
Turns out the ancients didn't lie. It's the modern maesters who fabricate false histories that suit their own interests, covering up the truth of the past.
We've been thoroughly misled by those maesters," another knight complained.
Then, one after another, several lords stood up to say they had also read The Lies of the Ancients. Since the maesters of the Citadel had consistently denied the existence of the Others and the Long Night, they had never seriously prepared food reserves before.
They were all nobles of the Reach, close to the Citadel. Many had even studied there in their youth, making them far more influenced by the maesters than nobles from other regions.
Count Mathis tapped his fingers lightly on the table. After the hall quieted down, he said, "Now is not the time to accuse the Citadel. We are discussing the matter of a magic academy."
With Old Ma's reminder, everyone realized they had strayed too far off topic. They awkwardly smiled toward the Dragon Queen seated at the head.
The Dragon Queen was not embarrassed. She merely looked at them calmly, which made them even more uncomfortable.
Clearing his throat, Count Mathis continued, "Because the Long Night will last many years, I believe it is necessary to train mages now.
If you have studied at the Citadel, you should know it contains many meditation methods from various supernatural schools. We have the conditions to systematically cultivate extraordinary power.
Now that villagers and townsfolk have gathered in large castles, we can easily use glass candles to select children with supernatural talent."
At this point, a calculating look flashed in Old Ma's eyes. He lowered his voice and asked the Dragon Queen beside him, "By measuring how long it takes to light a glass candle, we should be able to judge the level of their talent, correct?"
Daenerys gave the square-nosed count a long look and said, "Mental strength grows with age and wisdom. If an underage child can light a glass candle at all, regardless of how long it takes, they are considered exceptionally talented."
"We are all followers of the Seven. Becoming mages should not change our faith. Do you think the Mother would approve of a profession like 'magic priests'?" Count Mathis asked cautiously.
I would like it very much.
Daenerys pondered with a serious expression for a moment before saying, "The Mother is merciful and sees all believers as her children. She loves each child equally."
Count Mathis put on a devout expression and said solemnly, "The most outstanding mages should serve the Seven."
"This…" The nobles glanced at the Dragon Queen, hesitant to speak. Everyone understood his intention: to use the Faith to restrain those with supernatural power. But the Faith was already powerful. If the most talented individuals were also absorbed into it, would they all become "holy lords of the theocracy" in the future?
Yet Saint Daenerys was the most devout High Septon, the Mother's representative in the mortal world. They thought this, but did not dare to say it aloud.
Old Ma was shrewd enough to guess his colleagues' thoughts and said directly, "The Mother has always opposed the Faith's involvement in the politics of the Seven Kingdoms."
The Mother nodded. "The Seven-Pointed Star contains the 'Seven Precepts and Forty-Nine Rules' that govern the conduct of the faithful. The first precept is to renounce the desire for power."
"The Mother is merciful, and the Father is just!" Old Ma immediately declared solemnly.
The reason Old Ma made this suggestion was that he had long studied the New Seven-Pointed Star and the recent actions of the Faith.
He had completely grasped the Mother's intentions: oppose the excessive expansion of ecclesiastical power and strictly forbid interference in secular royal authority.
Rule belonged to kings and nobles; faith and doctrine belonged to the Seven.
This was a principle the Mother had always emphasized.
The current High Septon, including Saint Daenerys, strictly followed this rule.
If it had been during the reign of the High Sparrow, Mathis would have suggested forming the strongest magic association to counterbalance the ever-expanding power of the Faith.
In the end, for the common people, their own interests always came before faith.
"The Mother is merciful, the Father is just!" the lords around the table echoed in unison.
Having reached a consensus, Mathis let out a long breath and said, "In three to five years, we can institutionalize mages just like maesters. If every castle has three to five mages, defending it will be much safer.
Besides defense and communication, perhaps magic can also solve the food problem."
As he spoke, Old Ma pointed out the window, where a small sun floated in the sky.
"But once we cultivate so many mages, a proper system will be essential. We must discuss it carefully," he added.
"On the continent of Essos, extraordinary powers are very active, yet they don't seem to affect secular governments," said Jon of Green Apple.
"The Free Cities are a rotten cesspool, not something we should imitate," Count Mathis said disdainfully.
Make no mistake. Although Westeros itself was hardly better, the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms all looked down on the Free Cities across the Narrow Sea.
They despised the people of Essos for lacking honor, breaking rules, being chaotic and untrustworthy, and being foolish and short-sighted.
There was some truth to it. In Westeros, Joffrey being poisoned by his own wife was considered a once-in-a-thousand-years injustice. Across the Narrow Sea, however, kings killed by poison and assassination even outnumbered those who died of natural causes.
Of course, the free folk in the Free Cities also looked down on the lands of the Sunset for being barbaric and backward.
All in all, Westeros was rotten, Essos was rotten. It was a thoroughly rotten world.
"We indeed cannot learn from chaotic Essos," the Dragon Queen said after a moment of thought, agreeing with Count Mathis's idea of systematizing and standardizing mages. "Have you all seen Robert Strong in the corridor outside?
It is a product of necromancy.
Not only does it desecrate the body and soul of the dead, but its very existence is a grave risk.
For example, it originally belonged to Cersei, yet Euron easily seized control of it. Later, when he encountered the true masters of necromancy, the Others, he suffered backlash."
"Your Majesty, you are almost the strongest mage in the world and our queen. The magic academy and mage system should be decided by you," a lord flattered.
Daenerys shook her head. "This concerns the future of the Seven Kingdoms. I alone cannot decide it. We can first establish a framework, then discuss it gradually. For now, I will propose one point: standardization of disciplines."
"Disciplines?" While others were still confused, Count Mathis had already understood her intention. "Your Majesty, do you mean to restrict the professions of mages?"
"Exactly. During the Long Night, we most need fire mages. After it ends, we must ban evil professions such as necromancers, shadowbinders, warlocks, and blood mages.
We only need mage professions that benefit society, the people, and humanity. For example: potion priests, surgical priests, mechanical wildfire specialists, weather forecasters, pest toxin specialists, animal and plant breeders, and advanced material smiths."
Including Count Mathis, everyone looked at the eloquent Dragon Queen with blank expressions.
"I don't think I've heard of any of these professions," Old Ma said hesitantly.
Not a single one.
The Dragon Queen said helplessly, "Look at the mainstream mages of Asshai in the east: dark sorcerers, necromancers, cloud mages, fire sorcerers, blood witches, interrogators, judgment knights, poison masters, shadowbinders, red-robed priests. Nine and a half out of ten are evil mages.
Extraordinary power is indispensable, but we cannot abandon the teachings of the Seven to worship evil gods or learn wicked magic. Therefore, we must create entirely new magical professions!"
"That makes sense!"
"Her Majesty is truly far-sighted!"
The lords praised her sincerely.
Just hearing about those Asshai professions made their scalps tingle. Some even began to doubt the necessity of establishing a mage system. Those evil mages seemed no less dangerous than the Others.
"Your Majesty, what do these new professions represent?" Count Mathis asked after the flattery subsided.
"A potion priest is a priest proficient in alchemy, combining potions with holy healing.
A toxin specialist no longer studies how to poison people, but focuses on killing pests in farmland without harming human health.
A weather forecaster is a moon singer specializing in predicting weather.
As for breeders, while blood magic that sacrifices to evil gods must not be studied, bloodline power itself is not evil. We can use magic to cultivate crops that are more cold-resistant and higher yielding. And material smiths, we need—"
The Dragon Queen was not speaking off the cuff. She had considered the issue of mage professions for a long time. The existing supernatural schools were simply too sinister.
In Yi Ti and Asshai, every mage had studied black magic.
If black magic could promote social development, Daenerys might tolerate its existence.
But in reality, aside from Valyrian fire magic, the current magical systems not only failed to improve productivity but actually hindered social progress.
"Training mages should begin sooner rather than later. Perhaps we can start a trial in Oldtown and involve the maesters," Mathis suggested tentatively.
Let the maesters, who had always advocated a "real world," train supernatural power?
A faint sneer appeared at the corner of Daenerys's mouth. "I heard those maesters have recently been busy moving the Citadel to Greenstone Island?"
"Wights have appeared outside Oldtown as well," a lord said.
(End of Chapter)
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