Pia had indeed held it in for years. The resentment and grievance in his heart desperately needed release. After hesitating for a moment, he said bitterly, "Euron cut off my hands and feet."
"What a beast!" Jon the Green Apple exclaimed in shock.
"A beast," the Dragon Queen nodded in agreement.
"At sea, some ironborn said they had never 'done' a warlock before, so Euron… he let the ironborn violate me while he stood aside laughing loudly." The warlock Pia felt a pang in his chest, and tears flowed again.
"Don't you think this blue-lipped warlock is more terrifying than a sheep?"
"The ironborn are really bold, daring to use that thing on a warlock. Aren't they afraid of curses? This Pia is the great warlock of Qarth, the high priest of the warlock order!"
"Strange. Supernatural power doesn't seem as strong as we imagined."
Gradually, the nobles of the Reach who knew about the "Magic Academy Plan" began to drift off topic.
In the Reach, relations between men were part of tradition. A man being treated that way was not much different from a strong woman in their eyes.
Back then, a Targaryen man, who was strictly straight, had only served as a cupbearer in Highgarden for a few years before he abandoned even his fiancée, known as the "Rose of the Reach," broke off the engagement, and chose to pursue true love instead.
The reason the warlock being violated shocked the Reach nobles was not due to morality, but because a powerful supernatural warlock being toyed with by ordinary men overturned their understanding of the supernatural world.
"Curses require blood as a medium. The process is very complex, and it's difficult to use a curse to harm someone directly," Dany explained.
Then she turned to her Dothraki maid. "Jhiki, tell the lords how the Dothraki prevent curses."
"Don't let the shadowbinders touch you, and don't allow witches or warlocks to get close. Everyone knows that," Jhiki said crisply.
"You heard her. The Dothraki method is simple and crude, but very effective. It avoids more than ninety percent of curses.
Even if you are cursed, don't be afraid. Find the high priest of a local sept and ask him to dispel it with divine magic."
After glancing at the thoughtful expressions of her audience, Dany said, "Pia, continue."
"He locked me in a chest and imprisoned me, then placed the chest under his bed while listening to him… play with women," the warlock sighed.
"I understand. I will help you seek justice later," Dany said, somewhat disappointed. These revelations were not shocking enough.
She then turned her gaze to another chest. Inside was a thin man with a hooked nose and black eyes. Perhaps due to long neglect, his hair and beard were long and tangled, with dried seaweed stuck among them, like forest children decorating their hair with flowers.
"'Damphair' Aeron, you are Euron's own brother. Why did he torture you like this?"
"Does a demon need a reason to commit evil?" Aeron's face twisted.
"I've heard Damphair was preparing to incite the ironborn to rebel against Crow's Eye," Count Matthos frowned.
The main faith of the Iron Islands was the Drowned God. Its priests were called "drowned men," and "Damphair" Aeron was their leader, equivalent to the high priest of the Drowned God's church.
"Your Majesty, did you really hunt the Storm God last time? What was the result?" Matthos suddenly asked curiously, changing the subject.
Dany paused, then replied casually, "We happened to run into each other. A tornado met a great storm, and we exchanged a few blows.
Sigh, he looked fierce, but was actually quite weak. After I slashed him a few times, he fled without a trace."
Matthos's face turned pale and green in turns, and the surrounding listeners looked stunned.
"Hahaha, I understand now!" Aeron froze for a moment, then burst into laughter. "So that's it. Euron was abandoned by the Storm God. He is the Storm God's final sacrifice. That is the Storm God's doctrine!"
"No matter what you gain from the Storm God, your final fate is to walk into the trap prepared for you. He will laugh from the sky as you head toward destruction." He turned his head and laughed gleefully toward the chest beside him.
Matthos snapped out of it amid Aeron's laughter and said in confusion, "I always suspected the Storm God and the Drowned God were inventions of the ironborn.
Well, the maesters all think so. I was influenced by them.
Since the gods are real, why did the Drowned God not respond when Priest Aeron was humiliated like this? Aren't the Storm God and the Drowned God eternal enemies?"
Aeron's laughter stopped abruptly.
Dany narrowed her eyes and studied the gaunt, greasy-haired man for a while before asking, "Have you also been abandoned by the Drowned God?"
"No, that's nonsense! I have been to the Drowned God's watery halls. I am chosen by the Drowned God!" Aeron shouted emotionally.
The watery halls beneath the sea were the divine realm of the Drowned God, similar to the heaven of the Faith of the Seven.
"On what basis do you claim you've been there?" Dany asked skeptically.
"I have been there." Aeron did not explain, only insisted firmly.
Dany swept her gaze across the lords and knights below. "Who knows his situation?"
A triangular-faced sellsword knight stepped forward, looking at the Dragon Queen excitedly. "I've heard of it. Fourteen years ago, when King Balon raised his banners in rebellion, Aeron's longship was sunk by Stannis's fleet.
Everyone else sank to the bottom of the sea. Damphair himself nearly drowned, but after drifting at sea for several days, he stood up again on the shore.
From then on, Aeron changed from a lazy, crude drunk into a cold and ascetic penitent.
He claimed to have been to the watery halls, where the Drowned God granted him a second life.
According to the ironborn, what is dead may never die, but rises again, harder and stronger.
Among the common ironborn, he is highly respected. The drowned men of the Iron Islands obey him without question."
The knight's account was detailed and objective, and Dany gradually sensed something unusual.
It was very likely that Aeron had indeed received favor from the Drowned God. Otherwise, the priests would not be so obedient.
"What did you do to violate the Drowned God's doctrine, that you fell from divine favor to abandonment?" she asked curiously.
"I am willing to offer everything to the Drowned God. He has not abandoned me. I have been to the watery halls!" Aeron cried in panic.
"Perhaps he really did violate the doctrine," a hunchbacked old maester in the crowd said hesitantly.
Dany recognized him as the maester in charge of the rookery at Longtable.
"What do you know, Maester Ferguson?" she asked.
The hunchbacked maester said, "After Balon's death, Euron returned. But Aeron did not want Euron to become the new King of the Iron Islands. So, two thousand years later, he initiated another kingsmoot.
The kingsmoot is a sacred law established by the first drowned man under the guidance of the Drowned God. It is even more sacred than holy oaths and feudal vows.
Yet after Euron ascended the Seastone Chair by the most traditional means, Aeron violated his own pledge and secretly gathered drowned men and ironborn, intending to overthrow Euron by force."
"Euron is a traitor. He betrayed the Drowned God's faith. A man who does not respect the gods can never sit on the Seastone Chair!"
Aeron shouted anxiously. It seemed as though he was explaining himself to the Dragon Queen, but in truth, he sounded like he was trying to convince some unseen presence.
Dany looked at him with pity, thinking: You too have violated the Drowned God's doctrine. Punishing irreverence with irreverence is still blasphemy.
Though she thought this, she did not say it aloud. Today was about judging Euron. She had no intention of redeeming a follower of the Drowned God.
"At least Euron hasn't killed you. He hasn't committed kinslaying," she said.
"No, he committed kinslaying long ago. He killed Harlon, Robin, and Balon!" Aeron shouted.
A collective gasp spread through the crowd.
"Balon is your elder brother, Balon Greyjoy the rebel? Who are the other two?" Dany asked.
Before Aeron could answer, Maester Ferguson explained, "Duke Quellon, Balon's father, married three wives. Harlon and Robin were sons of the other two wives. They died young and are unknown outside the Iron Islands."
"To think they were murdered by Euron… Seven gods, how old was he back then? And King Balon…" The old maester's face filled with horror.
"Open the chest. Let's hear what Euron has to say," Dany ordered.
Ser Gerold Dayne carried out the command.
"What's there to say? Not only did I commit kinslaying, I also 'had my way' with this drowned god's whore Aeron several times!" King Euron grinned maliciously at his brother.
Aeron seemed to recall some terrifying memory. The hatred on his face instantly turned into fear.
Facing the limbless Euron, he actually shrank back.
Dany's expression twisted as she looked from Euron to Aeron.
"What else have you done? Confess it all," she said, feeling disgusted and wanting to end the trial quickly.
Euron looked around at the contempt, hatred, and fear in the crowd and smiled indifferently. "Everything the ironborn do is a crime in your eyes. Should I recount all my glorious deeds of the past decades?
I've slept with Cersei and violated Queen Margaery. The two noblest women of Westeros have knelt before me.
I've plundered the entire world. Across the five great seas, my footsteps follow the Old Way. I've sat on the Iron Throne. I have ruled the realm. I have ravaged the Seven Kingdoms!
I achieved feats no ironborn before me ever accomplished. I will stand at the peak of the Old Way, overlooking all ironborn and pirates of the past, present, and future who follow this path.
I've had my fill. My life is perfect. Your judgment now is nothing but a fart…"
Euron puckered his blue lips and mockingly made a farting gesture and sound toward the Dragon Queen.
Then, "Prrrr—"
From his lower body came a long, loud, foul fart.
"Hahaha! When life comes to an end, so-called judgment is nothing but a fart! Especially when my glorious, unrestrained life is concluded personally by the world's greatest queen and greatest god, it is a perfect ending!
So, Daenerys, you think you are carrying out justice, but in reality, your actions prove one thing: true justice has never existed in this world!
Justice that comes too late is not justice at all. It only nourishes evil.
This trial will not serve as a warning. People will only envy me and try to become the next King Euron, the Pirate King, the King of the Seven Kingdoms, the King of Sin!"
"Insolence!" Gerold Dayne shouted angrily.
The usually calm white knight was flushed and visibly agitated.
"Euron has gone mad," the nobles said pale-faced, their voices weak.
"This judgment is not only to warn the living, but to console the dead victims," Matthos said with dim eyes.
(End of chapter)
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