Chapter 374: High Priest (Part 2)
"Getting you off Dragonstone isn't difficult; though I haven't been by the Queen's side long, I am deeply trusted and relied upon." Moqorro leaned against the stone battlements of the tower, as immovable as a mountain. "The difficulty lies in how to dissolve this misunderstanding and let the prophecy be fulfilled. There must be a reason the Lord of Light showed me both Daenerys Targaryen and the Lord Commander in the flames. If these two become strangers or enemies over a foolish misunderstanding, it will have a disastrous impact on the critical battle between our Lord and His Great Foe."
Melisandre did not reply immediately.
Indeed, what Moqorro just spoke of was another theory widely accepted among High Priests—this went back to the way followers of the Red God received oracles from R'hllor through the flames. The information the Lord of Light transmitted to His followers generally fell into three categories. The first and most common: showing past events or things currently happening to help followers understand the truth or prepare for imminent danger. The second: powerful premonitions or reminders, usually vague and abstract, requiring the viewer to interpret them—a classic example being Melisandre seeing Dragonstone in the flames and coming to Westeros, then seeing a wall of ice and heading to the Gift.
The third was the most special: clear and distinct visions of things that had not yet happened—the source of all true prophecy.
Unlike what they claimed to common believers—that the flames show the future—the High Priests knew that a significant portion of what they saw in the flames would not happen if the viewer did nothing. This meant the future seen in the flames likely wasn't the True Future, but rather the Future R'hllor desires or needs to happen. Through these visions, R'hllor assigned tasks to His followers, urging them to use their wisdom and agency to turn those visions into reality!
Melisandre had seen the dragons breathing fire to scorch the wights. At the very least, this meant R'hllor wanted the dragons to play a role in the final battle. But there was a further possibility: He was warning her that without the dragons, the Night's Watch and the North could not win this war!
Having thought through this, she nodded, realizing the matter was indeed far more complex than simply escaping Dragonstone. "Think carefully. Is there any way to save the situation?"
"Actually, there is." Moqorro turned to look at Melisandre. "Your Lord Commander gave the Queen a gift today. What exactly was it?"
"You were there; it was a small booklet. I asked him what was inside while we were on the ship, and he gave me a glimpse... the content was strange. A bunch of grand talk and big words, seemingly about politics. That is entirely outside my realm of knowledge... Why do you ask?"
"The Queen was in a foul mood after the audience ended. When she returned to the council room, her two advisors continued to argue about the army's next move, while she sat to the side with a dark face, flipping through that little gift. At first, I thought she would rip it up or toss it into the hearth the next second, but quite the opposite happened—with just one look, the towering rage visible to the naked eye almost half-vanished. For the entire time until dinner, the Queen was absorbed in that booklet, completely ignoring her bickering courtiers." Moqorro recalled, "Finally, when the Queen looked up, she asked me: Why does my most powerful follower refuse to acknowledge my legitimacy?"
"Interesting. I truly couldn't see that a hurriedly written booklet had such magic. How did you answer?"
"Though I couldn't guess what the Queen read in it, I could see a sense of having found a hidden treasure that she was trying to suppress. So my answer was—'Is your most powerful follower not already in your hands?'"
"A clever answer." Priests use vague language and phrasing when interpreting prophecy to outsiders precisely so they can remedy situations when things go sideways. "So, that booklet is her 'most powerful follower.' You didn't deceive the Queen or misjudge the situation."
"It fooled her for now, but Daenerys is no fool, and the matter must be resolved eventually. The Queen later asked her two advisors about the source of this book and where the full version was. Varys dismissed it as 'hollow and impractical fantasy,' while Baelish offered no opinion... though, naturally, both agreed they had never read or heard of it. So, the Queen will surely ask about it tomorrow. I've come to talk tonight to find out: where did the content of that booklet actually come from?"
"The Lord Commander wrote it on the ship during the voyage from Eastwatch to Dragonstone. Varys and Baelish are among the most well-traveled and knowledgeable of men; if they haven't heard of it, and I haven't seen it..."
"Could it be he wrote it? How could someone write a book in a few days? More interestingly, where does a Lord Commander of the Night's Watch get the knowledge to teach a real Queen how to be a monarch?" Moqorro's curiosity was piqued, but it was secondary to the problem at hand. "I have an idea. Go back and tell your Lord Commander: when the Queen asks about the booklet, he is to answer that the original version is in the library of the Night's Watch, but because it is ancient and decaying, it cannot survive long-distance transport and can only be read on-site."
"Why answer that way?"
"To create time for them to be alone. I can see that the Lord Commander is no stuttering fool; if given the chance, he can handle everything himself..."
Melisandre gave a contemptuous sniff. "The Dragon Queen is indeed strikingly beautiful, but Egger West is no man blinded by lust. You underestimate him."
"You are a woman; you cannot fathom the magical attraction Daenerys possesses." Moqorro bared his teeth; his dark skin and the night made his smile look like a piece of white jade suddenly appearing in the dark. "This attraction ignores strength of will or orientation; it acts directly on the body and the depths of the subconscious. For unknown reasons, the degree to which different men are affected varies greatly, but it is certain—as long as a man's body is normal, he will be affected."
"You are also a man. Are you affected by this attraction?"
"I am. Fortunately, I have the kind of constitution that is least affected. Though I can feel it, I am an old man; the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak," Moqorro shrugged. "But from what I observed today, the Lord Commander seems to be of the type most heavily affected. With enough contact and time spent together, he will surely fall hopelessly for the Queen. It's not a matter of underestimating him; it's like how no one can commit suicide by holding their breath... a human cannot fight instinct."
Just as a two-dimensional being cannot comprehend the three-dimensional, Melisandre, as a woman, could not understand this attraction through imagination. But just as Moqorro trusted her, she did not doubt him: "If it can be achieved, it would be a viable plan. Dragonstone is thousands of miles from the Gift, and the land between is filled with the Queen's enemies... If she wants to go to the Night's Watch's domain to find the full version of that book, she must go by dragon. Once the dragons reach the Wall... the prophecy is half-fulfilled!"
"Then, the basic direction is set? Let's go over the details and see if there are any oversights."
Melisandre nodded in agreement, then easily found a major flaw: "Wait. Since we've determined the Night's Watch cannot accept the Queen's terms, when she asks Egger for an answer tomorrow morning, is he supposed to just refuse her all over again?"
"Oh, damn... forgot that point." Moqorro patted his large, round belly and pondered for a moment before shaking his head decisively. "That won't do. Daenerys is kind by nature and doesn't have a bad temper, but to force her to endure the humiliation of a face-to-face rejection twice for no reason is both meaningless and detrimental to them meeting again. It seems the two of us had best represent our respective candidates for the Prince That Was Promised tonight, settle everything, and save their next meeting—for the Wall."
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