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In the fertile land of Westeros, there was a myth of gods and goddesses who lived on the highest mountain, a mountain so tall that no commoner could climb to its top. At the top of this massive mountain sits a palace of rubies and gold, a treasure beyond imagination. Deep in the heart of the palace lies the god of the gods, the All-King, Viserys.
The king was no longer in his prime, having lived a long time, so long that there is no record of how much time had passed for the old man. Some said that he was born at the beginning of time, while others claimed that there had been kings before him who held the throne. The throne commemorated the tragic deaths of its previous owners.
God can be killed, the former queen herself died on her bed, even the power of the All-King couldn’t save his beloved.
She left behind a child, a girl who processed the beauty of her mother and the wisdom and strength of her father. One day she will be Queen, the All Queen of the Gods, the All Queen of Westeros.
But before she stepped into queenhood, she became a mother first.
Rhaenyra, the Goddess of the Sky, daughter of the All king and the former Goddess of the Sun, had five beautiful sons and one fierce daughter, inherited from her husband. There was joy and laughter throughout the court at how fascinating the young gods and goddess were, she cherished her children dearly, the children grew up in the mountains not caring how cruel the world was, by the time they came of age, Nyra granted them powers and duties.
Jacaerys, her first born and heir, possessed the power of the wind, he could be mellow, a gentle spring breeze that brought confrontation to the cinders, but in the next second he could turn into a raging storm that roared from the sky, powerful enough to destroy any solid concrete and stone, with such power he would be the great pride of all the gods and a worthy heir for Rhaenyra.
Lucerys, her second born, with a smile brighter than the sun, was given the duty of carrying the sun across the sky, he would carry the eternal flame with him all day, the warm light scattered around his face made him soft and glowing, all the eyes were upon him, no star could outshine the sun and no moon could be as warm as him.
The commoners worshipped the sun, using its round shape as their totem, the Child of the Sun, as they called themselves. They carved the face of the goddess on the ceilings of their temples and painstakingly built massive statues above the horizon, gathering rare yellow sapphires to mimic the golden hue and the refraction of the sun's light. The highest ranking members of the land wore intricate drawings of gold paint on their bare skin to protect them from evil.
Ask any commoner and they will tell you a tale so old that even the All-King himself was unaware of its root; the ancient tale of the Night-King, a devil who would bring them eternal darkness and cold, who would freeze the land to barren dust and dry soil, along with the Night-King would come the White-Walkers, who would nibble at human flesh and corrupt the land once the eternal flame had been extinguished.
Such an important duty was placed upon Lucerys’s shoulders, he choked, he struggled, but eventually he found peace in carrying this heavy burden, the secret was love. The young sun goddess was not shy to show love and to enjoy being loved.
He is a fine successor to the late Queen Aemma. The All-King said that on his good day.
The third one, Joffrey, unlike his dutiful brother who cherished their duty more than life, he longed for freedom, not fit for any fetter and rules, when he was little he used to follow Nyra’s foot and roam the skies with joy and carefree. He wanted no duty and desired a long freedom, an innocent wish in those pellucid brown orbs that no one dared to ruin, therefore, he became the Goddess of Cloud, he could roam the skies all day long with no task on his list. Sometimes he would visit Lucerys and use his cotton like clouds to playfully cover part of the sun, but he had to be careful, for if the sun was blocked for too long and left the land without the sun’s light, the mortals who worked in the fields would begin to starve.
He did that once, but unfortunately, he may have thrown too many clouds at Lucerys after being tickled in revenge. Jacaerys had to break them apart in anger, forcing them to part so the sun could shine on the land again. Deep in his heart, Joffrey feared his brother when he was being naughty, as the Goddess of the Clouds, he weighed lighter than the air and could easily be blown away by Jacaerys with one single breath.
Sometimes, when he and Lucerys were at loggerheadst, he would storm out of the sky, leaving the sun parched the land ferociously, water to boil and evaporate, stone walls to melt and collapse, hot sand to burn and numerous lives to be lost. Jacaerys came again, this time not with rage but in tenderness, bringing the angry brothers together, gently kissing their cheeks and kneading their chubby faces, oh! he could never be angry with his family for too long! The mood easily changed as the clouds transformed every moment.
Along with their replenishment, the clouds returned to the sky and the sunshine was mild again, the wind cooled the burning scar on the earth, Jacaerys would bring their little brother Aegon here as well, for the land that had been roasted could be watered to be fertile once again.
Little Aegon, Rhaenyra’s fourth child, named after the legendary King Aegon the Conqueror, yet they were nothing alike, the Conqueror was full of self-confidence and ambition, a man who valued greater power all else, even his two wives often felt neglected in their empty rooms. Some may believe that his heir Aenys and the king after him, Maegor, were solely created by his sister wives. The elder Queen, Visenya, was rumoured to be a skilled witch, so she was able to create a child without man’s seed through blood magic, a tale with more believers than doubters. It's no secret that children could be produced between the same sex among the gods, it looked like Visenya’s magic was carried through the bloodline after all.
The youngest son, Viserys, was named after the All-King by his mother. At the celebration the All-King said that “that’s a name fit for a king.” when he first saw the baby boy in Rhaenyra’s arms. His brother called him ‘little Vis’ as if he would always be a baby, but the true reason was that the King’s name must not be used recklessly, only when they prayed before the septon, for fear of being deemed the greatest sin in the holy mountains, disrespectful.
Little Vis loved to greet everyone with a heart-warming smile that could melt a stone heart. Rhaenyra called him her little sunshine, and Lucerys would ask him to join him on patrol occasionally. He grew from day to day, and soon, the day of him to gain power and duty from his grandsire approached, the people believed that he would be granted the God of Fire or the God of Light, which would suit his warm smile well, plus he would be able to continue patrolling with Lucerys.
Beyond the wildest imagination of everyone on the holy mountain, Little Vis was given the power of snow. From the moment the All-King handed him the sceptre of ice, the heavy duty had landed upon his shoulder officially, as well as the characteristic of snow. The Gods shared some trait with their power, Jacaerys was unstable and moody, Lucerys had a mild orange halo around him, Joffrey floated. Since then, Viserys’s skin grew cold, too close to the sun had become unbearable for him, therefore his joyous patrol with Lucerys was declared dead. He was bound by the eternal cold and everything he touched would freeze in an instant.
Some say he once ripped out his heart just to see whether his heart turned into ice or not.
There were rumours from the Marginal area, it could be the Daughters of the River, the Fairies of the Forest, even the Fairies of the Flowers, that what the king had said was a statement to express his displeasure at the Goddess of the Sky for using his holy name on a toddler who couldn’t even control his own poo.
The royal family paid no attention to such an absurd accusation, but the Crown Princess did pay extra attention when she named her baby daughter, Visenya she called her, inherited from the first Queen and in honour of the All-King once again. By the time she came of age everyone was betting on what the king would give her.
The Goddess of the Moon, a counterpart of Lucerys.
Lucerys and Visenya rarely met since then as one of them ruled in the daylight and the other ruled in the hour of the wolf. Lucerys felt sad that he and his sister had to stay away from each other except for a tiny amount of time during their daily handover, however, that feeling wasn’t mutual as Visenya preferred solitude more than companionship.
Unlike the sun, which dominated the sky, the moon shared its splendour with numerous stars, no one could say for certain that this was the best arrangement for her.
No one knew what was really going on in the king’s mind, but one thing for certain, the crown princess spent more time on patrol rather than accompanying her father and observing the king at court.
Some might say that the rifts between the royal family began long ago, some might believe that it began the moment the king rejected the marriage between his brother Daemon and Rhaenyra, some might argue the hostile deepened when the king found out Rhaenyra was having affair with her grand flaman and the couple produced not only one but three more sons, but the bloody wound was already there the moment the All-King ordered a the poor man, father of three half gods, to be murdered.
The God of the Sea had signed in sadness, saying that the old king was too old to make rational judgements, for he was trying to oppose an unofficial ancient tradition of romance between gods and mortals.
There was an undocumented method which the gods used to deliver their word to their flamen. Tales of a love child, born of a mortal life and an immortal god, destined to be a hero who would free the realm from the grip of evil that spread far and wide. Lucerys would question the authenticity of the story if he wasn’t the offspring of Rhaenyra and her loyal flamen, Harwin.
His mother taught him that method the day he had gained his power, and at the time encouraged him to explore more of the mortal world; as a mother, she would not limit her child with any opportunities and possibilities. If her son caught up in a love affair with a flaman? Good! If her child produced offspring with a human, Great! She would never condemn her child for loving anyone, regardless of the gender, whether they have power or not, that’s how a parent should be.
Lucerys performed the method as soon as he learned it, it was the first day he patrolled the sky while carrying the flame. Though he had spent much time roaming the sky with his mother before, this day was the first day he truly left the nest and became an adult. He was so thrilled that he wanted to share his joy with his people, so he reached out to the temple, but his call had never been answered. He felt an overwhelming sense of disappointment, not even the excitement he held before could neutralise that. The temple of sun was everywhere in the land, how come his call was not answered？
He must find out why! As a young man with a strong curiosity, he was not used to leaving the room without an answer, so he decided to act on it right away.
He waited till the sun had set and his sister Visenya was in the sky; when the land was no longer protected by the golden light, but by a sharp silver moonlight that hunted down the fleas that fled around the city, he sneaked to the common land.
Visenya had her eyes on the ground so Lucerys had to hide from her for he did not want his little sister to notice his disobedience. As an older brother Lucerys believed that he should be a role model to the younger one in the house, he learned this from Jacaerys, a perfect prince, a fine goddess, a dutiful son and a caring brother.
Jacaerys made mother proud so he had to do the same and made mother and Jacaerys proud too.
Although mother and Jacaerys always indulged him for being naughty.
The street was dark, as if a black curtain had mercilessly covered this area. Only the centre of the city was lit, not bright enough for the whole town but bright enough for everyone to notice. At the centre of the light was the Great Temple. Lucerys approached in a second and he saw a golden sun sculpture placed on the roof, glittering under the pale moonlight, a sculpture known as the biggest on earth, built by the former ruler with all the resources man could ever offer.
Tonnes of gold, gems and silver decorated the totem; numerous slaves painted the base of the statue with their flesh and blood. The sculpture was nothing man had seen before, a miracle that shouldn’t be created by man, perhaps that’s why man gave the credit to the gods, as if the sculpture had been built in one night by a gentle touch from the All-King, although they did tore the tyrant’s body to shreds for enslaving the land.
As the miracle sent by the gods, it naturally became the headquarters of the worshippers.
Fire illuminated every corner of this place, every wall had candles and torches on, fire so bright as if the sun was shining under the roof.
A small burst of flame sitting on the top of the shrine, according to the ancient stricture, was a generous gift from the gods. The Goddess of the Sun had separated it from the eternal flame and handed it to the first man with her blessing, a blessing of a prosperous future. It was enchanted so it would never be extinguished. Man would use a wooden stick to split the flame and distribute it around the kingdom. With fire people could cook, scare away the wild beast, see at night and keep warm in the cruel winter. Now man with their growing wisdom they created their own fire but it would never be as close as the original source.
A mortal could never be as strong as God, the flame was a constant reminder not to challenge god.
With such power the flame was enshrined and stored at the Grand temple. Lucerys felt his heart soothed as he entered the room, he would never have understood why they would leave the flame unused and untouched here, to him the flame was a mere tool, not the source of power. The flame was powerful because the god had enchanted it, not the other way around.
The room was filled with people dressed in their finest clothes, their faces painted with gold paints, men wearing jewelled belts, women wearing fine linen dresses and silk hoods, even children wearing gold chains around their wrist.
Lucerys wore a dress that mimicked a common maiden, he had not inherited the appearance of the old Valyria God, silver hair, pale skin and purple eyes, which gave him the advantage to emerge into the common land without suspicion. He sneaked to the front for a better view.
Tonight was the night of a great ceremony, for tomorrow was the beginning of summer, the prime time of the year. The people gathered to pray, begging the sun to be merciful and grant fertility to the land. The worshippers were gathered in a circle, with a stage in the middle, spikes protruding from it, the image of the sun. They were praying, but Lucerys couldn’t hear a word.
It was then that he saw Aemond, the Grand Flamen, performing the ritual dance that was supposed to please the god, but how could it please him if Lucerys never saw it?
Aemond was a man with old Valyria appearance, silver hair, purple eyes, pale skin and a sharpened beautiful face. His toned muscle party hidden under the ivory robe he wore, partly naked and adorned with gold rings. With his dance moves the fabric revealed more and more for the audience to see, porcelain like pale skin shining under the warm flame. Lucerys had never felt his heart beat so vitally as it did now. He wanted to talk to him, he would like to kiss Him, given him all the blessings he could give.
Aemond asked for the sun, and the sun would answer every bit of his prayer.
The dance was almost over. The last part was to light the torch on the top of the shrine, a golden torch was carved alongside the statue of the sun goddess.
The former sun goddess had been Lucerys’s grandmother, a goddess with all the good and beauty the world could ever offer, as the wife of the All-king and protector of women, she had never chosen male Flamen but female priestess, the tradition carried on throughout history. Lucerys followed as well, so he wondered how Aemond had been chosen.
It must be his Valyria feature, he thought.
The commoner believed that people with Valyria appearance were related to the gods, which was true, only gods had silver hair and purple eyes. Aemond must be an offspring of a god, thus the worshippers would willingly defy tradition and take him for the Great Flamen.
Or they simply adored his handsome face, as he did now, he thought.
The song sung by the worshippers echoed his ears; he paid no mind to listen. Not even when the priestess placed the holy stone in his hand and let the holy flame burn his fingertip. All he could see was Aemond. He could feel the sparks synchronising with his heartbeat, causing him to shiver, his head too dizzy while that handsome face looked directly at him.
Purple eyes burning with flame, swirling with fascination, obsession, and temptation. Lucerys almost caught a glimpse of admiration between those purple pupils. His own brown crystals locked onto the amethysts long enough to make him weep. He reached out; Aemond wasn’t standing too far away, he could easily grab one of his ankles. Aemond was surprised, slightly, but not disgusted or irritated. He even tried to reciprocate, crouching down and bringing his hand to Lucerys, trying to wipe the tears from the corner of Lucerys’s left eye.
Aemond’s hand was suddenly slapped away. Someone interrupted them.
Lucerys turned to another pair of purple eyes and silver hair, unlike Aemond’s warm and creamy white hair, Visenya’s glittered in the cold moon light, the Goddess of Moon herself had arrived at the place of commoner.
Time flew faster than usual while one focused on matters that were too good to be distracted. The clock was ticking, it was dangerously close to the time of sunrise. Visenya waited for Lucerys on their spot, she waited and waited, yet no sign of her brother or the golden flame that was supposed to dispel the coldness she enjoyed so much.
Without daylight, time would be lost and souls would struggle more than they deserve.
Mother would not allow humans to suffer, nor would grandsire, the All-King.
She had no choice but to track down and fetch her brother. Lucerys glowing in a warm halo, a stark contrast to her. The sun and the moon, warm and cold, golden and silver. Lucerys would enjoy being surrounded by company but she would prefer solitude. She never understood her brother or his joy for being around people, however, she could not let Lucerys fail in his duty, the duty Visenya held dear to her life.
The goddess of the moon left no word to the commoner she had slapped, who was clearly offended by her gesture. She dragged Lucerys away, regardless of his efforts to rationalise his long stay.
Lucerys looked back at the stage where Aemond stood, those purple eyes locked on him like an eagle on its prey. Sending a shiver down his spine like the snow Viserys playfully threw at his face once, cold on the surface but unable to cool a bit of his heated core.
He would meet Aemond again, he must meet Aemond again, or he will burn brighter than the eternal flame.
end-
I made some drawing as my inspiration, hope you enjoy it💗
