Saga of Astral Mysteries (LOTMxASOIAF)

Valkorion could understand why many of the adventurers and people that were making use of this overpopulation would flee.

They were here for money and riches and nothing else; nothing else would attract their attention, and remaining here even during the overpopulation and the invasion of the goblinoids would result in death for many of them.

Not many would remain here, facing the invasion of the goblinoids head-on, as for even more of the adventurers, it was not worth it.

Valkorion was aware that most of the adventurers and people who were here profiting from the situation of the Painted Mountains would space from the Cartharys when the first information about the invasion arrived at the city.

"Staying... I have a home here, so here we fight..."

He never had any intention to really leave during the invasion of the goblinoids of the Painted Mouantisn. Yes, he knew that this would be rather dangerous, but it was also a big opportunity, and some of the adventurers came exactly because of this.

Even though the majority of them only came to hunt for the overpopulated goblinoids and would leave once the goblinoids started invading the territory of the Valyrian Freehold, in the end, they were here for fast money.

Nothing else and nothing more.

It was all about business and nothing more.

"Good, then we shall see each other on the defenses..."

It wasn't surprising to hear that Ashe was remaining because she was living in the Cartahrays, as she had a small house in the residential district of the city, from what he heard.

Of course, it wasn't anything compared to his manor in the noble district of the Cartharys, but even ordinary houses for the commoners of the Valyrian Freehold were rather nice, not to mention the Beyonders could afford more than commoners.

When they finished their dinner, they talked mostly about some miscellaneous; sometimes, it was rather hard to talk about anything with Ashe because her stoic facade made it rather hard to tell if she was interested in something.

Not to mention, she also wasn't the most talkative person around.

When it was already evening, they parted ways as Ashe left for home before she thanked him for the invitation to the dinner. 

***

Several days later, when Valkorion was training in his swordsmanship, he suddenly felt that someone had arrived in front of the gates. It was highly unusual that just a few days later he would have another visitor, though this time, it was not that pleasant visit as much as he could tell.

The person who was waiting in front of his gate was a figure wearing a red cloak that was covering the entire person, and he could sense that the person was rather powerful.

Contrary to Ashe's aura, which was like the coldest kind of frost and ice; the one radiating from the figure in front of his was like a hot, scorching fire that was going to burn everything in its path; it was rather an uncomfortable aura if he had to admit, as he never really liked the warm environment.

'So the time has come...'

The very moment he sensed the flaming aura of the person in front of him, he knew that this should be a messenger of the Lord of Light, so it meant it was finally the time to fulfill the mission that he was assigned from the Astral.

'He' was rather vocal about the importance of this question that was issued by 'Him' to help the future Lord of Light as it seemed that the two ancient dragons were scheming something, something that wouldn't be really good for the entire Valyrian Freehold.

But that was not Valkorion's concern as his feelings for the Valyrian Freehold were zero and null; the sole reason why he was remaining in the territory of the Freehold was solely for the resources that the Valyrian Freehold had to offer.

"The night is dark and full of terrors."

Suddenly, Valkorion heard an enchanting female voice from beneath the hood.

"Bear your blade, and the dawn will come."

This was something akin to a code between the worshippers of the Lord of Light; it allowed them to recognize each other in a similar fashion to Valkorion, and the woman did right now as he opened the gates of his manor for her and invited her inside.

For the whole time, she kept her hood on, and she put it down only when he closed the door to the mansion and locked it behind him. He was aware that the Red Temple was, technically speaking, a Secret Organization, and even despite the religious freedom of the Valyrian Freehold, it was relatively not really welcomed.

She was a breathtaking, beautiful woman. She has long hair the color of deep-burnished copper, unsettling red eyes, and pale, unblemished skin. She was rather tall, slender, and graceful at the same time, which was even more amplifying her beauty and appeal.

Valkorion knew whom she was from his memories, and he was rather surprised to meet one of the more famous characters from the canon of the ASOIAF. Her full breasts and narrow waits were proudly on display as her clothes hugged her enchanting figure.

She wore a long red dress and bloodred fabric underneath a silk gown the color of bright fire on one occasion and robes of scarlet satin and blood velvet on another. Around her neck, she wore a golden ornamental choker with a ruby gemstone in it. 

The ruby often gleamed red, glimmered, glowed, shimmered redly, pulsed with light, or throbbed as it was the symbol of her connection with the Lord of Light. Valkorion read about the Red Priests, ornamental artifacts with Ruby was a symbol of their connection with the Lord of Light, and they were powerful Sealed Artifacts.

'Melisandre of Asshai... who would have thought that I would meet her here.'

While he remembered her character from the TV shows, he knew that he couldn't depend maximally on the meta-knowledge, but he was still very careful around her. He knew that Mellisandre of Asshai was rather a dangerous woman, a scheming one and someone who couldn't be really trusted.

"It is my pleasure, My Lady. As you already know, I am Valkorion Nerona, and I welcome you to my home."

Valkorion kissed her on the back of her hand and greeted her in a proper aristocratic manner.

"Melisandre, originally from Asshai and Priest to the Lord of Light."

She gave him a rather enchanting smile as she introduced herself, as they continued to the drawing room without saying another word. Melisandre looked around the manor in a very similar way compared to what Ashe was doing, but for Melisandre it was just curiosity and nothing more.

She didn't really care about worldly possessions, and the sole thing that she cared about was the faith in her very own lord and partially about advancing on the pathway of Beyonder. 

As someone who was a former slave, she had a very deep carving for power, something that she herself was very well aware of.

"Tea?"

Valkorion asked her, and seeing he nod, he started brewing tea as the priestess of the Lord of Light sat on the safe and patiently waited for her host to finish brewing the tea in silence.