Samael61
patreon
Chapter 19 - Blessed Argella
🕑 Added 2025-05-24 20:14:04 +0000 UTCNarrow Sea
9 BAC
The ship’s captain, Kalyro, dragged out a woman from below the deck. Covered from head to toe in black clothing, Ei could feel she was afflicted with Greyscale.
“So, you’re the one responsible for the Greyscale outbreak. I wonder, how did you not inflict the crew?” She asked, and in response, the woman removed her cowl and the bandages on her face, revealing a face blackened with Greyscale.
The captain let the woman go and immediately pulled away, almost bumping into the dragon in his worry.
“You, you are the Storm King’s daughter.” Elmyra said with contempt lacing her voice, ignoring Ei’s question. She had recognized the floating young girl from the rumors of her description, since none in the Free Cities or the Seven Kingdoms had the hair color Princess Argella Durrandon did.
“Why, yes.” She confirmed, watching as the perpetrator's face took on a shade of red that would put the Pyro Archon’s hair to shame.
The woman, unheeding of the danger before her, began a long tirade of curses against Ei herself, her father, the mother she never had the chance to know, the Storm Kingdom, and was going down the line straight to Durran Godsgrief. Unwilling to listen to it anymore, Ei’s divine presence bore down on the woman, silencing her.
“Curious. What reason could you have to hate us so much?” Ei wondered what had put the woman in a frenzy like this.
“Your father killed my husband and sons.” Elmyra spat out, trying to stand on shaky legs after the Electro Archon ceased the pressure she was exerting.
“In the war between Pentos and Braavos, I wager. So you crossed the Narrow Sea, got yourself inflicted with Greyscale, sold your wares cheap enough to face financial losses, all for revenge?” Ei was merely curious, since people, whether a mortal or a god, did unbelievable things for revenge.
“Yes, my husband was a good man, so were my sons, but your father killed them all!”
“My father was fighting against slavers; I doubt he would just go and execute innocent people for amusement.” There were monsters in human skins who would do exactly that, but Argilac was not one of them.
“We were not! My husband wanted to change the city and end slavery, but the other nobles forced him and our sons to join the war, and now I have nothing left.” The aging woman lamented.
“I see.” Ei did not know what to say to a woman whose family was killed in war by her father.
A good man and his sons, who wanted to change a city-state by ending slavery but were killed by a man fighting on the side of another city-state that wished to eradicate slavery, just to earn gold and protect his kingdom from slavers.
The irony was palpable.
She did wonder why a noble of Pentos would try to change the city so fundamentally, but it was irrelevant now, and Ei would refrain from deepening Elmyra’s wounds by asking.
“Nonetheless, your plot has failed, as I discovered a cure for Greyscale.” Ei said. The woman turned sharply to her, her face tight with dread.
“What?”
Without a word, Ei brought out the paste she had kept, and the small box gently floated to Elmyra. The Pentoshi woman took it with a shaking hand, discarding her glove to dab her greyscale-covered fingers into the cure.
She rubbed the cure between her fingers, and soon enough, the sickly, dead skin began to fall off, leaving unblemished fingers beneath.
“So, everything I did was for nothing?” Elmyra asked, closing the lid of the box containing the cure. She was resigned to her fate; it made no difference whether Greyscale remained or not.
“Yes.”
“If only that poison had killed you, none of this would have happened.”
“Poison?" Ei asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion, before remembering the time someone ruined her dessert with poison that, unbeknownst to them, was never going to work on her.
“I hired assassins to poison you so your father could feel the pain I do every day, but they failed.” Elmyra explained, finally filling the missing piece for Ei. The Electro Archon had considered investigating it, but if it were to get out that someone tried to kill Princess Argella, the Storm King would not let her out of sight for even a moment.
“Oh, they did not fail. I did ingest the poison; however, it was meant to kill a mortal, not a god.” Ei explained, imagining what Miko would think if she saw that someone tried to poison the Narukami Ogosho.
The crafty fox Youkai would have teased her without mercy.
“A god?” The grieving woman said with a hollow voice, falling on her knees, not because of the divine presence but in resignation.
"Yes. Do you have any last words?" It was customary to ask, but the woman shook her head.
“Very well. The crew and the captain, were they aware of your plans?” She asked, turning to the Captain of The Vengeance.
“No, just some pirates I hired.” Elmyra shook her head. After all, pirates, unlike legitimate sailors who had to answer to someone, did not ask questions if they were paid enough.
“That makes this easier. Captain Kalyro, you are obviously not guilty of the Greyscale outbreak; however, you are guilty of being a pirate. As such, you and your crew are to be executed.” Ei said," She usually wouldn’t carry out executions personally, but the current situation demanded it.
The captain and the crew began to protest, to beg for their lives, but it was all for naught.
Ei launched a lightning orb, the same size as one of those balls children back at Inazuma used to play with, towards the ship. It pierced through the hull and then expanded, covering the entire ship from bow to aft and keel to top of the sails.
For hundreds of miles across the Narrow Sea, captains and sailors all saw the same thing.
In an instant, the sky lit up with a purple glow above the clouds, and just as quickly, it disappeared, making people wonder what was happening and how it was related to the Storm Kingdom.
—
Storm Kingdom
Storm’s End
Months later, as the worry over Greyscale died with her miracle cure—people called it that anyway—life began to turn to normal in the Storm Kingdom.
Not for Ei, of course.
Gifts, ranging from jewelry, chests full of silver, and expensive clothing and fabrics to rare breed horses, ships, and even a plot of land.
Which were manageable, if a bit irritating.
—
Gathered in the Great Hall of Storm’s End for the feast thrown in honor of Princess Argella, which would be followed by a tourney, nobles of the kingdom were merry.
Lord Ian Tarth, his wife, and their son Arthur, who was looking at Princess Argella with adoration in his eyes, stopped before the King and the Princess to present their gifts first, followed by other nobles.
From noon to evening, Ei accepted gifts and gratitudes from the nobles. By the time it was done, there was a small pile of treasure behind her, which would be used to fund her projects.
Her father rose from his seat, and the hall was silenced, waiting for the king to address them. Rather than his usual, more practical attire, the Storm King was dressed in a black doublet and trousers with gold linings and had his steel crown on his head, all fit for the occasion.
“My daughter has proven herself, time and time again, as a wise and benevolent child. Her ideas fill our coffers, and in return, we are able to defend our kingdom with greater success. From her paper machine to her Iron Works, and now, a cure for Greyscale, which even the greatest of healers cannot claim to have, Argella is a true miracle we are blessed to have. May her brilliance continue to shine the path for a brilliant future. Long live the Storm Princess!” Argilac called out, raising his cup in his daughter’s honor.
The nobles, too, raised their cups, chanting “ Long live Princess Argella!” to the top of their lungs. The princess raised her cup—filled with fruit juice—in appreciation of their support. Minstrels were brought forward, singing the new hit song of the Kingdom, Blessed Argella.
Ei liked the song. The words were catchy, and the music evoked joy, making the Electro Archon consider hiring them on a more permanent basis.
—
Cure for Greyscale has been groundbreaking, enough that several interesting visitors had arrived within weeks. A Maester from the Citadel, one with several silver links, wanted to study the medicine she had concocted.
He was baffled upon learning it was just the leaves of a purple weirwood tree, which in itself was a sign that magic had been at work, but Maester Lenon kept quiet about it, preferring to test the leaves on several more diseases, ranging from the common cold to more deadly ones.
Naturally, they did not work, since the leaves did not possess any natural healing properties.
Several envoys of rich nobles and traders from the Free Cities had also arrived in search of the cure. They offered ridiculous amounts to buy the cure and only increased their offers when she refused to sell it.
Ei wouldn’t hold a cure for any disease hostage to make a profit, but since they were slavers, at least those aside from the Braavosi, Narukami did not care what happened to them.
Which did not go well with several nobles, especially Garrin Caron, who was bothering her about it right now.
—
“Princess, please reconsider. The amount of gold they offer will be very beneficial to the Kingdom; you must know that.” Garrin pleaded to Princess Argella as one of the nobles on a long list trying to change her mind. Chests upon chests full of gold coins had been presented to her, yet the girl refused to even consider their offer.
“They could offer me the mines of Casterly Rock, and I would still say no.” The princess, as stubborn as her father, did not budge.
“If they cannot buy it from you, they’ll just buy it from Braavos or someone in this kingdom who doesn’t share your values.” He tried to reason with her, and finally, she lifted her head from the book, giving him an unimpressed look.
“By all means. It will be rather amusing when the cure does not work.” Princess Argella replied with confidence, going back to her book.
“How can you be sure of that? This childishness of yours is unexpected, especially with all you have accomplished to this date.” Garrin knew he had made a mistake before he began to choke on air.
A chill grasped the room, and Garrin felt the cold, unfeeling hands of the Stranger around his neck, choking him slowly. He clawed his throat to find release and tried to walk away from the princess, but his legs did not respond. Garrin fell on his back, his vision getting blurry, before the presence let off. Taking deep breaths, Garrin focused on the princess, the most likely culprit, who didn’t even seem to notice his current condition.
“My childishness? Your arrogance and condescending attitude, Lord Garrin, are getting on my nerves. If I hear a single word that you, or anyone else, sold the cure to those involved in slavery, there won’t be enough time to regret that choice.” Princess Argella said, eyes still glued on the pages.
“You are very fortunate your sister did not take after you.” Were her last words before darkness took him.
—
Ei put the book where it belonged on the shelf and left the library.
Unknown to the Lord of Nightsong, the cure contained divine essence, since the trees were grown by her, which could be commanded by Ei regardless of the distance. Simply put, beyond a certain distance, she would just disperse the essence, making the cure useless.
Was it ridiculous?
Yes.
Was it a lot of work just to deny the cure to slavers?
Definitely.
Would she do it regardless?
Absolutely.
Ei was going to destroy slavery, eventually. The only reason she did not do it right now was because simply killing everyone involved with the slave trade wouldn’t solve the problem.
The slaves would need leadership, which meant she would have to set up governments for each city. Unfortunately, most educated people on this continent were the Maesters, knights, and nobles, who, no matter their views, would not simply agree to leave everything behind just to save humans in faraway lands.
After she built a sufficient support base, Ei would take over those cities and put an end to slavery.
Which, unfortunately, was going to take time.
—
Comments
Fenris Faust
Attempts murder and a biological attack that would have killed thousands from the disease and the resulting famine: Ei: Well nobody died and your deceased family fought against slavery so its all good Is a pirate: Ei: Your fate is DEATH This chapter shows that for all of Ei's power, she is still a medieval person with medieval values, what Elmyra did was a war cime that could have destroyed the kingdom and Ei showed her mercy because of her sob story. The pirates on the other hand? They were background characters, Ei didn't spare them more than a thought before smiting them immediately. I imagine this attitude would normally cause problems later on but fortunately for Ei Planetos is such a shithole that even if Ei decided to force everyone to worship her and kill all who resist the world still end up a better place.
