The three foundations of Braavos were the Iron Treasury, the House of Black and White, and the Moon Singer Temple.
The Iron Treasury and the House of Black and White lived up to their names, and the Moon Singer Temple was also heavily relied on by the Sea King. They had contributed greatly to the establishment and development of Braavos.
In theory, the Moon Singer Temple was the head of all the temples on the Island of Gods, helping the Braavos government to control the supernatural world and the gods' faith.
But the Moon Singer's foundation was too shallow.
How long did the zebra people have?
On the Island of Gods, any church of a certain scale had a longer history than the Moon Singer Temple.
Most importantly, while others had the support of powerful gods, the Moon Singer Temple only had the incompetent Pale Moon Chu.
Moreover, Pale Moon Chu was not from Jugesnai, nor was she a direct descendant of the Moon Singer Temple.
Just like how Sansa had obtained the Moon Singer meditation technique from the dwarf, but she had no connection with the Moon Singer Temple.
Now, the situation seemed to have reversed. The temple where the gods were killed by Qizang was far less powerful than the Moon Singer?
Although it was a little awkward, the old zebra woman could not hide her strange joy.
The old woman was surprised and happy, but the Sea King was completely shocked.
"Could it be that the gods of all the temples were killed by Qizang? Qizang is so terrifying?! "
Just as he was thinking, an old priest standing in the corner of the crowd was embarrassed by the Sea King's stare. In fact, the Sea King only glanced at everyone and did not pay special attention to him.
"Your Majesty, may I know why you are looking for my master?" The old priest in white shrunk his head and asked.
The Sea King breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, there was a god he could contact.
"Braavos is facing deviant ghosts, and we need to seek help from the gods," he said hurriedly.
Hearing this, the old priest in white also breathed a sigh of relief. He patted his chest and promised, "Your Majesty, don't worry. My master sent down an oracle to fight deviant ghosts a few years ago. We are willing to live and die with Braavos."
"A few years ago?" The Sea King was shocked. "You knew there were deviant ghosts in the House of Black and White a few years ago. Why didn't you say so earlier?!"
"The oracle to fight deviant ghosts was issued a few years ago. We only received the Holy Mother's warning about the Faceless Ones of the House turning into deviant ghosts this afternoon," the old priest in white explained quickly.
"Holy Mother?" The Sea King carefully looked at the priest's white robe and finally saw a seven-pointed star the size of a baby's palm on his chest.
"Are you a cultivator from the Outer Realm Saint Hall?" The Sea King had a strange expression on his face. He looked at the group of priests around him and saw that they were all expressionless. However, their gazes on the white-robed cultivator in the corner were cold and vicious.
At this moment, the Sea King gradually understood why he was the only one who stood out.
There were many churches with living gods, but their priests were not sure if they could contact the Lord God immediately.
On the other hand, as long as the archbishops of the Seven Gods devoutly abstained from food and prayed, they would often be able to communicate with the Holy Mother to a limited extent. Perhaps it was an illusion caused by hunger, but they all believed that they had seen the Holy Mother.
This was especially true for priests. They had received divine spells from the Holy Mother, and no one could refute them.
"Your Majesty, I believe in the Seven Gods, but I'm also a Braavosi!" the old monk said, feeling wronged.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything else …" The Sea King smiled awkwardly, and asked the old zebra woman beside the throne in a low voice, "How should I address this priestess?"
"Archbishop of the Saint Hall, Priest Sterling." The old woman's lips moved, and her voice was almost inaudible, "Your Majesty should have summoned him alone. Now that everyone is gathered together, if something were to happen …"
"Sigh, I've been neglecting the Church of the Seven Gods." The Sea King looked around, and glanced at the chief swordsman who was hiding behind him, and whispered, "When the priests leave the hall, arrange a few more guards for Bishop Sterling. Don't let him be killed."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The old zebra man's mouth twitched, and whispered, "Your Majesty, you've misunderstood. I'm not afraid of Bishop Sterling being killed, but I'm worried that he will kill the priests who are provoking him."
"Bishop Sterling is so fierce? They have the advantage in numbers! Or does he know the Holy Mother's Palm? "The Sea King was shocked.
"I'm not sure if he knows the Holy Mother's Palm, but he definitely knows the Almighty Dragon of Heaven.
The priests have lost their god and most of their supernatural powers. No matter how many of them there are, they won't be able to defeat Sterling who is blessed by the Holy Mother.
I heard that guy went to the King's Landing for further training, and studied under the Big Sparrow for two years with Qizang, "the old woman whispered.
"So he's Qizang's junior. How fearsome!" The Sea King exclaimed.
"Your Majesty?" Seeing the Sea King on the throne whispering to the old woman beside him, and even looking at him, Sterling could not help but ask, "Your Majesty, do you have any other orders?"
"Oh, Bishop Sterling, I'm sorry. I've never heard of your name before, so I'm asking High Priest Zanza about you and the Saint Hall outside the realm." The Sea King laughed, and said frankly.
Sterling was not offended by this.
The Saint Hall outside the realm was only a small temple on the Isle of Gods, and it was only for Westeros sailors to pray. It was normal that the Sea King was not familiar with it.
Then, the Sea King told him about the message from the Dragon Queen, the changes in the School of Black and White, the crisis Braavos was facing, and even the plan of the gods to hide the Frost God from the mortal kings and believers.
"I've gathered all the priests to ask about the attitude of the gods behind you."
The Sea King's expression became bleak, but his tone became stern. "Braavos has specially allocated an island for the gods to build temples, and all the temples have always been exempt from taxes.
It can be said that we have revered the churches for more than a thousand years, and this is how the gods repay Braavos? "
"Your Majesty, I only found out about this today."
"Your Majesty, our Lord did not leave any oracle related to this. Is there some misunderstanding?"
A group of priests hurriedly defended themselves. All of them were sincere and did not seem to be lying.
They were indeed not lying. Why would the gods report to them what they were doing?
"I don't care what the gods knew before, or what they intend to do." The Sea King waved his hand, silencing the noisy crowd. "I'm only asking now. Braavos is facing a great crisis. Do the gods have any suggestions?"
"Your Majesty, our Lord has been killed by Qizang!"
"Your Majesty, our Lord's statue has cracked. He's most likely dead. What suggestions can they have?"
Half of the priests in the crowd wailed again.
The Sea King sighed helplessly. "Priests of the dead gods, please wait in the side hall. Let me deal with the urgent matter at hand."
The twenty or so priests left, wiping their tears.
Before leaving, they even glared at Sterling with venomous eyes.
Seeing that there were still twenty or so priests left, the Sea King was delighted, but also puzzled. "Since the gods you worship were not killed by Qizang, why did only Bishop Sterling come out?"
"Your Majesty, I worship the Supreme Shepherd God, but she has never responded to me. So, I can't make decisions for her and provide help to Braavos," an honest middle-aged shepherd said.
Seeing the Sea King's puzzled expression, the zebra priest immediately whispered, "The Supreme Shepherd God is the Sheep God that the Lazars worship. Like the horse god of the centaurs and the seven gods of the Andals, they are all new gods and wooden gods.
Danny Rize and her Megalosaurus occupy the positions of the seven gods and the horse god, but they look down on the Sheep God.
So, even if the Lazars join the big family of Slaver's Bay and become the people of the Dragon Queen, there is still no real Sheep God priest. "
"So, it's considered lucky for an outsider to occupy the position of the main god?" The Sea King frowned.
"Counting the hundreds of shrines in the sanctuary, more than 90% of the gods on the islands of gods can't respond to their believers. Having a god to rely on is better than believing in a piece of wood. "
The old priest Zanzar looked at Sterling enviously and whispered, "Besides, the Dragon Queen is a good person. Her teachings are the most in line with human nature and the laws of the kingdom. There is not much conflict with the regime, and she has never asked for blood sacrifices."
Before the battle of Meereen, the supernatural world despised the seven gods because they had believed in a piece of wood their whole lives. Now, they did not even know that the main god's position had been replaced by a mortal.
If someone told them the truth, they would punch them.
Later, the Dragon Queen developed the priest system, and the supernatural's attitude changed for the first time. From contempt to jealousy, they were jealous of the priests of the seven gods who gained practical benefits.
Healing theurgy was a subversive reform in the supernatural world. It was like the Nokia era, when the iPhone suddenly appeared with an intelligent operating system.
Until now, the priest system of the other churches remained unchanged and was still the old-fashioned "beeper" system. The priest system, however, was constantly updated and perfected day by day. It was already thirteen years old.
There were even many clergy options such as "Winged Dragon Paladin" and "Witcher Paladin".
How could the supernatural not be envious and jealous?
Of course, after the Dragon Queen resisted the Frost God by herself and stabilized the situation in the Westeros, and after Qizang went on a killing spree in the Ursos continent, the supernatural could no longer be jealous of the seven gods. Instead, they were simply in awe and envy.
Especially those temples that did not have a powerful god behind them, they could not wait to submit an application to the Dragon Queen: "Come and usurp my god's position!" The name of the gods and their teachings could be changed at will.
Just like now, after the sheep priest awkwardly retreated, a dozen priests came forward one after another to explain the situation: "We believe that the god we believe in is still alive, but he has never contacted us. We don't even know theurgy, so we can't help His Majesty the Sea King!"
In the end, there were only nine priests left in the main hall.
"High Priest Robben, the Red God Temple is the head of all the temples, and the Red God is also unparalleled. Do you have any plans for Braavos?" The Sea King looked at the red-robed priest first.
"Your Majesty, everyone knows about the Light King's attitude towards deviant ghosts, but now the priests and the Hand of Sacred Fire are in the Westeros, so I can't do anything!" The red-robed old man said perfunctorily with a straight face.
The Sea King furrowed his brows and said bluntly, "Priest Robben, the Red God Temple occupies the largest island in the Gods Archipelago. It has the most believers and the most magnificent temple. You've received so many benefits. Now that Braavos is in trouble, don't you have anything to say?"
"All of us monks are willing to follow your orders." The old man bowed.
"You can deal with the School of Black and White?" The Sea King was angry and raised his voice. "What I want is His Majesty the Red God's position!"
"The night is long, and there are dangers everywhere. Only my Lord can save the world." Robben said emotionally.
The Sea King said expectantly, "His Majesty the Red God will deal with the deviant ghosts in the School of Black and White?"
"The Light King is a god, and no mortal can interfere with what a god does." High Priest Robben's expression was firm, and his tone was sincere. "I believe that the Light King has arranged everything, and he will do what is best for the whole world and the overall situation of fighting deviant ghosts."
The Sea King was angry, but he did not dare to fly into a rage. He could only look at the next priest, the priest of the God of Poverty.
The old man with the patched hood bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not lie to you. My Lord has clearly joined the Alliance of Justice and Order against Dragon Queen and Qizang, but my Lord's position in the Alliance of Justice and Order is not high, and he has to listen to the Alliance Leader's orders."
Bishop Sterling glared at him.
The Sea King sighed.
The followers of the Hooded Walker were all poor, so they were called the God of Poverty. Their divine power was not weak, but the old priest was not lying. In the Alliance of Justice and Order, the God of Poverty was not a big shot.
He had to ask a priest of the Alliance of Justice and Order.
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