hadriel | Video 6 - Sewing Shop

[Kelson smiled and actually laughed at that.]

Black always looks flattering, yes. As long as one does not deign to wear it every day. My Champion wore black during his....darkling phase. I believe my Archbishop told him he looked like the Devil and if he was trying to keep people from hating him that was not a good way to go about it.

Yes, every day would be a little too much, at least if one is not in mourning. But, may I ask what a devil is?

[the Faith of the Seven has Seven Hells which are places of torment, but no actual devil to oversee them]

[It honestly never occurred to Kelson that he might have to explain to someone what the devil was. And he honestly wasn't entirely sure where to begin. He actually looked kind of floundered]

The Devil, I guess you might say is the incarnation of evil and temptation.

[For not the last time since he got here, Kelson wished Father Duncan were here to answer all the religious questions. And to help him, he missed his confessor terribly.]

Do you not have a Church in your kingdom?

Edited (icon) 2018-04-15 00:06 (UTC)

[the closest thing Westeros has to a devil is Cersei Lannister]

Oh! I see. That sounds terribly unpleasant.

[Margaery can understand missing people from home. she misses her grandmother and brother terribly]

Westeros actually has three faiths: the Old Gods, the Faith of the Seven, and the Drowned God. Personally, I have no use for any of them.

Yes...I guess it is rather unpleasant.

[That was a different way of looking at it and Kelson had honestly never met someone who was that...indifferent to faith before. But Gwynedd was a little backwards compared to some of the other Eleven Kingdoms. He wasn't sure what to think of the Old Gods, or the Faith of the Seven but....]

What's the Drowned God?

Does he actually visit you?

[Margaery used to be a good little follower of the Seven. she gave lip service to the faith, at least. then Cersei made a fanatic the High Septon and everything went downhill from there]

It's a god followed by residents of the Iron Islands. They're a seafaring people. Raiders. Rapers. Looters, mostly. They believe that they were made in the image of the Drowned God and that is why they do what they do.

Oh. That doesn't sound very nice at all.

[That's not at all what Kelson thought, since the good little catholic had grabbed on to anything with a singular god in it.]

Well, I guess that depends on your perspective and individual belief. I don't think so, but I know others do. My mother believes the entire Deryni race to be created by him, and as a member of that race, her very soul is in jeopardy.

[His mother was extremely trying.]

I really wish Father Duncan were to here to answer your questions.

No, the Ironborn are generally unpleasant. They keep trying to rebel and become their own nation.

[and it would be good riddance in Margaery's opinion, but she understands that the Seven Kingdoms must remain united]

But that's absurd! Why would a race be created, only to be condemned for their creation? That sounds terribly strange. Your mother must have a tortured mind.

[her mother was barely part of her life. much of Margaery's upbringing was seen to by her grandmother]

I'm sorry, am I prying?

That sounds like the Mearans. They likewise keep trying to rebel and become their own nation again. They forget that before they were part of Gwynedd they were ruled by a bunch of petty warlords and despots.

[The Mearans were a pain and required constant Haldane presence now because he really didn't want to fight another war with them. There had already been too much loss of life. Having to execute almost every member of their so called royal family was hard enough. The entire situation was ridiculous. Like her Seven Kingdoms, Gwynedd must remain united.]

I think so too, Your Highness. However, I seem to be in the minority. And some, like my superstition blinded mother, seem resistant to such tactics like logic. Although I believe her torture to be of her own making.

[Kelson smiled softly but small.]

I admit, my mother is not my favorite topic on a good day.

[It took a special relationship with your son to wear a nuns habit to his knighting as a personal statement against his way of life. That wasn't humiliating at all. Queen Jehana acted like Kelson's life was an exclusive slight against her. That said, he might not have envied Margaery's position.]

Edited 2018-04-15 01:54 (UTC)

It sounds as though they're better off as part of Gwynedd, just as the Ironborn are better off as part of the Seven Kingdoms. Unfortunately, there are those with short memories.

[technically speaking, the Iron Islands are still in rebellion against the crown, but no one has the army to spare to crush them]

How wretched. There are so many things in the world to be tortured by. Why would anyone purposefully choose even more torture?

[she offers a small smile back]

Understandably so. Very well then, we'll cease talking of her unless you wish to continue.

[she can't imagine enduring such familial turmoil. she was always incredibly close to her brother and her grandmother and even her parents, although they weren't as much a part of Margaery's life as the other two were]

Yes, although I'm certain both Meara and the Ironborn do not see it that way. They have very short memories. The entire issue with Meara was supposed to be dealt with two hundred years ago. But my grandfather had to deal with them, and my father as well. And now myself. I don't intend for this to be an issue again for my sons or my sons sons. I hope you can find a viable solution as well.

[Kelson just prayed any solution for the Ironborn didn't involve as much bloodshed and violence as putting down the Mearan rebellion had. But such was a foolish thought.]

Perhaps another time.

May I ask what your solution was? Because the only thing that the Ironborn seem to understand is violence. The last man to style himself as King of the Iron Islands was overthrown--quite literally--by his own brother and they continue in rebellion.

[unbeknownst to Margaery, there is a solution in sight. there's just one inconvenient person to kill and an Iron Throne to take]

My solution or the solution that worked?

[Kelson said a little wryly. He twisted the tiny wedding ring on his pinky. He didn't want to talk about it, but he was going to have to get used to it. He took a breath.]

The solution I wanted desperately to work?

I tried to marry their daughter, Sidana, and put and end to the question of succession once and for all. Her brother slit her throat rather than see her wed to me, twenty seconds after we exchanged vows.

The actual solution I'm afraid was rather bloody.

I executed Sidana's brother for her murder and then my army and I went into Meara where I executed the Queen Pretender's other son and shot her consort in his saddle when he refused to surrender. I then executed her cousin, the next in line for the throne, and remanded the Queen Pretender to a cell in a convent where she can spend the rest of her natural life doing penance and praying for the souls of those who died as a result of her rebellion.

Every officer and member of the Mearan army was required to swear me allegiance with the understanding that if forsworn they would also face execution.

I then had two of my trusted friends act as Viceroy for the area until I can get the matter settled more permanently. They need a guardian to watch them.

[Kelson paused.]

I hope that did not offend your sensibilities.

[His own advisers had cornered him at one point for his rather unnecessary savage and bloodthirsty attitude. On the other hand, after Kelson's punishment for certain officers, he was quite sure they would think twice before raping, pillaging and scorching the earth of innocent villages.]

[she takes a moment to consider]

No, you didn't offend me. Justice in Westeros is frequently brutal. That's assuming that justice is being done in the first place. My husband, King Tommen, was frequently led astray by his mother, Cersei.

[how best to describe Cersei?]

Cersei Lannister is a power hungry opportunist. There are rumors that she had her husband, King Robert, killed in an "accident." Other rumors say that none of the three children she had were fathered by King Robert. Instead, they were fathered by Cersei's own twin brother. After having . . . ample opportunity to observe Cersei's behavior, I'm inclined to believe that the rumors are accurate.

Cersei was terrified of someone else taking what she believed was her own right to rule. She guarded her power jealously and did whatever she could to undermine me. Tommen was oblivious to the strife between us.

Later, Cersei had a fanatic appointed High Septon and brought my brother up on charges of lying with other men. The charges were true, but I'd do anything to protect my brother. So I lied to the Faith to protect him. I was caught in that lie and both my brother and myself were imprisoned.

I stayed in a damp, dirty cell for months. They would have kept me in there forever, but I pretended to convert and do penance. I thought that by doing so, my brother would be released as well. He wasn't. So I still pretended.

Later on, Cersei was herself imprisoned by the faith on charges of regicide and incest. She did a Walk of Atonement to get out of her cell, but in her heart, she was truly unrepentant. She was to be officially tried on charges by the High Sparrow--sorry, Septon--in the Sept of Baelor. Cersei never arrived to face her accusers.

She'd had Wildfire--a dangerously explosive and flammable liquid--placed under the Sept of Baelor and arranged that on the day of her trial the Wildfire would erupt, killing her accusers and all those inside.

...I knew something was wrong when Cersei didn't arrive at the Sept. I tried to warn them. I tried to escape along with my brother. I failed.

[Well that hit a little too close to home for Kelson as well and he tried not to flinch as he listened to the story. It's a few moments before he responds, taking the time to collect himself. ]

No one should be kept in those conditions, not queen nor common born. That kind of power mongering and blatant despotic rule has no place in a royal house. Not that it doesn't happen. The incest reminds me of Imre and Ariella, they were the last of the Festil line that had conquered Gwynedd before my family was restored. Imre and Ariella were siblings and if rumor was true, lovers. I heard Imre's bride was found dead of suicide in the bath, but I wouldn't put it past either of them to have engineered anything, or to have driven the poor girl to it. The Festil's were not kind and Gwynedd had such a backlash against their rule that I am still trying to remedy the situation three hundred years later.

One result was the bigoted Edmund Loris, Primate of Gwynedd and his toadying little priest Gorony.

[Kelson tried to keep his face calm but it was hard not to let anger slip into his words, to keep his lips from curling in disgust.]

He tortured and killed many, many people under the guise of religion and salvation. He may have truly believed, or he may have used it as an excuse for his bigotry. Two of my dukes will probably have the nightmares and scars for the rest of their lives, although I believe watching their execution helped somewhat. He could have made life very difficult for me, but his religious and political aspirations went too far and he committed high treason. Multiple times I'm afraid, it took me too long to realize mercy was not always the right answer.

[He took a breath, trying to replace the rather fresh memory of his confessor, beaten, bloody, drugged and burned, tied to a stake as Loris ranted and foamed at the mouth while physicians worked to save him. Then he replaced that image with the one of Loris and Gorony turning blue as Kelson's men hoisted them up on the rafters and hung them in front of the entire court.]

Are you alright? There are things I can do to....blur the memory if it bothers you. I would not see you suffer.

Edited (words make sense) 2018-04-15 21:25 (UTC)

It will be a long time before the influence of Cersei Lannister is no longer felt in Westeros. After my death and the death of King Tommen, she seized power for herself and was crowned queen in her own right. Fortunately, Daenerys Targaryen, the rightful queen, is on her way to Westeros to depose Cersei and take the Seven Kingdoms for herself.

And I feel terrible about Imre's bride. No one should be forced into a situation of such desperation.

I was wed to two of Cersei's sons. The first, King Joffrey, reminds me of what you've said of Edmund Loris. He delighted in cruelty to others, whether they were smallfolk or nobility. Rumor has it when his uncle gifted him with a pair of whores for his nameday, he made one of the whores beat the other half to death. Before I arrived, he caused a riot after someone threw a cow paddy at him and he tried to have all of the smallfolk present killed. As it was, they very nearly killed him. Although Joffrey didn't even have religion as an excuse for his cruelty. He was just a terrible person and a worse king.

[she considers a moment, then continues]

Joffrey was killed by my grandmother on our wedding day. She would not see me wed to a sadist. She knew that eventually, his cruelty would turn towards me.

[Margaery has little love for religion of any kind. she now believes that the gods and their rules were made by men and can be abused and manipulated by men to suit their own needs]

Religion can be the most divisive thing I can imagine. My ordeal with the Faith of the Seven and the High Sparrow's blindness to anything but certainty that he spoke for the gods. Salvation and damnation are not so easy to judge. And you were right to execute Edmund Loris. A person of that nature is a threat to a nation's stability. I'm just sorry that two of your dukes were made to suffer because of him.

[beheading is the common method of execution in Westeros, but she can see how hanging would be more. . . satisfying]

I feel as though I need the memories. They'd helped me put much into perspective. Thank you for your kind offer, though.

I trust Cersei Lannister will one day be brought to justice, if not in this life than after.

[It took a moment for him to hear exactly what she just said, for everything to make it's implications. As for the Kings and Queens, he thought maybe he should ask her for a map. Her world seemed to have significant interplay between kingdoms. Or perhaps her world's politics were quite different than his. To Kelson, Seven Kingdoms and Eleven Kingdoms sounded similar. Different kingdoms with specific boundaries, except no one in the Eleven Kingdoms would dream of ruling all. The world was vast and with that amount of territory. It was madness. As far as Kelson was concerned that seemed like it might be causing more problems. But maybe the scope of their lands were different, as well as cultures. There were too many unknowns.]

Yes, your King Joffrey reminds me terribly of Edmund Loris. It gladdens my heart to know that both are dead, and cannot hurt anyone else again. Although it does emphasize the need that those in charge, whether secular or ecclesiastic be tempered with compassion. Those in charge weird extensive power, both often temporal as well as spiritual.

[Kelson stopped before he launched into a similar speech he had just given the council of Bishops only a few months before. After having to execute three of them and multiple more pending charges by their superiors, he thought it wise to emphasize the need for due consideration in those that might be newly elected for office. He had been sick with a horrible cold during that speech, he vividly remembered his sinuses filling up as he spoke.]

No one should be wed to a man like that. I hope your grandmother did not suffer for it. [Although he knew she would have. No one kills a king and does not pay, no matter how unliked that king was. As for hanging and beheading, beheading was reserved for those of royal and noble births, although some he hung because if you act like a common criminal he's going to treat you like one. It's also significantly less messy.]

I try to remember that man interpret's God's law. We are mortal and fallible, God's is not. It's up to us to make sure that those in charge of interpreting the divine will are re-interpreting for their own purposes. But that's our fault, not the divine.

[He smiled at her.] Let me know if you change your mind. But I understand.

Edited 2018-04-17 03:20 (UTC)

I'm sure she will be. Daenerys Targaryen sails to Westeros with her three dragons to take back the Iron Throne. Cersei has no hope of defeating her.

[they in fact ruled what used to be seven different kingdoms: the North, the Westerlands, the Stormlands, the Vale, the Reach, the Iron Islands, and Dorne. plus the Riverlands which was never its own separate kingdom. granted, half of the kingdoms had been in open rebellion for the past five years but even in times of peace, ruling the Seven Kingdoms was a tricky thing]

In the Seven Kingdoms, all power that the kings and queens held was temporal. The Septons saw to those who followed the Faith of the Seven, the Priests to those who followed the Drowned God, and those who kept to the Old Gods had their Weirwood trees to pay tribute at. It sounds as though it's quite different where you're from.

[all of that changed when the High Sparrow came to power and Margaery made the mistake of playing the pennitent to get out of prison and work on her brother's behalf]

She didn't. To this day, no one knows for certain who poisoned Joffrey. My grandmother is a terribly clever woman who does not leave evidence behind. [she knows very well that her grandmother would be killed if the truth was ever known but she has every confidence in her grandmother's abilities to evade suspicion]

I can't imagine worshipping just one god. What is your god like? What sorts of laws are enforced? How are your priests chosen?

[she smiles back] I will. Thank you for your understanding.

[There was a lot of information in those words, but there was one thing that really stuck out at him.] You have dragons.

[That was, well....they had dragons. He wondered if they had magic as well, or if it was an and/or situation. Maybe they were connected? He didn't know, the Eleven Kingdoms had magic, but no dragons. The last and only magical creature he saw was when a Stenrect tried to kill him before his coronation. And they weren't supposed to exist.]

It's quite different where I'm from. At least in Gwynedd, my power is temporal, but I can only act within the laws--both temporal and those set by the Church. We tend to govern each other. It's a working relationship. They advise me, and make recommendations on laws and vassals, and I advise them, and make recommendations on laws and appointed bishops. I can't say we always see eye to eye, we frequently don't, but that too I suppose is part of the balance. It sounds like your Septons are very separate from your own rule.

[Kelson didn't comment on her grandmother. He was glad she hadn't been punished, but....well, he wasn't entirely sure on that actually. It bothers him, no matter how in the right it might have been, that someone escaped justice. Or that it was necessary in the first place.]

I confess, I've never been asked questions like that before. I'm not sure I can answer all of them. I think each of us has our own different connection to God. I think that's how priests are chosen too, each one of us feels called to serve in a different way. If someone feels that's their calling, and they're free to choose that life, I suppose that's between him, his God and the bishops who ordain him.

The laws are....currently changing. For the last two hundred years, Deryni have been forbidden from church practices or serving as clergy. I recently found out the way that Deryni were were weeded out was by way of a poison in the wine at ordination. Doesn't do much to humans besides make them sleepy, but to a Deryni, well, it looked like God was smiting them. I'm happy to say that has changed now. Being Deryni is no longer a crime, at least in the eyes of church doctrine. Actually changing minds takes longer. But it's a real step, and now maybe I can actually make some changes to temporal law.

[He paused, realizing he's gone on a bit of a tangent on something he's rather passionate about. He vividly remembers the speech he had given to all the Bishops congregated at Dhassa, pleading with them to remove this as it is not and should not be a crime to be born with simple ability.He'd even put in a bit there about how they would do him no honor if they did not, given his own heritage. He hadn't been sure how it all went over, carefully planned and orchestrated as each sentence had been. It was a tricky subject.]

Apologies.

Yes. Only the three, but they're the first dragons born in over a hundred years. Dragons were what helped Aegon the Conqueror and his sister-wives unite the Seven Kingdoms three hundred years ago.

[she knows that maesters can supposedly study magic, but nothing really comes of it]

Yes, the Faith of the Seven had been kept separate from the crown until Cersei Lannister saw the High Sparrow appointed as High Septon. After that, the crown and the Faith were unified. I doubt that union lasted after Cersei destroyed the Sept of Baelor. I can't imagine working so closely with religion to rule. I. . . pretended at conversion to get out of my cell and Tommen got caught up in it. It was a mess, having to consult with the High Sparrow about everything.

[Margaery is endlessly proud of her grandmother and what she learned at her grandmother's knee. she'd countenance no words against her]

So I suppose that in theory, it's not so different than all of the Septons and Septas. While some are always going to be second sons of lesser houses or daughters without dowries, most claim to a genuine calling to serve the gods.

They would poison Deryni to keep them out of the clergy? What an abuse of power, not to mention a terrible betrayal of the people. I'm so glad that it has changed under your rule. It's true that changing the minds of the common folk will take a while, but it will be well worth the effort to make the Deryni full members of the kingdom with all the rights and responsibilities that comes with it.

[it sounds as though it would be terribly difficult. at least Westeros never had such problems dividing its populace. it divided itself on its own quite easily, it didn't need another excuse]

For what?

Sister wives? He married an entire family?

[That was.....he wasn't quite sure if the word he was looking for was impressive or wretched.]

I can't say working that closely with religion is always easy, but I don't have a fair amount of experience working separately. For the sake of your land I do hope that it gets sorted sufficiently.

[He was quite familiar with the mess that comes with such. Kelson arched an eyebrow as she confessed to false conversation. It wasn't a sin he himself had ever had and hoped he would never succumb too but he knew those who had.]

It's a terrible situation you were put in. My general was put in a similar one. Drugged and made to recant for sins he had never committed. He was ready to say anything.

[Although Kelson would have said that not lying in the first place was probably a good start for Margaery, he knew not everything was that simple. It was easy to be righteous when you were sitting from a place of power without consequence.]

The poison is not fatal, which would be the better kindness. I know, I have tasted it, and it is not an experience I would soon repeat.

[It had in fact been the most painful experience in his entire life.]

They were burned at the stake after. That was the penalty for Deryni caught entering holy orders. Since one cannot unmake a priest. That was something we managed to rescind only last year. I'm under no presumptions that it would not have been possible, had several bishops lost faith in me and committed treason.

[The idea of having a Deryni king was abhorrent in some eyes, enough eyes that it gave birth to two civil wars. Kelson's heritage had been the catalyst for a change that many could not tolerate.]

Stop me if I go on too much regarding this. It is something I feel rather strongly about.

[Congratulations on being the first person to ask her to explain that term!]

No, he married his own sisters, Visenya and Rhaenys. The Targaryen dynasty very much believed in keeping the bloodlines pure and wedding brother to sister.

There must be some form of a happy medium between religion and the throne. Especially when which gods you follow depends so largely on where you were born and raised. And now there are the Red Priests and Priestesses of the fire god, R'hllor, to contend with.

[Margaery was a thoroughly political animal. she never took a step without considering how it would benefit her or those close to her. her false conversion was an attempt to win her brother's freedom as well, but it failed. and lying in the first place became a necessity after the High Sparrow was appointed to the highest position in the Faith. he strongly condemned men who lay with other men which made her brother a target]

It's still a poor practice, targeting one group of people and claiming that they're damned by god when the entire thing is due to the actions of man.

Burned at the stake? That's--that's terrible! Only the Mad King and the Priests of R'hllor considered such an act justified. And your own bishops betrayed you?

[civil wars seem to be an inevitability in both of their worlds. Westeros, thanks the the actions of Cersei and the questionable parentage of her children and Kelson's home due to his heritage]

It's all right. I like learning about new worlds.

That.....[Well that sounded like a really poor idea to him, but it's not like it hasn't ever been done before. ]

He married his own sisters? Is that common where you're from? In Gwynedd that's against the law and the church. I find it all rather distasteful but our marriages are state, between the different kingdoms and dukedoms and the like.

[This was getting close to a subject he'd rather not talk about. Marriage. His own. He'd been king for four years and had two failed marriages. His pressure to take a wife and produce an heir was rising. He just wished sometimes they'd stop talking about him like they were breeding a prized stallion.

Happy medium's are often hard to come by I've found. I think with a little prayer and maybe a little luck I've found it. If it can last. I wish you the same.

It is an extremely poor practice, and one created from fear and hatred rather than any actual moral deficiency on behalf of an entire race. They believed that burning Deryni saved them from the flames in Hell. And yes, my own bishops betrayed me, forswore the oath to pledge me faith and loyalty as I do undo them.

[He took a breath. He thought at least he could trust her.]

My own Deryni heritage was too much and they listened when the Archbishop rallied against me and my advisers, and the questionable status of our souls. I forgave them once. And they did it again.After that there were 3 whose crimes against me and mine were so heinous I could not in good conscience let them live. If my own Archbishop hadn't agreed and remanded them into my care I would have executed them anyway and faced the recriminations later. Although I regret one of those deaths was politically motivated.

The rest were remanded to a court of their peers, other bishops. One narrowly escaped the death penalty and all will spent the rest of their lives stripped of all titles, rank and church status in a monastic guarded cell. And with that, I hope this is at an end. That with the Bishops seats filled with new members, and some of the more heinous statutes against Deryni rescinded, I can work on the rest and hope they never again break faith.

Common among the rest of the nobility? No. Common among Targaryens? Yes.

Marriages are of utmost importance among the rest of the nobility and royalty, too, now that the Targaryens no longer rule. They're brokered to unite strength with strength. First, I wed Renly Baratheon, a contender for the crown, but he was more in love with my brother. After Renly's death, we allied ourselves with the crown and I wed that wretch, Joffrey. Grandmother poisoned him and then I was wed to Joffrey's younger brother, Tommen. Who was sweet, but had no backbone of his own.

[she would hate to be in Kelson's position, having those around him treating him more like a prized stallion than a person. her hope for him would be that he find someone of high enough birth that he can build a friendship with, with that leading to something more. as for Margaery, she's resolved that if she ever does marry again, it will be for love]

Thank you for your well wishes. There's a world I'd like to go to after my time here is complete. I will need all the well wishes I can get to attain my goal.

All burning does is reduce men and women to piles of ash.

Forgiveness. . . that's a tricky thing. Too little and you're a despot. Too much and people feel free to walk all over you. I'm glad that your Archbishop saw the necessity to remand them to your care, though I commend you for being willing to take matters into your own hands. Sometimes, it's a necessity.

I'm glad that you have others you can work with and hopefully trust in the future. Trust must be earned, of course, especially given your circumstances. Years of prejudice may prove difficult to overcome, but with any luck your Bishops are far more reasonable than my Septons.

Video 6 - Sewing Shop

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