A flash of white light streaked across, piercing the heart of Bennero, the High Priest of the R'hllor faith, sending his soul to the Oblivion Realm for eternal torment.
"Bennero is dead!"
The Dragon Cultists at the front line had been keeping an eye on his every move. The moment the spear pierced through him, they shouted in triumph, boosting their morale.
"Bennero is not dead!"
Those around Bennero countered with shouts of their own. They propped up his corpse while a mage skilled in the Lord of Light's resurrection magic desperately attempted to revive him.
Before their eyes, Bennero's blood-soaked, limp body slowly regained strength. His hands pushed aside those supporting him, and he staggered to his feet.
"Haha! Our High Priest lives!"
The surrounding R'hllor followers cheered and spread the news, but before they could celebrate further, Bennero suddenly snatched a soldier's longsword and drove it through the last remaining mage's back, skewering him completely.
"What are you doing?!"
"He's gone mad!"
"No—it's Wright's necromancy!"
A soulless corpse, once an important figure, was the perfect target for Wright's reanimation spell. Carrying the Daedric dagger gifted by Dagon, Wright had tried slaying his enemies in melee combat, then with magic, and now through necromancy—reanimating corpses to kill. But in the end, all souls were devoured by the dagger, bound for Oblivion. He felt the dagger tremble when the mage perished.
With the spell lifted, Bennero's corpse crumpled to the ground once more.
With their leader and their mages gone, the R'hllor faith's militant order, the Flaming Hand, quickly fell into disarray. The front ranks were slaughtered, while those at the rear, realizing the tide had turned, attempted to flee—only to be stopped by a towering wall of ice that rose along the bridge. Its smooth surface made climbing impossible, and anyone who tried slipped back down.
Wright had no desire to kill more enemies just to feed their souls to Dagon, but blocking their escape was another matter. The battle had now turned into a one-sided massacre.
The flames illuminating the battlefield cast a flickering glow on the ever-rising ice wall. The Lord of Light's followers hacked at it with swords and axes, sending shards flying, but the one-meter-thick wall remained unscathed and continued to rise. A few desperate climbers barely made it halfway before losing their grip and plummeting to their deaths.
Watching this unfold, Sansa asked, "Lord Wright, you have so much magic at your disposal—you can summon an ice wall that high—so why didn't you just freeze the enemy's feet at the start of the battle?"
Wright replied, "Freeze their feet and slaughter them like pigs? If I did that, most of the Dragon Cultists would have thrown down their weapons. They wouldn't partake in a massacre devoid of honor."
"And what about now?" Sansa gestured toward the bridge. Many followers of the Lord of Light had already thrown down their weapons and were kneeling in surrender, yet the Dragon Cultists still executed them, chopping off their heads one by one.
Wright answered, "The battle has already proven that they weren't weak. Those surrendering now are cowards. The Dragon Cult is the victor—we owe no mercy to cowards. Haven't you read enough knightly tales? Volantis is no different from Westeros; honor is upheld in much the same way."
Sansa fell silent and followed Wright, using her magic to assist in the fight.
The battle had begun at dusk and ended by dawn. The Dragon Cult's 1,300 warriors had fought against 1,700 followers of R'hllor. After sacrificing over 500 of their own, they emerged victorious. The fallen Dragon Cultists were transported back to the temple square, where Wright would hold a memorial service the following day.
As for the dead followers of R'hllor, their corpses were stripped of armor and weapons, then dumped into the River Rhoyne to feed the fish. The Long Bridge stood at the river's mouth, where the waters were calm. Over a thousand freshly discarded bodies quickly stained the surface crimson, and soon, the water churned with frenzied fish feasting upon the flesh.
The grand and majestic Temple of R'hllor—Wright had originally intended to level it with a few blasts of Unyielding Force. However, the High Priest, Dofas, strongly objected, arguing that the temple had been built at great expense, with high-quality materials worth a fortune.
As a war trophy of the Dragon Cult, Wright couldn't afford to be wasteful. Instead, he ordered the temple of the Lord of Light to be dismantled. The Dragon Cult's architectural style was rugged and durable, so all salvaged materials were sold. A portion of the proceeds was distributed as compensation to the families of fallen brethren, another portion funded the expansion of the cult, and the rest covered reparations.
After inventorying the temple, they realized that just selling the furniture inside had already brought in a considerable sum. Even after distributing compensation, there was still a surplus. The dismantling began with the windows and doors, followed by the main structure itself. With the aid of Unyielding Force and dragon roars, the entire project was expected to take around six months to complete.
Previously, some had joined the Dragon Cult to learn magic, some due to family recommendations, and others to gain the support of like-minded comrades. But after this battle, as Wright had predicted, the remaining members were more united and determined than ever. Now, the cult's growth was built upon the sacrifices of friends and comrades—it was something they had fought for with their own hands.
Regarding the aftermath of the conflict between the two faiths, Wright and Melisandre reached an agreement.
The R'hllor faith in Volantis was the most powerful religious faction among the Nine Free Cities. The current High Priest, Bennero, had overstepped his bounds by meddling excessively in politics, causing growing dissatisfaction within his own ranks.
Melisandre, acting on behalf of her faith, first had Bennero stripped of his title. Then, with the help of the Dragon Cult, she orchestrated his elimination. However, the death of so many sorcerers and followers was an undeniable stain on the Dragon Cult's hands.
To manage the fallout, the two agreed to publicly frame the conflict as an internal schism, insisting that no other factions had been involved. The Dragon Cult would also pay a hefty sum in reparations to the families of the deceased.
Neither Wright nor Melisandre wanted further bloodshed between their faiths. Representing their respective orders, they made the agreement public, signaling the official end of this large-scale conflict. Of course, future clashes between the two sects were inevitable—but those would be handled in the shadows, away from public scrutiny.
In addition, Melisandre and Wright made a private pact. She intended to travel beyond the Wall to investigate the White Walkers before making any further decisions.
"I must warn you—if you face five White Walkers at once, you might not return," Wright remarked, failing to persuade her to assist him in dealing with the Demon God instead. People who had lived long lives were all cunning schemers.
"Ice cannot trap shadows," the Red Priestess replied cryptically before vanishing.
News of the conflict spread rapidly. Within a week of the Dragon Cult's victory, violent clashes between the two faiths erupted in Myr, Lys, Braavos, and even Tyrosh. Some people died, while others disappeared without a trace.
Wright took the opportunity to make another trip to the ruins of Valyria. Using magic to survey the area, he detected only one underground location with significant magical disturbances. This time, with experience from the previous excavation, he entrusted the entire operation to the Dragon Cult. He didn't need to personally oversee the process—he would be summoned once they unearthed something significant.
Meanwhile, in the Citadel and among the noble houses, a new discussion was underway.
Setting aside myths and legends, the first recorded war in which actual mages participated was the Siege of Tyrosh, where Wright, Ashara, Qyburn, Throros, and others were among the earliest magic-wielders involved.
The recent battle between the Dragon Cult and the R'hllor faith was the first large-scale conflict in which both sides fielded organized sorcerers. The Citadel officially classified it as the First Magic War. Meanwhile, nobles were debating the proper role of magic-wielders in warfare.
Due to the narrow terrain of the Long Bridge, the mages in this battle had been functionally interchangeable with archers. However, the lords believed that mages should not compete for the role of ranged combatants. They were capable of much more, and thus, noble houses began studying new strategies for integrating magic into large-scale warfare.