The Scept of R'hllor

[Lena Arryn]

The cold morning painted the halls and corridors of the Eyrie blue with cloudy winter light. It wouldn't be long before the staff and the nobility had to abandon this great castle for the the smaller warmer castle at the base of the Eyrie, but for now Lady Lena Arryn enjoyed her childhood home even if slowly it was being transformed from her what she knew as a girl into something born of fire and guarded by prowling lions.

It was the scept Lena found her self standing at the doors of now staring at the room she'd hardly cast a shadow in most of her adult life as it was changed into an exotic and foreign temple. Her husband had found this new faith as a prisoner and had brought it to her as a gift which she'd taken in hopes that she could bargain to keep their child longer at her side. It didn't seem to be working.

The Lady paramount watched as the great statues were being taken down and brought to one of the great stony balconies to be burned tonight. slowly she walked into the scept to get a closer look at what they were doing, she noted fires had already been lit and she wonder if they were for light or prayer, looking around at the room which seemed so different from the one she'd always known she noted the Bratheon woman in what seemed to be a chanting prayer. With out her even realizing it Lena's path changed from the center of the room towards the woman who had come with her husband to the Eyrie. Torin had promised there was nothing between them now but Lena still feared this woman would fill her husband's head with dangerous ideas while Lena was unable to stand beside him.

"Lady Baratheon." Lena's own voice woke her from her own thoughts in greeting, she wasn't sure why she'd greeted the woman, she wasn't even sure what to say now.

[Halaevia Baratheon]

Converting a sept into a temple, a proper temple for the worship of the Lord of Light, was not as simple as only tearing down the false idols and replacing them with the flame that did not go out. The very layout of a sept was designed to remind those who stood within it of that mistaken view that there were seven gods, and not one. Seven aisles, and seven altars. To replace them with, what - seven fires? It would be the worst kind of syncretism.

In the Eyrie, then, as in King's Landing, it was not only the faithful whom Halaevia Baratheon looked to for aid, but stonemasons, builders and metalworkers. R'hllor was not some replacement god, but the only truth there was. No doubt along the line there would be some complaint over the expense - she had managed her husband's finances for long enough to know that such complaints could always be made - but this had to be done properly. Ser Torin Lannister agreed with her on that.

If she had made grand plans, however, she had not yet had the time to implement them all. Today, there was no active renovation in progress. Today she was here only to pray. The others still looked to her, and she had to set an example. Torin was sending for priests, she knew, but the truth was that Halaevia was half-inclined to take vows herself, if she ever had the opportunity. It would only be right, with all the work she was doing to bring the Light to the people of the mainland, as she still thought of them.

She was standing before the largest fire part-way through a prayer of thanksgiving, a chant in Valyrian out of the scriptures, when there was an interruption, someone calling her name. Halaevia turned, only to see Lena Arryn herself standing there. 'Lady Arryn!' Her surprise was evident, although a split second later she wished she'd thought to try to conceal it. She had seen little of Torin's wife since their initial introduction, at which Lena had made it quite clear by the way in which she looked at Halaevia that her presence was in some way unwelcome.

It mattered little, Halaevia told herself. She wouldn't be the first person who had taken a dislike to her. It only made it all the more important to be calm and courteous. 'I didn't expect to see you here,' she said by way of explanation. 'Have you come to pray?' It was perhaps a little optimistic of her to hope so, but there was the possibility that Torin had convinced his wife of the righteousness of what they were doing.

[Lena Arryn]

A smile of amusement touched Lena's lips as Halaevia asked her if she'd come to pray. "They could hardly drag me into pray when the seven still stood in this hall." She said mildly. "I have come to see how the renovations were coming, ser Torin seems very excited about them, to be honest I hadn't realized he'd be seeing them started so soon." Her husband had been home only a matter of days before he'd turned the entire Eyrie upside down.
A new god, a new temple , a new emissary in his place. Soon that infernal red priest would be sailing in and She'd have to hear it from Luthor when he was stopped from praying to his goddess... though Lena doubted he prayed and more used the goddess as an excuse to make his life style acceptable.

"I trust you have found your stay in the Eyrie comfortable." Lena said her hand resting on the tiny bump of her stomach. It was strange to have to the bump being highlighted by her clothes after trying to hard to hide it. Oversized dresses, long sleeves, cloaks and shawls all used to hide the developing child within her. But since the revelation by this very woman to all that she was carrying the seed of Torin Lannister her ladies maid had chosen all of the high waisted clothes she could to make the bump seem bigger. Lena never in her life wished to wear trousers more than she did now, she felt so constricted in the fabric, it made her feel so much larger than she truly was.

[Halaevia Baratheon]

Any fears that Halaevia might have had about Lena being abrupt with her were quickly set aside when the other woman spoke again. She was not here to pray, then, but if that was a disappointment it was a wholly expected one. It was a process that took time, and it didn't do to push too hard. The Lord of Light chose who he thought worthy, and at the proper moment. She had only to reflect on how long it had taken her to embrace the faith to understand that.

When Lena asked if she was comfortable, Halaevia nodded. 'I have been,' she responded, her voice quiet but assured. 'It is a most welcome change after such a long journey. I thank you for your hospitality: I know that our arrival was unexpected.' Her eyes were drawn by Lena's movement to the slight swell of her stomach, to the child within, but she passed no comment on it. Likely it was for Torin that she accentuated the pregnancy, men took a certain pride in having it known that they had gotten their wives with child, and she doubted that he was any exception.

She turned back then to the matter of the renovations. 'Everything is proceeding on schedule, thus far,' she said, gesturing about the near-transformed temple. There were few others present, only a handful there to pray, and standing by the far wall Halaevia's ever-present guards, who most of the time scarcely seemed to register with her now. She'd spent a few days in King's Landing being overly conscious of all that she said and did, and then made her peace with it and alternately acted as if they were not there and spoke to them as if they were indeed nothing more than her protectors and she valued their efforts. Another necessary slant on the truth.

'I know it is a little sudden,' she went on to tell Lena, 'but Ser Torin and I would like to have everything finished before we leave the Eyrie, and that meant starting quickly. I hope that the new aesthetics will please you, even if you are uninterested in joining our prayers. I have been told that we have some of the finest craftsmen in the region working on the alterations.' A small smile crossed her lips. 'I am looking forward to seeing the finished results. We arranged for something similar for the temple in King's Landing, but departed before we could see it completed.'

[Lena Arryn]

The Lady of the Vale nodded as Halaevia spoke, telling her all about the schedule and how things were proceeding, but it was when she mentioned that Torin would be bringing her with him that her eye brows raised and her smile drew tighter. "I take it you haven't spoken with Ser Torin, on the matter of his leaving then?" A grim womanly sense of satisfaction swept over Lena like she'd never felt before. Suddenly every spiteful thing Cersei had said made perfect sense. "I regret to inform you that you'll be staying here in the Eyrie, Ser Torin feels that you'll be uncomfortable on the battle field. You shall be much safer here by any means."

The tall Arryn woman felt her brow relax when it was said, her blue eyes watched the Baratheon woman for the slightest give away that her husband might have been less than truthful about his relationship with her. After all Lena was not as alluring as she had been in the early days of their marriage, she was swollen in her belly and would be only growing larger in the coming months. She wouldn't blame him if his eyes wandered but if he's body went with them she'd be very upset. "I suppose this will gladden you to stay, you'll be able to see this glorious transformation from Scept to Temple as every intimate detail is taken into account."

The fact that the Scept was torn apart as of now was a bit inconvenient as it meant they had to hold Luthor's wedding elsewhere. The lawn was available, as was the Solar, both were unconventional but not unheard of as far as holding noble weddings went. She'd have to make sure the staff were able to accommodate all of the guests either way.

[Halaevia Baratheon]

Halaevia's immediate response was one of confusion. That couldn't be right! Torin needed her. All those who had turned to the true faith as a result of her preaching needed her too, even - especially! - if they were riding off to battle. Lena had to have misunderstood. Torin had told her his thoughts on the matter, hadn't he, weeks ago? The Lord of Light had appointed her to stay at his side and together they would spread the Light. That was why he had made her go with him from Dragonstone. Anyone might have served as a hostage. Only she could take up this important work.

It was what made it all bearable, being away from her home and her children, the knowledge that it was R'hllor's will that she stay with him - and now he wanted to leave her behind in the Eyrie?

She became suddenly, acutely aware that she was staring at Lena Arryn in what must have appeared to be complete shock. That wouldn't do. Deal with it, Hallie, she told herself firmly. Make it right.

'No...no, that cannot be it,' she said slowly, clasping her hands in front of her. 'You are right that I should be glad to see the temple finished, but it is far more important that I go with Ser Torin. I am not afraid for my safety. The Lord of Light will protect me.' It was simplistic, she knew, but true in some essential way. 'I must go,' she repeated. 'Most of those who prayed with me were soldiers. They will be in danger, and it is only right that they have my spiritual counsel. My possible discomfort is irrelevant, it is my duty to those I have guided to the Light.'

Her words were filled with her usual quiet confidence, but she understood that it was not Lena she had to convince, if what she had said was true. She turned slightly, angling her body towards the fire that blazed behind her, and made a dismissive gesture, shaking her head. 'I will speak with Ser Torin on the matter,' she decided. He would set it to rights.

[Lena Arryn]

Lena's solemn features remained so though it was with her best skill to keep from allowing a smirk to adorn her features. The look of shock on the Baratheon woman's face was priceless, rarely did Lena ever see such a face on a noble woman. "My husband and I have already discussed it, you are to over see his work here in the Vale while he is in the vanguard." Lena turned towards the fire. It may go a long way to sweeten Torin if she were to learn to pray for his safe return, not that she would- well she might, but she doubted if she hadn't prayed to the seven since she was a girl she wouldn't start praying to this god of flame and ash.

"It is my husband's view that women do not have a place upon the field of battle, that is unless they are warming the beds of weary warriors, and we wouldn't have it said of our own red woman that she has lain with her soldiers to comfort them." Lena looked around at the commotion of building going on around her. Luthor might have something to say about the extravagance and the cost. Then again his wedding was costing a pretty penny too so he might just keep quiet lest she cut the wine list. "I most of all would not want your faith marred by such rumors."

Lena returned her gaze to Halaevia felt her own hand slip off of her tiny bump, taking place under warm sleeves. It wouldn't take long for this woman to seek out Torin for an explanation. Hopefully Torin would stand by his word to Lena and Halaevia would stay behind, the worry that Torin would abandon her might eat her alive if he didn't.

[Halaevia Baratheon]

Halaevia looked back at Lena, carefully impassive now that the initial shock of her revelation had passed. As the woman spoke further, it became increasingly obvious that there was more to this than she was saying. Ser Torin, of all people, knew that the guidance Halaevia might provide a man had nothing to do with sharing his bed. He valued it. She knew that; he gained nothing by maintaining a pretense at it now. What regard he had for her was genuine.

What was it, then? Lena had said that she discussed it with him. In her opinion, Lena had more influence over Torin than any unbeliever ought to, but she was his wife and so for now Halaevia had to accept it. Except that couldn't be her view, either. It was well known that Lady Lena Arryn had a penchant for dressing up in armour and acting as no respectable lady ought to.

The truth was that on the surface of it, Halaevia agreed with the sentiment put forward. A woman didn't have any place on the battlefield. Until very recently, the mere suggestion of it would have terrified her. And yet - and yet here she was, more afraid to stay behind than to go, for Torin at least she trusted. If he went, and took the men who had prayed by her fires with him, then she would be more isolated than ever.

The Lord of Light would give her strength to face whatever lay ahead. Making a quick decision, Halaevia nodded in acquiescence. 'You are right, Lady Arryn, such rumors would be terribly detrimental to our cause,' she said in flat resignation. It would be easy enough to guess their point of origin should they arise, she thought. 'If Ser Torin truly believes this, that only a woman of ill repute would set foot on a battlefield? Then we the women of his household will not shame him. I most of all would not want that. I will stay here with you.' It was still her intention to consult with Torin first, knowing as she did that not all of those stated views could be his, but on the surface of it it appeared that she had conceded to Lena a small victory. Halaevia wondered if Torin's wife knew that no victory came without sacrifice. Perhaps Halaevia would not join Torin, but neither would Lena, even after her child was born, and she had heard enough about the woman to believe this would trouble her.

Tempting as it was, she wasn't going to give the other woman the opportunity to gloat. Instead, her gaze fell again to the curve of Lena's belly. 'This will be your first,' she said. 'Are you frightened? I have heard it said that a woman fights her war in the birthing bed.' It was hardly an exact parallel to her mind, but it conveyed the risk well enough. To another woman Halaevia might have spoken these words in concern, but with Lena there was only detached curiosity.

[Lena Arryn]

It was like sparring, parry, thrust, parry thrust- hit. Halaevia had hit a nerve, two in fact, the first came when she'd twisted Lena's own words of being on the battlefield. Lena could probably justify her way out of that with the fact that if she were in condition to fight she had purpose on the field, she was peer to every great Lord in Westeros, she should lead her men if she was able, and if she lay besie her husband at night it was her duty to him as his wife. But the Lady Arryn kept her mouth shut for now, and out right argument was what they were both trying to avoid.

The second nerve though is what frightened Lena most, the baby. The Arryn woman feared being chained to for ever stay behind while the men took care of all the excitement in the land because she was no a mother- because Torin intended to keep her belly full of babies any time he could. "This is not my first pregnancy." Lena said carefully. "I lost our first child in an accident. This will be my first live birth." Lena's hand fell to her stomach this time, if she believed in anything worth praying to she'd have prayed for the safety of her baby, that it would be born a strong healthy son.
"Maester Daern tells me you have children in Dragon Stone?" Lena cut her eyes at the dark haired woman. "I never would have thought your red god would ask you to leave your own offspring behind." What sort of caring god were they trying to sell that he would demand Halaevia leave her children to run away with the enemy of her presumed king.

[Halaevia Baratheon]

As Lena spoke of having lost her first child, Halaevia's features softened. There was a touch of sympathy there, how could there not be? It was a terrible thing, for any woman to lose a child. Then, however, Lena went on to speak of Halaevia's own children, and all traces of compassion vanished from her. Her lips pressed together in a thin line, she turned her attentions back to the fire, and it was the flicker of the flames rather than Lady Arryn herself which she focused on as she spoke.

'What would you know of what my god requires of me?' she asked, a dismissive question expecting no answer. Maester Daern would have told her a little, Halaevia had expected that. Even if he had not, Torin had met her children, he would have mentioned them to his wife eventually. That did not trouble her. Lena's assumptions did, or rather, they troubled the weak part of her that wanted to cry out that she hadn't wanted to leave them, that she longed so much to see them again.

It was only a small part of her. Her self-control was resolute in this regard at least. Her faith might have been all fire, but the stare she levelled at Lena then was ice-cold. 'And what sort of person would I be, if I turned away from the path of truth and light because it became difficult? My children-' the moment of intensity passed, she lowered her gaze and then held out her hands as if to warm them by the fire, but it was no material warmth she sought. 'My children are safe at Dragonstone. I have two who are living; my son is seven and my daughter four. They understand that I must be away a time.' Perhaps they did. The fact remained that if R'hllor's faithful did not succeed, their children would die in the long nights of the eternal winter as quickly as any others. Halaevia's work here was for her children, in a way.

This she did not say to Lena. It would have required too much in the way of explanation, too much that an unbeliever wouldn't begin to understand, let alone accept. Instead, she drew the conversation away from her family, back towards Lena's own. 'You have my condolences on the loss of your first child,' she said, formally but not coldly. 'It is a grief that all too many women must bear, and it is my dear hope that you will never have to suffer it again. Let this child of yours grow safely within you until he can be born strong. There is nothing like it, you know,' she added, dropping her hands to her sides and turning back to face Lena again. 'Motherhood. The joy of holding your own baby in your arms. Almost everything else pales in comparison.'

[Lena Arryn]

Lena was almost taken aback at Halaevia's tone when she spoke in defense of her God and of her family. But she was used to people speaking sharply at her she did after all sit in the highseat of the Vale, every minor Lord had shouted at her at some point when he hadn't liked her verdict and if she broke down in tears every time they did she wouldn't be sitting on the highseat at all.

When the tone died down and Halaevia began to speak that her children understood why she had to be away something inside of her did tear, her child one be born and as soon as they found a suitable wet nurse for him he'd be gone. He'd never know his mother except in visits or in passing, would he understand why she had to be gone? The weight and the burden of ruling was hers to bear, she could not expect fate, or the gods, or even this new god of light to be so kind as to let her shoulder that burden with her child beside her.

It felt like cold steel when Halaevia mentioned there was no other joy than holding your own baby. Mother hood had no comparison she said in a gentle tone.
Lena only hoped the expression didn't show on her face as she spoke. "It is not a joy I shall know long." She looked to the fire. "Torin insists on bringing the babe to Casterly Rock as soon as he can travel safely." Lena's hand felt again to her belly, both hands in fact clutched at her dress as if she could some how protect her child by doing so.
Torin would never understand the need Lena had to be a good leader, to prove her self to her people. He simply by being born with a cock had already gained their trust as a competent ruler for the Westerlands, she on the other hand was silently judged every day by the disqualification of her gender. Now that she was finally doing what she'd always expected to do, give her husband children, she was to be forced to choose between her honor as Liege Lady, and her honor as a woman.

[Halaevia Baratheon]

Lena's gesture, hands moving as if to shelter her unborn child from the prospect of a move to a distant home, told Halaevia all that the woman's words had not. She could scarcely imagine it, to be parted from a child so young. It seemed to her an unnecessary cruelty, although this she would not say. It wasn't in her interest to criticize Torin to his wife, and the fact remained that it was his decision to make. A father had final say over his children, that was the way of things.

What, then, to say to Lena? Halaevia contemplated it, clasping her hands in front of her, fingers interlocked. 'I suppose that you will not consider going to Casterly Rock yourself,' she said slowly. It was too simple a solution for Lena not to have mentioned it, were that the case. No doubt she felt that her duty lay at the Eyrie. Ordinarily, Halaevia might have tried to convince her otherwise, tell her that motherhood took precedence, but that she couldn't say either. Here, she was known to be a woman who had abandoned her own children in pursuit of a higher calling. Torin hadn't given her a choice. If he had? In her heart, Halaevia knew she would have found a way to discount him, dismiss his vision, anything to stay with her family.

She knew it. The Lord of Light knew it too, and that thought was momentarily disconcerting. She quickly turned her attentions back to Lena's situation. 'If you will not, then you must prepare yourself for the parting. There are...few things more difficult.' She was doing her best to remain impassive, but there was obvious sympathy in her eyes. 'You know that he will want for nothing, that no child could grow up in more luxury than a Lannister at Casterly Rock.' It wasn't as if staying at the Eyrie meant a life of hardship, though, and she wondered at Torin's motivations. 'Did he tell you why he insists upon it?' she couldn't help but ask gently. Torin's son would be in line to inherit the Lannister seat, but that hardly made it necessary to send him there in infancy. Perhaps it was only an idea of his, one that Lena might dissuade him from, had she the right arguments.

[Lena Arryn]

"If I were to leave the Vale to raise my son what good would my ascension be to the people of the East?" Lena asked, her dark hair catching the light from the fire, her pale skin taking in its warmth. "Torin's arguments remain as they always have been, A Lannister should be raised in Casterly Rock." She quoted as if it were an old proverb or a wise saying. "Tywin Lannister yet lives, my son would not be a proper heir to the Casterly Rock for some great time, yet he will be the first in line to inherit the Eyrie should I pass from this world."
The idea was bit dark, babies were supposed to make every one think of newness and warmth but for nobility they were an obligation and reminder of their own mortality.

Lena already loved the child in her womb but she feared that it would taken from her before that love could be realized. "It is no-mater to you lady Baratheon, Torin will be gone soon and his mind will grow ever more set in stone. Such is his way, I should make my peace."
A sardonic smile played against Lena's lips for just a moment. "It's enough to make you wish there were gods, then I'd have someone to blame for all this, or perhaps someone to deliver me from it."

[Halaevia Baratheon]

Halaevia raised an eyebrow at Lena's last comment. Wishing didn't make a bit of difference to anything. The truth was as it was. She had no sense of humor where her faith was concerned. 'It is a pity you cannot reach agreement with your husband,' she said, with a smile that was gentle and almost entirely false. 'Unlike you, he does have the favor of his god. Perhaps if Ser Torin believes that the child would thrive at Casterly Rock, then that is for the best?'

It made very little difference to her where the babe was raised, and she had no opinion whatsoever as to whether Casterly Rock was the best place for an infant carrying the name of Lannister. Nonetheless, she said it. If Torin thinks it best. By the Light, she sounded like that little cousin of his, hanging on his every word. It was for a purpose, though, and so any amusement she felt at the situation was kept entirely private.

'After all,' she went on, 'the child may be the Eyrie's heir, but he will be a Lannister. I suppose Ser Torin believes that you would not teach him to be a Lannister here.' That small smile again. 'My thought on the matter is that a child ought to have influence from both his parents. If you did leave the Vale...' Halaevia shook her head. 'What good would your ascension be? Why, you could appoint whomever you wished to rule in your stead. I do not suppose that you would choose any of Lysa's loyalists.' If any still remained.

'But then you are right,' Halaevia went on, 'and it is between you and your husband and not my concern at all. My work is on another scale altogether. In any case you will not need to make a decision until after the child is born, is that not right?' She gave Lena an encouraging look. There was still time.

[Lena Arryn]

She wasn't sure if Halaevia knew it, and she wasn't sure if she herself had known it before then but Torin might be right. Lena would never teach her son to be a Lannister not exclusively she wanted him to have part of her, her name would die with her but the values she was raised with should not.
Jon Arryn had so much to give and he'd passed so much onto Lena she'd want her son to gain some of that.

"I suppose you'll be wanting to talk to Torin about his preparations for leaving?" Lena asked looking at Halaevia for a moment. "Bless him before he leaves?" It made her stomach turn, the idea that blessing could be infidelity on Torin's part. He had promised her nothing had happened between them, or any one since their marriage but it was not a comforting though all the same. He could have lied, would he even consider it infidelity if it was religious?