Braavos. Isle of the Gods. Black and White House.

Temple of a Thousand Faces.

It was a dark space with a black pool in the middle of the temple.

In the darkness, there was the whisper of scooping water, followed by the swallowing of water. Some believers drank from a small half-bowl of water in the dark, then slowly sat down against the circular fence at the edge of the pool, and soon stopped breathing.

Someone lit a candle in the darkness, and the light of the candle could not dissolve the darkness, but could only shine a few feet in front of the bearer.

All mortals have death, and all mortals must serve.

People who voluntarily end their lives are given a variety of reasons. In this special place, the choice of the believers to end their lives is a major event worthy of respect.

The candle-bearer stooped down and picked up the believer, who had just stopped breathing, and carried him to the resting room.

The flame of a candle that would be extinguished at any moment walked along the circular arch, and the faint light reflected the faces of the people molded in the hollows of the walls. If a torch is lit and the darkness is dispelled, then the circular wall can be seen, from the floor to the dome, with square recesses arranged one by one. The hole is not big, and in each square hole, there is a clear human face.

Whether you're from the East, Westeros, or a free trade city-state, you'll find a few familiar faces in these dense crowds.

It's just that most of the time, these faces are silent in the dark silence. All the face statues, their eyes are closed, as if they have fallen into a deep sleep. Their demeanor was serene.

If the Magic Mountain is here, you can see your own face.

Almost all the great nobles on the continent of Westeros and the kings of the king's landing in the Red Keep have their faces, and their faces can be found on the walls of human faces.

The ceiling of the Temple of a Thousand Gods is very high, a black dome, and even if the torch is lit, the light will not reach the top. I don't know how many thousands of human faces are placed on this round wall.

In the darkness, the sound of footsteps suddenly increased, and the sound came from seven directions, one by one, the candles were lit, a total of seven, as if the stars were lit up from all over the night sky. The light of the candles came from the seven different entrances, and one by one the monks appeared, and they went in the same direction in the darkness, and finally, all the light of the candles entered a narrow door that was not wide, and finally all disappeared into the darkness of the Thousand Gods.

Behind the narrow doors of the Pantheon is the brightly lit Council of Elders. The Council of Elders will not be activated unless the most significant event occurs.

In the bright chamber, the walls were covered with elaborate tapestries, and in the middle of the wall was a huge relief, a faceless statue of a god, somewhat similar to the Stranger in the Seven of Westeros.

It is a rectangular black table with dignity and humility in all directions.

The thin monk sitting in the center was the old man who had just opened the gate of the Black and White Courtyard and accepted the two iron coins from the fisherman. He was the chief of the Seven Elders, and the disciples in the Black and White Courtyard called him the Great Elder.

The seven elders present at the meeting were all dressed in yellow monk's robes, and their faces were hidden in the hoods of monks' robes.

The Great Elder stretched out his withered palm, which was spread out, and there were two iron coins in his palm.

An iron coin represents a faceless disciple.

The iron coin is a token of the disciples, and it will not leave unless it is killed. The iron coin is also a token, a token of the faceless people of different generations who know each other outside, and it is also a token of identity that is common in Braavos. Anyone in Braavos, whether a nobleman or a citizen, will see this iron coin and will help the holder of the iron coin to the best of his ability.

Iron coins in Braavos symbolized a supreme power in addition to royal power.

If there are outsiders with iron coins, if they have no reverence for the Black and White House, they can swindle in Braavos and do whatever they want.

The two iron coins are very precious, and in the eyes of the Braavos, they are holy relics.

Seeing the two iron coins belonging to the disciples of the Faceless One, there was no sound in the council hall for a moment, not even the sound of breathing.

None of the elders spoke.

The iron coins of the disciples of the Faceless One were sent to the Black and White Temple, which was the first time in the Black and White Temple from ancient times to the present.

This is something that has never happened in the last thousand years, and it is so unusual.

"Everyone dies. One of the elders finally spoke. The voice was shriveled and weak, as if the next heartbeat would stop breathing. He is the Elder of Internal Affairs, and is only responsible for all the housekeeping of the Black and White House.

"They didn't die. The Great Elder said, "The Demon Mountain captured them, took their iron coins, and locked them up and threw them into an underground black cell. ”

All the slightly lowered heads were raised, and the elders' hearts were shocked.

The Faceless disciples were captured alive and their identities were discovered?!

It's incredible!

The disciples of the Faceless One have never had a record of missing a hand while doing things outside.

"The Pen Wine Bottle was burned down by order of the Magic Mountain. The Great Elder said slowly.

The 600-year-old wedge wine bottle was destroyed?!

The elders could no longer compose, and two of them had already lifted their hoods, revealing their shiny heads, their eyes full of surprise.

"Magic Mountain captures Rory, Rosie, and Emma. Rory was the disciple I sent to Oldtown School to steal the Dragon Crystal Candle, and Emma was a disciple who had been lurking in Oldtown, and she replaced Ralph as the keeper of the Quille Bottle a year ago. The Great Elder said slowly.

All the elders knew about the action of the Dragon Crystal Candle in the school city, but only the Great Elder and the Internal Affairs Elder knew that the disciple who went to do the errand was Rory.

"The Magic Mountain has insight into all of our plan of action, and he also knows the secrets of our six-hundred-year-old outpost in the Cry Bottle. ”

"How could this be?" the three elders lifted their hoods together, and they spoke in unison.

Seven Elders, no one can sit still anymore. The message spoken by the Great Elder was like a boulder thrown into the water, stirring up a monstrous wave in their hearts.

"How can the Magic Mountain see all of our plans?" a tall monk snorted to his feet. He has lost his immovable self-cultivation and indifference to see through the world, and he is as emotional as an ordinary person in the world. His face was like red copper, and he was an elder who trained the assassination fighters of the beginner disciples.

You must know that the operation of sending Rory to the old town to steal the dragon crystal candle, the specific manpower arrangements and the details of the operation, among the elders here, five of them are not clear. It's not a matter of power, it's that each elder has his or her own special domain. Fascinated by drug research, swordsmanship research, stealth research, and face-changing research...... The elders will not interfere in the arrangement of specific affairs.

The five elders of the Seven Great Elders didn't know that it was Rory who went to the Old Town, but the Magic Mountain knew!

This made it impossible for the elders to maintain peace of mind.

The Great Elder also slowly took off his hood and stood up, this slight movement had already shown that his heart was also turning over the river.

The Grand Elder left the long table and walked back and forth on the side of his high-backed chair, the eyes of the six elders following him, their eyes burning. After a long while, the Great Elder stopped: "There is only one reason that can be explained, the Demon Mountain is the Green Prophet. ”

The elders who were rich in life experience and aged looked at each other.

"We signed an agreement on the assassination of one Green Prophet against another. The Fighting Elder, whose face was the color of red copper, said, and there was no self-deprecation in his tone.

"If the Demon Mountain can gain insight into our Dragon Crystal plan, then can he understand our assassination plan against him?" a white-faced and elegant elder said slowly, "If our assassination fails, how will the Black and White Court continue to exist?"

The white-faced and elegant Elder is an assassination elder who is proficient in stealth and sight in the dark.

As soon as the words of the assassination of the elders came out, the elders were all afraid!

Having surrendered their bodies and minds to death, they showed their fears. If anyone else saw this scene, they wouldn't have believed their eyes. Every elder is invincible in the outside world, like a god.

They can accept their own death, but they can't accept the defeat of the Black and White Academy, which is related to the glory of the Black and White House for thousands of years. The name is out, death comes, this is an oracle-like spell, and it is also the signboard of the Black and White Temple, and it is the faith of all the Faceless.

"The two iron coins were sent by a fisherman in the fishing grounds. The Great Elder said slowly, as if every word weighed a thousand pounds, "Anyone in Braavos, when they see an iron coin, they will do their best to hand it over to the Black and White Courtyard." When the fisherman was leaving, he said that the man who returned the iron coins was called the Magic Mountain, and that he lived on top of the Titan's head. ”

"No way. The Fighting Elder said a little recklessly like an ordinary person. The elder was a little out of control. The other elders were on the verge of spiraling out of control.

"He has dragons. The elegant assassination elder said softly.

"What do you mean by the words of the Magic Mountain?, he lives on top of the Titan's head?!" another elder began to walk around the hall as well. He is a dark elder who is proficient in face-changing.

Standing up and moving around was a sign of strong unease among the elders.

"Why did he tell us he lived on top of the Titans?" the Assassination Elder spoke again, softly.

"Is he provoking us or Braavos, or mocking us for not being able to climb atop the Titans?" said an elder with a skin as dark as the night. He was the elder responsible for dissecting corpses and skinning and shaping faces.

The Great Elder paced slowly: "No matter what the Demon Mountain means, we all need to send a disciple to take a look at the top of the Titan Giant's head. If we don't send disciples, we will seem to have lost even our courage. When has the Black and White House ever lost its courage?!"

"Will he kill our disciple?" said the Fighting Elder in a rough voice, "or take one of us captive and send someone back an iron coin." ”

The Great Elder said slowly, "The Demon Mountain didn't kill Rory, Emma, and Rosie. He is showing us how powerful he is. If he wants to take revenge, the dragon can burn the Isle of the Gods to ashes, and none of us can escape. ”

The elders were silent for a moment.

If the Magic Mountain wants to attack the Black and White Courtyard, it doesn't need to burn down the entire Isle of the Gods. The Great Elder said that the Demon Mountain burned the entire Isle of the Gods, but he was actually worried that the Demon Mountain would take the extreme of cutting grass and eradicating the roots.

With the notoriety spread overseas by the Magic Mountain, he is a person who can make such drastic actions!

When did the Faceless ever feel such a great crisis?!

All the elders knew they couldn't stand up to the dragons.

The survival of the city-state of Braavos was due to a hidden strategy.

The first city-state builders came from the runaway slaves of the underground mines of the Valyrian Empire, and they were unable to stand up to the dragons and legions of the Valyrian Empire, and quietly hid in this corner of the city-state. The founders of the Iron Treasury and the Black and White House are both runaway slaves from the Valyrian Empire, and if the news leaks, the Valyrian Empire will send the Dragon Legion to exterminate them.

Under the cover of the fog of the sea and the swamps of the land, relying on the unique environment of dense fog, relying on the hidden tracks, and the incognito of foreign trade, the city-state of Braavos finally survived to the end of the Valyrian Empire. When the Valyrian Empire was destroyed by fire, the city-state of Braavos dared to assert its existence. After more than 400 years of public development, the city-state of Braavos has become the most powerful presence of the nine free trade city-states. The two most prestigious organizations of the city-state are the Iron Treasury and the Faceless.

*

"I went to take a look above the Titan's head, maybe it was a deliberate provocation by the Magic Mountain. The dragons came to Braavos, and it was impossible for them not to be seen by a single person. The elegant assassination elder said softly.

"The night is the best cover. A tall elder said lightly. He is an elder of swordsmanship, and the two narrow swords he uses are short swords, like two daggers. The dagger is made of Valyrian steel, sharpened like clay. The Elder of Swordsmanship gave the two short swords a name: the Dark Sisters.

The elders have already looked down on life and death, and transcended life and death. Since the Magic Mountain has let people spread the rumor that he lives on top of the Titan Giant's head, this residence actually means waiting for them to go. If no one in the Black and White Courtyard goes to the top of the Titans, the Magic Mountain's awe of the Black and White Courtyard will be minimized. The elders and disciples of the Black and White Academy were never afraid of their own life and death, but they still had fears, and they were afraid that the next assassination mission of the Black and White Academy would not be completed. This is the worst damage to their faith!

"Grand Elder, please allow me to go with the Assassination Elder. The Sword Elder said, "My Dark Sister can help us reach the top of the giants. ”

Like the bishops of the Great Baelor Cathedral, the elders of the House of Black and White no longer have any names that they once used in the world. Their office of elders is their name.

"Okay, you guys go and see. The Great Elder said as lightly as possible.

It has always been the House of Black and White that makes others fearful, troublesome and uneasy. Today, it's their turn.

The worldly emperors are not taken seriously by the Black and White Court, as long as they pay enough money and piety, they can be invited to help. But this time, the Black and White Courtyard faced the Magic Mountain, and the elders all thought that he was not only an emperor, but also an omniscient green prophet.