The High Sparrow turned to face all the fervent believers in the prayer room.
He spread his arms, and in the dim candlelight, his tattered hemp robe almost seemed holy.
The prayer room fell silent.
Everyone watched him.
After that brief silence came a tidal wave of fervor!
"High Sparrow!"
"High Sparrow!"
"High Sparrow!"
One believer was the first to kneel, raising both hands and shouting with every ounce of strength he had.
Then came a second, a third...
Everyone in the prayer room knelt.
They gazed at the gaunt old man before them, their eyes filled with the purest worship and faith.
In their eyes, this man was no usurper.
He was a messenger sent by the Seven to save them!
He had personally judged that corrupt, depraved High Septon and reclaimed the faith that rightfully belonged to them!
The High Sparrow looked at the people kneeling at his feet, not a trace of smugness in his clouded eyes.
There was only calm.
He knew this was not enough.
The support of the faithful alone was nowhere near enough!
He needed strength, an armed force of his own.
Real power that could stand against those noble lords, even against the king!
"Rise, all of you."
The High Sparrow's voice rang out again.
He left the prayer room and returned to the vast, empty hall of the Great Sept of Baelor.
Outside, thousands of roused commoners still gathered in the square, watching everything that happened inside the Great Sept with expectation and unease in their eyes.
The High Sparrow climbed the steps before the sept and faced the dense crowd below.
"Brothers and sisters!"
"Just now, the Seven unleashed their wrath!"
"The sinner who stole the gods' wealth and betrayed the faith has been judged by my own hand!"
He