Varys I
The recent years had both gone well and poorly for Varys, all things considered. The mad fool Aerys and his equally foolish son had squandered their dynasty away in a way that not even Varys could've predicted. However, Illyrio's wife, Serra Blackfyre, had given birth to a girl instead of a boy like he and Illyrio had planned. Serra had died in the birthing bed, killing their plot to restore the Black Dragons to their birthright in its cradle. Luckily, Rhaegar's son had survived the trip from King's Landing to Pentos, so their plans weren't completely buggered. That he had to place Rhaegar's whelp on the throne as opposed to his sister's child was somewhat irritating, but he wouldn't be called the spider if he didn't know when to adapt.
The Targaryen boy could wed his niece, uniting the lines of Daemon and Daeron, and allowing him to place his and Illyrio's blood on the throne as they had initially planned, although it would take a while longer than they had intended.
Of course, Robert Baratheon had wanted to execute him; he had been the hated Mad king's spymaster. Unfortunately for those who wanted him dead, Jon Arryn had realized that his vast spy networks would be needed if the fledgling Baratheon dynasty had any hope of succeeding. Many still called Robert the usurper in their cups, the queen mother and boy king Viserys were on Dragontone, and Dorne was practically in open rebellion.
Varys' muse was broken as the herald announced the entrance of Eddard Stark and the lord of the Greywater watch. Lord Eddard walked into the throneroom with lord Reed, and a wetnurse with a quiet babe in her arms, following at his heels.
Lord Eddard had a face like ice as he approached Robert; the two had not parted on good terms, Lord Stark had not appreciated the words his foster brother had used to describe Rhaenys and the pisswater Prince, whom they falsely believed to be Aegon's corpse.
Their new king descended from his throne and gave his foster brother a distraught look. He had noticed the absence of Lyanna Stark just as much as the rest of the court had, Robert Baratheon was many things, but he wasn't stupid.
"Ned… Lyanna… is she?"
"She's gone, Robert," Stark answered solemnly.
The king's face contorted with fury and grief. "Damn Rhaegar to the pits of the seven hells, and those Kingsguard too!"
"I would like to return to the North to bury Lyanna in the crypts of Winterfell."
"She shouldn't be buried in that cold, dark, miserable place Ned, she should be buried beneath a hill under the flowers and sunshine."
"She is a Stark of Winterfell and belongs in the North."
Now, this was interesting, would the King and his foster brother quarrel once again? He could clearly see that this possibility was worrying Jon Arryn and that he was considering intervening. Varys hoped that this wound couldn't be healed, as it would make Aegon's conquest easier.
"Damn you, Ned, must we fight more? I thought your temper would've cooled with time."
"It was Lyanna's last wish that she be able to return to Winterfell; would you deny her that?"
"Fine, you have my leave Ned, Gods know that you of all people have the right to rest and grieve."
"Thank you, your grace."
King Robert's attention turned to the sleeping babe in the wet nurse's arms.
"And who's this, Ned?"
Lord Stark looked nervous. "This is my son, Jon Snow, your grace."
The king's booming laughter reverberated through the throne room. "Hahaha! I didn't think you had it in you, Ned!"
Jon Arryn looked oddly touched by Lord Stark naming his son after him, even if he was a bastard.
Jon Arryn rose from his seat and walked over to his foster sons. "May I Hold him, Ned?"
Lord Stark nodded and quietly told the wetnurse to give the babe over to Jon Arryn.
If Lord Arryn didn't notice what Varys noticed, then he did not say.
Robert's mind turned to different matters.
"Who was the mother? She must have been a special king of wench to make Eddard Stark forget his honor!"
"Wylla."
"Wylla? I don't remember her Ned; who was she?"
"A washerwoman I met shortly after the battle of the bells."
"Oh, I think I remember her, wasn't she Dornish?"
"Aye."
"Hah! I should've known it would take a Dornish woman to seduce Eddard Stark! Their women are really something else. Do you remember the Dornish girl with the big ass?"
"I do; you bedded her shortly after Mya was born."
"Gods, she was a good lay, could do wonderful things with her tongue, and had an ass that even the maiden herself would be jealous of."
Jon Arryn did not seem to appreciate Robert talking about his sexual conquests in front of the court; the hand had been trying, and failing, to get his foster son to act more kingly, but his scoldings had evidently fallen on deaf ears.
Some more words were exchanged, but Varys wasn't paying attention to them at that point; he preferred to focus on the babe in the wet nurse's arms. He had heard rumors about Eddard Stark's bastard son, but he hadn't expected the boy to have a pair of indigo eyes. They were Targaryen eyes he knew, Targaryen purple, not Dayne purple like many people would likely misconstrue in the future.
So Rhaegar had sired a bastard son on the late Lyanna Stark? Now that was an exciting development and a massive opportunity as well. Aegon would be his preferred claimant, of course, but what if something were to befell Aegon? Much and more could happen in sixteen years, and Varys would prefer not to have to back Aerys' whelps. A spare Dragon would be a beneficial thing to have if a disaster were to strike.
If the Gods were good and all went according to plan, well, every Aegon the Conqueror needs his Orys, every Daemon Blackfyre needs his Bittersteel, and every Daeron the good needs his Bloodraven.
It was time to spin a new web.
As the Stark party prepared to leave for the North, Varys called upon one of his older agents, a soiled septa by the name of Lemore. She was a beautiful woman of twenty and four namedays. She had been kicked out of her motherhouse in Dorne after she was discovered to be pregnant with some hedge knight's babe. Varys had been all too happy to pay for the babe's future in exchange for the lovely Lemore's service as a spy; after all, there were some places that his little birds could not get to quickly.
"You asked for me, Lord Varys?" Lemore asked.
"Lord Stark appears to be committing treason against our good king Robert."
"Truly?"
"Yes, he has been hiding his sister's son by the silver prince as his bastard."
"Well, it appears that your favorite claimant has a half brother."
"Indeed, now, I want you to join Lord Stark's party as a camp follower, and to steal Lord Stark's nephew, you will bring him back to King's landing where a ship will be waiting to bring you and Aegon's little brother to Pentos."
"I believe I can manage that Lord Varys," Lemore said.
Lemore would do her work well, Varys knew, and soon he would have his spare Dragon.
After Lemore had left, Varys headed back to the Red Keep through a secret tunnel that only he knew about.
He took out a quill and ink and some parchment and began writing to Illyrio to inform him of these recent events. He would write the letter in the code that he had developed for himself, his little birds, and Illyrio to use to communicate with each other.
To whom it may concern.
Illyrio, my friend, I have begun to spin a new web that I feel will be beneficial to our cause. It seems that Eddard Stark has returned with a Dragon of his own, the bastard son of his own sister and the father of our own boy king. I have taken it upon myself to capture this infant great bastard, so that we may have an alternative to Aegon if a disaster were to befall us and if disaster does not occur us, so that Aegon may have a capable heir for when he goes to war for his throne. So far, everything is going according to our plan; Lord Arryn recognized that he cannot afford to kill me, and I am in a prime position to destabilize the Baratheon dynasty in preparation for the coming of Aegon and the Golden Company. King Robert has been arranged to marry Lady Cersei Lannister, at long last, it seems that Lord Tywin has realized his ambitions to have a Lannister queen, it is unfortunate then that he will not be able to see the fruits of his labors, as Aegon will have reclaimed his throne before Lord Tywin has a chance to solidify his hold over the Baratheon dynasty. I have been pondering the idea of whether or not to make contact with the Martells. It would've been a significant risk if we were still using the plan to put a Blackfyre on the throne, but Aegon is Doran Martell's nephew, and so he should not have many reasons to move against us should we reveal ourselves to him. However, Doran has long since desired to be the power behind Aegon's throne, similar to how Tywin wants to be the power behind his future Grandson's throne, and so revealing Aegon to him carries the risk that he may influence Aegon away from us. Besides, it would not do to have the Martells interfere with his education; we want a Targaryen King, not a Martell in all but name. I have heard that the Golden Company has recently won a great victory over the Dothraki; it is good that the Golden Company is continuing to bloody themselves; we will want battle-hardened soldiers for Aegon, not glorified fools in armor. I have also heard that Myles Blackheart Toyne has recently taken command of the Golden Company from Hosman Strickland; I pray that he will prove himself a capable commander of the Golden Company. I have also heard that many former Targaryen loyalists have joined the Golden Company; this can only be good for us; these men will prove to be a good symbol of legitimacy for Aegon when he crosses the narrow sea many years from now. Speaking of exiled Targaryen loyalists, the time for revealing Aegon to Lord Jon Connington is fast approaching; I agree with you that he will be the best mentor that Aegon could have in preparation for the invasion of Westeros. As for his other instructors, when the lovely Lemore returns from the task I have set her on, she will serve as Aegon and his half-brother's instructor in the mysteries of the faith. Haldon Halfmaestar, a Maestar in the service of the Golden Company, has already agreed to serve as an instructor in scholarly matters for our King, and I am sure he will welcome another student. I have not yet selected a master-at-arms for the boys, but I am sure that will not be much of an issue; good fighters are as plentiful and as cheap as whores. Anyways, at the moment that I am writing this letter, the council is preparing to convene for a meeting to discuss what is to be done about the Dornish, who are still in open revolt against our good Storm King; I hope that we may resolve this matter peacefully, it would not do for the Dornish to have their armies massacred before they can aid Aegon in the restoration of his dynasty after all. Stannis Baratheon is currently sailing for Dragonstone to try and capture the queen mother and "king" Viserys; this is not of much import; Aegon is our King, not Viserys.
From your friend, Varys.
Varys let the ink dry and then passed the letter off to one of his little birds; the letter should get to Illyrio in a couple weeks or so; there were no ravens in Essos after all.
Now he had to attend the meeting concerning Dorne; he would, of course, attempt to steer the King and Council towards a more peaceful solution than a violent one. He had no particular love for Dorne, Doran Martell was a rival player in this game, and they had oft-played against each other in the game of thrones, but Aegon would need his spears when he crossed the narrow sea.
Varys was the second member of the small council to arrive; Jon Arryn, the hand of the king, was the first.
Lord Arryn nodded his head in greeting. "Lord Varys," Lord Arryn said.
Varys nodded his head in return. "My lord hand," he said.
Jon Arryn was a good man, an honorable man, but he foolishly disdained the game and those who played it and would fall victim to the vipers of the capital sooner or later; it made no difference. He was, however, a capable advisor annoyingly enough, which just wouldn't do. Varys wanted King Robert surrounded by sycophants and fools, so the response to his future invasion would be sluggish and ineffective.
The next councilor to arrive was Grand Maestar Pycelle; how anyone wasn't able to see through the man's old fool act was beyond him. The old man was Lord Tywin's creature and had been the one to convince Aerys to open the gates for the old lion. Varys did not mourn for Aerys, but he would've preferred if Robert's war for the throne had been more costly and time-consuming for him. The weaker the Baratheon dynasty was, the easier it would be for Aegon to overthrow the Stag Kings.
No words were exchanged save for empty greetings and platitudes.
The next councilor to arrive was the acting master of laws, Hoster Tully, who was acting as Master of laws for the time being. It seemed that, no matter how ambitious he was, Hoster Tully did not trust his bannermen enough to become a permanent fixture at court. Varys was sure that Hoster Tully felt more secure than he had before the Rebellion, however, seeing as how House Darry's Lands had been heavily reduced, and the Lord of the Riverlands had been able to quite cleverly bargain for not one but two prestigious marriage alliances. If all went well, Hoster Tully would have his blood ruling three Kingdoms for generations to come.
House Tully had never had the most concrete control over their bannermen; they were quite similar to House Tyrell in that respect, he supposed, and as such, creating strong marriage alliances was key to ensuring their continued rule over their respective kingdoms.
Before House Targaryen had been overthrown, Varys knew that Mace Tyrell had been hungering for a betrothal between his daughter Margaery Tyrell and Aegon. Lord Tyrell had been moving slowly and had avoided committing most of his forces to the war in the hopes that he could leverage his superior army to gain the betrothal that he so hungered for. Unfortunately for him, Robert Baratheon prevailed on the trident, and House Targaryen was soon overthrown by the Storm Lord. Only their relatively intact army, quickly bending the knee to Robert when Eddard Stark came to relieve the siege, and their marriage alliance with Houses Hightower, Redwyne, and Fossoway prevented them from being easily replaced. Even then, they had made an enemy of the King's brother Stannis Baratheon who, by all rights, would soon replace King Robert as the Lord Paramount of the Stormlands when they attempted to starve him out at Storm's end. He was sure that Mace Tyrell was absolutely white with fear, at the idea of Robert dying in some fatal accident and Stannis taking the throne, as that would likely result in them losing control of the Reach after the first misstep of their head of House, the oafish Mace Tyrell made. Even after the Tyrells bent the knee to Robert, there was still talk of taking Land from the Tyrells and giving it to the Stormlands as recompense for the invasion of the Stormlands by the Reacher lords during the Rebellion. The King had put a stop to such talk, however, and had proclaimed that he would have no more discussion of punishment for men just following their liege lords.
The next councilor to arrive, was the master of coin Lord Edwyn Estermont, the maternal grandfather of King Robert and his brothers. The old man was quite happy about having Estermont blood on the throne Varys would wager, although compared to Jon Arryn, Hoster Tully, and Tywin Lannister, Lord Edwyn was by far the one getting the least out of this war. Despite this, the old man seemed quite content with his position, an attitude not shared by his son and heir, Ser Eldon Estermont, who was far too ambitious for his station. House Estermont had suffered very little from the invasion of the Reacher lords, which only made sense since Greenstone was the Easternmost castle of the Stormlands. This far-eastern position was not a comfortable one, however, as Greenstone was often the first target of pirate kings out of the Stepstones. Lord Edwyn was not particularly good at sums, but Lord Arryn had advocated for his joining the council all the same. It was no secret that, aside from himself and Pycelle, that the current Small council had been chosen for loyalty rather than expertise. Lord Edwyn, Arryn, and Tully could all be trusted to support Robert and to not try and sabotage him from within, like Varys was currently doing. Of course, Grand Maestar Pycelle would be loyal to the King as long as Lord Tywin was loyal to the King.
There was no master of ships as of yet, but many had suggested Lord Stannis for the position, as the Lord had created a fleet on short notice when he was commanded to take Dragonstone by his brother.
King Robert was the last man to arrive; their King rarely attended these meetings unless the subject had something to do with the Targaryens and military matters.
King Robert took a seat. "Alright then, what say you of Dorne?" the King asked.
Jon Arryn began the meeting with a summary of events. "Your grace, after the… events of the sack of King's Landing, the people of Dorne are baying for blood, Baratheon and Lannister blood in particular. Prince Oberyn returning from Essos has not helped matters; the Red Viper has been calling for all Dornishmen to attempt to put Viserys on the throne in order to gain vengeance for Princess Elia and her children," Jon Arryn supplied.
Robert shook his head. "They were Dragonspawn; the entire realm ought to be thanking Lord Tywin, not cursing him," the King said.
Lord Arryn shook his head. "Regardless of whether what Lord Tywin did was a service to the realm or a crime in the eyes of Gods and men is irrelevant. The Martells are enraged and must needs be pacified," Lord Arryn said.
Robert hit the table with his fist. "I say we march down to Dorne and show these Martells that we are not to be trifled with!" Robert bellowed.
Varys shook his head. "Your grace, that would be most inadvisable; while I do not doubt your skill at martial matters, every time the realm has tried to invade Dorne, it has not ended well for the Iron throne. Daeron, the Young Dragon, lost his lift in his invasion of Dorne, and Aegon the Conqueror and his sister-wives failed to defeat the Dornish even when they had Balerion the Black Dread on their side. I say we try a more peaceful solution," Varys said.
Grand Maestar Pycelle nodded his head. "I must concur with Lord Varys, invading Dorne, especially now would be folly even for our mighty King. It would be much more advisable to send a member of this small council to Dorne as a peace envoy, so we might negotiate terms with Prince Doran," the grand maestar said.
Lord Hoster Tully spoke up for the first time since arriving. "Which one of us will head to Dorne then. I cannot go because, with the departure of my brother Brynden, I do not have anyone capable enough to rule the Riverlands for me while I am gone for a long period of time," Lord Tully said.
Lord Edwyn decided to speak up. "I am not important enough to go; the Martells would see it as a slight. The same goes for Grand Maestar Pycelle and Lord Varys, who are too low of birth. Sending his grace to Dorne would also be a bad idea," Lord Edwyn said.
Lord Arryn sighed. "It seems that I will have to go to Dorne then," Lord Arryn said.
King Robert gave his assent with a wave of his hand. "Very well, very well, is there anything else for today?" the king said.
Lord Tully spoke up. "Your grace, there is still the matter of Houses Connington, Grandison, Cafferen, and Fell. Despite being your sworn bannermen, they decided to throw their lot in with Mad King Aerys, and the last three only supported you when you had defeated them in battle," Lord Tully said.
Robert shook his head. "Bah, I have no quarrel with Grandison, Cafferen, and Fell but House Connington, on the other hand… Jon Connington attempted to kill me at Stoney Sept, and he would have if not for Jon, Ned, and Lord Hoster. I hereby decree that House Connington's lands and titles shall be stripped from them, and they shall be reduced to mere landed Knights," the king said.
Lord Varys was sure that Jon Connington's actions during the war were not the only reason for why the King was stripping an old and proud house like the Conningtons of their ancestral lands and titles. House Connington had long been to the Baratheons as the Darrys were to the Tullys, or the Boltons were to the Starks, ancient enemies who would serve as natural replacements for any King unhappy with the Lord Paramount in question. By doing this, the King would strengthen his House's position for generations to come. But more than anything, Varys knew that the real reason why he had decided on so harsh a punishment for House Connington was because of Jon Connington's friendship with Rhaegar Targaryen, the King's feud with Rhaegar had not ended even after he had slain him on the trident. He had likely hoped to take further revenge on the Kingsguard who had helped him "kidnap" his lady love, but Eddard Stark and his companions had gotten to them before the King could. As the only living friend of Rhaegar Targaryen, the King was likely hoping to take what revenge he could by further ruining the already exiled and disgraced Jon Connington.
King Robert drank a swig of ale. "Is there anything else?" the King asked.
Lord Hoster spoke up once again. "Your grace, there is still the matter of who should be given the Lordship of Dragonstone after it is taken from the Targaryens," Lord Tully said.
Varys hummed thoughtfully; that was a good question. Who would be given the Lordship of Dragonstone would inevitably be an enemy of Aegon when he crossed the narrow sea; no Targaryen loyalist would be happy with another house being given the ancestral seat of House Targaryen. At the same time, a newly restored Targaryen king ruled from King's landing. Varys hoped that some complete and utter fool was given the Lordship so that it would only be a minor annoyance to remove him and his family when the time came.
Lord Edwyn spoke up. "Perhaps Lord Benjen could be given Dragonstone? We have yet to properly reward the Starks for rising up against the Mad King," Lord Edwyn said.
Varys shook his head. "My lords, I believe that we are being hasty here; mayhaps we should wait until Prince Stannis returns before hastily giving the castle to one lord or the other," he said.
The small council meeting was adjourned soon after that.
Lemore I
Lemore had been many things in her life, Septa, spy, paramour, but she had never expected to steal an infant away from his uncle. Of course, aside from the grief, this would surely cause the boy's uncle, she did not have many reservations about stealing the boy away as long as it would help avenge Princess Elia and her daughter. As a daughter of Dorne, Lemore's blood had boiled when she had heard of what had befallen Elia and her children; her rage had not lessened when the Spider told her of Aegon's survival. Oh, she was glad that at least one child of Dorne had escaped their fate, but the rage in her heart and the rage of her people would not be sated with only one mere boy surviving. Their Princess had still been raped and murdered, and Rhaenys had been mutilated.
She had infiltrated the Northmen's camp easily enough; most men on the march wouldn't say no to another camp follower. And consequently, Lord Stark had been looking for a woman who could feed his "son" from her breast. Lemore, being a mother herself, had been able to volunteer her services. Now it would only be a matter of time before she could steal the little Dragon away from this place.
The boy was a delightful baby, and she felt herself falling in love with him the more time she spent with him. Seeing as how Varys wanted her to be Aegon and his brother's instructor in the mysteries of the faith, she suspected that she would also end up as this boy's mother of sorts. She wouldn't be able to see her actual son she knew, so caring for this boy and his brother would make her feel better, at least. Lord Stark would've been a good father to the boy, she was sure, but what was the life of a bastard, highborn or not, to that of a Prince? Soon, the bandits that Lord Varys hired to distract the Northmen would arrive, and she would carry the boy out of this place.
Soon the attack came, and the guards outside of the tent that her and the little one were in left to go join the defense. Lemore took the infant and quickly snuck out of the tent, taking special care not to be seen. Hopefully, she could get out of the camp without being seen; if she was caught by Stark men or some Rivermen, then this whole plan would be buggered. Luckily, she managed to get out of the camp without much fanfare, and she met with some of Varys' contacts in the Riverlands, and they helped her get back to King's Landing with the infant Dragon.
King's Landing was a stinking shit sty of a city and Lemore would be happy to be rid of this accursed place. She was told to meet the Spider at a tavern by the docks called the Drunken sailor. There she would rent the attic room where Lord Varys would meet with her. News had already spread fast of the abduction of Lord Stark's bastard son and Lemore had been careful to hide the boy's purple eyes from view at all times she did not want to risk a random passerby recognizing the boy and raising the hue and cry. Already it was said that Lord Stark was mad with grief for his lost son, and he had offered a handsome reward in gold for anyone who could find his missing son. The usurper had then decided to add to this reward for he too was quite angered and saddened by his foster brother's son being kidnapped. Lemore wondered how he would react if he knew that this boy was the son of his hated enemy Rhaegar, and not his beloved foster brother, not very well she imagined.
As she walked down the streets and alleyways of King's Landing, she wondered what kind of life she would live in Essos. She knew she would be teaching the two Targaryen boys the mysteries of the faith, but where would they live? She assumed they would live in Pentos but that could make them quite vulnerable to the Usurper's knives. Would they live in secret or would they hold court in one of the free cities like the Blackfyres had once done in Tyrosh? She did not know, and she doubted she would know until she met with Lord Varys at the Drunken sailor.
It was a relatively simple affair to get to the Drunken sailor, the Tavern was unusually quiet for the moment but she supposed that the people of King's landing were more focused on rebuilding in the wake of the devastation of the sack than getting up to any kind of mischief.
She entered the Tavern and approached the Innkeeper. "I would like to rent the attic room," she said.
He nodded and escorted her and the babe to the top-most room. Inside, was the Spider, Lord Varys.
"Ah if it isn't the lovely Lemore, and I see she has a babe as well, I trust that our plan was a success?" Lord Varys asked.
She nodded and handed him the babe. "What should his name be? I doubt that the name Jon is one worthy of a scion of House Targaryen," she said.
Varys nodded. "Indeed, I think his name should be Orys, after the half-brother of the conqueror, a fitting name, don't you think?" Lord Varys said.
She merely nodded her agreement.
From there, it was a simple matter to board the ship that Varys had bought for her and little Orys that was bound for the Free City of Pentos.