Chapter 2; Truths, Plans and Allies
Characters of the chapter
Daenerys Targaryen, The Mother of Dragons, the Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, the Breaker of Chains, Queen of the of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men of the South, Queen of the South Kingdom of the Twin kingdoms and Protector of the Realm
Iledia, Agent of the Inquisition, advisor in matters of the arcane in the court of Queen Daenerys
Jerome Evander mage-healer in the service of Jon Snow
Jon Snow, also known as Aegon Targaryen and Jon Stark, King of the North Kingdom of the Twin Kingdoms
"The tests confirm it." Jerome said, turning from his equipment to address the King and Queen in their War Camp.
As agreed he had been in contact with his sources in the Inquisition about the strange arrowhead the Orlesians had used against the dragon. He had sent the arrowhead to them for study, but as it turned out no research had been necessary. The response had been almost immediate, revealing the rune in the arrowhead to be a design developed by the Inquisition during the Breach War, made specifically to inflict harm on a dragon. It had been developed in response to the multiple dragons the Inquisitor had faced at that time. The design had been sold to others and been on offer for Inquisition's allies as part of a normal process of sharing resources. As part of their new alliance with the Twin Kingdoms the Inquisition had inquired to the matter further, learning of a Nevarran dragon hunter hired by the Orlesians who had brought this particular batch of weapons with him.
That explained where these weapons had come from, but that brought attention to the second question that had arisen: How had these weapons, specifically created against dragon, done harm to the King and Queen? Jerome had his suspicions on how this could be and had asked samples of blood to test that suspicion. And now he had the results from those experiments, and had called the two leaders to hear them.
"So you are actually saying that the two of us… that we have dragon blood in us? In a literal sense?" Jon asked.
"That is indeed the case, in a way. All living things carry the essence of their kind, a collection of qualities transferred from parents to their offspring. Those essences can be traced through blood with the proper methods. My tests show that most of your essences are those of a human as expected. But also included within are miniscule quantities of a Dragon's essence." Evander explained.
"But how can this be? Obviously dragons and humans aren't in any way… compatible. Through magic then?" Daenerys asked.
"That is what I have come to believe." Evander said. "There are warriors in Thedas that imbibe dragon blood. It gives them great strength and resilience to pain. It has been said that those who overindulge in the practice can start to develop somewhat… dragon like physical characteristics. If those stories are true then what we have here is a similar process, but this one goes far beyond merely drinking blood. Someone has artificially combined human and dragon essences with a level of intricacy and artistry that I have never seen done. This goes deep enough to be a natural part of your being, not merely something acquired through a process from the outside. It is in you, presumably in your ancestors, and presumably in your son as well, transferred from generation to generation."
"There has been never been any records of magic like this in the Targaryen family. Dragons are what we were known for. But aside from them magic was not something we had significantly to do with. Certainly if we had ever been capable of doing what you say I would have learned of it at some point." She said.
"That I can believe. And that leads me to conclude that this combining of essences has an earlier origin. Given known history I think it occurred in the times of the Valyrian Freehold. Indeed I think it likely that the Valyrian features are a minor side effect of the combing of essences, present in individuals where dragon essence remains strong enough. Verification would require additional study of course." He said.
"So the ancient Valyrians were the ones to do this? Why? What did they get out of it?" Jon asked.
"Unclear for the moment. Since dragons were so important to the ancient Valyrians there might have been a desire to share kinship them, to be more like a dragon." Evander said.
"There could be a more pragmatic reason. In Westeros only Targaryens have been dragon riders. Ever. And as you now have shown us, Targaryens have dragon essence. Maybe that is a required quality to become a dragon rider." Daenerys suggested.
"Hmm, possible, possible." Evander said.
"You mentioned earlier that those who drank too much dragon blood could develop dragon like qualities. What did you mean by that?" She asked.
"Well, pretty much what one would expect. Scales growing on their skin, that sort of things. There have also been reports of changes in personality, including heightened aggression and an increased urge to kill. Why?" He said.
"You see, there have on occasion been stories of Targaryen stillbirths. One common thread is that often the stillbirths have been said to have scales, small wings and other dragon like features." She said, growing gradually more silent as she spoke.
"I see… it is conceivable that dragon essence could on occasion malfunction and rise to the surface in a child developing in the womb. An almost inevitable consequence when making artificial additions like this. It could well cause the kind of mutations you describe. Then again it could just be malignant rumors. Would not be the first time that happened in the world." He said.
Daenerys hesitated before answering. "They aren't. Not entirely. I know of one. My first son was stillborn. I never saw his body, but I have no reason to doubt the word of the ones who told me. Their description…had similarities to what you told me. Not all of it, but close enough. But please, I'd prefer not to go into that further."
"Of course, Your Grace. I didn't mean to call up unpleasant memories." Evander said.
"It's alright. I did ask, knowing where it would lead." She replied.
"So is this dragon essence the reason she cannot be burned?" Jon asked after a brief silence, changing the subject.
"No, I don't think so. That's something else. If it were directly related to that you would both the fireproof. You are not that are you, My King?" Evander said.
"No. I can get burned. Had to throw a lit lamp at a wight once and I can still remember how badly that hurt." Jon said.
"And my brother certainly wasn't." Daenerys added.
"Then it's not about the amount of dragon essence in a person either. I'll have to keep looking to find an answer to that." Evander said.
"By all means. It would be interesting to find the cause. But for now Jon and I have another meeting we have to get to." She said.
"Of course Your Grace, I understand. Good day to both of you." Evander said.
"Are you alright Dany? That was quite a bit of information to take in all at once. And talking about your first son can't have been an easy thing to do." He said to her a little bit later as the two were walking through the camp.
"It wasn't. The decisions I made that day? Some of the worst I have made. But I'm alright. And the part about us having dragon blood in a literal sense? That was actually a little bit of a relief in some ways, if a bit surprising." She said.
"Oh? How do you figure?" He asked.
"There have always been mad Targaryens, my own father being the latest notorious example. I myself have at times had these intense moments of anger. Frightening moments to think about after the fact. Evander's discovery at least gives me a very logical reason where it all comes from. There is some comfort in knowing why such a thing might happen, that it's not… just because. There is nothing mystical in it, just a magical endeavor done by our shared ancestors that comes with some side effects. Perhaps this will also mean that our son, or the generations that follow him, will no longer be at risk of it. If you and your stoic calmness are any indication there is a good chance. I would consider it a blessing if that were the case." She explained.
"What about you? What are your feelings after all this?" She asked then.
"I just find this all damn weird. What else might have your… our ancestors been up to?" He said.
"I'm also wondering about what you pondered about dragon blood being an essential part in being able to ride a dragon. What it could mean for us in the future." He added.
"I was thinking about that myself. If that is indeed the case then it is possible that you and I will be the last dragonriders." She said.
"Robb might be able to as well, seeing as we both have Targaryen blood in us." Jon reminded.
"True. When Robb is old enough, we will have to see if Drogon will let him ride him." She said in contemplation. "Still, I wonder if in a few generation the time of riding dragons might come to a close. Even if we are wrong and having the blood of the dragon has nothing to do with being able to ride a dragon, Drogon is not immortal. Provided he survives the wars to come he will probably outlive all of us, but eventually he too will age and pass away. Then that time in history will be over, for good this time." She added, a slight sadness in her voice.
"We don't know that for certain. We could find more dragon eggs given time." Jon said.
"We would have to find a lot for it to make any difference. Aegon the Conqueror arrived with three dragons and everyone knows what happened in a few generations. Dragons became small, stunted and weak. Their line was too broken. A few dragons would only end up the same way. More dragon eggs would give us time, nothing more. And with our family's ability to ride them in the long run uncertain, even those few might prove too much. If Westeros ends up with dragons that no one is able to control… it could be very bad. I love the children my dragons are to me, but I can understand that danger." She said.
"But these are all long term concerns. Even if dragon eggs fell on our laps tomorrow and we were able to hatch and control all of them it would still be many years before they were fully grown. Not soon enough for this war or the next few for that matter." She said then.
"Speaking of the war, what's your next move in all this?" She asked.
"I intend to lead a mission to Bear Island, bring back Lyanna Mormont. If we are to get her we need to do it now, before the autumn storms hit in earnest." Jon said.
"Mormont? She could be dead for all we know." She commented.
"Bran sent word through Kieran saying that she isn't, and insists it's important to retrieve her. Apparently he thinks she will be needed later. And if she has managed to survive this long against the Qunari she could prove very useful in fights to come."
"Do you need to go yourself? Until we have cleared the Qunari from the coast and their fleet from the seas around the Island, there won't be a chance for us to launch a full invasion. You'll have very little support if something were to go wrong." She said.
"I know. But I need to do this. You know how stubborn Lady Mormont is. She won't leave her home easily. I am probably the only person that has a chance to convince her to. But I will be taking all the precautions I can. It will be a quick in and out. I'll bring twenty of my best swords with me plus Kieran, who has proven to be quite an able combatant when he wants to be. Enough to fight off a few enemies but a small enough group to pass unnoticed if we are careful." He said.
"I hope you're right. And that she's worth the effort." She said.
"I hope so too. What will you be doing in the meantime?" He asked.
"I will start acting against the Qunari as soon as I can. The Qunari have reportedly built several fortified landing sites along the northern coast. I'll hunt down as many as I can while Yara seeks to engage them at sea. The Inquisition will join the effort with their troops as they become available. Hopefully I can clear enough enemy positions by winter that when warfare starts again by spring we will be at an advantage. With luck I might be able to convince them to abandon their incursions to the mainland and retreat back to Bear Island. There is a chance, seeing as the enemy numbers aren't great. I won't rely on that of course. I will have to leave from the assumption the enemy will be willing and able to continue their campaign come spring. But I will do all I can to weaken them before that." She replied.
"We'll do our part in your support of course. You'll have the northern troops under your command until I return from Bear Island. Just use them with care. Fighting the Orlesians took its toll on us. We can ill afford any more heavy losses." He said.
"I promise it. I'll do as much of the fighting as possible with Drogon for the sake of both our armies. Our soldiers are to mainly hold the Oxmen in check and prevent these smaller forces from merging into something more dangerous." She said.
Don't worry, I've learned my lesson. I'll be careful when flying around with Drogon. In particular I will have to see how big a complications their cannons are." She said when Jon gave her a concerned look.
"But between the fighting, coordinating Inquisition troops coming in and the Orlesian troops going out I think there will plenty for both of us to do while autumn lasts." She said in conclusion.
She stopped to look at the landscape. The world around them was still for the most part still green, but the brown, yellow and red autumn colors would start creeping in soon enough. Days were still warm, but the temperatures were clearly dropping day by day. Autumn was clearly in progress, winter following right at its heels.
"In some ways it will be a relief when winter comes and the campaign season ends." She said.
"Yes. Though it's going to be a lean winter. We had to call a lot of our people to arms. And because there are still enemies about we can't disband all our forces. There might not be time for our people to fully harvest our crops." Jon commented.
"And many of our farms were burnt by raiders. We will have to cut to stored grain from previous years and buy grain from other countries to make up the difference. Thedas, and the parts of Essos not under Tevinter control. Which on the other hand means we won't be selling our crops to anyone. Which means less coin to finance all this fighting. Thank goodness the Orlesians are providing war reparations, otherwise this might get very complicated." Daenerys said.
"Still, a lean winter, just as you said. No way around that. Far too much so for my whole army to remain here, being a burden to your food supply. Not to mention the cold and the deep snows being a real risk to them." She added.
"And if you keep them bunched up and camped at a single place for long, disease will run rampant, kill many of them." He commented.
She nodded. "I'll send most of my troops south, to winter at gentler climates. Disperse them as much as I dare, so disease won't be as big of a problem. A small force will remain camped at Winterfell, just in case. Will that work for you?"
"Aye. A lot of my bannermen will be heading home come winter as well. Just keeping enough on hand in case the Qunari try something unexpected. It'll be good to have your troops added to that. The North will take good care of them while they're with us." He said.
"Good." She said.
"Even with these issues I think we could all use a break, us and our Kingdoms. We need time to heal our wounds and gather ourselves to better fight the Qunari. And because of these damn wars we have spent criminally little time with Robb. That ought to change as soon as that is even remotely possible. I'll bring him to Winterfell and we'll all spend the winter there. I'll have to visit my troops and King's Landing periodically to ensure everything will be going smoothly. But with Drogon I can get around quickly enough. The rest of my time will be for my family, and for you. If you'll allow it of course." She said then.
His face had broken into a wide smile. "*If* I allow it? This is the best news I have had all year."
She smiled as well. "Then I'm glad."
"Come on. My new mage advisor will be waiting for us to interview her." She said next, and they resumed their journey.
"Still haven't decided if you want to have her services have you?" He asked.
"No. I'll make that decision today, based on the discussion with her." She replied.
Soon enough they arrived at the command tent, the entrance protected by two of her Unsullied. Typically her Queensguard would have had the watch, but she preferred having them watching over her son and so had sent even the ones she had brought with the army back to King's Landing long ago.
"Is the mage here yet?" Daenerys asked of one of the guards.
"Yes Your Grace. She arrived a while ago, and awaits you within." The guard replied and opened the flap of the tent for them.
On entering the tent the two set their eyes upon a woman about their age, standing up from a chair to greet them. She had a freckled face and sand-colored hair tied behind the back of her head on two severe buns. She wore dark robes of heavy stitched cloth, obviously of fine make but lacking any ornamentation, the only artistry being in the complex way the cloth was layered. He staff leaned against the chair she had been sitting on. It was a long, straight piece of black wood with a serrated triangular blade at the tip.
Overall, severe was perhaps the best way to describe what they beheld.
"Your Graces. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance at long last. My name is Iledia. By order of the Lord Inquisitor I am here to assume the role of your arcane advisor, Queen Daenerys." The mage said, giving a bow of her head.
Daenerys noted that was all the mage did. Not one to bow or curtsey apparently. Not that Daenerys really minded, but it already revealed something about this one's personality. She was polite enough, but apparently not intimidated in the slightest about being in the presence of two monarchs and comfortable in speaking to them on close to equal terms. Quite a bold position to assume when conversing with Kings and Queens. Daenerys wondered why that was. Was it pride, or something else? She had heard that while mages were forbidden from inheriting a title, many still came from a noble background. That could be the explanation. Looking into her eyes, there was a surety there that told Daenerys the mage had been in the company of the powerful before.
Or perhaps this one was just a remarkably self-confident specimen.
"I am likewise pleased to meet you. Please, take a seat." She said aloud. The mage nodded and sat back in her chair, Jon and Daenerys seating themselves opposite to her.
"Before we begin there is one thing that ought to be made clear at once. I have not yet accepted you into my service. I will do so if by the time this conversation ends I am satisfied with the answers you give me." She said then.
Iledia raised an eyebrow. "Understood. Naturally I cannot force you to accept me, but I also cannot fathom why you would turn me down."
"I have my reasons." Daenerys said. "I haven't always had the best experiences when it comes to mages. The first time I ever encountered a mage my first child lost his life and my first husband his mind because of her betrayal. That was the day I learned how dangerous people who wield powers such as yours can be. Later the Warlocks of Qarth kidnapped first my dragons, then myself. I have no idea what their intentions were, but I doubt it was anything good. The Night King was not exactly the same as you are, but I am told he too had his beginning in a spell attempted in desperation. True or not that one was a threat that could have destroyed us all. And certainly when you Thedosians started appearing in this part of the world I have had plenty more experiences with mages and their powers. First in Tevinter callously tearing apart everything I accomplished in Essos, then in the mages serving the Orlesians making Westeros bleed."
"But certainly there is a reverse side to that coin. King Jon had several in his service during his war with Orlais. And even before that he had a mage advisor of his own in his service. Two in fact, if his cousin Brandon Stark is counted. All of these individuals have served him loyally and he has reaped considerable benefits from them." Iledia countered.
"Indeed. I can add to your examples with one Melisandre. She may have never acknowledged or recognized herself as a mage, but she had power akin to what the mages of Thedas use. Jon tells me that she did rather terrible things during her time in Westeros, but in the end she proved vital to our cause." Daenerys said.
"I have read Maester Samwell's account of the Battle of Nightfall. I am aware of her contributions in that victory." Iledia said.
Daenerys nodded. "Those people are the reason I am willing to have this conversation at all. What I need to know today is whether or not you are the kind of a mage that I can trust enough to be advising me. Furthermore I need to know if you specifically will be useful enough to justify giving you such an important role. So, why do you believe that I should trust you, and what do you have to contribute?"
Iledia pondered for a moment. "I shall answer your second question first. As you have already seen the kind of damage mages from Thedas can do, I'm certain you can see the benefit of having some of that power at your command. We can be sure that your enemies will continue to exploit this advantage to the fullest extent. Qunari may be loath to use mages, but they have them, and they will be deployed if the horn heads feel the need is pressing enough. Tevinter on the other hand is built around its mages. Very powerful ones, who will not hesitate in turning that power against you."
"You could say that we already have that. The Inquisition is already bringing their mage auxiliaries here. And the mages that aided us during the siege of Winterfell are now citizens of the North, so we have mages of our own too." Jon pointed out.
"Even so it will be useful for the Queen to have a mage close to her. Someone who can provide her services of arcane nature on short notice and protect her person from attacks of the same. Also someone who can teach and advise her about magic: How it works, what are its consequences and how best to go on countering it." Iledia replied.
"Still, it is true that if magic was all I have to offer you might have a chance to make do without me. But that is just a part of it. I also bring experience of your enemies. How they think and how they fight. I have a lot of knowledge regarding Tevinter and the Venatori and I am willing to share it with you. Of the Qunari I know less, but what I do know is naturally at your disposal." She added.
"Indeed? And how did you come to acquire this experience?" Daenerys asked.
"I spent my childhood in a border town between Tevinter and Nevarra. Small enough place to not be on most maps, big enough to see a lot of through traffic. I was an orphan there, without a family or much to my name, but I knew how to survive." Iledia answered at once. "Even between hostile nations border towns are a melting pot of peoples, often to the point of the inhabitants not being sure what nation they belong to. I saw my fair share of Tevinters, either as inhabitants of the town or as passersby. I learned a lot about them by speaking with them, or simply listening to their conversations.
"That was all of course before my magic manifested. After that I was sent to one of the Nevarran circles of magi. Mind you even there I was able to read about the Imperium and add to my knowledge that way. Anyway, when the Mage-Templar war started and my circle rebelled, I decided I wanted no part in that mess. I had enough knowledge of the Imperium to figure that Tevinter would be a relatively safe place for a mage, well beyond the reach of the Templars. So there I went, and there I spent a significant portion of my life. Those are the ways I have come to know their kind."
"Of course life in the Imperium presented its own challenges. You see, even in Tevinter life for a mage can be tough if one has no legal status or money. And the circles don't teach a mage much about how to live outside of them. To earn a living I started to make use of the skills I had learned earlier in life. In my childhood I got very good at gleaning information from conversations, whether they intended to give it to me or not. The older I got, the better I was at it. I also did a lot of small jobs for them to make a living. Showing them around town, uniting them with local merchants whose goods or services they needed, passing messages from one person to another, and I was rewarded for these tasks with food and coin. Along the way I started to learn that information has value. As an orphan I was one of those people who are everywhere, but are rarely seen by anyone. Sometimes I overheard secrets that other people would pay well for. I had also used their letters to teach myself to read. Since no one knew I could I was often entrusted with messages of sensitive nature, the kind of things that were very valuable to the right wrong people. And in the process I learned caution, since doing what I did involved dealing and crossing some very dangerous people."
"These skills had provided for me then, and they would do so again. Naturally as an adult and a mage I was a lot more noticeable now. So I had to start recruiting people who were more inconspicuous than I was. I sought them out, taught them what I knew and started to build my own network of people. At first strictly within the confines of Tevinter, but eventually in other countries as well."
"Was this how you got involved with the Inquisition then?" Jon asked.
"Indeed. They became aware of my network and, desiring connections and sources in the northern countries of Thedas, secured my cooperation with them. That happens to be a thing they are very able at doing. It was also how I came to know about the Venatori. Having been rather useful to the Inquisitor in opposing them he figured I could do a lot of good doing the same for you." Iledia said.
"This brings me to the third thing I can offer you. My sources, my contacts, my resources, they will all be used for your benefit, should I be accepted into your service. This is perhaps the most valuable thing I have to give. One person can only do so much. But a person in command of a significant number of other capable men and women? That is an entirely different case. I have spies, procurers of rare goods and materials and even some assassins and muscle. That is something you will have dire need of. You have already seen what the Orlesians were able to do with such operatives. The Qunari have their Ben Hassrath and the Imperium has plentiful assassins and spies in its employ. And both of these factions may very well be willing to go further than the Empire, to do things they would not have, because they do not much care about the opinions of the other kingdoms."
"We are not quite as helpless in this as you seem to think. We do have spies of our own, or at least my kingdom does. Tyrion, my Hand, has command of them." Daenerys pointed out.
"Yes. This is my understanding of how matters are arranged currently. And not to insult him, but how well was he able to prevent the Orlesian bards from doing whatever they wanted to do?" Iledia asked with a wry smile.
"Point taken." Daenerys said dryly. "So you believe you could do a better job then?"
"It think there is a good chance of that. But naturally Lord Tyrion and I would be doing this together, combining our resources. Because that way we will be in the best situation possible, as will be necessary. Because make no mistake: What the Orlesians did to your countries will happen again, unless you have the means to prevent it. The Inquisition will do what it can, and when I am in your service this is something I will strive to do with all the means available to me." Iledia said.
"Is it *we* already?" Daenerys asked.
"Why, yes Your Grace. For me at least. You are allied with the Inquisitor, and I'm allied with him. He has asked that I join forces with you, which I intend to do if I am permitted. My decision in this is already made. The rest is up to you." Iledia said.
"And so it is." Daenerys said. "Your loyalty to the Inquisitor is clear." She then commented.
Iledia nodded. "He is a good man. Well worth following."
"You asked why you should trust me earlier. The truth of the matter is that trust, if it is to be achieved at all, will happen with time and experience. For me and you both Your Grace. For now I can only say that the Inquisitor trusts me. As I trust him. You will have to decide if you trust him enough to accept that reassurance long enough for me to prove myself worth trusting based on my own actions." She said then.
"I see… and should the day ever come when you would have to choose between being loyal to me and being loyal to the Inquisitor?" Daenerys asked.
Iledia paused for a moment, then gave a tight smile. "It is unlikely that this is something that would happen, seeing as you are working together with him…"
"Yes, but if it did? What would you choose then?" The Queen asked, a bit more insistently.
Briefly Iledia went quiet, thinking. "…If such a day should ever come, then I will have to think very carefully on where my loyalties lie. On what is the right thing to do. I should warn you that right now the Inquisitor is the older, more known loyalty to me. I tend to place my loyalties in the order of seniority unless I'm given cause to do otherwise. Perhaps it would be wise for you to work to ensure no such conflict of loyalties arise, at least until you are sure you have secured my allegiance." She said, her tone calm, cool and businesslike.
"I am not certain that you are making the best case for yourself with a response like that." Daenerys replied with the same tone of voice, raising an eyebrow.
Iledia shrugged. "I could lie, if you prefer. But you don't seem the type. No… you prefer honesty, even when it is unpleasant. You desire good, honest council. You wish to be called out on your mistakes if you make any. You have no use for sycophants who will only say what they think would please you. And I think you don't have a use for someone whose loyalties are too fluid. If I was willing to turn on the Inquisitor like it was nothing despite many years in his service, how much more easily might I be willing to turn on you?"
At first Daenerys seemed somewhat surprised. Then she leaned forward and regarded the other woman for a long while. She appeared… intrigued. Then a smile broke on her face. "You are correct. Well spoken."
"Very well then. I will accept you into my service, until I am given cause to do otherwise. Since you mentioned intending to work with Lord Tyrion I think you ought to go to King's Landing next. He can bring you up to speed on the current events in Westeros and assist you in getting yourself and whatever people you have settled. I believe he also has some missions he could use your assistance with. Once those are seen to you can return to me." Daenerys said.
"Understood Your Grace. Then that is what will be done. And thank you, for accepting my services." Iledia said. "I suppose I should get underway as soon as possible. It's a long road and the weather will start changing soon enough."
"Yes, that would be best." Daenerys said. Briefly she considered offering the mage a ride on Drogon. It would be quicker, all the faster for this one to begin her work. But she decided not to. Circumstances did not make that a necessity, and Drogon was not some flying wagon people could make use of whenever they needed to get from place to place. The right to ride him belonged to a handful few. Iledia was very far from earning that privilege. And Drogon was likely needed here for the war effort.
"You'll be fastest travelling by ship, My Lady. The Manderly fleet was sadly destroyed and the southern fleets have already departed, so we cannot appoint an official ship to carry you. But there is a lot of civilian traffic between here and King's Landing, merchants and the like. I'm sure one of them will serve." Jon said.
"That's quite alright. I prefer to travel without causing a fuss." Iledia said, standing up. "I'm glad this turned out to be a productive conversation, Your Graces. I look to having more of them in the future. Farewell, to both of you." Iledia said, then departed.
"That went rather well." She thought as she was walking her way through the camp. She might have been okay with the Queen turning down her aid and sending her on her way. Surely she would have found other work to do. There were many issues that needed attending to, starting with the issues in her homeland. She would have had opportunities to do good either way. But she had promised the Inquisitor that she would commit to this fully and she intended to see it through. Still, she was surprised at the vigor with which she had defended her position in the conversation, given her reservations. In Tevinter there were schools rhetoric, whose only focus was teaching their students to debate. They had their students practice by assigning their students an opinion on a certain subject and then having them debate amongst themselves. It could mean the students could end up defending a viewpoint they didn't actually support. She had never understood how that was supposed to work. How could anyone be expected to effectively speak in the defense of a stance they did not believe in? After today, perhaps she knew after all…"
At least the Royals had seemed to accept the story of her origins at face value. That was at least something. It was a fabrication of course, constructed with the aid of Charter, but it had done a good enough job of explaining how she knew what she knew, where her resources had come from. It was close enough to the truth that she could use her own life experiences to make it sound more genuine without much difficulty. That said she had to remember to send a message to the Spymaster about what was discussed here, so she could start adding details to the story. Figuring out the suitable places and giving Iledia names to use, forging documents and witnesses to support the fabrication. Thank goodness the Monarchs of the Twin Kingdoms had not thought to ask for details this time. She might have floundered then. Overtime her false identity would be perfected and expanded, making it harder to pierce the shroud to the truth. But for now she had to be cautious.
Now she was on her way to meet with the Hand of the Queen. There would be much to do along the way. Many seeds to plant, so required things could take root. Her people were on their way to Westeros, some of them already here. She would have to coordinate their arrival and set them to work. She would also have to start to look for locals who could be convinced to work for her, give her some local contacts. Always useful to have some of the country's natives at your side, rather than rely on purely your own.
It had to be said that meeting the Queen had been an interesting experience. She appeared to be an intelligent, calculating person. Slow to trust, but not averse to making use of resources given to her. And she seemed to appreciate loyalty in a person. No fool, that much was certain. Combined with earlier observations about her passionate drive towards her goals and reserves of inner strength, it amounted to an intriguing personality type. It was far too early to know with certainty, but Iledia believed she liked her.
The King… seemed a quiet sort, based on this brief exchange. A decent fellow at first glance. Someone rather serious, used to wearing a concerned frown, constantly dwelling on all his myriad responsibilities. Someone who rarely smiled and almost never laughed. Iledia rather suspected he was someone who had difficulty letting go of his worries and just relaxing even for a little while. The Queen had some of this too, but the fire inside her blotted it out. She at least would know how to laugh when there was something to laugh about. He was also a contemplator, who kept his thoughts to himself and spoke only when he had something to say.
There was still much that was uncertain about this mission here, much that she knew would make her unhappy in the long run. Much that she might end up regretting. But maybe… just maybe this wouldn't be completely awful.