A/N: You thought the fic was dead, didn't you? Well, surprise! I've been inactive for the past few months as I've been getting my life together in preparation for law school (which I am currently in, pray for me haha), but this fic is FAR from dead. House of the Dragon has started, and of course, I'm probably going to watch a lot of the show, but my time away has given me a better handle on where I want this fic to go and I hope I show it! We've got a Great Council to complete, talks to be had, and marriages to arrange, so in this chapter: Great Council I, featuring the general speeches of the claimants. There's roughly 2-3 more chapters in the Great Council arc, and then after that, we're back to finishing the war. Hope you enjoy it!
AEGON II
"I hereby mark the start of the Great Council of 299 AC, with all lords in attendance to verify the results of this occasion!" Lord Caswell, a wispy young man, remarked as he presided in his role as host of the Great Council. "Let the maesters record this event for posterity, and for all lords to swear to agree to the ruling of the Great Council, regardless of their result!"
"We so swear," the lords and claimants solemnly affirmed, the ripple of sound traveling across the room.
"Then, let the Great Council begin!" Lord Caswell shouted. "Claimants, make your speeches."
Shockingly, more than four claimants had arrived to make their speeches as to why they had the best claim to the throne. Although it had been clear from the beginning that the three best claimants were himself, Robb Stark (who clearly had no interest in the Iron Throne, from the proceedings of things), and the Usurper's brother, Stannis Baratheon, the Lannisters had sent in a token representative to represent the King on the Iron Throne, rather than show up themselves, while various hedge knights attempted to assert their claims in increasingly improbable and downright hilarious manners.
"I'm telling you, my father was King Robert Baratheon!" A red-haired hedge knight declared, who looked, according to the members of the Great Council, completely unlike the Usurper. "He bedded my mother when she was a chambermaid in the Eyrie, and secretly wed her before a Heart Tree!"
"By the Seven, have some respect!" another blond-haired hedge knight declared. "Everyone knows Baratheons have black hair. But my father was the Mad King himself, and I'm the trueborn son of Aerys and Lady Joanna Lannister, right under Tywin Lannister's nose. The Westerlands should declare to my side!"
"My grandfather would have killed you for that," another man argued, this one with poorly dyed black hair and black eyes. "Mother would have kept me, but Jaime Lannister would have killed her to keep Joffrey the Illborn on the throne." The worst part, Aegon thought, was that the man seemed deluded enough to actually believe it.
Lord Caswell's face grew redder and redder as the hedge knights and various men debated, until finally, he decided to put an end to it.
"ENOUGH OF THIS!" He shouted. "We will hear the claims of the last four claimants!"
Next to him, Jon Connington gave a relieved sigh, as he massaged his head.
"Thank the Seven," he muttered.
"First to speak, is the representative for King Joffrey Baratheon, Lord Janos Slynt, Lord of Harrenhal!"
A stout man with a vaguely sycophantic look stepped up to the dais to speak.
"Janos Slynt would represent himself as the will of the one true king, Joffrey of House Baratheon, first of his name. The Iron Throne sees all claims as null and void, and for all claimants to swear for the true king, and be spared."
"Joffrey is an illborn bastard," Stannis Baratheon declared blithely. "It was found by multiple sources. Ned Stark, Jon Arryn, and even.."and as he finished his sentence he struggled to say his last words."My…..brother, Renly", Stannis noted, affixing a glare at Renly Baratheon, who gave a jaunty wave and a smile in response. "All of these men have found proof that Joffrey is not of my brother's seed, and yet you lie to this Great Council?"
"Lies, all lies!" Slynt rebutted. "He is the eldest son of King Robert Baratheon…"
"..and yet he is not black of hair, nor blue of eyes, as members of House Baratheon generally are," Renly Baratheon commented. "Lord Slynt, I happen to remember you during my time in King's Landing. I would wonder about your truthfulness, when you are an avowed Lannister sycophant that took gold from Tywin Lanni–"
"Janos Slynt declares that these claims are baseless!" He replied, his ears turning red as he paused to think. After a while, his eyes brightened as he gave a stilted reply that was clearly coached.
"The King's Lannister's blood simply won out between the two bloodlines!" he declared. "It is preposterous to declare that the Queen Dowager committed adultery! She is the maiden made flesh!"
Laughs filled the room at the statement, and Aegon himself couldn't help but chuckle as well, but he hid it as a cough.
"How dare you!" Slynt shouted, stomping his foot on the ground. "But the King and Queen Dowager are merciful! Bend the knee to them—"
"You do nothing yourself to avail yourself of these arguments, however, Lord Slynt," Margaery Tyrell's voice cut through Slynt's rant. "Yet my good-father, who everyone in this room can agree was one of the most honorable men in the Realm, alongside staunchly loyal lords such as Stannis Baratheon and Jon Arryn, found fault in those claims and have found evidence - even a woman like me can see that. And if my good-father's letter rang true, which is highly likely, Queen Cersei even admitted to the sort herself, and with her brother, of all people." She reasoned skillfully. "But surely, my lord, if you truly believe those claims, why, then, would you not rebut the Queen's direct claim stated in my good-father's letter, and surely, seen by a lord so esteemed as yourself, rather than the mindless sycophant you present yourself as?" she finished, with an innocent look directed at the Council itself.
Mutters and nods filled the room at her words, and the contrast between Janos Slynt and every other member who had rebutted him so far, was incredibly clear.
"Is there anything else you would like to add, Lord Slynt?" Lord Caswell asked politely, to which a red-faced Janos Slynt said nothing, and did not even bother sitting himself down, but rather, hastily leaving the Great Council.
Good. Let this farce end, so that the true debate can begin.
"Next to speak is King Stannis Baratheon!" Lord Caswell declared, and Stannis Baratheon arrived at the stand.
The Usurper's brother, and one of the men I must beat if I am to win the Throne.
"All know me as King Robert's eldest brother, the trueborn son of Steffon Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End, by the lady Cassana of House Estermont, and, with this terrible truth revealed, his lawful heir. Joffrey the Illborn sits on the Iron Throne, after forces conspired to cuckold my brother, and killed the Hand of the King, and he still sits to this day. The crimes of House Lannister are beyond measure and especially heinous, and they must be addressed, to create peace. As the rightful heir to Robert, I am the claimant that is duty and honor-bound to take the Iron Throne. I thus call upon those loyal to my brother, to House Baratheon, to follow me now."
This is my moment.
"How, exactly, do you have the rightful claim to the Iron Throne?" he asked Stannis. "Because as the Maesters tell it, your brother claimed his throne through conquest through your grandmother, the Lady Rhaelle Targaryen, after all of the former lines were assumed dead."
"A throne we took by conquest after your supposed grandfather, the Mad King, burnt Rickard and Brandon Stark as punishment, and abducted Lady Lyanna–"
"Lady Lyanna Stark went willingly, according to reports by Lord Eddard Stark at her deathbed. She even confirmed it in letters to my father, King Rhaegar," Aegon replied fiercely, "my grandfather was a Mad King, by all means, but my father had planned on deposing him in a Great Council, much like this one, at Harrenhal, one that was foiled by the attendance of my grandfather. Because I am not dead, I retain a stronger claim, as a member of a direct line of House Targaryen, which means that I have the correct claim–"
"Robert's Rebellion overthrew that claim—"
"-through conquest! If that was the case, then our armies should meet on the battlefield on the morrow to decide once and for all whose claim is stronger."
Aegon grinned wickedly. "I invite you to try, my lord. Dorne has provided their spears, and the Reach promises their knights, and between those two forces and the Golden Company, compared to your paltry forces, I am certain I will win."
But still, Stannis was unfazed. "The reason the Targaryens were deposed from the throne was because they were mad. They burnt lords alive–"
Cyvasse. "The Spider's little birds reports that you have imprisoned the Septon Barre, Ser Hubard Rambton, and his three sons for resisting the Lady Melisandre's burning of the Castle Sept of Dragonstone, and, if the most recent reports are true, even allowed your lady wife and Queen, as well as the Lady Melisandre to burn all four men alive. One of your foremost advisors worships the Red God, and your sigil has been changed to reflect your religious beliefs towards Rhillor, a religion almost entirely based on magical sacrifices via fire to gain power - the exact same belief that drove my grandfather to madness. If that is correct, then what makes you so different from my grandfather?
Horrified gasps filled the Council, and Stannis's teeth made an audible grinding noise as he was mercilessly outplayed. It is uncertain whether Varys's sources are verifiable, but, no matter, I have proven my point.
"Regardless, I think I have proven my point," he finished. "Lord Stannis, your claim is entirely based on your adherence to the Targaryen line, and a dutiful man such as you claim to be would, of course, know that the elder line always triumphs over the distant line based on primogeniture laws placed. The male line inherits, which means my claim is the rightful claim to the Iron Throne."
"But even if that wasn't the case," Aegon continued, "and we assumed that your cause was one wholly based on conquest to depose the Targaryen line, your supporters would still have to contend with the reality that their King and Queen are supporters of the Red God, and a religion that is fond of sacrificing men to the flames for power, if you haven't already done so. Your army is pitiful, consisting of men at Dragonstone that have almost all abandoned you to swear to me. And your home region - the Stormlands, decided to swear to your brother as Lord of Storm's End over yourself, forsaking their lord by duty and indicating that they do not see you as an effective ruler even when given the opportunity to declare for you. A just leader, such as one you would claim to be, would give up your claim if only to spare the lives of your sparse supporters, and avoid utter defeat at the hands of either the Lannisters, Dorne and the Reach, or the North and the Riverlands"
If looks could kill, Aegon thought, Stannis Baratheon's glare would destroy him ten times over.
As Stannis stiffly went back to his seat, and he stood up to give his speech at the dais, he took a look at the various reactions his informal speech had rebutted: between the shock on Robb Stark's face, the calculating eyes of the lady Margaery, the approval on both Uncle Doran's and Uncle Oberyn's face, to the hopeful gaze of his lady Sansa, he knew he had a good chance.
"My lords and ladies, you may have heard my speech earlier discussing why I am the rightful heir to the throne. I have learned, however, in my exile, that merely having a right does not mean that one should ascend to the Throne - the Usurper certainly proved that, among my grandfather and many other of my forebears. But my line is also the same line that the great Targaryen Kings and Queens have arisen from, and my coin may be in the air, but I can promise you - no matter whose claim I support, I will be in service to the people." Aegon spoke.
Hope bloomed in his chest as he really thought about the time he had spent among the Shy Maid, in Essos. His experiences, all leading up to this point, and the struggle he had experienced, as well as the realization that he could be the one to improve the realm in such a concrete way, filled his heart as he spoke, and he continued, willing for the Council to see his earnest desire to help others, to alleviate, to make the realm better and to heal it.
"Like my great-grandfather, Aegon the Unlikely, I have seen the world from a different perspective, during my long exile from the Seven Kingdoms. I have worked among the fishermen and mended their nets with them. I have learnt from the smallfolk of their daily struggles, and of the privilege of being a highborn, placed to help them. I have learnt about the fragility of claims and gold, growing up hungry, and hunted, with the frugality that the realm will need to heal once the wars are over and we are faced with a bankrupt realm. I have been trained in arms by knights, and have fought in the tiltyard, over and over again, in order to prepare for war, just like many of you. I have learned from a Septa of the values of the Seven, to keep them firmly within my heart, and would rule justly, by the Father, if I am picked."
Seeing the crowd's enrapturement, he pressed on.
"The people of the Seven Kingdoms need a leader that will unite them and bring them back to the days of old, and make life better. The Seven Kingdoms should strive for greatness, and deserve a leader that will work for it all their life, to live in service of their duty. I submit myself humbly to your judgment, and hope that my experience and my knowledge can heal a broken realm and unite it, as it was meant to be."
And with that, he sat down, after pouring his heart to the people. My people, he thought hopefully.
A clap filled the air. Then, another. Another and another and another until he couldn't bear it any more, and he looked to see….
The standing ovation that Sansa Stark had started up at the conclusion of his speech had continued until almost all of the delegations at the Great Council gave him a standing ovation.
"Splendid speech, Egg," Jon Connington whispered to him with a beaming smile on his face.
He hasn't called me Egg ever since…he told me the truth, Aegon thought, and he wanted to cry at the thought, and the speech, and all of it in general.
"Finally, we have King Robb Stark." Lord Caswell announced, to booming applause from the Northern contingent.
"I…don't know how to follow up that speech," Robb started, causing the entire delegation to laugh. "But, what I do know though, is that I am King in the North and Riverlands. The people of the North and the Riverlands elected me to represent them, and to bring them justice and peace. My father taught me that having lords to rule over…was like having a bunch of unruly children."
Noise filled the delegations, a mixture of laughter and a mixture of offended gasps, but either way, Robb's speech was drowned out briefly, until a loud noise from Lord Jon Umber (otherwise known as the Greatjon, Sansa had said) shushed all contingents.
"My lords and ladies, I mean no offense by that." Robb continued, "But what I do mean is that my lords are like my family. And like any family member, I worry for them, and will naturally do my duty to them as best as I can. So I swear to the people of the North and the Riverlands that I will uphold the same vows that my lady wife and I swore when you acclaimed us King and Queen, no matter what the results of the Great Council are."
"And to those of you not of the North, not of the Riverlands, you may be asking 'what does this have to do with me?' And I would say this. The North and Riverlands wishes to declare its independence from the Iron Throne, to rule in the ways before the dragons ruled us."
Aegon desperately wanted to interrupt, and wanted to rebut the argument, but he knew that with Margaery Tyrell there, the advantage was not in his favor. He would have to talk to them privately to negotiate a deal.
"-does not mean anything will functionally change in the relations between the North and the areas that are vassals of the Iron Throne - in fact, we mean to increase trade and facilitate prosperity between our two thrones. But the North remembers, and unless the Northmen and Riverlanders agree otherwise, I will not accede to my demands."
Robb took a breath.
"My father was executed by the monstrous Lannisters, who have done innumerable crimes to each delegation here. All here, save for maybe Janos Slynt–" (and at that, laughter rippled across the delegation) "-would agree that the Lannisters must be stopped if we wish to bring peace and prosperity to Westeros, once again. We will ally with the Iron Throne, after the results of this delegation, in order to make that peace, and to continue that peace for as many generations as we can."
"Finally," Robb noted, "I just want to say that I hope I rule my regions as King in the North and Riverlands fairly, and make the people not only proud of their king's judgment, but to make this duty worth it for you all. Thank you, and good day."
He isn't giving up his crown, so I suppose I have a meeting to arrange.
Ending A/N: The debates and speeches may have been made, but the votes from the public lords are just one part of a true Great Council - now, it's time for the backdoor politicking. Next time on A Rose By Any Other Name: Margaery does the best bargaining she ever does in her life, and the true succession and realm changers are settled in a private speech by the Stark-Tyrell delegation, the Martell-Targ delegation, and the Baratheon delegation. See you next time!
