Metalhead
Joffrey looked at the strange, foreign minstrel. He called himself a "metal singer," which was a silly name as metal was to be used for swords and not making songs. Still, Father was curious and so Joffrey would at least hear what this stranger had to offer.
Perhaps he would even insult the King and be whipped? The thought brought a smile to Joffrey's face.
"Your Grace, let me sing you about a mythical creature known in the land I hail from. It is called the Sandman."
Joffrey was unfamiliar with such a creature, he never heard about it in any tales his mother told him nor during any of the Maester's lessons. Interesting, perhaps this creature was deadly and fearsome?
The "Metal Singer" began playing his strangely shaped lute. A "guitar" it was supposedly caused, no doubt a foreign word.
However, unlike the minstrels at the Red Keep who used a highly intoned voice, the metal singer used a voice full of anger as if he was speaking of things most unwelcome.
"Say your prayers, little one, don't forget, my son
To include everyone
I tuck you in, warm within, keep you free from sin
'Til the Sandman, he comes"
His song continued, speaking of the Sandman. A creature most foul which arrives when men are asleep, steals their dreams and leaves sand in their eyes.
Joffrey shuddered, was this why he woke up each morning with sand in his eyes? Did this Sandman visit him in his sleep? The thought was scary, for a creature this foul to arrive in his bedchamber unseen.
"Something's wrong, gone the light, heavy thoughts tonight
And they aren't of Snow White
Dreams of war, dreams of liars, dreams of dragons' fire
And of things that will bite, yeah"
Nightmares, Joffrey realized. War, liars, dragon's fire. All horrible things, the Sandman left along with the sand. He recalled tales of the Mad King and how he burned people in the Red Keep, be they guilty or innocent.
To dream of such pain and death was a thought most unnerving to Joffrey, though to his surprise he found himself getting lost in the song.
"Mother, I like this man and his metal songs," Joffrey said quietly to Mother and she nodded.
"Of course, my little prince. I will arrange for him to stay."
The metal singer, or perhaps steel bard as some called him, was an enigma to Varys. His accent was difficult to place, to say nothing of verifying his claims of originating in 'east.'
Varys was from the 'east' and was knowledgeable enough to know that the metal singer was not. However, for now he hid his suspicions. If anything, the bard's accent was not fake, which further complicated matters. It was simply not an accent Varys could recognize. Where was this man from?
He started what he knew about the singer, of course. He appeared one day in Braavos and began signing on the streets to earn coin. This, in addition of taking a few other jobs earned him enough money to construct this variation of the lute which he called a guitar.
This instrument helped him to create such wonderful music that he had been noticed by the more important elements of the city. He sang for merchant princes and even once for the Sealord. He began earning much more coin and his life could now be considered luxurious.
Why then, he would travel to the Seven Kingdoms?
His own little birds overheard someone asking the metal singer this very question. The answer was most interesting. Adventure. Most curious, for how misleading it was.
The Steel Bard arrived in King's Landing on a ship directly from Braavos and at first began performing his songs in the streets, before being asked to play in taverns, brothels and even at the Great Sept of Baelor. Admittedly, the song aptly titled 'Stairway to Seven Heavens' proved to be quite the topic of many a conversation.
It was then that the singer's fame grew enough that he was invited by Hand of the King Jon Arryn to perform for King Robert. The song 'Enter Sandman' had proven to be well received and the next one titled 'Thunderstruck' even more so. Finally, the metal singer performed perhaps his most unnerving song of the evening. Master of Puppets, it was titled.
It terrified Varys, for the entire time the singer performed the song, he looked directly at him. What did the man know? Time would tell. Time, and little birds.
