Chapter 2
After the assembled lords were done hailing me as king, they expected me to give a speech. I'd put a good deal of thought into this. The main issue with the Seven Kingdoms is, well, that they consider themselves seven kingdoms swearing fealty to the Iron Throne. They were disunited, politically and culturally. I wanted to change that. Hell, I wanted to ensure that the kingdom would transfer to democracy, that there would be no more feudalism shackling people to their lands. That was not feasible in the twenty odd years I had, but I could plant the seeds. And I could certainly consider reforms to as many areas of society as I could get. But first I would need the consent of my lords; if I went solely off of this swearing of fealty here, lords could grumble and say they simply didn't have any other option. But if I called a Great Council, had every lord sit down and vote on their preferred King, then that would lessen that avenue of complaint and give me a broader mandate. After all, they had voted for me, hadn't they?
"My lords!" I boomed, thankful for Robert's natural loudness that allowed me to quiet the hall utterly. "I thank you for your oaths and your faith in me. Together we shall do great things, and leave a more prosperous and stable Westeros than ever before!" That was a lie, but one they would like to hear. "But in order to do that we must ensure there is no dissent. The war is over, but there are still other options for the kingship that men may turn to if they find themselves dissatisfied. So we shall cast that doubt from their minds! We will call a Great Council, and when I am made king by it none shall be able to cast doubt!" I roared. Jon looked to me with a questioning glance, and Tywin was examining me. Frankly, I had no idea whether that was a good thing for him. "This all began at Harrenhal when Rhaegar stole my betrothed. It shall end there, too!" I called out to them, before looking around. "We go forward together! Let the Maesters look back on this day and say that this is where the golden age of Westeros began!" And with that, I allowed silence to reign. It took a few moments for the lords to be sure my booming voice would not speak again before the muttered conversations broke out. I stepped to the side, where my principle supporters waited.
They were looking at me oddly, for the most part. "Your Grace," Jon said, emphasising it. "We have won. Why would you risk your crown in a Great Council?" Because it's the closest thing to a parliament this place has, I thought.
"Because I need my crown to be secure," I said. Part of me wondered if the Ironborn would rebel, since the Great Council was analogous to a kingsmoot. Maybe I should look into sending spies there to spread that kind of message to cut the legs out from under Balon. I added it to the list of things. "I shall still rule from here in the interim, but I want no question of my authority. I have great things planned for this kingdom, and I want no dissent from how I got to the throne before I even begin changing things." Then I turned to Lord Tywin. "Lord Tywin, I believe you shall be quite pleased to know I plan to release Ser Jaime from the Kingsguard. In exchange I must ask a favor of you." I said, keeping my tone even. He certainly wasn't Charles Dance, but the man had an intimidating presence regardless.
"Ask it." He said simply, his eyes seeming to pierce deep into my soul.
"I must have the person who killed Princess Elia. They will not rest until justice is served." I said, cocking my head to the side. I would not mention Prince Aegon; though his death was horrible, he had been a Targaryen and a threat to the throne. The men would grumble if I arrested Gregor over his killing. But Princess Elia had been a noble lady, one without a claim to the throne. I could confidently arrest someone who had killed her.
Ned turned to me then. "It was Ser Gregor, your grace. I sent ten men ahead to secure the royal family. Five managed to kill Amory Lorch before he did anything, but the other five were killed by Ser Gregor."
Tywin's gold flecked eyes studied me then. "Your Grace," he said slowly. Somehow he made the title sound like he was speaking to a child. "This is war. Accidents happen. Surely you will not punish Ser Gregor for that?" he asked. His face was still impassive, but I got the sense that he was annoyed.
"The Dornish will demand justice for her death. Better to deliver him now and begin mending the cracks than allow it to fester. Gods only know what strange and wild theories they would begin to develop if left unchecked. Together with the bones of Prince Lewyn, I hope to ensure our most southerly region does not offer itself as a stepping stone for any unwanted claimants." I shrugged. "Surely you can see the sense in it?"
Tywin studied me for several seconds. I felt like a bug under a microscope. Then he nodded. "Very well," he said calmly.
"Excellent. Now that I've allowed them to mull that over for a few minutes, it's time to hand out rewards and punishments." I said with an easy smile. It was easy to smile because it had been a massive victory. The fleeing remnants of the army had been smashed against the walls of Kings Landing. Much of the force had been comprised of crownlander lords, who leaned very heavily in favor of the Targaryens; I could not even think of one that had risen in favor of me. It made sense, of course, but it presented a juicy opportunity.
Currently, I held the Stormlands still in my hands. If I were to take control of a large portion of the Crownlands and appoint loyal men as castellans of the castles strewn about, I could combine the power of the two to ensure a loyal base of forty five thousand or so men loyal to me. This would leave me as a major power in my own right, instead of heavily reliant on my lords paramount for assistance. I had talked to Jon about it, and he had been cautiously open to the idea, though he had recommended I leave proper lords on the edges of my lands, since they would be more eager to fight for their lands when they were at risk of them being taken in a rebellion. It was roughly analogous to the idea of Marcher Lords along the border with Wales in our timeline or along the border with Dorne here, although these lords would not have those special privileges since, ostensibly, they were bordered by my allies.
Speaking of which, I wanted to get a good, cheap way to make paper and then send out men to survey the borders between fiefdoms. In addition to the magistrate courts I wanted to set up, it should hopefully open up a path to preventing the tiny border wars like those seen in the Dunk and Egg novels, which had probably cost millions of men over the centuries. Well, okay, that was probably an exaggeration, but not by nearly enough for my liking. Of course, if there was no teeth to it, the lords would probably get an unfavorable ruling and then just go to war anyway, so I would need a guard force of some kind capable of putting these things down. It would only take a handful of ruthless examples - forfeiture of all land and perhaps hanging the main lord - to ensure that the lords fell in line.
It was ruthless, sure, but frankly if I wanted to impose a semblance of order and stability on feudal goddamn lords with barely any sense of legal limits I would need to. Have you ever considered what goes into a state? For the sake of my crazed rant, I will assume you haven't. I had - in the abstract sense that any political science major considers it, mostly an hour before deadlines while hastily writing papers. Sure, most SIs will consider a permanent military. Maybe they'll think about scribes and taxes and the like. But there's about a billion things you need, bureaucratically, legally, militarily, to come even close to matching a modern state. I wasn't sure how well established the bureaucracy was here - the fact that there was a permanent capital with permanently established positions was a good sign, but from what I remembered of Ned's chapters things were still quite here and there.
Oh well, just another on the million damn things I need to change in order for the kingdom to be ready for the threat of the Others. I sighed, and then stepped once more onto the dais. "My Lords!" I boomed out, allowing them to quiet once more. "Now that you have had time to mull that over, it is time to offer commendations for your actions during the battle of the Trident and the taking of King's Landing!" I called out. A hearty cheer went up, most of the lords seeming quite pleased. "But first, may I have Ser Jaime Lannister come before the court?" I asked, looking around. The crowd searched around for a moment before parting to allow the terrifyingly young man to walk forward. Bedecked in armor pale as milk with a cloak as white as snow, I found myself thinking that all those book descriptions talking about how handsome Jaime was seemed accurate. Dude was pretty, what can I say?
Then I allowed myself to return to seriousness. "Ser Jaime. Knighted by Ser Arthur Dayne himself, an honorable and good young man by all accounts. Yet you have failed your oaths as a Kingsguard. Why did you kill King Aerys?" I asked, my voice calm. I did my best to make it carry throughout the room regardless.
He shifted on his two feet, as if I had slapped him. For all intents and purposes, I had. He seemed ready to spit some sarcastic remark, but at my waiting, expectant face he seemed to reconsider. After a long moment he sighed and began to speak. "King Aerys was mad, aye. Madder than any of you know," He said, his gaze wandering over the crowd. "I swore oaths as a knight. To protect the innocent, the weak. I swore oaths as a Kingsguard too. Protect my king, keep his secrets, serve him till death. But what is a knight to do when your king orders his entire city to burn? 'Let Robert rule over ashes,' he said, before sending that pet pyromancer off to see it done. I killed him, and I knew the king would just send more to do the job so I killed him too." Jaime cocked his head, as if waiting for the punishment to come.
"Ser Jaime, what do you mean when you say he ordered the entire city burnt? By what means?" I asked, my tone even and calm.
"He ordered massive caches of wildfire placed all over the city. In tunnels under it, I believe." He said, his voice grave. There was a collective gasp from those gathered in the room.
"Ser Jaime, you have done the realm a great service. Thousands of people still live because of your brave actions. But that does not wipe away the fact that you killed your king. Your oaths conflicted, and you chose what your conscience told you to. For that, I strip you of your oath as a Kingsguard and name you Savior of the City." I said. A look of stricken shock came over his face, like I had offered him a backhand this time. "I congratulate you, Ser Jaime. May you serve the realm well as a good and honorable knight." The court began to applaud, taking the cue from me. Some still whispered to each other, but they were drowned out by the applause. A look to Tywin found his lips ever so gently upturned.
What followed after that was several grueling hours of rewarding various knights with lands, stripping enemy knights and lords of lands in order to chastise them properly, and generally fiddling with lands and titles. There was general murmuring at my appointment of castellans for many of the castles in the Crownlands, but most shrugged and moved on, having been rewarded duly regardless. Several hundred men had distinguished themselves as squires or brave men at arms on the field, and so I and my Kingsguard of two went through them, knighting them. By the end of it my lips and right arm were tired from it all, but it was necessary. By now night had fallen, and people were looking tired.
"We have only just begun, but I promise you all this reign shall be better than Aerys' ever was." I called out. Then I clapped my hands and put on Roberts bravado. "Now go, all of you. Enjoy the night and the sweet taste of victory!" I called. Then I stepped off the dais to speak to Jon, Ned and Tywin. Hoster would be down soon enough, having stayed behind with the most wounded and lagging a few days behind.
"A long day, but a good one." I said, looking over the three.
"Of course, Your Grace." Tywin said, largely neutrally. "I shall see to it that Ser Gregor is turned over to your men's custody on the morrow. Until then, I must retire." He said. Likely he needed to go talk to Kevan, plot things out, do whatever. I also noticed Rhaenys had been taken from the hall at some point, likely to sleep. It was quite late, after all.
"Ned, Jon." I said calmly. "What did you think of it?"
"I admit, Robert, that you managed that well enough. I am concerned about the Great Council still, but consolidating the Crownlands was smart. It will give you a strong power base and loyal men to represent you at the council, men who know their position relies on you remaining on the throne." Jon looked at me very curiously, like I had grown a second head. "I never thought my lessons made it into your head. You always seemed more focused on enjoying the Vale to the fullest," he said. I was impressed at how neutrally he managed that, since the memories I held of Robert seemed to suggest he spent most of his time fucking, hunting or feasting where he could.
Ned nodded. "It was a good choice. We'll have to see how the Great Council goes."
I offered him a smirk. "You'll have to be a bit late, I admit. I hope to send you down to Storm's End and get the Reach to surrender. And then… well, someone needs to find Lyanna." I said, my tone growing more somber at the thought of her - largely genuine, since Robert's emotions still played out at times. "Not just that. I think the last few kingsguard are going to be with Lyanna. It's either there or Dragonstone. So I want you to deliver pardons to them. If they are willing to swear fealty to me, they may either return to their home fiefs or become Kingsguard. If not, they will have a writ of safe conduct in order to leave Westeros. And I'll need to send a maester with you, Ned. I don't know what will have happened to Lyanna, and I want her in one piece." Ned nodded at that last bit, though his face had grown a grimace.
"And Jon, we'll need to discuss plans for the capital, including getting rid of that wildfire. Perhaps we should enlist Lord Varys with that… if anyone knows the tunnels, it would be the master of whispers." And in those tunnels I might just have an easy time killing the bastard. I wouldn't punish anyone for crimes they had not yet committed, but I would certainly be wary of Baelish. His vendetta went deep. "I also have some ideas about improving this place. Regardless, we also need an envoy to the Dornish to deliver Lorch's head, Clegane, and Prince Lewyn and Princess Elia's bones… and to make peace in general." I paused, considering it. "We also need to discuss Princess Rhaenys. There are a lot of things to do. I've barely had a crown on my head on my day and I already have a headache from it all." Not precisely true, but it would sound like something Robert would say, and I needed to play it safe.
"You have many plans, Robert. I hope you stick to them… I was in Aerys' court once, and he had flights of fancy all the time. A King must be ambitious, aye, but he must also work towards his ambitions." Jon offered the advice to me. "As to Princess Rhaenys, I imagine the wisest course would be to marry her into your line to gain legitimacy." His eyebrows scrunched as he thought.
"I have a plan for the Great Council that will likely discount that. Do you recall that Aerion Brightfyre's line was attainted due to his madness at the last Great Council?" I asked, cocking my head.
Jon opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. "I do recall that, Your Grace. I admit, I had not expected you to use that, but if that is the path you are looking to take…"
"It is. Damn, I just thought of another thing. We'll need to get writs of safe conduct to the Targaryens on Dragonstone for the Great Council." I cocked my head. "I need to get some bloody pa- parchment and write all these things down or I'll forget half of them. Ah well, it is too late for all these things. I shall meet with you again tomorrow… I don't even know what Small Councilors are left. Jon, you'll serve as my Hand, if that's fine with you." I said, looking to him. He nodded. "Good. Then let's get some rest." I nodded farewell to them and then strode out the side door… and promptly realised I had no idea where my chambers were supposed to be. A muttered question to a servant later and I was lead to them.
Dragons dominated the halls, the decoration themed around them. I mean, I get soft power and aesthetic and all, but god damn. You couldn't walk half a foot without a dragon tapestry or a dragon sculpture or a dragon goddamn torch hanger. It was freaky, really.
I found the bed to be comfortable enough, much softer and comfier than sleeping on the ground. Still I found myself tossing and turning. I needed to make sure things were prepared, that things were better for people here, but every step I took into the unknown could be right off a cliff.
Somewhere in my worrying, I slipped into sleep. I found myself sat atop a mountain peak, thousands of feet in the air. A raven pecked at my eye, and I waved it off. "Not quite, not right… not the stag, no, but not you either. Curious." The raven cocked its head. "A bit of both, then. Well, no matter. You know the threat, but you don't know the breadth and depth of it. Still a story to you." It quorked, flapping its wings. "You'll learn. Flap and you'll fly, wait and you'll die."
I snapped awake at the gentle rap at the door. "Your grace, the small council meets in an hour." Ser Brynden's voice called. I rose slowly, watching the sun rise over the city. The smell of shit was beginning to overpower the ash now. Wonderful. I had been thinking of ways to work on the city. Plumbing would be nice, certainly. Perhaps an aqueduct or the like. But mostly I was thinking about ways to sew the kingdoms together, to bind them. Frankly, I had an idea. A university, meant to educate nobles together, like mass fostering, while also teaching them skills and duties to the people. There would be classes in all the classical kinds, of course, and I would seek to make tuition free for non nobles and landed knight's sons and the like. What I wanted was nobles to mingle, to prevent the massive wars so easily stirred up, like those of Stark against Lannister. And while I was thinking of cities, I ought to grant the weeping town a city charter. The Stormlands, Riverlands, and Dorne had no cities, which should be remedied. The Weeping Town offered a good option, and I could probably finagle Fairmarket into being a city too. Cities allowed burghers, which would create a middle class and lead to the downfall of feudalism.
Plus they made a lot of money.
I ate a rich, sumptuous breakfast fit for a king, making sure to watch my portions. I didn't want to go overboard in either direction; image for a king means power. Then several servants attempted to help me clothe myself, and I shooed them off, putting my clothes on myself. The flock of servants constantly hovering around would grow annoying, but it was part and parcel to being king, I guess.
After being led to the Small Council Chambers, I found myself greeted by only a few faces. Lucerys Velaryon, master of ships, had fled to Dragonstone. Symond Staunton, master of laws, waited there, and I promptly dismissed him from his post. He was a toadie and a brownnoser from what I remembered of Aerys' small council in the end. I was left with only Jon, Maester Pycelle, and Varys. The man was rich with perfume and a more foul smell underneath. "Not a lot of you here, but I suppose that's to be expected by now. No matter. Maester Pycelle, I would like to begin by asking you if you have any Maesters serving under you."
The older man seemed startled by the question. "I have a handful of acolytes who study under me, your grace, but no full chained Maesters. However, Acolyte Jocelyn is very close to completing his studies."
"He'll do, then. I need you to send him south with Lord Eddard to assist him. It's an important mission," I explained. Then I turned to Varys and Jon. "I suppose we'll need to draft a list of candidates for the other seat, but a more pressing matter awaits. We need to destroy the caches of wildfire. I don't want a disaster waiting to happen under the city. Varys, you served when it was being placed, correct? Can you lead us to them?" I asked.
"I am afraid Aerys did not trust even me with their locations. Only Wisdom Rossart knew, and he was slain by good Ser Jaime." He tittered. I had never even known what tittering sounded like, but I had a gut instinct that was what it sounded like. It also proved that he was either lying to me already, because the bastard knew the tunnels like the back of his hand, or useless. Well, no matter.
"Ser Brynden," I called to the man standing nearby. "Kill Lord Varys for me, would you?"
The master of whispers, schemer extraordinaire, managed only to splutter before his throat was dutifully cut. I suppose he hadn't been expecting it. Under normal circumstances and normal behavior by Robert, he would have had nothing to fear.
The quiet dripping of blood on the floor was loud as bells.
Author's Note: There you have it. I generally won't accept suggestions from reviewers as to what the SI will do, although many of them lined up this chapter because they're obvious things to do. The SI isn't remorseless or ruthless in nature, but being in a situation where wrong choices are life or death makes it frankly impossible to be morally pure. sometimes you have to get blood on your hands to make things better, especially in a feudal society where might makes right.