Chapter 2: A Quiet Conspiracy

Chapter Text

TywinI

Six Moons before the Tourney at Harrenhal

It was interesting, to say the least. Tywin had certainly heard about the crannogmen and their ways, but to now stand here and look upon the castle built upon the crannog — a man-made floating island of the swamp — was impressive. This castle did not need many knights to defend it, as not even ravens could find it.

When he had first heard that a castle could not be located by ravens because it would change its position regularly, he hadn't believed it. Now he believed it. It was hard to deny anything you could see with your own eyes.

"It is brilliant, isn't it?" The words of Kevan, his younger brother, pulled him from his thoughts and he gave a slow nod.

"I do not know if it is brilliant… but it is a very intelligent way to ensure safety without having a big army or multiple knights." His pale green eyes were still on the castle, trying to find a weakness he could exploit should he ever need to attack it, but he couldn't find a single point.

"My lord…" that definitely was not the voice of his brother. "Ser Kevan…"

Tywin was sure they had been alone. His eyes moved away from the castle and looked for the source of the voice. After a moment he found the hooded figure who was leaning against a tree.

"Lord Reed asked me to inform you that the falcon and the wolf are waiting for you," the man said. Tywin could not see his face, as he was still standing in the shadows of the trees. "If you would follow me."

From the sound of the voice Tywin was sure the figure who turned and walked away from them was a man — though not a very tall man, just as the stories about the crannogmen had always said. Were more of those stories true?

"My lord…" now it was his brother's voice. "We should follow," Kevan said. His brother's green eyes were looking into his pale ones, waiting for a command from him.

"You're right Kevan. We shouldn't keep them waiting."

With these words Tywin Lannister, Warden of the West, gave his horse a gentle kick with his spurs to follow the man who had nearly disappeared within the trees.

It had taken them longer than he had anticipated to get inside Greywater Watch; it was as if the man leading them simply wanted to confuse them before they were finally led over a bridge into the castle. Bread and salt had been ready for them when they dismounted their horses.

"Lord Tywin, it is an honor to welcome you into my home. Please take some bread and salt." Tywin was happy he had taught himself to never lose control over his face, as opposed to Kevan. His brother clearly showed surprise as a smaller man suddenly appeared in front of them.

The man was wearing a dark green cloak, the hood pushed back so that his face was visible. Tywin looked into eyes that were of a deep, dark green, and Tywin was certain that those eyes hid more knowledge than the old maester of Casterly Rock.

"Lord Reed, thank you for hosting us today," he said. Without any emotion he had taken some of the bread and put salt on it, eating it in front of the man while his brother Kevan had taken the reins of their horses and followed his example. "I would appreciate it if you could give our horses some food and water while they rest. My brother and I will need to leave as soon as I've finished talking with our old friends."

The young lord opposite him gave a nod as one of the stable boys walked towards his brother.

"If you would both follow me now, the lords are waiting for you." This time it was the Lord of Greywater Watch who simply walked away from them without even waiting for an answer.

Holding back a scowl, Tywin followed the man. He heard as Kevan gave the stable boy their horses before following him a bit faster, so as not to be left behind.

It was disconcerting walking through a castle without seeing a single guard positioned anywhere. Tywin's thoughts were of Casterly Rock, the heavily guarded castle of his family. He had stationed guards everywhere — especially in the private parts of the keep. The risk of someone spying on him was simply too high in his opinion to do otherwise. Still, it seemed the crannogmen didn't care about that, as if they had no need to worry about spies. He was so deep within his thoughts he nearly bumped into the crannogman as he suddenly stopped in front of a wall.

"Are we—" Tywin did not get to finish the sentence, as the stones of the wall started to vibrate, before they swung out of the way after a second, opening the way into a torchlit room. He could see two men in the room: one older than him and one around his age.

"My lords, Lord Tywin has arrived for your talk. If you need anything, you know how to call me."

These words were the cue for Tywin to step inside the room. "Wait here Kevan," was all he could say before the wall closed behind him again. This place was very interesting. He would love to know more about the devices used in this place — this could not be magic after all… or could it? He pushed those thoughts away and approached the round table in the center. The other men had gotten up and moved towards him, the oldest of them offering him his hand first.

"Tywin. Much time has passed since we last met." Jon Arryn was his usual calm and collected self, a small smile on his lips — only his eyes gave away how serious the situation they were in truly was.

"Jon. It is good to see you in good health." With that he shook the hand of the falcon before his pale green eyes finally met grey ones — grey like steel. He was the lion… and still Tywin offered his hand first to the wolf who looked at him.

"Lord Stark. It is good to see you again after so many years."

The rough and calloused hand of the taller man shook his, a small smile coming to the lips of the other man — a smile that made the man look even more like a predator.

"Tywin," the man started in his deep voice, "we settled on first names during the war — I did not forget that. I'm happy to see you're well." Rickard Stark was one of the only men who Tywin had never been able to read: his eyes gave not a single trace of his thoughts away.

"But I think we can save all these pleasantries for later," the wolf said as soon as he let go of his hand. "You would not have called us for a meeting if you didn't deem it urgent and necessary. Let us sit down, and you can tell us the reason."

All Tywin could do was nod and sit down, just as the other two men took their seats and looked at him.

"My lords, first of all I want to thank you for hearing and agreeing to my call for a meeting of the Old Council. Our ancestors founded this council when the Dragons arrived in our lands and took our crowns. It is good to see that to this day we have kept the knowledge and tradition alive: the Wolf, the Lion, and the Falcon. I can only imagine how surprised you must have been when you received a message with the sigil of the council." Tywin looked at the other two lords who gave a slow nod, wanting him to continue. "As you know, I have served many years as the hand of King Aerys. During these years I became a witness to how he turned mad. A man I have known since my youth, a man I made a knight… and now this. But let us not dwell on the Mad King — we all know it is the truth after all. Let us talk about his heir, a man in whom many have invested high hopes" The lion's pale green eyes moved from the blue eyes of the falcon to the grey ones of the wolf. Eyes of men who had seen war and death, of men who knew how to hide any emotion. "The Dragon Prince shows the same signs as his father. He is obsessed with prophecy — so obsessed that I fear he will descend into madness even younger than his father. From what I have heard, he believes that he or his heirs are destined to save the Seven Kingdoms… I think this man will be the end of us all if we do not interfere."

After this the lion was silent, eyes still moving between the other two lords while they seemed to have a silent conversation. It was odd, two men looking into each other's eyes and seemingly communicating while not a single word left their lips.

"You're talking about a rebellion, Tywin?" Jon Arryn finally asked, and looked at him again.

At this question he took a deep breath before nodding. "Yes. I know that you fostered Robert Baratheon. He has Targaryen blood running through his veins; he would have a legitimate claim to the throne if we dethroned the dragons." It was good when he saw Jon Arryn nod, but the wolf seemed to think.

"Very true, Robert might be an option as king. He has a claim—" but more Jon Arryn could not say, Rickard Stark had just raised his head a bit and the room turned silent.

"From what I have heard, Robert Baratheon does not seem like the best option for the throne," the Lord of Winterfell said in his deep voice. "He has made progress, drinking less and not whoring anymore. I'm happy that he understood he had to change his ways. But…" Rickard looked at Jon. "Robert could be tempted to slip. If we are honest, the chance for this to happen is high — very high."

Now Tywin's eyes also looked at Jon, waiting for his response as the man seemed to think for a moment before nodding. "I love Robert with all my heart, but I can't object to what you said. We will need someone else."

After the words of the falcon the room turned quiet, until the falcon spoke again.

"It would not be intelligent to place me on the throne. I'm an old man, and if we are honest the kingdom needs someone young to lead it into a brighter future. Someone who will still rule after we are dead," after a deep breath the falcon continued, "and Elbert is not an option. He still needs to learn — to understand how important certain things are. The Vale will need him as lord after I pass, and I hope to live long enough to prepare him for that."

After the falcon the wolf spoke. "Brandon is also out of the question. He will one day be a great Lord of Winterfell, Warden of the North… but he will never be a good king. He can't control the wolf blood in him — his emotions slip too easily. Northerners will forgive that… but the kingdom will not."

Blue and grey eyes looked suddenly into pale green ones, wanting to hear the thoughts of Tywin. In the first moment he wanted to offer Jaime as an option… but Jaime would have a hard time being the Lord of Casterly Rock and Warden of the West, much less King of the Seven Kingdoms. His son was skilled with a sword, but everything else was an issue. The other option would be to offer himself, but he knew the other two lords would object, and so probably would more lords during the rebellion. Cersei! Nobody should have an issue with his daughter being betrothed to the next king, and then his eyes fell on Rickard.

"What about your second son, Rickard?" As far as Tywin knew, the boy was not betrothed, and a very intelligent man according to his spies.

Tywin had to hold back a smirk when he saw the surprise in Jon Arryn's eyes. The man looked at Rickard who gave nothing away, but it was clear the old wolf was thinking.

"Ned is a very intelligent boy. The lessons with the maester were easy for him to handle; after some time I had to give him special lessons by himself as Robert needed a bit longer to understand everything. He is also a skilled fighter according to my Master at Arms, but Rickard lso sent special teachers with him for that… a very promising boy. Honorable—"

But Rickard Stark interrupted his old friend with a raised hand.

"Ned is a second son. He learned to be a loyal bannerman and an excellent field general. From what I have heard he is fair and just — honorable as Jon just said. Something that I noticed myself long ago is that he can control his emotions. His face does not slip, and his eyes can look like steel, but he is just a second son."

The old wolf was quiet while Tywin gave the words some thought.

"Yes Rickard, your second son was not raised to be a Lord Paramount, to be a Warden like us. He was raised very differently to the way all three of us were raised. Humble and fair. Just, but hard. Leading men and women alike, but also making decisions under pressure." For a second Tywin was silent. "Your second son was raised to be a king, Rickard."

Tywin reached for the cup of wine in front of him. "My lords," with that he raised the cup, "to Eddard Stark, first of his name."

It took the other men a moment before they finally raised their cups too, clinking them all against each other before taking a sip.

"I know that both of you do not trust me completely," he said as soon as they had put the cups down again. "And that is why I want to offer the betrothal of my daughter, Cersei Lannister, to Eddard Stark. I'm ready to sign a contract in the hope this will show you that I stand behind our agreement — that I'm ready to do whatever it takes."

Tywin watched how Jon looked at Rickard, but he also could feel the old wolf looking straight at him.

"We will make the contract here — I want to take it with me when we leave. Jon will sign as witness. This contract will not just be a marriage contract. It will stand for the bond between our three houses."

RickardI

To say he had been surprised about the letter with the sigil of the Old Council would be an understatement. His father had told him everything about it, just as his grandfather had told his father before he had taken over the north. It was a tradition, even though the Old Council had not been called for a meeting for over two-hundred years. The ancestors of Houses Arryn, Lannister and Stark had founded the council when the Targaryens had invaded Westeros.

They knew that they would have to bend the knee at some point, but they also knew that the day might come when the old houses of Westeros needed to rise again and kick the dragons from their throne.

A good thing about the Old Council was that their ancestors had decided and planned everything for the moment the letter was sent. They would meet at Greywater Watch, the crannogmen making sure that the meeting would happen in secret and without any risk. Why did their ancestors trust them so much? Well, Rickard was a northerner, and he liked to think that some of the old legends were true.

He really wasn't surprised when Lord Reed had anticipated him; the man always seemed to know everything that was happening in Westeros. In this case it was good — really good. Rickard would have hated it if his bannerman had forgotten the pact their ancestors made, and thus embarrassed himself and House Stark.

Rickard had been the first to arrive, unsure what would await them during the meeting. It must have been something urgent for one of them to have sent out the letter, but all his worries had been pushed deep down into himself when Jon Arryn approached. He was the wolf. He would not show a single weakness; just like his ancestors he would wear his lord face and hide everything behind a wall of ice and steel.

After bread and salt, Lord Reed had brought them to the chamber. It had surprised him to see how the wall moved out of the way and after that sealed itself again. His guard was somewhere in the castle, probably getting food and something to drink while he waited. It was common knowledge in the north that within the walls of Greywater Watch you didn't need a guard. Still it did not surprise him when Tywin Lannister had brought his brother with him and told the man to wait outside the chamber for him.

With the last member of their council inside they could finally begin.

What Tywin Lannister told them was not really a surprise. He had always thought the Targaryens had a tendency towards madness, but somehow he had held a small hope that Prince Rhaegar would be different, able to repair the kingdoms at least instead of tearing the fractures even wider apart and probably destroying them in the process. It was well known that Lannisters and Starks did not trust each other, but in this case he believed Tywin Lannister.

As if all that hadn't been shocking enough, they had somehow settled on Eddard, his second son, to be the future King of the Seven Kingdoms. Ned — the son who was meant to maybe get a small keep and be a field general, and who had never been intended to become Lord Paramount or Warden — but now, Tywin Lannister had seen the perfect king in him, the man who could lead them into the future they all wanted for themselves and their children, and after listening Rickard had to agree, Ned was perfect from everything he had learned of how he behaved and the self control he had.

To his surprise Tywin Lannister had also offered a betrothal to his daughter — even though Rickard was sure that the man only offered it because his Ned was to become King. Still, it was an offer that Rickard couldn't and wouldn't ever decline. It would bring the lions and the wolves closer together, maybe repair the rift between both houses. Both he and Tywin still agreed upon not telling their children; if it came out before the rebellion, the other lords would be surprised why Tywin Lannister arranged a betrothal for his daughter — and heir at the moment — to a second son.

"Eddard will also have to get his name into the mouths of the other lords and the smallfolk, and he must do so in a way in which they will not forget it. Somehow, he must leave a lasting impression, positioning an unknown second son on the throne will be hard." Jon pulled him from his thoughts with his words, and he had to agree.

"Harrenhal is six moons away," Tywin pushed into the topic, but Jon shook his head. "Ned does not like to participate in the melee or the joust — he thinks men should not play at war and show their skills."

His eyes had been on Tywin again, noticing how the corners of his lips had twitched, but the man had turned the smirk down. It seemed he'd already liked what he'd heard.

"If I tell Ned that he has to participate, and that he shall make House Stark proud, he will participate." Rickard knew his son, and he knew that he always would follow a command from his father. Finally the private instructors he had sent to the Vale with Ned would also have to prove their worth. From all he had heard, they were the best he could get for his son, and he wanted only the best. Ned would be the son who rode into battles, leading the army while Brandon as the Lord would be more safe and stay in the back, so it was important that Ned was as skilled as possible.

Jon had looked surprised by that, clearly not expecting that he would tell his son he had to participate, but Rickard really didn't care about that right now — this was about the future of them, their houses, and all the Seven Kingdoms.

"Then I look forward to watching young Lord Eddard in the melee and joust," was Tywin's simple answer, the man clearly not having an issue with Rickard giving his son a command to participate.

Before Jon could say anything to either of them, he could hear and see how a single brick of the wall moved and something was placed into the hole. With a smile on his lips, he got up and collected it before the brick slid back into its original place.

"I guess we can write down the betrothal and marriage contract now. Lord Reed brought us parchment and the old sigils of our houses. This should be all we need."

As much as Rickard respected Jon, at this moment he was simply happy that he would not need to have a discussion with him about Ned. It was his words that Ned followed in the first place; Rickard had told him to keep his skills secret and not participate in playing at war, and now it was his decision that Ned should show everything he'd learned, in the hope that he would make the people talk about him at the tourney.

Writing the contract took a lot more time than he thought, but that really should not surprise him. He was dealing with Tywin Lannister — a brilliant man who would not simply give his daughter away — not even to the future king he had selected himself.

So when Jon finally put his signature and sigil under all four copies of the contract, rolled them up and sealed them with the sigil of the Old Council, Rickard was happy that this part was over. Maybe a discussion with Jon about Ned would have been easier than this, but they had gotten it done, and now each of them had one copy, the fourth copy staying in Greywater Watch to be protected by the crannogmen.

As if it was magic the wall opened again after they closed their meeting, allowing them to exit the room while Kevan Lannister was waiting for his brother.

"My lords, thank you for coming to this meeting. We will meet again at Harrenhal," Tywin said to Rickard and Jon with a nod before he left with Kevan. Rickard saw that their horses were already ready and waiting, a crannogman holding the reins to lead both Lannisters back to their ship.

"Jon. Ned can not know that we met. Do not tell him anything about this, not even that I will be at Harrenhal." Rickard's voice was hard, not accepting any argument as he said that to his old friend. "We're doing this for the sake of the realm. You agreed to it. There is no turning back now."

A sigh came from Jon Arryn before a small smile appeared on his lips.

"You know Rickard, what shocked me the most was that it was actually Tywin who came up with Ned." Jon was silent for a moment. "Ned has lived for so long with me, I know he is brilliant and a born leader. Even Robert listens to his commands without argument… but I simply ignored all his talents because he is a second son. That was so stupid of me."

Rickard placed his hand on Jon's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I was no better than you, Jon. I did not think about Ned either," he admitted as they walked towards the courtyard of Greywater Watch, "but I'm sure we've made the best possible choice. From everything you've told me… I think Tywin's words were right, even though we didn't notice it earlier."

When both men arrived in the courtyard they saw their horses and men already waiting, together with two crannogmen.

"Jon, it is time to say goodbye. I look forward to meeting you at Harrenhal," Rickard said. After a short hug Rickard had already mounted his horse and was leaving together with his guard and one of the crannogmen; he did not want to leave Lya and Benjen alone with Brandon for too long.

On the way back to Winterfell everything that had happened was still running through his mind.

Eddard, his son, was to become the King of Westeros, and he would marry Cersei Lannister, maybe repairing the relationship of their houses. It was unbelievable that one single letter could change so much. Those few words spoken in privacy could change their view on everything that was going on.

He would have to visit the graves of his ancestors, but before that…

When they had reached the road he asked the crannogman to wait for a moment. Rickard had quickly pulled out a small piece of parchment and was scribbling down a few words on it before closing it with his sigil.

"This is very important. It has to reach the Wandering Wolf quickly. Do not give it to anyone besides him. Destroy it if need be," Rickard said to the man who had led them back to the road, the crannogman only gave a nod and bowed before slipping the parchment into his pocket and disappearing between the trees.

Rickard could only hope that the crannogman really could find anyone, no matter where they were.

The guards didn't ask him a single question about anything that had happened. They left him to his thoughts on their way back to Winterfell, and as soon as they arrived, Rickard went to the Godswood. He knelt down in front of the weirwood tree, praying to the old gods. He asked them for their guidance and to protect his pack. In return, he would make sure that they would be remembered again throughout Westeros. He hoped they would hear his prayers, that they would answer his questions and grant his requests.

Three lords had decided that it was time to end the dynasty of dragons, that it is time for a change in Westeros: that the rule of the dragons had to end before Westeros could be burned completely to ashes.