Game of Thrones: The Ruler

(King's Landing)

A small council meeting had been summoned in the Red Keep, and it was significant because the king, Robert Baratheon himself, would be attending. For the king to attend a council meeting was a rare event.

"What is it that you have asked for His Grace to attend the meeting?" Jon Arryn asked as he locked his gaze on Varys, the Master of Whisperers.

Jon Arryn was truly curious. Varys did not speak a lot in the meetings, but for him to request Robert's presence was certainly interesting.

"I think I would better tell it when the king arrives," Varys replied smoothly.

Jon Arryn did not press the issue any further. He had some idea but remained silent.

Thankfully, they did not have to wait long, as the gates of the council hall were thrown open and Robert swaggered in.

Despite it being morning, he was holding a wine glass in his hand, and two Kingsguards followed behind him.

The council members stood from their seats in greeting. "Your Grace."

Robert grunted in acknowledgement, took his seat, and the rest followed suit.

"What is it, Varys?" he asked directly. Council meetings were a hassle for him. Useless blabbering, scummy plots and politics, the same copper counting. He hated all of it.

"We have some news, Your Grace," Varys answered in a slow, deliberate tone. "Lord Aeos has taken over two more cities. Yunkai and Meereen."

Robert's eyes widened in slight surprise. The rest of the council members had expected something like this, as Varys had informed them earlier that Lord Aeos had launched an assault on the two cities.

Though it had been more than two weeks, news from Essos filtered slowly into Westeros. Even so, they were slightly surprised that Lord Aeos had managed to capture more cities.

Only Petyr remained completely nonchalant. He had already received the news from his own people.

"How did he do it?" Robert demanded.

"Say, Stannis," he looked towards his brother, "you dismissed his earlier victory as a fluke. I said even then that the lad is dangerous. What do you say now?"

Stannis had no words. He had almost laughed when Varys informed them, a couple of days earlier, that the army of Lord Aeos was marching towards both cities simultaneously, and that he had even sent messages to the masters of both cities to surrender.

"How did he do it?" Seeing no answer from Stannis, Robert repeated the question.

"We do not have the full information as of now," Varys replied. "Only bits and pieces from travellers and merchants."

"Tell it," Robert grunted, gulping a mouthful of wine.

Coincidentally or perhaps ironically the wine was from Astapor. Lord Aeos' wine.

Varys then proceeded to narrate the turn of events, describing to Robert all that he had been able to gather about the victory.

"Brilliant… brilliant," Robert said, almost in awe. "That boy is a fucking military genius. He took two cities with such ease. He fully exploited the weakness of the masters and stirred rebellion in both cities."

Even the rest of the members of the council, especially Jon and Stannis, who had seen wars themselves could not help but marvel at the genius of the strategy.

"He will do much more," Robert continued. "Not only is he brilliant in military matters, but he has also pushed the economy of his city to new heights. With two more cities under his command, he will have more resources, more men to recruit into his army, and more power."

"Essos is in for a lot of chaos," he added with a chuckle.

"Even Westeros would not remain free from his influence, Your Grace," Varys interjected, drawing all attention back to him.

"What do you mean?" It was Renly who asked the question. "Is he planning something against Westeros?"

Varys shook his head. "No. At least, not to my knowledge."

"Then what did you mean?" Renly pressed.

"The identity of Lord Aeos is curious," Varys replied. "A bit unexpected, even, I would say."

"Do not talk in riddles," Robert growled. He had little patience for the word games Varys liked to play.

"Yesterday, I received a raven from the North, White Harbor, to be specific," Varys answered, and every ear at the table perked up. Robert's most of all.

"Lord Wyman Manderly managed to get his hands on a portrait of Lord Aeos, and he recognised the man in the picture."

"Who was it?" Robert snapped, running out of patience. Anything from the North concerned him far more than other matters.

"Jon Snow," Varys revealed.

"Ned Stark's bastard?" Pycelle mumbled in obvious disbelief.

"Yes. Lord Stark's bastard," Varys confirmed, and everyone at the table reeled in shock, disbelief written across their faces.

"Are you sure?" was all Robert could manage.

"Wyman Manderly is," Varys replied. "As we speak, he might already be about to reach Winterfell to seek confirmation from Ned Stark himself."

A heavy silence fell over the hall.

"How old is the boy, even?" Jon Arryn asked, still struggling to process the shock. The boy was, after all, his namesake. Jon and Jon.

"About to turn seventeen," Varys stated matter of fact, though no one truly needed the reminder.

"From what we last heard, he had run away from his home?" Petyr questioned.

This news had caught him completely off guard. Even his spies had failed to bring him word of it. This showed how broad Varys' web actually was.

"Yes," Varys confirmed. "From what my little birds have sung to me, Jon Snow was not treated well by Lady Stark, and thus he fled Winterfell."

"And now in lieu of this information, that might not be the case," Varys continued smoothly. "The boy is clearly ambitious and a genius besides."

"He may well have left Winterfell to build the greatest empire the world has ever seen," he added what Jon himself had declared.

"What right does a bastard even have to rule?" Pycelle scoffed, his distaste for bastards thick in his tone.

"The sword does not care whether the one wielding it is a bastard," Robert snapped back. "The slaves he has freed do not care if he is a bastard. The people whose lives he has improved and whose lands he has brought prosperity to do not care if he is a bastard. If he is capable enough, he can do as he damn well pleases."

"Bastard or not, he rules three cites and already has an army of 20000 strong which is sure going to rise with the addition of the two new cities," he added.

He did not let anyone to speak and continued, "Write a letter to Ned Stark. Ask him to tell everything he is aware of. If necessary, he may send some messenger to King's Landing."

"Also, I want all the possible information on this lad," he finished.

"Yes, your grace," Varys and Pycelle replied at the same time. The first instruction had been for the Grand Maester while the second for the Master of Whisperers.

With this revelation, Jon's presence had started to show its effects in Westeros. And it was bound to grow with each passing day.

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