[Chapter Size: 3500 Words.]
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Third Person POV
King's Landing, 298 AC.
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Varys quickly made his way to the council chambers, while the Kingsguard, along with the guards of the city and Red Keep, ensured he understood he had to hurry.
The king wanted answers; he could not delay them.
Quickly, Varys approached, entering the room without resistance, allowed in by the Kingsguards present, including Jaime Lannister himself and others, as he immediately heard the king's roar upon appearing inside.
"Finally! It was about time, I thought you had lost your mind like your dick after being away for so many moons!" King Robert immediately exclaimed to Varys.
"Your Majesty, my lords." He approached, bowing, before moving to his place at the table, while all eyes stared at him intently, full of curiosity, almost demanding he open his mouth immediately.
Artica had become a monster for them to deal with now, as they received more news and details about what had happened in the east, even more so because of Jon Artica's recent intervention directly with the Dothraki, showing that the military company he had formed was extremely effective in various places.
This last feat was the greatest recorded, and even with fewer numbers than the most powerful khalasars, still, the Articans proved to be efficient on land as the battles took place.
This created a very serious concern in the hearts of everyone there.
"Come on, tell me exactly what happened in the Dothraki desert!" the king impatiently roared at the eunuch.
"I regret to say, Your Majesty, that all the stories are true," Varys spoke with a cautious tone.
"But we want to know the other details, Lord Varys," Stannis immediately demanded.
He too harbored no good feelings toward the Articans, after suffering a great defeat while leading the royal fleet along with his brother many years ago and being destroyed by weapons that could launch wildfire directly from giant ballistae, controlled by those four-meter monsters, the giants.
"Jon Artica advanced through the Northern Sea of Essos without anyone's knowledge, with more than five hundred ships, while they landed in the northern region of Essos, above the Dothraki desert.
The Dothraki themselves, whom I met to gather this information, said that they left a small part of men as security for the ships and advanced with Jon Artica himself leading the army, with forty thousand men, along with one of his wives."
"He took a wife to war?" Renly couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Varys.
"They're savages, what else did you expect?" Cersei muttered with clear hatred.
"I think they are anything but savages. At this point, they have already proven to have even more advanced technology than ours," Jon Arryn murmured, finding it hard to admit this, but also still feeling the weight of age to deny something he knew was true.
By now, they had to admit that Artica was an even greater power than Westeros, wanting to understand how they had created everything they were today in a place beyond the Wall.
Going from a skeptical and proud man to someone who would like to have this knowledge regarding the Articans and Ned Stark's bastard son, it was hard for him not to wish for this knowledge.
How could he revolutionize the Seven Kingdoms if he had the ability to innovate like a boy who lived in bastardy did when he moved beyond the Wall at only nine namedays?
He would certainly have his name in history as the best Hand of the King.
But that power was not with them; it was with a declared enemy, and they were no longer in a very good position.
The worst part was that relations were on the verge of ruin, as they had never been able to stand each other, even more so with the princess no longer willing to unite the two after what happened a year ago.
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
After all, even Tywin had lost a huge opportunity to have his hands on the mysterious kingdom, had the marriage between Jon Artica and Myrcella Baratheon taken place.
But now that was water under the bridge.
They should focus on dealing with this threat in the best way possible.
"So you're telling me that Ned's son, with only forty thousand men, advanced into the vast Dothraki lands and destroyed two of the largest khalasars? One with sixty thousand mounted savages and another with one hundred thousand?" the king asked, his gaze serious.
He hadn't even drunk all he wanted, as he wanted to understand the strength and limit Jon Artica represented.
"Yes, Your Majesty.
But also, other khalasars rallied in favor of Khal Drogo when the Artican arrived with his group in the vast Dothraki lands, and their force increased to one hundred and twenty thousand, while the Articans also conquered Dothraki along the way and had a force of over seventy thousand," Varys replied and continued.
"The battle quickly started in the middle of the desert, placing themselves near the sacred area for the Dothraki, and one advanced against the other.
But a large part of the Dothraki army had already fallen before even reaching the enemy."
"He used those giants, as we've heard?" Renly interjected, looking at his brother, the king.
"Yes.
They proved to be an unstoppable force in open field, able to hit men with their huge arrows hundreds of meters away.
They managed to greatly reduce the enemy force before even clashing with it.
From what my little bird told me, this was the main strength that allowed them to destroy their enemies," Varys said.
"Was there any use of wildfire in the desert?" Stannis asked, since until now this had been the main weapon of the Artican army, and he would be surprised if they hadn't used it.
"I believe not.
There was no sign of wildfire," Varys said, surprising everyone.
"And yet they were ruthless..." Jon murmured.
"Still, it seems very mysterious why a Khal would simply declare war and make the Articans go to Vaes Dothrak to advance and destroy them," Petyr Baelish commented with curiosity.
"What kind of bride was this, that Jon Artica stole from Khal Drogo to the point where he declared war, and even Ned Stark's son advanced into the vast Dothraki lands?"
The king also wanted to know, already suspecting the reason.
Everyone looked at Varys, waiting for a clear answer.
"It is still a mystery to everyone," Varys replied, hiding the information about Daenerys Targaryen the entire time under Jon Artica's threat.
For him, this would be a good opportunity to turn everyone against Artica immediately.
After all, knowing that Jon was already having a child with a Targaryen would certainly be a huge threat to Westeros, as his child could claim the Iron Throne.
But maybe it wasn't the best time to do that now, because with the northern highlights, there could be a chance he might simply side with Artica.
He would have to weaken the North first, and also, about bastards as princes, it would leave the kingdom at the mercy of a huge crisis, encouraging Jon Artica to attack them on his own.
That would not be smart right now.
'Should I let him grow even stronger across the sea...?'
With this thought, Varys looked back at everyone there, his gaze calmer.
"I don't know exactly what she looked like or her name, but she was extremely beautiful and had been promised to Khal Drogo.
But Jon Artica took her first; he took her as his own," Varys said.
"He takes a bride from a Dothraki savage and kidnaps a bastard daughter of the Martells, and you still wanted him to marry Myrcella?" Cersei couldn't help but snarl, making that comment.
"I don't even know how he managed to get a princess from Yi-Ti to accept this. She must be filthy," the queen added with some venom.
"This Jon Artica is vile, what else to expect from a man who massacred poor men at the Citadel?" Pycelle said.
"Anyway, here is the report on the war that took place alongside the vast Dothraki lands between Jon Artica and Khal Drogo," he said, handing over a paper that first went to the king.
Robert began to read, taking at least ten minutes to understand those lines, frowning deeply.
"Damned be... Even if he recruited some Dothraki, how could he have such power?
This wasn't a battle; this was a massacre," he murmured, while the lords slowly also read, followed by Jon Arryn and Stannis.
"And the brat has more than twenty suits of Valyrian steel armor... how is that possible, did he get all that while exploring Valyria as the rumors reported?" the king added.
"He must be using his witchcraft, my king. He used animals too!" Pycelle couldn't help but comment.
"Still, I found out they had around forty-five thousand men to fight across the sea, and if they are still growing at this moment?
Becoming stronger and stronger, it would be terrible for all of us..." Petyr Baelish also picked up the paper and began reading the report, expressing his concerns.
Certainly, Artica had never shown such a large number, despite the large quantity of ships.
Knowing there were forty-five thousand men, all in eldenmetal armor, and five thousand giants prepared to enter the battlefield was certainly frightening.
"We have to keep an eye out.
In a war, we would only have some chance on land.
After all, we cannot beat them at sea," Stannis said, feeling his pride being torn apart as he spoke those words, but it was the pure truth.
How could they deal with those ships that could launch wildfire?
"Even on land we must be careful, and not choose open fields, and somehow have at least three times the number of the enemy to have any chance," Barristan Selmy murmured, analyzing the situation.
"I always said Ned had raised a monster...
But now, I don't know what to say anymore," Robert murmured, a bit lost.
He no longer felt as confident after his defeat, even more so as he was getting older.
"Tell me, Jon, would we have any chance if a war broke out between Artica and the Seven Kingdoms?"
"If we manage to summon all the kingdoms, my king, we would certainly have a chance to defeat them," Jon Arryn said, while the king nodded.
"We just have to be more careful.
After all, we already know the Articans have intervened in three points of the world in recent years since they left Westeros, where they have been warring with some of our cities and destroying entire fleets.
Their popularity is already becoming a legend, and now with all the wars in the west... surely this will be bad for us," Barristan Selmy murmured, knowing how the vision of an invincible army could affect them morally.
"Yes, knowing that he won the war of Yi-Ti, took over Slaver's Bay, and went into the Dothraki Sea to defeat the most powerful khals is not something that sounds very good," Renly Baratheon murmured, not imagining that the boy, despite his firm gaze and posture, whom he had considered strong and intelligent during his visit to Highgarden, would become someone with so many feats without losing a single battle, whether on land or at sea.
All of this at such a young age.
Certainly, it would leave his enemies quite confident that they could not defeat the Articans.
"This is bad for us, but still, we are their enemies and must prepare to face them one day. Until then, we can come to a consensus by trusting that Jon will not attack the Seven Kingdoms," Jon Arryn spoke thoughtfully.
They still should prepare for the worst.
"All the forces of Westeros are increasing at this moment.
We have many more men than those sixteen thousand we lost," Stannis said.
"Perhaps we don't need to use only military means.
Let us not forget that Arya is here in the North at this moment, and she is very dear to Jon Artica.
Perhaps we can reconsider marrying her and binding her to a lord of Westeros.
I'm sure her mother would accept, and perhaps Jon Arryn's son could be a good suggestion," Petyr Baelish commented, making Jon Arryn frown.
"Again with this? Trying to tie a Stark to my wife's side, and even more, marrying her to my son?
You're mad! My son is just a child," Jon Arryn murmured, dissatisfied.
"It is merely a suggestion, my lord.
I believe we must deal with this as quickly as possible, and maybe we wouldn't even need to go to war," Petyr Baelish said.
Varys listened to that in silence, but knowing Littlefinger, he certainly had no intention of guaranteeing peace with Artica, being a character who sought solutions through chaotic politics and preferred total chaos from a war.
Clearly, Arya would be threatened, but he said nothing about it.
"I will not put Ned's daughter to marry anyone, whether she's a woman who was in Artica or even participated in some battles, I don't care.
And I don't want to hear about Catelyn Tully!" Robert Baratheon said, not caring much for Baelish's opinion.
He even now considered Catelyn a Tully, due to Ned having expelled her from Winterfell more than a year ago, and now she had been living in Riverrun ever since.
Even though officially she was still a Stark, since the High Septon had not yet annulled their marriage.
"There is one more thing, my king," Varys continued, drawing Robert's attention.
"In the battle at Vaes Dothrak, a specific person was killed by the Artican army.
From what I was told, his name was Viserys Targaryen," he said immediately, making everyone at the table look at him stunned.
"Viserys Targaryen, the dragon spawn!" Robert murmured, raising his voice in surprise.
"Exactly, my king.
He was attacked by the Articans and fell in battle, having been a prisoner to Khal Drogo.
He kept him as a slave," Varys replied.
"You're saying the dragon spawn is dead? That's great!" Robert suddenly exclaimed, surprised and excited at the same time.
"Another strange thing is that his body was taken by a group of strange people after the Articans left the desert... I don't know what they did with him..." Varys added.
"Viserys Targaryen... Why would he be a slave of Khal Drogo?
Didn't he have a sister? Where is the girl?" Cersei asked, her gaze piercing toward Varys.
As much as she was relieved that one of the threats to her children's throne had been killed, there was still the Targaryen girl, who could bear heirs and would be a threat to Joffrey and his descendants.
"I have no information about that yet, Your Majesty," Varys lied.
"Wait... Khal Drogo said that Jon Artica stole his bride.
Could it be the Targaryen girl?" Jon opened his eyes wide as he asked, while everyone immediately seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation.
"No! It can't be! That savage took a Targaryen?" Cersei immediately accused.
"I don't know.
I don't have information yet to confirm anything.
We don't even know what she looked like, so I can't assert anything," Varys once again lied.
The information about Daenerys in Myr had been sabotaged by him, so there was no way to say there was a platinum-haired woman among the Articans.
Even if information came from the east, while Jon traveled through southern Essos and even Yi-Ti, Varys was able to alter the reports, never including a description mentioning platinum hair.
He knew this could very well put him under the noose, but at the same time, it was a bet he had to make.
Perhaps, when they discovered it, he could claim he had failed, or by then it would be too late for his other plans to unfold, after all, he didn't want to be killed by Jon Artica at this moment and knew Jon would launch an attack if he were exposed.
"But this is still just a suspicion.
Perhaps we should summon Arya Stark to come to King's Landing and clarify the information.
She was with Jon Artica, she must know very well if this is real or not," Maester Pycelle commented.
The meeting continued, without much fruit, despite the king being quite happy with Viserys' death.
He was also worried, thinking that Ned's son could have dragon offspring, which irritated him, making him even feel hatred for Jon Artica for the first time.
He had never reached the point of hating him, despite being cautious and having suffered a great defeat against the boy.
He was still unable to hate Ned's son, but when the Targaryen girl was suspected to be with him, it certainly made him think differently.
Everyone there could perceive the threat that a military power like Artica represented, even more so if there was an heir.
In any case, the meeting continued with endless debates.
They were in a difficult situation in light of the report on Artica's power, at the same time that, as much as they coveted his technology, his Valyrian steel and Eldenmetal, his wealth and power beyond the Wall, and even the lights they tried to research after beginning to receive reports of what was happening at the Wall, they wondered what it was, but were unable to find out.
The meeting continued with useless solutions, as always.
All they could do was wait and see what the future held for them, hoping that the Seven Kingdoms could handle the threat that Artica represented.
At the same time, Jon Arryn and Stannis left the Red Keep while heading towards the Street of Silk, finding one of the greatest blacksmiths of King's Landing, asking to see the young apprentice.
The boy, Gendry, looked surprised to see the Master of Ships and the Hand of the King there, asking him questions once again, while they looked at him intently, analyzing his face once more, as they had done dozens of times while searching for other bastards from time to time.
"There is no doubt anymore.
This proves everything.
Robert has three royal bastards," Jon Arryn murmured.
"And now, what should we do? Ignore it, as you said?" Stannis asked.
"Yes.
We have something even more worrying to deal with.
As we discussed a year ago, even with bastards, we must still keep the realm strong.
With Artica right there, ready to attack us, seeing the kingdoms divided could encourage them to launch an assault.
And we could not resist if we are divided.
Only together can we defeat them, and you know this very well, Stannis," Jon Arryn commented, and Stannis nodded with an inconsistent expression.
Already in the Red Keep, Petyr Baelish approached the queen, handing her a paper he had taken from the council room while they were alone there.
She read the paper and soon became irritated.
"I want you to kill him tonight. Understand?" Cersei spoke directly to Baelish there at the council table.
"It will be done, my queen," Baelish replied.
"Good. Leave no trace," was all she said.
It was time to kill Jon Arryn, knowing of his activities and suspicions about her children.
Meanwhile, Baelish sought out the Hand of the King and found Lady Lysa Arryn, giving her further orders.
The woman quickly smiled.
"We will finally be together, Petyr!" she spoke in a passionate tone, while the man nodded and left the place, obviously with ulterior motives.
His next stop was one of his brothels, where he called for his favorite redhead, who greatly resembled Catelyn.
A few minutes later, he was naked in bed with her; the woman looked at him with a mischievous smile.
"You were so active today, my lord," she said, trying to touch his scar, but was quickly repelled with a slap.
"Do not touch," he said in a serious tone, before continuing to respond to her comment.
"And yes, we can say that today I was inspired," he said.
"May I know why, my lord?" the prostitute asked.
"Let's just say that chaos is about to begin," he replied, knowing very well that today would be marked by the poisoning of the Hand of the King.
At the same time, he would soon receive news of a certain Stark dead in the North, after having gone to Braavos and ordered the services of the most powerful assassins' guild in the world.
And so, Baelish's game would begin.
He would first eliminate the Starks so that Catelyn would become his, while also plotting his future revenge against Jon Artica, finding a way to destroy him for what he had done to his face.
-------------Nexts Chapters ----------------
Chapter 270 - Revelations.
Chapter 275 - The Beginning of the Game of Thrones
Chapter 285 - The Challenges in the Courtyard of Winterfell 01.
Chapter 294 - Ambush.
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