Asio Copin
Such were Varys's secrets. He learned of them and thought about them. Well, the Spider had his own goals, and that was only natural. And those goals were clear enough. What increasingly repelled Copin was Varys himself—too cautious, too timid, too cloying. His softness, slowness, and endless prudence irritated Copin more and more.
It seemed that along with his balls, the eunuch had been cut off from any shred of courage. Copin felt a growing disappointment with life. The years passed; his vast knowledge and network of connections remained largely unused. His abilities served other people, while he himself stayed in the shadows—unseen, unknown.
A man on standby.
A pawn in a great Game…
In time, this situation became utterly unbearable. And Asio finally admitted to himself that he craved power and fame.
Yes, it was then—while King Robert was still alive—that he began to understand that something had to change. Otherwise, he would have to leave everything as it was—and toss all his dreams and ambitions into the trash.
Varys and his friend Illyrio were damned dangerous people. That meant he had to act with the utmost caution. And so he began to wait for the right moment, because a patient man always gets what he wants.
And the right moment came. King Robert was killed on a hunt. Joffrey took the Iron Throne. And after a while, a little-known, insignificant knight named Harald Orm appeared in the king's entourage and began recruiting people in the Red Keep and throughout King's Landing.
Asio began to take a closer look at the newcomer. Orm was doing well, but he was overly aggressive. He tried to remain inconspicuous, but to a professional like Copin it was obvious that he was failing—his lack of experience showed.
There was only one thing left to discover: who stood behind him. And when Asio found out, he knew his time had come!
He reconsidered the situation again and clearly realized that a new player was entering the game. Varys's time, however, seemed to be drawing to a close. The eunuch himself did not yet realize it, but it meant only one thing—he was beginning to lose his grip.
Now Asio had to hurry. Varys's network no lacked of truly sharp minds, many of whom Copin did not even know by name, but merely suspected existed. And if those people realized what he had realized, they would begin to act in much the same way.
The sand in the hourglass began to fall. Everyone now stood like horses at the starting line—whoever broke into a gallop first had the best chance of reaching the finish line first. And of claiming the prize.
Having come to that conclusion, Asio met with Harald Orm that very evening.
The king's man immediately grasped what staggering prospects this guest could offer him. Yet his face—one he had not yet learned to fully control—betrayed a flicker of doubt, a reminder of caution: could this be a trap? Had Varys already begun his game?
To win Orm's trust, Asio had to work hard. He revealed many secrets that Varys had guarded so carefully.
Then Copin demanded a meeting with the king. His intuition was literally screaming that this was the moment when everything that had once seemed impossible suddenly became attainable—one only had to reach out a hand.
And the unbelievable happened. The king agreed to meet him. He found time to speak with a stranger. On one of the terraces beneath the walls of the Red Keep, they talked for more than an hour.
King Joffrey impressed Asio by not being afraid to come and speak like this, face to face. Of all his retinue, only Harold Orm accompanied him.
True, from the king's slightly stiff movements, Asio instantly realized that he was wearing at least a thin shirt of mail beneath his clothes. Even so, it was a bold step.
The golden-haired, green-eyed young king behaved calmly and confidently. His words did not sound like those of a youth. It seemed as though, through his lips, spoke a grown man seasoned by life.
They talked. Asio spoke, and the king listened attentively. Then Joffrey suddenly asked:
"Tell me—what do you dream of, Asio? And if it is within my power, I will give you what you desire."
"I dream of feeling power in my hands," the native of Pentos smirked, waiting to see what the king would offer—what he would try to buy him with, how he would attempt to impress him.
"Secret or open?"
The next question sounded even more unexpected, and Asio, intoxicated as if by wine—by his own boldness—hoarsely replied:
"Both!"
In that moment, Copin felt with every fiber of his being that he was a true gem for King Joffrey—an incredible chance, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Serve me faithfully, Asio Copin," the king said, "and in time, when I annex Pentos to my realm, I will make you a great lord and the ruler of that city. How do you like such a price?"
The offer stunned Asio. Even in his wildest dreams, he could never have imagined that the king thought so far ahead, on such a vast scale.
It turned out he was not the only one of value here. The king himself, regarding him with faint irony, offered something that neither Varys nor anyone else—Illyrio Mopatis, the late King Robert, or any of the great lords—could ever have offered him, under any circumstances.
Yes, this sovereign knew how to surprise. And to astonish. And his own dreams and plans were intoxicatingly bold: to found his own great house, to stand on equal footing with the most noble lords of Westeros.
The king's proposal proved far more thrilling—and far more ambitious—than anything Asio had ever dared to hope for.
(End of Chapter)
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