Chapter 25: Part XXVNotes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I own nothing, just borrowing for a while.
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"Every so often the thought flashes through my mind that my nephew's main motivation isn't actually dreams of world conquest but because he simply can't abide the notion of any town not having an aqueduct, public baths and a decent sewer system. The legions may think they're fighting for the glory of Westeros but in reality they're crusading for the noble cause of better plumbing for all."
The Wit and Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister - 325 AL
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The Red Keep - King's Landing – 298 AL
Octavian looked up from the book he was reading when the door to the Small Council chamber opened. "Good Afternoon Grandfather" he greeted Lord Tywin Lannister. "You're early".
"Not as early as you are, your Grace" Tywin responded, taking his own seat at the table, the one reserved for the Hand of the King directly across from where the king himself would usually sit, although it currently belonged to Eddard Stark as Lord Regent and Protector of the Realm.
"Punctuality is the politeness of kings, even as-yet uncrowned ones with no real power" Octavian responded with a smile, closing his book. "To tell the truth, given my father's habit of not turning up for these meetings at all I'm just trying to show I take the job more seriously than he did."
Tywin nodded. "Very wise of you" he responded. "And since there are just the two of us here I'll say that as for how Lord Stannis was dealt with I'm not quite so sure of your wisdom there" he opined. "Too much leniency can be seen as weakness" he advised.
Octavian smiled again. "Yes, and if I was concerned with the short-term effects I would have sought to influence Lord Stark towards a harsher outcome" he said, "but playing the long game leniency should make me more secure."
"How so" Tywin queried, interested in hearing how the boy had reached such a conclusion.
"Many in the Great Council voted against Stannis rather than for me" Octavian began to explain his thought process. "Just because I won does not necessitate that his accusations that I am not the son of Robert Baratheon are false in people's minds, it indicates merely that I'm not as unpopular as my rival" he said. "If I want to dispel the rumour for good it seemed the best cause of action to make a show of being highly unwilling to spill the blood of a kinsman and thus signal that I must believe the accusation to be false or I would not be so willing to excuse an attempt to usurp my throne" he continued. "Naturally it will be necessary to treat the next person who transgresses against me very harshly in order to not only demonstrate strength and resolve, but also to reinforce the notion that the only reason Stannis got off lightly was because he is my father's brother."
"Ah, so you don't want some other claimant to come forward in a few years using the same argument as Stannis did as justification for trying to oust you" Tywin surmised. "Of course there are those who will say that just because you might think you're the son of Robert Baratheon does not mean that it is actually true" he warned.
Octavian looked smug. "Fortunately I was keeping a useful piece of information back in reserve in case it seemed that the Great Council were proving susceptible to Stannis's argument and I'll be releasing it before the coronation" he replied. "Do you know much about the previous Great Council that was held in Harrenhal two centuries ago to decide who succeeded Jaehaerys the Wise?" he asked.
Tywin nodded. "Naturally before this Great Council took place I made sure to read up on the legal precedents set by that earlier assembly, and the more recent one that took place in my grandfather's day" he confirmed.
"Of course, but it's not so much the legalities that are relevant here but rather the personalities and their histories" Octavian told him. "As you know the final two claimants to the throne in the Great Council of 101 were Laenor Velaryon and Viserys Targaryen, with the latter being chosen in the end because his claim came through the male line whereas Laenor's claim on the throne came from his mother, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen."
"A perfectly sound judgement" Tywin observed.
"Legally yes, the male line generally takes precedence all things considered" Octavian replied. "Although several houses backed Laenor regardless, including my own, House Baratheon" Octavian told him. "Do you know why?"
"Not off hand, the politics of the day I would expect" Tywin reasoned.
Octavian shook his head. "No, it was more due to family ties" he replied. "Laenor's grandmother, the mother of Princess Rhaenys, was Jocelyn of the House Baratheon."
"A fascinating piece of family history I'm sure but I'm still in the dark as to why you're telling me this" Tywin queried, wondering why his grandson was bringing up this piece of ancient history.
"Because despite being the daughter of Jocelyn Baratheon, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen inherited the silver-blond hair of her father, Prince Aemon Targaryen" Octavian told him, looking very pleased with himself.
Tywin blinked. "You found a child born to a Baratheon in the records that had even lighter colour hair than you do" he responded eventually after a pause.
"Yes, and even better than that we know that when Targaryen's married outside their own family their silver-blond tended to lose out to the colour of their spouse when it came to children so Baratheon blood isn't magically dominant over everyone else's when it comes to hair colour" he said. "It can even lose out to a bloodline that hasn't proven to be particularly sturdy."
Tywin frowned. "But Jocelyn was of the female line, unlike Robert" he pointed out after considering it.
"True, but supposedly the archetypal dark hair of the Baratheons is as much, if not more to do with Orys having married Argella Durrandon, daughter of the last Storm King than it is Orys himself so it's itself an example of female inheritance" Octavian noted. "Believe me, I've already been through all the arguments in my head" he continued. "There are probably other examples of children born to Baratheons without dark hair too but we just don't know about them" he suggested. "The only reason why we even know about Rhaenys is because she was royalty and therefore got written into the history books. If not the books of Great House lineages that overwhelming concentrate on men, not their sisters, daughters and mothers."
"How long have you known about this?" Tywin wanted to know.
"Since before the Great Council" Octavian told him. "It pays to do your own research and not just rely on maesters and the same old books they always recommend" he said. "Given the sparsity of marriages between Lannisters and Baratheons, less than a handful since the conquest, there just weren't enough examples to try and prove his case there so Stannis fell back on the argument that Baratheon characteristics always win out in terms of the child's hair colour, regardless of who the other parent is" Octavian continued. "That's why he cited all those dark-of-hair bastard children my father supposedly sired, but Rhaenys and her Targaryen silver hair proves it's not so."
"But if you knew about this weeks ago why didn't you raise it with Stannis? He might have conceded then and there" Tywin suggested quizzically.
"Because if he hadn't conceded I'd have already used up one of my best counter-arguments and not had it in my back pocket before the Great Council when it would have been most useful" Octavian explained "And more importantly than that I wanted to beat him in front of all the Great and Lesser Houses not in some private meeting behind closed doors."
Tywin nodded his understanding. "Because you needed to make a name for yourself in front of the whole of Westeros, correct?" he reasoned.
"My father made his mark by defeating the armies of the Mad King" Octavian replied, nodding in confirmation. "Given the absence of a suitably unpopular tyrannical pyromaniac to get rid of myself by force of arms I needed to make my own so by different means" he continued. "I didn't just need to defeat my rival with logic and argument, I needed to be seen doing so."
"Very clever" Tywin praised him. "But why didn't you mention Rhaenys when you were stood before the Great Council?" he queried.
"Calculation based on the fact it was already apparent I was already going to carry the vote by a wide margin" Octavian replied. "By releasing the information after the decision was made those that either abstained or cast their vote for Stannis will be more motivated to make amends, especially as those who did support me will undoubtedly be feeling very pleased with themselves given the confirmation that Stannis's argument is even shakier than I made it sound in front of the Great Council" he explained. "I fully expect to have a number of Lords apologise profusely for supporting Stannis saying that if they had known about Jocelyn Baratheon and her daughter before the vote they wouldn't have."
"It gives them a reason they can use to publically justify throwing their allegiance fully behind you without looking like they're merely switching sides because theirs lost" Tywin realised.
"Give a man a way to back out of a poor situation without having to look like he's being insincere, two-faced or dishonourable and he'll take it" Octavian observed. "I don't want defeated enemies holding a grudge and resenting being on the losing side, I want them on my side looking to make restitution" he said. "I think the rest of the Small Council are about to arrive, we can talk again later if you wish grandfather" he offered as Lord Baelish entered with Varys close on his heels.
"I think I'd enjoy that, Your Grace" Tywin replied, thanking the Seven that his family had finally produced someone he could be proud of.
Eddard Stark was the last to arrive, having been waylaid by what a courier claimed was an urgent matter of state but actually just concerned someone from one of the less important houses in the Reach having got riotously drunk and smashed up a tavern. He had been arrested and jailed overnight by the City Watch and was now complaining about being manhandled by commoners, demanding his release and their punishment. After telling the courtier to have a bucket of water thrown over the man and for him to be informed that if he wanted to be manhandled by an ill-tempered knight or two instead then that could be easily arranged Stark then curtly sent the courtier away so he could attend to the real business of government.
Being Lord Regent and Protector of the Realm gave him all the authority of a king but apparently with less opportunity to shirk the responsibility and duties than Robert had done. It was not a job that Lord Stark would have ever wanted and he eagerly looked forward to the day when he could drop the entire thing into King Joffrey's lap and go back home to Winterfell. As it was, at least in the interim he had Lord Tywin to act as Hand of the King, which was a blessing because the man was competent and had previously held the post for twenty years under King Aerys so at least he knew what he was doing, unlike Eddard Stark to be honest to himself.
"So Lord Baelish, given that your own seat in is the Vale perhaps you can explain why Lady Regent Lysa Arryn seems to have been the instigator of so many of the houses of her fiefdom voting in favour of Stannis Baratheon?" Tywin asked flatly, giving the man a cold glare. "Including your own".
Baelish looked suitably embarrassed. "To be fair Lord Tywin I did not actually vote for Lord Stannis, I abstained because my loyalties and allegiances were split" he replied carefully. "As for why Lady Lysa called upon the nobility of the Vale to support Stannis it seems that she has become convinced that her husband was assassinated agents of House Lannister."
"That's ridiculous" Tywin stated. "Why would we do something like that?" he asked. "Go on man, spit it out" he insisted when Baelish prevaricated in his reply.
"It seems that Lord Jon Arryn and Lord Stannis were jointly investigating the possibility of King Joffrey not being the legitimate heir and it was this that she believes led to Jon Arryn being murdered in an attempt to hide the truth" Baelish reluctantly explained.
Tywin narrowed his eyes. "And the fact that my grandson utterly ripped the whole argument to shreds, demonstrating that not only was it errant nonsense but that we had no need to kill anyone over such a load of unsubstantiated tosh failed to change her view on the matter?" he asked sardonically.
"I'm afraid not" Baelish replied apologetically.
"This is why you can't involve women in government" Tywin growled. "Logic and reason bounces off them like a wooden tipped arrow off plate armour."
"She misses her husband and is just looking for someone to blame for losing him" Baelish. "I'm sure that in time she'll stop thinking with her heart and start thinking with her head."
"Just as long as she doesn't get the idea to march her banners south to depose a king like her husband did" Tywin responded although it seemed only a very remote possibility, highly strung woman or not. "It might be as well for you and your wife to ask Hoster Tully to intercede with his other daughter before this has a chance to escalate, Lord Regent" he advised.
"I agree" Eddard Stark concurred. He had known for some time of Lysa's suspicions regarding Jon Arryn's death and who was responsible but had concluded it was more likely to be someone else with an interest in driving a wedge between the Lannisters and the other houses for nefarious purposes. "What of the Dornish Houses? Do we know as yet why they abstained at the order of Prince Doran?" he asked, wondering if it was merely a coincidence that the Martells, a house notably hostile to the Lannisters, were also up to something. Maybe it was true that the further south you were from the more devious you got, as many northerners had long maintained?
"Sorry I'm none the wiser, but judging from his pleased expression Lord Varys does" Baelish responded.
"I'm appalled that I've become so readable, I must work at my inscrutability" Varys quipped. "Lord Baelish is correct as it happens, my little birds in Dorne have done their work admirably" he announced.
"Good, so what are the Martells up to then?" Renly asked, genuinely intrigued to know.
"It seems that the original plan was for the Dornish Houses to vote for Lord Stannis, one of the reasons being because they thought most of the rest of Westeros would vote the other way and saw it as a means to express their precious illusion of a degree of nominal independence without the risk of being invaded as a result" Varys explained. "Much as they persist in retaining the title of Prince, I suppose" he remarked. "However it appears that the communications being sent by raven back to Prince Doran by his brother Oberyn led the Prince to believe that the arguments being presented by Lord Stannis were being made to look so weak by his opponent that they would look foolish to vote in his favour and that abstention was a better choice."
Renly laughed. "Bloody Dornish, it's like they revel in being awkward sods" he observed, Ser Barristan nodding his agreement after many decades of experience with them.
"You said that was one of the reasons" Octavian spoke up.
"Yes" Varys confirmed. "The other reason is that Prince Doran and his family still hold House Lannister responsible for the rape and murder of his sister Elia and also the murder of her children and saw a vote for King Joffrey as an indirect vote for you, Lord Tywin" he addressed the Lord of Casterly Rock.
Tywin remained expressionless. "Ah" he eventually responded. "To be fair I can see why he might still be holding onto a grudge" he conceded. "He knows that if the Martells don't swear an oath of allegiance to His Grace at his coronation that will be regarded as an act of insurrection I assume?"
"He does, and do not concern yourselves, Doran Martell is not looking for a war according to my sources. I think we can expect the Dornish houses to pledge their allegiance like the others, although they might still feign reluctance if only for the sake of appearance" Varys told them. "It seems he just wanted to make a point."
"Just as long as he doesn't make a habit of it or he might end up on the point of a sword" Renly commented darkly. "Bloody Dornish" he muttered.
Varys smiled, but not at what Renly had said but rather because it seemed they had all accepted his explanation for the Dornish abstention so readily. The secret to successful misdirection was of course plausibility.
Notes:
Note from the Author:
In case you're wondering, no I did not invent Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, daughter of Jocelyn Baratheon and mother to Laenor Velaryon (who tried to claim the Iron Throne at the Great Council of 101) and canonically she really did have silver Targaryen hair despite her Baratheon blood. With less than a handful of Baratheon/Lannister matches in the records (in canon only two in the century and a half before Robert wed Cersei, and not enough time before that, or enough Baratheons for that matter, for there to be many more since the House was founded) the case that Joffrey and his siblings can't be Roberts needs to be supported by the argument that all children born to Baratheon's have dark hair regardless of the other parent. Princess Rhaenys Targaryen demonstrates that isn't so.
Petyr Baelish is still playing his games, using Lysa Arryn in the Vale as one of his pieces, and Varys is also playing his own games too.