(Tywin Lannister POV)
As Aerys Targaryen's behaviour grew more and more erratic the ruling of the Seven Kingdoms fell to me. I have served Aerys for nearly 20 years and as a result, the realm has prospered. The royal coffers were full and the land was at peace. But Aerys grew increasingly hostile jealous of the success many credited to me, my power and influence unnerved him.
A captain of my personal guard, Ser Ilyn Payne was overheard making offhand comments regarding who was the true ruler of Westeros. When the King was given this information, he had Ilyn Payne's tongue ripped out with hot pincers. It was my desire to unite the houses of Lannister and Targaryen through marriage. Cersei would marry Prince Rhaegar. Such a union made perfect sense and it still does for all parties. However, Aerys' senses had begun to leave him quite sometime earlier. Instead of uniting the royal family with mine, its most loyal and powerful ally, Aerys rather decided to insult my family.
'You are my most able servant, Tywin, but a man does not marry his heir to his servant's daughter.'
Those were the words he used when he told me that his son would never marry Cersei. He called me a servant when it was I who ruled the Kingdom in his stead and made it prosper.
Instead, Aerys chose Elia Martell of Dorne to be Prince Rhaegar's wife. But the insults didn't stop there. Aerys chose to rub salt in my wounds and appointed Jaime to the Kingsguard. The Kingsguard may be an honour for lesser families than ours. But it is a lifetime appointment that forces him to renounce all family holdings. This creates a difficulty in naming my heir to Casterly Rock. But Aerys knows all of this.
I have grown tired of the King's constant provocation, which is why I resigned my post as Aerys' Hand and returned to Casterly Rock with my considerable forces. That's where I find myself at the moment overlooking the situation of the realm.
"It is almost comical how fast things turned to the worse after you left, Tywin.", my brother Kevan says as we go over the news of the realm.
"Indeed. It would appear that Aerys couldn't wait to f*ck things up as soon as we left King's Landing."
"Aerys will do what he can to please his fetish and see all of his 'enemies' lying before him on the ground. Killing both Rickard and Brandon Stark was foolish, but killing them the way he did, was even more so.", I reply.
"Indeed. Buring Lord Rickard in his own armour, while his son chokes himself to death, is a cruel ending for both of them. And then he has the gall to demand the heads of both Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark. This reaction was bound to happen.", Kevan says.
"Not necessarily. The King simply assumed that everyone was as afraid of House Targaryen as they were when Dragons still existed. But he underestimated the 'honour' of Jon Arryn and this is the consequence.", Tygett says.
"The question is whether they will find enough supporters to win this rebellion.", I say.
"What role will we play in this brother?"
"A neutral one."
"...What do you mean? You won't fight for any side?"
"We can't, Tygett. Aerys has Jaime. This way the King made sure that we wouldn't attack him. Not a bad plan on his part.", Kevan says.
Indeed, Jaime. He made him a Kingsguard a year ago. While he used to protect the Queen and her son, now he has been called back to Kings Landing by Aerys. He is certain that I won't attack him this way and as much as I hate to admit it, he was not wrong.
"He thinks himself very clever, keeping Jaime close. There is nothing to gain by joining this war. We will wait and see how strong the flame burns within the rebellion.", I say and end this conversation.
"What about the upcoming sensation from the Vale? What was his name again ... Pyotr or something?"
"You mean Petyr. Petyr Baelish. A very small noble house on the smallest of the fingers of the Vale. Yes, he has risen to fame very quickly, that is indeed suspicious. The way he apparently failed in a duel against Brandon Stark and now, has one of the, if not the largest ship, he uses as a merchant vessel.", Kevan fills in the blanks.
I have also heard of that boy. 15 name days old and has risen his practically nonexistent house to greatness, in a matter of moons. I have no spies on that finger since it was never necessary. But now, I will have to change that. The tales and descriptions of the ships Lord Baelish uses were thought to be greatly exaggerated. But the same thing was said over and over and can't be a coincidence now.
If the rumours were to be believed, then the question is how he acquired them. Were they of his own design? No, that is impossible since he was in Riverrun before that. There is the chance of the ship being built while he was in Riverrun, but then someone would have noticed and reported it long ago. So where did it come from?
If we ignore the strange happenings of how the smallest of noble houses managed to acquire one of the largest vessels, then there is still the fact, that he must possess an impeccable talent for business. He has already established contacts in the Free City of Braavos if the reports are to be believed and has made contact with House Manderly. My spies in the North speak of a great relief before the news of Lord Rickard and Brandon's demise at the hand of the king.
The boy has some talent and this war might show how much he truly has. If he manages to survive and maybe even prosper, then he will be a big name to look out for in the future of the Game of Thrones. He will surely rise much higher if his seat survives the tumultuous waters of the coming rebellion.
.
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(Ned Stark POV)
We have been riding for a fortnight now, in order to cross the Mountains of the Moon and reach the Fingers. Unlike what we had planned, we rode towards Heart's Home where we have finally reached. We are now looking for a boat large enough to get me to the North. To think that this would one day be this hard. The North is not even that far away, but now it feels like years away.
We are only three men riding towards the North. Any more would look suspicious and we would be recognised. Something I don't want at all costs. I wanted to go alone at first, but Jon insisted on taking two men with me for my protection. The news of Father's and Brandon's death has hit me ... hard. Very hard. And then Lyanna ... how could he kidnap my sister? I am filled with so much anger, but the anger is slowly leaving me and making space for another emotion ... sadness.
I feel only bitterness right now, thinking about what happened and how many people I lost in a matter of weeks. However, I have no time for sorrow. It is a time for fighting and for vengeance. King Aerys Targaryen has gone too far and to illustrate this, my Father and brother had to die. I need to get to the north as fast as possible, but it looks like finding a proper vessel will prove hard if not impossible.
"I found one, my Lord. There is a fisherman who is willing to sail us towards the Fingers. I'm not sure what he has planned then, but right now, we don't have much choice."
"Aye, we will take what we can at this point. Very well, let us go then and pay him well so that he doesn't tell a soul what he saw.", I say and follow him towards the fisherman.
.
"What do you say?", I ask him.
"I say I can't bring you further than the furthest Finger. Any more and that would be too much for my vessel. If you want, I can get you to Baelish's Keep. They have enough boats to get you anywhere you want. But ask them you have to do that yourself.", he tells me.
"Baelish's Keep? What is that?", I ask him. I have never heard of that House.
"It is a very small noble House at the tip of the smallest Fingers. But in the last moon, things have changed drastically. They have entered the merchant business and their vessels are the largest I have ever seen."
"How do you know this?", I ask him.
"I'm a fisherman. I know my way 'round fishin'. The amounts of fish they pull on land and then sell to such prices, makes me want to commit a crime, I tell you.", he says.
"Is he loyal to House Arryn?", I ask him.
"How should I know that? So do you want to go or nah?"
"Aye, I wish to go there.", I tell him.
We have decided that I should be the only one to continue forward. The boat is simply not large enough for all of us. I truly hope that this dangerous gamble pays off. Time is of the essence now that Robert has declared war on King Aerys. I just hope they will successfully take Gulltown.
The journey away from Heart's Home is a calm and enjoyable one, that is what I would say if I wasn't in a hurry. But there is no hurrying a man of the sea. He knows the tides better than anyone and has been in the most dangerous of situations. So I don't scare him. At least we manage to make it towards Baelish Keep at the end of the second day.
To say that I am impressed is an understatement. I had never heard of this House before two days ago and now I see a giant castle being built and one of the biggest ports in all of Westeros in front of me. The ships are monstrosities and are not docked at shore. The smaller ones, if you can call them that, however, are and they are also impressive. To think that something like this was created by man ... incredible.
"We're here. From this point on, you will have to continue on yer own.", the fisherman, whose name I still don't know, says and leaves me standing at the docks. I look at the busy port around me and don't even realise that a few men have approached me. I turn around when I hear a cough and see an elderly man with white hair, dressed in very valuable and good armour. I assume him to be a lord of some kind.
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"Who are you?", he asks me directly.
"My name is Eddard Stark, future Lord of House Stark and Lord Paramount of the North. Whom am I speaking to?", I nod at the man with his men.
"Lord Eddard, I see. My name is Dalran Ryser, I am the general of House Baelish and Lord Petyr's right hand. If you would be so kind as to follow me, I shall lead you to my Lord.", Dalran says.
"Well met, Dalran. Please lead the way."
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Dalran is leading the way, with the two guards walking behind us. I can't help but look back at the two heavily armed guards who despite wearing it, don't make that much of a sound. It is impressive to think that they managed to do that. And their demeanour, despite not seeing their faces through the helmets, is one of devotion and concentration. None of my movements go unnoticed. They are ready for anything.
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"Are you interested in our guards, Lord Stark?", Dalran asks.
"Aye, I am wondering how they manage to move rather silently while wearing their armour.", I tell him.
"Ah, well that armour was created by Lord Petyr himself. It is natural that the quality is the best one available. That is what House Baelish will be famous for in the future.", Dalran says.
"Very impressive."
Finally, after walking through the port, we walk up a path and then reach a rather large tent. Dalran stands at the entrance and motions for me to wait while he enters. I hear some words being spoken but don't understand what is being said. Then Dalran exits the tent and motions for me to enter.
"He is waiting for you, Lord Stark."
"Thank you."
I enter the tent and notice the many plans and blocks of some kind lying around. My gaze travels around the tent until it lands on the man standing at the back, observing me. What I see impresses me and confuses me even more. The young man, a boy if his age is to be believed stands there with loose-fitting clothes, that accentuate his strong but lithe physique. His eyes tell me that he is very poise and collected. The situation is under his control and he has no fear whatsoever.
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"Lord Stark, welcome."