11th Month of 283 A.C. King's Landing
Lord Jon Arryn
The small council chamber was oppressively hot, despite it being winter, and all else being completely cold. It was the atmosphere, the tension in the room, the declaration that Rickard Stark had made had shocked them all and now they were trying to piece it all back together. Simon Staunton the former master of laws had resigned his post and fled back to Rook's Rest, as he was Stark's man, Jon could not say he blamed him. The council had met in an emergency meeting, Jon as hand was there, master of coin Ser Kevan Lannister was present, as were Grand Maester Pycelle, master of whispers Lord Varys, the new master of laws Lord Eldon Estermont, and Lord Commander of the Kingsguard Ser Barristan Selmy. Even Robert had attended the meeting.
"This is completely unacceptable." Robert boomed. "The man has gone and stabbed us in the back, and now he is rallying men to his side. By the gods, I want his head on a spike and his chest caved in. Just like gods damned Rhaegar Targaryen."
"And you would be well within your rights to have such a thing done Your Grace." Eldon Estermont said. "The man swore to recognise you as his king, and then the minute his daughter died, turned against you, he will not win any support from those lords who know where their true loyalties lie."
The king fumed. "Indeed, it seems to me that the man was only in this alliance because he wanted his daughter as queen. He is no better than half those bastards I had killed when they began talking badly about Lyanna. Gods, this whole thing because Rhaegar Targaryen became delusional and thought he could take what was not his but was mine. I wish I could kill him, again and again until he broke and Lyanna came back to me. But now that her father has gone and done this perhaps it should be him who I kill."
Ser Kevan Lannister voiced his agreement. "That is what any respectable king would do Your Grace. When a vassal such as Stark goes against his vows, the only course of action is harsh retribution otherwise you shall look weak before others. And with Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen still on Dragonstone there are others who might raise a challenge."
"Aye," Robert said his anger growing with every passing minute. "The man has dared to question my hold on the throne, when he himself aided me in getting the damned thing. I will see to it that he learns why my house's words are Ours is the Fury. The man shall know no peace until his bones rot in the ground."
"The armies of the Stormlands and the Westerlands will be behind you all the way Your Grace." Ser Kevan said confidently. "After all none wish to see another dragon on the throne. Not after the mad king."
Robert roars his approval at this. "This shall be the ending of the Targaryen threat once and for all. We shall see them burn and die. And then when this is done we shall take the north and destroy it."
At this Jon felt he had to speak. "Your Grace, this is madness. All of this, no one wants more war, the realm has barely recovered from the last one. Continuing this all would be tantamount to suicide."
Robert looks at him then and there is such hatred in the man's eyes that Jon, honestly worries his ward has gone too far. "Suicide? You think fighting to safe this throne, this thing that you said I should claim, is akin to suicide? No, I will not agree with that. It is something that must be protected at all costs. We all know how bad the Targaryens were. Mad and inbred, we do not want them back."
Jon looks at the men around the council table all of whom are nodding along with Robert and then he says. "So you would fight another war? Another bloody war, to fight for the crown, and potentially risk seeing Ned die? You would do that to your own foster brother?"
Pycelle speaks then. "Eddard Stark swore his own oath to the Targaryen boy, Lord Varys has said as much. He has forfeited any right to the king's mercy."
Jon looks at Robert and asks. "Have you really forgotten all Ned did for you Your Grace? Is this truly worth ending that friendship?"
Robert does not look at him, cannot seem to look at him, but he eventually stands and says. "If Eddard Stark chooses to remain with the rebels, then he shall die just as the rest of them will." With that he leaves the small council room, with Ser Barristan trailing after him.
The other council members begin discussing various other matters of import, such as sending the royal fleet to Dragonstone to bring the remaining Targaryens to King's Landing and dealing with them, as well as discussing the state of the realm now and possible allies for the war to come. Jon though finds he cannot pay too much attention to them, and so he stands and excuses himself and leaves the council chamber, walking through the halls of the Red Keep until he comes to the King's chambers. Ser Barristan and Ser Jaime Lannister are both present guarding the door. "I wish to see the king." Jon says in a tone that brooks no argument.
Ser Barristan hesitates, but when they all hear Robert's voice say. "Let him in." they move aside and let him in. Robert is stood staring out of the window into the wider city, a glass of wine in his hand when he turns around. "Have you come to convince me to not wage war?"
Jon sighs and says. "Yes Your Grace. Waging war is by far too expensive to expect to go well for us. People fought to put you on the throne the first time because Aerys and Rhaegar were mad. This time, the claimant is a child, and many will feel less certain about the morality of what they are doing."
"Morality, pah. There is no such thing. There is only truth and lies. And Rickard Stark lied to me. He must pay the price." Robert says.
"Not so, you are not so gone to think yourself another Tywin Lannister Your Grace. The man is one thing, but becoming like him would alienate too many people. And besides, he will not turn away from your cause, not now, not with Cersei Lannister your wife." Jon responds.
The king grumbles at that. "It was you who suggested I wed the wench. I was perfectly happy to wait for Lyanna, and now she is dead and there will be war. I will not stand to have a spawn of Rhaegar and his raping of my beautiful Lyanna sit the throne. I will not have it. Rickard Stark has sealed his own fate with this action."
Jon runs a hand through his thinning hair, asks. "How do you plan on winning? We know from Varys that Stark has got some 80,000 Reachmen with him, as well as 11,000 Dornishmen and some 12,000 northmen. We have the armies of the Stormlands and the Westerlands. The lords of the crownlands have no solid strength. And whilst the lords of the Vale will answer the call, they will not be happy. No war is not the answer."
"It is the only thing that will keep this crown safe on my head. I remember one thing from my lessons at the Eyrie, it was that had Daemon Blackfyre won the crown he would have had to keep fighting to defend it. As the Targaryens did. Better to remove the threat now then to suffer later on. I will keep fighting, I will avenge Lyanna and remove her father. And I shall free Ned." The king responds.
"And how do you know Ned did not side with his father? After all, the man loves his family, and has lost a lot during this rebellion." Jon asks.
The king looks at him as if he has just been struck. "No!" he booms. "I refuse to accept that Ned would willingly betray me. He is my brother in all but name, his honour would demand that he side with me. His father must have held him captive and forced him to swear to the dragonspawn."
Jon sighs. "That is one reason why he would have sided with his father Your Grace. Ned is someone who values the code of honour highly, and killing innocent children is not something he could abide by."
Robert roars back. "No. Honour demands he stand by me, as he swore he would. If he has betrayed me he will die, but I refuse to believe that. In fact I would name him Lord of Winterfell right now."
"I do not think this will work Your Grace, the odds are stacked against us. A Council must be called." Jon says.
"Why would it not?" Robert questioned. "The Florents and their allies have raised 20,000 men and are causing bother for Tyrell and Stark. It is time we pushed the advantage."
"And I say there will be nothing short of defeat with war. You cannot win all the time Robert. Call a council and show the realm just how benevolent you are." Jon pleads.
"Benevolent?" Robert sneers. "You would have me look weak before the lords of the realm. That is what calling a council will make me look like. A weak king afraid of his chances in war."
"It will make you look like a true and just king, who though he knows he is right, and is the true king, is not afraid to stand for what he believes in. Allow the lords of the realm a chance to speak, and they will not fail you I promise you. And once you have all of their backing, they will not stand against you when you deal with the Targaryens." Jon says.
The king considers this, and Jon knows the thought of having to fight Ned is causing him to weigh it up, he hopes dearly that the man might well answer yes. There is a long silence, as the king thinks and weighs it all up, and when he eventually speaks his anger is still there but his tone is somewhat resigned. "Very well, call the council. Go and speak to Stark and the other traitors. But if they refuse, kill them all. Ser Jaime and Ser Meryn shall go with you."
Jon nods and bows before the king before leaving the room. He ponders how it all came to this, and if perhaps siding with Tywin Lannister was truly the wisest decision. Shaking off the thoughts, over the next day and a half he begins making the plans and preparations to ride off to Bitterbridge where the Starks and their allies are camped. He briefs the two Kingsguard coming with him, as well as the men from the Vale he will be taking. They all know their duty, acting as an armed escort preparing for any likelihood, he has some fifty men with him finally. And when he tells his wife Lysa, that she shall be travelling back to the Vale by land, she seems happy enough, even if it does come across somewhat sad. He says goodbye to her and their son Jasper with a heavy heart. They leave some three days before he does, and when he sets out he nods to the king, they both know what is at stake here, should he fail war will come.
The journey to Bitterbridge is weighed down with such thoughts, all of this is turning in his mind. Things he could have and perhaps should have done differently, all of this echoes in his mind and he wonders, and wonders. But wondering never does anyone any good as his own father was so prone to saying. By the gods he is tired, but he wants to know where things will be going from here, and it is this uncertainty that drives him on towards Bitterbridge. It takes them perhaps a week to reach the place where once Maegor Targaryen painted the Faith red with blood. As they arrive the see the banners of many score houses gathered, the direwolf of Stark, the roaring giant of Umber, the horse of Ryswell, the Flayed man of Bolton, the rose of Tyrell, the Huntsman of Tarly, the Tower of Hightower and most surprisingly the Sun and Spear of Martell, the sword and star of Dayne and many other sigils. Jon calls his party to a stop and they make camp outside the town, and settle in for the night.
The next morning Jon and his guards ride to the gates of Bitterbridge and are allowed in. they are escorted into the main hall of Bitterbridge where they are greeted by Lord Rickard Stark, Lord Mace Tyrell, Prince Oberyn Martell and Ned. Ned's inclusion is somewhat of a surprise no doubt meant to throw him off the scent. That the baby king is present as well, sat in the arms of his wet nurse whilst the Kingsguard are there is a sure sign of strength by Stark, clever very clever. Stark speaks first. "Lord Arryn, how nice of you to join us. Have you seen sense and realised that the king we fought to put on the throne is not the man he was then? Have you come to beg forgiveness and to bend the knee to the true king?"
"The true king sits on the Iron Throne in King's Landing my lord. The child in front of me, is nothing but that. A child whom you have crowned to fulfil your own ambition and a pity you it. No I have come with an offer from the king." Jon said.
"An offer, from a man who wishes to see children killed and who dishonoured my daughter and her memory. Why would I wish to listen to such an offer?" Rickard Stark asks.
"Because it is the only offer that prevents war from happening and ensuring that your grandson might still yet live. And I know you Lord Rickard you are not a man to go about for pointless bloodshed." Jon says.
"My lord, I would not listen to this man with his honeyed words. When he has the Kingslayer in his service. A true oath breaker that." Ser Gerold Hightower says.
Jon sees Lannister stiffen but he says nothing, and instead Jon speaks. "Ser Jaime has nothing to do with these negotiations Ser Gerold. And I would have you be quiet in such things. This is between myself and Lord Rickard and his allies, not you. Now Lord Rickard are you willing to speak of a council or not?"
Lord Rickard looks at him then and makes as if to speak but then Prince Oberyn speaks his tone harsh. "Why should we agree to this council Lord Arryn? We have more men than your false king who came to the throne over the bodies of innocents. If it comes to it we shall fight and win."
Jon had expected this line of argument and counters. "And if you fight, the king you have chosen will ascend the throne over more innocent bodies than Robert Baratheon has. Either you fight and face that, or you accept the Great Council and a chance to gain legitimacy."
Mace Tyrell snorts then and says. "Legitimacy, oh now that is good. There is only one way to gain true legitimacy, and that is through having a claim on the throne. King Jonothor has more of a claim on the throne as Prince Rhaegar's son than Robert Baratheon will ever have. He will sit the throne."
Jon is about to give up when Rickard speaks. "Say I was to agree to go to this council where would it be held?"
"King's Landing my lord. That is the seat of power for the ruling dynasty and it would make sense to sort this issue out once and for all." Jon responds.
Lord Stark nods and says. "That does make sense, though if we are to attend I have terms that will need to be agreed and met. You are the king's hand are you not?" Jon nods. "Then you can speak for the king without us needing to worry about time delays and such."
"And what terms would you have us discuss my lord?" Jon asks, wary.
"Firstly, that if we are to hold this council it be held in the throne room of King's Landing, all lords of import be allowed to attend as deeming the importance of the event. Secondly, both claimants be present in the throne room during the deliberations with their Kingsguard. Thirdly no weapons shall be allowed into the throne room during deliberations apart from the swords of the Kingsguard." Rickard Stark says.
Jon considers this for a moment and then responds. "All reasonable demands my lord. I would add one last thing, that all and any armies gathered by the lords of the realm who attend this meeting do not bring their armies inside the city of King's Landing they might well camp around the city but they cannot come into the city."
Lord Rickard nods his approval. "That does seem appropriate. There is one more thing I wished to cement. If you are agreeable, I would limit the number of lords who can actually attend. It is all well and good having the Great Lords present as well as their most important bannermen attend, but having the bannermen of bannermen attend is something that would be most strenuous and unnecessary."
"What would you suggest then my lord?" Jon asks.
Stark gives one of his rare smiles and says. "The Great houses will attend the council, their most important bannermen will attend, no lords who are bannermen of these most important bannermen to the great lords can attend. And furthermore no knightly houses may attend unless they are considered important bannermen, by that I mean houses such as Templeton and Cox. All other knightly houses cannot attend."
A most unusual request, but Jon thinks this through and sees the wisdom in this, soon enough they will have a clear winner, he believes, and as such he agrees. "Very well then. I accept on behalf of King Robert." They both shake hands then and later on iron some other details of the council, and preparations are made for them all to return to King's Landing, for the first great council in fifty years. The pendulum of destiny has been cast.