Chapter Fifty-Four: Measurements and Progress.

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~~~Third person, tenth moon, 276 AC~~~

~~~Academy of Amanda, Xandar~~~

"Braavos has no part in this attack; whatever action the House of Black and White has taken is driven by their internal purposes." Ferrego Antaryon explained quickly, wanting to end any hint of Braavos' involvement in the attack on Azrael. 

"The House of Black and White acts independently; neither I, as The Sealord, nor Braavos has enough power in the House of Black and White to use it in this way, and knowing its might, neither do we have enough money to pay its high fee." 

"I understand, Sealord. I hope you understand that Xandar cannot let this event go unpunished. Do you?" Azrael told him, not even raising his face, that he was too 'busy' reading reports of the attack to look at Ferrego. 

"I beg your pardon." Said Ferrego, who, even with his overweight and friendly bearing, did not fail to convey an atmosphere of seriousness and mettle, "Know that Braavos will not tolerate threats to its sovereignty, let alone attacks on its city by a foreign kingdom; what you say is an incitement to war." 

Azrael raised his face this time, his amber eyes glowing menacingly. "I did not threaten Braavos. If you say it is true, Braavos has nothing to do with the attack. However, the House of Black and White does, so they decided to tickle a sleeping dragon." 

Ferrego gritted his teeth, knowing that if the situation became more complicated, he could immediately lose his position as Sealord upon stepping foot in Braavos. 

"Even so, know that Xandar's 'intervention' in Braavos will not affect you; moreover. I promise that Xandar will be one of the most qualified destinations to provide Braavos with whatever it needs, namely, trade and protective ties with the southern and central parts of Essos. At the same time, Xandar offers to give twenty million in gold coins for the inconvenience that the House of Black and White destruction may bring to Braavos." 

Ferrego was silent for several seconds, unable to process all that Azrael had said since in front of him was the perfect opportunity Braavos was waiting for, but still, the price of such a thing in return was a great deal. 

That nonsense of the words of the most influential people in Braavos saying that Braavos was not connected to the House of Black and White was stupid; how could they not be after years of sojourning when the House of Black and White was built? Many had used their contacts within the city to use the gifts of the Faceless Men.

Even Ferrego was one of them, so he knew the political mess that the destruction of such a power in Braavos would represent. Besides, who was to assure him that the struggle between these two factions would not bring Braavos into civil strife? 

Ferrego took the plausible path: "I will have to speak with my advisors first before making any decisions; however, know that I, The Sealord of Braavos, support your cause." 

"Fair enough, think about it; we don't want Braavos to be plunged into a fight that doesn't belong to it." With those last words from Azrael, Ferrego left the room and began socializing with his advisors while Azrael was also taking action. 

"Valka," he began, catching her attention, "have the Omega and Alpha groups ready to leave at a moment's notice; have an entourage of five hundred from each group prepared." 

Valka nodded, ready to relay the orders quickly, only to be stopped by Azrael. "I want the next move against the House of Black and White to be silent until the blow is felt in Braavos. I do not wish to create novices about the attack; also, prepare two dozen Enderman and tell them that soon their skills will be needed if the Sealord does not accept the deal." 

After several minutes, it was learned that Azrael's preparations in case The Sealord did not accept the deal were unwarranted, as Ferrego returned to the room moments later and agreed, commenting that he would leave that very day for Braavos to prepare the city in case of possible innocent bloodshed. 

He only hoped he was not mistaken in his judgment. 

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~~~Varys, Eleventh Moon, 276 AC~~~

~~~King's Landing~~~

It had not been more than three days since I arrived at King's Landing, and the sight that greeted me was filled with disappointment and melancholy. The people were suffering; thousands of little ones were in the streets begging for food. The hand and the small council remained in their bubble, where the troubles of the little people of King's Landing did not affect them, no matter how much the town stank unpleasantly, for even that did not make a dent in wanting to interfere. 

The king was slowly being driven by paranoia and false enemies, unable to think rationally. At this point, he was pretty sure that his hand, Lord Tywin Lannister, was the one who ran the kingdom, at least the one who had kept the peace in the realm. 

"Knock, Knock." 

"Lord Varys, the king wishes to meet with you." I heard a voice outside the door to my room, a smaller, less luxurious, and less cozy one than the one I had been occupying in Xandar. Hahaha, I had grown to like it there. 

Opening the door after feeling presentable, I was greeted by the sight of a boy, blond-haired and green-eyed, of good bearing and exceptional beauty. He wore a garment of delicate lace, accompanied by a quilted doublet, and could easily resemble how princes were presented in legends.

"My father, Lord Tywin, asked me to escort you to the Small Council chamber, Lord Varys."

"Jaime Lannister," I greeted him in a tone that showed no emotion.

Jaime nodded. From what I could tell, he was a boy, albeit a neat one, though being raised by Tywin Lannister would do that. Jaime soon took the initiative and started walking towards the small council chamber, where the king's council was supposed to be waiting for me.

Jaime seemed to want to tell me something; judging by how he looked sideways at me and moved his lips, he was reluctant to start a conversation. So determined to start a game, I said, "If you have something to say, now is the time, Lord Jaime."

Lord Jaime turned to look at me, and after perhaps adjusting his words, he spoke fluently, "There are rumors that you lived in Xandar," he began to say, looking a little lost, "Is it such as the stories say?"

That surprised me, for I was already beginning to devise answers to the rumors about my lack of a limb but not about my time on Xandar. "Yes, I lived on Xandar for a long time, and if your second question is also true, Xandar is paradise on Earth."

Jaime laughed condescendingly as he listened to my short but detailed description of Xandar, and that was the truth: Xandar was what ancient Valyria and the Golden Empire of Yi Ti never managed to go, and sure, Xandar itself still had a long way to go to be what fate had in store for it, but so far, it was the most pleasant, comfortable and comforting place to live, and that was something that filled me with pride, knowing that I was a part of that.

"Many say the mines of Xandar are twice the size of King's Landing; I refuse to believe it," Jaime said again moments later, something already making me impatient.

"To answer that question, you must visit Xandar, Lord Jaime. You will be surprised to learn that its mines are twice as large as Casterly Rock.

Jaime was about to object but restrained himself when he saw we had already reached our destination. He was forced to open the door, letting me pass behind him. "Your Grace, your guest, Lord Varys of Pentos," Jaime introduced me, glancing around the small council chamber. Or so it seemed. A table graced the center of the room, with eight chairs, seven occupied by the small council members and the king.

Speaking of the king, he was seated at the head of the table, with his long hair in disarray, an unkempt beard, and a slightly unfocused and erratic gaze, as if he were fearful and thus very aware of his surroundings. 

The signs of anxiety and paranoia were very accurate. "Ohh, Varys," commented King Aerys II, rising from his chair and approaching me with a smirk, revealing his yellowed and rotten teeth. 

"How nice of you to accept that, even here in King's Landing, your gifts with the art of information are known," Aerys said excitedly as if he were receiving a new toy. 

"It fills me with 'excitement' to know that, Your Majesty, especially knowing that you, the king of the second most powerful kingdom, know me." 

That simple sentence was enough for his smile to disappear, replaced by a frown and a grimace on his face. "Second kingdom, you say?" he asked, growing redder and redder, watching out of the corner of his eye as the other members of the small council frowned and looked at each other, perhaps seeing again an outburst from their mad king. 

For my part, I didn't panic or pay attention to his outburst, answering his question, "Yes, Your Majesty, I have visited Xandar, and there is no doubt that it is the most powerful kingdom in the world."

That managed to calm him down a bit, and at the same time, it caught the attention of the rest of the small council, who began to pay more attention to my unorthodox conversation with the king. "Tywin, you know better; is it true what Lord Varys says?"

The king spoke to a tall, burly man sitting to the right of the chair where the king had been sitting when I entered—the king's hand, with a cold, implacable countenance—who, despite showing signs of age, at no time appeared weak. 

"There are rumors, Your Majesty, that Xandar possesses immense wealth and immeasurable trade control in Essos, along with an army of Dothraki, Unsullied and... magic-using beings." The king's hand quickly answered him, giving me the reason—or at least part of it. 

"Not only that, Lord Tywin, but there are dragons in Xandar." 

Success: If I had the king's vague interest before, now I had his attention and curiosity in my hands, judging by his maniacal and desire-filled gaze. "Dragons? Tell me more; I want to know everything about Xandar," the king commented, leading me to the table and offering me the empty chair to his left while the small council members watched the event with stoic faces and frowns. 

He had hit the nail on the head, and soon enough, I would have Xandar controlling Westeros if it was the last thing I did.