Birth of a King

(3rd Person POV)

"Welcome soul to the 'In-between'.", a deep voice spoke to Robert as he floated through the darkness. 

"Who's there? Where am I and what is going on? I thought I died.", Robert said in quick succession. 

"Indeed, you died. Now you are here in the place between all places to decide what will happen now."

"Ok, and what does that mean?"

"It means you are given a choice. Normally this talk would go faster since most who come here know about fanfictions and the whole reincarnation trope."

"Yeah, didn't like those. I did read manga though, if that helps and comics too."

"Well, a bit then. Isekai is pretty much what will happen to you if you want to."

"For real? Wait! Will I get something to help me, or will it be a terrible experience?"

"You will get to make one wish."

"Oh, that's sick. OK, where am I going? Do I know it?", Robert asked excitedly.

"...no. It is a world called 'A Song of Ice and Fire' or Game of Thrones."

"Aaaaahh shiiiiit. Why though? I never saw more than a few shorts on youtube. I stopped after the prince, what was his name, the one with the spear.."

"Oberyn Martell."

"That's the one. I stopped watching the shorts when I saw his fight with that mountain. When I saw that, I stopped and wasn't sad about it."

"Too bad for you then, 'cause that's where you're going."

"For real? Is there no other option?"

"There is Boku no-"

"NO! Oh magnanimous sir, please forgive me for my slight and the terrible words I have spoken to your graciousness. I will take anything that you will give me."

"Haha, that was fast. Alright then, what do you wish for?"

"Well ... could you at least tell me what the world is about again? I think something about politics in a medieval setting, right?"

"To put it simply, yes. It is filled with intrigue and deception. Everyone wants a piece of the power pie and you, specifically will be one of the top contenders for the throne. You will be reincarnated as Robert Baratheon."

"That fat guy whoremonger?"

"Indeed."

"Oh bother. What would you suggest then?"

"I would suggest you wish for something that will help you on your journey to the top. You will live in a shark tank constantly, should you choose to become King. But, spoiler alert: you won't have much choice in the matter."

"Hmm ... well then how about something that will help me become a good King? I should have the necessary power, both physically and mentally. Something which will allow for me to grow, you know what I mean?", Robert asked. 

"I know what you mean and I have the perfect thing for you."

"Truly? What is it?"

"It's called a Meta Essence. You would know about it if you had read any fan fiction. Basically, it is a small vial which allows you to gain a set of boons. The one I am thinking about it quite fitting, it's called the Essence of the King."

"The Essence of the King? Sounds fitting indeed. What does it do?"

"Let me display it for you."

|Essence of the King

- A body just above the peak of your species in ability, one sculpted to your tastes.

- Infinite willpower to tackle any foe, even bloody and broken you will not stop.

- Endless endurance, stamina, and immunity to pain.

- A signature bloodline with several benefits up to your discretion. Can pass on to your descendants.

- Perfect memory with infinite storage.

- Mastery of many weapons and unarmed styles, even just plain old brawling.

- Immense skill in conducting war on a strategic and tactical level.

- Good handle on logistics and how to raise and train a force from a small band of soldiers to entire armies.

- A mastery of economics, logistics, politics, and other things needed to run a functional power.

- Charisma to bend the will of entire nations and the sheer presence of a monarch that others would describe as divine.|

.

"So what do you say?"

"Well it's not bad truly, but I can see a few problems here."

"Oh? Do tell."

"Well, for one there is no healing here, which would make me as susceptible to poison, assassinations and death on the battlefield as any other person. Then there is the lack of increase in intelligence. But that is more or less dealt with since the 'mastery of economics, logistics, politics' part. 

But any other problem can be solved quite easily with the bloodline part. Can I choose that now?"

"Sure, go ahead and choose."

"Hmm ... well I would like this ... and then this as well ... no no let's make it like this... oh yes, that's good. Yes, and let me do this as well. Good. Finished.", Robert says.

"I see. Yes, that will truly cover all your weaknesses. You truly did read comics eh? Not bad. Alright, then what about the body?"

"Well, I was thinking of something ripped and not that lean, since I know that the king was hailed as a big and strong dude. So how about this?", Robert said.

[Picture]

"You want a mix between those two?"

"Yes. I think that would be good. The bloodline will allow me to keep my agility and speed intact anyway."

"Sure. I'll give you the black hair, full beard and blue eyes, like all the Baratheons."

"Cool. So is that it?", Robert asks. 

"Indeed. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavour to become King ... or not, it's your choice."

"Thanks, man."

.

.

- 262 AC -

- Storm's End - 

The Lord of House Baratheon, Steffon Baratheon and the Lord Paramount of the Stormlands were pacing back and forth in front of the room, where his wife was giving birth. He was nervous, something that the Stormlord wasn't used to. He was a Baratheon and lived in Storm's End, there wasn't much that could make him nervous.

And yet, here he was pacing back and forth as he heard his wife screaming like she was pushing ... never mind. 

This has been going on for hours now and it didn't look very good. But unlike other noble ladies, Cassana was a strong woman, so Steffon had faith she would survive. 

Finally, after a gruelling 10 hours of pushing, the heir of House Baratheon and the Stormlands was born. A healthy and particularly strong boy, Robert Baratheon.

.

The life of Robert was a special one. He was considered a very bright child. Gifted both physically and mentally. His maturity was unquestionable. Poor Robert didn't account for the boredom he would feel and the humiliation of being a baby and then a child. 

Being a baby was fine, as long as you weren't aware of what you had lost. Thankfully, his parents were good to him and loved him greatly. The ROB had given Robert another final gift and made his 'transition' smoother. This allowed him to see his parents as his real parents and started to love them for real. 

When Robert was not yet 2 name days old, his younger brother was born, Stannis Baratheon. Robert was happy about having a younger brother to spend time with and contrary to his own beliefs, he fell in love with his brother immediately. 

The younger brother was rather serious and stubborn all the time. The only one who could get a reaction out of him was his older brother who 'unnerved him', to quote Stannis himself. But if we use Japanese terms, then Stannis was a bit of a 'Tsundere'. At least in all things that concerned his brother, which was attributed to the boundless charisma Robert had.

.

Robert tried to learn as much as he could as a child. He knew that he would need it sooner or later and thanks to his 'Perfect memory with infinite storage', he managed to read all the books in the library at Storm's End very fast. He listened to the talk between his parents and asked questions. 

The charisma of Robert became apparent as soon as he could talk and walk around. He was adored at first and then loved. During his childhood, Robert would ask their master-at-arms at Storm's End to accompany him to see the village. It started out as a simple interest on Robert's part. He was getting restless and wanted to see other things.

But as he walked through the streets of the village, Robert was surprised at the bad living conditions for the common folk. 

.

.

(Steffon Baratheon POV)

Robert was a strange child, boy and then young man. He was always smarter and more mature than his age would have you believe. He was a quiet child but one who would still laugh and smile a lot. His laugh was very contagious. I was always surprised at the amount of charisma my son had, even at an early age. But he had a serious side to him, and that was something that became apparent when he visited the village around Storm's End.

I still remember the day my master-at-arms came back from his little tour of the village with Robert. He told me that he had never seen the young Lord like that. He could tell that it was serious because Robert didn't smile or even speak as they walked through the village. 

Only later on would I understand what had happened. The next day, Robert said he wanted to go to the village again and I of course allowed it. He was mature and with the Ser, nothing would happen to him. 

The headaches I got after that day, will always stay in my mind. What I didn't know when he asked me to go to the village the second day, was that he had taken all the money he had and given it away to the poor ... I don't know what brought that up and I was both proud and annoyed at Robert. It would only create problems later down the line. Because the people would take it as a normal occurrence and then expect money all the time. 

Thankfully, I was both right and wrong with my worries. After talking with Robert that day, he said that he wanted to improve the village economically and visually. He was unhappy with the poverty and neglect he saw and wanted to improve it. 

He surprised me, that's for sure. He was very serious about it and so I allowed him to make a few suggestions and told him if they were any good, I would implement some of them. 

...

What I didn't expect was that he took it very seriously and not only worked the entire night, but his ideas were rather good. He was truly a smart child. And not only that, he asked me to allow him to have 'carte blanche'. That's what he called it. 

I refused of course ... at least initially. He talked me into accepting. Darn his charisma and logical arguments. But I told him that I would get the final say in everything and if I saw no improvement or god forbid a worsening of the situation, I would take over immediately.

*sigh*

Robert was happy about that and went to work right away. No one was allowed to know what he was planning, except for Stannis. Robert told him everything and Stannis was the calm voice that pulled Robert back to reality. Together those two came up with plans, I didn't get to see, since I had promised Robert to do as he pleased. 

And gods did he deliver. 

6 months ... that's all it took for the village of Storm's End to see the first improvements. And that was only the beginning. 

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The MCs character is the one of Rogal Dorn but with tons of charisma