Chapter 60

- Old Town - Secret Location - Sometime Later -

The various Maesters of different rank, position, and skill met in this one barely lit room with concern on their faces. all of them were worried with the recent events coming about with the dragon once more sitting on the Iron Throne. Even worse regarding their plans for the Seven Kingdoms, the Targaryens had three actual dragons, and magic being said to have returned as a result. Their secret attempts planned meticulously over the years, to kill those of dragon's blood, the actual dragons, and destroying dragon eggs if found were at risk of being undone.

"It is as we feared. Magic has returned to the Seven Kingdoms. The three dragons under this Aegon Targaryen is proof of it," said Archmaester Theobold with a deep frown now on his face.

"Something must be done. We have not plotted from generation to generation to bring the dragon down just to have this new King undo everything," said Archmaester Walgrave with a hint of worry in his eyes.

"Unfortunately, it is not so simple my brothers. Five of my most trusted agents have tried to get close to each of the three dragons themselves. All with the purpose of either killing them discreetly or prevent reproduction. All were struck down before they could even get near them. This new Targaryen King seems to know who to trust near his dragons or the dragons themselves know," said Maester Thorpe while the rest of the group of Maesters in the room looked displeased by this news.

"Dragons are beasts. They have no intellect. And to speak as much is heresy against the Order of Maesters," said Maester Nash coldly.

"I'm sure Maester Thorpe didn't mean anything by it brother. Merely an observation from what our spies could report back to him. Dragons are indeed beasts, but even beasts can sense when there is hostile intention aimed in their direction if they are awake. Mindless or not," said Archmaester Theobold while Nash huffed and continued to glare at Thorpe.

"All the same, we need to be extremely cautious. While none of our actions in trying to kill the dragons has been or can be proven, I doubt the numerous attempts made against the dragons have gone unnoticed. Add that Grand Maester Pycelle has also been killed so soon after the Targaryen King sat on the Iron Throne makes me even more nervous," said Maester Martin with concern since the most recent acts against the dragon were clearly signs of someone attacking from the shadows.

"If only Maester Luwin was one of us. We could have possibly found out about the false bastard sooner and killed him as a helpless child," said Archmaester Vaellyn bitterly and wished he had pushed harder for one of their men be appointed in the North.

"Now is not the time to look back into the past brother. Now is the time to look forward and plan the continued fall of the dragon and the magic they wield. Remember, progress for the world must be controlled by us. Not the Kings who rule on the Iron Throne. Not the Lords or Wardens of each territory. And certainly not those who would practice the magical arts. We hold the knowledge of the world and therefore hold all the power. The power to shape and mold the world as it should be and how we see fit. Our Order is the one true power in the Seven Kingdoms. Never forget that," said Archmaester Theobold.

"How do you wish to proceed brother?" asked Maester Zarow curiously.

"I have an idea. How about all of you die painful agonizing deaths," came a voice from the shadows of the room.

With the dim candlelight revealing Aegon Targaryen in his dark robed and masked glory with sword in hand.

"You?! What are you doing here?!" demanded Maester Thorpe both with anger and fear in his voice.

"I could ask the same of you, provided I didn't already know from what I obtained from the journals of your fallen brothers I had killed," replied Aegon while the rats in front of him glared.

"And how many of our brothers have you killed to get to us?" demanded Maester Zarow while wondering how the King got through their own security.

"Practically all of them. Every single Maester in your Order assigned to seeing my House brought low and magic cast away from the world. The only exception being the Maester you assigned to Lord Stannis Dragonstone. He is currently a guest in the Black Cells of King's Landing and will be the last to die. The Maester for House Lannister was killed by Lord Kevan personally after finding your man's journal and reading how the fool tried to kill his brother's wife slowly through poison. Of course, he didn't know she was pregnant during the time he was poisoning her, which resulted in poor Tyrion's dwarfish form. It also didn't stop the fool from making sure she was never treated for the blood loss when bringing my friend into the world. At first, I thought it was to make Tywin the cold man everyone knew him to be in life. But in truth, it was all because Lady Joanna had politely declined his discreet advances on her person. Your rat for a brother couldn't keep it in his robes, much less stand being around such a beautiful woman without having a taste. As for the Maester you assigned to the Vale to look over House Royce was thrown through the Moon Door. The Lords of the Vale felt it was necessary when the truth was revealed about his intent to cause a civil war there to counter my appointment of its new Warden. Your man assigned to House Bolton died in the North when I sacked the Dreadfort, but I already know from the journals left behind from the other rats that he was assigned to bring about dissent. To keep the North weak, fractured, poorly educated in certain areas, and even corresponded with Ramsey Snow on the how to keep someone alive the longest while flaying them. I also know you wanted to make sure they were seen as fur wearing barbarians who do not respect Southern traditions. Speaking of the South, Prince Doran doesn't have to worry anymore about being poisoned or his gout spreading further by the Maester you assigned there," replied Aegon with the rats in robed around him going pale since it was clear to them that he had killed everyone they had put into position to mold the Seven Kingdoms as they envisioned.

"You have ruined everything! Years of planning and plotting to make the world as we see it have been destroyed by your actions and filthy existence," spat Archmaester Theobold.

"And I should care about how you feel, why? Who are you to determine if a dragon lives or dies? Or if babies should be born from their Mother's womb or should be snuffed out before having a chance to breathe? Who are you to determine the way things are run in the Seven Kingdoms? Who are you to decided anything beyond your own responsibilities in life?" asked Aegon with Archmaester Theobold now snarling like an old angry rabid animal.

"Our Order has existed for this purpose! We obtained and use the knowledge gathered through the ages and to best protect the realms of men. Kings come and go. Whether they wage war or rule during times of peace, it matters not. We are the smartest minds in the world and know what is required to keep the realms stable regardless of who sits on the Iron Throne. We are the true power of the Seven Kingdoms. We decide which child lives and who dies because it is our right as men of knowledge and have the right to control the fates of others," said Archmaester Theobold passionately as if his words alone had the power to make Aegon bow before them in submission and understanding.

"No. You are not wise men. You are all blind fools and greedy rats in robes. You try to control the lives of others simply because it makes you feel powerful and Godly. You do not know if your actions will provide you the end result and if it doesn't, you don't care and try again until it happens. You gamble. You plot. You test. You experiment. And you end lives before they can even begin all in the belief your actions will benefit the Seven Kingdoms when it is unknown until after the deed is done if there was any fruit to your supposed labor. You act blindly and therefore are blind," replied Aegon with the robed rats around looking displeased by his words and not just because they were true, as loathe as they were to admit it to themselves.

In truth, most of their plans and schemes were trial and error. They were blind and could only manipulate certain things or events. Some events. Not all. The vast majority were all chances and experiments to test how things would play out if one child died at birth and the next child conceived by a Lord or King was a better candidate. They had manipulated countless events with their men in place, whispering in the ears of Lords, poisoning and killing them, if not their respective other half. If the Lord in question was too well loved and needed to be knocked down from his position of power, they would target his heir or his wife. When grieving, they would whisper some more. Make the Lord go from kind to ruthless. Or advise a new wife be taken. New heirs be made while the original ones died or be cast aside for the new half brothers or sisters. And all the while, the Maesters would have secret control, authority, and positions of power within these Houses. To even have the Maester they assigned to a wealthy House try to drain the wealth discreetly and make sure it was funneled straight to the Citadel so they could use it at their discretion. Most of the time it was to use in the high-quality brothels and establishments. Even to those that cater to more...discreet clients with less than...honorable tastes that didn't always pertain to full grown women.

But these robed rats would never admit it. In their eyes, they were Gods among men for what they knew and how to use it. This King was nothing to them. An obstacle for them to remove in order to restore the natural order of things.

Their natural order of things.

"It doesn't matter what you say Targaryen. Your House, your very bloodline, your three dragons, and your fucking magic created through it all will be lost soon enough. We will not allow all of our planning to be stopped by your unnatural powers and the chaos they bring!" declared Maester Thorpe.

"You act as if you have the power to stop me. Your hired help here is dead. Your pawns and fellow rats you command to carry out the deeds you wish are no more. All that is left is yourselves and the greed that festers in your hearts," replied Aegon while he along with a small, but efficient group of Unsullied with him to ensure there was no escape.

"We may die here dragon, but our efforts will continue one way or another. When people here how you killed us, we will be seen as heroes and you the villain for ending our lives. Those who join our ranks to continue our work will swell to new heights before the end of the year!" proclaimed Maester Zarow like it was some kind of prophecy.

"Not when I have the evidence to prove otherwise. Do you think Maesters will be loved by the Lords and Ladies into their Houses once the damaging information I have reaches them? No. They will keep a closer watch on your future brothers and their actions with very vigilant eyes. Their duties will be restricted to match what they were supposed to do and know. Not what they claim to do and know. The people will never trust your brothers as they did in the past. That trust was abused, tampered with, and overall violated by the likes of yourself and the rats in this room. As such, your belief in other men taking up the cause behind your work is an empty promise," remarked Aegon before he was upon the Maester and swiftly struck him down.

The other men in the room tried to flee. Running to the only door in the room. But several problems arose from the attempt. The first being the door itself was shut and locked with the only key being in Aegon's possession. The second was the candles lit in the room had suddenly gone out through Aegon's command of the Force, leaving the room in darkness where these old men in robes could not see even their own hands in front of their faces. They stumbled around blindly, jumping at the presence of the other, screaming like they were frightened children, and one of them pissing himself before Aegon's blade struck him down in multiple parts of the body prior to the darkness being eternal.

Archmaester Theobold had heard the sound of his fellow brother fall. The sound of metal cutting through flesh was unmistakable. The others were soon cut down as well, leaving him the only one left of their group alive in this room with their murder. In his mind, he wanted to be defiant of this King. To stand up to him. To say his beliefs about magic and dragons being mindless beasts were justified in the plan to destroy their return like he and his brothers did with the Targaryens of old. But in his heart, the man was terrified. All the years of plotting, planning, scheming, and experimenting with the lives of others to get the results they wanted to put the Seven Kingdoms under their secret control was being undone. Their group controlling the others had to be small to prevent being caught and they had succeeded. The subordinates they commanded were slightly larger but had to be carefully chosen to carry out discreet commands. Not every Maester in the Citadel was like them, so the choices were made after careful watching, subtle testing, and eventually revealing their belief to them to gauge the candidate's reaction.

And within a few Moons, it had been undone. By one boy, who called himself King. A boy, who had dragon's blood in his veins, and had powers to go with it. Theobold easily recalled how his predecessor had chosen him, quickly becoming one of the Maesters to join, and had been one of those who believed magic brought chaos with few who could wield or control it. As such, since the Maesters of the Citadel seemed unable to wield it in any shape or form, it was decided to remove it from the world so those who did have the ability were denied. Was it selfish? Was it cruel to take it from others who could use such power? Yes, on both counts, but Theobold had been selfish in his own desires for power like his brothers when this conspiracy was first created. The man believed that if he could not wield such power, no one else could or should wield it in his place. Knowledge he could obtain, and control was the only power that would matter. The elderly Archmaester had gone to great lengths to be a man who wielded it throughout the Citadel unopposed.

Only to find such power counted for nothing against someone who wielded true power.

"Do you understand now rat in robes? Do you understand what it means to be powerless against someone with power? Where is your authority? Where is your supposed strength? You have none of those things. You have nothing because you are nothing!" said Aegon in the darkness.

"I don't care what you say dragonspawn. You can kill me, my brothers, and hundreds of others to silence us. But your end and the end of your bloodline is inevitable. One way or another, our goal will be achieved!" declared Theobold in the darkness.

"Perhaps, one day it will happen as you say. But the future is always in motion. And you will not live long to see it. Nor enjoy the afterlife that follows your death," replied Aegon before thrusting his sword into the robed rat's torso and took great pleasure in hearing the man scream out in pain while moving the weapon through the fool's body.

And with that done, the end of what the future would one day call this moment in history as the Maester Conspiracy was ended.