章 6: War of the Usurper III
(Jon Arryn POV)
It has been two moons since I got the raven from Kings Landing, demanding that I hand over the heads of Robert and Ned to the King. Instead of sending him both their heads, I sent him only defiance.
Ned left the Eyrie to gather his bannermen from the North, while I began to call my own vassals from the Vale of Arryn in rebellion to the Iron Throne. However, not all of them answered my call. The city of Gulltown remained loyal to the Targaryen dynasty and rather than sailing from here, Ned returned to the north via the Mountains of the Moon and the Fingers. I also faced opposition from loyalists attempting to bring us down, but so far, we managed to stay on top.
Together with Robert, I lead our bannermen from the Vale against Gulltown, which House Grafton defends. Robert has been itching for a fight and that is what we have been giving him. I can only hope that we win this fight quickly because the Crown won't sit still while we have to wait here.
"What's wrong Jon? You have that look again.", Robert says as he enters the tent.
"I'm worried, Robert. You need to get back to the Stormlands and raise the Banners from Storm's End. But we're here dealing with Gulltown and wasting time. Besides that, a new potential threat is rising in the Vale on the Fingers."
"You mean the Baelish kid? Don't worry about him, if he rises up against us, we just crush his skull on the rocks and be done with it. He's still a runt, no need to worry.", Robert says as he takes what surely isn't his first drink.
"It is not that easy. He rose to wealth in a matter of moons. About one moon or so before news of Lyanna's abduction was heard, he started his rise to glory and now, five moons later, no one knows how powerful he has become. Such a fast rise is concerning."
"If he's risen to such importance in a matter of five moons, then the news is horseshit. No one can do that this quickly."
"No matter what it is, it is concerning. I will have to keep an eye open to make sure he won't pierce me in the back.", I sigh and look at our plans for Gulltown.
We are close to winning this fight. Lord Grafton has no way of winning this and is already on his last leg. But he refuses to give up and rather wishes to die. Other than that, I have most of the support of the Vale. The Mountain Clans will surely use this chance to cause trouble and pillage while we are busy fighting a war. But that is not something I can bother myself with right now.
"My Lord, My Lord. News from the North!", my squire runs into the tent and hands me the letter from a raven that has just arrived.
"The North? That's Ned!", Robert says and walks to my side.
"'Dear Jon, I just arrived in White Harbour and met Lord Manderly. It was thanks to the help of one of your vassals, Jon. Lord Petyr Baelish of Baelish Keep is in the process of building one of the greatest Harbours in Westeros. I thought that you might be worrying about his lack of following your call, but he is currently occupied otherwise. He was honourable enough not to ask me for any favours, I didn't even need to pay one Copper Coin for the ride. He has ships that are larger than anything I have seen up to date and I Lord Baelish is a smart and promising young man. I am sure he will help you greatly in the future, Jon. I have sent out the ravens and called my Banners. If nothing else happens, I will ride south and meet you in a couple of moons. Eddard Stark, Lord of House Stark, Lord Paramount of the North.'"
"HA! So he managed to reach the North. Good for him, then we can meet each other sooner!", Robert shouts in joy and drains his cup of ale in one go.
"Petyr Baelish ..."
"Is that the lad you were worrying about? I told you not to worry. It seems like he is as honourable as you if he gave Ned free passage. And if what Ned says is true, then he is the genius merchant the rumours claim him to be. The Vale will see a good period in the coming years.", Robert says.
"Aye, that's what it seems like."
Things are never what they seem in this world. For the young man to just help Robert without asking anything in return, seems suspicious. Who is helping him? I know that he left Lord Tully's Fosterage shortly before the tales of his success and large ships were spread. Was it Lord Tully? Or did he make a deal with someone in Braavos? I will need more time to evaluate the lad. And if he's what he appears to be, then I shall make good use of him.
.
.
(Petyr POV)
I see. So they got the news about Ned Stark reaching White Harbour. That's good. My plans are coming along nicely and that is also not surprising, considering that every reflective surface is mine to assassinate or spy from. Knowledge is power and the speed at which the information is spread is crucial in any setting. I will take over Varys' job from him in due time. Funny how my goals have changed somewhat.
Originally I wanted to raise my House to the very top and rule the Kingdoms and then maybe even more, but now I see the fun in pulling the strings from behind the scenes. Being the biggest fish in the room, while no one knows and plots against one another but not me. I see the fun in that. But I'll still make my House the wealthiest one ... eh who am I kidding? It already is. But not officially. That will change in the future.
The progress of both the castle and the Harbour is going very well. That's the advantage if you have limitless workers who would need sustenance, but you can just 'delete' them and create new clones. Capitalism at its finest, right there. It's good to be wealthy. The war has been going as I remember from the little information we had. The 'taking of Gulltown' will be over in a few days at the latest and then Robert will sail south to Storm's End and call the Banners. Unlike with the Vale, he will have more trouble and have to fight three battles at Summerhall. But that is in the future, and I should concentrate on the present.
.
A few days ago, the Iron Bank of Braavos was robbed clean, leaving them with basically nothing. Who would dare to do something like that, I wonder? And who could pull it off? The good part about this is that by stealing gold coins, I can keep inflation to a minimum. Not that I care about that, I would be on top, no matter how much one Gold Dragon is worth. By stealing the Iron Bank's gold, I have forced them to keep a very low profile to not cause the known world to fall into a panic and change the power structure. I can count on the rich and powerful to always want to both keep that power and increase it further.
But if I don't need the gold and don't care about inflation, why am I doing this?
Imagine what would happen if you were the Iron Bank of Braavos, on the verge of admitting bankruptcy and plunging the entire world into political chaos, and you had one shot when someone arrived who was willing to help you out in your time of need. What would you do? Would you capture it, or just let it slip?
Naturally, they would be licking my boots to get my help and the power structure would change drastically, with me becoming so much more powerful than I already am. Politically speaking of course. I would rise to the biggest shareholder position of the Iron Bank immediately and therefore gain immense power. They would have to follow my will or suffer the consequences. But that will take some time still. They need to be more desperate before I will make my move.
.
On the other hand, my merchant business is going swimmingly and I couldn't be more popular in those circles. Before the war started, House Manderly from the North was in the process of becoming my biggest fan and closest friend. I could sell him anything he wished, but didn't reveal that yet. I wanted to appear like a man who was just starting out but was smart. That way, I wouldn't make others suspicious and instead, gain admiration and respect. That's what happened with Lord Manderly. I told him that I was willing to sell him wheat and also vegetables for a price that was so much cheaper than the Reach, that he almost couldn't believe my words.
He looked at me in disbelief but accepted immediately. Not too fast, in order to not seem suspicious, but fast nonetheless. He took advantage of my 'inexperience' and thought himself smart. But after doing business with him for about one moon, and showing him some top quality wine, he sighed and told me the truth.
'You need to sell your goods for far higher prices, otherwise you will lose your business in a short while.', he told me.
I smiled at him when he told me that he was taking advantage of me for the past moon and told him that I was aware of the prices and did that on purpose. He didn't believe my words at first until I told him what I could have asked for everything. I gained his respect after that. That was the first step into the North's heart. It started with Lord Manderly and continued with Lord Stark right after when I granted him passage to White Harbour for free. My spies told me about the two Lords' discussion and both men's respect for me.
I send many clones to spy on all the noble Houses in the realm and also the Red Keep in King's Landing. The advantage I have over all other noble Houses is that there are absolutely no spies from other houses here. And I intend to keep it that way. I will not allow any foreigner to settle here in Baelish Keep and only the offspring of the current villagers. And why would I? The amount of loyalty the villagers have and will have for me in the future is immeasurable. I don't want spies amidst my ranks. And I have a very simple way of making sure of that.
I will simply clone others and then kill the originals and have them settle here until there is no more space left for others. And if others complain, I will just say that I am a small House and don't have more space for others.
.
Things are going well. I have created a specific department filled with clones who cover everything about the realm. They are the ones who will document all the information my spies uncover. The documents of secret love letters will be copied and stored for future use, secret plots will be jotted down and saved and even the hidden alliances will be written down and made note of. I will be able to use all of this in the future, should it be important. That way, I won't have to kill everyone and clone them ... that doesn't work anyway at the moment. Information will be something I can sell or use for myself.
I can tell that my powers are growing very slowly by using them more and more, but it takes time. Also, the mirror dimension has more potential than I realise. I have a theory that I could travel not only to other worlds, universes or multiverses but also into the future and the past as well. The only thing I need is time and training. Both things I have in spades.
_________________________________________
He will take a 'pulling the strings behind the scenes' approach. I hope you like it.
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