Chapter 341: Westward Meeting (Part II)
The two Ironborn departed, but the red priest Moqorro, their fellow newcomer, remained. He took the seat left vacant by Daario Naharis, joining the Hand of the Queen Petyr, the Unsullied commander Grey Worm, Dany's favored scribe Missandei, and other high officials... along with Daenerys herself, forming a table that resembled the original Small Council.
"The Ironborn's initiative to seek you out was clearly driven by impure motives, but then again—anyone who acts surely seeks something, be it material gain or inner satisfaction. 'Pure motivation' is a nonsensical concept; we need not judge or antagonize them too harshly. Both experienced sailors and ocean-going vessels are aids we currently require," Petyr said with a shrug. "I do not know this Euron, nor do I know much of him. His claim of weakening both Stannis and Young Aegon to clear a path for you is likely nonsense, but he wasn't lying about at least 'taking action.' With the port blockaded, the information we can obtain regarding the situation in Westeros is limited, but some still filters through... after screening and analysis, I have picked out the parts that should be true."
"Speak then," Daenerys said with a nod.
"The one calling himself your nephew, Aegon Targaryen, is steadily retreating before Stannis Baratheon. The vast territories he seized early on in the Stormlands have nearly all been retaken, save for Storm's End and the islands overseas. As for his two major allies: the Reach has gradually lost its ambition following a series of defeats; had Stannis not stubbornly refused to negotiate peace, they likely would have ceased fighting long ago. And Dorne, for reasons unknown, has yet to commit to a large-scale mobilization on his behalf. Coincidentally, we now know what House Martell is thinking: Prince Doran secretly sent Prince Quentyn to attempt a marriage alliance with you—they do not wish to seat a questionable 'Aegon' on the throne, but rather hope for Quentyn's descendants to sit upon the Iron Throne."
"And on the other side, the house of the Usurper... Stannis is not as certain of victory as he appears. Though he still holds the upper hand against Aegon's Golden Company using the armies of the Stormlands, the Crownlands, the Riverlands, and the Vale—following the Starks' return to save their home from the Ironborn—he does not possess an overwhelming advantage. A lord's obligation to fight for the King has a time limit, and this war has already far exceeded it. As winter arrives, House Baratheon will face the dual hardships of food shortages and financial strain," Petyr analyzed with practiced logic. "Coupled with the Iron Islands muddying the waters—harassing whoever gains the advantage from behind—eventually, the two warring kings will be forced to a standstill. Not because they want to, but because they must. And that, for you, is not good news."
"Why is it not good news?" Missandei asked, puzzled. "If I am not mistaken, Westeros can have only one King. Rival claimants cannot coexist in peace—a ceasefire is only a ceasefire; it will never become peaceful coexistence. When the Queen invades Westeros, even if Young Aegon does not swear fealty, he would at least not make an enemy of us until Stannis is crushed."
Petyr had initially been surprised and resistant to the idea of a girl several years younger than Daenerys sitting on the Small Council. But over time, having witnessed her maturity and wisdom far beyond her years, Littlefinger had begun to adapt to her presence, treating her as an equal.
"True, Stannis and Aegon will never achieve peaceful coexistence, but this remains extremely disadvantageous for Her Grace," Littlefinger explained with a wave of his hand. "Whether that Young Aegon is real or false, he at least shares the Queen's name on the surface. But Stannis, as the brother and heir of the Usurper, is our mortal enemy. He currently holds control over most of Westeros. Once the winter ceasefire begins, do you think his strength will recover faster, or that of the rootless Golden Company?"
Daenerys understood Petyr's point. "The house of the Usurper is at its most vulnerable and isolated right now. I should seize the opportunity."
"Precisely."
Through the analysis of numerous clues from various sources, Petyr was nearly one hundred percent certain that this so-called Young Aegon facing Stannis on the battlefields of Westeros was supported by Varys. That eunuch had spent decades speaking of loyalty and the people, yet all his plots and maneuvers were designed to seat this boy of unknown origin on the throne.
To Petyr's great schadenfreude, however, signs suggested that the Spider's plan had not gone exactly as envisioned. Due to the rapid, blindsiding changes in the Seven Kingdoms following Petyr's own flight after the Note Incident, there had been deviations. The most serious was that the Dragon Blood and the Golden Company—who were supposed to appear only as a grand finale to clean up the mess—had been forced to take the stage early. Consequently, they were now locked in a head-on collision with a Lord of the Iron Throne who was recognized by at least the majority of the Seven Kingdoms.
Emotionally, Petyr wanted to ignore the urgings from all sides, stay in Slaver's Bay as a spectator, and watch Varys's grand plan crumble and fail bit by bit.
But he could not do so. As Hand of the Queen, he had to logically consider Daenerys's interests... which were ultimately his own. If they remained bystanders and watched Stannis eliminate Young Aegon, then by the time the Queen's army set foot in Westeros, they would face a unified Seven Kingdoms.
Such an opponent was something even Aegon the Conqueror had never faced—the disparity in strength would be too vast for three dragons and the Unsullied to bridge.
Reluctantly, Petyr finally presented the conclusion of his rational analysis to the Queen: Now was the optimal time to invade Westeros. Once Stannis defeated Aegon and subdued the Iron Islands, it would be too late.
Daenerys thought seriously for a moment, then shook her head. "If he recovers his strength, then let him. I have three dragons."
That's a judgment made only after factoring in three dragons, my Queen! Petyr was caught between laughter and tears. Thinking quickly, he decided to take a more indirect approach. "Your Grace, do you know the game of Cyvasse?"
"Would you ask a person if they know that one plus one equals two?" Daenerys gave her Prime Minister a reproachful look. "I am not an expert, but I know how to play."
"What piece can kill a dragon?"
"The catapult."
Petyr spread his hands. "You see, people knew hundreds of years ago that dragons are not invincible. I fully believe you learned the complete art of dragon-riding during your journey east. The first or second time you ride a dragon into battle, you will surely kill many and shock the world. But by the third or fourth time, you will find the enemy beginning to devise ways to deal with dragons—or with you sitting on one's back. By the fifth or sixth time, or perhaps later, someone will eventually invent a reliable method to counter a dragon."
"I also have the Unsullied and the Freedmen's Legion."
Littlefinger frowned with a wry smile and shook his head. "Grey Worm, report the status of the Unsullied to the Queen, as well as the progress of the Freedmen's Legion's training."
"In the recent defense of Meereen, the Unsullied lost seven hundred and twenty-four men, with over nine hundred wounded. However, because the Yunkai'i army brought the Pale Mare from Astapor, the infection spread into the city and affected the Unsullied as well. Though we quarantined as quickly as possible, hundreds were still infected. We have already lost dozens more, and a large number of the sick have begun passing blood. The healers and Blue Graces are doing their best, but few can be saved," the Unsullied commander said with a solemn, meticulous nod. "Due to fears of the plague spreading, and coupled with food shortages, the training of the Freedmen's Legion has been conducted in small, decentralized groups. Thus far, they have only completed drills for basic formations and command signals. Weapons and equipment remain scarce, and they have only begun practicing the first of three spear techniques."
"You see, Your Grace? Of your eight thousand Unsullied, you have only six thousand left, and the Freedmen's Legion is a long way from being invincible... even when finished, you will have fewer than twenty thousand soldiers. With such numbers, if the enemy prepares a means to deal with your dragons early on, you won't even be able to take a single city like King's Landing, let alone conquer the Seven Kingdoms," Petyr advised patiently. "Therefore, the safest course is to return to Westeros as soon as possible, while Stannis's army is still fighting Aegon and before the news that 'dragons are ready for war' has spread. Start the war to reclaim the Seven Kingdoms by surprise, create enough of an advantage before they can react, and gather as many supporters to your banner as possible."
"Your Grace, since you have allowed me to remain, I take it you allow me to speak." The red priest Moqorro, who had been silent since the Ironborn were dismissed, finally spoke. "The Lord of Light warns in the flames: the ancient, nameless Great Other has gathered his power in the far north where he dwells, preparing to incite the final war. If you do not immediately go to the place where you belong, but instead insist on completing a 'rehearsal' for ruling in Slaver's Bay, or insist on liberating all the slaves in Essos before taking up your responsibility... then by the time you are finally prepared, the land across the Narrow Sea will have turned to scorched earth and a graveyard. It will become a place of peril that all avoid, much like the Valyrian Peninsula, and there will no longer be anything left to fight for."
Petyr didn't believe in any of that prophecy in the flames nonsense, but since the red priest shared his stance, he refrained from arguing. Daenerys, however, felt the opposite. After her journey to Asshai, she had experienced firsthand that the world contained things beyond common imagination; her three dragons were not the only ones. That some could see the past or present in the flames was no fabrication.
However, if someone intended to use this to hawk their own opinions or satisfy personal interests—blaming everything on the Lord of Light's warning and using alarmism to increase their persuasion—they would have to learn the meaning of the dragon's wrath.
"The Lord of Light says this in the flames?" Daenerys smiled slightly, determined to challenge him while simultaneously testing whether this priest of the Red God was merely a hollow mouthpiece or a truly gifted supernatural being.
If it was the latter, she would allow him to stay by her side.
Her journey to Asshai had profoundly impacted her worldview. She had begun to realize that supernatural power was an unignorable component of this world; rather than being passively affected by it, it was better to bring it into her own camp and utilize it correctly. "Very well. Did the Lord of Light tell you in the flames what stories took place during my journey east?"
A cryptic smile appeared on Moqorro's pitch-black face. As his expression changed, the white of his eyes narrowed, making his face appear even darker for a moment.
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