23 Chapter 21: Shadows in the Dark

Undisclosed location, Braavos,

In a cavern, deep underground the city of Braavos, a gathering of six individuals met together. All of them were wearing deep, voluminous cloaks with hoods which masked their physical appearance completely. None of them could see the faces of the others which was the reason for this particular arrangement. The only thing that differentiated each of them was the fact that they were all wearing golden medallions around their necks hanging on a chain of silver. If one could put in the effort, they could see that each of the medallions carried an emblem of one of the free cities upon them. Braavos, Lorath, Norvos, Qohor, Myr & Tyrosh. Six of the nine free cities of Essos were represented here in the gathering. The representative for Braavos took his place at the head of the table, while the others took their respective places on either side of the table accordingly.

"It has been an exciting year and a half hasn't it?" the representative for Norvos broke the ice as he addressed everyone, to which stifled grumbles emanated from his colleagues while their leader from Braavos maintained a stony silence.

"It's been all kinds of fun, I must admit," the representative for Myr spoke out, the voice clearly identifying its owner as a female by the tenor of the tone. However, by looking at the robes that she wore, it would be impossible for anyone to guess that it was a woman in the first place. In fact, she was the only woman in the council.

"Fun? I do not think that the possibility of our great plan failing at its very threshold of success is fun by any means! Do you have any idea of the potential trouble we may face?" the representative of Qohor burst out angrily, while the Norvosi and Myrian became silent.

"I agree!" the representative for Tyrosh nodded in agreement, "The boy-prince from Dorne is proving to be an extremely irritating thorn in our path!"

Their leader raised his right hand and everybody became silent. Acknowledging the silence, their leader spoke out. "Varys, has sent his report to us."

"Oh, and what does the eunuch say?" the Tyroshi representative asked as everybody leaned forward to hear the answer.

"He believes that Robert Baratheon will potentially lose to the boy-prince of Dorne. With the death of Lyanna Stark, the ties that bind him to his core followers are rapidly fraying, and his unfettered indulgence in acts of revenge against the followers of the Targaryen's are rapidly eroding the popularity that his exploits in the battlefield have gained him."

"Hmm, there is truth in what you say," the representative from Qohor spoke out for the first time. "His excesses were usually curbed and tempered by the presence of Jon Arryn, but with his capture by the Dornish, there is no restraining influence upon Baratheon anymore. Whether it was pre-planned or an act of coincidence, and I believe it is the latter, Robert Baratheon's failings are rapidly becoming public. We had hoped that by the time his vices became public, he would have been firmly seated on the throne. But now, it is working against us."

"At any rate, the plan of this council to weaken and impoverish Westeros so that the incoming dynasty may pose no threat to the interests of Essos is now in jeopardy, as we can now no longer be certain that it will be a Baratheon dynasty on the throne. We may very well be looking at a Martell dynasty in charge of Westeros, which will bode ill for us," the representative for Lorath grunted in anger while everybody else became silent.

"The aims of this council are sacrosanct," their Braavosi leader spoke out. "From the times since Valyria fell, this council has strived to ensure that no single civilization, dynasty, or family grows powerful enough to impose its will upon the rest of humanity ever again. There is a reason why the free cities remain free, it is because we have ensured it to be so. Whenever there arose a family with enough power or capabilities to install a ruling dynasty upon one of the free cities, this council has culled it to oblivion. We have taken great efforts to bring down House Targaryen, the last remnant of Valyria, and the one house which still had strength to impose its will upon the world. Our great enemies, Volantis, Pentos and Lys, the traitors who still cling to the ideals of the Valyrian empire have now lost their last great hope, and we must ensure that they do not gain a new one."

There was truth in what he had said. For four centuries since the downfall of Valyria, there had existed a deep cold war between Volantis, Pentos, Lys and the rest of the free cities. Upon the fall of Valyria, Volantis, the so called first daughter of Valyria, had sought to impose itself as a replacement for the Valyrian empire and had sought to continue the imposition of Valyrian ideology upon the rest of the world. However, it had been rebuffed, with extreme violence. Braavos, the bastard daughter as it was known, had despised the traditions and customs of Valyria to the point of fanatic zealotry and had risen up in rebellion. With the loss of Valyria and its dragons, Braavos had risen in open revolt, and had rallied other free cities with similar beliefs to its banner. For nearly forty years after the doom, the wars had been extremely brutal and fierce with no victory on either side. However, the combined might of the six cities was powerful enough to ensure their independence, but not enough to claim victory over the other three. Part of it stemmed from the fact that Volantis and its sister cities were in a perpetual alliance with the cities of Slaver's bay. Astapor, Yunkai and Mereen. Cities which would have been razed to the ground by the Braavosi coalition as they espoused everything that Braavos stood against. So, the battles had entered into a stalemate.

Then came the news of Aegon the conqueror and his complete subjugation of Westeros which came as a dire shock to the Braavosi coalition. Just when they had believed that they had escaped the tyranny of Valyria, the last remnant house of Valyria had again spread its wings in the world. Immediately, the council, then newly-formed, turned its focus to the Kingdom of Westeros with one aim only. The absolute destruction of House Targaryen. To destroy it and ensure that they would not turn their attentions to Essos. In this, they had gained an unexpected ally. The Faith Militant of the Seven gods. Their plan to cause an uprising in Westerosi citizenry by inciting a rebellion on religious grounds against the invading heathen Valyrian overlords had met an extremely quick and violent end at the hands of Maegor the cruel.

Afterwards, the council had decided to take a subtler route. In this, they were aided by a certain section of Maesters from the citadel of Knowledge in the Reach. This sect was fanatical in its opposition to magic and any other esoteric arts and sought to impose the pre-eminence of knowledge in the world. For the next two centuries, working in conjunction with the council, the sect had slowly and deliberately weakened and brought low the bloodline of the House of Targaryen. Ensuring through the judicious use of poisons and medical cocktails, they had introduced a strain of mental illness in the royal bloodline. Furthermore, plots were deliberately enacted to engender civil strife inside the dynasty which had culminated spectacularly in the dance of the dragons which destroyed the power of House Targaryen for good. Whenever, certain Targaryen rulers had shown great promise, the faceless men had been employed to nip that problem in the bud.

Nearly a hundred years after the dance, House Targaryen had grown desperate enough to regain the power of dragons in its hand once again by any means necessary, and thus they attempted to hatch them again in Summerhall. This time, the council had finally decided to move to extreme measures and had enacted their plans in brutal fashion, which had culminated in the tragedy of Summerhall, where almost all the members of House Targaryen perished except for a few members.

After Summerhall, the throne had passed into the hands of Jaehaerys, the father of Aerys 'the mad' Targaryen. At that time, the council had become aware of a new rising star in the power structures of Westeros. One Tywin Lannister of Casterly Rock. A man, avaricious and totally ruthless, and who desired everything that House Targaryen had possessed. Emissaries were sent, and both sides sent feelers about engaging in acts of mutual interest. The council opened its coffers and wealth flowed into the coffers of Casterly Rock, and soon Tywin became the richest and most powerful man in Westeros as planned. The objective was simple. Ensure that Tywin would become hand and serve faithfully for a decade or two to give off the impression of absolute loyalty to House Targaryen. Then, arrange for the death of Aerys and have Tywin's daughter marry the crown prince and for the old lion to serve as regent. Then again, after the birth of his grandchild, arrange for a second Summerhall and ensure that the ruling family perished to an end this time. Then rule, with his grandchild having a claim over the throne. It was a perfect plan.

However, the trap at Duskendale was foiled by Barristan Selmy of the Kingsguard. So, new plans were devised, but before they could be enacted, a most curious thing happened. Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen eloped with the daughter of the Lord Paramount of the North, Rickard Stark for reasons unknown.

Under the council's guidance, Varys, the master of whispers flamed the king's paranoia to new heights, and Aerys executed Rickard Stark and his son and heir, Brandon, when they came to seek justice. As expected, this threw Westeros into civil war. However, even the council was taken aback when the civil war grew beyond even their control as the talents of Eddard Stark, Robert Baratheon and Rhaegar Targaryen, blossomed into an art form on the battlefield.

For a while, the council had been on the tenterhook fearing a victory by Rhaegar Targaryen and had watched with apprehension as war was waged upon the Westerosi soil with great fervour. And then, fate had smiled in their direction as the crown prince met his end at Robert Baratheon's hands. Now, all that was left was Aerys and the children of Rhaegar, and as such, an urgent missive was sent to Tywin to act. Sensing the opportunity, Tywin had responded magnificently. And the Targaryen line was now gone for good. All that was left was an ailing pregnant woman, and a young boy of five years, and few worthless retainers. The massacre of Rhaegar's children and the treatment meted out to his wife was met with a few raised eyebrows and then discarded as being of no consequence.

Then, after a few months, all their hopes were shattered as the nephew and foster-son of Rhaegar's wife debuted in front of the world in spectacular fashion. In a quest for vengeance, the boy-prince of Dorne had waged a magnificent comeback in a war that everyone had already considered to be over.

The Battle of Starpike had caused major alarm amongst all of them. Orders had been sent out hastily to gather information about the youngest prince of Dorne, to try and find any and all information about the newest star in Westeros. To their chagrin, they had learned that the boy had made use of the faceless men to eliminate Kevan Lannister, and orders were sent hastily to the House of Black and White ordering them to avoid taking any more contracts from House Martell. To find out that one of their own resources had been used against them without their knowledge had caused a bit of heartburn amongst few of the members of the council.

And then, the setbacks began to mount against them rapidly. The defeat of the Reach, the deaths of Lyanna Stark and Kevan Lannister, and now, the crown jewel in the shitstorm that they were facing, the murder of Jaime Lannister, and Tywin's berserk reaction which threatened all that they had achieved till date.

Pushing all these thoughts aside, the leader spoke out, "At any rate, Tywin is fast becoming a liability to us. The death of his heir has unbalanced him severely, and his actions in response to that have now possibly pushed Mace Tyrell and consecutively the Reach and all of its resources into Quentyn Martell's hands."

The Lorathi representative responded, "I warned all of you that depending too much on the Lannister could backfire on us. We should have prepared multiple contingencies for such a scenario."

The Tyroshi representative interjected, "He was the obvious candidate at the time," shaking his head in objection to that point, "At that time, there was no one else in Westeros capable of handling House Targaryen apart from him."

"Agreed," spoke the woman from Myr, "However, the problem is that Tywin has always overestimated himself, and has underestimated everyone else. Reigning unchecked over Westeros for nearly two decades from the shadow behind the throne without any real opposition has made him complacent, and he is now paying the price. Furthermore, why are we worried about him in the first place? He was always meant to be a disposable pawn in the end, was he not? Regardless of what he may have thought?"

"What do you mean?" the Qohori representative asked in curiosity.

"Well," the woman began, "We needed Tywin because we wanted him to take care of House Targaryen for us. Now that the deed is done, we have really no need to hold his hands do we? And in his mad rampage for revenge, if the boy-prince kills him, then that takes care of a loose end for us, doesn't it?" she asked with a coy tone, while everyone fell silent as they understood what she was implying.

"Abandon him, after all that he has done for us?" the Lorathi representative asked after a moment, to which the leader replied quietly. "It is nothing special. We made use of the Hightower's and the Velaryon's to stoke both sides during the Dance of the Dragons and then abandoned them to their fates. They are Westerosi in the end, tools meant to be used and discarded as we see fit. Tywin Lannister has served his purpose, and now, there is no need to expend our efforts to save him. If he lives, he lives, if he dies, he dies. That is all."

"But what about the situation in Westeros? Our plan was to have Robert Baratheon ascend to the throne, and then entice him to indulge in his vices without restraint so that he would impoverish and ruin Westeros as a united power for decades to come? Obviously, it all seems to be in flux now, doesn't it?"

"Do we really need Robert Baratheon on the throne after all?" the question came unexpectedly from the Norvosi representative.

"What do you mean? Was that not our plan all this time?" the Myrian woman asked in curiosity as everyone leaned forward to hear the Norvosi representative's answer.

"Hear me out," the Norvosi continued, "Our goal was the eradication of House Targaryen and its dragons and to ensure the destruction of the last true bloodline of Valyria, yes?" he asked, even as everyone nodded in agreement.

"Now," the man continued, "Forgive me if I speak wrongly, but isn't House Baratheon also descended from House Targaryen? Do we really need to put another house with Targaryen blood on the throne when we have spent the last three hundred years trying to bring it down in the first place?"

"They are descended from the conqueror's bastard brother, not exactly the same thing is it?" the Qohori asked after a moment's silence to which the Norvosi shook his head.

"Bastardry means they cannot claim the name, it doesn't really erase the fact that they have the same blood running in their veins, no matter how diluted it may be," he concluded while the others drew sharp breaths as they considered the facts brought forth.

"So, what do you propose?" the leader asked after a moment's contemplation.

"Let the war continue," the Norvosi spoke after a moment's silence. "The boy-prince has still fought only one battle as of now. If he prevails against the Lannister host then we can be certain that he will break Baratheon on the field. From what the eunuch has said to us, a rift is already starting to form between Stark and Baratheon. Let us enflame that further. If Stark abandons Baratheon, then Robert Baratheon will lose, and with his death, House Baratheon will also go the same way as that of House Targaryen."

"Intriguing, and what of our plans for weakening Westeros? If the boy wins, he may very well claim Westeros itself. To leave a united Westeros itself under the hands of a young and charismatic conqueror will have grave consequences for our interests. I have no intention of turning Quentyn Martell into the second coming of Aegon the conqueror," the Qohori spoke out.

"That will not happen," the Norvosi replied back with absolute conviction, "because of the fact that Eddard Stark still remains to keep him in check. As of now, Westeros is divided in two. The South led by Quentyn Martell of Dorne, and most likely the Reach, after Mace Tyrell joins him. Against this, we have the alliance of the North, the Vale and the Riverlands backing Robert Baratheon from the Stormlands, to which we must now add the Westlands of Tywin Lannister. If Robert Baratheon perishes, then both sides no longer have any reason to fight each other at all. Only the fact that Robert Baratheon claims the Iron throne compels them to fight each other. In this war it is most likely that the Stormlands and the West will be destroyed by Quentyn Martell, after which the Northern Alliance commanded by Eddard Stark will remain. Effectively, I believe that Quentyn Martell will come to rule Dorne, the Reach, and most likely the Crownlands, as the king of Southern Westeros while Eddard Stark will rule the North, the Vale and the Riverlands as the king of Northern Westeros; with the remnants of House Baratheon and House Lannister forced into irrelevance. Essentially, instead of a united Westeros, we will have to contend with Northern and Southern Westeros as two independent entities," he finished triumphantly while the others quietly absorbed the hypothesis of their colleague.

"And if the boy falls to Baratheon in battle?" the Qohori asked in trepidation after the dialogue.

"Then we lose nothing, our plan to deal with a Baratheon dynasty is in place already, is it not?" the Tyroshi shrugged his shoulders as if indicating that they had nothing to lose anyway.

"Agreed," their leader interjected with a nod of appreciation, "It is all dependent on whether the boy can smash the Lannister host at Bitterbridge. If he wins, then we need to start making plans on how to deal with a divided Westeros. Having spent the last four hundred years under the rule of the Targaryen's, the individual kingdoms of Westeros are not accustomed to the concept of self-rule. A fact that we can exploit. By engendering a spate of constant war between Northern and Southern Westeros to keep them down is not a bad idea at all. One that will require further deliberation," the leader spoke out, as guarded nods came from the others. "However," he continued, "there is another point. Varys has asked permission to enact the Blackfyre contingency," the leader replied with a small accompanying laugh.

"Again? One more Blackfyre?" the Myrian woman asked in mirth as she shook in laughter. "He really is a one-trick pony, after all," she chuckled while others reacted similarly.

"Come now, he believes we are aiding him in a Blackfyre restoration; after all, that was the reason why he agreed to work for us in the first place," the Lorathi chided, even as they all laughed. The Blackfyre rebellions were another means through which the council had chipped away the remaining strength of House Targaryen after the Dance of Dragons.

"Well, what do we do?" the Tyroshi asked, as everyone looked at him.

"Let him go ahead," the leader replied after a moment's contemplation, "In any ways, we do not know what the future holds anyways. Having a Blackfyre on hand to raise another Rebellion to destabilize Westeros could come in handy. We will keep it as a contingency in case Quentyn Martell and Eddard Stark prove to be too troublesome in the future," he ordered, while everyone gave their assent to the plan.

At that moment, a servant came in and knelt down in front of the leader and handed him a message and immediately went out. All talk ceased, as everyone waited to see what was going on. They knew that this meeting would not have been disturbed except for a matter of utmost importance.

"Hmm," the leader began to rap his knuckles on the desk as he read through the message and dropped the letter in front of him after he finished reading it.

"Quentyn Martell," he announced, "has departed for Bitterbridge with the full might of the Dornish army as of yesterday."

"What?"

"Already!"

"That is too fast!"

"Has he made cause with Mace Tyrell already?" the Myrian woman asked shrewdly as she looked at their leader.

"No," was the shocking reply. "He has left for Bitterbridge on his own volition without waiting to consult with Mace Tyrell. In fact, Mace Tyrell was already on his way to Starpike to parley with him before the massacre of Bitterbridge. Now, unexpectedly, the boy-prince is racing towards Bitterbridge as if a demon is on his heels."

"What on earth is the thrice-damned boy doing?" the Tyroshi asked in frustration.

"Ingenious," the Myrian woman whispered with shock rife in her tone, "Before Bitterbridge, we expected Dorne and the Reach to enter into lengthy negotiations to make cause on equal terms. But the success of those talks was by no means guaranteed. If he now retakes Bitterbridge and avenges the massacre before the Reach can deal with it, then the Reach will have no choice but to accept his demands unquestioned. Their honour and the opinion of the world will demand nothing less. If he crushes the Lannister's at Bitterbridge even before the Reach can make a move, then he will place an unbearable debt upon Mace Tyrell's shoulders, one that the Lord of the Reach can repay only by accepting anything that the boy demands!"

A ripple of shock went through the members as angry whispers began to emanate through the room. Suddenly, they were all brought back to attention as the leader rapped his knuckles on the desk to gain attention again.

"Normally, it would be the case as you suggest, but this letter suggests otherwise," the leader retorted, as everyone became curious to hear the reason.

"According to this letter," the leader continued, "Quentyn Martell has left Starpike with almost the entire martial nobility of Dorne, and three new companions."

"Companions?" the Lorathi asked in surprise.

"Yes," the Leader replied with a bit of surprise lacing his tone, "Accompanying the Dornish host are in order, Ser Barristan Selmy, Sandor Clegane and … Arthur Dayne."

"That's …," the Tyroshi representative stood up in alarm and he was not the only one to do so. All of the council members had stood up in shock, few of them even trembling outright.

"With this, there can be no doubt," the leader growled in anger while cursing their bad luck inwardly, "There is only one thing which would make the entirety of Dornish Army throw all caution to the wind. Gregor Clegane and Amory Lorch are most likely inside Bitterbridge. And, Quentyn Martell is now going to unleash everything he has in his arsenal to bring that accursed city down. We are most likely going to see a battle the likes of which the world has never seen before!"

Author's note:

And Ding!Ding!Ding! The Battle of Bitterbridge begins ...