The Age of Daenerys Targaryen

Part 62: The right side of the coin

"Please excuse me for keeping you waiting, my lord", said Tyrion Lannister as he stepped into his solar, where the Imperial Chamberlain was already waiting for him.

"I don't mind, Lord Tyrion", replied Illyrio Mopatis, who was seated in a huge armchair, and smiled understandingly. "You must have been glad to see your wife again. Your marriage still persists, I suppose?"

Tyrion sat in a second chair. "Formally yes. However, the queen and I never consummated the marriage. Nonetheless, Sansa is close to my heart ... and I personally am very grateful to you for persuading Empress Daenerys to release her."

Illyrio chuckled. "You think I...? Letting go of the hostages was entirely Her Imperial Majesty's idea. I have advocated releasing only one of them and keeping the other two until an armistice is signed. But the Empress insisted that this was not enough."

"I find it very difficult to believe", said Tyrion honestly.

"But it is true, my lord", said Illyrio. "I know that after everything that has happened, you don't trust Daenerys. That is why I have also offered to act as envoy. I thought that you would most likely listen to me."

The Hand of the King nodded. After Tyrion killed his father and fled across the Narrow Sea with Varys, he first found refuge in the estate of Illyrio Mopatis in Pentos, before continuing to Meereen to join Daenerys.

"That may be so", sighed the dwarf. "By the way, did you know that we were considering an attempt to get you and Chancellor Paenymion on our side? However, the Imperial Secret Service's defensive shield in Volantis was too strong to allow our agents to contact you."

That made Illyrio giggle again. "How strange. We have also considered getting someone on King Bran's Small Council to join us. The mercenary you made Master of coin seemed like a suitable candidate ... or Lord Manfrey Martell, your Master of whisperers. As is well known, he had initially sworn allegiance to Daenerys."

Tyrion took a wine carafe, filled two glasses, and offered one to the visitor. "What stopped you?"

"Your king's clairvoyant abilities, of course. He literally drove Dimazza Yhae to despair. Every spy she tried to smuggle into the Red Keep has been exposed."

Tyrion narrowed his eyes. "Really everyone? Don't you just want to lull me into safety? It is true, His Grace has exposed a number of informers, and Lord Manfrey does a good job too. However... "The hand broke off and took a sip of wine.

"King Bran doesn't see everything either, you wanted to say. Fortunately for the Empire. Otherwise we would probably not have this conversation here, but in the ruins of Volantis. Ultimately, Brandon's abilities seem to have had no noticeable impact on the course of the war."

"Most of the fighting took place in Essos", Tyrion grumbled. "There, His Grace cannot see things as clearly as this side of the sea. Also, his attention was distracted by the constant raids of the Ironborn. The protection of his own people is his top priority."

"As I said", said Illyrio, "he thwarted Dimazza's attempts to infiltrate his court. And that means something! Our head of intelligence is in a league with Varys, maybe she's even better than him ... if that's even possible. If Varys were still alive, there would have been a duel of master spies that songs would have been written about."

"Too bad your Empress had Varys burned by her dragon", replied Tyrion. "I'm surprised you don't seem to mind. After all, Varys was your best friend. Still, you serve Daenerys."

"I serve the Empire and its citizens", replied Illyrio. "Would I believe the Empress is unsuitable for her job..." He sighed. "Before he died, Varys secretly sent me some letters describing his concerns about Daenerys. Accordingly, I watched her closely. And I can say that the woman I've worked with for five years is very different from the person Varys described to me. I firmly believe that Daenerys Targaryen will usher Essos into a new era of prosperity and peace."

Tyrion snorted. "Peace and prosperity? Her nature is fire and blood. I had to learn that the hard way."

"Madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin", Illyrio muttered. "Whenever a Targaryen is born, the gods toss the coin and the world holds its breath."

"That's what they say. Unfortunately it ended up on the wrong side with Daenerys."

"Daenerys died and was resurrected twice. What if her coin was tossed again? What if it landed on the right side this time?"

Tyrion took another sip of wine. "Do you really believe that? Now your Empress may seem promising to you, but can you guarantee that her destructive side will not re-emerge in the future?"

"No", the stout man from Pentos replied calmly. "I can only guarantee for the present. But it looks good."

"Yes? What would happen if King Bran refuses to lay down his arms?"

"It is the aim and duty of my Empress to see that Westeros no longer poses a threat to her Empire. She dearly wishes that she could do this without further bloodshed. But if that is not possible... "Illyrio shrugged his shoulders. "Daenerys doesn't want to conquer Westeros, whether you believe it or not. She doesn't even have to. It is quite enough to take the people out of the game who insist on fighting her to the last breath."

"I could take that as a threat", Tyrion growled. "Consider where you are."

"But it is not a threat, my lord. It's not even a warning. It's just an honest answer to your question. And now please tell me: Is King Brandon inclined to accept Empress Daenerys' terms?"