Volantis 290 AC, the ninth moon of the year
- POV Viserys Targaryen
"Yawn!! This is getting ridiculously boring. Why would they want to have a justification to invade a city? They could just do it without any need for it."
I heard Dalton's voice next to me as the council was arguing about how they would justify their attack on Pentos as I motioned to the servant to bring me some more wine.
The boy has been improving immensely since that day in his studies and has been patiently waiting for his eleventh name day to start his training with the sword, but he is a bit dull at politics. He needs time and sharpening. The good thing is that he has time.
"They need it because we can't have our army be slowed down by the other cities, who won't allow any city to be under the hands of Volantis as the last time they were, they had earned quite a reputation for killing and selling the people they were in charge of so the free city's have an unspoken agreement that they would not allow the volatine to take any city without a great justification." I explained to him as I saw a triarch of the tigers jump over his table and attack another one of the elephants, and it took a considerable amount of time to get them out of each other's faces
"So if we are to be able to move our armies and take Pentos, we need to give the other free cities an excuse for not interfering. Let's just send one of them to Pentos and kill him there and put the blame on them."He said as he pointed to the Triarch's as I looked at him, surprised but not showing it was a wonder who his mother was she clearly has given her son Intelligence
"That could work. But look at them. Some of them might hate each other to death, but their pride would have them burned before they would allow anyone to dictate their life and death. To tell them to send one of them to die would be a folly." I said as he nodded, and as I was talking to him and teaching him about the servant brought the wine and the small note hidden inside the cup as I read it my eyes lit up with glee as I walked towards the middle of the counsel room
"My friend, we have our excuse!!!!." I shouted joyfully as they quieted down and looked at me expectantly.
"A barbarian who was in a meeting with the magister of Pentos about four moons ago is marching to our great city with a Khalasar of a hundred thousand intent on taking a bride of Valerian blood." I said joyfully as they looked at me shocked.
"A hundred thousand, you say?" Said Nyessos Vhassar of the elephants, his voice full of anger and fear at the same time.
"Indeed, though only forty thousand of them are to be worried about, the rest are slaves and young ones." I said as his face eased up a little bit as he spoke.
"And how are we to frame this as Pentos's doing? Surely you are not thinking that the other free cities will believe that it was their doing just because the animal was in a meeting with the Pentose magister, not to mention that we are to defend the city and will lose men in doing so." He asked as the others nodded at him as they looked at my for explanation
"No need to fear the loss of our men, my friends I have a great idea for dealing with the barbarians, an idea that will cut down the loss of men greatly." I said as I mentioned to a servant to bring something from my chamber in the counsel building.
"As for the other cities, believing our cause was justified some moons ago, I had given an audience to the magister who I mentioned, and he was apparently on a mission given by my dead nephew to have his sister's hand in marriage and I, of course, refused, and I took one of his eyes for the insult." I said as they showed visibly relief and glee at the prospect of having been basically given the perfect excuse for war as the servants brought the things that I ordered to as I showed them the plans
"If those plans work, we could destroy the barbarian army before they even get close enough to the city walls," one of the triarch's from the elephant side said in both awe and horror at the brutality of the idea.
"Indeed, and it will set an example for our enemies to look at us with fear of what we will do to them if they don't do as we want." Said Malaquo Maegyr of the Tiger side, clearly excited to try it.
"Now, my friends." I said as they got their attention back to me.
"We need a lot of cloth, and we need it to be flammable," I said as they laughed at the joke.