Game of Thrones: Oath of Iron and Fire-Chapter 67: Jon Arryn Is Dying

"Jon Arryn is dying!

Gendry looked at the map on his desk.

Maester Kebab's face twisted, and he shrugged. "For a man of his age, struggling to hold the realm together, old Jon has lived a good, long life!"

"Jon Arryn's death is more than just old age!" Gendry said mysteriously, not revealing too many details. Jon Arryn had been undone by the treachery of Lysa Tully and Littlefinger.

"Chaos in Westeros might be just around the corner!" Maester Kebab said with certainty. "For years, King Robert has been a lecher and a drunkard, and Queen Cersei has been arrogant and power-hungry. Only old Jon has been holding things together! Once the Hand dies, the king will be at a loss. He'll need someone to clean up his messes and keep him fed, watered, and entertained. He won't have the mind to care about us!"

To be honest, Gendry harbored no ill will toward Jon Arryn. But as the architect of the Baratheon dynasty, Jon Arryn had only delayed the inevitable problems rather than solving them.

There was no way around it; the new dynasty wasn't that strong, and the king was a drunkard and a whoremonger. The Lannister queen was vicious and arrogant, expanding her influence in King's Landing. And the king's two brothers couldn't be trusted.

"I think the only person King Robert can trust now is Lord Eddard!" the handsome man replied with certainty.

"The Wolfpack across the Narrow Sea, have you been keeping an eye on Westerosi politics?" Master Kebab asked the handsome man.

"The Narrow Sea isn't that far. The North is the Wolfpack's homeland, and we've always had an interest in the Starks! But we've crossed the sea to make a living. The Wolfpack has the blood of the North but is no longer a vassal of House Stark! During the Usurper's War, when the North marched south for vengeance, the Wolfpack's commander didn't order an invasion."

"Good!" Gendry encouraged the handsome man to continue.

"The core of the Usurper's War was the stag, the eagle, the fish, and the wolf. Lord Eddard and King Robert were Jon Arryn's wards. Hoster Tully married his two daughters to Jon Arryn and Lord Eddard, and later Jon Arryn arranged the king's marriage to the Lannisters.

Now that Jon Arryn is dead and Hoster Tully is ill, the only other qualified candidate is Lord Tywin. But King Robert isn't foolish enough to let the Lannisters completely control King's Landing! And then there's the stern Stannis, but unfortunately, the king doesn't trust his brother."

"With Jon Arryn gone, it looks like the direwolf is about to enter the game!" Gendry felt the gears of fate turning. The game of power was about to begin.

"Let Westeros be in chaos! Otherwise, if we apply pressure, these fragmented forces might unite again!"

"With Jon Arryn's death, our opportunity has come!" the "handsome man" replied, but he didn't want the two of them to misunderstand their meaning. "It's not about waging war on the Iron Throne, but attacking Tyrosh!"

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"It's a good opportunity. Tyrosh is still counting on support from Lys, Volantis, and the Iron Throne." The Wolfpack's fleet, from the Stepstones to the Myr Bay, needed to take out Tyrosh, a major island in the Stepstones.

"Tyrosh should return some of the refugee Myrish warships and magisters to us! Otherwise, this is the beginning of war!"

"King's Landing is in chaos because of the Hand's death, but will Pentos, Lys, and Volantis still get involved? And what about the strongest of all, Braavos?"

"Braavos opposes slavery, Lys and Volantis are slow to make decisions, and Pentos has money but no real power! The window of opportunity is fleeting!"

The fleet across the Narrow Sea won't come. Gendry was predicting the pressure of expanding to Tyrosh.

"We need to meet with envoys from all sides and stall them!"

The Red Keep, the Throne Room—Jon Arryn's coffin rested here. The deceased was around eighty years old, perhaps the oldest Hand of the King ever.

Four White Knights stood on either side, an honor the old man could no longer see.

Jon had blue eyes, blond hair, and a hooked nose, but he had lost most of his teeth, half of them gone by the time he married Lysa Tully.

This old man, who had played a crucial role in establishing the Baratheon dynasty, his death was a huge blow to the king and the entire realm.

Before Duke Jon died, he kept calling out "Robert" and kept repeating his last words to his wife Lysa Tully and King Robert, "Strength of lineage." Soon, he began to slur his speech and passed away the next morning.

"My good foster father, I wish you could come back! We could chat and drink together. Maybe I should have spent more time with you!" King Robert looked at his foster father's body.

"Robert! Robert! What Jon was saying before he died was about my Robin, Your Majesty!" Lady Lysa said nervously to the king. "He will grow up healthy and inherit the Eyrie!"

"My lady! Your dear Robin is set to inherit the Eyrie. I think it would be better if he went to the Westerlands and became Lord Tywin's ward!" King Robert suggested. "Lord Tywin has never taken a ward before. You should feel honored."

"Robin cannot leave me! No one can!" Lysa shouted, her outburst ruining the king's mood. "King's Landing is full of bad people. They killed my Jon."

"Crazy woman! Jon couldn't take it anymore, that's why he's gone!" King Robert thought to himself.

"The true dragon remnants across the Narrow Sea, the choice for the Hand of the King! Oh, how I wish you could come back and help your poor foster son!" King Robert looked at Duke Jon's body, feeling distressed.

"Your Grace, Duke Jon's death is indeed painful, but the most important thing is to choose a new Hand of the King!" Varys said in a sweet voice.

"Yes! That is crucial!" King Robert thought. He rarely attended the Small Council, relying on Jon for too long, and it was time for him to make a choice.

But choosing a Hand was a heavy responsibility, and finding someone loyal and reliable was difficult. He had a strained relationship with Stannis, Hoster was ill, Prince Doran had a blood feud with King's Landing, and Lord Tywin was too arrogant!

"Eddard!" King Robert turned his thoughts to the time in the Eyrie, thinking of someone he could trust. Robert planned to let Eddard run the country and lead the armies, while he? He would indulge in food, drink, and pleasure to his heart's content.

"Your Grace!" Robert saw the blonde woman in red, Queen Cersei. Cersei's relationship with Jon Arryn could only be described as average, so her presence now was quite surprising.

"I've come to mourn the passing of a Hand. With the realm in such a difficult state, I believe you need a strong and loyal Hand!" Cersei suggested. "In terms of both ability and loyalty, my father, Lord Tywin, is more than qualified!"

"Enough! Woman! I am the king, and I have my plans!" King Robert shouted angrily. "Once I take up the warhammer, I can win everything!"

"Very well! The current trouble is caused by your bastards and the Targaryen remnants. You'll have to deal with it yourself!"