Chapter 23: Bartimos
It had not been that long when he arrived in Herston Hall – only a few years, in fact. He had finally gotten to know most of the servants, and of course all of the council members and their family and friends. He had finally settled into his rookery and organized it in such a manner that it felt like a proper home for him. And yet, after only those few years, Bartimos found himself not only serving as maester of the hall...but the regent of Lockport as well.
Lorys' body had been brought back to Lockport by boat, accompanied by Andren, who seemed as grief stricken as Bartimos had ever seen him. After returning, young Andren was placed under the command of Master at Arms Arrec for his upraising; Bartimos had not felt Arrec to be the most perfect role model, but he knew that Andren had been training to be a squire, and he needed a knight of some sort to continue his service under. In the meantime, the maester attended his lordship's body, which was still somewhat conscience, but just barely. Every day, he would go into Lord Lorys' room, find him laying on the bed, serve him a simple meal that had been smooshed so that he could weakly chew and swallow, and then feed the lord some milk of the poppy to ease his pain. He would say respectful things to him, and speak as if he were fully conscience, even if he knew Lorys could perhaps only understand half of what was going on. And every day, Bartimos saw the condition worsening, bit by bit.
The Lockport troops that had been under Lorys' command remained with Lord Connington, in order to assist him in the finishing of the war. The Stormland armies continued to win battle after battle, and eventually, by September of 300 AL, the war was over. Lord Mary (or rather, Lord Mary's court) imprisoned Lord Eldon Estermont and the young Lord Olryn Caron (the latter of whom had inherited the Dornish Marches after his father died of a severe depression). The first major test against the lord paramount's government after Lord Renly's death had been passed, and within a short span of time. Few within the Stormlands could deny Lord Lorys' great contribution to it...but he would never be able to understand just what an impact he had made.
Of the one thousand men who went away to war, less than three hundred returned. They were tired and dirty, and many seemed very grateful to at last be home and away from battle. What prestige and valor had been obtained in the first few months of the war had been dashed in last few months; with their lord commander wounded and near death, and two thirds of their number gone, there was little for the men to be prideful about. Their condition caused heartache for Bartimos, and he could only imagine that it would be a long, long time before the number of levies returned to normal, which meant it would be a long, long time before Lockport ever went to war again. This did not mean, however, that the rest of the Seven Kingdoms would not go to war any time soon...
In October of 300 AL, the Iron Islands, former masters of the Riverlands and a culture which practically lived in the sea, had revolted against King Robert in the hopes of obtaining independence. They were at the time ruled by the eleven-year old "Iron King" Norjen Greyjoy. Rumors and stories said that he was rambunctious boy for his age, afraid of no one and full of ideas about where his family should go and what his people should do. He was the son of Rodrik Greyjoy, son of Balon, and also known as "the Black Reaver." Like his father before him, he had died in in combat while his fleet was engaged in one of King Robert's many wars against the Free Cities – some speculated that Norjen was attempting to revolt partially because of that fact.
It was one evening that, while Bartimos was reading on the latest reports on the war, two men entered his rookery. The maester recognized them at once as Jon and Ben Herston, the sons of the current Master of Laws, Ser Jeren Herston. The two brothers were nearly identical, save that Ben had, over the years, gained more and more weight on himself, while Jon had maintained his proper health. Regardless of weight, Bartimos cared for neither: they were unlike their father, with a ruthless streak made only worse when they paired themselves up together. Their arrival in his rookery, and both at the same time, could only bode ill tidings.
"How are ya, this evening, maester?" Ben began. He sat himself down, grinning at Bartimos, obviously trying to get a rise out of him. Bartimos, however, showed no sign of being upset by this, which immediately made Ben snarl. The maester was not about to permit this man to easily rile him.
"I am quite fine, actually," Bartimos said, after Jon had settled himself into a standing position by his table, "I was catching up on the Greyjoy rebellion. There is a rumor that the boy's army may be sailing all the way around Dorne to assault King's Landing."
"We're not too concerned with that," Jon said, "we're concerned about here, in Herston Hall. And the regency."
"I am the regent," Bartimos said matter-of-factly.
"That ya are," Ben said, his cheeks engulfing his mouth as he smiled, "for now."
"We'll be blunt with you," Jon said, leaning forward and resting his hand son the desk as he drew his face closer to Bartimos, "we want you to surrender your regency to us. Let us run Herston Hall until that runt in the courtyard is old enough to take over."
"What right do you gentlemen believe you have to the regency?" Bartimos asked, keeping his face void of emotion.
Ben laughed, "He's a thick one, ain't he? Need we remind you of the name of this hall, good maester? Our family, by all rights, should own this place, but we lost it because King Robert loved his good friend Lorys too much. One little Herston death, and an upstart knight gets to sit his arse in the hall? Bah!"
"We don't want to draw blood," said Jon, "but we will. And don't think maesters can't be replaced."
Am I truly being threatened? Bartimos thought. Or were these men just bluffing? If it had been anyone else, he might have called it as a bluff, but he knew these two men all too well. Their father found them to be a disgrace, and no one in the hall trusted them. If they intended to kill him in his rookery and dub it an accident, they would be more than happy to do it. Bartimos glanced his eyes from one brother to another, studying their expressions: Jon's cold, stoic face and Ben's grinning, sadistic glee. No, beyond a shadow of a doubt, if these men wanted to kill Bartimos right here, they would do it. Even if it meant their immenent execution afterward, they would do it.
I will not fear, Bartimos began to think to himself.
Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the kindling that ignites the blaze of death. I am a maester of this hall, called to serve its master to the best of my ability... After a moment, Bartimos knew what he must do.
"I will gladly hand you over the regency," Bartimos replied, "without a struggle, and without any trouble on the part of you two men...but on one condition."
Jon snarled a little, "And what is that?"
Bartimos stood up now, intending to quietly show that this was one issue he intended to make with firmness, "I want to be in charge of the education of our lordship's issue."
Ben laughed, and Jon rolled his eyes. The latter remarked, "Take it – poison the little runts for all we care."
And so it was agreed upon.
Author's Note: I know that, in game, you can't have more than one person be regent at once, but for some reason the game fired off these two events one after the other, so I decided to roll with it in the story.
Bartimos had a good reason for his bargain. He realized that he may have had to give up the regency, but the regency would end when Andren reached majority age. In the meantime, Bartimos' most faithful duty would be to Herston Hall and the House of Threedrop. The most helpful he could be with all his skill and ability was to ensure that Andren, the heir and future Lord of Lockport, turned into the best lord possible. When he reached majority age, his education would be over, and the fruits of that education would come to light. Bartimos wanted to ensure that Andren would be as capable as his father, if not better. So it was that, after that day, the maester took the heir of Lockport under his wing and guidance, and began to tutor him daily.
Andren was ten-years of age now, and under Arrec had grown little in his studies. Bartimos attempted to teach him in the ways of diplomacy, economy, and court politics. Although the boy was still being trained to be a knight, he already showed some skill in law, as well as in affairs of coinage. He was a remarkably bright boy for his age, really, and so it did not surprise Bartimos one afternoon when, looking up from his studies, Andren suddenly asked in a timid voice:
"Maester Bartimos...was my father good to my mother?"
The maester turned from a book he was reading to look Andren in the face, "Why do you ask that question?"
Andren bit his lip nervously, fiddling with his quill pen as afraid to continue, "Well...since father suffered in battle...I haven't seen mother sad. I haven't seen her happy, but...she seems to be taking it...too well...does that make sense? I'm sorry, Maester Bartimos."
I cannot blame your mother, Bartimos thought. He still remembered that faithful moment when he overheard the two talking, and Lord Lorys had made a personal jest at Eglantine's expense, regarding her past miscarriages. He knew how Lorys had spoken around his wife, regarding other women, as if Eglantine were not even in the same room. He knew that Lorys was willing to accept the offer of any woman who threw herself at him, and if none did, he went looking for a woman who was willing to try. He was amazed that Eglantine had remained faithful herself, and not gone into adultery and had her own affairs, as many women did in other courts. Yet how was he to explain all this to a ten-year old child, who had before only seen his father as the perfect example of knight and lord? How was he to explain this to a little boy with a father he loved infirm and in bed, expected to die at any moment?
Bartimos thought on all this carefully a moment, and then stood up, saying in a soft voice, "You do not need to apologize, Andren – I know very well what you mean. Andren, my dear lord, you must understand that your father had many talents: he was a fine warrior, a prudent leader, and a noble lord. However, as for being a husband, your father...had great immaturities. He was not bred to sit in halls and live with ladies, but to be on the field with his men, living as soldiers do. Do you understand my words, Andren?"
Andren's eyes looked down, and his expression sank so low that Bartimos was surprised his face did not fall to the floor. He had clearly been hurt by the words, even though the maester had worded them carefully. The truth, Bartimos knew, would hurt those who wanted to hear it. It did not matter if you spoke it bluntly, or you spoke it kindly – it would hurt nonetheless. Some men killed because they had heard the truth, while others never recovered from the blow. When Andren still seemed downtrodden by this revelation, Bartimos walked over and gently placed a hand upon his shoulder, smiling down at him as he whispered:
"But when you take a lady, someday, you must be better. Be as brave as your father was on the field, and as prudent as he was on the throne – but be far more loving in your household than he ever was."
Andren nodded, "Yes, Maester Bartimos...I will."
Bartimos wished for a happy distraction...and by the gods, he got it. A raven flew in, carrying on its leg a thick parchment that would clearly offer some lengthy information. Andren and Bartimos were both interested in it, and the maester quickly took the parchment and unrolled it quickly, scanning the contents. He smirked and turned to Andren, "Well well...I think the Seven Kingdoms will be at peace again when you take leadership, my lord."
The parchment spoke on the Greyjoy Rebellion. As it turned out, the rumors of an Iron Island assault on King's Landing were true: 15,000 Ironborn had landed outside the city, with a few thousand more landing in Rosby to loot and pillage. It was a foolhardy endeavor: a large force from the Reach marched on King's Landing and lifted the siege, while a force from the Riverlands marched into Rosby and obliterated the Ironborn forces there. The casualties outside King's Landing were so bad for the Ironborn that barely 4,000 made it out, heading north to link up with their brothers in Rosby, only to be caught between the Reachmen and Riverlanders. It was a serious loss for the Greyjoys, and already it was expected that Lord Norjen would come to King Robert to plea for a peace bargain.
"A pity," Andren said, "I was hoping the war would be far more exciting."
"War is never exciting," Bartimos said, rolling the parchment up, "at times it is necessary, and the intricacies of it can be fascinating to the thinking mind, but it is never exciting. You, of all people, should know that, Andren."
Andren nodded with a sudden sadness coming over his face, and Bartimos knew that he needed to say no more.