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Why Varys was Cut.


RedShirt47

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I have been wondering why Varyswas cut by the Warlock. This blood magic seems quite rare. If this was powerful magic worth buying a mumer for you'd imagine there'd be quite a few characters wandering around missing vital parts of their anatomy.


Also why did this Warlock buy a mummer? Surely there were slave markets where he could pick up victims easier and cheaper?



Is this a clue to Varys being a Blackfyre and having King's Blood? As Melisandre points out King's Blood has power and she uses it with Leeches. I'm not sure how potent his King's Blood would be as Aegon IV was quite some time ago and he inherited his through the female line, but I imagine it's still potent enough.


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Burning Varys' balls was like sacrificing 100 million Targs all at once - and caused the explosion at Summerhall.



But it was another Targ making the sacrifice, thus it is Kin's blood that matters, not King's blood.


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I think him being cut is something to do with him being a Blackfyre. He could've been cut and was apart of a blood sacrifice because someone knew about his King's blood or someone found out about him being a Targ descendant and cut him to try and stop the Blackfyre line continuing.

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If Varys is indeed related to the Targaryens he is not from the Blackfyre line. The two most probable men for him to be descended from are Aerion "Brightflame" Targaryen or Aegon V's as yet unnamed third son. I think the second man is most probable. This would make his king's blood of a much more recent vintage.


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I still don't see the power in "King's blood." I mean, any drunken loser can call themselves a King and if you get enough drunken losers behind you saying the same thing it legitimates that claim. So what is "King's blood" other than regular blood? Since Balon declared himself a King does Theon have King's blood now, yet not before? Is it blood of the First Men Kings or the Valyrian's? It seems to me it's just blood magic but human ideals dictate that obviously a King's blood must be more important because in our minds a King is special via a Westerosi "Dieu et mon droit" the English King's motto of the divine rights of King's.


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I think that it was because of the power in King's blood.

:agree:

Melisandre put her hand on the king’s arm. “The Lord of Light cherishes the innocent. There is no sacrifice more precious. From his king’s blood and his untainted fire, a dragon shall be born.”

"One day at Myr, a certain man came to our folly. After the performance, he made an offer for me that my master found too tempting to refuse. I was in terror. I feared the man meant to use me as I had heard men used small boys, but in truth the only part of me he had need of was my manhood. He gave me a potion that made me powerless to move or speak, yet did nothing to dull my senses. With a long hooked blade, he sliced me root and stem, chanting all the while. I watched him burn my manly parts on a brazier. The flames turned blue, and I heard a voice answer his call, though I did not understand the words they spoke.

"The mummers had sailed by the time he was done with me. Once I had served his purpose, the man had no further interest in me, so he put me out. When I asked him what I should do now, he answered that he supposed I should die. To spite him, I resolved to live. I begged, I stole, and I sold what parts of my body still remained to me. Soon I was as good a thief as any in Myr, and when I was older I learned that often the contents of a man's letters are more valuable than the contents of his purse.

"Yet I still dream of that night, my lord. Not of the sorcerer, nor his blade, nor even the way my manhood shriveled as it burned. I dream of the voice. The voice from the flames. Was it a god, a demon, some conjurer's trick? I could not tell you, and I know all the tricks. All I can say for a certainty is that he called it, and it answered, and since that day I have hated magic and all those who practice it. If Lord Stannis is one such, I mean to see him dead."

Given the fact that slaves are generally mistreated in Essos, I wouldn't be surprised if young children are used by priests and magicians.

Still Varys in his story never really explains why he was chosen. It could be because he was an orphan and therefore expendable or it could be something more. It wasn't as if Varys was old or sick, he was young and apparently a gifted mummer. As a slave, he was valuable to his master and proved himself to be an asset. Slave owners want to train their slaves and teach them how to perform their duties in order to profit. Think of the slaves that Dany freed in Meereen. Rylona Rhee was trained to play the harp and apparently she was a gifted musician. The weavers that Grazdan used to own, were also gifted artisans. Slaves, with certain exceptions, were not supposed to be mistreated, but they were expected to gain profit for their masters.

I doubt that mummers are willing to give away their slaves so easily.

Varys mentions that the sorcerer gave his master a considerable amount of money and the offer was made after he had watched Varys perform.Perhaps the performance was a re-enactment of an event from Targaryen history. Perhaps Varys was promoted as the last of the Blackfyres or as Aerion's descendant.

Grazdan shrugged expansively. “If blood is what you wish, let it flow. I am told you have freed your eunuchs. Freedom means as much to an Unsullied as a hat to a haddock.” He smiled at Grey Worm, but the eunuch might have been made of stone. “Those who survive we shall enslave again, and use to retake Astapor from the rabble. We can make a slave of you as well, do not doubt it. There are pleasure houses in Lys and Tyrosh where men would pay handsomely to bed the last Targaryen.”

In SOS, Grazdan mo Eraz, threatens Dany that if she attempts to move against him, not only he will defeat her but he will make her a bed slave, using her ancestry in order to lure customers.

My guess is that Varys' ancestry was used by his master in a similar manner and the sorcerer needed Targaryen blood.

What makes me wonder though, is why the sorcerer wanted to perform a ritual so demanding?

Melisandre wanted to awake the stone dragon. What did the sorcerer wanted to accomplish?

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I still don't see the power in "King's blood." I mean, any drunken loser can call themselves a King and if you get enough drunken losers behind you saying the same thing it legitimates that claim. So what is "King's blood" other than regular blood?

You're trying logic in a world full of magic? Good luck with that.

Maybe it's just the power of believe. If enough people think that ordinary guy is a king than these people giving him some mystical power. Something like that.

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I still don't see the power in "King's blood." I mean, any drunken loser can call themselves a King and if you get enough drunken losers behind you saying the same thing it legitimates that claim. So what is "King's blood" other than regular blood? Since Balon declared himself a King does Theon have King's blood now, yet not before? Is it blood of the First Men Kings or the Valyrian's? It seems to me it's just blood magic but human ideals dictate that obviously a King's blood must be more important because in our minds a King is special via a Westerosi "Dieu et mon droit" the English King's motto of the divine rights of King's.

I still don't think there has been any solid verification that there is actual power in "king's blood". The leech thing we pretty much know was Mel spinning things to make it look like she was causing things she saw in the flames. The shadow assassins we don't know if it was the fact the other person was considered a king, if just required any other person, if it is something genetic from a particular family, or any other # of things. The information we have regarding these rituals is from relatively unreliable sources. Maybe Mel actually believes it has to be done with King's Blood as this is how she was taught for some reason as it's a commonly held misconception. Maybe Mel is misleading Stannis so she can secretly attempt to get rid of all of the Baratheons because she saw something in the flames regarding somebody from their line. I just can't see how it could work as described without seeming kind of ridiculous.

When I first saw the passages mentioning king's blood I had the same thoughts as you, and I can't see that being the integral factor in any magic as how to define whether somebody is a king or not just seems ridiculously subjective. At what point would somebody become a king and this then effect their blood? Is it after they've been coronated? Would deposed royalty like the Targs lose the power in their blood? Would a Khal in the Dothraki count as a king? How about the Sea Lord of Braavos? How about for mercenary companies, would their leaders be considered kings? How about whoever leads the BWB as they don't seem to consider themselves as being subjects to any of the Lords. Or is it only kings in Westeros which wouldn't seem to make sense for a ritual that seems more commonly practiced in Essos.

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I still don't think there has been any solid verification that there is actual power in "king's blood". The leech thing we pretty much know was Mel spinning things to make it look like she was causing things she saw in the flames. The shadow assassins we don't know if it was the fact the other person was considered a king, if just required any other person, if it is something genetic from a particular family, or any other # of things. The information we have regarding these rituals is from relatively unreliable sources. Maybe Mel actually believes it has to be done with King's Blood as this is how she was taught for some reason as it's a commonly held misconception. Maybe Mel is misleading Stannis so she can secretly attempt to get rid of all of the Baratheons because she saw something in the flames regarding somebody from their line. I just can't see how it could work as described without seeming kind of ridiculous.

When I first saw the passages mentioning king's blood I had the same thoughts as you, and I can't see that being the integral factor in any magic as how to define whether somebody is a king or not just seems ridiculously subjective. At what point would somebody become a king and this then effect their blood? Is it after they've been coronated? Would deposed royalty like the Targs lose the power in their blood? Would a Khal in the Dothraki count as a king? How about the Sea Lord of Braavos? How about for mercenary companies, would their leaders be considered kings? How about whoever leads the BWB as they don't seem to consider themselves as being subjects to any of the Lords. Or is it only kings in Westeros which wouldn't seem to make sense for a ritual that seems more commonly practiced in Essos.

:cheers:

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All of the theories involving Varys being cut because of King's Blood, omit to tell how the man cutting Varys would know about Varys' heritage...


What is also often forgotten, is that the mummers who had bought Varys as a slave, would have been buying a dragon. And that would have been costly, more than the mummer group most likely would want to pay.



So how do those two points fit in those theories?


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You're trying logic in a world full of magic? Good luck with that.

Maybe it's just the power of believe. If enough people think that ordinary guy is a king than these people giving him some mystical power. Something like that.

I always interpreted "king's blood" to mean "Targaryen blood" or -- more generally -- Valyrian blood. I have this vague concept in my head that the magic practiced in Old Valyria caused a form of radiation that infected anyone who is from there. Very minute traces of magic remains in their blood and can be 'leached' out by blood mages for their rituals. Robert, Edric, and Stannis have some Targaryen blood from his mother's line.

I'll admit that there is no evidence for this and I would not be surprised if it wasn't true. The strongest counterpoint to that is the fact that Mance Rayder counted as a king enough to be used by Melisandre despite the fact that he is not Valyrian and has no connection to any noble house at all. Although I have some suspicions about that too -- Melisandre didn't even burn Mance, she burned someone who was disguised as Mance, and even that could count. If that's the case, even the belief doesn't matter -- all you have to do is assert that someone is a king (even if you know that they are not, and even if no one in the world considers them a king) and it counts.

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You're trying logic in a world full of magic? Good luck with that.

Maybe it's just the power of believe. If enough people think that ordinary guy is a king than these people giving him some mystical power. Something like that.

That's what a good # of posts on this site attempt to do is deduce the machinations of the world, especially the magical aspects, based on the limited info given in the story. If there is no logic to the way the magic worked and wasn't internally consistent it would just open a pandora's box of deux ex machinas. That is why there are all the "what characteristics allow people to warg?", "who is able to ride dragons?", "what exactly are the Others and what do they want?", etc, etc posts. Maybe it is the power of believe, but personally I'd find that to be kind of a weak explanation, as this in itself is vague like my initial issue with the king's blood thing, which allows for the story being contorted too much for plot contrivances. I hope the story doesn't devolve into the typical fantasy one where random magic is just pulled out of everybody's fantastical asses.

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I too think that the power in King's blood is a misconception.


Of course there is power in King's blood - it's a feudal society, a the rulers are blood heirs. Many people are willing to follow on king or the other only because of their blood.


So I think there's a trivial and logical explanation for the origin of that phrase, and Mel and other "sorcerers" are misintepreting it. There is power, yes, but it's not magical.


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Just a reminder to everyone that Westeros is not the only part of the World of these books, and there are other Kings. Very probably Varys has King's blood, yes, but that does not make him a Targaryen/Blackfyre.



My top candidate is Alequo Adarys. Varys, Adarys....



A Band of Nine member would still have reasons to support fAegon without having to be a relative.

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Burning Varys' balls was like sacrificing 100 million Targs all at once - and caused the explosion at Summerhall.

But it was another Targ making the sacrifice, thus it is Kin's blood that matters, not King's blood.

this is my favorite thing ever
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Burning Varys' balls was like sacrificing 100 million Targs all at once - and caused the explosion at Summerhall.

But it was another Targ making the sacrifice, thus it is Kin's blood that matters, not King's blood.

Yeah this as well. Except I believe a FM sabotaged whatever happened at Summerhal and the unborn children of Varys were the price. In fact, Varys may have served in HoB&W too because Arya seems to follow his footsteps.

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