The Master of Whisperers

The Master of Whisperers is the spymaster of the Iron Throne, the official charged with gathering intelligence, rooting out conspiracy, and managing the network of informants known as "little birds." During the reign of King Tommen Baratheon, the office is held by Varys, the eunuch who served King Aerys II, King Robert I, and King Joffrey before him. In the epilogue of A Dance with Dragons, Varys demonstrates the full reach of his power by personally assassinating Lord Regent Kevan Lannister and Grand Maester Pycelle, a double murder that shatters the fragile peace between Lannister and Tyrell and clears the path for the claimant he has secretly nurtured for years: Aegon Targaryen, the son of Prince Rhaegar.

Identity and Background

Varys is a eunuch from the Free City of Myr, though he spent his early years in Pentos, where he met and formed a lifelong partnership with the magister Illyrio Mopatis. As a young man in Pentos, Varys lived as a beggar and thief, sleeping in sewers by day and prowling rooftops by night. Illyrio, then a bravo in soiled silks, protected him, and together they built a criminal enterprise: Varys spied on lesser thieves and stole their takings, while Illyrio offered to recover stolen valuables for a fee. Varys trained orphan boys and young girls—whom he called "mice"—to climb walls, slip down chimneys, and steal letters, ledgers, and charts rather than gold and gems. "Secrets are worth more than silver or sapphires," he claimed. This network of child spies eventually became the "little birds" he would later use in King's Landing. His talents crossed the narrow sea and reached the ears of King Aerys II Targaryen, who summoned him to court and made him his Master of Whisperers.

Role and Methods

As Master of Whisperers, Varys controls the realm's most extensive intelligence network, using his little birds—orphaned children who move unseen through the walls and passages of the Red Keep—to gather secrets from every corner of the court. He is a master of disguise and misdirection, often appearing in the guise of a begging brother in a moth-eaten robe. His power lies not in armies or gold but in information, and he uses it to manipulate events from the shadows. He is deeply mistrusted by nearly everyone at court, including Tyrion Lannister, who notes that Varys saved him from execution only because Jaime Lannister compelled him. Tyrion reflects that he should have killed the eunuch as well, but something stayed his hand—not gratitude, for Varys had acted under duress.

Key Actions and Objectives

Varys's ultimate objective is the restoration of the Targaryen dynasty to the Iron Throne, specifically through Aegon Targaryen, the son of Prince Rhaegar, whom he smuggled out of King's Landing as an infant and raised in secret across the narrow sea. To this end, he orchestrates the assassination of Lord Regent Kevan Lannister and Grand Maester Pycelle at the end of A Dance with Dragons. He kills Kevan with a crossbow bolt—a deliberate echo of Tywin Lannister's death—and has his little birds slit Pycelle's throat. He then stages the scene to implicate the Tyrells, the Imp, or the Dornishmen, ensuring that "doubt, division, and mistrust will eat the very ground beneath your boy king, whilst Aegon raises his banner above Storm's End." He explains to the dying Kevan that he bears him no ill will but that Kevan was "threatening to undo all the queen's good work, to reconcile Highgarden and Casterly Rock, bind the Faith to your little king, unite the Seven Kingdoms under Tommen's rule."

Relationships and Conflict

Varys's primary conflict is with the Lannister regime, which he systematically undermines. He is a longtime ally of Illyrio Mopatis, with whom he has plotted for years to place a Targaryen back on the throne. He is also the architect of the secret pact that sent Aegon Targaryen into hiding with Jon Connington, the prince's former Hand and friend. Varys's relationship with Tyrion Lannister is complex: he saves Tyrion from execution and smuggles him out of King's Landing after Tyrion kills Tywin, but he does so only because Jaime compelled him. Tyrion later reflects that Varys is not to be trusted, and that he is a piece in the game of thrones, to be moved and sacrificed at need.

Change and Ending

In the epilogue, Varys reveals the full extent of his long game. After killing Kevan and Pycelle, he speaks to the dying lord regent, explaining that Aegon Targaryen has been shaped for rule since before he could walk: trained in arms, languages, history, law, and poetry; taught to live among fisherfolk, work with his hands, and know what it is to be hungry and afraid. "Tommen has been taught that kingship is his right," Varys says. "Aegon knows that kingship is his duty." With the Lannister-Tyrell alliance fractured and the realm in chaos, Varys's work is done for the moment, and he vanishes back into the shadows from which he came.

Narrative Role and Evaluation

Varys functions as the ultimate puppet master of the series, a figure whose machinations span decades and whose true loyalties remain hidden until the final pages of A Dance with Dragons. He is a master of deception, a manipulator of kings and queens, and a believer in the ideal of a just ruler—even if he must wade through blood to bring that ruler to power. His assassination of Kevan Lannister is the final act of the book, a cold and calculated stroke that resets the board and sets the stage for the coming conflict between the Lannisters, the Tyrells, the Dornish, and the returning Targaryens.