Lysandro the Magnificent

Lysandro the Magnificent was the First Magister whose influence shaped the government and wealth of Lys. His rule rested on offices that could not pass to an heir and on the resources of the Rogare Bank, leaving his death to open a contest for power even as his family inherited substantial property and wealth.

Power and government

Lysandro exercised dominion over Lys through a collection of offices, none of which was hereditary. That distinction separated his personal authority from the property he could leave to his children: his political position had to be won anew, and his death immediately exposed it to rivals.

The book presents his influence as a source of resentment among Lyseni merchants and political figures. His opponents and former allies were said to have chafed under what was called the velvet tyranny of his rule. Yet the narrative does not settle how far that reputation reflected his own methods or the interests of those who sought to replace him.

Death and suspicion

Lysandro died in Lys within a day of his brother Drazenko’s death in Sunspear. Drazenko died first after choking on a piece of bacon; Lysandro drowned when his opulent barge sank as it carried him from the Perfumed Garden to his palace. The near-simultaneous deaths, separated by the narrow sea, made the circumstances difficult for observers to dismiss as ordinary misfortune.

Many suspected a plot to bring down House Rogare, and the Faceless Men of Braavos were widely believed to have carried out the killings. The Iron Bank of Braavos, the Archon of Tyrosh, Racallio Ryndoon, and Lyseni merchant princes and magisters were all proposed as possible instigators. Some even suspected Lysandro’s own sons. But no one could prove that either death was murder, leaving the supposed conspiracy unresolved.

Family, inheritance, and aftermath

Lysandro had six trueborn sons, three daughters, and sixteen acknowledged bastards. His children divided parts of his estate: Lysara received his palace, Drako his ships, Fredo his pillow house, and Marra his library. All his offspring shared in the wealth represented by the Rogare Bank, though his bastards received smaller shares than his trueborn children.

The bank’s effective control, however, went to Lysandro’s eldest son, Lysaro Rogare. The contrast between inherited resources and inherited political office was decisive: Lysandro’s children could receive property and bank wealth, but none could simply inherit his nonhereditary authority. After his corpse was recovered from the sea, old enemies, false friends, and former allies began competing to succeed him. The account characterizes Lysaro as having twice his father’s ambition and half his ability, and his subsequent efforts to secure power carried the family’s posthumous struggle into a new phase.