A Clash of Kings – A Riddle
Varys’s riddle is one of the pictures I’ve been looking forward to drawing. As far as I’m concerned it’s one of the few times a character states the books’ thesis. (The other one being where Cersei explains the game of thrones to Eddard) It is also the main reason I changed my rules so I don’t pick pages exclusively at random.
I wanted to do this as abstract as possible, almost as if it was a stained glass window. My only problem with it is I think the sellsword could be lower down in the image. Once again I’m limited by my format.
“May I leave you with a bit of a riddle, Lord Tyrion?” He did not wait for an answer. “In a room sit three great men, a king, a priest, and a rich man with his gold. Between them stands a sellsword, a little man of common birth and no great mind. Each of the great ones bids him slay the other two. ‘Do it,’ says the king, ‘for I am your lawful ruler.’ ‘Do it,’ says the priest, ‘for I command you in the names of the gods.’ ‘Do it,’ says the rich man, ‘and all this gold shall be yours.’ So tell me—who lives and who dies?”