A Clash of Kings – The Voice
“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.
A Clash of Kings Chapter 44 – Tyrion
A young Varys is maimed for life by a mysterious magician. With his manhood burning in the fire, he hears a voice that he will never forget.
I’m such a hypocrite. After saying how I didn’t like illustrating scenes involving child abuse, I draw the origin of Varys!
I have to admit I have problems with this story. When I first read this story I assumed that Varys had made it up to snow Tyrion. It was part of my “Pro from Lys” hypothesis. This involved Varys being just one more identity of the Pro. So, while “Varys” is a eunuch, the Pro is not. Regrettably, if most of the information about Varys from the show that’s presented as facts are true, this hypotheses is blown out of the water.
Even so, this story has holes in it, and I’m not sure if Mr. Martin’s doing it on purpose or not. It’s easy to ask if the magician didn’t care whether Varys lives or dies, why didn’t he just kill him? It’s not just that. Varys’s wound would have had him bleed out pretty quickly. Therefore, it follows that the magician made sure that Varys didn’t die. Is this something that leads to greater questions, or is it a hole in a story told by one of the greatest liars in Westeros?