Xaro Xhoan Daxos was a man of great power and influence. He was a man with immense respect in society and was one of the most influential and powerful figures in the city of Qarth. And he was a member of ruling council of thirteen of Qarth.
Xaro Xhoan Daxos was not a native of the city of Qarth. He had been born in the Summer Isles. He had been born in a poor household where even filling the stomach twice a day was a difficult task. His father had died immediately after his birth and his mother too had left the world when he had been a mere teenager.
The struggle to keep himself fed and have a roof over his head turned Xaro into the man he was today. From a very young age, Xaro Xhoan Daxos had been clever, shrewd, cunning, and possessed a very keen mind for business. Treachery, bravery, courageous, cowardice, backstabbing or deceit, nothing was different for Xaro. If it achieved him success, it was the best quality for him.
He had faced a lot of struggles in his life but he never stopped moving forwards. He began his trading journey at a young age and achieved great success. One way or another, Xaro would always find a way to conquer his woes and difficulties.
In few years, he had been able to accumulate a small treasure for himself. After which, he left the Summer Isles and shifted permanently to the city of Qarth for a wider platform and better opportunities. The massive and wealthy city was the platform he had been looking for, where his success would soar higher and higher.
From that position, starving and impoverished, to rise and become a member of the Council of Thirteen was a great achievement for him.
But he knew and understood his reality better than most of the smallfolk and even the rich elite. He was a shining gold coin for the world but inwardly the coin was filled with lead.
Xaro Xhoan Daxos was the newest and the latest addition of the Council of Thirteen, and it had been a great moment for him to be included in that council. Not that he found any joy or esteem in being part of that circle. He almost loathed that group and for good reason.
The council was a body comprised mostly of descendants of previous kings of the city or the heirs of extremely wealthy and influential families.
And Xaro Xhoan Daxos was an outcast among them. True, he had been admitted into their circle, but it had been more of a political move by the council rather than him being rewarded for his success.
A few years back, many people, including the smallfolk and even the lesser merchants, had started to raise questions as to why people from only certain families always remained part of the council. Was it even possible for someone else to get the chance? Though it had not become a rebellion like situation, the council had not been willing to take a risk. They understood that sometimes pacification of the anger was necessary.
And thus, Xaro Xhoan Daxos was granted the chance. His inclusion in the council was their gimmick to showcase their inclusivity for all kinds of people. Even if origins, lay from outside the society.
But Xaro Xhoan Daxos had never really been able to become one of them. He was never granted the same respect as the other members of the council.
But this was not the end of the woes for Xaro Xhoan Daxos. When he had initially settled in the city of Qarth, he had found great success and had earned great wealth. He had risen quickly in ranks becoming what he was today.
But in recent times, he had been facing failure after failure. He had suffered quite a lot of losses in the recent past, and many of his ventures had failed. Sometimes it was his own bad decision, and sometimes it was pure bad luck. But what was certain was that Xaro Xhoan Daxos had been making losses in the recent past.
There was a vault in his house which he had built to keep his treasures. When he had gotten that vault constructed, Xaro had thought, he had dreamed that there would be a day when he would fill it to the brim with gold, silver, jewels, stones, and other riches. And for a time, it had looked to him that by his old age, he might have been able to accomplish that dream.
But no. On the contrary, he had been forced to take treasures out of the vault to support his businesses. A couple of months earlier, 4 of his ships had sunk in the sea and it had greatly increased his troubles. And if he did not find a solution to his woes, his vault would be completely empty in another year.
It was only his influence and his position as a member of the Thirteen that had kept him from going completely downhill. But this position was not a permanent insurance for him.
So, when Xleucs Upucys arrived to him with the knowledge of a person who was promising large supplies of alcohol from Lord Aeos' empire, he was quite interested.
And much to his pleasant surprise, the man had promised to deliver 100 barrels of drink instantly to prove that his proposal was genuine and that he was not a fraud.
It was a godsent opportunity for him to get out of his woes. Although, in front of Xleucs Upucys, he had acted as if he would give some thought to personally visiting the port as a sign of sincerity, he had never been in doubt. He had merely put on a show that would have been expected from a member of the council in front of Xleucs Upucys.
"Lord Xaro," Xleucs Upucys said in a subservient tone as he led him through the port. "I believe that this partnership with Aeloros would push our finances even better."
Xaro had feigned that since he was free today, he would accompany Xleucs to the port.
Xaro nodded, "Yes. Just that he is not making a fool out of me."
"I doubt that anyone would dare do try something like this with you in Qarth," Xleucs Upucys chuckled.
"There he is," Xleucs pointed as Jon and Melisandre came into their view who were standing in front of a small warehouse.
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