Character from A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
The Spider — a eunuch spymaster who claims to serve the realm while manipulating every faction from the shadows, whose network of 'little birds' makes him the most informed and least trusted person in every room he enters.
Varys is the most genuinely enigmatic character in a story full of schemers because his actual motivation remains ambiguous even to careful observers. He claims to serve 'the realm' — the common people, stability, good governance — and there is evidence both for and against this being true. He has engineered the fall of kings and the rise of pretenders with equal facility, always justifying it as necessary for the greater good. He speaks softly, self-deprecatingly, with frequent apologies and demurrals that are entirely tactical. He presents himself as harmless, as a servant, as a man with no ambition — and this is his most effective lie. He hoards secrets the way Tywin hoards gold, deploying them at precisely calibrated moments for maximum effect. His network of child spies — 'little birds' — gives him access to information that should be impossible to obtain. He and Littlefinger are mirror images: both came from nothing, both weaponized information, but Littlefinger wants chaos and Varys wants order. Their rivalry is the hidden engine of Westerosi politics.
Bald, plump, and soft with a round, pleasant face that gives nothing away. Powdered and perfumed, with small, delicate hands that he keeps folded or clasped. No facial hair, smooth skin — his appearance is deliberately androgynous and unthreatening. Wears flowing robes in muted colors. Moves silently, appearing and disappearing from rooms as though he knows passages no one else does — because he does. His smile is warm, his eyes are not.
Also known as: Varys, The Spider, Lord Varys, Master of Whisperers