Chapter Summaries

Ian and Daenerys arrived at Astapor’s Plaza of Pride to inspect the Unsullied, where Ian used Eon’s sudden appearance and pointed remarks to unsettle Kraznys mo Nakloz. The chapter ended as Ian asked the translator to explain the Unsullied’s three spear techniques.

• Ian and Daenerys entered the Plaza of Pride under escort after Kraznys invited them to inspect the Unsullied.
• Eon startled the Astapori guards and Kraznys before Ian stepped from the carriage and introduced Daenerys and himself.
• Missandei translated the introductions and led Ian and Daenerys toward the platform to view the Unsullied.
• Daenerys praised the Unsullied’s formation, while Ian compared them to male prostitutes and angered Kraznys.
• Missandei explained the Unsullied’s training, and Ian asked what their three methods of using a spear were.

Ian questioned the Unsullied’s weapons and formations, then challenged Commander Mormo’s account of their victory at Qohor by pointing out that the story’s timing and circumstances were unlikely. He began arguing that Qohor’s forces and the Dothraki’s limited arrows had shaped the battle before the Unsullied arrived.

• Ian asked about the three kinds of Unsullied spears and their formations, so Kraznys summoned Commander Mormo to answer him.
• Commander Mormo described the Unsullied’s javelins, Fighting Spears, and Phalanx Pikes, along with the formations and shields used with each.
• Ian compared the Unsullied to Alexander’s Imperial Guard infantry and recalled the story of the Three Thousand Braves at Qohor.
• Ian questioned how the Unsullied could have marched from Astapor and arrived at Qohor the day before its fall, and argued that the battle’s famous account had been revised.
• Commander Mormo insisted that the Unsullied had won the Defense of Qohor, while Ian argued that the Dothraki had already been weakened by months of fighting and faced Qohor’s forces.
• Ian cited Qohor’s renowned heavy cavalry and the Dothraki’s shortage of arrows as factors in the earlier fighting.

Ian explained that the Unsullied’s victory at Qohor depended on defensive preparations, support from the city, and the Dothraki’s lack of arrows, while slave traders exaggerated the battle to raise their price. Daenerys recoiled from the Unsullied’s training atrocities and begged Ian not to buy them, then realized he already knew what they had done.

• Ian argued that the Unsullied had defeated the Dothraki from prepared defenses with Qohor’s support, and that slave traders had inflated the battle’s legend to boost their price.
• Commander Mormo recognized that Ian’s explanation resolved his doubts about the battle, while Kraznys grew impatient but continued the sales pitch because Ian was wealthy.
• Kraznys and Femor described the Unsullied’s trials, including killing newborns and strangling the dogs they had raised.
• Daenerys was horrified by the training and pleaded with Ian not to buy the Unsullied, saying the purchase would also mean buying the babies and dogs they had killed.
• Daenerys noticed Ian’s unchanged expression and asked whether he had already known about the atrocities.

Ian persuaded Daenerys to agree to buy the Unsullied, then used her announcement and Black Dragon Ion to draw Kraznys’s interest toward buying the dragon and learning Ian’s method of taming dragons. Kraznys questioned Ian’s claims, but Ian argued that Ion’s submission proved his expertise.

• Daenerys questioned Ian’s decision to buy the Unsullied, but he asked whether she had another plan and promised to explain his choice later.
• Ian told Daenerys to cooperate, and she told Kraznys that she would buy the Unsullied on Ian’s military advice.
• Ian refused to explain his title, then said Kraznys could buy Black Dragon Ion if he could meet the price and provide an army for his campaign in Westeros.
• Ian claimed he could teach Kraznys to tame dragons without Valyrian blood or the Dragon’s Horn.
• Ian pointed out that Ion obeyed him despite his lacking Valyrian blood or the horn, leaving Kraznys unable to answer.

Ian negotiated with Kraznys over Astapor’s Unsullied while using Eon, his black dragon, to persuade the slave master that dragon-taming knowledge was worth more than gold. Kraznys proposed exchanging fourteen thousand Unsullied and twenty thousand Ghis Legion soldiers for Eon and the means to tame dragons.

• Kraznys offered all of Astapor’s Unsullied for Ian’s dragon, but Ian argued that even twelve thousand would not be enough to conquer Westeros.
• Ian demanded a price in Gold Dragons for Astapor’s eight thousand six hundred Unsullied, while Kraznys remained fixated on Eon.
• Ian praised Astapor’s reputation and insisted its soldiers alone would not make a sufficient invasion force; Daenerys repeated his request for more troops.
• Ian described a need for ten thousand Unsullied, twenty thousand lower-quality soldiers, and mercenaries, while Kraznys grew eager to make a deal.
• Kraznys offered fourteen thousand Unsullied and twenty thousand Ghis Legion soldiers in exchange for Eon and dragon-taming knowledge, promising the legionaries would meet Ian’s requirements.

Ian negotiated for the Unsullied and rights to develop land around Astapor, while deliberately setting Kraznys against the other Good Masters. After learning Daenerys was deeply upset by the slave traders’ cruelty, Ian revealed that he had brought her to provoke her.

• Ian demanded immediate delivery of the eight thousand six hundred Unsullied, two years of barracks use, and permission to recruit laborers and harvest timber for a shipyard and factories.
• Ian explained that he had judged Astapor weak and unsuitable as his core base, preferring to make Meereen his eventual control center.
• Kraznys hesitated over Ian’s conditions but agreed to try to persuade the other Good Masters after Ian threatened to buy the Unsullied with gold and leave.
• Cilia realized Ian’s dragon offer was intended to drive a wedge between Kraznys and the other Good Masters.
• Cilia told Ian that Daenerys was doing very badly, and Ian confirmed that he had brought her to witness the cruelty in order to provoke her.

Ian persuaded Daenerys that he shared her desire to abolish slavery, but that they had to wait until they were strong enough. He privately planned to preserve and even strengthen slavery unless circumstances made abolition necessary.

• Cilia questioned Ian about whether he wanted to abolish slavery, and Ian assigned her to arrange a banquet and purchase Centaur slaves.
• Daenerys demanded an explanation from Ian for buying the brick eunuchs, and he told her he intended to give slaves their freedom by ending slavery altogether.
• Ian argued that they needed to conceal their intentions and gather strength before acting, warning that premature emancipation could make them enemies of the world.
• Daenerys agreed to cooperate with Ian and endure until the time was right.
• Ian privately resolved to use his promise to keep Daenerys on his side, while admitting he did not intend to abolish slavery unless necessary.

Kraznys and Femor planned to use Ian Dare’s purchase of Unsullied to isolate their rivals and seize control of Astapor, with Femor promising to secure Ian’s cooperation. Cilia revealed that Kraznys’s agreement was part of her plan and prepared to recruit Unsullied commanders and pursue other tasks for Ian.

• Kraznys told Femor that most of the Good Masters opposed or hesitated over his deal with Ian Dare for dragons.
• Femor proposed eliminating the Good Masters who opposed Kraznys and outlined a plan to have Ian buy eight thousand Unsullied before they seized their rivals.
• Kraznys agreed to the plan and ordered Femor to persuade Ian at the banquet that night.
• Femor met Cilia at an inn and gave her a list of Unsullied commanders after securing Kraznys’s agreement.
• Cilia marked “Lure Kraznys into the trap” in her work log and planned to recruit commanders while handling Ian’s other assignments.

Ian completed the purchase of eight thousand Unsullied in Astapor and took Harpy's Finger to transfer their obedience. Daenerys witnessed the cruelty at Punishment Plaza as Ian rode through the formations, and the Unsullied became hers.

• Ian paid ninety-six thousand Gold Dragons for eight thousand Unsullied, and the Good Masters confirmed the deal.
• Kraznys gave Ian Harpy's Finger and explained that the Unsullied's obedience had to be transferred at Punishment Plaza.
• Kraznys shoved Missandei, and Daenerys helped her up and brought her into Ian's retinue instead of freeing her.
• Daenerys insisted on accompanying Ian to Punishment Plaza and watched the Good Masters torture slaves without looking away.
• Ian raised Harpy's Finger and rode past the Unsullied formations as their trainers transferred their obedience to him.

Ian returned to Astapor after Kraznys mo Nakloz seized power and purged the Good Masters, then challenged Kraznys over the dishonorable massacre and threatened to leave with his Unsullied. As Ian paused at the doorway, Femor publicly turned against his uncle, though Kraznys did not understand what order Femor was accusing him of giving.

• After Astapor's envoy caught up with Ian, Ian accepted the city's terms and led his army back to Astapor.
• Kraznys had arrested the Good Masters, killed those who resisted, and rearranged the surviving families under loyal Unsullied commanders.
• Ian demanded an explanation from Kraznys and condemned the massacre as dishonorable.
• Ian threatened to abandon the agreement and leave with his men, alarming Kraznys, who feared losing the Unsullied and facing rebellion.
• Femor publicly claimed that Kraznys's latest order had gone too far and walked toward the Astapori nobles.

Femor took control of Astapor after Kraznys’s Unsullied refused to obey him, then confirmed his agreement with Ian to train an army in exchange for Ian conquering Slaver’s Bay and leaving its cities to Femor. Ian initially refused to intervene in Astapor’s remaining conflicts, but agreed to consider helping after Femor offered him two years’ use of the reclaimed properties.

• Femor told the Astapori nobles that Kraznys planned to slaughter them, and they turned against their city lord.
• Kraznys ordered the Unsullied to seize the nobles, but they ignored him and obeyed Femor, who had them escort Kraznys to his room.
• The nobles and Unsullied commanders backed Femor as Astapor’s new city lord, and the Nackroz elders removed Kraznys as family head.
• Femor promised Ian an army and access to Astapor’s resources for two years, while Ian agreed to conquer Slaver’s Bay and leave its cities to Femor.
• Femor asked Ian to help reclaim properties along the Worm River, and Ian agreed to reconsider if Femor presented the request at the nobles’ meeting without disguising it as suppressing a rebellion.

Ian explained his approach to military study while writing a bilingual officer's manual based on military texts and observations of the Unsullied camp. He outlined how his army would select soldiers, organize units, and train different formations, leaving Cilia to report on her work.

• Ian received Cilia in his new study and asked her to explain which problems she had solved and which needed his instructions.
• Cilia examined Ian's unfinished Basic Officer's Manual, which he was writing in the Common Tongue and Valyrian.
• Ian reflected that military texts taught adaptation rather than formulas, and said he read them to prepare for the complex variables of war.
• Ian described how the manual would guide careful recruit selection and the organization of units trained to follow battlefield signals.
• Ian planned for his new army to practice small formations for difficult terrain and urban fighting, while the Ghis Legion would adopt Swiss squares using spears and halberds.

Ian worked on military organization and industrial projects, then discussed the Officer's Manual and conditions on the Worm River's east bank with Cilia. He proposed a five-tier slave system to manage the newly controlled population, but its promotion rules remained undecided.

• Ian assigned Cilia to oversee plans for crossbows, armor production, and gunpowder experiments, and discussed the Officer's Manual with her.
• Cilia reported that Roar and Bronn had subdued the east bank of the Worm River, but escaped and deceptive slaves made it difficult to count or control the population.
• Ian presented Cilia with a draft dividing slaves into five tiers, from fourth-tier slaves to Royal Slaves under Queen Daenerys.
• Cilia explained how ranked privileges might redirect slaves' resentment toward those above them and asked how promotions would work.
• Ian said he had left the draft unfinished for Cilia to help complete.

Ian laid out a promotion system for Astapor’s slaves that rewarded informants and slave catchers, aiming to prevent solidarity and increase control over the Worm River basin. He also decided to enslave Ghiscari Free Folk and add military service as a path to promotion, leaving Cilia to implement the plan.

• Ian told Cilia to promote the first thousand slaves to register with Roar and outlined rewards for reporting disguised slaves, thieves, and runaways.
• Cilia warned that informants could disrupt production, so Ian ordered strict work targets and lasting promotion bans for squads that failed.
• When Cilia asked whether slaves might falsely accuse Free Folk, Ian said reports should lead to arrests and instructed her to address Astapor’s nobles’ objections with reasonable concessions.
• Ian explained that enslaving Ghiscari Free Folk would pit them against existing slaves and make both groups watch one another for informants.
• Ian added military service in his new army and Astapor’s Ghis Legion as the fastest route to slave promotion, while newly enslaved people would first be tempered in the Worm River for two years.

Ian planned to use Old Graztan’s grandson as leverage in Meereen while building a new army in Astapor. Cilia’s efforts to develop weapons and redirect Worm River agriculture toward staple crops continued as the threat of the Long Night shaped their preparations.

• Ian ordered Sama to rescue Old Graztan’s grandson and take him to Meereen, where the boy could expose Femor’s atrocities and become a useful ally.
• After the Five-Tiered Slave System was announced, the Worm River basin descended into chaos before high-ranking slaves helped impose a fearful new order.
• Ian completed a draft of his Officer’s Manual, selected twenty officers for his planned army, and began teaching them before recruitment and training started.
• Cilia failed to make gunpowder ignite, then moved ahead with plans for a Ballista Factory and a Plate Armor Production Factory.
• Cilia traveled to Roar’s estate on the Worm River, assessed the operation’s gains, and planned to replace most cash crops with staple grains while seeking seeds for higher-yield crops.

Ian prepared Astapor for war by addressing its grain shortage, expanding his forces, and refining the Five-Tiered Slave System. He left fairness in slave promotions as his foremost unresolved problem.

• Ian reviewed Cilia's report, found Astapor's grain reserves inadequate, and planned to increase grain imports from Meereen.
• Ian began expanding the army as five thousand slave recruits entered training, while he organized three thousand older half-finished Unsullied as the Ghis First Legion.
• Ian kept three thousand younger half-finished Unsullied in training and stationed two thousand Unsullied across his three pyramids.
• Ian reconsidered the slave promotion system, seeking to balance rapid advancement with the value of ranks and a steady supply of low-tier slaves.
• Ian made preventing corruption and ensuring fair promotions his next priority.

Ian received the sixth-month settlement rewards, chose Donal as his S-Class NPC, and reflected on his growing isolation and Eon’s growth. He raised hatching a second dragon on his agenda, with Mirri Maz Duur still his intended sacrifice after he conquered the Lhazareen.

• Ian received 50 Points, 5,888 Gold Dragons, and an S-Class NPC selection card after ranking first on the sixth month's leaderboard settlement.
• Ian raised his willpower to 34 and chose Donal, the Qohor Black Goat Cavalryman, over the Direwolf Warrior.
• Ian visited the rooftop garden, where Eon landed with a goat and accepted his touch.
• Ian considered using the Green Grace of Astapor to hatch a second dragon but ruled it out because she had been too cooperative to burn.
• Ian decided that Mirri Maz Duur remained his intended sacrifice for hatching a second dragon after he conquered the Lhazareen.

More than two thousand centaur slaves gathered on the beach to witness a miracle arranged by Daenerys and Ian. As the spectacle was about to begin, Femor explained that Cilia had persuaded him to join their cause by promising a chance to restore the Ghiscari Empire, and he revealed his faith in Earl Dary.

• Astapor's nobles and Unsullied instructors gathered on the beach and questioned why Daenerys had bought so many centaur slaves.
• Leixix and another instructor doubted the centaurs could become cavalry because captured Dothraki refused to ride horses.
• Femor told the instructors that Cilia had asked whether he was content to remain a slave trader, and he had admitted he was not.
• Femor said he believed Earl Dary could help restore the Ghiscari Empire, calling him a genius and the Harpy's salvation.

Ian staged a miracle for the Dothraki slaves by distilling seawater with Black Dragon Ion’s flame, proving the water safe for horses to drink. Khal Drogo rode again and pledged his life to Ian as the Centaur slaves cheered.

• Femor told Leixix that Earl Dary’s wheat planting suggested Ian intended to make Slaver’s Bay self-sufficient before attacking Meereen.
• Ian ordered twenty Dothraki representatives, including Blood Guard Khal Drogo, to fetch seawater despite their belief that it was cursed.
• Ian declared that he would purify the poisoned water and restore the Dothraki’s right to ride.
• Black Dragon Ion breathed fire beneath the pot, and the boiling seawater condensed through Cilia’s copper pipe into the trough.
• Khal Drogo watched a horse drink the purified water, tasted it himself, then rode through the Centaur slaves and pledged to fight for Ian until death.

Ian freed Quogo and allowed him to form a khalasar, then offered the Dothraki Purified water in exchange for proving themselves. He left them scrambling to claim breastplates and places in Khal Drogo’s first Imperial cavalry, while the rest faced being sent to farm.

• Ian freed Quogo and granted him permission to select Dothraki slaves for a khalasar that would fight beneath Ian’s banner.
• Quogo shouted Ian’s name, and the Dothraki joined in chanting for Ian as the Purifier.
• Ian told the Dothraki that only three hundred could receive Purified water and said they had to prove their worth by fighting his powerful enemies.
• Ian offered three hundred breastplates, Purified water, and places in Khal Drogo’s khalasar to the first Dothraki who put on armor, promising three horses to each cavalryman.
• The Dothraki rushed to claim the breastplates after Ian warned that everyone else would be sent to farm.