Chapter Summaries

Oberyn concluded that Count Anders Yronwood had arranged the deaths of Doran and Arianne, and he moved to secure Trystane's succession and enlist Duke Corlo against House Yronwood. Before he could ask for the imperial legions' help, a knight announced that Trystane was dead.

• Ellaria urged Oberyn to avenge Arianne, and Oberyn reconsidered his suspicions after realizing Corlo had no reason to kill her.
• Oberyn reasoned that Count Anders had staged the attack by Arianne's assassins and was plotting to seize Dorne for House Yronwood.
• Oberyn ordered the vassals summoned and sent Ellaria to bring Trystane from the Water Gardens so he could name him prince.
• Oberyn went to Duke Corlo and accused Count Anders of murdering Doran and Arianne, asking for the imperial legions' support against House Yronwood.
• A Dornish knight arrived and announced that Trystane Martell had died.

Ian Corlo met Count Anders Yronwood at The Tor and secured his support against Oberyn Martell. They planned to proclaim Quentyn the rightful prince, rally Dorne’s lords, and use the imperial fleet to encircle Sunspear, leaving Anders to defeat Oberyn’s supporters.

• After failing to find Ian Corlo in Sunspear, Oberyn Martell suspected that Ian had helped engineer the rumors surrounding his seizure of power.
• Ian told Count Anders Yronwood that he wanted Oberyn punished for Arianne’s death, while denying any part in the plot against Anders.
• Ian agreed that Quentyn should become prince but warned Anders that Quentyn might never return from Slaver’s Bay, then suggested Dorne could rule under a different house if it served the Empire.
• Ian and Anders planned to publicize Oberyn’s alleged kinslaying and usurpation, declare Quentyn prince, and summon Dorne’s lords against Oberyn.
• Ian said the imperial fleet would encircle Sunspear while Anders fought the Dornish nobles backing Oberyn, and Anders agreed to follow Ian’s plan.

After eradicating the Ghost Grass, Ian secured the Dothraki’s fealty and divided their forces before investigating Yfyrion Forest. There he found a vast, snow-covered corpse ritual and flew to Volantis to warn Melisandre and Benerro, fearing the God of Cold had redirected its attack.

• Ian destroyed the Ghost Grass across the Dothraki Sea, then accepted the fealty of the Dosh khaleen, Dothraki leaders, and khals at Vaes Dothrak.
• Ian appointed two khals as his Blood Guard and assigned them to gather the remaining Dothraki.
• Ian divided the Dothraki into three groups, reserving twenty thousand Roaring Warriors and ten thousand trained cavalry for the war in Westeros.
• Ian flew to Yfyrion Forest on Black Dragon Ion and discovered snow and tens of thousands of corpses arranged in a huge circle outside the forest.
• Ian found no living creatures or Children of the Forest and flew south to inform Melisandre and Benerro.
• Ian considered whether the ritual had happened early because magic was recovering or whether the God of Cold had changed its plans.

Ian and Melisandre concluded that the unusual winter and corpse ritual in Yfyrion Forest might signal a White Walker threat and a shift in the Long Night’s target toward Essos. Melisandre sought a vision from the Lord of Light and saw a battle shrouded in darkness and thick fog.

• Melisandre told Ian that the corpses arranged in a circle would become wights and that White Walkers could control many of them at once.
• Ian and Melisandre reasoned that White Walkers might already be in Yfyrion Forest and agreed that she should seek information in Oldtown’s library.
• Ian ordered Melisandre to prepare to sail to Oldtown, while she decided to ask the Lord of Light for a revelation.
• Ian suspected the God of Cold had turned toward Essos to halt the spread of the Red God Faith.
• Melisandre completed her ritual and described a vision of a battle in darkness and thick fog, where soldiers could barely see beyond those beside them.

Ian Corlo received reports of the shifting war in Westeros, secured Dorne and the Reach for the Valyrian Empire, and prepared to confront Eddard Stark's forces. Bericio Valerose gathered a large Reach army at Highgarden as Dorne advanced into the Stormlands.

• Anders Yronwood's forces captured Sunspear, executed Oberyn Martell, and submitted to the Empire with other Dorne lords.
• Ian reviewed reports of Eddard Stark's victories, the Reach coalition's collapse, and the Vale army's intervention, then redirected his fleet toward Oldtown and recalled the Summer Isles expedition.
• Ian sent Manios to Casterly Rock and traveled toward Highgarden, where Mace Tyrell swore fealty to the Valyrian Emperor and accepted the division of Reach lands south of the Mander River.
• Bericio Valerose led the Imperial Legion and Golden Company toward Highgarden to assemble an army against Eddard Stark, while Dorne marched north into the Stormlands.
• Reach lords rallied to Highgarden, where Bericio assembled nearly ten thousand knights, an equal number of squires, and fifty to sixty thousand infantry.

Manios abandoned his mission in the Westerlands after learning that the Ironborn had devastated Lannisport and the Vale army had forced Tywin to retreat into Casterly Rock. In Volantis, Ian expanded his army and prepared for the threat of the White Walkers while reviewing his system rewards and points.

• Manios learned that the Ironborn had destroyed Lannisport's navy and plundered the city while Tywin withdrew into Casterly Rock, so he sailed for the Iron Islands instead of trying to reach the besieged fortress.
• Ian remained in Volantis to oversee army training, recruited fifty thousand more soldiers, and ordered Meereen to send a legion to conquer Mantarys and seize its iron mines.
• Ian's eagles reported that the sacrificial bodies in Yfyrion Forest remained untouched and that no wights or White Walkers had appeared, leaving the ritual's purpose and the Night King's destination uncertain.
• Ian ordered his fleet to capture Dragonstone and planned to take King's Landing so its pyromancers could produce Dragonglass weapons and Wildfire.
• Ian reviewed system messages granting mission rewards and achievements, discovered that the deaths of Lorran and Lyanna had earned him no kill credit, and saw that his points had risen to 5,002.

Ian considered how the White Walkers might invade Essos and concluded that Sarnor’s large population could become a vast source of wight troops, leaving him to contemplate destroying the Sarnori and burning their corpses. Meanwhile, Eddard Stark’s army faced a much larger Imperial coalition in the Reach, and both sides remained at a standoff.

• Ian cleared three medium-difficulty Dream Instances, raising his Strength to 43, Agility to 40, and willpower to 83.
• Ian traveled toward Shanas as the thirty thousand Dothraki cavalry advanced through Sarnor, and he weighed the White Walkers’ possible routes into Essos.
• Ian concluded that if the White Walkers invaded Sarnor, he might have to kill its population and burn the corpses to keep them from becoming wights.
• Eddard Stark joined his Crownlands army with Count Lomas Ismore’s Stormlands troops, bringing his force to nearly fifty thousand and establishing camp east of Highgarden.
• Eddard faced an Imperial coalition army more than twice his force’s size and refrained from starting a decisive battle.

Eddard Stark’s commanders debated whether to attack the stronger Targaryen-Highgarden army, and Eddard revealed that Vale and Ironborn reinforcements were heading toward Highgarden. Ian Corlo chose to let them come, hoping to defeat the Vale and Ironborn forces on land rather than face them in their own domains.

• Count Lomas Ismore warned that the enemy’s cavalry and numbers made a decisive battle on the flat south bank of the River Run unwise, while Greatjon Umber argued for attacking.
• Roose Bolton and Brynden Tully the Blackfish cautioned that the Trident victory had depended on Rhaegar’s death and that the current enemy held a larger advantage.
• Brynden Tully warned Eddard Stark that the Dornish advance threatened Night Song Castle and Black Harbor, and asked what the army was waiting for.
• Eddard Stark revealed that the Vale army and Iron Fleet were carrying reinforcements toward Highgarden after Theon Greyjoy secured King Balon’s allegiance to Queen Shireen.
• Bericio Valerose urged Ian Corlo to attack before the reinforcements arrived, but Ian explained that he wanted to face the Vale and Ironborn forces near Highgarden and destroy them there.

Aleran Cobray and an Ironborn player discussed their covert fleet’s approach to the Mander and feared Ian Dare had uncovered their identities and was using King’s Blood to kill players. They decided to fake their deaths in a shipwreck, help Ian unify the realm, and return as survivors.

• The Ironborn player told Aleran Cobray their fleet would reach the Mander River in half a day, while their scouts had detected no enemy response.
• Aleran speculated that Ian Dare lacked enough scouting hawks, but the Ironborn player wondered whether Ian was deliberately waiting for them.
• The Ironborn player said victory would not complete their mission because they were fated to remain hidden from the public.
• He told Aleran that Lorran, False Lyanna, and the King Beyond the Wall had died in apparent accidents, suggesting Ian had used King’s Blood to curse them.
• Aleran asked whether they should hide, but the Ironborn player said Ian would eventually discover them and offered two choices: surrender or die.
• The Ironborn player proposed faking their deaths in a shipwreck, helping Ian unify the realm, and later returning as survivors.

After the Iron Fleet caught fire and its commanders went missing, Bericio Valerose suspected the Emperor had caused the disaster and ordered his forces to stay alert. Ian Corlo, who had not set the fire himself, remained puzzled about who had, but ordered the army to prepare to attack Eddard Stark at dawn.

• Lansono Mal reported that the Iron Fleet had caught fire, several warships had sunk, and surviving Vale and Ironborn nobles had come to surrender.
• Bericio Valerose ordered the nobles guarded, the other prisoners confined, and western front units to remain alert while intelligence officers investigated the disaster.
• Bericio visited Ian Corlo, who explained that his eagle had witnessed the fleet’s sudden destruction and that he had not caused the fire.
• Ian considered whether Melisandre or the Lord of Light was responsible, but could not identify who had set the ships ablaze.
• Ian ordered the Iron Fleet’s survivors to disembark in batches and surrender their weapons, and directed the army to prepare a general offensive against Eddard Stark at dawn.

Ian Corlo investigated the apparent deaths of suspected players, then prepared for battle against Eddard Stark rather than seek a peaceful marriage alliance with Shireen Baratheon. He left the surrendered Vale and Ironborn forces out of the coming battle, hoping a decisive victory would secure his authority over Westeros.

• Ian concluded that the players most suspected of being behind the Vale and Ironborn alliance had died in the shipwreck, and considered whether they had faked their deaths to escape his tracking.
• Ian invited the surrendered Vale nobles and Ironborn leaders to dinner, but kept their troops out of the battle planned for the next day.
• About one-third of the Vale nobles and nearly half of the Ironborn leaders swore loyalty to Ian, while the rest waited to see how the battle went.
• Ian considered offering Shireen Baratheon marriage and promising her child the throne, but rejected peace because he needed to establish his power through victory.
• Ian planned to defeat Eddard Stark's main force to gain lasting authority and unite Westeros before the war against the God of Cold.

Bericio Valerose outlined his preparations to Ian Corlo for the coming battle against Eddard Stark, expecting the enemy to target the Reachmen. Ian judged Bericio’s plan competent but told him he had to win decisively, then revealed that Femor Nakroz was fighting the White Walkers, the Night King, or the God of Cold on another front.

• Bericio explained that he had prepared for Eddard Stark to raid their camp at night, but Eddard had not attacked.
• Bericio described deploying the Reachmen in the center and placing the Golden Company, Ghis Iron Legion, and Unsullied to limit Eddard’s options.
• Ian praised Bericio’s preparations but told him he was not yet worthy of comparison with Femor Nakroz.
• Bericio asked why the Emperor had chosen him to command the Westeros Expeditionary Force instead of Femor.
• Ian said Femor was needed on another front against the White Walkers, the Night King, or perhaps the God of Cold.

Ian watched the Imperial army crush Eddard Stark’s Northern coalition and demonstrate the superiority of its disciplined infantry. The chapter ended with Eddard captured and the watching nobles recognizing the Empire’s overwhelming power.

• Eddard Stark led the Northern cavalry in a charge against the Reach knights, but the fighting dissolved into a chaotic melee.
• Ian watched the battle with Bericio Valeros, Duke Corlo, Mace Tyrell, Willas, and other nobles from high ground behind the Imperial center.
• The Ghis Iron Legion advanced in formation, broke the Northern infantry, and killed or unhorsed noble fighters while the Imperial wings moved forward.
• Vale and Iron Islands nobles discussed reports of Ian Dare’s vast armies, Dothraki followers, and enormous dragon, and regretted resisting him before surrendering.
• The watching nobles heard a cheer announcing that Eddard Stark had been captured.

After his defeat, Eddard Stark accepted Emperor Ian Darey’s generous terms and swore fealty, agreeing to lead the Imperial army to secure King’s Landing. Ian treated Eddard’s wounds and learned that the system had not yet recognized his rule over Westeros, leaving the mission unsettled.

• Ian Corlo offered Eddard Stark protection for his family and vassals, forgiveness for House Baratheon, and permission for Shireen to rule Storm’s End if she surrendered King’s Landing and the Royal Fleet.
• Ian assured Eddard that the Empire would not impose slavery on Westeros and intended to eventually abolish it in Slaver’s Bay and Volantis.
• Eddard Stark swore fealty to Emperor Ian Darey by the Old Gods and the Red God, and Ian helped him to his feet.
• Ian gave Eddard a healing ointment and ordered him to lead the Imperial army to King’s Landing and persuade Shireen to surrender.
• Ian left the remaining affairs to Bericio Valeros, then checked his system mailbox and found that his rule over Westeros had not yet been recognized.

Ian Corlo told Eddard Stark that the God of Cold had shifted his invasion toward Essos, making the White Walkers a greater threat than the defeated armies or Braavos. Ian planned to gather the scattered soldiers, take King's Landing, and form an Imperial Legion to prepare for the coming war.

• Eddard Stark thanked Ian Corlo for the miraculous healing of his wounds and asked why Ian had ordered the routed soldiers gathered through the night.
• Ian explained that a more terrifying enemy threatened them, and Eddard realized he meant the White Walkers and the coming endless winter.
• Eddard said Wildlings had warned him of the threat, but his northern scouts had found no signs of White Walkers beyond the Wall.
• Ian explained that the God of Cold had likely abandoned his plan to attack Westeros and redirected his forces toward Essos in response to the spread of the Red God Faith.
• Ian told Eddard that they needed to gather the scattered soldiers, take King's Landing, and form an Imperial Legion for the war ahead.

At a Keyholders' meeting in Braavos, Tormo Freyga revealed that Hominas Balivar had defected to Ian Dare, leaving the Iron Bank's ventures in Slaver's Bay and Qarth as bad debt. Ferien Antarion used the crisis to pressure Tormo toward a costly confrontation with Ian, hoping to advance House Antaryon’s ambitions as the Sea Lord’s death approached.

• Ferien Antarion challenged Tormo Freyga for convening the Keyholders before Sea Lord Ferego Antarion had awakened from his collapse.
• Tormo announced that Hominas Balivar had defected and given the Iron Bank's money in Slaver's Bay to Emperor Ian as personal tribute.
• Tormo revealed that Ian had made Hominas a count and appointed him to senior imperial and banking posts, making an assassination prohibitively costly.
• A Keyholder warned that killing Hominas would not recover the lost money and could provoke a powerful emperor.
• Ferien argued that sparing Hominas would invite other Iron Bank officials to defect, winning support from many Keyholders.
• Ferien urged Tormo to uphold the Iron Bank's creed and recover its debts, intending to force him into conflict with Ian.

Bericio and Lansono discussed the propaganda newspaper in King's Landing and the preparations made on Dragonstone to mine Dragonglass. They learned that Lord Lorran had apparently prepared to fight the White Walkers, and Bericio stopped Lansono from probing how he had known Dragonglass could kill them.

• Bericio dismissed a King's Landing newspaper that praised Ian Dare and denounced his enemies, while Lansono explained its origins and popularity among nobles.
• Bericio said Duke Corlo had confirmed that Ian would arrive in King's Landing in two days, despite Lansono's concern that Ian had recently been traveling alone on dragonback.
• Lansono reported that Dragonstone already had obsidian pits and weapon workshops from Lord Lorran's preparations.
• Bericio and Lansono concluded that Lord Lorran had been preparing to fight the White Walkers, but Lansono questioned how he had learned Dragonglass could kill them.
• Bericio cut Lansono off and warned him to remember that the Emperor was their master and they were his servants.

Ian ordered the expansion of Dragonstone’s dragonglass mines and weapons workshops while hearing a report about Varys’s disappearance. Lansono found no trace of Varys, and Ian told him to monitor the nobles and check with Connington later.

• Yada told Ian that Mace Tyrell had come to see his children, but Ian postponed the audience until the fealty banquet.
• Lansono reported that Dragonstone had begun mining dragonglass and stockpiled weapons for tens of thousands.
• Ian ordered the Chancellor of the Exchequer to expand the mines and weapons workshops without sparing resources.
• Lansono told Ian that Varys vanished from King’s Landing shortly before news arrived that Stannis and Renly had died.
• Ian ordered Lansono to keep watching the nobles and look out for Varys, but not to prioritize the search.
• Lansono recalled that Varys had investigated House Darry and Ian’s past, then decided that pursuing the mystery was dangerous and pointless.

Ian discovered that White Walkers had crossed the sea and suspected that players were helping the God of Cold. His falcons found Yiban Island overrun by White Walkers and Wights, but the Night King was still nowhere to be seen.

• During the banquet, Ian's falcon spotted a White Walker traveling with living-looking humans who entered Yfyrion Forest.
• Ian reasoned that the humans might be players serving the God of Cold and seeking victory by eliminating other players.
• Ian sent falcons to scout the islands north of Yiban Island, then redirected half of them toward Yiban Island after realizing it could serve as a major source of troops.
• After an overnight flight, Ian's falcons found that the White Walkers had slaughtered Yiban Island's inhabitants and raised just over three thousand Wights.
• Ian saw only five or six White Walkers on the island and found no trace of the Night King.

Ian Corlo and Melisandre puzzled over why the God of Cold had begun invading while Ian’s Empire and the Lord of Light were powerful. After considering the White Walkers’ possible advantage, Ian suspected their movements might be a trap.

• Melisandre told Ian Corlo that White Walkers had captured Yiban Island and turned nearly a third of its people into wights, but their numbers and progress seemed too limited to explain an imminent Long Night.
• Ian proposed that the God of Cold might be invading now because He feared Ian would eventually seek and destroy Him, or because He believed He could still win despite the Empire’s strength.
• Melisandre suggested the White Walkers could invade the Ancient Kingdom of Sarnor, kill millions, and build an army capable of crossing the Dothraki Sea.
• Ian explained that he had sent Dothraki riders to block the White Walkers’ access to Sarnor, fortified the Sehoru and Skahazadhan Rivers, and gathered fleets to move troops quickly.
• Ian realized the White Walkers’ apparent threat might be a trap.