Chapter Summaries

Daeren celebrated the hatching of a golden Young Dragon while Rhaegar negotiated with House Martell and sought a Dragon Egg to strengthen his own line. After Daeren and Volantis devastated Lys, the city-state’s governors planned to retaliate against Volantis and ally with Rhaegar.

• Daeren claimed the newly hatched Gold Dragon for his future child and prepared to receive the spoils from Volantis.
• Areo Hotah offered Rhaegar Dornish troops and ships in exchange for marriage and fostering agreements, but Rhaegar negotiated revised terms for Lyanna’s unborn child and left Aegon free of obligation.
• Rhaegar asked Oberyn to search Essos for a Dragon Egg so he could acquire a dragon and pursue the Stepstones and Lys.
• Malacho Maegyr boasted that Daeren was his ally and ordered supplies prepared for a campaign to conquer the Stepstones and the Three Daughters.
• Lys’s surviving governors mourned the city’s destruction, dismissed the Golden Company’s departure, and decided to seek Dragon Eggs and form marriage ties with Rhaegar’s family.
• The governors resolved to fund Rhaegar’s campaign against Volantis, hoping to retaliate against the Volantenes and bring him into conflict with them.

Daeren returned to King's Landing with supplies seized from Lys and defended his dealings with Volantis while Tywin warned him against further intervention in the Stepstones. As the Stepstones war developed into a three-way conflict, Daeren ordered the Iron Throne melted and reforged to his design.

• The Royal Fleet brought a hundred thousand tons of grain and other supplies to King's Landing, where Tyrion admired the spoils and saw a red dragon fly overhead.
• Daeren told the council he had joined forces with Volantis to attack Lys and secured a Royal Fleet enclave near Bloodstone Island; Tywin warned him against dragging the Seven Kingdoms into war.
• Tywin ordered Tyrion to return to Casterly Rock and silenced Jaime when he tried to defend his brother.
• Daeren answered Mace's request for help with the treasury work by summoning Willas Tyrell to assist him in King's Landing.
• Volantis, Rhaegar with House Martell, and Lys and Myr fought over the Stepstones, while Daeren judged that the conflict would keep the Free Cities occupied.
• Daeren summoned Tobho Mott and other blacksmiths to melt the Iron Throne with dragonflame and have it reforged according to his drawing.

In 289 AC, Daeren weighed the Stepstones war and sent eight hundred Crownlands recruits to support Rhaegar while preparing his younger brothers to become dragonriders. Jaeherys received a summons to the Kingswood hunt, while Daeren investigated the rise of supposed dragonlord descendants in Essos; the chapter ended with Lord Lusris seeking an urgent audience.

• Tywin reported that Malacho Maegyr had lost ground, the Three Daughters were divided, and Rhaegar was struggling in the Stepstones, so Daeren ordered eight hundred recruits and supplies sent to Bloodstone Island.
• Daeren decided Jaeherys and Viserys were old enough to attempt to tame dragons, and he dismissed extravagant preparations for the upcoming Kingswood hunt.
• In Oldtown, Jaeherys received Daeren's letter summoning him to the Kingswood hunt and planned to return to King's Landing, while rumors about Dragonking Orion and other supposed dragonlord descendants spread through Essos.
• Varys told Daeren that Lys had rewarded alleged dragon-blooded bastards after Rhaegar refused its overtures, and Daeren ordered his informants to watch for Dragon Eggs.
• Barristan announced that Lord Lusris had arrived to seek an audience with Daeren on urgent business.

King Daeren heard Count Lys’s warnings about the Stepstones and learned that Myr had developed a magically enhanced sail, while Tywin challenged Lys’s influence and questioned Daeren’s preparations for war. The chapter ended with Tywin urging Daeren to focus on producing an heir after five years of marriage.

• Count Lys reported that pirates from the Stepstones had attacked four ships and urged action, while Daeren said he had contacted Pentos and Volantis to explore an understanding.
• Lys presented plans for Myr’s wind-generating sails, and Daeren ordered envoys to negotiate their purchase for the Royal Fleet.
• Tywin criticized Lys’s trading ambitions, but Daeren defended the need to address the Stepstones and rebuffed Tywin’s suggestions of attacking Tyrosh or Myr.
• Tywin pointed to Daeren’s preparations across The Crownlands as evidence of his ambitions, then shifted to urging him to produce an heir.

Daeren confronted his anxiety over having no children and considered moving with Shayani to the Farmhouse, while Tywin planned to bring Cersei back to King's Landing so she could marry Daeren and secure House Lannister’s future. Half a month later, Jaeherys arrived in King's Landing and was met by Alliser Thorne.

• Tywin pointed out that Daeren had no heir, prompting Daeren to rush to Shayani and worry about their inability to conceive.
• Barristan tried to reassure Daeren, and Daeren decided that sleeping with Shayani at the Farmhouse might improve their chances of having a child.
• Tywin ordered Jaime to bring Cersei back from Casterly Rock and planned to push for the restoration of royal multiple marriages so Cersei could marry Daeren.
• Jaime accepted Tywin's order but suspected that House Lannister's fear of being overtaken by House Valeryon had helped drive Tywin's plans.
• Half a month later, Jaeherys arrived outside King's Landing with a convoy, and Alliser Thorne came to escort him into the city.

Jaeherys returned to King's Landing, reunited with his family, and was brought by Daeren to Dragonstone to begin learning about the family's dragons. Meanwhile, Rhaegar planned a surprise attack against the pirates of the Three Daughters in the Stepstones after discussing their dwindling supplies and rumors of a Dragon Egg.

• Jaeherys toured King's Landing with Elisha and learned that the Crownlands' poverty persisted partly because lords drove starving people from their lands and refugees continued arriving.
• Daeren welcomed Jaeherys home, reunited him with their family, and took him and Viserys to see Corax in the Dragonpit.
• Daeren told Jaeherys that he would become a pillar of the family and took him and Viserys by ship to Dragonstone to familiarize them with its riderless dragons.
• Jaeherys and Viserys saw a green young dragon fly from a cave on Dragon Mountain while Daeren left them under the Dragon Guard's protection.
• At the Stepstones, Oberyn told Rhaegar that the pirates were hiding and delaying the war, and Rhaegar ordered a surprise attack to defeat them.

Rhaegar defeated the pirates of the Three Daughters on Grey Gallows Island, declared himself King of the Narrow Sea and the Stepstones, and secured Osmund Kettleblack’s fealty. At King’s Landing, Daeren treated the declaration and Dorne’s support as grounds to condemn Rhaegar and prepare the Royal Fleet for a possible war.

• Rhaegar led the assault on Grey Gallows Island, broke through the pirates’ defenses, and fought his way out of the cave as the Rockseeds and mercenaries trapped the Three Daughters’ admiral.
• The pirates suffered a crushing defeat, though only 126 of Rhaegar’s 400 Rockseeds survived; he accepted Osmund Kettleblack’s oath of fealty after the young knight offered him an anti-inflammatory herb.
• Oberyn crowned Rhaegar King of the Narrow Sea and the Stepstones, and Rhaegar claimed the title in Daemon Targaryen’s name.
• At the Small Council, Varys reported that Doran Martell had sent at least two thousand spearmen to support Rhaegar’s planned counterattack against one of the Three Daughters.
• Daeren ordered Tywin to denounce Rhaegar and demand that he relinquish his title, while he instructed Lord Lys to muster the Royal Fleet and prepare for war.

Daeren sent Oswell Whent to enlist Anders Yronwood’s help in stirring trouble for House Martell, while Prince Doran wrestled with Dorne’s divisions and urged Rhaegar to seize Lys. The chapter ended with Daeren approaching Myr’s governor Tristan about obtaining Myrish sails for a lucrative venture.

• Daeren ordered Oswell Whent to deliver a letter to Anders Yronwood and gather intelligence on House Martell and Dornish nobles.
• Prince Doran decided to send Quentyn to Yronwood to reconcile House Martell with House Yronwood, despite his wife Mellario’s objections.
• Prince Doran worried that Rhaegar’s coronation would provoke the Iron Throne and urged him to press his advantage and take Lys.
• Daeren met governor Tristan in Myr and asked whether he could obtain the city’s secret-made sails.

Daeren bought Myr’s costly special sails and learned they were made with the help of Wizards, while Jaeherys persisted in trying to tame Valhar. After Tyrosh’s Grand Lord promoted House Borgiali as a rival Dragonking Family and moved against the Stepstones, Daeren resolved to conquer the islands and eliminate the threat.

• Daeren bought fifteen of Myr’s special sails for 45,000 Gold Dragons and learned that Wizards were involved in their production.
• Daeren asked Tristan how many governors he could persuade, and Tristan pledged to win six of Myr’s eighteen governors.
• Jaeherys climbed Dragon Mountain with a sheep to approach Valhar, but the bronze dragon flew away, so he went searching for it.
• Rhaegar attacked Lys after claiming the Stepstones, while Tyrosh’s Grand Lord named a Borgiali heir Prince of Tyrosh and called for a counterattack.
• Varys and Lys explained House Borgiali’s Valyrian ancestry and how Tyrosh could use gaps in the historical record to claim it was a Dragonking Family.
• Daeren declared that House Borgiali could not be allowed to remain and ordered the conquest of the Stepstones.

Daeren set out to conquer Tyrosh and the Stepstones after the Junimos offered to revive a dragon egg in exchange for a new homeland. He launched an assault on Bloodstone Island, where Corax’s dragonflame struck Harry Uller and the Dornish garrison.

• The Crownlands nobles rallied their forces after Daeron called them to war against the false Dragonking in Tyrosh.
• In a dream, the Junimos asked Daeren to find them a new homeland and offered to revive a dragon egg as payment; he decided to conquer the Stepstones and Tyrosh.
• Tywin ordered House Lannister to lead the war effort, while Archon Silverhand celebrated his alliance with Myr and plotted to establish a Dragonking Family in Tyrosh.
• Daeren reached Tarth Island with Corax and Toothless, received word from Ginger Island, and left Count Selwyn to receive the Royal Fleet.
• Daeren flew to Bloodstone Island, where Harry Uller spotted the approaching fleet and raised the alarm.
• Corax attacked the Dornish soldiers with dragonflame, killing many and knocking Harry Uller unconscious.

Daeren used Corax and the Royal Fleet to seize Bloodstone Island and sweep through the Stepstones, planning to develop the archipelago as a strategic trade hub. As the fleet attacked Grey Gallows Island, Tywin prepared Lannister forces for the campaign while Daeren’s assault began with dragonfire.

• Daeren and Corax devastated Bloodstone Island, and the Royal Fleet captured the island and took sixty-seven Dornish prisoners.
• Daeren ordered the garrison abandoned and a town built on Bloodstone Island, then led the Royal Fleet to clear pirate strongholds across the Stepstones.
• Tywin opposed building towns in the Stepstones, but Scholar Aemon argued that House Targaryen’s dragons changed the balance of power.
• Tywin learned that Daeren was advancing on Grey Gallows Island and ordered Kevon to transport Lannister forces there; he also directed that Tyrion be sent to the battlefield.
• Daeren’s fleet approached Grey Gallows Island, and Corax’s dragonfire swept across the mountainside, killing the Dornish soldiers stationed there.

Daeron accepted Starfall’s surrender after conquering Grey Gallows Island and prepared to lead the remaining forces against Tyrosh. Rhaegar learned that Daeron had taken the Stepstones and collapsed, while Tyrosh’s attempt to buy peace ended with its envoys mutilated and expelled.

• Corax helped Daeron defeat the Dornish on Grey Gallows Island, where Daeron spared Lord Adrian Dayne and ordered him to join Ser Arthur Dayne’s campaign against Tyrosh.
• Daeron assigned forces to secure the Stepstones and considered how Rhaegar would react to losing the islands.
• Rhaegar received news that Daeron had conquered the Stepstones and that the Dornish garrison had surrendered, then spat blood and collapsed in Oberyn’s arms.
• Daeron rejected Archon Silverhand’s offer of three chests of gold for peace, kept the gold as military funds, and ordered one hand cut off each Tyroshi envoy.
• Daeron told Lys and Kevon that his forces would march on Tyrosh now that the Stepstones were under his control.

Archon Silverhand prepared Tyrosh for war against Daeron III, while Daeren gathered his forces on the Stepstones and learned Queen Shayani was pregnant. On Dragonstone, Jaeherys approached a wild bronze dragon, determined to tame it and join his brother in battle.

• Archon Silverhand learned Daeron III had rejected peace and mutilated the Tyroshi envoys, then ordered the Mithril Scorpion Crossbows mounted on warships and recruited soldiers and mercenaries.
• More than three hundred ships and forty thousand soldiers assembled on Bloodstone Island as Daeren prepared to lead the attack on Tyrosh.
• Daeren reassured his commanders that Corax could fight in harsh weather and announced that Queen Shayani was expecting an heir.
• Jaeherys watched a bronze dragon feed and resolved to tame it so he could fight beside his brother.

Daeren and Corax led the Royal Fleet into battle against Tyrosh’s allied fleet, while Toothless joined them in burning the enemy ships. The Tyroshi force was shattered, leaving the Iron Throne poised to advance on Tyrosh as Daeren suspected Qohor and Volantis were using the city to test House Targaryen.

• Valhar threatened Jaeherys in a rocky hollow, but stopped when the boy called for calm.
• The Royal Fleet entered Tyrosh’s waters, where Stannis and Melisandre prepared for an inevitable battle against the waiting fleet.
• Corax attacked from the clouds, burning ships as the Royal Fleet’s catapults struck and the two fleets clashed.
• Daeren led Corax against Tyrosh’s eighteen Mithril Scorpion Crossbows, evaded their volley, and killed the Tyrosh commander amid the flames.
• Toothless joined Daeren and Corax in attacking the enemy fleet, which was defeated by late afternoon.
• Daeren led the Royal Fleet away from the bloodied sea and suspected Qohor and Volantis were using Tyrosh to test House Targaryen.

Daeren rested in the Stepstones after defeating the Tyrosh fleet, then led the Royal Fleet toward Tyrosh and discovered Jaeherys had bonded with Valhar. After giving his brother battlefield advice and protective gear, Daeren knighted him and lent him Red Rain.

• Daeren ordered Stannis and Kevon to pursue the Tyrosh remnants and set the invasion of Tyrosh for four days later.
• The Royal Fleet attacked a Tyrosh fleet, and Daeren and Jaeherys burned the enemy ships with Corax and Valhar.
• Jaeherys told Daeren that he had tamed Valhar and flown to join the battle.
• Daeren returned to Ginger Island and brought Jaeherys protective boots, rings, and a helmet.
• Daeren knighted Jaeherys with Red Rain and lent him the Valyrian Steel sword.

Daeren and Jaeherys prepared to attack Tyrosh while Tywin used reports of Oberyn’s campaign with Rhaegar to press the Small Council to hold Prince Doran accountable. The Royal Fleet began bombarding Tyrosh, and Daeren and Jaeherys rode their dragons toward the battle.

• Tywin ordered Kevon to make gains in the attack on Tyrosh after House Lannister played a minor role in the Battle of the Red Sea.
• Varys reported that Rhaegar was bedridden in Lys and that Oberyn was leading troops there, prompting Tywin to demand that Prince Doran answer for supporting Rhaegar.
• Scholar Aemon urged caution, but Tywin secured the Small Council’s agreement to send envoys to Sunspear and confront Prince Doran.
• Daeren explained to Jaeherys that he intended to conquer Tyrosh and leave Lys to Rhaegar, while keeping House Martell and Rhaegar at odds.
• The Royal Fleet began bombarding Tyrosh’s port, and Daeren and Jaeherys mounted Corax and Valhar to join the attack.

Daeron III’s forces captured Tyrosh after Myr’s Tristan betrayed the city by withholding reinforcements, while Daario confronted the Stormcrows over a captain’s death. Daeron killed Archon Silverhand in a duel, and Jaeherys used Valhar to destroy a Scorpion Crossbow defending the Black Wall.

• Stannis and the Dragon Tongue Knights charged into Tyrosh as Kevon’s Red Cloaks and Corax’s dragonflame helped breach the city’s defenses.
• Archon Silverhand learned that Myr had not answered his pleas and that Tyrosh’s governors were considering abandoning or betraying him.
• Daario denied killing a Stormcrows captain, and Tristan ordered the Myr fleet to let the mercenaries pass instead of aiding Tyrosh.
• Daeron III entered the breached Lord’s Mansion, defeated Archon Silverhand in a duel, and ordered his soldiers to search the residence.
• Jaeherys rode Valhar over the Black Wall, evaded a Scorpion Crossbow, and destroyed it with dragonflame.

Daeren discovered a possible fragment of an ancient dragon-binding spell in a copied riding manual and learned that Jaeherys had secretly studied magic. As Daeren’s council debated the fate of House Borgiali, Tyrion proposed separating the siblings to ease Tyrosh’s resistance and stabilize the city.

• Tyrion found a copied Riding Manual among the spoils, and Daeren pieced together a High Valyrian chant that he suspected was part of the Binding Spell.
• Daeren decided to investigate the bookseller and the Binding Spell in secret, then asked Melisandre about House Borgiali’s bloodline.
• Melisandre confirmed that House Borgiali carried only a faint trace of dragon blood and exposed Jaeherys’s magic studies, including his ability to cultivate magic and Life Force at the same time.
• Daeren told Jaeherys to discuss his secret further after they returned, then convened his vassals to decide House Borgiali’s fate.
• Tyrion proposed revoking William Borgiali’s title and sending him to Westeros to marry a noblewoman while Diana Borgiali remained in Tyrosh to marry a local governor.

Daeren returned from Tyrosh and began planning its governance while Tywin weighed the challenges of ruling the city and learned that Shayani was pregnant. In Dorne, the Iron Throne demanded that Rhaegar's daughters be sent to King's Landing, leaving Prince Doran fearing that the Targaryen brothers had trapped him.

• Daeren discussed Diana Borgiali's future with Jaeherys and Tyrion, then betrothed William Borgiali to Watan Frey and announced plans to replace Tyrosh's old titles with the office of Archon.
• Tywin learned that Shayani was pregnant, set aside his plans to press for multiple wives, and considered the difficulties of abolishing slavery and governing Tyrosh.
• Daeren visited Shayani and learned she had found a Yellow Daffodil, then went to the Small Council, where Tywin raised the Iron Throne's response to House Martell.
• Prince Doran received news of unrest in Dorne and the Iron Throne's demands, then heard Willas Tyrell explain that Rhaegar's daughters had to leave Sunspear for King's Landing.
• Arianne escorted Rhaenys and Visenya aboard a royal ship and criticized Prince Doran for gaining nothing from House Martell's support of Rhaegar.

Daeren learned that Gillian Lannister had escaped the Smoking Sea only to be captured by suspected Volantene slavers, and that a dragon and six missing Dragon Eggs might be in the region. After ordering a rescue mission, Daeren dreamed of a Three-Eyed Crow warning him repeatedly not to go to the Smoking Sea, leaving him wary of a greater danger there.

• Daeren ordered Viserys's training doubled and returned to King's Landing, where he and the Small Council handled the aftermath of the war and planned for Rhaenys and Visenya to return to the Royal Family.
• Tygett brought Tywin a letter from Gillian, prompting Tywin to call an emergency Small Council meeting after learning Gillian had been captured and that a dragonlike creature and six Dragon Eggs were missing from the Smoking Sea.
• Daeren treated Gillian's claims as true and ordered the Iron Throne to rescue him, while considering how to locate the missing Dragon Eggs without personally risking the Smoking Sea.
• Daeren dreamed of the Land of the Long Summer, where a Three-Eyed Crow's mental attack failed and the crow warned him not to go to the Smoking Sea.
• After waking, Daeren took the warning seriously and concluded that a major upheaval in the Smoking Sea made traveling there too dangerous.