Chapter Summaries

Daeren landed at Myr with a massive army and ordered an immediate march to stop the remnants of the Three Daughters from scattering. Stannis’s cavalry caught Governor Barwick’s raiding force, and Daeren arrived on Corax as the battle began.

• Daeren learned that the remnants of the Three Daughters were raiding across the Disputed Lands and brought roughly one hundred and fifty thousand troops to Myr.
• Daeren ordered the army to march the next morning and summoned Randyll and Stannis.
• Governor Barwick prepared to raid plantations near Tyrosh before fleeing to Volantis, despite warning that Daeren’s army had crossed the sea.
• Stannis led the Dragon Tongue Knights against Barwick’s five thousand men, whose arrows failed to pierce the knights’ armor.
• Daeren appeared overhead on Corax and commanded the dragon to unleash fire.

Daeren’s dragon and cavalry destroyed Barwick’s Three Daughters force, and Daeren ordered the captured pirates executed before pressing ahead toward Twin Lakes. After learning of Barwick’s defeat, Graulon planned to slow Daeren’s advance and seek reinforcements from Volantis.

• Daeren used Corax’s dragonflame while Stannis and Randyll led cavalry charges that routed the Three Daughters pirates.
• Randyll killed Barwick with a thrown spear, then beheaded him as the surviving pirates scattered.
• Randyll reported more than 2,300 enemies killed and over 1,700 captured, and Daeren ordered the prisoners executed while keeping the slaves.
• Daeren continued his forced march along the Valyrian Road toward Twin Lakes with the Dragon Tongue Knights and Randyll’s cavalry.
• Graulon learned that fewer than two hundred of Barwick’s five thousand men had returned and decided to send a force to delay Daeren.
• Graulon rejected using the Golden Company and sent word to Volantis to request reinforcements.

Nessiso reluctantly agreed to send Volantian troops to aid Aelyria after realizing Daeren’s campaign threatened Volantis, while Daeren’s army advanced toward a fortified position at Twin Lakes. The chapter ended with Tiger Party commander Ankaragon preparing to face the dragon by hiding his soldiers in the lake.

• An envoy pleaded with Nessiso to send troops to Aelyria, and Nessiso agreed to seek Malacho’s approval after recognizing Volantis could be Daeren’s next target.
• Daeren’s march was delayed by raids and a wildfire ambush that destroyed Randyll’s grain, so Daeren flew back to Myr for replacement supplies escorted by three hundred Unsullied.
• Randyll reported that at least thirty thousand Tiger Party troops guarded Twin Lakes with boats, shore ambushes, and siege weapons.
• Daeren calmly considered the lake defenses, while Randyll realized Daeren could exploit his strength in water battles.
• Ankaragon held his troops among the lakeshore shrubs and ordered them to jump into the lake and hide when Daeren’s dragon arrived.

Daeren and Corax crippled Volantis’s forces at Long Lake, while Elisha and Fredo prepared Lys to resist the Volantene fleet. The Iron Throne sent reinforcements, and Elisha used the reprieve to punish governors’ associates who had failed to act.

• Daeren rode Corax over Long Lake, burning Volantis’s military positions and destroying Ankaragon’s Scorpion Crossbow before Corax killed him.
• Fredo urged Elisha to resist the Volantene fleet and offered his family’s ships and funds to form a temporary fleet.
• Elisha learned that Willas Tyrell was sailing from Myr and Morfod Velaryon was sending the Velaryon fleet to turn back the Volantene forces.
• Fredo decided to borrow money and recruit sailors, while Elisha ordered the arrest of two noble merchants connected to governors who had not freed their slaves.
• Elisha’s City Guard seized the merchants’ relatives and associates, showing Lys’s governors that he would punish their inaction.

Daeren gained the surrender of a thirty-thousand-strong Volantene army by promising its soldiers freedom and a place in the Iron Throne’s ranks. After appointing Bell and Thael as its commanders, he marched toward the War Fortress, where Graulon learned of the mutiny and prepared to call on the Golden Company.

• Volantene officers surrendered to Daeren, saying they no longer wanted to fight for the slaveholding rulers of Volantis.
• Daeren promised the officers freedom, justice, and a living as soldiers, and they pledged to fight for him and the Iron Throne.
• Daeren learned that Bell and Thael were the nephews of the commander Corax had killed, then appointed Bell commander-in-chief and Thael deputy commander.
• Bell and Thael swore fealty to Daeren, who granted them the rank of colonel and ordered the army to march on the War Fortress.
• Graulon learned that the Volantene army had mutinied and surrendered, then ordered someone to summon Mith Toyne and turned to the Golden Company.

Daeren rejected the Golden Company’s offer to divide the Disputed Lands and ordered the War Fortress surrounded. As Corax and two other dragons arrived, Daeren began the assault with dragonfire, leaving the fortress under attack.

• Bened Beren offered to withdraw the Golden Company if the Iron Throne accepted Aelyria’s offer to cede the western Disputed Lands, but Daeren refused and Thael warned Bened off with an arrow.
• Daeren ordered Randyll to besiege the War Fortress while Stannis, Bell, and Thael prepared the remaining forces and sealed the northern and southern routes.
• Inside the fortress, Mith Toyne insisted the Golden Company could hold out until reinforcements arrived, while Laswell Peake warned him about Daeren and noticed Blackfyre at his waist.
• Randyll held the thirty thousand troops in place until Daeren arrived on Corax with two other dragons, then ordered the army to prepare to follow the King into battle.
• Mith Toyne ordered the fortress defenders to ready their weapons, but Daeren commanded Corax to blast the War Fortress’s dome with dragonfire.

Daeren and his three dragons battered the War Fortress, using its air vents and arrow slits to burn its defenders despite the thick outer wall. As Randyll’s army began its assault, Daeren spotted a deep crater that might provide a way to finish breaking through.

• Daeren ordered Corax, Toothless, and Grey Ghost to attack the War Fortress, whose thirty-meter-thick wall resisted their direct blasts.
• Daeren recognized that the Eerie Green Dragonflame had revealed the fortress’s air vents and arrow slits, then directed Corax to blast one open.
• Corax’s Crimson Dragonflame broke through an arrow slit, killing and injuring Mercenaries and knocking Mith Toyne to the floor.
• The dragons bombarded the fortress’s openings, spreading panic among its defenders and preventing them from using their Scorpion Crossbows.
• Randyll ordered his forces to coordinate with Daeren and attack, sending siege equipment toward the gate and three thousand men against hidden sentries.
• Daeren held Corax back and identified a deep crater in the fortress as a potential fatal weakness.

Daeren and Corax breached and destroyed the War Fortress, routing the Golden Company as it fought the Volantene army. After the battle, Laswell Peake presented Daeren with Blackfyre and revealed that Mith Toyne was dead.

• As the fortress overheated, Mith Toyne’s officers dragged him toward an escape route, but they could not find Graulon or the other governors.
• Daeren commanded Corax to unleash golden dragonfire, which punched through the War Fortress’s dome and breached it.
• The Golden Company and Volantene troops clashed below the mountains, and Bened died after a rider crushed his head with a warhammer.
• Daeren ordered Corax to destroy the fortress, while Randyll left an escape route open and the Golden Company broke through toward the Orange Coast.
• The next day, Bell and Thael reported that the Golden Company’s senior officers were missing and Blackfyre had not been found, but Laswell Peake arrived with the sword and Mith Toyne’s body.

Daeren recovered Blackfyre and used the Golden Company's surrender to reward Laswell Peake, recruit Lansono Marr, and persuade the remaining senior sergeants to join the Iron Throne. The former Golden Company men pledged themselves to House Targaryen and Daeren's army.

• Daeren accepted Blackfyre and learned that Mith Toyne had died of his battlefield wounds.
• Daeren knighted Laswell Peake and granted him Star Shuttle City, making him a vassal of Randyll Tarly.
• Laswell chose to return to Westeros, and Lansono Marr switched sides to serve as Daeren's intelligence officer.
• Daeren told the Golden Company's senior sergeants that former comrades Big and Little John and Black Bach had joined the Royal Fleet with high ranks.
• After Lansono explained the Iron Throne's military ranks and benefits, Shackle and the other senior sergeants pledged to fight for Daeren and House Targaryen.

Daeren killed Graulon and several governors at Volantis in a display of House Targaryen’s power, while the Small Council discussed the Eastern Expedition’s progress and supplies. In King’s Landing, Tyrion learned that Cersei was pregnant.

• Daeren rode Corax to Volantis and burned Graulon and several governors after they believed they had escaped him.
• Tyrion approved a new list of logistical supplies for Prince Jaeherys’s campaign as the Small Council reviewed the successful progress of the Second Eastern Expedition.
• Varys told the council that Randyll Tarly would soon take command and oversee the liberation of the slaves in the Three Cities.
• Tyrion reflected that his position as Lord Hand remained uncertain while Tywin stayed at the Red Keep.
• Sandor brought Tyrion to Cersei, who told him that Maester Harvey had confirmed she was pregnant.

Cersei revealed that she was six months pregnant with Daeren’s child, and Tyrion arranged for Jaime to carry a letter urging the young king to return and marry her. Tywin learned of the pregnancy, welcomed the prospect of a grandson with Targaryen blood, and ordered the maid who exposed the secret to be silenced and sent to the Silent Sisters.

• Cersei told Tyrion that she was six months pregnant and had hidden it from Tywin, then asked him to help secure her position and the child’s future.
• Tyrion warned Cersei that their unborn child would be considered illegitimate unless she married Daeren, and promised to arrange for the young king’s return.
• Tyrion recruited Jaime to secretly deliver a letter to Daeren in the Disputed Lands, though Jaime objected that Cersei should have told the king and Tywin about the pregnancy.
• Tywin questioned Cersei’s maid and learned that Cersei was pregnant and had sought Tyrion’s help.
• Tywin rejoiced at the prospect of a grandson with Targaryen blood, then ordered the maid’s tongue cut out and sent her to Oldtown to become a Silent Sister.

Daeren returned to King's Landing after learning that Cersei was seven months pregnant with his child, and he arranged to marry her soon. The chapter left Tyrion wondering whether Daeren’s multiple wives would inspire others to follow his example.

• Jaime told Daeren that Cersei was pregnant, prompting Daeren to leave the Orange Coast and ride Corax back to King's Landing.
• Daeren returned to the Red Keep, reunited with Shayani and Elia, and visited queen mother Rhaella.
• Daeren found Cersei walking in the rear garden, reassured her about the child, and learned from Ashara that Tywin wanted to see him.
• Tyrion urged Daeren to marry Cersei before her pregnancy became impossible to hide, and Daeren said Lord Owen was preparing a simple wedding for February 15.
• Ashara and Rhaenys summoned Daeren to accompany the Queen, while Tyrion later told Tywin that the King had missed their appointment.
• Tyrion wondered whether Daeren's support for multiple wives would encourage others to imitate him.

Tywin accepted Cersei’s rushed marriage to King Daeren as a means of securing Targaryen blood for his grandson, while Lady Olenna warned Arianne about her uncertain claim to Sunspear. On campaign in the Disputed Lands, Viserys learned that Daeren planned to marry Cersei and restore the tradition of taking multiple wives.

• Tywin told Tyrion that Cersei’s happiness mattered less to him than securing a dragon-riding grandson, and Tyrion left after hearing his father condemn his children.
• Lady Olenna complained that House Lannister had gained the chance to marry into the royal family and explained to Arianne that Cersei’s wedding was rushed because she was pregnant.
• Arianne admitted that Princess Elia’s loyalties to the Royal Family left her feeling overlooked, and Lady Olenna warned her that her father might choose someone else to inherit Sunspear.
• Viserys demanded news of a proper battle from Eddard, "Bronze" Yohn, and their commanders, who told him that King Daeren intended to marry Lady Cersei and restore multiple wives.

Viserys stayed in the Disputed Lands and rode to reinforce Stannis after Volantis began preparing for war, while Daeren arranged Cersei’s lavish wedding and secured the Faith of the Seven’s approval of Targaryen exceptional marriage customs. Cersei gave birth to a daughter, Myrcella Targaryen, but Tyrion noticed something about the newborn that left him stunned.

• Viserys agreed to remain on the Orange Coast and then rode to reinforce Stannis when Jorah reported Volantis’s preparations.
• Tywin paid for Cersei and Daeren’s grand wedding, and Daeren replaced the opposing High Septon with an obedient one who signed the New Exception Act.
• Daeren protected the new High Septon from his rivals and secured the Faith’s recognition of Targaryen incestuous marriages and multiple wives.
• Cersei gave birth to a healthy daughter, and Daeren named her Myrcella Targaryen.
• Tyrion looked at the newborn after Daeren closed her swaddling clothes, then stood stunned as his joy disappeared.

After Myrcella was born with unusual silver-gold hair and mismatched eyes, Tyrion investigated Targaryen inheritance but kept his suspicions to himself. Daeren arranged a Dragon Egg for Myrcella and affirmed Shayani’s role in choosing eggs for all his children, then learned that a red dragon had appeared in Volantis.

• Daeren left Cersei and the newborn Myrcella to rest, while Tyrion studied royal histories and wondered why Myrcella had silver hair.
• At Myrcella’s full-moon banquet, nobles praised her heterochromia, and Tyrion proudly claimed her green and blue eyes resembled his own.
• Tywin urged Daeren to place a Dragon Egg in Myrcella’s cradle, but Daeren rebuffed his pressure and later asked Shayani to choose an egg.
• Shayani chose a silver Dragon Egg from Tessarion’s remaining eggs, and Daeren decided she would choose eggs for all his children.
• Lansono Marr reported to Daeren that his scouts had seen a red dragon in Volantis.

After learning that Volantis had secretly hatched a young dragon, Daeren prepared an investigation and a military response while deciding Varys could no longer be trusted. The chapter also revealed a discovery in the Valyrian Peninsula and ended with Daeren planning to take Daenerys to Dragonstone to tame a dragon.

• Lansono reported that a red young dragon had appeared over Volantis, and Daeren called for war before Tyrion persuaded him to locate the dragon and its keeper first.
• Daeren sent Davos to Volantis, assigned Count Colton to temporarily command the Kingsguard, and ordered spies and the army to prepare.
• Victarion and Rodrik spotted Lusris returning from the Valyrian Peninsula, where he reported finding dragons, ancient Valyrian ruins, and special crops.
• Daenerys told Daeren that people were discussing marrying her off, and Daeren promised she would not be married yet.
• Daeren called Daenerys weak and said he would take her to Dragonstone the next day so she could try to tame a dragon.

Daeren dreamed of a returning dragon with molten-gold eyes and suspected Drogon had come back to Dragonstone. While he searched for a dragon Daenerys could ride, she went to see Aerys, fled from his outburst, and encountered a huge black dragon in the fog.

• Daeren dreamed that a three-eyed crow pointed him toward a dragon whose shadow covered Dragonstone, then woke convinced the vision might concern Drogon.
• Melisandre warned Daeren that the Smoking Sea had changed, while Tyrion apologized for court rumors about Daenerys; Daeren left for Dragonstone with her.
• Daeren learned that Drogon had not returned and sent the Dragon Guards to find Rhaegal and Grey Ghost so Daenerys could choose a dragon.
• Daenerys climbed to Aerys's room and saw him clutching a dragon egg while cursing, then fled when he heard her and began shouting.
• Daenerys lost her way in the sea fog outside Stone Drum Tower, and a massive black dragon appeared in front of her as the Dragon Guards cried out a warning.

Lady Olenna warned Margaery that House Tyrell’s words lacked the force of other great houses, then tried to use rumors of Daenerys’s marriage to provoke Daeren. Daenerys tamed Drogon and flew to King’s Landing with him, where Daeren angrily silenced Olenna.

• Lady Olenna criticized the Golden Rose and compared House Tyrell’s words with those of other houses, telling Margaery she would soon understand.
• Daenerys faced Drogon on Dragonstone, reached out to him, and tamed him.
• Daenerys rode Drogon to King’s Landing, where Daeren caught her and helped settle the wary dragon at the Dragonpit.
• Lady Olenna approached Daeren and praised Daenerys for taming a dragon, then repeated a rumor that Tywin would welcome her as a Lannister bride.
• Daeren rejected Olenna’s claim about Tywin, covered Daenerys’s ears, and ordered Olenna to shut up.

Daeron uncovered Lady Olenna’s plot to spread rumors and manipulate Daenerys’s marriage, then forced her to accept Margaery’s betrothal to Tyrion or risk losing House Tyrell’s power in The Reach. He purged spies from the Red Keep and imposed new household rules before receiving a personal message from Lusris.

• Daeron confronted Lady Olenna with evidence that her people had bribed servants to spread rumors, and she admitted her scheme to arrange a match for Willas Tyrell.
• Daeron demanded that Margaery marry Tyrion and threatened to replace House Tyrell as Warden of the South; Lady Olenna accepted the betrothal under pressure.
• Ser Gerold led the Palace Guard in arresting spies in the Red Keep, while Daeron declared Shayani the sole Queen and appointed Ashara Mistress of the Household.
• Daeron limited royal household staff and noble visitors, reducing the Lannister and Martell presence in the Red Keep as the court grew more orderly.
• Daeron received a message from Lusris addressed for him to open personally.

Daeren read Lusris’s account of the Valyrian Peninsula’s return and resolved to visit after dealing with Volantis, while Tyrion learned he had been betrothed to a young Tyrell girl. Daeren continued planning how to find Volantis’s hidden Red Dragon as Varys arrived at his hall.

• Daeren read Lusris’s letter describing the Land of the Long Summer, its dangerous creatures, and the survivors’ exploration, then decided he would visit the peninsula once Volantis was settled.
• Daeren searched the letter for news of Rhaegar but found none, sketched a map of Essos, and summoned the Lord Hand.
• Tywin told Tyrion that he had been promised to an eight-year-old girl of House Tyrell, and Tyrion protested the age difference and the arrangement.
• Tywin explained that Lady Olenna’s attempt to secure a royal marriage had failed, while House Lannister had gained Cersei’s marriage to the King and Tyrion’s new position as Lord Hand.
• Daeren considered using Junimo to locate Volantis’s hidden Red Dragon, then planned to settle some Junimo in the Disputed Lands after they were captured.
• Varys knocked and entered Daeren’s hall.