Recaps

Suleiman backed the monopoly guilds’ predatory acquisitions despite dozens of merchant suicides, prompting Maester Rooney to resign and deepening the Riverlands’ conflict with outside merchants. As Suleiman considered how to train administrators without provoking the Citadel, Olivier proposed military education for the governor’s attendants, and Suleiman was left weighing the dangerous system it could create.

• Olivier reported that the monopoly guilds had bought up struggling merchants’ businesses and that forty-seven merchants had died by suicide; Suleiman praised Bok Hewen and ordered a rumor spread to intensify hatred of merchants.
• Maester Rooney condemned the policy, removed his House Lychester sigil, and left to request that the Citadel send a replacement maester.
• Martin Lannister and Rod Lanni discussed how debts had become worthless and how merchants were selling their Riverlands holdings, then recognized they might have to accept losses and leave.
• Suleiman and Olivier discussed the Citadel’s opposition to independent schools and the governor’s need for trained administrators.
• Olivier proposed educating the governor’s attendants in military subjects so they could also serve as bureaucrats, and Suleiman considered how such a military-administrative system could transform the Riverlands.

Suleiman secured the Riverlands lords’ support for a monopoly guild that would seize merchants’ businesses and property, then Bock Hewen began enforcing the plan in Maidenpool. After joining William Mooton in exploiting Lude’s family and celebrating his new power, Bock showed interest in Lude’s wife, whom Mooton had made a servant.

• Suleiman and Hubbard presented the Riverlands Monopoly Guild plan, and the lords discussed how to confiscate merchants’ wealth.
• Suleiman promised powerful bannermen forty percent of the guild’s profits, while Quincy Cox agreed to surrender his saltworks in exchange for lordship over Saltpans.
• The nobles finalized plans to plunder merchants, and Bock Hewen resolved to become a noble after hearing their greed.
• Bock arrived in Maidenpool as guild president and accepted William Mooton’s offer to buy Lude’s confiscated shops, warehouses, property, and spices for five hundred Gold Dragons.
• At Mooton’s feast, Bock drank and reveled in his newfound status, then indicated his interest in Lude’s wife, now serving as a maid.

Suleiman considered the consequences of Boke Hewen’s harsh rule as the Faith praised his campaign against merchants and offered him an ancient sword to bind him to the Faith. Meanwhile, Bock Hewen forced the Monopoly Guild’s great houses to repay House Lychester within a month, leaving Rodley Tarl wary of the power they served.

• Olivier reported that the Monopoly Guild was profiting but that Boke Hewen had driven at least seventeen merchants to ruin or death through extreme retaliation.
• Brother Arlan told Suleiman that the Faith approved his actions and intended to preach his campaign against merchants as a holy cause.
• Brother Arlan presented Suleiman with an ancient sword said to belong to a Son of the Warrior, and Suleiman accepted it, recognizing that the Faith had come seeking a champion.
• Bock Hewen ordered the heads of the six great houses to repay their debts to House Lychester within one month and threatened to seize their property and families if they failed.
• Rodley Tarl warned Bock Hewen not to drive the merchants into a corner, but Bock insisted that his new power would make people treat him as a person.
• After Bock left, Rodley Tarl wondered whether the Riverlands’ powerful were also merely sheep beneath its one lion.

Petyr Baelish found King's Landing swept up in a violent religious movement praising Suleiman and urging the slaughter of heretics, while the Small Council traced the crisis to the Faith and suspected hidden sponsors. Jon Arryn ordered preparations to contain the unrest and sent warnings and commands to Stannis, Tywin, Winterfell, and Suleiman, whose ties to the Faith now threatened the crown.

• Petyr Baelish crossed King's Landing as septons urged crowds to kill heretics and praised Suleiman as the Sword of the Seven.
• Petyr Baelish reached the Small Council, where Varys explained that the Faith's gathering had endorsed Suleiman's actions and helped inspire a growing crusade against the Iron Islands and other heretics.
• Petyr Baelish warned that the Faith's story about Suleiman receiving a holy sword had spread suspiciously fast, and Varys said the Faith sought to reclaim power while the royal army was away.
• Jon Arryn ordered Pycelle to prepare ravens and Varys to investigate who was inciting and funding the unrest, while Petyr Baelish was tasked with raising an army.
• Jon Arryn sent letters ordering Stannis to halt the Iron Islands campaign, Tywin to prepare forces, and Winterfell to guard the Neck against zealots.
• Jon Arryn ordered Suleiman to explain whether he had promised the Faith anything, keep the Riverlands clergy in line, and remember that his sword belonged to the king.

Jon Connington learned how Varys planned to manipulate Suleiman and the Faith into war, while Varys prepared the Golden Company’s return. In Myr, a House Lychester envoy secured Viserys Targaryen’s signature on an agreement that tied his claim to the Faith, the Reach, and Dorne.

• Varys told Jon Connington that he had shaped the information reaching Suleiman and Jon Arryn to push the realm toward conflict and promised the Golden Company would wait until the Seven Kingdoms were exhausted.
• Varys instructed Jon Connington to tell Myles Toyne to prepare and said Illyrio would arrange ships and supplies.
• A House Lychester envoy found Viserys Targaryen and Daenerys Targaryen in Myr and offered Viserys allegiance and a path to reclaim the Iron Throne.
• Viserys Targaryen read an agreement making Lymond Lychester regent, restoring armed orders to the Faith, arranging his marriage to Margaery Tyrell, and betrothing Daenerys Targaryen to Quentyn Martell.
• Viserys Targaryen signed the agreement and ordered the envoy to tell his master that he wanted an army and his crown.

Suleiman discovered that the Faith’s offer of two hundred thousand Gold Dragons was meant to support a religious uprising, and he arrested Septon Arlan and mobilized House Lychester’s forces. After receiving a threatening letter and realizing the Faith had already cast him as its chosen sword, Suleiman questioned Arlan in the dungeon, where the septon revealed that the Faith intended to reclaim everything it believed belonged to it.

• Lymond Lychester told Suleiman that the Faith had offered House Lychester two hundred thousand Gold Dragons, prompting Suleiman to investigate reports of East Riverlands lords exchanging envoys.
• Suleiman ordered intelligence gathered, summoned the young lords of House Mallister and House Deddings to Rushmarsh, and invited Septon Arlan to explain the Faith’s offer.
• Septon Arlan revealed that the Faith wanted Suleiman to lead a holy army against the Iron Throne, so Suleiman arrested him and ordered the army mobilized.
• Suleiman received a letter threatening him if he claimed to be the Sword of the Seven and recognized that the Faith’s campaign had trapped House Lychester in a potential charge of treason.
• Suleiman questioned the imprisoned Septon Arlan, who said the Faith intended to reclaim everything that belonged to it.

Jon Arryn's arrests and Jonos Slint's attack on a religious procession drove King's Landing's commoners into open revolt. After the crowd stormed the barracks and killed Slint and his officers, Yangsi called for Suleiman to lead the people as their peacekeeper.

• Jon Arryn ordered the City Watch to arrest the septons, then went to the Great Sept of Baelor and had a septon seized when he demanded the prisoners' release.
• Yangsi rallied more than fifty thousand people at Rhaenys's Hill and led them toward the capital garrison barracks to free their imprisoned brothers.
• Jonos Slint ordered his soldiers to fire into the crowd, and an arrow struck the statue of Father.
• The crowd broke into the barracks, where Jonos Slint killed a bound child; the soldiers fled, and the people threw Slint and his officers from a tower.
• Yangsi returned the dead child to his mother, declared that the people's court had judged the rebels, and endorsed Suleiman as their leader.
• The crowd shouted Suleiman's name and marched through King's Landing.

Septon Arlan tried to persuade Suleiman to support the Faith by promising House Lychester sweeping authority and power in the Riverlands. Suleiman rejected the offer and left, while Arlan warned that his death was approaching.

• Septon Arlan declared that the Faith wanted supremacy over the realm and authority over lords, kings, laws, and worship.
• Suleiman asked what the Faith could offer him, and Septon Arlan promised House Lychester the Riverlands and the titles Protector of the Faith throughout the realm and Commander of the Church's Sword.
• Septon Arlan described the taxes, army, judicial powers, appointments, and duties those titles would entail, including House Lychester's obligation to side with the Faith over the kingdom.
• Suleiman said the promised future meant nothing in the current war and refused to raise an army for the Faith.
• Septon Arlan lunged at the bars and warned Suleiman that every moment brought him closer to death.

Jon Arryn tried to restore royal control over King's Landing, but the Faith and the commoners rejected his threats and the city turned against him. After rumors spread that foreign mercenaries would massacre them, Brother Yangsi called on the crowd to take up arms and destroy the tyrant.

• Jon Arryn learned that Jonos Slynt had been killed by the mob and that the City Watch had collapsed, while Petyr Baelish said mercenaries from Myr and Tyrosh would arrive within ten days.
• Varys warned Jon Arryn that Riverlands lords were mobilizing and that House Lychester had summoned House Mallister and House Deddings while their heirs remained held at Rushmarsh.
• Jon Arryn convened negotiations at the Great Sept of Baelor, where the crowd jeered at nobles and rejected his plans to ban gatherings and arrest agitators.
• A man claimed Gold Cloaks had surrounded the Great Sept, sparking chaos, and Septon Yangsi confronted Jon Arryn before guards escorted him out as the crowd hurled filth at his procession.
• Rumors that mercenaries would cross the Narrow Sea to slaughter the people spread through King's Landing, and Brother Yangsi urged the crowd at Rhaenys's Hill to take up arms and destroy the tyrant.

Raymun Darry told Suleiman that East Riverlands was preparing to rebel and urged House Lychester to join, but Suleiman arrested him and prepared for the danger to come. After arranging escape plans for Maester Rooney, Olivier, and Lymond Lychester, Suleiman ended by vowing that if his enemies left him no way out, he would take millions down with him.

• Raymun Darry arrived in person and urged Suleiman to join East Riverlands in marching on King's Landing to restore the Targaryens.
• Suleiman arrested Raymun and said he would tell the king and Jon Arryn that House Lychester would suppress the rebellion, while Raymun warned that the rebels had twenty thousand troops against their seven thousand.
• Suleiman asked Maester Rooney to abandon his Citadel oath and prepare to take Lymond Lychester to the Free Cities if danger came.
• Suleiman told Olivier to take twenty thousand Gold Dragons and distribute them among the common folk so they could flee if the Riverlands became unsafe.
• Lymond Lychester confronted Suleiman about the escape plans and urged him to leave Westeros, but Suleiman said their hope was slim and vowed to drag millions down with him if his enemies left him no way out.

Suleiman prepared to march on King's Landing, dismissing much of his army to protect their families and leaving Raymun Darry imprisoned under a false story. In King's Landing, Septon Yangsi declared Robert Baratheon deposed and led a mass uprising toward the Red Keep.

• Suleiman explained to Lymond Lychester that the war would devastate the Riverlands, Crownlands, and Stormlands, and said victory depended on feeding King's Landing and defeating the first reinforcements.
• Suleiman ordered fathers, elder brothers, and only sons to leave the assembled army, arranged Gold Dragons for their families, and rode out with his remaining force.
• Olivier told the imprisoned Raymun Darry that Suleiman had protected him by keeping him in the dungeon, and relayed Suleiman's thanks and disappointment.
• Septon Yangsi denounced Robert Baratheon before the crowd in the Great Sept, declared him deposed, and called for the people to reject both the king and the nobility.
• The people of King's Landing armed themselves and surged toward the Red Keep as Septon Yangsi led them, while alarm bells rang inside the castle.

Cole Hewen, a bastard of House Haigh, laid out Suleiman's political predicament and urged him to seize the Riverlands and the Vale to become king himself. Suleiman asked the crippled envoy who he was, and Cole revealed his name and bastard heritage.

• Suleiman ordered Cole Hewen executed, but stopped the execution when Cole laughed and asked to explain his situation.
• Cole argued that House Lychester was trapped between hostile Riverlands lords, the Faith, and Robert Baratheon, and that Suleiman would be ruined if he continued serving the king.
• Cole mapped out how Suleiman could take the Crownlands and Stormlands, exploit rivalries among the other regions, and help restore House Targaryen's power.
• Cole urged Suleiman to reject both the Targaryens and Baratheons, seize the Riverlands and Vale, and found his own kingdom.
• Suleiman asked the young envoy who he was, and Cole identified himself as a bastard of House Haigh.

Cole Rivers proposed that Suleiman use the Faith’s followers and Braavosi financing to seize power, while Jon Arryn faced a massive riot at the Red Keep and uncovered a plot to restore House Targaryen. The chapter ended with Jon ordering a counteroffensive as Varys secretly welcomed the Baratheon dynasty’s coming fall.

• Cole Rivers urged Suleiman to embrace the Faith’s support, borrow from the Iron Bank, and build a kingdom of his own, but Suleiman gave no answer.
• Cole Rivers outlined a strategy of yielding the Crownlands to House Tyrell, holding the Riverlands, and seeking an alliance with the Reach; Suleiman told Bryn the plan aligned with his own ambitions.
• Jon Arryn fought rioters on the Red Keep walls and then gathered the remaining Small Council members to assess the siege.
• Varys revealed reports that Viserys Targaryen had secured House Lychester’s support and promised to marry Margaery Tyrell, prompting Jon Arryn to recognize a coordinated rebellion.
• Jon Arryn ordered letters summoning Tywin Lannister and Vale forces and declared House Lychester traitors whose lands could be seized.
• Varys entered a secret passage and privately declared that the Baratheon dynasty’s death knell had arrived.

Walter Whent planned to use Suleiman’s arrival to advance his own dynastic ambitions, while Cole Whent warned him that Suleiman was dangerous. Suleiman outlined a high-risk strategy to restore the Targaryens, reclaim the Riverlands, and destroy its lords, leaving his army waiting for Jon Arryn’s death and the Reach’s decision.

• Walter Whent raged at Corley Hewen for failing to understand Suleiman, then declared he would drag House Lychester down to secure Church support and restore the Targaryens.
• Cole Whent warned Walter Whent not to underestimate Suleiman, but Walter insulted him and ordered him out of the tent.
• Suleiman told Bryn that his plan relied on marching through the Crownlands, taking King's Landing, bringing back the Targaryens, and securing the Faith Militant while other regions stayed out of the fighting.
• Suleiman said he would yield the Targaryen guardianship and Crownlands to The Reach, reclaim the Riverlands, and then take the Vale, with House Tyrell’s choice deciding the plan’s success.
• Suleiman said he would wait for Jon Arryn to die and vowed to slaughter the Riverlands’ lords and consolidate religious, military, and governing authority; if The Reach backed Baratheon, he would flee to the Free Cities.

Septon Arlan arrived at the High Sparrow’s impoverished army to deliver Suleiman’s terms for joining forces against the Usurper. The High Sparrow, despite viewing Suleiman’s claim to be the Prophet of the Seven as blasphemous, accepted the tide of popular faith and called the army north.

• Septon Arlan reached the High Sparrow’s camp with Suleiman’s guards and announced that Suleiman had sent him.
• Arlan told the High Sparrow that Suleiman would command the Church’s armed forces in exchange for recognition as the Prophet of the Seven and the gods’ regent.
• The gathered believers erupted in support of Suleiman, treating him as a divinely chosen savior.
• The High Sparrow recoiled from Suleiman’s claim but saw that the people had already embraced it and depended on the hope it offered.
• The High Sparrow rose and shouted for the army to march north, and the crowd answered with cheers.

Septon Yangsi and the rioting crowd forced the High Septon to strip Robert Baratheon and Jon Arryn of their faith and proclaim a Second Faith Militant Uprising. Monks rode out from King's Landing to spread the call to arms across the Seven Kingdoms.

• The crowd abandoned its assault on the Red Keep and surged toward the Great Sept of Baelor to seize the High Septon.
• Septon Yangsi's followers dragged the High Septon to a platform and forced him to declare Robert Baratheon and Jon Arryn stripped of their faith.
• The High Septon proclaimed the Second Faith Militant Uprising, calling for the Sons of the Warrior and Poor Fellows to gather.
• Septon Yangsi sent monks carrying proclamations bearing the High Septon's seal to spread the uprising throughout the Seven Kingdoms.

Doran Martell refused Oberyn Martell’s push to exploit the Faith Militant’s uprising, but Oberyn hinted he would act anyway. In Highgarden, Olenna Redwyne weighed the rebellion’s political opportunities, then learned Jon Arryn had declared House Lychester traitors, setting the realm closer to war.

• Doran Martell rejected Oberyn Martell’s plan to arm the Faith’s followers, insisting Dorne would not risk bloodshed before its plans were ready.
• Arianne Martell followed Oberyn Martell and realized his joking claim that he would become a septon concealed his intention to inflame the uprising.
• Lady Olenna Redwyne ordered Reach lords to feed the Poor Fellows and escort them beyond the Reach’s borders.
• Lady Olenna Redwyne and Willas Tyrell discussed whether Suleiman might rebel and how unrest could weaken the Baratheon dynasty.
• Lady Olenna Redwyne received Jon Arryn’s decree stripping House Lychester of its lands and titles for treason.
• Lady Olenna Redwyne told Willas Tyrell that Jon Arryn’s decree had lit the fuse and that war was about to begin.

Ser Cortnay Penrose sent Renly Baratheon to Dragonstone and prepared Storm's End for an approaching war. At Harrenhal, Suleiman turned Walter Whent's attempt to claim command of the Riverlands army into a display of his soldiers' loyalty, leaving Walter unable to negotiate from strength.

• Ser Cortnay Penrose learned that Ser Bonifer Hasty had joined the Poor Fellows and ordered Renly Baratheon escorted to Dragonstone.
• Ser Cortnay Penrose ordered Storm's End's defenses strengthened and summoned the Stormlands vassals to their castles.
• At Harrenhal, Walter Whent demanded that Suleiman surrender command of the Riverlands army to the lords.
• Suleiman reminded Walter Whent that many soldiers owed their loyalty to him, and the army erupted into cheers for Suleiman and ignored its officers.
• Suleiman told Walter Whent that half his army would defect and declared that Walter was not qualified to negotiate.

Suleiman forced Walter Whent and the East Riverlands lords to submit, then united their soldiers with the Poor Fellows without a battle. In his command tent, Kole Hewen urged Suleiman to join the war against the Baratheons, and Suleiman left his next move uncertain.

• Suleiman revealed hidden archers, and Walter Whent surrendered after realizing his army might defect.
• Suleiman ordered Walter Hean to kneel, then lashed him as he declared himself master of the Riverlands.
• The Poor Fellows and Walter Hean's soldiers celebrated together, ending the threat of battle between the armies.
• Kole Hewen explained that the East Riverlands lords had been drawn into a conspiracy and urged Suleiman to raise his banner against the Baratheons.
• Suleiman studied the map from Harrenhal to King's Landing and Storm's End, saying that chess meant hiding his next move.

At Harrenhal, Suleiman used a fabricated, harsher version of Jon Arryn’s order to convince the Riverlands lords and their forty thousand soldiers that surrender meant death. He turned their fear into resolve, ordered the army to march on King's Landing, and sent Walter Hean to bring Viserys Targaryen back.

• The Riverlands lords demanded that Suleiman explain his inaction, and Suleiman challenged William Mooton for joining Walter Hean’s conspiracy.
• News arrived that Jon Arryn had ordered the rebels punished, and William Mooton called for the army to raise its banners and attack King's Landing.
• Suleiman revealed that he had altered and spread the royal order to leave the army convinced there was no way back, then ordered Walter Hean to fetch Viserys Targaryen.
• Suleiman addressed the forty thousand soldiers, presented the order as a death warrant for them and their families, and stirred their fear into anger.
• The soldiers took up their weapons and joined Suleiman’s call to rise and march on King's Landing.

Suleiman planned to deceive the Lannisters with a march toward King's Landing, then use a cavalry surprise attack to break the Westerlands army and pursue a rapid campaign against the Riverlands and the capital. He ordered his commanders to carry out the risky plan, and the Gold Dragon he tossed landed heads.

• After declaring that they would punish the Usurper, Suleiman sent William Mooton, Walter Hean, and the other lords back to their armies to settle the soldiers and await orders.
• Bryn reported that Tywin Lannister's roughly twenty thousand men were on the Goldroad, and Suleiman proposed splitting his forces and disguising their true destination.
• Suleiman ordered Rosso Brune to gather the cavalry and ride confusing circuits through the forest before launching a surprise attack on the Westerlands army.
• Suleiman laid out a plan to kill Tywin Lannister, strike the West Riverlands coalition, and then advance on King's Landing to kill Jon Arryn.
• After Suleiman ordered the plan carried out, Bryn, Rosso Brune, and Toman left to execute it, and Suleiman revealed that his Gold Dragon had landed heads.

In the Lannister camp, Tywin and Kevan discussed how to exploit Suleiman's uprising and capture King's Landing, while Tyrion questioned their assumptions. A Riverlands cavalry ambush struck before the Lannisters could act on their plan.

• Kevan told Tywin that the Lannisters would let Suleiman enter King's Landing before trapping his army and taking the city amid the chaos.
• Tyrion asked Tywin what he would do in Suleiman's place, and Tywin said he would march on King's Landing and drag his enemies into a fight.
• A knight reported that Suleiman had declared his uprising and was advancing from Harrenhal toward King's Landing.
• Tyrion mocked Tywin's apparent ability to manipulate events, angering Kevan and drawing Tywin's cold stare.
• A cavalry charge descended on the Lannister camp, and a knight announced that Riverlands men had ambushed them.

Suleiman disguised his movements, led a cavalry force deep into the Westerlands, and launched a surprise attack on Tywin Lannister’s camp. As the camp descended into chaos, Tywin put on his armor and emerged to face the assault.

• Suleiman put Toman in his armor and ordered him to lead the main force toward King’s Landing while Suleiman rode ahead with Rosso Brune’s cavalry.
• After the riders discovered they were on the Goldroad, Suleiman revealed that their target was Tywin Lannister and rallied them with promises of rewards and Targaryen revenge.
• Suleiman instructed Rosso Brune to attack swiftly, focus on killing Tywin, and withdraw if the attempt failed.
• Suleiman and Bryn led the cavalry into the Westerlands camp from two directions, setting fires and breaking through its defenses as Rosso Brune charged toward Tywin’s command tent.
• Kevan Lannister and Tyrion Lannister reacted to the ambush while Tywin donned his crimson armor and walked into the burning, overrun camp.

Rosso Brune’s Riverlands cavalry nearly killed Tywin Lannister during a surprise assault, but Tyrion Lannister’s burning wagon helped save him. Wounded by an archer, Tywin changed armor and left to rally the Westerlands army, ordering Tyrion to remain with Kevan in the dangerous camp.

• Rosso Brune led the Riverlands cavalry through the Lannister defenses while Bryn’s force disrupted the Westerlands troops trying to regroup.
• A young Riverlands knight charged Tywin Lannister, but Kevan Lannister blocked the blow and Lannister guards killed the knight after bringing down his horse.
• Tyrion Lannister set fire to a wagon of fire oil and shoved it into the breach, burning several charging Riverlands knights and helping stop their advance.
• A mounted archer struck Tywin Lannister with several arrows, including one that pierced the armor beneath his left arm, and Kevan pulled him and Tyrion into the command tent.
• Kevan Lannister persuaded Tywin to switch armor so he could escape and rally the army; Tywin ordered Tyrion to stay with Kevan, then left without looking back at him.

Kevan Lannister sacrificed himself to save Tyrion Lannister and was killed after the Riverlands forces captured him. Bryn’s display of Kevan’s remains convinced the Westerlands army that Tywin Lannister was dead, while the wounded Tywin survived and ordered Stafford Lannister to regroup his forces and prepare for further war.

• Kevan Lannister sent Tyrion Lannister south with red-cloaked guards, then drew the Riverlands attackers toward himself and was killed.
• Suleiman held back from sounding a retreat horn while Rosso Brune and Bryn continued fighting around Tywin Lannister’s tent.
• Bryn ordered Kevan Lannister’s body dismembered and displayed in Tywin Lannister’s armor, causing the Westerlands army’s morale to collapse.
• Stafford Lannister found the poisoned Tywin Lannister alive and struck down a knight who claimed he had died.
• Tywin Lannister ordered Stafford Lannister to ambush the Riverlands forces, regroup the Westerlands army at Deep Den, summon Lins Leighton and Rolan Crakehall, and send the Mountain into the Riverlands.
• Tywin Lannister told Stafford Lannister to seek Jaime’s release from Robert Baratheon, then rode west with a hundred knights.