Recaps

Bronn’s men ambushed three knights sent by Lord Benedar Belmore to contact the Mountain Clan wildlings, then killed them after learning their mission. When a lion roared nearby, Bronn saw a chance to give Lord Suleiman a grander title and ordered his men to fetch black dye.

• Bronn and his soldiers surrounded three knights from Strong Song and demanded their horses and weapons.
• Bronn interrogated the knights and learned they were carrying intelligence to the Mountain Clan wildlings on Lord Benedar Belmore’s orders.
• Bronn killed the older knight, and his soldiers stabbed the other two knights to death.
• A lion roared in the forest, and the soldiers wanted to capture it for Lord Suleiman.
• Bronn proposed giving Suleiman a more resounding title and ordered the soldiers to get black dye.

Timett Son of Timett rallied the surviving Wildlings to attack Suleiman, while Suleiman secured Lord Lofor’s help in disguising his departure to pursue them. After Heluo Valleydeep insulted him, Suleiman struck and threatened Heluo, then left Valleydeep Town with his soldiers.

• Timett Son of Timett learned that only three hundred Wildlings remained and ordered the surviving warriors to attack Suleiman and reclaim their spoils.
• Suleiman asked Lord Lofor for soldiers to pursue the Wildlings, but Lofor refused and Heluo accused Suleiman of looting House Valleydeep.
• Suleiman defended his actions and offered to return half the spoils if Lofor would make it seem that Suleiman’s force remained at camp.
• Heluo insulted Suleiman again, so Suleiman knocked him down, held a dagger to him, and forced him to apologize.
• Lord Lofor ordered Suleiman to leave Valleydeep Town, and Suleiman departed with his soldiers.

Suleiman launched a surprise night attack on the Mountain Clans’ savage camp, using burning livestock to set the tents ablaze before advancing in tight formations. Timett Son of Timett rallied the Burned Men and ordered them to kill Suleiman as the encirclement closed in.

• Suleiman led his soldiers toward the camp while Valleydeep Town’s troops kept bonfires burning to make it appear his army remained outside town.
• Suleiman and Lushen set fire to grease-soaked livestock and released them into the camp, igniting the tents and throwing the savages into chaos.
• Timett Son of Timett rallied the Burned Men and tried to steady the savages, while several tribal chiefs fled toward the mountains with their clansmen.
• Suleiman rallied his soldiers and sent two tight formations forward from the flanks as Lushen sounded the horn.
• Timett Son of Timett led the Burned Men against the soldiers’ spear-and-shield formations, then roared for them to kill Suleiman.

Suleiman's army fought the Mountain Clans Wildlings until flames behind the lines shattered the soldiers' formation and Timett led a counterattack. As Roslyn's flank collapsed and Timett advanced toward Suleiman, a terrifying black figure emerged from the forest.

• Suleiman ordered his troops to hold formation and compress the Wildlings, while Timett led a desperate charge against the shield wall.
• Lushen personally filled a breach and rallied his soldiers as the fighting grew fiercer.
• Warning horns sounded when flames rose from the army's rear, causing Suleiman's formation and morale to falter.
• Lushen regrouped his own troops, but Timett overran Roslyn's disordered right flank and drove toward Suleiman.
• A black figure leaped from the forest, stopping the battle and leaving Suleiman stunned.

A black, upright lion appeared on the battlefield and helped Suleiman’s soldiers rout the Wildlings, who believed Suleiman had summoned a supernatural servant. After the battle, Suleiman learned the lion was Bronn and played along as it knelt before him and departed into the forest.

• The black lion killed a Wildling, then Suleiman’s soldiers charged and rallied around the creature.
• The soldiers shouted that Suleiman was the Black Lion of the Riverlands, while the terrified Wildlings broke ranks and fled.
• Timett, Son of Timett, abandoned the collapsing battle and led some Wildlings into the forest.
• Toman told Suleiman that the black lion was Lord Bronn and had demanded payment for his performance.
• The black lion knelt before Suleiman, who praised it, and then vanished into the woods as his soldiers knelt before their lord.

After the battle, Suleiman addressed his soldiers and heard Bronn’s account of how he had used a lion’s hide to help create the Black Lion legend. Roslyn took responsibility for the right flank’s collapse and ordered the soldiers to lash him, leaving his back badly wounded as he sought to remember his failure.

• Suleiman ordered Lushen, Roslyn, and the soldiers to clear the battlefield and count the casualties.
• Bronn emerged from the woods, described killing and skinning one of two lions, and joked about inventing a wolf-raised origin story when he became a noble.
• Suleiman assembled the troops and heard Roslyn confess that the right flank had scattered and some Wildlings had escaped.
• Roslyn stripped off his armor, took a cane, and ordered each soldier to lash him under military law.
• The soldiers struck Roslyn one by one, and his back was left mangled and bleeding while he knelt upright.

Suleiman used Roslyn’s punishment to explain why strict discipline mattered and to reaffirm his plan to build a military nobility whose fortunes depended on him. He promised the soldiers food, land, wealth, and noble titles as he vowed to lead them across Westeros.

• Suleiman planned to replace hereditary lords in his territory with military nobles and independent farmers whose land and livelihoods depended on him.
• After punishing Roslyn, Suleiman removed his robe and offered to share responsibility for Roslyn’s failure as commander.
• Roslyn begged Suleiman not to punish himself, then tried to kill himself, but Suleiman kicked away his sword and questioned his leadership.
• Suleiman told Roslyn and Lushen that commanders had to discipline their soldiers and prepare to lead much larger forces.
• Suleiman promised the soldiers food, land, Gold Dragons, houses, and future knighthoods and noble titles, and vowed to lead them across the Seven Kingdoms.

Heluo Valleydeep returned with stolen spoils, but Lord Lofor learned of his raid and tried to surrender himself to Suleiman. Suleiman accepted Lord Lofor’s submission, then killed Heluo and Lord Lofor, leaving his soldiers to slaughter the disarmed Valleydeep force.

• Heluo Valleydeep returned toward Valleydeep Town with stolen goods, and Lord Lofor intercepted him and beat him for raiding Suleiman’s lands.
• Suleiman and his hidden soldiers surrounded the Valleydeep party, and Lord Lofor offered to stand trial and take the black in exchange for his son’s life.
• Suleiman ordered Lord Lofor to kneel on both knees and surrender his sword, then made him order his soldiers to cast down their weapons.
• A soldier slit Heluo’s throat despite Suleiman’s oath to spare him, and Suleiman killed Lord Lofor after revealing he did not believe in the Seven Gods.
• Suleiman walked away as his soldiers began slaughtering the disarmed Valleydeep troops.

Suleiman rejected Lady Lorna’s offer of marriage, despite her lands and town, because he intended to pursue greater power and avoid suspicion. After she left in despair, he told Bronn he had a task for him, planning to bring Lorna under his control another way.

• Bronn gave Suleiman a dark crimson sigil bearing a black lion’s head, while Suleiman questioned whether the fierce design suited him.
• Lushen reported that more than four hundred Wildling heads had been gathered and piled up.
• Bronn urged Suleiman to marry Lady Lorna and seize her estate, then offered to marry her himself when Suleiman refused.
• Suleiman summoned Lady Lorna, who begged him to marry her and protect her lands, but he rejected her proposal.
• Lady Lorna left in tears, and Suleiman told Bronn he had something for him to do.

Suleiman hired Bronn to isolate Lady Lorna and discover who remained loyal to House Valleydeep. In King's Landing, Jon Arryn received reports of a young Riverlands noble's astonishing victory over the Wildlings and realized the story was spreading across the Riverlands and the Vale.

• Suleiman told Bronn to make Lady Lorna feel abandoned and assess the loyalty of House Valleydeep's people.
• Bronn agreed to cause Lady Lorna trouble and promised to appear as her savior.
• Ravens carried news of the forest battle throughout the Riverlands and the Vale.
• Maester Colemon gave Jon Arryn a letter from the Eyrie describing a sixteen-year-old noble who led three hundred farmers to defeat more than two thousand Wildlings.
• Jon Arryn noted that reports of the young general and the Black Lion were spreading, and predicted the boy's name would resound through the Riverlands and the Vale.

Nestor Royce prepared the Vale’s call for fighters to join Suleiman’s campaign against the Mountain Clans. At Valleydeep, Suleiman stopped soldiers from looting Lady Lorna’s family storehouses and carried her unconscious into the castle.

• Nestor Royce announced that Jon Arryn had asked the Vale, the Riverlands, and House Deddings to support Suleiman’s campaign in the Mountains of the Moon, promising land and rewards to those who joined.
• Lady Lorna grieved her losses and learned that Old Hoover and his family had been found dead, leaving her isolated among Valleydeep’s surviving knights.
• Soldiers began looting the family warehouses, while Lady Lorna’s knights watched and a soldier taunted her.
• Suleiman’s soldiers killed the soldier threatening Lady Lorna, and Bronn and Roslyn had the Valleydeep knights seized.
• Suleiman ordered the crowd to return the stolen goods and promised to provide food, then carried the unconscious Lady Lorna toward the lord’s chambers.

Suleiman comforted Lady Lorna, secured her authority to deal with conspirators, and left soldiers to guard her castle. As he sought a quiet moment in her garden, Roslyn arrived with news that an old monk was burying the Wildling heads and had destroyed Suleiman’s monument.

• Lady Lorna begged Suleiman to stay, and he promised to supply food for her castle.
• Suleiman showed Lady Lorna a list of people accused of killing the steward’s family, stealing food, and stirring up disorder; she signed the document and entrusted him with handling everything.
• Suleiman stayed beside Lady Lorna until she fell asleep, then ordered Lushen and his soldiers to guard the inner keep.
• Suleiman handed the list to Bronn and went to rest in Lady Lorna’s garden.
• Roslyn told Suleiman that an old monk was burying the Wildling heads and had destroyed the stone monument.

Suleiman encountered Meribald praying over the Wildling dead and listened as the monk condemned their display and described the ruin war brought to common people. Suleiman ordered the bodies burned, then reflected on how hatred and promises bound his soldiers to him and what might happen if he failed them.

• Suleiman stopped his soldiers from dragging Meribald and helped the Barefoot Monk to his feet.
• Meribald approached the mound of Wildling heads to pray, and Suleiman prevented the soldiers from attacking him again.
• Meribald thanked Suleiman for protecting the Riverlands but condemned him for leaving the dead exposed and denied that war was unfamiliar to him.
• Meribald described the suffering of common soldiers in war and the way it left survivors unable to return to their former lives.
• Suleiman ordered Roslyn to gather the soldiers and burn the mound of Wildling heads.
• Suleiman considered how revenge and promised wealth had made his soldiers loyal, and remembered Jon Snow as he wondered what they would do if he failed them.

Suleiman defended his ambition and his promise of revenge to Meribald, who urged him to remember his purpose as he climbed toward power. As the soldiers burned the Wildlings’ heads, Suleiman saw a gigantic dragon in the flames and tried to walk into the fire before his soldiers restrained him.

• Suleiman told Meribald he had freed the prisoners out of respect for him, not for the Seven, and argued that power was necessary to change Westeros.
• Meribald acknowledged Suleiman’s kindness to his people and urged him to keep going without forgetting why he had begun.
• Meribald departed, and Suleiman ordered his soldiers to set fire to the Wildlings’ heads piled around the mound.
• Suleiman saw a colossal dragon made of flames that no one else could see, and heard its roar in his mind.
• Suleiman walked toward the fire as if drawn to the dragon, but his soldiers grabbed him and held him back.

After a blazing ritual drew the attention of R'hllor, Suleiman feared the god's power and resolved to avoid fire. Lady Lorna woke to find Suleiman's soldiers guarding her castle, but he reassured her that she was safe and promised food and a share of the spoils.

• Suleiman wondered whether burning the heads had summoned R'hllor and feared the consequences of its attention.
• Lady Lorna woke alone and panicked when unfamiliar soldiers guarded the castle corridors.
• Suleiman found Lady Lorna, comforted her, and explained that his soldiers had purged the traitors.
• Suleiman promised to bring in grain for the castle and give Lady Lorna half his share of the spoils.
• Lady Lorna kissed Suleiman on the cheek.

Suleiman persuaded Lady Lorna to write Lady Roslin a carefully framed account of Valleydeep Town’s recent events, binding Lorna’s interests to his. He also prepared his own report to Lady Roslin, then promised Lorna he would protect her.

• Lady Lorna asked Suleiman whether he accepted her proposal, but he did not answer and instead brought her porridge and treated her injured foot.
• Suleiman asked Lady Lorna to write Lady Roslin about the deaths of her husband and father, the unrest in Valleydeep Town, and the aid Suleiman had provided.
• Lady Lorna wrote the letter according to Suleiman’s instructions, presenting events from her limited perspective, and Suleiman approved it.
• Suleiman drafted a separate report to Lady Roslin, claiming he had driven out the Wildlings, suppressed a rebellion, shared his spoils, and requested land for the families of his fallen followers.
• Lady Lorna asked Suleiman to stay and return to see her, and he kissed her hand and promised to protect her until he died.

Suleiman decided to withdraw from Valleydeep Town rather than give Lady Roslin a reason to crush him, while seeking a way to secure land and independence for his men. He left for the future hopeful that his letters would persuade the Riverlands’ lords to honor Lady Roslin’s promise.

• Suleiman worried that he lacked a loyal, capable steward who could manage Valleydeep Town for Lady Lorna.
• Roslyn reported that a messenger had departed, and Suleiman explained that Valleydeep Town belonged to Lady Lorna, not him.
• Suleiman told Roslyn that Lady Roslin controlled their food and supplies and could easily undermine his impoverished domain.
• Suleiman said withdrawing would preserve the appearance of loyalty and prevent Lady Roslin from treating him as a threat, while his letters encouraged House Deddings to honor its promise.
• Suleiman promised Roslyn that he would give his men land of their own where they could farm and support their families.

Lady Roslin and Old Walder plotted to grant Suleiman disputed land that could entangle him in conflict, while Suleiman received her terms and prepared to leave for the new territory. Lady Lorna begged him to stay, and he comforted her by spending the night with her.

• Lady Roslin read Suleiman's letter, and Old Walder urged her to grant him dangerous disputed land while tying him to House Deddings through marriage and future military service.
• Lady Roslin agreed to honor her promise but wrote that Suleiman's new land was in a minor dispute and rejected his request to relocate the people.
• Lady Roslin promised to send the families of Suleiman's fallen soldiers and current troops to the new lands, and hinted at a matter concerning the Riverlands and the Vale.
• Suleiman read the letter, suspected the disputed territory was perilous, and went to tell Lady Lorna he was leaving.
• Lady Lorna tearfully begged Suleiman to stay and offered him everything she owned, and Suleiman embraced her and spent the night with her.

Suleiman appointed Toman to oversee Valleydeep Town and ordered Bronn to recruit as many mercenaries as possible. He then gathered his three hundred soldiers to tell them about land Lady Roslin had given him, but warned that it had a problem.

• Suleiman asked Roslyn and Lushen to recommend someone to remain in Valleydeep Town and decided to place Toman there under Lady Lorna and the new steward.
• Toman pledged to kill anyone in the town who plotted against Suleiman, earning Suleiman's approval.
• Suleiman ordered Bronn to recruit as many mercenaries as he could and gave him Gold Dragons and a fast horse for the task.
• Suleiman gathered three hundred soldiers and pointed out the land Lady Roslin had given him, then told them a problem remained on it.

Suleiman devised a land-based tax and military advancement system, then promised his soldiers five mu of inheritable private land in the new territory. He recorded their claims through blood oaths, leaving more than three hundred soldiers united in loyalty to him.

• Suleiman planned a system that rewarded military service with land and reduced taxes for cultivators and landholders.
• Suleiman promised every soldier present five mu of inheritable private land in the new territory, taxed at three-tenths of the harvest.
• The stunned soldiers realized the grant would free them from serfdom and let them pass land to their descendants.
• Roslyn brought two goats, and Suleiman mixed their blood with red dye to prepare the soldiers' blood oaths.
• Suleiman recorded each soldier's name and land promise on a wooden tablet, signing and sealing each one.
• More than three hundred soldiers raised their tablets and shouted, “In the name of Suleiman!”

Suleiman arrived at Vicon Gorge with more than a thousand people to settle fertile land, but found it contested by several families and controlled in part by Knight Terry's family. When Walker Terry refused to swear fealty and returned a clod of dirt as an insult, Suleiman turned the humiliation into a rallying cry for his followers.

• Suleiman surveyed Vicon Gorge and imagined opening its fertile fields to cultivation.
• More than four hundred soldiers and their families began setting up camp as Suleiman's followers celebrated their new home.
• Suleiman told Roslyn to summon Knight Terry's family to swear fealty and return the land they occupied.
• A rider reported that Walker Terry had rejected Suleiman's demand, insulted him, and sent back dirt from beneath his feet.
• Lushen struck the rider in anger, but Suleiman helped him up and raised his dirt-filled hand before the crowd, declaring that his soldier had offered him land.

Suleiman claimed the grasslands and ordered the villages to pay him one-tenth of their harvest, but villagers feared retaliation from House Terry. After Gale killed a village chief who refused to pay, Suleiman punished Gale, Hawk, and Kauf for breaking military discipline.

• Suleiman rallied his soldiers to take the land, ordered Roslyn and Lushen to allocate it, and sent riders to announce his rule and demand taxes within three days.
• Kauf and the riders told River-Side Village to pay Suleiman one-tenth of its harvest, but the village chief said the villagers could not afford taxes to both Suleiman and House Terry.
• Gale killed the village chief, and Hawk attacked Gale as the other soldiers and villagers looked on in shock.
• Roslyn reported the incident to Suleiman, who ordered twenty lashes for Gale and Hawk and forty for Kauf, citing disobedience, fighting a comrade, and lax command.

Suleiman remitted most of three villages’ taxes after learning House Terry had already taken their food, then promised to recover what was stolen and protect them. He ordered Roslyn to begin reclaiming disputed land at once, using the land grants to force House Terry into open conflict.

• Suleiman recorded the villages’ harvests, populations, and taxes, then learned a soldier had threatened a boy who tried to hide flour.
• The boy explained that his family had paid taxes to two lords and had given House Terry their wheat, leaving his mother at risk of starvation.
• Suleiman returned the villagers’ carts, kept only one bag of flour from each village, and promised to protect them and retrieve the taxes House Terry had seized.
• Suleiman assembled his disciplined army and sent the village representatives home to spread word of his rule and military strength.
• Roslyn admitted that soldiers were arguing over which plots to reclaim, so Suleiman ordered him to start reclamation immediately and award the best land to those who earned the most merit.

Suleiman consolidated his rule by accepting flour from the villages and offering Knight Terry a final chance to swear fealty. After Terry refused and began conscripting farmers, refugees fled to Suleiman, who prepared to go to war.

• Suleiman planned to gather people into villages and appoint tax officers as his territory grew.
• Villagers brought flour to Suleiman, who accepted it as recognition of his rule and promised them protection.
• Knight Terry sent a messenger offering fealty and ten years of taxes if Suleiman left for the eastern plains, but Suleiman rejected the deal and offered him three villages as a fief if he swore allegiance.
• Suleiman told the messenger that he had chosen House Terry because it was easy to squeeze, and Lushen threatened the messenger with his sword when he tried to argue.
• Knight Terry refused to come and began forcibly conscripting farmers, prompting many families to flee toward Suleiman's camp.
• Suleiman assembled his soldiers and declared that he would give Knight Terry the war he wanted.

Suleiman defeated Walker Terry’s hastily assembled peasant force after refusing his offer to surrender, and had the captured knight buried alive. The chapter ended with Suleiman and his soldiers covering Walker Terry’s grave with the land he had claimed.

• Suleiman met Walker Terry between their armies and offered to spare him if he swore fealty, but Walker cursed Suleiman and refused.
• Suleiman ordered his army to advance, and the terrified serfs fled as Walker Terry’s forces collapsed.
• The fleeing serfs captured Walker Terry and brought him to Suleiman, where he pleaded to swear fealty and offered his wealth and land.
• Suleiman scattered soil over Walker Terry’s face and ordered his soldiers to bury him alive despite his demands for a trial by combat.
• Suleiman and his soldiers each tossed earth into the pit until Walker Terry was buried, and Suleiman scattered the final handful.