Recaps

After inheriting House Foulkeep amid poverty and loss, Suleiman earns allies and takes command of a conscript army. He leaves the story holding his defenses against the Burned Men after repelling their first assault.

• Suleiman woke with Li Qing’s memories and learned that his father, brothers, and mother had died during the Greyjoy Rebellion.
• Suleiman spared the farmers whose mistaken report had led to his mother’s death, supported families bereaved at Seaguard, and discovered his body had gained unusual strength and agility.
• Suleiman traveled to Raymun Darry’s camp, advised him on fighting the Ironborn, and challenged Ser Joseth after Joseth’s squires beat Lushen and Roslyn.
• Suleiman and his guards won the Trial by Combat, and Raymun gave them armor, swords, horses, and access to House Darry’s gates.
• Lady Roslin tasked Suleiman with leading more than three hundred conscripts to reinforce Valleydeep Town against the Mountain Clans and granted him authority to recruit and claim spoils.
• Suleiman organized the conscripts, approved Lushen’s execution of Rolf for defying his command, and promised the soldiers’ families land and homes if they died in battle.
• Suleiman’s soldiers fortified a village against the Burned Men, killed a warrior who demanded single combat, and repelled Walker, Son of Nego’s charge.
• Suleiman stopped his troops from pursuing the retreating Burned Men, suspecting their withdrawal could be a trap.

Suleiman used ambushes, scorched-earth tactics, and a flood to weaken the Mountain Clans and draw them away from Valleydeep Town. After his deception helped the town withstand the siege, Timett discovered that Suleiman’s force was far smaller than he had believed, while Bronn continued the pursuit.

• Suleiman avoided a direct assault on Valleydeep Town and targeted isolated Wildling groups, recruiting Riverlanders who had lost their families to the raids.
• Suleiman’s soldiers killed Walker, Son of Nego and his raiding party, then Suleiman rewarded his troops and spared Toman a special share of the spoils.
• Suleiman ambushed Dell, Son of Chek’s band and recruited more Riverlanders before meeting Bronn, who admitted he had fled Valleydeep Town and joined Suleiman’s campaign.
• Suleiman used ruined supplies and polluted wells to draw the Wildlings into pursuit, while Bronn killed a chieftain and lured hundreds of warriors toward Lushen’s river fort.
• As the Wildlings attacked Arc Palisade, Bronn returned to fight beside Suleiman, and Lushen’s dam unleashed a flood that swept away the attackers.
• Bronn killed three Wildling chiefs after the battle, while Timett learned that his raiding parties had vanished and ordered the remaining Burned Men to storm Valleydeep Town.
• Suleiman’s small force raised a vast dust cloud to make the retreating Wildlings believe a large army was approaching, and Timett fled with his dwindling clansmen.
• Timett discovered that Suleiman had deceived him with only a little over twenty men in pursuit, released three captives with a demand for food, and Bronn continued after the fleeing Wildlings.

Suleiman defeated the Wildlings, took control of Valleydeep Town, and secured support from Lady Roslin to settle his soldiers on new land. When Knight Terry resisted Suleiman’s rule and forced farmers to flee, Suleiman defeated his forces and had Walker Terry buried alive.

• Bronn’s soldiers killed three knights carrying intelligence to the Wildlings, while Suleiman’s forces prepared to fight Timett’s remaining warriors.
• Suleiman’s soldiers set the Wildling camp ablaze and fought Timett’s forces until Bronn, disguised as a black lion, caused the Wildlings to flee.
• After the battle, Roslyn accepted lashes for the right flank’s failure, and Suleiman promised his soldiers land, food, and advancement for their service.
• Suleiman defeated Lord Lofor’s party, took control of Valleydeep Town, and arranged for Lady Lorna to remain in charge while he addressed unrest and secured supplies.
• Suleiman burned the Wildling heads after Meribald rebuked him, then promised Lady Lorna protection and shared spoils before leaving Valleydeep Town.
• Lady Roslin granted Suleiman disputed land, and Suleiman promised his soldiers inheritable plots in exchange for service and a share of their harvest.
• Suleiman’s soldiers claimed Vicon Gorge, but their attempts to collect taxes and reclaim land brought them into conflict with Knight Terry, whose farmers fled to Suleiman’s camp.
• Suleiman defeated Walker Terry’s forces, rejected his plea for fealty, and ordered his soldiers to bury him alive.

Suleiman reorganized his territory, built the Lion’s Den with Evelyn, and used the Spectacles to secure wealth and trade. By registering households and offering mountain bandits land and pardon, he brought many former bandits and refugees into his domain.

• Suleiman promised village heads relief from heavy taxes and established a standard acre to settle disputes over land allocation.
• Suleiman recruited the few residents who could read or calculate, appointed them administrators, and made Evelyn his advisor after she revealed her knowledge and identity.
• Suleiman used staged raids to drive villagers toward his planned fortified towns, then approved Evelyn’s detailed design for the Lion’s Den.
• Suleiman and the villagers built a ropeway and directed sunlight into the mountain, while Evelyn crafted spectacles that restored her clear vision.
• Suleiman partnered with Roderick to sell the Spectacles, accepted House Tyrell’s offer of exclusivity, and used the proceeds to reward workers building the Lion’s Den.
• Bana presented the Black Lion Armor, and Suleiman shifted his military plans toward heavy infantry as he considered how to obtain more iron.
• Suleiman ordered a census that identified 112 households with relatives among the mountain bandits, then offered the bandits pardon and communal land if they returned.
• Laban returned to his family with a promise of land, and news of Suleiman’s kept word drew more bandits and refugees into his territory.