Chapter Summaries

Evelyn struggled to manage the territory’s expenses and burdens while Suleiman was away at war. When veteran officer Tox was accused of forcibly taking a resident’s daughter, she faced a volatile dispute and uncertainty over her authority to punish him.

• Evelyn reviewed the territory’s mounting expenses and worried about Suleiman’s absence and the losses caused by Ironborn attacks.
• Olivier told Evelyn that Tox, a veteran appointed as a military officer, had gotten drunk and forcibly taken an unmarried resident’s daughter.
• Evelyn entered the Lord’s Hall and found Hek restraining Tox while the young woman and her father wept nearby.
• Evelyn recognized that punishing Tox could anger the veterans, but letting him go would violate the law and harm the residents’ trust.
• Olivier warned Evelyn that Tox could not be killed and urged her to wait for Suleiman’s return before deciding his punishment.

Evelyn settled the case against Tox by persuading the old man to accept Tox marrying his daughter, framing the officer’s crime as an individual failing rather than a reflection on Suleiman’s rule. After the family left, Evelyn’s kindly expression vanished and her gaze turned cold.

• Evelyn asked the old man whether the Wildlings had continued raiding his family after Suleiman defeated them, and he praised Suleiman for protecting them.
• Evelyn got the old man to confirm that the Wildlings had killed his son and caused his family greater losses than Tox had.
• Evelyn learned that the old man had three daughters and argued that Tox’s status and future made him a better match than a farmer.
• Evelyn offered to arrange Tox’s marriage to the girl, and the old man left the hall grateful and satisfied.
• After the doors closed behind the family, Evelyn’s expression turned cold.

Evelyn ordered Tox to make amends for his crime, but an urgent report of an approaching Ironborn longship forced her to decide whether to fight or retreat. The chapter ended with Lushen demanding that she assemble the troops while she hesitated over the risk.

• Evelyn ordered Hek to release Tox and demanded that Tox apologize publicly and make amends to the family he had wronged.
• Evelyn wondered why Tox had not asked Lord Suleiman for help, and Tox broke down in guilt over his actions.
• Lushen reported that an Ironborn longship carrying around one or two hundred men was racing toward them along the Green Fork.
• Lushen explained that the goods in Crossroads Town would take at least two more days to move into the High Mountains and requested permission to gather the troops and attack first.
• Evelyn hesitated between fighting the Ironborn and abandoning the goods to retreat, while Lushen urged her to order the troops to assemble.

Evelyn ordered the Military Towns to muster after Lushen confirmed that Ironborn forces had attacked, while Tox decided to make amends before facing the battle. Tox gave all his money to the old man whose daughter he had wronged, then left with Danny.

• Evelyn questioned Lushen about the enemy’s numbers, accepted his certainty, and ordered Olivier to light the beacon and relay Lion's Den's orders.
• Lushen rallied the soldiers, and Evelyn saw that they were ready to fight the Ironborn.
• Tox rode to Crevice Keep and ordered Danny to gather every man who could fight.
• Tox took his savings to the old man and apologized for wronging him and his daughter.
• After the old man refused, Tox forced the pouch of Gold Dragons and Silver Stags into his hands, then left with Danny for the Office of the Military Officer.

Tox dictated a remorseful letter to Lord Suleiman, resolved to die fighting, while Sawane Botley led the Ironborn inland and burned Riverbend Town. An ordinary soldier challenged the Ironborn to an open battle on the plain outside Crossroads Town the next morning, and Sawane accepted.

• Tox tore up his first attempt at a letter, then dictated an apology to Lord Suleiman and vowed to repay his wrongdoing by dying bravely in battle.
• Tox asked Danny to pass his farewell to Mr. Duran, then left the Office of the Military Officer to join the assembled troops.
• Sawane Botley found Vicon Gorge’s town abandoned and ordered the Ironborn to burn it.
• Sawane led more than two hundred Ironborn toward Crossroads Town, where a lone soldier warned them to leave Lord Suleiman’s lands.
• The soldier announced that Lord Suleiman’s army would meet the Ironborn in open battle the next morning, and Sawane accepted the challenge.
• The Ironborn camped on the plain outside Crossroads Town, drinking and boasting while Sawane kept watch for a surprise attack.

Sawane Botley’s Ironborn faced Suleiman’s troops, who had fortified their position and refused to honor the promised open battle. After Lushen revealed that the Ironborn’s treasure and longship had been taken and their guards captured, crossbowmen attacked, leaving Sawane trapped and furious.

• Sawane Botley led more than two hundred Ironborn toward the opposing army and discovered its trench and sharpened stakes.
• Lushen told Sawane’s first mate that he was a farmer, not a noble, and had no sense of honor.
• Lushen revealed that Suleiman’s forces had recovered the stolen gold and silver and burned the Ironborn longship.
• Suleiman’s soldiers brought out and executed the captured Ironborn who had guarded the longship.
• Crossbowmen shot at Sawane’s men, and Lushen declared that all was fair in war.

Sawane Botley led the Ironborn in a desperate charge against Suleiman’s army, but its disciplined soldiers kept fighting after their commanders fell. Tox’s reckless attack wounded Sawane and broke the Ironborn’s resolve, sending them fleeing while Tox pursued them.

• Sawane Botley ordered more than two hundred Ironborn to charge Suleiman’s spear formation, but the soldiers held their ranks and closed around them.
• Sawane threw an axe that knocked Roslyn from his horse, then wounded Lushen and nearly killed him before soldiers pulled Lushen to safety.
• After Roslyn and Lushen fell, Suleiman’s soldiers reorganized into small groups and continued fighting under replacement leaders.
• Tox charged Sawane, took a sword wound to his shoulder, and stabbed Sawane in the abdomen.
• Sawane retreated under his crewmen’s protection, and the Ironborn broke out of the encirclement and fled as Tox chased them, shouting for them to come back and kill him.

Suleiman’s army failed to shake the Ironborn, and its lords debated whether to ambush them or keep retreating. As the army continued east, Ser Old Lopin proposed abandoning House Blackwood and House Mallister as bait so Suleiman could escape and eliminate future rivals.

• A messenger reported that the Ironborn were still pursuing Suleiman’s army despite Rosso Brune’s efforts to hide its trail.
• Lymond Lychester summoned the lords, and Tytos Blackwood proposed using the forest to ambush the pursuing Ironborn.
• Suleiman stayed silent because he doubted the divided feudal army would carry out the ambush or fight together.
• The lords agreed with Lymond’s suggestion to keep retreating east and look for a suitable ambush site along the way.
• Ser Old Lopin privately proposed making Blackwood and Mallister forces the main force in an ambush, then abandoning them so Suleiman could escape.

Suleiman rejected Ser Old Lopin’s plan to abandon soldiers as bait, arguing it would destroy the army’s morale. He then asked Tytos Blackwood to pledge House Blackwood and House Mallister’s support for House Lychester in exchange for promises to bring the force home safely and defeat the Ironborn.

• Suleiman rejected Ser Old Lopin’s proposal because abandoning soldiers as bait would shatter the army’s morale.
• Suleiman challenged Tytos Blackwood’s belief that crossbows were dishonorable, arguing that weapons should be judged by their effectiveness.
• Suleiman told Tytos Blackwood that he had gone to rescue Lord Raymun Darry and Lord Balon Deddings, while Tytos had merely been an extra, and that Lord Balon had died.
• Suleiman explained that the allied force was a vulnerable caravan of refugees whose soldiers mainly wanted to return home, not die fighting for other lords’ lands.
• Suleiman offered to lead the force safely back to the East Riverlands, lift the siege of Raventree Hall, and defeat the Ironborn if Tytos secured House Blackwood and House Mallister’s support for House Lychester.

Suleiman secretly took Bryn and his ten brothers into the forest, where they captured five Ironborn scouts and burned them in a ritual that triggered his full map vision. He saw the positions of Roderick’s fleet, Dagmer’s pursuit force, the scattered Riverlands troops, and the allied army, then returned to find Bryn and his men kneeling before him in awe.

• As Suleiman left the allied army with Bryn and his ten brothers, rumors that he had abandoned them spread until Tytos Blackwood and Patrick Mallister pledged their forces to Lymond Lychester.
• Tytos and Patrick’s support steadied the allied army, while rumors circulated that Lymond had Targaryen blood and that Suleiman used black magic.
• Suleiman’s group found five Ironborn scouts in the forest, and Bryn and his brothers swiftly captured them alive.
• Suleiman ordered the captives tied to a tree and their fire-oil-soaked wood set alight, then asked Bryn and his brothers to light the pyre.
• As the fire peaked, Suleiman’s soul rose above the Riverlands, revealing the locations of Roderick’s fleet, Dagmer’s pursuit force, the scattered Riverlands troops, and the allied army.
• Suleiman returned to his body, and Bryn and his brothers knelt before him in shock and reverence.

Suleiman revealed that more than 2,500 Ironborn were pursuing the allied army and proposed leading 300 cavalry west to draw them away while the main force retreated east. The lords and knights joined his plan, and he promised to make them knights of undying glory.

• Patrick Mallister wondered how Suleiman had calmed the camp so quickly, and Tytos Blackwood explained that Suleiman won people over by refusing to be bound by noble conventions.
• Suleiman showed Lymond Lychester a route map and called a military council.
• Suleiman announced that over 2,500 Ironborn were pursuing them and said he and Lymond would lead 300 cavalry west to draw the enemy away as the main force retreated east.
• Suleiman's mounted retainers, Ser Old Lopin, Raymun Darry, Lymond's knights, Tytos Blackwood, Patrick Mallister, and most of the nobles raised their hands to join the plan.
• Suleiman ended the council by promising the volunteers undying glory as knights.

Suleiman ordered the knights to ride without heavy armor against the Ironborn, leading Lymond Lychester to offer to die in his place. At the camp’s edge, Suleiman rallied the knights who stayed by promising them honor, power, and renown, then ordered them to mount up and follow him.

• Suleiman ordered the participating knights to bring only chainmail, food, and water for two days, leaving them convinced the mission meant certain death.
• Lymond Lychester urged Suleiman to use a rear guard instead and offered to take his place, but Suleiman promised he would not die and reminded him of their pact.
• Tytos Blackwood told Suleiman that more than sixty knights had fled, and Suleiman explained that he had wanted the wavering men to leave.
• Suleiman addressed the knights who remained, praised their choice to face danger, and promised them land, power, honor, and renown.
• Suleiman drew his sword and ordered the knights to mount up and follow him.

Suleiman’s knights ambushed and destroyed a fifth isolated Ironborn band, strengthening their faith in his uncanny command. With the Riverlands’ enemy movements clear to him through the flames, Suleiman prepared to advance the hunt to its next stage.

• Suleiman’s knights charged the Ironborn raiders by the river, and Rosso Brune killed their captain.
• The knights routed the band, while Suleiman stopped Bryn from shooting the few who escaped into the river so they could spread the news.
• The knights credited Suleiman’s success to the Seven Gods, while Bryn kept the truth of his lord’s power secret.
• Tytos Blackwood questioned Suleiman about his scouts, and Suleiman said the Old Gods were protecting them.
• Suleiman used the flames to see the Ironborn forces across the Riverlands and prepared to begin the next stage of the campaign.

Dagmer turned the Ironborn around to hunt the Riverlands cavalry that had been ambushing his raiding parties. Suleiman led the exhausted knights to the Ironborn fleet and planned to burn their ships, leaving the attack about to begin.

• Dagmer learned that another Ironborn raiding party had been burned and ordered his men to turn back and find the riders.
• Patrick Morrison praised the cavalry’s raids, while Tytos Blackwood warned Suleiman that the knights and their horses needed rest.
• Suleiman pointed out the Ironborn longships and said the Riverlands knights would burn them.
• Suleiman assigned Rosso Brune fifty men to make a noisy feint and ordered Tytos Blackwood and Raymun Darry to ambush the Ironborn who rushed to defend the ships.

Suleiman led a nighttime raid that burned the Ironborn longships and routed their defenders, earning the knights’ fervent admiration. At an Ironborn camp, Trigg arrived with news that the fleet had been destroyed.

• Suleiman used a false attack to draw the Ironborn away while he and Bryn’s men crept to the riverbank and shot the guards.
• Suleiman’s men set the longships ablaze, and 120 knights led by Raymun Darry, Tytos Blackwood, and Rosog charged and slaughtered the fleeing Ironborn.
• Tytos Blackwood recognized that the victory had followed Suleiman’s plan, while the knights began to revere their young leader.
• Suleiman told the knights that burning the fleet was only the beginning of the heroic epic he would write for them.
• Trigg stumbled into Dagmer’s camp and announced that the longships had been burned to ashes.

After Riverlands knights destroyed Dagmer Cleftjaw’s fleet, Maron Greyjoy led a band of Ironborn toward a village to claim plunder, despite Harlon’s warning about enemy cavalry. As a charging force appeared on the ridge, Maron’s band faced the same Riverlands cavalry that had already shattered the Ironborn’s confidence.

• Tristan told Dagmer Cleftjaw that Riverlands knights had ambushed and burned the fleet at the Bay of Serpents, then swore the Drowned God that his account was true.
• Dagmer grabbed Tristan, but suddenly collapsed and died, leaving the Ironborn camp silent.
• Maron Greyjoy complained about being sent back to Pyke and decided to raid a village so he could bring home spoils of his own.
• Harlon warned Maron that Riverlands cavalry were hunting Ironborn bands, but Maron dismissed him and ordered the men toward the village.
• Harlon drained his wineskin and drew his sword as a distant tremor and thunderous hoofbeats revealed a cavalry force advancing over the ridge.
• Maron and the Ironborn watched the black tide of cavalry charge toward them as a horn sounded.

Suleiman captured Maron Greyjoy and the surviving Ironborn after a swift battle, then forced Maron to reveal his identity by having prisoners killed. Tytos Blackwood spared the defiant Harlon from being burned, while Suleiman judged Tytos’s honor and reliability.

• Suleiman asked the bound Ironborn to identify Greyjoy and ordered an attendant to kill two prisoners when they stayed silent.
• Maron Greyjoy confessed that he was King Balon’s son and begged Suleiman to spare him in exchange for ransom.
• Tytos Blackwood recognized Maron as a valuable prisoner and praised Suleiman’s intelligence for finding him.
• Harlon condemned Maron for disgracing the Greyjoy name and asked Suleiman for a clean death.
• Suleiman ordered Harlon burned, but Tytos Blackwood cut off Harlon’s head to spare him that death.
• Suleiman silently assessed Tytos as an honorable ally who would keep his word.

Suleiman armed and evacuated a Riverlands village, explaining to Tytos Blackwood that the resulting chaos would hinder Ironborn raids. He then confronted captive Maron Greyjoy, convinced Balon would not ransom him, and hinted that Maron still had another use.

• Suleiman ordered the Ironborn spoils delivered to a village and told its people to take the supplies and flee into the western forest.
• Tytos Blackwood warned that arming villagers would create bandits, but Suleiman said the chaos would draw in and delay Ironborn forces.
• Suleiman persuaded the village elder to abandon the homes and fields and lead the villagers into the forest.
• Maron Greyjoy offered ransom and land for his release, but Suleiman said Balon Greyjoy would pay nothing for a son who had surrendered.
• Suleiman told Maron that his value lay elsewhere, leaving him frightened and unsure of his fate.

Tristifer Farwynd and his Ironborn men humiliated Damon Grell and his family while feasting in the occupied castle. Their revelry was interrupted by Maron Greyjoy, who arrived with his crew seeking shelter on the orders of Victarion.

• Tristifer Farwynd kept Damon Grell bound and gagged after Damon protested the Ironborn's broken promises.
• Ironborn pirates forced Lady Elena and Laila to serve them wine and jeered at them as Tristifer encouraged their humiliation.
• An Ironborn guard reported that Maron Greyjoy had arrived with his crew and requested permission to enter and rest on their way back to Pyke.
• Tristifer Farwynd blocked Maron's party at the open gates and mocked him as the son of the sea monster.

Suleiman’s men ambushed Maron Greyjoy’s party and stormed House Grell’s castle, killing the Ironborn who had seized it. Damon Grell was freed and reunited with Lady Elena and Laila, while he wondered who had saved them.

• Suleiman killed Tristifer Farwynd at the castle gate, signaling Rosso and the knights to attack the Ironborn.
• Ser Keke seized Maron Greyjoy and dragged him into the castle as a hostage and human shield.
• Suleiman’s forces entered the hall and slaughtered the drunken Ironborn who had taken House Grell’s castle.
• Suleiman cut Damon Grell’s bonds, gave him a sword, and tossed tablecloths to the nearby women.
• Damon Grell killed an Ironborn in a fury, then reunited with Lady Elena and Laila after the battle ended.