Chapter Summaries

After an attack at Eddard Stark’s feast, Suleiman stopped Lymond Lychester from publicly accusing Stark and used the incident to make Stark feel indebted to them. The chapter ended with Suleiman telling Lymond that their political maneuver was only beginning.

• Bryn reported that Lymond had been attacked at the feast and that Edmure Tully had been seized, while Bryn revealed he had been wounded protecting Lymond.
• Suleiman warned Lymond that accusing Eddard Stark before King Robert would cost him his chance at power, and Lymond cursed Stark in private.
• Suleiman reassured Edmure that he and Lymond did not blame House Tully, then learned that Eddard Stark had come to the camp with Catelyn and only two guards.
• Suleiman and Lymond staged a gracious reconciliation, invoking Guest Right and assuring Stark they believed in his honor while Stark promised to investigate.
• After Stark and Catelyn left, Lymond asked whether the performance was enough, and Suleiman replied that it was only the beginning.

After Robin Leger’s assassination attempt on Lymond Lychester, Suleiman arranged for the case to be closed as a private grudge, turning the crisis into political leverage. He warned that Tywin Lannister’s rule would bring ruin to his family, then received a small crossbow from Bryn.

• Eddard Stark and Suleiman questioned Robin Leger, who claimed a private grudge and tried repeatedly to kill himself.
• Suleiman gave Robin a dagger, and Robin killed himself; Eddard accepted the case’s closure as a private grudge.
• Suleiman explained to Lymond Lychester that the settlement protected Stark’s honor while making Lymond a sympathetic victim owed debts by House Stark and House Tully.
• Suleiman told Lymond that Tywin Lannister had made enemies of his vassals, children, and common people and would bring ruin upon his family.
• Bryn entered the tent with a wrapped object, and Suleiman uncovered a small, finely made crossbow.

Suleiman considered how to deal with Brynden Tully if he refused to submit, while promising Will and Bryn that he would avenge their families. After Eddard Stark offered Robb as Lord Lymond’s squire, Catelyn persuaded Edmure to take his place, giving Suleiman leverage over the future of the Riverlands.

• Bryn reported that the crossbow poison could kill its victim, then proposed attempting to assassinate Brynden during the Tourney at Harrenhal but admitted he was unsure he could succeed.
• Suleiman summoned Will to consider the assassination, but stopped him from treating it as a suicide mission and promised to avenge both men’s families.
• Eddard Stark offered Robb as Lord Lymond’s squire to make amends for the attack, but Catelyn objected to sending her young son away.
• Catelyn proposed that Edmure take responsibility instead, and Eddard insisted that no one could order the heir to Riverrun to serve as a squire.
• Edmure volunteered to serve Lord Lymond, and Suleiman accepted the arrangement, securing influence over House Tully and the Riverlands.

Robert Baratheon rejected Jon Arryn’s warning against replacing House Tully with House Lychester, while Suleiman refused Brynden Tully’s offer to abandon Lymond Lychester. Suleiman left the meeting with Brynden’s resistance unresolved and murderous intent in his eyes.

• Jon Arryn confronted Robert Baratheon about neglecting the realm and warned that Riverlords planned to replace House Tully with House Lychester.
• Robert Baratheon defended rewarding Lymond Lychester and refused Jon Arryn’s plea to preserve House Tully’s rule.
• Jon Arryn called Robert Baratheon a tyrant and left after warning that the decision would spread ambition and betrayal across the Seven Kingdoms.
• Suleiman’s army continued toward Riverrun as he considered how Lymond Lychester, Edmure Tully, and Eddard Stark had been affected by the failed assassination.
• Brynden Tully offered Suleiman land, power, and marriage ties if he would support House Tully, but Suleiman said House Tully could not give him what House Lychester could.
• Brynden Tully refused to compromise House Tully’s rule and urged Suleiman to join his side, but Suleiman departed with concealed murderous intent.

Suleiman urged Lymond Lychester to stop fearing powerful lords and make his own choices, and Lymond confronted Jon Arryn over his attempt to force him to reject a proposal to elect a new Warden of the Trident. After standing up to Jon and leaving the meeting, Lymond returned to Suleiman's tent laughing and celebrating his newfound courage.

• After Eddard Stark departed, a Vale knight summoned Lymond Lychester to meet Jon Arryn, and Suleiman told Lymond not to back down.
• Lymond overcame his fear and went to Harrenhal, where Jon Arryn urged him to reject the proposal for a new Warden of the Trident and offered to arrange an heir and a Small Council position.
• Lymond challenged Jon Arryn's authority to promise the king's rewards, and Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark witnessed their confrontation.
• Lymond rushed back to Suleiman's tent, laughed at how ordinary Jon Arryn seemed, and declared himself better suited to the Hand's work.

Robert Baratheon argued that Lymond Lychester should replace House Tully as lord of the Riverlands, while Jon Arryn proposed naming him Warden of the Trident instead. Eddard Stark rejected the compromise, leaving the dispute unresolved.

• Robert Baratheon confronted Eddard Stark and Jon Arryn over the assassination attempt at Riverrun and his plan to reward Lymond Lychester.
• Robert said the Riverlands needed a strong lord and proposed replacing the Tullys if the Riverlords offered little resistance.
• Jon Arryn argued that removing House Tully would undermine tradition and encourage other powerful vassals to challenge their regional lords.
• Jon Arryn proposed creating the title of Warden of the Trident for Lymond while leaving House Tully's governing authority intact.
• Eddard Stark stood and declared that he opposed Jon Arryn's plan.

Jon Arryn tried to persuade Brynden Tully to accept a shared Warden and governor arrangement for the Riverlands, but Brynden rejected it, warning it would inevitably divide the land and lead to war. He left insisting House Tully would never yield, setting its refusal against King Robert’s authority.

• Jon Arryn told Brynden Tully that King Robert was softening and proposed sharing power in the Riverlands between a Warden and a governor.
• Jon Arryn argued that House Tully could regain power after Lymond Lychester’s death and promised support from House Stark and House Arryn.
• Brynden Tully rejected the arrangement, warning that rival summons and loyalties would split the Riverlands and bring bloodshed.
• Brynden Tully declared that House Tully alone should rule the Riverlands and that he would not let Edmure inherit a divided land.
• Jon Arryn warned that King Robert might treat House Tully’s refusal as rebellion, but Brynden left after insisting that the Riverlands’ fate should be decided by its people.

Suleiman warned Lymond Lychester that Jon Arryn’s offer to make him Warden of the Trident was an empty title designed to isolate his house, then urged him to gather the East Riverlords as Tyrell and Martell forces approached. Jon Arryn warned Suleiman to abandon Lymond, but Suleiman invoked Jon’s rebellion against the Mad King to justify challenging House Tully, leaving their conflict unresolved before Suleiman’s knighting.

• Lymond Lychester told Suleiman that he expected to become Warden of the Trident, and Suleiman explained that the title would bring no real power or support from the Riverlords.
• Bryn reported that House Tyrell and House Martell banners had appeared, so Suleiman ordered Lymond to summon the East Riverlords who supported them.
• Jon Arryn summoned Suleiman, praised his deeds, and told him that Robert would knight him at Harrenhal in three days.
• Jon Arryn warned Suleiman to persuade Lymond to abandon his ambitions, saying he would act against anyone who threatened the kingdom’s stability.
• Suleiman praised Jon Arryn’s rebellion against the Mad King and used it to defend Lymond’s challenge to House Tully’s authority.
• Jon Arryn ended the conversation by reminding Suleiman of the knighting ceremony, then crushed the paper on his desk after Suleiman left.

Suleiman explained to Lymond Lychester that replacing House Tully openly would inspire ambitious vassals across Westeros to challenge their lords and destabilize the realm. Meanwhile, Jon Arryn planned to quietly win over Lychester’s Riverlands supporters, but Petyr Baelish arranged for Lychester to learn of Jon’s meetings and secretly encouraged the conflict.

• Suleiman told Lymond Lychester that they needed the Reach and Dorne’s nobles to make House Lychester’s takeover of House Tully appear lawful and inspire other vassals to pursue power.
• Lymond Lychester understood that their move could shatter Westeros’s feudal order and accepted Suleiman’s plan to take power publicly.
• Jon Arryn praised Petyr Baelish for identifying Riverlands houses that might support Lymond Lychester, then decided to privately offer those lords rewards to keep them loyal to House Tully.
• Petyr Baelish left Jon Arryn’s chambers and told a servant to let Lymond Lychester know that the Hand was secretly meeting with Riverlands lords.

Suleiman arranged to infiltrate the West Riverlands bandits and prepare an ambush for Brynden Tully if he resisted House Lychester’s claim. He then exploited Jon Arryn’s secret bargains to turn Robert Baratheon against him, leaving Jon to accept the king’s order to convene a great council if the Riverlands lords proposed one.

• Suleiman ordered Brynden to send trusted men to lead West Riverlands bandits and wait for Brynden Tully, while keeping the assassination plan contingent on Tully’s response.
• Lymond Lychester told Suleiman that Jon Arryn was persuading Riverlands lords to support House Tully with promises and threats.
• Suleiman advised Lymond to spread news of Jon Arryn’s private bargains so Robert Baratheon would recognize that they undermined his authority.
• Robert Baratheon confronted Jon Arryn over the secret meetings, and the two argued over the king’s authority and Jon’s years of service.
• Robert ordered Jon to accept a great council if the Riverlands lords proposed one at the young man’s knighting ceremony, and Jon left the king’s chamber.

Robert Baratheon argued with Jon Arryn and Petyr Baelish over the cost of a tournament prize, then asked Suleiman for a solution. Suleiman proposed Crown-run betting pools and maneuvered Petyr into overseeing them, leaving the question of who would bear responsibility if the scheme leaked.

• Robert Baratheon told Suleiman he would be knighted, then Jon Arryn challenged the king’s decision to raise the archery prize to fifty thousand Gold Dragons.
• Jon Arryn warned that the royal treasury was three million Gold Dragons in debt, while Petyr Baelish offered to find the prize money without reducing the king’s promised reward.
• Robert Baratheon asked Suleiman for an answer, and Suleiman proposed official royal betting pools that would earn the Crown a commission on wagers.
• Jon Arryn denounced the scheme as a disgrace to knightly honor, but Robert Baratheon considered its potential to raise money.
• Suleiman recommended that Petyr Baelish oversee the betting operation and warned that its secret manipulation could damage the royal family’s reputation if exposed.

Suleiman persuaded Robert Baratheon to consider funding frequent Tourneys through gambling and using them to gather knights under royal authority, despite Jon Arryn’s objections. At Harrenhal’s sept, Suleiman answered Thoros of Myr’s flaming-sword display by producing a brilliant white flame that the crowd accepted as a miracle of the Seven, leaving Thoros stunned and fearful.

• Jon Arryn condemned Suleiman’s proposal to finance Tourneys with gambling, but Robert rejected rigged matches and became intrigued when Suleiman promised frequent, self-funding Tourneys and a reserve of knights loyal to the crown.
• Suleiman left the Council Chamber after declaring that all subjects belonged to the king and went to Harrenhal’s sept to learn the customs of knighthood.
• Suleiman found Thoros of Myr arguing with septons and soldiers while displaying a flaming sword, and challenged the idea that spectacular miracles were proof of true faith.
• Suleiman had two septons kiss his Valyrian Steel Sword in the names of the Seven, then thrust it into a brazier and drew it out burning with platinum-white flame.
• Soldiers and septons fell to their knees, proclaiming the Seven’s miracle, while Thoros stared at Suleiman’s sword in disbelief and fear.

Suleiman persuaded Robert Baratheon to back his adoption by Lymond Lychester and a census of the Riverlands that would increase royal revenue and authority. Robert granted Suleiman conditional inheritance rights, then publicly knighted him at Harrenhal and declared him his loyal knight.

• Thoros confronted Suleiman outside the sept, but Suleiman left him and began his vigil before the Seven.
• Robert Baratheon visited Suleiman alone and questioned his motives, his ambitions, and his plan to strengthen royal authority.
• Suleiman proposed surveying the Riverlands, counting its people and land, and auditing its taxes and military obligations to increase the king's revenue.
• Robert acknowledged Suleiman as Lymond Lychester's adopted son but withheld inheritance rights unless Suleiman carried out the survey and raised the Riverlands' wealth for the crown.
• At Harrenhal, Robert knighted Suleiman and proclaimed him his knight, praising his loyalty to the realm and Iron Throne.

William Mooton and other Riverlands nobles proposed Lymond Lychester as Governor of the Trident, and Robert Baratheon approved the appointment after a vote. Robert accepted Suleiman as Lymond’s adopted son but denied him inheritance rights, while Suleiman’s immense popularity among the soldiers revealed the power he already commanded.

• William Mooton proposed that Lymond Lychester replace Edmure Tully as ruler of the Riverlands, sparking a furious dispute between the nobles.
• Lymond Lychester defended his claim, Eddard Stark proposed a vote, and the Riverlands houses divided between supporting and opposing Lychester.
• Robert Baratheon appointed Lymond Governor of the Trident after the vote, while Brynden Tully rejected the decree and left the hall.
• Lymond asked to adopt Suleiman as his heir, but Robert accepted Suleiman as an adopted son while denying him the right to inherit House Lychester and naming him Suleiman Blair Lychester.
• Lymond and Suleiman emerged to cheers outside Harrenhal, where the soldiers’ louder acclaim for Suleiman drew Petyr Baelish’s attention.

After Lymond Lychester became Warden of the Trident, Suleiman warned him that the Riverlands lords had only backed the victor and outlined a gradual plan to consolidate control through royal authority. The chapter ended with Suleiman declaring that the process had already begun.

• Rosso Brune celebrated House Lychester’s rise with the soldiers, while Bryn remained silent and unreadable.
• At the banquet, William Mooton claimed credit for securing Lymond’s appointment, but Lymond credited the allied houses and Suleiman.
• Suleiman told Lymond that the Riverlands lords had sided with the victor, not truly submitted, and urged him to establish real authority.
• Suleiman revealed that he had promised Robert Baratheon wealth from the Riverlands and received authorization to inspect lands and count the population.
• Lymond panicked at the prospect of a region-wide audit, so Suleiman explained how they would gradually use the eastern lords to bring the western lords under control before turning on the east.
• Suleiman told Lymond that the plan had already begun with his appointment as governor.

Suleiman persuaded Lymond Lychester to use royal authority to provoke the western Riverlands into rebellion, seize their lands, and build toward the Iron Throne. He then promised Bryn that he would avenge Bryn’s family by demanding a Trial by Combat against Benedar Belmore.

• Suleiman proposed sending eastern lords to investigate western lands, expecting the western lords to resist and give the East Riverlands cause to wage war against them.
• Suleiman urged Lymond to claim lands left by extinct houses and settle returning refugees, whose support would strengthen them in the coming conflict.
• Suleiman revealed that he expected Robert Baratheon to die within a few years and declared that their true goal was the Iron Throne; Lymond agreed to join him.
• Bryn asked to leave after seeing Benedar Belmore, fearing that his desire for revenge would endanger Suleiman’s standing.
• Suleiman told Bryn that his vengeance was their shared cause and promised to demand a Trial by Combat against Benedar Belmore and kill him.

Suleiman backed Robert Baratheon’s desire to eliminate the surviving Targaryens, then secured a royal decree allowing displaced Riverlanders to return home. At the Riverlands’ submission meeting, Suleiman ordered a blockade of House Blackwood, making clear that its choice to remain loyal to House Tully had made it an enemy of House Lychester.

• Robert Baratheon argued with Eddard Stark and Jon Arryn over sending an assassin after the Targaryen children, but their threats to resign stopped him from acting.
• Suleiman backed Robert’s desire for vengeance, then requested and received a decree allowing Riverlanders displaced by war to return home.
• At Lymond Lychester’s meeting, Jonos Bracken pledged loyalty to House Lychester after Tytos Blackwood chose to remain a vassal of House Tully.
• Lymond Lychester urged his lords to attract returning refugees, and Suleiman ordered them to blockade House Blackwood and treat its supporters as enemies.
• Raymun Darry asked Suleiman to spare Tytos Blackwood, but Suleiman refused and declared that Blackwood had chosen to oppose House Lychester.

Suleiman refused Raymun Darry’s plea to spare Tytos Blackwood, then revealed a scheme to fracture trust between House Blackwood and House Tully. In his meeting with Tytos, Suleiman offered submission or surrender as alternatives to destruction, but Tytos chose resistance and Suleiman left with the Blackwood family dagger.

• Suleiman reassured Raymun Darry that he would stand with him, then agreed to let him see Tytos Blackwood.
• Suleiman explained to Lymond Lychester how staged rumors and forged letters could make House Tully distrust Blackwood and weaken its allies.
• Suleiman confronted Tytos Blackwood, who admitted he would support House Tully if war came and asked Suleiman to spare his children.
• Suleiman offered Tytos the choices of swearing fealty, surrendering after a siege, or resisting to the end; Tytos chose resistance.
• Suleiman urged Tytos to reconsider, accepted his family dagger, and departed while Tytos remained behind.

At Harrenhal, Suleiman kept House Bracken and House Blackwood from starting a feud by threatening House Blackwood with extermination if it retaliated. After Jorah Mormont challenged him over Lynesse Hightower, Suleiman disarmed him effortlessly, leaving Lynesse captivated and Jaime Lannister wary.

• Jorah Mormont held Jaime Lannister to a draw in a seven-pass joust, earning King Robert Baratheon's praise.
• Suleiman told Jonos Bracken to wait until the Ironborn war ended before attacking House Blackwood, and ordered Raymun Darry to warn Tytos Blackwood not to retaliate.
• Lord Leyton Hightower offered Lynesse Hightower in marriage to Suleiman, but Jorah Mormont interrupted to claim he had won the crown for her and meant to ask for her hand.
• Jorah Mormont accused Leyton Hightower of favoring Suleiman for his status and challenged Suleiman to a duel.
• Suleiman evaded Jorah Mormont's sword strike, kicked his sword away, and pinned him with his own blade.
• Lynesse Hightower became captivated by Suleiman, while Jaime Lannister recognized his speed and precision.

After Jorah Mormont attacked Suleiman, Eddard Stark agreed to pay two hundred warhorses to secure his release. Suleiman then proposed rebuilding Oldstones as House Lychester’s capital and building a Riverlands dynasty, leaving Lymond Lychester captivated by the plan.

• Suleiman had Jorah Mormont arrested after he drew his sword, then summoned Warden Eddard Stark to address the attack.
• Eddard Stark offered to punish Jorah Mormont and compensate House Lychester, but Suleiman demanded two hundred warhorses in exchange for releasing him.
• Eddard Stark accepted the demand, and Rosso Brune freed Jorah Mormont, who left with Eddard Stark and Greatjon Umber.
• Suleiman explained to Lymond Lychester that the warhorses would strengthen their cavalry for the coming war.
• Suleiman proposed rebuilding Oldstones as House Lychester’s capital, using the East Riverlands to conquer the West before turning against their former allies.
• Suleiman declared that House Lychester would found a dynasty and become the new King of the Rivers, and Lymond Lychester embraced the vision.