Chapter Summaries

At Castle Black, Eddard weighed the threat of Mance Rayder’s Horn of Winter while Roose Bolton pressed him to choose between Stannis and the Lord Regent. Melisandre sought the location of Robert’s bastard, and the chapter ended as Gryn studied a map in King’s Landing.

• Eddard told Roose that he would inform Gryn about the Wildling envoy’s threat but would not delay his decision for long.
• Roose searched the Night’s Watch library for records about the Horn of Winter and met privately with Melisandre.
• Melisandre asked Roose for the exact location of Robert’s bastard and warned that Eddard remaining at Castle Black would expose the North to the Lord Regent’s wrath.
• Old Bear convened a war council with Stannis and Eddard to discuss the King-Beyond-the-Wall’s threat, and Roose noted that Stannis had not brought Melisandre.
• In King’s Landing, Gryn examined a map of the Seven Kingdoms and dipped his quill in ink.

Gryn planned to secure control of the Westerlands and reorganize royal forces while managing Pycelle’s intelligence about Margaery and the Iron Bank’s debt demands. The chapter ended with Gryn ordering Lord Gyles Rosby to challenge the Iron Bank over its past funding of Stannis, as a luncheon for Stormlands lords was prepared.

• Gryn drafted letters to Westerlands lords, including an invitation for Ser Tybolt Crakehall to serve as his squire, while planning to secure the region and seize Lannister revenues.
• Pycelle presented Gryn with transfer orders that split the Gold Cloaks into the City Watch, the King's Landing Peacekeeping Force, and the Red Keep Garrison, and Gryn approved them.
• Pycelle told Gryn that Margaery Tyrell had requested Moon Tea during Cersei's funeral, and Gryn ordered him to keep guarding her secret.
• Gryn reassured Pycelle that the Tyrells’ contributions served a larger political settlement and reminded him that the Targaryen princess would soon return to Dragonstone.
• Gryn planned garrisons across the Vale, Riverlands, and Stormlands, and discussed grain purchases and secondhand ships with merchants from Essos.
• Gryn told Lord Gyles Rosby that the Iron Bank had secretly funded Stannis and directed him to question its representative, while a luncheon for Stormlands lords was readied.

Gryn visited a popular troupe with Arianne, then met Lord Selwyn to discuss Stormlands lords who remained uneasy about serving him. He left Selwyn to await his orders after declaring that the rebellion’s remaining supporters would face judgment.

• Gryn rode through King's Landing, considered the kingdom’s grain and rebuilding needs, and watched the troupe perform with Anguy and Mutton.
• Arianne joined Gryn and invited him to lunch at a Dornish tavern she sponsored.
• Gryn assured Arianne that he regarded her as close family, and she told him Prince Doran had warned her not to take excessive revenge on the Lannisters.
• Gryn offered Arianne his support, and she said he was the third man who had made her feel at ease.
• Gryn met Lord Selwyn, who reported that twenty-three Stormlands lords remained uneasy about serving Gryn, including six from families that had rebelled before.
• Gryn told Selwyn that the lingering rebellion required judgment and that loyalists would be rewarded while rebels were punished; Selwyn awaited his orders.

Gryn secured Count Selwyn’s loyalty by promising House Tarth new lands and a role in peacefully bringing the Stormlands under his authority. He then learned more about the shadow magic threatening him and checked on Lancel’s journey north, leaving plans underway to protect his rule and prepare for winter.

• Gryn promised Count Selwyn a fertile earldom and asked him to take Storm’s End rather than join the twenty-three Stormlands lords in the camp; Selwyn pledged House Tarth’s loyalty.
• Gryn charged Selwyn with expelling the men at Storm’s End and preparing the Stormlands’ people for winter, while offering House Tarth a chance to join the royal family’s future marriage candidates.
• Back at the Red Keep, Gryn summoned Thoros, who explained that a shadow killer likely caused Renly’s death and required a priestess, a man with king’s blood, and a severe cost to the father.
• Thoros warned that Melisandre was dangerous and offered to bring high priests from the Temple of the Lord of Light to deter her, but Gryn said he had to consider the Faith of the Seven’s hostility.
• Gryn summoned Leyton and learned that Lancel and his armed monks were probably already in the waters of the Bite.

Gryn arranged for Lancel to receive a sharper sword while rumors spread that Stormlands lords had been slaughtered in the Kingswood. Margaery learned that Gryn expected a Targaryen to arrive in King's Landing and feared his plan involved the Iron Throne, while Daenerys's party discussed how Gryn had cleared the way for her return.

• Gryn told Leyton to arrange a fast ship to catch Lancel and make his sword sharper before he reached Eastwatch-by-the-Sea.
• Twenty-three Stormlands lords and their followers left King's Landing after a dispute, and the next morning rumors claimed brigands had killed them all in the Kingswood.
• Mace told Margaery that Olenna suspected Gryn sought the Iron Throne, then recalled Gryn had predicted a Targaryen would arrive in King's Landing within a month.
• Margaery remembered Gryn's words about needing the wandering princess and murmured about the Iron Throne and legitimacy.
• Daenerys, Barristan, and Lena discussed Gryn's rule, and Barristan concluded that Gryn had cleared the way for Daenerys to return and enter King's Landing.

Daenerys considered her role in her future with Gryn, then prepared to sail from Gulltown with her three dragons aboard the fleet. The fleet departed at dawn, and Theon and Asha recognized that a Dragonstone princess was approaching their ship, the Silence.

• Daenerys asked Barristan what she could do for Gryn, and he advised that their union and future children would help establish their new dynasty.
• Daenerys met Ser Rick at a military camp and confirmed that she and her three dragons would sail aboard the Duke Marigold.
• Daenerys read about the legendary dragon Balerion and joked with Surana about Rhaego and Jons pinning Viserion while they slept.
• At dawn, seven warships left Gulltown under Ser Rick's command and sailed southeast.
• Aboard the Silence, Theon and Asha heard that a Dragonstone princess had arrived and suspected someone had deliberately sent an invitation.

Euron Greyjoy learned from Moqorro that a silver-haired Targaryen princess awaited him at Dragonstone, and he prepared to sail there despite doubting the priest’s motives. After Moqorro called for a sacrifice to secure favorable winds, Euron ordered Falia Flowers seized, even after she revealed she was carrying his child.

• Euron questioned Moqorro about his vision of a silver-haired girl at Dragonstone and learned that he sought Daenerys Targaryen on Benerro’s orders.
• Euron threatened Moqorro with a Valyrian steel sword, then accepted the priest’s explanation and agreed not to oppose his mission to spread the faith of R'hllor.
• Falia Flowers approached Euron, believing she might become his salt wife, and began to tell him she had wonderful news.
• Moqorro urged Euron to sacrifice Falia so the winds would favor their voyage to Dragonstone.
• Falia revealed she was carrying Euron’s child, but Euron had sailors seize her and ordered them to strip her dress.

Samwell Tarly prepared to leave the Citadel after studying books about the White Walkers, while saying goodbye to Alleras and Leo Tyrell. The chapter also showed Euron Greyjoy and Moqorro using Falia in a ritual whose magic was meant to endure until they reached Dragonstone.

• Euron Greyjoy had Falia bound beneath the prow's mast, and Moqorro poured a red liquid into her mouth and chanted over her.
• Moqorro told Euron that Falia's life would endure until they reached Dragonstone, and Euron praised his service.
• Samwell Tarly prepared to leave the Citadel after spending months researching the White Walkers.
• Alleras came to see Samwell off, and Leo Tyrell joined them with mocking remarks about Samwell's past.
• Samwell began listing his achievements to Leo, but Alleras urged him to leave, and Leo asked whether the noble princess might return him.

Alleras explained that the Citadel had assigned him to aid Princess Daenerys, and he and Samwell left Oldtown as the Ironborn threat grew. Meanwhile, Gryn monitored Daenerys’s journey and prepared plans involving House Rose and the elusive Crow’s Eye, ending by giving Leyton a pardon to read.

• Alleras told Samwell that the Conclave had chosen him to teach and protect Daenerys, while Leo offered to inform Lord Regent Gryn.
• Alleras warned Samwell that the Ironborn were occupying islands near Oldtown after the Redwyne Fleet’s defeat, and Samwell cautioned him to show goodwill toward Prince Gryn.
• Samwell set out with Alleras for Horn Hill, intending to borrow Heartsbane from his brother Dickon Tarly.
• Leyton reported to Gryn that Daenerys’s journey was going smoothly and that High Septon Zari had begun making preparations.
• Gryn said House Rose had likely identified his fiancée and instructed Leyton to keep watch, then discussed preparing another trap for Crow’s Eye.
• Gryn handed Leyton a parchment, which Leyton recognized as a pardon.

Gryn granted Leyton a pardon, reshaped the Great Sept’s relationship with the Faith, and inspected Qyburn’s new hospital while discussing House Tyrell’s motives with Pycelle. Meanwhile, Daenerys traveled by sea toward King's Landing, and the chapter left Gryn speculating that the Tyrells had discovered a secret between him and the princess.

• Gryn gave Leyton a pardon and told Archbishop Ollidor that the Great Sept of Baelor would gain independence to prevent another High Sparrow crisis.
• Gryn asked Ollidor to have the Faith promote public latrines and cleaner habits in King's Landing.
• Gryn visited Qyburn’s new royal hospital, offered to send witch doctors from Crackclaw Point, and rebuked Pycelle for distrusting Qyburn.
• Pycelle warned Gryn that House Tyrell was stirring complaints about the Shield Islands, and Gryn wondered if they had learned a secret about him and the Princess of Dragonstone.
• Ser Rick Snow checked on a silver-haired young woman aboard the Gulltown Fleet near Eyrie Duke and said they would remain nearby for several days.
• Daenerys, Maester Al, and Ser Lena passed Quiet Isle, where Maester Al recalled visiting with the former head of House Crabb and hinted that Lord Crabb had gained something there.

Daenerys studied the False Spring and questioned Maester Al about Prince Rhaegar’s choices, hoping to become a capable queen who could share Gryn’s burdens. After arriving discreetly at Saltpans, she noticed frail people working in the fields and asked Ser Pell why the supplies sent by the Eyrie had not been properly distributed.

• Daenerys returned to her lessons after admiring Quiet Isle and told Maester Al she believed her father’s execution of the Starks helped cause the War of the Usurper.
• Maester Al agreed that Lyanna Stark was not solely to blame and explained Gryn’s theories about Prince Rhaegar’s actions: love, or despair brought on by Aerys II’s suspicion and the loss of the dragons’ power.
• Daenerys resolved to learn more so she could help Gryn protect their home and asked how he had stabilized the Seven Kingdoms through the Crabb-Tyrell-Martell alliance.
• The following day, Daenerys and her party landed discreetly at Saltpans, where Ser Pell Pili received them.
• Daenerys saw frail people, including children and the elderly, working in the fields and asked Ser Pell why the Eyrie’s supplies had not been properly settled.

Daenerys learned how Gryn’s relief system encouraged his vassals to protect their smallfolk and hurried onward, eager to see her fiancé. At a Small Council meeting, Gryn arranged a feast to honor Mace while Count Mathis warned that thousands of poor people in King’s Landing still lacked food, leaving Mace to answer Gryn’s question about a solution.

• Ser Pell explained that the smallfolk needed warm homes as well as food, and Daenerys understood how Gryn tied aid to the welfare of his vassals’ people.
• Daenerys admired Gryn’s methods, thanked Ser Pell, and urged her procession to ride faster.
• At the Small Council meeting, Gryn agreed to hold a feast for Mace and scheduled it for the following evening at the Tower of the Hand.
• Count Mathis raised the danger of a food crisis, explaining that bread sent to Flea Bottom had left tens of thousands of elderly and weak people at King’s Gate and Mud Gate without food.
• Gryn praised Count Mathis’s concern, asked for his proposed solution, then turned to Mace when Mathis could suggest only increasing aid.

Gryn persuaded the Small Council to approve a vast road-renovation and work-relief project, while quietly preparing to stockpile food before winter. After Mace Tyrell wondered whether Gryn meant to claim the crown, Gryn asked Arianne Martell to help secure Dorne’s surplus grain in exchange for a chance to recommend a Small Council member.

• Gryn warned Mace Tyrell that free Rose Bread could overshadow the returning Targaryen princess, then reassured Mace of their alliance and proposed paving King's Landing’s streets.
• The Small Council unanimously approved Gryn’s urban renovation project, which would provide work for the poor and require substantial funding.
• Mathis Rowan cautioned Mace against reaching for the Westerlands’ gold mines and warned that the Reach would soon have to choose how to respond to Gryn’s growing power.
• Mace privately asked Mathis whether Gryn’s actions were meant to help him marry the Targaryen princess and claim the crown, and Mathis was startled by the suspicion.
• Gryn asked Arianne to purchase Dorne’s surplus grain to keep prices reasonable and fill granaries ahead of winter, offering her the chance to recommend a Small Council member if Dorne helped.

Gryn turned down Arianne’s advances, then arranged a departure involving Davos and Anguy while Ser Mason prepared to oversee the capital. In the Godswood, Margaery met Gryn and began to open up about her regrets.

• Arianne flirted with Gryn and offered to bring in the Sand Snake sisters, but he ended the encounter and asked her to bring ladies and young misses to the Great Sept of Baelor.
• Ser Mason told Gryn that two thousand Blue Cloak cavalrymen were ready to depart and that Davos’s preparations to sail would be complete by the next afternoon.
• Gryn told Mason to have Anguy join Davos’s party, calling him an excellent fisherman, and Mason agreed to take him to the docks.
• Margaery told Gryn she regretted her foolish actions and that they had caused her pain, and he offered to listen to her story.

Gryn told Margaery that House Tyrell had helped secure peace and a future for the Seven Kingdoms, while making clear that he valued its political legitimacy, food, and soldiers. He left her anticipating a royal marriage for their unborn children, then Daenerys arrived at the Great Sept of Harrenhal and was welcomed by High Septon Zari.

• Margaery questioned whether Gryn intended to rule the Seven Kingdoms, and Gryn said he would consider fulfilling House Tyrell's dream for her sake.
• Gryn explained that Margaery had helped prevent another war, while admitting that House Tyrell's credibility, Rose Bread, and soldiers mattered to him.
• Margaery realized Gryn had allowed her to reach his bedchamber and had used her as a reason not to draw his sword.
• Gryn kissed Margaery's hand, told her House Tyrell had secured a future, and said he hoped his unborn son would marry a rose lady like her.
• Daenerys arrived at the Great Sept of Harrenhal, where High Septon Zari welcomed her as the future Lady of the Eyrie.

Daenerys visited the Great Sept of Harrenhal, praised its shelter for refugees, and promised to send craftsmen from Riverrun. At the lakeshore, Gryn played with the three dragonlings until Daenerys called out to him.

• Daenerys entered Harrenhal with High Septon Zari and House Crabb’s followers, and heard how the Sept was sheltering refugees while lacking craftsmen to restore the castle.
• Daenerys agreed to arrange for experienced craftsmen from Riverrun and prayed at the altar of the Warrior for her beloved’s victories.
• Daenerys finished her visit and noticed Borona’s unusual smile before suddenly seeming to think of something.
• Gryn lectured Viserion, Rhaego, and Jons about loving one another, then fed the bickering dragons roasted meat.
• Daenerys rode up to Gryn at the Gods Eye, called his name, and Gryn waved back and called her Dany.

Gryn reunited with Daenerys, and the two spent the night together before talking about their plans and the dragons. They agreed to rest for a few days before setting out, while Gryn still intended to pacify the Seven Kingdoms and head north to fight the undead.

• Daenerys rode up to Gryn, and the two embraced and promised they would not remain apart once he pacified the Seven Kingdoms.
• Gryn carried Daenerys to a tent while Rhaego kicked Viserion and Jons watched them go.
• Gryn and Daenerys spent the night together and agreed they could rest there for a few days before setting out.
• Daenerys complained that Rhaego and the other dragons had become disobedient, and Gryn said he had given them a music lesson.
• Daenerys said she had rested enough, and Gryn's smile vanished.

Gryn watched his young dragons reunite after teaching them to share their fish, then spent the morning with Daenerys by the lake. At the same time, Eddard Stark and Jeor Mormont rode through The Wall to negotiate with Mance Rayder, despite Stannis’s opposition, because Mance possessed the Horn of Winter.

• Gryn gave the young dragons a lesson after Rhaego returned with a fish, and Rhaego flew off with Jons while Viserion stayed behind.
• Daenerys joined Gryn as he roasted a fish, teased him, and swam in the lake; Gryn eventually followed her into the water.
• Eddard Stark told Jeor Mormont that Stannis disapproved of negotiating with Mance Rayder because he considered him a deserter.
• Eddard and Jeor continued through The Wall with Rangers and Stark riders, knowing Mance could use the Horn of Winter to destroy it.

Lord Eddard and Jeor Mormont rode beyond the Wall to negotiate with Mance Rayder about the Wildlings fleeing south. Mance welcomed them into his tent and identified the black horn there as the Horn of Winter.

• Jeor Mormont proposed settling Wildlings on the Gift, but Eddard warned that binding the Free Folk to the Night's Watch could cause unrest in the North.
• Eddard and Jeor passed through the Wall and rode to the Wildling camp after learning where the King-Beyond-the-Wall was staying.
• Tormund introduced himself, mocked the envoys as crows and kneelers, and led them to Mance Rayder.
• Mance invited Eddard and Jeor into his tent, where Eddard noticed a black horn among the weapons.
• Mance told Eddard that the black horn was the Horn of Winter.

Lord Eddard and Jeor Mormont negotiated with Mance Rayder, who sought passage south for the Free Folk and warned that White Walkers were driving them from the north. Just as they considered building trust, an army attacked the camp, and Lord Eddard recognized Stannis’s Flaming Heart Banner.

• Mance Rayder showed Lord Eddard and Jeor Mormont the Horn of Winter and explained that the White Walkers were forcing the Free Folk south.
• Mance demanded passage through the Wall, but Lord Eddard refused to admit his entire army and offered shelter to the vulnerable Free Folk instead.
• Mance hesitated over Lord Eddard’s proposal, but urgent horn blasts announced that the camp was surrounded by Ironmen cavalry.
• Mance led the Free Folk to meet the attackers while Tormund stayed to protect Dalla, and the invading cavalry shattered the camp’s defenses.
• The Free Folk fled as Mance fell in battle and fire consumed the camp.
• Lord Eddard saw a banner bearing a burning red heart and identified the approaching army as Stannis’s.