Chapter Summaries

Daemon's party arrived at Barrowton and was welcomed by Rodrik Dustin and his family at Barrow Hall. As they shared a northern feast, the Dustins told stories of the Great Barrow, and Daemon agreed to visit it the next day.

• Rodrik Dustin guided Daemon's party past the Great Barrow and the Saltspear toward Barrowton.
• Rodrik introduced his wife Ala Tallhart, their daughter Ada, and their sons William, Herman, and Beren at Barrow Hall.
• Gael gave Ada a candied date, and the family welcomed Daemon's party with a meal of roast boar, rye cakes, and ale.
• William said House Dustin had driven robbers away from the Great Barrow, while Beren and Ada recounted seeing a blue light there.
• Rodrik invited Daemon's party to visit the Great Barrow and gather shellfish the next day, and Daemon accepted.

Daemon's party left Barrowton after receiving gifts and farewells from House Dustin, then traveled through the snow to Castle Cerwyn. They rested there for the night before continuing toward Winterfell the next day.

• Rodrik Dustin gave Lubert Crabb a sword, while Mys Rivers received a new battle-axe from Rodrik's attendant.
• Lady Ala and Ada gave the travelers provisions, a hand warmer, and direwolf dolls, and Beren asked Daemon to let him join the journey south.
• Daemon welcomed Beren and William as guides, then left Barrowton with his party and promised to deliver Rodrik's message to Benjen Stark.
• After several days on the snowy road, William pointed out Castle Cerwyn, where Earl Cerwyn welcomed the party and offered them shelter and venison soup.
• Beren asked Earl Cerwyn about the hall's old battle-axes, and Earl Cerwyn invited him to see the armory the following day.
• That night, Daemon and Gael discussed their arrival at Winterfell, where Daemon expected to meet Duke Ellard.

Daemon and his party arrived at Winterfell, where Benjen Stark welcomed them in place of his ailing brother, Lord Ellard. After seeing the castle and sharing a feast with House Stark, Daemon reflected with Mysaria on the North’s candor as their royal progress continued.

• Daemon’s party reached Winterfell, where Benjen Stark explained that Lord Ellard was bedridden and introduced his wife, Lysa, and their son, Rickon.
• Brandon Stark greeted Daemon warmly, and Benjen led the party through Winterfell’s godswood and past its hot spring pipes.
• Daemon met Lord Ellard in the hall and discussed the North’s succession, House Dustin’s support, and the importance of stable Riverlands grain supplies.
• Gael joined Daemon in the hall, and the Starks hosted the party for a supper of northern food and stories.
• After the feast, Daemon spoke with Mysaria on the terrace about Winterfell and the people’s openness as their journey reached its halfway point.

Daemon and his companions toured Winterfell, then prepared to travel north to see the Wall and the Night’s Watch. The party set out along the Kingsroad, leaving Winterfell behind as they headed toward new dangers and discoveries.

• Brandon Stark showed Daemon and his companions Winterfell’s godswood, hot springs, towers, library, gates, and crypt.
• Daemon asked Duke Ellard for permission to visit the Wall, and Ellard agreed; Brandon offered to lead the journey to Castle Black.
• Daemon invited Larys Strong to join them, and Larys accepted, hoping to see his great-uncle Rodrik Stark.
• The party prepared for the trip while William Dustin stayed behind in Winterfell as a squire.
• The next morning, Daemon’s party rode north along the Kingsroad, with Brandon leading and Glutton and Dreamfyre flying overhead.

Daemon's party crossed the Last River and reached Last Hearth, where Jorah Umber welcomed them with a feast. After hearing of threats from Wildlings and House Bolton, they left the next morning for the Wall and the dangers beyond.

• Brandon Stark led Daemon's party along Long Lake and across the Last River to Last Hearth.
• Jorah Umber welcomed Daemon, Gael, and Brandon, then hosted a feast for the party and House Umber.
• Jorah and his family warned Daemon about worsening Wildling incursions, House Bolton's land grabs, and unrest in the North.
• The party spent the evening among the Umbers before Daemon watched the clear night sky from the castle terrace.
• Jorah supplied the travelers with warm clothing, food, and ale, and Daemon's party set out north toward the Wall.

Daemon's party reached the New Gift and stopped at the Black Cloak Inn, where they learned that wildling raids had increased near the Wall. As the company prepared to continue toward Queenscrown, Daemon privately feared that the White Walkers were awakening beyond the Wall.

• Brandon led Daemon's party across the Gift to the Black Cloak Inn, where Night's Watch ranger Rodrik Stark joined them and reported recent wildling raids and shortages at the Wall.
• Larys asked a ranger about Ser Lucamore Strong and learned that Lucamore had been sent to the Wall after secretly marrying three women and fathering sixteen children.
• Gael took Mysaria upstairs to warm up, while Rodrik warned Daemon that unfamiliar footprints near Queenscrown might belong to wildling scouts.
• The Night's Watch and Daemon's companions shared ale, songs, and conversation at the inn while Daemon concealed his fear that the White Walkers were waiting in the Lands of Always Winter.
• Alys reassured Gael about the journey to Queenscrown, and the party spent the snowy night at the inn before their planned departure.

Daemon and his party visited Queenscrown and Mole's Town, learning how Queen Alysanne had helped protect the people there. They reunited with Rodrik Stark and prepared to leave for Castle Black, while Daemon sensed the danger waiting beyond the Wall.

• Rodrik Stark gave Daemon a hunting knife and warned him that wildling scouts had been seen near Queenscrown.
• Daemon's party toured Queenscrown's gold-topped tower and heard how Queen Alysanne's visit was remembered by the villagers.
• After a woman reported a wildling scout near the lake, Daemon hurried his party onward to Mole's Town.
• In Mole's Town, Daemon and his companions learned about Queen Alysanne's women's court and the king's abolition of the right to the first night.
• Rodrik Stark returned with the Night's Watch, and the group planned to set out for Castle Black the next morning.
• Daemon sensed the threat beyond the Wall and vowed to protect the dragons, the people, and Westeros.

Daemon, Gael, and their party arrived at the Wall and were welcomed by Lord Commander Cregan Karstark, who showed them Castle Black’s defenses and recounted the Night’s Watch’s history. Daemon sensed that the Wall and his visit were tied to the coming threat of the White Walkers, and the chapter ended with the party preparing to climb the Wall at dawn.

• Daemon and Gael saw the Wall for the first time and met Cregan Karstark and Rodrik Stark at Castle Black’s tunnel entrance.
• Cregan explained the Wall’s tunnels, ancient spells, history, and the Night’s Watch’s duty to defend the realm.
• Larys Strong studied the Wall’s defenses, while Jarman Waters observed the Night’s Watchmen and their weapons.
• Cregan invited the party to lodge at Castle Black and promised to lead them to the top of the Wall at daybreak.
• Daemon told Gael that the journey was about more than sightseeing, and she comforted him as the Night’s Watch recited its vows.
• Daemon watched the Wall under moonlight and suspected the visit could help him rewrite history against the coming darkness.

Daemon Targaryen toured Castle Black and discovered ancient records about the Wall before helping the Night’s Watch resolve a confrontation with starving Wildlings. After defeating three Thenn warriors, he secured their agreement to settle in the Gift, leaving the Free Folk and the Night’s Watch on peaceful terms.

• Cregan Karstark showed Daemon and his companions Castle Black’s towers and library, where Daemon touched an ancient scroll and felt the brand on his shoulder grow warm.
• A ranger reported that Wildlings had entered a tunnel through an unknown passage, and Daemon joined Cregan and Rodrik Stark at the blocked entrance.
• Gorn of the Thenn clan explained that his people had taken provisions because the Long Winter had left them starving, and Daemon offered them shelter in the Gift without requiring them to kneel to a king.
• Daemon summoned Glutton and Dreamfyre to demonstrate his power, then defeated three Thenn warriors in a sword fight after Gorn demanded proof of his strength.
• Gorn accepted Daemon’s offer, and Cregan agreed to send Night’s Watch men to escort the Thenn clan to abandoned villages in the Gift.

Daemon and his companions toured the Wall’s castles, where Cregan explained the Night’s Watch’s defenses and history. After Daemon promised aid for the Watch and the Free Folk, he recited the Night’s Watch vow at Long Night Fort and left its brothers inspired by his respect for their duty.

• Cregan guided Daemon’s party through the Shadow Tower and Westwatch-by-the-Bridge, explaining their defenses against wildlings.
• Cregan showed the group Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, Deep Lake Holdfast, and Long Night Fort, describing the Night’s Watch fleet and the castles’ histories.
• Cregan told Daemon that several Free Folk clans had joined the Thenn, but the Night’s Watch lacked supplies and workers.
• Daemon promised to ask his grandfather for supplies and prisoners to help the Watch, and proposed land and trade for Free Folk who wished to settle farther south.
• Brandon, Gael, and Mysaria offered additional help, while Cregan praised Daemon’s concern for the Wall.
• Daemon recited the Night’s Watch vow beside Long Night Fort’s ice stairs, and Cregan and the brothers knelt in reverence.

Daemon and his companions visited White Harbor, where Earl Theomore Manderly welcomed them and pledged House Manderly’s support for the Wall. After Brandon Stark gave Daemon a dagger and returned to Winterfell, Daemon’s party sailed for the Three Sisters.

• Theomore Manderly welcomed Daemon, Gael, and their companions to White Harbor and showed them the harbor and New Castle.
• Theomore told Daemon that House Manderly had prepared grain and iron for the Night’s Watch and remained loyal to House Stark.
• Brandon announced that he would return to Winterfell to help patrol against House Bolton’s men, then gave Daemon a wolf-bone dagger.
• Daemon reflected on the Wall and Brandon’s friendship as he watched White Harbor’s fishing lights with Gael.
• The next morning, Brandon bade Daemon farewell at the docks, and Daemon’s party sailed for the Three Sisters.

Daemon visited Sisterton and won the allegiance of the Three Sisters’ lords by promising protection and setting rules for their fleet. The Three Sisters pledged to serve him as he continued his tour of the Seven Kingdoms.

• Daemon arrived at Sisterton with Mysaria, Gael, and his companions, where Marquess Sunderland introduced Earl Borrell, Lord Longthorpe, and Ser Torrent.
• During the banquet, the Three Sisters’ lords described their hardship under the Vale and the North and offered to support Daemon’s plans.
• Daemon accepted their allegiance on the conditions that they stop raiding the Seven Kingdoms’ merchants and common folk, follow his unified command, and protect the Bay of Crabs.
• Daemon swore to defend the Three Sisters with Blackfyre and Glutton, and Sunderland, Borrell, Longthorpe, and Torrent pledged loyalty to him.
• Daemon reflected that the newly pledged fleet would help him rewrite history as he continued his tour.

Daemon’s party reached the Golden Tooth, where they learned that Dagon Greyjoy had repeatedly threatened Lannisport and mobilized the Westerlands’ levies. After hearing Earl Humfrey dismiss the danger, Daemon suspected the Ironborn threat and the unstable leadership at Casterly Rock were more serious than they appeared, and resolved to investigate on his progress.

• Daemon and his companions encountered dispirited levies who said Dagon Greyjoy had threatened Lannisport three times without attacking.
• Daemon led the party to the Golden Tooth, where Humfrey Lefford welcomed them with a feast and sheep for Glutton and Dreamfyre.
• At the feast, Humfrey dismissed Dagon’s threats and cited the Westerlands’ defenses, while Daemon and Larys noticed weaknesses in his account.
• Mysaria and Gael examined gold ore, Larys returned from the mines, and Daemon grew wary of the Ironborn threat and Casterly Rock’s young lords and elderly retainer.
• Daemon resolved to investigate the danger at Casterly Rock and Lannisport before unrest in the Westerlands could worsen.

Daemon and his companions traveled through the Westerlands toward Casterly Rock, where they discovered that Dagon Greyjoy’s Ironborn fleet was attacking Lannisport. Daemon urged Glutton toward the burning city as the raid threatened to ignite a wider war.

• Gael and Mysaria recalled House Marbrand’s lavish hospitality at Ashemark while the party continued along the Tumblestone.
• Lubert Crabb marveled at the wealth of Golden Tooth and Ashemark, and the travelers discussed how accustomed the Westerlands had become to dragons.
• Daemon noticed smoke rising toward the coast, and Colin identified it as coming from Lannisport.
• Daemon and the others saw Dagon Greyjoy’s longships surrounding Lannisport as fires consumed the harbor.
• Daemon urged Glutton toward the burning city while Gael worried about its people and Larys Strong warned that the Ironborn meant to fight.

Daemon and Gael led Glutton and Dreamfyre in defending Lannisport from an Ironborn invasion, while the city’s lax defenses and delayed reinforcements allowed severe destruction. By dawn the Ironborn had mostly fled, and Daemon confronted Ser Loreon Lannister over the devastation.

• Daemon sent Jarman Waters and Harlan Hunter to Casterly Rock with Larys, Beren, Mysaria, and Alys Rivers to request reinforcements.
• Daemon and Gael used Glutton and Dreamfyre to burn the Ironborn ships offshore and prevent more raiders from landing.
• Lubert Crabb and Daemon’s followers fought the Ironborn on shore while the arriving Lannister soldiers hesitated and failed to organize.
• After fighting through the night, Daemon and Gael stopped pursuing the fleeing Ironborn because their dragons and the harbor defenders were exhausted.
• Ser Loreon Lannister arrived with Tyland and Jason, and Daemon rebuked him for the lax defenses and the ruined state of Lannisport.

After the Ironborn attack on Lannisport damaged House Lannister’s reputation, Tyland Lannister resigned as Master of Ships and asked Daemon and Gael to remain at Casterly Rock. Daemon’s party toured the Westerlands and visited Fair Isle, where Earl Farman pledged his fleet against the Ironborn, before news arrived of Tyland’s resignation.

• Tyland Lannister sent angry messages to Loreon Lannister over Lannisport’s defenses, then resigned as Master of Ships and rode back to the Westerlands.
• Daemon’s party explored Casterly Rock and its Golden Gallery while waiting for Tyland to return.
• Daemon’s party visited Lannisport, where repairs continued and the garrison captain thanked Daemon for saving the goldsmiths’ workshops.
• Daemon and his companions sailed to Fair Isle, where Earl Farman welcomed them and offered the island’s fleet against the Ironborn.
• As Daemon’s party prepared to leave Fair Isle for Casterly Rock, a raven reported that Tyland Lannister had formally resigned and was riding home.

After returning from Fair Isle, Daemon watched Taimond Lannister punish Loreon for failing to protect Lannisport and received the duke’s thanks and promise of support. At a lavish farewell feast, Taimond publicly named Daemon a friend of the Westerlands, and Daemon prepared to leave for the Reach by way of Crakehall.

• Taimond arrived at Casterly Rock, blamed Loreon for Lannisport’s burning, and banished him to his estate at Cornfield.
• Taimond thanked Daemon for helping defend Lannisport and promised House Lannister’s armies and gold if Daemon ever needed them.
• Taimond hosted a grand farewell feast for Daemon, attended by Gael, Mysaria, and nobles of the Westerlands.
• Taimond declared that Daemon was House Lannister’s benefactor and a friend of the Westerlands, warning that anyone who disrespected him would make an enemy of the house.
• Daemon reflected that his journey through the Westerlands was ending and planned to set out for the Reach through Crakehall the next morning.

Daemon’s party traveled from Casterly Rock to Crakehall, where Tybolt Crakehall swore allegiance to him. Meanwhile, Taimond Lannister blamed Dagon Greyjoy for ruining his political plans and ordered his torture to continue; Daemon prepared to leave for the Reach.

• Daemon’s party crossed Crakehall lands and arrived at the coastal castle, where Burton Crakehall welcomed them with a feast.
• Tybolt Crakehall offered to serve Daemon, who accepted his allegiance and told him to use his strength to protect the weak.
• Tybolt sparred with Mys Rivers during the feast, while the party celebrated and talked together.
• Taimond Lannister confronted the captive Dagon Greyjoy, blamed him for destroying House Lannister’s plans, and ordered the guards to intensify his torture without killing him.
• After the feast, Daemon told Gael and Mysaria that the party would leave for the Reach the next morning and continue on to Highgarden.

Daemon's party arrived at Old Oak and learned that the Reach's lords were gathering at Highgarden for a grand tourney celebrating King Jaehaerys's fiftieth year of rule. After hearing of House Oakheart's ancient feud with Dorne and its recent ties to pirates, Daemon agreed to attend the tourney and left for Highgarden with a shortcut map from Olyvar.

• Daemon's party reached Old Oak, where Dennis Oakheart welcomed them and explained that Reach knights were gathering for a celebration and tourney at Highgarden.
• Dennis recounted how Prince Baelon had once jousted at Old Oak as the Silver Fool and been knighted there after defeating Rickard Redwyne.
• Daemon recognized Olyvar Oakheart from the history of his previous life and asked Dennis about House Oakheart's feud with Dorne.
• Olyvar warned that the Dornish had drawn close to the Triarchy and traded secretly with Lysene pirates, while Dennis said the Highgarden gathering might unite the Reach against them.
• Daemon accepted Dennis's invitation to the tourney, then set out the next morning after Olyvar gave him a map to a shortcut to Highgarden.

Daemon, Gael, and their companions arrived at Highgarden, where Lord Mathos Tyrell hosted an extravagant feast and tried to introduce Daemon to his daughters and sons. Daemon sensed tensions beneath the hospitality, including the Reach nobles’ discontent and Dorne’s unusual movements, and left with Gael and Mysaria determined to explore Highgarden and face its hidden undercurrents.

• Daemon and his companions admired Highgarden’s white marble walls and gardens before Mathos Tyrell welcomed them into the castle.
• Mathos showed Daemon the maze and the castle’s landmarks, then boasted about House Tyrell’s history and wealth as the Reach nobles greeted them coolly.
• At the feast, Mathos offered Daemon his daughters and sons as companions and squires, then mistook Alys Rivers for a maid and suggested Daemon pursue her.
• Daemon reflected on Garlan Tyrell’s position and noticed the nobles’ aloofness, while Larys Strong watched Mathos and saw the hidden tensions around him.
• Mathos asked Daemon to visit the Three Singers the next day, and Daemon noticed Gael and Mysaria’s resentment as Dorne’s movements in the Stepstones remained unmentioned.
• Daemon took Gael and Mysaria for a walk in the gardens, reassured them, and said they would visit the Godswood and Rose Field before facing Highgarden’s undercurrents.