Chapter Summaries

At Garth's Thumb, Joffrey opened talks with the Tyrells by describing the kingdom’s crises and demanding vast financial and military aid from Highgarden. Olenna agreed to his demands, and a Royal Guard moved behind Willas as the meeting continued.

• Olenna weighed House Tyrell’s options and concluded that resisting Joffrey was foolish, while Margaery’s marriage pact could provide leverage.
• Joffrey arrived with Margaery and told the assembled Tyrells that the royal family faced debt, food shortages, war, and rebellion across the Seven Kingdoms.
• Joffrey asked Highgarden to provide two million Golden Dragons, five million tons of grain, and every soldier it had.
• Olenna agreed that Highgarden would do its duty for the Seven Kingdoms and Joffrey.
• Joffrey praised Olenna and clapped his hands, prompting a Royal Guard to step behind Willas.

Joffrey ordered Willas Tyrell to lead Highgarden’s forces against the rebels at Old Oak and offered the Tyrells rewards for their service. As the family accepted his terms, Joffrey said the fighting at Rising Stone Town was about to begin and end.

• Willas Tyrell’s leg healed, and he swore to serve Joffrey in gratitude.
• Joffrey ordered Willas to lead twenty thousand troops to capture Goldengrove and cut off the rebels’ retreat, and Willas agreed to punish the traitors.
• Joffrey offered Willas several ways to govern or acquire Rowan lands, while assigning Garlan to take command of the Shield Islands Fleet with Lord Bery.
• Joffrey named Garlan governor of Old Oak under Crown rule, and Garlan accepted.
• Margaery asked whether troops should be sent to Rising Stone Town, and Joffrey said the fighting there was about to begin and end.

Rising Stone Town learned that King's Landing had assembled a formidable fleet and grew more vigilant, while an unseen army gathered beyond the hills. The restored Littlefinger watched the town and declared that the Third Battle of Rising Stone Town was about to begin.

• The Reach's army settled into an uneasy routine around Rising Stone Town while Ser Jon Fossoway kept the troops disciplined.
• Scouts returned with reports that King's Landing's fleet controlled the Blackwater River and that novices were quickly trained to crew its ships.
• The scouts also reported alarming claims about King's Landing, including miracles, the Iron Bank's arrival, and ship cannons.
• Ser Jon Fossoway strengthened patrols, sentries, and scouting, but Rising Stone Town's scouts were silently killed.
• An unseen army and its warhorses watched Rising Stone Town from beyond a hill as the restored Littlefinger announced the Third Battle of Rising Stone Town.

Littlefinger watched the commanders debate attacking an unprepared enemy while recalling his rise from the Fingers to the royal court. As Ser Symond Templeton and Ser Donnel Waynwood urged an assault, Littlefinger considered how he could climb back to power.

• Ser Symond Templeton urged the commanders to fire the cannons and charge the enemy with the entire army.
• Littlefinger recalled his childhood in the Fingers and his family's rise from sellswords to landed knights.
• Littlefinger remembered how Earl Ian Hunter and Gerwood Hunter humiliated him and his father at Longbow Hall.
• Littlefinger recalled growing up with Catelyn, Lysa, and Edmure at Riverrun, then being sent back to the Fingers after challenging Catelyn's arranged marriage.
• Littlefinger reflected on his rise from Gulltown tax collector to a powerful court figure and wondered how to regain his former position.
• Ser Donnel Waynwood agreed that the enemy offered an easy and rewarding target, while Littlefinger watched the discussion.

The commanders in Joffrey’s mixed army argued over how to attack Renly’s forces, while Jaime Lannister urged mercy and Littlefinger searched for the reason the army had been assembled from so many factions. Littlefinger studied the ambitions and loyalties of Vale knights as the army prepared to move against Rising Stone Town.

• The commanders called for an attack on all fronts, while Jaime Lannister urged them to show mercy after defeating the enemy.
• Littlefinger considered why Joffrey had assembled twelve thousand horsemen from the Westlands, Vale, Riverlands, and King's Landing, and concluded the arrangement was deliberate.
• Littlefinger recalled Ser Symond Templeton’s ambition and questioned whether Nine Stars City’s sigil represented the Seven-Pointed Star, Joffrey’s Six-Pointed Star, or neither.
• Ser Donnel Waynwood volunteered to lead the vanguard, and Littlefinger wondered whether Ironoaks had ambitions involving Harrold Hardyng’s place in the succession.
• Littlefinger noted that Lysa had sent no knights loyal to the Eyrie and questioned who the Vale knights in the army truly served.

Jaime Lannister reflected on his past with Brynden Tully and the injustices that had made him the Kingslayer as he prepared to help frame the Blackfish. Littlefinger received Jaime’s signal and began his mission by asking Brynden to discuss the battle.

• Jaime recognized that Joffrey’s promised mercy would spare common soldiers while condemning the nobles and knights.
• Jaime recalled meeting Brynden Tully as a young squire and how his father had hoped to betroth him to Lysa Tully.
• Jaime remembered killing the Mad King to prevent him from burning King's Landing, and how Eddard Stark and others branded him the Kingslayer.
• Jaime resolved to break oaths and plot against Brynden because he believed he had no choice.
• Littlefinger received Jaime’s signal and asked Ser Brynden to share his thoughts on the battle.

Jaime and the Blackfish agreed to launch a night raid on the rebels at Rising Stone Town, hoping to defeat them with minimal casualties and bring them into the king’s service. Young nobles eagerly volunteered for the vanguard, while Jaime privately worried that the Blackfish might not escape the fighting.

• Lord Vance and Lord Piper challenged Littlefinger’s presence at the meeting, and Littlefinger asked to be called Little Petyr.
• The Blackfish rejected sending an envoy and proposed a night raid to surprise and subdue the rebels.
• Jaime confirmed Divine Grace was prepared, and Kevan supported the plan.
• Jaime ordered Plan Two, the night raid, and Adam Marbrand volunteered to lead the vanguard.
• Calair Vance and Marq Piper also volunteered, while Jaime worried the Blackfish would be caught up in the fighting.

Blackfish used the Battle Map and the king’s forces’ superior weapons to surround Rising Stone Town before launching a night assault. As the cavalry broke through the western defenses, the first Candles went dark and a second wave of light rose.

• Blackfish reviewed the Battle Map, identified gaps in the rebels’ defenses, and ordered the vanguard to attack despite a sudden sense of unease.
• The eastern cannons fired Candles that illuminated Rising Stone Town as the cavalry charged from the north, south, and west.
• Ser Malkor Piper and Karyl Vance raced toward the western crossing, where Water Drops blasted apart the chevaux-de-frise.
• The first Candles faded and darkness returned before a second wave of light rose.

A surprise nighttime attack threw the Reach army outside Rising Stone Town into chaos as King Joffrey’s forces used sky-borne accusations and the invulnerable Holy Shield Warriors to break their morale. With the town’s fortress destroyed and resistance faltering, “Blackfish” ordered his vanguard to charge.

• Cavalry swept through the Reach camps while blazing images and accusations against Renly appeared in the sky, prompting soldiers to surrender, flee, or fight among themselves.
• Ser Jon Fossoway formed nearly twenty thousand troops into defensive lines as “Blackfish” sent the Holy Shield Warriors forward.
• The Holy Shield Warriors withstood arrows, bolts, blades, and stones without visible injury, renewing the Reach soldiers’ fears that the rumors of divine powers were true.
• At “Blackfish’s” instruction, Ser Jaime ordered the artillery to destroy Rising Stone Town’s empty fortress, which collapsed under bombardment.
• “Blackfish” ordered his vanguard to charge and called on the remaining defenders to surrender for the King’s forgiveness.

Jon Fossoway rallied a defense in eastern Rising Stone Town, but the Holy War Army’s cannons shattered the soldiers’ will to fight. During repeated blackouts, hidden attackers killed several Reach lords before Blackfish ordered the prisoners secured and Littlefinger submitted the completed mission.

• Jon Fossoway gathered scattered troops in eastern Rising Stone Town and ordered them to defend against the approaching cavalry.
• Blackfish led the Holy War Army through the first defenses, and its cannon volley devastated the soldiers and forced them to drop their weapons.
• During a blackout, Karyl Vance found his father, Lord Vance of Wayfarer's Rest, dead with a dagger in his neck, while Allyn Mooton accused the Reach soldiers of killing his brother.
• More Reach lords were killed during another blackout, and Blackfish ordered the prisoners taken into custody when the light returned.
• Littlefinger submitted the mission after all targets were eliminated, and many Holy War Army soldiers abruptly halted.

Theon Greyjoy studied the footage of the Rising Stone Town Demonstration Battle and suspected that the apparent accident had concealed deliberate killings. As the Arbor came into view, he wondered what lesson King Joffrey had meant him to learn.

• Theon reviewed the battle footage and considered how the army's intelligence, equipment, and tactics had helped secure victory at little cost.
• He focused on the deaths during the intervals of darkness and questioned whether they had truly been accidental.
• Theon noticed that Riverlands and Reach nobles had died while Vale nobles remained unharmed, and suspected the killings had targeted political rivals.
• He concluded that Jon Snow had seen an edited version of the footage that concealed the apparent assassinations.
• Aboard the Fourth Fleet, Theon spotted the Arbor and wondered what the Demonstration Battle was meant to teach him.

Jon Snow prepared to lead his troops north, leaving Maester Coomon in charge of Crow's Nest and securing him a place at King's Landing Academy. After his force reached its target, the chapter shifted to Storm's End, where Joffrey touched the Priestess's swollen belly, which concealed a Shadow Assassin.

• Jon Snow ordered preparations for his departure and appointed Maester Coomon to manage Crow's Nest.
• Jon used the light screen to secure Coomon a position at King's Landing Academy and changed his surname from Baratheon to Storm at Coomon's request.
• Coomon agreed to serve the king and oversee Crow's Nest while Jon led the army.
• Jon led more than two thousand soldiers north, and on the second night they reached a camp and prepared to attack.
• At Storm's End, Joffrey stroked the Priestess's swollen belly, which held a Shadow Assassin.

Renly prepared his army to attack Storm's End at dawn, trusting that Ser Cortnay Penrose would help them seize the castle. As the bloody feast began, Melisandre reached for Joffrey, and the story left the opposing kings poised for battle.

• Renly ordered the army to form ranks at dawn and attack Storm's End, while Mace Tyrell praised Ser Cortnay Penrose's loyalty.
• Renly assigned Randyll Tarly to command the vanguard and promised Mace Tyrell the chance to retake King's Landing after Storm's End fell.
• Hugh Grandison told Randyll Tarly that the Royal Fleet had reached The Arbor and Redwyne had joined it, leaving Renly's forces with little hope at sea.
• At the feast, Renly rallied his supporters and raised a cup to victory as the sky began to brighten.
• Melisandre reached for Joffrey, who took her hand as the bloody feast approached.

Joffrey entered the Shadow Assassin and used its powers to reach Renly’s feast at Storm’s End. He killed Ralph Buckler and began attacking the gathering as Renly recognized him.

• Melisandre gave birth to a towering Shadow Assassin that resembled Joffrey, and Joffrey entered its body after ordering Sandor to carry out the battle plan.
• Joffrey explored the shadow’s new perception and discovered Renly’s soul among the silver lights gathered around Storm’s End.
• Joffrey traveled underground to Renly’s banquet and overheard Renly’s guests discussing how to dispose of Joffrey’s body.
• Joffrey formed a Shadow Sword and beheaded Ralph Buckler as the tent fell into darkness.
• The shadow trapped the fleeing guests, and Renly recognized it as Joffrey.

Joffrey used the Shadow Sword to execute Stormlands traitors and selected Reach lords while sparing Renly, Mace Tyrell, Randyll Tarly, and others he still valued. After the shadow withdrew, the witnesses remained silent as the war ended.

• Joffrey's shadow killed Bryce Caron, Lester Morrigen, Richard Mullendore, Gude Morrigen, and the guards who tried to protect the king.
• The Shadow Sword executed numerous Stormlands lords, while Hugh Grandison begged for mercy and Alexander Staedmon offered House Staedmon's service.
• The shadow spared Mace Tyrell and Randyll Tarly but killed the Earl of Meadow and members of several eastern Reach houses.
• The shadow ended its purge without killing Renly, then withdrew from the tent and sank into the ground.
• A soldier opened the tent curtain, and Renly, Mace Tyrell, Randyll Tarly, and the other witnesses stayed silent as the war ended.

The Hound used cannons and Royal Marines to break Renly’s rebel army at Storm’s End, taking thousands of prisoners while Renly survived and accepted defeat. After the war ended, Jon Snow set out to attack Felwood and ordered Hart Fell to lead the vanguard.

• The Hound bombarded empty ground to frighten the rebel camp, then surrounded it with Royal Marine regiments and called for surrender.
• Mace Tyrell and the Stormlands lords fled as the rebels panicked, while Randyll Tarly helped Renly leave the camp.
• The Hound halted the cannon barrage before it reached Renly, then ordered the scattered soldiers to surrender in small groups.
• The royal forces captured the rebels, pardoned those who surrendered, and filled Storm’s End with prisoners.
• Jon Snow reflected that Renly’s defeat had ended the war in less than two months, then ordered Hart Fell to lead the vanguard against Felwood.

Hart Fell chose to turn against his uncle, Haywood Fell, and claim Felwood after learning that Storm's End had fallen and Renly's rebellion had failed. With cannon fire destroying the castle's defenses, Hart ordered its people to surrender in King Joffrey's name.

• Jon Snow waited until the Security Bureau delivered intelligence on Felwood, then ordered the cannons assembled and shared the information with Hart Fell.
• Hart learned that Felwood held more than forty-six hundred troops and was commanded by his uncle, Haywood Fell, whom Hart suspected of murdering his father and grandfather to seize the earldom.
• Hart reflected on the peaceful life he had once expected before war forced Felwood to choose between its liege lord and King Joffrey.
• After Renly's defeat, Hart chose to take revenge and claim Felwood for himself.
• Jon's cannons blasted Felwood's defenses and armory as Hart declared Haywood a murderer and ordered the castle to surrender.
• A newly recruited soldier knelt and shouted, "Long live King Joffrey!" as the rest of the castle began to follow.

Hart Fell became Lord of Felwood after the city submitted to King Joffrey, and his uncle Haywood was executed for treason. Haywood urged Hart to ask the king to replace the lordship with a governorship, while the Sea Monster approached the Shield Islands.

• Hart Fell and Jon Snow oversaw Felwood's surrender as its people received Divine Grace.
• Jon Snow acknowledged Hart Fell as Lord of Felwood and sentenced Haywood Fell to beheading.
• Haywood told Hart that he had not killed Hart's father and grandfather, then urged him to seek a governor's office instead of becoming lord.
• Hart Fell accompanied Haywood to the training ground, where Jon Snow executed him before a crowd.
• Joffrey watched the lively night at Storm's End as the Sea Monster approached the Shield Islands.

On the Ninth Day of the Ninth Moon, the lords of the Shield Islands gathered with royal and Tyrell officials for a banquet celebrating peace and the islands’ renewal. Falia Flowers felt ignored by Garlan Tyrell, while Beric Dondarrion recognized that Euron’s attack was imminent and the Royal Fleet was close behind.

• Lord Humfrey Hewett welcomed the assembled lords and took his place at the High Platform as Falia Flowers stood among the servants.
• Osbert Serry, the other Shield Island lords, and Missionary Brother Thoros entered the hall.
• Ser Justin Massey arrived as the Royal Fleet’s instructor and liaison officer, revealing that the Shield Islands Fleet had joined the Royal Fleet.
• Garlan Tyrell entered and took his seat without responding to Falia Flowers’s hopeful gaze.
• Beric Dondarrion invoked King Joffrey’s support, and the gathered guests toasted the king and the Shield Islands.
• As the banquet began, Beric Dondarrion reflected that Euron was about to strike and the Royal Fleet was only half a day away.

Falia Flowers was recruited into the King's service and appointed liaison officer for the Shield Islands Fleet's First Fleet. The gathering learned that Euron Greyjoy was approaching with more than ten warships, while the Royal Fleet was on its way to defend the islands.

• Falia watched the banquet guests agree to royal control over the Shield Islands Fleet and wondered how it had happened so quickly.
• Beric Dondarrion asked Falia to serve the King impartially, and a Royal Guard used the King's light screen to bind her to the Crown.
• Beric announced that Falia had been appointed liaison officer for the First Fleet, and Humfrey Hewett approved the appointment.
• Garlan Tyrell warned the nobles that Euron Greyjoy was sailing toward the Shield Islands with more than ten warships and would arrive that afternoon.
• Beric reassured the gathering that the Royal Fleet, with more than three hundred warships, was expected to arrive soon, though Greyshield and Greenshield might suffer losses.