Chapter Summaries

Joffrey used a major Small Council meeting to assign military, financial, and intelligence tasks while preparing the realm for expansion and possible rebellion. The council debated how to fund his plans, and Joffrey hinted that Divine Grace would provide the answer.

• Tyrion praised Joffrey's spectacle, while Joffrey warned that greed and unrest could not be eliminated completely.
• Joffrey outlined his vision for the Ministry of War and approved Tywin's recommendation of Kevan to lead the navy, then appointed Tywin Master of Laws.
• Joffrey ordered Jaime to recruit ten thousand soldiers, Tyrion to balance the royal accounts and raise revenue, and Eddard to summon northern troops in exchange for tax forgiveness.
• Tywin pledged twenty thousand troops and the wealth of the Westlands, while Joffrey revealed that Renly had spread letters challenging his bloodline.
• Joffrey assigned Hannah, Elin, Sandor, and Pycelle new intelligence, military, and research duties, and Cersei realized her son was no longer taking orders from her.
• Tyrion warned that seizing merchants' property would damage trade, and Joffrey suggested that Divine Grace was not really a free gift.

Melisandre summoned flames before Joffrey and saw him as the chosen emissary of the Lord of Light, while Joffrey studied the magic behind her power. Afterward, he experimented with a new Pattern but failed to make it work.

• Melisandre told Joffrey that he was Azor Ahai reborn and urged him to serve the Lord of Light.
• Joffrey gave Melisandre gemstones filled with Source Energy and asked her to demonstrate her power.
• Melisandre danced and chanted until flames appeared, and Joffrey saw a complex Pattern near her Ruby.
• Melisandre offered to create a shadow of life with Joffrey, and he agreed while seeing Daenerys in her place.
• Joffrey’s wounds healed after Daenerys bit his shoulder, and Melisandre resolved to bring more companions to Westeros.
• Joffrey meditated on the Pattern he had seen in the flames, but nothing happened.

Joffrey prepared the court for Renly’s declaration of war while planning to defeat his rivals and build an empire. A fire-breathing White Hart arrived in the Throne Room, and the chapter ended with the court recognizing that war had begun.

• Joffrey brought the real Daenerys to the Throne Room and told the courtiers that Renly had declared war, disputing Joffrey’s claim to the Iron Throne.
• Eddard questioned who had caused Robert’s death and resolved to keep Robb safely in Winterfell.
• Tywin, the Hound, Cersei, and Elin described the crown’s military preparations and urged Stormlands and Reach lords to abandon Renly.
• Viserys entered with a white hart that breathed fire, and Joffrey called it a dragon.
• Joffrey dismissed the court and declared that Renly would not return to King’s Landing unless he surrendered.

Hot Pie persuaded Gendry to leave the smithy and enlist, hoping to gain military pay and divine favor. Gendry was assigned to the Security Bureau under The Hound, while Hot Pie was confused by his own placement.

• Hot Pie urged Gendry to enlist, citing the pay, provisions, and the chance to receive divine grace, but Gendry initially refused.
• Hot Pie dragged Gendry to the recruitment camp, where they chose the Ministry of War rather than the Gold Cloaks.
• Gendry told the recorder he would defend the king and was willing to fight his enemies.
• The recorder assigned Gendry to the Security Bureau under The Hound, leaving Hot Pie wondering what the Security Bureau was.

Elin Lantel received glass devices that let the Security Bureau observe Divine Grace Favored Ones, while Joffrey limited the bureau’s initial scope and warned Elin not to trust anyone too much. After returning home, Elin activated one of the devices and used it to view Loras Tyrell.

• Elin reported that his Little Birds and the newly selected D-Class Personnel could watch over more than ten thousand Divine Grace Favored Ones.
• Joffrey explained that only a few hundred Divine Grace Favored Ones existed so far, so the D-Class Personnel would train in barracks and only a few dozen would later join the Security Bureau.
• Joffrey gave Elin a box of glass devices and told him to use the black one at the bottom to register Security Bureau personnel.
• Elin returned to his little house, activated one of the devices, and wrote "Light Eternal" on it.
• Elin explored the device’s lists and wrote "Loras Tyrell," revealing Loras smelling a Rose.

King Renly celebrated his coronation and alliance with House Tyrell at a feast in Storm's End, where his lords discussed ways to weaken Joffrey and planned their march on King's Landing. A report that the Velaryon Fleet had withdrawn north brought cheers, but Renly privately realized its capture of Brienne of Tarth might keep House Tarth from sending troops.

• King Renly toasted victory with the gathered lords, and Earl Elton Estermont praised his betrothal to Margaery Tyrell as the bond between their armies.
• Earl Bryce Caron proposed flooding King's Landing with Crownlands farmers to strain its food supply, and Renly authorized him to proceed.
• The lords suggested recruiting allies and exploiting Joffrey's weaknesses, while Ser Donnel Swann raised reports of strange events in King's Landing and was mocked.
• King Renly announced that his army would break camp on August fifth, join Highgarden's forces at Bitterbridge, and march on King's Landing.
• A soldier reported that the Velaryon Fleet had withdrawn north, and Renly privately noted that it had taken Brienne of Tarth, likely preventing House Tarth from sending troops.

Sansa and Joffrey visited the Children of the Forest in the Godswood, where Joffrey discussed the coming war and offered Bran a place as his squire. The kingdoms’ forces were gathering against Joffrey, and the chapter ended with Bran eagerly asking to join him, pending Eddard’s approval.

• Sansa walked with Joffrey through the Godswood and imagined marrying beneath the Heart Tree, while growing jealous of Daenerys.
• Joffrey led Sansa to the Great Oak, where Leaf, Bran, and Arya welcomed them; Arya threw acorns at Sansa after she scolded the children.
• Joffrey told Bran, Sansa, and Arya that Renly had declared war and described the forces gathering against him.
• Joffrey said he would fight alongside his soldiers and wanted quick-witted squires to carry messages and fight when needed.
• Bran asked Joffrey to take him to the battlefield as a squire, and Joffrey said he could go if Eddard agreed.

Joffrey told Leaf that northern reports warned of Mance Rayder’s Wildlings and the Others, and urged her to become a Greenseer to help protect her people. He sent Eddard back to command the North’s defense, then prepared to begin Leaf’s transformation using the transplanted weirwood.

• Leaf learned that eight more of her people had crossed the Wall safely and were being escorted south.
• Joffrey revealed that Mance Rayder had gathered tens of thousands of Wildlings and planned to reinforce the Wall against the Others.
• Joffrey told Leaf she needed to become a Greenseer, and she agreed after thinking of how she could help her people.
• Joffrey asked Sansa to say what Eddard truly wanted, and Eddard surrendered his badge as Hand and agreed to return north to defend the realm.
• Qyburn reported that the transplanted weirwood was ready, and Joffrey took a wooden bowl to begin the process.

Joffrey guided Leaf through a weirwood-seed ritual and helped her enter the weirwood’s memories, where she saw her tribe’s past and encountered Bloodraven’s soul. Leaf awakened as a Greenseer, while Joffrey remained preoccupied with the secrets of the Old Gods.

• Joffrey gave Leaf mashed weirwood seeds, and she ate them in an attempt to awaken her Greenseer talent.
• Joffrey urged Leaf to enter the weirwood, and she experienced its memories and saw her tribe’s homeland across time.
• Leaf followed the river of time to the Greenseer’s throne and encountered Bloodraven’s returning soul with Joffrey.
• Joffrey warned Bloodraven that the Children of the Forest should not risk their lives beyond the Wall and should return inside it.
• Leaf opened her eyes in the Red Keep’s Godswood with pure green eyes, and the direwolves howled in celebration.

Joffrey decided that southern Weirwoods would remain restricted to the Children of the Forest as Eddard prepared to leave King’s Landing. Before Eddard departed, Joffrey gave him Divine Grace, binding him to new obligations.

• Joffrey followed Leaf’s awareness through the Weirwoods and resolved to keep southern Weirwoods restricted and Greenseers among the Children of the Forest.
• Guests toasted Eddard’s safe journey north, while Eddard worried about Jon, Sansa, Bran, and Arya remaining in the Red Keep.
• Eddard spoke with the king about the war against Renly and promised to help House Tully and House Arryn.
• The king placed his hand on Eddard’s shoulder and bestowed Divine Grace, which appeared to Eddard as a permanent blue screen.
• Eddard felt Divine Grace join his family, honor, duty, faith, and oaths as another shackle.

Joffrey convened the Small Council and ordered a citywide cleanup, assigning Tyrion to oversee the construction of a sewer system. He then announced a sweeping operation to register King's Landing's residents and industries and seal the city gates in five days, leaving Tyrion doubtful about how the orders could be carried out.

• Joffrey welcomed the Small Council members and established a new meeting place with seats for each minister.
• Joffrey said that, with Tywin and Eddard away, those present had to maintain the realm and address King's Landing's disorder.
• Hannah presented Joffrey's sewer plans, and Joffrey assigned Tyrion to organize the project despite Tyrion's reluctance.
• Elin, Hannah, and Pycelle were ordered to register the people in the city and the Red Keep, while Tyrion was assigned to classify the city's industries.
• Joffrey ordered the City Watch and Ministry of War to assist, and commanded that King's Landing's gates be sealed at dawn in five days as the city conducted a mass operation.
• The ministers accepted Joffrey's orders, but Tyrion privately wondered how such an immense task could be accomplished.

Joffrey summoned the High Septon and declared that the Seven-pointed star was wrong and the Faith should use a Six-Pointed Star. He forced the High Septon to accept the Faith’s reorganization into the Ministry of the Gospel, leaving him devoted to the king’s decree.

• The High Septon traveled by sedan chair to the Red Keep, where Joffrey was waiting in the Throne Room.
• Joffrey told the High Septon that the Seven favored the Father and that their proper symbol was a Six-Pointed Star.
• Joffrey removed the High Septon’s crown and invoked divine grace to make him kneel and accept the decree.
• Joffrey ordered the Faith reorganized as the Ministry of the Gospel under the Divine Emissary, with every Sunday designated Worship Day.
• The High Septon accepted the Six-Pointed Star and was told to prepare for the first Worship Day four days later.

Samwell recalled how political upheaval in King's Landing led to his uneasy appointment as a Small Council historian and then his transfer to Qyburn's Research Department, where he tested Divine Grace devices. He faced a new task: dividing half of King's Landing into four hundred population-balanced sections and marking every passageway before the next day ended.

• Samwell remembered his life in the Red Keep changing as influential courtiers were arrested, King Robert died, and Renly disappeared.
• Samwell recorded Small Council meetings where the king, Tywin, Eddard, Cersei, and Pycelle clashed over the future of the Seven Kingdoms.
• After Tywin left King's Landing, the king temporarily transferred Samwell to the Research Department.
• Samwell organized texts, entered information into the Database, and tested Divine Grace Modules for Qyburn.
• Samwell learned that Qyburn's experiments had killed five people and left two others mentally deranged.
• Samwell opened his workbench and saw that he had to divide half of King's Landing into four hundred sections and mark every passageway before the next day ended.

Recruits at the Security Bureau endured their dawn routine of assembly, patriotic songs, and grueling runs. After training, Gendry told Hot Pie that their team would leave on a mission the next day, though today’s drills would continue as usual.

• Recruits scrambled from their tents after the dawn horn and gongs summoned them to the parade ground.
• The recruits assembled, shouted slogans praising King Joffrey I, and sang “Mother Westeros.”
• The squads ran ten laps around the track, competing to avoid losing breakfast.
• Hot Pie collapsed against Gendry after the run and complained about the training.
• Gendry gave Hot Pie his breakfast and said their team had an outside mission tomorrow, but training would continue for the rest of the day.

Joffrey addressed a vast congregation outside the Great Sept of Baelor, claiming Renly had sent assassins to murder septons and defile the Faith. He declared a Divine Decree to cleanse King's Landing, and monks, nuns, and soldiers spread through the city to carry it out.

• Worshippers gathered outside the Great Sept of Baelor, where they discussed Joffrey, the Faith, and rumors about Renly.
• Joffrey emerged with the High Septon and announced that intruders had killed three senior septons, nineteen monks, and seven nuns.
• Monks and guards displayed the bodies of seven assassins, whom Joffrey accused Renly of hiring as his Rainbow Guard.
• Joffrey declared that the Seven Gods had ordered King's Landing cleansed of impurity, lies, and thieves.
• Groups of monks, nuns, and soldiers left the sept and spread through the city to carry out Joffrey's decree.

Gendry led Team 239 to seal off its assigned area on Rhaenys's Hill as part of a citywide inspection operation. After the Ground Net activated, he ordered his soldiers to block all movement and prepared to identify anyone who might pose a threat.

• Gendry marched Hot Pie and the other recruits through their assigned district while reflecting on his promotion and the army's promise of advancement through merit.
• Gendry reviewed the Divine Grace Light Screen's grid map and the procedures for sealing districts, responding to trouble, and tracking inspection teams.
• The final grid turned white, and a glowing scroll announced, "Ground Net Activated."
• Gendry divided Team 239 into groups to block the streets and alleys, gather people, and report problems.
• Gendry drew his sword to stop panicked passersby from fleeing, then pressed the switch on a white steel ball.

Jon and Tyrion’s Second Inspection Team searched Grid 201 as part of a citywide effort to uncover Renly’s assassins and trace ownership of valuable property. The inspection ended with Tyrion ordering the arrest of a moneylender whose gold was declared illegal capital.

• Jon explained to Tyrion that the Eye of Warning detected anything crossing a grid boundary and recorded images, and the sphere showed no alarm.
• Tyrion and Jon compared their progress with the other inspection teams, then entered an inn in Grid 201 to continue their inspection.
• The team questioned the inn’s staff and searched its rooms for valuables and documents, requiring people to prove ownership and explain where their property came from.
• A white-haired moneylender protested that the team had withheld the gold coins he kept for clients.
• Tyrion asked whether the moneylender had royal authorization, declared private lending and fund collection illegal, and ordered the Gold Cloaks to arrest him.
• Tyrion ended the interruption and withdrew with his team after the grid inspection was complete.

The Fourth Investigation Team entered Flea Bottom to investigate its residents and identify rebels under the king’s decree. The crystal balls began questioning people and assigning them roles, and Black Dog was seized for the Engineering Team after claiming he had no wealth and refusing to fight.

• Theon Greyjoy and Jorah Mormont entered Grid 441 with the Fourth Investigation Team to investigate Flea Bottom.
• The gathered residents feared the soldiers intended to massacre them as they waited without knowing why they had been assembled.
• Theon announced the king’s decree to investigate Flea Bottom and eliminate rebels, while crystal balls questioned the residents.
• A crystal ball asked Black Dog, who had used the name Lemon Cake, about his wealth and willingness to join the campaign against the rebels.
• The crystal ball labeled Black Dog a person without the three essentials and assigned him to the Engineering Team, and soldiers seized him.

Theon and Jorah Mormont’s Fourth Investigation Team detained thousands of Flea Bottom residents, but the crowd began resisting the forced relocation. As reinforcements approached, several people fled and Theon ordered his soldiers to draw their blades.

• Theon hesitated over whether the team could control the thousands of people they had detained, and Jorah Mormont called for reinforcements through the Divine Grace Light Screen.
• Black Dog, bound among the prisoners, watched the crowd and hoped the gangs would distract the Gold Cloaks so he could escape.
• A man challenged Theon’s orders, arguing that Flea Bottom residents could not prove ownership of their homes and asking the crowd to wait before accepting the king’s offer.
• Theon and Jorah held back from using force while the crowd wavered, and Theon saw that reinforcements were closing in.
• Jorah shouted for everyone to stop as several people ran toward uninspected grids, and Theon ordered his soldiers to guard the prisoners and boundaries.

Gendry joined Jon Snow’s Royal Guard reinforcements as Flea Bottom erupted into red alert during the investigation. The chapter ended with the crowd advancing on the guards and Theon shooting arrows into them.

• Jon Snow ordered the Royal Guard squads to support the Fourth Investigation Team in Flea Bottom, and Gendry joined the march.
• Gendry recalled how the investigation in Grid 239 had ended peacefully before red alerts spread across Flea Bottom.
• Jon Snow’s forces sealed the district while the investigation team pushed through its red grids and cleared them.
• A hostile crowd from Flea Bottom advanced toward the guards, shouting threats as Jon Snow and Theon tried to make them retreat with Dragon Glass.
• Theon ordered the crowd to move back and fired arrows, striking people as they continued to approach.