Chapter Summaries

After Balon Greyjoy’s assassination, Joffrey learned that Euron had returned early and ordered the Security Bureau to find the Silence while considering how to handle the Iron Islands. The chapter left Joffrey watching Euron’s ship sail west of the islands and wondering what forces or prophecies guided him.

• Joffrey received a report that Balon Greyjoy had been killed by a Faceless Man and ordered Osha to observe Pyke while Elin searched the surrounding seas for the Silence.
• Melisandre told Joffrey that the Shadow Assassin would be born in two or three days, and Joffrey asked her to return the next day to reinforce it.
• Joffrey examined the black-iron Driftwood Crown and considered Euron’s role in Balon’s plans, the coming Kingsmoot, and the attack on the Shield Islands.
• The Security Bureau reported a ship suspected to be the Silence west of the Iron Islands, and Joffrey saw Euron aboard as the vessel sailed swiftly in favorable winds.

Theon Greyjoy learned that his father, Balon, had been murdered by Euron and weighed two royal appointments while leading his regiment toward Mistwood. After the bloody capture of Rook’s Rest, he stared at its collapsing walls with an unexplained chill.

• Theon received word that Balon Greyjoy was dead and that Euron had hired an assassin to kill him.
• Theon considered appointments as Lord Greyjoy or Governor of the Iron Islands and as Guardian of the Sunset Sea or commander of its royal fleet.
• Theon spoke with Adam Whitehead while his Seventh Regiment prepared to attack Mistwood.
• Theon recalled how Barristan’s forces had taken several castles with little resistance before his regiment fought at Rook’s Rest.
• Theon’s regiment captured Rook’s Rest, where the former Earl Mullendore and his children died, and Theon saw the castle collapsing.

Joffrey tested his new Divine Descent technology by remotely inhabiting a lifelike body at Pyke, bringing Bran along to witness events in the Iron Islands. He disguised himself and ordered Bran to take the form of a bound boy as they prepared to meet the Ironborn.

• Joffrey approved Theon's choice to become Governor of the Iron Islands and Commander of the Sunset Sea Fleet, recognizing that the appointment tested his loyalty and usefulness.
• Joffrey called Bran over and proposed a thrilling mission to visit Pyke, while Bran complained that he had failed to see inside Storm's End.
• Joffrey used a new power to transfer Bran and himself to Divine Descent bodies at Pyke, where local attendants welcomed them.
• Joffrey explained that Divine Descent used specially constructed bodies and the Identification Rune to respond to a person's thoughts and commands.
• Joffrey disguised himself as a soldier and told Bran to take the form of a bound, sleeping boy before they went to meet the Ironborn.

After King Balon’s death, the Ironborn gathered at Pyke to mourn and decide who would rule. Asha gained growing support as the next queen, but Euron Crow's Eye arrived before the hall could settle on a successor.

• Euron Wet Hair declared King Balon dead and called for a new Iron King to continue his work.
• Asha sought support from her uncle Rodrik Harlaw, who signaled Harras Harlaw the Knight to speak.
• Harras denounced the idea of Theon ruling and argued that Asha was Balon’s true heir.
• Captains and chiefs from several families began shouting their support for Queen Asha, and Victarion watched silently.
• Euron Crow's Eye entered the great hall and announced that he was not too late.

Euron returned to Pyke after Balon's death and claimed the Seastone Chair, using his lineage, voyages, Valyrian armor, and prophecy to persuade the Ironborn. The captains split between Euron and Asha as Osha, an envoy of the Iron Throne, entered the longhall.

• Euron arrived at Pyke with his silent crew and displayed Valyrian steel armor, while Asha told him Balon had died.
• Victarion accused Euron of breaking his exile and killing Balon, but Euron said a prophecy had brought him back to reclaim the Iron Islands' glory.
• Euron argued that his royal blood, travels to Asshai and Valyria, and divine favor made him a better ruler than Asha or Theon.
• Donnel Saltcliffe, Gorold Goodbrother, and Walton Wynch backed Euron, while Victarion called for Queen Asha and the longhall divided between them.
• Osha, an envoy of the Iron Throne, pushed past the guards and entered the longhall.

Osha proposed that the Iron Throne settle the Iron Islands’ succession dispute, then declared Theon would become governor rather than king. Joffrey revealed himself by taking the Seastone Chair, leaving the assembled lords stunned and Euron retreating in fear.

• Osha invoked the Iron Throne’s authority to judge the Iron Islands’ succession, stirring anger and uncertainty among the captains.
• Joffrey assessed the rival claimants, Osha’s armed party, and the neutral Lord Baelor Blacktyde as the hall’s factions sized one another up.
• Corl challenged Osha over Theon’s claim, and Asha and Victarion claimed Balon had revoked Theon’s right to inherit.
• Osha announced that Theon would be governor of the Iron Islands, while a soldier advanced toward the Seastone Chair.
• Joffrey’s power froze Asha and the others as he transformed, sat on the Seastone Chair, and revealed himself as King Joffrey.
• Euron retreated and cried out, “The Drowned God!!”

Joffrey used his steam weapons to crush resistance in Pyke’s great hall, then divided the Ironborn and ordered one faction to be slaughtered by the other. He left a suspected Faceless Man bound on the platform while the survivors were forced to choose between obedience and death.

• Osha’s guards blocked the Ironborn’s attack, and the Holy Fire Warriors scalded the charging crowd with steam from their spray guns.
• Joffrey silenced the hall, and Asha offered the Iron Islands’ submission while Euron remained silent.
• Joffrey ordered the Ironborn to separate into groups, and a captain was killed when he hesitated to obey.
• Joffrey identified a Pyke slave as the Faceless Man Euron had hired to murder Asha’s father, but the slave denied it and was bound in chains.
• Joffrey ordered the Ironborn on one side to kill those on the other, and Baler Blacktyde stabbed a captain as steam engulfed the doomed faction.

A gigantic sea monster attacked the great hall on Pyke while Crow's Eye Euron revealed his plan to use it against Joffrey. Joffrey wounded the creature with hidden fire magic and Steam Sprayers, but Euron escaped into the sea with it.

• A giant squid-like sea monster struck the great hall, broke through its walls, and carried away corpses and living people to feed.
• Crow's Eye Euron offered Joffrey an alliance and threatened to feed Joffrey's companions to the monster if he could not hold him there.
• Joffrey proposed a hunt, then activated fire magic he had planted inside the monster after it swallowed corpses.
• Osha ordered the Steam Sprayers to attack the monster's tentacles, and the Ironborn watched as Joffrey's forces struck back.
• Euron revealed his red eye, called the monster reborn, and leaped into its grasp as it withdrew into the sea.

Joffrey ended his operation in the Iron Islands by punishing the Ironborn who had supported Crow's Eye and forcing their leaders to submit. Asha accepted the title of Lord Greyjoy under the Iron Throne, while Theon was assigned the islands' civil and naval offices.

• Joffrey used a reconnaissance Rune to track Crow's Eye and the sea monster carrying him west toward King's Landing Port.
• Joffrey ordered Crow's Eye's abandoned mute sailors and the Ironborn who had aided him to kneel or face punishment, then made the Ironborn captains fight the remaining five mutes in a melee.
• Asha knocked Wet Hair Euron unconscious when he cursed Joffrey, and the Ironborn defeated the five mutes at the cost of only two fingers.
• Asha renounced any claim to independence, and Joffrey declared that Theon would govern the Iron Islands and command the Sunset Sea Fleet.
• Asha asked to inherit the title of Lord Greyjoy, Joffrey granted it, and the Ironborn and Black Wind's crew shouted their support.

King Joffrey used songs and the loss of many Ironborn captains to unsettle the assembled lords, then offered them a chance to claim command of the captainless longships. The captains celebrated his offer as he set them competing for the future of the Iron Islands.

• The Ironborn captains listened to songs that reminded them of their dead, the old wars, the Seven Gods, and King Joffrey’s power.
• The captains realized that Pyke, Harlaw, and Blacktyde had suffered few losses while many captains from other islands had died or been wounded.
• Joffrey announced that Euron Crow’s Eye had sailed away aboard the Silence without the Sea Monster and that the longships left at King's Landing Port were unharmed.
• Joffrey assigned all the longships to the Sunset Sea Fleet under Victarion and gave the gathered captains two days to win over crews and choose captains for ships without them.
• The captains praised Joffrey and began celebrating the offer.

Theon reflected on Asha becoming Lord Greyjoy and on his estrangement from the Starks as he prepared to return to the Iron Islands and pursue his ambitions at sea. He ordered the assault on Mistwood, the last fortress on Cape Wrath, and planned to hunt his uncle Euron on the way home.

• Theon learned that Asha had succeeded Balon as Lord Greyjoy and that Victarion had been named Guardian of the Sunset Sea.
• Theon recalled his years at Winterfell and compared the Stark family’s closeness with the Greyjoys’ discord, while resenting that he had never truly belonged among the Starks.
• Theon imagined commanding the Sunset Sea Fleet and conquering distant lands, even if achieving his ambitions required spilling Ironborn blood.
• Theon prepared to leave Cape Wrath after Mistwood fell and planned to sail toward the Iron Islands while hunting his uncle Euron.
• Adam Whitehead reported that Mistwood had released a Message Raven, and Theon ordered the soldiers to fire and search the fortress thoroughly for rebels.

Asha Greyjoy stopped the Ironborn captains and crews from fighting over ownerless longships by promising them places in the Sunset Sea Fleet and warning them against fleeing. Joffrey then focused on Euron Crow's Eye and the Sea Monster, determined to capture the creature before it escaped.

• Ironborn crews tried to flee King's Landing Port with longships whose captains had died, while other captains moved to stop them and the harbor neared violence.
• Asha asked Joffrey to intervene, and he gave her Osha's Communication Token and ordered her to threaten anyone who disobeyed.
• Joffrey watched Euron Crow's Eye sail toward Fair Isle with the Sea Monster roaming nearby and suspected Euron could not fully control it.
• Asha used the token to calm the harbor, promising the captainless longships places in the Sunset Sea Fleet and threatening those who abandoned their duty.
• Joffrey urged Lord Velaryon to hasten to The Arbor, subdue it, and then hunt the Sea Monster.

Joffrey, disguised as a knight, refused the Redwyne Fleet’s invitation to dock at the outer harbor and ordered a demonstration of the royal fleet’s ship cannons. The bombardment began before the gathered Redwynes and harbor crowds, leaving the hill engulfed in explosions.

• Lord Monford Velaryon told Joffrey that the Redwyne Fleet had invited them to dock at the outer harbor instead of Redwine Port.
• Joffrey questioned why Lord Paxter Redwyne was keeping them from Redwine Bay despite his sons handing over Queen of the Arbor.
• Joffrey ordered Monford to invite the Redwynes to witness a gift on a barren hill and to fire a full volley from the ship cannons.
• Horas and Hobber silently agreed that the demonstration would make words unnecessary, while they looked at their aged father, Paxter.
• The two fleets stopped at the outer harbor, and sixty warships fired on the hill, terrifying the people nearby.

Joffrey used magic to charm Desmera Redwyne and draw her close, intending to pressure Lord Paxter into committing House Redwyne to the royal family. He left Desmera believing he might speak with her father about their future as the sun set.

• Desmera followed Joffrey away from the banquet and imagined falling in love and marrying him.
• Desmera asked Joffrey about his sigil and why he had left the banquet.
• Joffrey revealed that he had used magic to attract Desmera so Lord Paxter would have no choice but to support the royal family.
• Joffrey told Desmera his sigil was the Three-legged Golden Crow and said he would reveal his name after speaking with her father.
• The sun set as Joffrey and Desmera stood together atop the tower.

Monford Velaryon tried to recruit Paxter Redwyne by presenting Joffrey as the returned Aegon VI and promising alliances against the Baratheons, but Joffrey revealed the deception and forced Paxter's submission. Joffrey took control of the Redwyne Fleet and offered Paxter a chance to save Bethany Redwyne and her children as House Rowan faced destruction.

• Monford Velaryon claimed that the silver-haired knight was Aegon VI, the surviving son of Rhaegar Targaryen, and urged Paxter to support his restoration.
• Monford told Paxter that Dorne had agreed to an alliance, Margaery was secretly betrothed to the Targaryens, and the fleet would attack the Baratheon armies at Storm's End.
• The knight's shifting sigil and appearance revealed Joffrey, who confronted Paxter about his hesitation and ordered the Redwyne Fleet into the Royal Fleet under Horas and Horas.
• Joffrey appointed Paxter Guardian of the Summer Sea and told him that the claims about Aegon and Margaery had been false.
• Joffrey offered Paxter permission to save Bethany Redwyne and her children and let them inherit the Rowan castle as House Rowan neared destruction.

Joffrey and Duke Tywin discussed the conquest of Old Oak and Joffrey’s plans to strengthen royal control over the Seven Kingdoms. In the Hall of Heroes, Tywin offered Joffrey the ancient armor of Joffrey I, which restored itself when Joffrey touched it.

• Duke Tywin told Joffrey that his army would march south against the forces at Old Oak, and Joffrey asked how they would divide the Rowan lands and titles.
• Joffrey said the royal family would appoint officials to govern Old Oak, while Tywin warned that the Reach would resist and proposed letting an Oakheart daughter inherit.
• Joffrey argued that the Iron Throne should use its new magical power to bring the Seven Kingdoms under stronger royal control.
• Duke Tywin led Joffrey into the Hall of Heroes and identified the bronze armor of Joffrey Lydden, later King Joffrey I.
• Duke Tywin offered the armor to Joffrey, and it flowed over Joffrey’s hand and restored itself around him.

Renly Baratheon welcomed Lord Mace Tyrell and the Reach forces as their armies joined at Felwood, then consulted Randyll Tarly about the missing cavalry at Massey's Hook. He ordered Randyll to lead the vanguard and depart that day, confident the combined army would trap Joffrey at Storm's End.

• Renly greeted Lord Mace Tyrell and celebrated the arrival of the Highgarden forces with a farewell feast before battle.
• Renly promised Mace that Margaery would become queen and that their future child would inherit the throne, securing House Tyrell's commitment.
• Renly offered to let Randyll Tarly's eldest son return to Horn Hill, but Randyll said his son would remain a maester's apprentice.
• Renly showed Randyll a report that two thousand cavalry had vanished at Massey's Hook and asked for his advice.
• Randyll warned that the cavalry might have been attacked and criticized the decision to divide the army, while Alester Florent dismissed Joffrey as unwise.
• Renly ordered Randyll to lead the vanguard and leave that day.

Roland Storm watched the Royal Guard subdue several Stormlands strongholds before the army captured Nightsong. King Joffrey legitimized Roland as Roland Caron, appointed him governor of Nightsong, and revealed that he had summoned the commanders for more than a decision about who would rule the castle.

• Roland Storm reflected on how governors such as Balon Swann, Lord Bery, and Beric Dondarrion had taken power in their strongholds, while Ser Barristan Selmy captured Harvest Hall after Astan Selmy resisted.
• After resting at Harvest Hall, Roland Storm and the soldiers debated whether the army should march on Fawn Hall, Nightsong, or Ashford.
• King Joffrey ordered the Royal Guard to take Nightsong, and Roland Storm entered the fortress with the army after its gates were smashed by cannon fire.
• King Joffrey summoned Roland Storm to Nightsong's hall and legitimized him as Roland Caron, appointing him governor of Nightsong.
• Joffrey looked around the hall and indicated that he had gathered the commanders for more than deciding Nightsong's ruler.

Joffrey assigned Loras Tyrell and other commanders roles in plans for Highgarden and the Shield Islands, then named Loras Lord Governor of Highgarden. Loras realized the appointment could destabilize his family and succession, while Joffrey turned his attention to the remaining force at Rising Stone Town.

• Joffrey ordered the next campaign toward Highgarden and explained that Leo Tyrell had gone there as an envoy to seek renewed allegiance and a marriage alliance.
• Joffrey said Loras would escort Queen Margaery if Highgarden agreed to the terms, while Jacelyn Bywater would act in Loras's place if negotiations failed.
• Joffrey ordered Beric Dondarrion and Thoros to take Garlan Tyrell to the Shield Islands, with Loras's Ninth Regiment and two hundred Ship Cannon cores under their command.
• Loras asked to remain in Highgarden, and Joffrey appointed him Lord Governor of Highgarden, responsible for the Reach and House Tyrell's affairs.
• Loras worried that his appointment would usurp Willas's rightful place as heir, while Joffrey considered the instability it would cause and noted that Rising Stone Town remained.

Tyrion admired how the King's projects had transformed King's Landing, especially the rebuilt East Half City, whose free and discounted rentals drew crowds and revived the district. After enjoying the city's praise, he headed to the Red Keep to meet His Majesty.

• Tyrion walked through prosperous, transformed King's Landing and reflected on how wealth and power had changed the respect people showed him.
• The city completed grand royal buildings, including imposing barracks and the King's Landing Academy, whose Research Institute remained mysterious.
• Silver-white cloaks cleared the East Half City, then rebuilt it into a vast complex of high-rises, plazas, gardens, shops, and guard posts.
• The East Half City reopened in sections over two days, and residents and refugees moved into its expanded buildings.
• The Crown offered free residential rentals for three years and discounted commercial rentals, prompting crowds to rush into the district.
• After receiving praise for overseeing the transformation, Tyrion went to the Red Keep to meet His Majesty.