Recaps

Viserys's dragons grew faster on magical creatures as the Free Cities debated how to respond to New Valyria's expansion. Varys sought to make contact with Viserys, while Marwyn defied the Citadel and set out to study the dragons.

• Viserys confirmed that magical creatures' flesh and blood accelerated the Hatchling Dragons' growth and planned to send them to forage in the volcano once they reached the size of horses.
• Representatives of the nine Free Cities argued over whether to attack New Valyria or seek contact, then agreed to strengthen their forces and send a delegation to test Viserys's limits.
• Varys learned of Young Griff's death and Jon Connington's return to the Golden Company, suspected Viserys had killed Aegon, and began arranging contact and gathering intelligence.
• Marwyn packed his scrolls and declared that he would go to Valyria to study the dragons, despite the Citadel's orders.
• Marwyn blinded the maesters pursuing him with a dazzling light and escaped the Citadel.

High Priest Kinvara led a delegation from Volantis to meet Viserys in Valyria, offering an alliance and a prophecy about the three-headed dragon and the coming Long Night. Viserys allowed the Temple of the Red God to preach elsewhere in his empire under strict rules, while keeping Kinvara in Dragonwing Castle as a supervised liaison.

• A Pentoshi ship carried Kinvara and twelve other Red God priests to Valyria, where they were awed by King Ghidorah.
• Kinvara told Viserys that a prophecy had shown him riding a three-headed dragon against the coming cold and darkness, and offered the Temple’s alliance and support.
• Viserys permitted the Temple to preach throughout his empire except on the Valyrian Peninsula, forbidding coercion, violence, and interference in governance.
• Kinvara offered intelligence about a secret meeting of the Nine Free Cities and asked to remain in Valyria as the Temple’s liaison.
• Viserys agreed to keep Kinvara at Dragonwing Castle under supervision, while the other missionaries were sent to Free Bay.

Daenerys dreamed of a black Dragon and ice-covered visions, and Viserys believed her dream foretold that her Dragon Eggs would hatch and warned of future dangers. As Valyria received delegations from the Free Cities, Viserys also learned that Kevan Lannister was secretly heading to Free Bay to buy Bright-Roar.

• Daenerys woke from a vivid dream of a black Dragon breathing crimson fire and an ice-covered white-and-gold Dragon, then rushed to Viserys with her three Dragon Eggs.
• Viserys examined the fossilized Eggs and told Daenerys he believed her dream was a prophecy that they would hatch, promising to protect her and prevent Viserion from being frozen.
• Daenerys calmed in Viserys's embrace and slept beside him, still clutching the Eggs.
• Viserys arranged hunting training for the first four hatchlings under King Ghidorah's supervision as representatives from the Free Cities arrived in Valyria.
• Braavos and other conciliatory cities asked about Valyria's plans and proposed maintaining free trade and city autonomy, while Volantis and its allies demanded Viserys abandon his claim to Essos and threatened military action.
• Alliser's informants reported that Tywin Lannister had sent Kevan Lannister with a disguised fleet and a large sum to Free Bay to secure Bright-Roar.

Viserys hosted the Free Cities’ representatives and answered their demands by welcoming peaceful trade while threatening destruction for those who opposed his empire. After Hasman Vaharis provoked him and was arrested, Viserys learned Kevan Lannister had arrived seeking an audience on Tywin’s behalf and left to meet him in Meereen.

• Viserys held a banquet for representatives of the Free Cities, merchants, and senior officials, while Hasman Vaharis dismissed the threat of his dragons and empire.
• Illyrio told Viserys that Pentos was willing to help and relayed Varys’s greetings; Viserys replied that intelligent men could find ways to work together.
• Hasman challenged Viserys about the empire’s ambitions, reached for his dagger, and had his leg broken before the Unsullied arrested him.
• Viserys declared that the empire welcomed honest merchants and friendly visitors but would destroy those who obstructed its resurgence or provoked him.
• Duke Arthur reported that Kevan Lannister had arrived from Free Bay to request an audience for Tywin, and Viserys left to meet him in Meereen.

Viserys negotiated with Kevan Lannister to sell House Lannister’s ancestral sword, Bright-Roar, in exchange for gold, armor, and an apology related to the deaths of Princess Elia and Prince Aegon. Kevan accepted the revised terms and returned to arrange the payment and supplies.

• Viserys let foreign representatives hear that Kevan Lannister had come to Meereen, prompting them to end the banquet eager to verify the news.
• Kevan met Viserys at the Great Pyramid and offered two hundred thousand gold dragons to buy back Bright-Roar.
• Viserys demanded three hundred thousand gold dragons, armor, and a public admission and apology concerning the events in King’s Landing; he invoked his dragons when Kevan warned of Lannister power.
• Kevan proposed a marriage alliance and then asked to redirect the apology, and Viserys agreed to an apology to Princess Elia’s family and the handover of the murderers for an additional hundred thousand gold dragons.
• Kevan accepted the deal and left to arrange the gold and armor, which he had not brought to Meereen.

Valerio Vaharis persuaded Myr and Tyrosh to join a coalition against Viserys, planning to blockade his trade and unleash Dothraki on Slaver’s Bay. In King’s Landing, Robert learned that Kevan Lannister had brought gold and armor to Viserys and accused the Lannisters of conspiring against him.

• Valerio Vaharis told the representatives of Myr and Tyrosh that Viserys threatened their cities and their interests.
• Valerio revealed that Qarth and New Ghis would help blockade Valyria’s harbor and direct three khalasars against Slaver’s Bay.
• Myr and Tyrosh agreed to join the war coalition, while demanding terms for dividing spoils and command of the fleet.
• Robert Baratheon learned that Kevan Lannister had delivered gold and armor to Viserys and accused Tywin of building an army for the Targaryen.
• Jon Arryn suggested Kevan had gone to recover Bright-Roar, but Robert rejected the explanation and called for Varys.

Robert’s Small Council reacted to Tywin’s deal with Viserys by preparing for pressure from the Free Cities and seeking Dorne’s support. After Kinvara warned Viserys of hidden threats, he flew to the Dothraki Sea and destroyed two khalasar leaders and their camps with King Ghidorah.

• Varys reported that his agents had failed to uncover the Lannisters’ plans, while Littlefinger warned that Tywin’s deal could make the Free Cities suspect Westeros had allied with Viserys.
• Robert ordered Stannis to strengthen Dragonstone’s defenses, told Pycelle to write to Doran, and approved cuts to the name day celebrations to fund the navy.
• Kinvara warned Viserys that unseen enemies might target him and the newly born dragons with curses, poison, magic, or assassins.
• A messenger reported that three Dothraki khalasars were gathering near Free Bay, and Viserys flew toward them on King Ghidorah.
• King Ghidorah vaporized Jammokhal and his bloodriders, then froze and burned Pono Khal’s camp before killing Pono and his escort with a golden beam.

Viserys defeated Moro Khal and his Bloodriders with King Ghidorah, then forced the surviving Dothraki to choose between death, exile, and swearing allegiance. He sent the newly subdued khalasars toward the Disputed Lands to support the Golden Company and hurried back to Valyria, worried by Kinvara’s warning.

• Moro Khal led a charge against King Ghidorah, whose three heads devastated the Dothraki riders and mortally wounded Moro.
• Viserys killed Moro’s three Bloodriders, watched Moro die, and had his head displayed to the surviving warriors.
• Viserys offered the Dothraki three choices, and the warriors knelt and hailed him as the Dragonrider Khal and True Dragon Khal.
• Viserys ordered seven surviving kos to march to the Disputed Lands and coordinate with the Golden Company, appointing Tomo to command the khalasars temporarily.
• Viserys rode King Ghidorah back to Valyria because Kinvara’s warning continued to trouble him.

Viserys returned to Dragonwing Castle to find that assassins from the House of the Undying had attacked the young dragons and House Targaryen. The dragons and guards killed the attackers, but Daenerys was trapped behind a door engulfed in magical black flames; Viserys sensed that she was safe.

• Viserys sensed the attack on Dragonwing Castle through his warg sight and sent Blackflame to help.
• The young dragons detected the assassins in the dragonpit and, with the Unsullied, killed the entire team without suffering harm.
• Earl Jon Darry led guards to protect Daenerys, killed several assassins, and was gravely wounded in the fight.
• A dying assassin ignited black liquid outside Daenerys's room, trapping her behind flames that killed anyone who tried to enter.
• Viserys returned to the castle, reassured Rhaenys that Daenerys was safe, and found the guards unable to extinguish the fire.

Viserys rescued Daenerys from her burning room, where he found three newly hatched dragons beside her, and ordered proper honors for the maid and guards who died. He learned that Earl Jon Darry had been poisoned and might not survive, leaving him to recover while Valyria awaited his sword.

• Viserys entered the burning room, found Daenerys unconscious with three hatchling dragons, and carried her to safety.
• Rhaenys and Ashara took Daenerys away with the three dragons, while Viserys recovered the maid's remains and ordered her burial and compensation for the dead guards' families.
• Viserys ordered the room repaired and the castle's defenses strengthened.
• Viserys learned that Earl Jon Darry's wound was poisoned and that his survival was uncertain.
• Viserys assured Earl Jon Darry that Daenerys was safe and urged him to recover.

After Daenerys described Mara’s death and learned that her three dragon eggs had hatched, Viserys prepared a counterstrike against his enemies and launched an expedition to Qarth. The chapter ended with Viserys and Blackflame nearing Qarth’s formidable walls and the House of the Undying.

• Viserys comforted Daenerys, who recounted how Mara died in the magical fire, and confirmed that Vermax, Viserion, and Acmot had hatched.
• Viserys concluded that Daenerys’s blood, the deaths of Mara, guards, and shadow-magic assassins, and the black flames had combined to hatch the eggs.
• Viserys ordered Duke Arthur to ready Free Bay against Volantis and instructed Jon Connington to seize Myr and the Disputed Lands when Volantene armies marched.
• Viserys planned a strike on Qarth, assigning Ser Caste Stone East to lead troops into the city after Viserys destroyed its resistance, while Earl Alliser remained to protect Valyria and the princesses.
• Two days later, Viserys flew southeast on King Ghidorah with Blackflame following, and on the fourth morning they sighted Qarth and its towering walls.

Viserys launched a nighttime dragon assault on Qarth, destroying the House of the Undying and sending Blackflame to burn the merchant princes’ palaces. The attack left Qarth’s streets ablaze as its defenders fled.

• Viserys used his Warg ability to scout Qarth, then approached the city at night with King Ghidorah and Blackflame.
• King Ghidorah blasted through the House of the Undying and fought the summoned shadow creatures while its Shadowbinders sacrificed themselves to empower them.
• Warlocks trapped Viserys in an illusion, but King Ghidorah evaded the shadow hand and Viserys recognized the trick.
• Viserys ordered King Ghidorah to destroy the House of the Undying, killing the Shadowbinders and reducing the building to a burning, frozen crater.
• Blackflame attacked Qarth’s guards and soldiers with dragonfire, setting the streets and nearby buildings ablaze.

Viserys used King Ghidorah and Blackflame to destroy Qarth’s ruling powers and bring the city under the Valyrian Freehold, then returned to Valyria as Volantis and New Ghis prepared to attack. The chapter left the Freehold bracing for war, with its defenses strengthened and Daenerys training her dragonlings.

• Blackflame burned the merchant princes’ palaces while Viserys demanded Qarth surrender the surviving members of the Thirteen and join the Freehold.
• Most Qarth residents swore allegiance, and Viserys executed three captured merchant princes as the remaining rulers were killed or captured.
• Ser Caste’s seven hundred soldiers took control of Qarth, and Viserys established a provisional government before returning to Valyria.
• Volantis and New Ghis moved up their plans and sent a combined fleet of two hundred and twenty warships toward Slaver’s Bay.
• Viserys reached Valyria after two days of travel, where Duke William strengthened defenses and Daenerys trained her three dragonlings.

Clinton’s forces captured Myr, while Moro’s Dothraki destroyed its approaching army and divided to support the campaign against Volantis. After the Golden Company and Dothraki besieged Tyrosh, Volantis’s triarchs debated how to turn the war around and settled on luring Viserys into a trap with their secret weapon.

• Clinton’s infiltrators seized Myr’s eastern gate, allowing the Golden Company to capture the city and raise House Targaryen’s banner.
• Moro’s three Khalasars annihilated Myr’s ten thousand infantry on the Gravel Road, then divided to block the northern cities, reinforce Duke Arthur, and join Clinton.
• Clinton and the Dothraki surrounded Tyrosh by land while Targaryen ships blocked its harbor, forcing the Archon to call his soldiers back inside.
• Naharis told Volantis’s triarchs that Myr had fallen, Tyrosh was cut off, and more than ten thousand Dothraki were heading toward the battlefield.
• Naharis urged the triarchs to use Qarth’s secret weapon to kill Viserys, and they began discussing how to lure him into its reach.

Viserys arrived at a sea battle and used King Ghidorah and Blackflame to defeat the allied fleet, resisting the Dragonbinder’s attempt to disrupt his bond with Blackflame. Three days later, Naharis offered to open Volantis’s eastern gate, but Viserys doubted his sincerity.

• Viserys found ten imperial patrol ships surrounded by thirty allied ships and flew to their aid with King Ghidorah and Blackflame.
• An allied ship sounded Dragonbinder, briefly unsettling Blackflame, but Viserys’s bond calmed the dragon and King Ghidorah remained unaffected.
• Viserys attacked the allied flagship with King Ghidorah, sinking it and nearby ships while allowing some boarding soldiers to surrender.
• Three days later, a messenger delivered Viserys a letter in which Naharis blamed the Tiger Party and offered to open Volantis’s eastern gate.
• Viserys doubted Naharis’s offer and saw no need for an open gate when his dragons could destroy it.

Viserys rejected Naharis's proposal and ordered the Imperial Navy to sail against Volantis. As the fleets met, King Ghidorah and Blackflame terrified the Volantene sailors, but the Scorpion bolts bounced harmlessly off Blackflame.

• Viserys burned Naharis's letter and demanded that Naharis deliver the heads of Vaharis and Malaquo or face trial with the other Tiger Party triarchs.
• Viserys ordered Duke William to assemble the Imperial Navy and sail for Volantis in three days.
• Seven days later, Viserys used his warg ability to scout the Volantene Fleet, which had more than four hundred ships and many Scorpions.
• Mazo Reynal ordered the Volantene Fleet to prepare for battle as the imperial fleet approached.
• King Ghidorah and Blackflame flew at the Volantene ships, spreading panic among their crews.
• Mazo ordered the soldiers to fire their Scorpions, but the bolts bounced off Blackflame.

Viserys and the dragons destroyed the Volantene Fleet, killing its commander Mazo Reynar and securing the sea for the Valyrian Freehold. With the surviving ships captured by Duke Darry’s fleet, Viserys flew with King Ghidorah and Blackflame toward the battlefield in the Land of Long Summer.

• Blackflame and King Ghidorah devastated the Volantene Fleet with dragonfire, Frost Breath, and the Golden Ray, destroying sixteen ships in one attack.
• Mazo Reynar ordered the fleet to retreat to Volantis as Duke William’s Valyrian ships fired volleys into the scattered enemy vessels.
• Viserys sent King Ghidorah after the flagship, the Black Wall, where Mazo ordered the Scorpions to fire before King Ghidorah erased the bolts and destroyed the ship with ice and fire.
• The dragons turned the battle into a massacre, and Duke Darry’s fleet captured two hundred surviving Volantene ships.
• Viserys flew with King Ghidorah and Blackflame toward the battlefield in the Land of Long Summer.

Viserys and Duke Arthur Dayne defeated Volantis's army on the Land of Long Summer after Moro's Dothraki attacked from the rear and King Ghidorah and Blackflame devastated the Volantene ranks. With the army subdued, Viserys ordered a day's rest before marching on Volantis.

• King Ghidorah arrived over the battlefield as Moro led twelve thousand Dothraki Screamers in an attack on the rear of the Volantene army.
• King Ghidorah and Blackflame froze and burned Volantene troops, destroyed their war elephants, and routed their mercenaries.
• King Ghidorah killed General Gehar Morrigen with a Golden Ray, causing the Volantene army to collapse.
• Moro's Dothraki intercepted fleeing soldiers while Duke Arthur Dayne led the imperial forces across the riverbed to pursue them.
• Viserys and Duke Arthur subdued the Volantene army, taking more than fifteen thousand prisoners and large stores of supplies.
• Viserys ordered his forces to rest for a day before marching on Volantis.

Viserys Targaryen’s army surrounded Volantis while the Temple of the Red God secretly prepared to open a gate for him. As Viserys offered the city a chance to surrender, Archon Valerio Vaharis rejected him, leaving the assault poised to begin.

• Duke Arthur’s army and Moro’s cavalry encircled Volantis while Duke William’s fleet blockaded the Rhoyne, and King Ghidorah and Blackflame frightened the defenders.
• High Priest Benerro received Valyria’s approval to support the True Dragon and ordered the Fiery Hand to prepare to open a gate for Viserys.
• The Temple of the Red God secretly gathered a thousand Monk Soldiers and took control of the area around the Black Wall East Gate, promising to open it when Viserys attacked.
• Naharis learned of the Temple’s move and decided to escape Volantis with his son through a secret passage, unaware that the passage was already known.
• Viserys flew to the Black Wall and offered safety to those who surrendered, but Valerio Vaharis refused to yield and mocked his dragons.

Viserys’s forces conquered Volantis, and he killed Naharis Maro after finding him fleeing through a secret passage. With the city under new rule, Viserys turned his attention to the battle between New Ghis and Astapor.

• King Ghidorah and Blackflame devastated Volantis’s walls as Red Priest warriors opened a gate for the invading forces.
• Duke Arthur led the Dothraki through the gate, followed by the Free Folk and the Unsullied, while Viserys flew toward the city center.
• Viserys tracked Naharis Maro to a mansion’s secret passage, killed him and his son, and left the city’s defenders to his forces.
• Targaryen banners rose over Volantis, freed slaves burned their shackles, and the captured Archon Malaquo awaited trial by a Great Council.
• Viserys planned to reach the battlefield between New Ghis and Astapor and capture Astapor before news of Volantis’s fall spread.

Viserys executed Volantis’s leaders, freed its slaves, and left Arthur Dayne to restore order before heading to the Astapor front. There, he planned a coordinated strike against New Ghis after ordering Alliser to draw its forces into a decisive battle.

• Viserys found Malaquo Maegyr and the other convicted nobles guilty, and King Ghidorah burned them before the crowd.
• Viserys declared Volantis’s slaves free and its laws subject to the Empire, then assigned Arthur Dayne to restore order and watch the Temple of the Red God.
• Viserys flew to the Astapor front, where Alliser confessed that the army had lost nearly two thousand men without gaining ground.
• Viserys explained that the campaign was meant to train inexperienced soldiers and identified New Ghis’s Iron Guard as a formidable force.
• Viserys ordered Alliser to draw New Ghis into a decisive battle while Viserys, King Ghidorah, and Blackflame attacked from the rear.
• Both armies formed up on the Salt Flat the next morning.

The Empire’s Free Folk Legion fought New Ghis, and Viserys arrived with King Ghidorah and Blackflame to turn the battle into a massacre. By sunset, New Ghis had been destroyed, but the Empire’s surviving soldiers stood amid the devastation without cheering.

• Daario Naharis, Ben Plumm, and “Bald” Pello prepared the Stormcrows to fight New Ghis as Loraq ordered his army to hold formation and wear down the Free Folk Legion.
• The Free Folk Legion charged New Ghis, and the Stormcrows and Second Sons attacked the enemy flanks while New Ghis’s lines resisted.
• King Ghidorah attacked New Ghis’s rear, destroyed twenty Scorpions with a Golden Ray, and Loraq refused to retreat.
• Blackflame joined the battle, burning through New Ghis’s front lines and killing Loraq as the army continued to advance.
• Viserys brought King Ghidorah to the front, and the Empire’s forces overwhelmed New Ghis, leaving almost no prisoners by sunset.

Viserys ordered King Ghidorah and Blackflame to destroy New Ghis after its people refused to surrender, then led the assault on the Harpy Temple. There he encountered a living Harpy vessel, which escaped into the sky, and sent King Ghidorah after it.

• New Ghis rejected Viserys's offer to surrender, and he ordered King Ghidorah and Blackflame to burn the city.
• The Empire's army entered the ruined city, where survivors launched suicidal attacks and fighting continued through the streets.
• Viserys reached the Harpy Temple and found priests and nobles finishing a blood ritual in a secret chamber.
• King Ghidorah's Golden Ray failed to destroy the Harpy statue, which came alive and attacked Viserys.
• The Harpy escaped through the chamber's ceiling, and Viserys urged King Ghidorah to pursue it.

Viserys defeated the Harpy’s body, claimed Tyrosh without a battle, and appointed Clinton its governor as the Empire’s territory expanded. At a military council, he turned his attention to consolidating the conquered lands and exploiting divisions in Westeros.

• King Ghidorah and Blackflame crippled the Harpy, and King Ghidorah destroyed its head after it offered Viserys a bargain.
• Viserys learned that the god behind the Harpy was somewhere in Sothoryos and ordered Earl Alliser to clear New Ghis, gather its valuables, and establish a small harbor outpost.
• Tyrosh’s factions staged a coup, executed the pro-war grand duke, and surrendered the city to Clinton without a battle.
• Viserys praised Clinton, named him Governor of Tyrosh and an Imperial Marquis, and kept him in command of the Golden Company as it joined the Empire’s legions.
• Two weeks later, Viserys met with Clinton, Duke Arthur, and Duke William to discuss consolidating the Empire’s new territories and stirring political unrest in Westeros.

Viserys planned to destabilize Westeros with rumors about Robert's children and ordered Gray Rat to track Petyr Baelish's contacts. He then laid out an imperial structure for governing conquered territories, standardizing armies and currency, and establishing schools.

• Gray Rat reported that Robert Baratheon was drinking heavily, Jon Arryn was gravely ill, and Tywin Lannister was secretly mobilizing forces.
• Viserys directed Gray Rat to spread veiled rumors about Robert's children's parentage through sailors and singers, and to investigate who Petyr Baelish corresponded with and who carried his messages.
• Viserys assigned governors for the conquered territories, including Arthur Dayne in Free Bay Province, Charlie Longmoss provisionally in Volantis and the Land of Long Summer, and Clinton over Narrow Sea Province and the Golden Legion.
• Viserys outlined rules for royal territories, provincial autonomy, military limits, and a unified currency called Dragon Coins.
• Viserys ordered Imperial Academies to be established in every city to teach children the Common Tongue, arithmetic, imperial law, and Valyrian history.
• Viserys and his advisors continued refining the plans until the empire's governing framework had largely taken shape.