Chapter Summaries

Viserys and Daenerys asked Maester Aemon to help interpret the blood-colored runes found beyond the Wall. Sam’s research suggested the Night’s King was using an ancient sacrificial ritual to create more Others before Viserys could secure the Wall.

• Maester Aemon compared Daenerys favorably to Rhaegar and praised Viserys for teaching her to survive and rule.
• Viserys asked Maester Aemon for help understanding the blood-colored runes discovered beyond the Wall.
• Sam presented records of ancient rituals that used sacrifices and rune circles to create Others and wights.
• Viserys connected the ritual’s circle of seven to twelve victims to the dozen corpses Beric’s squad had found.
• Maester Aemon deduced that the Night’s King was hastening to create Others because Viserys’s dragon threatened to seal the Wall.

Viserys and Maester Aemon discussed the Night's King's possible purpose and searched for records about sacrifices that might help stop him. Viserys then took Aemon and Daenerys outside for some sunlight, where he sheltered them from the cold in Castle Black's courtyard.

• Viserys warned that the Night's King might seek more than Others as servants, and Maester Aemon recalled damaged ancient records hinting at a greater darkness.
• Viserys asked Samwell to search the scrolls for clues and told Maester Aemon to gather every surviving record concerning sacrifices.
• Viserys invited Maester Aemon to take a walk and opened the shutters to let sunlight into the room.
• Viserys supported Maester Aemon and led him and Daenerys out of the Maester's Tower.
• Viserys seated Maester Aemon on sheltered steps in Castle Black's courtyard and stood between him, Daenerys, and the cold wind.

At Castle Black, Viserys told Aemon that protecting Westeros from the beings beyond the Wall mattered more than claiming the Iron Throne. He offered Aemon a chance to ride Daenerys's dragons, but Aemon declined, accepting his life and saying he did not want a false glory in his final days.

• Aemon remarked on the cold, death-filled scenery at Castle Black, and Viserys answered that life persisted there because people fought all the harder against death.
• Aemon observed that Viserys had become a responsible leader, and Viserys said the threat beyond the Wall mattered more than the Iron Throne.
• Aemon agreed that protecting the kingdom's people was the true essence of power and expressed confidence in Viserys's future.
• Viserys offered to let Aemon experience riding Daenerys's dragons, but Aemon refused because he was old and had never formed a bond with a dragon.
• Aemon said he had no regrets about his life and would not accept a dragon ride as a substitute for an experience that had never been his, while Daenerys listened with reddening eyes.

Viserys and Daenerys brought Aemon to meet the dragons, where he felt their warmth and recognized them as guardians rather than beasts of war. Three dragons flew south to hunt in the Wolfswood, while Aemon remained with King Ghidorah, comforted by their acceptance of his Targaryen blood.

• Viserys and Daenerys led Aemon from Castle Black to meet the four dragons.
• King Ghidorah lowered her heads toward Aemon, and Viserion let him touch its warm scales with Daenerys's help.
• Vermithor and Acmot joined them, surrounding Aemon, Viserys, and Daenerys with warmth.
• Daenerys explained that the dragons recognized Aemon by his Targaryen blood and affinity.
• Three dragons took flight toward the Wolfswood to hunt, while Aemon described the dragons as ancient guardians.

Aemon warned Viserys about the danger of keeping the Horn of Winter at Castle Black, while Viserys concealed his plans for the horn. Aemon then revealed that Brynden Raven, known as Bloodraven, had once served as Lord Commander before disappearing Beyond the Wall.

• Aemon told Viserys he now understood his withdrawal from the throne as another way of protecting House Targaryen’s legacy.
• Viserys confirmed he had obtained the Horn of Winter from the Greenseer and planned to keep it at Castle Black under the Night’s Watch’s watch.
• Aemon warned that the horn could destroy the Wall and that the Night’s Watch might not resist the temptation to use it.
• Viserys concealed his intention to draw attention to the horn and potentially use it to weaken the other kingdoms, reassuring Aemon that it was sealed and difficult to use.
• Aemon explained that he had once thought Greenseers were myths and recalled that Brynden Raven had come to the Wall with him, become Lord Commander, and later disappeared Beyond the Wall.

Aemon told Viserys how Brynden vanished beyond the Wall and later appeared to him as the Three-Eyed Crow, warning that fire and blood would bring light during the Long Night. After Viserys reviewed Samwell’s research, he and Daenerys rode the lift to the top of the Wall.

• Aemon recalled that Brynden had spoken of the weirwoods, sought forgotten knowledge, and disappeared with his Night’s Watch party.
• Aemon said Brynden later appeared as the Three-Eyed Crow and warned him that fire and blood would bring light when the Long Night fell.
• Aemon warned Viserys that Brynden’s gift of the Horn of Winter carried a responsibility and might demand an unseen price.
• Samwell presented Viserys with records about First Men ruins, sacrifices, and the Last Hero, and Viserys encouraged him to continue his research.
• Viserys and Daenerys stayed near Castle Black, then took the lift to the top of the Wall and were struck by its immense height.

Viserys and Daenerys stood atop the Wall, where Viserys sensed a call and suspected the Wall both guarded against the Others and suppressed beings in the south. He ordered preparations for a ceremony and an inspection of the lift, then returned to Castle Black with Daenerys to consult Sam about ancient books as his plan involving the Horn of Winter took shape.

• Daenerys admired the Wall from above, while Viserys felt faint tremors in its ice and Lord Commander Mormont reflected on its meaning to the Night's Watch.
• Viserys told Mormont they might need to take the offensive against the Long Night and ordered a ceremony that night and an inspection of the lift's winch.
• Daenerys asked what Viserys had sensed, and he said the Wall had called to him and might be suppressing beings in the south.
• Daenerys vowed to face what lay ahead with Viserys, and he said he would make sure every piece was in place before the Long Night.
• Viserys and Daenerys descended to Castle Black and headed for the Maester's Tower to see whether Sam had found useful clues in ancient books.

Sam compared records of the Long Night and found evidence that an earlier account had been deliberately erased. Viserys suggested House Stark might be connected to the concealed history, leaving Sam and Maester Aemon weighing the dangerous accusation.

• Sam told Viserys and Daenerys that Night's Watch records called the Long Night the second coming of the Others, while Winterfell's records omitted any earlier one.
• Sam pointed out that the records shared similar wording but gave opposite meanings, and Maester Aemon agreed that later generations might have altered them to conceal the truth.
• Viserys reasoned that whoever erased the history must have held great authority and hinted that House Stark had controlled the records.
• Sam asked whether House Stark had been involved in the erased history, and Maester Aemon warned him not to make accusations without solid evidence.
• Viserys ignored Aemon's caution, released Daenerys's hand, and tapped the desk to draw everyone's attention.

Viserys directed Sam and Maester Aemon to investigate obscure Citadel accounts of the Long Night and possible alterations to Winterfell’s records. The chapter left Daenerys suspecting that Viserys was also using the inquiry to build leverage over House Stark.

• Viserys asked Maester Aemon about unofficial Long Night accounts, and Aemon recalled forbidden books on blood magic and ancient pacts at the Citadel.
• Viserys ordered Sam to use his Oldtown connections to seek the forbidden books, and Sam reluctantly agreed despite his fear of his father, Randyll Tarly.
• Viserys told Sam to keep investigating Winterfell’s records and asked Aemon to identify living Citadel contacts who studied the occult.
• Viserys instructed Sam and Aemon to write discreetly without naming House Stark as the subject of their investigation.
• Daenerys realized Viserys was seeking both knowledge about the Others and a way to gain leverage over House Stark.

Viserys explained to Daenerys that he planned to expose House Stark’s secret without destroying its bloodline, using Arya and Sansa to reshape the North under Targaryen rule. He then took Daenerys to watch the Night’s Watch recruits train at Castle Black, where Dareon abruptly halted the yard.

• Viserys told Sam to send letters cautiously and urged Maester Aemon to prepare for the Others’ growing activity Beyond the Wall.
• Viserys explained that exposing House Stark’s secret would strip the family of its unquestioned honor, while Arya and Sansa could help secure the North for the Targaryens.
• Daenerys agreed to help Viserys guide Arya and Sansa into becoming representatives of Targaryen power in the North.
• Viserys took Daenerys to watch the Night’s Watch recruits train under Dareon at Castle Black.
• Dareon commanded the recruits to stop, and the Training Ground fell silent.

Viserys explained why he planned to build an army from southern prisoners rather than rely on northern levies. Jarman Buckwell returned to Castle Black with news that wights had overrun Caste's Castle and were appearing along the roads, while Beric Dondarrion remained behind to investigate.

• Dareon corrected a nervous southern recruit and told the prisoners to adapt their fighting to the cold and prioritize survival.
• Daenerys questioned whether the southern prisoners could defend against the Others, and Viserys explained that their desperation made them useful recruits for an army loyal to the Iron Throne.
• A warning horn sounded as Jarman Buckwell and other Rangers returned to Castle Black in alarm.
• Jarman told Viserys that wights had passed through Caste's Castle and that Beric Dondarrion had taken some Rangers there to investigate and seek survivors.
• Jarman reported encountering wights repeatedly on the return journey and said the Black Brothers who had fled Caste's Castle could provide more details.