Recaps

Danyla discovered that Myracis could communicate with her telepathically and saw that her magic had forged a new purplish-black variety of dragonstone. At the Stone Yard, Mund Hightower and the other Reach nobles challenged the Skagos youths while considering paying Danyla to take them flying.

• Myracis asked Danyla through their minds whether she was tired, and Danyla realized they could communicate clearly.
• Danyla recovered as her Purple Diamonds released warm energy, then admired the purplish-black dragonstone and planned to experiment again the next day.
• The stonecutters discussed using the new dragonstone for the Fighting Arena Hall, which Samwell and Danyla planned to build in a little over a month.
• Mund Hightower arrived with young Reach nobles and asked whether Danyla had taken Medrick and his brother flying in exchange for donations to White Sheep Town.
• Danyla explained the fee and warned that dragon riding could be dangerous, while the Skagos youths mocked the Reach nobles.
• Mund defended his group, and Dax challenged the Hightowers to pay for a flight as the Skagos youths and Reach nobles traded insults.

Mund Hightower paid Danyla one hundred thousand Gold Dragons to ride Dreamfyre, despite Dax’s taunts and Danyla’s warning that she would accept no responsibility for what happened. Dreamfyre tormented Mund during the flight until he lost his grip and fell from her back.

• Mund Hightower asked Danyla to let him ride Dreamfyre and promised to pay one hundred thousand Gold Dragons.
• Danyla warned Mund that she would not take responsibility for any mishap, then helped him onto Dreamfyre despite the dragon’s resistance.
• Dreamfyre took off with Danyla and Mund, while Myracis followed them through the sky.
• Mund shouted that flying was wonderful, irritating Dreamfyre as she climbed sharply into the clouds and performed violent aerial maneuvers.
• Dreamfyre dived at high speed, and Mund lost his grip on her spines and fell from her back.

Danyla’s dragon ride with Mund Hightower ended in a frightening mishap, and she returned him to the stoneworks before taking Dax to see the recovered unicorns. There, Danyla discovered Dax could control the creatures and challenged him about the Skagosi boys’ warg abilities as Myracis flew to her side.

• Dreamfyre caught Mund Hightower after he fell, then dunked him in the sea when he wet himself, while Danyla stopped her from harming him.
• Danyla brought Mund back to the stoneworks, gave him injury ointment, and told him to send Samwell a promissory note for one hundred thousand gold dragons.
• Dax suspected Mund had made advances toward Danyla, then invited her to visit the recovered unicorns; Mund ordered rare animals brought in to compete with the Skagos boys.
• Dax used his skinchanger ability to calm and control the unicorns, prompting Danyla to ask whether the Skagosi boys were wargs as Myracis flew toward her.

Danyla confronted Dax about his approach and learned how his Warg gift connected him to two Children of the Forest and their warning that the Gods might destroy those who changed the future. She remained wary of Dax but asked him to bring the Children of the Forest to her, while Dax affirmed that he wanted to resist fate through their own power.

• Myracis shielded Danyla from Dax, and Danyla threatened to let the dragon eat him unless he explained his intentions.
• Dax swore to tell the truth and recounted how he had rescued Herb and Watcher, two Children of the Forest, ten years earlier and later became a Warg.
• Dax explained that Watcher had awakened Greensight and dreamed that Danyla, Dax, and the Children of the Forest were not meant to exist in the future.
• Myracis attacked Dax with dragonfire when Danyla grew afraid, but Danyla calmed her before Dax was hurt.
• Danyla told Dax to bring Herb and Watcher to her and said she would not entrust her future to the Gods.
• Dax told Danyla he had come to Dragonstone because he refused to bow to fate and believed their own power could protect them.

Danyla met the Children of the Forest, Watcher and Herb, and discussed her hope for humans and the ancient races to share the land. Their song showed her visions of Westeros’s lost peoples and the First Men’s arrival, until a White Mist from the Lands of Always Winter startled her awake.

• Danyla calmed the two young unicorns while waiting for Watcher and Herb to arrive with the Skagos youths.
• Watcher recounted how the Children of the Forest and other magical peoples were dwindling as humanity spread across Westeros.
• Danyla argued that a strong, benevolent human kingdom could protect the Children of the Forest, Giants, and other creatures.
• Watcher and Herb sang in the Old Tongue, drawing Danyla and the others into a vision of ancient Westeros.
• Danyla witnessed ancient races disappear, the First Men arrive and fight the Children of the Forest and Giants, and a White Mist descend from the Lands of Always Winter before she woke.

Danyla confronted Watcher about the White Walkers and urged the Children of the Forest and the young wargs to trust her as they sought to change their fate. After accepting the youths’ oaths, she planned to plant a newly sprouted weirwood seed beside her future castle on Dragonstone.

• Danyla questioned Watcher about the danger in the Lands of Always Winter and challenged the Children of the Forest’s belief that visions and the gods could guide fate.
• Watcher said she was not a Greenseer but had seen visions through the weirwoods, and that she and Herb believed Danyla’s birth had changed their fate.
• Dax and the other five youths from Skagos knelt and pledged their allegiance to Danyla, who accepted their oaths and told them to prove their loyalty through their actions.
• Herb showed Danyla a weirwood seed that had sprouted during the earth chant, and Danyla proposed planting it near her future castle behind White Sheep Town.

Danyla planted a weirwood seed at her chosen castle site, then discovered she could chant a spell that transformed the tree after it absorbed Myracis's blood. Watcher questioned how Danyla knew the Old Gods' ritual, and she said she had understood it while listening to the Children of the Forest chant.

• Danyla brought the youths from Skagos and Herb and Watcher to the castle site, where Herb planted the weirwood seed.
• Herb and Watcher fed the sprout their blood and chanted, prompting Danyla to cut her palm and join them as a spell in High Valyria came to her mind.
• Danyla sensed a connection to the weirwood and tested her theory by dripping Myracis's blood near it and chanting the spell.
• The weirwood absorbed Myracis's blood, grew to over a foot tall, and developed striped branches and claw-shaped leaves.
• Watcher asked Danyla how she knew the Old Gods' blood sacrifice ritual, and she replied that she had understood it as they chanted.

Danyla discovered that the newly planted weirwood gathered magical energy and formed bonds with several dragons, then guarded it with Myracis and a stone enclosure. As the tournament approached, she trained the Skagos boys and learned archery, using blunt arrows to sharpen her dragons’ ability to dodge danger.

• Danyla sensed the weirwood gathering magical energy and, with the Children of the Forest, bonded Dreamfyre, Grey Ghost, and the other dragons to it using dragon blood.
• Myracis moved her gemstones beside the weirwood and guarded it, while Danyla and Dreamfyre raised a ring of dragonstone around the tree.
• After the Skagos boys pledged loyalty to Danyla, she gave them armor, swords, and horses and had Bronn drill them for the coming tournament.
• Danyla began learning archery from Watcher and became accurate enough to hit her targets after three days of practice.
• Danyla shot blunt arrows at Myracis, Grey Ghost, and the other dragons, striking some of their eyelids and teaching them to dodge arrows and heed danger.

Danyla’s improved warhorses and the Skagos youths’ fighting skills impressed the Dragon Guards and spurred the young warriors to train harder. Meanwhile, Westerosi noble youths competed for status at Dragonkiss Garden, where the Lannister brothers mocked Mund Hightower over his humiliating dragon ride.

• Danyla’s selective breeding and enriched feed produced powerful, unruly warhorses that only the Skagos youths and a few experienced riders could tame.
• Dax defeated the Dragon Guards in combat, while Bayer, Wolf, Wolfor, Ygr, and Kai displayed their distinct strengths and trained with weapons and equipment Danyla provided.
• The Dragon Guards befriended the Skagos youths after seeing them tame the fiercest horses, and Dax became their leader.
• Mund Hightower bragged about riding a dragon and offered to pay everyone’s bill at Dragonkiss Garden.
• Jason and Tyland Lannister mocked Mund over Dreamfyre throwing him into the sea, and Mund stormed out after smashing his wine cup.
• The madam called after Mund to remind him that he had to pay separately for the broken cup.

Danyla discovered that Dreamfyre’s vision revealed magical energy and that only one of five dragon eggs showed signs of a soul. She established a cremation tower in White Sheep Town to encourage cremation, and after an old Dragonkeeper’s funeral, a soul stirred within the egg hidden in its furnace.

• Danyla entered Dreamfyre’s consciousness, saw magical energy in rubies and dragon eggs, and found that only the black egg showed a faint stirring of a soul.
• Danyla heard her attendants gossip about Rhaenyra’s failed attempt to take Harwin Strong flying on Syrax.
• Danyla proposed cremation in White Sheep Town, offering a silver coin to anyone who used the cremation tower and forbidding burial on her lands.
• Danyla used Dreamfyre and Myracis to fire stone for the tower, which was completed three days later with a ruby atop it and a red dragon egg concealed in its furnace.
• After an old Dragonkeeper from Fisherman’s Village was cremated at the tower, Danyla saw a soul begin to stir within the hidden dragon egg.

Danyla moved the Dragon Eggs into the Cremation Tower and discovered in a dragon dream that the weirwood fed Myracis both magical energy and a cold force. When the Three-Eyed Crow attacked her through the dream, Danyla and Myracis fought back, leaving the Crow trapped and its crows devoured.

• Danyla placed all five Dragon Eggs and precious stones in the Cremation Tower, while cremation grew popular and smugglers began bringing corpses to White Sheep Town.
• Danyla saw through Myracis's eyes that the weirwood absorbed fiery and cold energy, strengthening Myracis's body and soul.
• The Three-Eyed Crow appeared on the weirwood, separated Danyla from Myracis, and attacked her in the dream.
• Myracis burned the Crow's flock with dragonfire strengthened by Danyla's spell, and Danyla ordered her to eat the charred crows.
• Danyla threatened the weirwood, which cut off the Three-Eyed Crow's connection; the Crow realized he was trapped, while Myracis devoured the remaining crows.

After Danyla’s weirwood encounter left the Three-Eyed Crow consumed and the ancient trees weakened, she resolved to grow stronger. Her first period hastened young nobles’ journeys to the tournament, while the worsening succession dispute drew lords into rival factions around King Jaehaerys.

• Myracis devoured the Three-Eyed Crow, and ancient weirwoods across Westeros began to wither as the tree on New Dragonstone Island grew rapidly.
• Danyla sensed her perception and senses improve, then woke from a dream to find that her first period had begun; Rhaella and Aemma cared for her.
• Danyla spent five or six days recovering, and ravens carried news of her coming of age across Westeros, speeding young nobles toward the tournament.
• King Jaehaerys’s health continued to decline, though Dragonfire Wine and the company of Audrey and Alicent brought him some relief.
• Corlys Velaryon and Daemon maneuvered in King’s Landing, while Lord Boremund and Corlys gathered support for Rhaenys and her children as the succession debate intensified.

Danyla finished forging the dragonstone needed for White Sheep Town’s Fighting Arena and heard that the tournament preparations were straining the town’s security and housing. Samwell explained why many displaced people preferred remaining free rather than registering as subjects, and the chapter outlined Westeros’s social hierarchy.

• Danyla visited the Stone Yard and used Dreamfyre to forge the remaining dragonstone for the nearly completed Fighting Arena.
• Danyla met with Samwell, Medrick, Cameron, Anne, and others, who reported on the arriving nobles, lodging arrangements, and the need for more security.
• Samwell told Danyla that many displaced people refused to become subjects because they had fled persecution, taxes, military service, or forced labor.
• The chapter described Westeros’s hierarchy, from King Jaehaerys Targaryen and the nobility to freemen, subjects, and marginalized people, as well as the roles of the Faith and the Citadel.

Danyla ordered construction of Danyla Castle to provide work for White Sheep Town’s displaced people and heard that a trading fleet had returned from Qarth with people, animals, and cargo. Cannibal’s roar then drew her to the shore, where she found guards slaughtered and armed men fleeing by boat.

• Danyla authorized construction of Danyla Castle after the tournament grounds were completed, creating more jobs for displaced people.
• Samwell reported that castrating warhorses and livestock had made them more docile without harming their strength or growth.
• Cameron told Danyla that the fleet had returned from Qarth with Unsullied, gladiators, artisans, elephants, and exotic beasts, and that eight ships had been lost.
• Danyla flew to Cannibal after he roared, while Cameron led the Dragon Guards and White Sheep Town Watch toward the shore.
• Danyla found the guards dead or bound, mercenaries burned by Cannibal’s dragonfire, and two silver-haired noblemen and a middle-aged man retreating toward boats.

Danyla captured Princess Senyra’s three sons after they tried to approach Cannibal, and discovered that they had brought valuable Valyrian steel weapons and armor. She ordered the wounded treated and her fallen guards’ families compensated, then left Saewan’s fate uncertain as Herb tried to save him.

• Danyla used Dreamfyre to set the bandits’ ships ablaze, block their escape, and force the survivors to surrender.
• Cameron presented Cetherys Megaya’s Valyrian steel sword, Sweet Widow, and dagger to Danyla, who learned that Cetherys was Maradona’s son.
• Herb reported that only five of Danyla’s soldiers had survived, and Danyla ordered proper care for the wounded and extra compensation for the dead soldiers’ families.
• Cetherys identified Setu and the gravely burned Saewan as his half-brothers and fellow sons of Princess Senyra.
• Danyla ordered Herb to try to save Saewan and had the Dragon Guards remove his intact armor, which she recognized as Valyrian steel.

Danyla questioned Gaemon about helping outsiders attempt to steal House Targaryen’s dragons, then ordered the suspects imprisoned and the princess’s three bastards kept under guard. She later distracted Cannibal so her men could recover weapons from within his reach, including a Valyrian steel great axe.

• Danyla learned that Gaemon was descended from a bastard of Gaemon Targaryen and accused him of betraying House Targaryen by guiding the dragon thieves.
• Danyla ordered Cameron to house Princess Senyra’s three bastards under close watch, imprison Gaemon and the others, and investigate Gaemon’s family and associates.
• Danyla went with her companions to check on Cannibal, who was chained, enraged, and devouring people he had burned.
• Watcher spotted scattered weapons near Cannibal and identified a great axe that appeared to be made of Valyrian steel.
• Dax brought old cattle and horses to lure Cannibal away while the Wolfor Brothers and Kai retrieved the weapons, and Danyla lifted the Valyrian steel great axe.

After discovering the Valyrian battle-axe Bone Splitter, Danyla dreamed of ancient Valyrians forging Valyrian steel through spells and the sacrifice of slaves and a dragon. Disturbed by what she learned, she flew to King's Landing to ask her great-grandfather, King Jaehaerys, about House Targaryen's lost Valyrian knowledge.

• Danyla examined the Valyrian battle-axe Bone Splitter and returned to Dragonstone Castle with Herb and Watcher and the weapons Sweet Widow and Firefall.
• Danyla dreamed of ancient Valyrians using dragonfire, spells, slaves, and a young dragon's corpse to forge Valyrian steel.
• Danyla learned the forging and blood-sacrifice spells in the dream, then woke shaken and reconsidered her treasured weapons.
• Danyla flew to King's Landing, believing King Jaehaerys might explain what House Targaryen knew about forging Valyrian steel and dragonstone.

Danyla questioned King Jaehaerys about Sweet Widow and House Iperian, prompting him to teach her the principles of ruling. After spending the day with him, she borrowed Blackfyre and Dark Sister and dreamed again of Valyrian steel being forged, where she witnessed something bizarre.

• King Jaehaerys recognized Sweet Widow’s inscriptions as the words of House Iperian, one of Old Valyria’s three greatest dragonlord houses.
• King Jaehaerys warned Danyla that greed for Valyria’s dragons, magic, weapons, and wealth had driven the deaths of many dragonlords’ descendants.
• Danyla asked whether House Targaryen had deliberately let Old Valyria’s knowledge disappear, and King Jaehaerys responded by teaching her how a ruler should judge and employ people.
• King Jaehaerys spent the day teaching Danyla about governing, and she accompanied him through dinner and an evening walk.
• Danyla borrowed Blackfyre and Dark Sister, then dreamed of Valyrians forging Valyrian steel and witnessed something bizarre.

Danyla dreamed of Valyria’s past and heard Daenys say she would lead the Valyrians home, prompting King Jaehaerys to reveal the ancient history of the Great Empire of the Dawn. He left her with a warning about the rise and fall of powers and the darkness that follows light.

• Danyla dreamed of a hooded figure promising a silver-haired man that his family would be protected if they avoided slavery.
• Danyla saw Daenys in ancient Valyria, and Daenys told her she would lead them home.
• Danyla told King Jaehaerys about the dream, and he urgently asked whether Daenys had said those words.
• Jaehaerys told Danyla that Valyrian dragonlord blood descended from the Amethyst Empress of the Great Empire of the Dawn.
• Jaehaerys recounted how the Bloodstone Emperor’s betrayal and dark sorcery brought on the Long Night, and how Yi-Ti wielded Lightbringer to restore the light.
• Jaehaerys warned Danyla that all powers eventually declined and that people often hid in the darkness of others.

Danyla discussed Valyria’s history and her ambitions with King Jaehaerys, then advised him on the succession after her grandfather’s death. She proposed rules to preserve the Targaryen name and prevent dragonriders from fighting, leaving Jaehaerys impressed by her foresight.

• King Jaehaerys recounted Valyria’s rise and Doom, explaining how the dragonlord families’ atrocities cost them the people’s support.
• Danyla asked why Valyrian history had not been preserved in books, and Jaehaerys praised her wisdom and joked that he would have named her Prince of Dragonstone.
• Danyla declared that she would rather claim new lands in Essos or Sothoryos than fight Westerosi lords for the Seven Kingdoms.
• Jaehaerys told Danyla that Vaegon had refused to become Prince of Dragonstone and had suggested holding a Great Council to choose the next heir.
• Danyla warned that choosing her father or Princess Rhaenys could create future succession disputes and divide House Targaryen from the Velaryons.
• Danyla proposed that a queen’s husband and children take the Targaryen name, that her husband have no governing role, and that Dragon Warriors be forbidden to fight one another.

Danyla and Jaehaerys mocked Otto Hightower after he tried to redirect her studies, and Jaehaerys then sent Alicent to attend to Daemon. The chapter ended with Alicent agreeing despite her visible anxiety.

• Danyla spent the previous night discussing governance with Jaehaerys and returned to his study the next day with flowers.
• Otto delivered documents and urged Jaehaerys to rest, then suggested that Danyla study with maesters instead of the king.
• Danyla and Audrey sarcastically told Otto to tackle the rats in the Red Keep and King's Landing's filth, and Jaehaerys ordered him to prioritize those problems.
• Jaehaerys showed Danyla how he rearranged document stacks to frustrate those who tried to control what he read.
• Jaehaerys ordered Alicent to look after Daemon until he appointed someone else, and Alicent reluctantly agreed.

King Jaehaerys told Danyla the Targaryen prophecy of A Song of Ice and Fire and asked her to protect her softhearted father, Viserys. Danyla then asked him to name her new island and grant her the title of princess.

• After Alicent left, Danyla massaged King Jaehaerys's shoulders and explained why she distrusted Otto.
• Jaehaerys recounted the Targaryen history behind Aegon's prophecy, A Song of Ice and Fire, and said he still believed it.
• Jaehaerys explained that the prophecy was bound to royal power and revealed he had shared it with Danyla so she could protect Viserys.
• Danyla protested that she was kindhearted and suggested Rhaenyra instead, but Jaehaerys praised her influence and asked her to keep troublesome lords in line.
• Danyla asked Jaehaerys to help name her new island and grant her the title of princess.

Danyla secured King Jaehaerys’s approval to name New Dragonstone Island Holy Flame Island and receive the title Prince of the Holy Flame. He recounted Queen Alysanne’s journey through the North and urged Danyla to build a circle of dependable allies as she pursued rule.

• King Jaehaerys agreed to rename New Dragonstone Island Holy Flame Island and announce Danyla’s title at the tournament.
• King Jaehaerys warned Danyla about the dangers and rival powers of Essos, then recalled traveling north with Alysanne when they were young.
• King Jaehaerys described how Alysanne won Duke Alaric Stark’s respect and helped the Night’s Watch, including by supporting the construction of Deep Lake.
• King Jaehaerys explained that Alysanne’s mediation eased their northern tour, though House Stark remained resentful over lands granted to the Night’s Watch.
• Danyla praised Medrick as a capable friend and future Hand, while privately rejecting romance as a distraction from becoming queen.
• King Jaehaerys encouraged Danyla to cultivate Medrick, Dax, and other trustworthy allies because female rulers faced a difficult path.

Danyla reflected on her time with Jaehaerys before attending her first Small Council meeting as his cupbearer. When Otto Hightower challenged her handling of thieves from Volantis, she defended her authority over Dragonstone and criticized the council for lacking a Master of Laws.

• Danyla concluded that House Targaryen had prepared for the Doom of Valyria and had opposed slavery, though she still lacked proof of its connection to the disaster.
• Jaehaerys brought Danyla to the Small Council meeting as his cupbearer, where Otto Hightower, Grand Maester Runeter, Lyman Beesbury, and Ser Ryan Redwyne were present.
• Otto proposed bringing the Volantene thieves Danyla had imprisoned to King's Landing for trial and questioning whether Volantis had provoked the incident.
• Jaehaerys said Danyla had already reported the matter to him and had handled it well, dismissing the need for the council to intervene.
• Danyla told Otto that the laws gave her authority over thefts on Dragonstone and urged Jaehaerys to appoint a Master of Laws, rebuking Otto for failing to fill the council's vacant seats.

Danyla defended Holy Flame Island from Otto Hightower’s attempt to bring its affairs before the Small Council, then urged the council to address the rats and poor sanitation in King’s Landing. As the council turned to filling vacant seats, she proposed Lady Florence Fossoway as Master of Laws despite objections that no woman had served on the council before.

• Danyla argued that the Small Council had no authority over Cannibal or Holy Flame Island’s private affairs, and Grand Maester Runeter and Lord Lyman Beesbury supported her.
• King Jaehaerys ruled that the council must not interfere, ending Otto Hightower’s complaint.
• Danyla reminded Otto to deal with the rats in the Red Keep and the worsening sanitation in King’s Landing, warning of the dangers to the city’s wells and drains.
• King Jaehaerys praised Danyla, and the council began discussing candidates for its vacant seats.
• Danyla recommended Lady Florence Fossoway as Master of Laws, and she argued that the role should go to whoever could do the job well, regardless of gender.