Chapter Summaries

After succeeding in dragonriding, Borros threatened the nobles, dismissed Laena’s warnings, and decided to attack House Frey to make the world fear him. As Borros and the Velaryons flew off, Jason freed Tyland, who called Borros the greatest fool among those with Great Dragon blood.

• Borros threatened the nobles and declared that old marriage agreements were void now that they had succeeded in dragonriding.
• Laena warned Borros that breaking the nature contract and attacking allies could bring disaster, but he brushed aside her objections.
• Borros proposed burning the Eyrie, and Urron Peake persuaded him to target House Frey instead.
• Borros ordered Laena and Laenor to follow him on their Great Dragons as he flew off to attack House Frey.
• Jason freed Tyland from the tree, and Tyland said Borros was the biggest fool in the Great Dragon bloodline.

Borros used the God of Darkness to attack Riverrun, unleashing dragonfire on the city despite efforts to restrain the Great Dragons. The assault left Riverrun burning as its people fled or died in the flames.

• Tyland told Jason that Borros would use his new status as a dragonrider to pursue Laena and claim the Iron Throne, while Jason agreed that House Lannister had escaped the consequences of the broken Nature Contract.
• Tyland recalled that the Green-Eyed Dwarf had intercepted most of his reports, though the intelligence that reached Danyla helped her suppress hidden threats across the realm.
• After Borros and the others flew away, Jason led several hundred Westerlands soldiers down the mountain.
• Lord Frey woke to a dragon’s roar and led Riverrun’s people toward the outskirts after they had been warned to flee.
• Borros ordered the God of Darkness to burn Riverrun, destroying its walls and setting the city ablaze while people tried to escape.
• Lannal and Laenor tried to restrain their Great Dragons, but the dragons continued attacking Riverrun as Laena cried out in alarm.

Lord Frey escaped Riverrun as dragonfire consumed the castle, but Borros’s attack was interrupted when wildfire destroyed House Frey’s main keep. The blast badly injured the dragons, killed Laenor, and left Laena desperately searching for her brother.

• Lord Frey fled Riverrun by boat and vowed that House Frey would avenge the deaths of its residents.
• Laena guided the Red Princess toward livestock, while Laenor’s Purple Prince fed on people and animals in the streets.
• Borros set House Frey’s main keep ablaze, but a wildfire explosion engulfed the God of Darkness and hurled Borros through the air.
• The blast injured the Purple Prince and ignited the weirwoods on his body, while Laenor was killed by a flying sickle and burned to ash.
• Laena brought the Red Princess to the wounded Purple Prince and cried out for Laenor when she saw that he was gone.

As a storm battered Eyriehold, Bennard returned with five direwolf pups and news that a powerful Greenseer had been involved in the Riverlands unrest and might control dragons. Danyla tried to win the pups’ trust, but one bit her finger, while Laena struggled to rise in a ruined building in Riverrun, bleeding onto the bedding.

• Danyla and Bethany fed the Red Shadow Leopard cubs and cared for them while rain and cold swept through Eyriehold.
• Bennard returned drenched with five direwolf pups and explained that he had found them after their mother died and Dreamling was injured.
• Watcher arrived with Dreamling, and the group discussed a powerful Greenseer linked to the Riverlands unrest who claimed to control multiple dragons in the Mountains of the Moon.
• Danyla fed the wary direwolf pups and used the Valyria Shepherd's Song to calm them, but the white, red-eyed pup bit her finger.
• Laena struggled to sit up in a ruined building in Riverrun as blood stained the animal-hide bedding beneath her.

Laena endured Borros’s abuse while King Jaehaerys prepared for the threat of three enormous dragons. After receiving news of Riverrun’s destruction, Daemon accused House Baratheon of treason and demanded that its vassals choose sides.

• Laena drank the fish soup and vowed that Borros would never control her.
• King Jaehaerys learned that Borros and two other dragonriders had destroyed Riverrun, then ordered the Targaryen dragonriders to assemble and arranged refuge for Aegon and his brothers.
• King Jaehaerys feared that three fully grown dragons could overwhelm the dragons available to oppose them, despite Oggian’s confidence in Danyla’s forces.
• At a feast in Storm’s End, Daemon received a secret letter from a Firefeather Falcon and learned that Borros had burned Riverrun.
• Daemon drew Dark Night and challenged House Baratheon’s vassals to choose between loyalty to their liege and joining him against the rebels.

Daemon confronted the Stormlands nobles at Storm's End and demanded their support, citing Borros's alleged destruction of Riverrun. After the nobles split over whether to aid him, Daemon seized Boremund by force, leaving the hall in panic.

• Earl Clinton drew his sword to protect Aemond and challenged Daemon's claims about Borros and the dragon attack on Riverrun.
• Lord Swann and several Dornish Marches nobles declared support for Daemon, while Earl Dondarrion asked what would happen to Duke Edmund.
• The nobles divided into factions as Lord Swann denounced Borros and Earl Clinton defended House Baratheon; Earl Ellor and Earl Buckler also disputed how to respond.
• A Baratheon loyalist ordered Daemon to leave Storm's End, but Daemon said the decision was no longer theirs.
• Quicksilver swept aside Earl Clinton and the men guarding Boremund, and Daemon cut Edmund's ankle tendons with Dark Night before knocking him unconscious.

Daemon captured Storm's End with Quicksilver and left Earl Estermont and the allied Stormlands nobles to subdue the houses loyal to House Baratheon. After they defeated the rebel forces and took several castles, three Great Dragons joined the campaign and began attacking Griffin's Roost.

• Quicksilver burned and devoured Earl Clinton as Daemon's allies seized Storm's End, and Daemon ordered the nobles to confiscate rebel lands and wealth.
• Daemon flew to King's Landing with Edmund while Earl Estermont took command of Storm's End with Dragon Guards and Unsullied.
• Earl Estermont devised a plan to summon rebel forces to Storm's End, and the allied army defeated their main forces before capturing several nearby castles.
• Lord Swann's army reached Griffin's Roost and prepared to attack the stronghold with help from Great Dragons.
• Little Balerion, Vhagar, and Grey Ghost set Griffin's Roost's gate and towers ablaze, killing guards and devouring two burning soldiers.

Little Balerion and two other dragons helped Lord Swann’s allied forces capture Griffin’s Roost and crush House Baratheon’s remaining loyalists. Countess Clinton and her children were captured, while Lord Swann kept quiet about the red-feathered falcon that seemed to command the dragons.

• Little Balerion burned through Griffin’s Roost’s gates and devoured the guards, then flew with the other dragons to feast on livestock.
• The red-feathered falcon called from the eastern tower, and the dragons flew toward it as Lord Swann’s forces took the castle and its surviving defenders surrendered.
• Countess Clinton tried to escape with her children by boat, but Little Balerion and the other dragons confronted them on the beach.
• Earl Morrigen urged Countess Clinton to surrender, and she accused House Baratheon of treachery and violating guest right before being taken into custody.
• Lord Swann’s allied forces captured House Baratheon’s remaining loyalists across the region and sent prisoners to Storm’s End and the Stepstones.
• Earl Selmy asked Lord Swann whether the red-feathered falcon commanded the dragons, and Lord Swann warned him not to be curious.

After Coppergate fell, Lord Swann’s army distributed supplies to the common people, and Elyne’s family received food and a milk goat. When Lady Blackheart tried to steal them, a giant falcon attacked her, and the soldiers took her and her family away as residents learned they could appeal to the lords for justice.

• Lord Swann and the allied army left half the supplies from captured castles for residents, while sending valuables to Storm's End.
• Earl Mertyns of Mistwood distributed Coppergate’s supplies fairly according to its household register.
• Elyne received food and a milk goat, but Lady Blackheart tried to seize them and kicked Elyne when she resisted.
• A giant falcon slashed Lady Blackheart’s face, and soldiers took her and her family away.
• Coppergate’s residents discussed how bullies could be punished and learned they could bring complaints to the lords.

Three dragons devastated the villages near Riverrun, leaving survivors hungry and desperate. A king vulture brought fish to some people on the Green Fork, but could not ease the suffering of everyone there.

• Little Fish's mother waited anxiously for his father, who had gone poaching for food after dragons destroyed their home and flock.
• Yang Dan'er returned to the village raving that the others were dead, and the God of Darkness attacked as Borros urged it to feed.
• Little Fish's mother escaped the dragonfire again and walked toward the Green Fork with her hungry son.
• A fisherman found the bodies of a woman and child in the Green Fork the next day.
• A king vulture brought fish to people preparing to drown themselves, but many other villagers remained desperate and hungry.

Walda and her allies helped the Holy Flame Fleet evacuate refugees from the Green Fork as Borros turned to plundering noble estates. Borros abused Lady Forrester at Forrester Manor, then returned to Riverrun and visited the weakened Laena.

• Walda, Maggie, and Meya condemned Borros and urged the evacuation of refugees near the Green Fork.
• The Holy Flame Fleet brought supplies and ferried refugees toward the Stepstones while King Vulture guided them to safety.
• Borros attacked Forrester Manor with his dragons and burned and ate the estate’s livestock.
• Lady Forrester entertained Borros under duress, and he stayed at the manor for a week and forced his way into her room.
• Borros returned to Riverrun and went to see the bedridden Laena.

King Vulture maimed Borros after he assaulted Laena’s maid, while King Jaehaerys sent Viserys, Rhaenys, and Daemon to deal with the three Great Dragons terrorizing the Green Fork. Danyla secretly lured the dragons toward the Mountains of the Moon, where she prepared a trap, as Borros recovered and resumed his cruelty.

• Borros told Laena he would seize King's Landing for their unborn son, then dragged her maid to his room and assaulted her.
• King Vulture attacked Borros, tore away part of his body, and struck his head before escaping; the maid fled.
• After hearing of the Great Dragons’ attacks on Seaguard and the Green Fork, King Jaehaerys ordered Viserys, Rhaenys, and Daemon to hunt them.
• King Jaehaerys questioned Rhaenys about Corlys’s plans, and she warned that Great Dragons could kill one another and promised not to start a war.
• Danyla secretly entered the Mountains of the Moon with Dreamfyre, Myracis, and Antheros, while her disguised double remained at Eyriehold.
• Danyla used King Vulture to draw the three vicious dragons toward the Mountains of the Moon, while Borros recovered and burned a nobleman’s manor after torturing his wife and daughter to death.

Rhaenys, Borros, and their dragons converged over the Green Fork after widespread devastation, and Meleys attacked Borros’s black dragon, the God of Darkness. Meleys wounded his tail but suffered an injury to her hind leg, and the God of Darkness surged after her as her flight faltered.

• Rhaenys surveyed burned villages and estates from Meleys and flew toward Riverrun, while Daemon searched the surrounding area beside Vhagar.
• Borros sent the God of Darkness after King Vulture, then ordered the dragon to set a forest ablaze when the vulture escaped into the trees.
• Rhaenys spotted Borros and the God of Darkness causing the destruction and ordered Meleys to attack.
• Meleys dodged the God of Darkness’s flames and tried to strike Borros, but the dragon shielded him and hit Meleys’s hind leg with his tail.
• Meleys tore open the God of Darkness’s tail before retreating, but he glowed pale purple, accelerated, and caught up with her unsteady flight.

Borros and the God of Darkness attacked Meleys, but Vhagar, Quicksilver, and Meleys turned on them and inflicted devastating wounds. As the Red Princess flew to aid the God of Darkness, Dreamfyre, Myracis, and Antheros ambushed the Purple Prince and tore apart his wings.

• Meleys fled into the clouds, where Vhagar ambushed the God of Darkness and dragged him downward by his tail.
• Quicksilver engulfed the God of Darkness and Borros in dragonfire, burning Borros to death.
• The God of Darkness wounded Vhagar before Meleys burned his eyes, while Daemon and Quicksilver attacked his back and wing and Vhagar tore apart his other wing.
• The Red Princess and Purple Prince flew toward the God of Darkness's cries, but the Purple Prince lost sight of the Red Princess in the clouds.
• Dreamfyre burned the Purple Prince after tearing his oil sac, and Myracis and Antheros seized and shredded his wings.

Danyla’s dragons defeated the Purple Prince, while Vhagar, Quicksilver, and Meleys crippled the God of Darkness. When the Red Princess arrived, Daemon and the others turned to face her, leaving the chapter with Vhagar charging into battle.

• The Purple Prince caught Dreamfyre’s claws and dragged her into a dive, but his tail struck Antheros and tore open her belly.
• Dreamfyre and Myracis attacked the Purple Prince until he crashed into the Green Fork, crawled ashore, and lost consciousness.
• Danyla burned her imprint into the weirwood on the Purple Prince, and the tree helped stop his bleeding and stabilize his life.
• Danyla left Myracis and Antheros to guard the Purple Prince and flew Dreamfyre toward the other battlefield.
• Vhagar, Quicksilver, and Meleys pinned the God of Darkness to the ground and shredded his wings and back.
• When the Red Princess arrived, Daemon, Rhaenys, and Viserys agreed to attack her, and Vhagar charged as Quicksilver and Meleys moved to flank her.

Vhagar, Meleys, and Quicksilver battled the Red Princess in the skies above the Green Fork, inflicting serious wounds but suffering heavy injuries themselves. After the Red Princess vanished into the clouds, she suddenly reappeared and attacked Meleys from below.

• Vhagar ambushed the Red Princess, but the Red Princess evaded her, wounded her neck, and then smashed into her.
• Meleys and Daemon's Quicksilver struck the Red Princess's wings, while the Red Princess broke Vhagar's wing and tore into her body.
• Daemon and Rhaenys sent Quicksilver and Meleys to attack the Red Princess together, and she broke Meleys's bones with a tail strike.
• Quicksilver evaded the Red Princess, then rejoined Meleys as the Red Princess fled into the clouds.
• Rhaenys continued forward with Meleys despite her injuries, while Daemon covered them aboard Quicksilver.
• The Red Princess burst from the clouds and bit into Meleys's neck.

Danyla and Dreamfyre joined the battle and wounded the Red Princess, then drove her into the Mountains of the Moon. Danyla halted Daemon at the entrance to a canyon, leaving the Red Princess trapped ahead of them.

• Meleys and Quicksilver failed to seriously injure the Red Princess, and she tried to flee when wounded Vhagar caught up.
• Danyla arrived on Dreamfyre and empowered her with a chant, allowing Dreamfyre to bite through the Red Princess's wing and force her to retreat.
• Dreamfyre pursued the Red Princess along Danyla's chosen route while Daemon followed on Quicksilver; Viserys and Rhaenys found Myracis and the wounded Antheros by the Green Fork.
• Daemon joined Dreamfyre in herding the Red Princess into the Mountains of the Moon, where Dreamfyre forced her down into a canyon with dragonfire.
• Danyla stopped Daemon from pursuing the Red Princess into the canyon.

Danyla used a Valyrian steel wire trap to dismember the Red Princess, then showed Daemon how she branded a maiden onto the weirwood atop the dragon’s head. The dragon’s blood aura surged into Danyla, Daemon, Dreamfyre, and Quicksilver, knocking them unconscious and leaving their bodies ruled by primal instincts.

• The Red Princess flew into the canyon and was sliced into five pieces by Valyrian steel wires as Danyla and Daemon watched.
• Danyla explained that she had prepared the trap to stop the great dragons, and she and Daemon gathered the Red Princess’s remains.
• Daemon questioned Danyla about her secrets and accused her of skinchanging into the Vulture God and a Red-feathered Falcon.
• Danyla rebuked Daemon for insulting Lady Rhea, while Dreamfyre roasted and ate a leg from the Red Princess.
• Danyla branded a maiden’s figure onto the weirwood atop the Red Princess’s head, causing the dragon blood to surge toward them.
• The blood aura entered Danyla, Daemon, Dreamfyre, and Quicksilver, and they lost consciousness as their bodies fell under primal instincts.

Danyla used the Palm Fire Seed to mark the weirwood with the Red Princess's blood, triggering a surge of magical energy that affected her, Daemon, and their dragons. She left for Lonely Mountain with the powered weirwood, while Daemon recovered and carried dragon meat to Viserys and Rhaenys at the Green Fork.

• Danyla told Daemon that funeral rites might awaken his bloodline's fire magic, then the weirwood drew in the Red Princess's blood and released a crimson mist.
• The mist overwhelmed Danyla, Daemon, Dreamfyre, and Bloodworm Quicksilver, leaving them with scarlet eyes and agitated dragons until dawn.
• Danyla flew Dreamfyre toward Lonely Mountain with the Red Princess's Dragon Head so she could plant the magically charged weirwood.
• Daemon woke at midday, watched Quicksilver recover by eating dragon meat, then carried some of the corpse toward the Green Fork.
• Myracis caught fish for Viserys and Rhaenys, and Quicksilver's roar announced Daemon's arrival as they discussed Danyla's victory.

Danyla brought the Red Princess’s head to Lonely Mountain to transplant the weirwood, then uncovered and absorbed the magic within a meteorite. In a vision, she saw a mysterious man who had sent her to this world tell her that her path lay there.

• Daemon returned with Quicksilver and dragon carcass, and Viserys asked where Danyla was; Daemon claimed she was safe and had left to attend to something.
• Myracis and Antheros tried to eat the dragon remains, so Daemon suggested the group retrieve the other pieces from the Mountains of the Moon.
• Danyla flew Dreamfyre to Lonely Mountain and buried the Red Princess’s head on its highest peak to transplant the weirwood.
• Danyla sensed magic in a volcanic crater, and Dreamfyre dug up and melted a huge reddish-brown stone containing a powerful Metal Core.
• Danyla and Dreamfyre absorbed the meteorite’s magical energy, then Danyla fell asleep and dreamed of a seven-colored figure who had brought the Heart of the Stars to the North and hatched a dragon in Old Valyria.
• Danyla asked the figure to take her back, but he sent her away and told her to walk the path she had there.