Recaps

After the Lannisters massacred House Tyrell and plundered Highgarden, Addam Marbrand and Damion Lannister learned that Tywin had been assassinated and that Viserys Targaryen was preparing to invade, forcing them to withdraw. Reach nobles arrived too late to save Highgarden and began maneuvering over who would inherit it, while Lord Paxter Redwyne called for them to focus on the dead and the Lannisters.

• Addam Marbrand and Damion Lannister learned that Tyrion had killed Tywin and that Viserys Targaryen was preparing to land in the Stormlands with Dorne as an ally.
• Addam Marbrand ordered the Lannister army to abandon Highgarden and return to Duskendale, leaving the city burned and its dead behind.
• Ser Baelor Hightower, Lord Paxter Redwyne, and other Reach nobles arrived at Highgarden and found its gates, halls, and gardens filled with corpses and destruction.
• Ser Jon Fossoway raised the question of who would inherit Highgarden, prompting Baelor, Paxter, and Victaria Tyrell to consider their own claims.
• Lord Tommen Cuy suspected the great nobles had delayed their relief efforts in hopes of taking Highgarden, while Lord Paxter urged them to care for survivors and take vengeance on the Lannisters.

Ser Baelor persuaded the battered Reach lords to delay vengeance against the Lannisters and let Viserys Targaryen weaken them while the Reach recovered. The nobles agreed to seek Samwell Tarly’s release from the Night’s Watch and send Viserys an envoy offering goodwill without swearing fealty.

• Ser Baelor cited the Reach’s devastated lands and depleted forces to argue that it could not afford to fight the Lannisters.
• Ser Baelor said Viserys Targaryen would invade the Stormlands with Dothraki forces and had a marriage pact with Arianne Martell, and urged the Reach to stay neutral while the Targaryens fought the Lannisters.
• Lord Paxter and the other nobles accepted Ser Baelor’s argument that the Reach needed time to recover, then disputed House Hightower’s proposal to administer Horn Hill.
• Ser Jon Fossoway pointed out that Samwell Tarly still lived, and Lord Paxter argued that the Night’s Watch vows no longer deserved to bar him from inheriting after the Lannisters’ atrocities.
• Ser Baelor proposed sending a guarded party to the Wall to exchange condemned prisoners for Samwell’s freedom and tell him his family had died, and the nobles agreed to contact him.
• Ser Baelor proposed sending Viserys an envoy to express goodwill and offer limited support without swearing fealty, and the nobles approved.

Viserys tried to command the Dothraki to attack Storm's End, but Jhaqo rejected him, seized control of the host, and led the warriors inland to plunder the Stormlands. Bound alongside Viserys, Tyrion feared the invasion would devastate the region and destroy House Targaryen's hopes of restoration.

• Viserys ordered the Dothraki to march on Storm's End and kill the Baratheon bastard there.
• Tyrion warned Viserys that the Dothraki would not besiege castles and urged him to seek support from Stormlands lords and wait for Dorne.
• Viserys threatened Jhaqo with execution unless he attacked Storm's End, prompting the Dothraki to draw their weapons.
• Jhaqo's warriors disarmed and bound Viserys, Tyrion, and the interpreter, then Jhaqo took Viserys's sword and claimed the black dragon banner.
• Jhaqo led more than thirty thousand Dothraki toward inland villages to plunder them, while bound on horseback, Tyrion cursed Viserys and feared for the Stormlands and House Targaryen.

Cortnay Penrose ordered the Stormlands to use a scorched-earth defense against the invading Dothraki, while Liu Qian sent orders to search for Jon Snow and Alliser Thorne beyond the Wall. The chapter ended with Melisandre escaping Liu Qian’s dungeon, leaving him to wonder whom she would seek next.

• Messengers reported that Dothraki raiders flying Targaryen banners had massacred villagers and burned settlements across the Stormlands.
• Cortnay Penrose warned the Stormlands lords that their depleted forces could not face thirty thousand Dothraki in open battle and ordered them to evacuate people, fortify castles, and destroy supplies the raiders could use.
• Liu Qian sent letters to Jorah Mormont and Ramsay Snow, instructing Mezzo to deliver Ramsay’s letter directly to him.
• After hearing that Jon Snow and Alliser Thorne had vanished, Liu Qian ordered Sasman and Morio to send disguised ships to search for them beyond the Wall, especially Jon Snow.
• A guard reported that Melisandre had escaped her dungeon, and Liu Qian wondered whether she was seeking Stannis Baratheon or another target from her visions.

Stannis accepted Melisandre’s promise of power and ordered Dragonstone’s forces to sail for the Stormlands to save his people and reclaim his lands. Beyond the Wall, Jon Snow, Alliser Thorne, and their captive guide Ygritte continued through the Haunted Forest, where Ygritte teased Jon about watching her.

• Melisandre told Stannis that he was Azor Ahai reborn and urged him to invade the Stormlands, while Cressen and Davos warned him against trusting her and argued that an invasion would be suicide.
• Stannis condemned their calls to wait, declaring that he would save his kingdom before pursuing the Iron Throne, and demanded to know whether Melisandre could help him defeat his enemies.
• Melisandre promised that R'hllor’s power would strengthen Stannis and his soldiers, frighten their enemies, and guide him to power in the Stormlands.
• Stannis ordered every ship and soldier on Dragonstone to prepare to sail for the Stormlands.
• Jon Snow and Alliser Thorne marched through the Haunted Forest with Ygritte, whom Alliser had captured after killing two other wildlings.
• Ygritte noticed Jon watching her and teasingly asked whether he wanted to sleep with her.

Jon and Alliser struggled over whether to kill Ygritte after she tried to escape, but an Other appeared on the snowy slope before they could decide. The three and Ghost faced the mysterious creature in the Haunted Forest.

• Ygritte taunted Jon, and Alliser slapped her and ordered Jon to kill her once they found a boat.
• Ygritte wore through her bindings and attacked Alliser, then tried to seize Jon's sword.
• Jon struck Ygritte, and Ghost pinned her in the snow while Alliser demanded that Jon kill her.
• Jon hesitated to kill Ygritte, arguing they still needed her as a guide.
• An Other appeared beside a snow-covered boulder, freezing the group with its presence.

Ser Alliser Thorne sacrificed himself to hold off an Other so Jon, Ygritte, and Ghost could escape. After failing to stop the creature with a falling tree, Alliser died by its sword, and the Other pursued Jon and Ygritte into the forest.

• Alliser ordered Jon and Ygritte to flee while he faced the approaching Other, declaring Jon the rightful king and his own death a chance for Jon to live.
• Jon dragged Ygritte into the woods and called Ghost to guard them as they escaped.
• The Other struck Alliser through the left arm, but he leaped away and used his sword to bring a snow-laden sentinel tree crashing down.
• The Other emerged unharmed, and Alliser stood to face it, shouting for House Targaryen and the true dragon.
• The Other beheaded Alliser and then headed into the forest after Jon and Ygritte.

Prince Doran learned that Viserys had announced Arianne’s betrothal and was leading a Dothraki army into the Stormlands, risking Dorne’s safety. He sent Quentyn to gather ten thousand men and observe the conflict, ordering him to support Viserys only if it became advantageous or bring him back alive if his forces were defeated.

• Prince Doran read Viserys’s letter announcing Arianne’s betrothal and asking Dorne to send troops to support his campaign in the Stormlands.
• Quentyn urged Prince Doran to send soldiers to restrain Viserys’s Dothraki, while Arianne imagined her future as queen.
• Prince Doran warned that the Dothraki could devastate the Stormlands and suspected that the Easterners had learned of the marriage pact through Oberyn.
• Prince Doran ordered Quentyn to gather ten thousand men and advance through the Prince’s Pass to observe Viserys’s army, joining him only if he gained the upper hand.
• Prince Doran told Quentyn to bring Viserys back to Dorne alive if the Dothraki were surrounded and defeated, and Quentyn left to carry out his orders.

Liu Qian offered Waymar Royce support in exchange for House Royce’s future allegiance and revealed a scandal about Robert Arryn’s parentage. Waymar left to consider the offer and carry the revelation back to the Vale.

• Liu Qian welcomed Waymar Royce and learned that House Royce wanted to ransom its captured soldiers to strengthen its position against Lysa Tully and Petyr Baelish.
• Waymar explained that Yohn Royce led the Lords Declarant, Andar Royce was held at the Eyrie, and Robar Royce had died in King's Landing.
• Liu Qian urged Waymar to consider inheriting Runestone and offered support and the prisoners’ release in exchange for his sworn allegiance when Liu Qian landed in Westeros.
• Liu Qian claimed Robert Arryn was the bastard son of Petyr Baelish and Lysa Tully, and explained how spreading the news could undermine Lysa’s rule.
• Waymar agreed to take the parentage claim back to the Vale but said he needed time to consider Liu Qian’s terms.

Stannis confronted the Stormlands nobles outside Storm's End and urged them to defend their people from the Dothraki. Earl Wheldon and Earl Sebastian opened the castle gates for him, and Stannis took command as he prepared to gather the Stormlands’ forces.

• Stannis accused Cortnay Penrose and the Stormlands nobles of abandoning their people to Dothraki raids, and called on them to help drive the invaders out.
• Cortnay returned to Storm's End without answering, while the other nobles rode back, visibly conflicted.
• Melisandre offered to help Stannis take Storm's End and began seducing him, but Davos interrupted to report that the gates had opened.
• Earl Wheldon and Earl Sebastian bound Cortnay and opened Storm's End to Stannis, who ordered his soldiers to secure the castle and find Edric Storm.
• Stannis ordered Cortnay imprisoned and summoned the Stormlands lords to muster their armies and drive the Dothraki and their Dragon Banner into the sea.

Ser Addam Marbrand led the Westerlands cavalry toward Ashford while Jon Fossoway’s larger Reach army pursued them. As Addam’s men attacked House Cuy’s defended bridge, a horn sounded from Cuy Woods behind them.

• Addam and Damion Lannister split their forces after leaving Highgarden, with Addam drawing the Reach’s attention while Damion took the wagons north.
• Jon Fossoway gathered about fifteen thousand Reachmen and pursued Addam, intending to drive him from the Reach without engaging in battle.
• Addam reached Ashford’s bridge and demanded that House Cuy’s defenders let his army pass.
• The Cuy knight refused, so Addam ordered his soldiers to form a shield wall and take the bridge.
• As the Westerlands shield formation neared the barricades, a horn sounded from Cuy Woods behind Addam’s army.

Addam Marbrand’s Westerlands cavalry clashed with Jon Fossoway’s Reach army after the Reachmen’s anger broke their formation, giving the Westerlands the advantage. The battle was interrupted by the arrival of tens of thousands of Dothraki Screamers beneath a three-headed dragon banner.

• Jon Fossoway’s army blocked Addam Marbrand’s route west and offered him safe passage east through the Stormlands, but Addam refused.
• A Reach soldier’s arrow sparked a charge by enraged farmers and survivors, and Steffon Swyft killed Richard Cray in the confusion.
• Addam ordered seven thousand Westerlands cavalrymen to charge the disorganized Reach infantry.
• The Westerlands cavalry shattered the Reach attack, while Earl Cuy’s attempt to strike their flank failed.
• Tens of thousands of Dothraki Screamers appeared from the southeast beneath a banner bearing a three-headed red dragon.

Jhaqo Khal’s Dothraki devastated the Reach and Westerlands armies at Ashford, and Prince Quentyn Martell joined the battle against them. As the battlefield descended into further chaos, Tyrion freed himself and Viserys, but the Dornish attack drew the Dothraki’s attention.

• Jhaqo Khal led more than thirty thousand Dothraki into the battle, routing Reach infantry and breaking the Westerlands cavalry’s formation.
• Addam Marbrand ordered a southeast breakout and led a dwindling band of knights through the Dothraki, while Steffon Swyft’s counterattack was overwhelmed.
• Prince Quentyn Martell chose to join Viserys’s side, and the Dornish army charged the fleeing Reach and Westerlands troops with poisoned spears.
• Viserys panicked while bound to a packhorse, but Tyrion persuaded a Dothraki warrior to cut them loose and give them arakhs.
• Quentyn’s coordinated, poison-tipped spear attack deepened the slaughter and drew the Dothraki’s attention.

Khal Jhaqo mistook Quentyn Martell’s arriving Dornish army for an enemy and sent the Dothraki to attack it, leaving the Dornish forces shattered and struggling to reach Viserys. As the exhausted armies continued fighting at Ashford, Stannis Baratheon’s army appeared behind the Dornish at sunset.

• Khal Jhaqo ordered his Dothraki riders to charge Quentyn’s Dornish army, believing it had come to attack him.
• Daemon Sand and Obara Sand organized a shield-and-spear defense, but the Dothraki surrounded the Dornish, attacked them with arrows, and broke their formations.
• Quentyn demanded to know why Viserys was attacking the Dornish, and Daemon Sand warned that Viserys had either betrayed them or could not control the Dothraki.
• Quentyn ordered the surviving Dornish soldiers to gather around the Martell banners and search for Viserys while the Dothraki continued their assault.
• Addam Marbrand and Jon Fossoway saw the Dornish fighting the Dothraki and briefly hoped it might help them.
• Stannis Baratheon’s army appeared behind the Dornish beneath the blood-red sunset, bearing its crowned stag banner.

Stannis and Melisandre reached the battlefield at Ashford, where Khal Jhaqo’s horsemen ravaged four exhausted armies. Melisandre gave birth to a shadow assassin resembling Stannis, and it rose as the battle continued.

• Stannis surveyed the battle and realized Jhaqo, not Viserys Targaryen, controlled the horsemen.
• Melisandre urged Stannis to use the shadow born from the fire within him to kill Jhaqo and turn the battle.
• Stannis agreed, remembering the suffering in the Stormlands and the life force the magic was consuming.
• Melisandre dismounted, removed her robe, and chanted as her swollen belly writhed.
• A living shadow emerged from Melisandre and took Stannis's likeness before rising to its feet.

Stannis used a shadow summoned by his power to kill Jhaqo Khal, then led fifteen thousand fresh Stormlands troops to crush the exhausted armies at Ashford Meadow. The Stormlands captured Viserys and Tyrion and celebrated their victory as their enemies fled or were slaughtered.

• Stannis urged the Stormlands troops forward after a human-shaped shadow raced toward Jhaqo Khal.
• The shadow passed through Jhaqo's chest and killed him, causing the Dothraki khalasar to break and flee.
• Stannis led the fresh Stormlands army into the battlefield, where it routed the fleeing Dothraki and overwhelmed the other exhausted forces.
• Addam Marbrand and Steffon Swyft fled into Shipbreaker Bay, Quentyn ordered the surviving Dornish to retreat, and Jon Fossoway escaped into Cuy Woods.
• Stormlands soldiers captured Viserys and Tyrion, and the victorious troops cheered for Stannis and Baratheon.

Littlefinger learned that a rumor claiming Robert Arryn was his bastard son with Lysa had spread throughout the Vale, threatening his rule. Lysa confirmed that she had deliberately used his semen to conceive Robert, and Littlefinger resolved to suppress the rumor and move against the Lords Declarant.

• Ser Rosso Brune told Littlefinger that a rumor had spread across the Vale claiming Robert Arryn was his son with Lysa.
• Lysa rushed into the council hall, embraced Littlefinger, and told him she believed the rumor was true.
• Lysa admitted that she had saved Littlefinger’s semen after an encounter and used it to become pregnant with Robert.
• Littlefinger urged Lysa to insist that Robert was Jon Arryn’s trueborn heir so their enemies could not use the rumor against them.
• Littlefinger decided to find and silence the rumor’s source while accelerating his efforts against Yohn Royce and the Lords Declarant.

Mya Stone helped Andar Royce escape the Eyrie by hiding him in a supply train, and Michaël Redfort aided their flight. After reaching the woods beyond the Gates of the Moon, Mya and Andar set off toward Runestone.

• Mya Stone visited Andar Royce in his room and offered to help him escape the Eyrie.
• Mya led Andar through the castle to the stables, where Michaël Redfort helped them hide in hay baskets on a supply train.
• Andar endured the dangerous descent while Mya and Michaël kept the escape hidden from the guards.
• After the train entered a forest beyond the Gates of the Moon, Michaël caused a distraction so Mya and Andar could slip away.
• Mya and Andar headed toward Runestone.

Eson Arryn offered House Arryn of Gulltown’s support to the Lords Declarant, accusing Robert Arryn of being Littlefinger and Lysa Tully’s bastard and promising two thousand sellswords. Earl Yohn Royce declined to include those troops in the Eyrie’s siege, then led the alliance army toward the Eyrie as Michaël Redfort, Mya Stone, and Andar Royce arrived at Runestone.

• Eson Arryn asked to join the Lords Declarant and claimed Robert Arryn was not Jon Arryn’s son.
• Eson declared that House Arryn of Gulltown would support the alliance and revealed that he had recruited two thousand sellswords.
• Earl Yohn Royce refused to have Eson’s army join the Eyrie’s encirclement, and Eson agreed to wait near Gulltown.
• Three days later, Earl Yohn led an army of nearly ten thousand from Runestone toward the Eyrie.
• Michaël Redfort, Mya Stone, and Andar Royce arrived at Runestone’s closed side gate.

Andar Royce returned safely to Runestone, and Mya Stone accepted Eson Arryn’s invitation to his estate near Gulltown. There, Eson urged her to claim the Iron Throne and lead the Vale, and Mya agreed to his proposal.

• Andar Royce returned to Runestone and thanked Mya Stone and Michel Redfort for helping him escape.
• Eson Arryn invited Mya to stay at his family’s estate near Gulltown, and she accepted.
• At the estate, Eson told Mya that her royal status gave her a claim to the Iron Throne and urged her to retake the Eyrie from Littlefinger and Lysa.
• Mya struggled with Eson’s proposal but agreed to take the crown and lead the Vale.

Eson Arryn crowned Mya Baratheon queen in the Vale, provoking Lord Yohn Royce and Lord Gerold Grafton. As Grafton's army attacked Arryn Castle, a large Royce cavalry force arrived behind them.

• Eson Arryn arranged a hurried coronation for Mya Baratheon and sent ravens throughout Westeros announcing her claim to the throne.
• Lord Yohn Royce learned of the coronation, turned the Lords Declarant's army around, and marched toward Gulltown.
• Lord Gerold Grafton declared the coronation an insult and ordered his soldiers to surround Arryn Castle and arrest Eson and Mya.
• Gerold led three thousand soldiers against the castle, where Eson's two thousand sellswords fought back as Mya trembled inside.
• As the sellswords' defenses began to crumble, a large cavalry force bearing House Royce's banner charged toward Grafton's army from behind.

Andar Royce’s surprise attack broke the Grafton army, but Eson Arryn’s reckless pursuit turned Gulltown into a bloodbath and ended with Gerold Grafton captured. As Littlefinger urged Cersei to intervene, Jaime secured permission to lead Lannister troops into the Vale, leaving the conflict poised to widen.

• Andar Royce’s cavalry rescued the besieged forces and routed Gerold Grafton’s army, while Eson Arryn led a pursuit into Gulltown despite Andar’s warning.
• Eson’s fighters stormed Gulltown, fought through its streets, and captured the wounded Gerold Grafton after killing his guards.
• Littlefinger urged Lysa Tully to blame the Lords Declarant, then sent Cersei a plea for royal troops to suppress the rebellion.
• Cersei proposed hiring Dothraki mercenaries, but Kevan Lannister condemned the plan and warned that the Vale’s turmoil could not be met with foreign troops.
• Jaime volunteered to take five thousand Lannister soldiers to the Vale and recruit additional men in the Crownlands, and Kevan approved his plan.

The Faceless Men discussed a paid request to deliver the Many-Faced God’s gift to an eastern conqueror, and Starving Man volunteered for the mission. In Pentos, Illyrio and Jon Connington walked through the magister’s garden, troubled by an unstated concern.

• The Kindly Man condemned the girl who had given death without permission, while the Waif said she had killed a Night’s Watch man bound for Oldtown.
• Fat Man revealed that the girl’s iron coin came from the Night’s Watch man and that a Westerosi notable had received a gift three days earlier.
• The Kindly Man said a Pentoshi magister had paid for a gift to an eastern conqueror and had provided two items, bringing the temple’s total to three.
• The Waif warned that the chosen recipient had to receive the gift, and Starving Man volunteered to carry it out.
• Pretty Man warned Starving Man about the conqueror’s undying legion and dragons, while Starving Man said he would first study the defenses.
• Illyrio and Jon Connington walked through the magister’s garden in Pentos, both looking anxious and troubled.

Jon Connington challenged Illyrio over delaying Young Griff’s invasion, arguing that the turmoil in Westeros made immediate action essential. Illyrio defended his plan to secure Daenerys and her dragons first, but Connington threatened to sail with the Golden Company, and Illyrio warned that the invasion could doom Young Griff.

• Jon Connington urged Illyrio to stop delaying the landing, citing Viserys’s invasion and unrest among the Golden Company.
• Illyrio argued that Varys’s death left Young Griff’s identity vulnerable and proposed proving it through the Great Dragons after Young Griff married Daenerys.
• Jon Connington questioned why Young Griff could not land, join Viserys, and seek a marriage alliance later.
• Jon Connington cited Balon Greyjoy’s death and the Vale’s new queen as signs that Westeros was changing too quickly to wait, and threatened to sail with the Golden Company the next day.
• Illyrio protested that the Golden Company’s ten thousand men could not defeat the Lannisters and Stannis, and that Connington would lead Young Griff to his death.

Jon Connington pushed Illyrio to seek Dothraki troops for Young Griff, and Illyrio sent an envoy to Liu Qian with gold, jewels, and a Dragon Egg Fossil. Liu Qian accepted the offer and agreed to lend fifty thousand Dothraki Screamers, while wondering whether the egg could explain why his own similar Dragon Egg had not hatched.

• Jon Connington confronted Illyrio and urged him to offer Liu Qian a Dragon Egg in exchange for Dothraki troops.
• Illyrio sent an envoy to Liu Qian with chests of gold, jewels, and a black-and-red Dragon Egg Fossil.
• Liu Qian recognized the fossil as one of the Dragon Eggs associated with Daenerys and questioned where the other two were.
• Liu Qian accepted the tribute and agreed to lend Illyrio fifty thousand Dothraki Screamers for Young Griff's cause.
• Liu Qian dismissed the envoy and examined the Dragon Egg, wondering whether it could help explain why his own similar egg had not hatched.