Chapter Summaries

Liu Qian visited the imprisoned Jorah Mormont and coerced him into serving as a hired knight by promising Lynesse’s safety and comfort. Jorah agreed to train Liu Qian’s pirates into an army, but Liu Qian left his larger ambitions unexplained.

• Liu Qian visited Jorah Mormont in the sea-cave prison and mocked his former title while discussing Lynesse’s captivity.
• Jorah recognized Liu Qian’s sword as Valyrian steel, and Liu Qian claimed his soldiers’ armor and weapons were made from the same material.
• Liu Qian demanded that Jorah serve him, and Jorah initially refused, citing his knightly vows and his father’s ancestral sword, Longclaw.
• Liu Qian used Lynesse’s welfare to pressure Jorah into accepting a paid position as a hired knight.
• Liu Qian tasked Jorah with training his pirates into a capable army, while refusing to explain his broader plans.

Liu Qian and Janice failed to grow Ghost Grass and suspected the Blood Warlock had gathered it for a hidden purpose. Liu Qian used the grass’s magic to awaken three Dragon Eggs and began preparing to awaken a fourth.

• Janice told Liu Qian that Ghost Grass seedlings repeatedly withered and that the Blood Warlock’s notes only described gathering the plant.
• Liu Qian wondered whether the Blood Warlock had used Ghost Grass for forbidden Blood Magic and decided the Great Dragons would be important if growing it remained impossible.
• Janice chose a pale purple Dragon Egg, Jelena chose a silvery-white one, and Liu Qian selected blood-red and black-and-red eggs.
• Liu Qian absorbed Ghost Grass’s Magic Power and used the Dragon-Rider Bloodline to awaken Janice’s, Jelena’s, and his blood-red eggs.
• Liu Qian replenished his Magic Power and turned his attention to awakening the black-and-red Dragon Egg.

Liu Qian revived four Dragon Eggs and ordered them guarded while he strengthened Torturer's Deep's defenses. He left Jelena to oversee the fortifications and continued using Jorah Mormont to train the surrendered pirates despite distrusting him.

• Liu Qian infused the four Dragon Eggs with dragon blood, and Janice and Jelena asked when they would hatch.
• Liu Qian placed the eggs beneath the sea-cave window and ordered the Dragon Spirit Guardians to guard them.
• Jorah Mormont complained about the surrendered pirates' poor discipline, but reluctantly agreed to train them.
• Liu Qian told Jelena that the pirates' terrain and hidden reefs made caution essential.
• Liu Qian ordered Jelena to stretch iron chains between the reefs and rebuild Crackwater Channel's chain gate as a fortified stone archway.
• Jelena accepted the orders and went to carry them out.

Rollo Uhoris returned from Spearhaft with shipbuilding supplies, weapons, and shipwrights, and reported that Kago's ships had followed him. After repairing the fleet, Liu Qian launched a plan to lure Kago's pirates into Razor Reef, but the pursuit stalled and Liu Qian realized something was wrong.

• Rollo Uhoris told Liu Qian he had bought weapons, timber, and Tyroshi shipwrights, and that Cleftjaw Island ships had tailed him from Spearhaft.
• Liu Qian agreed to Rollo's plan to draw Kago's ships into Razor Reef and told Jelena to guard Torturer's Deep.
• Rollo's craftsmen repaired and armed the Crab's Nest, the Reefbreaker, the Abyssal Noose, and the other captured ships.
• Rollo led five hundred pirates in fast oared ships toward Razor Reef while Liu Qian followed with Jorah Mormont, a thousand pirate infantrymen, and five hundred Dragon Spirit Guardians.
• Three Cleftjaw Island patrol galleys approached Rollo's flotilla, but two merely shadowed him as he led them toward the reefs.
• Jorah warned Liu Qian that the enemy was stalling, and Liu Qian realized Kago's forces were not behaving as expected.

Liu Qian realized Kago was luring his fleet toward an ambush at Tidal Reef and led a counterattack from the rear. Kago’s ships charged through the rocks to ram Liu Qian’s fleet, forcing him to prepare for a boarding battle.

• Liu Qian deduced that Kago was waiting to ambush the fleet at Tidal Reef and ordered his ships to circle around the reef.
• Kago and his men waited at Tidal Reef, expecting Liu Qian’s fleet to sail into their trap.
• Liu Qian’s fleet attacked from behind with catapults and ballistae, damaging several Cleftjaw Island ships and throwing the pirates into chaos.
• Kago rallied his surviving ships and ordered them to ram Liu Qian’s fleet.
• Liu Qian could not identify Kago’s flagship in the darkness and ordered Jorah and Rollo to prepare for boarding combat.

Liu Qian’s fleet fought off Kago’s boarding attack, and Liu Qian used his enchanted sword and Dragonbone Bow to rout the pirates and badly injure Kago. Kago escaped toward Cleftjaw Island, while Liu Qian ordered his forces to salvage the battlefield and return to Torturer’s Deep.

• Kago’s fleet rammed Liu Qian’s ships and boarded them, overwhelming the defenders until the Dragon Spirit Guardians held the line.
• Liu Qian wielded his flaming Valyrian steel sword to burn through the Cleftjaw Island pirates, while Jorah Mormont watched in shock.
• Liu Qian shot a flaming arrow at Kago, who dodged it by pulling a gaunt pirate in front of himself; the arrow killed the pirate and burned Kago’s arm to the bone.
• Terrified by Liu Qian’s weapon, Kago ordered a retreat, and the surviving Cleftjaw Island pirates fled toward Cleftjaw Island.
• Rollo asked Liu Qian whether to pursue, but Liu Qian refused and ordered his forces to gather bodies and salvage what they could before returning to Torturer’s Deep.

After assessing the heavy losses from the battle at Tidal Reef, Liu Qian had Jelena and Janice resurrect the seventy-three fallen Dragon Spirit Guardians. Learning that Kago was hiding in Cleftjaw Island’s harbor while repairing ships at a weakly defended shipyard, Liu Qian agreed to Jorah’s plan to feint at the harbor and strike the shipyard.

• Rollo reported the battle’s casualties and damaged ships, while Jelena said seventy-three Dragon Spirit Guardians had died.
• Liu Qian brought Jorah, Rollo, Jelena, and Janice to the chamber where the fallen guards lay.
• Jelena and Janice resurrected all seventy-three Dragon Spirit Guardians, shocking Jorah and Rollo.
• Rollo reported that Kago had fewer than thirty seaworthy ships, was sheltering in the main harbor, and was urgently repairing vessels at a hidden shipyard.
• Jorah proposed that Rollo feint at the harbor while Liu Qian led the main fleet to destroy the shipyard.
• Liu Qian approved the plan and ordered Rollo to make the harbor assault convincing.

After a month of repairs, Liu Qian split his fleet to draw Cleftjaw Island’s defenses toward its main harbor while he led the true attack against the western dockyards. Rollo Uhoris’s feint drew the pirates’ attention as Liu Qian’s fleet emerged from the mist, and the patrol ships discovered the deception too late.

• The craftsmen finished repairing the Abyssal Noose and seven captured Oared Ships as the fleet prepared to sail.
• Rollo Uhoris led the feint fleet away from Torturer's Deep, then Liu Qian and Jorah Mormont took the main fleet through the mist toward Cleftjaw Island’s western dockyards.
• A lookout at Cleftjaw Island’s main harbor spotted Rollo’s ships and sounded the alarm.
• Rollo kept his fleet beyond the ballistae’s range, using drums, horns, flags, and insults to convince the pirates that his ships were the main attack.
• At the dockyards, a patrol captain spotted Liu Qian’s fleet and ordered the patrol ships to warn the harbor, but they raised the alarm too late.

Liu Qian’s assault on the Cleftjaw Island shipyard turned into a desperate battle when Salt Widow Mara’s overwhelming fleet ambushed his scattered forces. With his troops pinned on the beach and his ships under attack, Liu Qian aimed the Dragonbone Bow at Mara, and the chapter ended as he released his shot.

• Liu Qian’s fleet destroyed the Cleftjaw ships guarding the shipyard, and his forces stormed ashore to rout the defenders.
• Liu Qian trapped and battered a Cleftjaw warship as his troops cleared the shipyard and beach.
• Salt Widow Mara arrived with thirty or forty warships and encircled Liu Qian’s fleet while attacking his ships and landing force.
• Liu Qian ordered his ships into a defensive circle and commanded the Dragon Spirit Guardians and Jorah Mormont to hold the beach.
• Liu Qian spotted Mara aboard the Widow Queen, drew the Dragonbone Bow, and fired an ink-black arrow toward her.

Liu Qian’s forces killed Mara and routed the Weeping Reef Island fleet, then moved toward Cleftjaw Island’s main harbor after learning its defenders had abandoned the docks amid a fire and apparent chaos inside Cleftjaw Fort. The harbor lay deserted as black smoke rose from the fort, leaving Liu Qian unsure whether the situation resulted from infighting or a trap.

• A flaming attack killed Mara, causing the Weeping Reef Island pirates to panic and Liu Qian’s forces to counterattack and defeat their fleet.
• Liu Qian secured the shipyard, imprisoned captured shipwrights and pirates, and ordered Jorah to count the captured ships.
• An officer reported that a fire inside Cleftjaw Fort had sent its defenders fleeing from the walls, and Rollo asked whether he should enter the harbor.
• Liu Qian ordered Rollo to hold position and sailed with his fleet to Cleftjaw Island’s main harbor.
• Liu Qian and Rollo found the harbor deserted and Cleftjaw Fort smoking, with faint sounds of fighting and disorder coming from within.

Liu Qian stormed Cleftjaw Fort after realizing that chaos inside had left Kago unable to defend it. Hal killed Kago and surrendered the remaining forces of Cleftjaw Island to Liu Qian, whose army accepted the defeated pirates' submission.

• Liu Qian ordered an immediate assault on Cleftjaw Fort, and his troops broke through the gates into the burning fortress.
• Liu Qian's forces found Kago and his last loyal followers fighting Hal and his men outside Kago's tower.
• Kago tried to flee when he saw Liu Qian, and Hal seized the opening to kill him with his iron hook.
• Hal presented Kago's severed head to Liu Qian, swore loyalty, and offered him Cleftjaw Island's remaining forces.
• Hal's followers and Kago's surviving loyalists dropped their weapons and knelt to surrender.

Liu Qian took control of Cleftjaw Island after Hal surrendered and ordered Kago’s head displayed as a warning. With the island’s pirates, wealth, and fleet now under his command, Liu Qian prepared to seize Weeping Reef Island and challenge Salladhor Saan, while secretly explaining his plans for Jorah to Rollo.

• Liu Qian accepted Hal’s allegiance, assigned Hal and his men to Rollo’s fleet, and ordered Jorah Mormont to display Kago’s head.
• Rollo reported that 2,500 pirates had surrendered and that Cleftjaw Island’s storehouses held more than 200,000 golden dragons.
• Hal said he had already sent Cleftjaw men with Rollo’s fleet to take Weeping Reef Island, whose pirates were bitter enemies of Cleftjaw Island.
• Rollo reported that Cleftjaw Island had twenty-six oared ships, including five usable double-decked warships, and Liu Qian ordered him and Jorah to buy ship supplies and hire shipwrights in Spearhaft.
• Rollo privately questioned why Liu Qian was sending him with Jorah, and Liu Qian revealed a plan that eased Rollo’s concerns.

After Mara’s forces escaped Weeping Reef Island and joined Salladhor Saan, Liu Qian prepared to face the growing threat without revealing his dragon power. Salladhor rallied the pirates on Bloodstone Island into a united army against Liu Qian.

• Hal reported that Mara’s pirates had fled Weeping Reef Island with most of its wealth, and Liu Qian feared they would seek Salladhor Saan’s help.
• Liu Qian reorganized his forces, assigning Rollo, Hal, Jelena, and Janice to command troops from Cleftjaw Island and Torturer's Deep.
• Jelena suggested assassinating Salladhor, but Liu Qian argued that he had to conserve his magic and keep his dragon power hidden while securing the Stepstones.
• Salladhor welcomed Mara’s battered survivors at a feast on Bloodstone Island and blamed Liu Qian for Kago’s and Mara’s deaths.
• Salladhor declared that the pirates would form a united army and destroy Liu Qian and his forces.

Tyrosh’s Archon sought counsel from his brother Greenbeard over the easterner’s growing power in the Stepstones. Greenbeard urged him to let the easterner and Salladhor Saan fight, then planned to exploit the outcome for Tyrosh’s gain.

• The Archon silenced his arguing courtiers and asked Greenbeard how Tyrosh should respond to the easterner’s advance through the Stepstones.
• Greenbeard dismissed the Beggar King’s Restoration Council and reported that the easterner’s forces had placed profitable orders at Tyroshi-controlled Spearhaft.
• Greenbeard told the Archon that Salladhor Saan had gathered the remaining Narrow Sea pirates, backed by Lys, for a decisive battle against the easterner.
• The Archon worried that Salladhor might lose, and Greenbeard said Tyrosh could then use its fleet and hired mercenaries against the weakened victor.
• The Archon agreed to let the rival forces fight, while Greenbeard privately hoped their losses would leave the sea open for Tyrosh to dominate.

Jon Arryn presided over a Small Council meeting where the crown’s debts reached five million golden dragons and Varys reported that an eastern warlock had seized islands in the Stepstones. The council learned the warlock might intend to invade Westeros, and Jon Arryn ordered Varys to monitor the conflict with Salladhor Saan before reporting the threat to King Robert.

• Jon Arryn learned from Petyr Baelish that the Iron Bank’s envoys had sailed, then told the council the crown owed five million golden dragons.
• Renly Baratheon mocked the kingdom’s finances and dismissed Varys’s reports of a sea monster near the Three Sisters.
• Varys reported that a warlock from Yidi had taken islands in the Stepstones and was preparing to fight Salladhor Saan.
• Varys identified Ser Jorah Mormont as his source and claimed the warlock commanded a thousand undead soldiers armed with Valyrian steel.
• Varys said the warlock planned to use the Stepstones as a base to conquer Westeros, while Stannis Baratheon questioned Ser Jorah’s honor.
• Jon Arryn ended the meeting, ordered Varys to watch the Stepstones and the war against Salladhor Saan, and said he would report the threat to King Robert.

Liu Qian learned that Lys had strengthened Salladhor Saan’s fleet and rejected a head-on naval battle, seeking a way to force the fight onto ground where his Dragon Spirit Guardians could prevail. Rollo’s suggestion of outfitting ships with rams sparked an idea, but the chapter ended before Liu Qian revealed it.

• Liu Qian oversaw repairs to his fleet and sent Hal’s hundred-man squad to occupy Weeping Reef Island as a lookout post.
• Rollo reported that Lys had supplied Salladhor Saan with warships, while Tyrosh had leaked the news to pit Liu Qian against him.
• Liu Qian recognized Tyrosh’s scheme and grew wary of facing Salladhor’s enlarged fleet in open water.
• Liu Qian explained that naval combat limited the Dragon Spirit Guardians and proposed luring the enemy into an island fight or another close-quarters trap.
• Rollo suggested fitting ships with bronze rams, and Liu Qian began considering the idea before a new thought struck him.

Liu Qian devised a fireship ambush for Sallador’s fleet, then returned to Torturer’s Deep to hear Janice’s discovery about the black stone. Janice revealed that it could absorb and purify magical energy, while the book linked Valyrian blood magic to a ritual meant to make the stars descend.

• Liu Qian, Rollo, and Hal planned to lure Sallador’s fleet into Bone Gnawing Strait and attack it with fireships.
• Liu Qian left Cleftjaw Island’s preparations to Rollo and Hal and returned to Torturer’s Deep with Jelena.
• Janice showed Liu Qian an ancient tome describing a forbidden Valyrian blood ritual that sought to bring the stars down into the mortal world.
• Janice explained that the black stone could absorb chaotic and cursed magical energy and purify it into stable magic power.
• Liu Qian wondered whether the ritual was connected to the Doom of Valyria and realized the black stone might hold immense power.

Liu Qian learned that the black stone might store vast amounts of magic power, but its activation remained a mystery, and he planned to seek Archmaester Marwyn's help after the battle with Salladhor Saan. At the ghost grass experimental plot, Janice discovered a bundle was missing, and Liu Qian suspected the Yidi slaves had stolen it.

• Liu Qian examined the black stone and concluded its Blood Magic might be preventing the system from absorbing its magic power.
• Janice explained that she had not deciphered how to activate the stone, so Liu Qian decided to seek Archmaester Marwyn in Oldtown after the battle with Salladhor Saan.
• Liu Qian, Janice, and Jelena inspected the ghost grass experiment and found that the transplanted plants had withered outside the cursed soil.
• Janice discovered that only ninety-three bundles remained instead of the expected ninety-four, and Jelena confirmed the Dragon Spirit Guardians had detected no intruders.
• Liu Qian remembered sensing faint magic from some Yidi slaves and suspected they had stolen the missing ghost grass.