Chapter Summaries

Gendry continued his apprenticeship under Tobho Mott while concealing that he was King Robert’s eldest bastard, and he remained wary of Varys and the Lannisters. At the Great Sept of Baelor, he saw Robert’s procession arrive with the king’s two brothers in tow.

• In 293 AC, Varys brought Gendry to Tobho Mott’s smithy and paid Tobho to take the boy as an apprentice without revealing his identity.
• By 295 AC, Gendry had become a hardworking apprentice who excelled at forging and rejected his companions’ talk of becoming knights.
• Gendry considered escaping King’s Landing but stayed quiet, fearing the Lannisters and suspecting Varys meant to use him as a political piece.
• Tobho took Gendry and the other apprentices to the Great Sept of Baelor and praised the value of a smith’s work.
• King Robert’s procession arrived at the sept, and Gendry saw his father, Ser Barristan Selmy, and the king’s two brothers.

Gendry decided to escape King's Landing for Essos, then left Tobho Mott’s smithy with his savings and warhammer. At the Great Sept of Baelor, he overheard Vale men discussing Lord Jon’s duties and the king’s dependence on him.

• Gendry finished a breastplate for Aurane Waters, who recognized something familiar in him and gave him two gold dragons.
• Gendry considered leaving King's Landing for Essos, where he hoped to explore his awakened bloodline abilities.
• Gendry took his savings and short-handled warhammer and left the smithy without telling Tobho or the other apprentices.
• Gendry joined the crowd at the Great Sept of Baelor and overheard two Vale men complain about Lord Jon’s focus on the king’s affairs.

Gendry escaped King's Landing aboard a ship bound for Myr, where he met Qyburn, a disgraced maester who offered to teach him medicine and discussed magic, bloodlines, and the likelihood of war in Westeros. The ship continued toward Myr as Qyburn warned that Renly's ties to the excluded House Tyrell could threaten the realm's uneasy alliance.

• Gendry slipped past the informants and Gold Cloaks, paid a Myrish sailor, and boarded The Telescope for Myr.
• Gendry met Qyburn, who examined him and revealed that he was a physician and a disgraced maester seeking opportunities across the Narrow Sea.
• Gendry visited Qyburn in his cabin, where Qyburn offered to teach him medicine and described his interest in combining it with magic.
• Qyburn told Gendry that he was also a bastard and explained his theories about magical noble bloodlines and creating powerful warriors.
• Qyburn predicted that Westeros could be engulfed in war because Robert had mishandled the distribution of the Stormlands and Dragonstone.
• Qyburn suggested that Renly's closeness to House Tyrell might be dangerous, since the Reach had been excluded from the royal inner circle.

Gendry and Qyburn’s voyage toward Myr was interrupted when pirates attacked the Telescope in the Stepstones. Gendry struck the pirate leader, Goldtooth, and the fighting turned against the pirates, but the battle remained unresolved.

• Gendry and Qyburn went on deck after pirates approached the Telescope, and Captain Dunster armed the passengers and sailors.
• The pirates boarded the merchant ship, overwhelmed its defenders, and demanded the cargo and valuables while taking the survivors captive.
• Goldtooth threatened Qyburn and ordered Gendry to remove his mask, so Gendry attacked him with his mace and wounded his face.
• Gendry fought Goldtooth with a shield and mace while Qyburn urged the Myrish sailors to rally, and the sailors resumed fighting the pirates.
• Qyburn threw medicinal powder into Goldtooth’s eyes and wound, giving Gendry a chance to retreat as Goldtooth howled in pain.

Gendry and Qyburn reached Myr after surviving a pirate attack, and Qyburn pledged himself as Gendry’s mentor and supporter. As they studied the Free Cities and the Disputed Lands, they began considering how to build power in Essos, though Gendry had only Qyburn at his side.

• Gendry and the Myrish sailors killed the pirates who boarded The Telescope, and the remaining pirate ships fled after seeing Golden Tooth’s head.
• Qyburn treated Gendry’s wound and praised his fighting ability, then taught him about Rhaegar, Robert, and the dangers of war.
• Qyburn recognized Gendry’s resemblance to Renly, learned that Gendry had no wish to expose the royal succession secret, and offered to serve as his mentor.
• The Telescope stopped at Tyrosh, where Gendry and Qyburn discussed Valyrian ruins, magic, and the rival powers of Essos.
• Qyburn identified the Disputed Lands as a possible base for Gendry’s ambitions, and Gendry considered finding a sellsword company to join.

Gendry and Qyburn joined the Wolf Pack Company in Myr and traveled to its camp in the Disputed Lands. There, Fatty introduced them to a scar-faced man, who welcomed the new recruits and asked who they were.

• Gendry and Qyburn searched Myr’s sellsword market for a company willing to recruit them.
• Gendry and Qyburn joined the Wolf Pack Company after accepting its rules, oath, and pay terms.
• Fatty gave Gendry the nickname Hammer and Qyburn the nickname Maester, then took them to the company’s camp outside Myr.
• Fatty showed Gendry and Qyburn the Wolf Pack Company’s disciplined camp and explained its defenses and the power of the Golden Company.
• A scar-faced man greeted Fatty at the camp, and Fatty introduced Gendry as a strong former smith’s apprentice and Qyburn as a trained physician.

Gendry joined the Wolf Pack Company and trained under Dick the Bowmaker, learning that the old archer had belonged to the Kingswood Brotherhood. He then rode with Qyburn and the company to protect a valuable firepaste harvest in the Disputed Lands.

• Gendry demonstrated his strength with a warhammer and Greybeard welcomed him and Qyburn into the Wolf Pack Company.
• Dick trained Gendry in archery and revealed that he had been a member of the Kingswood Brotherhood.
• Dick recounted how Barristan the Bold killed Simon Toyne and Arthur Dayne slew the Smiling Knight before Dick fled across the narrow sea.
• Handsome Man led Gendry, Qyburn, and the Wolf Pack Company toward their first assignment at the Firepaste Estate.
• Master Lev welcomed the company to guard the firepaste crop before it was transported to Myr.

Gendry joined the Wolf Pack Company in defending Magister Karasso’s gunpowder grass estate from Purplebeard’s raiders. The battle was underway when Purplebeard revealed that another magister backed his attack.

• Steward Lev explained that Karasso feared rivals would destroy the estate to drive gunpowder grass prices higher.
• Gendry told Maester Qyburn that freeing slaves might help him build power in the Disputed Lands, while Qyburn warned that it would provoke the slaveholding cities.
• Gendry trained with Handsome and earned cheers from the sellswords as Iron Hammer.
• Purplebeard led runaway slaves and brigand sellswords in an assault on the estate, and Handsome ordered the Wolf Pack Company to defend it.
• Handsome led Gendry and armored sellswords in a countercharge, while Purplebeard’s paymaster warned that the estate was heavily defended.
• Purplebeard appealed to Lord Rust, claiming that another magister backed their attack.

Gendry helped the Wolf Pack Company defeat Purplebeard’s mercenaries, but Morningstar died in the fighting. Afterward, Gendry and Qyburn considered the dangers surrounding their employer and Gendry’s royal identity, then discussed the possibility of allying with Daenerys against House Lannister.

• Gendry fought the rust-haired Meereenese gladiator Khalas and killed him with his warhammer after Khalas fatally wounded Morningstar.
• Purplebeard’s bandit mercenaries fled, and the Wolf Pack Company collected supplies and counted its dead, including three fallen knights.
• Gendry mourned Morningstar while the Handsome Man and Long Spear investigated the attackers’ origins and suspected a wealthy rival of Torello.
• Gendry and Qyburn discussed the danger of Myr’s power struggles, Qyburn’s desire to experiment on the gladiator’s corpse, and the possibility that political chaos could give them an opportunity.
• Gendry’s bloodline awakening increased after battle, and he discussed his vulnerability as Robert’s eldest son and his hostility toward House Lannister with Qyburn.
• Qyburn suggested seeking an alliance with Daenerys, and Gendry acknowledged that joining her cause could help him pursue the throne despite making new enemies.

Gendry and the Wolf Pack Company left the Fireweed estate for Myr with a convoy of dried Fireweed, as Magister Cassor’s political troubles and the Targaryen siblings’ worsening fortunes complicated their plans. Brigand sellswords and runaway slaves pursued the company, and the chapter ended as their main force appeared behind it, ready to attack.

• Handsome warned Gendry that the Wolf Pack Company was bound to Magister Cassor and might fall with him if he lost the Myrish election.
• Qyburn told Gendry that Viserys and Daenerys were hiding in Pentos and that the Navigators’ Guild was moving against their employer.
• Handsome and the Wolf Pack Company departed the Fireweed estate with a slave convoy, while Steward Lev stayed behind.
• The company traveled toward the coast and discovered that watchers were following them; Gendry heard that Viserys and Daenerys were destitute and that Viserys was growing desperate.
• Brigand Knights’ scouts harassed the convoy, then their main force appeared behind the Wolf Pack Company as Gendry prepared for battle.

Gendry and the Wolf Pack Company escaped Purplebeard’s ambush by surrendering the firepowder herbs, then met Salladhor Saan and traveled through a smuggler’s tunnel into Myr. They discovered that Governor Cassor had fallen and the city was in turmoil.

• Bardak charged the Wolf Pack Company, but Gendry killed him after Handsome Man and Dick the Bowmaker wounded him.
• Qyburn tried to turn Bardak into an undead warrior, but the experiment failed, and Handsome Man dumped three crates of firepowder herbs to make Purplebeard let the company pass.
• Purplebeard gathered the herbs after the Wolf Pack Company departed, deciding to keep the profit rather than obey Torello.
• Handsome Man and Gendry met Salladhor Saan aboard the Mead, and Salladhor agreed to wait along the coast for a share of the herbs.
• Handsome Man, Dick the Bowmaker, Gendry, and several skilled men entered Myr through Salladhor’s secret tunnel and found the city in upheaval after Governor Cassor’s fall.

The Wolf Pack Company fought its way through Myr after Magister Cassor and Greybeard were killed in a conspiracy involving Magister Joey. After Handsome Man was crippled by a poisoned bolt, he passed the lead wolf’s ring to Gendry, leaving him in command as the survivors prepared to flee Myr.

• Handsome Man and Gendry joined the surviving Wolf Pack Company members and learned from Steel Fist that Magister Cassor had been poisoned, Greybeard had died, and Magister Joey had betrayed them.
• Handsome Man led the company toward a hidden passage while Dick the Bowmaker covered their retreat and Gendry fought the pursuing Unsullied.
• A Myrish sellsword shot Handsome Man with a poisoned crossbow bolt, and the Wolf Pack Company abandoned its attempt to capture Unsullied and fought toward the smugglers’ passage.
• Handsome Man led the survivors through the passage and onto the Lyseni pirate king’s ship before Master Qyburn treated his poisoned wound and confirmed that his arm would lose most of its sensation.
• Handsome Man gave Gendry the lead wolf’s ring and appointed him commander of the Wolf Pack Company.

Gendry led the Wolf Pack Company toward the Disputed Lands, planning to establish a base by seizing estates and freeing slaves while building a cautious partnership with Salladhor. The chapter ended as the story shifted to Highgarden, where the next events were set to begin.

• The Wolf Pack Company swore allegiance to Gendry, who kept its existing officers and planned to occupy the Firepowder Herb Estate and free its slaves.
• Salladhor offered covert naval protection and a partnership, and told Gendry about Governor Rhaechar’s merchant ship returning from Volantis to Myr.
• Gendry led the freed slaves in casting off their wooden tags and formed them into the Free Army.
• Gendry and Qyburn discussed the company’s lost assets, the Ninepenny Kings, and the political dangers of expanding into the Disputed Lands and Stepstones.
• The story moved to Highgarden in the Reach, the seat of House Tyrell.

The Tyrells debated Renly’s plans for Margaery and the threat posed by the Fireweed King, while Gendry led the Free Army to seize another estate in the Disputed Lands. As Myr’s governors argued over how to stop him, Gendry prepared to expand his territory and secure a route to the coast.

• Lady Olenna rejected rushing into a royal marriage scheme and urged House Tyrell to watch events in King’s Landing and across the Narrow Sea.
• Willas reported that the Fireweed King controlled fireweed supplies, prompting the Tyrells to consider contacting him; Margaery asked to travel east, and Garlan offered to protect her.
• Gendry’s Free Army surrounded a Myrish estate, whose rebellious slaves opened its gates after killing the steward, and Gendry took the seventh estate.
• Gendry ordered Qyburn to register the estate’s wealth and Long Spear to maintain discipline while the freed slaves claimed their freedom.
• Gendry, Qyburn, and Handsome Man discussed protecting their growing holdings, gaining access to the coast, and building a navy as Myrish resistance threatened to grow.
• Governor Rayward called on Myr’s divided High Council to stop the Wolf Pack Company and the rebellious slaves from overrunning the Disputed Lands.

Gendry prepared the Wolf Pack to meet Governor Joey’s advancing mercenary army, while Stannis grew suspicious of the Lannister influence surrounding King Robert. As Jaqpo and Vargo Hoat led their unruly force toward the Firepowder Herb Estate, Jaqpo feared an ambush and struggled to control the Brave Companions.

• Governor Joey was urged to hire the Brave Companions and the Second Sons to suppress the Wolf Pack, despite their infamous reputations.
• Qyburn tested a venomous concoction on a captured Myr assassin, who died, while Gendry prepared for war and blamed Governor Joey for sending assassins.
• Stannis watched Robert’s hunting party and questioned why Joffrey and his siblings had golden hair when Robert’s other children had black hair.
• Gendry’s commanders planned scouts, ambushes, and a mobile attack against the approaching Myrmen expedition, assigning the Handsome Man, Steel Fist, Black Billy, Long Spear, and others their roles.
• Jaqpo led about a thousand Myrmen, mercenaries, and adventurers toward the Firepowder Herb Estate, but Vargo Hoat refused to wait for reinforcements and dismissed the Wolf Pack as weak.
• Jaqpo grew uneasy as the unruly army advanced, while Shagwell mocked slain runaway slaves and proposed robbing nearby estates before Jaqpo stopped him.

Gendry annihilated the Brave Companions, freed the surviving Unsullied, and expanded his foothold in the Disputed Lands. The Red Viper, Prince Oberyn of Dorne, arrived at the Firepowder Herb Estate, where Gendry welcomed him and introduced his companions.

• Gendry's cavalry ambushed the Brave Companions and routed the Myrish vanguard after Commander Jaqpo fled.
• Gendry killed Vargo Hoat and Shagwell the Jester as the Wolf Pack Company destroyed the Brave Companions and accepted the surrender of the Free Mercenaries.
• Gendry released the surviving Unsullied, who chose to join him, and allowed them to choose their own names and officers.
• Gendry rejected Bloodbeard's offer to ally against Myr and ordered Qyburn to contact the Windblown instead.
• Gendry welcomed Prince Oberyn to the Firepowder Herb Estate and introduced him to the leaders of the Wolf Pack Company.

Gendry and the Red Viper agreed to cooperate after testing each other in conversation and combat, and Oberyn came to see Gendry as a possible ally in pursuing his revenge. Gendry then planned to use the partnership and a feint against Myr to strengthen the Wolf Pack and target the Stepstones.

• Gendry discussed trade and a possible alliance with Oberyn, who sought support for his revenge against the Mountain and House Lannister.
• Gendry and Oberyn sparred repeatedly, and Oberyn praised Gendry's strength while recognizing that he still needed combat experience.
• Oberyn recalled his sister Elia and his long-delayed desire for revenge, then identified Gendry as the unexpected ally he had been waiting for.
• After Oberyn departed, Gendry and Qyburn discussed Dorne's limited strength and the military and political value of cooperation with the Red Viper.
• Gendry ordered the Wolf Pack to spread word of a joint attack on Myr with the Cat Company while preparing to make the Stepstones their real target.

Gendry expanded the Wolf Pack Company’s territory into the Stepstones while the Free Army attracted runaway slaves and alarmed the slave-trading cities. As Myr organized a new coalition and the Golden Company weighed its options, Gendry prepared to discuss a crucial matter with his commanders.

• Gendry accepted four Volantene runaway-slave captains into the Free Army’s navy, and Captain Harris told him about the Waterside Widow.
• The Golden Company’s officers debated Myr’s offer to attack the Wolf Pack, while Tristan Rivers argued against fighting Gendry and Franklin urged them to pursue their own return to Westeros.
• The Free Army and Wolf Pack seized two nameless Stepstones islands, and Gendry told a Tyroshi envoy that he was negotiating cooperation with the Golden Company.
• Gendry’s forces debated Myr’s planned coalition, which was seeking support from mercenary companies including the Golden Company, the Cat Company, and the Second Sons.
• Gendry said the Golden Company might still choose either side, then announced that he had a serious matter to raise with his commanders.

Gendry strengthened the Free Army and rejected an early coronation, then offered the Golden Company a chance to fight alongside him against Myr's sellswords. In King's Landing, Stannis suspected the truth about Cersei's children while Varys and Illyrio discussed the kingdom's tensions and their plans to restore the Targaryens.

• Gendry ordered the Free Army to train systematically, enforce discipline, and avoid needless killings, then declined his supporters' call to crown him king.
• Gendry defeated Long Spear, Steel Fist, and several Unsullied in a group sparring match and learned more about Cregan Stark and the North from his companions.
• Gendry rejected the Golden Company's proposal to help it invade Westeros but offered it a simpler alliance against sellsword companies hired by Myr.
• King Robert drunkenly berated Cersei at a feast, and Stannis considered approaching Jon because he suspected the truth about the royal bastards.
• Varys told Illyrio that Stannis was searching for the king's bastards and suspected Gendry was the mysterious Fireweed King, while they weighed the Dothraki and other political options.
• Varys and Illyrio discussed Renly and Loras's plan to replace Cersei with a new queen, and Varys asked for funds and thirty more young, literate informants.

Gendry led the Wolf Pack and Free Army against Bloodbeard’s Myrish host, using a surprise cavalry charge to break the Second Sons’ formation. The battle began with the Second Sons reeling under Gendry’s assault, while the other forces and the catapults remained in play.

• Bloodbeard’s army surrounded the Firepowder Herb Estate and began bombarding it with three giant catapults.
• Gendry assembled four hundred cavalry and two thousand infantry for a nighttime attack, assigning his troops targets and signals.
• Gendry led the cavalry out at dawn while Dick the Bowmaker’s concealed archers attacked the Long Spear Company.
• Gendry ordered the cavalry to charge the Second Sons, breaking through their formation as the Titan’s Bastard called for aid.
• Gendry smashed Second Sons with his warhammer as he drove toward the catapults.