Chapter Summaries

Titus Peake woke in Starpike after spending the night with Lora Blackmont, the runaway daughter and heir of his house’s enemy, and tried to soothe her with romantic words. When Blackmont men arrived searching for Lora, Titus prepared to meet them and worried that their affair could provoke a conflict between Dorne and the Reach.

• Titus woke beside Lora Blackmont and recalled that he had become the Earl of Starpike in a new world.
• Lora asked Titus to forsake his family name, but he reassured her that he could not abandon House Peake or Starpike.
• Titus remembered meeting Lora while hunting the previous day and learning her identity only after they had fallen in love.
• Captain Parker told Titus that a Blackmont knight and twenty guards had arrived looking for Lora and were waiting in the front hall.
• Titus calmed the frightened Lora and told her to get dressed so they could face the Blackmont party together.

Titus confronted Othello Blamont, who came to Starpike to take Lora back and challenged him to a duel. Titus accepted, and the two prepared to fight in the courtyard while Lora watched anxiously.

• Titus learned that Othello Blamont had arrived with Dornish guards to find Lora, and Lora revealed Othello was a candidate her father had considered as her husband.
• Othello accused Titus of abducting Lora and demanded her release, while Titus mocked him and defended Lora's choice to visit Starpike.
• Titus rebuked Othello for disrespecting him in his own castle, and Othello challenged him to a duel over Lora.
• Titus accepted the challenge and warned that Othello would leave something behind for Starpike if he lost.
• The guards escorted Titus and Othello into the courtyard, where they faced each other before House Peake's statues as Othello prepared to strike.

Titus defeated Ser Othello of Blackmont in a duel, first outmaneuvering him and then severing his sword hand with a long-reaching strike. The duel ended as Maester Greg arrived with an urgent letter.

• Titus provoked Othello into stating that he meant to take Titus’s life, then Othello charged and attacked him with his greatsword.
• Titus dodged Othello’s opening strikes, countered with a three-hit combination, and bloodied his face.
• Othello saw Lora watching Titus with admiration and launched a furious series of attacks, but Titus parried and forced him back.
• Titus noticed Maester Greg waiting with a letter and decided to end the duel, announcing that it would be Othello’s last.
• Titus lunged from an unusual stance and severed Othello’s right hand, leaving him kneeling and howling in pain.

Titus defeated and killed Othello Blackmont after the knight tried a hidden dagger attack, then received news that Lord Byron Caron had died. Suspecting the reported illness was a cover for something, Titus sent Lora Blackmont home with her household soldiers and Othello’s body.

• Titus dodged Othello’s concealed dagger attack, disarmed him, and killed him with a Spartan Kick that drove the dagger into his forehead.
• Titus sheathed his battered sword, and Lora embraced and kissed him after the duel.
• Maester Greg delivered a raven’s letter reporting that Lord Byron Caron, his wife, and his second son had died from a sudden chill.
• Titus and Maester Greg doubted that illness had caused Byron’s death.
• Titus asked Lora to return to Blackmont with her soldiers and Othello’s body, and she reluctantly departed after exchanging promises of love with Titus.

Titus ordered an urgent departure for Nightsong after suspecting intrigue surrounding a knight’s death. As preparations began, he surveyed Starpike and reflected on the castle’s origins and the history embodied by its great stone heads.

• Titus ordered Captain Parker and Ser Robinson to ready horses, guards, provisions, and armor for a journey to the Stormlands.
• Titus told Maester Greg that he would leave for Nightsong that day to visit Earl Byron Caron and investigate the suspicious report of a knight’s death from typhoid fever.
• Maester Greg relayed Titus’s urgent orders, and Starpike’s servants began preparing for the journey.
• Titus surveyed Starpike’s natural defenses and considered its legendary origins, which he compared with the history of Starfall and House Dayne.
• Titus studied the four carved heads on Starpike’s rock wall and recalled the deeds of House Peake’s founders, including Emmerick Peake and Lorimar Peake.

Titus examined the unfinished portrait of Unwin Peake and recalled how Unwin rose to immense power after the Dance of the Dragons, then lost it through reckless rule and political overreach. The chapter left Titus confident that he could restore House Peake’s fortunes and someday earn a place on Starpike’s cliff.

• Titus studied the portraits carved into Starpike’s cliff and considered the history of House Peake and its rivalry with House Manderly.
• Titus reflected on Unwin Peake’s rise as Aegon III’s chief regent, Hand of the King, and Protector of the Realm after the Dance of the Dragons.
• Titus recalled how Unwin’s abuses, schemes, and forced marriage plots alienated the royal family, nobles, and councilors.
• Torrhen Manderly led the new regency council that removed Unwin from power, leaving his cliff portrait unfinished.
• Titus imagined recovering House Peake’s lost castles and earning his own portrait on Starpike’s cliff.

Titus explored the secret chamber hidden behind a bookshelf in his study, using mechanisms devised by Emmerick Peake. He left the entrance open with a rare book and prepared to see what the chamber held.

• Titus decided to focus on his coming opportunity in the Stormlands rather than reclaiming the family’s lost castles immediately.
• Titus examined his ancestors’ portraits and recalled that his indigo eyes came from his Tyroshi mother, whose marriage to House Peake followed his uncle’s death at sea.
• Titus moved the portrait of an Earl Titus and pressed a hidden lever, then pushed The Four Kings on the bookshelf to open a secret entrance.
• Titus entered the chamber with his sword scabbard and The Four Kings, lit the oil lamps, and placed the book in a slot to keep the door from closing.

Titus explored House Peake’s secret chamber and reflected on the family’s history of rebellions, defeats, and the political upheaval caused by the Peake Uprising. He climbed to the chamber’s raised level to reach the family’s greatest treasure, whose nature remained unrevealed.

• Titus entered the Peake family’s secret chamber and examined its books, records, and mechanical curiosities.
• Titus read a record mocking House Peake’s repeated losses and recalled how the family backed the Blackfyre rebellions before turning against the Iron Throne.
• Titus reviewed the Peake Uprising, in which House Peake killed King Maekar I, Earl Robert Reyne, and Tywald Lannister before Aegon V inherited the throne.
• Titus recalled how the aftermath affected Brynden Rivers, the Reynes, and the Lannisters, setting the stage for the Rains of Castamere.
• Titus climbed to the raised level, where House Peake’s most precious treasure awaited.

Titus discovered House Peake’s hidden treasures and chose the Valyrian steel sword Orphan-Maker, intending to carry it on his journey to Nightsong. He left the chained chests unopened and departed the secret chamber with the blade.

• Titus found two chained treasure chests and two Valyrian steel swords hidden beneath Starpike.
• He identified the longsword as Orphan-Maker, a blade once wielded by Ser Jon Roxton during the Dance of the Dragons.
• Titus picked up Orphan-Maker, tested its balance, and decided to bring it back into use despite its troubled history.
• Titus thought of Bryce Caron and resolved to rescue the Earl of Nightsong.
• Titus left the two chests unopened, retrieved The Four Kings, extinguished the light, and exited the chamber.

Titus left Starpike with a small, disciplined guard force and rode east toward Nightsong, considering his men and the war-torn Dornish Marches. The party rested after crossing a forest, and Titus looked ahead toward the Stormlands seat of House Caron as the chapter ended.

• Titus tested Orphan-Maker by cutting a longsword in two, then left the study and prepared to depart Starpike.
• Titus gave Ser Robinson and Maester Greg instructions, mounted Black Pearl, and led his guards out through the castle gates.
• Titus's party rode east across the countryside and through the forest where Titus and Lora Blackmont had first met.
• Titus halted the party at midday, assessed the complementary strengths of Parker and Bowen, and considered the risks of their mission to Nightsong.
• Titus reflected on Nightsong's location and the Marches' history of conflict, then considered the Stormlands houses guarding the eastern Red Mountains and House Yronwood's ambitions.

Titus Peake rode from Starpike to Nightsong, reflecting on his past service to Earl Byron Caron and the bitter marcher rivalries surrounding his relationship with Lora. He arrived at the cliffside fortress to find Alston and a large guard gathering waiting as night and the howling wind closed in.

• Titus recalled how Earl Byron had knighted him, trained him, and helped him take charge of Starpike.
• Titus and his party rode east from Starpike and reached Nightsong as the sun set.
• Titus recognized Nightsong's precarious stone approach and remembered the years he had spent there.
• Alston recognized Titus, then addressed him formally as the Earl of Starpike.
• Alston led Titus and his party up to the castle, where several dozen guards had assembled at the main gate.

Titus Peake arrived at Nightsong and confronted Ser Maddy, who tried to belittle him and control his access to the young Earl Bryce. At the reception, Titus recognized a struggle for power between Maddy and Ser Iomine, then listened as the singer Tom performed.

• Ser Maddy greeted Titus provocatively and questioned why he had come to Nightsong.
• Titus said he had come to visit Earl Bryce, and Maddy reluctantly sent word before escorting him into the castle.
• Titus met Bryce, Ser Iomine, Dikembe, and Hayes in the reception hall and noticed tension between Maddy’s followers and the earl’s guards.
• Titus sat opposite Maddy, and his placement appeared to affirm that he recognized the rivalry over control of Nightsong.
• Maddy served Titus hot ale and summoned a singer, whom Titus suspected was Seven-String Tom.

At Nightsong, Titus used songs and conversation to draw Ser Maddy into discussing the Kingswood Brotherhood and its defeat. Maddy recounted Jaime Lannister’s role in the campaign, leaving Titus intrigued by the young squire’s exploits.

• Seven-String Tom performed several songs at Nightsong while Titus used the gathering to win attention and unsettle Ser Maddy.
• Ser Maddy discussed the Kingswood Brotherhood and praised Arthur Dayne and Barristan Selmy for ending its reign.
• Titus asked about a Westerlands squire who had fought the Smiling Knight, and Maddy identified him as Jaime Lannister.
• Maddy said Jaime protected Earl Sumner Crakehall, faced the Smiling Knight, and was knighted by Arthur Dayne with Dawn.

At Nightsong, Titus used Tyronn Lue’s failed pursuit of bandits to propose removing him as deputy captain and taking Bryce Caron as his squire. The hall’s factions accepted the bargain for their own reasons, while Titus planned to resolve Nightsong’s problems that very night.

• Titus questioned Tyronn Lue about his late return and learned that the bandits had escaped west after his horse went lame.
• Titus contrasted Tyronn Lue’s Reach-trained horse with the Highgarden warhorses ridden by the others and used the difference to criticize his performance.
• Titus proposed that Bryce remove Tyronn Lue as deputy captain and put the castle guards under Ser Iomine’s command; Bryce agreed, while Ser Maddy objected.
• Titus added that he wanted Bryce as his squire, shifting the reactions of Bryce, Iomine, Maddy, and Tyronn Lue.
• Ser Maddy and Iomine considered how the arrangement might benefit their factions, while Titus resolved to address Nightsong’s problems that night.

Titus made Bryce his squire and challenged Ser Maddy after the knight questioned his right to judge Bryce’s progress. Their dispute turned into a sword fight in the hall, where Titus struck first and the duel began.

• Ser Maddy accused Tyronn Lue of betraying Nightsong and ordered guards to seize him.
• Titus declared Bryce his squire, and Maddy had Tyronn Lue carried out of the hall.
• Titus asked Bryce about his swordsmanship and said he might soon be ready to match an ordinary knight.
• Ser Maddy challenged Titus’s ability to judge Bryce, and Titus accused him of insulting his knighthood and Starpike.
• Titus and Ser Maddy drew their swords, and Titus launched a swift attack that began their duel.

Titus overwhelmed Sir Maddy in a sword fight, wounded him, and broke his broadsword with the Orphan-Maker. When Maddy called for the guards, Titus defeated Alston and pursued him while ordering the others to control the hall.

• Titus pressed Sir Maddy with a relentless series of attacks, then paused to recover as Maddy counterattacked with his longer reach.
• Titus switched his sword behind his back and struck Maddy across the chest, cutting through his breastplate.
• Titus taunted Maddy and adapted to his attacks until he landed thirteen rapid strikes and broke Maddy’s broadsword.
• Maddy called for the guards, and Alston tried to stop Titus but was struck twice and collapsed.
• Titus pursued the fleeing Maddy, ordered Parker and Bowen to hold the doorway, and told Sir Iomine to handle the other guards.

Titus ended Maddy’s rebellion at Nightsong, killed him, and made Bryce prove himself by executing Alston before knighting him. With Bryce installed as Earl of Nightsong, Titus concluded his first move into the Stormlands.

• Titus forced Maddy to order his men to surrender, and the fighting at the reception hall ended.
• Titus executed Maddy despite his claim that Titus had promised to spare him.
• Titus ordered Bryce to execute Alston, and Bryce killed him before kneeling to Titus.
• Titus knighted Bryce, giving the young Earl of Nightsong authority to take control of his family’s castle.
• Bryce and Iomine began interrogating Tyronn Lue while Titus withdrew from the Caron family’s affairs.

Titus helped Bryce secure Nightsong and left Bowen and ten Peake soldiers there before setting out for Starpike. As his party rode back through the forest where he had met Lora, three musketeers waited ahead, though Titus did not know it.

• Titus told Bryce fabricated stories about how his swordsmanship had improved, while discussing castle management and Bryce’s bastard brother, Roland Storm.
• Titus lent Bowen and ten Peake soldiers to Bryce to help stabilize Nightsong and secure his position.
• Titus met Maester Van Gandy and invited Seven-String Tom to visit Starpike before resting overnight at Nightsong.
• Titus and his reduced riding party left for Starpike the next morning, with Titus thinking of preparations for the coming conflict between the king and the crown prince.
• The riders charged into the forest where Titus had first met Lora, unaware that three musketeers were waiting ahead.

Titus and his cavalry encountered a one-eyed huntress named Alicent in the forest, where he posed as the chivalrous knight Don Quixote and Captain Parker as Sancho Panza. The encounter ended with Alicent asking about Titus’s horse, as he invited her to help choose its name.

• Titus sensed he was being watched in the forest, then saw Alicent pursued onto the road by three hunters carrying flaming spears.
• Titus sent three mounted spear infantrymen after the hunters and welcomed Alicent, who claimed they were bandits.
• Alicent thanked Titus and introduced herself, revealing a white eyepatch over her left eye.
• Titus gave Alicent the alias Don Quixote and introduced Captain Parker as his deputy, Sancho Panza.
• Alicent admired Titus’s horse, and he asked whether she preferred the names Rocinante or Doflamingo.

Titus returned to Starpike posing as Don Quixote, captain of Earl Peake’s guards, after encountering Alicent and her bodyguard Bull in the woods. He left soldiers to track the bandits who had taken Alicent’s father and arrived at the city ready to continue his deception.

• Alicent praised the name Doflamingo for Titus’s horse, while Parker kept quiet about Titus’s earlier claim that his own opinion was all that mattered.
• Jack and the other Peake Soldiers returned without catching the bandits, but they brought back Alicent’s bodyguard Bull and her white horse.
• Alicent told Titus that bandits had kidnapped her father, and Titus ordered three soldiers to stay behind and search for the trail while the rest returned to Starpike for reinforcements.
• Titus’s party rode back to Starpike with Alicent and Bull, and Titus noticed a familiar white flash watching them from the forest.
• Titus reached Starpike as Captain Don, having sent Parker ahead to announce his assumed identity and determined to keep the act going.