Chapter Summaries

Salladhor Saan and Donno Suckliff led a feint that drew the Redwyne Fleet away from its blockade of Shipbreaker Bay. Under cover of darkness and a raging storm, Davos Seaworth began carrying supplies toward Storm's End.

• Salladhor Saan ordered the Thousand-Colored Bird and his ships to threaten the Redwyne Fleet while coordinating with Donno Suckliff's Ironborn.
• Donno Suckliff led the Nine Serpents and his fleet toward the Redwyne Fleet, hoping to lure its warships toward reefs and possibly capture one.
• The Redwyne Fleet sent warships after Salladhor's pirates and Donno's Ironborn, disrupting its formation and opening a gap in the blockade.
• Davos Seaworth sailed a black-sailed cargo ship through Shipbreaker Bay under cover of darkness to bring food to Storm's End.

Davos and his men slipped past the Redwyne blockade and used a hidden sea passage to bring food into Storm's End, where Stannis Baratheon and the defenders were starving under siege. The chapter left them carrying crates toward the castle, with the starving garrison about to receive a feast.

• Davos guided his cargo ship through Shipbreaker Bay's reefs and along the cliffs beneath Storm's End.
• Davos and his men found a concealed iron gate and widened it enough to pass through with a boat.
• Davos led the sailors and their crates through a secret waterway and up the steps toward the Main Keep.
• The chapter described how Mace Tyrell's army and Paxter Redwyne's fleet had isolated Storm's End while Stannis Baratheon refused to surrender.
• The besieged defenders, reduced to eating animals and rats, were about to receive ham and smoked meat brought by Davos.

Davos Seaworth brought desperately needed food through the blockade to Storm's End, where Stannis Baratheon distributed it and asked about the Southern Expeditionary Army. Meanwhile, Titus Peake took command of the campaign and assigned a task to the cooperative Symond Templeton, whose Vale family embodied the region's traditions of knighthood and faith.

• Davos Seaworth met Stannis Baratheon at Storm's End after the guards apprehended him, and Stannis questioned him about his identity.
• Stannis accepted Davos's supplies and distributed food to everyone in the castle before taking his own portion.
• Stannis thanked Davos and asked about the Southern Expeditionary Army as he considered Storm's End's next defenses and cooperation with Titus.
• Titus Peake assumed command of the army after Eddard left with light cavalry to search for Lyanna, and Titus assigned a task to Symond Templeton.
• Titus reflected on House Templeton's strength, its devotion to the Faith of the Seven, and the Vale Knights' reputation for chivalry.

Titus Peake met the Reach leaders on a hill between the armies, intending to use the confrontation to prepare for battle rather than pursue a peaceful settlement. Mace Tyrell accused Titus of betraying Highgarden and causing Randyll Tarly’s death, while Titus remained unconcerned.

• Titus brought Captain White Eagle, Gino, his deputies, and a small guard squad to meet the Reach delegation between the two armies.
• Mace Tyrell, Baelor Hightower, Alester Florent, and Mathis Rowan rode to the hill, where Titus and the other leaders gathered with few guards.
• Mace accused Titus of betraying Highgarden and asked why he had harmed Randyll Tarly.
• Titus silently dismissed Mace’s accusations, while the Reach leaders noticed that his calm manner suggested he was ready to fight.
• Mace continued speaking as the meeting grew tense.

Titus Peake confronted Mace Tyrell and the Reach lords during surrender negotiations, using the Ironborn threat and the strength of his allies to pressure them. After Mace resisted, Titus asserted his authority as commander-in-chief, and the Reach representatives reconsidered their view of him.

• Mathis Rowan tried to calm Mace Tyrell, while Titus Peake judged the Reach lords’ willingness to submit and recognized Mace’s reluctance to kneel before a former vassal.
• Titus defended his support for Robert Baratheon I and threatened to resume the fighting if Mace continued to call it betrayal.
• Titus warned that the Iron Islands’ fleet was approaching the middle reaches of the Mander River, heightening the Reach lords’ fears for their lands and weakening their position.
• Titus demanded that Mace dismount and kneel or face a march south, but Mace refused and protested that Storm’s End and Starpike were under siege.
• Titus declared that Mace would address him as Lord Commander-in-Chief, and Gino proclaimed Titus’s titles and holdings to the Reach representatives.
• Mathis Rowan, Baelor Hightower, Alester Florent, and Mace reassessed Titus’s standing after hearing the extent of his titles and power.

Titus Peake gave the Southern Lands Army an ultimatum demanding five hundred thousand gold dragons and Mace Tyrell’s public, kneeling surrender, while Mace rejected the terms and returned to rally the Reach lords against Titus. Titus left the talks warning that refusal could bring an attack, and his deputies praised his hard line as the armies prepared for what came next.

• Mathis Rowan tried to smooth over Mace Tyrell’s angry remarks, and Alester Florent persuaded Titus to overlook Mace’s supposed slip of the tongue.
• Titus ended the negotiations and demanded five hundred thousand gold dragons in reparations and Mace’s public surrender on his knees.
• Mace rejected the terms, while Mathis asked for time to discuss them; Titus allowed the delay but warned the Reach representatives to send a prompt answer or face consequences.
• After Titus departed, Mace blamed the failed talks on Titus’s arrogance and focused the assembled Reach nobles on the demand for gold.
• In the Southern Expeditionary Army’s command tent, Gulian Swann praised Titus’s conduct and said the Stormlands troops were ready to fight.

Titus persuaded the allied commanders to abandon hopes of a peaceful surrender and prepare to fight the southern army, arguing that the Reach was wealthy but divided and that victory would bring rich spoils. The council ended with Roose and Symond supporting his plan, while Titus hinted at arrangements he had not revealed.

• Roose Bolton warned that harsh surrender terms could unite the Reach and lead to needless losses, while Gawen favored battle and Symon acknowledged both the Reach's wealth and the risks.
• Titus declared that taking the southern army was his true aim and argued that Mace Tyrell could not unite the Reach's powerful houses into a determined force.
• Titus promised the allies a share of the southern army's wealth and suggested that some enemy commanders supported the Iron Throne and justice.
• Roose agreed to persuade the northern lords, and Symond said the Vale vanguard stood ready to move.
• The council ended with the Stormlands, northern, and Vale contingents prepared to fight under Titus's command.

The Reach lords argued over Titus Peake’s harsh surrender terms and Mace Tyrell’s outrage, while Earl Mathis Rowan warned that Titus was a ruthless opponent. Alester Florent urged the divided army to prepare for war, leaving the Reach lords poised to fortify their camp and face the Black Earl.

• The Reach lords argued over whether to surrender and how to pay Titus Peake’s demand for five hundred thousand gold dragons.
• Mace Tyrell condemned Titus for humiliating him and insisted that the Reach could not accept the insult.
• Baelor of Oldtown argued that Titus was only threatening them, but Mathis Rowan cited Titus’s past killings and urged the lords to surrender or prepare for war.
• Alester Florent called for the Reach army to fortify its camp and ready its troops while the lords remained unable to agree on surrender.

Mace Tyrell ordered the Southern Lands army to prepare for battle rather than surrender, while Alester Florent worried about his daughter Melissa and sought a way to draw closer to House Baratheon. Back in his tent, Alester discovered a mysterious letter sealed with the Peake sigil and began to read it.

• Mace Tyrell accepted Matus and Alester Florent's proposal to reinforce the camp and put Titus Peake under pressure, and the lords left to prepare.
• Alester Florent reflected on Queen Alysanne Targaryen's Widow's Law and the right of the first night, and recognized that neither could protect Melissa Florent's claim to Horn Hill.
• Alester considered how House Florent might gain the new dynasty's patronage and draw closer to House Baratheon.
• Alester returned to his tent and found a miniature letter tube beside his pillow, though his guards insisted no one had entered.
• Alester opened the tube, recognized its three castles seal as Peake's, and read a letter addressed to him as an old friend and distant kinsman.

Alester Florent accepted Titus Peake’s offer to betray Mace Tyrell in exchange for a chance to lead the Reach’s surrender and rise above House Tyrell. The next morning, the Southern Lands Army repositioned for battle, while Wenda Storm confirmed that its formations matched Alester’s report.

• Alester read Titus Peake’s secret letter and agreed to help undermine Mace Tyrell in exchange for House Florent’s privileged role in surrendering to the Iron Throne.
• Alester hid the letter, then planned to recruit the Earls of Honeyholt and Halfmoon Hall and write a reply proving his loyalty.
• At dawn, the Southern Lands Army withdrew its siege lines around Storm’s End and formed battle lines facing the Southern Expeditionary Army.
• Alester took command of the army’s rear, while Baelor Hightower guarded its right flank and Matus commanded its left.
• Titus sent Wenda Storm’s gyrfalcon, Griffith, to inspect the opposing army, and Wenda reported that its formations matched Alester’s letter.

Titus launched a sunset assault on the Southern Lands Army, and the Vale Knights, Northmen, and Stormlanders routed the Reach forces across the battlefield. The Reach coalition fractured as allied houses withdrew, leaving Highgarden and its close allies to face the attack largely alone.

• Titus ordered the Southern Expeditionary Army to attack at sunset, targeting Highgarden and Mace Tyrell while keeping his central army in reserve.
• The Vale Knights smashed through the camp defenses and routed the forces of Highgarden, Cider Hall, and New Barrel before troops from Old Oak and Greenvale slowed their advance.
• Roose Bolton and Rickard Karstark led the Northmen against House Hightower, whose soldiers broke under the assault as Ser Baelor retreated.
• Gulian Swann's Stormlanders and Mathis Rowan's forces fought on the opposite flank, while Rowan's Reach allies largely withdrew from the battle.
• The Southern Expeditionary Army repeatedly called the campaign a march against Highgarden rebels as the Tyrell forces and their closest allies were left fighting alone.

Titus Peake’s Southern Expeditionary Army encircled and shattered Mace Tyrell’s vanguard, capturing Baelor Hightower while the Reach rear refused to help. Titus ordered his troops to slow their attack and accept surrenders, leaving Mace trapped and facing capture.

• Matus Rowan withdrew his troops, and the other houses behind him retreated rather than aid the Hightower forces.
• Stannis Baratheon sent Storm’s End’s defenders out through the gates to attack Baelor Hightower’s retreating troops, and Roose Bolton’s spearmen captured Baelor.
• Alester Florent’s rear formation held back, while the Southern Expeditionary Army’s wings closed around Mace Tyrell’s vanguard and completed the encirclement.
• Mace Tyrell tried to break out, but his soldiers surrendered, and he realized that his allies had abandoned him.
• Wenda reported the battlefield’s progress to Titus Peake, who ordered his troops to slow their attacks and accept the Reachmen’s surrender.

After crushing the Reachmen vanguard, Titus Peake forced Mace Tyrell to kneel, then declared that Mace had surrendered to him personally rather than to the Iron Throne; Mace fainted from humiliation. Titus revealed that Alester Florent would surrender the remaining Southern Lands Army, and the chapter ended with Alester and Mathis Rowan meeting the victors on the hill.

• Titus Peake had Mace Tyrell brought before the armies after the Southern Expeditionary Army defeated the Highgarden-led vanguard and captured its commanders.
• Mace knelt and swore allegiance to Robert I, but Titus told him he was surrendering only to the man who had defeated and captured him.
• Mace tried to rise, collapsed, and fainted; Titus ordered his guards to keep him under strict guard and treat him well.
• Titus told Roose Bolton that Alester Florent would formally surrender the remaining Southern Lands Army, and praised Stannis Baratheon for helping capture Baelor Hightower.
• Alester Florent and Mathis Rowan met Titus on the hill, where Alester happily surrendered the remaining army while standing.

After the Southern Lands Army surrendered, Titus’s forces seized its supplies and held a victory feast with the surviving Reach nobles. Titus announced double ransoms for captured lords and knights, but offered leniency to those willing to become his allies, leaving Alester to negotiate.

• The Southern Lands Army surrendered, and Titus’s forces took its intact camp, discovering abundant provisions, weapons, armor, siege equipment, crossbows, and chests of coins.
• Titus’s army held a lavish victory feast in the Lord of Highgarden’s pavilion, where Alester said he had sent a ship to summon Paxter Redwyne to submit.
• Titus praised Alester for providing intelligence that helped the Southern Expeditionary Army defeat Mace Tyrell’s forces.
• Mathis asked Titus what he would do with the captured Reach nobles, including Baelor Hightower and the Fossoways.
• Titus declared that captured lords and knights would face double ransoms, but those who became his friends could receive leniency; he asked Alester to persuade them.

Titus demanded one million gold dragons from Mace Tyrell for his ransom and Highgarden’s war reparations, and intimidated him until he agreed to pay. Titus left Mace broken and crying, with one month to deliver the money.

• Titus announced that Highgarden must pay one million gold dragons, with the sum divided among the Iron Throne, Storm’s End, his forces, and allied houses.
• Mace woke in captivity, distressed over having surrendered publicly, and learned that Titus had set his ransom and reparations at one million gold dragons.
• Titus confronted Mace with an itemized bill and threatened to march on Highgarden and destroy House Tyrell if he refused to pay.
• Alester led the frightened Earl Meadows out of the tent while Titus continued pressuring Mace to accept the terms.
• Mace abandoned his attempts to bargain and agreed that House Tyrell would pay one million gold dragons within a month.
• Titus warned Mace not to use Golden Hand coins, then left as Mace sat trembling and crying.

After lifting the siege of Storm's End and defeating the Southern Lands Army, Titus celebrated his victory, rewarded Davos Seaworth, and negotiated with Reach nobles. The next day, Paxter Redwyne arrived to meet Titus privately, leaving their discussion to come.

• Titus personally knighted Davos Seaworth before the assembled nobles at Storm's End.
• Titus hosted a victory banquet, where Alester reported that Earl Meadows had agreed to cooperate and Earl Oakheart had refused to yield.
• Alester praised Titus as the greatest general in the Seven Kingdoms, and Stannis joined the table to toast him.
• Paxter Redwyne arrived aboard the Queen of the Arbor and requested an audience with Titus.
• Titus received Paxter privately in an unused study at Storm's End.

Paxter Redwyne swore the Arbor and Redwyne Fleet to the Iron Throne, warned Titus against destabilizing the Reach, and secured assurances that Mace Tyrell would live. As Dornish survivors began raiding and slaughtering civilians in the Dornish Marches, Jon Arryn considered appointing a new warden to defend against Dorne.

• Paxter Redwyne offered the Arbor and Redwyne Fleet’s allegiance and urged Titus to preserve House Tyrell’s place in the Reach.
• Titus agreed to spare Mace Tyrell and suggested that Paxter return the Redwyne Fleet to defend the Reach’s coast.
• Titus considered the political dangers of crushing House Tyrell and planned to consult Maester Cressen about the storms around Dragonstone.
• The remnants of the Dornish army raided settlements in the Dornish Marches, burned villages, and killed civilians.
• Jon Arryn received news of the atrocities and considered a new warden to defend against Dorne.

Robert I chose Titus Peake to become Warden of the Dornish Marches, despite Jon Arryn’s concerns that the appointment could provoke another war with Dorne. After Maester Cressen delivered the news, Titus realized his command over the marcher forces had grown substantially.

• Robert I argued that Titus Peake was the only suitable choice for Warden of the Dornish Marches, while Jon Arryn worried that Titus would renew the fighting with Dorne.
• Jon Arryn considered the Iron Throne’s limited authority, revenue, and military strength without dragons as he weighed the risks of war and the growing power of House Peake.
• Jon Arryn followed Robert I’s wishes and formally appointed Titus Peake Warden of the Dornish Marches.
• The appointment gave Titus authority over wartime forces across the Reach and Stormlands borderlands, superseding the Tyrells’ and Carons’ competing claims.
• After Maester Cressen brought him the news, Titus recognized that the martial houses of both regions were now under his command.

Titus convened the Dornish Marches’ lords to address raids by defeated Dornish troops and ordered them to return home to restore their lands and defenses. He planned to counterattack across the mountains after the Dornish withdrew, though he left the campaign’s details undecided.

• Bryce Caron demanded an immediate raid on the Dornish, while Gulian Swann and Simon Dondarrion urged caution because the marches were vulnerable and the mountains favored the enemy.
• Titus confirmed that northern lords and Vale knights would soon leave, and noted that his allies were waiting for ransoms and their shares of the spoils.
• Titus ordered the march lords to assess damage, gather displaced people, and strengthen their defenses rather than pursue the Dornish into the mountains.
• Bryce questioned whether Titus would let the raiders leave with their plunder, and Titus replied that his forces could cross the Prince’s Pass to attack Dorne.
• Titus kept his campaign plans to himself and intended to use the unrest to unite the lords and prepare a larger force for war.

Marshal Titus sent Wenda Storm and a force of two thousand to secure Whitegrove, prevent the White brothers from interfering, and occupy Horn Hill if possible. Meanwhile, the defeated Dornish army fractured as its remaining leaders argued over retaliation, and the chapter left Dagos Manwoody and Franklyn Forrester preparing to retreat while the new Warden of the Marches remained a threat.

• Titus assigned Wenda Storm, Ser Dirk of Whitegrove, and Lorance Roxton's men to secure Whitegrove and kill the White brothers if necessary, with orders to seize Horn Hill if they had strength left.
• Dagos Manwoody urged the surviving Dornish leaders to raid the Marches and avenge their defeat, and Franklyn Forrester supported him.
• The Earl of Blackmont refused to continue fighting and withdrew with his troops to return to Dorne.
• After Blackmont's departure, Franklyn concluded the army could not keep fighting, and Dagos agreed to retreat rather than risk destruction.
• Dagos and Franklyn prepared to withdraw, though the new Warden of the Marches was expected to oppose their retreat.