Chapter Summaries

After Tormund Velaryon disrupted his plans, Redd shifted to using rumors of Corlys Velaryon’s alleged ties to pirates to fuel suspicion between House Targaryen and House Velaryon. Rhaenyra read the report and realized the accusation could deepen Viserys’s existing fears about Driftmark’s fleet.

• Redd considered more direct ways to seize control of Westeros after Tormund’s intervention complicated his plans.
• Redd decided to pass Rhaenyra a report linking Corlys Velaryon to the pirate leader Tormund while keeping some intelligence secret.
• Redd summoned Mysaria and gave her detailed instructions to advance his new plan.
• Redd showed Rhaenyra a report claiming that Driftmark’s fleet might collaborate with pirates to protect its maritime dominance and enrich House Velaryon.
• Rhaenyra questioned the report’s reliability, but Redd argued that Corlys’s power and alleged pirate ties could make Viserys fear for the Crown’s safety.

Redd persuaded Rhaenyra to secretly raise suspicions about Corlys Velaryon’s alleged dealings with pirates, and she passed the rumor to King Viserys. Viserys was left troubled and uncertain about House Velaryon’s loyalty.

• Redd told Rhaenyra to present the pirate rumor as hearsay and let Viserys investigate, rather than submit a formal report.
• Rhaenyra hesitated over harming House Velaryon but agreed after Redd argued that weakening them would protect her claim to the throne.
• Redd revealed that his plan to eliminate the Velaryons through an accident had failed, and that he would instead sow suspicion; Mysaria arranged a source to spread the rumor.
• Rhaenyra went to Viserys and told him that Corlys was secretly colluding with the pirate Tormund.
• Viserys was shocked that Rhaenyra had obtained the confidential information and grew uneasy about House Velaryon’s loyalty.

Viserys grew suspicious of Corlys after Rhaenyra reported that he might have ties to the pirate Tormund, and ordered Otto to investigate quietly while monitoring Driftmark’s fleet. Otto began gathering reports from House Hightower’s maritime contacts, uncovering rumors of Driftmark-style galleys supplying Tormund’s ships.

• Viserys considered whether Rhaenyra’s report about Corlys and Tormund was true or a maneuver by Redd to weaken House Velaryon’s position.
• Viserys told Otto to investigate Tormund’s identity and possible ties to Corlys or Driftmark without alerting the Red Keep.
• Viserys ordered Otto to discreetly monitor Driftmark’s fleet and reassess Blackwater Bay’s defenses.
• Otto used House Hightower’s merchants and trade agents to gather reports about Tormund and his pirate fleet.
• Otto received sailors’ and merchants’ accounts that Tormund’s flagship resembled a decommissioned navy vessel and that Driftmark-style galleys had resupplied or traded with his ships.

Otto fueled Viserys’s suspicions that Corlys Velaryon was colluding with Tormund and pirates, while Corlys tried to defend House Velaryon and quietly counter the accusations. Redd and Mysaria watched the scheme spread, leaving the king’s trust in Corlys weakened and tensions between the Targaryens and Velaryons rising.

• Otto investigated Tormund’s past and spread rumors that linked pirates to House Velaryon and Corlys.
• Otto enlisted overseas partners to seek trouble or fabricate evidence against Tormund, while keeping a staged attack as a backup plan.
• Otto repeatedly gave Viserys reports suggesting Tormund and Velaryon ships were acting suspiciously, prompting the king to scrutinize Corlys and naval movements.
• Corlys learned that he was being targeted, tightened precautions around his ties to Tormund, and worked through allies to defend House Velaryon’s loyalty.
• Corlys submitted a report on the navy’s anti-piracy efforts, but Viserys remained doubtful as Otto’s warnings continued.
• Redd monitored the growing rift, while Mysaria’s intelligence network tracked and accelerated the investigation into Corlys and Tormund.

Otto Hightower advised Viserys to weaken House Velaryon by dividing its heirs, reducing its control of the navy, and easing Corlys out of office. Viserys approved cautious preparations, while Redd learned of the plan and chose to wait.

• Otto urged Viserys to exploit divisions between Laena and Laenor and draw them away from Corlys and Rhaenys.
• Otto proposed building a royal fleet, shifting ships and officers from Driftmark, and having Corlys retire with honors.
• Viserys worried the plan might provoke House Velaryon to rebel, but Otto recommended proceeding gradually and using Daemon to keep them in check.
• Viserys ordered Otto to prepare the measures cautiously and avoid bloodshed within the realm.
• Mysaria reported Otto's plan to Redd, who praised Otto and decided not to interfere yet.

Redd and Rhaenyra attended a Small Council meeting where Viserys announced that Daemon would establish and command a new fleet to defend Blackwater Bay, undermining Corlys Velaryon’s authority. Corlys faced pressure to accept the loss of House Velaryon’s naval influence or risk appearing disloyal.

• Mysaria told Redd that Viserys had been meeting privately with ministers and had secretly ordered Daemon to prepare a new Blackwater Bay Fleet.
• Viserys convened the Small Council with Redd and Rhaenyra attending as special guests.
• Otto criticized the royal navy’s failure to curb pirate activity, and Corlys defended its patrols while calling for more resources and unified command.
• Viserys announced that Daemon would establish and command a new fleet to defend Blackwater Bay.
• Corlys objected that Daemon lacked fleet-command experience, but Viserys insisted that Driftmark’s fleet help train the new force.
• Otto endorsed Viserys’s decision, while Redd watched Corlys caught between obeying the king and resisting the erosion of House Velaryon’s power.

Redd recognized that Viserys’s order to Corlys had deepened the rift between House Velaryon and Daemon, then considered turning Corlys’s resentment to his advantage. Viserys privately asked Redd to lead an attack on Tormund in the Stepstones, and Redd saw the request as a scheme to weaken both him and his enemies.

• Viserys forced Corlys to commit the Driftmark fleet to assisting Daemon, leaving Corlys humiliated and silent for the rest of the meeting.
• Redd told Rhaenyra that Corlys would retaliate and considered having Mysaria make private contact with him.
• Otto told Redd that Viserys wanted to speak with him alone, and Redd sent Rhaenyra back with Mysaria before following Otto into a side chamber.
• Viserys asked Redd to lead his eastern forces and dragon to the Stepstones to defeat Tormund, offering him rewards if he succeeded.
• Redd concluded that Viserys wanted to use the campaign to redirect trouble and weaken Redd, Tormund, and House Velaryon regardless of the outcome.

Redd agreed to help King Viserys target Tormund, but delayed the campaign and made the crown responsible for providing support. He began assembling ships while Daemon secretly confronted Corlys about his ties to Tormund.

• Redd told Viserys that the campaign against Tormund required time, intelligence, and cooperation from Corlys's Driftmark fleet.
• Otto agreed that Corlys should provide charts and intelligence, and Viserys ordered Otto to assist Redd.
• Redd dispatched Mysaria to Dragonstone and Braavos to gather more than a hundred warships from each territory.
• Daemon secretly met Corlys at the Broken Anchor and demanded to know the truth about Corlys's relationship with Tormund.
• Corlys claimed he and Tormund had only conducted business, but Daemon pressed him about possible secret deals or understandings.

Daemon pressed Corlys to hand over much of the Driftmark fleet for his new Blackwater Bay fleet, but Corlys refused to weaken House Velaryon. Daemon left considering how to use the king’s order against Tormund to expose Corlys and seize his ships.

• Corlys admitted that he had dealt with Tormund and exchanged intelligence with him, while concealing their blood ties.
• Daemon argued that he and Corlys needed to unite against the king, Otto Hightower, and their other rivals, then demanded half the Driftmark fleet, the Sea Snake, and three fast longships.
• Corlys refused to give Daemon command of his ships and rejected his attempt to pressure him through Laena and a possible grandson.
• Corlys left, and Daemon realized his Blackwater Bay fleet would remain weak without Driftmark’s support.
• Daemon considered using Redd’s task to wipe out Tormund to expose Corlys and give the king grounds to strip him of his office and fleet.

Daemon secretly prepared to interfere in the conflict among Corlys, Redd, and Tormund, while Corlys decided to defect to Rhaenyra. Rhaenys challenged his plan, warning that Rhaenyra was not formally the heir and that Redd could make House Velaryon his pawn; Corlys demanded to know what alternative she proposed.

• Daemon ordered an attendant to deploy hidden forces and watch Corlys, Redd, and Tormund.
• Corlys decided to leave Viserys's service and offer House Velaryon's support to Rhaenyra.
• Rhaenys told Corlys that Rhaenyra had never been formally invested as heir, so supporting her could amount to open rebellion.
• Corlys argued that Viserys's suspicions and Daemon's designs threatened House Velaryon, and that backing Rhaenyra could protect and elevate their house.
• Rhaenys warned that Redd wanted control over Westeros and could use House Velaryon as a pawn, while their family was already divided.
• Corlys asked Rhaenys what he should do instead of enduring Viserys's distrust and Daemon's covetousness.

Rhaenys urged Corlys to keep House Velaryon neutral and strengthen its defenses, while Corlys remained uneasy about the dangers ahead. Days later, Redd and Daemon joined Corlys’s fleet for the campaign against the pirates, where Redd noticed Daemon’s strange new dragon.

• Rhaenys told Corlys to fortify Driftmark, strengthen the fleet, and quietly seek ties with other powers rather than support Rhaenyra and Redd.
• Corlys and Rhaenys remained divided over how House Velaryon should face the growing crisis.
• Redd escorted his heavily pregnant wife, Rhaenyra, back to Dragonstone before the fleet departed to fight the pirates.
• Corlys led the main Driftmark fleet, while Redd’s Dragon King Fleet served in support and Daemon oversaw the campaign without troops of his own.
• Redd studied Daemon’s savage-looking dragon and wondered what had happened to make it appear in place of Caraxes.
• Mysaria identified the dragon as the newly appeared wild dragon.

Corlys and Tormund secretly arranged a staged pirate-hunting campaign, while Redd, Daemon, and their dragons joined the fleet’s advance into the Stepstones. Tormund gathered a decoy force of more than three hundred flimsy ships, but the presence of King Ghidorah and Caraxes threatened to upset the plan.

• Corlys ordered the fleets to scout the islands and advance slowly as Daemon flew low beside them on Caraxes.
• King Ghidorah surveyed the fleet and the mist-shrouded Stepstones as the expedition began amid mutual distrust.
• Corlys secretly revealed the fleet’s route to Tormund and arranged for him to stage a defeat using expendable pirates.
• Tormund sent his strongest pirates to safety and assembled more than three hundred altered merchant and other vessels as a decoy fleet.
• Tormund prepared to lead the motley fleet in a staged battle and retreat, but grew uneasy at the sight of King Ghidorah and Caraxes.
• A lookout warned Tormund that the Velaryon fleet and the easterners’ ships had arrived.

Daemon ignored the plan and had Caraxes set Tormund’s fleet ablaze, forcing Tormund to flee through a reef-strewn channel. A huge, unfamiliar dragon that breathed scalding steam appeared and drove Daemon off, then crashed into a reef beside Tormund’s flagship.

• Daemon ordered Caraxes to burn the pirate ships, turning the staged engagement into a real slaughter.
• Tormund ordered his remaining ships to scatter and escape while Corlys tried to stop Daemon and protect him.
• Tormund’s flagship broke free and raced toward a narrow channel, but Daemon pursued it with Caraxes.
• A massive armored dragon emerged from behind a cliff and forced Daemon and Caraxes to retreat.
• The steam-breathing dragon circled in the air, then slammed into a reef beside Tormund’s flagship.

A mysterious steam-breathing dragon rescued Tormund and fled into the Stepstones fog, turning the pirate campaign into a dispute over whether to pursue. Corlys urged a return to report to the king, while Daemon and Redd insisted on learning more about the dragon.

• The steam Dragon shattered a reef, seized Tormund's flagship, and carried him into the fog.
• Daemon, Corlys, and Redd watched the dragon escape, and Redd ordered King Ghidorah to follow its direction.
• The three men landed on a rocky island to discuss what to do next.
• Corlys proposed returning to report their victory and the dragon to the king.
• Daemon accused Corlys of hiding the depth of his cooperation with Tormund and demanded pursuit.
• Redd intervened as Corlys and Daemon's argument grew heated.

Redd persuaded Daemon and Corlys to pursue Tormund and the unusual steam-breathing Dragon for a limited search, with King Ghidorah tracking their trail. As the fleet sailed toward the edge of the Summer Sea, Mysaria reported warm, sulfurous waters and unusual currents near Grey Gallows Island.

• Redd supported Corlys's caution but argued that Tormund and his unknown Dragon posed a serious threat worth investigating.
• Redd offered fleet supplies and said King Ghidorah could track the fugitives, prompting Daemon to press Corlys to join the pursuit.
• Corlys agreed to investigate for three days, searching southeast to the edge of the Summer Sea and avoiding unnecessary conflict.
• The Driftmark fleet and Dragon King's fleet sailed south, guided and watched over by their two Dragons.
• Redd considered whether ancient magic or geological forces could explain the steam Dragon's unusual traits as the fleet passed the Stepstones.
• Mysaria told Redd that scouts had found warm water, strange currents, sulfurous bubbles, and few fish near Grey Gallows Island.

Redd’s fleet reached Grey Gallows Island after King Ghidorah sensed unusual heat, life energy, and a draconic presence in a secluded bay. As scouts approached, Tormund hid in an undersea cavern with the sea dragon he had kept secret for years, fearing the Targaryens and Redd would come after him.

• Mysaria told Redd that old charts and sailors’ tales described strange cave murals and hammer-like echoes in the Stepstones.
• King Ghidorah detected concentrated heat and life energy in a bay on Grey Gallows Island, and Redd ordered the fleet to investigate cautiously.
• Daemon circled the bay on Caraxes while Corlys sent two groups of longships ahead and warned Daemon not to rush in.
• Tormund waited in an undersea cavern beside the sea dragon that had rescued him, regretting that he had exposed it while escaping Daemon.
• Tormund recalled how an ancient marine creature called the Ocean Guide had helped him find the sea dragon and warned him to keep it hidden from powerful dragon-owning families.

Corlys found Tormund and his sea dragon, Raging Tide, in a hidden cavern on Grey Gallows Island and learned why Tormund had kept the dragon secret. With Daemon and Redd already aware of its existence and King Ghidorah able to track it, the brothers faced the urgent problem of escaping without drawing the attention of Westeros.

• Tormund sensed a disturbance in the cavern water as the sea dragon warned that pursuers were approaching.
• Corlys delayed Daemon and Redd, then slipped away to search for the hiding place Redd had identified.
• Corlys found Tormund and the sea dragon safe in the cavern, relieved but angry that Tormund had concealed the dragon.
• Tormund told Corlys about meeting the Ocean Guide and the warning that dragonlord families, especially the Targaryens, would seek to control the sea dragon.
• Corlys explained that Daemon and Redd had both seen the dragon and that King Ghidorah seemed able to track it.
• Corlys rejected fighting their way out, warning that it would make Tormund and the sea dragon targets across Westeros.

Corlys arranged for Tormund and Raging Tide to fake their escape from Grey Gallows Island and hide in a remote sea cave while he returned to face Daemon and Redd. As the search continued, Mysaria noticed signs that Corlys’s men were preparing a diversion, while Redd claimed King Ghidorah could not pinpoint the sea dragon through the island’s natural interference.

• Corlys and Tormund planned a staged battle and false trail to convince the searchers that Tormund and Raging Tide had fled south.
• Corlys told Tormund to remain hidden in a secluded undersea cave until he returned or sent a specially coded letter.
• Tormund watched Corlys leave, then Raging Tide submerged into the cave’s warm waters and suppressed his presence.
• Daemon complained that the search had found no trace of Tormund and accused Corlys of delaying or secretly helping him.
• Mysaria learned that Corlys’s trusted guards had been sent with grease, sulfur, damaged weapons, and pirate clothing.
• Redd told Daemon that King Ghidorah sensed the target was still in the islands but could not locate it precisely because of natural interference.

Redd suspected Corlys had staged evidence to make it seem that Tormund and the sea dragon had fled south, so he joined Daemon’s pursuit while ordering King Ghidorah to keep watching Grey Gallows Island. The pursuit fleet sailed into the Summer Sea as the true hunter and prey might still have been hiding nearby.

• A Driftmark commander reported battle traces, wrecked pirate ships, and a dragon scale found in a concealed fjord on Grey Gallows Island.
• Daemon concluded that Tormund and the sea dragon had been injured and fled south, while Redd suspected the convincing evidence was staged.
• Redd secretly ordered King Ghidorah to monitor Grey Gallows Island and nearby waters for hidden energy, geothermal anomalies, and large creatures.
• Redd proposed that he and Daemon pursue south while Corlys remained with the main fleet, and Daemon agreed.
• Daemon rode ahead on Caraxes as the mixed fleet sailed south, while Redd suspected Corlys had hidden the real dragon nearby.

Redd used Corlys’s report of underwater activity to turn the main fleet back toward the waters around Grey Gallows Island while Daemon took ten fast ships south to continue the search. As Redd’s fleet moved to meet Driftmark’s, Tormund and Raging Tide launched a concealed attack on Redd’s flagship.

• King Ghidorah detected the faint sea-dragon signature near Grey Gallows Island, and Redd suspected Corlys had staged the underwater sighting to cover his plans.
• Corlys’s fleet signaled that it had spotted suspicious underwater activity and requested a coordinated search.
• Redd proposed splitting the search, and Daemon chose to take ten fast ships south while Redd returned to join Corlys.
• As the fleets began to converge, Tormund and Raging Tide raced from the direction of Grey Gallows Island toward Redd’s flagship.