Chapter Summaries

Redd wounded Caraxes with a Scorpion bolt while Ehm and King Ghidorah overwhelmed the dragon and the Night's King. Just as Ghidorah prepared to finish the pinned Night's King, ice spikes struck him and the Ice Dragon transformed into chains that ensnared Aegon, beginning a new battle.

• Redd fired a Scorpion bolt that struck Caraxes's neck, and Ehm seized the opening to bite and throw the dragon off balance.
• King Ghidorah fired a Gravity Beam that sent the Night's King and Caraxes crashing to the ground, where Ehm tore Caraxes's neck and engulfed them in Dragonfire.
• Redd shot the Night's King through the abdomen with a Scorpion bolt, pinning him to the snow without hitting the Dragonglass inside him.
• King Ghidorah approached to deliver a fatal attack, but enormous ice spikes launched him into the air and knocked his lightning bolts off target.
• The Ice Dragon melted into Ice Chains that coiled around the dragons and bound Aegon, starting a fierce battle.

The Cold God trapped Aegon, King Ghidorah, and Ehm in mystic ice chains, forcing Redd to leap into the Wight army and fight his way toward them. After carving a path through the horde, Redd was pursued by the still-moving Wight Caraxes, leaving him in immediate danger.

• Aegon broke free of its chains, but the Cold God was badly hurt by King Ghidorah’s lightning and rushed toward Aegon.
• The Cold God shattered into icy light that formed chains binding Aegon, King Ghidorah, and Ehm, then vanished.
• Redd’s Scorpion bolts failed to damage the chains, so he leaped from the city wall and crossed the flames below.
• Redd charged into the Wights and cut a passage more than three hundred meters long.
• Caraxes, still moving despite being burned down to charred flesh and bone, attacked Redd and pursued him toward the chains.

Redd killed Caraxes and helped King Ghidorah and the other dragons break free from the Ice Chains. After the chains’ icy motes entered his body, he found no immediate change but suspected the Cold God had trapped him and resolved to watch for effects on his soul.

• Redd infused his Valyrian steel sword with lightning and fire, then killed Caraxes with a strike through its head.
• Redd shattered the Ice Chains and freed one of King Ghidorah’s heads while the Night’s King retreated into the wight army.
• Dalang used his Gravity Beam to destroy the remaining restraints, and King Ghidorah freed Aegon and Ehm so they could join the fight.
• The broken Ice Chains reformed as icy-blue motes that entered Redd’s body before he could react.
• Redd checked his system status, found it marked “Good,” and decided to monitor himself for changes, especially to his soul.
• Redd climbed onto King Ghidorah’s back.

After Caraxes was burned to ash, Redd returned to the Wall and helped endure a week of relentless wight attacks as weapons, supplies, and the defenders’ strength ran low. Exhausted, he fell asleep and awoke in a magnificent church, where the seven statues suggested he had entered the domain of a god.

• Redd ordered Ehm and Aegon to burn Caraxes's corpse completely to ash, but the Night's King was nowhere to be found.
• Redd returned to the Wall and discovered that the wights continued attacking despite the Cold God and the Night's King having fled.
• Over the next week, the defenders ran short of dragonglass weapons, arrows, and burning oil, while Redd and the dragons grew exhausted from the unceasing battle.
• Redd descended from the Wall with King Ghidorah and Ehm to rest, leaving Aegon to help defend it, and eventually fell asleep.
• Redd awoke in an unfamiliar church and recognized its seven statues as a sign that he was in a god's domain.

Redd waited in an illusory space while preparing to summon King Ghidorah, then passed the time modifying the statues of the Seven to suit his tastes. The Seven entered the space and found Redd stuffing beads into the skeleton statue’s eye sockets.

• Redd sensed King Ghidorah's consciousness ready to enter the illusory space and felt reassured.
• Redd examined the seven statues and used his sword to alter their features and accessories.
• The Seven watched Redd's irreverent work and decided to meet him for a proper talk.
• The Seven opened the church doors and entered, finding Redd putting beads into the skeleton statue's eye sockets.

Redd finished decorating a skeleton statue with beads as the Seven arrived and offered to teach him how to control his powers. After repeatedly demonstrating how he manifested and controlled his mental will, the Seven led Redd to recognize what the black vapor really was.

• Redd hammered beads into the eye sockets of a skeleton statue and admired his finished work while the Seven watched.
• The Seven confronted Redd, who criticized him for leaving him waiting, and changed forms as they spoke.
• The Seven offered to teach Redd to control the powers within him, but Redd asked for books and was told the skill could only be grasped through practice.
• The Seven demonstrated drawing black vapor from his skeletal palm and pulling it back inside, then repeated the movement while Redd watched.
• After more than a dozen demonstrations, Redd realized the black vapor was the Seven's mental will made visible.

Redd learned to release black aura, then discovered that the Cold God's and Red God's laws also dwelled within him. The Seven explained that Redd could use these powers to reach the demigod realm, while warning that gods and demigods would covet him; Redd resolved to master all three powers.

• Redd released black aura around his body, and the Seven explained that it would return naturally or he could force it back inside.
• Redd chose to wait, and the black aura gradually seeped back into his body as the Seven watched from a distance.
• When Redd released the aura again, blue and red energies surged through him alongside the black, and the Seven's hand was frosted and burned when he touched them.
• The Seven told Redd that the Cold God's and Red God's laws could help him become a demigod, but would make him a target without their protection.
• Redd said he had already faced the Drowned God and would not yield, then asked why the Seven was helping him.
• The Seven said he wanted talented people like Redd to restore the world's balance, and Redd resolved to master the three powers and become a demigod.

Redd awakened to his newly activated law powers and discovered that the Cold God was cultivating an icy bloodline inside him, which his system could not heal. He returned to the Wall, switched dragons in the battle, and noticed magic from dying wights drifting toward him.

• The Seven explained the difference between magic and law authority, then disappeared after urging Redd to become a demigod before their next meeting.
• Redd sensed that a cold, dark bloodline from the Cold God was growing inside him and suppressing his Targaryen dragon bloodline.
• Redd tried using the system's healing ability to stop the icy bloodline, but it had no effect, so he left the problem alone for the time being.
• Redd ordered Aegon to withdraw and rest, sent King Ghidorah to take his place, and considered having King Ghidorah lead his dragons in the future.
• Redd returned to the Wall and saw that the wights' numbers had dwindled as the Cold God used them to wear down the human army.
• Redd sensed that magic spilled from each dying wight and drifted toward him.

After the Wights disappeared from the Haunted Forest, Redd explored his control over ice and fire while the survivors cleared and burned the dead. Rhaenyra summoned him to a Small Council meeting, but he teased and frightened her until she ran off.

• Redd discovered that magic released by dying Wights nourished his Bloodline of Ice, and he practiced controlling ice and fire within a limited range.
• The Commander-in-Chief sent Rangers into the Haunted Forest, and Tarth returned with the report that they had found no Wights.
• After hearing the report, Viserys, the Commander-in-Chief, Ellard, and the other nobles began clearing and burning the human and Wight bodies.
• Redd considered turning the corpses into Wights but rejected the idea to avoid revealing his ability and drawing suspicion.
• Rhaenyra told Redd to attend the Small Council meeting, and Redd pinched her cheek and threatened to spank her until she fled in fright.

Redd attended a meeting of Westeros’s great nobles, where they discussed the Night’s King and a possible expedition to the Lands of Always Winter. He refused to reveal anything about his journey there, leaving Ellard frustrated and the nobles focused on defending against the Night’s King.

• The nobles settled compensation for the soldiers killed, while Redd stayed silent.
• The meeting turned to the Night’s King, and Redd kept quiet about the Cold God and the larger conflict between the gods.
• Ellard opposed an expedition to the Lands of Always Winter, and Rhaenys asked Redd whether its conditions matched Ellard’s description.
• Redd questioned how Rhaenys knew he had been there, then redirected the discussion toward defending against the Night’s King and his army of Wights.
• Ellard urged Redd to share a way to survive in the Lands of Always Winter, but Redd denied having visited or knowing such a method.

Ellard learned from Redd that only Dragons and people with the gift of the Unburnt could survive the Lands of Always Winter, but Viserys refused to risk House Targaryen’s Dragonriders. After claiming his dragonglass payment, Redd was ambushed in Castle Black’s courtyard and called his Dragons for help.

• Ellard persuaded Redd to reveal that Dragons and people with the gift of the Unburnt might survive the Lands of Always Winter.
• Viserys evaded Ellard’s attempts to persuade him to send Dragonriders north, leaving the meeting tense.
• Ellard gave Redd the special piece of dragonglass, and Redd left without letting Ellard ask him for help.
• A crossbow bolt fired from the Godswood struck Redd’s shoulder as he encountered the Prince of Dorne in the courtyard.
• The Prince of Dorne joined armored knights in surrounding Redd, who commanded his nearby Dragons to come to his aid.

Redd and his dragons destroyed the forces that attacked him and laid waste to Castle Black. The chapter ended with Redd and the three dragons emerging from the ruins as Viserys watched without intervening.

• Redd drew the Ice Sword and fought the Prince of Dorne and the mounted knights, cutting through their ranks.
• King Ghidorah, Ehm, and Aegon flew toward Castle Black’s courtyard and destroyed its defenders with dragonfire and Gravity Beams, leaving Redd unharmed.
• Redd found the Prince of Dorne dead and ordered Ehm and Aegon through their Mental Connection to burn the soldiers on the walls.
• The dragons rampaged through Castle Black, destroying buildings and killing some of the nobles staying there while others escaped.
• Viserys watched the destruction and chose not to intervene, believing the truth would emerge after the disaster ended.
• Redd and his three dragons emerged from Castle Black’s ruins, with Redd riding on one dragon’s back.

After Redd accused the Prince of Dorne and the Night's Watch of ambushing him, he demanded revenge despite Viserys and Ellard trying to halt the conflict. Chief Tarth fired a Dragon-shooting Crossbow at Redd, triggering the Dragons’ assault and leaving Redd intent on slaughtering the attackers.

• Viserys rode Silverwing to the battlefield and demanded an explanation from Redd, who accused the Prince of Dorne of sending men to ambush and kill him.
• Ellard offered to give Redd an answer the next day, but Redd demanded immediate retribution against the Dornish and the Night's Watch.
• Roros Borrelly admitted his involvement and offered his own death, but Redd demanded the deaths of everyone involved and their families.
• Chief Tarth seized a Dragon-shooting Crossbow and fired at Redd, but King Ghidorah blocked the bolt with its head.
• Redd's three Dragons attacked the soldiers with flames and lightning, and Redd ordered them into the air to slaughter the attackers.

Redd rode King Ghidorah as the Dragon unleashed a storm and slaughtered the army near Castle Black, while Aegon mortally wounded Silverwing and Ehm fought off her rescuers. By dawn, nearly all the soldiers were dead, and Redd surveyed the devastation, including Silverwing’s corpse.

• Viserys ordered Silverwing to stop Redd, but Redd ignored him and led King Ghidorah into the air to attack the soldiers with lightning.
• Aegon tackled Silverwing from the sky, pinned her to the ground, and tore open her neck and stomach.
• Ehm blocked Meleys and Syrax from reaching Silverwing and fought both Dragons in the air.
• Redd rode King Ghidorah as he unleashed a tornado and lightning that devastated the army, while the soldiers’ weapons failed to harm him.
• By dawn, nearly all of the hundred-odd thousand soldiers had been killed or scattered, and Redd looked over the destruction near Castle Black.
• Redd saw Silverwing’s torn corpse among the bodies and blood-soaked snow.

After Silverwing died and the lords abandoned Viserys, he ordered Ellard to command the Night's Watch and confined Redd to Dragonstone. Ellard began rebuilding the Watch and uncovered evidence that Roros Borrelly had met mysterious red-robed figures.

• Redd found Silverwing dead and let his wounded dragons rest while he awaited an explanation from Ellard.
• Viserys saw that most of the noble lords had fled, while the survivors demanded that House Targaryen take a stand against Redd.
• Ellard accused Jack Dawg and the Night's Watch of conspiring with the Dornish to assassinate Redd, sparking a furious argument.
• Viserys silenced the meeting, appointed Ellard to command the Night's Watch, and ordered Redd to remain on Dragonstone.
• The noble lords took their troops home, and Ellard began reorganizing the Night's Watch and investigating Roros Borrelly.
• Ellard discovered that Roros Borrelly had met repeatedly with three mysterious red-robed figures five days earlier.

Ellard linked the attack to the vanished Red Priests and set out to find them, while Daemon recovered in hiding and killed a man who knew his secret. Viserys discovered the corpse and questioned Daemon, who revealed that the Priests of the Lord of Light had orchestrated events and argued that weakening the Night's Watch could benefit House Targaryen.

• Ellard noticed that the three Red Priests had vanished after meeting privately with the Commander-in-Chief and ordered his men to search for them.
• The Red Priest promised Daemon he would walk normally in two days, and Daemon pledged to fulfill his promise within six months.
• After the Red Priests left, Daemon killed a man who came to collect a bag of Gold Dragons, then lay back down beside the body.
• Viserys found the corpse in Daemon's hut and asked whether Daemon was involved.
• Daemon told Viserys that the Priests of the Lord of Light were behind the events and argued that burdening the Wall would make House Stark more compliant.

Viserys and Daemon concluded that Redd’s dragons threatened House Targaryen’s exclusive power, so Viserys planned to contrast his own kindness with Redd’s brutality. After Ellard executed nearly a hundred Night’s Watch men, Redd left for Dragonstone with Rhaenyra, intending to strengthen King Ghidorah against the gods.

• Daemon told Viserys that Redd’s existence would undermine House Targaryen’s control of dragons and weaken the dynasty.
• Viserys ordered the bodies removed, demanded Daemon keep their discussion secret, and planned to portray Redd as cruel while maintaining his own generous image.
• Rhaenys told Redd that Ellard would investigate the Night’s Watch and House Martell would answer within a month; Redd threatened to destroy House Martell if its response failed to satisfy him.
• Redd agreed to accompany Rhaenyra to Dragonstone, where he hoped to grow stronger and empower King Ghidorah to face the gods.
• Two days later, Ellard had nearly a hundred Night’s Watch men executed, and Redd and Rhaenyra departed for Dragonstone after Rhaenyra bid farewell to Viserys.

Redd and Rhaenyra returned from the North to Maidenpool, where Redd planned to extract one final payment before focusing on Dragonstone. He recruited the knights Douglas and Jasent to help gather men willing to follow him to Dragonstone.

• Redd and Rhaenyra flew south from the North on their Dragons after Aegon had killed Silverwing, clashing during the journey.
• Redd and Rhaenyra returned to Maidenpool instead of going directly to Dragonstone, and Redd resolved to profit from the town once more.
• Redd met Vyris and Manfryd, told them ambiguous news, and waited that evening for capable knights to approach him.
• Douglas arrived first, pledged his loyalty to Redd, and took a seat to await the others.
• Jasent also swore to serve Redd and agreed with Douglas to find out which landless knights would follow Redd to Dragonstone.

Redd considered turning Dragonstone’s two volcanoes into Dragonpits to build a force capable of surviving the cursed Valyrian Peninsula, but the project required more money than he had. He demanded House Mooton pay for Maidenpool, and the chapter ended with him rejecting Vyris’s claim that 500,000 Gold Dragons was the house’s limit.

• Theora and Marcus arrived too late to pledge themselves to Redd, and Douglas and Jasent offered them the choice of leaving for Dragonstone with Redd or staying behind.
• Redd studied the Magic Book and decided he might transform Dragonstone’s two volcanoes into Dragonpits to raise an army of Dragons for a future return to the Valyrian Peninsula.
• Redd calculated that the Dragonpit project would cost more than his private funds could cover and decided to seek wealth from House Mooton.
• Redd gave Vyris and Manfryd the choice of paying to buy back Maidenpool or facing a prolonged campaign that would bleed House Mooton’s wealth; Vyris chose to pay, while Manfryd did not appear.
• Vyris’s offer rose from 300,000 to 500,000 Gold Dragons, but when he said that was House Mooton’s limit, Redd demanded one million and stood up in disbelief.

Redd forced Vyris to pay five hundred thousand Gold Dragons’ worth of gold and goods, along with sixty percent of House Mooton’s annual domain revenue, in exchange for leaving them in power. As Redd prepared to sail for Dragonstone with the supplies and fewer than thirty knights, three dragons appeared over the harbor.

• Vyris accepted Redd’s terms and asked him to take away the landless knights he had placed among House Mooton; Redd agreed to take those willing to leave.
• Three days later, Vyris delivered three shiploads of payment, including two hundred thousand Gold Dragons and goods valued at three hundred thousand more.
• Redd decided to use the payment to build the Dragonpit and buy supplies and slaves, while also preparing to build a powerful army.
• Jasent told Redd that fewer than thirty knights would join him, as most had chosen to stay behind.
• Douglas reported that the ships and crew were ready, and Redd led Jasent and Douglas toward the gangplank.
• Three dragons roared into view and flew low over the harbor, their wingbeats scattering loose cargo and snapping the dockside flags.