Recaps

Darean asked Guncer whether he would support his efforts, and Guncer unexpectedly offered him five hundred guards and urged the family to send a thousand troops. At the family council, Guncer argued that the family must either commit fully to Darean’s position or recall him, and the old steward affirmed the family’s will.

• Darean dismissed the soldiers and confronted Guncer, warning that the guards did not like him and telling him to stop sharing family matters with his wife.
• Darean asked Guncer where he stood, and Guncer offered him five hundred guards and recommended sending a thousand elite troops.
• Darean brought the proposal to Baelor and Garth, who objected, while Guncer insisted the family should commit or recall Darean.
• Guncer argued that the Redwyne blockade and neighboring powers’ reactions could not be ignored, and that the family must not let outsiders threaten its bloodline.
• The old steward declared that the family’s will must not be defied and promised that the family would light Darean’s way ahead.

Darean secured House Hightower’s support to expand New Land Village, and preparations began for a major construction effort. Earl Leyton’s steward arrived with a large procession and announced that he would oversee the work.

• Baelor agreed to provide five hundred guards, while Garth offered the family’s construction materials under supervision.
• Darean, Baelor, and Garth settled a draft plan for Oldtown to send skilled craftsmen, surveyors, and grain to New Land Village.
• Darean returned to his lands and told Marwyn to build large granaries before the workers arrived.
• Twelve days later, Earl Leyton’s steward arrived with five hundred people and told Darean he would serve as his steward until the construction satisfied the family.

Olenna Redwyne and Margaery Tyrell discussed House Hightower’s sudden activity and decided to wait for clearer information. At New Land Village, Darean struggled to organize construction and supplies while preparing for the arrival of guards from Oldtown.

• Olenna Redwyne told Margaery Tyrell that House Hightower’s move was difficult to understand and warned her not to underestimate them.
• Margaery Tyrell urged her grandmother to take the initiative, but Olenna Redwyne ordered her to keep in line and wait for more definite news.
• Darean assigned cavalrymen and stonemasons to search for quarries, while five hundred newcomers set up camp and used up the stored timber within three days.
• Clyson reported that the knights from Sunflower Hall had withdrawn from the domain’s borders after someone spoke with Brandon Cuy.
• Darean allocated resources for a large barracks as Baelor’s letter warned that the two hundred guards traveling from Oldtown had not yet arrived and the settlement remained vulnerable.

Darean completed the Book of Strange Script’s Third Section after receiving a large food shipment, triggering a surge of magic that spread across the land and awakened strange forces. He gained the Magic Foundation spell and suspected it resembled the enchantments beneath the Wall.

• Darean’s first shipment of a hundred thousand jin of food fulfilled the Book of Strange Script’s Shadow of Hunger requirement.
• Magic gathered around Darean, expanded his magic reservoir, and burst into a tide that spread across his domain and beyond.
• An assistant maester saw a purplish-red flash at a Glass Candle in the Citadel, and Marwyn reacted with alarm when he heard about it.
• At the top of the Hightower, a strange black substance sprang from an ancient book and entered an old man’s veins; he then asked Moroia what they had been looking at.
• Darean received the Magic Foundation spell and connected it to the magical arrays beneath the Wall.

Darean explained the castle’s rapid construction plans to Marwyn before Clyson announced that House Hightower’s guards had arrived. Darean rode out to meet them and was surprised to find his uncle Jeylo leading the contingent.

• Marwyn questioned Darean about his visits to the wall foundations, and Darean claimed he was checking their stability.
• Darean told Marwyn that the experienced Builder leading the workers believed the basic walls could be completed within a year with enough manpower.
• Darean described the castle as a defensive garrison and planned to extend its walls around a future harbor.
• Clyson arrived and told Darean that House Hightower’s guards had reached the territory.
• Darean rode toward the main road with Clyson and recognized the guards’ commander as Uncle Jeylo.

Darean welcomed Gerold Hightower, who brought three hundred infantry to strengthen the new settlement at New Land Town and reassured him that Lord Leyton could handle threats at home. At the Hightower, Baelor struggled to answer other houses’ questions about the Hightower’s expansion before his father summoned him.

• Darean rode out to greet Gerold Hightower, who had taken command of three hundred infantry and brought them to support him.
• Gerold told Darean that he had volunteered to lead the troops and that Lord Leyton did not need Moryn Tyrell to protect House Hightower.
• Darean explained that New Land Town had little shelter or manpower, and Gerold accepted that his soldiers would have to stay in tents while barracks were built.
• Baelor Hightower struggled with family business and polite replies to letters from House Redwyne, House Tyrell, House Tarly, and House Rowan about the Hightower’s movements.
• A maid told Baelor that his father wanted to see him, leaving him wondering what had happened.

Darean oversaw the estate’s rapid expansion as new soldiers arrived and workers began exploiting nearby iron and stone deposits. When devout brothers from Oldtown’s Starry Sept came to establish the Faith of the Seven, Darean sensed faint magic in them and reconsidered their visit.

• Darean and Jeylo Hightower led three hundred soldiers past cheering workers to the estate, where Jeylo criticized Darean’s rudimentary walls.
• The soldiers settled into tents, and the steward assigned them tools and craftsmen to help build barracks.
• Darean’s workers opened a road to the iron vein and began developing the estate after an exploration team found a quarry in the western highlands.
• Darean warned Jeylo Hightower to guard important production sites against possible infiltrators while construction continued.
• Devout brothers from Oldtown’s Starry Sept arrived to bring the Faith of the Seven to the estate, and Darean sensed magic in them similar to what he had detected in Septon Derrian.

Darean discovered that members of the Faith of the Seven carried a stable, unfamiliar magic, despite believing the Faith had never wielded power before. When Septon Euse blessed workers’ water, Darean saw magic swirl through the vat, leaving him with proof that the holy water was truly magical.

• Darean noticed magic in the septons and septas who had arrived at his domain, and wondered whether the Magic Tide was beginning before Daenerys hatched her dragons.
• Septon Euse introduced himself and asked Darean to help the Faith build a sept; Darean welcomed the group and directed them to speak with his steward.
• Euse changed course toward workers resting nearby, and Darean worried that the septon intended to take them for construction work.
• Euse poured liquid from a small bottle into the workers’ water vat and called it holy water blessed by the Seven.
• Darean saw a hazy shimmer of magic swirling through the water.

Darean investigated the Faith’s newly potent holy water and learned its effects began around the time he completed the Third Section of the Book of Strange Script. He suspected the magic tide he had released had reached Oldtown and allowed the Seven to make contact, leaving him wondering whether other gods had responded too.

• Darean stopped a worker from drinking the holy water until Euse drank some himself and assured him it was harmless.
• Euse explained that monks at the Starry Sept had heard a divine revelation and that the Faith’s holy water now dispelled fatigue.
• Darean watched a worker drink the holy water and used his magic vision to see a faint magical effect spread through the man’s body.
• Darean asked Euse when the monks heard the revelation and the holy water’s effects changed, then dismissed him after hearing the date.
• Darean realized the change coincided with his completion of the Third Section of the Book of Strange Script and wondered whether his magic tide had enabled the Seven to respond.

Dareon Hightower led New Land Town’s foundation ceremony, publicly swearing to defend the new castle and win the loyalty of its settlers. As the ceremony stirred a strange magical reaction, news of Leyton Hightower’s plans reached Highgarden, where the Queen of Thorns sent Margaery to visit Dareon.

• Dareon prepared to begin the wall’s foundation ceremony and recognized that the settlers needed proof he could lead them.
• Clyson handed Dareon a shovel, and Dareon declared the start of House Hightower’s New Castle and led the crowd in an oath to defend it.
• Dareon cast the first shovelful of soil into the foundation as the soldiers and subjects cheered, while magic in the air formed faint ripples.
• A young apprentice saw something light up in Marwyn’s room and ran toward the ceremony, though Marwyn did not witness it.
• A Tyrell rider brought southern news to Highgarden, and the Queen of Thorns learned that Leyton Hightower planned to display his strength in the Redwyne Straits.
• The Queen of Thorns ordered Earl Redwyne to watch his doorstep and sent Margaery to visit Dareon in New Land Town.

Darean Hightower oversaw New Land Town’s growth after discovering a rich iron deposit and introduced cash rewards to speed construction and stimulate the local economy. As the first iron ingots neared completion, he prioritized farming tools and discussed the recruits’ training with Clyson.

• Darean’s craftsmen built blast furnaces in New Land Town’s industrial district to smelt the iron ore, while the town’s granary and other warehouses were kept apart to limit fire damage.
• Darean overruled the steward and Gerold Hightower by offering workers a thousand Gold Dragons for fast, high-quality work, and construction progressed faster than expected.
• Darean reviewed strict warehouse records intended to track available supplies and establish disciplined record-keeping.
• Clyson told Darean the ore was good quality and that the first iron ingots would be ready by the next day.
• Darean said the iron would go toward farming tools before military equipment, and Clyson joked about the recruits’ lack of experience with swords.
• Darean scolded Clyson for crude talk, but Clyson shared a story about Moryn Tyrell’s youthful visit to Oldtown, leaving Darean to give up on reforming his manners.

Darean received word that Margaery Tyrell was coming to inspect his domain, while Baelor arranged reinforcements and warned him to keep her from seeing too much. Baelor also relayed Leyton Hightower’s unexpected plan for a family gathering, and Darean learned that the Glass Candle had flared again before asking Marwyn what to show Margaery.

• Darean received Margaery Tyrell’s letter announcing that she was already traveling to his domain.
• Darean read Baelor’s instructions to entertain Margaery while limiting what she saw, and learned that two hundred soldiers, one hundred knights, and supplies would be sent to him.
• Darean learned that Leyton Hightower wanted to gather the family at the Hightower in two months, leaving him puzzled about his father’s motives.
• Marwyn scolded his apprentice for failing to report that the Glass Candle had briefly lit itself again.
• Darean gave Marwyn Margaery’s letter and asked him to help decide what to show her.

Darean and Marwyn prepared to receive Margaery Tyrell, suspecting that her visit could serve House Tyrell’s ambitions for a royal marriage. Margaery arrived at Oldtown and saw House Hightower’s forces assembled to welcome her.

• Darean told Marwyn that Margaery Tyrell was coming to visit and warned him that she might have queenly ambitions.
• Darean and Marwyn decided to prepare for a stay of about five days and present the domain as chaotic and poorly managed.
• Marwyn agreed to coordinate with the steward and limit Margaery’s exposure to the commoners.
• Margaery’s carriage entered Oldtown by the Kingsroad, as she considered House Hightower’s power and her grandmother’s concerns.
• House Hightower assembled cavalry and infantry at the north gate to welcome Margaery.

Margaery Tyrell left Oldtown under an imposing Hightower escort and arrived at Darean’s domain, where he welcomed her as the household concealed its iron production and prepared for her visit. Darean hoped Baelor would soon take over entertaining her as he watched the Sunset Sea.

• Baelor Hightower greeted Margaery Tyrell and assigned three hundred elite soldiers to escort her south, claiming Dornish bandits threatened her safety.
• Margaery traveled with the Hightower force and wondered why Baelor’s pupils had flashed black.
• After receiving word of Margaery’s visit, Marwyn and the steward halted the blast furnace and hid evidence of the domain’s iron production.
• The steward advised Darean to leave the grain stores open while moving other sensitive items out of sight.
• Darean and his ministers welcomed Margaery at dusk, and Darean offered her supper and lodging while privately wishing Baelor would handle her instead.

Margaery Tyrell toured New Land Town with Darean, probing the reasons behind its construction and the presence of its maester. She learned that Marwyn was an archmaester who studied magic and the occult, but he offered no clear explanation for joining Darean.

• Margaery thanked Darean for his hospitality while making clear she would not be easily persuaded to leave New Land Town.
• The next morning, Margaery rode with Darean to inspect the walls under construction, and he said his father had ordered the project.
• Darean described the rammed-earth-and-ashlar wall construction while Margaery questioned him about building a castle in the wasteland.
• After the rough ride left Margaery too sore to continue touring, Darean sent Marwyn to meet her.
• Margaery learned that Marwyn was an archmaester studying magic and the occult, and he claimed the gods had guided him to remain with Dareon Hightower.

Leyton Hightower suffered from an unexplained, relentless hunger and ate a meal that did not satisfy him before falling asleep. After learning that Leyton and Moroia had barely eaten for ten days, Baelor Hightower went to investigate and heard his father speak as he stepped onto the forbidden stairs.

• Leyton Hightower felt ravenously hungry, ate the cold meal left outside his room, and found that it did not ease his hunger.
• A maid told Baelor Hightower that meals sent to Leyton and Moroia had been left uneaten over the past ten days.
• Baelor went to the stairs leading to the tower's summit, called for his father, and received no reply.
• Baelor stepped onto the dusty tenth stair, and Leyton's voice suddenly demanded to know who had given him permission to come up.

Baelor Hightower found his father, Earl Leyton Hightower, shrouded in darkness and grew fearful after noticing blood on his robe. Meanwhile, Margaery Tyrell remained stranded by rain with Darean, and the two discussed who might replace Jon Arryn as Hand of the King.

• Baelor found Leyton at the top of the tower and asked whether Moroia was well; Leyton assured him she was fine and told him to have all the tower's children return.
• Leyton told Baelor to leave, and Baelor noticed dried blood on his father's robe before fleeing the dark tower in fear.
• Margaery and Darean were forced back to their wooden lodgings when a sudden storm interrupted their tour of the territory.
• Margaery realized the Hightowers had prepared for her visit and that the servants chosen to attend her knew nothing important.
• Margaery asked Darean who might succeed Jon Arryn as Hand, and she predicted that the direwolf would head south if the eagle could no longer fly.

Darean told Margaery that her father should become Hand of the King because House Tyrell could provide Robert with wealth, food, and troops, angering her with his suggestion that she marry Joffrey. Meanwhile, three Hightowers disappeared from the Hightower, and Guncer learned that witnesses had seen their father summon them away.

• Darean explained to Margaery that Robert needed a Hand who could supply his desires and protect him from House Lannister, making her father a suitable choice.
• Darean suggested that Margaery marry Joffrey and that her father serve as Hand, prompting her to demand he take back his words.
• Guncer told Baelor that three Hightowers had vanished from the Hightower despite an extensive search.
• A guard reported that witnesses had seen the missing Hightowers being summoned away by their father.

Baelor learned that the missing Hightower relatives had last been seen with his father and warned Guncer to put the family’s interests above their rivalry. In New Land Town, Marwyn brought Darean a troubling letter, and Darean discovered that the Book of Strange Script had updated.

• Guncer told Baelor that the missing collateral family members had last been seen going to see their father.
• Baelor connected the disappearances with Moroia and the smell of blood, then told Guncer he would sacrifice himself if danger threatened House Hightower.
• The narration explained that Leyton Hightower’s studies had exposed him to necromancy as magic returned to the world.
• Marwyn received a letter, read it, and hurried to find Darean.
• Darean read the letter and felt the familiar burning sensation as the Book of Strange Script updated.

Darean received a sealed letter from Baelor warning him to stay away from the Hightower while Baelor and Guncer investigated strange events there. With Leyton Hightower possibly implicated in a kinslaying, Darean gathered his steward to decide how to protect the family and manage their forces.

• Darean read Baelor's letter, which described strange events at the Hightower and urged him not to obey Leyton's summons.
• Marwyn reasoned that the reported smell of blood suggested someone had died at the top of the Hightower, where Darean's sister Moroia had stayed with Leyton.
• Darean decided to keep Clyson uninformed and called for a meeting with Marwyn and the steward to discuss their next steps.
• The steward arrived in alarm after reading the letter, and Darean told him he would trust Baelor until he received a direct order from Leyton.
• Darean asked the steward to help decide whether to continue construction, deploy their troops, contact Sunflower Hall, and respond to the crisis.

Darean refused to send House Hightower’s troops back to Oldtown before confirming the report of a crisis, and questioned why Garth’s seal was missing from the letter. At a Hightower reserve warehouse, Garth witnessed a mauled man rise and attack, only for the laborer he killed to show the same black-veined eyes.

• Darean argued that moving the army would expose the family’s crisis and leave New Land Town vulnerable, while Maester Marwyn supported him.
• Darean noticed that Garth’s seal was missing from the letter and wondered why his powerful elder brother had not endorsed it.
• At a reserve warehouse east of Oldtown, Garth oversaw the inventory and shipment of supplies bound for New Land Town.
• Two guards brought in a badly mauled man, who suddenly attacked and bit a laborer in the courtyard.
• Garth hurled a wine bottle to save a guard, who cut down the attacker and finally beheaded him.
• Garth went to inspect the scene and saw that the dead laborer’s eyes had turned black-veined too.

Garth contained the first living corpses at the warehouse, but two days later an army of the dead surrounded the castle. He recognized signs of necromancy and ordered that the Hightower be warned, unaware that Oldtown was already in danger.

• Garth ordered a guard to behead the transformed worker, then had the corpses burned and sent knights to investigate where the first man had been found.
• After two peaceful days, living corpses surrounded the castle, and Garth’s soldiers shut the gates and held the walls.
• The corpses withdrew into the forest after an unseen command, and Garth noticed that arrows through their heads had killed some of them.
• Garth recognized the dead as villagers from nearby settlements and suspected that necromancy had caused the attacks.
• Garth ordered his men to contact the Hightower and stop the threat from spreading, but Oldtown was already in danger.

Darean learned that magic was causing a crisis near Oldtown and sent men to monitor the city as the Book of Strange Script tasked him with cleansing its corruption. In Highgarden, Olenna summoned the bannermen to prepare for trouble, while Baelor’s letter revealed that Oldtown had fallen into chaos and Garth was badly wounded.

• Darean ordered Marwyn to stay in contact with Oldtown and sent twenty men under Clyson there to investigate the crisis.
• Olenna Redwyne learned that reports of attacks were spreading south of Highgarden and that Oldtown had stopped replying to ravens.
• Olenna ordered Garlan to summon nearby bannermen under the pretext of celebrating Mace Tyrell’s birthday, saying she would cover their losses.
• Gray ravens flew from Highgarden as Olenna’s bannermen were summoned.
• Baelor’s letter reached New Land Town, reporting that he could not control Morlin’s troops or summon the bannermen, and warning Darean to kill anyone with black, bloodshot pupils.
• Baelor reported that Garth had been badly wounded by the attackers and that the maesters could not help him, leaving Darean to decide what to do.

Garth Hightower and his guards rode for Oldtown to warn House Hightower, but a destroyed bridge and an ambush led by the undead Dawn Hightower trapped them in the woods. Garth broke through with only eight survivors, leaving the dead watching from the streambank.

• Garth persuaded the warehouse garrison to hold their position and rode toward Oldtown with his fifty guards.
• Garth's party found the bridge destroyed and encountered the undead Dawn Hightower on a wounded warhorse.
• Dawn awakened eight hundred hidden corpses, which surrounded Garth and his men in the woods.
• Garth ordered his soldiers to charge through the enemy line and urged any survivor to reach the Hightower with the warning.
• Garth escaped across the stream with only eight people beside him, gravely wounded as the dead watched from the bank.

Darean mobilized troops to secure support from Three Towers as signs of trouble in Oldtown grew, while Margaery Tyrell misread his actions and was placed under guard. He reached Three Towers and asked Earl Tommen Costayne for a private meeting about urgent business.

• Darean told Gerold Hightower he planned to seek Three Towers' support and ordered Gerold to guard New Land Town and report any news from Oldtown.
• Margaery Tyrell confronted Darean about his troop mobilization, and Darean ordered Clyson to escort her to her room and keep watch over her.
• Darean rode north with two hundred men, reaching Three Towers at noon on the second day.
• Earl Tommen Costayne welcomed Darean at the castle gates and offered to host a feast.
• Darean told Tommen he had come on urgent business that could not be put in a letter, and Tommen led him to a private room.