Recaps

The protagonist explained to Lord Stark that his insult to Yohn Royce served a wider plan to strengthen the North, while concealing his ambition to unite the mountain clans against the Vale. He defeated Jason Mallister in the tourney’s second round, then joined the feast at Casterly Rock, where Boros Blount’s loss set him up to face Hosteen Frey next.

• The protagonist defended his treatment of Yohn Royce to Lord Stark, citing the North’s reputation and his intention to build its strength, while keeping his plan against the Vale secret.
• The protagonist told Lord Stark that he would accept Royce’s ancestral armor to study its magical properties.
• The protagonist defeated Jason Mallister on their third pass, then helped him up and praised his skill.
• Jorah Mormont defeated Lyle Crakehall, Jaime Lannister defeated Lord Hewett, and Hosteen Frey defeated Boros Blount, making Hosteen the protagonist’s next opponent.
• The nobles and knights gathered for a feast at Casterly Rock after the day’s tourney contests.

At the feast, Jaime Lannister challenged Aermir Drasil’s reputation, and King Robert arranged a friendly duel between Jaime and the Sword of Winter. In private, Tywin warned Jaime not to underestimate Aermir and ordered him to protect the Lannister name.

• King Robert urged Aermir Drasil to drink, then mocked the guests for failing to match him at drinking or swordsmanship.
• Jaime questioned Aermir’s achievements, prompting Jory Cassel to defend him and Aermir to rebuke both men for provoking a quarrel over wine.
• Eddard Stark explained Aermir’s titles, and King Robert arranged a friendly duel between Jaime and the Sword of Winter before the melee.
• Tywin scolded Jaime for insulting the northern lords and gave him intelligence reports detailing Aermir’s military accomplishments.
• Tywin warned Jaime that Aermir could be dangerous despite his age and ordered him not to let arrogance tarnish the Lannister family’s name.

Aermir Ser Drasil defeated Jorah Mormont in the joust and won the tournament, then faced Jaime Lannister in the melee. After a prolonged duel in which he relied on defense and agility, Jaime taunted him as the fight continued.

• Aermir Ser Drasil mocked Jaime Lannister after Jorah Mormont defeated him, then assured Lord Tywin Lannister that he would answer any challenge from Jaime.
• Aermir Ser Drasil jousted against Hosteen Frey and advanced to the final round.
• Jorah Mormont honored Lynesse Hightower before the final joust, but Aermir Ser Drasil unhorsed him on their seventh pass and won the prize.
• Aermir Ser Drasil gave his gold prize to Lord Stark for safekeeping and prepared for the melee against Jaime Lannister.
• Aermir Ser Drasil evaded Jaime Lannister's attacks and landed a blow, but Jaime remained in the fight and taunted him.

Aermir defeated Jaime Lannister in the tournament duel and joined the fifteen-against-fifteen melee. He fought to limit injuries, but the melee remained underway as he brought down Lyman and Hosteen Frey.

• Aermir used his foresight, swordsmanship, and Trap Spell to defeat Jaime Lannister, who dropped his sword and left the arena.
• Robert Baratheon praised Aermir and called the warriors to take their places for the melee; Caygan brought Aermir his horse and crescent halberd.
• Thoros of Myr set his sword ablaze, frightening horses, but Aermir calmed his mount with Command Animal and incapacitated Thoros with a halberd blow.
• Aermir used Command Animal to disrupt the opposing horses while the warriors fought across the battlefield.
• Lyman Frey struck Aermir’s leg with a spear, but Aermir hit Lyman’s shoulder and then stabbed Hosteen Frey in the leg, sending both brothers from their horses.

Ser Drasil won the melee after defeating Blackfish and Lord Mallister, then received gold and was ennobled by King Robert. The king offered him land as well, but Ser Drasil intended to refuse it to avoid provoking the other nobles.

• Ser Drasil helped defeat the remaining fighters, struck down the Mountain, and won his bouts against Blackfish and Lord Mallister.
• Lord Mallister yielded to Ser Drasil, and the crowd hailed Ser Drasil as champion after his victories in the joust and melee.
• King Robert rewarded Ser Drasil with gold and announced that he would make him a noble of the realm.
• King Robert asked Lord Stark whether Ser Drasil should also receive land, but Yohn Royce objected to granting him landed status at once.
• Ser Drasil considered the political risks of accepting land and resolved to refuse the offer while keeping his ambitions concealed.

Aermir asked King Robert to assign Tobho Mott to work exclusively for him for two years, then won the tournament’s archery contest and completed a sweep of its three championships. As the lords departed, Aermir planned to build his influence in the North and remained wary of Balon Greyjoy’s uncaptured brothers.

• Aermir declined another grant of land and asked King Robert for Tobho Mott’s exclusive services for two years, with the crown paying the smith’s wages.
• At the archery contest, Aermir, Anguy, Jalabhar Xho, Balon Swann, and Dick the Fletcher advanced to the longer ranges, while Balon Swann and Dick the Fletcher were eliminated at eighty meters.
• Aermir and Anguy tied at the hundred-meter target, then wagered that Anguy would enter Aermir’s service if Aermir won, while Aermir promised him all his gold if Anguy won.
• At 120 meters, Aermir shot three arrows in rapid succession, striking the bull’s-eye twice and splitting one arrow with another; Anguy’s shots fell short of matching him.
• Aermir won the archery championship, completing his victories in the joust, melee, and archery contests.
• As the lords left, Harlaw was confirmed as lord of the Iron Islands and Theon Greyjoy was placed in Eddard Stark’s custody, while Aermir worried that Victarion, Aeron, and Euron Greyjoy might threaten the North.

A red-haired woman confronted the other beings in an underground crypt, demanding that they leave the Druid to develop into a worthy opponent. They agreed not to interfere until he established a new order, while she revealed her longing for the battles of the Age of Heroes.

• A white-clad man asked why the elderly woman had called the meeting, and she demanded to know where the others were.
• The elderly woman accused the red-haired woman of killing her subordinates to conceal the Druid, and the red-haired woman defended her actions and warned the others not to interfere with him.
• The red-haired woman argued that war and chaos would serve their interests, and the man in white agreed they should wait until the Druid established a new order before intervening.
• The red-haired woman recalled fighting the Dawn Emperor and said she wanted another grand battle.
• The beings left the chamber to continue influencing events in the human realm from the shadows.

On the journey back to Winterfell, the protagonist discussed the exiled Jalabhar Xho’s lost throne and advised him to abandon his claim. He then told Lord Stark he wanted to rebuild Moat Cailin and explained his plan to address the growing influence of the Faith of the Seven in the North.

• The protagonist spoke with Jalabhar Xho, who explained that he had lost his throne in a sacred duel and was exiled.
• Jalabhar Xho lamented that the Iron Throne had refused to support him, and the protagonist warned that reclaiming his throne would leave him facing rebellions; Jalabhar fell asleep before replying.
• Lord Stark asked the protagonist why he had refused a title and what he planned to do with his wealth, and the protagonist said he hoped to receive land when he was older.
• The protagonist told Lord Stark he wanted to become the gatekeeper of the North by rebuilding Moat Cailin, rather than settling somewhere that would cause greater territorial disputes.
• The protagonist said he planned to persuade House Manderly to abandon its faith over time, warning that the Faith of the Seven could spread through the North; Lord Stark rejected any suggestion of a conspiracy against the loyal house.

Aermir returned to Winterfell after the war, bringing Sith and the spoils of victory as the people welcomed the northern army. He asserted his new status to Lady Stark and discussed the Warg abilities he and his familiars were discovering.

• Aermir arrived at Winterfell after two months on the road and reflected on the war’s losses and his growing animal intelligence network.
• Aermir greeted Robb, who had been acting lord of Winterfell while Lord Stark was away.
• Lady Stark stopped Robb from approaching Sith and scolded Aermir for bringing the Shadowcat into the inner castle.
• Aermir reminded Lady Stark that he was now a nobleman and hero of the North, then introduced Sith and explained their Warg bond.
• Sith told Aermir that Robb and Winterfell carried a magical scent, and Aermir replied that Robb was also a Warg.
• Lady Stark suggested Aermir had Wildling blood, and Aermir laughed and promised to remind her of her words later.

The protagonist explored the weirwood network and dreamed of crossing the Wall, where the Night's King seized him and cursed his ankle. Back in the Godswood, he sealed the curse within the mark but collapsed from exhaustion, leaving its threat unresolved.

• The protagonist reached nearly every weirwood south of the Wall but could not pass an unseen barrier in the roots.
• After a ritual strengthened his power, the protagonist dreamed that he flew north and crossed a wall of auroras into an icy mountain.
• The Night's King captured the protagonist and burned a handprint into his ankle before an old, mist-shaped man pulled him away.
• The protagonist woke in the Godswood and summoned Sith to bring him a sheep while he carved runes into a stone stele.
• The protagonist used a Wildfire Spirit, Searing Flame, and a sheep-sacrificed Life Burst to weaken and seal the curse within the ankle mark.
• The protagonist collapsed from exhaustion with the curse sealed but still present.

Lady Stark led soldiers into the Godswood to confront Sith after the Shadowcat stole a sheep, but they found Aermir unconscious beneath a pillar of light and Sith protecting him. As Lady Stark pressed the guards to attack, Sith fought them without killing anyone, while Bo forbade her from harming the Northmen; the confrontation continued with Lady Stark demanding that Sith be driven away.

• The Shadowcat broke into a livestock shed, stole a sheep, and fled toward the Godswood, prompting a guard to seek Ser Rodrik.
• Lady Stark learned the beast had gone to the Godswood and secretly ordered a guard to delay reporting the incident to her husband.
• Lady Stark gathered about eighty soldiers and led them into the Godswood, where they found Aermir unconscious beside Sith under a pillar of light.
• Sith asked Bo whether she could eat the humans, but Bo ordered her to protect Aermir without harming anyone.
• Lady Stark persuaded the hesitant soldiers to attack Sith, who dodged and retaliated against them while trying not to kill them.
• When a guard realized Sith was protecting Aermir, Lady Stark rebuked the soldiers and continued ordering them to drive Sith away; Sith asked Bo to let her bite Lady Stark, and Bo refused.

Sith fought off Catelyn Stark’s soldiers and killed one attacker, while her mana roar briefly worsened Aermir’s struggle with the curse. Eddard arrived, stopped the confrontation, and learned that Aermir was unconscious but stable as silent crows gathered around the Godswood.

• Sith endured the soldiers’ attacks until Bo urged her to make an example of one; she spared Catelyn but tore a soldier apart and threw his body toward her.
• Sith’s mana-filled roar frightened the soldiers and disrupted Aermir’s mana, prompting Bo to scold her before Aermir regained control a few minutes later.
• Eddard arrived with Ser Rodrik and the knights, ordered the soldiers to retreat, and slapped Catelyn after she blamed Sith and demanded that she be killed.
• Jory Cassel warned that the knights could not defeat Sith, and Eddard told Catelyn that she had knowingly endangered their house by attacking Aermir’s familiar.
• Eddard checked Aermir and questioned Sith, who confirmed with paw signals that her master was all right and had given no order to attack the barn.
• As Eddard awaited Maester Luwin, he saw more than a hundred silent crows surrounding the Godswood.

Eddard stripped Catelyn of her authority over Winterfell’s soldiers and warned her against antagonizing Aermir, while concealing his true identity and power. After waking from his encounter with the Night’s King, Aermir realized the undead threat was real and began considering ways to scout the far North, but a scream interrupted him as he spoke with Bran and Rickon.

• Maester Luwin examined Aermir and said he needed rest and food, so Eddard revoked Catelyn’s authority over Winterfell’s soldiers and knights.
• Eddard confronted Catelyn in their chambers, warned her about Sith’s strength and Aermir’s achievements, and demanded she stop her hostility toward him.
• Aermir woke to find his familiars worried and realized the Night’s King had drained much of his mana; he suspected the Wall might prevent the Night’s King from crossing south.
• Aermir considered taming a snowy owl to scout the far North and learned from Bo that Sith had been hurt while he was unconscious.
• Aermir found Bran and Rickon climbing on Sith, told them to leave her alone, and heard Bran admit they had run away from their nurses.
• A piercing scream sounded nearby, and Aermir turned toward it.

The narrator teaches Rickon and Bran that Sith and other beasts are dangerous by making them watch Sith hunt a sheep. Afterward, the narrator confronts Lord Stark about a more urgent matter, and the room grows cold as his anger rises.

• The narrator warns Rickon not to treat Sith or his direwolf like pets after a maid mistakes Sith's play with him for an attack.
• Sith admits she would kill anyone who climbed on her head, and the narrator explains to Rickon and Bran that wild animals can be dangerous.
• The narrator has Sith kill and eat a sheep in front of the children, frightening Rickon into understanding the danger of beasts.
• The narrator treats Sith's injuries and goes to Lord Stark's solar, where Lord Stark suggests choosing a sigil for his house.
• The narrator rejects the discussion of a sigil as a distraction from more urgent matters, and the room's temperature drops as his anger rises.

The protagonist confronted Catelyn for trying to kill his familiar, Sith, and warned her that her status gave her no authority over him. He used magic to make her believe venomous spiders were crawling over her, leaving her frozen in terror until Lord Stark returned.

• The protagonist rejected Lord Stark's plea to forgive Catelyn and said he would punish her without physically harming her.
• He entered Catelyn's room and rebuked her for her arrogance, explaining that he did not serve her and that Lord Stark had cleared the area of witnesses.
• The protagonist showed Catelyn his Icicle Snake, Im, and threatened to use animals to kill her if she tried to harm him or his familiars again.
• He demonstrated his immunity to poison by letting a spotted spider bite his palm, then used Glome Agri to make Catelyn see spiders covering her body.
• The protagonist released Catelyn's hands and ordered her to remain still until Lord Stark returned, leaving her paralyzed by fear.

Aermir warned Eddard that Catelyn must not threaten his family again, then discussed taking control of Moat Cailin and building an information network. He revealed that Eddard’s children were Wargs, while keeping the Night’s King and his undead army secret as he considered how to prepare for the danger ahead.

• Aermir returned to Eddard’s solar and warned that Catelyn would not get another chance if she acted against his family again.
• Aermir assured Eddard that he respected the Starks and had no interest in their seat, then proposed taking over Moat Cailin when he turned eighteen and creating an information network in the North.
• Aermir explained that people with latent magical gifts might be unaware of them and revealed that Eddard’s children were Wargs bonded to their Direwolves.
• Eddard recalled Arya and Bran describing dreams of running as wolves, and Aermir said they were likely joining their Direwolves in their sleep.
• Aermir decided not to tell Eddard about the Night’s King, whose enormous undead army could not yet be opposed, and planned to build his forces, recruit Wildlings, establish a network, and learn smithing from Tobho Mott.

Aermir watched Arya and Sansa train, then discovered that the Stark children had growing mana and agreed with Lord Stark to train them as wargs. He also continued expanding his plans for smithing, finding people with mana, and preparing to watch for the Night's King.

• Aermir told Arya and Sansa that every weapon had strengths and weaknesses, and encouraged them to learn several kinds.
• Aermir discovered that Sansa had 81 mana, Arya had 72, Robb had 40, Rickon had 45, Jon had 65, and Bran had 95.
• Aermir and Lord Stark decided that Aermir would train the Stark children as wargs.
• Aermir opened a smithy for Tobho and began learning to forge, while Tobho said he would teach him Valyrian steel only after he could make a top-quality sword.
• Aermir sent groups led by Caygan and Harrick to search for people with mana, and planned to study the Wall's runes and bond with snowy owls to monitor the North.

Aermir built a secret network and secured Eddard Stark’s approval for the Knights Templar, an order meant to defend the North and serve the Old Gods. As the order’s temple neared completion, Aermir expanded his intelligence network beyond the Wall and advanced his magical studies, but he still could not create a weirwood face.

• Aermir gained the common folk’s trust through healing and other Druidic miracles, then carefully recruited loyal members into his inner circle.
• Eddard confronted Aermir over his militant organization, and Aermir swore he did not seek power for himself and argued that the force would protect the North; Eddard eventually supported the order, and King Robert approved it.
• Aermir cultivated a forest near Moat Cailin and built a bond with Skadi, a snowy owl who gathered sixty owls into a reconnaissance network beyond the Wall.
• Aermir mapped the lands beyond the Wall, learned the Old Tongue, and discovered that the Thenns interacted with organized tribes of giants.
• About a hundred lesser nobles joined the order as Paladins of the Old Gods, while volunteers and Aermir’s magic brought the temple close to completion without his spending money.
• Aermir failed to give the temple’s weirwood a face, but he improved his enchantment skills and learned to imbue weapons and armor with a single enhancement.

Aermir expanded his influence across the North by linking weirwood trees into a network, advancing his druidic magic, and developing improved crops. His selective distribution of fertile seeds increased harvests for followers of the Old Gods and fueled growing discontent with the Seven.

• Aermir used executions as sacrifices to light a sacred weirwood beacon, linking it to the North’s root network and letting him observe areas around other weirwoods.
• Aermir advanced his druidic skills through experiments with poisons, animals, spells, and healing, developing Poison Gas and improving several existing spells.
• Aermir bred edible potatoes that could be harvested twice a year and improved wheat, barley, and corn to better withstand the cold.
• Aermir distributed improved seeds selectively to fervent followers of the Old Gods, whose fields produced two to three times as much as those of the Seven’s followers.
• During the famine, septons demanded a share of struggling farmers’ meager harvests, and many commoners turned away from the Seven to worship the Old Gods.

Aermir reflected on his two years teaching the Stark children to warg and his growing duties as Lord of Moat Cailin before returning to Winterfell to spend time with Robb, Jon, and Sansa. As Arya declared her ambition to surpass him and lead the Knights Templar, Sansa kept her feelings for Aermir hidden.

• Aermir taught the Stark children to extend their bonds beyond their direwolves, and Bran bonded with a crow he named Winter.
• Aermir discovered the Stark children could not cast spells because they lacked magic hearts, while his lessons with them became less frequent.
• Lord Stark granted Aermir the title of Lord of Moat Cailin and ten thousand gold dragons to restore the castle after Aermir helped defend the North.
• Aermir raced with Robb and Jon, sparred with them, and later told them about his service and rise to leadership.
• Aermir praised Sansa's archery at Winterfell, and she concealed her feelings for him as they walked back to the castle.
• Arya leaped onto Aermir's back and declared she would become a warrior of the North and commander of the Knights Templar, then vowed to become a greater warrior than him.

Aermir persuaded Tobho Mott to serve Moat Cailin by promising to share his magical smithing knowledge, then began agricultural reforms to increase food production and trade. The surplus strengthened Moat Cailin’s security, but Aermir’s plans for a port city faced a lack of funding.

• Aermir showed Tobho Mott exceptional armor and a sword, then persuaded him to swear an oath and stay as master smith of Moat Cailin.
• Aermir explained that Tobho would craft and inscribe weapons while he imbued them with magic, and gave him a hundred gold dragons to build a forge.
• Aermir introduced crop rotation, model farms, composting, manure, and natural pest controls across Moat Cailin and its surrounding lands.
• Farmers adopted the new methods, increasing crop yields and allowing Aermir to build food reserves and pursue trade agreements with neighboring regions.
• Aermir planned to establish a port city for more distant trade, but he lacked the funds and would need to negotiate with House Manderly.

Aermir improved public health in Moat Cailin and the surrounding villages through sanitation works, hygiene campaigns, and medical training. The chapter then looked back five months to his council’s plans for three schools designed to educate students while securing their loyalty to Aermir and the Old Gods.

• Aermir hired engineers and used earth magic to speed construction of sewers and waste-treatment facilities around Moat Cailin.
• Aermir promoted cleanliness in the castle and villages and established herbal workshops where healers shared knowledge.
• Aermir trained gifted healers to combine herbs with magic, but their only successful magical potion killed living cells and was safe to drink only after three days.
• Five months earlier, Aermir and his advisers discussed plans for schools for nobles, commoners, and future civil and military officials.
• Aermir said school admissions and teaching would emphasize loyalty to him and the Old Gods, while commoners would receive basic education and officials would study administration, diplomacy, and martial skills.

Aermir expanded commoner education into a guild and military training system while reorganizing and drilling his army. The chapter ended with his ranger companies failing a difficult stag hunt before Aermir killed the animal with a remarkable shot and ordered the soldiers to train harder.

• Aermir established a path from commoner schools into trade guilds and the military academy, structured his army, and trained Caygan and Harrick for intelligence and command roles.
• Aermir took more than half his army to the Flint Mountains, taught tactical formations, and knighted Harick and Caygan as Greenwood.
• Eric asked Harrick whether Emre the Druid had blessed him with giant blood, and Harrick urged him to rely on hard training rather than seek shortcuts.
• Aermir ran mock battles and taught his soldiers to adapt their tactics to the enemy and the terrain.
• Aermir led ranger platoons commanded by Ser Dick and Ser Anguy on a training hunt, but both platoons failed to approach and kill the stag.
• Aermir shot the stag through both eyes with an arrow infused with wind and ordered the soldiers to pay for their failure through hard training.

Aermir reviewed a failed mock battle, warded the Old Gods’ temple with mist rituals, and established a guarded soap workshop to strengthen Moat Cailin’s finances. The soap attracted merchants from neighboring countries and began bringing revenue to the castle.

• Aermir held a feast for his exhausted soldiers, then resumed their training and staged a mock battle between Caygan’s infiltrators and Harrick’s defenders.
• Caygan’s team destroyed the siege equipment and sabotaged supplies but failed to defeat Harrick, and Aermir rebuked Caygan for getting his men killed and Harrick for defending the camp alone.
• Aermir performed four mist rituals around the temple of the Old Gods, making visitors follow the stone road and disorienting those who strayed into the forest.
• Aermir recalled how to make soap with the Identification spell and produced it from natural fats and lye extracted from coal ash.
• Aermir built a guarded soap workshop, hired twenty loyal followers, and sold the soap to merchants whose demand strengthened the castle’s finances.

Aermir expanded his lands’ mining, farming, and charcoal enterprises while preparing for winter. At Casterly Rock, Tywin ordered Gerion north to contact the mysterious Druid and Aermir, but his council’s dismissal of Aermir left him furious.

• Aermir used his elemental abilities to find copper and iron deposits and planned a forging district, while limiting new oaths after binding roughly 1,000 people.
• Aermir used copper for irrigation pipes and established two ecological farming villages, then taught his subjects food preservation to prepare for winter.
• Aermir established a guarded charcoal production site near Flint Forest, intending to supply the castle and export charcoal.
• Tywin learned that his spies could not penetrate the temple, Moat Cailin, or Moonflow Harbor Manor, and decided to send Gerion north to befriend the Druid.
• Tywin ordered Gerion to contact Aermir as well, but Tygett and several advisers dismissed Aermir’s 3,000-man army and accomplishments.
• Tywin defended Aermir’s growing influence, then angrily threw his goblet and dismissed the council.