Chapter Summaries

Aermir discussed the North’s food and fuel supply with Robb Stark and the gathered lords, then accepted Smalljon Umber’s request for a rematch. The chapter ended as they prepared to duel, with Smalljon’s years of training revealed.

• Aermir watched events at the Bite and Moon drift port through his familiars before Robb Stark drew his attention back to the feast.
• Robb thanked Aermir for helping make potatoes and Moat Cailin’s charcoal available to the North, and Aermir said he wanted to keep people from dying of hunger or cold.
• Greatjon Umber led the lords in a toast to Aermir and Emre the Druid, celebrating a warrior’s death.
• Smalljon Umber asked Aermir for a rematch and explained that he had trained hard since their previous fight; Aermir accepted while they waited for a messenger.
• Aermir and Smalljon chose steel training swords and agreed to fight until one yielded as the guests cleared space in the hall.
• Smalljon’s years of weight training, running, and sword practice at Last Hearth were described as he prepared to prove himself against Aermir.

Aermir Drasil fought Smalljon Umber in a training duel and discovered that Smalljon had awakened a powerful new energy. After Aermir defeated him, Smalljon renounced his claim to Last Hearth and swore to become a paladin, with Greatjon Umber reluctantly approving his choice.

• Aermir Drasil and Smalljon Umber fought a fierce training duel, and Smalljon awakened an energy that strengthened his attacks enough to send Aermir flying.
• Aermir used swordsmanship and feints to disarm Smalljon, who yielded before the watching crowd.
• Smalljon knelt before Aermir and renounced his right as heir to Last Hearth to join the Lord Commander's paladin army.
• Greatjon Umber grieved and raged over losing his heir but approved Smalljon's oath rather than dishonor his son's convictions.
• Aermir welcomed Smalljon into the paladins of the Old Gods, and Smalljon rose to begin his new life as a paladin.

Aermir’s thoughts on the standards for becoming a paladin contrasted Harrick’s disciplined strength with Smalljon Umber’s newly awakened power. When news arrived that the people of the Three Sisters had attacked Aermir’s warship and insulted the Druid and the Old Gods, Aermir challenged Eddard Stark’s call for diplomacy and urged the North to answer with strength.

• Aermir upheld his demanding paladin initiation trial, while Smalljon Umber’s elevation without facing Harrick left the paladins uncertain about how he would fare against Harrick.
• A messenger from Moon drift port reported the Three Sisters’ attack on Aermir’s warship and their insults, provoking Greatjon Umber and the northern lords.
• Eddard Stark called for a diplomatic delegation to demand compensation and a formal apology before the North considered further action.
• Aermir argued that protecting the North, its people, and the Old Gods mattered more than honor, and that the Three Sisters would respond only to strength.
• Eddard Stark cautioned that the North should consult Lord Arryn before going to war, but Aermir challenged Jon Arryn’s failure to act against piracy by his people.

Aermir demanded justice for the Sistermen’s raids and secured northern support, including Lord Manderly’s ships, as he prepared to act with the Druid’s help. While he addressed the lords at Moat Cailin, a trained force of two thousand soldiers under the Sword of Winter marched toward its destination, setting Aermir’s planned invasion of the Three Sisters in motion.

• Aermir cited the Sistermen’s seizure of a fifth of House Manderly’s trade and challenged Lord Stark over Jon Arryn’s failure to stop the raids.
• Aermir sent a message to the Druid and declared he would sail from Moon drift port to seek justice, even if he had to face the Sistermen alone.
• House Umber, House Flint, House Karstark, and other northern houses backed Aermir, and Lord Manderly offered twenty warships and vessels from his shipyards.
• Lord Stark worried that Aermir’s resolve and the lords’ support could draw the North into a costly conflict with the Three Sisters.
• Aermir’s elite unit trained with temple knights and paladins near Moon drift port as part of his preparations for the invasion.
• Aermir ordered Harrick through his magical connection with Berus to lead two thousand soldiers toward their destination, including five hundred knights and three hundred paladins.

Aermir and the lords arrived at the rapidly growing Moon drift port, where defenders strengthened the town ahead of the Three Sisters’ invasion. The Sistermen still believed their fleet would catch the port unprepared, unaware that Aermir had already received an early warning and prepared a deception.

• Aermir considered converting his ten cargo ships to carry soldiers and summoning another 1,000 troops from Moat Cailin for the campaign against the Three Sisters.
• Aermir and the other lords entered Moon drift port with an escort, where Harrick led soldiers and townsfolk building an additional defensive barrier.
• The chapter explained that Aermir’s one-use Buff Gems could boost strength or speed by 2.5 times but could not safely cast offensive spells.
• The lords of the Three Sisters expected to surprise and sack Moon drift port, believing their fleet could quickly catch the escaped sailors.
• Aermir had sent fake shipwrecked sailors ahead while the real survivors reached Moon drift port eight hours earlier and reported to Caygan.

Aermir marched toward Moon drift port with 2,000 soldiers while preparing to face nearly 10,000 men of the Three Sisters, relying on his growing force and the town’s defenses. The chapter also recounted the brutal six-month training that forged Jory Flint and the Drashir knights and paladins into elite warriors.

• Aermir and his nobles marched from Moat Cailin toward Moon drift port with 2,000 soldiers as the Three Sisters’ fleet struggled through the Bite.
• Aermir watched the enemy’s delayed voyage through Erebus’s eyes, and his forces grew to 6,000 as a third contingent arrived.
• Aermir relied on his trained troops and used his level-five Druid Regeneration spell to heal injuries from the knights’ and paladins’ intense mock battles.
• Jory Flint became knight commander of the Order of Drashir and joined the third contingent under Ser Harrick Greenwood’s command.
• Six months earlier, Aermir established the Drashir Forge, where Jory and the other knights and paladins endured punishing physical, combat, tactical, and survival training.

Aermir challenged the northern lords to test his knights’ strength, wagering their obedience during the campaign against a discount on his goods. The chapter ended as Walton Wall faced five chosen warriors, after Aermir stopped Lord Karstark from selecting a paladin for his side.

• Lord Karstark doubted that Aermir’s 200 knights and 300 archers could defend the harbor, so Aermir proposed a test of strength with a wager attached.
• Lord Karstark accepted the challenge on behalf of the northern lords.
• Lord Karstark chose Walton Wall to represent Aermir’s knights, while Aermir’s men reacted with knowing smiles as Walton’s skin darkened.
• Lord Karstark tried to select Caden Karstark, a paladin, but Caden declared that he obeyed only Aermir and Emre the Druid.
• Aermir insisted that Lord Karstark choose from his own ranks, and Karstark selected a fifth knight to join four others against Walton.

Walton Wall defeated five Karstark knights in a mock fight, persuading Lord Karstark and the other lords to place their forces under Aermir Drasil’s command. Meanwhile, Triston Sunderland led a large Three Sisters raid toward Moon drift port, unaware of what awaited the attackers.

• Aermir explained that Walton’s sword was Damascus steel, and the contestants exchanged sharp blades for training swords.
• Walton used his enchanted armor and Aermir’s buffs to overcome the five Karstark knights, who eventually yielded.
• Lord Karstark honored the wager and pledged his 300 soldiers to Aermir’s command, and the other lords joined the pledge.
• The men of the Three Sisters approached Moon drift port under cover of darkness, attacking from the harbor and both flanks.
• Triston Sunderland anticipated wealth from the raid and planned to plunder Aermir Drasil’s possessions.

Aermir’s defenses ambushed the Three Sisters’ forces at Moon drift port, then he used powerful rituals and transformation magic to lead his knights in a devastating counterattack. The battle ended with more than a thousand enemy soldiers dead in five minutes, while the troops preparing to land from the harbor still threatened the town.

• Lord Borrell and Lord Torrent led their forces toward Moon drift port, where hidden archers struck them with a sudden volley.
• Lord Borrell and Lord Torrent ordered their men to keep advancing, while Aermir watched from Bird's Nest Tower and drew the attackers toward town.
• Aermir used four rituals to enhance two hundred knights, summoned Bark Armor, and cast Transformio to increase his own strength and speed.
• Aermir took the halberd Moon Hunter, mounted Sith, and charged the Three Sisters’ forces with his knights.
• Aermir and his knights cut through the enemy ranks, killing more than a thousand men within five minutes.

The forces of the Three Sisters suffered a crushing defeat at Moon drift port against Aermir’s disciplined northern army, and Lord Sunderland fled toward the Three Sisters after realizing his invasion had failed. He sought reinforcements from other lords and offered to accept punishment and join the Night's Watch in hopes of saving his lands.

• Lord Sunderland watched the Three Sisters’ forces suffer heavy casualties as Aermir, Sith, Harrick Greenwood, and the northern defenders cut through their ranks.
• Lord Drasil blessed and hurled his spear through the enemy, breaking the attackers’ morale and sending them fleeing toward their warships.
• The battle ended after thirty minutes with only three or four thousand of the Three Sisters’ original force escaping, while the northern side lost eight hundred men.
• Aermir moved his wounded away from the northern lords and used stone steles and healing magic to treat his soldiers.
• Lord Sunderland sailed toward the Three Sisters and sent messages asking other lords with ships for help.
• Lord Sunderland wrote to Lord Stark, accepted responsibility for the war, and offered to join the Night's Watch in exchange for a peaceful resolution.

Jon Arryn urged King Robert Baratheon to prevent a war between Lord Aermir Drasil and the Three Sisters, but Aermir had already declared war. Robert refused to order Aermir to stand down and left Jon to decide whether the Vale would support the Three Sisters or let the conflict continue.

• Jon Arryn learned that Lord Sunderland was rallying lords behind the Faith of the Seven as tensions between the Three Sisters and Lord Drasil’s people escalated.
• Jon Arryn asked King Robert Baratheon to send envoys to Lord Aermir Drasil and Ned Stark to keep the conflict from spreading.
• A messenger delivered Lord Aermir Drasil’s letter declaring war on the Three Sisters, and Jon Arryn realized Aermir would not accept the attack as an insult to the Old Gods and the North.
• Robert Baratheon refused to order Aermir to halt, arguing that doing so would risk turning the conflict into a war between the North and the Vale.
• Robert Baratheon told Jon Arryn to choose whether the Vale would escalate the conflict or let Lord Drasil face the Three Sisters.

Aermir prepared to invade the Three Sisters and learned through Jilim that their lords planned to meet his forces at sea. In Riverrun, Lord Hoster Tully rejected his council’s suggestions to aid the North, leaving diplomacy as a possible response.

• Aermir assembled a 7,000-man invasion force, using ships left near the coast after the Battle of Moon drift port.
• Lords Sunderland, Torrent, and Borrell agreed to deploy scouts and meet Aermir’s army at sea, while Lord Pryor promised a thousand men and ten ships.
• Jilim reported the Three Sisters’ naval plan to Aermir, who welcomed the chance to hurt his enemies while limiting his losses.
• Edmure and Xiani suggested discreetly supporting the North with grain and money, but Lord Hoster Tully angrily objected.
• Maester Vyman proposed sending envoys north to express Riverrun’s concerns without openly intervening.

Aermir used air and water elementals to speed his fleet toward the Three Sisters, while the Sistermen prepared to meet him at sea. The lords’ confidence and faith in the Seven grew as Lord Borrell warned that they were underestimating their enemy.

• Aermir summoned an air elemental to fill his fleet’s sails, then flew to the lead ship and sent a water elemental ahead to create a favorable current.
• Aermir spotted a Sistermen warship and declined Bo’s offer to catch its messenger bird, choosing to let the enemy know his fleet was approaching.
• Lord Elesham arrived with five warships and ten medium-sized vessels, and the Three Sisters’ lords reviewed their plan to surround Aermir’s fleet.
• Lord Borrell questioned the lords’ confidence, but Lord Sunderland argued that Aermir’s strength on land would not help him in naval combat.
• Lord Pryor declared that the Seven would protect their righteous forces and portrayed Aermir and his followers as servants of darkness, reinforcing the lords’ resolve.

Aermir used Rep and three other orcas to sink the smaller ships in the Three Sisters fleet and disable the warships’ rudders. As Aermir’s fleet sailed toward the Three Sisters, the defeated lords blamed their disaster on the Druid’s power and their own actions.

• Aermir ordered Rep to disable the Three Sisters warships without destroying them, while Rep asked to play with the enemy.
• Rep and three harnessed orcas rammed the fleet’s smaller vessels, sinking them and leaving the forty warships afloat.
• Lord Sunderland ordered his crews to fire ballistae and scorpions, but their projectiles fell short as Aermir’s ships circled the rudderless warships.
• Lord Longthorpe lamented the defeat, Lord Borrell admitted they had underestimated Aermir, and Lord Pryor accused the lords of bringing the Seven’s judgment upon them.

Lord Sunderland’s fleet was trapped and terrorized by Rep and the orcas while Aermir advanced toward the Three Sisters. Aermir sent messages that prompted the North and Vale to mobilize, giving him time to pursue his plans for the islands as tensions mounted.

• Lord Sunderland ordered his men to repair the fleet’s damaged rudders, but Rep and the orcas attacked the sailors and killed several of them.
• The lords of the Three Sisters hoped the orcas would let them escape, while Crow and the pod drove their ships back into the Bite.
• Aermir let Lord Sunderland’s ravens fly to the Vale for aid and continued sailing toward the Three Sisters.
• Aermir sent Lord Stark and northern houses messages announcing his victory and claiming that the Vale was preparing for war.
• The North and Vale began assembling their armies as Aermir used favorable winds and water elements to speed his fleet toward the islands.

The stranded Three Sisters fleet tried to poison orcas with the bodies of dead sailors while Bo stopped Rep from eating them, and Wannian’s rats began sabotaging the ships’ food and water. Aermir reached Longsister, demanded House Stormcliff surrender, and attacked its castle after Oswell refused, leaving Sith and the Drasil forces charging through the destroyed gates.

• The stranded sailors prepared poisoned bodies as bait for orcas, but Rep knocked the bodies back onto the ships after Bo warned him not to eat them.
• Erebus and his crows brought rats to the ships, and Wannian ordered the rats to find the food and water and foul it.
• Aermir arrived at Longsister and flew to House Stormcliff’s castle, where his Wind Shield deflected the archers’ arrows.
• Oswell Stormcliff refused Aermir’s demand to surrender, declaring that House Stormcliff served House Arryn.
• Aermir empowered two hundred soldiers with Vanguard and blasted the castle gates apart with a Crimson Fireball.
• Sith and Aermir’s double led the Drasil forces through the shattered gates and charged into the castle.

Aermir conquered the Three Sisters after destroying House Stormcliff and forcing the lords of Ironcastle and Longthorpe to surrender. He imposed terms that sent the houses’ men to become men in black and arranged marriages for their women, then took the men and half the island’s food with him.

• Aermir’s army stormed House Stormcliff’s castle and massacred its remaining defenders.
• The lord of Ironcastle abandoned his ancestral home and retreated with his forces to House Longthorpe’s fortress.
• Aermir demanded the Three Sisters’ surrender, and the lord of Ironcastle agreed to negotiate after Longthorpe’s youngest son urged him to avoid further bloodshed.
• Aermir refused to bargain and ordered that all male members of the houses become men in black while their women marry northern nobles of his choosing.
• The lord of Ironcastle accepted Aermir’s terms, and Aermir took the houses’ men and half the island’s food as he moved on.

Aermir’s forces defeated the united armies of the Three Sisters on Sweetsister, leaving the island poised to accept a new ruler. Meanwhile, Jon Arryn rejected King Robert’s refusal to intervene and prepared to retake the islands with Vale knights while planning around Eddard Stark.

• Aermir learned of the Sistermen’s planned ambush and entrusted Harrick Greenwood, Jory Flint, and his other generals with leading the battle while he supported them with blessings and healing.
• The Sistermen charged Aermir’s disciplined troops, but their formations and cavalry attacks were stopped by the infantry, paladins, Drasil Knights, and rangers.
• Aermir’s forces broke through the Sistermen’s center and routed their army, killing more than half their troops while losing only three hundred men.
• Jon Arryn asked King Robert Baratheon to intervene in the conflict, but Robert refused and blamed House Arryn for starting it.
• After learning that Vale knights had landed on the Three Sisters, Jon Arryn resolved to retake the islands and planned to hold off Eddard Stark until then.

Aermir imposed the Night’s Watch on the male members of Houses Borrell and Sunderland and thousands of Three Sisters soldiers as he prepared for a larger struggle with the Vale. Eddard Stark chose diplomacy, while Aermir’s council considered how to prolong the conflict and draw more Vale forces into his plans.

• Lord Borrell and Lord Sunderland ordered their male kin to take the black rather than risk the Druid’s punishment.
• Aermir reviewed a report that he had sentenced two thousand commoners, knights, and nobles to the Night’s Watch as part of his plan to strengthen the Wall.
• Eddard Stark decided to travel with five hundred men and seek a diplomatic resolution with Aermir and the Vale.
• Jory Flint urged Aermir to conquer Longsister, but Aermir explained that Vale reinforcements had raised the enemy force to as many as nine thousand.
• Aermir revealed that he had deliberately let the Vale’s troops approach, hoping to draw Jon Arryn into sending more forces and ultimately weaken House Arryn.
• Aermir adjourned the weary war council until the next day.

At the council, Eddard Snow questioned why Aermir was weakening the other kingdoms instead of uniting them against the Night's King. Aermir explained that the North would bear the worst losses and face a second Andal invasion afterward, so he planned to preserve a balance of power while keeping his promise to House Stark.

• Eddard Snow asked Aermir why he did not summon the kingdoms to form a united army against the Night's King.
• Aermir argued that the great houses would care chiefly about their own lands and would leave the North to provide most of the troops and serve as the vanguard.
• Aermir led Eddard to recognize that the weakened North could face a second invasion by the Andals and their believers after the war.
• Aermir said he needed to destabilize and control the Vale and Riverlands and weaken the other regions to maintain a balance of power.
• Aermir told Harrick that he would not replace House Stark as Warden of the North because he had promised Lord Stark, but House Arryn and House Tully were different matters.