Chapter Summaries

The narrator checked on his familiars and went to meet Robb and Jon, while Sansa argued with Catelyn about wanting to learn archery and live more freely. Robb showed the narrator five direwolf pups and introduced his own pup, Grey Wind.

• The narrator learned that his familiars had expanded their animal groups and developed new abilities, then left his room for the kennels.
• Sansa confronted Catelyn about her wish to learn archery and live according to her own choices until her duties required her to marry.
• Robb and Jon greeted the narrator at the kennels, and Robb apologized for Catelyn's treatment of him.
• Robb led the narrator behind the kennels and revealed five direwolf pups found during a patrol.
• Robb picked up the gray-and-white pup and named him Grey Wind.

Aermir discovered that the Stark children were wargs after meeting their direwolf pups, then Lord Stark summoned him to answer for his recent conduct. Aermir explained that he had drawn Lady Stark’s anger onto himself to protect Jon, leaving Lord Stark questioning his claims about Jon’s treatment.

• Robb told Aermir that he, Lord Stark, and Jon had found five direwolf pups after their mother died while hunting.
• Aermir tried to bond with Grey Wind and the other pups, then sensed that Robb had 25 mana and Jon had 56, concluding that the Stark children were wargs and the pups were bonded to them.
• Aermir envied Robb for having Grey Wind, and the two began wrestling until a soldier summoned Aermir to Lord Stark’s solar.
• Lord Stark reprimanded Aermir for his recent foolish behavior and said he had planned to name him a knight, but now considered him unworthy.
• Aermir said he had deliberately drawn Lady Stark’s anger to protect Jon, and claimed she kept Jon from sword practice by making him do chores while Lord Stark was away.
• Lord Stark challenged Aermir’s claims, while Aermir insisted that Lady Stark was hurting Jon and that he wanted to protect those around him.

Aermir confronted Eddard Stark over his distrust and refusal to act on warnings about the Ironborn, then urged him to delay contacting King Robert until the danger was confirmed. Seven months later, scouts returned with evidence of Ironborn activity, and Aermir prepared to present his plan at a meeting.

• Eddard Stark reprimanded Aermir and withheld his decision about the Ironborn, prompting Aermir to insist he deserved respect and could make his own way as a knight or noble.
• Aermir released a surge of mana that overwhelmed Eddard, then accused him of treating him as an ordinary commoner and being responsible for his absent father.
• Eddard stood his ground and warned Aermir that he would take his head if he repeated the display.
• Aermir criticized Eddard for refusing to call banners without King Robert's command and asked him to wait for the scouts before sending a raven.
• Aermir warned that King Robert would muster an army too slowly to protect the coastline, while Eddard said he could not break his oaths.
• Seven months later, scouts returned with news confirming Aermir's suspicions, and he prepared to explain his plan at a meeting in the lord's solar.

Aermir persuaded Lord Stark to summon King Robert to Winterfell for a tourney, allowing the North to prepare for a possible Ironborn rebellion. After Robert arrived, Eddard Stark warned him that the Ironborn were building longships, but Robert decided to wait for stronger evidence before attacking.

• Aermir convinced Lord Stark to invite King Robert to his son’s Name Day tourney instead of sending a raven about the suspected rebellion.
• Two months later, the northern lords, Jon Arryn, and Hoster Tully gathered at Winterfell, while the Reach and Westerlands sent only gifts.
• King Robert arrived with his family and greeted Ned Stark warmly.
• Cersei complained about staying in the North, but Robert told her they would remain until the tourney ended.
• Eddard Stark privately told Robert that the Ironborn were stealing timber to build longships.
• Robert said they could not attack without stronger evidence and urged Eddard to enjoy the tourney while they waited.

Aermir realized Robert wanted a full war with the Ironborn, while Eddard Stark and Jon Arryn persuaded him to warn the Westerlands and the Reach. As the tournament began, Aermir prepared to compete and reflected on his growing abilities and newly gained magic.

• Aermir asked Lord Stark why the king had not acted against the Ironborn and concluded that Robert wanted a prolonged war rather than a swift suppression.
• Eddard Stark told Jon Arryn about Aermir's suspicion, and they confronted Robert, who argued that the Ironborn had to be weakened so they could never rebel again.
• Jon Arryn persuaded Robert to send ravens warning the Westerlands and the Reach to prepare for an Ironborn attack.
• Aermir entered the northern tournament's melee with Lord Stark's permission and described the region's events and traditions.
• Aermir noted his growth, improved physical abilities, and new spells, including an oath ritual that only worked on sincere supporters and a purification ritual that killed living things in its area.

Aermir entered the tourney, passed the qualifiers without a fight, and defeated Hugo Moss in the first round. He then faced the knight Wayland Flint in the second round.

• Robb and Jon questioned Aermir’s decision to enter, and he encouraged Robb to focus on ruling and Jon to improve his swordsmanship and scouting.
• Aermir challenged the qualifiers, but no one dared fight him after a squire identified him as “Calamity,” so he qualified automatically.
• Aermir used armor and protective magic to charge Hugo Moss, knock him down, and throw him into the arena wall.
• The crowd cheered Aermir’s victory, and King Robert laughed approvingly.
• Aermir faced Wayland Flint in the second round.

The narrator defeated Wayland with a display of superior footwork, then faced Smalljon Umber and overcame his strength through speed and prediction. The narrator left Smalljon disarmed and at swordpoint, having won without relying on magic or stamina.

• The narrator asked Wayland whether he wanted a dignified fight or to see his full strength, and Wayland chose to face the gap between them.
• The narrator defeated Wayland with precise footwork and a relentless attack, then helped him up and bowed respectfully.
• The narrator fought two ordinary knights before facing Smalljon Umber, whose greatsword and strength made a direct clash too risky.
• The narrator dodged Smalljon’s attacks and struck the back of his knee, exploiting his predictable swings as he tired.
• Smalljon tried to trap the narrator with a shoulder charge, but the narrator avoided it, kicked his knee, disarmed him, and held a sword to his neck.

After Aermir Drasil won the melee, King Robert offered to knight him, but Aermir refused because he would not become a knight of the Seven. Lord Stark knighted him before a weirwood tree, and Aermir looked toward gaining noble status and land by becoming a hero in the coming war.

• Aermir received 1,000 gold dragons from Lord Stark as the melee’s victor, and the king learned that he was only thirteen and still a squire.
• Ser Selmy told King Robert about Aermir’s reputation for fighting bandits, while Jaime Lannister objected when Aermir refused the king’s offer of knighthood.
• Aermir explained that he would not accept knighthood from a follower of the Seven because the faith had burned weirwood trees.
• King Robert asked Lord Stark to knight Aermir, and Lord Stark led the ceremony before a weirwood tree in the Godswood.
• Aermir swore his oath before the Old Gods, and Lord Stark named him the Green Knight.

Tywin Lannister received a vague warning about a possible Ironborn attack and ordered patrols while he investigated. Ser Drashir spotted a fleet approaching the North and warned Lord Stark, who began gathering the household guards.

• Tywin Lannister read the king's disorganized raven about a likely Ironborn attack and summoned Gerion.
• When Gerion was away in Lannisport, Tywin wrote to him and ordered part of the Lannister fleet to patrol.
• Bo told Ser Drashir that fifty-two Ironborn ships were approaching, and Drashir saw seven turn toward Flint Cliffs while forty-five headed north.
• Ser Drashir reached Lord Stark's solar and reported that forty-five longships would pass Cape Kraken in about two days.
• Lord Stark questioned Drashir's certainty, then ordered a steward to gather the household guards.

At Winterfell, Drasil advised Lord Stark on how to counter the Ironborn’s coming attack, despite Osric Moss challenging his authority. After the council approved his plan, Drasil asked to operate independently and revealed that he could scout through nonhuman companions.

• Lord Stark told the captains that the Ironborn would reach Flint's Finger in two days and that the North had limited forces available before the full muster.
• Drasil predicted the Ironborn might target Flint's Finger, Barrowton, Deepwood Motte, and Bear Island, and proposed dividing 1,500 soldiers among Barrowton, Deepwood Motte, and Bear Island.
• Osric Moss objected to Drasil’s advice and accused him of leaving commoners undefended, but Drasil challenged him to offer a better plan.
• Lord Stark approved Drasil’s strategy until the other 15,000 soldiers assembled, and the captains left to lead their troops.
• Drasil asked Lord Stark to let him operate independently and explained that he could keep pace with the Ironborn and scout using nonhuman companions.
• Drasil told Lord Stark he could protect the coast from small raiding parties but would not risk his life against larger forces.

Eddard Stark learned that Aermir Drasil used magic and agreed to test Aermir’s Unbreakable Vow. After they swore not to reveal Aermir’s powers, Eddard experienced the vow’s punishment when he tried to write about the secret.

• Aermir admitted that he used magic to enhance his strength and enlarge his smoke bombs, while crediting his archery for defeating Eddard’s knights.
• Aermir proposed a mutual Unbreakable Vow to protect his secret, and Eddard asked him to demonstrate how it worked.
• Aermir created a magic circle, and Eddard vowed not to reveal Aermir’s powers in exchange for ten truthful answers, with paralysis and death as punishments for breaking the vow.
• Eddard tried to write about Aermir’s secret and became completely unable to move until he gave up the attempt.

Drashir tested Caygan and Harick’s loyalty with Oath Magic, then rode to the Stony Shore to confront the Ironborn. He ambushed a raiding party near a village and left only seven of its hundred men alive.

• Drashir warned Caygan and Harick that swearing allegiance would bind them to him, and both accepted his oath.
• Drashir sent Caygan and Harick to gather fifty men for Deepwood Motte, then rode Sith to Blazewater Bay.
• Drashir found the Ironborn fleet split into forces attacking Flint's Finger and the northern coast, where he had already hidden arrows near settlements.
• Drashir rang a village bell with arrows to alert the villagers as an Ironborn ship approached, and they fled toward the hills.
• Drashir used arrows and Warding Wind while escaping on Sith, killing most of the hundred Ironborn raiders and allowing only seven to reach their ship.

Aermir defended several villages from Ironborn raids with Sith, Lika, her wolves, and Im, killing hundreds of raiders before the Ironborn advanced toward Deepwood Motte. He learned that Saltspear had fallen and that reinforcements would arrive too late, leaving him to race toward Deepwood Motte ahead of the enemy.

• Aermir left the first rescued village and ran north with Lika while Sith rested.
• Aermir warned a village of the approaching Ironborn, then fought alongside Lika, her pack, and Im to kill the raiders and heal Lika's wounds.
• Aermir ambushed Ironborn forces three more times at Sea Dragon Point and lost nearly all his wolves while fighting two hundred men.
• Aermir killed about a hundred and seventy raiders with mounted archery, prompting the Ironborn to continue toward Deepwood Motte without attacking two nearby fishing villages.
• Aermir learned that the Ironborn had defeated the Flints and raided Saltspear, while Stark and Glover reinforcements would arrive too late to prevent the attack on Deepwood Motte.

Aermir arrived at Deepwood Motte and discovered that Lord Glover had gathered more soldiers than expected, then confronted Glover over the defenses and his disrespect. The chapter ended with Aermir knocking Broddin Hall unconscious and warning Glover not to draw his sword.

• Aermir learned that Lika and the others had developed the ability to shrink, with Bo able to become as small as a raven.
• Jory explained that Lord Stark had ordered Hallis Moran to reinforce Deepwood Motte after Lord Glover warned that Bear Island could not be held.
• Aermir told Lord Glover that only about 2,500 Ironborn could attack and that he had killed as many as 600 raiders along the coast.
• Lord Glover called Aermir 'boy,' and Aermir challenged his competence and demanded respect.
• Broddin Hall attacked Aermir, who struck him down and warned Lord Glover not to draw his sword.

The narrator challenged Glover’s request for more soldiers and argued that the Stark forces should act to protect Bear Island rather than wait behind Deepwood Motte’s walls. Glover reluctantly accepted the narrator’s plan, and the group assigned troops to him as they headed back to camp to prepare.

• Jory defended Ser Drasil and explained that Lord Stark’s orders gave him authority to question Glover during wartime.
• The narrator challenged Glover’s demand for five hundred additional men and warned that the Ironborn could isolate and attack Bear Island.
• The narrator urged the others to take action against the Ironborn, then explained a plan that did not require Glover’s troops.
• Glover reluctantly agreed, while Hallis assigned the narrator a hundred men and Jory assigned him a hundred and fifty.
• Jory scolded the narrator for provoking Glover, but the narrator and Hallis agreed that Glover’s incompetence could cause trouble during the battle.

Aermir revealed his warg abilities and familiars to the soldiers who would fight under him, then uncovered a traitor in Glover’s camp. He learned the traitor planned to open the west gate during the attack and began devising a counterplan.

• Aermir told Jory and Hallis he was a warg and led them and 300 soldiers into the forest to meet his familiar.
• Sith emerged, frightening the soldiers, while Aermir explained that she and Lika were his familiars.
• Aermir sent Jory and Hallis back to tell Glover he had gone to Bear Island, while Bo watched the castle’s animal traffic.
• Bo caught a raven carrying a message that revealed a west-gate guard planned to open the gate and lead soldiers out during the fighting.
• Aermir released the raven to track its destination and sent Jory a warning to take no action yet.

Aermir and Jory prepared Deepwood Motte for an Ironborn assault after learning a spy planned to open the gates. Daryn Tawney feinted toward the north gate while the defenders recognized the deception and awaited the real attack.

• Bo followed a raven to an abandoned windmill and watched a messenger deliver its message to Daryn Tawney.
• Daryn learned that two thousand Ironborn reinforcements would arrive in five to seven days and planned to destroy everything before then.
• Aermir explained his plan to Jory, who pointed out weaknesses and helped revise it.
• The Ironborn approached Deepwood Motte with thousands of soldiers and ladders as the defenders rushed to the walls.
• Daryn planned a feint at the north gate while sending smaller forces toward the west and south gates, reserving Broddin Hall as a trump card.
• Jory recognized the Ironborn’s feint and kept the defenders from concentrating their forces at the north gate.

The male protagonist and the Stark soldiers lured Daryn Tawney's Ironborn into attacking the west gate, where they trapped them behind barricades. As smoke bombs and arrows fell on the packed Ironborn, the ambush's second phase began.

• Daryn Tawney committed his forces to an assault while Jory concentrated Stark soldiers at the north gate, drawing the Ironborn toward the west gate.
• An arrow killed Broddin, and the Stark defenders prepared a barricaded corridor inside the west gate without the Ironborn knowing.
• The male protagonist used buffs to strengthen himself, Sith, Berus, Lika, Caygan, and Harrick before they approached the forest's edge.
• The Ironborn opened the west gate and poured into the corridor, where Stark soldiers attacked them from behind barricades.
• Jory sounded his horn, and Stark soldiers threw smoke bombs into the trapped crowd as archers on the walls shot at the Ironborn.

The narrator led a surprise attack that shattered the Ironborn assault at the west gate and killed Daryn Tawney. With the enemy routed, the narrator reflected on how Sith and Harrick’s apparent invincibility drove the soldiers forward.

• The narrator charged the Ironborn with three hundred soldiers, using smoke and Fog Cloud while Sith attacked their ranks and Berus, Lika, and Im struck from behind.
• Daryn Tawney’s planned assault collapsed when the Northmen trapped his men inside the gate and the narrator’s force attacked from the rear.
• Tawney led about six hundred soldiers against the narrator, but fires, smoke, and Sith’s roar broke their formation and sent most of them fleeing.
• The narrator leapt from Sith and drove his sword into Tawney’s chest as the Ironborn defensive line fell.
• Sith and Harrick led the advance to the castle gate, while the narrator recognized that their fearsome presence inspired the soldiers to fight without fear.

After defeating the Ironborn at Deepwood Motte, the narrator learned that five ships were heading for Bear Island and sailed there ahead of them. He arrived shortly after the ships landed, preparing to face House Drumm in a personal battle.

• Berus, Lika, Bo, Sith, and the narrator’s forces killed the fleeing and resisting Ironborn at Deepwood Motte.
• Bo sank two Ironborn ships with repeated wind bullet spells, and the narrator congratulated her.
• Hugo Moss escorted 200 captured Ironborn toward Winterfell with about 300 soldiers.
• Bo reported that five ships had changed course toward Bear Island, where House Mormont had left about 100 soldiers to defend the island.
• The narrator used wind magic to sail toward Bear Island faster than the Ironborn ships and arrived on the northern coast shortly after House Drumm landed on the western coast.