[Stannis Baratheon — Characters]
Despite Mance expressing disappointment at Jon's betrayal, they drink a toast to some of their fallen friends, such as Grenn, Ygritte, and Mag the giant. Mance then notices that Jon is eyeing a cooking knife, and quickly deduces that Jon came to parley with Mance simply so he could assassinate him. Before anyone can make a move, they are interrupted by the sound of war horns. Outside, hundreds of mounted knights led by Stannis Baratheon and Davos Seaworth arrives and slaughter many of the wildlings, scattering the rest.
Daenerys arrives on Dragonstone for the first time since she was born, accompanied by Tyrion, Missandei, Varys, and Grey Worm. She wastes no time exploring the home of her ancestors, removing one of Stannis Baratheon 's old banners in the process. After examining the Painted Table of Westeros, Daenerys asks her Hand when they can begin their conquest .
Tyrion reports news of King Renly Baratheon 's death to Cersei. She is pleased, but Tyrion predicts Stannis Baratheon 's imminent attack having assumed control of Renly's men. He tries to discuss plans for their defense, but she insists on keeping them secret. He learns that she is reliant of the Alchemists' Guild from Lancel. He visits Wisdom Hallyne and learns that the guild have stockpiled thousands of jars of Wildfire to use as catapult ammunition. Bronn sees this strategy as potentially disastrous because of the volatile nature of wildfire. Tyrion orders Hallyne to answer to him instead of Cersei. He passes a street protest that blames him for the ills of the city, as the people believe him to be manipulating Joffrey.
Tyrion fears that if they can't repay the debt, the Iron Bank will eventually cut them off and start supporting Robb Stark or Stannis Baratheon. Podrick then returns, with the money Tyrion gave him to pay the prostitutes. Tyrion is concerned that he lost heart and fled, but Pod innocently says he did "all sorts of things" with the prostitutes - they simply refused his offer of payment. Impressed that the women would provide their services for free, Tyrion and Bronn ask Pod to explain in detail what transpired, so they can take "copious notes."
Tyrion arrives on Dragonstone , accompanied by Daenerys , Missandei , Varys , and Grey Worm . He follows Daenerys from the shore of the island to the Painted Table of Westeros , pulling down the standard of Stannis Baratheon and running her hands along the simplistically ornate throne before asking if they can begin planning her conquest .
Stannis Baratheon sends copies of a letter detailing Cersei's incestuous relationship with Jaime and the illegitimacy of her children to high lords throughout the seven kingdoms, fueling widespread rumors. Cersei tasks Petyr Baelish with recovering Arya and is enraged when Baelish dares to reference the rumors. She asks Joffrey to enlist the aid of Tywin in the search, but he refuses to involve his grandfather. He provokes an argument with Cersei about the rumors and threatens her life when she slaps him. He then orders a citywide massacre of Robert Baratheon 's bastard children so that he will have no rival claimants in case his true parentage is revealed.
Cersei is pleased when she learns of King Renly Baratheon 's death . Tyrion considers it a sign of an imminent attack by his brother King Stannis Baratheon , who has assumed control of Renly's army. Cersei refuses to discuss measures for the defense of the city and remains irate about the marriage pact with Dorne. Tyrion learns from Lancel that Cersei is relying on the Alchemists' Guild to supply Wildfire to defend the city and supplants her relationship with the Guild.
Cersei meets with Tyrion to discuss the imminent attack of King's Landing by King Stannis Baratheon . She admits her struggles controlling Joffrey and openly references her relationship with Jaime. She confides her fear that Joffrey's madness is the price for her sins, including her incestuous relationship. Tyrion tries to comfort her by telling her that Tommen and Myrcella are good, decent children.
Cersei soon makes a number of rash and ill-judged decisions. She fills the Small Council with her own cronies, picked for their loyalty to her rather than their competence, disregarding Tywin's previous arrangements and advice from Jaime and others. Despite the Crown's heavy debts, she orders the construction of a new royal fleet (rather than rely on the fleet of Paxter Redwyne, a bannerman of Mace Tyrell, or make an alliance with the Greyjoys to replace the few ships that survived the Battle of the Blackwater ) and puts it under the command of Aurane Waters, a bastard sellsail of questionable loyalty and experience, who later steals the entire fleet. She refuses to honor the Crown's debt to the Iron Bank of Braavos and flippantly brushes off its representatives when they demand an explanation. In retaliation, the Iron Bank begins calling in loans all over Westeros, causing economic chaos, and eventually sends a representative to Stannis Baratheon to offer to finance him. In return for cancelling the Crown's debts to the Faith, she allows the Faith Militant to be re-established, oblivious to the strife they had caused the Targaryens centuries earlier. Pycelle , who previously was Cersei's henchman, keeps arguing and objecting to her poor decisions, but his protests fall on deaf ears.
The party eventually arrives at Harrenhal, where Roose Bolton is visibly angered at Locke for maiming Jaime. Jaime asks Bolton about Cersei, and Bolton briefly tortures him emotionally, describing Stannis Baratheon's attack on King's Landing in a way that seems as if he will say Cersei was killed, but he informs him that Tywin and the Tyrell army arrived to drive Stannis away, and Cersei is alive and well. Jaime is so relieved that he falls to his knees. His stump is later tended to by Qyburn , an ex-maester who was expelled from the Order for his unethical but successful experiments. Qyburn implies that he may need to cut off Jaime's arm to stop the corruption spreading, but Jaime threatens to kill him if he does, so Qyburn agrees to only cut away the rotting flesh, and offers Jaime milk of the poppy to ease the pain, but Jaime, fearing that Qyburn will sedate him and still amputate his arm, refuses, and screams in agony as Qyburn starts operating on him.
Stannis Baratheon sails his fleet into the bay outside King's Landing, triggering the Battle of the Blackwater . Sansa is summoned to the throne room to say goodbye to Joffrey. He forces her to kiss his new sword and she subtly undermines his bravado. She then takes refuge in Maegor's Holdfast with Shae where Cersei is hosting the women of the court there. Cersei mocks Sansa's faith and reveals Ilyn Payne is present to kill them all if the walls are breached. She drunkenly advises Sansa to use her sexuality as a weapon. Eventually, Cersei storms out, believing the battle lost. Sansa attempts to keep the morale of the women up with prayers and singing.
Sansa attempts to escape during the battle between the Boltons and Stannis Baratheon by picking the lock on her door with the corkscrew and lighting the candle in the tower. However, Brienne and Podrick don't see the candle due to being distracted by Stannis's army. In the process of trying to escape, Sansa runs into Myranda and Theon, with the former aiming a bow at her. Myranda says that she has come to escort Sansa back to her chambers, and Theon initially begs Sansa to go with her. Though Sansa is visibly frightened, she stands her ground and refuses to go with Myranda, saying, "If I'm going to die, let it happen while there's still some of me left."
Eddard also had a supposed illegitimate son, Jon Snow , apparently fathered with a common serving girl Wylla , and raised Jon as his son alongside his legitimate children in Winterfell. In reality, Jon is Eddard's nephew since he is the son of Eddard's sister Lyanna with Rhaegar Targaryen. Eddard kept this secret from everyone, including Catelyn, to protect Jon - especially from Robert Baratheon. This would become a source of occasional friction between Eddard and Catelyn, who remained unaware of Jon's true origins. Eddard's younger brother Benjen joined the Night's Watch , an institution of which Eddard was a keen supporter. He also appeared to have troubles keeping his bannermen in line as Stannis Baratheon remembered his brother Robert saying the Northmen were difficult to control, even with Eddard on his side.
When Stannis Baratheon and his forces arrive at Castle Black and defeat the remainder of Mance's army, Jon explains he knows Stannis is the king and his father died for Stannis. Stannis tells Jon his father was an honorable man. Jon agrees and Stannis asks Jon what Ned would have done with Mance. Jon replies his father would have taken Mance prisoner and listened to what Mance had to say. Stannis agrees.
Eddard was proficient in combat, both in strategy and in a duel. He killed Ser Gerold Hightower, survived the Battle of the Trident where he cut down a dozen knights and held his own impressively against the younger Jaime Lannister. He had earned the respect of men like Ser Arthur Dayne, the greatest warrior of his generation - indeed, Ned's sense of honor seemed to impress everyone around him, including the rigid and cold Stannis Baratheon, the sharp tongued Olenna Tyrell, and the cunning Varys. Aside from being selfless, dutiful and brave, he was slow to anger and thus he was one of the very, very few who could withstand the temper and misgivings of Robert Baratheon, with whom he shared a relationship that was a hair's breadth from being considered a brotherly one. Robert admitted that he lacked love for Stannis and Renly Baratheon, and had instead called Ned his brother, showing that Robert's admiration for his old comrade was tremendous. Ned's calm and reasonable mentality was respected firmly by Robert, who recognized that Ned was the only one who would dare say no to him for the right reasons. Robert obviously trusted Ned, begging him on his deathbed to help Joffrey in a way that Robert himself had failed and even naming the man as Protector of the Realm until Joffrey came of age.
At Robb's camp, Robb and his bannermen debate whether to cooperate with Stannis Baratheon or Renly Baratheon in the war against King Joffrey; Renly has greater forces, but Stannis is the elder Baratheon and next in line of succession excepting Cersei's children. Jon Umber questions why the northerners should be told what to do by rulers in the south at all, reminding them that the North was independent of the other kingdoms before Aegon's Conquest . With the dragons gone, Umber declares there is only one king worthy of his respect and allegiance and bows before Robb, calling out, "The King in the North!" The other northern bannermen take up the cry and bow before the new King in the North, swearing fealty to Robb.
Robb continues to win victories against the Lannister army and earns the nickname "The Young Wolf" for his ferocity in battle. He keeps Jaime under guard in his camp to confound attempts to free him, stating that although he trusts his men with his life, Jaime's life is another matter. He receives a letter from Stannis Baratheon, detailing that Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen Baratheon are the incestuous bastards of Cersei and Jaime. He tells Jaime of this information, who scorns the prospect, reflecting on how convenient this word be for Stannis if it were true. When Jaime insults Robb's youth, Robb rebuts by bringing Grey Wind into the cage and remarking that he Jaime insults himself, as Robb has defeated Jaime and may even kill him. Despite his threats, he leaves Jaime alive; as the son of Tywin Lannister, there are multiple options in which to use him which would be beneficial to the Northern cause.
Robb was also quit smart and clever. He was able to learn about the truth of Joffrey's lineage and quickly realized it was the reason his father was decapitated under false charges of treason and that his brother Bran was thrown from that tower to keep it in secret, meaning that he had discovered the incest between Jaime and Cersei. And all of this with very little information, having only a letter from Stannis Baratheon. Furthermore, Robb was realistic enough to recognize his own limits as a warrior and swordsman. When Jaime offered him to end things with a duel between them, something that would have saved thousands of lives before the war truly began, Robb declined the offer, knowing that if he agreed, Jaime would win.
At Castle Black , Sam attempts to comfort Gilly since she is worried of being sent away by Ser Alliser Thorne , which would most likely happen if Alliser is elected as the new Lord Commander . Sam reaffirms his promise that where ever Gilly and her baby go, he will go too in order to protect her. Later, Sam is present when Mance Rayder is executed by Stannis Baratheon for refusing to bend the knee, and comforts Gilly, who cries in his shoulder.
When Sansa finally succeeds in breaking out of her room and lighting the candle in the tower, she is confronted by Reek and Myranda on the catwalks, with Myranda pointing a bow at her. Reek begs Sansa not to resist, but Sansa welcomes her fate. However, when Myranda claims that she will spare Sansa and merely maim her, Reek remembers the role Myranda played in his castration. Unwilling to let Sansa suffer the same fate, Reek grabs Myranda and pushes her off the catwalk to her death. Now Theon Greyjoy once again, he takes Sansa and they run when the Bolton cavalry arrives after defeating Stannis Baratheon at the battle in the ice . With no other choice, and aware of what will come when Ramsay finds Myranda's body, Theon and Sansa jump from the parapet to the snow below.
Theon's story is largely the same as portrayed in the fifth season. One difference is that rather than marrying Sansa Stark, Ramsay marries Sansa's friend Jeyne Poole , who is being passed off as Arya. Theon knows immediately that it is not really Arya, and suspects that the Boltons have kept him alive because they need him to confirm to the Northern lords that it is her (since Theon is one of the few people still living who could positively identify Arya). Ergo, Theon ends up helping Jeyne escape from Winterfell, aided by a disguised Mance Rayder and his six spearwives. During the escape, Jeyne screams and accidentally gives away their position. Mance and the spearwives stay behind to buy them time, and Theon, aware of Ramsay will do to him and Jeyne if they are captured, jumps off the castle walls with her. They survive the fall and manage to reach the approaching army of Stannis Baratheon , and Theon is re-united with his sister Asha, who does not even recognize him. For the first time in years, he introduces himself as Theon Greyjoy rather than Reek.
King Stannis Baratheon sails on King's Landing with a fleet of over 200 ships. Joffrey is determined to fight personally, scaring his mother. Cersei suspects that Tyrion is encouraging Joffrey and plots to blackmail him into ensuring Joffrey's safety by imprisoning his lover. Joffrey tours the sea wall of the city with Tyrion and insists that he will kill Stannis himself. His bravado is undercut by his woeful lack of appreciation of the danger he is in; he stupidly suggests that they should be planning to assault Robb rather than defending their capital.
Joffrey's view on his own family (immediate and alleged both) was influenced by his own impulsiveness and self-absorption, and it is clear he did not truly hold his family in high regards. Despite her protectiveness of him and constant support for his actions for most of his life, he was comfortable with being misogynistic and condescending towards his mother, Cersei - insulting her status as a woman, and mocking Robert Baratheon's disloyalty to her. Joffrey taunted and belittled his true father Jaime Lannister as an unexceptional knight and for the loss of his hand. In addition, he apparently bullied and tormented Tommen and Myrcella their entire lives, never connecting with them the way, for example, the Starks did, and even considering Tommen weak for crying like any normal person. Even his grandfather Tywin Lannister was a person he held in contempt, being arrogant enough to furiously accuse Tywin of being a coward during Robert's Rebellion , in comparison to Robert Baratheon (who climactically killed Rhaegar Targaryen in combat and took the crown for himself). This particular scene is interesting, because Joffrey is oblivious to himself doing the same thing: Tyrion and Tywin fought, bled and prevailed against the insurgent Stannis Baratheon, while Joffrey hid behind the walls of the Red Keep without even killing a single invader. Based on all this, Robert was probably the only relative that Joffrey held in any high regard - and Robert wasn't even Joffrey's father. The worst relationship that Joffrey had was with his uncle Tyrion, and on several occasions Tyrion stymied and accosted Joffrey for his sadistic, cruel and arrogant actions, and Joffrey at several points went to petty means of mocking and deriding him. This probably influenced Joffrey's urge to point at Tyrion mere moments before he died, as one final stab at his uncle for so much as standing in his way. The only person that seemed to be at all capable of controlling Joffrey was Tywin, who was able to intimidate Joffrey by mere presence. For instance, on the occasion where Joffrey accused Tywin of cowardice, Tywin simply sent the boy king to bed.
Joffrey was obsessed with the self-conception that he was a great warrior like King Robert, but displayed no martial skill. Joffrey never raised a weapon against an enemy combatant in his entire life, excluding Tyrion's birthday present to him, despite bragging that he would cut down Robb Stark and Stannis Baratheon in battle himself (which he never came close to at any point in the war). Despite the fact that his faction was losing the war and bracing for a siege in King's Landing , Joffrey insisted that was the time for him to strike against the Stark forces as they were distracted by the capture of Winterfell . However, Tyrion pointed out that his own city was on the verge of attack by Stannis's superior forces. His delusions were so extensive that during breakfast prior to his wedding - Joffrey noted, after receiving the Valyrian steel sword Widow's Wail , that using it would be like cutting off Ned Stark's head all over again - implying that he was the one who beheaded Lord Eddard, even though he simply ordered it and Ilyn Payne was the one who actually beheaded him. He also boasted, before the Battle of the Blackwater , that he would personally engage Stannis and kill him in combat, but never crossed the latter in combat throughout the entirety of the battle. Later on, to add stupidity to absurdity, he arrogantly claimed that he saved King's Landing and personally broke Stannis Baratheon at the Battle of the Blackwater, when it was in fact entirely down to his uncle and grandfather's military efforts, whereas Joffrey turned coward and fled the battle, and Stannis himself was not entirely broken because he could still pose a threat to his opponents in the war and his claim still stood to reason. His bloodlust was often overpowered by sheer cowardice. He rarely killed manually nor did he initiate a fight where his opponent stood a decent chance of besting him. Because of this he preferred tormenting animals and vulnerable people rather than fighting warriors and regularly went on hunts because of this (akin to Robert, but at least the latter was legitimately skilled at fighting men).
Joffrey rarely made a valid insight and often did when used as a means for the narrative to underscore that everyone else is overlooking something, i.e. "if someone as stupid as Joffrey realized this, it should have been obvious to everyone else." Even on those first two points Joffrey was quite short-sighted: he was concerned about Daenerys in the far east, despite the fact that Robb Stark was already leading major armies in rebellion in Westeros itself, and didn't consider that he should concentrate on the much more immediate threat (which is how Tyrion reacted to news of Daenerys). Similarly, while he vaguely said that having a standing royal army was better than using feudal levies, Cersei had to explain to him that his suggestion for how to make one was too impractical to work (if a royal army conscripts men from the North, they still wouldn't feel enthusiastic about attacking their fellow Northmen). Joffrey may also have been correct when he said that the Stark forces were distracted after the capture of Winterfell, and that would have been the perfect opportunity to strike, but once again Tyrion had to remind him that his own city was preparing for a siege by Stannis Baratheon. Despite his lack of technical abilities and shortcomings in battle or combat, he was surprisingly knowledgeable on crossbows which he demonstrates to Margaery, knowing their make and models, effectiveness and was able to use them quite well, being able to shoot a bolt through the eye of a wall-mounted stuffed boar's head several meters away. His only direct kill with one, however, was Ros , a prostitute whom he restrained, and it was shown that he missed his shot multiple times due to the scattered arrows across the room (though these may have been him torturing her with the threat of death by missing intentionally, which would not be outside the realm of possibility for somebody like Joffrey).
Following the Battle of the Blackwater, there are many who believe Stannis has given up any hope for the Iron Throne. Tywin, who considers Stannis as the greatest danger of all the other contenders combined, does not think so, stating at a meeting of the Small Council: " This is Stannis Baratheon. The man will fight to the bitter end and then some ." He speculates that Stannis may try to rally the stormlords or form an alliance with Dorne. Davos has a similar opinion about his king: "It is not in Stannis to yield, so long as he knows his claim is just."
Stannis Baratheon learns of Jaime Lannister 's incestuous relationship with Cersei in a letter sent by Eddard Stark before his death, which was sent with Petyr's knowledge. Stannis composes his own missive and sends it to all the high lords of the Seven Kingdoms asking them to declare their loyalty to him and telling them of Joffrey's illegitimacy. Cersei tasks Littlefinger with finding the missing Arya Stark and needles him about his love for Catelyn Stark .
Melisandre , often referred to as the Red Woman or the Red Witch , was a red priestess in the religion of the Lord of Light , and had been a close counselor to King Stannis Baratheon in his campaign to take the Iron Throne .
Petyr Baelish also arrives at the camp. Catelyn confronts him for his betrayal of Ned and rejects his romantic overtures. He delivers a message from Hand of the King Tyrion Lannister ; he would be willing to exchange Jaime for Catelyn's daughters. Tyrion has also sent Ned's remains as a sign of good faith. Catelyn later accompanies Renly to a parley with his brother King Stannis Baratheon but the two are unable to reach a compromise.
She can be headstrong, sarcastic, cynical and judgmental, but she is also honest, straightforward, loyal, and determined. Although she has received extremely poor treatment from most knights, Brienne clings to a naively idealized concept of knighthood. Despite – or perhaps because of – the fact that she has no expectation of ever being recognized by society for her accomplishments and strength of character, she nevertheless strives to live up to the ideal of a true knight at all times. Brienne adheres to the expectations and guidelines of knighthood almost formally, since she expressed at the climax of her fight with the Hound that she had no wish to kill him (which he ignored and continued to fight her), and also carried out the killing of Stannis Baratheon as if it were an official execution, even permitting him any last words. However, she incorrectly cited that Renly was the rightful king, even though he was second to Stannis, but this was done mostly out of personal loyalty. Evidently, Brienne expressed considerable joy when she was eventually knighted by Jaime prior to the Battle of Winterfell and was applauded by those who had witnessed it. This brought Brienne things she had craved for her entire life: becoming a knight surrounded by genuine companions who fully accepted her.
He guards Joffrey during the Battle of the Blackwater . He is horrified when Tyrion uses wildfire to decimate the attacking fleet. Tyrion orders him to lead a sortie to repel Stannis Baratheon 's troops from the River Gate and he obliges, promising to rape the corpse of any man who dies with a clean sword. He kills several men, even cutting one clean in half, but is overwhelmed by his fear of fire and freezes in the midst of the fighting. He is nearly killed but Bronn intervenes, saving his life. He retreats back inside the walls and demands wine to drink.
After being chastised by Tyrion Lannister, who urges him to fight for his King, Sandor retorts "fuck the King", deserts from the Kingsguard, and leaves the battle. He heads to Sansa Stark's chamber, where Sansa is now hiding during the chaos of the battle, and offers to protect her and take her north to Winterfell. She declines, believing that Stannis Baratheon has won the battle and that she will be safe once his men find her. He explains that she will be surrounded by killers and promises to protect her. Unable to convince her to come with him, he walks out of her chambers and leaves the city.
While treating Gregor Clegane, Qyburn theorizes that Oberyn had adulterated the manticore venom on his spear with sorcery; thickening it in order to slow its progress through the veins towards the heart, dragging out Gregor's agony. It is also not at Cersei's orders but Tywin's that Gregor is treated, though this is only to get him enough back to health so Ilyn Payne could execute him. After Gregor's public confession of his part in the murders of Elia Martell and her children, Tywin (who had always dismissed such talk as malicious rumors) intended to publicly execute Gregor in order to appease House Martell , rather than risk their outrage at Elia and Oberyn's deaths causing Doran Martell to support Stannis Baratheon (though Tywin was killed by Tyrion before this could happen).
A few other major roads and districts have been mentioned. The River Row runs along the inside of the southeastern wall, near the Blackwater river. A fishmarket actually extends outside of the city walls up to the river bank: being located outside of the walls, it was heavily damaged during Stannis Baratheon's siege of the city. The River Gate is located in the middle of this southeastern wall, and as the Kingsroad passes through this gate is crosses River Row, forming a plaza known as Fishmonger's Square. River Row's eastern end does not directly connect to the Red Keep, because Aegon's High Hill is too steep on its southern side. Someone in the Red Keep who wanted to travel to the River Gate wouldn't want to have to ride all the way down in a straight line to where it meets the Kingsroad near the central plaza. Therefore a shortcut exists known as "The Hook", beginning halfway up the Muddy Way and curving off east in a semicircle to reach the entrance to the Red Keep on the less steep western side of Aegon's High Hill. The riots in King's Landing originated on the Hook, when after seeing off Myrcella at the docks, Joffrey and his royal party were traveling back up this street to the Red Keep (though the riot subsequently spread throughout the city).
At the time the series begins, it is held for King Robert Baratheon by his younger brother, Lord Stannis Baratheon . The castle contains the Chamber of the Painted Table and it was built using advanced Valyrian stonemasonry techniques, long since lost. Resulting in its exhibition of many exotic features unique in all of Westeros, including massive dragon-shaped gargoyles. The entire castle is dominated by dragon motifs and reliefs. Unlike the richly-decorated and extravagant Red Keep in King's Landing , Dragonstone is sparsely decorated and has a rough, austere appearance; its function is as a military base, not as a palace.
While Ser Davos Seaworth tries to convince the pirate-lord Salladhor Saan to take a contract for his fleet of thirty ships to supplement the faction of Stannis Baratheon , Davos mentions that he could instead spend the rest of his career making easy but small raids on the ships of "Pentoshi cheese-mongers" and "Meereenese silk merchants."