With the rise of the Sparrow movement in King’s Landing, and the public humiliation of the
former Queen Cersei Lannister, Grand Maester Pycelle and Hand of the King Kevan Lannister
were left to stabilize the Kingdom. In order to reaffirm the fragile alliance with House
Tyrell, Lady Olenna was invited to participate in Small Council meetings and advise in the
management of the city. Cersei however struggled to recover from her
ordeal, and suffered more when Jaime returns from his mission to Dorne, having failed to
rescue their daughter, instead returning with Myrcella’s murdered body.
Cersei and Jaime then attempted to participate in government but are immediately rejected
by Kevan Lannister and the others. But Cersei soon learned of secret meetings
between her son King Tommen and the High Sparrow, using this information to convince Olenna
and Kevan of a plan to confront the Sparrow movement and rescue Margaery Tyrell before
her walk of shame. Agreeing to the plan, the Tyrells brought
their army into the city, seeing Jaime and Mace Tyrell lead their forces to the Sept
of Baelor, demanding the immediate release of the Queen. But their plans were disrupted
when it was revealed both Margaery and Tommen had become allies of the Faith, seeing the
army dismissed and Jaime Lannister removed from the Kingsguard.
Jaime was then sent to the Riverlands with the Lannister army to help House Frey retake
Riverrun which they lost to Brynden Blackfish Tully and the remnants of the Tully army.
With Jaime gone, Cersei has no more allies in the city, save her adviser Qyburn and her
protector the Mountain. And so she reached out to Lady Olenna, offering to join forces
against the Sparrows, but Olenna firmly rejected her and instead left the city, having attended
a meeting with Margaery where she learned that the Queen was merely posing as a devout
follower of the Faith, so that she might use the situation to save her brother Loras and
preserve power for House Tyrell. Things were made even worse for Cersei when
her son King Tommen announced an end to the practice of Trial by Combat, meaning that
Cersei would be judged by 7 Septons of the faith, and could not rely on Gregor Clegane
to fight in her name. Desperate, Cersei and her adviser Qyburn made
a plan to use barrels of wildfire discovered under the city, originally placed there by
King aerys II who planned to burn King’s Landing to the ground nearing the end of Robert’s
rebellion. During the trial of Loras Tyrell and what
should have been the trial of Cersei Lannister, with the city leadership, faith officials
and royal court in attendance, the sept of Baelor was ignited into a fiery green explosion,
killing all in attendance and many nearby. Among those killed in the blast, were the
High Sparrow, Lancel Lannsiter, Mace Tyrell, Loras Tyrell, Queen Margaery Tyrell and the
Hand of the King Kevan Lannister. King Tommen, who was kept in the Red Keep
by the mountain, did not die in the blast, instead forced to watch as his wife, advisers
and allies were all murdered by his mother. Tommen, overwhelmed by the devastation, then
removed his crown, and threw himself from a window.
In the riverlands Jaime threatened the son of Edmure Tully, heir to Riverrun who had
been a captive of House Frey since the Red Wedding. He then convinced the man to walk
into Riverrun and order the surrender of the castle. The Blackfish tried desperately to
stop his soldiers from opening the gate, but they felt they could not disobey a direct
order from the Lord of Riverrun and Head of House Tully, and so surrender the castle to
the Lannisters. The Blackfish, refusing to do likewise died fighting for his ancestral
home. After Riverrun was returned to the control
of House Frey, Jaime travelled back to King’s Landing, only to find that a portion of the
city had been destroyed, and his son, uncle and the entire city leadership had been died,
with his sister Cersei Lannister now crowned as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
In the Reach, Samwell Tarly returned to his family’s home of Horn Hill, presenting Gilly
and little Sam, telling them that child was his own. However when Lord Randyll Tarly discovered
Gilly was a wildling, he was outraged, humiliating Sam in front of the family. Nevertheless Lord
tarly agreed to allow Gilly to work in the kitchens, while little Sam was raised and
educated at Horn Hill. However, Sam was unwilling to leave his new family with his horrible
father, and so all three left without saying a word, and stole Heartsbane, the Valyrian
steel sword of House Tarly, which Sam knew would be invaluable in the coming war against
the White Walkers. Sam then led them to Old Town, where he witnessed
the release of White Ravens, sent to the Houses of Westeros, announcing that Winter had come.
Sam then went to the Citadel to begin his training and was brought great happiness when
he at last gazes upon their famous library, seeing more books than any one man could ever
hope to read.
In the North, Alliser Thorne convinced the men of the Night’s watch to support him
and the other officers as they explained why they murdered the Lord Commander, citing his
alliance with the Wildlings as treasonous. Meanwhile Dolorous Edd, Davos Seaworth and
a few Jon Snow loyalists defend his body, locking themselves in a room ready to fight
to the death. However they soon realize they have allies outside Castle Black and so Edd
left to get support from the Free Folk, then returning with an army to arrest Alliser Thorne
and the other conspirators. Davos, having witnessed the power of Melisandre’s
magic first hand, asked if Jon could be revived. And while Melisandre told him there were some
with such powers, she never possessed that gift. He convinced her to attempt the ritual
anyway and to everyone’s surprise, she successfully revives Jon Snow. Jon then executed Alliser
Thorne, Olly and the other conspirators before resigning from the Watch, leaving Edd in command.
Meanwhile Sansa and Theon, having survived their jump off the walls of winterfell, made
their way North with the help of Brienne of Tarth who found and rescued them from a Bolton
search party. Confident that Sansa now had a worthy protector,
Theon left the group and returned to the Iron Islands, were he pledged his support for his
sister Asha Greyjoy after learning of the death of their father King Balon.
However their attempt to claim power at the King’s moot was thwarted by their uncle
Euron, who admitted to murdering his brother Balon, paying the iron price for his crown.
Euron convinced the Ironborn to elect him by promising an alliance with Daenerys Targaryen
and her dragons, stating that he would marry her and through their alliance conquer the
7 kingdoms. Euron was then drowned and reborn by a Priest of their faith, and given a driftwood
crown which proclaiming him as King of the Iron Islands. After the Kingsmoot, Asha and
Theon immediately fled with their supporters and ships, knowing that Euron would come after
them when the ritual of coronation was complete. And while Euron did intend to kill them, they
had successfully escaped, stealing many of their best ships. King Euron then announced
the creation of a new fleet, claiming they would prepare a thousand ships for war.
Sansa meanwhile was escorted to the Wall by Brienne of Tarth and her squire Podrick Payne,
to be reunited with her half brother Jon Snow. Yet their happiness is tempered when they
received a letter from Ramsay Bolton, insulting Jon, threatening the Wildlings, and demanding
the return of Sansa to Winterfell. Further, Ramsay informed them that he had their younger
brother Rickon Stark in his cells. Which he acquired from and House umber which had allied
with the Boltons against Jon Snow and the Wildling faction south of the Wall.
Jon and Sansa then set out to form an army for House Stark, recruiting 2000 warriors
from the Wildlings, including Tormund Giantsbane and the Giant Wun Wun. Further they planned
to recruit from Northern Houses that might still be loyal to House Stark and Sansa revealed
that their uncle Brynden Blackfish Tully had retaken riverrun for House Tully, and may
be an ally in the coming struggle. However Sansa did not reveal the source of her information,
having learned of it through a secret meeting with Petyr Baelish, who attempted to win her
favor by offering the Army of the Vale, which was camped at Moat cailin to fight for her
cause. Although Sansa rejected his offer, she acted on the information about the Blackfish,
sending Brienne of Tarth to request his assistance. Unfortunately Brienne arrived during the Lannister
siege of Riverrun and was unable to convince the Blackfish to join them.
Jon, Sansa and their supporters then travelled around the North gathering support from House
Mormont, Hornwood, and Mazen, but finding that they could only gather a few hundred
men, having been rejected by the larger Houses, such as the Glover, who still held a grudge
against Robb Stark, who failed them as King in the North, and was mistrustful of Jon Snow,
who let a Wildling army past the Wall. Ramsay Bolton meanwhile, had solidified his
control of the North by killing his father, step mother and baby brother, becoming the
uncontested head of House Bolton, and allying with House Umber and Karstark, to raise an
army of 6,000 to defend Winterfell, greatly outnumber Jon’s forces with both infantry
and cavalry. With Winter fast approaching and no more Houses
to consider, Jon, Davos and Tormund plan their strategy and prepare to engage Bolton forces.
Sansa, fearing that their plan would not be enough, begs Jon to wait longer before attacking,
but does not mention that she has sent a message to Petyr Baelish, requesting his army for
the battle. Believing that he had no choice, Jon prepared
his men to fight, with Sansa giving him a final warning that Ramsay would play tricks
and set traps during the battle, telling Jon not to play into his games even if it meant
the death of their brother Rickon. Unfortunately for Jon Snow, his honor and
love for his family overcame his sense, and when the two armies gathered for the Battle
of the Bastards, Jon committed himself and his men in an attempt to save his brother
Rickon, who had been released by Ramsay and eventually killed, in a trap to lead the Stark
army into the middle of the battlefield. Bolton forces then surrounded them with a shield
wall, trapping them between the army and a wall of dead bodies.
Yet just as all seemed lost, the Knights of the vale rode in to destroy the Bolton lines,
allowing Jon Snow, Tormund Giantsbane and Wun Wun, to lead a final charge against castle,
restoring House Stark in Winterfell. Unfortunately the Giant Wun Wun was one of
the last Stark Casualties, killed by Ramsay before he was captured by Jon Snow.
Sansa then took her revenge against that man who abused her so viciously, unleashing his
own hounds against him, and watched as Ramsay died screaming.
After the battle, Davos Seaworth confronted Melisandre, having learned that she burned
the princess Shireen alive before Stannis was defeated at Winterfell. Jon banished her
as punishment, promising to hang her if she ever returned to the North.
Petyr Baelish meanwhile, continued to plant ideas into Sansa’s head, revealing that
he desires to sit on the Iron Throne with Sansa as Queen by his side. Attempting to
distance her from Jon, he implied that he was a threat to her power, and that Sansa’s
status as a legitimate child of House Stark should supersede the claim of a bastard son.
However the Houses of the North disagreed, seeing Jon Snow as the man who avenged the
Red Wedding, with Lady Lyanna Mormont leading the charge in convincing the realm to proclaim
Jon Snow as King in the North. Further North, beyond the Wall, Bran continued
his training under the 3 eyed raven, accompanied by his direwolf summer, Meera reed and Hodor.
Unfortunately Bran made the mistake of experimenting with Weirwood magic on his own and as a result
was confronted by the Night King, who marked Bran, allowing the White Walkers to bypass
the magic protecting the cave. They were then attacked by an undead army, leading to the
deaths of the 3 eyed raven, the children of the forest, the direwolf Summer and Hodor,
who all died so that Bran might escape alive. As the attack occurred, Bran was deep inside
a greendream in the past, watching Hodor as a child in Winterfell. Bran then heard Meera,
yelling out for him to enter Hodor’s mind so he might help in their escape, however
given his lack of experience in this area, Bran entered the mind of young Hodor, then
known as Willis, in the past, using his mind to link with his future self. This horrifying
trauma caused the boy to collapse, hearing Meera shout the words Hold the Door through
the link, and repeating them in a panic until his mind was so thoroughly destroyed, that
the words ran together to say Hodor, becoming the only word Willis could say for the rest
of his life. And while Hodor may have suffered greatly,
torn to shreds by the undead creatures frantically chasing after Bran, he Held the Door until
the very end, fulfilling his destiny. Bran and Meera then encountered Benjen Stark,
who rescued them, revealing that he had been stabbed by a White Walker but was saved by
the Children of the Forest. He stays with them for a time escorting them to the Wall,
stating that the magic placed on it will not allow him to pass through, leaving Bran to
assume his position as the new 3 eyed raven. Bran then used his abilities once again, seeing
into the past, and travelling to the Tower of Joy, where his father Ned Stark and his
men had just defeated the Kingsguard. Ned, then heard a woman scream, and raced up the
steps, finding his sister Lyanna lying in a pool of blood. There he discovered that
she had given birth to a child, fathered by Rhaegar Targaryen, the man who House Stark
and Baratheon believed had kidnapped her, starting a rebellion which saw the death of
thousands, including the King and his heir. Lyanna then asked Ned to ensure the child’s
safety, stating that her betrothed Robert Baratheon could never learn of his existence.
After the death of his sister, Ned would take the child back to Winterfell naming him Jon
Snow and telling everyone, including his wife Catelyn, that the child was his illegitimate
son.
In Braavos, Arya trained to be a faceless assassin in the House of black and White,
undergoing a number of trials and tests, with the goal of making her a dispassionate assassin
and worshiper of the Many Faced God. It was believed her training would be complete when
the leader of the Order believed she had left her old identity behind and had become No
One. And while Arya survived the training, even
becoming a blind beggar for a time, learning to fight without vision, she could not become
No One, remaining Arya Stark of Winterfell and therefore failing to assassinate her targets,
instead killing only those she believed deserved to die and eventually abandoning the Order.
In failing her mission and leaving the Temple, the Faceless Men ordered her death, and while
Arya was injured, caught unaware and stabbed several times in the stomach, she survived,
and was able to kill her assailant, then confronting the Temple leader who indicated he would allow
her departure for Westeros. Now free of temple restrictions, and trained
as faceless assassin, Arya used her skills to infiltrate House Frey, wearing the face
of a servant girl to kill Lord Walder Frey’s sons, then using the meat from their bodies
to cook a pie, which she served to Lord Walder. Arya then revealed herself and slit the man’s
throat, enjoying her vengeance as she watched the man who betrayed her family at the Red
Wedding, bleed out and die
Further East in the Dothraki Sea, Daenerys Targaryen was found by a Dothraki Khalasar,
who took her to Vaes Dothrak, where the wives of dead Khals were taken to serve in the Dosh
Khaleen, as councillors to Dothraki war chiefs. While in Meereen, Daario Naharis and Jorah
Mormont set out to find the missing Queen. Leaving Tyrion, Missandei, and Grey Worm to
manage the city. Further aided by Varys the Spider who finally arrived in the city and
offered his services. Unfortunately the state of the city was desperate with an insurgency
campaign by the Sons of the Harpy crippling commerce and public safety. Varys learned
that the Masters of Slaver’s Bay, who had already retaken Astapor and Yunkai, were responsible
for the violence. And so Tyrion, believing he might negotiate
a truce, invited the Master’s representatives to Meereen, where he made a deal to allow
slavery for 7 more years, giving them time to find new revenue streams and slowly transition
from a slave economy. In exchange the Sons of the harpy must stop their attacks. And
for a while the treaty held, with commerce returning to the markets and no more attacks
from the Sons of the Harpy. However, the Masters did not intend to surrender
their way of life, instead arriving in Meereen with a fleet of ships, laying siege to the
city. In Vaes Dothrak, Daenerys encountered Jorah
and Daario who had come to rescue her, but instead were ordered to assist her in a plan
to not only kill her Dothraki captors, but also assume the leadership of their Khalasars,
which had all gathered to discuss tribal affairs. Jorah and Daario then waited for the meeting
with Daenerys to begin, killing the guards in attendance and locking the doors to their
hall so no one could escape. Daenerys, standing before all the Dothraki chieftains then pushed
over the braziers and torches lighting the room, setting fire to the building and killing
everyone inside save for the Mother of Dragons, who was unharmed by the flames, walking out
of the burning building in plain view of the gathered Dothraki khalasars, who were so stunned
by the site of Daenerys the Unburnt, they unanimously knelt before her accepting her
as their ruler. The Queen then ordered Jorah to find a cure
for his greyscale, while she and Daario lead the Dothraki army back to Meereen, finding
her dragon Drogon along the way. When they arrived in Slaver’s Bay, Meereen was under
siege and after discussing the situation with Tyrion, Daenerys met with the Masters, using
all 3 of her dragons in a great display of force against them, destroying one of their
ships with dragon fire, and killing two of the Master’s representatives, leaving the
last to return to his people and tell them what he witnessed. The invading army then
surrendered and Daenerys took control of their ships, further bolstered by 100 Iron Islands
ships, offered by Asha and Theon Greyjoy, who ally with the Queen. Daario is then left
in charge of Meereen as Daenerys and her army set sail for Westeros. Along the way they
are met by Varys the Spider, who had gone to Dorne, where Ellaria Sand and the Sand
Snakes had killed Doran Martell and his heir Trystane, usurping the leadership of Dorne
from House Martell. Ellaria, still desperate for revenge against House Lannister held a
meeting with Varys, representing Daenerys and Olenna Tyrell representing the Reach.
The three factions then allied together, with Martell and Tyrell ships joining the approaching
invasion fleet as it sailed towards the Seven Kingdoms.