After defeating King Robb Stark and massacring the northern army, Tywin Lannister unveiled
the creation of two new Valyrian steel swords, reforged from the ancient blade Ice passed
down through the Stark line.
The first he presented to his son Jaime, hoping he was at last ready to take his rightful
place as heir to Casterly Rock.
Yet while Jaime accepted the sword, he refused the offer, wanting to stay true to his vows
as a kingsguard.
The second sword was later given to King Joffrey Baratheon who named it widow’s wail.
Representing his brother Doran, the Prince of Dorne, Oberyn Martell arrived in the capital
for the king’s wedding, though in truth he came to get justice for his sister Elia
Martell and her children, who died during the Lannister sack of Kings Landing at the
end of Robert’s Rebellion.
While many knew the Mountain Gregor Clegane was responsible, Oberyn believed the order
was given by Tywin Lannister and so wanted them both to suffer.
Elsewhere in the capital, Cersei was reunited with Jaime and gifted him a golden hand, though
there relationship was no longer as close as they’d once been.
In order to train with his other hand, Jaime was paired with Tyrion’s sellsword Bronn,
though it was soon clear he’d never be the fighter he was.
Tyrion meanwhile, learned that Cersei knew about his lover Shae, and was forced to end
their relationship harshly so she would agree to leave the city.
After Sansa saved the life of the drunken knight Ser Dontos Hollard, he met with her
in secret and promised to help her escape the city, even gifting her a necklace he claimed
was a family heirloom.
She then accompanied her husband to the wedding of Joffrey Baratheon and Margaery Tyrell,
where the king got drunk and ordered Tyrion to pour his wine.
Yet as the king made a spectacle of himself, acting like a drunken fool, he suddenly started
chocking, and collapsed to the ground where he died.
In his final moments, Joffrey pointed in the direction of Tyrion who was examining the
wine cup causing Cersei to lash out in anger over the death of her son, ordering the arrest
of her brother.
Although his wife Sansa was also a suspect, she disappeared with Dontos Hollard as the
king died, and was brought onto the ship of Petyr Baelish, who was revealed to be behind
both Joffrey’s death and her escape.
He then killed the drunken knight to eliminate an unreliable witness and sailed for the Vale
With the king dead and Tyrion arrested, young Tommen Baratheon sat the iron throne, though
true power remained with his grandfather the Hand Tywin Lannister who now had to organize
a trial for his son, with himself, Lord Mace Tyrell and Oberyn Martell acting as judges.
Meanwhile, in the hopes of fulfilling his vow to Catelyn Stark, Jaime gave his valyrian
steel sword to Brienne of Tarth who named it Oathkeeper, along with new armor, fresh
supplies, two horses and a squire Podrick Payne formerly assigned to Tyrion Lannister.
A boy with limited fighting skills but who was fiercly dedicated, being the only person
in the city to remain loyal to Tyrion the entire time he was imprisoned, even turning
down a knighthood from Cersei when he refused to testify in the trial.
Brienne then set off to search for Sansa and Arya, while Jaime remained trying to repair
his ever worsening relationship with Cersei, who had her own concerns, worried about the
growing influence of the Tyrells only for her father to explain that they needed the
financial support of the reach since the gold mines of Casterly Rock ran dry 3 years earlier.
Growing furious over her diminishing role in the capital and betrothal to Loras Tyrell
Cersei was furious with her father over her betrothal to Loras Tyrell, and succumbing
to the stress of her diminishing role in the capital, Cersei lost her temper and revealed
truth about her and Jaime, though Tywin remained in denial, claiming it was not true.
However Cersei’s concerns over the Tyrells proved well founded, as Olenna soon revealed
to Margaery that she was behind the kings assassination, thereby leaving her to seduce
and marry young Tommen, a much kinder and more malleable husband to manipulate.
As the trial of Tyrion Lannister began, many were eager to win favour with Cersei by testifying
against him, including his former lover Shae, causing him to lash out and yell about his
hatred for the people of the city, making his situation even worse.
Although Jaime worked out a deal with Tywin, to send his brother to the night’s watch,
Tyrion was so angry that he dismissed the entire ordeal and demanded a trial by combat.
With Cersei choosing the Mountain Gregor Clegane as her champion, Tyrion was represented by
the Viper Oberyn Martell, who he wanted to exact vengeance against the man that murdered
his sister.
And while Oberyn nearly won the duel, he grew overconfident and tried to extract a confession
from the mountain as he died, allowing the wounded man to take advantage of the distraction
and crush his enemy’s head.
With Oberyn killed, Tyrion was condemned to die, until Jaime and Varys orchestrated his
escape, with the Spider’s involvement forcing him into exile.
Yet before escaping, Tyrion made his way through the secret tunnels of the red keep towards
his father’s bedroom, where he found Shae and strangled her to death only to then murder
his father with a crossbow as he sat on the privy.
Although Gregor Clegane won his battle with Oberyn, he received several wounds from a
weapon covered in manticore venom, leaving him on the edge of death.
However the former Maester Qyburn was authorized by Cersei to perform experiments that would
ensure his survival and preserve his strength, though he would be drastically changed.
After escaping KL, Petyr Baelish brought Sansa to her aunt Lysa in the eerie high in the
mountains of the vale, having her pose as his niece Alayne.
Though Lysa was welcoming, she was also mentally unstable, so obsessed with marrying Petyr
Baelish she poisoned her own husband Jon arryn and framed the Lannisters, on his orders.
Though they were quickly married after he arrived, she grew increasingly jealous and
suspicious of Sansa, threatening to throw her from the moon door, until Littlefinger
intervened and pushed Lysa to her death, allowing power in the Vale to transfer to her sickly
young son Robin Arryn, who was heavily under the influence of his step father Petyr Baelish.
When the lords of the vale gathered to investigate Lysa’s death, Sansa revealed her true identity
but lied to defend Petyr Baelish, reasoning that she was better off with someone she knew
over strangers.
Seeing the potential in her, Littlefinger started to train her to be an ally and partner,
teaching her about politics, psychology and civil administration.
Escaping the massacre of the Red Wedding in the Twins, the Hound Sandor Clegane took his
captive Arya stark through the Riverlands in the hopes of ransoming her to Lysa Arryn
in the Vale.
Stopping at a tavern, they encountered the soldiers of the hound’s brother Gregor clegane,
who once captured Arya, stole her sword and killed her friend.
After a tense discussion, a fight erupted, with the hound killing 3 men, while Arya joined
in killing 2 of her own and recapturing her sword needle.
Unfortunately, by the time they reached the Vale, Lysa Arryn was already dead, eliminating
yet another opportunity for the Hound to collect a ransom.
As all this occurred, Brienne of Tarth and Podrick payne reached the Inn at the Crossroads,
where Arya’s friend Hot Pie pointed them in her direction.
When Brienne at last found the girl, the Hound saw the she wielded a Lannister sword, and
so a battle erupted between them.
Though Brienne was victorious, Arya disappeared from sight, only returning after they departed,
in order to rob the gravely injured Sandor Clegane, then leaving him to die.
Making her way to a port, she found a sailor from braavos, presenting the coin given to
her by Jaqen Hgar before speaking the phrase valar Morghulis.
Acting as a secret code for the Braavosi, the sailor immediately offered her free passage
across the sea, out of respect for the mysterious House of Black and White, from where the coin
originates, a religious temple that worshipped death and trained faceless men to be assassins.
Following their defeat in the Battle of the Blackwater, Stannis retreated to Dragonstone
to rebuild his armies, and so Melisandre began to make more human sacrifices to win the favour
of r’hllor.
Angry over her barbarism, Davos convinced Stannis to try a more practical approach by
going to the Iron Bank of Braavos, where they received a loan allowing them to raise new
armies and once again hire the pirate fleet of Salador Saan.
In the Dreadfort , Ramsay Snow welcomed his old friend Locke and Lady Walda Frey, the
new wife of his father Roose Bolton.
Though the Boltons now ruled over the North, much of their lands were still held by the
Ironborn, while their bannerlords hated them for betraying the Starks.
In order to bring their troops north from the Riverlands, they required possession of
Moat Cailin, currently held by the Ironborn, and so Roose planned to trade their hostage
Theon Greyjoy for the holding.
But his plans were now ruined because Ramsay tortured Theon and made him a eunuch, breaking
him until he responded to Reek, eliminating his value as a prisoner.
To make up for this failure, Roose ordered Ramsay to take Theon and an army to Moat Cailin
to capture it by any means necessary, further incentivising him by offering to legitimize
his bastard son as a Bolton, thereby making him the heir to the north.
Roose also sent Locke north on a separate mission to join the night’s watch, where
he was ordered to meet Jon Snow and hopefully learn the whereabouts of Bran and Rickon Stark,
in order to eliminate them as rivals to the lordship of Winterfell.
Though his sister Yara broke into the dreadfort to rescue him, Theon was so traumatized by
the torture he endured; he refused to escape and stayed behind with Ramsay.
He then helped his master capture Moat Cailin by posing as his old self Theon Greyjoy, and
negotiating a deal for the Ironborn to surrender.
Despite promising to spare them, Ramsay killed every one of them before meeting his father
and at long last accomplished his lifelong dream of being legitimized as a Bolton.
After infiltrating and betraying the Free Folk, Jon Snow returned to Castle Black to
recover from his injuries and report on the enemy.
Explaining that he killed Qhorin Halfhand under orders, so he would be accepted into
the Wildling camp, Alliser Thorne and his allies on the leadership council accused Jon
of treason, and might have arrested him if not for the old Maester Aemon Targaryen who
believed his story and spoke on his behalf.
Once again accepted as a black brother, Jon organized a volunteer war party to attack
Craster’s keep and eliminate the traitors who killed Lord Commander Mormont, both for
justice sake and to stop them from divulging Night’s Watch secrets to Mance Raydar’s
army.
Joined by a number of brothers, including the new recruit Locke, they killed their enemies
at Craster’s keep, freed the women and children held as captives and reunited with the Direwolf
Ghost who’d been missing for some time.
After the battle, Jon and the other survivors burned the keep and returned to castle black,
where they soon learned the Wildlings south of the wall were attacking nearby villages
and farms.
Though Jon and his friends wanted to go help their neighbours, they were too few to risk
leaving their position, and so prepared to defend from an attack both north and south
of the wall.
Having survived the attack on Mole’s Town, Gilly and her baby returned to Castle Black
where a relieved Sam provided shelter and promised never to leave them again.
The battle of Castle Black then erupted, as the Night’s watch was attacked in the south
by the Wildlings under Tormund Giantsbane and the Magnar of the Thenn, while in the
north they faced Mance Raydar’s first wave of warriors attempting to breach the wall,
included two giants and a mammoth.
Engaging in a viscious fight, Ser Alliser Thorne was injured early on leaving Jon Snow
to take command and lead the Night’s Watch to victory.
Unfortunately when it was over there were many dead on both sides, including the two
giants, the wildlings Ygritte, and the Magnar of the Thenns, as well as the night’s watch
brothers Grenn and Pyp.
Barely surviving the night Jon Snow knew they would not survive another attack, and so went
on his own into the enemy camp to negotiate a peace with Mance Raydar, and if that was
not possible, attempt to assassinate the Wildling leader.
Yet their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Stannis Baratheon and his armies,
who sailed North from Dragonstone to answer the Night’s Watch call for reinforcements,
in order to prove to the realm he was the rightful king.
After being introduced to Jon Snow, he arrested Mance Raydar and many other wildlings, while
leaving the rest to scatter and flee into the far north.
Beyond the wall, Bran Stark continued his journey to find the three eyed crow, alongside
Meera and Jojen Reed, his servant Hodor and the Direwolf Summer.
Throughout the journey he continued to practice his warging abilities, and had visions by
touching heart trees, hearing a voice that summoned him further north.
Among the images he saw, there was the frozen and barren throne room in the red keep and
the shadow of a dragon flying over KL.
Unfortunately, they soon found their way to Craster’s keep where they were captured
by the night’s watch traitors.
However when Jon Snow and his companions arrived, it was Locke who discovered Bran and the others,
attempting to kidnap the boy as part of his mission from the Boltons.
To stop him, Bran warged into Hodor and snapped his neck before trying to get Jon Snow’s
attention, only for Jojen to stop him, saying they must leave unnoticed or else his brother
would try to stop them from continuing on their mission.
After a long and harrowing journey, they at last reached the cave of the 3 eyed raven
but were immediately attacked by an army of undead wights trying to stop them.
Though Jojen died in the battle, one of the last Children of the Forest emerged from the
cave to help bring them inside where a protective spell protected them.
Bran then met an elderly man sitting amongst weirwood trees, revealing himself to be the
three eyes raven, who was waiting to train Bran as his replacement.
Far to the east as Daenerys Targaryen marched with her unsullied and freedman armies to
capture Meereen and complete the conquest of Slaver’s Bay, she was greeted by 163
slave children crucified along her path meant as a warning against her approach.
Enraged but what she saw, she ordered them taken down and buried, but not before personally
looking upon the face of everyone.
Laying siege to the city, the champion of Meereen came out of their gates to issue a
challenge which was answered by Daario Naharis who won a quick victory.
Daenerys then yelled out to the slaves attending their masters atop the walls of the city,
asking them to revolt before catapulting the broken chains of other freed slaves into the
city, to inspire them.
In order to further encourage an uprising, Greyworm and his unsullied infilitrated the
city through the sewer system, bringing weapons to arm the slaves.
After her victory, Daenerys randomly selected 163 of the great masters and crucified them
in retaliation for what they did to those children.
Having conquered all three major cities of slaver’s Bay, Daenerys did what none thought
possible, yet her victory was short lived, soon learning that the Wise Masters overthrew
the government left behind in Yunkai and once again ruled the city, while a butcher named
Cleon did the same in Astapor, naming himself King.
Though she now had the opportunity to sail to Westeros with 8000 unsullied and 2000 second
sons, she instead decided to remain to become Queen of Meereen, both so she might learn
to rule and to prevent the city from suffering the same fate as the others.
Unfortunately, the profound changes she implanted to their society came with many complications,
learning that some of her people, especially the elderly were happier as slaves, and wished
to sell themselves back into servitude.
She also learned that not all Great Masters were alike, as Hizdar zo Loraq went before
her to ask for the body of his father, one of them men she crucified, claiming that he
had no part in the killings and spoke out against them.
Impressed by the man, Daenerys named Hizdar her ambassador to the old Masters.
The situation then grew worse when the Queen was given a message from the hand of the king
Tywin Lannister in which he revealed that Jorah Mormont was originally working as a
spy for the court of Robert Baratheon.
Enraged by this betrayal, she exiled him from the city.
In addition to all the challenges she was facing, she also had to deal with the growing
problem of her dragons, when it was discovered Drogon burned a little girl to death while
on the hunt for food.
Though Drogon had flown off, Dany went against her own instincts as a mother to lock up Viserion
and Rhaegal in an underground tomb, in the hopes of limiting the possibility of another
innocent person being hurt.