“When People ask you what happened here, tell them the North Remembers.
Tell them winter came for house Frey.”
After leaving the city of Meereen under the care of Daario Naharis, Daenerys Targaryen,
took her fleet to Dragonstone where she prepared for the invasion of Westeros, much like her
ancestor Aegon the Conqueror 300 years earlier.
While their forces were sufficient to take King’s Landing from Queen Cersei by force,
Tyrion advised caution, wanting to minimize innocent casualties by winning the support
of the nobility and isolating the Lannisters.
Afterwards, the Mother of Dragons met with the red priestess Melisandre who warned of
the approaching Long Night, and asked that she meet with Jon Snow, former Lord Commander
of the Night’s Watch now King in the North.
Tyrion supported the idea and so they a letter inviting him to Dragonstone.
Next Queen Daenerys met with her allies, gathering Elaria Sand of Dorne, Olenna Tyrell of the
Reach, and Yara Greyjoy representing a faction of the Iron Islands.
While Yara and Elaria suggested attacking the capital immediately, Daenerys and Tyrion
present a plan to send the greyjoy fleet with Elaria to Dorne, where they will gather their
warriors and bring them to join the soldiers of the reach in surrounding the capital on
all sides, cutting them off from fresh supplies.
Meanwhile, the Unsullied would sail to the Westerlands and capture Casterly Rock.
KL – 1 Crownlands
In King’s Landing, Cersei invited the king of the iron islands, Euron Greyjoy, to the
capital, where he offered the support of his mighty Iron Fleet in exchange for a marriage
alliance uniting House Lannister and Greyjoy.
Cersei rejected his proposal claiming he could not be trusted, but Euron was not dissuade,
vowing to return with a precious gift to win the queen’s heart.
The Queen then gathered the nobles still available to her, including men of the Reach who also
owe loyalty to Olenna Tyrell, trying to convince them to join her cause.
After the meeting Jaime spoke privately to Lord Randyll Tarly reminding him that the
threat they face is one of foreign occupation and offering him the position of ranking general
in their army as well as the position of warden of the south once the war was won.
While the Lannisters sought new allies on the mainland, Euron Greyjoy attacked the Ironborn
fleet under Yara Greyjoy, who was escorting Elaria Sand and the Sand Snakes to Dorne.
Obara and Nymeria Sand were killed by Euron in the fighting, while Tyene, Elaria and Yara
were captured.
Theon Greyjoy seeing their forces defeated, and his sister taken captive, jumped into
the water where he was later rescued by surviving Ironborn sailors, loyal to his sister.
Euron then returned to the capital with his captives, parading them before the people,
and presenting Elaria and Tyene Sand to Queen Cersei.
Impressed by the gift he offered, she agreed to the marriage, but only after the war was
won.
The other prisoner, Yara Greyjoy was taken by Euron, while Cersei imprisoned Elaria,
forcing her to watch her daughter Tyene poisoned using the same substance they used against
Myrcella.
Cersei then ordered that Elaria be kept alive, so that she could watch her daughter die and
rot away.
In the Citadel of Old Town, Samwell Tarley began his training as a master but was generally
disappointed with the experience, learning that most Maesters did not believe his stories
about White Walkers, and even those who did were unconvinced that the threat was serious.
Frustrated, Sam stole the keys used to access restricted areas, going through their books
and scrolls to find information that might help Jon and the Night’s Watch.
Eventually he found a map of Dragonstone, and wrote to Jon Snow, informing inform him
of the large deposit of dragonglass available on the island.
As Sam continues to go through his daily duties, he encountered a patient being treated at
the citadel named Jorah Mormont who suffered from greyscale.
Given Sam’s loyalty to the man’s father Lord Commander Jeor Mormont, Sam decides to
break the rules and try a forbidden and experimental treatment on Jorah which is ultimately successful
in saving his life.
Jorah was then released from their custody leaving Sam to be scolded by the Archmaester
for disobeying orders.
However he also commended for his success with the Archmaester impressed by his skills
as a healer.
In the North, House Bolton was defeated, and King Jon Snow now ruled from Wintefell where
he announced that everyone aged 10-60 must be trained to fight for the coming war against
the white walkers.
Next Jon declared that they must send the Wildlings as reinforcements for the night’s
watch and so Tormund Giantsbane went to East Watch by the Sea, the closest fortress to
Hardhome where they last fought the army of the dead.
Despite Sansa’s objection, Jon then proclaims that House Stark would keep faith with the
Umbers and Karstarks.
Although the former leaders of those houses chose to fight for the Boltons, they died
on the battlefield and so Jon called upon their new leaders, young Ned Umber and Alys
Karstark, to pledge their loyalty once more for House Stark.
Later Jon receives a number of important letters, first from king’s landing, learning that
Queen Cersei Lannister had taken the throne, demanding oaths of loyalty or else threatening
destruction.
Then the heard word from Tyrion Lannister on behalf of Daenerys, inviting him to Dragonstone,
where a third letter from Samwell explained a mountain of dragonglass may be found.
Given their dire need for allies and dragonglass, Jon decided to accept the invitation south,
leaving his sister Sansa in charge of the northern kingdom.
Arriving at dragonstone, King Jon Snow and Davos Seaworth were greeted by Tyrion Lannister
and the queen’s advisor Missandei, while far from them; Varys spoke privately with
Melisandre, suggesting she leave Westeros and never return.
Melisandre replied that she was off to Volantis but would one day return as she was fated
to die in Westeros, as was Varys.
In the throne room Daenerys Targaryen wastes no time in asking Jon Snow to bend the knee.
Jon refused and explained that he came seeking an alliance to battle the army of the dead
gathering beyond the wall.
Tyrion explained that he would get the help he requires if he would bend the knee, but
Jon again refused.
Interrupted by Varys, the Queen then dismissed Jon forbidding him from leaving the Island.
When they were alone, she learned that the fleet on its way to Dorne was attacked by
Euron Greyjoy resulting in the loss of their ships and the death or capture of their allies.
After such a devastating loss, the Queen was more open to working with Jon Snow, and so
Tyrion convinced her to allow the mining of Dragonglass on the island, so weapons could
be forged and sent north.
In the Westerland, the Unsullied arrived on their ships and attacked Casterly Rock, expecting
to face an army of 10000 and strong defenses.
However there was far less resistance than anticipated, learning afterwards it was a
trap, with Euron’s fleet appearing behind them to burn their ships, stranding them in
the Westerlands and forcing them to march across the continent to reunite with their
queen.
Before the Unsullied had even arrived at Casterly Rock, the bulk of the Lannister forces and
their supplies departed and were marching alongside Jaime Lannister and the army of
Randyll Tarley towards highgarden where they defeated the Tyrell garrison and captured
Lady Olenna.
Rather than face a more vicious death at the hands of Cersei, Jaime poisoned her drink
to ease her passing.
Yet before she died, Lady Olenna admitted that she was behind the death of his son Joffrey,
asking that he inform his sister.
Back on Dragonstone Jon Snow made great progress in mining for dragonglass while also discovering
a number of ancient drawings on the walls, made by the Children of the Forest, thousands
of years earlier, displaying an alliance with the First Men to fight against the army of
the dead.
He showed these images to Daenerys who was becoming more convinced of the truth of his
warnings.
Yet as they left the caves Daenerys was told of the loss of her ships in the Westerlands,
and the loss of Highgarden and their Tyrell allies.
Furious over yet another defeat, she wanted to mount her dragon and burn the red keep
to the ground, but was advised against it by Tyrion and Jon Snow.
And while they convinced her not to attack the capital, she refused to allow this latest
loss to go unanswered.
Across Blackwater bay in King’s Landing, queen Cersei proudly met with a representative
of the Iron Bank, and offering to pay their own debts in full over the coming weeks.
This was made possible by the capture of Higharden, and the seizure of the wealth of House Tyrell.
And while the gold does manage to make it into the city, the army and fresh supplies
do not, as they are attacked on the road by a large dothraki army led by Queen Daenerys
Targaryen, mounted upon her dragon Drogon.
The Royal army does it’s best to defend against the attack, but the creature devastates
their lines with dragonfire, burning their supply train.
Although Ser Bronn was able to strike the dragon through the use of a scorpion designed
by Qyburn, the beast did not die, instead landing near the water.
Spotting the dragon queen on the battlefield, Jaime foolishly charged after her, only for
drogon to breathe a stream of fire that would have surely killed him, if not for the last
second intervention of Bronn who charged in on a horse knocking Jaime into the water.
Following her victory, Queen Daenerys Targaryen gathered the surviving Lannister and Tarly
soldiers, offering them the choice of bending the knee or execution.
Some immediately choose joined her, but others refused and so the queen made an example of
Lord Randyll Tarly and his son Dickon who were burned alive with dragonfire.
After the battle, Daenerys flew back to Dragonstone, where she was reunited with the now cured
Ser Jorah Mormont, who was greeted warmly, and taken back into the queen’s service.
After the murder of Walder Frey, Arya Stark used her abilities to pose as Lord Frey, calling
a meeting of the most powerful members of their House.
Using the opportunity to poison their wine, she killed them all in mere moments, sparing
only the servants and Walder Frey’s wife, telling her that Winter had come for House
Frey.
Arya then travelled south to heading for King’s Landing, but ran into her old friend Hot Pie
who informed her that Jon Snow defeated the Boltons at Winterfell and was named King in
the North.
Shocked by the news, she turned back from her mission to kill Queen Cersei, and made
her way to Winterfell.
Along the way she encountered her old Direwolf Nymeria, now leading a large wolf pack in
the wilderness.
Arya tried to bond with the animal as she had when they were younger, but the Direwolf
ultimately chose not to rejoin her, and left with her pack.
Also travelling though the riverlands, were the Brotherhood without Banners, accompanied
by Sandor Celgane on a mission north, where visions told them a great war was coming.
The Hound was sceptical of their claims, until he saw a vision of his own, showing a mountain
that looks like an arrowhead, an undead army, and an attack at a castle where the wall meets
the sea, referring to the Night’s watch fortress of East Watch.