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Characters / A Song of Ice and Fire - Court of Daenerys I
aka: A Song Of Ice And Fire Daenerys Targaryen And Her Court

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This is a listing of members of Daenerys Targaryen's Court that appear in A Song of Ice and Fire.

For the main character index, see here

For the main House Targaryen entry, see here


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    Daenerys I* 

    Khal Drogo 

    Rhaego 

Rhaego

"You are the dragon... the true dragon. I know it. I know it."
Daenerys

Daenerys's unborn son with Drogo.


  • Barbarian Hero: Or would have been, had he lived.
  • The Chosen One: Supposedly, he would have grown up to be the Stallion That Mounts The World. Prophecies in this series being what they are, however, we don't know for sure.
  • Dead Guy Junior: The "Rhae-" prefix, while common in Targaryens, specifically comes from his uncle Rhaegar.
  • Fetus Terrible: Thanks to his life force being used in a botched Blood Magic ritual to save his father, Rhaego is born dead with numerous dragon-like deformities, including scales, vestigial wings and the stub of a tail.
  • I Coulda Been a Contender!: He was prophesied to become a powerful lord and the Stallion who Mounts the World, but was stillborn before any of it could happen.
  • Large and in Charge: He was described as a tall lord in Dany's vision at the House of the Undying.
  • Patchwork Kids: In Dany's vision, he has his father's copper skin and his mother's silver-gold hair.
  • Significant White Hair, Dark Skin: Dany has a vision of what he would've looked like. He was described as copper-skinned like Drogo and white-haired like Dany.
  • Tragic Stillbirth: As a result of Mirri Maz Duur's spell, he is stillborn with tiny wings and scales, his body full of graveworms.

    King Hizdahr zo Loraq 
For Daenerys' king consort Hizdahr zo Loraq, see the Slaver's Bay character page.

    The Dragons 

Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion

Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion, Daenerys's three dragons, hatched at the end of A Game of Thrones and growing up over the course of the series.

See the Dragons page.

Daenerys' Knights

    Ser Jorah Mormont 

Ser Jorah Mormont; formerly Lord

Jorah the Andal

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ser_jorah_mormont_ffg_7180.png
"In the world as I have seen it, no man grows rich by kindness."

Ser Jorah Mormont is an exiled knight who was once the head of House Mormont and Lord of Bear Island. He fled Westeros to escape execution for trading in slaves, and entered the service of the last Targaryens. He becomes one of the most trusted companions of Daenerys Targaryen. Generally a reasonable and decent man driven to doing foolish things by love.

For the rest of House Mormont see here


  • Accentuate the Negative: Daenerys eventually notices that Jorah tends to find faults in everyone they meet; when she finally puts him on the spot, he fails to deliver due to this aspect of him, even when he's supposed to be asking for forgiveness.
  • All Love Is Unrequited: His Bodyguard Crush on Daenerys is not working in his favor and although Daenerys does love Jorah, it's not romantically.
  • Analogy Backfire: When Tyrion is caught by Jorah, he promises to drown him in gold if he lets him loose. Jorah is not impressed, having seen how Viserys died.
    Jorah: I saw a man drowned in gold once. It was not a pretty sight.
  • Animal Motif: Mormont, just like the rest of his family, is constantly associated with the bear.
  • Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: His House's sigil is a bear, and he's as big, burly and hairy as one.
  • Awful Wedded Life: His marriage to Lynesse Hightower started going down the crapper when he took her back to poor, isolated Bear Island, a far cry from the rich, courtly life she was used to. He beggared himself buying her jewels and hiring a new cook and harper to make her happy, but none of it was enough.
  • Berserk Button: After Khal Drogo's death, Qotho attempts to kill Daenerys. Jorah, who up to this point has never so much as drawn his sword (on page), goads the much younger man into a fight to protect her.
    Jorah: Horselord! Try me!
    • During A Dance with Dragons, he shows that he has very little patience for Tyrion's sarcastic japes. When the dwarf suggests that he perform with Penny in their mock jousting show, Jorah punches him so hard he loses a tooth.
  • Black Sheep: Aside from his current reputation, Jorah is a northerner fighting to place the Mad King's daughter on the throne of Westeros. A girl who has lived most of her life outside of Westeros and the daughter of the same king who was deposed by Ned Stark, the man to whom Jorah owed allegiance.
  • Bodyguard Crush: With Daenerys. Doesn't end well.
  • Call It Karma: In the past, he sold poachers into slavery when short on funds. In A Dance With Dragons, Jorah is Made a Slave.
  • Carpet of Virility: Adding to his bear-like appearance.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Shown both in his fighting style and in his cynical commentary on Rhaegar Tagaryen: "Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, Rhaegar fought honorably. And Rhaegar died."
  • Courtly Love: Deconstructed; his obsession with Lynesse destroyed his life, and so far his obsession with Daenerys has failed to make him a better person.
  • Crazy Jealous Guy: Jorah gets jealous of any man who offers Daenerys help and constantly advises her to push them away in the hopes that she'll become dependent on him alone instead. Daenerys catches on and eventually calls him on this when she's had enough.
  • Cultured Badass: He is a warrior, but he is also very knowledgeable about the history and culture of foreign nations, and he can speak a few languages.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Actually supplies the current page quote for the trope in the Literature section.
  • Despair Event Horizon: Finding out that Daenerys, the love of his life, is now married to Hizdahr zo Loraq.
    All the fight went out of him when he heard that his queen had wed, Tyrion realized. One whispered word had done what fists and whips and clubs could not; it had broken him. I should have let the crone have him. He's going to be as useful as nipples on a breastplate.
  • Didn't Think This Through: Jorah isn't ignorant or thick, but he has a notable problem when it comes to projecting likely outcomes when his personal situation is involved. A new, high status wife after a whirlwind courtship? Um... dude, maybe ask yourself why a stunningly gorgeous Hightower could be so into you in the first place, just a bit? Getting a pardon to go back home by becoming an assassin/spy? Um... this won't make his family or neighbors forget him being a slaver, debtor, runaway, assassin, spy, or usurper (his aunt and cousins might have a few objections to him coming back as Lord Mormont by pushing them aside from their work of years, a thing he just seems to expect to happen for him — heck, they might not even welcome him back as a simple man-at-arms because of his being a magnet for trouble: he's never once seemed to have asked for their input in his "get back home" plans). Um... Dragging Tyrion back to Daenerys won't ever undo his betrayal of her, let alone convince anybody he isn't a Wild Card. Etc, etc.
  • Dirty Old Man: He's in his late forties and lusting over the teenage Daenerys.
  • Dramatically Missing the Point: Having been given an opportunity to prove himself worthy of being in Daenerys' circle, Jorah pridefully invokes Dany's need of him as his point in favor instead of taking the humble route and apologizing as she was expecting of him. Fed up with his lack of humility, Daenerys chooses to exile him for good.
  • Enemy Mine: With Tyrion, who he initially takes prisoner and intends to give to Daenerys to gain back her favor, fully expecting she'll execute him. After the two of them are taken as slaves, and especially after they both escape and join the Second Sons, they seem to have accepted each other as partners in the mutual enterprise of escaping a very bad situation.
  • The Exile: After selling poachers into slavery, he fled Westeros and goes into self-imposed exile rather than be executed by Eddard Stark. Getting a pardon to go home is the reason he originally acted as The Mole against Dany before becoming genuinely loyal. Unfortunately when she discovers this, she exiles him from her kingdom.
  • Failure Knight: He fell for a noblewoman, Lynesse Hightower, who took him for everything he had. Soon he begins to fall for Daenerys though it's still up in the air whether his devotion to Dany is because she simply resembles Lynesse or is genuinely everything he thought Lynesse to be.
  • Fatal Flaw: He dislikes bowing and scraping to people, whether they are queens, merchants, or slavers. This is both a virtue and a flaw: Westeros is the kind of place where this attitude can be deadly.
    Tyrion: (narrating) Fool. It's not your silver she wants, it's respect.
    • He doesn't just want to serve Daenerys; he wants to be her equal.
  • Genius Bruiser: A capable and intelligent knight. Unfortunately, see Love Makes You Dumb...
  • Gold Digger: Brought low by Lynesse. Unless you look at it the other way — he married a Hightower. Where's the money in this relationship, again? Sure, he never seems to have approached her family to bail them out, but....
  • Hopeless Suitor: He's in love with Daenerys, but he doesn't have the riches, lands, titles, political standing, or even the good looks to make himself an appealing marriage prospect for her.
  • Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Jorah is a big, hairy, hulking knight and his queen Daenerys is a small, waifish girl.
  • I Choose to Stay: Whilst he initially hoped to earn a pardon by spying on Daenerys, he eventually became genuinely loyal to her.
  • I Dub Thee Sir Knight: Earned his knighthood at the Siege of Pyke.
  • Impoverished Patrician: Put himself in this position by trying to cater to Lynesse Hightower's expensive tastes.
  • In-Series Nickname: Despite being a Northman, thus a descendant of the First Men, he's called "Jorah the Andal" by the Dothraki because he hails from Rhaesh Andahli (Land of the Andals), which is the Dothraki name for Westeros.
  • I Warned You: His modus operandi regarding his counsel to Daenerys.
    • It comes to bite him in the ass when Daenerys finds out that he had been spying on her. He had shown her from the beginning what his "loyalty" was worth when he badmouthed and later betrayed Viserys.
  • Jaded Washout: He was a renowned warrior in his youth, having been one of the first to breach the wall of Pyke and later jousted Jaime Lannister himself to a standstill. However, he made the mistake of marrying way above his station and bankrupted himself keeping his wife happy. Now all he is at the start of the series is a middle-aged sellsword working for other exiles in Essos.
  • Kick the Dog: After the raid on the Lhazareen village, he tells Khal Drogo where to sell the captured children as sex slaves in order to make the most money. Yikes.
  • The Lady's Favor: Jorah Mormont wore the favor of Lynesse Hightower and won a tourney, defeating all opponents and even gaining her hand in marriage.
  • The Lancer: To Daenerys until his exile in A Storm of Swords.
  • Long-Lost Relative: Though no one on either side has ever referenced it, his second wife Lynesse Hightower was a younger sister of Lady Alerie Hightower, mother of Margaery & Loras Tyrell, making him their uncle by marriage.
  • Love at First Sight: Deconstructed with glory-drunk Jorah and Gold Digger Lynesse Hightower, from a wealthy family in the Reach. Unused to the comparatively hard life on Bear Island, she quickly grew miserable. In order to support the lavish lifestyle Lynesse was used to, Jorah drove himself into debt and eventually entered the slave trade.
  • Love Makes You Dumb: Generally a knowledgeable, reasonable, and insightful person, it all goes out the window in his desperation to make Lynesse (and later, Daenerys) love him.
  • Made a Slave: In A Dance With Dragons he, Tyrion and Penny are captured by slavers after being stranded by a storm at sea. He doesn't adapt well to it at all, at first until he learns of Daenerys' marriage which breaks him, being branded with a demon's mask on his right cheek for his uncoperative behavior. Though given his past as a slaver, and his lack of compassion for the poachers he sold into slavery, and for the Lazhareen the Dothraki captured and enslaved, and for the Unsullied it's a fitting punishment for him.
  • Missing Steps Plan: It's never been revealed what Mormont expected to do once he was pardoned and returned to Westeros, whether he thinks he'll be received in Bear Island with open arms or be reinstated in full entitlement and position to his former dominion. His adventures at Essos with Daenerys indicate that these expectations are increasingly more remote as time goes by, as the Baratheon King that gave two craps about the Targaryens is already dead (among other issues).
    • There's also the fact that Ned Stark was still Lord Paramount of the North when Jorah was pardoned. Had the knight chose to return to Westeros, he would have still had to contend with Stark, who wanted him dead.
  • Mr. Exposition: He seems to know a lot about every strange culture Daenerys encounters, and takes the time to educate her (and the reader). In-universe this isn't unreasonable, as he left the Seven Kingdoms years prior and has lived all over the place as a sell-sword.
  • The Mole: He was actually spying on Daenerys in the hopes of earning a royal pardon. He later develops genuine loyalty to her, but that does not count for much when she eventually learns the truth. Had he come clean at the start, he might have stood Selmy's kind of chance.
  • Never My Fault: Deconstruction as this is a problem with him. He's at heart a decent enough man led badly astray by poor decisions in love and life. But, his inability to acknowledge these errors (or even see them as such) prevents him from learning from them.
    • Jorah sold people to slavers because he went into debt failing to appease a gold-digging wife he was head over heels over. Then flees justice for this actual, 100%-is-frowned-upon crime. He laments that Eddard Stark wouldn't care about the mitigating circumstances about why he did it, but fails to realize said reasons for engaging in slavery would never wash with someone like Ned, or most of Westeros. Also, slavery, the North and an ex-Ironborn territory with an instinctive gut reaction to the whole idea of saltwives and thralls...? Seriously bad PR combo, be they poachers or not. There are indications he never even saw it as that big a deal. Both at the time and later.
      • Jorah is an unrepentant slaver. Note that the incident on the Bear Island is far from his only involvement with slavery. He also provided expert advice to Khal Drogo as to where his Lhazareen child captives would fetch the highest price as sex slaves. Then later, again he is the one to advise Dany to go and buy the Unsullied, slave warriors created through a process that's stuff for nightmares. Note that unlike Dany (who was horrified by these incidents even though she realized that it was all so she could win back the Iron Throne), he never ever displays even the slightest bit of emotions about these things. Jorah might have standards, but aversion to slavery is not one of them.
      • One of the points lending credence to this is the fact that Jorah's family do admit that yes, Lynesse did make everything worse; however, the consensus among them is that everything that happened to Jorah was his own damned fault in the end.
    • It ultimately leads to Daenerys exiling him. After she finds out that both he and Ser Barristan had deceived her, she offers them both a chance to explain their actions. Ser Barristan admits his wrongdoing and begs her forgiveness, while Ser Jorah defends his actions. The former is pardoned and the latter is exiled.
  • Omniglot: He can speak both the Common Tongue and Dothraki, thanks to living among the horselords for a while.
  • One-Hit Wonder: An in-universe jousting example. His incredible victory at Lannisport was his only tournament win. When he tried to replicate that success, he never could and simply became more destitute.
  • The Power of Love: Normally, he's a competent but unexceptional warrior. Driven by love, he was able to win the Tourney at Lannisport and with it the hand of Lynesse Hightower.
  • Private Military Contractors: He becomes a sellsword after losing his small fortune and his second wife.
  • Replacement Goldfish: Fandom is divided on whether he is thinking of Daenerys as a replacement for Lynesse, or whether all along he wanted a woman like Daenerys and mistook Lynesse as his ideal woman. Definitely done with a beautiful silver-haired whore, whom Jorah has sex with after being banished by Dany and falling into despair.
  • Right for the Wrong Reasons: He believes Eddard Stark wants him dead because he's a cold executioner desiring to behead anyone who breaks the law, caring little for why they did it. In reality Ned takes no pleasure in that duty, even taking time to hear their last words, but still very much wants to see Jorah dead. It seems engaging in slavery really struck a nerve with the Lord of Winterfell, making Jorah one of the few people Ned Stark would gladly execute.
    Eddard Stark: So the slaver has become a spy. I would rather he become a corpse.
  • Sitcom Archnemesis: Jorah has nothing but contempt for Eddard Stark and the feeling was mutual.
  • Shoot the Messenger: In a sample chapter from The Winds of Winter, Jorah kills a Yunkish herald who firstly demands the Second Sons reinforce the Company of the Cat against the Unsullied, then demands the Sons hand Tyrion over when the herald recognises Tyrion as an escaped slave.
  • Slave Brand: Tyrion notes Jorah got one - a demon marking him as an unruly slave - on his right cheek in A Dance With Dragons after he is first enslaved. He notes it makes his face frightening.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: He doesn't like Tyrion and Tyrion doesn't like him, but they'll need to have each others' backs while serving in the Second Sons if they ever want to get back home to Westeros.
  • Title Drop: "It is no matter to [the people] if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace. They never are."
  • Totalitarian Utilitarian: Jorah prevented Daenerys from being poisoned by Varys' assassin not to further any agenda or endear himself to her, but rather because he sincerely didn't want her to die. The fact that he neglects to discuss both this and his informant role with Daenerys comes back to bite him in the ass later, as she exiles him as soon as she finds him out based on Barristan Selmy's accusation; also, because of his unwillingness to admit that he did wrong by her.
  • Undying Loyalty: To Daenerys. Even after she's exiled him, his goal is to find a way to get back into her good graces.
  • War Hero: He was knighted by King Robert on the battlefield for being one of the first men through the breach during the Siege of Pyke, a decisive battle in the Greyjoy Rebellion. He was later anointed by the High Septon during a formal ceremony.
  • You Can't Go Home Again: He is a fugitive from justice after fleeing a beheading. He joins the Targaryens in the hope of earning a pardon.

    Ser Barristan Selmy* 

Ser Barristan Selmy, Lord Commander of the Queensguard, Hand of the Queen

Barristan the Bold, Arstan Whitebeard, Ser Grandfather, Barristan the Old

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/barristan_selmy_6187.jpg
"I am a knight... I shall die a knight."

Known as "The Bold" after sneaking into a tournament and jousting against the Prince of Dragonflies whilst all of ten years old, Barristan Selmy is one of the most renowned knights in the Seven Kingdoms. At the start of the series, he is the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard before being unceremoniously retired by King Joffrey. Ser Barristan traveled to the Free Cities and, after a prolonged charade as "Whitebeard", is now in the service of Daenerys Targaryen as her Hand of the Queen.

For the main Kingsguard entry, see here.


  • The Ace: Ser Barristan is such a pillar of chivalry and knighthood that Tywin Lannister noted that "he lent honor to anyone he served" and notes that dismissing him from service was an especially stupid decision from Cersei and Joffrey. He's an incredible bodyguard, master of several weapons, a Stealth Expert, a Frontline General who is extremely competent, and as Dany finds out an excellent advisor.
  • Ambiguous Syntax: He mentions that he would have pursued Ashara Dayne if she hadn't fallen for "Stark"; this "Stark" could have been either Eddard or Brandon, but given that he has spoken of Eddard always respectfully to the point of even contradicting Daenerys when she was dismissing him as "the usurper's dog", most likely it was Brandon.
  • All Love Is Unrequited: For Dornish noblewoman Ashara Dayne. Because Barristan was quite a few years older than her and had taken an oath of celibacy, he never confessed his feelings.
  • Armour Is Useless: Averted in his duel with Khrazz where his armor keeps him alive and lets him weather the younger, stronger man's attacks.
  • Bring My Brown Pants: The Winds of Winter has Barristan saying he "fouled his breeches" in his first battle as part of a Rousing Speech before facing down an enemy army.
  • Celibate Hero: Despite temptation to do otherwise, he has taken this part of the Oath as seriously as any other. Part of what makes him a straight-up Knight in Shining Armor.
  • Combat Pragmatist: A Downplayed example as Barristan is scrupulously honourable, but he sees no shame in wearing a full set of Westerosi plate armour in a duel against an unarmoured pit fighter bodyguard, even as his opponent complains about how unfair it is (after all, the pit fighters choose to fight unarmoured). He'd never be treacherous, but he's practical.
  • Cool Old Guy: Barristan is around 60 years old. He's also one of the series' most capable warriors.
  • Culture Clash: Ser Barristan is one of Dany's better advisers with a moral and ethical compass that practically comes with a detailed instruction manual; if anybody bothers to ask him about it, that is. The problem? His is a very classic and old school Seven Kingdoms' set of morals and ethics — which got him ousted from his role in the currently highly corrupt and extremely toxic government of King's Landing in the first place. Yet, Slaver's Bay... isn't even in the Lannister's Seven Kingdoms, and definitely doesn't follow the rules he knows best (either the classical, the "modern" or even some of the Free Cities' rules he's familiar with). He may well be making costly mistakes without even realizing how badly he's treading on toes.
  • Defector from Decadence: After he's dismissed from the Kingsguard and declares he is going to seek the true ruler of Westeros. All of the claimants to the Throne hope that he means them, but instead he goes to find Daenerys, whom none of them are even factoring into the situation.
  • Deadpan Snarker: He has his moments. One moment that stands out is during his duel with Khrazz, whose curved arakh is unable to penetrate Selmy's plate armor:

    Khrazz: Only cowards dress in iron.
    Ser Barristan: This coward is about to kill you, ser.

    Khrazz: In the pit that would have taken your arm off, old man.
    Ser Barristan: We are not in the pit.
  • The Dreaded: He's known to be so badass, he makes much younger knights and guards visibly wilt when he reaches for his sword. Those he fights and who didn't wilt, quickly learn why they should have. See also One-Man Army below. It is worth noting that Jaime considers him to be somebody he'd not happily choose to tangle with, even considering their differences, both philosophical and age-related. He'd quite happily enjoy trying to beat sense into Jaime's head by contrast, however... if he thought for a minute it'd stick.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: Robert Baratheon spared him despite remaining loyal to the Mad King.
  • Dogged Nice Guy: To Ashara Dayne.
  • Due to the Dead: Barristan relates that after Eddard Stark's execution, the first thing he did was enter the Sept of Baelor to pray for Ned's soul. He also continues to remember and defend Eddard as an honorable man, even from Daenerys. There's also his standing vigil for the late Ser Hugh of the Vale.
  • Failure Knight: Joffrey fired him for failing to protect King Robert. Barristan sees himself as this not because he outlived four kings but because he saved Mad Aerys and inadvertently caused Robert's Rebellion. For once, he wants to defend a ruler worth serving.
  • Foil:
    • He and Jaime Lannister are both considered the finest knights alive, although in Jaime's case it's just for him being an incredible jouster and lethal swordsman, while Barristan is revered as the soul of honour and the living embodiment of knighthood. They also both start questioning their past decisions.
    • His chapters in A Dance with Dragons echo those of Eddard Stark's, where a very honor-bound and morally righteous character is put in a Decadent Court during a very dangerous and complex political crisis. Unlike Ned, who chose to follow Honor Before Reason all the way to his death and the eventual destruction of his house, Barristan chooses to cast his honor aside and starts playing the game of thrones as hard as any Lannister would, more wisely realizing that his personal honor is not worth his life or the life of his queen.
  • Heroes Prefer Swords: After throwing his sword at Joffrey's feet, he refuses to touch a sword (using a quarterstaff instead) until Daenerys hands him one so he can swear allegiance to her.
  • Hidden Depths: For most of the series, he is portrayed as brave, wise and cool-headed. Until his POV chapters in ADWD, no one knew that he was privately doubting his abilities due to his old age and that he is plagued with regret over his past failures, which he remembers much more clearly than the rest of the world.
    • A subtle case, never remarked upon, is his scholarly side. His handwriting is noted to be both smaller and more elegant than Gerold, a scion of House Hightower presumably taught at the Citadel. Barristan is also able to quote random tidbits and proverbs concerning Slaver's Bay, a region half a world away, implying that his education and interests went far beyond standard for a Westerosi knight.
  • Honest Advisor: When the small council meets to discuss the fate of a pregnant Daenerys, Barristan (and Ned Stark) are the only ones both brave and honorable enough to disagree with killing her so her son won't grow up and decide to take back the throne that's rightfully his.
    Barristan: Your Grace, there is honor in facing an enemy on the battlefield, but none in killing him in his mother's womb. Forgive me, but I must stand with Lord Eddard.
  • Honor Before Reason: He is a knight of the Kingsguard. In his mind, his vow to the King took precedence over everything else, to the point that he carries a major grudge against Jaime for murdering Aerys, even though they both witnessed Aerys' depravities firsthand; they had sworn to protect him and therefore Jaime betrayed his oath. Later he does, however, subvert this when the fate of Meereen rests in his hands. He's served three kings and one queen and, in doing so, has seen the tragedies that clinging to one's honor creates, so he takes a more pragmatic route. That said, he tells his recruits that honor is pretty much what defines a knight:
    Ser Barristan: Without honor, a knight is no more than a common killer. It is better to die with honor than to live without it.
  • I Let Gwen Stacy Die: At the beginning of the series, he has seen three kings come and go, and this weighs on his mind.
    • It's hinted, but not yet confirmed by the books, that Barristan blames himself for the death (however indirectly) of Ashara Dayne as well. Time will tell if he was right.
  • In-Series Nickname: Barristan the Bold, and more mocking ones like Ser Grandfather and Barristan the Old.
  • Irony: Openly criticized Jaime Lannister for killing King Aerys; it is later revealed that, as of late, he has been pondering if maybe Jaime was right all along. The irony is not lost on him either.
    • He also admitted that had he been present when the bodies of Princess Elia and her children were presented to Robert, he would've killed Robert if he'd seen him smile.
  • It's All My Fault: Downplayed, but he notes in his narration that had he defeated Rhaegar in the tourney at Harrenhal (stopping him from crowning Lyanna Queen of Love and Beauty), the whole Rebellion might have been avoided.
  • Kingmaker Scenario: He'd rather thoroughly defy this trope in true Kingsguard fashion: or, at least, not touch it with a barge pole. Unfortunately, the fact that every faction with an ounce of sense tries to keep tabs on where he'll wind up after being expelled from Court confirms that he always had power in tipping the scales by sheer authenticity alone — in other people's eyes, at least. He even (very grudgingly) comes to terms with it, in a way, in Meereen. Oh, to be a fly on the wall should he and Jaime meet up, again.
  • Knight in Shining Armor: Played straight, a rarity in this series.
    • Failure Knight: What he fears he might actually be. It's probably how he's always kept his shininess nicely buffed, as it feels ingrained to his character. It's making a lot of his present moves be a bit more proactive than he's been in the past (even though gaining the name "the Bold" tells you he's never been a slouch — whatever he thinks).
  • The Lancer: To Daenerys after Ser Jorah is exiled.
  • Like a Son to Me: He thinks of his squires as the nearest he'll ever have to sons.
  • Living Legend: His role in the War of the Ninepenny Kings, the Defiance of Duskendale, and several other major events has made Barristan one of the most famous men alive in Westeros, and he is beloved by many of the smallfolk (and even other nobles).
  • The Magnificent: Got his nickname when he entered a tourney as a mystery knight at age 10. He failed miserably, but Prince Duncan was impressed with his spirit nonetheless: "A boy... a bold boy."
  • Master Swordsman: Even though he's over 60. Word of God has it that in his prime Selmy could have fought even Arthur Dayne, widely considered as the greatest swordsman ever, to a standstill if Dayne had used a regular sword instead of his Thunderbolt Iron sword Dawn.
  • Mr. Exposition: About Targaryen history. This is what attracts Daenerys to him in the first place; not that he's been able to tell her much, since they are a bit preoccupied by being in the eve of a war in Meereen.
  • Multi-Melee Master: Armed only with a dagger, Barristan fights off four Goldcloaks (and kills one), and kills another guard with a spear as he flees King's Landing. He later easily defeats Mero, the Titan's Bastard, with a staff. He is also renowned as Westeros' best swordsman (rivaled only by Jaime Lannister) and proves it by kill Khrazz, an undefeated pit fighter.
  • My Greatest Failure: Aside from surviving three kings he swore to protect, he actually starts to doubt whether he did the right thing by saving Aerys when he was a prisoner in Duskendale, ponders whether Jaime was right in killing Aerys, but most importantly, he regrets losing to Rhaegar in the Tourney of Harrenhall, which kick-started the events that led to Robert's Rebellion.
    • Other than the already mentioned, Barristan is very remorseful of not courting the beautiful Ashara Dayne, arguably the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen and the only person he would've even considered forsaking his vows for. He specifically regrets not winning the tournament so he could have crowned her his Queen of Love and Beauty, as she began courting "Stark" (this being either Ned or Brandon) and apparently killed herself when she was scorned.
  • My Greatest Second Chance: Daenerys is his final throw of the dice: his regrets at not being able to keep the Targaryens in power combine with a wish to renew the Kingsguard (not to mention King's Landing) to what it should be after the depreciation it's gone through under both Aerys' and the Baratheon-Lannister leadership. After all, that's partly what training up a new set of knights to serve under a new Queen is for him.
  • My Master, Right or Wrong: His mentality in serving Aerys and then Robert. He's always held Jaime in very low regard for his killing of Aerys and breaking of his oath. However, he eventually begins to wonder if Jaime did the right thing all along.
    • Dany, too, to the point where he refuses to contradict her in conversation unless ordered. The only time he's done it without being asked is when Dany started disparaging Ned Stark, and even then, he did it gently.
  • No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Ser Barristan is one for William Marshal, considered "the greatest Knight who ever lived". Winner of 500 tourneys, including one where he unseated Richard the Lionheart himself, a long-lived Badass who later discovers that he has to play a political role as regent and finds out that he's not all that bad, also considered an embodiment of Honor Before Reason by the French AND the English, and ensured that the Crown kept faith with the Magna Carta passed by the Barons.
  • No-Respect Guy: Even people who like him (i.e. Dany and Renly) tend to think of or refer to him in gentle mockery as an old man, and his enemies do likewise, calling him Barristan the Old and Ser Grandfather. This tends to lead to the latter Underestimating Badassery and Bullying a Dragon.
  • Odd Friendship: He's a valiant and well-mannered Westerosi knight. Belwas is a rather dim, violent former pit fighter. Yet in "A Dance with Dragons", Selmy admits he's relieved to see him alive and regards him as a friend since they traveled half the world together.
  • Older Hero Versus Younger Villain: Given his age, he's this in most of his battles, physical and political. His duel with Khrazz, who is forty years younger than him, is a notable example.
  • Older Sidekick: He's one to Strong Belwas while under the guise of Arstan Whitebeard.
  • Old Master: In ADWD, he has found some promising students who he is training as squires.
  • Omniglot: Besides the Common Tongue, he can speak Valyrian (though not as much as Dany) and Ghiscari.
  • One-Man Army: In ADWD he details his escape from King's Landing, summed up by but not limited to this little gem:
    Ser Barristan: The commander of the City Watch confronted me, emboldened by my empty scabbard, but he had only three men with him and I still had my knife.
  • The One That Got Away: Ashara Dayne was this to him.
  • Please Spare Him, My Liege!: He pleaded with Aerys to spare the life of the young Dontos Hollard.
  • Real Men Love Jesus: Downplayed. Barristan has never been an especially devout follower of the Faith of the Seven, but while living in Meereen, he keeps a small wooden carving of the Warrior in his room because it makes him feel more at home in an unfamiliar, dangerous city.
  • Reluctant Retiree: Cersei and the small council attempt to make him retire him after Robert's death, promote Jaime to Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, and have Sandor Clegane fill the empty spot on the roster. They offer him land, gold, a keep and servants as a reward for years of service. Because Kingsguard serve for life, Ser Barristan is beyond insulted and bluntly tells them where to shove their offer.
    Ser Barristan: A hall to die in, and servants to bury me. I thank you, my lords... but I spit on your pity.
  • Resign in Protest: As he later puts it, Cersei's attempt to forcibly retire him from the Kingsguard made it impossible for him to ignore all the corruption, and the lack of honor that lay in serving and protecting unworthy kings. At that point he did what anyone who puts honor first would do: quit the job, cut all ties with the people who corrupted it, and storm out.
  • Stealth-Based Mission: One of his claims to fame is ending the Defiance of Duskendale by sneaking into town, freeing King Aerys from imprisonment, and getting out again.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivers a fine one to the rest of the Kingsguard, the Royal Court and King Joffrey after his dismissal in "A Game of Thrones"
    Barristan: Have no fear, sers, your king is safe... no thanks to you. Even now, I could cut through the five of you as easy as a dagger cuts cheese. If you would serve under the Kingslayer, not a one of you is fit to wear the white. Here, boy. [throws his sword at Joffrey's feet] Melt it down and add it to the others, if you like. It will do you more good than the swords in the hands of these five. Perhaps Lord Stannis will chance to sit on it when he takes your throne.
  • Token Good Teammate: To the present Kingsguard in A Game of Thrones.
    Varys: Ser Boros and Ser Meryn are the Queen's creatures for certain and I have grave doubts about the rest. Only Ser Barristan is made of the true steel, and Selmy is old.
  • War Hero: He became a Living Legend for defeating Maelys the Monstrous in single combat during the War of the Ninepenny Kings. He was rewarded with a position on the Kingsguard.
  • World's Best Warrior: Even as an old man, Barristan is probably the greatest warrior. He killed a famed outlaw in combat, slew the freakishly mighty Maelys the Monstrous and even a squad of younger Kingsguard is wary of facing him. Arthur Dayne might be considered the finest warrior in history, and Word of God is Barristan could match him, with Dayne's top advantage coming from his sword Dawn.
  • Worthy Opponent: To King Robert, who spared his life after the battle of the Trident and even promoted him to Lord Commander over Jaime Lannister.
  • You Remind Me of X: Barristan sees aspects of a younger Ashara Dayne in Daenerys, presumably regarding her as the daughter they never had.

    Ser Barristan's squires 

In General

Following Daenerys' capture of Meereen, Ser Barristan begins to train a score of former slaves as knights to enter her service.


  • Honor Before Reason: Ser Barristan tries to drill this into their minds, but they don't quite understand the concept of choosing a honorable death over surviving dishonorably.
  • Like a Son to Me: Having sworn a Vow of Celibacy as a Kingsguard, Barristan thinks of them as the closest to sons he will ever have.
  • The Squire: All of them serve as this to Ser Barristan, and he notes that several of them will likely never become knights but make adequate squires.
  • Token Trio: The three most talented of the squires form one. Tumco Lho is a Basilisk Islander, Larraq is Ghiscari, and the Red Lamb is Lhazareen.

Ser Tumco Lho

A former slave from the Basilisk Isles. Lho is among the best of the squires whom Ser Barristan begins to train after Daenerys captures Meereen.


  • The Ace: Of all his trainees, Ser Barristan considers Lho the one with the most natural talent, comparing him to Master Swordsman Jaime Lannister.
  • Knighting: Barristan knights him near the end of A Dance With Dragons.
  • Scary Black Man: He's described as having skin dark as ink.
  • Token Minority: He is a Basilisk Islander, of which there are very few in Slavers' Bay.

Larraq

The Lash

A former Ghiscari slave training under Ser Barristan.


  • In-Series Nickname: He is known as "The Lash" due to his skill with his whip. He even manages to impress Ser Barristan with his skill at bringing down armored opponents despite his disdain for non-knightly weapons.

Ser Red Lamb

The Red Lamb

A warrior from Lhazar.


  • Dark and Troubled Past: He was formerly a slave. It seems to have affected him more than his two brothers-in-arms, because he's pissed at the Great Shepherd, his people's god, for making his people weak and unable to defend themselves against merciless killers like the Dothraki.
  • Killer Rabbit: In terms of Animal Motifs, he comes from a pacifistic shepherding culture whose people are considered weak, yet he himself is so ferocious in battle that he is called the Red Lamb.
  • Knighting: He is knighted by Ser Barristan near the end of A Dance With Dragons.
  • Meaningful Name: He is known as the Red Lamb due to his whole aversion of the Actual Pacifist stereotype of the Lhazareen.
  • Only Known By His Nickname: His actual name is unknown and he just goes by The Red Lamb.
  • Rage Against the Heavens: Before going into battle against the Yunkai forces besieging Meereen, the Red Lamb goes on a little tirade.
    The Red Lamb: Should I die, I will go before the Great Shepherd of Lhazar, break his crook across my knee, and say to him, 'Why did you make your people lambs, when the world is full of wolves?' Then I will spit into his eye.
  • Unskilled, but Strong: Barristan considers him to be all ferocity and no technique, but thinks he will improve with more training.

Daenerys's khalasar

    Daenerys's handmaidens 

Irri, Jhiqui, and Doreah

Dany's handmaidens, given to her as a wedding gift from Viserys and Magister Illyrio. Irri and Jhiqui are Dothraki, but Doreah is a former Lysene bedslave.


  • Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: What they teach Dany. Doreah taught her the art of love (Beauty), Jhiqui taught her to speak Dothraki (Brains), and Irri taught her to ride (Brawn).
  • Character Death: Doreah dies in the Red Waste due to a combination of exhaustion, starvation, and illness.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Doreah has beautiful honey-blond hair and is a sweet and kind handmaiden to Daenerys. She, of course, ends up among the first casualties of Daenerys' khalasar.
  • Hidden Depths: While in the markets at Vaes Dothrak, Doreah looks longingly at a fertility charm, implying that she might want to be a mother someday. Sadly, she never gets the chance.
  • Love Triangle: In A Dance With Dragons, Irri and Jhiqui are bickering over which of them Rakharo thinks is more beautiful.
  • Made a Slave: Both Irri and Jhiqui were members of a khalasar defeated by Khal Drogo's in battle and were subsequently enslaved, eventually being given to Daenerys as handmaidens.
  • Omniglot: Jhiqui speaks both Dothraki and the Common Tongue, and was bought by Viserys to teach Dany the former.
  • Put on a Bus: Irri and Jhiqui depart Meereen with most of Daenerys' khalasar in A Dance With Dragons in order to search for Daenerys after she disappears on Drogon.
  • Retargeted Lust: After being aroused by Daario, Dany takes her pleasure with Irri instead.
  • Sex Slave: Doreah was trained as a sex slave in the pleasure houses of Lys before being bought by Magister Illyrio and given to Dany as a handmaiden.
  • Share Phrase: "It is known" for Irri and Jhiqui, whenever they impart some Dothraki common knowledge.
  • Situational Sexuality: Dany sleeps with Doreah in order to learn the arts of pleasure, then Irri when she starts feeling the need for a man but can't trust the men she's with. Both handmaidens sleep with her out of duty rather than attraction.
  • Those Two Girls: After Doreah's death in A Clash of Kings.
  • Token Minority: Doreah, a Lysene girl, is the only non-Dothraki Essos native in the khalasar.
  • Undying Loyalty: To Daenerys, supporting her even when she goes against Dothraki culture.

    Ko Rakharo 

Ko Rakharo

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rakharo_ffg_jason_kenicke.jpg
"As you say, I do, blood of my blood."

The eldest and strongest of Daenerys' bloodriders. He leads Daenerys' khalasar into battle as one of her three kos.


  • The Big Guy: He is the best warrior in Daenerys' khalasar and proves it by defeating the older and more experienced bloodrider Haggo with the aid of Jhogo.
  • Colonel Badass: As the leader of Daenerys' Dothraki warriors, Rakharo often has command of scouting missions for her army.
  • Cool Sword: He uses a giant curved arakh with golden hilt and blade, which was gifted to him by Daenerys when he became her bloodrider.
  • Eating Contest: Participates in one with Quaro while in Vaes Dothrak.
  • Fantastic Racism: He shows a particular dislike for the Asshai'i, and expresses contempt for Quaithe's mysterious suggestions to Daenerys.
    Rakharo: Khaleesi, better a man should swallow scorpions than trust in the spawn of shadows, who dare not show their faces beneath the sun. It is known.
  • He Is All Grown Up: Daenerys notes that Rakharo has grown significantly taller and more muscular over the series, and both Irri and Jhiqui become very attracted to him and argue over which one of them he would prefer.
  • It Was a Gift: At the end of A Game of Thrones, Dany ceremonially gifts him her late husband's arakh while reciting the khal's traditional words to name him her bloodrider and ko. The arakh was originally a bridegift "to" her (but really to Drogo) from Drogo's own bloodrider, Ko Cohollo. In subsequent books it is Rakharo's primary weapon.
  • Praetorian Guard: He was originally assigned by Khal Drogo to guard Daenerys as part of her khas. He continued to serve in this role to her as a bloodrider, altering guard duty with her knights Jorah and Barristan.
  • Sworn Brothers: To Daenerys upon becoming her bloodrider at the end of A Game of Thrones. While bloodriders are compared by Daenerys herself to Kingsguard knights earlier in her time in Drogo's khalasar, by the time she names Rakharo her bloodrider she has come to feel that a khal's bloodriders are more loyal than her father's Kingsguard, bound to him in life and death as his sworn brother and truest friend. All three would-be bloodriders initially balk at the unheard-of idea of serving as bloodriders to a woman and try to gently decline, but seeing her walk out of Drogo's burning funeral pyre, unscathed and holding the first living dragons in over a century, wipes out all doubts in them about the idea. From then on Rakharo, Jhogo, and Aggo serve her as loyally as they would a man and have no reservations about being blood of her blood.
  • Took a Level in Badass: While always competent, by A Dance With Dragons Rakharo has become a accomplished military commander who drives the slavers of Meereen from the city's hinterlands. He adds four new bells to his hair to signify those victories.
  • Undying Loyalty: Although often worried by some of the decisions Daenerys makes, particularly when they go against Dothraki customs, he will always follow her commands without deviation.

    Ko Jhogo 

Ko Jhogo

Another bloodrider of Daenerys who is very skilled with a whip.


  • Badass in Distress: He is given to the Yunkish as a hostage as part of the peace between Daenerys and Yunkai.
  • Colonel Badass: They serve as commanders in Daenerys army, often leading scouting missions.
  • Demoted to Extra: He started as the most prominent of Daenerys bloodriders, but his role decreases quite a bit to the point where Rakharo eventually gets more development and role in the plot than Jhogo does.
  • Establishing Character Moment: He is introduced by stopping Viserys from hitting Daenerys by wrapping his whip around his throat and yanking him to the ground before asking permission to kill him, demonstrating his skill with a whip and utter loyalty to Daenerys.
  • Everyone Has Standards: While all the Dothraki fear maegi and hate Blood Magic, Jhogo is the only one of Daenerys' khas who openly pleads with her not to allow Mirri Maz Duur to try to save Khal Drogo from death using her spells.
  • Hidden Depths: While staying in Qarth, Jhogo is extremely fascinated and impressed by a fire mage despite the Dothraki's usual contempt of magic or tricks. He also easily spots how most of the natives of Qarth don't watch the show, with the crowd instead being mostly foreigners who are easy prey for the numerous cutpurses stealing their money pouches while they are distracted by the fire mage.
  • It Was a Gift: At the end of A Game of Thrones, Dany ceremonially gifts him her late husband's silver-handled whip, while reciting the khal's traditional words to name him her bloodrider and ko. The whip was originally a bridegift "to" her (but really to Drogo) from Drogo's own bloodrider, Ko Haggo. In subsequent books it is Jhogo's primary weapon.
  • Praetorian Guard: He was originally assigned by Khal Drogo to guard Daenerys as part of her khas. He continued to serve in this role to her as a bloodrider, altering guard duty with her knights Jorah and Barristan.
  • Sworn Brothers: To Daenerys upon becoming her bloodrider at the end of A Game of Thrones. While bloodriders are compared by Daenerys herself to Kingsguard knights earlier in her time in Drogo's khalasar, by the time she names Jhogo her bloodrider she has come to feel that a khal's bloodriders are more loyal than her father's Kingsguard, bound to him in life and death as his sworn brother and truest friend. All three would-be bloodriders initially balk at the unheard-of idea of serving as bloodriders to a woman and try to gently decline, but seeing her walk out of Drogo's burning funeral pyre, unscathed and holding the first living dragons in over a century, wipes out all doubts in them about the idea. From then on Jhogo, Aggo, and Rakharo serve her as loyally as they would a man and have no reservations about being blood of her blood.
  • Undying Loyalty: He and his fellow bloodriders will do anything for Daenerys, even when they are confused by her orders or it contradicts Dothraki culture.
  • Young Gun: He's only sixteen when he's assigned to guard Daenerys, but it's clear he's growing into a formidable warrior.

    Ko Aggo 

Ko Aggo

"We are blood of your blood, sworn to live and die as you do."

The third of Daenerys' bloodriders, Aggo is a skilled bowman.


  • Colonel Badass: As one of Daenerys kos, he commands a portion of her army in battle.
  • Demoted to Extra: Hit the worst by this out of all the bloodriders, since he never got much focus to begin with.
  • Fantastic Racism: He echoes Rakharo's distrust and contempt for the Asshai'i.
  • It Was a Gift: At the end of A Game of Thrones, Dany ceremonially gifts him her late husband's dragonbow bow, while reciting the khal's traditional words to name him her [1] and ko. The bow was originally a bridegift "to" her (but really to Drogo) from Drogo's own bloodrider, Ko Qotho. In subsequent books it is Aggo's primary weapon.
  • Praetorian Guard: He was originally assigned by Khal Drogo to guard Daenerys as part of her khas. He continued to serve in this role to her as a bloodrider, altering guard duty with her knights Jorah and Barristan.
  • Sworn Brothers: To Daenerys upon becoming her bloodrider at the end of A Game of Thrones. While bloodriders are compared by Daenerys herself to Kingsguard knights earlier in her time in Drogo's khalasar, by the time she names Aggo her bloodrider she has come to feel that a khal's bloodriders are more loyal than her father's Kingsguard, bound to him in life and death as his sworn brother and truest friend. All three would-be bloodriders initially balk at the unheard-of idea of serving as bloodriders to a woman and try to gently decline, but seeing her walk out of Drogo's burning funeral pyre, unscathed and holding the first living dragons in over a century, wipes out all doubts in them about the idea. From then on Aggo, Jhogo, and Rakharo serve her as loyally as they would a man and have no reservations about being blood of her blood.
  • Undying Loyalty: He and his fellow bloodriders will do anything for Daenerys, even when they are confused by her orders or it contradicts Dothraki culture.

    Rommo 

Rommo

An old jaqqa rhan (which translates as "Mercy Men" - they behead the dead and dying after every battle).


The Unsullied

    In general 
"The Unsullied have something better than strength, tell her. They have discipline. We fight in the fashion of the Old Empire, yes. They are the lockstep legions of Old Ghis come again, absolutely obedient, absolutely loyal, and utterly without fear."
Kraznys mo Nakloz

Eunuch slave soldiers who are considered to be the finest soldiers in the world. From a very young age, they undergo brutal training to make them fearless and unquestioningly loyal to whoever owns them.


  • Celibate Hero: They're supposed to be, having been made eunuchs before puberty as part of the brutal upbringing to turn them into single-minded warriors. Stalwart Shield defies this when it's revealed that, while he can't have penis-vagina intercourse, he still has a drive to seek intimacy and pays sex workers to (in a literal sense) lay with him.
  • Child Soldiers: The Unsullied begin their training at five years old, every day from dawn to dusk.
  • Cool Helmet: A spiked cap is given to them on the day their training is completed. Standard rank-and-file Unsullied wear one-spiked caps, while Unsullied officers wear three-spiked caps.
  • Death of a Child: The training of the Unsullied starts at age five, and any boys who fail their training are executed without mercy. Only a third of boys survive to become Unsullied.
  • Elite Mooks: They undertake years of Training from Hell to make them the finest slave soldiers in the world.
  • Fed to the Beast: On the day that a young Unsullied is castrated, he is given a puppy to take care of. One year later, he is ordered to kill it. If he can't bring himself to do that, he is killed and fed to the surviving dogs.
  • Feel No Pain: Because the "wine of courage" they drink with every meal from the day they begin their training, the Unsullied are all but immune to pain. Kraznys mo Nakloz demonstrates by striking one across the face with his whip, and using a sword to slice off the nipple of another, with neither man even flinching. However, this does not make them invincible; when discussing plans to assault Meereen, Brown Ben Plumm points out the defences used to pour boiling oil down on attackers and suggests the Unsullied would be able to No-Sell it, but Grey Worm puts him straight by pointing out that while the oil won't hurt them, it'll still blind and kill them.
  • Formerly Fit: Some Unsullied are sold as household guards. The only vice allowed them is food, so they often grow plump.
  • Groin Attack: All the Unsullied are eunuchs, gelded at age five.
  • I Have Many Names:
    • They worship a goddess who is known to others as the Lady of Spears, the Bride of Battle, and the Mother of Hosts. However, only the Unsullied themselves know her true name.
    • Individual Unsullied do not have permanent names. Every day, they draw a token from a barrel with a temporary name like "Blue Toad," "Red Flea," or "White Worm." After being freed by Daenerys, some Unsullied reclaim the names they had before being enslaved, while others choose new names for themselves. Grey Worm decides to keep the name he had on the day he met Daenerys, seeing it as lucky.
  • Masochist's Meal: To make them numb to pain, the Unsullied regularly drink something called the "wine of courage," made with nightshade, bloodfly larva, black lotus root, and other secret ingredients.
  • Training from Hell: Starting from a very young age, their training as soldiers involves running all day in full pack, climbing mountains at night, and walking across beds of coals. Any who cannot endure the training or refuse to perform the more vile tasks like strangling puppies and murdering babies are killed by the slave masters.
  • Undying Loyalty: They will follow the orders of their owner without question.
  • The Unfettered: The Unsullied will carry out any task set to them by whoever owns them, no matter how vile it is.
  • Weak, but Skilled: Having been castrated at a young age, Unsullied do not have the brute strength of Westerosi knights. However, it is their discipline, loyalty, and fearlessness makes them a force to be reckoned with. Historically, the Three Thousand of Qohor were able to defeat 25,000 Dothraki warriors, though not without heavy losses on both sides.
  • Would Hurt a Child: The final test of the Unsullied is to kill a slave baby in front of its mother and pay the slaveowner for his loss with a silver coin.

    Grey Worm 

Grey Worm

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/grey_worm_ffg.jpg

An Unsullied warrior elected by his comrades to lead them after being freed by Daenerys.


  • Appropriated Appellation: Grey Worm chooses to keep his demeaning slave name, believing it to be lucky as he had it when he was freed.
    Grey Worm: It is a lucky name. The name this one was born to was accursed. That was the name he had when he was taken for a slave. But Grey Worm is the name this one drew the day Daenerys Stormborn set him free.
  • Asskicking Leads to Leadership: He is the best commander and warrior among the Unsullied, which led to his election.
  • The Captain: Chosen by the Unsullied officers as their commander.
  • A Father to His Men: As much as an Unsullied can be. They chose him as a commander, and he seems to know most, if not all of them by name.
  • Made a Slave: Nothing is known of the circumstances, but he was taken and made a slave at a young age.
  • Pride: Despite the circumstances in which he acquired his skills, Grey Worm is pretty proud of his martial skills and the skill of his fellow Unsullied.
  • The Stoic: Like most Unsullied, he barely shows any emotion.
  • Third-Person Person: Like many slaves, he often refers to himself as "this one", and when speaking to Daenerys he often calls himself "your Grey Worm".
  • Undying Loyalty: To Dany, and he even refuses commands from Hizdahr zo Loraq despite him being married to Dany. He does listen to Ser Barristan, and aids him in overthrowing Hizdahr after Daenerys disappears on Drogon and they come to suspect Hizdahr may be the leader of the Sons of the Harpy.

    Hero 

Hero

One of the Unsullied purchased by and sworn to Daenerys.


  • Badass in Distress: One of the hostages demanded by the Yunkai'i.
  • Number Two: To Grey Worm.
  • Only One Name: He chose the singular name for himself, since the Unsullied were given the chance to rename themselves after being bought and freed by Daenerys.

    Marselen 

Marselen

"Wherever the Mother of Dragons goes, the Mother's Men will go as well."

One of the Unsullied that chose to take back his birth name. Chosen as commander of the Mother's Men, a company of freedmen loyal to Daenerys. He's one of Missandei's brothers.


    Mossador 

Mossador

Another of the Unsullied that chose to take back his birth name. He's one of Missandei's brothers.


    Stalwart Shield 

Stalwart Shield

One of the Unsullied purchased by and sworn to Daenerys.


Other followers and commanders

    Strong Belwas 

Strong Belwas

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/strong_belwas_ffg.jpg

"Find liver and onions, Whitebeard. Not for now, for after. Killing makes Strong Belwas hungry."

Originally a pit fighter in the slave pits of Meereen, Strong Belwas is a warrior sent by Illyrio Mopatis to serve and protect Daenerys in her trials. Belwas is undefeated from his days of pit-fighting and proves to be a very dangerous warrior in single combat.


  • Accidental Hero: He saves Daenerys from an assassination attempt by eating an entire bowl of poisoned honey locusts that were meant for her. He survives, but loses a very large amount of weight in the process.
  • Acrofatic: His size does not inhibit his fighting in any way, bordering on Lightning Bruiser capabilities.
  • Bald Head of Toughness: Completely bald and certainly lives up to the name Strong. He even let his opponents injure him first before killing them.
  • Battle Trophy: His numerous scars, each one from an opponent he has fought in the pits. Every time he faces someone, he lets them cut him once before killing them.
  • Big Eater: Duh. No heaped plate of liver-and-onions is safe.
  • Blood Knight: Lives for fighting and eating, in that order.
  • Bodyguarding a Badass: He's definitely a force to be reckoned with, but the old guy with a staff he travels with? Turns out that's Ser Barristan, possibly the greatest swordsman in Westeros.
  • Boisterous Bruiser: Doesn't bother with a thing like modesty. When the time comes to show off his fighting prowess, however, boy does he deliver.
  • Big Eater: When he's not fighting, he likes to eat; particularly liver and onions, but he's not picky. It ends up saving Dany's life
  • The Big Guy: In every conceivable way, too.
  • Covered with Scars: Strong Belwas allows every opponent he's faced to cut him once. As a result his body, particularly his torso, is covered in pale scars. He informs Dany that each mark is a life he's taken and if she were to count them all it would tell her how many people he's ever killed.
    Strong Belwas: I let each man cut me once, before I kill him. Count the cuts and you will know how many Strong Belwas has slain.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: His over-the-top speaking manner and odd appearance (while he is covered with scars, he's also incredibly fat and wears an absurdly tiny leather breastplate that doesn't even reach his nipples) lead Daenerys to believe he's a buffoon, but his fight with Oznak zo Pahl proves that, while he may seem goofy, he is a surviving, veteran pit fighter, thus he's very good at what he does.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: Oznak zo Pahl, chosen champion of Meereen, never had the slightest chance against him, even though he was mounted and Belwas was on foot. Belwas humbled him before killing him with contemptuous ease, just as his queen wanted.
  • Dumb Muscle: Part of what motivates Dany to send him to face Meereen's champion - unlike anyone else she could send he doesn't lead others, provide advice, or display any notable skills, so she should at least find out if he's able to fight. He is.
  • Excrement Statement: Doubling as one of the most spectacular aversions to Nobody Poops ever committed to paper; after beheading Oznak zo Pahl, The Champion of Meereen, in single combat, Belwas turns his back to the man's allies, drops his pants and takes a big steaming shit right there, then wipes his ass on his opponent's cloak.
  • The Food Poisoning Incident: Inadvertantly saves Dany by eating an entire bowl of locusts that had been poisoned. Despite consuming a huge amount of poison, he somehow survived.
  • Formerly Fat: After a nasty encounter with some poisoned locusts in A Dance With Dragons, Barristan Selmy is rather surprised to find Belwas alive and well, although he has lost almost ludicrous amounts of weight and is now covered in saggy skin.
  • Gladiator Games: Part of his backstory. He considers himself to be the greatest pit fighter Meereen has ever seen.
  • Handicapped Badass: No pillar. No stones. No fear.
  • Kevlard: Invoked. He deliberately allows each of his opponents to give him one slash across the belly before killing them. It also saves his life when eating poisoned locusts: whoever was behind that needed either a stronger poison or a better-calculated dosage to do him in.
  • Large Ham: A pit fighter is an entertainer as well as a fighter, and good entertainers need to be able to work a crowd; furthermore, when the back seats in huge amphitheaters need to make out what you're doing, a subtle, nuanced performance is right out as an option... It makes sense that he can pretty much chew the whole stadium up, forget just the ring.
    Strong Belwas: Strong Belwas is hungry! Strong Belwas will eat now!
  • The Load: Considered this by Daenerys for a time, although largely because any need for him simply hadn't arisen yet. She chose him to fight the champion of Meereen simply because he was the most expendable of her allies. Once he easily defeats him and later accidentally saves her from being poisoned he proves to avert the trope very hard indeed.
  • Meaningful Name: "Strong" may be a big generic as far as descriptors go, but he totally lives up to it.
  • Odd Friendship: Barristan's chapters in "A Dance With Dragons" reveal that he and Selmy became genuine friends over the course of their travels.
  • One Free Hit: Belwas claims that he purposefully allows every opponent he faces to cut him at some point during their fight.
  • Only a Flesh Wound: Averted as Dany remembers what happened to Drogo so she sent Belwas to a healer after his duel.
  • Real Men Eat Meat: He loves him some heaping plates of liver and onions.
  • Sinister Scythe: Uses a Dothraki-style arakh and a small buckler that he holds in his hand rather than strapping to his arm.
  • Stout Strength: Very fat, but very strong.
  • Third-Person Person: Speaks almost solely like this.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Liver and onions.

    Missandei 

Missandei

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/drazenka_kimpel_missandei_asoiaf_ffg.jpg

A Naathi scribe and Dany's translator with whom she shares an intimate friendship. She and her brothers were taken from their home on the island of Naath by slavers and sold to Astapor, where she became a translator until freed by Daenerys.


  • Alliterative Family: With her brothers Marselen and Mossador.
  • The Baby of the Bunch: She is the youngest of Daenerys' servants.
  • Child Prodigy: Has a remarkable gift to easily learn new languages and proves very smart, perceptive, and cunning in several other areas as well.
  • Completely Unnecessary Translator: Translated for Kraznys mo Nakloz when he was negotiating with Daenerys, but neither she nor Kraznys knew Dany spoke Valyrian. She also doesn't have to use her translation skills much after joining Dany.
  • Cunning Linguist: Says she has the gift of easily learning languages. At the age of ten, she's been shown to speak the Common Tongue, High Valyrian, and bastard Valyrian, as well as a bit of Ghiscari.
  • Hidden Depths: She has Manipulative Bastard qualities Ser Barristan likens to Littlefinger and Varys. Notably, she comes up with a plan to cause division among the forces besieging Meereen by having Ser Barristan offer their weight in gold for the three hostages the Yunkai have. The Yunkai have no need of that money, but their sellswords will want the deal and grow angry when it is refused.
  • Made a Slave: She was kidnapped alongside her brothers and sold into slavery in Astapor.
  • Nerves of Steel: As Quentyn Martell lays dying following his ill-fated attempt to tame Dany's dragons, Missandei is not frightened by his horrifically burned body, giving him comfort and listening to his last words as he dies. Clearly, she has a strong stomach.
  • Omniglot: Justified, due to her being very gifted and learning multiple languages as a child.
  • Only One Name: Missandei is her only known name.
  • Tag Along Kid: Justified because she has nowhere to go and would rather risk death with Daenerys.
  • The Smart Gal: To Daenerys' The Hero.
  • Third-Person Person: Similar to all slaves, Missandei refers to herself as "this one" before Dany tells her not to.
  • Verbal Tic: Referring to herself as "this one" instead of "me" or "I".
  • Wise Beyond Their Years: Strong-willed and intelligent past her ten/eleven years, as Dany and Barristan note.
    Ser Barristan's thoughts: Eleven years of age, yet Missandei is as clever as half the men at this table and wiser than all of them.

    Daario Naharis 

Daario Naharis

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/borja_pindado_daario_naharis_ffg.jpg

"I count no day as lived unless I have loved a woman, slain a foeman, and eaten a fine meal."

A Tyroshi sellsword in command of the Stormcrows who pledges himself and his mercenaries to Dany out of love.


  • Agent Peacock: Dyes his hair and nails blue and dresses in garb of yellow and gold, and acts even more flamboyant than it's typical for a Tyroshi.
  • Anti-Advice: The type of advice he gives Dany has overtones of this and he's not a fan of sugarcoating anything. Regardless of whether it's ruthless and bloodthirsty advice, he always gives the advice that is most practical and advantageous at the moment he gives it; of course, he bypasses the involved morals completely. It's just that easy to get what you want if you kill the people that oppose you.
  • Badass in Distress: After he is given to the forces of Yunkai along with several other hostages during peace talks. He is still their captive when hostilities break out again.
  • Bling of War: Not counting all of his Tyroshi finery, his weapons are a Dothraki arakh and a Myrish stiletto with naked women made in gold as the hilts of each.
  • Blood Knight: The only thing he likes more than sex and gold is killing.
  • The Casanova:
    Daenerys: You boasted that you'd had a hundred women.
    Daario: A hundred? I lied, sweet queen. It was a thousand. But never once a dragon.
  • Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: The way he betrays and murders his mercenary partners and casually presents their heads to Daenerys, one might think it isn't the first time he's done this. Then there's his suggestion to Dany to let him kill the Wise Masters during her wedding to Hizdahr. There are many fans who speculate that he will betray her in the future, if he hasn't at some point already.
  • Foil: To Shae. They are both the lovers of two of the most influential people in the books (Tyrion Lannister and Daenerys Targaryen), both against their lovers' better judgement. Both Tyrion and Daenerys admit that they are better off without them, but still keep them close out of lust.
    • Also to Bronn, in that they are both the extremely snarky and extremely dangerous sellsword lieutenants to powerful, polarizing figures that they each grow very close to in different ways. However, Bronn is more pragmatic and business savvy, whereas Daario is considerably more devil-may-care and unpredictable. And where Bronn is rather thuggish looking with a plain, utilitarian style, Daario always looks exotic and colorful to a ridiculously self-indulgent extant.
    • He is also a foil to Jaime Lannister. They are both Blood Knights for their Queens and are in grossly inappropriate relationship with them, as far as making them forsake their Queenly duties. These relationships are nevertheless opposite to each other; Daario's queen knows that he means nothing but trouble, while Jaime realizes the same of his queen; Daenerys staunchly holds on to Daario in spite of her better judgement while Jaime abandons Cersei to her fate.
    • He is a foil to the Rogue Prince Daemon Targaryen. They are the bad influence on their queen that wants them to be more war-like. They are also very prone to be at the butt end of he-says-she-says situations, they are not particularly respected by their peers and are definitely not afraid of getting their hands dirty. They are also spectacular warriors who brim in charisma.
  • The Friend Nobody Likes: He has shades of this in the eyes of Jorah and Ser Barristan, and other members of the court make little secret of their distaste for him. But of course, Daenerys wants him close to her.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: While not exactly nobody, as one of the leaders of the Stormcrows, his rise is remarkable nonetheless. But overnight, he goes from being just a lieutenant in a sellsword company to captain of said company, one of House Targaryen's main generals, and the man who has the most powerful woman in the world wrapped around his finger. And he's been trying really hard to get Daenerys to marry him, which would essentially make him a king. This one's a real go-getter.
  • Going Commando: He never bothers with smallclothes, because he's always in the mood for sex.
  • The Hedonist: Summed up in his quote above.
  • Hidden Depths: Daenerys realizes that she loves Daario because he would sit at her side even in her hour of need and at her most abject, much unlike a superficial, sycophantic and judging husband like Hizdahr.
  • Hot Consort: What he seems to aspire to be, as far as his relationship with Daenerys goes. He suggests more than once that she take him as her husband instead of Hizdahr zo Loraq, claiming that as queen she can marry whomever she pleases. Dany is smart enough to realize the political ramifications of being a queen and marrying a lowly sellsword.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Sure, he's aligned with a faction that is striving to end slavery and tyranny in a barbaric land, but only for his own selfish reasons. He may be nice to Dany, but it's heavily implied that he only wants her for her power and her body. And this is ignoring the fact that he is a gleefully vicious killer who openly mocks and insults nearly everyone he meets.
  • Klingon Promotion: He killed his two partners, Sallor the Bald and Prendahl na Ghezen, and usurped their positions as leader of their mercenary group, getting the rest of the Stormcrows to follow him.
  • Lovable Rogue: He's a roguish Casanova.
  • Love Epiphany: Dany realizes she loves Daario because he wants to be with her regardless of what she is and the power she brandishes. Where Hizdahr would sneer at her for being muddled from head to toe, Daario would just laugh with her and brush it off.
  • The Münchausen: Definitely gives off this vibe, especially when speaking to Daenerys. He's constantly making colorfully absurd boasts, claiming to have done things like reach down a man's throat and rip his heart out or feed a man's tongue to a yellow dog to determine if he was lying, reasoning that yellow dogs will never eat a liar's tongue. And, as stated above, he proudly admits to being a man who Really Gets Around.
  • Murder Is the Best Solution: As one of Daenerys's major advisors (and her lover), his solution to nearly every single one of Dany's problems is simply to slaughter anyone who opposes her reforms.
  • Private Military Contractors: A sellsword.
  • Professional Killer: His greatest asset.
  • Sacred Hospitality: Similar to the Red Wedding, he offers to Daenerys to have the Yunkish Wise Masters slain during her wedding to Hizdahr, an act she outright rejects.
  • Second Love: Daenerys'. Well, perhaps "Second Lust" would be more accurate, given that both of them seem to be in it mostly for the sex.
  • Sociopathic Hero: While aligned with Daenerys.
  • Villainous Gold Tooth: He's a sellsword and Dany's Hot Consort who sports a gold tooth, and is a gleefully vicious killer who openly mocks and insults nearly everyone he meets. Dany loves him because he's much kinder to her than her husband, but it's heavily implied that he only wants her for her power and her body.

    Skahaz mo Kandaq 
For Skahaz mo Kandaq, see the Slaver's Bay character page.

    Reznak mo Reznak 
For Reznak mo Reznak, see the Slaver's Bay character page.

    Groleo 

Admiral Groleo

A captain who commanded the ships sent by Illyrio Mopatis to bring Daenerys back to Pentos. He instead enters her service and joins her campaign in the Slaver's Bay.


  • Decapitation Presentation: His head is presented to the Meereen court by Bloodbeard after he is executed.
  • Distressed Dude: He is one of several hostages given over to the Yunkai'i besieging Meereen as part of a truce.
  • Due to the Dead: Barristan prods Hizdhar for the Yunkish to return Groleo's body so they can give him a Burial at Sea, as fitting for a sailor.
  • Nice Guy: He is a good and honorable man who simply wants to help Daenerys in her goals.
  • Off with His Head!: Gets executed by the Yunkai forces holding him hostage after Yurkhaz zo Yunzak is accidently killed in Meereen.
  • Undying Loyalty: Daenerys won his friendship and loyalty very quickly after meeting him, to the point where he willingly sacrifices ships so she could build siege equipment.

    Symon Stripeback 

Symon Stripeback

A former slave in Astapor. Chosen as commander of the Free Brothers, a company of freedmen loyal to Daenerys.


  • The Captain: Of the Free Brothers. Notably he and his men weren't Unsullied, unlike Daenerys' other freedmen companies, but are still eager to fight and shed blood to keep their freedom and avenge themselves against the slavers.
  • Covered in Scars: Across his back and shoulders, from being whipped in the past by his slave masters in Astapor and Yunkai.
  • In-Series Nickname: Symon "Stripeback", due to the numerous scars from whippings covering his back.
  • The Lancer: To Daenerys when she rules as queen, and despite previously flaring up at him for pushing Daenerys to leave, he does the same later for Ser Barristan as Queen's Hand trying to keep the situation in Meereen together. Whereas Daenerys is The McCoy and Barristan tries to stick to Honor Before Reason from his lessons as a Kingsguard knight, whenever Symon speaks up, it's almost always to be a voice of reason pointing out hard truths they don't want to acknowledge. When Barristan calls a meeting with all the commanders to discuss plans to protect the city and insists they must all come to an agreement before leaving the table, Symon calmly advises they send for food and drink since "This will take a while" and is the one to bring up the matter of the dragons who could turn the tide of battle.
  • The Smart Guy: Consistently one of the most perceptive and pragmatic members of Daenerys' council, unafraid of speak up and be The Lancer as a freedman, and has shades of being a Deadpan Snarker (unsurprisingly). He mentions that as a slave, he used to help his master negotiate with the free companies and acted as paymaster for them, implying the slavers took notice of his intelligence. Think a braver version of the Golden Company's Harry Strickland, or a more bitter Spear Counterpart to Missandei.
  • Undying Loyalty: To Daenerys, as shown when dealing with the refugees from Astapor infected with the incredibly contagious and lethal pale mare. He believes them lost causes and advises her not to waste their dwindling supply of food feeding the already-dying, but still follows her lead when she orders the food distributed; when she helps clean and care for the infected and her men follow suit, Symon and his men help by disposing of the dead.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Gets in a good one to Ser Barristan when the Qartheen try to entice Daenerys to return to Westeros immediately, which would mean abandoning Meereen to be retaken by slavers eager to punish her followers and put them back in chains.
    "Where is your courage?" Ser Barristan lashed out. "Her Grace freed you from your chains. It is for you to sharpen your swords and defend your own freedom when she leaves."
    "Brave words, from one who means to sail into the sunset," Symon Stripeback snarled back. "Will you look back at our dying?"

    Mollono Yos Dob 

Mollono Yos Dob

A freedman that is named commander of the Stalwart Shields, a company of freedmen loyal to Daenerys. He later succumbs to the Pale Mare.


    Tal Toraq 

Tal Toraq

A freedman from the Summer Isles that joins the Stalwart Shields, a company of freedmen loyal to Daenerys. He becomes their commander after Mollono Yos Dob succumbs to the Pale Mare.



Alternative Title(s): A Song Of Ice And Fire Daenerys Targaryen And Her Court

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