Recap / A Man of Iron

Here there be SPOILERS!

A Man Of Iron

Chapter 1

Catelyn I

Winterfell prepares for the arrival of the Royal Family following Jon Arryn's death, but Catelyn Stark learns from her husband, Ned Stark, that another person travels for Winterfell: Ned's cousin, Antony Stark, who has a keep in the Westerlands, wishes to meet his family and also talk with King Robert about an important issue. Catelyn cannot stand the man, and even Ned considers him a load, but they have no reason to prevent him from coming.

Arya I

Arya Stark and her elder sister Sansa Stark bicker as the Starks wait for the arrival of their relative Antony 'Tony' Stark, accompanied by his lady wife Vyrgina 'Pepper' Stark, the captain of his guard Howard 'Happy' Hogan and the commander of his soldiers Ser Jaime 'Rhodey' Rhodes. Tony comes in at a fast pace, jesting all the way in, demonstrates his dislike for the way Jon Snow is treated and charms Arya with his wit.

Chapter 2

Tony I

Tony wonders why Ned and his people have never considered improving Winterfell's castle in some way as he meets with King Robert Baratheon, currently escorted by Ser Jaime Lannister the Kingslayer. A somewhat awkward conversation ensues between them before Tony arrives at the issue at hand: his people have found a special gem they have called a sunstone, which shines at every moment without outer input, and he figures they could be well used, but the direction in which to excavate in search of sunstones would bring the mine into Lannisport territory, and he needs to negotiate with Tywin Lannister - for which he could use Robert as a neutral middleman. However, he keeps most of the sunstone's properties secret.

Chapter 3

Tyrion I

Tyrion Lannister leaves the banquet at Winterfell to the keep's yard, to the sight of Jon Snow attacking a straw dummy, and he is joined with Tony, Rhodey and Benjen Stark. The four men discuss Jon's future, with Benjen indicating that, while he would welcome Jon to the Night's Watch, he could use some experience of life in the South, and Tony indicates a solution for Jon's quandary: he will take Jon to Iron Pointe with him.

Chapter 4

Jon I

Jon feels despondent that his father won't allow him to join the Night's Watch and instead is to go to Iron Pointe with Tony. Before parting, he goes to Bran's room, where the boy still lays comatose, and says his goodbyes. When Catelyn Stark - who is present - bitterly says it should be Jon instead of Bran lying comatose, Tony comes and calls her out for her callousness and how horrible she has always been with Jon.

Tony II

Before Tony's group separates from the main caravan, Ned promises Jon he will tell him about his mother the next time they meet, and when Jon leaves Ned demonstrates his anger with Tony over what he said to Catelyn. Tony answers that Catelyn treated Jon horribly even though he had done nothing but to exist and that someone had to stand up to her on his behalf since Ned would not do it. Ned agrees he has made mistakes but replies that Tony has no leg to stand on when he has even more failings. Tony is unfazed by this and leaves after telling Ned that marrying Sansa to Joffrey will backfire on him.

Chapter 5

Tywin I

Tywin Lannister goes about his day, considering his squire, his bannermen, and the messages that have just arrived, among them one from the King on Tony Stark's petition of expanding his mines into Lannisport for the sake of finding more sunstones. After some consideration about the petition and the potential of sunstones for use, he decides to agree, as long as Tony gives up all the silver and gold he finds in the mines he opens. At the same time, he plans for his own men to excavate for sunstones for his benefit.

Chapter 6

Pepper I

Pepper talks with one of her handmaidens about the North and Tony as they continue to travel for Iron Pointe, and when they set up camp she decides to invite Jon to sup with her, wanting to get him to treat her with more familiarity than he is used to. During supper, a group of bandits attacks them, and Rhodey and his men manage to force them on the run after suffering some losses - but as the dust settles, there is a problem: Tony is nowhere to be seen.

Chapter 7

Tony III

Tony has been captured by the bandits, who take them to their refuge and begin to torture him, as well as rape a girl they say is Lord Oaker's daughter, said Lord having given her up to the bandits along with a coffer of gold so they wouldn't raid his lands. Tony tries to negotiate with the bandits to free him and the girl, but the bandit leader reveals he was paid to kidnap him and brands him on the chest. Rhodey and his men arrive on time to assault the bandit camp, killing all of them in the fight, although not before Lord Oaker's daughter is killed. Tony tells his men not to speak of the event with anyone.

Chapter 8

Daenerys I

Daenerys Targaryen considers what her life might have been if her father and brother had won during Robert's Rebellion, and decides to move to a side of the road to take a break. A woman tries to kill her, but she is literally disarmed by a man that uses a special set of blades that go between his fingers. Khal Drogo has the woman killed by Daenerys' savior, Logan, whose only request is to be allowed to be Daenerys' protector.

Chapter 9

Jon II

Tony's party arrives at Iron Pointe, and Jon is very impressed with the community of craftsmen that have been built around what was once an abandoned Lannister fortress. Tony also shocks him by declaring his name will now be Jon Stark, despite reminders that only a king can officially legitimize a bastard. Castellan Obediah Stane informs Tony of Tywin's proposal, to which he promptly agrees, and then rushes off declaring there's something important he needs to work on.

Chapter 10

Tyrion II

At The Wall, Tyrion has a meeting with Night's Watch commander Jeor Mormont, who discusses the altercation he had earlier with Alliser Thorne. Tyrion had apparently verbally decimated the man over his treatment of a new recruit, Samwell Tarly and tells Jeor that turning a blind eye is only letting the new recruits, many of them thieves, rapists, and worse, know that it is OK to beat on those weaker than them. Jeor surprisingly agrees with Tyrion as once he leaves, Alliser will get his revenge taking it out on Sam. To fix that, Mormont has Sam leave The Night's Watch, but as Tyrion's squire which would be a far more suitable task for him and one which his father Lord Tarly, would not oppose. As Imp and Squire depart, a banner flies from the wall and is impaled on a spike beam. Upon closer inspection, it is a Lannister banner and Tyrion, although not one for superstition, ponders if this was a sign of foreshadowing.

Chapter 11

Pepper II

Furious that Tony has kept himself locked up in his workshop ever since the incident, Pepper takes an ax to his door and chops through it, there she, Jon, and Rhodey are shocked to discover that Tony has created a suit of armor, one that is enabling him to fly. Jon believes it is witchcraft, which Tony denies seeing how he is not a woman. Tony reveals that he has used the Sunstones that he has found, and upon experimenting with them, discovered that combining them with silver in gauntlets can fire out blasts and also enable him to fly as well and strengthen his armor as well as make it lighter. Tony discusses the incident that happened and the death of the girl there and how horrid Westeros is and vows to no longer turn a blind eye to things. Before Pepper can stop him, the new knight known as Iron Man departs.

Chapter 12

Tywin II

At Lord Oaker's castle, Tywin is one of his guests and is not enjoying himself as he tries to ignore the ramblings of other lords. He thinks about the possibility back during Robert's Rebellion, if Ned Stark had taken and claimed the Iron Throne and wedded Cersei instead of Robert. However, his musings are interrupted when a mysterious knight, one whose colors to his annoyance are red and gold (those of House Lannister) bursts through the roof. He watches as the flying knight disposes of Oaker's guards and forces Lord Oaker to confess to what he did, how he sold out his daughter to thieves so they wouldn't attack his lands. The knight, revealing himself as Iron Man, then departs after warning the other lords there of what will happen to them as well if this continues. Tywin realizes that, for the first time since the Rebellion against the Targaryens, the world has changed and he has been witness to it happening.

Chapter 13

Arya II

Arya shares the story she overheard about the Iron Man during training with Syrio Forel. Sansa doesn't believe it at first, but Ned reveals the true events as reported to the King and Small Council. Both sisters are in awe of the hero, but Ned insists that his vigilante actions are wrong and he should have reported Oaker's actions to the Tyrells so justice could be done properly. Arya loses her temper and runs off. At her next lesson, she tells Syrio the whole story, and he retorts that there truly are special people in the world, with abilities like the control of metal or shape-changing. He also believes Arya is one of these people, though he declines to explain why.

Chapter 14

Tony IV

Tony has been patrolling the Westerlands and putting a stop to any crime he comes across, which have been depressingly easy to find. His next job is a peasant couple being attacked by knights, who he makes quick work of. However, their leader then arrives: Ser Gregor Clegane. Tony is quite surprised when his new opponent's massive strength actually lets him put up a good fight, and actually damages his armor and Tony ends up battered on the ground. He desperately activates his boots' thrusters to escape and blasts Gregor to the ground (though it doesn't do much damage) and as he flees, vows to never do that again.

Chapter 15

Ned I

Word of Iron Man's "defeat" of Gregor has spread and made him an idol of the smallfolk. The Small Council also receives a letter from Tywin complaining about the attack on his bannerman, and after the usual arguing, Robert insists they have to stop him. Lord Varys suggests that they find his true identity and take him while he's not in his armor, bringing up the reports of shining stones in the armor much like the ones Tony discovered. Ned and Robert both burst out laughing, unable to see the drunk womanizer becoming such a figure. However, they consider that he may have created the armor and send for him to come for questioning. After the meeting, Varys tells Ned about the bandit attack and advises him to consider that such an experience might change a person enough to take on the job Iron Man is doing.

Chapter 16

Tony III

Tony returns home to find Jon in his workshop and considers how well they've been working together, in sharp contrast to Pepper and Rhodes who have agreed to keep his secret but still want no part of it. He's since made a replica Iron Man suit with leather keeping the Sunstones separate so it's nothing but a fancy suit of armor, insisting there's a purpose to it. Jon questions how he'll keep people from suspecting, to which Tony reveals that before becoming Iron Man, he spent two weeks in a marathon session in the workshop, creating his next several months' worth of orders so he'll have an alibi. He also has ideas for Jon to help with the issue of his hardly ever being seen in public, though first, he'll have to help calm down Pepper after the fight with Gregor.

Chapter 17

Tyrion III

Held captive by Catelyn Stark, Tyrion is complaining about this entire sorry situation to Sam as they rest on the road. Among the various sellswords with them are Bronn and a bowman named Clynt. Catelyn is curious about Sam with Tyrion and Tyrion explains how he found Sam about to be beaten to death by the Night's Watch and thus "adopted" him. He talks of the Iron Man, noting how he didn't believe it until he heard his father seeing him and Tywin Lannister is not known for flights of fancy. The group is attacked with Clynt showing his skills defending them with his bow.

Chapter 18

Pepper III

Pepper confronts Tony after receiving the summons to King's Landing, but he assures her he knew it was coming and prepared for it. First, he informs Happy, Stane, and his maester Jarvis that he's Iron Man, which none of them believe, making his point for him. They give their typical reports, including that a mining team has found silver, which Tony orders turned over to Tywin as agreed, though he wants the Lannisters to do any more digging themselves. He also declares he'll go to King's Landing with Rhodes and Happy, while Pepper keeps watch over Iron Pointe and Jon goes on his own special mission.

Chapter 19

Ned II

Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish wakes Ned with the news that Tony has arrived as requested, also getting under his skin with his knowing questions about what exactly Ned is doing in the city. In the council room, Ned is shocked to see Iron Man appearing to attack Robert and moves to the defense, but is stopped short as Tony pulls off his helmet. He's actually wearing the regular armor duplicate, passing it off as the real armor he made for Iron Man. At the same time, the reports of its powers are just stories by impressionable smallfolk. Robert believes it and accepts Tony's reparations of a specialized warhammer, but Ned recalls Varys' advice and considers just how perfectly Tony's theatrics deflected all suspicion from him.

Chapter 20

Gregor I

Furious over his loss to Iron Man, The Mountain under Tywin Lannister's orders begins to raze the Riverlands in response to Catelyn kidnapping Tyrion. Gregor and his men sack a village and kill all those unlucky to flee as the vicious knight takes pleasure in his business of slaughtering. Still filled with anger over what had happened beforehand, Gregor kills one of his men who talks to him. As he prepares to go, he then encounters the Flying Knight to his pleasure

Jon III

Jon, having taken up the guise of Iron Man for Tony's plan, encounters The Mountain razing the village and prepares to fight him. A fierce battle occurs as Jon gets used to using the suit. He has a bit of trouble at first but manages to defeat Gregor's men and in the process wounds The Mountain forcing him to his knees before he departs.

Chapter 21

Arya III

Arya is training with Syrio who teaches her more of swordplay. He then launches into a long talk on how corrupt the land is and that nothing really changes. He points out to Arya how the Lannisters are always in charge behind the throne and things are rarely different... until now. Syrio points out that the coming of the Iron Man means something is happening that will change things. He states that the people will turn on the Iron Man at the slightest provocation. Syrio tells Arya that something is coming, a major change as people who have hidden their abilities for a long time will now rise up behind a grand leader. When Arya asks who this leader is, Syrio states he is known only by his title: Magneto.

Chapter 22

Ned III

Ned reflects on the hash he has made in the education of his children and how badly he acted when it came down to Jon, and also about the recent Small Council meeting where Robert demanded Daenerys' assassination and Ned retired from his position as Hand, before ordering Jory to organize the household to depart as he plans to meet with the blacksmith Jon Arryn visited. In comes Tony, who offers his help both with the household and with his plan to meet the blacksmith - and Tony's sudden burst of cunning makes Ned realize his cousin is Iron Man, but Tony fires back with the fact that he has guessed who Jon's parents are.

At the blacksmith's, they meet Tobho Mott and his apprentice, Gendry. Both Ned and Tony realize Gendry's importance, and Tony decides to buy Gendry's apprenticeship. While Tony is in the shop, Jaime Lannister arrives, demanding to know why Catelyn kidnapped Tyrion, with Ned taking the blame. Jaime and Ned fight off, and one of Jaime's men attacks Ned from behind, but before Jaime can go further Tony comes out of the shop and calls Jaime out for his idiocy. Jaime leaves to find his brother while Tony gets Ned back to the Red Keep.

Chapter 23

Tywin III

At a meeting with his advisors, Tywin Lannister comes to the conclusion he's cursed as of all his children, Tyrion is the only one showing any actual sense. Between Jaime attacking Ned Stark and Cersei's blundering, Tywin is deciding it's time to come down harder on his children. He then declares it's time to take down the Iron Man once and for all. He orders the Mountain to march on the Starks and burn their lands in an attempt to lure Iron Man out and then destroy him.

Chapter 24

Daenerys II

Daenerys deals with the death of her brother and what it means for her. She's joined by Logan who tells her how to be strong and offers a drink. She turns him down due to her pregnancy so Logan decides to get drunk in her place.

Tyrion IV

At the Eyrie, Tyrion watches Bronn fight in his "trial." Sam talks of finding out information and Clynt defending him as he was once framed for a crime he didn't commit. As they talk, Clynt mentions how Tyrion and Catelyn are both making the mistake of thinking ravens are the only ways to get messages around. Bronn is victorious and Tyrion is ready to leave but Lysa insists he now stands trial for killing her husband. This time, Clynt defends Tyrion, taking out the opposing knight with a single arrow. He and Bronn join Tyrion and Sam leaving the Eyrie.

Chapter 25

Arya IV

Arya is with Syrio when Ser Meryn and some Goldcloaks enter to arrest her. Suddenly, Syrio transforms into a blue-skinned woman who kills the group easily. She then turns herself into Meryn to take a stunned Arya away as they realize how bad things are for the Starks. After making herself look like a woman, "Syrio" gives Arya an impromptu haircut to disguise herself. The duo are met by Slynt and other Goldcloaks only for Slynt to be killed by a passing Gendry who had been coming to meet Ned. Arya convinces "Syrio" to take the boy with them and "Syrio" reluctantly agrees. She names Ayra "Kat" and Gendry "Petyr" and in public, they'll act like she's their mother "Raven." In private, they can call her by her true name: Mystique.

Chapter 26

Pepper IV

Pepper worries about Tony and Jon, the latter thinking he should have killed Gregor Clegane when he had the chance, but Pepper points out that only Clegane is responsible for his own acts. Tony arrives, and Pepper, after welcoming him, tells him King Robert has died, and that both Tywin Lannister and Joffrey (now crowned King, much to Tony's disgust) are demanding his immediate presence, and Tywin also wants Jon to join the Westerlands' army, which Tony knows means he wants a hostage to use against the Starks.

Before they can plan more, Gregor Clegane (wearing his own replica of the Iron Man armor, making him Iron Monger) enters the castle, killing several of Tony's guards and Obadiah Stane. Clegane takes Pepper hostage, knocking Jon out in the process, and tells Tony that, if he wants to see Pepper alive, he will tell Iron Man to go to the Silver Thread Mine before midnight.

Chapter 27

Ned IV

Held in the Black Cells, Ned Stark recalls the various means of torture used throughout Westeros. His thoughts are interrupted when Varys appears and meets him. If Ned admits his treason, he'll be allowed to take the Black and join the Night's Watch. If not, he'll be executed. Ned refuses to lie and is not afraid of death, but he is forced to reconsider when Varys reveals the Lannisters still have Sansa and could kill her as well. Grimly accepting the reality before him, Ned agrees to put his honor aside and lie so to save his daughter.

Tony VI

Jon wakes up after Clegane's attack and Tony takes care of him. Jon blames himself for Pepper's kidnapping, but Tony reaffirms what Pepper said, pointing out that, had he killed Gregor Clegane, he would have probably visited Tywin's wrath upon Iron Pointe, but Clegane's actions mean that he can kill the Mountain without fear of reprisal. Jon tells Tony he wants to join him, and Tony agrees, pointing to a new set of enchanted armor he has made in the last weeks, for Jon to use, and Tony suggest a nickname for his armored self: Centurion.

Chapter 28

Gregor II

Gregor Clegane awaits Iron Man's arrival with relish, making plans for both the immediate future and after that, which includes stealing all the silver in the Silver Thread mine for himself and running to Essos, where he can join and take over a sellsword company, perhaps using it to return to Westeros at some point. First Iron Man, and then Centurion, arrive to attack Gregor Clegane, and the three fight brutally, with both Clegane and the two flying knights getting several good hits in. Iron Man and Centurion reveal their true identities, which makes Clegane furious, and his rage enables him to nearly kill both of them. Tony turns the tables by throwing several sunstones into the pit Clegane has fallen in and blasting Gregor's face, while Jon drops a cart of silver on the sunstones. The silver and sunstones interact and magic blasts start to fly, several of which strike Gregor and incapacitate him while Tony and Jon escape with Pepper. An explosion finally takes out the Mountain and the mine.

Chapter 29

Ned V

Ned is taken to the Sept of Baelor for his public confession. Using a speech Varys helped him prepare beforehand, Ned "confesses" to only trying to protect Joffrey from a conspiracy he believed was aimed at him. This sways much of the crowd in favor of being merciful with him, but Joffrey still orders Illyn Payne to take his head, despite the protests of the Small Council. However, before the killing blow that can be taken, Iron Man flies in and saves Ned, before calling out Joffrey as a poor ruler. An enraged Joffrey orders the Kingsguard to kill Iron Man, but he easily defeats them all. As he and Ned prepare to flee, Ned calls out to Sansa, who tries to run to them, only for Joffrey to grab her, using her as a Human Shield. In her struggles to break free of his grip, she falls, cracking her skull open and killing her. An enraged Iron Man shoots a blast at Joffrey after the boy king blames Iron Man for Sansa's death; Cersei pulls him away in time to save his life but loses her hand while Joffrey's face is disfigured. Tony then grabs Ned and flees, while Ned silently promises to kill all the Lannisters in revenge for Sansa's death.

Chapter 30

Tyrion V

Tywin's war council assembles to deal with the news of Jaime's capture, the Mountain's actions, and the events in King's Landing. While others talk of possible peace, Tyrion is the one pointing out that Sansa's death is going to set the Starks on a war of revenge and the entire North will join them. Tywin sends all the others away and tells Tyrion that he's returning all of Tony's men to Iron Pointe to maintain the image of control, and is also sending him to the capital to serve as acting Hand and try and maintain order, promising him recognition and a castle if he succeeds. Returning to his tent, Tyrion meets with Sam, Bronn, Clynt, and his new squire Podrick Payne and informs them of his new assignment. As he sends them to prepare, he has Clynt take his whore Shae away, so he won't be tempted to take her with him to King's Landing.

Chapter 31

Tony VII

Tony and Ned reunite with Jon and make their way to Riverrun to join the Stark forces, Ned resting along the way. When they arrive, Ned agrees that Tony and Jon should return to the Westerlands and pretend to still be loyal to Tywin. Tony convinces Ned to tell Jon the truth about his mother as he promised: much to Jon's shock, Ned reveals Jon's parents are actually Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, and Jon himself is Jaehaerys Targaryen, legitimate heir to the Iron Throne.

Entering Riverrun, Ned is reunited with Robb and Catelyn. Catelyn angrily tries to pick a bone with Centurion, but Ned calls her out for her actions and how Littlefinger betrayed him. Ned then meets with the Northern and Riverlander lords, and the group begins to discuss what to do; many of them proclaim their desire for revenge on the Lannisters, and eventually, it surges out a refusal to back either Stannis or Renly. In the end, Greatjon Umber states that Ned is the only one worthy of ruling the North, and both Northern and Riverlander lords declare Ned as King in the North, while Tony states to Jon that this will change everything.

Chapter 32

Daenerys III

As Daenerys emerges from Khal Drogo's funeral pyre with her newly hatched dragons, she reflects on his death and the dissolution of much of the Horde. She also remembers how just before the pyre was lit, Logan returned to camp with the captive Khal Jhaqo impaled on his blades, whom he drags into the pyre with himself and Daenerys. As the sun rises, his burns heal and his blades have melded with his new bone claws, while Dany finds that she can now summon and control flames. She declares her new name, Firestar.

Varys

A disguised Varys travels to a secret meeting, musing on all the roles he's played, with even "Varys the Spider" being one. Arriving at his destination, Varys meets his contact, Nikolos Fury, an agent of a mysterious council that Varys also serves. They discuss the impact that Iron Man (whom they know is Tony) is having on Westeros, as well as the signs that "the Court" has awakened. As Fury leaves, Varys refers to him by his real name — Gerion Lannister.

Chapter 33

Sandor

Sandor Clegane keeps watch over Sansa's body, lamenting her death and why he even cares. To his shock, she suddenly returns to life and is healed of her wounds, her body aging to adulthood. She comforts his fears and heals his scarred face, causing him to pledge his loyalty to her. She declares that he will be her Knight and that she will now be known as the Night's Queen.

A Crack Of Thunder

Chapter 1

Jane I

Jane Seaworth, the second child and only daughter of Ser Davos Seaworth, is the friend, protector and big sister figure of Shireen Baratheon, the only child of Stannis Baratheon, claimant to the Iron Throne. A practical person, she strives to provide support for Shireen and help her as best as she can, and right now, it means trying to protect her as best as she can from Melisandre, who has taken to make sacrifices for her god, the Lord of Light. Shireen prevents Maester Cressen from trying to interfere in a way that may get him killed when Melisandre starts burning a set of statues of the Seven.

However, the ceremony gets interrupted when something falls from the sky into the beach. The windblast puts out the fires and makes everyone fall to the floor. As soon as she gets on her feet, Jane runs for the fallen object, thinking it may be a meteorite with sky metal, but it turns out to be Thor Odinson, the God of Thunder, come to Westeros - or Midgard, as he calls it - in search of his brother Loki. Initially confusing Jane for Loki, he is soon disabused of the fact after he feels her up, but her attitude makes him think Jane must be the Queen and Shireen her daughter, much to Stannis' and Selyse' displeasure... and Melisandre's fury.

Chapter 2

Tony I

Tony lies in wait for a bunch of sheep stealers he has heard about and watches as Rhodey attacks them while the shepherd stands back. Using a set of Myrish spyglasses, Tony realizes the 'shepherd' is actually in collusion with the robbers when he grabs a bow with the intention of killing Rhodey, so he intervenes and stands around as the bowman futilely hits him with his arrows and then with his bow, which soon breaks down to nothing. Rhodey arrives, having killed all the robbers, and Tony kills the one attacking with one punch of his armor - who turns out to be an Ironborn. As they prepare to leave, Tony makes an unlucky attempt to convince Rhodey to fit him in armor similar to Iron Man's. Not to be deterred, he then asks a nearby sheep if it would like a set.

Chapter 3

Tyrion I

Tyrion, Sam, Pod, Bronn, and Clynt arrive in King's Landing. Tyrion is disturbed by the state of the city, as the leaderless Gold Cloaks are too afraid to do anything about the anti-Lannister mob activity. He meets one Goldcloak, Jeor Stacy, who tells him how a mob killed a friend of his, Rickard Parker, and his son, Peter, barely escaped. Meeting Joffrey at the Red Keep, he is shocked to also be greeted by the Night's Queen, now presenting herself as a miraculously alive Sansa. Incensed by this, Tyrion confronts Cersei and the Small Council, calling them out for the stupidity of using an imposter when Ned Stark saw his daughter die personally, and is less than impressed by their insistence that she really is Sansa. He orders her confined to the keep, and for sellswords and hunters sent out to find Arya, while he makes it clear to Cersei that he is running things in the city now.

Chapter 4

Cat I

Catelyn is troubled by Ned's new serious manner since taking over as King of the North. They talk, where Catelyn reveals she's figured out the identities of Iron Man and Centurion...only she thinks Iron Man is Benjen and Centurion is Jory. Not realizing how she's wrong, Ned presses her to keep quiet. Catelyn admits she was far too harsh on Jon and trusting in Littlefinger too much. She also mentions how Lysa might be tied to what's happened. Ned tells her of getting a note from Pycelle, offering to trade Jaime for an alive Sansa. Naturally, the two refuse to believe their daughter is still alive and this is all a trick. Theon Greyjoy, whom Ned is preparing to send with Jonos Bracken to negotiate with Renly, comes in to inform them that Walder Frey is ready for their meeting.

Ned I

As they go to meet Lord Walder Frey, Ned reflects on the responsibilities and difficulties he's having as King, such as staffing his undermanned Small Council and balancing the support of the Northern and Riverlands lords. They meet with Lord Frey, who agrees to call off the planned marriage of Arya and his son until Arya is found, and he is startled to learn Ned still intends to honor the agreement to marry Robb to his daughter, reaffirming his loyalty to the Starks out of gratitude.

Chapter 5

Ramsay I

Ramsay Snow, Roose Bolton's bastard son, is enjoying the "hunt" of a young woman he spent the last few weeks torturing and using. He's joined by Myranda as they chase the woman into the forest. Suddenly, the dogs go silent, and then a man with a strange whip attacks, killing all the guards and knocking Ramsay out. When he awakens, he's been stripped naked and finds Myranda with her eyes sealed with wax. The young woman he'd been hunting shows up, revealing to Ramsay that she is Asha Greyjoy. She then introduces her lover Ivan Vanko, once a son of a high lord until the Rebellion crushed his family. Vanko proceeds to execute Myranda with his whip. Ramsay tries to barter a truce but Vanko says he intends to make all the nobles of Westeros pay and lover Asha is willing to help. He gives Ramsay a taste of his own medicine, brutally whipping him over and over with his special weapons until Ramsay dies.

Chapter 6

Pepper I

Pepper muses on her husband's recent actions, as well as the addition of Jon into the family. She has come to think of him as a brother and has noticed that he is fully committed to remaining in the role of Centurion while Tony seems to be considering retiring back to a normal life. Her thoughts are interrupted by Iron Pointe's new steward Phyllyp, son of Coul, who alerts her of the arrival of Tony's lifelong friend Oberyn Martell. After assuring everyone that Tony being named Warden of the West hasn't added him to Oberyn's targets for revenge over the murder of his sister Elia, the Red Viper brings up how his father and Tony's had hoped the latter would have a daughter that Oberyn could be wed to. But now that Jon is part of the household, they have another chance to join their houses with Oberyn's firstborn daughter, who was legitimized by Ned in one of his last actions as Hand. Jon is introduced to his new bride: Natasha Martell, the Black Widow of Dorne.

Chapter 7

Arya I

At an inn in the Riverlands, a group of Lannister soldiers complains about how poorly the war is going for them, and debates who is most at fault for it all. One of the soldiers is actually a disguised Mystique, who is using the conversation to gather information. Nearby, Arya and Gendry, who are disguised as Mystique's squires, are watching her. Arya reflects on how Mystique explained how some people have powers hidden in their blood, and suspects that Mystique is taking them to Magneto to have theirs unlocked. She and Gendry then engage in some Snark-to-Snark Combat after Gendry wonders which gender Mystique prefers to be. Mystique then comes back over to the two and tells them her new plan for going forward. Whatever it is, Arya isn't pleased with it.

Jane II

On Dragonstone, Thor is concluding his seven days of feasting, having spent the time regaling everyone with tales of how Asgardians have influenced Westerosi and Essoi history and fighting off Melisandre's advances. Once the feasting is complete, he gathers Jane and the rest of Stannis' inner circle and asks why Stannis wants to be King when a good man like him would be miserable in the role. As Stannis ponders this, Thor explains that he has come to Westeros seeking Loki, who took the Asgardian pilgrimage of living a mortal life, but has not returned on schedule. He swears to help Stannis win the Iron Throne in exchange for their help finding his brother. After the meeting ends, Jane asks Thor why he keeps referring to her as Queen, and he responds that she has all the qualities of a true ruler. He then warns her of Melisandre, whom he believes may be another Asgardian.

Chapter 8

Ned II

Ned meets a captive Jaime and tells him of how Joffrey killed Sansa. He goads Jaime into running to give an excuse for Ned to kill him but Jaime refuses. They trade barbs with Ned hitting some shots on how Cersei is known to be with other lovers which angers Jaime. Ned leaves, noting that he finally has hit the Kingslayer where it hurts.

Daenerys I

Daenerys is marveling at how Logan seems to heal from any injury and his claws are able to cut through anything, as proven when he was dragged underwater by a beast only to emerge the victor. With them, and his newly enhanced senses, the people of the camp have taken to calling him Wolverine. Daenerys is still getting used to her power to create and control flame. A trio of riders arrive, and Daenerys quickly deduces that they are of the Thirteen. The leader of the group says that he offers friendship to Daenerys and shows her a banner. Jorah is thrown as he sees the banner is of House Vondam of the Vale, a line that was supposed to be long dead. The rider says they have "merely retreated." He removes his hood to show a metal mask over his entire face. He says that he was once known as Viktor Vondam but in Qarth he is known as...DOOM.

Chapter 9

Theon I

Theon travels south with Jonos Bracken to meet with Renly, who has now proclaimed himself King Renly Baratheon, First of His Name. Theon remembers how he felt disappointed that he was not being sent to the Iron Islands, but Robb - who has married Roslin Frey - pointed out that it would be a lot better if he returned after demonstrating his bravery in war. Jonos also takes the time to teach Theon everything he knows, bonding with the young Ironborn, and he also points out he knows that, if he saw himself at a disadvantage, Eddard would probably leave the Riverlands on its own and fortify the North, but Renly does not have that option.

Theon observes the tourney Renly and his wife Queen Margaery Tyrell are hosting, and he realizes both of them do not look like King and Queen, but as children playing a role. The tourney fight ends with the victory of a large warrior, who requests a place in Renly's Rainbow Guard and reveals herself to be Brienne Tarth, much to everyone's surprise, since she was a sickly child. When asked what brought the change, Brienne says her cousin Bruce managed to find a cure for her illness... but with a cost: her skin is completely green.

Chapter 10

Tyrion II

Tyrion (feeling quite cranky over his almost enforced celibacy) invites Cersei, Tommen, Myrcella, Joffrey and Not-Sansa (as he calls who he believes is a whore playing Sansa) to dinner in his rooms, tasking Sam to watch everyone for their reactions. During dinner, he engages in conversation mostly with Myrcella and Tommen, taking care of not showing Not-Sansa any hint he may be interested in an alliance, and notes that Not-Sansa only visibly reacts when he mentions the Wall.

After the youngest retire, the conversation turns to Tyrion's actions: he has named Jeor Stacy as new Commander of the Gold Cloaks, and he plans to seek a Baratheon descendant that does not fit the Baratheon phenotype to undermine Stannis' statements about Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen's ascendancy. When asked about Iron Man and the newly-established Centurion, Tyrion reflects on their identity and thinks it might be Brynden and Edmure Tully, but does not mention this. Before Not-Sansa leaves, Tyrion tells her she should leave Westeros before either the Starks or he will take off her head, but Not-Sansa's reply leaves Tyrion shaking. When Sam mentions what he has observed, he indicates that if Not-Sansa is actually Sansa, then whatever is in her body is not the real Sansa Stark. Tyrion agrees, and tasks Sam with finding any myths and legends about resurrection - and about potential ways to kill that which has returned.

Chapter 11

Jon I

Jon sits atop the roof of Iron Pointe, drinking wine and reflecting on his pending wedding to Natasha, specifically the outrageous plans that Tony and Oberyn are putting together for the celebration. Natasha joins him, and they play a drinking game to get to know each other better. She reveals during the course of this that she finds being legitimized a burden, as she's now bound by all the expectations of nobility. Jon has the opposite opinion, seeing that being legitimized means that no one can take away his family, which he realizes he now considers to be Tony, Pepper, and Rhodey, rather than Ned or his siblings. He also mentions how he's a virgin due to not wanting to sire any other bastards, but when Natasha shows signs of sympathy, he shrugs off her perceived pity, and the two silently drink.

Chapter 12

Tywin I

Tywin Lannister has moved his forces to Harrenhal, hating the place for being so worthless in land but admitting that it's the best spot he can hope for. He muses on how Ned Stark is a far better general than most gave him credit for, shifting his forces and not going after the Westerlands but rather solidifying his position. While he can barter for some prisoners, anyone captured under the Lannister name is executed. Having heard of the mess in King's Landing, Tywin blames Cersei's foolishness and (with bitterness) admits that Tyrion is doing better than expected handling things. Tywin muses on the war situation, including how Renly and Margaery's forces haven't made a move yet, and how a god has allegedly declared Jane Seaworth a Queen (though he dismisses Thor's presence as a mere story). Suddenly, riders appear, including what appears to be Jaime. He openly notes that Tywin might consider him a fake but proves himself by talking of his escape and refusing to be dismissed from the Kingsguard. He then introduces the two who helped him: "Petyr" and "Kat," meaning "Jaime" is really Mystique.

Chapter 13

Robb I

In Winterfell, Robb is musing on events, such as how the Starks finally believe Tyrion innocent in the attempt on Bran and, in fact, the only person on the Lannister side worth talking to. He is troubled by how the war will hurt the people of the North with the war taking away everyone who could tend the harvests. He is also torn by the loss of Sansa and worrying over Arya. Maester Luwin urges him to keep the faith, but Robb thinks it has died. He is cheered up by how he and Roslin are getting along well, and he realizes a marriage to her won't be bad at all. They talk as Robb confesses he worries about the pressures of all this on his father and how Bran is so withdrawn. Roslin mentions Jojen Reed, who is staying with them, a seer who makes odd statements on how Roslin could have married Edmure. He also mentioned the Court of the Others, a group of powers that included the Night's King, who wielded a gauntlet of great power; The Night's Queen; a Commander who had a skull visage; and one known simply as "The Traitor". Robb is told Rickon is in the crypts and he goes to see him. Rickon is babbling about how Ned should be in the crypt, not the South, that Arya is "kept safe by the Blue Lady" and that the Court has returned. Before Robb can respond, glowing runes suddenly appear on a wall, while strange voices sing. Then a portal forms that sucks Rickon in as Robb is left stunned.

Chapter 14

Sandor I

Sandor has been assigned as Sansa's personal bodyguard and is confused at her actions of regularly having private meetings with handmaids who leave with blank, pale expressions and continuing to put up with Joffrey when she could clearly be done with him any time she chooses. He recalls an incident where Joffrey had Ser Boros Blount beat Sansa in the throne room due to her father declaring himself King in the North, which nearly caused Sandor to kill him before Tyrion interrupted and put a stop to it with the aid of Bronn and Clynt, the latter thoroughly defeating Bount. After it was over, Tyrion also told the girl he only did it in memory of the real Sansa. Back in the present, Sansa answers his question: everyone she's allowing to live is because they have their uses, and she'll kill them the moment that ceases to be the case. For now, the first marked for death is Tyrion, who is closer than he knows to discovering the whole truth about her. She also reveals how she gets her information: killing birds to turn them into wights which then report back to her.

Chapter 15

Theon II

Theon has come to the conclusion that the reason he so dislikes Renly is that Renly reminds him of himself, and for the first time Theon realizes what a complete ass he comes off as. Renly still comes off as sorely lacking, particularly in comparison to Lord Bracken, whom Theon increasingly respects and wants to emulate for when the time to become the Lord of the Iron Isles comes. Stannis and his party come to the camp for their parley, and Theon briefly notes Queen Jane, when he becomes terrified as Thor arrives, recognizing him as the "Storm God" shown in drawings on Pyke. Thor approaches him and talks with him, having realized he is one of Ægir's men - the one the Ironborn know as the Drowned God. Laughing, Thor invites a stunned Theon to a feast.

Jane III

Jane Seaworth, now known as Queen Jane the Stormtamer, feels very much out of place in the meeting, only going along to please Thor. She considers how much the world has changed, what with the Iron Man, Sansa's resurrection, and the return of magic, and fears what may happen should Thor find Loki soon and return home. Stannis and Renly share taunts over who is the rightful king, while Jane mutters about their stupidity when Thor butts in and points out Renly is a "pampered pup", which allows Stannis to call Renly out for his behavior. Renly tries to mock Stannis with a peach, but Thor grabs it and hands Renly his hammer, making the youngest Baratheon collapse from its weight. Unwilling to believe Thor is a God, Renly insults Jane, which makes Thor furious. Ser Davos calls for Thor before he can do anything lethal, and the Asgardian simply uses his hammer to call down the lightning and burn the words "I AM THOR GOD OF THUNDER" on the hillside. Stannis and his people leave, and within hours all the Storm Lords declare themselves for Stannis.

Chapter 16

Catelyn II

Cat and Edmure are talking of their dying father and how he'd hate to go out in such a way. Edmure carefully tells of hearing of Jon's wedding and is surprised that Cat takes it so well. She admits she was wrong to judge Jon in such a way and that she has learned life is short. Thus, she wants Jon to enjoy what happiness he has for as long as it lasts.

Tony II

At Casterly Rock, Tony watches the wedding of Jon and Natasha, unable not to make a few jibes as Pepper hushes him. Pepper notes how Tony is spending less time as Iron Man and he admits he's worried he's only made things worse with the war and Sansa's death. Pepper insists Tony is doing a fine job but he believes that perhaps the time has come to be more of a Lord than a hero and "maybe Westeros didn't need an Avenger."

Chapter 17

Tyrion III

Tyrion is getting increasingly fed-up with the Night's Queen, which he has gone back to believe to be just a whore, although he has been having dreams about her true nature. During a Small Council meeting - in which Not-Sansa is present - discussion turns to the events in Storm's End, and how the Stormlands lords changed their allegiance to Stannis. Tyrion points out that the situation would be far better if Sansa had not been killed, and after Pycelle mentions the raven he sent to the Starks, Tyrion angrily tells Not-Sansa to leave. With Jaime being taken to Winterfell, Baelish proposes to send someone to speak with the Starks, but before a decision can be made, Ser Arys Oakheart announces the arrival of Ser Cleos Frey with Eddard Stark's peace terms. After sharing news of how the Riverlanders are practicing a scorched earth policy to deny the Lannisters any supplies, and Tyrion explaining to his nephew the realities of the war (basically, that the Starks are in a strong position that Tywin Lannister will have it hard to assault), Cleos states the terms:

• The Lannisters are to return the bones of Sansa and all the Stark people that were murdered in the Red Keep.
• King's Landing will recognize the independence of the North and the Riverlands, as well as that of any other kingdom that joins the Northern Kingdoms.
• No one from the rest of the Seven Kingdoms will be allowed to enter the Northern Kingdoms without explicit permission from Eddard Stark or his descendants.
• Any Lannister found in the Northern Kingdoms 30 days after peace is made will be killed without trial.
• Joffrey is to abandon the name of Baratheon since he is a bastard.

Joffrey, naturally, gets angry, but Tyrion shouts back at him by pointing out it is Joffrey's fault that they are in this situation, and has Bronn sing "The Rains of Castamere" when Joffrey gets uppity. Cleon then shows the Council Alton Lannister's rotting head, pointing out that Eddard Stark will do the same to any other Lannister he finds, but Tyrion replies that Jaime has escaped to Harrenhal, and that, for all he cares, whoever the Starks have can be killed. Varys, however, believes that the Jaime in Harrenhal is not the real one.

Chapter 18

Tony III

The morning after Jon and Natasha's wedding, Tony meets the newlyweds at breakfast. He reflects on the rumors he's heard about Natasha, and silently promises to end her if she ever hurts Jon, a promise she returns in kind. After finishing breakfast, Tony and Jon walk away to speak in private, with Jon talking about rumors he's heard about the Ironborn attacking along the Kingsroad and wanting to go out and fight them, while Tony is determined to let Rhodey's troops handle it. Jon is upset that Tony is apparently abandoning their roles as heroes, but Tony just says he's young and will get over it.

The festivities continue until it's time for the chariot race, which both Tony and Oberyn are competing in. However, the race gets interrupted as Vanko suddenly appears, using his whips — which Tony realizes are powered by Sunstones — to kill all the other chariot racers and causing Tony and Oberyn to crash. Trapped in his overturned chariot, Tony can only watch as Vanko approaches, declaring his intent to kill him, followed by Tywin and Ned.

Chapter 19

Jon II

Jon is reflecting on how he feels about Tony keeping him from going out as Centurion, and wondering how his birth parents would feel about the situation. When Vanko attacks the race, and his Ironborn attacks the wedding guests, Jon and Pepper run to retrieve his armor, and Jon gets into a fight with an Ironborn, which Natasha intervenes in. With no time to lie, Jon and Pepper bring her along to get the armor, which is not his main Centurion armor but a lighter chainmail variant he and Pepper made without Tony's knowledge. Suited up, Jon flies off to intervene in the fight with Vanko, saving Tony's life. He and Vanko clash, with Oberyn stepping in to stab Vanko in the shoulder with a spear, which weakens him enough for Jon to defeat him. He is then taken into custody by Rhodey.

Chapter 20

Rhodey I

In the aftermath of Vanko's attack, Rhodey and the others (minus Tony) discuss the events, with Jon pointing out that it is strange Vanko used whips since they are not a usual weapon for an Ironborn. Tony comes in, and after more or less kicking Oberyn out, admonishes Jon for bringing the armor, but Jon fires back by telling him Tony would have died if it were not for said armor. Rhodey stops things before they get out of hand, and once he is alone with Tony he tells him that the fact that he does not respect weapons makes him not the best person to consider what the Iron Man armor can actually be. Just then, an old man in Lannister livery comes, with news from Casterly Rock: Vanko will not speak with anyone but Tony.

Tony IV

Tony arrives at Vanko's cell, and the Ironborn states that he knew of the sunstones before Tony discovered them. He also reveals his intention to kill all the Lannisters and the Starks because of the events of the Greyjoy Rebellion. After Tony tells him he is going to be sent to Dorne, Vanko enigmatically says that Casterly Rock is just the beginning.

Chapter 21

Daenerys II

Dany admits she's feeling overwhelmed to discover the huge size of Doom's caravan. She also feels amazed by how well Doom can rule. She remembers them coming across a village that appeared burned out and feeling Doom was cold for refusing to help, but later, he revealed that the village was a huge trap. Doom warns Dany her warm heart will hurt her but Dany feels she can depend on Logan. Jorah also warns her that Doom holds no allegiance but to himself and Dany should be wary. The two talk, with Doom telling Dany of how Qarth acts likes it's a great city but is actually limited by the ceremonious status quo used to keep those who are in power in control. He tells her the Thirteen will be a challenge but the true threat are the warlocks. After a talk on power, Doom says he is supporting Dany for a simple reason: Because she is the power that will shake Qarth and finally make it the Greatest City That Is.

Chapter 22

Arya II

Stuck in Harrenhal until Mystique says otherwise, Arya spends her time working as Tywin's cupbearer and considering ways to kill the man and his generals, to no avail. Plans are discussed to find a way to drive a breach between some of the Northern and Riverlander lords and the rest, but Tywin knows that they are unlikely to happen at best since they hold great loyalty for Eddard Stark and won't disturb the alliance. Ulysses Klaue, a blacksmith from Essos who has replaced Antony's men, makes mention of some of the world's strangest metals and requests some of Iron Pointe's iron, so he can study it and potentially use that to make better armor for the Lannister army. Tywin asks Arya about Eddard Stark, and she mentions he is being called "The Punisher".

After the meeting, Mystique stays alone with Arya and warns her against attracting too much of Tywin's attention, because if he likes her too much he may consider marrying her to some Lannister knight for his future plans for the North. She also reveals her past: she is a Targaryen, the daughter of Duncan the Small and Jenny of Oldstones, born the day of the Tragedy at Summerhall, whose magics turned her into her "demon" form and gave her the potential to change her physical aspect. It was not until years later that she met Magneto and joined his Brotherhood.

Chapter 23

Pepper II

After a rather strained talk with Iron Pointe's cook, Pepper goes into Tony's workshop to find her husband studying Vanko's whips. Tony explains to her how, during his studies with the sunstones and their interaction with metals, he discovered what many of them did, but Vanko found that copper (which Tony never tried) can create lightning, building his whips so they would conduct it without frying himself. When Pepper asks about the wisdom of letting Oberyn take Vanko with him as a prisoner, Tony mentions that Tywin has no trouble with it, seeing that it helps calm (slightly) the Martells' hatred for the Lannisters and it also gives Tywin political capital with the smallfolk that he has been losing since the war began. Phyllyp interrupts them with news that a group of Ironborn reavers unsuccessfully tried to release Vanko, but in their escape burned down several buildings, one of which was the one Oberyn had kept Vanko in - with the latter's corpse being later found in its burned ruins.

Chapter 24

Ned III

Ned and Catelyn discuss the reasons that Robert ended up such a disappointing king, concluding that being raised to one day rule Storm's End caused him to take having power for granted, unlike Ned who painfully admits that his brother Brandon would have likely made a bad Warden of the North for the same reason. Ned also shows her the various letters he's gotten about the events across Westeros, having determined that the rulers of the North will be equal partners with their spouses. After going over Thor causing Renly's men to go over to Stannis and Roose Bolton and Gretin expecting a child, Ned moves on to letters from "Nikolos Fury" (not the one who's really Gerion), who is posing as a Master of Whispers hired by Anthony and keeping him informed about the inner workings of the Red Keep. They are confused at the Lannisters claiming Jaime has escaped but order the guard around him increased, and furious at learning they are actually parading around a grown woman they claim is Sansa, and finally, Ned tearfully admits there is still no word at all about Arya.

Chapter 25

Varys I

Varys is reflecting on how different people react to different situations, as he and the rest of the royal party watch Myrcella be rowed off to be shipped to Dorne. He and Tyrion briefly discuss Cersei's inconsistent attitudes towards her children, before they all head back to the Red Keep. On the way, someone throws a cow pie at Joffrey, enraging him into ordering his guards kill everyone in the crowd, causing a riot. In the chaos, the royal party takes refuge in one of Littlefinger's brothels, with Tyrion making it clear to Joffrey that the whole thing is his fault and he'll be lucky if Tywin lets him stay on as king. Joffrey then notices that "Sansa" is missing, and Sandor goes to find her. Varys slips away through a secret tunnel to take stock of the riot, and comes across a warehouse where a group of men is threatening to rape "Sansa". As a hidden Varys watches, "Sansa" drops her helpless girl facade and brutally kills all the rapists. Sandor then arrives, and Varys is further surprised by the fact that the Hound isn't disturbed by "Sansa's" actions. As the pair walk off, he's left wondering what he's supposed to do now.

Chapter 26

Theon III

After having time to calm down after Thor demonstrated his power, Theon and Lord Bracken decide to go home and report what they had learned to Ned Stark. They decide to say goodbye to Renly, but find his tent empty. Brienne meets them and agrees to lead them to Renly's ship, King Robert's Lament. Onboard, they are shocked that it seems to be empty. They look around and eavesdrop on a conversation Renly is having with Asha and Vanko. Renly berates them for failing to kill Tony Stark, and for forcing him to waste money to fake Vanko's death so he could escape custody. Theon, Bracken, and Brienne are shocked when Renly reveals he has designs on making Ned Stark serve him by murdering Tony and Robb and furiously rants that he is tired of not being taken seriously so he will seize power for himself by allying with the Ironborn. Theon recognizes Vanko as the son of his father's bannerman Anton, who had been killed in battle, but does not recognize his sister Asha.

Suddenly, Asha spots them and kills Bracken with a thrown dagger. Vanko surrounds them with his Ironborn warriors, but he and Asha recognize Theon and try to recruit him. He refuses and says he will remain loyal to House Stark, the ones who raised him, and proudly calls himself Theon of Winterfell. Renly orders Brienne to kill Theon, but she refuses, saying she may have made an oath to serve him, but his treachery proves him unworthy of her. Brienne and Theon fight off the Ironborn before escaping with Bracken's body when Brienne grabs them and leaps all the way back to shore. They run into Mace Tyrell and warn him of Renly's treachery. Mace's forces begin fighting off the attacking Ironborn. Theon says they must warn Ned Stark of what is happening, so Brienne picks him up and leaps into the sky.

Chapter 27

Robb II

Robb is still worried over the fate of Rickon and how he's yet to tell their parents as they already have so much to worry about. Luwin shows off a message they have received which completely baffles Robb and Roslin. Robb heads to the dungeons to see Jaime. They trade insults before Robb shows Jaimie the note given to him from Ned courtesy of Tywin. Jaime is utterly stunned to read that his father (thinking "Jaime" escaped) is telling the Starks to just go ahead and kill their "prisoner" and not even bother to send back the body. His shock tells Robb he knew nothing of whatever game the Lannisters are playing as he tells Roslin and Luwin. Hearing noises, they find Bran, Hodor, Osha, and the Reeds inside a secret tunnel. Jojen shares he had a vision that the tunnel would one day be needed and warns Robb that "the days of knights and soldiers is over...the age of Avengers is fast approaching."

Chapter 28

Jon III

Jon fights and kills a man that tried to rape a young girl, and gives the girl money so she can escape to the North. As he returns back to Iron Pointe, he thinks about how Tony has lost his drive to continue fighting for the common people after seeing the dark side of humanity, while he keeps fighting to stop it, and hopefully give more people the drive to follow his steps. When he returns to the shack he has taken as his hideaway, he is surprised by Natasha, who sets upon seducing him, in part to help give him an alibi for his daily disappearances.

As they return to Iron Pointe, Natasha asks if he is bothered by the fact he is heir to Iron Pointe and the Centurion because of Tony, mentioning that so many people in Westeros either live off the glory of their ancestors or constantly compare themselves to them, but Jon says that he does not care, because the important thing for him is whether he is doing something good with what he has, as he fully claims the mission for himself.

Chapter 29

Sandor II

Sandor watches as Sansa finishes a talk with an old woman and muses on how she is the only thing in this world he doesn't hate. Sansa shares how she's enjoying Littlefinger "teaching" her things and how she's playing everyone for fools. She surprises Sandor by revealing how Tyrion is planning to use Wildfire against Stannis's forces to drive them back and even she is scared of it. A servant enters bearing a stuffed and mounted Lady. Sansa is furious which confuses Sandor as she had been the one to ask this be done in a letter a few days after her return. Sansa is confused at her own failed memory but brushes it off and tells Sandor to take it away. He does...even as a soft voice whispers "help me" behind him.

Chapter 30

Daenerys III

In Qarth, Daenerys is awaiting a meeting with the Thirteen, with it being noted that she's refused any of the gifts that were offered to her. She makes it clear to Jorah that she knows that the various factions of the city will attempt to "bind" her and then use her and the dragons, and is determined to not let that happen. A messenger of the Pureborn comes up to her with a message, but Dany has fun by talking of the "rituals" he must undergo for a proper meeting. She notes how she now must keep an eye out for new players as well as the Thirteen and Doom.

Bran I

In Winterfell, Bran awakens from a dream of flying. He confesses how he feels left out of all the action to Roslin, who assures him he's fine. Luwin comes with a message from the Wall, as Lord Commander Mormont is demanding help as he was just attacked by a Wight. Roslin notes how a year before she would have ignored the story but in a world "where knights fly and the Seven walk among us," the threat of the White Walkers can also be real. Bran once more complains over what good he can do. Jojen, who also warns of the growing power of the Court of the Others, replies that "you can make visions reality."

Chapter 31

Tony V

Jon finds Tony in his room, and the two are soon in a serious argument about Tony giving up being Iron Man. Jon makes it clear he won't stop as they have a mission. Tony laughs that there was never a mission as he never planned any of this. In response, Jon shows Tony, Pepper, Natasha, and Rhodey how he's found the secret workshop that Tony has used to create other suits of armor. They continue to argue, with Tony defending himself that he's doing more to protect people as a lord than Iron Man, while Jon won't stop. When Tony insults Jon on his Targaryen lineage (accidentally revealing it to the others in the process), Jon attacks him and they brawl around the armory. They're stopped by Rhodey, who has donned another suit of armor. Jon and Natasha leave as Rhodey follows and Pepper makes it clear she is severely disappointed in her husband. Tony is left alone to cry.

Chapter 32

Theon IV

After the Silent Sisters clean up Jonos Bracken's body for burial, Brienne and Theon set up camp to decide what to do: their travel north to warn the Starks of the danger posed by the Ironborn is being held up by the problems associated with Brienne's jumping (namely, that Theon isn't as tough as she is). Theon starts a discussion on the different religions in Westeros and how some of them have dumb precepts while stating his faith in the Drowned God is completely shattered; Brienne says she also lost her faith in the Seven because a Septon claimed her ills were the will of the Seven, and her father followed the Septon's precepts. It wasn't until her cousin Bruce braved Essos and even Valyria that he returned with a cure - and proved himself to be capable of transforming into a large green creature. Brienne drank the cure and her life changed.

That night, while Theon is keeping watch, a group of bandits led by Tylos Rivers, the bastard son of Lord Tytos Blackwood, arrives. Tylos recognizes Hate Eternal and decides to attack Theon so he can take the sword and Bracken's bones to his father, but before a fight starts a beautiful woman appears, catching the bandits' attention. Tylos clearly intends to rape her, but the woman is actually Brienne, and she transforms to her She-Hulk state, killing the bandits in her rage. Theon manages to calm her down, and Brienne falls asleep on his lap.

Chapter 33

Arya III

While Arya is quite fed up with having to stay at Harrenhal while waiting for Magneto to send word, she internally agrees that things are quite good for her nonetheless, even if she has to deal with the Lannisters every day. During a meeting of the Lannister war council, Tywin receives a message, telling him that one of his plans went awry because Amory Lorch accidentally sent the details of a plan to a house sworn to the Starks - a plan that could have seen "Jaime" captured or killed. Tywin sends his council away, save for Kevan and "Jaime" - and Arya, who, after a while, he sends away.

Arya uses her free time to explore Harrenhal, noting that all the frightening tales she had been told about the castle are less frightening in reality, when she meets Maester Maxell, who tells Arya about Littlefinger's true nature, how Tywin wants to find her a husband and then reveals he knows who Arya truly is, as well as Gendry, but won't tell Tywin because he considers Arya the true Lady of Harrenhal as the only person of Tully blood in the castle. When he asks why she is in Harrenhal, Arya tells him she is waiting for someone but does not reveal Mystique's identity. In the midst of her explanation, she realizes that being made to serve Tywin while waiting for Magneto is a test.

Suddenly, Tywin begins to prepare to leave the castle: the news of Renly's alliance to the Ironborn has reached him, and while Renly has been left bereft of troops, the Tyrells now are without someone to follow, and Tywin intends to take advantage of this to forge an alliance to them, while "Jaime" remains behind at Harrenhal to command the forces there.

Chapter 34

Jane IV

Jane and Shireen observe as Stannis' fleet begins to prepare for the attack on King's Landing, with Shireen teasing Jane, before Thor arrives for Shireen's fighting lesson. While Shireen changes clothes, Thor and Jane speak of Stannis' plan of battle, and how Thor's not joining the battle because Stannis needs to win the throne on his own terms if he is to be respected. The conversation turns to Loki, and Thor explains that he and Loki had a fight after he decided to renounce the throne and Loki revealed he had tried to undermine Thor for the past years, only for the two siblings to make peace and strengthen their ties. Jane tells him that, even if Stannis may have forgotten his promise to help Thor find Loki, she has not - and proceeds to kiss him, only to be interrupted by Shireen.

While Thor and Shireen are away, Jane goes about her tasks as Shireen's handmaiden, only for her walk to put her near where Stannis is arguing with Melisandre: Melisandre tries to drive a wedge between Stannis and Thor, but Stannis knows well that Thor's decision is smart, citing how Robert was seen as an usurper not just because of his bloodline but because most of his victories only happened thanks to other people. He also tells Melisandre that he will not break his vows to his wife for the chance of possibly getting rid of the other four crowns, particularly Jane. Melisandre relents and offers him magical armor, which Stannis considers while Jane leaves her snooping.

Chapter 35

Tony VI

Tony is cleaning up his workshop in the aftermath of his fight against Jon when Rhodey comes, telling Tony off for isolating himself from his family since the fight and demanding answers for his behavior. After dithering for a while, Tony explains that he blames himself for the escalation in the current war and all the recent troubles, and he wanted Jon to stop being Centurion because he fears something will happen to him should he continue.

Rhodey, however, is not willing to let him wallow in his misery and points out that the War of the Five Crowns would have happened no matter what Tony did, that both Clegane's and Vanko's attacks are most certainly not his blame because he was a target of opportunity and that he should have handled Jon more carefully and through means different than trying to force him to stop doing something he loves. Realizing he has been an idiot, Tony sets out to find Jon.

Chapter 36

Arya IV

Mystique is putting Arya and Gendry through some training, reminding them how Robert had been a truly great warrior before age kicked in. Arya muses how Mystique's impersonation of Jaime means they get more information about the war. This includes how Littlefinger is suggesting a marriage pact to the Tyrells, Balon Greyjoy was not happy to hear of someone working on his behalf with Renly and has ordered every ship to return to Pyke, and Ned is holding onto his territories.

A wounded soldier bursts in before dying to reveal that Hoat (bribed by Renly) has turned on the Lannisters and is leading a revolt inside the castle. The trio is about to be executed when Maester Maxell arrives. Hoat's men fire... and Maxell stops the arrows in mid-air. Arya realizes "Maxell'' is actually Erik Blackfyre or Magneto and Mystique was testing her this whole time.

Magneto uses his powers to kill the Brave Companions and then creates a mysterious green fire. It covers Arya and Gendry, knocking them both out. Awakening, Gendry finds he not only looks older but can turn to solid steel. Arya also finds she looks like a teenager herself. At first, she's annoyed she's still human... until she realizes her hand is passing through stone. As a small purple dragon flies to join them, Magneto formally welcomes the Colossus and Shadow Cat into the Brotherhood of the Blackfyres.

Chapter 37

Daenerys IV

Daenerys and Doom head towards a meeting of the Thirteen, with Daenerys reflecting on how self-absorbed the Qartheen are with their status symbols. When they reach the meeting, the Thirteen accuse Daenerys of not doing what they summoned her for, as she has not married any of them. Doom counters by saying he brought her to Qarth in order to revive the city, not to play their games. The Warlock Pyat Pree agrees with this assessment, then reveals he's kidnapped Daenerys' dragons, before using his magic to kill the rest of the Thirteen, except Doom, who is protected by his armor. Doom and Daenerys then plan to storm the House of the Undying.

Jane V

While attending to Shireen, Jane reflects on Stannis' plans to seize King's Landing before Tywin's army can arrive. When Shireen mentions a strange armor she saw Melisandre's followers preparing, Jane realizes it's the one Melisandre promised Stannis and goes to warn Thor. However, she is intercepted by Melisandre, who reveals herself to be Amora the Enchantress; claiming Thor as hers, she has Jane seized and imprisoned, promising to do the same to Shireen as well.

Chapter 38

Jon IV

In his self-exile after his argument with Tony, Jon reflects on how he has realized that his life at Winterfell was a lot better than that of most everyone, and on his wife Natasha. His reflections are interrupted by Natasha, who brings him to have some food — which is being cooked by the blonde Nikolos Fury. After Fury tells Jon he knows about his Targaryen ancestry, he reveals that Jon's mother was part of the Council and that the group had a plan: after Lyanna gave birth, they would have shipped them to Essos, where eventually Jon would become the Orys to his half-brother Aegon, who had already been smuggled to safety, only for Ned to arrive faster than expected, Mace Tyrell to surrender sooner than expected — and Aegon to die at age two. Natasha joined them at age nine, acting as a messenger between the Council and Doran Martell, in exchange for the tutelage her father Oberyn got for her, and accepted marrying Jon because she saw him as her chance to redeem herself for all that she had done in the past.

Jon is naturally angry at the reveal and tells Fury to piss off before leaving to put on his Centurion armor, but Natasha stops him. She tells him that the threat Fury is speaking about, the Others, is real and far worse than what anyone might believe, but Jon, after all the things that have been hidden from him, is not inclined to accept the situation. Natasha swears to earn his trust again, but Fury interrupts them, bringing in an Ironborn raider who has ill news: Vanko is not only still alive, but he is also leading a raid against Iron Pointe. Jon finishes putting on his armor and flies off with Natasha, ready to fight to protect their home.

Chapter 39

Robb III

Robb is depressed over Rickon's disappearance and can barely sleep. He is then informed that the Ironborn have stormed through Winter Town and are attacking Winterfell. After promising Roslin he'll come back, he and Grey Wind march to the gate and meet Ser Rodrick. After reminiscing about a time Ned had given him and Jon a training exercise that simulated an attack on the gate, Robb and Rodrick are shocked to see the Ironborn are armed with energy swords and axes. Asha Greyjoy reveals herself as the leader and says she seeks revenge for Ned Stark's part in destroying House Vanko. Realizing their weapons cannot stand up to the Ironborns' weapons, Rodrick urges Robb to run, saying he has to live. Robb doesn't see it as honorable, but he reluctantly flees with Grey Wind when the Ironborn breaches the gate.

Bran II

Bran has a dream of flying and sees a vision of Jon and Daenerys leading Winterfell against the Night King's army. He wakes up to find Jojen, Meera, Osha, Hodor, and Summer at his bed. Jojen tells him that vision is of an alternate timeline that won't come to pass because of all the changes that have happened. Right now, the Ironborn are attacking and they need to escape. They move through Winterfell with minimal provisions, avoiding the Ironborn ransacking the place. They pass by Jaime's cell and tell him what is going on. Bran and Jojen decide to free him, Jojen saying Jaime is in their future and they'll need him. They plan to go north of The Wall to fight against the Others. Naturally, Jaime thinks they are crazy until Jojen reveals he knows that Jaime became the Kingslayer to save everyone in King's Landing. He promises Jaime that if he helps them, he will eventually be known as a true hero. Jaime agrees, they escape Winterfell and march north.

Chapter 40

Daenerys V

Daenerys, Doom, Jorah, and Logan march to the House of the Undying in order to rescue Daenerys' dragons and to allow Doom to take his revenge on the warlocks for their attack on his home. Logan attempts to make an opening with his claws, but even those don't get far before Pyat Pree opens a door and welcomes them in, saying that they can come in, but warns them that, on their path, they will see their deepest fears and desires and their potential futures. First, they see that Jorah's fear is to end up a broken, honorless man, while he wishes to return to Bear Island and be forgiven for his mistakes, and a potential future where Jorah travels with a disfigured mercenary called Wade who speaks with Daenerys and makes mentions of a being called "Chaos". Then, Logan's fear, which turns out to be becoming a wild beast, and his desire or potential future — a little girl that calls Logan "father" and has claws like his. Doom waves off his fears (the forge where he suffered the injuries that disfigured him) and desires (to recover from his injuries) but is surprised by the appearance of an old man wearing red and black, accompanied by several strange people. Finally, Daenerys' fear turns out to be being defined as in relation to someone else instead of by herself, her wish to return to the house with the red door and the lemon tree where she lived in Braavos — and her future to be nearly killed by an enormous man with a golden gauntlet before he is attacked by a group of people.

When the spell runs its course, Daenerys finds herself chained to a wall, with her companions chained and gagged and her dragons chained to a pedestal with leather straps keeping their mouths closed. Pyat Pree comes to tell her that her presence and that of the dragons are making the warlocks stronger in their magic, so they intend to keep them chained until she accepts to remain with them voluntarily. However, Daenerys then reveals her ace in the hole and uses the fire stored in her stomach to kill Pyat Pree, free herself and her companions and destroy the entire tower in a firestorm.

Chapter 41

Jane VI

Jane awakens in a hut somewhere on Dragonstone, where the three men that have kidnapped her plan to rape her after telling her that Amora plans to have her father and siblings killed. Jane struggles to free herself, but the three men manage to keep her in place. Before they can do the deed, though, Thor arrives and brutally destroys the three would-be rapists. Thor then gives some clothes to Jane and asks her what happened, with Jane revealing Amora. Thor explains that Amora was his mother Freyja's student, but convinced herself that she was destined to be Thor's future wife; her actions to ensure this led to her jumping off the Bifrost to avert Odin's wrath.

Then, Jane reveals the armor Amora has made for Stannis, and Thor recognizes it as the Destroyer; any man wearing it can become capable of destroying entire armies, but the would-be user must destroy that which they most hold dear - and both realize this means Shireen is in danger. Thor and Jane fly back to the castle, with Thor ordering Cressen to ensure all of Amora's followers are arrested, but when they arrive at Shireen's rooms they only find a dying Selyse, who reveals that Amora tried to have her sacrifice Shireen, only for her to turn on Selyse when she would not do it, stabbing her before taking Shireen away to be sacrificed at the Blackwater. Selyse dies, and Thor takes flight, with Jane in his arms, in order to save Shireen before it is too late.

Chapter 42

Tyrion IV

All over the Red Keep, the Lannister forces prepare for the Battle of the Blackwater as Stannis nears the city. Sansa has been ordered to safety with the other women, and to Tyrion's surprise, she easily agreed as long as Sandor came with her. Bronn is entertaining the Goldcloaks with songs accompanied by Clynt on a lute, and after one about "no rest for the wicked" Tyrion discusses their plan to set off the Wildfire planted in the bay.

Pepper III

With Tony having exiled himself to his workshop for a whole month, Pepper has effectively been acting as the Warden of the West, and quite surprised at how easy it is to simply forge his signature on everything that needs to be done. Tony finally emerges with a peace offering of tarts, and after a while of gladly tearing into them, plus discussing how all the Starks seem to let their guilt drive them to very stupid actions, Jon and Natasha suddenly fly in through the window with the news of Vanko's fleet. Just afterward, Rhodey, Happy, Jarvis, and Phylup all pile in with the same news, thus learning that Jon is the Centurion. As well, Jon bitterly reveals that Natasha is a spy, prompting Phylup to also reveal he's been keeping an eye on them for the Council. Tony is completely reinvigorated by the news and quickly introduces everyone to the various Iron Man armors he's been working on, including his newest Mark IV which he starts putting on. Rhodey gets into the same armor as before, which he'd hidden right under Tony's nose in the workshop, and Jon gets some new and more powerful boots for his suit. Jon and Natasha have a kiss and promise to both survive so they can properly hash everything out, and as everyone departs for their assignments, Pepper is left alone once again to wonder if any of them will be coming back.

Chapter 43

Jane VII

Jane and Thor arrive to find Stannis in the Destroyer Armor and ready to burn Shireen alive as the Battle of Blackwater rages in the bay. Amora is happy to see Thor, who drives her back with lightning. Thor tries to reason with Stannis that Amora is merely using him. He and Jane's words are able to convince Stannis, who tells Amora to leave as he goes to help his daughter. But Amora uses her magic to bind him to her side and he attempts to burn Shireen. Thor summons rain to douse the flames but that gives the Destroyer armor the chance to take over Stannis. Thor does battle with Stannis while Jane attacks Amora. Just as Thor gains the upper hand, the wildfire in Blackwater Bay is ignited which destroys the fleets within. The shockwave knocks everyone back as Jane feels somehow affected by it. As Amora attacks Thor, Jane finds herself able to hurl a dagger that glows with bright magic to hurt Amora.

Amora attacks but Shireen uses a branding iron to burn half her face. Davos suddenly appears, oddly not surprised at the magic Amora is using. Amora hurls a fireball but Davos stops it in place and sends it flying back to free a chained-up Thor. Then, to the shock of everyone, Davos transforms into a younger man Thor recognizes as Jane (who suddenly is able to remember the stories Davos told her of faraway places and names like Sif, Baldur, and others) realizes her father is...Loki.

Chapter 44

Tyrion V

Tyrion is doing his best to handle the chaos of the Battle of Blackwater. He curses Cersei's stupidity for assuming money meant they would have better fighters rather than ones who will run when the battle turns against them. He had set up the wildfire to destroy Stannis' fleet, only for it to be set off too early, unleashing a wave of energy and turning the battle into a mess after it washed over the walls of King's Landing. He meets with Commander Stacy just before the man is killed by one of the newer guards Cersei had insisted on. Tyrion slices off the man's hand with an ax but it seems to have little effect, with the man glaring at him with glowing blue eyes. Nothing Tyrion does stops the man until Pod arrives to aid his mentor. Tyrion lands in a pile of wildfire, which burns him until a soldier is able to use sand to douse the wounds. As Lannister and Tyrell forces arrive to turn the tide of battle, a horribly wounded Tyrion hears his father demanding he be seen to at once before he finally blacks out.

Chapter 45

Robb IV

Robb is being hunted by Asha in the crypts of Winterfell. He manages to hold his own for a time but her powerful swords soon overpower him. But before she can strike him down, a strange song cuts through the air as the runes begin to glow about them. Suddenly, a portal opens, and what appears to be an orange horseless carriage bursts out of it, driven by a man in an odd mask. He drags Robb into the carriage, which bursts into the courtyard, startling the Ironborn men. The masked man identifies himself as Star-Lord (the enemies musing he means "Stark Lord") and goes on the attack with the aid of other figures: A huge green muscled man named Drax; a green-skinned warrior named Gamora; and a talking raccoon calling himself Rocket. In the battle, Rocket fires a small twig into the godswood Heart Tree, causing it to become alive as a creature that will only say "I am Groot". After dispatching the Ironborn (with Asha escaping in the confusion), Robb grabs "Star Lord" and demands to know where he came from and if he has anything to do with Rickon's vanishing into the portal. To Robb's shock, Shaggydog sniffs Star-Lord's hand then licks it as Star Lord removes his mask to reveal himself to be a much older Rickon.

Chapter 46

Jon V

As Centurion, Jon fights alongside the people of Iron Pointe against the Ironborn attack. During the fight, his faceplate is knocked off, exposing his identity. He panics, convinced that soon the whole kingdom will know and he'll be hunted by Lannister men, only for the townsfolk to reveal they've known his and Tony's identities the whole time and have kept it secret out of loyalty. They all then go back into the fray.

Rhodey II

Rhodey fights the Ironborn's fleet, mentally complaining about how much difficulty he's having getting used to fighting in the War Machine armor. And just as he's starting to adapt, a lucky hit from chain shot knocks him out of the sky, Tony managing to catch him before he makes an uncontrolled crash but leaving them both to fall into a ship's interior. They fight off the Ironborn who attack them, only for Vanko to arrive in his own sunstone-powered armor and engage them.

Chapter 47

Jane VIII

Jane watches as her father - Loki - duels Amora, easily overwhelming her while laying out how inferior she is to him and calling her out for being so lazy, pretty much ending the fight when he uses one of her spells to cut off one of her hands. The fight all but finished, Loki turns to Thor, Jane, and Shireen, who want an explanation. Loki mentions how, in his past Midgardian lives, he would always play the trickster councilor, being behind some of the most notorious figures in Midgard's history like Lann the Clever, Theon Stark, and Criston Cole. But when he became Davos he met Marya and fell in love, and then realized he did not want to leave, particularly after helping Stannis and realizing that, for once, he wanted to go straight. He then uses poison of Skaði's favorite serpent to ruin Amora's face before executing her.

Jane asks Loki why he remained in Westeros when Thor came seeking for him, only for Loki to tell her that he could not leave her or the rest of the family behind, since Jane and her brothers are Asgardians by birth and Marya is bound to become the Queen of Asgard. After a brief reluctance, Jane reaffirms her love for her father, no matter whether he is Davos Seaworth or Loki Odinson.

Things turn to the bad side when Stannis awakens from the beating Thor was forced to give him. Now mortally injured, he tells Shireen she is the thing that has made him the most proud, charges Thor with the destruction of the Destroyer Armor, asks Jane to become Shireen's mother, and requests Loki to do everything in his power to ensure Shireen is crowned Queen of Westeros. As he prepares for his death, though, the Valkyrie Brunnhilde comes, in order to take Stannis to Valhalla. Shireen tries to follow, but Brunnhilde gently tells her that only the Valkyrie and the dead can go to Valhalla, so Shireen decides she will become a Valkyrie as well. Loki goes to find his children and his wife, and Thor calls Heimdall to open the Bifrost, taking Jane and Shireen with him to Asgard.

Chapter 48

Tony VII

Tony and Vanko do battle with Tony barely able to handle his own against Vanko's armor. They continue to clash, with Tony burying Vanko under debris. He makes his way into the town where Natasha (in a tight black outfit that Tony is briefly distracted by) is helping take down some of Vanko's men. Vanko breaks out from the debris to attack Tony, Jon, and Rhodey. Tony realizes that Vanko handles the armor by using its power to ground his boots. Tony manages to get Vanko onto a ship to rob him of that advantage. Tony is able to keep hammering Vanko until finally disabling his armor. Vanko protests he was fighting for his family but Tony dismisses him for wasting the armor's potential on petty revenge. Vanko ignites a Sunstone to cause a huge explosion, destroying himself and sending Tony into the water. As he sinks, Tony is satisfied that at least Jon will carry on his legacy...at which point, he's rescued by Pepper, who's donned her own suit of armor to help him out. Recovering with the others, Tony is met by Fury, who matter of factly explains everything from Sansa being possessed by the Night's Queen to the Others coming and that Tony has to prepare for the coming battle.

Chapter 49

Daenerys VI

At a gathering, Daenerys muses on how the people of Qarth love to play with the power brought by perception. She does so as well, using special gloves gifted to her by Doom to create fireballs to intimidate onlookers. She listens to Doom telling the Pureborn leaders how those who once served the Thirteen now serve him, reminding herself to never trust Doom in this alliance. After the prisoners are taken away, Doom admits that he knows his rule of Qarth isn't as solid as he'd like but he will make it a great city. Daenerys remembers how Doom shattered all her illusions by telling her what her family was really like, especially the madness of her father. Doom states his first step in restoring Qarth is to return it to its original name, Latveria, and seeks the lost knowledge of Valyria and other places that he's found in scrolls taken from the slain Warlocks. While she'd rather destroy the knowledge forever, Daenerys decides not to war with Doom just yet. She now knows she can't just show up in Westeros and be accepted as Queen as between her powers, her dragons, and her family history, the populace would turn on her. She ignores Ser Jorah's protests and decides to sail to Astapor and take the Unsullied for her army, a move Doom respects as each makes their plans to change the world.

Chapter 50

Tywin II

Unofficially reinstated as Hand of the King, Tywin sets about handling matters of state. He starts by revealing to Pycelle that Tyrion informed him of all the Grand Maester's actions, including acting on Cersei's behalf instead of Tywin's. He allows Pycelle to stay in his position but warns that he won't tolerate anymore disloyalty. He then speaks to Cersei, making it clear how he blames her for Joffrey's failures as a king and attempts to educate her on the proper way to rule. When a servant informs them that Tyrion has woken up, he leaves her with a recently-arrived message that upsets her and goes to see his son, whose hands are now ruined. Tywin rewards Tyrion for his actions as acting Hand and names him the new lord of Tarbeck Hall, but Tyrion instead asks for permission to travel Essos in search of a way to restore his hands. Tywin agrees to this for a year, and before leaving informs Tyrion of the same message he gave Cersei — Jaime was allegedly killed by Hoat at Harrenhal. Tywin then goes to confront "Sansa", prepared to get rid of her. However, she manages to deceive him into believing that she's the returned spirit of his wife Joanna.

The Prisoner

Sansa's spirit reflects on how she once dreamed of a life like in the stories, but now only wants to go home after having those dreams ruined. Having learned to take back temporary control of her body while the Night's Queen sleeps, she resurrects Lady's body and wargs into it. Using her new form, she manages to slip out of the Red Keep and King's Landing, intending to return home.

Chapter 51

Ned IV

Ned reflects on how dark his obsession with revenge on the Lannisters is making him, remembering how his men were shocked by his brutality in a recent fight. He also admits to Catelyn that he worries about what Tywin might be planning and that he might become like Robert as his councilors start doing more of his work for him. He also attempts to tell her the truth about Jon, only to be interrupted by the arrival of Theon and Brienne. The pair tell Ned and his council everything that happened with Lord Bracken and the Ironborn and share Brienne's own story, which leads to a brief discussion about why her cousin Bruce hasn't returned to Westeros. Ned asks Theon to travel to Winterfell to warn Robb about a potential Ironborn attack, but before he leaves, Bracken's brother Ser Josef Bracken rewards Theon's service by allowing him to take the Bracken name and found a cadet branch in the North. Theon accepts, on condition that Brienne is knighted for her own actions.

Chapter 52

Tony VIII

Tony reflects on how the damage to Iron Pointe from Vanko's attack will be a good opportunity for improving the town's defenses. He and the others then settle into a meeting with Fury, who informs him of the Council's reach, including that Varys is one of them, and what they know about the nature of the Others. In particular, he explains how the Night's Queen is able to exist south of the Wall — the wildling woman who seduced the 13th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch let herself be possessed by the Queen's spirit, and when she was killed that spirit was trapped on the Westeros side of the Wall. Fury also states that it's impossible to save someone from Other possession without killing them, but Tony says that he will find a way to save Sansa. When the two men have a brief argument over this possibility, Jon sides with Tony, making it clear that he doesn't like or trust Fury, and reveals extreme self-loathing born from the Council's interference in his life.

Fury is happy to see Tony is once again taking up the mantle of Iron Man and informs everyone of his plan to gather various heroes to stand against the Others. Among others, he also intends to recruit Daenerys.

Chapter 53

Robb V

As Winterfell rebuilds from the Ironborn attack, Robb mentions to Roslin and Maester Luwin how Old Nan once told him that life tends to balance the good things in life with the bad ones, the latest example being that, after Rickon's return, Bran has gone missing, along with the Reed siblings, Hodor, Osha... and Jaime Lannister. Robb decides he needs to talk with Rickon, whom he finds dancing to music from the realm the Children come from. When he realizes Robb is there, Rickon stops dancing and starts ribbing Robb about their new difference in age and aspect, comparing it to what Jon and Theon did while they were in Winterfell, before asking if they have talked to any of his friends. When Robb mentions what Rocket told him, Rickon realizes he is going to have to tell them everything.

The Children, as it turns out, are sorts of spirits called titans that live in a different dimension, who managed to reach Westeros through a portal — the same one that Rickon fell through. Finding a local race of pygmies, they made a deal with them: when one of them died, a titan would be allowed to revive them in exchange for both the pygmy and the titan sharing the body. When the First Men came and caused the beginning of the war between them, the titans fought back, but then one of the titans found the body of a man the titans thought could have united all of the First Men... and instead of bonding with the body, the titan decided to be the one in control, giving birth to Thanos, the Mad Titan, soon after to be known as the Night's King. Soon, as Thanos discovered he could raise the dead, several other titans followed his example, but the rest of them (who became known as the Children of the Forest) cast them away, cursing them to always be cold like the corpses they stole — creating the Others. The Others went after the pygmies, but the Children managed to ally with the First Men, and the alliance managed to win the war at a great cost; even then, the Others were only forced to sleep. This prompted the Children to start a plan for the return of the Others, grabbing Rocket and Rickon among others over the years to teach them of the dangers to come.

Robb asks Rickon who Drax and Gamora were before they bonded, and Rickon flinches, prompting Robb to realize there is something important about them, so he seeks Gamora, whom he finds in the crypts, looking at Sansa's statue and telling Robb she wanted to see her own, admitting that she was a Stark in life. Robb asks if she is Arya, but she denies it, instead stating that she's Lyanna Stark.

Chapter 54

Jeor

After the failure of the Great Ranging, Jeor Mormont only survived the betrayal of the Night's Watch traitors by pure chance - only to be captured by the Free Folk. When Mance Rayder, King-Beyond-the-Wall, tells him about his plan, Jeor states that, after seeing the Others and the wights, he knows that the survival of the Free Folk is paramount, at least to deny the Others more soldiers, so Mance frees him, to the strong disagreement of several Free Folk. Before they can begin to fight each other, a wight attacks them, forcing them to scatter. Mance, Jeor, and Ygritte run towards the mountains, but they find themselves cornered by a group of Others.

Suddenly, someone else - another Other - attacks the Others, using a shield, while Benjen Stark appears to help Jeor, Mance and Ygritte stop the wights. The friendly Other kills the others, and Benjen introduces Jeor and Mance, before the Other presents himself: he has been called Azor Ahai, the Nomad, the Lord Captain of the Knights of the Dawn, the Traitor of the Others... but when he was alive, he was called Steve Rogers, son of Lann Rogers of Casterly Rock.

A Shield of Man

Chapter 1

Adrian I

Ser Adrian of the Tombs greets the arrival of a messenger from King's Landing, who was sent by Tywin to check on his expedition into the Red Mountains, which was sent by Joffrey to find the bones of the dragon Meraxes. Unimpressed with the messenger's pompous nature, Adrian leads him through a cave network while reflecting on how his family has long served as the caretakers of House Tyrell's tombs, but how every attempt he's made to personally rise in station has been stymied, seemingly intentionally by the Tyrells' own actions.

Reaching the expedition camp, Adrian introduces his teammates — Phineas, Hurmin, and Brice — before revealing what they've uncovered: that Rhaenys Targaryen didn't die when shot down by the Dornish. Instead, she fell in love with a Dornish bandit, and she became the Vulture King to fight alongside him. The messenger is unimpressed and explains that Tywin wants all expeditions recalled to the capital while the throne prepares to continue the war and welcome the Tyrells into the fold. Seeing the Tyrells once again interfering in his life, Adrian shows the messenger his greatest discovery — a wing harness made from Meraxes' bones, which Rhaenys engraved with Valyrian runes to enable flight. The messenger is finally impressed, but Adrian states he won't let anyone take credit for his discovery, and throws the messenger into a crevasse to die while telling his men they'll be taking the harness back with them to King's Landing.

Chapter 2

Daenerys I

As Daenerys and her fleet approach Astapor, she reflects on the slavery it's built on and the hubris that all cities in Essos show. Logan and Jorah remind her that not all slavers are inherently evil, instead just doing what they've been raised to believe and that many innocent people will die when she takes the city. Daenerys acknowledges this, but stays committed and goes to prepare her dragons for her plan.

Arriving in the city, Daenerys' group is met by the Good Master Kraznys and his translator, a woman who goes by the name Domino. Realizing that Kraznys doesn't speak the common tongue and that Domino despises him, Daenerys uses her to get the information necessary for her plan and warns her of what's about to happen. When the group reaches the assembled Unsullied, Daenerys pretends to hand over Drogan to Kraznys in exchange for ownership of the warriors. She then unleashes the Unsullied and her dragons on the slavers, also using her fire powers to help in the slaughter. Afterward, the freed Unsullied pledge their loyalty to her as they march out of the sacked city.

Chapter 3

Arya I

As the Brotherhood travels by ship from Westeros, Arya practices fighting in her new adult body. Mystique, along with Brotherhood members Toad and Sabertooth, all give her advice on how to adjust, but she still grows frustrated at feeling like a stranger in her own body. And when she sees Gendry without a shirt, she feels herself feeling odd, leaving Mystique moaning at having to give her The Talk.

Magneto then arrives on deck to speak with everyone, accompanied by his dragon hatchling Lockheed, whom prefers Arya over him. He then starts to give Arya and Gendry advice on how to behave upon their arrival in Essos, when Toad announces that they've reached their destination — Braavos.

Chapter 4

Jeor I

Jeor's group makes camp for the night, with Ygritte demanding an explanation for why they're traveling with an Other. Benjen tells his story first, of how he was led into an ambush by the Others and barely escaped into a canyon; while there, he recited the Night's Watch oath to maintain his courage, which awoke Steve from his ice-bound slumber. Steve then explains that the oath is an altered version of that of the Knights of the Dawn, which the group realizes evolved into the Night's Watch and changed their vows in order to honor Steve's memory after he fell in battle.

Steve then shares some of his story, telling of how his father Lann overthrew the tyrannical Casterlys, who tormented and enslaved the people of the Westerlands before Steve joined the Knights to fight against the Others. Steve promises to share more of his story on the way to Castle Black, and as the others sleep takes first watch. Jeor joins him, and after gentle prodding learns that his mother was one of the Casterly's victims, which is why his father plotted against them. The two then quietly watch the night together.

Chapter 5

Tony I

On Tywin's orders, Jon is forced to become one of Joffrey's advisors, having to travel to King's Landing, which Jon regards as a good opportunity to help free Sansa from the Night's Queen and perhaps get rid of Joffrey, even though everyone knows Jon will likely become a hostage of Tywin against Ned.

However, now Tywin sends Tony another letter, ordering him to go to Braavos in order to deal with the Iron Bank and help hash out a deal concerning the Crown's debt: due to the current war situation, the Iron Bank is quite restless regarding the future repayments of the Crown's loans, and should the Iron Bank not get its due things would not be pretty for them - particularly since they are also in talks with the Starks. The current political situation in Essos is also affecting them, such as the recent fall of Qarth - now renamed Latveria - Daenerys Targaryen's actions and the appearance of a man called The Mandarin who is behind the disappearance of many religious people in Braavos.

Pepper doesn't want Tony to go to Braavos, but Tony knows that he has no other choice, so Pepper decides to go with him and Rhodey, leaving Jarvis in charge. Fury reminds him about the need to find Daenerys and attempt to bring her and her dragons to Westeros for the future fight against the Others. Everyone begins the preparations, and Fury reminds Tony to take the Iron Man suit with him.

Chapter 6

Cersei I

Cersei sits in on a Small Council meeting while lamenting the fact that her father will no longer let her have actual authority in such meetings. She reflects on how she believes that if she merely shows regal bearing then others will acknowledge her natural superiority and obey her and that all the problems that Joffrey's regime has suffered has been because of other people's incompetence, not her own.

The Small Council discusses replacements for the Commander of the Gold Cloaks and how to fill the empty spots on the Kingsguard. Despite Joffrey's impulsiveness and short temper, and Cersei's desire to pack the ranks with people loyal to herself, Tywin guides the group in selecting Jiffsun Davus (a Summer Island exile) for the Gold Cloaks and Loras Tyrell for the Kingsguard, with plans to reach out to other allied kingdoms to fill the remaining vacancies.

Afterward, Tywin dismisses the others in order to once again berate Cersei for her mistakes. As he leaves, Cersei lets her rage slip, and a blade of pure energy erupts from the stump of her lost hand, something that she's been capable of since the wildfire explosion at the Battle of the Blackwater.

Chapter 7

Asha I

Asha and what remains of her Reavers are stuck adrift at sea in a storm. Asha curses the failure of the attack on Winterfell, and how she and her men had to flee back to the coast without proper supplies. She is further dismayed when she realizes that they've drifted far north and risk getting trapped in the Winter Waters.

When a ship is spotted on the horizon, Asha is initially relieved, until she recognizes it as the Silence, the ship of her uncle Euron Greyjoy, who has always disturbed her. When the Silence approaches her ship, Asha reluctantly prepares to greet Euron, only to be horrified as she finds that her crew has been frozen solid, and the Silence's crew is composed of shambling dead. Euron himself then appears, wearing strange armor and face paint, wielding an ancient hammer and with something glowing purple in his empty eye socket.

Euron dismisses Asha's efforts to take Winterfell while praising Theon's decision to make his own way in life. He then gloats about having found a king who accepts his true nature, before having Asha's frozen but still alive crew transferred onto the Silence while he prepares to make Asha into a servant of his king like himself, leaving Asha screaming as he begins.

Chapter 8

Jaime I

Jaime reflects on lessons given to him by various teachers in his youth as he and Meera set snare traps surrounding their group's camp. Jaime is disgruntled that Meera is so much better at it than him, and is annoyed by Osha's general attitude towards him.

The three rejoin the others in their camp, where Bran is complaining about being made to sew, which he calls woman's work, earning him Meera and Osha's ire. Jaime gives him some advice on the importance of knowing how to sew - a knight in the field will not have the option of going home to his wife or sister to repair damaged gear - before beginning to deride Jojen's claims of having greensight. He refutes everyone's claims of all the magic in the world but is unable to dismiss stories of Iron Man. Thinking of Iron Man reminds him of how Cersei and Joffrey were injured by him and Jaime swears revenge for it, only for a part of him to point out how his whole family has abandoned him.

As the group gathers to eat, Jaime sadly reflects that he's alone; however, he also stops referring to his companions by nicknames and actually mentally calls them by their given names.

Chapter 9

Jon I

Jon's struggle to deal with Natasha's revelations continues as the two of them and their guards approach King's Landing, surrounded now by the remains of burnt houses and dead people. When they go through the Lion Gate, the guards - openly wearing Lannister colors - halt them. Happy presents Tywin's letter proclaiming Jon's appointment to the Small Council, but the guards believe it to be a forgery. Clynt appears just then and forces the guards to step aside and let Iron Pointe's group enter.

Clynt and Natasha greet each other warmly, the former revealing that Tyrion Lannister has left for Essos to seek remedy for his broken hands while the latter states she's leaving the Council and its machinations. Clynt also mentions that many noble houses are sending people to King's Landing for Joffrey's wedding - before Natasha realizes that Clynt is not guiding them towards the Red Keep. Clynt states that he and Bronn after Tyrion left, have taken up work with the Dornish delegation to the Small Council, led by Oberyn Martell, who has taken temporary residence in a brothel along with his paramour, Ellaria Sand.

Oberyn tells Jon about how his brother Doran seems to be keener to forgive the Lannisters' actions than Oberyn himself, who wants to take revenge on Tywin for what he did. Their encounter is halted when a band of drunk Lannister soldiers enters the room, insulting everyone on the way. Oberyn takes advantage of this to call out the Lannisters for thinking themselves the center of the world and make a jab about the Lannisters' incestuous penchant before killing the band's leader, starting a fight while a minstrel plays a song.

The Lannister soldiers use their numbers to attempt to overwhelm the Dornish and Iron Pointe fighters, but the latter, being more experienced, manage to kill the former without much issue - but then the Lion Gate guards enter the room and attack as well. Oberyn calls to all the Dornish guards in the brothel and the fight turns even bloodier. Jon's duel with one of the guards ends up outside the brothel, with Jon stabbing him in the groin. The guard attempts to attack him with a knife, but suddenly a strange gray-white material hits the guard and sticks him to the wall, with Jon turning around to see a dark shape scurrying up a wall.

Chapter 10

Theon I

In Riverrun, Theon is waiting with Brienne, wracking himself with guilt over not seeing what Renly was doing. Brienne assures him he has nothing to blame himself for as she too never saw the signs. The two are brought before Ned who tells them of the attack on Winterfell with Theon rocked to realize his sister was the leader of the Ironborn. He's ready to face execution with Brienne prepared to defend him. Ned assures Theon he doesn't want to kill him as he loves him like a true son. But far too many (like the Boltons) want Theon to die as payment for his family's actions. Thus, Ned is sending Theon on a mission to join Lord Manderly to negotiate with the Iron Bank. Knowing this is more about saving his life, Theon agrees.

Chapter 11

Daenerys II

Daenerys' army has reached Yunkai. Preparing to meet representatives of the city and the sellswords they've hired, she converses with her Small Council (now including Unsullied commander Grey Worm) on what they think the Wise Masters are probably thinking. Their conclusions lead her to confirm her decision to destroy Yunkai the way she did Astapor.

Daenerys meets with the city's representative, who attempts to bribe her to bypass the city, only for her to free the man's own slave escorts from underneath him and send him off in a huff. She and her advisors then decide to use the attempted bribe to buy the loyalty of the sellsword commanders, who arrive next. To everyone's surprise, the group includes Wade Wilson, whom Daenerys, Jorah, and Logan recognize from the visions in the House of the Undying. Wade proceeds to start killing the others sellswords, starting a fight that results in all their deaths; when Jorah and Grey Worm try to kill him in turn, he's revealed to have a Healing Factor like Logan's.

Wade proceeds to explain that he knows that Daenerys is meant to make her way to Mereen, citing a being he calls "Chaos" (whom the others assume is his god), and offering to make things easier for her by taking control of the sellsword companies and leading them in her name, in exchange for a spot on her Small Council. Daenerys agrees if he can prove himself, though she does allow Logan to stab him when he makes a lewd comment about her.

Chapter 12

Tywin I

Tywin awakes next to "Joanna", and after reflecting on the complexities of their new relationship turns his attention to how he's been searching for anything that can disprove rumors of Joffrey's illegitimacy. After briefly speaking with "Joanna", he makes his way to his office to attend to current matters. While going over correspondences, he notes that Stannis' former followers are now flocking to Jane's banner, as someone claiming to be the Stranger is preaching her inevitable return.

After Tywin tells Podrick, now in his employ, to carry a message to the new High Septon, Pod informs him that the position is still vacant due to the disappearance of the favored candidate. He then tells Tywin that Adrian has arrived to speak to him. Adrian tells Tywin that all he found on his expedition were Rhaenys Targaryen's bones, and also speaks to him of the new Vulture King plaguing trade caravans. Their conversation is interrupted when a Gold Cloak arrives to inform Tywin of the Stark-Martell party's fight in the Blue Oyster, and how they've all been brought to the throne room pending trial for it.

Arriving in the throne room, Tywin speaks with Jiffsun and Kevan and gathers that the whole situation was manipulated by Cersei to have an excuse to act against Jon and Oberyn. With her and Joffrey indisposed, the three men decide to handle the matter quickly before it can be made any worse. When the Starks and Marells are brought in, Tywin sees Jon and deduces his Targaryen heritage, but mistakes him for Rhaegar and Elia's son Aegon.

Chapter 13

Jeor II

Jeor, Benjen, Mance, Ygritte, and Steve do their best to reach Craster's Keep, as Steve wants to put an end to either him or the Night's Watch oathbreakers that betrayed Jeor days before. However, when they reach the place, they find Karl, one of the traitors, dead and impaled outside the keep. Entering, they find the place suspiciously empty, but before they do anything Craster comes out.

Craster reveals he's had the traitors killed, and Steve knows he could have only done it with the help of one of the Others. Craster attempts to attack Steve, but Steve uses his connection to the Others to force him to stop, as the former Knight of the Dawn tries to force Craster to say who helped him — but he is interrupted by a creature with a skull-like red face: The Commander, who uses Steve's old friend Johann's corpse as his host.

Steve and the Commander begin arguing about their nature and that of their followers of old times, until the latter hits a nerve by mentioning Bucky, causing Steve to throw his shield at him. The Commander jumps off the way and causes the Night's Watch traitors to rise from beneath the snow, already turned into wights, before running away.

The small group of warriors fights off the undead creatures, most of the attacks unsuccessful because the wights keep rising no matter the injuries — until they find out that Jeor's Valyrian Steel sword Longclaw is able to put them down permanently, which along with fire and dragonglass could help humanity. As all the wights are put down, Ygritte tells Steve she doesn't care about what the Commander may have said. Craster's wives and daughters come out of hiding. One of them, Gilly, carries a newborn son in her arms, and Steve promises to not only help her son live a long life but also to help all the women to reach safety in Castle Black.

Chapter 14

Natasha I

The Iron Pointe and Dorne group await being summoned by the court over the Blue Oyster fight, debating whether or not Tywin will override Joffrey's rash decisions or agree to punish them. When Ellaria suggests that Myrcella will be punished if the Lannisters try anything, Oberyn angrily rebukes her.

The group is summoned to the court, where despite Oberyn's initial provocation of Tywin, Jon is able to take command of the situation and plead the group's case for self-defense. The Small Council is swayed, and then shocked when they learn that the Lannister guards were only posted at the gate because they received a message from Tywin commanding them to do so; Tywin confirms he wrote the order but notes that it's weeks old and has fraudulently had its date changed. Everyone realizes that someone was trying to sabotage the Iron Throne's alliance with Iron Pointe and Dorne.

Joffrey arrives and starts insulting Jon over his bastard origins. Jon plays along and pledges loyalty to Joffrey, eventually calming him down enough that he leaves without incident. Tywin then escorts Jon and Natasha to their rooms, while Jon takes the time to express anger over the Targaryens' crimes against the Starks, which Natasha realizes is his self-hatred over his Targaryen heritage.

Chapter 15

Adrian II

Adrian reflects on how Tywin has invited him to the Iron Pointe welcome feast in spite of Mace's clear intent to convince him to go back to the Tombs. With time to kill before then, Adrian travels by secret passage to the Dragonpit, where he's storing the Vulture King flight armor and dons it. He then flies out of the city to intercept a shipment of wine that the Tyrells are sending to King's Landing for the upcoming royal wedding, intending to steal it as part of his campaign to undermine and humiliate the Tyrells.

With help from his crew, Adrian kills all the Tyrell soldiers and claims their cargo. However, as he's ordering Hurmin to destroy the evidence of their crime with the Shockers (a pair of gauntlets Phineas created which use sunstones to create shockwaves), he's shocked to learn that Brice took them to use for himself.

Brice I

Brice and several accomplices use the Shockers to break into the biggest jewelry shop in King's Landing, intending to steal everything and flee to Essos to live off the profits. Before they can do so, however, they're attacked by a trio of people in colorful costumes who fight them with great agility and grey threads fired from their hands, who introduce themselves as the Spiders. Cornered, Brice uses the Shockers to kill his men and damage the building, fleeing through the air as it collapses on the Spiders.

The chapter then ends with narration from the Spiders — Petyr Parker, Gwen Stacey, and Miles Muralus — who explain that they gained their powers from being bitten by wildfire-affected spiders and that they intend to protect the city.

Chapter 16

Catelyn I

Catelyn has a nightmare wherein she's taunted by manifestations of all her guilt and mistakes. As she's tossed into the Moon Door, she passes by Tyrion, who wonders if this is his dream or hers. Landing in darkness, she finds herself observed by several figures, who keep their distance from her out of fear of a door she's standing near to, which emanates an intense heat.

Waking up in a keep she and Ned stopped at on their way back to Winterfell, Catelyn reflects on her mistakes. She notes with guilt how she would smother some of her children at the expense of others, only to ignore them all when it came time to focus on her duties.

Sansa I

Waking from a dream of still being a prisoner in the Red Keep, Sansa continues on her way north. Finding herself beginning to forget that she used to be human, she forces herself to remember her real life. To focus herself, she begins reciting a list of all the people she desires revenge on for all she's suffered.

Hearing screaming nearby, Sansa finds a girl being attacked by a bear. She runs to help, fighting and ultimately killing the bear. When the girl, Sally, realizes that Sansa can understand her, she assumes that the Old Gods sent her to save her. This causes Sansa to realize that her greatest mistake was rejecting her Northern heritage in favor of Southern ways, including worshipping the Seven instead of the Old Gods.

After seeing Sally reunited with her father, Sansa continues on her way north.

Chapter 17

Jon II

During the party to officially welcome him and Oberyn to King's Landing, Jon finds himself completely out of place as he sits next to Jiffsun Davis, soon joined by Ser Adrian, who later informs Jon that the party, unlike his expectations, is nowhere close to finished. Jon shares his opinion about the Tyrells and how unlikely it is that they are actually the picture they project to the public - which Adrian agrees to.

When Jon moves to sit back on the head table, he is waylaid by Olenna Tyrell, who takes him to sit with her during the second half of the party. After Joffrey's attempt to make a mockery out of Jon backfires, Olenna explains to Jon that everyone in the party is interested in Jon because there is little known about him, and how many houses in the South offered to foster Jon, only for Ned to reject the offers. She also mentions how the High Lords had planned to help tighten the Seven Kingdoms by marrying their children to each other or to other important Lords' children in different Kingdoms, only for Aerys to cause the plan to completely collapse - and how Tywin expects to marry Joffrey's children to Jon's after the war, by naming him Warden of the North to replace Ned and his sons.

Chapter 18

Brice II

Brice returns to the gang's hideout in the Dragonpit and is told that Adrian is angry at him for going off on his own. He goes off on a brief rant about how Adrian hasn't managed to get the group paid for their thefts, only to be cut off by Adrian returning from the feast. He shares a story of the time he heard Ser Arthur Dayne speak at the Harrenhal Tourney, which turns into a speech about how plans need to be kept simple in order to succeed, with him berating Brice for complicating things by carrying out his own heist without permission. Brice tries to defend himself by mentioning the Spiders, but when Adrian grounds him anyway, he decides to leave the group; in response, Adrian goads everyone else into attacking and beating Brice, whom he proceeds to finish off.

Jon III

Jon sneaks away from the feast to escape Olenna's revelation and watches a boy practice swordplay in the yard. There he meets Isamalwi Iso Malsosia aka Sam, one of the Summer Islands exiles living in King's Landing, who is mentoring the boy. The two talk, comparing reasons for not liking Westeros' culture and politics, with Sam admitting he came to the kingdom to escape the endless wars in the Islands. The two then have a friendly duel, after which Sam reveals his student, who turns out to be Petyr Parker.

Chapter 19

Robb I

Robb watches Drax and Gamora train in the Winterfell courtyard, reflecting on how badly Gamora reacted to learning how Ned raised Jon as a bastard and told no one about his true heritage. He and Ser Rodrick discuss how the Guardians appear to be discretely training the Stark guards to fight Others. Then Rickon arrives and tells everyone that the portal is opening again, causing the Guardians and Stark guards to quickly make their way to the crypts. There, they're greeted by Yondu, the leader of the Children of the Forest, who quickly reveals that in human life he was Rickard Stark and that Drax was Brandon Stark.

After learning that the Guardians haven't shared everything they know with Robb already, and ranting about the stupidity of his children, Yondu explains that something has been blocking his ability to see what the Others are doing beyond the Wall. To counter this, he asserts his authority as Lord of Winterfell, then announces that he and the Guardians will leave immediately to travel past the Wall and that Robb and Roslin will join them. Despite Robb's protests, Roslin agrees and the group soon leaves Winterfell.

Chapter 20

Arya II

At a gathering of the Brotherhood, Arya banters with the other members — including Toad, Sabertooth, Lady Deathstrike, Blob, Gambit, and Avalanche — and reflects on how, despite their constant bickering, the group is close-knit and would happily fight for each other. She also notes how Magneto has sworn to not harm her family when he makes his move to retake Westeros, even if she has to force them to bend the knee to accomplish this. Magneto commends her determination and then makes a big announcement — during this year's Feast of the Uncloaking, the Brotherhood will announce their existence and intent to claim the Iron Throne, in light of the ongoing civil war.

As they make their way to the Sealord's palace for the feast, Arya takes in the sights of Braavos, noting with unease the mobile wooden statues commissioned by a political rival of the Sealord's. Reaching the palace, they're greeted by the Sealord — Charlus Storm.

Chapter 21

Cersei II

Cersei talks to a servant about a time an old woman scolded her for her vanity. She boasts that she is fairer than the Maiden, raised children better than the Mother, and is wiser than the Crone. She says the gods are just jealous of her and that is why her life is hard. She is still angry about Robert Baratheon preferring Lyanna Stark over her and is upset that everyone has moved on from Jaime's "death".

A messenger says someone wants to meet her in private for something that will end the war. She reluctantly enters a small room and is shocked to meet a man with chalk-white skin, red eyes, and a red gem in his forehead who introduces himself as Qyburn. He claims his sinister looks are side effects of an experiment that has given him eternal life, saying he was around when Ser Duncan the Tall was a child. He talks about his projects with selective breeding, but she becomes bored and tells him to get to the point. He says Joffrey asked him to investigate rumors and he discovered the lost armor of King Maegor. The armor would have allowed him to be the equal or even superior to Iron Man, but to reach its full potential, he would have had to die so his soul could inhabit it and he refused because he wanted to be able to have sex. Eventually, Maegor did attempt to transfer his soul into the armor, but he was betrayed and the armor was moved from its hiding place so he simply died. He presents the armor, which he named Ultron. She is amazed to see the armor is made of Valyrian Steel. He says he rediscovered the spells Tyanna of the Tower used to make it and proposes that with time, he can call Jaime Lannister's soul from the afterlife and have him inhibit the armor so he can be an eternal defender of the royal family.

She agrees and cooks up a plan. Once Jaime defeats all their enemies, they will collect all the Valyrian Steel weapons and melt them down to create a second set of armor which her soul will inhabit. That way, she and Jaime will be together for all eternity.

Chapter 22

Cressen I

At Storm's End, Cressen reflects on how he's been left in command of the remaining Baratheon forces since the Battle of the Blackwater. After the battle, "Davos" appeared before everyone to reveal his true identity as Loki and proclaim Shireen as the true Queen. He then gave the Baratheon forces magical coins that will protect them by compelling everyone to find other things to worry about. Afterwards, Cressen had their forces relocated to Storm's End to better rebuild and await Shireen's return.

While walking through the courtyard, Cressen and the guards sense something approaching. Looking up, they see a shooting star, just like before Thor's arrival. As they watch, it falls from the sky and lands in the courtyard, revealing a winged stag and an armored woman. Seeing her facial scars, Cressen is shocked to realize that she's an adult Shireen. She happily greets him, explaining that time works differently in Asgard, allowing her to live years while only weeks have passed in Westeros.

After Cressen catches Shireen up on the status of the Baratheon forces, she orders that their soldiers be gathered and prepared to sail. When Cressen protests, she explains that they're not attacking King's Landing. Instead, they will march North of the Wall to confront the Others.

Chapter 23

Arya III

At the Sealord's mansion, Arya and Gendry make their way through the feast by discussing how it compares to Winterfell. They're joined by Henrik "Hank" Tarly', aka Beast, who tells them about the Sealord's other students — Jeen and her husband Scott the Summer Knight, Ororo, and several others. However, when he begins describing a woman named Rogue, Mystique testily interrupts him and makes him stop.

After Charlus reads Arya and Gendry's minds to learn more about them, things become more tense, but the feast continues. As everyone breaks into smaller groups for conversation, Arya goes looking for Mystique and finds her talking with an angry Rogue. When Arya steps in to defend her mentor, Rogue insults her as a pampered noble; when she then accidentally calls her by her hated nickname, Arya headbutts her. This subjects her to Rogue's ability to drain energy and memories from people she makes skin contact with, and when the others arrive in response to her cry of pain, a fight nearly breaks out until Arya instinctively flees by phasing out the wall, ending up on the beach.

Gambit comes to find Arya and comforts her, explaining Rogue's powers and her past as Mystique's foster child, which ended with Rogue choosing Charlus' more peaceful teachings over Magneto's plans of conquest, also mentioning that Mystique has two birth children that she had to give up to protect them. Taking this all in, Arya decides to return to the House of Black and White, until she and Gambit see something floating in the ocean. Recovering it, they're shocked to find that it's Tony in his Iron Man armor.

Chapter 24

Tony II

Tony, having been taken to the House of Black and White and had his wounds tended to by Hank, is watched over by Arya. Convinced that he's dreaming, as he can't comprehend her now being so much older, he repeatedly brushes off her insistence that she's not a figment of his subconscious, until he sees her shocked reaction after he blurts out Jon's true heritage and realizes he's actually awake.

Magneto and Mystique enter, and after a brief explanation of how the Brotherhood's powers work, they ask Tony to explain how he washed ashore. He tells of how his ship was attacked by pirates who all had the ability to make their bodies burn hot enough to melt steel, who eventually overpowered him and Rhodey, throwing them overboard while taking Pepper prisoner. This story concerns the Brotherhood's members, as everyone is supposed to have their own unique powers, leading to speculation that the person behind these pirates knew another version of the Valyrian blood ritual.

After Mystique and Arya leave the room, Magneto makes it clear that Tony is now the Brotherhood's hostage against Tywin and Ned, saying that while he's free to roam the city he'll be watched at all times, with a metal brace on his arm that Magneto can use to maim him at anytime if he acts out of line. He also explains that the flag Tony saw the pirates flying is of a group called Ten Rings.

Chapter 25

Daenerys III

Daenerys' group assembles outside Yunkai, which they've been besieging for two months. The Yunkish have agreed to a duel between champions to settle matters, between Wade and the city's champion. After aggravating the others with his antics while simultaneously displaying his tactical prowess, Wade goes to prepare while the others meet with the city's representative, who condescends to Daenerys repeatedly before the duel begins.

At Wade's insistence, several Second Sons sing a rap song while he comes out to face the champion. Despite the other man landing several blows, Wade swiftly overpowers him and hacks him to pieces. The Yunkish retaliate with a hail of arrows, which fail to hit Daenerys' encampment due to distance, while only one hits Wade before he cuts down the rest. Afterwards, the Yunkish representative tries to flee inside the walls, but is stopped by an Unsullied, revealing that they took the city while everyone was distracted by the duel.

Chapter 26

Jon IV

Jon and Sam are training in the yard when Petyr, Gwen, and Miles arrive for their own training. While Sam helps the others, Petyr joins Jon and quickly comes up with a way to improve his means of practicing against cavalry by suggesting a mechanism that would automate the training dummy horse. Tywin, who has been observing this exchange, praises Petyr's creativity, before asking Sam to help train Tommen.

Tywin then takes Jon aside and discusses his upbringing and other things. Unaware of what Tywin really thinks of him, Jon has no idea what Tywin is actually alluding to before he departs, leaving Jon confused.

Chapter 27

Robb II

Somewhere in the New Gift, Roslin and a reluctant Robb change into rougher clothes and dirty themselves up in order to disguise themselves as wildlings. The Guardians do likewise, as Yondu explains it's necessary to blend in where they're going. While Rocket mocks everyone and Groot is revealed to have transferred his spirit into a sapling body to better hide, Gamora and Drax get into an argument over who was more foolish when they were human, with Yondu berating them both equally.

With this out of the way, the group continues to their destination, a hidden wildling village built South of the Wall to supply raiding parties. Reaching it, Yondu welcomes the group to Nowhere.

Chapter 28

Jeor III

North of the Wall, Mance and Ygritte lead Steve, Jeor, and Benjen to a Free Folk encampment. Along the way, Steve expresses to Jeor his disgust with what he's heard of the Night's Watch, with Jeor admitting how far it's fallen. He then shares with Steve his reasoning for having voluntarily joined the Watch, how he didn't want to end his life as an old man too ill to get out of bed, like his own father, only to see the dignified passing of his lordship to his son ruined along with their House's reputation by Jorah's actions.

The group reaches the encampment, where they are greeted warmly by Tormund Giantsbane but with suspicion by many of the other Free Folk leaders. Rumlow, the Lord of Bones, questions Mance's loyalty due to him traveling with Black Brothers and an Other, while Varamyr Sixskins outright confronts the group, only to be chased off by Tormund's sister Rahne Wolfsbane, who can transform into a giant wolf.

With the situation defused, the group try to convince the rest of the Free Folk to agree to an alliance with the Night's Watch and the Seven Kingdoms. There is much resistance to this due to the history of bad blood between the two peoples, but after Steve shares the tale of the past alliance during the War for the Dawn, and with Jeor swearing to make the southern lords listen, the Free Folk's leaders reluctantly agree to the alliance.

Chapter 29

Jaime II

Jaime cooks breakfast for the rest of his still sleeping group, while debating the rumors that Ser Duncan the Tall wasn't actually knighted with a listening Hodor, discussing the merits of if it mattered or not. When Meera wakes up and joins them, she learns of Jaime's fascination with the stories of Dunk and Egg, and decides to tell him one that he wouldn't have heard before, passed down through her family since her grandfather's grandfather witnessed it.

When Jaime's great-grandparents ruled Casterly Rock, they were tricked into thinking that a royal tax collector was a fraud by the actual fraud and "punished" him by removing his hand and imprisoning him. When then-Prince Aegon learned of this, he had the Lannisters imprisoned; when he finally met with Lady Lannister days later, with Meera's ancestor as witness, he refused to be manipulated by her wiles, and ultimately forced her to accept a deal wherein her husband would lose his hand and she would join the Silent Sisters after his eventual death, as recompense for their actions.

Jaime, having listened to this story and noticed how it reflects on himself and Cersei, asks Meera what she expects him to learn from it, but she tells him that he has to figure that out himself.

Chapter 30

Tywin II

As Tywin and most of the Small Council await for the arrival of Oberyn Martell and King Joffrey for a meeting, the former internally thunders about the many problems the Crown is currently going through, particularly as the wedding between Joffrey and Margaery Tyrell approaches. The different members trade veiled insults, with Jon (whom Tywin still thinks to be Aegon Targaryen) managing to stand out thanks to his quick answers and wit. Oberyn's arrival causes extra strife, until Joffrey arrives - angry that he was not told about the meeting, only to learn that he had been told and forgot.

The meeting finally begins, and Joffrey wastes little time in demanding Jon to tell how to attack Winterfell, only to get distracted and off course several times, with Jon taking advantage of this to cause further problems for Baelish and make Joffrey look even more foolish. Business turns to the day-to-day stuff, before Varys turns to serious matters: Stannis Baratheon's army has vanished, Renly is somewhere in Essos - and Balon Greyjoy has crowned himself Iron King and rebuilt the Iron Fleet. Mace Tyrell states he has already ordered the Redwynes and Hightowers to prepare their fleets, but Kevan states he has sent for the new Lord Velaryon to command the fleet in the name of the King - a skilled sailor named Namor.

Chapter 31

Natasha II

Natasha prepares for a dinner meeting with Varys, with Clynt's help while Jon is out on patrol. In the process of setting everything up, Natasha vents her frustration over how long it's taken to set up this meeting since arriving in King's Landing, due to all the other power players at court wanting a piece of Jon and Natasha's time. She also mentions to Clynt how her cousin Arianne has come to see her legitimization as a threat to Arianne's claim to the Dornish throne, despite the two having been friends since childhood.

Varys arrives, and after making smalltalk over Dornish cuisine, Varys begins sharing what he knows of recent developments in the city. They discuss Tywin's interest in Jon, Cersei's association with Qyburn, Joffrey's madness, potential power moves by the Tyrells and Martells, Littlefinger's apparent need to leave the city, concerns that a fanatic Septon called the Sparrow may become the next High Septon, and the Night Queen's disappearance from public view (as well as the fact that the Red Keep has been getting colder than surrounding areas since her arrival). Natasha mentions Jon's determination to save Sansa from the Night's Queen control, and admits that she doesn't think it's possible, she just doesn't want take away Jon's hope.

Varys then begins to mention the Spiders, only for the trio to suddenly swing by the window, with Centurion in pursuit of them.

Chapter 32

Jon V

Jon, as Centurion, scouts out the siege towers left over from Stannis' assault on the city, considering the best way to convince the Small Council to tear them down. His train of thought eventually turns to Natasha, and he reminds himself yet again that he has to settle the divide between them one way or another.

Seeing a flare in the distance, Jon realizes that the Vulture King is attacking another caravan and intervenes. After killing the merchants' head guard and causing the others to flee, the Vulture King confronts Jon and denounces those in power and those who support them, vowing to tear down the whole system. When Jon calls him out as a hypocrite, the enraged Vulture King attacks him. Between his skills and the arrival of his men — including Brice's replacement as the Shocker — Jon is overwhelmed, only to be saved by the arrival of the Spiders.

After the Vulture King and his men retreat, the Spiders celebrate managing to save the Centurion, only for Jon to recognize Petyr's voice. This leads to the whole group learning each other's identities, and they agree to talk in depth somewhere more private.

Chapter 33

Jeor IV

Jeor's group — composed of himself, Benjen, Steve, Mance, Ygritte, and a captive Craster — reach Castle Black. Steve is disappointed to see that the Wall still stands, stating that it was supposed to be torn down once the Others were defeated, as it was meant to only ever be a temporary bastion. He also explains to a disbelieving Ygritte that the Free Folk once had cities ruled by elected leaders, expresses his disapproval of how far they've fallen since those cities were destroyed, and tells her to stop acting like she has all the right answers.

Reaching the castle, Jeor and Benjen are warmly greeted by Yoren, Thorne and the rest of the Black Brothers, until the wildlings are noticed. Before violence can ensue, Jeor makes it clear they are his guests (save for Craster, who is thrown into the cells), and gathers the Watch leadership to explain things. At the meeting, Maester Aemon tells of what the Watch has heard regarding the War, including Sansa's death and Ned's crowning. As Jeor in turn explains what's happened since he left, many of those assembled are disbelieving and angry at his deal with the Free Folk, until Steve uncloaks himself to reveal himself as an Other. After he stuns the crowd into submission, Jeor makes it clear that he will allow the Free Folk past the Wall in order to fight against the Court's armies, and sends word for a Great Council with other Watch commanders in order to formalize things.

Chapter 34

Natasha III

Following up on the Spiders' invitation to visit their lair, Jon decides to visit alongside Natasha, who is none too pleased that he revealed his Secret Identity to a group of children. Walking through the secret tunnels of King's Landing, they also discuss other "dumb" things Jon has done in the past, including his fight with Tony and Jon's original desire to leave for the Wall so as for her to never meet him. Jon remarks that given what his situation was like at the time before Tony came along, it was the only true way forward for him to rise to something more meaningful.

Arriving at "The Web", an abandoned manse once belonging to the Lannisters, the two meet the three Spiders and their unofficial Team Mom, Petyr's aunt May Parker, an older woman who helps provide snacks during this meeting. There, Jon and Natasha learn about how when the wildfire went off during the Battle of the Blackwater, the three were hiding in an attic, but when the magical wave struck, a nest of spiders swarmed over them and bit them all, giving them their enhanced speed, strength, and reflexes, ability to stick to walls, and ability to shoot webs, along with the spider sense that warns of danger. They also talk about their individual powers as well, that Miles got invisibility and electrical shocks, Gwen got short range teleporting, and Petyr a Healing Factor. And that above all else (to Nat's chagrin at the naivety), they seek to help others for its own sake, as it's the right thing to do. While Jon and Nat try to tell them to stay away from the Vulture King, as they leave, they muse that the Spiders probably won't listen.

Chapter 35

Robb III

In Nowhere, Robb muses over the group's time spent in the village, including noting how Roslin is much better at adapting to the situation than he is. As the group has a meal, a wildling woman who often brings rumors and gossip from North of the Wall arrives with distorted news of Mance's alliance with the Night's Watch and the fall of Crastor's keep, as well as reports of raiders sailing across rivers from the Shivering Sea to the Narrow Sea. As this matches with the areas that Yondu is unable to mystically view, he suspects there's truth to this story.

However, as the group starts to leave Nowhere to follow this lead, the village is attacked by the forces of House Umber, who quickly overwhelm the wildlings. When Yondu refuses to fight them, as that would hamper efforts to build alliances against the Others, Roslin surrenders the group, spinning a tale of being a whore's daughter who was abducted by wildlings but saved by the group, who pretend to not speak the same language. Smalljon Umber decides to take the group prisoner and have them work as servants to earn their release.

Chapter 36

Arya IV

While preparing for a pre-festival party at the Sealord's mansion, Arya listens to Tony ramble about how captive nobles are treated, and debates with him the likelihood of Magneto keeping his promises to her. She's shocked when he mentions Sansa being possessed by the Night's Queen, which he had forgotten he hadn't told her yet.

The pair join up with Blob and Toad and begin making their way to the mansion, though Tony and Toad get sidetracked while discussing the design of the wooden Sentinel statues being put up around Braavos. Arya and Blob go on without them, and Arya is shocked to discover that Blob has brought Lockheed along with them rather than leave him alone at the House of Black and White.

When they reach the mansion, Blob is distracted by the food, allowing Arya to be harassed by another guest. She is saved, however, by the intervention of Theon and Brienne, the latter of whom tosses the man into the air in order to scare him off. The group is then joined by Tony and Toad, as well as Tyrion, who is revealed to be present with Samwell and a dark-skinned man. As the Westerosi all recognize each other in shock, Tyrion's companion introduces himself as T'Challa.

Chapter 37

Tony III

Over dinner, Arya has to repeatedly explain her aging to an incredulous Theon, while Tony catches up with Tyrion. Discussion of how Tywin has treated him in the past disturbs T'Challa, leading to him explaining things about Wakanda. While he describes it as a very poor land with little to offer, Tony can tell that he's lying and holding back.

The conversation turns to what brought all the Westerosi to Braavos, which in turn leads to Tony explaining that he's now effectively a prisoner of the Brotherhood. When he mentions the attack on his ship and Pepper's kidnapping, Samwell realizes that he's seen her under guard when Tyrion was visiting the Mandarin. Tyrion explains that he was in search of a means to restore his damaged hands, but walked away when he realized that the Mandarin was trying to convert him. Though Tyrion has already made plans to leave Braavos for the city of Kamar-Taj, whose leader T'Challa believes can help him, he offers the layout of the Mandarin's manse for Tony to use to rescue Pepper, an effort that the others agree to aid in, though they are sidetracked by an argument between Arya and Theon over whether she'll return with him to Westeros.

As the argument goes on, Tony is pulled aside by a young woman named Maria Hill, a Council agent sent by Fury to keep an eye on him. She chastises him for lingering in Braavos instead of seeking out Daenerys, but when he insists on saving Pepper, she offers her help.

Chapter 38

Daenerys IV

Daenerys' group waits outside of Meereen, anxious about how easy the journey from Yunkai was, as they were not harassed in any way despite the fact that Meereen knew they were coming, and the only preparation made for their arrival being the construction of an arena outside the city. It is hear that they are met by a delegation from the city's masters, whose spokesperson En dwi Gast amicably banters with Dany about her destruction of the other slave cities. The masters are also accompanied by a Westerosi who calls himself Arstan Whitebeard, which Dany's group immediately conclude is an alias.

Gast continues the conversation with Dany, explaining that Meereen has learned from Astapor and Yunkai's mistakes and completely secured itself against infiltration. While he admits there's a possibility that Dany may still force a way in before her army starves, he suggests an easier way of settling their dispute, by means of a contest of champions. Realizing that she needs to start focusing on returning to Westeros, Dany agrees, only to learn that the first of Meereen's champions is a gladiator represented by Arstan — a great green beast called Hulk.

Chapter 39

Adrian III

In the Dragonpit, Adrian and Phineas discuss their future opportunities: the wedding between Joffrey and Margaery will take place in two days. Phineas has a plan that Adrian rejects as too risky, but the latter has a plan that does have a good chance of success: the festivities for the wedding include a naval battle that Joffrey and Margaery will see in a special boat, surrounded by the presents given to them. Adrian intends to steal that boat, take it to an island only he and Phineas know about, and then run away from King's Landing. However, one of the Spiders manages to eavesdrop on the plan and escape before Adrian can stop them.

Natasha IV

Jon is dragged by Loras to join a hunt with the Tyrell and Lannister men - but not Joffrey, who got himself put into seclusion for suggesting he replicate Maegor's Black Brides. Natasha, watching this with amusement, finds herself dragged by Margaery to join the women for a meal, where Olenna finds herself interested in her and demands her to sit next to her. During the conversation accompanying the meal, Olenna makes it clear she regards the other women as foolish for not realizing that things are not as rosey as they believe, pointing out that Joffrey marrying Margaery will not mean she is safe at all. Natasha resolves to learn more about the Tyrells.

Chapter 40

Robb IV

Robb and the Guardians are held captive by the Umbers alongside other Wildlings captured in the raid. After taking a while to understand what they mean, they're able to get Groot to retrieve a key for them to escape with. However, before they can do anything, the encampment is attacked by a horde of wights led by Euron and Asha, who has been transformed into a thrall like her uncle, mutilated and seemingly lacking all emotion and independent thought.

A fierce battle breaks out, the Guardians' sun-kissed weapons and the sunstone sword Robb took from the Ironborn attack on Winterfell allowing them a chance to fight back evenly. When Robb learns that Roslin was taken by Euron, he chases after the Ironborn and confronts him on his ship. Eventually, Robb is overwhelmed and taken prisoner, but not before seeing that Rocket managed to get Roslin to safety.

Chapter 41

Ned I

Having returned to Winterfell, Ned finds himself overburdened by all the events that transpired while he was away, reflecting on how he's never received good news in letters. While Catelyn refuses to believe the stories of Rickon's aging and the identities of the Guardians, Ned has reluctantly accepted them, due to the letters his no longer dead family members left for him before departing with Robb and Roslin.

The Nikolos Fury acting as Ned's Master of Whispers then enters, having received a letter from Benjen explaining all that's happened at the Wall and beyond, to Ned's further frustration.

Sansa II

Sansa, having nearly reached the Neck, finds herself having to more frequently remind herself that she's human. As she finishes eating a rabbit and starts reciting her list of names, she suddenly finds herself surrounded by a very large pack of wolves. To her shock, its alpha is Nymeria, who recognizes Lady's body as her sister, and to her further surprise, Sansa realizes she can understand the wolves' language to communicate with them. She confirms her body's identity, then leads the pack is continuing North.

Chapter 42

Jeor V

Jeor is having breakfast in Castle Black's dining hall with Benjen, Mance, Ygritte, and Aemon, everyone else avoiding them due to disagreeing with Jeor's decision to forge an alliance. Steve joins them, and when Jeor comments on how much time he's been spending on top of the Wall, Steve sadly explains that it's because the view is the only thing that hasn't changed in the thousands of years he's been asleep.

Grenn suddenly bursts into the hall to inform Jeor that Cotter Pyke, Commander of Eastwatch, is storming Castle Black, apparently under the impression that the Free Folk are holding Jeor hostage. He quickly puts an end to the fighting and confronts Cotter, who explains that Eastwatch was infiltrated and attacked by a pair of wildlings wearing Night's Watch clothing. Steve deduces that the attackers were most likely wights sent by the Commander — now being referred to by everyone as Red Skull, the name Ygritte gave him — to sabotage the prospective alliance. Cotter and his men don't believe Steve is really an Other, especially after he angrily refuses Jeor's suggestion to raise a wight as a demonstration, but concede after Steve freezes all the protestors in ice.

A group of Free Folk approach the castle, led by Rahne and Tormund. They reveal that they were attacked by a group of wights, who killed or captured many of them. Steve realizes that Red Skull is experimenting on the living to create better Others, and must be stopped. He quickly interrogates the captive Craster and learns that Red Skull is based in Dawnbreak, the former headquarters of the Knights of the Dawn. The next day, Steve and Jeor set out at the head of a rescue party.

Chapter 43

Robb V

Trapped aboard Euron's ship, Robb is forced to listen as the Thrall rants about his reasons for joining Thanos and the experiments he's conducted on his crew and Asha, whom he now refers to as Nebula. Euron explains that he knows the Others will eliminate him once they win because they won't need him anymore, but that he is planning to find a way to usurp Thanos before that happens. Mentioning all the various dark secrets he's learned around the world, he reveals that they're heading to Hardhome as part of his plan.

Cressan II

As they sail north, Shireen talks to Cressen about her time in Asgard, and how she's come to accept them as her adopted people and family. They're interrupted when a scout spots people on the shore; Shireen flies Cressen to them, and finds that it's Roslin and the Guardians. Following Rickon's poor attempts at flirting with her and intense bickering amongst the Guardians, Shireen confirms that they're the Children of the Forest there to help her against Thanos. Roslin then asks for help to rescue Robb from Euron, and Shireen agrees.

Chapter 44

Arya V

While shopping for masks for the Festival of the Unmasking, Arya repeatedly refuses Tony's attempt to convince her to help him sneak into the Mandarin's mansion to rescue Pepper, assuring him that Magneto will handle it. While they talk, they are joined by T'Challa and his guard Okoye, and Tony bluntly tells them about the situation, with T'Challa offering to help.

Gendry and Toad suddenly run up, telling Arya that the Followers of R'hllor are planning to sacrifice a direwolf. Arya rushes to the Red Priests' tent, but finds that it's just a normal wolf. She watches the sacrifice and listens to the chief priestess' sermon, only to be shocked when she realizes that the Red Priests have captured Rhodey and are planning to sacrifice him that night. Further complicating things, she realizes that Tony has run off to save Pepper on his own.

T'Challa reassures Arya, and again offers his help in rescuing Rhodey.

Jaime III

Having reached a ruined Night's Watch castle at the Wall, Jaime carries Bran as the group descends into a hidden tunnel to bypass the Wall. As he waits for his and Bran's turn to climb down the well entrance to the tunnel, Jaime debates with Jojen over the validity of the latter's dream visions, dismissing out of hand the concept of magic. During this conversation, he also reveals to Bran that he was the one to shove him off the tower, which Bran forgives him for.

Reaching the bottom of the well, the group is greeted by Mantis, a Child of the Forest sent to escort them to the Three Eyed Raven, and who is also revealed to be the result of a titan merging with Rhaenys Targaryen, Rhaegar's daughter. Jaime is shocked by this, and even more so when Summer starts psychically talking to him.

Chapter 45

Tywin III

After spending a few moments lingering with "Joanna" in their chambers, Tywin departs to join the Small Council and the Tyrells at Joffrey and Margaery's pre-wedding breakfast. Seeing that the rest of the Martell party isn't present (due to Oberyn's debauchery), Tywin invites Jon and Natasha to join him at the main table. As Jon talks to Tommen, Tywin reflects on what needs to be done to mold his grandson into a proper Lord of Casterly Rock one day, and also on how the war has ruined his efforts to try and build something that will be his personal legacy instead of his family's.

A drunken Joffrey demands that wedding presents be brought out, but shows little interest in them, and repeatedly snubs the more important guests by ignoring the proper order the gifts should be presented in. When Tywin presents a sword made from Carbonadium, Joffrey is offended that it's not the more impressive and rare Valyrian Steel. This causes him to go off on a rant wherein he reveals that he was the one who sent the assassin after Bran and ordered the murders of all of Robert's bastards, though Margaery quickly puts forward the idea that he's joking in order to defuse the tension.

As the breakfast party breaks up, Olenna muses on how interesting the wedding will be after all this.

Chapter 46

Daenerys V

Daenerys and her council debate how to possibly defeat the Hulk. They realize that not only is there no chance of getting close enough to poison him, but with his strength and healing, there is little chance of them managing to beat him in a fight, even if Daenerys herself were to fight him, which the council are all against regardless. The meeting is then interrupted when the guards announce that Astan is outside and waiting to speak with them.

Astan is allowed in, alongside a silent traveling companion. He says he is speaking on behalf of the Hulk, who wishes to know what kind of leader Daenerys intends to be when she returns to Westeros, comparing her to past Targaryens of various types. After pondering the question, she declares that she will be her own ruler, not defined by the past, which pleases Astan. Daenerys in turn questions who he really is, having deduced by his deference to her that he is not what he seems. In response, he reveals himself to be Ser Barristan Selmy, who has sought her out after being dismissed from the Kingsguard by Joffrey.

While Daenerys' advisors are wary, Daenerys lets Barristan explain himself, as he states that he wishes to see a worthy ruler in Westeros who will prepare for the long winter that is coming. His companion then joins the conversation, revealing himself as Bruce of Tarth, who shares his body with the Hulk due to past trauma and something that happened to him when he visited Old Valyria. He and Barristan reveal that they had the Hulk join Meereen as its champion so that he can throw the fight in order to deliver the city to Daenerys, in exchange for a pardon and permission to return to Westeros, so that Bruce can find his cousin Brienne, whom both he and the Hulk care for.

Daenerys agrees to the deal, but warns both men not to betray her.

Chapter 47

Tony IV

Having reached the Mandarin's mansion, Tony scrabbles together a makeshift Iron Man gauntlet and sneaks onto the property. He's surprised to be met by Rhodey, who has been looking for him since arriving in Braavos; unable to talk Tony out of his rescue plan, Rhodey joins him.

Sneaking through the mansion, the two find the captive Pepper, who is being held prisoner by Renly and a servant named Wenwu. Renly gloats about how he'll use the secrets of Tony's armors to conquer Westeros, and rants about his hatred of Tony, revealing himself as the one who hired the bandits to kill Tony. No one is impressed by his motives, including Wenwu, who is revealed to be the true Mandarin. Explaining that he intended to use Renly as a puppet to control Westeros, he declares that he is disappointed in the results, before rendering Renly unconscious using a set of mystical rings worn on his arms. Tony's group take the opportunity to escape, taking Renly with them while fleeing Wenwu and his cultists.

Escaping through a secret tunnel, the group gets away in a boat. When Renly wakes up, the others are shocked to discover that he's mentally reverted to 7 years old.

Chapter 48

Tywin IV

Joffrey's wedding day has come, and Tywin is much less happy than he expected, due to the waste of coin and food it means. He discusses with Kevan about Cersei's terrible job in handling her son, her position and her health, Margaery Tyrell and Jon Stark, whom Tywin indirectly reveals to Kevan is likely Rhaegar's son, which he intends to play in his legacy's favor by getting Joffrey's heir married to Jon's daughter and eventually revealing the latter's ancestry to secure their claim to the throne.

Joffrey interrupts the feast to start a spectacle where dwarves "reenact" the war, but when one of the dwarves claims to be Jane Seaworth, a sudden thunderstorm strikes above King's Landing, covering the city in an enormous downpour that pushes everyone to find cover. Joffrey screeches in anger, trying to find someone to blame, but when Margaery gently points out it's just rain Joffrey backhands her, much to everyone's shock, particularly Tywin, who can already see the collapse of everything he's worked so hard for.

Joffrey tries to make everyone return to the party, letting out how he was the one that had Robert's bastard children murdered, and orders Littlefinger to bring him wine. When Littlefinger gives him a cup, lightning leaves everyone blind — and when the light cedes, they see Littlefinger with a dagger in hand, plunged into Joffrey's chest. Cersei and Pycelle futilely attempt to save Joffrey's life, but Tywin knows Joffrey will not survive, and orders Littlefinger to be taken to the Black Cells.

Chapter 49

Arya VI

Outside the Temple of R'hllor, Arya's group plan how to break in and free Rhodey without the Red Priests knowing who was responsible. While Toad and T'Challa, who has donned a cat-like suit of armor, climb up to the roof and sneak in through there, Arya phases through the walls as Okoye distracts the guards at the front gate. She then searches through the building, mentally noting the wealth that the Red Priests display even while claiming to be pious.

Arya eventually finds Rhodey, still in his armor and suspended above a fire pit. Scaling the ropes holding him up, she uses her powers to free him, and they then spread a bag of ashes that T'Challa provided her with to make it look as though he's already been burned to death. They then meet up with T'Challa and Toad and flee the building.

Chapter 50

Adrian IV

Adrian leads his gang's attack on the pleasure barge, easily eliminating the Tyrell guards and allowing his men to board and start raiding it. Before they can, however, the Spiders arrive and a fight ensues. Eventually, Hurmin manages to get the upper hand on Petyr and nearly kills him, only for his Shocker gauntlet attack to miss and puncture the hull of the boat, causing it to start collapsing and sinking. Adrian flees with his men while the Centurion flies in to save the Spiders.

Returning to the Dragon Pit, Adrian is informed by Phineas of Joffrey's death and Littlefinger's arrest. Realizing the unrest this will cause, Adrian decides to go through with a proposed master plan — stealing the throne's payment to the Iron Bank.

Chapter 51

Jon VI

Jon and Natasha take the Spiders to a shack in order to get them dry and tend to their wounds. After Miles attempts to distract the adults by revealing Petyr and Gwen are lovers, Jon admits that he should have shown more confidence in the teens so that they would have trusted them with their plans, and they all agree to do so going forward. The Spiders reveal that they've learned Adrian is the Vulture King, and Jon tells them to trail him until they're ready to make another move.

Jon and Natasha return to the Red Keep, where Sam and Clynt tell them about Joffrey's death and Littlefinger's arrest. They're escorted to Tywin, who asks to know why they left the wedding feast when they did. They provide an alibi that assures him, and he reveals that due to their familial connections to the North's rebellion, they'll be highly suspect of being involved in the assassination, especially once Cersei moves from grief to seeking out imagined suspects. Tywin promises that he'll handle her and states that once Tommen has been set up as the new king, they'll be kept on as part of the Small Council.

Returning to their quarters, Jon and Natasha discuss events, and conclude that Baelish's actions don't make sense, indicating that something else is at work.

Chapter 52

Jeor VI

As the group of Night's Watchmen and Free Folk traveling to confront the Commander sets up camp, Rahne breaks up a fight between Tormund and a Night's Watch member before they, Ygritte, Steve, and Mance join Jeor and Benjen for food. When Ygritte teasingly suggests she and Steve have sex, he makes it clear he's saving himself for marriage, after being traumatized by watching his mother be raped by the Casterlys. The subject of conversation then shifts to how Steve became Lord Captain, and how he became a free Other when a slave named Erskine interfered with the ritual that was meant to convert Steve.

Steve then explains that their destination is Dawnbreak, a mountain fortress raised by Bran the Builder and Einridi, which the Commander has since taken for his own. Steve lays out the defenses, but also explains that the Commander probably knows they are coming and is planning to let them in to face whatever he's concocting.

Tony V

Tony's group returns to the House of Black and White, where Sabertooth and Deathstrike escort them to Magneto. On the way, Tony sadly reflects on what's happened to Renly, and notes how much of a threat the Mandarin is.

Reaching Magneto, Tony brags about how he saved Pepper with no help from the Brotherhood, only for Arya's group to arrive with the Rhodey they rescued from the Red Priests. The "Rhodey" with Tony is then revealed to be Mystique, leading to a round of introductions and explanations. Afterwards, Magneto dismisses everyone except Tony and Mystique so that they can discuss the situation regarding the Mandarin. After receiving assurances that Renly will be provided aid, Tony shares everything he's learned, and his conclusion that the Mandarin is a danger that they need to work together to defeat. Magneto agrees, and leads Tony to Toad's workspace so they can forge him a new armor.

Chapter 53

Tywin V

Tywin meets with Tommen and Cersei in the Great Sept, where they're watching Joffrey's body lying in state. Tywin confirms that Tommen knows that he's now king and has responsibilities, and spells out for him all the ways that Joffrey failed in that role. He states all the things a king must do to be a good ruler, including listening to his advisors, then sends him on his way to train in the yard with Isamalwi and Jon.

Now alone, Tywin confronts Cersei on all the ways she failed to raise Joffrey, and makes it clear that he will be Tommen's regent to avoid a repeat. He also states that Tommen will marry Margaery to maintain the alliance with the Tyrells, as they have too few other options.

As they leave the sept, Tywin and Cersei discuss what to do with Littlefinger. They agree that he could not have worked alone, but Tywin logically shoots down all of Cersei's paranoid accusations, and notes how even after being interrogated, Baelish continues to claim his innocence. Tywin promises Cersei that Littlefinger will suffer for his crime, but does not give details on how.

Chapter 54

Jaime IV

While traveling beyond the Wall, Jaime reflects on how his original master-at-arms trained him to fight in the uneven conditions provided by snow, and wonders how changed weather condition might have affected Robert's rebellion. He's pulled from his thoughts by Osha, who questions why he's been so on edge since meeting Mantis. After initially denying a problem, he admits to knowing Mantis' human half and blaming himself for her death; he's then shocked when Mantis explains that Aerys had her killed out of paranoia well before the Lannister forces arrived, Amory Lorch merely taking credit for her death.

Soon after, the group reaches their destination, a massive Heartstree. Entering the tunnels beneath it, they meet the Three Eyed Raven, whom Jamie recognizes as Lord Brynden Rivers, aka Bloodraven. Bloodraven begins teaching Bran how to use his magic, and when the others wander off, Jaime eventually follows. He soon finds himself outside, where the Old Gods commune with him through the tree — they warn that while Bloodraven is needed, he can't be trusted, and is one threat among many. They offer Jaime a chance at redemption, and he agrees to become their champion. To this end, he's granted the sword Dark Sister and is transformed into the Spirit of Vengeance, Ghost Rider.

Chapter 55

Robb VI

Having arrived at Hardhome, Robb is taken ashore with the other prisoners by Euron and Asha/Nebula. Euron explains in detail the city's long history of being built, destroyed, and rebuilt again, before leading his captives into a mining pit inside a cave. At the bottom is a pool of a strange liquid, which Euron explains fell from the sky long before Hardhome was first built, having come from another world. He then demonstrates its power by tossing a prisoner into the liquid, which turns him into a mindless brute of a monster, whom Euron eventually kills after a grueling fight. Euron then rants to the horrified Robb his intention to harness the liquid's power for himself.

Chapter 56

Daenerys VI

Daenerys' entourage enters the arena in Meereen. As they prepare for the fight to begin, Gast makes conversation with Daenerys, backhandedly mocking her by discussing how her family kept undermining itself and its dynasty ended after only 300 years, while his family has ruled Meereen for thousands of years.

Wade, Logan and Hulk enter the arena, only for the Masters to reveal that they're aware of the secret deal Bruce and Barristan made with Daenerys. Gast then summons the Masters' true champion, an exile from Braavos named Cain Marko aka the Juggernaut — a giant of a musclebound man, who tears Wade in half as a show of force. Unfortunately for the Masters, he then follows up on this by declaring that as the strongest being there is, he is King of Meereen by right.

Gast quickly agrees to serve Daenerys in exchange for her help, but when Juggernaut easily defeats Hulk, they all flee the arena.

Chapter 57

Natasha V

Natasha and Olenna sit together in the crowded throne room as they wait for Littlefinger's trial to begin, talking of how the smallfolk and merchants have quickly shifted from planning for the wedding celebrations to profiting from the events surrounding the trial. Tywin and the Small Council then enter to start the trial, with Mace, Jon, and the recently arrived Namor acting as judges.

Baelish is brought in and quickly tries turning the trial to his advantage by threatening to expose everyone's own secrets. However, he's brought up short when Jon brings up his claims over the years of taking the Tully sisters' maidenheads, and presses him for details in light of the logical inconsistencies in his stories. By repeatedly pushing his buttons, Jon finally gets Baelish to lash out in anger and accidentally confess to killing Joffrey when Jon prompts him to do so. But before he can be sentenced for this, he demands a trial by combat, clearly expecting Jon to volunteer for acting as the crown's champion, only for Tywin to appoint Sandor instead.

Chapter 58

Daenerys VII

Chaos erupts as the Masters try to flee from the Juggernaut, while Logan and Hulk fight him. When debris blocks their path to the docks and their ships, Daenerys' group flee towards the Great Pyramid to take shelter. Once inside, Gast tries to lead them towards a tunnel that will help them sneak to the docks while the Juggernaut is busy attacking the pyramid. Unfortunately, he breaks into the building before they can try to escape, blocking them.

Daenerys tries to overwhelm the Juggernaut with her flames, but he's unaffected, and after Logan and Hulk attack him again, he throws her out of the pyramid. She nearly falls to her death, before fully conjuring her powers, wreathing herself in flames and taking flight with them. She joins the fight atop the pyramid, managing to actually harm the Juggernaut and keeping him distracted enough for Logan and Hulk to knock his helmet off, revealing his face to be surprisingly normal.

The dragons then fly in to join Daenerys, and together they all unleash their flames at full power on the Juggernaut, eventually using up so much air that he ends up passing out.

Chapter 59

Arya VII

Arya and Gendry visit Renly at the Sealord's manse, where he is slowly being re-taught how to be an adult. They then meet with Charlus and Scott, who discuss long-term options for what to do with Renly. They use this opportunity to remind Arya that she's only been taken in by the Brotherhood because she's useful to them.

As they prepare to leave, Rogue arranges to meet with Arya in private and apologize for their last encounter. She shares the details of her powers, and also her own backstory of being an orphan raised by Stony Dornish exiles before her powers were accidentally awakened by a ritual, after which she was found by Mystique and lived as part of the Brotherhood until she grew tired of the fighting and defected to Charlus' ranks. When Arya asks why she never tracked down and reunited with her guardians, Rogue admits that by the time she felt like she could do it, too much time had already passed and she felt it was too late.

Theon II

Theon informs Brienne that with negotiations with the Iron Bank concluded — with the North free of the South's debts and now running all foreign trade deals through the bank — Lord Manderly is preparing to return home after the Festival is over. Theon is desperate to figure out how to delay this in order to buy time to convince Arya to return with them, though he knows Manderly won't believe him if told.

To the surprise of both of them, Arya suddenly arrives and tells them that she will join them, having decided to avoid repeating Rogue's mistake.

Chapter 60

Jeor VII

The combined Night's Watch/Free Folk group reaches Dawnbreak, which has been seemingly stripped of its defenses. Expecting a trap, Steve and Jeor lead half the group in while the other half waits as reinforcements outside. In the courtyard, they're confronted by the Red Skull, who explains that unlike Thanos, he doesn't intend to wipe out all non-Other life, instead planning to create a new race of improved thralls that are midway between human and Other. As a demonstration, he brings out Rumlow, who has been transformed into an enhanced thrall now called Crossbones.

Before any conflict can break out, the Red Skull reveals one more secret weapon — Steve's former friend Bucky, now transformed into an inhuman figure called the Winter Soldier, who takes Ygritte prisoner. As the Red Skull gloats about making her a host for his beloved's spirit, the two groups begin fighting.

Cressen III

The Guardians and Shireen's group arrive at Hardhome, where they debate a strategy for how to rescue Robb. After Rickon's failed attempts to come up with a plan only lead to pointless arguing amongst the group, Shireen comes up with an actual plan thanks to Groot — he grows plants that she uses to accelerate the rot of Euron's wight guards, which attracts a horde of rats that devour them down to motionless bones.

With the path clear, the group descends into the cave, where Euron waits for them. A battle erupts, during which Robb and Roslyn are knocked into the pool of otherworldly liquid. Euron eventually gains the upper hand and imprisons all his enemies in ice, but before he can kill them, Robb suddenly reemerges from the pool and transforms into a large black monster. He incapacitates Euron, before introducing himself as Venom.

Chapter 61

Jeor VIII

The Night's Watch and wildlings fight against the Red Skull's thralls, with Steve matching the Winter Soldier while Rumlow overpowers the rest of the group, until Tormund and Rhane bring in reinforcements. With this opening, Jeor chases after the Red Skull to save Ygritte. However, as he enters Dawnbreak's main hall, he's restrained in ice by the Red Skull and forced to watch as he sacrifices Craster in order to summon his lover's spirit into Ygritte's body, which has been modified into an Other.

To Jeor and the Red Skull's shock, however, Ygritte is still in control of her body, explaining that the deaths of everyone fighting against the Others outside empowered her to instead lock the Red Skull's lover away, making her a human-Other like Steve. She then fights the Red Skull, who nearly overpowers her before Jeor manages to distract him.

The rest of the group then bursts in, causing the Red Skull to decide to retreat with his thralls, promising that he has something big planned. Afterwards, Jeor and Mance make plans, while worrying what he meant.

Chapter 62

Robb VII

Working in tandem the Venom symbiote, which wants revenge on Euron for all of its kind killed in his experiments, Robb fights through his forces to turn the tide against him. Euron briefly gains the upper hand by taking Shireen hostage, only for her to summon her father's shade to aid her, which he does by mortally stabbing Euron; Robb/Venom then rips off his hand for good measure before he escapes by throwing himself down a crevice.

Damage done to the cavern during the fight causes it to start caving in, and the group flees back to the surface, barely making it back to the ship and escaping in time when Hardhome completely collapses into the sea.

Asha II

Asha, who is revealed to have kept the freedom of her mind despite everything Euron did to her, regains consciousness in the lower levels of the caverns, and starts making her way to the surface, swearing to find Vanko and take revenge on the Starks for everything she blames them for. However, she stumbles on a still alive Euron, whom to her shock manages to merge with another symbiote, which restores his body, though ejecting the stone in his eye socket, which Asha instinctively grabs.

As Asha flees, Euron declares that there will be Carnage.

Chapter 63

Jon VII

The Small Council and a crowd assemble to observe Baelish's trial by combat. As he's brought out, he mocks the council members, especially Cersei and Tywin, for how they've mismanaged running the realm and will only do worse without him. However, Tywin undercuts him by revealing that he's been stripped of his lands and titles, before eventually starting the trial by bringing out Sandor.

Baelish surprises the onlookers by holding his own against Sandor, revealing that he's trained for combat ever since he lost his duel with Brandon Stark. And then he shocks everyone further by revealing that Brandon received a note from Lyanna explaining the truth of her relationship with Rhaegar, only for Baelish to convince him it was false, leading to the events that led into Robert's Rebellion. He then also reveals that Lyanna and Rhaegar had a son, only to be killed by Sandor before he can give a name.

Tywin then calls an emergency council meeting to try and find this child and kill him to end his threat as an heir to the Iron Throne. Realizing it's only a matter of time before the Lannisters learn the truth, Jon and Natasha decide to flee King's Landing the first chance they get.

Chapter 64

Arya VIII

Arya agonizes over her decision to return to Westeros, being torn between her loyalty to the Brotherhood, her desire for her family, and the feeling that she'll forever be stuck between the two. However, she forces herself to focus as the Brotherhood makes their way to the Sealord's manse for the final night of Braavos' Unmasking festival, as she plans to leave with Theon and Lord Manderly in the morning.

Upon reaching the festival, Tony and his group pull Arya aside and inform her of their own plan to flee back to Westeros, having her use her powers to remove the band Magneto put on Tony's wrist and sending it off towards Qarth, so that Magneto will go there looking for them. Arya explains her own plan, and they agree to find an excuse to sneak away during the partying and meet up with Theon.

As the party continues, Charlus mentally speaks to Arya and offers his help, with Hank meeting up with her shortly after. Before they can do anything, however, Wenwu suddenly announces his arrival and declares his intent to seize control of Braavos. He then uses his rings to bring to life the wooden Sentinel statues that had been propped up throughout the festival, which then attack anyone Wenwu views as a threat.

Chapter 65

Tony VI

As the battle unfolds, Tony analyzes the situation, and quickly deduces that the Sentinels can only be defeated by destroying their joints. Before he can tell anyone, he's attacked by several of the Mandarin's cultists, only for Arya to handle them by phasing pieces of metal into their bodies, causing their powers to destabilize and make them explode.

As Theon and Brienne reveal that they've also discovered the Sentinels' weakness, and Arya shares her powers with Rogue to increase their ability to take on the cultists, Magneto summons Tony to him and gives him his new armor to join him in battling the Mandarin. They fight him in midair, during which Tony eventually deduces that he can only use two of his rings at a time. However, before they can take advantage of this, the Mandarin brings the Titan of Braavos to life.

Chapter 66

Adrian V

Adrian reflects on how King's Landing's population has calmed down since Baelish's death, everyone blaming him for everything that's gone wrong and feeling that things will go back to normal now that he's gone. Adrian scoffs at this attitude, but is grateful for it, as security has gotten lax as a result of this, allowing him a chance to steal the Iron Bank payment that is being transported out of the city by Tyrell guards.

Adrian follows the covert wagon out of King's Landing, and when they're far enough into the woods, he ambushes them. However, he's shocked to find the Spiders hiding within the wagon, with the Centurion and the Black Widow disguised as guards, revealing that the payment is still at the Red Keep. Enraged at being tricked, he attacks them.

Chapter 67

Arya IX

Arya helps evacuate civilians out of Braavos as the city burns from the Mandarin's attack. Returning after one such trip, she meets with Toad and a group of Charlus' students, as no one else is still alive in the city outside those involved in the fighting. Toad is convinced that they can't win, as they're outnumbered and barely able to make a dent against their enemies, but Arya is determined to keep fighting.

Seeing Tony and Magneto's fight with Wenwu, and how the Sentinels are slowing down without him to coordinate them, Arya has an idea. She tricks a cultist into attacking a Sentinel, which attacks him in return, soon triggering a large-scale fight between cultists and Sentinels, which Arya figures will buy them time to figure out how to deal with whatever group wins.

Chapter 68

Natasha VI

Natasha, Jon, and the Spiders fight the Vulture King, only for the battle to be complicated by the arrival of the Shocker in support of his employer. When the Shocker grabs ahold of Miles as he swings through the air, Natasha jumps onto him to break his hold and send him to the ground killing him, after which she claims his gauntlets and uses them against the Vulture King. However, he continues to maintain an upper hand throughout the fight, until the Spiders create a giant web, trapping him.

When the Vulture King is then unmasked as Adrian, he continues to rant about his hatred of the Tyrells. When he mentions how Mace has secretly met with the Blackfyres, specifically Magneto, Natasha decides to offer him a deal — join the Night's Watch, and Natasha will help him become Lord Commander so that he can play a role in the war to come against the Others. Intrigued, Adrian agrees to listen.

Chapter 69

Tony VII

Tony and Magneto fight the animated Titan, though Tony feels that something is wrong with what he's seeing. He eventually deduces that it's actually an illusion, and manages to knock the Mandarin out of it. The Mandarin counters by blinding Tony, only to be blasted in return, and when he then tries to crush Tony with gravity, Magneto stabs him from behind. However, this turns out to be another illusion, and they realize that he's escaped.

Ned II

Catelyn wakes early to find Ned has woken early to keep working. They talk about past experiences with their children, which leads to discussing Jon, whom Catelyn now knows the truth about. They begin arguing over how and why Ned kept this a secret for so long, until Nikolas arrives to tell them that Robb's group is returning. They're both relieved, though Catelyn is still in denial about Rickon and the Guardians.

Jory bursts in to announce that Nymeria has arrived in Winter Town with a large pack. Ned insists on riding out to meet her, and is confronted by Sansa in Lady's body, which she proves by writing on the ground, leading to a tearful reunion.

Chapter 70

Tywin VI

Tywin goes about his day, tutoring Tommen in leadership, shooting down Cersei's attempts at politicking the Kingsguard over dinner, and bedding "Joannna" while discussing plans for the winter. The next day, he receives documents from the Citadel revealing Jon as Rhaegar and Lyanna's legitimate son, and falsifies new documents to hide this fact, in order to secure his plans to marry Jon's children to Tommen's in the future.

However, before he can send these forgeries back to the Citadel, he's suddenly confronted in his office by Loras and Margaery, who are revealed to possess super-speed and magic, respectfully. They explain that they were the ones to frame Littlefinger for Joffrey's death and orchestrated the attack on Jon and Natasha's group in the Blue Oyster; furthermore, they’re actually Magneto and Mystique's children, fostered by the Tyrells as part of a long-term plan to take control of Westeros and secure Magneto's reign.

Having explained all this, they then throw Tywin out of the window to his death.

Chapter 71

Ned III

Ned waits outside his solar, which Yondu has claimed, and mingles with his family, warily reflecting on the changes all his children have undergone and how everyone has adapted. He's eventually called into the room, meeting with his resurrected father and siblings. Yondu starts to question the way Ned has handled things as Lord and King, but Drax's antics and bickering with Gamora leads to him inadvertently revealing that when he as Brandon received Lyanna's letter about her relationship with Rhaegar, it was Littlefinger who tricked him into thinking Rhaegar had abducted her. This triggers a rage on Ned's part, leading Yondu to kick everyone out so that they can talk in private.

Now alone, Yondu again questions how seemingly little Ned has done since his death as Rickard, but Ned counters that he had to work hard to rebuild House Stark's reputation in the North after Rickard's Southern politicking ruined it. Yondu yields his point and admits that Ned has earned his place as King. He then leaves and Gamora enters, so she and Ned can discuss Jon, Ned defending his choices and how Catelyn has started to change towards him. However, Gamora is furious to hear that Jon is now a glorified hostage in King's Landing and storms out.

The Watcher

Uatu the Watcher reflects on how long he has observed Westeros in this timeline, and how close to the edge it now is. To try and save it, he has broken his vow of non-intervention and incarnated as a human being — namely Hodor, whose speech impediment is a result of the Watcher's attempts to communicate not translating.

Chapter 72

Cersei III

Cersei's dreams of dominating her enemies in a new golden form are interrupted by the bells announcing Tywin's "suicide". Over Pycelle's objections, Cersei insists on seeing her father's horribly mangled body, which makes her sick. Qyburn offers to find a way to make the corpse look presentable to the people. He also talks of Cersei's new armor and even offers a chance to restore Jofrey and Jaime to a form of life. Cersei is thrown to hear Tommen has already called the Small Council as she makes plans for what she'll do once he names her regent and she appoints puppet Hand, including arresting Jon. But, to Cersei's horror, Tommen first makes Mace Tyrell Master of Laws and then names Jon the new Hand of the King and regent.

Chapter 73

Jeor IX

Jeor oversees as more Free Folk refugees reach Castle Black, while thinking over how there is still a simmering resentment among many Night's Watch members about letting them in, making him worry about the chance of rebellion. As Ygritte joins him, he also reflects on how she and Steve have been having sex since she became an Other, their intense strength making sure everyone has heard them.

Steve, Tormund and Rayne join them, and Steve shares his concerns about the Red Skull's parting threat. Specifically, having been informed of Westeros' history by Maester Aemon, he's worried that the Others will go after Daenerys in order to give them Dragon Riders. As such, they decide to send a group to Essos to track her down before they can.

Robb VIII

During a celebratory feast to welcome everyone back, Robb finds himself ill at ease as he's faced with all the changes that have occurred since the family parted ways. Going out for fresh air, he and Venom discuss things, with the symbiote promising that the whole family will be reunited.

They're joined by Roslin, who is revealed to have also merged with a symbiote, Venom's mate. They swear to stay together and work to make the North stronger than ever.

Chapter 74

Qyburn

Qyburn reflects on his research towards breeding the ultimate human, noting the success of Jon's existence and pleased by his marriage to Natasha, while considering kidnapping Myrcella and drugging her and Robb to conceive a child together. He also notes how Joffrey was a failure but that it would have been worth it to see if his descendants might have become interesting, and also how Tommen now shows promise.

Cersei joins Qyburn, demanding to know if the ritual with the Ultron Armor is ready yet. Qyburn leads her to the armor and enacts the ritual, successfully summoning a spirit into the armor and animating it. However, it soon becomes apparent that it isn't Jaime in the armor, and the pair are horrified when the helm opens to reveal Littlefinger, who then flies away with the armor.

A Web of Lies

Chapter 1

Norman I

In Volantis, Norman Osborn closes out a business deal by killing a debtor and raiding his home. He then travels to the Arena, where he watches the gladiatorial matches with another spectator, who notes Norman's history of ruining the lives of those who cross him, such as infecting Shireen with greyscale to punish Stannis for taking Davos out of his service. Norman kills the man and then watches as Kraven the Hunter enters the ring.

Kraven I

Kraven, whom to the surprise of the audience is a woman, enters the arena and perhaps to fight her opponent, and is disappointed to find that instead of a dragon, it's a former Maester who turned himself into a lizard monster. She kills him and returns to the gladiators' chambers, where she is joined by Norman, who reveals that he knows her true identity — Elia Martell, who escaped the Sack of King's Landing and went into hiding. He recruits her to join a team he's putting together to torment Westeros on behalf of Baelish.

Chapter 2

Natasha I

Natasha awakens Jon, who reluctantly gets out of bed to begin his first day as Hand, the two being attended to by the Spiders, who are now Jon's squires and Natasha's handmaiden. Afterwards, Natasha escorts Sam to the docks, where he's officially leaving on a mission to buy spice on Cersei's orders, but is in actuality taking the Vulture King wings to a trusted contact of Natasha's for safekeeping.

Later in the day, Natasha observes the Small Council meeting from a hidden spot in the ceiling of the room. Tywin's brother Ser Kevan Lannister has been named Master of War to appease the Lannisters, while Oberyn is acting as Master of Ships while Namor is off dealing with the Ironborn. In his position as Hand, Jon chairs the meeting; after it is mentioned that the Sparrow is on the verge of being elected High Septon, Jon brings forth his candidate to replace Baelish as Master or Coin, who has been agreed upon by the rest of the council — Lord Otto Octavius.

Chapter 3

Adrian I

As they make their way north towards the Wall, Adrian bonds with Night's Watch recruiter Yoren over their strict discipline of the other recruits, Adrian's voluntary status, and rumors of Ned's exploits in the war. Adrian reflects on how joining the Night's Watch has helped him spite the Tyrells in a way that can't be legally undone, and looks forward to doing his part in the Council's plans on the Wall.

However, Adrian is surprised by the sudden appearance of Phineas, who tries to convince him to escape, not being aware that Adrian has joined the Night's Watch voluntarily. He then reveals to Adrian that he now unwillingly has a new benefactor — namely Baelish, who ambushes and slaughters most of the recruits before revealing he wants Adrian to be his Hand as he works towards conquering Westeros, gifting him magic gauntlets that recreate his wings and promising him control of the Reach. Not seeing a choice, Adrian pledges loyalty, but convinces Baelish to spare Yoren and the remaining recruits in exchange for their service as well, something Baelish agrees to.

Chapter 4

Pepper I

Pepper berates Tony for working on replacement armor for Rhodey when he should be preparing to leave Braavos, as Magneto is bringing the two of them along when he goes to meet and negotiate with Daenerys, something that Pepper privately notes is doomed to failure. The two are then joined by Arya and Mystique, who also comments on Tony's need to pack, to which Tony responds by casually revealing that Arya is planning to leave for the North.

When Arya flees the room in response, Pepper makes Tony leave as well while forcing Mystique to stay. The two women then discuss Arya's situation and need to return home, which Mystique is hesitant to allow. However, Pepper eventually convinces her that trying to force her to stay will only ruin their relationship, and instead tells her to take other Brotherhood members and accompany Arya under the guise of scouting for Magneto's arrival, which Mystique reluctantly accepts.

Chapter 5

Jaime I

Jaime watches the Free Folk going through the Wall before he discovers one of them trying to rape a young girl: furious, Jaime turns into the Spirit of Vengeance and uses his Penance Stare to punish the would-be rapist. When he returns to the rest of the group, Osha and he banter before she pulls him in to have sex.

The next morning, he joins Meera in checking the traps she's made to keep wights away, as he ponders on some of the things Brynden Rivers did in life. Returning to Bloodraven's chamber, he finds the latter subtly manipulating Bran into training without rest, which he warns Jojen about.

The Old Gods task Jaime with seeking certain artifacts that were once used to fight Thanos and his army, and which need to be recovered so the ones who will fight now can wield them. As the artifacts are spread all over Westeros, he will need a rapid steed, which the Old Gods provide in the form of a black sabercat called Hellfire. Jaime mounts the cat, and the two set out into their quest, leaving a trail of flames behind them.

Chapter 6

Catelyn I

Catelyn has a nightmare where she's faced with some of her darker side, before she once again encounters Tyrion Lannister, who tells her she needs to prepare for the upcoming threats from the North and the East. When Catelyn states she's no warrior, Tyrion replies that she's the Phoenix. Waking up, she has sex with her husband.

The next morning, Robb tells Catelyn that he and Roslin will visit the nearby farms and the roads, where construction of a system of sunstone lamps is undergoing. Yondu and Rickon also intend to head out, as there's something that is still keeping the former from looking at what's going on north of the Wall.

Gamora then approaches Catelyn for a long overdue talk. Catelyn admits that she did wrong to both Jon and her own children, but Gamora warns her that words mean nothing if actions do not accompany them, much like when she dealt with Rhaegar, who married her with the promise of giving her the freedom she wouldn't have found elsewhere but eventually proved to be not that different from others.

Luwin arrives with news: a group of Snowcloaks is coming with someone they claim has fallen from the sky. Robb detects the new person smells like Shireen: said person turns out to be Jane Lokidotter (formerly Seaworth), Crowned Heir of Asgard. Jane brings news: Thor and Loki have also traveled to Midgard, but have landed elsewhere, because the Bifrost was not properly prepared due to Asgard being sealed shut, because something has come from the land of the dead - Ultron.

Chapter 7

Daenerys I

Daenerys awakens early one morning and, after reflecting on Viktor's lessons about a leader needing to be proactive, flies out to rouse her dragons, leading them out to the fields where they're being trained to not simply attack and feed on just any living beings. There, she's met by Bruce, who sleeps away from the city in case nightmares cause him to turn into the Hulk and rampage.

After some conversation, Dany convinces Bruce to finally tell her of his time in Valyria. He explains how he wandered the wasteland until he uncovered scrolls that explained the true nature of the Doom — the dragonlords grew envious of their dragons' power and sought to magically emulate it in themselves. However, this eventually caused En Sabah of House Nur to transform into the monstrous Apocalypse, who was so powerful it took the entire population fighting him to kill him, at the cost of all their lives. And even then, his blood has since poisoned the land, mutating anything exposed to it; Bruce became the Hulk because a small cut on his finger was exposed to contaminated water.

Deeply shaken by this, Dany has Bruce escort her back to the city, too troubled to use her powers for fear of starting down a similar path.

Chapter 8

Bran I

Bran attends his next lesson with Bloodraven, who guides him through how to warg into trees in order to view their memories of the world. As a demonstration of this, they connect to a heart tree that was once in the Red Keep and view a private conversation between Aenys and Maegor Targaryen. Bran is shocked to learn that the two were not the rivals presented by historical texts, but in fact were incestuous lovers driven apart by their father's desire for Aenys to be king. Bloodraven uses this as an example of how history can't be trusted because people prefer great stories.

Chapter 9

Benjen I

On a ship bound for Essos, Benjen speaks with Dolorous Edd, who notes that Ygritte is smarter than she lets on, citing his own past experiences with the Mountain Clans of the Vale. Afterward, he speaks with Steve and asks to learn more about Bucky, not as the Winter Soldier but as Steve knew him. Steve happily speaks of their history and their families, but this eventually segues into a conversation about the modern Lannisters, with Benjen assuring Steve about Jaime and Tyrion but admitting to Cersei, Tywin, and Joffrey's flaws.

Daenerys II

After returning from her walk with Bruce and cleaning up, Daenerys joins her Small Council for breakfast. She learns that several smaller towns and villages in the countryside surrounding the newly renamed Dragon's Bay are refusing to yield to her reign; she orders that trade be cut off to them in order to starve them out. The topic then shifts to the Juggernaut, who has been kept in a drug-induced coma until a decision can be made about what to do with him, with Daenerys having sent word to his brother Charlus to arrive and have a say.

Viktor suddenly arrives, and after introductions are made, he warns against trusting Charlus due to his abilities, and also for his relationship with Magneto, whose true identity Viktor is aware of, alongside Mystique's. Furthermore, Viktor warns that powerful figures from all over will soon descend on Meereen due to the captive Juggernaut being a potential prize and useful asset. His advice to Daenerys is to let them, and then let them slaughter each other.

Chapter 10

Kraven II

Kraven and Osborn arrive back in Westeros in the Fingers, only for their boat rowers to flee rather than take them to their final destination, which they are fearful of. Traveling the remaining distance on foot, the pair arrive at the Tower of House Baelish, where Osborn's instructions said to use as a base once Baelish was dead and the plan was put into motion. To their surprise, the surrounding village is deserted, and the tower shows no sign of being inhabited recently.

Hearing the sound of someone else present in the tower, Kraven and Osborn ascend to the solar, where they're greeted by Baelish in the Ultron armor. It's revealed that Osborn was meant to act as Baelish's posthumous revenge if the great lords ever killed him, ordered to spread chaos across Westeros indiscriminately. Now that he's returned from death, Baelish intends to now lead that plan personally, and use that chaos to make himself King in perpetuity. To ensure Kraven's flagging interest in his schemes, he reveals that Rhaegar and Lyanna's son still lives and promises to give Kraven his identity in exchange for her loyalty.

The group is joined by Adrien, who arrives with gifts Baelish ordered for the pair — wildfire capsules called Pumpkin Bombs for Osborn, who is dubbed the Goblin King and Baelish's Master of Whispers, and the sword of Lewyn Martell for Kraven, whom he names his Master of Laws.

Chapter 11

Gwen I

Gwen is patrolling the city, internally monologuing about how the King and Small Council don't actually own King's Landing because they don't really know it the way she does, when she's joined by Miles, who after some playful banter admits that he's avoiding his patrol route because his father will also be patrolling the area. While Gwen tries to assure him to the contrary, Miles admits that he's sure his father would be furious if he learned the Spiders' identities.

Petyr suddenly sends up a flare to catch their attention, and they quickly join him atop Tobho Mott's shop. After explaining that he's learned of Mott having received a large shipment of Valyrian Steel that someone is at the moment trying to steal from the shop. And before the three can come up with a plan, the thief goes around Petyr's blocking of the door by easily smashing through the wall.

The Spiders confront the thief, who identifies himself as Docktore Octopus (or Doc Ock for short, as he states), before fighting off the Spiders with octopus tentacles that burst out of his back. He quickly overpowers the three and then leaves, leaving the Spiders wondering what just happened.

Chapter 12

Sandor I

Sandor visits the Night Queen, who is now living in King's Landing biggest brothel: after Tywin's death, she realized she had lost any protection she had and left the Red Keep. The Night Queen reveals that she has found that Littlefinger had previously owned all of the city's brothels, and she's managed to take over, slowly turning the prostitutes into her thralls and using them as a spy network. Sandor notes that Jon Stark is asking about Sansa, but, as the Night Queen states, she no longer resembles the young girl Jon knew as his sister. The Night Queen then pulls Sandor into her bed for a round of sex.

Robb I

Robb and Venom learn that a former soldier of the North called Morbin has been behaving strangely, retiring from fighting to become a solitary farmer in a barn nearby Winterfell, and move there to investigate. A Winterfell maid appears, and Morbin meets her, but now transformed into some kind of monster.

Morbin reveals that, when fighting against the Lannisters, he was injured and found a tomb that contained a journal, which spoke of creatures made by former worshipers of the Others that wished to replace their lost masters: vampires. They were wiped out by the "Daywalker", but now that he has become one, he intends to use the journal to rise them again - and he intends to make the maid his vampire queen, so they can overthrow the Starks and enslave or kill everyone in the castle.

Just before Robb can attack, Roslin shows up and bites Morbin's head off, instantly killing him and turning him into ashes, much to Venom's anger. Martine tries to attack Roslin, but when Robb stops her, she attempts to claim she was forced to do everything. Roslin, not believing her, kills and eats the servant.

Chapter 13

Jon I

As per his duty as Hand, Jon listens to petitions to the Iron Throne, with Margaery in attendance and Pycelle advising. After several petitioners, Tobho Mott approaches and explains the robbery of his shop, stating that the evidence points towards the Spiders. Lord Jonah Jamison loudly proclaims that this proves the Spiders are menaces, and levels accusations at the court and the Tyrells for being responsible for them, before Loras escorts him out. Jon ends court for the day following this, after which Pycelle explains that Jamison is a minor Stormlands lord who lost his lands due to supporting Joffrey over Stannis and Renly, and has been unable to reclaim them due to his subjects and neighbors despising him for his habit of spreading all secrets and rumors he learns, even if there's no evidence to support them. Pycelle also mentions that Jamison has a sellsword enforcer called Gargan the Scorpion who defends him from anyone seeking retribution.

A page arrives to inform Jon that the new High Septon, the man mockingly called "the High Sparrow", wishes to speak with him. Jon meets with the High Septon, with whom he makes conversation regarding the differences between their faiths, before the High Septon mentions the crown's debt to the Faith. Jon notes with unease that the man doesn't seem pleased when he learns that the crown is taking steps to repay the debt, and intends to keep an eye on him.

Chapter 14

Benjen II

Benjen's group arrives in Braavos, and before searching for passage to Meereen, stop to eat in a tavern designed to look like an exaggerated version of Winterfell. While there, they are drawn into a disagreement between several other patrons, leading to a brawl. Afterwards, they speak with the man they sided with, revealed to be Isamalwi/Sam, who upon learning Benjen's identity explains that he's acting on behalf of Jon and Natasha; in the process, he also reveals Joffrey's death and Jon's elevation to Hand, which Benjen was unaware of.

As Sam is also traveling to Meereen, it is agreed that he will join the group.

Chapter 15

Cersei I

Cersei angrily reflects on her looks fading with age, and how Tommen has been ignoring her in order to focus on being king, and makes herself feel better by spreading rumors that Margaery is infertile. She then joins Margaery at a tea meeting for the Red Keep's ladies, along with Olenna and Natasha. Midway through the meeting, she receives a message which disturbs her.

Following the message's instructions, Cersei travels to a dress shop that is a front for Qyburn's new lair. She demands to know why he's still in King's Landing when he was meant to leave the city, and is horrified to see that he's killed the men she had sent to escort him out and then kill him in order to silence him. Qyburn makes it clear that he intends to continue their alliance, and tasks Cersei with using her influence as Queen to begin arranging matchmakings for the sake of his experiments, and to aid him in getting Natasha pregnant.

Chapter 16

Daenerys III

Daenerys and Barristan argue over whether she should accept a dress offered as a gift by the representatives from Myr, with Daenerys making it clear that she intends to be seen as a ruler and conquerer, not a delicate womanly figure. The two and Viktor then make their way to the throne room to meet more delegates, with Viktor informing her of Wakanda's presence and warning her that he has a history with the Pentoshi representatives, including Magister Illyrio's children, and that it might lead to a fight.

During the meetings, Daenerys ignores most of the delegates' condescending comments, until Ulysses Klaue comes forward. The blacksmith makes it clear that his only interest in the captive Juggernaut is building a better prison for him, hoping to earn Daenerys' favor with both this and the gift of an Adamantium sword. He states that he wishes to serve under her so that he may study if her and her dragons' fire is the key to relearning how to make Valyrian steel. Daenerys is impressed and allows him to serve her on a probationary business.

Daenerys then meets with the Pentoshi delegation, Rickard Reed, Susan Storm, Johnny Storm, and Benjen the Grimstone, all of whom are known to Bruce, having traveled with him to Valyria and also been changed by it — Rickard can stretch his body, Susan can turn invisible, Johnny can conjure flames like Daenerys, and Benjen has been transformed into a rock-skinned being. While Daenerys is intrigued, Viktor's warning proves accurate, and an argument breaks out between him and the group before Daenerys intervenes. Afterwards, she pulls Viktor and her Small Council aside to discuss the situation, with Viktor warning that the four will be opposed to her plans for Westeros.

Reconvening in the throne room, Daenerys meets the Wakandan representative — N'Jakada.

Chapter 17

Arya I

Lord Manderly and Arya's companions realize that they might not be believed when Arya shows up due to how much she has changed, so Mystique shapeshifts into Arya as she was before Harrenhal - although Arya disagrees, her warped sense of self-worth unable to see the truth. She does relent when she learns how the Lannisters (allegedly) tried to pass off a whore as Sansa.

Arriving into White Harbor, Lord Manderly leads everyone to the New Castle, allowing them to see the new improvements to his city (such as using sunstones to illuminate the streets). Entering the castle, they find Lord Roose Bolton, who immediately identifies Mystique-as-Arya as fake while recognizing Arya as the real deal. Bolton then informs them about the changes underwent by Arya's siblings as to why he immediately recognized Arya.

Upset with the idea, but unable to really determine why she's upset, Arya uses her power to slip out of her room and explore the castle, only to find Lords Bolton and Manderly conversing: the former indicates his reluctance at accepting the great growth in power the Starks have gained, as it has rendered the old balance between the Great Houses of the North obsolete. However, Manderly is not very concerned, as he knows the Starks will also be worried to work on improving the state of the North while he can easily reap the benefits by remaining loyal and doing the same things he already does. Bolton leaves, and Manderly calls out to Arya - or whoever was spying, as he expected someone to be spying - to point out that he didn't tailor his words just for her.

Chapter 18

Adrian II

On a ship bound for the Land of Always Winter, Adrian is made to listen as Baelish monologues about his beliefs regarding how kings must present themselves to the smallfolk to maintain their power. Upon reaching their destination, a small wildling village on the coast, Adrian is sent ahead to search for its inhabitants. Before long, he finds that the villagers are all dead, and stumbles on their killer — Euron, who unleashes the Carnage symbiote to fight Adrian, who counters with his new Vulture King suit until Baelish interferes and blasts Euron into submission. He then offers Euron a chance to join his planned campaign against his enemies, which Euron accepts, though Baelish admits to Adrian afterwards that the symbiote has made him even more insane than he already was, which may prove problematic in the future.

Chapter 19

Catelyn II

Catelyn has a dream where she reflects on her childhood at Riverrun and how she misses it, while another voice tells her not to romanticize it, that things were not as good as she dreams of. As she argues with the voice, it tells her to wake up... and she does, to find Ned attempting to shake her off: she has been in her strange dream for at least two hours, during which she was building a fire in the hearth, and even fought off her husband when he attempted to restrain her. After reassuring themselves that Catelyn is now out of her strange fit, everyone leaves, save for Jane and Catelyn's maid, Moyra.

Jane and Catelyn take to speak about the Faith of the Seven, with Jane (the future Queen of Asgard) stating rather firmly that Asgardians are not gods and are not controlling the fates of the people. This leads to Catelyn bringing up Baelish, still feeling guilty that she told Ned he could trust her old friend Petyr, only for Jane to reveal the stories he would tell, like claiming that Robb was his bastard son or tall tales about his duel with Brandon Stark, which turns out to have been a lot less dramatic than thought. When Catelyn asks why all of it matters, Jane replies that Catelyn, in spite of everything, still calls Baelish a friend, and leaves.

Chapter 20

Jeor I

Jeor meets with Alliser Thorne, Bowen Marsh, Maester Aemon, Mance Rayder, and a few others to discuss the current situation, while Jeor reflects on Thorne and Marsh's issues. When Marsh brings up the need not to anger Tywin Lannister, Aemon replies that that'll be no trouble: Tywin is dead. Marsh attempts to defend Tywin's good name, but Aemon harshly puts him down - and then does the same with Thoren Smallwood when he states there's an error with the claim that Jon Stark is the new Hand. Jeor decides to end the meeting there before tempers run too high.

Jeor and Mance go to the top of the Wall, where their amiable talk gets interrupted by a skeleton-like man riding a black sabercat. Jeor pulls his sword out, but Mance stops him, admitting to have sinned but that they are also seeking atonement for their mistakes. The skeleton leaves, and Jeor asks Mance what that was: Mance tells him the legend of a being, a Champion of the Old Gods that travels the world, seeking to punish evil, protect the innocent and sparing the repentant - the Ghost Rider.

Chapter 21

Ned I

Ned comes across a report that Lady Barbrey Dustin remains obdurate in her intentions to not respect Winterfell or properly rule the Barrowlands. He decides to remove her from power and grant the lordship to someone other than Bran or Rickon, as the former is still missing and the latter is too strange to be considered a good lord.

Fury arrives, stating that not only does Barbrey have to be removed, but so does her father, Lord Rodrik Ryswell, who covets Roose Bolton's small council seat and desires to have Robb set Roslin aside. To make matters worse, Fury's spies have intercepted a letter from Barbrey to the Lannisters, stating her intentions to rebel against Ned.

Before Ned can call the banners to deal with her, Fury advises against it. Even with him having rid Winterfell of all spies not loyal to the King, someone might still send word to Barbrey, which would only complicate things. Instead, he suggests sending Robb, who would be able to deal with Barbrey more discreetly and with less of a fuss.

Jane and Shireen enter, with Fury admitting he arranged it to meet with both women and ascertain their loyalties, but Shireen makes it obvious she won't stand for Fury's tricks, and Ned tells him to leave. Shireen presents her idea: if Ned were to reveal Jon as Rhaegar's son, they might be able to count on the South's remaining loyalty to the Targaryens to bring down the Lannisters and end the war once and for all.

Before Ned can say his opinion, Jory comes with terrible news from a nearby village, asking him to come to the gates. Ned finds a wagon full of corpses, which have had their chest cavity completely emptied out, and their throats slashed out. Luwin presents a hypothesis: the only person they know would be able to do such a thing would be Robb/Venom, who is currently in the Wolfswood. Ned orders a group of soldiers to bring Robb back so he can interrogate him.

Chapter 22

Natasha II

Natasha organizes a small gathering where she and Jon treat with Kevan Lannister and his wife Dorna, as well as Otto Octavius and his wife Rosalie. She has a goal: finding allies among the Lannisters to better secure their situation for the future.

During dinner, conversation turns to Tommen, whom Jon suspects to be left-handed, which brings Octavius to speak of the cycles of history: based on his research, history experiences cycles of 43 years that begin with great upheaval, followed by a period of prosperity, before it ends in stagnation - only that, with Robert, this never followed, as the upheaval caused by the Rebellion went straight into stagnation, wasting the many opportunities he had of achieving greatness for the Seven Kingdoms. As everyone comments on how Joffrey's reign only caused further troubles for everyone and they toast to Tommen's health, Natasha mentally notes that she hopes to stop the divisions amongst the people of Westeros, because Thanos will be attacking sooner or later.

Chapter 23

Gwen II

Gwen steals several books on magic from the Red Keep's library - books that may contain information on how Doc Ock managed to get the tentacles he used to attack the Spiders. After a brief detour on Petyr and Gwen having sex, the Spiders and May Parker begin to read the books only to be quickly found by Jon, Natasha, Clint, and Varys. Petyr's poor attempts to hide what they are doing only serve to anger Jon, who berates the Spiders for not coming to him with what happened in order to get help in discovering who this mysterious man is. Nonetheless, the four adults decide to help them... when Otto Octavius appears, offering to help when he learns the teens want to learn more about magic. As the Maester of Coin leaves, Gwen lets out an expletive, as she, Petyr, and Miles have recognized Octavius as Doc Ock.

Chapter 24

Cersei II

Cersei reminisces of the day she first came to the Red Keep and the first time she saw Rhaegar, as well as how things had been after becoming the Queen - and comparing to the current situation where no one pays her any mind. She demands a maid to explain why there's no one from her family breaking their fast, only to be shocked to learn that it is already past noon. Her paranoid delusions nearly lead to her murdering the maid in cold blood, only to be interrupted by meeting Mace Tyrell and his guards.

Cersei attempts to manipulate Mace as they eat together, veiledly insulting him while trying to drive a split between him and his children, but Mace manages to deftly repel all of it as he speaks of his pride for his children - and turning sinister as he shows to her how he's far more capable by claiming that he controls a good part of the criminals in the city, stating he's a king of the people, a Kingpin if you will. As he points out that she has no allies within the Red Keep, much less the city, Cersei attempts to attack him with her energy dagger before being stopped by Margaery using her powers. Margaery threatens to kill Cersei, but Mace tells her they aren't ready to be rid of her yet, so Margaery lets her go... but also uses her power to not only keep her from saying anything about what happened at the room, but forcing her to say nothing but what Margaery wants her to say.

Chapter 25

Tony I

The Brotherhood have joined the encampments of travelers who have come to Meereen to speak with Daenerys, waiting for their chance to do so. Tony, seeking a way to escape Magneto's control, goes on a walk around the area with Pepper (and Sabertooth acting as escort to keep an eye on them). They eventually come across Sam, whom they ask about the rumors of Tywin's death; upon his confirmation, they panic at the thought that Jon is now in danger, only to be dumbfounded when Sam informs them about Jon being Hand.

Steve comes across them while looking for Sam, and briefly mistakes Tony for Brandon the Builder. Suddenly, a fireball falls from the sky, revealed to be Thor; he and Steve recognize each other, and Thor also mistakes Tony for Brandon.

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