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Qarth

"Qarth has always and only belonged to the Qartheen. We were never part of Valyria's empire, nor have we ever fallen to a Dothraki horde. Our walls and the Red Waste outside them guard us from such annoyance. [...] Our city, however, would be quite a prize for any empire. Qarth straddles two worlds: a greedy and curious west and a rich and mysterious east. The marvels of Yi Ti and Asshai pass through our markets and share berths with the riches of the Free Cities and Westeros. Our ports have fulfilled many a trader's dreams, almost as many as they have broken."

— Xaro Xhoan Daxos, Histories and Lore

Possibly the richest and most populous city in the world, dubbed "the Greatest City that Ever Was or Will Be" by its inhabitants. Qarth is strategically placed in a narrow strait between continents, south of the Red Waste, and is dominated by a council of merchants.^{From the Books...}

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In General

Adaptational Modesty: The style of the Qartheen woman gown, which leaves one breast bare, is omitted from the show.
Decadent Court: According to Xaro Xhoan Daxos in "Histories & Lore: Qarth" feature, the Thirteen can be this to merchants who are not Pureborn or the Warlocks' representative: a merchant only remains in the Thirteen if he can keep the other twelve too afraid to deny him (re: kill him).
Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Part Ancient Carthage^note, part Medieval Constantinople. The show's depiction uses motifs from Ancient Babylon, Persia and India.
Merchant City: A center of trade ruled by a council consists of mostly merchants.
Patriotic Fervor: The Qartheen look down on all foreigners and close their doors to let anyone they don't like die in the Red Waste, the grounds around the city is called the Garden of Bones where the unfortunates likely die.
The Proud Elite: The Qartheen consider themselves the pinnacle of civilization.
Proud Merchant Race: Their society is built on their skill as businessmen and traders.
Qurac: The "rich, but arrogant and morally decadent Orient" version.
Race Lift: In the books the Qartheen are all of pale complexion. TV Qartheen are played by actors of many different ethnicities - sort of emphasizing that it is a global trade hub.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Even though Season 2 ended with all its leaders dead (which, considering its status as global trading hub, one would think should be detrimental to the economy of Essos) there's been no word on whatever happened to Qarth since then.

Xaro Xhoan Daxos

"A man is what others say he is and no more."

Played By: Nonso Anozie

"Do you think the path from poverty to wealth is always pure and honorable? I have done many things, Khaleesi, that a righteous man would condemn. And here I am. With no regrets."

A merchant prince of Qarth and member of "The Thirteen", the ruling oligarchy of the city. Originally a native of the Summer Islands that "hit the docks as cargo", he is now reputed to be the richest man in the city.

Adaptational Attractiveness: In the books he's a skinny bald pale guy with jewels encrusting his huge beaky nose. Sort of like a far less muscular version of Xerxes in 300.
Adaptational Badass: From the effimenate Ambiguously Gay merchant to a sword wielding Summer Islander. His first instinct when surrounded by Dany's Khalasar (while naked and in bed) is to growl and reach for his sword.
Adaptational Villainy: While in the books he's hardly a nice guy and Dany is constantly suspicious of him, here he's far more proactive and ambitious.
Affably Evil: Polite to Dany even as he murders members of her khalasar and his own guards and kidnaps her dragons.
Adaptational Sexuality: While in the books Xaro remains Ambiguously Gay — being served by pretty boys in silk — and not paying any attention to Daenerys in typical Qartheen garb (which leaves one breast exposed), TV Xaros is clearly heterosexual and later takes Doreah as his mistress.
Agent Scully: So Pyat Pree just performed bilocation in your home and surrounded by a bunch of people. Sure it's a parlor trick. Subverted: Pree and Xaro are actually in cahoots and the doubting of Pree's skills/animosity was mutual Obfuscating Stupidity. Xaro later makes use of Pree's duplication ability in order to kill the other members of the Thirteen.
Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The last words we hear from him as he's being sealed into his own vault are desperate pleading about how he can help Daenerys secure the Iron Throne for real this time, honest.
Alliterative Name: Xaro Xhoan, but averted with Daxos. Still, that's a lot of Xs.
Ambition Is Evil: Not necessarily evil, per se, but it certainly forces one to do things that "a righteous man would condemn," as Xaro tries to elucidate to Dany.
Arc Villain: The primary villain in Daenerys' storyline in season 2.
Arranged Marriage: Offers it to Daenerys.
Bad Boss: Has some his Civic Guard bodyguards killed in his plot to steal Daenerys' dragons
Blood Oath: Cuts his hand and shows the blood as part of his oath to stand for Daenerys and her people.
Death by Adaptation: Unless he somehow manages to escape from his impenetrable vault before he starves or runs out of air. Word of God states he's dead. ^{From the Books...}
False Flag Operation: He stages the robbery of the dragons at his manse, which includes killing several of his bodyguards.
The Farmer and the Viper: Played with. He is legitimately grateful to the leaders of Qarth for letting him enter the city as a boy, but since he thinks Qarth should open its doors to the world, he has the other members of the Thirteen (minus Pree) killed.
Klingon Promotion: Murdering the rest of the Qartheen leadership to install himself as King. It only lasts for a fortnight however.
Karmic Death: Dany seals him and Doreah inside his impenetrable vault.
Large and in Charge: He's 6"6 and towers over every other character.
Merchant Prince: He's richest man in Essos (or so he likes others to think) and member of "The Thirteen," the ruling council of the city.
Mock Millionaire: He's not nearly as wealthy as he appears. His impenetrable vault is actually empty. That being said, he has a lot of golden statues and valuables inside his mansion — it seems as if Xaro spent all his actual money on appearing rich. In the Histories & Lore featurette, Xaro explains that the Thirteen do this is to make the Qartheen proud of the city, and to make the other twelve doubt to remove a member of the council. Dany loots his house and uses the money to buy a ship, which she uses to get to Astapor, the setting for her storyline of Season 3.
Non-Action Guy: For all his Othello-like look and sword-wielding he never gets his hands dirty.
Race Lift: In the books, he's just like the rest of the Qartheen, that is pale-skinned (the Dothraki call the Qartheen "Milk Men"). In the series, Xaro handwaves his being the only member of the Thirteen who is not white by explaining that he is originally from the Summer Isles. ^{From the books...}
Rags to Riches: His parents never owned a single pair of shoes. Xaro himself arrived at Qarth with nothing. Now he's the richest man in the richest city in Essos... but only as far as appearances go.
Rags to Royalty: Accomplishing this is his reason for wanting to marry Dany. In "A Man Without Honor", he has Pyat Pree assassinate the other eleven members of the Thirteen, allowing him to become the King of Qarth.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: He gives one to the Council of Thirteen before he kills them, but it falls rather flat considering that he's motivated solely by selfish ambition.
Xaro Xhoan Daxos: You would keep your gates and your minds closed to everything outside your walls, but Qarth cannot remain the greatest city that ever was if it refuses to change. I will open Qarth to the world as I have forced it to open itself to me.
The Resenter: With regards to the Thirteen, particularly the Pureborn.
Sealed Room in the Middle of Nowhere: Not quite the middle of nowhere, but Dany does lock him in a sealed room with no possible method of escape.
Self-Made Man: The image he likes to project.
Smug Snake: After killing The Thirteen, he practically does become the sole ruler for Qarth and is convinced that Dany won’t survive. Too bad for him, he underestimated her dragons, whom happened to mature enough just in time to save their mother... and even when he realizes this, he still tries to talk his way out of it. (It doesn’t work this time.)
The Starscream: He has Pyat Pree murder all the rest of the Thirteen to crown himself the King of Qarth.
Token Minority: And it actually becomes something of a plot point.
Treacherous Advisor: He helps Pyat Pree capture Dany's dragons in return for his help assassinating the other eleven members of the Thirteen so he can become King.
Visionary Villain: He seems to want to open Qarth to the world instead of keeping it secluded.
Xanatos Gambit: By making an alliance with Pyat Pree and proposing marriage to Daenerys, he will accomplish his Rags to Royalty plan either way; either Dany refuses to marry him, so he betrays her and Pree makes him king of Qarth in exchange for her dragons, or she accepts, in which case he would presumably screw over Pree and get her dragons for himself. Unfortunately, his plans failed to account for one important thing: The dragons.

Pyat Pree

"The Mother of Dragons will be with her babies. She will give them her love and they will thrive by her side. Forever."

Played By: Ian Hanmore

"When your dragons were born our magic was born again."

A Qartheen warlock loyal to the "Undying Ones" and a member of The Thirteen.

Adaptational Badass: His Me's a Crowd ability doesn't show up in the books.
Affably Evil: Courteous, amiable, and surprisingly eager to take Dany's side in an argument...albeit for extremely dark and clandestine purposes.
Alliterative Name: Pyat Pree.
Bald of Evil: Looks like a carbon copy of Nosferatu, all he lacks is the posture.
Bullying a Dragon: Turns out that telling Dany he plans to keep her imprisoned there forever while his vulnerable original form is standing right in front of her fire-breathing dragons is a bad idea.
Composite Character: Taking the place of his own masters, the Undying Ones.
Death by Adaptation: Takes the place of the Undying Ones in being killed by the dragons in the House of the Undying. In the books, he's still alive, but very close to his imminent death at the hands of Euron Greyjoy.
Dragon with an Agenda: To Xaro Xhoan Daxos. Xaro being the wealthiest man in Qarth is a lie, but Pyat's magic is very real and with it he is very dangerous, ultimately posing more of a threat than the "King of Qarth". And his agenda, of course, is to imprison Dany in the House of the Undying, so that Dany and her dragons will sustain his magic forever.
Evil Sorcerer: A warlock, but the principle's the same.
Icy Blue Eyes: His cold blue eyes are part of what makes him Obviously Evil.
Guy Liner: Pyat appears to be wearing purple lipstick and eyeshadow, although Xaro claims that this is due to the massive amounts of "Shade Of The Evening" that warlocks drink.
Just One Little Mistake: If only Pyat had summoned magic *muzzles* rather than chains...
Karmic Death: He wanted the power of Dany's dragons ... he got it.
Kill It with Fire: Burned to death with dragonfire at Daenerys' command.
Lean and Mean: He's the thinnest of the Thirteen, who are all well-fed merchants.
Looks Like Orlok: He might not suck blood but damn if he doesn't look the part.
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Xaro Xhoan Daxos dismisses his so-called powers as parlor tricks. It's actually Obfuscating Stupidity on his behalf as Xaro and Pree are in cahoots.
Me's a Crowd: He can create copies of himself. Initially, the copies don't seem to be able to do that much apart from stand around and talk, but it later turns out that they are able to kill on command. When "killed" they collapse into nothingness, leaving behind clean clothes.
No Ontological Inertia: After Dany's dragons burn him to a crisp, his copies disappear entirely.
Obviously Evil: Despite how polite he is, Pree is creepy from the start. He's unnaturally thin, demonstrates his magic in a creepy way, never seems to blink and has odd-coloured lips.
Oddly Small Organization: The "Warlocks of Qarth" apparently consist entirely of a single guy: Pyat Pree. Averted in Season 3 when another Warlock appears.
Uncertain Doom: His Me's a Crowd ability means that the watcher can't be 100% sure that he is dead everytime he is "killed" on screen because it can be just a duplicate. In "Valar Dohaeris", an assassin sent either by Pyat Pree or an unknown warlock in league with him attempts to kill Daenerys in the docks of Astapor, so even if Pree is really dead his legacy is very much alive.
The Unsmile: And a creepy, creepy, creepy one at that.

The Spice King

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spice_king.png

"My name is quite long and quite impossible for foreigners to pronounce. I am simply a trader of spices."

Played By: Nicholas Blane

"Unlike you I do not have exalted ancestors. I make my living by trade and I judge every trade on its merits."

Another member of the Thirteen. Second richest man in Qarth after Xaro Xhoan Daxos and owner of its biggest merchant fleet.

Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: The Spice King is very polite and very condescending.
Board to Death: Killed along with the rest of the Thirteen by Pyat Pree this way.
Canon Foreigner: There's no Spice King in the books, just the Ancient Guild of Spicers, a trade guild rival to the Thirteen, who are also a trade group and not the rulers of Qarth. However, his appearance and tone are quite similar to the way Xaro Xoan Daxos is described in the book, including the mention of a difficult to pronounce name, to the point that some readers may have assumed he was Xaro when he first appeared.
Composite Character: Of several of the Pureborn (the ruling elite of Qarth) and the book version of Xaro.
Deadpan Snarker: He's quite witty and even self-deprecating at times.
Daenerys: I am not your little princess. I am Daenerys Stormborn of the blood of old Valyria and I will take what is mine. With fire and blood, I will take it.
The Spice King: Yes, My Lady, but not with my ships.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": To quote the man himself, "I am merely a trader of spices."
Fat Bastard: He's extremely overweight and very smug.
Faux Affably Evil: The Spice King might be polite and flattering to guests, but the affability is largely superficial and readily vanishes when displeased.
Incoming Ham: The first time he makes an appearance, before we even see him, we hear his voice theatrically (and ever so slightly sarcastically) proclaiming "The Mother of Dragons!" From Xaro Xhoan Daxos's rather dry response, it's implied he's rather fond of making his entrances like this.
Xaro: Ah, here he comes.
Insistent Terminology: Referring to Qarth as the greatest city that ever was or will be. Likewise, calling himself a trader of spices.
Jerkass Has a Point:
- His reluctance to fund Daenerys' campaign is entirely justified; the crown was never hers, but her father's, she has no known allies in Westeros, no army, and no resources other than "three dragons the size of cats." From his own point of view, giving Daenerys ships to go to Westeros is simply a bad investment.
- His dislike of Daenerys' dragons as bringing the world nothing but misery was justified as well in hindsight. While they're the main reason why slavery has been uprooted forever in Slaver's Bay, that doesn't make up for one of Daenerys' dragons being the reason why the White Walkers are able to start their apocalyptic war against humankind when it's killed and resurrected by the Night King so he can destroy the Wall.
Loophole Abuse: When the Thirteen begin to turn her away, Daenerys indignantly points out that they promised to receive her and her people. The Spice King deftly counters this, saying they have indeed received (met with) her.
Merchant Prince: It's right there in his name. His status as a wealthy merchant affords him a seat on the ruling council of the city.
Politeness Judo: He regularly engages in it with Xaro. Not so much with Dany, who's far too blunt.
Proud Merchant Race Guy: The Spice King is extremely proud of the power he wields, despite having no 'exalted ancestors'.
Self-Deprecation: As part of his Politeness Judo.
Spice King: Xaro Xhoan Daxos, she is far too lovely for a glorified dockworker like yourself.
Xaro: Very true, and yet they say that your grandfather, who sold pepper off the back of a wagon, married a lady far lovelier and higher born than himself.
Spice King: Every lady alive was lovelier and higher born than my grandfather.
Sissy Villain: His somewhat preening nature meant many viewers mistook him for the show's version of Xaro Xhoan Daxos at first, who was heavily implied to be gay in the books.
Slashed Throat: Pyat Pree opens his throat at the behest of Xaro Xhoan Daxos, along with the rest of the Thirteen.
The Unpronounceable: Apparently his true name is impossible for foreigners to pronounce.
Villainy-Free Villain: His 'villainy' consists exclusively of knocking Daenerys off her high horse, which really needed doing.

Quaithe

"I am no one."

Played By: Laura Pradelska

A shadowbinder from Asshai, like Melisandre, now residing in Qarth.

All There in the Manual: Her name is not said on screen.
Armor-Piercing Question: She gives one to Jorah when she asks him if he'll betray Daenerys again the second time they meet.
Cool Mask: She wears a mask that is partly metal and fabric, covering her entire face save for her eyes.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: She gets further appearances in the book while her TV version has been forgotten.
The Faceless: Hides her face behind a mask at all times.
Hyper-Awareness: Due to her prophetic and magical abilities, she's very in-tune with the world around her. She realizes that Jorah is behind her before turning to see him.
Mysterious Past: She herself claims to be 'no one'.
The Omniscient: Quaithe has prophetic abilities and knows the identity of Jorah without asking him.

Characters / Game of Thrones - Qarth

Qarth