TYRION — Chapter 34

Days out of Volantis, Penny finally leaves her cabin amid the crew’s nightly prayers to R’hllor, where Moqorro dominates the ship’s life. Tyrion notes Penny’s isolation and the sailors’ superstition, then seeks warmth by Moqorro’s nightfire. The red priest foresees dragons of many kinds and calls Tyrion “a small man with a big shadow.”

Below, Tyrion spars verbally with Jorah Mormont about Penny, revealing Jorah’s cold obsession with Daenerys. Boredom and bleak thoughts dog Tyrion at sea. In the galley, he tries to befriend Penny, but their talk erupts when she blames him for dwarf murders and her brother’s death; she throws wine in his face and flees.

A red dawn warns of storm. Tyrion rides it out on deck as the ship is driven off course; evening finds Jorah drunk and sick below. Later, Tyrion and Penny meet again on the forecastle. The brush with death softens her anger; they share losses and small jokes, and Tyrion promises a place for her in Meereen, kindling hope.

In the following days, they take meals together; Tyrion humors Penny’s pig, attempts to teach her cyvasse, and declines her invitation to “tilt.” Restless at night, Tyrion joins Moqorro under an immense red moon and a bruise-red sky: they are near Valyria. Moqorro admits he forced the captain to take the shortest course, as others also seek Daenerys.

As the priest warns against staring into god’s fires, he speaks of shadows hunting Daenerys and, most strikingly, a tall, twisted figure with one black eye and ten long arms sailing a sea of blood. The ominous vision underscores the peril encircling their destination as the ship presses on.