Contents
DAENERYS — Chapter 37
Overview
Daenerys confronts the plague-devastated Astapori camp, orders pyres, and publicly aids the dying, hardening her resolve. Pressed by Meereenese custom and Yunkai’s terms, she consents to a Temple wedding with Hizdahr to prove good faith. Daario returns with news of a massive coalition advancing and Second Sons’ betrayal, forcing Daenerys to close Meereen’s gates and brace for siege, even as she seeks solace with Daario.
Summary
Daenerys rides to the Astapori refugee camp, where the bloody flux ravages thousands. Against her advisors’ pleas, Daenerys personally aids the sick, organizes seawater washing, and commands pyres for the dead, shaming captains and Dothraki into helping. She summons Grey Worm and the Unsullied to assist, then permits them ritual purification afterward.
Back in her pyramid, Daenerys bathes and receives Reznak and the Green Grace. They demand intrusive wedding customs and a Temple ceremony. Daenerys rejects being inspected or washing Hizdahr’s feet but concedes to marry in the Temple with the traditional tokar and pearls to secure Meereen’s acceptance.
Hizdahr arrives with peace terms: Yunkai wants indemnities, freedom to resume slaving (including rebuilding Astapor), and proof of Daenerys’s reliability through their marriage and his coronation. Before she can respond, Ser Barristan interrupts with the Stormcrows’ return.
Daario reports Astapor’s fall and a formidable coalition marching: Yunkai’s host, multiple Ghiscari legions, elephants, slingers, Qartheen camelry, and additional legions moving by sea to cut Meereen off. He adds that the Second Sons have defected to Yunkai. The council erupts; Daenerys steadies them, orders gates shut, provisions gathered, and all fighters to the walls, denying the Astapori entry despite her anguish.
In private, Daenerys has Daario’s wound tended. Shaken by Brown Ben’s betrayal, she seeks assurance of Daario’s loyalty; he vows never to turn on her. Wrestling with her vow to wed Hizdahr for peace and her desire for Daario, Daenerys takes comfort in his arms.
Who Appears
- Daenerys TargaryenQueen of Meereen; aids plague victims, orders pyres, agrees to Temple wedding, prepares for siege, seeks comfort with Daario.
- Daario NaharisStormcrows captain; returns bloodied, reports Yunkai’s massive advance and Second Sons’ betrayal, vows loyalty, becomes Daenerys’s lover.
- Hizdahr zo LoraqBetrothed noble; presents Yunkai’s peace terms and supports sweeping aside empty traditions to secure his coronation.
- Ser Barristan SelmyQueensguard; warns Daenerys of the Stormcrows’ return and urges military readiness against the Yunkish advance.
- Grey WormCommander of the Unsullied; assists with burning corpses and requests ritual purification after the grim work.
- Reznak mo ReznakSeneschal; presses Meereenese wedding customs and re-opening of the fighting pits to appease the city.
- Galazza Galare (Green Grace)Priestess; insists on a Temple wedding and traditional rites to legitimize Daenerys’s union with Hizdahr.
- Skahaz mo Kandaq (Shavepate)Harsh adviser; distrusts Daario’s reports yet pushes for firm security measures inside Meereen.
- AggoBloodrider; warns against corpse handling; fetches Grey Worm and guards the food wagons.
- JhogoBloodrider; tries to keep Daenerys from the sick, then aids moving survivors to wash.
- RakharoBloodrider; helps the afflicted bathe and launder, supporting Daenerys’s efforts.
- MissandeiHandmaid and scribe; attends Daenerys, voices fear about refugees, assists during the council.
- Symon StripebackCaptain of the Free Brothers; helps sort dead from living and cautions against wasting food on the dying.
- MarselenCaptain of the Mother’s Men; aids with seawater and burning corpses at Daenerys’s command.
- Strong BelwasBodyguard; vows violent revenge upon hearing of Brown Ben Plumm’s betrayal.