A Song of Ice and Fire, #3
A Storm of Swords
by George R. R. Martin
Contents
CHAPTER 76: JON
Overview
Melisandre brings Jon to Stannis atop the Wall, where Stannis tests Jon’s loyalties and outlines a grand strategy against the true northern threat. Stannis offers to legitimize Jon as Lord of Winterfell if he swears fealty, embraces R’hllor, and marries Val, tying the plan to settle loyal wildlings on the Gift. Jon agrees to the alliance in principle but asks time to consider the offer, torn between vows and heritage. Stannis demands secrecy, setting up a pivotal choice for Jon and the Watch.
Summary
Jon trains Satin in the yard, emphasizing shield work, when Melisandre arrives with queen’s men and summons Jon to the Wall. In the cage, she speaks of the Lord’s fire and shows her warmth, unsettling Jon as they rise to meet Stannis atop the ice.
Stannis confronts Jon with rumors of treachery and warging, but accepts Jon’s account of Qhorin’s command and his time with Ygritte, citing Ned Stark’s honor. They review Jon’s role in finding dragonglass, holding the gate, and the fates of Donal Noye and the Others. Jon asks mercy for Val to show Mance his son; Stannis refuses kindness to a deserter but probes Jon’s judgments of wildling leaders.
Declaring the true war is against a greater darkness, Stannis explains Davos’s counsel and his purpose at the Wall. He plans to execute Mance but will admit wildlings who swear fealty, keep the king’s peace, and accept R’hllor, settling them on the Gift to unite against the real enemy. Jon, weighing free folk against wights, agrees with the alliance’s necessity.
Stannis then reveals his aim: he needs a loyal Lord of Winterfell to rally the north. He offers to legitimize Jon as “Jon Stark” if Jon bends the knee, supports the policy, and marries Val to bind the new subjects. Melisandre urges Jon to forsake the old gods and burn the weirwoods, claiming a tree-sworn vow has no power.
Jon is shaken by the chance to claim Winterfell but recognizes it would mean forswearing his vows and his father’s gods for real. He asks for time to consider. Stannis, impatient, orders secrecy and promises that one knee and a laid-down sword will raise Jon as Lord of Winterfell when he returns.
Who Appears
- Jon SnowSummoned by Melisandre to Stannis; offered legitimization as Lord of Winterfell, marriage to Val, and a choice between vows and heritage.
- Stannis BaratheonTests Jon, outlines plan to admit loyal wildlings and settle the Gift, and offers Jon Stark’s name and Winterfell for fealty and marriage.
- MelisandreFacilitates the meeting, extols R’hllor, urges Jon to burn weirwoods, and supports Stannis’s political and religious demands.
- SatinTrains with Jon in the yard, highlighting Jon’s leadership before Melisandre’s summons.
- ValProposed bride to Jon to seal alliance with free folk; sister of the late Dalla and caretaker of Mance’s son.
- Mance RayderCaptured King-beyond-the-Wall; slated for execution by Stannis despite Jon’s plea for a visit from Val and the child.
- Tormund GiantsbaneNamed as a re-forming wildling leader; respected by Jon as a potential ally and formidable foe.
- Rattleshirt (Lord of Bones)Captured wildling leader; cited by Jon as treacherous, informing Stannis’s view of wildling honor.
- Davos SeaworthCredited by Stannis for redirecting him to save the realm first, shaping the northern strategy.
- Donal NoyeRemembered by Stannis and Jon; died holding the gate, emblematic of the Watch’s sacrifice.