CHAPTER 24: BRAN

Bran rides Hodor’s back as the party climbs from hills into stark northern mountains, guided by stars and Summer. Food grows scarce, and Jojen insists they avoid roads to remain unseen. Conversation turns to northern clans and memories of Osha and Old Nan, underscoring Bran’s longing and their isolation.

When sleet drives them to shelter, a taciturn mountain man—likely a Liddle—shares fire, oatcakes, and warnings. He speaks of flayed men on the kingsroad serving the Bastard of Bolton, and of the Night’s Watch ravens returning without messages after the Old Bear’s ranging. He laments that times were safer when a Stark ruled Winterfell. By morning, he is gone, leaving food behind.

Travel resumes under clearing skies. Bran yearns to soar with an eagle and recalls Old Nan, while Meera and Jojen reflect on stories and dreams. To pass the time, Meera tells of a crannogman who journeyed to the Isle of Faces and later reached Harrenhal during a great tourney attended by kings, princes, and northern “wolves.”

Meera recounts how three squires beat the small crannogman until a “she‑wolf” intervened and brought him to her brothers—the wild wolf, the quiet wolf, and the pup. During the tourney, a short, ill‑armored mystery knight bearing a laughing heart‑tree shield defeated three knights whose squires had done the wrong, demanding only that they teach their squires honor. The common folk named him the Knight of the Laughing Tree.

When the king grew wroth and sought to unmask him, the mystery knight vanished overnight, leaving only his shield. The dragon prince eventually won the tourney. The tale’s hints of Stark identities and old gods’ favor stir Bran, who imagines visiting the Isle of Faces and believes such powers might help him walk—or at least guide him to the three‑eyed crow. Renewed, he presses on.