A Song of Ice and Fire, #3
A Storm of Swords
by George R. R. Martin
Contents
CHAPTER 57: DAENERYS
Overview
Outside besieged Meereen, Dany answers a taunting champion with Strong Belwas, who kills Oznak but is wounded. A war council reveals dire shortages and few siege options. Mero attacks Dany and is slain by Arstan, who then reveals himself as Ser Barristan Selmy and exposes Jorah’s spying for Varys, shattering Dany’s trust and forcing a new course.
Summary
Before Meereen’s high walls, a flamboyant champion, Oznak zo Pahl, rides out to taunt Daenerys’s host, undermining morale. Dany refuses to risk key commanders and sends Strong Belwas, an ex–fighting pit slave. Belwas theatrically evades Oznak’s lance, hamstrings the horse, and beheads Oznak, though he takes a deliberate wound.
As arrows fall short, Belwas defies the city and returns to cheers. Dany forces treatment of his gash, then convenes a council. Meereen’s walls are sound; timber and engines are lacking; starvation and sickness threaten her vast freedpeople. Sea and river assaults look suicidal, and ramming the gates invites boiling oil. Brown Ben suggests sewer entry, but the route is foul, dangerous, and likely barred.
Frustrated, Dany rides the shoreline with Missandei and Arstan. Among the chaotic freedmen camps, the disguised Mero of Braavos seizes her and threatens to kill her, but Arstan defeats him with astonishing speed and the freedmen finish Mero.
Back in her pavilion, Dany learns Arstan is actually Ser Barristan Selmy, former Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. Barristan explains he hid his name to avoid Lannister notice and to reach her safely. He then reveals there has long been an informer at her side feeding Varys, naming Ser Jorah Mormont. Jorah admits he spied early on for a royal pardon to go home.
Enraged and heartbroken by both men’s deceptions, Dany drives them from her presence as her dragons react to her fury. Shaken but resolute, she rejects retreat and, inspired, seizes upon a new plan to take Meereen.
Who Appears
- Daenerys TargaryenBesieges Meereen; sends Belwas to face Oznak; weighs dire siege options; survives Mero’s attack; learns Arstan is Barristan and Jorah spied; resolves on a new plan.
- Arstan Whitebeard (Ser Barristan Selmy)Slays Mero with a staff; reveals true identity as Barristan Selmy; exposes Jorah’s past informing to Varys; seeks Dany’s forgiveness and service.
- Ser Jorah MormontAdvises retreat toward Westeros; disputes single combat; is accused by Barristan and admits early spying for Varys; is cast out by Dany in fury.
- Strong BelwasDefeats and beheads Oznak in single combat, deliberately taking a token wound; is treated for a dangerous gash.
- Daario NaharisUrges violent responses and jokes through council; symbolizes Dany’s temptations and political risk among the Stormcrows.
- Brown Ben PlummLeads the Second Sons; identifies Oznak; suggests the Meereenese sewers as a potential infiltration route; shares colorful lineage tales.
- Grey WormOffers Unsullied for a gate assault despite deadly oil; continues drilling troops; exemplifies discipline and readiness.
- Mero (the Titan’s Bastard)Disguised among freedmen, ambushes Dany; is defeated by Arstan and torn apart by enraged freedmen.
- Oznak zo PahlMeereen’s taunting champion; killed in single combat by Strong Belwas.
- MissandeiAttends Dany, summons help during Mero’s attack, and assists after the assault.
- Aggo, Jhogo, and RakharoBloodriders eager to answer Oznak’s challenge; support Dany but are held back for strategic reasons.