A Game of Thrones ÔÇö Daenerys V
In the market of Vaes Dothrak a wineseller pours poison for the dragon's daughter; Jorah's suspicion saves her, and Drogo promises his son the iron chair.
The chapter retold
In the marketplace of Vaes Dothrak, a wineseller offers Daenerys a rare vintage of Dornish red as a gift ÔÇö a poisoned one, meant to kill her and, with her, the unborn son the dosh khaleen have prophesied will conquer the world. Ser Jorah's suspicion, honed by years of watching for exactly this kind of court intrigue, saves her before she drinks; the wineseller is exposed and Drogo, enraged that anyone would dare move against his khaleesi, swears in fury to lead his khalasar across the narrow sea and lay Robert's Seven Kingdoms at his unborn son's feet ÔÇö a vow that turns an in-law's political worry into an actual invasion threat. In the same hours, Viserys, drunk, humiliated and finally out of patience with being ignored by his own sister's khalasar, draws a sword within the sacred city ÔÇö a capital crime among the Dothraki, who forbid bloodshed within Vaes Dothrak's walls on pain of death. Drogo's bloodriders hold him, and the khal keeps his promise of a golden crown the only way a khal can: molten gold, poured over Viserys's head, killing him instantly.
The two halves of the chapter are cause and consequence of the same fact ÔÇö Daenerys now matters enough to kill, and Viserys, who spent the whole book treating her as chattel to be spent for his own ends, dies precisely because he never adjusted to how much the balance between them has shifted. His last words, that a dragon cannot be killed by fire, are proven wrong in the ugliest possible way, and Daenerys watches her last living relative die without lifting a finger to save him ÔÇö the final, complete severance of whatever claim Viserys ever had on her loyalty.
This movement: The Wine and the Boar
- Ned tells Cersei what he knows and gives her time to run ÔÇö mercy with a body count.
- A boar opens the king; Robert dictates a will naming Ned Protector; Ned edits one word: heir.
- A wineseller's poison misses Daenerys; Drogo promises his son the iron chair across the poison water.
- Renly flees south; Littlefinger promises the gold cloaks; the trap in the throne room closes.
The fallen ÔÇö spoilers
- Viserys Targaryen ÔÇö Crowned with molten gold in Vaes Dothrak. ÔÇ£He was no dragon. Fire cannot kill a dragon.ÔÇØ