A Clash of Kings ÔÇö Tyrion III
Tyrion feeds three councillors three different marriage plots ÔÇö Myrcella to Dorne among them ÔÇö and waits to see which secret walks to Cersei.
The chapter retold
Tyrion works three marriage plots at once, feeding a different secret to three different small council members to see which one turns up in CerseiÔÇÖs mouth ÔÇö a piece of tradecraft borrowed straight from VarysÔÇÖs playbook. Among the seeded lies is a real plan taking shape underneath the test: Myrcella betrothed to Dorne, a match that could bring Prince Doran MartellÔÇÖs spears and grievances onto the crownÔÇÖs side of the war.
The chapter is Tyrion at his most enjoyably devious, running a leak test on his own council the way a locksmith tests a lock, and it pays off precisely as intended ÔÇö someone in that room is talking to Cersei, and the false trail narrows the suspects fast. ItÔÇÖs also the first real move in a Dornish alliance that will matter far beyond the marriage itself, trading a beloved little princess for an army the crown badly needs.
This movement: Wolves and Krakens
- Theon comes home to Pyke and finds his father plotting war on the North ÔÇö and his sister Asha commanding the ships he wanted.
- Renly weds Margaery Tyrell and parades a hundred thousand swords through the Reach at tourney pace.
- Dany leads her khalasar out of the red waste to the gates of Qarth, three dragons her only argument.
- Yoren's column is broken at a lakeside holdfast; Arya frees Jaqen H'ghar from a burning barn.