A Clash of Kings ÔÇö Jon VII
The eagle finds them in the mountains: Qhorin's party is hunted, and the Halfhand gives Jon the hardest order of his life ÔÇö yield, and turn his cloak.
The chapter retold
An eagle finds Qhorin HalfhandÔÇÖs small scouting party in the mountains, and its presence means only one thing to men whoÔÇÖve learned to read the wildÔÇÖs signs ÔÇö they are being hunted, watched by something using the birdÔÇÖs eyes as its own. The party is run to ground, and the Halfhand, seeing no way for all of them to escape, gives Jon the hardest order of his life: yield, turn his cloak, and pretend to defect to Mance RayderÔÇÖs wildlings to save whatever intelligence the mission can still bring back.
ItÔÇÖs a devastating instruction precisely because of what it demands ÔÇö not death, which Jon could face plainly, but the deliberate destruction of his own honor and oath in front of the men heÔÇÖs sworn beside, for a cause only Qhorin fully understands. The chapter sets up one of the bookÔÇÖs most agonizing sequences, forcing Jon into a betrayal he has no real choice about and no way to explain to anyone who might judge him for it.
This movement: The Battle of the Blackwater
- The bay goes up in green fire; Stannis's fleet burns between a chain and a trap.
- Tyrion leads the sortie when Joffrey is pulled from the walls ÔÇö and a Kingsguard's sword opens his face to the bone.
- Sansa keeps the highborn women singing while Cersei drinks and plans their deaths.
- Tywin and the knights of Highgarden take Stannis in the flank; ghost-Renly's shadow rides in the vanguard of gossip.