A Storm of Swords ÔÇö Jon XII
The choosing: as the count locks against Slynt, Mormont's raven lands on Jon's shoulder crying ÔÇ£Snow, SnowÔÇØ ÔÇö and the Watch has its 998th Lord Commander.
The chapter retold
The vote locks against Janos Slynt at the exact moment it needed to, and into the deadlock flies Mormont's raven, landing on Jon Snow's shoulder and crying the one word it has repeated since its master's death at Craster's Keep: Snow, Snow. The assembled brothers of the Watch, superstitious and desperate for a sign after a season that has cost them dearly, read the bird's cry as an omen too pointed to ignore.
Jon Snow, bastard, former turncloak under suspicion, wounded veteran of the wildling assault on Castle Black, is elected the Night's Watch's 998th Lord Commander ÔÇö a role he never sought and is not remotely prepared for, inheriting command of an order gutted by mutiny, battle and desertion at the exact moment it needs a leader most. The chapter closes Jon's storyline for the book on an ascent that reads as much like a burden as an honor, which is precisely how the book intends it.
This movement: Gold, Ice, and the Hanged Woman
- Jaime frees his brother; Tyrion detours through the Tower of the Hand: Shae in the bed, Tywin on the privy, a crossbow for both.
- Lysa Arryn flies from the Moon Door screaming about tears and dark words; Littlefinger blames a singer.
- Jon Snow is elected Lord Commander of the Night's Watch on Sam's clever tongue.
- Epilogue at the Twins: the Brotherhood hangs Freys for a hooded woman whose throat gapes ÔÇö Lady Stoneheart remembers.