As with the first two books, I’m watching an interesting theme develop -- namely that those who act with treachery wind up being successful and those who act with honor wind up dead.
And who should most be faced with this dilemma in A Storm of Swords but Daenerys Targaryen? Here she struggles with the morality of forcing slaves rather than inspiring free men to fight for her cause.
“Prince Rhaegar led free men into battle, not slaves. Whitebeard said he dubbed his squires himself, and made other knights as well.”
“There was no higher honor than to receive your knighthood from the Prince of Dragonstone.”
“Tell me, then -- when he touched a man on the shoulder with his sword, what did he say? ‘Go forth and kill the weak’? Or ‘Go forth and defend them’? At the Trident, those brave men Viserys spoke of who died beneath our dragon banners -- did they give their lives because they believed in Rhaegar’s cause, or because they had been bought and paid for?” Dany turned to Mormount, crossed her arms, and waited for an answer.
“My queen,” the big man said slowly, “all you say is true. But Rhaegar lost on the Trident. He lost the battle, he lost the war, he lost the kingdom, and he lost his life. His blood swirled downriver with the rubies from his breastplate, and Robert the Usurper rode over his corpse to steal the Iron Throne. Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, Rhaegar fought honorably. And Rhaegar died.”
Hard to get more clear than that. Honor = death. Treachery = success. Which will Danerys choose?
When she chooses treachery, it feels like Martin is carefully setting the scene, signaling that something important is happening.
Full dark had fallen by the time the Yunkai’i departed from her camp. It promised to be a gloomy night; moonless, starless, with a chill wet wind blowing from the west. A fine black night, thought Dany. The fires burned all around her, small orange stars strewn across hill and field. “Ser Jorah,” she said, “summon my bloodriders.” Dany seated herself on a mound of cushions to await them, her dragons all about her. When they were assembled, she said, “An hour past midnight should be time enough.”
“Yes, Khaleesi,” said Rakharo. “Time for what?”
“To mount our attack.”
Ser Jorah Mormont scowled. “You told the sellswords---”
“---that I wanted their answers on the morrow. I made no promises about tonight. The Stormcrows will be arguing about my offer. The Second Sons will be drunk on the wine I gave Mero. And the Yunkai’i believe they have three days. We will take them under cover of this darkness.”
“They will have scouts watching for us.”
“And in the dark they will see hundreds of campfires burning,” said Dany. “If they see anything at all.”
“Khaleesi,” said Jhogo, “I will deal with these scouts. They are no riders, only slavers on horses.”
“Just so,” she agreed. “I think we should attack from three sides. Grey Worm, your Unsullied shall strike at them from right and left, while my kos lead my horse in wedge for a thrust through their center. Slave soldiers will never stand before mounted Dothraki.” She smiled. “To be sure, I am only a young girl and know little of war. What do you think, my lords?”
“I think you are Rhaegar Targaryen’s sister,” Ser Jorah said with a rueful half smile.
“Aye,” said Arstan Whitebeard, “and a queen as well.”
A queen. Because of her treachery. At least in the eyes of the men she has not yet betrayed.
But there is more to Danerys than her conscious choice towards treachery. There is, always, that lingering specter of madness.
“Some truths are hard to hear. Robert was a … a good knight … chivalrous, brave … he spared my life, the lives of many others … Prince Viserys was only a boy, it would have been years before he was fit to rule, and … forgive me, my queen, but you asked for truth … even as a child, your brother Viserys oft seemed to be his father’s son, in ways that Rhaegar never did.”
“His father’s son?” Dany frowned. “What does that mean?”
The old knight did not blink. “Your father is called ‘the Mad King’ in Westeros. Has no one ever told you?”
“Viserys did.” The Mad King. “The Usurper called him that, the Usurper and his dogs.” The Mad King. “It was a lie.”
“Why ask for truth,” Ser Barristan said softly, “if you close your ears to it?” He hesitated, then continued. “I told you before that I used a false name so the Lannisters would not know that I’d joined you. That was less than half of it, Your Grace. The truth is, I wanted to watch you for a time before pledging you my sword. To make certain that you were not…”
“...my father’s daughter?” If she was not her father’s daughter, who was she?
“...mad,” he finished. “But I see no taint in you.”
“Taint?” Dany bristled.
“I am no maester to quote history at you, Your Grace. Swords have been my life, not books. But every child knows that the Targaryens have always danced too close to madness. Your father was not the first. King Jaehaerys once told me that madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. Every time a new Targaryen is born, he said, the gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land.”
Indeed. Danerys clearly is mad -- or perhaps goes mad -- in the show. Will she also go mad -- or is she already mad -- in the book? It’ll be something worth watching.
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Two other things worth mentioning.
First is the long wandering mess that is the Arya plot. When I watched the show I was also confused, but I thought it was a symptom of them trying the pace for television something that must’ve been better paced and plotted in the book. Nope. I got lost all over again. Who are they? Where are they? What the hell is going on?
And the other is the Lord of Light raising Catelyn Stark from the dead -- and the way her corpse begins to take revenge on the Freys for the Red Wedding. That certainly wasn’t in the television show. Will she figure as a major plot point in the next volume?
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This post first appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.
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