Difference between revisions of "A Game of Thrones-Chapter 72"
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[[File:Daenerys targareyen by teiiku.jpg|150px||left|thumb|The Mother of Dragons, by Tim TeiIku ©]] | [[File:Daenerys targareyen by teiiku.jpg|150px||left|thumb|The Mother of Dragons, by Tim TeiIku ©]] | ||
− | [[Daenerys Targaryen|Daenerys]] and her ''[[khas]]'' build a funeral pyre for [[Khal]] [[Drogo]], as is [[Dothraki]] custom. | + | [[Daenerys Targaryen|Daenerys]] and her ''[[khas]]'' build a funeral pyre for [[Khal]] [[Drogo]], as is [[Dothraki]] custom. There is little in the way of wood in the land, and much of what they find is knarled. They lay the logs in a square and fill the center with brush, grass and bark shavings. [[Aggo]] and [[Rakharo]] kill a stallion from the heard of their few remaining of the horses so that Drogo might have a mount in the afterlife; it is nowhere near as fine as Drogo’s red, but there are few that are. [[Mirri Maz Duur]] believes that Daenerys is attempting to use bloodmagic to resurrect her ''khal'' and insists that without the proper spells the blood is nothing. The ''[[maegi]]'' even goes so far as to offer assistance in exchange for her being release from her bonds, but Daenerys orders her silenced. On the platform they pile his treasures, but Daenerys does not let her bride gifts be added, claiming they are hers. |
− | Ser [[Jorah Mormont|Jorah]] is wary of her intentions, and pleads with her to let Drogo go and come with him to see the wonders of the east with him. Daenerys assures him that she does not plan to sacrifice herself on her husband’s pyre | + | Ser [[Jorah Mormont|Jorah]] is wary of her intentions, and pleads with her to let Drogo go and come with him to see the wonders of the east with him. Daenerys assures him that she does not plan to sacrifice herself on her husband’s pyre. When Ser Jorah calls her “princess”, Daenerys insists that he call her “Queen”; her brother, the king, is dead, and now everything that was his is now hers. |
− | Once the pyre is completed, Daenerys gathers her people together and declares that they will be her ''[[khalasar]]''. Among the crowd, she sees slaves and declares them free. She announces that any among them are free to go, but that if they stay they shall have an honored place among her ''khalasar''. | + | Once the pyre is completed, Daenerys gathers her people together, now fewer than a hundred, and declares that they will be her ''[[khalasar]]''. Among the crowd, she sees slaves and declares them free. She announces that any among them are free to go, but that if they stay they shall have an honored place among her ''khalasar'', and, if they join her, there will always be a place for them. |
− | + | Daenerys turns to the three young warriors of her ''khas'' gives them each a bride gifts, naming them ''[[ko]]'' and asking for their oaths as her [[bloodrider]]: to [[Jhogo]] she gives the silver-handled whip, to Aggo gives double-curved black dragonbone bow, and to Rakharo the gold-chased [[arakh]]. They take the gifts, ''[[ko]]'' and asks for his oath to serve her as a. Jhogo takes the whip, but refuses the oath, gifts, with Rakharo initially refusing the gift. None are willing to take the oath, Aggo stating it would shame him to be bloodrider to a woman and Rakharo only promising to take her to [[Vaes Dothrak]] to join the [[dosh khaleen]]. Daenerys ignores the refusals. Finally, Daenerys turns to Ser Jorah and promises him a fine [[Valyrian steel]] blade when she comes into her [[Seven Kingdoms|birthright]]. Ser Jorah accepts and swears his fealty and heart to her. Daenerys proclaims him the first of her [[Queensguard]]. | |
− | Daenerys returns to her tent, knowing the Dothraki think her mad. After | + | Daenerys returns to her tent, knowing the Dothraki think her mad, and she is not sure they are wrong. After seeping in a pleasingly steaming hot bath, she is dried, and perfumed. Daenerys sends her handmaids away so that she might prepare Drogo for his final journey. She thinks about how few men die with their hair uncut as she washes him, braids his hair with bells, and dresses him in fine clothes except the worn vest he liked most. She finally asks him to forgive her, and that she paid the price, but it was too high. She then dresses in fine cloths with a vest like Drogo’s. Sun is going down when she calls them back to bear him to the pyre. |
− | Daenerys orders oil poured over | + | Daenerys orders oil poured over the pyre so it is drenching in it. She then orders her dragon eggs placed at Drogo’s side. Something in her voice makes them run. Ser Jorah protests that Drogo will have no need of dragon eggs, urging Daenerys to sell them and live as a wealthy woman for the rest of her days. Daenerys insists that the eggs were not given to her to sell. Danearys climbs the pyre to places the black egg under his arm, near his heart, the green beside his head, and the cream and gold between his legs. Once the eggs are in place, Daenerys gives her love one last kiss. Climbing down Daenerys notices Mirri Maz Duur watching her and hears the ''maegi'' call her mad. Daenerys only asks how far madness is from wisdom and commands that Mirri Maz Duur be bound, as ordered, to the funeral pyre by Ser Jorah, who hesitates and protests, and Rakharo. The woman does not scream or plead as she is bound. As Daenerys pours the oil over maegi’s head she thanks her for all she taught her. She promises that Daenerys will not hear her scream. Daenerys insists that she will, but that she only wants the maegi’s life, echoing the woman’s own words: “Only death can pay for life.” This brings a flicker of what might be fear to maegi’s face for the first time. |
− | + | They wait for night to fall. The more fiercely a man burned in life, the more brighter his star. It is Ser Jorah that first notices the [[Red Comet|red comet]], the first star of the evening. Daenerys uses this as a sign to light the pyre. Mirri Maz Duur sings in a high, ululating voice at first but becomes a wail as the flames engulf her, and soon falls silent. As the smoke grows thicker it drives the Dothraki back. Then then heat forces the Dothraki and event Ser Jorah to retreat. Daenerys stands her ground; she is the blood of the dragon and undeterred by the fire. She had the truth long ago but the brazier had not been hot enough. Then Daenerys begins to slowly walk into the inferno as sweat covers her body. She sees many images as she walks: trees, animals, and a great grey stallion. Seeing the horse she tells her love to mount, and for a second she sees him mounted. He smiles at her and cracks a whip made of flame down upon the pyre and Daenerys hears the crack of breaking stone as the pyre collapses, showering her with ash, cinders, and broken egg shell. Beyond she can hear the Dothraki and Ser Jorah shouting. As the pyre begins to collapse completely, Daenerys hears two more cracks like the first and walks into the heart of the firestorm. | |
− | When | + | When the fire dies, Ser Jorah finds Daenerys, naked but alive and unburnt except for her hair, nursing two baby [[dragon]]s, with the third black and scarlet dragon draped across her shoulders. The dragons match the colors of their eggs: [[Viserion|cream-and-gold]], [[Rhaegal|green-and-bronze]], and [[Drogon|black-and-scarlet]]. Ser Jorah drops to his knees, wordlessly. He is followed by Jhogo, Aggo, and Rakharo who declare her blood of their blood, and then her handmaidens and the rest of the Dothraki. Daenerys knows that they are now hers, as they had never been Drogo’s. |
− | + | Daenerys rises and for the first time in hundreds of years, the night comes alive with the calls of the three of dragons, who spread their translucent wings. | |
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− | Daenerys rises and for the first time in hundreds of years, the night comes alive with the | ||
==External links== | ==External links== |
Revision as of 21:43, 6 February 2013
Daenerys X | ||||||
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A Game of Thrones chapter | ||||||
POV | Daenerys | |||||
Place | Dothraki Sea | |||||
Page | 667 US HC (Other versions) | |||||
Chapter chronology (All) | ||||||
Daenerys X ↑ | ||||||
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Daenerys builds a funeral pyre for Drogo and places her dragon eggs among his treasures. When she attempts to take control of the few remaining Dothraki as a khal would, she is refused. As night falls, she lights the pyre and is drawn by instinct deep into the inferno. When the pyre dies, the others find her unburnt and nursing the first three baby dragons in hundreds of years.
Synopsis
Daenerys and her khas build a funeral pyre for Khal Drogo, as is Dothraki custom. There is little in the way of wood in the land, and much of what they find is knarled. They lay the logs in a square and fill the center with brush, grass and bark shavings. Aggo and Rakharo kill a stallion from the heard of their few remaining of the horses so that Drogo might have a mount in the afterlife; it is nowhere near as fine as Drogo’s red, but there are few that are. Mirri Maz Duur believes that Daenerys is attempting to use bloodmagic to resurrect her khal and insists that without the proper spells the blood is nothing. The maegi even goes so far as to offer assistance in exchange for her being release from her bonds, but Daenerys orders her silenced. On the platform they pile his treasures, but Daenerys does not let her bride gifts be added, claiming they are hers.
Ser Jorah is wary of her intentions, and pleads with her to let Drogo go and come with him to see the wonders of the east with him. Daenerys assures him that she does not plan to sacrifice herself on her husband’s pyre. When Ser Jorah calls her “princess”, Daenerys insists that he call her “Queen”; her brother, the king, is dead, and now everything that was his is now hers.
Once the pyre is completed, Daenerys gathers her people together, now fewer than a hundred, and declares that they will be her khalasar. Among the crowd, she sees slaves and declares them free. She announces that any among them are free to go, but that if they stay they shall have an honored place among her khalasar, and, if they join her, there will always be a place for them.
Daenerys turns to the three young warriors of her khas gives them each a bride gifts, naming them ko and asking for their oaths as her bloodrider: to Jhogo she gives the silver-handled whip, to Aggo gives double-curved black dragonbone bow, and to Rakharo the gold-chased arakh. They take the gifts, ko and asks for his oath to serve her as a. Jhogo takes the whip, but refuses the oath, gifts, with Rakharo initially refusing the gift. None are willing to take the oath, Aggo stating it would shame him to be bloodrider to a woman and Rakharo only promising to take her to Vaes Dothrak to join the dosh khaleen. Daenerys ignores the refusals. Finally, Daenerys turns to Ser Jorah and promises him a fine Valyrian steel blade when she comes into her birthright. Ser Jorah accepts and swears his fealty and heart to her. Daenerys proclaims him the first of her Queensguard.
Daenerys returns to her tent, knowing the Dothraki think her mad, and she is not sure they are wrong. After seeping in a pleasingly steaming hot bath, she is dried, and perfumed. Daenerys sends her handmaids away so that she might prepare Drogo for his final journey. She thinks about how few men die with their hair uncut as she washes him, braids his hair with bells, and dresses him in fine clothes except the worn vest he liked most. She finally asks him to forgive her, and that she paid the price, but it was too high. She then dresses in fine cloths with a vest like Drogo’s. Sun is going down when she calls them back to bear him to the pyre.
Daenerys orders oil poured over the pyre so it is drenching in it. She then orders her dragon eggs placed at Drogo’s side. Something in her voice makes them run. Ser Jorah protests that Drogo will have no need of dragon eggs, urging Daenerys to sell them and live as a wealthy woman for the rest of her days. Daenerys insists that the eggs were not given to her to sell. Danearys climbs the pyre to places the black egg under his arm, near his heart, the green beside his head, and the cream and gold between his legs. Once the eggs are in place, Daenerys gives her love one last kiss. Climbing down Daenerys notices Mirri Maz Duur watching her and hears the maegi call her mad. Daenerys only asks how far madness is from wisdom and commands that Mirri Maz Duur be bound, as ordered, to the funeral pyre by Ser Jorah, who hesitates and protests, and Rakharo. The woman does not scream or plead as she is bound. As Daenerys pours the oil over maegi’s head she thanks her for all she taught her. She promises that Daenerys will not hear her scream. Daenerys insists that she will, but that she only wants the maegi’s life, echoing the woman’s own words: “Only death can pay for life.” This brings a flicker of what might be fear to maegi’s face for the first time.
They wait for night to fall. The more fiercely a man burned in life, the more brighter his star. It is Ser Jorah that first notices the red comet, the first star of the evening. Daenerys uses this as a sign to light the pyre. Mirri Maz Duur sings in a high, ululating voice at first but becomes a wail as the flames engulf her, and soon falls silent. As the smoke grows thicker it drives the Dothraki back. Then then heat forces the Dothraki and event Ser Jorah to retreat. Daenerys stands her ground; she is the blood of the dragon and undeterred by the fire. She had the truth long ago but the brazier had not been hot enough. Then Daenerys begins to slowly walk into the inferno as sweat covers her body. She sees many images as she walks: trees, animals, and a great grey stallion. Seeing the horse she tells her love to mount, and for a second she sees him mounted. He smiles at her and cracks a whip made of flame down upon the pyre and Daenerys hears the crack of breaking stone as the pyre collapses, showering her with ash, cinders, and broken egg shell. Beyond she can hear the Dothraki and Ser Jorah shouting. As the pyre begins to collapse completely, Daenerys hears two more cracks like the first and walks into the heart of the firestorm.
When the fire dies, Ser Jorah finds Daenerys, naked but alive and unburnt except for her hair, nursing two baby dragons, with the third black and scarlet dragon draped across her shoulders. The dragons match the colors of their eggs: cream-and-gold, green-and-bronze, and black-and-scarlet. Ser Jorah drops to his knees, wordlessly. He is followed by Jhogo, Aggo, and Rakharo who declare her blood of their blood, and then her handmaidens and the rest of the Dothraki. Daenerys knows that they are now hers, as they had never been Drogo’s.
Daenerys rises and for the first time in hundreds of years, the night comes alive with the calls of the three of dragons, who spread their translucent wings.
External links
- Summary and analyses of the chapter by Leigh Butler.
- Humorous review of the chapter by Jason.
- Summary of the chapter on Tower of the Hand.