A Dance with Dragons-Chapter 10
| Jon III | ||||||
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| A Dance with Dragons chapter | ||||||
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| POV | Jon Snow | |||||
| Place | Castle Black | |||||
| Page | 134 UK HC (Other versions) | |||||
| Chapter chronology (All) | ||||||
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Jon II ↑ | ||||||
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↓ Jon IV | ||||||
Synopsis
At Castle Black Melisandre is preparing to burn Mance Rayder in a cage made out of wood from the haunted forest, despite Jon's pleas to King Stannis to spare him. At the sight of the cage, Mance's courage fails and he goes to his death begging for mercy, denying his kingship and his name and shrieking of witchcraft. Melisandre burns the Horn of Joramun as well, so that the Wall can never fall. As the cage burns Jon orders his bowmen to shoot Mance with arrows, a fitting end for a man of the Night's Watch. Melisandre proclaims to the assembled wildlings that Stannis is their true King, Azor Ahai reborn. Stannis draws Lightbringer which is blindingly bright, and promises all who serve him food, land and justice. The gates of the Wall are opened and most of the captive wildlings enter to kneel before Stannis, feeding the fire with fragments of weirwood, pieces of the old gods to feed R'hllor's fires.
Bowen Marsh thinks it is wrong to let thousands of wildlings south of the Wall, and would prefer to seal the gates and let the wildlings defend the northern side. Many of the men of the Night's Watch are also muttering against the perception that Jon has taken Stannis' side in the game of thrones. Jon denies this, but says that the outcome of the struggle is unclear following the death of Tywin Lannister. Jon shares a cup of wine with Clydas, telling him that Maester Aemon had shown him a passage in the Jade Compendium describing Lightbringer as both bright and fearfully hot. He notes that although Stannis's sword radiates light, it produces no heat.
References and Notes
- A Read of Ice and Fire: A Dance with Dragons, Part 6 Analyses and summary of the chapter by Leigh Butler.