Through The Eyes of Winter

You Win or You Die

Chapter 7. You Win or You Die

On the borders of the Riverlands, Lord Tywin Lannister has assembled an army of sixty thousand men, with which he plans to oppose the Starks and punish Catelyn's capture of his son Tyrion Lannister.

"Or to be clear, avenge his hurt pride" Tyrion snorted in disgust.

As he stands in his tent skinning a dead stag, he tells his elder son, Jaime, that this conflict will decide the fate of their family; they will either forge a dynasty that will last a thousand years or cease to exist, as the Targaryens had done. He orders Jaime to become the man he was meant to be, and to take thirty thousand men and besiege Riverrun, Catelyn's childhood home and the seat of House Tully. Jaime ponders why Tywin would risk so much for the ugly, stunted son that he hates, but to Tywin a Lannister is a Lannister - even though he considers Tyrion the least worthy member of their family, any affront to their family must be punished or it makes them look weak.

"And there is your proof all those who doubted" Tyrion said in a grand fashion. Though no one had disbelieved him in the beginning.

In Winterfell, Theon Greyjoy attempts to bully Osha, the wildling woman captured in the recent raid. He insists that she refer to him as "My Lord," but she is unimpressed with his antics. She points out that he is not entitled to this, as his father is still alive.

Robb grunted slightly, not liking the behavior Theon had shown. She was a woman after all. A wildling but a woman nonetheless.

Maester Luwin dismisses Theon and questions Osha about why her band crossed the Wall and were fleeing "as far south as south goes". She claims that the White Walkers have awoken after a millennia asleep and are coming south, to Luwin's skepticism.

"Yeah, he won't believe that easily" Lyanna chuckled lightly.

Jon Snow and Samwell Tarly are standing watch atop the Wall when Benjen's horse is spotted returning, but, to Jon's horror, there is no sign of Benjen himself.

Older brother and sister sat up in worry at what they just learned.

Later on, Lord Commander Jeor Mormont names the trainees as men of the Night's Watch. He hands out assignments, but to Jon's disgust he is being sent to the stewards, not the rangers. He will work directly for the Lord Commander as his personal steward. His attempts to plead his case to Maester Aemon are met with indifference. However, Sam suggests to Jon that while this move was possibly orchestrated by Ser Alliser Thorne to punish Jon, it is also an opportunity for the Lord Commander to groom Jon directly for command.

"You did exactly that" Jon said with a small smile. Jeor looked at the man from the future and then looked at the sword he wielded with a slight widening of his eyes. So he had found a worthy successor.

Both are surprised when Pypar admits that he was sent to the Watch for refusing to give sexual favors to a lord, not for stealing a wheel of cheese to feed his sister as he had previously claimed. Nothing about being sent to the Wall is fair.

"Sounds like Renly" Robert said with a short laugh.

Convinced, Jon and other worshipers of the Old Gods of the Forest say their oath of fealty to the Night's Watch in front of a heart tree just inside the eaves of the Haunted Forest and are acknowledged as men of the Watch. Sam decided to take the oath with Jon, as the Seven gods his father worshiped have never seemed to answer him. After they take their oaths, Ghost finds a severed hand in the woods and brings it back to Jon and a horrified Sam.

"The gods have heard your prayers Samwell Tarly" Tyrion said and took a sip off his chalice.

In Vaes Dothrak, Daenerys attempts to convince Khal Drogo about the benefits of an invasion of the Seven Kingdoms, but Drogo is reluctant to cross the Narrow Sea, despite the thousands of ships they could find in the Free Cities to do the job. He says that a man doesn't need an "iron chair" but only a horse. Daenerys travels to the marketplace with Ser Jorah Mormont and her handmaidens. She asks Jorah to help convince her husband since the Seven Kingdoms are hers by birthright, but he reminds her that her ancestor Aegon the Conqueror took six of the Seven Kingdoms because he was capable of doing so with dragons. A Little Bird gives Jorah a message from Varys, a royal pardon for his crimes; he quickly realizes that this news would only come if he was no longer needed as a spy. Seeing Daenerys with a wineseller who is keen for her to try a particular vintage from the Arbor, Jorah realizes that the wine has been poisoned; this is the assassination attempt. Having second thoughts, he steps in and stops Daenerys from drinking it. The wineseller attempts to flee, but Rakharo brings him down with a bolo tangling his ankles. With the wine seller captured, Ser Jorah tells Daenerys that Robert Baratheon will never stop trying to kill her and her future children. Drogo quickly arrives in the tent. He glares at the seller and then goes to Daenerys to ensure she is okay, before offering Jorah the reward of any horse he chooses for foiling the assassination. Enraged, he begins to yell out in Dothraki that his army will cross the "poison water" as no khalasar has done before and take the Iron Throne for his son.