A Song of Ice and Fire - A Chapter a day discussion

I won't be able to comment today, I have an exam tomorrow. I'll create tomorrow's topic today, I won't be home in all day.

. As the chapter starts, we find Ned sitting in the throne, which seems as uncomfortable as people say. "A king should never sit easy" Aegon the Conqueror said. He took it pretty seriously though; it's mention it's made out of the swords laid down by his enemies.

. Robert went hunting like he said he would, and Joffrey went with him. I forgot about it.

. Ned is holding audience (I think that's how you say it), and he hears Lannister men attacked Sherrer mostly, a place in the riverlands. Riverrun and Casterly Rock called their banners, so it means war is coming. Ned thinks: "the sole question that remained was how best to stanch the wound."

. All the things these raiders did man. So sad, poor people! The testimonys were horrible to read.

. I wonder who was killed by the throne, like the stories tell. I don't know if this is literal.

. Ok, the people are pretty sure the Mountain was part of this shit, and we know he is not hard to recognize. He is a Lannister bannerman.

. Tywin seems really smart, and Ned thinks he knew how Edmure would react, how he would want to defend his land at whatever cost. Tywin is not a good person, but I have to admit he knows what to do in this situations. There is no way they can blame him directly, since the riders had plain armor.

. Of course, the knights and people from Sherrer want to fight against Tywin, but Ned says no. He said the King's justice should happen, and this means killing Gregor.

. Loras steps up, and ask for the honor to kill the Mountain. Of course Ned says no, for many reasons. He decides to send a lot of men, Lord Beric being the man to kill the Mountain, and takes away from him all his lands, incomes and titles.

. Later Varys suggests Illyn Payne, the King's Justice, might have felt insulted he wasn't send to do his job, which he loves, but he serves for Tywin, so it was logical Ned didn't send him. Also the way he was looking at Ned from the back of the hall, I don't even want to think how that stare was.

1. Interesting that even though Robert changed the throne room's decorations from dragon skulls to hunting tapestries with blues and greens and browns, Ned still feels the room is colored red as in blood.

2. It's really cool how Aegon the Conqueror took every blade of those who bent the knee to him and melted them all into a great chair. He famously said, "A king should never sit easy." It's said Balerion's breath melted it together. It does sound really hideous.

3. Pycelle seems to be uneasy around Varys.

4. I like that Ned "never trusted what a man told him from his knees." :)

5. Townsfolk have come to King's Landing for help; their towns were slaughtered, not raided, and the men who did it didn't take anything, just destroyed it all. They're saying it's Lannisters. They came to King's Landing with three Riverrun knights: a Darry, a Vance, and a Piper, for the king's justice, but the king is off hunting with half the court... Most don't even know what their king looks like. Ned is disturbed by this (since back in the North he makes a point to invite everyone in his lands to sup with him).

6. Ugh...Littlefinger suggests they were well-mounted brigands who stole the war-horses first before they destroyed their villages. Sounds highly far-fetched, to me! Seems like he is bending over backwards to challenge the validity that these were Lannister men.

7. Apparently this "army" rode with no banners and wore no sigils, but a villager says the leader was giant-sized and his voice was like stones breaking: The Mountain, in other words. Gregor Clegane is one of Tywin Lannister's bannermen.

8. When one of the knights calls Gregor Twyin's mad dog, Pycelle leaps out over this, saying he's insulting the queen's father. Interesting.

9. Ned sees Sansa and Septa Mordane walk in on this and doesn't want his daughter to see this, but he knows they couldn't have known ahead of time what they were going to walk in on. Usually it's just petty petitions.

10. The Lannisters and Tullys were fighting at the Golden Tooth, a place halfway between Casterly Rock and Riverrun. They did not expect a small village to be utterly destroyed.

11. Ned realizes what Tywin's doing...Edmure has scattered his swordsmen to all the towns and villages along the border so no one gets slaughtered quite so easily again, so now Riverrun is not so defended. His army is scattered. He's weakened himself. Ned thinks of Edmure as gallant, but unwise.

12. Old Lord Hoster made them come to King's Landing to ask for the king's permission to strike back before attacking off on their own, since Lannister attacked them underhandedly and broke the king's peace. Tywin would say he never did that. Sneaky asshole. Sounds like Hoster is not so stupid.

13. Interesting Ned thinks Tywin is as much fox as lion when his mother was a Marbrand, and that sigil is a burning tree. By fox, though, he probably simply meant he is clever, so maybe I'm looking too literally into it.

14. Tywin hoped Edmure would attack him back and then he'd tell the king Edmure attacked him first, denying he'd sent Ser Gregor, as Gregor wore no banners and attacked at night. Sneaky, dirty tricks.

15. Once again, Pycelle speaks up saying these villagers should petition to Tywin Lannister if they feel it was Gregor who'd done it; not the king's concern. Ned counters saying everything's the king's concern in his own country. Everything they do they do in the king's name. At this Pycelle urges they should wait until the king gets back, then. Why is he stalling?

16. Ned says that'll take days, then sees Robar Royce and commands him to find the king and tell him what's happening. Why are the Royce's hunting with the king in King's Landing? Are all the knights still in King's Landing from the tourney? For some reason I thought that was months ago.

17. I like this: "Vengeance?" Ned said. "I thought we were speaking of justice. Burning CLegane's fields and slaughtering his people will not restore the king's peace, only your injured pride."

--An eye for an eye will not help, basically.

18. Ned says in the North they hold the belief that the judge should swing the sword, but he admits he is unable to do it...gesturing to his injured leg. Ser Loras is all too eager to do it for him, practically jumping up and down, too. Weird. Though he's only 16 and probably wants the glory for his house and has never been in a real war before, so I suppose this makes sense. It's just he seems desperate, almost, lol. Like he knows something Ned doesn't.

19. Instead, Ned names four seasoned knights, Beric Dondarion and Thoros of Myr are two of them, and tells them each to gather twenty men, and he'll add twenty of his own men, making 100, to go to Gregor's keep and make him answer for his crimes. Lord Beric will lead them. Ned, as Hand, publicly denounces Gregor of his knighthood, stripping him of his lands, rank, title, incomes and holdings, and sentence him to death. Nice!

20. I laughed at Ser Loras... "Lord Eddard, what of me?" Apparently Ned says he seeks vengeance, not justice. But why would this slight Ser Loras? I'm confused. He seems so disappointed. But Ned says of him, "I daresay he will outgrow the disappointment."

21. Afterward, Varys tells Ned he's bold to hold Ser Loras back. He said a man who has Lannisters for enemies would be wise to have the Tyrells as allies. I wonder why the Tyrells hate the Lannisters so much? What did they do to the lord of the Reach?

22. Varys asks why didn't he send Ser Ilyn Payne, the king's justice, and Ned says the Payne's are bannermen to Tywin. Varys says he hopes Ser Ilyn will outgrow his disappointment as well. "He does so love his work." Uh oh! Was that a threat?

I did find odd Loras wanted so bad to go, like why? I don't know what he wanted at this point, maybe show off?

Oh interesting about Varys saying Payne loves his job as a threat. I haven't thought of that!