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00:10The Continent of Westeros is a land cast in the mould of classic medieval fantasy,
00:15filled with knights sworn to act with honour, justice and chivalry.
00:19Yet the main Game of Thrones series exists primarily to deconstruct these romantic values,
00:24presenting us with characters such as Sir Merrin Trent, Sir Gregor Clegane and other cowards and brutes who fail to
00:31live up to their knightly vows.
00:33However, the Dunk and Egg series treats its readers to a different, more optimistic take on the themes of medieval
00:39chivalry.
00:40Comprising three short novellas, written between 1998 and 2010, Dunk and Egg is a thematic departure from the main series.
00:48Starring the titular Sir Duncan Dunk the Tall and his bald squire boy Egg,
00:53These prequel-slash-spinoff stories feature a simpler, more light-hearted style of storytelling,
00:59one in which the values of honour, chivalry and friendship are played straight.
01:03In this special long-form video, we will depart from the grand fantasy epic narrative that dominates the rest of
01:09the Song of Ice and Fire franchise,
01:11moving away from the fate of the Seven Kingdoms and following the humble, chaotic tale of a simple and good
01:17-hearted hedge knight,
01:17as he travels the land with his faithful squire, upholding his oath to protect the weak and innocent wherever he
01:23goes.
01:24Welcome to our summary of the story of Dunk and Egg, where we will provide an abridged summary of the
01:29plot of the three novellas,
01:30The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight.
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02:59The tales of Sir Duncan the Tall and his faithful squire, Egg, take place in the year 209 AC,
03:0589 years before the events of A Game of Thrones, and just over 200 years since Aegon the Conqueror
03:11and his two sister-wives rode across the narrow sea upon their mighty dragons
03:15and subjugated the continent of Westeros under Targaryen rule.
03:19By 209 AC, the dragons had been extinct for nearly a century.
03:24Nevertheless, the descendants of Old Valyria continued to rule over the western continent
03:29their ancestors had conquered on Dragonback, albeit not without challenges to their rule.
03:34King Aegon IV Targaryen was known as Aegon the Unworthy, and for good reason.
03:39A corpulent hedonist, he had spent his reign tending not to affairs of state, but to his
03:44many mistresses, with whom he sired over a dozen illegitimate children.
03:48In a bafflingly ill-advised edict, Aegon the Unworthy legitimized all of his bastard sons on
03:54his deathbed, affirming their claims to the throne.
03:57If this alone did not guarantee dynastic strife, the dying king further stoked the flames of conflict
04:03by bequeathing Blackfyre to one of his bastards, a handsome and fierce knight named Daemon.
04:09Blackfyre had been the sword of Aegon the Conqueror,
04:11and its value as a symbol of power and legitimacy could not be understated.
04:16Daeron Targaryen was the king's eldest trueborn son,
04:19yet he was a gentle, bookish man, with a mean more befitting a clerk than a monarch.
04:24Daemon Blackfyre, who took the name of the sword he now bore,
04:27was a bastard with a weaker claim to the throne,
04:30yet possessed a magnetic charisma and bore the spitting image of the mighty Aegon the Conqueror
04:35and wielded his iconic blade. One had legal legitimacy, yet the other had symbolic legitimacy.
04:41It was inevitable that the lords of the realm would divide along which silver-haired son of the king
04:47should sit upon the Iron Throne. When King Aegon IV finally departed for the Seven Hells in 184 AC,
04:54he left behind a realm on the precipice of war. In 196 AC, Daemon Blackfyre,
04:59launched a rebellion against his half-brother, King Daeron II. A vicious war raged for a year,
05:05setting the countryside alight in fire and blood. In the end, King Daeron's Targaryen loyalists
05:11defeated the Blackfyre pretenders at the decisive Battle of Redgrass Field, in which Daemon Blackfyre
05:16was slain. Yet the would-be usurpers' issue lived on, as his half-brother, Bittersteel,
05:22and his sons fled across the narrow sea. Nevertheless, the realm was now at peace,
05:27at least for the moment. It is here that we descend from our bird's-eye view of Westeros
05:32and descend upon a rainy field in the Reach, where a big, long-headed youth is digging a grave.
05:39Born amidst congested human refuse in the flea-bottom slums of King's Landing,
05:43the boy known as Dunk was rescued from the streets by an elderly hedge knight known as Sir Arlen of
05:48Pennytree, who took him in at just six years old and trained him to be his squire. Hedge knights were
05:54the freelancers of Westeros, in the most literal sense of the word. Instead of residing in a castle
05:59as part of a lord's retinue, hedge knights served no master, travelling the length and breadth of the
06:04Seven Kingdoms as itinerant wanderers, competing in tourneys to earn prize money, and selling their
06:10titular lances to whoever would pay for their services. Unlike their landed counterparts,
06:16hedge knights were usually poor, their only items of worth being their arms, armour, and horses.
06:21In order to make ends meet, many hedge knights became bandits and robbers. Others, however,
06:26stayed true to the ideals of justice and chivalry. Sir Arlen of Pennytree was one such righteous knight,
06:33and instilled his chivalric ideals into his young squire. A decade later, Sir Arlen had passed away on
06:39the road from a chill, leaving his young squire to fend for himself. At just sixteen years old,
06:45Dunk had grown into a towering mass of fat, sinew, and muscle just short of seven feet tall.
06:51Dunk the Lunk, Sir Arlen had often called him, thick as a castle wall. Yet what Dunk lacked in
06:57quick thinking or sharp wit, he made up for with his kind heart, strong sense of justice, and sheer
07:03bullish strength. Dunk dug a grave for Sir Arlen and laid the old knight within the earth. Although
07:09the young squire was never taught any proper prayers, he said a few words to commend his master to the
07:14afterlife. He then took up Sir Arlen's sword, shield, armour, and three horses. Henceforth,
07:20he continued his journey to the place where he and his master had been heading before the latter died,
07:25to the castle town of Ashford, where a tourney was being held. En route, Dunk passed through a small
07:31village and decided to seek a warm meal at the local inn. There, he encountered a pasty-faced, skinny
07:37child, no more than nine years old. A stable boy, he assumed, one which he would soon find had an
07:43attitude problem. I want my palfrey rubbed down and oats for all three. Can you tend to them? The boy
07:50looked at him brazenly. I could, if I wanted. Dunk frowned. I'll have none of that. I'm a knight,
07:57I'll have you know. You don't look to be a knight. Do all knights look the same? No, but they
08:02don't
08:02look like you either. Your sword belt's made of rope. So long as it holds my scabbard, it serves. Now
08:08see
08:08to my horses. Leaving his steeds in the bald boy's care, Dunk headed into the tavern for some food and
08:14ale. Inside, he was recognized by a foppish lordling, slumped over his table and deep in his
08:20cups. I dreamed of you, the inebriated noble lamented, pointing at Dunk with a trembling finger.
08:27You stay away from me, do you hear? You stay well away. Dismissing those ominous words as senseless
08:34rambling, Dunk finished his meal and headed back outside to find the bald stable boy wearing Sir
08:39Arlen's armor and riding around on his warhorse. Dunk gave the little scamp a scolding, yet undaunted,
08:45the boy begged to be taken along on Dunk's journey. Unwilling to subject the child to the
08:51hardships of the life of a traveling hedge knight squire, Dunk refused and continued his journey
08:56alone. The meadow across the river from Ashford's castle town was awash in blooms of linen color,
09:02a city of tents, merchant stalls and performer stages. Rising above the cotton sprawl were opulent
09:08silken pavilions, bearing the heraldry of the Lion of Lannister, the Stag of Baratheon,
09:13the ivory battlements of Hightower and the colors of numerous other houses both big and small.
09:18Dunk had no place among those high lords, so he set up camp in a woodland a ways away and
09:23went off to
09:24acquire armor that better fit his massive proportions than the old chainmail he'd inherited from Sir Arlen.
09:30Within the tawny markets, Dunk encountered a rough-hewn blacksmith named Steely Pate,
09:35who agreed to forge the big lad a new set of armor in exchange for an advanced deposit of Sir
09:40Arlen's old
09:41gear and one of his horses, the rest to be paid with the tawny champion's prize money,
09:45which Dunk insisted would be his. Upon returning to his camp, Dunk was flabbergasted to find none
09:51other than the boy from the stables. Surprised by the boy's persistence, Dunk finally agreed
09:56to take him on as a squire and gave the boy his name. The wretched boy laughed aloud.
10:02Dunk, he said. Sir Dunk? That's no name for a knight. Is it short for Duncan?
10:07Duncan, yes, he said. Sir Duncan of... Dunk had no other name, nor any house.
10:14Sir Duncan the Tall. I've never heard of any Sir Duncan the Tall. Do you know every knight in the
10:19Seven Kingdoms then? The boy looked at him boldly. The good ones. I'm as good as any. After the tawny,
10:26they'll all know that. Do you have a name, thief? The boy hesitated. Egg, he said.
10:33Now furnished with a squire to tend to his camp and his horses, Sir Duncan the Tall reported to
10:38Lord Ashford's steward to register for the tawny, only to be told that he required a noble to vouch
10:44for his knightly status to be eligible to participate. Wandering into the Great Hall of Ashford Castle,
10:50the Hedged Knight stumbled upon none other than the Crown Prince, Bela Breakspear Targaryen,
10:54heir apparent to the Iron Throne, and his younger brother, Prince Makar Targaryen.
10:59The foul-tempered Makar dismissed Dunk immediately, but Bela remembered Sir Alan,
11:04who broke four lances against him in a tawny years ago at Storm's End. Bela vouched for Dunk,
11:10and advised him to change the sigil on his shield, as only a true-born son may inherit a knight's
11:15arms.
11:16Heeding the Crown Prince's advice, Dunk visited a troop of Dornish puppeteers, which he had taken notice
11:22of earlier, asking a tall, slender young woman among them to repaint Sir Alan's shield. The woman's
11:28beauty was not lost on Dunk, who quickly became smitten.
11:31I'm called Sir Duncan the Tall. I'm Tancel, she laughed. Tancel Too Tall, the boys used to call me.
11:39You're not too tall, Dunk blurted out. You're just right for… He realized what he had been about to
11:45say and blushed. Flustered, Dunk improvised a new sigil for himself, which he decided should be a
11:52shooting star streaking over an elm tree. He then retrieved his squire and went with him to
11:57spectate the first round of jousting. Together they witnessed a match between one Sir Humphrey Harding
12:02and Arian Brightflame Targaryen, the son of the Prince Makar Targaryen that Dunk had had a run-in with
12:08earlier. Arian proved himself a dishonorable combatant, aiming his lance not at his opponent,
12:13but at his horse, impaling the steed and causing it to crash and break Sir Humphrey's leg.
12:19Later, Dunk re-encountered the Fossilways of Cider Hall, whom he had acquainted himself with the
12:24previous day. Bearing the banner of a red apple over a golden field, the Fossilways were a minor
12:29house, represented at the Ashford tourney by the hot-headed blowhard Sir Stephen Fossilway,
12:34and his younger and more gentle-tempered squire and cousin Sir Raymond Fossilway.
12:39The pair took a quick liking to Dunk, and invited him to their pavilion for a cup of
12:43arbor wine. Their night of revelry, however, was suddenly interrupted.
12:48Sir! Sir Duncan! Egg burst in, panting. His hood had fallen back, and the light from the brazier shone
12:55in his big, dark eyes. You have to run! He's hurting her! Dunk lurched to his feet, confused.
13:01Hurting who? Arian! The boy shouted. He's hurting her! The puppet girl! Hurry!
13:08Whirling, he darted back out into the night. Dunk rushed to follow, arriving at the Dornish
13:14puppeteer's stand to see the detestable Arian Targaryen smashing up the puppets in a fit of
13:19violent contempt. According to the sadistic young prince, the performer's crime had been to depict
13:25a dragon dying in battle. A dragon? Prince Arian sneered. Ought never lose!
13:31When Arian broke one of Tancel's fingers, Dunk smashed the Targaryen to the ground.
13:36Although the Hedge Knight had acted chivalrously in defense of a damsel in distress,
13:40he had just struck a royal prince. Arian's men seized Dunk by the arms, ready to subject him to
13:46torture for his capital offense. Just then, the young squire boy, Egg, burst onto the scene.
13:52No! A boy's voice said. Don't hurt him!
13:56God be good, the boy, the brave, foolish boy, Dunk thought. He fought against the arms restraining him,
14:02but it was no good. Hold your tongue, you stupid boy! Run away! They'll hurt you!
14:08No, they won't! Egg moved closer. If they do, they'll answer to my father and my uncle as well!
14:15Prince Arian paid them no mind. Impudent little wretch, he said to Egg, spitting a mouthful of blood at the
14:21boy's feet. What happened to your hair? I cut it off, brother, said Egg. I didn't want to look like
14:27you.
14:28Thus, Dunk was spared from a grisly death and instead let off to be imprisoned in one of Ashford
14:34Castle's towers, reeling from the revelation that Egg was in fact short for Aegon Targaryen,
14:40son of Prince Mekar Targaryen and the grandson of the King. Later, Egg visited Dunk in his cell,
14:47apologizing for keeping the truth from him and explaining all. Egg, Aegon, had come to the lands
14:53of Lord Ashford for the tourney alongside the rest of Prince Mekar's sons. He had been supposed to
14:58squire for one of his older brothers, Prince Daeron the Drunken, who turned out to have been the
15:02inebriated lord whom Dunk had encountered back in the village tavern. Only Daeron had no intention of
15:08competing in the tourney and had instead run away with Egg to hide amongst the local peasantry.
15:14Daeron has common hair, a sort of pale brown, nothing special, but mine is like Arian's and my
15:18father's. The blood of the dragon, Dunk said. Silver gold hair and purple eyes, everyone knows that.
15:26Yes, so Daeron shaved it off. He meant for us to hide until the tourney was over. Only then you
15:31took
15:31me for a stable boy and he lowered his eyes. I didn't care if Daeron fought or not, but I
15:37wanted to be
15:38somebody, squire. I'm sorry, sir. I truly am. Moved by the boy's earnestness, Dunk accepted the young
15:45Prince's apology. Egg then brought Dunk before an audience with his uncle, the Crown Prince Bela.
15:51Bela expressed sympathy with Dunk's situation, admitting that his nephew Arian was a nasty piece
15:56of work. Still, the charge of striking a royal prince could not simply be dismissed and at its most
16:02lenient. The punishment for such was the amputation of a hand and foot. Alternatively, Prince Bela suggested,
16:09Dunk could ask the gods to prove his innocence by invoking his right to a trial by combat.
16:15Unsurprisingly, Sir Duncan decided to vindicate himself through an honorable duel. Yet there was a
16:20catch. Rather than agreeing to fight Dunk one-on-one, the accuser, Arian Targaryen, demanded a trial by
16:26seven. A team contest in which seven knights on the side of the prosecution would face off against
16:32seven knights on the side of the defendant. According to this ancient Andal custom,
16:37if either party could not convince six other men to stand with them, they automatically forfeited.
16:43Six knights, Dunk thought. They might as well have told him to find 6,000. He had no brothers,
16:49no cousins, no old comrades who had stood beside him in battle. Why would six strangers risk their own
16:55lives to defend a hedge knight against two royal princelings? Sure enough, Prince Arian had no
17:01trouble filling out his roster. Three of the seven white-cloaked Kingsguard would fight alongside him.
17:07Also taking up arms was Egg and Arian's father, Prince Maker, who was secretly ashamed of his
17:12disgraceful sons, Daeron and Arian, and saw Dunk as a scapegoat to blame their failings on.
17:17Daeron the Drunken, too, would fight alongside his elder brother and father. Embarrassed at having
17:23let young Aegon slip between his fingers, he had made up a story about how Dunk had kidnapped the boy.
17:28In spite of this, the mulish Prince Daemon visited Dunk in his camp, admitting that he only laid false
17:34accusations upon the hedged knight to save face, and promising to take a dive from his horse during
17:39the contest, rather than put up an actual fight. Daeron then revealed that his drunken accusations
17:45that night at the tavern had not been some inebriated nonsense. Like several Targaryens before him,
17:50dating back to before the doom of Old Valyria, Prince Daeron had been born with the gift of
17:55prophetic visions and had seen the hedged knight in his dreams, where Sir Duncan had fallen but
18:00stayed alive with the corpse of a great dragon over him. Unable to spare much thought for visions and
18:06prophecy, Dunk set about acquiring the six allies he required. Miraculously, he actually began to fill
18:12out a roster. His first volunteer was the apple knight, Sir Stefan Fosseway, eager to win glory as an
18:18underdog. Next came Sir Humphrey of House Beesbury and Sir Humphrey Harding, who sought revenge over
18:24Prince Arian for his dirty antics during their joust. I had heard your leg was broken. You heard the
18:31truth, Harding said. I cannot walk, but so long as I can sit a horse, I can fight. In addition,
18:38Young Egg had leveraged his royal surname to bring yet more allies to Dunk's cause, enlisting the
18:43Grizzled Greybeard, Sir Robin Rissling and Sir Lionel of the Great House Baratheon, who, due to his
18:48habit of manic howling during combat, was known as the Laughing Storm. Meanwhile, Dunk was astonished
18:55to find himself transformed into an overnight hero to the common folk, including the blacksmith Steely
19:01Pate, who had decided to accept no payment for the suit of armour he had forged for the hedge knight.
19:06Why? he asked Pate. What am I to them?
19:10A knight who remembers his vows, the smith said. Yet in a body blow to the hedge knight's rising
19:16spirits, Sir Stefan Fosseway returned from a brief absence, announcing his intention to switch sides
19:21and fight for Arian. Furious at his cousin's dishonourable betrayal, young Raymond Fosseway
19:27announced he would fight on the side of Sir Duncan against his own kinsmen. Only a squire, Raymond was
19:32knighted by Sir Lionel, so he may do so. Still, this only brought Dunk's fellowship back up to six.
19:38He lacked his seventh man, and time was running out. The jousting grounds had been prepared for
19:44the trial, and a crowd had gathered to watch the spectacle. Riding up and down the stands,
19:49Sir Duncan the Tall cried out in desperation to the myriad lords and knights in attendance,
19:54beseeching any one of them to fight by his side. He received only tepid silence in reply.
20:00Heart sick, Dunk wheeled thunder and raced back and forth before the tears of pale,
20:05called men. Despair made him shout, Are there no true knights among you?
20:10Only silence answered. Across the field, Prince Arian laughed. The dragon is not mocked,
20:16he called out. Then came a voice, I will take Sir Duncan's side.
20:22Emerging from the river mists rode a knight in shining black armour, bearing a shield with a red
20:27dragon and three roaring heads. The knight lifted his visor, revealing himself to be none other than
20:33Baelor Breakspear Targaryen, crown prince of the Seven Kingdoms.
20:38Brother, have you taken leave of your senses? Prince Maekar pointed a mailed finger at Dunk.
20:43This man attacked my son. This man protected the weak, as every true knight must, replied Prince
20:50Baelor. Let the gods determine if he was right or wrong. So it was that both sides acquired seven
20:57riders, and so it was that the trial by combat began. Fourteen knights thundered down the lists,
21:03lances levelled, churning up the earth under the galloping hooves of their barded steeds and
21:08smashing into one another, two walls of oak, iron and steel colliding at top speed.
21:14Prince Daemon was immediately punched off his horse by Sir Robin, and true to his word,
21:19he stayed down, yielding and withdrawing his accusation against Sir Duncan.
21:23Prince Baelor clashed with the Three Kingsguards, exploiting their honour-bound oath to never harm a
21:28royal prince. Dunk, meanwhile, bore down on the wretched Arian Targaryen. Hedge Knight and Prince
21:34collided, and Dunk was knocked off his horse and onto his back, his enemy also unhorsed but on his
21:40feet, wielding a morning star and ready to finish the job. Dunk rolled. Where he found the strength he
21:46did not know, but he found it. He rolled into Arian's legs, threw a steel-clad arm around his thigh,
21:52dragged him cursing into the mud, and rolled on top of him. Arian was strong, but Dunk was stronger,
21:58and larger and heavier as well. He grabbed hold of the shield with both hands and twisted until the
22:03straps broke. Then he brought it down on top of the princeling's helm, again and again and again,
22:08smashing the enamelled flames of his crest. Yield, he shouted. I yield, the dragon whispered, pale lips
22:17barely moving. Exhausted, Dunk fell down from his injuries and saw Baelor standing over him,
22:23offering the hedge knight a place in his service. Yet the crown prince was behaving oddly, his words
22:28slurred. With help from Steely Pate, he removed his helm to reveal that part of his skull had been
22:34smashed in. Baelor collapsed on top of Dunk, dead. Daeron the Drunken's prophecy had come true.
22:41Ser Duncan the Tall lay fallen in the mud, the corpse of a great dragon laying on top of him.
22:47The hedge knight had proved his innocence, but it had cost the life of Baelor of House Targaryen,
22:52Prince of Dragonstone, Hand of the King, Protector of the Realm, and heir apparent to the Iron Throne of
22:57the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. After the dust settled, Ser Duncan was summoned before Prince Makar,
23:03who conceded victory to the hedge knight and informed him that he was sending his son Arian
23:08into exile in Lys. Makar revealed that it was he who had dealt the fatal blow to Prince Baelor,
23:14and lamented that many in the Seven Kingdoms would now see him as a kinslayer,
23:18seeking to climb up the line of succession. All had beloved Prince Baelor, the great hope of the
23:23Seven Kingdoms, and Makar wondered aloud why the gods had seen fit to take his life to save a lowly
23:29hedge knight. Dunk admitted he did not know, but perhaps the gods had a purpose for him yet.
23:35Moving on past his philosophical mourning, Prince Makar revealed the purpose of his audience with
23:40the hedge knight. My youngest son seems to have grown fond of you, sir. It is time he was a
23:46squire,
23:47but he tells me he will serve no knight but you. He is an unruly boy, as you will have
23:52noticed. Will you
23:53have him? So it was that Sir Duncan the Tall and his faithful squire Egg set out onto the open
23:59road,
24:00towards their next great adventure.
24:06Two years had passed since the events at Ashford Tawny, during which time the realm had been
24:10devastated by a deadly plague known as the Great Spring Sickness, which had reaped a bloody harvest
24:16of hundreds of thousands of lives throughout Westeros. Among the victims was King Daeron II and his
24:22grandson, Prince Valar, the son of the late Prince Daeron Brakespear and heir to the Iron Throne.
24:28The crown subsequently passed to Aerys I Targaryen, uncle to the now ten-year-old Egg,
24:33who was presently travelling the open road alongside the hedge knight, Sir Duncan the Tall.
24:38After departing Ashford, Dunk and Egg had journeyed south to seek freelance work in Dorne,
24:44which had survived the Great Spring Sickness relatively unscathed. Since then, the knight and
24:49his loyal squire had travelled back north to the Reach, where they had entered into the service of
24:54Sir Eustace Osgrae. Grey of hair and thick of moustache, the elderly Sir Eustace put the minor
25:00in minor lord, possessing a paltry strip of land containing only three poor villages, which he ruled
25:06from Steadfast, an unimpressive castle scarcely larger than a watchtower. Bearing the heraldry of a
25:12checkered lion, House Osgrae had once been among the most powerful houses in the northern Reach,
25:17but their lands had been steadily shrinking since the Targaryen conquest. Since then,
25:23their ancestral castle of Coldmoat had come under the possession of another house, House Webber,
25:28whose sigil was a spotted red spider upon a silver web. Despite this, Sir Eustace had once enjoyed a
25:34friendly relationship with his contemporary, Lord Wyman Webber. He had even sent his beloved youngest son,
25:41Adam Osgrae, to squire for Lord Wyman in Coldmoat. Tragically, however, Adam, and the rest of
25:46Sir Eustace's sons had all perished in the first Blackfyre rebellion. Osgrae-Weber relations had
25:52deteriorated once more after Lord Wyman passed away with no sons, leaving Coldmoat to his daughter,
25:58Lady Roanne Webber. A woman with a sinister reputation, Lady Roanne was known as the Red Widow. Four times she
26:05had been wed and four times her husbands had died, invoking rumors that she was a witch and a poisoner.
26:12It was a scorching hot afternoon when Sir Duncan and his squire made their way back to Steadfast
26:17from a wine delivery run. A terrible drought had descended upon the land, leaving crops withering
26:23in the fields. Upon returning to the Czechy Lion's Keep, Dunk and Egg were joined by the malodorous,
26:29foul-tempered Sir Bennis of the Brown Shield, another knight in Sir Eustace's service. Egg noticed that
26:35the river near Steadfast had completely dried up almost overnight, which was unusual even during a drought.
26:41Thus, Bennis and Duncan went to investigate, following its banks towards its source. The
26:46pair eventually arrived at a dam constructed by the peasants of Lady Roanne Webber of Coldmoat.
26:52Sir Bennis demanded that they tear down the dam, only for the peasants to defiantly refuse. Easily
26:57provoked, Sir Bennis lashed out, slashing one of the elder workers across the face with his sword.
27:03Yet the peasants still refused to be cowed, leaving the two knights with no recourse but to return to
27:08Steadfast. Upon hearing of the incident, Sir Eustace was predictably furious,
27:13insisting that Lady Roanne had no right to dam the stream.
27:17I caught fish there as a boy and my sons all did the same. Alysanne likes to splash in the
27:22shallows on
27:23hot summer days like this. Alysanne had been his daughter, who had perished in the spring.
27:28This cannot be born, sirs. The woman will not have my water. She will not have my Czechy water.
27:35Sir Eustace was resolved to retake his stream, while also acknowledging that the Red Widow would
27:40surely raise men to come and demand Sir Bennis's head for slicing one of her peasants. Yet if armed
27:46conflict it was to be, then the Czechy line was severely outmatched by the spider. Webber had the
27:51larger house and possessed a force of trained levies and fifteen professional knights. Sir Eustace,
27:57on the other hand, possessed no trained levies and only two knights. In order to make up the gulf in
28:03numbers, Sir Eustace instructed Duncan and Bennis to raise the local peasantry. It was a pathetic
28:08rabble that Duncan and Bennis managed to assemble, composed of just eight slack-jawed villagers with no
28:14combat experience. It was immediately obvious that sending these men into battle against the Red Widow's
28:20forces meant sending them to their deaths. Concerned for the smallfolk, Egg suggested to
28:25Dunk that they, quote, use his boot. Indeed, within the young squire's footwear was tucked a royal
28:31signet ring given to him by his father, Prince Makar, with the instruction to use it when he and Sir
28:37Duncan came into dire danger. The current hand of the king was Brynden Rivers, a bastard son of the late
28:43King Aegon the Unworthy, better known by his epithet Bloodraven. Bloodraven had spies everywhere,
28:49and as soon as Egg presented his royal ring, he would hear word of it and send the king's troops
28:54to his location. Dunk, however, refused to let his squire reveal his identity, deeming it unnecessary.
29:01What did your father tell you when he sent you off to squire for me? To keep my hair shaved
29:06or
29:06dyed and tell no man my true name, the boy said with obvious reluctance. Hoping to avoid bloodshed,
29:14Sir Duncan volunteered to personally entreat with the Lady Webber on Sir Eustace's behalf,
29:19setting off the next morning. The pair soon arrived at Coldmont, where they passed by a young woman
29:24practicing with a longbow before being greeted by Lady Rowan's castellan, a knight named Sir Lucas
29:29Inchfield, also known as the Longinch. Sir Lucas showed immediate hostility to Dunk, threatening to
29:35have him executed over the altercation at the dam, as well as taunting the hedge knight by tricking him
29:41into believing a frumpy older lady was Rowan when she was not. Yet soon enough, the real Lady Rowan
29:47revealed herself to be the young archer. Dunk looked from one lady to the other.
29:52You were the Red Widow, he heard himself blurt out. But you're too… young? The girl tossed her longbow
29:58to the lanky lad he'd seen her shooting with. I am five and twenty as it happens, or was it
30:03small you
30:04meant to say? Pretty. It was pretty. Dunk did not know where that came from, but he was glad it
30:11came.
30:12Seeing not a conniving old hag, but an attractive young woman, Dunk found himself quickly smitten with
30:18Lady Rowan, an attraction which was evidently mutual. The Red Widow looked Dunk over from his heels up to
30:24his head, though her gaze lingered longest on his chest. A tree and shooting star? I have never seen those
30:31arms
30:31before. She touched his tunic, tracing a limb of his elm tree with two fingers.
30:36Rowan instructed Dunk to be led to her guest chambers to wait while she prepared to receive
30:41him more formally, during which time the Hedged Knight found himself in the company of the Lady's
30:46Chaplain, the fat, flatulent, and talkative Stepton Sefton. Sefton dispelled the rumours that
30:52his lady was a man-eating witch. All her husbands, the first of whom she'd been betrothed to at ten
30:57years
30:57old, had died of causes beyond her control, ranging from battle to choking on a chicken bone.
31:03The Septon also revealed that Rowan's future was looking bleak. Per her father, Lord Wyman's will,
31:10the Lady Spider would only be permitted to keep Castle Coldmouth so long as she remarried within
31:15two years of his death, a date which was fast approaching. Unfortunately for her, she had few
31:21desirable suitors. Many lords feared to wed the supposedly husband-slaying Red Widow,
31:26while others feared her violent and ill-tempered castellan, Sir Lucas Longinch,
31:31who was determined to marry Rowan himself by force if necessary.
31:35It was here that Rowan entered the room and the official parley began. Unfortunately for Dunk,
31:41the Lady was willful, resisting to budge on either the issue of the river or the matter of Sir Benis,
31:46who she insisted be delivered to her so she may have his nose chopped off. Furthermore,
31:51she revealed a document bearing the King's seal which revealed information that Sir Eustace had
31:56kept from Dunk, that the Czechy waters legally and undisputedly belonged to House Webber.
32:01Sir Eustace, it turned out, was a former traitor, a Blackfyre supporter. He had been pardoned by the
32:07late King Daeron the Good after all his sons had died fighting for the usurper Daemon, but his waters
32:13had been granted to House Webber, who had sided with the Targaryen loyalists. Dunk could not read,
32:18but Egg, an educated royal, confirmed the document's authenticity. Sir Duncan was shocked,
32:24but was not ready to give up. He asked Lady Rowan to relent for the sake of the memory of
32:29Adam Oskrey,
32:30Sir Eustace's son, who once lived in Coldmoat alongside her. Suddenly, Lady Rowan slapped Duncan
32:36hard across the mouth and ordered him to leave, delivering an ultimatum that Sir Benis must be
32:40delivered the next day or she would come for him with fire and sword. On his way out, Septon Sefton
32:47informed the Hedge Knight that Rowan had loved Adam secretly, more so than any of her husbands.
32:52That her beloved Adam had perished on the red grass fields, fighting in a rebellion his father
32:57dragged him into, was something that Lady Rowan could never forgive Sir Eustace for, and why invoking
33:02Adam's name for the old man's sake had prompted such a violently emotional reaction. Thus, Oskrey and
33:09Webber remained at an impasse. Upon returning to Steadfast, Egg blurtingly demanded of Sir Eustace why he had
33:15betrayed his rightful king. Because Daemon was the better man. The old king saw it too. He gave the
33:22sword to Daemon Blackfyre, the sword of Aegon the Conqueror, the blade that every Targaryen king had
33:28wielded since the conquest. My father says that was because Daemon was a swordsman and Daeron never was,
33:34said Egg. Why give a horse to a man who cannot ride? The sword was not the kingdom, he says.
33:39The old knight's hand jerked so hard that wine spilled from his silver cup.
33:44Your father is a fool. He is not, the boy said.
33:49Whatever the reason for his treason, Sir Eustace had been dishonest with Dunk and Egg,
33:53and for that reason they decided to leave his service at first light. They would never get the
33:58opportunity, for they were woken in the middle of the night by panicked villagers to find that the
34:03woodlands around Steadfast Keep were on fire. Immediately assuming that the Red Widow was
34:08behind the inferno, Sir Eustace and Sir Benis roused the eight peasants from before to march against her.
34:14Unwilling to let the villagers be slaughtered, Sir Duncan intervened, forcing them to disperse,
34:19before offering himself back into the service of Sir Eustace to confront Lady Rowan on their behalf.
34:24Sir Eustace agreed.
34:26Better to go boldly than hide behind stone walls, the old man resolved.
34:31Better to die a lion than a rabbit.
34:34While Sir Benis fled to safety, Sir Eustace Oskrey, Sir Duncan the Tall and Egg the Squire
34:40rode off to confront Lady Rowan Webber, whose knights outnumbered them seven to one.
34:45The opposing sides met on opposite banks of the checky waters as the trees burned around them,
34:50with Dunk and Lady Rowan riding out into the stream to parley. The Red Widow denied setting the fire,
34:57accusing Sir Eustace of the deed. Unable to find any path to reconciliation, Sir Duncan finally utilized
35:03his trump card, showing Egg's signet ring to Rowan and revealing his squire's secret identity as a
35:09Targaryen prince. Stunned, the Lady admitted she would sooner be the dragon's friend. Yet,
35:15dragon or no, I must have Benis. It was a matter of principle, she explained,
35:20for rival lords would consider her weak if she allowed the foul knight's slight upon her to go
35:25unpunished. Dunk was not impressed. I remember once some little lord in the Stormlands took Sir
35:31Arlan into service to help him fight some other little lord. When I asked the old man what they
35:36were fighting over, he said, Nothing, lad. It's just some pissing contest.
35:40Her freckled face went sombre. Those pissing contests are how the lords judge one another's
35:46strength, and woe to any man who shows his weakness. A woman must need piss twice as hard
35:51if she hopes to rule. If the Lady required restitution to save face, Sir Duncan realized,
35:57then he himself would provide it to her. He drew his knife and slashed it across his face.
36:02A cheek for a cheek, he claimed, as now her wounded peasant had been avenged.
36:07You're quite mad. The smoke had filled her eyes with tears.
36:11If you were better born, I'd marry you. Aye, milady, and if pigs had wings and scales
36:17and breathed flame, they'd be as good as dragons. Yet the Lady's honor had not yet been fully satisfied.
36:24Rowan continued to insist that she had not been behind the forest fire, while Sir Eustace refused to
36:30drop the accusation. So the Lady Spider demanded a trial by combat to let the gods prove her innocence.
36:36Thus came the showdown, as the houses of Osprey and Webber picked their champions. Naturally,
36:42Sir Duncan would fight on Sir Eustace's behalf, while Lady Rowan would be represented by her
36:47castellan, the Longinch. Sir Lucas Inchfield looked at Lady Rowan, his face dark with fury.
36:53You will marry me when this mama's farce is done, as your Lord Father wished.
36:58My Lord Father never knew you as I do, she gave back.
37:03The fight was joined, the two knights clashing in the middle of the shallow river,
37:07the hooves of their steeds kicking up a churning spray as they collided in a furious whirlwind of
37:12steel and sparks. Both men were knocked off their horses, their jowls becoming a brutal wrestling
37:17match as each tried to drown the other beneath the waters. Both submerged beneath the surf,
37:23with Dunk holding the Longinch down against the riverbed until he stopped struggling,
37:27before the hedge knight himself lost consciousness. A few days later, Sir Duncan the Tall awoke in a bed
37:33within Coldmite, under the care of Kerik, the castle's maester. Maester Kerik revealed that the
37:39Longinch was dead, but that Dunk had also drowned. Fortunately, Kerik was ironborn in origin, and the
37:45ironborn had ways of resuscitating drowned men. Egg, the maester revealed, had been the one to pull
37:52Dunk from the river. An ever-faithful squire, the boy had saved his master's life. Yet Egg was now
37:58conspicuously absent. When Dunk asked where the child was, Kerik replied that he was attending
38:03Sir Eustace at his wedding feast. Wedding feast? Dunk did not understand.
38:09You would not know, of course. Coldmoat and Steadfast were reconciled after your battle.
38:14Lady Rowan begged leave of old Sir Eustace to cross his land and visit Adam's grave,
38:19and he granted her that right. She knelt before the blackberries and began to weep,
38:23and he was so moved that he went to comfort her. In the end, the Lord of House Oskrey and
38:29the Lady of
38:29House Webber had reconciled their differences over their shared feelings for a boy they had both loved,
38:35rendering Dunk's near-death in the trial by combat pointless. The hedge knight began drifting back off
38:41to sleep, lulled into unconsciousness by the sound of falling rain. The drought had come to an end.
38:46Although Lady Rowan's marriage to Sir Eustace was one of politics and not love, Dunk still found
38:53himself feeling both jealous and betrayed. Reuniting with Egg, the hedge knight and his squire resolved
38:58to depart the next morning, even though the latter's wounds were not fully healed. Upon reaching the
39:04stables, Dunk found himself accosted by the Red Widow herself, who apologized for slighting him. In
39:10gratitude for his service in ridding her of the Longinch, she offered the hedge knight a magnificent new
39:15warhorse. Dunk refused, believing such a noble gift to be too good for him. Then, in a moment of
39:21impulsive passion, the two shared a heated kiss. Dunk claimed a lock of Lady Rowan's crimson hair
39:27to remember her by, then mounted up on his old trusty Destrea with Egg by his side, setting out onto
39:33the open road towards their next great adventure. Some months after their escapades in Steadfast and
39:40Coldmoat, Dunk and Egg were traveling north through the riverlands en route to Winterfell,
39:44where they hoped to enter into the service of Lord Beren Stark. Along the road, they passed the head of
39:50a scepter impaled upon an iron spike, beheaded for speaking treason against King Aerys and his hand,
39:56Lord Bloodraven. Rumors abounded throughout the Seven Kingdoms that King Aerys was feckless and weak,
40:01and it was his uncle Bloodraven who truly ran the show. Those rumors were correct,
40:06and the dead septum was a chilling reminder of how Bloodraven had spies everywhere and heard
40:12everything. As the hedge knight and his squire approached the Godseye Lake, they found themselves
40:17approached by a convoy of riders. Assuming them to be bandits, Dunk and Egg hid in the bushes,
40:23but were spotted nonetheless. The riders were soon revealed to be the retinue of Lord Gorman Peake of
40:28Starpike, whose sigil was three black castles upon an orange field. They were neither bandits nor
40:35friendly. Dunk and Egg found themselves subject to the scorn and threats of Lord Gorman and his
40:40snide retainer, Sir Alan Cockshaw, who mistook the hedge knight and his squire for brigands themselves.
40:46Fortunately, the standoff was diffused by a hedge knight in Lord Gorman's service,
40:50who introduced himself as John the Fiddler. Long and dark of hair, John the Fiddler was well-groomed
40:56and dressed in a rich, silk brocaded doublet, more ornate than any poor hedge knight who live rough off the
41:02land ought to own. His appearance aside, the ostensible warrior bard treated Dunk and Egg with
41:08courtesy, informing them that Lord Gorman's retinue was on their way to a noble wedding.
41:13Lord Ambrose Butterwell was marrying the daughter of Lord Frey of the Crossing.
41:18The festivities were to take place at the Butterwell seat of Castle Whitewalls and would
41:23include a grand tourney, which knights and lords had come from across the land to participate in.
41:28The jolly, foppish Fiddler cordially invited his fellow hedge knight, Sir Duncan,
41:33to participate in the jousting. Tempted by the allure of prize money, Dunk eventually agreed.
41:39On their way to Whitewalls, Egg revealed to Dunk that Lord Gorman Peake was, like Sir Eustace of
41:44Steadfast, a pardoned traitor. Does he really have three castles? Only on his shield, Sir. House
41:52Peake did hold three castles once, but two of them were lost. How do you lose two castles?
41:58You fight for the Black Dragon, Sir. Oh. Dunk felt stupid. That again.
42:04That night, Dunk and Egg encamped by the Lakeshore with another group of fellow hedge knights,
42:09also making their way to the Butterwell tourney. There they befriended the likes of the young
42:14Sir Glendon, a bastard-born boy, claiming to be the son of the Targaryen's royal master at arms,
42:19and Sir Maenad Plum, a very distant relative of a Targaryen princess. The hedge knights revealed
42:25that the champion's prize was to be a dragon's egg. Dunk was astonished by this, egg less so.
42:32I'd show you mine, Sir, but it's at Summerhall. Yours. Your dragon's egg. Dunk frowned down at the
42:38boy, wondering if this was some jeep. Where did it come from? From a dragon, Sir. They put it in
42:44my
42:44cradle. Do you want a clout in the air? There are no dragons. No, but there are eggs. The last
42:50dragon left a
42:51clutch of five, and they have more on dragonstone, old ones from before the dance. Well, see that you
42:57don't go mentioning this egg where anyone is like to hear. I'm not stupid, Sir. Egg lowered his voice.
43:04Someday, the dragons will return. My brother Daeron's dreamed of it, and King Aerys read it in a prophecy.
43:10Maybe it will be my egg that hatches. That would be splendid.
43:15Sir Duncan and his squire arrived at Whitewalls the next day, and were invited into the castle
43:21without incident. The pair were split up at the stratified wedding feast, with Dunk brought to
43:26dine in the great hall with the other knights, and Egg ferried off to eat with the other servants
43:31and squires. Then came the bedding ceremony. Before Dunk quite realized what was happening,
43:37John the Fiddler had dragged him to his feet. Here, he cried out, let the giant carry her. The next
43:43thing he knew, Dunk was carrying the squealing, squirming young bride up a flight of spiral steps
43:49into her husband's bedchambers. After depositing her on her marital bed, he stumbled away from the
43:55crowd for a breath of air, out onto a tower balcony beneath the open stars. To his surprise,
44:01John the Fiddler appeared by his side, friendly as ever, yet speaking in a newly cryptic way.
44:07I dreamed of you, Sir Duncan, before I even met you. When I saw you on the road,
44:12I knew your face at once. It was as if we were old friends.
44:17Much like Prince Daeron the Drunken, this mysterious Fiddler Knight claimed to have
44:22seen Sir Duncan in his visions, claiming that Duncan had appeared to him in the all-white
44:26armour of the elite Kingsguard. The Fiddler informed Dunk that his dreams always came true,
44:32and confided that he also dreamt that a mighty dragon would hatch from its egg
44:37right here in Whitewall's castle. Remembering well how Daeron's dreams had correctly predicted
44:43his role in the death of Crown Prince Bela, Sir Duncan knew well not to disregard such auguries.
44:49Parting with the Fiddler, Dunk returned to his tent to find egg pouring over the guest list at the
44:54tourney. The boy was agitated, claiming that the majority of the lords and knights at Lord
45:00Butterwell's wedding belonged to houses which had sided with the Blackfyre rebels some twenty years earlier.
45:06He had also gotten into a fight with some of their squires over insults to his father,
45:10Prince Makar, coming perilously close to giving away his royal identity.
45:15Words are wind, egg. Just let them blow on past you. Some words are wind. The boy was nothing if
45:22not
45:22stubborn. Some words are treason. This is a traitor's tourney, Sir. Indeed, it was becoming increasingly
45:29likely that the wedding at Whitewall's was nothing more than a plausible pretext to gather like-minded
45:35Blackfyre loyalists in one place, from where they would initiate a rebellion against the throne.
45:40If that were true, Dunk reasoned, then there was all the more reason for both of them to act natural
45:45so as not to give away who egg truly was. Ordering his squire to lie low, Dunk continued with his
45:52original plan to enlist and compete in the tourney. This did not go well for him. Sir Duncan the Tall
45:58was
45:58far better in a melee with a sword and axe than he was at jousting, something that was made very
46:04evident when the hedge knight was handily and degradingly unseated by Sir Uthor Underleaf,
46:09a knight with a snail on his shield. Per the rules of the tourney, Dunk was obliged to hand over
46:14his
46:14armour and horses to the man who had defeated him. As Dunk did not have the money to ransom back
46:20his gear,
46:20he was essentially facing the end of his career as a hedge knight. Underleaf, as it turned out, was a
46:26professional grifter who travelled from tourney to tourney, bribing the organizers to pair him
46:31against newer, inexperienced knights so he could collect easy wins. Sir Uthor offered to return
46:37Dunk's arms and armour if he agreed to become a patsy, travelling the land with him and taking a fall
46:42against the snail knight at 20 future tourneys in exchange for a cut of the winnings. Dunk flatly refused.
46:49I lost my armour, not my honour. You'll have thunder and my arms, no more.
46:56Exasperated by what he saw as foolish, honourable naivety, Sir Uthor levelled with Dunk. The snail
47:01knight had been paid to kill the hedge knight. It was only because he had not been paid enough
47:06that Sir Uthor had dealt Dunk a wounding blow rather than a fatal one. Someone was out for Sir
47:12Duncan's head. Perhaps the organizers of this traitor's tourney had discovered the identity of
47:18his squire. Or perhaps other shadowy actors sought revenge for Dunk's role in the death of the
47:23beloved Prince Bela at Ashford Meadow two years prior. Whatever the case, the plot soon thickened
47:30when Lord Butterwell's dragon egg went missing, with Lord Gorman Peake immediately accusing one
47:35Sir Glendon Flowers of stealing it. A lowly, bastard-born hedge knight with no titles,
47:41Sir Glendon was looked down upon by all the landed lords at Whitewalls, yet had embarrassed his
47:46ostensible betters by unseating several of them in the jousts. For this he had been made scapegoat
47:52for a crime he was innocent of. Dunk wished to help the lad, but he had more pressing issues.
47:57Another egg had gone missing, his squire, who was nowhere to be seen or found.
48:03As everyone dogpiled upon Sir Glendon, Dunk found himself accosted by Sir Alan Cockshaw,
48:08the haughty knight who had been travelling with Lord Gorman and John the Fiddler.
48:13Sir Alan informed Dunk that he knew where Egg was and would lead him to the boy while everyone
48:18else was distracted. Foolishly, Dunk followed him right into a trap. Sir Alan had been the one who
48:24paid Sir Uthor to kill Dunk. The hedge knight's crime had been to attract the attention of the
48:29handsome, charismatic John the Fiddler, whom Sir Alan was in love with. Sir Alan led Dunk into an
48:35isolated, enclosed courtyard. Then, lashing out with the fury of a jilted lover, aimed to kill him
48:41with a dagger. Dunk got the better of his assailant, sustaining a slash to the side,
48:46but bashing Sir Alan with a rock and throwing him down a well. Emerging from the tail end of this
48:52altercation was Sir Maynard Plum, who revealed himself to be no true hedge knight. Almost certainly
48:58a spy in Bloodraven's service, he helped Dunk up, cleaned and dressed his wounds, and revealed the
49:04lynchpin behind the entire conspiracy. Dunk used his legs.
49:08Lord Alan, he's going to drown. He shan't be missed, least of all by the Fiddler.
49:14He's not, Dunk gasped, pale with pain, a Fiddler.
49:18No, he's Daemon of House Blackfyre, the second of his name.
49:22Sir Maynard informed Dunk that Egg was currently in the Castle Sept. Dunk immediately went to him.
49:28Yet, as it turned out, Egg was fine. More than fine, in fact. In a stroke of bold courage,
49:34the boy had pulled off the Mother of All Bluffs, revealing the royal signet ring from within his
49:39boot to Ambrose Butterwell and revealing his true identity, claiming that he and Sir Duncan were royal
49:45spies sent to investigate the tawny and that his father, Prince Makar, was aware of the plot and on
49:51the way to White Walls with a mighty army to crush the gathered traitors. Terrified for his life, Lord
49:57Butterwell had renounced his role in the Brewing Blackfyre plot, claiming it had all been Lord
50:02Gorman Peake's doing, and placing Egg, Prince Aegon Targaryen, under his protection. Dunk reunited
50:09with Egg, just as Lord Butterwell's son-in-law, Black Tom Heddle, broke into the Sept to take the
50:14boy hostage. Yet, despite his injuries, Sir Duncan the Tall made quick work of the would-be kidnapper.
50:20He then bade Egg to flee the castle with Sir Ambrose, before the rest of the rebels in
50:25attendance, discovered who he was. In order to bide time for his squire's escape, Dunk made his
50:30way back to the Great Hall to confront the mystery knight, John the Fiddler, whose real identity was
50:36the Black Dragon, Daemon II Blackfyre, grandson of King Aegon the Unworthy and son of Daemon I,
50:42the King who bore the sword. In order to cause a distraction to ensure Egg's escape, Sir Duncan presented
50:49himself before the Black Dragon and all his rebel lords, accusing Lord Gorman Peake of framing Sir
50:55Glendon Flowers for the theft of the dragon egg, and demanding that the young hedge knight be allowed
50:59to let the gods prove his innocence in a trial by combat. Not only did Daemon agree, he chose to
51:05ride
51:05personally against Sir Glendon to settle the matter. Sir Glendon had been tortured by his captives, yet,
51:12even in his injured state, he proved a truer knight than the prince who'd come across the sea,
51:16his lance striking true and punching Daemon Blackfyre right off his barded steed.
51:22Mere seconds after the Black Dragon hit the ground, Warhorns sounded beyond the castle walls.
51:28The light of the rising sun glittered off the points of five hundred lances and ten times as
51:33many spears. The knight's grey banners were reborn in half a hundred gaudy colours,
51:38and above them all flew two regal dragons on nine black fields, the great three-headed beast of King
51:45Aerys I Targaryen, red as fire, and a white-winged fury breathing scarlet flame.
51:51Unbeknownst to Egg, the bald boy's bluff had been no bluff at all. A massive Targaryen army had appeared
51:58before white walls. Albeit not one led by Prince Makar, but by the king's hand, Bloodraven truly had
52:05eyes everywhere. The first Blackfyre Rebellion had perished on the redgrass field in blood and glory.
52:11The second Blackfyre Rebellion ended with a whimper. Cowled before the mighty host before them,
52:17all of the Black Dragon's lords slunk away and abandoned him. In the end, the second Daemon
52:23Blackfyre rode forth alone, reined up before the royal host, and challenged Lord Bloodraven to single
52:29combat. I will fight you, or the coward Aerys, or any champion you care to name, he had demanded.
52:36Instead, Lord Bloodraven's men surrounded him, pulled him off his horse, and clasped him in golden fetters.
52:42Furthermore, Lord Gorman Peake and all the main Blackfyre conspirators were rounded up and executed.
52:49After the dust had settled, Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Prince Aegon Targaryen,
52:54were brought before Lord Bloodraven for an audience. The pair explained their escapades to the king's hand.
53:00Impressed at the initiative and courage Aegon had shown, Bloodraven offered his interpretation of
53:05the vision Daemon had shared with Ser Duncan the night of the bedding ceremony.
53:09There have always been Targaryens who dreamed of things to come, since long before the conquest,
53:14Bloodraven said. So we should not be surprised if from time to time a Blackfyre displays the gift as well.
53:21Daemon dreamed that a dragon would be born at Whitewalls, and it was. The fool just got the colour wrong.
53:28Daemon's vision had come true in the end. A dragon egg had hatched at Whitewalls. Only that egg had been,
53:34well, Egg, the squire of Ser Duncan the Tall, whose role in bringing down the Second Blackfyre Rebellion
53:41had metamorphosed him from a little boy into the proud and confident Targaryen prince he was born to be.
53:47The after-action report complete, Lord Bloodraven provided Ser Duncan with the funds to ransom back
53:53his horses and armour from Ser Uthor, before sending the hedge knight and his faithful squire off.
53:58So it was that Dunk and Egg set back off towards their original destination,
54:03north to the land of the Starks, where their next grand adventure awaited.
54:09Over the next few decades, a series of family tragedies saw Egg booted higher and higher up the
54:15line of succession. Until at the age of 33, he was crowned King Aegon V Targaryen, known also as Aegon
54:22the
54:22unlikely. Even after being crowned, Egg never lost his fondness for the hedge knight he had travelled with
54:28during his youth. Fulfilling Daemon Blackfyre's vision of Dunk in a white cloak, he appointed his
54:33old friend as Lord Commander of his Kingsguard and turned Dunk into the most highly respected knight in
54:39all the Seven Kingdoms. However, both Dunk and Egg would perish in 259 AC in a great fire at the
54:46palace of Summerhall. An inferno, many say, was set by King Aegon himself as part of a magic ritual to
54:53fulfil his brother Daeron's prophecy and restore dragons to the Seven Kingdoms. That prophecy was
54:59eventually fulfilled not by Egg, but by his great-granddaughter Daenerys Targaryen. Still,
55:06although we know how Dunk and Egg's story ultimately ends, the tragedy at Summerhall takes place nearly 50
55:11years after the third and most recent Dunk and Egg novella. George R.R. Martin has expressed his
55:17intention to write more stories about the adventures of the hedge knight and his squire in the future,
55:22and we will certainly cover them if they are ever written. In the meantime, we are planning to cover
55:26the stories from many other fantasy and sci-fi universes, so make sure you are subscribed and have
55:32pressed the bell button to see them. Please consider liking, commenting, and sharing, it helps immensely.
55:36Our videos would be impossible without our kind patrons and youtube channel members,
55:41whose ranks you can join via the links in the description to know our schedule,
55:45get early access to our videos, access our discord, and much more.
55:49This is the Wizards and Warriors channel, and we will catch you on the next one!
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