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A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms - Episode1 - The Morrow
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00:10The Continent of Westeros is a land cast in the mold of classic medieval fantasy,
00:15filled with knights sworn to act with honor, 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 honor, 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,
01:31The 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,
03:08and just over 200 years since Aegon the Conqueror and his two sister-wives rode across the narrow sea upon
03:14their 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 their ancestors had conquered on Dragonback,
03:31albeit 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,
03:44but to his many 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 his deathbed,
03:55affirming their claims to the throne.
03:57If this alone did not guarantee dynastic strife,
04:00the 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.
04:37One had legal legitimacy, yet the other had symbolic legitimacy.
04:42It 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.
04:49When King Aegon IV finally departed for the Seven Hells in 184 AC,
04:54he left behind a realm on the precipice of war.
04:56In 196 AC, Daemon Blackfyre launched a rebellion against his half-brother, King Daeron II.
05:03A vicious war raged for a year, setting the countryside alight in fire and blood.
05:08In the end, King Daeron's Targaryen loyalists defeated the Blackfyre pretenders
05:13at the decisive Battle of Redgrass Field, in which Daemon Blackfyre was slain.
05:17Yet the would-be usurper's issue lived on,
05:20as his half-brother, Bittersteel, and his sons fled across the Narrow Sea.
05:25Nevertheless, the realm was now at peace, at least for the moment.
05:29It is here that we descend from our bird's-eye view of Westeros
05:32and descend upon a rainy field in the Reach,
05:35where a big, lunk-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,
05:48known as Sir Arlen of Pennytree,
05:49who took him in at just six years old and trained him to be his squire.
05:53Hedge knights were the freelancers of Westeros, in the most literal sense of the word.
05:58Instead of residing in a castle as part of a lord's retinue,
06:01hedge knights served no master,
06:03travelling the length and breadth of the Seven Kingdoms as itinerant wanderers,
06:07competing in tourneys to earn prize money,
06:09and selling their titular lances to whoever would pay for their services.
06:14Unlike their landed counterparts, hedge knights were usually poor,
06:18their only items of worth being their arms, armour, and horses.
06:21In order to make ends meet, many hedge knights became bandits and robbers.
06:25Others, however, stayed true to the ideals of justice and chivalry.
06:30Sir Arlen of Pennytree was one such righteous knight,
06:33and instilled his chivalric ideals into his young squire.
06:36A decade later, Sir Arlen had passed away on the road from a chill,
06:41leaving his young squire to fend for himself.
06:43At just sixteen years old, Dunk had grown into a towering mass of fat, sinew, and muscle,
06:49just short of seven feet tall.
06:51Dunk the Lunk, Sir Arlen had often called him, thick as a castle wall.
06:56Yet what Dunk lacked in quick thinking or sharp wit,
06:59he made up for with his kind heart,
07:01strong sense of justice, and sheer bullish strength.
07:05Dunk dug a grave for Sir Arlen, and laid the old knight within the earth.
07:08Although the young squire was never taught any proper prayers,
07:12he said a few words to commend his master to the afterlife.
07:15He then took up Sir Arlen's sword, shield, armour, and three horses.
07:20Henceforth, he continued his journey,
07:22to the place where he and his master had been heading before the latter died,
07:25to the castle town of Ashford, where a tawny was being held.
07:29En route, Dunk passed through a small village,
07:32and decided to seek a warm meal at the local inn.
07:35There, he encountered a pasty-faced, skinny child,
07:38no more than nine years old.
07:40A stable boy, he assumed,
07:42one which he would soon find had an attitude problem.
07:45I want my palfrey rubbed down, and oats for all three.
07:48Can you tend to them?
07:49The boy looked at him brazenly.
07:51I could, if I wanted.
07:54Dunk frowned.
07:55I'll have none of that.
07:56I'm a knight, I'll have you know.
07:58You don't look to be a knight.
07:59Do all knights look the same?
08:01No, but they don't look like you either.
08:03Your sword belt's made of rope.
08:05So long as it holds my scabbard, it serves.
08:08Now see to my horses.
08:10Leaving his steeds in the bald boy's care,
08:13Dunk headed into the tavern for some food and ale.
08:15Inside, he was recognized by a foppish lordling,
08:18slumped over his table and deep in his cups.
08:21I dreamed of you,
08:22the inebriated noble lamented,
08:25pointing at Dunk with a trembling finger.
08:27You stay away from me.
08:28Do you hear?
08:29You stay well away.
08:31Dismissing those ominous words as senseless rambling,
08:35Dunk finished his meal and headed back outside
08:37to find the bald stable boy wearing Sir Arlen's armor
08:40and riding around on his warhorse.
08:42Dunk gave the little scamp a scolding,
08:45yet undaunted,
08:46the boy begged to be taken along on Dunk's journey.
08:49Unwilling to subject the child to the hardships
08:51of the life of a traveling hedge knight's squire,
08:54Dunk refused and continued his journey alone.
08:56The meadow across the river from Ashford's castle town
09:00was awash in blooms of linen color,
09:02a city of tents, merchant stalls and performers stages.
09:05Rising above the cotton sprawl
09:07were opulent silken pavilions,
09:09bearing the heraldry of the Lion of Lannister,
09:12the Stag of Baratheon,
09:13the ivory battlements of Hightower
09:15and the colors of numerous other houses,
09:17both big and small.
09:19Dunk had no place among those high lords,
09:21so he set up camp in a woodland a ways away
09:23and went off to acquire armor
09:25that better fit his massive proportions
09:27than the old chainmail he'd inherited from Sir Arlen.
09:30Within the tawny markets,
09:32Dunk encountered a rough-hewn blacksmith named Steely Pate,
09:35who agreed to forge the big lad a new set of armor
09:38in exchange for an advanced deposit of Sir Arlen's old gear
09:41and one of his horses,
09:42the rest to be paid with the tawny champion's prize money,
09:45which Dunk insisted would be his.
09:48Upon returning to his camp,
09:49Dunk was flabbergasted to find
09:51none other than the boy from the stables.
09:54Surprised by the boy's persistence,
09:55Dunk finally agreed to take him on as a squire
09:58and gave the boy his name.
10:00The wretched boy laughed aloud.
10:02Dunk, he said.
10:04Sir Dunk, that's no name for a knight.
10:06Is it short for Duncan?
10:07Duncan, yes, he said.
10:10Sir Duncan of...
10:11Dunk had no other name, nor any house.
10:14Sir Duncan the Tall.
10:15I've never heard of any Sir Duncan the Tall.
10:18Do you know every knight in the Seven Kingdoms, then?
10:21The boy looked at him boldly.
10:23The good ones.
10:24I'm as good as any.
10:26After the tawny, they'll all know that.
10:28Do you have a name, thief?
10:29The boy hesitated.
10:31Egg, he said.
10:33Now furnished with a squire to tend to his camp and his horses,
10:37Sir Duncan the Tall reported to Lord Ashford's steward
10:40to register for the tawny,
10:41only to be told that he required a noble to vouch for his knightly status
10:45to be eligible to participate.
10:47Wandering into the Great Hall of Ashford Castle,
10:50the Hedged Knight stumbled upon none other than the Crown Prince
10:52Baelor Brakespear Targaryen,
10:55heir apparent to the Iron Throne,
10:56and his younger brother, Prince Mekar Targaryen.
10:59The foul-tempered Mekar dismissed Dunk immediately,
11:03but Baelor remembered Sir Alen,
11:05who broke four lances against him in a tourney years ago at Storm's End.
11:09Baelor vouched for Dunk and advised him to change the sigil on his shield,
11:13as only a true-born son may inherit a knight's arms.
11:16Heeding the Crown Prince's advice,
11:18Dunk visited a troop of Dornish puppeteers,
11:21which he had taken notice of earlier,
11:23asking a tall, slender young woman among them to repaint Sir Alen's shield.
11:27The woman's beauty was not lost on Dunk,
11:29who quickly became smitten.
11:32I'm called Sir Duncan the Tall.
11:34I'm Tancel, she laughed.
11:36Tancel Too Tall, the boys used to call me.
11:39You're not too tall, Dunk blurted out.
11:42You're just right, for...
11:43He realized what he had been about to say, and blushed.
11:48Flustered, Dunk improvised a new sigil for himself,
11:51which he decided should be a shooting star streaking over an elm tree.
11:54He then retrieved his squire,
11:56and went with him to spectate the first round of jousting.
11:59Together they witnessed a match between one Sir Humphrey Harding,
12:02and Arian Brightflame Targaryen,
12:04the son of the Prince, Mekar Targaryen,
12:06that Dunk had had a run-in with earlier.
12:09Arian proved himself a dishonorable combatant,
12:12aiming his lance not at his opponent but at his horse,
12:15impaling the steed and causing it to crash and break Sir Humphrey's leg.
12:19Later, Dunk re-encountered the Fossilways of Cider Hall,
12:22whom he had acquainted himself with the previous day.
12:25Bearing the banner of a red apple over a golden field,
12:28the Fossilways were a minor house,
12:30represented at the Ashford Tawney by the hot-headed blowhard Sir Stephen Fossilway,
12:35and his younger and more gentle-tempered squire and cousin, Sir Raymond Fossilway.
12:39The pair took a quick liking to Dunk,
12:41and invited him to their pavilion for a cup of arbor wine.
12:44Their night of revelry, however, was suddenly interrupted.
12:48Sir! Sir Duncan!
12:50Egg burst in, panting.
12:52His hood had fallen back,
12:53and the light from the brazier shone in his big, dark eyes.
12:56You have to run! He's hurting her!
12:59Dunk lurched to his feet, confused.
13:01Hurting? Who?
13:03Aryan! the boy shouted.
13:05He's hurting her! The puppet girl! Hurry!
13:08Whirling, he darted back out into the night.
13:11Dunk rushed to follow,
13:13arriving at the Dornish puppeteer's stand,
13:15to see the detestable Aryan Targaryen
13:17smashing up the puppets in a fit of violent contempt.
13:21According to the sadistic young prince,
13:23the performer's crime had been to depict a dragon dying in battle.
13:27A dragon? Prince Aryan sneered.
13:29Ought never lose!
13:31When Aryan broke one of Tancel's fingers,
13:34Dunk smashed the Targaryen to the ground.
13:36Although the Hedged Knight had acted chivalrously
13:39in defense of a damsel in distress,
13:41he had just struck a royal prince.
13:43Aryan's men seized Dunk by the arms,
13:45ready to subject him to torture for his capital offense.
13:48Just then, the young squire boy, Egg,
13:51burst onto the scene.
13:52No! A boy's voice said.
13:55Don't hurt him!
13:56Gods be good, the boy, the brave, foolish boy,
13:59Dunk thought.
14:00He fought against the arms restraining him,
14:02but it was no good.
14:04Hold your tongue, you stupid boy.
14:06Run away, they'll hurt you!
14:08No, they won't.
14:09Egg moved closer.
14:11If they do, they'll answer to my father,
14:13and my uncle as well.
14:15Prince Aryan paid them no mind.
14:17Impudent little wretch,
14:18he said to Egg,
14:20spitting a mouthful of blood at the boy's feet.
14:22What happened to your hair?
14:24I cut it off, brother,
14:25said Egg.
14:26I didn't want to look like you.
14:29Thus, Dunk was spared from a grisly death,
14:31and instead let off,
14:33to be imprisoned in one of Ashford Castle's towers,
14:35reeling from the revelation that Egg was in fact,
14:38short for Aegon Targaryen,
14:40son of Prince Mekar Targaryen,
14:42and the grandson of the king.
14:44Later, Egg visited Dunk in his cell,
14:47apologizing for keeping the truth from him,
14:49and explaining all.
14:50Egg,
14:51Aegon,
14:52had come to the lands of Lord Ashford for the tawny,
14:54alongside the rest of Prince Mekar's sons.
14:56He had been supposed to squire for one of his older brothers,
14:59Prince Daeron the Drunken,
15:01who turned out to have been the inebriated lord
15:03whom Dunk had encountered back in the village tavern.
15:06Only Daeron had no intention of competing in the tawny,
15:09and had instead run away with Egg,
15:11to hide amongst the local peasantry.
15:14Daeron has common hair,
15:15a sort of pale brown,
15:16nothing special,
15:17but mine is like Arian's and my father's.
15:20The blood of the dragon,
15:21Dunk said,
15:22silver gold hair and purple eyes,
15:24everyone knows that.
15:26Yes,
15:27so Daeron shaved it off.
15:28He meant for us to hide until the tawny was over.
15:31Only then you took me for a stable boy,
15:33and
15:33he lowered his eyes.
15:35I didn't care if Daeron fought or not,
15:37but I wanted to be somebody, squire.
15:39I'm sorry, sir.
15:40I truly am.
15:42Moved by the boy's earnestness,
15:44Dunk accepted the young prince's apology.
15:47Egg then brought Dunk before an audience with his uncle,
15:50the crown prince Bela.
15:51Bela expressed sympathy with Dunk's situation,
15:54admitting that his nephew Arian was a nasty piece of work.
15:57Still,
15:58the charge of striking a royal prince could not simply be dismissed,
16:01and at its most lenient,
16:03the punishment for such was the amputation of a hand and foot.
16:07Alternatively,
16:08Prince Bela suggested,
16:09Dunk could ask the gods to prove his innocence
16:11by invoking his right to a trial by combat.
16:15Unsurprisingly,
16:16Sir Duncan decided to vindicate himself through an honorable duel.
16:19Yet there was a catch.
16:21Rather than agreeing to fight Dunk one-on-one,
16:24the accuser,
16:25Arian Targaryen,
16:26demanded a trial by seven,
16:27a team contest in which seven knights on the side of the prosecution
16:31would face off against seven knights on the side of the defendant.
16:35According to this ancient Andal custom,
16:37if either party could not convince six other men to stand with them,
16:41they automatically forfeited.
16:43Six knights,
16:44Dunk thought.
16:45They might as well have told him to find 6,000.
16:48He had no brothers,
16:49no cousins,
16:50no old comrades who had stood beside him in battle.
16:53Why would six strangers risk their own lives to defend a hedge knight
16:56against two royal princelings?
16:59Sure enough,
17:00Prince Arian had no trouble filling out his roster.
17:03Three of the seven white-cloaked Kingsguard would fight alongside him.
17:07Also taking up arms was Egg and Arian's father,
17:10Prince Maker,
17:11who was secretly ashamed of his disgraceful sons,
17:13Daeron and Arian,
17:14and saw Dunk as a scapegoat to blame their failings on.
17:18Daeron the Drunken, too,
17:19would fight alongside his elder brother and father.
17:22Embarrassed at having let young Aegon slip between his fingers,
17:25he had made up a story about how Dunk had kidnapped the boy.
17:28In spite of this,
17:29the mulish Prince Daemon visited Dunk in his camp,
17:33admitting that he only laid false accusations upon the Hedged Knight to save face
17:37and promising to take a dive from his horse during the contest,
17:40rather than put up an actual fight.
17:42Daeron then revealed that his drunken accusations that night at the tavern
17:46had not been some inebriated nonsense.
17:48Like several Targaryens before him,
17:51dating back to before the doom of Old Valyria,
17:54Prince Daeron had been born with the gift of prophetic visions
17:56and had seen the Hedged Knight in his dreams,
17:59where Ser Duncan had fallen but stayed alive,
18:01with the corpse of a great dragon over him.
18:04Unable to spare much thought for visions and prophecy,
18:07Dunk set about acquiring the six allies he required.
18:11Miraculously, he actually began to fill out a roster.
18:13His first volunteer was the Apple Knight Ser Stefan Fossoe,
18:17eager to win glory as an underdog.
18:19Next came Sir Humphrey of House Beesbury and Sir Humphrey Harding,
18:23who sought revenge over Prince Arian for his dirty antics during their joust.
18:28I had heard your leg was broken.
18:30You heard the truth, Harding said.
18:32I cannot walk, but so long as I can sit a horse, I can fight.
18:37In addition, young Egg had leveraged his royal surname
18:40to bring yet more allies to Dunk's cause,
18:43enlisting the Grizzled Greybeard, Sir Robin Ristling,
18:45and Sir Lionel of the Great House Baratheon,
18:48who, due to his habit of manic howling during combat,
18:51was known as the Laughing Storm.
18:53Meanwhile, Dunk was astonished to find himself transformed
18:57into an overnight hero to the common folk,
18:59including the blacksmith Steely Pate,
19:01who had decided to accept no payment for the suit of armor
19:04he 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.
19:14Yet in a body blow to the hedge knight's rising spirits,
19:17Sir Stefan Fosseway returned from a brief absence,
19:20announcing his intention to switch sides and fight for Arian.
19:23Furious at his cousin's dishonorable betrayal,
19:26young Raymond Fosseway announced he would fight
19:28on the side of Sir Duncan against his own kinsmen.
19:31Only a squire, Raymond was knighted by Sir Lionel,
19:34so he may do so.
19:35Still, this only brought Dunk's fellowship back up to six.
19:39He lacked his seventh man, and time was running out.
19:42The jousting grounds had been prepared for the trial,
19:45and a crowd had gathered to watch the spectacle.
19:47Riding up and down the stands,
19:49Sir Duncan the Tall cried out in desperation
19:51to the myriad lords and knights in attendance,
19:54beseeching any one of them to fight by his side.
19:57He received only tepid silence in reply.
20:00Heartsick, Dunk wheeled thunder and raced back and forth
20:03before the tears of pale, cold men.
20:06Despair made him shout,
20:07Are there no true knights among you?
20:10Only silence answered.
20:12Across the field, Prince Arian laughed.
20:15The dragon is not mocked, he called out.
20:18Then came a voice.
20:19I will take Sir Duncan's side.
20:22Emerging from the river mists,
20:24rode a knight in shining black armor,
20:26bearing a shield with a red dragon and three roaring heads.
20:29The knight lifted his visor,
20:31revealing himself to be none other than Baelor Brakespear Targaryen,
20:35crown prince of the Seven Kingdoms.
20:38Brother, have you taken leave of your senses?
20:41Prince Makar pointed a mailed finger at Dunk.
20:43This man attacked my son.
20:46This man protected the weak,
20:48as every true knight must,
20:50replied Prince Baelor.
20:51Let the gods determine if he was right or wrong.
20:54So it was that both sides acquired seven riders,
20:58and so it was that the trial by combat began.
21:01Fourteen knights thundered down the lists,
21:04lances leveled,
21:05churning up the earth under the galloping hooves of their barded steeds,
21:08and smashing into one another,
21:10two walls of oak, iron, and steel colliding at top speed.
21:14Prince Daemon was immediately punched off his horse by Sir Robin,
21:17and true to his word,
21:19he stayed down,
21:20yielding and withdrawing his accusation against Sir Duncan.
21:23Prince Baelor clashed with the Three Kingsguards,
21:26exploiting their honor-bound oath to never harm a royal prince.
21:30Dunk, meanwhile,
21:31bore down on the wretched Arian Targaryen.
21:33Hedge Knight and Prince collided,
21:35and Dunk was knocked off his horse and onto his back,
21:38his enemy also unhorsed but on his feet,
21:40wielding a morning star and ready to finish the job.
21:44Dunk rolled.
21:45Where he found the strength he did not know,
21:47but he found it.
21:48He rolled into Arian's legs,
21:50threw a steel-clad arm around his thigh,
21:52dragged him cursing into the mud,
21:54and rolled on top of him.
21:55Arian was strong,
21:57but Dunk was stronger,
21:58and larger and heavier as well.
22:00He grabbed hold of the shield with both hands,
22:02and twisted until the straps broke.
22:04Then he brought it down on top of the princeling's helm,
22:07again and again and again,
22:09smashing the enameled flames of his crest.
22:11Yield!
22:12Yield!
22:13He shouted.
22:13I yield!
22:14The dragon whispered,
22:16pale lips barely moving.
22:18Exhausted,
22:19Dunk fell down from his injuries,
22:21and saw Baelor standing over him,
22:23offering the hedge knight a place in his service.
22:25Yet the crown prince was behaving oddly,
22:28his words slurred.
22:29With help from steely pate,
22:31he removed his helm,
22:32to reveal that part of his skull had been smashed in.
22:35Baelor collapsed on top of Dunk,
22:37dead.
22:38Daeron the Drunken's prophecy had come true.
22:41Ser Duncan the Tall lay fallen in the mud,
22:44the corpse of a great dragon laying on top of him.
22:47The hedge knight had proved his innocence,
22:49but it had cost the life of Baelor of House Targaryen,
22:52Prince of Dragonstone,
22:53Hand of the King,
22:54Protector of the Realm,
22:55and heir apparent to the Iron Throne
22:57of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.
23:00After the dust settled,
23:01Ser Duncan was summoned before Prince Mekar,
23:03who conceded victory to the hedge knight,
23:05and informed him that he was sending his head.
23:07son Arian into exile in Lys.
23:10Mekar revealed that it was he
23:11who had dealt the fatal blow to Prince Baelor,
23:14and lamented that many in the Seven Kingdoms
23:16would now see him as a kinslayer,
23:18seeking to climb up the line of succession.
23:21All had beloved Prince Baelor,
23:23the great hope of the Seven Kingdoms,
23:24and Mekar wondered aloud
23:26why the gods had seen fit to take his life
23:28to save a lowly hedge knight.
23:30Dunk admitted he did not know,
23:32but perhaps the gods had a purpose for him yet.
23:35Moving on past his philosophical mourning,
23:38Prince Mekar revealed the purpose
23:39of his audience with the hedge knight.
23:42My youngest son seems to have grown fond of you, sir.
23:45It is time he was a squire,
23:47but he tells me he will serve no knight but you.
23:50He is an unruly boy,
23:51as you will have noticed.
23:53Will you have him?
23:54So it was that Sir Duncan the Tall
23:56and his faithful squire Egg
23:58set out onto the open road
24:00towards their next great adventure.
24:06Two years had passed since the events at Ashford Tawny,
24:09during which time the realm had been devastated
24:11by a deadly plague
24:12known as the Great Spring Sickness,
24:14which had reaped a bloody harvest
24:16of hundreds of thousands of lives
24:18throughout Westeros.
24:19Among the victims was King Daeron II
24:21and his grandson, Prince Valar,
24:24the son of the late Prince Daeron Brakespear
24:26and heir to the Iron Throne.
24:28The crown subsequently passed
24:29to Aerys I Targaryen,
24:31uncle to the now 10-year-old Egg,
24:33who was presently travelling the open road
24:35alongside the hedge knight,
24:37Sir Duncan the Tall.
24:38After departing Ashford,
24:40Dunk and Egg had journeyed south
24:42to seek freelance work in Dorne,
24:44which had survived the Great Spring Sickness
24:46relatively unscathed.
24:48Since then,
24:48the knight and his loyal squire
24:50had travelled back north to the Reach,
24:52where they had entered into the service
24:54of Sir Eustace Osgrave.
24:56Grey of hair and thick of moustache,
24:58the elderly Sir Eustace
24:59put the minor in minor lord,
25:01possessing a paltry strip of land
25:03containing only three poor villages,
25:05which he ruled from Steadfast,
25:07an unimpressive castle
25:09scarcely larger than a watchtower.
25:11Bearing the heraldry of a checkered lion,
25:13House Osgrave had once been
25:15among the most powerful houses
25:16in the northern Reach,
25:17but their lands had been steadily shrinking
25:20since the Targaryen conquest.
25:22Since then,
25:23their ancestral castle of Coldmoat
25:25had come under the possession
25:26of another house,
25:27House Webber,
25:28whose sigil was a spotted red spider
25:30upon a silver web.
25:32Despite this,
25:33Sir Eustace had once enjoyed
25:34a friendly relationship
25:35with his contemporary,
25:37Lord Wyman Webber.
25:38He had even sent
25:39his beloved youngest son,
25:41Adam Osgrave,
25:42to squire for Lord Wyman in Coldmoat.
25:44Tragically, however,
25:45Adam and the rest of Sir Eustace's sons
25:47had all perished
25:48in the first Blackfire Rebellion.
25:50Osgrave-Weber relations
25:52had deteriorated once more
25:53after Lord Wyman passed away
25:55with no sons,
25:56leaving Coldmoat
25:57to his daughter,
25:58Lady Roanne Webber.
25:59A woman with a sinister reputation,
26:02Lady Roanne was known
26:03as the Red Widow.
26:04Four times she had been wed,
26:06and four times her husbands
26:07had died,
26:09invoking rumors
26:09that she was a witch
26:10and a poisoner.
26:11It was a scorching hot afternoon
26:14when Sir Duncan and his squire
26:15made their way back
26:16to Steadfast
26:17from a wine delivery run.
26:19A terrible drought
26:20had descended upon the land,
26:22leaving crops
26:22withering in the fields.
26:24Upon returning
26:25to the Czechy Lion's Keep,
26:27Dunk and Egg were joined
26:28by the malodorous,
26:29foul-tempered
26:29Sir Bennis of the Brown Shield,
26:31another knight
26:32in Sir Eustace's service.
26:34Egg noticed
26:34that the river near Steadfast
26:36had completely dried up
26:37almost overnight,
26:38which was unusual,
26:39even during a drought.
26:41Thus,
26:42Bennis and Duncan
26:42went to investigate,
26:44following its banks
26:44towards its source.
26:46The pair eventually arrived
26:47at a dam
26:48constructed by the peasants
26:49of Lady Roanne Webber
26:50of Caldmote.
26:52Sir Bennis demanded
26:53that they tear down the dam,
26:54only for the peasants
26:55to defiantly refuse.
26:57Easily provoked,
26:58Sir Bennis lashed out,
26:59slashing one of the elder workers
27:01across the face
27:02with his sword.
27:03Yet the peasants
27:04still refused to be cowed,
27:05leaving the two knights
27:06with no recourse
27:07but to return to Steadfast.
27:09Upon hearing of the incident,
27:11Sir Eustace was predictably furious,
27:13insisting that Lady Roanne
27:15had no right
27:15to dam the stream.
27:17I caught fish there
27:18as a boy
27:19and my sons
27:20all did the same.
27:21Alessand likes to splash
27:22in the shallows
27:23on hot summer days
27:24like this.
27:25Alessand had been his daughter
27:26who had perished
27:27in the spring.
27:28This cannot be borne,
27:29sirs.
27:30The woman will not have
27:31my water.
27:32She will not have
27:33my checky water.
27:35Sir Eustace was resolved
27:36to retake his stream
27:37while also acknowledging
27:39that the Red Widow
27:40would surely raise men
27:41to come and demand
27:42Sir Bennis' head
27:43for slicing one of her peasants.
27:45Yet if armed conflict
27:46it was to be,
27:47then the checky lion
27:48was severely outmatched
27:49by the spider.
27:51Webber had the larger house
27:52and possessed a force
27:53of trained levies
27:54and 15 professional knights.
27:56Sir Eustace,
27:57on the other hand,
27:58possessed no trained levies
27:59and only two knights.
28:01In order to make up
28:02the gulf in numbers,
28:03Sir Eustace instructed
28:04Duncan and Bennis
28:05to raise the local peasantry.
28:07It was a pathetic rabble
28:09that Duncan and Bennis
28:10managed to assemble,
28:11composed of just
28:12eight slack-jawed villagers
28:13with no combat experience.
28:16It was immediately obvious
28:17that sending these men
28:18into battle
28:19against the Red Widow's forces
28:20meant sending them
28:22to their deaths.
28:23Concerned for the small folk,
28:25Egg suggested to Dunk
28:26that they, quote,
28:27use his boot.
28:28Indeed,
28:29within the young squire's footwear
28:30was tucked a royal signet ring
28:32given to him by his father,
28:34Prince Mekar,
28:35with the instruction
28:35to use it
28:36when he and Sir Duncan
28:37came into dire danger.
28:39The current hand of the king
28:41was Brynden Rivers,
28:42a bastard son
28:43of the late King Aegon the Unworthy,
28:45better known by his epithet
28:46Bloodraven.
28:48Bloodraven had spies everywhere
28:49and as soon as Egg
28:50presented his royal ring,
28:52he would hear word of it
28:53and send the king's troops
28:55to his location.
28:56Dunk, however,
28:57refused to let his squire
28:58reveal his identity,
29:00deeming it unnecessary.
29:01What did your father tell you
29:03when he sent you off
29:04to squire for me?
29:05To keep my hair shaved or dyed
29:07and tell no man my true name,
29:09the boy said
29:10with obvious reluctance.
29:12Hoping to avoid bloodshed,
29:14Sir Duncan volunteered
29:15to personally entreat
29:16with the Lady Webber
29:17on Sir Eustace's behalf,
29:19setting off the next morning.
29:20The pair soon arrived
29:22at Coldmont
29:22where they passed by
29:24a young woman
29:24practicing with a longbow
29:25before being greeted
29:27by Lady Rowan's castellan
29:28a knight named
29:29Sir Lucas Inchfield,
29:30also known as
29:31the Longinch.
29:32Sir Lucas showed
29:33immediate hostility to Dunk,
29:35threatening to have him
29:36executed over the altercation
29:37at the dam,
29:38as well as taunting
29:39the hedge knight
29:40by tricking him
29:41into believing
29:41a frumpy older lady
29:42was Rowan
29:43when she was not.
29:44Yet soon enough,
29:46the real Lady Rowan
29:47revealed herself
29:47to be the young archer.
29:49Dunk looked
29:50from one lady to the other.
29:52You were the Red Widow,
29:53he heard himself blurt out.
29:55But you're too...
29:56Young?
29:57The girl tossed her longbow
29:59to the lanky lad
29:59he'd seen her shooting with.
30:01I am five and twenty
30:02as it happens,
30:03or was it small
30:04you meant to say?
30:05Pretty.
30:06It was pretty.
30:08Dunk did not know
30:09where that came from,
30:10but he was glad it came.
30:12Seeing not a conniving
30:13old hag,
30:14but an attractive young woman,
30:16Dunk found himself
30:17quickly smitten
30:18with Lady Rowan,
30:19an attraction
30:19which was evidently mutual.
30:21The Red Widow
30:22looked Dunk over
30:23from his heels
30:24up to his head,
30:25though her gaze
30:26lingered longest
30:27on his chest.
30:28A tree and shooting star?
30:30I have never seen
30:31those arms before.
30:32She touched his tunic,
30:33tracing a limb
30:34of his elm tree
30:35with two fingers.
30:36Rowan instructed Dunk
30:38to be led
30:38to her guest chambers
30:39to wait
30:40while she prepared
30:41to receive him
30:41more formally,
30:43during which time
30:43the Hedge Knight
30:44found himself
30:45in the company
30:45of the Lady's Chaplain,
30:47the fat,
30:47flatulent,
30:48and talkative
30:49Stepton Sefton.
30:50Sefton dispelled
30:51the rumours
30:52that his lady
30:52was a man-eating witch.
30:53All her husbands,
30:55the first of whom
30:56she'd been betrothed to
30:57at ten years old,
30:58had died of causes
30:59beyond her control,
31:00ranging from battle
31:01to choking
31:02on a chicken bone.
31:03The Septon also revealed
31:05that Rowan's future
31:06was looking bleak.
31:07Per her father,
31:08Lord Wyman's will,
31:10the Lady Spider
31:10would only be permitted
31:11to keep Castle Coldmouth
31:13so long as she remarried
31:14within two years
31:15of his death,
31:16a date which was
31:17fast approaching.
31:19Unfortunately for her,
31:20she had few
31:21desirable suitors.
31:22Many lords feared
31:23to wed the supposedly
31:24husband-slaying
31:25Red Widow,
31:26while others feared
31:27her violent and
31:28ill-tempered castellan,
31:30Sir Lucas Longinch,
31:31who was determined
31:31to marry Rowan himself
31:33by force if necessary.
31:35It was here that Rowan
31:36entered the room
31:37and the official
31:38parley began.
31:40Unfortunately for Dunk,
31:41the Lady was willful,
31:42resisting to budge
31:43on either the issue
31:44of the river
31:44or the matter
31:45of Sir Benis,
31:46who she insisted
31:47be delivered to her
31:48so she may have
31:49his nose chopped off.
31:50Furthermore,
31:51she revealed a document
31:52bearing the King's seal
31:53which revealed information
31:55that Sir Eustace
31:55had kept from Dunk,
31:57that the Czechy waters
31:58legally and undisputedly
32:00belonged to House Webber.
32:01Sir Eustace,
32:02it turned out,
32:03was a former traitor,
32:04a Blackfyre supporter.
32:06He had been pardoned
32:07by the late King
32:08Daeron the Good
32:09after all his sons
32:10had died fighting
32:11for the usurpered daemon,
32:12but his waters
32:13had been granted
32:14to House Webber,
32:15who had sided
32:15with the Targaryen loyalists.
32:17Dunk could not read,
32:19but Egg,
32:19an educated royal,
32:21confirmed the document's
32:22authenticity.
32:23Sir Duncan was shocked,
32:24but was not ready
32:25to give up.
32:26He asked Lady Roanne
32:27relent for the sake
32:28of the memory
32:29of Adam Osgray,
32:30Sir Eustace's son,
32:31who once lived
32:32in Coldmoat
32:33alongside her.
32:34Suddenly,
32:34Lady Roanne slapped
32:35Duncan hard across
32:36the mouth
32:37and ordered him
32:38to leave,
32:38delivering an ultimatum
32:39that Sir Benis
32:40must be delivered
32:41the next day
32:42or she would come
32:42for him with
32:43fire and sword.
32:45On his way out,
32:46Septon Sefton
32:47informed the head knight
32:48that Roanne
32:49had loved Adam
32:50secretly
32:50more so than
32:51any of her husbands.
32:52That her beloved Adam
32:54had perished
32:54on the red grass fields,
32:56fighting in a rebellion
32:57his father dragged him into
32:58was something
32:59that Lady Roanne
32:59could never forgive
33:00Sir Eustace for
33:01and why invoking Adam's name
33:03for the old man's sake
33:04had prompted
33:05such a violently
33:06emotional reaction.
33:07Thus,
33:08Osgray and Webber
33:09remained at an impasse.
33:11Upon returning to Steadfast,
33:13Egg blurtingly demanded
33:14of Sir Eustace
33:15why he had betrayed
33:16his rightful king.
33:18Because Daemon
33:19was the better man.
33:20The old king saw it too.
33:22He gave the sword
33:23to Daemon Blackfyre,
33:24the sword of Aegon
33:25the Conqueror,
33:26the blade that every
33:27Targaryen king
33:28had wielded
33:28since the conquest.
33:30My father says
33:31that was because
33:31Daemon was a swordsman
33:32and Daeron never was,
33:34said Egg.
33:35Why give a horse
33:36to a man who cannot ride?
33:37The sword was not
33:38the kingdom, he says.
33:39The old knight's hand
33:41jerked so hard
33:42that wine spilled
33:43from his silver cup.
33:44Your father is a fool.
33:46He is not,
33:47the boy said.
33:49Whatever the reason
33:50for his treason,
33:51Sir Eustace had been
33:52dishonest with
33:52Dunk and Egg
33:53and for that reason
33:54they decided to leave
33:55his service at first light.
33:57They would never
33:58get the opportunity
33:58for they were woken
34:00in the middle of the night
34:01by panicked villagers
34:02to find that the woodlands
34:03around Steadfast Keep
34:04were on fire.
34:06Immediately assuming
34:07that the Red Widow
34:08was behind the inferno,
34:09Sir Eustace and Sir Benis
34:10roused the eight peasants
34:12from before
34:12to march against her
34:14unwilling to let
34:15the villagers be slaughtered,
34:17Sir Duncan intervened,
34:18forcing them to disperse,
34:19before offering himself
34:20back into the service
34:21of Sir Eustace
34:22to confront Lady Rowan
34:23on their behalf.
34:24Sir Eustace agreed.
34:26Better to go boldly
34:28than hide behind stone walls,
34:30the old man resolved.
34:32Better to die a lion
34:33than a rabbit.
34:34While Sir Benis
34:36fled to safety,
34:37Sir Eustace Osgray,
34:38Sir Duncan the Tall
34:39and Egg the Squire
34:40rode off to confront
34:41Lady Rowan Webber,
34:42whose knights
34:43outnumbered them
34:44seven to one.
34:45The opposing sides
34:46met on opposite banks
34:47of the checky waters
34:48as the trees burned
34:50around them,
34:51with Dunk and Lady Rowan
34:52riding out into the stream
34:53to parley.
34:54The Red Widow
34:55denied setting the fire,
34:57accusing Sir Eustace
34:58of the deed.
34:59Unable to find any path
35:00to reconciliation,
35:02Sir Duncan finally utilized
35:03his trump card,
35:04showing Egg's signet ring
35:05to Rowan,
35:06and revealing his squire's
35:07secret identity
35:08as a Targaryen prince.
35:10Stunned,
35:11the lady admitted
35:12she would
35:12sooner be the dragon's friend.
35:14Yet,
35:15dragon or no,
35:16I must have Benis.
35:18It was a matter of principle,
35:20she explained,
35:20for rival lords
35:21would consider her weak
35:22if she allowed
35:23the foul knight's slight
35:24upon her to go unpunished.
35:26Dunk was not impressed.
35:28I remember once
35:29some little lord
35:30in the Stormlands
35:31took Sir Arlen
35:31into service
35:32to help him fight
35:33some other little lord.
35:34When I asked
35:35the old man
35:36what they were fighting over,
35:37he said,
35:38nothing lad,
35:39it's just some pissing contest.
35:40Her freckled face
35:42went somber.
35:43Those pissing contests
35:44are how the lords
35:45judge one another's strength,
35:47and woe to any man
35:48who shows his weakness.
35:49A woman must need
35:50piss twice as hard
35:51if she hopes to rule.
35:53If the lady required
35:54restitution to save face,
35:56Sir Duncan realized,
35:57then he himself
35:58would provide it to her.
35:59He drew his knife
36:00and slashed it
36:01across his face.
36:02A cheek for a cheek,
36:03he claimed,
36:04and now her wounded
36:05peasant had been avenged.
36:07You're quite mad.
36:09The smoke had
36:10filled her eyes
36:10with tears.
36:11If you were better born,
36:13I'd marry you.
36:15Aye, milady,
36:15and if pigs had wings
36:17and scales
36:17and breathe flame,
36:18they'd be as good
36:19as dragons.
36:21Yet the lady's honor
36:22had not yet been
36:23fully satisfied.
36:24Rowan continued to insist
36:26that she had not been
36:27behind the forest fire,
36:28while Sir Eustace
36:29refused to drop
36:30the accusation.
36:31So the lady spider
36:32demanded a trial
36:33by combat
36:34to let the gods
36:35prove her innocence.
36:36Thus came the showdown,
36:38as the houses of
36:39Oskrey and Webber
36:39picked their champions.
36:41Naturally,
36:42Sir Duncan would fight
36:43on Sir Eustace's behalf,
36:44while Lady Rowan
36:46would be represented
36:46by her castellan,
36:48the Longinch.
36:49Sir Lucas Inchfield
36:50looked at Lady Rowan,
36:51his face dark
36:52with fury.
36:53You will marry me
36:55when this mummer's fast
36:56is done,
36:57as your lord father wished.
36:59My lord father
37:00never knew you as I do,
37:01she gave back.
37:03The fight was joined,
37:04the two knights
37:05clashing in the middle
37:06of the shallow river,
37:07the hooves of their steeds
37:08kicking up a churning spray
37:09as they collided
37:10in a furious whirlwind
37:12of steel and sparks.
37:13Both men
37:14were knocked off
37:15their horses,
37:16their joust
37:16becoming a brutal
37:17wrestling match,
37:18as each tried
37:19to drown the other
37:20beneath the waters.
37:21Both submerged
37:22beneath the surf,
37:23with Dunk
37:23holding the Longinch
37:24down against the riverbed
37:25until he stopped struggling,
37:27before the hedge
37:28knight himself
37:28lost consciousness.
37:30A few days later,
37:31Sir Duncan the Tall
37:32awoke in a bed
37:33within Caldmite
37:34under the care of Kerrick,
37:36the castle's maester.
37:37Maester Kerrick revealed
37:38that the Longinch
37:39was dead,
37:40but that Dunk
37:41had also drowned.
37:42Fortunately,
37:43Kerrick was ironborn
37:44in origin,
37:45and the ironborn
37:46had ways of
37:47resuscitating drowned men.
37:49Egg,
37:49the maester revealed,
37:50had been the one
37:51to pull Dunk
37:52from the river.
37:53An ever-faithful squire,
37:55the boy had saved
37:56his master's life.
37:57Yet Egg was now
37:58conspicuously absent.
38:00When Dunk asked
38:00where the child was,
38:02Kerrick replied
38:02that he was attending
38:03Sir Eustace
38:04at his wedding feast.
38:06Wedding feast?
38:07Dunk did not understand.
38:09You would not know,
38:10of course.
38:11Coldmoat and Steadfast
38:12were reconciled
38:13after your battle.
38:14Lady Rowan
38:15begged leave
38:15of old Sir Eustace
38:16to cross his land
38:17and visit Adam's grave,
38:19and he granted her
38:20that right.
38:20She knelt before
38:21the blackberries
38:22and began to weep,
38:23and he was so moved
38:25that he went
38:25to comfort her.
38:27In the end,
38:28the lord of House Oskrey
38:29and the lady of House Webber
38:30had reconciled
38:31their differences
38:32over their shared feelings
38:33for a boy
38:34they had both loved,
38:35rendering Dunk's near-death
38:37in the trial by combat
38:38pointless.
38:39The hedge knight
38:40began drifting back off
38:41to sleep,
38:42lulled into unconsciousness
38:43by the sound
38:44of falling rain.
38:45The drought
38:45had come to an end.
38:47Although Lady Rowan's
38:48marriage to Sir Eustace
38:50was one of politics
38:51and not love,
38:52Dunk still found himself
38:53feeling both jealous
38:54and betrayed.
38:56Reuniting with Egg,
38:57the hedge knight
38:57and his squire
38:58resolved to depart
38:59the next morning,
39:00even though the latter's
39:01wounds were not
39:02fully healed.
39:03Upon reaching the stables,
39:05Dunk found himself
39:05accosted by the red widow
39:07herself,
39:07who apologized
39:08for slighting him.
39:09In gratitude
39:10for his service
39:11in ridding her
39:12of the long inch,
39:13she offered the hedge knight
39:14a magnificent new warhorse.
39:16Dunk refused,
39:17believing such a noble gift
39:19to be too good for him.
39:20Then,
39:21in a moment
39:21of impulsive passion,
39:23the two shared
39:23a heated kiss.
39:25Dunk claimed a lock
39:26of Lady Rowan's
39:27crimson hair
39:27to remember her by,
39:29then mounted up
39:29on his old trusty
39:30Destrea with Egg
39:31by his side,
39:32setting out
39:33onto the open road
39:34towards their next
39:35great adventure.
39:37Some months
39:38after their escapades
39:39in Steadfast
39:40and Coldmoat,
39:41Dunk and Egg
39:41were traveling north
39:42through the Riverlands
39:43en route to Winterfell,
39:44where they hoped
39:45to enter into the service
39:46of Lord Beren Stark.
39:48Along the road,
39:49they passed the head
39:50of a scepter
39:50impaled upon an iron spike,
39:52beheaded for speaking treason
39:54against King Aerys
39:55and his hand,
39:56Lord Bloodraven.
39:57Rumors abounded
39:58throughout the Seven Kingdoms
39:59that King Aerys
40:00was feckless and weak,
40:01and it was his uncle,
40:03Bloodraven,
40:03who truly ran the show.
40:05Those rumors
40:06were correct,
40:07and the dead scepter
40:08was a chilling reminder
40:09of how Bloodraven
40:10had spies everywhere
40:11and heard everything.
40:13As the Hedge Knight
40:14and his squire
40:15approached the Godseye Lake,
40:16they found themselves
40:17approached by a convoy
40:18of riders.
40:19Assuming them
40:20to be bandits,
40:21Dunk and Egg
40:22hid in the bushes,
40:23but were spotted
40:24nonetheless.
40:25The riders
40:25were soon revealed
40:26to be the retinue
40:27of Lord Gorman
40:28Peake of Starpike,
40:29whose sigil
40:30was Three Black Castles
40:31Upon an Orange Field.
40:33They were neither bandits
40:35nor friendly.
40:36Dunk and Egg
40:37found themselves
40:37subject to the scorn
40:38and threats
40:39of Lord Gorman
40:40and his snide retainer,
40:41Sir Alan Cockshaw,
40:42who mistook the Hedge Knight
40:43and his squire
40:44for brigands themselves.
40:46Fortunately,
40:47the standoff
40:47was diffused
40:48by a Hedge Knight
40:49in Lord Gorman's service
40:50who introduced himself
40:51as John the Fiddler.
40:53Long and dark of hair,
40:55John the Fiddler
40:55was well-groomed
40:56and dressed
40:57in a rich,
40:58silk-brocaded doublet,
40:59more ornate
41:00than any poor Hedge Knight
41:01who lived rough
41:02off the land
41:03ought to own.
41:04His appearance aside,
41:05the ostensible
41:06warrior bard
41:07treated Dunk and Egg
41:08with courtesy,
41:09informing them
41:10that Lord Gorman's retinue
41:11was on their way
41:12to a noble wedding.
41:13Lord Ambrose Butterwell
41:15was marrying
41:16the daughter
41:16of Lord Frey of the Crossing.
41:18The festivities
41:19were to take place
41:20at the Butterwell seat
41:21of Castle Whitewalls
41:22and would include
41:23a grand tourney
41:24which knights
41:25and lords
41:25had come from
41:26across the land
41:27to participate in.
41:28The jolly,
41:29foppish Fiddler
41:30cordially invited
41:31his fellow Hedge Knight,
41:32Sir Duncan,
41:33to participate
41:33in the jousting.
41:35Tempted by the allure
41:36of prize money,
41:37Dunk eventually agreed.
41:39On their way
41:40to Whitewalls,
41:41Egg reveals to Dunk
41:42that Lord Gorman Peak
41:43was,
41:44like Sir Eustace of Steadfast,
41:45a pardoned traitor.
41:47Does he really
41:48have three castles?
41:50Only on his shield, sir.
41:51House Peak
41:52did hold three castles once,
41:54but two of them
41:54were lost.
41:55How do you lose
41:56two castles?
41:57You fight
41:58for the Black Dragon, sir.
42:00Oh.
42:01Dunk felt stupid.
42:03That again.
42:04That night,
42:05Dunk and Egg
42:06encamped by the lakeshore
42:07with another group
42:08of fellow Hedge Knights,
42:09also making their way
42:10to the Butterwell Tourney.
42:12There they befriended
42:13the likes of the young
42:14Sir Glendon,
42:15a bastard-born boy,
42:16claiming to be the son
42:17of the Targaryen's
42:18royal master-at-arms,
42:19and Sir Maynard Plum,
42:21a very distant relative
42:22of a Targaryen princess.
42:24The Hedge Knights revealed
42:25that the champion's prize
42:27was to be a dragon's egg.
42:29Dunk was astonished
42:30by this,
42:31egg less so.
42:32I'd show you mine, sir,
42:34but it's at Summerhall.
42:35Yours.
42:36Your dragon's egg.
42:37Dunk frowned down
42:38at the boy,
42:39wondering if this
42:40was some jeep.
42:41Where did it come from?
42:42From a dragon, sir.
42:44They put it in my cradle.
42:45Do you want a clout
42:46in the ear?
42:47There are no dragons.
42:48No, but there are eggs.
42:50The last dragon
42:51left a clutch of five,
42:52and they have more
42:53on Dragonstone,
42:54old ones,
42:54from before the dance.
42:56Well, see that you
42:57don't go mentioning
42:58this egg
42:58where anyone is like
42:59to hear.
43:00I'm not stupid, sir.
43:02Egg lowered his voice.
43:04Someday,
43:05the dragons will return.
43:06My brother Daeruns
43:07dreamed of it,
43:08and King Aerys
43:09read it in a prophecy.
43:10Maybe it will be
43:11my egg that hatches.
43:13That would be splendid.
43:15Sir Duncan and his squire
43:17arrived at Whitewalls
43:18the next day,
43:19and were invited
43:20into the castle
43:21without incident.
43:22The pair were split up
43:23at the stratified
43:24wedding feast,
43:25with Dunk brought
43:26to dine in the great hall
43:27with the other knights,
43:28and Egg ferried off
43:30to eat with the other
43:31servants and squires.
43:32Then came the bedding ceremony.
43:34Before Dunk quite realized
43:36what was happening,
43:37John the Fiddler
43:37had dragged him
43:38to his feet.
43:39Here!
43:40He cried out.
43:41Let the giant carry her!
43:42The next thing he knew,
43:44Dunk was carrying
43:45the squealing,
43:46squirming young bride
43:47up a flight of spiral steps
43:49into her husband's
43:50bedchambers.
43:51After depositing her
43:52on her marital bed,
43:54he stumbled away
43:54from the crowd
43:55for a breath of air,
43:56out onto a tower balcony,
43:58beneath the open stars.
43:59To his surprise,
44:01John the Fiddler
44:01appeared by his side,
44:03friendly as ever,
44:04yet speaking in a
44:05newly cryptic way.
44:07I dreamed of you,
44:08Sir Duncan,
44:09before I even met you.
44:10When I saw you on the road,
44:12I knew your face at once.
44:14It was as if
44:15we were old friends.
44:17Much like
44:18Prince Daeron the Drunken,
44:19this mysterious
44:20Fiddler Knight
44:21claimed to have seen
44:22Sir Duncan in his visions,
44:24claiming that Duncan
44:25had appeared to him
44:26in the all-white armor
44:27of the elite Kingsguard.
44:29The Fiddler informed
44:30Dunk that his dreams
44:31always came true,
44:32and confided that
44:34he also dreamt
44:34that a mighty dragon
44:36would hatch from its egg
44:37right here in
44:38Whitewall's castle.
44:39Remembering well
44:40how Daeron's dreams
44:42had correctly predicted
44:43his role in the death
44:44of Crown Prince Bela,
44:45Sir Duncan knew well
44:46not to disregard
44:48such auguries.
44:49Parting with the Fiddler,
44:50Dunk returned to his tent
44:52to find Egg
44:53pouring over the guest list
44:54at the Tawney.
44:55The boy was agitated,
44:57claiming that the majority
44:58of the lords and knights
45:00at Lord Butterwell's wedding
45:01belonged to houses
45:02which had sided
45:03with the Blackfyre rebels
45:04some twenty years earlier.
45:06He had also gotten
45:07into a fight
45:07with some of their squires
45:09over insults
45:10to his father,
45:10Prince Mekar,
45:11coming perilously close
45:13to giving away
45:13his royal identity.
45:15Words are wind, Egg.
45:17Just let them
45:18blow on past you.
45:19Some words are wind.
45:20The boy was nothing
45:22if not stubborn.
45:23Some words are treason.
45:25This is a traitor's tourney,
45:27sir.
45:28Indeed, it was becoming
45:29increasingly likely
45:30that the wedding
45:31at White Walls
45:31was nothing more
45:32than a plausible pretext
45:34to gather like-minded
45:35Blackfyre loyalists
45:36in one place,
45:37from where they would
45:38initiate a rebellion
45:39against the throne.
45:40If that were true,
45:41Dunk reasoned,
45:42then there was
45:43all the more reason
45:44for both of them
45:44to act natural,
45:46so as not to give away
45:47who Egg truly was.
45:49Ordering his squire
45:50to lie low,
45:51Dunk continued
45:51with his original plan
45:53to enlist and compete
45:54in the tourney.
45:55This did not go well
45:56for him.
45:57Sir Duncan the Tall
45:58was far better
45:59in a melee
45:59with a sword and axe
46:01than he was at jousting,
46:02something that was made
46:03very evident
46:04when the Hedge Knight
46:05was handily
46:06and degradingly unseated
46:07by Sir Uthor Underleaf,
46:09a knight with a snail
46:10on his shield.
46:11Per the rules
46:12of the tourney,
46:13Dunk was obliged
46:13to hand over his armor
46:14and horses
46:15to the man
46:16who had defeated him.
46:17As Dunk did not have
46:18the money to ransom
46:19back his gear,
46:20he was essentially
46:21facing the end
46:22of his career
46:23as a Hedge Knight.
46:25Underleaf,
46:25as it turned out,
46:26was a professional grifter
46:27who travelled
46:28from tourney to tourney,
46:29bribing the organisers
46:31to pair him
46:31against newer,
46:32inexperienced knights
46:33so he could collect
46:34easy wins.
46:36Sir Uthor offered
46:37to return Dunk's
46:37arms and armor
46:38if he agreed
46:39to become a patsy,
46:40travelling the land
46:41with him
46:41and taking a fall
46:43against the snail knight
46:44at 20 future tourneys
46:45in exchange
46:46for a cut
46:46of the winnings.
46:47Dunk flatly
46:48refused.
46:50I lost my armor,
46:51not my honor.
46:52You'll have thunder
46:53and my arms
46:54no more.
46:56Exasperated
46:56by what he saw
46:57as foolish,
46:58honorable naivety,
46:59Sir Uthor leveled
47:00with Dunk.
47:01The snail knight
47:02had been paid
47:02to kill the hedge knight.
47:04It was only because
47:05he had not been paid
47:06enough that Sir Uthor
47:07had dealt Dunk
47:08a wounding blow
47:09rather than a fatal one.
47:11Someone was out
47:12for Sir Duncan's head.
47:14Perhaps the organisers
47:15of this traitor's tourney
47:16had discovered
47:17the identity
47:18of his squire
47:18or perhaps other
47:20shadowy actors
47:21sought revenge
47:22for Dunk's role
47:23in the death
47:23of the beloved
47:24Prince Baylor
47:24at Ashford Meadow
47:26two years prior.
47:27Whatever the case,
47:28the plot soon thickened
47:30when Lord Butterwell's
47:31dragon egg
47:31went missing
47:32with Lord Gorman Peak
47:34immediately accusing
47:35one Sir Glendon Flowers
47:36of stealing it.
47:37A lowly,
47:38bastard-born hedge knight
47:39with no titles,
47:41Sir Glendon
47:41was looked down upon
47:42by all the landed lords
47:44at Whitewalls
47:44yet had embarrassed
47:46his ostensible betters
47:47by unseating
47:48several of them
47:49in the Jalths.
47:50For this,
47:50he had been made scapegoat
47:52for a crime
47:52he was innocent of.
47:54Dunk wished
47:54to help the lad
47:55but he had
47:56more pressing issues.
47:58Another egg
47:58had gone missing,
47:59his squire
48:00who was nowhere
48:01to be seen or found.
48:03As everyone
48:04dogpiled upon
48:05Sir Glendon,
48:05Dunk found himself
48:06accosted by
48:07Sir Alan Cockshaw,
48:08the haughty knight
48:09who had been travelling
48:10with Lord Gorman
48:11and John the Fiddler.
48:13Sir Alan informed Dunk
48:14that he knew
48:15where Egg was
48:16and would lead him
48:17to the boy
48:17while everyone else
48:18was distracted.
48:20Foolishly,
48:20Dunk followed him
48:21right into a trap.
48:22Sir Alan had been
48:24the one
48:24who paid Sir Uthor
48:25to kill Dunk.
48:26The hedge knight's crime
48:27had been
48:28to attract the attention
48:29of the handsome,
48:30charismatic John the Fiddler
48:31whom Sir Alan
48:32was in love with.
48:34Sir Alan led Dunk
48:35into an isolated,
48:36enclosed courtyard.
48:37Then,
48:38lashing out
48:39with the fury
48:39of a jilted lover
48:40aimed to kill him
48:41with a dagger.
48:43Dunk got the better
48:44of his assailant,
48:45sustaining a slash
48:46to the side
48:46but bashing Sir Alan
48:47with a rock
48:48and throwing him
48:49down a well.
48:50Emerging from the tail end
48:52of this altercation
48:53was Sir Maynard Plum
48:54who revealed himself
48:55to be no true
48:56hedge knight.
48:57Almost certainly
48:58a spy in Bloodraven's service,
49:00he helped Dunk up,
49:01cleaned and dressed his wounds
49:03and revealed the linchpin
49:04behind the entire conspiracy.
49:06Dunk used his legs.
49:08Lord Alan,
49:09he's going to drown.
49:11He shan't be missed,
49:12least of all by the Fiddler.
49:14He's not,
49:15Dunk gasped,
49:16pale with pain,
49:17a Fiddler.
49:18No,
49:19he's Daemon of House Blackfyre,
49:21the second of his name.
49:23Sir Maynard informed Dunk
49:24that Egg was currently
49:25in the Castle Sept.
49:27Dunk immediately went to him.
49:29Yet,
49:29as it turned out,
49:30Egg was fine.
49:31More than fine,
49:32in fact.
49:33In a stroke of bold courage,
49:34the boy had pulled off
49:35the Mother of All Bluffs,
49:37revealing the royal signet ring
49:39from within his boot
49:40to Ambrose Butterwell
49:41and revealing his true identity,
49:43claiming that he and Sir Duncan
49:44were royal spies
49:45sent to investigate the tawny
49:47and that his father,
49:49Prince Mekar,
49:50was aware of the plot
49:51and on the way to White Walls
49:52with a mighty army
49:53to crush the gathered traitors.
49:56Terrified for his life,
49:57Lord Butterwell
49:58had renounced his role
49:59in the brewing Blackfyre plot,
50:01claiming it had all been
50:02Lord Gormann Peake's doing
50:03and placing Egg,
50:04Prince Aegon Targaryen,
50:06under his protection.
50:08Dunk reunited with Egg,
50:09just as Lord Butterwell's
50:11son-in-law,
50:11Black Tom Heddle,
50:13broke into the Sept
50:14to take the boy hostage.
50:15Yet,
50:16despite his injuries,
50:17Sir Duncan the Tall
50:18made quick work
50:19of the would-be kidnapper.
50:21He then bade Egg
50:22to flee the castle
50:22with Sir Ambrose,
50:24before the rest of the rebels
50:25in attendance
50:25discovered who he was.
50:27In order to buy time
50:28for his squire's escape,
50:30Dunk made his way
50:31back to the Great Hall,
50:32to confront the mystery knight
50:33John the Fiddler,
50:34whose real identity
50:36was the Black Dragon,
50:37Daemon II Blackfyre,
50:39grandson of King Aegon the Unworthy
50:41and son of Daemon I,
50:43the King who bore the sword.
50:45In order to cause a distraction
50:47to ensure Egg's escape,
50:48Sir Duncan presented himself
50:49before the Black Dragon
50:51and all his rebel lords,
50:52accusing Lord Gormann Peake
50:54of framing Sir Glendon Flowers
50:55for the theft of the dragon egg,
50:57and demanding that the young hedge knight
50:59be allowed to let the gods
51:00prove his innocence
51:01in a trial by combat.
51:03Not only did Daemon agree,
51:05he chose to ride personally
51:06against Sir Glendon
51:07to settle the matter.
51:09Sir Glendon had been tortured
51:10by his captives,
51:11yet, even in his injured state,
51:13he proved a truer knight
51:14than the prince
51:15who'd come across the sea,
51:17his lance striking true
51:18and punching Daemon Blackfyre
51:20right off his barded steed.
51:21Mere seconds after the Black Dragon
51:24hit the ground,
51:25war horns sounded
51:26beyond the castle walls.
51:28The light of the rising sun
51:30glitted off the points
51:31of five hundred lances
51:32and ten times as many spears.
51:34The knight's grey banners
51:36were reborn
51:36in half a hundred gaudy colours,
51:39and above them all
51:40flew two regal dragons
51:41on nine black fields,
51:43the great three-headed beast
51:45of King Aerys I Targaryen,
51:47red as fire,
51:48and a white-winged fury
51:49breathing scarlet flame.
51:51Unbeknownst to Egg,
51:52the bald boy's bluff
51:54had been no bluff at all.
51:55A massive Targaryen army
51:57had appeared before Whitewalls,
51:59albeit not one led by Prince Makar,
52:02but by the king's hand.
52:03Bloodraven truly had eyes everywhere.
52:06The first Blackfyre Rebellion
52:08had perished on the Redgrass Field
52:10in blood and glory.
52:11The second Blackfyre Rebellion
52:13ended with a whimper.
52:15Cowled before the mighty host
52:17before them,
52:17all of the Black Dragon's lords
52:19slunk away
52:20and abandoned him.
52:21In the end,
52:23the second Daemon Blackfyre
52:24rode forth alone,
52:26reined up before the royal host,
52:27and challenged Lord Bloodraven
52:29to single combat.
52:30I will fight you,
52:32or the coward Aerys,
52:33or any champion you care to name,
52:35he had demanded.
52:36Instead,
52:37Lord Bloodraven's men
52:38surrounded him,
52:39pulled him off his horse,
52:40and clasped him
52:41in golden fetters.
52:42Furthermore,
52:43Lord Gorman Peake
52:44and all the main Blackfyre conspirators
52:46were rounded up
52:47and executed.
52:49After the dust had settled,
52:51Ser Duncan the Tall
52:52and his squire,
52:52Prince Aegon Targaryen,
52:54were brought before
52:55Lord Bloodraven
52:55for an audience.
52:56The pair explained
52:58their escapades
52:58to the king's hand.
53:00Impressed at the initiative
53:01and courage
53:02Egg had shown,
53:03Bloodraven offered
53:04his interpretation
53:05of the vision
53:05Daemon had shared
53:06with Ser Duncan
53:07the night of the bedding ceremony.
53:09There have always been
53:10Targaryens who dreamed
53:11of things to come,
53:12since long before the conquest,
53:14Bloodraven said.
53:16So we should not be surprised
53:17if from time to time
53:18a Blackfyre displays
53:20the gift as well.
53:21Daemon dreamed
53:22that a dragon
53:23would be born at Whitewalls,
53:24and it was.
53:26The fool just got
53:27the color wrong.
53:28Daemon's vision
53:29had come true in the end.
53:31A dragon egg
53:32had hatched at Whitewalls,
53:33only that egg had been,
53:35well, Egg,
53:36the squire of Ser Duncan the Tall,
53:38whose role in bringing down
53:39the second Blackfyre Rebellion
53:41had metamorphosed him
53:42from a little boy
53:43into the proud
53:44and confident Targaryen prince
53:46he was born to be.
53:47The after-action report complete,
53:50Lord Bloodraven
53:50provided Ser Duncan
53:51with the funds
53:52to ransom back
53:53his horses and armor
53:54from Ser Uthor,
53:55before sending the Hedge Knight
53:56and his faithful squire off.
53:58So it was that
53:59Dunk and Egg
54:00set back off
54:01towards their original destination,
54:03north,
54:03to the land of the Starks,
54:05where their next
54:06grand adventure awaited.
54:09Over the next few decades,
54:11a series of family tragedies
54:12saw Egg booted
54:14higher and higher
54:14up the line of succession.
54:16Until,
54:16at the age of 33,
54:18he was crowned
54:19King Aegon V Targaryen,
54:20known also as
54:21Aegon the Unlikely.
54:23Even after being crowned,
54:25Egg never lost his fondness
54:26for the Hedge Knight
54:27he had traveled with
54:28during his youth.
54:29Fulfilling
54:30Daemon Blackfyre's vision
54:31of Dunk
54:31in a white cloak,
54:33he appointed his old friend
54:34as Lord Commander
54:35of his Kingsguard
54:36and turned Dunk
54:37into the most
54:38highly respected knight
54:39in all the Seven Kingdoms.
54:41However,
54:42both Dunk and Egg
54:43would perish
54:44in 259 AC
54:45in a great fire
54:46at the Palace
54:47of Summerhall.
54:48An inferno,
54:49many say,
54:50was set by King Aegon himself
54:51as part of a magic ritual
54:53to fulfill his brother
54:54Daeron's prophecy
54:55and restore dragons
54:57to the Seven Kingdoms.
54:58That prophecy
54:59was eventually fulfilled
55:00not by Egg
55:01but by his great-granddaughter
55:03Daenerys Targaryen.
55:05Still,
55:06although we know
55:06how Dunk and Egg's story
55:07ultimately ends,
55:09the tragedy at Summerhall
55:10takes place
55:10nearly 50 years
55:12after the third
55:12and most recent
55:13Dunk and Egg novella.
55:15George R.R. Martin
55:16has expressed his intention
55:17to write more stories
55:19about the adventures
55:20of the Hedge Knight
55:20and his squire
55:21in the future
55:22and we will certainly
55:23cover them
55:23if they are ever written.
55:24In the meantime,
55:26we are planning to cover
55:27the stories
55:27from many other
55:28fantasy and sci-fi universes
55:29so make sure
55:30you are subscribed
55:31and have pressed
55:32the bell button
55:33to see them.
55:33Please consider liking,
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55:35it helps immensely.
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55:47and much more.
55:49This is the Wizards and Warriors channel
55:51and we will catch you
55:52on the next one.
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