Tattered Prince

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Pentos.svg Second Sons.svg Windblown.svg Commander
The Tattered Prince
DiegoGisbertLlorens tattered princeII.jpg
art by Diego Gisbert Llorens. © Fantasy Flight Games.

Aliases
  • The Tattered Prince
  • Rags
  • Rags and Tatters
  • Old Grey-beards in Rags
  • The Prince of Tatters
  • Tatters
Titles
Allegiances
Culture Pentoshi
Born In 238 AC or 239 AC[1]Pentos[2]
Books

The Tattered Prince, also known as Rags or Tatters,[3] is the first and only commander of the Windblown.[4] He is well past sixty and keeps his true name to himself.[4]

Appearance and Character

See also: Images of the Tattered Prince

The Tattered Prince is sad-eyed and soft-spoken. He speaks classic High Valyrian.[4] His hair and mail are silver-grey. His ragged cloak is made of different colored twists of cloths, blue and grey and purple, red and gold and green, magenta and vermilion and cerulean, all faded by the sun.[4] The strips are torn and bloodstained,[5] torn from the surcoats of men he has slain.[4] He has stated that his appearance is so ordinary that all he has to do is remove his "tatters" and become inconspicuous.[3] When he travels incognito, he wears a brown wool traveler's cloak.[3]

The Tattered Prince rides a huge grey warhorse. The stallion's spotted hindquarters are covered with the same multi-colored torn rags as his master's cloak. The Tattered Prince sits straight and tall in the high saddle, and his voice is strong enough to carry to every corner of a battlefield.[4] Tyrion Lannister thinks him elegant.[5]

History

In 262 AC, when the Tattered Prince was twenty-three, the magisters of Pentos chose him to be their new Prince, mere hours after they'd beheaded the previous one. Instead of accepting their offer and be their disposable puppet, he fled to the Disputed Lands and never returned to Pentos. Taking up the life of a sellsword, over the years he rode with the Second Sons, the Iron Shields, and the Maiden's Men. Circa 270 AC, along with five brothers-in-arms, he established the Windblown. Out of the six founders of the company, by 300 AC he is the only one alive.[4][6]

There is enmity between the Windblown and the Company of the Cat. In 299 AC, the two sellsword companies had been on opposite sides of the battle lines in the Disputed Lands, and bad blood continues to linger. Bloodbeard, the leader of the Company of the Cat, has a strong dislike for the Tattered Prince, and makes no secret of this, referring to his rival as old grey-beards in rags.[4]

Recent Events

A Dance with Dragons

After Yunkai procures their services, the Tattered Prince leads the Windblown toward Meereen in the slavers' struggle against Daenerys Targaryen. On their way to Mereen he commands a group of Westerosi-born from his company to pretend that they have betrayed him and to join Daenerys's forces. With this plan, he hopes that even if the Yunkai lose the war, he will still be on the winning side. Among the Westerosi he sends to Meereen are Prince Quentyn Martell and his companions, although the Tattered Prince is not aware of their identities or goals.[4]

However, when the Prince of Dorne decides to take Dany's dragons, he turns again toward the Westerosi Windblown. The mercenaries take his gold and promise to help him, but not before reporting his plan to the Tattered Prince. The Prince meets with Quentyn in the cellar of the Purple Lotus and agrees to join forces with him if, as a reward, he is given Pentos.[7] He tells Quentyn that he saw Yurkhaz zo Yunzak die, indicating that he was present in Daznak's Pit when Drogon appeared.[3] The plan fails since Quentyn is killed by the dragons and Meereen is fully besieged by Yunkish forces.[7][8]

Later, Ser Barristan Selmy sends the two remaining Dornishmen on a mission to negotiate with the Tattered Prince. Ser Barristan wants the mercenary captain to help him release the Meereenese hostages held by the Wise Masters; as a reward, he will be given Pentos.[8]

Quotes by the Tattered Prince

Tattered and twisty, what a rogue I am.[3]

My ragged raiment? A poor thing … yet those tatters fill my foes with fear, and on the battlefield the sight of my rags blowing in the wind emboldens my men more than any banner. And if I want to move unseen, I need only slip it off to become plain and unremarkable.[3]

In this world, a man must learn to seize whatever gifts the gods chose to send him. That was a lesson I learned at some cost.[3]

Quotes about the Tattered Prince

You'll ride to battle with the Tattered Prince and come home richer than a lord.[9]

—unnamed sellsword

References

  1. See the Tattered Prince calculation.
  2. George R. R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire, The Tattered Prince.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 60, The Spurned Suitor.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 25, The Windblown.
  5. 5.0 5.1 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 47, Tyrion X.
  6. The World of Ice & Fire, The Free Cities: Pentos.
  7. 7.0 7.1 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 68, The Dragontamer.
  8. 8.0 8.1 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 70, The Queen's Hand.
  9. A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 6, The Merchant's Man.