Editing A Game of Thrones-Chapter 12

__NOTOC__
{{Infobox Chapter AGoT
| pov		= [[Eddard Stark]]
| place         = [[Barrowlands]]
| title		= Eddard II
| page		= 91
| previous	= [[A Game of Thrones-Chapter 11|Daenerys II]]
| current	= [[A Game of Thrones-Chapter 12|Eddard II]]
| next		= [[A Game of Thrones-Chapter 13|Tyrion II]]
| arc previous	= [[A Game of Thrones-Chapter 4|Eddard I]]
| arc next	= [[A Game of Thrones-Chapter 16|Eddard III]]
}}

[[Eddard Stark|Ned]] and King [[Robert I Baratheon|Robert]] discuss the threat posed by [[Daenerys Targaryen]]'s marriage and the events surrounding the [[Sack of King's Landing]].

==Synopsis==
[[Eddard Stark|Ned]] is woken before dawn to find his horse saddled and King [[Robert I Baratheon|Robert]] waiting. When the king claims to have urgent matters of state to discuss, Ned invites him to come inside. Robert refuses, claiming that the camp is full of ears, so Ned dresses and mounts up.

[[File:Pojypojy nedandRobert.jpg|thumb|left|''"I swear to you, I was never so alive as when I was winning this throne, or so dead as now that I've won it."'' - by Pojypojy ©]]

Robert sets a hard pace and soon the pair leave the [[kingsroad]] to ride through the [[barrowlands]]. They do not stop until dawn, miles south of the main party. Exhilarated by the ride, Robert complains of the glacial pace of [[Cersei Lannister|Cersei]]’s [[wheelhouse]] and jokingly suggests that he and Ned run off to live as vagabond knights. Ned laughs and reminds Robert of their duties and that they are no longer the boys they once were. Robert jokes that Ned never was the boy he once was, then tries to recall the name of the woman Ned fathered [[Jon Snow]] with. Ned provides the name [[Wylla]], but coldly refuses to say more about her.

Robert finally gets to the business at hand: a message from the eunuch [[Varys]], his master of whisperers in [[King's Landing]]. Ned reads the message with some trepidation, thinking of [[Lysa Arryn]] and her terrible accusation, but finds that it concerns [[Wedding of Drogo and Daenerys Targaryen|the wedding]] of [[Daenerys Targaryen]] to [[Khal]] [[Drogo]]. When Robert explains that the information has come from Ser [[Jorah Mormont]], Ned takes offense, recalling Mormont as a fugitive who fled the King’s justice after selling some poachers to a [[Tyrosh|Tyroshi]] slaver in defiance of the law.

The news of the wedding does not worry Ned, but when Robert angrily suggests an assassination attempt he is not surprised. Since the days of the [[Robert's Rebellion|rebellion]], Robert has held a hatred for the [[House Targaryen|Targaryens]] that seems a madness to Ned. Ned recalls the angry words that passed between Robert and himself when [[Tywin Lannister]] presented Robert with the corpses of [[Rhaegar Targaryen]]’s wife [[Elia Martell|Elia]] and children [[Aegon Targaryen (son of Rhaegar)|Aegon]] and [[Rhaenys Targaryen (daughter of Rhaegar)|Rhaenys]] as tokens of fealty. Ned called it murder but Robert called it war. It took the death of [[Lyanna Stark|Lyanna]] to reconcile them again.

This time Ned keeps his temper, telling Robert that he is no Tywin Lannister to slaughter innocents. Robert angrily insists that Daenerys will not remain an innocent forever and will soon breed more “dragonspawn” to plague him. When Ned reiterates that killing a child would be unspeakable, Robert responds that what [[Aerys II Targaryen|Aerys]] did to Ned’s [[Rickard Stark|father]] and [[Brandon Stark|brother]] and what Rhaegar did to Lyanna were unspeakable.

When Robert mentions that Drogo has 100,000 men in his [[khalasar|horde]], Ned insists that even a million [[Dothraki]] are no threat to the realm without ships. Robert replies that ships can be found in the [[Free Cities]] and that many in the [[Seven Kingdoms]]—particularly in [[Dorne]] and [[the Reach]]—would not hesitate to join a Targaryen invasion. Despite this, Ned remains convinced that they would be able to drive the Dothraki back, emphasizing the importance of appointing a new [[Warden of the East]]. When Robert refuses to appoint [[Jon Arryn]]’s son [[Robert Arryn|Robert]], Ned suggests the king’s own brother, [[Stannis Baratheon|Stannis]]. When Robert continues to be evasive, Ned quickly deduces that he has already promised the office to [[Jaime Lannister]]. Ned reminds Robert that Jaime already stands to succeed Tywin Lannister as [[Warden of the West]] and that as Warden of both East and West, Jaime would control half of all the realm’s armies.

Ned asks whether Jaime can be trusted. When Robert asks why he shouldn’t trust Jaime, Ned reminds him that Jaime betrayed and killed the last king he was sworn to protect. To illustrate his point about Jaime Lannister, Ned describes to Robert how, after the [[Battle of the Trident]], he followed Rhaegar's army back to King's Landing to find the city [[Sack of King’s Landing|sacked]] by the Lannisters. Ned goes on to explain that upon entering the throne room, he found King Aerys dead on the floor and Jaime sitting on the [[Iron Throne]]. Although Jaime eventually rose to say that he was only keeping the uncomfortable thing warm for Robert, Ned insists that Jaime had no right to sit the throne.

Robert finds this amusing and does not consider Jaime's "great sin" to be that bad. He gallops off but Ned pauses, despairing of ever keeping Robert from making mistakes. He still believes he should be in Winterfell with his wife and [[Bran Stark|Bran]]. Finally, resigned to not being able to be where he belongs, Ned follows his king.

==Character list==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
|- valign="top"
| style="width:25%;" |
'''Appearing:'''
*[[Alyn]]
*[[Robert I Baratheon]]
*[[Boros Blount]]
*[[Eddard Stark]]
*[[Meryn Trant]]
| style="width:75%;" |
'''Mentioned:'''
{{Columns|3|
*[[Jon Arryn]]
*[[Lysa Arryn]]
*[[Robert Arryn]]
*[[Stannis Baratheon]]
*[[Becca]]
*[[Drogo]]
*[[Cersei Lannister]]
*[[Jaime Lannister]]
*[[Tywin Lannister]]
*[[Elia Martell]]
*[[Illyrio Mopatis]]
*[[Jorah Mormont]]
*[[Jon Snow]]
*[[Bran Stark]]
*[[Brandon Stark]]
*[[Catelyn Stark]]
*[[Lyanna Stark]]
*[[Rickard Stark]]
*[[Aegon Targaryen (son of Rhaegar)|Aegon Targaryen]]
*[[Aerys II Targaryen]]
*[[Baelor I Targaryen]]
*[[Daenerys Targaryen]]
*[[Rhaegar Targaryen]]
*[[Rhaenys Targaryen (daughter of Rhaegar)|Rhaenys Targaryen]]
*[[Viserys Targaryen]]
*[[Varys]]
*[[Wylla]]
}}
|}

==Mentions==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
|- valign="top"
| style="width:20%;" |
'''Events:'''
*[[Battle of the Trident]]
*[[Sack of King's Landing]]
*[[Siege of Storm's End]]
*[[Wedding of Drogo and Daenerys Targaryen]]
| style="width:25;" |
'''Houses:'''
*[[House Lannister]]
*[[House Mormont]]
*[[House Stark]]
*[[House Targaryen]]
| style="width:40%;" |
'''Places:'''
{{Columns|2|
*[[Bear Island]]
*[[Casterly Rock]]
*[[Free Cities]]
**[[Pentos]]
***[[Illyrio's manse]]
*[[King's Landing]]
**[[Red Keep]]
***[[Great Hall (Red Keep)|Throne room]]
*[[Kingsroad]]
*[[Narrow sea]]
*[[North]]
*[[Seven Kingdoms]]
*[[Storm's End]]
*[[Trident]]
*[[Tyrosh]]
*[[Winterfell]]
**[[Crypts of Winterfell|Crypts]]
}}
| style="width:40%;" |
'''Terms:'''
{{Columns|2|
*[[Bannerman]]
*[[Barrow]]
*[[Bear]]
*[[Crow]]
*[[Dothraki]]
*[[Dragon]]
*[[Dragon skull]]
*[[Eunuch]]
*[[First Men]]
*[[Hand of the King]]
*[[Hedgehog]]
*[[Horse]]
*[[Ice]]
*[[Iron Throne]]
*''[[Khal]]''
*[[King's justice (concept)|King's justice]]
*[[Kingsguard]]
*[[Kingslayer]]
*[[Knight]]
*[[Lion]]
*[[Marriage]]
*[[Master of whisperers]]
*[[Others]]
*[[Poacher]]
*[[Seven hells]]
*[[Heraldry|Sigil]]
*[[Slaver]]
*[[Spy]]
*[[Stag]]
*[[Sworn Brother]]
*[[Unsullied]]
*[[Usurper]]
*[[Warden of the East]]
*[[Warden of the West]]
*[[Wench]]
*[[Wheelhouse]]
}}
|}

==References==
{{EnWikia|A Game of Thrones: Chapter 12|small=yes}}

==External links==
*[https://www.tor.com/2011/05/06/a-read-of-ice-and-fire-a-game-of-thrones-part-7/ A Read of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones, Part 7] Analyses and summary of the chapter by Leigh Butler.

[[Category:A Song of Ice And Fire chapters|Game 12]]
[[Category:Chapters with the POV of Eddard Stark|Game 12]]
[[Category:Chapters which take place in the North|Game 12]]
[[Category:Chapters which take place along the Kingsroad|Game 12]]

[[es:Juego de Tronos-Capítulo 12]]
[[fr:A Game of Thrones, Chapitre 13, Eddard]]
[[it:AGOT12]]
[[pt:A Guerra dos Tronos - Capítulo 12]]
[[ru:Игра престолов, Эддард II]]
[[zh:权力的游戏-章节 12]]