Difference between revisions of "Second Sons"

From A Wiki of Ice and Fire
Jump to: navigation, search
(History)
m
 
(45 intermediate revisions by 19 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
[[File:Second Sons flag.png|right|thumb|200px|The banner of the Second Sons]]
+
{{About|the sellsword company|the television episode|Second Sons (TV)}}
 +
{{Infobox sellsword company
 +
| name = Second Sons
 +
| image = Second Sons.svg
 +
| image_caption =
 +
| banner = A broken sword
 +
| motto =
 +
| war_cry =
 +
| leader_title = commander
 +
| leader = [[Ben Plumm]]
 +
| former_leader = [[Mero]]
 +
| size = ~500 men
 +
| founded = Before the [[Century of Blood]]
 +
| founder =
 +
| disbanded =
 +
}}
 +
The '''Second Sons''' are a [[sellsword]] company found in [[Essos]]. Their banner is a broken sword.{{Ref|ASOS|42}}
  
The '''Second Sons''' are a mercenary company found in the [[Free Cities]]. At [[Yunkai]], where they were contracted to face [[Daenerys Targaryen]] and her forces, they numbered five hundred men. Their banner is a broken sword.<ref>[[A Storm of Swords]], [[A Storm of Swords-Chapter 42|Chapter 42]], Daenerys</ref>
+
==Organization==
 +
The Second Sons are not as well equipped as the [[Golden Company]]. While on campaign their camp is a circle of ragged tents, including a cook tent. [[Brown Ben Plumm]]'s tent has painted canvas walls cracked and faded by years of sun and rain, as well as a floor covered with threadbare carpets in half a dozen clashing colors.{{Ref|ADWD|57}}
  
Their camp is a circle of ragged tents. There is a cook tent. [[Brown Ben Plumm]]’s tent has painted canvas walls cracked and faded by years of sun and rain, within the tent are camp stools and a tresel table, a rack of spears and halberds and a floor covered with threadbare carpets in half a dozen clashing colors.  
+
The names of every man to serve with the Second Sons is written in a leather-bound book, as well as when they joined, where they fought, how long they served, and the manner of their deaths. A tradition of the company is to sign in red ink. There was a time when each new man wrote his name in his own blood, but that tradition faded as blood makes poor ink.{{Ref|ADWD|66}}
  
== History ==
+
==History==
The Second Sons are amongst the oldest of the free companies. They do not enjoy the shining reputation of the [[Golden Company]], but they have won some famous victories. 400 years ago the Second Sons stood in defens of [[Qohor]] a long with the [[Bright Banners]] company, Against the first Dothraki Khalasar to venture east since the [[Doom of Valyria|fall of Valyria]]. However they suffered a defeat and fled the battle field, though the battle was later won by the [[Three Thousand of Qohor]].{{Ref|aSoS|8}}  
+
[[File:Ignacio Lazcano Second Sons.png|thumb|The Second Sons encamped outside [[siege of Meereen|Meereen]], by Ignacio Lazcano © Fantasy Flight Games]]
 +
Amongst the oldest of the free companies,{{ref|ADWD|66}} the Second Sons date back to the [[Century of Blood]]. The company was founded by twoscore younger sons of the nobility who lacked prospects.{{ref|TWOIAF|The Free Cities: The Quarrelsome Daughters: Myr, Lys, and Tyrosh}}
  
Under the command of [[Mero]], whose evil reputation is known even in [[Westeros]], they turned near as bad as the [[Brave Companions]].  Mero’s reputation has fallen to the point where none of the [[Free Cities]] will hire him any longer. {{Ref|aSoS|42}} That is why the Second Sons are in [[Yunkai]] when [[Daenerys]] marches on the city. They have fought in the [[Disputed Lands]].
+
Four hundred years ago, the Second Sons and the [[Bright Banners]] were hired to help the guards of [[Qohor]] against the ''[[khalasar]]'' of Khal [[Temmo]]. The Qohorik horse were defeated and the sellsword companies fled the battlefield, but the battle against Temmo's [[Dothraki]] was then won by the [[Three Thousand of Qohor]].{{Ref|ASOS|8}}
  
== Culture ==
+
The Second Sons do not enjoy the shining reputation of the [[Golden Company]], but they have won some famous victories.{{ref|ADWD|66}} Landless lords, exiled knights, and adventurers have left [[Westeros]] and joined the Second Sons in search of a home.{{ref|TWOIAF|The Free Cities: The Quarrelsome Daughters: Myr, Lys, and Tyrosh}} In the aftermath of the [[First Blackfyre Rebellion]], for instance, hundreds of landless lords and knights who had supported [[Daemon I Blackfyre]] fled across the [[narrow sea]] and joined free companies like the Second Sons, the [[Ragged Standard]], and the [[Maiden's Men]].{{ref|ADWD|5}}
The names of every man to serve with them is written in a book, when they joined, where they fought, how long they served, the manner of their deaths. The Second Sons are on their fourth book. The book is leather bound with iron hinges, and large enough to eat your supper off.  Inside the heavy wooden boards are names and dates going back more than a century.
 
  
A tradition of the company is to sign in red ink. There was a time when each new man wrote his name in his own blood, but that tradition faded as blood makes poor ink.
+
The company has fought in the [[Disputed Lands]].{{Ref|ASOS|38}}
  
There are famous names in the books, some from the Seven Kingdoms. [[Aegor Rivers]] served a year with them, before he left to found the [[Golden Company]]. The Bright Prince, [[Aerion Targaryen]] and [[Rodrik Stark]], the Wandering Wolf also served.
+
When he was younger, [[Ben Plumm]] learned ''[[cyvasse]]'' in [[Volantis]] when the Second Sons were contracted by the [[Free City]].{{ref|ADWD|47}}
At present, with the addition of [[Tyrion]] and [[Jorah Mormont]], they number five hundred and fourteen members.
 
  
== Tyrion Lannister's debts to the Second Sons ==
+
The current captain of the Second Sons, [[Mero]], has such a poor reputation that none of the Free Cities will hire him any longer.{{Ref|ASOS|42}}
Part of [[Tyrion]]’s negotiations with [[Brown Ben Plumm]] for becoming a Second Son included becoming indebted to them.  Just prior to signing the Second Sons book Tyrion is handed a pile of roughly fifty to sixty promissory notes to sign. [[Tyrion]] remarks that only one in ten Second Son receives a promissory note.
 
  
[[Tybero Istarion|Tybero "Inkpots" Istarion]] hands him a quill, and ink from Old [[Volantis]] - which he tells [[Tyrion]] will last as long as maesters' black. [[Tyrion]] signs each note ''Tyrion of House Lannister'' and passes them one at a time to Inkpots, who dusts each one with fine sand.{{Ref|aDwD|66}}
+
==Recent Events==
 +
===''A Storm of Swords''===
 +
The Second Sons and the [[Stormcrows]] are employed by [[Yunkai]] to defend against the threat of [[Daenerys Targaryen]]. Commanded by [[Mero]], the Titan's Bastard, the Second Sons are placed on the left of the defensive line that faces Daenerys's army. Mero attends the parley with Daenerys and decides to mull her offer of switching sides or departing only on the condition that she give him a [[wagon]] of [[wine]]. While the Seconds Sons are drinking that night, however, Daenerys sends her forces on the attack. The Second Sons are too drunk to fight in the [[battle near Yunkai]], and Mero flees before he can be captured.{{Ref|ASOS|42}}  
  
'''The promissory notes:'''
+
The remaining Second Sons vote [[Ben Plumm|Brown Ben Plumm]] as their new commander and they join Daenerys's army for her [[siege of Meereen]]. Mero hides among the [[freedmen]] and tries to assassinate Daenerys in the camps outside [[Meereen]], but his attempt is thwarted by Ser [[Barristan Selmy]]. Mero is then killed by an enraged mob of freedmen.{{Ref|ASOS|57}}
*To the serjeants: parchments promising to pay the bearer of the note 100 golden dragons
 
Below the serjeants’ notes the amounts suddenly grow larger, Tyrion is starting to pay the bearer 1,000 gold dragons. 
 
The last three notes are made out by name:
 
*To [[Kasporio]] the Cunning: written in fine vellum, promising 10,000 dragons
 
*To [[Tybero Istarion]]: written in fine vellum, promising 10,000 dragons
 
*To [[Brown Ben Plumm]]: inscribed upon a sheepskin scroll, promising 100,000 golden dragons, 50 [[w:Hide_(unit)|hides]] of fertile land, a castle, and a lordship.
 
  
 +
===''A Dance with Dragons''===
 +
[[File:Jamga Tyrion Second Sons.jpg|thumb|350px|[[Tyrion Lannister]] examining the company steel, by Jamga © Pygmalion]]
 +
Daenerys, now [[Queen of Meereen]], sends the Second Sons south of the city to guard against any incursions by Yunkai.{{Ref|ADWD|2}}
  
After he is done signing the promissory notes Brown Benn tells [[Tyrion]] that it is time to make him one o’ them and gets Inkpots to fetch the Second Sons book. Inkpots brings the book and unstops a pot of red ink, however [[Tyrion]] elects to sign in the traditional way - with blood.  He explains to Inkpots that Lannisters love tradition and to lend him his knife.  
+
After receiving word that [[siege of Astapor|Astapor is burning]], Daenerys recalls the Second Sons to Meereen. The queen disappoints Ben by stating she refuses to unleash her [[dragon]]s against Yunkai. Daenerys orders the Second Sons to scout for her enemies, and she gives bags of [[currency|gold]] to Ben so he can attempt to bribe sellswords employed by the Yunkai'i.{{ref|ADWD|30}}
  
He pricks the ball of his thumb and squeezes out a fat drop of blood into the inkpot, trades the dagger for a quill, and scrawls ''Tyrion of House Lannister, Lord of [[Casterly Rock]]'', in a big bold hand, just below Ser [[Jorah Mormont]]'s more modest signature. Inkpots then turns the book around and dusts the page with a bit of fine sand. {{Ref|aDwD|66}}
+
[[Daario Naharis]], captain of the Stormcrows, informs Daenerys that the Second Sons have joined the Yunkishmen.{{ref|ADWD|36}} When a feast is held in Meeren to celebrate peace with Yunkai, Ben represents the Second Sons. He explains to the angry Daenerys that his men chose to join the Yunkai'i because they felt she would not be victorious with her dragons held back.{{ref|ADWD|50}}
  
== Armory ==
+
Escaped slaves [[Tyrion Lannister]] and Ser [[Jorah Mormont]] join the Second Sons, accompanied by fellow escaped slave [[Penny]]. The company is on their fourth book, which Tyrion signs in blood.{{Ref|ADWD|66}}
The Second Sons armorer is [[Hammer]]; his apprentice is [[Nail]].  The Second Sons keep their company armour in six big wayns drawn up near the center of their camp. Under roofs of bent wood and stiffened leather, the wagon beds are heaped high with old weaponry and armour. Most of the iron is not very good; it is not just old and ill-fitting but dented, cracked and brittle with dried blood or rust.  According to Ser [[Jorah Mormont]] there is some sound steel in there, none of it is pretty, but it will stop a sword.{{Ref|aDwD|66}}.  Some of the armor in the wayns are what sellswords were wearing when they died and some of it is made to fit boys.   
 
  
Ser [[Jorah Mormont]] clads himself from head to heel in company steel. His greaves are mismatched, his gorget is spotted with rust, his vambraces rich and ornate, inlaid with niello flowers.  On his right hand is a gauntlet of lobstered steel, on his left a fingerless mitt of rusted mail. The nipples on his muscled breastplate have a pair of iron rings through them.  His greathelm sports a ram’s horns, one of which is broken.{{Ref|aDwD|66}}
+
Part of Tyrion's negotiations with Brown Ben for becoming a Second Son include becoming indebted to them. Just prior to signing their book Tyrion is handed a pile of roughly fifty to sixty promissory notes to sign. Tyrion remarks that only one in ten Second Sons receives a promissory note. He signs each note ''Tyrion of [[House Lannister]]'' and passes them one at a time to the paymaster, [[Tybero Istarion]], who dusts each one with fine sand.{{Ref|ADWD|66}}
  
Upon entering one of the wayns [[Tyrion]] and [[Penny]] find a rusted iron half-helm and then a greathelm, a crossbow, a morningstar, a warhammer, a studded mace, and half a dozen longswords. [[Tyrion]] finds a dirk he likes - a nasty piece of steel with a triangular blade with a bit of rust on it. He finds a wood and leather sheath that fits and slips the dirk inside. He remarks that the longsword Penny picks up is notched, denoting that it is cheap steel. He examines a heavy shirt of iron mail so full of holes it almost looks moth eaten. The Second Sons' company steel is worse than what he fought in at the [[Battle of the Green Fork]].{{Ref|aDwD|66}}
+
The promissory notes for the serjeants promise to pay the bearer of the note one hundred [[currency|golden dragons]], while higher-ranked officers are to be paid one thousand gold dragons. The last three notes are made out by name to:
 +
*[[Kasporio]], written in fine vellum, promising ten thousand dragons;
 +
*Tybero, written in fine vellum, promising ten thousand dragons;
 +
*Brown Ben Plumm, inscribed upon a sheepskin scroll, promising one hundred thousand dragons, fifty [[w:Hide (unit)|hides]] of fertile land, a castle, and a [[lord]]ship.{{Ref|ADWD|66}}
 +
 
 +
Tyrion observes the company steel is worse than what he fought in at the [[battle on the Green Fork]], but Jorah feels the sellswords have some sound equipment. Some of the armor in the wayns are what sellswords were wearing when they died and some of it is made to fit boys.{{Ref|ADWD|66}}
 +
 
 +
With the additions of Tyrion and Jorah, the Second Sons number five hundred fourteen members. Jorah joins up as a fighter while Tyrion is assigned to Tybero to help keep the books, count coin, and write contracts and letters. When Tyrion makes a jape about supervising camp followers, a displeased Ben tells Tyrion to stay away from the whores. The captain wants Tyrion to remain hidden within the camp until Meereen is taken and they are on their way to Westeros.{{Ref|ADWD|66}}
 +
 
 +
===''The Winds of Winter''===
 +
{{Warning/twow}}
 +
The Second Sons are ordered by [[Malazza]], the Girl General, to defend the [[Wicked Sister]] during the [[second siege of Meereen]]. A Yunkish messenger comes to the tent to inform them that [[Morghaz zo Zherzyn]], supreme commander of the Yunkai'i, wants them to defend the [[Harpy's Daughter]] instead, as the [[Unsullied]] are advancing toward the trebuchet while [[Bloodbeard]] and two Ghiscari legions stand against them. The Second Sons are informed that [[Gorzhak zo Eraz]] has been slain, cut down by the [[Tattered Prince]], meaning that the [[Windblown]] have gone over to Daenerys. When the messenger recognizes Tyrion as an escaped slave and demands he be turned over, Jorah kills the messenger. Brown Ben then announces that the Second Sons have always been the queen's men and that rejoining the Yunkai'i was just a plot.{{Ref|TWOW||[[Tyrion II (The Winds of Winter)|Tyrion II]]}}
  
 
==Notable Members==
 
==Notable Members==
===Captain-generals===
+
===Commanders===
* [[Mero]], better known as the '''Titan's Bastard'''
+
* {[[Mero]]}, better known as the "[[Titan of Braavos|Titan's]] Bastard" as he is [[Braavos]]i. Killed by freedmen for attempting to assassinate [[Daenerys Targaryen]].
* [[Brown Ben Plumm]], captain and commander
+
* [[Ben Plumm]], known as "Brown Ben", captain and commander
* [[Kasporio]], the Cunning, second in command
+
* [[Kasporio]], called "Kasporio the Cunning", second in command
  
 
===Members===
 
===Members===
* [[Tybero Istarion]], better known as '''Inkpots''', paymaster  
+
* [[Tybero Istarion]], better known as "Inkpots", paymaster  
* [[Hammer]], blacksmith and armorer
+
* [[Hammer]], [[blacksmith]] and armorer
* [[Nail]], apprentice to [[Hammer]]
+
* [[Nail]], apprentice to Hammer
 
* [[Snatch]], serjeant
 
* [[Snatch]], serjeant
 
* [[Uhlan]], serjeant
 
* [[Uhlan]], serjeant
 
* [[Kem]], young sellsword
 
* [[Kem]], young sellsword
 
* [[Bokkoko]], axeman
 
* [[Bokkoko]], axeman
* Ser [[Jorah Mormont]], sellsword
+
* Ser [[Garibald]], sellsword
* [[Tyrion Lannister]], assistant to '''Inkpots''', ([[Penny]]: attached to [[Tyrion]], she does not sign the Second Sons book)
+
* Ser [[Jorah Mormont]], sellsword
 +
* [[Tyrion Lannister]], assistant to Inkpots,  
 +
* [[Penny]] is attached to Tyrion, but she does not sign the Second Sons' book
 +
 
 +
===Historical Members===
 +
Famous past members include:
 +
*[[Harwyn Hoare]], Harwyn Hardhand, the first [[King of the Isles and the Rivers]].{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Iron Islands: The Black Blood}}
 +
*[[Aegor Rivers]], "Bittersteel", who served a year with the Second Sons before he left to found the [[Golden Company]].{{Ref|ADWD|66}}
 +
*Prince [[Aerion Targaryen|Aerion the Monstrous]], the Bright Prince, also known as Brightflame.{{Ref|ADWD|66}}
 +
*[[Rodrik Stark (son of Beron)|Rodrik Stark]], the Wandering Wolf.{{Ref|ADWD|66}}
 +
*Prince [[Oberyn Martell]], the Red Viper of [[Dorne]], who served for a year.{{Ref|ASOS|38}}
 +
*The [[Tattered Prince]], who also rode with the [[Iron Shields]] and the [[Maiden's Men]], before founding the [[Windblown]].{{Ref|ADWD|25}}
 +
 
 +
==Quotes==
 +
{{Quote|The Second Sons are an old company, and not without valor, but under [[Mero]] they've turned near as bad as the [[Brave Companions]]. The man is as dangerous to his employers as to his foes. That's why you find him [[Slaver's Bay|out here]]. None of the [[Free Cities]] will hire him any longer.{{ref|ASOS|42}}|[[Jorah Mormont]] to [[Daenerys Targaryen]]}}
 +
 
 +
{{quote|'''Ben''': We went over to the winning side, is all. Same as we done before. It weren't all me, neither. I put it to my men.<br>
 +
'''Daenerys''': So they betrayed me, is that what you are saying? Why? Did I mistreat the Second Sons? Did I cheat you on your pay?<br>
 +
'''Ben''': Never that, but it's not all about the coin, Your High-and-Mightiness.{{ref|ADWD|50}}|[[Ben Plumm]] and [[Daenerys Targaryen]]}}
 +
 
 +
{{Quote|'''Tyrion''': I was born a second son. This company is my destiny.<br>
 +
'''Kasporio''': The Second Sons have no place for [[mummers]]. It's fighters we need.{{Ref|ADWD|57}}|[[Tyrion Lannister]] and [[Kasporio]]}}
  
== Recent Events ==
+
{{Quote|I have signed their book. The old way, in blood. I am now a Second Son.{{Ref|ADWD|66}}|[[Tyrion Lannister]] to [[Penny]]}}
=== A Storm of Swords ===
 
The Second Sons were employed by [[Yunkai]] to defend them against the threat of Daenerys Targaryen. They were placed on the left of the defensive line that faced Daenerys's army. they were commanded by [[Mero]], known as the Titan's Bastard. Mero attended the parley with Daenerys and decided to mull her offer of switching sides or departing only on the condition that she give him a wagon of wine. He brought the wine back to his men and while they were getting drunk on it that night, Daenerys sent her forces on the attack. The Second Sons were routed and Mero fled before he could be captured.<ref>[[A Storm of Swords]], [[A Storm of Swords-Chapter 42|Chapter 42]], Daenerys</ref>
 
  
The remaining sellswords voted [[Ben Plumm|Brown Ben Plumm]] as their new commander. They then joined Daenerys Targaryen's army.<ref>[[A Storm of Swords]], [[A Storm of Swords-Chapter 57|Chapter 57]], Daenerys</ref>
+
{{Quote|'''Tyrion''': In [[Westeros]], the word of a [[House Lannister|Lannister]] is considered good as [[gold]].<br>
 +
'''Tybero''': This is not Westeros. [[Essos|On this side]] of the [[narrow sea]], we put our promises on paper. Debts written on the wind tend to be ... forgotten, shall we say?{{Ref|ADWD|66}}|[[Tyrion Lannister]] and [[Tybero Istarion]]}}
  
===A Dance with Dragons===
+
==References==
Daenerys sent them south to guard Meereen against any incursions by [[Yunkai]].{{Ref|ADWD|2}} However when Brown [[Ben Plumm]] learns that [[Daenerys Targaryen|Daenerys]] cannot control her dragons anymore and use them against the [[Yunkai]], he has his company go over to the [[Yunkai]].{{Ref|ADWD|36}}{{Ref|ADWD|50}}
+
{{References}}
  
== References and Notes ==
+
{{Sellsword companies}}
  
{{references|2}}
+
[[Category:Second Sons| ]]
 +
[[Category:Sellsword companies]]
  
[[Category:Mercenaries]] [[Category:Sellsword_companies]]
+
[[es:Segundos Hijos]]
[[Category:Second Sons|*]]
+
[[fa:پسران دوم]]
[[fr:Puînés|fr:Puînés]]
+
[[fr:Puînés]]
[[es:Segundos Hijos]][[ru:&#1052;&#1083;&#1072;&#1076;&#1096;&#1080;&#1077; &#1057;&#1099;&#1085;&#1099;]]
+
[[pt:Segundos Filhos]]
 +
[[ru:Младшие Сыновья]]
 +
[[zh:次子团]]

Latest revision as of 13:18, 3 March 2024

Second Sons
Second Sons.svg
Banner A broken sword
Commander Ben Plumm
Former commander Mero
Size ~500 men
Founded Before the Century of Blood

The Second Sons are a sellsword company found in Essos. Their banner is a broken sword.[1]

Organization

The Second Sons are not as well equipped as the Golden Company. While on campaign their camp is a circle of ragged tents, including a cook tent. Brown Ben Plumm's tent has painted canvas walls cracked and faded by years of sun and rain, as well as a floor covered with threadbare carpets in half a dozen clashing colors.[2]

The names of every man to serve with the Second Sons is written in a leather-bound book, as well as when they joined, where they fought, how long they served, and the manner of their deaths. A tradition of the company is to sign in red ink. There was a time when each new man wrote his name in his own blood, but that tradition faded as blood makes poor ink.[3]

History

The Second Sons encamped outside Meereen, by Ignacio Lazcano © Fantasy Flight Games

Amongst the oldest of the free companies,[3] the Second Sons date back to the Century of Blood. The company was founded by twoscore younger sons of the nobility who lacked prospects.[4]

Four hundred years ago, the Second Sons and the Bright Banners were hired to help the guards of Qohor against the khalasar of Khal Temmo. The Qohorik horse were defeated and the sellsword companies fled the battlefield, but the battle against Temmo's Dothraki was then won by the Three Thousand of Qohor.[5]

The Second Sons do not enjoy the shining reputation of the Golden Company, but they have won some famous victories.[3] Landless lords, exiled knights, and adventurers have left Westeros and joined the Second Sons in search of a home.[4] In the aftermath of the First Blackfyre Rebellion, for instance, hundreds of landless lords and knights who had supported Daemon I Blackfyre fled across the narrow sea and joined free companies like the Second Sons, the Ragged Standard, and the Maiden's Men.[6]

The company has fought in the Disputed Lands.[7]

When he was younger, Ben Plumm learned cyvasse in Volantis when the Second Sons were contracted by the Free City.[8]

The current captain of the Second Sons, Mero, has such a poor reputation that none of the Free Cities will hire him any longer.[1]

Recent Events

A Storm of Swords

The Second Sons and the Stormcrows are employed by Yunkai to defend against the threat of Daenerys Targaryen. Commanded by Mero, the Titan's Bastard, the Second Sons are placed on the left of the defensive line that faces Daenerys's army. Mero attends the parley with Daenerys and decides to mull her offer of switching sides or departing only on the condition that she give him a wagon of wine. While the Seconds Sons are drinking that night, however, Daenerys sends her forces on the attack. The Second Sons are too drunk to fight in the battle near Yunkai, and Mero flees before he can be captured.[1]

The remaining Second Sons vote Brown Ben Plumm as their new commander and they join Daenerys's army for her siege of Meereen. Mero hides among the freedmen and tries to assassinate Daenerys in the camps outside Meereen, but his attempt is thwarted by Ser Barristan Selmy. Mero is then killed by an enraged mob of freedmen.[9]

A Dance with Dragons

Tyrion Lannister examining the company steel, by Jamga © Pygmalion

Daenerys, now Queen of Meereen, sends the Second Sons south of the city to guard against any incursions by Yunkai.[10]

After receiving word that Astapor is burning, Daenerys recalls the Second Sons to Meereen. The queen disappoints Ben by stating she refuses to unleash her dragons against Yunkai. Daenerys orders the Second Sons to scout for her enemies, and she gives bags of gold to Ben so he can attempt to bribe sellswords employed by the Yunkai'i.[11]

Daario Naharis, captain of the Stormcrows, informs Daenerys that the Second Sons have joined the Yunkishmen.[12] When a feast is held in Meeren to celebrate peace with Yunkai, Ben represents the Second Sons. He explains to the angry Daenerys that his men chose to join the Yunkai'i because they felt she would not be victorious with her dragons held back.[13]

Escaped slaves Tyrion Lannister and Ser Jorah Mormont join the Second Sons, accompanied by fellow escaped slave Penny. The company is on their fourth book, which Tyrion signs in blood.[3]

Part of Tyrion's negotiations with Brown Ben for becoming a Second Son include becoming indebted to them. Just prior to signing their book Tyrion is handed a pile of roughly fifty to sixty promissory notes to sign. Tyrion remarks that only one in ten Second Sons receives a promissory note. He signs each note Tyrion of House Lannister and passes them one at a time to the paymaster, Tybero Istarion, who dusts each one with fine sand.[3]

The promissory notes for the serjeants promise to pay the bearer of the note one hundred golden dragons, while higher-ranked officers are to be paid one thousand gold dragons. The last three notes are made out by name to:

  • Kasporio, written in fine vellum, promising ten thousand dragons;
  • Tybero, written in fine vellum, promising ten thousand dragons;
  • Brown Ben Plumm, inscribed upon a sheepskin scroll, promising one hundred thousand dragons, fifty hides of fertile land, a castle, and a lordship.[3]

Tyrion observes the company steel is worse than what he fought in at the battle on the Green Fork, but Jorah feels the sellswords have some sound equipment. Some of the armor in the wayns are what sellswords were wearing when they died and some of it is made to fit boys.[3]

With the additions of Tyrion and Jorah, the Second Sons number five hundred fourteen members. Jorah joins up as a fighter while Tyrion is assigned to Tybero to help keep the books, count coin, and write contracts and letters. When Tyrion makes a jape about supervising camp followers, a displeased Ben tells Tyrion to stay away from the whores. The captain wants Tyrion to remain hidden within the camp until Meereen is taken and they are on their way to Westeros.[3]

The Winds of Winter

Content.png
Warning
This information has thus far been released in a sample chapter for The Winds of Winter, and might therefore not be in finalized form. Keep in mind that the content as described below is still subject to change.

The Second Sons are ordered by Malazza, the Girl General, to defend the Wicked Sister during the second siege of Meereen. A Yunkish messenger comes to the tent to inform them that Morghaz zo Zherzyn, supreme commander of the Yunkai'i, wants them to defend the Harpy's Daughter instead, as the Unsullied are advancing toward the trebuchet while Bloodbeard and two Ghiscari legions stand against them. The Second Sons are informed that Gorzhak zo Eraz has been slain, cut down by the Tattered Prince, meaning that the Windblown have gone over to Daenerys. When the messenger recognizes Tyrion as an escaped slave and demands he be turned over, Jorah kills the messenger. Brown Ben then announces that the Second Sons have always been the queen's men and that rejoining the Yunkai'i was just a plot.[14]

Notable Members

Commanders

Members

Historical Members

Famous past members include:

Quotes

The Second Sons are an old company, and not without valor, but under Mero they've turned near as bad as the Brave Companions. The man is as dangerous to his employers as to his foes. That's why you find him out here. None of the Free Cities will hire him any longer.[1]

Ben: We went over to the winning side, is all. Same as we done before. It weren't all me, neither. I put it to my men.

Daenerys: So they betrayed me, is that what you are saying? Why? Did I mistreat the Second Sons? Did I cheat you on your pay?

Ben: Never that, but it's not all about the coin, Your High-and-Mightiness.[13]

Tyrion: I was born a second son. This company is my destiny.
Kasporio: The Second Sons have no place for mummers. It's fighters we need.[2]

I have signed their book. The old way, in blood. I am now a Second Son.[3]

Tyrion: In Westeros, the word of a Lannister is considered good as gold.
Tybero: This is not Westeros. On this side of the narrow sea, we put our promises on paper. Debts written on the wind tend to be ... forgotten, shall we say?[3]

References