| Xaro Xhoan Daxos | |
|---|---|
 Xaro Xhoan Daxos by JB Casacop © Fantasy Flight Games | |
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| Allegiance | the Thirteen |
| Culture | Qartheen |
| Born | Qarth[1] |
| Books |
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| Played by | Nonso Anozie |
| TV series | Game of Thrones: Season 2 |
Xaro Xhoan Daxos is a merchant prince of Qarth. He is a member of the Thirteen, a prominent group of traders within the city.
In the television adaptation Game of Thrones, Xaro is portrayed by Nonso Anozie as an immigrant from the Summer Isles.
Appearance and Character
[edit]Xaro is a languid, elegant man, pale and lean.[2][3] He has a bald head, and a great beak of a nose which is crusted with rubies, opals, and flakes of jade,[2] giving him the aspect of some strange glittery bird.[4] His fingers are long and elegant.[4]
Xaro can cry at will, a skill typical of Qartheen men.[4][3] It is implied he has a homosexual orientation.[4][3]
Xaro wears robes of maroon silk and cloth-of-gold.[3]
Xaro's palatial home is larger than some market towns.[2] He owns eighty-four vessels, including Vermillion Kiss, the galleas Silken Cloud, and his pleasure barge.[5][3] The merchant prince travels in a palanquin with satin cushions[4] and also rides a camel with an ornate horned saddle.[2] He has slaves in his service.[3]
Recent Events
[edit]A Clash of Kings
[edit]
When Jhogo returns to Vaes Tolorro after discovering Qarth, he is accompanied by three representatives of the city, one of them being Xaro.[6] Having seen her dragons, Xaro escorts Daenerys Targaryen to Qarth, where he offers her use of his palace during her stay.[2] The palace easily accommodates Daenerys's little khalasar and their horses. An entire wing is given over to her, and she has slaves to tend to her every need.[2]
Xaro gives Daenerys many gifts, including:
- a silver collar with an enchanted amethyst to protect against poison;
- perfume and pomegranates;
- tumbling monkeys and spitting snakes;
- scrolls from lost Valyria;
- an idol's head and a serpent's foot;
- a palanquin of ebony and gold, and a matched set of bullocks to bear it, one white as ivory and one black as jet, with horns inlaid with jewels;
- a thousand knights, each in shining armor. The armor is made of silver and gold, the knights of jade and beryl and onyx and tourmaline, of amber and opal and amethyst, each as tall as Daenerys's little finger.[4]
Xaro offers Daenerys his knowledge, telling her which members of the Pureborn to bribe, the ways of reaching the Pureborn, and who to go to next after she is rejected by them. Xaro also seeks to marry her, though Daenerys later learns he wishes to marry her so he can claim one of her dragons via a Qartheen marriage custom and use it to rule the city. It is also revealed that he does not seem interested in women, as Daenerys can tell that Xaro hardly deigns to notice her bare breast when she is wearing a Qartheen gown. Daenerys notices the beautiful boys who surround the merchant prince, flitting through his palace halls in wisps of silk.[4]
After the destruction of the House of the Undying, Xaro prevents the Thirteen from opposing Daenerys. Xaro offers to take her sailing around the Jade Sea, but Daenerys again refuses his offer of marriage. Daenerys then refuses to trade him one of her dragons for ships, so Xaro tells her to leave the city.[5]
A Storm of Swords
[edit]Aboard the Balerion, Daenerys contemplates the threats to her and thinks of Xaro. She hopes he is not among her enemies, but remembers that the Qartheen merchant had coveted her dragons.[7]
A Dance with Dragons
[edit]
Xaro arrives on his ship Silken Cloud in Meereen to visit Daenerys. He claims to have defended Daenerys before the Pureborn. Xaro brings forth a gift of thirteen ships—including Banded Lizard, Narraqqa, and Pureborn Princess—stating that they are hers on the condition she sails from Slaver's Bay to Westeros as her presence has disrupted the slave trade which many cities of Essos, such as Volantis and Qarth, depend on for their economies. Daenerys thinks the galleys were provided by all of the Thirteen and not specifically by Xaro. Xaro also provides Daenerys with a tapestry of the lands of Valyria from before the Doom.[3]
During Xaro's visit Daenerys again dons a Qartheen gown, leaving one breast bare in his honor. She notes that half of the men in the hall have stolen glances at her, but not Xaro. He warns her of many threats to her, including Pyat Pree. Daenerys has the ships he brought inspected by Groleo, but she later refuses the offer. Xaro's reply is to leave a bloodstained glove on a satin pillow, a message that Qarth has declared war on Daenerys.[3]
Game of Thrones
[edit]
In the television adaptation, Game of Thrones, Xaro is an immigrant Summer Islander. He has black skin, thinning hair, and a beard. Xaro seeks to become the King of Qarth, in a coup where he kills his fellow Thirteen—the ruling council of Qarth—and assists Pyat Pree in stealing Daenerys's dragons. After defeating Pyat in the House of the Undying, Daenerys finds her handmaid Doreah in bed with Xaro. She punishes the pair by locking them in his vault, where they will most likely die.
Quotes by Xaro
[edit]Daenerys: You are too generous.
Xaro: For the Mother of Dragons, no gift is too great.[2]—Daenerys Targaryen and Xaro
Daenerys: Come with me to the Arbor, Xaro, and you'll have the finest vintages you ever tasted. But we'll need to go in a warship, not a pleasure barge.
Xaro: I have no warships. War is bad for trade. Many times I have told you, Xaro Xhoan Daxos is a man of peace.[4]—Daenerys Targaryen and Xaro
Xaro: I have given you my home and heart, do they mean nothing to you? I have given you perfume and pomegranates, tumbling monkeys and spitting snakes, scrolls from lost Valyria, an idol's head and a serpent's foot. I have given you this palanquin of ebony and gold, and a matched set of bullocks to bear it, one white as ivory and one black as jet, with horns inlaid with jewels.
Daenerys: Yes. But it was ships and soldiers I wanted.[4]—Xaro and Daenerys Targaryen
Sweetness cloys. Tart fruit and tart women give life its savor.[3]
—Xaro to Daenerys Targaryen
Xaro: It is a cruel queen who dices with men's hearts. Humble merchants like myself are no more than stones beneath your jeweled sandals.
Daenerys: Oh, stop that. I may be a young girl, but I am not so foolish as to wed a man who finds a fruit platter more enticing than my breast. I saw which dancers you were watching.
Daenerys: I want no slave. I free you.[3]
Xaro: The same ones Your Grace was following, I believe. You see, we are alike. If you will not take me for your husband, I am content to be your slave.
—Xaro and Daenerys Targaryen
—Xaro to Daenerys Targaryen
Quotes about Xaro
[edit]She would have been lost without Xaro. The gold that she had squandered to open the doors of the Hall of a Thousand Thrones was largely a product of the merchant's generosity and quick wits. As the rumor of living dragons had spread through the east, ever more seekers had come to learn if the tale was true—and Xaro Xhoan Daxos saw to it that the great and the humble alike offered some token to the Mother of Dragons.[4]
—thoughts of Daenerys Targaryen
Xaro's flowery protestations of passion amused her, but his manner was at odds with his words.[4]
—thoughts of Daenerys Targaryen
Behind the Scenes
[edit]In an early draft of A Clash of Kings, this character was named "Jaro Jhoan Daxos."[9]
References
[edit]- ↑ George R. R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire, Xaro Xhoan Daxos.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 27, Daenerys II.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 16, Daenerys III.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 40, Daenerys III.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 63, Daenerys V.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 12, Daenerys I.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 8, Daenerys I.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 71, Daenerys VI.
- ↑ Secrets of the Cushing Library: the ACOK and ASOS drafts - gsteff on Reddit