Oh, look! Another of my favourite chapters!

The story so far…

The Lannisters are down but not out in the War of Five Kings, and if the various anti-Lannister factions could get their act together for five freakin’ minutes -

Reluctantly, Catelyn travels to Storm’s End to see if this is achievable.

Not Made For Easy Courtesies

While we’ve seen Stannis before, this is our first time seeing him through the eyes of an established PoV character whose own biases we’re already across. He does not make a good first impression. As we’ll see later in the series, Stannis is the sort of misogynist who has trouble talking to women at all, but for the moment what we get is Catelyn thinking that it’s generic discomfort with the situation. His lack of personal warmth is highlighted quickly, while Catelyn’s internal narration about his appearance and body language emphasise his severity.

Beneath the tight-trimmed beard his heavy jaw clenched hard…

His deepset eyes regarded her uncomfortably.

Then Stannis opens his mouth and sticks his foot right in, with some of the most facepalm-worthy condolences you’ll see in fiction.

“I am sorry for your lord’s death,” he said, “though Eddard Stark was no friend to me.”

Dude. Dude. Her husband was murdered. There’s a gap between what Stannis seems to think this is (“despite what you may think, I am sorry for your loss”) and what it comes out as. (“I begrudgingly give you my sympathies upon Ned’s death. I didn’t like him, by the way. Just making sure you know that.”) Worse, the attempt to say something as simple as “I’m sorry for your loss” promptly gets derailed over not one but two personal grudges, one of them more than a decade old.

“He was never your enemy, my lord. When the Lords Tyrell and Redwyne held you prisoned in that castle, starving, it was Eddard Stark who broke the siege.” “At my brother’s command, not for love of me,” Stannis answered. “Lord Eddard did his duty, I will not deny it. Did I ever do less? I should have been Robert’s Hand.” “That was your brother’s will. Ned never wanted it.” “Yet he took it. That which should have been mine.[”]

Jon Snow will observe much later that Stannis with a grievance is like a mastiff with a bone. We see here that this is 100% correct. He is so focused on those grievances he can’t give the proper attention to the fact that Ned truly wasn’t his enemy, nor that he’s currently alienating Ned’s widow, here speaking for her son and a potential ally. He’s so bad at this - a lack of skill that flows directly from his current self-obsession - that he can’t even promise Catelyn that he’ll give her exactly what she wants without stripping everything comforting from the reassurance.

[“]Still, I give you my word, you shall have justice for his murder.” How they loved to promise heads, these men who would be king.

“If your children are found when I take the city, they shall be sent to you.” Alive or dead, his tone implied.

Good going.

Nevertheless, it is still important to remember this substance, because the sentiment behind it is what allows him to develop as a character. No hesitation, no reservation, no making a show of it for the crowd, nothing asked of her in return. Stannis promises Catelyn justice for Ned’s murder and her children returned to her if he finds them. Stannis cares about doing what is right - but right now he can’t look past all these other people doing what he sees to be wrong (and wrongs to him personally), and so commits a few wrongs himself.

“Men give their allegiance where they will, my lord. These lords swore fealty to Robert and House Baratheon. If you and your brother were to put aside your quarrel-” “I have no quarrel with Renly, should he prove dutiful. I am his elder, and his king. I want only what is mine by rights. Renly owes me loyalty and obedience. I mean to have it. From him, and from these other lords.”

Which pretty much sums up the problem here, insofar as Stannis is concerned.

During the parley, Stannis takes up a very helpful, accommodating stance towards negotiation.

Stannis studied her, unsmiling. “The Iron Throne is mine by rights. All those who deny that are my foes.”

“If truth be told, I’ve never liked you, Stannis, but you are my own blood, and I have no wish to slay you. So if it is Storm’s End you want, take it… as a brother’s gift. As Robert once gave it to me, I give it to you.” “It is not yours to give. It is mine by rights.”

He’s got a bit of a one-track mind in this regard. Nor does he elaborate on any reasoning for this position, sticking to “mine by rights” and “I am the elder.” It blocks discussion more than it aids it. He’s snappish, sullen, and eventually provoked into drawing his sword. Unfortunately, he draws his sword and then makes his offer.

Stannis pointed his shining sword at his brother. “I am not without mercy,” thundered he who was notoriously without mercy. “Nor do I wish to sully Lightbringer with a brother’s blood. For the sake of the mother who bore us both, I will give you this night to rethink your folly, Renly. Strike your banners and come to me before dawn, and I will grant you Storm’s End and your old seat on the council and even name you my heir until a son is born to me. Otherwise, I shall destroy you.”

I say offer, but it’s more like an unusually generous ultimatum. Provoked or not, drawing his sword is clearly over a line (as we’ll see again in Alayne II, AFFC), and the parley concludes with his party riding off and a few more threats.

All through, there is substance to Stannis that is absent in Renly. His offer to Catelyn is better. His offer to Renly is better. But he can’t get his mind off his own grievances enough in order to work out how to present those offers. That’s his part in the failure here.

Not Willing To Use Easy Courtesies

Renly knows how to make an entrance.

“Kings have no friends,” Stannis said bluntly, “only subjects and enemies.” “And brothers,” a cheerful voice called out behind her.

He was planning all along to arrive last to the parley, and we soon see that Renly’s not taking this seriously at all.

The red-clad priestess spoke up. “The king has taken for his sigil the fiery heart of the Lord of Light.” Renly seemed amused by that. “All for the good. If we both use the same banner, the battle will be terribly confused.”

See that? He’s assuming the battle’s going forward. Well he might, too, because he’s all flip comments throughout this scene, baiting Stannis into losing his temper.

“Robert was my elder brother. You are the younger.” “Younger, bolder, and far more comely…”

Absolutely no interest in making this work.

When Stannis brings up the incest reveal, a thing that strengthens Stannis’ argument at the direct expense of Renly’s, we see him repeatedly attack this (truthful) version of events.

“Can you prove any word of this fable?”



“Ah,” said Renly. “So we have the word of a dead man.” “Do you think he died by happenstance, you purblind fool? Cersei had him poisoned, for fear he would reveal her. Lord Jon had been gathering certain proofs-” “-which doubtless died with him. How inconvenient.”

Renly’s own actions from AGoT onwards make no sense unless he knew of the incest. Supplanting Cersei is no use unless he gets rid of Cersei’s children as well - a plan that’s referenced in this chapter as well. I’ve got no doubt that the matter was brought up to hint to the readers that Renly knows perfectly well that Stannis is telling the truth.

Then Renly really sticks a spoke in the wheel.

Renly smiled innocently. “As to your daughter, I understand. If my wife looked like yours, I’d send my fool to service her as well.”

Christ, what an asshole. In case anyone had any doubt about it, Renly’s follow-up conversation with Catelyn goes to show the full extent of his bad faith in this parley.

“That was amusing, if not terribly profitable,” he commented. “I wonder where I can get a sword like that? Well, doubtless Loras will make me a gift of it after the battle. It grieves me that it must come to this.” “You have a cheerful way of grieving,” said Catelyn, whose distress was not feigned. “Do I?” Renly shrugged. “So be it.[”]

He’s real cut up about this turn of events. No, Renly went to the parley with no intention of compromising, and no offer that Stannis could ever contemplate accepting.

After this, Renly sounds out Catelyn for her opinion on what happened, and specifically, what Stannis said about the incest. He gets it.

Do you suppose this tale of his is true? If Joffrey is the Kingslayer’s get-” “-your brother is the lawful heir.”

And so Renly changes his tune. Not only in claiming that the current laws are very silly and should reward merit (merit being defined by him, of course), but also in how he treats Catelyn.

“My lord,” she announced. “If you are set on battle, my purpose here is done. I ask your leave to return to Riverrun.” “You do not have it.” […] “I was at the Whispering Wood, my lord. I have seen enough butchery. I came here an envoy-” “And an envoy you shall leave,” Renly said, “but wiser than you came. You shall see what befalls rebels with your own eyes, so your son can hear it from your own lips. We’ll keep you safe, never fear.”

Renly’s only ever been playing nice, and now he’s done playing. Beneath his Prince Charming routine is little but petty assholery. He can’t even muster a decent iron fist beneath his silk glove, as we see with his battle plans. Said battle plans look more than a little bit suspect; Catelyn picks up some logistical issues, and then Renly assigns his inexperienced boyfriend to lead the van. There’s more in Catelyn IV, ACoK.

The Outsider PoV

Catelyn spends this chapter watching kings clash, but it does not follow that she’s irrelevant to the action. This is part of her story and her character development. Everything above comes through her particular filter. We are seeing this inter-Baratheon dispute through the eyes of a staunch Stark partisan with differing ideas about “the good of the realm.” As she herself says at the start of the chapter,

“Robb sent me south to speak for him, and speak for him I shall.”

As per usual, Catelyn’s love for her family is more than a little apparent. When she arrives at the meeting place, the second thing she wonders (after “how long was this grove here before it became an ex-grove?”) is whether Ned stayed here when he was marching to Storm’s End. She defends Ned to Stannis when Stannis is griping about Robert’s decisions. When reminded that Robb would likely not want Catelyn to put herself in danger, Catelyn snaps back that she doesn’t want to be here, she wants to be with her dying father and her sons in Winterfell, but while she’s here she’s going to do the best she can for Robb. She tells Stannis outright that she can pass on the justice promised her for Ned’s murder (heads, mostly), if she can have her daughters back. Her eventual failure this chapter results in this thought:

It had all been for nothing. The Baratheon brothers would drown each other in blood while her son faced the Lannisters alone, and nothing she could say or do would stop it. It is past time I went back to Riverrun to close my father’s eyes, she thought. That much at least I can do.

She did this for Robb. She feels she’s failed him quite personally.

Others chorused their agreement. The king looked pleased. “We shall fight, then.” I have failed Robb as I failed Ned, Catelyn thought.

Her compassion for Brienne also shows.

Catelyn heard someone snigger behind her. She loves him, poor thing, she thought sadly. She’d play his squire just to touch him, and never care how great a fool they think her.

No judgment for Brienne’s appearance here, nor her choice of approach to Renly. Catelyn just feels sorry for Brienne.

First, though, her failure was not for lack of trying. Catelyn has a clear agenda in this chapter and acts towards it.

It would be no easy thing to forge a peace between these brothers, Catelyn knew, yet for the good of the realm, it must be tried.

That’s the third path between Team Stannis and Team Renly, here. She has a bad feeling just dealing with Stannis by himself, but as soon as Renly steps in you can pretty much see how tempted Catelyn is to start tearing her hair out.

Catelyn said, “Let us hope there will be no battle. We three share a common foe who would destroy us all.”

“This is folly,” Catelyn said sharply. “Lord Tywin sits at Harrenhal with twenty thousand swords. The remnants of the Kingslayer’s army have regrouped at the Golden Tooth, another Lannister host gathers beneath the shadow of Casterly Rock, and Cersei and her son hold King’s Landing and your precious Iron Throne. You each name yourself king, yet the kingdom bleeds, and no one lifts a sword to defend it but my son.”

“Listen to yourselves! If you were sons of mine, I would bang your heads together and lock you in a bedchamber until you remembered that you were brothers.”

Cersei Lannister is laughing herself breathless, Catelyn thought wearily.

That second quote is one of the most important in the entire book. It’s the failure of both Baratheons, who aren’t looking past their personal animosity to deal with the Lannisters. The interpersonal problems between the Baratheons are (hypothetically) solveable and avoidable, if they’d get over themselves. This fight between brothers need not aggravate a war. The conflict with the Lannisters is a different story.

This chapter also provides us with excellent examples of Catelyn’s intelligence. This is where she learns of Cersei’s incest, immediately fitting it with the known facts of Jon Arryn’s death and Lysa’s subsequent actions. She spots the logistical issues Renly inflicted upon himself within seconds. She’s got her third option ready to go. Pretty much the only thing she could have done here is exceed her mission parameters (which she’ll do next chapter) and given a concrete and immediate promise to throw in on the side of whichever Baratheon points himself at the Lannisters, and then to gang up on the remaining Baratheon. It’s doubtful whether even that would have worked; Renly’s confident he can take Robb in the field, and Stannis would be outraged that Catelyn even thought to offer Stark support to Renly. There is only so much Catelyn can do here.

Chapter Function

This chapter talks politics.

The reasoning behind the rape metaphor we see in Dany IV, ACoK is most accurately contained here, as the brothers Baratheon argue about taking from Westeros, forcing people to do things, and what they’re owed. The kingdom bleeds, and current leadership is only making things worse.

At a more abstract level, we see three theories of kings in this chapter. Stannis locates the source of the monarch’s authority in law and blood:

“I have no quarrel with Renly, should he prove dutiful. I am his elder, and his king. I want only what is mine by rights. Renly owes me loyalty and obedience. I mean to have it. From him, and from these other lords.”

Renly in military might:

“All this of snakes and incest is droll, but it changes nothing. You may well have the better claim, Stannis, but I still have the larger army.”

And Catelyn in social contract:

“My son reigns as King in the North, by the will of our lords and people.”

They can’t resolve the difficulty between themselves. Where GRRM’s sympathies lie (relatively speaking; this is still monarchy we’re talking about after all) is clear enough here and even more so later. The king protects the realm and all its people. Stannis and Renly, focused on their grudges when there’s a threat to the realm sitting on the throne itself, are not currently fit kings.

This chapter also progresses the War of Five Kings. Catelyn now knows of Cersei’s incest. It smashes all hope of an anti-Lannister coalition, and hence of moving for the Lannisters before they can get their act together. And of course it’s set-up for Renly’s death.

In terms of character arcs, Catelyn’s been marched a few hundred miles to fail in her mission. Her arc is very much based on the accumulation of misery; here she’s been ripped from her family, something she agreed to only because she might be able to help, and failed to help. Catelyn blames herself for this, and falls deeper into despair. The pit will only get deeper.

Meanwhile, Stannis sure doesn’t seem like a halfway decent monarch prospect, does he? He’s arguably at his absolute worst here, without Davos or Cressen or the realisation that he truly did love his brother to humanise him. This chapter, he’s 100% grudge. It’s a necessary step in the story that takes him up to the Wall to think of his duties.

Miscellany

Even the creation myth of Storm’s End emphasises how goddamn stubborn the residents are. Build inland? Nope. Not happening. Also interesting is that the myth refers to a sea god and a wind goddess, so it looks like a pre-Faith of the Seven story. Further note that the most heavily fortified side of Storm’s End faces the ocean…

It’s easy to forget here, especially with the “if you were my son” threat, but Catelyn and Stannis are approximately the same age.

Robar Royce pops up at the end of the chapter, interacting with Catelyn briefly. Mostly so we’ll have a sense of him when he dies.

Clothing Porn

Stannis wears a crown of red gold, a belt studded with garnets and yellow topaz, and his sword has a big old ruby in its hilt. Other than that…he’s wearing a plain studded leather jerkin over a plain quilted doublet, with plain brown roughspun breeches and plain worn boots. This is excellent clothing detail - the gold and jewels show that he is a wealthy man, their fiery tones match his new professed faith, the plainness of the rest of his clothing shows a man who’s more concerned with functionality than style, but the clash between the jewellery and the plain clothes also shows you how Stannis has next to no idea about how to dress like a king and can’t do the performance that Renly manages so effortlessly.

Speaking of, Renly shows up to the parley in a green velvet doublet, a satin cloak trimmed with vair, a crown of golden roses with a jade stag’s head, a belt studded with black diamonds, and a chain of gold and emeralds. Renly’s possibly a bit too reliant on the Tyrells.

Food Porn

None.

Next Three Chapters

The Drowned Man, AFFC - Jon IV, ADWD - Cersei II, AFFC

Don’t be shocked if next week’s post is delayed; I have a pretty full-on week. As always, if there’s a particular chapter you want analysed, send me an ask and I’ll add it to the list!