Yo, moving right along. I’ll try live-blogging this one too, just like last time.
Chapter 3 – Daenerys
“Daenerys?” I’m . . . not sure how to pronounce that. “Day-nuh-ruhs?” “Den-err-uhs?” Either way, I recognize this name. I’m almost certain I’ve read it somewhere on (you guessed it) the Internet.
I was just about to write, “Do I have to call her Daenerys? Can’t I just say Dae or something?” But the books itself seems to be fed up with her name — her nickname is Dany. It sounds a little undignified, but I’ll take it.
Anyway, “Dany” is trying on fabulous gowns with her brother Viserys. (I’m gonna go out on a limb here and call him “Vissy.”) She’s thirteen-years-old and seems to be the guest of someone important named Magister Illyrio. They live in “Pentos,” which Dany assures me is a “free city,” so I’m going to predict these two are used to some kind of slave life — Dany seems pretty overwhelmed by all this jewelry and finery.
Um. Vissy is feeling up his sister’s boobs. Totally normal.
I don’t think I like Vissy.
Okay, he’s left the room. There’s no incest here, Vissy’s just a raging douchebag with dementia. He wants to pimp up his sister and pawn her off as a wife to somebody named Khal Drogo, who’s probably a total badass going by his name alone. Somehow Vissy thinks this will earn him a chance at the throne? Which throne? Is he a prince or is he just mad? Not sure about that yet.
Dany’s having some expositional flashbacks: she and her brother are “Dothraki,” who seem to be native to Westeros — the place where the last few chapters occurred. According to Vissy, they were the rightful heirs to some kind of kingship there, but were betrayed and driven out by the Lannisters and the Starks. I’m not sure where Dany and her bro are living right now, although it seems to be very, very far from Westeros.
Ah, Dany’s mother died giving birth to her, so Vissy basically hates her guts. Also, I confused some names — Dany and Vissy are Targaryens, not Dothraki. I think “Dothrak” is the country/province they’re living in right now.
Dany, Vissy and the Magister are driving to meet Khal Drogo, and the Magister is totally enabling Vissy, being a huge yes-man whenever Vissy mentions how he’s going to use the Dothraki army to take back Westeros. Dany doesn’t really seem to care — all she wants to do is settle down somewhere and live simply.
Lots of worldbuilding in this drive, but I’m having a hard time keeping it all in my brain. Maybe it will sink in later.
I was right about Khal Drogo: apparently he’s a total badass. Vissy points out how long the guy’s braid is, explaining that Dothraki cut their braids when defeated in combat. Sounds like he’s a Proud Warrior Race Guy. He’s freaking out Dany, though. She has a panic moment and tries to leave the party, but Vissy catches her and threatens her into submission. Quality sibling here, folks.
And the chapter ends just seconds before Dany meets Khal Drogo. Not gonna lie, I looked ahead at the next chapter to see whether or not it continued from Dany’s perspective, but nope. One of those books, eh? I was just getting used to this environment, too.
Summary Time: I meet Dany and her abominable brother Vissy, rightful heir to the Iron Throne of Westeros, who’s pimpin’ her out so she’ll make a good impression on Khal Drogo, the leader of a barbarian army called the Dothraki. Flashbacks and exposition blur together and confuse me.
Well, this was quite a change of scenery, and obviously a darker turn for the book. I mean, yeah, the prologue featured ghost warriors tearing a dude to pieces, but this chapter introduced the possibility that the Starks helped overthrow a native kingdom, and also showcased the least likable character I’ve yet seen. Maybe it’s because I’m the older brother to a young-teen sister, but Vissy really gets on my nerves. Crossing my fingers for his horrible and sudden demise, since at this stage in the game it looks like there’s no redeeming him.
Dany’s an okay POV — she doesn’t really have much of a character yet other than “pincushion,” but I hope she escapes this crapshoot of a life. I doubt she’ll be finding much safety with Khal Drogo, though — dude looks like trouble so far.
See you later and thanks for reading.
EDIT: See Ian’s first drawing of Dany and Vissy here.