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The title of this page is conjecture based on information revealed in the A Song of Ice and Fire novels or related material and may be subject to change.
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- "In the name of King Joffrey, drop your weapons."
- ―Amory Lorch
The fight at the holdfast[b] is a minor engagement in the War of the Five Kings. It is an attack against the Night's Watch by forces of House Lannister under the command of Ser Amory Lorch.
History[]
Prelude[]
Yoren, a recruiter of the Night's Watch, is present at the Execution of Eddard Stark. Knowing the danger she would be in, he successfully smuggles Eddard's daughter, Arya Stark, out of King's Landing.[1] Yoren cuts her hair short in order for her to pose as a young boy and leaves the city with the recruits he has acquired from King's Landing, many of them criminals taken from dungeons. Among those recruits is Gendry, Hot Pie, and Lommy. Gendry is a blacksmith apprentice, who is unaware that he is one of Robert Baratheon's bastards.[2]
Later, King Joffrey Baratheon orders the City Watch to locate and murder all of Robert's bastard children. Janos Slynt, Lord Commander of the City Watch, carries out the orders. They interrogate Tobho Mott for the location of Gendry. Tobho informs them that Gendry went North as a recruit of the Night's Watch.[3] Janos sends two Gold Cloaks after Gendry, but they are scared off by Yoren and his recruits. However, they vow to return with more men and promise to kill Yoren as well as Gendry.[4]
Battle[]
While resting in a holdfast, Yoren and his recruits are awakened by the sound of a horn blast. They are encountered by Ser Amory Lorch and a force of Lannister men-at-arms. Lorch points out the Gold Cloaks with him and says that they have come for Gendry. Lorch orders Yoren and the recruits to drop their weapons. Yoren remains defiant, and Lorch orders him shot. Yoren takes a quarrel to the shoulder but kills the crossbowman before he can reload. Yoren fights alone, killing several men before he is overwhelmed. Lorch himself kills Yoren by driving his sword through the back of his neck.
Gendry, along with other recruits, join the fight against the Lannister men. A few of the recruits are killed and the rest are subdued and taken prisoner. Gendry and Hot Pie are among the prisoners. Arya is also captured by Polliver after releasing a group of prisoners that Yoren recruited from King's Landing. Lommy is injured by a crossbow bolt and cannot walk, so he tells Polliver that he must be carried. Instead, Polliver stabs Lommy through the throat with Arya's sword, Needle.
Amory Lorch demands the prisoners to give up Gendry or he will start taking eyeballs. Arya tricks Lorch into believing that Gendry is already dead by stating that the boy Polliver just killed, Lommy, was Gendry. They believe the lie because Lommy was carrying Gendry's bull head helmet.
Aftermath[]
Believing that their objective was accomplished, Amory Lorch orders the survivors to be taken to Harrenhal.[5]
In the books[]
The encounter, as portrayed in the show, is based on two separate encounters from the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, both involve Arya and her companions and Lannister men-at-arms.
The first encounter takes place at an unidentified town on the southern shore of the Gods Eye. Yoren's caravan arrives there and finds shelter in a stone holdfast. Ser Amory Lorch arrives there, not seeking for Gendry, but for Beric Dondarrion and the Brotherhood Without Banners. He demands that the recruits let them enter, although Yoren repeatedly tells him they belong to the Night's Watch and do not take part in the inner conflicts of Westeros.
Since Yoren refuses to open the gates, Lorch and his Lannister men attack the holdfast. The attackers gain the upper hand and set the holdfast on fire, prompting Yoren to have "Arry" and the other young recruits (Hot Pie, Lommy, Gendry, and a little girl nicknamed "Weasel") escape. Arya also helps Jaqen H'ghar, Rorge and Biter to escape. Lommy is injured during the raid. The next evening, Arya and Gendry return to the holdfast to find Yoren has been killed (by an axe, not a sword) and bury him.
Three adults from the recruits (Kurz, Tarber and Cutjack) escape too. For several days, the eight survivors travel together. Kurz dies of an injury that he sustained during the raid. Tarber and Cutjack take his possessions and abandon the kids. Lommy's injury worsens, so Arya and Gendry have to carry him.
The second encounter takes place at a fishing village. Arya and Gendry go there in search for food, unaware that the Mountain and his men are there. Gendry is captured by several spearmen. Arya and Hot Pie return to the village at night in attempt to rescue Gendry, but they are also caught. Lommy is killed by Raff the Sweetling, one of Gregor's men. Only Weasel gets away, and her fate is unknown.
The TV show condenses the two events into one.
References[]
Notes[]
- ↑ In "Winter Is Coming," which takes place in 298 AC, Sansa Stark tells Cersei Lannister that she is 13 years old and Bran Stark tells Jaime Lannister that he is 10 years old. Arya Stark was born between Sansa and Bran, making her either 11 or 12 in Season 1. The rest of the Stark children have been aged up by 2 years from their book ages, so it can be assumed that she is 11 in Season 1. Arya is 18 in Season 8 according to HBO, which means at least 7 years occur in the span of the series; therefore, each season of Game of Thrones must roughly correspond to a year in-universe, placing the events of Season 2 in 299 AC.
- ↑ Conjecture based on information from A Song of Ice and Fire; may be subject to change.
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