Mysaria

Mysaria
Biographical information
Born	73-82 AC (age 50-59) Yi Ti
Political information
Affiliation(s)	Black Council
Personal information
Also known as	Lady Mysaria of Dragonstone The White Worm
Culture	YiTish
Lover(s)	Daemon Targaryen (formerly)
World of Westeros
Series	House of the Dragon
Season(s)	1 · 2
Appeared in	8 episodes (see below)
First seen in	"The Heirs of the Dragon"
Portrayed by	Sonoya Mizuno

"There is no power but what the people allow you to take."

―Mysaria

Mysaria is a brothel proprietor, information broker, and former prostitute and slave. Under the alias White Worm, she leads a network of spies and informants active in King's Landing.

Biography

Background

Originally a slave from Yi Ti, Mysaria eventually found herself in Westeros, where she worked her way up the ranks in the criminal underbelly of King's Landing, to become the most trusted ally of Prince Daemon Targaryen, as well as his paramour.

House of the Dragon: Season 1

After being chastised by King Viserys and the Small Council for his extreme actions with the City Watch, Daemon goes to visit Mysaria. When his worries prevent him from completing their lovemaking, Mysaria comforts him, reminding him that Viserys can't replace him.

After the death of Queen Aemma and Prince Baelon, Mysaria congratulates Daemon on being the king's sole heir once again, and proposes a toast. She and the gold cloaks listen as Daemon makes a speech.

When Daemon is sent away from King's Landing by Viserys, Mysaria accompanies him, and goes for a ride on Caraxes with him. She joins Daemon on Dragonstone when he occupies it.

After Daemon steals a dragon egg, Mysaria is present at the confrontation between him and Otto Hightower. Upon learning that Daemon had falsely announced, without her knowledge, that they were to be wed, and that she was pregnant, Mysaria storms off and returns to the castle. When Daemon returns, she confronts him on his lies, reminding him that he swore to protect her, and that by using her as a pawn in his games, he is putting her in danger. She tells him that she came to him not out of a desire for gold, power, or station, but simply to be liberated from fear, and then she leaves.

In the following years, Mysaria picks up a new profession, as she builds up a spy network on the streets of King's Landing, donning the alias "The White Worm." One night, one of her spies sees Prince Daemon and Princess Rhaenyra in a pleasure den together, and informs her. She finds Daemon unconscious and hungover, and watches over him until he wakes, while paying the spy for reporting the information to Otto Hightower. When Daemon wakes, she gives him something to help with his greensickness, but he refuses help from "a common whore." Satisfied that Daemon is safe, Mysaria leaves him.

Years later, following King Viserys's last supper with the members of both factions of House Targaryen, Talya delivers information about the royal family to Mysaria.

Understanding that King Viserys is soon to perish, Mysaria arranges to kidnap Prince Aegon, taking advantage of his inebriated state, and has him hidden beneath an altar in the Grand Sept. She sends her collaborator Jayne to offer the location of the missing prince to Arryk and Erryk Cargyll and demand a meeting with the Hand of the King. Ser Otto acquiesces and the two meet outside a pot-shop. Mysaria takes the gold brought by Ser Otto and then demands that the crown to bring down the establishments in Flea Bottom that exploit poor children, forcing them into fight rings or prostitution. She also throws a not-so-subtle barb at Otto; she knows it's his manipulations that are pushing Aegon towards the throne, that she could easily have had him killed, and reminds Otto that the common people are not to be discounted as a powerful force. While Otto seems to take these words to heart, Mysaria's manse is later set on fire by an agent of the Lord Confessor, Larys Strong, with the approval of Queen Alicent Hightower.

House of the Dragon: Season 2

Mysaria survives the attempt on her life and flees King's Landing, stowing away on a ship out of the capital. Unfortunately, her ship is intercepted and boarded by vessels from the Velaryon fleet blockading the Gullet and Mysaria is found by Ser Erryk Cargyll of Rhaenyra's Queensguard, who takes her as a prisoner back to Dragonstone.

On Dragonstone, Daemon personally interrogates Mysaria, accusing her of supporting traitors and demanding to know how long she has been selling secrets to Otto. Mysaria blandly replies she served Otto as long as he had the coin to pay for her information, prompting a furious Daemon to strike the table, storm to his feet and accuse Mysaria of putting Aegon on the Iron Throne. Mysaria defends herself by pointing out the Hightowers were the ones responsible and Aegon would have gone slinking back to the Red Keep sooner or later; she merely profited from the former and expedited the latter. Daemon snaps that her actions aided in the usurping of Rhaenyra's throne and Lucerys's murder; Mysaria retorts Daemon is only lashing out at her because the enemies he wants to hurt are out of reach. Daemon demands to know what else Mysaria knows of Otto's plans; when she admits she knows nothing, as her dealings with Otto were purely a business arrangement, Daemon orders her imprisoned and treated befitting a traitor to the Crown. Ser Erryk tries to speak up in Mysaria's defense and corroborate her testimony, but Daemon only turns his anger on the knight.

Sometime afterwards, Daemon (acting on Rhaenyra's command that Aemond Targaryen be assassinated in retaliation for Lucerys's murder) goes to Mysaria's cell and asks what spies she still has in the Red Keep. Mysaria is initially reluctant to cooperate, but when Daemon offers her freedom in return for her assistance, Mysaria provides him the name of one of her agents in King's Landing.

Personality

Mysaria is strong-willed and cunning. She is against the abuse of children in Flea Bottom.

Quotes

Spoken by Mysaria

"I have been sold as property more times than I care to count, beginning in a homeland I can no longer recall. Most of my years have been spent living in terror."

―Mysaria to Daemon Targaryen

Mysaria: "I didn't come into your service wanting gold. Or power. Or station. I came to you to be liberated."

Daemon: "Liberated. From what?"

Mysaria: "Fear."

— Mysaria and Daemon Targaryen

Spoken about Mysaria

"Forgive me, my prince, but the lady speaks the truth. She was no agent of the Hightowers."

―Erryk Cargyll tries to defend Mysaria to Daemon

Behind the scenes

Mysaria was revealed to be a recurring character in House of the Dragon on December 8, 2020. On February 11, 2021, HBO announced that Sonoya Mizuno had been cast in the role for the series. Her character description for Season 1 reads as follows:

"[Mysaria] came to Westeros with nothing, sold more times than she can recall. She could have wilted... but instead she rose to become the most trusted -- and most unlikely -- ally of Prince Daemon Targaryen, the heir to the throne."

Her character description for Season 2 reads as follows:

"Known as “the White Worm,” she was once the proprietor of a brothel and the paramour of Prince Daemon Targaryen, and more recently a mistreated informant to Otto Hightower."

In the books

In The World of Ice & Fire and Fire & Blood, Mysaria is a dancer from Lys. Prince Daemon met her in a brothel at King's Landing, and soon she became his lover and collaborator. She was lithe and lissome in her youth, but age thickened her body. She is described as an albino, hence (among other reasons) her derogatory nickname Misery, the White Worm.

After King Viserys declared Rhaenyra as his rightful heir, the furious Daemon left for Dragonstone and took Mysaria with him. They remained there for six months, during which time Mysaria became pregnant; when Daemon learned of her pregnancy, he gave her a dragon egg, and by that infuriated Viserys. Viserys commanded him to return the egg, send his whore away, and return to his lawful wife, or else be attainted as a traitor. Daemon reluctantly obeyed.

Mysaria was sent (eggless) back to Lys, and miscarried her child during a storm on the narrow sea. When Daemon heard about that, he spoke no syllable of grief, but his heart hardened against his brother.

The TV version in House of the Dragon changed this to make her Asian in appearance - apparently a slave passed along the shipping lanes from Yi Ti or Leng in the Further East - or perhaps the descendant of slaves from the Further East. TV-Mysaria says she simply doesn't remember her original homeland, and thus may have been born into slavery.

Appearances

• The Dance of Dragons (mentioned)
• – "The Heirs of the Dragon"
• – "The Rogue Prince"
• – "King of the Narrow Sea"
• – "We Light the Way" (mentioned)
• – "The Lord of the Tides"
• – "The Green Council"
• – "A Son for a Son"
• – "Rhaenyra the Cruel"
• – "The Burning Mill"

External links

• Mysaria on A Wiki of Ice and Fire (potential spoilers for House of the Dragon)
• Mysaria on The Official Guide