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| “ | I hate this lot worse. Ser Amory was fighting for his lord, but the Mummers are sellswords and turncloaks. Half of them can't even speak the Common Tongue. Septon Utt likes little boys, Qyburn does black magic, and your friend Biter eats people. | „ |
| ~ Gendry, to Arya Stark |
| “ | Timeon: You and your father lost too many battles. We had to trade our lion pelts for wolfskins. Urswyck: What Timeon means to say is that the Brave Companions are no longer in the hire of House Lannister. We now serve Lord Bolton, and the King in the North. |
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| ~ Timeon and Urswyck to Jaime Lannister, when the latter assumed he was about to be freed from Brienne. |
The Brave Companions, also known as the Bloody Mummers, are some of the secondary antagonists in the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series.
They are an infamous and ill-omened sellsword company made up of many of the worst and most dangerous criminals and outcasts from many nations in the continents of the Known world. The band is often called the "Bloody Mummers" by the Westerosi for its members' brutality and their outlandish appearances, though the Brave Companions took the name as a slight.
Their last leader was Vargo Hoat, a man from the Free City of Qohor who has a reputation for cutting off the hands and feet of his prisoners, which is what led the Brave Companions to be called the Footmen. Because their standard is a black goat with blood-red horns, which symbolized the Black Goat of Qohor, a god of Qohor, which is also what caused the band to be called the Toes of the Goat. During the War of the Five Kings, the Brave Companions dissolved into smaller groups in the year 299 AC, continuing to ravage and raid the Riverlands. Surviving members of the company serve as the main antagonists of Brienne Tarth's storyline in A Feast for Crows.
The Mummers are cut from the TV series Game of Thrones, with the exception of Qyburn, Rorge, and Biter, and their role in the third season was given to a vicious group of Bolton soldiers led by Locke.
Biography[]
According to semi-canon sources, the Brave Companions are not as old as other mercenary companies and were established before Vargo Hoat became their leader. Their numbers consist of the scum of the west (the Free Cities and Westeros) and a few from the east and the south (the rest of Essos, the Summer Isles and Sothoryos). Their previous leader was likely not a Qohorik, and their next might possibly be a Lyseni, a Dornishmen, or even an Ibbenese. Many of them speak foreign tongue and they ride zorses, striped black-and-white equines from Essos. The many criminal foreigners of the company also include black people from the Summer Isles and Sothoryos, while it's not mentioned if there's also someone from the far east of Essos, like people from the empire of Yi Ti.
The Brave Companions have an ill reputation. Most of its members are violent criminals and outcasts who are some of the most depraved and sadistic in the world. These ranks include murderers, rapists, pedophiles, cannibals, and the criminally insane. The Brave Companions seem to have no sense of loyalty, having no problem breaking contracts if it means they have something to gain.
A Game of Thrones[]
At the beginning of the War of the Five Kings, the Brave Companions came to Westeros, where they were employed by Lord Tywin Lannister. After the Battle of the Whispering Wood and the execution of Eddard Stark, the Brave Companions are let loose to ravage and terrorize the Riverlands in an attempt to draw out and capture Robb Stark, the King in the North, so that he can be traded with Ser Jaime Lannister, who has been captured by Robb Stark at the Whispering Wood. Vargo and the other reaver captains, which are Lannister bannermen Ser Gregor Clegane and Ser Amory Lorch, each led a cavalry of 300 horses, with maybe also other freeriders.
The Brave Companions cause a massive amount of terror and destruction in the riverlands, which angers Ser Edmure Tully, who wishes to protect his people, and he orders the riverlords to defend their seats and towns. During the war, the Riverlands became the least safe region in the realm because of the restless rapes, murders, burning of towns, villages, and septs, and the fighting and battles it had seen, which included conflicts with the Lannisters, the Northmen, the Mountain's Men, and the Brave Companions.
A Clash of Kings[]
The Brave Companions were reported to have killed Lord Beric Dondarrion, the leader of the Brotherhood without Banners. At Harrenhal, Arya Stark witnessed their arrival and she wonders on how many monsters Lord Tywin does have. The Brave Companions were housed in the Window's Tower, one of the castle's five towers. There is tension between the Lannister forces and Vargo's men, leading to occasional violence. One such incidence starts with an archer from Lord Lewys Lydden's men taunting some Brave Companions over their failure to capture the brotherhood without banners and their leader, Beric Dondarrion, leading to the death of Ser Harys Swyft's squire. After Tywin has the archer and two Brave Companions hanged over the incident, Vargo and Harys complete their reconciliation with a kiss.
When Tywin leaves Harrenhal, the Brave Companions were ordered to fortify the castle and are joined by Rorge, Biter, and Jaqen H'ghar along the way. Their diverse ranks are said to include copper men with bells in their braids; lancers astride black-and-white zorses; bowmen with powdered cheeks; squat hairy men with shaggy shields; brown-skinned men in feathered cloaks; swordsmen with fantastic forked beards dyed green, purple, and silver; spearmen with colored scars that covered their cheeks; and many more distinct members, such as Shagwell the Fool, Septon Utt, Qyburn, and Urswyck the Faithful.
Ser Amory Lorch, the castellan of Harrenhal, and Vargo Hoat, are known to have rivalry with each other, and tension keeps growing in Harrenhal until Vargo meets Lord Roose Bolton and his army of Northmen at the Trident. There, Vargo and Lord Bolton secretly reach a deal: The Brave Companions arrange for Harrenhal to fall into the hands of the northmen, in exchange for which Vargo is promised the title of Lord of Harrenhal once Roose and his men leave the castle. As a result of the agreement, together with some plunder that includes a huge caged bear, Vargo, who has now betrayed the Lannisters, brings a group of northern knights to Harrenhal, led by Lord Robett Glover and Ser Aenys Frey. He claims they are captives the Brave Companions took when they repelled an attempt by Lord Bolton's forces to cross the Trident. As part of the feint, the northerners are chained, in ragged clothes, and have many fake injuries. Despite his displeasure with Vargo's assumed big catch, Amory falls for the trick and orders that the captives be brought to a dungeon, ignoring a protest by Robett that they have been promised honorable treatment by Hoat.
In what is to be called the Fall of Harrenhal, Jaqen H'ghar, Rorge, and Biter help Arya Stark in freeing the northern prisoners; they take soup from the kitchens and instigate a riot by throwing it against their Lannister captors before killing them. Lord Glover is surprised by their help and leads the northmen in the fight against the Lannisters. With the northmen free, the Brave Companions help slaughter the Lannister garrison and open the castle's gates to Roose Bolton a day after the Sack of Harrenhal. Vargo and Lord Bolton watch on as the Brave Companions parade a naked Ser Amory through the yard before throwing him into the bear pit, where he's killed by Vargo's bear. For his service to the North Vargo, he was appointed Lord of Harrenhal, and Roose Bolton tasks the Brave Companions with rooting out Lannister forces in the surrounding countryside.
Vargo Hoat divides his men into four bands, giving the smaller ones to his trusted companions and lieutenants, Utt and Urswyck, while he leads the largest one himself. He uses his past affiliation with Lord Tywin to fool Lannister garrisons that are unaware of their betrayal before seizing them and returning with bags of coin as well as baskets of heads. At Harrenhal, the servants are unhappy with Roose's ruling of the castle. Steelshanks Walton and the Mummers put many servants of House Whent to the swords, while Tywin had spared their lives. Qyburn takes on the duty of the dead maester, who was killed for trying to send ravens to the Lannisters. Gendry, upset about the death of Lucan, his master smith, blames Arya for those deaths during the Weasel soup plot. Despite the fact that Harrenhal now belongs to King Robb Stark, Arya realizes she's not safe there, as she's terrified by the Brave Companions, especially Rorge, who keeps staring at her and is eager to rape her as soon as Roose Bolton leaves the castle, even though he had helped her. Robett Glover left the place with most of the northern force to attack Duskendale before she could reveal her true identity to him. Only the Freys remain, as they were infuriated by Robb's marriage to Lady Jeyne Westerling. The Freys know that Robb is losing the war and tries to find a way out from his side without looking traitorous.
A Storm of Swords[]
Several of Vargo Hoat's outlaw bands run into trouble during their raids; Utt's camp was attacked by a pack of wild wolves, who killed two of their horses. A smaller group of Brave Companions, who are hunting Arya, Gendry, and Hot Pie, the three having fled from Harrenhal, falls prey to the same wolf pack led by Arya's now-monstrous direwolf Nymeria, who kills Iggo, an Ibbenese axeman, a Dornish spearmen, and a Lyseni archer. The Brotherhood without Banners also keeps disturbing Roose Bolton's forces in the Riverlands, with the Bloody Mummers and the Boltons being the most cruel out of those who fight for Robb Stark. Lord Petyr Baelish, who's now Lord of Harrenhal, disapproves of the presence of Roose Bolton and the Brave Companions in his seat.
The Brave Companions kept causing destruction in the Riverlands, and Roose can barely control them. They find Ser Jaime and Brienne Tarth near the deserted and destroyed Maidenpool, which has been a victim of many atrocities, having been sacked 3 times, first by the Lannisters, then by the Northmen, and finally by outlaws, who don't seem to be the Brave Companions but just common outlaws, who also attacked Brienne of Tarth and Ser Jaime Lannister and killed Ser Cleos Frey. However, Vargo Hoat and his men are suspiciously near Maidenpool when they capture Jaime and Brienne around the time of the third attack. The cowardly and timid Lord William Mooton failed to protect the town from the men and sent his soldiers to fight in the burning town while he remained in the safety of his keep. During the 3 attacks, many smallfolk were raped, robbed, and killed, and their houses were burned down.
Maidenpool is also terrified of Nymeria and her pack, who continued to roam the woods outside the town. After the third attack, half of Maidenpool is destroyed, the rest pillaged and plundered, and the town's sacred pool is now filled with corpses. Even if they seem to be just outlaws, the fact that Urswyck, Rorge, Shagwell, and other Brave Companions arrive right after Jaime fought against the outlaws and Brienne causes suspicions that the sellswords might have been members of the Brave Companions, or at least allies to them. Jaime is outraged and displeased that the Brave Companions have betrayed the Lannisters for the Starks, and when Brienne tells Vargo that they are fighting on the same side, herself serving under House Tully, Vargo ignores her and has Rorge and Zollo beat her, so she remains quiet.
Vargo, who had realized that he had underestimated Lord Tywin Lannister, had become fearful that his new Bolton allies will betray Robb Stark for the Lannisters. In an attempt to prevent any possible alliances between Roose Bolton and Tywin, Vargo has Zollo chop off Jaime's sword hand while Urswyck and Shagwell held Jaime down, so as to drive a wedge between Tywin and Roose. Jaime and Brienne are regularly beaten bloody out of sadism, while Vargo Hoat torments Jaime by forcing him to drink horse piss to humiliate him. More than once, Brienne is almost brutally raped by Rorge, Zollo, and Shagwell, but Jaime saves her by convincing Vargo that Tarth is full of sapphires, which isn't true. Because he had saved Brienne, Jaime is beaten so savagely by Rorge in retaliation that he passes out until they reach Harrenhal, where Roose Bolton and the Freys save him from Vargo's men. Jaime is not pleased to have his wounds taken care of by Qyburn, who's another Brave Companion.
Later, Lord Beric Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr led the brotherhood without banners to a sept under the control of the Brave Companions, including a Myrman, two Ibbenese, three Volantenes, and several Dothraki. They attack the sept and hang the captured Bloody Mummers, including Septon Utt. However, they let some survivors go, hoping they would tell Lord Bolton what happened.
When Jaime and his escort are leaving Harrenhal, Jaime promises the Brave Companions that a Lannister always pays his debts. Jaime leaves Harrenhal with Qyburn and some Bolton men led by Steelshanks Walton. Vargo's ploy does not work and just as he correctly feared, Roose makes a deal with Tywin and abandons Harrenhal with his northern host, leaving the fortress for the Brave Companions. Lord Selwyn Tarth offers money to Vargo if he gives him back his prisoner, Brienne Tarth, in one piece. But Vargo never gets promises of sapphires and feels cheated by it, so he tries to rape Brienne, only for her to bite off a piece of Vargo's ear, so she's thrown into the bear pit. Jaime and Steelshanks return to Harrenhal and save Brienne before leaving Harrenhal again. By Hoat order, the Brave Companions let the Bolton party go without a fight.
As Vargo Hoat's wound becomes infected (which would drive him mad), the Lannister reprisal for his betrayal is near; As Tywin was infuriated by the Brave Companions' treachery, and was even more angrier that they had amputated Jaime's hand, he sends Ser Gregor Clegane and his men to retake Harrenhal and punish the Brave Companions after chasing Roose Bolton from the Trident. As Robb Stark, his mother Catelyn Stark, and most of the northmen were treacherously murdered at the Twins during the Red Wedding, Tywin means to pardon every riverlord who fought for Robb as well as help lords who suffered damages from his own army. Every castle will be spared except Harrenhal, as because the Brave Companions have betrayed the Lannisters, Tywin knows the realm is best rid of without them.
At Harrenhal, Urswyck, Rorge, Zollo, and many others argue that they should leave Harrenhal before it's too late, but Vargo insists that they must keep holding it, thinking he can still be lord of Harrenhal. Despite this, almost all of the Brave Companions desert him as he is slowly maddening from a fever. As a result, The Bloddy Mummers is disbanded and they dissolve into smaller groups, while Vargo Hoat remains abandoned with only a few loyal men and the surviving servants of Harrenhal. Soon the Mountain and his men arrive at the castle, meeting a very weak resistance. As Hoat had previously cut a foot from one of the cooks for unknown reasons, and this cook takes his revenge by opening the gate to Ser Gregor. The Mountain easily killed all of the few remaining Brave Companions, with few casualties from his side, and he finds Vargo Hoat inside sitting alone in fever with pus from the wound given by Brienne. Gregor retakes Harrenhal for House Lannister and puts almost every man to the sword, except those who served House Whent and weren't killed by Lord Roose, including some women like Pia and a few servants like the smith Ben. The northern captives that were defeated at the ruby ford of the Trident are back at Harrenhal as the Mountain's prisoners, including Ser Wylis Manderly. Vargo Hoat is kept alive by the Mountain, as he intends for him to die a slow, painful death at his hands. He butchers Vargo, removing his limbs one at a time and sealing the wounds with fire to stop Vargo from bleeding to death. Gregor then has the limbs cooked and forces the Goat to eat his own flesh. Gregor also has his northern captives have a taste of "roast goat".
Later, Gregor is summoned to court by the Queen Regent to ride in King's Landing for a trial by combat of the regicide of King Joffrey. He finally kills Vargo and names Polliver Castellan of Harrenhal. Later, the northern prisoners are released and allowed to return to the north.
A Feast for Crows[]
In the aftermath of the first phase of the War of the Five Kings, many Brave Companions become bandits and vagabonds. Rorge's group arrives at the town of Saltpans so they could try to find a galley or cog that would take them across the Narrow Sea. As Saltpans is not of importance and there weren't any available ships at the time, they vent their anger out by launching a brutal raid on Saltpans, with the attack being over the top, and the horrific atrocities committed include extremely violent rape and murder, mutilation, torture, cannibalism, and child abuse. Because Rorge wore the infamous helm of Sandor Clegane, these deeds are attributed to him by many Westerosi and the Hound was immediately blamed for the raid on Saltpans, inadvertently earning him the term "Mad Dog of Saltpans". Queen Regent Cersei Lannister tries to send her cousin Lord Lancel Lannister against him so as to restore order, which was refused by his father Ser Kevan, reminding her that since Sandor was her creature it's therefore her responsibility to put him down.
At the Whispers, a ruined castle in the crownlands, Brienne of Tarth meets again the former Brave Companions Timeon, Shagwell, and Pyg. Timeon tells her what happened since the last time they met and that Urswyck was heading towards Oldtown with a small band. The three Companions attack Brienne and Podrick, but are killed. Rorge and Biter are later killed in a confrontation with Brienne at the crossroads inn, with the help of Gendry and the now-corrupt Brotherhood without Banners, who are now led by the monstrous Lady Stoneheart, who is actually a revived Catelyn Stark.
As Varys had fled Westeros following Tyrion Lannister's escape Qyburn rises to the position of master of whisperers and is allowed to continue his morally arguable experiments with people Cersei wants to get rid of. He especially wants young girls for his experiments, and they all die slow and painful deaths in the black cells. Qyburn, being an amoral scholar, shows no remorse in his actions because he strongly believes in progress and even psychologically tortures Wat the Blue Bard for Cersei until his mind is so broken that he tells exactly what the queen wants to hear from him.
Four of the five known surviving members of the Brave Companions—Urswyck, Zollo, Togg Joth, and Three Toes—are currently on the run throughout Westeros.
Known members[]
Vargo Hoat[]
- Main article: Vargo Hoat
Also known as the Goat, he's the leader and commander of the Brave Companions and he hails from Qohor. Killed at Harrenhal, during the aftermath of the War of the Five Kings, by Ser Gregor Clegane during the Retaking of Harrenhal.
Vargo's TV show counterpart is Locke, a Bolton man-at-arms.
Urswyck[]
Also known as Urswyck the Faithful and Faithful Urswyck, he's Vargo Hoat's lieutenant and the second-in-command of the Bloody Mummers. He resembles a cadaver with red-rimmed eyes and dark veins showing in the pallid skin on his face and hands. He killed his own wife. He's the one who recognizes Jaime when the Mummers find him and Brienne fighting each other near Maidenpool. Jaime tries to convince him to bring him to King's Landing in return for a royal pardon, a reward, and maybe even a knighthood, but Urswyck refuses, telling Jaime that he would be a fool to trust the word of an oathbreaker. When he sees Rorge kicking Brienne, Urswyck tells him not to break any of her bones because "the horse-faced bitch" is worth her price in sapphires, as suggested to him by Jaime. Urswyck assists when Vargo has Zollo cut off Jaime's sword hand. Urswyck later hangs it on a cord around Jaime's neck. Urswyck is heading towards Oldtown with a small band, possibly to find a ship for Essos.
Utt[]
A disgraced septon of the Seven and lieutenant of the Bloody Mummers. He's a pedophile known for his preference for little boys. He rapes children before killing them, then he weeps and prays for forgiveness, and he often asks other members of Brave Companions to whip and scourge him, which they often do as they find it amusing. Septon Utt's led foraging parties in the Riverlands during the war. Later, he leads another party to a village septry, where his men rape and reave the local populace and murder several setpons. Utt and his group are defeated by the brotherhood without Banners, and he was captured by Lord Beric Dondarrion. He's given a trial, where he confesses all his crimes before being sentenced to death via hanging.
Qyburn[]
- Main article: Qyburn
A former disgraced maester of the Citadel and primary healer of the group. Qyburn sought to surpass him, though, and instead of opening the bodies of the dead to discover the secrets of the living as the citadel has done for centuries, Qyburn instead opened the bodies of the still-living to discover the secrets of death. When this was discovered, Qyburn was stripped of his position as a maester for unethical experiments he performed on living humans. He joined the Brave Companions to survive, until he left the group to go to King's Landing and find a place at court. He managed to find a place in Cersei's small council as master of whisperers, and he's allowed to conduct his experiments on people in the dungeons of the Red Keep, especially on young maids.
Shagwell[]
- Main article: Shagwell
Also known as Shagwell the Fool, he is a psychotic jester who tells cruel jokes and is said to be half-mad. He's murderous, sadistic, and likes to make dark-humored jokes and riddles out of negative events and deaths. Jaime considers him one of the three worst members of the Brave Companions. Rumors say that he once killed a man for not laughing at one of his japes. Shagwell spreads the story of the 'weasel soup' and Arya Stark's involvement in Harrenhal's takeover, which prompts Arya to consider adding him to her prayer kill list, but her fear of Shagwell negates this thought. He is the one who presents Arya to Lord Roose Bolton upon the latter's arrival at Harrenhal as the 'weasel who made the soup', and later kicks Amory Lorch into the bear pit. Shagwell, Zollo, and Rorge try to rape Brienne, but they get into an arguement over who should go first until they decide to take turns. Rorge can't wait for an excuse to mutilate Brienne and cut her nose, while Shagwell encourages her to rape her bloody, mentioning how he wanted to do anal sex with his mother. Before the rape can take place, however, Jaime stops them by yelling out "sapphires" to get Vargo Hoat's attention. After the Brave Companions have scattered, Shagwell, Timeon, and Pyg splinter off and go to Maidenpool to find passage out of Westeros, but they cannot get near a ship. Dick Crabb cons Shagwell into buying a map to the Whispers, which he says is a popular smugglers' cove. The Whispers are deserted, and the group camps in the ruins until Brienne, Dick, and Podrick Payne arrive. Shagwell jumps down from above Dick and kills him with two blows of his flail. He and Timeon then attempted to distract Brienne while they surround her. As Brienne kills Timeon and Pyg, Podrick throws stones at Shagwell until he yields and Brienne makes the jester dig a grave for Dick as payback for killing the latter. After he finished digging, he lunges at Brienne with a rock, but she stabs him to death with a dagger.
Zollo[]
- Main article: Zollo
Also known as Zollo the Fat, he is a Dothraki member of the Brave Companions. Jaime considers him to be one of the three worst members. When Jaime is captured near Maidenpool, Vargo wants to send a message to Tywin and has Zollo cut off Jaime's sword hand. Later, Zollo, Shagwell, and Rorge argue over who will rape Brienne first, but Jaime thwarts their attempt. Later, after Vargo Hoat lost his authority over the Brave Companions, Zollo leaves Harrenhal with other former Bloody Mummers. While he is still at large, his current whereabouts are unknown.
Timeon[]
- Main article: Timeon
Also known as Timeon of Dorne, is a Dornishman. He's part of the foraging party that captured Jaime Lannister and brought him to Vargo Hoat. Later, following Hoat's death, Timeon is killed by Brienne at the Whispers.
Pyg[]
He has small eyes and wide, flat nostrils. He wields a broken sword. He joins Shagwell and Timeon following the death of Vargo Hoat. He's killed by Brienne at the Whispers.
Iggo[]
A scarred Dothraki. He leads a four-man squad of Bloody Mummers searching for the escaped prisoners Nan (Arya Stark), Gendry, and Hot Pie. While his group were killed by a pack of wolves, Iggo himself was killed by the leader of the pack, the direwolf Nymeria, who may be protecting her former owner, Arya or is just seeking to survive in the now-harsh and unforgiving war zones in the Riverlands.
Togg Joth[]
An Ibbenese from the nation of Ibben, a forested and mountainous island of the northern Essos in the polar sea north of the eastern continent, the Shivering Sea. He is currently on the run in Westeros with his whereabouts unknown.
Three Toes[]
One of the Mummers remains behind at Harrenhal after several failed foraging runs. He tries to stop Jaime when he tries to save Brienne from the bear's pit, but he's stopped by Vargo Hoat. He's currently on the run as a vagabond and fugitive after deserting Harrenhal and leaving Vargo Hoat to his fate.
Rorge[]
- Main article: Rorge
A dangerous criminal and a sadistic rapist from King's Landing. He's missing his nose. It's said that Rorge ran a dog-and-bear fighting pit in Flea Bottom. He found Biter as an orphan and raised him ferociously to fight dogs in the pit. He considered raping Arya Stark at Harrenhal, despite the fact that she had previously saved his life and had helped her in the Weasel soup Plot. He helps Jaqen H'ghar and the Brave Companions during the Fall of Harrenhal, and after that, he and Biter join with the Bloody Mummers. Initially, Arya thought Jaqen was a sorcerer who summoned Rorge and Biter from some hell, and the two were serving him. Sometime after the death of Vargo Hoat and the reading of Harrenhal, Rorge led his men during the Raid on Saltpans while assuming Sandor Clegane's alter-ego The Hound (which includes wearing his dog-shaped helm. He's later killed by Brienne of Tarth during a duel in the inn at the crossroads. After his death, the helm of Sandor Clegane is taken by Lem Lemoncloak, a member of the brotherhood without banners, who becomes the new Hound.
Biter[]
- Main article: Biter
An enormous bald man with sharp teeth, Biter, was found as an orphaned child in King's Landing by Rorge, who raised him ferociously to fight in Rorge's dog and bear fighting pit in Flea Bottom. After being captured by the Lannisters, Biter and Rorge join the Bloody Mummers. He takes part in the Raid on Saltpans, where he mutilates and kills women and little girls. After Brienne kills Rorge at the crossroads inn, Biter attacks her with his teeth, but is killed by Gendry.
Quotes[]
| “ | The Brave Companions did not fight in the Battle of the Blackwater, yet they died there all the same. | „ |
| ~ Roose Bolton to Jaime Lannister, explaining how Stannis Baratheon's defeat marked House Lannister's victory in the war, much to the likely doom of the Bloody Mummers. |
| “ | The trials went swiftly. Various of the outlaws came forward to tell of things the Brave Companions had done; towns and villages sacked, crops burned, women raped and murdered, men maimed and tortured. A few spoke of the boys that Septon Utt had carried off. | „ |
| ~ Some captured Brave Companions confess crimes before getting hanged by the Brotherhood without Banners. |
Trivia[]
- Disturbingly enough, there is a real-world organization that might have inspired the Brave Companions.
- The Dirlewanger Brigade was an SS unit used by Nazi Germany during World War II. It was made up of sadistic criminals who were not expected to survive and was created for the sole purpose of killing as many people as possible on the Eastern Front. The Brigade became infamous for its members' bloodlust and senseless brutality, and was responsible for many massacres of civilians. Their commander, Oskar Dirlewanger, is often regarded as one of the most evil and sadistic commanders in the SS.
