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The Second Sons are supporting characters in the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series and its television adaptation Game of Thrones. It is a sellsword/free company that has been operating in Essos for centuries and is one of the oldest sellsword companies in the continent. Their signature banner is a broken sword. However in the show, while it stays the same, it includes a dark red and dark yellow background.
Members of the Second Sons are known for being the second sons of various lords and merchants, who joined the ranks of the sellsword company simply for wealth and fame. However, it not only includes Essosi members but also Westerosi, usually landless lords, knights, and adventurers, with some of them having well-known and notorious reputations, such as Harwyn Hoare, Prince Aerion Targaryen, Prince Oberyn Martell and Ser Aegor Rivers.
As of the present they were led by the Braavosi mercenary Mero, their original leader and commander. While under his vicious leadership, the Second Sons had fallen into disrepute as a result of Mero's reputation of pursuing contracts that should not be touched by anyone, causing the sellsword company to develop a dark and ill-omened reputation, nearly as bad as the Brave Companions, to the point where no one in the Free Cities would hire them. This is the reason why they had to look for work in another region and ended up in Slaver's Bay, eventually being employed by the Slaver City of Yunkai.
After Mero fled during the Battle near Yunkai, the Second Sons chose their captain, Brown Ben Plumm, as their new commander, and they pledged their allegiance to House Targaryen and its current but disputed head, Daenerys Targaryen, now Queen of Meereen, but later betrayed her to rejoin with Yunkai, after she refused to use her dragons against the Yunkish forces (as she is secretly losing control of them). However, during the Second Siege of Meereen, it was recently revealed that the Second Sons' betrayal was actually a ruse, which Daenerys is currently unaware of, due to her disappearance in the Dothraki Sea.
Organization[]
While the Second Sons are not as equipped as the Golden Company, one of the finest sellsword companies in Essos, they would set up a circle of ragged tents along with a cook tent during campaigns. The tent of Ben Plumm has painted canvas walls that has long been faded for years by sun and rain and a floor covered with threadbare carpets in half a dozen dashing colors.
The Second Sons are known to have a leather-bound book that contains the names of every man who has served with the sellsword company. The manner of their deaths are also included. While it is traditional for the Second Sons to sign their names in red ink, there was a time when new members would write in their own blood, though this has since faded as blood makes poor ink.
History[]
Due to being one of the oldest sellsword companies in Essos, the Second Sons dates back to the Century of Blood and was founded by twoscore younger sons who lacked prospects, despite being of the nobility.
During the Century of Blood, because of the advancing of the once-invincible Dothraki, who would savagely raid and destroy any civilizations in their path, the Free City of Qohor hired the Second Sons alongside the Bright Banners to assist the Qohorik defenses in countering the Dothraki.
Unfortunately, despite Qohor's defenses being enhanced, this didn't stop the Dothraki, however, who easily defeated the Qohorik horse while the Second Sons and Bright Banners fled. Fortunately, the Dothraki and their leader, Khal Temmo were defeated for the first time by formidable host of 3,000 Unsullied, whom Qohor had purchased from Astapor.
Gallery[]
.webp "Harwyn Hoare (A Song of Ice and Fire).webp (319 KB)")
Trivia[]
- In the television series Game of Thrones, Prendahl na Ghezn and Daario Naharis respectively served as captain and lieutenant for Mero in the Second Sons, before Daario killed both Mero and Prendahl and took over command of the company. This was an adaptational change, as in the novels neither Prendahl nor Daario serve in the Second Sons, but instead are both joint captains of the Stormcrows, along with the Qartheen Sallor the Bald. It is Prendahl and Sallor who are killed by Daario, not Mero, who in the books flees during the Battle near Yunkai, shaves his beard and joins Daenerys' host of freedmen and refugees to Meereen. Mero is replaced by Ben Plumm and is later defeated by Ser Barristan Selmy in a fight, before being ripped apart by an angry mob of freedmen for trying to kill Daenerys during the Siege of Meereen.
