A Game of Thrones, Chapter 13, Tyrion
Summary
The party led by Benjen Stark heads towards the Wall. Tyrion reads the book on the history of Seven Kingdoms and Targaryen conquest. Jon starts a conversation with Tyrion when they stop for the night. Tyrion is brutally honest with the kid and although it hurts him Jon starts to appreciate his way of thinking.
Quotes
No doubt the boy had made the mistake of thinking that the Night’s Watch was made up of men like his uncle. If so, Yoren and his companions were a rude awakening. Tyrion felt sorry for the boy.
Targaryen army shivered and shattered and began to run. For a few moments, the chroniclers wrote, the conquest was at an end… but only for those few moments, before Aegon Targaryen and his sisters joined the battle.
It was the only time that Vhaghar, Meraxes, and Balerion were all unleashed at once. The singers called it the Field of Fire.
Commentary
The most interesting part of this chapter for me is not the story of Jon and Tyrion, but the content of the book Imp reads. The history of Seven Kingdoms is unraveled, the story of Targaryen conquest, the dragon riders conquest.
As for Jon, we start to see that he’s forced to grow up and face the world as it is, not an idealized version he grew up in. Night’s Watch is not an elite guard protecting the realm of men. He starts to understand that it’s an exile where the rejects of humanity are sent to serve the remainder of their lives. The cruel reality hits him and Tyrion only reinforces the message. Initially Jon is angry with him, but then he starts to appreciate it.
Tags: Tyrion
