Before serving as the leader of the Free Folk, holding the title of "King Beyond the Wall", Mance Rayder was once a noted ranger of the Night's Watch.

Trained for battle from the age of five, the Unsullied, are said to be among the finest soldiers in the world. Daenerys buys them from the slaver Kraznys for one dragon. Once the deal is struck, she commands the Unsullied to kill their former masters and has her dragon burn Kraznys alive. She then frees the Unsullied, who follow her willingly.

Bran has the ability to psychically inhabit his direwolf Summer (and eventually other animals) which marks him as a type of skinchanger known as a warg.

Locke and his men attempt to rape Jaime's escort, Brienne, but are persuaded otherwise when Jaime promises an abundance of precious gemstones from the Sapphire Isle if they leave her "unbesmirched." Emboldened by this victory, Jaime tries to negotiate his release by reminding Locke of the wealth and power of his own father, but the plan backfires, and Locke chops off Jaime's sword hand as a permanent reminder of his displeasure.

During Robert's Rebellion, Davos aided Stannis Baratheon while he was besieged in Storm's End by smuggling onions and other foodstuffs into the castle. For this service, Stannis later bestowed Davos with knighthood and lands. Highborn members of older noble Houses disparagingly called Davos "the Onion Knight", but he embraced the title and proudly took an onion for a sigil and sewed it onto his ship's sails.

After he is imprisoned by her father, Princess Shireen visits Davos to ask if he's a traitor. When he says that he is, she insists that he is still her friend and brings him books to help pass the time. After he reveals that he cannot read, she offers to teach him.

During the War of the Five Kings, Lord Beric Dondarrion and his men form a guerrilla resistance group known as the Brotherhood Without Banners to work against Lannister interests in the Riverlands. In the war against the Lannisters, Beric is killed many times, but each time he is brought back to life by Thoros, a Red Priest of the Lord of Light.

The Unsullied officers select Grey Worm to act as their official commander. When he reports his election to Daenerys, she finds his name--given to him by the Good Masters to remind him of his lowly status--distasteful. She tells him that the Unsullied may take new names, but Grey Worm chooses to keep his. He considers it lucky since it was the name he had when Daenerys set him free.

Initially betrothed to Prince Joffrey Baratheon, the heir to the Iron Throne, Sansa travels to King's Landing in preparation for her nuptials, but becomes a hostage of House Lannister following the execution of her father on trumped-up charges of treason. She is later forced to marry Tyrion Lannister, who reassures her that they will not consummate the marriage unless she wants to, even if that means never.

The Red Wedding is a massacre that takes place during the War of the Five Kings, arranged by Lord Walder Frey as revenge against Robb Stark, ruling King in the North, for breaking the marriage pact between House Stark and House Frey.