Sons of the Harpy

This article is about the organization, for the episode see Sons of the Harpy (episode).

The Sons of the Harpy are an underground insurgency group fighting the rule of Daenerys Targaryen over Meereen. They take their name from the harpy, the traditional heraldic symbol of the slave-masters in the Ghiscari cities of Slaver's Bay, and the Ghiscari Empire before them. They conceal their identities wearing masks that look like harpies.

History

Background

The Sons of the Harpy are formed after Daenerys Targaryen conquers Meereen as part of her campaign to break the slave trade in Slaver's Bay.

Season 5

A member of the Sons of the Harpy slits the throat of White Rat, an Unsullied, when the latter approaches a prostitute and pays to be embraced by her. The assassin, who was in league with the prostitute, leaves his mask at the brothel as a revindication of the Sons' responsibility. The murderer is later caught by Daario Naharis, who finds him hiding in a wall. Daenerys pays heed to Ser Barristan Selmy's insistence that the man should have a trial for his crimes. However, Mossador believes the man does not deserve a fair trial, which leads him to finding his prison cell and killing him. Following a coordinated attack by the Sons of the Harpy, in which Ser Barristan is murdered and Commander Grey Worm is heavily injured, Daenerys decides to make peace with the Great Masters by reopening the fighting pits and arranging her own marriage to Hizdahr zo Loraq. As expected, the Sons of the Harpy stop their attacks following the betrothal, which leads Daario to suspect Hizdahr's involvement with the group.

However, at the reopening of the fighting pits, there is a mass attack which gravely wounds Hizdahr zo Loraq as well as many Unsullied and Civilians. During the rebellion, Daenerys, Jorah, Daario, Missandei and Tyrion try to escape the assassins by crossing the fighting pit, surrounded by a small phalanx of Unsullied. In turn, the group is quickly surounded by more of the Sons, when suddenly Drogon intervenes, burning many of the them. While the remainder of the Sons retreat, Daenerys flies off on the back of the dragon, leaving her advisors and allies in the centre of the pit.

Known Members

• Son of the Harpy
• Prostitute

Known victims

• White Rat
• Grey Worm (survived)
• Barristan Selmy
• Hizdahr zo Loraq

In the books

In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the Sons of the Harpy are also a resistance movement of Ghiscari with ties to the Great Masters and the slaver families of Meereen. They target freedmen, Unsullied, and "shavepates" - Meereenese that have accepted the rule of Daenerys Targaryen and have shaved off their ostentatious Ghiscari hairdos as a sign they have abandoned the customs of the 'old' Meereen.

Their membership seems to be drawn from those who benefited from the old regime, particularly the old aristocratic families of the Great Masters, but Daenerys cannot confirm which former slave-master families are supporting the Sons of the Harpy and which ones are not. She strongly suspects the House of Pahl, among others, but the main problem is not even knowing who they are: as an insurgency, they are conducting a "shadow war" in the alleys of Meereen, ambushing Daenerys's soldiers when they are alone or in small groups, then fleeing back into the night to avoid retaliation. Whenever they kill, they leave their mark near the murder scene - a harpy drawn in the blood of their victims. Daenerys's loyalists have not managed to kill even one of them.

At first, the Sons of the Harpy have limited their attacks to unarmed freedmen, cutting them down in the streets or breaking into their homes under the cover of darkness to murder them in their beds. Later they have grown bold and moved to kill Daenerys's soldiers, starting with Stalwart Shield.

The Brazen Beasts have taken dozens of the Harpy’s Sons, and those who have survived their capture have yielded names when questioned sharply, but the identity of their leader remains unknown. 

Among the victims of the Sons of the Harpy are: 

• The Unsullied Stalwart Shield - stabbed multiple times by at least six attackers, then his throat was filled with goat genitals. 
• The Unsullied Black Fist and Cetherys - slain by crossbow bolts. 
• The Unsullied Mossador and Duran - crushed by falling stones. 
• The Unsullied Eladon Goldenhair and Loyal Spear - poisoned at a wineshop. 
• Three former slaves: moneylender, a cobbler, and a harpist named Rylona Rhee whose fingers were cut off before they killed her. 
• Three freedwomen weavers who made a beautiful tapestry for Daenerys. The Sons of the Harpy broke their loom and raped them before slitting their throats. 

Unlike in the show, the Sons of the Harpy never act in broad daylight. So far in the books, Grey Worm and Barristan Selmy have never had an encounter with them.

Although it is not proved conclusively, there are strong circumstantial evidence that indicate Hizdahr is in league with the Sons of the Harpy, maybe even their leader:

• Daenerys offers him to marry her, on condition that he puts end to the attacks of Sons of the Harpy for ninety days. By unknown methods, he manages to for twenty-six days.
• While watching the pit fighters, he offers Daenerys honeyed locusts. Later it is revealed the locusts were poisoned. Luckily, Daenerys did not eat any. Strong Belwas ate a lot and nearly died as a result.
• He acts rather meekly when provoked by the Yunkai Wise Masters and the leaders of the mercenary companies they hired.

Following Daenerys's departure, Ser Barristan Selmy is convinced of Hizdahr's guilt and has him thrown to jail. Soon afterwards, the Sons of the Harpy renew their attacks, claiming many more victims than before (twenty-nine in one night) - which strengthens the suspicion against Hizdahr. They have not only left their mark near the bodies, but also messages like "Dragons must die", "Harghaz the Hero", "Death to Daenerys".

At the point the novels reached, the Sons of the Harpy have not been stopped yet, not even slowed down.

See also

• Sons of the Harpy on A Wiki of Ice and Fire (MAJOR spoilers from the books)