- "Sellswords. Loyal to nothing but gold."
- ―Stannis Baratheon after the Stormcrows abandon his army
The Stormcrows[1] are a sellsword company composed of five hundred mounted soldiers.
History[]
Game of Thrones: Season 4[]
Before marching to the Wall to protect the Night's Watch,[2] Stannis Baratheon is persuaded by Davos to hire sellswords, though the king is resistant to use mercenaries, who he claims cannot be trusted —and they lack the money to hire them anyway.[3] After securing a loan from the Iron Bank of Braavos,[4] Stannis hires the Stormcrows.[1] They accompany Stannis to Castle Black, where they are part of the cavalry that charges into Mance Rayder's camp, quickly dispatching the Free Folk army.[5]
Game of Thrones: Season 5[]
During Stannis's march on Winterfell, a snowstorm stalls them, and the five hundred Stormcrows desert his army during the night. Stannis is not surprised and remarks to Davos that sellswords are only loyal to gold.[1]
In the books[]
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the Stormcrows are a mercenary company found in the Free Cities, numbering five hundred horse. Their banner displays four crows between crossed lightning bolts. They are hired by Yunkai to defend it from Daenerys along with the Second Sons. Their captains are Prendahl na Ghezn, Sallor the Bald and Daario Naharis. After the parley with Daenerys, Daario kills his co-commanders and joins Daenerys's host, taking part in Battle of Yunkai and the conquest of Meereen. In the television adaptation, their plotline is merged with that of the Second Sons.
In contrast to the Second Sons who switched sides in the fifth novel, the Stormcrows are totally loyal to Daenerys, no matter how far her position grows worse, even after her departure from Meereen. While their commander is held hostage by the Yunkai, the Stormcrows are represented at the ruling council by two seasoned sellswords, an archer named Jokin and a scarred and sour axeman known as the Widower.
Unlike in the show, the Stormcrows are not involved at all in Stannis's military campaign in the North.
At the point the novels reached, Stannis has not hired any sellsword company yet. His host is about 5,000 men, including his own knights, survivors of the Northern Houses (among them the Mormonts) and members of the Northern mountain clans; so far, he has lost only 80 men (either died or deserted).
In the sample chapter of the sixth novel, Stannis orders Ser Justin Massey to travel to Braavos and hire at least 20,000 sellswords, either of the Golden Company or any company with good reputation. It is doubtful, though, that Massey will manage to travel to Braavos and back in time before the battle of Winterfell ends.
Known members[]
- {Prendahl na Ghezn}, formerly a captain. Killed by Daario
- {Sallor the Bald}, formerly a captain. Killed by Daario
- Daario Naharis, the commander. Currently held hostage by the Yunkai'i who besiege Meereen, temporarily replaced by the Widower and Jokin
- Widower, scarred axeman, second-in-command
- Jokin, archer
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 7: "The Gift" (2015).
- ↑ Game of Thrones: Season 3, Episode 10: "Mhysa" (2013).
- ↑ Game of Thrones: Season 4, Episode 3: "Breaker of Chains" (2014).
- ↑ Game of Thrones: Season 4, Episode 6: "The Laws of Gods and Men" (2014).
- ↑ Game of Thrones: Season 4, Episode 10: "The Children" (2014).
