Changes: Unsullied

Latest revision as of 03:36, 18 March 2024

"The Unsullied are not men. Death means nothing to them."

―Missandei translates Kraznys mo Nakloz for Daenerys Targaryen^[src]

The Unsullied^[1]^[a] are elite warrior-eunuchs bred and trained in Astapor, one of the three major cities of Slaver's Bay. They are slave-soldiers famed for their skills and discipline in battle. The Good Masters of Astapor often sell them to the Free Cities, such as Qohor.

Unsullied battle tactics are based on the legions of the old Ghiscari Empire, with large groups of them fighting in lock-step phalanxes using spear and shield, though they are also trained to use shortswords for close-quarters combat. Slave-eunuchs trained to fight from birth, the Unsullied are renowned for their utter discipline on the battlefield, both in their usage of incredibly coordinated large unit phalanx formations, and because they will never break in the face of overwhelming odds, even to the point of death.

Unsullied training begins when the boys are five years old: some are selected to be Unsullied as infants and castrated then, though any slave boy up to the age of five may be later selected to be made into an Unsullied, and then castrated. For over a decade until they are full-grown, they train from dawn to dusk until they have mastered the shortsword, shield, and three lengths of spear, as well as their training to fight together as organized phalanxes. The training regimen is utterly brutal, and because of this, only one out of every four boys survives until the end. To complete his training, each Unsullied is sent to Astapor's slave market, where he must purchase an infant, kill it, and compensate the child's owner before returning to the barracks.

Because they are eunuchs, the Unsullied will not succumb to bloodthirsty or sexual urges in the midst of battle; their actions will only go as far as what they have been ordered to do, and nothing more. The Unsullied also seem resistant and even immune to pain.^[2] However, Unsullied do possess emotions and can show anger.^[3]

History

Four hundred years ago, 3,000 Unsullied saved the Free City of Qohor from destruction at the hands of Khal Temmo and his khalasar of 20,000 riders. Before the Unsullied arrived there from their long march, Temmo and his Dothraki massacred the Qohorik city guard and cavalry, while their two mercenary companies, one of them the Second Sons, broke their contract and fled. The Unsullied, however, slipped past the Dothraki while they feasted and were placed between the horde and the city. As the Dothraki have always held infantry in contempt, fit only to be ridden down, they charged instead of flanking them. Eighteen times the horselords charged and eighteen times the Unsullied locked their shields and held the line. By the end the battle only 600 Unsullied remained, but 12,000 Dothraki lay dead, including Temmo and his sons. The new Khal led the survivors past the city gates, one by one throwing their cut braids before the feet of the Unsullied. Since that day the Unsullied are employed both by cities and the rich of Essos.

Game of Thrones: Season 1

Magister Illyrio Mopatis of Pentos keeps Unsullied as household guards at his manse, despite slavery being illegal in Pentos. A few are also present at the wedding of Khal Drogo and Daenerys Targaryen.^[4]

Game of Thrones: Season 3

Daenerys Targaryen travels from Qarth to Astapor to buy Unsullied. She is shown a group of them by Kraznys mo Nakloz, one of the Good Masters.^[2]

Daenerys offers one of her dragons in exchange for 8,000 Unsullied and the boys still in training (about 5,000). The offer is accepted.^[5]

Daenerys meets with the Good Masters in a large plaza holding the entire force of Unsullied. She delivers Drogon and is given a scourge that symbolizes ownership of the Unsullied. Now their master, she orders them to kill all the Good Masters, soldiers, and slave overseers, spare the children, and free any slaves they find. After the sacking of the city is complete, she grants them their freedom and asks if they will fight for her as free men. After a few moments, they unanimously acclaim Daenerys as their leader and join her on her march.^[6]

As the march of Daenerys' host continues, the Unsullied at Daenerys' request choose their officers, as well as their overall commander. They choose Grey Worm.^[7] Later, they assume formation (without being asked to do so) in order to intimidate the ambassador from Yunkai.^[8] Grey Worm later leads the infiltration team into Yunkai itself; followed by a small group of his men, they rapidly overwhelm the city.^[9] When the freed slaves pour out of the city and approach Daenerys, the Unsullied assume defensive positions, but she orders them to stand down and goes out among the people.^[10]

Game of Thrones: Season 4

The Unsullied Army marches to Meereen under the command of Queen Daenerys Targaryen. Their commander Grey Worm is caught gambling with Daario Naharis by Daenerys. As punishment, the honor of riding with Dany goes to Jorah Mormont and Barristan Selmy, who did not keep her waiting. The soldiers later help her to bury the bodies of 163 crucified children.^[11] The Unsullied surround Meereen's walls. They are present when Daario dispatches the city's champion. The Unsullied and the other freed slaves listen when Dany gives a speech denouncing slavery. Under her orders, they catapult broken chains across Meereen's walls.^[12]

Later, Grey Worm and several Unsullied infiltrate Meereen disguised as slaves and convince the slaves to rebel against their "Great Masters". After seizing the city, the Unsullied carry out Dany's orders to crucify 163 of the city's Great Masters for the 163 slave children she found crucified on the way to Meereen. ^[13] Grey Worm and the other Unsullied serve as Dany's guards at the Great Pyramid of Meereen.^[14] Grey Worm and other Unsullied soldiers swim in the sea outside Meereen. During that time, Grey Worm begins to develop feelings for Missandei. Barristan later watches the Unsullied taking down the crucified bodies of the Great Masters when he receives a letter from a little bird incriminating Jorah. Later, Grey Worm and several Unsullied are present when Dany exiles Jorah for being a secret spy for King Robert Baratheon.^[15]

After having an audience with an elderly slave named Fennesz and hearing about the lawlessness at the refugee centres, Dany agrees to send her Unsullied to restore order.^[16]

Game of Thrones: Season 5

As a symbolic gesture of a new era, the Unsullied pulled down the large golden harpy at the top of the Great Pyramid. One of the Unsullied, named White Rat, enters a brothel and is entertained by a prostitute. He is then murdered by a member of the Sons of the Harpy, an insurgent organization opposed to Daenerys' rule and dedicated to restoring the old ways. In response, Dany orders Grey Worm to hunt down the culprits and that White Rat be buried in the Temple of the Graces to send a message to Meereen.^[17]

Together, Grey Worm and Daario raid the house of a member of the Harpies and discover him behind a false wall. Daenerys intends to put the Harpy on trial but a former Meereenese slave named Mossador murders him. To show that she is impartial and fair, Dany executes Mossador. This sparks much outrage among the former slave population and they haggle with both their former masters and the Unsullied guarding Dany.^[18]

After ambushing several members of the Second Sons with help of the same prostitute, the Sons of the Harpy lure Grey Worm and his Unsullied patrol into the catacombs. There, they are ambushed and many of the Unsullied are killed. Grey Worm is saved by the intervention of Barristan Selmy, who is killed by the Harpies despite killing all the remaining insurgents.^[19] Missandei tends to the wounded Grey Worm while other Unsullied round up the Grand Masters and bring them to Dany, who forces their cooperation. As a result, Dany agrees to marry Hizdahr zo Loraq in order to forge stronger ties with Meereen.^[20]

At the urging of Hizdahr, Dany agrees to reopen the fighting pits in order to appease the Meereenese. Several Unsullied accompanied her to a fighting match where the exiled Jorah defeats the other combatants. Dany is furious at encountering Jorah and orders the Unsullied to take him away. Before the Unsullied can comply, the exiled Tyrion Lannister arrives and announces himself as Jorah's "gift."^[21] Unsullied guards are present in Dany's throne room when she holds an audience with Jorah and Tyrion. Unable to forgive Jorah, she exiles him but allows Tyrion to remain as her advisor.^[22]

Unsullied guards are present at the gladiatorial match at the reopened the Great Pit of Daznak. Many Unsullied are killed when the Sons of the Harpy launch an attack on the arena. However, the Unsullied fight off their attackers and protect Daenerys with the help of Jorah and Daario. In the end, the Harpies force the Unsullied and their Queen to the centre of the arena. During the fight, the Unsullied kill many of the Harpies. Shortly later, the dragon Drogon arrives and Dany flees the city on his back.^[23]

Having recovered from injuries, Grey Worm agrees to take command of the Unsullied and help Tyrion keep order in the city. Meanwhile, Jorah and Daario embark on a mission to rescue Danenerys and bring her back to Meereen.^[24]

Game of Thrones: Season 6

Several Unsullied bring the Meereenese prostitute Vala to the throne room of the Great Pyramid. There, the spymaster Varys strikes a deal with Vala. In return for sending her and her son to live in Pentos, Vala reveals that the slave-trading cities of Astapor, Yunkai, and Volantis are secretly aiding the Sons of the Harpy. Using this information, Tyrion gets Varys to use his spy network to initiate contact with the leaders of Astapor, Yunkai, and Volantis.^[25] As a result, the two parties reach a compromise that slavery will be phased out over a period of seven years and that all slave owners will be compensated. As a former slave, Grey Worm thinks that the peace treaty will not work but publicly supports Tyrion.^[26]

Later, the slave-trading cities break their peace treaty with Tyrion and launch a naval bombardment of Meereen. Recognizing that diplomacy has failed, Tyrion gives Grey Worm command over the city's defenses. Grey Worm proposes that his Unsullied not fight on the beaches and instead hold the pyramid. Shortly later, Daenerys returns on her dragon Drogon.^[27]

The next day, a group of Unsullied escort Daenerys and Tyrion when they parley with the leaders of the slavers' cities at the Great Pyramid. The slaving cities' representatives, Belicho Paenymion, Razdal mo Eraz, and Yezzan zo Qaggaz demand that Dany and Tyrion surrender the Unsullied and Missandei in return for being allowed to leave Meereen unharmed. Yezzan states that the Unsullied and Missandei are to be auctioned off to the highest bidder and her other two dragons are to be slaughtered. Dany corrects them, saying they are there to discuss the slavers' surrender, not hers. As they mock her, Drogon arrives and lands beside Dany. She climbs on his back and rides out to sea. Viserion and Rhaegal break free from the pyramid dungeon and join Drogon in destroying the ships attacking the city, allowing Dany to capture the remainder of the slavers' fleet. After the emissaries' bodyguards flee, Missandei announces that one of the slavers must die, and Belicho and Razdal quickly give up Yezzan. The Unsullied watch as Grey Worm, under Tyrion's orders, executes Belicho and Razdal for trying to sacrifice Yezzan. Yezzan is allowed to leave so that he can spread word of Daenerys' power.^[28]

When Daenerys sails to Westeros with her fleet, together with the combined Greyjoy, Tyrell, and Martell armadas, some of the Unsullied are seen standing together on the deck of a ship, led by their commander Grey Worm.^[29]

Game of Thrones: Season 7

After landing at Dragonstone island, Grey Worm and several Unsullied warriors accompany Queen Daenerys, Tyrion Lannister, and Missandei as they enter Dragonstone castle.^[30] Later, Daenerys, on the advice of Tyrion, tasks Grey Worm and his Unsullied with assaulting the Lannister stronghold of Casterly Rock.^[31]

Under Grey Worm's leadership, the Unsullied try to storm the battlements of Casterly Rock. As their initial attempts are rebuffed, Grey Worm leads a team through the secret tunnel beneath the castle, which had been created by Tyrion to smuggle prostitutes. The Unsullied overcome the paltry Lannister garrison only to discover that the bulk on the Lannister forces have evacuated Casterly Rock in order to march to Highgarden and sack it, in order to both take House Tyrell out of the war and to bolster the crown's depleted treasury. Euron Greyjoy's Iron Fleet then ambushes the Targaryen fleet, stranding the Unsullied.^[32] The Unsullied then travel to King's Landing to present themselves along with the rest of Daenerys's forces for the summit with Queen Cersei Lannister.^[33]

Game of Thrones: Season 8

UNSULLIED8X02 — The Unsullied train before the Battle of Winterfell.

The Unsullied march through the Winter town on their way to Winterfell. Daenerys, Jon, Missandei and Grey Worm travel amongst them on horseback. After arriving at the castle, they make camp outside Winterfell's walls.^[34] During the Battle of Winterfell, the Unsullied command the center. When the army of the dead attacks, the Unsullied bear the brunt of the wights attack. The dead crash into their phalanx formations and roll over them. The Unsullied cover the living's retreat slowly moving back towards the trench. Grey Worm collapses the bridge, leaving a large number of his soldiers trapped on the other side to make a last stand against the dead.

Grey Worm leads a small group of Unsullied to protect Melisandre, while she attempts to light the trench. Grey Worm and the remaining Unsullied fight for their survival after the dead breach the wall. Most of the dead Unsullied are briefly reanimated by the Night King, but are destroyed when Arya kills him.^[35]

The tally in the aftermath of the Battle of Winterfell reveals that the Unsullied have been reduced to roughly half their number.^[36]

They take part in the Battle of King's Landing, besieging the city and later slaughtering both its defenders and civilians. After the assassination of Daenerys Targaryen, they rule over King's Landing until Grey Worm relents to having the new Lord of the Seven Kingdoms judge Tyrion and Jon Snow. Bran, who is elected as the new king, appoints Tyrion as his new Hand and sentences Jon to the Night's Watch. Grey Worm along with the Unsullied then decide to leave Westeros and sail for Naath.^[37]

Known Unsullied

Grey Worm, chosen as commander of the Unsullied sworn to Daenerys Targaryen.
{White Rat}, killed by one of the Sons of the Harpy in league with Vala in Meereen.

Quotes

Spoken about the Unsullied

"I was in King's Landing after the sack, khaleesi. You know what I saw? Butchery. Babies, children, old men. More women raped than you can count. There's a beast in every man, and it stirs when you put a sword in his hand. But the Unsullied are not men. They do not rape. They do not put cities to the sword unless they're ordered to do so. If you buy them, the only men they'll kill are those you want dead."

―Jorah Mormont on the Unsullied, to Daenerys Targaryen^[src]

"Lord Varys is right. I have been to Essos and seen the Unsullied firsthand. They are very impressive on the battlefield. Less so in the bedroom..."

―Oberyn Martell on the strengths (and weaknesses) of the Unsullied.^[src]

Behind the scenes

The High Valyrian word for a single Unsullied warrior is "Dovaogēdy", while the collective noun referring to "the Unsullied" as a group is "Dovaogēdyr". Given that High Valyrian is an inflected language, the endings change depending how it is used in a sentence - i.e. when Daenerys shouts commands at them she says "Dovaogēdys!", because she is using the direct-address form.

In the books

In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the Unsullied are trained in Astapor, one of the three major cities of Slaver's Bay. They begin their training at five years old, when their genitals are fully removed. They are also given a puppy to look after, and at the end of the first year they must strangle the puppy to death. If they refuse, they are killed. Only one in three survives the training regime (not one in four, as said in the TV series). They are given a beverage called the "wine of courage", which over years numbs their body's ability to feel pain. Upon being given the spiked cap which is the symbol of their rank, they must go to the slave market, kill an infant slave before its mother and pay the slave owner for his loss. It is often less difficult for them to kill the infant than the puppy - they don't know the infant, but were made to take care of the puppy.

Their training is utterly brutal, designed not only to train them for combat but to strip them of any empathy, individuality, or sense of self-worth, in order to create soldiers who are willing to sacrifice their own lives if so ordered. Unsullied do not have permanent names, instead choosing new names at random every day, which are written on pieces of paper and then drawn by lot from a jar. Even these temporary names tend to be demeaning descriptors such as "Grey Worm", etc.

The extremely harsh training regime results in warriors who are unemotional, numbed against pain, and ferociously disciplined. They never loot or rape, they will hold against superior numbers, and will take their own lives if ordered to.

According to linguist David J. Peterson, the Dothraki respect the Unsullied so much that the Dothraki language does not derisively refer to them with terms that mean "slave" or "eunuch", etc. Instead, out of respect the Dothraki borrow the name that the Unsullied call themselves in Low Valyrian: "Dovaogēdy" (literally "unsullied". Plural: "Dovaogēdys"). Due to pronunciation differences, this loanword became "Dovoeddi" in the Dothraki language.^[38]

Unsullied serve under their own officers and function as small private armies which can be bought and sold. However, they are not mercenaries but slave-soldiers; they don't choose whom they serve, whom they fight, or if they are ordered to their deaths.

Though they are ferocious warriors, the Unsullied can become lazy if their mettle is not tested in battle. In the Free Cities, where they are usually employed as household guards who see little action, they can go soft.

Besides the forced custom of drawing new names every day, the Unsullied hold some customs of their own. They worship a goddess whom they refer to as the Lady of Spears, the Bride of Battle or the Mother of Hosts, but whose true name is only known to them who have burned their manhoods on her altar and may not be spoken of to outsiders. Unsullied purify themselves according to the laws of their great goddess; one way is to bathe in the salt sea. Even if there is no water around, they will maintain strict cleanliness, "bathing" themselves by rubbing their bodies with sand in Dothraki fashion.

Daenerys's Unsullied troops and their commander Grey Worm are totally loyal to her, even in her absence. Following Daenerys's departure from Meereen, Hizdahr takes over Meereen. He attempts to make the Unsullied serve him, but Grey Worm tells him firmly that they take commands only from their mother.

Notable Unsullied

Grey Worm, the commander of Daenerys's Unsullied and one of her advisors
Hero, second-in-command. Currently held hostage by the Yunkai'i who besiege Meereen
Dogkiller, officer
Sure Spear, officer
Marselen, Missandei's brother
{Stalwart Shield}. Murdered by the Sons of the Harpy
{Mossador}, Missandei's brother. Murdered by the Sons of the Harpy
{Duran}. Murdered by the Sons of the Harpy
{Black Fist}. Murdered by the Sons of the Harpy
{Cetherys}. Murdered by the Sons of the Harpy
{Eladon Goldenhair}. Murdered by the Sons of the Harpy
{Loyal Spear}. Murdered by the Sons of the Harpy

As eunuchs

In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, different regions are known to make eunuchs in different ways. Some only remove the testicles but leave the shaft of the penis intact, while others remove all external genitalia, both the penis and testicles. The slaver-city of Yunkai, for example, is known to make eunuchs by removing only a slave's testicles, but the slave-masters of Astapor make eunuchs by removing everything, penis and testes, such as when they make the Unsullied. A eunuch with only the testicles removed but not the penis will still lose the will to partake of sexual activity, but other slave-masters like to be sure by removing the penis as well.

In real life, if an adult man has his testicles removed, he can still achieve an erection. If a boy has his testicles removed before puberty, however, it is difficult to impossible for them to achieve an erection with the remaining shaft of the penis - due to the lack of hormones during the puberty years that would normally be supplied by the testicles. This is a moot point for the Unsullied: both their testicles and penis shaft are removed when they are no more than five years old. Kraznys actually explains within the novels that eunuchs can sometimes achieve an erection if they only have their testicles removed, so this is why the Astapori cut off all of the Unsullied's genitals, just to be sure.

As seen with Stalwart Shield/White Rat, however, after Daenerys frees the Unsullied they are still capable of developing emotional, perhaps even romantic attachments.

Gallery

References

↑ Game of Thrones: Season 3, Episode 1: "Valar Dohaeris" (2013).
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 "Valar Dohaeris"
↑ "Second Sons (episode)"
↑ "Winter Is Coming"
↑ "Walk of Punishment"
↑ "And Now His Watch Is Ended"
↑ "Kissed by Fire"
↑ "The Bear and the Maiden Fair"
↑ "The Rains of Castamere"
↑ "Mhysa"
↑ "Two Swords"
↑ "Breaker of Chains"
↑ "Oathkeeper"
↑ "The Laws of Gods and Men"
↑ "The Mountain and the Viper"
↑ "The Children"
↑ "The Wars To Come"
↑ "The House of Black and White"
↑ "Sons of the Harpy"
↑ "Kill the Boy"
↑ "The Gift"
↑ "Hardhome"
↑ "The Dance of Dragons"
↑ "Mother's Mercy"
↑ "Oathbreaker"
↑ "Book of the Stranger"
↑ "No One"
↑ "Battle of the Bastards"
↑ "The Winds of Winter"
↑ "Dragonstone"
↑ "Stormborn"
↑ "The Queen's Justice"
↑ "The Dragon and the Wolf"
↑ "Winterfell"
↑ "The Long Night"
↑ "The Last of the Starks"
↑ "The Iron Throne"
↑ David J. Peterson's blog, Dothraki.com, February 4th, 2014.

Notes

↑ Astapori Low Valyrian: Dovoghedhi

External links

Unsullied on A Wiki of Ice and Fire

[GOT_301-1] Game of Thrones: Season 3, Episode 1: "Valar Dohaeris" (2013).

[E21-3] 2.0 ^2.1 "Valar Dohaeris"

[4] "Second Sons (episode)"

[5] "Winter Is Coming"

[6] "Walk of Punishment"

[7] "And Now His Watch Is Ended"

[8] "Kissed by Fire"

[9] "The Bear and the Maiden Fair"

[10] "The Rains of Castamere"

[11] "Mhysa"

[12] "Two Swords"

[13] "Breaker of Chains"

[14] "Oathkeeper"

[15] "The Laws of Gods and Men"

[16] "The Mountain and the Viper"

[17] "The Children"

[18] "The Wars To Come"

[19] "The House of Black and White"

[20] "Sons of the Harpy"

[21] "Kill the Boy"

[22] "The Gift"

[23] "Hardhome"

[24] "The Dance of Dragons"

[25] "Mother's Mercy"

[26] "Oathbreaker"

[27] "Book of the Stranger"

[28] "No One"

[29] "Battle of the Bastards"

[30] "The Winds of Winter"

[31] "Dragonstone"

[32] "Stormborn"

[33] "The Queen's Justice"

[34] "The Dragon and the Wolf"

[35] "Winterfell"

[36] "The Long Night"

[37] "The Last of the Starks"

[38] "The Iron Throne"

[39] David J. Peterson's blog, Dothraki.com, February 4th, 2014.

[2] Astapori Low Valyrian: Dovoghedhi

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v • d • e Slaver's Bay
Cities	Astapor · Yunkai · Meereen · Tolos · Elyria · New Ghis
Geography	Ghiscar · Ghiscari Strait · Black Cliffs · Yaros
Seas and rivers	Gulf of Grief · Summer Sea · Skahazadhan
History	Ghiscari Empire · Old Ghis · Ghiscari wars · Liberation of Slaver's Bay
Leadership	Good Masters (Astapor) · Wise Masters (Yunkai) · Great Masters (Meereen)
Culture	Slavery · Unsullied · Tokar · Fighting pits · Harpy · Ghiscari language · Sons of the Harpy · Ghiscari religion (Temple of the Graces · Graces)

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