Dany is going to conquer most of known Essos

[Suzanna Stormborn]

Did he differentiate between Dany and Tyrion yes or no? Or did he say they are both coming home? It's really not all that complex. This is not the book it's an interview, people on this forum will do anything to try to twist what the guy says to create the fantasy of what they want.

So now she is after the small folk and yesterday it was she is going to kill all the babies. Do you just make this stuff up as you go along? And you know everyone who is going to resist her as well?

Have you taken an actual look at Westeros? They have already been killing all the small folks, they have already burnt the river lands, they have already had their red and purple weddings, they already slaughtered the free folk, they already have been invaded, they have been murdering, raping, pillaging, waring, and burning (did you miss the black water?) for 5 books. Dany's a bad leader? Aerys created more peace than the idiots running Westeros now have and he was crazy. At least Dany has done some good, she has been freeing slaves. What happened to the Free Folk? Slaughtered, broken, and forced into subjugation, free no more.

Do you actually think there is much left to break? Oh and the Others are coming, I am sure the fire Queen has nothing to do with dealing with them. It's not like they are polarities, it's not like Martin has been saying the Dragons and the Others are coming for like 20 years. Notice how they have both stayed away, but now we are getting towards the end of the series and all of sudden winter has come to Westeros and Martin says Dany is coming home. It's not like she has had visions of fighting them or anything.

But no she is going after the babies and the small folk in your mind. Wow just wow. If she is not getting to Westeros till the end of the book, which is likely to be about a year in book, then how many small folk do you think will be left? Fighting at the wall, Fighting at Winterfell, Aegon is waring in the Storm Lands, Riverlands are toast, the homeless small folk are running to any place they can already, the Faith is rising, the Tyrells are war profiteering, Euron is getting ready to attack Old town, nobody who isn''t rich can afford food, and I haven't even started with LF or LSH. Seriously you are concerned about Dany in Westeros? At no point and time has any place she been, looked nearly as bad as Westeros. Buy the time she gets there you will be lucky if anyone is left alive.

You ever wonder why D&D who know the overall story of Martins series gave Dany a vision of Westeros as an arctic waste land back in season 2? Winter has already come and she is not going to be there for awhile, do the math. If they are short on food now, and all these homes have been destroyed and burned already, and all these people have no place to go and are sleeping on the streets in the major cities, how long do you think they last against the cold? You really want to try and make Dany the focus of problems in Westeros? Pretty sure Westeros is it's own worst problem.

All excellent points! Well said Ser C :)

If posters are looking for someone who is 'invading Westeros' for selfish reasons and just to take the throne. You dont have to look far, fAegon is doing it right now, possibly bringing the plague with his GC. Dany's 'fire and blood' will not be wasted on small folk at all, so far she has shown exactly the opposite, the Slaver's and Masters are the ones she hates and burns. And there are none in Westeros, only a vast army of undead driven by ice monsters. It's all in the books.

[Charles Calthrop]

in that case like u said she can send a khalassar to each city seeing their forces are already defeated and second sons switch sides to danny there is not a real army to fight a Khalasar

to your point about the WOW coming in next year ..i too think we will be having books in our hand at this time of next year ...

the show already finished bran and sansa 's arc and they will be entering into WOW atleast in their arc for sure

I think that's optimistic to naiive. If he was so close, he wouldn't be 'releasing' chapters to reassure/appease fans. I'd be very surprised if he's a third of the way finished with TWOW. Best case scenario it comes out in late 2016/ early 2017. Overall he seems much more interested in just about everything but main timeline ASOIAF. (Including his bloody prequels.)

There will be more than 2 more books.

There's probably enough material for more than 2 books, but I get the feeling we'll get one more book... and then be left hanging indefinitely.

[MoIaF]

I have entertained the possibility of Dany taking over large chuncks of Essos before, but even I never dared to be as optimistic as this.

Imo the battle of fire will be split into two parts. The first part is the one we have already saw pieces off in the released Barristan, Tyrion and Victarion chapters. I believe Team Dany will win that one easily. The real test however, will be the arrival of the Volantinian Navy, which will arrive after the first battle has been won for quite awhile.

I think that battle will be a lot harder and in the end the defenders will only be victorious after Dany swoops in on Drogon with a Khalesar at her back. After that she'll lay waste to Meereen and her march on Westeros will begin. Her Dothraki Khalesar and perhaps other mounted units will travel along the Demon Road and take out the cities (Mantarys, etc.) along their way. Her ships will head for Volantis. On their way those ships will take out Yunkai (no slaverscities will be left), New Ghis (food) and Ellaria (last slaver city left).

Dany's Khalesar will draw out the remaining Volantinian forces and then the fleet will sweep in. She'll execute Tyrion's plan from ADWD (She and Tyrion will mostly be apart here, for one will travel with the Dothraki and the other with the ships) and take Volantis. Volantis will surve as her base of operations to invade the Seven Kingdoms and probably a further gathering point for the Khalesars (She'll be proclaimed the SWMTW in the early stages of tWoW and there is no way all 28 Khalesars are present at the same time).

Parts of her army (mainly Dothraki, since these are the hardest to transport to Westeros) will then be dispatched to pacify the disputed lands (and probably demand the end of slavery in Myr, though I don't think the city is going to be taken) and to install the Tattered Prince as ruler of Pentos (By then Tyrion and perhaps the Tattered Prince as well would have told her about Illyrio's involvement with Faegon). The Windblow and most of her Dothraki will be busy enough with that (I do wonder if she would nominally let Pentos be independent under Tatters or if she would make him Lord of Pentos under her reign).

All in all I believe this is by far the best case scenario. Much more than that she'll never be able to take. This on the other hand is just the right ammount. She has the Fire & Blood thing down perfectly, but she wouldn't have to do much ruling. The cities of Slaversbay (Meereen, Yunkai, Tolos, New Ghis, Mantarys, Ellaria) would be destroyed (Check Fire & Blood, but no need for ruling).

The Khalesars of the Dothraki Sea would follow her out of their own volition and outside of taking orders from Daenerys and abandoning slavery they would mind their own business (check Sea of Dothrak without actively ruling). Volantis would rise for her and the city's main religious leaders, part of the shadowelite (people like Widow by the Waterfront) and the cities military leaders (the Volantinian mareens) would support her. She could very succesfully have that city be ruled by proxy while she is in Westeros.

Her freedmen from her slaversbay campaign (and many freed slaves from the Khalesars and Volantis) could be set up in the Disputed Lands which would be pacified by the Dothraki (and ruled from Volantis). Finally, in Pentos she would install Tatters (either as a ruler in his own right or as a Lord under her banner), a man who still has a lot of friends in the city (and the nobility would surely follow a man who could end the magisters reign), has proven to be capable and has his own troops at his disposal to use as enforcers.

In other words, very big conquest, without being bogged down un ruling it. The only place she really needs to pay attention to is Volantis, but that's it. From Volantis Dany could start her campaign to invade Westeros with a massive army (both of soldiers and of followers).

:agree: Very comprehensive plan and I think quite plausible. It does mean though that Dany won't be heading to Westeros until the very end. Which should be a surprise to no one by now.

I do wonder though how much control will she truly have over the Dothraki. They are a ruthless people, we are told (and shown in some instances) that they are very superstitions. However, I'm not sure how devoted they would be to the idea of Dany as their leader. I don't think Dany would allow them to continue slaving but old habits die hard. Slavery is what they have done for hundreds of years, it's all they know other then horses. How do you change an entire culture?

Did he differentiate between Dany and Tyrion yes or no? Or did he say they are both coming home? It's really not all that complex. This is not the book it's an interview, people on this forum will do anything to try to twist what the guy says to create the fantasy of what they want.

So now she is after the small folk and yesterday it was she is going to kill all the babies. Do you just make this stuff up as you go along? And you know everyone who is going to resist her as well?

Have you taken an actual look at Westeros? They have already been killing all the small folks, they have already burnt the river lands, they have already had their red and purple weddings, they already slaughtered the free folk, they already have been invaded, they have been murdering, raping, pillaging, waring, and burning (did you miss the black water?) for 5 books. Dany's a bad leader? Aerys created more peace than the idiots running Westeros now have and he was crazy. At least Dany has done some good, she has been freeing slaves. What happened to the Free Folk? Slaughtered, broken, and forced into subjugation, free no more.

Do you actually think there is much left to break? Oh and the Others are coming, I am sure the fire Queen has nothing to do with dealing with them. It's not like they are polarities, it's not like Martin has been saying the Dragons and the Others are coming for like 20 years. Notice how they have both stayed away, but now we are getting towards the end of the series and all of sudden winter has come to Westeros and Martin says Dany is coming home. It's not like she has had visions of fighting them or anything.

But no she is going after the babies and the small folk in your mind. Wow just wow. If she is not getting to Westeros till the end of the book, which is likely to be about a year in book, then how many small folk do you think will be left? Fighting at the wall, Fighting at Winterfell, Aegon is waring in the Storm Lands, Riverlands are toast, the homeless small folk are running to any place they can already, the Faith is rising, the Tyrells are war profiteering, Euron is getting ready to attack Old town, nobody who isn''t rich can afford food, and I haven't even started with LF or LSH. Seriously you are concerned about Dany in Westeros? At no point and time has any place she been, looked nearly as bad as Westeros. Buy the time she gets there you will be lucky if anyone is left alive.

You ever wonder why D&D who know the overall story of Martins series gave Dany a vision of Westeros as an arctic waste land back in season 2? Winter has already come and she is not going to be there for awhile, do the math. If they are short on food now, and all these homes have been destroyed and burned already, and all these people have no place to go and are sleeping on the streets in the major cities, how long do you think they last against the cold? You really want to try and make Dany the focus of problems in Westeros? Pretty sure Westeros is it's own worst problem.

How dare you insult the pristine paradise that is Westeros? It's already perfect as it is, Dany is just going to ruin everything by showing up!

On a serious note, you are correct Westeros is a mess of epic proportions. There is little Dany could do that has not already been done. In fact her presence can be beneficial to the smallfolks who have been so completely devastated by these wars.

[David C. Hunter]

Did he differentiate between Dany and Tyrion yes or no? Or did he say they are both coming home? It's really not all that complex. This is not the book it's an interview, people on this forum will do anything to try to twist what the guy says to create the fantasy of what they want.

So now she is after the small folk and yesterday it was she is going to kill all the babies. Do you just make this stuff up as you go along? And you know everyone who is going to resist her as well?

Have you taken an actual look at Westeros? They have already been killing all the small folks, they have already burnt the river lands, they have already had their red and purple weddings, they already slaughtered the free folk, they already have been invaded, they have been murdering, raping, pillaging, waring, and burning (did you miss the black water?) for 5 books. Dany's a bad leader? Aerys created more peace than the idiots running Westeros now have and he was crazy. At least Dany has done some good, she has been freeing slaves. What happened to the Free Folk? Slaughtered, broken, and forced into subjugation, free no more.

Do you actually think there is much left to break? Oh and the Others are coming, I am sure the fire Queen has nothing to do with dealing with them. It's not like they are polarities, it's not like Martin has been saying the Dragons and the Others are coming for like 20 years. Notice how they have both stayed away, but now we are getting towards the end of the series and all of sudden winter has come to Westeros and Martin says Dany is coming home. It's not like she has had visions of fighting them or anything.

But no she is going after the babies and the small folk in your mind. Wow just wow. If she is not getting to Westeros till the end of the book, which is likely to be about a year in book, then how many small folk do you think will be left? Fighting at the wall, Fighting at Winterfell, Aegon is waring in the Storm Lands, Riverlands are toast, the homeless small folk are running to any place they can already, the Faith is rising, the Tyrells are war profiteering, Euron is getting ready to attack Old town, nobody who isn''t rich can afford food, and I haven't even started with LF or LSH. Seriously you are concerned about Dany in Westeros? At no point and time has any place she been, looked nearly as bad as Westeros. Buy the time she gets there you will be lucky if anyone is left alive.

You ever wonder why D&D who know the overall story of Martins series gave Dany a vision of Westeros as an arctic waste land back in season 2? Winter has already come and she is not going to be there for awhile, do the math. If they are short on food now, and all these homes have been destroyed and burned already, and all these people have no place to go and are sleeping on the streets in the major cities, how long do you think they last against the cold? You really want to try and make Dany the focus of problems in Westeros? Pretty sure Westeros is it's own worst problem.

Please keep it Civil, its not that serious and I wasnt attacking anyone. Please don't blow a few lines of what I said out of proportion.

You and I can both Agree, Dany isn't evil. But personally, as I read ASOIAF series, Dany has nothing to do with Westeros. Its not her fight. Sorry, it just doesnt come across like that for me. To me its like, the 7 kingdoms are fighting for control of Westeros...and theres a foreigner who is amassing an army to eventually invade. Thats the only way I see it. And her attitude of "Its mine" its very infurating because of it. I understand Im probably in the minority world wide with that belief, but Ive always felt that way. She has no right to Westeros. So when I hear peopel saying, "Yea, Dany is gonna conquer Westeros with fire and blood" I start laughing because it doesnt make any sense to me. I never said, the Leaders of Westeros werent being just as cruel to the small folk, but they arent the ones trying to make it seem like their crusdae is for the good of the people. NONE of the lords of Westeros are hidign behind PR lines like, "Trying to help my people" because it would be a lie, and judging by what GRRM said about Dany embracing her words, she will probably realize the lie within herself. I do believe Dany legitinately cares about her peopel and wants to free slaves, but if that was all she wanted she wouldnt try to flee for Westeros. There are no slaves there. She wants to conquer Westeros for the same reason as everybody as, itself they don't need to hide behind "causes"

It's why i love Littlefinger so much. "What do you want Littlefinger?" "Everything" See? Honest and to the point.

"She is going to kill babies" is a reference to Drogon burning the child alive and for the fact she really has no control over her Dragons, outside of Drogon. To say that it wont happen in Westeros is being unrealistic.

You are twisting what I said, Who ever said that Westeros didn't have problems? That has nothign to do with what I said.

1.) Who said that Winter is a bad thing? There are those who thrive in the Winter and who have made deals witht he Iron Bank lol.

My argument isn't that Dany is going to kill people so that makes her bad, my issue is that she clearly isn't a good leader and she is going to Westeros, a place where she has never been, during the Long Night? You think she will be a good leader? Dany isnt going to magically become a good leader in Westeros. That part of her arc is over. She will be what she has always been. A conqueror of Fire and Blood. Whats so wrong with what I said? It is my interpretation of the 5th book.

Listen, IMO, Im expecting most people to die in this series, but the longer the books go on the more apparent it seems tht Dany isn't meant to be in Westros, whether she makes it there or not.

Put it like this, if Dany unites the khalasars and unleashes them on the free cities...then she is worst then the Mad King

[Hippocras]

I have entertained the possibility of Dany taking over large chuncks of Essos before, but even I never dared to be as optimistic as this.

Imo the battle of fire will be split into two parts. The first part is the one we have already saw pieces off in the released Barristan, Tyrion and Victarion chapters. I believe Team Dany will win that one easily. The real test however, will be the arrival of the Volantinian Navy, which will arrive after the first battle has been won for quite awhile.

I think that battle will be a lot harder and in the end the defenders will only be victorious after Dany swoops in on Drogon with a Khalesar at her back. After that she'll lay waste to Meereen and her march on Westeros will begin. Her Dothraki Khalesar and perhaps other mounted units will travel along the Demon Road and take out the cities (Mantarys, etc.) along their way. Her ships will head for Volantis. On their way those ships will take out Yunkai (no slaverscities will be left), New Ghis (food) and Ellaria (last slaver city left).

Dany's Khalesar will draw out the remaining Volantinian forces and then the fleet will sweep in. She'll execute Tyrion's plan from ADWD (She and Tyrion will mostly be apart here, for one will travel with the Dothraki and the other with the ships) and take Volantis. Volantis will surve as her base of operations to invade the Seven Kingdoms and probably a further gathering point for the Khalesars (She'll be proclaimed the SWMTW in the early stages of tWoW and there is no way all 28 Khalesars are present at the same time).

Parts of her army (mainly Dothraki, since these are the hardest to transport to Westeros) will then be dispatched to pacify the disputed lands (and probably demand the end of slavery in Myr, though I don't think the city is going to be taken) and to install the Tattered Prince as ruler of Pentos (By then Tyrion and perhaps the Tattered Prince as well would have told her about Illyrio's involvement with Faegon). The Windblow and most of her Dothraki will be busy enough with that (I do wonder if she would nominally let Pentos be independent under Tatters or if she would make him Lord of Pentos under her reign).

All in all I believe this is by far the best case scenario. Much more than that she'll never be able to take. This on the other hand is just the right ammount. She has the Fire & Blood thing down perfectly, but she wouldn't have to do much ruling. The cities of Slaversbay (Meereen, Yunkai, Tolos, New Ghis, Mantarys, Ellaria) would be destroyed (Check Fire & Blood, but no need for ruling).

The Khalesars of the Dothraki Sea would follow her out of their own volition and outside of taking orders from Daenerys and abandoning slavery they would mind their own business (check Sea of Dothrak without actively ruling). Volantis would rise for her and the city's main religious leaders, part of the shadowelite (people like Widow by the Waterfront) and the cities military leaders (the Volantinian mareens) would support her. She could very succesfully have that city be ruled by proxy while she is in Westeros.

Her freedmen from her slaversbay campaign (and many freed slaves from the Khalesars and Volantis) could be set up in the Disputed Lands which would be pacified by the Dothraki (and ruled from Volantis). Finally, in Pentos she would install Tatters (either as a ruler in his own right or as a Lord under her banner), a man who still has a lot of friends in the city (and the nobility would surely follow a man who could end the magisters reign), has proven to be capable and has his own troops at his disposal to use as enforcers.

In other words, very big conquest, without being bogged down un ruling it. The only place she really needs to pay attention to is Volantis, but that's it. From Volantis Dany could start her campaign to invade Westeros with a massive army (both of soldiers and of followers).

This is pretty good but you left out Qarth.

I feel instinctively that she is pretty mad at Qarth, and will probably loose her Dothraki on them. They always did want to pillage the place, and Qarth is a major factor in propping up the slave trade.

[Hangover of the Morning]

Hopefully, once she conquers Essos, she's going to move onto Sothoryos and Ulthos. We wouldn't want her in Westeros too prematurely.

[JBlaze94]

Home to Dany is not Westeros. Home is the house with the big red door.

[Veltigar]

This is pretty good but you left out Qarth.

I feel instinctively that she is pretty mad at Qarth, and will probably loose her Dothraki on them. They always did want to pillage the place, and Qarth is a major factor in propping up the slave trade.

I find the conquest of Qarth unlikely for several reasons. For starters, conquering Qarth would be to neat. In the realities of this universe, there is no doubt in my mind that many secondary villains (whether they are people, houses, cities or institutions) won't be punished as severely as we, the readers, might like. The best example of this in the books is of course the continued survival of the Boltons throughout the ages.

Now, out of all of Dany's enemies, Qarth, by virtue of its location is the safest from an attack. In stark contrast with the other cities, it does not lie on her way to Westeros. Her main rampage will take her towards Westeros and Qarth is in the opposite direction. Furthermore, Qarth is protected by the Red Waste. Which is a serious obstacle to any fighting unit, let alone a massive Khalesar.

On top of that, Qarth has strong walls and good defences. The Dothraki, already at a disadvantage by virtue of their trip through the Red Waste, have zero experience in siege warfare. Finally, the Dothraki also have no fleet of their own. The walls make it impossible to take Qarth through a stampede and the Dothraki's lack of a fleet makes starvation impossible, life in the city would go on pretty much undisturbed throughout the Dothraki siege. A very brief siege at that, since the desert doesn't offer the possibility of fouraging for food.

Another strong factor against a prolonged attack on Qarth is the fact that her Dothraki will most likely be needed elsewhere. Not just to take the cities along the demon road or to lure the Volantinians away or to help with taking Pentos or even to invade Westeros. The Dothraki at this point, are a very one-dimensional people, a prime example of the weaker worldbuilding in this series. But the next few chapters in Dany's arc offer a great way to change that.

I'm pretty sure that Dany is tStwMtW (or Drogon is) and I believe most Dothraki present in Vaes Dothrak will recognize her as such. However, I seriously doubt that all 28 Khalesars will be there. And especially those Dothraki that aren't there might not be happy with having Dany as a leader. After all, not only is she young, a foreigner and a woman, she also wants to stop the slavetrade. Now the Dothraki warriors as portrayed in the books aren't very impressive, but their leaders have great commercial instincts. Many of them are bound to see Dany's ban on slavetrade as a threat to their way of life. And her rich enemies (Qartheen, Pentosi Magisters, etc.) will be more then happy to pay them to fight against her.

Of course that doesn't mean that she'll get named and important Dothraki antagonists to keep her occupied. I think a divided people (which is realistic, there are always traditionalists and revisionists) will be more like GRRM's way to stop her from being unbeatable. Because let's face it, with all 28 khalesars following her with a religious ardor, nothing would stand in her way. She could go to Westeros and keep on importing Dothrakis to throw at Faegon until the later dies of fatigue from slaughtering them.

More than likely, a sizeable chunck of Dothraki will deny her claim and gather around a false prophet or two. The majority will still back her, but those that oppose her, plus opposition from the free cities that support slavery will keep most of her Dothraki tied up in Essos.

Let us now return to Qarth. Eventhough a direct attack on the city seems very unlikely to me, I'm sure the city will suffer the consequences of their enmity towards Dany. Their camel corps will be eliminated and their ships will be confiscated. That's a first loss, but one they can bear. However, I think Dany's actions towards Qarth will be a great way for GRRM to show her growth as a leader.

For starters, by eliminating the slavercity states and controlling the area around Slaversbay and Vaes Dothrak, Qarth is completely cut of from the slavetrade that used to send a large flow of gold into their coffers. Destroying the settlements in Slaversbay will also have a negative effect on the availability of food. Given Qarths location, I'm sure that they import a lot of food from New Ghis. If they have to import food from the east, bread prices will go up considerably, and that's never good for the stability of your city.

Another more longterm consequence, might be Qarth's exclusion from trade with the west. Qarth's wealth seems to primarily stem from it's unique location between the East and West. However, if Dany get's a large piece of the West under her control, she might outlaw trade with the Qartheen. Such a blockade could have a devastating effect.

It could also happen much sooner than I described in the previous paragraph. Out of all the Slaverbay settlements, New Ghis seems like the most viable one. All the others are cities on the decline, who need slave labour to survive. New Ghis on the other hand is the granary of the region and it only needs slave labour to support the elite. Nothing indicates that the island isn't viable when the farmers go from slaves to free men with small hovels of their own.

If Dany takes the island, and leaves a garrison behind, the island might be used to sever Qarth's connection with the west. It could grow into the Malta of Planetos. Ships from Qarth could be refused the right to make use of their waters (the alternative is sailing much closer to the basilisk islands and the infamous pirates and krakens that dwell there) or be forced to pay a hefty tribute. All things that would make Qarth a lot less attractive to trade with than it used to be.

[Hodor's Dragon]

If Dany conquers most of Essos, she can leave Tyrion behind to rule and move on to Westeros.

The action will follow her, but we'll be set up for the sequel series, A Song of Tits and Wine, about Tyrion pacifying and uniting Essos and turning it into an efficient individual rights-based democracy.

[MasterJack]

Dany will visit but will never conquer Westeros. She wants to go "home" find the house with the Red Door but never realised that her house is Essos and not Westeros. To her Westeros will seem as an alien planet.

Here is Dany prophecy of dauther and death, See how this could be all about POST-WAR Dany;

A little girl ran barefoot toward a big house with a red door.¹ Behind a silver horse the blood corpse of a naked man bounced and dragged.²A white lion ran through grass taller than a man.³Beneath the Mother of Mountains, a line of naked crones crept from a great lake and knelt shivering before her, their grey heads bowed.⁴Ten thousand slaves lifted bloodstained hands as she raced by on her silver, riding like the wind. "Mother!" they cried. "Mother, mother!" They were reaching for her, touching her, tugging at her cloak, the hem of her skirt, her food, her leg, her breast. They wanted her, needed her, the fire, the life, and Dany gasped and opened her arms to give herself to them.⁵

It could be interpretted;
1-Dany returns where she feel home(Essos), weakened after the war(little girl)
2-Even still she is weakened, she leaves westeros will being on the winning side. (Dothraki way, dragging the foe's body being your horse)
3-Jaime or Tyrion(the white Lion) is with her in her trip to Vaes Dotrak in the Dothraki Sea( or he follows her)
4-Dany takes command of the Dothraki, the old crones of Daes Dothrak approve of her.
5-Dany finally stop Slavery in Essos. (And I assume it will take years, some forshadowing with Olive Trees predicted some 21year if i remember)

Olives seems to be related with peace in this novel and dany said it takes 7 year for a tree to bear fruits but 21 years to be fully productive.

[Mrs.Grumpy]

No. Honey no. Qarth is too far and there is a fricking desert between Dothraki Sea and Qarth, we call it Red Waste. They cant pass it. Dany can fly, sure but Dothraki? No. Even Valyria had no chance agaisnt Qarth.

Qohor-Dothraki conflict is a plot device to show how mighty the Unsullied are.

And it doesnt make any sense in a literal way. Why would readers care about Qarth, Free Cities and shit if we dont see her in Westeros, something that we all waiting for since aGoT and Meereene Knot already annoyed too many readers do you think GRRM would dare to do this?

[The Human Abstract]

I think she's quickly going back to Westeros.

[Lonin]

I agree, to an extent, with the OP. I think Dany will be conquering much of essos. There are just so many lose ends in Dany's arc, grrm has made slavery an important part - I think it will be resolved in some fashion, that I just don't see her headed to Westeros (as much I would like it) in the next book.

[Hippocras]

No. Honey no. Qarth is too far and there is a fricking desert between Dothraki Sea and Qarth, we call it Red Waste. They cant pass it. Dany can fly, sure but Dothraki? No. Even Valyria had no chance agaisnt Qarth.

Qohor-Dothraki conflict is a plot device to show how mighty the Unsullied are.

And it doesnt make any sense in a literal way. Why would readers care about Qarth, Free Cities and shit if we dont see her in Westeros, something that we all waiting for since aGoT and Meereene Knot already annoyed too many readers do you think GRRM would dare to do this?

Her main mission for most of the series by now has NOT been Westeros, but defeating the slave trade once and for all. She will not be going to Westeros without burning every last centre of resistance to abolishing this trade to the ground.

Qarth is a major factor in that trade. If Qarth is left standing, the slave trade will resume the instant she is gone from Essos.

Also, people say it is too far away, but we don't know where the hell she flew to! All we know is that she is somewhere far away on the Dothraki sea, and nowhere near Meereen. Qarth may be the closest city.

[Lemorecake]

Don´t forget:"To go north, you must go south. To reach the west, you must go east. To go forward you must go back, and to touch the light you must pass beneath the shadow."

Dany has always kept this words in the back of her mind.

Starting in Meereen, vaes dothrak ist east.

Beeing there, Qarth would be south.

Both mean to go back to lands/cities she has visited before. TAlso the red waste was crossed by her before..

We can also suppose, that Qarth is unfinished busines for Dany, she may take things personal..

Finally, to touch the light and pass the shadow could mean a good outcome demands cruel/dark decisions, like crossing the red waste or burning a city.

(or: to get lightbringer you have to loose innocence?)

[Veltigar]

Qarth will never be sacked. For all the reasons stated here:

I find the conquest of Qarth unlikely for several reasons. For starters, conquering Qarth would be to neat. In the realities of this universe, there is no doubt in my mind that many secondary villains (whether they are people, houses, cities or institutions) won't be punished as severely as we, the readers, might like. The best example of this in the books is of course the continued survival of the Boltons throughout the ages.

Now, out of all of Dany's enemies, Qarth, by virtue of its location is the safest from an attack. In stark contrast with the other cities, it does not lie on her way to Westeros. Her main rampage will take her towards Westeros and Qarth is in the opposite direction. Furthermore, Qarth is protected by the Red Waste. Which is a serious obstacle to any fighting unit, let alone a massive Khalesar.

On top of that, Qarth has strong walls and good defences. The Dothraki, already at a disadvantage by virtue of their trip through the Red Waste, have zero experience in siege warfare. Finally, the Dothraki also have no fleet of their own. The walls make it impossible to take Qarth through a stampede and the Dothraki's lack of a fleet makes starvation impossible, life in the city would go on pretty much undisturbed throughout the Dothraki siege. A very brief siege at that, since the desert doesn't offer the possibility of fouraging for food.

Another strong factor against a prolonged attack on Qarth is the fact that her Dothraki will most likely be needed elsewhere. Not just to take the cities along the demon road or to lure the Volantinians away or to help with taking Pentos or even to invade Westeros. The Dothraki at this point, are a very one-dimensional people, a prime example of the weaker worldbuilding in this series. But the next few chapters in Dany's arc offer a great way to change that.

I'm pretty sure that Dany is tStwMtW (or Drogon is) and I believe most Dothraki present in Vaes Dothrak will recognize her as such. However, I seriously doubt that all 28 Khalesars will be there. And especially those Dothraki that aren't there might not be happy with having Dany as a leader. After all, not only is she young, a foreigner and a woman, she also wants to stop the slavetrade. Now the Dothraki warriors as portrayed in the books aren't very impressive, but their leaders have great commercial instincts. Many of them are bound to see Dany's ban on slavetrade as a threat to their way of life. And her rich enemies (Qartheen, Pentosi Magisters, etc.) will be more then happy to pay them to fight against her.

Of course that doesn't mean that she'll get named and important Dothraki antagonists to keep her occupied. I think a divided people (which is realistic, there are always traditionalists and revisionists) will be more like GRRM's way to stop her from being unbeatable. Because let's face it, with all 28 khalesars following her with a religious ardor, nothing would stand in her way. She could go to Westeros and keep on importing Dothrakis to throw at Faegon until the later dies of fatigue from slaughtering them.

More than likely, a sizeable chunck of Dothraki will deny her claim and gather around a false prophet or two. The majority will still back her, but those that oppose her, plus opposition from the free cities that support slavery will keep most of her Dothraki tied up in Essos.

Let us now return to Qarth. Eventhough a direct attack on the city seems very unlikely to me, I'm sure the city will suffer the consequences of their enmity towards Dany. Their camel corps will be eliminated and their ships will be confiscated. That's a first loss, but one they can bear. However, I think Dany's actions towards Qarth will be a great way for GRRM to show her growth as a leader.

For starters, by eliminating the slavercity states and controlling the area around Slaversbay and Vaes Dothrak, Qarth is completely cut of from the slavetrade that used to send a large flow of gold into their coffers. Destroying the settlements in Slaversbay will also have a negative effect on the availability of food. Given Qarths location, I'm sure that they import a lot of food from New Ghis. If they have to import food from the east, bread prices will go up considerably, and that's never good for the stability of your city.

Another more longterm consequence, might be Qarth's exclusion from trade with the west. Qarth's wealth seems to primarily stem from it's unique location between the East and West. However, if Dany get's a large piece of the West under her control, she might outlaw trade with the Qartheen. Such a blockade could have a devastating effect.

It could also happen much sooner than I described in the previous paragraph. Out of all the Slaverbay settlements, New Ghis seems like the most viable one. All the others are cities on the decline, who need slave labour to survive. New Ghis on the other hand is the granary of the region and it only needs slave labour to support the elite. Nothing indicates that the island isn't viable when the farmers go from slaves to free men with small hovels of their own.

If Dany takes the island, and leaves a garrison behind, the island might be used to sever Qarth's connection with the west. It could grow into the Malta of Planetos. Ships from Qarth could be refused the right to make use of their waters (the alternative is sailing much closer to the basilisk islands and the infamous pirates and krakens that dwell there) or be forced to pay a hefty tribute. All things that would make Qarth a lot less attractive to trade with than it used to be.

Dany will visit but will never conquer Westeros. She wants to go "home" find the house with the Red Door but never realised that her house is Essos and not Westeros. To her Westeros will seem as an alien planet.

As if she's any less a fish out of the water in Essos. This argument has never held any merit. Dany's arc is about her realizing that a home is something you make for yourself. It's not about going to Westeros or remaining in Essos.

Don´t forget:"To go north, you must go south. To reach the west, you must go east. To go forward you must go back, and to touch the light you must pass beneath the shadow."

Dany has always kept this words in the back of her mind.

Ever considered the backward theme of this prophecy? To go north, you must go south. To reach the west, you must go east. To go forward you must go back, and to touch the light you must pass beneath the shadow."

The prophecy seems to be getting fulfilled in this order: First the red happens, when Drogon passes over her. Than the yellow part happens, when she realizes her past mistakes and that she can't continue to go on like this. After that the purple part will presumably happen, she'll be taken to Vaes Dothrak, get proclaimed SwwMtW and head back to Meereen to tip the scales in favour of her party and start moving towards Westeros. The final part will probably happen when she invades the south and eventually will be called north to fight against the Others.

Also, people say it is too far away, but we don't know where the hell she flew to! All we know is that she is somewhere far away on the Dothraki sea, and nowhere near Meereen. Qarth may be the closest city.

She'll be taken to Vaes Dothrak first, the Dosh Kaleen can only pronounce her (or Drogon) as the Stallion there. After that she'll rush to Meereen at the head of the Khalesar, because there is still a siege going on there for all she knows. An attempt at Qarth is futile for the reasons I outlined above, she will not spare men for such a folly.

Her main mission for most of the series by now has NOT been Westeros, but defeating the slave trade once and for all. She will not be going to Westeros without burning every last centre of resistance to abolishing this trade to the ground.

Qarth is a major factor in that trade. If Qarth is left standing, the slave trade will resume the instant she is gone from Essos.

Qarth is not a bigger factor in the trade than those free cities who still make use of slavery. Bigger players are the Dothraki, since they are the main suppliers and the slavercities, which seem to serve as the to go place for buying, selling and training slaves. If you take those out and engage the slaver cities in the west, than Qarth is basically cut off from the slavetrade. Qarth doesn't have the manpower to get the slaves themselves (and transporting through the Red Waste would probably leave many slaves dead). On top of that the main power of the city lies in it's position between east and west. If you cut Qarth of from the western trade, by destroying the slavetrade there, then the city will suffer immensly.

[Hippocras]

The point was simply that Qarth will be made in some way to suffer. How that happens is not a big deal as long as they do not retain their current trade and naval power, which would allow them to restore the slave trade (by ship).

If destroying their trading partners accomplishes this, on its own, fine. But there is no doubt Dany wants Qarth to suffer, and prophesy does suggest she will retrace her steps somewhat which may well include Qarth. To go forward you must go back (retracing this means: Dosh Khaleen, Qarth, Astapor, Yunkai). This doesn't need to take much page space in the books, it can just be a word of mouth or after the fact discussion sort of thing. Because it will be pure fire and blood anyway, not much time is involved in destroying cities with dragon fire.

[Veltigar]

The point was simply that Qarth will be made in some way to suffer. How that happens is not a big deal as long as they do not retain their current trade and naval power, which would allow them to restore the slave trade (by ship).

It's pretty damn impossible to restore the slave trade to shipping if they can't find places to stock up on slaves. They can still trade with the east, but if the western passage is blocked to Qarth, it basically goes from a powerful citystate in the center of a world to an outpost in the periphery. That's bound to hurt like hell.

If destroying their trading partners accomplishes this, on its own, fine. But there is no doubt Dany wants Qarth to suffer, and prophesy does suggest she will retrace her steps somewhat which may well include Qarth. To go forward you must go back (retracing this means: Dosh Khaleen, Qarth, Astapor, Yunkai). This doesn't need to take much page space in the books, it can just be a word of mouth or after the fact discussion sort of thing. Because it will be pure fire and blood anyway, not much time is involved in destroying cities with dragon fire.

For reasons already outlined above, an attack on Qarth is pure suicide and a waste of resources, both material and human. Qarth has withstood encroachment from the Valyrians at the height of their empire! Valyria had at least 300 dragons and vastly bigger armies than Dany and yet Qarth endured.

Sure, the power of Qarth has waned over the years. The Red Waste has made them more dependant on food import and magic is only now beginning to stir. Even so, Dany is not Valyria. One dragon is not enough to destroy a city, especially one of Drogon's size. Now, don't get me wrong, Drogon is an impressive specimen. He grows like Meraxes on speed and his growth rate is probably closer to the authentic dragons of yore, but even he is nowhere near Balerion's size and even the Black Dread would not have been able to level a city on his own.

To make it even more impossible, Drogon and Dany have zero experience in waging war from dragonback. I'm sure Dany is a natural, but she doesn't now anything about the tactics the old dragonriders used to combat their opponents. To go in and attack Qarth like that, would border on the suicidal. Her dragonpower is much more useful back in the west, were it will help her scout enemy waters, capture fast ships that might bring word of her fleet and act as a symbol. Especially the last function is important, if she shows up on dragonback, followers will flock to here from every corner of the map. Followers of R'hlorr, powerhungry opportunists, mercenaries, Valyrian traditionalists and so on.

[Hodor's Dragon]

What gave you the idea Dany is a good ruler? She is a conqueror, no more, no less.

That is absolutely, 100% not her intention, and we know that for sure because we have been reading her mind right straight along.

It's a safe assumption that she is going to learn from her experience and change her ways. We know this because that's what fiction protagonists do, especially those who start out as 13-year-olds who are immediately confronted with wildly complex responsibilities to gather experience from.

Besides . . . she doesn't have Aegon's firepower. She has 3 adolescent dragons. She is not capable of burning castles down by herself.

The obvious lesson for her to have learned in Slaver's Bay is that she needs to incorporate local power structures to rule. If she actually learned that, then the is going to use her Westeros connections (including Tyrion) to make some contacts before she arrives. If she is going to do this conquest right, she wants to make as much of it as possible political and then fire and blood the uncooperative hard cases - not everybody.

[Hippocras]

That is absolutely, 100% not her intention, and we know that for sure because we have been reading her mind right straight along.

It's a safe assumption that she is going to learn from her experience and change her ways. We know this because that's what fiction protagonists do, especially those who start out as 13-year-olds who are immediately confronted with wildly complex responsibilities to gather experience from.

Besides . . . she doesn't have Aegon's firepower. She has 3 adolescent dragons. She is not capable of burning castles down by herself.

The obvious lesson for her to have learned in Slaver's Bay is that she needs to incorporate local power structures to rule. If she actually learned that, then the is going to use her Westeros connections (including Tyrion) to make some contacts before she arrives. If she is going to do this conquest right, she wants to make as much of it as possible political and then fire and blood the uncooperative hard cases - not everybody.

Yep. But I would consider Qarth one of the uncooperative hard cases.