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The Ninepenny kings


joluoto

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We only know the identity of three of them: Maelys Blackfyre, Alequo Adarys and the Ebon Prince (whoever he was). Do you think any of them could still be alive? Adarys is probably dead since he lost control of Tyrosh, and we know Maelys the Monstrous is dead, but will we ever know more about them, and will they start to play a part in the story.

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Well going by the Tattered Prince's age as appearing to be similar to Barristan and the fact that he was 23 when chosen as Prince of Pentos, we can infer that he was chosen as Prince either at the time of or shortly after the Ninepenny Kings War.

We also know that the Pentoshi execute the Prince and choose a new one under several circumstances such as a crop failure or a loss in a war.

Which has lead to my theory that the Tattered Prince was chosen after the previous Prince had been executed for losing a war. Which then continues that one of the Band of Nine was trying to claim Penots and for a time at least was successful.

As to other information, as far I can tell Ran once mentioned that one member of the Band of Nine was in some way connected to a supporting character we all know. He mentioned this before aDwD was released and so therefore this particular character can not be the Tattered Prince.

The likeliest candidates I can come up with are Salldor Saan and Jalabhar Xho.

It could well be that the Ebon Prince was attempting to claim the Summer Islands and thus Jalabhar is possibly his son, making Jalabhar to Robert what the Blackfyre kids were to Tyrosh

Or Sallador Saan may be the son of a member of the Band of Nine. Think about it, Lys was a Valyrian colony with confirmed Valyrian noble bloodlines like Serenie's. Sallador lives in a manse in Lys, names one of his ships "Valyrian" and is a well known pirate up and down the narrow sea and yet avoids any backlash. Maybe Sallador's dad or Sallador himself depending on age was attempting to claim Lys as part of the Band of Nine.

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From my understanding Lysene culture praises piracy, and many Lysene pirates are connected to the Lysene government.

Well everything we have seen of Lys indicates a mercantile culture with an emphasis on sex workers, nothing inherently pirate about that.

Where is gets shadier though is through people like Asha referencing the people of the Stepstones as "Lysene Pirates". Is this a matter of "Lysene are all pirates", or just a byproduct of the fact that Sallador a Lysene seems to have the run of the Stepstones during this timeframe.

Sallador may only be in the powerful position he is in due to his or his father;s actions in the Ninepenny Kings War.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well going by the Tattered Prince's age as appearing to be similar to Barristan and the fact that he was 23 when chosen as Prince of Pentos, we can infer that he was chosen as Prince either at the time of or shortly after the Ninepenny Kings War.

We also know that the Pentoshi execute the Prince and choose a new one under several circumstances such as a crop failure or a loss in a war.

Which has lead to my theory that the Tattered Prince was chosen after the previous Prince had been executed for losing a war. Which then continues that one of the Band of Nine was trying to claim Penots and for a time at least was successful.

As to other information, as far I can tell Ran once mentioned that one member of the Band of Nine was in some way connected to a supporting character we all know. He mentioned this before aDwD was released and so therefore this particular character can not be the Tattered Prince.

The likeliest candidates I can come up with are Salldor Saan and Jalabhar Xho.

It could well be that the Ebon Prince was attempting to claim the Summer Islands and thus Jalabhar is possibly his son, making Jalabhar to Robert what the Blackfyre kids were to Tyrosh

Or Sallador Saan may be the son of a member of the Band of Nine. Think about it, Lys was a Valyrian colony with confirmed Valyrian noble bloodlines like Serenie's. Sallador lives in a manse in Lys, names one of his ships "Valyrian" and is a well known pirate up and down the narrow sea and yet avoids any backlash. Maybe Sallador's dad or Sallador himself depending on age was attempting to claim Lys as part of the Band of Nine.

Saan makes a lot of sense. Especially when you consider that the Bo9 conquered the Stepstones (with ease, apparently), a place that has very little in terms of civilization, and a lot in terms of pirates and smugglers. At the very least it indicates the Bo9 had some reasonable strength at sea. (Tyrosh being on an island too, of course).

To add to what you learned from Ran, I have read the synopses of the Blood of Dragons MUSH. Obviously that stuff is not canon, but Ran obviously knows things we don't. He inserted a predecessor to Salladhor into the time of Baelor the Blessed (170ish I think). If Ran knew of a Saan during the Ninepenny Kings war... well, knowing that Salladhor had a powerful father/grandfather it might give him license to create more predecessors in that line.

Plus, note the description of who the Ninepenny kings were: "merchants, mercenaries and *pirates*".

I don't think Jalabhar Xho very likely though, as the Summer Islands are quite remote.

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Saan makes a lot of sense. Especially when you consider that the Bo9 conquered the Stepstones (with ease, apparently), a place that has very little in terms of civilization, and a lot in terms of pirates and smugglers. At the very least it indicates the Bo9 had some reasonable strength at sea. (Tyrosh being on an island too, of course).

To add to what you learned from Ran, I have read the synopses of the Blood of Dragons MUSH. Obviously that stuff is not canon, but Ran obviously knows things we don't. He inserted a predecessor to Salladhor into the time of Baelor the Blessed (170ish I think). If Ran knew of a Saan during the Ninepenny Kings war... well, knowing that Salladhor had a powerful father/grandfather it might give him license to create more predecessors in that line.

Plus, note the description of who the Ninepenny kings were: "merchants, mercenaries and *pirates*".

I don't think Jalabhar Xho very likely though, as the Summer Islands are quite remote.

Crackpot thought: Could that mean that Salladhor will soon support Aegon? People have already found evidence that there'll be some meeting (whether a clash or an alliance) of Manderly's fleet and Aurane Waters' warships.

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This quote, from Ser Barristan, says a lot about them in general.

“Bloodbeard.” Ser Barristan’s frown deepened. “If it please Your Grace, we want no part of him. Your Grace is too young to remember the Ninepenny Kings, but this Bloodbeard is cut from the same savage cloth. There is no honor in him, only hunger … for gold, for glory, for blood.”

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There isn't any single great resource, rather small mentions here and there. My podcast does an episode on them in combo with the Golden Company. Links to download are in my signature file if you're interested.

(D&E novels all take place prior to the War, so they actually aren't relevant).

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  • 2 months later...

What about Illyrio? Could he have been one of the Band of Nine?

Well the WoNPK took place 40ish years before GoT. So assuming Illyrio was 20 at that time he would be at least be 60 in GoT. Seeing how no one specifies him as old he is likely younger than that. Not out of the question but unlikely.

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What about Illyrio? Could he have been one of the Band of Nine?

I don't think he was one of the Band of Nine as it would have surely come up by now. However I theorize that he was probably a sellsword serving in the Golden Company during the war though.

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Well the WoNPK took place 40ish years before GoT. So assuming Illyrio was 20 at that time he would be at least be 60 in GoT. Seeing how no one specifies him as old he is likely younger than that. Not out of the question but unlikely.

Yeah, I realized that shortly after posting. Maybe he is a descendent?

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