Gates of Fate

The Gates of Fate are the towering bronze entrance to Daznak's Pit, the largest and most infamous of Meereen's fighting arenas. They are not merely a portal but a monument to the city's blood-soaked traditions, serving as a memorial where the names of victorious fighters are carved into the metal so they may be remembered after their deaths. The gates embody the Ghiscari reverence for what they call the "mortal art"—the spectacle of combat to the death that Daenerys Targaryen sought to abolish but was ultimately forced to reopen as a concession to her Meereenese subjects and her husband, Hizdahr zo Loraq.

Description and Symbolism

The Gates of Fate are described as a pair of towering bronze warriors locked in mortal combat, their blades and bodies forming an archway overhead. This design captures the essence of the fighting pits: two combatants killing one another simultaneously, a frozen moment of mutual destruction that serves as both entrance and emblem. The gates are the physical threshold between the ordinary world of Meereen's streets and the ritualized slaughter within the pit. They mark the boundary where life enters and death exits, where a fighter's fate is decided not by the gods but by the crowd's thirst for blood. The name itself—the Gates of Fate—suggests that those who pass through are entering a realm where destiny is determined by skill, courage, and luck, all under the gaze of tens of thousands of spectators.

The Promise of Immortality

The central promise of the Gates of Fate is that a fallen fighter's name will be graven upon them, ensuring remembrance. When Daenerys questioned the pit fighters about why they wished to return to the arena after being freed, Barsena Blackhair, a famed female combatant, declared: "Their names shall be graven on the Gates of Fate amongst the other valiant fallen." She added, "All men must die, and women too… but not all will be remembered." This reveals the core appeal of the pits: the chance to transcend mortality through glory. For former slaves who had been nameless property, the Gates offered a form of immortality—a permanent record of their courage etched into bronze for all future generations to see.

Daenerys's Reluctant Acceptance

Daenerys Targaryen initially banned the fighting pits upon conquering Meereen, viewing them as an abomination that glorified murder. She refused Hizdahr zo Loraq's petitions to reopen them six times. However, as the Sons of the Harpy's nightly murders destabilized her rule and the Yunkish siege tightened, she was forced to compromise. The reopening of the pits became a key condition of her marriage to Hizdahr and the peace treaty with Yunkai. Daenerys ultimately declared, "After the wedding Hizdahr will be king. Let him reopen the fighting pits if he wishes. I want no part of it." She washed her hands of the decision, allowing the bloodshed to resume under her husband's authority while she distanced herself from the moral cost. The Gates of Fate thus stand as a monument to her failed idealism—a symbol of the compromises she made to hold her fragile kingdom together.

The Gates in the Narrative

The Gates of Fate are most prominently featured during the reopening of Daznak's Pit, which culminates in Daenerys's dramatic flight on Drogon. The queen passes beneath the bronze warriors to attend the games, and it is through this same archway that the black dragon later escapes, carrying her away from Meereen. The gates thus witness both the restoration of the old order and its catastrophic disruption. They mark the point where Daenerys's carefully constructed peace shatters, as the dragon she could not control bursts through the very monument that celebrated the violence she had tried to end. The Gates of Fate, designed to immortalize fighters, instead become the backdrop for the queen's own transformation from ruler to fugitive, her fate sealed by the very bloodsport she had been forced to embrace.