Qarth

Qarth, the Queen of Cities, is a fabulously wealthy and ancient port on the Jade Sea, ruled by a complex oligarchy of merchant princes, the Pureborn, and the enigmatic warlocks of the Undying. In A Dance with Dragons, it is a distant but potent force, its influence felt through its emissaries and its economic power, which is inextricably tied to the institution of slavery. The city's primary representative in the narrative is Xaro Xhoan Daxos, a member of the Thirteen, whose dealings with Daenerys Targaryen reveal Qarth's calculated self-interest and its hostility to her anti-slavery revolution.

Xaro Xhoan Daxos and the Qartheen Gambit

Xaro Xhoan Daxos arrives in Meereen with a fleet of thirteen galleys, ostensibly as a gift to Daenerys, whom he calls "the queen of my heart." He presents himself as a friend and suitor, offering the ships to carry her home to Westeros. However, his true purpose is to manipulate her into abandoning Meereen. He warns her that her enemies are numerous and that she will "surely die screaming" if she remains. When Daenerys refuses to leave, Xaro's demeanor shifts from tearful supplication to open threat. He reveals that he had told the Thirteen she was "no more than a child," and that others, like Egon Emeros the Exquisite, called her "a foolish child, mad and heedless and too dangerous to live." He admits, "I should have slain you in Qarth." When Daenerys orders him to leave, he departs but leaves his "gift" of ships behind, and the next morning, a messenger presents her with a bloodstained glove, a declaration of war.

Qarth's Economy and the Slave Trade

Qarth's wealth and power are built on slavery, a fact Xaro openly defends. He argues that slavery is as necessary as rain, stating, "For some men to be great, others must be enslaved." He mocks Daenerys's abolitionist stance, pointing out that her own city of Meereen is impoverished and hungry without the slave trade. He tells her, "Qarth will gladly give you gold… for slaves." When Daenerys refuses to trade in human beings, Xaro's offer of friendship evaporates, revealing the fundamental conflict between Qarth's mercantile, slave-based empire and Daenerys's vision of freedom. The city's economic interests are directly threatened by her actions in Slaver's Bay, making it a natural ally of Yunkai and other slaver cities.

The Warlocks and the Undying

Qarth is also home to the warlocks of the Undying, a mysterious and powerful guild of sorcerers. Xaro warns Daenerys that Pyat Pree, a warlock whose palace she destroyed, has set out with three of his fellows to seek her in Pentos. This threat underscores the magical dangers that lurk within Qarth's opulent facade. The Undying had previously prophesied to Daenerys that she would know "three treasons," a prophecy that continues to haunt her as she navigates the treacherous politics of Meereen, where she suspects figures like Reznak mo Reznak and Skahaz mo Kandaq of being potential betrayers. The memory of the Undying and their riddles—"three fires must you light… one for life and one for death and one for love"—remains a source of anxiety and a lens through which she interprets the betrayals she experiences.

Narrative Significance

Qarth functions as a symbol of the old, slave-based world order that Daenerys has challenged. Its representatives, particularly Xaro, embody the cynical, self-serving logic of merchant capitalism, where human lives are commodities and alliances are purely transactional. Xaro's failed attempt to bribe or threaten Daenerys into leaving Meereen highlights her growing commitment to her role as a liberator, even as it isolates her from potential allies. The city's distant but persistent presence, through its ships and its warlocks, serves as a reminder that the forces arrayed against Daenerys are vast and interconnected, stretching from the Jade Sea to the shores of Westeros.