Quentyn Martell
Quentyn Martell, the eldest son and heir of Prince Doran Martell of Dorne, journeys to Slaver’s Bay to fulfill a secret marriage pact with Daenerys Targaryen, but his quest ends in tragedy when he is burned to death by the dragon Rhaegal. His story is one of a dutiful prince who arrives too late, overestimates his own courage, and pays the ultimate price for a desperate gamble.
Identity and Background
Quentyn is the eldest son of Prince Doran Martell of Dorne, a cautious and deliberate ruler. He is described as short-legged and stocky, with a high forehead, a square jaw, and a broad nose—a “good honest face,” as one girl called it, though he rarely smiled. Unlike his flamboyant uncle Oberyn, Quentyn is solemn and dutiful, shaped by his father’s long-term plans. He was fostered at Yronwood, where he became close friends with Cletus Yronwood and Gerris Drinkwater. Before the war, he was betrothed to Daryn Hornwood, but the match never came to pass after Daryn was killed by the Kingslayer in the Whispering Wood. Quentyn’s father later summoned him to the Water Gardens and entrusted him with a secret mission: to cross the narrow sea, find Daenerys Targaryen, and offer her Dorne’s support in exchange for a marriage alliance, sealed by a pact made in Braavos when Quentyn was still a child.
Journey and Arrival
Quentyn sets sail from the Planky Town with five companions: Cletus Yronwood, Willam Wells, Maester Kedry, Gerris Drinkwater, and Archibald Yronwood. Their ship, the Meadowlark, is attacked by corsairs off the coast of the Disputed Lands; Cletus, Will, and Maester Kedry are killed. The three survivors—Quentyn, Gerris, and Archibald—press on, adopting false identities. In Volantis, they struggle to find a ship willing to take them to war-torn Meereen. Desperate, they join the sellsword company the Windblown under assumed names: Quentyn becomes “Frog,” a squire to the big knight “Greenguts” (Archibald). The Windblown are hired by Yunkai to fight against Daenerys. Quentyn and his friends plan to desert and cross to her side, but before they can act, the Tattered Prince orders a group of Westerosi—including the three Dornishmen—to feign desertion and infiltrate Daenerys’s camp. This ruse delivers them to Meereen, where Quentyn finally presents himself to the queen.
The Failed Courtship
When Quentyn reveals his true identity and the marriage pact, Daenerys laughs. She tells him he has come a year too late; she is already pledged to marry Hizdahr zo Loraq. “They call him frog,” she says, “and we have just learned why.” Quentyn is humiliated but does not give up. He remains in Meereen, hoping to prove his worth. Daenerys, though she refuses his hand, shows him her dragons in the pit beneath the Great Pyramid, telling him, “The dragon has three heads. My marriage need not be the end of all your hopes.” She gives him no clear promise, but the encounter plants a dangerous idea in his mind: if he can tame a dragon, he might yet win her favor.
The Dragon-Taming Attempt
After Daenerys flies away on Drogon and disappears, Quentyn becomes desperate. He makes a pact with the Tattered Prince, promising him the city of Pentos in exchange for help stealing one of the two dragons chained in the pit. With Gerris, Archibald, and a group of Windblown sellswords, he infiltrates the pyramid. They kill the Brazen Beast guards and break into the dragon pit. Quentyn intends to feed the dragons and chain them while they are sluggish, but the beasts are far more dangerous than he anticipated. Viserion breaks free and attacks the sellswords, killing one. Quentyn tries to cow the dragon with a whip, as Daenerys had done with Drogon, but Rhaegal, the green dragon, turns on him. A gout of dragonfire engulfs Quentyn. He screams as his flesh burns.
Death and Aftermath
Quentyn Martell dies three days later, in agony, in the queen’s own bed. His face is destroyed, his lips gone, his eyes pools of pus. The Blue Graces refuse to attend him. Only the little scribe Missandei stays by his side, reading to him and giving him water. His last words are unintelligible gasps. Ser Barristan Selmy, who had warned him to leave Meereen, covers his body and orders his bones returned to Dorne. Gerris Drinkwater and Archibald Yronwood are taken prisoner. Gerris insists that Quentyn acted for love of Daenerys, but Selmy sees the truth: “Quentyn was here for dragons, not Daenerys.” The attempt also unleashes Viserion and Rhaegal upon the city, causing fires, destruction, and dozens of deaths, further destabilizing Meereen. Quentyn’s folly leaves Dorne without its heir and the realm without a dragonrider.
