The Lion and the Griffin

The Lion and the Griffin is a cryptic phrase spoken by the masked shadowbinder Quaithe during her second apparition to Daenerys Targaryen in Meereen, part of a longer litany of warnings about figures who will soon come to Slaver's Bay. The words appear in a sequence that also includes "kraken and dark flame," "the sun's son," and "the mummer's dragon," all of which Quaithe commands Daenerys to trust none of. The lion almost certainly refers to the Lannisters—either Tywin Lannister, whose death has not yet reached Meereen, or the broader threat of House Lannister's power. The griffin is the personal sigil of Jon Connington, the exiled Lord of Griffin's Roost and former Hand of the King, who is at that moment traveling down the Rhoyne with the boy claiming to be Aegon Targaryen. Quaithe's warning thus identifies two of the major factions that will soon seek to influence or destroy Daenerys's rule, though she offers no explanation of how to distinguish friend from foe among them.

Context and Delivery

Quaithe appears to Daenerys on the terrace of the Great Pyramid in Meereen, having bypassed all guards. She speaks in a series of elliptical prophecies, telling Daenerys that "the glass candles are burning" and that "soon comes the pale mare, and after her the others." The list of approaching threats includes "kraken and dark flame, lion and griffin, the sun's son and the mummer's dragon." Daenerys, frustrated by the riddling, demands plain speech, but Quaithe only repeats her warning to trust none of them and to remember the Undying. The encounter ends when Missandei interrupts, and Quaithe vanishes, leaving Daenerys to wonder whether she is going mad like her father.

The Lion

The lion in Quaithe's prophecy most directly signifies House Lannister. At the time of the warning, Tywin Lannister has been dead for some time, killed by his son Tyrion, but news of his death has not yet reached Meereen. The Lannisters remain the dominant power in Westeros, and Daenerys knows them as the Usurper's dogs who murdered her brother Rhaegar's children. The lion may also refer specifically to Tyrion Lannister, who is at that moment traveling toward Meereen with Illyrio Mopatis's agents, though Quaithe's warning predates his arrival. The phrase thus functions as a general alert that Lannister power—whether living or posthumous—will seek to destroy or manipulate her.

The Griffin

The griffin is the heraldic beast of House Connington, and by extension refers to Jon Connington, the exiled lord who has dyed his hair blue and taken the alias Griff. Connington is at that moment piloting the poleboat Shy Maid down the Rhoyne with the boy he calls Young Griff, whom he believes to be Prince Aegon Targaryen, Rhaegar's son. Connington's mission is to deliver this pretender to Daenerys for a marriage alliance, but Quaithe's warning suggests that he is not to be trusted. The griffin thus represents a false friend—a figure who comes claiming kinship and alliance but whose true loyalties and ambitions may be at odds with Daenerys's own.

Thematic Significance

The Lion and the Griffin, as part of Quaithe's larger prophecy, embodies the central dilemma of Daenerys's arc in A Dance with Dragons: the impossibility of distinguishing genuine allies from hidden enemies. Every faction that approaches her—the Yunkish slavers, the Qartheen merchants, the Dornish prince, the sellsword companies, and eventually the forces of the lion and the griffin—claims to offer friendship or alliance, yet each has its own agenda. Quaithe's warning, like all prophecies in the series, is both true and useless: it names the threats but offers no guidance on how to counter them, leaving Daenerys to navigate a web of deception with only her instincts and her dragons.