The Thirteen

The Thirteen is the ruling merchant council of Qarth, the Queen of Cities, composed of the wealthiest and most powerful traders in that ancient port. Their collective authority governs Qarth's commerce, its relations with foreign powers, and the city's internal politics. In A Dance with Dragons, the Thirteen are represented most prominently by Xaro Xhoan Daxos, a merchant prince who had previously hosted Daenerys Targaryen during her stay in Qarth and who now crosses the seas to Meereen with a fleet of thirteen galleys.

Composition and Authority

The Thirteen are not a hereditary nobility but an oligarchy of commercial power. Membership is drawn from the richest merchant families, and their decisions shape Qarth's foreign policy and trade. Xaro Xhoan Daxos, who styles himself a member of the Thirteen, is the most visible of their number in this volume. When he arrives in Meereen, he brings thirteen galleys—one from each member of the Thirteen, as Daenerys suspects—and presents them as a gift to the dragon queen. The number thirteen is deliberate: each galley represents one of the Thirteen, and the offer is a collective gesture of the council's will.

The Offer and Its Conditions

Xaro presents the fleet to Daenerys as a gift meant to carry her home to Westeros. He insists that she swear to return to Westeros forthwith, and that she do so by her dragons, her seven-faced god, and the ashes of her fathers. The condition is absolute: accept the ships and leave Meereen immediately, or refuse and face destruction. Xaro warns her that she will not live long if she remains, that her enemies are too many, and that the Yunkai'i and their allies will crush her. The offer is a honeycomb in one hand and a whip in the other—a choice between flight and death.

Daenerys's Refusal and the Thirteen's Response

Daenerys, after consulting her council, decides that she cannot abandon Meereen to the fate of Astapor. She tells Xaro that she will take the ships but cannot promise to leave, offering instead the friendship of Meereen and a share of its trade. Xaro's reaction is immediate and theatrical: he weeps, accuses her of folly, and warns that she has made too many enemies. When she refuses to yield, his tone shifts from pleading to threat. "Xaro Xhoan Daxos does not threaten. He promises," he says, and departs. The next morning, his galleas is gone, but the thirteen galleys remain in the bay—and with them, a messenger who lays a bloodstained glove at Daenerys's feet, a declaration of war.

Significance in the Narrative

The Thirteen's intervention marks a turning point in Daenerys's struggle to hold Meereen. Their blockade, joining those of Qarth, Tolos, and New Ghis, strangles her city's trade and isolates her from the sea. Xaro's offer and its withdrawal demonstrate that the commercial powers of the east see Daenerys not as a potential ally but as a threat to the slave trade on which their wealth depends. The Thirteen's enmity is not personal but structural: she has smashed the slave trade, and the blow is felt from Westeros to Asshai. Their ships in the bay are a constant reminder that her peace is fragile and her enemies many.