Brandon Snow

Brandon Snow was the bastard brother of Torrhen Stark, King in the North. During the confrontation with Aegon I Targaryen at the Trident, Brandon proposed a dangerous response to the dragons barring the way south: cross the river alone at night and kill them while they slept. Torrhen sent him across, but with three maesters at his side and a different purpose. Brandon’s role marks the shift from a desperate military proposal to the negotiations that ended northern independence without a battle.

Identity and Background

Brandon is identified as Torrhen Stark’s bastard brother and as one of the king’s advisers during the crisis at the Trident. The account gives no further details of his background or later life, but places him close to the decision facing the northern army: attack, retreat, or find another way to avoid the dragons.

The Proposal at the Trident

Torrhen’s host confronted an army half again its size on the south bank of the river, while Balerion, Meraxes, and Vhagar circled above the opposing camp. The destruction at Harrenhal and the reported devastation of the Field of Fire made the danger plain. Some northern lords urged an attack, while others counselled retreat to Moat Cailin. Brandon offered a third course: cross the Trident alone under cover of darkness and kill the sleeping dragons. The account records the proposal, but does not say that he attempted to carry out that plan.

Negotiation and Significance

Torrhen did send Brandon across the Trident, accompanied by three maesters, not to kill the dragons but to treat. Messages passed back and forth throughout the night. The next morning Torrhen crossed the river himself, laid the ancient crown of the Kings of Winter at Aegon’s feet, and swore fealty. The account does not specify what Brandon or the maesters said or what role Brandon played in the exchange of messages; it does establish that the crossing he had proposed as a solitary attack became part of a negotiated submission. No northern army was destroyed beside the Trident, and the swords surrendered by Torrhen and his vassals were not bent or melted. Brandon’s episode therefore helps distinguish the conquest of the North from a victory won by dragonfire: the threat of violence shaped the choice, but the submission was made without the battle Brandon’s original plan might have provoked.