Highlights
- Tywin Lannister manipulates political marriages to secure the North and gain control over the Stark regalia, going so far as to have Ned Stark's Valyrian steel sword melted down.
- Valyrian steel swords are highly prized and rare, symbolizing status and power among the nobles of Westeros.
- Jaime Lannister receives a reforged Valyrian steel sword from his father, which he later regifts to Brienne of Tarth to fulfill his oath and protect Sansa Stark.
The man behind the Red Wedding and the fall of Robb Stark and the Northerners, Tywin Lannister had plans for the living Starks (Sansa) and the Stark regalia by the end of Game of Thrones season 3. To secure the North, he'd already wrestled Sansa out of the Tyrells' grip and arranged a political marriage between her and his youngest and despised, son, Tyrion. Tywin went as far as to push Tyrion to give him a half-Lannister-half-Stark heir through which his House would forever have a stake in the North. As for the Stark regalia, i.e., Ned Stark's Valyrian steel greatsword, Ice, Tywin melted it down.
The man who rebuilt his House from ruin, Tywin wanted a Valyrian steel sword in the family, but the problem was it was something his riches couldn't buy. While House Lannister had a Valyrian steel greatsword (Brightroar) of its own, it disappeared with King Tommen II Lannister and his fleet in the ruins of Valyria. As the name suggests, Valyrian steel was made in Old Valyria before the doom, quite possibly in magic and spells and thus rare. In Game of Thrones season 4, episode 1 "Two Swords," Jaime Lannister rightly remarked that no one's forged a Valyrian steel sword since the Doom of Valyria. As such, swords and weapons surviving from the days of Old Valyria were considered symbols of status, and reality by the nobles on Thrones. They served as artifacts of old Valyria, and it's quite understandable why the Lannister lion, Tywin wanted to have a Valyrian steel sword. It is where his present to Jaime (Oathbreaker) comes into the picture in Game of Thrones.
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Tywin Invites The Finest Living Smith To King's Landing
By the end of Game of Thrones season 3, the Northern threat is dealt with, and with Ned and Robb Stark dead, Tywin finally reforges House Stark's ancestral sword, Ice. He takes one last look at its tall blade and hands it over to a smith who knocks its hilt off and forges it into two swords. Tywin presents one of the freshly forged swords to his son, Jaime shortly afterward, saying:
The original weapon was absurdly large. Plenty of steel for two swords.
Tywin oversees the reforging of Ice into two swords and admits to Jaime that he invited the finest of the three living smiths who knew how to rework Valyrian steel. Jaime uses the words, "magnificent" and "glorious" for his sword, while unable to sheath it back into its cover. Tywin orders him to resign from the Kingsguard and to rule Casterly Rock in his stead but Jaime fears breaking his sacred vow will add to his laundry list of derogatory nicknames such as "Kingslayer" and "Oathbreaker." Tywin informs him there's a royal precedent to relieve the Kingsguard of his duties, but he declines. In the end, Tywin asks him to keep his new sword, saying:
"A one-handed man with no family needs all the help he can get."
Jaime Regifts The Sword To Brienne Of Tarth
At Tyrion's suggestion, Jaime begins training with Bronn in Game of Thrones season 4, episode 2 "The Lion and the Rose." Bronn forbids him from fighting with an edged blade, so they use sparring swords. Nonetheless, he carries his Valyrian steel sword when in his kingsguard armor. Following Joffrey's assassination, and Sansa Stark's escape, Jaime presents his Valyrian steel longsword to Brienne of Tarth. He entrusts her with the responsibility of finding Sansa and keeping her safe. He provides her with a suit of armor, supplies, two horses, a squire (Podrick Payne), and most importantly, the longsword that he received from his father.
It's yours. It was reforged from Ned Stark's sword. You will use it to defend Ned Stark's daughter. You swore an oath to return the Stark girls to their mother. Lady Stark's dead. Arya is probably dead too. But there's still a chance to find Sansa and get her somewhere safe.
Brienne accepts it and Jaime knows he's done the most selfless thing in a long time. Before departing, he asks Brienne a name for the sword, and she says, "Oathkeeper." So in essence, while the Stark regalia, Ice was never returned to Winterfell in its original form, Oathkeeper sees the North, through Brienne who serves as the sworn protector of Sansa. Having achieved her purpose of finding Sansa, she does offer Oathkeeper back to Jaime during the Siege of Riverrun, but he refuses saying the sword will always belong to her. Brienne fights in the Battle of Winterfell and slays countless Wights with her Valyrian steel blade. She finishes her Game of Thrones journey serving as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard to King Bran with Oathkeeper in her possession. She also lists Ser Jaime Lannister's good deeds in the White Book at the Red Keep. She mentions his fighting in the Battle of Winterfell, his successful war strategies against the Targaryen forces, the bloodless siege of Riverrun, and the Battle of the Goldroad among others.