[ Behind her wine glass, Dany's brow darkens. It is an ungentle tale.
Once she would have shielded a child from such matters, but Sieglinde is older than Missandei, and Missandei has seen more cruelty in her short years than even Dany has. ]
Because their discipline is an unrivaled, tireless thing. They are groomed to obey, [ she tells her bluntly, ] no matter the cost to their own lives. They are gelded as youths, fed poison each night to extinguish their pain, and made to train with shield, spear, and shortsword from dawn to dusk. Unsullied keep no names among themselves, have no use for looting, and they do not harm women as armies do.
[ She pauses, reaching for Sieglinde's hand again. ]
Thousands were culled for weakness before ever they earned their spiked caps. [ She sips at her wine. ] Such was the brutality of their training. The deeds they committed before they were deemed ready for my purchase were monstrous. Enough that when first I was informed, I could not bear to think of them as men. Not even as cut men.
cw: literally every trigger warning ever in asoiaf
Once she would have shielded a child from such matters, but Sieglinde is older than Missandei, and Missandei has seen more cruelty in her short years than even Dany has. ]
Because their discipline is an unrivaled, tireless thing. They are groomed to obey, [ she tells her bluntly, ] no matter the cost to their own lives. They are gelded as youths, fed poison each night to extinguish their pain, and made to train with shield, spear, and shortsword from dawn to dusk. Unsullied keep no names among themselves, have no use for looting, and they do not harm women as armies do.
[ She pauses, reaching for Sieglinde's hand again. ]
Thousands were culled for weakness before ever they earned their spiked caps. [ She sips at her wine. ] Such was the brutality of their training. The deeds they committed before they were deemed ready for my purchase were monstrous. Enough that when first I was informed, I could not bear to think of them as men. Not even as cut men.