Unsullied

"The Unsullied are not men. Death means nothing to them."

- Missandei to Daenerys The Unsullied are elite warrior-eunuchs bred and trained in Astapor, one of the three major cities of Slaver's Bay. They are slave-soldiers famed for their skills and discipline in battle. They are also often purchased from Astapor by some of the Free Cities, such as Qohor.

Unsullied battle tactics are based on the legions of the old Ghiscari Empire, involving large groups of them fighting in lock-step phalanxes using spear and shield, though they are also trained to use shortswords for close-quarters combat. Slave-eunuchs who have been trained from birth to fight, the Unsullied are renowned for their utter discipline on the battlefield, both in their usage of incredibly coordinated large unit phalanx formations, and because they will never break in the face of overwhelming odds, even to the point of death.

Unsullied training begins when the boys are five years old: some were selected to be Unsullied as infants and castrated then, though any slave boy up to the age of five may be later selected to be made into an Unsullied, and then castrated. For over a decade until they are full-grown, they train from dawn to dusk until they have mastered the shortsword, shield, and three lengths of spear, as well as their training to fight together as organized phalanxes. The training regimen is utterly brutal, and because of this, only one out of every four boys survives until the end.

Because they are eunuchs, the Unsullied will not succumb to bloodthirsty or sexual urges in the midst of battle; their actions will only go as far as what they have been ordered to do, and nothing more. The Unsullied also seem resistant and even immune to pain. However, Unsullied do possess emotions and can show anger.

History
Four hundred years ago, 3,000 Unsullied saved the Free City of Qohor from destruction at the hands of Khal Temmo and his khalasar of 20,000 riders. Before the Unsullied arrived there from their long march, Temmo and his Dothraki massacred the Qohorik city guard and cavalry, while their two mercenary companies, one of them the Second Sons, broke their contract and fled. The Unsullied, however, slipped past the Dothraki while they feasted and were placed between the horde and the city. As the Dothraki have always held infantry in contempt, fit only to be ridden down, they charged instead of flanking them. Eighteen times the horselords charged and eighteen times the Unsullied locked their shields and held the line. By the end the battle only 600 Unsullied remained, but 12,000 Dothraki lay dead, including Temmo and his sons. The new Khal led the survivors past the city gates, one by one throwing their cut braids before the feet of the Unsullied. Since that day the Unsullied are employed both by cities and the rich of Essos.

Season 1
Magister Illyrio Mopatis of Pentos keeps Unsullied as household guards at his manse, despite slavery being illegal in Pentos. A few are also present at the wedding of Khal Drogo and Daenerys Targaryen.

Season 3
Daenerys Targaryen travels from Qarth to Astapor to buy Unsullied. She is shown a group of them by Kraznys mo Nakloz, one of the Good Masters.

Daenerys offers one of her dragons in exchange for 8,000 Unsullied and the boys still in training. The offer is accepted.

Daenerys meets with the Good Masters in a large plaza holding the entire force of Unsullied. She delivers Drogon and is given a scourge that symbolizes ownership of the Unsullied. Now their master, she orders them to kill all the Good Masters, soldiers, and slave overseers, spare the children, and free any slaves they find. After the sacking of the city is complete, she grants them their freedom and asks if they will fight for her as free men. After a few moments, they unanimously acclaim Daenerys as their leader and join her on her march.

As the march of Daenerys' host continues, the Unsullied - at Daenerys' request - choose their officers, as well as their overall commander. They choose Grey Worm. Later, they assume formation (without being asked to do so) in order to intimidate the ambassador from Yunkai. Grey Worm later leads the infiltration team into Yunkai itself; followed by a small group of his men, they rapidly overwhelm the city. When the freed slaves pour out of the city and approach Daenerys, the Unsullied assume defensive positions, but she orders them to stand down and goes out among the people.

Season 4
The Unsullied Army marches to Meereen under the command of Queen Daenerys Targaryen. Their commander Grey Worm is caught gambling with Daario Naharis by Daenerys. As punishment, the honor of riding with Dany goes to Jorah Mormont and Barristan Selmy, who did not keep her waiting. The soldiers later help her to bury the bodies of 163 crucified children. The Unsullied surround Meereen's walls. They are present when Daario dispatches the city's champion. The Unsullied and the other freed slaves listen when Dany gives a speech denouncing slavery. Under her orders, they catapult broken chains across Meereen's walls.

Later, Grey Worm and several Unsullied infiltrate Meereen disguised as slaves and convince the slaves to rebel against their "Great Masters". After seizing the city, the Unsullied carry out Dany's orders to crucify 163 of the city's Great Masters for the 163 slave children she found crucified on the way to Meereen. Grey Worm and the other Unsullied serve as Dany's guards at the Great Pyramid. Grey Worm and other Unsullied soldiers swim in the sea outside Meereen. During that time, Grey Worm begins to develop feelings for Missandei. Barristan later watches the Unsullied taking down the crucified bodies of the Great Masters when he receives a letter from a little bird incriminating Jorah. Later, Grey Worm and several Unsullied are present when Dany exiles Jorah for being a secret spy for King Robert Baratheon.

After having an audience with an elderly slave named Fennesz and hearing about the lawlessness at the refugee centres, Dany agrees to send her Unsullied to restore order.

Season 5
As a symbolic gesture of a new era, the Unsullied pulled down the large golden harpy at the top of the Great Pyramid. One of the Unsullied, named White Rat, enters a brothel and is entertained by a prostitute. He is then murdered by a member of the Sons of the Harpy, an insurgent organization opposed to Daenerys' rule and dedicated to restoring the old ways. In response, Dany orders Grey Worm to hunt down the culprits and that White Rat be buried in the Temple of the Graces to send a message to Meereen.

Together, Grey Worm and Daario raid the house of a member of the Harpies and discover him behind a false wall. Daenerys intends to put the Harpy on trial but a former Meereenese slave named Mossador murders him. To show that she is impartial and fair, Dany executes Mossador. This sparks much outrage among the former slave population and they haggle with both their former masters and the Unsullied guarding Dany.

After ambushing several members of the Second Sons with help of the same prostitute, the Sons of the Harpy lure Grey Worm and his Unsullied patrol into the catacombs. There, they are ambushed and many of the Unsullied are killed. Grey Worm is saved by the intervention of Barristan Selmy, who is killed by the Harpies despite killing all the remaining insurgents. Missandei tends to the wounded Grey Worm while other Unsullied round up the Grand Masters and bring them to Dany, who forces their cooperation. As a result, Dany agrees to marry Hizdahr zo Loraq in order to forge stronger ties with Meereen.

At the urging of Hizdahr, Dany agrees to reopen the fighting pits in order to appease the Meereenese. Several Unsullied accompanied her to a fighting match where the exiled Jorah defeats the other combatants. Dany is furious at encountering Jorah and orders the Unsullied to take him away. Before the Unsullied can comply, the exiled Tyrion Lannister arrives and announces himself as Jorah's "gift." Unsullied guards are present in Dany's throne room when she holds an audience with Jorah and Tyrion. Unable to forgive Jorah, she exiles him but allows Tyrion to remain as her advisor.

Unsullied guards are present at the gladiatorial match at the reopened Daznak's Pit. Many Unsullied are killed when the Sons of the Harpy launch an attack on the arena. However, the Unsullied fight off their attackers and protect Daenerys with the help of Jorah and Daario. In the end, the Harpies force the Unsullied and their Queen to the centre of the arena. During the fight, the Unsullied kill many of the Harpies. Shortly later, the dragon Drogon arrives and Dany flees the city on his back.

Having recovered from injuries, Grey Worm agrees to take command of the Unsullied and help Tyrion keep order in the city. Meanwhile, Jorah and Daario embark on a mission to rescue Danenerys and bring her back to Meereen.

Season 6
Several Unsullied bring the Meereenese prostitute Vala to the throne room of the Great Pyramid. There, the spymaster Varys strikes a deal with Vala. In return for sending her and her son to live in Pentos, Vala reveals that the slave-trading cities of Astapor, Yunkai, and Volantis are secretly aiding the Sons of the Harpy. Using this information, Tyrion gets Varys to use his spy network to initiate contact with the leaders of Astapor, Yunkai, and Pentos. As a result, the two parties reach a compromise that slavery will be phased out over a period of seven years and that all slave owners will be compensated. As a former slave, Grey Worm thinks that the peace treaty will not work but publicly supports Tyrion.

Later, the slave-trading cities break their peace treaty with Tyrion and launch a naval bombardment of Meereen. Recognizing that diplomacy has failed, Tyrion gives Grey Worm command over the city's defenses. Grey Worm proposes at his Unsullied not fight on the beaches and instead hold the pyramid. Shortly later, Daenerys returns on her dragon Drogon.

The following day, the Unsullied escort Daenerys and Tyrion when they parley with the leaders of the slavers' cities at the Great Pyramid. The slaving cities' representatives Belicho Paenymion, Razdal mo Eraz, and Yezzan zo Qaggaz demand that Dany surrender the Unsullied and Missandei to their rightful masters in return for being allowed to leave Meereen unharmed. Razdal intends for the Unsullied to be sold to the highest bidder. Dany rejects their terms and unleashes her three dragons including Viserion and Rhaegal on the slavers' fleet, destroying them with dragon fire. After the emissaries' bodyguards flee, the Unsullied watch as Grey Worm, under Tyrion's orders, execute Belicho and Razdal for trying to sacrifice Yezzan. Yezzan is allowed to leave so that he can spread tidings of Daenerys' power.

When Daenerys Targaryen sails to Westeros with her fleet together with the combined Greyjoy, Tyrell and Martell armada, the Unsullied stand together in a ship, led by commander Grey Worm.

Known Unsullied

 * Grey Worm, chosen as commander of the Unsullied sworn to Daenerys Targaryen.
 * {White Rat}, killed by one of the Sons of the Harpy in league with Vala in Meereen.

Spoken about the Unsullied
"Lord Varys is right. I have been to Essos and seen the Unsullied firsthand. They are very impressive on the battlefield. Less so in the bedroom..."

- Oberyn Martell on the strengths (and weaknesses) of the Unsullied.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the Unsullied are trained in Astapor, one of the three major cities of Slaver's Bay. They begin their training at five years old, when their genitals are fully removed. They are also given a puppy to look after, and at the end of the first year they must strangle the puppy to death. If they refuse, they are killed. Only one in three survives the training regime (not one in four, as said in the TV series). They are given a beverage called the "wine of courage", which over years numbs their body's ability to feel pain. Upon being given the spiked cap which is the symbol of their rank, they must go to the slave market, kill an infant slave before its mother and pay the slave owner for his loss. It is often less difficult for them to kill the infant than the puppy - they don't know the infant, but were made to take care of the puppy.

Their training is utterly brutal, designed not only to train them for combat but to strip them of any empathy, individuality, or sense of self-worth, in order to create soldiers who are willing to sacrifice their own lives if so ordered. Unsullied do not have permanent names, instead choosing new names at random every day, which are written on pieces of paper and then drawn by lot from a jar. Even these temporary names tend to be demeaning descriptors such as "Grey Worm", etc.

The extremely harsh training regime results in warriors who are unemotional, numbed against pain, and ferociously disciplined. They never loot or rape, they will hold against superior numbers, and will take their own lives if ordered to.

According to linguist David J. Peterson, the Dothraki respect the Unsullied so much that the Dothraki language does not derisively refer to them with terms that mean "slave" or "eunuch", etc. Instead, out of respect the Dothraki borrow the name that the Unsullied call themselves in Low Valyrian: "Dovaogēdy" (literally "unsullied". Plural: "Dovaogēdys"). Due to pronunciation differences, this loanword became "Dovoeddi" in the Dothraki language.

Unsullied serve under their own officers and function as small private armies which can be bought and sold. However, they are not mercenaries but slave-soldiers; they don't choose whom they serve, whom they fight, or if they are ordered to their deaths.

Though they are ferocious warriors, the Unsullied can become lazy if their mettle is not tested in battle. In the Free Cities, where they are usually employed as household guards who see little action, they can go soft.

Besides the forced custom of drawing new names every day, the Unsullied hold some customs of their own. They worship a goddess whom they refer to as the Lady of Spears, the Bride of Battle or the Mother of Hosts, but whose true name is only known to them who have burned their manhoods on her altar and may not be spoken of to outsiders. Unsullied purify themselves according to the laws of their great goddess; one way is to bathe in the salt sea. Even if there is no water around, they will maintain strict cleanliness, "bathing" themselves by rubbing their bodies with sand in Dothraki fashion.

Daenerys's Unsullied troops and their commander Grey Worm are totally loyal to her, even in her absence. Following Daenerys's departure from Meereen, Hizdahr takes over Meereen. He attempts to make the Unsullied serve him, but Grey Worm tells him firmy that they take commands only from their mother.

Notable Unsullied

 * Grey Worm, the commander of Daenerys's Unsullied and one of her advisors
 * Hero, second-in-command. Currenly held hostage by the Yunkai'i who besiege Meereen
 * {Stalwart Shield}. Murdered by the Sons of the Harpy