Daario Naharis

"I only have two talents in this world: war and women...Send me to kill your enemies. Any enemy, anywhere. Let me do what I do best."

- Daario Naharis

Daario Naharis is a major character in the fifth season. He initially appeared as a recurring character in the third and fourth seasons. He is played by starring cast member Michiel Huisman, taking over the role from guest star Ed Skrein, who briefly portrayed the character in Season 3. Originally a lieutenant in the Second Sons, a sellsword company, he takes over the company after killing his superiors Mero and Prendahl na Ghezn and then aligns with Daenerys Targaryen.

Background
Daario is a Tyroshi sellsword, employed as a lieutenant in the Second Sons. He is apparently held in high enough regard by the company's co-captains, Mero and Prendahl na Ghezn, that they allow him to join them in contract negotiations and discussions of the company's future.

His weapons-of-choice are a Dothraki arakh and a Myrish stiletto, both which have gold-plated custom-made hilts in the shape of beautiful, naked women.

According to Daario, his mother was a prostitute, and he comes from low beginnings. At the age of 12, Daario was sold by his mother to a slave master from Tolos and trained as a pit fighter, he had his first match in the pits when he was 16. Daario rose to fame within the fighting pits granting his master so much money that at the time of his master's death Daario was rewarded with freedom. Daario chose to fight as a sellword for the Second Sons sometime after that.

Besides being fluent in the Common Tongue, Daario is also fluent in High Valyrian considering he is of Tyroshi origin.

Daario has an unusual code for a sellsword: he won't sleep with prostitutes and only kills soldiers who are trying to kill him, not bystanders. He does this because he feels that otherwise there is no sport and it is not exciting. Daario has said that the gods gave men two things to entertain themselves with before they die: the thrill of having sex with a woman who earnestly wants it, and the thrill of killing a man who is trying to kill you first.

Daario is also an extremely capable and skilled warrior, which is first proven when he along with Ser Jorah Mormont and Grey Worm infiltrate Yunkai through a back gate where they fight and kill many Yunkish soldiers, eventually forcing the city to surrender to Daenerys and her army. His skills are proven once again when he kills Meereen's champion in a duel with ease outside the gates of Meereen.

Season 3
Daario Naharis joins the captains when they visit Daenerys Targaryen, who hopes to convince them to break their contract with Yunkai and fight for her instead. Daario sees through Daenerys' bluff that she has 10,000 Unsullied, reminding her that she has only 8,000. When the Second Sons depart with Daenerys' offer and a barrel of wine, Daario's gaze lingers on the young queen.

Back at their own camp, Daario, Mero and Prendahl discuss the situation, with Mero and Prendahl deciding to assassinate Daenerys. At Mero's behest, a bedslave hands out random coins – Daario draws the Braavosi coin that indicates he is the one to do the deed. His only response is "valar morghulis" - "all men must die". That night, Daario, wearing the armor of an Unsullied slips into Daenerys' tent and takes Missandei hostage. He then presents the heads of Mero and Prendahl and informs her he has taken command of the Second Sons. Intrigued, Daenerys demands that he swear fealty to her. Daario bends the knee and swears the Second Sons, his sword, his life, and his heart to Daenerys.

Daario later assists in planning the siege of Yunkai, and is selected, along with Ser Jorah Mormont and Grey Worm to infiltrate the city and open the gates from the inside. The plan succeeds brilliantly, and Jorah and Grey Worm return to their queen triumphant. Daenerys expresses concern over Daario's whereabouts, but he appears a moment later, presenting Yunkai's bloodstained flag to her.

Season 4
Ser Barristan and Missandei reveal that Grey Worm and Daario have been indulging in a bit of gambling; they have been at the contest since midnight and have missed a morning meeting with the queen as a result. Daenerys is very irritated to discover that their contest is a game of who can balance their sword for the longest, the prize being the honor of riding at her side when the march resumes. Daenerys assigns the pair to guard the livestock as punishment for their childish game. When they fail to move, she warns them that the "winner" of the contest must find a new queen, prompting them to drop their weapons instantly. Grey Worm's gaze lingers on Missandei, which Daario takes as a sign that he is interested in her, and points out that this problematic given Grey Worm's eunuch status. Grey Worm tells Daario that he is not a smart man for saying such things, to which Daario replies that he would rather have no brain and two balls.

Later on, Daario slips away from his post to discuss "strategy" with Daenerys; he gives her flowers under the guise of a lesson in the botany of Slaver's Bay in which he points out that Daenerys must know the land she is to rule.

At the gate of Meereen, Daario volunteers to fight Meereen's champion in single combat after Daenerys rejects the rest of her inner circle from fighting. Daario declines the use of a horse, noting that they aren't as intelligent as humans. Daario ends the duel with ruthless efficiency, striking down the horse with his stiletto and decapitating the dazed champion with his arakh. After the Meereenese fire a volley of arrows in a symbol of displeasure, Daario urinates on the nearest one in a symbol of defiance.

After Daenerys takes control of Meereen, Daario announces at a council meeting that the Second Sons have captured the 93 ships of the Meereenese Navy on his orders. When asked by Daenerys why the Seconds Sons took the navy without being instructed to, he responds by saying that he heard she liked ships.

Later on, Daario comes to Daenerys' private quarters of the Great Pyramid and brings her flowers. As Dany refuses him, he tells he has only two talents in his life: war and women. Daenerys asks him about his loyalty and Daario swears his sword and life are hers and asks her to let him do what he can the best, so to send him to kill her enemies. Instead, Daenerys focuses on the other thing Daario claims to be good at and orders him to take off his clothes. When he leaves her bedchamber the following morning he runs into Jorah, cheekily telling him that it's a good time to talk to Daenerys, as she is in a very good mood. Daenerys tasks Daario and the Second Sons with retaking Yunkai and killing every Master who has taken control. However, Jorah convinces Daenerys to give the Masters an ultimatum: to accept her abolition of slavery or die. She tells Jorah to "catch Daario before he leaves", and to send Hizdahr zo Loraq with Daario and the Second Sons as her ambassador to Yunkai.

Season 5
Daario along with the Second Sons and Hizdahr zo Loraq returns from their successful mission in Yunkai and is present within in the Great Pyramid when Hizdahr suggests to Daenerys that she should reopen the fighting pits. Daario is later seen in Dany's bed explaining to her that he agrees with Hizdahr's suggestion to reopen the pits. He then goes on to telling her about his life growing up as a boy who became a pit fighter himself and how fighting in the pits made him the warrior he is today. He is the only one who will give her honest council. He also explains that a "dragon queen" is no queen without her dragons, which encourages her to visit Rhaegal and Viserion, who are chained in the catacombs.

Daario leads Grey Worm to a house where the alleged murderer of White Rat is hiding. He tells Grey Worm that his Second Sons overhear things that the Unsullied do not because they blend in with the local population. Daario is also able to deduce where a member of the Sons of the Harpy was hiding because he also understands fear, while the Unsullied do not. Later, he informs the Daenerys' council that the man they arrested has very little useful information since Daario had questioned him earlier. When Mossador murders the Son of the Harpy, Daenerys has Daario behead Mossador in public, causing a riot.

Daario brings Daenerys the news that Hizddahr zo Loraq, as well as many more supplicants are waiting for her. He states that it isn't neccesary for Ser Barristan to be present at Daenerys' side when she talks with Hizdahr, claiming that he is very much capable of protecting Daenerys against Hizdahr himself, which leads to Ser Barristan taking a walk in the streets instead. He is present when Hizdahr yet again try to convince Daenerys that the fighting pits should be reopened.

Quotes
"A Dragon Queen with no dragons, is not a Queen."

- Daario to Daenerys

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Daario Naharis is a Tyroshi sellsword and is one of the three leaders of the mercenary company known as the Stormcrows, who are active in the Slaver's Bay region of Essos.

In the TV series, Daario says that he was the son of a prostitute in Tyrosh, who later sold him into slavery when he was twelve years old, and he was bought by a many in Tolos and trained for combat in the fighting pits, where he did very well and was freed upon his master's death in reward. No information at all has been given about Daario's past in the novels, though that also means that his backstory in the TV series doesn't contradict anything, and it is entirely plausible.

In the books, he is described as having dyed blue long curly hair and a matching dyed blue beard with three prongs, though he dyed his mustachios gold. He also has a gold tooth. His loud physical appearance is typical of Tyroshi sellswords, who have a reputation for being flashy and flamboyant. He wears a Dothraki arakh on his left hip and a Myrish stiletto on his right hip, their golden hilts custom-made in the shape of naked wanton women.

Daario states that he "count[s] no day as lived unless I have loved a woman, slain a foeman, and eaten a fine meal".

As in the series, the Daario of the books is quite taken with Daenerys, and kills Prendahl so he can switch sides. He slays not Mero, but Sallor the Bald, the third captain of the Stormcrows. Mero is killed by Barristan Selmy when he attempts to kill Daenerys while she's hailed by the liberated Yunkish slaves.

In the show, Daario takes the role of Daenerys's champion against the champion of Meereen, instead of Strong Belwas. Also, Daario forms a friendly rivalry with Grey Worm, which is absent in the books.