Unsullied



The Unsullied are a group of warrior-eunuchs bred in Slaver's Bay. They are famed for their skills and discipline in battle. They are commonly employed in the Free Cities.

Winter is Coming
Magister Illyrio Mopatis of Pentos employs Unsullied as household guards at his manse.

In the books
In the Song of Ice and Fire novels, the Unsullied are trained in Astapor, one of the slave cities. They begin their training at five years old, when their genitals are removed. They are also given a puppy to look after. At the end of the first year they must strangle the puppy to death. If they refuse, they are culled from the trainees and killed. They train from dawn to dusk until they have mastered the shortsword, shield and three lengths of spear. Only one in three survives the training regime. They are given a 'wine of courage' which numbs their feelings of pain. Upon being given the spiked cap which is the symbol of their rank, they must go to the slave market, kill a slave child before its mother and pay the slave owner for his loss. Unsullied do not have permanant names, instead choosing new names at random every day.

The extremely harsh training regime results in warriors who are unemotional, numbed against pain, and ferociously disciplined. They never loot or rape and will hold against superior numbers. The Free City of Qohor was saved from destruction by an Unsullied regiment, which held its line against repeated charges by a Dothraki khalasar. The Dothraki respect the Unsullied as they do very few other warriors in the world.

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.