Quick answer: After Season 2’s adaptation of The Sworn Sword, Dunk and Egg’s story continues in The Mystery Knight — a wedding tourney that’s secretly a Blackfyre conspiracy — and then into stories GRRM has outlined but never published, ending in fire at Summerhall in 259 AC. Here’s what’s confirmed, what’s outlined, and what we simply don’t know yet. See where Dunk and Egg sit on the interactive Targaryen family tree.
Story Three: The Mystery Knight (Already Published)
The third and most recent published novella (2010) jumps to 212 AC. Dunk and Egg, still wandering, fetch up at a wedding: Lord Ambrose Butterwell is marrying a Frey daughter at Whitewalls, and the celebratory tourney’s prize is — alarmingly — a dragon egg. Dunk, no fool by his third story, notices the guest list: a suspicious number of men who fought for the black dragon sixteen years ago.
It’s a conspiracy in wedding clothes. The tourney is cover for the Second Blackfyre Rebellion: a plot to crown Daemon II Blackfyre — Daemon’s son, present at Whitewalls in disguise as the charming tourney knight “Ser John the Fiddler.” When the egg is stolen and a hedge knight named Ser Glendon Ball is blamed for the theft, Dunk has to unravel the plot — and then watch as the rebellion ends not with a battle but with Bloodraven’s army arriving outside the walls. The Second Rebellion is the Blackfyre cause at its most pathetic: strangled in its tent. Daemon II is arrested and kept alive in prison — and for as long as he lived, Bittersteel couldn’t crown his brother Haegon, which didn’t happen until 219 AC. (The full story of the rebellions is in the Blackfyre family tree.)
If Season 1 gave you the Trial of Seven and Season 2 gives you the Red Widow, The Mystery Knight is where the Blackfyre saga steps out of the backstory and onto the screen — if the show gets there. The showrunner has said that, if there is a Season 3, The Mystery Knight is the story he hopes it will be.
The Stories GRRM Never Wrote (What We Know)
GRRM has said for years that Dunk and Egg were planned as a long series — the stated number of planned stories has varied from interview to interview, and the AKOTSK showrunner has said Martin has outlined ten to twelve more novellas. The working titles that have been mentioned over the years include:
| Working title (as mentioned publicly) | What’s known about it |
|---|---|
| “The She-Wolves of Winterfell” | The next story in order: Dunk and Egg at Winterfell, meeting the so-called “She-Wolves.” It was first intended for an anthology, but Martin missed the deadline — the most anticipated unwritten story in the fandom |
| “The Village Hero” | A fifth tale, roughly outlined, set in the Riverlands |
| “The Sellsword,” “The Champion,” “The Kingsguard,” “The Lord Commander” | Further working titles — no details are known, and their order is unknown |
Treat the titles as intentions, not a table of contents — none is a finished book, and Martin has said the stories may shift. But the shape is clear: the series was meant to run the length of a whole life, following Dunk toward the end of it.
Dunk and Egg Timeline: 209–259 AC
The three published stories are only the start of the saga. Here is how the rest of their lives fits together, according to the histories — the stories after 212 AC are known only from later references.
| Year (AC) | What happens |
|---|---|
| 209 | The Hedge Knight: Dunk meets Egg and takes part in the Ashford tourney. |
| 211 | The Sworn Sword: Dunk serves Ser Eustace Osgrey at Standfast. |
| 212 | The Mystery Knight: the Whitewalls wedding tourney and the Blackfyre plot. |
| 233 | The Great Council names Egg king as Aegon V. Maester Aemon is said to have declined the crown. |
| 236 | Dunk is first mentioned as a Kingsguard knight. He fights in the Fourth Blackfyre Rebellion and is credited with killing Daemon III Blackfyre. |
| 239 | As Aegon V’s champion, Dunk defeats Lyonel Baratheon in a trial by combat, ending Lyonel’s short rebellion. |
| 253 | Dunk is Lord Commander of the Kingsguard and loses a tourney to a sixteen-year-old Barristan Selmy. |
| 259 | The Tragedy at Summerhall. Aegon V dies, and Dunk is believed lost; Rhaegar Targaryen is born the same night. |
What About Brienne of Tarth?
Fans have long guessed that Brienne of Tarth descends from Ser Duncan, partly because of the shield that hangs in Tarth’s armory. In 2016, George R. R. Martin confirmed the connection, saying the exact relationship would be revealed in time. That is the whole of the public record: he has not yet written how the line runs from Dunk to Brienne.
How Their Story Ends (The Part That’s Actually Written)
Whatever the unwritten middle holds, we know where the histories say it ends. Dunk rises to Lord Commander of the Kingsguard under King Aegon V — the Flea Bottom orphan in the white cloak, guarding the squire he once carried on his shoulders. And in 259 AC, the king dies in the Tragedy at Summerhall, and the old knight is believed lost with him — the fire at the castle where Aegon V had tried to hatch dragons. Whether Martin will write the tragedy itself is not known, and how it plays out remains unwritten. It is the full stop at the end of the partnership between a hedge knight and a king who spent their lives trying to do better than the world around them allowed. See Aegon V for his side of the story.
FAQ
Will there be an AKOTSK Season 3?
Not confirmed. HBO has ordered Season 2 (2027) and has not announced a Season 3 — though the showrunner has outlines for more stories and has said The Mystery Knight would be next. We update this page when that changes.
How many Dunk and Egg stories are there?
Three published (The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword, The Mystery Knight), with more outlined or envisioned by GRRM — never written.
How do Dunk and Egg die?
In the histories, Aegon V dies in the Tragedy at Summerhall in 259 AC — the fire during his attempt to hatch dragon eggs — and Dunk is believed to have died there too, though Martin has not confirmed it. Rhaegar Targaryen was born the same night. The exact events of Summerhall remain unwritten.
What is The Mystery Knight about?
A wedding tourney at Whitewalls that’s secretly the launch of the Second Blackfyre Rebellion — a dragon egg as prize, a pretender in disguise, a hedge knight blamed for the theft, and Bloodraven ending it all without a battle.
Do Dunk and Egg ever go to Winterfell?
Not in the published stories — but “The She-Wolves of Winterfell,” a planned story GRRM has discussed, would take them there. It remains unwritten.
When does Dunk become a Kingsguard knight?
The histories do not say when he took his vows. He is first mentioned as a Kingsguard knight in 236 AC, and he is Lord Commander by 253 AC.
Did Dunk kill Daemon Blackfyre III?
The World of Ice & Fire credits Dunk with killing Daemon III Blackfyre in the Fourth Blackfyre Rebellion in 236 AC, but gives no further detail.
Is Brienne of Tarth descended from Ser Duncan the Tall?
Yes. George R. R. Martin confirmed in 2016 that she is, saying the exact relationship would be revealed in time.
Did Dunk really die at Summerhall?
He is believed to have, but Martin has not confirmed it. The sources only say he apparently perished in the Tragedy at Summerhall in 259 AC.