House Targaryen

Missandei

House: smallfolk of Naath; freedwoman and scribe in Daenerys Targaryen's household

Last confirmed at Meereen, serving as Daenerys Targaryen's interpreter and closest attendant — a post that has quietly become one of the more trusted in the queen's court.

Naath's Peaceful People renounce weapons entirely, trusting their butterfly gods and the Basilisk Isles' poisoned waters to keep raiders away — a trust the slavers of Astapor found no trouble at all defeating, and Missandei was taken from her home too young to have known much of the peace her island is famous for. Gifted to Daenerys as an interpreter by the slaver Kraznys mo Nakloz during the purchase of the Unsullied, she was freed within the same conversation that made her useful, and chose, having nowhere obviously better to go, to stay. A maester notes that Missandei's gift for tongues — she moves between High Valyrian, the Common Tongue, and Ghiscari with equal ease — has made her indispensable in a court where half the danger comes from what gets lost, or deliberately mistranslated, between languages.

The arc of Missandei

This carries the character’s road through the published novels. Read on only if you do not fear to know.

Missandei's quiet position at Daenerys's side gives her a vantage on Meereen's unraveling that few in the court share, including a language-lesson friendship with Grey Worm — she has been teaching him the Common Tongue — that the text keeps protective rather than romantic, in keeping with the fact that Missandei is still a child, ten going on eleven across these chapters.

Where the books leave Missandei: Missandei has become one of the very few people Daenerys trusts without reservation — an interpreter turned confidante turned something closer to family, in a court at Meereen otherwise stocked with allies of convenience. She is at Quentyn Martell's side when he dies of his burns, one of the last kindnesses the histories record him receiving.

These partings name deaths, endings, and roads not yet ridden in the books. Unveil them only if both roads are known to you — or if you do not fear to know.

SourcesASOS · DaenerysADWD · DaenerysTWOIAF · Beyond the Free Cities

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House

Where is Missandei from?

The island of Naath in the Summer Sea, home to the Peaceful People — a nonviolent culture that nonetheless failed to protect her from being taken by slavers as a child.

How did Missandei come into Daenerys Targaryen's service?

She was given to Daenerys as an interpreter during the purchase of the Unsullied at Astapor and was freed almost immediately afterward, choosing to remain in the queen's household.