Ī catspaw tries to assassinate Bran Stark with a Valyrian steel dagger, but he is instead slain by Summer. Lord Eddard Stark uses Ice to execute Gared, a deserter from the Night's Watch. Most Valyrian steel blades in Westeros are treasured heirlooms of noble houses, each with its own name and storied history, and even impoverished lesser houses are unwilling to give them up. There may be thousands of Valyrian steel blades remaining in the known world, but in Westeros there are only 227 such weapons according to Archmaester Thurgood's Inventories, some of which have since been lost or have disappeared from recorded history. The blacksmiths of Qohor claim to know the magics for reforging Valyrian steel without losing its strength or unsurpassed ability to hold an edge.
Only the greatest weaponsmiths can reforge swords from existing Valyrian steel, making those remaining weapons highly treasured and extremely rare. The costly steel became even more expensive when the method of its making became lost with the Doom of Valyria. Valyrian steel, possibly forged with dragons, was manufactured in the Valyrian Freehold of old. Ice by John Goodenough © Fantasy Flight Games
