Game of Thrones creator, George R.R. Martin, has thrown red meat to the GoT faithful by releasing an excerpt from his upcoming sixth Game of Thrones installment The Winds of Winter.

The chapter was posted on Martin’s website and is called “Mercy”. The chapter begins:

She woke with a gasp, not knowing who she was, or where.

The smell of blood was heavy in her nostrils… or was that her nightmare, lingering? She had dreamed of wolves again, of running through some dark pine forest with a great pack at her hells, hard on the scent of prey.

Martin has called the chapter an “old” passage. “But not one I’ve published or posted before, and I don’t even think I’ve read it at a con.”

Earlier this year, Martin released an excerpt that featured Tyrion Lannister. But this newest snip is vintage Martin, with the wordcraft that fans have come to expect.

The mists seemed to part before her and close up again as she passed. The cobblestones were wet and slick under her feet. She heard a cat yowl plaintively. Braavos was a good city for cats, and they roamed everywhere, especially at night. In the fog all cats are grey, Mercy thought. In the fog all men are killers.

And, not to reveal more than one might want to know here, but there is this jewel.

Raff the Sweetling looked up sharply as the long thin blade came sliding from her sleeve. She slipped it through his throat beneath the chin, twisted, and ripped it back out sideways with a single smooth slash. A fine red rain followed, and in his eyes the light went out.

“Valar morghulis,” Arya whispered, but Raff was dead and did not hear.

HBO’s Game of Thrones returns on April 6.

Image via George Martin’s Blog