Through the eyes of the weirwood?

[Trogdor Targaryen]

If Rhaegar and Lyanna were married in front of a weirwood tree, in the tradition of the old gods, then should we assume bloodraven already knows, and that we will learn through the pov of Bran the truth of Jon's parentage.

If it is true that the weirwoods are the old gods, and Eddard Stark married Catelyn Tully in the tradition of the seven, rather than in front of a weirwood as would probably have been a tradition that the heir to winterfell would always adhere to but might not have been mentioned to Eddard or Benjen since they didn't need to know.

I know I'm probably the only one who believes in gods in the series, but there's some significance, even if its just the power the people place in them, like in Varys' riddle.

[Trogdor Targaryen]

Another thing, which I had forgotten is, the ironic thing about Jon'e upbringing is that if he is to become a king, he fits the description Varys gave of Aegon in that he knows that leading is his duty, not his right. He even probably truly fits it better than Aegon himself as anyone who has been raised to believe that they are of direct royal descent is bound to have some inherent sense of entitlement that is bound to sooner or later become evident, where Jon is raised as a bastard, regardless of how well treated, and has traveled a pretty rough path his whole life. You learn a bit when you're considered expendable, which we can't really deny is how Westeros looks at the Nights Watch, that you simply can't learn when you have body guards, knights, a maester and a septa all looking over for you at all times. Varys was lying to himself when he said Aegon would be the perfect ruler.

[Lady Blizzardborn]

Varys wasn't lying to himself. He really believes that you can essentially create a good leader. Some are born great, some achieve greatness...etc.

Not sure what you're getting at with Ned and Cat's wedding. Brandon was going to marry Catelyn at Riverrun so his ceremony would have been done in the sept as well. Are you thinking that the Old Gods wouldn't honor the marriage if it wasn't in front of a heart tree? That would make Ned's children all bastards in the sight of the Old Gods, and Jon (whose parents were weirwed in this theory) the true heir to Winterfell.

Yep, Bran could see it. Howland is going to have to tell Jon though, most likely.

[Trogdor Targaryen]

Yeah, that is kinda what I was getting at about the ned/cat wedding, though I don't know why, I was tired when I posted this topic. I don't necessarily think that they should be relieved of their right to Winterfell, more that it just creates a little bit of Irony that Jon would be the most legit of the family, but he is the only one who is treated as a bastard.

Maybe I was wrong with my wording about Varys. I said he is lying to himself, but he could just be unaware of the deeper nature of Aegon, as he only speaks of the nurture. Having studied psychology, I'm consistently noticing the significance of nature vs nurture in this series. I do not know if Aegon is a Blackfyre or Targaryen, but it seems to me that they are both a little nuts by nature, and like I had said before nurturing that kind of spirit with talk of how they will eventually be a king (which no matter what Varys claims, this would certainly at some point involve talk of birthright).

[messem]

Another thing, which I had forgotten is, the ironic thing about Jon'e upbringing is that if he is to become a king, he fits the description Varys gave of Aegon in that he knows that leading is his duty, not his right. He even probably truly fits it better than Aegon himself as anyone who has been raised to believe that they are of direct royal descent is bound to have some inherent sense of entitlement that is bound to sooner or later become evident,

So true.

[Trogdor Targaryen]

I just remembered why it matters if the old gods do not recognize the legitimacy of Ned+Cat.

If there must always be a stark in Winterfell, the only candidate to fulfill that criteria would be Jon. Again, not sure if it matters, I just think too much.