"The Winged Wolf" A Bran Stark Re-read Project - Part 1: AGOT

[BearQueen87]

Bran is commended for playing his role as the Stark in Winterfell, he works hard to make sure he does what is expected from him. And then, without much thought he goes above and beyond. This may be attributed to his sweetness, but it could also be what he learned from watching his father. Ned used to dine with a member of his household regularly. It made them feel special, helped Ned get to know those who served him and, I think, fortified the relationships. Starks are loved.

I think you're right about Ned; sometimes he would bring Old Nan up to the table to dine with him. He is doing as Ned would have done. (insert sad face here)

I did find it a bit poetic that Ned “Quiet Wolf” Stark’s staunchest ally and the man that saved his life is named HOWLand Reed.

Ha!

I wonder did Howland write back and decline the invitations? Or has it been utter silence from Greywater?

I think it has been utter silence. Howland is just hanging out in his magical floating castle; makes me wonder when the last time Howland and Ned wrote to each other and what they talked about.

[DarkSister1001]

I think you're right about Ned; sometimes he would bring Old Nan up to the table to dine with him. He is doing as Ned would have done. (insert sad face here)

There's a lot of parallels between Bran & Ned. Both second sons, both have their childhood/younger years wrought with grief and their lives changed in the blink of an eye. Both lost their father's in KL. Both hold secrets in their hearts (R+L=J, being a warg).

[BearQueen87]

There's a lot of parallels between Bran & Ned. Both second sons, both have their childhood/younger years wrought with grief and their lives changed in the blink of an eye. Both lost their father's in KL. Both hold secrets in their hearts (R+L=J, being a warg).

Deeply ironic when you consider that Bran is named for Ned's elder brother, a wild wolf who's own "wolf blood" and foolish gallantry (as Hoster Tully called it) led to his early death.

[Illuminated by Fire]

I forgot to mention one thing in my original post, which is not really a point to discuss and more a moment that brings a smile to my face when I read it:

"May your winters be short and your summers bountiful," he said. That was usually a good thing to say. "Rise. I'm Brandon Stark."

The girl, Meera, got to her feet and helped her brother up. The boy stared at Bran all the while. "We bring you gifts of fish and frog and fowl," he said.

"I thank you." Bran wondered if he would have to eat frog to be polite. "I offer you the meat and mead of Winterfell."

[...]

The boy, Jojen, looked about the hall curiously as he took his seat. "Where are the direwolves?"

"In the godswood," Rickon answered. "Shaggy was bad."

"My brother would like to see them," the girl said.

Little Walder spoke out loudly. "He'd best watch they don't see them, or they'll take a bite out of him."

At one point they are exchanging highly formal and ancient voews and formalities and a few moments later the mood switches and they have a completely casual conversation. It's just a funny image in my head when I picture the situation.

I just needed to mention this, maybe I'll have some actual analysis later.

[BearQueen87]

I forgot to mention one thing in my original post, which is not really a point to discuss and more a moment that brings a smile to my face when I read it:

"May your winters be short and your summers bountiful," he said. That was usually a good thing to say. "Rise. I'm Brandon Stark."

The girl, Meera, got to her feet and helped her brother up. The boy stared at Bran all the while. "We bring you gifts of fish and frog and fowl," he said.

"I thank you." Bran wondered if he would have to eat frog to be polite. "I offer you the meat and mead of Winterfell."

[...]

The boy, Jojen, looked about the hall curiously as he took his seat. "Where are the direwolves?"

"In the godswood," Rickon answered. "Shaggy was bad."

"My brother would like to see them," the girl said.

Little Walder spoke out loudly. "He'd best watch they don't see them, or they'll take a bite out of him."

At one point they are exchanging highly formal and ancient voews and formalities and a few moments later the mood switches and they have a completely casual conversation. It's just a funny image in my head when I picture the situation.

I just needed to mention this, maybe I'll have some actual analysis later.

It is a funny image. :)

And at the same time, it's a reminder that all of these characters--Bran, Rickon, the Walders, Jojen, Meera--are children. They can be the little lords and ladies that their parents are training them to be, but they are still just children who can go from curteous to relaxed in a heartbeat.

[MoIaF]

I forgot to mention one thing in my original post, which is not really a point to discuss and more a moment that brings a smile to my face when I read it:

"May your winters be short and your summers bountiful," he said. That was usually a good thing to say. "Rise. I'm Brandon Stark."

The girl, Meera, got to her feet and helped her brother up. The boy stared at Bran all the while. "We bring you gifts of fish and frog and fowl," he said.

"I thank you." Bran wondered if he would have to eat frog to be polite. "I offer you the meat and mead of Winterfell."

[...]

The boy, Jojen, looked about the hall curiously as he took his seat. "Where are the direwolves?"

"In the godswood," Rickon answered. "Shaggy was bad."

"My brother would like to see them," the girl said.

Little Walder spoke out loudly. "He'd best watch they don't see them, or they'll take a bite out of him."

At one point they are exchanging highly formal and ancient voews and formalities and a few moments later the mood switches and they have a completely casual conversation. It's just a funny image in my head when I picture the situation.

I just needed to mention this, maybe I'll have some actual analysis later.

It is a funny image. :)

And at the same time, it's a reminder that all of these characters--Bran, Rickon, the Walders, Jojen, Meera--are children. They can be the little lords and ladies that their parents are training them to be, but they are still just children who can go from curteous to relaxed in a heartbeat.

It's funny but also kind of sad.

War has taken all the adults away and left the children to rule. It's a drastic generational change which often happens in times of war.

[Queen‍‍‍‍‍‍ Alysanne‍‍™]

Bran IV: Dreams and Magic

“I don’t want to. Anyway, it’s only dreams. Maester Luwin says dreams might mean anything or nothing.”

Summary

The story starts with Meera beating Summer in a game. Afterwards Bran explains and shows to Meera how friendly Summer is and then asks her about her fighting tactics. Meera states that she learnt it from her father in Greywaterwatch and that Bran can come there to visit anytime he wants.

Jojen begins to urge Bran to leave Winterfell and starts asking him questions about his wolf dreams and Summer. Bran gets angry from the continuous questions and this puts Summer in an angry rage. Bran struggles to hold down Summer until Hodor arrives to stop them.

The chapter than takes us to Bran’s lessons with M. Luwin. He asks M. Luwin about dreams and magic, and just like most masters, M. Luwn’s view is skeptical.

The chapter then ends with Meera telling Bran that M. Luwin could be wrong and also leaves him with a vision that Jojen had.

Observations

Jojen seems to be able to sense people inside animals that are being warged as he was able to sense Bran when Bran warged Summer whiles sleeping.

Jojen Reed took no mind. “When I touched Summer, I felt you in him. Just as you are in him now.”

Jojen’s comments on Bran and Summer drives home the point that a warg and his wolf are one.

“Part of you is Summer, and part of Summer is you. You know that, Bran.”

Bran seems to remember that Jaime Lannister pushed him but he is trying not to believe it.

The falling, Bran thought, and the golden man, the queen’s brother, he scares me too, but mostly the falling.

I wonder if this will play an important role later in the story.

Jojen mentions that the three eyed crow gave Bran his third eye. Does this mean magical gifts are given rather than inherited?

Greywaterwatch and Northern Poltics

The first part of the story shows a bit about the mysterious fighting style of the people of Greywaterwatch. It’s shown through a game Meera plays with summer where she is able to catch him in a net.

The wolf slid to the left and leapt before she could draw back the spear. Meera cast her net, the tangles unfolding in the air before her. Summer’s leap carried him into it. He dragged it with him as he slammed into her chest and knocked her over backward. Her spear went spinning away. The damp grass cushioned her fall but the breath went out of her in an “Oof.” The wolf crouched atop her. Bran hooted. “You lose.” “She wins,” her brother Jojen said. “Summer’s snared.”

I find this interesting because direwolves are not easy wolves to catch or kill and are feared by most people in the North, however Meera uses a smart strategy to catch him. She doesn't go all out attack as most people would against a direwolf like most people would but rather attracts him with her spear and throws a net in the air so as the wolf leaps he’ll get caught. Looking at the strange battle tactics of people from her land I wonder how they would fare against beasts like dragons.

The text continues to show Greywaterwatch as a very peculiar place from Bran and Meera’s conversation after the game.

“Did your master-at-arms teach you net-fighting?” “My father taught me. We have no knights at Greywater. No master-at-arms, and no maester.” “Who keeps your ravens?” She smiled. “Ravens can’t find Greywater Watch, no more than our enemies can.” “Why not?” “Because it moves,” she told him.

First of all it’s interesting that they don’t use a master-at-arms, which probably means they have hardly been influenced by Andal customs. Meera’s point about them having no knights also hints at that since it was the Andals that brought the system of knighthood to Westeros. Meera also mentions that ravens do not come there so I wonder how they keep up to date on all the events that go on in Westeros. Perhaps messengers are sent to them or it might go deeper than that and magic such as using a weirwood tree is used to keep up with the realm. No ravens could also mean no ravenry and possibly no masters but that’s just speculation at this point. Also I still don’t get what Meera means by it moving, perhaps that could be a discussion topic for this chapter.

Besides learning a bit about Greywater watch, this chapter also keeps us updated on what is going on in the North.

“I could ask Ser Rodrik when he returns.” The old knight was off east, trying to set to rights the trouble there. Roose Bolton’s bastard had started it by seizing Lady Hornwood as she returned from the harvest feast, marrying her that very night even though he was young enough to be her son. Then Lord Manderly had taken her castle. To protect the Hornwood holdings from the Boltons, he had written, but Ser Rodrik had been almost as angry with him as with the bastard. “Ser Rodrik might let me go. Maester Luwin never would.”

It’s mostly bad news as things keep getting worse since the war of the five kings began. Ramsey Bolton seems to be the centre of attention here.

Direwolves, Jojen and the three eyed crow

This chapter shows that direwolves can be very loyal guardians and friends but also at the same time they can go out of control. This echoes Ned’s warning that they aren't ordinary animals.

The start of the chapter portrays Summer as an obedient direwolf and a wolf that won’t hurt anyone that Bran likes.

Meera shook her head. “Does he never grow angry?” “Not with me.” Bran grabbed the wolf by his ears and Summer snapped at him fiercely, but it was all in play. “Sometimes he tears my garb but he’s never drawn blood.” “Your blood, you mean. If he’d gotten past my net . . .” “He wouldn't hurt you. He knows I like you.”

Summer is then also shown as an obedient and playful direwolf that listens to everything Bran tells him.

“Summer, to me.” Bran spread his arms. “Watch,” he said, an instant before the wolf bowled into him. He clung with all his strength as the wolf dragged him bumping through the grass. They wrestled and rolled and clung to each other, one snarling and yapping, the other laughing. In the end it was Bran sprawled on top, the mud-spattered direwolf under him. “Good wolf,” he panted. Summer licked him across the ear.

However despite the direwolf being all fun and games he can also be very dangerous to any one that makes Bran angry. As Jojen continuously asks Bran about his dreams and leaving Winterfell, Bran gets annoyed and even asks Jojen to be quiet, however Jojen doesn’t stop and this leads Summer into a rage.

“Do you fall every night, Bran?” Jojen asked quietly. A low rumbling growl rose from Summer’s throat, and there was no play in it. He stalked forward, all teeth and hot eyes. Meera stepped between the wolf and her brother, spear in hand.

This is a positive since it means Summer will protect Bran from any enemy that Bran has a problem with but Summer’s continuous rage even after

Bran’s tells him to stop shows that the direwolves can also get out of control sometimes.

Within that same part of the chapter, the mysterious feeling of Greywaterwatch continues but this time through Jojen. He has similarities with Bran also knows many things that Bran hasn't shared with anyone and this is probably the reason Bran gets angry when Jojen.

It starts with his urgent statement, that Bran must leave Winterfell.

Sitting cross-legged under the weirwood, Jojen Reed regarded him solemnly. “It would be good if you left Winterfell, Bran.”

Jojen’s words fit identically to what Bran felt when he was having a wolf dream earlier in the story via Summer. In that dream, Bran/Summer saw Winterfell as a prison and believed the world outside winterfell, which they referred to as “the true world”, was calling.

Jojen’s dream also seems the be focused on that theme,as his dream reffered to a winged wolf that was chained.

“I dreamed of a winged wolf bound to earth with grey stone chains,” he said. “It was a green dream, so I knew it was true. A crow was trying to peck through the chains, but the stone was too hard and his beak could only chip at them.”

The winged wolf is obviously Bran but I think the rest might be interpreted differently depending on the reader. Personally I see the grey stone chains as Winterfell because that matches with his earlier chapter where Winterfell was described as a prison and also we have Jojen telling him in this chapter that he must leave “Winterfell” . I’ve seen some interpretations on the forum that the winged wolf refers to Jon or Sansa rather than Bran however I don’t see how that works, it works better with Bran since he and Jojen have “the three eyed crow” in common, so Jojen coming to Winterfell to Bran rather than Jon or Sansa makes more sense.

Jojen’s back story is also similar to Bran. He mentions that the three eyed crow visited him in his sleep when he had a fever just the same way Bran was visited when he was in a coma. Both events were near death experiences for the boys.

“When I was little I almost died of greywater fever. That was when the crow came to me.” “He came to me after I fell,” Bran blurted. “I was asleep for a long time. He said I had to fly or die, and I woke up, only I was broken and I couldn’t fly after all.”

We also see Euron say something similar in AFFC, I wonder if the three eyed crow visits many boys having near death experiences and only few are chosen and the rest die whiles in sleep. Euron being a possible host to the crow’s visitation is a topic that could be discussed under this chapter.

From Jojen we also learn about green dreams, which seems to be a Northern equivalent to dragon dreams.

“My brother dreams as other boys do, and those dreams might mean anything,” Meera said, “but the green dreams are different.”

It’s not stated whether Bran has this ability but I’m guessing he doesn't since his dream about Ned’s death seemed more like a message from the three-eyed crow rather than an actual prophetic dream.

The last point in this part of the chapter is the topic of the third eye. Jojen stated that Bran must open it in order to break his chain. And that him and Meera came to Winterfell to help Bran open his third eye.

Luwin’s view on magic and dreams

Luwin’s views on magic and dreams are at the skeptical end of the spectrum. I’m sure we’ve all seen this but this chapter adds more meat on the bone.

“All of us have dreams that come true sometimes. You dreamed of your lord father in the crypts before we knew he was dead, remember?” “Rickon did too. We dreamed the same dream.” “Call it greensight, if you wish . . . but remember as well all those tens of thousands of dreams that you and Rickon have dreamed that did not come true.

Compared to Jojen, Luwin looks at dreams at a more scientific point of view. In a nutshell he believes that people have dreams and that sometimes some of them can come true and sometimes they won’t. Also the dreams that come true have nothing to do with magic from his point of view.

Luwin also makes it clear that magic does not exist anymore. He uses his won life as an example, where he tried to study magic in the Citadel and it did not come to fruition.

“All those who study the higher mysteries try their own hand at spells, soon or late. I yielded to the temptation too, I must confess it. Well, I was a boy, and what boy does not secretly wish to find hidden powers in himself? I got no more for my efforts than a thousand boys before me, and a thousand since. Sad to say, magic does not work.”

Encounter with Meera

Bran has a short encounter with Meera at the end of the chapter where she tells Bran that M. Luwin could be wrong about his view of magic and dreams.

This isn’t the first time we have seen this clash before, earlier in the story it was between Osha and Luwin but this time it is between Meera and Luwin, the clash again is on science vs. magic. The chapter ends with Bran siding with Maester Luwin’s view but disappointed.

Meera also mentions a green dream that Jojen had, Bran doesn't get and so do I so I think it would also be a good topic to discuss.

She paid that no heed. “You were sitting at supper, but instead of a servant, Maester Luwin brought you your food. He served you the king’s cut off the roast, the meat rare and bloody, but with a savory smell that made everyone’s mouth water. The meat he served the Freys was old and grey and dead. Yet they liked their supper better than you liked yours.”

Conclusion

This was an interesting chapter as it explored themes that had already been brought up in the story before and also showed us some new topics such as greendreams and Greywaterwatch. A lot of this information I believe will be im important as the story goes on.

[BearQueen87]

Bran IV: Dreams and Magic

Very nice job Queen Alysanne!

Bran seems to remember that Jaime Lannister pushed him but he is trying not to believe it.

The falling, Bran thought, and the golden man, the queen’s brother, he scares me too, but mostly the falling

I have to wonder if Bran is remembering more because Jojen entered the scene and with him, Jojen brings magic that isn't about repression (like the 3EC) but about acceptance of who and what you are.

Jojen mentions that the three eyed crow gave Bran his third eye. Does this mean magical gifts are given rather than inherited?

Yeah that's interesting. All the Stark children are wargs, but Bran seems to be alone in his greenseer abilities.

I find this interesting because direwolves are not easy wolves to catch or kill and are feared by most people in the North, however Meera uses a smart strategy to catch him. She doesn't go all out attack as most people would against a direwolf like most people would but rather attracts him with her spear and throws a net in the air so as the wolf leaps he’ll get caught. Looking at the strange battle tactics of people from her land I wonder how they would fare against beasts like dragons.

This "net" tactic, and later her spear work, is likely what Howland used at the TOJ. Has HR been preparing his kids all along for something? This is also a nice indication of some more "northern liberation." Southron girls aren't likely to learn the art of fighting but we have Meera with her spear and Lady Mormont fighting with Robb.

First of all it’s interesting that they don’t use a master-at-arms, which probably means they have hardly been influenced by Andal customs. Meera’s point about them having no knights also hints at that since it was the Andals that brought the system of knighthood to Westeros. Meera also mentions that ravens do not come there so I wonder how they keep up to date on all the events that go on in Westeros. Perhaps messengers are sent to them or it might go deeper than that and magic such as using a weirwood tree is used to keep up with the realm. No ravens could also mean no ravenry and possibly no masters but that’s just speculation at this point. Also I still don’t get what Meera means by it moving, perhaps that could be a discussion topic for this chapter.

I have the exact same questions. If they haven't been influenced by Andal custom, is that because Howland had a rather Old Gold encounter that we'll learn about in a little bit? Has House Reed always been like that? Or is it new? How do raven find the place---we know Ned and Howland used to correspond, right? Howland sent the kids packing to WF, but as bannermen to the Starks, they would know that Robb had called the banners right? Somehow word got to them. Does the castle itself move or does the land around it move, taking the castle with it? How did House Reed even build a moving land/castle/thing?

“He wouldn't hurt you. He knows I like you.”

Bran this should be an indication that what Jojen tries to tell you is true. That's not how "pets" work. I love my mom, but my bunny will still lunge at her if frightened, despite my own feelings. The fact that a wolf can pick up on its "owners" personal preferences and then make rational and logical decisions based on that does not make sense with normal boy/dog relationships.

This is a positive since it means Summer will protect Bran from any enemy that Bran has a problem with but Summer’s continuous rage even after

Not only that, but I think it's also Bran protecting himself. Bran is Summer and Summer is Bran. Bran doesn't want to remember the falling falling falling, so when Jojen begin to push his buttons, Bran's defense mechanisms go up. It's just that his own defense mechanisms are a giant wolf that can kill you.

Sitting cross-legged under the weirwood, Jojen Reed regarded him solemnly. “It would be good if you left Winterfell, Bran.

This is a really interesting image. Jojen, dressed in a all green, sitting under a tree, giving bits of wisdom. Jojen pretty much screams "nature!" right here. He's like a forest guardian helping out the hero who has lost his way.

The winged wolf is obviously Bran but I think the rest might be interpreted differently depending on the reader. Personally I see the grey stone chains as Winterfell because that matches with his earlier chapter where Winterfell was described as a prison and also we have Jojen telling him in this chapter that he must leave “Winterfell” . I’ve seen some interpretations on the forum that the winged wolf refers to Jon or Sansa rather than Bran however I don’t see how that works, it works better with Bran since he and Jojen have “the three eyed crow” in common, so Jojen coming to Winterfell to Bran rather than Jon or Sansa makes more sense.

The winged wolf is most assuredly Bran. The chains are interesting. It could be WF as you propose but I also think it's Bran's disability. Being a cripple is the albatross around his neck, it prevents him from doing anything he wants to do--like be a knight. He feels that his crippled status holds him back, holds him down, but everyone around him tries to tell him that it doesn't. Even M. Luwin thinks Bran could rise high as a Maester if he worked at it, cripple or not. Osha thinks being a cripple doesn't necessarily make Bran different. Jojen thinks Bran can break free. The 3EC keeps trying to get Bran to fly. Bran's crippled nature doesn't have to hold him to the ground unless he lets it.

Jojen’s back story is also similar to Bran. He mentions that the three eyed crow visited him in his sleep when he had a fever just the same way Bran was visited when he was in a coma. Both events were near death experiences for the boys.

“When I was little I almost died of greywater fever. That was when the crow came to me.” “He came to me after I fell,” Bran blurted. “I was asleep for a long time. He said I had to fly or die, and I woke up, only I was broken and I couldn’t fly after all.”

So why didn't the 3EC chose Jojen in the end? Was it because Jojen chose not to fly, but the 3EC left him with the gift of sight because the 3EC could sense how important Jojen would be one day?

I want to point out that the 3EC giving a mortal the gift of sight is very much in line with some ancient myths in which a god will bestow prophecy on a mortal either as a curse or a reward. Which is it for Jojen? Both curse and reward?

“All those who study the higher mysteries try their own hand at spells, soon or late. I yielded to the temptation too, I must confess it. Well, I was a boy, and what boy does not secretly wish to find hidden powers in himself? I got no more for my efforts than a thousand boys before me, and a thousand since. Sad to say, magic does not work.”

For a thousand boys it does not work....but for a thousand and one?

She paid that no heed. “You were sitting at supper, but instead of a servant, Maester Luwin brought you your food. He served you the king’s cut off the roast, the meat rare and bloody, but with a savory smell that made everyone’s mouth water. The meat he served the Freys was old and grey and dead. Yet they liked their supper better than you liked yours.”

Visions and prophecies never make sense until after the fact, I think is the big takeaway. This vision,when it does come to pass, does not play out literally. I think GRRM is trying to prepare not only his characters in the universe but also his readers that prophecies might never make any sense and won't play out the way you think.

Misc Notes

1. Meera and Jojen never treat Bran like a child. Is it any wonder that Bran takes to them straightaway. All he wants is to not be treated like a baby that is helpless.

2. "There is no sometimes Meera." A look passed between them, him sad and her defiant. Jojen has clearly had a vision that Meera refuses to believe in.

3. I really want to know more about the First Men and how they figured out that they were being spied on through the trees. I also really want to know more about the CotF and how they figured out they could do all this.

4. Valyrian steel signifies magic. did the Citadel just chose that on a whim or is there something more there?

5. "Even gods die, we think." Hello baffling sentence. What is Luwin? Northerner? Southerner? What gods have died in myth and legend that Luwin and the Citadel would take seriously and not dismiss as "magic and myth?" Seriously, every time I read this sentence I go "huh?"

[Hrafntýr]

Nice work, Queen Alysanne™!

Two quick thoughts:

On the stone chains, I do like the idea that it stands for Winterfell, and it makes a lot of sense, given the imagery of Bran's second chapter, when he gives us his amazing knowledge of the stones of Winterfell, and we get the imagery of Winterfell as a stone tree. But this got me wondering about the interpretation of these chains as something negative. Now, I know that mostly we see chains as a negative symbol, connoting bondage, enslavement, a lack of freedom, and this is surely the way that Jojen is interpreting the dream imagery, given his certainty that Bran needs to fly, something that we've also seen from the 3EC. (And I like the questions raised here about to what extent greendreams are some sort of "free-flowing" magic to which Jojen is receptive, and to what extent they are directed by someone, say the 3EC or the greenseers.) I guess it's my basic suspicions about the 3EC, that maybe he doesn't really have Bran's best interests in mind, that causes me to push back a little bit. Chains are also a symbol of linking, of connection; here they could also be taken as that which keeps Bran connected, to his family, to Winterfell and all it represents. But it's probably the case that we should want Bran to free himself from that which prevents him from developing his abilities to their fullest potential.

And this is just a little thing, but regarding Greywater Watch and the mysteries of how it moves: I'd have to guess that this is almost certainly a little nod to Diana Wynne Jones' fantasy novel Howl's Moving Castle (adapted into a film by Miyazaki). The titular wizard's castle is a sort of portal whose doors open onto different places.

[BearQueen87]

Nice work, Queen Alysanne™!

Two quick thoughts:

On the stone chains, I do like the idea that it stands for Winterfell, and it makes a lot of sense, given the imagery of Bran's second chapter, when he gives us his amazing knowledge of the stones of Winterfell, and we get the imagery of Winterfell as a stone tree. But this got me wondering about the interpretation of these chains as something negative. Now, I know that mostly we see chains as a negative symbol, connoting bondage, enslavement, a lack of freedom, and this is surely the way that Jojen is interpreting the dream imagery, given his certainty that Bran needs to fly, something that we've also seen from the 3EC. (And I like the questions raised here about to what extent greendreams are some sort of "free-flowing" magic to which Jojen is receptive, and to what extent they are directed by someone, say the 3EC or the greenseers.) I guess it's my basic suspicions about the 3EC, that maybe he doesn't really have Bran's best interests in mind, that causes me to push back a little bit. Chains are also a symbol of linking, of connection; here they could also be taken as that which keeps Bran connected, to his family, to Winterfell and all it represents. But it's probably the case that we should want Bran to free himself from that which prevents him from developing his abilities to their fullest potential.

Should we want him to free himself, though? If the chains do represent WF and his family and what keeps him grounded in a more positive sense of the word, then the freedom of flying is actually negative.

And this is just a little thing, but regarding Greywater Watch and the mysteries of how it moves: I'd have to guess that this is almost certainly a little nod to Diana Wynne Jones' fantasy novel Howl's Moving Castle (adapted into a film by Miyazaki). The titular wizard's castle is a sort of portal whose doors open onto different places.

I've always thought so as well.

[Hrafntýr]

Should we want him to free himself, though? If the chains do represent WF and his family and what keeps him grounded in a more positive sense of the word, then the freedom of flying is actually negative.

I've always thought so as well.

Well, yes, that's exactly the question I was raising, but then I was second-guessing myself for being so hyper-suspicious of the 3EC, lol. I'm still hyper-suspicious, but also think there may be forces that go beyond certain parties who might be manipulating Bran. Or at least I hope so.

[Queen‍‍‍‍‍‍ Alysanne‍‍™]

Thanks guys!

Nice work, Queen Alysanne™!

Two quick thoughts:

On the stone chains, I do like the idea that it stands for Winterfell, and it makes a lot of sense, given the imagery of Bran's second chapter, when he gives us his amazing knowledge of the stones of Winterfell, and we get the imagery of Winterfell as a stone tree. But this got me wondering about the interpretation of these chains as something negative. Now, I know that mostly we see chains as a negative symbol, connoting bondage, enslavement, a lack of freedom, and this is surely the way that Jojen is interpreting the dream imagery, given his certainty that Bran needs to fly, something that we've also seen from the 3EC. (And I like the questions raised here about to what extent greendreams are some sort of "free-flowing" magic to which Jojen is receptive, and to what extent they are directed by someone, say the 3EC or the greenseers.) I guess it's my basic suspicions about the 3EC, that maybe he doesn't really have Bran's best interests in mind, that causes me to push back a little bit. Chains are also a symbol of linking, of connection; here they could also be taken as that which keeps Bran connected, to his family, to Winterfell and all it represents. But it's probably the case that we should want Bran to free himself from that which prevents him from developing his abilities to their fullest potential.

And this is just a little thing, but regarding Greywater Watch and the mysteries of how it moves: I'd have to guess that this is almost certainly a little nod to Diana Wynne Jones' fantasy novel Howl's Moving Castle (adapted into a film by Miyazaki). The titular wizard's castle is a sort of portal whose doors open onto different places.

That's interesting.

And I kind of agree, it's almost like heis connection to his family is trying to be severed for his powers to develop. It's kind of similar to Bloodraven, once he joined the CotF he didn't involve himself in Targaryen (his family) affairs anymore.

Without jumping ahead I wonder whether Winterfell burning is also symbolic of that.

Misc Notes

4. Valyrian steel signifies magic. did the Citadel just chose that on a whim or is there something more there?

I think with Valyrian magic being more physical (dragons, fire, Valyrian steel) compared to Northern magic which is more spiritual (warging etc), the Citadel may have seen Valyrian magic as more of "Real magic".

I think it would also explain why Luwin says the last ember of magic died with Valyria.

[BearQueen87]

I think with Valyrian magic being more physical (dragons, fire, Valyrian steel) compared to Northern magic which is more spiritual (warging etc), the Citadel may have seen Valyrian magic as more of "Real magic".

I think it would also explain why Luwin says the last ember of magic died with Valyria.

That's true. Valyrian magic is very tangiable. Westeros knows of the power of Valyrian steel and they know dragons were once real but have died out only "recently." Even in this chapter Luwin talks about how all the greenseeing is mere speculation of what the First Men simply believed.

I wonder if there is a weirwood link in a Maester's Chain...

[Queen‍‍‍‍‍‍ Alysanne‍‍™]

That's true. Valyrian magic is very tangiable. Westeros knows of the power of Valyrian steel and they know dragons were once real but have died out only "recently." Even in this chapter Luwin talks about how all the greenseeing is mere speculation of what the First Men simply believed.

I wonder if there is a weirwood link in a Maester's Chain...

It's also ironic that the Maester's method of using ravens was learnt from the CotF but now most things about them are considered myths now.

[Tannim]

New member, long time lurker, so savage me per normal if I trip...

On direwolves and skinchangers, Summer's aggression even after Bran calls him back can be viewed as a lack of control in the warg himself. At first, Bran was angry with Jojen's continued uncomfortable questioning, then feared Summer might harm his new friends. A direwolf really has fight or flight as an option in action. Summer acts to protect his human, whom he senses is first angry, then afraid, using the only means he has, threat display and aggression. More developed, experienced, focused skinchangers display far better influence over their linked animals as shown in the future. That said, Summer remains an independent being, whom acted to defend his human/pack on his own initiative, thought heavily influenced by Bran's unfocused emotions.

Maester Lewin's dismissal of dream-visions and magic reinforced the common belief that magic has left the world, held by most everyone in Westeros. Magic is snarks and grumpkins and 'Old Nan's Tales' something long gone and difficult to believe in even when it happens to the individual. Everything magical-mystical is attributed to past Ages, further any true knowledge of magic is lost, hidden away, kept by a privileged few, plus the handful whom can actually indulge their curiosity, as Lewin did in forging his Valyrian link. The wake-up call will require something brutal and disastrous before everyone will believe magic has awakened again.

On Thrid-Eye Awakening, Jojen and Bran have near-death experiences, so is that a prerequisite to awakening the magic within the individual? Skinchangers are apparently born, while greenseers are awakened to their power by nearly dying? This possibility has implications for many other characters throughout the series, plus how those characters act/speak.

[BearQueen87]

New member, long time lurker, so savage me per normal if I trip...

On direwolves and skinchangers, Summer's aggression even after Bran calls him back can be viewed as a lack of control in the warg himself. At first, Bran was angry with Jojen's continued uncomfortable questioning, then feared Summer might harm his new friends. A direwolf really has fight or flight as an option in action. Summer acts to protect his human, whom he senses is first angry, then afraid, using the only means he has, threat display and aggression. More developed, experienced, focused skinchangers display far better influence over their linked animals as shown in the future. That said, Summer remains an independent being, whom acted to defend his human/pack on his own initiative, thought heavily influenced by Bran's unfocused emotions.

Maester Lewin's dismissal of dream-visions and magic reinforced the common belief that magic has left the world, held by most everyone in Westeros. Magic is snarks and grumpkins and 'Old Nan's Tales' something long gone and difficult to believe in even when it happens to the individual. Everything magical-mystical is attributed to past Ages, further any true knowledge of magic is lost, hidden away, kept by a privileged few, plus the handful whom can actually indulge their curiosity, as Lewin did in forging his Valyrian link. The wake-up call will require something brutal and disastrous before everyone will believe magic has awakened again.

On Thrid-Eye Awakening, Jojen and Bran have near-death experiences, so is that a prerequisite to awakening the magic within the individual? Skinchangers are apparently born, while greenseers are awakened to their power by nearly dying? This possibility has implications for many other characters throughout the series, plus how those characters act/speak.

Welcome to the Re-Read project! Nice thoughts here. It's interesting that the Westerosi Maesters (and others) take such a view on magic as you've outlined. Dragons were still in the 7 Kingdom less than 200 years ago. I wonder if once the last winged-dragon died out the Maesters began teaching that this meant magic itself had died out (which brings up an interesting question of did magic really die out? was it just "asleep' and if it's the latter what woke it up?)

As to your last question, I wonder the same and especially with Jon. Though, I like the idea of only Bran having the Third Eye amongst the Starks

[MoIaF]

New member, long time lurker, so savage me per normal if I trip...

On direwolves and skinchangers, Summer's aggression even after Bran calls him back can be viewed as a lack of control in the warg himself. At first, Bran was angry with Jojen's continued uncomfortable questioning, then feared Summer might harm his new friends. A direwolf really has fight or flight as an option in action. Summer acts to protect his human, whom he senses is first angry, then afraid, using the only means he has, threat display and aggression. More developed, experienced, focused skinchangers display far better influence over their linked animals as shown in the future. That said, Summer remains an independent being, whom acted to defend his human/pack on his own initiative, thought heavily influenced by Bran's unfocused emotions.

Maester Lewin's dismissal of dream-visions and magic reinforced the common belief that magic has left the world, held by most everyone in Westeros. Magic is snarks and grumpkins and 'Old Nan's Tales' something long gone and difficult to believe in even when it happens to the individual. Everything magical-mystical is attributed to past Ages, further any true knowledge of magic is lost, hidden away, kept by a privileged few, plus the handful whom can actually indulge their curiosity, as Lewin did in forging his Valyrian link. The wake-up call will require something brutal and disastrous before everyone will believe magic has awakened again.

On Thrid-Eye Awakening, Jojen and Bran have near-death experiences, so is that a prerequisite to awakening the magic within the individual? Skinchangers are apparently born, while greenseers are awakened to their power by nearly dying? This possibility has implications for many other characters throughout the series, plus how those characters act/speak.

Welcome, welcome! Glad to have you onboard.

As for the magic and the Maesters

Welcome to the Re-Read project! Nice thoughts here. It's interesting that the Westerosi Maesters (and others) take such a view on magic as you've outlined. Dragons were still in the 7 Kingdom less than 200 years ago. I wonder if once the last winged-dragon died out the Maesters began teaching that this meant magic itself had died out (which brings up an interesting question of did magic really die out? was it just "asleep' and if it's the latter what woke it up?)

As to your last question, I wonder the same and especially with Jon. Though, I like the idea of only Bran having the Third Eye amongst the Starks

Aslo, it's interesting that in the East magic still seems to hold more power, people still believe in it and fear it (Dothraki). The Westeros people perhaps influenced by the Maesters mistakenly believe that magic has left the world, which is a great irony as Westeros will be hit the hardest by the coming Winter.

[Illuminated by Fire]

A Clash of Kings: Bran V

The dream was green, Bran, and the green dreams do not lie.

Summary

The chapter begins by Bran being sent to Maester Luwin due to a letter that came. Luwin tells him, Rickon and the Freys that Robb won a victory at Oxcross, but that Stevron Frey died in battle. Bran cannot be really happy about the victory since Tywin Lannister is still free while the Freys only argue about what Stevron's death means for the line of inheritance. This fulfills Jojen's vision from last chapter.

After he leaves he asks Osha about the lands beyond the Wall and the three-eyed crow, before he enters his room. Soon after that Jojen and Meera enter his room, having heard about the letter. After Bran promises to tell Jojen about his dreams, Jojen tells him about his own greendream of Winterfell getting flooded and the people in it drowning. Specifically mentioned are Alebelly, septon Chayle and the smith Mikken. He also insists that his dreams cannot be changed. Bran in turn tells Jojen about his wolf dreams, the dreams about the crow and the dreams where he falls to which Jojen answers that he is a warg, that his wolf dreams are real and that he needs to open his third eye to unlock his potential as the winged wolf.

Bran tries to warn the others, but Mikken and Chayle dismiss it whereas Alebelly takes the warning too literally and refuses to wash in fear of drowning. At the end Ser Rodrik comes back to Winterfell after presumably killing Ramsay and taking his servant Reek prisoner, after Ramsay forcibly married Lady Hornwood and left her to die. Bran tells Rodrik about Jojen's dream, who sees it as a sign of the Ironborn threat and considers riding out against them.

After Bran talks with Meera and Jojen about this, Jojen reaffirms his stance that his dreams cannot be changed while Meera argues against it, during which she accidentally tells Bran that Jojen had a vision that Reek is going to kill and flay both Bran and Rickon.

Analysis

The Dreams of Jojen

The most striking part about this chapter are the dreams of Bran and Jojen, which introduce us to the fact that Bran is a warg and to some dark visions for the future. The first dream is from Jojen:

“It is the sea that comes.”

“The sea?”

“I dreamed that the sea was lapping all around Winterfell. I saw black waves crashing against the gates and towers, and then the salt water came flowing over the walls and filled the castle. Drowned men were floating in the yard. When I first dreamed the dream, back at Greywater, I didn't know their faces, but not I do. That Alebelly is one, the guard who called our names at the feast. Your septon's another. Your smith as well.”

[...]

“In the dark of night the salt sea will flow over these walls,” said Jojen. “I saw the dead, bloated and drowned.”

Here we have a vision of impending doom. Winterfell will drown in sea water, or that is what the dream says. After Jojen mentioned last time that it would be good for Bran to leave Winterfell, now this gets a more urgent undertone. Not only would it good to leave Winterfell, but now it will actually get 'flooded', whatever that may mean at that point in the story. Important to note is that Jojen does not actually interpret the dream, he tells it as he has dreamed it, not what he does think what it means. This is an important difference to the prophets of R'hllor, Melisandre and Moqorro, who do share their interpretations instead of their actual vision.

Jojen's second dream is only accidentally mentioned by Meera and specifically mentions Bran and Rickon:

“If you were Alebelly, you'd jump into the well to have done with! He should fight, and Bran should too!”

“Me?” Bran felt suddenly afraid. “What should I fight? Am I going to drown too?”

Meera looked at him gultily. “I shouldn't have said...”

He could tell she was hiding something. “Did you see me in a green dream?” he asked Jojen nervously. “Was I drowned?”

“Not drowned.” Jojen spoke as if every word pained him. “I dreamed of the man who came today, the one they call Reek. You and your brother lay dead at his feet, and he was skinning of your faces with a long red blade.”

[…]

“It will not matter. The dream was green, Bran, and the green dreams do not lie.”

One thing to note here is that Bran is not one of the people who will 'drown' in Winterfell, but the fate outlined in the dream is an even worse one, or that is what it seems like. Another point is that we have the confirmation here that Jojen does not see Bran as a means to an end or else he would not show pity. This was kind of obvious with Meera before, but Jojen was more mysterious in that regard. The last sentence of the quote ends the chapter with an emphasis on the magical side which Jojen represents at this point as opposed to Maester Luwin. This contrasts the last sentence of the last chapter: And he would never walk, nor fly, nor be a knight. Together they picture the struggle Bran is in, if he should believe the Reeds or Luwin. His opinion changes constantly and for now it seems that the magic part wins out.

The other question that comes up is: Is it possible to avoid the visions or not? Jojen's stance on this is clear: The green dreams come always true, even if he admits that they are not easy to understand. Meera thinks that you can fight the outcome in determine your own fate. She asks, similar to Melisandre later, what the point of the visions would be if you could not change them:

“The things I see in green dreams can't be changed.”

That made his sister angry. “Why would the gods send a warning if we can't heed it and change what's to come?`”

“I don't know,” Jojen said sadly.

The question if you can avert the visions is tied with the question of the purpose of the visions. The angle from which Meera and Melisandre argue is that they assume that the visions are sent by the Old Gods and R'hllor respectively. If that is actually the case is not clear and we do not get an answer from Jojen or anyone else on that question. In this case it is a personal question as well. As already implied (This is not the day I die), Jojen has very likely seen his own death in a green dream. And with this the issue is no longer an abstract one. Although in this case it is about the visions concerning Winterfell, Bran and Rickon, they are also talking about Jojen's vision about his death. The line 'If you were Alebelly, you'd jump into the well to have done with!' is probably the most brutal line Meera ever says in the first five novels. She wants to provoke him, to make him furious or upset and evoke some kind of fight in him, but Jojen remains fatalistic.

The question of certainty regarding the visions is one that will remain relevant throughout the series, not only for Bran, but for other visions, like Melisandre's or Daenerys' visions as well.

Bran's Third Eye

After telling Bran about the dream of Winterfell getting flooded, Bran tells about his own dreams:

“There's different kinds,” he said slowly. “There's the wolf dreams, those aren't so bad as the others. I run and hunt and kill squirrels. And there's dreams where the crow comes and tells me to fly. Sometimes the tree is in those dreams too, calling my name. That frightens me. But the worst dreams are when I fall.” He looked down into the yard, feeling miserable. “I never used to fall before. When I climbed. I went everyplace, up on the roofs and along the walls, I used to feed the crows in the Burned Tower. Mother was afraid that I would fall, but I never would. Only I did, and now when I sleep I fall all the time.”

Here we have three different kinds of dreams: The wolf dreams, the dreams with the tree and the crow and the dreams about falling. The last one is clearly due to his personal trauma which still haunts him. The dreams about the crow are already known, the three-eyed crow still tells him to fly. The tree is new, it is likely that he means a weirwood tree, similar to that in the godswood. The intention of those dreams is most likely to push Bran to realize his magical potential. And the wolf dreams are explained in the following exchange:

Meera gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Is that all?”

“I guess.”

“Warg,” said Jojen Reed.

Bran looked at him, his eyes wide. “What?”

“Warg. Shapechanger. Beastling. That is what they will call you, if they should ever hear of your wolf dreams.”

[...]

Old Nan told scary stories of beastlings and shapechangers sometimes. In the stories they were always evil. “I'm not like that. I'm not. It's only dreams.”

“The wolf dreams are no true dreams. You have your eye closed tight whenever you're awake, but as you drift off it flutters open and your soul seeks out its other half. The power is strong in you.”

“I don't want it. I want to be a knight.”

“A knight is what you want. A warg is what you are. You can't change that, Bran, you can't deny it or push it away. You are the winged wolf, but you will never fly.” Jojen got up and walked to the window. “Unless you open your eye.” He put two fingers together and poked Bran in the forehead, hard.

Jojen tells us that Bran is a warg, but cannot consciously access that power when he is awake. Instead Bran wargs Summer when he is asleep. This is the first time we get this spelled out to us. There are several important aspects to this. The first one is kind of an continuation of the development that started with Bran's fall. The fall denied him his climbing and his physical mobility, which in turn makes Bran's wish of being a knight unfulfillable. Instead he is put in the role of a bystander, the kind of person that gets rescued by a knight instead of being one. Now he is revealed to be a warg and they are villains in the stories Bran knows. So he goes first from (potential) hero to helpless bystander and now from helpless bystander to villain. He protests, saying that he wants to be a knight, clinging to his original vision and ambition.

This leads us the Reeds' answer. While Meera is compassionate and understanging, Jojen is incredibly harsh. He just says 'warg'. It is not even a sentence, he just cuts to the core of the issue, without being considerate or careful. He also rejects Bran's wishful thinking entirely, insisting that he is a warg and cannot change this, while also pushing him to access his potential. This reveals a certain sense of urgency, since he, similar to the chapter before, pushes Bran without particular care for his situation or feelings. This is underlined by the fact that Bran recalls Osha's remark about Robb marching the wrong way in this chapter. Jojen echoes Luwin's sentiment that Bran should not cling to his dreams and instead turn to the options that are actually available. The only difference lies in the opinion what these actually are. Luwin is of the opinion that magic is gone whereas Jojen sees a great magical potential in Bran that he wants to unlock. But both strictly reject wishful thinking and stick closely to the facts, whatever they think those facts are.

Other Observations

• 
  

  when Rodrik comes back he actually considers Jojen's vision, but sadly takes the wrong turn of action by deciding to ride out against the Ironborn, thus leaving Winterfell weakly defended

  
  
  
• 
  

  except for Alebelly, no one else takes the vision seriously, and even he takes it to literally by refusing to bath

  
  
  
• 
  

  the whole Ramsay/Hornwood situation is in the background as of now, but will turn out to be quite relevant

  
  
  

Conclusion

The plot begins to thicken in this chapter. With the appearance of the Reeds many things that went on in the background and become now more clear and there is a sense of impending danger after Jojen's two dreams.

I was a bit short on time, so the comparison between Jojen and Luwin will come at some point later, even if some points were included here.

[BearQueen87]

A Clash of Kings: Bran V

The dream was green, Bran, and the green dreams do not lie.

Nice job, Illuminated by Fire!

“It is the sea that comes.”

“The sea?”

“I dreamed that the sea was lapping all around Winterfell. I saw black waves crashing against the gates and towers, and then the salt water came flowing over the walls and filled the castle. Drowned men were floating in the yard. When I first dreamed the dream, back at Greywater, I didn't know their faces, but not I do. That Alebelly is one, the guard who called our names at the feast. Your septon's another. Your smith as well.”

[...]

“In the dark of night the salt sea will flow over these walls,” said Jojen. “I saw the dead, bloated and drowned.”

Here we have a vision of impending doom. Winterfell will drown in sea water, or that is what the dream says. After Jojen mentioned last time that it would be good for Bran to leave Winterfell, now this gets a more urgent undertone. Not only would it good to leave Winterfell, but now it will actually get 'flooded', whatever that may mean at that point in the story. Important to note is that Jojen does not actually interpret the dream, he tells it as he has dreamed it, not what he does think what it means. This is an important difference to the prophets of R'hllor, Melisandre and Moqorro, who do share their interpretations instead of their actual vision.

Nice point. We see that quite often those who try to interpret prophecy are wrong. Even Dany tries to interpret the HotU visions/what Quaithe tells her and then we see that they might not play out the way predicted/interpreted. Jojen, though, doesn't try to interpret. He is simply the vessel (for want of a better word, perhaps) through which the visions flow, but you only know when the vision has come to pass--in whatever way it does--when it actually happens. I think that's something GRRM is playing with quite a bit. For example: who is really AAR/TPTWP? Well, we might now know--in spite of all the clues for several people--until it actually happens.

One thing to note here is that Bran is not one of the people who will 'drown' in Winterfell, but the fate outlined in the dream is an even worse one, or that is what it seems like. Another point is that we have the confirmation here that Jojen does not see Bran as a means to an end or else he would not show pity. This was kind of obvious with Meera before, but Jojen was more mysterious in that regard. The last sentence of the quote ends the chapter with an emphasis on the magical side which Jojen represents at this point as opposed to Maester Luwin. This contrasts the last sentence of the last chapter: And he would never walk, nor fly, nor be a knight. Together they picture the struggle Bran is in, if he should believe the Reeds or Luwin. His opinion changes constantly and for now it seems that the magic part wins out.

We mentioned this in the first chapter in which the Reed show up, but it bears saying again: at the end of the day, these are kids. They are living in a different world than we are, but they are still children. They enjoy sitting in the woods and talking and practicing their sword play. Jojen is seen as "odd" because he is so solemn, the "little grandfather." Jojen and Bran might be Yoda and his "charge" but they are also friends, just boys who under other circumstances might have been like Ned and Howland--brought together in friendship, not prophecy and Apocalyptic danger.

The other question that comes up is: Is it possible to avoid the visions or not? Jojen's stance on this is clear: The green dreams come always true, even if he admits that they are not easy to understand. Meera thinks that you can fight the outcome in determine your own fate. She asks, similar to Melisandre later, what the point of the visions would be if you could not change them:

“The things I see in green dreams can't be changed.”

That made his sister angry. “Why would the gods send a warning if we can't heed it and change what's to come?`”

“I don't know,” Jojen said sadly.

Or is like Oedipus who tried to avoid his fate and walked right into it? He hears the prophecy that he will wed his mother and kill his father, leaves the kingdom and people he thinks are his parents and walks right into the prophecy he is trying to avoid. Is that actually having fate play out or is it making your own fate? To quote the Matrix, "the problem is choice." Do our characters actually have free will, or are they puppets on strings as ASOIAF puts it at what point? I'd like to think that GRRM isn't taking away free will but I also think he is trying blur the lines so that we never really know if it was "fate" or if it was "choice."

We can talk more about this next week with the next chapter, but was there a different choice to be made or was it doomed to come to pass?

The tree is new, it is likely that he means a weirwood tree, similar to that in the godswood.

A tree that is calling to him and that he is spending increasingly more time with.

Jojen is incredibly harsh. He just says 'warg'. It is not even a sentence, he just cuts to the core of the issue, without being considerate or careful. He also rejects Bran's wishful thinking entirely, insisting that he is a warg and cannot change this, while also pushing him to access his potential. This reveals a certain sense of urgency, since he, similar to the chapter before, pushes Bran without particular care for his situation or feelings

Past the point of delicacy.

I also think it speaks to the fact that Jojen knows Bran isn't as fragile as others make him out to be. He doesn't need to protected and coddled. Bran may not like the truth, but he needs to hear it.

[Hrafntýr]

Great analysis, Illuminated by Fire!

On Jojen's "harshness" in confronting Bran with his skinchanging nature, I want to say that it may seem harsh from the perspective of Bran, for whom this magic stuff is all new and unsettling and disturbing to his previous way of thinking about his identity and future. However, I actually think that our little grandfather actually shields Bran from the full measure of what his gifts might mean, and he does so consistently; it's part of what makes him a "little grandfather." I see Jojen as bearing a terrible burden, and can only imagine what it must be like to have knowledge of the future, to have seen terrible things yet to come, to know that they will come, irrevocably. If Jojen is in some respect throwing into Bran's face that Bran is a monster of sorts, he withholds just how monstrous and awful these abilities might actually be.

On the question of fate vs. free will: I taught the Indian epic tradition for many years, and the issue of fate v. free will v. divine intervention is a core concern of that tradition. One of the characters in the Mahabharata suggests that you know that fate is at play if you do everything possible to prevent something from happening and yet it happens, or to bring something about and yet fail to do so. I can't help but to wonder if we might not see something like this in Bran's narrative, where he gets foreknowledge of something to come and does everything in his power to prevent it. I just wonder if he'll succeed. And of course the answer to the question won't really answer the question of whether fate exists, as one could say that one's intervention was also fated. It's an irresolvable question, and so I don't really anticipate that the books will resolve it!