Jump to content

[Essay] A Game of Thrones, A Game of Cyvasse


Rhaenys_Targaryen

Recommended Posts

(heads up, it's a long read)

Cyvasse, the game was called. It had come to the Planky Town on a trading galley from Volantis, and the orphans had spread it up and down the Greenblood. The Dornish court was mad for it.

In A Feast for Crows, we are introduced to a game called “cyvasse”, originating from Volantis. The game arrived in Westeros through Dorne, where it gained popularity quite fast. We see cyvasse mentioned more and more, the further we get in Feast, and later in Dance as well, when POVs move through Essos. (And of course, in The Winds of Winter sample chapters).

Recently my attention was drawn to cyvasse, and I decided to analyse it, and found a couple of interesting things that I’d love to share.

Remind me again: What is cyvasse?

The game seems to have originated from Volantis and seems to have existed for quite some time. Only recently it has started to spread into Westeros, by the way of Dorne.

Brown Ben Plumm lifted the fallen table, smiling. “Try me next, dwarf. When I was younger, the Second Sons took contract with Volantis. I learned the game there.

The game itself, is inspired by chess, blitzkrieg, and stratego, and some imagination.

There were ten different pieces, each with its own attributes and powers, and the board would change from game to game, depending on how the players arrayed their home squares.

Originating from Volantis, the game is spotted in Lys, and Dorne, where from the Greenblood it is spread further, even reaching King’s Landing.

The game consists out of ten different pieces: spearmen, crossbowmen, light horse, heavy horse, trebuchet, catapult, elephant, rabble, dragon and king. It would seem the objective is to “checkmate” the King.

“A strange and subtle folk, the Volantenes.”

Subtle they certainly are. While at times, the game of cyvasse is simply a game mentioned in passing, there are quite a few times where I suspect there is a deeper meaning behind the game. And it is that deeper meaning that I wish to discuss further. It should be quite obvious that cyvasse symbolizes the game of thrones at many occasions. You might spot it whilst reading Feast, where the symbolism is already present, yet the hinting towards the symbolism is minimal. This changes during Dance, where the hinting becomes less subtle..

An example:

1. “Illyrio does not play cyvasse.”

No, thought the dwarf, he plays the game of thrones, and you and Griff and Duck are only pieces,to be moved where he will and sacrificed at need, just as he sacrificed Viserys.

2. Elsewhere a pair of cyvasse players waged war outside a tavern.

By the time we reach the sample chapters of Winds, it is clearly spelled out..

3. "They use slave soldiers, why not slave commanders? That would ruin the contest, though. This is just a cyvasse game to the Wise Masters. We're the pieces." Tyrion canted his head to one side, considering.

4. And my father, ah, he had never looked so resplendent. He wore crimson armor, with this huge greatcloak made of cloth-of-gold. A pair of golden lions on his shoulders, another on his helm. His stallion was magnificent. His lordship watched the whole battle from atop that horse and never got within a hundred yards of any foe. He never moved, never smiled, never broke a sweat, whilst thousands died below him. Picture me perched on a camp stool, gazing down upon a cyvasse board.

Either You Win or You Die: A Game of Cyvasse

I’d like to focus on a few things during this analysis on cyvasse. First, what cyvasse exactly means in the conversation in which its symbolism occurs. In each of these parts, we look at the general meaning of cyvasse, the specific pieces (there where a deeper meaning could be seen), and the symbolism of the colour of pieces used.

Doran & Arianne Martell

Cyvasse is introduced to the reader by the means of the chapters set in Dorne. First mentioned in The Soiled Knight, as seen through the eyes of Ser Arys Oakheart, it makes a second, subtle appearance in The Queenmaker. It isn’t until The Princess in the Tower that cyvasse appears in the full symbolic meaning.

In short, The Queenmaker sees Arianne Martell executing her plot to gain control over Dorne, by attempting to crown Princess Myrcella. Arianne’s plot eventually fails when Prince Dorans people, led by Areo Hotah, kill ser Arys Oakheart and arrest Arianne and her group of friends. Arianne is escorted back to Sunspear, and imprisoned in Spear Tower for some weeks (estimation has put Arianne's imprisonment at 2 to 2,5 months).

In one corner stood an ornate cyvasse table with pieces carved of ivory and onyx, though she had no one to play with even if she had been so inclined.

Upon arriving in her “prison”, Arianne notes a cyvasse table present, but she does not sit down to play, at any occasion during the weeks spend there. In fact, upon seeing the table, she almost immediately notes that, even if she had wanted to play, she had no one to play with. The wording suggests that she wouldn’t have played even if there had been someone else present.

She later does sit down for a second at the cyvasse table, and moves a piece around, but still, she doesn’t play or study the game.

After weeks of having been imprisoned, Arianne is finally brought before her father. In his chambers, she finds Doran sitting behind a cyvasse table.

By the time she was ready, dusk had fallen. Arianne had thought that Hotah would escort her to the Tower of the Sun to hear her father’s judgment. Instead he delivered her to the prince’s solar, where they found Doran Martell seated behind a cyvasse table, his gouty legs supported by a cushioned footstool. He was toying with an onyx elephant, turning it in his reddened, swollen hands. The prince looked worse than she had ever seen him.

Arianne and Doran then have one of the best conversations in the entire series (at least, in my opinion). Cyvasse features in here as well, clearly:

“I told them to place a cyvasse table in your chambers,” her father said when the two of them were alone.

“Who was I supposed to play with?” Why is he talking about a game? Has the gout robbed him of his wits?

“Yourself. Sometimes it is best to study a game before you attempt to play it.”

Doran had a cyvasse table placed in Arianne’s chambers on purpose, for reasons. Arianne here repeats that she had no one to play with, so why would she play? Dorans answer indicates that she could have practised the game, before attempting to play against someone. Sometimes, Doran tells, that is best. Naturally, the more you practise, the less likely your battle plan on the cyvasse battle bord is to fail.

Doran continues with the cyvasse:

“How well do you know the game, Arianne?”

“Well enough to play.”

“But not to win.”

This part is telling. Doran tells Arianne that, while she is good enough to play cyvasse, she’s not yet good enough to win. That he specifically had a cyvasse table placed in her rooms, seems to be symbolizing that Doran wants Arianne to practise, before she goes to play. Perhaps even going as far as the thought “if she won’t practise such a game as cyvasse, why would she practise the game of thrones?”.

With the game of cyvasse symbolizing the game of thrones, it seems that Doran wants Arianne to study this game of politics, before she goes to “play” along. As we know,

“When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.”

With this being the state of mind of those Arianne means to play against, having had enough practise before you play the game seems rather essential

By placing a table of cyvasse in her chambers, Doran has given Arianne an opportunity to practise the game, before she would play against others. Her imprisonment, it seems, was a same kind. During her imprisonment, she was given the silent treatment, which resulted in her being alone with her thoughts. While that isn’t necessarily a “practise” round, after you practise, you reflect. What did you do right? What did you do wrong? What can you do different next time, to make your chances of winning bigger? Arianne’s imprisonment gave her reflection time, which is essential after her Queenmaker plot failed. Arianne does indeed reflect, obsessing over who betrayed her, but later, decides not to dwell “endlessly” on Arys, and starts to focus completely on trying to get out of her confinements. After a while of trying, Arianne’s spirit seems to have been broken (as I suspect was Doran's plan, but that’s off topic).

Was it a good idea to stop dwelling on Arys (and thus her failed plot)? On one hand, I can see that she should have thought more about it (not on Arys necessarily, but on the Queenmaker plot itself), yet on the other hand, she is right to state that dwelling endlessly won’t help you either. Don’t remain stuck in your thoughts about your mistakes. Don’t remain stuck in the past, but move forward. Think enough about your mistakes to learn from them..And during her imprisonment, Arianne has already begun to do this, and as the sample chapter from the Winds of Winter shows, she continues to do so.

The conversation between Doran and Arianne continues, and soon, Doran says the following:

“My brother loved the fight for its own sake, but I only play such games as I can win. Cyvasse is not for me.

Doran here admits that he does not play games he cannot win, and thus does not play cyvasse. He does, however, participate in the game of thrones, indicating that he expects to be able to win, though he will only enter the game until his chances are good enough. This political game is one he has studied long, and prepared for, and he’s now trying to do the same with Arianne.

“Oberyn is with me every time I close my eyes.”

“Telling you to open them, no doubt.” She seated herself across the cyvasse table from her father.

Arianne telling Doran to open his eyes, at the exact moment that she herself sits down across the cyvasse table. A little bit ironic, her timing, considering that she herself has to open her eyes for the game, to see exactly how to play (and, most importantly, how to win).

Eventually, Doran states that

Still, this was no harmless game of cyvasse.

Neatly explaining that, while it is no problem to lose at a game such as cyvasse, losing in other “games” could harmful.

Doran and Arianne then have the remainder of their conversation, and while interesting, I’d like to focus at this moment on the ending of the chapter.

Her father plucked up a cyvasse piece. “I must know how you learned that Quentyn was abroad. Your brother went with Cletus Yronwood, Maester Kedry, and three of Lord Yronwood’s best young knights on a long and perilous voyage, with an uncertain welcome at its end. He has gone to bring us back our heart’s desire.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What is our heart’s desire?”

“Vengeance.” His voice was soft, as if he were afraid that someone might be listening. “Justice.” Prince Doran pressed the onyx dragon into her palm with his swollen, gouty fingers, and whispered, “Fire and blood.”

While delivering his final lines of the chapter, Doran picks up the black dragon piece. The dragon, of course, because Quentyn has gone to Daenerys Targaryen, but more importantly, the black dragon piece, quite possibly symbolizing Drogon, the dragon with whom Dany has bonded personally (though Doran of course can’t know that yet, as 1) it hasn’t happened fully yet, and 2) as it occurs half a world away).

But the implication here, is that Doran hopes to receive his “vengeance, justice, fire and blood” by the means of the symbolic meaning of “cyvasse”: the game of thrones.

Is there any meaning to the pieces used? And what about their colour? I say yes, there is meaning to this. Let’s re-examine the Princess in the Tower again, this time focussing on the pieces used, and, later on, their colour.

The Elephant

It all starts when Arianne finally decides to sit down in front of the cyvasse table that Doran had placed in her confinements:

She paced around her tower, twice and thrice and three times thrice. She sat beside the cyvasse table and idly moved an elephant. She curled up in the window seat and tried to read a book, until the words became a blur and she realized that she was crying again.

And is closely followed by Doran, when Arianne is brought before him:

By the time she was ready, dusk had fallen. Arianne had thought that Hotah would escort her to the Tower of the Sun to hear her father’s judgment. Instead he delivered her to the prince’s solar, where they found Doran Martell seated behind a cyvasse table, his gouty legs supported by a cushioned footstool. He was toying with an onyx elephant, turning it in his reddened, swollen hands. The prince looked worse than she had ever seen him.

Both Arianne and Doran are here being associated with the elephant piece. A nice little parallel between father and daughter, but it goes further than that.

Though it isn’t noted which colour Arianne’s piece has, Doran’s piece is mentioned to be onyx. He later touches another onyx piece, so it would seem that he’s just sitting on that side of the board (more on the meaning of the specific pieces below). It is never stated that one player uses only one colour, but well, 1) it makes sense that one player only uses one colour, as it will make certain that the players can keep track of which pieces are theirs, and 2) chess was one of the three games that were the inspiration for cyvasse, and in chess, one player uses all white pieces, and the other all black pieces (in the usual, standard forms of chess, not talking about the chess sets where you have purple pieces against green, etc). So it would make sense if in cyvasse, one player uses only white pieces (ivory), and the other only black (onyx). 3) No player is associated with multiple colours in one single game.

So we can ask ourselves the following questions. Why are both associated with the elephant piece? Why is Doran’s piece onyx?

Elephants are used in war, but in the story (the Golden Company uses elephants, for example), and in the game (Aegon Targaryen will use his elephant pieces to array for an attack, when playing against Tyrion Lannister). Quite logical, they are quite the formidable beasts.

Arianne touches the elephant “idly”… She is still shocked, at the moment, about the way her Queenmaker plot ended. Is she rethinking the attack carried out in Dorans name? Or is she thinking about her own “attacking” move of trying to crown Myrcella? “Idly” would perhaps suggest that she’s still numb about all that has happened, so both scenario’s could be going through her mind. She’s trying to form a clear picture in her head.. The reflection time I mentioned earlier.

Doran is “toying” with the elephant… It might be that he’s considering (toying with the thought of) an attack, either one that he has to repel (meaning that someone else attacks first), or one to carry out on his own (making his move the first move)?

In both scenario’s, he might be thinking about the QM-incident and its obvious consequences. As Doran will mention later in that chapter, Ser Balon is on his way to Sunspear, and has already crossed the Dornish borders. At the moment Arianne seems him toying with the onyx elephant, he might just be preparing about how he needs to convince Arianne to get Myrcella to lie against Balon. This would reflect on the symbolic meaning of cyvasse.. The game of thrones.

War is coming to Dorne, as symbolized earlier, quite possibly, by the blood oranges at the Water Gardens (as I explained here as a possible view). Is Doran wondering whether to attack now, or wait a little while longer? It is not yet time for Dorne to enter the war, Doran states. But it seems rather logical that he’s already visualizing the war to come.. Which ties into the QM-plot, as Ser Balon is getting closer, and should he learn what truly happened, Dorne will be involved in a war, that is without question. Doran could very well be thinking/worrying about that, symbolized by his toying with the elephant, and hinted at by Arianne’s “The prince looked worse than she had ever seen him.”

It is the word “toying” that is catching attention here. Doran might just be “toying” with several idea’s, involving attacks. As he proclaims in this chapter, he dares more than Arianne thinks.

Of course, with Quentyn on his way to Daenerys, Doran could also be thinking about the war that will take place once Quentyn has gotten Daenerys with her dragons to Westeros, and the role Dorne will play in it.

The Heavy Horse

During Arianne’s conversation with Doran, she sits down across of Doran, at the cyvasse table.

She touched one of the cyvasse pieces, the heavy horse. “Have you caught Ser Gerold?”

Heavy horse is a class of calvary, with the primary role of engaging in direct combat with enemy forces. They lead the attack. Their intention is to penetrate through the enemy defences and attack into the enemies vulnerable rear areas. (definitions from Wikipedia)

I am wondering whether this is foreshadowing on Arianne leading an attack, once Dorne enters the war. Of course, not leading the attack literally, (as Arianne has not been trained in combat), but more a commanding role.

The fact that this sentence is immediately followed by “Have you caught Ser Gerold?”, could also mean that the foreshadowing is directed towards Arianne being the leading cause to Gerold being caught, though, with Hotah and Obara being the ones to chase Gerold, and with Arianne eventually travelling in the other direction, this interpretation seems less likely to me.

Another interpretation is that Arianne is going to hunt down the person who foiled her plans. If, in fact, someone told. Opinions still differ about that ;)

The Dragon

The chapter ends with Doran expressing what he hopes to gain from Quentyn´s mission.

Her father plucked up a cyvasse piece. […] Your brother went […] on a long and perilous voyage, with an uncertain welcome at its end. He has gone to bring us back our heart’s desire.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What is our heart’s desire?”

“Vengeance.” His voice was soft, as if he were afraid that someone might be listening. “Justice.” Prince Doran pressed the onyx dragon into her palm with his swollen, gouty fingers, and whispered, “Fire and blood.”

I’ve said it before, but I’ll shortly repeat it here again. The dragon, here, seems to be symbolizing House Targaryen, as Quentyn is on his way to Daenerys, and Doran knows she has dragons, so dragons will logically be on his mind.

But also important, the dragon is named the most powerful piece of the game. So Doran here is holding the most powerful piece of the game, and I believe it seems to show that it is indeed House Targaryen where Doran has focussed all his hopes on. The vengeance, the justice, the “fire and blood”… all to be accomplished by allying himself with House Targaryen, with Dany and her armies.

The Importance of Colour

Specific mention is made about Doran holding an onyx elephant, and later, Doran plucking up the onyx dragon. I started wondering about whether there could be a meaning behind this, or whether it meant nothing..

The colour of the pieces used during a cyvasse game aren´t mentioned all the time. At times, no mention is made about who uses which colour. But there are occasions where this does occur, and I don´t think it is a coincidence..

The games where colour is mentioned specifically, are the following (they’ll be discussed later in detail):

  • Tyrion Lannister vs Aegon Targaryen: Tyrion uses onyx, Aegon uses alabaster. Tyrion wins.
  • Qavo Nogarys vs “the big man”: Qavo uses onyx pieces, his opponent uses alabaster pieces. Qavo wins.
  • Qavo Nogarys vs Tyrion Lannister: Qavo uses onyx pieces, Tyrion uses alabaster. Qavo wins.

These are the only games where it is mentioned who uses which colour of pieces. And all three times, the player using the black pieces, wins the game. So using the black pieces, at least when there is specific mention made of the usage of the colour, is favourable for the player involved.

But it isn’t just the cyvasse game. It’s the policital “game” played at the same time where the same pattern occurs. Tyrion tries to convince Aegon to change his plans. Tyrion succeeds. Haldon hopes to use the trouble in Volantis concerning Daenerys to their advantage, but all the information Qavo gives them goes against their plans (more on that later). In a way, you could say that the usage of white pieces isn’t favourable. Using the black pieces is.

I personally find this occurance of “black pieces winning, white pieces losing” too prominent to call it a coincidence, and thus, my prediction arises. Whenever a cyvasse game is played, and there are political/alterior motives going on on the background, the person using the black/onyx pieces shall be victorious (for the time being).

So, can we see this pattern in the usage of pieces with Doran and Arianne as well? Doran and Arianne aren’t playing a cyvasse game here, but still, both are associated with a colour, and the symbolism of cyvasse is heavily present.

Instead he delivered her to the prince’s solar, where they found Doran Martell seated behind a cyvasse table, his gouty legs supported by a cushioned footstool. He was toying with an onyx elephant, turning it in his reddened, swollen hands. The prince looked worse than she had ever seen him.

I discussed the symbolic meaning of the elephant above, with Doran thinking about the war to come, Dorne’s role in it, Myrcella-gate and the “moves” Doran’s going to make. If there’s any importance to the fact that the elephant is onyx, it would seem that Doran will get what he wants.. and indeed he does. Ser Balon Swann is convinced that Dorne is not to blame for the Myrcella incident, and he even agreed to find and attack Darkstar, so Doran’s opening move seems to be working well.

“Vengeance.” His voice was soft, as if he were afraid that someone might be listening. “Justice.” Prince Doran pressed the onyx dragon into her palm with his swollen, gouty fingers, and whispered, “Fire and blood.”

The conversation ends with the black dragon. Does it only represent Drogon, Dany’s black dragon? It could, as the conversation is about Quentyn, who’s on his way to Dany, who has bonded with the black dragon. But Doran won't know which colour Drogon has, and the colour symbolism I lay out here doesn't fit such a pattern either.

It could be a reflection on “the most powerful piece on the board”, in which case it would seem that Doran will get what he wants.. Justice, vengeance, and fire and blood...by allying with House Targaryen. What remains to be seen, is how long this alliance will work in his favour.

“Telling you to open them, no doubt.” She seated herself across the cyvasse table from her father.

I said before, it seems that one player plays with only one colour. So, as Doran is sitting on the side of the onyx pieces, Arianne will be sitting on the side of the ivory/alabaster/white pieces, as she sits down across from him. That means that Arianne sits down at the side which represents the losing side.. It doesn’t seem to be reflecting the conversation she is having with Doran, as Arianne is getting the answers she has been wanting for some time during that conversation, so I suppose if anything, there is foreshadowing here.

What then comes to mind, is the fact that Arianne, by the time we reach the sample chapter from Winds of Winter, still has to figure out who betrayed her plot to Doran. (it helps that this quoted sentence above is followed closely by the discussion about the Queenmakerplot). While I am convinced that she will eventually find out who it was, it could be possible that the answer to this burning question (“who told?”) will represent a big defeat for Arianne, personally, foreshadowed by this association with the white pieces.

Tyrion Lannister & Aegon Targaryen

The cyvasse game Tyrion plays against Aegon might not be the first of a few cyvasse games making its appearance in A Dance with Dragons, but it is a very important one, which is why I will discuss this one first, and the other games from Dance later.

I mentioned the cyvasse game between Tyrion and Aegon before, but there’s much more to it, as it shows even more layers of the game of thrones.

The lad did not seem appeased. The perfect prince but still half a boy for all that, with little and less experience of the world and all its woes. “Prince Aegon,” said Tyrion, “since we’re both stuck aboard this boat, perhaps you will honor me with a game of cyvasse to while away the hours?”

The prince gave him a wary look. “I am sick of cyvasse.”

“Sick of losing to a dwarf, you mean?”

That pricked the lad’s pride, just as Tyrion had known it would. “Go fetch the board and pieces. This time I mean to smash you.”

As mentioned in the part about Arianne and Doran, the cyvasse table was placed in Arianne’s “prison”, because Doran wanted to teach her to learn to play “the game”. The quote above, the “introductory” part of the cyvasse game between Tyrion and Aegon, notes how Aegon is noted to be lacking experience of the world “and all its woes”. Which is why he needs practise, here again symbolized by the game cyvasse.

(Important to note, Aegon here is willing to practise “the game”, while Arianne isn’t. The difference between the two is that Aegon is actually given someone to practise with, whereas Arianne was left to play only against herself, which she lists as part of the reason that she didn’t play. Both Arianne and Aegon are lacking experience in the game of thrones, though Arianne seems to be at least a little more skilled in it already than Aegon.)

Do we see this “lack of experience” some more? Yes. One example follows this above quoted passage immediately:

They played on deck, sitting cross-legged behind the cabin. Young Griff arrayed his army for attack, with dragon, elephants, and heavy horse up front. A young man’s formation, as bold as it is foolish. He risks all for the quick kill. He let the prince have first move. Haldon stood behind them, watching the play.

“As bold as it is foolish” and “he risks all for the quick kill”, those are the important parts here. Do we know of any other bold Targaryens who made a quick kill in their battles? Why yes we do. From The World of Ice and Fire

“Daeron I”:

Few foresaw that Daeron, the First of His Name, would cover himself in glory as did his ancestor Aegon the Conqueror, whose crown he wore. […] His lords reminded him that, unlike the Conqueror and his sisters, he had no more dragons fit for war. To this Daeron famously responsed: “You have a dragon. He stands before you.”

[…]

Daeron I amply proved his prowess on the field of Dorne, which for hundreds of years had defied the Reach, the stormlords, and even the dragons of House Targaryen. Daeron divided his host into three forces: one led by Lord Tyrell, who came down the Prince’s Pass at the western end of the Red Mountains of Dorne; one led by the king’s cousin and master of ships, Alyn Velaryon, travelling by sea; and one led by the king himself, marching down the treacherous pass called the Boneway, where he made use of goat tracks that others considered too dangerous, to go around the Dornish watchtowers and avoid the same traps that had caught Orys Baratheon. The young king then swept away every force that sought to stop him.

[…]

Within a year, the invaders were at the gates of Sunspear and battling their way through the so-called shadow city.

[…]

The king quickly consolidated his control of Dorne, dealing with these rebels when he found them…

“Dorne: Dorne against the Dragons”:

The Young Dragon’s conquest of Dorne was a glorious feat, rightly celebrated in song and story, but it lasted less than a summer and cost many thousands of lives, including that of the bold young king himself.

I’ve bolded the important parts. In short, Daeron’s conquest seemed to have gone well, at first; Daeron quickly conquered Dorne and consolidated his rule. That is exactly the plan of Aegon, in the cyvasse game. Daeron’s lords believed his plans foolish, as Tyrion notes that Aegon’s approach is. Aegon goes for the quick kill, as Daeron indeed made his Conquest a quick one (it lasted a year, and then another to consolidate his rule). Tyrion notes that Aegon’s approach is bold, and Daeron is called “the bold young king”.

Two more parallels between Daeron I and Prince Aegon. When told he had no dragons, Daeron I replied with “You have a dragon. He stands before you.”. Aegon, when questioned by the Golden Company, tells them “I am the only dragon that you need.” Sounds rather similar.

But perhaps most importantly, Daeron divides his host into three forces. And what does Aegon do?

Young Griff arrayed his army for attack, with dragon, elephants, and heavy horse up front.

Aegon also places three main forces up front, as Daeron did. More on these three forces later.

It is quite a while into the game between Aegon and Tyrion that we learn about who is playing with which colour. Tyrion says that he will let Aegon have the first move. In chess, the player using white pieces always makes the first move. The wording used, “He let the prince have the first move” could at first sight suggest that such a rule as “ivory always has the first move” does not exist with cyvasse, at it sounds as if the choice was completely Tyrion’s. It could also just be just a way to word that Aegon had the first move.

It isn’t until much later into the game, that we learn that Tyrion has the black cyvasse pieces (again, if my assumption of one player = one colour is correct).

The dwarf pushed his black dragon across a range of mountains.

Why is this use of colour important? Well, we see that Tyrion “battles” using the black pieces, and thus Aegon would be “battling” using the white pieces.

While they are playing the game of cyvasse, Tyrion is trying to convince Aegon to go to Westeros, and to abandon the plan of going east to Dany. Whatever Tyrion’s reasons might be (those are not of any importance here), Tyrion succeeds (even though it takes quite some time before Tyrion learns about it), and Aegon eventually manages to convince his group to abandon the plan of going to Meereen, and invade Westeros instead. So while playing a game of cyvasse, Tyrion also plays a political game here.

“I hope Your Grace will pardon me. Your king is trapped. Death in four.”

How does Tyrion playing (and winning) a political game of words tie into the actual cyvasse game the two play? Tyrion also wins the actual game, as it so happens.

So when using the black pieces, Tyrion wins both the cyvasse game, and the game “of thrones” against Aegon.

Returning shortly to Daeron I. As I said before, the conquest of Dorne seemed to go well, at first, but Daeron was young, and, while he obviously had been trained in warfare, he did not have enough actual experience (he had never participated in an actual war before), as his plans were not as 100% fail proof as Daeron seems to have believed. Dorne rebelled, Daeron’s conquest was undone, and Daeron died. Daeron lost in his battle for Dorne, and Aegon loses the cyvasse game against Tyrion.

Let’s examine the passage of the game a bit more closely.

The lad did not seem appeased. The perfect prince but still half a boy for all that, with little and less experience of the world and all its woes. “Prince Aegon,” said Tyrion, “since we’re both stuck aboard this boat, perhaps you will honor me with a game of cyvasse to while away the hours?”

The prince gave him a wary look. “I am sick of cyvasse.

“Sick of losing to a dwarf, you mean?”

That pricked the lad’s pride, just as Tyrion had known it would. “Go fetch the board and pieces. This time I mean to smash you.”

Aegon, while educated, seems to be lacking experience, and lacking experience when you go play the game of thrones is a dangerous thing. Aegon notes he is “sick of cyvasse”, and later says “this time I mean to smash you”. This shows that Aegon and Tyrion have played cyvasse against one at least one other occasion already. Aegon stating he is sick of cyvasse, might be symbolic for Aegon being sick about lessons on the politics, as he has shown in an earlier Tyrion POV:

By the time they turned to history, Young Griff was growing restive. “We were discussing the history of Volantis,” Haldon said to him. “Can you tell Yollo the difference between a tiger and an elephant?”

“Volantis is the oldest of the Nine Free Cities, first daughter of Valyria,” the lad replied, in a bored tone.

The topic discussed here concerns the political history of Volantis. Thus, politics.

After Tyrion has fetched the board and pieces, the game begins, and so does the conversation between Tyrion and Aegon. Tyrion immediately begins his political game:

When the prince reached for his dragon, Tyrion cleared his throat. “I would not do that if I were you. It is a mistake to bring your dragon out too soon.” He smiled innocently. “Your father knew the dangers of being over-bold.”

"Innocently", Tyrion begins to try and get Aegon’s attention away from the cyvasse game, and does so by speaking about Rhaegar, Aegon’s father. Tyrion gets the conversation towards Aegon’s “death” and survival, and eventually lands on the topic “Daenerys”. He explains how Daenerys exactly is in detail to Aegon, while telling the young man that Daenerys might not simply accept him for a husband, a truth the boy has never considered before, which emphasizes the lack of experience in the game. In fact, that Aegon believes everything Tyrion states (“I I know our little queen”), while knowing that Tyrion has never even met Daenerys, shows this lack of experience again. Why believe that Tyrion knows exactly how Daenerys thinks, when Tyrion has never met her?

Next in the conversation, Tyrion makes Aegon angry, by making him sound like practically nothing compared to Daenerys, and all she has already accomplished. Then he gets Aegon’s attention, by offering a scenario where Aegon and Daenerys can meet as equals. Go to Westeros, strike your banners, do some conquering, and let Daenerys learn of you on her own, and let her come to you, not you to her.

Tyrion ends his speech by defeating Aegon in the game.

Smiling, he seized his dragon, flew it across the board. “I hope Your Grace will pardon me. Your king is trapped. Death in four.”

The prince stared at the playing board. “My dragon—”

“—is too far away to save you. You should have moved her to the center of the battle.”

“But you said—”

“I lied. Trust no one. And keep your dragon close.”

Aegon next grows angry, and throws the board with pieces on the ground. But fact is fact. Tyrion won the game of cyvasse, and, as he learns when with Jorah Mormont, he indeed managed to convince Aegon to go to Westeros instead of Meereen, thereby showing he won the political game as well.

Here again, we should ask, is there any meaning to the specific pieces used in the game? I believe so.

The Elephant, the Dragon, and the Heavy Horse

These three taken together here. Both the dragon and the heavy horse will feature later, on their own, but as the first passage lists them in a grouped parallel, they should here be looked at as one “set”. The elephant piece itself features only little in this specific game, as this is the only mention of it.

They played on deck, sitting cross-legged behind the cabin. Young Griff arrayed his army for attack, with dragon, elephants, and heavy horse up front. A young man’s formation, as bold as it is foolish. He risks all for the quick kill. He let the prince have first move. Haldon stood behind them, watching the play.

As stated before, there is a clear parallel between Daeron I and Prince Aegon, specifically between his opening move in the cyvasse game, as compared to the tactic Daeron I used in his conquest of Dorne. (numbers in parentheses are mine)

Daeron I amply proved his prowess on the field of Dorne, which for hundreds of years had defied the Reach, the stormlords, and even the dragons of House Targaryen. Daeron divided his host into three forces: (1) one led by Lord Tyrell, who came down the Prince’s Pass at the western end of the Red Mountains of Dorne; (2) one led by the king’s cousin and master of ships, Alyn Velaryon, travelling by sea; (3) and one led by the king himself, marching down the treacherous pass called the Boneway, where he made use of goat tracks that others considered too dangerous, to go around the Dornish watchtowers and avoid the same traps that had caught Orys Baratheon. The young king then swept away every force that sought to stop him.

As Daeron I is called “The Young Dragon”, and Aegon calls himself a dragon and is a sort of parallel to Daeron, it would seem that the dragon in Aegon’s “troops” is a parallel with “troop number 3” of Daerons forces, the force he lead himself.

The elephants made me think immediately of the Golden Company, which uses elephants as well. The Golden Company is led by Harry Strickland, who puts a lot of confidence in his elephants. And to whom can Harry be compared? It might be just my personal opinion, but Strickland reminds me a lot of Mace Tyrell, which could connect the elephants that Aegon uses, to the host of King Daeron I led by Lord Tyrell (a rather long way of getting there, but I hope you get my point). So host number (1). Which would make Aegon’s heavy horse a parallel to Alyn Velaryon, and force number (2).

While not yet currently giving a clear picture, this might perhaps be a foreshadowing, so it should remain to be seen whether Aegon will use this tactic during his actual invasion of Westeros as well, in which case both of these situations could possibly be used to predict how Aegon’s invasion will go.

The Heavy Horse

“She’ll be willing.” Prince Aegon sounded shocked. It was plain that he had never before considered the possibility that his bride-to-be might refuse him. “You don’t know her.” He picked up his heavy horse and put it down with a thump.

Heavy horse is used to attack. A direct attack, stated by the definition found on Wikipedia which was mentioned earlier. Interestingly, the passage here is a moment where Aegon was shocked by Tyrion, and he’s not far from getting angry.

It is never a good thing to act out of anger, and Aegon moving his heavy horse, while already distracted, now even more due to his shock and upcoming anger, was a bit of a reckless move, and might very well have helped Aegon lose the game.

What this can mean for Aegon in the future, combined with the parallel discussed directly above, could suggest that, while Aegons original approach concerning his heavy horse (possibly represented by the at least 1000 men ahorse in the Golden Company) might seem to work out positively for Aegon (like Daeron I’s approach did during the conquest), in his anger, or his shock (due to his lack of experience), Aegon will make a mistake, possibly misplacing his heavy horse, leading to a loss (though I wouldn’t go as far as to say it will necessarily lead to Aegons defeat).

The Crossbowmen

“A small army.” There, that’s made him good and angry. The dwarf could not help but think of Joffrey. I have a gift for angering princes. “Queen Daenerys has a large one, and no thanks to you.” Tyrion moved his crossbows.

Tyrion, whilst making Aegon angry, moved his crossbowmen. In the books, we’ve seen people use the crossbowmen to ensure no messages can be send. In addition, crossbows can also be used to attack from a distance, while you remain at a safe distance yourself. Is that the definition of “crossbowmen” that we need here?

Combine the word “Tyrion” and the word “crossbow”, and the answer is “Tywin”, it would seem. Tyrion killed his father with a crossbow, and goes on to think back about crossbows at multiple occasions. (quotes spoiler tagged for length, all quotes in there are from Dance)

(1)

“Wherever whores go.” Tyrion had warned his father not to say that word. If I had not loosed, he would have seen my threats were empty. He would have taken the crossbow from my hands, as once he took Tysha from my arms. He was rising when I killed him.

(2)

“Tywin Lannister dead? At your hand?”

“At my finger. This one.” Tyrion held it up for Griff to admire. “Lord Tywin was sitting on a privy, so I put a crossbow bolt through his bowels to see if he really did shit gold. He didn’t. A pity, I could have used some gold. […]”

(3)

And you’re a corpse, Father, so I’ll caper as I please. You have a gift for making men smile,” Septa Lemore told Tyrion as he was drying off his toes. “You should thank the Father Above. He gives gifts to all his children.”

“He does,” he agreed pleasantly. And when I die, please let them bury with me a crossbow, so I can thank the Father Above for his gifts the same way I thanked the father below.

(4)

“I see you plain enough, Imp.” Something dark had crept into the knight’s tone. “I have done things I am not proud of, things that brought shame onto my House and my father’s name … but to kill your own sire? How could any man do that?”

Give me a crossbow and pull down your breeches, and I’ll show you.” Gladly.

You think this is a jape?

(5)

The sight of him made the old woman smile. “A dwarf,” she purred, in a voice as sinister as it was soft. She spoke the Common Tongue with only a trace of accent. “Volantis has been overrun with dwarfs of late, it seems. Does this one do tricks?

Yes, Tyrion wanted to say. Give me a crossbow, and I’ll show you my favorite. “No,” Ser Jorah answered.

“A pity. I once had a monkey who could perform all sorts of clever tricks. Your dwarf reminds me of him. Is he a gift?

(6)

“I hear the two o’ you are going to fight for us,” the serjeant said. “That should have them pissing in Meereen. Either o’ you ever killed a man?”

“I have,” said Tyrion. “I swat them down like flies.”

“What with?”

“An axe, a dagger, a choice remark. Though I’m deadliest with my crossbow.”

The first quote shows that Tyrion feels that firing the crossbow was necessary, because he feels that his threats would have felt empty otherwise. During the second quote, Tyrion combines his tale of how he used the crossbow with making a joke (“to see if he shit gold. He didn’t”). During the third quote, Lemore tells Tyrion he makes people laugh, and Tyrion immediately thinks about the crossbow. In the fourth quote, the crossbow and japes are connected once more, and in the fifth as well. Being compared to a monkey, doing tricks, doesn’t really give of a feeling of being seen as a threat. The last quote shows Tyrion trying to make himself sound dangerous with a crossbow.

So it seems Tyrion feels that he’s often seen as a joke, and uses the crossbow to make his threats come across as real. In other words, Tyrion uses the crossbow to attack. And from a safe distance, as crossbows have that benefit.

Going back to the cyvasse game, Tyrion is mentioned to act innocently at several occasions, playing into how no one finds a dwarf dangerous. Then Tyrion moves his crossbows, attacking from a distance (making Aegon angry, making Aegon doubting himself and his position). It is the doubt that makes Aegon vulnerable for Tyrion’s suggestion of altered plans. After all, Tyrion is most dangerous with his crossbow ;) .

The Dragon

The dragon is the piece that features the most in this game.

“Perhaps you should be the fool instead of me. Trust no one, my prince. Not your chainless maester, not your false father, not the gallant Duck nor the lovely Lemore nor these other fine friends who grew you from a bean. Above all, trust not the cheesemonger, nor the Spider, nor this little dragon queen you mean to marry. All that mistrust will sour your stomach and keep you awake by night, ’tis true, but better that than the long sleep that does not end.” The dwarf pushed his black dragon across a range of mountains. “But what do I know? Your false father is a great lord, and I am just some twisted little monkey man. Still, I’d do things differently.”

Whilst talking and talking and taking up Aegons focus, Tyrion moves his dragon across a range of mountains.

[…] The girl who drowned the slaver cities in blood rather than leave strangers to their chains can scarcely abandon her own brother’s son in his hour of peril. And when she reaches Westeros, and meets you for the first time, you will meet as equals, man and woman, not queen and supplicant. How can she help but love you then, I ask you?” Smiling, he seized his dragon, flew it across the board. “I hope Your Grace will pardon me. Your king is trapped. Death in four.”

The prince stared at the playing board. “My dragon—”

“—is too far away to save you. You should have moved her to the center of the battle.”

It is the dragon, the most powerful piece of the game, which Tyrion eventually uses to win the game. All the while, Aegons most powerful piece is far away, and can´t save him anymore. What does this mean? Is it a reflection on what is happening with Aegon’s invasion plans, or is it foreshadowing on what is yet to come in Winds?

Tyrion distracts Aegon, gets his own force in position, and strikes when the time is right, when Aegon’s force is too far away to safe the young prince. That’s kind of what Tyrion is doing during the conversation as well. Distract, get the conversation exactly where you want it to go, and then strike. In this scenario, it would be foreshadowing towards the fact that Tyrions plan would succeed.

Additionally, it could be foreshadowing for Tyrion joining Dany, and taking up arms against Aegon, in which this might predict that it will be Tyrion who will get Dany’s forces into position (whilst distracting her enemies), and striking when the main force of the enemy is too far away to safe Aegon.

Tyrion Lannister & Qavo Nogarys

Once Tyrion reaches Volantis, he get’s to play yet another game of cyvasse, this time against Qavo Nogarys. Before Tyrion plays against the man, he first observes Nogarys playing against another.

In the alcove two men sat over a carved stone cyvasse table, squinting at their pieces by the light of a red candle.

The two players are described as “the thin man”, Nogarys, and “the big man”, who remains unnamed.

This game is incredibly short. But it did help convince me of the pattern I mentioned earlier, concerning the colours:

The thin man shifted an onyx elephant.

Across the cyvasse table, the man behind the alabaster army pursed his lips in disapproval. He moved his heavy horse.

“A blunder,” said Tyrion. He had as well play his part. “Just so,” the thin man said. He answered with his own heavy horse. A flurry of quick moves followed, until finally the thin man smiled and said, “Death, my friend.”

It can be observed here once more. One player uses only black (onyx) pieces, and the other only white (alabaster/ivory). And here again, we see the player using the onyx pieces win the game.

Next, Tyrions gets to play against Nogarys. While they are setting up their pieces, and later when they are studying each other’s openings settings, the discussion is about the war that is to come in Slavers Bay. Nogarys repeats the rumours that are being spread about Daenerys. This is when the first mention of a move in the game is made.

The Opening Pieces

This game has a higher speed than the previous one that Tyrion played.

Tyrion advanced his spearmen. Qavo replied with his light horse. Tyrion moved his crossbowmen up a square and said, “The red priest outside seemed to think Volantis should fight for this silver queen, not against her.”

With all I have said about the crossbowmen previously in mind, I find it fun to see that Tyrion only speaks after he had moved his crossbowmen.

The Rabble

“The red priests would be wise to hold their tongues,” said Qavo Nogarys. “Already there has been fighting between their followers and those who worship other gods. Benerro’s rantings will only serve to bring a savage wrath down upon his head.”

“What rantings?” the dwarf asked, toying with his rabble.

As English isn’t my native language, I had to look up “rabble”, which an online dictionary explained to me as “ordinary or common people who do not have a lot of money, power, or social status” and “the lowest class of people”. It seems, these can be compared to the pawns used in chess. The smallfolk, as it were. And Tyrion is toying with this specific piece when the smallfolk, and lower classes, are being discussed. The followers of the gods in Volantis, who have been fighting amongst each other.

The Volantene waved a hand. “In Volantis, thousands of slaves and freedmen crowd the temple plaza every night to hear Benerro shriek of bleeding stars and a sword of fire that will cleanse the world. He has been preaching that Volantis will surely burn if the triarchs take up arms against the silver queen.”

What does it mean? It might not mean anything, but perhaps.. I find these two quotes a suggestion of the power of the smallfolk, and in the case of the slaver cities, also the slaves, and the role they can play in a war. The rich people, the lords and princes and Queens might plot and plan and order what they want, but it’s the common people who will make up most of the army. And that should not be underestimated.

“The rest was slaughter”

The game doesn’t last very long after that, though we learn of two new “rules” in cyvasse.

“Very good,” he said, plucking up his dragon. “The most powerful piece in the game,” he announced, as he removed one of Qavo’s elephants.

Dragons can remove elephants from the board.

“You have Dothraki outside your own gates,” Haldon said. “Khal Pono.” Qavo waved a pale hand in dismissal. “The horselords come, we give them gifts, the horselords go.” He moved his catapult again, closed his hand around Tyrion’s alabaster dragon, removed it from the board.

And catapults can remove the dragons from the board.

Dragons versus elephants might be a small foreshadowing towards Dany’s dragons versus the elephants of the Golden Company, and catapult versus dragon the catapults of the Yunkish army and Dany’s dragons, which are about to face one another during the Battle at Meereen.

The rest was slaughter, though the dwarf held on another dozen moves. “The time has come for bitter tears,” Qavo said at last, scooping up the pile of silver. “Another game?”

And using the white pieces, Tyrion is “slaughtered”, despite the good game he manages to put up.

Tyrion Lannister & Haldon Halfmaester

The games that follow can be discussed a bit shorter than those above.

The first important cyvasse game in A Dance with Dragons is fought between Tyrion and Haldon on board of the Shy Maid. This games doesn’t make mention of the colours used by Tyrion and Haldon respectively, and only a small part of the “battle”, lasting three hours (I suppose that there were multiple games, like best out of three or something similar), is shown, but it is obvious that Tyrion is victorious.

The day you defeat me at cyvasse will be the day turtles crawl out my arse.” The Halfmaester moved his spears. “You have your wager, little man.”

[…]

It was three hours later when the little man finally crept back up on deck to empty his bladder. […]

“Yollo,” Duck called. “Where’s Haldon?”

“He’s taken to his bed, in some discomfort. There are turtles crawling out his arse.

We see Tyrion taking part in a true political game here, I think we can call it such. Tyrion and Haldon place a wager on the outcome, and the outcome becomes clear before the chapter ends: Tyrion learns the identity of “Young Griff”.

The only other thing that caught my attention, is the following:

Tyrion almost grabbed his dragon but thought better of it. Last game he had brought her out too soon and lost her to a trebuchet. “If we do meet these fabled pirates, I may join up with them. I’ll tell them that my name is Hugor Halfmaester.” He moved his light horse toward Haldon’s mountains. Haldon answered with an elephant. “Hugor Halfwit would suit you better.”

Tyrion here shows he has learned from the mistakes he made previously while playing the game. That, I suspect, will show in Winds, when he continues to play the game. It seems to me that the chances of this specific example being a coincidence are rather small, as, in Winds

Tyrion is at Meereen, where the Battle at Meereen is about to begin. The dragons Rhaegal and Viserion are flying freely there, and trebuchets are present as well. Tyrion is trying to join the side of Meereen, and if the foreshadowing here means anything, I suppose the earliest we’ll see it, is possibly Tyrion preventing the trebuchets from taking a dragon (or two) out of the game. More on this below

(Tyrion & Brown Benn (2))

Tyrion Lannister & Brown Ben Plumm (1) – Including Tyrion on the Auction Block

“Five thousand is an insult!” Tyrion called out. “I joust, I sing, I say amusing things. I’ll fuck your wife and make her scream. Or your enemy’s wife if you prefer, what better way to shame him? I’m murder with a crossbow, and men three times my size quail and tremble when we meet across a cyvasse table.

When Tyrion finds himself on the auction block, to be sold as a slave, he tries to get the attention of Brown Ben Plumm, as to convince Plumm to buy him. Here, Tyrion draws the attention to himself by, amongst other things, telling how people “three times his size” would “tremble” when “playing cyvasse” against him. Looking at the symbolic meaning of cyvasse, we know that this is true. Tyrion is good at the policital game, something he has shown in King’s Landing. And he did make men tremble there, surely (and they were all bigger than him too).

Tyrion isn’t bought by Plumm in the end, but by Yezzan. Still, Tyrion and Plumm meet again soon, when Yezzan feasts commanders from Yunkai. Tyrion and Plumm play a game of cyvasse during this feast. In this game, no mention of colour is made, but the game itself is rich in something else. This chapter teaches us (and Tyrion) how Plumm operates.

The sellsword was nearly as bad a player as the Yunkish lord had been, but his play was stolid and tenacious rather than bold. His opening arrays were different every time, yet all the same—conservative, defensive, passive. He does not play to win, Tyrion realized. He plays so as not to lose. It worked in their second game, when the little man overreached himself with an unsound assault.

In the game of thrones, there is more than winning or losing (despite what Cersei says).. You can also simply “survive”, and that is what Plumm demonstrates in his strategy, both in this game, and during his participation in “the game of thrones” earlier, (and later). Plumm goes over to whoever seems to be winning, so he’ll survive. He doesn’t have to come out at the top, as long as he doesn’t lose anything because of it.

The Dragon

“Yollo wins again. Death in four.”

“Three.” Tyrion tapped his dragon. “I was lucky.”

There isn’t much where specific pieces are concerned in this game, but I found this one jumping out. Tyrion tapping his dragon, then stating he was lucky. As Tyrion is associated with two dragons (Aegon and Daenerys), this might be a subtle nod to associating with (one of) these “dragons” being a step forward for Tyrion, leading to some luck for him.

Tyrion Lannister & Brown Ben Plumm (2)

In the sample chapters of The Winds of Winter, Tyrion plays yet another game of cyvasse (he’s a busy guy :) ). As this entire game concerns a Winds of Winter chapter, it’s in spoiler tags.

The chapter in question here is Tyrion I from Winds, and thus, hasn’t been published yet, but it has been read by GRRM, and notes have been taken. Despite sample chapters, whether read or published, being subject to change, I still find it worth discussing the chapter here.

The chapter is depicting Tyrion and Brown Ben Plumm playing a cyvasse game. What Tyrion is trying to do, is to convince Plumm to change sides; to get him to declare for Daenerys, and forsake the Yunkish.

The second Tyrion chapter from Winds, which was published in the official app, shows us that indeed, Tyrions plan succeeded. Plumm changes sides and declares for Daenerys. So the second chapter shows that Tyrion succeeded in what he had been trying to accomplish in the chapter discussed now. In other words, Tyrion won the political aspect of the game.

We could have guessed this outcome, even without the second Tyrion chapter being published. Why? Because according to the notes taken during the reading of Tyrion I, Tyrion was winning the game (though the notes end before the game does). If Tyrion is actually, truly winning, (and not just believing he’s winning while Brown Ben Plumm is actually winning, and we just haven’t learned about it yet), it would seem clear which colour Tyrion is playing with. The fact that Tyrion uses this game to try and convince Ben to switch sides, and the second Tyrion sample chapter shows us that Ben indeed has decided to switch back to Dany’s side in the battle for Meereen, would suggest that Tyrion indeed won “the game”, as occurred earlier with Aegon. Thus, that he played with the black pieces.

So, I predict for The Winds of Winter, that when we get to read this chapter in full detail, Tyrion will be placing with the black pieces, and Plumm with the white.

Arianne Martell & Daemon Sand/Geribald Shells

In the sample chapter “Arianne I” from The Winds of Winter we see Arianne playing two games of cyvasse. Because of the origin of this chapter, spoiler tags. :)

Arianne plays one game against Daemon Sand, and one against Geribald Shells.

Arianne played a game of cyvasse with Ser Daemon, and another one with Garibald Shells, and somehow managed to lose both. Ser Garibald was kind enough to say that she played a gallant game, but Daemon mocked her. [b]"You have other pieces beside the dragon, princess. Try moving them sometime."

Arianne loses both games. We see two different reactions to her loss. The first is Shells, who sweet-talks the event to her. Daemon tells it to her as it is. “You have other pieces, try moving them.”

I take this as foreshadowing, and rather clear as well. Arianne, in The Princess in the Tower, was told she needed to practise “the game”. And while Arianne now seems to be determined to do what Doran tells her to do, it seems here that she hasn’t really practised the game yet.

That she plays the two games here, could be seen as practise in itself. In The Princess in the Tower, Arianne had noted that, even if she had someone to play against, she probably wouldn’t have played, yet here she is playing the game, so she is, in fact practising. It’s an important step forward.

What Daemon tells her, seems important.

"You have other pieces beside the dragon, princess. Try moving them sometime."

This would seem, at least in my opinion, to be foreshadowing that Arianne and will be putting too much faith in either one of her two dragons:

  • Prince (soon-to-be King) Aegon, a dragon. Arianne might be putting too much faith into Aegon, and thereby forgetting that she has other resources in this war to come. Is that why Daemon Sand was send along? To try and remind Arianne that she has more than just a dragon?

One word from Arianne and those armies would march… so long as that word was dragon. If instead the word she sent was war, Lord Yronwood and Lord Fowler and their armies would remain in place. The Prince of Dorne was nothing if not subtle; here war meant wait.

  • The word “dragon” will send the armies of Dorne out into the field. Will this be the dragon that Arianne will put too much faith in? The armies of Dorne would be a dragon that Arianne herself would be able to move.. But she has shown her skills in manipulation as well, and if used on Aegon, she might be able to “move” this royal piece to do what she wants his forces to do..

Both seem possible.. While Arianne personally would control the armies of Dorne, it cannot be ruled out that she won’t be capable of “moving” Aegon as she wishes (she has shown to be quite good in getting people to do what she wants, using her words). The armies of Dorne could also be seen as two dragons, as the armies are divided in two. The cyvasse game only contains one dragon (but we can wonder whether the symbolism should be taken this literally or whether the armies of Dorne cannot simply be viewed as one big army).

Myrcella Baratheon & Trystane Martell

In A Feast for Crows, we see the following exchange, telling us about the many games of cyvasse that Myrcella and Trystane play together.

“I understand you’ve fought some mighty battles too, Your Grace,” said Drey in his most cheerful voice. “It is said you show our brave Prince Trystane no mercy at the cyvasse table.”

"He always sets his squares up the same way, with all the mountains in the front and his elephants in the passes,” said Myrcella. “So I send my dragon through to eat his elephants.”

The colours of the pieces don’t matter here (and neither are they mentioned). What is important here is what Myrcella tells us. “He always sets his squares up the same way.”

Dorne, it would seem, does this as well. Let’s examine.

We know about a few wars fought in Dorne about the right for kingship: (1) The War of Conquest, (2) The First Dornish War (which suggest at least one other, unknown war in Dorne, but we don’t know when that took place; though we do know it did not take place during the reign of Aegon I; in fact, it might be that the Conquest of Dorne counts as the Second Dornish War?), (3) The Conquest of Dorne, and (4) the rebellion that followed the Conquest, freeing Dorne once more.

The first thing that can be noticed, is that all of these wars were fought in Dorne.

Trystane would always set his mountains in the front.. The Red Mountains give entrance to Dorne, from the north, and that is the route Aegon I used two times.. And two times, his attempts to conquer failed. Daeron I was the first one to change tactic, and he won, though temporarily.

Still, if Trystane here personifies Dorne, and how they fight their wars, this is an important aspect. Because we know that Dorne most likely won’t be fighting the upcoming war in Dore, but outside of Dorne.. As has been stated in the books, the dornish fight best at home. But Dorne is about to participate in a war fought in other parts of Westeros. They will be following a dragon… They followed a dragon into battle once, and won, they followed another dragon into war once, and they lost. Currently it’s a tie, and this upcoming war is going to break it.

Margaery Tyrell

In A Feast for Crows we’re suddenly told that

Margaery was in the Maidenvault, sipping wine and trying to puzzle out some new game from Volantis with her three cousins.

Cyvasse originates from Volantis. It arrived in Dorne first, but it seems only natural that it would slowly gain “fame” in the rest of Westeros as well. Margaery is thus practising “the game”, as the player of the game of thrones that she is ;)

A subtle nod, this is. And interesting to see that Margaery is “sipping wine”, which would suggest, to me at least, that Margaery feels completely comfortable in “the game” at that moment.

Arys Oakheart

It is Ser Arys Oakheart, and his POV chapter The Soiled Knight, that introduces cyvasse to us.

Cyvasse, the game was called. It had come to the Planky Town on a trading galley from Volantis, and the orphans had spread it up and down the Greenblood. The Dornish court was mad for it.

Ser Arys just found it maddening.

Ser Arys will later on in that same chapter, and in The Queenmaker, show that the game of thrones is not one of his strengths. During The Soiled Knight, Arys is being manipulated by Arianne Martell until he’s willing to do exactly what she wants him to do, and the trend continues during The Queenmaker, and ends in his death.

Ser Arys finds the “game” maddening.. and that’s what killed him. It is a nice little bit, already showing how the game of thrones is not for Arys.

Penny

He soon had her calling the ship the Stinky Steward, though she got somewhat wroth with him whenever he called Pretty Bacon. To atone for that Tyrion made an attempt to teach her cyvasse, though he soon realized that was a lost cause. “No,” he said, a dozen times, “the dragon flies, not the elephants.”

This would show how Penny isn’t good in the political game. I’d think that would have been clear without the cyvasse reference, but still..

The Battle at Meereen

Spoiler tagged completely, for Winds of Winter reasons.

In the second Tyrion chapter of

the Winds of Winter, Tyrion and Penny prepare for the battle to come, whilst the Yunkish troops are preparing, dragons are flying loose, and Barristan is attacking. Tyrion goes into the tent of Brown Ben Plumm, and a messenger from the Yunkish arrives with orders. Recognizing Tyrion, he demands the return of this “slave”. Then Ben Plumm asks Jorah what he thinks about that demand.

"This." Mormont's longsword was in his hand. As the rider turned, Ser Jorah thrust it through his throat. The point came out the back of the Yunkishman's neck, red and wet. Blood bubbled from his lips and down his chin. The man took two wobbly steps and fell across the cyvasse board, scattering the wooden armies everywhere. He twitched a few more times, grasping the blade of Mormont's sword with one hand as the other clawed feebly at the overturned table. Only then did the Yunkishman seem to realize he was dead. He lay facedown on the carpet in a welter of red blood and oily black roses. Ser Jorah wrenched his sword free of the dead man's neck. Blood ran down its fullers.

The white cyvasse dragon ended up at Tyrion's feet. He scooped it off the carpet and wiped it on his sleeve, but some of the Yunkish blood had collected in the fine grooves of the carving, so the pale wood seemed veined with red. "All hail our beloved queen, Daenerys." Be she alive or be she dead. He tossed the bloody dragon in the air, caught it, grinned. "We have always been the queen's men," announced Brown Ben Plumm. "Rejoining the Yunkai'i was just a plot."

"And what a clever ploy it was."

Our Yunkish friend demands Tyrions return, but Jorah Mormont kills him. Being hit, the Yunkish man falls onto a cyvasse board, knocking over the pieces. Special attention is paid to the white dragon piece.

Now, many people take the fact that this piece is a white dragon to mean that Tyrion will eventually ride Viserion, the white/cream dragon (as Tyrion is the one to pick up the piece). Others see the mention of white veined with red, and think Ghost/Jon Snow. It’s not these interpretations I wish to discuss, there are other threads for that. It might be that the colour of this piece has multiple meanings... but neither one of those two are the symbolism of the pattern I discuss here.

If this Yunkish man represents the entire forces of Yunkai, the fact that his blood mingles with a white cyvasse piece would, in accordance with my theory on the meaning of the colours, symbolize the loss of the Yunkai.

The fact that the piece is a dragon, would then suggest that Yunkai will lose their most powerful piece. It isn’t exactly clear what that is.. Are the legions from New Ghis the “most powerful piece” Yunkai “plays with”? There are six from New Ghis in total, a rather large part of the army surrounding Meereen.. But one third of those soldiers are on the other side of the water, not in the immediate battle.. Are the other soldiers close by enough? Are they truly the key in this specific battle?

As Tyrion is the person to pick up the dragon, I suspect we should look closer to him, and his involvement with the Second Sons. After all, it was Tyrion who convinced Brown Ben Plumm to change his alliance (yet again), as discussed earlier. And here, we actually see that Ben agrees to do so, leading to the immediate death of one Yunkish man, whose blood mingles with the white dragon. The Second Sons, an important aspect, were being ordered to go and help defend one of the trebuchets by this messenger (after having been previously ordered by the Girl General to defend another trebuchet). The forces of Meereen had already taken down one, and the trebuchets are a good weapon against the dragons, and the Meereenese forces in general.

Will it be the loss of the trebuchets that will lead to Yunkai losing? It won’t only be that, of course, as we have multiple plots going on at once. The Windblown change sides, followed by the Second Sons. The Ironborn have arrived and start to attack. Viserion and Rhaegal have been freed and have mingled in the battle.

The sellsword companies, however, seem to be the key to defending the trebuchets, so I suspect that this will become rather important. Which ties back into something I mentioned earlier, in the part about Tyrion vs Haldon:

Tyrion almost grabbed his dragon but thought better of it. Last game he had brought her out too soon and lost her to a trebuchet.

Like I stated earlier: Tyrion here shows he has learned from the mistakes he made previously while playing the game. Is that what we will witness during the Battle for Meereen? Is it thanks to Tyrion’s convincing of Ben Plumm that the sellswords (all of the companies) will prevent the trebuchets from taking a dragon (or two) out of the game? After all, it wouldn’t be strange if, when the Second Sons and the Windblown leave the Yunkish side, (some of) the other sellsword companies will follow their example.

Closing Statement: Tigers and Elephants

Those were all the games and all I found in the games, but I wanted to discuss one last thing. Cyvasse is a game originating from Volantis, and Volantis is ruled by three members of two different political parties: the tigers, who advocate achieving dominance through war and conquest, and the elephants, who prefer a policy of trade and growing wealth.

The first thing that draws notice is that cyvasse contains elephant pieces, yet no tiger pieces… Curious…. But perhaps not.. Tigers are difficult to use as a weapon in war, after all.

In addition, it would seem that there is an inversed parallel going on. While in the game itself, the elephants are used in war, the political party unofficially called “the elephants” advocates peaceful ways. Meanwhile, in the game and real life, tigers are not used in war, while at the same time, the political party unofficially known as “the tigers”, advocate war and conquest.

The actual “political Volantis meaning” of elephants doesn’t seem to apply to our players who participate in the game of thrones

Meanwhile, I am wondering whether the absence of tiger pieces means anything?

So, that's all :) I hoped ya'll liked it :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a quick comment since sleep awaits me, more on this interesting topic maybe tomorrow >_>


These are the only games where it is mentioned who uses which colour of pieces. And all three times, the player using the black pieces, wins the game. So using the black pieces, at least when there is specific mention made of the usage of the colour, is favourable for the player involved.



Unrelated or not, but Chess in that regard is pretty much clear: white is always in advantage, since it starts first and can dictate the pace of the game.




It's not a surprise that in the recent Anand vs Carlsen (and that's just the most recent example) the black usually tried to stall and force a draw, waiting for the following game for specific strategies.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-move_advantage_in_chess




Yet, the game of thrones/Cyvasse is definitely not Chess. Maybe it's just me, but it looks clear that in Westeros the one who comes last is the one who takes it all, wonder if there's some intentional symbolism :)


I also wonder if in Cyvasse the order of start comes from the colour or by coin toss...


Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have to apologize but I only got halfway through it. I started reading attentively but IMHO it's a bit of overkill. Yes, cyvasse is obviously a metaphor for the game of thrones - though I wonder what Westerosi game was originally the inspiration for the political "game" as there are references to pieces and players in the absence of chess and cyvasse appears so late?


I commend you for the effort and hope you get better responses than mine.


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really fine work, Rhaenys! I find especially convincing your discussion of possible foreshadowing surrounding trebuchets, and the general black/white win/lose pattern.



One minor thing stood out to me in the passage about the cyvasse game between Aegon and Tyrion:



[…] The girl who drowned the slaver cities in blood rather than leave strangers to their chains can scarcely abandon her own brother’s son in his hour of peril. And when she reaches Westeros, and meets you for the first time, you will meet as equals, man and woman, not queen and supplicant. How can she help but love you then, I ask you?” Smiling, he seized his dragon, flew it across the board. “I hope Your Grace will pardon me. Your king is trapped. Death in four.”


The prince stared at the playing board. “My dragon—”


“—is too far away to save you. You should have moved her to the center of the battle.”



The gendered pronoun in the last line is interesting. Given the uncertainties surrounding the sexing of dragons, the only known female dragon at present is Daenerys. Although I don't actually believe that Tyrion had any such plan in mind, might the feminine pronoun here point to Daenerys being too far away to save Aegon?



Also, I've pondered that Myrcella/Trystane cyvasse reference a lot myself! It's really hard to know the takeaway. As you note, the Dornish strategy of keeping the mountains to the front has always worked in the past, when it is a strategy for defeating invaders. Though with some qualification. It didn't really keep the invaders out, it was the Dornish (rabble) melting away before the invaders, in town after town, that made them impossible to truly defeat. And in the end, wasn't the result something like a draw, since the Dornish weren't out to capture the IT? I think that it's cyvasse's "winner take all" outcome that makes it like the game of thrones, and the earlier Dornish wars weren't quite of that nature. All this to basically say that I agree with your interpretation that Dorne seems preparing to do something quite different now than it has done in the past, something for which its traditional strategies are ill-suited. I hope Doran has something else up his sleeve than Quenerys. But I always have a hard time understanding why Doran wants the IT at all :( . Dornish independence seems so much more appealing!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great work :bowdown:



Reading though your essay, bits of cyvasse mentions though the series just start to fall into its places. Small pieces of jigsaw puzzle start to form a larger picture. It seems that yes, cyvasse game is usually either used to show people's characters (defensive and conservative Brown Ben, young and bold Aegon), or as background to actual game (Tyrion-Aegon; Doran-Arianne). Here's some food for thought:



1) is it coincidence that master player Tyrion is also pretty good at cyvasse?


2) or that many mentions of Cyvasse include Arianne, another aspiring player


- will cyvasse be used in the future books to show her progress?


3) is it important that only Westerosi, besides Tyrion, who regularly play cyvasse, are all Dornish? Doran is familiar with rules, Trystane plays with Myrcella, Daemon Sand and Arianne play against each other...





Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very interesting OP. I was struck by Myrcella's competence at Cyvasse. I hadn't noticed that before and now wonder if that is indeed symbolic. Maybe Myrcella will become more of a 'player' than is usually expected - though, granted, expectations of her outcome are generally pretty low. It would be fascinating if she emerged from the Dorne debacle as a stronger factor in the ensuing chaos.



Must say I'd always thought as well that Cyvasse was analogous to the onoing political hurlyburly and wasn't surprised that canny Tyrion proved to be such an astute player.



However, one thing that stood out for me in your analysis was how the dragons can be defeated - by trebuchets and caterpaults. Both are medieval siege engines. This seems almost surprising - surely a mighty 'dragon' would be more than a match for a mere catapult, likely made of wood? (Even a big lumbering one). And in a siege situation a dragon could presumably fly free and decimate the enemy with its ferocious airpower.



So why are these traditional and comparatively basic weapons of war lethal to dragons in Cyvasse? Obviously they can knock dragons out of the sky and the mere fact that they are besieging modes of warfare indicates a sense of entrapment. To be most effective, Dragons need full freedom to roam and fire at will. So is this possibly a hint at how a dragon can be defeated? Or alternatively it might be much more symbolic than that: that something supposedly menial and manmade, can be deployed successfully against dragons.



i've always been of the mind that Daenarys and her weapons of mass destruction (once trained and acting out her will) would prove - as was the case with Aegon I - pretty much unstoppable in a war of conquest. But if the Cyvasse game is intentionally metaphorical, then this might not be the case - and Daenary's eventual campaign has the potential to be undermined by something relatively unsophisticated, commonplace (here, in a warring context!) and easily overlooked.


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a quick comment since sleep awaits me, more on this interesting topic maybe tomorrow >_>

Unrelated or not, but Chess in that regard is pretty much clear: white is always in advantage, since it starts first and can dictate the pace of the game.

It's not a surprise that in the recent Anand vs Carlsen (and that's just the most recent example) the black usually tried to stall and force a draw, waiting for the following game for specific strategies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-move_advantage_in_chess

Yet, the game of thrones/Cyvasse is definitely not Chess. Maybe it's just me, but it looks clear that in Westeros the one who comes last is the one who takes it all, wonder if there's some intentional symbolism :)

I also wonder if in Cyvasse the order of start comes from the colour or by coin toss...

The fact that Tyrion "let the prince have the first move" would suggest that it is done by choice... There are a few possibilities then. Either this is a one-time thing, with Tyrion trying to humour Aegon (trying to lure him into a false sense of safety), or it isn't a rule which colour begins, in which case it could usually be decided the way you suggested, by coin toss, or something similar, like drawing straws or something.

Really fine work, Rhaenys! I find especially convincing your discussion of possible foreshadowing surrounding trebuchets, and the general black/white win/lose pattern.

One minor thing stood out to me in the passage about the cyvasse game between Aegon and Tyrion:

[…] The girl who drowned the slaver cities in blood rather than leave strangers to their chains can scarcely abandon her own brother’s son in his hour of peril. And when she reaches Westeros, and meets you for the first time, you will meet as equals, man and woman, not queen and supplicant. How can she help but love you then, I ask you?” Smiling, he seized his dragon, flew it across the board. “I hope Your Grace will pardon me. Your king is trapped. Death in four.”

The prince stared at the playing board. “My dragon—”

“—is too far away to save you. You should have moved her to the center of the battle.”

The gendered pronoun in the last line is interesting. Given the uncertainties surrounding the sexing of dragons, the only known female dragon at present is Daenerys. Although I don't actually believe that Tyrion had any such plan in mind, might the feminine pronoun here point to Daenerys being too far away to save Aegon?

Also, I've pondered that Myrcella/Trystane cyvasse reference a lot myself! It's really hard to know the takeaway. As you note, the Dornish strategy of keeping the mountains to the front has always worked in the past, when it is a strategy for defeating invaders. Though with some qualification. It didn't really keep the invaders out, it was the Dornish (rabble) melting away before the invaders, in town after town, that made them impossible to truly defeat. And in the end, wasn't the result something like a draw, since the Dornish weren't out to capture the IT? I think that it's cyvasse's "winner take all" outcome that makes it like the game of thrones, and the earlier Dornish wars weren't quite of that nature. All this to basically say that I agree with your interpretation that Dorne seems preparing to do something quite different now than it has done in the past, something for which its traditional strategies are ill-suited. I hope Doran has something else up his sleeve than Quenerys. But I always have a hard time understanding why Doran wants the IT at all :( . Dornish independence seems so much more appealing!

Thanks! :)

Interesting, but if Dany is Aegon's dragon, then which dragon is Tyrion's?

Great work :bowdown:

Reading though your essay, bits of cyvasse mentions though the series just start to fall into its places. Small pieces of jigsaw puzzle start to form a larger picture. It seems that yes, cyvasse game is usually either used to show people's characters (defensive and conservative Brown Ben, young and bold Aegon), or as background to actual game (Tyrion-Aegon; Doran-Arianne). Here's some food for thought:

1) is it coincidence that master player Tyrion is also pretty good at cyvasse?

2) or that many mentions of Cyvasse include Arianne, another aspiring player

- will cyvasse be used in the future books to show her progress?

3) is it important that only Westerosi, besides Tyrion, who regularly play cyvasse, are all Dornish? Doran is familiar with rules, Trystane plays with Myrcella, Daemon Sand and Arianne play against each other...

1) I highly doubt it is a coincidence :)

2) Hmm.. Arianne, Tyrion, Aegon, Margaery, even Myrcella.. all are connected to cyvasse and its symbolism.. I am truly waiting for a mention of Cersei with the game, now that it has reached KL.. As for Arianne, we can see the pattern... first she doesn't play to practise, in winds

she practises (but still loses the games)

So I would say that it is possible we'll be seeing some progress through the game for her.. Though she'll probably reach a point where playing a game isn't anyone's priority (when the actual fighting begins, for example)

3) Myrcella plays regularly.. She's not dornish.. Perhaps there's meaning to it, perhaps not.. But the game hasn't "migrated" that far out of Dorne yet, so the fact that most players are either essosi or dornish makes sense :)

I think, if Quentyn had been involved in playing cyvasse games, and Tyrion had been less involved with cyvasse, there might have been some sort of pattern.. Perhaps the further along we come, the more cyvasse we'll be seeing?

Very interesting OP. I was struck by Myrcella's competence at Cyvasse. I hadn't noticed that before and now wonder if that is indeed symbolic. Maybe Myrcella will become more of a 'player' than is usually expected - though, granted, expectations of her outcome are generally pretty low. It would be fascinating if she emerged from the Dorne debacle as a stronger factor in the ensuing chaos.

Who knows.. perhaps, if Myrcella is indeed to die, she will become a player of sorts herself before her death.. That could happen in a number of ways, I think..

However, one thing that stood out for me in your analysis was how the dragons can be defeated - by trebuchets and caterpaults. Both are medieval siege engines. This seems almost surprising - surely a mighty 'dragon' would be more than a match for a mere catapult, likely made of wood? (Even a big lumbering one). And in a siege situation a dragon could presumably fly free and decimate the enemy with its ferocious airpower.

So why are these traditional and comparatively basic weapons of war lethal to dragons in Cyvasse? Obviously they can knock dragons out of the sky and the mere fact that they are besieging modes of warfare indicates a sense of entrapment. To be most effective, Dragons need full freedom to roam and fire at will. So is this possibly a hint at how a dragon can be defeated? Or alternatively it might be much more symbolic than that: that something supposedly menial and manmade, can be deployed successfully against dragons.

i've always been of the mind that Daenarys and her weapons of mass destruction (once trained and acting out her will) would prove - as was the case with Aegon I - pretty much unstoppable in a war of conquest. But if the Cyvasse game is intentionally metaphorical, then this might not be the case - and Daenary's eventual campaign has the potential to be undermined by something relatively unsophisticated, commonplace (here, in a warring context!) and easily overlooked.

That it is something man-made that can defeat a dragon could also be used to show that dragons aren't everything, that having a dragon doesn't ensure that you'll win. Certainly, it will increase your chances a great deal. But Meraxes could die in Dorne, Vermax could die in the Gullet... men caused that to happen..

Excellent work.

Thank you :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

. I am truly waiting for a mention of Cersei with the game, now that it has reached KL.

If they follow cyvasse symbolism, Cersei's thoughts will go something like this: What it this? Why do I keep losing so quickly? Why does everyone and their mother keep outplaying me? No, I can't be - I am the master player.

By the way (and apologies if this is derailing this truly great thread), I saw that there are few fan-made versions of cyvasse out there on the net. I've never been so eager to try to play a fictional game :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting, but if Dany is Aegon's dragon, then which dragon is Tyrion's?

Great Work! really, I can't image how much time it must have taken you to gather all these quotes! and great analyze of the games, too ;)

As for that bit I quote, my understanding of the Aegon/Tyrion game is that there is two levels of subtext. Sort of. In this particular scene, there is the symbolism of the cyvasse game itself, one that is 'external' to the universe (Tyrion is not aware that he is playing with 'symbolical Dany'), and there is the double entendre in Tyrion's sentence, that is imo, intentional on Tyrion's part, making it 'internal' to book universe.

Tyrion is toying with Aegon, and clearly using the cyvasse game as metaphor for the game of thrones... Doran does the same, as you have pointed out. Clearly, that metaphor is both internal and external to the universe. Thus, there is two levels of interpretation.

Before that game of cyvasse,Tyrion was trying to persuade Aegon to go to Westeros by himself. After the game, he seems almost remorseful. Almost. What this reveals imo, is that Tyrion is extremely on his guard and still trying to piece together what game Illyrio is playing. He is trying to figure out Aegon and at the same time, might feel a little guilty for manipulating the boy.

His use of the pronoun her, "...you should have moved her to the center of the game." is quite intentional. Tyrion, under pretense of commenting Aegon's game strategy, is actually counseling him, and advising Aegon not to trust him or his previous counsel. He does it indirectly, because he's not quite certain how to deal with Aegon and co. and, as stated earlier, he might be feeling remorseful after all. Tyrion is talking about Dany, and he is telling Aegon to go to her, instead of invading Westeros on his own.

Aegon doesn't get the metaphor.

what follows is, "But you said-"

"I lied. Trust no one. And keep your dragon close." ("I lied. don't trust me. Go to Daenerys)

Tyrion continues the metaphor, thus supporting the idea that the double entendre is quite intentional on his part....It becomes clear that Tyrion doesn't believe Aegon is who he claims to be, when after the game, and after Aegon's anger tantrum, he thinks to himself, "he may well be a Targaryen after all." This uncertainty, and his wariness concerning Illyrio, explains Tyrion's behavior imo...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If they follow cyvasse symbolism, Cersei's thoughts will go something like this: What it this? Why do I keep losing so quickly? Why does everyone and their mother keep outplaying me? No, I can't be - I am the master player.

By the way (and apologies if this is derailing this truly great thread), I saw that there are few fan-made versions of cyvasse out there on the net. I've never been so eager to try to play a fictional game :)

I imagine her playing, thinking the game is stupid all the time, and not at all worth her time playing... :p

I've seen such threads indeed, but I have never really read them. I doubt that GRRM himself has thought of all the rules (after all, it's three games combined, with an additional good portion of imagination), so I haven't checked out made-up rules for it..

If someone can make up a fun game though, that's great :) but it won't be the same as actual cyvasse...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great Work! really, I can't image how much time it must have taken you to gather all these quotes! and great analyze of the games, too ;)

As for that bit I quote, my understanding of the Aegon/Tyrion game is that there is two levels of subtext. Sort of. In this particular scene, there is the symbolism of the cyvasse game itself, one that is 'external' to the universe (Tyrion is not aware that he is playing with 'symbolical Dany'), and there is the double entendre in Tyrion's sentence, that is imo, intentional on Tyrion's part, making it 'internal' to book universe.

Tyrion is toying with Aegon, and clearly using the cyvasse game as metaphor for the game of thrones... Doran does the same, as you have pointed out. Clearly, that metaphor is both internal and external to the universe. Thus, there is two levels of interpretation.

Before that game of cyvasse,Tyrion was trying to persuade Aegon to go to Westeros by himself. After the game, he seems almost remorseful. Almost. What this reveals imo, is that Tyrion is extremely on his guard and still trying to piece together what game Illyrio is playing. He is trying to figure out Aegon and at the same time, might feel a little guilty for manipulating the boy.

His use of the pronoun her, "...you should have moved her to the center of the game." is quite intentional. Tyrion, under pretense of commenting Aegon's game strategy, is actually counseling him, and advising Aegon not to trust him or his previous counsel. He does it indirectly, because he's not quite certain how to deal with Aegon and co. and, as stated earlier, he might be feeling remorseful after all. Tyrion is talking about Dany, and he is telling Aegon to go to her, instead of invading Westeros on his own.

Aegon doesn't get the metaphor.

what follows is, "But you said-"

"I lied. Trust no one. And keep your dragon close." ("I lied. don't trust me. Go to Daenerys)

Tyrion continues the metaphor, thus supporting the idea that the double entendre is quite intentional on his part....It becomes clear that Tyrion doesn't believe Aegon is who he claims to be, when after the game, and after Aegon's anger tantrum, he thinks to himself, "he may well be a Targaryen after all." This uncertainty, and his wariness concerning Illyrio, explains Tyrion's behavior imo...

Also good points! :cheers:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Amazing, amazing thread! :bowdown:

I have a partially formed thoughts that I'm going to flesh out into a decent response, but between work and Hanukkah this week is the grim reaper. So until then, I'll start off with...

The Heavy Horse
During Arianne’s conversation with Doran, she sits down across of Doran, at the cyvasse table.

She touched one of the cyvasse pieces, the heavy horse. “Have you caught Ser Gerold?”

Heavy horse is a class of calvary, with the primary role of engaging in direct combat with enemy forces. They lead the attack. Their intention is to penetrate through the enemy defences and attack into the enemies vulnerable rear areas. (definitions from Wikipedia)

I am wondering whether this is foreshadowing on Arianne leading an attack, once Dorne enters the war. Of course, not leading the attack literally, (as Arianne has not been trained in combat), but more a commanding role.

The fact that this sentence is immediately followed by “Have you caught Ser Gerold?”, could also mean that the foreshadowing is directed towards Arianne being the leading cause to Gerold being caught, though, with Hotah and Obara being the ones to chase Gerold, and with Arianne eventually travelling in the other direction, this interpretation seems less likely to me.


You know my pet theory...could this perhaps be foreshadowing to Ser Gerold himself leading a charge? If so, he's associated with the ivory horse, which would also indicate failure on his part. Keep in mind, Arianne already thought about using Darkstar as a "heavy horse" in her own way:

The Yronwoods might declare for Quentyn, but alone they were no threat. If they went over to Tommen and the Lannisters, she would have Darkstar destroy them root and branch.


Vulturestar or I riot! :commie:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great Work! really, I can't image how much time it must have taken you to gather all these quotes! and great analyze of the games, too ;)

As for that bit I quote, my understanding of the Aegon/Tyrion game is that there is two levels of subtext. Sort of. In this particular scene, there is the symbolism of the cyvasse game itself, one that is 'external' to the universe (Tyrion is not aware that he is playing with 'symbolical Dany'), and there is the double entendre in Tyrion's sentence, that is imo, intentional on Tyrion's part, making it 'internal' to book universe.

Tyrion is toying with Aegon, and clearly using the cyvasse game as metaphor for the game of thrones... Doran does the same, as you have pointed out. Clearly, that metaphor is both internal and external to the universe. Thus, there is two levels of interpretation.

Before that game of cyvasse,Tyrion was trying to persuade Aegon to go to Westeros by himself. After the game, he seems almost remorseful. Almost. What this reveals imo, is that Tyrion is extremely on his guard and still trying to piece together what game Illyrio is playing. He is trying to figure out Aegon and at the same time, might feel a little guilty for manipulating the boy.

His use of the pronoun her, "...you should have moved her to the center of the game." is quite intentional. Tyrion, under pretense of commenting Aegon's game strategy, is actually counseling him, and advising Aegon not to trust him or his previous counsel. He does it indirectly, because he's not quite certain how to deal with Aegon and co. and, as stated earlier, he might be feeling remorseful after all. Tyrion is talking about Dany, and he is telling Aegon to go to her, instead of invading Westeros on his own.

Aegon doesn't get the metaphor.

what follows is, "But you said-"

"I lied. Trust no one. And keep your dragon close." ("I lied. don't trust me. Go to Daenerys)

Tyrion continues the metaphor, thus supporting the idea that the double entendre is quite intentional on his part....It becomes clear that Tyrion doesn't believe Aegon is who he claims to be, when after the game, and after Aegon's anger tantrum, he thinks to himself, "he may well be a Targaryen after all." This uncertainty, and his wariness concerning Illyrio, explains Tyrion's behavior imo...

Good points.

Amazing, amazing thread! :bowdown:

I have a partially formed thoughts that I'm going to flesh out into a decent response, but between work and Hanukkah this week is the grim reaper. So until then, I'll start off with...

You know my pet theory...could this perhaps be foreshadowing to Ser Gerold himself leading a charge? If so, he's associated with the ivory horse, which would also indicate failure on his part. Keep in mind, Arianne already thought about using Darkstar as a "heavy horse" in her own way:

In which case the white pieces would be symbolizing Gerold's inability, or "loss", to kill Myrcella?

That would be pieces pointing to something that had happened in the past... It could be, but I would think that there should be foreshadowing, if anything, in the association with pieces..

That doesn't mean that there can't be an association with Darkstar.. Darkstar is being hunted, currently, so perhaps, I suppose, it might symbolize his loss in the eventual battle?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...