Do you believe in ghosts, Maester?

[Clegane'sPup]

Jamie ASOS p613 pb

Qyburn's response to Jamie's question:

The man's face grew stange. Once, at the CitadeI I came into an empty room and saw an empty chair. Yet I knew a woman had been there, only moments before. The cushion was dented where she'd sat, the cloth was still warm and her scent lingered in the air. If we leave our smells behind us when leave a room, surely something of our souls must remain when we leave this life. Qyburn spread his hands. "The archmaesters did not like my thinking, though. Well, Marwyn did, but he was the only one."

• Mirri Maz Duur tells Dany that she was taught anatomy by Marwyn.
  
• Asha Finds her uncle reading Marwyn's The Book of Lost Books in his tower.
  

Those two events happened before Jamie's quesion to Qyburn.

Later, Sam arrives at the Citadel and after much discussion, Marwyn decides to leave to go find Dany( I really dislike the Targ name spellings so I use the shortcuts).

Are there other references to Marwyn in TSOIAF that I have missed? Care to speculate about Marwyn's importance?

[Rrachel]

I do belive Marwyn's importance is being under-rated by fans at the moment. The last we know of him is that he is rushing in hopes of meeting Dany as fast as possible. We know that Marwyn believes in dragons and has some knowledge about them... but I don't know if he's going to meet Dany to help her with the dragons or to maybe use them with the magic knowledge he owns... we know he studied with Shadowbinders and Warlocks for 8 years after all.

[Erza Whitewalker]

Marwyn didn't register with me as a character until we met him in person. Even on a careful re-read it's easy to miss because the references are few, we get such quick mentions of him with just the barest link to the "occult". With MMD, she talks about studying healing with Marwyn and it's only later that she admits she is a maegi who can perform dark/black/blood magic. Blink and you miss him.

I find it frustrating to try and remember characters who get mentioned once per book, if that, and then have them turn out to be part of the ongoing plot. (see also Bloodraven, for those who haven't read D&E.)

I think you've got all the references and we seem to have another player on our hands. No idea of where he will rank in importance, but I don't think he'll be "Quentyn-ed" - at least not until he does or says something important to the plot(s).

Have I been vague enough to be GRRM-ish? :devil:

[I S**t Gold]

See my suspicion is that Marwyn will never resurface. I think he was Jaqen's mark and that's why we haven't seen anything of him since Oldtown. Jaqen has to be in town to kill someone right? That's not to say he isn't important. But I also think he's dead.

[Good Guy Garlan]

Just a nitpick, but when Asha finds the Reader with Marwyn's book happens after Jaime asks him the question, in aFfC

But anyway, yeah, I think you've got all the references to Marwyn. Some people think he's the guy who castrated Varys but he's not referred by name in that story

[Clegane'sPup]

Just a nitpick, but when Asha finds the Reader with Marwyn's book happens after Jaime asks him the question, in aFfC

But anyway, yeah, I think you've got all the references to Marwyn. Some people think he's the guy who castrated Varys but he's not referred by name in that story

Glad you pointed that out. I went back and read the Kracken's Daughter. Her nuncle tells her that Marwyn claims to have found three pages Signs and Portents, visions written down by the maiden daughter of Aenar Targaryen before the Doom came to Valyria. I have no idea what that means other than perhaps Lord Harlaw may have shared information with the Greyjoy's.

I've read the books twice. Each time skimming through the Ironborn and Dany chapters. Perhaps I should have paid more attention, because until I read that chaper again I didn't realize that Asha had taken Robert Glover's wife and children hostage and transported them to the Iron Islands. Glover is another interest of mine.

Back to Marwyn, I hadn't paid much attention to the character's name until Sam met him at the Citadel. Marwyn's reaction to Sam's news was interesting to me.

That is an interesting theory about Varys castration. Are there any threads about it?

Thanks

[aryagonnakill#2]

^Signs and portents was written by the girl who predicted the doom of Valyria, that's all I can tell you about that work.

[Good Guy Garlan]

Glad you pointed that out. I went back and read the Kracken's Daughter. Her nuncle tells her that Marwyn claims to have found three pages Signs and Portents, visions written down by the maiden daughter of Aenar Targaryen before the Doom came to Valyria. I have no idea what that means other than perhaps Lord Harlaw may have shared information with the Greyjoy's.

I've read the books twice. Each time skimming through the Ironborn and Dany chapters. Perhaps I should have paid more attention, because until I read that chaper again I didn't realize that Asha had taken Robert Glover's wife and children hostage and transported them to the Iron Islands. Glover is another interest of mine.

Back to Marwyn, I hadn't paid much attention to the character's name until Sam met him at the Citadel. Marwyn's reaction to Sam's news was interesting to me.

That is an interesting theory about Varys castration. Are there any threads about it?

Thanks

I honestly don't remember any thread about it, but is something I've seen suggested sometimes

[tomkat364]

I could be wrong, but I thought Quaithe or someone else in Qarth made some mention of Marwyn as well. I may just be confusing this with the mention of glass candles though, as they were brought up multiple times in Qarth and Marwyn's scenes.

[Clegane'sPup]

Marwyn didn't register with me as a character until we met him in person. Even on a careful re-read it's easy to miss because the references are few, we get such quick mentions of him with just the barest link to the "occult". With MMD, she talks about studying healing with Marwyn and it's only later that she admits she is a maegi who can perform dark/black/blood magic. Blink and you miss him.

I find it frustrating to try and remember characters who get mentioned once per book, if that, and then have them turn out to be part of the ongoing plot. (see also Bloodraven, for those who haven't read D&E.)

I think you've got all the references and we seem to have another player on our hands. No idea of where he will rank in importance, but I don't think he'll be "Quentyn-ed" - at least not until he does or says something important to the plot(s).

Have I been vague enough to be GRRM-ish? :devil:

:thumbsup:

:agree: I find it frustrating to try and remember characters who get mentioned once per book, if that, and then have them turn out to be part of the ongoing plot. (see also Bloodraven, for those who haven't read D&E.) :cheers:

[Mychel_Redfort]

The acolytes also speak of him in Feast's prologue.

"Every man off every ship that's sailed within a hundred leagues of Qarth is speaking of these dragons. A few will even tell you that they've seen them. The Mage is inclined to believe them."

Armen pursed his lips in disapproval. "Marwyn is unsound. Archmaester Perestan would be the first to tell you that."

"Archmaester Ryam says so too," said Roone.

Leo yawned. "The sea is wet, the sun is warm, and the menagerie hates the mastiff."

He has a mocking name for everyone, thought Pate, but he could not deny that Marwyn looked more a mastiff than a maester. As if he wants to bite you. The Mage was not like other maesters. People said that he kept company with whores and hedge wizards, talked with hairy Ibbenese and pitch-black Summer Islanders in their own tongues, and sacrificed to queer gods at the little sailors' temples down by the wharves. Men spoke of seeing him down in the undercity, in rat pits and black brothels, consorting with mummers, singers, sellswords, even beggars. Some even whispered that once he had killed a man with his fists.

When Marwyn had returned to Oldtown, after spending eight years in the east mapping distant lands, searching for lost books, and studying with warlocks and shadowbinders, Vinegar Vaellyn had dubbed him "Marwyn the Mage." The name was soon all over Oldtown, to Vaellyn's vast annoyance. "Leave spells and prayers to priests and septons and bend your wits to learning truths a man can trust in," Archmaester Ryam had once counseled Pate, but Ryam's ring and rod and mask were yellow gold, and his maester's chain had no link of Valyrian steel.

Armen looked down his nose at Lazy Leo. He had the perfect nose for it, long and thin, and pointed. "Archmaester Marwyn believes in many curious things," he said, "but he has no more proof of dragons than Mollander. Just more sailors' stories."

"You're wrong," said Leo. "There is a glass candle burning in the Mage's chambers."

[Erza Whitewalker]

:thumbsup:

:agree: I find it frustrating to try and remember characters who get mentioned once per book, if that, and then have them turn out to be part of the ongoing plot. (see also Bloodraven, for those who haven't read D&E.) :cheers:

I'll drink to that too! :cheers: