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The Parallel Journey of Daenerys Targaryen & ... Part I


MoIaF

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Sorry for the late reply, was watching my home team win the Super Bowl!

Excellent job MoIaF and Queen Alysanne!!!

Thank you very much!

One thing I'd like to point out is a contrast between the two. In Bran's coma dream he is alone but for the 3 eyed crow. He can see others, be they at the Trident, at WF, at the Wall but he cannot interact with them. Dany, on the other hand, interacts with some of the specters of her fever dream, like Drogo, Viserys, and Jorah. They are able to "talk" to her. I think this motfi of alone/with companions plays out throughout both Bran and Dany's arcs. Bran might have others with him--like Luwin, Hodor, Jojen, Meera, Osha and even the Walders of House Frey--but he is very much alone a lot of the time, the aforementioned people are either servants or magical "Yoda" figures; his own, thus far, ends with his being very cut off from almost the entire world, but for the 3EC in the form of Bloodraven. Dany, on the other hand, has various friends, lovers, guards. She can feel alone but in reality we see that she is not--Missandei, for example, is never far.

Bran spends a lot of time alone because of his disability and his depression from it (he doesn't want to go outside). And you are right that Dany always has people around her, yet, she feels incredibly lonely. I think a lot of Dany's loneliness stems from not having friends, truly Jorah has been her only friend, and not having people of her same position (that she likes) around her. They both suffer from loneliness for different reasons, and they look back to the past when there were instances they didn't feel this loneliness.

I also wanted to point out that with Dany she is the actor in her own dream. She runs toward the door. Nothing is really acting on her--like an outside force--and she is not the passive voice. Even the specters she sees in her dreams are not directing her so much as trying to help her understand that she is now the Last Dragon. Bran is falling falling falling with the wind and terror moving him around. There is even a screaming raven telling him that he must fly or else die.

I think that theme of active/passive is going to play out in their arcs, and has already. Dany awakens and knows that she must be Khaleesi even without Drogo. She walks into a fire because she just knows it is the right thing to do. Then Dany sacks three cities and becomes queen! There is no force acting on her other than her own internalizes will and strength. Bran, on the other hand, is stationary, metaphorically and literally. In order for his story to progress others must act on Bran. Theon must take WF, for example. And lurking behind everything is BR who keeps "calling" to Bran to come North.

Really great observation and I absolutely agree with you. It's almost a given that Bran's role will be directed from the Weirwood throne he now sits on. I've been saying for a while that he'll be the eyes and ears of the war, with his ability to see everywhere there is a tree. Dany on the other hand is action, she'll be fighting the war, moving around, flying around.

We like to talk about GRRM as "breaker of all the tropes" but in reality it's more like "messer upper of all the tropes." GRRM is telling the oldest stories, ones of heroes and villains, one of good and evil...but instead of those black and white lines being definitive they are messy and complicated to the point of being grey.

Females heroes aren't, strictly speaking, abnormal but what makes Dany unique as she heads down monomyth road is that she lacks a male presence, one that dictates her actions. Her brothers, her husband and her son are dead. Her best friend turns out to have betrayed her once and is also absolutely in love with her and becomes possessive and clingy and breaks their social mores about what is proper between a queen and her knight. Dany's real "male influence" turns out to be a flying lizard. She has exacts bloody justice and sacks cities. She's not ethereal mother figure but a much more nuanced mother figure, one that crosses the life and death boundaries.

Bran as a young "knight" isn't abnormal either in heroes tales, but in Bran's case he literally can't walk. He can't be the knight out of songs because he is crippled. His own impetus is not the quest itself, but his own desire to walk again.

Agree again, he's not breaking the tropes so much as deconstructing them, however, the structure of the trope is still there.

Dany would usually be the damsel in distress, waiting to be rescued or guided to her destiny by a male yoda or whatever. But like Tyrion says in Dance, Dany is a rescuer, she can and will help those who need it.

Very interesting passage. I hadn't noticed that Dany's vision of the path to her red door is so similar to the description of the crypt at Winterfell which is also lined with kings holding swords. The Winterfell crypt seems significant in general - it's the first place that King Robert goes with Ned Stark - and particularly important to Bran's story: he wants to go there when Ned is killed, before the news of the execution even reaches Winterfell. Later, Bran, Rickon, Osha, Meera, Jojen and Hodor hide there, saving themselves from slaughter by Theon or Ramsay.

When Bran's group leaves the crypt, Hodor has to work mightily to open the door that will allow them to escape their hiding place. Is this another symbolic comparison to the red door of Dany's dream? She has seen the door in her dream, but has she tried to open it yet? Maybe the doors on the right that she always takes on her trip through the House of the Undying represent the red door - or another symbolic path to her red door. Or maybe all of her ordeals to become a queen and claim the throne of Westeros are somehow comparable to the difficult, blocked door out of the Winterfell crypt.

The three-eyed crow does seem like a different driver than the forces urging Dany on her quest, but I'm not sure I'd entirely rule out ancestors and family as motivators for Bran. He shares a name with the builder of the wall, and the Starks have a unique connection to the First Men and the Old Gods. I don't have a lot of evidence to go on unless or until something takes us back into the Winterfell crypt but it seems like Bran's destiny somehow had to begin with the Stark line. If we hear the missing pieces of Bloodraven's story, that might also clarify whether "blood" (ancestry) plays a part in Bran's calling.

On the crypt comparison: Arya discovers a hall of dragon skulls in the depths of the Red Keep. That seems like a significant crypt-like place with a Targ connection. I wonder whether we should compare Arya's experience there with Dany's dream crypt and Bran's scenes in Winterfell's crypt?

Towards the end of this fevered dream Dany actually flied through the opened red door:

"She could smell home, she could see it, there, just beyond that door, green fields and great stone houses and arms to keep her warm, there. She threw open the door. ... the dragon... And saw her brother Rhaegar, mounted on a stallion as black as his armor. Fire glimmered red through the narrow eye slit of his helm. The last dragon, Ser Jorahs voice whispered faintly. The last, the last. Dany lifted his polished black visor. The face within was her own. After that, for a long time, there was only the pain, the fire within her, and the whisperings of stars. She woke to the taste of ashes."

So the red door is a representation of home as we know and Dany sees home as Westeros, green field and stone houses, i.e. castles, and arms to keep her warm???

Getting back to the crypt comparison, I believe Kyoshi did one with Dany's, Bran's, Jon's and Theon's crypt experiences. I don't believe, however, that Arya was included.

Dany is focused on her red door, and Bran is dependent on (but manipulative of) Hodor. I heard GRRM answer a question about Hodor's "name," indicating that the meaning would be explained in a later book and we just have to be patient. Since Nan has already told us that Hodor's real name is Walder, is it possible the word repeated over and over by this Walder/ Hodor is actually a reference to some kind of door? Ho - Door? If so, it must be a very important door. Home door? Or maybe it's the answer to the question, "Where do whores go?" (They go through a ho door.)

Walder is obviously a Frey name, and the Freys control the "door" connecting the North to the rest of Westeros, as Robb Stark learns too late. Bran has the most contact with the wards Little Walder and Big Walder. Maybe their actions provide clues that could help us to decipher the secrets hidden within Really, Really Big Walder (a.k.a. Hodor) and the doors he opens or fails to open.

In addition to the wedged-shut door out of the crypt, we see Hodor encounter other significant doors at Queenscrown (finding the door rusted shut, I believe Hodor boosts his traveling companions through a transom and piles up stones so he can get through the high opening) and, beneath the wall, the Black Gate and the Night Fort. I know Bran / Hodor are not the only ones with significant doors in their stories - Arya has the door to the House of Black and White and Sansa has the Moon Door at the Eyrie; Brienne encounters a door with an elaborate painted scene and has a version made into a shield. Maybe we will find lots of ways to compare and contrast doors in the journeys of various characters with Dany's red door.

For what it's worth, when Bran awakes, I noticed that Rickon's entrance into Bran's bedroom is described as the sun filling the doorway. It seems like GRRM is implying that Rickon is the source of this sunshine. Just another doorway observation - not sure how to interpret it, although it probably foreshadows something about Rickon.

In the direwolf re-read http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/118702-six-pups-in-the-snow-a-direwolves-reread/page-6#entry6647762, the thread has reached the point where Bran awakens from his coma and names his wolf. Since you did such a great job of comparing Dany's dragon dreams with Bran's flying dream, it seems like we have to compare the naming of Bran's wolf to the hatching of Dany's dragons. Maybe that is a subject for one of the upcoming Bran / Dany comparison essays? To me, the name Summer is a promise of hope and rebirth that will follow the war and winter about to engulf Westeros. I'm hoping that Bran embodies that hope, if my interpretation is correct, because I'm not sure how a wolf would bring about those lofty ideals. I don't know if Dany's dragons embody a promise, so maybe the naming of the wolf and the hatching of the dragons are not directly comparable. Maybe the naming of Summer and the hatching of the dragons simply mark the moment that both characters develop the confidence to answer their calls, as you explained so well. The two moments both seem to represent the rebirth of magic in the world, as you point out, but in different ways.

So, I know Queen Alysanne is working on a section discussing Bran's relationship with Summer and Dany's with Drogon.

I will say this the naming of Dany's dragons also hold promise to an extant. She named them after the family membranes she lost (and was close with or admired). Dany's great hope is to reach home and to have a family. So there is that.

I don't want to jump the gun if another topic you have planned for a future section of the Dany / Bran comparison is the riding of horses. One of the things Bran immediately regrets about his disability is that (he believes) he will be unable to ride a horse. Tyrion Lannister of all people, returning from the wall, offers the special design of a saddle to solve that problem for Bran. Dany, of course, becomes an accomplished rider after Drogo gives her the Silver as a wedding gift. I haven't quite sorted out the symbolism, but I think GRRM uses mastery of horseback riding sometimes to represent conquering fears although there also seems to be an element of sex implied. Either interpretation may be oversimplifying, though - Theon's horse Smiler is burned by Ramsay Bolton just before Theon is castrated; Jon makes a notable attempt to flee the Night's Watch on horseback (where he has taken a vow not to father children) but he is stopped by his sworn brothers. Maybe this topic needs a whole separate thread!

Thank you for a thoughtful and thorough essay, MoIaF and Queen Alysanne. Lots of great food for thought here.

Great observations about the horses and riding. Thank you!

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Hey MoIaF you and Alysanne did a great Job, I am not finished reading the essay yet, but I am almost done. Remember if you asked me if I got any snow and laughed hahahaha no. Well karma is a bitch, so I am in and out shoveling and have been all day but I am reading it in parts and really have enjoyed it so far. But before I forget I wanted to cover a few things in the parallels.

1. The Red Comet, the first two people in the books who see the Red Comet are Bran and Dany. Thrones 66 Bran sees it as the sun rises and Dany 72 I think it was she sees it as the sun is setting. Might be worth exploring 66 a little I know it mentions heroes and crypts, Jon, Neds Ghost and saddness.

2. I find it really intresting that both Bran and Dany are connected to Jaime Lannister. But in the Dreams there is an intresting parallel, Bran sees a Golden Face and Dany sees Viserys face dripping with Gold.

3. The first Dragon dream, is very intresting are we sure that Dragon was Drogon? I do not remember the coloring being mentioned, but Viserys is in the dream right? Now the Dragons eyes are describes as Molten, Viserions eyes are aslo described as Molten and of course we have the way in which Viserys died. Was the first egg that felt warm the cream egg? Martin has hinted that it takes a soul of sorts to wake a Dragon egg. Now in the Sun and Stars dream it is with Drogo, but when the stars and Drogo vanish the Winged shadow appears, Dany often called Drogo her sun and stars. Just some food for thought, and if this is addressed after the call I am sorry.

We'll join the club of snopacolypses. We're getting snow again here in Boston. We've barely had snow all winter and then in less than a week we've had three, nay, four snow storms.

Back to the books...

1. Yes, which I believe is significant. Bran mentioned it in an earlier chapter, however, it is technically Dany who sees it first. I've always said there is a significance to Bran being the first (proper) POV in AGOT and Dany being the last.

2. Hmm, I'm not sure I'd connect Dany's to Jaime but I'm open to an interpretation.

3. I think it's pretty clear they are the same dragon based on the wording and description used for both dreams:

Dany II AGOT - her first dream:

"When its molten eyes found hers, she woke, shaking and covered with a fine sheen of sweat. She had never been so afraid "

Dany III AGOT - her second dream:

Yet when she slept that night, she dreamt the dragon dream again. Viserys was not in it this time . There was only her and the dragon. Its scales were black as night, wet and slick with blood. Her blood, Dany sensed. Its eyes were pools of molten magma..."

She describes the dragon in both dreams as having molten eyes, also she doesn't seem surprise at seeing the dragon the second time, the wording give the impression that she is seeing the same dragon as before.

ETA:

I've mentioned it before but I think Dany's first dream is tied to the scene in Daznak's Pit:

"When his mouth opened, she could see bits of broken bone and charred flesh between his black teeth. His eyes were molten. I am looking into hell, but I dare not look away....In the smoldering red pits of Drogon’s eyes, Dany saw her own reflection. How small she looked, how weak and frail and scared. I cannot let him see my fear."

The molten eye, the fear...

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Now I believe that Destiny does paly a part with a lot of the characters, you know it's all building towards something. So in that moment if you think about her dream of waking the dragons and the HotU where see that idea used.

To go north, you must journey south. To reach the west, you must go east. To go forward you must go back, and to touch the light you must pass beneath the shadow.”

You know how I feel about this and that I think the doors are in reverse chronological order. All the doors save the first are in reverse chronological order so it goes to reason so is that one. Now what happens if Dany turns aroudn in that hallway and in the one in the house of the Undying? What is she facing, and what is Bran being told to embrace? Now the intresting thing about the Waking the dragons dream is that we see what is the ancient past, and so to this Darkness comes from behind. But if you turn her around she is facing it in your future, just like Bran.

So, I know we've talked about it a bunch of times but I always find that scene in Dance supremely interesting and revealing.

Yes, she is accepting herself as the Mother of Dragons but you are right there is more to it. As I mentioned in the essay, Dany began to use the phrase "If I look back I am lost", right after this dream, which as we know was based on her fear of the cold, icy death behind her. However, after her last epiphany she is not only ready to accept herself, she's ready to confront the past, and as you mention she will also have to confront her future, i.e. death, icy monsters who will invade Westeros.

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Towards the end of this fevered dream Dany actually flied through the opened red door:

"She could smell home, she could see it, there, just beyond that door, green fields and great stone houses and arms to keep her warm, there. She threw open the door. ... the dragon... And saw her brother Rhaegar, mounted on a stallion as black as his armor. Fire glimmered red through the narrow eye slit of his helm. The last dragon, Ser Jorahs voice whispered faintly. The last, the last. Dany lifted his polished black visor. The face within was her own. After that, for a long time, there was only the pain, the fire within her, and the whisperings of stars. She woke to the taste of ashes."

I know talking about Dany and home is often a perilous subject, but here goes. It's interesting, to me, that she never gets to that "home" vision she sees. She smells it, she sees what she imagines home to be but it's before she herself opens the red door. The door is showing her what she wants--truly wants--but when finally reaches her symbol for home and finally manages to cross that threshold, it's not green fields and great stones houses and arms to keep her warm that are waiting for her. It's war, embodied by Rhaegar dressed in the same armor that he died in on the Trident. (it's also Jorah, but...*resist BQ...resist*)

When Dany lands in Westeros at long last, it won't be green and peaceful...it'll be in chaos and near ruin after the Wot5K, after fAegon, after the Lannister/Tyrell free for all, and after the Iron Born go smashing their way through. There is a very real disconnect between Dany's fantasy and reality. This happens to her quite a bit. Over in the Dany re-read, I often called this her imagined reality. She has this dream of Daario, for instance, and that they are living a nice quiet life as man and wife and everything is la de da wonderful. But that vision both of home and of Daario always come smashing to the ground when he walks into the scene and she remembers that he's a "monster" and that they do not share this vision of "home."

So if this vision is coming from Quaithe, or even if it's just coming from "magic" the force that runs throughout all of Plantoes, I think it's telling her "be prepared!!" The vision of home isn't as solid as you want it to be because people mess things up.

Bringing this back to Bran, his own fantasy of being able to fly is smashed to the ground and he wakes up to his deformed legs and the fact that he is now helpless. But both of them keep striving toward that wonderful fantasy of either home or the freedom of flying.

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I know talking about Dany and home is often a perilous subject, but here goes. It's interesting, to me, that she never gets to that "home" vision she sees. She smells it, she sees what she imagines home to be but it's before she herself opens the red door. The door is showing her what she wants--truly wants--but when finally reaches her symbol for home and finally manages to cross that threshold, it's not green fields and great stones houses and arms to keep her warm that are waiting for her. It's war, embodied by Rhaegar dressed in the same armor that he died in on the Trident. (it's also Jorah, but...*resist BQ...resist*)

When Dany lands in Westeros at long last, it won't be green and peaceful...it'll be in chaos and near ruin after the Wot5K, after fAegon, after the Lannister/Tyrell free for all, and after the Iron Born go smashing their way through. There is a very real disconnect between Dany's fantasy and reality. This happens to her quite a bit. Over in the Dany re-read, I often called this her imagined reality. She has this dream of Daario, for instance, and that they are living a nice quiet life as man and wife and everything is la de da wonderful. But that vision both of home and of Daario always come smashing to the ground when he walks into the scene and she remembers that he's a "monster" and that they do not share this vision of "home."

So if this vision is coming from Quaithe, or even if it's just coming from "magic" the force that runs throughout all of Plantoes, I think it's telling her "be prepared!!" The vision of home isn't as solid as you want it to be because people mess things up.

Bringing this back to Bran, his own fantasy of being able to fly is smashed to the ground and he wakes up to his deformed legs and the fact that he is now helpless. But both of them keep striving toward that wonderful fantasy of either home or the freedom of flying.

So, I know the show isn't canon (shocking! I know, right!)

However, the scene that they interpret for the HOTU very much resembles what you are saying. Dany reaches Westeros, she walks into the Red Keep, however, the castles has been destroyed. It looks like an explosion (hi, Cersei!) but it also looks like Winter has taken it's toll on it as well. We know that Westeros has been decimated by the wars but winter has arrival and it will cause it's own destruction on the land.

She reaches for the throne but instead of touching it (taking it) she hears the cries of her children and goes to try and find them and help them, which is what we assume will happen anyways.

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We'll join the club of snopacolypses. We're getting snow again here in Boston. We've barely had snow all winter and then in less than a week we've had three, nay, four snow storms.

Back to the books...

1. Yes, which I believe is significant. Bran mentioned it in an earlier chapter, however, it is technically Dany who sees it first. I've always said there is a significance to Bran being the first (proper) POV in AGOT and Dany being the last.

2. Hmm, I'm not sure I'd connect Dany's to Jaime but I'm open to an interpretation.

3. I think it's pretty clear they are the same dragon based on the wording and description used for both dreams:

Dany II AGOT - her first dream:

"When its molten eyes found hers, she woke, shaking and covered with a fine sheen of sweat. She had never been so afraid "

Dany III AGOT - her second dream:

Yet when she slept that night, she dreamt the dragon dream again. Viserys was not in it this time . There was only her and the dragon. Its scales were black as night, wet and slick with blood. Her blood, Dany sensed. Its eyes were pools of molten magma..."

She describes the dragon in both dreams as having molten eyes, also she doesn't seem surprise at seeing the dragon the second time, the wording give the impression that she is seeing the same dragon as before.

ETA:

I've mentioned it before but I think Dany's first dream is tied to the scene in Daznak's Pit:

"When his mouth opened, she could see bits of broken bone and charred flesh between his black teeth. His eyes were molten. I am looking into hell, but I dare not look away....In the smoldering red pits of Drogon’s eyes, Dany saw her own reflection. How small she looked, how weak and frail and scared. I cannot let him see my fear."

The molten eye, the fear...

3. Good now I don't have to look that up. You just notice things and get curious, so thought I would ask about it. Thanks for the quote.

2. Well Jaime is actually connected to her, he killed her father and of course tossed Bran out a window. And there is that imagery of the golden face and the face with gold on it, both are fearful.

1. Oh I know she was the first one to see the comet, I found the use of sunrise and sunset between the two to be intresting.

Yeah we have not got much snow either, was totally cheering for the Pats. I was in and out dealing with the snow, but the everytime I came in the Pats scored, s that was awesome, I was all shit I better go shovel when they were down. Then when I came in for the last time it was a pick. So technically my snow shoveling won it for you. Pats had nothing to do with it.

So, I know we've talked about it a bunch of times but I always find that scene in Dance supremely interesting and revealing.

Yes, she is accepting herself as the Mother of Dragons but you are right there is more to it. As I mentioned in the essay, Dany began to use the phrase "If I look back I am lost", right after this dream, which as we know was based on her fear of the cold, icy death behind her. However, after her last epiphany she is not only ready to accept herself, she's ready to confront the past, and as you mention she will also have to confront her future, i.e. death, icy monsters who will invade Westeros.

Yeah there are layers to it, and a lot of her journey seems to relate to life tempering her for what is to come, and sometimes we see that tempering actually occure in the dreams.

It's kind of intrestnig that at both Bran and Dany's beginings, Bran is metaphorically chained and Dany is sold as a slave but she will eventually become known as the Breaker of Chains. I wonder if there is any relation or future foreshadowing at play there, or if it is an obscure parallel or just a coincidence?

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No you're right that the wedding dream doesn't mention a color of a dragon, nor does it say which color egg Dany held first. But at this point, I think we have enough information about Dany/Drogon to say that it was him. Like you said, the eyes are important. In her dream, the dragon eyes are molten (which I take to mean like fire or lava); when Drogon is hatched he looks directly at Jorah with eyes as red as coals.

Bran gets very upset in Bran V ACOK when Jojen refuses to stop talking about green dreams, ect. Summer becomes very upset right along with Bran and we get Jojen's first "this is not the day I die" as Summer attacks.

Actually you were right, MoIaF had the quote, I just thought there might be some relation to the other dragons even though the dreams are centered on Drogon. She hatched three after all, so I was wondering about it.

As for Bran, yeah I was wondering if that moment might fit a refusal.

And as for you, sorry I was so snappy last night, been in a foul mood lately and I should not have directed it at anyone. Think you are a sweetheart BQ, have a good day.

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It's kind of intrestnig that at both Bran and Dany's beginings, Bran is metaphorically chained and Dany is sold as a slave but she will eventually become known as the Breaker of Chains. I wonder if there is any relation or future foreshadowing at play there, or if it is an obscure parallel or just a coincidence?

Interesting indeed. I know there are some who think Bran might skinchange a dragon which would break his metaphorical chains and allow him to fly. I tend to think that if Bran does skinchange a dragon, it won't be of the fire variety, but an icy one.

1. As for Bran, yeah I was wondering if that moment might fit a refusal.

2. And as for you, sorry I was so snappy last night, been in a foul mood lately and I should not have directed it at anyone. Think you are a sweetheart BQ, have a good day.

1. I absolutely think it does. Consider to whom Bran is speaking...Jojen. What is Jojen when you get down to the archetype of it all. He's Bran's spiritual guide (one of several, I'll grant). Over in the Bran re-read project, I call them his "Yoda" figures. Jojen is Harry's Dumbledore, Frodo's Gandalf, and Luke's Obi Wan/Yoda. I mean, you half expect Jojen to look at him and say, "use the sight, Bran!" (wait, am I going mad or is there a scene where Luke has to "visualize" something with his eye closed and uses his gift of being in tune with the force to make an impossible shot, while flying a bird-like raptor aircraft while Obi Wan talks to him...) (yes, I do know that is exactly how it played out in the movie....I'm making a point) ;)

2. No worries. I didn't think you were snappish; the only reason I didn't ask about the Dany and wheel thing over in RLJ wasn't to stay on topic (as if we ever really do....) but was more because I try not to bring up Dany over there since it can often end....badly.

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1. Icy Dragon, yeah I have read theories about that before. Though I associate the Others with ice dragons, and I am not sure where things are going with them just yet. Though that was one of the things I was trying to point to in the trailer, was that there may have been an Other in the mist inside the gate or that was mist if you watch the scene closely. Something appears there. This would also answer a long debate on if the Others can become Mist. There is also Jon is he considered an Ice Dragon? Let me ask you soemthing in Brans very first chapter what 3 POV's are represented?

2. Oh I was totally snappish. Things rearly end well on R+L=J, it could of been worse I could of given them the ASOIAF interpretation of the Budweiser super bowl add. You have an innocent puppy who clearly represents the innocent children of Westeros, who is lost and just trying to find someplace safe. Then the Wolf tries to kill the brave little puppy and we know Dany protects puppies and children from the slavers, then horses aka the Khaleesi and her people come to save the cute little puppy from the evil wolf. I am sure that would of gone over well. The wolf appeared to be white and it probably had red eyes.

3. Star wars, the Bran awakenss? Well Brei is in both.

Now honestly with Bran and Ice I am on the fence about that, I understand the idea, but there are other things in play that are out there if you look close enough. Maybe I will get to the point when that will be revealed.

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1. Icy Dragon, yeah I have read theories about that before. Though I associate the Others with ice dragons, and I am not sure where things are going with them just yet. Though that was one of the things I was trying to point to in the trailer, was that there may have been an Other in the mist inside the gate or that was mist if you watch the scene closely. Something appears there. This would also answer a long debate on if the Others can become Mist. There is also Jon is he considered an Ice Dragon? Let me ask you soemthing in Brans very first chapter what 3 POV's are represented?

2. Oh I was totally snappish. Things rearly end well on R+L=J, it could of been worse I could of given them the ASOIAF interpretation of the Budweiser super bowl add. You have an innocent puppy who clearly represents the innocent children of Westeros, who is lost and just trying to find someplace safe. Then the Wolf tries to kill the brave little puppy and we know Dany protects puppies and children from the slavers, then horses aka the Khaleesi and her people come to save the cute little puppy from the evil wolf. I am sure that would of gone over well. The wolf appeared to be white and it probably had red eyes.

3. Star wars, the Bran awakenss? Well Brei is in both.

Now honestly with Bran and Ice I am on the fence about that, I understand the idea, but there are other things in play that are out there if you look close enough. Maybe I will get to the point when that will be revealed.

1. You mean Jon, Ned, and Bran? (Theon too, though)

I lean toward Bran being more "ice" than anything else and I'm not sure I see good things happening to him in the series. I think GRRM wants to have one character over on the Other side because that drives the conflict of the heart not only in his characters but in his readers as well. Do we root for, who somehow got compelled and tangled up with the Others? Do we root for his downfall?

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Of Dragons and Wolves

The Parallel Journey of Daenerys Targaryen and Bran Stark

Essay I: A Magical Awakening & A Magical Journey

MoIaF & Queen Alysanne

Introduction

Perhaps the two most magical characters in the Song of Ice and Fire are Daenerys Targaryen and Bran Stark. These two extraordinary characters have given us some of the most interesting moments in the series from the birth of the dragons to the weirwood visions; from a treacherous journey across the unforgiving dessert of the Red Waste to a quest through the frozen tundra of the far North, we have seen through their eyes the awesome capabilities of magic as well as the awful consequences of it.

It would seem that on the surface their stories have little to do with one another, other than being children from rival families; however, they have more in common than most people think. As we delve through their arcs we begin to notice that there are many similarities, similarities that are very unique to the two of them. Both suffered near death experiences which allowed the ancient magic within them to be awoken, they have both struggled with coming to terms with their new reality as a greenseer and a dragonlord, and their adventures have expose them to things they could never have imagine.

These essays will focus almost exclusively on the magical aspects of Dany and Bran’s arcs and therefore we will not be delving too deeply into the character profile. Instead, we will discuss their shared magical experiences and how they help us, the readers, to better understand their arc as well as the magical aspects of the Song of Ice and Fire.

Snip

Wow MOIAF, incredible essay and understanding of these two characters, you have probably delved deeper into Bran than anyone else on this forum. One comparison which struck me as highly important this early on in the series, which also sets the tone for these two families is the fire/ice contrast. Which we really see more in Bran/Dany than we do in Jon/Dany. I mean sure Jon represents ice in many ways, but not as hard core as Bran. Bran has made it much farther north than Jon could ever dream of.

These two passages are the ones that said to me, these two people will define the song of ice and fire.

Bran III

'North and north and north he looked, to the curtain of the light at the end of the world, and then beyond that curtain. He looked deep into the heart of winter, and then he cried out, afraid, and the heat of his tears burned his cheeks.

Now you know, the crow whispered as it sat on his shoulder. Now you know why you must live.'

Dany III

'Day followed day, and night followed night, until Dany knew she could not endure a moment longer. She would kill herself rather than go on, she decided one night......

Yet when she slept that night, she dreamt the dragon dream again. Viserys was not in it this time. There was only her and the dragon. Its scales were black as night, wet and slick with blood. Her blood, Dany sensed. Its eyes were pools of molten magma, and when it opened its mouth, the flame came roaring out in a hot jet. She could hear it singing to her. She opened her arms to the fire, embraced it, let it swallow her whole, let it cleanse her and temper her and scour her clean. She could feel her flesh sear and blacken and slough away, could feel her blood boil and turn to steam, and yet there was no pain. She felt strong and new and fierce.

And the next day, strangely, she did not seem to hurt quite so much.........'

So here we have both of them very near death, Bran is in a coma, very depressed, and Dany is ready to kill herself due to the pain and struggle. They are both visited in their dreams by ice and fire, which saves them. "He saw the heart of winter and now you know why you must live." "She could hear the flame singing to her and she embraced it and let it cleanse her."

This is the reason these two are still alive, because they were saved by the song of ice and fire. Dany's dream definitely references the fourteen flames 'eyes were pools of molten magma', and Bran is looking at 'the heart of winter'.

No one else in the series has had anything like this happen to them, like they are both being called from the ice and fire pillars of the earth to go on. To not give up yet, that they both have a destiny and they must fight on and stay alive despite death being the much easier choice here.

I like how this happens so early in the story, before we even understand what is really going on in these novels, well before we could understand the importance of what we are reading (I mean on a first read-through of course). To really grasp the importance of these moments it requires a re-read with all the knowledge from all 5 books. It shows exactly how important they both are and how forces beyond their little lives want/need them stay alive and complete their journeys.

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To really grasp the importance of these moments it requires a re-read with all the knowledge from all 5 books. It shows exactly how important they both are and how forces beyond their little lives want/need them stay alive and complete their journeys.

Which I think ultimately leads to the question of: but is it the same force that is keeping them alive to complete their journeys.

We have the idea in the novel that ice and fire are different sides of the same coin and that ice and fire can mate (though, that goes to another character).. So are ice and fire destined to unite or be opposing forces? Or a bit of both?

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Which I think ultimately leads to the question of: but is it the same force that is keeping them alive to complete their journeys.

We have the idea in the novel that ice and fire are different sides of the same coin and that ice and fire can mate (though, that goes to another character).. So are ice and fire destined to unite or be opposing forces? Or a bit of both?

I expect that they are meant to unite, at least to a certain degree. I expect that after viewing the destruction that both Ice and Fire are capable of in the form of winter/the Others and dragons, there will be an attempt to find balance once more. I expect that Bran and Dany will be two of the leading forces in finding that balance, simply because they seem to be the closest to physical representations we have of each element.

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I expect that they are meant to unite, at least to a certain degree. I expect that after viewing the destruction that both Ice and Fire are capable of in the form of winter/the Others and dragons, there will be an attempt to find balance once more. I expect that Bran and Dany will be two of the leading forces in finding that balance, simply because they seem to be the closest to physical representations we have of each element.

And I see it the other way. I think the great balance exists as one Jon Snow and that he'll be in between these two opposing forces, embodied by Bran and Dany. MOIAF and I have talked about this a bit over in the Bran reread so I know she disagrees with me (quite a bit) but I don't see good things happening with Bran. I do think it's Others vs Dragons with humans in between but I also think each side needs a hero/champion. Thus complicating the idea of what a hero means.

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It's kind of intrestnig that at both Bran and Dany's beginings, Bran is metaphorically chained and Dany is sold as a slave but she will eventually become known as the Breaker of Chains. I wonder if there is any relation or future foreshadowing at play there, or if it is an obscure parallel or just a coincidence?

zit might just be a coincidence in that the metaphor of freeing oneself from chains is common.

Wow MOIAF, incredible essay and understanding of these two characters, you have probably delved deeper into Bran than anyone else on this forum. One comparison which struck me as highly important this early on in the series, which also sets the tone for these two families is the fire/ice contrast. Which we really see more in Bran/Dany than we do in Jon/Dany. I mean sure Jon represents ice in many ways, but not as hard core as Bran. Bran has made it much farther north than Jon could ever dream of.

Thank you very much! Queen Alysanne and I worked very hard.

These two passages are the ones that said to me, these two people will define the song of ice and fire.

Bran III

'North and north and north he looked, to the curtain of the light at the end of the world, and then beyond that curtain. He looked deep into the heart of winter, and then he cried out, afraid, and the heat of his tears burned his cheeks.

Now you know, the crow whispered as it sat on his shoulder. Now you know why you must live.'

Dany III

'Day followed day, and night followed night, until Dany knew she could not endure a moment longer. She would kill herself rather than go on, she decided one night......

Yet when she slept that night, she dreamt the dragon dream again. Viserys was not in it this time. There was only her and the dragon. Its scales were black as night, wet and slick with blood. Her blood, Dany sensed. Its eyes were pools of molten magma, and when it opened its mouth, the flame came roaring out in a hot jet. She could hear it singing to her. She opened her arms to the fire, embraced it, let it swallow her whole, let it cleanse her and temper her and scour her clean. She could feel her flesh sear and blacken and slough away, could feel her blood boil and turn to steam, and yet there was no pain. She felt strong and new and fierce.

And the next day, strangely, she did not seem to hurt quite so much.........'

So here we have both of them very near death, Bran is in a coma, very depressed, and Dany is ready to kill herself due to the pain and struggle. They are both visited in their dreams by ice and fire, which saves them. "He saw the heart of winter and now you know why you must live." "She could hear the flame singing to her and she embraced it and let it cleanse her."

This is the reason these two are still alive, because they were saved by the song of ice and fire. Dany's dream definitely references the fourteen flames 'eyes were pools of molten magma', and Bran is looking at 'the heart of winter'.

No one else in the series has had anything like this happen to them, like they are both being called from the ice and fire pillars of the earth to go on. To not give up yet, that they both have a destiny and they must fight on and stay alive despite death being the much easier choice here.

I like how this happens so early in the story, before we even understand what is really going on in these novels, well before we could understand the importance of what we are reading (I mean on a first read-through of course). To really grasp the importance of these moments it requires a re-read with all the knowledge from all 5 books. It shows exactly how important they both are and how forces beyond their little lives want/need them stay alive and complete their journeys.

That's a good comparison as well.

Also note that in Catelyn's chapter, prior to Bran waking up the wolves are howling and Catelyn wants them to be quite but Robb says that Bran needs to hear them singing. We see in later Bran chapters that the wolves howl gets compared to singing again. Both Dany and Bran are singed to by their animal companions, which is very interesting.

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zit might just be a coincidence in that the metaphor of freeing oneself from chains is common.

Thank you very much! Queen Alysanne and I worked very hard.

That's a good comparison as well.

Also note that in Catelyn's chapter, prior to Bran waking up the wolves are howling and Catelyn wants them to be quite but Robb says that Bran needs to hear them singing. We see in later Bran chapters that the wolves howl gets compared to singing again. Both Dany and Bran are singed to by their animal companions, which is very interesting.

That is a very good point! I knew there was something about Bran hearing the singing as well :) thank you for telling me.

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Of Dragons and Wolves

The Parallel Journey of Daenerys Targaryen and Bran Stark

Essay II: The Place of Magic and Mythology

By: MoIaF & Queen Alysanne

Magic in the World of Ice and Fire is not structured, it’s not controlled by a universal set of rules, magic it seems, is of an organic nature. Martin once said of the events of Dany’s pyre that: “The whole point of the scene in A Game of Thrones where Daenerys hatches the dragons is that she makes the magic up as she goes along; she is someone who really might do anything. I wanted magic to be something barely under control and half instinctive--not the John W. Campbell version with magic as the science and technology of other sorts of world, that works by simple and understandable rules.” As we see with Dany’s Lovecraft-esque adventure through the House of the Undying and Bran’s exploration of the Children’s cave give us an interesting insight into the different kinds of magic within ASOIAF, but it also shows us how similar these “branches” of magic are. In the first section of the essay we will look at these two shared experiences and what they have in common and what can they tell us about magic in ASOIAF.

As with most fantasies Martin doesn’t shy away from prophesies of great heroes that will save the world one day. Two of the most prominent prophecies are those of Azor Ahai and The Last Hero. In this section of the essay we’ll be exploring the similarities both Dany and Bran share with these mythical heroes. We aren’t making any judgments about whether either of these character will actually take on these roles, that we believe won’t be something we’ll know until the end of the series, and even then it might not be as clear cut as some expect. Nonetheless we’ll rude down through the different parts of prophecy and see how Dany and Bran fit into them.

The Place of Magic

Both the House of the Undying and the Children’s cave have a lot of mystery to them, there is a lot we don’t understand, however, we have learned a bit from both these places. Both of these locations give us a brief insight into the more mythological and fantastical aspects of ASOIAF. Both the Undying and the Children are in the twilight of their existence, the days where the Children roamed the earth and the Undying lived in amazing spender have long gone, now all that remain is the shadow of those times.

The Places

As Dany is arriving she gives us a describes of the facade of House of the Undying she tells us:

“Long and low, without towers or windows, it coiled like a stone serpent through a grove of black -barked trees whose inky blue leaves made the stuff of the sorcerous drink the Qartheen called shade of the evening. No other buildings stood near. Black tiles covered the palace roof, many fallen or broken; the mortar between the stones was dry and crumbling. She understood now why Xaro Xhoan Daxos called it the Palace of Dust. Even Drogon seemed disquieted by the sight of it. The black dragon hissed, smoke seeping out between his sharp teeth.”

A fading palace whose glory days are now gone, its crumbling infrastructure mimics the decaying interior:

“The mold-eaten carpet under her feet had once been gorgeously colored, and whorls of gold could still be seen in the fabric, glinting broken amidst the faded grey and mottled green.”

The Undying are reaching the end of their time, however, they still hold on to life awaiting someone (Dany) to awaken them from their preservation. We can imagine that Dany was not the only person to step into the HOTU, yet her ability to perform the magic that hatched the dragons probably represents a life force the Undying had no yet come across, at least not in a long time. As they tell her, that they had been waiting for her for a thousand years.

Now, let’s look at how Bran describes the Children’s cave:

“The caves were timeless, vast, silent. They were home to more than three score living singers and the bones of thousands dead, and extended far below the hollow hill.”

~*~
“The great cavern that opened on the abyss was as black as pitch, black as tar, blacker than the feathers of a crow. Light entered as a trespasser, unwanted and unwelcome, and soon was gone again; cookfires, candles, and rushes burned for a little while, then guttered out again, their brief lives at an end.”

The Children’s cave has been around a long time, thousands of Children have lived and died there and only their bones remain. We hear from Leaf that the vast network of caves is so large that there are still places left unexplored. The Children have cast spells around the entrance of the cave to protect them from the Wights. There is also a lot of darkness in the caves, the light only lasts as long as the fire burns.

Comparing the two places we have a palace a “manmade” structure as the home of the Undying while on the other hand the Children’s cave is a natural structure of the earth which the Children inhabit. While the HOTU is decaying away the only signs that we have of the Children living in the caves are the bones of all those that came before them.

Drink from the cup of Ice, drink from the cup of Fire

Both Dany and Bran are asked to drink substances that will allow them to experience the visions they are about to be presented with. The substances are made by the black and blue trees surrounding the HOTU and weirwood bark and leaves . Dany described the trees around the HOTU as:

“a grove of black -barked trees whose inky blue leaves made the stuff of the sorcerous drink the Qartheen called shade of the evening”

The description of these trees is almost the exact opposite of the white bark, red leaves of the weirwood trees. Most likely these two trees are counterparts of one another. While Dany is given shades of the evening to drink, Bran is given a weirwood paste made of the bark and leaves of the tree. Let’s look at how each one of the describes the taste:

Dany

“Dany raised the glass to her lips. The first sip tasted like ink and spoiled meat, foul, but when she swallowed, it seemed to come to life within her. She could feel tendrils spreading through her chest, like fingers of fire coiling around her heart, and on her tongue the taste was like honey and anise and cream, like mother's milk and Drogo's seed, like red meat and hot blood and molten gold. It was like all the tastes she had ever known, and none of them . . . and then the glass was empty.”

Bran:

“It had a bitter taste, though not so bitter as the acorn paste. The first spoonful was the hardest to get down. He almost retched it right back up. The second tasted better. The third was almost sweet. The rest he spooned up eagerly. Why had he thought that it was bitter? It tasted of honey, of new-fallen snow, of pepper and cinnamon and the last kiss his mother gave him. The empty bowl slipped from his fingers and clattered on the floor.”

Notice how the taste is initially bitter or spoiled but as they continue to drink the flavor improves becoming sweeter and tasting like honey and then the taste transforms in to the things they loved or the memories that brought them happiness, Drogo’s seed or the last kiss his mother gave him.

The drinks awaken memories and feelings within them which is in part what they are about to experience. So, these two trees that appear for all intent and purpose to be counterparts of one another have a very similar taste and from what we’ll later see effect on its drinkers.

Time at a stand-still

The passing of time is noticeable in both places but there is also seems to be a slowing of time in each place. The Undying seem to be preserved in stasis awaiting their awakening while the Children live long lives some still extend their lives further through their bonding with the weirwood trees.

Pyat Pree tells Dany:

“When you come to the chamber of the Undying, be patient. Our little lives are no more than a flicker of a moth’s wing to them. Listen well, and write each word upon your heart.”

While Bloodraven tell Bran:

“A weirwood will live forever if left undisturbed. To them seasons pass in the flutter of a moth’s wing , and past, present, and future are one.”

We can see by both these quotes that there is a connection in the magic, however, different it may be. The Undying, the weirwood trees and the Children have long existed in this world; the men who now occupy it have been there but seconds of its long history. We can extrapolate from this that the magic of ASOIAF is ancient indeed.

As a speculation we wager that the magic of ASOIF has a common root from which different factions draw their magic. There are many similarities that can’t be attributed to mere coincidence. Like the blue leaf tree and the weirwood there must be a common core from where these both sprang.

Life Preserved

As we’ve been discussing even as time is passing them by the Undying and the Children have lived a long time in this world. As we discover there is a strange similarity in the preservation of the Undying and that of Bloodravel and the Children/Singer bonded to the weirwood trees:

While exploring the caves inside Hodor, Bran stubbles upon a chamber:

“He even crossed the slender stone bridge that arched over the abyss and discovered more passages and chambers on the far side. One was full of singers, enthroned like Brynden in nests of weirwood roots that wove under and through and around their bodies. Most of them looked dead to him, but as he crossed in front of them their eyes would open and follow the light of his torch, and one of them opened and closed a wrinkled mouth as if he were trying to speak.”

And when Dany finally enters the chamber of the Undying she sees:

“A long stone table filled this room. Above it floated a human heart, swollen and blue with corruption, yet still alive. It beat, a deep ponderous throb of sound, and each pulse sent out a wash of indigo light. The figures around the table were no more than blue shadows. As Dany walked to the empty chair at the foot of the table, they did not stir, nor speak, nor turn to face her. There was no sound but the slow, deep beat of the rotting heart.”

These two groups seemed to both be in some sort of stasis, the Singers seem to be extending their lives by the magic they draw from the weirwood tree, much like Bloodrave; the Undying on the other hand seem to be drawing their magic from a rotting blue heart at the center of their chamber. The Children once again depend on nature to extend their lives, while the Undying, however, are searching for a different sort of life force:

“They were reaching for her, touching her, tugging at her cloak, the hem of her skirt, her foot, her leg , her breast. They wanted her, needed her, the fire, the life, and Dany gasped and opened her arms to give herself to them …”

They wanted and needed whatever life force Dany has, they grab at her anxiously trying to consume the fire and life within her. Unlike the Children the Undying seem to need the life force of a person, preferably a person with inner magic.

Hot and Cold

Another contrast in Dany and Bran’s experience is the difference in the environment that they encounter while Bran is able to find warmth in the Children’s cave, Dany only finds an ice cold welcome.

Bran says about the caves:

“After the bone-grinding cold of the lands beyond the Wall, the caves were blessedly warm, and when the chill crept out of the rock the singers would light fires to drive it off again.”

Compare that to Dany’s experience in the HOTU:


“The Undying were all around her, blue and cold, whispering as they reached for her, pulling, stroking, tugging at her clothes, touching her with their dry cold hands, twining their fingers through her hair...

Then indigo turned to orange, and whispers turned to screams. Her heart was pounding, racing, the hands and mouths were gone, heat washed over her skin, and Dany blinked at a sudden glare. Perched above her, the dragon spread his wings and tore at the terrible dark heart, ripping the rotten flesh to ribbons, and when his head snapped forward, fire flew from his open jaws, bright and hot. She could hear the shrieks of the Undying as they burned, their high thin papery voices crying out in tongues long dead. Their flesh was crumbling parchment, their bones dry wood soaked in tallow”

It’s an interesting juxtaposition we have with Dany and Bran here. While Dany is very representative of fire, Bran is usually associated with ice; however, there is a more earthly feel to the magic of the children from what we have seen. Dany’s experience with the Undying in contrast is definitely of an icy nature. It’s an obvious leap to see the similarities of the Undying with those of the Others, blue, cold, ice, death. Bran on the other hand encounters worth, comfort and care.

Songs That They Sing

Dany and Bran have experienced the songs of nature. When Bran was still in a coma Robb told his mother that Bran needed to hear the wolves sing (when the wolves where howling outside his window). Then the night that Dany contemplated taking her own life after her marriage to khal Drogo a dragon appears to her in her dreams and sings to hear, healing her with his fire. Here once again we see the music being performed by both the Undying and the Children.

Dany hears:

“There were women among them, dressed in gowns of surpassing loveliness. Shafts of sunlight slanted through windows of stained glass, and the air was alive with the most beautiful music she had ever heard.”

~*~

“The wizards were beckoning her with voices sweeter than song.”

While Bran hears:

“They sang in True Tongue, so Bran could not understand the words , but their voices were as pure as winter air.”

Although they both were treated to music, it was not for the same purpose. While the Children and their Singer sang as part of their rituals, the Undying used their music to try and trick Dany into taking the wrong turn, they used their music to try and deceive her. Music and magic also seem to go hand in hand in ASOIAF, another example of this is Mirri Maz Duur’a chanting while casting her spell in Drogo’s tent.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

  • The visions that both Dany (the first visions that she sees) and Bran receive go from nearest to the present to the past.
  • When Dany enters the first chamber of the Undying she passes through a weirwood and ebony set of doors. While Bran see the see that “All the color is gone, Bran realized suddenly. The world was black soil and white wood.”
  • Even as they see these black and white places each places has another dominant color. For Bran it is the color red, Bloodraven’s red eye and red scare, the red leaves of the weirwood trees (above ground) the blood stew fed to them by the Children and the red laces weirwood paste that he is fed. For Dany it is the color blue, she drinks the blue shades of the evening, the Undying are blue shadows, and the corrupted heart of the Undying is also blue.

Now let us look at the mythological associations Dany and Bran share with the in universe prophecies.

Mythology

*Disclaimer this part of the essay isn’t meant to say Dan is Azor Ahai or Bran is the Last Hero reborn. We are simply comparing how GRRM has influenced both characters arcs from mythical tales in Planetos

Mythology

Mythology plays a large role in the World of Ice and Fire, additionally it plays a very large part of both Bran and Dany’s arcs. From Old Nan’s bed time stories, to strange tales from the East, Dany and Bran’s share the common thread of having their arcs resemble many of the characteristics of these mythologies.

The Two Heroes

In A Song of Ice and Fire, we learn about two ancient heroes, whose myths are legendary: one is called the Last Hero and the other called Azor Ahai. Both heroes are known for have done something heroic during the Long Night that helped bring back the light of day. Whether both heroes are different representations of one hero is up for debate that, however, won’t be what we’ll be focusing on. The main focus is on how GRRM writes Dany and Bran’s arc similarly in the sense that many of the events in their journey are parallels to these mythical heroes.

Azor Ahai and Daenerys

It was a time when darkness lay heavy on the world. To oppose it, the hero must have a hero’s blade, oh, like none that had ever been. And so for thirty days and thirty nights Azor Ahai labored sleepless in the temple, forging a blade in the sacred fires. Heat and hammer and fold, heat and hammer and fold, oh, yes, until the sword was done. Yet when he plunged it into water to temper the steel it burst asunder. “Being a hero, it was not for him to shrug and go in search of excellent grapes such as these, so again he began. The second time it took him fifty days and fifty nights, and this sword seemed even finer than the first. Azor Ahai captured a lion, to temper the blade by plunging it through the beast’s red heart, but once more the steel shattered and split. Great was his woe and great was his sorrow then, for he knew what he must do. “A hundred days and a hundred nights he labored on the third blade, and as it glowed white-hot in the sacred fires, he summoned his wife. ‘Nissa Nissa,’ he said to her, for that was her name, ‘bare your breast, and know that I love you best of all that is in this world.’ She did this thing, why I cannot say, and Azor Ahai thrust the smoking sword through her living heart. It is said that her cry of anguish and ecstasy left a crack across the face of the moon, but her blood and her soul and her strength and her courage all went into the steel. Such is the tale of the forging of Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes.”

This is the tale of Azor Ahai which was told to Davos in A Clash of Kings. Dany has several parallels to this story, we will analyze those sections of the myth that relate most closely with the events that have taken place in day’s arc.

Three Tries is the Charm

One of the main themes in Azor Ahai’s story is that it took three tries for him to achieve his goal of forging Lightbringer. This theme of “three tries being the charm” is heavily used in Dany’s arc in A Song of Ice and Fire.

After Dany woke from her coma dream, she remembered that she needed something but could not say what. In the end it took three attempts by her to obtain what she needed, one of her dragon eggs.

First

She woke to the taste of ashes. “No,” she moaned, “no, please.” “Khaleesi!” Jhiqui hovered over her, a frightened doe. The tent was drenched in shadow, still and close.”

Second

“…she woke again. The tent was dark, its silken walls flapping like wings when the wind gusted outside. This time Dany did not attempt to rise.”

Third

When she woke the third time, a shaft of golden sunlight was pouring through the smoke hole of the tent, and her arms were wrapped around a dragon’s egg.”

Like Azor Ahai’s three attempts to forge Lightbringer, it takes three attempts for her to obtain her dragon eggs. GRRM wrote Dany’s arc to be heavily associated with the number three, this cannot be a coincidence, we believe.

The same theme is also used again when Dany considers that the eggs might be alive.

She first tries to hatch the dragons after Drogon appeared to her in her second dragon dream, when he healed her with his dragon fire. When she woke up she went to the egg whose color resembled that dragon she had seen and realized that it was warm to her touch. The second attempt was when she put the eggs in the brazier, however, this did not lead to the dragon eggs hatching. The third and final attempt was the actual funeral pyre where she was finally able hatch the dragon eggs in accordance with the theme of thee tries.

Sacrifice of a Loved One

Sacrifice is an important elements of the mythology of Azor Ahai. In order forge Lightbringer he had to sacrifice the person he loved most in the world. This same theme of sacrifice is seen in Dany’s arc as well. In order to hatch the dragons she had to sacrifice the things she loved the most.

Dany loses both her son Rhaego and her husband Khal Drogo, magic in the World of Ice and Fire is not without a price, as Mirri once told Dany, only death can pay for life.

Rhaego sacrifice occurs whiles Dany has her fever dream and interestingly the author writes it similarly to how Nissa Nissa was sacrificed, which again indicates that we are meant to compare these two events.

She could feel the heat inside her, a terrible burning in her womb. Her son was tall and proud, with Drogo’s copper skin and her own silver-gold hair, violet eyes shaped like almonds. And he smiled for her and began to lift his hand toward hers, but when he opened his mouth the fire poured out. She saw his heart burning through his chest, and in an instant he was gone, consumed like a moth by a candle, turned to ash. She wept for her child, the promise of a sweet mouth on her breast, but her tears turned to steam as they touched her skin.”

Drogo’s sacrifice may have occurred at the pyre, or when Dany suffocated him or during the spell Mirri performed. Either way the conclusion is still the same, which is that he as well as Rhaego was sacrificed just like Nissa Nissa.

Lightbringer

In the story of Azor Ahai, his sacrifices in order to save the world where done in order for him to obtain the means to end the Long Night, the means in this instance was the forgiving of Lightbringer. In Dany’s case her sacrifices lead to the birth of her three dragons. The description of Lightbring is very similar to that of the dragons. In the Jade Compendium we are given a story of the deeds of Azor Ahai, the descriptions is very similar to Dany’s actions in Astapor. The story of Azor Ahai reads:

The pages that told of Azor Ahai. Lightbringer was his sword. Tempered with his wife’s blood if Votar can be believed. Thereafter Lightbringer was never cold to the touch, but warm as Nissa Nissa had been warm. In battle the blade burned fiery hot. Once Azor Ahai fought a monster. When he thrust the sword through the belly of the beast, its blood began to boil. Smoke and steam poured from its mouth, its eyes melted and dribbled down its cheeks, and its body burst into flame.”

Drogon’s actions in Astapor:

The black dragon spread his wings and roared. A lance of swirling dark flame took Kraznys full in the face. His eyes melted and ran down his cheeks, and the oil in his hair and beard burst so fiercely into fire that for an instant the slaver wore a burning crown twice as tall as his head.”

Now, let us look at the dragons as a sword. In Meereen while Dany is talking to Xaro he tells her:

“When your dragons were small they were a wonder. Grown, they are death and devastation, a flaming sword above the world.

In a conversation with Davos, Stannis explains to him why dragons are better than a sword:

“It glimmers prettily, I’l grant you, but on the Blackwater this magic sword served me no better than common steel. A dragon would have turned that battle. Aegon once stood here as I do, looking down on this table. Do you think we would name him Aegon the Conqueror today if he had not had dragons?”

Dany’s tale is not done yet and although we can find more similarities between Dany’s story and that of Azor ahai, these examples should be sufficient enough in showing that there are strong parallels between Dany’s arc and Azor Ahai’s story.

The Last Hero

“Thousands and thousands of years ago, a winter fell that was cold and hard and endless beyond all memory of man. There came a night that lasted a generation, and kings shivered and died in their castles even as the swineherds in their hovels. Women smothered their children rather than see them starve, and cried, and felt their tears freeze on their cheeks.” Her voice and her needles fell silent, and she glanced up at Bran with pale, filmy eyes and asked, “So, child. This is the sort of story you like?” “Well,” Bran said reluctantly, “yes, only …” Old Nan nodded. “In that darkness, the Others came for the first time,” she said as her needles went click click click. “They were cold things, dead things, that hated iron and fire and the touch of the sun, and every creature with hot blood in its veins. They swept over holdfasts and cities and kingdoms, felled heroes and armies by the score, riding their pale dead horses and leading hosts of the slain. All the swords of men could not stay their advance, and even maidens and suckling babes found no pity in them. They hunted the maids through frozen forests, and fed their dead servants on the flesh of human children.” Her voice had dropped very low, almost to a whisper, and Bran found himself leaning forward to listen. “Now these were the days before the Andals came, and long before the women fled across the narrow sea from the cities of the Rhoyne, and the hundred kingdoms of those times were the kingdoms of the First Men, who had taken these lands from the children of the forest. Yet here and there in the fastness of the woods the children still lived in their wooden cities and hollow hills, and the faces in the trees kept watch. So as cold and death filled the earth, the last hero determined to seek out the children, in the hopes that their ancient magics could win back what the armies of men had lost. He set out into the dead lands with a sword, a horse, a dog, and a dozen companions. For years he searched, until he despaired of ever finding the children of the forest in their secret cities. One by one his friends died, and his horse, and finally even his dog, and his sword froze so hard the blade snapped when he tried to use it. And the Others smelled the hot blood in him, and came silent on his trail, stalking him with packs of pale white spiders big as hounds—”

Just like Dany, Bran’s arc also has influences from a mythical hero. Many of the themes that occur in the Last Hero story also occur in Bran’s story.

The Loss of Friends and Family

Perhaps the main theme in the Last Hero’s story is that he in the end is literally the last hero. He loses all his friends and companies and yet he manages to stay alive left alone to try and find an end to the Long Night.

Bran’s arc is not complete yet, however, the theme of losing his companions seems to be where his story is heading. We see it with Jojen growing sullenness and sadness.

Bran’s story starts as an innocent young boy, who s surrounded by a loving family. However, as his story progresses he begins to lose the people he loves little by little. First his father and sisters leave Winterfell and then his bastard brother goes to the Wall. Then his older brother Robb also goes South. Eventually his father dies and so do many of his father’s men, men whom Bran new having grown up around the.

Then his Master and guardian, Maester Luwin dies. Finally, he is forced to let his younger brother depart from him for his brothers safety, leaving Bran with only the Reed children and Hodor as companions. In A Dance with Dragons we see how Jojen begins to distance himself from everyone and when Bran comes back from one of his lessons in his final scene, Meera and Jojen are nowhere to be found. Like the Last Hero, Bran and his companions go to the far North, along with a dog, which in this case is represented by Bran dire wolf Summer. Perhaps in the end Bran will also be the last of his companions to survive.

Children of the Forest

According to Bran, Old Nan’s stories always ends with the Children of the Forest playing an important role in the Last Hero’s rescue. However, we don’t know exactly how the Children were able to help the Last Hero.

Like the Last Hero Bran is rescue from the Wights attacks by the Children. It seem as these parallels continue that we might be able to deduce how the Children originally helped the Last Hero end the Long Night.

The Truth in Myths

In an interesting parallel at the beginning of Dany and Bran’s stories they both hear myths which in time they will both verify to be true. In AGOT Dany is told thetale of how dragons first came to be and how they will return, the tale is told to her by her handmaiden Doreah. Bran hears from the Wilding captive at Winterfell, Osha, that the Children of the Forest still exist, beyond the Wall.

As the story progresses Dany goes on the hatch the stone eggs and Bran goes on to find the Children of the Forrest. Showing that although these myths contain a lot of fantastical elements to them they also may contain a kernel of truth.

Discussion

A good question to ask is what GRRM is trying to accomplish by infusing both Dany and Bran’s arcs with similarities to these mythical heroes. Does he want us to simply draw a line from the mythical heroes to the characters themselves. Or perhaps he wants us to look at the nature of what makes a person a hero. Neither Dany nor Bran are purposely setting out to be heroes, yet their actions, Dany’s more so than Bran’s are heroic in nature.

Conclusion

From their magical encounters with the Undying and the Children of the Forrest to their similarities to mythical heroes, we are allowed once again to see through Dany and Bran’s eyes a side of ASOIAF that is still for the most part a mystery to us all. These small glimpses into the magical elements of the story gives is the opportunity to see where the overall story will be heading. As GRRM has told us the elements of magical will become more prominent as the story continues and we have a small taste of what to expect.

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Thank you for another interesting analysis, MoIaF. Very provocative.

Reading some of the passages you singled out, one of the things that struck me is that the burning of the Undying could be compared to the burning of a library full of books and scrolls. The fire wasn't described to us in much detail at all, but the burning of the Winterfell library is strongly linked to Bran because the fire was started to draw people's attention away from the comatose boy so the Catspaw assassin can kill him.

A couple of passages in quotes you selected may underscore the similarities between the burning library and the burning HotU:

When you come to the chamber of the Undying, be patient. Our little lives are no more than a flicker of a moths wing to them. Listen well, and write each word upon your heart.

Then indigo turned to orange, and whispers turned to screams. Her heart was pounding, racing, the hands and mouths were gone, heat washed over her skin, and Dany blinked at a sudden glare. Perched above her, the dragon spread his wings and tore at the terrible dark heart, ripping the rotten flesh to ribbons, and when his head snapped forward, fire flew from his open jaws, bright and hot. She could hear the shrieks of the Undying as they burned, their high thin papery voices crying out in tongues long dead. Their flesh was crumbling parchment, their bones dry wood soaked in tallow

Bran is strongly associated with stories, although the stories he loves are from an oral tradition handed down by Old Nan. What little we know about the Winterfell library comes from time Tyrion spends there during the royal visit:

Outside, Tyrion swallowed a lungful of the cold morning air and began his laborious descent of the steep stone steps that corkscrewed around the exterior of the library tower. It was slow going; the steps were cut high and narrow, while his legs were short and twisted.

So we know that the library was a steep tower, but little else. While there are no references (that I can recall) to Bran spending time in the library, before his injury he is associated with climbing walls and towers around Winterfell. (For what it's worth, Bran uses gargoyles for handholds when he climbs the walls, and Tyrion is compared to a gargoyle in a couple places throughout ASOIAF.) By contrast, the House of the Undying is specifically described as having no tower:

Long and low, without towers or windows, it coiled like a stone serpent through a grove of black -barked trees whose inky blue leaves made the stuff of the sorcerous drink the Qartheen called shade of the evening. No other buildings stood near....

This is external information from the real world so it may be unrelated, but it could help to tie the notion of a library to the strong tree symbolism you identified in both stories: scholars who study the origin of Indo-European languages have identified an area near the Black Sea (I believe) where a common root language started to form before humans spread out across the Eurasian continent. They have identified words that must have been used in that early proto-language by identifying similar words that have evolved in different languages of Europe and India. One example is the word "hound" which is found in slightly varied forms through a number of languages, allowing inferences that there were domesticated dogs living in this early human settlement. They have also inferred that beech trees were used somehow to record written information because the words for book and beech are closely related in many of the subsequent languages that stem from the common source.

Back to ASOIAF: It seems like GRRM is deliberately juxtaposing these two "libraries" but the point is not entirely clear to me. I don't know what it means, for instance, that the Winterfell library is a steep tower and the HotU is flat. Bran's direwolf saves him by ignoring the fire at the Winterfell library, while Dany's dragon saves her by starting the fire at the HotU. Dany sees a nasty, blue heart beating in the HotU, and Bran is about to be linked for life to a heart tree that connects to the past, present and future of all of Westeros. (Another thought: How does the stallion heart that Dany ate when she was pregnant connect to this heart motif?)

When Robb, looking out the window of Bran's room, tells Catelyn that the library tower is on fire, Catelyn seems relatively unconcerned about the loss of the collected works and is mostly just relieved that the tower is far away from Bran's chamber so he is not endangered by the fire. She is 100% wrong to feel relief, of course, because the fire in the library was (we are led to believe) deliberately set in order to clear a path for Bran's would-be murderer. I wonder whether we can see the lesson for Catelyn (and the reader) in the connection between the library fire and Bran's peril as similar to her awakening to the importance of the direwolves in keeping her children safe? Catelyn initially dislikes the wolves but completely changes her mind after Summer kills the Catspaw, saving Bran (and Catelyn).

If the library fire is "bad" for Bran, is the fire in the House of the Undying similarly "bad" for Dany? It seems like her dragon is saving her from the creepy clutches of the Undying when it sparks the inferno. But Dany was also advised to "write" the words of the Undying "upon (her) heart" - underscoring the importance of remembering a story or instructions, much as a book or written work would record a story in a way that would make it immortal. Or like Old Nan making sure that the Stark children were schooled in the old stories of the Children of the Forest. In addition to being the Last Dragon, maybe Dany is the Last Book of the civilization represented by the Undying.

I was also intrigued by your mention of the contrasting colors associated with Bran and Dany. The Trident River and its three branches - the Green Fork, Blue Fork and Red Fork - are important symbols in the series. I wonder whether Dany and Bran's red and blue associations (Bran also has a lot of green in his story) signal that the two characters will come together at some point, just as the tributaries of the river also join to form one major river?

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