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What happened to Stonesnake?


Bendubz

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There are multiple characters that have gone missing in ASOIAF. And for the majority of these characters, the ones who had at least some provenance to the storyline, there are theories about them being alive (see Benjen and syrio just for a start). But there is one character who i have seen no threads for, and to be honest they are the most puzzling as there is no hint of their fate in the books to go off of despite having some provenance. So I ask you this:



WHERE ON EARTH HAS STONESNAKE GONE?

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I want to believe he's dead and get over such a bad-ass ranger, but...



  • Stonesnake is still listed in the appendices of ASOS, AFFC and ADWD: "a ranger, lost afoot in Skirling Pass."
  • His continuing inclusion in the appendices of three books where he hasn't appeared is odd, given that other missing or assumed dead characters aren't.
  • He was (indirectly) mentioned in ASOS when Mance Rayder asks Rattleshirt for his scouting report (Jon's first chapter). Rattleshirt says three of the four other rangers in Jon's squad are definitely dead, while the fourth (Stonesnake) climbed up a mountain, out of reach and in terrain too rough for his men to follow.
  • Qhorin Halfhand said, when ordering him to make it back to the Wall, "If any man in the Night's Watch can make it through the Frostfangs alone and afoot, it is you, brother."

While I doubt Stonesnake was ever destined for a large role or even had an important one in ACOK, I like to think his story isn't over just yet.


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As a big fan of Stonesnake - and Qhorin's squad in general, I'd like to think he's doin' something awesome and useful - maybe getting more info on the Others alongside Benjen.



Hopefully he's not dead and we'll get to see him later down the line, but it's quite possible he is. We'll see.


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I have to agree that he's alive. For what purpose I have no new ideas to offer.

But having working on a re-read I am more and more sure the GRRM doesn't write anything just write it.

If Stonesnake was done for, some character, somewhere, would have said "he's done for" or some such statement.

Also, Stone Snake, Reptile of Stone, Dragons are Reptiles(?), StoneDragon in the Mts. Beyond the wall, lost (sleeping). Just an idea ;)

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Stonesnake isn't the only veteran ranger missing, either.



Other than the obvious Benjen, there's also the four other rangers who went with him (excluding Othor and Jafer Flowers, of course).



Dywen, Alliser Thorne and another unnamed ranger are also missing as of the end of ADWD.



Kedge Whiteye and his two men are also unaccounted for.



But what distinguishes Stonesnake is he's been missing for three books but is still mentioned in the appendices.


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There are many ways to die north of the Wall, and most of them are unglamorous. He could have lost his footing and fallen to his demise. He might have encountered a pack of shadowcats or wolves. He might have gotten stuck in the Skirling Pass due to weather, and succumbed to cold or starvation after his rations ran out. Winds or animals might have triggered an avalanche he couldn't run from.



He might, of course, have run into the Others too. I somehow doubt he ever met Benjen, since the Haunted Forest is huge. As big as your average country, or thereabout. Stumbling into anybody there is nigh impossible even if one or both parties actively try to seek each other out.


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There are many ways to die north of the Wall, and most of them are unglamorous. He could have lost his footing and fallen to his demise. He might have encountered a pack of shadowcats or wolves. He might have gotten stuck in the Skirling Pass due to weather, and succumbed to cold or starvation after his rations ran out. Winds or animals might have triggered an avalanche he couldn't run from.

He might, of course, have run into the Others too. I somehow doubt he ever met Benjen, since the Haunted Forest is huge. As big as your average country, or thereabout. Stumbling into anybody there is nigh impossible even if one or both parties actively try to seek each other out.

If this was any other character, and I mean ANY other character, I would consider the possibility that they could lose their footing, but Stonesnake is by far and away the best climber on Planetos, it is known. There is absolutely no way that he would fall to his death. If he died it was in a different way.

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^ I'm going to have to agree, a group of wildlings who regularly climbed the wall watched him climb a mountain and said fuck that he wins. Thats not a man who lost his footing.

Still, even if we can rule out death by fall, there are still plenty of other ways for a man to lose his life up there. Just because he couldn't have fallen doesn't mean he's guaranteed to have survived.

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