Kadence Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 It has nothing to do with the cold; it has to do with the spells which support and preserve the Wall. Even Aemon does not voice the whole truth -- but he hints at it. Simply put: George does not like to explain how magic really works in his world. He resists that look behind the curtain in most cases. ...but in particular, the spells interact with Aemon's Targaryen blood, granting to him, in particular, an extended life. When Aemon leaves the Wall, he moves beyond the range of those spells of preservation and his advanced age rapidly catches up with him and he dies.He does not reach the age of 102 because he is a Targaryen. He reaches the age of 102 because he is a Targaryen living in close proximity with the greatest spell of preservation in the entire world. Those preservation spell have pernicious effects which he is particularly sensitive to. His extended life is one of those "bonus" effects.I agree. This is how I took it as well.I do not think that Aemon is consciously aware of the Wall's preservation spells interacting with his Targaryen blood (though he might have some suspicion of it). But I think this is what Martin is trying to hint at. That the spells in the Wall are what prolong Aemon's life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarrileteCosmico Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 A perfect example of people reading too much into a line. The simplest answer is almost always true. Aemon most likely meant that the cold preserved him, too, and that was the way I took it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iheartseverus Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 A perfect example of people reading too much into a line. The simplest answer is almost always true. Aemon most likely meant that the cold preserved him, too, and that was the way I took it.Not perfect at all, sez I. Aemon is an old man, a human, not a frozen piece of beef that just lasted longer because it was kept refrigerated. In fact, as a rule, older folks tend to do better in warmer climates. Circulation problems, rheumatism, arthritis, all the plagues of old age are aggravated by the cold, eased by warmth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easy Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 I like Steel Wind's explanation.Maybe Bloodraven has also been hiding near the Wall. Possibly in one of the abandon castles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iheartseverus Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 I like Steel Wind's explanation.Maybe Bloodraven has also been hiding near the Wall. Possibly in one of the abandon castles.Or possibly, in a 3-eyed crow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slayer420 Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 george likes to forshadow events coming up and usally stuff like this. I belive it has more than one reason for it. Why would it matter for him to tell sam this if he is only talking about himself. Does he want sam to build a old folks home on the wall to keep people alive. I dont think so. When you reread the books stuff keeps poping out. Over ten places the Red weding is hinted at. Bron marrying lolly. Read the thread about forshadowing in the book. george had a Targ on the wall that lived to a 102. Why? He has been in every book, but has yet to have a major role on anything. I dont think geoge had him there just to show that the is magic that makes people live longer there. Has to be more to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elric of Melnibone Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 It has nothing to do with the cold; it has to do with the spells which support and preserve the Wall. Even Aemon does not voice the whole truth -- but he hints at it. Simply put: George does not like to explain how magic really works in his world. He resists that look behind the curtain in most cases. Melisandre also hints at it in the Jon chapter that has been on George's website forever. She talks about the great power woven into the ice at the Wall. "We stand on one of the great hinges of the world".Samwell also notes the remarkable preservation effect of the Wall upon the books that are kept in the library dug into its base. This may or may not be an actual temperature effect. It all comes down to this: The Wall is not a natural structure and it is physically impossible to build or stand at the height that it does. The Wall is built on top of (and interwoven with) great spells of protection and preservation. These spells have an unintended consequence in how they preserve some common things (the books at the Wall, for example), but in particular, the spells interact with Aemon's Targaryen blood, granting to him, in particular, an extended life. When Aemon leaves the Wall, he moves beyond the range of those spells of preservation and his advanced age rapidly catches up with him and he dies.He does not reach the age of 102 because he is a Targaryen. He reaches the age of 102 because he is a Targaryen living in close proximity with the greatest spell of preservation in the entire world. Those preservation spell have pernicious effects which he is particularly sensitive to. His extended life is one of those "bonus" effects.Brilliant post, thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Rayne Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 All his brothers were killed because of their dragon dreams? We know that Aerion and Aegon were killed trying to create dragons, but is this a clue that there's more to Daeron's death than catching a pox of a whore? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 I think it assumes to much to say that hat it is the spells woven into the Wall, rather than the immense cold of the northern region itself, that preserved Aemon. That is what Aemon says, that the cold preserved him. Now, I agree that it could be more, it could be because there is magic in the Wall and that this somehow connects to Aemon, but really, that is speculation isn't it? We have no idea if that is what is meant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Heir Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 steel wind makes perfect sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easy Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 I think it assumes to much to say that hat it is the spells woven into the Wall, rather than the immense cold of the northern region itself, that preserved Aemon. That is what Aemon says, that the cold preserved him. The thing about that is this:...Aemon is an old man, a human, not a frozen piece of beef that just lasted longer because it was kept refrigerated. In fact, as a rule, older folks tend to do better in warmer climates. Circulation problems, rheumatism, arthritis, all the plagues of old age are aggravated by the cold, eased by warmth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Qorgyle Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Now, I agree that it could be more, it could be because there is magic in the Wall and that this somehow connects to Aemon, but really, that is speculation isn't it? We have no idea if that is what is meant.Yes, because speculating in this forum is so unusual... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joffrey the Wise and Just Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Just a thought. I don't know if anyone else has said it before, but I should give it a try.When Maester Aemon said "I should not have left the Wall. Lord Snow could not have known, but I should have seen it. Fire consumes, but cold preserves." What if he meant that the Others were trapped in the wall. What if the wall was the device meant to keep them imprisoned. So, if/when the wall falls.......Just a theory, but I think it's kind of interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estrellas Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 I think that something Melisandre is going to do will cause the Wall to be consumed. It is going to collapse or otherwise disintegrate. I don't think it will be intentional, but I think it will happen. Aemon is realizing the mistake of allowing someone so unbalanced, so obsessed with fire near the Wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Ok then, going with Steel Wind's suggestion, why would the spells woven into the Wall, the magic which helped build it, have a particular effect on Aemon's Targaryen body? Why would he live so long because of the spells, whereas others in the Watch do not?There doesn't seem to be a connection between Targaryens and magic, so why would the Wall's spells affect him in particular? There is a connection between Targaryens and dragons though. I guess this will further speculation that there is a dragon in the Wall. So we now have a possible dragon in the Wall, a possible dragon waiting to be awakened in Winterfell, and stone dragons waiting to be released from Dragonstone.Colour me sceptical.I guess you could argue that as a maester, he is least exposed to danger and most likely to live long, and that as such, any spells of preservation the Wall has, have more of a chance on Aemon to show how old you could get at the Wall, than any of Rangers or other Watchmen.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrainFireBob Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 All his brothers were killed because of their dragon dreams? We know that Aerion and Aegon were killed trying to create dragons, but is this a clue that there's more to Daeron's death than catching a pox of a whore?To sum, prophesy ran in the Targaryen family. Especially prophetic, symbolic dreams. Daeron, according to the Hedge Knight, took to drink because he couldn't handle his dreams. That drinking lifestyle is what killed him. Hence, the dragon dreams killed him. Recall, he was passed out at the inn where Dunk encountered Egg because he did not want to go to the tournament- his dreams prophesied the death of a dragon there. His uncle Baelor, as it happened.In short, he couldn't handle having the full measure of the Targ prophetic gift.You want a curveball? Read the series with a careful eye. The Madness of King Aerys has quite a bit of circumstantial evidence pointing towards his own affliction with prophetic dreams. Especially if he foresaw pieces of his own fate, his paranoia would make sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daenarys Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 It has nothing to do with the cold; it has to do with the spells which support and preserve the Wall. Even Aemon does not voice the whole truth -- but he hints at it. Simply put: George does not like to explain how magic really works in his world. He resists that look behind the curtain in most cases. Melisandre also hints at it in the Jon chapter that has been on George's website forever. She talks about the great power woven into the ice at the Wall. "We stand on one of the great hinges of the world".Samwell also notes the remarkable preservation effect of the Wall upon the books that are kept in the library dug into its base. This may or may not be an actual temperature effect. It all comes down to this: The Wall is not a natural structure and it is physically impossible to build or stand at the height that it does. The Wall is built on top of (and interwoven with) great spells of protection and preservation. These spells have an unintended consequence in how they preserve some common things (the books at the Wall, for example), but in particular, the spells interact with Aemon's Targaryen blood, granting to him, in particular, an extended life. When Aemon leaves the Wall, he moves beyond the range of those spells of preservation and his advanced age rapidly catches up with him and he dies.He does not reach the age of 102 because he is a Targaryen. He reaches the age of 102 because he is a Targaryen living in close proximity with the greatest spell of preservation in the entire world. Those preservation spell have pernicious effects which he is particularly sensitive to. His extended life is one of those "bonus" effects.Brillant post, but I still think that ythe magic of the war is a much more ancient magic, a *ice* magic of the firsdt man ... I can t see a targaryen, coming like 7500 years after the wall s building have something to do with the wall s magic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rattleshirt Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 The night fires being lit before the walls by Melisandre are actually going to destroy the wall, Melisandre birthing shadows hints at her being in league with the great 'other' rather than R'hllor, and Aemon just realized this may be the case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Bullitin The Board Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 I'm not sure about the Wall being the MSG of the Targ folks. The Wall was built thousands of years before the Targs were even a name in Westeros. I'd fine it a little convenient if it happened to link with Old Aemon by happenstance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pecan Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Excellent post, Steel Wind. Excellent. I agree. Great post Steel_Wind. Makes a lot of sense. I do suspect, however, that he is referring to something other than himself that the wall has been preserving, and that something may be a dragon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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