[ADWD Spoilers] Bran's Endgame

[HashRouge]

I am not a 100% sure on the time line but couldn't have Sam mentioned the Red Wedding to Bran when he was dropping him off to Coldhands.

I don't think Sam tells Bran very much at all, much as he doesn't tell Jon that Bran is still alive. I think Bran has an inkling that all is not well with Robb though, because Summer can't sense Grey Wind anymore.

As for whether Bran has reached his endgame - I sincerely hope not! His storyline has been dull enough for the last few books, if he's actually stuck in a tree for eternity I'll never forgive GRRM.

[Tezeu]

As for whether Bran has reached his endgame - I sincerely hope not! His storyline has been dull enough for the last few books, if he's actually stuck in a tree for eternity I'll never forgive GRRM.

The stuck-nes problem lies not only with him but with Arya to. What if they both meat their final places. I think that would be weird but what if Rickon got, in the end Winterfel. Rickon the Unlikely :)

[twincast]

well he was given weirwood seeds.

I think that means he was planted.

There are weirwoods north of the wall but not many. There never seem to be any saplings sprouting up around the various heart trees south of the wall. I think weirwoods don't reproduce without a COTF or person, and I think Bran ingesting weirwood seeds means he was planted. the price he pays for magic, because no magic comes without cost.

I thought that was obvious. Apparently not to everyone.

And concerning the blood sacrifice: I'm pretty sure it's in the far past and have a fleeting suspicion it's some old Stark(s) doing it, but I could be wrong, may need to reread it.

[Hazel Webster]

I really feel a bit uneasy about Bran being in that cave and the possibility that if he stays there and sits in his throne, that he will become part of the tree like the others he has seen that way, I believe the children of the forest aren't completely good and my instinct is that I would like to see Bran get out of there, it's strange that these characters affect me so much and how real they feel in a way but I guess that's a lot to do with George. R. R. Martins style of writing, I don't like the turn Bran's story is taking though, I don't expect him to suddenly be able to walk again or anything like that, but I think there's more for him to achieve than being stuck in a cave with tree branches growing through his body, dreaming about people and events from any point in time and not actually being able to do anything about what he sees, I also really like Jojen and Meera and the fact that it seems they are stuck there too for however long irritates me but I haven't yet read the second half of a dance with dragons so I'm still hoping that things might change before the end of the book cause it's going to be a nightmare wait for the next book to be finished and released as it is, so a resolution to some storylines would be nice so some characters can progress on to their next phase so to speak.

[Ser Lennon Lionsbane]

I don't think bran will be stuck as a tree either.... It just doesn't seem like GRRM would end his story arc this way. I agree with one of the posts earlier that bran may some how be connected with jon's resurrection, i think that would be a better way for him to come back than through mel

[Stark@heart]

I am quite sure Bran will stay in that cave for next 500 years or so.

Does it make any difference where your mortal corpse lays if you are going to spend 99% of your time in virtuality? It's another Matrix.

I think Bran's body will stay "hooked up" in the cave, I see Bran using Hodor as his superman suit when needed - It's wrong but no one's told Bran that and even so - Hodor is Hodor, he convienently has room inside his head for company.

[Dr Adder]

(2) A question that's been nagging at me, so please, please, if you have an answer tell me! Does Bran even know about the Red Wedding? He left Winterfell before it happened and he's had no direct contact with anyone who could tell him, right? I don't remember reading about him finding out, either through a direct communication or through Summer's telepathy with his littermates.

He knows, he had a dream about it on the way to the wall and Jojen acknowledged him as the king.

[Bastard of the White Knife]

I'm not convinced that Bran will be "just" a tree, but I do think that people expecting him to take a physical, dragon-riding role in whatever battle occurs might end up being disappointed.

I'm also leery of the Children of the Forest and their motives. I wouldn't go so far as to call them "evil," but nor do I think they're entirely benevolent in the way that we understand that word.

I agree. Bran grew up wanting to be a knight/warrior and have adventures. He cannot physically do that anymore but he can have adventures through his mind (a GRRM analogy to reading and fantasy I'm sure). As to the CotF I agree they are not benevolent in the same manner that the Old Gods are not truly benevolent. Blood sacrafices to the wierwoods does not exactly scream out "religion of peace." There is, in my mind, a clear connection (perhaps rivalry) between the CotF and the Others which will be develped.

[Ser Endrew Tarth]

I also really like Jojen and Meera and the fact that it seems they are stuck there too for however long irritates me but I haven't yet read the second half of a dance with dragons so I'm still hoping that things might change before the end of the book cause it's going to be a nightmare wait for the next book to be finished and released as it is, so a resolution to some storylines would be nice so some characters can progress on to their next phase so to speak.

If you're looking for quick resolutions you're reading the wrong series LOL. GRRM is an absolutely amazing writer, but I've never read a series that left so many lingering mysteries and loose ends for sooooooooooooo long.

I think Bran's body will stay "hooked up" in the cave, I see Bran using Hodor as his superman suit when needed - It's wrong but no one's told Bran that and even so - Hodor is Hodor, he convienently has room inside his head for company.

This! Everybody was all mad this thread about Hodor-warging, but come on... he's a half-wit. I mean he was scared when Bran did it, but he also freaked out and tried to fight lightning/thunder with a rusty sword lol. I'm not trying to be a jerk about it, I just don't know if warging Hodor has the same consequences as doing it to other ppl, who obviously have a stronger will to resist.

He knows, he had a dream about it on the way to the wall and Jojen acknowledged him as the king.

and thank you for clearing that up. alot of speculation up-thread.

I agree with those up-thread it's hard to label "good"/"bad" in GRRM's tale. He even stated he doesn't like to paint things that way.

Furthermore I would like to challenge this Bran ate human when coldhands brought swine. I mean he sees the dead rangers and all, but I don't know that it's really implied. It's a theory based on the situation, and may well be true, but I'm just not rdy to declare Bran a cannibal (albeit unwittingly).

Also interesting to note the Starks no longer execute under the weirwood as is evidenced by Ned executing the deserter in aGOT. Just saying the tradition has been lost for whatever that's worth. Though didn't Robb execute Karstark by the weirwood by coincidence?

[Im no Ser]

I think Bran's body will stay "hooked up" in the cave, I see Bran using Hodor as his superman suit when needed - It's wrong but no one's told Bran that and even so - Hodor is Hodor, he convienently has room inside his head for company.

When Hodor wouldn't carry Bran into the crypts beneath Winterfell, Bran knew it was immoral to hit Hodor on the head to force him to do it, even before Maester Luwin tells him Hodor is a man, not an animal to be beaten.

Even before his 3rd eye was opened Bran knew it was wrong to subjugate Hodor's free will. Hodor's feelings of terror while he's being warged can't have convinced Bran that it's OK to do after all.

They fought alongside men before (and made a pact on the division of Westeros) but I suppose it's possible they've come to harbour some resentment since.

But did they fight beside men?

As per Old Nan:

So as cold and death filled the earth. the last hero determined to seek out the children, in the hopes their 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 findings the children of the forest in their secret cities.

- GOT, Chp 24

This quote suggests that the COTF were not active participants in the War of the Dawn at least in the early years. Rather, for a space of years, they did nothing (and could not even be found) while the Others warred against humanity. Nan is interrupted in her story, so we don't actually know what assistance - if any - the COTF provided to the Last Hero.

[the Iron Bank]

In ADWD I thought Bran to be even more powerful Than Bloodraven in the sense that Bloodraven can't communicate with people when he is in the Tree and says to Bran that he can't influence things only look but apparently Bran was able to talk to Theon as Theon did hear the Tree call his name. Therefore I believe that Bran will have major impact in things to come because his ability seems to be even greater than what everyone can fathem.

[Budj]

I thought it was only influencing the past that they can't do? If Bran was speaking to Theon in real-time that could just be a power they have. I do agree...the greenseers can influence more than I think most people are getting so far. A lot to be revealed I'm sure.

[Ser Endrew Tarth]

Doesn't it also seem that when he sees his father and attempts to communicate with him that Ned looks up from his sword sharpening as if he heard something. i know it prob only sounds like wind in the leaves, but looks like he could potentially communicate with the past despite BR's rule.

[John Reynolds]

I think it's pretty clear that Bran's powers will exceed expectations. His first time gazing back through time via a tree he's doing something Bloodraven flatly states isn't possible.

[Stark@heart]

I think BR might be lying to Bran about the things he can do - like look back - because it would distract him from the now and the future that's so important and also he might see something he shouldn't and get confused or angry and change his mind about wanting to "fly"

[Ser Endrew Tarth]

I think BR might be lying to Bran about the things he can do - like look back - because it would distract him from the now and the future that's so important and also he might see something he shouldn't and get confused or angry and change his mind about wanting to "fly"

well BR states he can look back, but not communicate with or influence the past. But as you said he is showing alot of talent/promise in his first login to the world wide weir-web.

Doesn't he basically "fly" around the world at one point seeing the land of always winter, and the dragons sleeping beyond the shadow? was that in ADWD or a different earlier vision?

[Dr Qyburn M.D]

I believe he will end up warging a dragon but if not it would be super awesome if he wargs an army of dire wolves to fend of the others

[Voice]

Nice OP. You're right, we've no reason to assume Bran has reached end game status.

I've been saying for years that Bran has only just now become the "chained winged wolf."

Bran IV ACOK

Jojen's eyes were the color of moss, and sometimes when he looked at you he seemed to be seeing something else. Like now. "I dreamed of a winged wolf bound to earth with grey stone chains," he said. "It was a green dream, so I knew it was true. A crow was trying to peck through the chains, but the stone was too hard and his beak could only chip at them."

"Did the crow have three eyes?"

Jojen nodded.

Summer raised his head from Bran's lap, and gazed at the mudman with his dark golden eyes.

"When I was little I almost died of greywater fever. That was when the crow came to me."

"He came to me after I fell," Bran blurted. "I was asleep for a long time. He said I had to fly or die, and I woke up, only I was broken and I couldn't fly after all."

"You can if you want to." Picking up her net, Meera shook out the last tangles and began arranging it in loose folds.

"You are the winged wolf, Bran," said Jojen. "I wasn't sure when we first came, but now I am. The crow sent us here to break your chains."

"Is the crow at Greywater?"

"No. The crow is in the north."

"At the Wall?" Bran had always wanted to see the Wall. His bastard brother Jon was there now, a man of the Night's Watch.

"Beyond the Wall." Meera Reed hung the net from her belt. "When Jojen told our lord father what he'd dreamed, he sent us to Winterfell."

"How would I break the chains, Jojen?" Bran asked.

"Open your eye."

"They are open Can't you see?"

"Two are open." Jojen pointed. "One, two."

"I only have two."

"You have three. The crow gave you the third, but you will not open it." He had a slow soft way of speaking. "With two eyes you see my face. With three you could see my heart. With two you can see that oak tree there. With three you could see the acorn the oak grew from and the stump that it will one day become. With two you see no farther than your walls. With three you would gaze south to the Summer Sea and north beyond the Wall."

Jojen became sure the wolf in his dream was Bran once he met him. Bran's wolf was chained, well, caged in the godswood. But what of the wings?

Bran didn't get wings until he wedded the trees in Bloodraven's cave. And BR is nothing, if not chained, to those trees. Bran is now, in truth, the weirwood-chained, raven-winged, direwolf.

[girlfrommonday]

I must admit I hadn't thought of the caves/rivers.

I guess it's possible. I'm still inclined to believe Bran is most needed exactly where he is in order to marshall the tree armies, and coordinate whatever he needs to coordinate to battle the Others.

I think he is needed close to weirwood tree, not these particular. I assume weirwood network has rhizomatic structure without central place. BR is here but soon enough they will not need eachother physical presence.

[A Loner... A Rebel]

Bran is the "chained wolf" - breaking he chains of the wolf begins the battle for the fate of the world - Bran will be helping the Children/Others fight humanity