The Undying prophecy: the "Stone Beast"

[Allen]

I was re-reading the Undying Prophecy...

"From a smoking tower, a great stone beast took wing breathing shadow fire"

It's not a dragon. It's a beast.

In the previous sentence, there's mention of a "cloth dragon". After that, we have a "stone beast". Usually the first part is interpreted as a reference to Aegon, the (fake?) son of Rhaegar: he's the dragon that is in the hands of mummers, Varys and Illyrio. The second one is interpreted in some really outlandish ways...shadow dragons from the Wall, literal stone dragons from Dragonstone island, and so on.

I decided to try another approach.

The "cloth dragon", IMHO, is a reference to Varys and his conspiracy. We see a cheerful crowd waving a cloth dragon: I think that Varys and Illyrion will win the hearts of the smallfolk, swaying them to support their puppet Targaryen. Daenerys has to "slay" this "lie" becauser she has to win the support of his people, and because she has to rid Westeros of the duo Varys-Illyrio.

The "stone beast", on the other hand...I think it's Connington. His sigil is a griffin: the "stone beast" could be a reference to the greyscale it's starting to consume his body. The "stone beast" is breathing "shadow fire"...well, Connington is in the recently re-conquered Griffin's Roost castle (the "smoking tower") with Aegon, who may or may not be a Targaryen. The story about him being swapped with a common boy shortly before the murder of his entire family is quite ridiculuous. Chances are he's a Blackfyre...hence the "shadow fire" of the prophecy.

Daenerys has to "slay" this "lie" either killing Aegon or winning him to her cause. Considering that he's starting to have funny thoughts about his rights (I'm the rightful king, screw my aunt and her dragons!) chances are that she will opt for the first option.

[kav2001c]

I always thought the stone beast she must slay was the Harpy. The shadow fire is killing people in the streets and escalating the violence. When she discovers who is leader of the Harpy and kills him she will fulfill the prophecy.

Connington is as good as dead unless he gets brought back through some dark sorcery.

[ARYa_Nym]

This is an interesting alternative interpretation. I thought that the stone beast was what was coming to kill Shireen but maybe not.

Now something would have to accelerate his greyscale. It's spreading up his hand and I think he said it could be a year (s) before it got him completely.

[Taelorn]

I was thinking about this the other day as well. There was another thread about the prophecy and this "Stone beast" was mentioned there and I thought about Jon Connington as well. It would make sense for him being the stone beast that rises.

This is a stretch but maybe after Storms End the GC try to take Dragonstone and launch their attack on the rest of Westeros from there.

[The Lost Lord]

Man, I really hope the TV show gives us a nice look at this "great stone beast" in the Undying House. The word "dragon" is not used but it's a flying beast that breathes fire, and "stone" clearly brings to mind "wake dragons out of stone." So, seems like a dragon to me, though the "greyscale" and "Gregor" theories are fun.

Anyway, shadow fire strongly implies that Melisandre is involved, so I think the three lies Dany will slay are Stannis/Azor Ahai, Young Griff/Aegon, and some monstrous fake dragon that Melisandre will end up concocting (with a resurrected Jon?).

[merchantkingpriest]

Interesting theory and not as crackpot as it first may seem. It is very interesting that the word is "beast" and not "dragon" because Dany would certainly recognize a dragon if she saw one, but it is very possible (and appreciated) that Martin was just varying up the word choice so that the writing didn't suck.

[the Scorpion Knight]

I think the stone beast is a transformed Loras (his recklessnes maybe triggered a curse in dragonstone)

[blackseer]

I don't like the theory of the stone beast being Melisandre's doing or Jon Connington for one reason (and not a strong one): if one of htme was true, there would be two of the Slayer of Lies prophecies in the same place.

Explaining a little bit. We know that the blue-eyed king is Stannis and that the mummers dragon is probably Aegon. If it turns out that Mel will raise the stone beast, she would have two of the prophecies by her side. If Griff turns out to be the beast, him and the mummers dragon would be at the same place.

My theory is that the stone beast will be raised by Euron Crow's Eye, in Oldtown. Euron could conquer the Citatel and use his warlocks people believe he has to raise either a Dragon from an Egg or a Sphinx. This would place each of the Slayer of Lies prophecies in a corner of Westeros, the blue-eyed king in the north, the dragon in the east (stormlands and Dorne) and the beast in the west (Iron Islands and the Reach), leaving the heart of the continent with Lady Stoneheart.

[The Lost Lord]

I don't like the theory of the stone beast being Melisandre's doing or Jon Connington for one reason (and not a strong one): if one of htme was true, there would be two of the Slayer of Lies prophecies in the same place.

True for Connington, but not necessarily for Mel, who is no longer in the same place as Stannis and might never reunite with him for all we know. Perhaps Jon's resurrection will convince her to ditch Stannis, or perhaps she'll strike out on her own by sacrificing Shireen.

[Chatayas]

I initially thought that Melisandre had something to do with the beast because of the shadowfire and her talk about awakening the stone dragons, but that is too obvious and like someone said previously, Melisandre already has one lie for Dany to slay. However, Melisandre's not the only shadowbinder in the series and this stone beast's resurrection could easily have something to do with Moqorro and the ironmen or any other shadowbinder we've yet to meet. It appears this lie won't be slain until after blue eyed king and mummer's dragon ones are, so there's still plenty of time for some more details to be laid out in the oncoming book(s).

[Taelorn]

Explaining a little bit. We know that the blue-eyed king is Stannis and that the mummers dragon is probably Aegon. If it turns out that Mel will raise the stone beast, she would have two of the prophecies by her side. If Griff turns out to be the beast, him and the mummers dragon would be at the same place.

Going a little off topic, I was trying to find the passage/prophecy about the mummers dragon and I can seem to find it. I don't want to hijack this thread with a theory, but if you can tell me where it was I will start a new thread.

Thanks

[blackseer]

Going a little off topic, I was trying to find the passage/prophecy about the mummers dragon and I can seem to find it. I don't want to hijack this thread with a theory, but if you can tell me where it was I will start a new thread.

Thanks

The mummer's dragon is mentioned twice: the first is in the House of the Undying, Dany's 4th chapter in ACoK, in the same paragraph of the topic's. The second time is in ADwD, in one of the earlier Dany's chapters, maybe the second, but not sure. It's when Quaithe mentions that Dany shouldn't trust the people who were coming to meet her and she lists a few of them, including the mummer's dragon.

[Taelorn]

The mummer's dragon is mentioned twice: the first is in the House of the Undying, Dany's 4th chapter in ACoK, in the same paragraph of the topic's. The second time is in ADwD, in one of the earlier Dany's chapters, maybe the second, but not sure. It's when Quaithe mentions that Dany shouldn't trust the people who were coming to meet her and she lists a few of them, including the mummer's dragon.

Thank you

[SerDanielstanTheBold]

I was re-reading the Undying Prophecy...

"From a smoking tower, a great stone beast took wing breathing shadow fire"

It's not a dragon. It's a beast.

In the previous sentence, there's mention of a "cloth dragon". After that, we have a "stone beast". Usually the first part is interpreted as a reference to Aegon, the (fake?) son of Rhaegar: he's the dragon that is in the hands of mummers, Varys and Illyrio. The second one is interpreted in some really outlandish ways...shadow dragons from the Wall, literal stone dragons from Dragonstone island, and so on.

I decided to try another approach.

The "cloth dragon", IMHO, is a reference to Varys and his conspiracy. We see a cheerful crowd waving a cloth dragon: I think that Varys and Illyrion will win the hearts of the smallfolk, swaying them to support their puppet Targaryen. Daenerys has to "slay" this "lie" becauser she has to win the support of his people, and because she has to rid Westeros of the duo Varys-Illyrio.

The "stone beast", on the other hand...I think it's Connington. His sigil is a griffin: the "stone beast" could be a reference to the greyscale it's starting to consume his body. The "stone beast" is breathing "shadow fire"...well, Connington is in the recently re-conquered Griffin's Roost castle (the "smoking tower") with Aegon, who may or may not be a Targaryen. The story about him being swapped with a common boy shortly before the murder of his entire family is quite ridiculuous. Chances are he's a Blackfyre...hence the "shadow fire" of the prophecy.

Daenerys has to "slay" this "lie" either killing Aegon or winning him to her cause. Considering that he's starting to have funny thoughts about his rights (I'm the rightful king, screw my aunt and her dragons!) chances are that she will opt for the first option.

I like it.

But I also think that the stone beast in question could easily be Bloodraven/Bran.

We know weirwood trees turn into stone after they die, Bloodraven is part weirwood tree. They live in a dark cave and Bran likes it in the dark "... I like it in the dark. No one can see you, but you can see them." Shadows I'm thinking, not only that but if bran manages to snag himself a dragon and fly then he could easily reign fire down from the shadows.

[Lady of Long Lake]

Man, I really hope the TV show gives us a nice look at this "great stone beast" in the Undying House. The word "dragon" is not used but it's a flying beast that breathes fire, and "stone" clearly brings to mind "wake dragons out of stone." So, seems like a dragon to me, though the "greyscale" and "Gregor" theories are fun.

Anyway, shadow fire strongly implies that Melisandre is involved, so I think the three lies Dany will slay are Stannis/Azor Ahai, Young Griff/Aegon, and some monstrous fake dragon that Melisandre will end up concocting (with a resurrected Jon?).

The prologue for Clash also talks about stone dragons. Shireen has been plagued for years about the stone dragons coming to life. If this was in a regular chapter, it might be nothing more than a child's dream but it's in a prologue....a prologue!

I love the idea of the three heads of the dragon being : a fire dragon, a ice dragon and a stone dragon. (Dany, Jon and whoever is the Stone Dragon)

[ZacharyB]

I immediately thought of that wolf dream Bran has after Winterfell...

"The smoke and ash clouded his eyes, and in the sky he saw a great winged snaked whose roar was a river of flame. He bared his teeth, but then the snake was gone. Behind the cliffs tall fires were eating up the stars."

It's got the smoking tower part down. I guess a stone dragon was sleeping under Winterfell : )

[blackseer]

I immediately thought of that wolf dream Bran has after Winterfell...

"The smoke and ash clouded his eyes, and in the sky he saw a great winged snaked whose roar was a river of flame. He bared his teeth, but then the snake was gone. Behind the cliffs tall fires were eating up the stars."

It's got the smoking tower part down. I guess a stone dragon was sleeping under Winterfell : )

I've read this theory before and, while it's fun, I always thought it's way too improbable. But readind ADwD...

When the Boltons are at Winterfell, they are freezing to death INSIDE the castle. And I remember Catelyn mentioning that the walls were pretty warm, especially her room (meaning that the whole castle was warm)

So I am more inclined to the theory that a dragon used to heat the pools of Winterfell and it's gone now, but not completely sold.

[Kadence]

This is one of the most confusing visions we've seen so far. We can only speculate on this as there's nothing reliable to base our guesses on.

I agree that Connington is the best bet at the moment, based on what little we know. Although I doubt the smoking tower is Griffin's Roost - it will probably be something else entirely, based on future events.

Also it could be that the slayer of lies visions refer to the three kings in the realm at the time Dany arrives - which would be Stannis, Aegon...and maybe the Iron Islands King? Perhaps it's Euron, although of course a kraken doesn't have wings, so he seems like a stretch in that sense. But I think there are lies associate with Euron (he might even be undead given his unnaturally youthful appearance) so he's a candidate even though his sigil doesn't seem to match up.

Melisandre is another popular theory though I don't know how this would represent her. She does have lies associated with her - we can assume her apperance is glamoured, she might also be undead - and she of course gives birth to shadows which would be the shadow flame. Unclear how she would be associated with a winged beast though - perhaps it's based on future things that haven't unfolded yet.

The word "dragon" is not used but it's a flying beast that breathes fire, and "stone" clearly brings to mind "wake dragons out of stone." So, seems like a dragon to me,

It cannot be a dragon. Dany of all people would call a dragon a dragon. Clearly it's some non-dragon creature.

My theory is that the stone beast will be raised by Euron Crow's Eye, in Oldtown. Euron could conquer the Citatel and use his warlocks people believe he has to raise either a Dragon from an Egg or a Sphinx. This would place each of the Slayer of Lies prophecies in a corner of Westeros, the blue-eyed king in the north, the dragon in the east (stormlands and Dorne) and the beast in the west (Iron Islands and the Reach), leaving the heart of the continent with Lady Stoneheart.

I hadn't thought about the stone beast being a sphinx. Don't think that would be true as I don't see Sarella being on the bad side, and I don't think this beast has anything at all to do with some monster that is "raised". Virtually no other vision is literal and the mummer's dragon is obviously not literal, so why would this be a literal beast? I think it's just a sigil representation. But I agree that Euron is a candidate.

We know weirwood trees turn into stone after they die, Bloodraven is part weirwood tree. They live in a dark cave and Bran likes it in the dark "... I like it in the dark. No one can see you, but you can see them." Shadows I'm thinking, not only that but if bran manages to snag himself a dragon and fly then he could easily reign fire down from the shadows.

Bloodraven would be represented by a dragon, not a beast. Bran is interesting and I've thought of him before too as a direwolf would probably qualify as a "beast" - and Bran was represented as a winged wolf in chains - in Jon's dream, I believe? I forget where exactly but someone had a dream about a winged wolf representing Bran.

So Bran's winged direwold would correlate well with the stone beast and he's associated with the dark. But I have no idea what lie Dany would be slaying there.

Shireen has been plagued for years about the stone dragons coming to life.

They already did come to life. Dany's eggs had turned to stone, now they're alive. This has already happened and yes, Shireen's dreams are clearly prophetic.

[ZacharyB]

I've read this theory before and, while it's fun, I always thought it's way too improbable. But readind ADwD...

When the Boltons are at Winterfell, they are freezing to death INSIDE the castle. And I remember Catelyn mentioning that the walls were pretty warm, especially her room (meaning that the whole castle was warm)

So I am more inclined to the theory that a dragon used to heat the pools of Winterfell and it's gone now, but not completely sold.

We also know that Bran the Builder knew magic since there are spells placed on the Wall and Storm's End. However, we know nothing of any magic spells woven in Winterfell, which is presumably Bran's home. You'd think he would put some magic in his own home right? Like maybe keeping a stone beast dormant to keep his hot spring warm?

[tze]

It cannot be a dragon. Dany of all people would call a dragon a dragon. Clearly it's some non-dragon creature.

I hadn't thought about the stone beast being a sphinx. Don't think that would be true as I don't see Sarella being on the bad side, and I don't think this beast has anything at all to do with some monster that is "raised". Virtually no other vision is literal and the mummer's dragon is obviously not literal, so why would this be a literal beast? I think it's just a sigil representation. But I agree that Euron is a candidate.

Dany probably doesn't know what kind of "beast" she was seeing or she'd have called it by its name and not just "a beast". Would she know what a sphinx or griffin looks like, even just from stories? We can't know for sure. Hell, maybe she saw a crow/kraken hybrid to symbolize Euron "Crow's Eye" Greyjoy. (Now there's an image.)

If it was a sphinx, that could still represent Euron, as Euron seems poised to invade Oldtown in TWOW. Maybe Dany gets her ass in gear, heads to Westeros in TWOW, and Euron is still in Oldtown when she arrives?