52 replies to this topic

[The Girl King]

Valyria to me has always seemed like a mix of Greece, Rome, and the legends of Atlantis. lt didn't occur to me that Valyria was a sort of echo of Rome until it's history and extensive use of slavery was revealed. westeros is Britain, no doubt, the north being scotland, the south with all its intrigue England, and the iron islanders are vikings.

"Ran, I asked George about the Ghis/Valyria - Rome/Greece thing. He said that there was no clear parallel, though elements of both are in both Ghis and Valyria. He also mentioned that he sort of had the Mamluk's and Jannisseries in mind when creating the Unsullied. (in that they were slave legions)"

l read somewhere that the Chinese used eunuch soldiers but damn it l can't remember the name of the book.

[joluoto]

The Chinese did indeed have a well educate Eunuch class at the Imperial Court.
Mamluk/ Janissaries are good examples of slave armies, though they weren't eunuchs, and were treated better than the Unsullied. Most of the Ottoman administration was made up of Janissaries, and several Grand Viziers were Janissaries. The Mamluks are an example where the Slave Army takes over the State Apparatus altogether.

[JRR Markien]

Toccs, on 17 January 2013 - 09:55 PM, said:

If I was looking for the "darkness" that is "filled with terrors" that the R'hlloristas talk about, I would start not in the far north at the edge of the world, but in that perpetually dark land inhabited by dragon's that is right beside the city where these myths come from.

[JRR Markien]

So you're telling me that dragons did not uniquely ex ist in Valyria? Sorry, new to the forum and all this..

[Toccs]

Yeah Bran sees them awakening in the Shadow Lands during his whole world vision while in his coma.  Everything in else in the vision was events that were happening at that time, so there is no reason to doubt that the Dragons in Asshai was real also.

I think that there may be a few other scattered reference to dragons being in Asshai throughout the books, but I don't have the quotes on hand at the moment.

[T0mBombadil]

Toccs, on 10 April 2013 - 05:33 AM, said:

Yeah Bran sees them awakening in the Shadow Lands during his whole world vision while in his coma.  Everything in else in the vision was events that were happening at that time, so there is no reason to doubt that the Dragons in Asshai was real also.

I think that there may be a few other scattered reference to dragons being in Asshai throughout the books, but I don't have the quotes on hand at the moment.

Perhaps the dragons are awakening in old valaria, no one goes there and its possible the volcano eruptions awake something many years ago.

[Barristan the Boss]

It is a stretch that Asshai and the shadow lands are connected to the north, but one interesting thing is the 'ghost grass' that is apparently found in the shadow lands. Supposedly its pale as milk glass and murders all other grass. That sounds a lot like snow, and that may be the 'cold and dark' that R'hllor followers fear.

[the Prince of Thorns]

Sully, on 13 April 2013 - 09:17 AM, said:

It is a stretch that Asshai and the shadow lands are connected to the north, but one interesting thing is the 'ghost grass' that is apparently found in the shadow lands. Supposedly its pale as milk glass and murders all other grass. That sounds a lot like snow, and that may be the 'cold and dark' that R'hllor followers fear.

Ghost grass is an actual magical plant. We've seen this on tLoIaF.
btw, ghost grass is pinkish.

Edited by the Prince of Thorns, 13 April 2013 - 10:36 AM.

[Barristan the Boss]

the Prince of Thorns, on 13 April 2013 - 10:34 AM, said:

Ghost grass is an actual magical plant. We've seen this on tLoIaF.
btw, ghost grass is pinkish.

Yeah I just saw the shadow lands map, it actually is pink. Oh well so much for that theory. Also its pretty jarring how massive essos actually is, maybe it does wrap around the globe and make a trip across the sunset sea feasible.

[lordofsteadhold]

Could George r r martin tell us lies? Coz he ain't nowt let us know the story line. Com on George were waiting for winds of winter, and to those people saying the other's and the Lord of the light have no connection well old nan says to bran wat do u know of winter summer child, children live and die in darkness, when the long night comes.......! and rhollor followers say the night is dark and full of terrors

[Roberto]

George telling lies? Highly doubt that.

Though, speaking of lies, there's no reason to believe Qaithe is actually on Dany's side. For all we know, she could be guiding her to a specific event that's not at all what Dany's hoping for.

[STRONG LIKE BEAR]

Roberto, on 14 May 2013 - 02:24 PM, said:

George telling lies? Highly doubt that.

Though, speaking of lies, there's no reason to believe Qaithe is actually on Dany's side. For all we know, she could be guiding her to a specific event that's not at all what Dany's hoping for.

Yeah it really does beg belief (although fitting with Dany thinking the world should offer itself up on a silver platter for her) that suddenly she gets some weird benevolent sorcerer helper lady to pop in and out of her head and give her trustworthy advice.

Even still I am highly skeptical of ALL red priests and their motivations and goals.

[rexbanner]

Gonna go out on a limb here, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong (of which I'm certain that someone would), but Asshai and/or the lands adjacent to Asshai is commonly referred to as "the shadow" right?

If so, we know that Dany has to travel east to go west if Quaithe's prophecy is to be fulfilled.  Should Victarion abandon his hated brother's cause and join Dany as her new admiral (since her old one's dead), she would have a fleet of ironborn ships at her command to take her company to Westeros.  If she passes through the Straits of Qarth, and continues past Asshai, she would effectively and literally pass BENEATH the shadow.  Also, could she "touch the light" by sailing into the Sunset Sea towards the rising sun and arriving off the coasts of Westeros, maybe Dorne or Oldtown?  She'd then arrive in the South of Westeros and make her way to the North to defeat the Others.

I'm probably not even in the right forum to discuss this, but it makes most sense to me - especially if the Reach and Stormlands are warring with Aegon and Jon Connington, she wouldn't want to land there from Essos.