The Rundown of the Dance of Dragons 2.0

[Mladen]

Can anyone make out what this could foreshadow?

The Winged Knight was Ser Artys Arryn. Legend said that he had driven the First Men from the Vale and flown to the top of the Giant's Lance on a huge falcon to slay the Griffin King.

The griffin is a reference to Connington, and it could be that he is killed in the second Dance of Dragons. Any other ideas?

Maybe the fact that Winged Knight (let we say Harry the Heir, for the sake or argument) will win Connington, and that action will lead that Sansa abandon the Vale. Also, it may signify that Royces of Runestone will be exiled, since they originate from First Men. Or all together, Harry`s victory over Connington will make Sansa and Bronze Yohn will go North, and seek alliance from Jon and Northern lords.

i dont understand. how come dany or Aegon never landed in kings landing and conquered it? why is dany heading north rather than taking kings landing and letting Cersei live.

Because none of them have enough force to do that. KL is seat of the Kings, full of Lannister and Tyrell soldiers, and Aegon brought 10 000 men of Golden Company. It`s not enough. As for Dany, remember Quaithe. To go south, you must go north etc...

[Frey family reunion]

Can anyone make out what this could foreshadow?

The Winged Knight was Ser Artys Arryn. Legend said that he had driven the First Men from the Vale and flown to the top of the Giant's Lance on a huge falcon to slay the Griffin King.

The griffin is a reference to Connington, and it could be that he is killed in the second Dance of Dragons. Any other ideas?

Note the alliteration in the Winged Knight's name. What other protagonist has alliteration in her name? Sansa Stark. After the death of her direwolf, the animal Sansa has been most associated with is the bird. In fact many people believe that is the animal she will end up warging with. Sansa has always been waiting for a true knight to swoop in and save her, but it has never happened. Finally she will realize she will have to be the true knight to save herself or something important to her. Sansa is the winged knight.

Petyr Baelish is the Griffin King. A griffin has the front half of a falcon and the back half of a lion. Likewise Baelish has become head of the House Arryn (front half do the falcon) through the backing of the Lannisters (back half of the lion)

[Fire Eater]

Update:

I'd like to thank FittleLinger for finding this

Following up on the Rains of Castamere theme recently:

In a coat of gold or a coat of red,

a lion still has claws,

This has always reminded me of "Black or red, a dragon is still a dragon". So, assuming that Aegon is a Blackfyre, this might foreshadow his and the Blackfyre's ultimate destruction by Dany, just like Tywin did with the other "lions", who thought that their claws are just as long and sharp...

Also, according to Cersei, the Lannisters, unlike the Reynes, kept the last lions of the westerlands, the sigil of both houses. Dany possesses the last dragons, the sigil of both Houses Targaryen and Blackfyre. If we go further with the parallel, House Tarbeck's sigil was a seven-pointed star, so this could foreshadow the Faith fighting Dany as well.

Great addition with the animals on the sigils, thanks!

About what you added - the Myrcella part. Remember that she was replaced with a cadet branch Lannister imposter. And the ultimate goal was to be crowned as queen, after which she was attacked by Darkstar, who is as beautiful as the dragonlords. I find another Faegon/Dany reference here... If Myrcella does die, then that's what probably awaits Faegon...

[chimere]

I found something today during my reread that will factor in somewhere.

This was in a Jaime chapter, page 754 in my Kindle version of Sos:

There had been times during its history where the Kingsguard had been divided against itself, most notably and bitterly during the Dance of Dragons. Was that something he needed to fear as well?

Later on in the same chapter Jaime is talking to Ser Balon Swann, whos brother fought for Renly and then Stannis before pledging fealty to Joffrey, while his father never even called his banners. Jaime says: "What will you do if brave Ser Donnel gives his sword to yet another userper, and one day comes storming into the throne room? And there you stand all in white, between your king and your blood. What will you do?"

Donnel says that will never happen and Jaime says it happened to him and Donnel says he will never do what Jaime did. Take from it what you will but I'm sure this is all going to come into play!

[King of Winters]

I thought I should bump this.

[Dryhtscipe]

RE the gargoyle thing, I'd like to note that Tyrion pissed off of the Wall, too. If you bear in mind that gargoyles are not just carvings on the sides of buildings, but functional, in that they carry water away from the roof...

[Frey family reunion]

RE the gargoyle thing, I'd like to note that Tyrion pissed off of the Wall, too. If you bear in mind that gargoyles are not just carvings on the sides of buildings, but functional, in that they carry water away from the roof...

I'm not sure what gargoyle thing you're referring to but there is also there is a passage in ACOK where Ser Davos rubs the head of a gargoyle outside of an inn "for luck". In ADWD, Tyrion gets his head rubbed for luck as well.

[raegal_targaryen]

The message Dorne and JC will receive regarding Dany is that she is on the other side of the world embroiled in a city she's taken upon herself to rule, missing and possibly dead. Both parties have been expecting her to come West and it has never eventuated, and it will look to them less likely than ever that she will come, and even less likely she will come soon. To Dorne it becomes a choice of the rather impressive ally in the here and now and the ally they've been banking on that's not come good and looks less likely than ever to do so now.

Can all occur after the dance, the dance isn't the final battle of Ice and Fire. Don't see how the North factor into the dance, they have no horse in this race and have more than their own share of problems.

I agree with the sentiment somewhat, but believe the answer is that Aegon will have a dragon or dragons come the dance. We have a precedent for a battle where a dragon-less force was slaughtered by dragons, the field of fire, it wouldn't be fitting if the dance were to simply follow in this manner. The whole special aspect of the dance is that both sides had dragons.

There are still three treasons Dany will know and I think people are assuming too much loyalty from Tyrion for Dany. The Rock is his life goal, a Lannister pays his debts and he owes Ben Plumm riches and JC his life. He grew to like Aegon and Plumm is a conspicuously fitting dragon courier.

i actually think aegon convinced jon to save tyrion......

[Littlefingers In The Air]

Nice. I especially like the idea of Dany landing in the Vale.

[King Aegon The Conqueror]

bump.

anyways when will you continue your next phase. i find reading this very interesting and fun.

[Dreams and Prophecies]

"Sansa was off listening to a troupe of singers perform the complex round of interwoven ballads called the “Dance of the Dragons" - Game of Thrones

There is a lot of foreshadowing in GoT and phrases such as these are often missed.

I know it sounds stupid and we have discussed this before, but could this be foreshadowing that Sansa will be involved?

[Ser Pollo Loco]

"Sansa was off listening to a troupe of singers perform the complex round of interwoven ballads called the “Dance of the Dragons" - Game of Thrones

There is a lot of foreshadowing in GoT and phrases such as these are often missed.

I know it sounds stupid and we have discussed this before, but could this be foreshadowing that Sansa will be involved?

Yeah, i think "enough noise to wake a dragon" has only been used twice, once when Bran escapes the crypts (and bran will probably have a role in Jon's rebirth) and when Jamie and Brienne are fighting as well as Jamie referring to it as a dance several times; (Dany (woman) v Aegon (Man) causes Jon to accept that he's a Targ and steal the throne

She'll probably have a role in ending it

[The Night's Prince]

Aegon will fail. Anything else is wishful thinking.

[The Night's Prince]

In danger of taking your thread way off topic here, but I look at this SSM entry and cannot help but doubt the 'one person, three aspects' interpretation (though I used to like it):

http://www.westeros....SSM/Entry/1261/

Parsing this language, is the implication not that the first two heads are Targaryen's (and only the third is not)? If this is so then the 'one person, three aspects' thing cannot be true. And his emphasis on the "BE" makes me think he was talking about someone with Targ blood, but who is not legitimate. Could this be a Blackfyre like Aegon? Maybe, but i doubt it since the foreshadowing for him fighting Dany (who, if the heads are three different people, she is certainly one of them along with Jon) is so strong.

My guess is the third head will be either Jaime or Tyrion (who I know you think will marry Dany...though why you think it kind of baffles me :P ), because it will actually turn out that one of them is the bastard child of the Mad King.

Actually, they are "helping" because the Shavepate wants to execute them for killing Brazen Beasts (in addition to unleashing dragons on the city) and Barristan told them they could avoid that fate if they did what he asked. They had little choice in the matter. And Gerris Drinkwater has certainly not accepted that Quentyn was to blame. Barristan actually got pissed off at him for 'vilifying Dany' as he termed it. So if Drinkwater tells the Dornish his take on events...

The foreshadowing for Dany being at war with Dorne is quite strong imo. If Quentyn's death didn't happen specifically to set up war between them, I honestly have no idea what the point of introducing him into the story was. All he actually did in life was unleash the dragons on Meereen; no need to make up some Dornish prince who travels half way around the world just to do that. His death needs to have major ramifications or his whole character was kinda pointless imo.

Also, have you read the TWOW material that GRRM has released?

The Dance of the Dragons war is quite heavily (and blatantly) foreshadowed in the Arianne chapter he released. Arianne also seems to be having some negative feelings towards Dany, and this is before news of Quent's death, so It doesn't bode well for their future interactions imo.

Also, a Tyrell army is marching towards Storm's End to fight Aegon and the Golden Company. Arianne is on her way to meet Aegon at SE and she has the power to bring forth the Dornish army in the Boneway to support him against the Tyrell's simply by sending back the word "dragon" to Dorne. Put the pieces together and it is quite clear that the Aegon/Dornish alliance is pretty much a lock imo,

You're contradicting yourself here. If either one of them are Aerys's child then they are a Targaryen. Which means neither of them are the third. Just as Jon is a Targaryen by his father, so would Tyrion or Jamie. So no again.

[Ser Wun Wun]

You're contradicting yourself here. If either one of them are Aerys's child then they are a Targaryen. Which means neither of them are the third. Just as Jon is a Targaryen by his father, so would Tyrion or Jamie. So no again.

Assuming the Aerys and Johanna theory is true, then either Jaime or Tyrion would only be a Targaryen if Aerys married their mother Johanna. If he did not (and I don't think he did) then they would simply be a Targ bastard, and bastards don't inherit the family name. So one of them would have Targ blood, but not the name. I interpreted the wording of the SSM as possibly meaning that someone in that exact situation would fit as the third head.

Jon's situation is different because I do think Rhaegar married Lyanna, making him a legitimate Targ.

[northwesterner]

Fascinating, so what do you reckon is going to be the next stage?

[arthur_dayne_went_insane]

bro i totally agree with you,and the 3 heads?look it like this:Jon Snow,Start,Targ.Jon warg,Jon wolf,Jon dragon(?).Jon Snow,Lord Snow,King Snow(?)(Azor Snow?) and soo on,and soo on...

Theres just one thing u have missed george rr martin has said the last head doesnt have to be a targaryen so......the three aspects your talking about is just wishful thinking.

[Fire Eater]

Jon's Crowning Moment

Jon's Departure

Jon will come to WF to Dany after the shit hits the fan at the Wall or what remains of it after the Horn of Joramun was blown and the Wall fell. With knowledge of his heritage, he knows as the rightful Targaryen heir he can command Dany to bring her forces and dragons to the Wall.

Meeting between Jon and Dany

When Jon comes forward and reveals R+L=J, Dany will of course be skeptical especially since she had already dealt with a false pretender posing as Rhaegar's son. Howland Reed will provide testimony along with possibly Wylla, Jon's wet nurse and Lyanna's personal servant at the ToJ.

Crackpot:

Also the septon who married Rhaegar and Lyanna, Meribald.

Evidence in the Crypts

The ancient crown of the Kings of Winter had been lost three centuries ago, yielded up to Aegon the Conqueror when Torrhen Stark knelt in submission.What Aegon had done with it no man could say.

This is butterbumps! theory that in Lyanna's tomb is the old crown of the KitN that Aegon had taken from Torrhen Stark. Since the crown didn't have any precious metals or gems, it wasn't melted down and kept in a vault in the Red Keep. Cat thinks "no man could say", but a woman, Lyanna, could since Rhaegar gave it to her. Since Jon was Lyanna's only child, it would pass from her to him, signifying he is the rightful KitN.

By ancient custom an iron longsword had been laid across the lap of each who had been Lord of Winterfell

an open circlet of hammered bronze incised with the runes of the First Men, surmounted by nine black iron spikes wrought in the shape of longswords.

Also in the crypts, all the tombs of Stark men, even Brandon, hold iron swords with Lyanna's being the only exception, or is it? ;) The crown of the KitN is ringed in iron longswords, and so Lyanna's body may be holding her longswords over her lap.

The Final Test

King Arthur, Jon's influence, needed to perform a feat of magic, pulling the sword from the stone, to prove his heritage, and Jon will need to do something similar. Dany comes up with the perfect solution to the problem Jon presents. She states that if Jon is who he truly says he is then with the blood of the dragon, he will have little trouble mounting one of her dragons without a dragon horn, like she did. She knows that if Jon backs down he will hurt his credibility, if he is fake he may back down and relinquish his claim to save his skin, or if he is fake and tries to mount one of her dragons he will end up like Quentyn, with his death eliminating any doubt others might have about his claim as well as Jon himself. Knowing what is happening at the Wall, Jon knows there is too much at stake for him to refuse, and accepts her challenge.

The dragon has three heads

Three-headed Trios has the tower with the three turrets. The first head devours the dying, and the reborn emerge from the third. I don't know what the middle head's supposed to do.

I think it is akin to Varamyr Sixskins. He has six skins, the skins of his five animals and his own. Jon having three heads could be the heads of Ghost and Drogon along with his own. The first head could be Drogon, who roasts and devours a dying Barsena. The third head could be Ghost since after spending some time in Ghost, Jon will be reborn. The middle head is Jon's own head, the head between the direwolf (representative of House Stark) and the dragon (representative of House Targaryen), the balance between ice and fire.

"Snow."
Sam glanced up at the sound. Lord Commander Mormont's raven was circling the fire, beating the air with wide black wings.

Drogon's wide black wings beat the air.

Black blood was flowing from the wound where the spear had pierced him [Drogon], smoking where it dripped onto the scorched sands.

Once a man had said the words his blood was black.

In the cold night air the [Jon's] wound was smoking.

Jon gets Mormont's raven after Mormont dies, foreshadowing Jon getting Drogon. Jon manages to warg and mount Drogon, much to the astonishment of everyone including Dany. Dany will be pretty bummed to have come all this way just to have someone else sit the IT, but having no choice, or she would be as bad as the Usurper.

The ancient crown of the Kings of Winter had been lost three centuries ago, yielded up to Aegon the Conqueror when Torrhen Stark knelt in submission.What Aegon had done with it no man could say.

Aegon the Conqueror had three dragons, and a larger army with the king in the north kneeling in submission to him. This will be reversed with the monarch having three dragons and the larger army kneeling in submission to the king in the north. The Northmen kneel to Jon as their king as well since he was named Robb's heir to KitN in his will and he has Stark blood, and was raised in the North. Jon then commands both forces to head to the Wall.

The gaunt outlines of huge catapults and monstrous wooden cranes stood sentry up there, like the skeletons of giant birds

He might as well wish for another thousand men, and maybe a dragon or three.

Jon arrives with Dany's dragons and forces at the Wall to aid the fight against the Others.

Dany's Death

Ser Jorah told her of the tree it [peach] had been plucked from, in a garden near the western wall.

The wall in the West that comes to mind is the Wall, and with peaches being somewhat used as a symbol of death, this could foreshadow Dany dying at the Wall. Although, I don't think it will be the Others that kill her but childbirth. Dany will already suffered from having lost her husband, Tyrion, and combined with the shattering of the story she lived her life by, she will be no better off than Lyanna was when she gave birth after hearing the news of the deaths of her father and brother, and later husband, Rhaegar.

Crackpot:

Dany will die giving birth to a daughter, fathered by Tyrion. Shiera Seastar is foreshadowing for their daughter.

Shiera's mother was the last of her line of an impoverished Valyrian noble house, and died giving birth to her. Her mother was also reputed to practice dark arts to preserve her beauty. Shiera's father knew many women and whores, having one mistress and her lover killed. Shiera had mismatched green and deep blue eyes.

Yunkai'i claimed that she bathed in the blood of virgins to keep her skin smooth and supple

Dany is (supposedly) the last of her line of a formerly impoverished Valyrian noble house. Shiera's father, Aegon IV, had many mistresses with Serenei described as his most beautiful as well as haughtiest. Aegon IV was also brother to Naerys and Aemon the Dragonknight, the historical parallel for Jaime and Cersei, Tyrion's siblings. Tyrion knew many women, and he killed his mistress, Shae and the man who slept with her, Tywin. Their daughter would inherit Tyrion's mismatched eyes, with one eye being the Lannister green like Tyrion's and one eye being a deep blue from her Targaryen side.

[King of Winters]

All I saw was "Jon's Crowning Moment" and went "yes!"

[The Real Targaryen]

This is just wow. Unbelievably in-depth and all around awesome. Great work. I disagree on a few points but it seems to argue over things that are loosely theorized, and as Mladen said, GRRM could make go either way. Nonetheless, I think one point stands out and should be noted. The Faith has said more than once that the Red Wedding was an atrocity and all those who took part must be punished. While Tywin conspired with the Freys and Roose, he didn't want the breach of guest right to be the way it happened. So with Roose being taken care of by Northmen, who will destroy the remnants of House Frey in the Riverlands? I think the point of the Red Wedding, amongst many, many other things, was to show how low and evil some people could be. Even the Lannisters, the main antagonists of books one through three, wouldn't pull something like that. Even for revenge, Catelyn/Lady Stoneheart wouldn't do that. I think the Faith, before dealing with the Red God and Stannis, will bring their forces down on the Freys. I haven't worked in that theory with your Black Walder is Harren the Black idea, which I love, but it still seems that after dealing with the events in King's Landing, the first stop for the Faith is the Twins.