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Small Questions v. 10104


Rhaenys_Targaryen

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A place for small questions that you feel don't need a thread of their own...


Useful Links:
Trying to find a quote, but don't have ebooks? Try A Search of Ice and Fire.
For an overview of GRRM's ASOIAF-related Not a Blog entries, look at The Complete Notablog ASOIAF Resource
For a quick overview of all that we know about The Winds of Winter, look at The Complete Winds of Winter Resource

 

 
A list of all Small Questions threads of the past:

 
Spoiler

 


A Thread for Small Questions 08-02-09 (ISO8601 thread start date: YY-MM-DD)
 
A Thread for Small Questions II 09-12-27
 
A Thread for Small Questions III 10-05-19
 
A Thread for Small Questions IV 10-09-01

A Thread for Small Questions V 10-11-22
 
A Thread for Small Questions VI 11-02-10
 
A Thread for Small Questions VII 11-04-11
 
A Thread for Small Questions VIII 11-05-19
 
A Thread for Small Questions IX 11-06-13
 
A Thread for Small Questions X 11-07-01
 
A Thread for Small Questions XI 11-07-28
 
[ADWD SPOILERS] Small Questions (ADwD I) 11-07-31
 
Small Questions on ADwD II (ADwD II) 11-08-24
 
Small Questions XII 11-10-10
 
Small Questions for ADwD III (ADwD III) 11-11-11
 
A Thread for Small Questions XIII 11-12-13
 
A Thread for Small Questions XIV 12-02-04
 
Small Questions for ADwD IV (ADwD IV) 12-03-09
 
A Thread for Small Questions XV 12-03-11
 
A Thread for Small Questions XVI 12-04-09
 
A Thread for Small Questions XVII 12-05-01
 
A Thread for Small Questions XVIII 12-05-29
 
A Thread for Small Questions XIX 12-06-23
 
A Thread for Small Questions XX 12-07-15
 
A Thread for Small Questions XXI 12-08-01
 
Thread for Small Questions v. xxii 12-08-14
 
Again With the Small Questions 12-09-04
 
More Small Questions, Really? 12-10-12
 
This Small Question Thing 12-11-06
 
Small Questions v.10000 (1000 zero) 13-01-01
 
Small Questions v.10001 (1000 one) 13-01-20
 
Small Questions v.10002 (1000 two) 13-02-01
 
Small Questions for ADwD, v.V. (ADwD V) 13-02-10 still running
 
Small Questions v.10003 (1000 three) 12-02-25
 
Small Questions v.10004 (1000 four)
 
Small Questions v.10005 (1000 five)
 
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Small Questions v.10102 (10 one hundred and two)

Small Questions v. 10103 

 


 
Don't feel like reading through all those previous threads to find the answer to your question? Try this new feature:
 
Most Frequently asked Small Questions
 
On The Winds of Winter:

When will "The Winds of Winter" be published? What's the latest news?

Nobody knows.
 
The best bet is to follow GRRM's blog.
 
GRRM himself has expressed in December, 2014:

Look, I've said before, and I will say again, I don't play games with news about the books. I know how many people are waiting, how long they have been waiting, how anxious they are. I am still working on WINDS. When it's done, I will announce it here [on GRRM's site]. There won't be any clues to decipher, any codes or hidden meanings, the announcement will be straightforward and to the point. I won't time it to coincide with Xmas or Valentine's Day or Lincoln's Birthday, the book will not rise from the dead with Jesus on Easter Sunday. When it is done, I will say that's it is done, on whatever day I happen to finish.I don't know how I can make it any clearer. 
 

On January 2nd, 2016, GRRM stated the following on his blog:

THE WINDS OF WINTER is not finished. 
Believe me, it gave me no pleasure to type those words. You're disappointed, and you're not alone. My editors and publishers are disappointed, HBO is disappointed, my agents and foreign publishers and translators are disappointed... but no one could possibly be more disappointed than me. For months now I have wanted nothing so much as to be able to say, "I have completed and delivered THE WINDS OF WINTER" on or before the last day of 2015.
But the book's not done.
Nor is it likely to be finished tomorrow, or next week. Yes, there's a lot written. Hundreds of pages. Dozens of chapters. (Those 'no pages done' reports were insane, the usual garbage internet journalism that I have learned to despise). But there's also a lot still left to write. I am months away still... and that's if the writing goes well. (Sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn't.) Chapters still to write, of course... but also rewriting. I always do a lot of rewriting, sometimes just polishing, sometimes pretty major restructures. 

 

The blog entry further details the writing process of 2015, and states that it is almost certain that the book won't be released before the sixth season of GOT airs, mid-April.


What's the material that has already been published from The Winds of Winter?
Spoiler tagged for obvious reasons
 

Spoiler


* Barristan I, published in 2013 paperback edition of A Dance with Dragons
* Tyrion I, read at Miscon 2012
* Victarion I, read at Miscon 2012
* Barristan II, read at Boscone 50 in 2012
* Tyrion II, released in the 2014 update of A World of Ice and Fire, the official app
* Theon I, released on GRRM's website in 2011, also released in the back of several A Dance with Dragons paperback editions
* Arianne I, released on GRRM's website in 2013
* Arianne II, read at Worldcon 2011
* Mercy, removed from A Dance with Dragons, placed in The Winds of Winter, released on GRRM's website.
* Aeron I, mentioned by GRRM on his blog to have been removed from A Dance with Dragons in 2010, reserved for The Winds of Winter
* Alayne I, removed from A Dance with Dragons, placed in The Winds of Winter. Recently posted on GRRMs website, currently available for reading.
* Prologue, featuring an appearance by Jeyne Westerling. It is currently unknown who the POV will be for this prologue.


In total, we know about 11 chapters

 

 


On the tales of Dunk & Egg, and links to the main series:

How many Dunk & Egg stories have been published? Where are they published in?

Three Dunk and Egg stories are published at the moment. For now, they are

1. The Hedge Knight
A short story to be found either in "Legends, edited by Robert Silverberg" or in "Dreamsongs II by George R.R. Martin". There is also a rendition as a graphic novel by the same name: "The Hedge Knight".

2. The Sworn Sword
A short story to be found either in "Legends II - Dragon, Sword and King, edited by Robert Silverberg" or in the original hard- and softcover editions of "Legends II" from 2003 & 2004. There is also a rendition as a graphic novel by the same name: "The Sworn Sword".
 
3. The Mystery Knight
A short story to be found either in "Warriors, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois" or in the paperback "Warriors 1, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois". No graphic novel... yet.

 
Two more Dunk & Egg stories yet to be written have already been described. They are known as "The She-wolves of Winterfell" and "The Village Hero". Both of these are working titles, though, not final titles. Four additional titles have been mentioned by Martin: "The Sellsword", "The Champion", "The Kingsguard", and "The Lord Commander".
 
 
Will the Dunk & Egg tales be published in one book?
The first three tales of Dunk and Egg will be published in one book, titled "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms", to be released in english on 6-10-2015. In some other languages, however, it has already been published. "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" will contain pages filled with artwork, which the other versions don't have.
 
 
Was Dunk ever knighted by Ser Arlan?
In spoiler tags:

Spoiler


No. Whether he was knighted later in life, is unknown, but likely, given his status as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.

Are there any descendants of Dunk alive in the series today?
Yes. GRRM has expressed that we'd meet one of Dunk's descendants. Brienne of Tarth finds the shield Dunk owns in The Hedge Knight. Hodor is often heavily suspected to be a descendant of Dunk's due to his enormous size, and the fact that people believe the young girl and the "knight as tall as Hodor" in the vision Bran sees in A Dance with Dragons are Old Nan (in her youth) and Dunk, and that the event is to take place during The She-Wolves of Winterfell.
Small Paul (from the Night's Watch) has also been suggested to be a descendant of Dunks, due to his size and the mention of "thick as a castle wall", which is also used to describe Dunk. 


On the main series:
When was Robert Baratheon declared King?

Around the time of the Battle of the Trident.
 
 
Why were Ned and Robert at the Eyrie when mad king Aerys II sent to Jon Arryn for their heads?
It is true Ned and Robert were past their squiring and fostering age, when they visited Jon Arryn together at the Eyrie at that certain time. There is clarification on this both in TWoIaF and an older SSM telling that they liked to spend some of their time there together.
 
 
What is the right of the first night?
The right of the first night, better known as droit du seigneur (which only looks French, although it is English usage, the French use different terminology) or jus primae noctis is a medieval custom that has been abolished in Westeros (by Jaeherys I & Septon Barth) as in the real world (apart from a few small islands in the English channel).
It allows the lord to be the first to consummate any marriage before the husband, thus potentially to sire numerous bastard children. In the real world, husbands would pay a fee to their lord for not making use of this right.
 
 
What is "guest right" and why is it so important?
The guest right is a sacred law of hospitality. When a guest, no matter the station of birth, eats the food and drinks the drink beneath the host's roof, the guest right is invoked. Bread and salt are the traditional provisions.
When invoked, neither the guest is allowed to do harm to his host, nor is the host allowed to do harm to his guest for the length of the guest's stay. For either to do so would be to break a sacred covenant that is believed to invoke the wrath of the Gods both old and new. Both the teachings of the old gods and the Faith of the Seven hold to this. Even robber lords and wreckers are bound by the ancient laws of hospitality.
 
Guest gifts can be given when the guests depart, ending the guest right. House Manderly practises this tradition in A Dance with Dragons.
 
Breaking the guest right is seen as a terrible thing. The example stated in the books concern the Rat Cook. A cook in the Night's Watch who killed the kings son, and cooked the son in a pie he served to the king, leading to the unknowingly eating his own son. The gods punished the Rat Cook, by turning him into a giant rat who could only feed by eating its own young. The gods did not punish the cook for feeding the king his own son, but for killing a man beneath his own roof.
 
 
Does the Wall block warging?
It appears so. Jon Snow isn't capable of connecting with Ghost anymore, when they have the Wall in between them, nor can Jon, warged in Ghost, feel Summer when Summer is north of the Wall, and Jon and Ghost south.
 
Whether this is the same for each warg/skinchanger, or depends on the strength of the individual, is a matter of discussion. It does appear that Bran, warged into the weirwood net, can see south of the Wall, whilst being north of it.
 
 
What's the kindness Jaime never did?
Jaime is referring to Tysha, and how Tyrion believed that Jaime bought Tysha's services to make Tyrion into a man (making him lose his virginity). Jaime never paid Tysha, however, as Tysha wasn't a whore. In other words, a kindness that Jaime never did.
 
 
In A Dance with Dragons, Septon Chayle is at the Wall. Wasn't he the septon at Winterfell? Didn't he die in A Clash of Kings?
Indeed. This is an error., Septon Cellador is the Septon at Castle Black. Septon Chayle, as far as is known, is dead.
 
 
If the gates in King's Landing were closed, how did Arya get to the harbor? You need to cross a gate...
A well known issue. People have tried to find explanations for it, but most have not yet been satisfied. Here's the most recent given explanation.
 
 
How come Cersei and Margaery need a Kingsguard Knight to defend them in their trials in A Dance with Dragons, while Gregor Clegane, not a Kingsguard Knight, was allowed to defend Cersei in Tyrion's trial in A Storm of Swords?
Because in Tyrion's trial, it wasn't Cersei who stood accused.. Tyrion was accused, Cersei the accuser. Tyrion didn't necessarily need to use a Kingsguard knight in that trial because he isn't royalty.
 
In Cersei's case in Dance (and in Margaery's case, should she opt for a trial by combat, should her first trial fail), Cersei is the Queen Regent, Margaery the Queen. They are royalty, and it is them who stand accued. They are not the accusers. Thus, they need a Kingsguard to defend them. 
 
 
If knights are custom of the followers of the Seven, why there are knights in the North (Old Gods) and in the Iron Islands (Drowned God)?

There aren't many. So far we know of a single Ironborn knight. Knights from the North spring forth from a few sources:

1. White Harbor and the Manderlys
The Manderys in White harbor brought the new gods and Southern customs along, so knighthood is more common there.
 
2. Houses near the Neck
Houses who have business with the South may have a few knights, as customs mingle.
 
3. War returnees
Some Northerners simply get knighted by Southern nobility during war time, it cannot be helped. Ser Jorah Mormont is an example.
 
4. Hedge Knights and Freeriders
People living the life of a hedge knight or freeriders in service in the South might face the same treatment, when the do too many chivalrous deeds, although an example is missing here.

 
Who can make a knight?

Any knight can make a knight. As knighthood is a form of distinction, the higher in renown or social status the maker, the better for the image of the knight made. Kings can also knight people, but lords cannot (unless they have once been knighted themselves).
 
So for example, King Robert Baratheon, knighted in his youth, can knight people (and has) because he is a knight himself, and because he is a king. King Baelor I, a king, but not a knight, could have knighted anyone he wanted to. Lord Eddard Stark, never knighted himself, can't knight anyone.
 
 
Which Targaryens had deformed children?
* King Maegor I Targaryen (multiple malformed children by multiple wives)
* Daemon Targaryen (a malformed son by Lady Laena Velaryon)
* Rhaenyra Targaryen (a malformed stillborn daughter, Visenya, by Prince Daemon, according to Mushroom)
* Daenerys Targaryen (a malformed stillborn son, Rhaego, by Khal Drogo) 
 
How big do dragons grow?

Dragons seem just to grow if they get enough food and space.
 
 
How old are Dany's dragons as of the end of Dance?

Born in early 299 AC, the dragons are currently around 1,5 years old.
 
Who is Jon Snow's mother?
Have a look into the first post of the current (fixed) R+L=J thread in the General ASoIaF forum. It links to collections of theories on Jon Snow's parentage.
 
 
Who are the marcher lords?

Marcher lords are powerful lords who guard region near border with Dorne, known as the Dornish Marches. They have large keeps and maintain large forces, to defend lands of the Reach and Stormlands in case of Dornish attack.

Marcher lords:
- in the Stormlands:
House Selmy, House Dondarrion, House Swann, House Caron
- in the Reach:
House Tarly, possibly House Peake
 

When Arya is serving at Harrenhal, she sees Roose Bolton cautionly turning the pages of a very ornate and fragile book, before throwing it to the fire. Do we know which book was that?
No. 

 


Any other questions:
 
Is The Ice Dragon part of the asoiaf universe?


No, it is not.
 
Continue

 

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  2 hours ago, Megaera said:

Do we know what the deal Jon struck with Tycho was? We know that Jon got the ships to rescue hardhome and gold to feed the watch, but what does the iron bank get in return? Surely if it was just a loan, there wouldn't have needed to be hours of negotiating?

I don't think we know exactly... But I can imagine that the interest rates would be a topic of discussion.. And the amount of help the NW would give Tycho in finding Stannis..

But the bank must require some surety/guarantee the the NW have the means to repay, or something of value to lose if they dont/cant pay. Finding Stannis means the bank can negotiate the Thrones debt of course, but then it wouldn't be Allan it would be payment for a service

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A question about the Faceless Men:

In Westeros they are usually referred to as professional assassins, who are very deadly, very precise and very very expensive.

In Braavos, at the HoBaW it is said that the FM give the gift to those chosen by their god. 

 "And are you a god, to decide who should live and who should die?" he asked her. "We give the gift to those marked by Him of Many Faces, after prayers and sacrifice. So has it always been, from the beginning. 

The Blind Girl, ADWD

How can these two views be compatible? So what are they? Assassins that "give the gift" according to rules, or to money?

Thanks in advance for the input! :)

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It's a difference between how they are viewed by others, and how they view themselves.  To them, a petitioner comes in and prays to the god of many faces for someone to be given the gift.  If that person is willing to make a suitable sacrifice, the task is done.  

To an outsider who just wants someone killed, that required sacrifice is a pricetag.  They may or may not care about the theological aspect.

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Purity, in addition to making some sacrifice,which may be eentirely monetary, I think petitioners havevto pray to Him of Many Faces. . .

 

I think some of the worshippers are petitioners for someone to receive the gift. The first Faceless Man gave the gift to slaves who prayed for death's sweet release. By doing so he became the agent of the Many Faced God. and eventually he answered the prayer of a slave to kill a master, after the slave offered all he had. 

The Kindly Man tells Arya that they givecthe gift after prayers and sacrifice, so I don't think one can simply send a man to Braavos to make a contract, or summon an agent of the Faceless Men. The person who put out the contract on Arya's mark "came to the House of Black and White and prayed for the god to take him." The Ugly Little Girl, Dance 64. When the waif's father asked to have the waif's sstepmother killed for poisoning the waif, "Him of Many Faces heard his prayer." Cat of the Canals, Feast 34.

 

Worshipers came to the House of Black and White every day. Most came alone and sat alone; they lit candles at one altar or another, prayed beside the pool, and sometimes wept. A few drank from the black cup and went to sleep; more did not drink. There were no services, no songs, no paeans of praise to please the god. The temple was never full. From time to time, a worshiper would ask to see a priest, and the kindly man or the waif would take him down into the sanctum, but that did not happen often.

 

 Arya II, Feast 22

I can't stand the new layout. Cutting and pasting with a smart phone is near impossible. 

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Purity, in addition to making some sacrifice,which may be eentirely monetary, I think petitioners havevto pray to Him of Many Faces. . .

 

I think some of the worshippers are petitioners for someone to receive the gift. The first Faceless Man gave the gift to slaves who prayed for death's sweet release. By doing so he became the agent of the Many Faced God. and eventually he answered the prayer of a slave to kill a master, after the slave offered all he had. 

The Kindly Man tells Arya that they givecthe gift after prayers and sacrifice, so I don't think one can simply send a man to Braavos to make a contract, or summon an agent of the Faceless Men. The person who put out the contract on Arya's mark "came to the House of Black and White and prayed for the god to take him." The Ugly Little Girl, Dance 64. When the waif's father asked to have the waif's sstepmother killed for poisoning the waif, "Him of Many Faces heard his prayer." Cat of the Canals, Feast 34.

 

To add to this. There is a rationale for the petitioners. The hit that Arya did with the coin was justified to the HoBaW, so they did it. To put a hit on Dany, by say Littlefinger, there would have to be justification/rationale and money.

They seem to be keeper of the peace in Braavos in some ways. Or the A Team. When there is no one else to go to for re-dress.

We do not have a long list of assassinations that the Faceless Men have carried out.

(Should one use Faceless Persons to be more politically correct?  (This is sarcasm.))

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When will "The Winds of Winter" be published? What's the latest news?

 

Nobody knows. Current rumours say October 2015, but so far every rumor has been wrong.

Those rumors have not been current for a while, so this should probably be changed. 

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I don't think we know exactly... But I can imagine that the interest rates would be a topic of discussion.. And the amount of help the NW would give Tycho in finding Stannis..

But the bank must require some surety/guarantee the the NW have the means to repay, or something of value to lose if they dont/cant pay. Finding Stannis means the bank can negotiate the Thrones debt of course, but then it wouldn't be Allan it would be payment for a service

The NW borders on the largest forest in the "developed" world.  I would suspect that is how they would repay the debt.

A question about the Faceless Men:

In Westeros they are usually referred to as professional assassins, who are very deadly, very precise and very very expensive.

In Braavos, at the HoBaW it is said that the FM give the gift to those chosen by their god. 

The Blind Girl, ADWD

How can these two views be compatible? So what are they? Assassins that "give the gift" according to rules, or to money?

Thanks in advance for the input! :)

There are a lot of different opinions on this, some people think it is just about money and power, some people think its about right and wrong, some people think it's a combination.  I think the only answer we can be sure of is that we just don't know at this point.

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I thought the FM thing was that the people hiring them had to 'sacrifice' a large part of their wealth.  If someone was willing to give up almost everything to get rid of another person then they were doing so because their was a 'genuine' reason that person had to die other than for personal gain and was seen as divinely inspired.

 

Not sure I've explained that too well!

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I thought the FM thing was that the people hiring them had to 'sacrifice' a large part of their wealth.  If someone was willing to give up almost everything to get rid of another person then they were doing so because their was a 'genuine' reason that person had to die other than for personal gain and was seen as divinely inspired.

 

Not sure I've explained that too well!

That is certainly wait the waif hinted at. How much you give depends on how much you own. Also the more important the person you want the kill the more expensive it it.

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This is silly, but say a knight wins a tourney, only his wife/betrothed stayed at home. Can he take the crown of QoLaB and take it home, instead of crowning someone present at the tourney?

There's no way of knowing that.  It seems more likely he would crown whoever was the Lady of the castle was/another Lady married to the most powerful man there.

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I don't think Arya has seen the full mechanism of the FM, she's only seen the more palatable aspects where the killings are justifiable. The indiscriminate killing for hire, which must exist as so many people know about it are probably ran in a different way with little or no religious aspect, only the monetary value, this is probably how they can afford to make justifiable killings on behalf of those who have no money to pay and can only sacrifice (in terms of monetary value) virtually worthless items.

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