Aeron's second vision:the woman with hands of white fire

[Guerì]

Reading the description of the new TWOW chapter read by GRRM at Balticon,I had a thought of who this woman might be:Malora Hightower,lord's Leyton's daughter.

The reason that brought me here is that I put together a few hints that might telle us who she is:

• in the vision the woman is dressed in white and we know Melora is called the Mad Maid.In one of Cersei's chapters in AFFC Cersei speaks of the maid day (or something like that) regarding Margaery Tyrell and her companions,saying that to celebrate this particular day,all the maid ladies will dress in white.
• the long shadow can be easily connected to the shadow of the High Tower,and,though I can't recall if it was maester Aemon in one of his memories,or Pate in the epilogue or whoever else,there's a reference about the shadow of the tower being useed to tell the hour of the day,basing on where the shadow falls.So the long shadow is there in the books.
• in the books,I don't remember correctly what book or who said that,someone speaks of lord Leyton and his daughter working some magic from the top of their tower,so,given Euron's clear acquaintance with magic,it's not impossible that the two of them might be brought to one another.

Old town is known for having probably the largest books collection of the world,and for sure there's that famous book of dragon's lore that we heard of.Euron would be interested of such book,'cause even if his horn works as intended,somebody might find in the book a way to undo what he did or to kill the dragons right away.Of Melora we know little or less,but as far as we know,she could even be the "most beautiful woman on earth",meaning that sending Victarion on search of Dany was just a ploy to get to what he really wanted.At last we have the reference to both Euron and Melora as mad,nothing too strong but certainly a tie nonetheless...

Tell me what you think about it,folks!

[Brianstorm]

What about Shiera Seastar? I'm not to familiar with any theories about her but I know some posit she still is alive. I associate her with wearing white and magical abilities and if you buy into Euron's had a past with BR that certainly fits as well.

[Guerì]

1 minute ago, Brianstorm said:

What about Shiera Seastar? I'm not to familiar with any theories about her but I know some posit she still is alive. I associate her with wearing white and magical abilities and if you buy into Euron's had a past with BR that certainly fits as well.

I thought of this but there's no evidence of any tie between Euron and BR yet...And no one can say Shiera Seastar is alive,so I just thought of a character that is alive and might fit to the description...

[Timmay]

A Feast for Crows - Samwell V

"How?" Alleras nodded at the glass candle. Sam stared at the strange pale flame for a moment, then blinked and looked away. Outside the window it was growing dark.

"Beside him stood a shadow in woman’s form, long and tall and terrible, her hands alive with pale white fire. "

 So a tall long terrible womans shadow is invading his dreams with a glass candle. Mayhaps.

 

Edited June 1, 2016 by Timmay

[Guerì]

Isn't it in that same chapter that someone talks about the possibility that lord Hightower and his daughter are doing something with a glass candle too?

[Lord Varys]

That doesn't make much sense because we just have no idea how the Mad Maid is like.

In my opinion the woman either Cersei or just the representation of 'the dragon queen' Aeron's mind has created. Keep in mind that he has this dream after Falia Flowers has told him that Vic is off to collect some dragon queen who shall be Euron's bride.

[Guerì]

I agree on the part that we still don't know her,but it's the part about her long shadow that gave me pause...The fact that the long shadow of the high tower has been explicitly brought out in the books made me think of her...Certainly Daenerys would suit the role better,we know she's on a path that might bring her to a new and Wilder version of herself,she has just remembered her words,Fire and Blood,and she's sick(as the all of us) of the Meereenand everything that it represents...As to Cersei...I don't see her living for long in the books,she's on her path to self destruction,and I don't think she'll be here for too long...The description given in this new chapter doesn't give away too muche about this woman,so even if we don't know what Malora looks like or what she's up to,it's still a possibility...Thank you for sharing your ideas anyway!

[Unknownfinger]

I think you are the first person to suggest the "Mad Maid" as the woman in Euron's vision and while I have no idea if it's true or not it makes a lot of sense! We know the Hightowers are wrapped up in sorcery and Euron is a darkly charming monster so I could see Melora betraying her family for him. 

[Nights Kings Queen]

2 hours ago, Lord Varys said:

That doesn't make much sense because we just have no idea how the Mad Maid is like.

In my opinion the woman either Cersei or just the representation of 'the dragon queen' Aeron's mind has created. Keep in mind that he has this dream after Falia Flowers has told him that Vic is off to collect some dragon queen who shall be Euron's bride.

That's what I was thinking as well. I don't think it was Cersei, if it was Cersei I'd imagine it would have said "green" fire

Edited June 1, 2016 by Nights Kings Queen

[Warsaw]

I don't know... it's kind of a stretch. I also thought it was Daenerys, or how Aeron imagines her (because we must keep in mind, this are drug induced dreams, not necessarely prophecies, right?).

Personally I didn't even remember the Hightowers, so thanks for the reminder.

That being said, I wouldn't discard the theory: the way that you put it is quite interesting, and it would be a great catch on your part.

[khal drogon]

4 hours ago, Timmay said:

A Feast for Crows - Samwell V

"How?" Alleras nodded at the glass candle. Sam stared at the strange pale flame for a moment, then blinked and looked away. Outside the window it was growing dark.

"Beside him stood a shadow in woman’s form, long and tall and terrible, her hands alive with pale white fire. "

 So a tall long terrible womans shadow is invading his dreams with a glass candle. Mayhaps.

 

Awesome find.

I find the term as a metaphor for glass candles. The description of the glass candles exactly matches those words. Or it may be a metaphor for Valyrian sorcery itself. Every other thing in those visions doesn't refer to any person. So why this must be a person? 

[Ser Wun Wun]

That does make sense, especially with the glass candle thing.  I don't think the Hightowers are just going to be tertiary characters who we never see, I fully expect them to become important as we reach the endgame.  

This puts a dent in my preference for the woman being Cersei though, so I can't say I'm happy about it 

[Timmay]

I think Quaithe is using her Glass Candle to invade Euron's mind just like she is with Dany. Quaithe many times is associated with shadow: 

All the great of Qarth will come to see my dragons, Dany thought, yet she thanked Xaro for his kindness before she sent him on his way. Pyat Pree took his leave as well, vowing to petition the Undying Ones for an audience. "A honor rare as summer snows." Before he left he kissed her bare feet with his pale blue lips and pressed on her a gift, a jar of ointment that he swore would let her see the spirits of the air. Last of the three seekers to depart was Quaithe the shadowbinder. From her Dany received only a warning. "Beware," the woman in the red lacquer mask said. 

She is standing over me. "Who's there?" Dany peered into the darkness. She thought she could see a shadow, the faintest outline of a shape. "What do you want to me?" Remember. To go north, you must journey south. To reach the west, you must go east. To go forward you must go back, and to touch the light you must pass beneath the shadow."

 

The woman stepped closer and lay two fingers on Dany's wrist. "You are the Mother of Dragons, are you not?" "She is, and no spawn of shadows may touch her." Jhogo brushed Quaithe's fingers away with the handle of his whip.

 

Dany glanced back toward the persimmon tree. There was no woman there. No hooded robe, no lacquer mask, no Quaithe. A shadow. A memory. No one. She was the blood of the dragon, but Ser Barristan had warned her that in that blood there was a taint. 

A shiver went through her. "Shadows and whispers." What else had Quaithe said? 

 

Above she is directly called a shadowbinder, we also have this quote:

Magic had died in the west when the Doom fell on Valyria and the Lands of the Long Summer, and neither spell-forged steel nor stormsingers nor dragons could hold it back, but Dany had always heard that the east was different. It was said that manticores prowled the islands of the Jade Sea, that basilisks infested the jungles of Yi Ti, that spellsingers, warlocks, and aeromancers practiced their arts openly in Asshai, while shadowbinders and bloodmages worked terrible sorceries in the black of night. Why shouldn't there be dragons too?

So we have Quaithe with a glass candle associated to the words Shadow and Terrible.

 

"Beside him stood a shadow in woman’s form, long and tall and terrible, her hands alive with pale white fire. Dwarves capered for their amusement, male and female, locked in carnal, biting and tearing at each other as Euron and his mate laughed and laughed and laughed."

 

"his Mate" I would guess to be Dany, the shadow is Quaithe. I would surmise she is manipulating Euron with the candle to further her assistance to Dany. I would guess the "Dwarves" are the lords and ladies in kings landing bickering beneath his rule.

[Dya of Oldstones]

My first thought was Cersei when I finally got a chance to read the transcriptions, but also agree with other posters that green fire would make more sense in her case. There goes my new crackpot that Euron as younger brother of Balon could be the valonquar. I still have him on the list of possibilities for that, but the case for that is weaker.

My second guess would be Shiera Seastar, but I'm more intrigued by the what the Hightowers are up to. We may need to wait for a Samwell chapter to be released in order to make a closer connection to the glass candles or the Mad Maid.

@Timmay I agree on Quaithe, and not sure where I fall on Shiera=Quaithe at this point, but I do lean in that direction.

 

[bent branch]

2 hours ago, Warsaw said:

I don't know... it's kind of a stretch. I also thought it was Daenerys, or how Aeron imagines her (because we must keep in mind, this are drug induced dreams, not necessarely prophecies, right?).

Personally I didn't even remember the Hightowers, so thanks for the reminder.

That being said, I wouldn't discard the theory: the way that you put it is quite interesting, and it would be a great catch on your part.

Why are we assuming they are drug induced dreams rather than prophecies?

[Warsaw]

Why are we assuming they are not?

[bent branch]

1 minute ago, Warsaw said:

Why are we assuming they are not?

So Dany's visions were drug induced dreams and not prophecies?

[Warsaw]

Not necessarily. That's exactly my point: we have to take everything with a grain of salt. I'm not saying one thing or the other is definitive.

But I think it's worth noting that, although they both drink shade of the evening, the context of Dany's dreams is VERY different: she enters a mystical place charged with power and her visions are very specific and meaningful (some of which she has no way of knowing about, but we as readers could interpret), while the Damphair just drinks the wine and sees things he fears, things Euron has told him will happen.

As for prophecies and wether we should trust them, I think we should pay attention to this quotes:

http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Dreams_and_prophecies#Quotes

[JLE]

I think she is Night's Queen - who hasn't been seen since the fall of her last mortal consort, Night's King.

[bent branch]

46 minutes ago, Warsaw said:

Not necessarily. That's exactly my point: we have to take everything with a grain of salt. I'm not saying one thing or the other is definitive.

But I think it's worth noting that, although they both drink shade of the evening, the context of Dany's dreams is VERY different: she enters a mystical place charged with power and her visions are very specific and meaningful (some of which she has no way of knowing about, but we as readers could interpret), while the Damphair just drinks the wine and sees things he fears, things Euron has told him will happen.

As for prophecies and wether we should trust them, I think we should pay attention to this quotes:

http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Dreams_and_prophecies#Quotes

Okay, I see where you're coming from. I disagree, but I do see. I think it is the drink that gives the visions. As Dany was told before she entered the HotU, the visions are of things that were, can be and can never be. So, yes, not all of the visions will be prophecies, but some of them will.

As far as the HotU, I don't see that as having too much to do with the visions really. They could manipulate the person having a vision, as Euron was able to manipulate Aeron's visions somewhat by talking to him. However, the real purpose of the HotU was to steal people's life energy as they were tripping out on the Shade of the Evening. The HotU was about feeding the Undying, not about individual's visions.