Nymeria is poised to return

[Lord Wraith]

10 minutes ago, The Fattest Leech said:

Denys is a strange one in this theory. Unfortunately, as soon as I went to post this, the damned quoter did something really weird ans deleted just half the post and I had to try and remember what I had written Anyway, I did talk a little more about Denys.

IF this is in anyway true, then maybe it would help calm the rage Denys appears to have towards the free folk. I don't think the Weeper is going to help anytime soon, so who knows in this case.

However, I did also think that Denys could have fathered a child on a free folk filly. We know the boys at Castle Black go to Mole's Town and the uppers at CB just turn a blind eye. Maybe something similar happens at Shadow Tower?

Denys has been at Shadow Tower for 33 years. Val is suspected to be around 19-22 (based on different book sources).

According to the wiki, Denys has an unknown/unnamed brother who is Jason's father. And in turn, Jason has a brother, Jeffory Mallsiter, who died in King's Landing when he went with Brandon to face the accusations of treason. Jeffory Mallister was killed then.

I am sure the Shadow Tower has no issue turning a blind eye to the indiscretions of some of its members. Also not knowing Val's age has always made theorizing about her hard to me.

Also the Weeper is noted for stealing daughters, maybe Denys stole his daughter and this is just the cycle of revenge going on and on...

 

[The Fattest Leech]

@The Doctor's Consort @Julia H. @bemused @The Weirwoods Eyes @Blue-Eyed Wolf @GloubieBoulga

I just posted a crackpot last evening and wanted to get some additional feedback to what has been talked about a tad already.

Plausible? Do I just need more coffee?

p.s.

I hope I didn't forget anyone. Sorry if I did.

[The Weirwoods Eyes]

It is interesting, and not something which I have seen posed before. it has been suggested that Val is in someway a Wildling theft from south of the wall. Due to her speech and the suggestion she knows what Maester's think. 

I'm interested in your crackpot and am gonna look into the Mallister's a bit more. I will post again once I've had a good snoop. 

[Jon's Queen Consort]

On 24/4/2017 at 6:03 PM, The Fattest Leech said:

@The Doctor's Consort @Julia H. @bemused @The Weirwoods Eyes @Blue-Eyed Wolf

I just posted a crackpot last evening and wanted to get some additional feedback to what has been talked about a tad already.

Plausible? Do I just need more coffee?

Thank you for that! 

On 24/4/2017 at 5:57 AM, The Fattest Leech said:

So, to wrap this up. I am speculating that Val (and maybe Dalla) are at least half Mallister, maybe raised south of the wall and defected north (maybe for woods witch training?) and that is why Val tends to have different mannerisms and speech than other free folk. Mance did say that he found Dalla (and Val) as returned to the lands beyond the wall, but where exactly did he find them? South of the wall? The author left this info curiously vague.

 

This would also explain how Val knows what a maester would think about curing greyscale, and how she knows what a woods witch knows to be actually correct. She has experience with both.

 

Val has a reason for being both learned sounding in speech, and physically able to be seen in any court in the world, everyone insists she is a princess, and yet also lonely, lovely and lethal, and more capable of surviving alone in tough terrain north of the wall.

 

 

Val is the "improved model" of both north and south.

 

My pet theory is that Val and Dalla, if she is really her sister, are not smallfolk. But I always thought that she came from the Umbers I had never thought about the Mallisters. Your theory is very well thought and created but I am still not sure about the Mallisters, mostly because they are Andals. But I could see her being a noble, trueborn or not, being raised Beyond the Wall in order to be trained. Which is something that had been happened before in GoT: telltale.

[The Fattest Leech]

1 hour ago, The Weirwoods Eyes said:

It is interesting, and not something which I have seen posed before. it has been suggested that Val is in someway a Wildling theft from south of the wall. Due to her speech and the suggestion she knows what Maester's think. 

I'm interested in your crackpot and am gonna look into the Mallister's a bit more. I will post again once I've had a good snoop. 

No problem and no rush for crackpots. Thanks for taking a look.

3 minutes ago, The Doctor's Consort said:

Thank you for that! 

My pet theory is that Val and Dalla, if she is really her sister, is not a smallfolk. But I always thought that she came from the Umbers I had never thought about the Mallisters. Your theory is very well thought and created but I am still not sure about the Mallisters, mostly because they are Andals. But I could see her being a noble, trueborn or not, being raised Beyond the Wall in order to be trained. Which is something that had been happened before in GoT: telltale.

I agree that Val seems like she has a different birth or partial upbringing to many other free folk/wildling. There were just a few things that stood out to me, but I guess maybe if we squint hard enough we can find clues to lots of things that aren't there

I had a few other thoughts on this, but yeah, the Umber story is interesting as well. Thanks for taking a peek.

[crowcrow]

I wish i could believe in all this, but what bothers me is that Val doesn't have a POV and she appeared only half way through the series.

[GloubieBoulga]

3 hours ago, The Fattest Leech said:

@The Doctor's Consort @Julia H. @bemused @The Weirwoods Eyes @Blue-Eyed Wolf @GloubieBoulga

I just posted a crackpot last evening and wanted to get some additional feedback to what has been talked about a tad already.

Plausible? Do I just need more coffee?

p.s.

I hope I didn't forget anyone. Sorry if I did.

I was just reading your post this afternoon, before you asked for my advice, and I vote for a good night more than for a coffee ^^

More seriously, I was wondering if Val being same family/blood than Mallister could bring more sense to the story, and I can't see the "bonus". But after reflexion, you pointed some common points, so if I'm not convinced yet with a real "common bloodfamily", there can be some common symbollic part, and perhaps they can represent some archetypes who are linked (with "archetype", I mean original characters of an original and ancient scenario, which tells the origins of the Stark of Winterfell, of Winterfell castle, of the Wall, and of course of the Others and Long Night). One of the archetypes I have found is a maiden - daughter of a "bear king" - who wanted a Stark's bastard but was married to a legitime (officialy) Stark (of Winterfell) after the death of the bastard. The color brown is associated with the bear (the color black too), for example in the song "the bear and the fair maiden", or in AGOT Eddard II when Robert is compared to a bear and wears brown gloves (there are many other example for the association brown-bear). 

The grey is for the Starks and the dead kingdom, the shadows and phantoms. It is not a real color in the saga, but the "color" of faded and dead things. So the brown and grey pelt could show Val as the "girl" of a dead king (as archetype, obviously). 

I see Val as a double of Dalla, I mean they both play same archetype but at different moments of the "original story" and with different possible issues. Dalla's baby saved by Jon make me imagine that there was perhaps in the far past a baby who was killed - just like Cersei orders to kill Robert's children, even if they are babies. 

So... I can't say much more for the moment, because I never seriously looked at the part played by the Mallisters. The only thing that come to my mind is about the name "Jason", who was a hero of greek mythology, who looked for the golden pelt of a ram and found it. The ram had a name "chrysomallos" (chrysos significate gold, in greek; and "mallos" significate wool; so the name of the ram is the exact sense of "golden pelt"), he had wings and  was a symbol of fecondity. So there is perhaps a pun with Jason Mallister (Denys is also a name of greek origin : the original version is Dionysos; Denys is latin and short version, but I'm here talking only for the name, not for the god Dionysos who has his latin "equivalent" as Bacchus). And the ram/goat/lamb/sheep are playing a big part in the saga. And are linked to the bear's theme. Honestly, I can't say if it is totally intentional and calculated by GRRM. 

I don't know if I have helped, but there were the ideas that came to my mind ! ^^

 

Edit and Add-on about the hero Jason, who was linked to the sea with his companions, the "Argonauts".

[The Fattest Leech]

19 minutes ago, RevaM said:

I wish i could believe in all this, but what bothers me is that Val doesn't have a POV and she appeared only half way through the series.

I'm in my phone so this will be short. 

First, thanks for reading all of it, I know it is long and can be exhaustive on first read. 

Also, George has said in many interviews that the cast will change. New people will come in as needed. We readers did not need Val in the beginning because we had to learn a few in-world things first. Enter Ygritte, story teller Nan of the north. So once that stage was set, enter Val. 

Also also, George said once that he won't give a POV to a king or key player like Littlefinger because they have too much information and would spoil the plot. As a writer myself, I can understand that concept and the need to hold back information until the story requires the reveal. 

Also also also, we see the "glimpse" of where Val is in the close of Jon's chapters in the second book. Val was introduced in Jon's first chapter in the third book, so really not that long ago far as the story timeline goes. For us readers it has been more than a decade, yes, but I prefer a good story rather than a rushed one 

[The Fattest Leech]

@GloubieBoulga  Thanks for the read and reply. I'm on my phone but will get back to you when I am back at my computer. 

[crowcrow]

Just now, The Fattest Leech said:

I'm in my phone so this will be short. 

First, thanks for reading all of it, I know it is long and can be exhaustive on first read. 

Also, George has said in many interviews that the cast will change. New people will come in as needed. We readers did not need Val in the beginning because we had to learn a few in-world things first. Enter Ygritte, story teller Nan of the north. So once that stage was set, enter Val. 

Also also, George said once that he won't give a POV to a king or key player like Littlefinger because they have too much information and would spoil the plot. As a writer myself, I can understand that concept and the need to hold back information until the story requires the reveal. 

Also also also, we see the "glimpse" of where Val is in the close of Jon's chapters in the second book. Val was introduced in Jon's first chapter in the third book, so really not that long ago far as the story timeline goes. For us readers it has been more than a decade, yes, but I prefer a good story rather than a rushed one 

Yes, some characters like Varys/Littlefinger shouldn't be given a POV because they know way too much.

But tbh after ygritte and robb(who also didn't have a POV), i don't think I can bear to lose another non-POV fave.

 

 

[Blue-Eyed Wolf]

@The Fattest Leech  Well considering your track record for laying out a very reasonable and well thought overarching theory for Val and Jon, I'm gonna say this has credibility.  Val is special for many reasons, but I hadn't really paid much attention to her manner of speech before.

18 hours ago, The Fattest Leech said:

However, I did also think that Denys could have fathered a child on a free folk filly. We know the boys at Castle Black go to Mole's Town and the uppers at CB just turn a blind eye. Maybe something similar happens at Shadow Tower?

^^^ This doesn't quite add up with her speech sounding much more educated and highborn leaning.  I'm not sure this is the answer to the mystery.

Can Jason Mallister's silver winged helm tell us anything significant?  I know the Greek mythology connection to Jason and Denys has been made, so the helm is a little evocative of Hermes.  Also winged helm sounds a little stereotypical Valkyrie-ish maybe?  Jason is a "pallbearer" at Hoster Tully's funeral, specifically being one of the two that wades into the water to guide the burial boat into the river.  The Mallister's have longboats and the Riverland funeral practices are very Viking-esque.  You've already laid out tons of Norse connections around Val.  I'm just riffing here.  I haven't had time to really research.

Jason also played a key role in the defense of Seaguard by slaying Balon Greyjoy's heir.  So there's a Mallister helping to resist a rebellion kinda like Val is probably going to do at the Wall.  Mallister longboats will carry Robb's Will (his intended instructions for rule in case he dies) in by two people:   Maege Mormont and Galbert Glover.  Maege is a she-bear like Val is a she-bear.  I wonder if we can make a Glover connection to Val too?  Because Val is the carrier of Jon's word and she knows his intentions as LC.  Her breath "mingled" with his.  Val's word is Jon's word.   

*Edit*  House Glover's sigil is a silver mailed fist on red.  Jason ushered Hoster Tully's funeral boat into the water along side Tytos Blackwood of the raven feather cloak.  Not sure if this helps, but maybe.      

 

[The Fattest Leech]

@Blue-Eyed Wolf this is really good stuff. Some of it is similar to what I had written before the quoter ate half of my crackpot idea. I decided not to add some things back in to, #1, see if others noticed them first, and #2, keep my post short because my Val posts tend to get incredibly long

I only have a quick minute (gotta make the donuts) but I want to touch on a few points when I have more time later this evening.

Hermes. Perfect! Hermes is the messenger of the gods

[Jon's Queen Consort]

I am not sure if I have said it before but in any case I know that this sounds crazy but please, please, humor me and tell me what you think

In TWOIAF;

Quote

 The Rhoynar tell of a darkness that made the Rhoyne of Essos dwindle and disappear, her waters frozen as far south as the joining of the Selhoru, until a hero convinced the many children of Mother Rhoyne, such as the Crab King and the Old Man of the River, to put aside their bickering and join in a secret song that brought back the day.

A Hero convinced the Rhoynar to sing a secret song in order to bring dawn back.

Now, which other race in GRRTH is known for their singing? Methinks that those who sing the song of earth.

The question now is where do the CotFs live or at least have the most influence? I believe in two places one is Neck and Beyond the Wall.

From the crannogmen we have the Meera’s and Jojen’s oath

And from a priestess of the old gods;  
 

Quote

[Jon] I have heard you singing to him.

[Val] I was singing to myself. 

Jon was the one who sent Val to bring Tormund and who will unite the humanity against the Others.
 

[The Fattest Leech]

7 hours ago, The Doctor's Consort said:

I am not sure if I have said it before but in any case I know that this sounds crazy but please, please, humor me and tell me what you think

Of course! I come up with all sorts of random thought and ideas all of the time. And sometimes they actually work out!

 

7 hours ago, The Doctor's Consort said:

In TWOIAF;

 The Rhoynar tell of a darkness that made the Rhoyne of Essos dwindle and disappear, her waters frozen as far south as the joining of the Selhoru, until a hero convinced the many children of Mother Rhoyne, such as the Crab King and the Old Man of the River, to put aside their bickering and join in a secret song that brought back the day.

Funny enough, this line here has always made me reconsider the idea of how the Others could get around the wall. Well, maybe not all of them, but the dead things in/on the water at the Bay of Seals , and maybe over at the Bay of Ice, as well can also pass over the solid parts of the two bays when they freeze.

Yeah. I tend to think that Stannis is the crab king (I laid it out somewhere in this thread) and Jon is the Old Man of the RIver and for a while longer at least, the two will continue working together. We have heard a few times in the story how Jon is older and/or wiser than his years, so the "Old" part fits Jon perfectly. And we have seen how Jon connects to the water, especially the river, and it works seamlessly with this tale.

 

• "Ass," Jon muttered, low enough so Greyjoy did not hear. He put a hand on Bran's shoulder, and Bran looked over at his bastard brother. "You did well," Jon told him solemnly. Jon was fourteen, an old hand at justice.
• Jon looked her over with all his fourteen-year-old wisdom.
• not to mention Jon's connection to the Old Gods themselves

Stannis put trust in the free folk at this point, and he has been relatively happy with Jon so far (as happy as Stannis can show it), so I think these two can work well together for a while longer.

7 hours ago, The Doctor's Consort said:

A Hero convinced the Rhoynar to sing a secret song in order to bring dawn back.

Yup. Val has been caught singing and she is very leery of Mel's magic. That hero is most likely Jon, but then again, I also think Tormund will play a big part on saving the day (literally saving the day) so he could fill in for Jon if the situation requires him to do so. He is also the Speaker to Gods, and the gods are the trees, and therefore Tormund could help spread the word of the trouble going on.

Maybe. Just an idea, though.

7 hours ago, The Doctor's Consort said:

Now, which other race in GRRTH is known for their singing? Methinks that those who sing the song of earth.

 

7 hours ago, The Doctor's Consort said:

The question now is where do the CotFs live or at least have the most influence? I believe in two places one is Neck and Beyond the Wall.

This makes me wonder that if there is a connected weirnet, and all the information is stored in some way for others to access it when they call upon it, I wonder if these two places (maybe three IF they are also in the Reach), I wonder if the CotF in these places will "sing together" once they learn what is happening with the Others, and they pass that info along. Am I making any sense??? This is kind of what I was talking about above with Tormund. It is late here and I have not thought it out totally (sorry), but it is good that you brought it up.

7 hours ago, The Doctor's Consort said:

From the crannogmen we have the Meera’s and Jojen’s oath

You know what is kind of funny, all three Stark boys are guarded guided by a spearwife type. That cannot be a coincidence.

7 hours ago, The Doctor's Consort said:

And from a priestess of the old gods;  
 

Jon was the one who sent Val to bring Tormund and who will unite the humanity against the Others.
 

Yeah, GRRM has Jon and Val acting out the "strengthening two sides to make something stronger" theme big time. The opposite of extremism, which never wins in the end.

And I will say it is a much better option than dividing up thousands of people only for half of them to become the army of the dead. As Jojen says, "By night all cloaks are black, Your Grace." That means more than just it is dark and the cloaks are dark. It means that in the Long Night, everyone must be ready to fight to bring back the sun.

[The Fattest Leech]

moved to different section

[The Fattest Leech]

*Work in progress. Putting this here to work on later*

THE SILVER QUEEN-COIN

A Storm of Swords - Daenerys VI

"Taint?" Dany bristled.

"I am no maester to quote history at you, Your Grace. Swords have been my life, not books. But every child knows that the Targaryens have always danced too close to madness. Your father was not the first. King Jaehaerys once told me that madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. Every time a new Targaryen is born, he said, the gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land."

 

Daenerys = Denerius, a silver coin (faceless god/god of many faces?)

A Dance with Dragons - Daenerys VI

As Daario Naharis took a knee before her, Dany's heart gave a lurch. His hair was matted with dried blood, and on his temple a deep cut glistened red and raw. His right sleeve was bloody almost to the elbow. "You're hurt," she gasped.

"This?" Daario touched his temple. "A crossbowman tried to put a quarrel through my eye, but I outrode it. I was hurrying home to my queen, to bask in the warmth of her smile." He shook his sleeve, spattering red droplets. "This blood is not mine. One of my serjeants said we should go over to the Yunkai'i, so I reached down his throat and pulled his heart out. I meant to bring it to you as a gift for my silver queen, but four of the Cats cut me off and came snarling and spitting after me. One almost caught me, so I threw the heart into his face."

Update 4/24: moved this Daenerys discussion to different section and in a new blog. 

[Lady Dacey]

@The Fattest Leech thanks for the link! I've read the whole thread and there's amazing stuff here. Can't stop and write now, but a million thanks! 

[The Fattest Leech]

Just going to add this here, and link it to the main post, because the full essay is not ready to be put out there yet, but I have had many questions about the song "Bear and the Maiden Fair" recently. This is how I see it, but of course, there is more

But what about the honey color? A few things here. First, to pull from ASOIAF, we have some examples of alchemy going on throughout. A something into something exchange. Well, there is a notion that honey is sunlight changed into gold. Royalty. If Val inherited Dalla’s “royal” clothes, then Val could have inherited Dalla’s royal jewels, amber. Both honey and amber have similar royal healing qualities. We will have to keep our eyes open in The Winds of Winter for the amber to pop back into the story.
Second, and more humorously, from the main series we have the song of The Bear and the Maiden Fair. A stanza analysis shows the start of Jon’s relationship to Val, the three mutineers at the “for the watch” moment, the goat that follows them to the “fair”, the honey hair, and the courtship ritual of the free folk that Jon and Val follow. Now, I personally do not think this song hints at the entire Jon+Val relationship, just a fraction of it. There is more to come. A breakdown of the song can be found in The Song essay, but I am going to discuss a few key stanzas here:

A bear there was, a bear, a bear!
all black and brown, and covered with hair.
The bear! The bear!
    •    This black bear is Jon all covered in his NW black furs.
Oh come they said, oh come to the fair!
    •    This is the trick in the taboo bear hunt, as described here. You cannot let the bear know he is to be killed. The word "Fair" also means judgement (to be fair), and this is what it seems like Marsh and Co are doing, passing judgement on Jon.

...
Three boys, a goat and a dancing bear!
They danced and spun, all the way to the fair!
The fair! The fair!
    •    Three boys = Marsh, Wick Whittlestick, and the third knife in the back.
    •    The goat is Val, a woman of the free folk, the reason why Jon was stabbed.
    •    If not for Val and the free folk passing through, then the fourth knife Jon “never felt” = Melisandre. The main post explains why I hypothesize so.

Oh, sweet she was, and pure and fair!
The maid with honey in her hair!
    •    This is Val, for sure. Honey hair.
    •    Jon refers to Val’s honey-colored hair three times; ASOS/ Jon X, ADWD/Jon III, ADWD/ Jon XI.
…
The bear smelled the scent on the summer air.
    •    This is the scent of desire to mate.
…
He sniffed and roared and smelled it there!
Honey on the summer air!
Oh, I'm a maid, and I'm pure and fair!
I'll never dance with a hairy bear!
A bear! A bear!
I'll never dance with a hairy bear!
The bear, the bear!
Lifted her high into the air!
    •    Jon puts Val up in Hardin’s tower to be guarded by Wun Wun. This impresses Val. Also, the free folk tradition of "stealing" is their version of courtship. The rumors of those south of the wall twist it into something bad, when it is not. In stealing, the woman is supposed to put up a fight and to "dance" is synonymous with "fight". There are "rules" to free folk marriage/ stealing.
The bear! The bear!
I called for a knight, but you're a bear!
    •    Ser Patrek tries to steal Val but gets killed himself. When Jon hears the screams of Ser Patrek, his first thought is of Val (ADWD/ Jon XIII).
A bear, a bear!
All black and brown and covered with hair
She kicked and wailed, the maid so fair.
    •    This is the wilding tradition of stealing your bride, and the bride putting up a fight as a sign of her independence and strength. The maid makes the final decision in “stealing.” We will have to wait and see how far the author will take this analogy in the main story.
But he licked the honey from her hair.
    •    Reminiscent of the “lord’s kiss” Jon gives to Ygritte while down in the cave.
Her hair! Her hair!
He licked the honey from her hair!
Then she sighed and squealed and kicked the air!
    •    Ok, this should be fairly self-explanatory. The honey licking, the squealing, etc… yes, the maid accepts the bear and this is consummation.
My bear! She sang. My bear so fair!
And off they went, from here to there,
    •    This verse possibly follows certain theories that Val will be used to lure Jon out of Castle Black and will chase her across the north to either Winterfell or Dreadfort, or even to re-take Queencrown from the destruction "Good" Queen Alysanne brought down on the area. Also, I believe this "chasing Val" theory will link to the tale of Night's King, HOWEVER, the tale we know of a sinister Night's King is tainted, exaggerated and not true as told.
The bear, the bear, and the maiden fair.
    •    And, they are paired off together. The honeymoon. Jon also describes Val like a moon. This units the two.

[The Fattest Leech]

WIP, and decided to link to this post from the main post.

Just putting this here to work on later when I have some free time

This may possibly be an add-on to my last post saying farewell to 2017 in which the champagne used I used blood wolf moon symbolism to guess when TWOW will be released. This also fits with the moon timeline of the series itself.

You can find this basic info anywhere on the Krell machine, but this is the source I am using because it ties in nicely to the pagan woodswitch persons we have in the story, one of which is most likely Val (woods witch, mood-maiden, as detailed in the main post). https://witchesofthecraft.com/tag/blood-moon/

Blood Moon:

Also known as: Harvest Moon, Shedding Moon, Winterfelleth (Winter Coming) [Jon and/or Bran is the King of Winter and the King is coming ], Windermanoth (Vintage Month), Falling Leaf Moon, Ten Colds Moon, Moon of the Changing Season
Nature Spirits: frost faeries, plant faeries
Herbs: pennyroyal, thyme, catnip, uva ursi, angelica, burdock
Colors: dark blue-green
Flowers: calendula, marigold, cosmos
Scents: strawberry, apple blossom, cherry
Stones: opal, tourmaline, beryl, turquoise
Trees: yew, cypress, acacia
Animals: stag, jackal, elephant, ram, scorpion
Birds: heron, crow, robin
Deities: Ishtar, Astarte, Demeter, Kore, Lakshmi, Horned God, Belili, Hathor
Power Flow: to let go; inner cleansing. Karma and reincarnation. Justice and balance. Inner harmony.

[and then]

‘Blood moons’

Sky gazers caught a glimpse of the “blood moon” crossing the Earth’s shadow Tuesday in all its splendor.

In a total lunar eclipse, the full moon turns a coppery red as it passes into Earth’s shadow. During the process, the moon’s bright glow dims, taking on a red hue because of shimmers of sunlight and sunsets seeping through the Earth’s atmosphere.

Dust and sulfur dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere can affect the size of the shadow. The moon has to be full for the total lunar eclipse to occur.

As more of the moon emerges from the shadow, its red tint fades as it gets lighter and transitions to its normal silver color. The entire reddening process takes about an hour.

• I have often made comment in other threads that if Jon wakes with silver or white hair, not only will this fall in line with his Targ side identity (Jon will always be a Stark #1), but this also follows exactly the theme of GRRM's main Jon-type protags in his other stories having silver-white hair. The "bastard" colors are white (wolf) on grey.

 

A Dance with Dragons - Jon III

Jon wanted nothing more. No, he had to tell himself, those days are gone. The realization twisted in his belly like a knife. They had chosen him to rule. The Wall was his, and their lives were his as well. A lord may love the men that he commands, he could hear his lord father saying, but he cannot be a friend to them. One day he may need to sit in judgment on them, or send them forth to die. "Another day," the lord commander lied. "Edd, best see to your own supper. I have work to finish."

The outside air seemed even colder than before. Across the castle, he could see candlelight shining from the windows of the King's Tower. Val stood on the tower roof, gazing up at the Wall. Stannis kept her closely penned in rooms above his own, but he did allow her to walk the battlements for exercise. She looks lonely, Jon thought. Lonely, and lovely. Ygritte had been pretty in her own way, with her red hair kissed by fire, but it was her smile that made her face come alive. Val did not need to smile; she would have turned men's heads in any court in the wide world.

A Dance with Dragons - Jon VIII

"Then it's time you were away."

"You have my word, Lord Snow. I will return, with Tormund or without him." Val glanced at the sky. The moon was but half-full. "Look for me on the first day of the full moon."

-and then-

"Yes." A sword without a hilt, with no safe way to hold it. But Melisandre had the right of it. Even a sword without a hilt is better than an empty hand when foes are all around you.

"Good." Val wheeled the garron toward the north. "The first night of the full moon, then." Jon watched her ride away wondering if he would ever see her face again. I am no southron lady, he could hear her say, but a woman of the free folk.

"I don't care what she says," muttered Dolorous Edd, as Val vanished behind a stand of soldier pines. "The air is so cold it hurts to breathe. I would stop, but that would hurt worse." He rubbed his hands together. "This is going to end badly."

 

 

>Anyway, there is more on this, but that is all I have time for at the moment.

[Melifeather]

On 7/28/2016 at 8:40 PM, The Fattest Leech said:

*I also believe that Jon will have some difficulty breathing during his recovery and Val will help him (as George has done with many of his Jon archetypes) and the story of Patchface reinforces this idea.

Dang girl! This OP is long! I have barely begun to read this and if I didn't have to work I would wait to comment, but I just have to get a few comments in.

I don't know if you're familiar with my assertion that the wildlings are of Ironborn descent, but this assumption would tie in nicely with your assertion that Val will help Jon breath. The Ironborn worship the Drowned God and they drown and revive their faithful. Being that the Ironborn's god was sealed into the Wall, the whole north is "under water" and "upside down" according to Patchface. Jon needs to be resuscitated with the breath of the Ironborn's other recognized diety - the goddess of the wind or the Storm God. The Ironborn work ice magic by "marrying" their two gods of water and wind. 

On 7/28/2016 at 8:40 PM, The Fattest Leech said:

It was shown back in Jon's last ACOK and first ASOS chapter that Jon was chosen by the old gods to help save the wildlings. This post on PG 2 shows how.

I agree Jon was chosen, but I disagree his job is to "save" the wildings. The Children are all about setting aright their past mistakes. They believe they "broke" the world. They, along with their greenseers, have trapped history into a sort of time loop until a resolution can be completed. Ever since Dany's dragons hatched this history loop has been going in reverse. We've already seen the Targaryens being replaced by Andals., and the Andals are in jeopardy of the Faith Militant installing a type of papal rule or theocracy. We also have Arianne representing Dorne approach JonCon's Aegon - who since they've arrived to Westeros from the Rhoyne are also symbolically the Rhoynar. I don't disagree that Jon and Val are replaying Nymeria, but so are Arianne and Aegon. The next step would be for the King of the North to come to dominance over the Faith Militant. We've already got a replay of the Nights King (also Jon) going against the Lord of Winterfell (Ramsay) who is holding the King Beyond the Wall. Long story short - if the Children want to "un-do" the past, then the union of Nymeria and "Mors" must not happen!

On 7/28/2016 at 8:40 PM, The Fattest Leech said:

Jon was not stabbed because he rode after Arya. Jon gave permission for Mance to go save Arya out at Long Lake. Jon may not have been stabbed for going to ride to fight against Ramsay's threat against the NW. Jon was stabbed for letting the wildlings through.

I completely agree that Jon was stabbed for letting the wildlings through. The "thing" that the Watch has forgotten is that the wildlings are the Others.

And now, back to read more of this fabulous OP you've written!