Moments of Foreshadowing v.12

[Lost Melnibonean]

2 hours ago, Megorova said:

Bran? I said that Bran could be third trinity - wolves+birds+trees. And first two trinities is something else (lions+serpents+unicorns, fish+fox+monsters).

First trinity could be something biblical. Like lion is a second treason, the one for gold, by Hizdahr, who is a Judah - traitor.

"Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up He couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him up?" - Genesis 49:9.

Serpent could be Dany's experience in solitude in Dothraki Sea. Jesus, prior his execution, went to the desert, and was tested there by Satan/serpent. By the end of her trial, Dany accepted who she is - the blood of the dragon.

Unicorns could be Dany, leading slaves out of Slaver's Bay, to save them from Harpy.

"Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns." - Psalm 22:21.

Ex-slaves, Dany's children - "Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?" - Job 39:9.

She freed them from slavery, and made them her army. "God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows." - Numbers 24:8.

Could be that those visions are references to Bible, or to mythology, or that could be banners of 7K. It could be anything. But I think, that it's not nothing. It definitely means something. We just don't know what. GRRM is very crafty, with how he writes.

Oh, I misunderstood.

[Walda]

On 3/18/2018 at 10:29 AM, Megorova said:

there's still flowering trees,

I was thinking Blackwood, the Raventree - a la the white tree of Gondor, Numenor, Tirion, Telperion  - the last blossom of which was, of course, the moon.

Also,  if it refers to a particular warrior, it could be a Brienne thing, with the flowering tree referencing Prince Andrei's oak. Brienne and Princess Maria Nikolaevna Bolkonskaya have a lot more than their beautiful eyes in common, and Maria is Andrei's oak, and becomes the oak of the Rostovs when she blossoms. And Brienne's arc seems to be a Riverlands story.

In both cases the tree is associated with the endurance of a royal line. In real life, the Stuart line is associated with the Royal Oak at Boscabel - which might have been part of Tolkein's inspiration. Either way, a flowering tree is a dream of spring- Dany is not necessarily seeing thing as they are in the instant before her dragons were born in 299AC.

[Lost Melnibonean]

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This morning the puppeteers were doing the tale of Florian and Jonquil. The fat Dornish woman was working Florian in his armor made of motley, while the tall girl held Jonquil’s strings. “You are no knight,” she was saying as the puppet’s mouth moved up and down.

“I know you. You are Florian the Fool.”

“I am, my lady,” the other puppet answered, kneeling. “As great a fool as ever lived, and as great a knight as well.”

“A fool and a knight?” said Jonquil. “I have never heard of such a thing.”

“Sweet lady,” said Florian, “all men are fools, and all men are knights, where womenare concerned.”

It was a good show, sad and sweet both, with a sprightly sword fight at the end, and a nicely painted giant. When it was over, the fat woman went amongst the crowd tocollect coins while the girl packed away the puppets.

The Hedge Knight

Sandor will battle Gregor. 

Near the kennels a group of men-at-arms were fighting a pair of dogs. Tyrion stopped long enough to see the smaller dog tear half the face off the larger one, and earned a few coarse laughs by observing that the loser now resembled Sandor Clegane.

Tyrion II, Storm

I suppose this foreshadows the eventual showdown between the brothers Clegane. It looks like Sandor will lose, but perhaps expose Gregor for the undead monster thst he has become...

And there is this where Sandor tells us about his intention to kill Gregor...

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"Gregor never knew what he had, did he? He couldn't have, or he would have dragged you back kicking and screaming to King's Landing and dumped you in Cersei's lap. Oh, that's bloody sweet. I'll be sure and tell him that, before I cut his heart out."

Arya IX, Storm

Gregor will slay Sandor because Sandor has no intention of killing his brother and thus he will lose the eventual showdown...

It all happened so fast. The Knight of Flowers was shouting for his own sword as Ser Gregor knocked his squire aside and made a grab for the reins of his horse. The mare scented blood and reared. Loras Tyrell kept his seat, but barely. Ser Gregor swung his sword, a savage two-handed blow that took the boy in the chest and knocked him from the saddle. The courser dashed away in panic as Ser Loras lay stunned in the dirt. But as Gregor lifted his sword for the killing blow, a rasping voice warned, "Leave him be," and a steel-clad hand wrenched him away from the boy.

The Mountain pivoted in wordless fury, swinging his longsword in a killing arc with all his massive strength behind it, but the Hound caught the blow and turned it, and for what seemed an eternity the two brothers stood hammering at each other as a dazed Loras Tyrell was helped to safety. Thrice Ned saw Ser Gregor aim savage blows at the hound's-head helmet, yet not once did Sandor send a cut at his brother's unprotected face.

It was the king's voice that put an end to it . . . the king's voice and twenty swords. Jon Arryn had told them that a commander needs a good battlefield voice, and Robert had proved the truth of that on the Trident. He used that voice now. "STOP THIS MADNESS," he boomed, "IN THE NAME OF YOUR KING!"

The Hound went to one knee. Ser Gregor's blow cut air, and at last he came to his senses. He dropped his sword and glared at Robert, surrounded by his Kingsguard and a dozen other knights and guardsmen. Wordlessly, he turned and strode off, shoving past Barristan Selmy. "Let him go," Robert said, and as quickly as that, it was over.

Eddard VII, Game

Sandor actively avoided trying to kill his brother at his own peril in Eddard VII, Game. He expressed an intention to kill his brother in Arya IX, Storm. But nothing changed in their relation in the interim. Sandor had no more reason to kill Gregor than when he actively avoided trying to kill his brother.

Unless, of course, Sandor perceives that something has changed...

[LiveFirstDieLater]

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The moon was fat and full. Stars wheeled across a black sky. Rain fell and froze, and tree limbs snapped from the weight of the ice. Bran and Meera made up names for those who sang the song of earth: Ash and Leaf and Scales, Black Knife and Snowylocks and Coals. Their true names were too long for human tongues, said Leaf. Only she could speak the Common Tongue, so what the others thought of their new names Bran never learned.

After the bone-grinding cold of the lands beyond the Wall, the caves were blessedly warm, and when the chill crept out of the rock the singers would light fires to drive it off again. Down here there was no wind, no snow, no ice, no dead things reaching out to grab you, only dreams and rushlight and the kisses of the ravens. And the whisperer in darkness.

The last greenseer, the singers called him, but in Bran's dreams he was still a three-eyed crow. When Meera Reed had asked him his true name, he made a ghastly sound that might have been a chuckle. "I wore many names when I was quick, but even I once had a mother, and the name she gave me at her breast was "I have an uncle Brynden," Bran said. "He's my mother's uncle, really. Brynden Blackfish, he's called."

I never noticed that this was the only time in the series GRRM uses the word rushlight.

There is an Aesop’s fable about a rushlight:

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A RUSHLIGHT, in love with its own brilliancy, once boasted that its light was brighter even than that of the sun, the moon, and the stars.

Just then a door opened, and a puff of wind blew it out.

As the owner relighted it, he said: "Cease now your boasting. Be content to shine in silence. Heavenly lights do not blow out. Know that not even the stars need to be relit."

It is basically a warning against vanity and boasting...

but the parallels to the passage above and ASoIaF themes is striking.

Dany has her door and the wind behind her threatening a fate worse than death...

And Bran is in this cave, hidden from the stars, where there is no wind...

I believe this is a subtle clue about Bloodraven, as he’s the one boasting here, and his motives.

The kisses of the ravens is interesting as well and may refer to the old English ballad “The three ravens” or more interestingly to the Scottish "The Twa Corbies" (Two crows or two ravens!). Rather than post text I’ll link the Wikipedia... but let’s just say I believe this is another indication that Bran could be in trouble and that Bloodraven is not the three eyed crow. (And the parallel to Dany’s trip to the House of the Undying can be noted as at the end they try to eat her eye...)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Ravens

Evermore!

[LiveFirstDieLater]

4 hours ago, Lost Melnibonean said:

The Hedge Knight

Sandor will battle Gregor. 

Near the kennels a group of men-at-arms were fighting a pair of dogs. Tyrion stopped long enough to see the smaller dog tear half the face off the larger one, and earned a few coarse laughs by observing that the loser now resembled Sandor Clegane.

Tyrion II, Storm

I suppose this foreshadows the eventual showdown between the brothers Clegane. It looks like Sandor will lose, but perhaps expose Gregor for the undead monster thst he has become...

And there is this where Sandor tells us about his intention to kill Gregor...

Arya IX, Storm

Gregor will slay Sandor because Sandor has no intention of killing his brother and thus he will lose the eventual showdown...

It all happened so fast. The Knight of Flowers was shouting for his own sword as Ser Gregor knocked his squire aside and made a grab for the reins of his horse. The mare scented blood and reared. Loras Tyrell kept his seat, but barely. Ser Gregor swung his sword, a savage two-handed blow that took the boy in the chest and knocked him from the saddle. The courser dashed away in panic as Ser Loras lay stunned in the dirt. But as Gregor lifted his sword for the killing blow, a rasping voice warned, "Leave him be," and a steel-clad hand wrenched him away from the boy.

The Mountain pivoted in wordless fury, swinging his longsword in a killing arc with all his massive strength behind it, but the Hound caught the blow and turned it, and for what seemed an eternity the two brothers stood hammering at each other as a dazed Loras Tyrell was helped to safety. Thrice Ned saw Ser Gregor aim savage blows at the hound's-head helmet, yet not once did Sandor send a cut at his brother's unprotected face.

It was the king's voice that put an end to it . . . the king's voice and twenty swords. Jon Arryn had told them that a commander needs a good battlefield voice, and Robert had proved the truth of that on the Trident. He used that voice now. "STOP THIS MADNESS," he boomed, "IN THE NAME OF YOUR KING!"

The Hound went to one knee. Ser Gregor's blow cut air, and at last he came to his senses. He dropped his sword and glared at Robert, surrounded by his Kingsguard and a dozen other knights and guardsmen. Wordlessly, he turned and strode off, shoving past Barristan Selmy. "Let him go," Robert said, and as quickly as that, it was over.

Eddard VII, Game

Sandor actively avoided trying to kill his brother at his own peril in Eddard VII, Game. He expressed an intention to kill his brother in Arya IX, Storm. But nothing changed in their relation in the interim. Sandor had no more reason to kill Gregor than when he actively avoided trying to kill his brother.

Unless, of course, Sandor perceives that something has changed...

Interesting, although, to play devils advocate, Sandor is the smaller dog and Gregor doesn’t have a head to cut at any more... it may be that the cleganebowl will be an upset!

[Lost Melnibonean]

27 minutes ago, LiveFirstDieLater said:

Interesting, although, to play devils advocate, Sandor is the smaller dog and Gregor doesn’t have a head to cut at any more... it may be that the cleganebowl will be an upset!

Dare I say it? I will be rooting for the... underdog. 

[Lost Melnibonean]

F#@%!&g brilliant...

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Ned had hoped to discover the king still abed in a wine-soaked sleep, but luck was not with him. They found Robert drinking beer from a polished horn and roaring his displeasure at two young squires who were trying to buckle him into his armor. “Your Grace,” one was saying, almost in tears, “it’s made too small, it won’t go.” He fumbled, and the gorget he was trying to fit around Robert's thick neck tumbled to the ground.

“Seven hells!” Robert swore. “Do I have to do it myself? Piss on the both of you. Pick it up. Don’t just stand there gaping, Lancel, pick it up!”

The lad jumped, and the king noticed his company. “Look at these oafs, Ned. My wife insisted I take these two to squire for me, and they’re worse than useless. Can’t even put a man’s armor on him properly. Squires, they say. I say they’re swineherds dressed up in silk.”

Get it? It's right there! 

[LiveFirstDieLater]

53 minutes ago, Lost Melnibonean said:

F#@%!&g brilliant...

Get it? It's right there! 

Lol, Boaring!

But actually that’s great

[Corvo the Crow]

May have been brought up before but Jaime not taking Tytos' daughter but Hoster as a ward and also taking a Bracken daughter with the mention of marriage - feud - marriage cycle between the two houses seems a foreshadowing of a future marriage.

Stag killing Direwolf is the foreshadowing of Ned going to die is a popular opinion but I think it may also be a foreshadowing for Robb and Jon since it's the two of them who found it. Robb dies against the "Stag" Joffrey and Jon "dies" because of the Stag Stannis' actions.

[Corvo the Crow]

I've mentioned in I've never noticed thread that Ghost growing faster and the saying bastards growing faster but ghost's growth could also be a foreshadowing;

Ghost, the quiet wolf and runt of the litter who belongs to the solemn bastard Jon, growing faster  than the others and becoming larger can be a foreshadowing for Jon advancing faster and becoming a much more important person than the other Starks. We already see him become Lord Commander in a very short time and become a hand for a king(becoming a trusted and valuable counselor to Stannis while Davos is away) in all but name and also becoming a king himself(for wildlings) in all but name. Jon's star is on the rise and it's rising fast.

While not so relevant, he also seems to have some Daeron the good in him, bringing the wildlings, incorporating them into the realm throuh marriage much like Daeron did with Dorne.

[Lost Melnibonean]

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"This will be a tale to tell our grandchildren," Cletus had declared the day they set out from his father's castle. Will made a face at that, and said, "A tale to tell tavern wenches, you mean, in hopes they'll lift their skirts." Cletus had slapped him on the back. "For grandchildren, you need children. For children, you need to lift some skirts." Later, in the PlankyTown, the Dornishmen had toasted Quentyn's future bride, made ribald japes about his wedding night to come, and talked about the things they'd see, the deeds they'd do, the glory they would win.

The Merchant’s Man, Dance 6

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The old knight had heard enough. "What Prince Quentyn did he did for Dorne. Do you take me for some doting grandfather? I have spent my life around kings and queens and princes. Sunspearmeans to take up arms against the Iron Throne. No, do not trouble to deny it. Doran Martell is not a man to call his spears without hope of victory. Duty brought Prince Quentyn here. Duty, honor, thirst for glory … never love. Quentyn was here for dragons, not Daenerys."

The Queen’s Hand, Dance 70

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"The Lady Melisandre tells us that sometimesR'hllor permits his faithful servants to glimpse the future in flames. It seemed to me as I watched the fire this morning that I was looking at a dozen beautiful dancers, maidens garbed in yellow silk spinning and swirling before a great king. I think it was a true vision, ser. A glimpse of the glory that awaits His Grace after we take King's Landing and the throne that is his by rights."

Davos I, Clash 10

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"Take care, priest," Victarion warned him. "There are godly men aboard this ship who would tear out your tongue for speaking such blasphemies. Your red god will have his due, I swear it. My word is iron. Ask any of my men."

The black priest bowed his head. "There is no need. The Lord of Light has shown me your worth, lord Captain. Every night in my fires I glimpse the glory that awaits you."

Victarion, Dance 63

Stannis and Victarion will bathe in dragonfire.

[hiemal]

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Jon chuckled. "Perhaps you should do the same thing, little sister. Wed Tully to Stark in your arms." "A wolf with a fish in its mouth?" It made her laugh. "That would look silly..."

. . . AGoT

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She splashed noisily through the shallows and threw herself into the deeper water, her legs churning. The current was strong but she was stronger. She swam, following her nose. The river smells were rich and wet, but those were not the smells that pulled her. She paddled after the sharp red whisper of cold blood, the sweet cloying stench of death. She chased them as she had often chased a red deer through the trees, and in the end she ran them down, and her jaw closed around a pale white arm. She shook it to make it move, but there was only death and blood in her mouth. By now she was tiring, and it was all she could do to pull the body back to shore. As she dragged it up the muddy bank, one of her little brothers came prowling, his tongue lolling from his mouth. She had to snarl to drive him off, or else he would have fed. Only then did she stop to shake the water from her fur. The white thing lay facedown in the mud, her dead flesh wrinkled and pale, cold blood trickling from her throat. Rise, she thought. Rise and eat and run with us.

ASoS

Probably been mentioned before but it leapt out at me recently.

[Lost Melnibonean]

2 hours ago, hiemal said:

. . . AGoT

ASoS

Probably been mentioned before but it leapt out at me recently.

Yeah, that's a good one!

[Lost Melnibonean]

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Whenever he'd imagined his homecoming, he had always pictured himself returning to the snug bedchamber in the Sea Tower, where he'd slept as a child. Instead the old woman led him to the Bloody Keep. The halls here were larger and better furnished, if no less cold nor damp. Theon was given a suite of chilly rooms with ceilings so high that they were lost in gloom. He might have been more impressed if he had not known that these were the very chambers that had given the Bloody Keep its name. A thousand years before, the sons of the River King had been slaughtered here, hacked to bits in their beds so that pieces of their bodies might be sent back to their father on the mainland.

But Greyjoys were not murdered in Pyke except once in a great while by their brothers, and his brothers were both dead.

Theon I, Clash 11

Foreshadows Euron killing his brother Balon, and pieces of Theon being sent back to Theon's family. 

[Megorova]

On 06.04.2018 at 11:59 PM, Lost Melnibonean said:

Later, in the PlankyTown, the Dornishmen had toasted Quentyn's future bride, made ribald japes about his wedding night to come

Quentyn was "toasted" by dragonfire, and then got into Dany's bed.

On 06.04.2018 at 11:59 PM, Lost Melnibonean said:

Stannis and Victarion will bathe in dragonfire.

 

On 06.04.2018 at 11:59 PM, Lost Melnibonean said:

"The Lady Melisandre tells us that sometimesR'hllor permits his faithful servants to glimpse the future in flames. It seemed to me as I watched the fire this morning that I was looking at a dozen beautiful dancers, maidens garbed in yellow silk spinning and swirling before a great king. I think it was a true vision, ser. A glimpse of the glory that awaits His Grace after we take King's Landing and the throne that is his by rights."

Maybe this is not Stannis? Yellow is color of Yunkai, or one of colors of Graces, so those maidens may be them, and the King is Hizdahr.

Stannis is most likely already dead. Why would Ramsey lie about that?

[Lost Melnibonean]

1 hour ago, Megorova said:

Quentyn was "toasted" by dragonfire, and then got into Dany's bed.

 

Maybe this is not Stannis? Yellow is color of Yunkai, or one of colors of Graces, so those maidens may be them, and the King is Hizdahr.

Stannis is most likely already dead. Why would Ramsey lie about that?

  Not in my books... 

[Megorova]

1 hour ago, Lost Melnibonean said:

  Not in my books... 

Ramsay wrote that, in his last letter, where he said that Stannis is dead, and he has his sword, and he captured Mance, etc. In Theon's chapter in TWOW, he is Stannis' captive, and they are in some castle, don't remember in which exactly, both still alive. Though between Stannis leaving Castle Black, and Jon getting that letter, lots of time passed, months. Thus that Theon's chapter is happening at the same time as ADWD. Why would Ramsey lie? It's obvious, that everything else, that he wrote, was truth - fake Arya and Theon managed to escape, Ramsey defeated Stannis, took his fake magic sword, tortured Mance, found out from him about Melisandre, Selyse and Shireen, etc. So by the end of ADWD, Stannis is really already dead.

For Dany to slay a lie, that Stannis is Azor Ahai, it isn't necessary for Stannis to be alive. Dany will prove, that Stannis wasn't the one, when Dany will prove that she is the Messiah, or rather one of three, probably.

[chrisdaw]

Foreshadowing in the broadest sense.

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Prince Quentyn was listening intently, at least. That one is his father's son. Short and stocky, plain-faced, he seemed a decent lad, sober, sensible, dutiful … but not the sort to make a young girl's heart beat faster. And Daenerys Targaryen, whatever else she might be, was still a young girl, as she herself would claim when it pleased her to play the innocent. Like all good queens she put her people first—else she would never have wed Hizdahr zo Loraq—but the girl in her still yearned for poetry, passion, and laughter. She wants fire, and Dorne sent her mud.

You could make a poultice out of mud to cool a fever. You could plant seeds in mud and grow a crop to feed your children. Mud would nourish you, where fire would only consume you, but fools and children and young girls would choose fire every time.

This is commentary on Dany + Jon. Dany as she is now wouldn't be so attracted to or impressed by Jon, he's not as much mud as Qentyn but he isn't fire either. But before she gets to Jon comes Euron, who is poetry, passion and laughter, all fire. And he's going to consume her, burn her hard. Euron will cause her to grow up, become more a woman and no longer the young girl, and she will then more value the merits of a man like Quentyn, in time for her to meet Jon.

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"No." The eunuch's voice seemed deeper. "He is here. Aegon has been shaped for rule since before he could walk. He has been trained in arms, as befits a knight to be, but that was not the end of his education. He reads and writes, he speaks several tongues, he has studied history and law and poetry. A septa has instructed him in the mysteries of the Faith since he was old enough to understand them. He has lived with fisherfolk, worked with his hands, swum in rivers and mended nets and learned to wash his own clothes at need. He can fish and cook and bind up a wound, he knows what it is like to be hungry, to be hunted, to be afraid. Tommen has been taught that kingship is his right. Aegon knows that kingship is his duty, that a king must put his people first, and live and rule for them."

A straight-forward one that has done the rounds. Varys talking about his Aegon, but really it is GRRM talking about his Arya, who will be queen at series end.

[Lost Melnibonean]

30 minutes ago, Megorova said:

Ramsay wrote that, in his last letter, where he said that Stannis is dead, and he has his sword, and he captured Mance, etc. In Theon's chapter in TWOW, he is Stannis' captive, and they are in some castle, don't remember in which exactly, both still alive. Though between Stannis leaving Castle Black, and Jon getting that letter, lots of time passed, months. Thus that Theon's chapter is happening at the same time as ADWD. Why would Ramsey lie? It's obvious, that everything else, that he wrote, was truth - fake Arya and Theon managed to escape, Ramsey defeated Stannis, took his fake magic sword, tortured Mance, found out from him about Melisandre, Selyse and Shireen, etc. So by the end of ADWD, Stannis is really already dead.

For Dany to slay a lie, that Stannis is Azor Ahai, it isn't necessary for Stannis to be alive. Dany will prove, that Stannis wasn't the one, when Dany will prove that she is the Messiah, or rather one of three, probably.

When he released Theon, Winds, the George said that the spoiler chapter preceded Jon XIII, Dance, and suggested that the reader should infer that from the context of the events and dialogue described in Theon, Winds..

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A Taste of Winter

As a Christmas gift to all my loyal fans and readers, I've just replaced the (long published) sample chapters from A DANCE WITH DRAGONS on my website with an unpublished sample chapter from THE WINDS OF WINTER.

Go ye to "Ice & Fire Sample" on my website and enjoy.

(The chronology, as usual, is tricky. This chapter will be found eventually at the beginning of WINDS, but as you will be able to tell from context, it actually takes place before some of the chapters at the end of DANCE).

Love it or hate it, please do NOT discuss it here. Any such posts will be deleted. There are plenty of great places on the net for such discussions, so take your thoughts, comments, and analysis to Westeros or the Tower of the Hand or the Podcast of Ice and Fire, or your favorite foreign language site. 

(FYI, there will be a different sample chapter from WINDS OF WINTER included at the end of the paperback edition of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS when that is published next July).

Happy holidays, all. Keep reading.12/28/2011

That spoiler chapter strongly suggests that

Spoiler

 

Stannis intends a ruse, and since a plain reading of the so-called pink letter suggests that more than a week has passed since Theon's escape, isn't it possible that between Theon, Winds and Jon XIII, Dance Stannis executed his ruse, and as a result, Ramsay came to believe Stannis is dead and his army defeated? 

And if the author intended for Stannis to die at or near Winterfell early in Winds, why would the author be setting up the support for Stannis from the Iron Bank, and why would he have Justin Massey cross the Narrow Sea for sellswords to bolter Stannis's depleted forces?  

 

[Megorova]

15 hours ago, Lost Melnibonean said:

When he released Theon, Winds, the George said that the spoiler chapter preceded Jon XIII, Dance, and suggested that the reader should infer that from the context of the events and dialogue described in Theon, Winds..

That spoiler chapter strongly suggests that

  Hide contents

 

1. Stannis intends a ruse, and since a plain reading of the so-called pink letter suggests that more than a week has passed since Theon's escape, isn't it possible that between Theon, Winds and Jon XIII, Dance Stannis executed his ruse, and as a result, Ramsay came to believe Stannis is dead and his army defeated? 

2. And if the author intended for Stannis to die at or near Winterfell early in Winds,

3. why would the author be setting up the support for Stannis from the Iron Bank,

4. and why would he have Justin Massey cross the Narrow Sea for sellswords to bolter Stannis's depleted forces?  

 

1. What's the point of ruse, if not to use it? And if a week after Stannis' supposed death, Ramsey was still in Winterfell, then it means, that if Stannis is alive, then he didn't used as opportunity rumors about his death, to unexpectedly attack Winterfell, and catch Ramsey off guard.

Also maybe Melisandre couldn't see Stannis, because he was gone, dead.

2. I think that probably more than half of Winds, is describing events, prior Jon was attacked, and prior Dany met Dothraki.

There's Arya's plot line in Braavos. There's Sam in Citadel. There's Jaime/Brienne in Riverlands/The Vale (if they will go to retrieve Sansa). There's Sansa in The Vale. Martells POV in Dorne. JonCon in Stormlands. Tyrion near Meereen. Barristan in Meereen. One Greyjoy in Westeros, and one or two separate POV's in Essos. There was only two of Cersei's chapters in ADWD. Her trial, and what happened after Kevan's death, all of it happened prior battle at Winterfell, and thus prior attack on Jon.

Chapters with different POV's not always in chronological order. For example near the end of ADWD, there was several chapters of what was happening in Meereen, from Quentin's POV, Tyrion and Barristan. But the very last chapter in the book, the one with Dany's POV, is happening only a few days after she left Meereen, while in Barristan's chapters, that were before that last Dany's chapter, after her disappearance passed several weeks.

Thus probably in the Winds, there will be lots of chapters, with POVs of different characters, but what will be happening there, happened prior Jon's last chapter in ADWD.

So Stannis may die in the middle of next book, not in the beginning of it, and prior that we will read about where he was, after he left The Wall, and until he will be killed by Ramsey, and all of that happened prior Pink letter was sent. 

3. For Jon to get that support.

For Iron Bank/Facelss Men to find out more information, about what is happening beyond The Wall, about the Others. Because I think, that they were not looking for information, how to kill dragons, both at Red Keep, and in Citadel. They were looking information about the Others, and they found out that the Undead Army could be stopped by the promised Prince. And they were looking for information, about who that may be. And found out about Rhaegar and Lyanna (from Targaryens' personal archives in Red Keep, and they were looking in Citadel documents about Rhaegar's and Lyanna's marriage, and Jon's "birth certificate").

4. He may not get there. Pirats, stormy seas, etc. Or even if he will get there, maybe instead of getting there sellswords for Stannis, he will meet there Dany. And from him she will find out about the Undead Army, and about wildlings stuck at Hardhome. And thus she will take her fleet there, and it was this, what Mother Mole saw in her vision - Dany saving wildlings.

 

Foreshadowing of what may happen with Tommen and Myrcella.

During previous uprising of Faith Militant, which was caused by incest between Targaryens, Poor Fellows scaled walls of Red Keep, and killed Raymont Baratheon. According to some sources, he was son of Orys Baratheon and Argella Durrandon. Orys and Argella also had other children, including daughter Ethelide, she eloped with a hedge knight and disappeared. Supposedly GRRM shared this info with TV-show maker Bryan Cogman, for the Book of Lineages. So Baratheon brother got killed by Faith Militant, and his sister disappeared with a knight. Maybe it's a hint about Tommen and Myrcella - Tommen will be killed by Sparrows, and Myrcella kidnapped by Balon Swann (I think that he's working for Varys, so if he will retrieve Myrcella from Martells, then the girl won't live for long after that).