Just Rhaegar and Lyanna things

[Hodor the Articulate]

On 3/04/2017 at 3:28 PM, Valedina said:

Rhaegar was descriped as [...] obsessed with the prophesy of the prince that wad promished.

No he wasn't, and I wish people would stop treating this as fact.

Rhaegar is often mentioned in relation to the prophecy because the prophecy is one of the central mysteries of the series, and he was one of the people who studied it. Nowhere does it say he spent his waking hours focused on it, or that he prioritised it above all else. In fact, he is characterised as having many other interests, like music and books (and Lyanna). He also had longstanding plans to overthrow Aerys.

I'm also completely unconvinced that Rhaegar was trying for "three heads", and especially of the idea that he was willing to do anything to achieve that. It all hinges a few words by hallucination!Rhaegar in the HotU, said while "his eyes met Dany’s, and it seemed as if he saw her standing there beyond the door". If that wasn't cue that the "there must be one more [...] The dragon has three heads” bit was "sights and sounds of [...] days that never were", I don't know what is.

[The Exiled Septa]

On 4/10/2017 at 5:19 AM, Hodor the Articulate said:

No he wasn't, and I wish people would stop treating this as fact.

Rhaegar is often mentioned in relation to the prophecy because the prophecy is one of the central mysteries of the series, and he was one of the people who studied it. Nowhere does it say he spent his waking hours focused on it, or that he prioritised it above all else. In fact, he is characterised as having many other interests, like music and books (and Lyanna). He also had longstanding plans to overthrow Aerys.

I'm also completely unconvinced that Rhaegar was trying for "three heads", and especially of the idea that he was willing to do anything to achieve that. It all hinges a few words by hallucination!Rhaegar in the HotU, said while "his eyes met Dany’s, and it seemed as if he saw her standing there beyond the door". If that wasn't cue that the "there must be one more [...] The dragon has three heads” bit was "sights and sounds of [...] days that never were", I don't know what is.

 

Well, it isn't necessary for GRRM to say that Rhaegar was pretty obsessed with the prophecy.As I said for me it's perfectly clear he was.All his life was revolving around the prophecy.When he was a child all he did was read to the point that jests were made about his habits and people said that Baelor the blessed was reborn.Somewhere along the way, he read something that changed his life and made him feel obligated to learn martial arts.It is highly possible and logical that he read something about the ptwsp being a descendant of Aerys and Naerys and therefore believing he was that person.So he starts learning how to fight even though he doesn't really want to engage in martial arts just so he can fulfil the prophecy. He then realises that he is not the ptwp and that his child will be the one .So Aegon is born and again Rhaegar mentions the prophecy.Then he "steals" Lya an act that lead to the Targaryen dynasty to fall and thousands of people to die.Something that was pretty done again for the prophecy.    For me, he sure seems obsessed but not necessarily with the bad meaning of this word.Maybe I should have chosen another world but anyway....... Of course, i believe he had other things to occupy himself and many other hobbies but his main priority was that.

Again that's what I believe.I would really like to hear your opinion about why he changed something in his life if he didn't find what he read in that book  that important( and  not one of his priorities) ,why he kept corresponding with Aemon if (as you said) he was just studying the prophecy and why he caused such destruction (a man who loved the people and wasn't reckless) if not to sacrifice some lives so he could save the next generations to come.

I'm really interested to hear your opinion.

[Hodor the Articulate]

2 hours ago, Valedina said:

Well, it isn't necessary for GRRM to say that Rhaegar was pretty obsessed with the prophecy.As I said for me it's perfectly clear he was.All his life was revolving around the prophecy.When he was a child all he did was read to the point that jests were made about his habits and people said that Baelor the blessed was reborn.Somewhere along the way, he read something that changed his life and made him feel obligated to learn martial arts.It is highly possible and logical that he read something about the ptwsp being a descendant of Aerys and Naerys and therefore believing he was that person.So he starts learning how to fight even though he doesn't really want to engage in martial arts just so he can fulfil the prophecy. He then realises that he is not the ptwp and that his child will be the one .So Aegon is born and again Rhaegar mentions the prophecy.Then he "steals" Lya an act that lead to the Targaryen dynasty to fall and thousands of people to die.Something that was pretty done again for the prophecy.    For me, he sure seems obsessed but not necessarily with the bad meaning of this word.Maybe I should have chosen another world but anyway....... Of course, i believe he had other things to occupy himself and many other hobbies but his main priority was that.

Again that's what I believe.I would really like to hear your opinion about why he changed something in his life if he didn't find what he read in that book  that important( and  not one of his priorities) ,why he kept corresponding with Aemon if (as you said) he was just studying the prophecy and why he caused such destruction (a man who loved the people and wasn't reckless) if not to sacrifice some lives so he could save the next generations to come.

I'm really interested to hear your opinion.

In this very post, you say "When he was a child all he did was read to the point that jests were made about his habits and people said that Baelor the blessed was reborn", which contradicts the notion that his life revolved around the prophecy. Take also his plans to dethrone his father - why would he even care about something as "trivial" as that, when there's three heads to be made and prophesied evil to be fought? (The common argument is that he wanted to unite the realm, to gather as strong a force as possible, but that makes no sense, given the Lyanna stuff). Then there's his harp - how many times has he been mentioned, playing emo songs on his harp? I'd say there's more evidence that he's harp obsessed than prophecy obsessed.

Also, I never said Rhaegar didn't think the prophecy was important, just that he didn't appear to have an unhealthy fixation on it. In fact, I think Rhaegar considering the prophecy a big deal, marks his behaviour (becoming a warrior, dissecting it with Aemon) as perfectly rational. I mean, if you lived in a world with magic and prophecies, and you found a prophecy predicting the rise of some evil force that your close relative (possibly you) will fight off, wouldn't you mull over it a lot?

As to why he risked political turmoil by running off with Lyanna, the text has already answered that - he was in love, and love doesn't give a fig about how straight-thinking you usually are.

[Jon's Queen Consort]

13 minutes ago, Hodor the Articulate said:

the text has already answered that

Actually that is not true. That is what other people thought that he was thinking and not what he was actually thinking.

[Wolfgirly]

There's a lot of minor details about Rhaegar and Lyanna kidnap/abduction that make me wonder.

I've looked at the map of Westeros, Lyanna was "abducted" by Rhaegar in the Riverlands and taken all the way to Dorne. To get to the Tower of Joy they needed to cross the red mountains through the Prince's Pass. I assume they went that way. My mind is full of questions. How far is Riverlands to the Tower of Joy? On that journey, did Rhaegar, Lyanna and guards with them set up camp during this massive trek? How long would've this journey taken? And in all that Lyanna could've been missing her family.

Inside the Tower of Joy, did Lyanna attempt to contact her relatives via birds? And (we know that its unlikely as she was missing) Did she ask Rhaegar why they were there, when can she see her family, ect?

Also with Rhaegar: Lyanna knew he's a married man. She must've asked so many questions. Was he planning to divorce Elia? Was she kept locked inside the tower? How did her brother Ned find her eventually?

 

 

 

[purple-eyes]

On 4/9/2017 at 9:19 PM, Hodor the Articulate said:

No he wasn't, and I wish people would stop treating this as fact.

Rhaegar is often mentioned in relation to the prophecy because the prophecy is one of the central mysteries of the series, and he was one of the people who studied it. Nowhere does it say he spent his waking hours focused on it, or that he prioritised it above all else. In fact, he is characterised as having many other interests, like music and books (and Lyanna). He also had longstanding plans to overthrow Aerys.

I'm also completely unconvinced that Rhaegar was trying for "three heads", and especially of the idea that he was willing to do anything to achieve that. It all hinges a few words by hallucination!Rhaegar in the HotU, said while "his eyes met Dany’s, and it seemed as if he saw her standing there beyond the door". If that wasn't cue that the "there must be one more [...] The dragon has three heads” bit was "sights and sounds of [...] days that never were", I don't know what is.

if you need to see actual words from GRRM saying Rhaegar is obsessed in prophecy, then I am afraid you will be disappointed. Many authors including GRRM do not always telling something straightforward. In fact, if he says something straightforward, it is quite likely that it is not true or not completely true. like Jon is son of ned. It looks quite clear that Rhaegar is really into prophecy and willing to do something he does not want to do for the sake of prophecy. He probably admires and loves Lyanna, but this is not the reason he ran off with her. If Elia gives him another child, he would never take this action. Lyanna would still marry Robert and Rhaegar would be just fine with his wife and three children. 

[purple-eyes]

On 4/25/2017 at 7:34 AM, Hodor the Articulate said:

In this very post, you say "When he was a child all he did was read to the point that jests were made about his habits and people said that Baelor the blessed was reborn", which contradicts the notion that his life revolved around the prophecy. Take also his plans to dethrone his father - why would he even care about something as "trivial" as that, when there's three heads to be made and prophesied evil to be fought? (The common argument is that he wanted to unite the realm, to gather as strong a force as possible, but that makes no sense, given the Lyanna stuff). Then there's his harp - how many times has he been mentioned, playing emo songs on his harp? I'd say there's more evidence that he's harp obsessed than prophecy obsessed.

Also, I never said Rhaegar didn't think the prophecy was important, just that he didn't appear to have an unhealthy fixation on it. In fact, I think Rhaegar considering the prophecy a big deal, marks his behaviour (becoming a warrior, dissecting it with Aemon) as perfectly rational. I mean, if you lived in a world with magic and prophecies, and you found a prophecy predicting the rise of some evil force that your close relative (possibly you) will fight off, wouldn't you mull over it a lot?

As to why he risked political turmoil by running off with Lyanna, the text has already answered that - he was in love, and love doesn't give a fig about how straight-thinking you usually are.

You obviously took the text " Rhaegar loved his lady Lyanna thousands of people died for it". However we should know that authors like GRRM do not usually tell truth straightforwardly. There might be some love, but that is just part of the reason. 

I do not think it is bad to be obsessed in prophecy, in fact, Rhaegar is quite likely to be right, he managed to bring the promised prince to save this world.  however, Does this make his action completely correct? probably not. 

[maudisdottir]

9 minutes ago, purple-eyes said:

He probably admires and loves Lyanna, but this is not the reason he ran off with her.

And yet George did allude to him when he made the remark about the events leading up to the current weak political situation as:

Quote

a sneeze, a wildly incompetent and megalomaniac king, a love struck prince, a brutal civil war, a dissolute king that didn't really know what to do with the throne and then chaos

So whether or not the prophecy was the major factor, GRRM has confirmed that Rhaegar was "love-struck" which led to the "brutal civil war". And note the order he lists them - he can't be referring to Prince Duncan the Small because the "wildly incompetent and megalomaniac king" is obviously Aerys.

[purple-eyes]

23 minutes ago, maudisdottir said:

And yet George did allude to him when he made the remark about the events leading up to the current weak political situation as:

So whether or not the prophecy was the major factor, GRRM has confirmed that Rhaegar was "love-struck" which led to the "brutal civil war". And note the order he lists them - he can't be referring to Prince Duncan the Small because the "wildly incompetent and megalomaniac king" is obviously Aerys.

of course GRRM will say "love struck prince". he needs to keep consistent with his text in book. he is not going to speak the truth to you easily. if he says "a prophecy driven prince", then suddenly people know that Jon snow is the promised prince and the savior of the world in long night war. 

but actually you can say that Rhaegar did everything for his crazy love in Lyanna. Prophecy is just a noble excuse he used to persuade himself to abandon his family and duties. This is definitely possible. but you still can not say phophecy did not play an extremely important role in his final action. 

[Hodor the Articulate]

20 minutes ago, purple-eyes said:

of course GRRM will say "love struck prince". he needs to keep consistent with his text in book. he is not going to speak the truth to you easily. if he says "a prophecy driven prince", then suddenly people know that Jon snow is the promised prince and the savior of the world in long night war. 

but actually you can say that Rhaegar did everything for his crazy love in Lyanna. Prophecy is just a noble excuse he used to persuade himself to abandon his family and duties. This is definitely possible. but you still can not say phophecy did not play an extremely important role in his final action. 

Rhaegar's last act was going into battle, so I can say, without question, that prophecy played no role in his final action.

I've never known GRRM to straight-up lie when it comes to spoilery plot points, which is what he would be doing if Rhaegar wasn't "love-struck". Usually, in those situations, he gets a big vague, and often says something that hints at the truth.

[purple-eyes]

1 hour ago, Hodor the Articulate said:

Rhaegar's last act was going into battle, so I can say, without question, that prophecy played no role in his final action.

I've never known GRRM to straight-up lie when it comes to spoilery plot points, which is what he would be doing if Rhaegar wasn't "love-struck". Usually, in those situations, he gets a big vague, and often says something that hints at the truth.

Well, by "final action", I was referring to his final decision of running off with Lyanna to birth a baby Jesus. He did not take any action on Lyanna after the tourney (well, you can surely imagine he was exchanging hot love letters with Lyanna behind the back of his pregnant wife, or even secretly met her somewhere having sex or getting married , but there is no such thing in the book). He only ran off with Lyanna after he was told that his wife can not give him the third head. So his love in Lyanna is somehow related to his wife's inability to carry one more child? how great this love is. 

if you argue about Rhaegar's last act, then his real last act before death is "whispering a woman's name (Lyanna)". As we have discussed before, prophecy definitely played a very important role in his relationship with Lyanna. 

nobody denied that Rhaegar admires and loves Lyanna, however, it is a combination of love and prophecy which made Rhaegar did what he did. If he only harbors love in Lyanna but no need to find another woman for a third baby (Elia gave him three children), then there will be no "abduction". If he only cares about prophecy but had no interest/love in Lyanna, then he would likely sleep with another woman who will cause much less trouble than Lyanna (but still we can not rule out Lyanna because Rhaegar might figure out that this baby has to be from a union of ice and fire, and Lyanna is the only woman available in house Stark).

It seems like you really want to prove that rhaegar did everything only for his crazy love in a teenager. Sorry, it seems like Rhaegar is more than just a love-struck jerk husband. He is performing his "duties" for the greater good as well and this will be proved by Jon Snow's success in saving the world from long night. 

 

[maudisdottir]

6 hours ago, purple-eyes said:

but you still can not say phophecy did not play an extremely important role in his final action. 

I guess it's fortunate then that I never said any such thing:

6 hours ago, maudisdottir said:

So whether or not the prophecy was the major factor

 

[Hodor the Articulate]

4 hours ago, purple-eyes said:

Well, by "final action", I was referring to his final decision of running off with Lyanna to birth a baby Jesus. He did not take any action on Lyanna after the tourney (well, you can surely imagine he was exchanging hot love letters with Lyanna behind the back of his pregnant wife, or even secretly met her somewhere having sex or getting married , but there is no such thing in the book). He only ran off with Lyanna after he was told that his wife can not give him the third head. So his love in Lyanna is somehow related to his wife's inability to carry one more child? how great this love is.

You know what else isn't in the book? Rhaegar running off with Lyanna because Elia wasn't fit to have more children.

That Elia couldn't handle another birth was presumably established not long after Aegon's birth. So if you take issue with the time between Rhaegar and Lyanna's interactions, then you have to also accept that it makes no sense to link Elia's inability to produce more children and Rhaegar running off, given there was months between the two events.

4 hours ago, purple-eyes said:

if you argue about Rhaegar's last act, then his real last act before death is "whispering a woman's name (Lyanna)". As we have discussed before, prophecy definitely played a very important role in his relationship with Lyanna. 

Because the prophecy stipulates that the father of the PtwP must whisper the mother of the PtwP before he dies???

4 hours ago, purple-eyes said:

nobody denied that Rhaegar admires and loves Lyanna, however, it is a combination of love and prophecy which made Rhaegar did what he did. If he only harbors love in Lyanna but no need to find another woman for a third baby (Elia gave him three children), then there will be no "abduction". If he only cares about prophecy but had no interest/love in Lyanna, then he would likely sleep with another woman who will cause much less trouble than Lyanna (but still we can not rule out Lyanna because Rhaegar might figure out that this baby has to be from a union of ice and fire, and Lyanna is the only woman available in house Stark).

It seems like you really want to prove that rhaegar did everything only for his crazy love in a teenager. Sorry, it seems like Rhaegar is more than just a love-struck jerk husband. He is performing his "duties" for the greater good as well and this will be proved by Jon Snow's success in saving the world from long night. 

That's not what you claimed before: "He probably admires and loves Lyanna, but this is not the reason he ran off with her." 

What you've written is all speculation, and full of holes. When did Rhaegar decide Aegon wasn't the PtwP anymore? Where is it even hinted that Rhaegar believed the PtwP must be sired by him? Why did GRRM bother to tell us over and over again that actively engaging in prophesied events is foolhardy, only to have a character be successful in doing just that?

[Weirwood Ghost]

One of the things being left out of this discussion is whether the Martell's had a plan behind the scenes (and that leaves out Varys et al.). It's not hard to imagine, whether happy or not (leave that to eternal debate), a compromised relationship between Elia and Rhaegar. She may have had designs to remove herself from King's Landing with her children as a bargaining chip or even because she wanted to be separated from Aerys unpredictability (protect her children). We don't know what the long term planning was by the Martell's. Sarella is playing her game. There's Darkstar. These unknown threads can have just as much effect as a Grand Master Prophecy.

Rhaegar and Lyanna coming together in whatever way it transpired, prophecy or not, seems like an anomaly to me. There's no sense in it, we have no further information until we hear from Howland Reed.

PoV's can be flawed, especially when we don't know who told them what, what emotion, sentiment or intention is behind the viewpoint. I always figured Viserys' romantic version of Rhaegar and Lyanna in love was in contrast to the view of the Starks, that Lyanna was abducted and raped. At the end we have "promise me Ned..." and a bastard in his arms.

(I'm a prophecy skeptic these days because it never plays out the way you expect...except maybe the Lego Movie has the greastest prophecy payoff!!!!...there is no prophecy).

[purple-eyes]

6 hours ago, Hodor the Articulate said:

You know what else isn't in the book? Rhaegar running off with Lyanna because Elia wasn't fit to have more children.

That Elia couldn't handle another birth was presumably established not long after Aegon's birth. So if you take issue with the time between Rhaegar and Lyanna's interactions, then you have to also accept that it makes no sense to link Elia's inability to produce more children and Rhaegar running off, given there was months between the two events.

Because the prophecy stipulates that the father of the PtwP must whisper the mother of the PtwP before he dies???

That's not what you claimed before: "He probably admires and loves Lyanna, but this is not the reason he ran off with her." 

What you've written is all speculation, and full of holes. When did Rhaegar decide Aegon wasn't the PtwP anymore? Where is it even hinted that Rhaegar believed the PtwP must be sired by him? Why did GRRM bother to tell us over and over again that actively engaging in prophesied events is foolhardy, only to have a character be successful in doing just that?

Not sure how familar you are with the timeline, it is relatively clear (within the limitation of vague words of GRRM) that Rhaegar left his family soon after his son was born. There are several months between tourney and birth of Aegon, yet we did not hear anything about Rhaegar and Lyanna. Once Aegon was born and Elia was announced to be barren, shortly after that Rhaegar abducted Lyanna. 

What usually made a father leave his newborn son immediately after his birth? His crazy love in another hot teenager girl? or some great duties he felt he had no other choice? You give me a choice. 

[maudisdottir]

We don't know what happened in between. We don't know whether they were corresponding, and had planned it all along; or if it was a spur of the moment thing when Rhaegar happened upon her, or if he set out to kidnap her from the start. Until George tells us what happened (or not), then we don't know and can't limit the options to only those that fit our pet theories.

[velo-knight]

On 5/21/2017 at 5:51 PM, Wolfgirly said:

I've looked at the map of Westeros, Lyanna was "abducted" by Rhaegar in the Riverlands and taken all the way to Dorne. To get to the Tower of Joy they needed to cross the red mountains through the Prince's Pass. I assume they went that way. My mind is full of questions. How far is Riverlands to the Tower of Joy? On that journey, did Rhaegar, Lyanna and guards with them set up camp during this massive trek? How long would've this journey taken? And in all that Lyanna could've been missing her family.

The distance traveled, and the fact that their eventual sanctuary was in Dorne, land of Rhaegar's wife, makes me doubt both of the established narratives - neither the abduction to make heads scenario or the elopement scenario requires it. What scenario would require it is clear: someone found out Lyanna was tKoTLT, planned to take some action against her; and Rhaegar, out of either duty or love, attempted to intervene and they fled to safety. What follows is anyone's guess, though the outcome is clear enough.

This one isn't as popular, both because it requires us to believe there was a similar amount of scheming in Robert's Rebellion as there is in the Wot5K without hard evidence; and because it makes it difficult to blame either Rhaegar or Lyanna for the war, which are of course favorite pastimes for some.

14 hours ago, Weirwood Ghost said:

One of the things being left out of this discussion is whether the Martell's had a plan behind the scenes (and that leaves out Varys et al.). It's not hard to imagine, whether happy or not (leave that to eternal debate), a compromised relationship between Elia and Rhaegar. She may have had designs to remove herself from King's Landing with her children as a bargaining chip or even because she wanted to be separated from Aerys unpredictability (protect her children). We don't know what the long term planning was by the Martell's. Sarella is playing her game. There's Darkstar. These unknown threads can have just as much effect as a Grand Master Prophecy.

These are all really interesting possibilities. I'm not sure I see them as likely, but I definitely would read more about the ideas.

14 hours ago, Weirwood Ghost said:

Rhaegar and Lyanna coming together in whatever way it transpired, prophecy or not, seems like an anomaly to me. There's no sense in it, we have no further information until we hear from Howland Reed.

PoV's can be flawed, especially when we don't know who told them what, what emotion, sentiment or intention is behind the viewpoint. I always figured Viserys' romantic version of Rhaegar and Lyanna in love was in contrast to the view of the Starks, that Lyanna was abducted and raped. At the end we have "promise me Ned..." and a bastard in his arms.

I agree, the whole thing is a huge anomaly. We're deliberately given extremely ambiguous information and in particular information which avoids making explicit how politically charged the realm was at the time. That's good storytelling - show, don't tell, after all - but it means we as readers aren't provided many clear reminders that the Kingdoms were a powderkeg waiting to go off, and at the center of it is a very strange series of events that are poorly understood even by those close to them - because if we were reminded, we might see the resemblance to the events of the main story in ASoIaF and start looking for our Petyr Baelishes and our - okay, well, we found our Varys.

[Hodor the Articulate]

15 hours ago, purple-eyes said:

Not sure how familar you are with the timeline, it is relatively clear (within the limitation of vague words of GRRM) that Rhaegar left his family soon after his son was born. There are several months between tourney and birth of Aegon, yet we did not hear anything about Rhaegar and Lyanna. Once Aegon was born and Elia was announced to be barren, shortly after that Rhaegar abducted Lyanna. 

What usually made a father leave his newborn son immediately after his birth? His crazy love in another hot teenager girl? or some great duties he felt he had no other choice? You give me a choice. 

According to the wiki, Aegon was born months before the rebellion. It doesn't even make sense that Rhaegar would leave to make a prophecy baby so soon after Aegon's birth, considering he was sure Aegon was the PtwP. But if you do indeed have evidence that Rhaegar left immediately, by all means, let's see it.

6 hours ago, maudisdottir said:

We don't know what happened in between. We don't know whether they were corresponding, and had planned it all along; or if it was a spur of the moment thing when Rhaegar happened upon her, or if he set out to kidnap her from the start. Until George tells us what happened (or not), then we don't know and can't limit the options to only those that fit our pet theories.

I don't know how much faith we can put in the WoIaF, but there it's implied that it was a spur of the moment thing. If it's correct, Rhaegar and Lyanna were traveling to different places, bumped into each other somewhere in the Riverlands, and then disappeared together. But WoIaF is full of mistakes, so take that with a grain of salt.

[purple-eyes]

11 minutes ago, Hodor the Articulate said:

According to the wiki, Aegon was born months before the rebellion. It doesn't even make sense that Rhaegar would leave to make a prophecy baby so soon after Aegon's birth, considering he was sure Aegon was the PtwP. But if you do indeed have evidence that Rhaegar left immediately, by all means, let's see it.

I don't know how much faith we can put in the WoIaF, but there it's implied that it was a spur of the moment thing. If it's correct, Rhaegar and Lyanna were traveling to different places, bumped into each other somewhere in the Riverlands, and then disappeared together. But WoIaF is full of mistakes, so take that with a grain of salt.

"With the coming of the new year, the crown prince had taken to the road with half a dozen of his closest friends and confidants, on a journey that would ultimately lead him back to the riverlands." 

This is the time when Rhaegar left his family (wife and young son), which is "coming of new year (282)" 

When was Aegon born? You seem to like checking wiki. Wiki said that Aegon was born either in very early of 282 or very late of 281.(in fact 282 seems to be more likely but I would not spend extra time to explain why it is more likely). Either way, it is relatively safe to say Rhaegar left him within a couple of weeks, if not a few days. Considering this is his first born son and his promised prince plus his wife almost died to give birth, I think it is not improper to say he left them immediately after the birth, what do you think? does "immediately after birth" have to be only one second after Aegon was pushed out of his mom's body? 

 

[maudisdottir]

"The coming of the new year" doesn't mean new year's day or the first week of January. It just means after the new year. I'd say it could be any time up until February (although that probably doesn't fit in with the rest of the timeline) but it shouldn't be taken to literally mean the first day of the year.