Theory about resolution of "Beast of Stone" Prophecy

[Damon_Tor]

2 hours ago, Hodor the Articulate said:

I haven't found any theories of it being metaphorical convincing enough. They all do too much tick-boxing.

I'm not sure I understand that complaint. Do you mean they stretch too hard to make pieces fit the words of the prophecy? I agree in general, but my own bias has a hard time finding that complaint in mine.

 

[Amris]

7 hours ago, Damon_Tor said:

That's a strong interpretation. I like that it looks at the whole picture and has an overall interpretation in mind. I'd go so far as to say this is my second favorite interpretation (after mine, naturally). It gives it a song-like quality. Well done.

I have some quibbles with the details. I don't care for the Gargoyle as the stone beast and smoking tower; "shadow fire" isn't covered at all, for example, and I'm struggling to think of how it would fit. And every other line in your example links back to a person, why does this one link back to a gargoyle? You seem to attempt to rectify this by drawing a parallel between the gargoyle and Bran, but it's a fairly weak link, especially when Bran has such potent imagery available for himself. As, for that matter, do the crypts. And I don't think anyone say Viserys as any kind of prophetic figure. Did he ever discuss himself in prophetic terms? I didn't think he did, but I suppose he could be wrong.

I like your holistic approach, but the particulars need some refinement IMO.

Thank you!

I don't know if you have read the details of my explanation. The clues towards Bran being symbolized by the gargoyle is not weak at all IMO. I'll post the link with the details again below:

George even explicitly shows us the gargoyle three books later, staring out of the snow, into the sky. As for the shadow fire that is being shown during the burning of Winterfell when the gargoyle falls.

(The shadow fire may turn out to have a double meaning if it turns out Rhaegar and Lyanna were not married after all so that Jon is a Targ bastard. But that we don't know yet.)

[Leo of House Cartel]

19 hours ago, kissdbyfire said:

One thought that keeps coming back to me is the possibility of a volcano erupting on DS, and if there are dragons eggs there, old petrified ones... could a fierce volcano eruption cause these stone eggs to hatch? Perhaps if more of the recipe's ingredients were present as well?

The Doom of Dragonstone, perhaps? 

I wonder if the Dragonmont ever erupted during the Tagaryen era, and if the island could withstand it without being totally obliterated?

What do you think of dragonglass as an ingredient for the hatching of dragon eggs in such a volcanic scenario? The phrases "stone dragon" and "frozen fire" are pretty interchangeable - an unhatched dragon egg is frozen fire and vice versa.

There certainly seems to be some magical component in the frozen fire, based on it's ability to kill Others, and the Dragonmont erupting could have a similiar, if not greater, effect as a fire magic ritual - even more so if a clutch of eggs is present. Such a situation does sound like the ideal conditions for dragon eggs to hatch.

(In this scenario maybe the spewing of shadow fire may represent the abundance of obsidian being thrown into the sky, like Old Valyria on the day of The Doom, where red clouds were said to have rained down dragonglass)

 

[Lost Melnibonean]

11 hours ago, Amris said:

Thank you!

I don't know if you have read the details of my explanation. The clues towards Bran being symbolized by the gargoyle is not weak at all IMO. I'll post the link with the details again below:

George even explicitly shows us the gargoyle three books later, staring out of the snow, into the sky. As for the shadow fire that is being shown during the burning of Winterfell when the gargoyle falls.

(The shadow fire may turn out to have a double meaning if it turns out Rhaegar and Lyanna were not married after all so that Jon is a Targ bastard. But that we don't know yet.)

If the lie is Jon Snow's paternity, then we don't need to relate Bran to a gargoyle or even to stone. Here's the vision... "From a smoking tower, a great stone beast took wing breathing shadow fire." Here's what summer observed several chapters later... "The smoke and ash clouded his eyes, and in the sky he saw a great winged snake whose roar was a river of flame. He bared his teeth, but then the snake was gone." 

The smoking tower could be Winterfell. The beast has emerged from the ruins of the castle, which is made of stone. The winged snake is a dragon, which is a great beast. The dragon is flying since Summer sees it in the sky. Smoke and ash and a river of flame sound a lot like shadow fire. 

The trick is relating this to Jon Snow. Assuming Jon Snow is the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, couldn't we call him the ice dragon of Winterfell? and wouldn't that connect Jon to the vision? 

[Amris]

15 hours ago, Lost Melnibonean said:

If the lie is Jon Snow's paternity, then we don't need to relate Bran to a gargoyle or even to stone. Here's the vision... "From a smoking tower, a great stone beast took wing breathing shadow fire." Here's what summer observed several chapters later... "The smoke and ash clouded his eyes, and in the sky he saw a great winged snake whose roar was a river of flame. He bared his teeth, but then the snake was gone." 

The smoking tower could be Winterfell. The beast has emerged from the ruins of the castle, which is made of stone. The winged snake is a dragon, which is a great beast. The dragon is flying since Summer sees it in the sky. Smoke and ash and a river of flame sound a lot like shadow fire. 

The trick is relating this to Jon Snow. Assuming Jon Snow is the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, couldn't we call him the ice dragon of Winterfell? and wouldn't that connect Jon to the vision? 

Yes, that the dragon of shadow fire that Bran sees over Winterfell through summer's eyes during the burning of Winterfell is a symbol of Jon metaphorically 'hatching' and 'taking wing' there as a dragon seems quite likely.

However that can be only a part of the explanation: first, Jon isn't a stone beast. That's where the gargoyle that falls down at that very spot comes in. And which George found it necessary to explicitly remind us of 3 books later in book 5.

Second we know that Jon did neither literally nor metaphorically 'hatch' during the burning of winterfell when the winged snake and the shadow fire are being seen by Summer. Jon's metaphorical hatching will come later when his parentage is uncovered. 

So the vision sets that up: it shows the pieces that will come together to uncover the lie of Jon's parentage: Bran through his visions - who took wing (fell) right at the spot were the stone gargoyle now lies at the very entrance to the crypts - and (likely) Lyanna's tomb within the crypts with whatever evidence it contains.