Luwin's sacrifice to the heart tree and the safety of the Stark Boys

[Darryk]

Well spotted.

[Magnar Of Winterfell]

Now the whole thing happened before the heart tree so BR absolutely saw it, He helped bran and co to reach him in the cave,

if Rickon is in Skagos, I believe he is, than BR might have helped him, consider Skagos is also an island Rickon and Osha would need help to get there.

Lets not forget the Unicorns or Man eating Skagosis (according to myth).

Since Weirwood roots go deep and are throne for Greenseer, mayhaps a blood sacrifice made in front of a heart three prolongs the life of a Greenseer.

Giving BR a little more energy to go on for a while more.

[ladyinblack]

Excellent catch :bowdown:

Luwin spent time with Osha, we assume asking her about the Wildings & north of the Wall. He chose to give his life/blood to the heart tree. It makes sense that he would pray for protection of Bran & Rickon.

Luwin told the boys to go separate ways & for Osha to take Rickon

[Ypsilonya]

Since there was obviously a time when human sacrifces meant something (whatever it may have been ...) to the old gods, I would not wonder if it had an effect in the one or other way. Especially since the weirwoods are so clearly borrowed from celtic symbolism and culture in which human sacrifices were pretty common at least in some regions and or periods.

As a maester Luwin might know something about the old beliefs histories ... there should also be some westerosi version of the "Commentarii de Bello Gallico".

A good point to wait upon in the coming books.

[The Cattataphish]

Great catch

[WinterKing]

Best catch of the month!

[Prince DragonFly]

I had been reading all these threads about how the "Maesters" (Grey Sheep) hatched some huge conspiracy to overthrow the Targs and influenced Rickard's "Southron Ambitions" but all I ever saw from Maester Luwin was a genuine respect and love for the Starks, especially the children, and in a way I think that he would do whatever he felt was necessary to keep them safe after he passes, even if it meant believing in some "northern sorcery".

interesting point about maybe it not counting if the sacrifice is already dying, but blood is blood after all.

[Prince DragonFly]

Bran and Rickon have perhaps had two of the toughest journeys thus far in the novels because they are so young and so vulnerable (yeah I know, Arya too). Perhaps the blood going into the wierwood helped BR to take on Rickon's cause, because we know he already was interested in Bran beforehand.

Many on this forum this that Rickon is destined to be the Lord of Winterfell, maybe his safety and path to that seat was started on the day Luwin died under the heart tree.

[UselessOpinion]

This has made me start rethinking the Ghost of Winterfell.

[Dragon Roast]

Great catch. Here is the bit from the end of the last Bran POV:

Then, as he watched, a bearded man forced a captive down onto his knees before the heart tree. A white-haired woman stepped toward them through a drift of dark red leaves, a bronze sickle in her hand.

“No,” said Bran, “no, don’t,” but they could not hear him, no more than his father had. The woman grabbed the captive by the hair, hooked the sickle round his throat, and slashed. And through the mist of centuries the broken boy could only watch as the man’s feet drummed against the earth … but as his life flowed out of him in a red tide, Brandon Stark could taste the blood.

Sometimes it seems that folks pray silently in a godswood or before a heart tree and sometimes words are spoken. In this example of blood sacrifice, no words are spoken (at least they are not mentioned). That being the case, perhaps no words are needed for Luwin to be a blood sacrifice. That may not matter as we do not know if words were spoken or not in his final moments as Bran did not witness it in his POV.

The notion of other blood sacrifice under other Heart trees is also interesting. There have been a few. Folks have mentioned when Brienne killed Shagwell (and there others killed that day in that old godswood). Then there was that old story about the Wolf's Den. I think that you could make the case that Sansa's destruction of Robert Arryn's doll was a form of bloodless sacrifice in the Eyrie's heatlesstree godswood.

[Magnar Of Winterfell]

Maester Luwin did ask for safety of the two Stark boys, He was wounded and than was given the gift of mercy from Osha upon his request.

Mayhaps that is the proper way to pray to the old gods, If you pray you must make a sacrifice or spill some blood before the heart tree?

You need to make an offering to the gods when you ask something of them.

Only Death can pay for Life, Maester Luwin's Death for the Stark brothers Life.

[Pero the first of His name]

Only Death can pay for Life, Maester Luwin's Death for the Stark brothers Life.

I think it is deeper than that.

Maybe some sort of protection and alerting Coldhands/BR/Children to him?

[alienarea]

Also, this way his knowledge might go into the heart tree. Think of it as a huge data dump for Bran.

[Not a kneeler]

Nice catch.

Maybe spilling blood makes the bond between the heart trees and humans stronger so that whatever magic exists in the trees can be used by the greenseers when they access the weirwood net. You have magic trees, you have humans - two dissimilar life forms. Something has to bridge that gap. Jojen knew to take Bran north of the wall because of his prophetic dreams, but how did Coldhands know he was coming? The three-eyed crow told him, but perhaps the link made by Lewin's blood made that happen?

Just a wild guess. There's probably some relationship there. Possibly not exactly like this.

[The Dragon Queen]

when i first read that chapter i thought it was peculiar that he crawled all the way to the heart tree to die. Since it was never made clear whether he was of the north or not. Also the fact that it was Osha (wildling) who mercy kill him after making her swear she will protect Rickon and Bran lead me to believe that there was more to that moment that simply Luwin death. I thought at the time there was something very symbolic about it being that he die in the north, but it was not until Bran had visions of the past (the old women killing the man as a sacrificed to the old Gods) that the scene made sense to me. Luwin studied the higher mysteries and he would have learn a great deal about the history of the north (Winterfell's library according to Tyrion had a few rare books etc..) and obviously the Old Gods too. So i believe he may have sacrificed himself to ensure the safety of the kids.

[The Weirwoods Eyes]

What a wonderful little catch. great one. :bowdown:

[PirateDuchess]

This makes a lot of sense and goes far to explain the ridiculous luck Bran and Rickon have had in staying alive. This also ties in with the idea that NW oaths said before a WW tree carry a magical weight. It puts more weight behind the WW and heart trees being magical.

[Frey family reunion]

We're actually seeing a number of sacrifices at places of power. In addition to Luwin's death as stated above we have Nimble Dick's burial under the weirwood in the whispers along with the subsequent killing of Shagwell the fool and two other Bloody Mummers. (fool's blood and king's blood).

My guess is the Eyrie had a similar place for sacrifice but since they couldn't grow a weirwood they used the Moon Door which is why it is surrounded in weirwood. Another "sacrifice" was made when Petyr through Lysa out of the door.

Then we see the great Weirwood at White tree where the Night's watch found several human skulls including that of a child in the trunk of the tree amidst ashes.

[Not Tony Stark]

Oh wow, never looked at it that way..

[Dragon Roast]

We're actually seeing a number of sacrifices at places of power. In addition to Luwin's death as stated above we have Nimble Dick's burial under the weirwood in the whispers along with the subsequent killing of Shagwell the fool and two other Bloody Mummers. (fool's blood and king's blood).

My guess is the Eyrie had a similar place for sacrifice but since they couldn't grow a weirwood they used the Moon Door which is why it is surrounded in weirwood. Another "sacrifice" was made when Petyr through Lysa out of the door.

Then we see the great Weirwood at White tree where the Night's watch found several human skulls including that of a child in the trunk of the tree amidst ashes.

I think we could add to the list the cave of the BwB as it was filled with weirwood roots:

A huge firepit had been dug in the center of the earthen floor, and its flames rose swirling and crackling toward the smoke-stained ceiling. The walls were equal parts stone and soil, with huge white roots twisting through them like a thousand slow pale snakes. People were emerging from between those roots as she watched; edging out from the shadows for a look at the captives, stepping from the mouths of pitch-black tunnels, popping out of crannies and crevices on all sides. In one place on the far side of the fire, the roots formed a kind of stairway up to a hollow in the earth where a man sat almost lost in the tangle of weirwood.

Lem unhooded Gendry. "What is this place?" he asked.

"An old place, deep and secret. A refuge where neither wolves nor lions come prowling."

I wonder how many "trials" had been held in that cave...

.