The GNC will not come to pass and if it does it will dishonor the North forever

[Consigliere]

Margaery is married to Tommen. They have to support him. The narrative seems to lean heavily to a Tyrell implosion. The Ironborn are going to tie up the Hightowers - with some hints about a possible sacking of Oldtown.

The Martells and Aegon are going to invade from the south and east, with some Tyrell bannermen even joining Aegon. In a nutshell, I think the Tyrells are utterly doomed, Highgarden will go the way of Winterfell, and whoever remains of the Lannisters will hole up in the West and try to wait out what comes. By the end of Winds of Winter Aegon will sit on the Iron Throne.

And then Daenerys will arrive. And the 2nd Dance of the Dragons will engulf the South. By the time that is done, the South will be utterly devestated.

Agreed. Especially if Aegon can bring Randyll Tarly, a Targ loyalist, to his side. Tarly is probably the most competant military general the Reach has at the moment. The Tyrells could also throw their lot in with Aegon if Tommen were to die suddenly or if Margeary is found guilty at her trial is is executed or her marriage anulled.

[Free Northman]

I never said that Bran or Jon won't play a role in the coming War of the Dawn. But Bran most certainly is not going to leave that cave again. Is about to become a living tree.

I sure can see Bran acting through other people and animals, especially through a dragon.

But it would make little sense to bet on Jon dealing with the Others mostly by himself. Bran is seems to be save down in his cave, but we don't know of any such a place south of the Wall. And no one can reasonably argue that it seems to be the case that Daenerys and/or her dragons are going to play a huge role in the war against the Others. This has been hinted at in one of Dany's dreams back in AGoT!

Considering that the Others will be first arriving in the North, it's my guess that more people will die first in the North of the cold and be killed by the wights than in the South. But the Others might then continue to march on the South.

Not before the Others have wreaked devestation in the South as well. Else they will be a massive anticlimax. And of course Bran will leave the cave. He is just there to finish his training contract.

[Consigliere]

Not before the Others have wreaked devestation in the South as well. Else they will be a massive anticlimax. And of course Bran will leave the cave. He is just there to finish his training contract.

The Others have been built up as this ominous all consuming force. I think that they will have to reach the south to show that they are truly a threat to the entire realm. Once this happens i think that the game of thrones will take a back seat and the realms of men (with help from dragons) will unite to fight the Others in the mother of all battles.

[C0bR]

I think Bran will ward every northern castle with a godswood in it, through the weirnet. I think the Northmen will hole up in these strongholds, and the Others will head straight through to attack the softer, lusher target of the South. And the undead will number in the millions in the populated South.

That's where the real carnage is going to happen. In a zombie apocalypse you flee the cities and densely populated areas, and head for the hills and the uninhabited wilderness. The North will in fact be better off than the South, where zombies will rise up all over the place.

I agree with this. I think there is even a possibility of blood sacrifices to the heart trees, so it can get ugly in the North too. But in the end, the North seems to be the best place to survive the winter, especially if the Others bring the cold with themselves and therefore can go anywhere they want and cause the same damage and bad weather.

[Lord Varys]

Really, you believe that? I really thing you should reread Bran's last chapter and spend a bit of time on the heartbreaking moment when he makes his decision to eat the weirwood seeds. He knows is going to become a tree, and what this means. Running around or leaving the cave is not in this contract. At least not physically. He most certainly can use bodies of animals and perhaps even of men who are far away from his cave. But he isn't going to leave that cave ever again.

If weirwoods could protect men against the Others the Free Folk north of the Wall should not have had any problems with the Others. Apparently, this is not the case. Bran may turn out to be a ore powerful greenseer than Bloodraven, but that's not going to mean he can singlehandedly shield all the Northern Castles from the Others. Especially since the Others seem also to kill through cold. I don't see how trees are going to protect anyone against that (that is, as long as they are not used to make a fire).

I'd be surprised if it would take as long as the Others reaching the South to make them down there realize what's going on up there. News have traveled south, especially with Samwell Tarly. Sarella knows now about the Others, and she may very well inform her uncle in Sunspear about this.

Sure, if the war between Aegon and his enemies is going to be dragged out, then they may have no time to react. But if this thing is quickly over, there is a chance that they will have time to send an army north to meet the Others. If that's done before Dany arrives, it won't help all that much, and it could also make things much worse (more wights for the Others).

[The Sunset King]

The Dorne is most likely the place that the Others would find hardest to invade, with the highest amount of factors working against a successful assault on that territory.

[Free Northman]

Really, you believe that? I really thing you should reread Bran's last chapter and spend a bit of time on the heartbreaking moment when he makes his decision to eat the weirwood seeds. He knows is going to become a tree, and what this means. Running around or leaving the cave is not in this contract. At least not physically. He most certainly can use bodies of animals and perhaps even of men who are far away from his cave. But he isn't going to leave that cave ever again.

If weirwoods could protect men against the Others the Free Folk north of the Wall should not have had any problems with the Others. Apparently, this is not the case. Bran may turn out to be a ore powerful greenseer than Bloodraven, but that's not going to mean he can singlehandedly shield all the Northern Castles from the Others. Especially since the Others seem also to kill through cold. I don't see how trees are going to protect anyone against that (that is, as long as they are not used to make a fire).

I'd be surprised if it would take as long as the Others reaching the South to make them down there realize what's going on up there. News have traveled south, especially with Samwell Tarly. Sarella knows now about the Others, and she may very well inform her uncle in Sunspear about this.

Sure, if the war between Aegon and his enemies is going to be dragged out, then they may have no time to react. But if this thing is quickly over, there is a chance that they will have time to send an army north to meet the Others. If that's done before Dany arrives, it won't help all that much, and it could also make things much worse (more wights for the Others).

Bran's training has been sped up from 5 years to 1 year, as per his question in Dance regarding how long the training will take. The answer was who knows? A year. 2 years. 5 years. Now, we can clearly see the parralel to Littlefinger's statement to Sansa that he thought Cersei would take 5 years to destroy the realm, but she did it far sooner.

Clearly these things have been sped up due to the removal of the 5 year gap. As for Bran. Bloodraven didn't merge with the tree immediately. He only did so once he became too old to move around.

In the Age of Heroes, the greenseers of the Children gathered at the Neck to call down the Hammer of the Waters. They were mobile. They weren't bound to trees.

Clearly Bran is going to leave the cave once his training is completed. His final treebond - in 80 years time when his body grows feeble - will be the heart Tree at Winterfell. He will be the Stark that is always in Winterfell.

Before then, he will be able to move around - as much as his handicap allows.

[Lord Varys]

I can't see Bran leaving this cave in the middle of the winter.

As to the greenseers of the Children - we don't know anything about their biology, it has been indicated that the Children-greenseers' lifespan is much shorter than that of the normal-Children, whereas it's obvious that being a greenseer can prolong the life of a human being.

As to the binding to tree: My take is that the seeds are growing out of Bloodraven. Just as they will grow out of Bran. That's what's going to connect him really to the weirwood net eventually. Bran had the impression that roots grew into Bloodraven, but my guess is that it's working the other way around.

I also think that Bloodraven did immediately merge with the trees when he joined the Children. No idea when he found out that he was a greenseer, but my guess is that he had no clue until the Children told him rather late in his life (after he met them as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch).

[Free Northman]

I can't see Bran leaving this cave in the middle of the winter.

As to the greenseers of the Children - we don't know anything about their biology, it has been indicated that the Children-greenseers' lifespan is much shorter than that of the normal-Children, whereas it's obvious that being a greenseer can prolong the life of a human being.

As to the binding to tree: My take is that the seeds are growing out of Bloodraven. Just as they will grow out of Bran. That's what's going to connect him really to the weirwood net eventually. Bran had the impression that roots grew into Bloodraven, but my guess is that it's working the other way around.

I also think that Bloodraven did immediately merge with the trees when he joined the Children. No idea when he found out that he was a greenseer, but my guess is that he had no clue until the Children told him rather late in his life (after he met them as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch).

Come on. There's no narrative reason to have Meera and Jojen and Hodor and Summer all remain alive and stuck in that cave with Bran forever. They clearly have a big role to play in events to come, and that includes moving Bran south again.

There's no point to Summer's further existence if Bran is stuck in a cave surrounded by hundreds of miles of lifeless ice covered wilderness.

It is patently obvious that Bran is only in the Cave to master his skills. I agree that he will merge with a tree eventually. But this will be in the place that symbolically and thematically fits with his destiny. Winterfell's godswood.

[Consigliere]

The Dorne is most likely the place that the Others would find hardest to invade, with the highest amount of factors working against a successful assault on that territory.

Remember according to Sam, the Others come when its cold or it gets cold when they come. If the Others reach Dorne I suspect there will be a drastic fall in temperature in Dorne making it easier to conquer as the Dornish are not accustomed to freezing temperatures.

[Lord Varys]

I was under the impression that Jojen knew he would want to leave the cave eventually, and that this is going to lead to his death (perhaps also to Meera's). At least, that's the impression I got from his sadness and his wish to return home.

It's quite obvious that Bran is already removed from the mundane life of his companions. He will never be one of them again. This is GRRM we are talking about here, you don't learn magic secrets and stuff, and then rejoin your childhood companions or your family. Jon is no longer joking with Grenn and Pyp. Next you are going to tell us Arya's journey and training with the Faceless Men just to use her skills to advance her family and joke with Jon. That's not going to happen!

[Free Northman]

I was under the impression that Jojen knew he would want to leave the cave eventually, and that this is going to lead to his death (perhaps also to Meera's). At least, that's the impression I got from his sadness and his wish to return home.

It's quite obvious that Bran is already removed from the mundane life of his companions. He will never be one of them again. This is GRRM we are talking about here, you don't learn magic secrets and stuff, and then rejoin your childhood companions or your family. Jon is no longer joking with Grenn and Pyp. Next you are going to tell us Arya's journey and training with the Faceless Men just to use her skills to advance her family and joke with Jon. That's not going to happen!

No, in Ice and Fire you have to give up your legs and become a paraplegic in exchange for getting magical powers. Everything comes at a price.

[The Sunset King]

Remember according to Sam, the Others come when its cold or it gets cold when they come. If the Others reach Dorne I suspect there will be a drastic fall in temperature in Dorne making it easier to conquer as the Dornish are not accustomed to freezing temperatures.

There is a substantial difference between the Others bringing amplified cold and the Others exploiting winter conditions to advance. In the second case, the Dorne still has the greatest climatic and geographical obstructions to an Other invasion. The Others would not like its higher levels of solar irradiation, nor its lengthy chains of mountains and deserts. Furthermore, if the Others require physical sustenance, it is highly improbable that they have seen such a topgraphy before or would adapt rapidly. The winter will dramatically lower the temperature, but that factor will be even worse for all other parts of the realm.

Even in the case that the Others greatly reduce temperatures by being present in a given area, the fact that the Dorne is on the opposite side of the continent means that it has the most time to prepare and fortify. There are also limits to how powerful the Others can be, else resisting them will be impossible.

It is definitely possible that conditions in Westeros will change in such a way that most of the realm's vulnerability increases substantially. However, under almost any scenario, the Dorne seems to present the greatest obstacles in terms of a prospective Other invasion. Possibly to a human invasion as well.

[Free Northman]

There is a substantial difference between the Others bringing amplified cold and the Others exploiting winter conditions to advance. In the second case, the Dorne still has the greatest climatic and geographical obstructions to an Other invasion. The Others would not like its higher levels of solar irradiation, nor its lengthy chains of mountains and deserts. Furthermore, if the Others require physical sustenance, it is highly improbable that they have seen such a topgraphy before or would adapt rapidly. The winter will dramatically lower the temperature, but that factor will be even worse for all other parts of the realm.

Even in the case that the Others greatly reduce temperatures by being present in a given area, the fact that the Dorne is on the opposite side of the continent means that it has the most time to prepare and fortify. There are also limits to how powerful the Others can be, else resisting them will be impossible.

It is definitely possible that conditions in Westeros will change in such a way that most of the realm's vulnerability increases substantially. However, under almost any scenario, the Dorne seems to present the greatest obstacles in terms of a prospective Other invasion. Possibly to a human invasion as well.

I think that the Northern half of Westeros - down to say King's Landing - will suffer due to Ice, and the southern half - up to King's Landing, will suffer due to Fire. That's why I believe the Dance of Dragons will devestate the South.

In the end, the two forces will clash somewhere in the Riverlands, resulting in the restoration of the balance of nature.