Evolett

Quentyn's demise aside, "playing roles" here is a veiled nod at the fact that all three did "play a role," that of Brazen Beasts. This has symbolic value in the larger scheme of things, methinks. The Brazen Beasts wear beast helms to protect their identity, usually changing them daily. The basically engage in "mummery" by dressing / disguising themselves in this fashion. The Shavepates amongst them (half are Shavepates, the other half Freedmen) relinquished their locks to show their support for Daenerys' new order. This parallels the mummers who shave their heads to give the wigs they don a good fit. In the HotU, Arya learns there are three methods of disguise - mummery of the sort actors and Varys employ, glamouring and wearing a face. But there's a fourth way, that of the skinchanger. Here the person is disguised in the form of an animal. That's what the Brazen Beasts remind me of - skinchangers like Varamyr who are capable of taking multiple animals. Interesting also are the echoes of the Hound, famous for his snarling hound helm. Of note - the failed password was "dog." And like our Hound, Quentyn got himself badly burned. Similarly, the helms of the Beasts change owners regularly and Sandor's helm has found its way onto the heads of two other people so far. So what does this mean? On a symbolic level, I think Dany's chapters in Slaver's Bay, especially her Meereen chapters, inform us about the fight against the Others. The mysterious Harpy represents the Great (M)Other, the sons of the Harpy who strike at night correspond to the white walkers, while the slaves stand in for the wights. Dany has made progress freeing slaves but the sons of the harpy and the harpy itself are hard nuts to crack. As Brazen Beasts, the Shavepates in particular play an important role in keeping the peace, patrolling the streets and hunting down sons of the harpy where possible. They hightlight the importance of people with skinchanging ability to the fight against the Others. Quentyn and his cronies had stealing a dragon in mind, but playing the role of brazen beasts, released the imprisoned dragons instead, freeing them up for the defence of Meereen (fight against the Others).

Great connection . Those eggs did remind me of something, especially the raven dribbling egg yolk but I couldn't place it. Sounds very 3-eyed-crow.

I've also thought of Trios as a reference to "the dragon has three heads," perhaps to the riddle of the Sphinx - three body parts that are reassembled to a whole, though I'm not sure how the dwarf's missing head would fit into that idea unless the "Sphinx" receives a brand new head of it's own. This also follows the idea of transformation.

Yes it's possible the recruiter left a positive impression but this is not stated anywhere in Meera's KotLT story. Here's the passage mentioning the black brother who spoke: Regarding a possible succession crisis / lack of heirs, do you mean Jon, the officially illegitimate son here? We don't get Ned's feelings on the matter but though he prayed for Robb and Jon to grow up as brothers, there's no indication he regarded Jon as a spare. I think that so long as Robert lived, he was at a loss when it came to deciding Jon's future. Regardless, even if it was Benjen's own choice to join the Watch, he at that age would have required Ned's go ahead - we see this with Jon: The issue of two few heirs still stands for me, but I've already put forward my arguments above. I think there were more pressing reasons that led to Benjen having to join the Watch, whether he wanted to or not. That it wasn't his choice is also suggested by the way he calls Jon "son" and his lecture on what taking the oath would cost him. Most of this revolved around not having a family, not knowing a woman etc. It seems to me he has certain regrets there, wishing he could have lived a normal life with a family of his own. It's possible there are parallels between Benjen and Bloodraven in this regard. The NW never found out what became of their LC Rivers. We have no information on whether he joined the CotF willingly or was captured, forced or convinced to "wed the tree" and sworn to secrecy thereafter. The circumstances leading up to his disappearance (leaving a trail up to a certain point / brothers killed), do suggest an attack on the group took place. Aside from death, capture is thus a very likely option. On the other hand, if actual desertion is an alternative, this would have been the perfect opportunity to abscond without even arousing suspicion. Jon's thoughts on what Ned might have done had Benjen been the deserter instead of Gared and the utterings of the raven during Mormont's lecture on desertion could be clues in this direction. But for all we know, Bran's outburst, "The children will help him," he blurted, "the children of the forest!" as posted by @Mithras above is the end to all speculation

Well, originally, Benjen and his troupe were sent out by the LC to look for Waymar Royce so that's not an assumption. It's also stated that Benjen knew the haunted forest better than anyone in the Watch, suggesting also that he was well acquainted with the terrain North of the Wall in general. Mormont had every confindence in Benjen, he could be relied upon: For him to "go rogue" on some kind of private mission seems atypical. Additionally, some in the Watch had already suspected the return of the Others: So, regarding the dragonglass or any activity related to gathering information about the Others, why would Benjen have to go about this business without telling his LC about it? I think there are 3 possibilities: - dead - captured with no way of contacting the outside world - deserted

Transformation. Devours > Transforms > Rebirths As illustrated here: The old man is "devoured," transformed into three parts and reassembled, emerging changed, without his head. Maybe it has to do with the journey of a greenseer as @Wizz-The-Smith suggests. Another thought: could be a clue to the process by which the undead are revived? The souls of the dying are consumed, then transformed, and they are "reborn" witless, mindless, (symbolized by the old man's missing head), no longer in control of their actions, but controlled / absolutely obiedient to another, like the wights but thinking also of Gregor/Robert Strong here.

I doubt this for two reasons: a. Would Benjen really have needed a motivational speech by a brother of the NW at Harrenhal to convince him to join the Order? The Starks are friends to the Watch and have dealings with them, probably like no other House. Brothers come to Winterfell occasionally, deserters are beheaded on site with young Stark lads deemed old enough present to witness the act. The kids grow up knowing the Order's purpose and hear Old Nan's tales about past events as well. Benjen must have been reasonably well informed. I don't see him being moved to join because of a plea heard at Harrenhal. b. The family had just lost it's head and heir apparent, leaving only Ned and Benjen to continue the line. Yes, Ned got married in Brandon's place but considering the real problem of failed pregnancies and losing children during early childhood, it would have been prudent to keep Benjen as a "spare" just in case. Additionally, the Lord is required to call his banners and go to war on behalf of the king and the Starks are obliged to join the Watch against kings beyond the Wall who prove troublesome. All this increases the risk of an early demise and one cannot know when these events might take place. Why allow Benjen to join the Watch under these circumstances? Ned opted to send Benjen to the Watch out of necessity, to keep him safe, imo, because he probably knew too much of what transpired at Harrenhal and may even have been involved in some way. According to Meera's story, he did offer to find some armour and a horse for the little crannogman. Perhaps he even painted the shield, and he must have been aware of the identity of the KotlT. and This is all very vague. Benjen has been missing for a couple of years. If he decided to go on some kind of private mission for the Watch, surely he would have made an effort to contact CB, show some sign of life by now? He must know that the LC would send men out looking for him and how that would unnecessarily put his brothers at great risk - he himself was out looking for the missing Waymar. On the subject of dragonglass. Gathering dragonglass seems to be a domain of the CotF, up North at least. We know they gifted dragonglass to the Watch yearly in times past. Dragonglass is of volcanic origin and occurs in the vicinity of volcanos. Is there a volcano up North that Benjen could access to mine dragonglass? Does he have the equipment for it? Where the CotF get theirs from has not been revealed but we do know that Leaf roamed the 7K for years - enough time to visit locations, even Dragonstone, to acquire it. The black cloak is also always a point of focus but who says it's Benjen's cloak? It could have been taken off any fallen brother or may even have once belonged to Bloodraven. Where did the horn come from? It's far more likely the cache of dragonglass was placed there by the CotF and that they or BR guided Ghost to the location. Again, if Benjen had gone through the trouble of procuring all these items and burying them at a secret location, why not include a message for the LC and his brothers? It was well hidden afterall. It is noteworthy that he first tells Jon the Watch could use a man like him and then does his best to disuade him after Jon eagerly jumps at the idea. Rather than reverse psychology, Benjen may have been expressing his feelings, his regrets, his lost chance at a regular life. Benjen was probably Jon's age when he joined up. When he speaks of what it will cost Jon, he's speaking from experience and it seems heartfelt. Note how he calls Jon "son." It would not surprise me if he deep down he wishes he could have lived a different life, regardless of whether he opted to join the Watch himself or was sent by Ned on account of circumstances. He would feel even more so if the latter were the case - a choice he perhaps never would have made himself. So, no one has commented on the 4 points I make in the OP yet. As stated above, those points were not part of the Video, rather a result of my digging through the text. Could these clues be hinting at a desertion on Benjen's part?

The other day I came across an old video by the Order of the Green Hand positing that Benjen Stark who has been missing since the beginning of aGoT most likely deserted his post. They propose Ned sent Benjen to the NW on account of his involvement and or knowledge of the events that took place at Harrenhall (this isn’t a new thought). They cite some evidence suggesting this was very much against Benjen’s wishes and theorize that he not only resented Ned for relegating him to a hard life at the Wall, but also manipulated Jon into joining the NW to spite Ned. Check out the link below for the whole theory. The case made kind of resonated with some thoughts I’ve had about Benjen, having observed many of the things they cite but I hadn’t developed any conclusive thoughts on the matter and desertion never crossed my mind. Maybe I’ve missed something, but I have not seen this possibility discussed in the fandom either. Apart from the above, no further evidence for his alleged desertion is offered in the post but I find the idea quite intriguing. I’ve gone over the few mentions of him that we have and have identified possible subtle clues that may point in the direction of a potential desertion on his part. What follows is not included in the video. It's my investigation of the subject. What might Lord Eddard have done? A lot goes through Jon’s mind when he makes the decision to quit the NW to join Robb’s campaign, including wondering how Robb would receive him. He then thinks of Ned’s execution of Gared in connection with Benjen: GRRM often hides things in plain sight. Is this an example? 2. Ben Jen The next potential hint comes from Mormont’s raven when Mormont lectures Jon after his desertion attempt is thwarted by his brothers, and he is returned to the Wall: Mormont delivers quite a long speech, asking the above question regarding the missing Benjen in between. Note the raven’s reaction to the question and how Benjen is emphasized 3 times by the Ben Jen notation. What is George getting at? Seeing as the theme is Jon’s desertion and we even get a mention of the deserter Mance Rayder just before the question is asked, I do wonder whether Mormont’s raven is associating Benjen with desertion and is telling us that he did in fact desert. 3. Broken Eggs While Mormont is speaking, the raven is busy helping itself to an egg: The raven was pecking at an egg, breaking the shell. Pushing his beak through the hole, he pulled out morsels of white and yoke. Mormont is also having eggs for breakfast, crushing his in his fist: Frowning, Mormont took his last egg and squeezed it in his fist until the shell crunched. Our attention is drawn to the egg again when the raven makes its Ben Jen comments. So what’s up with the eggs? A search on the symbolism of broken eggs yielded a variety of meanings including: Breaking free / freedom (breaking out of the shell) Broken promises Unexpected end Setback, failure, fragility, vulnerability The first two do catch the eye… 4. Theon and Benjen Lastly, another potential subtle hint: At Robert’s welcoming feast, the guests entering the feast hall are paired with members of the Stark family. Benjen is paired with Theon, they are the last to enter the hall. Are both turncloaks? This pairing may also indicate a sinister fate, similar to Theon’s. So. What do you think? If he did indeed desert, where could he have gone? Link to Video: Did Benjen Trick Jon? (Order of the Green Hand, Youtube)

Good read with some interesting ideas, though I'm not convinced we'll be seeing any more stone / calcified dragons coming to life, but who knows? That said, it wouldn't surprise me if there is indeed something unholy locked into the black stone labyrinthine base of the Hightower. Euron aiming to attack Oldtown, his capture of the warlocks and his drinking copious amounts of "shade of the evening" puts me in mind of the House of the Undying and I think these two locations have certain parallels. Both buildings are very ancient and stand isolated from their surroundings - the HotU somewhere in Qarth and the Hightower on its island. Damy's experience of walking through the HotU is akin to traversing a maze or labyrinth and at the end of her journey she finds the Undying. Does the base of the Hightower also harbour some malevolent Undying soul that has been imprisoned there since Battle Isle acquired its name. Bran the Builder is said to have built the Hightower as well and even though this was presumably long after the construction of the Hightower base, we know his building methods included warding. Did he ward the Hightower as well as an extra fortification? I really like the Iron Maiden/Leyton connection you've dug up here as it does suggest some kind of partnership between Euron and Leyton. So far, I've associated Euron's silent Iron Maiden with the medeival torture device of the same name. It is a human-sized casket made of iron and lined with internal spikes to impale the victim within the casket. Very fitting for a man like Euron. If this figure at the prow of the Silence is also modelled on the torutre device, your idea of the Iron Maiden "singing" could mean Euron intends to "awaken" her by impaling and sacrificing someone, most likely a maiden, within. Her cries of agony would constitute the "singing."

Very nice, straightforward and to the point. There are quite a few parallels between Dany's and Bran's waking dreams. In both cases the cold will lead to their deaths - Bran: Dany is urged on by her ancestors while Bran is encouraged by the crow (does this tell us something more about the crow?). Both have to choose to die or fly to be able to fulfill their future roles, Dany as an aspect of Azor Ahai and Bran as the next Greenseer. The two dreams clearly identify the cold/winter as the enemy force, Dany fleeing from it and Bran actually seeing into the Heart of Winter itself. Does this suggest the two have a common cause and are meant to work together?

Solid arguments in your last post @Sandy Clegg, much of which is supported by the text, such as the ff: I've come across further potential clues to the Tyrells as the perpetrators, in particular this statement by Lady Alerie (Margaery's mother) to her daughter when the High Septon begins the prayer for the dead for Joff: Now, why would Lady Alerie reasure Margaery that she had nothing to do with the death? Her daughter weeping is normal and to be expected under the circumstances. I find this very suspicious and a potential hint at Alerie's involvement. It suggests she was at least aware of Olenna's plan. She may have even administered the poison. As Marge's mother, Alerie would have been just as motivated to protect her daughter as Olenna was and she was present when Sansa was questioned about Joff's character by Lady Olenna. Another perhaps subtle hint can be found in one of Sansa's early chapters: The purple and green flowers could symbolise Tyrell involvement: flowers and the colour green in reference to their House and the purple poison kisses as a nod to the Strangler. Sansa expects Ned to admonish Arya for behaving like a commoner but he thanks her for the flowers instead. Since Ned was executed on Joff's orders, his expressing thanks for the flowers is an apt piece of symbolism.

I don't think it's an error. Scurvy was known to occur because of a lack of fruit, especially citrus fruits in the diet. It was the bane of ship-crews that spent months at sea. The latter stage is characterised by bleeding gums and a loss of the teeth so George has done his homework here. It fits within the time-period. Apples, plums and other fruit may be more or less available up North but Mormont can afford the luxury of having imported lemons in his beer to keep his teeth healthy. Stannis also drinks lemon water. Probably needs it too with all that grinding of teeth .

Nice, nice, I had not thought of him losing his eye to Blackfyre. That does fit the pattern, especially since Valyrian Steel swords are said to have been forged in dragonfire. Yes and no. I suppose it depends on the purpose of the test. If the ritual is extreme, say like the drownings the Damphair carries out, then passing or failing means surviving or dying respectively. If the bar is set that high then Dany definitely passed her "test" on Drogo's pyre when she emerged unburnt. Viserys fails his treatment, so did Aerion Brightflame. Jon is only one of several characters marked by burns and none of these were voluntary affairs or carried out in form of a ritual (except Victarion maybe). In the absence of a proper ritual, these burnings occur at some point in time because the person in question needs to be marked by flame. I've often wondered what this might mean. Perhaps these characters need to be "kissed by fire" for a purpose. I'm thinking of Sandor, Victarion, Merret Frey, Quentyn and Jorah (these last two were branded). One could argue that the Hound and Merret failed their respective tests, both tormented in different ways after the experience. Quentyn does not survive. One thought I have is that the burning may render the person immune to being body-snatched / skinchanged. We've seen the effect fiery magic had on Varamyr - driving him out of the eagle etc. Of the characters in question, this might apply to Jon and Victarion, the burns acting as a means of protection. Any other ideas?

Speaking of the animals here and regarding George's version of a direwolf, can we be sure of this? If size matters, then the direwolves are on a par with lions - the dead mother direwolf was bigger than Bran's pony, according to Bran's thoughts: Both lions and wolves hunt in packs, especially to bring down large prey. Nymeria however is said to bring down an aurochs by herself: Shaggydog tackles a huge horned unicorn... These lions and fantasy direwolves seem well matched to me - teeth, claws, size. No horns or antlers. I see no reason why a direwolf wouldn't be able to gain the upper hand and come out on top in such a contest.

Where fire-magic is concerned, it does make sense to be able to attain special powers by practicing some form of self-sacrifce involving fire / burning. I think we are meant to make a connection between the Odin myth and Timett sacrificing an eye to gain prestige. Take that further to one-eyed Bloodraven who's basically sacrificed his entire body to the weirwood in order to reap the benefits of being able to tap into the memories of the trees. Other examples besides the Burned Men and Dragonbinder also hint at this. Take Daenerys for example: In a variation on the theme, she goes through a spiritual cleansing and strengthening process. Prior to this she suffered so much during her first weeks with the Dothraki that the thought of killing herself crossed her mind. The dragon dream, the dragon's fires, renew her entire being - she feels strong and fierce - and from that day on is able to take charge of her fate. Her power and prestige increase steadily from this day onward. This is also why I suspect Moqorro to have acquired his powers through a more literal and actual burning ritual. Melisandre's experience also echos Dany's fiery dream tempering: Mel experiences a transformation through fire, though no actual burning takes place. In this case she even has shimmers of heat tracing patterns on the outside, her skin, as if to emulate an external burning process. Mel does regard herself as one of the most accomplished seers / priestesses of her order. Perhaps the dream is memory of a fire-ritual she had to go through in order to claim those powers. She does speak of the pain involved in her learning process. Victarion's hand, also black and burned, is much stronger after the red priest's healing treatment. So perhaps the point is that dragon fire in particular (or the magical fire of a red priest) has the ability to elevate the status, resilience, magical prowess etc. of those willing to sacrifice a part of themselves to it.

Well, according to the CotF, the great lions have all been slain but Cersei does mention a couple of caged lions down in the depths of Casterly Rock. Now, imagine trotting these out against wild Nymeria. My bet would definitely be on the direwolf!

Waking dragons from stone aside, there are no current Targ fire-rituals connected to their dragons that come to mind. There's also another distiction: the Burned Men regard the fire-witch as one might a goddess - they worship her, desiring to prove their worth by this method of self-mortification. If there's an echo, I lean towards the red priests, Moqorro in particular, his skin appearing as if burned: It wouldn't surprise me if Moqorro underwent some extreme fire-ritual to prove himself to R'hillor. It may be his considerable powers are a result of this self-sacrifice. We've also seen he has the ability to heal severe wounds (as does Thoros), so recovering from such an ordeal is within the realm of possibility. He is literally a "Burned Man. And a "dragon" is part of this scenario too - his staff: We have no information on the Red God's origins. Could have originated in Old Valyria, or perhaps the faith is older still. Perhaps Sheepstealer and Nettles demonstrate how an ancient originally managed to tame a wild dragon. This would have been a remarkable feat and it's entirely possible that such a person may have come to be revered as a great lord or even a god. Think also of Varamyr's position amongst the freefolk: Varamyr's position is very similar to the fabled fire-witch's. Living remotely, with people bringing gifts and paying homeage. So, perhaps the Burned Men who are so desireous of burning off their body parts to impress their very own fire priestess tell us something about the origins of R'hllorism.

One problem with this assumption is that until recently, the glass candles had not burned in hundreds of years, suggesting they were inactive. Clearly they were inactive as far as using them to see distant events is concerned. Regarding their proposed function as a source of eternal youth, would they then not have to be active / alight for their magic to enfold? We first learn of the existence of glass candles from Xaro, in Dany's Qarth chapter: He talks about glass candles in relation to other very unusual occurences and the latter are also noted by Quaith who elaborates on the fire mage who conjoured up the fierly ladder: So it seems Dany's waking of dragons brought magic back into the world, and with it, unusual phenomena such as the burning of glass candles. Point is, if Mel's longgevity is tied to a glass candle, it would have to be one that has been alight and thus active for centuries. That said, I don't entierly discount the idea that dragonglass itself may have life prolonging or preserving properties, but not necessarily to effect a continual youthful appearance. It is the bathing in a virgin's blood that's connected to maintaining a youthful appearance - something Daenerys as well as Alys Rivers and Danelle Lothson were rumoured to engage in.

I'm partial to the identity theory myself, but I think it's more subtle than that. If GRRM is retelling past history (or rhyming it) by way of current events and character parallels, then it's possible the non-named chapters represent characters who have opted or been forced by circumstances to depart from the status quo and take a new approach, do things differently this time round, hopefully to achieve a better outcome for the world in this cycle. The World Book has a passage stating that the GEotD was not restored: This exactly reflects what we see in the narrative. So instead of history repeating itself with small variations over and over again, a reset is necessary and this can be brought about by the people who actually play a role in driving events, people who are willing to or forced to diverge from the norm/expected (ETA). As such, these chapters are future oriented, representing a departure from the rhyme of history. Sansa as "Alayne," a new version of herself, not a little bird repeating stuff others have fed her but a player who learns to play the game. Arya learns a whole new set of skills with every iteration / identity change and we are yet to see how these will play out in the future. JonCon as the Griffin reborn also makes sense in this context. He's come through his period of exile a changed man. While Tywin thought him too young, bold and eager for glory when Aerys named him Hand, Kevin Lannister's current thoughts on Jon are quite the opposite: Victarion also fits this mold. Not only is he feeding the Red God as well as the drowned god, surely a blasphemy in the Damphair's eyes, his intention to defy his brother Euron speaks to a change in his mental framework. The dutiful brother turning rebellious. In the case of Theon > Reek > Theon, I suspect his historical parallel was neither able to withstand the Ramsay parallel nor recover his own identity. The Soiled Knight of the Kingsguard literally forsook his vows and went to bed in more ways than one with the Dornish - an age old enemy of the Marcher Lords. This also drives forward the plot in ways that are yet to be revealed. Hotah probably ties into this as well. In the Prophet, the Damphair calls the first kingsmoot in hundreds of years. In the Kraken's Daughter, Asha makes it clear she intends to put herself forward as a candidate for the Seastone Chair - a woman - unheard of in Ironborn culture. Both examples of taking a new approach, doing things differently. I think the title of Euron/Damphair's Forsaken Chapter illustrates this principle of treading new paths and sweeping away the old - the plethora of defeated Gods seen by Aeron in his vision is a poignant example, and drastic as it may seem, Euron's description of the "charnal pit" he aims to turn the realm into before instating a new order. This is gross and not what we imagine a "dream of spring" to be but it makes the point. Those gods are truely "forsaken." This isn't a new idea either. It's what the Dothraki did during the Century of Blood, compelete with carrying off the gods of the defeated peoples to Vaes Dothrak, only slightly milder. From this point of view, it even makes sense for Daenerys to be assosiated with Euron. This pattern of the characters in those non-named chapters acquing new skills, engaging in atypical activities or simply doing things differently is what may lead to a healthier restoration in the end. This does not mean that the actions engaged in are "good" or will have positive outcomes for the characters involved. It's how the pieces finally come together that matters. Edit: typos and one addition.

InDeepGeek has a theory video on this that makes a lot of sense. In a nutshell, Ned was Jaqen's target, hired by Littlefinger who had a number of reasons for wanting to get rid of Ned. Ned was supposed to be sent to the Night's Watch and Jaqen was in the dungeons in order to join Yoren's convoy and place himself in position to do the deed. But Ned was beheaded instead. No doubt Jaqen would have eventually found a way to escape somewhere along the line even without the incident with Amory Lorch's men. I doubt Vary's had anything to do with it. Littlefinger is a likely culprit. He has ties to Braavos and demonstrated his knowledge of the cost of hiring faceless men. To avoid arousing suspicion of a murder, I also personally think LF aked for the death to look like an accident. Jon does not seem a likely target either. Jaqen never continued the journey to the Wall, turning up in at the Citadel in Oldtown for a mission there instead, and prior to that, possibly responsible for Balon Greyjoy's death as well.

What unites these parallels is a need for the character to be kept hidden to avoid being killed and the motif of a double identity: Mance / Lord of Bones Jon Snow / Targaryen Aemon Steelsong / Monster - through the swap, one is officially thought to be the other. Dany was kept safe and away from Westeros but so far we have no concrete evidence of a double identity, though that slight possibility remains.

Can't say I'm convinced we have an echo of the two characters here. We already have Willem Darry and LC Mormont in the role of "the old bear," looking out for their respective Azor Ahai candidates. However, if Leathers/Wunwun and Darry are echoes of each other, one logical idea pertaining to Jon's immediate future comes to mind: with chaos and uncertainty at the Wall, it may be that Jon's body will need to be taken into safe-keeping, perhaps even kept hidden for a while. I can see Leathers and Wunwun playing the "Darry role" here. Leathers will remain loyal to Jon and he is in control of the giant. I can see Leathers taking custody of Jon's body and both acting as guardians if need be.

@Hippocras I really admire your ability to sift through these innumerable family trees and bloodlines and come up with plausible matches and explanations where information is lacking. I must admit to not having the patience for it so my first thought on purple sigils seems elementary in comparison. The colour purple is special in part because it's the colour of Targaryen/Valyrian eyes and usually found in people of Valyrian ancestry. In RL, the trait is very rare. One can assume the Valyrians maintained it through inbreeding or breeding within a relatively confined gene pool. The Daynes who've lived in Westeros since the Dawn Age however also exhibit purple eyes, indicating an origin much older than Valyria (assuming they did not acquire the trait at a later date). Durrandurandon's excellent theory, Daenerys is the Amethyst Empress Reborn opened our eyes to gemstone Emperors as potential ancestors to the Valyrians and a point of origin of the purple eyes. So, it's possible that the purple sigils hint at the ancient and royal GEotD origins of the houses in question, suggesting some blood connection that has been maintained or has entered the bloodlines over the centuries. One thing I noticed while looking through the sigils - most are a combination of purple/silver or purple/white and a few include yellow or gold, all what we've come to accept as Valyrian colouring - purple eyes and silver/gold hair. Stars also occur which could be a nod at the sky worship practiced within the Great Empire (Maiden-made-of-light, Lion of Night, falling stars etc.). While the purple Strangler crystals suggest a connection to poison and death, I suspect purple also symbolizes freedom, secrecy (Braavos, Sansa's escape by means of the Purple Wedding) and possibly the supernatural (Ashara's "haunting eyes").

@Sandy Clegg and @Seams: great thinking! Indeed! I've spent quite a bit of time examining the horned-lord archetype but the hunter aspect kind of passed me by. Love this insight. I'm reminded of the song Tyrion sings frequently - Seasons of my Love. The lyrics: I loved a maid as fair as summer with sunlight in her hair. I loved a maid as red as autumn with sunset in her hair. I loved a maid as white as winter with moonglow in her hair. You'll notice the Spring Maiden is missing. Building up on your idea, it's significant Ramsay kills northern maidens (winter maidens) who would otherwise "bloom" in the followup spring season. Also, I've always been convinced of a distinct parallel between Ramsay's hunting habits and Old Nan's tale about the Others hunting maidens through the forest: The idea is particularly apt regarding the Others. As the source of a generation long winter, their hunting /killing maidens to prevent spring makes sense. I think Alys Karstark is also important in this regard. She flees from a marriage to her great-uncle's son with her great-uncle in pursuit, seeking refuge at Castle Black and arriving there as the "grey girl on a dying horse" from Melisandre's vision. Prior to this, her father Rickard Karstark promises her hand to whoever captures the kingslayer. Vargo Hoat, another horned-lord archetype, maims and captures Jamie with the intention of marrying Alys to become Lord of Karhold. Initially Alys was betrothed to Daryn Hornwood, late son of the unfortunate Lady Hornwood. House Hornwood's sigil depicts a moose - hinting at another horned-lord association. My feeling is that Ramsay officially becomes a dark aspect of the horned-lord archetype after marring Lady Hornwood. You mean Florian and Jonquill? I can see this being the case. Perhaps it takes a certain kind of fool to rescue the maiden as seen in Sansa/Dontos. Patchface may also be in this category. When Davos returns to Dragonstone after surviving the Battle of the Blackwater, he meets Shireen, Patches and Edric Storm in Aegon's garden. They are playing Monsters and Maidens: So Edric plays the monster, Shireen is the maiden, leaving Patches the fool as the knight who rescues the maiden. With his attachment to the Baratheons and his antlered hat, Patchface is another archetypical horned-lord figure. Yes, I've pondering Sam Tarly of the huntsman sigil as a possible "antidote" as well. Jon insists Sam become proficient in bowmanship, something Sam finds difficult but he practices nevertheless. He defends Gilly and her baby against the wights and kills an Other, the embodiment of a long winter. I've added it to my reading list.

I've enjoyed this dive into Sansa's psyche as an attempt to figure out who was the actual target and who actually did it. After going over the relevant chapters again, I'm not convinced, however. The entire conversation between LF and Sansa during which Sansa tries to guess the poisoners identity would be pointless if Sansa was the culprit, imo. LF then brings up the "someone who straigtend the hair net." Either this was part of the plan to dispense the poison or he had someone other than Dontos on hand observing the situation. That said, and from a practical point of view, Lady Olena was not near the table when Joff started choking. She came to Margaery's side when Joff began coughing in earnest. From Cressen's experience, we know the Strangler takes effect immediately after ingestion, so it couldn't have been secreted in a previous cup of wine / food. Sansa definitely had the opportunity to poison either the wine or the pie on the spur of a moment because she was close to both, but there was someone else sitting next to Tyrion all the while and specifically when Joff came along demanding Tyrion serve him wine: Garlan Tyrell. He could have received the crystal from Olena and done the actual deed. Being seated next to Tyrion might indicate Tyrion as the original target, in which case he would have poisoned the pie. I'm in two minds about the latter.