Northern Sword

Damn, I did not know that... For Shame ! Thank you

Forgive me, but do we actually know this ? or is this a theory ? I don't recall resolution on this one. Link?

This has always been a question for me. Why, when it was down to Benjen and Ned. Would he go to the watch. Never made sense to me. Seems like there had to been a reason, other than him just wanting to join. Benjen as a deserter never crossed my mind. I suppose it is possible, but in my mind, unlikely. Unless he is under orders that we don't know about. I assumed Benjen was either dead, killed by a WW. Or he was Cold hands, dead, but not dead. An instrument of the Old Gods.

It is a slippery slope when calling out only a couple people who followed their own path, instead of the "Rules". The other question would be, who's rules? Did the Targ's follow the rules while burning lords and heirs. Did Rhaegar follow the rules by running away with a Stark Bride after he was already married. The Seven wouldn't approve. Did Robert follow the Rules when he rebelled ? How about Jon Arryn ? Did the Lannister's when they sacked Kings Landing while Jamie killed the King. Frey's at the RW ? Has Cersei followed the rules, ever? The Bolton's ? Daenerys ? Even Bloodraven himself didn't seem to care about the rules. Tough to single out a single person or family, when it seems it is the norm not the exception to break the rules. It may be interesting to ask, of all characters and Families, who HAS followed the rules? Maybe Stannis to a point, but he killed his brother with a magic shadow baby. Don't think that is in the rule book. Dead Ned I suppose, and look where that got him. so...

Speaking of Brienne, her getting Jamie away from that boat after Cat let Jaime go was impressive as well. That was a hold my beer, watch this, type of moment. Also, now that I'm thinking about it. Gotta give a nod of respect to Sam the Slayer. The self proclaimed coward, did in fact kill an Other. That has to fall under badass.

This was scene was in both book and show I believe. I just googled it as I don't have my books at work. lol. Still, this scene was so good. Arya had several good badass moments.

hahaha. Absolutely not. I have no idea, no one does. Other then GRRM. Just looking at what we have seen so far, it is not based on self sacrifice. Nor is the end result being good, something that entered into it. No prerequisites or conclusions have appeared. Other than Mel's sacrifices seem to work. So none should be put on Old God Sacrifice.

I'm not so sure. What we have seen to this point doesn't back that up imo. Mel doesn't seem concerned about self sacrifice. Her burning people alive wasn't voluntary. Alester Florent was burnt for favorable winds... Magic in general needs blood and/or fire. Seems a common theme. Maybe there is a more powerful element involved if it is self sacrifice. Kinda like Kings blood is more powerful. So a certain "Type' may produce different results. Euron has no problem sacrificing people, without a "good" element, same with Vic. A free for all may be what we get. This story and the characters in it, as a whole, are neither good nor bad. But both. Is the magic we see going to be any different?

His entrails would look good in a WW tree.

One of my favorite Badass scenes is Sandor with Arya running into Polliver at the Inn at the Crossroads. Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane : You're a talker. Listening to talkers makes me thirsty. [the Hound reaches across the table, grabs Polliver's drink, and drains it] Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane : And hungry. Think I'll take two chickens. [Polliver turns and looks at his men, then turns back to the Hound] Polliver : You don't seem to understand the situation. Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane : I understand that if any more words come pouring out your cunt mouth, I'm gonna have to eat every fucking chicken in this room. Polliver : You lived your life for the king. You gonna die for some chickens? Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane : Someone is.

Bran does not come across as revenge orientated to me. I'm trying to think of a single example. The Lannister's threw him out a window and is responsible for the down fall of his family, so how would you blame him for letting them die. I don't see Bran as actively engineering their down fall, like Littlefinger did to the Starks. Of course, Bran will look out for his family and those he loves, even if this may fade over time. Inappropriate loyalty to his own House ?! hahaha. Wow. And why would a greenseer be neutral? Is Mel neutral? Or Jojen? The faith is certainly not neutral. Nor the WW. I'm actually at the point where I think old school thinking will come back in the North, Bran needs a few sacrifices to power up.

The Bran and Joffrey comparison is way off the mark to me. If not polar opposites, close to it. While the question of Bran's maturity is valid. Joffrey's maturity was not the issue. I agree with the sacrifice analysis.

I've thought on this for some time now and didn't really come up with a satisfying answer. This is as good as any explanation I've seen. The title denotes a change in the character and their outlook/perception. Seems to be internal in nature, how they see themselves as opposed to how others see them.

Jon's story is of Ice and Fire. Plus, he has the Old Gods in his back pocket. All three like Jon and Ghost. OG + Val(ice) + Mel(fire) = Some sort of Miracle

The main ones for me will be 1. Jon - Cliffhanger 2. Tyrion - battle of fire 3. Arya - Assassin training, is it over. Is she on the way back soon ? 4. Daenerys - Big change coming here, I have to think Secondary 5. Jamie/Brienne - To begin with I wasn't interested in these POV's. But that UNO reverse card hit me hard. Invested now. 6 Sam - One of my favorite secondary character. I hope he learns magic. Who am I kidding at this point. Apparently I want to see it all and will end up reading this book at a record pace, then re read it. 7. forgot the Gravedigger.

There are a lot of Frey's that will meet their end in the near future. With a multitude of ways in which they'll meet their end. The wolves will feast. Needle will play a part. BWOB will take a share. No Frey that went north will survive. I see the Frey family itself tearing itself apart once old Walder is gone. ( A dance of Frey's? ) Yet, I hope a branch or two will survive, or at least the ones not involved in the RW.

Ive got faith... not sure in what anymore. haha, but Come on George. git'er done

I personally like the secrets and lies. From the political intrigue to the secret identities. I'm all for it. In George I trust. The only secret/lie that still seems out of place to me is the VS dagger. Danny is a Targaryen (no question-imo) Tyrion at this point could go either way. He makes a good Lannister, but I definitely can see his alternative identity. I'm good with either. Jon is locked in for me as a secret Targaryen. BUT, what the hell have I missed on Pod ?

I may have got it wrong on the Aegon Number. It was a dart throw for the name, didnt put much thought into it. Simply a similarity of names as opposed to Viserys. It is also a common name for Targ's, I remember reading some of it. Probably why it was rattling around in my head. Prophecy, obviously ... lol

Nice theory. fits together well. Aegon - Gon - Jon His true name, Aegon V Targaryen

Hmm. I see what you are saying. I did not use the right word. Rather than Deity/God, I guess I meant, tangible proof of magic. With Mel, we have seen shadow babies, clear cut magic. Even her getting poisoned with no effect is noteworthy. With Bran- maybe the only god like example we have to this point, we see him reaching out through the trees and back in time. There is a no question of validity here. Even Varys' recollection of the voice that was summoned. While second hand information, it seems more tangible than Davos' example. The voice was summoned when his (parts) were thrown in the fire, would that indicate R'hllor ? I cant think of another example of someone hearing a R'hllor' s voice though. Now that I am thinking of it, this is a fairly significant question. Where did that magic(voice) originate? What other origins of magic are there ? Warlocks and ...? When it comes to Davos, it is a shaky at best that this was a vision. Far more likely to be delirium or hallucination. 7 is the holy number. Davos is 3/7 of that ... I guess. I mean, that doesn't feel right. I gotta think a better explanation awaits us at some point.

Completely agree. Forrest Frey is quite different from the current Frey's. It will be refreshing to see loyal and capable Lord Frey. Although if the Frey's are shown from the green perspective, they will still be demonized.

Davos is one of my favorites. Was it a vision, or was it a dehydrated hallucination. Flip a coin. IF, he was representative of the Seven, would he be a singular aspect, i.e. The Stranger, Father, ? Can he represent all of them at once ? I have difficulty believing it. Can any one person represent 7 completely different aspects ? I would love to have a definitive magical event, which would give clarity from the Seven on this. Same goes for Euron.

Love this subject. A lot of these thoughts have ben bubbling in my head for years. The extreme gods on one end or the other may represent doom if either of these sides win a total victory. The eternal struggle of, R'hllor - Fire/Light, and Water/Dark - represented by the Drowned God(Deep Ones). Or you could look through the lens of Fire\Ice with fits more thematically as it is called ASOIAF. Which changes things a bit. R'hllor/Great Other In the middle is the The Old Gods(Earth) and The Seven(not air, surely- But what?), these gods have representation on both sides. i.e. The Stranger and The Others. Or simply balance. Both have life and death elements. Seems we are missing the air element. The thread of Cyvasse only has Red/Blue/Green was a good one. So, maybe Air does not factor in at all. File that under questions that still need answers. But it also looks like each faction has an Avatar for their respective god. Daenerys/R'hllor, Euron/Drowned God or Deep Ones, Bran/Old Gods. Again, The Seven don't, What does this mean ? I sure cant puzzle it out. Clearly, there is a magic component to R'hllor and The Old Gods. But what does that mean for The Seven and Drowned God? Taking this thought a step further. When looking at the Seven. Imagine if there is another Class yet to be revealed. The Seven already have anointed Knights and Priests. Imagine if a Cleric or a Paladin entered the story. Would be real helpful to fight the undead. I'm not sayin... just sayin. Would a character who fits this mold fit into the Avatar class for the Seven if revealed ? Unless of course, The Seven are represent by the Others as @Aldarion states, with the connection of stars. Never thought of that before. It Is plausible, as the Great Other would then slide into Avatar Status. But the fly in the ointment hear is the stranger is one of seven. The other six aspects seem contrary to the others and the walking dead. Surely the Maid and Mother don't fit into this narrative. So we see the result of the Prayer, but we have yet to witness the deity itself.

Brynden Rivers was a good boy, he never did anything wrong. Faithful and dedicated, loved archery. Lost his eye fighting for the king. Where as Bittersteel was a traitor. Rebel scum. Everyone knows the Brackens poisoned the tree. Desecration of a holy tree, for shame. The lows they go to, show their character.