H Wadsworth Longfellow

He can return to the wall now that Jon is dead. Though not too soon. The Wildlings will rebel and it would be best to wait until they leave for Winterfell before returning to the wall.

If I had to take a guess, it is the law to pass to the eldest male. Only the king can make an exception to that law. Jaime was in the Kingsguard and that put Tyrion as the available child to pass to. Tywin could petition Robert to remove Tyrion from the lordship of the House and we can be sure it would be granted. But he didn't.

It would have changed to the War Of the 4 Kings. The plot would continue as it has. The biggest ripple has to do with the vision. Daenerys Targaryen's vision of the blue-eyed king who casts no shadow. I think this is important to her plot.

Every person inside having Greyscale. Mass wightification of the residents. Burn it down for the greater good and stop the complete death of Westeros. I have a piece ready to post where I say the destroyer of the city will be Arya. It's part 2 of a series on Arya the Darkheart.

Bloodlines are important magically when it comes to the Targaryens. I think that's what we're talking about here. The Targaryens studied prophecies and went to a lot of trouble to fulfill a goal. They needed Daenerys to come back and get reincarnated. I think her soul has always been Azor Ahai through all the ages and it's her fate to lead when it's time to fight the White Walkers. Privilege and power are connected through bloodlines so it is important politically. The noble houses put a lot of weight in bloodlines. A bastard who can't prove his paternity and legitimacy will have little chance of getting taken seriously. The biggest problem with Rhaenyra is not her gender but the understandable doubts the people had over her heirs. The father had gender bias and should have handed the reins of power while he was still alive to avoid the succession crisis.

Culture rarely overcome survival instincts. Hell, the Wildlings surrendered which meant even Mance Rayder surrendered his pride. We have one example of unyielding strength and that is the Unsullied army who repeatedly blocked the Dothraki from sacking the city they were protecting. The lady of the Vale swallowed her arrogance when the great Visenya offered to take her son for a joyous ride on her dragon. The only smart Stark knelt before Aegon I. Roose Bolton and Walder Frey surrendered to Joffrey when you think about it. Surrendering is acceptable when hope of survival is lost. The victor should offer generous terms like sparing the guys who kneel and giving mercy when it's needed. Lord Ambrose gave up when Bloodraven came to his castle with an army.

In the movie, 300, a traitor named Ephialtes led Xerxes and his army through a secret path bypassing the narrow gap where Leonidas and his men were guarding. Xerxes slaughtered the Spartans and won. I think Jon Snow will continue to betray the Wall. On matters of treason, Jon is off to a good start. He has betrayed the ancient order of the Nights' Watch and the people he swore to protect. I can't recall a secret path around the Wall but there are many gates where the invading White Walkers can pass if someone on the Westeros side just kindly opens the door.

Aerys was the king and they are his to command. I think he made his heir Viserys. The sending of Jaime was a jab at the Lannisters.

Jaime, Cersei, and Catelyn began the war of the five kings. Arya's level of disaster making has not yet reached theirs. She's inching closer though.

The order of introduction is not the issue. Neither of the girls get sympathy from me. But say I have to give sympathy to one, Sansa or Arya. Sansa would get it because her disasters were caused by her lacking intelligence and not so much being malicious. Sansa doesn't go out of her way to harm people. Arya does. One is wicked while the other is just slightly dumb.

Silver is a bright metal. The Starks are dark. The symbol is Ag. Argunas, according to a quick web search, is sanskrit for bright. Brightness against the darkness. The silvery blonde hair of the Targaryens also contrasts with the dark haired Starks.

House Hoare. The only house who could stop the Ironborn is House Targaryen. The Targaryens should rule Westeros.

The Freys built themselves not from war but from shrewd business management of a precious location. That is deserving of respect. In honor of one of the heroes of this tale, the Darry family is my favorite. It's too bad they are gone. I wish one would turn up and get the Darry lands back.

The smell is part of the scene to draw the reader into the location. The mud and the stink are disgusting. The location is not intended to please the senses. Winterfell is not a pleasant location but I suppose it beats most dwellings of the primitive people of the north. Tywin also gave off unpleasant smell while he was waiting to be buried. It says a lot about the person he was that the author would make a big deal out of it. Is it the same with the Stark lords and the unpleasant smell coming from beneath their dwelling.

A recent talk show on youtube released an episode yesterday talking about Jon Connington. I thought I would post about that and delay my second article on Arya Stark for better timing. It's hard to trust Jon Connington because he has issues which compromise his thinking. It already has. He is a carrier of a deadly disease and still decided to return to Westeros with Griff. Feelings compromise his behavior. He feels guilt over Rhaegar and the fall of the Targaryens. He feels he can make it up with the son. He loves Griff as a father loves a son. Those strong feelings lead him to take inappropriate risks. I don't think Griff will get Greyscale. He has to live long enough to meet Daenerys and learn the truth. But the Greyscale will spread though. Jon will spread Greyscale in the South. The other Jon will spread the Others in the North. The Southerners get "stoned." The Northerners get wighted. How is that for a bleak future! Jon Con is the entry point of Greyscale in the South. Jon Snow is the same for Wights in the North. The Pale Mare outbreak in Meereen is a very good training experience for Daenerys. I think she will know how to deal with an epidemic by the time she is ready to leave for Westeros. She will have put together a formidable council and her forces will have grown. Her dragons will have also put on significant size and magnified their power.

Bloodraven has a plan to save the people of Westeros. Leaf - "In the world that men have made, there is no room for (direwolves), or us." Is man the real threat? One would think from what we're getting from Leaf. Then the following is contradictory to that argument. Bloodraven wants to save all. "(Bloodraven) has lived beyond his mortal span, and yet he lingers. For us, for you, for the realms of men." "When (singers) died, they went into the wood, into leaf limb and root, and the trees remembered. All their songs and spells, their histories and prayers, everything they knew of this world. Maesters will tell you that the weirwoods are sacred to the old gods. The singers believe they are the old gods. When singers die they become a part of that Godhood." Bloodraven means to save all by migrating their memories and knowledge into the trees. That's what his plan sounds like to me. I changed my mind about Bran's future after reading this chapter. I used to think Bran will survive through the story and live at the end. I don't think that anymore. I now think his body will die and he will achieve that Godhood when he joins the hive minds inside the trees. But there is trouble down the road. "Never fear the darkness, Bran. The strongest trees are rooted in the dark places of the earth. Darkness will be your cloak, your shield, your mother's milk. Darkness will make you strong." All alone in the dark watching the human drama through the eyes of the trees and the ravens. That is Bran's future. And Bran seems to slowly accept it as his dreams of knighthood slowly evaporates in the gloom of the cave. There is trouble though. Bran continues to violate one of the ethics of skinchanging. He keeps forcing himself into the poor stable boy and spies on the Reeds. He begins to develop strong feelings for Meera Reed. I think this is what will turn Bran from the potential greenseer who will save everyone into a selfish boy who will use his power to do harm. Already he has eaten human flesh through his direwolf. Bran is slowly becoming bad.

Daenerys is the equivalent of a Sun Goddess when the story is adjusted for present events. The dragons' disappearing is their way of hibernating. The dragons got weaker during the long Targaryen reign in Westeros. They needed a reboot.

Catelyn died a violent death like many who was part of the Stark warparty that came from the North. Arya's pet pulled her from the water after she had been dead for some time. Much of what Catelyn was has rotted away with part of her in that river. Arya will have more bodily function because her damage is mental rather than physical.

I have an essay ready to talk about some of the topics in this thread regarding Arya. I am waiting for the right time to post the topic for a more thorough discussion and analysis. It is the second part to https://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/161430-arya-the-darkheart/#comments "Arya, the Darkheart essay part 1." I am thinking of a good title for the new essay. It is part II. I will talk about how George R. R. Martin will more likely than not allow Arya Stark to complete her bloody goal of revenge before she fully goes insane. I also think Martin will bail Arya out and she will die before completely losing her mind.

Daenerys Targaryen. My favorite character of all. Beautiful, charming, incredibly intelligent, and the protagonists. Barristan Selmy. He has the best background story and it is not over yet. I feel there are more adventures for the old boy. Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion. Dany's dragons give a boost of an interest to an otherwise overly long novels. Tyrion Lannister Jorah Cersei Viserys

The illness is progressing and it is worsening with each killing.

George Martin referred to Arya Stark as a psycho. And she is definitely that. All you have to do is read the Arya chapters to see how ill she is.

George the gardener planted the seed of Tully insanity early on. LIKED

Enough to raise questions for sure about the Tullys.