Angel Eyes

"On second thought, let's not go to Westeros. 'tis a silly place." I've also pointed out that it would be like Martin to pull a twist that nobody saw coming.

That's assuming of course that there's going to be someone else who could control a dragon. We don't know if Young Griff Aegon is who he says; say if he's a Blackfyre, he might go the same way as Quentyn Martell (roast frog!) since both share the same source as descendants of a child of Aegon IV (Quentyn is descended from Aegon's daughter Daenerys who married Maron Martell while the Blackfyres were descended from Aegon's illegitimate son Daemon). It would be funny if someone like Stannis, Shireen, Gendry or Edric could control dragons since they're much closely related to the current Targaryens being descended from Daenerys' great-aunt Rhaelle who married Ormond Baratheon.

Like they did in the show?

Daenerys has to make it out of the Dothraki Sea first, and that's if she doesn't die from the infection she has.

That's an interesting logistical question: how does a land where seasons can last years supply itself?

Right, a professional army which is dwindling by the day with a supply line that's had its pillar and stones cut out in more ways than one. It's also a supply line that Daenerys would be loath to reopen. Prepared ahead of time? Daenerys hasn't gotten a foot in the Dothraki let alone the Free Cities and they don't really get a foot in Westeros either. Size of the landmass? Most of that is the Dothraki Sea and the Red Waste, and we already know how much trouble Daenerys had with finding sustenance for a small group.

3. Assuming the Dothraki will want to come.

I think that some of Daenerys' actions may be Jon Connington's in the book. We know that greyscale causes great damage to the brain like the Stone Men, so Connington may either behave more viciously due to the greyscale affecting his mind or push for quicker (and therefore more ruthless) solutions before the greyscale takes over out of desperation.

Not to mention a possible greyscale plague.

Perhaps Tywin gave Tysha to the horses. Being Mr. Hand and all.

If there's anything Oberyn understood, it was image politics. In his party to King's Landing he brings lords, ladies, and heirs from all across Dorne, who had interests in the political games of Westeros and whose reputations dwarfed Tyrion's own party. Contrast Quentyn's green band of not-so-merry men who were pretty much all from Yronwood: Cletus, Archibald, Gerris Drinkwater, the dead maester, and pretty much showed that the only one supporting Doran was House Yronwood.

I've always wondered what sort of cock and bull story Jon Arryn cooked up, including the return of bones, because we all know returning bones always reduces hostilities. As far as Viserys and Arianne was concerned, I've also wondered why Doran gave up on him so early, unless this was a retcon by GRRM.

A.) If starting after Robert's Rebellion, start building up forces after losses taken during the war. Keep a watch on Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen, the former is supposed to be my goodson after all, wouldn't want him to a liability. If fostering him is not an option, arrange for my daughter Arianne to meet him overseas at the most and start up correspondence at the least. A lot of what I would do is detailed in this blog post. https://warsandpoliticsoficeandfire.wordpress.com/2016/03/11/the-windblown-grass-doran-martell/

2. Second wife; his first one was a Glover who died.

I remember watching The Last Samurai (the one with Tom Cruise not Lance Henriksen) and started thinking about how a force like the Dothraki, a culture based on the art of war for centuries but with few resources, could fare against a better-equipped foe. In the first battle, the Japanese soldiers, under Algren's command, are ill-trained and prone to panic, even with Algren and Gant. During this battle there don't seem to be any officers aside from Colonel Bagley (who's at the rear), General Hasegawa, Algren, Gant, and an unnamed junior officer who shows up later. Bagley sees the Samurai as savages, but Algren counters that their focus for the last thousand years has been war. The Samurai, led by Katsumoto, take advantage of a fog bank and attack the troops in a forest, which limits their ability to shoot straight. And the soldiers are afraid of the Samurai, who'd once held power of life and death over them. Cue near-immediate rout with most of the (very few) Samurai casualties personally inflicted by Algren and Gant (who is killed), while Hasegawa commits seppuku. In the final battle, Bagley, now directly subordinate to the Emperor's advisor Omura on the battlefield, with better-trained troops, more time to prepare, and more firepower, is wise to how the Samurai operate and starts off with a howitzer barrage. The Samurai, now advised by Algren, retreat and Bagley is hesitant, but Omura, who is a)overconfident, b) has no experience, and c) dismissive of the Samurai, overrules him and orders the bulk of the army to attack... which plays right into the Samurai's hands as the troops, now in range of arrow fire, get trapped by flammable mines. Cue a brutal melee. However this time there's enough soldiers that the Samurai are ground down to only a few dozen. Katsumoto, who knew defeat was inevitable, orders a suicidal charge that breaks through the infantry lines; Algren kills Bagley, but the charge is silenced by Gatling guns. Katsumoto commits seppuku with Algren's help. However, Katsumoto never actually meant to win, but to teach his pupil the Emperor that the values that Katsumoto held dear had a place in Japanese society. In contrast, Omura's inexperience in battle (he is a businessman) and general dismissive behavior towards the Samurai made the battle closer than it should have been, and played right into Katsumoto's hands. While the tactics themselves are somewhat suspect, it's in line with the storytelling and characters. On the other hand, would the Dothraki be smart enough to use such means to their advantage?

Tell that to Little Walder who started hanging round with Ramsay.

Does it? Rodrik Cassel is a Ser but he isn't explicitly stated to follow the Seven.

The Watch has been failing and falling for years. And how will the Dothraki become part of Daenerys' army? It was pretty clear what was going to happen to her with Drogo's death. Unless Daenerys goes the show's route where she burns all the Khals...

Would Winterfell want her? Several of the lords know Robb wrote her off.

If he was renowned, how come that isn't mentioned?

So in the Strange Marriages thread, I was intrigued by one particular marriage between Branda Stark, elder daughter of Rodrik Stark, and Harrold Rogers of the Stormlands. Simply put, Harrold Rogers is/was a mere knight, several degrees below a lordship of any kind (and on the other side of the country to boot). How come the Starks were content with marrying Branda to a knight? If Branda were unmarried, why wasn't she flung at Rickard, whom her sister Lyarra married?

Take it up with GRRM; he's the one who wanted to subvert expectations about characters coming back from the dead.

He's never described as doing any fighting and since Westeros is a society that prides martial ability in its leaders, especially one like the Ironborn, I would think it would have been mentioned.

So it's mentioned that Balon Greyjoy was a fierce and fearless raider in his youth, but he doesn't do much during his rebellions, just sits back on Pyke and lets his brothers and children do the fighting. He's also mentioned to have a stoop in his shoulder. Now there doesn't seem to be much opportunity for reaving and warfare during Balon's youth; judging by the calculations on the wiki he would have been no more than a child during the War of the Ninepenny Kings and not even in his teens if he participated in Quellon's raids on Faircastle (Tytos Lannister, who was Lord of Casterly Rock at the time, died in 267 where Balon would have been 12 at the most). That leaves Robert's Rebellion where Lord Quellon was killed at the Mander and Balon led the retreat back to Pyke to claim the Seastone Chair. So is it possible that Balon suffered a shoulder injury during the Battle at the Mander which prevents him from fighting (and somehow he isn't usurped)?

Dany's prospects aren't looking too good; she's stuck in the Dothraki Sea puking one way and excreting green slime the other, with a band of Dothraki bearing down on her, suffering visions that tell her "Dragons plant no trees", advice that she's likely to follow.