James Fenimore Cooper XXII

Daenerys Targaryen's dragons are the Lightbringer. One sword is not enough to fight the WWs. A weapon capable of mass destruction is needed to get rid of the wights and the Others.

Roose Bolton believes his future sons with Walda will be murdered by Ramsay. Walda is far from stupid. The Freys are keen observers and they know how to play games. It won't take long for this woman to figure what kind of a man his stepson is. What can Lady Bolton do to keep her future sons (assuming she will have one or two, because the Freys are fertile) safe from Ramsay? What are her best (but realistic) options? I like Fat Walda. It would not upset me to have her son with Roose inherit the north.

I agree that it can be done. Through many different ways it can be done. Establishing a freehold where all of the highborn families compete for supremacy will work but it's not the preferred method to me. It uses up resources and capital when these families constantly fight for supremacy. Resources and capital that could better be used. Otoh, I don't think that world is quite ready for democracy. Each region should have its own governor who answers to the monarch, which is Dany. A representative form of government where each region will send an official to take up residence in the capital could work and serve as liaisons.

Missandei. The kid is smart for her age. I am interested in what the peaceful people of Na'ath were like.

Yup, I concur.

I'm a Dany fan and anything that will help her sounds good to me. Gilly should serve Dany. She can be the Dragon's third maid, to replace Doreah.

Robb's team had problems from the start. He's the biggest problem. The people who make up the team had each their own agendas. Catelyn wanted to get her daughters back and gave up the war's most valuable POW to get them back. Roose was working against Robb. Robb screwed over his most valuable ally, Walder Frey. Robb followed his heart instead of his head. He chose to break his oath for the love of Jeyne Westerling. I can't really blame Walder and the Freys for getting upset. Catelyn knew the value of the Kingslayer and still she lets him go. This undermined Robb's authority and lost them bargaining power. I would argue that it's not for lack of political skills but rather a lack of self-discipline and too much selfishness on the parts of Robb and Cat.

Daenerys is Azor Ahai and the dragons are her weapons. Lightbringer is not necessarily all weapon though. Lightbringer brings light and chases away the darkness. Darkness is not just the absence of light but means evil. Bringing freedom to slaves and putting a stop to the slave trade is "bringing light and driving away evil." It also means she will be instrumental in rebuilding the world after the long night has passed. To bring light to a darkened world. The ghost of dead kings in faded clothing are not Targaryen monarchs. I think they are the previous incarnations of Azor Ahai. Why are they cheering her on? Because she can do what they failed to do. End the cycle of the long night for good. She is the first female of their line and the only one who can bring dragons to battle. The best they had were swords of pale fire, which pale in comparison to three dragons. Mirri tried to poison Daenerys. Icy breath means death. A death worse than death is what Mirri did to Drogo. Alive yet a prisoner within his own mind. Something similar to complete paralysis. Truly a hell. Daenerys' instinct in her dream told her to fear the darkness. It's obvious to me that Mirri tried to poison Daenerys. Daenerys is resistant to many ailments that would fall an ordinary human. She fought off the poison and recovered. Alive, but unable to move, speak, or eat is a different brand of death. Take careful note that this is basically what the children of the forest do to the green seers. Attach to the trees where they live in the darkness. Bloodraven tells Bran that dark is good. Bran should not be afraid of the dark. Mirri is versed in the same parlor tricks as Mellisandre. Knowledge that could have come from Asshai. The shadows in the tents and Rhaego's appearance are illusions. Mirri studied under Marwyn and would have heard of Princess Rhaenyra and the Dance of the Dragons. She would know the lore of the half-dragon baby born to Rhaenyra and chose to use it for her illusion. Rhaego was most probably normal. The hatching of the dragons is the other sign of Azor Ahai reborn. I am mostly in agreement with the *Son of Man's (Daenerys Targaryens' Power Play) hypothesis for how Daenerys figured out how to hatch her dragons. She figured it out and put all the data together in the last chapter. Daenerys believes Rhaego died because of exposure to Mirri's blood magic. She believes Ser Jorah took her inside that tent by mistake. She never mentions it back to Jorah and she never held it against him. She has a wonderful capacity for understanding and empathy. I can now fully understand why she was later furious over Jorah's betrayal in Book 3 and banished him. Thanks for the thoughtful replies to my original topic. I have done some more reading and came up with additional ideas on this topic. Apologies because we have gone to the side of the road and veered to the left of the topic. But this is still about Dany so I feel it's fine to proceed. So those old men with the swords of fire. They were Azor Ahai and the vision doesn't paint a picture of men who were in their primes and the tattered clothes probably meant they had not changed for a long time. What could make kings wear faded and worn clothing? The more I think on this and the more I read people's comments the more I refine my original ideas. The clothes are faded because they were living through the long night! Lack of food, spare clothing, gaunt, pale. All point to people who lost civilization. And their bespoke tailors! So if Azor Ahai won, why did the long night last so long? Answer: He didn't win. History is often wrong so why not legends. Those Azor Ahais could not turn back the darkness. They had to wait it out until the long night passed. This is consistent with Nan's story of a night that lasted for a lifetime. They also killed their wives. Due to insanity or maybe just like in Nan's story of the mother's smothering their babies to spare them from suffering. Dany smothered Drogo to spare him from suffering. I don't have much to base this on except the post "Targaryen Madness Is An Exaggeration" and 'Will Jon Snow Go Mad?" posts. I believe those kings went mad. They were the ancestors of the Targaryens and they were all Azor Ahai. They went mad. Male Targaryens are susceptible to madness. Think about this. Madness can't be common among the 40 ruling families of old Valyria. So just maybe it's not a Valyrian thing, it's a Targaryen family curse. Call it genetics. Whatever the case may be, many male Targaryens go mad. What is their interest in our young hero? They were cheering Dany on like a squad of retired male cheerleaders. Run, run away from the darkness. Wake, wake the dragon. They were encouraging Dany because she is the only hope to defeat the long night. Why? Because she's the first female Azor Ahai. She's not susceptible to madness. Azor Ahai is now female and she has three dragons. She is the Prince Who Was Promised. The prophecy used the word "prince" and it has been explained because dragons are gender neutral. But we have to remember, the prophesied person comes before the dragons. The word choice is not "prince' because dragons are gender neutral but because all the other Azor Ahais before were male. But this time around is different and this is the game changer that everyone has been waiting for. AA is born a female this time and instead of a magic sword she has three dragons! English is not my strongest point so I am not getting my ideas across as well as I would like. But I believe those old guys were AAs of ancient times, they lost the battle for the long night, they murdered their wives because they went insane, they only had swords to fight with, they have been waiting all this time for the Prince Who Was Promised, they needed a female AA to avoid the madness, they needed a female to hatch dragons, and that female Azor Ahai is Daenerys. http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/145805-targaryen-madness-is-an-exaggeration/

Thanks. Apologies because we have gone to the side of the road and veered to the left of the topic. But this is still about Dany so I feel it's fine to proceed. So those old men with the swords of fire. They were Azor Ahai and the vision doesn't paint a picture of men who were in their primes and the tattered clothes probably meant they had not changed for a long time. What could make kings wear faded and worn clothing? The more I think on this and the more I read people's comments the more I refine my original ideas. The clothes are faded because they were living through the long night! Lack of food, spare clothing, gaunt, pale. All point to people who lost civilization. And their bespoke tailors! So if Azor Ahai won, why did the long night last so long? Answer: He didn't win. History is often wrong so why not legends. Those Azor Ahais could not turn back the darkness. They had to wait it out until the long night passed. This is consistent with Nan's story of a knight that lasted for a lifetime. They also killed their wives. I don't have much to base this on except the post "Targaryen Madness Is An Exaggeration" and 'Will Jon Snow Go Mad?" posts. I believe those kings went mad. They were the ancestors of the Targaryens and they were all Azor Ahai. They went mad. Male Targaryens are susceptible to madness. Think about this. Madness can't be common among the 40 ruling families of old Valyria. So just maybe it's not a Valyrian thing, it's a Targaryen family curse. Call it genetics. Whatever the case may be, many male Targaryens go mad. What is their interest in our young hero? They were cheering Dany on like a squad of retired male cheerleaders. Run, run away from the darkness. Wake, wake the dragon. They were encouraging Dany because she is the only hope to defeat the long night. Why? Because she's the first female Azor Ahai. She's not susceptible to madness. Azor Ahai is now female and she has three dragons. She is the Prince Who Was Promised. The prophecy used the word "prince" and it has been explained because dragons are gender neutral. But we have to remember, the prophesied person comes before the dragons. The word choice is not "prince' because dragons are gender neutral but because all the other Azor Ahais before were male. But this time around is different and this is the game changer that everyone has been waiting for. AA is born a female this time and instead of a magic sword she has three dragons! English is not my strongest point so I am not getting my ideas across as well as I would like. But I believe those old guys were AAs of ancient times, they lost the battle for the long night, they murdered their wives because they went insane, they only had swords to fight with, they have been waiting all this time for the Prince Who Was Promised, they needed a female AA to avoid the madness, they needed a female to hatch dragons, and that female Azor Ahai is Daenerys. http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/145805-targaryen-madness-is-an-exaggeration/

I reread the last two Daenerys chapters of A Game of Thrones because of someone's insightful post on another thread (Daenerys Targaryen's Power Plays). The decisions and the events which led to the birth of the dragons are the topic of countless discussions. And well they should be because it is perhaps the most significant event to have taken place in the story. I do not claim to have more answers than I did before my reread. I have more questions. But I picked up on a few details that I missed during my two readings of that book. I will list them here for you. Miscommunication or deception. Khal Drogo was dying, not dead. Daenerys asked for a cure. Mirri Maz Duur says "only death can pay for life." Mirri wanted to perform necromancy but presented it as treatment to keep Drogo from dying, basically cure him. It is pointless to perform necromancy on the living. I want to be clear on this. Why in hell would Mirri use necromancy as the treatment for a man burning with fever? Miscommunication? I don't buy that. Mirri took advantage of Daenerys's youth and trust. She deceived Dany in order to murder Drogo. Mirri was planning to murder Drogo all along. It was easy. She can easily let his body slip under the water and deprive him of oxygen, which can cause damage to the brain. Drogo's is the death worse than death. His soul is in darkness forever howling. Mirri wanted to punish Drogo, send him to hell. Daenerys goes through three cycles of sleep+dream+waking. Each time, her fears and her doubts are burned away. The themes of the dreams have fire, tears, water, blood, and always dragons. Fire and water are necessary for the tempering of weapons. Daenerys herself goes through a tempering. She comes through stronger and more sure of herself. The Dragon has awoken. Daenerys is Azor Ahai and the dragons are her weapons. Lightbringer is not necessarily all weapon though. Lightbringer brings light and chases away the darkness. Darkness is not just the absence of light but means evil. Bringing freedom to slaves and putting a stop to the slave trade is "bringing light and driving away evil." It also means she will be instrumental in rebuilding the world after the long night has passed. To bring light to a darkened world. The ghost of dead kings in faded clothing are not Targaryen monarchs. I think they are the previous incarnations of Azor Ahai. Why are they cheering her on? Because she can do what they failed to do. End the cycle of the long night for good. She is the first female of their line and the only one who can bring dragons to battle. The best they had were swords of pale fire, which pale in comparison to three dragons. Mirri tried to poison Daenerys. Icy breath means death. A death worse than death is what Mirri did to Drogo. Alive yet a prisoner within his own mind. Something similar to complete paralysis. Truly a hell. Daenerys' instinct in her dream told her to fear the darkness. It's obvious to me that Mirri tried to poison Daenerys. Daenerys is resistant to many ailments that would fall an ordinary human. She fought off the poison and recovered. Alive, but unable to move, speak, or eat is a different brand of death. Take careful note that this is basically what the children of the forest do to the green seers. Attach to the trees where they live in the darkness. Bloodraven tells Bran that dark is good. Bran should not be afraid of the dark. Mirri is versed in the same parlor tricks as Mellisandre. Knowledge that could have come from Asshai. The shadows in the tents and Rhaego's appearance are illusions. Mirri studied under Marwyn and would have heard of Princess Rhaenyra and the Dance of the Dragons. She would know the lore of the half-dragon baby born to Rhaenyra and chose to use it for her illusion. Rhaego was most probably normal. The hatching of the dragons is the other sign of Azor Ahai reborn. I am mostly in agreement with the *Son of Man's (Daenerys Targaryens' Power Play) hypothesis for how Daenerys figured out how to hatch her dragons. She figured it out and put all the data together in the last chapter. Daenerys believes Rhaego died because of exposure to Mirri's blood magic. She believes Ser Jorah took her inside that tent by mistake. She never mentions it back to Jorah and she never held it against him. She has a wonderful capacity for understanding and empathy. I can now fully understand why she was later furious over Jorah's betrayal in Book 3 and banished him. *http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/150228-daenerys-targaryens-power-plays/&page=3

It's better to have the enemy on the other side of the wall. I don't think the weeper can be trusted.

Did Littlefinger influece Joffrey in executing Ned? I give this a better than fifty-fifty chance. LF hated the Starks.

The kid is already losing his mind to his wolf. it's not too far more to go before he starts howling at the moon and blessing every tree he comes across.

Is Jon Snow going to go mad? So we are to assume he's the son of Rhaegar for the sake of this talk. Targaryen males are more likely to go mad than the females as we have had no recorded cases of a female Targaryen going mad. But even among the Targaryens the madness is not that common. Even if his father was Eddard and his mother was Wylla, or Ashara, or Lyanna, or the fisherman's girl. His behavior is the best indicator not his parents. Read his thoughts closely before he got killed and you can make a case that he was already sliding into insanity. I am reminded of Annakin Skywalker's attachment to his mother. No matter how he tried he could never get his mother out of his mind. Which led to his fall to the dark side. I read something similar in Jon's thoughts and it's not pretty. He was too obsessed with Arya and it was not healthy. He broke the laws of his order and betrayed his own men for Arya's sake. He was showing signs of madness right before his assassination.