James Fenimore Cooper XXII

We all know the story of the blood betrayal. The Amethyst Empress was betrayed by the Bloodstone Emperor. The betrayal happened during the twilight of the Great Empire of the Dawn. It was said to have ushered in the darkness. History repeats itself because human nature remains fairly consistent. It does not repeat exactly and the actors are not always the same though. I believe there were two political factions involved rather than two siblings. I said as much in the essay, "Daenerys is Azor Ahai Reborn." History has already repeated again and this recent betrayal event happened during the current timeline. I believe the two families involved are the Targaryens and the Baratheons and the blood betrayal happened during Robert's Rebellion. The Amethyst faction is House Targaryen. The Bloodstones are the Baratheons. The Baratheons betrayed the Targaryens and ushered in chaos. The Bloodstones and their allies destroyed a united land. The Bloodstones and their political friend, the Starks, failed to hold Westeros together. In the case of Robb and Jon, they even actually contributed to the breaking of Westeros. Daenerys will know three betrayals. It is quite possible that the betrayal for blood is this blood betrayal by the Baratheons. She will follow in the footsteps of Aegon the Conqueror and unite the land again.

Ancient art have human-animal hybrids. Egyptian art is a good example. George Martin was drawing from these examples. The only real sphinx is the one studying at the Citadel. The sphinx is a product of human imagination and artistic expression. The Valyrians experimented with hybridization but the subjects must have died with the doom.

I mostly agree. They can definitely hold Westeros if there is a profit motive.

The show opened the series to a wider audience. Pre-2011, you had a small, but very loud few who made their opinions known. The popularity of the show brought more people to read the books. Increase the size of the fan base and more normal, mature, mainstream people start joining the discussions. As for me, I am very Pro-Dany. She's my favorite character.

Jon is a hot-headed man with a giant chip on his shoulder. He's emotionally unbalanced and should not have been in the position to lead the N/W. He will lead a pack of direwolves later on in the Starks' second lives but that is a future topic. What you suggests is against the laws of Westeros and the N/W. Luring Lord Ramsay to the wall and then attacking him is also a violation of guest rights. I would not put that beyond Jon. He's already guilty of breaking guest rights through Mance. Brother Mance murdered people on Jon's behalf. He murdered Bolton household serving men while guesting under Roose's protection. It was a case of too little too late. Jon was caught. He could step down and show remorse. Bowen Marsh would have taken temporary lead. Jon would have been incarcerated. I do not think he will be executed if he had stopped there. The N/W is a very tolerant and accepting lot. It is an order who does not murder its own unless the guilty tried to leave. A brotherhood which accepts people from all walks, political values, and demographics must be tolerant, accepting, and forgiving. Bowen Marsh would have given Ramsay the people he asked for. Negotiations will take place and something will be agreed on to avoid war.

HT was too ambitious for his pants. Rather than scheming and plotting against King Aerys 2, he should have proven his loyalty over and over. Finding a noble husband for a soiled daughter is not worth the human cost of the rebellion. Edmure, Robb, and Catelyn were also too big for their underpants. King in the North! Really? What arrogance.

House Targaryen could have expanded beyond Westeros but they chose otherwise. I hold them in high regard for practicing responsibility and restraint. The Dance of the Dragons was the saddest pages in their great history but every family will have its bad apples. There were just many during that time frame.

Jon is quite the emotional fellow. In contrast, Bowen is a very pragmatic man. Are those the two faces of the immigration debate? If we only look at the welfare and well-being of the ones on the side of plenty, then it is easy to see which side is correct. Marsh and the pragmatic folk. Throw in feelings and a lot of distortion enters the discussion. You see, it is not proven that bringing in the Wildlings is the safest, most practical thing to do for the people of the kingdom of Westeros. And compassion? Depends whose well-being you value the most. If your sympathies are with the people of the kingdom, leave the Wildlings out. Western Europe, in my opinion, will do better with less inflow from the outside. I guess the issue is, whose welfare are you most interested in serving. I'll stop here because this is not the place to get into deeply involved political issues. Jon's mind is clouded because he fell in love with the Wildlings. There is a line where he compares himself to Mance Rayder. He mixes better with the free folk. But that kind of independence must have it's downsides in order to be fair. Mance was having the time of his life until a threat came along which he could not face and survive. So he turns tail and returns to the people he betrayed. Scum bag for sure despite his prowess with sword and arms.

No, the Starks are not the primary characters in the novels. All of the extra material, novellas, and short stories are about which family? The Targaryens. Fire and Blood, Dunk & Egg, etc. The Targaryens are the leading family of the novels. The Starks are in the same plane as the Lannisters and the Baratheons. High ranking to be sure, but not at the top. We get pages of story about the Rogue Prince, not the Hungry Wolf because the Targaryens are the leads. Daenerys' chapters were worthy enough to deserve their own novellas. Daenerys is the lead among the top five main characters. The others being Bran, Tyrion, Jon, and Arya. The Targaryens belong in the topmost hierarchy because they are a long line of rulers. Families like the Starks and Lannisters were chiefs of their own small kingdoms. They are not on the same level. Simply put, the Targaryens have made bigger and deeper footprints in the history of Essos and Westeros, thus the larger story revolves around them. The main purpose of the Starks is to make the plot more accessible to the average reader who wants to read about family squabbles and everyday concerns. But it is the Targaryens who pull the strings of that world.

The first part of the revelation is a man pretending to be Azor Ahai. The king with blue eyes and a trick sword. This is none other than Stannis Baratheon. Jon will be resurrected by the Others and he may come back with blue eyes but red is much more likely. He will be pale as death and his body will be cold. In other words, a wight. The stone beast is not a dragon. The Mother of Dragons would have recognized the creature as such. Though this creature is connected to Jon. Remember, Jon rejected the Night's Watch. He had a choice between family and duty. He chose family. He is not the sword in the darkness. He will serve the dark. Shadow fire is an interesting description. It's a cold, dark flame. It darkens and freezes what it touches. At least symbolically. It does not mean that. Shadow flame is not real flame. It's cold and darkness. What this winged creature symbolizes is a being who will breathe darkness and cold over the land. The prophecy is precise. It says Azor Ahai will wake dragons from stone. Daenerys hatched her three dragons from petrified eggs. Hatching one dragon is different and does not make one Azor Ahai. Daenerys is the Child Of Three. All important moments in her life happen in threes. Another clue which points to her true identity as Azor Ahai. If Azor Ahai was the generation before, then it is King Aerys II. The first and second attempts were Rhaegar and Viserys. Both men failed. The third attempt, Daenerys, was successful. But I think Azor Ahai is this generation, Daenerys herself.

@Falcon2909 Daenerys Targaryen just brought three dragons back from extinction. She walked out of her husband's funeral fire. She has her own khalasar. Marwyn recognized her as the person spoken of in prophecies. The one called Azor Ahai and the three dragons are lightbringer. He wants to meet her and offer his knowledge at her disposal.

Consider those two are low level security guards. They watch and guard. They function like house servants. Their skills are on the low side of barely passing. The Starks have had nothing to fear in the North and they do not expect trouble. Their household income is not such that they can hire and keep skilled men-at-arms at all times. Resources are not as plentiful in their neck of the woods. What help they have had to come cheap.

I would further claim and say Daenerys is Azor Ahai.

The order of the night watch modeled their structure from what they know. Lords do not serve a term and then step down. It doesn't quite work that way. A person of authority will usually stay in that job until deposed or dies. The order votes in its leader so at some point in a progressive future the concept of term limits may gain support. But not during the period of Jon's time. Jon would have murdered them if they had tried to talk him down. There were no steps from where Bowen Marsh and the crows could stand on to make such a demand but it was still critical for the good of the kingdom and the watch to remove the unstable Jon from power. It was a very sad ending all around that was brought about by Jon's bad moves.

This. She is Azor Ahai because she fulfilled the prophecy by hatching the dragons.