Lady_Qohor

So I've just finished the Dunk and Egg stories and I have to ask why on earth Maekar allows his 8 year old trueborn son to go off with some unknown hedge knight? I know Dunk argues to Maekar that if Egg is allowed to go on this journey maybe he won't end up as bad as Aerion or Daeron but that just doesn't seem to be worth the risk. A running theme of The Hedge Knight is that nobody can really vouch for Dunk, nobody at Ashford has known him longer than a few days, nobody can even prove he's actually a knight and yet Maekar just hands him over his young prince son. Dunk could be cruel, incompetent, a traitor, he could sell Egg to slavers to repay some gambling debts, he might be a secret Blackfyre supporter and hand Egg over to Bittersteel to be used againt Maekar as a hostage. Yes you can say that Maekar is grieving at that moment but it still doesn't seem enough to justify such a risky decision. I can't honestly think of another highborn parent in Westeros who would willingly hand over their trueborn child to some unknown hedge knight that nobody has known longer than a few days.

I can understand why the Stokeworths want to live at court but why do Robert (and then the Lannisters) let them. What does the Royal Family get out of housing and feeding a minor noble family of the Crownlands? They're can't just be an open invitation to all lords (or even all Crownland lords) to come and stay in the Red Keep for as long as they want - if there was the palace would be swamped with nobles jockeying for favours and influence.

I could see a young Jon Connington returning the bodies as it was the honourable thing to do. I could also see Owen Merryweather (described as aimiable) returning the bodies. Merryweather was Hand when the Starks were murdered and returning the bodies may have been a desperate attempt to prevent war. If he did, that might have contributed to Aerys believing Merryweather was conspiring with the rebels and getting rid of him.

Why are the Stokeworths living in the Red Keep? They don't appear to be friends or family of the Royal Family, they don't have any official court positions and are not hostages or exiles. Lady Stokeworth has a perfectly nice castle down the road so why do Robert and the Lannisters house them for free?

I'm always confused when people bring this up as if to imply Ned's death is Sansa's fault. Cersei was already well aware that the Starks were her enemy and that Ned wants Joffrey off the throne before Sansa came to her - Catelyn has kidnapped her brother, she probably has Littlefinger whispering in her ear and Ned straight up tells her that he knows the truth about her children and is going to tell Robert. Sansa tells her nothing that she doesn't already know. This incident has no consequences because Cersei already knows Ned is working against her. It has no affect on the plot and is just to show how naive and sheltered Sansa. Big surprise, she's the eleven year old daughter of a rich and powerful man, who doesn't tell her anything for some reason (despite warning Arya how dangerous KL is, he seems to say nothing about this to Sansa.) Ned's death is the result of him being too honourable for his own (and all the servants he brought with him) good.

What do you think would happen if Sansa and Dontos were caught fleeing the Red Keep and Kings Landing in the aftermath of the purple wedding and Joffrey's murder? Sansa looks very guilty and would look even more so if Dontos knows that her hairnet is poisoned and spills. Cersei would be after her head but what would Tywin do? Does he put her on trial, execute her or exonerate her? Loads of people would think that she killed the king but she's also the 'key to the North' and Tywin's smart enough to know she's probably nothing more than a harmless pawn. What about Littlefinger? If Dontos is captured alive then I'm guessing he'd spill everything about Littlefinger at the first wave of interegation. He seems to know enough to incriminate Littlefinger but obviously doesn't know everything. Littlefinger is safe in a ship off shore at this point but Tywin's definitely going to want to at least talk to him. Does Baelish risk coming back to Kings Landing to try and talk his way out things or does he become a fugitive of the crown?

So I've come up with a half-baked, tinfoil theory that I don't think has been shared yet. It has lots of holes in it, I don't believe it and I'd be disappointed if it came to pass but nevertheless I thought it was interesting so I'd thought I'd share and see if there are any thoughts. Summary: The Rhaegar/Lyanna affair wasn't about Lyanna or prophecy. It was a plot by Rhaegar and Arthur Dayne to kill Brandon Stark and gain vengeance for Ashara that went horribly wrong. Theory in more detail: So Barristan believes that Ashara Dayne was dishonored by a Stark at Harrenhal. If Brandon Stark raped Ashara and she wanted to confide in someone the most logical choices would be Elia (close friend) or Arthur (brother). Either way, the news could get back to both Rhaegar and Arthur. Their first impulses would probably be to call Brandon Stark out or put him on trial, but Ashara makes them swear not to say anything (this being a medieval world full of misogny, slut-shaming and refusal to believe rape survivors). They reluctantly agree but when Rhaegar wins the tourney, he sees an opportunity to get vengeance for someone who is both a close friend of his wife and sister of his best friend. He crowns Lyanna Queen of Love and Beauty in the hopes of provoking Brandon into attacking him or challenging him to a duel. That way he can kill Brandon without anyone finding out about what happened to Ashara or provoking serious repercussions from the North. After all, Brandon would be the aggressor in this scenario, Rhaegar crowning Lyanna is dishonourable but it's no crime and if he kills Brandon then he is just defending himself. The plan almost works, and we are told that Brandon had to be restrained after what he perceives to be a slight on his sister's honour. Cut to a few months later. By now, Arthur and Rhaegar have probably found out that Ashara is pregnant (with baby Jon Snow). Rhaegar, Arthur and Ser Oswell Whent are in the Riverlands (maybe Rhaegar wants to consult the Ghost of High Heart on prophecies). Arthur is still simmering with anger when they hear that Lyanna is in the area on her way to Riverrun. Arthur snaps and decides to go through with the original plan of provoking Brandon into a fight by kidnapping Lyanna (who goes willingly or unwillingly depending on your interpretation). Rhaegar and Whent probably aren’t very happy about this as they see it could mean war but it is too late now and for Arthur's sake they come up with a new plan. Rhaegar will send a raven to Riverrun telling Brandon that Arthur has kidnapped Lyanna in a fit of passion and is taking her to the Tower of Joy (an old childhood haunt). Rhaegar will say that he and Whent are going after him and asks that Brandon come along with some men to help rescue Lyanna. When Brandon and his men comes to the Red Mountains, the other three will have a terrain advantage (Arthur being familiar with the mountains) and they can separate and kill Brandon. Arthur can then flee to the Free Cities, having avenged his sister and Rhaegar can return Lyanna to the remaining Starks earning their gratitude rather than wrath. The plan goes wrong as Rhaegar's raven never arrives at Riverrun. Rhaegar and the others wait in the Red Mountains for Brandon only to find out he has gone to Kings Landing instead and been killed by Aerys. By this time war has broken out and Rhaegar feels he has no choice but to keep Lyanna captive as a hostage against Ned and Robert. Caveats: Obviously there are many flaws in this theory; Arthur acting so rashly and how on earth they thought they could keep from Lyanna that Rhaegar and Whent were invovled in the plot to murder her brother. Lyanna's death and Ned's promise also don't really fit in. However as I said I thought it was an interesting theory and I thought it quite apt for ASOIAF that Rhaegar and Arthur's misguided views of honour and chivalry end up starting a war and leaving themselves and everyone they love (including Ashara) dead. It also gives another explanation for why Rhaegar (who is praised by everyone who knew him) appears to act so rashly and so dishonourably for a teenager he barely knows. Thoughts?

What title do you give a highborn male who is not a lord/knight/king etc.? For instance how are characters like Tyrion, Bran, Rickon introduced formally - are they Mr Tyrion, Master Bran, Monsieur Stark?