Mister Smikes

That's what Vic thinks. That's why he agreed to go. It's not too difficult to think that Vic has miscalculated and Euron is 2 steps ahead of him. Well then, I guess Euron is just going to show up in person, and claim his dragons and his bride himself. Won't Vic be disappointed. At the Kingsmoot, he tells them there are 3 dragons in the world, he knows where to find them, and he intends to bind the dragons to his will using the dragonbinder horn. In the hold of the Silence, as they sail south from the Iron Islands, he tells Aeron they are sailing for "dragons". At the Shields, he tells them that "we" are going to Slavers" Bay, and they rebel. Afterwards, Euron laments that he would bring them dragons, and they cry out for grapes. In Asha's chapter, Asha says her nuncle is off "chasing dragons". Again in the hold of the Silence, Euron tells Aeron he has no interest in holding either the Shields or the Seastone Chair, and expects the Shields to be lost. Moqorro tells Tyrion that he has ordered his captain to steer the shortest course to reach Dany. Why? Because "others seek Danaerys too." Among those "others" that Moqorro sees seeking Dany in his fires is "A tall and twisted thing with one black eye and ten long arms, sailing on a sea of blood." The only time Euron implies he is NOT going, is when he is tricking Vic into going. Clear to Vic sure. Vic thinks Euron is not going. So Vic thinks there is nothing stopping him from claiming the bride and the dragons for himself. Vic is stupid. But not in that order. He needs Dany and her dragons to take the Iron Throne. And he means to claim them himself.

It's not an issue. Nobody cares about how big the book is. There are all kinds of solutions to the problem, including publication in 2 parts simultaneously. If (hypothetically) he has more than 1500 pages and has not published yet, the issue MIGHT be that he needs to write more before he reaches a satisfactory cut-off point. But it is really wishful thinking to suppose he has that much written.

He's got to write the words first.

When GRRM passes into the great beyond, many decades hence, they will find maybe 600 pages of material on his computer, which another author will adapt and expand into a volume entitled "A Haggling of Harpies." I'll be dead by then.

In that case, I don't understand how it follows that he will do nothing important in the story.

This logic is misleading. GRRM did not put Baristan in Meereen because he needed a point of view there. He put Baristan in Meereen for some other reason (whatever that was) and then belatedly decided he needed to give Baristan POV chapters, to solve some particular problem he had.

Euron makes an offer. Victarion accepts it because he hopes to manipulate the situation to his own advantage. Euron knows this, but is two steps ahead of Victarion who is dumb as a box of rocks. That's all I mean by "tricked." I'm not sure what exactly Euron has up his sleeve, but nothing can be more certain but that he will outmanuever Victarion. But one thing can be guessed. Victarion imagines he will be in charge at Slavers' Bay and take credit for any victories there. But he won't. Euron will appear and claim the victory, and Victarion is probably not long for this world. Anyhow, this is an insane conversation. First someone tells me that the Ironborn will mutiny. rather than go to Slavers Bay. I point out that the Ironborn are already in Slavers Bay. Now I've got someone else telling me I am wrong because I used the word "tricked". No, no, they were not tricked! They went of their own free will! All Euron had to do was ask. Okay, fine. Have it your way. They were not "tricked". They are still in Slavers Bay. They are exactly where Euron wants them to be. Damp-hair had 3 periods of imprisonment: (1) imprisonment on the Silence, (2) imprisonment at the Shields, and (3) imprisonment - again - on the Silence. During all 3 periods of imprisonment he was held in complete darkness, and lost track of time. I said nothing about where he was captured. But yes, he was captured on the Iron Islands (but never imprisoned there). At a steady 12 knots (faster for all I know) he certainly can. Do the math. Euron all-but tells us he can control the winds by blood sacrifice; that he can "ride the storm". But nobody bothers to consider what that really means. We have already seen Stannis' fleet journey in record time to the Wall, thanks to Mel's magic, so we know these things work. I said nothing about how fast he would go once he picked up Dany and her vast armies. All I am saying that in the roughly 5 months (or more) that Damp-hair has been imprisoned, he has had time so far to sail all kinds of places and do all kinds of things. But obviously he has not picked up Dany and her vast armies yet, so I obviously was not considering that yet. That's not the actual language. Telling lies is a poor way to win an argument. I have already admitted it is one possible interpretation. But you are refusing to consider the other interpretation. And that is not an argument either. Probably an Island off the Arbor. At least, that's apparently what his captains think. But if Euron has been sailing out of sight of land, and the captains have been following him, it is possible that only Euron knows where they really are. Do you think the ocean is a bathtub? We know that Euron can sail out of sight of land. We know that Ironborn ships are fast, as they are designed as raiders. We know that Euron can control the winds by blood magic. The Redwyne fleet does not know where Euron is now, much less where he is going. Euron can't be found. Euron can't be chased.

That's ancient history. Euron has already tricked Victarion into taking the Iron Fleet to Slaver's Bay. And the Iron Fleet is at Slaver's Bay. And as for the 12 Captains who are most closely-tied to Euron himself, and who sail out with him on at the end of The Foresaken, there is no indication they won't follow Euron wherever he wishes to go. These are the same fools he is leaving behind to be slaughtered. And good riddance as far as he is concerned. Euron, with his power to control the winds by blood sacrifice, can travel much faster than Victarion. They do not need to leave at the same time, to arrive at the same time or earier. And Euron wants Victarion to imagine he is acting in his own behalf. That is part of the manipulation. He does not want Victarion to know that Euron will show up as well. Victarion thinks he is pursuing his own glory. In the meantime, we don't actually know what Euron is up to. The Foresaken chapter covers maybe 5 months of time or more, and Damp-hair sees Euron only rarely. We don't actually know how much time has passed while Damp-hair was imprisoned at the Shields. Nor do we know how much time has passed while Damp-hair was imprisoned in the hull of the Silence. Meanwhile, Euron can sail to Slavers' Bay and back in a matter of weeks. I don't think Euron has just been sitting at the Shields the whole time. We will find out what he has been up to later. In the meantime, GRRM does not want us to know. Dude. Come on! I already explained this. Euron can sail out of sight of land. He has done this before, leading other ships in his wake. That's how he approached the Shields. He can bypass anyone, any time. LOL, no. Euron has no need to use the "north side of the straits". He is (apparently) on an island off the Arbor, which presumably means he is either on the south side of the straits or not in the straits at all. And the Redwyne fleet can't come straight for him unless they know where he is. And how would they know where he is? Apparently, Euron just attacked this island, slaughtered its inhabitants, and sailed away leaving the castle burning behind him. The slaughtered corpses have barely had time to grow cold. By the time the Redwyne fleet finds out he was ever there, he will be already gone. LOL. You are overlooking a key similarity. In the First Battle of Fair Isle, Euron was not present either. Euron took the credit for the victories of the Greyjoy Rebellion, but left Victarion holding the reins for the defeat. He intends to do the same thing here. And says so. Euron gets the credit for conquering the Shields. Others will have the shame of losing them. And what do you expect Euron to learn from the battle off Fair Isle? What it tells us is that the Iron Throne can crush the Iron Fleet. All they have to do is catch them. And somehow, you think this proves that Euron is just going to sit around and wait to get caught? Why on earth would he do that? He does not even have the Iron Fleet to back him up. Because he sent it to Slavers' Bay.

Sounds to me like "the Redwyne fleet is coming, so we are leaving". Why should I assume it means, "the Redwyne fleet is coming, so we are going to meet them ..." ? Why on earth would Euron wait around to be "caught in the rear" by the concentrated naval might of Westeros. The Ironborn are basically pirates and raiders. When their opponents draw battle lines, they go elsewhere. That's their style. And if they ever did plan to meet the concentrated naval forces of Westeros in a pitch battle, it would not be after sending the bulk of their best naval forces, the Iron Fleet, to Slavers' Bay. I never said there would not be fighting. What do you think is going on in Slavers' Bay? The entire Iron Fleet, led by Victarion, has passed around the south of Westeros, and they have been raiding and pillaging along the way. But they are already gone. They are at Slavers' Bay. Euron has just left his island base near (apparently) the Arbor. Judging from the fact that he left the castle burning behind him, he has no plan to return. If the Redwyne fleet attacks Euron at the Arbor, Euron will not be waiting there, no more than he will be waiting at the Shields. Euron can sail out sight of land, and lead other ships. He can ride the storm by blood sacrifice. He has no need to meet the Redwyne fleet in pitched battle. He can just outsail them and outmaneuver them and bypass them. Victarion has already managed to bypass them en route to Slavers' Bay. And if Victarion can bypass them, Euron certainly can. And if he planned to meet the concentrated naval might of Westeros, he would hardly think of doing that without the Iron Fleet. But the Iron Fleet has been sent to Slavers' Bay. And that's where Euron plans to be too. And he can travel much faster than Victarion, since he can control the winds by blood sacrifice, and ride the storm.

Well, aren't you optimistic!

Probably for reasons we're not aloud to talk about. But beyond that, GRRM did hint that he is going to eliminate alot of his current POVs, and Barristan does seem like one of the more expendable ones. He won't even try to make it on time. He's not going to Dany. He just told Sam that, to appease him. The sinister Cabal who lay in wait for Sam are not actually on the same team as Sam.

Tatters, burnt beyond recognition, died on Dany's bed. Quentyn is with Viserion at the Pyramid. Tyrion missed something when he was in the tent, but when the commander rode up in a rage against the Windblown, it is because Archie's secret plan (that he could not tell Gerris in front of Barristan) succeeded. Archie's plan to turn the Windblown has succeeded, but in a manner he could not explain in front of Barristan. LOL, not even Victarion? The text does not even make a secret that Victarion is Euron's puppet. And if Euron has no connection in Essos, what the hell has he been up to for the past 15 years? He clearly has ambitions that go beyond merely being a pirate. Well, I would not exactly trust him. But, in this case, why do you think he's lying? Where would he be going if not where he says he is going, where he sent the entire iron fleet ahead of him, and where a climax of some kind is going to occur? Well then, how will Dany get to Westeros after the battle is over, if the dragons are still uncontrolled? Or will Dany not reach Westeros til book 7?

That was the only part I agreed with. I don't know about "well before", but I certainly agree that Dany will reappear before it ends. By "all but over", I guess you mean "not over." The alternative could be true as well, and IMHO, is more likely to be true. GRRM was at least trying to return to presenting the chapters in more or less chronological order, and the last Dany chapter has been published before the "Battle of Meereen" chapters. If she and her Dothraki friends get their asses in gear, they have time to return before the end.

That's not the question. The real question is "why did the Battle of Meereen not make the cut for "A Feast For Crows"? And the answer is that GRRM got carried away and bit off more than he could chew. No. The book's overall theme is "I'm still trying to finish A Feast for Crows so Dany can get to Meereen and the second Dance of the Dragons can begin".. Totally wrong. Nonsense. There is not going to be any "Battle of the Redwyne Straits" and even if such thing occurs, Euron is not going to be there. This is a fan delusion. Neither Euron nor GRRM have said anything to suggest that Euron intends to encounter the Redwyne Fleet. What Euron intends is for the fools who accepted his poison gifts to be slaughtered by the Redwyne Fleet. The Redwyne Fleet is on its way to the Shield Islands, to reconquer these same fools. And the Redwyne Fleet will have been decoyed to the other side of Westeros. Just in time for Dany's crossing. Euron does not give two hoots about his crown, just as he does not give two hoots about the Seastone Chair. He will take it, use it, and throw it away, like the dragon egg. His crown and his Ironborn subjects are expendable tokens in his game of chaos. He will be traveling to Meereen with his 12 captains. And he already sent Victarion ahead of him. And he already controls the Storm Crows and the Company of the Cat. Quentyn has a dragon. He is hanging out with his new friend Viserion in an abandoned pyramid. If Euron manages to get one or more dragons as well, and/or manages to get Dany herself, he will have gotten what he is after. He wants dragons, he wants Dany, and he wants the Iron Throne. He does not care about the Seastone Chair. Euron and GRRM are not even trying to fool anyone. Euron makes no secret where he is going and what he wants, but nobody listens.

Not sure I understand the question. If you want me to venture some predictions. I will make some. The Windblown will switch sides after a man wearing what appears to be the distinct tattered cloak of the Tattered Prince is seen flying Viserion and signaling to his men. The Windblown will follow him, believing them to be their leader, who has been missing ever since the Quentyn's raid on the dragon pit. Dany will return to Meereen with Drogon, bringing a horde of Dothraki with her. The Dragonbinder horn will have some effect on Rhaegal. To be more daring, I guess that Victarion will force Tyrion to blow the Dragonbinder horn, which will kill Tyrion, but not before transferring his consciousness into Rhaegal. In any event, the battle will end with all 3 dragons more or less controlled in some sense, such that they can be led to Westeros. Victarion will die, but not before delivering to Meereen a fleet to ships to transport Dany's Dothraki hordes. Euron will appear in Slaver's Bay. By decoying the Redwyne fleet to the other side of Westeros, he has paved the way for Dany's crossing.

Do I find it plausible that GRRM will need 3,000 pages to cover whatever he had planned for TWOW? Sure. But do I believe GRRM has already passed 1,500 pages or 2,000 pages? Sorry, but no. There is no indication of that.