Alex13

Fair enough. But he still took a chance, considering that Robb could have been killed in battle or died from wounds sustained in battle.

That is possible. But it is also possible that she could have stayed in the Riverlands, either at the Twins or most likely at Riverrun, where she would have gotten to know Catelyn and Robb better. Plus, if she would have went north to Winterfell, she would have went there under guard and the guards could have remained at Winterfell, thus possibly adding 50-100 extra guards to Winterfell, which could have changed what happened.

From what i remember, Walder got a promise that Robb will marry a daughter of his house, once the war was over. My questions is why did he agree for that to happen at the end of the war and not sooner, during the war? He could have asked/demanded that Robb marry one of his daughters once the first siege of Riverrun was resolved, right after the Battle of the Camps. Walder seems to be taking a risk, as Robb could have been killed during the War, thus nulling the promise of marrying one of his daughters to the (then) heir to the Lordship of Winterfell, plus it would have also prevented the marriage between Robb and Jeyne Westerling and probably prevent the Roose from betraying the Stark's. And if Robb died, then the next Stark heir would be Bran who is crippled and Rickon who was 3-4 years old and a lot of things could have happened that could have prevented a marriage between Rickon and a Frey bride. And Jon was at the Wall and he took his vows, so getting him released from the Night's Watch would have been a difficult task, that some people in the North, especially Catelyn would have fought against.

True, armor could be used against other dragons, although the last time dragons fought against each other, was the Dance of Dragons. Currently, Dany doesn't have any reasons to armor her dragons. And if the purpose would be to protect against bites from other dragons, then i believe that the armor would need to be pretty thick, thus heavy and which would make the dragon slower and more cumbersome in the air and it could place it in a disadvantaged, against a lightly armored dragon or if the dragon would not have armor. Plus, the main issue is that the dragons will keep growing, so the armor would need to be changed pretty often, which will get expensive, especially considering the size and thickness. Armor made from valyrian steel would be ideal, as it would be lighter, although that would cost a fortune. From what i know, there isn't any dragon armor and saddles left on Dragonstone or there hasn't been any mention about that.

For the moment, no. But the dragons will continue to grow and their scales will harden. But yes, currently, their best defense while in air is their agility and the possibility of gaining altitude if/when they are in danger. Although even at their current size, i believe that the only danger to the dragons are scorpion bolts, as i don't think that arrows will be able to penetrate their scales. Arrows are a danger to the dragon rider.

Well, the saddle could be very easy and simple to design and use, i believe. As the dragon grows, leather straps of different lengths could be used to secure it and once every few years (3-5) a new saddle could be designed to ensure that it fits the dragon easily and comfortably, and that it fits the size of the dragons neck/upper back. With regards to armor, that seems pretty useless, as according to Marin, a grown dragon is pretty much invulnerable to scorpion bolts. Meraxes was hit in one of her eyes by a scorpion bolt. And armor for Dany's dragons is useless, as they are still growing and she would have to spend a fortune to constantly equip the dragons with armor. Not to mention, the added weight of the armor will most likely make the dragons slower and more cumbersome in the air.

I wonder if Rickard contemplated a marriage between Lyanna and Roose Bolton, provided that he wasn't married. Or if he was wary of giving the Bolton's a marriage with the Stark's. He could have kept Lyanna in the North and tied the Stark's to their one of their most powerful bannerman through marriage. Of course, that could have also opened up potential schemes from Roose, to sit his child by Lyanna in Winterfell and himself as regent.

So, any serious, non-tinfoil answers and speculations to the question?

I was wondering what are the theories of Lyanna not being betrothed to someone else, such as Elbert Arryn or Baelor Hightower? What other marriage prospects would have been viable for Lyanna? I understand that the Starks already had a relationship with House Arryn, due to Ned being fostered there, but a marriage would have been a more serious alliance. And by marrying Lyanna to Elbert, the North, Riverlands and Vale, would be been connected by marriage to one another and it also makes sense, as these three regions are easily connected to one another, by the Riverlands, which shares borders with both regions; which would have made trade and military assistance, much easier. As opposed to a marriage alliance between the North and Stormlands, which where separated from the Riverlands, by the Crownlands and the Reach. Plus, House Arryn is far older than House Baratheon and they were kings of the Vale, before the conquest. The major advantage that Robert had, was that he was second cousin to Rhaegar, thus tying House Baratheon to House Targaryen by blood. In the books, we don't really know anything about Elbert. We don't know if he was betrothed or married. As for Baelor Hightower, i imagine that a prospective marriage for Lyanna to the heir of Oldtown would have been appealing for Rickard, considering that it would have created ties between the North and one of the oldest and richest houses in the realm and it would have also tied them to the Tyrell's, due to Alerie Tyrell being Baelor's sister. And it could have also led to more trade for the North. Although i imagine that the major difficulties in marrying Lyanna to Baelor, were the fact that she was a follower of the Old Gods and the Hightower's are tied closely to the Faith of the Seven and due to the distance between the North and the Reach/Oldtown. And how would a betrothal between Lyanna and Elbert, Baelor or someone else, might have affected events? Would she still have run of with Rheagar, considering that her betrothal to Robert and Robert's personality, were factors in her decision? Or would she have done her duty and married her betrothed?

I don't think so. Dorne is mostly resembling either North Africa, like James Steller suggested or Spain, particularly Moorish Spain. The Pyrenees form the border with one country, while Spain is also arid, particularly in the south. And from what i know, the largest desert is the Sahara in Africa.

I asked about European, because with the exceptions of Yi-Ti (of which we know little) that was inspired by asian kingdoms/cultures and the Dothraki, that are partially inspired by the Mongols, Martin seems to have inspired his world building from european and north african medieval kingdoms and countries. And from what i know, Martin doesn't want to introduce anything in the books, that was not present in Europe and to some extent Asia, during the Middle Ages.

Also, on what city states or countries are the Essos free cities based on?

Maybe he would name his house, House Ghost or House Ghoststark

I think that Jon was more useful alive, then if he would have taken is own life.

I see. But would it not be possible for Jon to get better, stronger and increase his stamina? Provided that he hasn't reached his limit/apex while growing up and training at Winterfell. And if jousting would be out of the question, would it not be possible for him to join the melee? I know that the melee has a lower prize then the joust, but if he wins or places high enough, he could make a decent living. And would it not be possible for him to join smaller tourney's and gain some experience in jousting and then go for the bigger ones? Or will he be required, to participate at the bigger ones, based on the knight he is squiring for? In which case, he would be faced with the people mentioned above, plus with squires/knights like Loras and Harrold Hardyng, and he will most likely lose.

Couldn't his skill improve for this? I'm not sure how good their education with regards to horse riding and hitting with a lance was or if it's different from the education received in the south, although Jon does say that Robb is better with a lance then him. Plus, the North also shuns tourney's, although i imagine that the education/training for a tourney knight is the same with that for charging with lances.

Jon becoming the First Sword of Braavos or defeating a Khal and gaining a khalasar would have been interesting to see. Although i imagine that going to Braavos and eventually becoming the First Sword or getting involved in their military, would have been easier, then getting his own khalasar. Plus, if he would get a khalasar, i imagine that he would have made changes to how the dothraki operate and treat those they defeat, which would have cause issues for him.

Yeah, he could have established his own house. Perhaps Jon joined the Night's Watch, because Ned didn't make any concert plans on settling the Gift and it was more of a plan for the future or he didn't tell Jon that he was planning on giving him a keep, simply implied that it will happen sometime in the future. And once the king arrived and asked Ned to be his Hand and Ned accepted, the plan to settle the Gift was further delayed and perhaps Jon also lost his patience and didn't want to bet on a uncertain future. And yeah, Ned had plenty of friends and allies in the North and the Vale that could have fostered and squired Jon and if the Vale lords would have been reluctant to squire a bastard, Ned could have asked Jon Arryn to help with that.

Well, if Arya wouldn't have chased Nymeria, then Nymeria would have been executed and Lady would have lived and most probably be sent back to Winterfell. That's true. I think that Ned believed that if he tells people the truth and is honorable, then people will be the same with him and he didn't want to play the game of thrones, because he found it dishonorable, not knowing that his inaction/ his refusal to play the game, could be used by the other players. I think that Ned was a good administrator, but a bad politician. And he manged to lead the North, because of what happened in the Rebellion and because he had the loyalty of the houses or most of the houses. Maybe Roose tried to make some moves and possibly garner some support, but he probably realised that he can't get enough, because the lords were loyal to Ned. Plus, Ned's friendship with Robert, the fact that he had plenty of children with Catelyn and that Catelyn was the daughter of another Lord Paramount, helped Ned in maintaining and leading the North, even if he didn't know about it. And from what i could gather, the northern lords aren't exactly adept at the political games.

She already faced consequences for that, once Lady was killed. Cersei being allowed to have the pelt, would have rubbed it in her face and added salt to the wound. She already disliked Arya and the chasm between them got larger, due to Arya sending Nymeria away so nothing can happen to her, which led to Lady being killed. And in her mind frame at the time, i don't think that Sansa would have gotten further away from Cersei, but she would have distanced herself more from her father and try to please Cersei more, even though she requested the Lady be killed, even though she didn't do anything.

Could Jon have married another noble bastard, a merchant's daughter or just a peasant? And could Ned have legitimized him and given him a keep and lands, such as Tumbledown Tower or Queenscrown, and the funds to re-establish/repair them? And if he was legitimized, could he have married a noble's daughter? And how come Ned didn't foster and/or squire him with a lord, either outside of the North or with a lord from the North? I imagine that Ned was aware of the tension between Catelyn and Jon, and that that could have been solved if Jon would have fostered and squired, especially if he would have done that in a kingdom south of the Neck and "converted" to the Faith of the Seven and become a knight. I believe that could have lessened some of Catelyn's fears of Jon stealing her children's birth rights, due to him being a knight and following the seven, which the lords of the North, would not have liked.

Well, i think that would have been a bad decision. It would have provided Sansa with a constant reminder of what she lost and i believe that Cersei would have worn it/displayed it quite often, for that exact purpose. Plus, it would have also sent a wrong message to the northern's that were with Ned in King's Landing and to the northern lords, once they would have heard. I believe it would have further increased the distance in relationship, between Ned and Sansa.

Well, that is certainly one way looking at it

Well, they could use chisels, hammers and sledgehammers to dislodge the stone blocks and if the stone blocks are to damaged and can't be reused, they could just push them to the ground and if they could be reused, they could lower them to the ground with a pulley system or with cranes. And yeah, from what i know we are talking only about stone here.

Well, i imagine that a possibility would be to demolish all five towers and construct a keep and you could also remodel/demolish the larger structures on the grounds and make them smaller. And i agree that Petyr will probably not keep the castle; if i remember correctly, he himself states that being named Lord of Harrenhal isn't the reward that it's supposed to be. It would seem that the best solutions would be to either have the castle demolished completely and either build a new castle that can belong to a lord or have the lands divided between multiple lords and not build another castle in it's place. Or the crown could take it and transform it into a royal academy or something like that and also start work on remodeling it, as i imagine that the crown would have the required coin for that.