Fire Eater

There are many unknown factors in this upcoming battle between Aegon and Tyrells.First,whose side will the houses sworn to Storm's End take?Main strength of Stormlands was broken in Blackwater and some of their strength must be in the North with Stannis but remainder is also important.Connington has friends in Stormlands,but he was gone from Westeros for years.How many men will Tyrells bring,how many bannerman of the Reach may/will switch sides?If Dorne comes to their aid,when?After Kevan's death I don't predict another great army from the Rock to come south but who knows?

In my opinion taking SE is one thing,but for Connington and Aegon to prove themselves it's not enough.And they don't have enough strength to defeat the Tyrells in the field in the short run.So If I were Connington I will gather my forces at SE and wait for them.If it is the most formidable castle in Westeros,I'd let them come.Mace may be fool enough for a direct attack because things are really getting complicated in KL.Also there are still swords and elephants crossing the sea for Aegon.Mace might become like Jamie in Riverrun if these forces can flank them.

Connington is going out to meet them we've heard, and he knows where they're headed, SE, and they'll be taking the Kingsroad.

I think Connington's battle with the Tyrell force marching towards Storm's End is going to resemble Hannibal's victory at the Battle of Lake Trasimene. Connington is going to have his men waiting in the hills concealed by the trees somewhere along the Kingsroad next to a body of water; an unheard of lake or the Wendwater River. He then ambushes the Tyrell force in a surprise attack; he attacks from three sides, blocking off an escape route and pushes them into the water.

Finally, to complete the reference, Hannibal had elephants and Connington has elephants.

You're right about Mace thats true, and I did think we'd see Cersei rise again before she fell for good, but shit will definitely get crazy if Cersei tries to do anything to Margery, I just can't see Mace doing nothing .The High Septon also seems to be more on the Tyrells side than hers, if he's not entirely Varys puppet that is. Mace got him to release her without a walk of shame, I had assumed it was under threat of arms.

The High Septon isn't on anyone's side. Mace didn't get Margaery and her friends out; Randyll Tarly did by swearing a holy oath to bring them back for trial, and the HS himself admitted the case was weak. Mace has no clue to what is really going on.

Mace will be losing some of his bannermen soon, starting with Lord Titus Peake of Starpike, and other former Blackfyre supporters.

Pardon me if this has already been mentioned, but every time a character says how something is as useful as "nipples on a breastplate," I am reminded of the over-produced Batman and Robin movie from the 1990s.

You mean Batman Forever with Val Kilmer.

While we can't truly know what Cersei would think of it, we do know that Mace Tyrell is the one with the real power here. If i recall correctly he has 30,000 troops in the city, that should be enough even to handle ungregor.

Not if Cersei's guards surround Margaery, and numbers don't matter as long as Cersei can get to her first. Mace Tyrell has a large host, but he isn't the brightest candle on the chandelier.

How do you see Cersei having a say in the matter? But past that I actually think she'd jump at the opportunity to separate her from Tommen.

With Kevan dead, that would make Cersei would re-assert herself as Tommen's guardian, thinking the Tyrells are behind Kevan and Pycelle's deaths in attempt to seize power in the court. Cersei wants Margaery dead, true enough, but she wants Margaery as a potential hostage, and in the Red Keep so she can keep an eye on her.

Exactly! I think the Tyrell bannermen might have been defeated by the Golden Company using any of those three tactics. Or perhaps after the Trial by Faith is ended, and Margaery may be declared innocent, Mace might take her with his army and after seeing that Aegon VI is a true Targaryen, he could propose his daughter as consort to the Dragon pretender. I just want Margaery to be queen, she would be a good one.

Not while Tommen is still alive, and Cersei is not foolish enough to let Mace take his daughter away from KL. Margaery is already a queen by being married to Tommen, and as Lady Olenna states the Tyrells value their word more than all the gold in Casterly Rock.

I'm sorry if i'm Off topic, but it wanted to ask some questions...

1) This is called "Arianne II" because GRRM read the second chapter of Arianne without reading the first? or did he read both?

2) is there any trascription of it (of them?) ?

1) It's the second Arianne chapter, otherwise the title of this thread would just be Arianne Part 2.

2) Try this

Could Doran have been projecting the Golden Company with his numbers already? He's a sneaky guy. Maybe he's had something planned all along. I also think he may know that Aegon is a Blackfyre, if he is of course (which I think he is). Dorne never really seemed to like the Targs. It was sort of an uneasy peace between them. Doran seems like the type to go with whoever will help him win. I think in reality, he could care less if Aegon really is a Targ, as long as everyone else thinks he's a Targ.

The Martells had been allies of the Targs since Daeron II married the Prince of Dorne's sister and the Prince of Dorne married Danaerys, Daeron's sister. Elia had also been married to Rhaegar.

While House Martell had sided with Targs against the Blackfyres in all the Blackfyre Rebellions.

Doran would care about Aegon's parentage since it is about whether or not he is his sister, Elia's, son.

That's your theory. My theory is that she screamed "sword" but the scream was in her mind. Nobody heard her, except herself and perhaps the demon-god Rh'llor, because, after all, it is rather hard to scream audibly when you are being strangled to death by a noose.

Since no-one heard her, no-one cut her down, and no-one cut down Pod either. Pod and Brienne are dead.

Later, Stoneheart is inspired by Rh'llor to give Brienne the kiss of fire. She becomes UnBrienne. Her mission and purpose is undeath is the word "sword" representing the mission "take the sword and kill the kingslayer". Her first target is Jaime, but there will be other targets. Note that killing the kingslayer (Renly's killer) was her mission even before she yelled "sword".

There is no evidence that Brienne was revived after she had been killed. Jaime didn't observe the glowing eyes on Brienne, nor did he observe any marks around her neck.

Screaming requires exhaling not inhaling, so Brienne could have screamed a word.

Why is everyone assuming Pod survived? All that has been confirmed is the word that Brienne screamed, and her reasons for screaming it.

We also know, from GRRMs other comments, that the undead have a mission-focus, but loss of humanity. So it is perfectly plausible that UnBrienne is focussed on her sword-mission, buy has forgotten the human reasons that originally motivated her to accept it.

Brienne never died, and she wasn't revived. She screamed "sword" to save Pod's life. When she screamed that word, they cut her and Pod as well as Ser Hyle down.

Can someone explain why Brienne saying "sword" saved her life? I know it was crucial and all but I was kinda speed reading A Feast for Crows (due to some school stuff) and I didn't quite catch why it was so important or its significance to Lady Stoneheart....

I just want Cat to kill all the Freys by the end of this series. Every single one. And Lord Walder Frey to be the last.

"She says you must choose. Take the sword and slay the Kingslayer, or be hanged for a betrayer. The sword or noose, she says."

Brienne chooses not to answer so UnCat orders Brienne, Pod and Ser Hyle to be hanged; Brienne screams out her choice. Read this.

With this information we can assume that Brienne is leading Jaime into a trap. Upon being captured he will demand a trial by combat. Given he has only one hand, Lady Stoneherath will grant it. Maybe they've joined up with Thoros at this point. Stonehearth will choose Brienne as her champion and Jaime will fight himself. What that battle leads to only the gods know.

I don't think Jaime will lose, his arc would be pointless if he's to lose a trial by combat for horrors he did before he was on his redemption arc.

Brienne might well die. I don't see much use for her anymore other than having a final battle with Jaime. Or Jaime might get her into a position where he would be able to kill her and refrain from doing it, further convincing Stonehearth he is not the man he once was.

If Jaime somehow wins, Lady Stonehearth and moreso Thoros of Myr will be convinced of his innocence in the sight of the gods, especially since he won with only one hand. Maybe we will get a Victarion/Moqorro situation where Thoros animates Jaime's right hand, somehow making it bound to only fight the good fights.

Maybe Stonehearth then forces him to go after Sansa/Arya or kill Cersei/Walder Frey/Roose Bolton.

Nice theory, but unless you're talking about Jaime's golden hand, to reanimate Jaime's hand, they would have to find it first.

I also think, Brienne might serve as Jaime's champion against Lem.

UnCat is probably keeping Pod as a hostage so as to ensure Brienne brings Jaime to the ambush site.

Quentyn is a young boy who is only relaying the info given to him by his father.

Or in layman's terms, he's a tool.

wait a minute, why would arianne marry aegon? i mean if they believe he is the real deal then that would make him her 1st cousin. i know targs marry brother and sister but would do the dornish marry siblings? would arianne marry the son of her aunt?

In the medieval world, there was no taboo against marrying your cousin, it was a practice not unheard of. This is exemplified by Tywin Lannister marrying his cousin, Joanna.

I thought the sword fight between Jaime and Brienne after Brienne (Jaime's foil) tried to stop Jaime from taking the sword off his cousin's corpse was akin to the beginning of the Epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh's foil, Enkidu, tries to stop Gilgamesh from taking his lord's right with a newly married woman, and the fight ensues between them with the two men becoming friends.

I think Connington's battle with the Tyrell force marching towards Storm's End is going to resemble Hannibal's victory at the Battle of Lake Trasimene. Connington is going to have his men waiting in the hills concealed by the trees somewhere along the Kingsroad next to a body of water, an unheard of lake or the Wendwater River. He then ambushes the the Tyrell force in a surprise attack; he attacks from three sides, blocking off an escape route and pushing them into the water.

Finally, to complete the reference, Hannibal had elephants and Connington has elephants.

Mirri Maaz Duur's prophecy to Dany that she will see Drogo again when the sun rises in the west and sets in the east, seas dry and mountains blow into the wind like leaves.

As Apple Martini pointed out:

Sun rising in the west and setting in the east: Quentyn

Seas going dry: Dothraki Sea in a drought

Mountains blowing in the wind: the dragons burning the pyramids of Meereen

When will that be posted in the prophecies section?

An ambush seems to be the likely course of action for Conningtion. He knows the lay of the land, has troops of the highest quality and is probably still at about half strength. The Tyrell army is probably at least 20,000 strong. Success will depend on who is commanding the Tyrells.

I wonder if the GC will deploy their elephants in some fashion?

I'd like to see the elephants in action against the Fat Flower's forces. I wonder if Griff's cousin Red Ronnet will be with the Tyrell force to prove his loyalty and try to ride up to kill Griff for taking Griffin'sRoost.

Griff means to go on the offense against the Tyrell force heading for Storm's End. My guess, Griff knows they'll be heading down the Kingsroad from King's landing to Storm's End, somewhere along the kingsroad he'll pick a good position to ambush the Tyrell force and take them by surprise. Like Tarly at the Battle of Ashford he will attack them before they have a chance to form up.

(during Robert's rebellion he commanded "only" the vanguard of Mace's forces IIRC).

Tyrion and Mace's mother, Lady Olenna, herself admits it was Tarly commanding the vanguard who won the Battle of Ashford; by the time Mace Tyrell arrived with the rest of his forces, the battle was already over.

Overall, the chance is Tarly may join Connington.

"There is power in living wood", said Jojen, almost as if he knew what Bran was thinking, "a power as strong as fire".

When Bran and co finally emerge from the crypts of Winterfell, and see that the godswood stood unburnt.

Good catch. I remember that quote from ACoK, in that same book, Melisandre said

this Storm's End is an old place. There are spells woven into the stones. Dark walls that no shadow can passancient, forgotten, yet still in place.

Those spells were obviously put there by the CotF. Valyrian and Mel's sorcery is rooted in fire or blood, the CotF's magic could be rooted in their opposites: living green and ice(or water).

What behaviour are you referring to?

As things are, Randyll Tarly stands to gain under Tommen/Margaery; he has arranged a lucrative marriage for his son with the heiress of Maidenpool. And he is a respected commander under Mace Tyrell, lately he even has been leading his own army (instead of only the van). Why would he switch to Aegon, especially if the latter has only the outnumbered Golden Company for the time being? If it looks like Aegon will win, maybe.

Actually, the marriage for Dickon is to the heiress of Maidenpool not the Lannisters or the Tyrells, so the marriage would go unchanged. When Randyll Tarly's choosing which side to fight on, first compare Kings Tommen and Aegon, Tommen is a plump soft boy with a sweet, tractable nature who enjoys his kittens much like his son Sam (and we all know much he approved of him), while Aegon is fighting in his battles to retake the Iron Throne. Then compare the men leading either side: Griff and Mace Tyrell, Griff has a name as a warrior and he proves to be an experienced, qualified battle commander, while Mace Tyrell, the Fat Flower's great military prowess exists only in his head, and other than that he couldn't lead a troupe of mummers.

Lord Eldon Estermont is being held as a captive by JC, I wonder if Arianne will get to see his wife, Sylva Santagar, her old friend?

Off topic, but I wonder if the Damphair chapter confirms the speculation that he was molested by Euron as a child. Yikes.

What Azizal said, plus GRRM is basically breaking all taboos such as (tw)incest and (tw)inbreeding and cannibalism it was only a matter of time before he did the incestuous rape of a man's own brother.

On another subject, I wonder if there are also cave paintings by the children of the forest in the cave where Bran is? What do they show and what can be learned from them?