Lord Varys

Yeah, but Euron is also burning and presumably sacrificing at least one Red Priest so I really don't see the connection there. Especially considering R'hllor is also one the gods that were impaled on the Iron Throne in Aeron's vision. Well, there is the chance that George toned down the vision there to make it less obvious. Could be a stretch, though. But Cersei and the West would just be Euron's natural allies if Dany is not coming soon and the Lannisters have a violent fallout with the Tyrells. And I really think there has to be a reason why the hell Euron spared Lannisport, Fair Isle, and the West in AFfC and moved directly against the Reach. Plot-wise this will enable him to strike a deal with Cersei because he has not antagonized the West.

It is at least intriguing. But I have a lot of difficulty imagining Melisandre ever to hook up with Euron of all people. All of Westeros is between them right now, and it is very difficult to see how such an alliance would be happening. Not completely impossible, though. I'm still more inclined to believe the woman is either Aeron's mental image of 'the dragon queen' (he has no idea that she is Daenerys Targaryen because Dany does not come up at the Kingsmoot) or it is a hint towards Euron hooking up with Cersei.

As I've said above repeatedly: If Euron crushes the Redwyne fleet and considering that he is after the Iron Throne he should turn his eye east and the north, towards KL, not west to Oldtown. If Doran commits his armies to Aegon he might provoke an attack by Euron on Sunspear. Euron should be pissed about Aegon in any case, because the guy will also be stealing his thunder. He has no chance of conquering Dorne, of course, but all-out war is more likely to break out if he actually captured Sunspear and perhaps even killed Doran and Trystane in the process. That could very well be the scene about the stone beast taking wing from a burning tower, breathing shadow fire. Perhaps Euron will proclaim and crown himself King of Westeros after he has taken Sunspear? In response to Aegon's coronation at KL shortly before that? That would fit nicely and could also mark the realization of both the cloth dragon and the stone beast vision, respectively. Aegon's coronation at the Great Sept being cheered by the commoners being the cloth dragon vision.

That is an interesting idea. Aurane Waters and whatever is left of Salladhor Saan's navy might join him, and Euron might actually turn to Sunspear and the Stepstones next should he actually defeat the Redwyne fleet this easily. He wants the Iron Throne so moving closer - physically - into that direction might come in handy. Especially while he is thinking Vic and Dany might come soon. With the Redwynes out of the way he would have the strength to attack KL in any case, although it would be very difficult to hold it. However, I don't think that any connection to Mysaria the White Worm is intentional.

Nope, I'm a figment of your imagination. You should get off that shade of the evening. Would any real person behave like I do ;-)? I just don't buy that Euron would give Aeron such images if he was in his mind. He could rape him again like he did back when he was a child or really torture him in some way. For that there would be no shade of the evening needed. Besides, we don't know that Euron owns a glass candle. I'm not saying he doesn't, but he never indicated he had one. Nope, we did not. There was a pretty good hint at sexual abuse but it could also have just been Euron beating him without explicit sexual stuff going on. And we don't really know if there was any buggering involved yet. Euron's goons presumably weren't there back then. It isn't, but they do more than just two things. Or one, actually, you cannot fuck each other and at the same time do other stuff, and there is no indication that whatever the dwarfs did didn't occur simultaneously. The Greek sphinx (female) stands embodies the whole riddle/riddler stuff thanks to the Oedipus but the Egyptian sphinx is actually male and has nothing to do with this stuff. Aside from Sarella nobody has really been associated with sphinxes in the series as of yet, so I see no real way to make a good connection there. Assuming there sphinxes actually are going to show up in a way in the series. I think we are also not expecting Euron to transform into Cthulhu despite the visions indicating something like that. Although I've to admit that would be fun. That could certainly be. Noteworthy is any case that there are no Harlaws to be seen. Is the Reader going to stay with Euron? Or will he defect to the Redwynes or the Hightowers? The man is not stupid, after all.

Euron portrays himself as a living god when talking to Aeron, yes, but does this mean he himself actually believes that? Probably not. Aeron's dream image of Euron actually repeating or reinforcing what real Euron has said doesn't mean that Euron is causing those visions consciously. Just as me feeding somebody hallucinogenic drugs after I've taunted, mocked, and terrified him with certain things doesn't mean I directly cause his visions and dreams thereafter. If Euron truly was seeing himself as a god his goons most likely wouldn't address him as 'Your Grace' but rather using 'Your Holiness' or 'Your Godhead' or some other ridiculous styling. Living gods are seldom modest, after all. Well, his image is in Aeron, not he himself. The man is terribly afraid of his brother, and even more so after he confesses what he has done to Harlon, Robin, and Balon. Aeron sees the world from his religious perspective, and he has real troubles to cope with Euron's worldly success in light of his utter depravity. Not to mention that he still suffers from being abused by Euron as a child. That Euron intends to seize the Iron Throne is nothing new at all. And thus the visions and dreams didn't give us anything new. He confessed as much to the assembled lords and captains back at the Kingsmoot. If there is any visionary or prophetic in Aeron's dreams then the dwarfs most likely are the same dwarfs Dany saw in the House of the Undying. Representations of the false kings tormenting and abusing Westeros. Euron would then, perhaps, be the big false king who grows big and powerful in their shadow. I mean, he is certainly the biggest 'crow' feasting on Westeros the title 'A Feast for Crows' referred to. There are too many dwarfs in the dream for them to refer to Tyrion and Penny. The dream image does. The real Euron does not believe in gods at all. He mocks Aeron with this whole 'become my priest' stuff. He wants to show his little brother that his religion isn't going to save him from him nor is it real. Power is. And Euron has ultimate power over Aeron and all the Ironborn. We should not forget that Euron is pretty reasonably in his whole Daenerys plan. He certainly wants her as his bride to create a new royal dynasty. He does not want to destroy everything he wants to conquer and rule. His campaign will most likely cause massive suffering and destruction but he certainly doesn't want to kill everybody. I don't know whether Euron will ever sit the Iron Throne. It is certainly a possibility, I've said so for years, basically. But at this point and in this 'prophetic setting' (a guy being afraid of Euron and that Euron will succeed having some drug-induced nightmares) the images could be more about Euron's wish/intention to succeed than about the actual future. The sphinxes are a new element but I don't think we can yet determine what those mean if they are not another mystical/magical creature Aeron's demented mind included into his dream. The only symbolic sphinx we know as of yet is Alleras-Sarella and she will most likely not join Euron in any sense. But then, sphinxes could become important as the story progresses, as of yet the only we know of are the ones at the Citadel, the ones in the Small Council chamber, and the big ones in Essos. All of them are of Valyrian origin, though.

I really don't get this 'Euron is completely evil' thing. He is most likely not much worse than the average Ironborn. And unlike them he dreams and plans big. Do you guys really think he would continue to be an evil tyrant after he has taken the Iron Throne and defeated all his enemies? I'd say not necessarily. The man is not as stupid as to try to force Ironborn culture on the entire continent of Westeros. Why do you think he wants to marry Daenerys? To gain a legal claim and legitimacy in the eyes of the lords of Westeros. He would be the one who restores the Targaryen dynasty to the Iron Throne. He'll become an antagonist and a power of destruction because he'll not succeed, and he'll meet massive resistance on the way, forcing him to descend ever more into the sphere of mad tyrants/dark lords.

@bent branch I don't buy Dany taking an Ironborn consort. Not the way how things have been set up. She is now with the Dothraki. If she goes back to the beginning one should expect her to take another Dothraki as husband. Moqorro's mentions his vision of Euron as a threat to Dany, but I see no reason why we can't reduce that to Victarion acting as Euron's representative - which was now cut short by Moqorro himself, presumably. Unless we assume Euron has means to remote control people - and there are no hints in that direction yet - there is no reason to assume that he should learn soon that his Victarion plan has gone awry. And if he gets news about Daznak's Pit and Daenerys' disappearance/alleged death he might be done with that part of his plan. If he began now began personally searching for Dany at the far ends of the world every advantage he might have gained with the Ironborn will be lost by his return. George has also indicated that Tyrion and Dany are not going to meet each other early on in TWoW. That could be a hint that Dany is not going to return to Meereen soon, or that Dany's people might no longer be in Meereen when/if she returns there (or just that Tyrion might be gone by then). And Euron might be able to find allies in Westeros to begin his conquest without dragons, Cersei most of all. Quaithe-Euron is way too far-fetched for me.

Euron could actually slay Drogon if his Valyrian armor is any good for that kind of thing, and if he ends up getting a Valyrian steel sword. Those should cut like butter through the not yet hardened scales of young dragons. But then, considering how far apart Euron and Daenerys are right now it will take a lot of time and pages to get them even remotely close to each other. Right now, it is a huge stretch to assume that Euron will even live to meet Daenerys Targaryen. We don't know how long it will take her to go to Westeros, and we don't know yet what Euron is going to do in TWoW. If George wants to set up a Second Dance between Aegon and Dany then Euron might eventually be put down by Aegon. We just don't know. Whatever success Euron might have - on the grand scale of things destroying the Redwyne fleet and even sacking or conquering Oldtown is still nothing all that great. His power base still are people who aren't equipped or capable of venturing far inland, and they don't have the numbers to even dream of conquering Westeros in any conventional way. Even Euron's ability to slaughter, kill, and spread terror is limited to the coastal regions and the lands close to the rivers he (seemingly) controls access to right now. If no major houses in Westeros declare for him he is done. Even if he becomes the most powerful sorcerer alive. He cannot hope to win with magic alone (after all, even Sauron and Morgoth needed armies, right?). The idea that the dragons will 'defeat the Others' is a little bit silly, too. They will help and contribute to victory in that war but one imagines the Others' ice magic can also affect the Others. We know that dragonfire isn't all that useful in rain, so one wonders what good Dany's dragons could do in a huge snow or ice storm. The Others most likely would most likely not jump directly into the dragonfire. However, I guess if they do then they are dead. If dragonglass kills them they stand no chance against the heat and magical power of dragonfire.

Come on, people, Euron isn't much worse than Aeron or Victarion. All those Ironborn are sick bastards, Euron is just the smart guy who has realized that the few restraints they put on themselves (like a religion) or the kinslayer are foolish, too. I mean, Aeron has no trouble drowning innocents and Vic has literally beaten his wife to near death and then fed her to the crabs. Not to mention his twisted Slaver's Bay sacrifices. Even Asha is twisted with her rape games and all that stuff. @Good Guy Garlan As to Cersei: Well, I think the prophecy is a necessary element to make Cersei act the way she did. Because she is actually too smart to see Margaery on her own as a real threat to her. If there was no prophecy Cersei could have taken her time to ruin her slowly, not to mention that she would never have developed the notion that Tyrion was hiding in the walls and all if she had not, by that time, concluded that her little brother was sort of destined to ruin everything she had. And no, Cersei is no psychopath. She is entitled and a narcissist but that's true for a lot of people in that environment. And the murder of Melara is not so bad in this environment/society. Violence is much more prevalent in this world, and as Lord Tywin's daughter Cersei could essentially get away with anything.

Oh, you think the red priest was tortured? Could be. I thought he may have been injured during the raid or attack on his temple. But you might be right there. But then, Euron has to break those priests and sorcerers he uses. They are not likely to give in all that easily. And the Qartheen don't appear to be all that broken to me, by the way. Not to mention that they still have their tongues (unlike the septons, apparently). Depending how important Euron will become later in the series there might eventually be some deeper insight into his character. We have to learn what drives him.

@Good Guy Garlan Well, there are hints that Euron's grand dreams come from him possibly being a (failed) greenseer. We don't know yet what he can do but if he can do similar stuff than Bran and Bloodraven (or is learning to do those things) then there might be a lot more to him than there is right now. And I actually expect a lot of characters going more in the darker direction. Winter has come. Things will get really nasty now. Westeros is about the get even more barbaric and war-torn and people like Euron (or Ramsay) will thrive in that environment. The time for the good guys is over. The good guys will have to become more like the villains or perish. And strictly speaking, I'm not sure what you expect from some kind of guy who wants to conquer stuff. Euron and Aegon the Conqueror might have had the same depth. For some reason they want to rule over a lot of land. Most likely has something to do with their egos. The main difference would be that Aegon was no psychopath. Thinking about Euron - any chance that his murder of Harlon was partially (or even mainly) a mercy killing (and the same could extend to Robin, too). I mean, the idea that you put an injured horse or dog out of its misery is very common in this world. Harlon was dying a very cruel death anyway, and Robin was a lackwit. Euron paints all that as him being the big Bad Evil Guy but that's his routine with Aeron. The man doesn't for a moment believe he is a god himself, or something like that. And he isn't as bad Ramsay by far. He doesn't torture Aeron at all. He just imprisons him. There is a difference there.

@Illyrio Mo'Parties I did not say Illyrio and Varys are going to defeat Aegon's enemies in the field. What I mean is that politicking and maneuvering never stops and can play a very important role. Who defeated Stannis during the War of the Five Kings? Tyrion? Joffrey? Tywin? The Tyrells? Nope. It was Littlefinger. Littlefinger countered the story about the incest with his story about Selyse and Patchface, scoring a massive victory in the propaganda war. It was Littlefinger who arranged the alliance between the Lannisters and the Tyrells which led to Stannis' defeat in battle. And it was Littlefinger who had Garlan Tyrell wear Renly's armor and thus effectively singlehandedly defeated the bulk of Stannis' entire army (because the fools did not want to fight against 'Renly's Ghost'). Varys and Illyrio certainly are capable of influencing Aegon's campaigns in a similar (or even a stronger) way. I did not say that Aegon is going to be Varys/Illyrio's puppet. He is not. But Euron might burn his fingers quite a bit should he end up messing with Aegon. As to generosity: A king usually is only openhanded with stuff he doesn't want to keep. Stuff he wants to keep/covets himself, he won't give away. In that sense, all the things a king gives to his followers are, most likely, not all that valuable to him (e.g. Robert giving Storm's End to Renly clearly signifies that he didn't want to keep it). The Manson analogy is pretty good there, actually, because you have to do something like that as a war lord or even a feudal king. You have to part with stuff you might actually need or like yourself because your most important goal is to keep your followers happy and draw other people to your cause. Euron certainly has sadistic tendencies but just as Roose does, too, he should be able to keep them under control (or at least private) if he was in charge of Westeros. Euron could restrain himself after he has gotten what he wants. I don't think he'll get the Iron Throne (or remain on it for long/face no opposition after he has taken it) and that's what's going to make him a force of destruction. He'll get strong enough to become a really big threat and then he'll wreak a lot of havoc.

Even Euron doesn't really fit the cliché of a truly 'evil character' yet. He certainly isn't just a brute like Ramsay or Gregor (who at least has the excuse that something is severely wrong with his head causing him a lot of pain), and he showed in AFfC that he can be open-handed and generous. Aeron's dreams portray Euron as evil demon, basically, but that doesn't mean that's actually true. I do expect Euron to become a force of destruction and suffering, just as he himself sort of portrays to intimidate people. If we imagine for a moment that he vanquishes all his enemies, take the Iron Throne, and ignore the Others then I actually could see Euron developing into some sort of successful king. He is smart and educated enough to realize that he can only survive as a monarch if he doesn't remain (or at least isn't perceived as) a tyrant. Euron certainly is too old to reinvent himself as 'the father of the country' like Augustus did after he has vanquished all his enemies and rivals, but if we assume magic would grant him a 30-40 year long reign then Euron actually could become as 'great' a king as Charlemagne. And it is past time that this magic thing really comes into politics and war. I've cited Euron and the warlocks as potential examples for magic actually affecting the story on a major level but a lot of people do not want to hear or imagine something like that. Perhaps it is because we have grown content with the idea of 'fake medieval realism with a little bit of magic' over the years but it was always pretty obvious that this magic thing must take a bigger role if George is repeatedly saying it will. Ser Robert Strong is another example. That guy could to a lot of stuff and kill a lot of people if we imagine he is sort of undestructable by conventional means. He seems to be even stronger than Gregor was if we take the armor Qyburn ordered as evidence, and unlike Gregor there is no reason to assume he'll ever grow tired. The scenario of him running amok and defeating a small army literally all by himself isn't all that far-fetched. I mean, if Cersei would dispatch him to bring her Mace's, Tarly's, and Margaery's head who could stop him? Or rather: How many of Mace's knights/men would continue to try to protect them once they realized that this guy cannot be killed. You do not try to fight a Terminator-like creature with a sword. But I digress. Back to the chapter: I really think we could simply interpret the shadow-woman as Aeron's view of that dreadful queen Euron is searching for. He has learned that Vic is off finding 'the dragon queen' by then and presumably Aeron assumes that person is a creature and vile, evil, and cruel as Euron himself. But he doesn't know who she is or how she looks so she's just a shadow. If not, then my money is still on Cersei. That would be such a nice alliance of doom. And Qyburn and Euron would be so eager to exchange notes...

@bent branch Whatever the timeline, this 'The Redwyne fleet creeps toward us. The winds have been against them rounding Dorne (...)' suggests that they are long past the Broken Arm. It would be difficult 'to round Dorne' if you were still somewhere amidst the Stepstones or even back in the Narrow Sea or the Sea of Dorne, wouldn't it?

Well, that is an odd notion - especially if you could just take it then and there. After all, if Euron paid for his brother's death he must have negotiated with the Faceless Men. And one most likely doesn't leave the House of Black and White if they don't want to allow you to go...

I've read that. But what use would the Faceless Men would have for a dragon egg? As Braavosi they are, presumably, not very interested in the dragons. Aside from ways to kill them that is. And Euron's entire grand plans would actually trigger their revolt and disgust. The Faceless Men destroyed Valyria and the Lands of the Long Summer - they would have no interest in a guy trying to conquer the world with dragons. And if the prosperity of Braavos is any indication they also have no interest in destroying their surroundings and the society they live in for no good reason. And the symbolism there is - at least a little bit far-fetched if you ask me. Sorry, but that is contradictory to anything the Kindly Man and the Waif have taught Arya so far. They see death as one face/aspect of pretty much every deity there is, so there is no need for them to enter into some sort of religious war or crusade. The whole god imagery is in this Aeron chapter simply because Aeron is a religious nut and thus thinking in such categories, and Euron likes to mess with his mind with his whole 'I'm god' talk. That's his way to get into the head of his stupid little convert brother. But there is no reason to believe Euron has actual plans to wage a war against the gods or something as ridiculous as that. He uses the 'holy men' for his ritual and presents this whole thing as if he was stronger than the gods combined to impress his superstitious people, but he himself doesn't believe all that crap. I think I once put forth the Faceless Man-Euron theory as I saw it: Euron captures the ship of the Qartheen warlocks. The Qartheen warlocks have talents. Euron captures other ships and/or has other prisoners aboard the Silence, and one of them happens to be a Faceless Man. The warlocks help him reveal him/her as what he/she truly is, and then Euron breaks him/her. Either by using the spells the warlocks can work or with the help of his own magic. If you want to speculate a little more this all could tie neatly into the whole Dany thing. If we assume that Braavos/the Faceless Men might consider the return of dragons/magic a threat then a Faceless Man could already have been on his way to Qarth back in ACoK/ASoS because the Faceless Men might have the magical means to uncover things quickly (not to mention the Braavosi traders all across the world). So he might actually have high-jacked a guy who was supposed to kill Dany originally. I'm not sure the time line allows Euron to capture the Qartheen warlocks on their way to Pentos, to go to Braavos to hire some Faceless Men and to reach Pyke in time for his rendezvous with Balon in ASoS (before the Red Wedding!). Not to mention that Euron also knows by the time of the Kingsmoot that Daenerys Targaryen didn't go to Pentos but rather to Meereen in Slaver's Bay. The idea that this news traveled this quickly to the Iron Islands of all places is very far-fetched. You can try to built some elaborate case about Euron being heavily interconnected with virtually everybody outside of Westeros but I really think such cases are built on salt. Just don't watch the show. That's doable. I honestly had forgotten about the crappy Ygritte hide-and-seek plot in season 2 until I remembered this stuff thanks to @Veltigar mentioning the show above. You really can get this stuff out of your system if you try.

I don't think Euron had the courage or the stamina to buy a Faceless Man. I think he broke himself one, just as he broke himself some warlocks. The man would have to pay a very high price to get his own brother killed, and I don't really buy the whole idea that the House of Black and White only collects money. But the Faceless Man thing is just an aspect of it. Varys and Illyrio have the means to remove obstacles to their plans, and assassins would only be one of them. Not to mention that the whole Aegon thing as well as the complications with Dany will actually force Euron the reassess his entire campaign. Which is why I hope he doesn't attack attack. Regardless what he does there it will most likely cost him people and then he might actually be done much earlier than one would have thought, victory over the Redwynes or not.

@Good Guy Garlan I don't think that was the last Aeron chapter. If he dies we'll there with him when it happens. If not, then he'll give us a decent part of the coming battle until he jumps/falls into the sea. And damn, I actually really like that guy now. I don't want him to die. He was such nuisance back in AFfC and during all those rereads when you couldn't make much sense out of the whole plot but now he really is fun.

The Elder Brother on the Quiet Isle is supposed to have healing hands. And he seems to have healed Sandor Clegane from wounds that clearly appeared to be lethal when Arya left him back in ASoS. Those books are subtle. In addition there is the historical anecdote of the healing hands of Septon Murmison, the last Hand of Aenys I. I don't buy that at all. They will do anything in their power to ensure that Aegon ascends the throne and remains there. And if Euron tries to mess with Aegon he'll feel their wrath, one way or another. Euron isn't the only guy who can hire a Faceless Man... Not sure I buy that as a hint that the battle has already happened. Paxter apparently has already come round Dorne and is approaching the Arbor so the idea there would be that this could be an allusion to what might happen, not something that already has happened. News about Euron's victory over the Redwyne fleet should spread quickly and and in very clear fashion. He would want it to spread, so there should be no curious rumors hinting at any of that.

Well, thinking about the shadow-woman again she could just be Aeron's mental representation of 'the dragon queen' Falia Flowers told him about. By this time Aeron knows that Euron is looking for some dragon queen wife and his mind have created an image of her. In such a scenario she wouldn't be symbolizing anything *real* at all. @Veltigar Ah, well, don't buy any of that horn stuff, I'm sorry. We'll have to wait and see how that turns out. As to dragon eggs: We have yet to see any other genuine dragon egg at this point. We don't know for sure where Dany's eggs came from but it seems not very likely that Illyrio just bought them so I'm not exactly inclined to buy that Euron captured some trader who happened to have a dragon egg on board. That would be pretty lucky and one should assume that ships and traders carrying such valuables wouldn't travel alone, making it even more unlikely that a man like Euron could capture such a ship. TWoIaF has hints that the Qohorik might be able to do more than just reforge Valyrian steel, though. Maester Pol's report suggest that they might actually be able or at least try to make Qohorik steel 'to equal to that of the Freehold'. That could be a hint that they actually do know how to make Valyrian steel, they just lack the dragons. As to brands: I did not consider that a great argument but unlike modern trading goods Valyrian steel never was something you could buy easily. If I was a member of the group in Valyria making this super special steel I'd name after me or my group, not the city. Especially if Valyria itself had little to do with the whole thing, and you couldn't actually purchase Valyrian steel from your average Valyrian (dragonlord). The horn and stuff wasn't buried in any snow at all. It only began to snow at/near the Fist when the wights came. Remember how pissed Chett was when the snow ruined his 'grand plan'? Besides, you also remember that the Fist is in the middle of the forest surrounded by trees and plants of all kind. We are talking about land here in which trees and other bigger plants, animals, and humans can still live (or at least exist). That necessitates that it is not frozen and full of snow all the time. So, no, there is a very small chance that this stuff lay there for thousands of years undisturbed. The whole thing might indeed be a hint that Benjen is (or at least was) still out there at this time.

Yeah, it's not very likely. People at court do know how Valyrian steel looks like.

Speaking about that - if Euron acquires a Valyrian steel sword in addition to his suit of armor (or already has one) then he is actually my number one candidate for a future dragonslayer - perhaps the only one in the entire series. That is, if the magic of the armor protects him from the dragonfire. My idea about that armor was that Robert put them there to get them out of sight just as he put the dragon skulls (and presumably other valuables in the Targaryen colors or depicting the Targaryen banner) away. The Dance and previously possibly Maegor's reign could have cut the Targaryens off from their past so there is a chance that Aegon III and his successor had no clue what they had in those armors. But then, wouldn't have Aegon II and Aemond worn armor like that if they had known it could protect them from dragonfire? In any case, thanks to your finding there I feel free to say that we should at least not take Aeron Greyjoy as expert on Valyrian steel armor or assume that his knowledge about that topic is complete. He concludes Euron must have been in Valyria after all after he sees him in that armor, but we, the readers, still tend to agree with the Reader on that topic, are we not?

@Veltigar Oh, come on, that horn isn't going to travel up to the Wall again. If things went that way and if the Others needed the Wall to come down via the horn before they could make their book move this could easily mean 2-3 books between TWoW and the final attack of the Others. After all, winter has come. Nobody near Oldtown right now should have any interest or incentive to travel north to the Wall. Nobody at all. And Euron least of all people. Do you actually believe that Euron crap about the dragon egg? I always thought and still think this is in the same category as the talk about him being to Valyria. There is no proof for that claim we know of, and thus I'm also very reluctant to consider any theories proposing Euron lied about throwing the dragon egg into the sea and instead doing other stuff with it. We have no proof he ever had a dragon egg. The only way I see him having a real dragon egg is if it turned out that the Greyjoys of all people ended up with a Targaryen bride. Egg's sisters might also have had dragon eggs and they could have passed them on to their children. But right now that would be pretty far-fetched. The best explanation for Euron's talk about dragon eggs is to keep in mind that he knows about Daenerys and her hatching dragons from three dragon eggs. Talking about dragon eggs makes sense in that context, as does claiming you once owned one if that's just crap. As to Valyrian steel: We have to keep in mind that the Qohorik still can reforge Valyrian steel. So it might have not been that big a secret just very difficult and expensive to do (involving dragons and lots of sacrifices). And one should assume that the steel wouldn't be named 'Valyrian steel' if it wasn't associated with Valyria in general but rather with a certain school/family/group from Valyria. Well, that black cloth with the horn wasn't deep in the ground nor was it winter at that time. Stuff grows and dies and rots beyond the Wall just as anywhere else. At least in summer. I must say I don't know who the Night's Queen is supposed to be. Assuming such a woman exists is pretty far-fetched with our current knowledge. But then, I still prefer my Cersei idea there. Often prophecies/visions are referring to actual people in the books. The counterexample I can think of right now would be the dwarfs and the woman. And if George wanted us to get a hint towards the Others he could have been more precise in a number of ways. Say, make some of the throngs on the Iron Throne out of ice, have Euron wear a crown of ice, or other winter/ice related symbolism. I think the sea of blood (when referring to Euron as in Moqorro's vision - the burning longships on a sea of blood might be Victarion's near Slaver's Bay after they faced a dragon's wrath) does refer to the victory over the Redwynes. After the battle is over the sea might either be literally (not so likely) or figuratively a sea of blood because thousands of people will have died. The fact that Euron is giving his ship special treatment in regards to prow-sacrifices should be considered, too. As I've said earlier my idea is that those people might serve as offerings to whatever creatures Euron is going to summon, not so much as actual fuel for the spell. The analogy I used was blood sacrifices serving as a protective spells similar to the blood at the doors that protected the Israelites from god's wrath in the Exodus story. Euron might allow whatever spirits/demon he is going to summon to feast on the life of the prow people on the condition that they spare the rest of the ship. As to how the Damphair might get away to preach another day: He is tied to the prow with leather straps. As I've said above, leather actually does not 'shrink' as the chapter claims when it gets wet (unless in English this can also mean 'widen' in that context). It widens. So Aeron should have a fighting chance to wriggle himself out of his bonds and jump into the sea after the leather has gotten wet enough. He is a better chance of surviving there than with Euron. @Colonel Green That would be my view, too. We know that she was stupid to trust Euron but from her POV the man had no reason to be nice to her and give her gifts and stuff, so it is easy to see why she thought he genuinely liked her or had at least no intention to hurt/kill her. She had no way of knowing who and what he was. She would also have known that Ironborn take salt wives, so she would have had any reason to think she was as 'safe' as one could be as a woman in the confines of that 'social construct'. @Ibbison from Ibben Well, that's interesting. I'd laugh if Robert had been too stupid to realize that he had a bunch of Valyrian steel armor in his stolen castle. But one should assume that other people would have figured out what those things were. On the other hand, if nobody had actually touched or investigated them since the Sack then, well, they might be Valyrian steel. But then the Targaryens most likely had long forgotten that they had stuff like that. Else they would have worn it in battle.

It has been too long for me, too. However, even if she was we don't know how justified she was in wanting to see them punished this way. Perhaps they have been really nasty to her? We didn't get her entire biography. And making a bastard daughter your official servant in the household suggests some twisted sort of family dynamics. That is not common among the noble houses we have seen so far.