The Sleeper

The point is not that he knocked over the cyvasse table, it is that he made Tyrion pick up the pieces. He wasn't just pissed, he asserted his authority by humiliating Tyrion. The comparison to Joffrey was apt. Varys's whole spiel is bullshit, in the sense that trying to manufacture this situation does not yield the results that he claimed. In truth Aegon has lived in a bubble which he was the center of the universe and everyone was devoted to him, revolved around his heritage and destiny. The world according to him exists to usher him to glory. Worse, his isolation would not have allowed for any counterpoint to exist. The danger he was in was only theoretical and his reaction at the bridge of dreams shows that he hasn't been in physical danger before. In other words, apart from luxury, his upbringing is the same and even more exaggerated in some regards to all the other nobles. In more practical terms, he is a prop for the ambitions of others, none of whom are decent people, even by Westerosi standards, all of them with different agendas. And he looks to be just smart enough to make things worse. He is shaping up to be the fulcrum for a new, even bloodied conflict, one that has the added religious element and from the narrative's perspective he is being set up as Dany's foil, so his odds don't look good. His "reign" is doomed before it has begun and between him and his supporters they look to unleash a fresh bout of atrocities.

Nope. Hers is the white of ashes. ETA The color symbolism is supposed to be blood & bone for weirwoods vs fire & ashes for Mel. That said the similarity is probably intentional. What it could mean, I have no idea.

They are equivalent and refer to the same events.

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None whatsoever. Euron is going east. My expectation is that his ritual will cause a massive storm, in line with how sacrifices from Moqorro and Melissa dare caused favorable winds. Only Euron is using king's blood (his unborn child Falia Flowers is bearing). I believe that the priests he has tied to his prow and those of his followers will protect them from the storm, leaving the Redwyne fleet and the rest of the Ironborne in tatters. Then he moves on. Meanwhile, there many Ironborne nests which means the Hightowers and Redwynes will have trouble rooting them out with most of their fleets destroyed. The notion of Oldtown falling to Euron is unsubstantiated. Even if you discount he fact that we're told of his plans, none of his actions support long term engagements.

Euron will probably die very badly after making a huge mess.

By the way, regarding the question of the op. There is no indication that the Children or the First Men were noticeably more violent or belligerent than than anyone else.

I don't think that there is a particular need to connect everything. For one thing magic is not exclusive to any particular faction or bloodline. They do have some things in common in that most kinds appear to require some sort of sacrifice. For example we have seen elemental control through blood sacrifices and specifically the winds. Considering that the hammer of the waters was on a continental scale the sacrifice would have proportionally greater in quality and quantity. The how of the Black Gate is basically magic. There is no need for further explanation than that. Martin might provide further details as to the specifics, but that would essentially be flavor. I expect that he will provide further information on the nature of the weirwoods and that will in turn provide the context of the Black Gate. I agree that the skinchanging/greenseer abilities originated from the Children and that is because they only exist in Westeros and as far as we know it is the only place where humans coexisted with them. Garth is also meant to be a mythological figure. We also have no notion if the Others require babies from a particular bloodline. I don't see the problem. Hodor experiencing two separate existences simultaneously would certainly account for his mental state. There are a number of other ways it could work. I could see it from a literary perspective. But from in story it looks a little thin. The lore surrounding him and his circumstances are completely different. His association is with the warlocks and the shade of the evening, which comes from trees that appear to be the equivalent but opposite of the weirwoods. Which granted places him in opposition to Bran but also points to his involvement with magic being recent. I do think the pyramids are a lot creepier and could well be seen as mind control devices. A Song for Lya is a lot more complicated than the mechanics of the organism, which serve as a catalyst for the thoughts and actions of the characters. Now that I think about it, the way it is woven is quite brilliant. I see the weirwoods themed after the cycle of life and death in nature. You could say that the Children being more aware of their nature could have a more balanced relationship with them. You could see how human beings projecting their own desires and preconceptions could fuck things up. For instance imagine the hatreds of past generations living forever in weirwoods and influencing the current generation. Which is a theme in the books actually. There is plenty of room for ambiguity.

I think that the Black Gate is the opposite of what you are suggesting. That someone was sacrificed to hold the door and that is what gave the weirwood its shape and function. And yes that it might be Hodor. It links to what Ygritte was saying that the Wall was built by blood as well as the deserters who were frozen in place. In short I think weirwood was the medium used to make an immortal sentry. And it is crying because it is not happy about the situation. The lore about the Whispers is that Clarence Crabb's witch wife kept heads which she consulted. From what we have seen about the series this could be literally the case. Regardless, some sort of magic took place that created favorable conditions for a weirwood to sprout. I don't believe that Euron is greeneer or anything like that. I think that his involvement with magic started when he captured the warlocks. After all, he was mentioned before in the series. He was always a dangerous prick, but there was no mention of him being weird. There is a known greenseer from the South. Bloodraven. Who was also notably a member of an old gods worshipping house.

I think the closest parallels is the parasite or symbiot of the Greeshka and the idols from "and seven times never kill a man". They both influenced behavior and were worshipped as gods. They do seem to be feeding on corpses as evidenced by the bones in Bloodraven's Grove. I think blood is supposed to make them active. The only cases that we see sapling weirwoods is in the Whispers and the Nightfort. In the first case there tales of magic and the Nightfort does not further explanation. These things can of course occur naturally. There plenty of unattended weirwoods in the wild which survive just fine. Even if blood and corpses are necessary for their survival, plenty of creatures would live and die in their surroundings. This could be how they influence behavior. They attract creatures to them and survive and grow on their life cycle. In the case of intelligent creatures they become part of their culture. I don't think they are sentient. Not in and of themselves and not in any manner a human would recognise. For one, Bloodraven describes them as trees and it was the Children and then humans who carved eyes in them. Any sentience they have in human terms is the result of the consciousnesses they absorb and what their worshippers project on them. The custom in the North of insisting family members being buried in their ancestral home could be so they can be absorbed by their tree and not be lost to future generations, much like the Greeshka did. There are occasions where we see weirwood become animate. The most glaring example is the Black Gate. But there other occasions, such as the gate of the House of Black and White. This is I think where blood sacrifice comes in. The other hint about the weirwoods being active through sacrifice is the absence of skinchangers south of the Wall. The only difference that could explain this, is the active worship of weirwoods. This is also a hint of them having influence on their worshippers. Another thing to point out is that Ned, and presumably his predecessors, has been feeding the heart tree of Winterfell by cleaning his sword in the pool in front of it after executions. Another such potential indication is the heart tree of Harrenhal. The extreme levels of violence could be inspired by the tree and more so by the God's eye. I don't think there is enough evidence to consider them a single collective. You could consider a single tree a collective of the people that have been buried under it. For instance the heart tree of Winterfell is a collective of all the Starks, which is why Bran connected to it rather than any of the trees above the cave. Individual groves could perhaps form a collective. I think the God's Eye is probably the one that could be considered a hive mind. I don't think it is a monolithic presence or a matter of benevolence or enmity, but rather a species that has formed a relationship with the sentient races which has its benefits and downsides.

For all we know they already have. Euron is not tied to the prow of silence, Aeron is. That’s a fair point. It is close enough, though. After all, I doubt that a literal blue flower will blossom from the Wall.

Victarion doesn't even plan to fight the Volantenes. They've got six times at the least his ships and probably each of them is largest than his largest vessel. Even a dragon can only do so much. They are not Balerion. The Volantene fleet is not going to be defeated. They are crewed by slaves and carry slave soldiers who are also predominantly followers of R'hlor. The set up is for the fleet to rebel for Dany. As for Euron he is creepy to the readers. In world he is charming and charismatic. I have little speculation as to how or why Euron and Dany will marry other than the prophecy.

The other topic about Mirri Maz Duur made me realise that there are some common elements between the birth of the dragons. Namely, the sacrifices. There is Falia Flowers, standing in for Drogo, Euron's unborn child instead of Rhaego and a priest, Aeron in place of Mirri Maz Duur. The way he spreads the rest of the priests, one per ship among his closest allies, instead of having them all on the Silence, suggests that they are meant to protect the ships form the spell. Which in itself suggests that Mirri's sacrifice played a similar role.

I had assumed it was Martin's publisher.

It's the World of Ice and Fire app. Just checked the credits. It's actually Elio Garcia and Linda Antonson who wrote it. I guess they could tell us if it is open to interpretation, or if I should prepare to eat my words.

The same could be said for the show. Ok, that's a cheap shot. The app also says that Ned is Jon's father and Young Griff is Rhaegar's son. It is meant to be a compilation of what is written in the books from the perspective in the books. There are tons of stuff that Martin leaves deliberately ambiguous. Furthermore, I doubt that Martin read and signed off on every single entry so there is room for interpretation from the person who actually wrote it. This is of course speculation. For all I know, Martin wrote those particular entries himself. In which case, touché. In short, the app is a perfectly fine resource, but it doesn't override the actual books. In this particular case, there are some things that makes me think that this is the interpretation of the person who wrote the app. For instance, it reads that Mirri offered to perform the ritual. That is not quite right. Dany practically begged her to do it. You could argue that she expected her to do that and that would be a solid argument if her behavior up to that moment didn't point to her being legit. Another thing that the app reads that is not quite like the book is that Mirri admits culpability. That is not actually true. What she says is that it was her god's will. As to the actual story, there are also some other facts that cast shadows on this. If Mirri actually wanted Rhaego dead, she didn't have to do anything. As a newborn, with Drogo dead, he was basically doomed. The new khals would have killed him. Also, while bitter and resentful, Mirri is not suicidal. In the next chapter, she bargains for her life. You could throw in the welfare of her surviving enslaved compatriots. After this, Eoreh was gang raped and murdered. So, she had very strong motivation to succeed. There are also some other questions that need addressing. If it didn't matter if Dany was in the tent or not, why did Mirri sent her away when Dany insisted being there? Why did Rhaego, an apparently healthy foetus until that point, came to resemble a long dead dragon? And why did Dany felt heat from the dragon eggs after the ritual? In truth, at first my understanding was exactly like yours. But later all these things didn't add up for me.

Martin wrote the app?

That simply doesn't add up. She explicitly and in no uncertain terms told Dany to not go into the tent.

If it is a question of Targaryen ancestry, there are tons of people with it. The Martells, along with half the noble hoses of Dorne, the Plums, probably the Daynes. There is also Stannis, Shireen along with all surviving Robert's bastards, Aegon if he is actually a Blackfyre, even that jailor Jaime interviewed in Feast, he is probably descended from Elaena Targaryen. Then, there have been speculations of other houses that Targaryen brides married into. And last but not least is there is Aegon IV, along with any other Targaryen boy that got frisky. We could have dragonseeds coming out of the woodwork. That is pit trap for Dany. She is inclined to trust the person who would successfully claim a dragon.

I don't know how the horn works. I don't think Euron does either, he seemed kind of surprised the his man who blew it the first time died. And unless there are more glyphs inscribed that Moqorro didn't bother telling us about, the instruction manual kind of sucks. Victarion is sort of his canary in the mine for Euron, I think. He obviously has agents among the Iron Fleet. The dusky woman is one. It would be plausible for him to have a glass candle, through the Qartheen warlocks, so he could be monitoring the situation that way. We still have a lot of way to get there. But this prophecy seems like it's a plot point Martin is aiming for. There is separate foreshadowing for him riding a dragon in the Forsaken chapter, too. Dany won't be marrying for ships. He doesn't have enough and want be taking them east in any case. That's what the Volantenes are for. He might be able to offer her sea power on the other hand, which she will need to get her people across.

Well, Drogo was dying, so him becoming a vegetable, but a stable one, is an improvement. Ultimately, I see he whole deal as a fuck-up. Mirri did what she set out to do. The stallion just wasn't enough to fully revive Drogo, or maybe he had already suffered brain damage, which needed to be treated separately from his chest wound, but it comes down to the same thing. She was Dany's slave and did what was told. The ritual worked the same for Rhaego and the eggs as well. It took the life of the living unborn foetus and gave it to the dead unborn dragons. The rest is Mirri being bitter after getting all the blame for doing as she was ordered, while the rest of the parties involved did the exact opposite of her instructions. She also, justifiably felt indignant at the notion that she should have been grateful to Dany. The only thing that I can ascribe her being disingenuous about, is that she was probably aware that the stallion wasn't going to cut it, but couldn't bring herself to suggest a living human to be sacrificed instead, she is after all a healer. Dany would have done it in her desperation. Her son's life was on the line. And it would have been Mirri's fellow slaves that would have gotten the axe.

I don't think that this refers to any specific plan, rather than the need to deal with them. After all, Renly was plotting to have her replaced with Margaery and Stannis to have her executed.

"Her silver was trotting through the grass, to a darkling stream beneath a sea of stars. A corpse stood at the prow of a ship, eyes bright in his dead face, grey lips smiling sadly. A blue flower grew from a chink in a wall of ice, and filled the air with sweetness. . . . mother of dragons, bride of fire . . ." Clash of Kings It has been long speculated that the bolded phrase refers to a Greyjoy. The "Forsaken" chapter has provided some definite context. The corpse is Aeron and the ship is Silence, as he is tied at the prow of said ship, probably as some sort of sacrifice. Her silver was a gift by Drogo, her husband and there is the phrase "bride of fire" accompanying this set of prophecies. It looks like it is referring to Dany's spouses. In short, this hints at Euron and Dany hooking up with Euron. From a less mystical perspective it also makes sense in a number of ways. Dangerous, assertive, bold, he is her type. She wouldn't be aware of his background in any detail. He could entice her with tales of Valyria, has mystical knowledge and artifacts and could potentially be a dragon rider, through the horn, making her predisposed to trust him. It looks like there's going to be a wedding.

They didn't appear to have more than a perfunctory relationship. That said Robert's past image would and overall reputation as a mighty and charismatic warrior would appeal to Joffrey and furthermore it is the only rolemodel of a king he had. There is also the factor of reflected glory. The more he builds up Robert, the greater he looks by association. As for Bran, his fall basically ruined his vacation. Joffrey was forced to tone down his attitude and removed him as the center of attention. In short, he was annoyed. Given his personality, Robert's words gave him the impetus and rationalisation to act on those feelings. He didn't need much reason or excuse to hurt or kill people.

I just mentioned their geographical proximity. This is the only current possibility of a meeting. Neither of them have any reason to go anywhere in the foreseeable future. As such speculation about their eventual meeting is premature at this stage. If anything I don't think it will happen anytime soon. Thematically Arya is linked to the Riverlands. There is also some foreshadowing about her interacting with dragons and krakens. She is also learning the languages of Pentos and Lys. There are also many reasons for Braavos to become a place of interest in its own right. Arya is character whose future course is the hardest to predict. Though I think she will be involved with Dany and Euron. That said I think there is a possibility for a meeting in the near future in Braavos. Baelish may soon find himself fleeing the Vale and Braavos is a likely refuge for him.