jet199 Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Somebody once had the idea that the Skagosi are "cannibals" because they have experience with The Dead Rising and because the island is largely lacking in good firewood (among other resources) they cannot burn their dead in significant numbers and thus the only way they have left to reliably ensure the dead do not rise as wights is to eat them first. Crackpot as all hell but wouldn't that be AWESOME Makes sense as cannibalism is often practised in societies where protein is in short supply and on the far northern coasts they have plenty of protein but lack everything else so there should be another reason. I don't think GRRM has thought that far into it though. He probably just wanted some scary cannibal savages. He plays it the other way with the giants, having them eat roots to make them seem like hairy hippies. How the hell are they supposed to exist, digging through the frozen ground, probably expending more calories getting to the roots than they get from eating them? They would evolve to eat the fish, elks, wildlings etc or die out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bebeber Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Yeah. Davos will get there and find Rickon has become a mini Colonel Kurtz.Never get off the boat!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert_was_the_true_steel Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Are Skagosi actually confirmed to be cannibals? I thought there was just one legend about them killing and eating all the people from Skane. Other than that I had the impression that we barely know anything about Skagos, let alone any recent confirmed facts. It's just remote, and people spread rumors and believe strange things about places that are far away and unfamiliar. I guess/would like it turn out that the culture of Skagos will be more like wildling culture where the ways of the First Men live on stronger and there's less feudal authority, but the people are not actually savage cannibals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lissa Nymeros Martell Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 A legitimate male heir in a family that is having succession issues isn't needed? Rickon can easily trump the fake Arya in the succession, undermining the Boltons claim to rule in the North. And given the legendary status that the Stark name has in the North, all it takes is for Rickon to be publicly revealed and he's got a large base of support from his family's loyal bannermen. Rickon was kept alive by Martin for good reason and I think it's pretty obvious how Rickon figures into the story now. It's not necessarily what his character will do, since he's a young boy. But his value as a member of his family skyrocketed when Robb died, especially with Bran seen as a weaker child with his handicap. It's no coincidence that Rickon is on Skagos. He'll be the reason the Skagosi no longer get to remain isolationists in the North and we'll see them dragged into the conflict in the North for his sake. Almost everyone assumes Rickon is dead, or they're not willing to admit that he is. If whoever is on the iron throne or holding Winterfell aren't allies of the Starks, why would they acknowledge Rickon as legitimate? It's similar to (f)Aegon's situation. Some people say he's dead, some people say he's alive. The "truth" is relative. Many people of influence in the kingdoms *know* that Jeyne is not Arya but they don't really care since it suits their needs (or doesn't impact them one way or another). Right now, being an ally to the Starks isn't profitable or powerful. Maybe if Jon can reclaim Winterfell and return some influence but right now the Starks are very weak. What's the use of a weak ally? A house would have to be greatly motivated by honor or justice or vengeance like manderley to throw their support behind Rickon, especially if trying to crown him King of the North. Perhaps Stannis would if the Starks drop the "King" and return to "Lord", but otherwise... there's just no real reason to stick their necks out for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analeigh Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Almost everyone assumes Rickon is dead, or they're not willing to admit that he is. If whoever is on the iron throne or holding Winterfell aren't allies of the Starks, why would they acknowledge Rickon as legitimate? It's similar to (f)Aegon's situation. Some people say he's dead, some people say he's alive. The "truth" is relative. Many people of influence in the kingdoms *know* that Jeyne is not Arya but they don't really care since it suits their needs (or doesn't impact them one way or another). Right now, being an ally to the Starks isn't profitable or powerful. Maybe if Jon can reclaim Winterfell and return some influence but right now the Starks are very weak. What's the use of a weak ally? A house would have to be greatly motivated by honor or justice or vengeance like manderley to throw their support behind Rickon, especially if trying to crown him King of the North. Perhaps Stannis would if the Starks drop the "King" and return to "Lord", but otherwise... there's just no real reason to stick their necks out for him. Lord Manderly addresses that problem in ADWD when he instructs Davos to bring back the direwolf, aka Shaggydog, with Rickon. Shaggydog proves who Rickon is. It was well known that all the Stark children had direwolves as companions. And if there were some doubt over his identity, Jon is at the wall. Jeyne is on her way to the wall in the next book and Jon will know upon sight that she's not the real Arya. The "truth" has a way of coming undone. It just takes time to unravel. And since a legitimate male Stark is exactly what the loyal Northern lords need to undermine the Bolton's claim to authority in the North, Rickon entirely suits their purpose at the moment. Even the Boltons couldn't take control of the North outright after the Red Wedding, the Boltons had to legitimize their new position as Warden of the North by marrying "Arya". Also, since you seem to have forgotten, the whole of the North is greatly motivated by vengeance - The Red Wedding, the North Remembers. The Starks are legacies in the North, their control of the North spanning thousands of years. Ned's legacy as an honorable lord remains and it still inspires Northerners to remain loyal to House Stark despite a change in rule. So restoring the Starks is the preferable option at the moment for the Northern lords, than suffering under the rule of the Bolton/Frey alliance that is backed by the Lannister controlled Iron Throne. And Lord Manderly and Robett Glover just happened to stumble upon the perfect way to solve that problem: by finding Rickon and backing his claim as a Stark heir. The only people who would want to deny Rickon his claim as the Stark heir would be the Boltons/Freys, and it's doubtful the Iron Throne would interfere because they've got too much to worry about in the south as is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sub_Zero94 Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 What if Osha was sent by Mance to Kidnap a Stark boy? What if they never even went to Skagos? Shaggy would probably sense the danger like how Greywind sensed it from the Freys ..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayjew Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Rickon will eat Davos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maiden of tarth Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I think he'll get there and Rickon's Wildling nanny will beat his ass. Not really.... Davos will arrive but probably won't be able to convince Osha and Rickon to come back with him. Instead I think after hearing the state of affairs Rickon will lead a Skagosi army back to the mainland to reclaim his birthright.Yeah this is how I think Rickons plot will go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRON BANK Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I think the surprise, as some posters have already stated, will be that the Skagosi aren't cannibal wildlingpirates and are actually civilized and loyal to Rickon. But it's definitely going to be difficult to convince Rickon to come back to Westeros, but I think Davos is capable. I'm really hoping GRRM would release a Davos POV but I think there's too much going on in that plot for him to do that (same with pre-releasing a Sansa chapter or Jon, Arya, and Bran's). I presume the same thing. I feel the skagosi will probably back rickon claim and actually aid in the effort to help him. This will give the north even more needed warriors and ships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lissa Nymeros Martell Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Lord Manderly addresses that problem in ADWD when he instructs Davos to bring back the direwolf, aka Shaggydog, with Rickon. Shaggydog proves who Rickon is. It was well known that all the Stark children had direwolves as companions. And if there were some doubt over his identity, Jon is at the wall. Jeyne is on her way to the wall in the next book and Jon will know upon sight that she's not the real Arya. The "truth" has a way of coming undone. It just takes time to unravel. And since a legitimate male Stark is exactly what the loyal Northern lords need to undermine the Bolton's claim to authority in the North, Rickon entirely suits their purpose at the moment. Even the Boltons couldn't take control of the North outright after the Red Wedding, the Boltons had to legitimize their new position as Warden of the North by marrying "Arya". Also, since you seem to have forgotten, the whole of the North is greatly motivated by vengeance - The Red Wedding, the North Remembers. The Starks are legacies in the North, their control of the North spanning thousands of years. Ned's legacy as an honorable lord remains and it still inspires Northerners to remain loyal to House Stark despite a change in rule. So restoring the Starks is the preferable option at the moment for the Northern lords, than suffering under the rule of the Bolton/Frey alliance that is backed by the Lannister controlled Iron Throne. And Lord Manderly and Robett Glover just happened to stumble upon the perfect way to solve that problem: by finding Rickon and backing his claim as a Stark heir. The only people who would want to deny Rickon his claim as the Stark heir would be the Boltons/Freys, and it's doubtful the Iron Throne would interfere because they've got too much to worry about in the south as is. To which loyal northmen are you referring? The only regions in the north that have, as yet, not been significantly negatively impacted by the WotFK are Skagos, Greywater, and the White Harbor. I'm not saying that there wouldn't be northmen that would want to place Rickon back in Winterfell. I'm saying that expending the resources to do so would be a significant risk with a small chance of success. With winter now upon them, they simply don't have the resources. Yes, Lord Manderly sent Davos to retrieve Rickon. But he's hardly sticking his neck out to do so at the time. And considering his cautious nature, I don't think Lord Manderly is going to start a war he isn't reasonably certain he can win. The north needs time to regroup right now more than it needs Rickon in Winterfell. So, Rickon's path will be to wait and have time to grow up. If Lord Manderly and Robert Glover know that Rickon is alive and where he is that doesn't mean they have to act on that information immediately. Keeping Rickon hidden and alive would be of greater importance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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