4 Letters of ADwD

[Targaryen Restoration]

It's not clear that the purpose of the letter was to lure Jon out of Castle Black.  Everyone knows the sensible thing to do is to comply with the letter and avoid further conflict between the NW and the Warden of the North. 

 

The author used "bride" because he knew that Jon would know immediately that the girl is not Arya.  So there is no need to B/S and play the name game. 

 

Theon and Jeyne got away, but we know the washer women got caught.  Mance most likely got caught.  Mance or the washer women can easily reveal, under torture, what they know.  They knew rattleshirt was burned, instead of Mance.  They know of Val, the baby, and the presence of Stannis' family.  They would know of the magic sword and the red woman. 

 

Why would the author believe Reek and Jeyne are on their way to the wall?  Because they defeated Stannis and put his men to the question.  They would discover that the two sneaked away from Stannis, perhaps to save Theon from execution. 

 

The letter reads like it was written in haste and by someone angry.  That points to Ramsay.  Ramsay has all of the information needed to author that letter, as well as the motive.

 

Ramsay expected Jon to comply with the letter's demands.  Why?  Because he expected Jon to learn the truth, that the girl is not his sister.  He fully expected compliance.  Events worked against Jon, however.  The letter reached Jon before Reek and Jeyne.   Jon was still thinking it was Arya out there in the snows.  He throws all cautions to the wind, reveals his treason to his brothers, and puts his squad of wildlings together. 

[Cebass Fire's Bane]

That's why I think the Pink Letter really WAS written by Ramsay, but that he is not in fact correct about having defeated Stannis in battle (even if he believes he is.) Stannis managing to fake reports of his own death as a way of getting his supporters into Winterfell and taking it from the inside, strikes me as the most likely argument: and even then, Ramsay sending the letter instead of Roose may suggest that he has taken control from Roose somehow, either Roose has returned to the Dreadfort or Ramsay has done away with him (possibly with making reports that Roose has indeed left to return to the Dreadfort.)

There may be other possibilities too.

In short, such reasoning dictates that Ramsay is not the author of the letter given to the Jon.

"Not remotely. Because iocane comes from Australia, as everyone knows, and Australia is entirely peopled with criminals, and criminals are used to having people not trust them, as you are not trusted by me, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you."

 

Sorry, couldn't resist.   

[bemused]

1) It's not clear that the purpose of the letter was to lure Jon out of Castle Black.  Everyone knows the sensible thing to do is to comply with the letter and avoid further conflict between the NW and the Warden of the North. 

2) The author used "bride" because he knew that Jon would know immediately that the girl is not Arya.  So there is no need to B/S and play the name game. 

3) Theon and Jeyne got away, but we know the washer women got caught.  Mance most likely got caught.  Mance or the washer women can easily reveal, under torture, what they know.  They knew rattleshirt was burned, instead of Mance.  They know of Val, the baby, and the presence of Stannis' family.  They would know of the magic sword and the red woman. 

4) Why would the author believe Reek and Jeyne are on their way to the wall?  Because they defeated Stannis and put his men to the question.  They would discover that the two sneaked away from Stannis, perhaps to save Theon from execution. 

5) The letter reads like it was written in haste and by someone angry.  That points to Ramsay.  Ramsay has all of the information needed to author that letter, as well as the motive.

6) Ramsay expected Jon to comply with the letter's demands.  Why?  Because he expected Jon to learn the truth, that the girl is not his sister.  He fully expected compliance.  Events worked against Jon, however.  The letter reached Jon before Reek and Jeyne.   Jon was still thinking it was Arya out there in the snows.  He throws all cautions to the wind, reveals his treason to his brothers, and puts his squad of wildlings together. 

1) Everyone knows ?? .. Not this everyone... Conflict between Jon and the Boltons is going to be unavoidable.. whether he's Lord Commander or not. I believe Lady Dustin is correct when she says Roose would like to become "King of the north" .. Jon would be slated for liquidation sooner or later, whenever the opportunity presented itself.

2) If the letter was written by Ramsay, "my bride" is coercive. Jon is being threatened to shut up and be a party to the Boltons usurping Winterfell, even though he would know their claim was false. How would this be taking no part ?

3) Any of Mance's party could reveal what they know under torture but there is room for doubt whether they have actually been caught. By hints given in the text, many of them have the means to elude capture (at least for a time). Holly is dead... Frenya still had her spear, and like a true spearwife, may well choose death over capture... Squirrel planned to go to the godswood and could easily use Wex's trick... Myrtle had already been gathering up disguises, probably by doing some real washerwoman duties. I believe she may actually be the Liddle , and could revert to being a man, herself.... Rowan is likely an Umber (but IMO, one of the Greatjon's daughters, not Mors').. and would likely have help from Hother... Mance isn't wearing Mel's ruby , but ought to have it with him, since he can't have taken it off before leaving the Wall,.. He could potentially take on Rattleshirt's homely, unremarkable appearance. ...This only leaves Willow without an obvious escape possibility, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if there was hope / help for her as well. 

Since I think it's pretty certain the  non-Bolton men inside WF will all turn on Roose once he's sent out the Freys, WH men and Ramsay, Mance & co. might not have to evade capture for very long.

4) If the original author was Stannis, he changed his mind and sent Theon as well

probably as a result of what transpires when he takes Theon to the tree

If the original author was Mance, he might well assume that Stannis would send them on to Jon, rather than drag them through a battle and risk their possible recapture, especially if he thinks Jeyne is Arya (and Stannis could provide an escort). 

 5) Whatever it reads like, I think the letter was copied (adding some incendiary language, etc.) by the conspirators at the Wall ( It actually sounds more like Thorne than anyone,  and I think he is present, off-page.)

6) If Ramsay did not write the letter, the object (for the original author) was to warn Jon that "Arya" and Reek had been sent to him, and that Ramsay was on the trail of "Arya" and wouldn't hesitate to attack CB to get her back.

Ramsay would not pass up the opportunity to take Jon out, if he got so far as CB.. and particularly if there was a chance Ramsay could overtake Jeyne before she got there, he would never give warning of his impending arrival. I don't think he'd give warning in any case.. this is not like the letter to Asha (and presumably Dagmer). Roose was not ready to move against Asha or Dagmer yet ,and if they were scared into withdrawing in the meantime, that would save the Boltons time, men and effort.

But Jon couldn't just melt away, and once he learned of their deception, he would immediately be too dangerous to be allowed to live. Before the escape, there would have been time to think of a way of dealing with him efficiently, while keeping Roose's hands arguably clean. The escape would change that.

Time and again, the Bolton tactics have been surprise and deceit, and that has worked well for them. I can't see them changing it now.

As for Jon "revealing his treason".. Excuse me please, I've seen the treason charge so often, I want to say "treason, shmeason". ... Over and over, GRRM requires us to wrestle with the question of rules and conventions vs. what is morally right, or in the common interest (Jaime killing Aerys is one standout example) . We know that history is written by the victor, and it's completely up in the air as to who will be the ruling force in Westeros in the near future. By the time most people might learn of Jon's actions, he may be hailed as a hero.

We only hear treason from a small number of men who are looking for a rationalisation for killing their commanding officer. Do we think that most of the watch is so enamoured with the rules and conventions that (for most) have been imposed on them?..I don't ... and I think the watch is quite capable of seeing what is in their interest in regard to the wildlings .. when it comes down to manning the wall. even Othell, who is not presented as a great thinker had this to say at Jon's election... I don’t recall why I thought Slynt would be such a good choice. That would be sort of kicking King Stannis in the mouth, and I don’t see how that serves us..

Given a chance to think about it, I think most will be able to see what serves them.

 

[Impbread]

I think it was Mance or Stannis who wrote the letter.The smear of wax tells me it was no Bolton. Ramsey hated the word bastard. The Boltons would not try to bring more armed men down on themselves, They would have already been quite diminished if there were seven days of battle. Not to mention the fact that the Manderlays and Umbers are of uncertain loyalty. If they had defeated Stannis they would have found Reek and there would be no need for Jon to return him.

[RedShirt47]

I think the smear was Ramsey being so angry he wasn't patient enough to do it properly. He couldn't wait 20 seconds for a proper blob of wax to melt to make a proper seal.

I think the mystery here is what in the letter is true fact, misinformation and out right lies.

I think the details about Stannis is misinformation from Stannis to Winterfell, Ramsey believes his forces won but actually they lost and Stannis used Karstark ravens to sent a message claiming a Frey / Karstark victory over Stannis.

I'm not sure about the stuff on Mance, has he been captured? is he in a cage? are the spearwives actually dead? I wish people would put more effort into trying to figure these out than on who wrote the letter...

[dariopatke]

I think the smear was Ramsey being so angry he wasn't patient enough to do it properly. He couldn't wait 20 seconds for a proper blob of wax to melt to make a proper seal.

I think the mystery here is what in the letter is true fact, misinformation and out right lies.

I think the details about Stannis is misinformation from Stannis to Winterfell, Ramsey believes his forces won but actually they lost and Stannis used Karstark ravens to sent a message claiming a Frey / Karstark victory over Stannis.

I'm not sure about the stuff on Mance, has he been captured? is he in a cage? are the spearwives actually dead? I wish people would put more effort into trying to figure these out than on who wrote the letter...

Actually Factomundo made a video about that, explains everyone of suspects and yiu can clearly see that Ramsay did it. Mance is probably uncovered and after "interogation"Ramsay found out everything he needs to know.

[darthtyrion]

Mance.
He knows Winterfell can't be overthrown without the wildlings, so he provokes a reaction. He needed to find a way to get Jon to Winterfell.
Also he is the only one with access to all of the information, going by the timelines.

[Clegane'sPup]

I appreciate the effort Mithras put into combining all four letters. Having them in one place helped me stop flipping through the pages of the book. I still have not settled on a name of the pink/bastard letter author. All I am certain of is that there is no continuity in its language. Another poster put forward the idea that it was tampered with. I agree with that, hence the smear of pink wax.

Some things I am aware of from the reading the book.

Alliser Thorne likes to call Jon bastard.

Stannis while at Deepwood sends a message to Jon.

Jon gives the banker a letter to deliver to Stannis about the Karstark betrayal.

Stannis has the Dreadfort maester & two of his ravens. One bird had been sent to WF, which Roose acknowledges by saying Stannis is three days from WF. BUT does the Dreadfort maester have pink wax and/or seal? AND did Stannis later use one of the other two ravens to send a false message about his defeat back to WF?

The wedding invitations summoned all leal lords to Barrowton for the wedding. Doesn’t matter. When Stannis left the Wall his intent was to take WF. Please feel free to refresh my memory about that.

The language of the letter is ambiguous.

If indeed the Bolton’s have captured Mance & four spearwives alive why would Mance & company mention anything about the wildling princess or the wildling prince? Wildlings don’t seem to care about titles other than the King Beyond the Wall (their leader, who can easily be fired/replaced due to death by physical weakness).

Notice that the letter says – Mance is in a cage for all the north to see vs. you told the world you burned the King Beyond the Wall. Mel and Stannis(?) were responsible for the burning of Rattleshirt.

Reek and Jeyne according to the letter writer are missing. The Bolton’s know who Reek & Jeyne are. Why would Theon & Jeyne go to the Wall?  Not really a safe haven for them. As far as Jon knows Theon killed his brothers and Jon would know that Jeyne is not Arya.

Another thing. If after the alarms are sounded during the escape, is it possible that Squirrel maybe gave Ramsey a knife to the gut when he pulled back the cover. I can hope.

I’m throwing out ideas and thoughts. At this point it is all spec anyway but at least there is some textual information that can be used when discussing the pink/bastard letter sender.

 

[Curled Finger]

Sorry, I can't buy Mance being tortured into truth.   He may have an ulterior motive for this mission to Winterfell but it's not to help anyone betray his people or the Watch.   The spearwives are a tough bunch of cookies.  Loved Bemused' ideas about their possible alternate identities.   Nonetheless even as garden variety spearwives it is doubtful that torture including flaying would move them to talk.  The Wildlings are hard people with true knowledge of the real dangers at hand.  In serving a higher cause it's doubtful Mance chose wimpy girly spearwives to accompany him on this mission.  

Eveything about the Pink Letter is fascinating, including it's author and that person's motives.  The rationale behind Mance writing the letter is interesting and even fits well in many places, but I doubt it was he.  Is Stannis clever enough to pull a trick like the Pink Letter off?   Possibly, but really, why?  I'm not sold 100% on it, but I like Ramsay for the author--it moves the ick factor up a few notches in my book is all. 

[Lord Greenhood]

I'm shipping with Mance on this one, he and Jon got history.

I don't see what motive Stannis would have to send the letter.

A few things going against Ramsay:

He doesn't like the word Bastard

Why would Ramsay want the red whore, the queen, the wildling princess and Mance's kid?

Why would Ramsay care that Jon and Stannis lied about burning Mance?

Ramsay has made a cloak from the skins of the six whores for Mance but did not save some for sweet Jon? Suspicious

Throughout the novels the only people comparing the Night's Watch to black crows are exclusive to the Wildlings.

All the names in the letter are written in aliases except for Ramsay's and Mance's. Reek is an alias.

 

 

[Curled Finger]

I'm shipping with Mance on this one, he and Jon got history.

I don't see what motive Stannis would have to send the letter.

A few things going against Ramsay:

He doesn't like the word Bastard

Why would Ramsay want the red whore, the queen, the wildling princess and Mance's kid?

Why would Ramsay care that Jon and Stannis lied about burning Mance?

Ramsay has made a cloak from the skins of the six whores for Mance but did not save some for sweet Jon? Suspicious

Throughout the novels the only people comparing the Night's Watch to black crows are exclusive to the Wildlings.

All the names in the letter are written in aliases except for Ramsay's and Mance's. Reek is an alias.

 

 

I'm not arguing your point at all.   Like I said, Mance fits well in several places as the author, he's just not my favorite.   Where did this come from that Ramsay doesn't like the word bastard?   He doesn't like being called a bastard, but where does that extend to not calling anyone else a bastard?   

[Clegane'sPup]

"Ramsay Snow, you mean. The Bastard."

"Never call him that!" Spittle sprayed from Theon's lips. "Ramsay Bolton, not Ramsay Snow, never Snow, never, you have to remember his name, or he will hurt you."

 One of the places it comes from. I'm trying the spoiler alert on the new board. Wish me luck.

[Curled Finger]

Hidden Content

 One of the places it comes from. I'm trying the spoiler alert on the new board. Wish me luck.

Your spolier worked.   Now you have to tell me how you did it.  

But that only proves my position, Pup.   Ramsay doesn't like being called bastard, it says nothing about Ramsay not liking the word.    I still say its only in relation to himself that the word is of limits.   

[bemused]

Ramsay doesn't want anyone to call him a bastard (now that he's legit..), but he has no compunction about using it himself... “Oh, leave him be,” said Ramsay. “Just see to Blood. I rode the bastard hard.”...So, I don't think he'd have a problem using it , though we don't see him use it often.

Mance uses "bastard' to Jon. but it's 1) in a sarcastic way - reminding Jon of his lie (that being ostracized as a bastard was his reason for leaving the NW and joining Mance.) and 2) trying to use that sarcasm as a hint to Jon that he (Mance) was glamoured as Rattleshirt.

Stannis doesn't use it to address Jon but only as a statement of fact... And you are Ned Stark’s bastard.”

But the only person who has used "bastard" repeatedly as a form of address to Jon, in the sneering, goading way it's used in the letter, is Alliser Thorne.

[Clegane'sPup]

Your spolier worked.   Now you have to tell me how you did it.  

But that only proves my position, Pup.   Ramsay doesn't like being called bastard, it says nothing about Ramsay not liking the word.    I still say its only in relation to himself that the word is of limits.   

 

There is a creepy eyeball icon. Click it and a black thingajiggy comes up. Type your words into the black space and it comes up as reveal hidden content.

[Curled Finger]

creepy eyeball thingy indeed!   Thanks! 

[Targaryen Restoration]

1) Everyone knows ?? .. Not this everyone... Conflict between Jon and the Boltons is going to be unavoidable.. whether he's Lord Commander or not. I believe Lady Dustin is correct when she says Roose would like to become "King of the north" .. Jon would be slated for liquidation sooner or later, whenever the opportunity presented itself.

False.  All Jon needed to do was forget about Arya and mind his own business.  He chose to do otherwise, hence the Boltons rightly got upset with him.  Jon dragged the Night Watch into Stark family problems. 

2) If the letter was written by Ramsay, "my bride" is coercive. Jon is being threatened to shut up and be a party to the Boltons usurping Winterfell, even though he would know their claim was false. How would this be taking no part ?

You missed the point.  By the time the letter was sent, Jon had already basically thrown the glove and slapped the Boltons.  All the letter was doing was give Jon the option to repair the damage that he (Jon) had already done.

3) Any of Mance's party could reveal what they know under torture but there is room for doubt whether they have actually been caught. By hints given in the text, many of them have the means to elude capture (at least for a time). Holly is dead... Frenya still had her spear, and like a true spearwife, may well choose death over capture... Squirrel planned to go to the godswood and could easily use Wex's trick... Myrtle had already been gathering up disguises, probably by doing some real washerwoman duties. I believe she may actually be the Liddle , and could revert to being a man, herself.... Rowan is likely an Umber (but IMO, one of the Greatjon's daughters, not Mors').. and would likely have help from Hother... Mance isn't wearing Mel's ruby , but ought to have it with him, since he can't have taken it off before leaving the Wall,.. He could potentially take on Rattleshirt's homely, unremarkable appearance. ...This only leaves Willow without an obvious escape possibility, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if there was hope / help for her as well. 

Ramsay only needs one.  It's hard to choose death when you're tied up and restrained.  Mance was still inside when Theon and Jeyne escaped.  The castle was immediately put on high alert.  Mance is slick but not slick enough to get out of a castle on lockdown.  Whoever got caught and however many will reveal everything that Ramsay wants to know. 

Since I think it's pretty certain the  non-Bolton men inside WF will all turn on Roose once he's sent out the Freys, WH men and Ramsay, Mance & co. might not have to evade capture for very long.

4) If the original author was Stannis, he changed his mind and sent Theon as well

Hidden Content

If the original author was Mance, he might well assume that Stannis would send them on to Jon, rather than drag them through a battle and risk their possible recapture, especially if he thinks Jeyne is Arya (and Stannis could provide an escort). 

 5) Whatever it reads like, I think the letter was copied (adding some incendiary language, etc.) by the conspirators at the Wall ( It actually sounds more like Thorne than anyone,  and I think he is present, off-page.)

6) If Ramsay did not write the letter, the object (for the original author) was to warn Jon that "Arya" and Reek had been sent to him, and that Ramsay was on the trail of "Arya" and wouldn't hesitate to attack CB to get her back.

Oh, I very much disagree with you.  Ramsay is the most likely author of the pink letter.  He would have in his possession all of the data needed to write such a letter.  It was clearly written by someone angry and someone who wanted to very much get the letter to the wall as soon as possible. 

Ramsay would not pass up the opportunity to take Jon out, if he got so far as CB.. and particularly if there was a chance Ramsay could overtake Jeyne before she got there, he would never give warning of his impending arrival. I don't think he'd give warning in any case.. this is not like the letter to Asha (and presumably Dagmer). Roose was not ready to move against Asha or Dagmer yet ,and if they were scared into withdrawing in the meantime, that would save the Boltons time, men and effort.

But Jon couldn't just melt away, and once he learned of their deception, he would immediately be too dangerous to be allowed to live. Before the escape, there would have been time to think of a way of dealing with him efficiently, while keeping Roose's hands arguably clean. The escape would change that.

Not necessarily.  All Jon needed to do, once again, is to mind his own business.  But what did that bastard do?  He arranged marriage to interfere with northern politics, he agreed to the deception of allowing Mance Rayder to live, he sicked Mance against a noble lord and told him to steal the man's wife.  To make things even worse, he creates his own army from wildlings, wildlings whom he brought across to defend the wall not fight his personal battles against people he has sworn to protect, and he was about to desert his post for the second time. 

Time and again, the Bolton tactics have been surprise and deceit, and that has worked well for them. I can't see them changing it now.

As for Jon "revealing his treason".. Excuse me please, I've seen the treason charge so often, I want to say "treason, shmeason". ... Over and over, GRRM requires us to wrestle with the question of rules and conventions vs. what is morally right, or in the common interest (Jaime killing Aerys is one standout example) . We know that history is written by the victor, and it's completely up in the air as to who will be the ruling force in Westeros in the near future. By the time most people might learn of Jon's actions, he may be hailed as a hero.

Dream on.  If they learn of his actions, many would be calling for his head. 

 

We only hear treason from a small number of men who are looking for a rationalisation for killing their commanding officer. Do we think that most of the watch is so enamoured with the rules and conventions that (for most) have been imposed on them?..I don't ... and I think the watch is quite capable of seeing what is in their interest in regard to the wildlings .. when it comes down to manning the wall. even Othell, who is not presented as a great thinker had this to say at Jon's election... I don’t recall why I thought Slynt would be such a good choice. That would be sort of kicking King Stannis in the mouth, and I don’t see how that serves us..

Given a chance to think about it, I think most will be able to see what serves them.

I think you misjudge Bowen Marsh.  The guy is loyal to the watch.  "For the watch", meant he didn't want to assassinate his Lord Commander, but Jon had lost his mind.  He was incompetent and unfit to lead them at that point.  He was no longer acting like a LC of the Night Watch.  He was acting like an insane brother who would sacrifice the entire 7 kingdoms for her.  Jon needed killing.  Bowen recognized it and carried it out.  GRRM himself said that it should be easy to see why, from the text, why they would want to kill Jon.  Jon apologists would try to spin that into something positive.  But it's not.  It was Jon behaving unethically and really causing trouble with people they're suppose to protect. 

[bemused]

TargaryenRestoration... This is a case where we must agree to disagree. My understanding of these characters is very different. To me, your interpretation is very off the mark.. most egregiously, in the case of Jon.(My own not-too-humble opinion, and I stand by it.)

Yes, GRRM said it should be easy to see why they (the would-be assassins) would want to do that ...and it is.

Of the known and supposed attackers...

Bowen is not afraid of taking part in the affairs of the kingdom, but of choosing the wrong side (and it's very possible that he never thought Jon was "of good birth".. not "good" enough to qualify him to be Mormont's steward, let alone LC.)

Wick is Bowen's assistant, and Left Hand Lew is another of his stewards, and though they may have been influenced by Bowen, Wick at least seems to want to express that it wasn't his idea.

Alf of Runnymudd blames Jon for the death of his lover, Garth Greyfeather.

Ghost seems to suggest Mully is involved. He's a steward and he and Bowen might have been on the wall for a long time together ("winter friends").

I think Thorne is indubitably the brain behind the plot . He has hated Jon since AGoT and tried to orchestrate his death on multiple occasions, already (and I don't think he cares much about the watch, or he would have been a better Arms Master)

We actually only see Bowen and Wick attack... and I believe Bowen's tears are as much for the possible repercussions to himself , as for Jon (if not more).

There are multiple reasons why they would want to do that.. but just because we can see the reasons, doesn't mean those reasons are at all righteous. I can't for the life of me see how the Bowen apologists can see him as altruistic, or intelligent enough to figure out a strategy to solve the problems facing the NW.

ETA; It seems a bit naive to think that the Boltons didn't have Jon marked out for removal at the first opportunity. Roose's own (illegitimate) Lord of Winterfell is his legitimized bastard. He may know the contents of Robb's will (having conferred with him at the Twins, just before the RW). He does know the northmen proclaimed Robb their King and would accept his heir King, as well...or would perhaps proclaim another Stark, if one was at hand. 

Tommen wouldn't legitimize Jon, but Robb may have already, and Roose might think Stannis would, in exchange for support (we know he would). It would never occur to a Bolton that Jon would refuse. Power resides where men think it resides, and the North would certainly recognise Robb's power to legitimize Jon. 

Whoever Robb named as heir ,it's pretty certain that he would have legitimized Jon. If Jon is not Robb's heir, Robb would have trusted him to protect his heir , and seemed certain that there was a precedent for releasing a Sworn Brother from his vows in rare cases. (Jon is not there under criminal sentence.)

 

[finger]

Good job!

1. When a letter was surely from Ramsey, GRRM let us know. So, if the PL is doubtful, it must some else's. (He's deemed a good writer.)

2. There are confusing tips in the letter. To start with, its own being. Some Umbers are putting siege to WF. They're rather rude, still, they must have tried to shoot down any raven flying out from WF's rookery. For the sake of the argument, we can admit that the poor bird escaped the arrows. But I'd better revise the whole story.

3. In any event, the Lord of WF would be Roose Bolton, even though Ramsay likes to name himself whatever he fancies. Intriguing. Well,say Roose died in the battle, and carry on.

4. Anyway, whoever sent the letter, he must have had a purpose. What is it?

Mance is my first choice. He's clever enough to see that his own people had chosen Jon as one of theirs,... and the one to lead them. He's seen the situation in WF: if a Bolton bastard can be accepted, a Stark bastard would be cheered. So, he wants Jon at WF to be acclaimed as the Lord of the North and Beyond. That would open the doors to the wildlings to flee from the WW.

It might work, but some questions remain open: where did he take the raven from? Why pretending to be Ramsey? Otherwise stated, what's the need to pretend an untruth? And above all, what was knew in the letter to make Jon so anxious?

[The Mountain that Cries]

I would like to believe that the pink letter is written by Stannis, but until the next book comes out this is all speculation.

Stannis has just spent alot of time learning who Jon is and trying to get him and his brother's to his side. Stannis is one of the most stubborn people ever written. I dont think he would turn away from the only stark he has access to. He know where power truly resides in the North. I think he knows the response his letter will bring. The only thing he probably didn't expect from the letter is Jon being stabbed by his brothers. Think of it like this he send's the letter knowing he is about to sack and trap the Bolton's and he expect's Jon to come Howling for Bolton Blood. Then when Jon gets there he is like surprise we killed em all and since your here i might as well make you Warden of the North as all the loyal Lords bow and pledge fealty. I think he was hopeing that once Jon is back, He will overwhelmed with emotion and accept the Warden Ship,and that the Watch will not seek retribution for Jon breaking his vow. Sorry if there are a bunch or typo or if some else has said the same i am typing this out in the middle of a conference call at work.