Moments of Foreshadowing 10

[Banana Beyond the Wall]

" “Then pass,” the door said. Its lips opened, wide and wider and wider still, until nothing at all remained but a great gaping mouth in a ring of wrinkles. Sam stepped aside and waved Jojen through ahead of him. Summer followed, sniffing as he went, and then it was Bran’s turn. Hodor ducked, but not low enough. The door’s upper lip brushed softly against the top of Bran’s head, and a drop of water fell on him and ran slowly down his nose. It was strangely warm, and salty as a tear."

-Bran, ASOS

Might be foreshadowing to Jon's resurrection. Born amidst salt and smoke. The smoke can be from when Mel gives Jon the fire kiss, after all, she is the strongest rest priestess (in her mind at least).

[StocksOfWinterfell]

Quote

Lady Olenna gave Tyrion a wrinkled, toothless smile. "Oh? Forgive a silly old woman, my lord, I did not mean to steal your lovely wife. I assumed you would be off leading a Lannister host against some wicked foe."

"A host of dragons and stags. The master of coin must remain at court to see that all the armies are paid for."

"To be sure. Dragons and stags, that's very clever. And dwarf's pennies as well. I have heard of these dwarf's pennies. No doubt collecting those is such a dreadful chore.

could be that Tyrion will join team Aegon after Aegon has taken Storm's End and rallied the stormlands to his cause.

[Lost Melnibonean]

6 hours ago, StocksOfWinterfell said:

could be that Tyrion will join team Aegon after Aegon has taken Storm's End and rallied the stormlands to his cause.

Good, good... but Aegon

has already taken Storm's End

and Tyrion is still half a world away. Tyrion will most likely return to Westeros with Daenerys, no? He'll either be riding or influencing the rider of the white dragon, no? Perhaps then he'll betray Daenerys for all the gold of Casterly Rock? 

[chrisdaw]

Trying to work through the lads, the pacts and Cregane Stark in KL foreshadowing.

The lads and the battle of the Kingsroad are foreshadowing of the western force that march South under Jon (Jon will not be with them, he'll come straight down the guts like Cregan). They are remnants of the BWB after their surrender earlier on and the RLs.

Black Aly is most part Stoneheart but also Arya for this portion (Stoneheart is long gone before Jon comes South). Kermit is Edmure. Benjicot I'm not sure, maybe Theon, Edric Storm, Beric, Gendry, Edric Dayne, and maybe, just maybe, Benjen.

A Stag host is going to stand before them on their march on KL. It's this host of Tyrion's.

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“A host of dragons and stags. The master of coin must remain at court to see that all the armies are paid for.”

As Tyrion will be the king in KL that they're marching on.

The leader of this Stag host is foreshadowed by Borros Baratheon. Never having learnt to read points to Gendry, but Edric Storm is possible, Davos a very very minor possibility.

Ben breaks Borros' left flank, Aly's archers smash his knights and Kermit slays Borros. The Lads win. This would mean the Ben foreshadowee breaks Gendry's left flank, Arya smashes his knights (wolfpack?) and Edmure kills Gendry. I think Gendry is the leader based on the illiterate foreshadowing. Jaime or Tyrion have him legitimised when he plays a key role in bringing down Stoneheart, and give him the Stormlands as they will have no other leader for the place. I think his left side does break, as it's noted his right side is stronger than his left being a smith and all. I'm sure he loses but I don't think he dies here, as the story then moves to KL the foreshadowing morphed.

In KL Jon is going to have his hour of the wolf and the pact of Ice and Fire is going to be forged, Jon's Northern army to ally with the South to fight the Others. Jaime will be sentenced to take the Black (for killing HS Lancel but that's another topic). If Jon takes the throne from Tyrion or leaves him it and just declares himself Hand for a while I'm not sure. He's not really going to care for being king, he just wants the realm altogether to fight the Others.

Now the other portion of foreshadowing in the pact is a marriage alliance, a Stark girl for a Targ. I suggest this is going to repeat, it makes sense. When Jon comes South he's echoing two pieces of foreshadowing, the young dragon (Daeron I) and the young wolf. Only Jon's not going to be a failure like those two losers

Robb betrothed Arya during his Southern exploits, a betrothal she'd not have liked had she known. Daeron II succeeded where Dareon I failed, it was sort of kicked off by Baelor marrying Dareon I to a Martell for peace, and then sealed by another marriage pact Dareon himself made, he married off a Daenerys and the great feat of Dorne joining the 7k was accomplished. During Cregan's stay in KL, he married Black Aly, Aly agreed only if he allowed the pardon of Lord Corlys to stand.

The foreshadowing points a few ways, but I think undoubtedly when Jon gets to KL and the pact is formed there's going to be a marriage or two, hell maybe even more. Black Aly to Cregan should have the Jon and Arya shippers standing up. A Dany in there too is also very interesting (she'll be part of Jon's force).

I think it will be Arya, and I think Jon will marry her to Tyrion's heir. If Dany isn't otherwise married (like to him) he might also marry her off. I think Black Aly marrying only if a pardon is upheld is important.

Now on the otherside. Tyrion's heir won't be a Targ, he and Sansa will not have a child. I think his heir is going to be Sweetrobin. It's Sansa taking a play from Cersei's book. Sansa has control of SR, if SR were to be heir and Tyrion die (perhaps Sansa's plan), Sansa would basically rule Westeros through her control of SR. There's that tidbit about Sharra Arryn trying to push Ronnel Arryn (a king in his own right) on Aegon as his heir, in exchange she would marry Aegon and join the Vale to his kingdom. Sansa will manipulate Tyrion into naming Robert his heir, Tyrion will consent hoping it will help make Sansa love him, and because he'll need a heir and Jaime's kids will either be dead or Jaime won't allow it, and there's no-one else. Tyrion has a thing for cripples and broken things.

The way it goes down I think is the pact is between Arya on Jon's side and SR on the side of the throne.

Now Arya is not going to be happy, but our new grey Jon isn't going to be much for pleasing. He's got a realm to set to rights and the Others to fend off, he's not really going to have the patience for Arya's or anyone else's shit. But, I think there's going to be more to it. Gendry's defining quality is his stubbornness, I think that's going to come into play. If Jon does declare himself king it'd work nicely, as Gendry could refuse to kneel (Gendry having lost the battle will be basically a prisoner and need a pardon or to be set free). Otherwise there's going to be something Gendry is going to deny Jon. Jon, being the new grey Jon, is not going to have time for Gendry's shit and during his hour of the wolf, order his execution. BUT, like Black Aly, Arya is going to stop being difficult and consent to the marriage if Jon spares him.

And so I think the new pact is sealed, like (one of) the old, with a marriage alliance between a Stark girl and the IT. Jon will marry Arya off like Robb did (try). Arya becomes queen when Tyrion inevitably gets martyred, as per that Ned quote about fathering queens. And the ending is sweet (Sweetrobin) and sour (Arya).

Or, the other more morbid scenario, Sansa (at great feast, with purple poison in her hairnet, choosing Stark over Lannister) or Jaime (there's some foreshadowing here, I think it lands on Lancel the High Septon but some of it would more closely match Tyrion) really do off Tyrion, leaving KL and the IT almost exactly like it was when Cregan came South (boy king, a king's murder that Stark must provide justice for in his hour of the wolf moment). In this scenario Arya might agree to the marriage in exchange for Jon sparing Sansa. Or if Sansa successfully does a runner from KL before Jon gets there like she has once before and like Larra Rogare left Viserys II, Alysanna left Jaehaerys twice and Rohanne did Gerold, then Arya could consent to the marriage if Jon pardons and upholds Gendry's legitimacy and great lordship granted by the previous king.

Or maybe Sansa doesn't flee, or doesn't flee successfully, and Jon refuses Arya the Sansa portion of her demand and doesn't believe Jaime when he tries to take the blame really does take Sansa's head.

[King Viserys Targaryen IV]

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He had to get down on his knees to gather up the books he'd dropped. I should not have brought so many, he told himself as he brushed the dirt off Colloquo Votar's Jade Compendium, a thick volume of tales and legends from the east that Maester Aemon had commanded him to find. The book appeared undamaged. Maester Thomax's Dragonkin, Being a History of House Targaryen from Exile to Apotheosis, with a Consideration of the Life and Death of Dragons had not been so fortunate. It had come open as it fell, and a few pages had gotten muddy, including one with a rather nice picture of Balerion the Black Dread done in colored inks.

It had come open as it fell, and a few pages had gotten muddy, including one with a rather nice picture of Balerion the Black Dread done in colored inks

 

I think this foreshadows that Jon will find the muddy brown dragon, Sheepstealer, to be his mount.

[chrisdaw]

Arya = Baela and Aliandra Martell, Sweetrobin/Gendry = Alyn Velaryon and Sansa = Elaena in that little triangle. Elaena is a treasure trove of foreshadowing, I'm copying from the wiki here, the info from AWOIAF.

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Elaena was married to Ser Michael Manwoody, a Dornishman who had attended the court of Queen Mariah Martell. Manwoody was sent as an envoy to Braavos on several occasions, and there is record of correspondence between him and the keyholders of the Iron Bank. These letters, while signed with Manwoody's name and fixed with his own seal, appear to have been in the handwriting of Princess Elaena.

This I believe is foreshadowing Sansa forging correspondence between Tyrion and the Ironbank, most likely to sabotage Tyrion's relationship with the bank, thus helping herself or Jon. Possibly why, when Stannis dies and the South is under a new ruler other than Cersei, the Ironbank ends up backing Jon and not returning to terms with the South.

This runs into something else.I

Quote

 

It hurt that the one thing Arya could do better than her sister was ride a horse. Well, that and manage a household. Sansa had never had much of a head for figures.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

She could read and write better than any of her brothers, although she was hopeless at sums.

 

Sansa's relationship with sums will shadow her greater arc in one of two ways, I'm not sure which. Either it's just a simple parallel with Sansa's player arc. She started with stupid and naive notions of the world, then she will grow to become a shrewd master player. As she was crap with numbers she'll come to be great with them and use them in part to control the realm. Fitting but I'm not comfortable with it as I believe, and I think it's a common belief, that people who are bad with numbers are just bad with numbers, sure they can learn but it comes hard and they will never necessarily be good, some people have a natural tendency to do well with numbers and some do not.

The other option I think plausible is that the numbers thing shadows Sansa and Arya's relationship. Sansa will be good at playing the game and many things associated with it, but she's always going to suck with numbers, and needs Arya to fill that deficiency for her.

Which if the second option is the case it may have an impact on the Elaena foreshadowing. If Sansa continues to suck at numbers it may be she accidentally screws up the South's relation with the IB. Or if she relies on Arya for handling numbers, it may be Arya that screws the relationship either at Sansa's behest or without Sansa's knowledge.

Anyway I have no doubt that when Jon marches South he will have the support of the IB. Tycho and Jon getting together is a start.

Spoiler

Justin Massey is coming back with sellswords, even if (though) Stannis is dead.

And those will march with Jon South. The reason why the IB back Jon and not the person on the throne (who won't be Cersei or Dany) I'm sure is foreshadowed in this Elaena information.

[LmL]

From the beginning of the ADWD epilogue:

Quote

 

Behind the table where the five members of the king’s small council were seated, the Iron Throne crouched like some great black beast, its barbs and claws and blades half-shrouded in shadow. Kevan Lannister could feel it at his back, an itch between the shoulder blades.

 

And then later:

Quote

 

Pycelle’s chambers were beneath the rookery, a spacious suite of rooms cluttered with racks of herbs and salves and potions and shelves jammed full of books and scrolls. Ser Kevan had always found them uncomfortably hot. Not tonight. Once past the chamber door, the chill was palpable. Black ash and dying embers were all that remained of the hearthfire. A few flickering candles cast pools of dim light here and there. The rest was shrouded in shadow
…  
He turned away from the window. Then something slammed him in the chest between the ribs, hard as a giant’s fist. It drove the breath from him and sent him lurching backwards.
. . .

Ser Kevan was cold as ice, and every labored breath sent a fresh stab of pain through him. He glimpsed movement, heard the soft scuffling sound of slippered feet on stone. A child emerged from a pool of darkness, a pale boy in a ragged robe, no more than nine or ten. Another rose up behind the Grand Maester’s chair. The girl who had opened the door for him was there as well. They were all around him, half a dozen of them, white-faced children with dark eyes, boys and girls together. And in their hands, the daggers.

 

At the beginning of the chapter, Kevan feels the blades at his back which are shrouded in shadow, and both he crossbow bolts and the knives that killed him came form the shadows as well. Not a super super crazy foreshadowing but it's there.

[Bastetcat]

On 2014. szeptember 25. at 4:39 AM, mb2518 said:

From Catelyns chapter in ACOK where she speaks with Jaime:

 

 

 

 

"Forbid Arya anything and it became her heart's desire."

 

 

 

 

 

In other words, the Faceless Men telling her she's not allowed to kill people on her list means she will do exactly that.

 

Nice catch!
Also the rules in the House of Black and White: no family, no one's wife, no one's mother, etc...
 

[King of Winter-ish Stuff]

I'm not sure if anyone's noticed it before, but I was re-reading AGoT and I came to a Jon chapter and (forgive me I don't have the book with me so I don't remember the chapter or have the original quote, but it's around the time Sam shows up to Castle Black) it said he had found himself dreaming of "father and robb" some filler sentence and then "arya and his uncle". 

I find it interesting that the two first characters he put together would go on to die. Arya is still alive, is this some foreshadowing that Benjen is still alive too? And why is he only dreaming of these four? I could understand why not Sansa very early on, but Bran? And Rickon? Why does he not find himself dreaming of them? Is it just GRRM only choosing the 4 Starks Jon liked the most? Or could there be some semblance of foreshadowing but grouping Ned and Robb together and then Arya and Benjen to hint that Benjen is still kicking?

[Lost Melnibonean]

15 hours ago, chrisdaw said:

Arya = Baela and Aliandra Martell, Sweetrobin/Gendry = Alyn Velaryon and Sansa = Elaena in that little triangle. Elaena is a treasure trove of foreshadowing, I'm copying from the wiki here, the info from AWOIAF.

This I believe is foreshadowing Sansa forging correspondence between Tyrion and the Ironbank, most likely to sabotage Tyrion's relationship with the bank, thus helping herself or Jon. Possibly why, when Stannis dies and the South is under a new ruler other than Cersei, the Ironbank ends up backing Jon and not returning to terms with the South.

This runs into something else.I

Sansa's relationship with sums will shadow her greater arc in one of two ways, I'm not sure which. Either it's just a simple parallel with Sansa's player arc. She started with stupid and naive notions of the world, then she will grow to become a shrewd master player. As she was crap with numbers she'll come to be great with them and use them in part to control the realm. Fitting but I'm not comfortable with it as I believe, and I think it's a common belief, that people who are bad with numbers are just bad with numbers, sure they can learn but it comes hard and they will never necessarily be good, some people have a natural tendency to do well with numbers and some do not.

The other option I think plausible is that the numbers thing shadows Sansa and Arya's relationship. Sansa will be good at playing the game and many things associated with it, but she's always going to suck with numbers, and needs Arya to fill that deficiency for her.

Which if the second option is the case it may have an impact on the Elaena foreshadowing. If Sansa continues to suck at numbers it may be she accidentally screws up the South's relation with the IB. Or if she relies on Arya for handling numbers, it may be Arya that screws the relationship either at Sansa's behest or without Sansa's knowledge.

Anyway I have no doubt that when Jon marches South he will have the support of the IB. Tycho and Jon getting together is a start.

  Hide contents

Justin Massey is coming back with sellswords, even if (though) Stannis is dead.

And those will march with Jon South. The reason why the IB back Jon and not the person on the throne (who won't be Cersei or Dany) I'm sure is foreshadowed in this Elaena information.

Do you believe Jon would lead a host below the Neck to play the game of thrones with the Others bearing down on the Wall? I know he was ready to fight Bolton at Winterfell, but there were sound tactical reasons for that done he couldn't leave a hostile Ramsay at his back. 

[Lost Melnibonean]

8 hours ago, LmL said:

From the beginning of the ADWD epilogue:

And then later:

At the beginning of the chapter, Kevan feels the blades at his back which are shrouded in shadow, and both he crossbow bolts and the knives that killed him came form the shadows as well. Not a super super crazy foreshadowing but it's there.

Then Varys is a black dragon

[Lost Melnibonean]

52 minutes ago, King of Winter-ish Stuff said:

I'm not sure if anyone's noticed it before, but I was re-reading AGoT and I came to a Jon chapter and (forgive me I don't have the book with me so I don't remember the chapter or have the original quote, but it's around the time Sam shows up to Castle Black) it said he had found himself dreaming of "father and robb" some filler sentence and then "arya and his uncle". 

I find it interesting that the two first characters he put together would go on to die. Arya is still alive, is this some foreshadowing that Benjen is still alive too? And why is he only dreaming of these four? I could understand why not Sansa very early on, but Bran? And Rickon? Why does he not find himself dreaming of them? Is it just GRRM only choosing the 4 Starks Jon liked the most? Or could there be some semblance of foreshadowing but grouping Ned and Robb together and then Arya and Benjen to hint that Benjen is still kicking?

Is this the one...

"Sometimes I dream about it," he said. "I'm walking down this long empty hall. My voice echoes all around, but no one answers, so I walk faster, opening doors, shouting names. I don't even know who I'm looking for. Most nights it's my father, but sometimes it's Robb instead, or my little sister Arya, or my uncle." The thought of Benjen Stark saddened him; his uncle was still missing. The Old Bear had sent out rangers in search of him. Ser Jaremy Rykker had led two sweeps, and Quorin Halfhand had gone forth from the Shadow Tower, but they'd found nothing aside from a few blazes in the trees that his uncle had left to mark his way. In the stony highlands to the northwest, the marks stopped abruptly and all trace of Ben Stark vanished.

"Do you ever find anyone in your dream?" Sam asked.

Jon shook his head. "No one. The castle is always empty." He had never told anyone of the dream, and he did not understand why he was telling Sam now, yet somehow it felt good to talk of it. "Even the ravens are gone from the rookery, and the stables are full of bones. That always scares me. I start to run then, throwing open doors, climbing the tower three steps at a time, screaming for someone, for anyone. And then I find myself in front of the door to the crypts. It's black inside, and I can see the steps spiraling down. Somehow I know I have to go down there, but I don't want to. I'm afraid of what might be waiting for me. The old Kings of Winter are down there, sitting on their thrones with stone wolves at their feet and iron swords across their laps, but it's not them I'm afraid of. I scream that I'm not a Stark, that this isn't my place, but it's no good, I have to go anyway, so I start down, feeling the walls as I descend, with no torch to light the way. It gets darker and darker, until I want to scream." He stopped, frowning, embarrassed. "That's when I always wake." His skin cold and clammy, shivering in the darkness of his cell. Ghost would leap up beside him, his warmth as comforting as daybreak. He would go back to sleep with his face pressed into the direwolf s shaggy white fur.

Jon IV, Game 26

[LmL]

48 minutes ago, Lost Melnibonean said:

Then Varys is a black dragon

Oh ho! I missed that - very nice! Could be an allusion to that, certainly.  

Of course he's also "the spider," which makes me think of ice spiders. I can actually make sense of this, and if you read my stuff then it might actually make sense to you. Basically, the "black dragon" is an archetype which refers to post transformation Azor Ahai, aka the Bloodstone Emperor. I'm honing in on clues which suggest that he eventually became the NK, creating Others with the NQ. And therefore, the ice spiders and Others come from the black dragon. He's a dragon disguised as a spider - and that's more or less the truth of the Nights King and to some extent, the Others. Said another way, it was the black moon meteors of the Long Night moon disaster which had something to do with waking the Others. Varys is also one of the characters with a "moon face," fwiw. 

[Lost Melnibonean]

1 hour ago, LmL said:

Oh ho! I missed that - very nice! Could be an allusion to that, certainly.  

Of course he's also "the spider," which makes me think of ice spiders. I can actually make sense of this, and if you read my stuff then it might actually make sense to you. Basically, the "black dragon" is an archetype which refers to post transformation Azor Ahai, aka the Bloodstone Emperor. I'm honing in on clues which suggest that he eventually became the NK, creating Others with the NQ. And therefore, the ice spiders and Others come from the black dragon. He's a dragon disguised as a spider - and that's more or less the truth of the Nights King and to some extent, the Others. Said another way, it was the black moon meteors of the Long Night moon disaster which had something to do with waking the Others. Varys is also one of the characters with a "moon face," fwiw. 

Now that I look again, he association between black dragon and Varys here is a bit of a stretch, but not so much as to make it crackpot. The throne is described as a black beast, with claws in shadows. Of course black beast with claws and shadow make one think of Drogon, the Black Dread come again or winged shadow. 

[LmL]

1 hour ago, Lost Melnibonean said:

Now that I look again, he association between black dragon and Varys here is a bit of a stretch, but not so much as to make it crackpot. The throne is described as a black beast, with claws in shadows. Of course black beast with claws and shadow make one think of Drogon, the Black Dread come again or winged shadow. 

Right, and Drogon is a black dragon who breathes black fire. 

[chrisdaw]

3 hours ago, Lost Melnibonean said:

Do you believe Jon would lead a host below the Neck to play the game of thrones with the Others bearing down on the Wall? I know he was ready to fight Bolton at Winterfell, but there were sound tactical reasons for that done he couldn't leave a hostile Ramsay at his back. 

He goes South because the Others are bearing down on them. He needs to unite the realm to defend it, their numbers, their leaders, their obsidian, Valyrian Steel and most of all the dragons. He can't afford to fail, so he's coming prepared to take what he needs by force if they won't listen or don't believe him.

[Lost Melnibonean]

5 hours ago, chrisdaw said:

He goes South because the Others are bearing down on them. He needs to unite the realm to defend it, their numbers, their leaders, their obsidian, Valyrian Steel and most of all the dragons. He can't afford to fail, so he's coming prepared to take what he needs by force if they won't listen or don't believe him.

Fair enough. 

[chrisdaw]

Baela Targaryen foreshadows Arya. I think her having introduced Daenaera to her half brother Aegon III is foreshadowing Arya 'introducing' Dany and Jon.

Alfred Broome is a Barristan, Broome's betrayal of Rhaenyra is foreshadowing Barristan betraying Dany.

[evita mgfs]

I imagine my contribution is “old news”, but I will share it anyway because my Google search did not bring it up on westeros.org or elsewhere.  Regardless, be gentle:  I was excited to make these finds.  I hope my work has some bit of original thought, which is not an easy thing with all the brilliant scholars who post on the forums.

Near the center of the novel A Dance with Dragons, Martin presents a Jon POV that is rich in figurative language that speaks to the oneness of Jon the warg and his direwolf Ghost.  At the same time, Martin foreshadows Jon sharing his direwolf’s skin in the near future.

Martin plays with his cloaking/coating motif by suggesting that Jon Snow metaphorically is the “snow”, as in Jon’s observation that Ghost “seemed to love fresh snow” [462].  Ghost loves Jon Snow so much that he even covers himself with “snow”!

 So much so  that “At the base of the Wall he [Jon] found Ghost rolling in a snowbank . . . When he saw Jon he bounded back onto his feet and shook himself off” [462].

Because Martin repeats this and more figurative language pertaining to cloak/coat wearing and removing, Martin may indeed suggest that Jon Snow will wear his direwolf’s skin as warg – and direwolf will be in disguise as Jon Snow, wearing his snowy coat, yet cognizant and aware as his master – the warg within the direwolf.  Eventually, Ghost will “shake” off or shake out Jon Snow’s warg, returning warg and wolf to the body of Jon Snow.

Furthermore, Martin makes clear to readers to pay heed to language when Jon Snow says, “The words matter . . .” [462].  In context, Jon refers to the NW oath that his new recruits will speak beyond the Wall in the grove of nine weirwoods.  Yet, at the same time, Jon’s words “cloak” deeper meanings – Jon is Martin’s voice attesting to the importance of the author’s words as well as the sacred oath of the SB of the NW.

A great deal of Jon’s dialogue has deeper meanings:  the NW words “bind us all together” and “They make us brothers” [462-463].  Jon and Ghost are thus bonded, closer than even Jon and his half siblings.

When Jon calls Ghost “To me”, the direwolf “shook the snow from his back and trotted to Jon’s side” [463[.  This is the second reference to Ghost wearing the skin of “Jon Snow”.  Then Jon and Ghost travel beneath the ice,  “the trees stood tall and silent, huddled in thick white cloaks” [463].  Martin dresses the trees to emphasize the idea of “transformation/rebirth/skinchanging”.  The men who march with Jon will return transformed – and they will wear the black as SBs.  Likewise, Jon Snow will also be transformed/reborn/skinchanged not long after his return to the Wall.  Mayhap he will shed his black cloak – Martin hints at this, yes?

Ghost stalks beside Jon’s mount, sniffing the air.  When Jon asks “What is it?”, Jon admits to himself, the reader, and Ghost that Jon Snow has limited vision:  “The woods were empty as far as he could see, but that was not very far” [463].  Perhaps Jon’s vision will be clearer when he looks through the red eyes of Ghost.

Jon watches as “Ghost bounded toward the trees, slipped between two-white-cloaked pines, and vanished in a cloud of snow” [463].  Martin employs the past participial of “slip” -  “slipped”, a word BR speaks to Bran, telling him to slip his skin and fly.  “Vanished” is an important word as Martin employs it consistently from the first novel AGoT throughout the novels that follow, when the author describes any of the Stark direwolves as they enter the forest or elsewhere.  “A vanishing act”  is a trick, an illusion that magicians perform – it is a fitting word for Martin to repeat because his world of ice and fire is filled with magic.

Martin poignantly depicts Jon and Ghost’s bond – their oneness:

“Jon smelled Tom Barleycorn before he saw him.   Or was it Ghost who smelled him?  Of late, Jon Snow sometimes felt as he and his direwolf were one, even awake” [466].

“The shield that guards the realms of men.  Ghost nuzzled up against his shoulder, and Jon draped his arm around him.  He could smell Horse’s unwashed breeches, the sweet scent Satin combed into his beard, the sharp smell of fear, the giant’s overpowering musk.  He could hear the beating of his own heart” [469].

Martin seems to be emphasizing the Jon and Ghost connection in language that is obvious and in metaphoric/symbolic language as well.

The third time Martin refers to Ghost and his snow coat is here:  “The great wolf appeared first, shaking off the snow” [466].  However, Ghost is also a “white shadow at Jon’s side” with red eyes like the weirwood’s.

Martin makes many other references to cloaks, all of which play into the theme of changing/transforming through wearing an outer garment that is superfluous when held up against what rests inside the heart of he who wears another’s likeness.

“The evening sky had turned the faded grey of an old cloak that had been washed too many times . . .” [466].

“Their hoods were raised against the biting wind, and some had scarves wrapped about their faces, hiding their features” [464].

“With their black hoods and thick black cowls, the six might have been carved from shadow” [468].

“The wind . . , made their coats snap and swirl . . .” [469].

Finally, Jon Snow removes his cloak upon returning, “hanging his cloak on the peg beside the door” [470].

After taking off his cloak, Jon reads the words of a king, after which he reflects upon Winterfell, “the castle is a shell . . . not WF, but the ghost of WF” [470]. 

Jon without his NW identity and cloak is an empty shell as is WF without a visible Stark on location.  Ghost will house Jon Snow’s warg, and wolf and warg will make their presence known as a Ghost in Winterfell, literally and symbolically.

 

[King of Winter-ish Stuff]

Yes.

Most nights it's my father, but sometimes it's Robb instead, or my little sister Arya, or my uncle.

On 3/2/2016 at 9:20 AM, Lost Melnibonean said:

Is this the one...

 

Jon IV, Game 26

I was wondering why he only chooses Ned, Robb, Arya, and Benjen. First I was thinking it foreshadowed all their deaths, because 2 are dead, 1 is missing, and 1 is still kicking at the moment. Maybe it's just because Jon liked them the most. Maybe it's not. I'm just wondering what other people think.