"The Winged Wolf" A Bran Stark Re-read Project - Part 1: AGOT

[Illuminated by Fire]

I do not think Bloodraven is directly responsible for Bran's (and the other Stark children's) warging abilities but I do think he sent them the wolves and I think BR is very worried that something might happen to Bran. I think he's keeping a very close eye on the boy and trying to influence Bran's choices.

I am not sure that he had to do something with the wolves, although it is certainly possible. On the other points I agree. We should pick that up in the last Bran chapter, Bloodraven does make some interesting comments there.

As for Jojen and the dreams, do you think it's just a natural gift that had to be awoken?

Yes. Bloodraven has magical powers himself after all. Did someone (non-divine) give them to him? If that is not the case I do not see why it should be the case here.

[BearQueen87]

I am not sure that he had to do something with the wolves, although it is certainly possible. On the other points I agree. We should pick that up in the last Bran chapter, Bloodraven does make some interesting comments there.

Yes. Bloodraven has magical powers himself after all. Did someone (non-divine) give them to him? If that is not the case I do not see why it should be the case here.

But was BR born with those dreams or did he have some sort of near-death experience that woke them I guess is my bigger question? Was Jojen born with that ability and it was tucked away, waiting, or was it a "gift"?

[Illuminated by Fire]

But was BR born with those dreams or did he have some sort of near-death experience that woke them I guess is my bigger question? Was Jojen born with that ability and it was tucked away, waiting, or was it a "gift"?

Since we can only speculate from the example of Bran and Jojen I guess there is always something that awakens the powers. But it could be that Bloodraven's albinism already counts as the awakening experience, but I only think that likely if he suffered from that condition. But I can really only guess.

[Tannim]

But was BR born with those dreams or did he have some sort of near-death experience that woke them I guess is my bigger question? Was Jojen born with that ability and it was tucked away, waiting, or was it a "gift"?

Within shamanism worldwide, and Native American Indian cultures in particular, a medicine man either went though a ritual, or as a youth before, of sickness or pain, and this was considered a rite of passage. The prospective medicine man wasn't considered ready unless they had experienced illness themselves, thus could empathize with the sickness others experienced. Only then were they taught the rituals and chants necessary to provide spiritual healing for others. Martin may have drawn inspiration from Native American Indian spiritual healing practices for skinchangers and greenseers awakening to their power.

[BearQueen87]

Within shamanism worldwide, and Native American Indian cultures in particular, a medicine man either went though a ritual, or as a youth before, of sickness or pain, and this was considered a rite of passage. The prospective medicine man wasn't considered ready unless they had experienced illness themselves, thus could empathize with the sickness others experienced. Only then were they taught the rituals and chants necessary to provide spiritual healing for others. Martin may have drawn inspiration from Native American Indian spiritual healing practices for skinchangers and greenseers awakening to their power.

Fascinating. Thanks for sharing. Makes me wonder if BR really was sick as a child (do we know...? It has been awhile since I read the Dunk and Egg stuff so I can't remember if we get anything concrete). It could be like IbF says and his albinism was his awakening experience, especially since his white skin and red eye would pretty much mark him as chosen by the old gods.

[Kyoshi]

A Clash of Kings

Bran VI

A good lord protects his people, he reminded himself. “I’ve yielded Winterfell to Theon.”

This was an amazing read (as usual), Bear Queen! :cheers: :thumbsup: Thanks!

Observations

1. The Wolf section is incredibly well written. I think this is one of the things I admire most about GRRM, not only can he write humans well, but he manages to really get inside the mind of an animal.

The Mind of the Wolf

Our chapter begins, oddly enough, without Bran. In fact, we go several pages without the POV titular character and instead are inside the mind of Summer, the direwolf. I said in the “Observation” section that this part was well written by GRRM and I think that claim is highlighted by the fact that what we get from Summer is a kind of “wolf speak.” A wolf speaking just as a human would makes little sense given that wolves do not have some of the same words or concepts as men do.

This is most readily seen in some of the odd turns of phrases Summer uses while prowling around Winterfell looking for a way to alert the men inside that “Stranger. Danger. Death” has come.

For example, the word castle is a man word. We know what it means, but it is not something that a wolf would automatically “know.” Instead it gets translated into wolf-speech and becomes:

“Piles of man-rock”

“Caves of piled stone”

“Stone den”

There are paws and there are feet, but they are differentiated in the wolf’s mind to paws and “skinfeet.” Children become the “cubs of men” as a wolf has cubs. This is not to say that there isn’t some cross over between wolf-speak and man-speak. When Summer tries to climb the tree he remembers how to climb and recalls such things as, “the sticky sap on his hands.” Wolves do not have hands, but boys do. Bran is remembering how to climb and that becomes Summer being able to climb.

It’s all very interesting, but the point I want to stress is that when Bran is inside Summer’s skin, as we obviously know he is, he is in flux. He can be a wolf that sometimes recalls things that only the boy would know. But thus far, he is never Bran-in-Summer. The Bran identity is underneath the Summer one, peaking out every so often, but never able to exist at the same moment.

That's a really good observation. It's amazing how we, the readers, can tell the difference.

I want to talk more about Beastlings and Wargs in a moment, but staying with Summer for a second, there is another voice that accompanies Summer’s internal thoughts. Interestingly enough, it’s not Shaggydog even though we know the wolves communicate with each other through their howling. As a question for the group though, is Rickon inside Shaggy right now?

I think it's as you said, all the Stark children are wargs. I think that sometimes they don't even know they're doing it, it's just that we've never had a Rickon POV chapter. But I think we agreed in the last analysis (or the one before that) that it is when he is asleep, that Bran taps into his warg state. It could be the same with Rick...who knows :dunno:

Wargs: Myth and Literature

I must confess that I never thought of his warging ability as something "bad." I was naive enough to not even question it. It never occurred to me that it could be a form of punishment...or something along those lines. I realise that I'm being very reductive but these words are the best way I could describe the thought process currently happening in my head. Thanks for engaging my brain.

Conclusions

The real takeaway point of this chapter is that Bran finally acknowledges his gift just as his home falls around him. There is a sense that the gods give something only to have something else taken away. Nothing is ever simple with Bran Stark, but if he wants to fly, he needs to be pushed out of the nest.

Such a sad conclusion. :frown5:

Very good work, Bear Queen! You always leave me with very little to add.

snip snippity snip snip

It's hard to argue with your well-written arguments. The argument of fate and free will always ends up being a circular one for me. It's like time travel...

[BearQueen87]

This was an amazing read (as usual), Bear Queen! :cheers: :thumbsup: Thanks!

Thanks Kyoshi

I must confess that I never thought of his warging ability as something "bad." I was naive enough to not even question it. It never occurred to me that it could be a form of punishment...or something along those lines. I realise that I'm being very reductive but these words are the best way I could describe the thought process currently happening in my head. Thanks for engaging my brain.

LOL I try. We, the readers, tend to see warging as a positive thing because it's "cool" and it helps the Stark children when they need it most. For Bran, it's an escape from his crippled life, something that we sympathize with over the first few books. Or for Arya, she uses it to get the better of the KM on one occasion, something we cheer. But looking slightly ahead with Bran, his warging becomes troublesome when it goes from a learning tool to possession of the worst kind. Just like anything else, there is a danger in this kind of magic. You could get utterly sucked in and never be human ever again.

[DarkSister1001]

BearQueen87, on 15 Feb 2015 - 05:44 AM, said:

A Clash of Kings

Bran VI

A good lord protects his people, he reminded himself. “I’ve yielded Winterfell to Theon.”

First - Masterfully done! I mean, damn! Second - Fn Theon, you prick.

There isn't really anything I can add except a few items that jumped out at me...

When Luwin goes to get Bran, he's bloody and shaken. I assume he got the knock on his head bc they caught him sending off the ravens. He's visibly upset and in a moment and with only a few words the tables seem to turn and Bran is taking charge, being the Lord. He stops him midsentence and almost calms the Maester "Better get me dressed". It's a beautiful and sad moment between them. Neither of them even seemed to notice it. But, I think, a torched was being passed. It just so happens to be at the same time that Bran admits to himself that he's a warg and chooses the magical side noting that Jojen knew.

"You are the Stark in Winterfell". We regularly hear that "there must always be a Stark in WF" but this is less often. And it comes before being Robb's heir, heir to the King in the North. Maybe I'm looking a little to hard into this, but for him to be the Stark in WF coming before being heir or prince seems to suggest importance. It's more important to have a Stark, any Stark there than it is to have the heir there.

Bran donned his favorite wolf pin...it's the same one he wore to see his father deal the king's justice to the deserter in his first POV.

And this...

A howl to wake the sleepers - Bran

Jon's chapter just before while on the Great Ranging...

The horn that wakes the sleepers he thought.

IDK what it means, if anything. It just strikes me as odd to use almost the same verbiage so close together.

Kyoshi, on 15 Feb 2015 - 10:46 AM, said:

Sorry, Dark Sister but I'm even more fashionable in being late.

lol, glad you made it to the partay.

Illuminated by Fire, on 15 Feb 2015 - 1:08 PM, said:

I think that is just coincidence, or rather a natural consequence of the events that already happened. Bran's fall was one cause ofthe war and it is also the cause for the awakening of Bran's powers, which in turn has something to do with Jojen's vision of the winged wolf, which is why they came. That this also causes the invasion of Winterfell is unfortunate but unavoidable.

They probably know that something important is going on, through a dream of Jojen, a message of Bloodraven or some other knowledge they have. Note Jojen's urgency and persistence throughout chapter 4 and 5. Jojen had this vision of the winged wolf and he knows it is important. He also told his father of the vision and then Howland sent them to Winterfell, at least this is what Meera tells Bran. Jojen needed to go because he is the one who had the visions and is knowledgeable about greenseeing and skinchanging. Howland himself is needed in the neck because of the war. Meera would never let Jojen go without her. I get the vibe that she was his protector for almost all his life or at least after he almost died. And why they came without an escort? That is probably because Jojen already had his dream of Winterfell being flooded back in Greywater (he says so when he tells Bran about the dream). Jojen probably also had his vision about his death back in Greywater and it is so specific that he does know when he does not die, so the risk of him dying in Winterfell is lower. An escort may have less luck. Being only two people also means that Meera can hunt for them to survive and they are not slowed down. They came with horses, who knows how many horses they actually have or can buy and how many crannogmen can ride well enough (and fight).

At this point I think he is genuine about wanting to stop the Others. Bran is very powerful, but not the only one he reached out to. We know of Jojen and Euron hints at it. So he needs Bran's powers for stopping the Others. But that does not imply that he cares about Bran as a person or even if he does, that this does make any difference for his plans. If it is needed, I do not doubt that he would sacrifice Bran.

Giving an interpretation saves only time and lives if the interpretation is right and people believe you. If the interpretation is wrong the consequences can be devastating. And it is not like he never interprets his visions. He does come to the conclusion that Bran is the winged wolf and at his comments about it being good that Bran leaves Winterfell implies that he thinks that the grey stone chains are representing Winterfell. And he interprets the drowning as dying in his vision about Winterfell (it will not save them). But he does not do so without sufficient information. It is possible that the Reeds do not know about the Ironborn raids or at least not how serious the issue is. It is not like Rodrik and Luwin would tell Bran or the Reeds such information, since they are still children. Jojen also tells Alebelly about the vision when he comes to him after he was warned by Bran.

However I think that he could have made the effort to add his voice to Bran's when warning people. That he did not has two reasons in my opinion: The first one is that he thinks the vision will come to part regardless of what he does. The second one is much more of an personal opinion of mine, so take it with a grain of salt: He may be humble in the sense that he knows what he can and cannot do (that will become more apparent later), but going around desperately trying to convince people of his vision, especially Rodrik and Luwin, is in my opinion something that goes against his pride. He does not want to play Cassandra. He does not want to demean himself (that could be a too strong word for it, but I am not a native speaker, so I cannot really tell in this case) by trying to convince people of his vision who will be most likely dismissive or rude. He is more of a leader than a follower in that sense (more on that in ASoS), he would risk his life, sacrifice his remaining time for others. But demeaning himself, king of begging others to believe him, is another matter and not something he wants to do, not for something he believes that cannot be changed anyway. That is the reason why he tells Alebelly about his vision when he comes to him. But he does not go to Alebelly. A bit of this is also seen in chapter 5, before he tells Bran about his dream:

"Tell me the bad thing you dreamed," Bran said. "The bad thing that is coming to Winterfell."

"Does my lord prince believe me now? Will he trust my words, no matter how queer they sound in his ears?"

Bran nodded.

Here he wants Bran's promise that he will not dismiss his dreams, before he tells him. That partially is what gave me the impression above.

DarkSister agrees with Meera's disgust about Jojen's attitude towards his greendreams. First off: I disagree with Jojen's completely fatalistic attitude towards his greendreams and I think making an effort that is compatible with common sense to try to avoid them or not needing to rely on them coming true is warranted. Or in other words: If you are threatened by two angry direwolves and your sister tells you to climb the tree behind you, climb it. Immediately! But whereas I agreed with DarkSister the first time I read the series, I now agree more with Jojen on this issue. I think it likely that he had many greendreams over the year and always seen them come true or at least never being averted. Otherwise he would not have developed such a strong fatalism. And if that is the case, if every single greendream you had ended up coming true, is it reasonable to believe that you can avert them? It never happened before, but when it is personal, it is suddenly different? Is it not more reasonable to accept that they come to pass instead of desperately trying to avoid them and try to influence things that you do not know how they turn out instead? We have seen what happened to Cersei when she tried to avert her prophecy. She was pushed to the brink of insanity and is still there. Melisandre tried to avert her visions and failed every time, sometimes even causing them to come true (like the vision with Renly's armor).

Jojen dedicated his remaining time to get Bran to the crow, instead of trying to survive at all costs. He accepted his death and influenced what he can influence. We like to think that we can change such things, that we can stem the tide, do the seemingly impossible. And all too often this turns out to be an empty hope. And although I disagree with the extent of Jojen's fatalism: He accepted that he cannot change certain things and turned his effort to things he can change. And I think this acceptance is its own kind of strength.

Howland sending Jojen and Meera to WF when he did and the way he did (sans protection) originally confused me and made me question his parenting. The more I think about it the more it makes me think that it goes back to his visit to the God's Eye. He must have learned to trust in the greendreams explicitly. Jojen goes to daddy, tells him what he dreamed and then Howland immediately sends them to WF. Home of his closest friend though they've not seen each other or even spoken in years. Your heir, your only children. You couldn't check up on them via raven and there's no way to know that they made the journey safely. Even Catelyn had issues with her kids going South with their dad and his BFF, the freaking king. (In hindsight, rightfully so, but I think you can see the point I'm making). You don't just do that unless you have a solid reason to believe that they would make it there safe.

Yeah, I don't care how many dreams I had pointing in another direction, a freaking direwolf is coming at you like that and you just stand there nonchalantly? No. First, crap yourself. Second, run and worry about the poo later. It'll be a fun meet cute story down the road. Unless his unwavering trust came from something his father taught him. And maybe Meera isn't able to grasp it since she hasn't experienced for herself it like Jojen did or Howland (whatever he did or saw all those year's ago). But I would still have to try. I'm stubborn. :)

Tannim, on 15 Feb 2015 - 4:05 PM, said:

Within shamanism worldwide, and Native American Indian cultures in particular, a medicine man either went though a ritual, or as a youth before, of sickness or pain, and this was considered a rite of passage. The prospective medicine man wasn't considered ready unless they had experienced illness themselves, thus could empathize with the sickness others experienced. Only then were they taught the rituals and chants necessary to provide spiritual healing for others. Martin may have drawn inspiration from Native American Indian spiritual healing practices for skinchangers and greenseers awakening to their power.

That is fascinating. Thanks so much for sharing! :)

[BearQueen87]

First - Masterfully done! I mean, damn! Second - Fn Theon, you prick.

Thanks! And yes, I pretty much agree.

When Luwin goes to get Bran, he's bloody and shaken. I assume he got the knock on his head bc they caught him sending off the ravens. He's visibly upset and in a moment and with only a few words the tables seem to turn and Bran is taking charge, being the Lord. He stops him midsentence and almost calms the Maester "Better get me dressed". It's a beautiful and sad moment between them. Neither of them even seemed to notice it. But, I think, a torched was being passed. It just so happens to be at the same time that Bran admits to himself that he's a warg and chooses the magical side noting that Jojen knew.

"You are the Stark in Winterfell". We regularly hear that "there must always be a Stark in WF" but this is less often. And it comes before being Robb's heir, heir to the King in the North. Maybe I'm looking a little to hard into this, but for him to be the Stark in WF coming before being heir or prince seems to suggest importance. It's more important to have a Stark, any Stark there than it is to have the heir there.

Great observation. In the past Bran has been told to simply play the part but not *be* the part. He is told not speak, but to listen. Now, when WF needs the Starks most, it falls to Bran and Luwin can't make these decisions for him. He must finally be the Lord in action.

A howl to wake the sleepers - Bran

That line has always stood out to me as well, though I never know what to make of it. Though, it makes me nervous for Bran and his adventures up north

[DarkSister1001]

Great observation. In the past Bran has been told to simply play the part but not *be* the part. He is told not speak, but to listen. Now, when WF needs the Starks most, it falls to Bran and Luwin can't make these decisions for him. He must finally be the Lord in action.

Funny but that's shortly after Theon tells him not to play the boy. I think realizing that Jojens greendream was metaphorically right may have also shaken Luwin to his core. He's been pushing the science of things on Bran and now something has happened that would make him question himself. A hard to pill to swallow. Not to mention there's the stress of what's happening around him.

That line has always stood out to me as well, though I never know what to make of it. Though, it makes me nervous for Bran and his adventures up north

Lazily, I did not look any further in to. I was using my kindle to jump between chapters, passed Jon's and the words really jumped out at me. Then when I read Bran's and saw what he said I went back to Jon's and they were eerily similar, almost word-for-word. I know Jon is on the ranging then, but I didn't bother to re-read the specifics. If it wasn't GRRM I might think the author was being repetitive and unoriginal. Being him I immediately assume that it's intentional and means something more.

[BearQueen87]

Lazily, I did not look any further in to. I was using my kindle to jump between chapters, passed Jon's and the words really jumped out at me. Then when I read Bran's and saw what he said I went back to Jon's and they were eerily similar, almost word-for-word. I know Jon is on the ranging then, but I didn't bother to re-read the specifics. If it wasn't GRRM I might think the author was being repetitive and unoriginal. Being him I immediately assume that it's intentional and means something more.

If it were any other author other than GRRM we probably wouldn't question it, but we've all been trained now to read every little word carefully. It's an odd turn of phrase for the wolf when one considers that we have a myth about something waking sleepers (the horn of Joramun...also known as the Horn of Winter(!!!!) and how it directly relates to the bigger mythological battle that is coming (it's also part of the NW's vows...they are the horn that wakes the sleepers). And even more so when we take Bran's future narrative--constantly moving up north and his inclusion into a magical world--in account.

I have no idea what it may or may not mean except that it is one of those lines that makes me pause.

[DarkSister1001]

If it were any other author other than GRRM we probably wouldn't question it, but we've all been trained now to read every little word carefully. It's an odd turn of phrase for the wolf when one considers that we have a myth about something waking sleepers (the horn of Joramun...also known as the Horn of Winter(!!!!) and how it directly relates to the bigger mythological battle that is coming (it's also part of the NW's vows...they are the horn that wakes the sleepers). And even more so when we take Bran's future narrative--constantly moving up north and his inclusion into a magical world--in account.

I have no idea what it may or may not mean except that it is one of those lines that makes me pause.

Yes ma'am.

[Hrafntýr]

Ah, glad that the "howl that wakes the sleepers" came up! There are a few other loose connections, besides all the important ones that BearQueen noted. Recall back to Bran's chapter when he's freaking Luwin out with his wolf howls: the AAHOOOOOOO that Martin uses to transcribe Bran's howl is like the way that he transcribes the sounds of horns (except for Euron's dragonhorn, which makes a totally different sound from all the others). In the Whispering Wood, Greywind howls along with a warhorn to signal the start of the attack, so another direwolf-horn connection. And more interestingly, in ADwD when the drums and horns start outside of Winterfell during the storm

“Do they mean to try and blow our walls down?” japed a Flint when the warhorn sounded once again. “Mayhaps he thinks he's found the Horn of Joramun.”

I always found this fascinating, as if this Flint thinks that the Horn of Joramun would bring down not The Wall but the walls of Winterfell. I guess I just find it intriguing that we get these connections between the Wall and Winterfell through the imagery of horns.

[BearQueen87]

Ah, glad that the "howl that wakes the sleepers" came up! There are a few other loose connections, besides all the important ones that BearQueen noted. Recall back to Bran's chapter when he's freaking Luwin out with his wolf howls: the AAHOOOOOOO that Martin uses to transcribe Bran's howl is like the way that he transcribes the sounds of horns (except for Euron's dragonhorn, which makes a totally different sound from all the others).

Oh wow that's a really cool connection. It would totally be GRRM-esque to make the actual horn of winter a warged Stark wolf howl.

[DarkSister1001]

Oh wow that's a really cool connection. It would totally be GRRM-esque to make the actual horn of winter a warged Stark wolf howl.

Come to think of it, since the Starks are synonymous with Direwolves/Howling and since an argument could be made that letting the wildlings through the wall equates to it "coming down" this may have already come to pass. Current characters (aside from Jon and a few others) see the wildings as the threat in the North and think that the Wall is meant to keep them out of the Seven Kingdoms. Jon's decision to let them pass could = the wall is already down in a sense. :dunno:

ETA: Sorry if this is off topic or jumping ahead.

[BearQueen87]

Come to think of it, since the Starks are synonymous with Direwolves/Howling and since an argument could be made that letting the wildlings through the wall equates to it "coming down" this may have already come to pass. Current characters (aside from Jon and a few others) see the wildings as the threat in the North and think that the Wall is meant to keep them out of the Seven Kingdoms. Jon's decision to let them pass could = the wall is already down in a sense. :dunno:

interesting. The symbolic "wall" between the Wildlings and the NW is down at least. They aren't living as enemies anymore, more like Frenemies who are currently leaning more toward the friend aspect. A literal wall still separates the NW (and realm) from the Others but yes, I'd agree that the symbolic us vs them wall has come down a great deal.

[DarkSister1001]

interesting. The symbolic "wall" between the Wildlings and the NW is down at least. They aren't living as enemies anymore, more like Frenemies who are currently leaning more toward the friend aspect. A literal wall still separates the NW (and realm) from the Others but yes, I'd agree that the symbolic us vs them wall has come down a great deal.

"Symbolic"...that's the word I was looking for, not enough coffee yet. lol

[Illuminated by Fire]

I just wanted to mention that I am currently working on the analysis, but I had little time in the previous week and I do not want to rush it. It could be that I need the Monday and Tuesday to finish it, but I'll try to finish it today.

[Illuminated by Fire]

A Clash of Kings: Bran VII

It was not dead, just broken. Like me, he thought. I'm not dead either

Summary

The chapter begins with Bran warging Summer, but the wolf is in control of the body. Summer and Shaggywolf observing the sacking of Winterfell. The winter town is plundered and burned and hear the screams of the people in Winterfell during the sacking. After the sacking is over the wolves approach the walls and shortly thereafter Bran is drawn back to his own body.

Bran, Hodor, Jojen, Meera, Osha and Rickon are hiding in the crypts and it turns out that Bran was warging Summer for three days without interruption. Bran tells the others that Winterfell is burning and they decide to leave the crypts to see what has happened and to get additional supplies. They find Winterfell destroyed and empty, finding evidence that Bolton's men are responsible for the sacking. They eventually go into the godswood where they find Maester Luwin, mortally wounded. He tells the group to split up and not to travel with Bran and Rickon together, before leaving him with Osha. Shortly after the group splits up with Bran, Hodor and the Reeds in one group, going North and the other group with Rickon and Osha. The chapter concludes with them leaving Winterfell.

Analysis

Bran's Open Third Eye

Here in the chill damp darkness of the tomb his third eye had finally opened. He could reach Summer whenever he wanted, and once he had even touched Ghost and talked to Jon. Though maybe he had only dreamed that.

As this quote tells us, Bran has finally learned to control his skinchanging abiltiy to an extent. He is able to warg Summer and claims to have even touched Ghost and to have communicated with Jon. But the wolf part at the beginning also tells us, that he still does not have control over Summer's body while skinchanging. We have the following passage as an example:

He did not like the darkness. He was hunter and stalker and slayer, and he belonged with his brothers and sisters in the deep woods, running free beneath a starry sky. He sat on his haunches, raised his head, and howled. I will not go, he cried. I am wolf, I will not go.

We have the first part that is in the typical 'wolf language' already seen in earlier chapters. But if this is all Summer who has these thoughts, why does he remember the crypts? And the last sentence 'I am wolf, I will not go' is printed in cursive, seemingly the parts where Bran thoughts come through. But if this is the case, why does he insist that he is a wolf? The borders between Bran's thoughts and Summer's thoughts are muddled. If we go with the assumption that the first part is Summer's train of thought, then he draws from Bran's memories of the crypts, maybe even a part of Bran's thoughts then he is in his own body, similar to the state Bran is in when he is warging Summer. And the other way around Bran insists that he is a wolf which means that he is immersed in Summer's personality, assuming parts of it, at least for a while. That this lack of a clear distinction can pose a threat is already mentioned by the Reeds after Bran is back in his own body:

“How long?”

“Three days,” said Jojen.[…] “We were afraid for you.”

“Too long, you'll starve yourself. Meera dribbled a little water down your throat, and we smeared honey on your mouth, but it is not enough.”

“I ate,” said Bran. “We ran down an elk and had to drive off a treecat that tried to steal him.”

[…]

“The wolf ate,” Jojen said. “Not you. Take care, Bran. Remember who you are.”

He remembered who he was all too well; Bran the boy, Bran the broken. Better Bran the beastling. Was it any wonder that he would sooner dream his Summer dreams., his wolf dreams?

One aspect here is that he spend three days in Summer's body. That means that he could either not leave voluntarily, what is unlikely since he uses his ability later to quickly confirm that Winterfell is empty. The other alternative is that he was immersed in Summer's mind to such a degree, that he had little control over his own thoughts and did not want to leave, which is just as dangerous as we see here. Since he was in Summer's body he could not eat or drink and could die from that if he is not careful. Additionally Bran does not make a difference between him eating and Summer eating, which is a natural consequence of this state. Jojen warns Bran explicitly that he needs to retain his consciousness of self for exactly this reason.

The reason why this is so dangerous is also rooted in Bran's disability: In the last part of the quote it becomes clear that Bran resents his current state. 'Bran the boy' is a more neutral statement, but 'Bran the broken' includes all the aspects of his disability: He cannot walk, constantly needs the help of other people. He cannot fulfill his dream to become a knight and is helpless in his own body, and he is constantly reminded of that fact. And although Bran enjoys being in Summer's body, being swift and strong, 'Bran the beastling' focuses on the negative aspects. The connection of beastlings to villains in Old Nan's stories. That being a beastling is 'unnatural', something to be reviled and condemned. In short: the stigma attached to it. Warging Summer is a way to escape his current state and being immersed in Summer's thoughts is a way to forget his worries for a time. And this is the reason why it becomes very tempting for him to warg Summer deliberately blur the lines between the thoughts of himself and Summer.

Another aspect of his emerging abilities are the circumstances surrounding it. It is of course possible that Bran just happened to learn to control his skinchanging ability while they are hiding in the crypts and Winterfell is destroyed. But it is likely that these circumstances have something to do with this progression.

The Crypts of Winterfell

When the shadows moved, it looked for an instant as if the dead were rising as well. Lyanna and Brandon, Lord Rickard Stark their father, [...]and Lord Cregan who had fought the Dragonknight, On their stone chairs they sat with stone wolves at their feet. This was where they came when the warmth had seeped out of their bodies; this was the dark hall of the dead, where the living feared to tread.

Here the crypts are described as a 'hall of the dead' and Bran has the impression that 'the dead were rising'. The flame is described as 'long' and 'pale' as if the crypts were something fragile, only barely surviving in this place. The crypts seem to be a place for the dead, for the old Starks that lived throughout the times, but not a place for the living or warmth. The connection between the direwolves and the Starks is made very clear here, not only have the Starks the direwolf as their sigil, but their statues have stone wolves at their feet, hinting at the possibility that some Starks were wargs in the old times, having real wolves at their side like the Stark children now.

It is also mentioned that the statues have iron swords from which the group takes some. This is similar to Robb's crown made out of bronze and iron and Meera's part of the oath who swears by bronze and iron. It further suggest that iron is a metal that has a special role in the North and thus connects the dead lords and kings to it even more. We already have Donal Noye comparing Stannis to iron: hard, brittle and unyielding. This are attributes that can be easily applied to the old Starks, as far as we know. It is also mentioned that these swords are meant to keep the souls of the dead Starks at rest, but that could only be an interpretation that came later, after the roots of this tradition had been forgotten. But it also suggest that the Starks have a strong connection to iron. I do not have the worldbook, so I know that at least some of the old Starks are mentioned there, but this interpretation is supported by the statues of the old Stark kings:

no mere lords, these, but the old Kings in the North. On their brows they wore stone crowns. Torrhen Stark, the King Who Knelt. Edwyn the Spring King. Theon Stark, the Hungry Wolf. Brandon the Burner and Brandon the Shipwright. Jorah and Jonos, Brandon the Bad, Walton the Moon King, Edderion the Bridegroom, Eyron, Benjen the Sweet and Benjen the Bitter, King Edrick Snowbeard, Their faces were stern and strong, and some of them had done terrible things, but they were Starks, every one, and Bran knew all their tales. He had never feared the crypts; they were part of his home and who he was, and he had always known that one day he would lie here too.

But now he was not so certain. If I go up, will I ever come back down? Where will I go when I die?

The statues are described as 'stern and strong' and titles like 'the Hungry Wolf' or 'the Bad' hint at a warlike nature and a certain fierceness, which is confirmed at least in the former case – and how. This connects well with the stone wolves, which are predators however you look at it, and the iron swords. Swords however can be used for attacking and defending, which is to be noted, since it can stand for war on the one side, but protection on the other side. It is also important to remember that although these descriptions, stern, strong, hard, implacable, fierce, warlike, are certainly a part of it, titles like 'the Spring King'

and 'the Sweet' sound like a more nurturing and soft side of the Starks. And Torrhen Stark swallowed his pride to save his people. It is always necessary to remember that although there are defining attributes of the Stark family, they are all individuals who display different traits.

Another interesting part is that Bran does not fear the crypts. Although the place was previously described as not very friendly for the living, he himself has no problem with them, seeing them part of his home. As seen in his thoughts, the crypts are an anchor for him and his identity as a Stark. He had a certain security, an assurance that this was his place and that he would end down here after he dies. But now that Winterfell is destroyed he begins to have doubts. He knows they cannot stay and that he may not return to Winterfell ever. Leaving the crypts is leaving his home and with that another part of his life is lost for him. And with that comes a great uncertainty about what will happen with him.

Another point is that he feels secure in the darkness of the crypts:

Bran had told himself a hundred times how much he hated hiding down here in the dark, how much he wanted to see the sun again, to ride his horse through wind and rain. But now that the moment was upon him he was afraid. He'd felt safe in the darkness; when you could not even find your own hand in front of your face, it was easy to believe that no enemies could ever find you either. And the stone lords had given him courage. Even when he could not see them, he had known they were there.

This quote is in contrast to the prayer to R'hllor: 'The night is dark and full of terrors.' For Bran this is not the case. He does not necessarily like it, as seen in the first sentence of the quote, but he feels secure. For him the darkness of the crypts is not full of terrors, it helps him to hide from terrors, the soldiers that sacked Winterfell, and is encouraged by the statues of his ancestors he knows are there. The place may be dark, but he still knows it, and thus the fear that can be caused by the dark, the lack of information it brings, does not apply here. In contrast to that is the world above, where an uncertain future awaits him. Here continue the differences we noticed in past chapters between the religion of R'hllor and their teachings and the stance of the religion of the old gods.

And to reiterate the point about Bran's powers: The fact that he stayed a long amount of time in the crypts that are very connected to the Starks and presumably their skinchanging abilities could be a contributing factor to his improved control of his abilties.

A Home Lost

The overarching situation of this chapter is the sacking of Winterfell and its immediate aftermath. When the group leaves the crypt they find a devastated Winterfell: The First Keep had been burned inside, many broken gargoyles lie in the yard, the Great Hall has collapsed and they do not even find survivors at first. Bran has lost his home and everyone he knew in it. This ties in with the theme of sacrifice we have throughout Bran's arc. His powers awakened after he almost died after falling from the tower and ends up being crippled by it. After that he loses his family one by one and many of his friends die in King's Landing. And now, while his home burns, he learns to control his powers. Of course this could be an coincidence, but after all we have seen so far, this is very unlikely.

That there is something magical occurring is also suggested by an observation of Bran/Summer in the beginning of the chapter:

The smoke and ash clouded his eyes, and in the sky he saw a great winged snake whose roar was a river of flame.

This could be the red comet, but that is unlikely since he appears in late aGoT and early aCoK, so he is probably gone again. Also does it make little sense to describe the comet that way, since the comet tail could either account for the snake itself or the river of flame, but not both and certainly not the wings. But there is one creature that fits this description very well: A dragon. But Daenerys' dragons are far away and small and if there is no other dragon that is just hidden for the time being, the only possibility left is that this is a magical sign that symbolizes the destruction of Winterfell. The Targaryen words are 'fire and blood' and the dragons are destructive creatures. In this case this sign suggests that the burning of Winterfell is in part a magical event too, which further supports the thesis that the sacking of Winterfell at least in parts caused the increased control of Bran over his powers.

The other magical connection comes up when the group approaches the godswood:

The air was sweeter under the trees. A few pines along the edge of the wood had been scorched, but deeper in the damp soil and green wood had defeated the flames. “There is a power in living wood,” said Jojen Reed, almost as if he knew what Bran was thinking, “a power as strong as fire.”

The godswood has not succumbed to the flames and Jojen spells it out that there is some kind of (magical) power in the trees too, that helped them to resist the flames. In this case that puts fire and wood in opposition to each other. The fire consumes and the wood preserves life. The magical forces that are implied here contradict each other, similar to the opposition of ice and fire. Ice also preserves, but can deadly all the same, as seen with the Others. But ice is not mentioned here and it is not obvious if and when yes how they are connected.

But there is also the personal aspect to consider. The other persons that have lost almost everything but his life are Rickon and to an extent Hodor as well. Since Rickon is very young he does not fully understand what is going on:

Jojen Reed was coughing from the smoke. “Take me home!” Rickon demanded. “I want to be home!” Hodor stomped in a circle. “Hodor,” he whimpered in a small voice. They stood huddled together with ruin and death all around them.

Bran understands what happened but is still hurt by it. Rickon and Hodor do not fully comprehend what has happened, but they still feel the loss as they face the ruins. Jojen is physically affected by the smoke. The last sentence here draws a picture of their small group standing amidst the ruins, alive, but powerless in the face of the destruction they face. The mood in general is very bleak and hopeless. This becomes even clearer when they enter the godswood and find Maester Luwin mortally wounded:

Gently they eased Luwin onto his back. He had grey eyes and grey hair, and once his robes had been grey as well, but they were darker now where the blood had soaked through.

[…]

Tears filled Bran's eyes. When a man was hurt you took him to the maester, but what could you do when your maester was hurt?

“We'll need to make a litter to carry him,” said Osha.

“No use,” said Luwin. “I'm dying, woman.”

“You can't!,” said Rickon angrily. “No you can't.” Beside him, Shaggydog bared his teeth and growled.

The maester smiled. “Hush now, child. I'm much older than you. I can... die as I please.”

Interesting here is how Bran and Rickon react to Luwin dying: Bran has tears in his eyes while Rickon is angry and does not want to accept him dying. But both are equally hit by this loss. The death of Maester Luwin signifies the end of this arc of Bran and Rickon. Him dying means the loss of the last part of their family they have, since he acted as a surrogate father throughout aCoK on the one hand. One the other hand the conflict between Luwin's secularism and Osha's and the Reeds' magical standpoint, which was already resolved in the last chapter, is now conclusively decided in the latter's favor. It is also implied that the last favor Luwin asked from Osha was her mercy killing him, which in the godswood could mean a sacrifice to the old gods.

In the end the chapter and the book concludes on a dark note, but not a completely hopeless one:

The stone is strong, Bran told himself, the roots of the trees go deep, and under the ground the Kings of Winter sit their thrones. So long as those remained, Winterfell remained. It was not dead, just broken. Like me, he thought. I'm not dead either.

Stray observations

• 
  

  Meera does let Jojen make the decision where to go, despite her being older.

  
  
  
• 
  

  Not directly related to this chapter, but I asked myself the question after Jojen talked about the wood: He knows much, and the first description mentions him all clad in green. Why though? Is that personal preference or had he some kind of official or traditional position back in Greywater Watch?

  
  
  

[BearQueen87]

A Clash of Kings: Bran VII

It was not dead, just broken. Like me, he thought. I'm not dead either

Excellent job Illuminated by Fire! Can't believe we are half way done with the re-read already :)

And the last sentence 'I am wolf, I will not go' is printed in cursive, seemingly the parts where Bran thoughts come through.

Agreed. It's also very "Bran the Boy," a stubborn boy who wants his own way and doesn't want to go back to his reality.

One aspect here is that he spend three days in Summer's body. That means that he could either not leave voluntarily, what is unlikely since he uses his ability later to quickly confirm that Winterfell is empty. The other alternative is that he was immersed in Summer's mind to such a degree, that he had little control over his own thoughts and did not want to leave, which is just as dangerous as we see here.

I think the latter is more likely since Bran doesn't recognize that he has been gone for so long. Up until now, he has been going on nighttime trips that end when he wakes up; this is the first time we've heard of Bran being inside Summer's skin for an extend amount of time.

He cannot walk, constantly needs the help of other people. He cannot fulfill his dream to become a knight and is helpless in his own body, and he is constantly reminded of that fact

The chapter highlights this part as well. We have several instances in this chapter of them placing Bran in the basket, taking Bran out of the basket, Bran's useless legs, Bran's crippled body, Bran having to use only the strength in his arms. The chapter really wants to reinforce the fact that Bran Stark is crippled.

The connection between the direwolves and the Starks is made very clear here, not only have the Starks the direwolf as their sigil, but their statues have stone wolves at their feet, hinting at the possibility that some Starks were wargs in the old times, having real wolves at their side like the Stark children now.

Yes and it goes back to some questions I raised last week: when did the Starks realize they had this ability? Was it a natural gift or given to them? Did the First Men have it prior to crossing the Narrow Sea?

Also, there is some repetitive history going on here, now that we have the World Book. This is not the first time the Boltons have gone against WF and the rivalry between the two families was once strong. The Boltons also resented, apparently, the Stark ability to skinchange, something that must have been known, because as I understand it, the Boltons wearing the skins of their fallen enemies was trying to match the Stark ability to *actually* wear other skins.

The statues are described as 'stern and strong' and titles like 'the Hungry Wolf' or 'the Bad' hint at a warlike nature and a certain fierceness, which is confirmed at least in the former case – and how.

Yes. There is a tendency to romanticize the Starks a bit. Because we see so much of ASOIAF through the eyes of all the Starks, and them all being "heroes" in this little tale,it is forgotten that the Kings of Winter were as hard as winter. Not all of them were quiet, peaceful Ned Stark.

titles like 'the Spring King'

and 'the Sweet' sound like a more nurturing and soft side of the Starks.

It's interesting that the "Sweet" and "The Bitter" share the first name of Benjen. A nice point of emphasis for what you're saying: The Starks can be as hard as winter, but as sweet as spring as well. "The Spring King" must be an interesting Stark...the family is so tied to Winter and then randomly the nickname someone "The Spring King." Is this good or bad? I mean, yes, to us it might be good and connote a sweetness, but I have to wonder if the Stark Kings of Winter intended it to be read as such.

Another interesting part is that Bran does not fear the crypts. Although the place was previously described as not very friendly for the living, he himself has no problem with them, seeing them part of his home. As seen in his thoughts, the crypts are an anchor for him and his identity as a Stark. He had a certain security, an assurance that this was his place and that he would end down here after he dies. But now that Winterfell is destroyed he begins to have doubts. He knows they cannot stay and that he may not return to Winterfell ever. Leaving the crypts is leaving his home and with that another part of his life is lost for him. And with that comes a great uncertainty about what will happen with him.

Unlike Bran-The-Wolf who wants to stay above ground because wolves do not belong in the dark, Bran The Boy and Bran the Broken seen okay in the dark and cold amongst the stone. This makes sense. Bran has always felt at home with stone--his climb around WF in Bran II of AGOT highlights that nicely.

This quote is in contrast to the prayer to R'hllor: 'The night is dark and full of terrors.' For Bran this is not the case. He does not necessarily like it, as seen in the first sentence of the quote, but he feels secure.

Bran's philosophy stands opposed to the Fire God? Iiiiiiinteresting. (I continue to believe that Bran is more "Ice" than anything else). For him, the day is full of terrors; terrors we get to see first hand when the emerge from the crypt.

many broken gargoyles lie in the yard,

We've been keeping careful track in some chapter of the Gargoyles and their relationship to Bran. In this chapter, not only are they broken, but the gargoyles fell in the same spot as Bran fell back in Bran II. The gargoyles are so shattered that Bran cannot tell which one it is. This is a lot like Bran: he has so many facets now, Bran the Boy, Bran the Prince, Bran the Broken, Bran The Wolf, Bran the Winged Wolf that he's not sure who he is either. He just know that he's not dead.

The air was sweeter under the trees. A few pines along the edge of the wood had been scorched, but deeper in the damp soil and green wood had defeated the flames. “There is a power in living wood,” said Jojen Reed, almost as if he knew what Bran was thinking, “a power as strong as fire.”

The godswood has not succumbed to the flames and Jojen spells it out that there is some kind of (magical) power in the trees too, that helped them to resist the flames. In this case that puts fire and wood in opposition to each other. The fire consumes and the wood preserves life. The magical forces that are implied here contradict each other, similar to the opposition of ice and fire. Ice also preserves, but can deadly all the same, as seen with the Others. But ice is not mentioned here and it is not obvious if and when yes how they are connected.

This fire and ice battle is also highlighted by something we learned on the app (?)---that Brandon Snow made weirwood arrows believing that they could take down Aegon's dragons, but instead his half brother Torrhen decided to kneel to Aegon and his sisters.

I know ice is not explicitly mentioned here but it is the "natural" (I hesitate to that say, honestly) antithesis of fire. Fire can devastate earth and air actually fuels fire, but you put ice and fire together and it's a battle to see which one wins. A small bucket of water can put out a fire, but an ice cube will melt in a blaze.

The maester smiled. “Hush now, child. I'm much older than you. I can... die as I please.”

:( :( :(

It is also implied that the last favor Luwin asked from Osha was her mercy killing him, which in the godswood could mean a sacrifice to the old gods.

Absolutely.

The stone is strong, Bran told himself, the roots of the trees go deep, and under the ground the Kings of Winter sit their thrones. So long as those remained, Winterfell remained. It was not dead, just broken. Like me, he thought. I'm not dead either.

The Starks are still in Winterfell. They might be dead Starks, but the Kings of Winter are still reigning. Once again, Bran directly connects himself to various bits of Winterfell. He knows the stones of WF better than anyone (except Brandon the Builder perhaps), he is likened to both the broken down tower and the gargoyles, he will soon take his place as a root of a tree that is deep underground. And like him, WF isn't dead.

Misc Notes

1. Bran's gets a funny feeling in his stomach when Meera is lifting him into the basket. Yes, it's written off as nerves about climbing up to the surface, but it also reads as sexual awakening for the first time.

2. I want to talk about the idea of katabasis. In Greek katabasis means "to go down" and is most often used in literature as a descent into the underworld--Odysseus, Aeneas, Orpheus, ect ect ect. Bran is now living amongst the dead and then reemerges to start a new life away from the home and and life he once knew. This is a rebirth. He is born again as not Bran Stark that we knew in AGOT but as something more, Bran the Winged Wolf, really. His descent into the underworld was out of necessity, just like Odysseus's. Odysseus and Aeneas leave with knowledge of what is to come, Bran leaves the crypts and then WF as a new person. Like I said above, he might not be sure of who that person is because he now has so many different facets, but it's someone new.

3. Are we ever going to see Osha and Rickon again? I wonder how they are fairing

4. RIP Luwin.

5. The opening line always gets me...the ashes fell like snow. Ashes are a symptom of fire, but snow is not fire. It's that imagery of fire and ice playing off one another again.

6. There was a king in the north named Jorah. I feel the need to point that out for....reasons. Aside from my love of the bear, it does show the close relationship between the Mormonts and the Starks. There is a little Lyanna Stark still on Bear Island currently and of course Jon has his own Mormont as well.