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The Avatars of the Seven


Mithras

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I am not suggesting any supernatural thing going on here. What I suggest is that George is associating some characters with one aspect of the Seven. And he does not do that in a very explicit way. For example the genders and other specifics might be completely different but with subtle clues, we can identify the “avatars” of the Seven on earth.



1. The Crone = Sam



The Crone holds dominion over wisdom. She has a lantern which she lifts up and lights the way.



Samwisewell has been “lighting the way” since the beginning. He told Jon why it was good to be Mormont’s steward. He identified the wights correctly. He guessed Jon would desert and acted swiftly to bring him back. He became the first person to slay an Other and proved that obsidian is anathema to the Others. That is “lighting the way” for the people to follow him. After the mutiny at Craster’s, he got lost and somehow managed to take Gilly and baby through such a silly route that he evaded the mutineers and the wights could not find him for a long time.



After she entrusted the parchment to the maester’s care, Catelyn went to the sept and lit a candle to the Father Above for her own father’s sake, a second to the Crone, who had let the first raven into the world when she peered through the door of death, and a third to the Mother, for Lysa and all the children they had both lost.



This seems to represent Sam (The Crone) delivering Bran (raven) through the door of death (Black Gate).



Sam plotted to have Jon win the election. Then he gave him wise counsel like pressing him to write the paper shield (which might not be important in itself but the point was that he wanted Jon to play the game according to the rules).



That answer did not please them. Septon Cellador fingered the crystal that hung about his neck and said, “I think this most unwise, Lord Snow. I shall pray to the Crone to lift her shining lamp and lead you down the path of wisdom.”


Jon Snow’s patience was exhausted. “We could all do with a bit more wisdom, I am sure.”



After Sam left, Jon was lacking the wisdom he provided.



He breathed the fragrance of her hair and stared at the lantern swinging overhead. Even the Crone herself could not lead me safely out of this. The best thing he could do would be to slip away and jump into the sea. If I’m drowned, no one need ever know that I shamed myself and broke my vows, and Gilly can find herself a better man, one who is not some big fat coward.



After having sex with Gilly, George emphasized the lantern and the Crone.



If King’s Landing loses Oldtown and the Arbor, the whole realm will fall to pieces, he thought as he watched the Huntress and her sisters moving off.



In Oldtown, Sam showed his wisdom again and understood the true scale of the threat posed by the ironborn to the Realm.


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I would say that Ned Stark is definitely the father. The father is said to be a bearded man and he is usually prayed to for justice. In a game of thrones when Ned Stark is acting as hand of the king he thinks to himself that "What Eddard Stark was doing sitting there he would never comprehend, yet there he sat, and these people looked to him for justice."


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I think Bran is the Smith.



Bran’s story is mostly associated with broken things and how to fix them. His namesake was Brandon the Builder. Architecture is in the domain of the Smith.



Bran is the broken boy. Winterfell was broken in his watch. He will need to fix himself and Winterfell alike. Arya has a hole in her chest and Bran is trying to fix her. Theon was completely broken and Bran is fixing him.



I think Bran will also be instrumental in healing Jon. Taking Jon as the Lightbringer, it seems that Bran will reforge the “broken” Jon at the end of ADwD.



There is also that piece of imagery where Hodor (an extension of Bran) was carrying the anvil of Mikken.


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I think Davos is the Warrior.



This is the continuation of the ironic twists so far. Sam is not a crone, Bran is not a smith and Davos is definitely the opposite of a warrior. He was a smuggler who avoided the fights, not seek them. Yet he is finding himself sinking deeper and deeper into wars.



The Warrior gives strength and courage to people. Davos as the “avatar” of the Warrior has been doing things that take giant balls. He tells the ugly truths to a man like Stannis. He survived the Blackwater and tried to assassinate Mel in a suicide mission. He defied Stannis and risked his own neck by smuggling Edric. He told Stannis that a king defends his Realm or he is no king at all. He learned to read and write and with that skill he managed to bring the forces to the Wall. Considering the phrase “some wars are fought with quills”, this is definitely a clue.



Although Davos is the avatar of The Warrior, he has been using non-violent ways to overcome his difficulties, which is in line with the irony so far. The avatar of the Warrior is an excellent diplomat! He managed to survive the confrontation with Godric Borrell. He entered the merman’s court which was apparently full of enemies and held his ground like no one else could. Now he is supposed to sail through dangerous waters and bring a boy and his direwolf from the “cannibal” island.



​In short, Davos has enormous amount of strength and courage. Considering that Davos was taking strength and courage from his luck charm (fingerbones), the fact that he is still kicking ass shows that the strength and courage was in him, not in the bag of fingerbones.


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To me it looks too vague, since the Warrior could be everyone who is brave and eventually able to fight... but that applies to all the gods as well. It just takes to emphasize one character's aspect and make it fit.


If you want to fit Davos in the criteria, however, it must be noted that Davos' shadow upon the painted wall at Dragonstone is shaped like a sword iirc.



Starks are more associated with the faith of Seven than other characters, looking at the statues burning at Dragonstone during ACoK.


Funnily enough, most of them don't even believe in the faith of Seven.


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To me it looks too vague, since the Warrior could be everyone who is brave and eventually able to fight... but that applies to all the gods as well. It just takes to emphasize one character's aspect and make it fit.

If you want to fit Davos in the criteria, however, it must be noted that Davos' shadow upon the painted wall at Dragonstone is shaped like a sword iirc.

Starks are more associated with the faith of Seven than other characters, looking at the statues burning at Dragonstone during ACoK.

Funnily enough, most of them don't even believe in the faith of Seven.

Yes, that too.

The wind sighed through the chamber, and in the hearth the flames gusted and swirled. He listened to the logs crackle and spit. When Davos left the window his shadow went before him, tall and thin, and fell across the Painted Table like a sword.

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Any ideas about the Maiden, Mother, Father and Stranger?

I would say Father is Jaime and the Stranger is Sandor.

I always thought of Sandor Clegane as the warrior rather then the Stranger, aside from the obvious reasons (him being an actual warrior) it just struck me as poetic that his horse is called Stranger. Meaning that he is always near death and it is a tool that he will use, but it is not who he himself is.

P.S. Old Nan, makes a pretty text book example of the Crone and for my money I would put Arys oakheart as an interesting example of the Maiden.

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I think the Starks are supposed to represent the Seven.

Ned = Father

Catelyn = Mother

Robb = Warrior

Sansa = Maiden

Arya = Stranger

Bran = Crone

Jon/Rickon = Smith (Which ever one rebuilds Winterfell)

If the Starks represent the Seven, then Ned and Cat are subversions rather than straight-up avatars.

Ned was very much a loving father and did everything to protect the children, his own but also other innocent children; but Father is supposed to represent Justice, and Ned failed to exert justice because of his feelings of mercy and compassion - committing such big mistakes as informing Cersei that he knew about incest so she could get away with her children, and not telling Robert on his deathbed, because he wanted to spare his feelings. His last act, falsely confessing treason, was an act of a father (trying to save his daughter), rather than the Father (it was not a "just" thing to do).

Catelyn was very much a loving mother and did everything to protect her children; but Mother is supposed to represent Mercy. While living, Catelyn was empathetic, but her arc was not about acts inspired by mercy than Ned's was. As Lady Stoneheart, however, she's Mother Merciless - the exact opposite of what the Mother is supposed to represent - and she's motivated by a desire for justice/revenge (however you see it) for the Red Wedding.

In terms of representing Justice and Mercy, their roles would work better if they were switched. Unless the point is their failure to live up to the ideals of Justice/Mercy, respectively, largely exactly because of their feelings as a father/mother.

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I always thought of Sandor Clegane as the warrior rather then the Stranger, aside from the obvious reasons (him being an actual warrior) it just struck me as poetic that his horse is called Stranger. Meaning that he is always near death and it is a tool that he will use, but it is not who he himself is.

P.S. Old Nan, makes a pretty text book example of the Crone and for my money I would put Arys oakheart as an interesting example of the Maiden.

Sandor’s courage deserted him when he faced the fire. I think he is more suitable to be the Stranger for various reasons such as his horse, hiding his face and digging graves for the dead. Also there was an idiot knight at the Twins during the RW who did not recognize Sandor and his horse although Sandor had defeated him many times in tourneys, even almost killed him once. A famous quote from LotR: “Do you not know death when you see it, old man?”

As for the avatar of the Father, Theon might be a better contender. He fucked his way around and probably fathered several bastards. I believe the younger boy of the miller’s wife was his. I think he also has another bastard from the daughter of the captain of Myraham. That kid is the one in Oldtown spotted by Sam. So, Theon’s story might be transforming from the worst father who slew his own son to a father who will find and take care of his missing kid.

Besides, it would be further ironic if the avatar of the Father has the most complicated daddy issues in the story.

The Father represents judgment. Justice is his domain. I think Theon will soon be blinded by the Weeper and that will bring him closer to being an avatar of justice. He will survive the series and probably keep a position related to justice/government (as the Hand of the King or Master of Laws).

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I don't think that one character is an aspect of the 7. It's more like every character has the "leading" characteristic of the 7 to some degree. Remember, they aren't 7 gods--it's one god with 7 aspects as Meribald and Brienne discuss in AFFC.



So take any character and you can find instances of mothers love, fatherly justice, warrior strength, maiden innocence, crone like wisdom, skilled smith, and death within them.


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I always thought of Sandor Clegane as the warrior rather then the Stranger, aside from the obvious reasons (him being an actual warrior) it just struck me as poetic that his horse is called Stranger. Meaning that he is always near death and it is a tool that he will use, but it is not who he himself is.

Other people may see Sandor more as a Warrior figure, but I think he sees himself closer to the Stranger. Both because the Stranger represents outcasts, and because he feels that his life/occupation has been all about bringing death (which ties in with his current occupation as gravedigger). He has a very unromantic view of his service as fighter/sworn sword to the Lannisters: "They are all meat, and I am the butcher". Unlike, say, Jaime, who enjoys fighting and feels most alive when fighting (or fucking), Sandor doesn't seem to derive a lot of pleasure from fighting/war (unless it's the kind of pleasure one feels when knowing they are good at the job they're required to do). When he was really trying to be a dick and shock Sansa, he claimed that "killing is the sweetest thing there is", but we later see that, when he's on his own and not working for anyone (in ASOS), he only kills people when it's absolutely necessary (self-defense, fighting in a duel for his life), not counting one mercy-killing, which casts some serious doubts on his earlier words that the showrunners love so much. The Elder Brother's assessment/account of him is probably supposed to be accurate: "He served, but found no pride in service. He fought, but took no joy in victory."

Also, the visual representation of the Stranger is someone with a half-human face, i.e. one half of the face is human, the other one is - what exactly? We're not told, but it's likely monstrous. That sounds just like Sandor's half-burned face.

Of course, naming his horse "Stranger" is also fitting with Sandor's penchant for being over-dramatic and intentionally blasphemous. :)

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I think the Starks are supposed to represent the Seven.

Ned = Father

Catelyn = Mother

Robb = Warrior

Sansa = Maiden

Arya = Stranger

Bran = Crone

Jon/Rickon = Smith (Which ever one rebuilds Winterfell)

That's a pretty good comparison though I see Rickon more likely to be the one who ends up rebuilding Winterfell. Odd parallel from a family that mostly doesn't worship the Seven.

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I am really enjoying this thread.

I always saw Arya as the Stranger but I'm now inclined toward Sand or. The phantom sightings due to his helmet being passed around add to that. Deaths are attributed to him that he would not and could not have committed. The face of the murderer is hidden under his helm.

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As for the Mother who represents fertility and mercy, I think Septon Meribald is a strong candidate. He is a wandering Septon, circling Riverlands from Maidenpool to Maidenpool. Considering the name of Maidenpool and its origins, it looks like Maidenpool is the metaphoric starting point of all the mothers.



Meribald brings food to the hungry and the poor; blesses the people and forgives their sins as he passes by. He was even able to forgive Ser Quincy Cox. His level of mercy is very hard to be reached in the series.



We also learn that after the Wot9PK, he became a broken man, committed sins and seduced women to have sex with him. That is how we see his fertility aspect.


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