Astronomy of Planetos: The Solar Cycle and the Three Attempts to Forge Lightbringer

[LmL]

Hey there Lords and Ladies! This is a bit of a smaller offering than usual. It's actually more of a compendium to my first essay, Astronomy of Planetos: Behind the Legends. I have an updated version of this on my Wordpress page (please give it a visit! I made a picture of the God's Eye.. :devil: ). If you happen to do the Reddit thing, I just threw the first one up there for perusal. Nobody knows me there so any love would be appreciated, thankee kindly.

This essay lays out a four-stage solar cycle, which consists of three sun phases and the night. This concept can be applied to many topics to bring clarity to the symbolism used around them. It's also going to set up the next essays I have coming on the nature of our magic swords and magic moons. It's also full of really nice quotes of George describing the sun, always a pleasure to read, and interesting to see all grouped together.

Three Attempts to Forge Lightbringer and the Solar Cycle

Saladhor Saan tells Davos the legend of the forging of lightbringer in ACOK:

"That sword was not Lightbringer, my friend.” The sudden shift in subject left Davos uneasy.

“Sword?”

“A sword plucked from fire, yes. Men tell me things, it is my pleasant smile. How shall a burnt sword serve Stannis?”

“A burning sword,” corrected Davos.

“Burnt,” said Salladhor Saan, “and be glad of that, my friend. Do you know the tale of the forging of Lightbringer? I shall tell it to you.

It was a time when darkness lay heavy on the world. To oppose it, the hero must have a hero’s blade, oh, like none that had ever been. And so for thirty days and thirty nights Azor Ahai labored sleepless in the temple, forging a blade in the sacred fires. Heat and hammer and fold, heat and hammer and fold, oh, yes, until the sword was done. Yet when he plunged it into water to temper the steel it burst asunder.

Being a hero, it was not for him to shrug and go in search of excellent grapes such as these, so again he began. The second time it took him fifty days and fifty nights, and this sword seemed even finer than the first. Azor Ahai captured a lion, to temper the blade by plunging it through the beast’s red heart, but once more the steel shattered and split.

Great was his woe and great was his sorrow then, for he knew what he must do. “A hundred days and a hundred nights he labored on the third blade, and as it glowed white- hot in the sacred fires, he summoned his wife. ‘Nissa Nissa,’ he said to her, for that was her name, ‘bare your breast, and know that I love you best of all that is in this world.’ She did this thing, why I cannot say, and Azor Ahai thrust the smoking sword through her living heart. It is said that her cry of anguish and ecstasy left a crack across the face of the moon, but her blood and her soul and her strength and her courage all went into the steel. Such is the tale of the forging of Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes.

Now do you see my meaning? Be glad that it is just a burnt sword that His Grace pulled from that fire. Too much light can hurt the eyes, my friend, and fire burns. ” -- ACOK, Davos

The three forgings of Lightbringer actually mirror the ancient concept of the solar cycle. As we go through examples of the three forgings, we will see a continuity of symbols emerge. The three phases of the solar cycle:

• dawn / sunrise - associated with spring; the colors white, grey, and blue; morning mists, water, the cold; rebirth
• midday sun - associated with summer; yellow, gold, copper, and bronze; the sun in its glory, golden ages, vitality; life
• evenfall / sunset - associated with autumn; red; the dying sun; blood, dying, and sacrifice

As an extra bonus, to complete the cycle, we have:

• night - associated with winter, death itself, the color black (you saw that coming), and represents the night sun or the sun's journey through the underworld. This is a depicted in the Azor Ahai story by the Long Night itself, when "the sun his its face from the earth for a lifetime." (TWOIAF) I have a bunch more about the night sun / Lion of Night here.

To fit the Azor Ahai myth fully, our proposed celestial scenario should account for these three attempts to forge Lightbringer, and I believe it does. The last one is easy – the successful tempering of Lightbringer the sword in Nissa Nissa’s heart is the comet half which struck the heart of the moon and created the fiery explosion. What about the other two, the water and the lion’s heart? Well, first we’re going to need a bit of information about the nature of meteor showers, which I have paraphrased and condensed from a couple different Wikipedia entries.

A normal meteor shower is the result of a planet passing through the stream of debris left by a comet. Comets can produce debris by water vapor drag, and by breakup. Comets are essentially ‘dirty snowballs,’ made up of rock embedded in ice, orbiting the Sun. The ‘ice’ may be water, methane, ammonia, or other volatiles, alone or in combination. The ‘rock’ often contains iron ore, as well as other trace minerals, including two which can be combined with iron to make or improve steel: nickel and phosphorus. The ‘rock’ may vary in size from that of a dust mote to that of a small boulder, with the pebble-sized rocks being far more common. When the ice warms and sublimates, the vapor can drag along dust, sand, and pebbles… and occasionally, those larger rocks.

Each time a comet enters the inner solar system and approaches the sun, some of its ice vaporizes and a certain amount of meteoroids will be shed. The meteoroids spread out along the entire orbit of the comet to form a meteoroid stream, also known as a “dust trail” (as opposed to a comet’s “dust tail” caused by the very small particles that are quickly blown away by solar radiation pressure). In addition to this water vapor drag, larger pieces of rock periodically break off due to disintegration of the ice.

Tempering in Water, Dawn, and Sunrise

I posit that the first forging of Lightbringer the comet was this initial melting of the ice, which coincides with the formation of its natural tails, dust and ion, as it’s orbit brought it into the inner solar system and closer to the sun. The tail is what makes the comet look like a sword, so the logical way to think about the attempts to ‘forge a sword’ with a comet is in regards to its tail. Tempering a steel blade in water is the “normal,” non-magical method. This correlates with the natural tails of the comet, and the natural melting of the ice, which led to some initial break-up of the comet, just as the first attempt to forge Lightbringer let to it “bursting asunder.” The comet didn’t quite ‘burst,’ but it was melting a bit and releasing some of its material.

As I mentioned earlier, I think the Dawn meteorite may have originated from a small piece of the comet which broke off during this initial forging. Dawn, "pale as milkglass, alive with light," matches the descriptions of the Others' swords and bones, which melt when they die (ASOS, Sam):

The Other’s sword gleamed with a faint blue glow. It moved toward Grenn, lightning quick, slashing. When the ice blue blade brushed the flames, a screech stabbed Sam’s ears sharp as a needle.

{...}
When he opened his eyes the Other’s armor was running down its legs in rivulets as pale blue blood hissed and steamed around the black dragonglass dagger in its throat. It reached down with two bone- white hands to pull out the knife, but where its fingers touched the obsidian they smoked. Sam rolled onto his side, eyes wide as the Other shrank and puddled, dissolving away. In twenty heartbeats its flesh was gone, swirling away in a fine white mist. Beneath were bones like milkglass, pale and shiny, and they were melting too. Finally only the dragonglass dagger remained, wreathed in steam as if it were alive and sweating.

The Other slid forward on silent feet. In its hand was a longsword like none that Will had ever seen. No human metal had gone into the forging of that blade. It was alive with moonlight, translucent, a shard of crystal so thin that it seemed almost to vanish when seen edge- on. There was a faint blue shimmer to the thing, a ghost- light that played around its edges, and somehow Will knew it was sharper than any razor.

{...}
The pale sword came shivering through the air.

{...}
His blade was white with frost; the Other’s danced with pale blue light.

{...}
Swords rose and fell, all in a deathly silence. It was cold butchery. The pale blades sliced through ringmail as if it were silk.

The pale light of Dawn the sword also matches the "pale light" with which George describes the sunrise in the series. A brief sampling of sunrise descriptions, all from A Game of Thrones:

The rising sun sent fingers of light through the pale white mists of dawn.

In the pale dawn light, the young knight looked as though he were sleeping.

Catelyn looked up. Directly overhead, pale in the dawn light, she could see the foundations of the Eyrie.

Pale as morning mist, his eyes concealed more than they told. Jaime misliked those eyes. They reminded him of the day at King’s Landing when Ned Stark had found him seated on the Iron Throne. The Lord of the Dreadfort finally pursed his lips and said, “You have lost a hand.”

Notice the consistency of symbols and descriptions here between the water forging, the sword Dawn, pale light, cold and ice, etc. I think all of this supports the idea of the first forging equating to the first blue and white tail of the comet, formed by the breakup it's rock and ice as it entered the inner solar system.

Tempering in the Lion's Heart, the Golden Midday Sun

The second attempt at tempering Lightbringer, in the heart of a lion, is depicted by the splitting of the comet by the sun. The sun represents the lion here, just as Tywin did when he split Ned’s sword in two. It is likely each half of the comet turned red at this point, just as Ned’s sword did when it was split by Tywin. Note the language of Azor Ahai’s failed second attempt: the blade “shattered and SPLIT.”

We probably don't need quite as many text quotes to establish the connection between a golden midday sun and a lion:

One shadow was dark as ash, with the terrible face of a hound. Another was armored like the sun, golden and beautiful. (AGOT, Bran)

A face swam up at him out of the grey mist, shining with light, golden. "The things I do for love," it said. (AGOT, Bran)

These are of course references to Jamie Lannister, the lion, who is always described in golden terminology. In fact, this goes all the way back to..

In the songs, Lann was the fellow who winkled the Casterlys out of Casterly Rock with no weapon but his wits, and stole gold from the sun to brighten his curly hair. (AGOT, EDDARD)

But what about Khal Drogo, Daenerys's "sun and stars?" Two quotes from different parts of AGOT:

“My brother Rhaegar was a fierce warrior, my sun- and- stars,” she told him. “He died before I was born. Ser Jorah says that he was the last of the dragons.” Khal Drogo looked down at her. His face was a copper mask, yet under the long black mustache, drooping beneath the weight of its gold rings, she thought she glimpsed the shadow of a smile. “Is good name, Dan Ares wife, moon of my life,” he said.

When the sun of her life reached her, Dany slid an arm around his waist.

A nice connection between yellow eyes and summer sun in this most uplifting of passages from AGOT:

A pair of yellow eyes looked into his own, shining like the sun. The window was open and it was cold in the room, but the warmth that came off the wolf enfolded him like a hot bath. His pup, Bran realized … or was it? He was so big now. He reached out to pet him, his hand trembling like a leaf. When his brother Robb burst into the room, breathless from his dash up the tower steps, the direwolf was licking Bran’s face. Bran looked up calmly. “His name is Summer,” he said.

We've seen yellow eyes, a golden armored man, and a face like a copper mask all compared to the sun. We find this in ADWD:

Like so much else, heraldry ended at the Wall. The Thenns had no family arms as was customary amongst the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms, so Jon told the stewards to improvise. He thought they had done well. The bride’s cloak Sigorn fastened about Lady Alys’s shoulders showed a bronze disk on a field of white wool, surrounded by flames made with wisps of crimson silk. The echo of the Karstark sunburst was there for those who cared to look, but differenced to make the arms appropriate for House Thenn. (ADWD, Jon)

What's especially interesting in regards to our solar cycle is that an inversion of the Karstark 'sunburst,' which is known as "The Sun of Winter," produces this bronze, fiery midday sun. What is the 'winter sun,' then? It's a white sun on a black field. I think this is actually our night sun, the sun as it journeys through the underworld. Just as winter corresponds to the night phase of the solar cycle, the Winter Sun is a sun on black - a night sun.

Tempering in Nissa Nissa's heart, the Bloody Red Setting Sun

We've covered the first two attempts to forge and temper a magic sword, and of course the third and successful attempt was the obliteration of the elf moon. We've spent most of the time on this already, so recall the associations set out for sunset phase of the solar cycle: autumn; red; the dying sun; blood, dying, and sacrifice. Blood, dying, and sacrifice all went into the killing of Nissa Nissa. This led to the 'death' of the sun during the Long Night, which was a season of prolonged winter (autumn leads to winter). In ancient religious beliefs which revolve around a deity which much be sacrificed to make the seasons turn(to bring the spring), the sacrifice is usually made in the fall.

As for red and the association with sunset, there are far, far too many quotes to include, as Martin is pretty consistent with bloody sunsets, but here are a couple:

Outside the window, the rooftops of King’s Landing were red in the light of the setting sun. (AGOT, CATELYN)

He lingered on high to watch the sun go down, turning the western sky the color of blood. (AGOT, JON)

Outside, the sun was low on the horizon, the sky a bruised red. (AGOT, Daenerys)

She came to him at sunset, as the clouds reddened above the walls and towers. She came alone, as he had bid her. For once she was dressed simply, in leather boots and hunting greens. When she drew back the hood of her brown cloak, he saw the bruise where the king had struck her. (AGOT, EDDARD)

The maester did not believe in omens. And yet … old as he was, Cressen had never seen a comet half so bright, nor yet that color, that terrible color, the color of blood and flame and sunsets. (PROLOGUE, ACOK)

Through the high narrow windows of the Red Keep’s cavernous throne room, the light of sunset spilled across the floor, laying dark red stripes upon the walls where the heads of dragons had once hung. Now the stone was covered with hunting tapestries, vivid with greens and browns and blues, and yet still it seemed to Ned Stark that the only color in the hall was the red of blood. (AGOT, Eddard)

And finally, just to drive home this idea of the solar cycle being connected to the seasons, and more specifically, the idea that this red comet can somehow stop the season(s) (i.e. cause the Long Night), we have this:

Bran asked Septon Chayle about the comet while they were sorting through some scrolls snatched from the library fire. “It is the sword that slays the season,” he replied, and soon after the white raven came from Oldtown bringing word of autumn, so doubtless he was right. (ACOK, BRAN)

This pattern of the three forgings is repeated in many places throughout the series, so there’s no doubt it is important. Ideally, the passages which hint at Lightbringer symbolism should reference this entire pattern.

Additional Proof of the Million Dragon Meteor Shower

There’s proof for the idea of a meteor shower being equivalent to dragons right before Daenerys hears this Qarthine legend from her handmaiden, Doreah. It’s from the very same chapter:

But it was not the plains Dany saw then. It was King’s Landing and the great Red Keep that Aegon the Conqueror had built. It was Dragonstone where she had been born. In her mind’s eye they burned with a thousand lights, a fire blazing in every window. In her mind’s eye, all the doors were red.

“Dragonstone” is a wonderful metaphor for a moon which gives birth to dragon meteors, since the stones of it’s body are dragons, and here we see that it has a thousand lights which are blazing fires. The fires are in turn symbolically linked to the red door. The dragon-stone moon has a thousand fires inside, waiting to hatch. In Daenerys dream of finally waking the dragon, she wakes the dragon when she crosses the threshold of the red door. In the Prologue of A Clash of Kings, this idea is really hammered home:

A night wind whispered through the great windows, sharp with the smell of the sea. Torches flickered along the walls of Dragonstone, and in the camp beyond, he could see hundreds of cookfires burning, as if a field of stars had fallen to the earth. Above, the comet blazed red and malevolent. :devil:

A pair of guardsmen opened the heavy red doors before him, unleashing a sudden blast of noise and light. Cressen stepped down into the dragon’s maw.

This paragraph has it all – a red comet, torches, a field of small fires like stars fallen to earth, red doors and dragon’s maws and a sudden blast of light and sound. Sounds like a bright, loud, fiery dragon explosion. Let’s return to the Daenerys chapter where she hears the origin of dragons story:

Dany gave the silver over to the slaves for grooming and entered her tent. It was cool and dim beneath the silk. As she let the door flap close behind her, Dany saw a finger of dusty red light reach out to touch her dragon’s eggs across the tent. For an instant a thousand droplets of scarlet flame swam before her eyes. She blinked, and they were gone. Stone, she told herself. They are only stone, even Illyrio said so, the dragons are all dead. She put her palm against the black egg, fingers spread gently across the curve of the shell. The stone was warm. Almost hot. “The sun,” Dany whispered. “The sun warmed them as they rode.”

In this second paragraph, a finger of red light (there’s our red comet) touched the dragon eggs, and a thousand droplets of scarlet flame swam before her eyes. This is another clue that a swarm of a thousand fiery dragons can come from a dragon-stone-egg. Shortly after this, we get the payoff quote:

“Once there were two moons in the sky, but one wandered too close to the sun and cracked from the heat. A thousand thousand dragons poured forth, and drank the fire of the sun. That is why dragons breathe flame. One day the other moon will kiss the sun too, and then it will crack and the dragons will return.”

Later in A Game of Thrones, just after seeing the red comet for the first time and just before lighting Khal Drogo’s pyre, we get the motif again:

She told herself that there were powers stronger than hatred, and spells older and truer than any the maegi had learned in Asshai. The night was black and moonless, but overhead a million stars burned bright. She took that for an omen.

And then, Daenerys Targaryen, the Silver Queen, Stormborn and Bride of Fire, Moon of Drogo's life, stepped into the immolating fire of her Solar King, Drogo, was ritually burned, and hatched three dragons from flaming dragon stones.

And she did this at the moment of the arrival of the red comet.

The Dothraki named the comet shierak qiya, the Bleeding Star. The old men muttered that it omened ill, but Daenerys Targaryen had seen it first on the night she had burned Khal Drogo, the night her dragons had awakened. It is the herald of my coming, she told herself as she gazed up into the night sky with wonder in her heart. (ACOK, Daenerys)

[Mithras]

A great essay. I had not considered the fourth phase in the forging of the Lightbringer. Yes, the Lightbringer should pass through the underworld in order to be born again.

That would be Jon’s body being put into the ice cells and his spirit going into the crypts to finish that dream about his true parentage. That will be the dragon (Jon as the son of Rhaegar) waking from the stone (of the crypts). This represents Mithras being born from the rock of the primordial cave, which is the sun going through the underworld to be born again.

This also seems somehow related to Quaithe’s famous counsel to Dany: “To touch the light, you must pass beneath the shadow.”

[Drogonthedread]

That will be the dragon (Jon as the son of Rhaegar) waking from the stone (of the crypts). This represents Mithras being born from the rock of the primordial cave, which is the sun going through the underworld to be born again.

the interesting thing is we already have a character that has dreamed to be in a stone crypt halls with no light and ghosts of ancestors urge her to move forward in order to wake up the dragon and she does eventually wake the dragon and fly out from breaking the stone and becomes the Last Dragon and born again from the ashes with three dragons

[Mithras]

the interesting thing is we already have a character that has dreamed to be in a stone crypt halls with no light and ghosts of ancestors urge her to move forward in order to wake up the dragon and she does eventually wake the dragon and fly out from breaking the stone and becomes the Last Dragon and born again from the ashes with three dragons

That dream along with the rest of Dany’s dreams was forged by Quaithe using a glass candle. So, it reflects what Quaithe believes, not necessarily what is true. That goes for Jon’s dreams as well. Bloodraven seems like he has been sending dreams to Jon (especially the one with armored in black ice with a burning sword). Neither Bloodraven nor Quaithe are necessarily true in their interpretations.

[Drogonthedread]

That dream along with the rest of Dany’s dreams was forged by Quaithe using a glass candle. So, it reflects what Quaithe believes, not necessarily what is true. That goes for Jon’s dreams as well. Bloodraven seems like he has been sending dreams to Jon (especially the one with armored in black ice with a burning sword). Neither Bloodraven nor Quaithe are necessarily true in their interpretations.

That dream along with the rest of Dany’s dreams was forged by Quaithe using a glass candle. So, it reflects what Quaithe believes, not necessarily what is true. That goes for Jon’s dreams as well. Bloodraven seems like he has been sending dreams to Jon (especially the one with armored in black ice with a burning sword). Neither Bloodraven nor Quaithe are necessarily true in their interpretations.

Quaithe cant be forging dreams of dany because like you say she uses glass candles whose powers came back after the birth of dragons ..so no way she can be influencing any of her dreams in AGOT or for that matter in any books ...dany has been having dreams from the first chapter itself ..

besides the Targaryens are known to have dreams which are prophetic ..

[Mithras]

Quaithe cant be forging dreams of dany because like you say she uses glass candles whose powers came back after the birth of dragons ..

Is there a proof for this?

Besides, magic never left the world and so it didnot return with the birth of the dragons.

besides the Targaryens are known to have dreams which are prophetic ..

The nature of those dreams were never explained.

[LmL]

If you check out my Children of the Dawn essay, I found proof that glass candles were in fact working to some extent before Dany hatched the dragons. So yes, actually Quaithe MAY HAVE influenced Dany's dreams prior to hatching. But I wouldn't assume Quaithe is misleading her, necessarily. She needs Dany to wake to her dragon heritage, and may be using true visions to spur her on. The opposite is possible as well.

Jon and Dany both reflect certain aspects of Azor Ahai, as do a few other folks. I'm not at all sure how that will play out. Should be fun.

[LmL]

A great essay. I had not considered the fourth phase in the forging of the Lightbringer. Yes, the Lightbringer should pass through the underworld in order to be born again.

That would be Jons body being put into the ice cells and his spirit going into the crypts to finish that dream about his true parentage. That will be the dragon (Jon as the son of Rhaegar) waking from the stone (of the crypts). This represents Mithras being born from the rock of the primordial cave, which is the sun going through the underworld to be born again.

This also seems somehow related to Quaithes famous counsel to Dany: To touch the light, you must pass beneath the shadow.

Thanks Mithras, his was going to be of my swords essay but I realized it would work well edited into my first essay, which is what I did for the updated version for Wordpress and reddit. I figured I'd take these bits and make an essay out of them. It's not ground breaking but it's cool George has recreated yet another cool concept of ancient man.

yes I think this night sun phase is a part of Lightbringer as well as Jon's rebirth. Definite Mithras stuff here.

Remember those passages woth Jon on the mountain? The fire disappears and reappears. I think that is another evidence that Neds sword may have been the original LB. It was extinguished after it was done being used. But it's surely going to light up again, maybe when Brienne stabs Stoneheart's stone heart. And yes I think it might be a good explanation for what Quaithe means about passing beneath the shadow. It's a piece of evidence that maybe Quaithe knows what she's about - although that doesn't speak to her intentions, necessarily. I think we may well need Quaithe's starry wisdom, but I wonder if this will be good news for Dany.

[Mithras]

If you check out my Children of the Dawn essay, I found proof that glass candles were in fact working to some extent before Dany hatched the dragons. So yes, actually Quaithe MAY HAVE influenced Dany's dreams prior to hatching. But I wouldn't assume Quaithe is misleading her, necessarily. She needs Dany to wake to her dragon heritage, and may be using true visions to spur her on. The opposite is possible as well.

Jon and Dany both reflect certain aspects of Azor Ahai, as do a few other folks. I'm not at all sure how that will play out. Should be fun.

Many people seem to be promoting their AA candidates. We have Mel presenting mummer shows. Her parents are sending cryptic dreams.

[Victarion Chainbreaker]

Lucifer, great work yet again.

[LmL]

Lucifer, great work yet again.

Thank dawg! Break those chains! Feed the Drowned God! oh sorry it's a bit early. Cheers anyway :)

[hiemal]

More new perspectives, more food for thought. You are a treasure.

[LmL]

Thanks a lot there eclipse buddy ;) Hopefully all I am doing is uncovering the layered of genius in the author's work. I'm really just trying to interpret the symbols I am seeing. I began to notice the consistency of the way the sun is described, and then I came upon this ancient concept of the solar cycle, and it just seemed to match perfectly. Considering that the solar cycle lays overtop the cycle of the seasons, which is clearly at the heart of the story, this started to seem like an important concept. It also helps clarify the nature of Lightbringer - it was a red sword, and therefore, a sunset sword. It's the sword that ushered in nightfall. Dawn, meanwhile, icy and white, is likely the sword that helped bring the spring somehow. Although, ASOIAF being the orgy of balance and duality that it is, the sunset sword played a role in bringing the spring as well, it seems. You have to sacrifice in the fall for the green man to be reborn in the spring. Death is a part of life, etc. But the red sword was the sword of death, that's for certain.

[Mithras]

Since Hesperus is Phosphorus, this time the sword that brought the Long Night will bring the Dawn, the cycle will be complete, the seasons will turn to normal and the balance will be restored.

[LmL]

I got a joke for everyone.

Why is Ned so obsessed with always keeping his sword clean?

Because if not, it will catch on fire. That motherf**ker is Lightbringer.

Just saying. Not really a joke... but hey, just saying.

[hiemal]

Thanks a lot there eclipse buddy ;) Hopefully all I am doing is uncovering the layered of genius in the author's work. I'm really just trying to interpret the symbols I am seeing. I began to notice the consistency of the way the sun is described, and then I came upon this ancient concept of the solar cycle, and it just seemed to match perfectly.

Absolutely. I was banging my head against walls wondering if the seven wanderers meant that there were at least six (if they counted Planetos as the Mother) or if the Maesters had identified others using myrish lenses.

I also wholeheartedly agree about the nature of GRRM's genius. He is a cunning artificer indeed.

[LmL]

Oh man, check out this great night unquote... I found this months ago, and forgot about it.

The white wolf raced through a black wood, beneath a pale cliff as tall as the sky. The moon ran with him, slipping through a tangle of bare branches overhead, across the starry sky.

“Snow,” the moon murmured. The wolf made no answer.

“Snow,” the moon insisted.

The white wolf ran from it, racing toward the cave of night where the sun had hidden, his breath frosting in the air. (ADWD, Jon)

[Equilibrium]

What, just one post, I read it in like 10 minutes, I didn't see that coming :D

Great work, really hammered the initial theory home.

[Mithras]

Oh man, check out this great night unquote... I found this months ago, and forgot about it.

I loved this one!

The moon was chasing Ghost up to the primordial cave where the sun is hidden.

On the other hand, the moon was a sickle in Bran's hand POV.

[Avlonnic]

Outstanding essay once again, LML. Such a delight to read.

"Cressen stepped down into the dragon’s maw." Like Nissa Nissa and others in these stories, Cressen sacrificed himself voluntarily for others - sacrifice being a crucial element of the narrative.