[TWoW Spoilers] Aeron I (Balticon)

[HexMachina]

2 hours ago, Hos the Hostage said:

Burning questions after this chapter -

•  Who should be king, according to what the gods told Aeron? The only remaining king-worthy candidates are Rodrik Harlaw (who did not try his luck in Kingsmoot) and Theon (who was not present). Because Aeron does not say the king's name, even in his own head, makes me think it is Theon. Because Aeron believes Theon to be dead, and to think the Gods suggested Theon's name would make either the Gods to be wrong, or himself to be mad. Being devout and already driven crazy by Euron, Aeron keeps that thought away. Another reason that the 'drowned god' would mutter Theon's name - the Drowned God is one of the First Men gods, before they accepted the faith of Old Gods. It could be actually Bloodraven or Bran  (who are both of First Men blood and working with the Old Gods and the Children) who was speaking to Aeron, only Aeron thought it was the Drowned God. We know they are already shouting Theon,Theon to Theon and Asha by the agency of ravens

Hmm, interesting. My first thought reading these notes was that Aeron thought he should be King himself

2 hours ago, ServantOnIce said:

So the one thing that gives me hope for Captain Vic Greyjoy is that Euron in all his wisdom doesn't know about Moqorro and how Moqorro has deciphered the Dragon Horn.  Euron already had worked a spell so that Vic would blow it and die, while Euron controlled the dragons. Not anymore . ...   Vic is going to change the game. 

It now makes a lot more sense IMO that the Red Priests would help Victarion, and perhaps are not just using him as a means to an end. He is targeting religion, including theirs, so he must be stopped. I definitely think he is connected strongly with the Others

1 hour ago, sifth said:

This is a great chapter. I wish it was in ADWD's though. It seems perfectly set up as well, from the ending of the Tyrion chapter in which Moqorro tells Tyrion, Dany's greatest enemy is " A tall and twisted thing with one black eye and ten long arms, sailing on a sea of blood".

I hope this puts to rest at last the argument that this tall and twisted thing... Was not Euron. For some reason there was a belief among some that this meant Victarion which really doesn't fit.

[LordBloodraven]

Holy Shit.

I feel so sorry for the Damphair and all those people who will cross path with Euron Greyjoy. That guy is on a long game and now I fear for Danaerys.

[JLE]

I think one thing's for certain... GRRM just blew the show completely out of the water. There's no way they can NOW get from where they are, to where GRRM is. If he had read the Aeron chapter years ago, we might have actually seen some Greyjoys earlier: instead of which, to introduce them as pretty much a Diabolus Ex Machina would ruin the show (worse than it already is), having had zero foreshadowing of it in the show.

[chrisdaw]

Quote

Most infamous of all was Balon Blackskin, who fought with an axe in his left hand and a hammer in his right. No weapon made of man could harm him, it was said; swords glanced off and left no mark, and axes shattered against his skin.

A bit of TWOIAF foreshadowing for Euron in his new super armour.

[Nights Kings Queen]

3 hours ago, Lord_Ravenstone said:

It means that Euron marries Daenerys 

Reading that closely resembled the pain I felt when I read the red wedding chapter. George please save Dany from this murderous child molester

3 hours ago, Tucu said:

That vision is not related to marriage. And Jon Connigton sailing on a ship smiling at getting back to Westeros, but sad that he will soon die of greyscale is a good match for the vision. And he has bright blue eyes.

Sadly it does relate to marriage. Not only does it relate to marriage, it relates to love (hence why hizzy isn't shown). There was 3 sets of three different visions that the undying showed Dany. "daughter of death", "bride of fire", "slayer of lies". In the "bride of fire" section it showed her silver in a setting that resembled the place she lost her maidenhood to Drogo (representing her marriage to Drogo), the next showed Aeron dead at the prow of Silence (which I guess represents her marriage to Euron... I really don't know at this point), and the last one showed a blue rose growing from a chink of ice (confirming R+L=J, and representing her marriage to Jon... I guess).

Like I said, Hizdhar isn't there because it's "bride of fire". There's no fire (love) in their relationship.

And as for the thing with the dwarfs. In Dany's vision it represented the war of the five kings (5 dwarfs abusing a beautiful woman - westeros), in Aeron's there are more dwarfs. My guess being more kings and queens have risen, or rising up since dany was in the HOTU. Which was something Mel warned Stannis about, that more pretenders would rise, or something.

Edited May 30, 2016 by Nights Kings Queen

[The Arthur Smith]

I want to know if this chapter is the revise one or the shortened version?

[chrisdaw]

3 hours ago, ServantOnIce said:

So the one thing that gives me hope for Captain Vic Greyjoy is that Euron in all his wisdom doesn't know about Moqorro and how Moqorro has deciphered the Dragon Horn.  Euron already had worked a spell so that Vic would blow it and die, while Euron controlled the dragons. Not anymore . ...   Vic is going to change the game. 

I think the Bloodstone Emperor foreshadows Euron outlasting Vic to be the last remaining child of Quellon's. The Bloodstone Emperor was the ninth and last emperor of the Great Empire of the Dawn.

Quote

 

Nine sons had been born from the loins of Quellon Greyjoy, the Lord of the Iron Islands. Harlon, Quenton, and Donel had been born of Lord Quellon's first wife, a woman of the Stonetrees. Balon, Euron, Victarion, Urrigon, and Aeron were the sons of his second, a Sunderly of Saltcliffe. For a third wife Quellon took a girl from the green lands, who gave him a sickly idiot boy named Robin, the brother best forgotten. The priest had no memory of Quenton or Donel, who had died as infants. Harlon he recalled but dimly, sitting grey-faced and still in a windowless tower room and speaking in whispers that grew fainter every day as the greyscale turned his tongue and lips to stone. One day we shall feast on fish together in the Drowned God's watery halls, the four of us and Urri too.

Nine sons had been born from the loins of Quellon Greyjoy, but only four had lived to manhood.

 

Nine sons, down to two if that was the last of Aeron. If Euron outlives Vic he becomes the ninth and last.

[glass_table_girl]

4 hours ago, Tucu said:

Dany after passing beneath Asshai's shadow as in Quaithe prophecies: "and to touch the light you must pass beneath the shadow".

Edit: the quote from the chapter is "Accompanied by a long, tall terrible shadow of a woman with hands of white fire, standing next to him". So the shadow is tall, not necessarily the woman.

 

4 hours ago, Hos the Hostage said:

Agree.

Hi you two, 

Along with some of the other reddit mods and Nitannian, I put together the summary of the Aeron chapters. I wanted to just clarify that I changed the wording of the document since it seems it was ambiguous and could be misunderstood. 

The shadow was not tall, the woman was. The woman herself is shadowed, though. I missed the shadowed parts, but you can see in my original written notes that it was the woman was tall. 

Edited May 30, 2016 by glass_table_girl

[Tucu]

1 hour ago, Nights Kings Queen said:

Reading that closely resembled the pain I felt when I read the red wedding chapter. George please save Dany from this murderous child molester

Sadly it does relate to marriage. Not only does it relate to marriage, it relates to love (hence why hizzy isn't shown). There was 3 sets of three different visions that the undying showed Dany. "daughter of death", "bride of fire", "slayer of lies". In the "bride of fire" section it showed her silver in a setting that resembled the place she lost her maidenhood to Drogo (representing her marriage to Drogo), the next showed Aeron dead at the prow of Silence (which I guess represents her marriage to Euron... I really don't know at this point), and the last one showed a blue rose growing from a chink of ice (confirming R+L=J, and representing her marriage to Jon... I guess).

Like I said, Hizdhar isn't there because it's "bride of fire". There's no fire (love) in their relationship.

And as for the thing with the dwarfs. In Dany's vision it represented the war of the five kings (5 dwarfs abusing a beautiful woman - westeros), in Aeron's there are more dwarfs. My guess being more kings and queens have risen, or rising up since dany was in the HOTU. Which was something Mel warned Stannis about, that more pretenders would rise, or something.

I just think people are going too far by taking this as a list of Dany's marriages. Dany is not daughter to Viserys, Rhaego or Rhaegar. Why does she need to be a bride to the corpse in the ship and Jon? Lyanna is the most likely person that can be linked to both a blue rose and a bride of fire.

Edited May 30, 2016 by Tucu

[Tucu]

55 minutes ago, glass_table_girl said:

 

Hi you two, 

Along with some of the other reddit mods and Nitannian, I put together the summary of the Aeron chapters. I wanted to just clarify that I changed the wording of the document since it seems it was ambiguous and could be misunderstood. 

The shadow was not tall, the woman was. The woman herself is shadowed, though. I missed the shadowed parts, but you can see in my original written notes that it was the woman was tall. 

Thanks for the clarification.

[Lord_Ravenstone]

39 minutes ago, Tucu said:

I just think people are going too far by taking this as a list of Dany's marriages. Dany is not daughter to Viserys, Rhaego or Rhaegar. Why does she need to be a bride to the corpse in the ship and Jon? Lyanna is the most likely person that can be linked to both a blue rose and a bride of fire.

She's the daugher of death because it took Aerys, Rhaegar and Rhaego to die for her to achieve her destiny 

It's the bodies she had climb over to become who she is 

Stannis, Aegon and the stone beast are the lies she must slay 

Drogo, Euron and Jon Snow are the husbands she will love 

[The Arthur Smith]

9 minutes ago, Lord_Ravenstone said:

She's the daugher of death because it took Aerys, Rhaegar and Rhaego to die for her to achieve her destiny 

It's the bodies she had climb over to become who she is 

Stannis, Aegon and the stone beast are the lies she must slay 

Drogo, Euron and Jon Snow are the husbands she will love 

Euron?! Are you serious! Unless you're telling me Dany is too blind to see Euron's true nature.

[Korvin]

7 hours ago, Free Northman Reborn said:

I imagine a school of krakens obeying Euron's call, pulling Redwyne ships down by the score.

Maybe I'm getting carried away, but the image is exciting.

I now believe that it is entirely possible that Euron can warg into Krakens. 

[Hos the Hostage]

24 minutes ago, The Arthur Smith said:

Euron?! Are you serious! Unless you're telling me Dany is too blind to see Euron's true nature.

She loves Daario for his looks. Euron is handsome, and fiery. My impression is that Euron knows how to charm people, how to "play" them to get them do what he wants them to do. She will eventually realize what a horror he truly is, but I do not think it is too far-fetched that Dany will marry Euron. She needs ships (Vic may soon die. Vic is the only person anywhere near Dany who could tell what Euron is like. But Vic is a 'kraken' traveling with 'dark/black flame', and Dany will not trust them per Quaithe's warning, failing to see the real kraken she should fear is Euron).

[Hos the Hostage]

1 hour ago, glass_table_girl said:

 

Hi you two, 

Along with some of the other reddit mods and Nitannian, I put together the summary of the Aeron chapters. I wanted to just clarify that I changed the wording of the document since it seems it was ambiguous and could be misunderstood. 

The shadow was not tall, the woman was. The woman herself is shadowed, though. I missed the shadowed parts, but you can see in my original written notes that it was the woman was tall. 

Thanks for clarifying, and more thanks for your notes!

[Lord_Ravenstone]

36 minutes ago, The Arthur Smith said:

Euron?! Are you serious! Unless you're telling me Dany is too blind to see Euron's true nature.

Do you think Daenerys cares about cruelty in a lover?

She knows that Drogo and Daario were monsters. Doesn't matter to her though because she still loves them

She's into cruel badasses.

[chrisdaw]

He's not tying all the priests to the prows for show. There's something magical in what he's doing, something in their blood. On his own ship he's making a sacrifice of his own blood, his brother and an unborn child of his.

Perhaps they somehow help to call kraken's to the surface.

Quote

"And krakens off the Broken Arm, pulling under crippled galleys," said Valena. "The blood draws them to the surface, our maester claims. There are bodies in the water. A few have washed up on our shores.

Or somehow they ward his own ships from the krakens attacking them as well as the enemy when they do come.

[Lord Varys]

Now this is interesting.

And didn't I tell you? For years and years and years. Euron Greyjoy is the big shark in the tank. The true kraken. And he'll drown his enemies.

Iä, fhtagn!

That said, I think it is clear that the priests that are tied to the prows of the ship have been captured on the Shields and on the Arbor. Euron sacking some portions of the Arbor isn't new information at all, by the way. We got that from Samwell's last chapter in AFfC - just as we got Euron's new coat of arms from that chapter, too.

It may not have been the complete Arbor, though. Merely the wealthy and easily reachable harbors and coastal towns. Presumably Lady Mina Tyrell Redwyne and her daughter Desmera are still safe in whatever castle the Redwynes live in (after all, unlike the Shield Islanders the Redwynes wouldn't have been surprised by the Ironborn attack). If Euron had taken the Redwyne castle we most likely would have gotten a glimpse of either Mina or Desmera in the chapter (or they would at least have been mentioned).

The chapter seems to be taken place shortly after the last Sam chapter because it is now pretty obvious that Aeron 2 will cover the long-expected battle between the Ironborn and the Redwyne Fleet (and apparently also involve some Hightower ships). It is a great decision by George to use the Aeron POV for that. I remember constantly arguing against that stupid idea that Aeron would really have remained behind on the Iron Islands and the idea of him covering Euron's future movements was always an option.

The guys tied to the ships may be part of some ritual/magical sacrifice to unleash whatever forces Euron wants to unleash against his enemies. My bet always was (and more than ever is) on some sort of (thunder-)storm only attacking the Redwyne ships. Krakens and other sea monsters could come in handy, too. We have to keep in mind that the Redwyne Fleet is the biggest naval force in Westeros, consisting of two hundred warships and an unknown number of trading ships (although the latter most likely aren't with Paxter right now). The Redwynes greatly outnumber Euron's pitiful force both quantitatively and qualitatively (they have more actual warships).

Unless Euron severely rigs the odds to his advantage he has no chance to possibly winning this battle. And he'll use magic to accomplish this. If he doesn't, he'll lose even if he wins.

Any ideas about him trying to take Oldtown (and/or failing at that) before he has dealt with the Redwynes are now pretty much dead. He is pretty much dismissive about this whole Reach thing and the islands he captured as we all knew he would.

I've said it repeatedly: The man is after the Iron Throne, and you don't win the Iron Throne by plundering the south coast or trying permanently conquer and hold land there. Because, you know, the Tyrells will take back all the land he has taken eventually. That's just a matter of time. And right now while Euron is preparing to fight the Redwynes Garlan and Willas might already prepare to retake the Shields.

Euron might have the power to sack Oldtown after his victory over the Redwyne and Hightower ships but he would be foolish to do so. If he crushes his enemies in the sea the Sunset Sea and the Summer Sea close to the Reach and Dorne will be his, and his alone. He will be able to dictate his terms to Lord Leyton Hightower, and Lord Hightower will bend the knee. What else could he do? The Hightowers are not going to risk their wealth and their city and the lives of their people in a foolish attempt of open resistance. They were vassals of the Ironborn once, they can be vassals of the Ironborn again.

As to the visions:

Those are tricky. I think we should not necessarily see Aeron's visions there as 'true prophetic visions' but rather (at least in part) as nightmares and visions created by his own fear and desperation. They may be triggered by the shade of the evening - but then, we don't know whether all that stuff has to be genuine. Not to mention that Aeron's crazy religious views certainly are coloring and influencing the interpretations of the stuff he sees.

And Euron clearly messes with his head and likes to torture him by playing on religion. He may think he has become a living god (although I doubt that) but the reason why he plays that card with Aeron is because it is a nice way to mock and torture him. I think we can see evidence of that in the importance Aeron's visions give to Euron impaling/defeating gods. Those visions were clearly shaped by Aeron's fear and desperation. For him his elder brother always was a monster.

That said, the idea that Euron will win and sit on the Iron Throne for a time is not far-fetched at all. That might still happen. Although this then most likely would mean that Aegon is either going to die soon or is never going to sit on it because it would be very difficult to squeeze in both Euron and Aegon before Dany finally takes it.

On the other hand, we don't yet know where exactly this chapters fits into the time line in comparison to the Meereen chapters. We know that Victarion isn't going to meet Dany at Meereen (assuming he survives the coming battle) and we do know that Moqorro has joined Victarion to neutralize the threat Euron poses to Daenerys. I still think the Dusky Woman either is the Faceless Man in Euron's service (or at least his agent) whose mission it was to keep Vic under control and ensure that everything went according to Euron's plan. Both with Vic's wound as well as with Dragonbinder. Moqorro's arrival and actions seem to have messed with both, potentially dealing a major (or even fatal) blow to Euron's campaign for the Iron Throne (at least insofar as it involves Daenerys and/or dragons). We have to keep in mind that Euron's plan isn't to conquer Westeros the way the Conqueror did. He wants (or rather: wanted) to do it as Daenerys Targaryen's king consort, not (just) with brute force. That wouldn't work considering that any dragons he might steal or get via Dany wouldn't be big enough to pull off Aegon's trick.

The tall and shadowed woman with hands of white fire next to Euron in the dream/vision is, most likely (and if we assume she does not embody a principle/concept), Cersei. Aeron would recognize her face if she wasn't shadowed and if she wasn't somebody he (or we, the readers) could recognize there would be no reason for George to keep her face shadowed.

There were hints to a possible union between Cersei and Euron as early as ASoS (remember how this comes up at court after the Lannisters learn that Balon is dead and Euron the new guy in charge?).

I've long said it and I'll repeat it again:

If we assume that Cersei isn't done, and if we assume she'll play an important role in the future of the series as it is right now then her teaming up with Euron Greyjoy is the best and most logical choice for her.

Especially if her important role will be about mindless revenge and ultimate destruction. Right now, Cersei still can live for Tommen and Myrcella. But if they die - and according to Maggy's prophecy they will die - then she will have no reason left to play nice or care about what happens to, well, Westeros and the entire world. She can afford to literally set the world aflame (although not with the wildfire stuff).

Cersei is set up to leave KL soon or she will die or end up in an even worse position. Either because the Tyrells decide to rid themselves of her or because Aegon will take the city. If she does so after Tommen/Myrcella died (or actually inadvertently causes the deaths of one or both her children) teaming up with Euron (who is also fighting the Tyrells) will appear as the most natural (and logical) choice in the world.

Vice versa, Daenerys is not coming soon. Regardless what happens at Meereen. And even if everything there went according to Euron's plans all Vic/the Ironborn could deliver to Euron would be one (or two) not so big dragon(s). That wouldn't be enough. Not by far. The news about Dany being dead/missing should force Euron to change his plans just as it will force Doran/Arianne and Aegon to change theirs. And in such a scenario an alliance with Cersei and Casterly Rock might look as promising for Euron as it does for Cersei.

And, again, as I've mentioned before many times: There must be some sort of plot-related reason why the hell George decided to have Euron attack (and thus antagonize) the Reach rather than the West. Casterly Rock and Lannisport lie a lot closer to the Iron Islands and were obviously a much richer and more promising target. Euron could have bought the alliance and loyalty of the Ironborn much easier by throwing the riches of Lannisport at them.

But for some reason he did not do that - which still enables him to eventually team up with the Lannisters (or at least a branch of that house). Plot-wise the weakening of the Reach done by the Ironborn is intricately connected with the Aegon plot because George has to give us a reason why his campaign is going to work and gather momentum. He could not have Aegon just win (and hold) the Iron Throne against the entire might of the Reach. And the idea that any Reach Lord would just suddenly team up with some Targaryen pretender after most/all of them reaped rich rewards in the wake of the War of the Five Kings from the Iron Throne would make little sense, too. Aegon has to exploit some weakness in the South to succeed and Euron attacking the Reach helped with that (although Euron certainly isn't - and never was - just a plot device to help Aegon).

The stuff about the bleeding star clearly refers to the red comet and Aeron reinterpreting what it meant. His visions/mind connect it with Euron but even if it heralds 'the world being broken and renewed' there is no good reason that Euron is the person the prophecy is referring to (that would be Daenerys). Euron is just planning to high-jack her, use her, or usurp her place somehow.

As to @Ran speculating about a connection between Euron and the Others:

I think we can safely say that Euron may turn out to be a failed (or twisted) greenseer who finally began exploring his full potential after he captured the Qartheen warlocks and began drinking shade of the evening. One wonders whether Bloodraven made some sort of mistake when he contacted him as a child (if he did so).

The idea that the Heart of Winter somehow got into his mind is also intriguing. I mean, we know that Bloodraven showed Bran what is 'living' up there in the dream back in AGoT. If he can do that the Others might also be able to make use of this kind of magic. Not to mention that weirwood magic and stuff might literally cut two ways if we assume the original Others were either created by Children of the Forest or literally be twisted Children of the Forest.

I'd prefer it if it turned out that the Others weren't just sentient weapons gone mad but actually beings directed by a person or a group of people who originally only had the best interests of the Children at heart. But that remains to be seen.

But I don't think the vision of the woman refers to a female Other or stands for anything related to the Others. Euron might inadvertently work for the Others and might also eventually ally with them and betray humanity during the fight against the Others (like Roose and/or Ramsay might, too) but I don't see him working actively for them, yet.

As to the Valyrian armor:

Well, one guesses this also comes from the treasures of the Qartheen. Such armor hasn't been seen since the Doom, apparently, so one should assume that Euron must have gotten this from the same people/source he got Dragonbinder from.

It doesn't seem likely Euron was personally in Valyria, but perhaps the Undying of old were. Qarth either might have warred with Valyria once (and won) or, more likely, they might have allied themselves with the dragonlords of old (or at least a faction). Anyway, it is more likely to assume Euron got that one from the Qartheen than from Valyria.

And, well, the idea that the Targaryens on Dragonstone/of Westeros didn't own armor made of Valyrian steel makes little sense. I mean, they were dragonlords, right? If anyone in Valyria should have had access to Valyrian steel it would have been the dragonlords. And Aenar the Exile should have had money aplenty to buy himself such a suit after he had sold all his holdings in Valyria and the Lands of the Long Summer. Even a smaller dragonlord house should have owned more money than a kingdom was worth.

Edited May 30, 2016 by Lord Varys

[draft0]

17 minutes ago, Lord Varys said:

I remember constantly arguing against that stupid idea that Aeron would really have remained behind on the Iron Islands and the idea of him covering Euron's future movements was always an option.

 

You were right, we were wrong. 

Wish George had read this chapter years ago.

18 minutes ago, Lord Varys said:

There must be some sort of plot-related reason why the hell George decided to have Euron attack (and thus antagonize) the Reach rather than the West. Casterly Rock and Lannisport lie a lot closer to the Iron Islands and were obviously a much reacher and promising target. Euron could have much easier bought the alliance and loyalty of the Ironborn by throwing the riches of Lannisport at them.

I always thought Euron was after something in Oldtown. Perhaps related to the Citadel and their secrets?

You've got a good point though.

20 minutes ago, Lord Varys said:

Euron might have the power to sack Oldtown after his victory over the Redwyne and Hightower ships but he would be foolish to do so. If he crushes his enemies in the sea the Sunset Sea and the Summer Sea close to the Reach and Dorne will be his, and his alone. He will be able to dictate his terms to Lord Leyton Hightower, and Lord Hightower will bend the knee. What else could he do? The Hightowers are not going to risk their wealth and their city and the lives of their people in a foolish attempt of open resistance. They were vassals of the Ironborn once, they can be vassals of the Ironborn again.

 

Euron may have ships but he doesn't have a land army, nor does he have the tools to break Oldtown's defenses, especially when Oldtown still has access to the rest of the Reach by land in the event of a siege. I don't see why the Hightowers would surrender their city given those facts. Of course Euron might have something (magical) up his sleeve, but in that case why not just go all the way and take the most powerful city in Westeros? I think you may be ascribing too much rationality to Euron when, based on what we know of him, he's actually a batshit insane warlock. Euron's story will be more magical than political IMO.

[Free Northman Reborn]

43 minutes ago, Lord Varys said:

Now this is interesting.

And didn't I tell you? For years and years and years. Euron Greyjoy is the big shark in the tank. The true kraken. And he'll drown his enemies.

Iä, fhtagn!

That said, I think it is clear that the priests that are tied to the prows of the ship have been captured on the Shields and on the Arbor. Euron sacking some portions of the Arbor isn't new information at all, by the way. We got that from Samwell's last chapter in AFfC - just as we got Euron's new coat of arms from that chapter, too.

It may not have been the complete Arbor, though. Merely the wealthy and easily reachable harbors and coastal towns. Presumably Lady Mina Tyrell Redwyne and her daughter Desmera are still safe in whatever castle the Redwynes live in (after all, unlike the Shield Islanders the Redwynes wouldn't have been surprised by the Ironborn attack). If Euron had taken the Redwyne castle we most likely would have gotten a glimpse of either Mina or Desmera in the chapter (or they would at least have been mentioned).

The chapter seems to be taken place shortly after the last Sam chapter because it is now pretty obvious that Aeron 2 will cover the long-expected battle between the Ironborn and the Redwyne Fleet (and apparently also involve some Hightower ships). It is a great decision by George to use the Aeron POV for that. I remember constantly arguing against that stupid idea that Aeron would really have remained behind on the Iron Islands and the idea of him covering Euron's future movements was always an option.

The guys tied to the ships may be part of some ritual/magical sacrifice to unleash whatever forces Euron wants to unleash against his enemies. My bet always was (and more than ever is) on some sort of (thunder-)storm only attacking the Redwyne ships. Krakens and other sea monsters could come in handy, too. We have to keep in mind that the Redwyne Fleet is the biggest naval force in Westeros, consisting of two hundred warships and an unknown number of trading ships (although the latter most likely aren't with Paxter right now). The Redwynes greatly outnumber Euron's pitiful force both quantitatively and qualitatively (they have more actual warships).

Unless Euron severely rigs the odds to his advantage he has no chance to possibly winning this battle. And he'll use magic to accomplish this. If he doesn't, he'll lose even if he wins.

Any ideas about him trying to take Oldtown (and/or failing at that) before he has dealt with the Redwynes are now pretty much dead. He is pretty much dismissive about this whole Reach thing and the islands he captured as we all knew he would.

I've said it repeatedly: The man is after the Iron Throne, and you don't win the Iron Throne by plundering the south coast or trying permanently conquer and hold land there. Because, you know, the Tyrells will take back all the land he has taken eventually. That's just a matter of time. And right now while Euron is preparing to fight the Redwynes Garlan and Willas might already prepare to retake the Shields.

Euron might have the power to sack Oldtown after his victory over the Redwyne and Hightower ships but he would be foolish to do so. If he crushes his enemies in the sea the Sunset Sea and the Summer Sea close to the Reach and Dorne will be his, and his alone. He will be able to dictate his terms to Lord Leyton Hightower, and Lord Hightower will bend the knee. What else could he do? The Hightowers are not going to risk their wealth and their city and the lives of their people in a foolish attempt of open resistance. They were vassals of the Ironborn once, they can be vassals of the Ironborn again.

As to the visions:

Those are tricky. I think we should not necessarily see Aeron's visions there as 'true prophetic visions' but rather (at least in part) as nightmares and visions created by his own fear and desperation. They may be triggered by the shade of the evening - but then, we don't know whether all that stuff has to be genuine. Not to mention that Aeron's crazy religious views certainly are coloring and influencing the interpretations of the stuff he sees.

And Euron clearly messes with his head and likes to torture him by playing on religion. He may think he has become a living god (although I doubt that) but the reason why he plays that card with Aeron is because it is a nice way to mock and torture him. I think we can see evidence of that in the importance Aeron's visions give to Euron impaling/defeating gods. Those visions were clearly shaped by Aeron's fear and desperation. For him his elder brother always was a monster.

That said, the idea that Euron will win and sit on the Iron Throne for a time is not far-fetched at all. That might still happen. Although this then most likely would mean that Aegon is either going to die soon or is never going to sit on it because it would be very difficult to squeeze in both Euron and Aegon before Dany finally takes it.

On the other hand, we don't yet know where exactly this chapters fits into the time line in comparison to the Meereen chapters. We know that Victarion isn't going to meet Dany at Meereen (assuming he survives the coming battle) and we do know that Moqorro has joined Victarion to neutralize the threat Euron poses to Daenerys. I still think the Dusky Woman either is the Faceless Man in Euron's service (or at least his agent) whose mission it was to keep Vic under control and ensure that everything went according to Euron's plan. Both with Vic's wound as well as with Dragonbinder. Moqorro's arrival and actions seem to have messed with both, potentially dealing a major (or even fatal) blow to Euron's campaign for the Iron Throne (at least insofar as it involves Daenerys and/or dragons). We have to keep in mind that Euron's plan isn't to conquer Westeros the way the Conqueror did. He wants (or rather: wanted) to do it as Daenerys Targaryen's king consort, not (just) with brute force. That wouldn't work considering that any dragons he might steal or get via Dany wouldn't be big enough to pull off Aegon's trick.

The tall and shadowed woman with hands of white fire next to Euron in the dream/vision is, most likely (and if we assume she does not embody a principle/concept), Cersei. Aeron would recognize her face if she wasn't shadowed and if she wasn't somebody he (or we, the readers) could recognize there would be no reason for George to keep her face shadowed.

There were hints to a possible union between Cersei and Euron as early as ASoS (remember how this comes up at court after the Lannisters learn that Balon is dead and Euron the new guy in charge?).

I've long said it and I'll repeat it again:

If we assume that Cersei isn't done, and if we assume she'll play an important role in the future of the series as it is right now then her teaming up with Euron Greyjoy is the best and most logical choice for her.

Especially if her important role will be about mindless revenge and ultimate destruction. Right now, Cersei still can live for Tommen and Myrcella. But if they die - and according to Maggy's prophecy they will die - then she will have no reason left to play nice or care about what happens to, well, Westeros and the entire world. She can afford to literally set the world aflame (although not with the wildfire stuff).

Cersei is set up to leave KL soon or she will die or end up in an even worse position. Either because the Tyrells decide to rid themselves of her or because Aegon will take the city. If she does so after Tommen/Myrcella died (or actually inadvertently causes the deaths of one or both her children) teaming up with Euron (who is also fighting the Tyrells) will appear as the most natural (and logical) choice in the world.

Vice versa, Daenerys is not coming soon. Regardless what happens at Meereen. And even if everything there went according to Euron's plans all Vic/the Ironborn could deliver to Euron would be one (or two) not so big dragon(s). That wouldn't be enough. Not by far. The news about Dany being dead/missing should force Euron to change his plans just as it will force Doran/Arianne and Aegon to change theirs. And in such a scenario an alliance with Cersei and Casterly Rock might look as promising for Euron as it does for Cersei.

And, again, as I've mentioned before many times: There must be some sort of plot-related reason why the hell George decided to have Euron attack (and thus antagonize) the Reach rather than the West. Casterly Rock and Lannisport lie a lot closer to the Iron Islands and were obviously a much richer and more promising target. Euron could have bought the alliance and loyalty of the Ironborn much easier by throwing the riches of Lannisport at them.

But for some reason he did not do that - which still enables him to eventually team up with the Lannisters (or at least a branch of that house). Plot-wise the weakening of the Reach done by the Ironborn is intricately connected with the Aegon plot because George has to give us a reason why his campaign is going to work and gather momentum. He could not have Aegon just win (and hold) the Iron Throne against the entire might of the Reach. And the idea that any Reach Lord would just suddenly team up with some Targaryen pretender after most/all of them reaped rich rewards in the wake of the War of the Five Kings from the Iron Throne would make little sense, too. Aegon has to exploit some weakness in the South to succeed and Euron attacking the Reach helped with that (although Euron certainly isn't - and never was - just a plot device to help Aegon).

The stuff about the bleeding star clearly refers to the red comet and Aeron reinterpreting what it meant. His visions/mind connect it with Euron but even if it heralds 'the world being broken and renewed' there is no good reason that Euron is the person the prophecy is referring to (that would be Daenerys). Euron is just planning to high-jack her, use her, or usurp her place somehow.

As to @Ran speculating about a connection between Euron and the Others:

I think we can safely say that Euron may turn out to be a failed (or twisted) greenseer who finally began exploring his full potential after he captured the Qartheen warlocks and began drinking shade of the evening. One wonders whether Bloodraven made some sort of mistake when he contacted him as a child (if he did so).

The idea that the Heart of Winter somehow got into his mind is also intriguing. I mean, we know that Bloodraven showed Bran what is 'living' up there in the dream back in AGoT. If he can do that the Others might also be able to make use of this kind of magic. Not to mention that weirwood magic and stuff might literally cut two ways if we assume the original Others were either created by Children of the Forest or literally be twisted Children of the Forest.

I'd prefer it if it turned out that the Others weren't just sentient weapons gone mad but actually beings directed by a person or a group of people who originally only had the best interests of the Children at heart. But that remains to be seen.

But I don't think the vision of the woman refers to a female Other or stands for anything related to the Others. Euron might inadvertently work for the Others and might also eventually ally with them and betray humanity during the fight against the Others (like Roose and/or Ramsay might, too) but I don't see him working actively for them, yet.

As to the Valyrian armor:

Well, one guesses this also comes from the treasures of the Qartheen. Such armor hasn't been seen since the Doom, apparently, so one should assume that Euron must have gotten this from the same people/source he got Dragonbinder from.

It doesn't seem likely Euron was personally in Valyria, but perhaps the Undying of old were. Qarth either might have warred with Valyria once (and won) or, more likely, they might have allied themselves with the dragonlords of old (or at least a faction). Anyway, it is more likely to assume Euron got that one from the Qartheen than from Valyria.

And, well, the idea that the Targaryens on Dragonstone/of Westeros didn't own armor made of Valyrian steel makes little sense. I mean, they were dragonlords, right? If anyone in Valyria should have had access to Valyrian steel it would have been the dragonlords. And Aenar the Exile should have had money aplenty to buy himself such a suit after he had sold all his holdings in Valyria and the Lands of the Long Summer. Even a smaller dragonlord house should have owned more money than a kingdom was worth.

Good write up, Lord Varys. Credit to you about the threat level of Euron.  My view was that unless he gets a Dragon, his plot would seem foolish, given his lack of military resources. Looks like he might not get the Dragon, but - as you predicted - Martin is ramping up the magic to the next level in Euron's plot - to help him balance out his military deficit. He is going to be a big player indeed.

As an aside, I do note how my prediction of the South descending into chaos and being weakened as much as the North is starting to become reality. Just from a naval point of view, if Euron destroys the Redwynne and Hightower fleets, then Manderlys 50 warships will be left as one of the strongest naval forces this side of the Narrow Sea. And he is still building more.

I expect a similar trend in terms of land forces too, with the Tyrell and other southron armies being decimated in the coming Southern conflict.