Predictions for Rickon?

[Legitimate_Bastard]

6 minutes ago, kissdbyfire said:

Jon Snow will be the King of Winter. He will bring people(s) together to fight in the upcoming war against the threat from the far north. But someone else will be LoW/KitN afterwards, and Rickon is a very likely candidate imo. 

I think you are right on the money here. Especially after re-reading AGOT and Jon's crypt dreams. IDK what the hell is going on or how it will play out. I heard one theory that the Others made a pact with a King of Winter and they are mad they do not have a 'King' to keep that pact. Went on to say that they have been on the move since Torrhen knelt and are just now getting to the point where they can mount a challenge. Ended with 'All they want is a King of Winter back'. IDK about all that but like the idea.

 

Yeah, Craster was a POS - I hope we get an answer on that. 

[Legitimate_Bastard]

On 9/18/2018 at 5:20 PM, Lollygag said:

I get a pretty bad vibe around Rickon.

We see Shaggydog often opposed to the people at Winterfell, at Summer and Greywind, at Robb and Bran. Rickon was more or less abandoned by his family and he wasn’t exactly even-tempered to begin with. His wolf started out as grey and was the only one to darken to black. And then his green fire demon-eyes are mentioned repeatedly.

 

AGOT Bran IV

 

Summer snatched table scraps from Bran's hand, while Grey Wind and Shaggydog fought over a bone in the corner. Winterfell's dogs would not come near the hall now. Bran had found that strange at first, but he was growing used to it.

 

 

 

AGOT Bran VI

 

His baby brother had been wild as a winter storm since he learned Robb was riding off to war, weeping and angry by turns. He'd refused to eat, cried and screamed for most of a night, even punched Old Nan when she tried to sing him to sleep, and the next day he'd vanished. Robb had set half the castle searching for him, and when at last they'd found him down in the crypts, Rickon had slashed at them with a rusted iron sword he'd snatched from a dead king's hand, and Shaggydog had come slavering out of the darkness like a green-eyed demon. The wolf was near as wild as Rickon; he'd bitten Gage on the arm and torn a chunk of flesh from Mikken's thigh. It had taken Robb himself and Grey Wind to bring him to bay. Farlen had the black wolf chained up in the kennels now, and Rickon cried all the more for being without him.

 

...

 

Bran watched from his window seat. Wherever the boy went, Grey Wind was there first, loping ahead to cut him off, until Rickon saw him, screamed in delight, and went pelting off in another direction. Shaggydog ran at his heels, spinning and snapping if the other wolves came too close. His fur had darkened until he was all black, and his eyes were green fire. Bran's Summer came last. He was silver and smoke, with eyes of yellow gold that saw all there was to see. Smaller than Grey Wind, and more wary. Bran thought he was the smartest of the litter. He could hear his brother's breathless laughter as Rickon dashed across the hard-packed earth on little baby legs.

 

...

 

Robb had been holding his breath. He let it out with a sigh and called, "Grey Wind." His direwolf moved to him, swift and silent. Now there was only Shaggy dog, rumbling at the small man, his eyes burning like green fire.

 

 

 

AGOT Bran VII

 

The darkness sprang at him, snarling.

 

Bran saw eyes like green fire, a flash of teeth, fur as black as the pit around them. Maester Luwin yelled and threw up his hands. The torch went flying from his fingers, caromed off the stone face of Brandon Stark, and tumbled to the statue's feet, the flames licking up his legs. In the drunken shifting torchlight, they saw Luwin struggling with the direwolf, beating at his muzzle with one hand while the jaws closed on the other.

 

"Summer!" Bran screamed.

 

And Summer came, shooting from the dimness behind them, a leaping shadow. He slammed into Shaggydog and knocked him back, and the two direwolves rolled over and over in a tangle of grey and black fur, snapping and biting at each other, while Maester Luwin struggled to his knees, his arm torn and bloody. Osha propped Bran up against Lord Rickard's stone wolf as she hurried to assist the maester. In the light of the guttering torch, shadow wolves twenty feet tall fought on the wall and roof.

 

"Shaggy," a small voice called. When Bran looked up, his little brother was standing in the mouth of Father's tomb. With one final snap at Summer's face, Shaggydog broke off and bounded to Rickon's side. "You let my father be," Rickon warned Luwin. "You let him be."

 

…

 

"Bran," the maester said firmly, "I know you mean well, but Shaggydog is too wild to run loose. I'm the third man he's savaged. Give him the freedom of the castle and it's only a question of time before he kills someone. The truth is hard, but the wolf has to be chained, or …" He hesitated.

 

 

 

ACOK Bran I

 

"That was Shaggydog." Rickon's big black wolf was so wild he even frightened Bran at times. "Summer never bit anyone."

 

 

 

ACOK Bran II

 

No sooner had Hodor entered the godswood than Summer emerged from under an oak, almost as if he had known they were coming. Bran glimpsed a lean black shape watching from the undergrowth as well. "Shaggy," he called. "Here, Shaggydog. To me." But Rickon's wolf vanished as swiftly as he'd appeared.

 

 

 

 

The Stark kids all have something significant in common with their namesakes and Rickon, named for Rickard, makes unusual alliances. Here we have Rickon allied with the Freys and symbolically associated with Greyjoys, Wildlings, Boltons, and Lannisters. That may or may not be a bad thing, but I think it's important that Bran feels angry and betrayed, and that Rickon couldn't care less.

 

AGOT Bran VI

 

Finally Rickon came running into the godswood, Shaggydog at his heels. He watched Turnip and Little Walder struggle for the stick until Turnip lost his footing and went in with a huge splash, arms waving. Rickon yelled, "Me! Me now! I want to play!" Little Walder beckoned him on, and Shaggydog started to follow. "No, Shaggy," his brother commanded. "Wolves can't play. You stay with Bran." And he did . . .

 

. . . until Little Walder had smacked Rickon with the stick, square across his belly. Before Bran could blink, the black wolf was flying over the plank, there was blood in the water, the Walders were shrieking red murder, Rickon sat in the mud laughing, and Hodor came lumbering in shouting "Hodor! Hodor! Hodor!"

 

After that, oddly, Rickon decided he liked the Walders. They never played lord of the crossing again, but they played other games—monsters and maidens, rats and cats, come-into-my-castle, all sorts of things. With Rickon by their side, the Walders plundered (GREYJOYS plunder) the kitchens for pies and honeycombs, raced round the walls (WILDLINGS), tossed bones to the pups in the kennels (BOLTONS), and trained with wooden swords under Ser Rodrik's sharp eye (RECALLS JOFF SPARING WITH ROBB/LANNISTERS). Rickon even showed them the deep vaults under the earth where the stonemason was carving father's tomb. "You had no right!" Bran screamed at his brother when he heard. "That was our place, a Stark place!" But Rickon never cared.

 

 

 

Could GRRM be giving a nod to the Hound of Florence?

"The Hound of Florence, is an adventure story for young readers, set in early eighteenth-century Austria and Italy. The adolescent Lukas Grassi has lost his parents and lives in Vienna in great poverty, longs for his native Italy, and would like to study art in Florence. By magic, his wish is granted, but every other day he must take the form of a dog, Kambyses,[1] that belongs to the Archduke Ludwig; and alternating daily between human and canine form, he travels from Vienna to Florence along with the Archduke's troops, and there has to lead a unique double life. "

From Wikipedia.

The Hound of Florence was adapted to become the disney movie,  The Shaggy Dog. 

This is probably a stretch, I just thought it was interesting what with all his nods to other works of fantasy.

Furthermore, Cambyses II was a Persian Emperor who conquered the Pharoahs of Egypt and became Pharoah in his own right.

Now I am going full pelt tinfoil but how awesome would it be for Rickon to conquer Westeros and begin a new dynasty.

Out there but so damn interesting. The possibilities are endless.

[Here's Looking At You, Kid]

On 9/18/2018 at 8:32 AM, •Brandon Ice Eyes said:

Predictions for Rickons Story Arc?

So the title is pretty self explanatory - How do you guys think Rickon story arc will play out and how do you think his story will end? 

Leave your Predictions down below

He's the future of the Starks.  The only Stark who should not die.  The only Stark who I would not like to see die.  Think about it.  His story follows the path of Daenerys Targaryen's.  Two siblings taken to safety by loyal retainers while their houses are betrayed by someone from the inside.  They make it to safety just in the nick of time.  

The siblings are King Viserys III and Princess Daenerys.  Bran Stark and Rickon Stark.   Think of Ser Willem Darry as the equivalent to the Reeds.  Theon as the analogue to Jaime.  The younger siblings are taken in by savages and live among them.  The Dothraki and the Skagosi.  Meanwhile, loyal bannermen plot to put them back on their "thrones".  That's Doran and Wyman.  Daenerys has the strongest dragon, Drogon.  Rickon has the strongest wolf, Shaggydog.  Black dragon.  Black wolf.  Their older siblings messed up and died for it.  That's Prince Rhaegar and King Viserys III for the Targaryen side.  Robb Stark and Jon Snow messed up and died on the Stark side.  Wyman sends people to find and bring back Rickon.  Mopatis sends people to find and bring back Daenerys.  These are Tyrion and Davos in the books.  The youngest siblings are the future of their respective houses.  

 

[Walda]

Rickon is the dark Stark.

Remember how he waited, alone in the dark, inside Eddard's sepulchre, for his father to return?

He alone is the Stark in Winterfell  that will rise from the crypt in the dark of the long night. It won't be pretty. His upbringing has all the psychological hallmarks of the Hollywood pyschopath - the disrupted attachment and abandonment, early traumas, explosive temper tantrums, acceptance of violence. The word most often associated with his wolf is 'savage'.

Also, this psychopath is a greenseer, or will learn to become one when  the Skagosi recognise his talents and take him as their Stark. He might acquire a taste for the hearts and livers of his vanquished foes, feeding their blood to the trees. What could be more terrifying than a psychopath who knows your next move before you do? He can see through lies.

Like Bran, he will learn to warg any beast that flies or swims or crawls, There is foreshadowing for all the Stark children being able to warg into ravens at some point. All the other surviving Stark children can warg into their wolves, so I don't see why Rickon wouldn't, and suspect he probably does already - eg. when Shaggy bit Maester Luwin, or knocked down Little Walder in the Godswood. Although with him, the wolf might warg the boy as often as the other way around. 

Thanks to the forgotten First Man knowledge of the Skaggs, Rickon will quickly become the Stark that skinchanges into seals, and maybe whales, and possibly squishers or merlings, if these are things. His trips into weirwoods will involve going down into the roots, and seeing the truth that lies beneath the world. He will learn the secrets of the unnamed god of stone, how to tear boulders off mountains, and shatter huge fortresses (like the Eyrie, perhaps?) He might also ride a unicorn - the wildlings beyond the wall seem to associate unicorns with war and battle and strength in arms, so it will be Nightmare Moon, not Princess Luna. Friendship ain't magic in Rickon's story.

I also think that Rickon's short but terrifying reign as the Stark in Winterfell will involve necromancy. Eddard will rise again, and Robb and Greywolf, and Lady (which maybe means Sansa is going to die, too.) Catelyn has risen already, but she is a fire revenant. Jon will probably be a fire revenant too, which makes me wonder if Ghost has to become an actual ghost as well, or if they will be able to warg across the gap between the living and the dead. @Lollygag's post reminds me that there are a lot of wildfire allusions in Shaggydog's description, and also his fur is sometimes likened to smoke or soot. Shaggy is like Ghost's bastard colours, too.

I'm seeing a future where Rickon makes himself a blood sacrifice on purpose in order to rise and raise an army of dead, led by dead Starks. He will probably seem to be abandoned when he does. As per "When the snows fall, and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives". His death will bring the pack to life.  As a greenseer, he is not going to live long anyway, but watch out when he is laid in the stone crypt that was meant for Eddard. "once inside the wood they linger long indeed. A thousand eyes, a hundred skins, wisdom deep as the roots of ancient trees" He'll do something that results in the opening of all the barrows of the first men, and an army of ruthless dead Kings of Winter.

And there will be something with obsidian arrows. (Jon and Bran, and Sam if he lives long enough,  also has something with obsidian arrows).

Rickon will be the deceiver. Whichever side he is on, he will make Ramsey look pleasant and well adjusted, with a strong moral compass. He is the Stark that befriended the Freys, they taught him 'mayhaps' and he will probably bind, enslave and betray them for it. If anyone is going to have giants camping in the ruins of Winterfell, cannibals in the wolfswood, chariots sweeping across the barrowlands, and free folk stealing the daughters of shipwrights and silversmiths from White Harbor and fishwives off the Stony Shore, it will be Rickon, not Jon Snow.

There is some kind of association with giants and Rickon in the foreshadowing. The skagosi speak their tongue, and they have associations with stone, and their poor eyesight and strong sense of smell seems to indicate a race adapted to darkness. Also they are associated with evil on the southern side of the wall. Perhaps the horn of Joramun was a unicorns horn, and is on Skagos, and Rickon will wake them. Or maybe he will just form an alliance with some of the dodgier Umbers. The other deceivers he might wreak havoc among/ get fealty from would be the Manderleys. I can see him making the Wolf's den his own, and him feeding Lord Manderley's entrails to the heart tree as a reward for installing him as the Stark in Winterfell.

There is also a Gorne and Gendel thing that seems to be going on with him and Bran. I'm guessing Rickon is going to be the Gorne (the brother who knew the secrets of stone), and Bran the Gendel (the one that knew the secrets of wood).

ETA: Oh boy, I just remembered this

Quote

Bran saw eyes like green fire, a flash of teeth, fur as black as the pit around them. Maester Luwin yelled and threw up his hands. The torch went flying from his fingers, caromed off the stone face of Brandon Stark, and tumbled to the statue’s feet, the flames licking up his legs.

(AGoT, Ch.66 Bran VII)

Rickon's going to burn his wood brother. Although if anyone can afford to lose their legs, it is probably Bran.

[Moiraine Sedai]

On 9/18/2018 at 4:19 PM, Makk said:

I'm not sure Crasters sacrifices staved off the long night, they were more likely to hasten it. The only human it helped was Craster.

Also as an aside I think the North are more likely to follow and rally behind Jon than Rickon. Jon is a grown man and a proven commander while Rickon is a 6(?) year old boy with no education. Jon also had Robb's will likely naming and legitimising him.

Jon betrayed the Night's Watch and let the Wildlings cross the wall.  He's not going to be popular.  The only way he becomes Lord of the north is if it becomes a land ruled by Wildlings.

[Moiraine Sedai]

Rickon will marry one of the Manderly girls.  He inherits the ruins of winterfell.  He dies during winter and lives within Shaggy.

[Lollygag]

22 hours ago, Legitimate_Bastard said:

Could GRRM be giving a nod to the Hound of Florence?

"The Hound of Florence, is an adventure story for young readers, set in early eighteenth-century Austria and Italy. The adolescent Lukas Grassi has lost his parents and lives in Vienna in great poverty, longs for his native Italy, and would like to study art in Florence. By magic, his wish is granted, but every other day he must take the form of a dog, Kambyses,[1] that belongs to the Archduke Ludwig; and alternating daily between human and canine form, he travels from Vienna to Florence along with the Archduke's troops, and there has to lead a unique double life. "

From Wikipedia.

The Hound of Florence was adapted to become the disney movie,  The Shaggy Dog. 

This is probably a stretch, I just thought it was interesting what with all his nods to other works of fantasy.

Furthermore, Cambyses II was a Persian Emperor who conquered the Pharoahs of Egypt and became Pharoah in his own right.

Now I am going full pelt tinfoil but how awesome would it be for Rickon to conquer Westeros and begin a new dynasty.

Out there but so damn interesting. The possibilities are endless.

I like (most) of this connection to the Hound of Florence. It follows with something that I've noticed with the Stark kids.

As we get older and become more embedded in society, we become more distant from our instincts. The Stark kids have taken to warging in degrees based on their ages accordingly.

Robb - By the time he comes across Grey Wind, his role in society is set as the future Lord of Winterfell and he is well on his way to growing into this role he must play. Via Catelyn, it seems like Robb is warging and is aware of this at least on some level, but he has so many external responsibilities and stresses that it would often override the warging instinct for him.

Jon - Like Robb, Jon is a teenager and almost a man. He's not sure what his role in society will be when he comes across Ghost, but as a high-born bastard, he's extremely preoccupied by questions as to his place meaning his focus is external. When he is told that he's a warg, Jon just shrugs and doesn't really process this nor does he explore it. He has a lot of external responsibilities and stresses, and warging practice is so far down the list for Jon that it doesn't register.

Sansa - Her role in society and meeting society's expectations for her are very set in by the time she gets Lady. Not long after she gets Lady, her role in society is further solidified in that she's to marry the future King. She's so wrapped her identity around this social role that she has a bit of a breakdown when it's taken from her.

Arya - Unlike the elder three siblings, Arya is still a child. She has little sense of her place in society beyond knowing what she doesn't want. She is who she is and is much closer to her instincts in the way of children than the elder three. Unlike her elder three siblings (I assume for Robb), she has many more wolf dreams. Arya escalates into skinchanging, but she's older and is beat to it by the younger Bran, and likely, Rickon.

Bran - The strongest warg who escalates to skinchanger quickly. Like Arya, his place in society was undefined and he is who he is. When he gets paralyzed, his connection to society becomes even more tenuous and as he can no longer explore with his legs, he is the only one who actively seeks exploration through warging (except maybe Rickon).

Rickon - He is three when he gets Shaggy. His personality is very undeveloped. He will have few or no memories of Winterfell and his family. At this age, he is the most susceptible to warging and this influence on his personality will be the strongest of all for better or worse. This makes me think of your story above - Rickon more than any other Stark will be inseparable from his wolf and will have been influenced most by this bond. He will never recall anything different unless Shaggy dies. Based on Jojen's warnings to Bran and Varamyr's prologue chapter, it doesn't sound good to me. Basically piling on developmental problems from being too connected to his wolf when he was already very troubled.

I can't agree with your optimism about Rickon . Cambyses II is linked to madness and murdering his family and the original German tale has Lukas/Kambyses being stabbed in his dog form and dumped. The madness and hostility towards his family would be consistent with the wildfire associations, the temper fits, and the conflicts with authority figures in Winterfell including Robb and Bran. I can see something like @Walda's view as it builds on what's already been written about Rickon. It fits more and more as I think on it. It also avoids the following problems which I often see with Rickon theories.

• Whatever Rickon does, he's like six or seven now? He won't even reach 10 by the end of the series. Whatever he does needs to be consistent with his age.
• Rickon's disposition is more consistent with the likes of Cersei (wildfire), Ramsay (brutality and violence), Viserys, maybe Euron. Building some benevolent dynasty would be a retcon of his character and ignoring his age completely.
• He's not a POV nor will he ever be which means any story for Rickon needs to be grafted onto an existing POV and there are limitations here.
• I highly doubt we're seeing a pro-feudalism/pro-tribalism message from this series which means no family will be the "good" family. I think we're supposed to see the characters as individuals as indicated by the chapters which are not numbered, but titled for their POV without their family name. This is what we have thus far. Family members are a mix of lighter grey ranging to dark. So to avoid this very disturbing pro-tribalism message, who will be the bad Stark? All of the Starks struggle with their darker sides, but Rickon is the black and violent wolf.

I do wonder if Rickon isn't a Shaggy Dog story in that he'll serve as a cautionary tale for the other Starks to be responsible for their abilities. Kids are impulsive and known for not considering consequences, so the Stark kids might need a lesson. Bran is especially impulsive, curious, and ignores possible consequences as seen in his climbing.

Sorry for rambling all over the place here! Not enough sleep and just can't get my thoughts in line today.

 

[Roswell]

2 hours ago, Lollygag said:

I highly doubt we're seeing a pro-feudalism/pro-tribalism message from this series which means no family will be the "good" family. I think we're supposed to see the characters as individuals as indicated by the chapters which are not numbered, but titled for their POV without their family name. This is what we have thus far. Family members are a mix of lighter grey ranging to dark. So to avoid this very disturbing pro-tribalism message, who will be the bad Stark? All of the Starks struggle with their darker sides, but Rickon is the black and violent wolf.

This is a rather meaty topic.  So Rickon grows up with savages and cannibals.  With all of the influences of his life coming from these, the most savage form of the wolf, a wildling girl.  Yeah, the kid is gonna be a savage.  Direwolves are brutal and that is what this kid is on his way to that.  But this raises an important question.  Who is worse?  Someone who chose to be a brutal murderer, like Arya?  Or someone who became that way because it's their childhood.  Both are bad.  But I have to give the benefit to Rickon because he hasn't killed anybody yet.  My opinion, Arya and Jon are the dark Starks.  

[Son of Man]

Rickon is the return of Theon the Hungry Wolf.  This guy is gonna be a nasty piece of work.  He'll make Ramsay look like a choirboy.  King Rickon will reign for a time while winter ice blanket the land.  

[Son of Man]

On 9/20/2018 at 8:06 PM, Here's Looking At You, Kid said:

He's the future of the Starks.  The only Stark who should not die.  The only Stark who I would not like to see die.  Think about it.  His story follows the path of Daenerys Targaryen's.  Two siblings taken to safety by loyal retainers while their houses are betrayed by someone from the inside.  They make it to safety just in the nick of time.  

The siblings are King Viserys III and Princess Daenerys.  Bran Stark and Rickon Stark.   Think of Ser Willem Darry as the equivalent to the Reeds.  Theon as the analogue to Jaime.  The younger siblings are taken in by savages and live among them.  The Dothraki and the Skagosi.  Meanwhile, loyal bannermen plot to put them back on their "thrones".  That's Doran and Wyman.  Daenerys has the strongest dragon, Drogon.  Rickon has the strongest wolf, Shaggydog.  Black dragon.  Black wolf.  Their older siblings messed up and died for it.  That's Prince Rhaegar and King Viserys III for the Targaryen side.  Robb Stark and Jon Snow messed up and died on the Stark side.  Wyman sends people to find and bring back Rickon.  Mopatis sends people to find and bring back Daenerys.  These are Tyrion and Davos in the books.  The youngest siblings are the future of their respective houses.  

 

Rickon will be the king of winter.  

[Clegane'sPup]

On 9/18/2018 at 8:32 AM, •Brandon Ice Eyes said:

Predictions for Rickons Story Arc?

So the title is pretty self explanatory - How do you guys think Rickon story arc will play out and how do you think his story will end? 

Leave your Predictions down below

Time in martin's Westeros world moves slow.

Let's say Rickon is four in the opening book. Perhaps in book five Rickon is 6-7 years of age. My guesstimate is that in book six and seven Rickon will be eight maybe nine. Ten years of age would be pushing the envelope.

Rickon is kept in the story because of a Jon/Ghost dream that describes a one horn goat.

The Wex thing with Manderly and Davos is in my opinion unbelievable. Wex either has the ability to speak or Wex is good at drawing pictures for those who happened to apprehend him.

Just for shits and giggles --- yeah, Davos, after being sent on a wild goose chase, is gonna return with Osha, Shaggy and Rickon in tow. They will bring a army of Skaggosi with them back to Westeros.

The group land at WH. They are then ferried up river. They march through the snow and advance to the gates of WF where they bump into one of the Umber dudes.

The Umber dude tells Rickon and Rickon's horde to hush now, be quiet, Lord Bolton is sending Frey and Manderly men to find Stannis.

OR after all the WF, Stannis, Bolton and northmen stuff is cleared up 8-9-10 year old Rickon shows up with Davos, Osha, Shaggy and an army to fight the wights and the Others. I guess Rickon gets an army because Osha or Davos convinces whomever that Rickon is the Lord of WF and it is their responsibility to to cross the stormy windy waters and set stuff right.

Or Davos who is perusing that Wex knife throw at a map is bollocks and Manderly has little Rickon, Osha and Shaggy tucked away.

Or after all the battles Rickon is the last Stark standing in DoS.

Or Rickon dies in WoW.

Or or or or

 

 

[kissdbyfire]

7 minutes ago, Clegane'sPup said:

Or or or or

Rickon, Shaggy, Osha, Davos and a surprise party comprised of Skagosi, fierce badass unicorns (please, please, please) and whoever else land either somewhere near HH or EbtS and learns of Jon's assassination - or that Jon's been "tenderised" - and go to CB. Or they go to HH and meet up w/ the crows and join the rescue mission. But I think the Wall then WF the more likely scenario. Skagos and Skane are not too far from Eastwatch.

Good map here:

http://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2010/11/mapping-seven-kingdoms.html

We are also told there are ships stranded there. And by two different characters, Davos and Cotter Pyke. I think two or three, but not 100%. And Davos' as well, of course. Which could facilitate things a bit. One of the storylines I'm most curious to see play out. 

[Legitimate_Bastard]

On 9/21/2018 at 5:54 PM, Lollygag said:

I can't agree with your optimism about Rickon . Cambyses II is linked to madness and murdering his family and the original German tale has Lukas/Kambyses being stabbed in his dog form and dumped. The madness and hostility towards his family would be consistent with the wildfire associations, the temper fits, and the conflicts with authority figures in Winterfell including Robb and Bran. I can see something like @Walda's view as it builds on what's already been written about Rickon. It fits more and more as I think on it. It also avoids the following problems which I often see with Rickon theories.

 

• Whatever Rickon does, he's like six or seven now? He won't even reach 10 by the end of the series. Whatever he does needs to be consistent with his age.
• Rickon's disposition is more consistent with the likes of Cersei (wildfire), Ramsay (brutality and violence), Viserys, maybe Euron. Building some benevolent dynasty would be a retcon of his character and ignoring his age completely.
• He's not a POV nor will he ever be which means any story for Rickon needs to be grafted onto an existing POV and there are limitations here.
• I highly doubt we're seeing a pro-feudalism/pro-tribalism message from this series which means no family will be the "good" family. I think we're supposed to see the characters as individuals as indicated by the chapters which are not numbered, but titled for their POV without their family name. This is what we have thus far. Family members are a mix of lighter grey ranging to dark. So to avoid this very disturbing pro-tribalism message, who will be the bad Stark? All of the Starks struggle with their darker sides, but Rickon is the black and violent wolf.

I do wonder if Rickon isn't a Shaggy Dog story in that he'll serve as a cautionary tale for the other Starks to be responsible for their abilities. Kids are impulsive and known for not considering consequences, so the Stark kids might need a lesson. Bran is especially impulsive, curious, and ignores possible consequences as seen in his climbing.

Sorry for rambling all over the place here! Not enough sleep and just can't get my thoughts in line today.

 

I just find all the connections so interesting. It is doubtful Rickon will embody Cambyses in the same fashion as the Shaggy Dog tale, but I do feel that elements may be present in the book.

 

On 9/22/2018 at 8:15 PM, kissdbyfire said:

Rickon, Shaggy, Osha, Davos and a surprise party comprised of Skagosi, fierce badass unicorns (please, please, please) and whoever else land either somewhere near HH or EbtS and learns of Jon's assassination - or that Jon's been "tenderised" - and go to CB. Or they go to HH and meet up w/ the crows and join the rescue mission. But I think the Wall then WF the more likely scenario. Skagos and Skane are not too far from Eastwatch.

Good map here:

http://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2010/11/mapping-seven-kingdoms.html

We are also told there are ships stranded there. And by two different characters, Davos and Cotter Pyke. I think two or three, but not 100%. And Davos' as well, of course. Which could facilitate things a bit. One of the storylines I'm most curious to see play out. 

YES --- Unicorns!!! Especially because they are badass goat unicorns. Killer map too.

 

On 9/22/2018 at 5:55 PM, Son of Man said:

Rickon is the return of Theon the Hungry Wolf.  This guy is gonna be a nasty piece of work.  He'll make Ramsay look like a choirboy.  King Rickon will reign for a time while winter ice blanket the land.  

I see real potential for something like this to happen - even if he is unsuccessful in conquering territory I could see Rickon ruling Skagos as a bastion of humanity through the Long Night, or something.

[Guest]

On 9/18/2018 at 2:54 PM, cpg2016 said:

My guess is he dies in some meaningless way somewhere on Skagos.  The point of his story is that it goes nowhere.  Hence why it's a "shaggydog" story

This. 

[Lady Barbrey]

Totally enjoying all the imagined stories for Rickon.  I myself see his story going two ways: a shaggy dog story or a shaggy god story.  George is primarily a science fiction writer and sci-fi's version of shaggy dog stories (plotlines that go nowhere) are shaggy god stories, where the last two people/machines/aliens standing turn out to be Adam and Eve types, the start of a new people, human race. So either Rickon's plotline will totally fizzle, or he'll be the only Stark left standing and rebirth the House. And what a House that might be if some of the above predictions about his dark and feral nature come true!