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Reznak mo Reznak


rotting sea cow

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@Lord Varys I don't find your last comments at all convincing, but I'm not going to get any further into endless quibbling. We'll see if GRRM addresses any of it ...someday.

On 10/17/2018 at 2:18 AM, rotting sea cow said:

It is unclear what happened after, Barristan only mentions him in "The Queen's Hand" and muses whether he is doing the correct thing, but apparently Reznak survived the coup although he is not present at the war council.

Bottom line, Reznak is more than he seems and has been able to worm his way around all these changes.  Opinions? Thoughts?

Earlier I said I assumed Skahaz had him in custody, or would know where to find him, but that wasn't really giving it much thought. Now, I've been getting a bit more focused...

I do still think he's been the GG's (and Hizdahr's) agent from the beginning - insinuated into Dany's court to push their agenda and spy on Dany and her advisors.

But come to think of it, if Skahaz had him in custody, Barristan would probably know more about the "poisoning". So it's possible he scarpered off in the chaos of the dragons being loosed. ??

If so, where would he have gone? His own family's pyramid (assuming they have one) would be too easy. Maybe hidden in the temple? I'm sure the GG wouldn't want Skahaz to get his hands on Reznak; I can't imagine Reznak holding out under interrogation. 

I've always been a bit more interested in Skahaz, I suppose because I see him as being loyal to Dany (at least her ally). I've had a nebulous hypothesis about him floating about in my brain for some time (parts of which I've put forth on other threads), but now I think it can inform both men. So I'm going to put up a separate thread to attract "fans" of both.

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12 hours ago, bemused said:

Earlier I said I assumed Skahaz had him in custody, or would know where to find him, but that wasn't really giving it much thought. Now, I've been getting a bit more focused...

I do still think he's been the GG's (and Hizdahr's) agent from the beginning - insinuated into Dany's court to push their agenda and spy on Dany and her advisors.

But come to think of it, if Skahaz had him in custody, Barristan would probably know more about the "poisoning". So it's possible he scarpered off in the chaos of the dragons being loosed. ??

If so, where would he have gone? His own family's pyramid (assuming they have one) would be too easy. Maybe hidden in the temple? I'm sure the GG wouldn't want Skahaz to get his hands on Reznak; I can't imagine Reznak holding out under interrogation. 

I've always been a bit more interested in Skahaz, I suppose because I see him as being loyal to Dany (at least her ally). I've had a nebulous hypothesis about him floating about in my brain for some time (parts of which I've put forth on other threads), but now I think it can inform both men. So I'm going to put up a separate thread to attract "fans" of both.

IMHO, it is implied that Reznak is free but not part of the remaining structure of power. Skahaz himself does not appear to have an utter distrust on him as he has with Hizdahr. As you say, the Shavepate could have easily taken him under custody and tortured him out anything he has to tell. For some reason he didn't.

I hope we find more in TWOW soon,  As you, I'm not convinced that the locusts were intended to kill Dany or anyone. I find myself between these two options

1) The locusts contained an abortifacient that needed to be concealed among strong flavors (unlike most useful poisons) and Belwas got seriously sick because he ate all.  In that case the poison was planted by the GG, Hizdahr and maybe Reznak and others.

2) The poison was not intended for Dany or for anyone in particular. Instead the purpose was to make sick anyone who tasted them (without killing them) and make the impression to Dany that there was a poisoning attempt on her person. Because Dany was not the target, she was unlike to taste a locust and anyway one or two was not sufficient (as a whole bowl was insufficient for Belwas) the main objective was to sow discord between Dany and her new consort. In that case the culprit is likely the Shavepate.

 

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10 hours ago, rotting sea cow said:

1) The locusts contained an abortifacient that needed to be concealed among strong flavors (unlike most useful poisons) and Belwas got seriously sick because he ate all.  In that case the poison was planted by the GG, Hizdahr and maybe Reznak and others.

Obviously, I'm pretty firmly on board with this one.  It may also be that the fact that the locusts were so hot (see Belwas' sweating) was also an attempt to ensure that Dany (or her attendants) would not eat too many

While there is a possibility your second option (laid out very plausibly) could be true, for me, it's less probable - largely because of some ideas I have about Skahaz which I'm putting into order on my notepad ...(and with all the interruptions I'm having will likely take a couple of days to complete).

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Unrelated to this thing I've recently done some research on the credibility on instant poisonings in antiquity with the poison administered orally.

Bottom line is - those things were impossible. Poisons that are administered orally have to get into the intestine tract, have to be absorbed by it, and can only then affect heart or brain to cause a quick death (one assumes we would have to interpret the whole Strangler thing as a very common allergic reaction rather than a proper poisoning).

An abortifacient - never mind whether it is overdosed or not - is not all that likely to have affected Belwas as quickly as it did. The retching and Belwas' later state also do imply that the poison used strongly affected the intestinal tract - the man lost a lot of weight, after all. The intestinal tract as the target of the poison makes also sense in light of the fact that Belwas had to retch. An abortifacient would not necessarily have had that effect - and one would assume that the caring abortionists would have used one without such side effects, considering that this could result in it not being effective. If Dany retched it up before it could do its work, the whole thing would have been pointless.

This also make sense in another context. Using a poison that affects the intestinal tract would also allow the conspirators to try to paint the poisoning attempt as Dany mounting and succumbing to the Pale Mare. She spent much time with the infected, making it not unlikely that she would be infected.

The abortion conspiracy theory is far too convoluted, doesn't fit well with the evidence (Hizdahr's own statements when confronted with the poisoning attempt by Selmy!), nor with the motivations of the characters involved.

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RMR gives off bad vibes.  I believe he is a creature of the harpies.  He's their mole.  I don't think he's the harpy herself.  That is Galazza Galare but Reznak works for her.   He didn't poison the locust himself but the harpies wanted to assassinate Dany in public.  Belwas put a wrinkle in their plans.  Thanks to his love of honeyed locusts.  

 

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On 10/17/2018 at 11:06 AM, John Suburbs said:

I think both Reznak and Hizdahr are examples of the noble families trying to play both sides of this war. They send favorite sons to Dany as courtiers even as they provide warships to blockade Meereen. In this way, they have someone on the winning side so that their house will live on.

 

 

Hizdahr . The new power allowed his house to become the dominant among the families of Ghis.  He made use of his position to secure a kingship for himself.  I don't think he's playing both sides.  This man is a son of Ghis all the way but his family didn't have the power to take control before.  The marriage to Queen Daenerys gave him the chance to become the king of the city.

Reznak.  Might be he's the Varys of the Bay and he wants a harpy restoration.  

On 10/17/2018 at 8:50 PM, Mordred said:

Indeed he may be the perfumed seneschal.  Most likely he is the perfumed seneschal in the warnings from Qaithe.  The man is a survivor.  He knows how to pick the winning side.  He even knows how to make himself valuable to the winning side.  A threat to no one and a friend to everyone.  Sounds like two other people that we know. Littlefinger and Varys.  

Reznak is a man caught up in something bigger than himself and he found a way to adapt.  He's a survivor.  The warning from Qaithe means be suspicious.  Something smells awfully fishy.  But smelling fishy is not an absolute sign that the man is a threat.  Qaithe is delivering a warning.  A warning about something that could happen and it means be prepared.  It is not written that Reznak will do something against his queen.  Daenerys is wise enough to recognize this.  Take note of the difference between how Daenerys reacts to the prophecy (for lack of a better word!) and compare to Cersei.  Cersei mistreated her little brother because of the prophecy.  Damn, she even twisted his dingaling when he was a baby.  Then she tried to have him killed.  Stannis was about to burn his nephew.  Daenerys takes a wise response compared to Cersei and Stannis.  She is aware of the possibility for betrayal but she doesn't over react.  Which is admirable judgment on the part of young Daenerys.  

:agree:

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4 hours ago, Damsel in Distress said:

Hizdahr . The new power allowed his house to become the dominant among the families of Ghis.  He made use of his position to secure a kingship for himself.  I don't think he's playing both sides.  This man is a son of Ghis all the way but his family didn't have the power to take control before.  The marriage to Queen Daenerys gave him the chance to become the king of the city.

I'm pretty sure the Loraqs were in the highest tier of noble families, if not the dominant one:

Quote

"And who would the gods of Ghis have me take as my king and consort?"

"Hizdahr zo Loraq," Galazza Galare said firmly.

Dany did not trouble to feign surprise. "Why Hizdahr? Skahaz is noble born as well."

"Skahaz is Kandaq. Hizdahr is Loraq. Your radiance will forgive me, but only one who is not herself a Ghiscari would not understand the difference. Oft I have heard that yours is the blood of Aegon the Conqueror, Jaehaerys the Wise, and Daeron the Dragon. The noble Hizdahr is of the blood of Mazdhan the Magnificent, Hazrak the Handsome, and Zharaq the Liberator."

"We are an old people. Ancestors are important to us. Wed Hizdahr zo Loraq and make a son with him, a son whose father is the harpy, whose mother is the dragon. In him the prophecies shall be fulfilled, and your enemies will melt away like snow."

Also the Loraqs are taking part in the siege of Meereen:

Quote

Skahaz drew a parchment scroll from his sleeve. "Your worship should have a look at this. A list of all the Meereenese ships in the blockade, with their captains. Great Master all."

Dany studied the scroll. All the ruling families of Meereen were named: Hazkar, Merreq, Quazzar, Zhak, Rhazdar, Ghazeen, Pahl, even Reznak and Loraq.

Hizdahr may be king, but it looks pretty clear that he still has influence over the Harpy (indeed, the Green Grade says he is the Harpy), so he still has support among the Ghiscari as well. And with the Loraq family also openly opposing Dany, it seems that the house, and Hizdahr himself, plan to be in the winning side no matter what happens.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The people of Ghis are not raised to follow the code of chivalry.  They have a different system of honor because they don't worship the seven.  Reznak might be loyal to Dany and he might not.  But Reznak is loyal to Reznak.  He's sitting on the fence and waiting to see who wins.  He's careful to make himself useful to Dany without betraying the masters.  That way he always has a place to come home to.  I know it's not honorable but this is what a smart person would do.  Tywin and Walder pulled the same trick during Robert's Rebellion.   Reznak mo Reznak (RmR) has no choice but to bend with the wind.  He's steering his boat with the current instead of swimming against.  

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I would be interested to know the biographies of Skahaz and Reznak.  We might get an insight into why they made the decisions to side with Queen Daenerys.  Meereen was a stagnant city with little change in a thousand years.  The Mo Kandaqs probably wanted a change.  

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Reznak Mo Reznak is trying to find his place in a sea of change.  A person sometimes has to set their values aside in order to find a comfortable place after a big social change.  I'm certain he's not for the liberation of slaves.  He might be a former small scale slaver himself.  He at least greatly profited from the slave trade.   He now has to find a way to prosper in a Mereen without slavery.  A bureaucrat in the new administration is not a bad place to be.  He is in a position of comfort and some influence.  He doesn't have to worry about food and shelter, etc.  

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