Wake Dragons From Stone = Sword in the Stone

[Fire Eater]

It has become accepted fact that Jon Snow is Rhaegar’s son, and the true heir to the Iron Throne (going through the Targaryen line). He is basically the King Arthur of ASOIAF: family’s sigil is a red dragon, mother died from his birth, and raised in hiding as a bastard ignorant of his royal heritage. However, there comes the question of how Jon proves his heritage without anything in the way of DNA tests.

Going back to Arthur, the legend of how Arthur became king is already well-known: he was given Excalibur. There are two different versions of how he obtained Excalibur. The first and most famous version is pulling the sword from the stone. In Mallory’s version, Excalibur was the weapon of the late King Uther Pendragon, and Merlin placed the sword in an anvil on a stone in a churchyard. The sword was engraved with the words: "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil, is rightwise king born." Many tried to pull the sword from the stone without success, with Merlin meaning for it to go to Arthur, who was Uther’s heir. Arthur was squiring for his foster-brother, Kay, at a tourney, and realized he had forgotten his brother’s sword. He ran off to find it, and desperate, decided to find a replacement and took the sword from the stone in the churchyard. That action led to the public reveal of Arthur as Uther’s son and the rightful king. The sword was basically a paternity test that proved Arthur was Uther’s son. The other version is that the sword was simply handed to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake.

Xaro Xhoan Daxos once described Daenerys’s dragons as “a flaming sword above the world.” Only those with blood of the dragon can mount dragons. Essentially, in Westeros’s history, only those of royal blood, Targaryens and those with Targaryen ancestry, could mount dragons. We have one Arthurian example already with Adam Velaryon (a house with Targaryen blood) being publicly accepted as being the son of Laenor (I know he is more likely Corlys’s son, but we’re going with the official story given to the public) after mounting the dragon of his claimed father, Seasmoke. Dragons are used in place of magic swords for proving paternity. Jon proving without a doubt to a skeptical public that he is Rhaegar’s son would require him to do something only those of royal blood can do: mount a dragon.

I think Jon would meet Daenerys at Winterfell after the Wall has fallen, and leads a retreat south, and Daenerys goes north to subdue the North.

Daenerys would already be skeptical of Jon’s claims since she already dealt with a false pretender claiming to be her late brother’s son, and while Aegon at least looked the part with Valyrian features, Jon looks more like a Stark. She would also be inclined to disbelieve him since she has a personal stake, something to lose if the claim is true. If he is Rhaegar’s son, then that means he is the rightful heir not her, so she loses her claim to the Iron Throne. The story she lives her life by is that her family, the rightful kings, were betrayed and overthrown by the Usurper and his dogs, the Starks and Lannisters, and she, the rightful heir, has come to restore justice by retaking the Iron Throne and punishing the traitors. The true version has Jon as the rightful heir who was raised and protected by the Usurper’s dog, Ned Stark, who was justified in his rebellion against her family. Essentially, it turns Daenerys’s story on its head.

That is where an idea would come to her that would provide a convenient solution to this succession crisis: challenge Jon to mount one of her dragon to prove his claims of royal descent. If Jon loses the challenge, it would mean his death as it often does for failed attempted dragonriders. Whether he was the Rhaegar’s son or not, it wouldn’t matter if he was dead. Jon also would be in no position to refuse this challenge without making it look like he is lying about his claims. Daenerys would be a subversion of the Lady in the Lake. Unlike the Lady of the Lake who gives the sword to Arthur to aid his claim to the throne, Daenerys, a lady of fire, would be giving Jon a dragon to remove his claim to the Iron Throne. In place of a churchyard where Excalibur was pulled from the stone, Jon would mount the dragon in the godswood, publicly revealing his true identity and his claim to the Iron Throne. 

[Euron III Greyjoy]

I like the theory and the connections to King Arthur, but I don't see Jon giving two shits about his claim to the throne. I get that he's more grey area then his Captain America TV Show counterpart, but I still see him prioritizing stopping the Others over anything else, and trying to stake a claim to the throne could potentially cause another pointless Dance of the Dragons. 

[The Mother of The Others]

"Well, yeah."  - - 2008.

Why would Jon know to make any iron throne claims, though?  Nobody listens to a Crannogman, after all, and he's not even talking.  The word of Greywater watch isn't going to be convincing anybody.  Jon's targaryen  lineage stuff is likely hidden so well only we will ever know about it....until after Jon claims a dragon as the king in the north who needs to light some fires under the Others' asses.  Then, the question will be asked about who Jon's father was, looking for a Targaryen connection to explain what they see with their eyes, and then the word of a crannogman would be best uncorked as the official stamp, after folks already believe.

[Starkz]

Jon is his own man... he’s not defined by any claims or heritage to any power and isn’t seeking any thrones/power. I doubt Jon would care if Dany took the IT.

[867-5309]

3 hours ago, Fire Eater said:

It has become accepted fact that Jon Snow is Rhaegar’s son, and the true heir to the Iron Throne (going through the Targaryen line). He is basically the King Arthur of ASOIAF: family’s sigil is a red dragon, mother died from his birth, and raised in hiding as a bastard ignorant of his royal heritage. However, there comes the question of how Jon proves his heritage without anything in the way of DNA tests.

Going back to Arthur, the legend of how Arthur became king is already well-known: he was given Excalibur. There are two different versions of how he obtained Excalibur. The first and most famous version is pulling the sword from the stone. In Mallory’s version, Excalibur was the weapon of the late King Uther Pendragon, and Merlin placed the sword in an anvil on a stone in a churchyard. The sword was engraved with the words: "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil, is rightwise king born." Many tried to pull the sword from the stone without success, with Merlin meaning for it to go to Arthur, who was Uther’s heir. Arthur was squiring for his foster-brother, Kay, at a tourney, and realized he had forgotten his brother’s sword. He ran off to find it, and desperate, decided to find a replacement and took the sword from the stone in the churchyard. That action led to the public reveal of Arthur as Uther’s son and the rightful king. The sword was basically a paternity test that proved Arthur was Uther’s son. The other version is that the sword was simply handed to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake.

Xaro Xhoan Daxos once described Daenerys’s dragons as “a flaming sword above the world.” Only those with blood of the dragon can mount dragons. Essentially, in Westeros’s history, only those of royal blood, Targaryens and those with Targaryen ancestry, could mount dragons. We have one Arthurian example already with Adam Velaryon (a house with Targaryen blood) being publicly accepted as being the son of Laenor (I know he is more likely Corlys’s son, but we’re going with the official story given to the public) after mounting the dragon of his claimed father, Seasmoke. Dragons are used in place of magic swords for proving paternity. Jon proving without a doubt to a skeptical public that he is Rhaegar’s son would require him to do something only those of royal blood can do: mount a dragon.

I think Jon would meet Daenerys at Winterfell after the Wall has fallen, and leads a retreat south, and Daenerys goes north to subdue the North.

Daenerys would already be skeptical of Jon’s claims since she already dealt with a false pretender claiming to be her late brother’s son, and while Aegon at least looked the part with Valyrian features, Jon looks more like a Stark. She would also be inclined to disbelieve him since she has a personal stake, something to lose if the claim is true. If he is Rhaegar’s son, then that means he is the rightful heir not her, so she loses her claim to the Iron Throne. The story she lives her life by is that her family, the rightful kings, were betrayed and overthrown by the Usurper and his dogs, the Starks and Lannisters, and she, the rightful heir, has come to restore justice by retaking the Iron Throne and punishing the traitors. The true version has Jon as the rightful heir who was raised and protected by the Usurper’s dog, Ned Stark, who was justified in his rebellion against her family. Essentially, it turns Daenerys’s story on its head.

That is where an idea would come to her that would provide a convenient solution to this succession crisis: challenge Jon to mount one of her dragon to prove his claims of royal descent. If Jon loses the challenge, it would mean his death as it often does for failed attempted dragonriders. Whether he was the Rhaegar’s son or not, it wouldn’t matter if he was dead. Jon also would be in no position to refuse this challenge without making it look like he is lying about his claims. Daenerys would be a subversion of the Lady in the Lake. Unlike the Lady of the Lake who gives the sword to Arthur to aid his claim to the throne, Daenerys, a lady of fire, would be giving Jon a dragon to remove his claim to the Iron Throne. In place of a churchyard where Excalibur was pulled from the stone, Jon would mount the dragon in the godswood, publicly revealing his true identity and his claim to the Iron Throne. 

Jon is still a bastard even if he is the son of Rhaegar.  Rhaegar was already married, with children.  His marriage was consummated.  His claim will never be as strong as Daenerys' claim.  

He looks like a Stark.  She looks like the perfect Targaryen.  She can and has already hatched dragon eggs.  Jon betrayed the Night's Watch.  I don't think anybody outside of the Starks would support Jon.  

[Starkz]

45 minutes ago, 867-5309 said:

Jon is still a bastard even if he is the son of Rhaegar.  Rhaegar was already married, with children.  His marriage was consummated.  His claim will never be as strong as Daenerys' claim.  

He looks like a Stark.  She looks like the perfect Targaryen.  She can and has already hatched dragon eggs.  Jon betrayed the Night's Watch.  I don't think anybody outside of the Starks would support Jon.  

There are a lot of possibilities, Rhaegar could of had his marriage annulled or polyamory marriage. Female Targaryens have been passed up before in favor of male Targaryen so even if he is Rhaegars bastard you never know. The Vale, Riverlands and North and perhapsingly Dorne would support him if Jon desired the Throne.

[Fire Eater]

1 hour ago, 867-5309 said:

Jon is still a bastard even if he is the son of Rhaegar.  Rhaegar was already married, with children.  His marriage was consummated.  His claim will never be as strong as Daenerys' claim.  

He looks like a Stark.  She looks like the perfect Targaryen.  She can and has already hatched dragon eggs.  Jon betrayed the Night's Watch.  I don't think anybody outside of the Starks would support Jon.  

Except there is precedent for polygamy with Aegon the Conqueror taking both his sisters to wife. The child of his second wife Rhaenys, Aenys, was accepted as legitimate, or the claim of every king since Aenys with the exception of Maegor, would be called into question. Jon isn't a bastard or the KG wouldn't have been there. LC Hightower's response to why he wasn't on Dragonstone with Viserys was "We swore a vow." What was that vow? As Hightower told Jaime "You swore a vow to guard the king not to judge him." The response wouldn't have made sense if Jon was bastard since their vows would have compelled them to go to Dragonstone. They didn't need to stay with Lyanna, Arthur could just have just had his relatives at Starfall send people to the ToJ to look after Lyanna while the KG took a ship to Dragonstone. Hightower's response only makes sense if Jon is legitimate, and thus, the the rightful heir by virtue of being Rhaegar's only living son. 

Jon didn't betray the NW, Marsh did. Also, what you propose fails to answer the question of why the author gave Jon a secret royal heritage that has been hinted at repeatedly in the storyline if it isn't going to impact the story? Jon has the benefit of having no enemies in the realm except the Boltons, Lannisters and likely, Freys, houses that are already widely hated. 

Mounting a dragon would prove that he does have blood of the dragon, and it couldn't have come from the Stark side since Starks tend to marry Northerners with the exception of a Blackwood. 

[Fire Eater]

2 hours ago, King Aegon I Targaryen said:

I like the theory and the connections to King Arthur, but I don't see Jon giving two shits about his claim to the throne. I get that he's more grey area then his Captain America TV Show counterpart, but I still see him prioritizing stopping the Others over anything else, and trying to stake a claim to the throne could potentially cause another pointless Dance of the Dragons. 

I think it would likely be a situation where Daenerys comes north to subdue the Northmen, and eventually reaches WF while Jon leads a retreat south after the Wall falls, and WF is the logical place to retreat to.

He would press his claim if he thought it was the only way to get the dragons and army to the Wall after it falls.

2 hours ago, The Mother of The Others said:

"Well, yeah."  - - 2008.

Why would Jon know to make any iron throne claims, though?  Nobody listens to a Crannogman, after all, and he's not even talking.  The word of Greywater watch isn't going to be convincing anybody.  Jon's targaryen  lineage stuff is likely hidden so well only we will ever know about it....until after Jon claims a dragon as the king in the north who needs to light some fires under the Others' asses.  Then, the question will be asked about who Jon's father was, looking for a Targaryen connection to explain what they see with their eyes, and then the word of a crannogman would be best uncorked as the official stamp, after folks already believe.

See above for the first question. 

[Lollygag]

I mostly see Jon interested in the IT only if he sees it as necessary to fight the Others which I can definitely see happening.

But it gets forgotten a lot around the forum that Jon does care quite a bit about being Lord of Winterfell (and maybe the IT later on) for less than altruistic reasons. It's something he's deeply conflicted about and the door has been left open to Jon seeking out Winterfell (or the IT) because these darker feelings have taken root. Since it was brought up at all, I have to think it will impact the future plot in some way.

 

Sorry for the quote bomb but like I said, folks tend to forget about Jon's darker aspects.

ASOS Jon XII  - Debating taking Stannis' offer as Lord of Winterfell and all of the things which would come with it. It's only the condition of tearing out the heart tree which leads to Jon turning down the offer.

He wanted it, Jon knew then. He wanted it as much as he had ever wanted anything. I have always wanted it, he thought, guiltily. May the gods forgive me. It was a hunger inside him, sharp as a dragonglass blade. A hunger . . . he could feel it. It was food he needed, prey, a red deer that stank of fear or a great elk proud and defiant. He needed to kill and fill his belly with fresh meat and hot dark blood. His mouth began to water with the thought.

...

He was almost ready to lower his blade and call a halt when Emmett feinted low and came in over his shield with a savage forehand slash that caught Jon on the temple. He staggered, his helm and head both ringing from the force of the blow. For half a heartbeat the world beyond his eyeslit was a blur.

And then the years were gone, and he was back at Winterfell once more, wearing a quilted leather coat in place of mail and plate. His sword was made of wood, and it was Robb who stood facing him, not Iron Emmett.

Every morning they had trained together, since they were big enough to walk; Snow and Stark, spinning and slashing about the wards of Winterfell, shouting and laughing, sometimes crying when there was no one else to see. They were not little boys when they fought, but knights and mighty heroes. "I'm Prince Aemon the Dragonknight," Jon would call out, and Robb would shout back, "Well, I'm Florian the Fool." Or Robb would say, "I'm the Young Dragon," and Jon would reply, "I'm Ser Ryam Redwyne."

That morning he called it first. "I'm Lord of Winterfell!" he cried, as he had a hundred times before. Only this time, this time, Robb had answered, "You can't be Lord of Winterfell, you're bastard-born. My lady mother says you can't ever be the Lord of Winterfell."

I thought I had forgotten that. Jon could taste blood in his mouth, from the blow he'd taken.

In the end Halder and Horse had to pull him away from Iron Emmett, one man on either arm. The ranger sat on the ground dazed, his shield half in splinters, the visor of his helm knocked askew, and his sword six yards away. "Jon, enough," Halder was shouting, "he's down, you disarmed him. Enough!"

No. Not enough. Never enough. Jon let his sword drop. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "Emmett, are you hurt?"

Iron Emmett pulled his battered helm off. "Was there some part of yield you could not comprehend, Lord Snow?" It was said amiably, though. Emmett was an amiable man, and he loved the song of swords. "Warrior defend me," he groaned, "now I know how Qhorin Halfhand must have felt."

That was too much. Jon wrenched free of his friends and retreated to the armory, alone. His ears were still ringing from the blow Emmett had dealt him. He sat on the bench and buried his head in his hands. Why am I so angry? he asked himself, but it was a stupid question. Lord of Winterfell. I could be the Lord of Winterfell. My father's heir.

It was not Lord Eddard's face he saw floating before him, though; it was Lady Catelyn's. With her deep blue eyes and hard cold mouth, she looked a bit like Stannis. Iron, he thought, but brittle. She was looking at him the way she used to look at him at Winterfell, whenever he had bested Robb at swords or sums or most anything. Who are you? that look had always seemed to say. This is not your place. Why are you here?

His friends were still out in the practice yard, but Jon was in no fit state to face them. He left the armory by the back, descending a steep flight of stone steps to the wormways, the tunnels that linked the castle's keeps and towers below the earth. It was short walk to the bathhouse, where he took a cold plunge to wash the sweat off and soaked in a hot stone tub. The warmth took some of the ache from his muscles and made him think of Winterfell's muddy pools, steaming and bubbling in the godswood. Winterfell, he thought. Theon left it burned and broken, but I could restore it. Surely his father would have wanted that, and Robb as well. They would never have wanted the castle left in ruins.

You can't be the Lord of Winterfell, you're bastard-born, he heard Robb say again. And the stone kings were growling at him with granite tongues. You do not belong here. This is not your place. When Jon closed his eyes he saw the heart tree, with its pale limbs, red leaves, and solemn face. The weirwood was the heart of Winterfell, Lord Eddard always said . . . but to save the castle Jon would have to tear that heart up by its ancient roots, and feed it to the red woman's hungry fire god. I have no right, he thought. Winterfell belongs to the old gods.

 

Something like this may happen, but GRRM tends to favor cluster**** succession problems rather than clean solutions. I'm not sure it would solve anything so much as give characters license to believe what they want to believe which would make for more interesting characters. 

[Corvo the Crow]

 

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He is stone and she is flame. The king's eyes were blue bruises, sunk deep in a hollow face. He wore grey plate, a fur-trimmed cloak of cloth-of-gold flowing from his broad shoulders. His breastplate had a flaming heart inlaid above his own. Girding his brows was a red-gold crown with points like twisting flames. Val stood beside him, tall and fair. They had crowned her with a simple circlet of dark bronze, yet she looked more regal in bronze than Stannis did in gold. Her eyes were grey and fearless, unflinching. Beneath an ermine cloak, she wore white and gold. Her honey-blond hair had been done up in a thick braid that hung over her right shoulder to her waist. The chill in the air had put color in her cheeks.

 

Wake dragons from stone. Stonenis Baratheon, anyone?

[GloubieBoulga]

2 hours ago, Fire Eater said:

Mounting a dragon would prove that he does have blood of the dragon, and it couldn't have come from the Stark side since Starks tend to marry Northerners with the exception of a Blackwood. 

Yes, mounting a dragon, but for that, he needs a free and alive dragon. And we can't be sure that Rhaegal or Viserion both will survive or be free when Jon will meet Dany (if they have a real meeting one day).

[Lord Vance II]

Jon may be Rhaegar's seed, but he's Ned Stark's son as far as he's concerned. As others have said, there's no way Jon would have any interest in the Iron Throne unless he had to to stop the Others.

I've been playing with the idea that the "sword in the stone" OR the "waking a dragon from stone" may refer to the fact that Dark Sister, the Targaryan Valyrian Sword, is currently underground in Bloodravens cave. A Dragon (sword) in a stone (cave). It's unlikely Jon would end up in Bloodravens cave....but maybe his possible sister, Meera? I don't really think Azor Ahai is Meera, but Dark Sister sitting with Bloodraven has to turn into something, right?

[Euron III Greyjoy]

5 hours ago, Lollygag said:

But it gets forgotten a lot around the forum that Jon does care quite a bit about being Lord of Winterfell (and maybe the IT later on) for less than altruistic reasons. It's something he's deeply conflicted about and the door has been left open to Jon seeking out Winterfell (or the IT) because these darker feelings have taken root. Since it was brought up at all, I have to think it will impact the future plot in some way.

Oh I absolutely remember that, moments like that are why the books are so much better then their TV Show counterpart, but I feel like that has more to do with always wanting to be a Stark. All his life, despite being a bastard, he has been proud of his Stark heritage and the fact that Eddard Stark is his father, I cant imagine how pissed off he would be to find out he is actually the son of Rhaegar. 

[Valyrian Lance]

3 hours ago, Lord Vance II said:

Jon may be Rhaegar's seed, but he's Ned Stark's son as far as he's concerned. As others have said, there's no way Jon would have any interest in the Iron Throne unless he had to to stop the Others.

I've been playing with the idea that the "sword in the stone" OR the "waking a dragon from stone" may refer to the fact that Dark Sister, the Targaryan Valyrian Sword, is currently underground in Bloodravens cave. A Dragon (sword) in a stone (cave). It's unlikely Jon would end up in Bloodravens cave....but maybe his possible sister, Meera? I don't really think Azor Ahai is Meera, but Dark Sister sitting with Bloodraven has to turn into something, right?

I'd say more likely that Bloodraven gives the sword to Meera to deliver it south to someone. Bloodraven certainly knows the truth of Jon's birth.

[kissdbyfire]

But what about the dragonseeds? Being able to ride a dragon wouldn't necessarily prove Jon is Rhaegar's son, but rather that he possibly has a drop or three of dragon blood. 

[Megorova]

I think, that Jon will draw a magic sword from stone, from his mother's tomb in crypts of Winterfell. And location of that sword will be revealed to him by "Lady of the Lake" - Ashara Dayne, that for the last 15 years was living in The Neck under name Jyana Reed, wife of Howland Reed, and mother of Jojen and Meera Reed, and Edric Ned Dayne.

If Jon is Rhaegar's son, then he is 1/8 Dayne, and thus if Dawn of Daynes is a magic sword, that can be wielded only by people with blood of Daynes, then Jon, being able to use Dawn, will be the prove of his lineage.

I think, that three heads of the dragon (Holy Trinity of ASOIAF - Dany/The Mother, Rhaego/The Son, Jon/The Holy Ghost) will defeat the Others, not because they are dragonseeds, but because thru Queen Dyanna Dayne, mother of Aegon V, they are descendants of first Dayne, who was also first Azor Ahai. Dawn of Daynes is Lightbringer. 

 

[Moiraine Sedai]

The dragons have been awoken from stone and it's not Jon who did it.  Azor Ahai, Darnerys Targaryens, did.

[Lollygag]

5 hours ago, King Aegon I Targaryen said:

Oh I absolutely remember that, moments like that are why the books are so much better then their TV Show counterpart, but I feel like that has more to do with always wanting to be a Stark. All his life, despite being a bastard, he has been proud of his Stark heritage and the fact that Eddard Stark is his father, I cant imagine how pissed off he would be to find out he is actually the son of Rhaegar. 

I agree with this, but I think there's more to it, too. I think a big part of it is the bastard stigma itself which Jon himself mentions above. That he can't have Winterfell because of an accident of birth. You don't have to have Winterfell to be a proud Stark so his wanting of Winterfell includes that for him but also goes beyond that.

ACOK Theon I

As for their children, the younger ones had been mewling babes for most of his years at Winterfell. Only Robb and his baseborn half brother Jon Snow had been old enough to be worth his notice. The bastard was a sullen boy, quick to sense a slight, jealous of Theon's high birth and Robb's regard for him.

 

It's the black out rage which concerns me more than the feelings themselves which make sense in themselves. Even more concerning is that Jon has suppressed this for years and years. Tyrion brings it up with Jon, and again, Jon explodes when his denials fail him also indicating suppression.

AGOT Tyrion II

"Oh, yes. Even a stunted, twisted, ugly little boy can look down over the world when he's seated on a dragon's back." Tyrion pushed the bearskin aside and climbed to his feet. "I used to start fires in the bowels of Casterly Rock and stare at the flames for hours, pretending they were dragonfire. Sometimes I'd imagine my father burning. At other times, my sister." Jon Snow was staring at him, a look equal parts horror and fascination. Tyrion guffawed. "Don't look at me that way, bastard. I know your secret. You've dreamt the same kind of dreams."

"No," Jon Snow said, horrified. "I wouldn't …"

"No? Never?" Tyrion raised an eyebrow. "Well, no doubt the Starks have been terribly good to you. I'm certain Lady Stark treats you as if you were one of her own. And your brother Robb, he's always been kind, and why not? He gets Winterfell and you get the Wall. And your father … he must have good reasons for packing you off to the Night's Watch …"

"Stop it," Jon Snow said, his face dark with anger. "The Night's Watch is a noble calling!"

Tyrion laughed. "You're too smart to believe that. The Night's Watch is a midden heap for all the misfits of the realm. I've seen you looking at Yoren and his boys. Those are your new brothers, Jon Snow, how do you like them? Sullen peasants, debtors, poachers, rapers, thieves, and bastards like you all wind up on the Wall, watching for grumkins and snarks and all the other monsters your wet nurse warned you about. The good part is there are no grumkins or snarks, so it's scarcely dangerous work. The bad part is you freeze your balls off, but since you're not allowed to breed anyway, I don't suppose that matters."

"Stop it!" the boy screamed. He took a step forward, his hands coiling into fists, close to tears.

Suddenly, absurdly, Tyrion felt guilty. He took a step forward, intending to give the boy a reassuring pat on the shoulder or mutter some word of apology.

He never saw the wolf, where it was or how it came at him. One moment he was walking toward Snow and the next he was flat on his back on the hard rocky ground, the book spinning away from him as he fell, the breath going out of him at the sudden impact, his mouth full of dirt and blood and rotting leaves. As he tried to get up, his back spasmed painfully. He must have wrenched it in the fall. He ground his teeth in frustration, grabbed a root, and pulled himself back to a sitting position. "Help me," he said to the boy, reaching up a hand.

 

 

The readers tend to simplify character motives, but GRRM often gives his characters multiple motives. Jon didn't go to Winterfell for Arya, but that did make that decision easier for him and it made it easier for Jon to take unprecedented measures to achieve that. Mixed motives. If Jon does go for Winterfell or the IT, I would guess that Jon would have a solid reason for making that choice like the Others, but that behind it, it would be fueled by these darker feelings and that may show as a certain type of - I'm not exactly sure of the right word - ruthlessness maybe? Willingness to go take extreme measures maybe? Hard to say as we can't be sure exactly how he's going to react to being stabbed/betrayed and then spending too much time in Ghost, whether he gets resurrected or healed...

[norwaywolf123]

11 hours ago, Fire Eater said:

Except there is precedent for polygamy with Aegon the Conqueror taking both his sisters to wife. The child of his second wife Rhaenys, Aenys, was accepted as legitimate, or the claim of every king since Aenys with the exception of Maegor, would be called into question. Jon isn't a bastard or the KG wouldn't have been there. LC Hightower's response to why he wasn't on Dragonstone with Viserys was "We swore a vow." What was that vow? As Hightower told Jaime "You swore a vow to guard the king not to judge him." The response wouldn't have made sense if Jon was bastard since their vows would have compelled them to go to Dragonstone. They didn't need to stay with Lyanna, Arthur could just have just had his relatives at Starfall send people to the ToJ to look after Lyanna while the KG took a ship to Dragonstone. Hightower's response only makes sense if Jon is legitimate, and thus, the the rightful heir by virtue of being Rhaegar's only living son. 

Jon didn't betray the NW, Marsh did. Also, what you propose fails to answer the question of why the author gave Jon a secret royal heritage that has been hinted at repeatedly in the storyline if it isn't going to impact the story? Jon has the benefit of having no enemies in the realm except the Boltons, Lannisters and likely, Freys, houses that are already widely hated. 

Mounting a dragon would prove that he does have blood of the dragon, and it couldn't have come from the Stark side since Starks tend to marry Northerners with the exception of a Blackwood. 

Even if Rhaegar married Lyanna not everyone will accept it as valid since Rhaegar was already married. When Maegor Targaryen married Alys Harroway while being married to Ceryse Hightower, the Faith of the Seven refused to accept it's legitamacy. Even when Maegor pointed out that Aegon the Conqueror had to wifes, and claimed that the laws of the Faith did not apply to dragon blood the Faith still refused to accept it's legitmacy. Aenys later expelled Maegor for his transgression, offering his support to the Faith.

https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Maegor_I_Targaryen

 

 

Jaehaerys the Wise resolved the conflict between House Targaryen and the Faith of the Seven.

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Eventually, Jaehaerys agreed to pardon all those of the Faith who would set aside their swords,[15][5] while the Faith agreed to set aside their traditional right of judging their own, accept justice from the throne from that moment forth.[5][16] Jaehaerys swore to the Faith that the crown would always protect and defend the Faith.[17] With these agreements, the rift between the crown and the Faith was healed.

https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Jaehaerys_I_Targaryen#Early_Reign

 

I think it is telling that there was not more attempts at polygyny among any members after Meagor Targaryen. Perhaps a part of the agreement between House Targaryen and the Faith of the Seven was that polygamy should be illegal? Now that the Faith is reclaimng it's role in Westerosi society and militarising i think that they would have a say in the matter. Many lords would also side with the Faith over House Targaryen.

[The Mother of The Others]

So, here be another problem.   Having a Sword in the Stone would  break the fourth wall pretty hard.   Readers would say, 'Hey it's that King Arthur deal!"    Like , even this topic title is problematic for the Seers/prophets of westeros, because isn't "Wake dragon from stone" an actual quote from them?  So, for them to reference Arthurian legends from Earth, that'd mean they're having visions of our world and they know how horrible J.J. Abrams has been for space movie franchises.   (The horror!)

Having dragons be the proof of kinghood works better than swords like the Dayne Sword, then, because people don't instantly see through that to the excalibur parallel.  But as somebody said upthread,  Deanerys already fulfilled  this prophecy of waking stone- sourced dragons from petrified eggs, and she did it westeros style, keeping things in- world.  Better.

It'd be nice if Meera had something to do.  Magic sword delivery would fill out her resume a bit.