Time for the Vale to enter the fray....

[Rose of Red Lake]

The wildlings will probably attack at the tourney, and Timett carries Sansa off. Shadrich helps her escape, and it looks like he's taking her to Varys. She'll escape Shadrich to go North, traveling with the silent sisters. She sends word on her location and because LF and SR are so desperate to find her, thats where the Vale army meets up with her.

[HexMachina]

The only way an army is leaving the Vale now is via ship, imo. The Mountains of the Moon are pretty much closed off during winter. Maybe the odd traveller along might succeed but it would be hugely costly to march an army through them

[TheThreeEyedCow]

It is difficult to see a good reason for the Vale to begin invading anywhere. It's winter. But then this in itself presents a problem. All those big men with big mouths and big bellies to feed... It's probably better in the long-haul to send these champs off to die rather than have them eat all of the food. It's sad, but that's seems to be the reality. 

What I would like, is for Sansa to engineer a way of undermining LF. He's well on his way to buying peoples loyalty so I'd like to see her somehow beat him at his own game. And Sansa has ties to a lot of contested places right now. WF, The Eyrie, Harrenhal, RR, The Rock. I know she's not directly in-line to inherit these castles. But she is in the mix at a time when even more lords and ladies will perish. If that girl survives winter, she could be a huge influence on things. And with an intact army she could sweep through the 7K. It depends who's left alive. It is a long shot. But I like the idea of it happening. 

[Victor Newman]

17 hours ago, Nevets said:

In response to a call for help from Jon, they will go North at Sansa's request to help the North in its fight against the Others.

This is a creation of Mr. Benioff and Mr. Weiss with a little help from Mr. Cogman.  Jon is dead.  Sansa is not leading an army anywhere.  

[Rose of Red Lake]

22 minutes ago, Victor Newman said:

This is a creation of Mr. Benioff and Mr. Weiss with a little help from Mr. Cogman.  Jon is dead.  Sansa is not leading an army anywhere.  

No comment on the show. But the books have established that Jon thinks of asking for food aid from the Vale. Littlefinger sets up a plot to have Sansa return to Winterfell with an army. Out of the blue, Sansa gets updates about Jon. She thinks of a ghost wolf. It's not unreasonable to conclude that this is foreshadowing some kind of future plot.

[Nevets]

7 hours ago, Victor Newman said:

This is a creation of Mr. Benioff and Mr. Weiss with a little help from Mr. Cogman.  Jon is dead.  Sansa is not leading an army anywhere.  

I am not familiar with recent seasons of the show.  I was basing it entirely on material from the books, and the Vale is a perfectly logical place to get help from.  I also do not believe that Jon is actually dead, or if he is, that he will stay that way.

[Corvo the Crow]

Vale won’t enter into the fray anytime soon, Winter is nearly there and with it the mountain road closes off, it is known. No time for the Vale to gather it’s forces and march out of the bloodygate.

It doean’t mean that some small army can’t be gathered though, I can see a few thousand men quickly gathered and marched off , escorting a she-wolf with a Stark standard flying above, enough to pick off after Bolton-Baratheon war and take the Twins and punish the Freys on while on their way North.

With Westermen armies disbanded and Reachmen defending their home, one’s left to oppose even the smallest of armies.

[Clegane'sPup]

On 3/21/2019 at 5:15 PM, nyser1 said:

How do you think young teenage Sansa goes from the bastard daughter of the Lord Protector to commanding a region?

That is a good question. A question that I can not rationalize nor justify.  Personally I want Sansa to take LF down.

This is my take on on the Sansa dilemma --- the Vale Lords don't like LF for obvious reasons --- the Vale Lords have been trying to get Lord Robert out of LF's control.

Littlefinger is gas lighting Sansa into believing that if this marriage to Harry comes to fruition the Vale will rally round her.

A Feast for Crows - Alayne II     Her eyes widened. "He is not Lady Waynwood's heir. He's Robert's heir. If Robert were to die . . ."    Petyr arched an eyebrow. "When Robert dies. Our poor brave Sweetrobin is such a sickly boy, it is only a matter of time. When Robert dies, Harry the Heir becomes Lord Harrold, Defender of the Vale and Lord of the Eyrie. Jon Arryn's bannermen will never love me, nor our silly, shaking Robert, but they will love their Young Falcon . . . and when they come together for his wedding, and you come out with your long auburn hair, clad in a maiden's cloak of white and grey with a direwolf emblazoned on the back . . . why, every knight in the Vale will pledge his sword to win you back your birthright. So those are your gifts from me, my sweet Sansa . . . Harry, the Eyrie, and Winterfell. That's worth another kiss now, don't you think?"/

I have more that a few problems with this.

Sansa Stark Lannister is a fugitive wanted for regicide.

Sansa lied about Lysa's death.

Sansa is supposedly LF's bastard daughter.

All of a sudden the Vale Lords attending a wedding of LF's bastard daughter to Harry are going to and do what exactly?   Oh, my lady, yes yes yes we will traverse the snow, the mountains, and fight the clans, fight the Lannister's, travel through the Neck and fight the northmen so you can win your birth right back.

No,

Before Harry can become heir doesn't Robert Arryn need to die? Why would the Vale lords give two shytes about Sansa Stark Lannister?

 

[Clegane'sPup]

On 3/22/2019 at 5:16 PM, Nevets said:

I also do not believe that Jon is actually dead

You and I may be in the minority with this. I don't think Jon dies. I tend to think Jon is wounded and that the betrayal changes his mindset/outlook.

[nyser1]

On 3/22/2019 at 9:33 AM, TheThreeEyedCow said:

It is difficult to see a good reason for the Vale to begin invading anywhere. It's winter. But then this in itself presents a problem. All those big men with big mouths and big bellies to feed... It's probably better in the long-haul to send these champs off to die rather than have them eat all of the food. It's sad, but that's seems to be the reality. 

What I would like, is for Sansa to engineer a way of undermining LF. He's well on his way to buying peoples loyalty so I'd like to see her somehow beat him at his own game. And Sansa has ties to a lot of contested places right now. WF, The Eyrie, Harrenhal, RR, The Rock. I know she's not directly in-line to inherit these castles. But she is in the mix at a time when even more lords and ladies will perish. If that girl survives winter, she could be a huge influence on things. And with an intact army she could sweep through the 7K. It depends who's left alive. It is a long shot. But I like the idea of it happening. 

This is true. Perhaps transport via Gulltown?

[TheThreeEyedCow]

On 3/24/2019 at 4:02 PM, nyser1 said:

This is true. Perhaps transport via Gulltown?

To where though? The Vale doesn't seem to have clear allies or enemies. With or without LF they could potentially move against or for Dany, (f)Aegon, or the IT. I think that George will reintroduce those pesky mountain clans to muddy the waters a bit. They may kill or abduct some influential people. Maybe even making off with Sansa herself! I vaguely remember Tyrion promising them proper weapons. And I'm going to guess that Winter is a good time for these guys to pick off the Vale men while they're weak? 

I'm not sure what state their navy is in so I can't say they'd definitely sail anywhere. It's moments like these when I'm certain that LF is just too many steps ahead. 

[Vaith]

On 3/22/2019 at 1:42 PM, Victor Newman said:

This is a creation of Mr. Benioff and Mr. Weiss with a little help from Mr. Cogman.  Jon is dead.  Sansa is not leading an army anywhere.  

On the contrary, how things are looking in the books provides a much better justification than "joining the Starks because LF says so."

Harrold Hardyng and Alayne Stone are to marry, and soon, I believe, he will become Lord Harrold Arryn, and she will be revealed as Lady Sansa Stark. Even if Jon is dead (or has no interest in a claim when he is brought back), Sansa is still heir to Winterfell in the eyes of everyone who thinks Bran and Rickon are dead, and the lords of the Vale may think the Arryns controlling the North is a very attractive prospect. 

[The Mother of The Others]

On 3/19/2019 at 5:34 PM, kissdbyfire said:

Maybe they should enter the Frey instead, and just wreak havoc at the Twins.

 

Well, yeah.  For the close proximity to Cate.  Burn it down, Cate!  A solid starting job for vale forces, to shore up the region and show their worth to the eventual ruler who will then negotiate for their services...by....well you know I ship Aegon & Sansa.

On 3/19/2019 at 5:44 PM, Clegane'sPup said:

Alyayne Stone upon the task of wooing Harry

Maybe, the Vale forces shows up at WF sometime during a Dream of Spring (book seven) or maybe Baelish's food hording & trading has a part to play during winter (book six).  

That Harry deal.  Time for a swerve.  An opportunity for Sansa to "Cercei it up" and show what she's learned from the queen motha about how to deal with fools who want to come into your castle?  Or, will the game of thrones be won by her Libido!  Hmmm....i don't like Harry.   He's like that movie "Why Him?"

I don't think Winterfell survives this story, nor should any civilized person like Pete want to go there.  Even with his army.  Yuk.  Icky, visceral place.  Removed from advancement opportunities.  It doesn't sing to me as a Vale destination.

Baelish's food stores though could be what upjumps Sansa into being widely regarded as The People's Queen.

 

On 3/19/2019 at 7:39 PM, The Knight of Flours said:

I am very interested to see if Sansa & Harry do marry before the Vale enter the fray.  And whether she may be pregnant if Harry falls in battle.

Then she'd have to go to the school district's special highschool for preggers and expelled students.

On 3/20/2019 at 10:15 AM, Stormking902 said:

they March on WF where they find it already in control of Jon Snow. Then they fight the WW and blah blah. 

Sansa vs. White Walkers is a pay per view that'd leave you feeling cheated.  "What the hell?!  The very first white walker walks right up to her and chews her face off?   Fuck!"

On 3/21/2019 at 2:17 PM, Nevets said:

I am not convinced Jon is even dead, much less that he will remain so.  Too much unfinished business.   Among other things, his parentage still needs to pay off.

It'd be so funny to have Benjen show up for Jon's funeral and say, "This is a crying shame.  On account of how he was the true king of the seven kingdoms, don't you know."   And just leave it at that.

 

Quote

"Gunthor son of Gurn," Tyrion Lannister replied, smiling. "I will give you the Vale of Arryn."

Yep.  Uhhhh-huh.   It's happening. 

 You know who wins the winter war is the first faction who busts out with SNOW SHOES.   Are the mountain clans well versed in making and using them?  Why the frick not!   They're an ok stand-in for a "native people" in a snowy region.  They're kinda nomadic, errr homeless, right?  So they wander a lot in the snow until they hit upon the snow shoe concept. 

I can see that snowshoed army, whoever it is, overcoming some of this "you can't do shit in Winter" business and waging a successful campaign.

[Clegane'sPup]

1 hour ago, The Mother of The Others said:

That Harry deal.  Time for a swerve.  An opportunity for Sansa to "Cercei it up" and show what she's learned from the queen motha about how to deal with fools who want to come into your castle? 

Sansa is still a semi protected virgin. She doesn't know about using the honey. Nor does Sansa comprehend that Pete is selling her.

1 hour ago, The Mother of The Others said:

well you know I ship Aegon & Sansa.

Quite possible.

1 hour ago, The Mother of The Others said:

I don't think Winterfell survives this story,

WF has already been put to the torch --- yet the stone structure still stands. Roose and his minions hold it. Stannis is trying to get it.

1 hour ago, The Mother of The Others said:

Baelish's food stores though could be what upjumps Sansa into being widely regarded as The People's Queen.

How does this happen?

 

[The Mother of The Others]

34 minutes ago, Clegane'sPup said:

Sansa is still a semi protected virgin. She doesn't know about using the honey. 

WF has already been put to the torch --- yet the stone structure still stands. 

How does this People's Queen happen?

I was saying she could avoid having to uncork the honey by using her notes from Cercei's grad level course on how to ruin men.  Maybe use the miranda (?) lustiness thing to her advantage, so instead of being femme cuckolded by the vale's gatehouse amy it could become a hookup Sansa encourages and then uses as leverage over Harry.  Eh.  Too Jerry Springer.

 

And winterfell has more demolition to go.  The dead won't like it left standing, the kings bursting up out of it, it's long mission fulfilled vs. The Others will mean a new leaf should be turned, Rickon being insane will be great for mopping up enemies but less good for the long term solidity of the north.  Etc.

 

The people's queen happens by.... is that a trick question?....by handing out the food to the starving people Bran points you toward.   If there's a Long Night in effect, that actually makes "overnight delivery" possible with ease, and Amazon's business model becomes viable in westeros.

[Clegane'sPup]

1 minute ago, The Mother of The Others said:

I was saying she could avoid having to uncork the honey by using her notes from Cercei's grad level course on how to ruin men.  Maybe use the miranda (?) lustiness thing to her advantage, so instead of being femme cuckolded by the vale's gatehouse amy it could become a hookup Sansa encourages and then uses as leverage over Harry.  Eh.  Too Jerry Springer.

 

And winterfell has more demolition to go.  The dead won't like it left standing, the kings bursting up out of it, it's long mission fulfilled vs. The Others will mean a new leaf should be turned, Rickon being insane will be great for mopping up enemies but less good for the long term solidity of the north.  Etc.

 

The people's queen happens by.... is that a trick question?....by handing out the food to the starving people Bran points you toward.   If there's a Long Night in effect, that actually makes "overnight delivery" possible with ease, and Amazon's business model becomes viable in westeros.

 

Master of words. 

[The Young Maester]

 

 

 

On 3/21/2019 at 9:15 PM, nyser1 said:

Do you see the entire region rallying behind her just because she is a Stark? What do you think would be the incentive of intervening for your other idea?

Nah not because she's a Stark, I am just pointing out the two possible reasons why the vale might join the fray. In the end, Sansa is in the Vale for a reason, no? To get the knights of the Vale to help her, and that means she gotta marry the heir to the vale and kill the current sickly lord of the Vale.

Sorry, I didn't fully explain the process of how the Vale would join the FRAY, but it's pretty obvious that everyone knows what Sansa's goal and current objective are, so I didn't see the point of explaining every bit of Sansa's plotline since you as a reader must have already known how Sansa could recover Winterfell, and that's by marrying the Vale.

And the incentive of the Vale joining the other war is just simply Littlefinger playing cards and pledging the knights of the Vale to whichever side offers him the best deal (iron throne or aegon). How he gonna do this, you may ask? I don't know, we shall see, won't we?