Heresy 224 Whitey Snow and the Winter Hill Gang

[Melifeather]

2 hours ago, Lord Aegon The Compromiser said:

There's as much proof Rhaegar died on the Trident as there is that RLJ is true...ZERO.

If he's not dead, where is he?

Once upon a time I was a big proponent of Mance being Rhaegar. Mance was assigned to the Shadow Tower and not Castle Black, so there weren't that many people to question where he came from. It's said the Watch raised him from a boy, but how much would the Shadow Tower question if Castle Black said they raised him or visa versa? Maester Aemon could have helped disguise Rhaegar as Mance, but I think it would be difficult for Rhaegar to disguise his hair and eye color for 17 years.

So - I gave up on that theory. Plus, what would be the purpose of keeping him alive in the story?

What I do believe - regarding the rubies - is that it's meant as a clue. I think Tywin had a duplicate set of armor produced and that master armorer Tobho Mott created. He seems pretty wealthy for a blacksmith: 

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The slim young serving girl took quick note of Ned's badge and the sigil on his doublet, and the master came hurrying out, all smiles and bows. "Wine for the King's Hand," he told the girl, gesturing Ned to a couch. "I am Tobho Mott, my lord, please, please, put yourself at ease." He wore a black velvet coat with hammers embroidered on the sleeves in silver thread. Around his neck was a heavy silver chain and a sapphire as large as a pigeon's egg. "If you are in need of new arms for the Hand's tourney, you have come to the right shop." Ned did not bother to correct him. "My work is costly, and I make no apologies for that, my lord," he said as he filled two matching silver goblets. "You will not find craftsmanship equal to mine anywhere in the Seven Kingdoms, I promise you. Visit every forge in King's Landing if you like, and compare for yourself. Any village smith can hammer out a shirt of mail; my work is art."

Tobho's large home conveys his wealth as well:

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Ned turned off the square where the Street of Steel began and followed its winding path up a long hill, past blacksmiths working at open forges, freeriders haggling over mail shirts, and grizzled ironmongers selling old blades and razors from their wagons. The farther they climbed, the larger the buildings grew. The man they wanted was all the way at the top of the hill, in a huge house of timber and plaster whose upper stories loomed over the narrow street. The double doors showed a hunting scene carved in ebony and weirwood. A pair of stone knights stood sentry at the entrance, armored in fanciful suits of polished red steel that transformed them into griffin and unicorn. Ned left his horse with Jacks and shouldered his way inside.

Tobho knows how to make fancy armor too:

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Ned sipped his wine and let the man go on. The Knight of Flowers bought all his armor here, Tobho boasted, and many high lords, the ones who knew fine steel, and even Lord Renly, the king's own brother. Perhaps the Hand had seen Lord Renly's new armor, the green plate with the golden antlers? No other armorer in the city could get that deep a green; he knew the secret of putting color in the steel itself, paint and enamel were the crutches of a journeyman. Or mayhaps the Hand wanted a blade? Tobho had learned to work Valyrian steel at the forges of Qohor as a boy. Only a man who knew the spells could take old weapons and forge them anew. "The direwolf is the sigil of House Stark, is it not? I could fashion a direwolf helm so real that children will run from you in the street," he vowed.

It's important to note that Renly's armor was used after his death to confuse the defenders of Kings Landing. The use of someone's armor is another three-fold reveal. Rhaegar's armor is hinted at. Renly's is the second usage where we don't find out who was in there until later. And then Arys Oakheart's armor is completely spelled out for us.

31 minutes ago, St Daga said:

Well, if rubies are intended to be tied to glamours, then perhaps the imagery of the Ruby Ford is also in some way altered. Ned seems to have a memory of Rhaegar's body in the Trident, but perhaps that image is false?

Right now I don't question that Rhaegar wore his own armor to the tourney and to the Trident. I think Ned's words to Robert about everyone letting him win, because he's the king is meant to explain how Rhaegar won the tourney. Then the encounter between Sansa and Loras where he doesn't even remember giving her the red rose is meant to be how Rhaegar viewed the roses that he gave Lyanna. Everyone knows that blue roses are connected to Winterfell, so I think Rhaegar simply gave them to Lyanna, because she was a daughter of Winterfell and he never even thought about how it looked.

Naming the place where Rhaegar died the "Ruby" Ford may just be another hint that there was more going on behind the Rebellion, namely that Rhaegar was blameless - he never kidnapped Lyanna. It's a false accusation. The Ruby Ford and the rubies on his armor are clues for the reader that all is not what it seems.

 

 

[JNR]

On 7/7/2019 at 9:19 AM, Black Crow said:

nor of course is there a hint of the celebrated "central mystery,"

Well, there's not a hint of RLJ per se. 

There is a flat statement that Jon's true parentage is hidden, and is a major secret to be revealed:

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...until the secret of Jon's true parentage is finally revealed in the last book.

When it comes to remarks by GRRM, it simply doesn't get more blatant than that.

On 7/7/2019 at 9:19 AM, Black Crow said:

I've said before and will argue again that far from being the "central mystery", the R+L=J business is nothing of the sort, but rather from GRRM's viewpoint a very convenient red herring fostered by his own fan-base which was very effectively drawing attention away from the real mysteries

Yes, that's all correct.  GRRM knew the fanbase would arrive at RLJ and he also knew it would be incredibly effective camouflage for the truth... and so it has proven to be, for more than twenty years.   Not just the truth of Jon's parents, but more broadly, for making obscure other, more important truths.

I am still sometimes startled into laughter by the uninformed remarks, rendered with incredible arrogance, I frequently find over in General.

All this time, ever since AGOT was published, Jon's parents have not been Rhaegar and Lyanna, and all this time GRRM has been waiting to drop that bomb on the fans, and that's not a pleasure I expect him to deny himself.  Which is why I still do expect TWOW to come out at least. 

I used to think he might have originally intended RLJ when  he wrote AGOT and changed his mind... but now I know that wasn't even true.  Even in that first book there is direct evidence against it, and in favor of quite a different concept.

[Melifeather]

10 minutes ago, JNR said:

Well, there's not a hint of RLJ per se. 

There is a flat statement that Jon's true parentage is hidden, and is a major secret to be revealed:

When it comes to remarks by GRRM, it simply doesn't get more blatant than that.

Yes, that's all correct.  GRRM knew the fanbase would arrive at RLJ and he also knew it would be incredibly effective camouflage for the truth... and so it has proven to be, for more than twenty years.   Not just the truth of Jon's parents, but more broadly, for making obscure other, more important truths.

I am still sometimes startled into laughter by the uninformed remarks, rendered with incredible arrogance, I frequently find over in General.

All this time, ever since AGOT was published, Jon's parents have not been Rhaegar and Lyanna, and all this time GRRM has been waiting to drop that bomb on the fans, and that's not a pleasure I expect him to deny himself.  Which is why I still do expect TWOW to come out at least. 

I used to think he might have originally intended RLJ when  he wrote AGOT and changed his mind... but now I know that wasn't even true.  Even in that first book there is direct evidence against it, and in favor of quite a different concept.

I quite agree, and to add to that GRRM has offered two additional comments: 1) that the mystery can be solved by carefully reading the very first book, and 2) that there will be lots of people that will prefer D&D's version and that we'll argue about it on the internet. I actually disagree with that last one, because there will be no "argument", just a bunch of angry people who will feel like they've been tricked and the rest of us crowing, I told you so.

[JNR]

14 minutes ago, Feather Crystal said:

GRRM has offered two additional comments: 1) that the mystery can be solved by carefully reading the very first book

I haven't read that... what's the link?

What I've usually seen is that the fans (such as Ran) say it can be solved based on the first book.

16 minutes ago, Feather Crystal said:

2) that there will be lots of people that will prefer D&D's version and that we'll argue about it on the internet

I think it may be even more hilarious than that. 

There may be fans who deny what GRRM explicitly writes, no matter how he phrases it and no matter how much evidence he provides.

If that happens, RLJ true believers will have transformed themselves into the Flat Earth Society trying to explain... to God... that the world is not round. 

[Black Crow]

2 hours ago, The Snowfyre Chorus said:

 

Not sure rubies themselves are particularly important (as opposed to other stones or objects).  If somebody asked me why Melisandre needed rubies to work her magic... I'd say it's probably because they're red, and they match her red costume.  Also, they impress people.  (Subtle pun intended.)

 

That's an interesting thought and I'm rather inclined to go along with it. If we switch religions we find that that crystals are important in worshipping the Seven and coloured ones are used by Septons to reflect the light [!] of the Seven. It may be that reflected [as opposed to radiated] light of this kind is necessary to work glamours and that as you suggest Mel uses red ones because they go with her outfit

[Black Crow]

40 minutes ago, JNR said:

..until the secret of Jon's true parentage is finally revealed in the last book.

Yes but all that was intended to do according to the synopsis was get him inside Arya's knickers 

[LynnS]

3 hours ago, The Snowfyre Chorus said:

I expect GRRM was very deliberate in his use and description of Melisandre's glamors, and knew what he was doing from early on. 

Not sure rubies themselves are particularly important (as opposed to other stones or objects).  If somebody asked me why Melisandre needed rubies to work her magic... I'd say it's probably because they're red, and they match her red costume.  Also, they impress people.  (Subtle pun intended.)

Anyway.  Anyone ever thought that maybe Melisandre was Qartheen? I think maybe she is (or was, once). And maybe Stannis' turn as Azor Ahai tells us something about the history and nature of Qarth.

Well there is some kind of connection and feedback to Mel's ruby:

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A Dance with Dragons - Melisandre I

"The bones help," said Melisandre. "The bones remember. The strongest glamors are built of such things. A dead man's boots, a hank of hair, a bag of fingerbones. With whispered words and prayer, a man's shadow can be drawn forth from such and draped about another like a cloak. The wearer's essence does not change, only his seeming."

She made it sound a simple thing, and easy. They need never know how difficult it had been, or how much it had cost her. That was a lesson Melisandre had learned long before Asshai; the more effortless the sorcery appears, the more men fear the sorcerer. When the flames had licked at Rattleshirt, the ruby at her throat had grown so hot that she had feared her own flesh might start to smoke and blacken. Thankfully Lord Snow had delivered her from that agony with his arrows. Whilst Stannis had seethed at the defiance, she had shuddered with relief.

Rattleshirt's death broke the connection.  Which leads me to think that Mel's magic to some extent uses the life force of another.

And Mance:

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A Dance with Dragons - Melisandre I

"The glamor, aye." In the black iron fetter about his wrist, the ruby seemed to pulse. He tapped it with the edge of his blade. The steel made a faint click against the stone. "I feel it when I sleep. Warm against my skin, even through the iron. Soft as a woman's kiss. Your kiss. But sometimes in my dreams it starts to burn, and your lips turn into teeth. Every day I think how easy it would be to pry it out, and every day I don't. Must I wear the bloody bones as well?"

Melisandre breaks the spell:

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A Dance with Dragons - Melisandre I

He leaves me no choice. So be it. "Devan, leave us," she said, and the squire slipped away and closed the door behind him.

Melisandre touched the ruby at her neck and spoke a word.

The sound echoed queerly from the corners of the room and twisted like a worm inside their ears. The wildling heard one word, the crow another. Neither was the word that left her lips. The ruby on the wildling's wrist darkened, and the wisps of light and shadow around him writhed and faded.

 

Not accounting for sapphires and crystals which seem to be more about making an impression than any real magic.  Although the Wall itself is also described as a giant blue crystal across the landscape.

As for Rhaegar's armor; It's possible it was made by Tobho Mott using some kind of sorcery but it probably no more effective than Stannis' pretty sword or Renly's pretty armor.  In the end, Stannis sword was just a steel sword:

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A Storm of Swords - Davos V

"Edric—" he started.

"—is one boy! He may be the best boy who ever drew breath and it would not matter. My duty is to the realm." His hand swept across the Painted Table. "How many boys dwell in Westeros? How many girls? How many men, how many women? The darkness will devour them all, she says. The night that never ends. She talks of prophecies . . . a hero reborn in the sea, living dragons hatched from dead stone . . . she speaks of signs and swears they point to me. I never asked for this, no more than I asked to be king. Yet dare I disregard her?" He ground his teeth. "We do not choose our destinies. Yet we must . . . we must do our duty, no? Great or small, we must do our duty. Melisandre swears that she has seen me in her flames, facing the dark with Lightbringer raised on high. Lightbringer!" Stannis gave a derisive snort. "It glimmers prettily, I'll grant you, but on the Blackwater this magic sword served me no better than any common steel. A dragon would have turned that battle. Aegon once stood here as I do, looking down on this table. Do you think we would name him Aegon the Conqueror today if he had not had dragons?"

 

[Melifeather]

15 minutes ago, JNR said:

I haven't read that... what's the link?

What I've usually seen is that the fans (such as Ran) say it can be solved based on the first book.

I think it may be even more hilarious than that. 

There may be fans who deny what GRRM explicitly writes, no matter how he phrases it and no matter how much evidence he provides.

If that happens, RLJ true believers will have transformed themselves into the Flat Earth Society trying to explain... to God... that the world is not round. 

I might be remembering Ran's words versus GRRMs. While searching SSM's for it, I did stumble upon a reference to the "central mystery":
 

Quote

 

Nov 16, 2000

We will meet Howland Reed, but not in the next book... he(Howland) knows just to much about the central mystery of the book...

We will learn lots about the Harrenhall tourney in the next three books, so, any prequel work he is considering will strictly be the continuation of the Dunk and Egg stories...

 

Whatever the "central mystery" is, Howland "knows too much", and it sounds like GRRM plans to reveal details about the Harrenhal tourney in a Dunk and Egg novella - or am I reading that wrong?

 Of course the first thing that comes to my mind is the encounter with the three Kingsguard and how Ned was able to defeat Arthur Dayne, because of Howland, which indicates to me that the central mystery does revolve around Lyanna and Jon Snow.

Digging through the SSMs I found this:

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April 20, 2002

Someone asked (again) if he could tell us if Ned was Jons real father or not, and GRRM answered that he will not reveal it (of course) but that the whole mystery about Jons parentage will be made clear somewhere in his book, not in AFFC, but perhaps in the last book, or even the book before that.

It's reassuring to me that he will make Jon's parentage "clear" and that it may be revealed in Winds.

 

 

[The Snowfyre Chorus]

12 minutes ago, LynnS said:

Well there is some kind of connection and feedback to Mel's ruby:

True. Clearly, the rubies have a function and Mel is using them to accomplish things... work or direct magic, etc. I just wonder if she could have chosen any old gemstone... or any object at all, for that matter.  

Looking back at the prologue of Clash... leaves me wondering if Lady Selyse wears some sort of "slave" ruby, similar to the one Mel later puts on Mance.   

I don't recall reading mention of one, but...:

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"Gods make uncertain allies at best," the old man insisted, "and that one has no power here."

"You think not?" The ruby at Melisandre's throat caught the light as she turned her head, and for an instant it seemed to glow bright as the comet. "If you will speak such folly, Maester, you ought to wear your crown again."

"Yes," Lady Selyse agreed. "Patches's helm. It suits you well, old man. Put it on again, I command you."

 

...is it completely natural that Selyse agrees with Mel there, and immediately commands the very thing Mel suggested?  Or does that "instant" flare of the ruby's light suggest something else?  Selyse does seem remarkably devoted to Mel, when you look at things.  

[Melifeather]

I was hoping to find a connection between the egg-sized sapphire that Tobho Mott wears to the Lannisters - a type of confirmation that it had been accepted as payment. 

[The Snowfyre Chorus]

34 minutes ago, The Snowfyre Chorus said:

Selyse does seem remarkably devoted to Mel, when you look at things.  

Jon Snow notices this, as well:

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He glanced at Queen Selyse. There must have been a blizzard the day she and Stannis wed. Huddled beneath her ermine mantle and surrounded by her ladies, serving girls, and knights, the southron queen seemed a frail, pale, shrunken thing. A strained smile was frozen into place on her thin lips, but her eyes brimmed with reverence. She hates the cold but loves the flames. He had only to look at her to see that. A word from Melisandre, and she would walk into the fire willingly, embrace it like a lover.

(5.49 - JON)

How'd she get so brainwashed, anyway?

[St Daga]

2 hours ago, Feather Crystal said:

Naming the place where Rhaegar died the "Ruby" Ford may just be another hint that there was more going on behind the Rebellion, namely that Rhaegar was blameless - he never kidnapped Lyanna. It's a false accusation. The Ruby Ford and the rubies on his armor are clues for the reader that all is not what it seems.

If Rhaegar is innocent, or was at least some one else's pawn, and he died for this reason, then the idea of a glamour (idea or concept) existing around the location of his death might make sense. Rhaegar's rubies, the Ruby Ford, even the idea of Joffrey telling a complete lie about what happened at that location in relation to Arya, Sansa and Nymeria imply a false image.

 

2 hours ago, Feather Crystal said:

What I do believe - regarding the rubies - is that it's meant as a clue. I think Tywin had a duplicate set of armor produced and that master armorer Tobho Mott created. He seems pretty wealthy for a blacksmith: 

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The slim young serving girl took quick note of Ned's badge and the sigil on his doublet, and the master came hurrying out, all smiles and bows. "Wine for the King's Hand," he told the girl, gesturing Ned to a couch. "I am Tobho Mott, my lord, please, please, put yourself at ease." He wore a black velvet coat with hammers embroidered on the sleeves in silver thread. Around his neck was a heavy silver chain and a sapphire as large as a pigeon's egg. "If you are in need of new arms for the Hand's tourney, you have come to the right shop." Ned did not bother to correct him. "My work is costly, and I make no apologies for that, my lord," he said as he filled two matching silver goblets. "You will not find craftsmanship equal to mine anywhere in the Seven Kingdoms, I promise you. Visit every forge in King's Landing if you like, and compare for yourself. Any village smith can hammer out a shirt of mail; my work is art."

Tobho's large home conveys his wealth as well:

I agree that Tobho Mott is wealthy, and that seems like more wealth than an armorer should perhaps have. Although he does have some secrets to working Valyrian Steel, which could indicate just how good he is at his job. But something about that large sapphire he wears makes me think of the Other's and their eye color, as well as the story of Symeon Star Eyes. Symeon is tied not only to stars for eyes, but a great gift for fighting, even though he is blind, and a connection to the Nightfort and hellhounds.  If Mel uses a ruby as a tool in her fire magic, and both she and her victim's wear a ruby, then could the same be said of a sapphire. If so, is Tobho Mott being controlled or could he be in control? 

 

 

[St Daga]

38 minutes ago, The Snowfyre Chorus said:

...is it completely natural that Selyse agrees with Mel there, and immediately commands the very thing Mel suggested?  Or does that "instant" flare of the ruby's light suggest something else?  Selyse does seem remarkably devoted to Mel, when you look at things.  

That is a very interesting observation. It does seem like Mel's ruby brightens when she is working some type of magic, and Selyse does pip up here like a talking parrot. The idea that Mel could me controlling Selyse in some way is very interesting. Or is that even Selyse, just in the same way that Mance is glamoured to appear like Rattleshirt, and vice versa.

Mel's ruby "gleamed" the time that Mel touched Ghost and Ghost acted as if he didn't know who Jon Snow was. Jon refers to Mel's ruby as her third eye in this scene.

[Melifeather]

50 minutes ago, St Daga said:

If Rhaegar is innocent, or was at least some one else's pawn, and he died for this reason, then the idea of a glamour (idea or concept) existing around the location of his death might make sense. Rhaegar's rubies, the Ruby Ford, even the idea of Joffrey telling a complete lie about what happened at that location in relation to Arya, Sansa and Nymeria imply a false image.

 

I agree that Tobho Mott is wealthy, and that seems like more wealth than an armorer should perhaps have. Although he does have some secrets to working Valyrian Steel, which could indicate just how good he is at his job. But something about that large sapphire he wears makes me think of the Other's and their eye color, as well as the story of Symeon Star Eyes. Symeon is tied not only to stars for eyes, but a great gift for fighting, even though he is blind, and a connection to the Nightfort and hellhounds.  If Mel uses a ruby as a tool in her fire magic, and both she and her victim's wear a ruby, then could the same be said of a sapphire. If so, is Tobho Mott being controlled or could he be in control? 

 

 

Well, there are lots of sapphires in the books. They decorate rings, sword hilts, even armor (Loras's) - and used in deceptions like when Jaime told Vargo Hoat that Brienne's father had lots of sapphires.

[Melifeather]

Regarding rubies...they are much more valuable than garnets yet hard to tell apart. IMO garnets are a deeper darker red, so if Melisandre chose rubies simply for their color, then why not a garnet? 

We've talked about the colored windows in both septs and brothels and how they can change the appearance of other colors depending on which window the light falls through, so I wonder if there is any importance between rubies and garnets considering the following:

One way to tell a ruby from a garnet is to examine the spectrum. To do this, hold your stone up to a bright light source and move it around until the stone creates a rainbow. Now, look at the rainbow, or spectrum, and if there are yellow and green bands, then your stone is likely not a ruby. Due to nature of rubies, they absorb greens and yellow in the color spectrum, so they would not appear in this test. Garnets, however, reflect small bands of yellow and green.

[Melifeather]

3 hours ago, Feather Crystal said:

The double doors showed a hunting scene carved in ebony and weirwood.

Going back to Tobho Mott for a moment...his big house had double doors of ebony and weirwood. Where else have we seen this? The House of Black and White. I'm not trying to make a connection between the two places, but rather a connection to the "central mystery" which I think is hinted at by Tobho Mott's front door. The whole series of A Song of Ice and Fire has multiple "two sides to every coin". Black and white are only two in a long laundry list of opposites, so I think Tobho Mott and his high priced "art" is a key piece of evidence to solving the puzzle.

Jon Snow is a big part of the central mystery, but he's not who many readers think he is. He's Ned and Ashara's child and the eldest of Ned's children, but he's not the central part of the mystery. The big reveal is much larger than Jon and a lot more complex. Sure, figuring out Jon's true parentage will get you closer to solving the puzzle, but the reason why Jon isn't Rhaegar's son is more important. I think Bloodraven interceded to prevent the third head of the dragon from even being born. He thought it important enough to nearly rip the door off the hinges to the wards upon the Wall in order to reset the wheel of time, and caused magic to leak out into the world - which is something that I don't think he intended. At least that's my take on the subject.

[LynnS]

1 hour ago, The Snowfyre Chorus said:

Jon Snow notices this, as well:

How'd she get so brainwashed, anyway?

I have a notion that Mel use potions and hypnotic words to invoke a reaction from Selyse.  

Quote

A Dance with Dragons - Melisandre I

While the boy was gone, Melisandre washed herself and changed her robes. Her sleeves were full of hidden pockets, and she checked them carefully as she did every morning to make certain all her powders were in place. Powders to turn fire green or blue or silver, powders to make a flame roar and hiss and leap up higher than a man is tall, powders to make smoke. A smoke for truth, a smoke for lust, a smoke for fear, and the thick black smoke that could kill a man outright. The red priestess armed herself with a pinch of each of them.

The carved chest that she had brought across the narrow sea was more than three-quarters empty now. And while Melisandre had the knowledge to make more powders, she lacked many rare ingredients. My spells should suffice. She was stronger at the Wall, stronger even than in Asshai. Her every word and gesture was more potent, and she could do things that she had never done before. Such shadows as I bring forth here will be terrible, and no creature of the dark will stand before them. With such sorceries at her command, she should soon have no more need of the feeble tricks of alchemists and pyromancers.

Staring into a fire or crystal could invoke an hypnotic state.

[Melifeather]

8 minutes ago, LynnS said:

I have a notion that Mel use potions and hypnotic words to invoke a reaction from Selyse.  

Staring into a fire or crystal could invoke an hypnotic state.

Something funny about this just hit me! The rubies of the Ruby Ford and Rhaegar's rubies have hypnotized readers into believing Rhaegar kidnapped Lyanna! 

[LynnS]

15 minutes ago, Feather Crystal said:

Something funny about this just hit me! The rubies of the Ruby Ford and Rhaegar's rubies have hypnotized readers into believing Rhaegar kidnapped Lyanna! 

It depends on your level of suggestibility.  LOL

[Frey family reunion]

3 hours ago, The Snowfyre Chorus said:

True. Clearly, the rubies have a function and Mel is using them to accomplish things... work or direct magic, etc. I just wonder if she could have chosen any old gemstone... or any object at all, for that matter.  

Looking back at the prologue of Clash... leaves me wondering if Lady Selyse wears some sort of "slave" ruby, similar to the one Mel later puts on Mance.   

I don't recall reading mention of one, but...:

 

...is it completely natural that Selyse agrees with Mel there, and immediately commands the very thing Mel suggested?  Or does that "instant" flare of the ruby's light suggest something else?  Selyse does seem remarkably devoted to Mel, when you look at things.  

You may be on to something here.  Melisandre’s ruby shining immediately before Selyse’s mirroring Melisandre occurs again:

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“Is the hand of R’hllor spotted and palsied?” asked Stannis. “This sounds more Walder Frey’s handiwork than any god’s.”
“R’hllor chooses such instruments as he requires.” The ruby at Melisandre’s throat shone redly. “His ways are mysterious, but no man may withstand his fiery will.”
“No man may withstand him!” the queen cried.