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The Direwolves Of Winterfell: Part 2, Robb and Grey Wind's Bond


The Green Bard

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UPDATE!!! I have released 3 Youtube vids on this topic.

Part 2.1:

 

Part 2.2 - ACoK:

 

and Part 2.3 - ASoS:

 

This is part 2 in a multi-part series about our favorite direwolves. The other posts in the series are here:

Part 1: Lady and Sansa, Part 3: Nymeria and Arya, Part 4: Summer and Bran, Part 5: Shaggydog and Rickon, Part 6: Ghost and Jon=

For those having issues with the format of this post, You can read it on my blog at https://alivealive0.home.blog/2020/01/25/direwolves-part-2-grey-wind-and-robb/

I hope you all like this. If you stick with this series, there is a BIG REVEAL with regard to Jon's resurrection and Ghost at the end of the series. There is a ton to learn along the way as well.

Recall this SSM.

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Q: Are all the Stark children wargs/skin changers with their wolves?

GRRM: To a greater or lesser degree, yes, but the amount of control varies widely.

Direwolves in the Snow

We revisit AGoT – Bran I to look at Robb’s specific part of the story. In this glimpse we see Robb as proud, lordly, commanding, and confident. This is a good first impression of his character. He’s also a bit stubborn. Let’s investigate further as to how this is reflected in Grey Wind.

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By then Jon, Jory, and Theon Greyjoy had all dismounted as well. "What in the seven hells is it?" Greyjoy was saying.
"A wolf," Robb told him.
"A freak," Greyjoy said. "Look at the size of it."
[…]
"It is a sign," Jory said.
Father frowned. "This is only a dead animal, Jory," he said. Yet he seemed troubled. Snow crunched under his boots as he moved around the body. "Do we know what killed her?"
"There's something in the throat," Robb told him, proud to have found the answer before his father even asked. "There, just under the jaw."
His father knelt and groped under the beast's head with his hand. He gave a yank and held it up for all to see. A foot of shattered antler, tines snapped off, all wet with blood.
Bran tore his eyes away from the monster. That was when he noticed the bundle in Robb's arms. He gave a cry of delight and moved closer. The pup was a tiny ball of grey-black fur, its eyes still closed. It nuzzled blindly against Robb's chest as he cradled it, searching for milk among his leathers, making a sad little whimpery sound. Bran reached out hesitantly. "Go on," Robb told him. "You can touch him."
[…]
The little thing squirmed against him, as if it heard and understood. "No!" Bran cried out fiercely. "It's mine."
"Put away your sword, Greyjoy," Robb said. For a moment he sounded as commanding as their father, like the lord he would someday be. "We will keep these pups."
"You cannot do that, boy," said Harwin, who was Hullen's son.
[..]
Robb resisted stubbornly. "Ser Rodrik's red bitch whelped again last week," he said. "It was a small litter, only two live pups. She'll have milk enough."
"She'll rip them apart when they try to nurse."
[…]
The direwolf graces the banners of House Stark, Jon pointed out. "I am no Stark, Father."
Their lord father regarded Jon thoughtfully. Robb rushed into the silence he left. "I will nurse him myself, Father," he promised. "I will soak a towel with warm milk, and give him suck from that."
[…]
"You must train them as well," their father said. "You must train them. The kennelmaster will have nothing to do with these monsters, I promise you that. And the gods help you if you neglect them, or brutalize them, or train them badly. These are not dogs to beg for treats and slink off at a kick. A direwolf will rip a man's arm off his shoulder as easily as a dog will kill a rat. Are you sure you want this?"
"The pups may die anyway, despite all you do."
"They won't die," Robb said. "We won't let them die."
"Keep them, then. Jory, Desmond, gather up the other pups. It's time we were back to Winterfell."
- A Game of Thrones – Bran I

Poor Robb. If he only knew that his premature death was foreshadowed in his very first scene. As to Grey Wind, we got our first glimpse of him in the scene, but there’s not much to say of him here. He was helpless, but he grows to be a fearsome beast and a fierce friend.

Grey Wind and Robb The Lord – A Game of Thrones

Grey Wind’s story has many strong themes we can use to understand the warg bond Robb. We see him as Robb’s constant affectionate companion when not with his pack or hunting and how they mirror each other's personalities. We see how fierce a protector he is, especially in battle or when Robb is threatened. We also see more evidence that Robb and Grey Wind are both leaders of their respective packs, though Grey Wind is extremely obedient to Robb. Their interactions can be broken down as follows (enumerated here for illustration):

  1. Protecting or shadowing Robb, whether leading, at his side, or following at his heels; 10 times

    1. Threatening, growling, attacking, or otherwise instilling fear in others; 6 times

  2. Mirroring feelings, thoughts or actions; 4 times

  3. Obeying; 4 times

  4. Petting, scratching, or other affectionate behavior 4 times

  5. Howling, hunting or other pack behavior 4 times

This list can be considered to be ongoing themes with our direwolves, coupled with one more concept, that when the wolves are separated from their children, bad things can happen (though certainly not at every separation). As with Sansa, we also see with Robb and Grey Wind and the other pairs.

Given that Robb has no POV, we get Grey Wind’s story chiefly from Catelyn and Bran, though Arya and Jon give us glimpses from time to time. The most common theme in their bond is for Grey Wind to be shadowing / protecting Robb, as in this next quote, where we also see Robb growing into his leadership role.

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A Game of Thrones - Jon II

Robb was in the middle of it, shouting commands with the best of them. He seemed to have grown of late, as if Bran's fall and his mother's collapse had somehow made him stronger**. Grey Wind** was at his side.
- A Game of Thrones - Jon II

 

.The next interaction is for Grey Wind to be in the yard howling with Summer and Shaggy. Summer is worrying for Bran, and the other two are in solidarity. Robb can tell their voices apart. The bond may be part of why. He also shows leadership here, too, as he even instructs Cat.

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A Game of Thrones - Cat III

Outside the tower, a wolf began to howl. Catelyn trembled, just for a second.
"Bran's." Robb opened the window and let the night air into the stuffy tower room. The howling grew louder. It was a cold and lonely sound, full of melancholy and despair. "Don't," she told him. "Bran needs to stay warm."
"He needs to hear them sing," Robb said. Somewhere out in Winterfell, a second wolf began to howl in chorus with the first. Then a third, closer. "Shaggydog and Grey Wind," Robb said as their voices rose and fell together. "You can tell them apart if you listen close."
- A Game of Thrones - Cat III

The next chapter, we see Robb’s leadership reflected in Grey Wind, who is herding / protecting Rickon along with his brothers. We also learn that he is bigger than Summer at least. He’s probably bigger than Shaggy too, given how he dominates him later.

 

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A Game of Thrones - Bran IV

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

In the heart of the chapter, we see all three act as a pack again in their threatening of Tyrion. One observation, they surrounded Tyrion (see bold in first 2 paragraphs). Grey Wind is not leading this particular action, Summer is. Yet, Grey Wind is the most aggressive, actually tearing at the imp’s sleeve. At the end, notice how Grey Wind obeys Robb on command at the end of it; he is well-disciplined. Prior to the command though, Grey Wind seems to reflect both Summer and Robb’s mood / antipathy about Tyrion.

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The door to the yard flew open. Sunlight came streaming across the hall as Rickon burst in, breathless. The direwolves were with him. The boy stopped by the door, wide-eyed, but the wolves came on. Their eyes found Lannister, or perhaps they caught his scent. Summer began to growl first. Grey Wind picked it up. They padded toward the little man, one from the right and one from the left.
"Perhaps it's time I took my leave," Tyrion said. He took a step backward … and Shaggydog came out of the shadows behind him, snarling. Lannister recoiled, and Summer lunged at him from the other side. He reeled away, unsteady on his feet, and Grey Wind snapped at his arm, teeth ripping at his sleeve and tearing loose a scrap of cloth.
"No!" Bran shouted from the high seat as Lannister's men reached for their steel. "Summer, here. Summer, to me!"
The direwolf heard the voice, glanced at Bran, and again at Lannister. He crept backward, away from the little man, and settled down below Bran's dangling feet.
Robb had been holding his breath. He let it out with a sigh and called, "Grey Wind." His direwolf moved to him, swift and silent. Now there was only Shaggy dog, rumbling at the small man, his eyes burning like green fire.
"Rickon, call him," Bran shouted to his baby brother, and Rickon remembered himself and screamed, "Home, Shaggy, home now." The black wolf gave Lannister one final snarl and bounded off to Rickon, who hugged him tightly around the neck.

Later that chapter, we see 2 more interactions with the pack where Grey Wind is leading / protecting or dominating the other wolves. He seems back to his natural role, leader of the pack.

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Hodor washed the sweat from him with a warm, damp cloth and dressed him with deft and gentle hands. When it was time, he carried him down to the Great Hall, where a long trestle table had been set up near the fire. The lord's seat at the head of the table had been left empty, but Robb sat to the right of it, with Bran across from him. They ate suckling pig that night, and pigeon pie, and turnips soaking in butter, and afterward the cook had promised honeycombs. Summer snatched table scraps from Bran's hand, while Grey Wind and Shaggydog fought over a bone in the corner. Winterfell's dogs would not come near the hall now. Bran had found that strange at first, but he was growing used to it. [...]
That night, after the plates had been cleared, Robb carried Bran up to bed himself. Grey Wind led the way, and Summer came close behind. His brother was strong for his age, and Bran was as light as a bundle of rags, but the stairs were steep and dark, and Robb was breathing hard by the time they reached the top.
- A Game of Thrones - Bran IV

The next interaction is when they go riding outside Winterfell, the passage is quite rich. First, they are shadowing the boys, but then the direwolves go off hunting. Robb discusses the wolves’ intuition / ESP. I think it’s clear that they can sense danger or malice in men… is this a telepathic trait, part of their magic or just a general wolf trait, tied to their sense of smell? It may also be another indication of Grey Wind feeling and reflecting Robb’s growing unease with the tensions in the south at court.

I must point out that there is a bit of a weakness in the instinctual danger sense in this scene; the direwolves ought to have sensed / smelled Stiv and his band from a mile away, yet instead they brought down the elk. Perhaps the instinct to hunt overpowered the protective instinct? Are we supposed to worry about this issue later in the story? Either way, it definitely fits with the theme that when the wolves are separated from their children, bad things happen.

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A Game of Thrones - Bran V
They passed beneath the gatehouse, over the drawbridge, through the outer walls. Summer and Grey Wind came loping beside them, sniffing at the wind. Close behind came Theon Greyjoy, with his longbow and a quiver of broadheads; he had a mind to take a deer, he had told them. He was followed by four guardsmen in mailed shirts and coifs, and Joseth, a stick-thin stableman whom Robb had named master of horse while Hullen was away. Maester Luwin brought up the rear, riding on a donkey.
[...]
"Grey Wind was restless too," Robb said. His auburn hair had grown shaggy and unkempt, and a reddish stubble covered his jaw, making him look older than his fifteen years. "Sometimes I think they know things … sense things …" Robb sighed. "I never know how much to tell you, Bran. I wish you were older."

Once they return with Robb, Grey Wind and Summer both attack the wildlings / deserters savagely, quickly taking down all but Stiv. Grey Wind covers a ton of ground, living up to his name. Note also that it is implied that they obey Robb’s whistle.

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Robb whistled. They heard the faint sound of soft feet on wet leaves. The undergrowth parted, low-hanging branches giving up their accumulation of snow, and Grey Wind and Summer emerged from the green. Summer sniffed the air and growled.
[…]
Robb shouted, "Winterfell!" and kicked his horse. The gelding plunged down the bank as the ragged men closed. A man with an axe rushed in, shouting and heedless. Robb's sword caught him full in the face with a sickening crunch and a spray of bright blood. The man with the gaunt stubbly face made a grab for the reins, and for half a second he had them … and then Grey Wind was on him, bearing him down. He fell back into the stream with a splash and a shout, flailing wildly with his knife as his head went under. The direwolf plunged in after him, and the white water turned red where they had vanished.
[…]
The sixth man ran from the carnage … but not far. As he went scrambling up the far side of the bank, Grey Wind emerged from the stream, dripping wet. He shook the water off and bounded after the running man, hamstringing him with a single snap of his teeth, and going for the throat as the screaming man slid back down toward the water.

When Stiv threatens Bran, Grey Wind again immediately obeys Robb’s command to stand down, but Summer is having none of it. He is intent on Bran. Both boys, for their part, never consider following Stiv’s order to kill the wolves. They know the wolves make them safer. Robb does a good job of delaying as best he can in hope of help.

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In that moment Bran saw everything. Summer was savaging Hali, pulling glistening blue snakes from her belly. Her eyes were wide and staring. Bran could not tell whether she was alive or dead. The grey stubbly man and the one with the axe lay unmoving, but Osha was on her knees, crawling toward her fallen spear. Grey Wind padded toward her, dripping wet. "Call him off!" the big man shouted. "Call them both off, or the cripple boy dies now!"
"Grey Wind, Summer, to me," Robb said.
The direwolves stopped, turned their heads. Grey Wind loped back to Robb. Summer stayed where he was, his eyes on Bran and the man beside him. He growled. His muzzle was wet and red, but his eyes burned.
Osha used the butt end of her spear to lever herself back to her feet. Blood leaked from a wound on the upper arm where Robb had cut her. Bran could see sweat trickling down the big man's face. Stiv was as scared as he was, he realized. "Starks," the man muttered, "bloody Starks." He raised his voice. "Osha, kill the wolves and get his sword."
"Kill them yourself," she replied. "I'll not be getting near those monsters."
[…]
Robb hesitated a moment. Then, slowly and deliberately, he dismounted and stood with his sword in hand.
"Now kill the wolves."
Robb did not move.
"You do it. The wolves or the boy."
"No!" Bran screamed. If Robb did as they asked, Stiv would kill them both anyway, once the direwolves were dead.
- A Game of Thrones - Bran V

Note also the fear their attacks instill in Osha; the fear of the wolves will also be an ongoing theme. More on others’ reaction to this in Bran/Summer’s write-up.

The next chapter is our last where Grey Wind is with Summer and Shaggydog, and there are several interactions with the wolves. Our first scene shows Grey Wind dominating Shaggy, in cooperation with Robb. The teamwork they show seems a reflection that their bond is getting strong.

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

Next is the renowned scene with the Greatjon, where Grey Wind, at a word from Robb, attacks them Umber man, which proves Robb’s bonafides to the crowd of lords. Robb’s bond to Grey Wind shows a high level of control here. Grey Wind knows exactly what to do and takes his cue from Robb. His savagery is also swift and permanent. Robb is not to be f***ed with.

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And when Lord Umber, who was called the Greatjon by his men and stood as tall as Hodor and twice as wide, threatened to take his forces home if he was placed behind the Hornwoods or the Cerwyns in the order of march, Robb told him he was welcome to do so. "And when we are done with the Lannisters," he promised, scratching Grey Wind behind the ear, "we will march back north, root you out of your keep, and hang you for an oathbreaker." Cursing, the Greatjon flung a flagon of ale into the fire and bellowed that Robb was so green he must piss grass. When Hallis Mollen moved to restrain him, he knocked him to the floor, kicked over a table, and unsheathed the biggest, ugliest greatsword that Bran had ever seen. All along the benches, his sons and brothers and sworn swords leapt to their feet, grabbing for their steel.
Yet Robb only said a quiet word, and in a snarl and the blink of an eye Lord Umber was on his back, his sword spinning on the floor three feet away and his hand dripping blood where Grey Wind had bitten off two fingers. "My lord father taught me that it was death to bare steel against your liege lord," Robb said, "but doubtless you only meant to cut my meat." Bran's bowels went to water as the Greatjon struggled to rise, sucking at the red stumps of fingers … but then, astonishingly, the huge man laughed. "Your meat," he roared, "is bloody tough."

It must be mentioned that some of these lords likely recognize Robb as a warg in this scene. Some may fear him, but many (like the Great Jon) respect him and want to follow him. We must wonder what Roose Bolton thinks. Did the seed of betrayal manifest even this early?

We then get an interaction about Sansa’s letter, coupled with the direwolves reaction to the return of Lady’s bones. Robb is angry at her. The direwolves somehow sense her coming a long way off. Was it just her scent, or had they sensed her before that? Had they felt it telepathically when she died? Note that they seem to do it in unison. It doesn’t seem that one started before the others.

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His fingers closed into a fist, crushing Sansa's letter between them. "And she says nothing of Arya, nothing, not so much as a word. Damn her! What's wrong with the girl?"
Bran felt all cold inside. "She lost her wolf," he said, weakly, remembering the day when four of his father's guardsmen had returned from the south with Lady's bones. Summer and Grey Wind and Shaggydog had begun to howl before they crossed the drawbridge, in voices drawn and desolate. Beneath the shadow of the First Keep was an ancient lichyard, its headstones spotted with pale lichen, where the old Kings of Winter had laid their faithful servants. It was there they buried Lady, while her brothers stalked between the graves like restless shadows. She had gone south, and only her bones had returned.

Something peaks their senses at the return of their sister. They are linked to each other, not just to their children. They know that their sister is coming home and they lament it.

Finally, we get Bran’s reaction when Robb and Grey Wind leave Winterfell for the last time. These two interactions continue the theme of how Grey Wind shadows Robb. Grey winds speed and lithe figure are highlighted.

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He wheeled his courser around and trotted away. Grey Wind followed, loping beside the warhorse, lean and swift. Hallis Mollen went before them through the gate, carrying the rippling white banner of House Stark atop a high standard of grey ash. Theon Greyjoy and the Greatjon fell in on either side of Robb, and their knights formed up in a double column behind them, steel-tipped lances glinting in the sun.
[...]
Beyond the castle walls, a roar of sound went up. The foot soldiers and townsfolk were cheering Robb as he rode past, Bran knew; cheering for Lord Stark, for the Lord of Winterfell on his great stallion, with his cloak streaming and Grey Wind racing beside him. They would never cheer for him that way, he realized with a dull ache. He might be the lord in Winterfell while his brother and father were gone, but he was still Bran the Broken. He could not even get off his own horse, except to fall.
- A Game of Thrones - Bran VI

From here out, we see Robb and Grey Wind solely through Catelyn’s POV. In the first interaction, Grey Wind is protective of Robb, but once he remembers Cat’s scent, he’s playful with her.

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A Game of Thrones - Catelyn VIII
Catelyn wanted to run to him, to kiss his sweet brow, to wrap him in her arms and hold him so tightly that he would never come to harm … but here in front of his lords, she dared not. He was playing a man's part now, and she would not take that away from him. So she held herself at the far end of the basalt slab they were using for a table. The direwolf got to his feet and padded across the room to where she stood. It seemed bigger than a wolf ought to be. "You've grown a beard," she said to Robb, while Grey Wind sniffed her hand.
He rubbed his stubbled jaw, suddenly awkward. "Yes." His chin hairs were redder than the ones on his head.
"I like it." Catelyn stroked the wolf's head, gently. "It makes you look like my brother Edmure." Grey Wind nipped at her fingers, playful, and trotted back to his place by the fire.

In the next interaction, Grey Wind actually seems to be comforting Robb as he rubs up against him, seemingly sensing his unease about Lord Eddard’s precarious situation.

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She reached across his table and touched his hair. "You are my firstborn, Robb. I have only to look at you to remember the day you came into the world, red-faced and squalling."
He rose, clearly uncomfortable with her touch, and walked to the hearth. Grey Wind rubbed his head against his leg. "You know … about Father?"
- A Game of Thrones - Catelyn VIII

In the next chapter, Grey Wind is back to shadowing Robb and showcasing his speed.

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A Game of Thrones - Catelyn IX
"I do." Robb spurred his horse forward. He was in his armor, with the direwolf shield of Winterfell strapped to his saddle and Grey Wind padding by his side.
[...]
Robb galloped out to meet her, with Grey Wind racing beside his stallion. "It's done," she told him.
- A Game of Thrones - Catelyn IX

Now, we have the battle of the Whispering Wood. Grey Wind is back to shadowing Robb during the preparation. He then echoes the warhorn with his howl. It unnerves Catelyn. Imagine the fear it instilled in the enemy ranks.

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A Game of Thrones - Catelyn X
"It will give them courage," Robb said.
And who will give me courage? she wondered, yet she kept her silence and made herself smile for him. Robb turned the big grey stallion and walked him slowly away from her, Grey Wind shadowing his steps.
[...]
Here was the call of Maege Mormont's warhorn, a long low blast that rolled down the valley from the east, to tell them that the last of Jaime's riders had entered the trap.
And Grey Wind threw back his head and howled.
The sound seemed to go right through Catelyn Stark, and she found herself shivering. It was a terrible sound, a frightening sound, yet there was music in it too. For a second she felt something like pity for the Lannisters below. So this is what death sounds like**,** she thought.

That last bit unnerves even me, but what an awesome landmark of literature. Then just by Cat’s hearing of the battle, we can imagine speed, power, and savagery of Grey Wind in this battle. Finally, Grey Wind sounds a howl again to signal the victory.

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Once she heard Robb's voice, as clear as if he'd been standing at her side, calling, "To me! To me!" And she heard his direwolf, snarling and growling, heard the snap of those long teeth, the tearing of flesh, shrieks of fear and pain from man and horse alike. Was there only one wolf? It was hard to be certain.
Little by little, the sounds dwindled and died, until at last there was only the wolf. As a red dawn broke in the east, Grey Wind began to howl again.
- A Game of Thrones - Catelyn X

The next chapter displays the closeness between Robb and Grey Wind. At the same time, he ignites fear even in allies. As an aside, is Theon flirting with Catelyn here? Designs on the widow?

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A Game of Thrones - Catelyn XI
Robb sat in the bow with Grey Wind, his hand resting on his direwolf's head as the rowers pulled at their oars. Theon Greyjoy was with him. Her uncle Brynden would come behind in the second boat, with the Greatjon and Lord Karstark.
[…]
"Bring them in," Ser Edmure commanded. Three men scrambled down the stairs knee-deep in the water and pulled the boat close with long hooks. When Grey Wind bounded out, one of them dropped his pole and lurched back, stumbling and sitting down abruptly in the river. The others laughed, and the man got a sheepish look on his face. Theon Greyjoy vaulted over the side of the boat and lifted Catelyn by the waist, setting her on a dry step above him as water lapped around his boots.
- A Game of Thrones - Catelyn XI

So, let’s summarize Grey Wind and Robb in AGoT:

  • Grey Wind’s speed and savage attacks are fearsome, indeed.

  • He inspires fear in even Robb’s own men.

  • Grey Wind always obeys Robb’s commands immediately.

  • Their bond is getting incredibly close.

  • Their coordination in battle seems quite good.

  • Grey Wind shadows Robb closely as a protector.

  • Grey Wind only left Robb’s side one notable time and something bad happened.

  • Grey Wind reflects Robb’s leadership in many ways, especially in how he dominated Shaggydog

A Clash of Kings – A Savage Grey Wind and King Robb

With Grey Wind in this volume, we generally see a continuation of the direwolf themes from last volume, even with some notable increases. We also get snippets in Arya’s chapters where Grey Wind and Robb are discussed almost as something out of legends (there are six separate mentions of them, Grey Wind or the Young Wolf, in Arya’s story).

We start with a reminder that he is now separated from his pack, never to be reunited with them, though we should recall that his sister Nymeria is close. The call of the pack is strong, though, as Bran feels it through Summer; they want to be reunited with their brothers. The bond is interesting, and I wonder if they can hear the silent Ghost in their mind through their direct wolf-to-wolf bond. Bran seems to feel it viscerally and wants to fight as a wolf alongside Grey Wind! Well, as it turns out, he gets his chance to fight as a wolf many times later.

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A Clash of Kings - Bran I
Summer's howls were long and sad, full of grief and longing. Shaggydog's were more savage. Their voices echoed through the yards and halls until the castle rang and it seemed as though some great pack of direwolves haunted Winterfell, instead of only two . . . two where there had once been six. Do they miss their brothers and sisters too? Bran wondered. Are they calling to Grey Wind and Ghost, to Nymeria and Lady's Shade? Do they want them to come home and be a pack together?
[...]
Summer had howled the day Bran had fallen, and for long after as he lay broken in his bed; Robb had told him so before he went away to war. Summer had mourned for him, and Shaggydog and Grey Wind had joined in his grief. And the night the bloody raven had brought word of their father's death, the wolves had known that too. Bran had been in the maester's turret with Rickon talking of the children of the forest when Summer and Shaggydog had drowned out Luwin with their howls.
[...]
"I'd sooner be a wolf. Then I could live in the wood and sleep when I wanted, and I could find Arya and Sansa. I'd smell where they were and go save them, and when Robb went to battle I'd fight beside him like Grey Wind. I'd tear out the Kingslayer's throat with my teeth, rip, and then the war would be over and everyone would come back to Winterfell. If I was a wolf . . ." He howled. "Ooo-ooo-oooooooooooo."
- A Clash of Kings - Bran I

Our first direct scene with Grey Wind shows the terror that he can inspire in enemies and allies alike, starting with Catelyn’s remembrance of the Whispering Wood. Poor Cleos is used as a prop in a mummer’s show. The bond seems quite strong; the 2 are truly aligned. Robb may even have been partially warging Grey Wind in this scene, in a display of their combined strength for friend and foe alike.

After threatening Cleos, Grey Wind returns to shadowing Robb, before again snarling and then howling in reflection of the force of Robb’s proclamation against the Lannisters. This is truly impressive coordination, whether directed by Robb or just by Grey Wind’s innate connection to Robb’s feelings. After the scene, Cat suggests that Robb was choreographing the whole thing, something he doesn’t confirm or deny. It’s also an echo of the way that the ancient kings of winter greeted enemies, if you believe the image given by the crypts.

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A Clash of Kings - Catelyn I
Yet it was not the sword that made Ser Cleos Frey anxious; it was the beast. Grey Wind, her son had named him. A direwolf large as any elkhound, lean and smoke-dark, with eyes like molten gold. When the beast padded forward and sniffed at the captive knight, every man in that hall could smell the scent of fear. Ser Cleos had been taken during the battle in the Whispering Wood, where Grey Wind had ripped out the throats of half a dozen men.
The knight scrambled up, edging away with such alacrity that some of the watchers laughed aloud. "Thank you, my lord."
[…]
"An offer of peace." Robb stood, longsword in hand. Grey Wind moved to his side. The hall grew hushed. "Tell the Queen Regent that if she meets my terms, I will sheath this sword, and make an end to the war between us."
[...]
Robb rolled up the parchment again. "Maester Vyman has drawn a map, showing the borders we claim. You shall have a copy for the queen. Lord Tywin must withdraw beyond these borders, and cease his raiding, burning, and pillage. The Queen Regent and her son shall make no claims to taxes, incomes, nor service from my people, and shall free my lords and knights from all oaths of fealty, vows, pledges, debts, and obligations owed to the Iron Throne and the Houses Baratheon and Lannister. Additionally, the Lannisters shall deliver ten highborn hostages, to be mutually agreed upon, as a pledge of peace. These I will treat as honored guests, according to their station. So long as the terms of this pact are abided with faithfully, I shall release two hostages every year, and return them safely to their families." Robb tossed the rolled parchment at the knight's feet. "There are the terms. If she meets them, I'll give her peace. If not"—he whistled, and Grey Wind moved forward snarling—"I'll give her another Whispering Wood."
"Stark!" the Greatjon roared again, and now other voices took up the cry. "Stark, Stark, King in the North!" The direwolf threw back his head and howled.
Ser Cleos had gone the color of curdled milk. "The queen shall hear your message, my—Your Grace."
[...]
"You did well," she told her son in the gallery that led from the rear of the hall, "though that business with the wolf was japery more befitting a boy than a king."
Robb scratched Grey Wind behind the ear. "Did you see the look on his face, Mother?" he asked, smiling.

Later, Grey Wind is again with Robb, reinforcing how they are ALWAYS together. Later, there is an instance of affection between them. We also get another echo of his obedience and how he constantly mirrors Robb, when he growls and Cat’s dig about the fearing the Kingslayer.

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Her son was looking down at her, Catelyn realized. Was it war that made him grow so fast, she wondered, or the crown they had put on his head? "Are you afraid to have Jaime Lannister in the field again, is that the truth of it?"
Grey Wind growled, as if he sensed Robb's anger, and Edmure Tully put a brotherly hand on Catelyn's shoulder. "Cat, don't. The boy has the right of this."
[...]
Her son squatted beside Grey Wind, ruffling the wolf's fur and incidentally avoiding her eyes. "Theon's fought bravely for us. I told you how he saved Bran from those wildlings in the wolfswood. If the Lannisters won't make peace, I'll have need of Lord Greyjoy's longships."
[...]
"I'm sending Theon. Good day, Mother. Grey Wind, come." Robb walked off briskly, the direwolf padding beside him.
- A Clash of Kings - Catelyn I

This unfortunately is the last evidence we get of them being inseparable. Cat soon leaves for the Reach and Robb for the Westerlands, and things are not the same thereafter. Before Cat takes up Grey Wind’s tale, we again get remembrances from Bran and third hand information learned through Arya’s POV. First, Arya overhears folk in an Inn. The legend of Robb and Grey Wind’s ferocity in battle has spread far and wide, getting quite tall in the telling. Riding the wolf indeed, if only in the sense of riding along in his skin, I suppose.

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A Clash of Kings - Arya II
"It's more than Lannister and Tully," the innkeeper said. "There's wild men down from the Mountains of the Moon, try telling them you take no part. And the Starks are in it too, the young lord's come down, the dead Hand's son . . ."
Arya sat up straight, straining to hear. Did he mean Robb?
"I heard the boy rides to battle on a wolf," said a yellow-haired man with a tankard in his hand.
"Fool's talk." Yoren spat.
"The man I heard it from, he saw it himself. A wolf big as a horse, he swore."
- A Clash of Kings - Arya II

Then, Bran recalls the savagery of Grey Wind and Summer together in the Wolfswood.

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A Clash of Kings - Bran II
"Then might be he's not so stupid as he seems." Osha was always wary around the direwolves. The day she was taken, Summer and Grey Wind between them had torn three wildlings to bloody pieces. "Or might be he is. And that tastes of trouble too." She tied up her hair. "You have more of them wolf dreams?"
- A Clash of Kings - Bran II

Returning to Arya, the tales seem to have grown grimmer in Harrenhal, currently occupied by the Lannisters. She overhears them clearly suggesting that Robb is something less than human. This is a clear reference to him being a warg, a term which generally brings a negative connotation in Westerosi society. There is also innuendo that the Starks are known for this trait. Even in GRRM's other works, the theme of magic users being persecuted looms large. It doesn’t phase Arya, though; instead, the tales of Robb and Grey Wind give her courage. She embraces being a wolf. Note that she’s dreaming the wolf dreams at this point. We must assume Robb is bonding with Grey Wind in his dreams too.

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A Clash of Kings - Arya VIII
". . . giants I tell you, he's got giants twenty foot tall come down from beyond the Wall, follow him like dogs . . ."
". . . not natural, coming on them so fast, in the night and all. He's more wolf than man, all them Starks are . . ."
[...]
"So you say, but might be the boy knows something we don't, maybe it's us ought to be run . . ."
Yes, Arya thought. Yes, it's you who ought to run, you and Lord Tywin and the Mountain and Ser Addam and Ser Amory and stupid Ser Lyonel whoever he is, all of you better run or my brother will kill you, he's a Stark, he's more wolf than man, and so am I.
- A Clash of Kings - Arya VIII

Cat comes back into Grey Wind’s story with the third hand discussion of how he led Robb’s party around the Golden Tooth. The theme of Robb being a warg continues here; Walder Rivers insinuates it in his speech IMO. I believe that Robb probably discovered the track in a wolf dream. Without warging being involved, the only alternative explanation is Robb and Grey Wind performing a weak parody of “Lassie,” which I find unlikely. Catelyn clutches her pearls, at the embellishment about feeding the heart to Ghost, but the implication that he is a warg is close to the truth.

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"How did the king ever take the Tooth?" Ser Perwyn Frey asked his bastard brother. "That's a hard strong keep, and it commands the hill road."
"He never took it. He slipped around it in the night. It's said the direwolf showed him the way, that Grey Wind of his. The beast sniffed out a goat track that wound down a defile and up along beneath a ridge, a crooked and stony way, yet wide enough for men riding single file. The Lannisters in their watchtowers got not so much a glimpse of them." Rivers lowered his voice. "There's some say that after the battle, the king cut out Stafford Lannister's heart and fed it to the wolf."
"I would not believe such tales," Catelyn said sharply. "My son is no savage."
"As you say, my lady. Still**, it's no more than the beast deserved. That is no common wolf, that one.** The Greatjon's been heard to say that the old gods of the north sent those direwolves to your children."
- A Clash of Kings - Catelyn V

The last bit about the pack being sent is another reminder of the supernatural aspect of these wolves. Cat actually had the same thought in her first chapter in AGoT. I, like many, believe that a Bloodraven servant such as cold hands sent the mother south through the black gate at the Nightfort (around the same time as Gared crossed).

Along those lines, the only in references to Grey Wind for the rest of this volume is in relation to his pack. He and Robb don’t rejoin Catelyn until ASoS. Still, she does think of them after hearing about Bran and Rickon’s “deaths”. She is in a very dark place (it’s heart-wrenching), trying to understand the calamity and worried about the girls and Robb. Interestingly, assuming Theon first killed Shaggy and Summer, she is not worried about Robb because he has Grey Wind to protect him… Is this an ironic foreshadowing of what’s to come at the Twins?

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A Clash of Kings - Catelyn VII
"Are they?" Catelyn said sharply. "What god would let this happen? Rickon was only a baby. How could he deserve such a death? And Bran . . . when I left the north, he had not opened his eyes since his fall. I had to go before he woke. Now I can never return to him, or hear him laugh again." She showed Brienne her palms, her fingers. "These scars . . . they sent a man to cut Bran's throat as he lay sleeping. He would have died then, and me with him, but Bran's wolf tore out the man's throat." That gave her a moment's pause. "I suppose Theon killed the wolves too. He must have, elsewise . . . I was certain the boys would be safe so long as the direwolves were with them. Like Robb with his Grey Wind. But my daughters have no wolves now."
- A Clash of Kings - Catelyn VII

Continuing the foreshadowing of Robb and Grey Wind’s death, Theon Dreams of them both bleeding out just after dreaming of other people he’s already killed. On the first read, we can only relate it to his guilt over betraying Robb, but on a reread the foreshadowing is plain. I do wonder about the supernatural nature of this dream. Is it predictive, or just indicative of Theon’s guilt for what he’d done to Robb? Probably both.

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A Clash of Kings - Theon V

King Robert sat with his guts spilling out on the table from the great gash in his belly, and Lord Eddard was headless beside him. Corpses lined the benches below, grey-brown flesh sloughing off their bones as they raised their cups to toast, worms crawling in and out of the holes that were their eyes. He knew them, every one; Jory Cassel and Fat Tom, Porther and Cayn and Hullen the master of horse, and all the others who had ridden south to King's Landing never to return. Mikken and Chayle sat together, one dripping blood and the other water. Benfred Tallhart and his Wild Hares filled most of a table. The miller's wife was there as well, and Farlen, even the wildling Theon had killed in the wolfswood the day he had saved Bran's life.
But there were others with faces he had never known in life, faces he had seen only in stone. The slim, sad girl who wore a crown of pale blue roses and a white gown spattered with gore could only be Lyanna. Her brother Brandon stood beside her, and their father Lord Rickard just behind. Along the walls figures half-seen moved through the shadows, pale shades with long grim faces. The sight of them sent fear shivering through Theon sharp as a knife. And then the tall doors opened with a crash, and a freezing gale blew down the hall, and Robb came walking out of the night. Grey Wind stalked beside, eyes burning, and man and wolf alike bled from half a hundred savage wounds.
- A Clash of Kings - Theon V

The final mention of Grey Wind in ACoK is from Jon. Continuing the death theme, he believes he’s going to die soon. He wonders if the wolves will mourn him, especially Ghost, who notably will not howl, given that he never howls, save in Jon’s dream. I think this is a foreshadowing of the theme of a “second life” a la the Varamyr Prologue in ADwD. We wonder the same about Grey Wind with Robb in the next volume.

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A Clash of Kings - Jon VIII

It will be good to feel warm again, if only for a little while, he told himself while he hacked bare branches from the trunk of a dead tree. Ghost sat on his haunches watching, silent as ever. Will he howl for me when I'm dead, as Bran's wolf howled when he fell? Jon wondered. Will Shaggydog howl, far off in Winterfell, and Grey Wind and Nymeria, wherever they might be?

- A Clash of Kings - Jon VIII

A Storm of Swords – An Isolated Grey Wind and Married Robb

In this volume, we see how the main themes of the wolf bond can be undermined. The disastrous consequences of doing so should be a warning to all the other Stark children about the importance of heeding their wolves’ warnings. Unfortunately, none of them are yet equipped to learn this lesson (or receive it give Robb’s separation from all of them.

We start with Summer remembering the pack, including Grey Wind. Since we get no POV for Grey Wind, I include this passage to remind us of the type of thoughts Grey Wind must be having. He is most similar to Summer in looks, most importantly in having the same eye color, a color shared with Nymeria and Lady.

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A Storm of Swords – Bran I
He had a pack as well, once. Five they had been, and a sixth who stood aside. Somewhere down inside him were the sounds the men had given them to tell one from the other, but it was not by their sounds he knew them. He remembered their scents, his brothers and his sisters. They all had smelled alike, had smelled of pack, but each was different too.
[...]
Sometimes he could sense them, though, as if they were still with him, only hidden from his sight by a boulder or a stand of trees. He could not smell them, nor hear their howls by night, yet he felt their presence at his back . . . all but the sister they had lost. His tail drooped when he remembered her. Four now, not five. Four and one more, the white who has no voice.
- A Storm of Swords – Bran I

When Robb returns to Riverrun Catelyn at first assumes Grey Wind is with him. Soon, though, it is clear that something’s wrong. The wolf is no longer Robb’s constant companion. Grey Wind’s isolation from Robb is constant for much of this volume.

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A Storm of Swords - Catelyn II
Her son had returned to Riverrun, and Grey Wind with him. Only the scent of the great grey direwolf could send the hounds into such a frenzy of baying and barking. He will come to me, she knew. Edmure had not returned after his first visit, preferring to spend his days with Marq Piper and Patrek Mallister, listening to Rymund the Rhymer's verses about the battle at the Stone Mill. Robb is not Edmure, though. Robb will see me.
[...]
Utherydes Wayn slammed his staff on the floor and shouted the dismissal, and river lords and northerners alike moved toward the doors. It was only then that Catelyn realized what was amiss. The wolf. The wolf is not here. Where is Grey Wind? She knew the direwolf had returned with Robb, she had heard the dogs, but he was not in the hall, not at her son's side where he belonged.

Catelyn, knowing first-hand the protective nature of the direwolves, challenges Robb on this, but as in so many of his prior decisions (some good and some poor), he dismisses her concern. The stubbornness that was mentioned early in the story is front-and-center.

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As they started up the steps, Catelyn asked the question that had been troubling her since she entered the hall. "Robb, where is Grey Wind?"
"In the yard, with a haunch of mutton. I told the kennelmaster to see that he was fed."
"You always kept him with you before."
"A hall is no place for a wolf. He gets restless, you've seen. Growling and snapping. I should never have taken him into battle with me. He's killed too many men to fear them now. Jeyne's anxious around him, and he terrifies her mother."
And there's the heart of it, Catelyn thought**. "He is part of you, Robb.** To fear him is to fear you."
"I am not a wolf, no matter what they call me." Robb sounded cross. "Grey Wind killed a man at the Crag, another at Ashemark, and six or seven at Oxcross. If you had seen—"
"I saw Bran's wolf tear out a man's throat at Winterfell," she said sharply, "and loved him for it."
"That's different. The man at the Crag was a knight Jeyne had known all her life. You can't blame her for being afraid. Grey Wind doesn't like her uncle either. He bares his teeth every time Ser Rolph comes near him."
A chill went through her. "Send Ser Rolph away. At once."
"Robb." She stopped and held his arm. "I told you once to keep Theon Greyjoy close, and you did not listen. Listen now. Send this man away. I am not saying you must banish him. Find some task that requires a man of courage, some honorable duty, what it is matters not . . . but do not keep him near you."
He frowned. "Should I have Grey Wind sniff all my knights? There might be others whose smell he mislikes."
"Any man Grey Wind mislikes is a man I do not want close to you. These wolves are more than wolves, Robb. You must know that. I think perhaps the gods sent them to us. Your father's gods, the old gods of the north. Five wolf pups, Robb, five for five Stark children."
[...]
Catelyn remembered King Renly's court, as she had seen it at Bitterbridge. A thousand golden roses streaming in the wind, Queen Margaery's shy smile and soft words, her brother the Knight of Flowers with the bloody linen around his temples. If you had to fall into a woman's arms, my son, why couldn't they have been Margaery Tyrell's? The wealth and power of Highgarden could have made all the difference in the fighting yet to come. And perhaps Grey Wind would have liked the smell of her as well.
- A Storm of Swords - Catelyn II

Any man Grey Wind mislikes is a man I do not want close to you”. If only that advice were taken as rule this entire volume (and in future for the other Starks). Robb sends away Rolph Spicer, but it’s apparent he doesn’t take the advice to heart, as Grey Wind, Robb’s shadow, remains isolated from him. Cat clearly takes this advice to heart, and it creeps into her thoughts in other ways, even when she laments that Robb married Jeyne instead of Margaery.

The isolation continues in Cat’s next chapter. Cat and Grey Wind are despairing as evidenced by the howling and her ominous thoughts of “death and ruin.”

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A Storm of Swords - Catelyn III
They carried the corpses in upon their shoulders and laid them beneath the dais. A silence fell across the torchlit hall, and in the quiet Catelyn could hear Grey Wind howling half a castle away. He smells the blood, she thought, through stone walls and wooden doors, through night and rain, he still knows the scent of death and ruin.
- A Storm of Swords - Catelyn III

The Karstark debacle certainly is a harbinger of death and ruin. Grey Wind is not even mentioned in the chapter where Lord Rickard is executed. Still, there is some hope, because in the following chapter, Grey Wind is again at Robb’s side. He seems a bit suspicious of Jeyne, but when she leaves, he’s satisfied and scout’s ahead for danger. Their bond seems to be re-established as in AGoT. Grey Wind and Robb are affectionate and they are mirroring each other’s emotions again. Robb’s leadership also seems to be in full effect.

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A Storm of Swords - Catelyn V
All the time the king and queen were talking, Grey Wind prowled around them, stopping only to shake the water from his coat and bare his teeth at the rain. When at last Robb gave Jeyne one final kiss, dispatched a dozen men to take her back to Riverrun, and mounted his horse once more, the direwolf raced off ahead as swift as an arrow loosed from a longbow.
[…]
Of the six Westerlings who had come with her son from the Crag, only one remained by his side; Ser Raynald, Jeyne's brother, the royal banner-bearer. Robb had dispatched Jeyne's uncle Rolph Spicer to deliver young Martyn Lannister to the Golden Tooth the very day he received Lord Tywin's assent to the exchange of captives. It was deftly done. Her son was relieved of his fear for Martyn's safety, Galbart Glover was relieved to hear that his brother Robett had been put on a ship at Duskendale, Ser Rolph had important and honorable employment . . . and Grey Wind was at the king's side once more. Where he belongs.
[…]
"And when you've joined his men to yours and seen my brother married, what then?" Catelyn asked him.
"North." Robb scratched Grey Wind behind an ear.
[…]
"No more than Theon Greyjoy would harm Bran or Rickon?"
Grey Wind leapt up atop King Tristifer's crypt, his teeth bared. Robb's own face was cold. "That is as cruel as it is unfair. Jon is no Theon."
"So you pray. Have you considered your sisters? What of their rights? I agree that the north must not be permitted to pass to the Imp, but what of Arya? By law, she comes after Sansa . . . your own sister, trueborn . . ."
". . . and dead. No one has seen or heard of Arya since they cut Father's head off. Why do you lie to yourself? Arya's gone, the same as Bran and Rickon, and they'll kill Sansa too once the dwarf gets a child from her. Jon is the only brother that remains to me. Should I die without issue, I want him to succeed me as King in the North. I had hoped you would support my choice."
I cannot," she said. "In all else, Robb. In everything. But not in this . . . this folly. Do not ask it."
"I don't have to. I'm the king." Robb turned and walked off, Grey Wind bounding down from the tomb and loping after him.
[…]
In the days that followed, Robb was everywhere and anywhere; riding at the head of the van with the Greatjon, scouting with Grey Wind, racing back to Robin Flint and the rearguard. Men said proudly that the Young Wolf was the first to rise each dawn and the last to sleep at night, but Catelyn wondered whether he was sleeping at all. He grows as lean and hungry as his direwolf.
- A Storm of Swords - Catelyn V

Still, there is a sour note at the end. Is Robb not sleeping a sign that he is breaking, or trying too hard?

In the next chapter, before they approach the Twins, Grey Wind is still shadowing Robb.

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A Storm of Swords - Catelyn VI
Lord Jason Mallister caught up with them amidst the bogs of Hag's Mire. There was more than an hour of daylight remaining when he rode up with his column, but Robb called a halt at once, and Ser Raynald Westerling came to escort Catelyn to the king's tent. She found her son seated beside a brazier, a map across his lap. Grey Wind slept at his feet. The Greatjon was with him, along with Galbart Glover, Maege Mormont, Edmure, and a man that Catelyn did not know, a fleshy balding man with a cringing look to him. No lordling, this one, she knew the moment she laid eyes on the stranger. Not even a warrior.

Unfortunately, the improvement in Grey Wind’s connection to Robb now wanes. When their party comes upon the Freys, Grey Wind senses danger or malice, but Robb doesn’t take heed of the warning. Grey wind for his part, doesn’t obey Robb, for the first time we’ve seen. THIS SHOULD BE A HUGE RED FLAG! Unfortunately, instead of heeding the dire warning of the direwolf, Cat and Robb are too worried about offending the Frey’s. One might take a lesson here on politics (in Westeros and in RL): Keep your own best interest in your sights and don’t try too hard to be appease your enemies. Of course, that would necessitate recognizing them as enemies, which Robb was unable to discern. Listening to Grey Wind here would have enabled it.

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They halted to let their hosts come to them. Robb's banner drooped on its staff, and the steady sound of rainfall mingled with the rush of the swollen Green Fork on their right. Grey Wind edged forward, tail stiff, watching through slitted eyes of dark gold. When the Freys were a half-dozen yards away Catelyn heard him growl, a deep rumble that seemed almost one with rush of the river. Robb looked startled. "Grey Wind, to me. To me!"
Instead the direwolf leapt forward, snarling.
Ser Ryman's palfrey shied off with a whinny of fear, and Petyr Pimple's reared and threw him. Only Black Walder kept his mount in hand. He reached for the hilt of his sword. "No!" Robb was shouting. "Grey Wind, here. Here." Catelyn spurred between the direwolf and the horses. Mud spattered from the hooves of her mare as she cut in front of Grey Wind. The wolf veered away, and only then seemed to hear Robb calling.
"Is this how a Stark makes amends?" Black Walder shouted, with naked steel in hand. "A poor greeting I call it, to set your wolf upon us. Is this why you've come?"

The scene is repeated later at the gates to the Twins. Again, instead of heeding Grey Wolf’s warning Robb practices some politics and denies entry to Raynald Westerling. The tunnel vision here is disheartening. The Starks can’t see the warning because they think if they behave perfectly the Frey’s will be appeased, which won’t happen. Aside from the insult and breaking of his sworn word, Walder Frey also sees Robb as a loser who is being forced to abandon the Riverlands to go home with this tail tucked between his legs. He really had no reason to return to the fold; if he had, all he had to look forward to was the wrath of Tywin Lannister. Under that light, it’s just so sad seeing Robb failing to allow his wolf to save him from the inevitable!

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There was more trouble at the gatehouse. Grey Wind balked in the middle of the drawbridge, shook the rain off, and howled at the portcullis. Robb whistled impatiently. "Grey Wind. What is it? Grey Wind, with me." But the direwolf only bared his teeth. He does not like this place, Catelyn thought. Robb had to squat and speak softly to the wolf before he would consent to pass beneath the portcullis. By then Lame Lothar and Walder Rivers had come up. "It's the sound of the water he fears," Rivers said. "Beasts know to avoid the river in flood."
"A dry kennel and a leg of mutton will see him right again," said Lothar cheerfully. "Shall I summon our master of hounds?"
"He's a direwolf, not a dog," said Robb, "and dangerous to men he does not trust. Ser Raynald, stay with him. I won't take him into Lord Walder's hall like this."
Deftly done, Catelyn decided. Robb keeps the Westerling out of Lord Walder's sight as well.
- A Storm of Swords - Catelyn VI

The irony in Cat’s politically correct praise is too thick. “Deftly done,” indeed. To bd the motivation was completely and utterly wrong-headed.

We must pause now to consider poor Grey Wind. He is isolated and knows of the danger to his Robb. I can’t imagine the anguish.

Next chapter, Cat laments Grey Wind not being present in the hall just before the red wedding ensues. Too late Cat. You chose to appease the Freys again and rely on guest right instead of remembering that Grey Wind was Robb’s most important protector!

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A Storm of Swords - Catelyn VII
The sight of the dogs made Catelyn wish once more for Grey Wind, but Robb's direwolf was nowhere to be seen. Lord Walder had refused to allow him in the hall. "Your wild beast has a taste for human flesh, I hear, heh," the old man had said. "Rips out throats, yes. I'll have no such creature at my Roslin's feast, amongst women and little ones, all my sweet innocents."
"Grey Wind is no danger to them, my lord," Robb protested. "Not so long as I am there."
"You were there at my gates, were you not? When the wolf attacked the grandsons I sent to greet you? I heard all about that, don't think I didn't, heh."

Frey denying the wolf in the hall should have been a huge clue! “Grey Wind is no danger” for friend, not so for enemies.

Not long after that, the crossbows start thrumming. Cat hears Grey Wind howling. Clearly, the wolf sensed this coming. Robb, under the table is probably linked telepathically to the wolf, and Grey Wind knows exactly what’s happening.

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Then the tabletop that the Smalljon had flung over Robb shifted, and her son struggled to his knees. He had an arrow in his side, a second in his leg, a third through his chest. Lord Walder raised a hand, and the music stopped, all but one drum. Catelyn heard the crash of distant battle, and closer the wild howling of a wolf. Grey Wind, she remembered too late. "Heh," Lord Walder cackled at Robb, "the King in the North arises. Seems we killed some of your men, Your Grace. Oh, but I'll make you an apology, that will mend them all again, heh." -
[…]
"Yes. Robb, get up. Get up and walk out, please, please. Save yourself . . . if not for me, for Jeyne."
"Jeyne?" Robb grabbed the edge of the table and forced himself to stand. "Mother," he said, "Grey Wind . . ."
"Go to him. Now. Robb, walk out of here."
- A Storm of Swords - Catelyn VII

So Robb’s last word are “Grey Wind” (just as Jon’s are “Ghost” in ADwD). My assumption is that his consciousness goes on to live his “second life” inside Grey Wind. Unfortunately it is a short one, albeit bloody, as we learn from the Epilogue.

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A Storm of Swords - Epilogue
Stark's direwolf killed four of our wolfhounds and tore the kennelmaster's arm off his shoulder, even after we'd filled him full of quarrels . . ."

- A Storm of Swords - Epilogue

Robb/Grey Wind fought to the last, but to no effect. Being penned up in a kennel is no place for a direwolf. Cat and Robb didn’t heed the Grey Wind’s dire warnings and paid the ultimate price. Meanwhile, Arya also hears Grey wind howling and it affects her to her core.

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A Storm of Swords - Arya XI
Somewhere far off she heard a wolf howling. It wasn't very loud compared to the camp noise and the music and the low ominous growl of the river running wild, but she heard it all the same. Only maybe it wasn't her ears that heard it. The sound shivered through Arya like a knife, sharp with rage and grief.
- A Storm of Swords - Arya XI

Note the highlighting which suggests that she may have heard Grey Wind or maybe Nymeria (it isn’t clear is it) howling in her mind. We do know that Nymeria is not far, given that she found Cat’s body later. Either way, it seems clear that she felt Grey Wind’s desperation either directly or through Nymeria, but was too far away to do anything. I’ll mention here that I like how in the show, they put her close enough to see Grey Wind killed, whereas in the book she never reaches the castle.

Afterword

I include below postmortem mentions of Grey Wind.  First we get the mention of Grey wind’s head being sewn to Robb’s body.  I wonder if the desecration of all 3 bodies is to cement to us readers that the Frey’s are accursed.

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A Storm of Swords - Davos V

"I am not seeing the body, no, Your Kingliness," said Salladhor Saan. "Yet in the city, the lions prance and dance. The Red Wedding, the smallfolk are calling it. They swear Lord Frey had the boy's head hacked off, sewed the head of his direwolf in its place, and nailed a crown about his ears. His lady mother was slain as well, and thrown naked in the river."

- A Storm of Swords - Davos V

We also get two mentions each of Grey Wind by Jon and Bran.  All are related to dreams. First, Bran dreams about their deaths (through Summer, he believes) and tries to deny it to himself.

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A Storm of Swords - Bran IV

No, thought Bran, it is the Nightfort, and this is the end of the world. In the mountains, all he could think of was reaching the Wall and finding the three-eyed crow, but now that they were here he was filled with fears. The dream he'd had . . . the dream Summer had had . . . No, I mustn't think about that dream. He had not even told the Reeds, though Meera at least seemed to sense that something was wrong. If he never talked of it maybe he could forget he ever dreamed it, and then it wouldn't have happened and Robb and Grey Wind would still be . . .

- A Storm of Swords - Bran IV

Next, Jon sees a vision of a dead Grey Wind in the Crypts of Winterfell.  I like to think that Robb’s consciousness may have made it to the crypts?  Perhaps he’s watching from there waiting for his body to be entombed?  It’s an eerie dream and an eerie prospect.

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A Storm of Swords - Jon VIII

He dreamt he was back in Winterfell, limping past the stone kings on their thrones. Their grey granite eyes turned to follow him as he passed, and their grey granite fingers tightened on the hilts of the rusted swords upon their laps. You are no Stark, he could hear them mutter, in heavy granite voices. There is no place for you here. Go away. He walked deeper into the darkness. "Father?" he called. "Bran? Rickon?" No one answered. A chill wind was blowing on his neck. "Uncle?" he called. "Uncle Benjen? Father? Please, Father, help me." Up above he heard drums. They are feasting in the Great Hall, but I am not welcome there. I am no Stark, and this is not my place. His crutch slipped and he fell to his knees. The crypts were growing darker. A light has gone out somewhere. "Ygritte?" he whispered. "Forgive me. Please." But it was only a direwolf, grey and ghastly, spotted with blood, his golden eyes shining sadly through the dark . . .

- A Storm of Swords - Jon VIII

Later Jon has a wolf dream and learn Ghost’s thoughts about the pack.  Jon remembers from the dream that Ghost knows Grey Wind is dead.  It’s clear that the pack bond is quite strong.

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A Dance with Dragons - Jon I

Jon pissed in darkness, filling his chamber pot as the Old Bear's raven muttered complaints. The wolf dreams had been growing stronger, and he found himself remembering them even when awake. Ghost knows that Grey Wind is dead. Robb had died at the Twins, betrayed by men he'd believed his friends, and his wolf had perished with him. Bran and Rickon had been murdered too, beheaded at the behest of Theon Greyjoy, who had once been their lord father's ward … but if dreams did not lie, their direwolves had escaped. At Queenscrown, one had come out of the darkness to save Jon's life. Summer, it had to be. His fur was grey, and Shaggydog is black. He wondered if some part of his dead brothers lived on inside their wolves.

- A Dance with Dragons - Jon I

In the final quote of this essay we see that Bran needs to remind Summer of his pack. I’ll amend my prior statement; the pack bond is quite strong except when one of the pack is isolated beyond the wall.

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A Dance with Dragons - Bran I

When he was done with that one, he moved to the next, and devoured the choicest bits of that man too. Ravens watched him from the trees, squatting dark-eyed and silent on the branches as snow drifted down around them. The other wolves made do with his leavings; the old male fed first, then the female, then the tail. They were his now. They were pack.No, the boy whispered, we have another pack. Lady's dead and maybe Grey Wind too, but somewhere there's still Shaggydog and Nymeria and Ghost. Remember Ghost?

- A Dance with Dragons - Bran I

Either way, Grey Wind will not be forgotten by his pack, Bran won’t allow it.

The magic that connects the remaining wolves is strong.  We can hope that Summer will return from beyond the wall and their telepathic connection will strengthen more.  4 remain – 3 plus “one more, the white who has no voice.” 

The themes we've devloped in the first 2 essays continure into the next 4, about our living wolves.  In those we may be able to make some predications based upon this learning.  We tackle Nymeria and Arya next.  

Shout-out and attribution as always goes to those who’ve gone before me with some of the theories that I am probably subconsciously utilizing / mentioning / building upon here, including:

LoveMeSexyJesus who posted https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/3gjex7/the_relationship_between_the_stark_children_and/

RockyRockington who posted https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/aivijc/spoilers_extended_a_theory_about_ghost_and/

PrestonJacobs and all his videos related to this topic

LML for help understanding Symbolism (even though I barely use the skill in this essay).

I have a lot of original thought here, but I am certainly synthesizing a lot of their ideas, as well.

Also, Thanks GRRM!

TL;DR The themes we saw in Sansa/Lady's essay continue in this one. Grey Wind knew the Frey's were trouble, but they didn't heed his warning. The repetition of these themes will be able to be used in a predictive way in, future studies, especialy Jon and Ghost's. It's 12,000 words. I can’t summarize this for you in a paragraph.  Read it or don’t.  It’s worth it; I promise.

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45 minutes ago, The Green Bard said:

In the heart of the chapter, we see all three act as a pack again in their threatening of Tyrion. One observation, they surrounded Tyrion (see bold in first 2 paragraphs). Grey Wind is not leading this particular action, Summer is. Yet, Grey Wind is the most aggressive, actually tearing at the imp’s sleeve. At the end, notice how Grey Wind obeys Robb on command at the end of it; he is well-disciplined. Prior to the command though, Grey Wind seems to reflect both Summer and Robb’s mood / antipathy about Tyrion.

I always took Grey Wind’s reaction in this scene to be as fierce because of how Robb feels about Tyrion. I mean, when Tyrion comes in, Robb has his sword on his lap (I think?), unsheathed. Once Robb calms down, GW does too. I also don’t think all these examples of the Stark/direwolf bond mean the wolves mirror the kids’ feelings and/or personalities and moods. Not exactly anyway... I think it’s deeper than that. To use Jon’s words...

ADwD, Jon VII

“Half a mile from the grove, long red shafts of autumn sunlight were slanting down between the branches of the leafless trees, staining the snowdrifts pink. The riders crossed a frozen stream, between two jagged rocks armored in ice, then followed a twisting game trail to the northeast. Whenever the wind kicked up, sprays of loose snow filled the air and stung their eyes. Jon pulled his scarf up over his mouth and nose and raised the hood on his cloak. “Not far now,” he told the men. No one replied.
Jon smelled Tom Barleycorn before he saw him. Or was it Ghost who smelled him? Of late, Jon Snow sometimes felt as if he and the direwolf were one, even awake. The great white wolf appeared first, shaking off the snow. A few moments later Tom was there. “Wildlings,” he told Jon, softly. “In the grove.”

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It seems to me we are saying the same thing with different words.  No question Robb's emotions change through the scene, as do Bran's, and their direwolves react to it.  After you read Bran's and Rickon's essay maybe I'll make that more clear.  I get three shots at that scene after all. 

34 minutes ago, kissdbyfire said:

 I think it’s deeper than that

34 minutes ago, kissdbyfire said:

Jon smelled Tom Barleycorn before he saw him. Or was it Ghost who smelled him? Of late, Jon Snow sometimes felt as if he and the direwolf were one, even awake. The great white wolf appeared first, shaking off the snow. A few moments later Tom was there. “Wildlings,” he told Jon, softly. “In the grove.”

Certainly  it is more, and the deeper the connection will be, the more complicated it gets.  However, at the point in the story you discuss above about Tyrion and Robb, AGoT, it is likely not nearly as developed as Jon/Ghost in this quote in ADwD. 

Still, even with a deeper connection, each individual in the bond will have his own emotional reaction to stimuli, sometimes there is synergy between the two, and sometimes there is disagreement, which might seem like a tug of war, but they work it out.  The feelings of hunger that Jon and Bran feel, for instance, are a great example of this.  Ghost doesn't attack Gilly's rabbit hutch until the moment Jon thinks of supper, for instance.    

 

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26 minutes ago, kissdbyfire said:

I always took Grey Wind’s reaction in this scene to be as fierce because of how Robb feels about Tyrion. I mean, when Tyrion comes in, Robb has his sword on his lap (I think?), unsheathed. Once Robb calms down, GW does too. 

I'd suggest to you that there is a bit of a delay in Grey Wind's adoption of Robb's mood in this scene we're talking about.  I would assume that while Robb is seeing what Tyrion did for Bran, he is slowly softening his stance.  Yet, when the wolves enter, the anger is still there in Grey Wind and Summer.  For Grey Wind it takes Robb's command for him to mirror or possibly even sense Robb's evolving feelings about the dwarf.  The animosity may linger even longer in Summer for reasons I'll hit on in that essay.

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12 minutes ago, Gingin said:

:uhoh:

Wow, I’ve never noticed that! :laugh:

 

Of all the things I thought people would have been surprised about in that essay, this was not the one I hoped to make a big impression with!  Still, I'll take it, :P... I noticed it on like my third reread.  I didn't think it might be flirting until I was proofreading this essay though!

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On 2/1/2020 at 3:44 PM, The Green Bard said:

In the heart of the chapter, we see all three act as a pack again in their threatening of Tyrion. One observation, they surrounded Tyrion (see bold in first 2 paragraphs). Grey Wind is not leading this particular action, Summer is. Yet, Grey Wind is the most aggressive, actually tearing at the imp’s sleeve. At the end, notice how Grey Wind obeys Robb on command at the end of it; he is well-disciplined. Prior to the command though, Grey Wind seems to reflect both Summer and Robb’s mood / antipathy about Tyrion.

I think the reason that Summer is the first Direwolf to react aggressively to Tyrion, is that almost immediately before the Direwolves enter the hall Tyrion calls Bran a cripple again, and Bran’s not too fond of that word.

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“None sense,” said Lannister.  “With the right horse and the right saddle, even a cripple can ride.”

The word was a knife through Bran’s heart.  he felt tears come unbidden to his eyes.  “I’m not a cripple!”

Then immediately before the wolves come in, Tyrion calls Bran a cripple again:

Quote

“Your brother Jon asked it of me.  And I have a tender spot in my heart for cripples and bastards and broken things.”  Tyrion placed a hand over his heart and grinned.

The door to the yard flew open.  Sunlight came streaming across the hall as Rickon burst in, breathless.  The direwolves were with him.  The boy stopped by the door, wide-eyed, but the wolves came on.  Their eyes found Lannister, or perhaps they caught his scent.  Summer began to growl first.  Grey Wind picked it up.

Despite his attempt to be helpful, Tyrion calls Bran a cripple again, which is a “knife through Bran’s heart”.  The direwolves come in and Summer picks up on Bran’s anger.  The other direwolves then pick up on Summers anger in turn.

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23 minutes ago, Frey family reunion said:

Despite his attempt to be helpful, Tyrion calls Bran a cripple again, which is a “knife through Bran’s heart”.  The direwolves come in and Summer picks up on Bran’s anger.  The other direwolves then pick up on Summers anger in turn.

I agree. I’ll add that besides the other direwolves picking up on Summer’s mood, GW especially picks up on Robb’s distrust of Tyrion. 

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27 minutes ago, Frey family reunion said:

I think the reason that Summer is the first Direwolf to react aggressively to Tyrion, is that almost immediately before the Direwolves enter the hall Tyrion calls Bran a cripple again, and Bran’s not too fond of that word.

Then immediately before the wolves come in, Tyrion calls Bran a cripple again:

Despite his attempt to be helpful, Tyrion calls Bran a cripple again, which is a “knife through Bran’s heart”.  The direwolves come in and Summer picks up on Bran’s anger.  The other direwolves then pick up on Summers anger in turn.

 

2 minutes ago, kissdbyfire said:

I agree. I’ll add that besides the other direwolves picking up on Summer’s mood, GW especially picks up on Robb’s distrust of Tyrion. 

So you've both got me convinced that this is important to add (to part 4!).  Please note that Grey Wind was the subject of this essay, which is why I cut most analysis of Summer's reactions out of it (I get 3 cracks at this scene, after all). 

I still think that Summer already wanted to get into the hall regardless of this, but Bran's anger likely did heighten it.  I think you'll find that what you're pointing out here is only one of several reasons that Summer may have for attacking Tyrion, including that 1) he's a Lannister that smells like Joffrey who probably armed the catspaw, 2) that he's a Lannister that smelled like Jaime and Cersei, who he would have smelled after the fall, 3) that he's mirroring Bran's subconscious knowledge (he later that same chapter dreams of his fall and sees Jaime's face), 4) that he's mirroring Grey WInd 's antipathy, and 5) that he's mirroring Shaggy, who is in turn mirroring Rickon's issues with abandonment, etc.  

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