So, did someone intercept Aerys raven to Tywin?

[Frey family reunion]

Going over Battle of the Bells stuff led me to this apparent incongruity.  Forgive me if this has been hashed out in detail before, but it’s impossible to keep track.

When Jaime was taking his one handed hot tub he reminisces about the aftermath of the Battle of the Bells:

Quote

“Jon Darry and Barristan Selmy rode to Stoney Sept to rally what they could of griffin’s men, and Prince Rhaegar returned from the south and persuaded his father to swallow his pride and summon my father.  But no raven returned from Casterly Rock, and that made the king even more afraid.  He saw traitors everywhere, and Varys was always there to point out any he might have missed.”

When Kevan Lannister, presumably in Casterly Rock at the time, thought about that same time period, he thinks:

Quote

The Battle of the Bells had proved the truth of that.  Ser Kevan had expected that afterward Aerys would have no choice but to summon Tywin once more ... but the mad King had turned to the Lords Chelsted and Rossart instead, and paid for it with life and crown.

So what happened to the summons that Aerys sent to Casterly rock?  

I suppose the first possibility is that Tywin didn’t tell Kevan about Aerys summons and dismissed it out of hand.  That seems out of character, however.  Kevan was Tywin’s “vanguard at council”, his right hand man.  If Tywin was going to make this significant a decision, it seems very much out of character that he would not have at least met with his brother about it before deciding to ignore the letter.

The second possibility is that the letter arrived but Casterly Rock’s maester never brought it to him.  That’s an interesting possibility if you subscribe to the theory that the rebellion was orchestrated by the Citadel through the maesters they had positioned at all of the major houses.  

Quote

“They scurry everywhere, living on the leavings of the lords, chittering to one another, whispering in the ears of their masters. But who are the masters and who are the servants, truly? Every great lord has his maester, every lesser lord aspires to one. If you do not have a maester, it is taken to mean that you are of little consequence. The grey rats read and write our letters, even for such lords as cannot read themselves, and who can say for a certainty that they are not twisting the words for their own ends?”.

So if the citadel orchestrated the rebellion then it might make sense if one of their agents/maesters decided not to pass the letter on to Tywin

We don’t really know anything about the Maester at Casterly Rock at the time of the rebellion, unless I’m mistaken.  We know the current Maester’s name is Creylen but that’s all we know.  And we don’t know if that was the same maester who served at Casterly Rock at the time of the rebellion.

So if that’s the answer, GRRM hasn’t really given us much of a clue to go on, at least not yet.

The final possibility that I can think of is that Pycelle was tasked with sending the raven and he decided not to send the summons.  We know Pycelle betrayed Aerys when he counseled him to open the gates at King’s Landing.  

Quote

Pycelle’s breathing was rapid and shallow. “All I did, I did for House Lannister.” A sheen of sweat covered the broad dome of the old man’s brow, and wisps of white hair clung to his wrinkled skin. “Always … for years … your lord father, ask him, I was ever his true servant … ’twas I who bid Aerys open his gates …”

That took Tyrion by surprise. He had been no more than an ugly boy at Casterly Rock when the city fell. “So the Sack of King’s Landing was your work as well?”

“For the realm! Once Rhaegar died, the war was done. Aerys was mad, Viserys too young, Prince Aegon a babe at the breast, but the realm needed a king … I prayed it should be your good father, but Robert was too strong, and Lord Stark moved too swiftly …”

We also know that it Pycelle wouldn’t be above failing to send a letter he thought might be harmful to House Lannister:

Quote

Tyrion hoisted himself onto the bed.  “So loyal that you sent only one of my letters to Doran Martell.  The other you gave to my sister.”  

“N-no,” squealed Pycelle.  “No, a falsehood, I swear it, it was not me.  Varys, it was Varys, the Spider, I warned you -“

“Do all maesters lie so poorly? I told Varys that I was giving Prince Doran my nephew Tommen to foster. I told Littlefinger that I planned to wed Myrcella to Lord Robert of the Eyrie. I told no one that I had offered Myrcella to the Dornish … that truth was only in the letter I entrusted to you.”

Pycelle clutched for a corner of the blanket. “Birds are lost, messages stolen or sold … it was Varys, there are things I might tell you of that eunuch that would chill your blood …”

The problem with this scenario is by Pycelle’s own admission it wasn’t until Rhaegar’s death that Pycelle decided that the war was lost.  I’m not so sure that Pycelle would have been so bold as to avoid sending Aerys’ summons back when House Targaryen’s position still seemed pretty strong.

I’m leaning towards Pycelle not having sent the letter, but I’m unsure.  Any other thoughts?

[Hugorfonics]

Nice pickup!

I guess ill go with grey rats trying to bring down Targaryen. Although, im not convinced. 

But your first option is easily dismissible, even with the vain and spiteful Tywin in question. If Kevan expected Aerys' summons then he must have told Tywin that, or even Tywin told him. I agree, Kev simply cant be out the loop like that...Although Genna compares Jaime to Kev because of his cloak, I used to think that meant like, submissive. But perhaps its honor?... Unlikely

Pycelle, another grey rat, id think hed want Tywin in KL under any circumstances so him not sending the letter is unlikely.

So, yea, ima go with grey rats whos power just seems to be... Wow.

Nice pickup

[corbon]

41 minutes ago, Frey family reunion said:

Going over Battle of the Bells stuff led me to this apparent incongruity.  Forgive me if this has been hashed out in detail before, but it’s impossible to keep track.

When Jaime was taking his one handed hot tub he reminisces about the aftermath of the Battle of the Bells:

When Kevan Lannister, presumably in Casterly Rock at the time, thought about that same time period, he thinks:

So what happened to the summons that Aerys sent to Casterly rock?  

I suppose the first possibility is that Tywin didn’t tell Kevan about Aerys summons and dismissed it out of hand.  That seems out of character, however.  Kevan was Tywin’s “vanguard at council”, his right hand man.  If Tywin was going to make this significant a decision, it seems very much out of character that he would not have at least met with his brother about it before deciding to ignore the letter.

The second possibility is that the letter arrived but Casterly Rock’s maester never brought it to him.  That’s an interesting possibility if you subscribe to the theory that the rebellion was orchestrated by the Citadel through the maesters they had positioned at all of the major houses.  

So if the citadel orchestrated the rebellion then it might make sense if one of their agents/maesters decided not to pass the letter on to Tywin

We don’t really know anything about the Maester at Casterly Rock at the time of the rebellion, unless I’m mistaken.  We know the current Maester’s name is Creylen but that’s all we know.  And we don’t know if that was the same maester who served at Casterly Rock at the time of the rebellion.

So if that’s the answer, GRRM hasn’t really given us much of a clue to go on, at least not yet.

The final possibility that I can think of is that Pycelle was tasked with sending the raven and he decided not to send the summons.  We know Pycelle betrayed Aerys when he counseled him to open the gates at King’s Landing.  

We also know that it Pycelle wouldn’t be above failing to send a letter he thought might be harmful to House Lannister:

The problem with this scenario is by Pcyelle’s own admission it wasn’t until Rhaegar’s death that Pycelle decided that the war was lost.  I’m not so sure that Pycelle would have been so bold as to avoid sending Aerys’ summons back when House Targaryen’s position still seemed pretty strong.

I’m leaning towards Pycelle not having sent the letter, but I’m unsure.  Any other thoughts?

Thats a very very interesting catch indeed. Well done.
I'd lean toward a variant of your second option. Tywin didn't dismiss it out of hand, but didn't reply because that would get him off the fence. By not replying at all he can continue to sit on the fence and see how things play out, even move his forces towards KL, and still later claim he was coming as requested, just his reply must have been lost or intercepted.

[Frey family reunion]

12 minutes ago, Hugorfonics said:

Nice pickup!

I guess ill go with grey rats trying to bring down Targaryen. Although, im not convinced. 

But your first option is easily dismissible, even with the vain and spiteful Tywin in question. If Kevan expected Aerys' summons then he must have told Tywin that, or even Tywin told him. I agree, Kev simply cant be out the loop like that...Although Genna compares Jaime to Kev because of his cloak, I used to think that meant like, submissive. But perhaps its honor?... Unlikely

Pycelle, another grey rat, id think hed want Tywin in KL under any circumstances so him not sending the letter is unlikely.

So, yea, ima go with grey rats whos power just seems to be... Wow.

Nice pickup

That’s the choice I’d prefer to see, because I’m a big subscriber to the theory that the Citadel organized the Rebellion.  It’s just that GRRM hasn’t given us much to go on here.

I should tag @SFDanny , who has championed this theory as well (I think).

[Frey family reunion]

7 minutes ago, corbon said:

Thats a very very interesting catch indeed. Well done.
I'd lean toward a variant of your second option. Tywin didn't dismiss it out of hand, but didn't reply because that would get him off the fence. By not replying at all he can continue to sit on the fence and see how things play out, even move his forces towards KL, and still later claim he was coming as requested, just his reply must have been lost or intercepted.

Definitely maybe.  I just have a hard time with the idea that Tywin would have kept Kevan out of the loops on this.

[corbon]

2 minutes ago, Frey family reunion said:

Definitely maybe.  

Haha, very appropriately said!

2 minutes ago, Frey family reunion said:

I just have a hard time with the idea that Tywin would have kept Kevan out of the loops on this.

If he hasn't made a decision, or rather has made a decision to not make a decision, there's nothing to keep Kevan out of the loop on. IMO.
Kevan is definitely a subordinate, not part of the decision making process I think. The key subordinate, the one who helps implement (even internally) the decisions, and so has the first inside ear, but not actually part f the decision making I think.

[Hugorfonics]

5 minutes ago, Frey family reunion said:

That’s the choice I’d prefer to see, because I’m a big subscriber to the theory that the Citadel organized the Rebellion.  It’s just that GRRM hasn’t given us much to go on here.

I should tag @SFDanny , who has championed this theory as well (I think).

All I know is theyre untrustworthy, I dont think they organized the rebellion, but I do think they fanned the flames. Especially with your alarming evidence.

4 minutes ago, corbon said:

Kevan is definitely a subordinate, not part of the decision making process I think. The key subordinate, the one who helps implement (even internally) the decisions, and so has the first inside ear, but not actually part f the decision making I think.

Tywin listens to his advisors and subordinates speak before reaching a conclusion, as Tywins right hand I expect Tywin to have relayed on Kevans council 

[corbon]

1 minute ago, Hugorfonics said:

Tywin listens to his advisors and subordinates speak before reaching a conclusion, as Tywins right hand I expect Tywin to have relayed on Kevans council 

True, but I don't think this is always the case. 
I think there is a significant difference between battle strategies and the like, and House Lannister policy.  There is direction and implementation.
I do not expect that Tywin 'listens to his advisors and subordinates' on House policy. Tywin and Tywin alone, I think, sets House policy. No one else has the right to have a say in that. Thats Direction. We see his autocratic style plenty in this area. 

But like any good leader, when it comes to implementation, he does listen to ideas and advice from his subordinates. they are the ones who have to carry out his instructions after all, and may have relevant knowledge and experience.

 

[Frey family reunion]

12 minutes ago, Hugorfonics said:

All I know is theyre untrustworthy, I dont think they organized the rebellion, but I do think they fanned the flames. Especially with your alarming evidence.

Tywin listens to his advisors and subordinates speak before reaching a conclusion, as Tywins right hand I expect Tywin to have relayed on Kevans council 

Yea, organized is probably too strong a word.  That doesn't appear to be the Citadel's style.  

[Megorova]

1 hour ago, Frey family reunion said:

Quote

The Battle of the Bells had proved the truth of that.  Ser Kevan had expected that afterward Aerys would have no choice but to summon Tywin once more ... but the mad King had turned to the Lords Chelsted and Rossart instead, and paid for it with life and crown.

So what happened to the summons that Aerys sent to Casterly rock?  

Nothing.

You're misinterpreting the meaning of what Kevan thought. He expected that afterwards Aerys will summon Tywin once more to take over the post of the Hand, but the mad King gave that post to Chelstead and Rossart, and in his message to Tywin he just summoned him to come to Targaryen aid and to bring his troops.

Tywin didn't wanted to help Aerys, unless he again was made the Hand. He was expecting to be summond back to his post as the Hand, but THOSE summons never came. And to summons that asked for his help, without giving him in return what he wanted, he wasn't going to respond.

Based on distances between KL and Trident, and KL and Casterly Rock, Tywin wasn't intending to bring his troops as reinforcements to Rhaegar. Instead he was planning to attack KL, while Rhaegar and Targaryen troops were away, fighting with Robert. That's how he got in time to KL, prior Ned's and Robert's arrival there. If it was Rhaegar, who would have won at the Trident, then Tywin was planning to take his family as hostages, probably to kill Elia, and to force Rhaegar to marry with Cersei, or else he would have killed Rhaegar's children too. Though, because Rhaegar lost and was killed, Tywin switched to plan B, and killed Rhaegar's entire family, and offered Cersei to Robert.

How else could he have arrived all the way from Casterly Rock to KL, faster than Ned, who was going to KL from the Trident? -> Tywin departed from Casterly Rock prior the Battle at the Trident, long before it. And he didn't sent to KL a raven with the message that he's going to come there, because he wasn't going there to help Aerys, he was going there to kill him.

Pycelle is indeed a traitor, though he betrayed Targaryens only after Rhaegar's death. He suggested to Aerys to open the gates, and to let Tywin's troops into the city, though it's unlikely that he did something more than that.

[frenin]

 

8 minutes ago, Megorova said:

You're misinterpreting the meaning of what Kevan thought. He expected that afterwards Aerys will summon Tywin once more to take over the post of the Hand, but the mad King gave that post to Chelstead and Rossart, and in his message to Tywin he just summoned him to come to Targaryen aid and to bring his troops.

 

This, Tywin wanted Aerys to swallow his pride and named him Hand and Aerys wasn't about to give Tywin his old power but he needed the troops, since Aerys didn't name him Hand, Tywin just sat to see who was winner.

Kevan was Tywin's right hand and confidant anyway but there is no contradiction in the recallings.

[corbon]

41 minutes ago, frenin said:

 

This, Tywin wanted Aerys to swallow his pride and named him Hand and Aerys wasn't about to give Tywin his old power but he needed the troops, since Aerys didn't name him Hand, Tywin just sat to see who was winner.

Kevan was Tywin's right hand and confidant anyway but there is no contradiction in the recallings.

Agreed. Well done @Megorova. I often disagree with you, but you nailed this one and we didn't see it in the excitement of the 'catch'.  

[Frey family reunion]

1 hour ago, Megorova said:

You're misinterpreting the meaning of what Kevan thought. He expected that afterwards Aerys will summon Tywin once more to take over the post of the Hand, but the mad King gave that post to Chelstead and Rossart, and in his message to Tywin he just summoned him to come to Targaryen aid and to bring his troops.

Possible, I suppose.  Though I find it unusual that both Jaime and Kevan (probably a conscious choice by the author) both use the term “summoned”.  

Jaime reflects that Aerys “summoned” Tywin after the Battle of the Bells but received no response.  Kevan is surprised that Tywin was not “summoned” by Aerys after the Battle of the Bells.

This seems to be a conscious discrepancy by the author.  And I’m not sure that you’re distinction is necessarily correct, though it may be.

It may also be very possible that Rhaegar in fact was trying to convince Aerys to bring Tywin back as Hand.  Because this would have corresponded with Connington being dismissed as Hand by Aerys.  It could very well be argued that it was only when Aerys received no response that  he did two things.  He promoted Chelsted from master of coin to Hand and then he turned to Rossart and his pyromancer to begin making/planting their Wildfire in King’s Landing.

[frenin]

4 minutes ago, Frey family reunion said:

Jaime reflects that Aerys “summoned” Tywin after the Battle of the Bells but received no response.  Kevan is surprised that Tywin was not “summoned” by Aerys after the Battle of the Bells.

The context makes clear that Kevan is talking about the Handship, they expected Tywin to be called in to office after Merryweather was out, then they complained about JonCon as Hand and then they expected to be called again.

Perhaps we get to know that maybe by his own initiative, maybe by Rhaegar's or maybe by whomever, he indeed decided to appoint Tywin again but that letter disappeared but as it stands nos, that's almost impossible.

 

8 minutes ago, Frey family reunion said:

It may also be very possible that Rhaegar in fact was trying to convince Aerys to bring Tywin back as Hand.  Because this would have corresponded with Connington being dismissed as Hand by Aerys

Maybe, maybe not. Rhaegar didn't seem to think he needed any more help to take on the rebels, the only reason he didn't take Jaime with him was because he expected to calm his father down, not because he had any thoughts placed on the Lannister contribution to their war effort.

[Lord Varys]

I'd also expect that Rhaegar told his dad to ask Tywin for help, while Tywin and Kevan wanted to see Tywin reinstated as Hand.

Also, we should not imagine we know when exactly Aerys II sent those letters. It would have been somewhere between the Battle of the Bells and the Trident, but that's a long time. And to be sure, we don't know where the Westermen wanted to march when they finally left the West. Tywin couldn't have beaten Ned to the capital from Casterly Rock if he only marched after the Trident.

It is also possible that this is an inconsistency. That George dropped the ball there, that Jaime just believes letters were sent but that the ravens never flew, that the letters didn't arrive at CR, that the king later thought he had asked Tywin for help forgetting he never sent any letters (he was mad, after all), etc.

1 hour ago, corbon said:

True, but I don't think this is always the case. 
I think there is a significant difference between battle strategies and the like, and House Lannister policy.  There is direction and implementation.
I do not expect that Tywin 'listens to his advisors and subordinates' on House policy. Tywin and Tywin alone, I think, sets House policy. No one else has the right to have a say in that. Thats Direction. We see his autocratic style plenty in this area. 

But like any good leader, when it comes to implementation, he does listen to ideas and advice from his subordinates. they are the ones who have to carry out his instructions after all, and may have relevant knowledge and experience.

I'd agree with you on broader issues - the kind of war council we see in AGoT isn't something that's done at a lord's court. But I'd still expect Tywin to discuss such matter with Kevan. He is his second in command, the man he runs everything by before he does it. There may be things he even keeps from him - for instance, that he lusted after the whore of his dwarf son - but I don't think he would not discuss things of that magnitude with Kevan.

[Back door hodor]

7 hours ago, Frey family reunion said:

Going over Battle of the Bells stuff led me to this apparent incongruity.  Forgive me if this has been hashed out in detail before, but it’s impossible to keep track.

When Jaime was taking his one handed hot tub he reminisces about the aftermath of the Battle of the Bells:

When Kevan Lannister, presumably in Casterly Rock at the time, thought about that same time period, he thinks:

So what happened to the summons that Aerys sent to Casterly rock?  

I suppose the first possibility is that Tywin didn’t tell Kevan about Aerys summons and dismissed it out of hand.  That seems out of character, however.  Kevan was Tywin’s “vanguard at council”, his right hand man.  If Tywin was going to make this significant a decision, it seems very much out of character that he would not have at least met with his brother about it before deciding to ignore the letter.

The second possibility is that the letter arrived but Casterly Rock’s maester never brought it to him.  That’s an interesting possibility if you subscribe to the theory that the rebellion was orchestrated by the Citadel through the maesters they had positioned at all of the major houses.  

So if the citadel orchestrated the rebellion then it might make sense if one of their agents/maesters decided not to pass the letter on to Tywin

We don’t really know anything about the Maester at Casterly Rock at the time of the rebellion, unless I’m mistaken.  We know the current Maester’s name is Creylen but that’s all we know.  And we don’t know if that was the same maester who served at Casterly Rock at the time of the rebellion.

So if that’s the answer, GRRM hasn’t really given us much of a clue to go on, at least not yet.

The final possibility that I can think of is that Pycelle was tasked with sending the raven and he decided not to send the summons.  We know Pycelle betrayed Aerys when he counseled him to open the gates at King’s Landing.  

We also know that it Pycelle wouldn’t be above failing to send a letter he thought might be harmful to House Lannister:

The problem with this scenario is by Pycelle’s own admission it wasn’t until Rhaegar’s death that Pycelle decided that the war was lost.  I’m not so sure that Pycelle would have been so bold as to avoid sending Aerys’ summons back when House Targaryen’s position still seemed pretty strong.

I’m leaning towards Pycelle not having sent the letter, but I’m unsure.  Any other thoughts?

Very good catch, this is something I have not seen discussed.

Pycelle is a definite candidate in this, to be honest I'd go a step further than you and suggest he could have altered any message going to Tywin/intercepted any return message to Kings Landing.

I personally believe the Citadel definitely has thier own agenda and are content to play the long game, so to me, anything is possible. Especially something like you describe.

[Alyn Oakenfist]

I think there's a difference between summons. Tywin expected to be summoned as Hand again preferably with an apology. Aerys just sent him the classic order to fight Robert

[Frey family reunion]

13 hours ago, frenin said:

The context makes clear that Kevan is talking about the Handship, they expected Tywin to be called in to office after Merryweather was out, then they complained about JonCon as Hand and then they expected to be called again.

Perhaps we get to know that maybe by his own initiative, maybe by Rhaegar's or maybe by whomever, he indeed decided to appoint Tywin again but that letter disappeared but as it stands nos, that's almost impossible.

 

Maybe, maybe not. Rhaegar didn't seem to think he needed any more help to take on the rebels, the only reason he didn't take Jaime with him was because he expected to calm his father down, not because he had any thoughts placed on the Lannister contribution to their war effort.

I can’t 100% argue against this.  But on the other hand, it might be Kevan’s epilogue chapter that really explained to us what it meant to “summon” Tywin.  The fact that Rhaegar told Aerys to swallow his pride and “summon” Tywin might very well have meant more than just commanding Tywin to send an army to assist the war effort.  After all, I suppose that Aerys could have reminded Tywin that he had control over his son, like he reminded Lewyn that he had control over his niece.  

A king should be able to order troops in one of his Wardens to assist in the defense of the crown, without “swallowing his pride”.   It may be though that Rhaegar wanted Aerys to do more than that.  That he wanted Aerys to ask Tywin to retake his old position as Hand.  In this scenario, Aerys would basically be asking a favor from Tywin, especially since Tywin had resigned his Handship on such bad terms with Aerys.  

Since this was at least touched upon in the Worldbook, perhaps @Ran may have some insight.

When Rhaegar asked Aerys to swallow his pride and summon Tywin did he mean to summon him to retake his position as Hand?

[John Suburbs]

18 hours ago, Frey family reunion said:

Going over Battle of the Bells stuff led me to this apparent incongruity.  Forgive me if this has been hashed out in detail before, but it’s impossible to keep track.

When Jaime was taking his one handed hot tub he reminisces about the aftermath of the Battle of the Bells:

When Kevan Lannister, presumably in Casterly Rock at the time, thought about that same time period, he thinks:

So what happened to the summons that Aerys sent to Casterly rock?  

I suppose the first possibility is that Tywin didn’t tell Kevan about Aerys summons and dismissed it out of hand.  That seems out of character, however.  Kevan was Tywin’s “vanguard at council”, his right hand man.  If Tywin was going to make this significant a decision, it seems very much out of character that he would not have at least met with his brother about it before deciding to ignore the letter.

The second possibility is that the letter arrived but Casterly Rock’s maester never brought it to him.  That’s an interesting possibility if you subscribe to the theory that the rebellion was orchestrated by the Citadel through the maesters they had positioned at all of the major houses.  

So if the citadel orchestrated the rebellion then it might make sense if one of their agents/maesters decided not to pass the letter on to Tywin

We don’t really know anything about the Maester at Casterly Rock at the time of the rebellion, unless I’m mistaken.  We know the current Maester’s name is Creylen but that’s all we know.  And we don’t know if that was the same maester who served at Casterly Rock at the time of the rebellion.

So if that’s the answer, GRRM hasn’t really given us much of a clue to go on, at least not yet.

The final possibility that I can think of is that Pycelle was tasked with sending the raven and he decided not to send the summons.  We know Pycelle betrayed Aerys when he counseled him to open the gates at King’s Landing.  

We also know that it Pycelle wouldn’t be above failing to send a letter he thought might be harmful to House Lannister:

The problem with this scenario is by Pycelle’s own admission it wasn’t until Rhaegar’s death that Pycelle decided that the war was lost.  I’m not so sure that Pycelle would have been so bold as to avoid sending Aerys’ summons back when House Targaryen’s position still seemed pretty strong.

I’m leaning towards Pycelle not having sent the letter, but I’m unsure.  Any other thoughts?

Nicely done, but there are other possibilities here as well. Ravens fail to reach their destinations quite often, falling prey to larger birds or arrows.

As well, note that Kevan is in Casterly Rock while Tywin is presumably marshaling his army at, I would think, Deep Den. So that is where Pycelle would have sent a raven (most likely having already received one from Tywin), and for whatever reason Tywin never shared this fact with Kevan.

But I love a good maester conspiracy, although I can't quite see what they would gain by preventing this summons from reaching Tywin.

[Frey family reunion]

1 minute ago, John Suburbs said:

Nicely done, but there are other possibilities here as well. Ravens fail to reach their destinations quite often, falling prey to larger birds or arrows.

As well, note that Kevan is in Casterly Rock while Tywin is presumably marshaling his army at, I would think, Deep Den. So that is where Pycelle would have sent a raven (most likely having already received one from Tywin), and for whatever reason Tywin never shared this fact with Kevan.

But I love a good maester conspiracy, although I can't quite see what they would gain by preventing this summons from reaching Tywin.

Of course, it could have been merely happenstance.  It think we’re getting a bit too into the weeds however, if we are going to argue a geographic reason that Kevan would have been unfamiliar with a summons.  Presumably, Tywin would have returned to Casterly Rock at some point and shared the info with Kevan, assuming that Tywin would have wanted to share the info.

But going back to the meaning behind Aerys original summons to Tywin.

I looked up instances of where someone was “summoned” in the texts.  While there were instances of it being used in the every day use of the word, typically when a King issued a summons it was basically issuing a command to appear in front of the King.  (To this day, if you receive a legal summons, it’s basically a court order from to appear in court).

So in this scenario the fact that the King was sending a summons specifically to Tywin makes me think it is more likely that Aerys was ordering Tywin to appear in front of him as opposed to an order for Tywin to Marshall his forces and join the war.  After all, neither Doran nor Mace were personally summoned to King’s Landing prior to their commitment to forces during the war.

And the most likely reason for bringing Tywin directly to King’s Landing would be to ask Tywin to resume his duties as a Hand.  

If that’s the case than the message to Tywin may have included no more than an order to appear in front of the King.  But the obvious takeaway that most would have from that considering the circumstances and the dismissal of Connington would be that Aerys would ask Tywin to be the Hand again.

If that was the reason for the summons than I think we can safely rule Pycelle out as the person who failed to deliver the message.  After all, I think Pycelle would have been quite happy to see Tywin return to King’s Landing as the Hand.

So if indeed Aerys sent a summons to Tywin to return to King’s Landing, so Aerys could “swallow his pride” and ask Tywin to resume his duties as Hand, then there is probably only two reasons that Kevan would be unaware of this (assuming the bird did reach Casterly Rock).

1.  Casterly Rock’s maester kept the summons from Tywin, or 

2. Tywin kept the knowledge of the summons from everyone including his brother, because he didn’t yet know his own plan of action.

I think both are possible, I am skeptical of Tywin not confiding in Kevan with this, but I suppose it’s possible if you are going to ignore an order from the King, you may want to keep everyone out of the loop.

As for the motivation of the maester in not forwarding the message, I think it’s fairly simple.  If the Citadel was secretly rooting for the rebellion to succeed and Casterly Rock’s maester knew of this position, then you wouldn’t want Tywin to resume his position as Hand.  He’s simply too capable.