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The Three I’d Question #1: Don’t Mistake the Crow for the Conspiracy


Mourning Star

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39 minutes ago, Seams said:

I also think that Egg / Aegon V is going to turn out to be a dabbler in dark magic (in The Sworn Sword, remember how he warms up to the idea of training the small folk when he realizes they might be able to teach him about poison plants?) and that he will betray Bloodraven (and maybe also Dunk and Aemon). In The Mystery Knight, Bloodraven makes a point of sparing the life of Daemon II Blackfyre. The story of him later pulling a fast one and killing Aenys Blackfyre does not seem consistent with his logic in keeping Daemon II alive. I would not be surprised if Aegon V is the one who ordered the death of Aenys Blackfyre, pinning the blame on Bloodraven to get him out of he way, too. 

Interesting twist!

I think I see this the other way around.

We know that, despite what Bloodraven says in The Mystery Knight, Daemon II dies a prisoner a few years later.

In addition, this section has always struck me:

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"Myself, I blame Bloodraven," Ser Kyle went on. "He is the King's Hand, yet he does nothing, whilst the krakens spread flame and terror up and down the sunset sea." Ser Maynard gave a shrug. "His eye is fixed on Tyrosh, where Bittersteel sits in exile, plotting with the sons of Daemon Blackfyre. So he keeps the king's ships close at hand, lest they attempt to cross."
"Aye, that may well be," Ser Kyle said, "but many would welcome the return of Bittersteel. Bloodraven is the root of all our woes, the white worm gnawing at the heart of the realm." Dunk frowned, remembering the hunchbacked septon at Stoney Sept. "Words like that can cost a man his head. Some might say you're talking treason."
"How can the truth be treason?" asked Kyle the Cat. "In King Daeron's day, a man did not have to fear to speak his mind, but now?" He made a rude noise. "Bloodraven put King Aerys on the Iron Throne, but for how long? Aerys is weak, and when he dies, it will be bloody war between Lord Rivers and Prince Maekar for the crown, the Hand against the heir."
"You have forgotten Prince Rhaegel, my friend," Ser Maynard objected, in a mild tone. "He comes next in line to Aerys, not Maekar, and his children after him."
"Rhaegel is feeble-minded. Why, I bear him no ill will, but the man is good as dead, and those twins of his as well, though whether they will die of Maekar's mace or Bloodraven's spells…" Seven save us, Dunk thought as Egg spoke up shrill and loud. "Prince Maekar is Prince Rhaegel's brother. He loves him well. He'd never do harm to him or his."
"Be quiet, boy," Dunk growled at him. "These knights want none of your opinions."
"I can talk if I want."
"No," said Dunk. "You can't." That mouth of yours will get you killed someday. And me as well, most like. "That salt beefs soaked long enough, I think. A strip for all our friends, and be quick about it."

The Mystery Knight

This is a conversation between Kyle and Maynard, who is in all likelihood Bloodraven himself.

Bloodraven is ruling the seven kingdoms in all but name, and it is a reign of terror. Killing men in horrible ways for speaking their opinion.

As it turns out, Kyle is right in that Rhaegel and his children all die before they can claim the throne. And Maekar didn't kill them.

Rhaegel died in 215 AC, whilst choking on a lamprey pie.

Aelor died in 217 AC at the hand of his sister-wife through a mishap, which left her mad with grief.

Aelora took her own life after being attacked at a ball by three men known as the Rat, the Hawk and the Pig.

Aegon V "Egg" Targaryen died in 259 at Summerhall, as did Duncan the Tall.

I would not be surprised to find out that Bloodraven caused the Tragedy at Summerhall, 7 years after Bloodraven disappeared beyond the Wall.

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As eggs and needles are part of the discussion, this is Egg and Dunk discussing Rohanne Webber (Tywin's grandma):

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Egg drew water to fill it for the third time, then clambered back onto the well. "You'd best not take any food or drink at Coldmoat, ser. The Red Widow poisoned all her husbands."

"I'm not like to marry her. She's a highborn lady, and I'm Dunk of Flea Bottom, remember?" He frowned. "Just how many husbands has she had, do you know?"

"Four," said Egg, "but no children. Whenever she gives birth, a demon comes by night to carry off the issue. Sam Stoops' wife says she sold her babes unborn to the Lord of the Seven Hells, so he'd teach her his black arts."

"Highborn ladies don't meddle with the black arts. They dance and sing and do embroidery."

"Maybe she dances with demons and embroiders evil spells," Egg said with relish. "And how would you know what highborn ladies do, ser? Lady Vaith is the only one you ever knew."

 

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4 hours ago, Mourning Star said:

Interesting twist!

I think I see this the other way around.

We know that, despite what Bloodraven says in The Mystery Knight, Daemon II dies a prisoner a few years later.

In addition, this section has always struck me:

This is a conversation between Kyle and Maynard, who is in all likelihood Bloodraven himself.

Bloodraven is ruling the seven kingdoms in all but name, and it is a reign of terror. Killing men in horrible ways for speaking their opinion.

As it turns out, Kyle is right in that Rhaegel and his children all die before they can claim the throne. And Maekar didn't kill them.

Rhaegel died in 215 AC, whilst choking on a lamprey pie.

Aelor died in 217 AC at the hand of his sister-wife through a mishap, which left her mad with grief.

Aelora took her own life after being attacked at a ball by three men known as the Rat, the Hawk and the Pig.

Aegon V "Egg" Targaryen died in 259 at Summerhall, as did Duncan the Tall.

I would not be surprised to find out that Bloodraven caused the Tragedy at Summerhall, 7 years after Bloodraven disappeared beyond the Wall.

I feel like Bloodraven is villianized by the forum a lot. He is so melancholy in ADWD and doesn't seem like a murderer. He also seems to have great respect for Aegon because he willingly takes the black and doesn't protest. Also, if I'm not wrong, didn't Bloodraven seat Aegon V on the throne? he was one of his primary supporters during the Great Council.

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5 hours ago, Brynden"Bloodraven" Rivers said:

I feel like Bloodraven is villianized by the forum a lot. He is so melancholy in ADWD and doesn't seem like a murderer. He also seems to have great respect for Aegon because he willingly takes the black and doesn't protest. Also, if I'm not wrong, didn't Bloodraven seat Aegon V on the throne? he was one of his primary supporters during the Great Council.

He is certainly a murderer, and there really isn't any evidence for who he supported in the Great Council he called to skip down the line of succession. 

The Council seated Egg on the throne and Egg sentenced Bloodraven to death, then commuted the sentence allowing him to take the black.

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13 hours ago, Mourning Star said:

He is certainly a murderer, and there really isn't any evidence for who he supported in the Great Council he called to skip down the line of succession. 

The Council seated Egg on the throne and Egg sentenced Bloodraven to death, then commuted the sentence allowing him to take the black.

Bloodraven being an advocate of House Targaryen wasn't the issue. The issue was his methods always proved... questionable... at best.

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If this is true, it make my user name much more relevant.

Which would be awesome.

But, I don't buy it either. (Though I love the first 2/3 of your post!) If the girl with brown hair kissing "a knight as tall as hodor" during Bran's visions in Bran III, ADWD is Old Nan... well, I don't think Rhae Targaryen would have had brown hair. It's possible I suppose, with her Martell grandmother and her brother's brown hair. But not more likely than the possibility that Old Nan is just an old northern lady with cool old wives tales.

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20 hours ago, hodortargaryen said:

If this is true, it make my user name much more relevant.

Which would be awesome.

But, I don't buy it either. (Though I love the first 2/3 of your post!) If the girl with brown hair kissing "a knight as tall as hodor" during Bran's visions in Bran III, ADWD is Old Nan... well, I don't think Rhae Targaryen would have had brown hair. It's possible I suppose, with her Martell grandmother and her brother's brown hair. But not more likely than the possibility that Old Nan is just an old northern lady with cool old wives tales.

That's certainly fair, I'm very confident Bloodraven is not the three eyed crow, Old Nan is my favorite suspect to actually be the three eyed crow, and Old Nan being Rhae is really just a best guess. Each step involves more speculation than the last.

However, it is really hard for me to believe that Old Nan is just an old woman at this point, or that we've seen the last of her.

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2 hours ago, Mourning Star said:

I'm very confident Bloodraven is not the three eyed crow

Oh I 100% agree. I am surprised that more people do not think this. To be fair, it's not obvious; George is definitely giving us some expertly executed red herring fuckery. But crows are not ravens, literally or symbolically in this story. George consistently makes symbolic distinctions between the two. Why would Bloodraven appear to Bran as a crow, regardless of the 'you don't know how you appear to other people in dreams' thing? And as you stated in your post, both the crow and weirwoods appear in Bran's dreams, weirwoods being Bloodraven's representation.

I posted a theory on Reddit a while back, on an old account, about my theory that... Howland Reed is actually the 3EC. I thought it was pretty plausible. Perhaps I should repost here. Here's a link: 

 

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1 hour ago, hodortargaryen said:

Oh I 100% agree. I am surprised that more people do not think this. To be fair, it's not obvious; George is definitely giving us some expertly executed red herring fuckery. But crows are not ravens, literally or symbolically in this story. George consistently makes symbolic distinctions between the two. Why would Bloodraven appear to Bran as a crow, regardless of the 'you don't know how you appear to other people in dreams' thing? And as you stated in your post, both the crow and weirwoods appear in Bran's dreams, weirwoods being Bloodraven's representation.

I posted a theory on Reddit a while back, on an old account, about my theory that... Howland Reed is actually the 3EC. I thought it was pretty plausible. Perhaps I should repost here. Here's a link: 

 

That's an interesting thought. I never quite got why the Reed children showed up out of the blue with a keen interest in Bran and this would explain that better than they were just sent by Jojen's visions.

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4 hours ago, Mourning Star said:

However, it is really hard for me to believe that Old Nan is just an old woman at this point, or that we've seen the last of her.

She helps provide us knowledge better than stuff about the world being the eye of a giant named Macumber. 

On 10/9/2021 at 12:48 PM, hodortargaryen said:

But, I don't buy it either. (Though I love the first 2/3 of your post!) If the girl with brown hair kissing "a knight as tall as hodor" during Bran's visions in Bran III, ADWD is Old Nan... well, I don't think Rhae Targaryen would have had brown hair. It's possible I suppose, with her Martell grandmother and her brother's brown hair. But not more likely than the possibility that Old Nan is just an old northern lady with cool old wives tales.

I mean, it could be her. We don't know what she looks like or what her mother looks like. Brown hair is more dominant than silver hair and all.

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7 hours ago, Jaenara Belarys said:

I mean, it could be her. We don't know what she looks like or what her mother looks like. Brown hair is more dominant than silver hair and all.

True. Is it wrong to assume that a Targaryen is silver/gold haired if we are not explicitly told  that they have darker hair? That's what I was thinking with Rhae. 

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7 hours ago, Lord Lannister said:

That's an interesting thought. I never quite got why the Reed children showed up out of the blue with a keen interest in Bran and this would explain that better than they were just sent by Jojen's visions.

It would also mean that Howland got his kids to go north and then to the Wall likely knowing that Jojen (paste) would die there. Maybe Howland is evil lol

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9 hours ago, hodortargaryen said:

It would also mean that Howland got his kids to go north and then to the Wall likely knowing that Jojen (paste) would die there. Maybe Howland is evil lol

Well if the Three Eyed Crow and Bloodraven are separate entities, why would Bran be sent to BR as well?

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7 minutes ago, Lord Lannister said:

Well if the Three Eyed Crow and Bloodraven are separate entities, why would Bran be sent to BR as well?

Well, doesn't everything have to make sense, does it? 

That Brynden is the 3EC is a fact to me since George intended to make a five year gap after Bran's arrival. If he was an impostor, and a villain as well, I suppose Bran's place wasn't there with him. George refers to the 5 year gap as something that would've benefited a lot of characters, mostly Bran. If Brynden wasn't who Bran had to go, that five years would've been a waste of time. If we look at the current situation, without the once intended five year long gap, we have to ask oueselves is Bran has enough time to have such a twist in his story, or not. The answer is no. If Bloodraven would turn out not to be the 3EC, the mentor Bran 'needs', his story, his journey would become a waste of time. A waste of time I doubt George could allow. If yes, then what next? He leaves Brynden's cave, finds the real 3EC and learns everything in two weeks? And why would the real 3EC let his protigee's career go sideways? Does he/she have enough time to let Bran cross the Wall to meet up with this random evil dude? Why the various unnecesary risk? Anyone who wants to doubt that Brynden is the 3EC would have to answer this first. 

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On 10/11/2021 at 9:48 AM, Lord Lannister said:

Well if the Three Eyed Crow and Bloodraven are separate entities, why would Bran be sent to BR as well?

He wasn't, that's basically the crux of the whole post.

At no point does the crow direct Bran to go North of the Wall, and at no point are we told why Jojen/Meera think the crow is north of the Wall.

"The road from Greywater to Winterfell went on forever, and we were mounted then. You want us to travel a longer road on foot, without even knowing where it ends. Beyond the Wall, you say. I haven't been there, no more than you, but I know that Beyond the Wall's a big place, Jojen. Are there many three-eyed crows, or only one? How do we find him?"
"Perhaps he will find us."

And then Coldhands finds them, after swearing Sam to secrecy.

"The world believes the boy is dead," his rescuer had said as they parted. "Let his bones lie undisturbed. We want no seekers coming after us. Swear it, Samwell of the Night's Watch. Swear it for the life you owe me."

Setting aside just how creepy this is, there is an obvious famous group of "seekers", one in particular, I believe this is alluding to, the Last Hero and his companions.

So as cold and death filled the earth, the last hero determined to seek out the children, in the hopes that their ancient magics could win back what the armies of men had lost. He set out into the dead lands with a sword, a horse, a dog, and a dozen companions.

When Meera asks, "are there many three-eyed crows, or only one?", it should make the reader question this also, but rather than literally multiple three-eyed crows, there is another entity in dreams, one the children mistake for a three-eyed crow.

"Are you the three-eyed crow?" Bran heard himself say. A three-eyed crow should have three eyes.

-

He liked it better when the torches were put out. In the dark he could pretend that it was the three-eyed crow who whispered to him and not some grisly talking corpse.

The obvious parallels to this being the false room of the Undying Dany see's before finding the real heart room (and while I didn't include it in the OP the parallels between Bran's Journey and Dany's visit to the House of the Undying are remarkable and very hard to believe are coincidence), and the false Lightbringer.

We all deceive ourselves, when we want to believe. Melisandre most of all, I think. The sword is wrong, she has to know that . . . light without heat . . . an empty glamor . . . the sword is wrong, and the false light can only lead us deeper into darkness

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On 10/10/2021 at 3:39 PM, hodortargaryen said:

Oh I 100% agree. I am surprised that more people do not think this. To be fair, it's not obvious; George is definitely giving us some expertly executed red herring fuckery. But crows are not ravens, literally or symbolically in this story. George consistently makes symbolic distinctions between the two. Why would Bloodraven appear to Bran as a crow, regardless of the 'you don't know how you appear to other people in dreams' thing? And as you stated in your post, both the crow and weirwoods appear in Bran's dreams, weirwoods being Bloodraven's representation.

I posted a theory on Reddit a while back, on an old account, about my theory that... Howland Reed is actually the 3EC. I thought it was pretty plausible. Perhaps I should repost here. Here's a link: 

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that Howland Reed knows who the three-eyed crow is, but I doubt it is actually him.

After all, Jojen's dream was of the three-eyed crow in Winterfell pecking at the stone chains of the winged wolf, and at no time do we see Howland trying to help Bran (as opposed to Nan who is there literally caring for him).

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The last greenseer, the singers called him, but in Bran's dreams he was still a three-eyed crow. When Meera Reed had asked him his true name, he made a ghastly sound that might have been a chuckle. "I wore many names when I was quick, but even I once had a mother, and the name she gave me at her breast was Brynden."

 

I think bloodraven is definitely at least A three eyed crow. perhaps the mistake is believing there can be only one.

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2 hours ago, Targaryeninkingslanding said:

The last greenseer, the singers called him, but in Bran's dreams he was still a three-eyed crow. When Meera Reed had asked him his true name, he made a ghastly sound that might have been a chuckle. "I wore many names when I was quick, but even I once had a mother, and the name she gave me at her breast was Brynden."

 

I think bloodraven is definitely at least A three eyed crow. perhaps the mistake is believing there can be only one.

Yes, Brynden is the three eyed crow. It is confirmed by the appendix and we have no other reason to believe otherwise

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15 hours ago, Brynden"Bloodraven" Rivers said:

Yes, Brynden is the three eyed crow. It is confirmed by the appendix and we have no other reason to believe otherwise

Jon is Ned's bastard?

Jof, Myrcela, and Tommen are all Robert's kids?

The Appendix is objectively not a source of truth. 

It's more like just a reference which reflects the common in world understanding of characters.

I think I've provided ample evidence to show Blodraven is not the three eyed-crow.

Anyone who still thinks otherwise will have to explain why Bloodraven doesn't know what Bran is talking about when Bran asks him very clearly if he's the crow, when the crow very clearly knows Bran sees it as a crow in his falling dream.

I consider this case closed, Bloodraven is not the three eyed crow. The fact that this isn't widely accepted cannon at this point is surprising. The three eyed raven (a crow is not a raven) of the tv show probably has a lot to do with it, if we are being honest. 

18 hours ago, Targaryeninkingslanding said:

The last greenseer, the singers called him, but in Bran's dreams he was still a three-eyed crow. When Meera Reed had asked him his true name, he made a ghastly sound that might have been a chuckle. "I wore many names when I was quick, but even I once had a mother, and the name she gave me at her breast was Brynden."

 

I think bloodraven is definitely at least A three eyed crow. perhaps the mistake is believing there can be only one.

The three eyed crow still appears to Bran in his dreams. 

And it's easy to fall for the misdirection here, but, as it turns out, Bran only mentions the three eyed crow in "darkness". There are also constant overriding themes in this chapter which I think are neglected by many.

Remember this is the same chapter:

He liked it better when the torches were put out. In the dark he could pretend that it was the three-eyed crow who whispered to him and not some grisly talking corpse.

As the chapter goes on, we see constant references to the celestial bodies outside the caves, but no light reaches inside.

If we use the section you quoted as an example, we see that again, it is in "darkness" that Bran sees Bloodraven as the Three eyed crow. Bloodraven isn't even the only one the children make up names for.

The moon was fat and full. Stars wheeled across a black sky. Rain fell and froze, and tree limbs snapped from the weight of the ice. Bran and Meera made up names for those who sang the song of earth: Ash and Leaf and Scales, Black Knife and Snowylocks and Coals. Their true names were too long for human tongues, said Leaf. Only she could speak the Common Tongue, so what the others thought of their new names Bran never learned.
After the bone-grinding cold of the lands beyond the Wall, the caves were blessedly warm, and when the chill crept out of the rock the singers would light fires to drive it off again. Down here there was no wind, no snow, no ice, no dead things reaching out to grab you, only dreams and rushlight and the kisses of the ravens. And the whisperer in darkness.
The last greenseer, the singers called him, but in Bran's dreams he was still a three-eyed crow. When Meera Reed had asked him his true name, he made a ghastly sound that might have been a chuckle. "I wore many names when I was quick, but even I once had a mother, and the name she gave me at her breast was Brynden."
"I have an uncle Brynden," Bran said. "He's my mother's uncle, really. Brynden Blackfish, he's called."
"Your uncle may have been named for me. Some are, still. Not so many as before. Men forget. Only the trees remember." His voice was so soft that Bran had to strain to hear.
"Most of him has gone into the tree," explained the singer Meera called Leaf. "He has lived beyond his mortal span, and yet he lingers. For us, for you, for the realms of men. Only a little strength remains in his flesh. He has a thousand eyes and one, but there is much to watch. One day you will know."
"What will I know?" Bran asked the Reeds afterward, when they came with torches burning brightly in their hand, to carry him back to a small chamber off the big cavern where the singers had made beds for them to sleep. "What do the trees remember?"
"The secrets of the old gods," said Jojen Reed. Food and fire and rest had helped restore him after the ordeals of their journey, but he seemed sadder now, sullen, with a weary, haunted look about the eyes. "Truths the First Men knew, forgotten now in Winterfell … but not in the wet wild. We live closer to the green in our bogs and crannogs, and we remember. Earth and water, soil and stone, oaks and elms and willows, they were here before us all and will still remain when we are gone."

I have to take a moment to point out the "rushlight".

There are many references to Aesop's fables in ASoIaF, but this one might be my favorite. The Farthing Rushlight is an Aesop's fable about a primitive light source claiming to be brighter than the sun, moon and stars. It is blown out by a gust of wind, and admonished for it's boasting. 

This is the only time "rushlight" is used in the entire series.

A false light can only lead further into darkness.

Honestly, there is so much going on in this chapter it's hard to interpret in snippets, as much of the meaning relies on the whole.

But in an attempt to highlight my point, Meera even begs the reader to ask themselves how the kids ended up there.

"He's being stupid," Meera said. "I'd hoped that when we found your three-eyed crow … now I wonder why we ever came."
For me, Bran thought. "His greendreams," he said.
"His greendreams." Meera's voice was bitter.

The Three-Eyed Crow did NOT lead the kids to the cave, Jojen did, and it sure seems like he is coming to the realization that he has made a terrible mistake.

What was he now? Only Bran the broken boy, Brandon of House Stark, prince of a lost kingdom, lord of a burned castle, heir to ruins. He had thought the three-eyed crow would be a sorcerer, a wise old wizard who could fix his legs, but that was some stupid child's dream, he realized now. I am too old for such fancies, he told himself. A thousand eyes, a hundred skins, wisdom deep as the roots of ancient trees. That was as good as being a knight. Almost as good, anyway.
The moon was a black hole in the sky. Outside the cave the world went on. Outside the cave the sun rose and set, the moon turned, the cold winds howled. Under the hill, Jojen Reed grew ever more sullen and solitary, to his sister's distress. She would often sit with Bran beside their little fire, talking of everything and nothing, petting Summer where he slept between them, whilst her brother wandered the caverns by himself. Jojen had even taken to climbing up to the cave's mouth when the day was bright. He would stand there for hours, looking out over the forest, wrapped in furs yet shivering all the same.

Children's dreams are not to be trusted, even (perhaps especially) the little grandfather's.

Fear is for the long night, when the sun hides its face for years at a time, and little children are born and live and die all in darkness while the direwolves grow gaunt and hungry, and the white walkers move through the woods."

Bloodraven's lesson meanwhile is fundamentally in direct opposition to Nan's (just as I suggest the tree and the crow in Bran's dreams seem to be in opposition).

There he sat, listening to the hoarse whispers of his teacher. "Never fear the darkness, Bran." The lord's words were accompanied by a faint rustling of wood and leaf, a slight twisting of his head. "The strongest trees are rooted in the dark places of the earth. Darkness will be your cloak, your shield, your mother's milk. Darkness will make you strong."

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1 hour ago, Mourning Star said:

What was he now? Only Bran the broken boy, Brandon of House Stark, prince of a lost kingdom, lord of a burned castle, heir to ruins. He had thought the three-eyed crow would be a sorcerer, a wise old wizard who could fix his legs, but that was some stupid child's dream, he realized now. I am too old for such fancies, he told himself. A thousand eyes, a hundred skins, wisdom deep as the roots of ancient trees. That was as good as being a knight. Almost as good, anyway.

We know that GRRM uses a lot of parallel characters (link to a relevant comparison of Bloodraven, Bran and Sweetrobin) as well as characters in disguise (Varys as Rugen the jailer, for instance, Ser Barristan as Arstan Whitebeard, each skinchanger when occupying the body of a surrogate, etc.). Maybe the answer to the identity of the Three-Eyed-Crow lies in some of these parallels and disguises.

Whether this forum sees Bloodraven as a weirwood or the Three-Eyed-Crow or both, he seems to be a mentor to Bran, training him up to be a skilled Greenseer. In the excerpt you cited, Bran seems to be accepting that he will not be a knight but he will have these special qualities that he sees in the "grisly talking corpse" who tells us his name was Brynden. 

If Bloodraven has a hundred skins, the answer might be that he is the talking corpse in the cave BUT ALSO Old Nan. This could explain why Ned Stark says Old Nan has always been at Winterfell as long as he could remember - she has the same extended life as Bloodraven, who lingers in spite of living beyond his mortal span. 

Here's a thought about the apparent contradiction of the raven / crow difference: what if the raven is the original and the crows are the copies - the hundred skins that can be occupied by the raven? (See "the first raven," below.)

I have to wrap this up for the moment but I will try to come back and add some details later. It occurs to me that a key to understand the purpose of the three-eyed-crow is to make a very close reading and analysis of this explanation from Catelyn:

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The next day, as she broke her fast, Catelyn asked for quill and paper and began a letter to her sister in the Vale of Arryn. She told Lysa of Bran and Rickon, struggling with the words, but mostly she wrote of their father. His thoughts are all of the wrong he did you, now that his time grows short. Maester Vyman says he dare not make the milk of the poppy any stronger. It is time for Father to lay down his sword and shield. It is time for him to rest. Yet he fights on grimly, will not yield. It is for your sake, I think. He needs your forgiveness. The war has made the road from the Eyrie to Riverrun dangerous to travel, I know, but surely a strong force of knights could see you safely through the Mountains of the Moon? A hundred men, or a thousand? And if you cannot come, will you not write him at least? A few words of love, so he might die in peace? Write what you will, and I shall read it to him, and ease his way.

Even as she set the quill aside and asked for sealing wax, Catelyn sensed that the letter was like to be too little and too late. Maester Vyman did not believe Lord Hoster would linger long enough for a raven to reach the Eyrie and return. Though he has said much the same before . . . Tully men did not surrender easily, no matter the odds. After she entrusted the parchment to the maester's care, Catelyn went to the sept and lit a candle to the Father Above for her own father's sake, a second to the Crone, who had let the first raven into the world when she peered through the door of death, and a third to the Mother, for Lysa and all the children they had both lost.

Later that day, as she sat at Lord Hoster's bedside with a book, reading the same passage over and over, she heard the sound of loud voices and a trumpet's blare. Ser Robin, she thought at once, flinching. She went to the balcony, but there was nothing to be seen out on the rivers, but she could hear the voices more clearly from outside, the sound of many horses, the clink of armor, and here and there a cheer. Catelyn made her way up the winding stairs to the roof of the keep. Ser Desmond did not forbid me the roof, she told herself as she climbed.

There are hints here for us about Sweetrobin, who aspires to be the Falcon Knight (Catelyn goes up to the roof after thinking "Robin" is near), the raven, the Crone (Nan is a crone) and about Lord Hoster and (by implication) Lord Brynden, his brother. In a Jaime POV, we see him traveling with a young man named Hoster Blackwood that could also give us some clues. Jon Arryn and Lysa sit on a weirwood throne at the Eyrie. 

I think GRRM has given us clues here that could be useful insights into the Three-Eyed-Crow and Bloodraven in the cave. 

All of it comes back to rivers - Brynden Rivers, the Riverlands, House Tully, Nan as a nickname for Nymeria who came from the Rhoyne and whose people became the Orphans of the Greenblood river in Dorne. Keeping those rivers flowing may be the job of a new generation of Westeros leadership.

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