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Heresy 241 A Winter Rose


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On 12/30/2021 at 11:51 AM, Sly Wren said:

I used to think that would end the problem of the seasons. But . . . I'm much less sure now. Given all of Martin's other stories, I'm thinking the damage that caused the crazy seasons might be permanent. And need to be dealt with ever so often in the fallen world that is Westeros.

I've lately changed my mind about the crazy season.  I think of the Wall as a dam for ice magic among other things.  A dam functions by containing something and periodically releasing it.  So when the dam is containing ice magic, Planetos gets summer and when it's releasing it's contents, winter returns.  I see the dam as regulating winter and summer and the comptrollers are greenseers. Old magic and powerful.  But also woven with spells to repel supernatural creatures like wights, WWs and dragons.  It also interferes with the warg bond.

According to Mel it is a magical power source that can be used and her powers are growing by proximity to the Wall.

Like Mel's ruby, it has a crystalline structure and can reflect and refract light.  So I wonder how it would interact in the presence of a powerful light source, like the dawn sword or glass candles - if the entire Wall can be turned into a storm of llght to repel the darkness. 

I'm not sure that Jon will be the warrior of light and suspect Bran will do the choosing especially if he is also responsible for unleashing the soul of ice.

If Bran is King under the Mountain who will he choose as his hand?  The warrior of light armored like the sun?

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A Game of Thrones - Bran III

He looked south, and saw the great blue-green rush of the Trident. He saw his father pleading with the king, his face etched with grief. He saw Sansa crying herself to sleep at night, and he saw Arya watching in silence and holding her secrets hard in her heart. There were shadows all around them. One shadow was dark as ash, with the terrible face of a hound. Another was armored like the sun, golden and beautiful. Over them both loomed a giant in armor made of stone, but when he opened his visor, there was nothing inside but darkness and thick black blood.

The golden hand?

Quote

A Game of Thrones - Bran III

There are different kinds of wings, the crow said.

Bran was staring at his arms, his legs. He was so skinny, just skin stretched taut over bones. Had he always been so thin? He tried to remember. A face swam up at him out of the grey mist, shining with light, golden. "The things I do for love," it said.

Bran screamed.

The crow took to the air, cawing. Not that, it shrieked at him. Forget that, you do not need it now, put it aside, put it away. It landed on Bran's shoulder, and pecked at him, and the shining golden face was gone.

The Myth of the Mountain King – Nick Louras

Was there another King under the Mountain before Bran.  One who is now locked away?

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There is, they said, an island where Cronus is imprisoned with Briareus keeping guard over him as he sleeps; for, as they put it, sleep is the bond forged for Cronus. They add that around him are many deities, his henchmen and attendants.

 

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According to this Q&A with his editor Anne Groell, GRRM foreshadows all the time as part of his "three-fold revelation strategy":

Q: Anne, although you're the envy of many a GRRM fan, do you ever wish you didn't have to edit the books so that you could be surprised by them all at once along with the rest of us?

A: No. As above, he doesn’t tell me a lot. He feels I am most effective at my job if I am surprised along with everyone else. And it is easier to tell when he’s overplaying a hand and revealing things too early if you don’t actually know going in what will happen. That said, now that I’ve realized his three-fold revelation strategy, I see it in play almost every time. The first, subtle hint for the really astute readers, followed later by the more blatant hint for the less attentive, followed by just spelling it out for everyone else. It’s a brilliant strategy, and highly effective.

game of thrones - How much does George R R Martin foreshadow? - Science Fiction & Fantasy Stack Exchange

Edit:

Quote

A Game of Thrones - Jon VII

The hooded man lifted his pale moon face, and Jon slashed at it without hesitation. The sword laid the intruder open to the bone, taking off half his nose and opening a gash cheek to cheek under those eyes, eyes, eyes like blue stars burning. Jon knew that face. Othor, he thought, reeling back. Gods, he's dead, he's dead, I saw him dead.

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A Feast for Crows - Samwell II

No happy choice. Sam thought of all the trials that he and Gilly suffered, Craster's Keep and the death of the Old Bear, snow and ice and freezing winds, days and days and days of walking, the wights at Whitetree, Coldhands and the tree of ravens, the Wall, the Wall, the Wall, the Black Gate beneath the earth. What had it all been for? No happy choices and no happy endings.

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A Game of Thrones - Bran III

Finally he looked north. He saw the Wall shining like blue crystal, and his bastard brother Jon sleeping alone in a cold bed, his skin growing pale and hard as the memory of all warmth fled from him. And he looked past the Wall, past endless forests cloaked in snow, past the frozen shore and the great blue-white rivers of ice and the dead plains where nothing grew or lived. North and north and north he looked, to the curtain of light at the end of the world, and then beyond that curtain. He looked deep into the heart of winter, and then he cried out, afraid, and the heat of his tears burned on his cheeks.

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A Game of Thrones - Sansa VI

She turned that way, and saw only the city, streets and alleys and hills and bottoms and more streets and more alleys and the stone of distant walls. Yet she knew that beyond them was open country, farms and fields and forests, and beyond that, north and north and north again, stood Winterfell.

 

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23 hours ago, Sly Wren said:
On 12/30/2021 at 3:10 PM, LynnS said:

Did Dany's black and red egg belong to Rhaegar?  Does it contain something of Rhaegar's soul (the singing dragon) or memory?  Did Dany hatch Rhaegar's egg?

OOOHHH! Very interesting! Could explain how Varys and Illyrio got their hands on it . . .

@Sly Wren

In my opinion those dragon eggs, that Illyrio gave to Dany as her wedding gift, went thru this path:

1. stolen from the Targaryens by Elissa Farman, more than 250 years ago, this was mentioned in F&B V1;

2. sold by Elissa to the Sealord of Braavos;

3. given by the other Sealord as a reward/grand gift to mummer-dwarfs - Hop-Ben, Oppo and Penny (Tyrion's friend from ADWD);

4. given by Hop-Bean to Illyrio;

5. given by Illyrio to Dany.

This is my theory about how in the span of those 250+ years, that the Braavosi had those eggs in their possession, they tried to hatch them:

Iron Shell part 2/4. Chicks, eggs and chickens

Varys in the past was a mummer, so that's how him and Illyrio knew Hop-Bean. Also in my opinion Illyrio's mother was a bastard-daughter of Aerion Brightflame, and his father was a descendant of Saera Targaryen's son, the one who looked like King Viserys I. I wrote in that thread from above how the Sealords of Braavos were cultivating half-Targaryen dragonseeds, such as the bastard-sons of Princess Saera and the Lyseni bastard-children of Prince Aerion, and using those children tried to hatch those dragon eggs that they bought from Elissa.

Illyrio in his childhood was raised at the Sealord's court, and was the Sealord's waterdancer. That's why some famous sculptor made a statue of him, when he was 16 years old, and why Illyrio at his mansion placed that statue in the middle of the waterpool. So because Illyrio was in the Sealord's entorage, he knew that the Braavosi own three dragon eggs. Thus he sent Hop-Bean to steal those eggs from the Sealord. It's a parallel to how Bloodraven in "The Mystery Knight" novel sent mummer-dwarfs to steal Ambrose Butterwell's dragon egg from Whitewalls castle, during the Second Blackfyre Rebellion. For some reason the Sealord willingly gave those eggs to Hop-Bean, who then gave them to Illyrio.

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39 minutes ago, LynnS said:

Oh thanks for clarifying.  I thought the eggs were taken relatively recently for some reason.

Apparently the Sealord gave those eggs to Penny's family somewhere after 289 AC, so ~11 years ago.

That's when the eggs didn't hatched, even though they were kept in Braavos near Dany and Viserys, in the house with the red door. That Willem Darry, who brought Targaryen-Duo to Braavos, actually was a Faceless Man, that killed the real Willem and took his face. So after he and the children lived in that house with the dragon eggs for five years, and the eggs didn't hatched, Willem faked his death, and the children were kicked out of the house, because they became useless for the Sealord.

All the Sealords of Braavos are not only the rulers of the city, they are also the Heads of the Iron Bank and the leaders of the Faceless Men. So the current Sealord (Arya's Kindly Man) is the same guy who in the past was impersonating Willem Darry. He's also the same Sealord who gave the eggs to Hop-Bean, and he is the same Sealord who appointed Syrio Forel as the First Sword of Braavos. So Syrio is a Faceless Man, and one of his fake identities was Jaqen H'ghar.

Arya's going to Braavos was orchestrated by the Sealord, he recruited her thru Syrio/Jaqen, because Arya is a cat-skinchanger, same as the current Sealord. Braavosi are using the Cat-Network at Braavos and the Red Keep to spy after various people. Though the Sealord is old and ill, so for the Cat-Network not to be lost in the future, when the Sealord will die, the Faceless Men needed someone with the same abilities as the Sealord's, and that's how they found Arya. When Syrio sent her to capture cats all over the Red Keep, it was a test whether she will be able to capture Balerion the Cat. Because that cat is one of the Sealord's vessels, so it's smarter and harder to catch than just an average cat.

Also this Sealord is the same guy who arranged Viserys' bethrodal to Arianne Martell, but then something happened and his plans concerning Targaryen-Duo had changed, and he kicked them out of the house, and out of Braavos. Also - Doreah was a Faceless Man (Woman) and she was poisoning Viserys with basilisk blood, same as Jonothor Darry (Willem Darry's brother, a Kingsguard and a Faceless Man) was poisoning with basilisk blood King Aerys II.

So the Braavosi part of ASOIAF's plot is like a tree roots - not visible on the surface, but spread all over underground. Same with these eggs - a lot of things were done by various people just to hatch them. Like Saera's escape from the 7K, Aerion's exile to Lys, Prince Maelor's kidnapping, the kidnapping of the Targaryen-Duo, even Illyrio in his childhood being part of the Sealord's entorage. That's how he knew where the eggs were kept, and what safety measures were used by the Sealord to guard those eggs. Him knowing that information allowed him to send a cat-burglar to steal those eggs.

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9 minutes ago, Megorova said:

Apparently the Sealord gave those eggs to Penny's family somewhere after 289 AC, so ~11 years ago.

I thought there might have been a connection between the black and red egg with Rhaegar because of the imagery involved for both.  He had an egg of his own at some point.  I wondered what happened to it.  Or any of them for that matter.  If three eggs can be stolen, I suppose it's not impossible that others could be removed from Dragonstone or KL.  The opportunity would certainly be there when Derry flees with Viserys and Dany.  Whether he would take them or someone else is possible I suppose.  Illyrio is rich enough to acquire whatever is on offer either way.  Can we trust what he says about them? 

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1 hour ago, LynnS said:

He had an egg of his own at some point.  I wondered what happened to it. 

He did? Maybe you're confusing him with Egg (Aegon V Targaryen)?

I originally thought that Drogon's egg was the egg from Whitewalls, because they were both black and red, though with different patterns. That was when I thought that the Sealord gave a grand gift only for Penny and Oppo, because their father was supposedly too ill to participate in the performance. Though later I realised that what Penny said, that the Sealord gave a grand gift for each of them, means to all THREE of them, the father included, despite him not participating in the performance. He was the one who created the story and tricks, and trained the animals, so he was also given the reward.

Also I think that maybe Hop-Bean only pretended that he was feeling unwell, because he was intending during his children's performance for the Sealord at his mansion, while the audience's attention was on them, to go and steal the eggs. Though the first attempt failed, same as failed the first attempt at Whitewalls, when Dunk caught a mummer-drarf, who was hiding in Ambrose's bedroom, where the eggs was held, and was intending to steal it, when everyone would have went away from the room. And after the first failed attempt the Sealord gave the eggs to Hop-Bean on his own volition, because apparently either him or his cousin - the current Black Pearl of Braavos, is a dragondreamer, and the Braavosi wanted to hatch those eggs, so thru his or her dragondream they found out that if he will give those eggs to those mummer-dwarfs, eventually those eggs will hatch. And that's exactly what happened.

1 hour ago, LynnS said:

Illyrio is rich enough to acquire whatever is on offer either way.  Can we trust what he says about them? 

He lied about the origin of those eggs. He was perfectly aware that they are not from Asshai, what he said to Dany. He got them thru mummer-dwarfs, from the Sealord, and the Sealord got them from his predecessors, the first of which bought them from Elissa Farman.

Also - several years prior to Robert's Rebellion, the Sealord sent to Pentos a ship with rats infected with greyscale. And then one of the Faceless Men infiltrated Illyrio's household, and probably added the blood of the infected rat into Serra's hand-cream, in result of which she got infected and died. So Illyrio's wife was assassinated by the Faceless Men. That's because they wanted to prevent the birth of Serra's child, who would have led the Golden Company to invade the 7K. Serra and Varys are children of Maelys Blackfyre, so the Golden Company was waiting for when Serra will have a child, then for that child they would have conquered the 7K. And their invasion would have disrupted the plans of the Faceless Men, concerning the Second Long Night and the birth of the Prince that was Promised. So they killed Serra, to prevent Golden Company from ruining their plans.

Also - in the past Petyr Baelish, who is also a secret dragonseed, used to be one of Varys' little birds. Not all of Varys' agents are children, or mutes. For example - Shae, Bronn, Jorah. So Littlefinger knows a lot of Varys' secrets, including the one about the origin of Dany's dragons, that the eggs were given to her by Illyrio, who got them from mummer-dwarfs. That's why Littlefinger specifically sent one of his own agents - a Kettleblack, to Essos to hire there Penny and Oppo, and for them to perform on the Purple Wedding, when Joffrey was poisoned.

And Petyr is a key holder of the Iron Bank, and bloodrelated to the current Sealord, and to the Black Pearls of Braavos. His great-grandfather, who was a sellsword from Braavos, was a son of the Bastard of Harrenhal (Manfred of the Black Hood - a secret son of Aegon IV and his own daughter - Jeyne Lothston) and the daughter of Balerion Otherys. Balerion was one of the three children of Aegon IV and the First Black Pearl of Braavos, who was a granddaughter of the Sealord. The Sealord on purpose introduced his granddaughter to Prince Aegon, and made her to seduce him, and to have his childen. Balerion, Narha and Bellenora were one of the earlier attempts of the Braavosi to hatch those three dragon eggs. The current Sealord is also a descendant of Balerion Otherys, that's why GRRM inserted into the plot Balerion the Cat, who is one of the Sealord's skinchanging vessels. And Petyr Baelish is a financial genius and he runs a brotheling business, because amongst his ancestors there was the First Black Pearl of Braavos (Aegon IV's mistress - Bellegere Otherys) and numerous key holders of the Iron Bank.

I just love it how GRRM writes his mysteries, and that in his books everything in the plot is connected by multiple threads. Reading them and untangling all those threads is a really good exercise for brain.

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13 minutes ago, Megorova said:

He did? Maybe you're confusing him with Egg (Aegon V Targaryen)?

Oh I should rephrase here: surely Rhaegar was given an egg in his cradle.  That seems to be standard practice.  So I can't imagine him not having one.  Surely Aerys was trying to hatch eggs at Summerhall on the day Rhaegar was born.

13 minutes ago, Megorova said:

I just love it how GRRM writes his mysteries, and that in his books everything in the plot is connected by multiple threads. Reading them and untangling all those threads is a really good exercise for brain.

You have a marvelous creative streak. I see fireworks.:)

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Daenerys eggs sound very similar to the ones described by Aegon V aka "Egg".

First Dany's eggs:

Quote

A Game of Thrones - Daenerys II

Magister Illyrio murmured a command, and four burly slaves hurried forward, bearing between them a great cedar chest bound in bronze. When she opened it, she found piles of the finest velvets and damasks the Free Cities could produce … and resting on top, nestled in the soft cloth, three huge eggs. Dany gasped. They were the most beautiful things she had ever seen, each different than the others, patterned in such rich colors that at first she thought they were crusted with jewels, and so large it took both of her hands to hold one. She lifted it delicately, expecting that it would be made of some fine porcelain or delicate enamel, or even blown glass, but it was much heavier than that, as if it were all of solid stone. The surface of the shell was covered with tiny scales, and as she turned the egg between her fingers, they shimmered like polished metal in the light of the setting sun. One egg was a deep green, with burnished bronze flecks that came and went depending on how Dany turned it. Another was pale cream streaked with gold. The last was black, as black as a midnight sea, yet alive with scarlet ripples and swirls. "What are they?" she asked, her voice hushed and full of wonder.

Now Egg's descriptions:

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The Mystery Knight

"Do you want a clout in the ear? There are no dragons."

"No, but there are eggs. The last dragon left a clutch of five, and they have more on Dragonstone, old ones from before the Dance. My brothers all have them too. Aerion's looks as though it's made of gold and silver, with veins of fire running through it. Mine is white and green, all swirly."

The third was to be given to the winner of the tourney at Whitewalls:

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The Mystery Knight

Lord Butterwell had placed it on a black velvet cushion atop a marble plinth. It was much bigger than a hen's egg, though not so big as he'd imagined. Fine red scales covered its surface, shining bright as jewels by the light of lamps and candles. Dunk dropped the dwarf and picked up the egg, just to feel it for a moment. It was heavier than he'd expected. You could smash a man's head with this, and never crack the shell. The scales were smooth beneath his fingers, and the deep, rich red seemed to shimmer as he turned the egg in his hands. Blood and flame, he thought, but there were gold flecks in it as well, and whorls of midnight black.

 

Egg describe's Aerion's egg as gold and silver with veins of fire...could this be the same pale cream egg streaked with gold? This one might be a stretch to match up, but the other two sound like the same eggs.

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4 minutes ago, Melifeather said:

Egg describe's Aerion's egg as gold and silver with veins of fire...could this be the same pale cream egg streaked with gold? This one might be a stretch to match up, but the other two sound like the same eggs.

WOW!  Nice catch!

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I don't think I'm the first to suggest this, but I think one of the reasons why the Kingswood Brotherhood attacked Elia was because she was carrying a dragon egg. That was the "treasure" that was robbed. 

It was customary for the Targaryens to give birth on Dragonstone and I think they chose eggs for their children before leaving. First stop after recovery Elia could have travelled by ship to visit home in Dorne, then overland up the Kingsroad and through the Kingswood where she's attacked before she got to Kings Landing.

When Elia was traveling through the Kingswood, I think she was returning with baby Rhaenys and her egg. Later on when Aegon is born, I think Elia followed the same route, but this time accompanied by Rhaegar. It could be a possible explanation for why he returned from the south. If you recall Ser Hightower was injured when Elia was attacked the first time so it would be reasonable to theorize that he may have wanted to stay with her for protection the second time. 

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9 minutes ago, Melifeather said:

I don't think I'm the first to suggest this, but I think one of the reasons why the Kingswood Brotherhood attacked Elia was because she was carrying a dragon egg. That was the "treasure" that was robbed. 

It was customary for the Targaryens to give birth on Dragonstone and I think they chose eggs for their children before leaving. First stop after recovery Elia could have travelled by ship to visit home in Dorne, then overland up the Kingsroad and through the Kingswood where she's attacked before she got to Kings Landing.

When Elia was traveling through the Kingswood, I think she was returning with baby Rhaenys and her egg. Later on when Aegon is born, I think Elia followed the same route, but this time accompanied by Rhaegar. It could be a possible explanation for why he returned from the south. If you recall Ser Hightower was injured when Elia was attacked the first time so it would be reasonable to theorize that he may have wanted to stay with her for protection the second time. 

I like it!  A stolen egg goes on the black market and ends up with Illyrio.  So it is possible Dany's eggs are not the same eggs stolen 240 years past.  Well isn't that interesting! 

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Watching the Sky at Night investigation into the Star of Bethlehem and what celestial phenomena might account for it, was very interesting to me.  I'm familiar with Chris Lintott from my adventures at Galaxy Zoo many years ago.  

What struck was that Martin is drawing on his Christian roots and the star of Bethlehem is his model for the red comet.  There is even a painting by Giotta which features the star as a red comet.

xir86110_1024x1024.jpeg (1009×1024) (shopify.com)

Quote

A Game of Thrones - Daenerys VII

"All men are one flock, or so we are taught," replied Mirri Maz Duur. "The Great Shepherd sent me to earth to heal his lambs, wherever I might find them."

Qotho gave her a stinging slap. "We are no sheep, maegi."

"Stop it," Dany said angrily. "She is mine. I will not have her harmed."

Here Qotho names Dany a maegi, something very close to the title magi of the nativity story.  Of course we know that Dany also follows the star as well.

So I am convinced that the comet is a comet and not something else, like a meteor or asteroid for example.  These are usually local phenomena and the comet is seen in both Essos and Westeros.  We know that comets have a periodic timetable and sometimes return after X number of years.

The appearance of a comet would be consider a matter of great import, a message from the gods about the birth and death of kings; fallen stars that descend into the underworld; harbingers of doom, the birth of saviors, omens that something momentous is about to affect the world.

The various nations would interpret this phenomena through their own cultural lens.  Hence we get story from Asshai of bleeding stars; from Qaarth about two moons in the sky and the moon that flew too close to the sun (sun-grazing comet); from the Dothraki about the stallion who mounts the earth.  The story of Azor Ahai and the red sword, Lightbringer.

I suspect something far more subtle in the Faith of the Seven who left relics carved in stone of the seven pointed star.  Th swords and the stars of the Faith another interpretation of the comet.  Could they have been following a comet as well?  

So the notion that these are prophecies of things to come fits with the expected return of a comet especially if this comet has appeared more than once in the past.

Of course there is another manifestation of the comet in the sigil of House Dayne with it's sword of the morning/evening theme and the symbolism of of the sword and star seem to tie in with the Andal faith.  This would be a comet that appears, then disappears as it travels behind the sun and then reappears.  Something that could be likened to a sword in the morning or evening depending on it's orbit around the sun and when it first appears either in the morning sky or evening sky.

"red" comet rising in the morning sky - "sword of the morning/dawn sword":

neowise_ninigret2.jpg (576×720) (wpri.com)

What Dany's sees is a red star/comet rises in the evening:

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A Game of Thrones - Daenerys X

When a horselord dies, his horse is slain with him, so he might ride proud into the night lands. The bodies are burned beneath the open sky, and the khal rises on his fiery steed to take his place among the stars. The more fiercely the man burned in life, the brighter his star will shine in the darkness.

Jhogo spied it first. "There," he said in a hushed voice. Dany looked and saw it, low in the east. The first star was a comet, burning red. Bloodred; fire red; the dragon's tail. She could not have asked for a stronger sign.

So it may be that we have yet to see the comet's return, rising in the morning.

We could interpret Ned's dream of a blood streaked sky and a storm of petals, blue as the eyes of death as the evening sword and the winter/Christmas rose, if Martin is borrowing from the Christian themes of the nativity.

 

 

 

 

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The Great Comet of 1577:

Great Comet of 1577 - Wikipedia

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Using all the records to estimate the orbit, it seems that the perihelion was on October 27. The first recorded observation is from Peru,[4] 5 days later: the accounts noted that it was seen through the clouds like the Moon. On November 7, in Ferrara, Italy, architect Pirro Ligorio described "the comet shimmering from a burning fire inside the dazzling cloud."[5] On November 8, it was reported by Japanese astronomers with a Moon-like brightness and a white tail spanning over 60 degrees.[6][4]

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A Clash of Kings - Bran I

"They want to hunt," agreed Gage the cook as he tossed cubes of suet in a great kettle of stew. "A wolf smells better'n any man. Like as not, they've caught the scent o' prey."

Maester Luwin did not think so. "Wolves often howl at the moon. These are howling at the comet. See how bright it is, Bran? Perchance they think it is the moon."

H._J._Helden,_Ferrara_distrutta_dal_terremoto_del_1570.jpg (640×366) (wikimedia.org)

The sword that slays the seasons (now it begins, now it ends):

A Clash of Kings - Bran I

Quote

Bran asked Septon Chayle about the comet while they were sorting through some scrolls snatched from the library fire. "It is the sword that slays the season," he replied, and soon after the white raven came from Oldtown bringing word of autumn, so doubtless he was right.

Though Old Nan did not think so, and she'd lived longer than any of them. "Dragons," she said, lifting her head and sniffing. She was near blind and could not see the comet, yet she claimed she could smell it. "It be dragons, boy," she insisted. Bran got no princes from Nan, no more than he ever had.

Old Nan doesn't think so.  Perhaps there is something in the oral tradition about comets and dragons we haven't heard.

Great Comet of 1680 - Wikipedia

Quote

A Clash of Kings - Arya I

That night she lay upon her thin blanket on the hard ground, staring up at the great red comet. The comet was splendid and scary all at once. "The Red Sword," the Bull named it; he claimed it looked like a sword, the blade still red-hot from the forge. When Arya squinted the right way she could see the sword too, only it wasn't a new sword, it was Ice, her father's greatsword, all ripply Valyrian steel, and the red was Lord Eddard's blood on the blade after Ser Ilyn the King's Justice had cut off his head. Yoren had made her look away when it happened, yet it seemed to her that the comet looked like Ice must have, after.

 

Lieve_Verschuier_-_Staartster_(komeet)_boven_Rotterdam_-_11028-A-B_-_Museum_Rotterdam.jpg (700×553) (wikimedia.org)

It's not explicit in Arya's thoughts; but it's likely that Ned had the sword Ice with him at the tower of joy - the sword covered in blood. slaying the season.

 

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3 minutes ago, LynnS said:

The Great Comet of 1577:

Great Comet of 1577 - Wikipedia

H._J._Helden,_Ferrara_distrutta_dal_terremoto_del_1570.jpg (640×366) (wikimedia.org)

The sword that slays the seasons (now it begins, now it ends):

A Clash of Kings - Bran I

Old Nan doesn't think so.  Perhaps there is something in the oral tradition about comets and dragons we haven't heard.

I think this also belongs in Wow I never noticed thread.

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17 hours ago, LynnS said:

The Great Comet of 1774 had 6 tails rising before dawn:

DeCheseauxklinkenberg.jpg (379×264) (wikimedia.org)

Great Comet of 1744 - Wikipedia

I wonder if the second appearance of the swords of the morning will be as spectacular! An age of heroes indeed! :D

 

This is from Comet McNaught  in 2007:

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/mcnaught34large.jpg

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