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Knight of the Laughing Tree Theory


Crona

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@Crona

Bran as Howland Reed; controlling his body forcibly for the day and resolving his solution for him (artificially) by challenging and defeating the knights so they chastise their squires, gaining revenge for Howland, and setting off a chain of events that change the course of history…

That is providing an artificial solution to Howland’s problem and prayer, and it controls the story in god-like fashion. GRRM ain’t writing that story I’m afraid. Try the other door.

If it must be Howland, and you can’t sleep at night until you know it was Howland, then look for a more subtle motivation from Bran and not that he skinchanged the poor wee crannogman  for the whole day.

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11 hours ago, Crona said:

Hello everyone, 

I propose in this thread that the Knight of the Laughing Tree was Howland Reed skinchanged by Bran. Shout out to @LynnS for making a thread earlier about the Knight of the Laughing Tree identity

How did Howland Reed actually defeat the knights?  Well the gods helped him:

"Whoever he was, the old gods gave strength to his arm."

"And so the little crannogman's prayer was answered . . . by the green men, or the old gods, or the children of the forest, who can say?"

The strength came from Bran, the Old Gods, skinchanging Howland Reed. We can observe this in Hodor when Bran skinchanges him and Hodor is able to to do things that he was not able to before:

"HOOOOOODOOOOOOOR!" the stableboy screamed as lightning filled the sky again, and even Jojen was shouting now, shouting at Bran and Meera to shut him up.

"Be quiet!" Bran said in a shrill scared voice, reaching up uselessly for Hodor's leg as he crashed past, reaching, reaching.

Hodor staggered, and closed his mouth. He shook his head slowly from side to side, sank back to the floor, and sat crosslegged. When the thunder boomed, he scarcely seemed to hear it. The four of them sat in the dark tower, scarce daring to breathe.

Another passage:

"Hoooodor" came a whimper, from somewhere down below.

And suddenly he was not Bran, the broken boy crawling through the snow, suddenly he was Hodor halfway down the hill, with the wight raking at his eyes. Roaring, he came lurching to his feet, throwing the thing violently aside. It went to one knee, began to rise again. Bran ripped Hodor's longsword from his belt. Deep inside he could hear poor Hodor whimpering still, but outside he was seven feet of fury with old iron in his hand. He raised the sword and brought it down upon the dead man, grunting as the blade sheared through wet wool and rusted mail and rotted leather, biting deep into the bones and flesh beneath. "HODOR!" he bellowed, and slashed again. This time he took the wight's head off at the neck, and for half a moment he exulted … until a pair of dead hands came groping blindly for his throat.

Howland did pray for the for the old gods to give him strength:

but before he slept he knelt on the lakeshore, looking across the water to where the Isle of Faces would be, and said a prayer to the old gods of north and Neck . . .

Bran does answer prayers:

"Father." Bran's voice was a whisper in the wind, a rustle in the leaves. "Father, it's me. It's Bran. Brandon."

Eddard Stark lifted his head and looked long at the weirwood, frowning, but he did not speak. He cannot see me, Bran realized, despairing. He wanted to reach out and touch him, but all that he could do was watch and listen. I am in the tree. I am inside the heart tree, looking out of its red eyes, but the weirwood cannot talk, so I can't.

Eddard Stark resumed his prayer. Bran felt his eyes fill up with tears. But were they his own tears, or the weirwood's? If I cry, will the tree begin to weep?

Another passage:

Lord Eddard Stark sat upon a rock beside the deep black pool in the godswood, the pale roots of the heart tree twisting around him like an old man's gnarled arms. The greatsword Ice lay across Lord Eddard's lap, and he was cleaning the blade with an oilcloth.

"Winterfell," Bran whispered.

His father looked up. "Who's there?" he asked, turning …

Another passage:

Theon found himself wondering if he should say a prayer. Will the old gods hear me if I do? They were not his gods, had never been his gods. He was ironborn, a son of Pyke, his god was the Drowned God of the islands … but Winterfell was long leagues from the sea. It had been a lifetime since any god had heard him. He did not know who he was, or what he was, why he was still alive, why he had ever been born.

"Theon," a voice seemed to whisper.

Another passage:

A leaf drifted down from above, brushed his brow, and landed in the pool. It floated on the water, red, five-fingered, like a bloody hand. "… Bran," the tree murmured.

They know. The gods know. They saw what I did. And for one strange moment it seemed as if it were Bran's face carved into the pale trunk of the weirwood, staring down at him with eyes red and wise and sad. Bran's ghost, he thought, but that was madness. Why should Bran want to haunt him? He had been fond of the boy, had never done him any harm.
 

Bran is able to see the past in the weirwood  and affect the past. We know this, because of Hodor's condition.

Here's the passage of when Varamyr dies, he is able to warg his wolf from the weirwood:

 When he tried to scream, she spat their tongue out.

The white world turned and fell away. For a moment it was as if he were inside the weirwood, gazing out through carved red eyes as a dying man twitched feebly on the ground and a madwoman danced blind and bloody underneath the moon, weeping red tears and ripping at her clothes. Then both were gone and he was rising, melting, his spirit borne on some cold wind. He was in the snow and in the clouds, he was a sparrow, a squirrel, an oak. A horned owl flew silently between his trees, hunting a hare; Varamyr was inside the owl, inside the hare, inside the trees. Deep below the frozen ground, earthworms burrowed blindly in the dark, and he was them as well. I am the wood, and everything that's in it, he thought, exulting. A hundred ravens took to the air, cawing as they felt him pass. A great elk trumpeted, unsettling the children clinging to his back. A sleeping direwolf raised his head to snarl at empty air. Before their hearts could beat again he had passed on, searching for his own, for One Eye, Sly, and Stalker, for his pack. His wolves would save him, he told himself.

That was his last thought as a man.

As to why would Bran go to Harrenhal? Well, from Bloodraven's quote, he has been watching Ned and saw Bran's birth, and that Bran is a one in a thousand. I think it was very important for Bran to be born. During the Harrenhal tourney, Catelyn was supposed to marry Brandon, if she did marry Brandon then Bran would not be born. So he had to interfere to make sure he was born:

"Only one man in a thousand is born a skinchanger," Lord Brynden said one day, after Bran had learned to fly, "and only one skinchanger in a thousand can be a greenseer."

 I have watched you for a long time, watched you with a thousand eyes and one. I saw your birth, and that of your lord father before you. I saw your first step, heard your first word, was part of your first dream. I was watching when you fell. And now you are come to me at last, Brandon Stark, though the hour is late."

"Will this make me a greenseer?"
"Your blood makes you a greenseer," said Lord Brynden. "This will help awaken your gifts and wed you to the trees."

Also, Bran had always wanted to be a knight and this was his chance:

One day I will be like him. The thought filled Bran with dread. Bad enough that he was broken, with his useless legs. Was he doomed to lose the rest too, to spend all of his years with a weirwood growing in him and through him? Lord Brynden drew his life from the tree, Leaf told them. He did not eat, he did not drink. He slept, he dreamed, he watched. I was going to be a knight, Bran remembered. I used to run and climb and fight. It seemed a thousand years ago.

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.

 

Why did Rhaegar give Lyanna a crown of Blue roses after discovering Howland? Why? What reason or leverage would Howland have on Rhaegar to force him to give Lyanna blue roses and upset his wife. The Lyanna as the Knight at least gives reason to Rhaegar. Was Howland attracted to Ashara, and you propose Rhaegar gave them for Howland so Howland would step down? This is the same reason I suspect Mance as the knight stepped down, so it would give similar motives. Just curious.

I do like the idea of Bran warging the Knight, but its just as likely then that Rhaegar was warged and that's how he won and why he crowned Lyanna. Cause Bran wanted his own family crowned.

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1 hour ago, Crona said:

So the weirwoods don't have a past or future, as we see in ADWD. He has to reach and he will see. Varamyr goes into the tree and SEEKS out his wolf:

 

4 minutes ago, Crona said:

So you are saying he died went into the air then went into EVERYTHING at once then goes and finds his wolf. You don't think he went into the air, then the animals, then trees then went seeking for his wolf. The key here is that his consciously went out in the air and looked for something. Also the tree in Varamyr's chapter I did not refer to the trees as weirwood, only for Bran's.

Sounds like you were saying he went into the Weirwood tree and seeked out his Wolf to me?

Varamyr’s prologue doesn’t show that at all. It’s to show that a dying body’s spirit will seek its new host and literally pass through all living things nearby as the body dies. If a known host is nearby, one the skinchanger has shared with before and felt comfortable with is close by, naturally the spirit seeks it.

Varamyr does this with One Eye. Jon does it with Ghost. Simple really.

That’s what its there to show us. It’s nothing at all to do with, or in any way to be used as back up for your theory that Bran skinchanged Howland at Harrenhal. Not, in any way.

 

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9 minutes ago, Macgregor of the North said:

@Crona

Bran as Howland Reed; controlling his body forcibly for the day and resolving his solution for him (artificially) by challenging and defeating the knights so they chastise their squires, gaining revenge for Howland, and setting off a chain of events that change the course of history…

That is providing an artificial solution to Howland’s problem and prayer, and it controls the story in god-like fashion. GRRM ain’t writing that story I’m afraid. Try the other door.

If it must be Howland, and you can’t sleep at night until you know it was Howland, then look for a more subtle motivation from Bran and not that he skinchanged the poor wee crannogman  for the whole day.

 I don't think he did it forcefully. Nope again, you are attributing this to something else. Howland only prayed for strength to beat the knights. Thats it. Bran seized the opportunity for his birth regardless of what occurred afterward. which was chaos, not peace not a solution to anything  I already explained how this does not provide a solution the story, that it creates the problem. 

 

6 minutes ago, Macgregor of the North said:

 

 

Varamyr’s prologue doesn’t show that at all. It’s to show that a dying body’s spirit will seek its new host and literally pass through all living things nearby as the body dies. If a known host is nearby, one the skinchanger has shared with before and felt comfortable with is close by, naturally the spirit seeks it.

 

 

 Varamyr's consciousness seeks out the comfortable body that's the whole point. The fact that he is still able to control his consciousness to find a body. I really don't know how else to explain this to you.

Before their hearts could beat again he had passed on, searching for his own, for One Eye, Sly, and Stalker, for his pack. His wolves would save him, he told himself.

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6 minutes ago, AlaskanSandman said:

I do like the idea of Bran warging the Knight, but its just as likely then that Rhaegar was warged and that's how he won and why he crowned Lyanna. Cause Bran wanted his own family crowned.

Nobody “Wargs” anybody in any sense. A Warg is simply a skinchanger with a bond with a Wolf, such as Jon. He slips the skin of or skinchanges ghost.

And all this talk of Bran skinchanging numerous people at Harrenhal as he sees fit makes me unbelievably let down at how far gone these theories have truly went. What happened to this forum? Truly? 
 

Can we all step back from the Weirwoods to clear our heads and revert back to the only thing that we can truly use to guide us…

The text in the books. Nothing, anywhere, suggests that Bran can or ever will be able to skinchange a character in what we refer to as the past and control his actions competently in god-like fashion, as that would ruin our story.

We all still love the story, don’t we? Why ruin it? 
 

In any event, Rhaegar won as he was more than capable of winning, but he just never rode in Tourneys much. He could win easily enough, but it just wasn’t his main thing that got him going.

TWOIAF:

Prince Rhaegar emerged as the ultimate victor at the end of the competition. The crown prince, who did not normally compete in tourneys, surprised all by donning his armor and defeating every foe he faced, including four knights of the Kingsguard. In the final tilt, he unhorsed Ser Barristan Selmy, generally regarded as the finest lance in all the Seven Kingdoms, to win the champion's laurels.”

Prophecy got him going. After he exposed Lyanna as the KotLT, he felt compelled to give her the glory of the tourney by crowning her, and also declaring clearly: I have my eye on you, bigtime! 

Yup, I’m talking possible mother of my child kinda eyes. 

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2 minutes ago, Macgregor of the North said:

Nobody “Wargs” anybody in any sense. A Warg is simply a skinchanger with a bond with a Wolf, such as Jon. He slips the skin of or skinchanges ghost.

And all this talk of Bran skinchanging numerous people at Harrenhal as he sees fit makes me unbelievably let down at how far gone these theories have truly went. What happened to this forum? Truly? 
 

Can we all step back from the Weirwoods to clear our heads and revert back to the only thing that we can truly use to guide us…

The text in the books. Nothing, anywhere, suggests that Bran can or ever will be able to skinchange a character in what we refer to as the past and control his actions competently in god-like fashion, as that would ruin our story.

We all still love the story, don’t we? Why ruin it? 
 

In any event, Rhaegar won as he was more than capable of winning, but he just never rode in Tourneys much. He could win easily enough, but it just wasn’t his main thing that got him going.

TWOIAF:

Prince Rhaegar emerged as the ultimate victor at the end of the competition. The crown prince, who did not normally compete in tourneys, surprised all by donning his armor and defeating every foe he faced, including four knights of the Kingsguard. In the final tilt, he unhorsed Ser Barristan Selmy, generally regarded as the finest lance in all the Seven Kingdoms, to win the champion's laurels.”

Prophecy got him going. After he exposed Lyanna as the KotLT, he felt compelled to give her the glory of the tourney by crowning her, and also declaring clearly: I have my eye on you, bigtime! 

Yup, I’m talking possible mother of my child kinda eyes. 

Some how  your opinion on what makes the books good or bad is somehow relevant to how other perceive the books? Interesting assertion.

And idk, maybe you should go join the theory bashing thread or just go start your own forum where you can micro manage everyones thoughts, theories, and posts. Problem solved :)

And you can call it what ever you want, Bran is slipping into another being's body and taking control. We can split rch's all day but really, your quibbling over terminology like it changes anything to the magic being used. We can come up with a pretty name for every creature that is skinchanged.

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18 minutes ago, AlaskanSandman said:

Why did Rhaegar give Lyanna a crown of Blue roses after discovering Howland? Why? What reason or leverage would Howland have on Rhaegar to force him to give Lyanna blue roses and upset his wife. The Lyanna as the Knight at least gives reason to Rhaegar. Was Howland attracted to Ashara, and you propose Rhaegar gave them for Howland so Howland would step down? This is the same reason I suspect Mance as the knight stepped down, so it would give similar motives. Just curious.

I do like the idea of Bran warging the Knight, but its just as likely then that Rhaegar was warged and that's how he won and why he crowned Lyanna. Cause Bran wanted his own family crowned.

Well we don't know if Rhaegar met the KOLT but if he did. I could see him telling Rhaegar to crown Lyanna as a favor or gave him some information pertaining to the Old Gods. I just find it very weird that he would crown Lyanna even if was attracted to her in front of his wife. Most people would keep these things as private. I think there was something more to it. Either it was something in relation to his prophecy or Aerys commanded him to do it because he the KOLT was Lyanna/Ned/Howland. 

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2 minutes ago, Crona said:

 

 

Well we don't know if Rhaegar met the KOLT but if he did. I could see him telling Rhaegar to crown Lyanna as a favor or gave him some information pertaining to the Old Gods. I just find it very weird that he would crown Lyanna even if was attracted to her in front of his wife. Most people would keep these things as private. I think there was something more to it. Either it was something in relation to his prophecy or Aerys commanded him to do it because he the KOLT was Lyanna/Ned/Howland. 

Lmao no, really, that is a great point. Rhaegar is the worst cheater ever. Not even a little quiet about it, just na. Hey mistress, right in front of my wife. Cause I don't value my life when I sleep at night next to Elia. She's so frail after all.

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3 minutes ago, Crona said:

I don't think he did it forcefully.

Now you’re saying Bran skinchanging Howland isn’t forcefully? When humans skinchange someone it’s met with resistance, sometimes very violent and noticeable thrashes and wildness. (I’m sure Hodor’s future event will feature similar stuff). Something that would’ve been noticed with Howland, especially if it was the spirit of a young boy not born yet, in a tree. Unless you mean, Howland knew it was coming and welcomed it…

It gets worse then…

6 minutes ago, Crona said:

Varamyr's consciousness seeks out the comfortable body that's the whole point. The fact that he is still able to control his consciousness to find a body. I really don't know how else to explain this to you.

Varamyr’s dying body’s spirit seeks out and settled on his Wolf. Not really sure how to explain it to you either, but it’s a bit different from living Bran’s body’s spirit reaching through time to control a man to be a Knight for a day because he wants to be a Knight. 

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9 minutes ago, AlaskanSandman said:

Lmao no, really, that is a great point. Rhaegar is the worst cheater ever. Not even a little quiet about it, just na. Hey mistress, right in front of my wife. Cause I don't value my life when I sleep at night next to Elia. She's so frail after all.

Yea, and Rhaegar is not a young boy, he is in his 20s and has a kid. There is also nothing in the text that tells me that he is irresponsible or immature to be instantly attracted to a girl (teenage girl) and crowns her in front of the mother of his children. Also, in the text it says "all smiles died" and Dorne was upset over this. So I don't think Elia approved of this. Even if this had to do with prophecy, I still don't think he would be as bold to do this lol. 

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3 minutes ago, AlaskanSandman said:

, Bran is slipping into another being's body and taking control.

Much better than Warging. Thanks.

And now that you highlight the logistics of it, lets apply that to the theory.

Bran slips through time to Harrenhal. Into Howland Reed’s body. Controls him to talk, ride expertly, challenge and defeat three knights who have won tilts already, then simply slips out and leaves Howland there. All because he wanted to be a Knight.

Thats the gist of it. And sorry if my comment on the new generation ruffled your feathers. This forum is cyclical, and with that, there’s always outlandish theories; hell, you may even have some yourself. Don’t take offence, we all need the next book. But we should remain grounded while we wait. Remember who the characters are… the books remember, do you…

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2 minutes ago, Crona said:

Yea, and Rhaegar is not a young boy, he is in his 20s and has a kid. There is also nothing in the text that tells me that he is irresponsible or immature to be instantly attracted to a girl (teenage girl) and crowns her in front of the mother of his children. Also, in the text it says "all smiles died" and Dorne was upset over this. So I don't think Elia approved of this. 

No, in fact, we are told Rhaegar wouldn't have likely visited brothels. Meaning he is equally as unlikely to cheat on his wife and mother of his two kids with some little girl who is betrothed to his cousin. The whole thing is fishy to me

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3 minutes ago, Macgregor of the North said:

Much better than Warging. Thanks.

And now that you highlight the logistics of it, lets apply that to the theory.

Bran slips through time to Harrenhal. Into Howland Reed’s body. Controls him to talk, ride expertly, challenge and defeat three knights who have won tilts already, then simply slips out and leaves Howland there. All because he wanted to be a Knight.

Thats the gist of it. And sorry if my comment on the new generation ruffled your feathers. This forum is cyclical, and with that, there’s always outlandish theories; hell, you may even have some yourself. Don’t take offence, we all need the next book. But we should remain grounded while we wait. Remember who the characters are… the books remember, do you…

Nothing makes me enjoy things less than someone else telling me im not enjoying it right. Thanx.

And ill keep on calling what Bran does to everybody, as warging. Thanx, I don't care who gets butt hurt over the terminology. Its also simpler and faster to just write warging. Check back next week when i seek permission to not capitalize my i when i type about my self either. or just end sentences with out a period

Old or new, members wondering about how far Bran can take his abilities isn't some negative unintelligent thing to do as you make it out to seem merely to validate you view on the books. I appreciate that its your view, just not your attempts to belittle others. Whether its me or someone else. Feathers aren't rumpled, but it is a simple suggestion to your apparent disgust with this theory or the forum as of late in general. Its weird negative slander to the forum and its users. Of which I happen to enjoy, the forum, and its users and their varied theories. That's all :) 

I don't personally think Bran's abilities are that good, just yet at least, against a normal person with out mental issues. That being said, it maybe Bran who cause Hodor to be mentally challenged anyways

I do think its fair to guess at and perfectly logical

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1 minute ago, AlaskanSandman said:

Nothing makes me enjoy things less than someone else telling me im not enjoying it right. Thanx.

And ill keep on calling what Bran does to everybody, as warging. Thanx, I don't care who gets butt hurt over the terminology. Its also simpler and faster to just write warging. Check back next week when i seek permission to not capitalize my i when i type about my self either. or just end sentences with out a period

Old or new, members wondering about how far Bran can take his abilities isn't some negative unintelligent thing to do as you make it out to seem merely to validate you view on the books. I appreciate that its your view, just not your attempts to belittle others. Whether its me or someone else. Feathers aren't rumpled, but it is a simple suggestion to your apparent disgust with this theory or the forum as of late in general. Its weird negative slander to the forum and its users. Of which I happen to enjoy, the forum, and its users and their varied theories. That's all :) 

I don't personally think Bran's abilities are that good, just yet at least, against a normal person with out mental issues. That being said, it maybe Bran who cause Hodor to be mentally challenged anyways

I do think its fair to guess at and perfectly logical

A reply that long suggest nothing more than the rumpling of feathers indeed; it is not intended. A bit of spirited joust and parry through literature is all. It was once enjoyed greatly here in the old days. You, nor I are special enough to hold sway over another's feelings, so please, feel free to move on from our first encounter positively.

Back to it though. When the time comes to unleash on page how Hodor is the way he is, and who exactly plays their part in that and exactly to what extent that is; this should go a long way to dissuading theories like this one that gives Bran far too much power of control in the story.

Bran should return south at some stage. We will likely only read of a few instances where Bran meddling through "time" will turn sour and dishearten him and probably motivate him to return to family in "present time"; or at least what we mere humans reading the story class as present time.

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3 minutes ago, Macgregor of the North said:

 

Back to it though. When the time comes to unleash on page how Hodor is the way he is, and who exactly plays their part in that and exactly to what extent that is; this should go a long way to dissuading theories like this one that gives Bran far too much power of control in the story.

Bran should return south at some stage. We will likely only read of a few instances where Bran meddling through "time" will turn sour and dishearten him and probably motivate him to return to family in "present time"; or at least what we mere humans reading the story class as present time.

You still haven't told me how Lyanna could have the booming voice and why didn't Howland Reed tell his kids that its Lyanna as KOLT.

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48 minutes ago, Crona said:

 Varamyr's consciousness seeks out the comfortable body that's the whole point. The fact that he is still able to control his consciousness to find a body. I really don't know how else to explain this to you.

What happens to Varamyr here probably tells us more about what happens to Jon.  This passage with Bran appearing to Jon at the Skirling Pass tells us more about Bran's developing powers:

Quote

A Clash of Kings - Jon VII

The call came from behind him, softer than a whisper, but strong too. Can a shout be silent? He turned his head, searching for his brother, for a glimpse of a lean grey shape moving beneath the trees, but there was nothing, only . . .
A weirwood.

It seemed to sprout from solid rock, its pale roots twisting up from a myriad of fissures and hairline cracks. The tree was slender compared to other weirwoods he had seen, no more than a sapling, yet it was growing as he watched, its limbs thickening as they reached for the sky. Wary, he circled the smooth white trunk until he came to the face. Red eyes looked at him. Fierce eyes they were, yet glad to see him. The weirwood had his brother's face. Had his brother always had three eyes?

Not always, came the silent shout. Not before the crow.

He sniffed at the bark, smelled wolf and tree and boy, but behind that there were other scents, the rich brown smell of warm earth and the hard grey smell of stone and something else, something terrible. Death, he knew. He was smelling death. He cringed back, his hair bristling, and bared his fangs.

Don't be afraid, I like it in the dark. No one can see you, but you can see them. But first you have to open your eyes. See? Like this. And the tree reached down and touched him.

 

I have argued, along with others that this is a manifestation of Bran from his future since at the end of ADWD, Bran has only just been wedded to the tree and begun to explore his powers. 

Jojen tells Bran about GSeers:

Quote

A Clash of Kings - Bran IV

"I only have two."

"You have three. The crow gave you the third, but you will not open it." He had a slow soft way of speaking. "With two eyes you see my face. With three you could see my heart. With two you can see that oak tree there. With three you could see the acorn the oak grew from and the stump that it will one day become. With two you see no farther than your walls. With three you would gaze south to the Summer Sea and north beyond the Wall."

Summer got to his feet. "I don't need to see so far." Bran made a nervous smile. "I'm tired of talking about crows. Let's talk about wolves. Or lizard-lions. Have you ever hunted one, Meera? We don't have them here."

 

Jojen talks about the greatest of them:

Quote

A Storm of Swords - Bran I

"Then you teach me." Bran still feared the three-eyed crow who haunted his dreams sometimes, pecking endlessly at the skin between his eyes and telling him to fly. "You're a greenseer."

"No," said Jojen, "only a boy who dreams. The greenseers were more than that. They were wargs as well, as you are, and the greatest of them could wear the skins of any beast that flies or swims or crawls, and could look through the eyes of the weirwoods as well, and see the truth that lies beneath the world.

"The gods give many gifts, Bran. My sister is a hunter. It is given to her to run swiftly, and stand so still she seems to vanish. She has sharp ears, keen eyes, a steady hand with net and spear. She can breathe mud and fly through trees. I could not do these things, no more than you could. To me the gods gave the green dreams, and to you . . . you could be more than me, Bran. You are the winged wolf, and there is no saying how far and high you might fly . . . if you had someone to teach you. How can I help you master a gift I do not understand? We remember the First Men in the Neck, and the children of the forest who were their friends . . . but so much is forgotten, and so much we never knew."

 

So some Gseers are greater than others and Jojen doesn't really know how far Bran will develop his powers.  Wit Jon and tree-Bran we have a demonstration of Bran going beyond the powers Jojen describes.  He is appearing to Jon from a future state of being, he is talking/shouting in Jon's mind and he touched Ghost/Jon's third eye and activates it.

This also suggests that he will be able to communicate with Jon again.

We get the sense in Theon's chapter, The Ghost of Winterfell  that he is on the verge of lifting the veil between worlds
 

Quote

A Dance with Dragons - A Ghost in Winterfell

The night was windless, the snow drifting straight down out of a cold black sky, yet the leaves of the heart tree were rustling his name. "Theon," they seemed to whisper, "Theon."

The old gods, he thought. They know me. They know my name. I was Theon of House Greyjoy. I was a ward of Eddard Stark, a friend and brother to his children. "Please." He fell to his knees. "A sword, that's all I ask. Let me die as Theon, not as Reek." Tears trickled down his cheeks, impossibly warm. "I was ironborn. A son … a son of Pyke, of the islands."

A leaf drifted down from above, brushed his brow, and landed in the pool. It floated on the water, red, five-fingered, like a bloody hand. "… Bran," the tree murmured.

They know. The gods know. They saw what I did. And for one strange moment it seemed as if it were Bran's face carved into the pale trunk of the weirwood, staring down at him with eyes red and wise and sad. Bran's ghost, he thought, but that was madness. Why should Bran want to haunt him? He had been fond of the boy, had never done him any harm. It was not Bran we killed. It was not Rickon. They were only miller's sons, from the mill by the Acorn Water. "I had to have two heads, else they would have mocked me … laughed at me … they …"

Theon sees Bran\s face in the weirwood and hears his name.  Bran appears to be watching as well:

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A Dance with Dragons - The Prince of Winterfell

"I take this man," the bride said in a whisper.

All around them lights glimmered through the mists, a hundred candles pale as shrouded stars. Theon stepped back, and Ramsay and his bride joined hands and knelt before the heart tree, bowing their heads in token of submission. The weirwood's carved red eyes stared down at them, its great red mouth open as if to laugh. In the branches overhead a raven quorked.

 This is the second time we are shown a weirwood with a laughing face:

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A Storm of Swords - Bran II

Bran nodded sagely. Mystery knights would oft appear at tourneys, with helms concealing their faces, and shields that were either blank or bore some strange device. Sometimes they were famous champions in disguise. The Dragonknight once won a tourney as the Knight of Tears, so he could name his sister the queen of love and beauty in place of the king's mistress. And Barristan the Bold twice donned a mystery knight's armor, the first time when he was only ten. "It was the little crannogman, I bet."

"No one knew," said Meera, "but the mystery knight was short of stature, and clad in ill-fitting armor made up of bits and pieces. The device upon his shield was a heart tree of the old gods, a white weirwood with a laughing red face."

 

Can there really be any doubt that this is Bran's device?  Of course we don't get the supporting text until ADWD. 

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23 minutes ago, Corvo the Crow said:

I didn’t know Weirwood trees were actually Weirwood Tardises. You learn something new everyday.

I tend to think of them more as an Interstellar-type Tesseract. Subtle actions through gravity can prompt a reaction in any time as the Tesseract operates with time as a dimension that us simple human beings will never fathom. Weirwoods are the same.

A powerful greenseer though, they can operate within this complicated time dimension; and as we've seen with Bran and will see more of, he can actually make his mark across time, literally his action causing a reaction in any time, regardless of if he was even alive at that "time". He was always the cause. One timeline, never changed.

We're not supposed to understand it, ever. Our future generations will, but we won't. It's why people still discuss the first Terminator movie, and why people are in awe of Interstellar.

GRRM is working within that shock factor element. He wants us scratching our heads and discussing forever. He's actually well on his way to achieving that as here we all are... 

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10 minutes ago, Macgregor of the North said:

A reply that long suggest nothing more than the rumpling of feathers indeed; it is not intended. A bit of spirited joust and parry through literature is all. It was once enjoyed greatly here in the old days. You, nor I are special enough to hold sway over another's feelings, so please, feel free to move on from our first encounter positively.

Back to it though. When the time comes to unleash on page how Hodor is the way he is, and who exactly plays their part in that and exactly to what extent that is; this should go a long way to dissuading theories like this one that gives Bran far too much power of control in the story.

Bran should return south at some stage. We will likely only read of a few instances where Bran meddling through "time" will turn sour and dishearten him and probably motivate him to return to family in "present time"; or at least what we mere humans reading the story class as present time.

Im actually totally for it most times lol but I get nipped anytime I get too joustful haha Honestly, the board confuses me sometimes. A good witty or sarcastic response though using clues from the books is great, one using someones spelling, grammar, or such, especially when dealing with people from multiple countries. Seems underhanded I guess. Im certainly not upset though or walking a way with anything negative :) 

I personally don't like the idea of too much time tampering and don't like most time travel stories. Though it's not my story so Idk what GRRM will do. I didn't expect Hold the Door to begin with, if that's at all anything book related. It is a little gimmicky too in my mind, in a world with out much gimmicky stuff. 

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3 minutes ago, Crona said:

You still haven't told me how Lyanna could have the booming voice and why didn't Howland Reed tell his kids that its Lyanna as KOLT.

You told me how a sweet little boy like Bran could have a commanding voice, and I countered with the fact that Lyanna is a fully-developed and fierce woman who has already been described as roaring; and how she could just as easily adapt the tone of her voice to sound deep and from atop her horse and inside a helm, hell yes it could boom. Don't doubt it for a second.

In fact, I'll bet if Lyanna and Howland were to both dress exactly the same, with the same helm and atop similar horses, and then have a contest to address a crowd with a commanding, booming voice -- Lyanna would get the better result.

Even you could change your voice I'd wager. Try it nice and loud. Impressionists do for a living if you'd believe that:dunno:

And why didn't Howland tell his kids he was the Knight, magically taken control of by the old gods? What a story that would've been. Why wouldn't you tell your kids that? It would solidify their belief in their gods, no?

No, instead we get Meera offer the idea it was her father, to which Jojen instantly pours water over that notion. Instantly.  

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