Are we suppose to like the Blackwoods and dislike the Brackens ?

[butterweedstrover]

19 minutes ago, Black Crow said:

Whether or not you choose to accept how much previous knowledge the reader of this passage [which caused great excitement when it was first published] the fact that Bloodraven is a Blackwood is directly relevant to this thread about taking sides in the Blackwood/Bracken feud

If that is a plot point that comes into play in later books sure. 
 

But until (if) bloodraven and the Bracken/Blackwood family feud merge into a single plot thread his heritage has no affect on his role as the three eyed crow or his relationship with Bran.  
 

We can speculate that it will but so far it hasn’t. Regardless this knowledge while interesting does not shed light on the feud because the Blackwoods are not differing to Brynden in any way nor do they know of his existence. 
 

And I imagine his interests have moved beyond them. 

[Mourning Star]

35 minutes ago, butterweedstrover said:

But until (if) bloodraven and the Bracken/Blackwood family feud merge into a single plot thread his heritage has no affect on his role as the three eyed crow or his relationship with Bran.  

Counterpoint, unlike the show I'm not mentioning, where there is a three eyed raven, Bloodraven is almost certainly not the three eyed crow in the books.

One might note the ravens on the Blackwood sigil as relevant to this.

As for his Targaryen heritage, I think this is extremely important to the story.

It is often easy to overlook, but Aegon the Unworthy legitimized all his bastards, not just Daemon Blackfyre.

"Precedent," she said bitterly. "Yes, Aegon the Fourth legitimized all his bastards on his deathbed. And how much pain, grief, war, and murder grew from that?

A Storm of Swords - Catelyn V

This includes Bloodraven.

"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.

A Dance with Dragons - Bran III

I think Bloodraven has the right to call himself Brynden Targaryen, something most have forgotten, and he may be another player in the "Game of Thrones". If Aegon could conquer with Westeros with Dragons, why can't Bloodraven do it with Others!?

[butterweedstrover]

6 minutes ago, Mourning Star said:

Counterpoint, unlike the show I'm not mentioning, where there is a three eyed raven, Bloodraven is almost certainly not the three eyed crow in the books.

One might note the ravens on the Blackwood sigil as relevant to this.

As for his Targaryen heritage, I think this is extremely important to the story.

It is often easy to overlook, but Aegon the Unworthy legitimized all his bastards, not just Daemon Blackfyre.

"Precedent," she said bitterly. "Yes, Aegon the Fourth legitimized all his bastards on his deathbed. And how much pain, grief, war, and murder grew from that?

A Storm of Swords - Catelyn V

This includes Bloodraven.

"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.

A Dance with Dragons - Bran III

I think Bloodraven has the right to call himself Brynden Targaryen, something most have forgotten, and he may be another player in the "Game of Thrones". If Aegon could conquer with Westeros with Dragons, why can't Bloodraven do it with Others!?

I think so too that his Targaryen blood is much more relevant, especially if Bran is to lay claim to the Iron Throne. Being as Bracken/Blackwood rivalry seems to be a backstory, it is less likely to come into play.  

But then, if as you say he is not the three eyed crow, how was his sending messages to Bran?

[Mourning Star]

1 hour ago, butterweedstrover said:

I think so too that his Targaryen blood is much more relevant, especially if Bran is to lay claim to the Iron Throne. Being as Bracken/Blackwood rivalry seems to be a backstory, it is less likely to come into play.  

But then, if as you say he is not the three eyed crow, how was his sending messages to Bran?

I view the Bracken/Blackwood feud as a sort of microcosm in which we are shown how such cycles of vengeance are bad for everyone involved, stupid, and morally wrong. The crimes of the past poisoning the future, or the sins of the father being blamed on the son, however you want to phrase it.

This is in a story where the seasons themselves seem to have a disjointed and extended cycle.

I suspect the story is also largely about this cycle, and the Blackwood and Bracken feud in particular.

It is tied inimically to Bloodraven's own story, especially in regards to Bittersteel, and I think their conflict is tied to the events of ASoIaF.

Prince Rhaegar loved his Lady Lyanna, and thousands died for it. Daemon Blackfyre loved the first Daenerys, and rose in rebellion when denied her. Bittersteel and Bloodraven both loved Shiera Seastar, and the Seven Kingdoms bled. The Prince of Dragonflies loved Jenny of Oldstones so much he cast aside a crown, and Westeros paid the bride price in corpses. All three of the sons of the fifth Aegon had wed for love, in defiance of their father's wishes. And because that unlikely monarch had himself followed his heart when he chose his queen, he allowed his sons to have their way, making bitter enemies where he might have had fast friends. Treason and turmoil followed, as night follows day, ending at Summerhall in sorcery, fire, and grief.

A Dance with Dragons - The Kingbreaker

Baristan's thoughts above represent a cycle themselves. He starts with Rhaegar and Lyanna, the seed of our current song of ice and fire. He ends with Summerhall, where Rhaegar was born. Symbolically, as night follows day, he is describing the practical costs of choosing love over duty (if we use Aemon's framing).

The actual events all take place from the time of Bloodraven ruling the seven kingdoms in all but name to the current events of the story.

I also think there are reasons to question Baristan's characterizations here.

First, he himself chooses duty over love.

Second, we have reason to believe that Daemon rising in revolt had nothing to do with love for the first Daenerys Targaryen.

The fact that Bloodraven is not dead means the the cycle isn't over, if I were to speculate wildly I'd suggest Illyrio is the descendent of Bittersteel, and rather than being resolved with peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation, this cycle of violence is still ongoing.

Honestly, when it comes to love, I don't think Baristan knows what he's talking about, and he should stick to duty.

Interestingly, Bloodraven doesn't say he loved Shiera Seastar.

"He heard a whisper on the wind, a rustling amongst the leaves. You cannot speak to him, try as you might. I know. I have my own ghosts, Bran. A brother that I loved, a brother that I hated, a woman I desired. Through the trees, I see them still, but no word of mine has ever reached them. The past remains the past. We can learn from it, but we cannot change it."

A Dance with Dragons - Bran III

I would contend that it is possible, mayhaps even probable, that Shiera Seastar still lives.

And yet, no word of Bloodraven's has reached her.

I would suggest that Bloodraven struggles to communicate through dreams at all, that the three eyed crow is a different entity speaking to Bran, and that Bloodraven has always been the brooding Weirwood in Bran's dreams.

 At the heart of the godswood, the great white weirwood brooded over its reflection in the black pool, its leaves rustling in a chill wind. When it felt Bran watching, it lifted its eyes from the still waters and stared back at him knowingly.

A Game of Thrones - Bran III

You will note that the tree and the crow are clearly distinct.

 "Tell me what you dream."
He was scared, even then, but he had sworn to trust them, and a Stark of Winterfell keeps his sworn word. "There's different kinds," he said slowly. "There's the wolf dreams, those aren't so bad as the others. I run and hunt and kill squirrels. And there's dreams where the crow comes and tells me to fly. Sometimes the tree is in those dreams too, calling my name. That frightens me. But the worst dreams are when I fall." ]

A Clash of Kings - Bran V

And when Bran actually meets Bloodraven, Bloodraven never once claims to have spoken in Bran's dreams.

"Are you the three-eyed crow?" Bran heard himself say. A three-eyed crow should have three eyes. He has only one, and that one red. Bran could feel the eye staring at him, shining like a pool of blood in the torchlight. Where his other eye should have been, a thin white root grew from an empty socket, down his cheek, and into his neck.
"A … crow?" The pale lord's voice was dry. His lips moved slowly, as if they had forgotten how to form words. "Once, aye. Black of garb and black of blood." The clothes he wore were rotten and faded, spotted with moss and eaten through with worms, but once they had been black. "I have been many things, Bran. Now I am as you see me, and now you will understand why I could not come to you … except in dreams. 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."

A Dance with Dragons - Bran II

When Bran asks him point blank if he is the three eyed crow, Bloodraven doesn't even understand the question.

It's worth noting that Bloodraven's comment of being "once" a brother of the nights watch, his mistaken interpretation of Bran's question about being the three eyed crow, implies that he is no longer a member, and thus that he broke his vows and abandoned his post. This would also be relevant to any perceived claim to the Iron Throne.

Bloodraven says he watched, saw, heard, was part, of Bran's dreams, but never that he spoke.

The fact that Bran and the three eyed crow discussed it being a crow and having wings (no way to mistake this for a brother of the watch interpretation) leaves little to no doubt in my mind that Bloodraven is not the three eyed crow.

But, there is also lots of other circumstantial evidence, like the fact that crows and ravens are seen fighting with each other in the series.

[butterweedstrover]

1 hour ago, Mourning Star said:

I view the Bracken/Blackwood feud as a sort of microcosm in which we are shown how such cycles of vengeance are bad for everyone involved, stupid, and morally wrong. The crimes of the past poisoning the future, or the sins of the father being blamed on the son, however you want to phrase it.

This is in a story where the seasons themselves seem to have a disjointed and extended cycle.

I suspect the story is also largely about this cycle, and the Blackwood and Bracken feud in particular.

It is tied inimically to Bloodraven's own story, especially in regards to Bittersteel, and I think their conflict is tied to the events of ASoIaF.

Prince Rhaegar loved his Lady Lyanna, and thousands died for it. Daemon Blackfyre loved the first Daenerys, and rose in rebellion when denied her. Bittersteel and Bloodraven both loved Shiera Seastar, and the Seven Kingdoms bled. The Prince of Dragonflies loved Jenny of Oldstones so much he cast aside a crown, and Westeros paid the bride price in corpses. All three of the sons of the fifth Aegon had wed for love, in defiance of their father's wishes. And because that unlikely monarch had himself followed his heart when he chose his queen, he allowed his sons to have their way, making bitter enemies where he might have had fast friends. Treason and turmoil followed, as night follows day, ending at Summerhall in sorcery, fire, and grief.

A Dance with Dragons - The Kingbreaker

Baristan's thoughts above represent a cycle themselves. He starts with Rhaegar and Lyanna, the seed of our current song of ice and fire. He ends with Summerhall, where Rhaegar was born. Symbolically, as night follows day, he is describing the practical costs of choosing love over duty (if we use Aemon's framing).

The actual events all take place from the time of Bloodraven ruling the seven kingdoms in all but name to the current events of the story.

I also think there are reasons to question Baristan's characterizations here.

First, he himself chooses duty over love.

Second, we have reason to believe that Daemon rising in revolt had nothing to do with love for the first Daenerys Targaryen.

The fact that Bloodraven is not dead means the the cycle isn't over, if I were to speculate wildly I'd suggest Illyrio is the descendent of Bittersteel, and rather than being resolved with peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation, this cycle of violence is still ongoing.

Honestly, when it comes to love, I don't think Baristan knows what he's talking about, and he should stick to duty.

Interestingly, Bloodraven doesn't say he loved Shiera Seastar.

"He heard a whisper on the wind, a rustling amongst the leaves. You cannot speak to him, try as you might. I know. I have my own ghosts, Bran. A brother that I loved, a brother that I hated, a woman I desired. Through the trees, I see them still, but no word of mine has ever reached them. The past remains the past. We can learn from it, but we cannot change it."

A Dance with Dragons - Bran III

I would contend that it is possible, mayhaps even probable, that Shiera Seastar still lives.

And yet, no word of Bloodraven's has reached her.

I would suggest that Bloodraven struggles to communicate through dreams at all, that the three eyed crow is a different entity speaking to Bran, and that Bloodraven has always been the brooding Weirwood in Bran's dreams.

 At the heart of the godswood, the great white weirwood brooded over its reflection in the black pool, its leaves rustling in a chill wind. When it felt Bran watching, it lifted its eyes from the still waters and stared back at him knowingly.

A Game of Thrones - Bran III

You will note that the tree and the crow are clearly distinct.

 "Tell me what you dream."
He was scared, even then, but he had sworn to trust them, and a Stark of Winterfell keeps his sworn word. "There's different kinds," he said slowly. "There's the wolf dreams, those aren't so bad as the others. I run and hunt and kill squirrels. And there's dreams where the crow comes and tells me to fly. Sometimes the tree is in those dreams too, calling my name. That frightens me. But the worst dreams are when I fall." ]

A Clash of Kings - Bran V

And when Bran actually meets Bloodraven, Bloodraven never once claims to have spoken in Bran's dreams.

"Are you the three-eyed crow?" Bran heard himself say. A three-eyed crow should have three eyes. He has only one, and that one red. Bran could feel the eye staring at him, shining like a pool of blood in the torchlight. Where his other eye should have been, a thin white root grew from an empty socket, down his cheek, and into his neck.
"A … crow?" The pale lord's voice was dry. His lips moved slowly, as if they had forgotten how to form words. "Once, aye. Black of garb and black of blood." The clothes he wore were rotten and faded, spotted with moss and eaten through with worms, but once they had been black. "I have been many things, Bran. Now I am as you see me, and now you will understand why I could not come to you … except in dreams. 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."

A Dance with Dragons - Bran II

When Bran asks him point blank if he is the three eyed crow, Bloodraven doesn't even understand the question.

It's worth noting that Bloodraven's comment of being "once" a brother of the nights watch, his mistaken interpretation of Bran's question about being the three eyed crow, implies that he is no longer a member, and thus that he broke his vows and abandoned his post. This would also be relevant to any perceived claim to the Iron Throne.

Bloodraven says he watched, saw, heard, was part, of Bran's dreams, but never that he spoke.

The fact that Bran and the three eyed crow discussed it being a crow and having wings (no way to mistake this for a brother of the watch interpretation) leaves little to no doubt in my mind that Bloodraven is not the three eyed crow.

But, there is also lots of other circumstantial evidence, like the fact that crows and ravens are seen fighting with each other in the series.

Who do you think the three eyed crow is in that case?

[Seams]

I suspect the Blackwood / Bracken feud may be more elemental and central to the themes of ASOIAF than is the Blackfyre / Targaryen conflict. We know it is a much older conflict, certainly. It's possible that the Blackfyre / Targaryen conflict is actually a small subset of the older feud - a case where Andals have been subsumed into an Age of Heroes story without even realizing it. I believe the primacy of the Blackwood / Bracken conflict is reflected in the clues the author has incorporated in the books from fairly early chapters of AGoT. 

Elio and Linda have e-mails from GRRM saying that he did not work out the Blackfyre Rebellion backstory until after he finished writing ACOK. I hadn't seen their 2015 video but read it later in this forum somewhere. This shocked me, as I felt I was seeing a lot of the underpinnings for the Blackfyre conflict and the Bittersteel / Bloodraven rivalry in ACOK if not earlier. Once I connected with their news about the author's creative timeline, it took me awhile to realize that I had probably been seeing allusions to the Blackwood / Bracken conflict, and/or the bitter/sweet conflict or other paired opposites in GRRM's archetypes, not necessarily the Blackfyre Rebellion. 

I believe our first reference to the riverlands rivalry is in AGoT, Catelyn V:

Quote

Catelyn knew them all: the Blackwoods and the Brackens, ever enemies, whose quarrels her father was obliged to settle; Lady Whent, last of her line, who dwelt with her ghosts in the cavernous vaults of Harrenhal; irascible Lord Frey, who had outlived seven wives and filled his twin castles with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and bastards and grandbastards as well. All of them were bannermen to the Tullys, their swords sworn to the service of Riverrun. Catelyn wondered if that would be enough, if it came to war. Her father was the staunchest man who'd ever lived, and she had no doubt that he would call his banners … but would the banners come?

That was on her way to the inn at the crossroads with Ser Rodrik Cassel. Catelyn's inner thoughts include a resolve to avoid war yet this stop at the crossroads leads to Tyrion Lannister being taken at swordpoint (with the help of Bracken men-at-arms, among others), arguably igniting the War of the Five Kings. 

Quote

The name Blackwood has never been mentioned as relates to Brynden in the books

The name Blackwood is repeatedly linked to Brynden Tully in the books.

Quote

A cold hand clutched at Catelyn's heart. "And my brother?"

"Wounded and taken prisoner," Ser Brynden said. "Lord Blackwood and the other survivors are under siege inside Riverrun, surrounded by Jaime's host."

Robb looked fretful. "We must get across this accursed river if we're to have any hope of relieving them in time."

AGoT, Catelyn IX

Below the Wheel Tower, they made a wide turn and knifed through the churning water. The men put their backs into it. The wide arch of the Water Gate came into view, and she heard the creak of heavy chains as the great iron portcullis was winched upward. It rose slowly as they approached, and Catelyn saw that the lower half of it was red with rust. The bottom foot dripped brown mud on them as they passed underneath, the barbed spikes mere inches above their heads. Catelyn gazed up at the bars and wondered how deep the rust went and how well the portcullis would stand up to a ram and whether it ought to be replaced. Thoughts like that were seldom far from her mind these days.

They passed beneath the arch and under the walls, moving from sunlight to shadow and back into sunlight. Boats large and small were tied up all around them, secured to iron rings set in the stone. Her father's guards waited on the water stair with her brother. Ser Edmure Tully was a stocky young man with a shaggy head of auburn hair and a fiery beard. His breastplate was scratched and dented from battle, his blue-and-red cloak stained by blood and smoke. At his side stood the Lord Tytos Blackwood, a hard pike of a man with close-cropped salt-and-pepper whiskers and a hook nose. His bright yellow armor was inlaid with jet in elaborate vine-and-leaf patterns, and a cloak sewn from raven feathers draped his thin shoulders. 

AGoT, Catelyn XI

Her brother's voice was full of brusque confidence, but Catelyn found herself wishing that Robb had not taken her uncle Brynden west with him. The Blackfish was the veteran of half a hundred battles; Edmure was the veteran of one, and that one lost.

"The plan's a good one," he concluded. "Lord Tytos says so, and Lord Jonos as well. When did Blackwood and Bracken agree about anything that was not certain, I ask you?"

"Be that as it may." She was suddenly weary. Perhaps she was wrong to oppose him. Perhaps it was a splendid plan, and her misgivings only a woman's fears. She wished Ned were here, or her uncle Brynden, or . . . "Have you asked Father about this?"

ACoK, Catelyn V

I included the portcullis excerpt because we know that Uncle Brynden will eventually escape the Lannisters by swimming under that portcullis. Lord Tytos is described as being like a pike, which is wordplay referring to the weapon and a fish at the same time. 

It's not Bloodraven per se, but it is very clear that GRRM wants us to find the link between Brynden Rivers and Brynden Tully. ("HIghborn bachelor uncles of Westeros for $500, please, Alex.") GRRM may not have worked out the Blackwood or Blackfyre backstory for the elderly Targaryen that Bran would meet beyond the Wall, but I suspect he did know that the man would have the name Brynden. He may even have known that the man would possess the ancestral Targaryen sword known as Dark Sister. 

The Blackwoods are constantly linked to Edmure, House Tully and the fighting in the riverlands. The Brackens and Blackwoods continue to fight after the other Riverlands bannermen have given up and bent the knee to the Iron Throne. 

As the Blackfish, Brynden Tully seems to be part of the "black symbolism" that GRRM has set up for us: Blackwood, Blackfyre, Blackwater, Black Betha, Black Walder, Black Wind, Castle Black, The House of Black and White, take the black, the Greens vs. the Blacks, etc. The theory / guess needs more work, but I think black represent the presence of all colors - at the battle of the Blackwater, for instance, many colorful sigils are sunk into the water or captured and a whole new "spectrum" of noble houses emerges when the victors award titles and lands to the people who fought with them. White reflects colors, black absorbs.

As a devout follower of the faith of the seven, Catelyn is associated with rainbows (including being the POV to describe Renly's Rainbow Guard to readers). She is also a mother figure in ASOIAF (as are Cersei and Dany) but she is also compared and contrasted with Melisandre. Melisandre is associated with shadows, which seem to be the opposite of rainbows in ASOIAF. 

Could Brynden Tully represent the "shadow" aspect of House Tully? Is a shadow something else that black symbolizes? When Lysa Tully marries Jon Arryn, the Blackfish departs Riverrun to act as commander of the Bloody Gate at the Vale. He resigns that post years later when Riverrun joins the supporters of Robb Stark. Similar to the way that Melisandre's shadow baby can infiltrate the impenetrable Storm's End, Brynden Blackfish miraculously escapes the heavily-guarded water gate at Riverrun. He is turned loose on the world as Catelyn is transformed into Lady Stoneheart, also after spending some time in a river. 

I have a hunch that Brynden "Bloodraven" Rivers / Blackwood / Targaryen also has a shadow weapon. Like the keeper of the Bloody Gate, Bloodraven may also be a gatekeeper of sorts, keeping the Others from infiltrating the cave where Bran and his companions are holed up. I am confident that we can find many clues about Bloodraven in the parallel character of Brynden Tully, who is closely associated with mentions of the Blackwoods in ASOIAF. 

Note: I did not do an exhaustive search to find out whether the Blackfish is also associated with House Bracken. It may be that he manages to bridge the gap between those two feuding houses. The wiki tells me that Brynden does have two separate horses - a chestnut and a grey. The chestnut has obvious tree symbolism and the grey could refer to Stone Hedge, the seat of the Brackens. On the other hand, Lord Bracken's first name is Jonos. This may tell us that the Brackens have less of a connection to Brynden Tully and more of a connection to the Jon characters or even Janos Slynt. 

For reasons I do not understand, some people in this thread seem to think it enhances the discussion to militantly and repeatedly assert that ignorance is mandatory for all readers, and to insist that the author will eventually directly reveal and fully explain - in this set of ASOIAF books and not in related history books - any and all useful information about relationships and characters who appear in the books. Until then, the theory seems to be, no one should need or want to draw on information the author has given us in other contexts. Sort of a "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" image, except the assertion seems to be "see, hear and speak no widely-known, delightful and rich information" except what he deems is acceptable or official or properly laid out in the form he finds appropriate. My response it that it is not against the law to choose ignorance, but you can't impose it on others. 

I feel confident that GRRM wants and expects his readers to experience the delight of discovering connections on their own. The author has openly stated that he intends that the books can be enjoyed on many levels and yield new and delightful details on re-reads. He knows Bloodraven's backstory, he has shared it with us in histories, in literary clues and through the Dunk & Egg novellas. The Blackwood pedigree is laid out for us to savor and discuss. 

I am not an expert on fantasy literature, but I understand that complex world-building is part of the genre and part of the attraction for fans. We love that there are linked volumes that take place in other settings or timelines.

Bloodraven has already introduced himself to Bran Stark. I would be very surprised if he author goes back to that interaction and inserts a scene where Bloodraven says, "Oh, by the way, I didn't spell it out earlier but I'm a fucking Blackwood, kid, on my mother's side. Go, ravens!"

While there may be more Blackfyre Rebellion information, or even Blackwood / Bracken information (as I've written, Jaime's hostages hint at this), it just strikes me as lunacy to claim that the author has not provided us with information on Bloodraven's history or to maintain that it is irrelevant to this discussion. If you prefer to ignore widely-known and accepted information, feel free to do so but it's difficult to understand how or why a person who repeatedly announces a personal preference for ignorance chooses to continue participating in this forum. Seems like it would be easier to sit in a corner rocking back and forth instead of announcing dimwittedness for all to see. 

[Mourning Star]

6 hours ago, butterweedstrover said:

Who do you think the three eyed crow is in that case?

I'd put my bet on none other than Bran's very own, Old Nan.

She was there from the start, and by Bran's bed often when he slept.

The crow opened its beak and cawed at him, a shrill scream of fear, and the grey mists shuddered and swirled around him and ripped away like a veil, and he saw that the crow was really a woman, a serving woman with long black hair, and he knew her from somewhere, from Winterfell, yes, that was it, he remembered her now, and then he realized that he was in Winterfell, in a bed high in some chilly tower room, and the black-haired woman dropped a basin of water to shatter on the floor and ran down the steps, shouting, "He's awake, he's awake, he's awake."

A Game of Thrones - Bran III

Now if that is Bran seeing Old Nan as younger, there is some magic involved, if this is a nameless servant and the transition is just a nice irony (the sort this author loves), or nothing at all, I can't say for sure. But, I like it.

Nan did spend a lot of time caring for Bran. Is it easier to speak in someone's dream if you are close to them, like it's easier to feel the direwolves when they are close?

"It was just a lie," he said bitterly, remembering the crow from his dream. "I can't fly. I can't even run."
"Crows are all liars," Old Nan agreed, from the chair where she sat doing her needlework. "I know a story about a crow."
"I don't want any more stories," Bran snapped, his voice petulant. He had liked Old Nan and her stories once. Before. But it was different now. They left her with him all day now, to watch over him and clean him and keep him from being lonely, but she just made it worse. "I hate your stupid stories."
The old woman smiled at him toothlessly. "My stories? No, my little lord, not mine. The stories are, before me and after me, before you too."
She was a very ugly old woman, Bran thought spitefully; shrunken and wrinkled, almost blind, too weak to climb stairs, with only a few wisps of white hair left to cover a mottled pink scalp. No one really knew how old she was, but his father said she'd been called Old Nan even when he was a boy. She was the oldest person in Winterfell for certain, maybe the oldest person in the Seven Kingdoms. Nan had come to the castle as a wet nurse for a Brandon Stark whose mother had died birthing him. He had been an older brother of Lord Rickard, Bran's grandfather, or perhaps a younger brother, or a brother to Lord Rickard's father. Sometimes Old Nan told it one way and sometimes another. In all the stories the little boy died at three of a summer chill, but Old Nan stayed on at Winterfell with her own children. She had lost both her sons to the war when King Robert won the throne, and her grandson was killed on the walls of Pyke during Balon Greyjoy's rebellion. Her daughters had long ago married and moved away and died. All that was left of her own blood was Hodor, the simpleminded giant who worked in the stables, but Old Nan just lived on and on, doing her needlework and telling her stories.
"I don't care whose stories they are," Bran told her, "I hate them." He didn't want stories and he didn't want Old Nan. He wanted his mother and father. He wanted to go running with Summer loping beside him. He wanted to climb the broken tower and feed corn to the crows. He wanted to ride his pony again with his brothers. He wanted it to be the way it had been before.
"I know a story about a boy who hated stories," Old Nan said with her stupid little smile, her needles moving all the while, click click click, until Bran was ready to scream at her.

A Game of Thrones - Bran IV

Nan calling herself a liar just works for me. Her tales are where we learn so much, but I do think you have to chew on them a bit to get the truths out.

And the greater story she is telling is about Bran, the boy who hated stories, the boy who climbed too high (a story she told Bran before he fell), and the boy who hated stories. The story starts before Bran and Nan, but she only says before Bran. I think there is an element of fate/prophesy creeping in here.

Nan came to Winterfell for a Brandon Stark, and Bloodraven has been waiting for Brandon Stark, I doubt this is a coincidence.

Now my favorite part, Nan is constantly doing her needlework, click click click. Bran even remembers it when recalling Nan's stories. As we see from the Arya chapters, and her sword needle, a needle is a metaphor for a sword.

On this night he dreamed of the weirwood. It was looking at him with its deep red eyes, calling to him with its twisted wooden mouth, and from its pale branches the three-eyed crow came flapping, pecking at his face and crying his name in a voice as sharp as swords.

A Clash of Kings - Bran II

The crow calls Bran's name in a voice as sharp as swords, click click click.

The next question of course is, who is Old Nan?

One may note we get no eye or hair color, due to age. And no teeth (like a crow!).

Also worthy of note is that the stories she tells are not just of the North, but of the Targaryens and King's Landing as well.

Nan also does not call Bran a prince, even after he becomes Rob's heir. Something that fits with being Targaryen royalty, herself.

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.

A Clash of Kings - Bran I

She also correctly predicts the return of dragons when asked about the comet, she smells it. I think this is particularly interesting given that blind old Aemon describes:

"Dragons," Aemon whispered. "The grief and glory of my House, they were."
"The last dragon died before you were born," said Sam. "How could you remember them?"
"I see them in my dreams, Sam. I see a red star bleeding in the sky. I still remember red. I see their shadows on the snow, hear the crack of leathern wings, feel their hot breath. My brothers dreamed of dragons too, and the dreams killed them, every one. Sam, we tremble on the cusp of half-remembered prophecies, of wonders and terrors that no man now living could hope to comprehend. “

A Feast for Crows - Samwell III

What about his sisters?

While I've considered Shiera Seastar as a candidate to be Old Nan, I actually have come to prefer that she was once known as Rhae Targaryen, daughter of Maekar Targaryen and sister to Aegon IV (Egg) and Aemon.

"You've known queens and princesses. Did they dance with demons and practice the black arts?"
"Lady Shiera does. Lord Bloodraven's paramour. She bathes in blood to keep her beauty. And once my sister Rhae put a love potion in my drink, so I'd marry her instead of my sister Daella."

The Sworn Sword

Egg ended up marrying Betha Blackwood, and Rhae had children.

Will I talk with Egg again, find Dareon whole and happy, hear my sisters singing to their children?

A Feast for Crows - Samwell IV

This may imply his sister and or their children are dead.

Old Nan had children, although her only descendent left in Winterfell is Hodor.

[butterweedstrover]

15 hours ago, Seams said:

 

The name Blackwood is repeatedly linked to Brynden Tully in the books.

 

Brynden Tully is not Brynden Rivers. 

[Black Crow]

 

1 hour ago, butterweedstrover said:

Brynden Tully is not Brynden Rivers. 

As Seams points out, there are repeated connection between the Tullys and the Blackwoods, and Brynden Blackwood himself remarks:

"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..."

[Mourning Star]

1 hour ago, Black Crow said:

As Seams points out, there are repeated connection between the Tullys and the Blackwoods, and Brynden Blackwood

I'm still not sure how far this association goes, past the obvious Liege/lord relationship, but...

I would point out that Lord Tytos Blackwood has a son named Hoster, and it is he who tells Jaime the story of the Teats, which is about Aegon the Unworthy and the mothers of Bloodraven and Bittersteal. 

I think it's super interesting that Pennytree is the town between the Teats, as this is where Arlan, the man who may or may not have knighted Dunk, was from.

"Many good men fell that day, on both sides. The grass was not red before the battle. Did your Ser Arlan tell you that?"
"Ser Arlan never liked to speak about the battle. His squire died there, too. Roger of Pennytree was his name, Ser Arlan's sister's son." Even saying the name made Dunk feel vaguely guilty. I stole his place.
Only princes and great lords had the means to keep two squires. If Aegon the Unworthy had given his sword to his heir Daeron instead of his bastard Daemon, there might never have been a Blackfyre Rebellion, and Roger of Pennytree might be alive today. He would be a knight someplace, a truer knight than me. I would have ended on the gallows, or been sent off to the Night's Watch to walk the Wall until I died.
"A great battle is a terrible thing," the old knight said "but in the midst of blood and carnage, there is sometimes also beauty, beauty that could break your heart. I will never forget the way the sun looked when it set upon the Redgrass Field . . . ten thousand men had died, and the air was thick with moans and lamentations, but above us the sky turned gold and red and orange, so beautiful it made me weep to know that my sons would never see it." He sighed. "It was a closer thing than they would have you believe, these days. If not for Bloodraven . . ."
"I'd always heard that it was Baelor Breakspear who won the battle," said Dunk. "Him and Prince Maekar."
"The hammer and the anvil?" The old man's mustache gave a twitch. "The singers leave out much and more. Daemon was the Warrior himself that day. No man could stand before him. He broke Lord Arryn's van to pieces and slew the Knight of Ninestars and Wild Wyl Waynwood before coming up against Ser Gwayne Corbray of the Kingsguard. For near an hour they danced together on their horses, wheeling and circling and slashing as men died all around them. It's said that whenever Blackfyre and Lady Forlorn clashed, you could hear the sound for a league around. It was half a song and half a scream, they say. But when at last the Lady faltered, Blackfyre clove through Ser Gwayne's helm and left him blind and bleeding. Daemon dismounted to see that his fallen foe was not trampled, and commanded Redtusk to carry him back to the maesters in the rear. And there was his mortal error, for the Raven's Teeth had gained the top of Weeping Ridge, and Bloodraven saw his half brother's royal standard three hundred yards away, and Daemon and his sons beneath it. He slew Aegon first, the elder of the twins, for he knew that Daemon would never leave the boy whilst warmth lingered in his body, though white shafts fell like rain. Nor did he, though seven arrows pierced him, driven as much by sorcery as by Bloodraven's bow. Young Aemon took up Blackfyre when the blade slipped from his dying father's fingers, so Bloodraven slew him, too, the younger of the twins. Thus perished the black dragon and his sons.
"There was much and more afterward, I know. I saw a bit of it myself . . . the rebels running, Bittersteel turning the rout and leading his mad charge . . . his battle with Bloodraven, second only to the one Daemon fought with Gwayne Corbray . . . Prince Baelor's hammerblow against the rebel rear, the Dornishmen all screaming as they filled the air with spears . . . but at the end of the day, it made no matter. The war was done when Daemon died.
"So close a thing . . . if Daemon had ridden over Gwayne Corbray and left him to his fate, he might have broken Maekar's left before Bloodraven could take the ridge. The day would have belonged to the black dragons then, with the Hand slain and the road to King's Landing open before them. Daemon might have been sitting on the Iron Throne by the time Prince Baelor could come up with his stormlords and his Dornishmen.
"The singers can go on about their hammer and their anvil, ser, but it was the kinslayer who turned the tide with a white arrow and a black spell. He rules us now as well, make no mistake. King Aerys is his creature. It would not surprise to learn that Bloodraven had ensorceled His Grace, to bend him to his will. Small wonder we are cursed." Ser Eustace shook his head and lapsed into a brooding silence. Dunk wondered how much Egg had overheard, but there was no way to ask him. How many eyes does Lord Bloodraven have? he thought.

Just a note, because I mentioned Baristan saying that Daemon rose in rebellion because he loved Daenerys, yet here the focus is on the sword Blackfyre. Both can be true at the same time (or both untrue for that matter), but I think the differing accounts bear notice. Especially as we are presented by a third possibility in The World of Ice and Fire. Perhaps it was not Daemon who rose in rebellion at all, but the attempt by the Kingsguard to arrest him (possibly the work of Bloodraven) that sparked the rebellion.

Perhaps at first, Daemon Blackfyre merely indulged such talk for the sake of his vanity. After all, years had passed between the first men approaching Daemon and the actual rebellion. What, then, tipped Daemon over into proclaiming for the throne? It seems likely it was another of the Great Bastards: Ser Aegor Rivers, called Bittersteel. Perhaps it was his Bracken blood that made Aegor so choleric and so quick to take offense. Perhaps it was the ignominious fall of the Brackens in King Aegon's esteem, leading to his exile from Aegon's court. Or perhaps it was only his rivalry with his half brother and fellow bastard Brynden Rivers, who had been able to maintain his close relations at court—for Bloodraven's mother had been well loved during her life, and was fondly remembered, so the Blackwoods did not suffer as the Brackens did when the king cast off his respective mistresses.
Whatever the case may be, Aegor Rivers soon began to press Daemon Blackfyre to proclaim for the throne, and all the more so after Daemon agreed to wed his eldest daughter, Calla, to Aegor. Bitter his steel may have been, but worse was his tongue. He spilled poison in Daemon's ear, and with him came the clamoring of other knights and lords with grievances.
In the end, years of such talk bore their fruit, and Daemon Blackfyre made his decision. Yet it was a decision he made rashly, for word soon reached King Daeron that Blackfyre meant to declare himself king within the turn of the moon. (We do not know how word came to Daeron, though Merion's unfinished The Red Dragon and the Black suggests that another of the Great Bastards, Brynden Rivers, was involved.) The king sent the Kingsguard to arrest Daemon before he could take his plans for treason any further. Daemon was forewarned, and with the help of the famously hot-tempered knight Ser Quentyn Ball, called Fireball, he was able to escape the Red Keep safely. Daemon Blackfyre's allies used this attempted arrest as a cause for war, claiming that Daeron had acted against Daemon out of no more than baseless fear. Others still named him Daeron Falseborn, repeating the calumny that Aegon the Unworthy himself was said to have circulated in the later years of his reign: that he had been sired not by the king but by his brother, the Dragonknight.

[butterweedstrover]

1 hour ago, Black Crow said:

 

As Seams points out, there are repeated connection between the Tullys and the Blackwoods, and Brynden Blackwood himself remarks:

"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..."

The degrees of separations make this irrelevant, and the vague symbolism does not equate to anything serious, in fact your quote does not even amount to symbolism. Tullys being related to Blackwoods does not in any way change the fact that Bloodraven has never been referenced to as a Blackwood. 

The fact that he is related to them has not come into play yet (if ever) which is why this string of conversation is redundant. Saying Brynden Rivers has not been connected to the Blackwoods IN THE TEXT is beyond debate. And it is such a queer response to say that it has been referenced to by some other character named Brynden, which by the way is not the name of House Tully.  

[Mourning Star]

13 minutes ago, butterweedstrover said:

The fact that he is related to them has not come into play yet (if ever) which is why this string of conversation is redundant. Saying Brynden Rivers has not been connected to the Blackwoods IN THE TEXT is beyond debate. And it is such a queer response to say that it has been referenced to by some other character named Brynden, which by the way is not the name of House Tully.  

I disagree with this, I think Bloodraven being a Blackwood is directly referenced by the text both in the Dunk stories and in Dance. In fact one could argue that more than anything else the Blackwood/Bracken Bittersteel/Bloodraven feud sparked the Blackfyre rebellion.

Dunk knew he meant Bloodraven. Brynden Rivers was the Hand's true name. His mother had been a Blackwood, his father King Aegon the Fourth.

The Brynden name connection is made by Bloodraven himself.

[butterweedstrover]

20 minutes ago, Mourning Star said:

I disagree with this, I think Bloodraven being a Blackwood is directly referenced by the text both in the Dunk stories and in Dance. In fact one could argue that more than anything else the Blackwood/Bracken Bittersteel/Bloodraven feud sparked the Blackfyre rebellion.

Dunk knew he meant Bloodraven. Brynden Rivers was the Hand's true name. His mother had been a Blackwood, his father King Aegon the Fourth.

The Brynden name connection is made by Bloodraven himself.

D&E is not the main series which is what I was referencing, it counts as extraneous sources.  

Where in Dance was it referenced if I might ask?

[Mourning Star]

12 minutes ago, butterweedstrover said:

D&E is not the main series which is what I was referencing, it counts as extraneous sources.  

Where in Dance was it referenced if I might ask?

I disagree, I think the Dunk and Egg stories are critical to understanding the back story of the series, especially the Blackfyre Rebellion and Bloodraven. They are not extraneous. One couldn't know that Bloodraven is who Bran meets at all without them.

The main story might be perfectly readable without them, but there are obviously things to learn which have a direct impact on the main story in them. If you choose to ignore a portion of the story that we have in writing that's your choice, but they are clearly relevant to the discussion here.

"Aegon the Unworthy took Barba Bracken as his mistress," the bookish boy replied. "She was a very buxom wench, they say, and one day when the king was visiting at the Stone Hedge he went out hunting and saw the Teats and …"
"… named them for his mistress." Aegon the Fourth had died long before Jaime had been born, but he recalled enough of the history of his reign to guess what must have happened next. "Only later he put the Bracken girl aside and took up with a Blackwood, was that the way of it?"
"Lady Melissa," Hoster confirmed. "Missy, they called her. There's a statue of her in our godswood. She was much more beautiful than Barba Bracken, but slender, and Barba was heard to say that Missy was flat as a boy. When King Aegon heard, he …"
"… gave her Barba's teats." Jaime laughed. "How did all this begin, between Blackwood and Bracken? Is it written down?"

A Dance with Dragons - Jaime I

[butterweedstrover]

2 hours ago, Mourning Star said:

I disagree, I think the Dunk and Egg stories are critical to understanding the back story of the series, especially the Blackfyre Rebellion and Bloodraven. They are not extraneous. One couldn't know that Bloodraven is who Bran meets at all without them.

The main story might be perfectly readable without them, but there are obviously things to learn which have a direct impact on the main story in them. If you choose to ignore a portion of the story that we have in writing that's your choice, but they are clearly relevant to the discussion here.

"Aegon the Unworthy took Barba Bracken as his mistress," the bookish boy replied. "She was a very buxom wench, they say, and one day when the king was visiting at the Stone Hedge he went out hunting and saw the Teats and …"
"… named them for his mistress." Aegon the Fourth had died long before Jaime had been born, but he recalled enough of the history of his reign to guess what must have happened next. "Only later he put the Bracken girl aside and took up with a Blackwood, was that the way of it?"
"Lady Melissa," Hoster confirmed. "Missy, they called her. There's a statue of her in our godswood. She was much more beautiful than Barba Bracken, but slender, and Barba was heard to say that Missy was flat as a boy. When King Aegon heard, he …"
"… gave her Barba's teats." Jaime laughed. "How did all this begin, between Blackwood and Bracken? Is it written down?"

A Dance with Dragons - Jaime I

Its not relevant to the story as of this point, when/if it does then it will surface. As far as Brynden Rivers is concerned in ASOIAF he has nothing to do with the Blackwood/Bracken feud. If he inserts himself then we will find out, but he has not yet which why I keep using that key word "YET". 

And not even that quote from ADWD tells us that Brynden Rivers is a Blackwood.

[Mourning Star]

14 minutes ago, butterweedstrover said:

Its not relevant to the story as of this point, when/if it does then it will surface. As far as Brynden Rivers is concerned in ASOIAF he has nothing to do with the Blackwood/Bracken feud. If he inserts himself then we will find out, but he has not yet which why I keep using that key word "YET". 

And not even that quote from ADWD tells us that Brynden Rivers is a Blackwood.

If you are refusing to discuss the stories where we learn that Brynden Rivers is Bloodraven then this is a pointless discussion.

That Bloodraven's mother was a Blackwood is absolutely relevant to the plot of the story.

 

[butterweedstrover]

19 minutes ago, Mourning Star said:

If you are refusing to discuss the stories where we learn that Brynden Rivers is Bloodraven then this is a pointless discussion.

That Bloodraven's mother was a Blackwood is absolutely relevant to the plot of the story.

 

Brynden Rivers being Bloodraven is not equal Bloodraven being a Blackwood. That information is not given to us in the main books therefore does not affect how we perceive the bracken/blackwood feud. 

If when it does come to play that will be seen. But right now you can't throw out a quote from Dance which doesn't confirm Bloodraven as a Blackwood as evidence to how important his relationship to that family is. And furthermore, the confusion I had to his identity is reasonable given how it has not come to play in the books (sigh... yet).

[Evolett]

1 hour ago, butterweedstrover said:

Its not relevant to the story as of this point, when/if it does then it will surface. As far as Brynden Rivers is concerned in ASOIAF he has nothing to do with the Blackwood/Bracken feud. If he inserts himself then we will find out, but he has not yet which why I keep using that key word "YET". 

I'm finding it difficult following your line of reasoning. Even if you discount all accounts of the feud between Bloodraven and Bittersteel because it occured outside of the timeframe of ASOIAF, the mere fact that the Blackwoods accuse the Brackens of poisoning their weirwood (which we hear of in  ASOIAF) should alert us to the possibility that the feud might spill over into the supernatural or is thematic to the magical side of the narrative. Would a greenseer survive within a poisoned weirwood? I doubt it. 

 

1 hour ago, butterweedstrover said:

And not even that quote from ADWD tells us that Brynden Rivers is a Blackwood.

Do we need a quote spelling out that Brynden Rivers is a Blackwood or a Targaryen for that matter? Like most people in the books and in the real world, he is a product of both families. He may have identified more with one family than the other, though I'ld be hard pressed to determine which. He has Targaryen blood and was a staunch loyalist, yes but he also exhibited traits than can be attributed to the Blackwood line well before disappearing beyond the Wall. His spymaster activities as Hand of the King are a direct parallel to his role as an all-seeing greenseer. His preference for a weirwood bow and formation of a formidable company of archers named the "Raven's Teeth" speak more to his Blackwood heritage than to the Targaryen side. Why would his mother's side of the family count for less?  I daresay his greenseeing abilities stem from her. As Arya would say, "the woman is important too." And speaking of the fate of a greenseer within a poisoned weirwood - Bloodraven's Targaryen blood is probably central to surviving just such an attack, should it be attempted: we've been given an example of the cleansing power of intrinsic "fire" over poison by Melisandre. 
What is important here is that Brynden Rivers is both a Blackwood and a Targaryen and so far he has undoubtedly integrated both lines of inheritance into his identity, imo.  

[Evolett]

19 hours ago, Mourning Star said:

'd put my bet on none other than Bran's very own, Old Nan.

She was there from the start, and by Bran's bed often when he slept.

I really like this, as well as your line of reasoning. As to Old Nan's identity, I think she is Tanselle. The hints are very subtle but seem to point in her direction. Readers have figured out that Bran's vision of the girl kissing a knight as tall as Hodor is showing us Old Nan and Dunk, that is probably correct. Dunk definitely had a thing for Tanselle. He thinks of her numerous times during his adventures, to the point that his thoughts imply he would forsake his vows should he ever become a Knight of the Kingsguard. 

Quote

 The knights of the Kingsguard served for life and swore to take no wife and hold no lands. I might find Tanselle again someday. Why shouldn’t I have a wife, and sons?

Tanselle was called "Tanselle-too-Tall," she was a head shorter than Dunk and Dunk very often thinks she wasn't too tall for him. A descendant of two "too tall" people could very well be very tall as well, like Hodor. 

I love this catch and the way you relate it to Old Nan.

19 hours ago, Mourning Star said:

The crow opened its beak and cawed at him, a shrill scream of fear, and the grey mists shuddered and swirled around him and ripped away like a veil, and he saw that the crow was really a woman, a serving woman with long black hair, and he knew her from somewhere

The girl in Bran's vision has brown hair and the girl is slender as a spear. She stands on the tips of her toes to kiss the lips of the young knight. Tanselle has black hair and is "slim as a lance." 

Quote

The puppeteer who worked the dragon was good to watch too; a tall drink of water, with the olive skin and black hair of Dorne. She was slim as a lance with no breasts to speak of ...

Being a head shorter than Dunk, she would have to stretch up to kiss him on the lips. 
The next parallel is the shield she paints for Dunk and what it depicts - an elm tree, like the one by the pool where Dunk and Egg camped. Bit of visual imagery here - in Bran's vision their encounter takes place beneath the weirwood, by the pool. One could add  the shooting star as a reference to the comet Old Nan "smells," pronouncing the advent of "dragons," and the fact that Tanselle manipulates the dragon puppet and is attacked and maimed by a "dragon."

Two things  convince me most of all:
both Old Nan and Tanselle are story-tellers. As a puppeteer, Tanselle has a great many stories in her repetoire for the puppet show, many of which are mentioned in the Hedge Knight. The puppeteers tell the stories while enacting out the parts with their puppets. 

Secondly, manipulating a puppet requires dexterity of the fingers and so does knitting. There are different types of devices for controlling puppets, depending on whether they are manipulated from above or below. A horizonal wooden bar crossed by another, or by several is often used for manipulation from above, and of course, the puppets hang on strings or threads. Knitting requires finger-skills as well, with the needles crossing to make the pattern. 

After the attack by Aerion Brightflame, the puppeteers go back to Dorne, at least that was the plan. Steely Pate advises them to go as far away as possible. Dunk visits a hundred puppet shows in Dorne but does not find her there. I think she did go far away, all the way to Winterfell, to take up service as a wet-nurse to a Brandon Stark. There's a parallel here too. Wylla, Jon's wet-nurse, also hailed from Dorne. 

Dunk did visit Winterfell somewhere along the line and I daresay he finally found his Tanselle-too-Tall and could not resist. I haven't really done date-checking for this but an estimation tells me it fits in with Old Nan's advanced age. 

 

[butterweedstrover]

1 hour ago, Evolett said:

I'm finding it difficult following your line of reasoning. Even if you discount all accounts of the feud between Bloodraven and Bittersteel because it occured outside of the timeframe of ASOIAF, the mere fact that the Blackwoods accuse the Brackens of poisoning their weirwood (which we hear of in  ASOIAF) should alert us to the possibility that the feud might spill over into the supernatural or is thematic to the magical side of the narrative. Would a greenseer survive within a poisoned weirwood? I doubt it.  

As you say, might. It has not happened. But more importantly this conversation started based on the question if there is favoritism towards the Blackwoods. 

Knowledge of Brynden's heritage does not affect that aspect of this conflict. If his relationship does turn the Blackwoods into a force for some undefined evil, fine. But until then his identity does not affect the unanomious positivity elsewise associated with the Blackwoods.

1 hour ago, Evolett said:

 

Do we need a quote spelling out that Brynden Rivers is a Blackwood or a Targaryen for that matter? Like most people in the books and in the real world, he is a product of both families. He may have identified more with one family than the other, though I'ld be hard pressed to determine which. He has Targaryen blood and was a staunch loyalist, yes but he also exhibited traits than can be attributed to the Blackwood line well before disappearing beyond the Wall. His spymaster activities as Hand of the King are a direct parallel to his role as an all-seeing greenseer. His preference for a weirwood bow and formation of a formidable company of archers named the "Raven's Teeth" speak more to his Blackwood heritage than to the Targaryen side. Why would his mother's side of the family count for less?  I daresay his greenseeing abilities stem from her. As Arya would say, "the woman is important too." And speaking of the fate of a greenseer within a poisoned weirwood - Bloodraven's Targaryen blood is probably central to surviving just such an attack, should it be attempted: we've been given an example of the cleansing power of intrinsic "fire" over poison by Melisandre. 
What is important here is that Brynden Rivers is both a Blackwood and a Targaryen and so far he has undoubtedly integrated both lines of inheritance into his identity, imo.  

If it has never been established anywhere then as far as the series is concerned his character in ASOIAF is not influenced by his Blackwood blood. If you remove external sources, none of this hints or insinuations could lead any reader to the conclusion that Brynden Rivers' Mother is a Blackwood.