a song for Lya

[Chista]

has anyone here read a song for lya short story? let me show you what it says about it in wikipedia

Quote

In his later book series A Song of Ice and Fire, the names Robb and Lyanna are used for two members of House Stark, Robb Stark being the son of Eddard Stark and Lyanna Stark being Eddard's younger sister, as well for the character of the young Lyanna Mormont. Additionally, the afterlife and collective consciousness within the Greeshka in A Song for Lya parallels the afterlife and collective consciousness within the Weirwood trees described by the Children of the Forest in A Song of Ice and Fire.

 

these characters are worlds apart, but their personalities as well as their names seem to be the same. and even though they are very different, i tend to parallel Robb with Robert Baratheon. i wonder why grrm has used similar names. it really seems like an alternative universe. Lyanna Stark's story has had a strong effect on the story and characters in asoiaf, yet as a character we don't have that much information about her. it makes me wonder if the Lyanna in a song for Lya could unravel more of her personality for us asoiaf readers. and more than that, could this be how Robert/Lyanna relationship would've worked out if they had been married, without Lyanna running off/being stolen? what do you think?

but forget about characters, i wanna talk about the fucking Greeshka. it's not just the Greeshka, even the alian race Shkeen sound similar to the children of the forest. 

comparing the ending of Lyanna in these two universes/stories, in a song for Lya,

Spoiler

Lya joins the (freaking) Greeshka 

in asoiaf Lyanna asks Ned to bury her in Winterfel. could this mean that the vaults in Winterfel have a connection to the weirwood trees and the scary caves of children of the forest? 

also, a great story and a great storyteller. if you're waiting for the winds and haven't read a song for Lya, i recommend you read it. the universes are different for sure, but the writing, the shape of the story, it's atmosphere and aesthetic all feel the same.

 

 

 

 

[Alexis-something-Rose]

5 hours ago, Chista said:

in asoiaf Lyanna asks Ned to bury her in Winterfel. could this mean that the vaults in Winterfel have a connection to the weirwood trees and the scary caves of children of the forest? 

I haven't read A Song for Lya, but I think there are some really good indicators that connect the crypts to weirwoods.

There's this quote in Bran II, AGoT;

To a boy, Winterfell was a grey stone labyrinth of walls and towers and courtyards and tunnels spreading out in all directions. In the older parts of the castle, the halls slanted up and down so that you couldn't even be sure what floor you were on. The place had grown over the centuries like some monstrous stone tree, Maester Luwin told him once, and its branches were gnarled and thick and twisted, its roots sunk deep into the earth.

The roots of Winterfell would be the sprawling crypts beneath it, where all the kings and the lords are buried.

We get again the same reference in Bran VII, ACoK;

At the edge of the wolfswood, Bran turned in his basket for one last glimpse of the castle that had been his life. Wisps of smoke still rose into the grey sky, but no more than might have risen from Winterfell's chimneys on a cold autumn afternoon. Soot stains marked some of the arrow loops, and here and there a crack or a missing merlon could be seen in the curtain wall, but it seemed little enough from this distance. Beyond, the tops of the keeps and towers still stood as they had for hundreds of years, and it was hard to tell that the castle had been sacked and burned at all. The stone is strong, Bran told himself, the roots of the trees go deep, and under the ground the Kings of Winter sit their thrones. So long as those remained, Winterfell remained. It was not dead, just broken. Like me, he thought. I'm not dead either.

Plus Bran opened his third eye in the crypts, amidst what is considered the roots of Winterfell. He entered Jon's dream through Ghost. And I think that he did it once more in ADwD. So I think these places are similar if not the same.

[LongRider]

A person who used to post here, @The Fattest Leech has a blog where she discusses GRRM's other books and writings.  Link below, thought you might find it interesting.  

 

Book Club: Pre-ASOIAF works transcribed here… (fattestleechoficeandfire.com)

[Rondo]

11 hours ago, Chista said:

in asoiaf Lyanna asks Ned to bury her in Winterfel. could this mean that the vaults in Winterfel have a connection to the weirwood trees and the scary caves of children of the forest? 

I have read the novella.  IMO, GRRM just recycled the names.  Though the above quote is probably relevant in the way the Starks are part of a pack.  Lyanna is the Arya of the past in their personalities being the same.  But. There is a fundamental difference between the two females.  Arya has always belonged to the Stark pack. Lyanna chose to leave the pack to avoid an undesired marriage to the Baratheon son.  

The collective mind is the end of the road for the Starks.  You could say it takes the idea of pack to an extreme level.  They lose individuality in order to become one.  What this implies for the ending is the Starks will die and their souls will become one.  The weirwoods will provide the medium to hold their souls after they die.  

[Phylum of Alexandria]

I wrote some thoughts on A Song for Lya and other works compiled in Dreamsongs.