The Lord of Darkness

[Rondo]

Bran's chapter began this long and still unfinished story.  You might say the first Bran chapter is the foreshadowing of very dark events to come.  Very dark in general but also predicted a very dark future for the point of view character, Bran Stark.  

Brother Gared, a seasoned man of the Nights Watch, was caught and charged with the crime of desertion.  Desertion, we are explicitly told, is a crime punishable by death.  We know from the Prologue what had happened to Gared just as we know the ranger had important information to convey.  Gared was obviously traumatized and suffered from PTSD.  Ned Stark listens to the man briefly and carries out the execution.  Bran Stark, a young boy, was brought along to witness the execution.  Furthermore, Bran Stark was told not to look away.  The Starks find the wolves on their way home from the horrific scene of the execution.

The Usurper's party arrives in Winterfell and Ned Stark accepts the offer to become Hand of the King.  Bran Stark accidentally sees Jaime Lannister and his sister, Cersei Lannister, making love in one of Winterfell's ruined towers.  Jaime, to keep Bran from revealing his secret, pushed Bran from the window.  The fall breaks Bran's body.  All of the boy's dreams of becoming a knight went out.  

Bran has several dreams.  He dreamt of his bastard brother, Jon Snow, growing cold and experiencing the rigor mortis of death.  He also sees across the Narrow Sea and Essos to Asshai, where he sees dragons.  Lastly, he sees into the lands of always winter, almost literally he saw the Heart of Winter.  

Bran's dog saves him from the assassin.  He comes out of his comma and wakes up to his ruined body.  Soon the children of House Reed comes to visit Winterfell.  Robb declares rebellion and leaves for the South.  Bran the Broken becomes the acting lord of Winterfell.  Theon and the Ironborn take the castle from Lord Bran.  The cripple and his friends are forced to hide and then leave from the burning castle.  This is another very traumatic episode for Lord Bran.  

Bran and Co. crossed the Wall and passed through the Nightfort and the Bastard Gate.  They meet Bloodraven, the Targaryen bastard known as Brynden Rivers.  Brynden teaches Bran and shows him how to use his abilities.  Bran saw through the eyes of the Winterfell tree.  He saw the brutality of his ancestors.  His mind travelled back in time, reading the tree's memories and sees his ancestors making human sacrifices to the trees.  In the real world, he sees bones scattered all around the vast cave.  Bran begins to enjoy the dark.  He begins to love intruding on the mind of his simpleton servant.  He begins to engage in voyeurism and spies on his potential love interest, Meera Reed. 

Brynden tells him the strongest trees grow in the dark.  Those are not normal trees because no tree can survive without the sun.  Where do the trees get their energy?  Human blood.  What does Bran have that make him a valuable asset against the White Walkers?  His Skinchanging powers.  Brynden has a plan to use Bran to wrest control of the wights away from the White Walkers.  It is unfortunate, I think, because Bran Stark will betray Brynden and use his powers to avenge the Starks.  He will learn that it was Jaime Lannister who pushed him from the window and took away all of his dreams.  There will be no peace with the Lannisters.  

Everything Bran has been exposed to by his elders are slowly leading Bran to become evil.  Bran is not just physically broken.  He is also morally broken.  From the major screwup that was Gared's execution, to his crippling, and finally to the deaths of his siblings.  All of those will not lead even a good person to become better.  Bran will see the death of his bastard brother at the wall.  He will see the deaths of Sansa and Arya.  Bran will betray Brynden and use his Skinchanging powers to drive the wights to indiscriminately attack Westeros.  Bran will become the Lord of Darkness and his bloody reign will last the duration of the Long Night.  Bran Stark will have to die before the Long Night can end and for Spring to return.  

 

Edited April 23, 2023 by Rondo

[Here's Looking At You, Kid]

I agree on Bran becoming the main villain.  All those scenes of blood and death are desensitizing Bran to violence.  It will be a contest before the story is over as to who will murder more people:  Bran or Arya.  The trigger for both will be knowing Jon's death.  Bran is slowly losing his humanity.  He tasted the wight's bones through Summer.  That is already cannibalism. 

[GZ Bloodraven]

6 hours ago, Rondo said:

Very dark in general but also predicted a very dark future for the point of view character, Bran Stark.  

I agree, having most of your family get murdered is pretty dark.

6 hours ago, Rondo said:

Bran Stark will have to die before the Long Night can end and for Spring to return.  

This is just the "Bran is the Night's King" theory. George might kill Bran off because he's difficult to write, not because he's an evil 9 year old. 

[LongRider]

6 hours ago, Rondo said:

Bran's dog saves him from the assassin.

Bran has a dog?     

[kissdbyfire]

6 hours ago, Rondo said:

Bran's dog saves him from the assassin. 

Yeah, just like Dany’s lizard saves her in the HotU. So what?

[Alester Florent]

7 hours ago, Rondo said:

He comes out of his comma 

Better than coming out of his colon. Which coincidentally is what many of these topics seem to do.

Edited April 23, 2023 by Alester Florent

[LongRider]

1 hour ago, Alester Florent said:

Better than coming out of his colon. Which coincidentally is what many of these topics seem to do.

No shit! 

[butterweedstrover]

good story but Bran will become king and Martin called the ending bittersweet so...

[Wisconsin]

All of the Starks are heading towards the darkness.  Mostly Jon and Arya but Bran is not too far behind.  He has a right to take revenge against Jaime and Theon.  I would not hold that against him.  But I'm with you @Rondo   Bran will set the Wights loose on Westeros and millions of humans and animals will get killed. 

[LongRider]

4 minutes ago, Wisconsin said:

  Bran will set the Wights loose on Westeros and millions of humans and animals will get killed. 

Oh noes!  Not the animals too!  Now that's just mean.   

[Craving Peaches]

3 hours ago, Wisconsin said:

Bran will set the Wights loose on Westeros and millions of humans and animals will get killed. 

I thought Jon the Evil was doing that? Can't have them both choosing to set the Wights on everyone. You must make up your mind - who do you want to hate/demonise more?

[Lady Stonehearts Simp]

12 hours ago, Alester Florent said:

Better than coming out of his colon. Which coincidentally is what many of these topics seem to do.

Glorious

[The Commentator]

23 hours ago, Rondo said:

Bran's chapter began this long and still unfinished story.  You might say the first Bran chapter is the foreshadowing of very dark events to come.  Very dark in general but also predicted a very dark future for the point of view character, Bran Stark.  

Brother Gared, a seasoned man of the Nights Watch, was caught and charged with the crime of desertion.  Desertion, we are explicitly told, is a crime punishable by death.  We know from the Prologue what had happened to Gared just as we know the ranger had important information to convey.  Gared was obviously traumatized and suffered from PTSD.  Ned Stark listens to the man briefly and carries out the execution.  Bran Stark, a young boy, was brought along to witness the execution.  Furthermore, Bran Stark was told not to look away.  The Starks find the wolves on their way home from the horrific scene of the execution.

The Usurper's party arrives in Winterfell and Ned Stark accepts the offer to become Hand of the King.  Bran Stark accidentally sees Jaime Lannister and his sister, Cersei Lannister, making love in one of Winterfell's ruined towers.  Jaime, to keep Bran from revealing his secret, pushed Bran from the window.  The fall breaks Bran's body.  All of the boy's dreams of becoming a knight went out.  

Bran has several dreams.  He dreamt of his bastard brother, Jon Snow, growing cold and experiencing the rigor mortis of death.  He also sees across the Narrow Sea and Essos to Asshai, where he sees dragons.  Lastly, he sees into the lands of always winter, almost literally he saw the Heart of Winter.  

Bran's dog saves him from the assassin.  He comes out of his comma and wakes up to his ruined body.  Soon the children of House Reed comes to visit Winterfell.  Robb declares rebellion and leaves for the South.  Bran the Broken becomes the acting lord of Winterfell.  Theon and the Ironborn take the castle from Lord Bran.  The cripple and his friends are forced to hide and then leave from the burning castle.  This is another very traumatic episode for Lord Bran.  

Bran and Co. crossed the Wall and passed through the Nightfort and the Bastard Gate.  They meet Bloodraven, the Targaryen bastard known as Brynden Rivers.  Brynden teaches Bran and shows him how to use his abilities.  Bran saw through the eyes of the Winterfell tree.  He saw the brutality of his ancestors.  His mind travelled back in time, reading the tree's memories and sees his ancestors making human sacrifices to the trees.  In the real world, he sees bones scattered all around the vast cave.  Bran begins to enjoy the dark.  He begins to love intruding on the mind of his simpleton servant.  He begins to engage in voyeurism and spies on his potential love interest, Meera Reed. 

Brynden tells him the strongest trees grow in the dark.  Those are not normal trees because no tree can survive without the sun.  Where do the trees get their energy?  Human blood.  What does Bran have that make him a valuable asset against the White Walkers?  His Skinchanging powers.  Brynden has a plan to use Bran to wrest control of the wights away from the White Walkers.  It is unfortunate, I think, because Bran Stark will betray Brynden and use his powers to avenge the Starks.  He will learn that it was Jaime Lannister who pushed him from the window and took away all of his dreams.  There will be no peace with the Lannisters.  

Everything Bran has been exposed to by his elders are slowly leading Bran to become evil.  Bran is not just physically broken.  He is also morally broken.  From the major screwup that was Gared's execution, to his crippling, and finally to the deaths of his siblings.  All of those will not lead even a good person to become better.  Bran will see the death of his bastard brother at the wall.  He will see the deaths of Sansa and Arya.  Bran will betray Brynden and use his Skinchanging powers to drive the wights to indiscriminately attack Westeros.  Bran will become the Lord of Darkness and his bloody reign will last the duration of the Long Night.  Bran Stark will have to die before the Long Night can end and for Spring to return.  

 

Bran is a bitter little thing with dangerous powers. Poor Bloodraven will be betrayed after he passes his knowledge to Bran.  

[Jon Fossoway]

12 hours ago, LongRider said:

Oh noes!  Not the animals too!  Now that's just mean.   

No one thinks about the plants...

[LongRider]

13 minutes ago, Jon Fossoway said:

No one thinks about the plants...

No one hears the trees scream when they are set on fire, tragedy.  

[The Commentator]

Rickon, Jon, and Arya looks the most savage by far. But Bran could surpass them all in vengefulness and level of evil.  The trees do not show all of the data and Bran could lash out not knowing what Jon did to get himself assassinated.  

[Craving Peaches]

1 minute ago, The Commentator said:

The trees do not show all of the data and Bran could lash out not knowing what Jon did to get himself assassinated.

Jon didn't do anything to warrant an assassination so Bran knowing or not makes no difference.

[StarkTullies]

On 4/23/2023 at 11:15 AM, Rondo said:

What does Bran have that make him a valuable asset against the White Walkers?  His Skinchanging powers.  Brynden has a plan to use Bran to wrest control of the wights away from the White Walkers.

Did you know that the books only use the term "white walkers" ten times, and always using lower case?  It is a rare term, used by some of the Free Folk and Old Nan, so I don't know why so many anti-Stark posters use this term.  Unless this forum is used by the Stark-haters as a fanfaction wish list for an alternate ending for the alternate telling of the story where the term "White Walkers" (capital letters) was used rather than "Others".

On 4/23/2023 at 11:15 AM, Rondo said:

He will learn that it was Jaime Lannister who pushed him from the window and took away all of his dreams.  There will be no peace with the Lannisters. 

When any poster uses the term "White Walkers" with all capitals, that is usually enough to convince me that they are show-watchers and not book-readers, but this statement also helps convince me.  Bran is not going to learn that Jaime pushed him from the window.  He already remembered very early on in A Clash of Kings.

Does Bran constantly think about it or dwell on it?  No, because he is not seeking vengeance.  He knows about the Red Wedding, his father's death, and all of it.  He's not plotting revenge because he's not the "Lord of Darkness".

Edited April 25, 2023 by StarkTullies

[Darth Sidious]

On 4/23/2023 at 11:15 AM, Rondo said:

Bran's chapter began this long and still unfinished story.  You might say the first Bran chapter is the foreshadowing of very dark events to come.  Very dark in general but also predicted a very dark future for the point of view character, Bran Stark.  

Brother Gared, a seasoned man of the Nights Watch, was caught and charged with the crime of desertion.  Desertion, we are explicitly told, is a crime punishable by death.  We know from the Prologue what had happened to Gared just as we know the ranger had important information to convey.  Gared was obviously traumatized and suffered from PTSD.  Ned Stark listens to the man briefly and carries out the execution.  Bran Stark, a young boy, was brought along to witness the execution.  Furthermore, Bran Stark was told not to look away.  The Starks find the wolves on their way home from the horrific scene of the execution.

The Usurper's party arrives in Winterfell and Ned Stark accepts the offer to become Hand of the King.  Bran Stark accidentally sees Jaime Lannister and his sister, Cersei Lannister, making love in one of Winterfell's ruined towers.  Jaime, to keep Bran from revealing his secret, pushed Bran from the window.  The fall breaks Bran's body.  All of the boy's dreams of becoming a knight went out.  

Bran has several dreams.  He dreamt of his bastard brother, Jon Snow, growing cold and experiencing the rigor mortis of death.  He also sees across the Narrow Sea and Essos to Asshai, where he sees dragons.  Lastly, he sees into the lands of always winter, almost literally he saw the Heart of Winter.  

Bran's dog saves him from the assassin.  He comes out of his comma and wakes up to his ruined body.  Soon the children of House Reed comes to visit Winterfell.  Robb declares rebellion and leaves for the South.  Bran the Broken becomes the acting lord of Winterfell.  Theon and the Ironborn take the castle from Lord Bran.  The cripple and his friends are forced to hide and then leave from the burning castle.  This is another very traumatic episode for Lord Bran.  

Bran and Co. crossed the Wall and passed through the Nightfort and the Bastard Gate.  They meet Bloodraven, the Targaryen bastard known as Brynden Rivers.  Brynden teaches Bran and shows him how to use his abilities.  Bran saw through the eyes of the Winterfell tree.  He saw the brutality of his ancestors.  His mind travelled back in time, reading the tree's memories and sees his ancestors making human sacrifices to the trees.  In the real world, he sees bones scattered all around the vast cave.  Bran begins to enjoy the dark.  He begins to love intruding on the mind of his simpleton servant.  He begins to engage in voyeurism and spies on his potential love interest, Meera Reed. 

Brynden tells him the strongest trees grow in the dark.  Those are not normal trees because no tree can survive without the sun.  Where do the trees get their energy?  Human blood.  What does Bran have that make him a valuable asset against the White Walkers?  His Skinchanging powers.  Brynden has a plan to use Bran to wrest control of the wights away from the White Walkers.  It is unfortunate, I think, because Bran Stark will betray Brynden and use his powers to avenge the Starks.  He will learn that it was Jaime Lannister who pushed him from the window and took away all of his dreams.  There will be no peace with the Lannisters.  

Everything Bran has been exposed to by his elders are slowly leading Bran to become evil.  Bran is not just physically broken.  He is also morally broken.  From the major screwup that was Gared's execution, to his crippling, and finally to the deaths of his siblings.  All of those will not lead even a good person to become better.  Bran will see the death of his bastard brother at the wall.  He will see the deaths of Sansa and Arya.  Bran will betray Brynden and use his Skinchanging powers to drive the wights to indiscriminately attack Westeros.  Bran will become the Lord of Darkness and his bloody reign will last the duration of the Long Night.  Bran Stark will have to die before the Long Night can end and for Spring to return.  

 

Bran’s throne will be the weirwood root. Bran will be the King Of Darkness. The Winter’s Heart. The Ruler Of Corpses. 

[Shierak Qiya]

He already ate Jojen.  Bran's ready for his next human meal.