Corvo the Crow Posted July 15, 2023 Share Posted July 15, 2023 Symeon Star-Eyes is thought to be an Other by many people but I've yet to see anyone mentioning Serwyn Mirrorshield being one as well. This is how Serwyn slays the dragon. Quote "No doubt. Well, Hugor Hill, answer me this. How did Serwyn of the Mirror Shield slay the dragon Urrax?" "He approached behind his shield. Urrax saw only his own reflection until Serwyn had plunged his spear through his eye." Quote A shadow emerged from the dark of the wood. It stood in front of Royce. Tall, it was, and gaunt and hard as old bones, with flesh pale as milk. Its armor seemed to change color as it moved; here it was white as new-fallen snow, there black as shadow, everywhere dappled with the deep grey-green of the trees. The patterns ran like moonlight on water with every step it took. Behind him, to right, to left, all around him, the watchers stood patient, faceless, silent, the shifting patterns of their delicate armor making them all but invisible in the wood. Yet they made no move to interfere. This is the description of armor of the Others, shifting patterns are actually reflections as it is mentioned here But it doesn't end there. Quote Beside her, Daario Naharis was sleeping as peacefully as a newborn babe. He had a gift for sleeping, he'd boasted, smiling in that cocksure way of his. In the field, he would sleep in the saddle oft as not, he claimed, so as to be well rested should he come upon a battle. Sun or storm, it made no matter. "A warrior who cannot sleep soon has no strength to fight," he said. He was never vexed by nightmares either. When Dany told him how Serwyn of the Mirror Shield was haunted by the ghosts of all the knights he'd killed, Daario only laughed. "If the ones I killed come bother me, I will kill them all again." He has a sellsword's conscience, she realized then. That is to say, none at all. Haunted by ghosts who were killed... sound familiar? Wights! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaffronLady Posted July 16, 2023 Share Posted July 16, 2023 I ran a search through ASeOIAF, and it showed "Serwyn" appeared 10 times in its database, "mirror" 19, and "Serwyn of the Mirror Shield" 9 times. Which is to say, GRRM really wants us to connect Serwyn with his mirror shield. To what end? Implying he was an Other? Implying humans saw an ancient Battle of Ice (Other - Serwyn) and Fire (dragon)? Implying Serwyn was a "friendly" Other who protected humans from the bad dragon? No idea. Corvo the Crow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Green Posted July 16, 2023 Share Posted July 16, 2023 Serwyn is not an Other. He is a legendary figure that embodies the ideals of the True Knight. Most likely, he never truly existed. But the ideals he embodies are real. And his story foreshadows something - a surprise GRRM is planning - the last thing cynical ASOIAF fans expect -- a True Knight will indeed slay a dragon. And of course, this will be the last person we expect to become a True Knight; and the last person we would expect to face down a dragon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvo the Crow Posted July 20, 2023 Author Share Posted July 20, 2023 On 7/16/2023 at 4:15 AM, SaffronLady said: I ran a search through ASeOIAF, and it showed "Serwyn" appeared 10 times in its database, "mirror" 19, and "Serwyn of the Mirror Shield" 9 times. Which is to say, GRRM really wants us to connect Serwyn with his mirror shield. To what end? Implying he was an Other? Implying humans saw an ancient Battle of Ice (Other - Serwyn) and Fire (dragon)? Implying Serwyn was a "friendly" Other who protected humans from the bad dragon? No idea. Funny that the Wall also has 19 castles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Clegg Posted July 20, 2023 Share Posted July 20, 2023 (edited) Chambers ref for mirror: mirror n, v noun 1 glass, looking-glass, reflector, driving-mirror, rear-viewmirror, wing mirror, hand-glass, pier-glass, cheval-glass; dialect keeking-glass technical condenser, laryngoscope, siderostat, Claude Lorraine glass old (Shakespeare) stone formal speculumRelated adjective: specular 2 reflection, likeness, exact likeness, image, double, twin, copy, clone colloq. dead ringer, spitting image I thought the Shakespeare version was quite intriguing ... Edited July 20, 2023 by Sandy Clegg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Clegg Posted July 20, 2023 Share Posted July 20, 2023 On 7/16/2023 at 2:51 AM, Gilbert Green said: a True Knight will indeed slay a dragon Or what if it's a true dragon that slays the 'night'? That would be a good twist imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaffronLady Posted July 20, 2023 Share Posted July 20, 2023 Just now, Sandy Clegg said: Or what if it's a true dragon that slays the 'night'? That would be a good twist imo. I wonder how the wordplay is supposed to be translated into languages that don't have knight and night as a pun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Clegg Posted July 20, 2023 Share Posted July 20, 2023 Just now, SaffronLady said: I wonder how the wordplay is supposed to be translated into languages that don't have knight and night as a pun. Tough for them I guess? GRRM writes in English. I have the same problem when I read e.g. Dostoevsky or Alexander Dumas. You lose out on wordplay when you read translations. This is why it's near impossible to translate things like Finnegan's Wake. You can still get a lot out of the symbolism, though. That's a feature of George's writing that crosses language boundaries. SaffronLady 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fossoway Posted July 21, 2023 Share Posted July 21, 2023 (edited) On 7/15/2023 at 9:15 PM, SaffronLady said: I ran a search through ASeOIAF, and it showed "Serwyn" appeared 10 times in its database, "mirror" 19, and "Serwyn of the Mirror Shield" 9 times. Which is to say, GRRM really wants us to connect Serwyn with his mirror shield. To what end? Implying he was an Other? Implying humans saw an ancient Battle of Ice (Other - Serwyn) and Fire (dragon)? Implying Serwyn was a "friendly" Other who protected humans from the bad dragon? No idea. I doubt George had the means at the time (nor cared) to know how many times he repeated one word or another... Except for the "water marks" he attributes to each POV. For example 'if I look back" (Daenerys). Edited July 21, 2023 by Jon Fossoway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Green Posted July 23, 2023 Share Posted July 23, 2023 On 7/20/2023 at 8:27 AM, Sandy Clegg said: Or what if it's a true dragon that slays the 'night'? That would be a good twist imo. But that would not be a twist. It matches exactly what the readers expect. Readers expect the true dragon to slay the Long Night. It is exactly what they expect. They do not expect the True Knight to slay the dragon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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