A Thread for Small Questions IV

[Lady Blackfish]

Cat and Robb agree that Sansa cannot inherit Winterfell after Robb because it would give the north to the Lannisters. There's nothing in this that has anything to do with her love for Sansa or any of her children.

Cat also urged Robb to trade Jaime for the girls way back before he was crowned king by his bannermen, which is certainly before Bran died. The loss of her younger sons only made her that much less willing to wait for the conclusion of the war, but her love and concern for her daughters is obvious, even so far back as when she wanted to see them when she came to King's Landing.

Cat never mentions Arya's looks as having anything to do with how she views her. In fact, when Sansa suggests that Arya is not truly one of them because she looks like their father instead of their mother, Cat just laughs it off. It's obvious that Cat's concerns for Arya regard her unruly behavior, such as when she is rude in front of princess Myrcella, and that all the insecurities Arya has about not truly belonging are her own conclusions. They make sense for a nine year old, but we the readers aren't (generally) nine years old, so I think we can grasp a bit more of a nuanced picture. If I were to guess, I honestly think Cat would love to have a son that had the Stark look, so it's really odd that you guys say that she favors children on condition that they have the Tully look.

We also have very little data from which to conclude that Cat is a lazy mother and Ned did more hands on parenting of the boys. Ned took the boys to an execution, but do we see him training with them? That seems to be Rodrik's job, to handle their more day-to-day educations, so that seems pretty comparable to Septa Mordane handling the girls on a daily basis. Martin has the girls leave with Ned before they're ever allowed to have a scene with their mother, and after that it's too late, but the scenes we do get are pretty scant to begin with, and anyway, Cat is there to discipline Arya which is an important parenting job too, even if it's less fun for the kid.

------------

I don't know if Howland brought Jon up, but it wouldn't have to be either him or Ned. Ned might've hired a total stranger who couldn't talk even if s/he wanted to. I'm just throwing out possibilities, not siding with either option. It might've been awkward, but I don't think that rules out the possibility. Ned had to stop at the coronation after all, and I just really don't think I can see him bringing Jon so near Robert given his fears (this is assuming that R+L=J is true, which I know not everybody agrees on).

I also wonder if Cat was at the coronation because she recalls seeing Renly at some point as a child, and I don't know when else that could've happened. If Cat went to the coronation with Ned, but didn't see Jon until she reached Winterfell herself, then wouldn't Jon and Ned have been separated?

Again, there are probably a lot of ways to explain this, just thinking out loud.

[SFDanny]

Could someone please let me know what the Summerhall/Starfall(i dont remember what its called i think its starfall, or maybe thats Ned Daynes house... bah i cant remember) issue that Rhaegar was so saddened by.The little whitewood-albino-dwarf woman and others are saddened by the same occurrence. Do you guys know what im talking about? Has it been described in the series or by the author?

Thanks!

There is a great feature on this site call FAQ (or frequently asked questions) and it has an essay on Summerhall that I think will answer some of your questions, and, of course, raise many more. The likelihood is that Rhaegar is born at Summerhall in the midst of some great tragedy, again, likely that it involves an attempt by Aegon the Unlikely to bring back dragons. In so doing some people die. Aegon, Ser Duncan, Prince Duncan, etc. being the prime candidates. One of my favorite theories, from Other-In-Law I believe, is that sabotage by forces from the Citadel - the new Grand Master Pycelle being thought to be behind it - caused the disaster. Hope that helps.

[SFDanny]

I don't know if Howland brought Jon up, but it wouldn't have to be either him or Ned. Ned might've hired a total stranger who couldn't talk even if s/he wanted to. I'm just throwing out possibilities, not siding with either option. It might've been awkward, but I don't think that rules out the possibility. Ned had to stop at the coronation after all, and I just really don't think I can see him bringing Jon so near Robert given his fears (this is assuming that R+L=J is true, which I know not everybody agrees on).

I also wonder if Cat was at the coronation because she recalls seeing Renly at some point as a child, and I don't know when else that could've happened. If Cat went to the coronation with Ned, but didn't see Jon until she reached Winterfell herself, then wouldn't Jon and Ned have been separated?

Again, there are probably a lot of ways to explain this, just thinking out loud.

I think the quotes in these old posts of mine rule out Robert's coronation from taking place when Ned returns from Starfall. It takes place when Robert first gets to King's Landing from the Trident, after the Sack of King's Landing, and before Ned leaves in anger over the display of Elia and her children's bodies.

[Mixta]

Q: Is there a place in any of the books where Varys is explicitly described as to having a scar, not including while he is overheard meeting with Illyrio Mopatis by Arya in AGOT?

[Guest Other-in-Law]

Q: Is there a place in any of the books where Varys is explicitly described as to having a scar, not including while he is overheard meeting with Illyrio Mopatis by Arya in AGOT?

The first time Tyrion takes the tunnel from Chataya's to the stable:

"Varys did not look at all like himself. A scarred face and a stubble of dark beard showed under his spiked steel cap. and he wore mail over boiled leather, dirk and shortsword at his belt."

So yes, he does wear a facial scar sometimes when in disguise, and no, he doesn't normally have a facial scar. No doubt it's make-up trick that he learned as a Mummer's boy.

[Mixta]

The first time Tyrion takes the tunnel from Chataya's to the stable:

"Varys did not look at all like himself. A scarred face and a stubble of dark beard showed under his spiked steel cap. and he wore mail over boiled leather, dirk and shortsword at his belt."

So yes, he does wear a facial scar sometimes when in disguise, and no, he doesn't normally have a facial scar. No doubt it's make-up trick that he learned as a Mummer's boy.

Hmm...

I was thinking that since this was the disguise used to talk to Illyrio, it might actually be his real face. I'm also under the impression he is a faceless man which could make the scar relevant.

[Guest Other-in-Law]

Hmm...

I was thinking that since this was the disguise used to talk to Illyrio, it might actually be his real face. I'm also under the impression he is a faceless man which could make the scar relevant.

Why resort to a magical explanation when mere makeup works just as well, without the troubling questions about why a death-cult assassin would be given a multi-decade assignment as a courtier? None of Varys' "transformations" requires Faceless Man powers, they can all be done with simple mummery.

[Ran]

Pretty sure Varys's face is really his, and that he's not a faceless man. As he's noted, he grew up in a travelling folly with mummers, and doubtless knows his way around makeup.

[Anya, Vengeance Demon]

Why resort to a magical explanation when mere makeup works just as well, without the troubling questions about why a death-cult assassin would be given a multi-decade assignment as a courtier? None of Varys' "transformations" requires Faceless Man powers, they can all be done with simple mummery.

Not to mention that Shae could see through Varys's disguise almost immediately, so clearly the transformation isn't that extreme.

[Mad Monkey]

Shae might also have superpowers. In fact, she could be a Faceless Man. She's probably Arya from the future, dispatched by the Faceless Men 20 years from now (er, then) to watch over Tyrion and arrange for him to "kill" her (and actually kill Tywin) so that he can be exiled to join Daenerys. Illyrio's probably in on it too; is it a coincidence that he and Varys allowed Arya/Shae to witness their conversation? That wasn't eavesdropping; that was a mission briefing, and their words were actually a coded message intended to plant that subliminal message into her mind to be reactivated at the House of Black and White. Yes, it's all makes sense when you look at it like that.

[Rune Targaryen]

Shae might also have superpowers. In fact, she could be a Faceless Man. She's probably Arya from the future, dispatched by the Faceless Men 20 years from now (er, then) to watch over Tyrion and arrange for him to "kill" her (and actually kill Tywin) so that he can be exiled to join Daenerys. Illyrio's probably in on it too; is it a coincidence that he and Varys allowed Arya/Shae to witness their conversation? That wasn't eavesdropping; that was a mission briefing, and their words were actually a coded message intended to plant that subliminal message into her mind to be reactivated at the House of Black and White. Yes, it's all makes sense when you look at it like that.

It really makes sense when you said!! That is probably right!

Well on another topic, does anyone have already thought that the sword of AA/PTWP could be made of obsidian? Obsidian candles burns as long there is dragons right?

Well the sword may be a flaming sword of obsidian, it would be only good against the Others, against a armored Knight would be almost useless but against the Other would the best there is!

On a personal note, 2 nights ago I dreamed that me and my brother and my girlfriend have direwolf pups... Maybe I spending a lot of time in this board.

[Mad Monkey]

I think it might be obsidian / dragon glass. Isn't there a cache of stuff at the Wall, or with Sam?

As for your dream -- that sounds excruciating. I mean, you and your brother aren't equipped to have any kind of offspring at all, and it can't have been fun for your girlfriend.

[Guest Other-in-Law]

How do the Ghiscari slavers sleep at night?

I don't mean how do they keep their consciences from troubling them for their myriad atrocities and human rights abuses; that doesn't seem to be an issue in RL.

Rather, how do they manage to lay down comfortably with their outlandishly sculpted hair? Do they have special pillows that require them to stay cosistently in one position with no tossing or turning? Or do they let their hair down every night by washing out whatever stiffeners they use to shape it,and then re-sculpt it the next morning?

[Horza]

I imagine they pass out in drunken, stoned, post-coital stupors and have it redone in the morning by attentive slaves.

[Rune Targaryen]

How do the Ghiscari slavers sleep at night?

I don't mean how do they keep their consciences from troubling them for their myriad atrocities and human rights abuses; that doesn't seem to be an issue in RL.

Rather, how do they manage to lay down comfortably with their outlandishly sculpted hair? Do they have special pillows that require them to stay cosistently in one position with no tossing or turning? Or do they let their hair down every night by washing out whatever stiffeners they use to shape it,and then re-sculpt it the next morning?

I think it's like Japanese Gueixas, they sleep with a wooden "pillow" who only supports the neck and always in the same position, but even so once a week they have to re-do the hairs.

And Mad Monkey, you get my meaning.

[Mad Monkey]

Their society seems almost outlandishly decadent; I wouldn't be surprised if they did rely heavily on drugs (like sweetsleep) to get to bed every night. That might have explained how rude and obnoxious they are to customers; they were probably blitzed out of their fucking minds when they were talking to Dany.

[Ran]

I'd go with their washing that stuff out, letting their hair out, and then redoing it in the morning. But I could buy that they use special pillows and all.

[TheCrannogmen]

Hullo! I've a few question that has been bugging me about the series of late.

1. I was wondering how people in Westeros measure their age. If one season can take decades, a full year could take the guts of a century. At that rate, you could die wizened at the ripe old age of 2.

If would seem at bit unlikely that they would come up with the random number of 365 days after which to mark a birthday, seeing as 365 means nothing to them, it doesn't correspond to an orbit or a rotation of anything.

2.If a year can take decades, that means their planet is pretty far away from the star it orbits. Why, then, do some areas of Westeros have such agreeable weather?

3.Assuming that the huge difference in the climates between the North and the South are due to the fact that one end of the continent (Can I call Westeros a continent?) is nearer the pole and the other the equator. Below, 'the South' is a whole other hemisphere we know nothing about. Are there other populated countries/continents or is Westeros alone?

Any ideas?

Wicker

[Zizoz]

I believe the seasons have a magical origin. A year probably does correspond to a revolution; it's just that the seasons are controlled by something else.

They could then tell the length of a year by the position of the stars, I think. Also, is it known whether the seasons have always been irregular? Maybe they weren't once, and the year is derived from that time.

[Anya, Vengeance Demon]

GRRM has confirmed that (1) years are based on the position of the stars, as they are in RL; and (2) the irregular seasons have a fantasy explanation, so it's not a matter of some irregular orbit or something.