A Thread for Small Questions VI

[Horza]

No mention of Coldhands being cyclopean:

“He wasn’t a green man. He wore blacks, like a brother of the Watch, but he was pale as a wight, with hands so cold that at first I was afraid. The wights have blue eyes, though, and they don’t have tongues, or they’ve forgotten how to use them.”

If Sam was going to mention it, that would have been the time.

[Manderly`s Personal Chef]

But Sam didn`t, making this theory impossible (but Bloodraven might still be the 3EC and Benjen Stark could be Coldhands...)

[Anya, Vengeance Demon]

But Sam didn`t, making this theory impossible (but Bloodraven might still be the 3EC and Benjen Stark could be Coldhands...)

That doesn't follow. Sam's not going to mention any specific details that gives Coldhands' identity away before GRRM is ready to reveal it; and besides, all Sam wants to get across in that moment is that although Coldhands looks like a wight, he's not one, and "number of eyes" is irrelevant to that discussion.

[Manderly`s Personal Chef]

Dont know about you but if I was describing a person, I would mention that he/she lacks an eye... Besides it was "blue eyes" in the quote and not every reader knows who Blooraven is. So GRRM could easily write that Coldhands is missing an eye and still many of the readers wouldnt make the connection.

[-colten-]

can someone describe the difference between wights and others to me? i never really had the realization that they weren't the same thing till i came on here.

[Anya, Vengeance Demon]

Dont know about you but if I was describing a person, I would mention that he/she lacks an eye...

Perhaps. But (1) you presumably live in a world where injuries from combat are rare, and so it would be quite notable to see somebody with only one eye, while such things are more common in Westeros; and (2) you're a real person, not a fictional character whose dialog is written by an author trying to preserve his secrets. In any case, the most relevant things about Coldhands, to Sam and to Bran, are that he's undead, and that he doesn't want to feast on human flesh. All other details are purely incidental.

So GRRM could easily write that Coldhands is missing an eye and still many of the readers wouldnt make the connection.

That's true. Many people don't follow the story as closely as we do here. But by the same token, GRRM could explicitly say that Coldhands was Bloodraven at a con without it spoiling the surprise for somebody who doesn't discuss the books on this forum. That doesn't mean that he would.

[Lord Godric]

The simplest explanation is that Wights are corpses reanimated by Others. Like Othor who attacked Lord Mormont. They just used his body. Others are an entire different race of creatures that are humanoid in appearance.

[-colten-]

so others are their own race, and wights are humans that were "killed" by others?

[Lord Godric]

so others are their own race, and wights are humans that were "killed" by others?

Right.

[-colten-]

do they have a difference in appearance?

[Ran]

Others are milk-pale, have armor and swords made of ice, and their eyes glow blue. They're described as tall, gaunt, and very graceful. We don't really know details of their facial anatomy and so on. Presumably something humanoid.

[Yarl Snow]

Others are milk-pale, have armor and swords made of ice, and their eyes glow blue. They're described as tall, gaunt, and very graceful. We don't really know details of their facial anatomy and so on. Presumably something humanoid.

I believe I remember them described as "Ice demons", as in "made of ice". Can't quite place it, but it feels like something Melisandre said while at the wall.

[Smashing Praise]

It has been a while since I've read the prologue to AFFC, and I don't remember anything about this in the books before that... but what does it take to become a maester? To learn at the Citadel? While I remember a Tyrell being there, and that Alleras is allegedly a Sand Snake, but what of the others? From what little I remember, they were nameless commoners. And wasn't Pate quite poor? If there is a tuition of sorts involved with learning at the Citadel, how do people like Pate pay it? Do we know the answers to these kinds of questions? Sam seems to get in to the Citadel with little incident, and I assume he will start studying as such. If it is so easy, why doesn't every commoner who doesn't want to farm or fight just make their way to the Citadel?

[Manderly`s Personal Chef]

As far as I understand it, anyone can join the Citadel. Pate was poor and he wasn`t very clever but was learning to become a maester nevertheless.

[The iron captain]

IIRC Sandor told a story of why House Clegane shield had three dogs on but I couldn't find it in my re-read of the series. Can anyone tell me if i'm making it up or not?

[Yarl Snow]

IIRC Sandor told a story of why House Clegane shield had three dogs on but I couldn't find it in my re-read of the series. Can anyone tell me if i'm making it up or not?

I believe there was a story of how his father was a master of hounds for a lord, and saved this lord from a lion. Three dogs died in the process, but the father was knighted, and took the three hero hounds as his sigil.

Edit: Actually, here is the full story: http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/House_Clegane

[Anya, Vengeance Demon]

If it is so easy, why doesn't every commoner who doesn't want to farm or fight just make their way to the Citadel?

I assume because the Citadel wouldn't provide room and board for you. Pate manages to find a job working with an archmaester, which was a stroke of luck (kind of), but a lot of other novices would not. (Also, because most commoners can't afford to travel that far.)

[Mark Lawrence]

Not necessarily a small question here, but I didn't see the thread for big questions.

I've seen people say GRRM painted himself into a hole plotwise and has problems drawing it altogether to reach a conclusion. These statements have alluded to time-line issues. Is there a quick answer as to what these problems are? Is it that he needs young characters or winged-beasties to grow up before they can play their parts?

Cheers,

Mark

[gumby]

Not necessarily a small question here, but I didn't see the thread for big questions.

I've seen people say GRRM painted himself into a hole plotwise and has problems drawing it altogether to reach a conclusion. These statements have alluded to time-line issues. Is there a quick answer as to what these problems are? Is it that he needs young characters or winged-beasties to grow up before they can play their parts?

Cheers,

Mark

Read 'The Five Year Gap'

[Anya, Vengeance Demon]

I've seen people say GRRM painted himself into a hole plotwise and has problems drawing it altogether to reach a conclusion. These statements have alluded to time-line issues. Is there a quick answer as to what these problems are? Is it that he needs young characters or winged-beasties to grow up before they can play their parts?

That was one issue, yes; but GRRM seems to have resigned himself to speeding up the growth of the dragons and having twelve year olds save the world. I think the bigger issue (for ADWD, anyway) was making sure that Quentyn, the Golden Company, the Iron Fleet, etc. could get to Dany, fulfill whatever role that they need to serve in the narrative in a compelling, and then have Dany get back to Westeros; while at the same time syncing this up with what's going on in Westeros so that things there are as they need to be when Dany arrives. All of this operates under the constraints that a trip to Slaver's Bay takes a considerable amount of time, and so the Iron Fleet can't arrive three days after they left Westeros.

(I don't want to take a stand on when TWoW comes out, but one reason for optimism is that it's unlikely that GRRM will be facing another timeline snarl of this magnitude once this has been resolved. In TWoW, Arya will be the furthest from the main action, and she's just across the narrow sea.)