A Thread for Small Questions IX

[Dragonfish]

Hi, long time lurker here.

Couldn't find mention of this anywhere else, so I had to register to ask this question, as it has been bothering me for a while.

What happened to the man Qhorin Halfhand sent out to reach the wall by himself? I believe his name was Stonesnake. He was one of the best trackers in the Night's Watch or something, and I can't recall ever finding out what happened to him. All the other men Qhorin sent out were found by the wildlings I seem to remember, but not Stonesnake.

Could he be Coldhands?

According to the wiki, he was lost in the Skirling Pass. It uses the ASoS appendix as a reference, if you'd like to verify it for yourself. I suppose he could still be alive, but that broken leg of his makes it unlikely. ETA--nevermind, 'twas his horse that broke a leg.

[SFDanny]

According to the wiki, he was lost in the Skirling Pass. It uses the ASoS appendix as a reference, if you'd like to verify it for yourself. I suppose he could still be alive, but that broken leg of his makes it unlikely.

I believe the broken leg was to his horse, not to Stonesnake. He could well be alive, but what use Martin might make of him is anyone's guess.

[Chillyn Payne]

According to the wiki, he was lost in the Skirling Pass. It uses the ASoS appendix as a reference, if you'd like to verify it for yourself. I suppose he could still be alive, but that broken leg of his makes it unlikely.

Nah man, his horse broke it's leg. I'm fairly sure Stonesnake was uninjured, continuing on foot.

[Dragonfish]

Nah man, his horse broke it's leg. I'm fairly sure Stonesnake was uninjured, continuing on foot.

Yeah, totally misread that sentence.

[baxus]

Even if he remarried and had a son I believe Tyrion would still be in line to inherit Casterly Rock. He would be the oldest son with Jaime out of the picture because of the KG. But Tywin said at one point that Tyrion would never inherit the Rock. Not sure how he planned to do that, except finding a way to release Jaime from the KG.

after the tv series, it's even easier for me to think of tywin standing over a freshly killed animal, telling tyrion: "if you don't take the black (or maester's chain or even go for septon training) one day we will go hunting and your horse will stumble etc."

EDIT:

tywin wouldn't even have to comfort his wife afterwards ;)

[spikebrennan]

Is Jorah Mormont an exception to the "no knights with Northern origins" rule?

[mormont]

Is Jorah Mormont an exception to the "no knights with Northern origins" rule?

It's not a rule, as such. It's just that you have to pay at least lip service to the Seven to be a knight, since you swear an oath to them: and most Northerners don't. Northern knights are far from unknown: in fact IIRC Luwin tells Bran that about a tenth of the lances that answer Robb's call to arms are knights. The Manderleys, Rodrik Cassel, and the Helman Tallhart are among the other exceptions.

[Craster's Son]

Hi, first time commenter.

Is Gilly's son (my namesake) the only one of Craster's sons to live past the first few days (not being set out to die from exposure/turn into a wight)?

I think he is. I can't find any others mentioned, and (I think) the Old Bear mentions something to Sam about the Watch not wanting to take Craster's offspring.

[zmflavius]

Hi, first time commenter.

Is Gilly's son (my namesake) the only one of Craster's sons to live past the first few days (not being set out to die from exposure/turn into a wight)?

I think he is. I can't find any others mentioned, and (I think) the Old Bear mentions something to Sam about the Watch not wanting to take Craster's offspring.

Pretty much, yeah. And the watch doesn't take Craster's offspring...HE SERVES DARK AND HUNGRY GODS! Swing your axe high, Craster! Hold it to the skies!

But seriously now, Craster sacrifices his sons to the others.

[Carlito]

Don't know if this still happened in the books, but in one of the early episodes (when Ned was a healthy Hand), Janos Slynt requested more Gold Cloaks to defend the city during the Tourny of the Hand. Ned granted Janos 50 more Gold Cloaks as well as "20 of his personal guard". Are these personal guards of Ned ever mentioned subsequently in the books or can we safely assume that they were killed alongside the rest of Ned's household when the Gold Cloaks turned on him?

[Talleyrand]

Don't know if this still happened in the books, but in one of the early episodes (when Ned was a healthy Hand), Janos Slynt requested more Gold Cloaks to defend the city during the Tourny of the Hand. Ned granted Janos 50 more Gold Cloaks as well as "20 of his personal guard". Are these personal guards of Ned ever mentioned subsequently in the books or can we safely assume that they were killed alongside the rest of Ned's household when the Gold Cloaks turned on him?

Yeah it happened in the books as well. They would have been returned after the Tourney which means they either were killed at the Ford or killed in KL

[Dragonfish]

Why does Mya Stone have a last name at all? I thought most commoners don't have last names, and that bastard names are generally reserved for the natural children of nobles. But the example of Mya Stone seems to contradict those assumptions (well, she is the daughter of a noble/king, but she doesn't know that, and Robert hasn't officially acknowledged her as he did Edric Storm).

[Easy]

Did Gendry's master get rid of him because Robert died? No point keeping the King's bastard anymore?

[Dragonfish]

Did Gendry's master get rid of him because Robert died? No point keeping the King's bastard anymore?

I think Varys arranged for him to join the Night's Watch so as to get him out of King's Landing and away from Cersei's grasp. I don't think the master even knew he had a royal bastard on his hands.

[Masha]

Well, the Lord Commander has the power to dispatch men on Night's Watch duty wherever they might be needed. Yoren was needed to travel across Westeros and gather recruits; the Night's Watch needed maesters, had business with the Citadel, and had reason to send off Maester Aemon, so Sam (his steward) was a natural choice to accompany him, become a maester, and return to the Wall.

The Lord Commander can send men where they are needed, for Night's Watch purposes, but he cannot free them of their duties. He is the ruler of the Night's Watch, has power of command over the brothers, but cannot violate the laws governing the organization he rules.

Plus from what I can remember, Maester's take similar vows of celibacy, no marriage or children.

What was the deal with that? Are we ever told what caused the rift? Am I right in remembering they have, for want of a better word, "divorced"?

More like separated, not divorced. Doran Martell can't remarry because technically he is still married.

Was one of the heads that were presented to Cersei, who were claimed as Tyrion's head, the head of the dwarven sparrow, Brienne met in an inn? I think one of the stories there reminded me of him.

Yes

[zmflavius]

Why does Mya Stone have a last name at all? I thought most commoners don't have last names, and that bastard names are generally reserved for the natural children of nobles. But the example of Mya Stone seems to contradict those assumptions (well, she is the daughter of a noble/king, but she doesn't know that, and Robert hasn't officially acknowledged her as he did Edric Storm).

I think that the reason for this is because we have a lot of attention focused on nobles, and by extension their bastards, as opposed to common bastards. And while last names are mostly limited to nobles, there are a few exceptions among commoners, especially wealthy ones.

[Easy]

What happened to Old Nan? Did she die in the sack of Winterfell or was she taken to the Dreadfort?

[zmflavius]

What happened to Old Nan? Did she die in the sack of Winterfell or was she taken to the Dreadfort?

There's no direct evidence either way.

However, being an old wet nurse, I don't think she's a high value prisoner, so she probably was killed.

[Lugez]

I watched the GOT thrones finale, and a couple questions came to mind.

1) I was just wondering why on earth Mormont thought it was a great idea to take much of the Night's Watch beyond the wall? If he knew the Others were a threat, wouldn't the smart decision be to stay on the wall and keep them at bay? Why go on the offensive directly into their own territory?

2) Do we still not know the dynamics as to what exactly happened with Dany and the eggs hatching? Why did they hatch? And did Illyrio know this would happen?

[zmflavius]

I watched the GOT thrones finale, and a couple questions came to mind.

1) I was just wondering why on earth Mormont thought it was a great idea to take much of the Night's Watch beyond the wall? If he knew the Others were a threat, wouldn't the smart decision be to stay on the wall and keep them at bay? Why go on the offensive directly into their own territory?

2) Do we still not know the dynamics as to what exactly happened with Dany and the eggs hatching? Why did they hatch? And did Illyrio know this would happen?

1) He felt that it was of greater importance to discover what was happening to the wildlings. I think he also expected to find something that would require the night's watch in strength.

2) We don't know the full dynamics, though we've been given enough hints to make inferences. As to the ships, they appeared at the end of the stay in Qarth. News of dragons spreads fast, and I don't doubt that Illyrio sent his ships as soon as he received the news.