[ADWD Spoilers]A Host of Small Matters

[Fusian]

In the new SSM someone asks if a POV in Dance is gay, and Martin says yes, but no one says the POV name. I couldn't pick up on this, anyone know?

The only one I can think of is that it's Griff, but I don't know.

[Maltaran]

There's a thread somewhere round here where it's confirmed - it's Jon Connington, and he was in love with Rhaegar.

[jack88]

I'm quite surprised that some people didn't pick up on that. Damn guys, tune your damn gaydars.

[tozka]

Jon sent 11 ships to Hardhome. According to Cotter Pyke's letter form Harhome:

Blackbird lost with all hands, two Lyseni ships driven aground on Skane, Talon taking water.

That is four ships lost. We know that there are still 6 ships (from Jon POV after reading the letter)

The last ship is:

Attempt to take Storm Crow defeated, six crew dead, many wildlings.

Storm Crow is mentioned early as one of the Night Watch's ships. So what do you think happened to Storm Crow that there was need to take it. Did wildlings capture it or wights somehow ?

[DonalNoye]

So, I'm having a really hard time finding this passage again, but at one point either Bran or Jon catches a glimpse of what the other direwolves are doing. He sees Shaggy fighting a goat, and taking a wound from it's single horn.

Did Shaggydog kill a frickin unicorn?

[Ran]

Jarman Buckwell must have died at the Bridge of Skulls. 100 men dead, and they mention two knights killed, but as Buckwell wasn't a knight, that's probably why he wasn't included in that list. He's not in either the AFfC or ADwD appendices any longer.

[jack88]

So, I'm having a really hard time finding this passage again, but at one point either Bran or Jon catches a glimpse of what the other direwolves are doing. He sees Shaggy fighting a goat, and taking a wound from it's single horn.

Did Shaggydog kill a frickin unicorn?

Apparently Rickon and Shaggydog are on Skaagos, where there are unicorns and cannibals. so LOL, yea I guess so

[DonalNoye]

That's incredible.

[delete this account pls]

A minor thing that my sister actually caught; when Griff and Young griff reach the Golden Company, and Griff is thinking about the Company's history, he thinks of how Maelys the Monstrous was the last of the male line of the Blackfyres.

Seems an odd distinction to make it it isnt significant.

[Maltaran]

Storm Crow is mentioned early as one of the Night Watch's ships. So what do you think happened to Storm Crow that there was need to take it. Did wildlings capture it or wights somehow ?

I assume it was the wildlings who attempted to take it, and the NW bet them off.

[Werthead]

Does anyone have any speculation as to why Varys killed Pycelle? Kevan makes sense as Varys himself says but Pycelle? The man is a doddering old fool.

Pycelle is a doddering old fool responsible for the Sack of King's Landing and has been feeding the Lannisters and Cersei intelligence for years, which Varys knows damn well. He had to die to deprive Cersei of resources. If we assume Cersei's trial by battle falls out the way she's hoping, then with Kevan dead and an undead superknight at her side, I'm assuming Cersei will resume her post of Queen Regent and do as fabulous a job of it as she did in AFFC, likely leading to a full-scale conflict with the Tyrells, which is what Varys is hoping for. Removing Kevan makes it possible and removing Pycelle rids Cersei of a useful asset.

[Lightning Lord]

So, I'm having a really hard time finding this passage again, but at one point either Bran or Jon catches a glimpse of what the other direwolves are doing. He sees Shaggy fighting a goat, and taking a wound from it's single horn.

Did Shaggydog kill a frickin unicorn?

It's from Jon's first chapter:

A wild rain lashed down upon his black brother as he tore at the flesh of an enormous goat, washing the blood from his side where the goat's long horn had raked him.

Seems like it's just a goat that got him with one horn. It would be cool it if was a unicorn though. Wasn't unicorn mentioned somewhere else in the book?

[Claireducky]

Unicorns have been described in history as horse-like, goat-like, and deer-like. So it's possible that in GRRM's world, the unicorns are of the goat-like variety.

[TMWNN]

Here's a question for people: the three-eyed crow, a major mystery from early in the first book, turns out to be Bloodraven, a very obscure character from two relatively hard-to-find short stories. Good idea or irritating for those who haven't read the shorts?

Irritating. I've not yet read the Dunk and Egg novellas, both because they are hard to find and because everything I'd heard and read stated that they offered interesting background information and no more. Suddenly a key character in the fifth book turns out to be from them? I couldn't understand at first how many other readers immediately knew who this tree-bound weirdo was, and now that I've pieced it together I still dislike Martin's storytelling decision here.

[Kylar Stern]

Coldhands identity still hasn't been revealed - either GRRM is waiting for a big moment to reveal Benjen or he is some random ranger who's real identity is irrelevant.

[Kylar Stern]

Irritating. I've not yet read the Dunk and Egg novellas, both because they are hard to find and because everything I'd heard and read stated that they offered interesting background information and no more. Suddenly a key character in the fifth book turns out to be from them? I couldn't understand at first how many other readers immediately knew who this tree-bound weirdo was, and now that I've pieced it together I still dislike Martin's storytelling decision here.

Personally it wasn't irritating for me.

He was mentioned a fair few times in Crows after all.

[Dragonfish]

Here's a question for people: the three-eyed crow, a major mystery from early in the first book, turns out to be Bloodraven, a very obscure character from two relatively hard-to-find short stories. Good idea or irritating for those who haven't read the shorts?

Here's a related question: how did people feel about Mance escaping death by pretending to be Rattleshirt, given that "glamor" magic hadn't been set up before in the books? To me it felt a little cheap, as if magic was being used as a get-out-of-jail-free card (which is exactly the sort of thing that derivative fantasy is criticized for). Of course, if you've read one of the novellas then you know (or rather, you can guess) that this sort of magic exists, but if you haven't read them then the whole thing comes across as a deus ex machina.

[Claireducky]

Here's a related question: how did people feel about Mance escaping death by pretending to be Rattleshirt, given that "glamor" magic hadn't been set up before in the books? To me it felt a little cheap, as if magic was being used as a get-out-of-jail-free card (which is exactly the sort of thing that derivative fantasy is criticized for). Of course, if you've read one of the novellas then you know (or rather, you can guess) that this sort of magic exists, but if you haven't read them then the whole thing comes across as a deus ex machina.

I could see where one would get that feeling, and when I read that passage for the first time, I did a little double-take as well. However, I don't feel it is that much of a stretch-- we've been introduced to the Faceless Men for a long time, who can obviously look like anyone they want to, and that seemed obviously to be of illusion-type magic, so it doesn't seem that far-fetched or out of place to me.

[Faint]

Pycelle is a doddering old fool responsible for the Sack of King's Landing and has been feeding the Lannisters and Cersei intelligence for years, which Varys knows damn well. He had to die to deprive Cersei of resources. If we assume Cersei's trial by battle falls out the way she's hoping, then with Kevan dead and an undead superknight at her side, I'm assuming Cersei will resume her post of Queen Regent and do as fabulous a job of it as she did in AFFC, likely leading to a full-scale conflict with the Tyrells, which is what Varys is hoping for. Removing Kevan makes it possible and removing Pycelle rids Cersei of a useful asset.

How will this be realistic though? Cersei has no army to command. The Tyrells have almost all their men in King's Landing.

I have wondered if Varys might fix Margaery's trial so that she loses while Cersei wins her own trial, further inflaming both sides.

[Claireducky]

How will this be realistic though? Cersei has no army to command. The Tyrells have almost all their men in King's Landing.

I have wondered if Varys might fix Margaery's trial so that she loses while Cersei wins her own trial, further inflaming both sides.

Varys would surely love to fix the trial, but I don't think it will happen, as I think the High Septon will have his own fix in.

I made a long post about it in the Cersei thread, but basically tl:dr is that the High Septon is about power, not justice, and having Cersei broken and Margaery redeemed is in the best interest of the Faith as far as increasing their influence with the people.