Alleras the sandsnake - Complete analysis

[Blue Winter Roses]

Thanks for this most interesting post. I am brand new to forums too. It is awesome to read all these clever insights that I had missed. Keep 'em coming please!

[The Mother of The Others]

When you think about it, it's passing strange Mirri Maz Durr was there when the Dragon Eggs hatched

Her ambient magic was still in the air after enspelling Dany's family? So Maz turned the gas stove of magic on and then Dany lit a match of her own, using Maz's baking energies to take things in another direction and ignite the dragons. ________________________________ (Go Niners!..... Go Ravens! ....... Just Go!)

[Theda Baratheon]

I love Sarella, what a total babe. I'd definitely do something like this, were I living in the ASOIAF universe and had I the same opportunities to do so.

[Budj]

Why does there need to be a secret motivation? There may be, but I think that her interest in knowledge combined with meeting Sam / being acquainted with Marwyn could equate to some interesting future plot developments from our next Sam POVs.

I keep forgetting about his plot line, but I'm expecting some cool side story to the overall plot and I anticipate Sarella being a part of it.

[Clariana]

Just to add a literary allusion in The Picture of Dorian Grey, Henry Wotton describes women as "Sphinxes without secrets", Alleras' nickname is The Sphinx and he does have a secret... He's actually a she... I think Oscar Wilde would have approved. He also wrote a short story, The Sphinx without a Secret, here's a link:

http://emeire.wordpr...by-oscar-wilde/

[Clariana]

I should add that Alleras has a widow's peak, the same as Oberyn...

Given all the weight of the evidence, I would say Alleras=Sarella is no longer a theory but a CERTAINTY...

Now where does that take us?

[Words of Winter]

Two more clues:

-re: the Summer Isles ancestry, it is mentioned that Alleras is half Dornish and half Summer Islander, just like Sarella

-when accused of being of noble birth, Alleras curiously says "I am no lord's son" - as if to avoid lying about having noble birth ('he' is a lord's daughter)

Actually, she is Prince's son/daugher. Not a lord's son/daughter. The Martells alone, among the former noble houses, are allowed to use regal titles of prince and princess, IIRC. (Not King/Queen) Their vassels are lords.

Could Alleras have hired the FM to kill Pate and take his place? On second thought, probably not. My guess is they are two 'spies' working for opposite parties. Dorne, definitely, and Braavos, The Iron Bank, maybe?

[Woman of War]

The mystery around Sarella is one of my favorite topics in the books.

Alleras/Sarella out there to kill a Dragon?

By Voodooqueen:

Quite the opposite, the Dornish, because of Elia's death at Lannister hands, are forced to become Targaryen loyalists (like the Welsh were Lancastrian loyalists during the Wars of the Roses because Henry VII was half Welsh). Which is why Quentyn sought Daenerys out: so he could ally Dorne with her and they could use her dragons to burn down Casterly Rock in vengeance for Elia. How the Dornish will feel about dragons post-Quentyn's demise is another matter.

..........

the people with most motivation to kill a dragon would be Cersei and the Tyrells, the Starks would be able to use the dragons to kill Others and Wights, but otherwise those dragons quash any Stark hopes for permanent Northern Independence.

The Dornish very much want the Dragons alive and burning anybody who ever wronged them.

I agree, yes, this is perfectly logical and yet.....

I think we should look out for archers, for crossbows and their users and their links to magic. Maybe being competent with your weapon is not enough to slay a dragon, maybe Dragonlore and/or magic are necessary as well. There Alleras, Tyrion, maybe Arya who always wanted to learn archery, come to mind, and of course Dany. None of them has an obvious reason to slay dragons at the moment. Sarella may indeed see them as allied weapon, Tyrion is fascinated by them, Arya we don't know yet and Dany is their mother. The dragons may very well be the plot deciding nuclear weapon to eliminate the Others - and then?

Maybe the story is not over with the big heroic finale when the common enemy has been destroyed. Maybe the dragons get out of control just like nuclear bombs did after WW II, being uncontrollable is part of their nature. The broomsticks of Goethe's "Sorcerer's apprentice"? And here the final story for survival begins: Those who are most fascinated, who have dedicated their learning to those Wonders of the World have to decide between being Dr. Strangelove or eliminating those fascinating beloved beasts, to elimimate the nuclear threat at the expense of destroying real wonders, the last of their kin and the center of their competences.

[bemused]

Dragons and Others. They may both have to go.

[raegal_targaryen]

Very, very well done, OP.

As for Alleras' motivations: Oberyn was Doran's partner in the plots directed at restoring the Targaeryens and bringing down the Lannisters (he supervised the marriage contract between Viserys and Arianne). Given Doran and Oberyn's tendency of involving their children in their schemes, why wouldn't Oberyn send a daughter that is eager to study to Oldtown?

i was just thinking it my self when did oberyn go and fight the mountain, and when did sarella join the maesters at the citadel..

[raegal_targaryen]

just gonne go with my gut here, oberyn was there and forged some chains he might have learned something about the maesters in the citadel,

and what happened with the dragons and when dragons returned he sent sarella there to gain more information on the dragons and maybe to take out some maesters also and steal the knowledge she is the smart one right.

[Lord Freypie]

An amusing thing I recently noticed : Alleras, if you remove one silent L, is also a anagram of Serala.

Lady Serala also known as "the Lace Serpent" (connexion to snakes) was the myrish wife of Lord Denys Darklyn, the one who took Aerys in hostage during the Defiance of Duskendale. Accused to have inspired him with her poisoned words she was burned alive after her tongue and her female parts were torn out when Aerys was freed.

May be foreshadowing something bad in Alleras/Sallera future.

[The Crow's Third Eye]

From Doran's quote about allowing Sarella to play HER game, I seem to think she has her own agenda in Oldtown, perhaps just rebelling against the rest of Westeros and their views of women (like a Dornish suffragette, ha!) . Of course it could be something more serious, and if it is more serious then I believe she is there to try and prevent the Maester's from killing the dragons, hence why she took Sam to Marwyn. That would make sense in terms of the Dornish-Targaryen alliance, and I have a feeling that even if she wasn't instructed to go there by her father, she will still have known something of what Doran and Oberyn had planned so is trying to assist howeve she can.

Also adding that Maester Aemon's: "The sphinx is the riddle, not the riddler" could be used as evidence to supports alleras=Sarella, as she/he is a riddle really.

Apoloies if someone mentioned this before, I haven't read every single comment

[StormRhage]

I know this is old but you did an Amazing job OP ....perfect.

[Whitering]

I think it's pretty clear that Sarella/Alleras is actually...nice. She not only doesn't bug Pate but opposes Tyrell, maybe because of enmity between their families but also probably because he is a dick.

She's likely nice to Sam, because she is nice. Marwyn almost certainly knows who she is, or we must presume he's not as smart as Jaquen, who probably also knows she's a she. We already know he won't tell anyone.

[Tyrion Hand of the King]

Count me as another person who didn't catch this on his first read through. However, when you see the evidence it seems to be 100% that Sarella is Alleras. This revelation has gotten me incredibly excited for what's going to happen in Sam's chapters in TWOW. An undercover sand snake and undercover Jaqen in the citadel. :drool:

[Brian Boru Brightflame]

the sphinx is the riddle, not the riddler

so the sphinx doesnt hold the puzzle/ secret, she is the puzzle/ secret.

secret about what? - best answer from what we have in general (those that have referenced alleras/ sarella/ the riddle):

-Maester Aemon and specifically something relevant to his interest in the prophecy

-the prophecy = the prince that was promised/ 3-headed dragon/ Daenarys' 3 dragons/ Rhaegar

-Oberynn/ her father = primary driver/ motivation = Elia's murder or Elia in general

-1 of several Oberynn bastards = all of whom seem to worship daddy and appear to share his motivation (above) even before his death

- like Oberynn sought out a formal education (do we know what links either father or daughter forged?)

-like most sands, boasts combat skills to some degree

-anything relevant to her summer islander heritage? was Netty the dragon rider/ seeker a SIer?

*Is it possible, knowing Rhaegars apparent piousness/ relative good nature, Elia's inability to produce the "3rd that MUST be", Rhaegars apparent and long standing (since childhood/ approaching the master-at-arms) FANATICAL belief in his role in the prophecy, and the Targ blood in Dornish royalty, that Elia herself also came to belief in the prophecy with a fanaticism similar to her husband's? i think its very likely. so if Elia was down and in turn her brother the rep viper, would not his daughters who appear to have almost unanimously adopted Oberynn's motivations/ agendas, also be down with the prophecy? is it possible that Oberynn's bastard sarella/ alleras wasnt born of a summer islander but by say a targ female?

lol just brain storming here

[The Maiden Fair]

Just a few strengthening observations I have made while studying this subject that I didn't see listed in detail yet:

-------

"I thought her head was smashed against a wall, said Roone.

No, said Alleras. It was Prince Rhaegars young son Aegon whose head was dashed against the wall by the Lion of Lannisters brave men."

The word brave here is glaringly odd. It hints at resentment and personal investment. Alleras also makes it a point to educate his companion that this was done by Lannister men.

--------

The speaker was a slim, slight, comely youth, clad in doeskin breeches and a snug green brigandine with iron studs. He had skin the color of a light brown ale and a cap of tight black curls that came to a widows peak above his big black eyes. - Sam

He was a comely youth, their Sphinx.- Pate

-------

come·ly

adjective: comely; comparative adjective: comelier; superlative adjective: comeliest(typically of a woman) pleasant to look at; attractive.agreeable; suitable.

comely

O.E. cymlic "lovely, splendid, finely made," from cyme "exquisite, glorious, delicate," from W.Gmc. *kumi- "delicate, feeble."

IIRC, also used to describe Loras, a term Martin seems to use to indicate a man is effeminate. Used twice to describe Alleras, by Pate and then Sam.

--------

From the DwD appendix:

SARELLA, nineteen, his daughter by a trader, captain of the Feathered Kiss,

Alleras unstrung his longbow and eased it into its leather case. The bow was carved from goldenheart, a rare and fabled wood from the Summer Isles. Pate had tried to bend it once, and failed.

Coincidence that Alleras has a rare bow from the summer isles, and Sallera's mother captains a boat that references a love of or talent for archery? "Feathered Kiss" sounds like a threat of an arrow through the chest.

[The Maiden Fair]

- like Oberynn sought out a formal education (do we know what links either father or daughter forged?)

The prince leads a remarkable and varied life, first studying at the Citadel, where he learns both the higher mysteries and the art of poisons. He forges six links before growing bored. - Of Oberyn, AWoIaF app

Alleras would make a maester. He had only been at the Citadel for a year, yet already he had forged three links of his maesters chain. - Pate PoV

We don't know what Alleras has studied, but he knows "the mage", so it's likely that there's some interest in the higher mysteries, as with Oberyn.

Edited to fix code break. I'm still learning how to properly use forums. v_v;

[Brian Boru Brightflame]

just listened to a bit of the relevant chapers and i believe a bronze link for alleras is confirmed. anyone know what bronze is?