Update from George: The Dothraki

[BoldAsYouPlease]

Dany would kill Mago even if he bend the knee. She have sworn to kill him.

Jhaqo, however, could still save his ass by bending the knee.

I think Mago might kill Jhaquo in order to take over the khalasar after e decides to follow Dany, or perhaps dany will roast Jhaquo, and Mago will bend the knee, and the rest f them will follow her into Meereen. Hopefully that happens in the first o second Daenerys chapter.

We've seen no indication that Dany has any ability to command her dragon to roast anything - last time we saw her, she couldn't prevent Drogon from feasting on children or even fully control where he chose to carry her.

That's not to say she won't instantly transition from staggering around and crapping herself to ordering her dragon to do all sorts of amazing tricks, however - nothing about the Dany chapters would really surprise me at this point. They turned into a real test of endurance in ADwD.

[kwvapor]

Wild guess:

When many characters come together, normally they don't meetup. I see Dany not returning to the city and going to the next place Q told her to go.

The war will be won without her or Drogon. Pentos and other cities might go next without Dany there under the direction of more militaristic minds.

[Sworn Shield]

Hardly shocking since when we last see Dany she is surrounded by a load of Dothraki.

[Valkyrja]

If Dany doesn't come back to Mereen, how the hell will she ever meet up with Tyrion, Jorah, or anyone else from that storyline again? If she doesn't come back at all, what was the point of the (rather anti-climactic) 'Mereenese knot'?

Well, ok, stuff happened......Quentyn was roasted; Tyrion, Jorah, and Penny enslaved and now with the sellsword company; Barristan doing his thing; Victarion on his way; etc.

However, I will be upset if Dany just leaves poor Ser Grandfather in that horrible, horrible place forever.....ugh. :(

What's the point of him doing stuff for her in Mereen if she just ditches him (and Missandei, etc.) there?

I'd been viewing her sojourn with Drogon as sort of as one of those periods of solitude and introspection that seem to be inevitable in many hero-journeys.

She's got to come back. Victarion is coming, and all the craziness along with him. :P

Or am *I* crazy for still holding out hope for Dany's storyline? :P

[kwvapor]

Your not crazy. All those questions will be answered in due time. :cheers:

[Stark@heart]

I think Dany will roast Jhaqo and take over his Kalasar and head back to Mereene in time to mop up the remains of the battle. I see Tyrion somehow getting control over Vic - truthfully, he could probably talk Vic into anything given time and I think in this case his will join his army to the Ironborn and let Vic think its his idea or he's in command. Then they sack the city together and go to Barristan to declare for Dany and work out the final battle plans. What great scenes those could be. Barristan and Tyrion snarking off at each other and it all going over Vic's head.

I think Dany will ride back with an army of Doths and burn the Mereene to the ground as an example to others. Playtime is over, Dany found her big girl panties and intends to wear them.

I think she'll make a quick side trip back to the cities she left and fix things, then lay down the law and leave her own people to rule the cities and keep order with Doth armies to back them up. She won't just leave the mess she's made, she not Viserys. She's make things right for her people and then head towards the Shadow.

She's definately taking the long way to Westeros. There are things she still has to learn but the pace will be better

[Hardstone]

What do we know about the Volantis host that is supposedly on its way? Will it arrive after Victarion?

The Yunkai host is in ruins from the pale mare and two sellsword companies (The Windblown and the Second Sons) are about to turn their cloaks. The combined efforts of Barristan and Victarion will wipe them out in no time.

I think if the Volantis Host actually arrives, that is who Dany's new khalassar will defeat.

[Lord Damian]

From Dany's twisted point of view, all of the Dothraki should bend the knee to her, therefore there is no need for any Khals. Also, Dany seems to believe the entire known world should bend the knee to her, why not, her "RHeago" was supposed to be the Stallion that mounted the whole world. Dany will kill as many Dothraki as she can with Drogon until they all bend the knee or die. Fire and Blood, what a bitch.

[Tharvot]

The savvy move would be for Dany to offer the riches of Mereen to her new Khalasar buddies if they agree to fight with her to re-take the city...which they assuredly would. After a taste of the riches of Mereen, Dany should be able to easily convince Mago & Co to come with her to plunder Westeros.

But, Dany has been anything but savvy since she dismissed Jorah.

[Pliskin]

We've seen no indication that Dany has any ability to command her dragon to roast anything - last time we saw her, she couldn't prevent Drogon from feasting on children or even fully control where he chose to carry her.

That's not to say she won't instantly transition from staggering around and crapping herself to ordering her dragon to do all sorts of amazing tricks, however - nothing about the Dany chapters would really surprise me at this point. They turned into a real test of endurance in ADwD.

She may not know how to prevent Drogon from doing those things, but she definitely knows how to make him roast people : "Dracarys !".

[The Cocky Wolf]

"I promise you that, by the old gods and the new, by the lamb god and the horse god and every god that lives. I swear by the Mother of Mountains and the Womb of the World. Before I am done with them, Mago and Ko Jhaqo will plead for the mercy they showed Eroeh"

Yeah the more I think about it the more it seems likely that Dany will kill both Mago and Ko Jhaqo. She is the blood of the dragon, if she swore to kill them I believe her. When she kills them the Khalasar will follow her strength. It seems dumb to have the Dothraki not join Dany or to at least partake in the upcoming battle.

[King Tyrion VIII]

TWOW will be released 12/21/12. The Mayans predicted it!

[voodooqueen126]

If anyone has read Thomas Sowell's book, "Applied Economics" it talks about how one of the biggest factors in the mistreatment of slaves was how cheap they were.

The Dothraki, by rendering slaves cheap, are contributing to the terrible practices in Astapor, Yunkai and Meereen (and the rest of Essos).

[jblair]

I really don't know what to think about these Dothraki. Something tells me that Dany is going to have a problem with them, as she's had problems with pretty much everything else.

That's okay, she'll back into a miracle solution that leaves her even better off, as she has with pretty much everything else.

:P

[CrypticWeirwood]

This book on the year it is released should be published on December 21. First day of Winter

Not if it’s in 2015 (or 2019, or 2023, etc). If it’s released in 2015, the solstice is on December 22 that year. Leap-year drift: the year before leap year, it’s always a day later.

[Fearsome Fred]

George owes us no updates. Nonetheless, I think GRRM doles out good news whenever possible, and have a "no news is bad news," philosophy when it comes to updates. Also, while I take all GRRMs statements as strictly true (except, perhaps, when he ambiguously hints at the contrary), I believe in applying the most pessimistic interpretations possible. So, here's how I read this update.

Nearly a year has past since he finalized the text for Dance. It's good to know that he has resumed working on WINDS. Since this is his first mention of it, I imagine he has not been doing so for long.

Meanwhile, he is still bogged down in other projects, including projects that he said he had had to finish before resuming Winds. Pessimist's Conclusion: significant progress on Winds has not yet occurred.

But we have, for the first time, a clearer picture of the progress of these five other "overdue projects" he has mentioned, and the precise nature of those projects:

(1) Map Book. His part is complete. Yay!

(2) Script for Season 3: Done. Yay!

(3) World of Fire and Ice. Still working on it. Well, at least it's aSoIaF-related.

(4) "Dangerous Women" is still incomplete; missing one "major story". Pessimist's Conclusion: That story is his own Dunk & Egg story, which he still has to finish. Well, at least it's aSoIaF-related.

(5) Unknown Fifth project. In interviews, he had mentioned a second story he had agreed to write for some anthology. Pessimist's Conclusion: No mention means not done.

So 2 down, 3 to go, before he can devote most of his energy to WINDS.

[Valkyrja]

If anyone has read Thomas Sowell's book, "Applied Economics" it talks about how one of the biggest factors in the mistreatment of slaves was how cheap they were. The Dothraki, by rendering slaves cheap, are contributing to the terrible practices in Astapor, Yunkai and Meereen (and the rest of Essos).

Thanks for your input, voodooqueen. I hadn't thought about it that way. I'll keep this in mind for the discussion going on over in the Slavery thread. :)

[Melifeather]

Daenerys will use Drogon to roast Mago and Jhaqo. They will die screaming for the death of Eroeh. I predict Dany will take over the khalasar and bring it to Meereen.

[Jabronius Maximus]

Drogon will cook Jhaqo and Mago. The last time Dany had a 'fire and blood' trial was the burning of MMD and Drogo. Her dragons were born from that. I think after this trial, the dragon within her will be born/awakened - she finally grows up. Now that would be fitting, and would give us hope that she will get the hell out of Slaver's Bay soon enough

[Bastard Walder]

"I promise you that, by the old gods and the new, by the lamb god and the horse god and every god that lives. I swear by the Mother of Mountains and the Womb of the World. Before I am done with them, Mago and Ko Jhaqo will plead for the mercy they showed Eroeh"

So maybe she'll kill Mago but leave Khal Jhaqo alive?