Balon Swann & the Hunt for the Darkstar

[SerGrahamando ofUttershill]

IIRC Jon Arryn himself, with the bones of Prince Lewyn Martell.

Yeah, I remember now.

[Marc Sands]

Could someone remind me where we read about Arthur Dayne's death? All I can remember right now is (from Ned's PoV) repeated comments about "if it hadn't been for Howland Reed..." Are we 100% sure that Arthur Dayne is dead and gone, and not just hidden away? I haven't seen anyone post on this (let me know if you have!), and it doesn't seem any more outlandish a secret to keep than R + L = J, or that Ashara faked her own death. It could just be one more unreliable narrator moment.

That being said, if Arthur were to be alive - a possible reason why Darkstar is NOT the Lord of the Morning - Darkstar could have shared that information with Doran (a master secret keeper) and have that ability to bring him back into public eye. What purpose that would serve I'm not quite sure, other than that it would really shake up what people know about Rhaegar and his children. Arthur, if alive, would be able to set the record straight on a whole number of things.

[Usurper's Dog]

Are we 100% sure that Arthur Dayne is dead and gone, and not just hidden away?

I'm pretty sure the Sword of the Morning's bones accompanied Ned to Starfall post-Tower of Joy incident (along with Dawn, the Dayne family sword). Of course you can really deliver any set of bones to any family claiming them to be of the specified deceased individual, but you never really know so its always a possibility that Arthur D is still out there. Would be a nice help to the R + L = J theory!

[alienarea]

Arthur Dayne's bones are in one of the cairns that were build from the Tower of Joy.

[DaeneryStormBorn]

I can certainly see "Darkstar" killing Balon, but as I posted in the crackpot thread, I'm really beginning to believe that Darkstar isn't "real", so he can't become the new sword of the morning.

I can't find any evidence to contradict this theory, and it explains some things that seemed odd about him.

He doesn't have an established family tree, just some notion that he comes from some ill-defined cadet house of the Daynes, some murky knightly house that we don't have much information on.

I think "Darkstar" is a fiction cooked up by Doran Martell to do violent dishonorable deeds that serve a political purpose in his schemes. You can't have a real person going around randomly slicing open little girl's faces. If someone demands his head, it really doesn't matter because he simply doesn't exist.

I had a hard time stomaching his sudden bizarre attack on Myrcella until I thought of it this way. There have probably been numerous individuals playing the role of "Darkstar" over the years.

When Darkstar comes off as fake and awkward, it's because he really is a fake. It's some sellsword or man-at-arms playing a role on behalf of Doran, nobody seems to know him or his background very well, and when someone shows up as "Darkstar" claiming to be "the most dangerous man in Dorne", they really aren't kidding because they are there to do something nasty "off the books" for Doran Martell.

SF Danny plausible explanation of Darkstar, I don't know how to do the link, so I just copied and posted his theory about Darkstar.

http://asoiaf.wester...rk/page__st__20

Oh the link worked :)

[Babeldygob]

I think Dorne might be surprised by Balon's effectiveness.

[Lion of Judah]

When was this said? I thought they called Arthur Dayne that because he was bad-ass and his sword was called Dawn.

The Sword of The Morning refers to the current wielder of the sword Dawn, it could be a knight or it could be a lord but the sword must be earned. Ulrick Dayne was also called The Sword of The Morning.

[Red Magic]

R+L= Darkstar

It is known.

[alienarea]

R+L= Darkstar

It is known.

It is known ... except for in the R+L=J thread. But they know nothing.

[Optimus Brian]

Cannot stand Darkstar..ooh look at me, I am a badass. I am Darkstar. Proper badasses don't know they are badasses that is why Stannis is the ultmate Badass in ASOIAF. Balon Swann, some people, think is a less than capable fighter/knight but he actually seems to be quite competent (see Blackwater). Oakheart was a moron, a likeable chap and a good fighter by accounts given, but a hothead and a moron. Hence he is no more. Swann is different from what I can remember, and Darkstar we know nothing about, though I cannot see the reason for introducing Darkstar only to be killed without doing something more significant than scarring an innocent girl, so Swann is probably next in line to kick the proverbial bucket. Shame though, would love to see Darkstar gone from the story as he has contributed nothing really. Either kill him off or develop his story. However we are almost reaching the endgame of this series so I doubt any characters will be built up any more other than who has already been established. Therefore either Darkstar dies or he continues on being a very underdeveloped character that is adding nothing to the story only background intrigue and what-ifs.

[Stallion That Mounts Texas]

I really can't see Darkstar working alone in this. He is someone's catspaw. The question is who? I've narrowed it down to:

1. Doran - too honorable to kill a young girl

2. Varys - killing Myrcella is not essential to his plans

3. Littlefinger - possibly, drawing Dorne into a war with the Iron Throne will leave his forces in the Vale as the last untouched army

It has to be working with someone who would profit from a war between Dorne and the iron throne. However, I would love to see him take on Ser Balon and/or Obara.

[Lyanna Mormont]

Not a fan of Darkstar at all. Isn't Darkstar a euphemism for... well... an asshole? Most aptly named character ever.

[Jalapenohitchhiker]

I see a lot of people don't like Darkstar, which is understandable. But what if there is more to him than what we know from Arianne? After all he is related in some way to Arthur Dayne, the best swordsman of his time. Maybe he knows something about the past that is still a mystery to us, like the location of Dawn, which may be used to slay one of the dragons, or possibly an Other. He may even have some information on what happened at the Tower of Joy before Lyanna died. Just a few thoughts I would throw out there.

[Robert Sand]

Yea i agree the problem about Darkstar is that we still don't know much about him or his intentions, it's more than likely that he is not working alone but he must be getting something out of it. Trying to slay a child is an evil move but there are many possibilities of what made him do it. I'm cheering for Darkstar against Balon just because i want to see more of him as well, Balon is decent but just a pawn, there is nothing really interesting about him.

[El Pinko Grande]

Just out of curiosity, can someone who has married into the Daynes be considered the Sword of Morning? Suppose Swann kills Darkstar, then falls in love with some lovely, purple-eyed Dayne girl, and marries her- would he be eligible to wield Dawn at that point? He certainly seems to meet the chivalry requirements to be the Sword of Morning, and if he manages to beat Darkstar in head-to-head combat, I'd say he meets the badass requirement as well.

[Nick Baratheon]

attention, WOW sample chapterspoiler:

Areo Hotah is with Balon, and so is Obara. 2 battlehardened badass mofos and a supposedly able swordswench against Darkstar. Doesn´t look all to bad for Balon.

[Stark@heart]

Darkstar definately has a chip on his shoulder about the whole " Sword of the Morning" wielder of "Dawn" thing. He wants to be "The Dayne" so to speak, so he needs a way to make a name for himself & win the glory and rep that goes with it. Hence being part of Arianne plot to start a war= chance for glory. When he saw that failing, he acted in his own interest, ie making his name & earning his glory in the war to come between Dorne and the Iron Throne.

He already has a bad rep, so killing a child to start a war in which he can fight for Dorne and win in his mind, is no problem. I don't think Doran has anything to do with Darkstar other than..

Darkstar knows a secret, maybe he doesn't even know he knows it (yet) or maybe he is the secret?

How bout Darkstar ends up in Bravosi and meets up with Arya? She could ask about Jon's mother and hear a different story that the one she got from Ned Dayne the squire.

R+L = J has to come out somehow, maybe Darkstar is the way?

[Trident full of Dogs]

Isn't Areo Hotah a member of the party that set out to hunt down Darkstar? If so, he is likely to kill him, right? Cause he' s.such a outstanding fighter, he is supposed to be better than Darkstar.

So maybe what about this, Darkstar kills Balon and Obara but gets killed by Areo Hotah?

[flidderman]

Isn't Areo Hotah a member of the party that set out to hunt down Darkstar? If so, he is likely to kill him, right? Cause he' s.such a outstanding fighter, he is supposed to be better than Darkstar.

So maybe what about this, Darkstar kills Balon and Obara but gets killed by Areo Hotah?

My guess is that it ends up Darkstar + Obara vs. Balon + Hotah. Whatever happens it'll be cool.

[DDDUnit]

I do love the idea of either Darkstar, Swann, or Obera being the prologue. I always thought that Darkstar was the one working for Doran. He seems the most likely one because of his deep loyalty to Dorne. Doran knows how dangerous he is and would want a fighter of that caliber very loyal to him. I have no idea how any of you are thinking that Darkstar isn't actually a Dayne. That could possibly be the dumbest theory I have ever read on this site. Doran would most likely have Darkstar mutilate Myrcella to remove Arianne's suspicion. He then goes into hiding so that Doran can send Balon to him to be killed. The most dangerous man in Dorne is not a metaphor to some secret of Doran's that he knows. He is just that big of a badass.