Options for Stannis assuming victory at Winterfell.

[Azor Ahoy]

Assuming Stannis is victorious in defeating the Boltons/Freys at Winterfell (there are many threads and reasons for us to believe this is a foregone conclusion), he has quite a few options on how to proceed.

1- He can march back to the Wall when he hears of the stabbing of Jon Snow. There is sure to be mass chaos with the Wildlings and the Night's Watch. Stannis made The Nightfort his seat (pretty sure, don't remember 100%) and I'm sure he'll be royally ticked off to have things so out of order and will want to set things right as soon as possible.

2- He may be forced to stay at Winterfell for an extended period of time due to the snowstorms making travel impossible. This option seems very unlikely; Stannis has an iron will and we've seen that snow will not stop him from marching.

3- He may march south upon hearing of the dissary in King's Landing or hearing of Aegon's revealing. With The Boltons and Freys defeated and the North in his corner, the enemies in the south will be his next target.

4- He might march east after speaking with Lord Manderly and learning of his ships in hiding. With the confusion of Kevan Lannister's and Pycelle's deaths and Cersei's trial going on, King's Landing will be ripe for the taking if Stannis wishes to relive the Battle of Blackwater or at least land close to King's Landing.

5- The Others could attack/bring down The Wall and force Stannis into combat with them wherever he is at the moment.

There are a lot of options, but no matter what happens I believe Stannis will be forced to deal with the Others before the rest of Westeros. Whether he lives to tell about it or not only GRRM knows. What do you think Stannis will do?

[SeanF]

I think it's probable Stannis will win the Battle of Ice, but certainly not a foregone conclusion.

Assuming that he does win, it's still going to be hard for him to take Winterfell, with 3,000 men inside the castle.

If he wins, he does have a lot of options. He's got unlimited credit with the Iron Bank, and in all likelihood, Davos will turn up with Rickon. If Stannis proclaims Rickon Lord of the North, in return for Rickon acknolwedging him as King, then the entire North will rally to him.

[aryagonnakill]

Stannis' victory is less foregone than the Bolton and Freys defeat. As long as there are Boltons in Winterfell the Starks can't rise, and I think everyone expects the Starks to make a comeback. But that being said I do believe Stannis takes Winterfell, and I think he will acknowledge Jon as AA reborn, and declare Rickon Lord of the North. But i think he will head South before the winter ends once he figures out Jon is AA. I'm not sure if he'll do it via Manderlys navy or if Stannis and the Blackfish will attack the crossing from both sides, and then hook up with Sansa and the Vale.

[Dornish Piss]

What if Stannis dies? Sounds like a real GRRM thing to do.

[ab aeterno]

I feel like it would fit the series well if Stannis won the Battles of Ice and Winterfell, but died after he had taken WF for whatever reason. GRRM's main characters always seem to go out when they're on top, and that would be a good opportunity. I think he would be set up too nicely if he has Rickon and the North, some of his southern men, unlimited money and 20,000 sellswords (even if those aren't guaranteed yet.) Assuming he doesn't die, he might have to march on the Dreadfort if Roose manages to flee, though either returning to The Wall to face the Others/ collect his family, or heading south either through the Neck- wouldn't that be an interesting way to meet Howland Reed- or Whiteharbor seems more likely.

[Lightstar]

I'm still under the impression that Stannis and his life force are diminishing thanks to the skeletal look he has and the bones being shown in Mel's flames. I still believe he will be warged by Jon Snow and will come back as AA Stannis after Jon send men to protect the neck against his southern adversaries and comes back north to the wall to kill grey scaled Shireen. If I were Stannis I would hold the neck and the wall and play some defense for a time.

[the Scorpion Knight]

What if Stannis dies? Sounds like a real GRRM thing to do.

that's what I think will happen AFTER he takes winterfell

[ab aeterno]

that's what I think will happen AFTER he takes winterfell

Agreed, I can't see any literary point in having Stannis survive/win the Battle of Ice just to lose before taking WF. It wouldn't be much of a twist and the outcome likely wouldn't be any different than having him lose/die during the Battle of Ice anyway. Having him die once he has taken WF makes much more sense in terms of the storyline. Stannis dying before that doesn't move the story along, unless GRRM just wants to remove the biggest threat to Roose, which would seem like a bit of a waste after all the build up.

[Silent_Hero]

Stannis will win the battle of the ice and crush the Boltons and the Freys only to have the Others pour through the wall and besiege him in Winterfell. Stannis will be stuck in Winterfell for the remainder of the war just like he was stuck in Storms End for Roberts entire rebellion.

[ab aeterno]

That would be really mean! Maybe Davos is the HM and can smuggle some Onions into WF for Stannis. :P

Having said that, considering that if Theon and Davos are not with Stannis in WF then he has no POV characters, it's entirely possible! I still think it's more likely that he either dies or goes South... I can't see him going back to the Wall, but the Wall/Others could certainly come to him.

[BaseBornBastard]

I've just been thinking about the body count we're likely to see after the Battle of Ice and the Battle for Winterfell. There are going to be a lot of dead Freys littering the countryside not far from Winterfell's doorstep, and a lot of dead Boltons in Winterfell that will probably be tossed out of the castle en masse. If the Others do breach the Wall soon and descend on Winterfell, that's a lot of dead soldiers that will soon become white walkers. This is going to leave Stannis rightly fucked.

[Tini]

Stannis will win the battle of the ice and crush the Boltons and the Freys only to have the Others pour through the wall and besiege him in Winterfell. Stannis will be stuck in Winterfell for the remainder of the war just like he was stuck in Storms End for Roberts entire rebellion.

If Stannis gets stuck in Winterfell, he really is dead. Winterfell is not in good condition, it cannot withstand winter let alone a prolonged siege. Its defenders would starve (or freeze) as the Boltons didn't plan to stay in Winterfell past the wedding.

I don't think he'll stay but unless Melisandre or Selyse summon him back to the Wall, there is no reason for him to go back, either. As long as they don't summon him, there is no reason to fear that the Wall has been breached.

An alliance with Lord Manderly based on Rickon Stark's safe return will give him a fleet but he has no reason to take that fleet North. Taking it South now will give both Lannisters and Tyrells a nasty surprise as they still believe Stannis holed up at the Wall. It would also throw Littlefinger's plans off track. Littlefinger plans to use Sansa Stark to take the North but Rickon's claim is better than Sansa's. Even Jon Connington would have to adjust his plans if Stannis returns.

Stannis will lose that element of surprise if he stays in Winterfell. Additionally, the Northmen will start worrying about his intentions if Stannis settles down in the Stark stronghold. Stannis cannot afford to make them doubt his intention to restore the Starks to their proper place if he wants to keep the Northern lords on his side. Restoring the Starks means leaving the North.

I think Lord Manderly will tell Stannis about his deal with Davos Seaworth for Rickon's safe return. For his liege's safe return. Stannis will understand the opportunity presented to him - after all, he tried to make Jon Snow Lord Stark of Winterfell to bind the North to his cause. He cannot afford to lose Rickon, so I believe that he'll leave Winterfell to meet Davos and Rickon when they return from wherever Rickon was hiding.

[Dawn Age]

I have a feeling he will live long enough to see Rickon made a Lord and hopefully declare for Stannis. I have a feeling the Northern Lords will chuck him once they avenge the Starks by killing all the remaining Freys and Boltons. Not sure what will happen when he discovers Mance Rayder is still a live and if he will execute him and face Tormund's Wildlings.

[aryagonnakill]

I've just been thinking about the body count we're likely to see after the Battle of Ice and the Battle for Winterfell. There are going to be a lot of dead Freys littering the countryside not far from Winterfell's doorstep, and a lot of dead Boltons in Winterfell that will probably be tossed out of the castle en masse. If the Others do breach the Wall soon and descend on Winterfell, that's a lot of dead soldiers that will soon become white walkers. This is going to leave Stannis rightly fucked.

Wights not White Walkers, huge difference in deadliness. In any event however there is no information saying that a dead body can be turned into a wight if it was not killed by a white walker, but maybe we don't have information saying they cant.

[ab aeterno]

Wights not White Walkers, huge difference in deadliness. In any event however there is no information saying that a dead body can be turned into a wight if it was not killed by a white walker, but maybe we don't have information saying they cant.

Doesn't Ygritte/other Wildlings tell Jon to burn the dead bodies that the NW killed so that they don't come back as wights?

[aryagonnakill]

Doesn't Ygritte/other Wildlings tell Jon to burn the dead bodies that the NW killed so that they don't come back as wights?

Ya I guess you got me, good point.