Second Dance Mega Prediction.

[Suzanna Stormborn]

As we just recently learned from PatQ, dragons can be shot down with plain old arrows and spears, no magic weirwood weapons required.

what are the quotes about this? Did one of the dragons get shot down when they destroyed the dragon pit in KL?

[Mourneblade]

Cersei is going to burn Kings Landing to the ground sometime after she wins her trial by combat.

[Mithras]

1. Dany wants two BAMF’s to ride Viserion and Rhaegal. She was disappointed by Quentyn, who nearly soiled his smallclothes upon seeing the dragons (and later roasted by one). Victarion is coming with a horn and he is utterly fearless (or too dumb to fear sometimes). Tyrion is mad for dragons. I think Victarion will get Rhaegal by his dragonhorn and Tyrion will get Viserion by feeding and tending to him like Nettles. In addition the already given hints for these to happen, the new Tyrion chapter in the app made me even more confident on this.

2. I don’t see Aegon taking the KL. Cersei will win her trial and Margaery will be found guilty simply because the HS works for Varys and he needs to destroy the Tyrells. After that, we will see a Faith Uprising joined by the smallfolk against the Tyrell host. Cersei will take Margaery under her custody in the Red Keep and threaten Mace to retake the Storm’s End from Aegon and end their rebellion (similar to how Aerys used Elia as his hostage and threatened Dorne). Mace is an oaf and JonCon will cut his host into bloody pieces. It is possible that some of his host (like Tarly) might turn their cloaks for Aegon. By that time, it will be heard that Euron defeated Garlan’s host, slew him, sacked Highgarden and aims for Oldtown. So, JonCon will simply skip the KL and rush for Oldtown to defend it against Euron. Of course, Aegon will marry Arianne and the Dornish forces will join them on the way to Oldtown. The ironborn will not come from where they are expected. They will come down the Honeywine River and catch the defenses unaware. JonCon will arrive at the last moment and smash the ironborn against the walls of the city. Sam will slay Euron with an arrow. Aegon will step forward as the savior. Lleyton Hightower will knight him and the High Septon will crown him. The cheering crowd will be in Oldtown. Aegon will have Hightowers, Redwynes and the rest of the Reach while the Tyrells will be greatly destroyed.

3. I don’t see Aegon getting a dragon. He does not need a dragon. He will have superior armies compared to Dany.

4. I don’t think Brown Ben will survive long. Dany might not even forgive him. Besides, I think Tyrion will get the Seconds Sons killed Roose style to not give them a single penny.

5. I think Dany will first get the Vale, and then she will focus on Riverlands. She will take Harrenhal. Ser Bonifer might weep upon seeing her if he lives that long. Dany will roast the Freys in their Twins.

6. I expect the Iron Fleet and Aurane Waters along with other additions to Dany’s navy blockading the Blackwater Bay. The Redwyne Fleet carrying Aegon’s flag will come and we will have a bloody sea battle similar to Battle in the Gullet, where Victarion and Rhaegal might die.

7. Cersei will be in KL with her gold cloaks and some Crownlands forces. Neither Dany nor Aegon will find the time to take KL as they will be engaged with each other in a bloody conflict.

8. Sansa will kill LF early in WoW and following the turmoil, she will be kidnapped by Shadrich. He will lead her to KL to sell her to Cersei. It will take time. As soon as it will be heard that Cersei has Sansa in KL and is about to execute her, Dany will be forced by Riverlands and the Vale men in her army to save her. She will march on KL and Cersei will decide to activate the wildfire plot. At the final moment, Arya will appear. She will save Sansa and lead her through secret passages out of the city. For this mission, she will recollect Sandor from Quiet Isle. I think Arya will also fatally stab Cersei before leaving the KL. Here we may have Bran sending a Hammer of Waters to put out the fire in KL. Dany might wander in the KL after the fires go away. That might be the scene in TV show version of HotU, where she was walking in the scorched and ruined throne room.

9. I think neither Victarion nor Tyrion will betray Dany. I don’t see Tyrion claiming to be a king. Viserion was the first dragon to hatch, so I expect him to die first. Tyrion’s dragon joy will not take long. I think Tyrion caught greyscale, which is advancing slowly. Once he notices that, he will sacrifice himself in a heroic way. He will do that in the best way he knows; drinking like a sot. Remember the poisoned mushroom scene with Illyrio and the poisoned wine plot to get rid of Ulf the White. I think Tyrion will send the word to Team Aegon to negotiate the terms of peace. He will have a poisoned wine with sweetsleep and drink it first to assure the person (probably Illyrio) in front of him that the wine is good. He may even hope that his stone coated organs inside might save him from the poison. That will not be the case and so will die Tyrion, son of Tywin. Seven save his soul, though ugly and stunted it is.

[Suzanna Stormborn]

1. Dany wants two BAMF’s to ride Viserion and Rhaegal. She was disappointed by Quentyn, who nearly soiled his smallclothes upon seeing the dragons (and later roasted by one). Victarion is coming with a horn and he is utterly fearless (or too dumb to fear sometimes). Tyrion is mad for dragons. I think Victarion will get Rhaegal by his dragonhorn and Tyrion will get Viserion by feeding and tending to him like Nettles. In addition the already given hints for these to happen, the new Tyrion chapter in the app made me even more confident on this.

2. I don’t see Aegon taking the KL. Cersei will win her trial and Margaery will be found guilty simply because the HS works for Varys and he needs to destroy the Tyrells. After that, we will see a Faith Uprising joined by the smallfolk against the Tyrell host. Cersei will take Margaery under her custody in the Red Keep and threaten Mace to retake the Storm’s End from Aegon and end their rebellion (similar to how Aerys used Elia as his hostage and threatened Dorne). Mace is an oaf and JonCon will cut his host into bloody pieces. It is possible that some of his host (like Tarly) might turn their cloaks for Aegon. By that time, it will be heard that Euron defeated Garlan’s host, slew him, sacked Highgarden and aims for Oldtown. So, JonCon will simply skip the KL and rush for Oldtown to defend it against Euron. Of course, Aegon will marry Arianne and the Dornish forces will join them on the way to Oldtown. The ironborn will not come from where they are expected. They will come down the Honeywine River and catch the defenses unaware. JonCon will arrive at the last moment and smash the ironborn against the walls of the city. Sam will slay Euron with an arrow. Aegon will step forward as the savior. Lleyton Hightower will knight him and the High Septon will crown him. The cheering crowd will be in Oldtown. Aegon will have Hightowers, Redwynes and the rest of the Reach while the Tyrells will be greatly destroyed.

3. I don’t see Aegon getting a dragon. He does not need a dragon. He will have superior armies compared to Dany.

4. I don’t think Brown Ben will survive long. Dany might not even forgive him. Besides, I think Tyrion will get the Seconds Sons killed Roose style to not give them a single penny.

5. I think Dany will first get the Vale, and then she will focus on Riverlands. She will take Harrenhal. Ser Bonifer might weep upon seeing her if he lives that long. Dany will roast the Freys in their Twins.

6. I expect the Iron Fleet and Aurane Waters along with other additions to Dany’s navy blockading the Blackwater Bay. The Redwyne Fleet carrying Aegon’s flag will come and we will have a bloody sea battle similar to Battle in the Gullet, where Victarion and Rhaegal might die.

7. Cersei will be in KL with her gold cloaks and some Crownlands forces. Neither Dany nor Aegon will find the time to take KL as they will be engaged with each other in a bloody conflict.

8. Sansa will kill LF early in WoW and following the turmoil, she will be kidnapped by Shadrich. He will lead her to KL to sell her to Cersei. It will take time. As soon as it will be heard that Cersei has Sansa in KL and is about to execute her, Dany will be forced by Riverlands and the Vale men in her army to save her. She will march on KL and Cersei will decide to activate the wildfire plot. At the final moment, Arya will appear. She will save Sansa and lead her through secret passages out of the city. For this mission, she will recollect Sandor from Quiet Isle. I think Arya will also fatally stab Cersei before leaving the KL. Here we may have Bran sending a Hammer of Waters to put out the fire in KL. Dany might wander in the KL after the fires go away. That might be the scene in TV show version of HotU, where she was walking in the scorched and ruined throne room.

9. I think neither Victarion nor Tyrion will betray Dany. I don’t see Tyrion claiming to be a king. Viserion was the first dragon to hatch, so I expect him to die first. Tyrion’s dragon joy will not take long. I think Tyrion caught greyscale, which is advancing slowly. Once he notices that, he will sacrifice himself in a heroic way. He will do that in the best way he knows; drinking like a sot. Remember the poisoned mushroom scene with Illyrio and the poisoned wine plot to get rid of Ulf the White. I think Tyrion will send the word to Team Aegon to negotiate the terms of peace. He will have a poisoned wine with sweetsleep and drink it first to assure the person (probably Illyrio) in front of him that the wine is good. He may even hope that his stone coated organs inside might save him from the poison. That will not be the case and so will die Tyrion, son of Tywin. Seven save his soul, though ugly and stunted it is.

You think Sansa will turn into a Lucrezia Borgias type character?

[Mithras]

You think Sansa will turn into a Lucrezia Borgias type character?

I don't think so. LF will try to rape her and Sansa will draw his dagger and slit his throat. Maybe LF will finally lose his wits and try to claim Sansa’s maidenhood before the wedding to Harry, just like Viserys wanted to have dany before the wedding to Drogo. Or he might have a sinister aim in doing that. Regardless, that will be the end of him.

[Mourneblade]

I don't think so. LF will try to rape her and Sansa will draw his dagger and slit his throat. Maybe LF will finally lose his wits and try to claim Sansa’s maidenhood before the wedding to Harry, just like Viserys wanted to have dany before the wedding to Drogo. Or he might have a sinister aim in doing that. Regardless, that will be the end of him.

I do not know if this is how it will play out, but I do believe that LF wants Sansa for himself and that is going to end badly for sure.

[chrisdaw]

Tried to do an all encompassing prediction post pushing past the Dance and into what happens after, which I mostly have, but I lost interest coming back and finishing up the Vale, battle in the narrow sea, Jaehaerys/Alysanna foreshadowing, the Dance and other tidbits, so those parts are rushed or not included. Also I think we're not supposed to post some info out there regarding Visenya which I was heavily relying on. Anyway, some ground work first.


Tyrion parallels
Tyrion already parallels Viserys II but he will come to parallel all the Visetargs.

Viserys II

• Viserys II held the realm together as Hand for his nephew. Tyrion held KL together as Hand for his nephew for a time.
• Viserys II received no credit for his time served as hand, as Tyrion likewise didn't.
• Viserys II was rumoured to have poisoned his nephew to gain the throne, as Tyrion is alleged to have done.
• Viserys II was frailer but more mature than his brother. Tyrion is "frailer" but more mature than Jaime.
• Viserys II was sent to Pentos by a brother. Jaime has Varys save Tyrion and he sends him to Pentos.
• Tyrion defends Viserys II against Oberyn's slander.

Things to note that have not yet been paralleled.

• On his way to Pentos Viserys II is caught up in a sea battle, he had with him his dragon egg.
• Viserys II becomes king after having been Hand.

Visenya (daughter of Rhaenyra)
Visenya was stillborn. It is said she was born with dragon-like defects, twisted, malformed, a hole in her chest and a stubby, scaled tail. Tyrion is rumoured to have been born with a tail, he is often described as twisted and malformed.

Viserys (Dany's brother)

• He was Dany's brother.
• Viserion is named for him.
• He betrays Dany. Is an antagonising force towards her.

Viserys I

• In an abstract way Viserys I caused the Dance of the Dragons as he was father to Rhaenyra and Aegon II.
• Viserys I was chosen to rule by a Great Council.

Visenya
Spoiler Info? In TWOIAF? Add after 28th Oct, TWOIAF release.

King Richard III of England
King Richard III had a physical deformity, portrayed with a hunched back and monstrous in appearance by Shakespeare (an exaggeration). Tyrion is physically deformed.

Richard had a short reign which is generally thought prosperous and progressive in modern times. Tyrion had a short but succesful reign as Hand.

Though his reign is generally thought well of in modern times in the aftermath of his reign Richard was decried as a villainous king by the realm and London. Tyrion suffers the same type of backlash in King's Landing after his tenure as Hand.

Richard III was accused (very possibly correctly) of murdering his nephews who would have been kings before him. Tyrion is accused of murdering his nephew Joffrey to become king.

Richard III was portrayed as a monstrous villain by Shakespeare in the play Richard III.

Tyrion is likewise portrayed in the Bloody Hand by Phario Forel in the Mercy sample chapter. The opening scene and language of the Bloody Hand heavily parallels the opening scene of Richard III.

Richard III married a traitor's daughter Anne Neville, it is commonly believed he did so for her family claim. Tyrion is married to a traitor's daughter Sansa for her family claim to Winterfell and Lordship of the North. The Nevilles were powerful in the North as the Starks are also.

Other notable events of King Richard III's life which Tyrion has not (yet) paralleled.

• Richard III is declared king when his nephews are declared illegitimate.
• Richard III is (allegedly but famously thought to have been) betrayed on the battle field by his own forces and killed in combat. He is the last English monarch to be killed in battle.

Sansa parallels

Anne Neville and Sansa.

Anne Neville was the daughter of a declared traitor. Sansa is the daughter of a declared traitor.

The Neville's were a powerful Northern family in England. The Starks are a powerful Northern family in Westeros.

Anne Neville was married to Edward of Lancaster who it was hoped by his mother and supporters would become King. Edward is commonly depicted as having been cruel to Anne (although I believe there's not really any evidence of such) and generally a bloodthirsty individual. Sansa is betrothed to Joffrey when he is similiarly positioned to become king and likewise of a similar character as Edward and is cruel to Sansa.

Margaret of Anjou paralells Cersei. She was queen of England as Cersei was queen of Westeros. She was a hard woman and notable for her leadership in male dominated society, she was thought to be bitter about her sex having been a barrier to her rule. Cersei also becomes a leader in a male orientated world and is bitter about having been born a woman. Margaret mothered Edward of Lancaster as Cersei mothered Edward's parallel Joffrey. Margaret is often portrayed as having a ruthless hunger for power like Cersei.

Margaret of Anjou consented to the marriage of her son Edward to Anne Neville as Cersei consented (for a time) to the marriage of Joffrey to Sansa, and later Tyrion to Sansa. Margaret is commonly depicted as having been rude or worse towards Anne (although I believe there's no real evidence of such) as Cersei treats Sansa harshly.

Anne married Richard III, Sansa marries Tyrion who is Richard's parallel as per the above.

Other notable events of King Anne's life which Tyrion has not (yet) paralleled.

• Anne Neville becomes Richard III's Queen when Richard's nephews are declared illegitimate.

Jaime parallels

Criston Cole
Jaime parallels Criston Cole the Kingmaker. It's pretty obvious, I don't think it needs explaining.

Aemon the Dragonknight
Jaime part parallels Aemon the Dragonknight.

Like Jaime Aemon was a Kingsguard knight and was made so at a very young age.

Aemon loved his sister who was queen as Jaime does/did Cersei.

Aemon is rumoured to have fathered his sister's son, Jaime did father his sister's children.

Sunfyre (the dragon)

As per the astute observations made by the OP in the below thread, Sunfyre the dragon parallels Jaime.
http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/109554-sunfyre-and-jamie-lannister/


Becoming Tywin
Tywin's influence is set to come full circle in the lives of the Lannister brothers.

Tyrion knows he is a product of Tywin Lannister and he's bitter about it, he will continue the course but come to accept that he is also the soul of avarice. Notable Tywin hits that Tyrion will likely come to fundamentally agree is playing it safe until a winner becomes clear and jumping onto their side, he's already somewhat doing that in Meereen but I believe he'll do it in the dance too. And the harsh lesson that a Lannister can not marry low for love.

Jaime's Tywin influence relates to the acceptance of responsibility, Tywin was pushing him to accept responsibility for House Lannister, but Jaime will go one better than that and do as his father did and take responsibility for the realm. He has started down that path already, taking responsibility for restoring the King's peace and internally considering who should rule and contemplating removing Cersei from rule and influence over his children. He'll continue down the path, not because he'll particularly want to, but because he'll come to understand he is the best person (left) to do so, and he'll actually care enough to not just walk away and leave the realm to Cersei or unfit children.


Bran's arc.
Bran is amongst the most benevolent of characters, he is the sweet summer child. His arc will lead in one of two directions. Against his nature he will either come to accept and make the hard sacrifices required to ensure the survival of the realm of men, or he will rally against the ways of sacrifice, of the COTF and Bloodraven, and forge his own path to victory over the Others.


The following are plot points I believe will occur, but not necessarily in the order I outlay.


Essos Pre-Dance
Meereen is won for Dany's forces, no meaningful deaths. Victarion becomes master of ships and gets a dragon, Plum maybe the other free one. They all head West on Dany's orders or by their own accord if she doesn't return to Meereen. Tyrion, Jorah and Barristan are among the team leaders for Dany.

There will be more than one distinct army, some will head West by sea with Victarion, others by the Demon's Road.

On the way West Dany picks up the Dothraki allegiance in Vaes Dothrak. Volantis is taken (or "liberated") by her forces, her army swells and Benerro and his Fiery Hand join. Myr, Tyrosh and Lys join the cause too, most likely without a fight due to fear of dragon's fire. Dany goes to Pentos then Dragonstone.


KL Pre-Dance

Arianne and Aegon hit it off, a marriage or marriage pact is decided upon and Dorne declares for Aegon.
Everything is pushing this direction.

Cersei wins her trial, Marge loses or begins losing, Mace's army enters the city to rescure her.
Cersei wins her trial when Ser Robert Strong squashes Ser Theodan Wells in her defence. Due to the revelation (and perhaps misrepresentation) of evidence by Varys to the Faith, Marge's trial does not go so well. At some point during or after the trial Mace decides to take Marge from the city by force, as even if Tarly is willing the Faith will physically not allow him to transport Marge to Mace.

If your daughter is as innocent as you'd have us believe, why must you have your army present when she faces her accusers? Ser Kevan might have asked.

That's what the army is there for.

Mace's forces enter the city, the people side with the Faith in opposition to the Tyrell forces and the city erupts into a bloodbath.

"We have foes on every hand, Lord Tarly," Ser Kevan reminded him. "Stannis in the north, ironmen in the west, sellswords in the south. Defy the High Septon, and we will have blood running in the gutters of King's Landing as well.

Aegon takes KL
Enter Aegon, with the city in the above state or so soon after there can be no effective defence mounted, and facilitated by the Faith and Varys, Aegon and the GC "conquer" KL. Aegon is welcomed by the Faith and citizens as a hero.

If we are seen to be going against the gods, it will only drive the pious into the arms of one or the other of these would-be usurpers."

A cloth dragon swayed on poles amidst a cheering crowd. . . mother of dragons, slayer of lies

Cersei is imprisoned (honourably). Marge and Mace are killed or held captive too.
Because taking valuable hostages is what you do when you take a city from the enemy.


Battle in the Narrow Sea and Tyrion becomes a Dragon Rider
A lot of this relies on Visenya's history repeating, information which it seems wasn't meant to be in the wild so I will skim over it.

A naval battle erupts in the narrow sea between Dany's forces and the "pirates", the pirates possibly including the three sister cities if they're not yet brought into Dany's fold.

The naval battle is lost by Dany's forces who are forced to retreat or scatter. Tyrion and Viserion are present at the battle or end up together in the aftermath and Tyrion becomes Viserion's rider.
Tyrion picks up Viserion off of either Victarion or Brown Ben. The foreshadowing for Tyrion riding a dragon and Viserion particularly, name and colouring most obviously, is pretty solid and I don't care to go over it here. Viserys II escaped, well was captured, the battle in the narrow sea with his dragon egg in the first dance.

Dany takes Tyrion to brother.
Tyrion will ride Viserion and there won't be any hell horn shannanigans involved. This will be puzzling to Dany.

Only Targaryens ride dragons.

Dany is a proud Targaryen, and it's an agreed fact in the world of ice and fire that dragon blood is required to ride dragons. Dany won't understand how trueborn Lannister Tyrion could become Viserion's rider. Enter Barristan to fill her in on Aerys's lust for Joanna and Tywin's overseas trips. Dany will put two and two together and get four, or five, rightly or wrongly she'll conclude Tyrion is her bastard brother. Tyrion will ride the dragon named for Viserys and become Dany's new brother, just like Viserys.

Dany's forces regroup and a second naval battle occurs, Dany's forces win, Tyrion is present and the Lord of Waters is killed and Tyrion destroys his flagship the Lord Tywin.


Tyrion the Vale and Sansa
A again a lot of this is Visenya's history repeating so I won't flesh it out.

Little Finger dies.
Sansa kills him, perhaps in self defence or anger, but more likely in a deliberate act but without the proper planning for what comes next. She's not yet the master player she'll become, some trial and error is necessary.

Possible reasons for Sansa killing LF.

• Revenge, when she learns LF was responsible for destroying her family.
• To save Sweetrobin. They're both children of a Tully mother, Tully words put family first.
• Because of LF's unwanted sexual advances.
• To avoid marriage with Harry.
• Because LF is cramping her style, she outgrows him.

Maybe all of the above.

Sweetrobin lives, LF dies, hostilities break out between Royces
Yohn and Nestor hostilities are brewing and are set to come to a head, LF dying will blow the lid on the Vale. Sansa will kill him at the Gates of the Moon as that's likely where she and most importantly SR will be stationed given Nestor is their closest ally in the Vale.

As LF will die in Nestor's house it will give Nestor time to strategise. With LF dead Yohn will naturally assume it's his place to take custody of SR and become Lord Protector of the Vale, Nestor would probably accept this but I don't think he'll be willing to give up his newly found seat, and I don't think Yohn will honour LF granting Nestor the Gates of the Moon. And so something of a stand off erupts, Nestor unwilling to give up SR to Yohn unless he gets to keep his seat, and Yohn demanding Nestor hand over SR while refusing to honour Nestor's claim to the Gates of the Moon.

Nestor likely takes control of the Bloody Gate, either the Waynwoods jump in with him (as he has Sansa and they want the marriage to Harry to happen) or he simply takes the gate from his side before news of LF's death gets out as he can see where things are headed and he knows he's going to need to be able to defend his position and hold on SR.

Sansa's identity gets out at some point. Someone is going to be pushing for the marriage between her and Harry to still go ahead, and any deal struck between Nestor and Yohn will result in her marrying Harry. Sansa will not want this marriage and so it will be in her interest that the parties do not reach terms and she doesn't get handed over with SR.

Harry parallels Robert Baratheon and Sansa Lyanna in regards to their likely betrothel. Sansa won't want to marry the indulgent fun loving heir to a great house hanging about the Vale, while Harry will be smitten. Then comes the dragon to save the wolf maid from the marriage she doesn't want, only this time they'll all ready be married instead of running off and getting married.

Sansa and Robert Arryn go back up to the Eyrie. Tyrion flies there and gains the fealty of the Vale from the Lord Protector for whichever monarch he serves at the time. Sansa goes to KL, while it is under the control of either Dany or Aegon she is safe from prosecution for her alleged involvement in Joffrey's death.

Tyrion will arrive at the Vale, Robert will see the bad man fly, Tyrion won't be able to smash the Vale like he intended as he won't be willing to do so in front of Sansa, and if he ever had it in him to kill SR he won't be able to do that in front of his wife and the boy's cousin also. By either the threat or the very limited and targeted dragon's fire Tyrion forces an end to the Royce battle, one of the Ryces comes out on top and the other loses, maybe dies by Viserion. The winner is the one who gets the Vale and swears fealty to whomever Tyrion is serving, and so Tyrion will win the Vale bloodlessly or near enough.

Despite the season I think it's all going to come to a head at the Eyrie, they'll go back up likely fleeing from Yohn's forces. I'm tipping Nestor to come out on top as unlike Yohn he can be bought. Yohn is too much like Ned and can't be relied upon to act in his own interest, whereas LF gave Sansa the run down on how to play Nestor. So, orchestrated by Sansa who pushes Tyrion and SR, who gets a dragon ride, in the right direction, the Vale gets wrapped up with Nestor left as Lord Protector of the Vale and with custody of SR. Sansa can trust SR with Nestor as if SR dies Nestor is ruined. Nestor swears the fealty of the Vale to whichever monarch Tyrion is serving at the time and there is likely a betrothel between SR and Myranda. With Nestor at the helm and in full knowledge of who he owes his good fortune to (not Tyrion), Tyrion takes his wife with him to KL, or has her sent there, and Harry is left disappointed or dead.


Aegon's forces head West

Aegon will head West to put down the Greyjoy rebellion.
Possible reasons for this.

• It's a king's duty, as the HS may feel is apparent. And defeating the Ironborn will make him look more a hero to the Westeros populace, a point Varys may push.
• The HS may either refuse to crown him until he's defeated the Ironborn, or cleverly claim he will crown him but only as his ancestor the first Aegon was crowned, in Oldtown, therefore requiring Aegon to first clear out the Ironborn.
• Aegon himself may come up with the idea to be crowned as his ancestor was.
• Willas Tyrell may be willing to bend his knee to Aegon if Aegon should help him drive the Ironborn from his shores, in addition to handing him back his lord father and/or sister.

The Dance

War breaks out between Dany (Blacks) and Aegon (Greens), the second Dance of Dragons.
Although not necessarily the reasoning for the outbreak of violence Dany comes to believe Aegon is a pretender and not truly the son of Rhaegar and Elia. Tyrion likely helps her on her way to the Faegon discovery, and thus Tyrion will parallel Viserys I in passively being the cause of a Dance of Dragons.

Dany takes KL while Aegon is not present.
She is either already in the city as a guest and simply declares it her own and organises for forces loyal to her to make it so, or she storms it by stealth and dragon while Aegon is away as Rhaenyra did.

Aegon comes to be Rhaegal's rider.
It's not a dance without each side having a dragon. Dany flies Drogon, the black, and so Aegon must fly Rhaegal, the dragon named for his presumed father and the green. And so we have the greens and blacks just as in the first Dance.

In a pre-dance peace before Dany has concluded Aegon is not of her blood Dany may simply give Aegon Rhaegal, a dragon can't be let loose without a rider and its better for Rhaegal to be out and about than locked up for his entire life. But more likely I think one of Dany's treasons will end in Rhaegal becoming Aegon's. Barristan for love (Ashara) or Illyrio for gold (master of coin) or blood (if Aegon is a blood relation to Illyrio or Sera).

Tyrion stays "neutral".
I believe Tyrion will embrace his father's strategy during the Dance. After igniting things, perhaps without meaning to but I think more likely on purpose, he'll lay low and stay safe until a winner is certain. I don't think he'll so much stay neutral as have each party believe he is in their camp, just he won't do anything particularly antagonising to any side. He likes Aegon a bit and probably won't have anything personal against Dany, it's just the game, and above all else Tyrion is team Tyrion. Having met Aegon and JC he may be Dany's envoy, the go between before hostilities break out giving him a way to get into both camps and possibly a way to cultivate the perception that he's trying to play peace maker between the two when it all comes to blows.

"Dragons," Moqorro said in the Common Tongue of Westeros. He spoke it very well, with hardly a trace of accent. No doubt that was one reason the high priest Benerro had chosen him to bring the faith of R'hllor to Daenerys Targaryen.
"Dragons old and young, true and false, bright and dark. And you. A small man with a big shadow, snarling in the midst of all."

Tyrion in the middle.

Dany Defeats Aegon, causing his death.

Drogon moved quicker than a striking cobra. Flame roared from his mouth, orange and scarlet and black, searing the meat before it began to fall. As his sharp black teeth snapped shut around it, Rhaegal's head darted close, as if to steal the prize from his brother's jaws, but Drogon swallowed and screamed, and the smaller green dragon could only hiss in frustration.

"Stop that, Rhaegal," Dany said in annoyance, giving his head a swat. "You had the last one. I'll have no greedy dragons."

The dance in a nutshell. The black dragon takes the prize and Dany swats the greedy green dragon.

Dany will kill Aegon. I think in dragon combat, perhaps in a parallel of Daemon and Aemond over the Gods Eye.

He had to get down on his knees to gather up the books he'd dropped. I should not have brought so many, he told himself as he brushed the dirt off Colloquo Votar's Jade Compendium, a thick volume of tales and legends from the east that Maester Aemon had commanded him to find. The book appeared undamaged. Maester Thomax's Dragonkin, Being a History from Exile to Apotheosis, with a Consideration of the life and Death of Dragons had not been so fortunate. It had come open as it fell, and a few pages had gotten muddy, including one with a rather nice picture of Balerion the Black Dread done in colored inks. Sam cursed himself for clumsy oaf as he smoothed the pages down and brushed them off.

The Jade compendium may represent Rhaegal, him being the green dragon, and Balerion is drogon. The two falling together to the ground, Balerion into the mud may represent the two dragons colliding and falling to earth together. Rhaegal may die setting up an ice dragon resurrectiono later down the track, but I think both dragons will live, Drogon injured as the page fell into the mud, Rhaegal fine as the book was undamaged. Aegon will die or be so seriously wounded that he will eventually die. Dany will be ok.

However it happens, Dany will kill Aegon, and I believe Rhaegal will end up in the pit in KL, as Drogon and Viserion will when they're not being ridden.

Tyrion takes the West and at some point Jaime, he brings the Usurper's dog to Dany in KL, she sentences him to death, Tyrion has a change of heart and helps Jaime escape.
Tyrion taking the West may be a dragon team effort, paralleling the field of fire. I doubt Jaime will be there, rather I expect he'll be sitting the Dance out in the Riverlands until needed. Viserion vs Lannisters.

The dragon came down between the Dornishmen and the door with a roar that would have sent a hundred lions running.

Viserion/Tyrion vs Jaime.

Her hair had burned away in Drogo's pyre, so her handmaids garbed her in the skin of the hrakkar Drogo had slain, the white lion of the Dothraki sea. Its fearsome head made a hood to cover her naked scalp, its pelt a cloak that flowed across her shoulders and down her back. The cream-colored dragon sunk sharp black claws into the lion's mane and coiled its tail around her arm, while Ser Jorah took his accustomed place by her side.

The white lion pelt represents Jaime as he is a KG Lannister. Tyrion will bring Jaime (alive) to Dany in KL, it may be his way of "buying" back in with Dany after not being a particularly effective ally to her during the dance, Jaime may be to Tyrion as the Targ children were to Tywin.

"By what right does the wolf judge the lion?

True to his course Jaime will face judgement for another previous evil. Jaime believed Ned had no right to judge him, but Aerys was Dany's father and so Jaime will not be adverse to confessing the whole truth of the matter before her. The dragon does have a right to judgement in this case. Barristan may hate Jaime but he will not lie, if he's still around he will have to vouch for the possibility of Jaime's story, that Aerys was made for wildfire and his pyromancers. Tyrion will now know why all the wildfire was under the city, and any KL resident can vouch for there having been abundant amounts of the substance used during Blackwater. The truth of the matter will be clear enough, but Dany will still sentence him to death.

That night Tyrion Lannister dreamed of a battle that turned the hills of Westeros as red as blood. He was in the midst of it, dealing death with an axe as big as he was, fighting side by side with Barristan the Bold and Bittersteel as dragons wheeled across the sky above them. In the dream he had two heads, both noseless. His father led the enemy, so he slew him once again. Then he killed his brother Jaime, hacking at his face until it was a red ruin, laughing every time he struck a blow. Only when the fight was finished did he realize that his second head was weeping.

Tyrion will have identity issues. Is he fire and blood Targaryen or a lion like his brother and father? Will Jaime dying bring him satisfaction or despair?

"I dreamed about the queen," he said. "I was on my knees before her, swearing my allegiance, but she mistook me for my brother, Jaime, and fed me to her dragons."
"Let us hope this dream was not prophetic.

In his dream Dany mistakes Tyrion for Jaime because Jaime is a part of him, he contributed to who he is, to kill Jaime is to kill part of Tyrion.

If Tysha re-emerges Tyrion will have to decide to acknowledge their marriage, or not, say it never happened or that it was properly annulled. Tyrion now has a wife of a rank that well fits whatever position he holds as well as aspires to. The Lords of Westeros would not take well to him having a commoner for wife. He will deny her, and in doing so will have to ackowledge Tywin was right in his lesson, although not the method. The gang rape Jaime said he didn't know Tywin had intended, and there's no real reason to doubt Jaime in this, and the gang rape Tyrion took part in himself making him more culpable than Jaime. If Tyrion acknowledges the lesson was correct and Jaime had no knowledge of the method, it stands to reason Tyrion is more to blame than Jaime in the whole ordeal. A conclusion Tyrion may well reach.

Tyrion will have a change of heart and help Jaime escape the mad queen's justice. In doing so he will be one of Dany's treason, I believe for blood, but it could be construed as for love as well and perhaps gold if Jaime's association with gold is considered.

When Tyrion betrays Dany he will complete the Viserys parallel. As it was with Viserys, Dany will ponder if he betrayed her or if she betrayed him, but on this occasion the question will actually make sense.

[chrisdaw]

The arcs and reuniting of Sansa and Arya (and Sandor)

Arya's arc presently
Under all her identities Arya is a lost soul. She yearns to be the wolf and for her pack and in her dreams she feels whole. But in life she believes her wolf pack are all dead leaving a hole inside her, and so she yearns for vengeance. She follows the FM teachings for a lack of any other direction in her life but through all their aggressive attempts she hasn't come to embrace their ethos (though she has taken something of mercy from their beliefs), she hasn't forgotten herself, she is still Arya, she just isn't sure who Arya is. She is no-one, lost in fog of Braavos yearning for direction, for a light.

Mercy passed an old man with a lantern walking the other way, and envied him his light. The street was so gloomy she could scarcely see where she was stepping.

Central to Arya's arc is the question of who is she to decide who lives and dies?

The girl was not sorry, though. Dareon had been a deserter from the Night's Watch; he had deserved to die.
She had said as much to the Kindly man. "And are you a god to decide who should live and die? He asked her...
We kill men, but we do not presume to judge them. Do you understand?"
No. She thought. "Yes," she said.

When Ned executes Gared he does so in his capacity as Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North in the name of the King. No-one has invested the right of final judgement to Arya but she has taken it upon herself to make it all the same. If she is morally justified to do so will be a theme that is further explored in her arc when she meets a new Sandor, Lady Stoneheart and likely Jaime.

Sansa's arc as a player
As so aptly described on these boards Sansa's arc is one of pawn to player. Anne Neville to Lucrezia Borgias. The only way is up.

With my wits and Cat's beauty, the world will be yours, sweetling.

It was in KL where the Starks were destroyed by the Game of Thrones and where Sansa was first exposed to and made victim of the game. It is the capital of political manoevring, where the action is thickest, fiercest and has the greatest reach. And so it is most fitting that this is where Sansa's arc will return her to see her become the triumphant master player.

While Aegon or Dany control KL, as one or the other will all throughout the Dance, Sansa will not be prosecuted for her alleged involvement in Joffrey's murder. None of them will care. Sansa will be kept honourably as either a high born hostage with relative freedom or simply be established in KL as would not be unappropriate for the wife of an ally. These are the circumstances, time (during the Dance) and place in with which she will begin playing the game.

Sansa will not make a conscious decision to begin playing the game, being in KL about the power brokers it will just come naturally to her to do so.

You’re like one of those birds from the Summer Isles, aren’t you? A pretty little talking bird, repeating all the pretty little words they taught you to recite.

She will instinctually begin to play the game, as that's what she does, learns and repeats. She's passively been taught what to do and what not to do by having watched those around her during the series, and will implement what she has learned instinctively. The inclination towards self preservation will also come instinctively, she will not want to be made the victim again, she will not trust again, and a method of keeping oneself safe in the middle of the political viper's nest is to become powerful oneself. You're a pawn or you're a player.

Once she had loved Prince Joffrey with all her heart, and admired and trusted his mother, the queen. They had repaid that love and trust with her father's head. Sansa would never make that mistake again.

As she will not make a conscious decision to play, she will not have an ultimate goal in mind. She'll just play, and instinctively empower those sympathetic to herself, family and the North. As she goes further, she'll come to see an end goal.

Sansa and Arya reunite, Sandor re-emerges
Sandor will re-emerge, likely with the Faith as a Warrior's Son and as a knight. His arc will further intertwine with Sansa's as he goes about restoring faith in knighthood by generally doing epic goodly things.

Arya's arc also leads back to Sandor at some point. He was on her list, she would have killed him but instead mercilessly left him to die. When she sees him she will at first likely want to kill him, she may even try but fail, Sansa might even interupt. Later she will come to see he is a changed man, a force for good who will fight for her sister and for who her sister cares greatly for. And in this understanding she will be forced to question herself. Questions such as what if she had killed him? What if he had he not gotten this second chance? Has the Faith not proven a better judge than she? Is perhaps her playing judge, jury and executioner not the correct path?

Some way the two sisters will reunite in KL. What sends Arya there specifically I don't know but there's no shortage of targets of her own or that the FM may send her to in the city. The two will reconcile.

In Sansa Arya will find her direction, her light in the fog and her pack. Arya will follow Sansa's lead, and she will lead her down the game of thrones.

Tell me, my lady, do direwolves vote on who should lead the pack?"

No they don't, and the elder among daughters leads.

In each other they will find the complimentary skills required to elevate Sansa, bring down others and not often enough to Arya's liking promote the interests of the North and peel off some small revenge.

"Let me tell you something about wolves, child. When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. Summer is the time for squabbles. In winter, we must protect one another, keep each other warm, share our strengths. So if you must hate, Arya, hate those who would truly do us harm. Septa Mordane is a good woman, and Sansa... Sansa is your sister. You may be as different as the sun and moon, but the same blood flows through both your hearts. You need her, as she needs you... and I need both of you, gods help me."
He sounded so tired that it made Arya sad. "I don't hate Sansa," she told him. "Not truly." It was only half a lie.
"I do not mean to frighten you, but neither will i I lie to you. We have come to a dark and dangerous place, child. This is not Winterfell. We have enemies who mean us ill. We cannot fight a war among ourselves. This willfulness of yours, the running off, the angry words, the disobedience... at home these were only summer games of a child. Here and now, with winter soon upon us, that is a different matter. It is time to begin growing up."

Arya will grow up, they need each other, they will protect each other and they will share each other's strengths.

Sansa's Strengths
Sansa's strength overall is the game, she will come to see the way the board needs to be aligned and be the public face. Specifically she has seen, is learning or posesses the following.

• Endearing herself to her equals in social status, to the point of inspiration.

  Tyrion led Sansa around the yard, to perform the necessary courtesies. She is good at this, he thought, as he watched her tell Lord Gyles that his cough was sounding better, compliment Elinor Tyrell on her gown, and question Jalabhar Xho about wedding customs in the Summer Isles. His cousin Ser Lancel had been brought down by Ser Kevan, the first time he'd left his sickbed since the battle. He looks ghastly. Lancel's hair had turned white and brittle, and he was thin as a stick. Without his father beside him holding him up, he would surely have collapsed. Yet when Sansa praised his valor and said how good it was to see him getting strong again, both Lancel and Ser Kevan beamed. She would have made Joffrey a good queen and better wife if he'd had the sense to love her.

• Endearing herself to the masses. This Sansa saw from Cersei how not to do, and from Marge how to correctly do.
• Love and seduction. Sansa has seen how Littlefinger manipulated Lysa through love. Of seduction she's not there yet, Cersei told her of a woman's other weapons and she coerces Sweet Robert to do as she wishes by promising kisses.
• Using theatrics.

  and slipped a few silvers to Lord Tyrell's army of singers to sing of Ryam Redwyne, Serwyn of the Mirror Shield, and Prince Aemon the Dragonknight. A harp can be as dangerous as a sword, in the right hands. "Mace Tyrell actually thought it was his own idea to make Ser Loras's inclusion in the Kingsguard part of the marriage contract.

  Much of Sansa's original view of the world was formed through stories and songs, through her own experience and LF's example she will understand and use how they can shape the mind of people.
• Playing the victim. Sansa has been a passive victim all series almost, it's kept her alive but hasn't moved her upward. Through LF's use of Lyn Corbray in the Vale she has seen how appearing the victim can manipulate a situation and provide advantage. How LF used Corbray is the first time Sansa puzzles out one of LF's methods for herself.

Arya's Strengths

• Mobility. Unlike Sansa, Arya can move undetected in every social class. Her ability to take faces and use disguises means she can go pretty much anywhere, infiltrate anyone.

  Sansa knew all about the sorts of people Arya liked to talk to: squires and grooms and serving girls, old men and naked children, rough-spoken freeriders of uncertain birth. Arya would make friends with anybody.

• Information collection. Part of Arya's FM training is to collect current information then return to base and recite it for the kindly man.
• Assassination. Not just targetted murder, but achieved in such a way as to look however she wants, accident or another's doing.
• Sword fighting. She can fight.
• Skinchanging. Sansa is a warg but who knows if she'll come into it. It's unclear if Arya can really control what she has skinchanged or if she just sees through their eyes, but there's still time. She can collect information by skinchanging, but by warging Nymeria she would have a small wolf army behind her.

Sansa and Arya and their game of thrones.

Sansa will work it so that Edmure is reinstalled, Jaime will kill Nymeria and Arya has a Stoneheart arc, and kills her.
Sansa will want Edmure reinstated in RR and as lord of the Riverlands. The Red Wedding V2 will happen and Lady stoneheart and the BWB will have taken up residence in the castle. Sansa will send Arya to fix the situation, it will require Arya infiltrate the BWB.

She could stay with Hot Pie, or maybe Lord Beric would find her there. Anguy would teach her to use a bow, and she could ride with Gendry and be an outlaw, like Wenda the White Fawn in songs.
But that was just stupid, like something Sansa might dream.

Arya may take Wenda as her alias.

Mercy, her friend Daena implored, Lady Stork has stepped on the hem of her gown again. Come help me sew it up.

Lady Stork is a play on Lady Stark, and alludes to Stoneheart, she has created a problem Mercy's friend wants her to help fix, as Sansa will implore Arya to fix the Riverun problem.

When she makes it inside the BWB Arya is going to think it's great. Living the life of an outlaw, learning archery by day, hanging Freys by night and generally lounging about with her mother, even if she likely won't reveal herself to Lady Stoneheart. But eventually things are going to get too twisted for even Arya to stomach when they start killing any Frey regardless of guilt, gender, age or them having been happily married to Edmure, for example Roslin, her's and Edmure's child or Elmar.

Lady Stoneheart is an important Arya plot point and will cause her some inner turmoil. In taking Stoneheart's emasure Arya will consider perhaps relentless black and white vengeance is not the path towards a happy life, rather it ultimately leads to a tormented soul. And that while justice in the seven kingdoms is sorely lacking, it is perhaps best left to no-one rather than those with vengeance in their hearts. Arya will come to the decision that the realm has had enough of the undead fire demon's brand of justice, and that she'll give what's left of her tormented mother's soul the gift of mercy.

and then ran for needle and thread so the Snapper could sew the lace hem back onto the cloth-of-gold gown that the queen would wear in the wedding scene.

Arya will fix the problem Lady Stork created with Needle.

She will likely also call in the Nymeria cavalry. Jaime will be there, she'll inadvertently or perhaps even purposely free him, not that he'll know who she is or why or what she's doing, or why a Direwolf and a hundred other wolves turned up. From here Jaime goes gets captured by Tyrion and is brought to Dany for judgement as predicted previously.

Jaime will slay or injure Nymeria at some point and it's likely to be here. As Jaime parallels Sunfyre, Nymeria parallels Grey Ghost as per reasons in the link.
http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/109554-sunfyre-and-jamie-lannister/?p=5823212
Sunfyre killed Grey Ghost. Jaime or Brienne will also kill Lem, or Edric Dayne, Lem is the closest thing we have to the Smiling Knight and someone has to make that parallel. Jaime, Brienne and Pod get out alive, hopefully Ser Hyle too.

Tyrion and/or Jaime when he returns to power will release and reinstate Edmure as Lord of Riverun and the Riverlands. If not because it's the logical thing to do then because Sansa will plant the idea in one of their heads. Roslin will go the way of the Frey, hopefully through childbirth and not by way of Lady Stoneheart, but either way Edmure will need a new bride as per the wedding scene in the Mercy foreshadowing. Sansa will push the idea of Edmure + Jeyne Westerling. Publicly she'll portray it as a way of smoothing over Westerlands and Riverlands enmity, which will be bought by Jaime or Tyrion, but really she's strengthening pro northern sentiment.

It will likely be Jaime who does all this as he was the one given the problem of making a match for Jeyne and he has the recollections of how Arthur Dayne dealt with outlaws to mirror. He'll pardon the BWB too after installing a lord the people like.

Arya infiltrates Qyburn's lab.
On her own accord or by Sansa's orders Arya will infiltrate Qyburn's activities for reasons elaborated on further in this post. She will take the place of a test subject and when she has the information she needs she'll escape, likely killing Qyburn while doing so.

Arya infiltrates Aegon's Small Council.
Arya could probably gather information from Aegon's small Council by skinchanging or other covert means, but by taking the identity of one of Aegon's small Council she'll can have a voice, make suggestions and argue for things in her and Sansa's interests. I believe she will take Lady Nym's identity. When Aegon takes KL, Lady Nym will likely go from Tommen's small council to Aegon's.

Arya has a fascination with Queen Nymeria, after whom it's safe to assume Nymeria Sand was named. Arya named her direwolf Nymeria, and has taken the name Nymeria herself before.

"They tell me you are call Weasel. That will not serve. What name did your mother give you?"
....
"Nymeria," she said. "Only she called me Nan for short."

Nan for short, like Nym for short. Perhaps the name association is foreshadowing. The possibility of a fight between two young and skilled female assassins is an interesting prospect.

What the sisters will use their council voice for I'm not sure, but I'm sure they'll find plenty of opportunity to make "useful" contributions. Possibly Sansa will have Arya/Lady Nym push for Tyrion to be legitimised as a Targaryen and/or named as Aegon's heir.

I believe it will all come to an end by Hotah noticing little inconsistencies in Arya's Lady Nym. He is the watcher by GRRM's naming and by trade, of watching Barristan says this.

They were only pit fighters. Hizdahr's fearsome collection of former fighting slaves made indifferent guards at best. Speed and strength and ferocity they had, and some skill at arms as well, but blood games were poor training for protecting kings. In the pits their foes were announced with horns and drums, and after the battle was done and won the victors could have their wounds bound up and quaff some milk of the poppy for the pain, knowing that the threat was past and they were free to drink and feast and whore until the next fight. But the battle was never truly done for a knight of the Kingsguard. Threats came from everywhere and nowhere, at any time of day or night. No trumpets announced the foe: vassals, servants, friends, brothers, sons, even wives, any of them might have knives concealed beneath their cloaks and murder hidden in their hearts. For every hour fighting, a Kingsguard knight spent ten thousand hours watching, waiting, standing silent in the shadows. King Hizdahr's pit fighters were already growing bored and restive with their new duties, and bored men were lax, slow to react.

To the right of the twin thrones stood Goghor the Giant, a huge hulk of a man with a brutal, scarred face. To the left the Spotted Cat, a leopard skin flung over one shoulder. Back of them were Belaquo Bonebreaker and the cold eyed Khrazz. Seasoned killers all, thought Selmy, but it is one thing to face a foe in the pit when his coming is heralded by horns and drums and another to find a hidden killer before he can strike.

Hotah well knows Lady Nym and how dangerous she is as per his thoughts in the series.

The envoy from the Seven Kingdoms had taken two of his guards into his box to stand behind him and the Black Pearl, but the other two had been posted just outside the door to make certain he was not disturbed. They were talking quietly in the Common Tongue of Westeros as she slipped up silently behind them in the darkened passage. That was not a language Mercy knew.
...
Fuss and feathers, Mercy thought, they only know the Common Tongue. That was no good. Give it up or go ahead. She could not give it up. She wanted him so bad. “I know your tongue, a little,” she lied, with Mercy’s sweetest smile. “You are lords of Westeros, my friend said.”

Here Arya pushes the boundaries of what her character should know. I propose she either does so again or simply makes small mistakes that the watcher picks up on. He then foils an assassination attempt or simply Arya going about her Lady Nymeria business.

Arya infiltrates Dany's Small Council.
Dany will at some point take KL from Aegon and sit the IT. Arya likely won't be too keen on killing a child, Missandei will probably have to earn her mercy like Pate did. She will do so for something relating to Marselen. As Missandei Arya will spur Dany on in making more unpopular decisions. And possibly try and get Tyrion legitimised as a Targ and/or named heir here too.

Arya and Sansa help bring down the mad Queen through an information and misinformation campaign.
Arya will probably like Dany, a Nymeria with dragons, but she will do as her sister wills, albeit begrudgingly.

King's Landing and the realm will have little love for Dany as per reasons here.
http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/111504-reasons-westeros-could-turn-on-dany/
Littlefinger taught Sansa the power of rumours and song, and Arya will have finished her mummers training and is at ease amongst entertainers, together they will work to amplify the population's loathing of the mad queen. They'll function much the same way many readers believe Varys did when they attribute the KL puppet show about the arrogant lions that get devoured by a dragon as his doing.

There will be the usual rumours, about how Dany enslaves men with her beauty, devouring their souls, takes multiple lovers to her bed, bathes in the blood of maidens to maintain her beauty and such. They'll play up the heretical red god angle, have it said greyscale is a curse from the gods to punish Westeros for being ruled by a heretic, but the most potent rumours will be those about specific events in KL.

When Jaime confesses why he murdered Aerys, and Dany sentences him to death, a decision she likely comes to with Arya's help, the sisters will make sure the whole city knows. They'll position Jaime as the saviour of the city from the mad king through rumour and song, and Dany as the mad king's daughter come to finish his work.

When Tyrion frees and helps Jaime escape, if rumours don't start themself, then the sisters will likely create rumours that the Golden Son is going to return to save the city from the daughter as he did the father. They'll likely do the same for Tyrion, that he'll come to avenge Aegon and make amends for his sins by saving the realm from Dany.

The Unsullied will guard KL as they do Meereen, Arya will likely assassinate patrols.

As Sansa has learned the power of being perceived as a victim she'll likely have it told how Dany is mistreating her.

When Helaena committed suicide rumours spread that Rhaenyra had her killed. I think a parallel with Arianne is likely. Arianne gets herself killed somehow, possibly trying to take a dragon from the pit similar to how Quentyn died. When she dies Arya and Sansa will be there to make sure the rumours are of how the mad queen fed her to her dragons.

Arya keeps tabs on Tyrion for Sansa.
Sansa will likely want to keep an eye on Tyrion, if for no other reason than to make sure he's keeping up the appearance of dutiful matrimony as the Seven intended to contrast with the wicked ways of Cersei's court. I believe this passage foreshadows Arya doing the watching.

[chrisdaw]

Aftermath in KL.

In the aftermath of Dany's removal Jaime and the Faith will restore order and Cersei will believe it's her time to rule again.
In the aftermath comes the question of who then should rule. The High Septon and Faith will hold some power as will Jaime. Jaime will somewhat take responsibility for the city. The city will need to be put to right following the chaos that removes Dany, Jaime and the Faith will do so as there will be no-one else, and Jaime has found the Tywin voice that sees people instinctively fall in step where he leads. Cersei will believe she has beaten the younger more beautiful queen prophesy and that she should resume ruling the land through either Tommen or Myrcella (depending on who still lives). Qyburn will re-emerge as will others who have survived prison in KL while the Dragons ruled the city, like the former KG. While such things as who should sit the throne are being deliberated, cheif among Cersei's concerns will be that Sansa be tried for killing Joff. Cersei will get her way.


Sansa is tried for her alleged role in the purple wedding. It is a trial of Seven, her champions win and defeat Robert Strong who is among those fighting for her accusors.
As the seeds of Bloodraven and the Bloodfyre rebellion were planted in the Dunk and Egg stories to bear fruit in the main series so too has a trial by seven.

Sansa will will take a leap of faith and consent to the trial. One can not become queen with such accusations hanging over their head and it will provide her great PR material. She will go to the HS and declare her wish for a trial of seven. This will seem like suicide to the world, as Robert Strong will stand among her Cersei's champions, but Sansa will declare she has total faith in the Seven to judge her justly.

In reality Sansa will have come too far and will be too close to flee now. She may begin a regular trial and turn to a trial by Seven when Cersei stacks the evidence against her, or she may foresee that occurring and leap straight to the trial of Seven. She will choose a trial of Seven rather than single combat as that will provide more of a chance of victory, Robert Strong will destroy any of her champions in singular combat and most of Cersei's other likely combatants are poorer fighters than who she has planned to fight for her. A trial of Seven will allow her champions to defeat Cersei's other champions and fight Robert Strong together. It will be fitting when the ineptness of the KG knights Cersei has made and bought play a hand in her downfall. In contrast Sansa's team will be filled with heroes and will fight for her by choice, not duty or payment.

How to defeat Robert Strong will be an Arya mission. Robert Strong likely will have spent the Dance languishing in a dungeon some place and require "refuelling". Qyburn's requirement for girls and Arya's talents fit together well. Arya will investigate Qyburn to try and find Ser Robert Strong's weakness, if he has any, so that information can be passed onto her champions.

He saw his father pleading with the king, his face etched with grief. He saw Sansa crying herself to sleep at night, and he saw Arya watching in silence and holding her secrets hard in her heart. There were shadows all around them. One shadow was as dark as ash, with the terrible face of a hound. Another was armored like the sun, golden and beautiful. Over them both loomed a giant in armor made of stone, but when he opened his visor, there was nothing inside but darkness and thick black blood.

Sandor will have re-emerged. His character arc after being soothed of his anger leads straight back to Sansa, his brother and the concept of knighthood. He will likely re-emerge with the Faith as a Warrior's Son, who are said to have been Demonhunters, and he will likely have been knighted by the EB.

If it is Sandor Clegane that we encounter, what would you have me do?"
Pray hard, Jaime thought,

As he lived in anger to kill his brother and was soothed of this affliction he will now seek to end his brother's torment and provide him the mercy which he himself was denied.

He is no true knight, but he saved me all the same. Save him if you can, and gentle the rage inside him.

And as he helped destroy Sansa's concept of a true knight, he will go on to help restore it.

Sandor will parallel Ser Galladon and Florian the Fool.

"Every place has its local heroes. Where I come from, the singers sing of Ser Galladon of Morne, the Perfect Knight."
"Ser Gallawho of What?" He snorted. "Never heard o' him. Why was he so bloody perfect?"
"Ser Galladon was a champion of such valor that the Maiden herself lost her heart to him. She gave him an enchanted sword as a token of her love. The Just Maid, it was called. No common sword could check her, nor any shield withstand her kiss. Ser Galladon bore the Just Maid proudly, but only thrice did he unsheathe her. He would not use the Maid against a mortal man, for she was so potent as to make any fight unfair."
"The Perfect Knight? The Perfect Fool, he sounds like. What's the point o' having some magic sword if you don't bloody well use it?"
"Honor," She said. "The point is honor."
That only made him laugh louder. "Ser Clarence Crabb would have wiped his hairy arse with your Perfect Knight, m'lady. If they'd ever have met, there'd be one more bloody head sitting on the shelf at the Whispers, you ask me. 'I should have used the magic sword,' it'd be saying to all the other heads. 'I should have used the bloody sword.'"
Brienne could not help but smile. "Perhaps," she allowed, "but Ser Galladon was no fool. Against a foe of eight feet tall mounted on an aurochs, he might well have unsheathed the Just Maid. He used her to slay a dragon, they say."

As the Maiden gave Ser Galladon the Just Maid Sansa will bestow on Sandor her protector the sword that shares the name of her fallen Dire Wolf, Lady Forlorn, or he'll already have it and she'll just magic it up. Sandor ever the child protector may end up killing Pedo Corbray himself or it might just wash up on the QI after tragedy befalls Corbray in the Vale. He'll unsheathe it to fight eight foot tall Robert Strong, an immortal opponent. Sansa/Arya investigating Qyburn will result in them learning the "magic" (wildfire maybe?) required for it to beat Robert Strong. Note Crabb uses "bloody" the same as Sandor would, and him calling Galladon a fool fits in nicely with what Florian the Fool says.

Jonquil: You are no knight, I know you. You are Florian the Fool.
Florian: I am, my lady, As great a fool as ever lived, and as great a knight as well.
Jonquil: A fool and a knight? I have never heard of such a thing.
Florian: Sweet lady, all men are fools, and all men are knights, where women are concerned

Jaime will fight for Sansa bringing full circle his vow to Catelyn.

Sansa Stark is my last chance for honor.

Jaime's part parallel Aemon the Dragonknight defended Naerys against slander in a trial. Naerys was his sister, but also his brother's wife as Sansa is the wife of Jaime's brother.

Ser Criston Cole. Criston the Kingmaker had set brother against sister and divided the Kingsguard against itself

By fighting for Sansa Jaime will divide the Kingsguard against itself, though it will not be a particularly even divide.

Jaime will probably cut down many Kingsguard knights, five to be specific as it is the reoccuring number. Although there may be no king at this stage and so they may not be truly KG, just the remnants Cersei picks.

"Have no fear, sers, your king is safe ... no thanks to you. Even now, I could cut through the five of you as easy as a dagger cuts through cheese.

Jaime later has issues cutting his food after he loses his hand and takes a cheeseknife to threaten Roose.

"I learned from Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, who could have slain all five of you with his left hand while he was taking a piss with the right."

That boy had wanted to be Ser Arthur Dayne,

Well Jaime won't be taking a piss with his right.

The Knight of Flowers had been so mad with grief for Renly that he had cut down two of his own Sworn Brothers, but it had never occurred to Jaime to do the same with the five who had failed Joffrey. He was my son, my secret son ... What am I, if I do no lift the hand I have left to avenge mine own blood and seed? He ought to kill Ser Boros at least, just to be rid of him.

In Jaime's dream he is with Brienne and they are attacked by the five ghosts of his dead Kingsguard brothers.

Brienne will fight for Sansa as she swore a vow to Catelyn and carries Oathkeeper, the sword of Ned Stark's own steel and on which she swore she'd keep her safe to Jaime. She will need to be knighted. Oathkeeper will likely stay true to the name and end Robert Strong. I theorise Brienne belongs in the above Bran vision, as she's been the one galloping around the country-side looking for Sansa half the series, only I don't think Brienne as a character was created when GRRM wrote AGOT (there's no reference or foreshadowing of her in AGOT that I'm aware of) and he had originally planned for Jaime to be doing the Sansa chasing.

It was a sword fit for a hero. When she was small, her nurse had filled her ears with tales of valor, regaling her with the noble exploits of Ser Galladon of Morne, Florian the Fool, Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, and other champions. Each man bore a famous sword, and surely Oathkeeper belonged in their company, even if she herself did not. "You'll be defending Ned Stark's daughter with Ned Stark's own steel," Jaime had promised.

Ser Galladon and Florian parallel Sandor, Aemon the dragonknight parallels Jaime, Brienne will fight in their company in the trial.

Beneath the patter of the rain and Dog's barking, she could hear the faint clink of swords and mail from beneath their cloaks. She counted them as they came. Two, four, six, seven. Some of them were wounded, judging from the way they rode. The last man was massive and hulking, as big as two of the others. His horse was blown and bloody, staggering beneath his weight, All the riders had their hoods up against the lashing rain, save him alone. His face was broad and hairless, maggot white, his round cheeks covered with weeping sores.
Brienne sucked in her breath and drew Oathkeeper.

Seven, Brienne thought again, despairing.

She could not fight seven, not alone, even if one or two were wounded.

Here the seven remnants of the Brave Companions that Brienne face foreshadow the trial of Seven. That some are wounded might be a nod to Loras and others. Biter, hulking and twice the size as the others parallels Robert Strong. There is inflected foreshadowing in his face being uncovered and stark white, while Strong is foreshadowed as helmed with black beneath. The maggot description aligns with the thick black blood that is described beneath Robert Strong's helm, both point towards death. Though there are seven, Rorge duels Brienne alone then Biter attacks her when she kills him, so she doesn't fight seven to one.

Podrick Payne will fight for Sansa and Illyn Payne will fight for Cersei. It will be a parallel of the Fossoway cousins in Dunk's trial at Ashford in the Hedge Knight. Podrick is the good Payne as Raymun was the good Fossoway. Illyn the bad Payne like Steffon the bad Fossoway. Pod will be knighted to fight in the trial as Raymun was.

Other possible candidates for Sansa's champions.

• Ser Hyle. Following in Brienne's footsteps.
• Ser Bronn. Suppose he has found the good life unfulfilling and has an actual character arc. He may find it within himself to use his sword for something other than material gain, going up against the Mountain to save Tyrion's wife when he refused to the first time to save his life would be rather fitting. Has prior enmity with Boros and the show seemed to go out of the way to have him and the KG at odd
• Arya. She may put on a face and join the fight, Ser Illyn, Ser Meryn and Gregor are on her list.
• Timett. On Tyrion's behalf. Would need to return to KL from the Mountains of the Moon. Has prior enmity with Boros Blount as per the below quote.
• Shagga, Harwin, Lancel, Blackfish, Tyrion, Lothar Brune, Bonifer Hasty, Yohn Royce, Greatjon Umber.

Possible candidates for Cersei's champions.

• Robert Strong
• Illyn Payne

  While Ser Tanton of the red apple Fossoways climbed on the table and swore to slay Sandor Clegane in single combat. The vow might have been taken more solemnly if Ser Tanton had not had one foot in the gravy boat when he made it.

  As Illyn Payne is foreshadowed by red apple Steffon Fossoway in the Podrick point, so too he is here by another red apple. Steffon had one foot in the gravy boat so to speak, betraying Dunk to fight for the "baddies" because it'd make him "Lord Fossoway" by the end of the day, Illyn will likely also fight for whatever gravy Cersei offers. Likely a lordship also.
• Loras

  "No," the Knight of Flowers said, unamused. "Sansa Stark was the poisoner. You all forget, my sister was drinking from that chalice as well. Sansa Stark was the only person in the hall who had reason to want Margaery dead, as well as the king. By poisoning the wedding cup, she could hope to kill both of them. And why did she run afterward, unless she was guilty?"

• Ser Meryn Trant.
• Ser Boros Blount

  Ser Boros Blount harrumphed. “No man threatens His Grace in the presence of the Kingsguard.” Tyrion Lannister raised an eyebrow. “I am not threatening the king, ser, I am educating my nephew. Bronn, Timmett, the next time Ser Boros opens his mouth, kill him” The dwarf smiled. “Now that was a threat, ser. See the difference?”

  Boros is Tommen's taster. In the Brienne passage Biter's arrival foreshadows Robert Strong but he may perhaps also foreshadow Boros given his name. Biter attacks Brienne and begans eating her, he is slain by Gendry who thrusts a blade through the back of his neck while Biter's mouth is open, Brienne mistakes the blade for his tongue. Perhaps Boros also gets caught with his mouth open and gets killed as per the immediate above by one of Bronn or Timmett.
• Osmund Kettleback, should he make it back out into the world, of which chances increased when Kevan died.
• Balon Swann, should he make it back to KL from Dorne.

Sansa's champions will prevail.

"The gods make japes of all our hopes and plans. I have a champion no man can defeat, but am...

I hope GRRM isn't going full Tolkien here and Brienne, a woman, won't be the one to deliver the final blow to Robert Strong with Oathkeeper. Maybe Pod, a boy.

Robert Strong's less than human state will be revealed and cast serious dispersions on Cersei. Sansa will be elevated in the eyes of the public and particularly the Faith as one of unflinching faith in the Seven. And so continues the younger more beautiful queen's rise and the casting down of Cersei.

[chrisdaw]

A Great Council is called
With Aegon dead, Dany considered an enemy, Stannis a heretic up in the North the question of who should rule will have no obvious answer. No-one will want Cersei to rule again, as she would if one of her children (whichever is still alive) are crowned. With no clear answer, the HS and realm will turn to the mechanism created for this very predicament, a Great Council.

Before the Great Council is declared however, secretly they will first offer it to Jaime in a paralleling of another Aemon Targaryen (the Dragonknight being the other).

"That was the year of the Great Council," he said. "The lords passed over Aerion's infant son and Prince Daeron's daughter and gave the crown to Aegon."
"Yes and no. First they offered it, quietly, to Aemon. And quietly he refused. The gods meant for him to serve, not rule, he told them. He had sworn a vow and would not break it, though the High Septon himself offered to absolve him.

Perhaps the current fanatic HS gets killed off and the new HS will prove more practical and Jaime will seem to him to be the safest best choice to get the realm in order. After it becomes public knowledge why he killed Aerys there's nothing publically against his character, unless he has already admitted to fathering Cersei's children. Whatever the specific circumstances, Jaime will get offered the crown and turn it down.

There is no one else. My brother, Jaime, thirsts for battle, not for power. He's run from every chance he's had to rule.

While the quote's major signifigance lies in being proven wrong in Jaime's becoming Tywin arc and actually assuming the responsibility of ruling, it will ring true as far as the actual crown goes.

A Great Council is the method GRRM has planted by which Sansa's tacit connections to multiple great houses will make her queen. It is the purest form of politics, and so the fitting method of Sansa's ultimate triumph. It's also a numbers game, whoever gets the votes of the most lords wins.

Sansa had never had much of a head for figures.

One of two things are happening here. Like Arya with needlework, Sansa with numbers will (in a way) grow to be adept at what she struggled with as a child. Otherwise Sansa will remain poor with numbers and Arya will shoulder the load of that side of things. We may see a role reversal, with Arya directing Sansa on who she needs to schmooze and win over.

There needs be at least one other contestant for Sansa to thwart. Cersei will likely be the major other party for contesting for the crown at the Great Council through either Tommen or Myrcella depending on if Tommen lives. If Tommen is dead we'll likely see an unholy alliance between Cersei and whatever is left ruling Dorne due to the bettrothel betweem Myrcella and Trystane.

Edmure having been reinstated at RR will bring the Riverlands to Sansa. Whomever Tyrion left as Lord Protector of the Vale (on Sansa's advice or manipulation) will of course vote for their charge's cousin. The North will probably not vote directly, they'll probably not be asked to considering Stannis will still be up there. The Bolton's will likely be dead by now and Sansa will contrive a way to speak for the North as the rightful heir or if Rickon has emerged his rightful protector. Bronn will declare what power he has amassed in the crownlands for Tyrion.

In winning over lords to herself and Tyrion she'll make the argument that dragon rider Tyrion is the realm's best defence against the return of mad Queen Dany. Her trial will also prove substantial promotion, with her becoming the Faith's preference and the preference for those lords with a pious streak, possibly including the likes of Ser Bonifer. It may even win her Highgarden if Willas is lord there. The trial may actually occur during the Great Council if not immediately before.

True to the Kingmaker tag and his arc away from Cersei, Jaime will declare for Tyrion and tell the world he is a father. Partly because he'll want Tyrion to rule, partly because he won't want Cersei to rule and perhaps mostly because he won't want his children to rule.

My place is with my king. With my Son. Would Tommen want to know that? The truth could cost the boy his throne. Would you sooner have a father or a chair, lad? Jaime wished he knew the answer. He does like stamping papers with his seal. The boy might not even believe him, to be sure. Cersei would say it was a lie. My sweet sister, the deceiver. He would need to find some way to winkle Tommen from her clutches before the boy became another Joffrey.

He thought of Myrcella. I would need to tell her too. The Dornishman might not like that. Doran Martell had betrothed her to his son in the belief that she was Robert's blood.

The West will follow Jaime's lead as people ever do, and the dispersions he casts on the parentage of Cersei's children will destroy her cause. The children's parentage may or may not be declared officially, Cersei will say Jaime is lying ofcourse and point to having won her trial, but thanks to Sansa's trial the realm will now know what Robert Strong was and doubt the veracity of the verdict.


Sansa and Tyrion are declared Queen and King, Jaime is made hand and LC of the Kingsguard

King Tyrion

• Tyrion becomes king like his parallel Viserys II.
• Tyrion is elected king by a Great Council as did Viserys I.
• Tyrion is crowned king by the Faith as his alias Hugor Hill was a play on the Seven's first king Hugor of the Hill.
• Tyrion becomes king as his parallel Jaehaerys I.
• Tyrion is crowned king after his nephews are thought or declared illigitimate, continuing the paralleling of King Richard III of England.

When he opened the door, the light from within threw his shadow clear across the yard, and for just a moment Tyrion Lannister stood tall as a king.

"If I were you? I would go west instead of east. Land in Dorne and raise my banners. The Seven Kingdoms will never be more ripe for conquest than they are right now. A boy king sites the Iron Throne. The north is in chaos, the riverlands a devastation, a rebel holds Storm's End and Dragonstone. When winter comes, the realm will starve. And who remains to deal with all of this, who rules the little king who rules the Seven Kingdoms? Why, my own sweet sister. There's no one else. My brother, Jaime, thirsts for battle, not for power. He's run from every chance he's had to rule. My uncle Kevan would make a passably good regent if someone pressed the duty on him, but he will never reach for it. The gods shaped him to be a follower, not a leader." Well, the gods and my lord father. "Mace Tyrell would grasp the sceptre gladly, but my own kin are not like to step aside and give it to him. And everyone hates Stannis. Who does that leave? Why, only Cersei.

When the Great Council is called the situation as Tyrion describes above will not be very different. Aegon will have died, everyone will hate Dany (perhaps she's the new rebel that holds Dragonstone) as they hate Stannis. Jaime will have refused the crown. If Mace lives he's not about to get ahead of Cersei, nor does he inspire the sort of confidence that would see anyone want to help him defeat Cersei. Kevan is dead. So what does that leave? Cersei, as there's no one else. Or is there? In the same manner as the Jaime and Hands quote further below, the character stating the situation is the answer.

Be certain you reach Westeros before my sister falls and someone more competent takes her place."

Cersei will fall, and a more competent Tyrion will take her place.

To Aegon. What a fortunate fellow. Two sisters, two wives, and three big dragons, what more could a man ask for?

The three dragons will be in the pit, Dany will take Tyrion to brother, there's Cersei, Sansa and Tysha. Doubly pertinent if Tysha re-emerges.

Queen Sansa

Aye. Queen you shall be... until there comes another, younger and more beautiful, to cast you down and take all that you hold dear.

And so comes to fruition one of the most major prophesies.

“The only way to keep your people loyal is to make certain they fear you more than they do the enemy.”
“I will remember, Your Grace,” said Sansa, though she had always heard that love was a surer route to the people’s loyalty than fear. If I am ever a queen, I’ll make them love me.

Sansa will make them love her to become queen, and defeat Cersei's method of fear.

• Sansa will be queen as was the Good Queen Alysanne.
• Sansa will be Tyrion's queen just as the Maid brought forth by the Maiden to be Hugor of the Hill's queen. She was supple as willow with eyes like deep blue pools.
• Sansa will be queen as per parallel Anne Neville became queen.

Sansa may take to wearing Robb's KITN crown that Arya looted from Stoneheart.

Hand Jaime
Jaime will be named Hand and LC of the Kingsguard as was his parallel Criston Cole. The culmination of his accepting responsibility and becoming Tywin Lannister arc. There are many instances of foreshadowing relating to Jaime becoming Hand which I'll not list off but for the below.

If Cersei can be put aside, Ser Kevan may agree to serve as Tommen's Hand. And if not, well, the Seven Kingdoms did not lack for able men. Forley Prester would make a good choice, or Roland Crakehall. If someone other than a westerman was needed to appease the Tyrells, there was always Mathis Rowan ... or even Petyr Baelish. Littlefinger was as amiable as he was clever, but too lowborn to threaten any of the great lords, with no swords of his own. The perfect Hand.

As with the Tyrion quote above, the answer to the dilemma is the person pondering it. Likely, all those Jaime listed will have died during the Dance, leaving Jaime himself.

Cersei crazy
This is the point at which if those theories concerning Cersei doing something batshit crazy like trying to burn down KL prove to be correct it will happen. It would be somewhat fitting from Cersei's POV, to try and serve the city the fate that their newly beloved Jaime had saved them from. If she does perhaps Tyrion will have her tongue out with hot pincers and send her to the silent sisters. Especially if it results in the death of one of her children.

"I never liked you, Cersei, but you were my own sister, so I never did you harm. You've ended that. I will hurt you for this. I don't know how yet, but give me time. A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you'll know the debt is paid."

The North

Jon is resurrected by Bran.
As per the Russian folktale the Story of Lyubim Tsarevich and the Winged Wolf Bran will revive Jon. In the story the Winged Wold revives Lyubim the hero with elemental magic after his brothers beray and murder him.
http://www.worldoftales.com/European_folktales/Russian_Folktale_1.html
Theon is likely sacrificed for the event.

The forces of the Other's are imminently close and the factions in the North consolidate behind Jon.
Jon will take reluctantly take responsibility for leading due to there being no-one else who can join all the factions in the North under the one command. The North and Wildlings will more or less come to him for leadership. Communication will be established between him and Bran and Bran will instruct him on what needs doing to save Westeros from the Others. To Jon it will be about the survival of men, not a lordship or crown, he may not even accept any of the titles they bestow on him, but he will lead them.

and told the twins the story of how their great-great-grandsire and namesake Jaehaerys the Old King had flown his dragon north to the Wall to defeat a vast host of wildlings, giants and wargs.

This is foreshadowing Jon's army. There's multiple other instances of foreshadowing of Jon coming into his kingship or army that don't really need going over here.

The North will not play a part in the Dance between Dany and Aegon, or Tyrion's emergence and the immediate aftermath that will see Tyrion and Sansa become king and queen. As such the part of the Northern forces, Roddy the Ruin's Winter Wolves and their Riverland allies foreshadow Jon's march South. Perhaps this episode will be considered still part of the second Dance.

The below factions eventually join Jon.

Northern forces
Robb's will becomes public and the Northern Lords declare Jon King in the North and pledge their allegiance to him.

The Wildlings
Val, Tormund and Mance have a relationship with Jon and influence with the Wildlings, those that are alive will fall into step behind him for the sake of their people.

Dany's forces
Dany comes to learn R+L=J and pledges her allegience to her king.

Those Loyal to Stannis
I have two possible scenarios here resulting in Stannis's forces joining coming under Jon's command.
Stannis dies. Melisandre speaks for Seylse and Seylse speaks for Shireen, Melisandre declares Jon Azhor Azhai and Stannis's forces follow her lead as half are loyal to her and the other half will have no better option. Dany possibly kills him as the slayer of lies.

"Glowing like a sunset, a red sword was raised in the hand of a blue-eyed king who cast no shadow. A cloth dragon swayed on poles amidst a cheering crowd. From a smoking tower, a great stone beast took wing, breathing shadow fire... mother of dragons, slayer of lies..."

Stannis does his last duty to the realm. Dany slays the lie that he is Azor Ahai but does not kill him. Stannis realises the importance of the Northern forces reaching the South and that he can not consolidate them but Jon can. He names Jon his heir (possibly marries him to Shireen if she lives), and takes the black to become Luitenant Commander of the Night's Watch. He mounts a suicide rear-guard of Jon's host against the Others.

The Ironborn
Asha possibly falls in behind Jon and brings with her what Ironborn will heed her call.

Jon and his host march South.
Jon will take his host South fleeing from the Others but also to warn the rest of the realm and prepare a defence. Specifically he may be attempting to achieve the following.

• Run, the wall may have fallen.
• Ally with Southern forces.
• Make it to the Isle of Faces as that may allow Bran more power.
• Arm the forces of man with obsidian, particularly the large quantities at Dragonstone.

  "On Dragonstone, where I had my seat, there is much of this obsidian to be seen in the old tunnels beneath the mountain," the king told Sam. "Chunks of it, boulders ledges. The great part of it was black, as I recall, but there was some green as well, some red, even purple. I have sent word to Ser Rolland my castellan to begin mining it.

• Arm the forces of man with every Valyrian Steel weapon available.

  "So if I can just convince the lords of the Seven Kingdoms to give us their Valyrian blades, all is saved? That won't be hard."

• Dragons. Dany will likely still be Drogonless. Dragons may be the primary reason to head South.

  It was a futile thought. He might as well wish for another thousand men, and maybe a dragon or three.

Taking Dragonstone and being able to ship obsidian will likely be a key objective. Jon will likely send a force by sea using Manderly's fleet, Dany may lead this force.

Jon will take the twins on his way South, seeing an end to Walder Frey if he is not already expired and adding the forces of the twins to his own host. Here's hoping Big Walder doesn't go the way of the Frey and die up North, but rather is part of Jon's routine when he takes the Twins, and by the time Jon is done there Big Walder may have accomplished his life's goal and be Lord of the Crossing.

"The Red Wedding was the Young Wolf's work. He changed into a beast before our eyes and tore out the throat of my cousin Jinglebell, a harmless simpleton. He would of slain my lord father too, if Ser Wendel had not put himself in the way."
Lord Wyman blinked back tears. "Wendel was always a brave boy. I was not surprised to learn he died a hero."
The enormity of the lie made Davos gasp. "Is it your claim that Robb Stark killed Wendel Manderly?" he asked the Frey.
"And many more. Mine own son Tytos was amongst them, and my daughter's husband. When Stark changed into a wolf, his northmen did the same. The mark of the beast was on them all. Wargs birth other wargs with a bite, it is well-known. It was all my brothers and I could do to put them down before they slew us all."

The tall tales about Robb foreshadow what Jon will actually do. Jon, Bran and likely other wargs in Jon's army will make a mess in the twins, and there will be no Wendel to stand in the way of Ghost and Lord Walder.

Lord Forrest Frey and his men were with the Northern forces in the second dance.

[chrisdaw]

The South Respond and War

As always the order on how things occur here is loose.

There will perhaps be an early scouting effort by Tyrion on dragon back which comes to a head at Moat Cailin. Moat Cailin may be important to Jon and/or Bran as it's where the COTF called on the gods to send the hammer of the waters, and this passage may foreshadow a dragon's presence.

And the tall, slender Children's Tower, where legend said the children of the forest had once called upon their nameless gods to send the hammer of the waters, had lost half its crown. It looked as if some great beast had taken a bite out of the crenellations along the tower top, and spit the rubble across the bog.

Tyrion's description of his earlier encounter with Northmen may foreshadow a later encounter, perhaps being knocked off Viserion.

"You hurt your arm," she managed at last.
"One of your northmen hit me with a morningstar during the battle on the Green Fork. I escaped him by falling off my horse."

Torrhen bent the knee to dragons but Jon will not be so inclined, more likely Viserion will cop a weirwood arrow for any early efforts by Tyrion. Jon's march South isn't stopping until he succeeds in his goal.

Jaime will eventually take command of Lannister forces out of the West but they will not arrive in time to defend at the trident. Who leads the forces of the North and why they're marching South will not be immediately known.

Lord Lefford of the Golden Tooth in the first Dance commanded the Lannister army, it's noted his host advanced slowly Eastward due to his old age and infirmity. The significance of this I believe is that the Lannister host raised out of the West will not be fast enough to stop Jon's forces crossing the Trident.

Sansa's and Arya's arcs

When Sansa learns of the Northern threat she will not know who leads them or might think it's Dany. Sandor will go with a force to meet them and she'll send Arya to assassinate someone, Dany, Mel or whoever leads them.

Dogs moved between the tables, trailing after the serving girls. One of them, a black mongrel bitch with long yellow eyes, caught the scent of the chicken. She stopped and edged under the bench to get a share. Jon watched the confrontation. The bitch growled low in her throat and moved closer. Ghost looked up, silent, and fixed the dog with those hot red eyes. The bitch snapped an angry challenge. She was three times the size of the direwolf pup. Ghost did not move. He stood over his prize and opened his mouth, baring his fangs. The bitch tensed, barked again, then thought better of this fight. She turned and slunk away, with one last defiant snap to save her pride. Ghost went back to his meal.

The bitch represents Sandor at Sansa's behest, note there is no actual fight, the bitch backs off. Sandor and Sansa won't actually fight Jon, they'll think better of it when they learn who it is, and back away.

Arya will be getting tired of doing Sansa's dirty work, especially killing people she has no personal quarrel with. She will not have found much meaning or fulfilment in the work. She wouldn't have really cared much for Sansa becoming queen, and now she is queen Arya still finds herself being sent to kill with no end in sight. When she comes to do this last assassination she'll learn Jon leads the Northern forces and why he's marching South and she'll abandon her mission. In Jon's march South Arya will find purpose for everything she and Sansa have done, she'll go back to Sansa to tell her the news.

Or Arya will have gotten so fed up she takes off on Sansa and goes to Dany or Jon on her own accord, she returns to Sansa to prompt her to help Jon.

Sansa will at first be incredulous when she learns Jon leads the Northern army, she will not understand why her bastard brother has marched South to take everything she has amassed from her. But she will come to understand why, with information and prompting from Arya, and likely R+L=J. In the culmination of her arc she will choose her pack and her blood over her crown. She will remember her house words.

Ned and Arya.

"Let me tell you something about wolves, child. When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. Summer is the time for squabbles. In winter, we must protect one another, keep each other warm, share our strengths. So if you must hate, Arya, hate those who would truly do us harm. Septa Mordane is a good woman, and Sansa... Sansa is your sister. You may be as different as the sun and moon, but the same blood flows through both your hearts. You need her, as she needs you... and I need both of you, gods help me."
He sounded so tired that it made Arya sad. "I don't hate Sansa," she told him. "Not truly." It was only half a lie.
"I do not mean to frighten you, but neither will i I lie to you. We have come to a dark and dangerous place, child. This is not Winterfell. We have enemies who mean us ill. We cannot fight a war among ourselves. This willfulness of yours, the running off, the angry words, the disobedience... at home these were only summer games of a child. Here and now, with winter soon upon us, that is a different matter. It is time to begin growing up."

The foreshadowing goes deeper than Sansa and Arya and onto Jon and Sansa. The enemy are the Others, the dark and dangerous place is the Long Night. On Arya's prompting Sansa will come to see the necessity of casting aside her summer squabbles, her game of thrones, and not fighting a war among wolves. She will choose Stark and will act in the interest of the pack surviving.

Sansa about Tyrion.

He's still a Lannister, her brother and Joff's uncle, and no friend. Once she had loved Prince Joffrey with all her heart, and admired and trusted his mother, the queen. They had repaid that love and trust with her father's head. Sansa would never make that mistake again.

She'll use Tyrion, but he's still a Lannister (maybe), and she'll not make the mistake of allowing him to take Jon's head if she can help it.

Tyrion is betrayed by Sansa and RR and the houses that stay loyal to Edmure arrive on the field and fight for Jon.

Mercy, boomed Izembaro the Great himself, what have you done with my crown, girl? I cannot make my entrance without my crown. How shall they know that Im a king?

The KITN crown Arya will take from Lady Stoneheart will come to represent Sansa's will that the Riverlands and maybe Vale declare for Jon. She will send Arya with the crown and a message so that they may know her intentions that Jon be their king. The crown will prove particularly persuasive for Ser Brynden who opposes the idea of fighting for Jon.

The Tully garrison departed the next morning, stripped of all their arms and armor. Each man was allowed three days' food and the clothing on his back, after he swore a solemn oath never to take up arms against Lord Emmon or House Lannister. "If you're fortunate, one man in ten may keep that vow," Lady Genna said.
"Good, I'd sooner face nine men than ten. The tenth might have been the one who would have killed me."
"The other nine will kill you just as quick."

TheTully men will take up arms against House Lannister again, and Jaime will be killed or captured in the battle.

Tyrion and Joffrey.

"I'm punishing her."
"For what crime? She did not fight her brother's battle."
"She has the blood of a wolf."

Sansa does have the blood of a wolf and will in a way fight one of her brother's (well cousin really) battles.

King Richard III was (allegedly and famously) betrayed at the Battle of Bosworth by his own forces. Tyrion will likewise be betrayed by his own supposed forces, those with First Men and/or Northern sympathies, and more loyalty to Sansa than him. Sansa will have the Vale and/or Riverland force declare and fight for Jon. Richard was killed in the battle but I do not think Tyrion will die, or if he does he will not stay dead.

In the first Dance the Riverlands and Northern forces win the Battle by the Lakeshore against a Lannister host. The battle is called Fishfeed, foreshadowing the Tully forces and likely Ser Brynden with Jon's forces when they destroy the Lannister host. The Northern and Riverland forces then win the Battle at the Stony Ridge where Criston Cole is killed.

After the betrayal Sansa may do a runner, take some jewels, assume an identity no-one cares to notice as she learned how to do when she became Alayne, and leave it all behind. Basically as Jaime suggests.

if the gods are good, she'll forget she was a Stark. She'll wed some burly blacksmith or fat-faced innkeep, fill his house with children, and never need to fear that some knight might come along to smash their heads against a wall."

To Essos, Lys or another free city as an anonymous woman. Perhaps she meets a blacksmith, perhaps she asks Sandor to go with her, and this time he refuses her. Or maybe he doesn't, we haven't yet been told what becomes of Florian and Jonquil.

Arya will now be working for Jon, she may infiltrate KL and let loose the dragons from the pit, and Drogon may find his way back to Dany himself. Rhaegal may come with him and Jon gets his dragon.

Jaime is defeated

"Using some vile sorcery, your brother fell upon Ser Stafford Lannister with an army of demon wargs, not three days ride from Lannisport. Thousands of good men were butchered as they slept, without the chance to lift a sword. After the slaughter, the northmen feasted on the flesh of the slain."

Another tall tale about Robb. Jon will have wargs in his army and they will destroy a Lannister host. While I doubt he will condone cannibalism, he will have cannibals among the wildlings in his forces, ice river clans and perhaps Skaggs, and he's not Bloodraven to keep an eye on everything that happens. Bran will bring the vile sorcery.

Jaime is captured or killed. Criston Cole, Jaime's parallel was killed by Roddy's Winter Wolves South of the God's Eye. I think Jaime will Jaime be captured or killed by Winter Wolves but some other possibilities rate a mention. I believe Bran will warg the remnants of Nymeria's wolf pack who presently reside around the God's Eye. During a battle he will use the wolves to capture or kill Jaime, bringing full circle Jaime having defeated Nymeria. Alternatively Arya may do the Warging, or Jon, but I don't think they'll be able to mass warg as Bran will (BR can skinchange into multiple birds at the one time it seems, Bran will likely be able to aswell).

Alternatively Ser Brynden defeats Jaime bringing full circle their conversation at the gates of RR. Or Arya defeats him in sword combat. Arya and Jaime are destined to fight as Sunfyre foreshadows Jaime and Arya Moondancer as per here.
http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/109554-sunfyre-and-jamie-lannister/?p=5758520
The dragonknight, Jaime's part parallel, fought Cregan Stark and said he never faced a finer swordsman. That may be foreshadowing Jaime and Arya. Or alternatively Jon himself may foreshadow Cregan and Jon will fight and defeat Jaime himself.

Tyrion raises an army to go North to meet Jon.

and told the twins the story of how their great-great-grandsire and namesake Jaehaerys the Old King had flown his dragon north to the Wall to defeat a vast host of wildlings, giants and wargs.

It's Jon's army and Jaehaerys parallels Tyrion. Tyrion will head North to fight Jon, unsure if he will have a fit and firing Viserion at this point.

Tyrion will raise the Crownlands and Stormlands, it will be the host foreshadowed below in the conversation between Tyrion and Olenna. Bronn will likely be among his bannermen from the Crownlands.

I assumed you would be off leading a Lannister host against some wicked foe."
"A host of dragons and stags. The master of coin must remain at court...

Peace and co-operation is formed by way of a new pact.
If it comes to swords, which I think it will, Jon will smash Tyrion. I think a parallel to The Dance above Harrenhal is inevitable, either Dany vs Aegon or here with Jon vs Tyrion. But eventually, probably after Jon beats Tyrion down or maybe before there is any further bloodshed Jon and Tyrion will talk terms.

Stannis to Jon.

The more we bleed each other, the weaker we shall all be when the real enemy falls upon us.

When the cold winds rise, we shall live or die together. It is time we made alliance against our common foe.

Jeor Mormont to Jon.

When dead men come hunting in the night, do you think it matters who sits the Iron Throne?

As peace was made by a pact between the Children of the Forest and the First Men a great peace will again me made by way of a pact, even if Jon has to beat Tyrion into it. This time the pact will be formed by Jon who loosely represents the First Men and Tyrion who loosely represents the Andals, for the purpose of allying against the common enemy.

As Jaehaerys made a great peace between the Blackwoods of the First Men's old gods and Brackens of the Andal's Seven, Tyrion, Jaehaerys parallel, will form a peace between himself loosely representing the Andals and Jon loosely representing the First Men.

The pact will be reaffirmation of Jon and Tyrion's formed friendship in this scene.

"I don't know what message to send to Bran. Help him, Tyrion."
"What help could I give him? I am no maester, to ease his pain. I have no spells to give him back his legs."
"You gave me help when I needed it," Jon Snow said.
"I gave you nothing," Tyrion said. "Words."
"Then give your words to Bran too."
"You're asking a lame man to teach a cripple how to dance," Tyrion said. "However sincere the lesson, the result is likely to be grotesque. Still, I know what it is to love a brother, Lord Snow. I will give Bran whatever small help is in my power."
"Thank you, my lord of Lannister."
He pulled off his glove and offered his bare hand. "Friend."
Tyrion found himself oddly touched. "Most of my kin are bastards," he said with a wry smile, "but you're the first I've had to friend." He pulled a glove off with his teeth and clasped Snow by the hand, flesh against flesh. The boy's grip was firm and strong.

Tyrion and Jon having met and formed a friendship is foreshadowing of their later mutual co-operation. The significance of brothers is important, Tyrion noting his feelings for Jaime and Jon's desire to help his brothers and that Tyrion help his brothers. In addition to the pact the Northern forces will release or resurrect Jaime and Tyrion will join the resources of the Southern realm to the North to help with Bran's plan to save Westeros. "Flesh against flesh" is significant, in that this time Jon's flesh will be the blackened and dead flesh of a wight.

[chrisdaw]

Bran judges Jaime and his love arc.
True to his arc Jaime requires judgement for his last evil act, pushing Bran out the window.

By what right does the wolf judge the lion? By what right?

For this act the wolf has every right to judge, and so he shall.

Bran has buried what Jaime did to him down deep inside his subconscious, seemingly with BR's urging, I don't believe it's forgotten, rather it is in storage for later use.

Love is somewhat a hidden theme with Bran. Bran understandably has a boyish view on love and romance.

"Some books. I like the fighting stories. My sister Sansa likes the kissing stories, but those are stupid."

But he will move on from there. Meera is a means to further Bran's understanding of love, it's not completely clear but by my interpretation of the following he does believe himself in love with her.

he wondered what Meera would think if he should suddenly tell her that he loved her.

I believe the five year gap would have had Bran and Meera alive and living in the cave while Bran trained. And during that time Bran would have developed a stronger sense of attachment and feeling.

Part of Bran's arc is to accept what he has lost and to put aside his personal desires in pursuit of a more important collective goal. One of the losses he must deal with is that he is not free and in some ways not able to love Meera, it will be a painful lesson.

Bran will learn of love and the foolish things people do for love. He will do so through his visions and through Bloodraven. Brynden fought wars and killed kin (partly) for a woman he desired, a sister no less.

Bran is set to discover R+L=J in his visions. In doing so he will discover the foolish things his aunt and the crown prince did for love and what it lead to, the war, the rebellion, the many deaths and the end of a dynasty.

Then there came a brown-haired girl slender as a spear who stood on the tips of her toes to kiss the lips of a young knight as tall as Hodor.

Given Bran's love of Knights I believe he will take a special interest in Dunk. I think he'll come to learn a lot about love from Dunk.

Jaime having been defeated (and perhaps killed) will be judged by Bran. Bran will consider the crime.

The man looked over at the woman. "The things I do for love," he said with loathing. He gave Bran a shove.

How it happened.

And what Bran remembers.

A face swam up at him out of the grey mist, shining with light, golden. "The things I do for love," it said.

"Help me! he cried. A golden man appeared in the sky above him and pulled him up. "The things I do for love," he murmured softly, as he tossed him out kicking into empty air.

The line, the reason, is solid in Bran's memory.

Eddards speech, bolding mine.

"He does," his father admitted. "As did the Targaryen kings before him. Yet our way is the older way. The blood of the First Men still flows in the veins of the Starks, and we hold to the belief that the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man's life, you owe to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.
"One day, Bran, you will be Robb's bannerman, holding a keep of your own for your brother and your king, and justice will fall to you. When that day comes, you must take no pleasure in the task, but neither must you look away. A ruler who hides behind paid executioners soon forgets what death is."

Bran will sit in judgement of Jaime, and when he does he will look through his eyes and understand why Jaime did it. He will consider what others have done for love, and most pertinent what he himself might do for love given the chance. Or, perhaps, ickily, what he has done by that time. Bran is skinchanging Hodor when he thinks this line.

he wondered what Meera would think if he should suddenly tell her that he loved her.

And later.

I could put on Hodor's skin, he thought. Hodor could hold her and pat her on the back. The thought made Bran feel strange, but he was still thinking it when Meera bolted from the fire, back into the darkness of the tunnels.

No one must ever know.

Truly.

Regardless of if Bran has first hand experience of what one might do for love or not, he will look through Jaime's eyes and consider the crime and all that he's learned of love, and not be able to swing the sword, he will decide he does not deserve to die. And so Jaime will be released (or resurrected) as part of the pact.

And almost certainly die heroically fighting the Others anyway after he's done inseminated the Jaime legacy capsule called Brienne. If the NW still exists Jaime may be forced to take the black as part of his release rounding out the Aemon parallels.

Preparations are made for the Others arrival, the war for the dawn.
Dany's dream foreshadows such a battle between the Others and humans at the trident.

That night she dreamt she was Rhaegar, riding to the Trident. But she was mounted on a dragon, not a horse. When she saw the Usurper’s rebel host across the river they were armored all in ice, but she bathed them in dragonfire and they melted away like dew and turned the Trident into a torrent. Some small part of her knew that she was dreaming, but another part exulted. This is how it was meant to be. The other was a nightmare, and I have only now awakened.

Regular preparations likely include shipping obsidian from dragonstone, calling all banners and collecting all valyrian steel and creating more if possible. Tyrion will possibly also be able to import food and glass from the sister cities. At this stage powerful magic will be loosed, I consider the following good possibilities.

• Bran resurrects Jaime.
• Bran raises a new wall on the South side of the Trident.
• Bran uses the hammer of the waters on the Others. The quote of Dany's dream references the trident turning into a torrent, this may represent the hammer of waters. In the chapter Arya crosses the trident there is a watcher in a tower Arya supposes is Lord Roote. The name Roote may foreshadow Bran in this instance. Arya notes of him,

  "He doesn't look much like a lord. But then, she didn't look much like a lady either".

  In calling down the hammer of waters Bran may bring with it Krakens foreshadowed in this passage.

  Then she saw it: an uprooted tree, huge and dark, coming straight at them. A tangle of roots and limbs poked up out of the water as it came, like the reaching arms of a great kraken.

  The event could potentially divide the realm into a more even set of two lands, ripe for an ending with a Northern kingdom comprised of the North, part of the Riverlands and Vale, and a Southern kingdom of all else.
• Bran resurrects a dragon which becomes an ice dragon. If Rhaegal is killed at the Gods Eye in combat between Dany and Aegon, as per Aemond and Daemond, Bran may revive it.
• Bran brings trees to life or camouflages warriors in in bark and leaves like the COTF hunters.

------------------------
Tidbits edit in
ARYA FIGHTING DROGON OR MAYBE AVOIDING HIM TO LET THEM LOOSE
ARYA FIXES HORN WITH BLOOD
BARRY FIGHTING DRAGON
SANDOR FIGHTING DRAGON
ARYA FIGHTING JAIME

[northernwarg]

^^ Thoroughly enjoyed reading your essays. Great consideration of foreshadowing. Creative extrapolation at its best. I mean this as a compliment. I can't really see Arya staying long in KL, the, though. Just doesn't seem her natural habitat. Maybe as one of the common folk, or in the kitchens gathering information that way. Anyway great post.

[elwhappochachee]

Three treasons you will know, once for Blood, once for gold, and once for Love

IMO I think that for LOVE could be two things,

1.Barristan loves Aegon Believing him to be real, and feels he needs to leave dannys services to join 'Rhaegars Sons Forces'.

2. When/IF Victarion betrays Danny it will be for love because of either he learns to love her and steal her away as is his plan, or what he does, he does in the name of love for his wife that he beat to death that he has mentioned.

The reason for gold I think is when Jorah Betrayed her to claim his reward which is a pardon but it could be symbolic

For blood I think it could be tyrion trying to get revenge when he intends to fufill all his debts he has to pay which will end in blood.

[Urien the Ragged]

Three treasons you will know, once for Blood, once for gold, and once for Love

IMO I think that for LOVE could be two things,

1.Barristan loves Aegon Believing him to be real, and feels he needs to leave dannys services to join 'Rhaegars Sons Forces'.

2. When/IF Victarion betrays Danny it will be for love because of either he learns to love her and steal her away as is his plan, or what he does, he does in the name of love for his wife that he beat to death that he has mentioned.

The reason for gold I think is when Jorah Betrayed her to claim his reward which is a pardon but it could be symbolic

For blood I think it could be tyrion trying to get revenge when he intends to fufill all his debts he has to pay which will end in blood.

I think Barristan would more likely be the betrayal for blood, as Aegon is the true King.

In any case, I think you're thinking about it the wrong way. Betrayal for "Blood" wouldn't be a betrayal for violence, but a betrayal for some kind of blood relationship.

[Urien the Ragged]

And anyway, anyone who thinks Tyrion will be anything more than an incidental betrayal hasn't been paying attention to the last 5,000 or so pages of story. Tyrion won't do that and Martin hasn't spent 20 years developing a character just to completely change him at the near end.

[chrisdaw]

Becoming Tywin

Tywin's influence is set to come full circle in the lives of the Lannister brothers.

Jaime's Tywin influence relates to the acceptance of responsibility, Tywin was pushing him to accept responsibility for House Lannister, but Jaime will go one better than that and do as his father did and take responsibility for the realm. He has started down that path already, taking responsibility for restoring the King's peace and internally considering who should rule and contemplating removing Cersei from rule and influence over his children. He'll continue down the path, not because he'll particularly want to, but because he'll come to understand he is the best person (left) to do so, and he'll actually care enough to not just walk away and leave the realm to Cersei or unfit children.

Gutter edits as I want to preserve the original time stamps. On Jaime becoming Tywin TWOIAF gives us two new little nuggets. Post Genna's quote about Jaime not being Tywin Jaime settles the RR siege and Blackwood/Bracken siege.

In settling the RR siege Jaime threatens Edmure with an ultimatum and has a bard play him The Rains of Castamere. The TWOIAF has it that Lord Tywin was rumoured to have done the same to Lord Denys.

The tale, oft told, that Lord Tywin sent his bard to deliver the ultimatum, and commanded him to sing "The Rains of Castemere" for Lord Denys and the Lace Serpent is a colourful details that is, alas, unsupported by the records.

Jaime settles ongoing the Bracken/Blackwood siege, the trading hands of a mill is the money item. TWOIAF has Tywin settling a Bracken/Blackwood dispute over a mill (but being overwritten by Aerys).

When Lord Tywin adjudicated a border dispute between House Blackwood and House Bracken in favour of the Blackwoods, His Grace overruled him and gave the disputed mill to Lord Bracken.

Two happy little nods towards Jaime following in his father's footsteps.

On another related note.

"My brother is undoubtedly arrogant," Tyrion Lannister replied. "My father is the soul of avarice, and my sweet sister Cersei lusts for power with every waking breath. I, however, am innocent as a little lamb. Shall I bleat for you?" He grinned.

Now the real point to this quote I believe is that Tyrion is in fact a combination of all three vices he describes in his family. But I want to make a point of Jaime's arrogance and how it relates to his arc and becoming Hand.

Jaime was undoubtedly arrogant as Tyrion says. Jaime himself thinks as much when he reflects on Loras. But he loses a hand, loses Cersei and is on a journey of accountability which I believe will end most fittingly with him becoming Hand.

We think of the Hand as a powerful position, which it is. But in the most basic form, as Aerys was wont to remind Tywin, the Hand is a position of servitude. The ultimate position of servant in and of the realm. The King shits, the Hand wipes. Tywin is a prime example, he held the position and by pretty much all accounts did a good job for about two decades, all the while eating shit from Aerys.

Becoming Hand, the first servant of the realm, will be the fitting conclusion of Jaime's arc of arrogance.

[The Black Adder of Dorne]

Some nice fanfiction there chrisdaw. I like some of these predictions and see some others as stretches. We'll just have to see how it does play out. The bone I have to pick is:

Dany takes Tyrion to brother.

Tyrion will ride Viserion and there won't be any hell horn shannanigans involved. This will be puzzling to Dany.

Dany is a proud Targaryen, and it's an agreed fact in the world of ice and fire that dragon blood is required to ride dragons. Dany won't understand how trueborn Lannister Tyrion could become Viserion's rider. Enter Barristan to fill her in on Aerys's lust for Joanna and Tywin's overseas trips. Dany will put two and two together and get four, or five, rightly or wrongly she'll conclude Tyrion is her bastard brother. Tyrion will ride the dragon named for Viserys and become Dany's new brother, just like Viserys.

And yet she believes Aegon is an impostor, except he also rides a dragon. So too Victarion who is quite clearly not a Targ. Perhaps you think Vic will use the horn to tame Viserion. I don't beause "Euron's gifts are poisoned".

[chrisdaw]

A Blackfyre is still of her blood. Horn shenanigans for Victarion if he is the intermittent rider.

[The Black Adder of Dorne]

A Blackfyre is still of her blood.

No more so than Quentyn was, and by this time she will know Quentyn was not worthy of a dragon, having failed so badly at taming one.