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Who does GRRM have in mind?


Elaena Targaryen

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There is a SSM (here) with a question about the five year gap and Martin's reply is interesting...

[snip] And there is no gap anymore. "If a twelve-year old has to conquer the world, then so be it."

I thought it would be fun to speculate on who Martin is thinking of here, whether you think it's just an in general statement to prove a point, i.e. that the gap does not matter, or you think he really does plan to have a twelve year old conquer the world, because they originally would have been seventeen.

I thought of Bran at first glance because I thought it was 'saving the world' but with him using 'conquer' instead I had to rethink it, so with that in mind I vote for Arya. Considering everything about who she is and that Arya was one of the first characters created. Who do you think it could be and why?

  • Myrcella - 9

  • Shireen - 11

  • Arya - 11

  • Bran - 9

  • Podrick - 10

  • just an in general statement

This is just something for the data nerds and put in a box for space

To aid us here in the same interview Martin was still firm on it being seven books

Q: How many books?

A: Seven.

To further aid us is a cheat sheet (from the Tower of the Hand) listing ages from the appendix of each book. (Also if you study the list you notice the time span, that AGoT had more time pass during it than the others, so this could add variances as to who it could be because we don't know how slow or fast time will pass in the books yet to be written, but I would bet the books maintain a slower pace)

So I will make a list from this data, that's it's an older report from 2005, right after AFfC was released, so the age could fluctuate a little, that he had this thought in mind, right after writing AFfC, with a firm seven books, I will go off of the ages from the AFfC appendix and go by ages between nine to eleven. (but use whatever makes you happy)

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I think it a general statement that means something more along the lines of "If the characters have to make major acomplishments as children instead of when they reach adulthood, then so be it" because when you look at where Bran, Arya, and Sansa are and the education they are getting, GRRM orininally wanted them to learn alot during that 5 year gap, but now they have to learn a lot better and faster to get where the plot needs them to be. (Jon was also supposed to learn a lot about being a Lord Commander then, but I'm not gonna get into that one...)

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My guess would be Arya.

The Iron bank will contract her as a faceless (wo)man, and she will be sent to kill the Lannisters, Tyrells and the rest of the people on her 'list' as well.

Of course I am a Stannis lover, so that has something to do with my opinion.

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I think GRRM was just using the twelve year olds as an example of how inefective his "five year gap" was a writing strategy. He wanted to show how five years would not mean so much to characters like Dany and Arya, but made no sense to Jon Snow and Cersie. So he abandoned the writing strategy, saying "If a twelve year old has to conquer the world, then so be it. I don't think he was being serious.

But... If I had to choose a little kid to conquer the world...

It would be Rob Arryn surely.

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Interestingly though, does anyone think this is a hint that it's definitely someone from the younger generation who "conquers the world"? I think many of us think that anyway, but the comment could potentially imply that it's not going to be Jaime, Tyrion, Sandor, Doran, etc etc.

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Come on guys, it's obviously Myrcella. She's already defeated the most dangerous man in Dorne in a duel, what could she do next?! She'll have Westeros in flames, the younger and more beautiful queen!

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