(possibly crackpot) theory of Lightbringer/Azor Ahai

[HoboJed]

edit: Please read my second post after reading this one. It provides additional possibilities for those not happy with Jaime being AAR.

After much thought and shuffling of things around, I think I've come up with a theory that not only plays into various prophecies and old stories, but also satisfyingly completes several story arcs AND makes sense within the story (regardless of prophecies, etc).

So, the basic idea is:

• Gendry re-forges Oathkeeper.
  
• Brienne returns Jaime to Lady Stoneheart.
  
• One of the BWB (perhaps Lem) is tasked with killing Jaime with the sword, but Brienne jumps in during the fight and takes a fatal sword wound, but it is to no avail and Jaime is also killed.
  
• Thoros of Myr resurrects Jaime, believing he will be a better leader for the BWB than Stoneheart.
  
• Jaime gets a hold of the sword and thrusts it into Lady Stonehearts heart.
  
• The sword catches fire and Thoros of Myr recognises it as Lightbringer.
  
• Jaime becomes the new champion of the BWB.
  

Reasoning

So lets start with the two Azor Ahai prochecies:

"There will come a day after a long summer when the stars bleed and the cold breath of darkness falls heavy on the world. In this dread hour a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword. And that sword shall be Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, and he who clasps it shall be Azor Ahai come again, and the darkness shall flee before him."

"When the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt to wake dragons out of stone."

The key parts I want to focus on here are "draw from the fire a burning sword" and "wake dragons out of stone". Now, these two parts appear in the same part of the two different versions of the prophecy, and I suspect that they may be analogous. What I mean here is that rather than Lightbringer being an analogy for dragons as some people suspect, I'm suggesting that "dragons" is a metaphor for Lightbringer (it is the power of dragons in sword form).

So if both parts are related to Lightbringer, then we are left with what seems to be an inconsistency of what it will come from; stone or fire? This is where Lady Stoneheart comes into play. Not only is she is now called Stoneheart, but she has been resurrected with the fire of R'hllor (who, as we know, is who Azor Ahai is the champion of).

But what about Nissa Nissa, I hear you cry? Surely Brienne would be Jaime's Nissa Nissa? Well, here's the thing... we've all just assumed that the reason Nissa Nissa's sacrifice created Lightbringer was because of his love for her. Nowhere in the text does it say this. Besides, nowhere else are we shown that love has any magical properties in this world. A far more likely explanation is that, like Catelyn, Nissa Nissa had the fire of R'hllor in her, and it was that fire that allowed her soul to bind with the sword.

Further more, this is foreshadowed during the burning of the seven at Dragonstone. Stannis pulls his "Lightbringer" out of the heart of the burning Mother. Who is the mother currently associated with R'hllor? Catelyn.

So that covers why I think Lady Stoneheart will be the catalyst for the creation of Lightbringer, but why are Jaime and Brienne involved in this? Well, other than the simple fact that they are the two people with most reason to kill her right now, there are further hints. First of all, lets look at the story of Lightbringer's creation (just giving an outline here, as it is long):

1) After it is forged for the first time, tempering it in water fails and breaks the sword.

2) After forging it the second time it is tempered in lion's blood, but that also fails and breaks the sword.

3) After forging it for the third time, Azor Ahai thrusts it through Nissa Nissa's chest and it becomes Lightbringer.

So, I've already discussed part 3, but what of the other two parts? Well, I believe (like a lot of things in Ice and Fire), it has multiple meanings. Lets first look at the sword itself. It was originally called Ice, which is the frozen form of water (not to mention that when you temper a sword in water, you will have ice in the water... a fact mention in an passing comment in aDwD). Ice was then reforged (read: "broken") into two new swords. These swords are blood red and are covered in lion symbology (read: "lion's blood"). Not to mention one of the swords is called "Widow's Wail" (read: "death of spouse"). The other part of that sword (Oathkeeper) is probably currently held by the BWB, who not only will not be too fond of its current appearance, but also conveniently have a highly talented smith who apprenticed for the guy who reforged Ice. It seems incredibly likely that it will be reforged again.

As I said, I believe the Lightbringer story has multiple meanings. So now let us look at the people associated. First up is Brienne. Brienne comes from Tarth which is described as beautiful, and is known for its blue waters (which is why it is called the Sapphire Isle). Brienne is known as both Brienne the Beauty and Brienne the Blue. Brienne is water. Second is Jaime. Jaime is a Lannister. The Lannister coat of arms is the lion. Jaime is lion's blood. (As I've already explained, Stoneheart is Nissa Nissa)

But wait, there's more! Going back to the burning of the seven, the Warrior and the Maiden are seen embracing each other as they burn away. Brienne is known as the Maid of Tarth, and numerous references are made of her maidenhood throughout the books. Jaime is the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, and was an exceptional warrior before he lost his hand. After losing his hand he has gained a strong desire to protect all men. Jaime and Brienne are the Warrior and the Maiden and they will die in each others arms.

So now I come around to why this is good for the story arcs of the relevant characters.

Lets start with Brienne. Brienne dies? How can that be good for her story arc!? Because of a few reasons. First of all it parallels with her failing to save Renly. At least this time she gives her life to save her love. Secondly it parallels with the bear pit. Jaime jumped in to save Brienne, so no Brienne will jump in to save Jaime (even if it is doomed to failure). And last, but probably most importantly, she will probably have to break her oath to Catelyn. This is hugely important, as she has (I believe unfairly) judged Jaime on the basis that he broke his oath to protect the king. In he last moments she will also break an oath, thus showing that she has come to realise Jaime's position.

Next is Thoros of Myr. He is clearly very troubled with what is becoming of the BWB. By resurrecting Jaime, he will finally fulfil his role of bringing a true saviour to the people in need.

Gendry (who seems to keep coming up for someone that has yet to have any real importance) will finally show his true purpose in the story by being the man to forge Lightbringer.

And finally we have Jaime. Jaime is clearly on a redemption arc, and what better way to complete it than to end up as the champion of the people? The BWB was meant to be about protecting those who can't protect themselves. Stoneheart has changed that, but they are not beyond redemption. Jaime has pretty much completed his redemption already, but he currently has no cause to fight for. This will be his cause.

I could probably write more on this, but it is getting pretty late here and I'm rather tired...Before I go though, I would point out that I'm not saying that Jaime is necessarily the only Azor Ahai, and that his sword will be the only Lightbringer. As I said, I think a lot of things in the books have multiple meanings, and that means that multiple people could fulfil the prophecy in different ways (with different interpretations).

[winteristheseason]

Interesting thread, though i dont think Jaime is AAR. I also doubt the common folk would respond well to a Lannister as the head of the BWB, seeming it was Lannister bannerman who stirred up a whole world of shit for them, regardless of whether or not he is the 'promised one' of a far away religion.

[jenerationx]

I love, love, love Jaime. He's one of my favorite characters.

That said, I seriously doubt that GRRM's planning to "reward" the person who threw Bran out a window by making him the savior of the world. Especially by once and for all killing that same child's mother, warped version of Catelyn though she might be. Jaime's redemption arc is one of the best things about the series, but his story is going to play out on a smaller stage, imho. He is not traditional hero material and doesn't want to be, and I think he's a better character because of that.

There are other characters, more specifically Dany and Jon, who have fulfilled or are more likely to fulfill parts of the prophecy than I think we'll ever see from Jaime.

[HoboJed]

I can understand reservations people would have of Jaime being Azor Ahai (even if he is just one of many), so I should point out the above theory doesn't depend on Jaime being AAR. I simply chose Jaime as I am a total Jaime fannister. The important parts of the theory are:

• Jaime and Brienne will be killed at the word of Lady Stoneheart.
  
• Oathkeeper (reforged) will be the weapon that kills them.
  
• Someone will kill Lady Stoneheart with the sword.
  

This gives us several possibilities. First and most obvious would be that Brienne would be the one to be resurrected and to kill Lady Stoneheart. Possible support for this could be from Maester Aemon. He said that the promised Prince could be female, and thus believed it was Daenerys. What if that information is meant to prime us for the reveal that Brienne is AAR?

Another possibility is Pod. There seems to be importance to him that we don't know yet. It is totally reasonable to think he would avenge the death of Brienne. Also it would mean one Payne killed Eddard and another (re)killed Catelyn.

Yet another intriguing possibility is Arya. Why Arya? First of all it fits with Aemon's theory as mentioned above, but secondly Arya is clearly associated with the Stranger, who is supposed to bring timely death (which is what Catelyn is clearly cheating). She isn't supposed to kill anyone she knows, but maybe she will claim she doesn't know the woman her mother has become. This would also nicely wrap up Catelyn's story (getting her daughter back, even if not as expected).

If we look back at the burning of the seven, we notice that The Stranger is described as having its hand slowly burned away. Could this be a reference to Arya having Lightbringer? Also, the Stranger is said to be part animal (Nymeria).

The other remaining reference in the burning of the seven is that the father was first to fall. Could Walder Frey (the world's most prolific father) be the father in this respect? If so, that means Catelyn would get her vengeance before her end, and means Walder could be the "water" in the Lightbringer story (rather than Brienne).

So as you can see, there is some wriggle room here, but there is a strong core to it that I suspect is going to pan out.

[jentario]

I think Stoneheart will set up a trial by combat for Jaime, and announce Brienne as her champion (threatening Pod's life and her own should she fail) so she'll prove her loyalty. Then, because she loves Jaime, Brienne would lose intentionally and make Jaime kill her (Nissa Nissa?).

That said, there is the other possibility. THE possibility, in fact. Jaime lets Brienne kill him in the trial to save her life (she fights with Oathkeeper) and Jaime is definitely her Nissa Nissa and also her lion (the prophecy states AA first tried to ignite Lightbringer by stabbing a lion).

That said, I don't know.

Also, I do believe Arya will be the one to kill Stoneheart. She is clearly going to return to the Riverlands at some point (or the whole Nymeria thing with the wolf army would be pointless set up) and it just seems very GRRM-y to me.

[HoboJed]

I'm starting to think that Arya is the one to kill Stoneheart. Mainly because of the parallels with the burning of the seven, but also because of it ending Catelyn's story better.

The problems I have with it though are:

1) Arya is far more likely to use Needle than the reforged Oathkeeper.

2) It hints that both Jaime and Brienne are doomed, and that makes me sad. :(

I'm wondering if Melisandre unknowingly caused the fires to show the future (specifically about this event) when she burned the seven. I need to re-read that chapter to see if there is more to it.

[HoboJed]

Sorry for the double post, but I just went back and re-read the burning of the seven chapter, and wow...

I had forgotten that both the Azor Ahai prophecy AND the Lightbringer story were in that single chapter. It seems to me that the chapter really is meant to be setting the stage for an event coming up. Especially when you realise it contains the following quote:

"A taste of things to come, thought Davos" (stress in original text)

As for other details in the chapter that I've picked up from the re-read... the only mention of The Crone is that she has pearl eyes (not sure what to make of that). As for The Smith, his head falls off. Is Gendry going to lose his head? It mentions The Mother has flames licking up her face. Perhaps a reference to the scars on Catelyn's face?, and it says that The Maiden lay athwart The Warrior, as if to embrace him. Is this Brienne protecting Jaime, or are they dying in each others arms?

If this theory is correct, I suspect it will be one of the major events in tWoW as it would bring together quite a few important characters.

[Queen‍‍‍‍‍‍ Alysanne‍‍™]

Love it!!! I would love that to be twist, of making Jaime ARR rather than most of the obvious candidates.

But I dont know if it would happen.

[Night's Ranger]

if he survives UnCat i will burn the books.Davos has greater possibility then Jaime

[wighty]

i always thought that itwas going to be Jon thrusting his sword thru Lady Stoneheart's heart because of a line from Game.

Something cold moved in her eyes. “I told you to leave,” she said. “We don’t want you here.”

Once that would have sent him running. Once that might even have made him cry. Now it only made him angry. He would be a Sworn Brother of the Night’s Watch soon, and face worse dangers than Catelyn Tully Stark. “He’s my brother,” he said.

[HoboJed]

i always thought that itwas going to be Jon thrusting his sword thru Lady Stoneheart's heart because of a line from Game.

While I have previously associated Jon with The Stranger (part man part animal, and he has burnt his hand, just like The Stranger in the burning of the seven), I just don't see how or why he would travel half way across the country in time for this... unless Stoneheart plans on heading North, which is certainly a possibility.