Pink Letter crackpottery

[Consigliere]

In a conversation with Jon fake-Rattleshirt hints that Stannis was aware that it wasn't Mance who was burned.

I'm still not convinced that Stannis knew for the following reasons:-

1. If Stannis burns a fake Mance then the first advantage to him not burning Mance disappears i.e. Stannis can't use Mance to bind the wildlings to his cause if the wildlings believe Mance is dead.

2. Mance's knowledge would still be available to him but he doesn't keep Mance around, so that motivation doesn't work either.

Now I'm not ruling out that Mance wasn't involved in the letter but I dont believe that he wrote that letter on his own. To write the letter Mance would need access to paper, ink and a raven trained to fly to CB. One possibility is that Mance colluded with Ramsay to write the letter and the other is that Ramsay tortured the information out of Mance.

[Little and Less]

Hey just notice something.

Its funny how the pink letter only mentions one person by name - Mance Rayder. Everyone else is mentioned via derogatory title - I wonder why that is?

[Lissa Nymeros Martell]

Why would Ramsey acknowledge Mance as a king at all? Shouldn't he have just called him a wildling? The idea of a wildling king is fairly recent. They've had kings in the past but not in generations.

[Blutraven]

Pink Letter per Stannis - "Jon - Stannis here. Not dead. As your King I command you to WF - time to take down the Bastard. Bring NW/Wildings as back up. SB" :drunk:

He tried this line before and it didn't work.

[Light a wight tonight]

I'm still not convinced that Stannis knew for the following reasons:-

1. If Stannis burns a fake Mance then the first advantage to him not burning Mance disappears i.e. Stannis can't use Mance to bind the wildlings to his cause if the wildlings believe Mance is dead.

2. Mance's knowledge would still be available to him but he doesn't keep Mance around, so that motivation doesn't work either.

Now I'm not ruling out that Mance wasn't involved in the letter but I dont believe that he wrote that letter on his own. To write the letter Mance would need access to paper, ink and a raven trained to fly to CB. One possibility is that Mance colluded with Ramsay to write the letter and the other is that Ramsay tortured the information out of Mance.

The spearwives seem to be aware that Mance is still alive, so it's probably an open secret among the Wildlings. Why would Mel do the switch and not tell Stannis? It seems to me that someone was to be fooled, but it's not clear who. The Watch? The Queen's Men?

Paper and ink can be stolen. Alternatively, Winterfell is full of Stark supporters who could give it to Mance. A raven might be more difficult, but if Ramsay can get one there's no reason Mance can't.

Aren't you the least curious about why Mance wanted to know how to get into the crypts? Lady Dustin and then Mance? I'd say there's something important there and it was part of Mance's mission to find it. The Pink Letter may be confirmation that he did, among other things.

[Roadside Rose]

Sorry that this is a half-formed idea, but here it is, very incomplete:

The pink letter was a coded message from Mance. What I've got so far is that False King is Roose, who has been defeated and is in the custody of the spearwives. The "magic sword" is the original Ice that Mance & Co located in the crypts. And the letter is an invitation to Jon to take over at Winterfell.

If anyone feels like adding I'm interested in your thoughts.

And if you think it's a dumb idea i'm sure you'll be letting me know. :P

I like your interesting idea. Though it doesn't explain why Mance would want 'his Reek' back. :)

I noticed a small detail in the Pink Letter.

In the Pink Letter, it is said...

I have him in a cage for all the north to see, proof of your lies. The cage is cold, but I have made him a warm cloak from the skins of the six whores who came with him to Winterfell.

According to this letter, Ramsay flayed the six spearwives and caged Mance.

But there is something Theon tells Abel (Mance) at Winterfell before his escape...

“Ramsay will use your women as his prey,” he told the singer. “He’ll hunt them down, rape them, and feed their corpses to his dogs. If they lead him a good chase, he may name his next litter of bitches after them. You he’ll flay.

Theon warns Mance that Ramsay would hunt the spearwives, and flay him.

Theon knows that Ramsay hunts women, and flays men. Ramsay knows it too. And Theon warns Mance about it.

This detail is something the author of the letter does not know.

This is why I don't think it's Theon or Ramsay or Mance who wrote that letter.

[Consigliere]

Theon warns Mance that Ramsay would hunt the spearwives, and flay him.

Theon knows that Ramsay hunts women, and flays men. Ramsay knows it too. And Theon warns Mance about it.

This detail is something the author of the letter does not know.

This is why I don't think it's Theon or Ramsay or Mance who wrote that letter.

Thats a very interesting observation.

It could also be possible that that was an exaggeration from Ramsay. He could have skinned the two spearwives and is holding the other four captive. IIRC two of the spearwives were killed during Theon and Jeyne's escape.

[Consigliere]

The spearwives seem to be aware that Mance is still alive, so it's probably an open secret among the Wildlings. Why would Mel do the switch and not tell Stannis? It seems to me that someone was to be fooled, but it's not clear who. The Watch? The Queen's Men?

Paper and ink can be stolen. Alternatively, Winterfell is full of Stark supporters who could give it to Mance. A raven might be more difficult, but if Ramsay can get one there's no reason Mance can't.

Aren't you the least curious about why Mance wanted to know how to get into the crypts? Lady Dustin and then Mance? I'd say there's something important there and it was part of Mance's mission to find it. The Pink Letter may be confirmation that he did, among other things.

The spearwives are probably aware of Mance but I think its a bit premature to say its an open secret. Mel's deceiving Stannis could be the first step of her eventually turning her back on Stannis. I still dont think that it will be so easy to get paper, ink, wax and a raven trained to fly to CB. Ramsay has access to all these things because he is currently Lord of Winterfell. Lady Dustin's interest in the crypts could have been to confirm Wex's story, if the GNC is to be believed, however Mance's interest is the million dollar question. If the Pink Letter is from Mance confirming something he found in the crypts then I'd say he did a piss poor job given the wording and tone of the letter.

[Petyr Patter]

I have a very hard time believing anybody but Ramsay wrote the letter. The whole tone of the letter is just so "Ramsay." And the clincher for me is the demand for Reek at the bottom. Not a lot of people know who "Reek" is or was. Some know the Boltons have a tortured to the point of insanity Theon Greyjoy. I doubt anyone at the Wall, however, knows about Reek. And if somebody else wrote the letter, why would they realize Ramsay has a borderline sexual fetish for his "Reek." Ramsay is both stupid enough and obsessed enough to demand "Reek" from Jon Snow who would have no idea who Reek is.

That being stated, I'm positive the letter is Ramsay lying through his teeth. He has some details. Maybe gleaned from a tortured spear wife. More happily, maybe Mance approached Roose and suggested an "alliance," all the while playing the Boltons. Mance may have a grudge against Jon Snow, but he is going to be far more disgusted by the Boltons wanton cruelty, especially to women. Plus, he realizes Snow is largely doing what he wants as Lord Commander: letting wildlings pass while shoring up the Wall's defenses against the Others.

So, it could still be a Stannis or Mance Rayder ploy, but ultimately, I have to think Ramsay wrote that letter.

[Light a wight tonight]

I like your interesting idea. Though it doesn't explain why Mance would want 'his Reek' back. :)

Since the whole letter is in code (per theory, at least) wanting Reek back wouldn't be literally what was meant.