Emeralds

[Fire Eater]

I wonder what significance would be behind the glass candles being black and green. (3 black, 1 green)

It brings to mind the greens and blacks, the claimants of both sides having ancestry from Valyria where the candles are from.

The green could refer to Aegon, and the three blacks are Jon, Dany and Aemon (who is still alive at the time this is mentioned), the last three living Targaryens.

@ J.Stargaryen

I started a new thread.

[Revmaynard]

I was thinking of the distinction between green/black and the original dance. I just couldn't see how they tied in giving the amount of each color. I though possibly Aegon, Jon, and Dany as blacks and Tommen/acting king as a green?

[Lady Beyond the Wall]

Given the amount of green references in Dany last chapter of ADWD I don't know if she would be on the black side. It would prob be reversed.

[J. Stargaryen]

Earlier in the thread I speculated as to why GRRM chose the colors black and green for his rightful claimant/usurper dichotomy. I was never particularly satisfied with the answer I came up with in that post. If anything, I had most likely identified more symbolism, but not the reason for the symbolism. However, in a different thread I had another thought which I like much better.

Assuming it's true, I wonder if the black = rightful claimant idea doesn't trace back to Edward of Woodstock; aka, the Black Prince. He was the son of Edward III and heir to the throne. Unfortunately, he predeceased his father and the throne eventually passed to his son, who became Richard II. What's interesting here is that there is a definite Wars of the Roses connection, as the Yorks and Lancasters both trace their claims back to younger brothers of the Black Prince.

On top of this, the Black Prince's Ruby – images – is one of the British Crown Jewels. And that name probably ought to remind us all of Rhaegar's rubies. Of course Rhaegar didn't just run around decked out in rubies, he wore them on his black plate armor.

They had come together at the ford of the Trident while the battle crashed around them, Robert with his warhammer and his great antlered helm, the Targaryen prince armored all in black. On his breastplate was the three-headed dragon of his House, wrought all in rubies that flashed like fire in the sunlight. The waters of the Trident ran red around the hooves of their destriers as they circled and clashed, again and again, until at last a crushing blow from Robert’s hammer stove in the dragon and the chest beneath it. When Ned had finally come on the scene, Rhaegar lay dead in the stream, while men of both armies scrabbled in the swirling waters for rubies knocked free of his armor.

- AGoT, Eddard I

Yet when the jousting began, the day belonged to Rhaegar Targaryen. The crown prince wore the armor he would die in: gleaming black plate with the three-headed dragon of his House wrought in rubies on the breast. A plume of scarlet silk streamed behind him when he rode, and it seemed no lance could touch him. Brandon fell to him, and Bronze Yohn Royce, and even the splendid Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning.

- AGoT, Eddard XV

The day had been windy when he said farewell to Rhaegar, in the yard of the Red Keep. The prince had donned his night-black armor, with the three-headed dragon picked out in rubies on his breastplate. “Your Grace,” Jaime had pleaded, “let Darry stay to guard the king this once, or Ser Barristan. Their cloaks are as white as mine.”

- AFfC, Jaime I

This all ties into the Rhaegar Ruby Theory, which is also worth a read.

[Fire Eater]

She [Dany] passed under a bronze arch fashioned in the likeness of two snakes mating, their scales delicate flakes of jade, obsidian and lapis lazuli.

Black, green and blue again, this time describing snakes, and dragons are pretty much serpentine animals, and dragons in myth were inspired by snakes. Another reference for Dany, Aegon and Jon?

[J. Stargaryen]

She [Dany] passed under a bronze arch fashioned in the likeness of two snakes mating, their scales delicate flakes of jade, obsidian and lapis lazuli.

Black, green and blue again, this time describing snakes, and dragons are pretty much serpentine animals, and dragons in myth were inspired by snakes. Another reference for Dany, Aegon and Jon?

Nice catch. Where is this from?

[Fire Eater]

Nice catch. Where is this from?

Dany's second POV in ACoK when she comes to Qarth.

[J. Stargaryen]

In the OP there are a few instances where I could not make a connection between the emerald and usurpers. One of those is from ACoK, Daenerys IV (HotU). But, I believe SerArthurHeath may have found the connection I was missing. First, the emerald passage:

“We have knowledge to share with you,” said a warrior in shining emerald armor, “and magic weapons to arm you with. You have passed every trial. Now come and sit with us, and all your questions shall be answered.” - Daenerys IV

Now, the aforementioned find by SerArthurHeath:

I'm sure someone has beaten me to it but this line in aDwD is interesting:

About Aegon/YG- "Youre Young Griff, son of Griff the sellsword, said Tyrion. Or perhaps you are the Warrior in mortal
guise. Let me take a closer look."

Daemon Blackfyre - "Daemon was the Warrior himself that day"
"With ax or lance or flail, he was as good as any knight I ever saw, but withthe sword he was the Warrior himself"
and I think I'm missing another Blackfyre-Warrior quote somewhere too

[my bold]

So, when combined with those three (Blackfyre) references, the warrior in shining emerald armor makes perfect sense.

[Lost Melnibonean]

She [Dany] passed under a bronze arch fashioned in the likeness of two snakes mating, their scales delicate flakes of jade, obsidian and lapis lazuli.

Black, green and blue again, this time describing snakes, and dragons are pretty much serpentine animals, and dragons in myth were inspired by snakes. Another reference for Dany, Aegon and Jon?

Dragons themselves were described as snakes in the preceding Daenerys chapter. ..

When she had her handmaids char the horsemeat black, the dragons ripped at it eagerly, their heads striking like snakes.

Daenerys I, Clash

I think the conclusion that the three heads of Rhaegar's dragon are Aegon, Daenerys & Jon is inescapable.

[J. Stargaryen]

Dragons themselves were described as snakes in the preceding Daenerys chapter. ..

Daenerys I, Clash

I think the conclusion that the three heads of Rhaegar's dragon are Aegon, Daenerys & Jon is inescapable.

You know, there's another fairly strong hint that fAegon is one of the heads of the dragon in another well known passage, but I don't think I've ever seen it suggested as such.

“No,” said Septon Meribald. “When the smith’s son was an old man, a bastard son of the fourth Aegon rose up in rebellion against his trueborn brother and took for his sigil a black dragon. These lands belonged to Lord Darry then, and his lordship was fiercely loyal to the king. The sight of the black iron dragon made him wroth, so he cut down the post, hacked the sign into pieces, and cast them into the river. One of the dragon’s heads washed up on the Quiet Isle many years later, though by that time it was red with rust. The innkeep never hung another sign, so men forgot the dragon and took to calling the place the River Inn. In those days, the Trident flowed beneath its back door, and half its rooms were built out over the water. Guests could throw a line out their window and catch trout, it’s said. There was a ferry landing here as well, so travelers could cross to Lord Harroway’s Town and Whitewalls. - AFfC, Brienne VII

[Lost Melnibonean]

You know, there's another fairly strong hint that fAegon is one of the heads of the dragon in another well known passage, but I don't think I've ever seen it suggested as such.

No, said Septon Meribald. When the smiths son was an old man, a bastard son of the fourth Aegon rose up in rebellion against his trueborn brother and took for his sigil a black dragon. These lands belonged to Lord Darry then, and his lordship was fiercely loyal to the king. The sight of the black iron dragon made him wroth, so he cut down the post, hacked the sign into pieces, and cast them into the river. One of the dragons heads washed up on the Quiet Isle many years later, though by that time it was red with rust. The innkeep never hung another sign, so men forgot the dragon and took to calling the place the River Inn. In those days, the Trident flowed beneath its back door, and half its rooms were built out over the water. Guests could throw a line out their window and catch trout, its said. There was a ferry landing here as well, so travelers could cross to Lord Harroways Town and Whitewalls. - AFfC, Brienne VII

Greymoon made that same observation in my "The dragon has three heads thread" last December...

I'm sure I'm not the first to think of that, but it seems to me that GRRM is telling us not 1, but 2 things here:

1. A Blackfyre will come back as a Targaryen, (often discussed; that's not the point)

2. that Blackfyre descendent is one of three heads.

hence, fAegon will ride a dragon.

Greymoon underlined the same phrase you did but I don't know how to reproduce that...

[Lost Melnibonean]

Here's another reference to snakes...

As Tyrion travels by litter through Kings Landing, he observes a hedge prophet preaching against the Lannisters, against Stannis, against the High Septon, and against Robert. A power vacuum has followed Roberts death, with snakes hissing and biting. Then he points at the comet and the Red Keep on Aegons high Hill and warns of blood and fire...

Tyrion V, Clash

(Many Christians believe the wine of righteousness is the blood of Christ.)

Notice that the snakes are hissing and biting--kinda like a dance of dragons. And notice that the Targaryen words are reversed--a hint at one of the dragons being a Blackfyre.

[J. Stargaryen]

Greymoon made that same observation in my "The dragon has three heads thread" last December...

Greymoon underlined the same phrase you did but I don't know how to reproduce that...

I'm not surprised that someone else had the same interpretation before me. Although I don't know if I agree that being one of the THotD means that one will necessarily ride a dragon. But maybe it does and I'm just over thinking it. :)

[J. Stargaryen]

Notice that the snakes are hissing and biting--kinda like a dance of dragons. And notice that the Targaryen words are reversed--a hint at one of the dragons being a Blackfyre.

This is interesting because Osha tells Bran that the comet means "blood and fire, boy, and nothing sweet." And Rhaegar says that Aegon was conceived when there was a comet in the sky. So we have an Aegon + comet connection there.

[Fire Eater]

Dragons themselves were described as snakes in the preceding Daenerys chapter. ..

Daenerys I, Clash

I think the conclusion that the three heads of Rhaegar's dragon are Aegon, Daenerys & Jon is inescapable.

Except Aegon can't be head since he will be fighting Dany in the second Dance and die.

I would like to add to Meribald's quote that there was a ferry landing for people to cross to Whitewalls, what Daemon II Blackfyre did in TMK.

[Lost Melnibonean]

I'm not surprised that someone else had the same interpretation before me. Although I don't know if I agree that being one of the THotD means that one will necessarily ride a dragon. But maybe it does and I'm just over thinking it. :)

Yeah, I don't believe heads equals riders either.

[Lost Melnibonean]

This is interesting because Osha tells Bran that the comet means "blood and fire, boy, and nothing sweet." And Rhaegar says that Aegon was conceived when there was a comet in the sky. So we have an Aegon + comet connection there.

And check out Brynden & Catelyn's discussion of the comet and the devastation in the Riverlands--blood and flame.

[Lord Martin]

I notice that the crown from the Tourmaline Brotherhood has heads of jade, ivory and onyx. At first blush this would seem to be for her three dragons, but again you have Black and Green. But this time its white as the third option.

And a fun fact, Tourmaline per its wikipedia page has "pyroelectric" properties and so it can attract and then repel hot ashes... sort of like the Brotherhood accepting Dany into Qarth and then calling for her expulsion... I doubt this is a coincidence.

[Lord Martin]

Earlier in the thread I speculated as to why GRRM chose the colors black and green for his rightful claimant/usurper dichotomy. I was never particularly satisfied with the answer I came up with in that post. If anything, I had most likely identified more symbolism, but not the reason for the symbolism. However, in a different thread I had another thought which I like much better.

Assuming it's true, I wonder if the black = rightful claimant idea doesn't trace back to Edward of Woodstock; aka, the Black Prince. He was the son of Edward III and heir to the throne. Unfortunately, he predeceased his father and the throne eventually passed to his son, who became Richard II. What's interesting here is that there is a definite Wars of the Roses connection, as the Yorks and Lancasters both trace their claims back to younger brothers of the Black Prince.

On top of this, the Black Prince's Ruby – images – is one of the British Crown Jewels. And that name probably ought to remind us all of Rhaegar's rubies. Of course Rhaegar didn't just run around decked out in rubies, he wore them on his black plate armor.

- AGoT, Eddard I

- AGoT, Eddard XV

- AFfC, Jaime I

This all ties into the Rhaegar Ruby Theory, which is also worth a read.

This is very cool. Richard II was a terrible king and some scholars mark his reign as the end of the Plantagenet Dynasty, even though the Houses of Lancaster and York were really both Plantagenet based houses. But his follies marked the beginning of the end for the Targaryen's... I mean Plantagenets.

Sort of like Aegon III having all the dragons die on his watch....

[Lost Melnibonean]

Except Aegon can't be head since he will be fighting Dany in the second Dance and die.

No problem...

One time, the girl remembered, the Sailor's Wife had walked her rounds with her and told her tales of the city's stranger gods. "That is the house of the Great Shepherd. Three-headed Trios has that tower with three turrets. The first head devours the dying, and the reborn emerge from the third. I don't know what the middle head's supposed to do. ...

Arya II, Dance

The first head is either Daenerys or Aegon. The other is the second. Aegon will betray Daenerys for his love of Arianne and one or both of them will die. The other will too. And of course Jon will be "reborn."