Saturday, June 24, 2017

Do you doubt that Bran is the "Heart of Winterfell"?

Potential Spoilers Below



People ask me why I am so sure that Bran has been residing in the Crypts of Winterfell for centuries or maybe millennia; everything is relative to a time traveler as he can pop in and out and appear to be older than he or she really is.  I keep telling them that GRRM left breadcrumbs letting you know if you only choose to follow them.  Plus, he has done it before, when hiding from Theon in the Crypts; in plain sight, and this story does nothing but keep repeating itself like the story it is based upon; The Wheel of Time.  Bran will hide from the Night’s King in the Crypts Winterfell only in a different time so as not to be found.  Bran actually builds the Crypts and Winterfell itself.  It gives a new meaning to the phrase “There must always be a Stark in Winterfell”; if they were to have got up and moved away everything that happens would have never been.  Winterfell in the books is described over and over again almost like a living thing.  I think it is and Bran is its “heart”. 

Bran hiding in the Crypts from Theon

Theon angry that he can't find Bran

Night's King

Winterfell
“The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again.” – Passage from the Wheel of Time


You can think of it this way:  Azor Ahai and Bran the Builder represent the ages that came and passed; leaving memories that became legend.  Learning and time comes about and those legends fade to myth.  But along with that time were White Walkers and other strange things that were part of those myths that have been long forgotten.  Bran’s going back in time and creating those myths and legends giving birth to them to begin with is the age that came again to complete the circle.

Azor Ahai

Bran the Builder from HBO supplemental material.  He appears to be carried around.  Is this a hint that Bran is indeed Bran the Builder as I believe?

White Walkers

“Of all the rooms in Winterfell’s Great Keep, Catelyn’s bedchambers were the hottest. She seldom had to light a fire. The castle had been built over natural hot springs, and the scalding waters rushed through its walls and chambers like blood through a man’s body, driving the chill from the stone halls, filling the glass gardens with a moist warmth, keeping the earth from freezing. Open pools smoked day and night in a dozen small courtyards. That was a little thing, in summer; in winter, it was the difference between life and death.”

Catelyn in her bedchambers.  The water rushing through the walls are described like blood rushing through a man's body.
“To a boy, Winterfell was a grey stone labyrinth of walls and towers and courtyards and tunnels spreading out in all directions. In the older parts of the castle, the halls slanted up and down so that you couldn’t even be sure what floor you were on. The place had grown over the centuries like some monstrous stone tree, Maester Luwin told him once, and its branches were gnarled and thick and twisted, its roots sunk deep into the earth.

Maester Luwin
When he got out from under it and scrambled up near the sky, Bran could see all of Winterfell in a glance. He liked the way it looked, spread out beneath him, only birds wheeling over his head while all the life of the castle went on below. Bran could perch for hours among the shapeless, rain-worn gargoyles that brooded over the First Keep, watching it all: the men drilling with wood and steel in the yard, the cooks tending their vegetables in the glass garden, restless dogs running back and forth in the kennels, the silence of the godswood, the girls gossiping beside the washing well.  It made him feel like he was lord of the castle, in a way even Robb would never know.

Robb Stark.  Has Bran always been able to see all of Winterfell in a glance?
It taught him Winterfell’s secrets too. The builders had not even leveled the earth; there were hills and valleys behind the walls of Winterfell. There was a covered bridge that went from the fourth floor of the bell tower across to the second floor of the rookery. Bran knew about that. And he knew you could get inside the inner wall by the south gate, climb three floors and run all the way around Winterfell through a narrow tunnel in the stone, and then come out on ground level at the north gate, with a hundred feet of wall looming over you. Even Maester Luwin didn’t know that, Bran was convinced.”


“She was holding one of his hands. It looked like a claw. This was not the Bran he remembered. The flesh had all gone from him. His skin stretched tight over bones like sticks

Catelyn never left Bran's bedside after the fall
“At the heart of the godswood, the great white weirwood brooded over its reflection in the black pool, its leaves rustling in a chill wind. When it felt Bran watching, it lifted its eyes from the still waters and stared back at him knowingly.”

The Great White Weirwood in the Winterfell godswood.  We were told in the first book that it was alive.  It was Bran all along IMO.
“The weariness came on him suddenly, as he donned the roughspun blacks that were their everyday wear. He sat on a bench, his fingers fumbling with the fastenings on his cloak. So cold, he thought, remembering the warm halls of Winterfell, where the hot waters ran through the walls like blood through a man’s body. There was scant warmth to be found in Castle Black; the walls were cold here, and the people colder.”

Jon Snow reminiscing about how the waters that ran through the walls of Winterfell were like blood through a man's body.

Castle Black
“No, stay,” Bran commanded her. “Tell me what you meant, about hearing the gods.”

Osha studied him. “You asked them and they’re answering. Open your ears, listen, you’ll hear.”

Osha
Bran listened. “It’s only the wind,” he said after a moment, uncertain. “The leaves are rustling.”

“Who do you think sends the wind, if not the gods?” She seated herself across the pool from him, clinking faintly as she moved. Mikken had fixed iron manacles to her ankles, with a heavy chain between them; she could walk, so long as she kept her strides small, but there was no way for her to run, or climb, or mount a horse. “They see you, boy. They hear you talking. That rustling, that’s them talking back.”

Mikken 
“What are they saying?”

“They’re sad. Your lord brother will get no help from them, not where he’s going. The old gods have no power in the south. The weirwoods there were all cut down, thousands of years ago. How can they watch your brother when they have no eyes?”


“He remembered their godswood; the tall sentinels armored in their grey-green needles, the great oaks, the hawthorn and ash and soldier pines, and at the center the heart tree standing like some pale giant frozen in time. He could almost smell the place, earthy and brooding, the smell of centuries, and he remembered how dark the wood had been even by day. That wood was Winterfell. It was the north. I never felt so out of place as I did when I walked there, so much an unwelcome intruder. He wondered if the Greyjoys would feel it too. The castle might well be theirs, but never that godswood. Not in a year, or ten, or fifty.” – Tyrion’s thoughts

Tyrion.  He was right the about the heart tree being frozen in time; or more aptly traveled back in time as it were.  The "smell of centuries" is going to become prophetic. 
“You can’t be the Lord of Winterfell, you’re bastard-born, he heard Robb say again. And the stone kings were growling at him with granite tongues. You do not belong here. This is not your place. When Jon closed his eyes he saw the heart tree, with its pale limbs, red leaves, and solemn face. The weirwood was the heart of Winterfell, Lord Eddard always said . . . but to save the castle Jon would have to tear that heart up by its ancient roots, and feed it to the red woman’s hungry fire god. I have no right, he thought. Winterfell belongs to the old gods.”

Ned was more right than he knew about the weirwood being the heart of Winterfell

Melisandre - the red woman

“The snow fell and the castle rose. Two walls ankle-high, the inner taller than the outer. Towers and turrets, keeps and stairs, a round kitchen, a square armory, the stables along the inside of the west wall. It was only a castle when she began, but before very long Sansa knew it was Winterfell. She found twigs and fallen branches beneath the snow and broke off the ends to make the trees for the godswood.”

Sansa used twigs to make the trees for the godswood.  Bran was described as follows: His skin stretched tight over bones like sticks.
 
“Theon,” a voice seemed to whisper.

His head snapped up. “Who said that?” All he could see were the trees and the fog that covered them. The voice had been as faint as rustling leaves, as cold as hate. A god’s voice, or a ghost’s. How many died the day that he took Winterfell? How many more the day he lost it? The day that Theon Greyjoy died, to be reborn as Reek. Reek, Reek, it rhymes with shriek.”

Theon hears Bran's voice from the weirwood tree
“A leaf drifted down from above, brushed his brow, and landed in the pool. It floated on the water, red, five-fingered, like a bloody hand. “… Bran,” the tree murmured.”

“They know. The gods know. They saw what I did. And for one strange moment it seemed as if it were Bran’s face carved into the pale trunk of the weirwood, staring down at him with eyes red and wise and sad. Bran’s ghost, he thought, but that was madness. Why should Bran want to haunt him? He had been fond of the boy, had never done him any harm. It was not Bran we killed. It was not Rickon. They were only miller’s sons, from the mill by the Acorn Water. “I had to have two heads, else they would have mocked me … laughed at me … they …”

Rickon.  Theon seeing Bran's face carved into the pale trunk of the weirwood is also prophetic. 

Bran's face now?  When they finally reveal the secret of the Crypts of Winterfell I believe this is what we will find.  Bran went back in time to give himself time to learn to fight the Night's King and creating the legends and myths that he grew up with as a boy.
I wrote another blog “The time has come for you to become me” that tells you this but without all the clues that lead me to this conclusion.  These are just the ones I could think of for now.  If I find any more breadcrumbs I will post them in the comments section below.


Comments encouraged.  Love to hear the idea’s of others.  Most believe that since I present my idea’s as “fact like” I’m not open to change my viewpoints which is far from the truth.  I simply look at the information presented and go from there.  If you can shine a light on another way of thinking that opens the door to debate.

Saturday, June 17, 2017

The Signs of The Last Battle vs The Signs of The War or The Great War

Potential Spoilers Below



In The Wheel of Time (TWOT) they show the signs that will mark Tarmon Gai'don or the Last Battle. If you look at these in the light of The Game of Thrones you can see how they are very similar:

The Last Battle



According to the Prophecies of the Dragon there are certain signs that will proclaim the imminence of the Last Battle. The rebirth of the Dragon is the earliest such sign, and others include the breaking of the Aiel and their return to the Westlands and the splitting of the Aes Sedai. It is also prophesied that the Seanchan and the Dragon Reborn will come to an accord, but the Prophecies are unclear in this regard: some have the Dragon Reborn kneeling in subjugation to the Crystal Throne, others say that he will bind the Nine Moons (the sigil of the Seanchan Imperial Court) to him; it is possible these conditions are not exclusive of one another. It is also possible that Ishamael may have tampered with the Seanchan version of the prophecies, or that Seanchans turned them into propaganda themselves.


Rand, the Dragon Reborn, found born in the snow.  This is the reason I believe that Jon's last name is Snow.

Aiel warriors

Aes Sedai



Tuon; the Daughter of the Nine Moons

Tuon sitting on the Crystal Throne


However, the Prophecies specifically state that the clearest sign of the Last Battle will be the return of the dead to plague the living. Early in 1000 NE inhabitants of the Westlands, possibly the whole world, began to see images of people long dead, sometimes just individuals but sometimes entire long-destroyed cities or towns that appear and then vanish. Around this time 'ripples' in the fabric of reality were detected, suggesting that the entire Pattern could unravel if the Dark One broke free of his prison altogether.

The Patter; aka The Wheel of Time

The White Walkers lay the dead out in a pattern.  Notice that it looks like the spokes of a wheel similar to the Wheel of Time

Representation of the Dark One; To me this is the reason behind the shape of the "Fist of the First Men"

In ASOIAF it is Melisandre who mentions “The War” and describes what it means to humanity.  In the TV show they call it “The Great War”.

Melisandre
“The way the world is made. The truth is all around you, plain to behold. The night is dark and full of terrors, the day bright and beautiful and full of hope. One is black, the other white. There is ice and there is fire. Hate and love. Bitter and sweet. Male and female. Pain and pleasure. Winter and summer. Evil and good.” She took a step toward him. “Death and life. Everywhere, opposites. Everywhere, the war.”

The war? asked Davos.

Davos
The war,” she affirmed. “There are two, Onion Knight. Not seven, not one, not a hundred or a thousand. Two! Do you think I crossed half the world to put yet another vain king on yet another empty throne? The war has been waged since time began, and before it is done, all men must choose where they will stand. On one side is R’hllor, the Lord of Light, the Heart of Fire, the God of Flame and Shadow. Against him stands the Great Other whose name may not be spoken, the Lord of Darkness, the Soul of Ice, the God of Night and Terror.  Ours is not a choice between Baratheon and Lannister, between Greyjoy and Stark. It is death we choose, or life. Darkness, or light.” She clasped the bars of his cell with her slender white hands. The great ruby at her throat seemed to pulse with its own radiance. “So tell me, Ser Davos Seaworth, and tell me truly—does your heart burn with the shining light of R’hllor? Or is it black and cold and full of worms?” She reached through the bars and laid three fingers upon his breast, as if to feel the truth of him through flesh and wool and leather.”


In TWOT “The Eye of the World” prologue it is told to the reader that the battle between the light and the dark has gone on since the beginning of time:

Lews Therin raised his head, and the black-clad man took an involuntary step back from that gaze. “Ten years, Betrayer,” Lews Therin said softly, the soft sound of steel being bared. “Ten years your foul master has wracked the world. And now this. I will. . . .”

Lews Therin
 
“Ten years! You pitiful fool! This war has not lasted ten years, but since the beginning of time. You and I have fought a thousand battles with the turning of the Wheel, a thousand times a thousand, and we will fight until time dies and the Shadow is triumphant!” He finished in a shout, with a raised fist, and it was Lews Therin’s turn to pull back, breath catching at the glow in the Betrayer’s eyes.


The signs broken down and how they relate to the Game of Thrones:

1. The rebirth of the Dragon - this plays itself out metaphorically with the rebirth of dragons into this world (ASOIAF).  The real sign is the rebirth of the Azor Ahai.  In TWOT it was Moiraine that had searched for the Dragon Reborn for the majority of her life.  In ASOIAF it is Melisandre that has searched for a champion to defeat the darkness.

The rebirth of dragons

The rebirth of dragons

Moiraine

Jon Snow birth.  IMO his last name is Snow because in TWOT the hero Rand aka the Dragon Reborn was found born in the snow.


2. The breaking of the Aiel and their return to the Westlands - if you have been following my blog you know that I believe that the Dothraki are based upon the Aiel. Daenerys broke the Dothraki in the TV show by killing all the khals and assuming command of all the Dothraki. I believe it will play itself out a little differently in the books but the end result is the same. The Dothraki are now going to Westeros; this is the metaphorical Westlands from TWOT


Dany overthrows the khals by burning them all.  Mad Kingish??

3. The splitting of the Aes Sedai to me are the Red Priestesses of R'hllor. They are now taking sides between Jon Snow and Daenerys who are going to be key to this battle.

Team Daenerys


Kinvara.  In the books it is Benerro who takes the side of Daenerys.











Team Jon




Jon Snow
4. The Seanchan and the Dragon Reborn will come to an accord - The Seanchan are represented by Daenerys.  The Seanchan believed that they had the right to rule the Westlands because the Empire’s rulers’ ancestors hailed from there and once ruled it. 


Note: Both Daenerys and Jon Snow fit the Azor Ahai prophecy although I believe one of them will be Ishamael and it will be revealed that these two have battled each other over the millennia as the champion of the light and champion of the dark.



This simply means that Jon and Daenerys will come to an agreement to fight the White Walkers.

White Walkers

5. The Dragon Reborn kneeling in subjugation to the Crystal Throne; other say that he will bind the Nine Moons - Both came to pass in TWOT. Spoiler: I think Jon Snow is Azor Ahai.  So with that said he will pledge his support to Daenerys. Daenerys was described thusly: “She had been born on Dragonstone nine moons after their flight,”. I think Jon will give as good as he gets in this support and "bind the Nine Moons."


Daenerys at Dragonstone???
6. The clearest sign of the Last Battle will be the return of the dead to plague the living. - Can you say the Night’s King raising the dead to plague the living?


  
It was said that the finding of the Horn would be one of the indications of the arrival of the Last Battle.  In TWOT the Horn was called “The Horn of Valere” in ASOIAF it is called “The Horn of Winter or The Horn of Joramun”. Click here to read my breakdown of this.

The Horn of Valere

The Horn of Winter.  In the TV show it is found by Sam; In the books Jon finds it.

Comments encouraged.  Love to hear the idea’s of others.  Most believe that since I present my idea’s as “fact like” I’m not open to change my viewpoints which is far from the truth.  I simply look at the information presented and go from there.  If you can shine a light on another way of thinking that opens the door to debate.