Will an unconventional form of travel become the norm in ASOIAF?

Potential Spoilers Below

When I think of how GRRM can finish the ASOIAF series in just two books it presents a problem that can only be resolved in one of two ways in my opinion.  The problem that I am referring to is troop movement.  The world is vast and moving armies around takes time.  To resolve this issue you could simply skip ahead in time or you create a form of unconventional travel.  I believe it will be the latter.  I come to this the same way I have about everything else TWOT.  I don’t think it will come down to gateways but something else that has already been brought to light in the series.  Runes.

The Wheel of Time:  Transportation 101

Portal Stones are large gray stone cylinders covered in hundreds of archaic characters, each symbol corresponding to another stone in the 'network.' Those wielding the One Power can use them to travel to other realities or other possible timelines or simply other locations in this world, by channeling into the appropriate symbol.

 

Portal Stone archaic characters

Portal stones are believed to have been made in the First Age, theorized by Rand al'Thor and the Aes Sedai.

Rand al'Thor

The Game of Thrones:  Could Portal Stones exist in some form or another?

Runes are the characters that the First Men used to write the Old Tongue. They were engraved on stones and other objects but were not written in books or scrolls. They are thought to be magical.

Where they are large and standout in TWOT I think they will be rather inconspicuous in ASOIAF.

“The Others.” Sam licked his lips. “They are mentioned in the annals, though not as often as I would have thought. The annals I’ve found and looked at, that is. There’s more I haven’t found, I know. Some of the older books are falling to pieces. The pages crumble when I try and turn them. And the really old books . . . either they have crumbled all away or they are buried somewhere that I haven’t looked yet or . . . well, it could be that there are no such books, and never were. The oldest histories we have were written after the Andals came to Westeros. The First Men only left us runes on rocks, so everything we think we know about the Age of Heroes and the Dawn Age and the Long Night comes from accounts set down by septons thousands of years later. There are archmaesters at the Citadel who question all of it. Those old histories are full of kings who reigned for hundreds of years, and knights riding around a thousand years before there were knights. You know the tales, Brandon the Builder, Symeon Star-Eyes, Night’s King . . . we say that you’re the nine hundred and ninety-eighth Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, but the oldest list I’ve found shows six hundred seventy-four commanders, which suggests that it was written during . . .”

Other

Sam

The Long Night

The High Septom

Brandon the Builder as depicted this far in the series
I believe he will look much different (White Walker different)

Symeon Star-Eyes

The Night's King?

“Long ago,” Jon broke in. “What about the Others?”

Jon Snow

We know that the runes are indeed magical as seen though the use of them on Euron’s hellhorn or dragonbinder.

Euron’s hellhorn. Victarion ran his hand along it. The horn was as warm and smooth as the dusky woman’s thighs, and so shiny that he could see a twisted likeness of his own features in its depths. Strange sorcerous writings had been cut into the bands that girded it. “Valyrian glyphs,” Moqorro called them.

Moqorro

When dragonbinder was blown the following happened: Those writings glowed red-hot, then white-hot and painful to look upon. It seemed as if the sound would never end. It was like some long scream. A thousand screams, all melted into one.”

I put forward that different runes do different things and that those written on stones by the First Men were used for travel.

The Wheel of Time:  Where did the Raken’s come from?

A Raken in flight

On the continent of Seanchan, portal stones were used to bring back creatures such as grolm and raken from other worlds to aid in the fight against Shadowspawn; these animals are now a regular part of the Seanchan army.

Grolm and IMO the reason why the crow in ASOIAF has 3 eyes

Seanchan riding Raken

Shadowspawn: Darkhound

Shadowspawn: Draghkar

The Game of Thrones:  Where did the Dragon’s come from?

Balerion the Black Dread

Could we find that Dragons came to this world in a similar fashion?  If you simply substitute the One Power with Magic it’s not hard to see how the Valyrians could have discovered how to travel to other worlds or dimensions bringing back dragons and using them as part of their armies.  The Valyrians like the Seanchan used these creatures to become superpowers within their respective worlds.

The Wheel of Time:  Using the Portal Stones for travel

Portal Stones are remnants from an age before the Age of Legends. A portal stone facilitates transportation between other Portal Stones in this world and even in other worlds.

In The Shadow Rising Rand uses yet another of these portal stones to transport himself and his party of Aiel from Tear to a portal stone near Rhuidean.

Rand uses Portal Stone

Aiel

Rhuidean

In Towers of Midnight a male channeler, possibly acting on Graendal's orders, uses a portal stone to transport Trollocs and Myrddraal to attack the Whitecloak army on the Jehannah Road.

Graendal

Myrddraal leading Trollocs

Whitecloaks

The Game of Thrones:  Using the Runes for travel

Just like Portal Stones are remnants from an age before the Age of Legends.  The First Men and runes predate the Age of Heroes.  Also like in TWOT there is a certain percentage of the population who are able to wield the One Power the same seems to be the case with those who are able to utilize Magic in one form or another.  It will be those individuals who will be able to open up the world in ASOIAF to travel by runes.

The Wheel of Time:  Where are the Portal Stones located?

In TWOT they are located throughout their world in key cities

The Game of Thrones:  Where might these runes be located?

I think the runes are going to be located in or around ancient tombs where they wouldn’t be disturbed because of respect for the dead.  I also believe that they will be located in their key strongholds and cities.

Possible location for runes at Castle Black:

“Asleep in my chambers. Her Grace does not allow Ghost in her presence. She claims he scares the princess. And so long as Borroq and his boar are about, I dare not let him loose.” The skinchanger was to accompany Soren Shieldbreaker to Stonedoor once the wayns carrying the Sealskinner’s clan to Greenguard returned. Until such time, Borroq had taken up residence in one of the ancient tombs beside the castle lichyard. The company of men long dead seemed to suit him better than that of the living, and his boar seemed happy rooting amongst the graves, well away from other animals. “That thing is the size of a bull, with tusks as long as swords. Ghost would go after him if he were loose, and one or both of them would not survive the meeting.”

Castle Black

Ghost

The Wheel of Time:  Lost Knowledge

  

 “I do not think so,” Loial said. He was studying the column, and he did not appear happy. His long eyebrows sagged across his cheeks, and his tufted ears seemed to have wilted. “I think this is the same stone we went to sleep beside last night. I think I know what it is, now.” For once, he sounded miserable about knowing.

Loial

“That's ...” No. That being the same stone was no more crazy than what he could see around him, Mat and Perrin and the Shienarans gone, and everything changed. I thought I'd escaped, but it's started again, and there's no such thing as crazy anymore. Unless I am. He looked at Loial and Hurin. They were not acting as if he were mad; they saw it, too. Something about the steps caught his eye, the different colors, seven rising from blue to red. “One for each Ajah,” he said.

“No, Lord Rand,” Hurin moaned. “No. Aes Sedai would not do this to us. They wouldn't! I walk in the Light.”

“We all do, Hurin,” Rand said. “The Aes Sedai won't hurt you.” Unless you get in the way. Could this be Moiraine's doing somehow? “Loial, you said you know what the stone is. What is it?”

“I said I think I know, Rand. There was a piece of an old book, just a few pages, but one of them had a drawing of this stone, this Stone” — there was a distinct difference in the way he said it that marked importance — “or one very like it. And underneath, it said, 'From Stone to Stone run the lines of ”if,“ between the worlds that might be.”'

“What does that mean, Loial? It doesn't make any sense.”

The Ogier shook his massive head sadly. “It was only a few pages. Part of it said Aes Sedai in the Age of Legends, some of those who could Travel, the most powerful of them, could use these Stones. It did not say how, but I think, from what I could puzzle out, that perhaps those Aes Sedai used the Stones somehow to journey to those worlds.” He glanced up at the seared trees and pulled his eyes down again quickly, as he did not want to think about what lay beyond the rim. “Yet even if Aes Sedai can use them, or could, we had no Aes Sedai with us to channel the Power, so I don't see how it can be.”

Rand's skin prickled. Aes Sedai used them. In the Age of Legends, when there were male Aes Sedai. He had a vague memory of the void closing round him as he fell asleep, filled with that uneasy glow. And he remembered the room in the village, and the light he had reached for to escape. If that was the male half of True Source ... No, it can't be. But what if it is? Light, I was wondering whether to run or not, and all the time it's right inside my head. Maybe I brought us here. He did not want to think about it. “Worlds that might be? I don't understand, Loial.”

“I do not understand this,” Alar said slowly. “The Portal Stones have not been used since the Age of Legends. I did not think there was anyone who still knew how to use them.”

“The Brown Ajah knows many things,” Verin said dryly, “and I know how the Stones may be used.”

Verin

The Eldest nodded. “Truly there are wonders in the White Tower of which we do not dream. But if you can use a Portal Stone, there is no need for you to ride to Kinslayer's Dagger. There is a Stone not far from where we stand.”

“The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills, and the Pattern provides what is needful.” The absent look dropped from Verin's face altogether. “Take us to it,” she said briskly. “We have lost more than enough time already.”

The Game of Thrones:  Who will learn to use the Runes?

Sam Tarly who is currently at the Citadel will uncover the truth about much and more while he is there.  Sam will find key pages from a book here and there will shine the light on what once was common knowledge but has long since been forgotten.

As Maester Marwyn tells Sam: “You . . . you should stay and forge your chain. If I were you, I would do it quickly. A time will come when you’ll be needed on the Wall.”  Sam the professed coward will end up being a savior through the knowledge he rediscovers.

The Wall

Summation:  I believe the One Power and Magic are interchangeable just like Portal Stones and Runes written on rocks will be.  Raken’s and Dragons may also find to have a similar origin into their respective worlds.  Lost knowledge being rediscovered by individuals who seem insignificant will be another theme the series will share IMO.  Ever since I have read about intersecting worlds within TWOT it has always been my assertion that the world of ASOIAF is simply one of those worlds thus why things seem to share so many similarities. 

“The Lines that join the Worlds That Might Be, laid by those who knew the Numbers of Chaos.” Verin shuddered; she seemed to be talking to herself. “I've never heard it, but there is no reason we would not be born in those worlds, yet the lives we lived would be different lives. Of course. Different lives for the different ways things might have happened.”

I have also speculated that in the end of ASOIAF we may just see a character who could spans both worlds.  Old Nan always springs to mind for me because of Verin saying “Different lives for the different ways things might have happened.”  The story ends with us discovering that Old Nan’s true name being Cadsuane.

Old Nan

Cadsuane

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.