Miscellaneous similarities between TWOT and ASOIAF

Potential Spoilers Below

“This isn't a story, he isn't some invincible hero, and if his thread is snipped out of the Pattern, the Wheel of Time (TWOT) won't notice his going, and the Creator will produce no miracles to save us: If Moiraine cannot reef his sails, he very well may get himself killed, and where are we then?”

Representation of The Wheel of Time

The quote above was said about Rand al’Thor in TWOT.  He IMO plays the same role as Jon Snow in ASOIAF.  Jon went and did what the Aes Sedai and his friends most feared that Rand would do.  The only reason why Jon, our hero, is allowed to do this is because unlike TWOT, where death is the only thing that can’t be healed, death can be reversed in ASOIAF.  Thus far we are shown that it has side effects in that the person brought back is less than they were before; they don’t remember everything that made them who they were.  I believe that Jon will have similar side effects but they will only be temporary.  The rules suggest that “only death pays for life.”  Jon however has had 3 deaths IMO given for his life.  His mother Lyanna, his father Rhaegar and lastly and possibly the biggest sacrifice was Ser Arthur Dayne that will allow Jon to become the new “Sword of the Morning.”  The last sacrifice will allow him to wield the sword Dawn which I believe to be the legendary sword “Lightbringer.”

Rand al'Thor

Jon Snow

Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah

Rhaegar crowning Lyanna the queen of love and beauty

Where they actually in love?

Ser Arthur Dayne wielding the sword Dawn

Another thing to note is that "The Wheel of Time" is represented as a seven-spoked cosmic loom that weaves the Great Pattern.  In ASOIAF its counterpart is the Seven-Pointed Star.  The seven are actually one god with seven aspects or faces, representing a different virtue.

“What does "sister-wife" mean?” she asked hesitantly.

“That you have the same husband.” Aviendha frowned at the way Egwene gasped and Nynaeve's eyes opened as wide as they would go. Elayne had been half expecting the answer, but she still found herself fussing with skirts that were perfectly straight. “This is not your custom?” the Aiel woman asked.

“No,” Egwene said faintly. “No, it is not.”

Rand and his "Sister-wives" of sorts Elayne, Aviendha and Min

To me this is where the idea of Targaryen’s marrying brother to sister came from.  Though it doesn’t mean exactly the same thing; Aegon did take both of his sisters as wives and that tradition will repeat itself once again IMO when Tyrion and Daenerys marry.

Aegon and his sister wives Visenya and Rhaenys

I believe that Tyrion and Daenerys will also marry

Bela is a shaggy brown mare belonging to Tam and Rand al’Thor.  She is ridden by Egwene when the group leaves Emond’s field at the start of the journey.  Perrin and Egwene take turns riding her after the group is forced to split up after fleeing Shadar Logoth.  Egwene rides Bela when she escapes Falme.  Siuan rides Bela when she escapes Tar Valon.  Olver rides Bela in his attempt to escape Trollocs carrying the Horn of Valere where she is hit with an arrow and dies.  However in “The Wheel of Time Companion” she is said to have survived.  She gave birth to a strong colt and a splendid filly and retired to green pastures outside to the Two Rivers.

Bela

Ruins of Shadar Logoth

Tar Valon

Horn of Valere

Since Bela was such a prominent character in TWOT she had to have a counterpart in ASOIAF.  Well she does but the spelling is different; but they are pronounced the same.  Bella is a young prostitute at the Peach.  She says that she is one of King Robert’s bastard children.  A lot of main characters in TWOT took turns riding Bela the horse.  I would say since Bella in ASOIAF is a whore a lot of individuals got a turn at riding her also.

King Robert

“My heart is yours,” he intoned softly, “my soul, my everything.” His coat was scarlet now, elaborately worked in gold leaves and silver lions. He made grand gestures, touching head or heart. “When I think of you, there is no room for any other thought. Your perfume fills my brain and sets my blood afire. My heart pounds till I could not hear the world crack apart. You are my sun and my moon and my stars, my heaven and earth, more precious to me than, life or breath or — ” Abruptly he stopped, grimacing. “You sound a fool,” he muttered to himself.

Egwene would have disagreed had she had any control over her vocal cords. It was very nice hearing those things, even if they were a bit over the top. Just a bit.”

From the passage above I believe that this is where Khal Drogo and Dany got their pet names for one another.

Khal Drogo

“What is meaning, name Rhaego?” Khal Drogo asked as they walked, using the Common Tongue of the Seven Kingdoms. She had been teaching him a few words when she could. Drogo was quick to learn when he put his mind to it, though his accent was so thick and barbarous that neither Ser Jorah nor Viserys could understand a word he said.

Ser Jorah

“My brother Rhaegar was a fierce warrior, my sun-and-stars,” she told him. “He died before I was born. Ser Jorah says that he was the last of the dragons.”

Khal Drogo looked down at her. His face was a copper mask, yet under the long black mustache, drooping beneath the weight of its gold rings, she thought she glimpsed the shadow of a smile. “Is good name, Dan Ares wife, moon of my life,” he said.”

“Aes Sedai worked you till your hair fell out, then probably worked your bones after you were dead.”

“Well, no, some will need to walk.” He shook himself. “Dywen now, he says we need to learn to ride dead horses, like the Others do. He claims it would save on feed. How much could a dead horse eat?” Edd laced himself back up. “Can’t say I fancy the notion. Once they figure a way to work a dead horse, we’ll be next. Likely I’ll be the first too. ‘Edd,’ they’ll say, ‘dying’s no excuse for lying down no more, so get on up and take this spear, you’ve got the watch tonight.’ Well, I shouldn’t be so gloomy. Might be I’ll die before they work it out.”

An Other on a dead horse

Dolorous Edd

“Rhuarc only said that they must wait to see what the sun shone on tomorrow and that all men must wake from the dream, which was not so different from Dobraine”

Dobraine

“Wash the spears — Life is a dream.
Wash the spears — All dreams must end.”

“None of us fears death, Aes Sedai,” Amys told her, smiling gently as if explaining something to a child. “Life is a dream from which we all must wake before we can dream again. Besides, only four clans crossed the Dragonwall under Janduin. Six are here already, and you say Rand al'Thor means to take all of the clans.”

Amys

“Let them. Is it treason to say a man is mortal? Valar morghulis was how they said it in Valyria of old. All men must die. And the Doom came and proved it true.” The Dornishman went to the window to gaze out into the night. “It is being said that you have no witnesses for us.”

“No door or window broke the featureless stone walls of her small prison, and there were no glowbulbs or even lamps, but light came from somewhere.”

In the Age of Legends in TWOT they had advanced devices like electric lights, elevators, flying ships etc.  In ASOIAF in the Age of Heroes I believe that had similar things. 

“Pate knew about the glass candles, though he had never seen one burn. They were the worst-kept secret of the Citadel. It was said that they had been brought to Oldtown from Valyria a thousand years before the Doom. He had heard there were four; one was green and three were black, and all were tall and twisted.

“What are these glass candles?” asked Roone.”

“You saw some candle burning, I don’t doubt,” said Armen. “A candle of black wax, perhaps.”

“I know what I saw. The light was queer and bright, much brighter than any beeswax or tallow candle. It cast strange shadows and the flame never flickered, not even when a draft blew through the open door behind me.”

Armen crossed his arms. “Obsidian does not burn.”

Dragonglass spear

“Dragonglass,” Pate said. “The smallfolk call it dragonglass.” Somehow that seemed important.”

I believed that the glass candles, from the Age of Heroes, served a dual purpose one of them was to provide light similar to that of a glowbulb.

There is a guy named “Mord” that is a jailer in both series.

There is a third constant besides the Creator and the Dark One, Verin's meticulous voice said, a memory from another time. There is a world that lies within each of these others, inside all of them at the same time. Or perhaps surrounding them. Writers in the Age of Legends called it Tel'aran'rhiod.

Verin

Did this window represent one of those, another world where Dragon and Amyrlin ruled Tar Valon side by side?

"That's an interesting window," a voice said from behind her.

I have said for a long time that I think “The Wheel of Time” and “A Song of Ice and Fire” to be companion book series.  I believe that Westeros is a world where similar events are taking place to that in TWOT or vice versa however you view it.

Verin's letter to Mat:

“If you are opening this, then I am dead. I had planned to return and release you of your oath in a single day. There are many potential complications to my next task, however, and a large chance that I will not survive. I needed to know that I'd left someone behind who could see this work done.

Fortunately, if there's one thing I believe I can rely upon, it is your curiosity. I suspect you lasted a few days before opening this letter, which is long enough for me to have returned if I were going to. Therefore, this task falls upon you.

There is a Waygate in Caemlyn. It is guarded, barricaded, and thought secure. It is not.

Waygate

An enormous force of Shadowspawn moves through the Ways toward Caemlyn. I do not know when they left exactly, but there should be time to stop them. You must reach the Queen and persuade her to destroy the Waygate. It can be done; walling it up will not suffice. If you cannot destroy it, the Queen must bring all of her forces to bear upon guarding the location.

If you fail in this, I fear Caemlyn will be lost before the month is out.

Shadowspawn: Darkhound

Shadowspawn: Draghkar

Sincerely, Verin Mathwin”

I haven't had time to elaborate on Sam's story but I think he will fill the role of Verin in ASOIAF. He is a brown at heart, as he loves books and the knowledge he gains from them. I believe it will be he who discovers possibly how the runes, that the First Men left on rocks, can be used to travel making the staging of troops in preparation for the last battle feasible and not taking forever to accomplish. He will also discover the secret of the "Horn of Winter" which he currently possesses. He will discover this and much during his stay at the Citadel, which equates to the White Tower and more importantly the secret thirteenth depository, which I believe the Citadel, also has.  So with all that does that mean that Kings Landing has a gateway of sorts that will allow the enemy to pass through undetected and sack the city from within.

Sam Tarly

Horn of Winter

Kings Landing

“Egwene rubbed her temples. “There is a difference between touching the world and being free. During the War of Power, the Dark One was never truly released into the world. The Bore let him touch it, but that was re-sealed before he could escape. If the Dark One had entered the world, the Wheel itself would have been broken. Here, I brought this to show you.”

The “taint” that comes to some Targaryens will IMO overtake Daenerys.  Her conversation with Tyrion right now is sane but she will drift into insanity as the series progresses IMO.  This is one of the reasons why I think she will fall into madness like her father the Mad King Aerys.  This is why I believe that Tyrion will have to eventually step in and stop her.

Mad King Aerys

The events of both TWOT and ASOIAF repeat themselves from one age to the next.  Below is an example of a character from ASOIAF saying it:

“You may read it here. It is old and fragile.” He studied her, frowning. “Archmaester Rigney once wrote that history is a wheel, for the nature of man is fundamentally unchanging. What has happened before will perforce happen again, he said. I think of that whenever I contemplate the Crow’s Eye. Euron Greyjoy sounds queerly like Urron Greyiron to these old ears. I shall not go to Old Wyk. Nor should you.”

Euron Greyjoy

“Nearby, standing near the lanterns, a handful of Warders began clapping. Not a large audience—only six men—but Rand had not noticed them. 

Warder

The Maidens lifted their spears in salute.

Maiden of the Spear

“It has been quite a weight, hasn’t it?” Tam asked.

“What weight?” Rand replied.

“That lost hand you’ve been carrying.”

Rand looked down at his stump. “Yes. I believe it has been at that.”

Will something similar happen with Jaime?  I believe it will after it becomes known what he actually did for Kings Landing in saving it by killing King Aerys.

Will Jaime be vindicated by the truth?

"The Car'a'carn has embraced death," Amys said. "He has given up trying to be as strong as the stones, and has instead achieved the strength of the wind."

Bair nodded. "Almost, we will have to stop calling him a child." She smiled. "Almost."

Bair

Rand embraced death but did not die.  In this light the Wise Ones saw him go from boy to man.  Jon Snow will actually die and the man will be born and he will do what Maester Aemon said he must do:  “Kill the boy and let the man be born.”

 

Aiel Wise Ones

Maester Aemon

The Five Great Captains is a collective name used for the five finest generals in the Westlands. They are known for their supreme skills in the ways of war and strategy. The five men who are known as the Five Great Captains are as follows:

Pedron Niall, the Lord Captain Commander of the Children of the Light (deceased)

Pedron Niall

Children of the Light

Agelmar Jagad of Shienar, the Lord of Fal Dara

Agelmar Jagad

Gareth Bryne, former Captain General of the Queen's Guards in Andor (deceased)

Davram Bashere, Marshal-General of the Saldaean army (deceased)

Davram Bashere with his wife Deira

Rodel Ituralde, commander of the armies of Arad Doman

Lately however, Matrim Cauthon, because of the lost memories received from the Eelfinn, has proved to be as capable a general as these five men, if not more. Therefore, he could now be viewed as the sixth great captain in the Westlands or as an unofficial replacement for Pedron Niall.

 

In Westeros who would you name as the Five Great Captains?  Below are my choices:

Tywin Lannister

Tywin Lannister

Stannis Baratheon

Stannis Baratheon

Euron Greyjoy

Euron Greyjoy

Roose Bolton

Roose Bolton

Randyll Tarly

Randyll Tarly

Tyrion will become the sixth great captain in ASOIAF.  Also if you have been keeping up with my blog you know that I believe that Tyrion is the Mat character in TWOT.  Tyrion will be Tywin's replacement as Mat is the replacement for Pedron Niall.  IMO he will begin to show his intelligence in warfare and begin making the war plans that everyone will follow in the coming “Last Battle.”

Will Tyrion become a great battle commander?
I believe he will

“They talk in dreams?” she said, shaking her head. “It doesn’t seem possible, like something out of a story.”

Talking in dreams was a form of communications in TWOT.  I believe that the glass candles are also a form of communications device from the Age of Heroes similar to a callbox in TWOT.

Callbox

“A woman stood under the persimmon tree, clad in a hooded robe that brushed the grass. Beneath the hood, her face seemed hard and shiny. She is wearing a mask, Dany knew, a wooden mask finished in dark red lacquer. “Quaithe? Am I dreaming?” She pinched her ear and winced at the pain. “I dreamt of you on Balerion, when first we came to Astapor.”

Quaithe

Astapor

“You did not dream. Then or now.”

“What are you doing here? How did you get past my guards?”

“I came another way. Your guards never saw me.”

“If I call out, they will kill you.”

“They will swear to you that I am not here.”

“Are you here?”

“No. Hear me, Daenerys Targaryen. The glass candles are burning. Soon comes the pale mare, and after her the others. Kraken and dark flame, lion and griffin, the sun’s son and the mummer’s dragon. Trust none of them. Remember the Undying. Beware the perfumed seneschal.”

“Reznak? Why should I fear him?” Dany rose from the pool. Water trickled down her legs, and gooseflesh covered her arms in the cool night air. “If you have some warning for me, speak plainly.

What do you want of me, Quaithe?”

Moonlight shone in the woman’s eyes. “To show you the way.”

“I remember the way. I go north to go south, east to go west, back to go forward.  And to touch the light I have to pass beneath the shadow.” She squeezed the water from her silvery hair. “I am half-sick of riddling. In Qarth I was a beggar, but here I am a queen. I command you—”

Qarth

“Daenerys. Remember the Undying. Remember who you are.”

“The greater part of the world does not even know it yet, and most of the few who do fight skirmishes and believe they are battles. While the world refuses to believe, the Dark One may be at the brink of victory.

“You worm, you know nothing at all. As ignorant as a beetle under a rock, and as easily crushed. This struggle has gone on since the moment of creation. Always men think it a new war, but it is just the same war discovered anew.

The greater part of the world in ASOIAF doesn't know that they will also be at war soon.  The sentiment in TWOT is expressed in ASOIAF when Maester Luwin tells Osha to split Bran and Rickon up:

A dying Maester Luwin with Bran and Rickon

Osha

“White Harbor . . . the Umbers . . . I do not know . . . war everywhere . . . each man against his neighbor, and winter coming . . . such folly, such black mad folly . . .” Maester Luwin reached up and grasped Bran’s forearm, his fingers closing with a desperate strength. “You must be strong now. Strong.”

“It is the great battle His Grace is speaking of,” said a woman’s voice, rich with the accents of the east. Melisandre stood at the door in her red silks and shimmering satins, holding a covered silver dish in her hands. “These little wars are no more than a scuffle of children before what is to come. The one whose name may not be spoken is marshaling his power, Davos Seaworth, a power fell and evil and strong beyond measure. Soon comes the cold, and the night that never ends.” She placed the silver dish on the Painted Table. “Unless true men find the courage to fight it. Men whose hearts are fire.”

Melisandre

The Painted Table

“Egwene, Galad is so good he'd make you tear your hair out. He'd hurt a person because he had to serve a greater good. He wouldn't even notice who was hurt, because he'd be so intent on the other, but if he did, he would expect them to understand and think it was all well and right.”

 

The quote about Galad to me describes Stannis perfectly.  Remember the whole Davos and cutting his fingers off?

Davos

Stannis had never learned to soften his speech, to dissemble or flatter; he said what he thought, and those that did not like it could be damned. 

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.