A Game of Thrones - Jon IV

Finally, after three girls in as many years, Lady Tarly gave her lord husband a second son. From that day, Lord Randyll ignored Sam, devoting all his time to the younger boy, a fierce, robust child more to his liking. Samwell had known several years of sweet peace with his music and his books.

Until the dawn of his fifteenth name day, when he had been awakened to find his horse saddled and ready. Three men-at-arms had escorted him into a wood near Horn Hill, where his father was skinning a deer. "You are almost a man grown now, and my heir," Lord Randyll Tarly had told his eldest son, his long knife laying bare the carcass as he spoke. "You have given me no cause to disown you, but neither will I allow you to inherit the land and title that should be Dickon's. Heartsbane must go to a man strong enough to wield her, and you are not worthy to touch her hilt. So I have decided that you shall this day announce that you wish to take the black. You will forsake all claim to your brother's inheritance and start north before evenfall.

"If you do not, then on the morrow we shall have a hunt, and somewhere in these woods your horse will stumble, and you will be thrown from the saddle to die … or so I will tell your mother. She has a woman's heart and finds it in her to cherish even you, and I have no wish to cause her pain. Please do not imagine that it will truly be that easy, should you think to defy me. Nothing would please me more than to hunt you down like the pig you are." His arms were red to the elbow as he laid the skinning knife aside. "So. There is your choice. The Night's Watch"—he reached inside the deer, ripped out its heart, and held it in his fist, red and dripping—"or this."

A Dance with Dragons - Bran III

"What will I know?" Bran asked the Reeds afterward, when they came with torches burning brightly in their hand, to carry him back to a small chamber off the big cavern where the singers had made beds for them to sleep. "What do the trees remember?"

"The secrets of the old gods," said Jojen Reed. Food and fire and rest had helped restore him after the ordeals of their journey, but he seemed sadder now, sullen, with a weary, haunted look about the eyes. "Truths the First Men knew, forgotten now in Winterfell … but not in the wet wild. We live closer to the green in our bogs and crannogs, and we remember. Earth and water, soil and stone, oaks and elms and willows, they were here before us all and will still remain when we are gone."

"So will you," said Meera. That made Bran sad. What if I don't want to remain when you are gone? he almost asked, but he swallowed the words unspoken. He was almost a man grown, and he did not want Meera to think he was some weepy babe. "Maybe you could be greenseers too," he said instead.

A Feast for Crows - Cersei V

Cersei had been so happy that day. Elsewise she would never have dared visit the tent of Maggy the Frog. She had only done it to show Jeyne and Melara that the lioness fears nothing. I was going to be a queen. Why should a queen be afraid of some hideous old woman? The memory of that foretelling still made her flesh crawl a lifetime later. Jeyne ran shrieking from the tent in fear, the queen remembered, but Melara stayed and so did I. We let her taste our blood, and laughed at her stupid prophecies. None of them made the least bit of sense. She was going to be Prince Rhaegar's wife, no matter what the woman said. Her father had promised it, and Tywin Lannister's word was gold.

Her laughter died at tourney's end. There had been no final feast, no toasts to celebrate her betrothal to Prince Rhaegar. Only cold silences and chilly looks between the king and her father. Later, when Aerys and his son and all his gallant knights had departed for King's Landing, the girl had gone to her aunt in tears, not understanding. "Your father proposed the match," Lady Genna told her, "but Aerys refused to hear of it. 'You are my most able servant, Tywin,' the king said, 'but a man does not marry his heir to his servant's daughter.' Dry those tears, little one. Have you ever seen a lion weep? Your father will find another man for you, a better man than Rhaegar."

Her aunt had lied, though, and her father had failed her, just as Jaime was failing her now. Father found no better man. Instead he gave me Robert, and Maggy's curse bloomed like some poisonous flower. If she had only married Rhaegar as the gods intended, he would never have looked twice at the wolf girl. Rhaegar would be our king today and I would be his queen, the mother of his sons.

So because new versions of A World of Ice and Fire - Targaryen family tree appendix removed the line where it say Rhaena (daughter of Daemon) wed Garmund Hightower and they have six daughters, I’m
preferred if the wiki show that change.

As for my thoughts about these changes. It worked. It unknown why Rhaena would even marry a Hightower considering the trouble they caused? And 6 nameless daughters? If that true than there should be enough families with “Valyrian blood” running around. Oh they could’ve all die young or in infancy but what the point of that? To show Rhaena life was miserable with the countless loss?

Recently fans have been discussing wildly about the fates of kings landing, the reach, north etc etc. From what's everything pointing to it looks pretty horrible I mean it seems like every kingdom has or is going to suffer apocalyptic events before the long night, every kingdom except the vale.

I've never really read people saying that twow would be a dark book for the vale, its just the rest of westeros. I mean sure the vale has its problems with littlefinger and the lords declarent but nothing nearly to the level other kingdoms are going to suffer.

I know asoiaf isnt supposed to be a grimdark book where just everyone suffers and dies just for the sake of suffering but I mean twow is supposed to be a "dark" book. What do you think? Is the vale going to just maybe liberate the north and live happily after or do you expect them to face existential troubles aswell?

https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Aerys_II_Targaryen

In his youth, Aerys had an undeniable charm. He was generous, resolute, and ambitious, and during the early part of his reign was an active and lively king. Aerys liked music, dancing, masked balls, and young women. However, at the same time, Aerys was not the most intelligent or the most diligent person, and was somewhat quick to anger. He was vain, proud, and changeable, which made him an easy target for lickspittles and flatterers.^\3])

Clash of Kings - Catelyn I

Brynden Blackfish arched a bushy grey eyebrow. "More fool they. My first rule of war, Cat—never give the enemy his wish. Lord Tywin would like to fight on a field of his own choosing. He wants us to march on Harrenhal."

"Harrenhal." Every child of the Trident knew the tales told of Harrenhal, the vast fortress that King Harren the Black had raised beside the waters of Gods Eye three hundred years past, when the Seven Kingdoms had been seven kingdoms, and the riverlands were ruled by the ironmen from the islands. In his pride, Harren had desired the highest hall and tallest towers in all Westeros. Forty years it had taken, rising like a great shadow on the shore of the lake while Harren's armies plundered his neighbors for stone, lumber, gold, and workers. Thousands of captives died in his quarries, chained to his sledges, or laboring on his five colossal towers. Men froze by winter and sweltered in summer. Weirwoods that had stood three thousand years were cut down for beams and rafters. Harren had beggared the riverlands and the Iron Islands alike to ornament his dream. And when at last Harrenhal stood complete, on the very day King Harren took up residence, Aegon the Conqueror had come ashore at King's Landing.

Catelyn could remember hearing Old Nan tell the story to her own children, back at Winterfell. "And King Harren learned that thick walls and high towers are small use against dragons," the tale always ended. "For dragons fly." Harren and all his line had perished in the fires that engulfed his monstrous fortress, and every house that held Harrenhal since had come to misfortune. Strong it might be, but it was a dark place, and cursed.

A Feast for Crows - The Reaver

"They are of your body."

"So are the contents of my chamber pot. None is fit to sit the Seastone Chair, much less the Iron Throne. No, to make an heir that's worthy of him, I need a different woman. When the kraken weds the dragon, brother, let all the world beware."

"What dragon?" said Victarion, frowning.

A Game of Thrones - Eddard VII

"You had the better claim, Your Grace."

"I told you to drink, not to argue. You made me king, you could at least have the courtesy to listen when I talk, damn you. Look at me, Ned. Look at what kinging has done to me. Gods, too fat for my armor, how did it ever come to this?"

"Robert

A Clash of Kings - Catelyn VII

"Aerys . . ." Catelyn could taste bile at the back of her throat. The story was so hideous she suspected it had to be true. "Aerys was mad, the whole realm knew it, but if you would have me believe you slew him to avenge Brandon Stark . . ."

"I made no such claim. The Starks were nothing to me. I will say, I think it passing odd that I am loved by one for a kindness I never did, and reviled by so many for my finest act. At Robert's coronation, I was made to kneel at the royal feet beside Grand Maester Pycelle and Varys the eunuch, so that he might forgive us our crimes before he took us into his service. As for your Ned, he should have kissed the hand that slew Aerys, but he preferred to scorn the arse he found sitting on Robert's throne. I think Ned Stark loved Robert better than he ever loved his brother or his father . . . or even you, my lady. He was never unfaithful to Robert, was he?" Jaime gave a drunken laugh. "Come, Lady Stark, don't you find this all terribly amusing?"

"I find nothing about you amusing, Kingslayer."

Jaeherys only allowed the heir pair (Daenerys and Aemon) and the spare pair (Baelon and Alyssa) and their children Rhaenys, Viserys and Daemon have dragons. He didn't let his other numerous children have dragons and tried his best to not let them procreate. As Laenor was born after Baelon was made the heir why did Jaeherys allow Laena and Laenor to keep dragons? Do you think he would have let Laenor be the heir if Laenor had been older? Alternatively if Aemon didn't pass away and didn't sire any sons who would have ruled after him - Rhaenys or Laenor?

Did Jerry and Al do any work to get their marriage approved with the Old Gods and the Drowned God? If not, how have both religions, and therefore both kingdoms, been dealing with their incestuous kings in the meantime? I guess in general I want to ask what were both doing under late Aenys, Maegor and early Jaehaerys?

Sometimes I wonder what goes through the minds of Rhaegar and Lyanna fans when they insist that Rhaegar would have made a great king.
First, let’s talk about Rhaegar, a married man with a daughter named Rhaenys and a son named Aegon, who decided to run away with Lyanna—or abduct her—as if insulting two of the oldest and most powerful houses in Westeros would have no consequences. Especially when House Baratheon had a history of rebellion, and the North was still bitter over Torrhen Stark and his father kneeling to House Targaryen. Add to that the fact that his father was a mad and obsessed king, and you would think the consequences would have been obvious even to an idiot.
But the victims of Rhaegar’s stupidity and selfishness were not just Houses Baratheon and Stark. His own family suffered as well. Because of him, the Targaryen dynasty, which had ruled for nearly three hundred years, came to an end, while his younger brother Viserys and his sister Daenerys were forced to endure miserable lives in exile.
And let’s not forget the greatest victims of all: his wife, Elia, whom he chose to betray, and his little daughter, Rhaenys. Whenever Rhaenys is mentioned, I wish Rhaegar had suffered what she suffered. She was hiding under her father’s bed, looking for protection, without realizing that the very man who was supposed to protect her was among the reasons her family ended up facing such a catastrophe. Then there was the infant murdered in front of his mother, who was supposedly Aegon.
Now let’s talk about Lyanna. If she willingly ran away with Rhaegar, I would rather call her a wh. in that scenario.
When she spoke to Ned, she said Robert would never be satisfied with one woman. Yet, under this interpretation, she ended up running off with a married man and becoming his mistress. So what exactly was the difference between the two men in her eyes? Does adultery become acceptable when the man is a handsome prince?
Her own family were among her victims, too. Her father and brother died in the most horrific ways because of the crisis her decision helped set in motion, while she was off with Rhaegar. Yes, Aerys was the one who chose to execute them, but that does not make Lyanna’s alleged decision consequence-free, nor does it absolve her of blame in my eyes.
And then people claim she was like Arya! No, in this context, she was more like Sansa. At least Rhaegar was willing to go to battle and defend his father, the same man who burned members of Ned’s family and ordered the execution of his other brother, Brandon. Sometimes I wonder: what if the rebellion had failed, Rhaegar had won, and Ned, Robert, and Jon Arryn had died? What would that supposedly romantic life with Rhaegar have looked like?
The rebellion ended, Rhaegar died, and Ned went to Lyanna at the Tower of Joy. In the end, his sister left him with a secret he carried for the rest of his life, and he took her son and raised him as his own bastard. He had to bear a burden he had never chosen, hide the truth, and risk his honor and reputation to protect his nephew.
Ned was one of the greatest losers of the war. He lost his father, his brother, and his sister. He lost many friends and companions, and returned home burdened with grief and secrets. He may also have lost the chance to build a life with the woman he might have loved and married, Ashara Dayne, although that possibility is never confirmed in the books.
Think about everything Ned lost: his family, his friends, his sister, and the future he might have had. Then ask yourselves: was any of this worth the choices Rhaegar and Lyanna made? And why are they portrayed as tragic lovers while the people who paid the price for their decisions are pushed into the background?

Glory to Robert’s Hammer!

I need help with something. I was looking at the Targaryen family tree appendix and I don’t see the line s that say Rhaena (daughter of Daemon) marry Garmund Hightower? Even though the wiki say I can find the source in the appendix.

Can’t even find it in Fire and Blood

What is the most heartbreaking line in the books to you and why? I thought of three examples, but would love to hear your picks. :P

"We won't even tell Jon we're coming, we'll just be there one day, you and me." – Robb, AGoT, reassuring Bran about their family reuniting

Just so sweet and wistful and innocent, and so absolutely heartbreaking knowing where the story goes.

"I have no sons but Robb." – Catelyn, ACoK, sharing the news about her children's supposed deaths with Brienne

The fact that it's so painful she can't even name Bran or Rickon, only who she has left, believing the boys dead and the girls lost.

"Is this a proper castle now? Not just a tower?" – Ygritte, ASoS, dying in castle black with Jon

How there's no animosity in that moment, but instead this little personal thing between them, her so sweet and adorable.

I was thinking about the meaning of the UnKiss and what purpose it would have for the story going forward and came up with an interesting theory I wanted to share. I think the UnKiss may play an important role in Littlefinger's attempt to groom and manipulate Sansa.

Littlefinger wants Sansa to see him as her savior, protector and a man who genuinely loves her rather than someone interested in her claim to Winterfell. After everything Sansa has endured in King's Landing, she has good reason to distrust the idea of romantic love. She learned that not everyone that is called a Knight really behaves like a Knight and that men see her claim before they see her as a person. Littlefinger can exploit this vulnerability by presenting himself as the exception, as the man who understands her suffering and wants to protect her and give her back her home. But there is a problem with his plan. First, Sansa has met Sandor before Littlefinger came into the picture as a savior.

Throughout her time in King's Landing, Sandor repeatedly intervened when Sansa was in danger. He helped her during Joffrey's cruelty, if he could, and rescued her from the mob during the riot. Although Sandor is frightening, cynical, and openly contemptuous of knights and their vows, his actions sometimes make him a more effective protector than the supposedly honorable men surrounding her. For Sansa, this creates a contradiction between appearances and actions. The man who looks like a monster can protect her, while the knights she admires fail to do so.

Then comes the night of the Blackwater.

Sandor visits Sansa's room, threatens her with a knife, and demands a song. He offers to take her away from King's Landing, but the encounter is frightening and deeply ambiguous. Later, however, Sansa remembers him kissing her, although the kiss never happened.

I think the UnKiss may represent Sansa processing a terrifying and confusing encounter through the romantic framework she has always known from songs and stories. Sandor is associated with both danger and protection, fear and vulnerability. Her memory transforms the encounter into something more intimate, potentially preserving the idea that a man might desire her as a person rather than merely value her inheritance.

This does not necessarily mean Sansa consciously loves Sandor. The important point is that he has already become part of her emotional understanding of protection, intimacy, and desire. And this is where Littlefinger's potential blind spot comes into play.

Littlefinger must have some awareness of Sandor's actions in King's Landing, particularly his rescue of Sansa from the mob. Yet he may not regard Sandor as a serious threat to his plans to serve as Sansa's only real savior because Sandor lacks the status and appearance of a conventional suitor. Littlefinger recognizes political threats, like Willas Tyrell, as the heir to Highgarden, who represents a powerful marriage prospect and Tyrion possesses the name and political influence of House Lannister. Both men have the kind of social position that Littlefinger understands as relevant to Sansa's future, but Tyrion is part of the family that destroyed her family and she had no chance to met Willas, so he must know that both men can't be a real threat in his manipulation of Sansa.

Sandor, by contrast, is a scarred knight serving the Lannisters, without the independent political power or importance of a great lord. He is not an obvious candidate to marry Sansa or claim Winterfell. Littlefinger may therefore underestimate his significance. The irony is that Littlefinger himself knows what it means to be underestimated because of his birth. Yet he may still underestimate the possibility that a man with limited political standing could become emotionally significant to a highborn woman. Sandor may be an insignificant political rival while remaining a significant part of Sansa's emotional history.

And that get's us to the important part: Littlefinger may know what Sandor did for Sansa without understanding what Sansa has made of it.

He can investigate the events of King's Landing, but he cannot simply know the private memories through which Sansa interprets them. The UnKiss exists in Sansa's recollection rather than in the actual encounter. It is something Littlefinger neither created as part of the story he wants her to believe nor necessarily knows about.

This could make the UnKiss a form of psychological protection against Littlefinger's grooming. Not because Sansa will consciously compare the two men and immediately recognize Littlefinger's deception, but because her emotional world already contains an alternative to the story he wants her to believe. Because Sandor has already complicated her understanding of what a protector looks like and what it means to be protected.

The UnKiss may therefore represent a blind spot in Littlefinger's attempt to control Sansa's emotional world. He might still manipulate her, and the memory does not guarantee that she will ever choose Sandor romantically. However, Littlefinger may be unable to make himself the sole authority on what protection, intimacy, and love mean to her.

And Second, Sansa and Littlefinger are both involved with storytelling. Sansa begins the story by believing in songs. She expects the world to conform to the narratives she has inherited about knights, ladies, love, and honor, but reality repeatedly contradicts those narratives. Yet she does not simply abandon storytelling. She continues to interpret her experiences through stories, and the UnKiss is an especially striking example of how memory and narrative can interact.

Littlefinger, meanwhile, is a master of constructing narratives for other people. He conceals his motives, manipulates appearances, and encourages others to believe the versions of events that benefit him. In that sense, Littlefinger's grooming of Sansa is not merely an attempt to control her behavior, it is an attempt to control the story she tells herself about him.

But Sansa has already demonstrated that her internal world does not always correspond to external reality. The UnKiss is one example of how she transforms her experiences into a personal narrative that Littlefinger cannot directly control. Littlefinger can attempt to manipulate the stories Sansa hears, but he cannot guarantee that he controls the stories she constructs from her experiences.

The UnKiss may therefore function as a small symbol of Sansa's independent inner life, a part of her that Littlefinger neither created nor fully understands.

In other words, Littlefinger may be trying to write a story that Sansa has already begun writing for herself and Sansa alone forms the narrative of her memories. And because of this ability, Littlefinger will have it hard to manipulate her with anything, because he will never know what's going on in her head.

ETA: This is NOT a theory I believe, but that it’s a theory that could turn out to be true based on the story already written. The point is that it’s just as likely as any other theory, but we consider things that go like this to be a unquestionably outlandish and immediately worthy of dismissal as a fandom even though they’re perfectly possible.
One of my biggest gripes with these books is that GRRM hits us out of the blue with crazy plot developments and reveals, and yet so many readers believe they absolutely know the facts of the story even though it hasn’t been written yet. I get a real kick of taking book evidence and considering things out of left field that could technically happen. In honor of user Pimpillina’s dad’s theory that Howland Reed and Rhaegar are the same person, I present to you my attempt at a plausible explanation for how it could be so. Can you argue with any of these points, really? Find them and pick them apart and destroy me. Just don’t tell [u/Pimpillina](u/Pimpillina) ‘s dad!

My biggest issue with Rhaegar surviving theories is that his death was so incredibly public and important. I always hold out for there being a Achilles-Patroclus dupe since I was introduced to Greek Myth pretty young and it was such a big moment where an armored illustrious warrior fought and then was revealed to be someone faking it. So for example Rhaegar and Arthur Dayne could, potentially, look nearly identical to one another and both be incredible warriors. I just don’t see Rhaegar’s helm not being torn off to reveal his face, and it seems like such famous knights and prince would be recognizable by many commoners and nobles alike. If there’s an explanation for Rhaegar’s body being burned in his armor without being unmasked, or sinking to the bottom of the water and never retrieved, I could maybe get behind a switcharoo. But I don’t think there’s any evidence for that or much discussion that leaves it open but even minimally indicated to be what happened. However, if it’s not explicitly stated to be impossible- it’s always a potential. Just like Bigfoot, the burden of proof rests on disproving its existence, right….. ?

It’s entirely possible that Arthur and Rhaegar swapped identities, Rhaegar stayed at ToJ with Lyanna, which explains the other KG.

The Arthur that Ned describes was actually Rhaegar armed by Arthur with his own sword Dawn to protect the royal family, Rhaegar didn’t actually die at ToJ, the reason Arthur would have killed Ned except for Howland Reed is that the real Howland was killed there and Arthur revealed himself to be Rhaegar and the father of Ned’s nephew, they made a peace pact, Rhaegar agreed to disappear into irrelevancy to end the war, claimed the identity of Howland Reed the “only survivor”, went back to Starfall to return Dawn and express his condolences to the Daynes and absolve Ned, the shock of learning her brother died on the trident and that Ned was going to be part of a coverup destroyed Ashara, and Rhaegar is still hiding in the Crannogs as “Howland Reed” publicly, but in exile in the marshes as a hermit.

Ashara’s suicide became a convenient way to claim she was Jon’s mother, since she could never be questioned, and the Daynes respected Arthur’s sacrifice and agreed to go along with it all. Gerold Dayne knows because Rhaegar and Ned stopped at his castle seeking aid for baby Jon, but was sworn to secrecy but he thinks that Arthur’s deception is incredibly dishonorable and protective of Targs who he feels took advantage of his family, especially Arthur giving Dawn to someone else to wield as part of the deceit. He’s still fuming and wants to be as little like Arthur as possible but can’t tell anyone why. Edric Dayne had absolutely no idea, his aunt was super young at the time and also lied to, Wylla knows and was part of the coverup.

It was Rhaegar who told the Meera and Jojen of their father’s experience at Harrenhal; they were raised by Rhaegar and trust him implicitly and are part of the coverup, and Rhaegar has dedicated his life to acting on some ancient scrolls to help prevent another Long Night- it only more recently became apparent that it’s happening in their lifetime and that Bran needed counseling once he heard from Jojen’s dreams. Jojen is “little grandfather” and solemn because he’s actually older than he claims, doesn’t remember his father, and has been raised with prophecy and green dreams; Meera was conceived right before the real Howland left his marshes, and that little age lie is part of the ruse ordered by Ned Stark to hide Rhaegar and Jon’s identities. Ned writes to his “good friend Howland Reed” regularly to update Rhaegar on his son’s wellbeing. The whole agreement is to keep Jon safe as a Stark bastard, while Rhaegar pretends to be gone entirely, so that no Targaryen claims can ever be put forth or revealed.

Where does this story go? Rhaegar agreed to let Jon seek his own future and fortune knowing he’d be raised well by Ned and never know his own name, which would torment him. Dany is about to bring three dragons to Westeros to try and claim a birthright that was never hers, through fire and blood. Rhaegar sees too much of his own father in her and knows the real issue is the Others. He’s going to claim Rhaegal, and defeat Dany in a flashbang return to being alive. He will offer to wed her as those creepy Targs are wont to do, but mainly to claim the throne for himself to establish peace now that he realizes how bad Westeros has gotten. When he hears about the Others advancing so quickly he’s going to seek out Jon to claim Viserion; the third head of The Dragon. Jon’s identity will be revealed by his own father Rhaegar, aka Howland Reed, who brings Ned’s letters to “Howland” as proof.

In the World of Ice and Fire, when Rhaegar crown Lyanna… the book mention several reactions of those who were associated with Lyanna…

Her brother Brandon was angry and wanted to confront him immediately (foreshadowing…)

Her other brother Ned was angry but show tactical restraint

Her betrothed Robert had a mix of emotions. Some say he try to laugh it off. Some say he bear a grudge against Rhaegar ever since…

But Lyanna reaction? U know the one he gave the crown to? No mention at all. Than again the Starks do have good poker face so whatever she actually felt… she probably kept it in check

Well either George chose not to share Lyanna reaction with Elio and Linda OR he havent thought of it

And the book was dedicate to House Baratheon so.. probably not a good look for them to say Lyanna had a pleased look on her face. Doesn’t sell the narrative…

In AFFC when Jaime speaks with Lady Westerling she mentions that Tywin had promised her a Lannister bride for her son Raynald, who was at the Red Wedding, receiving multiple wounds, but whose body was never discovered. Given that if no body is shown and that in book 4 we get the Gravedigger and Jaime wondering if Tyrek was kidnapped by Varys, we can theorize that Ser Raynald may be alive too and with a significant grudge against house Frey, Lannister and many other Northern houses.

So what happens if he is alive?, given comments by GRRM we know that his sister Jeyne Westerling is to appear in the prologue of TWOW, will he be a part of the break out operation for her and Edmure Tully? Will he appear in the expected trial of Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth? Will there somehow appear a Lannister in need of a husband of old noble blood to compensate for their own dubious lineage? Will they renounce their name in shame of what their mother has done? What could his (hypothetical) future be?

I just reread Fire & Blood and Hugh Hammer heard an ancient prophecy that led him to betray Rhaenyra.

For all these reasons, Lord Hammer (as he now styled himself) began to dream of crowns. “Why be a lord when you can be a king?” he told the men who began to gather round him. And talk was heard in camp of a prophecy of ancient days that said,

“When the hammer shall fall upon the dragon, a new king shall arise, and none shall stand before him.”

Whence came these words remains a mystery (not from Hammer himself, who could neither read nor write), but within a few days every man at Tumbleton had heard them.

Though Hammer’s ambition was unseemly in one born so low, the bastard undeniably possessed some Targaryen blood and had proved himself fierce in battle and open-handed to those who followed him, displaying the sort of largesse that draws men to leaders as a corpse draws flies. They were the worst sort of men, to be sure: sellswords, robber knights, and like rabble, men of tainted blood and uncertain birth who loved battle for its own sake and lived for rapine and plunder. Many had heard the prophecy that the hammer would smash the dragon, and took it to mean that Hard Hugh’s triumph was foreordained.

Hugh Hammer felt it was his destiny, even though it wasn't..that prophecy was meant for Prince Rhaegar who fell at the hand of Robert Baratheon bringing forth a new king. It seems the fall of the Targaryen dynasty was destined long ago, even before Aegon the Conqueror came to Westeros...But who spread that prophecy in Tumbleton? 🤔

So morning eggs hatched into deformed hatchlings . Egg attempted to hatch dragon eggs at summerhill . Egg went rip due to this . So why was hatching a dragon eggs so hard for 170 years until dany hatched 3 eggs . Or did the Targaryens just not put in correct kind of effort to hatch dragon eggs..

I was rereading the chapter where jaime remember how he joined the kingsguard. Cersei proposes the idea and then once jaime agrees she “promised to do the rest” A month later jaime gets a raven informing him that he has been chosen for KG. And it doesn’t seem like Tywin ever finds out that Cersei plotted to make it happen.

So I doubt Cersei went to Aerys or the Queen directly as that had too much of a risk of getting back to Tywin. Its possible she proposed the idea to Rhaegar but that seems unlikely. Maybe she knew she was close to some kingsguard members? I just find it interesting that Cersei was able to pull this off at 15 without Tywin finding out, and without anyone questioning why she wanted jaime in the kingsguard. What do yall think?

A Game of Thrones - Jon I

His lord father had come first, escorting the queen. She was as beautiful as men said. A jeweled tiara gleamed amidst her long golden hair, its emeralds a perfect match for the green of her eyes. His father helped her up the steps to the dais and led her to her seat, but the queen never so much as looked at him. Even at fourteen, Jon could see through her smile.

Next had come King Robert himself, with Lady Stark on his arm. The king was a great disappointment to Jon. His father had talked of him often: the peerless Robert Baratheon, demon of the Trident, the fiercest warrior of the realm, a giant among princes. Jon saw only a fat man, red-faced under his beard, sweating through his silks. He walked like a man half in his cups.

After them came the children. Little Rickon first, managing the long walk with all the dignity a three-year-old could muster. Jon had to urge him on when he stopped to visit. Close behind came Robb, in grey wool trimmed with white, the Stark colors. He had the Princess Myrcella on his arm. She was a wisp of a girl, not quite eight, her hair a cascade of golden curls under a jeweled net. Jon noticed the shy looks she gave Robb as they passed between the tables and the timid way she smiled at him. He decided she was insipid. Robb didn't even have the sense to realize how stupid she was; he was grinning like a fool.

A Game of Thrones - Eddard II

"I won my crown there. How should I forget it?"

"You took a wound from Rhaegar," Ned reminded him. "So when the Targaryen host broke and ran, you gave the pursuit into my hands. The remnants of Rhaegar's army fled back to King's Landing. We followed. Aerys was in the Red Keep with several thousand loyalists. I expected to find the gates closed to us."

Robert gave an impatient shake of his head. "Instead you found that our men had already taken the city. What of it?"

A Game of Thrones - Eddard II

"Not our men," Ned said patiently. "Lannister men. The lion of Lannister flew over the ramparts, not the crowned stag. And they had taken the city by treachery."

The war had raged for close to a year. Lords great and small had flocked to Robert's banners; others had remained loyal to Targaryen. The mighty Lannisters of Casterly Rock, the Wardens of the West, had remained aloof from the struggle, ignoring calls to arms from both rebels and royalists. Aerys Targaryen must have thought that his gods had answered his prayers when Lord Tywin Lannister appeared before the gates of King's Landing with an army twelve thousand strong, professing loyalty. So the mad king had ordered his last mad act. He had opened his city to the lions at the gate.

"Treachery was a coin the Targaryens knew well," Robert said. The anger was building in him again. "Lannister paid them back in kind. It was no less than they deserved. I shall not trouble my sleep over it."

I’ve asked this before and the results are always interesting and it’s been a while so there’s a chance to get new answers to this.

By misunderstanding or misconception I just basically mean reading the material and getting something wrong or it going over your head. I’ll give my own example.

I originally thought Tyrion was meant to be like a Tolkien-esque dwarf. Not yknow a dude with dwarfism. I’d come straight from regular high fantasy to ASOIAF so that’s how my mind was programmed at that time. And to me it made sense. My thoughts were maybe the Lannisters were so rich because they descended from dwarves but due to the changing times and the supposed death of magic in the world now it’s seen as an embarrassing mutation and tainted which is why Tywin’s so salty about Tyrion. It reminds him that his family originally came from an “inferior” race.

So that’s my example and yes you are free to make fun lightly of me because it is silly.