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nightswatchdisbandmentera · 8 months

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Ned's Tower of Joy dream is an interesting case study on how GRRM employs the three part revelation strategy. Because Ned's questioning of the kings guard and their subsequent answers basically falls into:

Q: Why are the kingsguard at the Tower of Joy? They could be anywhere else but they're here? Why??

A: They are there to fulfill their duty to the king.

See, Ned asks them three questions that get to the heart of revealing why the kingsguard are present where Lyanna (and Jon, per RLJ) are. Because if the kingsguard's primary duty is to protect the king, and if each set of question and answer reaffirms that the KG at the tower were doing their duty, then we can discern that Rhaegar's son is the king at that moment in time. Each question and answer reveals more information than the last, which falls into the three part strategy as observed by GRRM's editor, Anne Groell.

[...] I’ve realized his three-fold revelation strategy, I see it in play almost every time. The first, subtle hint for the really astute readers, followed later by the more blatant hint for the less attentive, followed by just spelling it out for everyone else. It’s a brilliant strategy, and highly effective.

How this strategy plays into the ToJ dream is that GRRM starts with

planting a little seed of doubt by questioning the kingsguard's whereabouts

then he follows up with bringing to attention the fact that they have not yet sworn fealty to the new king

then finally spelling it out that their presence here rather than elsewhere signifies that the king is close at hand - in the very tower where this confrontation is taking place

For the astute observer who has figured out that R+L=J, this is a very important piece of information regarding Jon's status at the time. Because he has so far been introduced to us as Ned Stark's bastard. But now, this sequence of information plays into the larger theme of Jon being presented as a hidden king.

So let's take a more detailed look at how this plays out in the dream once Ned confronts the ghosts of the kingsguard.

P.S: Ok, I lied. Ned actually asks them four questions. But four is not so nice a number as three so whatever. The point remains.

Q1: Three other kingsguard were fighting with the crown prince at the Trident. Yet these three remained. Why?

A1: Their duty was not to go to the Trident but to remain at the ToJ

“I looked for you on the Trident,” Ned said to them. “We were not there,” Ser Gerold answered. “Woe to the Usurper if we had been,” said Ser Oswell.

This first set means to establish a timeline. We know that Rhaegar was last at the tower (well, that is before he went to Kings Landing and then to the Trident). Rhaegar even took three other kingsguard to battle with him: Jonothor Darry, Barristan Selmy, and Lewyn Martell.

These three kings guard at the ToJ should have gone with Rhaegar because after all, it's their duty to fight for the king and his cause. But they were left at the TOJ. And we can assume that this was per Rhaegar's orders as GRRM himself confirms that if Rhaegar told them to stay at the tower, then they would've had little power to disobey him.

But Rhaegar died at the Trident. So why did they choose to remain? And even though this conversation is happening within a feverish dream (thus opening up the possibility that these words were not the actual ones that were exchanged in real history), it still seems that by the time Ned got to the tower the kingsguard already knew of Rhaegar's demise.

So why did they remain?

Q2: Jaime Lannister, a member of the kingsguard, was in King's Landing slaying their king. Why were these three not there to avenge Aerys? Isn't their primary duty to protect the king?

A2: Aerys is dead, but the kingsguard still has to do their duty which is to remain at the tower.

“When King’s Landing fell, Ser Jaime slew your king with a golden sword, and I wondered where you were.” “Far away,” Ser Gerold said, “or Aerys would yet sit the Iron Throne, and our false brother would burn in seven hells.”

Once again, the language used here suggests that they knew of their king's demise. They did not go with Rhaegar to the Trident, and then Rhaegar died. Who knows how fast information travels, but these three still chose to remain at the tower despite his death. Afterwards, they did not make an effort to find Aerys, nor did they make an effort to go and avenge him once he was dead. They swore an oath to remain at the tower, and that is exactly what they did.

But with Rhaegar dead and with Aerys dead, they're now running out of excuses to remain at the tower. Though they may be fiercely loyal to the vows they swore to their prince, they also have a primary duty to obey their king and they could've performed that elsewhere. Especially now that there's a new king in town...

Q3: Ok, their king is dead and the entire realm now swears fealty to a new king. All the knights, honorable and dishonorable, have bent the knee. But what about them? Why are they here?

A3: They have a duty to remain at the tower. A duty they fulfill as members of the kingsguard, and one that cannot be transferred easily.

“I came down on Storm’s End to lift the siege,” Ned told them, “and the Lords Tyrell and Redwyne dipped their banners, and all their knights bent the knee to pledge us fealty. I was certain you would be among them.” “Our knees do not bend easily,” said Ser Arthur Dayne.

What's interesting about this is that they seemingly reject Robert as their king. It's a reaffirmation of their first answer to Ned's first question. "Woe to the Usurper if we had been [at the Trident]”. So Robert is not their king. But the primary duty of the kingsguard is to serve the king. Their behavior so far gives the impression that they are fulfilling it. But it's rather strange, isn't it. Who are they fulfilling their duty to if not Robert?

And Ned knows this. If they reject Robert as their king, who else is there to support? Rhaegar is long dead. Aerys was slain by their own sworn brother. And Rhaegar's son and heir met his end at the hand of Gregor Clegane. Their duty is sworn to the Targaryen line, but it has been snuffed out. So why are they here?

But Ned asks a final question that is, in a way, a nail in the coffin. It answers the question: they serve the king but which one?

Q4: Fine! Robert is not their king. And Rhaegar, Aerys, and Aegon are dead. Well...there is Viserys, who would have been Aerys' heir after Rhaegar. He's not dead. So why are they not with him?

A4: They do not go to Viserys because their duty as kingsguard(!) is not with him.

“Ser Willem Darry is fled to Dragonstone, with your queen and Prince Viserys. I thought you might have sailed with him.” “Ser Willem is a good man and true,” said Ser Oswell. “But not of the Kingsguard,” Ser Gerold pointed out. “The Kingsguard does not flee.” “Then or now,” said Ser Arthur. He donned his helm. “We swore a vow,” explained old Ser Gerold.

This is the final revelation and it answers the key question in all of this. The kingsguard performed their duty by guarding their king at the Tower of Joy. They are not serving Aerys by remaining there. And they are also not doing Viserys, who is currently at Dragonstone, any favors. Whatever vow they swore as kingsguard relates to the ToJ. And we know (per RLJ) that the two people at the tower are Lyanna Stark and Jon Snow, Rhaegar's last surviving son and heir.

We're given two key pieces of information with the last two sets of question and answer in regards to the kingsguards performing their duty by guarding Jon at the tower. First when Arthur Dayne says that, "our knees do not bend easily". Of course, they do not bend for Robert the usurper as we already know...

...But, the start of the dream features a very important detail.

Ser Oswell Whent was on one knee, sharpening his blade with a whetstone.

Ser Oswell has already bent the knee. And he means to fight for the king he has sworn a vow to since he is preparing his sword.

Then we have Ser Gerold 'pointing out' (thus bringing attention to) the fact that though Prince Viserys and Queen Rhaella are still alive and under the protection of a good knight, they are not under the protection of kingsguard. The kings guard does not flee - they stand their ground and fight for their king. And this is again asserted by Ser Gerold who reminds Ned that “we swore a vow.”

So we have a three four part revelation that the last stand at the ToJ involved protecting little Jon who, at that time, was recognized as king by the three knights.

This doesn't end here. Jaime's ASOS dream also has him confront ghosts of the pasts and the question of oaths comes up, as it did in Ned's dream. The two dreams intersect when the topic of the kingsguard's duty comes up. And we see that as it was in Ned's dream, the three knights at the ToJ were fulfilling their primary oaths to protect (and die) for their king.

“I swore an oath to keep him safe,” [Brienne] said to Rhaegar’s shade. “I swore a holy oath.” “We all swore oaths,” said Ser Arthur Dayne, so sadly. [...] “He was your king,” said Darry. “You swore to keep him safe,” said Whent. “And the children, them as well,” said Prince Lewyn. [...] “I never thought he’d hurt them.” Jaime’s sword was burning less brightly now. “I was with the king …” “Killing the king,” said Ser Arthur. “Cutting his throat,” said Prince Lewyn. “The king you had sworn to die for,” said the White Bull.

Once again, we have the affirmation that the kingsguard swear vows to protect their king even if it leads to their deaths. And as we know, all these kingsguard died during Robert's Rebellion. Three died at the Trident with Rhaegar, fighting for their king's cause. So why are the other three who were at the ToJ lumped with them?

Of course, this is Jaime's conscious. And his relationship with Dayne, Hightower, and Whent is very different from Ned's. But the point remains that as the narrative suggests, they too died for their king. They fulfilled their oaths to completion. But the king they died for was not Aerys or Aegon or Viserys. Their king was a tiny babe - Jon Snow.

Though this feverish dream is part of a much larger reveal (that is R+L=J), Ned’s conversation with the three kingsguard plays into one of the key motifs in Jon Snow’s arc - that is his identity as the king. Not a king. But THE king.

What makes the three part revelation so interesting in this passage is that not everyone has figured R+L=J out. But to the astute observer, this key passage is just another piece of important evidence that plays into the hidden prince trope that RLJ falls under. And not only that, it yet another instance of Jon being recognized as the true king by the narrative.

#jon snow #eddard stark #tower of joy #r plus l equals j #gerold hightower #arthur dayne #oswell whent #the kingsguard #asoiaf #valyrianscrolls

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low-budget-korra · 2 years

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Game of Thrones Realistic Portraits #2

Robert's Rebellion

Robert Baratheon // Ned Stark

Rhaegar Targaryen // Lyanna Stark

King Aerys II “The Mad King” // Rhaella Targaryen

Elia Martell // Howland Reed

Brandon Stark // Rickard Stark

Sor Arthur Dayne // Sor Gerold Hightower

Catelyn Tully // Lysa Tully

Sor Jaime Lannister // Tywin Lannister

Sor Gregor Clegane “The Mountain” // Jon Arryn

Jon Connington // Randyll Tarly

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drawitblargit · 1 year

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AGoT, Eddard X

#a song of ice and fire #ASOIAF #a game of thrones #agot #asoiaf fanart #ned stark #eddard stark #lyanna stark #jon stark #george rr martin #robert’s rebellion #arthur dayne #oswell whent #gerold hightower #Tower of joy #Asoiaf art

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gotham-at-nightfall · 3 months

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The Tower of Joy

By UrukkiSaki

#a song of ice and fire #ned stark #howland reed #kingsguard #gerold hightower #arthur dayne #oswell whent #lyanna stark #fanart #deviantart #b&w

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ladystoneboobs · 3 months

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@atopvisenyashill, oh, i don't blame you for the slip-up, just thought if we're trying to get into prince of melancholy mystery's head best to know when he was alive and when he was dead.

personally, i think any rhaelya wedding was more likely at her initiative, not his. being a wife instead of a mistress is the only sure way to escape an unwanted marriage, whether with robert or anyone else her father tried to give her to, possibly someone even worse. a lady known to be "soiled" can still be married off (eg, lysa tully, delena florent & ami frey), but there's less precendant for bigamy involving two husbands, forcing the wife to take a 2nd man. the practice of targ polygamy with 1 man and multiple wives may have died out but that's still a real precendent. (idt elia wouldve welcomed sharing her husband just bc she was dornish, and i hate that fandom assumption, but also idt it's unforgivable for lyanna to think something like that or want to believe the arrangement could work. she was a 15/16yo feeling desperate and her great judgment of character was only proven with people she'd actually met. who knows what, if anything, rhaegar told her about elia.)

the idea that the kg were only doing what they had to save baby king from kinslaying is frustrating not just bc they were escalating the conflict with every word looking for a fight while ned clearly was not, not just bc they couldve and shouldve known the risk of kinslaying by just talking to lyanna, but also bc yeah they shoulve just fled with infant and wet nurse if that were the case. why even risk ned killing them all and getting his hands on rhaegar's last child, as did happen, despite these legendary knights killing most of his men? if the baby's welfare was their top concern, either make him a king in exile, or try to assess ned's actual intentions toward his nephew. staying glued to the toj really is just asking for an ~honorable~ death above all. even if arthur had killed ned and howland, he couldn't stay there at his post forever just bc "kg do not flee" (false, somebody hadn't studied his white book covering the dance). sooner or later robert would find out and come with more than 6 other men, and then lyanna's baby really would be in danger. so, c'mon, like, what's the endgame for a living baby targ king there? ik i'm not buying they couldn't move yet while lyanna was still alive/dying, confined to her bed, not just bc their own words show no concern for her but bc they'd already proven with rhaella that duty to a king overrides duty to any of his female relations. if they really cared about saving rhaegar/lyanna's son rather than just dying for rhaegar, then they should have tried to actually live for that royal baby, not just kill in his name during a glorious last stand.

#asoiaf #asoiaf meta #lyanna stark #ned stark #arthur dayne #oswell whent #gerold hightower #rhaegar targaryen #yeah sorry idg idealizing lyanna's relationship with arthur dayne #ned hearing her call for him from the tower in his dream prob wasn't literal #but it prob does mean she wanted him to come for and imo no way the kg wouldnt know that #fuck all jaime's dead targ-loyalist kg bros from back then #robert shouldnt have been king but that doesnt mean the rebellion wasnt a just cause #that rhaegar had more right to kill robert or the kg to kill ned #much less that aerys shouldve stayed on the throne even after rhaegars death #(c)lsb

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bene-darkmans · 9 months

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not enough unprepared feral teen mom!Lyanna lives AUs, Martyn Cassel’s the only one who’s held a baby, they’re tramping through the Marches, Lyanna breastfeeding takes her unoccupied tit out of her blouse and squirts milk at Gerald Hightower to assert dominance, no thoughts head empty Eddard check out this person I made a god am I, a god am I eddard

#lyanna stark #what’s his name #Lyanna without missing a beat #Visenya #gerold hightower #tower of joy #Ned stark #Jon snow

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warsofasoiaf · 1 year

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"We were not there [at the Trident]. Woe to the Usurper if we had been." Would Dayne and the White Bull's presence have been enough to sway the battle toward's Rhaegar's favor? Medieval pitched battle was such a fraught thing, it seems their presence wouldn't gurantee any particular outcome, but then again, they were two exceptional fighters. Would the White Bull have devised superior tactics that would have defeated the rebels even before the final duel?

I don't think so, and you are correct that medieval battle is a fraught and random thing, particularly with the green forces that the royalists had (it's mentioned that the royalists had higher numbers but rawer). Rhaegar already had multiple members of his Kingsguard at the Trident, many of whom also had previous military experience. The idea that the White Bull possesses some unique tactical knowledge that would have changed the battle significantly is speculative. We understand at the Trident that the Dornish host could have tried to flank Robert on the left, but Ser Lyn Corbray and the Vale troops broke the assault - I doubt Arthur Dayne would have been given command of the Dornish spears over Lewyn Martell (unless Lewyn is retained back home as a hostage).

#speculation #arthur dayne #gerold hightower #robert's rebellion

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hosts-of-valyria · 1 year

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The Black Ones

The eyes of the woman he loved

You light the skies up above me a star so bright you blind me. Don't close your eyes, don't fade away, don't fade away. All the stars are coming out tonight. They're lighting up the sky tonight for you, for you. You saved my soul, don't leave me now. Don't leave me now. You and me we can ride on a star if you stay with me we can rule the World. All the stars are coming out tonight they're lighting up the sky tonight for you. For you!

Ashara Dayne introduces Barristan Selmy: The Injustice at House Targaryen

"Knighted under Jaehaerys Targaryen. It was Duncan Targaryen who gave it the nickname as you all know it....Barristan the Bold.

Prince Duncan

The deadliest guardsmen. He's a painter a force of nature. You feel called to greatness in the presence of his inspiration. Fear him when he sees what Stags and Lions do. A painter who only uses red. He's better, stronger and more powerful under the Targaryen banner. An artist he's the pure and real inspiration. Father of our daughter Alysanne and we love him with all our hearts. No army in the World can stop him from killing Robert Baratheon. The bold Star. He has balls of valyrian steel. His anger is tremendous.

My cake carver. He was always mine and i'm his. Best friend of Elia, Lyanna, Arthur, Rhaegar, Rhaella and Gerold Hightower. Only House Targaryen gives Independence since the Iron Throne was destroyed. King's Landing belongs to us we're the strongest and best side.

Gerold and Rhaella always loved each other and from the abyss screams Daemon Targaryen haha. Elia and Lyanna Targaryen married, adopted through Rhaella, she's Queen of King's Landing right now. Rhaella the mother of Lyanna and Elia. So much better than the three hypocritical, mad sons of Rickard Stark. Rickard Stark and his three mad sons rage in Winterfell haha haha haha.

The Tully and Ryswell bitches are raging haha. Fuck Ned Stark fuck that hypocrite. Fuck Robert Baratheon fuck that rapist haha haha. Bobby B my ass. Don't get what Lord Eddard Stark ever saw in him."

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