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greenhikingboots · 2 years

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A Rabbit Hole of Fan Theories - The Faceless Man, The Elder Brother, and More (Updated)

Here’s nearly 6,000 words of ASOIAF fan theory exploration. On the one hand, a lot of it sounds like crackpot, tinfoil nonsense to me. On the other hand, I might be a genius who has solved some mysteries. Feel free to disregard or indulge, whichever you prefer.

Okay, so it started like this: I was thinking about how TWOW might go, more specifically how Robb’s letter legitimizing Jon and making him an heir might finally come into play. I was wondering what happened to the letter, which led me to this post. It makes a strong case for the letter being sent with the captain of the Myraham to either White Harbor or Oldtown. As for White Harbor, the post says Robb would have sent the letter there because Wyman Manderly, wealthy and loyal to the Starks, has the means necessary to “champion the contents of Robb’s letter.” That wasn’t enough reason to excite me, truth be told, but I kept reading anyway.

As for Oldtown, Sam’s there now (more specifically at the Citadel), so Robb’s letter finding its way there would tie story lines together in an interesting way. Additionally, I’ve always found a certain scene from the show rather suspect. “A raven came from the Citadel. A white raven. Winter is here.” It’s a nice nod to House Stark’s words, and it gives Jon a chance to bring up Ned. And maybe that’s all it was ever meant to be. But I don’t recall the show mentioning white ravens at any other point, so I thought, “Maybe it’s a nod to something that will happen in the books.” With that in mind, I went searching for information about white ravens. In the ACAK prologue, there’s this: “They are larger than other ravens, and more clever, bred to carry only the most important messages. This one came to tell us that the Conclave has met, considered the reports and measurements made by maesters all over the realm, and declared this great summer done at last.” I hate to make generalizations about the fandom, but there seems to be this false idea that white ravens only announce the transition of seasons, but as I’ve just noted they actually announce “the most important messages,” and the transition of seasons is but one example. So that got me thinking that Robb would have wanted his letter to make it to the Citadel so that his legitimizing Jon was known far and wide. (For what it’s worth, I tried to find out if there is a precedent for this in the books — if this is the sort of thing that white ravens have been used for at any point in the already published story — but no luck. Still, I think the theory holds weight).

Recent addition: I think the maesters are neutral for the most part, or at least they’re supposed to be (though Marwyn’s obviously up to something). Meaning, their sending out a bunch of white ravens about Jon being legitimized isn’t necessarily an indicator that they support the North’s independence. I think of it more like them saying, “Hey, here’s the latest news everyone needs to know.” This reddit post (from 9 years ago!) has some good conversations about it.

After that, I read more about Sam at the Citadel because I want to make my fanfic ideas as canon compliant as possible. I’d previously read the chapter where he arrives there, but overall I wasn’t a careful reader of the books. With each one, I skimmed more and more and skipped some POV chapters completely. And while House Martell sounds wonderful when I read about them online, I struggled to get into chapters which feature them. So I missed it completely, that Sarella Sand and Alleras the Sphinx are one in the same. But after reading some fan theories on it, it seems more than plausible to me. It seems indisputable, actually. “Well, then how do I want to incorporate that into my writing?” I asked myself. I mean, Sarella wants to be at the Citadel badly enough that she’s pretending to be a boy to do so. But why? Sure, she could be seeking knowledge simply for the sake of it, but this is ASOIAF so that seems unlikely, doesn't it? After all, the Citadel has all the answers to all the ancient secrets, right? The last copy of certain books, information about dragons and Valyerian steel and dragonglass and magic… Meaning Sarella probably has a specific agenda in support of House Martell. I don’t know enough about them to guess quite what it is, but put a pin in that anyway because I’ll come back to it later. A lot later and only briefly. But it will happen. Moving on now. Wait, wait, wait. Sidebar before moving on. I should note that because the Sarella = Alleras fan theory is indisputable in my opinion and because examples of it are easier to find than the one I linked above about Robb’s letter being sent with the captain of the Myraham, I chose not to link anything for it. Just an FYI for why I give links sometimes and not others. That pattern will continue throughout this post. Okay, so what else is happening at the Citadel? Jaqen H’ghar, of course! Arya’s Faceless Man friend is there, passing as Pate. “Pate, like the pig boy.” Like Sarella = Alleras, this becomes quite clear after reading up on it a bit. And also like Sarella = Alleras, I doubt Jaqen is there simply for the pursuit of knowledge. That dude has a mission and it has something to do with — well, with a dragon egg, right?

Hey, look! A fan theory I knew about before falling into this rabbit hole! It’s a popular one, but in case you aren’t familiar: Euron Greyjoy had a dragon egg at one point, but he used it as payment to the Faceless Men when he hired them to kill Balon. So, most likely, Jaqen is at the Citadel wanting to learn how to hatch a dragon egg. Well, even though that seemed pretty straightforward for me, I went on to read about Jaqen anyway. Just in case. Now, I could be misinterpreting my internet findings, but it seems these next fan theories I’m going to talk about aren’t as widely known as Sarella = Alleras or Jaqen = Pate, despite there being several Quora and Reddit posts about them. Perhaps because there’s more to dispute? Let me explain. Jaqen H'ghar is a Targaryen, everybody. Or so the theories go. More specifically, he’s either the real Aegon or Rhaegar resurrected. Oof. Sounds complicated, right? Have you heard these theories before? I’m really not sure how popular they are, therefore I’m not sure how much I should dive into them. Whatever, here goes, I guess. Some points to support Jaqen being either the real Aegon or Rhaegar resurrected: First, he’s got the Targaryen look in some ways. Second, there are parallels between him/Arya/Gendry and Rhaegar/Lyanna/Robert. Third, in ACOK, just before Arya gives Jaqen his own name, she says, “Anyone? A man, a woman, a little baby, or Lord Tywin, or the High Septon, or your father?” And he replies, “A man’s sire is long dead…”

Sire? Hmm. Interesting. Okay, Arya again: “Even if I named the king?” Jaqen: “Is it Joffrey?”Arya: “It’s Jaqen H’ghar.” That could totally be a clue, right? Classic, GRRM, you know. Oh, and how about the fan theory that says Jaqen has gone rogue, that he’s not doing Faceless Man things the way a Faceless Man is supposed to? This link sums that up nicely. I like it a lot. Wait, another sidebar! When discussing Jaqen, I especially like the questions, “How did he end up in King’s Landing? Why was he taken prisoner and set on the path to the Night’s Watch?” I’ve read some theories about those questions too, but I’m not going to go there in this post. I’ve got enough to try to unravel as it stands. Back to speaking more generally. Why would GRMM have Jaqen go rogue and be important to the story if he’s just some random Faceless Man? Isn’t it more interesting and doesn’t it tie story lines together better if he is in fact the real Aegon or Rhaegar resurrected? So there I was after reading a lot more fan theories, thinking, “Okay, yeah, I’m fully on board with Jaqen being one of those Targaryens, but which one?” Maybe I was overthinking it. Given Jaqen’s age and given that Rhaegar, after being resurrected, probably wouldn’t just go into hiding and wind up a Faceless Man, Jaqen being the real Aegon does seem the better theory. But I guess I’ve always liked the idea of Young Griff being the real Aegon because… Well, I don’t really know why, really. Everyone seems to expect him to be an imposter, so wouldn’t it be more interesting if he wasn’t? Maybe I just need to drive into the Blackfyre Theory more. Only, every time I try, my head spins uncomfortably fast and I give up. Young Griff and Varys and Illyrio and Serra and JonCon and Septa Lemore. Ugh. I can’t keep track of it all. (I haven’t read this particular post in full, only skimmed it, but it looks like an extremely detailed summation of the Blackfyre Theory, if anyone is interested. I know I’ve got it bookmarked and will be returning to it in the coming days). Want more on the theory that Jaqen is the real Aegon? This Quora user makes the case for it in great detail across several posts. I’ve only read a few so far, but much of what I’ve read made me think, “That’s good, but it doesn’t necessarily rule out the other theory I’m seeing, that Jaqen could be Rhaegar resurrected. It still sounds like it could be either of them.” I mean, Faceless Men could be a different age they appear, right? So I kept digging, but with more of a Rhaegar angle. I’ll say it again: oof! Where to begin with that theory?

Well, we know Rhaegar was obsessed with prophecies. He’d been trying to make sense of them for a long time and even changed his mind about which parts apply to him vs. his child/children. So it seems he understood prophecies are — well, fickle bitches, right? (To paraphrase another fandom which was paraphrasing an author who is not GRMM. That is, Ben Linus from Lost referencing Black Company by Glen Cook. Oh, I digress.)

Anyway, when it came time for Rhaegar to join the fight against Robert’s Rebellion, he was probably worried he’d die before getting it all sorted out, before doing all he needed to do to ensure the prince who was promised would one day deliver the world from darkness. Well, what if from his place of worry, his heightened motivation to survive and get the prophecy right, he came up with a plan? “Not today, death,” he might have said. Just kidding. Kind of. I’ve read that fan theory too by the way, that Jaqen = Syrio. But I’m not buying it. This is just a little jaunt into cheekiness. Back to the point. So at first I thought, “Maybe Rhaegar just brought a red priest or priestess along to the battle, came back to life, and went on to be known as Jaqen H’ghar from some TBD reason.” But then, as I was researching the likelihood of that, I read this Reddit post that talks about the possibility of Rhaegar’s rubies being used as a glamour. Body switch style. Mance and Rattleshirt, anyone? Now, unless it’s buried in the comments somewhere, I don’t think any connections are made in that last link to Jaqen, but it got me thinking. We know from Melisandre’s time at the Wall that there are some rubies that can be used to glamour people. So what if Rhaegar planned to have someone glamoured to look like him, to fight and then die in his place? Wait, wait, wait! But the fan theory I’d been exploring said Jaqen was Rhaegar resurrected, not just Rheagar who faked his death but never died. (I can’t find it back now, but I particularly liked a post that related the Jaqen = Rhaegar resurrected theory to one of Dany’s visions in the House of the Undying). So I started to feel overwhelmed. I’d gotten even deeper in the rabbit hole but was no closer to making book predictions (or decisions about how to write my fanfic for that matter). I’d switched from the Jaqen = real Aegon angle to Jaqen = Rheagr resurrected angle, and now I needed to switch again? To the Rhaegar faked his death angle? I didn’t want to. Instead, I asked myself, “What do I know about other resurrections in ASOIAF? What clues do I already have?” Well, I know that Thoros “kissed” Beric and Beric “kissed” Catelyn… but only after Thoros refused to do it himself. *Looks at the camera like I’m in The Office.” I’ll come back to that later. For now, recall that Catelyn had been dead for so long that it became a trading of lives; Beric died to bring her back. and even then she became… well, Lady Stoneheart. This suggests a few things, not all of which are super relevant, but I’ll spell them out just in case. 1. Less relevant: The person who performs the “kiss” loses something — let’s call it health — in doing so. This is further supported by Thoros becoming loose skinned and gray haired the more times he brings Beric back to life. (For what it’s worth, we also saw this in the show: Melisandre looks loose skinned and gray when not using her ruby necklace/glamour. But I can’t remember if that is included in her POV chapter or not). 2. More relevant: Beric wasn’t a Red Priest in the past the way Thoros was, and yet he’s able to “kiss” Catelyn. I think this means the ability to resurrect someone is duplicated in anyone who receives a “kiss.” (Catelyn’s probably an exception to this rule though, don’t you think?) Emphasis on duplicated, not transferred. Otherwise Thoros wouldn’t have been able to bring Beric back more than once, right? Um… did I say I had a few things for this list, not a couple things? Well, it turns out my list is actually rather short. I thought I’d have had more to add, but I’m now realizing otherwise. Nothing to add about resurrections that I can conclude based on what I know about Thoros and Beric alone. *Looks at camera again.*

“What about the Elder Brother and Sandor Clegane?” I asked myself. “What can they tell us about resurrections in ASOIAF?” Actually, not much? I mean, I knew about this theory which says the gravedigger Brienne sees when she visits Quiet Isle is Sandor Clegane, resurrected by the Elder Brother. And based on what I’d read about Thoros and Beric, I figured Sandor can probably now resurrect people too. So that’s cool. But the theory doesn’t do a lot for me, you know? As with Sarella = Alleras and Jaqen = Pate, I’m fully on board, but that doesn’t mean I’m any closer to answers. Does Jaqen = real Aegon, or Rhaegar resurrected, or Rheagar who never died thanks to his magic rubies? I still didn’t know! I gave up for a bit. Went on with my life for a day and a half. Showered, ate dinner, went to bed, woke up again. The usual stuff. But then I returned to the Elder Brother, wondering if I’d missed anything there. “He’s just a guy. There doesn’t need to be a mystery,” Reddit told me. “I wish people could accept that some characters don’t have mysterious pasts and are just who they say they are.” Okay, fair. But the Elder Brother!? The guy who has a veined red nose and shaved head? Who was a Knight who fought for House Targaryen at the Battle of the Trident? Who said others thought him dead so they stripped his armor, dumped his body, and then he floated downstream to the Quiet Isle? And then he spent the next ten years there in silence? That’s a fascinating backstory for someone who’s “just a guy.” “What’s really going on with him?” I wondered. I tried to make it fit with Jaqen = Rhaegar resurrected or Jaqen = Rheagar who never died, but I wasn’t able to come up with a clean idea. I did, however, find myself liking those rubies more and more. What if Rhaegar had a ruby related plan for survival, but something went wrong and the Elder Brother was involved somehow? I kept stewing on it, switching angles back and forth, moving between them more rapidly than before. Again, I thought of how I agreed with that one Reddit comment, sometimes a guy is just a guy. But if the Elder Brother was someone important, who would he be? “Maybe his title is a hint,” I thought. “So who in ASOIAF is important because of their role as an elder brother?” *Looks at the camera like I’m in The Office yet again.” No, not Thoros. I’ll get back to him soon, I swear. No, the Elder Brother is… Brandon Stark resurrected.

Wait, what? I’m so serious, everyone. Hear me out. Brandon Stark, Ned’s brother, died by strangulation. Signs and symptoms of strangulation? Well, among other things they include broken blood vessels in the nose and damage to vocal cords. Remember? The Elder Brother had a veined red nose and spent ten years in silence. What, that’s not enough, you say? Because what about everything else we know about him, that he was a knight who fought for House Targaryen at the trident? Why would GRRM include all that just for it to be a lie? And on the other hand, how could it be true? Why would Brandon Stark, resurrected, have fought for House Targaryen? Well, I don’t think that he did, not exactly. Okay, here’s my theory. Thoros — woop, there he is — I think he was present when the Mad King tortured and killed Rickard and Brandon Stark. We know Thoros came from Myr to try and curb the king’s fire obsession and that he was distrubed by the violent acts against Elia and her children. So it stands to reason that he was also disturbed by what happened to Rickard and Brandon. Oh, okay. What happened next, you say? Well, Thoros went to wherever dead bodies are dumped, performed the “kiss” but believed his attempts failed. Remember how in the show everyone was already out of the room by the time Jon gasped for air, convinced Mel’s efforts hadn’t worked? So, yeah, Thoros believed he failed, which helps explain why his faith was so shaken when he joined Beric and the brotherhood without banners, why resurrecting Beric reaffirmed his faith, and why — here it comes — he wouldn’t attempt to resurrect Catelyn. A lot of Thoros build up for a payoff that isn’t that great, I admit, but it fits, right? I mean, I think by the time the brotherhood encountered Catelyn, Thoros had started to realize there are levels of dead, and some folks are just too dead to ever be brought back to life. So there’s that. But it doesn’t explain why Brandon would kind of, sort of, not really have fought for House Targaryen. Let me get back to that. In my theory, poor Rickard was dead dead, so after grieving for him some more, Brandon had to decide what to do next. And he decided he could use his new situation to his advantage, go undercover to learn Lyanna’s whereabouts. He shaved his head to make himself harder to recognize, then joined the Targaryen army to get closer to Rhaegar. If you read the Robert’s Rebellion timeline and/or Rhaegar’s main page, you can see he didn’t fight in any battles before the Battle of the Trident. He was probably at the tower of joy with Lyanna. But then he returned to the crownlands to take control over the Targaryen army. So that would have been Brandon Stark’s chance to go undercover without doing any real fighting for House Targaryen. Maybe at some point he did something outside of battle to be named a knight? Maybe — I’m moving further and further into wild speculation territory, I know, but go with it, okay — maybe he realized Rhaegar actually loved Lyanna, didn’t see the point in the war anymore, didn’t want to fight against Stark and Baratheon forces, figured he was meant to be dead anyway, somehow learns there’s a ruby-related plan for Rhaegar’s survival, and he volunteers to be the one glamoured to look like him? Or something kinda, sorta along those lines? Maybe? He figures he might as well help Lyanna get her crown prince back. And because of that, Rhaegar names him a knight? “Arise, Ser Silent the Body Double,” Rhaegar might have said. Because, don’t forget, the ten years of silence would already have already started for the Elder Brother = Brandon Stark resurrected.

Just over here thinking like a crazy fanfiction writer, I guess. Anyway, has a theory like this been shared before? I wanted to know, so I went searching yet again. But I wasn’t able to find anything. If it's out there somewhere while I’m over here acting like I’m the first person to invent it, I am so, so sorry. But like I said, I wasn’t able to find it. But then that made me second guess myself, you know? “Maybe it’s a fun fanfiction idea,” I thought, “but not at all where GRRM is headed.” Well, hang on a second! I didn’t find a theory to match mine, but I did find this Elder Brother theory which says that he and Ser Morgarth are one in the same. Ser Morgarth? Remember him? If not, don’t worry. I didn’t either. Now, I’ve only skimmed that last link, but it seems that theory goes like this: in Sansa’s final chapter of AFFC, she’s sent to speak with Littlefinger. Before they get into all that talk about Harry the Heir, she’s introduced to three hedge knights. One is Ser Morgarth, who is described as having “red nose bulbous with broken veins,” a similar description to the Elder Brother, you’ll recall. (If I remember correctly, he’s also the least talkative of the three). Now, to be fair, he’s also described as having a thick beard and salt and pepper hair, which doesn’t fit the shaved head description of the Elder Brother, but, hey, hair grows, right? Also, I know Littlefinger challenged Brandon to a duel over Catelyn way back when. So that raises an objection. “But Littlefigner would recognize him!” But if you think someone is dead, are you really gonna be like, “Oh, I guess not because this guy kinda, sorta looks like an older version of him.” No, only crazy people who are trying to predict GRRM’s books think like that! (Besides, maybe that’s why he’s the least talkative of the group, doesn’t want Littlefinger to get suspicious). Also in the room with Sansa, Littleginer, and Ser Morgarth is Ser Shadrich (and one other person whom I’ll come back to soon). Earlier in AFFC, Ser Shadrich is the one who told Brienne he was looking for Sansa “for love.” And it turns out, there’s yet another fan theory floating around about him. It’s not based on much, just both of them being described as short, but some suspect Ser Shadrich is Howland Reed. Plenty of imagination stretching happening here, sure, but if you look at some of the above theories at the same time, they actually become more convincing, I think. It would mean neither Ser Morgarth nor Ser Shadrich are newly introduced randos, working independently to snatch Sansa and take her away from the Eyrie. They’re characters whose backstories we already know, whose motivations make sense, and they’re working together, “for love.” I’m inclined to believe Shadrich on that point at least. Okay, what about that third hedge knight, though? Because if the first two are working together, it seems the third would be in on it too. Let’s go to text! The third hedge knight is called Byron the Beautiful and he’s described as “an elegant young knight whose thick blond man cascaded well past his shoulders.” Brienne?

Listen! I know her last chapter in AFFC has her meeting Lady Stoneheart, who gives her an ultimatum: kill Jaime or die. And then in ADWD, Jaime’s POV has Brienne showing up at Pennytree talking about Sansa and Sandor. But what if it went down like this: Howland Reed and the Elder Brother/Brandon Stark meet up, discuss how they both met Brienne and she’s clearly looking for Sansa, and Howland’s like, “I tested her with lies and trickery, and she didn’t give in. I think she wants to protect her, same as us. Let’s go after her and get her and all work together.” So they go riding after her, and they save her from Lady Stoneheart just in the nick of time! Apparently GRRM has said the word Brienne shouted in her last AFFC chapter was “sword.” So I’m thinking she realizes folks are there to save her and she’s like, “Give me a sword! Let me help!” Maybe? Oh, also Brienne the Beauty (the backstory included in AFFC) = Bryon the Beautiful? I mean, it just fits, right? Plus I’m over here thinking how those who know Brienne to be a woman would judge her appearance differently than those who meet her when she’s presenting as a man. If one didn’t know better, she could come across as an elegant knight with cascading hair, I think. Also, I checked and book Brienne does have long hair. Ooooof! Over 4,000 words into this thing now. And more to go. Is anyone still reading? I just want to circle back to the top a bit, sprinkle in a few more thoughts, and then close out. So, what’s taking the captain of the Myraham so damn long to deliver Robb’s letter? I don’t know. Maybe it only seems like a long time because AFFC and ADWD run concurrently? Or, you know, because ADWD was published over a damn decade ago? Or maybe it actually is taking a long time and something went wrong for the captain? Sam saw some wreckage near White Harbor, right? Maybe the Myraham went there first, then the crew had to go by land to Oldtown because of a wreck (the Myraham is a trading cog from Oldtown, btw). Also, I don’t have any evidence to support this, but I’ve been wondering if the captain of the Myraham and Sarella = Alleras are connected in any way. That’s right, I’m finally back to her. Her mother is the captain of a ship as well, so… maybe the Myraham wrecked and it was Sarella’s mother and her crew who saved him? Maybe they confiscated Robb’s letter and have their own Martell family reason for holding on to it? Anyone who knows more than I do about the Martells want to help me speculate on that point? What else, what else?

Jaqen! Oh, Jaqen. Is he real Aegon? Is he Rhaegar? Or is he just a talented Faceless Man who has gone rogue and thinks he can hatch a dragon egg, even though he doesn’t have Targaryen blood? Someone make it make sense! As much as I initially found the idea fascinating, I’ve decided I’d actually hate it if Rhaegar was still around. So I’m leaning towards him trying to do something clever with magic rubies, but it didn’t work. Now he’s dead dead, but Brandon Stark resurrected was involved somehow, so maybe we can get the story for him. And therefore Jaqen is the real Aegon and Young Griff is the imposter. I mean, in my opinion, Young Griff being an imposter is more acceptable if the real Aegon is still around somewhere, lurking. And him being around somewhere, lurking, is more acceptable if GRRM has been doing a hiding-in-plain-sight sort of thing with him. By the way, I still can’t keep Blackfyre theory stuff straight, but I’m starting to agree with the folks who say Varys and Serra (Illyrio’s supposedly deceased wife) are siblings (making Varys and Illyrio brothers-in-law and Young Griff Varys’s nephew) and Serra is not in fact dead, she’s Septa Lemore. (I can’t find it back, but somewhere there’s a good post that talks about how Serra worked in a pillow house, which fits with Septa Lemore not acting very Septa like + something about how Septa Lemore cutting up baby clothes fits with this theory…?) Recent addition: While we’re on the topic of Septa Lemore… have you heard the theory that Ashara Dayne = Septa Lemore? Yeah, I’m not buying that one. I’m with the folks who say if that was true, Tyrion’s POV would have made note of Septa Lemore’s eye color, because Ashara’s eyes are violet. So then I was like, “Okay, sure. Why not go further down this rabbit hole. People are clearly trying to figure out what’s going on with Ashara, so might as well nibble at that too.” So if you don’t already know, Ashara was a lady-in-waiting to Elia and present at the infamous Tourney at Harrenhal. Some in Westeros say she and Ned Stark fell in love during the tourney, and since Brandon Stark was still alive at the time and promised to Catelyn, there was no shame in it. Pretty sure Catelyn’s first POV chapter in the series also says she thought Ashara was Jon’s real mother. Other parts of the text kinda, sorta suggest it might have actually been she and Brandon who fell in love and/or another unnamed party might have dishonored her during the tourney.

Basically, shit’s complicated with Ashara. And then! Supposedly Ashara’s brother, Arthur (more on him soon), died at the tower of joy, Ned returned his sword to House Dayne, and then (trigger warning!), she jumped from a castle tower to commit suicide. Her body was never found, and the reason she killed herself is unclear: maybe a broken heart, maybe a stillborn daughter, maybe a stolen child, maybe grief over her brother’s death. Oof. Okay, now to Arthur. He was a chivalrous knight and Rhaegar’s best friend. He supposedly died at the tower of joy, where Rhaegar left him, among others, to protect Lyanna. But there are clues in the text that leave readers wondering if that’s true. This Reddit post covers them well, but basically the theory goes that Arthur was the better fighter, would have totally killed Ned “if not for Holwand Reed” (Ned’s POV words) and Howland Reed, apparently, is great with words, so he must have been like, “Listen dudes, you both just want to protect Lyanna. Let’s cut a deal.” Plus! There’s this one tiny choice of word use (also in a Ned POV) that has given readers pause. Ned’s with Lyanna and says something about when they joined, not when he (Howland Reed) joined. And isn’t that exactly the sort of sneaky shit GRRM does? I mean, there’s also the unkiss and the intentional changing of the name of Joffrey’s sword, so…. So, yeah, as the Reddit post summarizes, “Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, does the only thing he can do to protect his charge: he dies. He hands over Dawn [sword], builds a phone funeral cairn, and disappears, leaving Jon in the hands of the only person who can still save him.” Oh! And! The Daynes still in Dorne go on to name a kid after Ned a while later. What’s up with that? Hmm…

Here’s the thing that really gets me, though. The fandom wants to figure out what’s going on with these Dayne siblings, but very few posts mention them at the same time. Like, a post will mention theories about one and comments on the post might sometimes mention the other, but there’s very little trying to solve their mysteries by looking at the at the same time. That’s bonkers to me.

Because clearly Ned helped them both fake their deaths, right? And the other Daynes know. (The “clearly” here is hyperbole. Nothing about ASOIAF is clear. For real, why do we put up with this shit from GRRM? He’s terrorizing us. He’s a terrorist.) So then I was like, “Well, if there’s more of this hiding-in-plain-sight sort of thing going on, who could the Daynes be now? The Rhaegar and Elia loving Daynes… the real Aegon Targaryen loving Daynes… Oh, seven hells. Here it comes. This is so ridiculous and I hate it and I don’t want it to be true, but what if they’re the Waif and the Kindly Man at the House of Black and White? I’ve only seen one other person say this (the Quora user I linked earlier). Actually, no. I think that user only said Ashara Dayne = the Waif, but never said the Kindly Man = Arthur. But, you know, maybe? Here’s a post I couldn’t fully wrap my head around, but it does say that the Waif told Arya at some point that she’s actually 36. Oh, and it says the cook at the House of Black and White, Umma, could also be Wylla (the wetnurse from Starfall, another woman who is sometimes suspected of being Jon’s mother). Oh, and before I forget: let’s say Jaqen is the real Aegon with a team of supporters at the House of Black and White. Well, doesn't it fit pretty well with the book foreshadowing of Arya taking down some Targaryens and/or dragons? Either she helps Jaqen = real Aegon take down Dany or she takes down Jaqen = real Aegon herself. Yeah? End of recent addition. Oof. Did I say earlier that I wanted to sprinkle in just a few more bits? And then I went on for forever anyway? Damn, that was a lot of sprinkles. Blame the Daynes. Almost done now. Truly. A question: are there any theories that attempt to explain the meaning behind the number of days Azor Ahai labors over the swords? As I was thinking about Jaqen theories, I had Azor Ahai theories in the back of my mind, trying to see if anything meshed together. No luck, but it reminded me that I’ve long been curious about those days - 30 days, then 50, then 100. What’s that about? What else, what else? Brandon, Howland, Brienne? Someone tell me I’m not crazy. I’m thinking they’ll help Sansa escape the Eyrie and then head to the Wall. Maybe they get separated at some point? By Ramsey’s dogs while he’s chasing after Jeyne? Because Sansa might still be the girl in gray, right? (Reddit link). But Mel’s vision has her by herself, not traveling with allies disguised as hedge knights, so who knows. Welp. That about does it. I know that makes for a TON of fake deaths, and fake identities and hiding-in-plain-sight and blah blah blah. And it sounds crazy. But like with the hege knights, when you start to look at it all at once instead of in fragmented pieces, it seems a little more likely. At least I think so. I feel like I should end on a more exciting note than that, but that’s all I got. Someone who hasn’t skimmed and skipped over so much of the books, please help! Which fan theories work? Which ones don't? Can we solve anything new together? Let’s try. Or at least iron out some damn good fanfic ideas. Thank you and goodnight!!

#ASoIaF #asoiaf fan theories #fanfiction research #jonsa fam #help me #the faceless men #the elder brother #brienne of tarth #mix of crackpot and genius #gifs not mine #the house of black and white #house dayne #make it make sense #brandon stark #im bad at tags

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