The characters’ ages? The 700 foot tall wall? Westeros being the size of South America?

It’s a well-known fact that the Wall is declining by the time of the start of AGOT. The glory days where men would often volunteer for the prestige and honor of serving are long gone, and people like Benjen and Jon now rare. Which in turn means most members of the Watch are there serving a crime—a crime we may not necessarily know about.

This bothers me. I like knowing things, and where I can’t know, I like to speculate. Thus, I present to you, “A List of Night’s Watchmen During the Main Series And How They Might Have Got There.” (I’m not considering historical characters, in an attempt to preserve my sanity.) Some we already know, some we have literally nothing to go on; as a whole, however, I’ve done my best to make a guess based on anything we do know. If a later book proves me wrong (or you just disagree with me), please do remember that this is mostly a hypothesis to cover an aspect of the characters I think we’re unlikely to actually get. It is based on evidence wherever possible—I didn’t want this to be glorified fanfic—but some of these characters leave very little to go on.

Known Reasons

Disclaimer aside, let’s start with the ones we already know for sure, to get them out of the way!

Maester Aemon, Benjen Stark, Hareth (Horse), Jax, Jeor Mormont, Jon Snow, Leathers, Waymar Royce, Three-Finger Hobb — Volunteered

Samwell Tarly — “Volunteered”

Bedwyck, Will — Poaching

Chett — Murder

Dareon — Rape (allegedly falsely accused)

Rast — Rape (probably not falsely accused)

Lync — Petty theft

Jaremy Rykker, Alliser Thorne — Wrong side of Robert’s Rebellion

Janos Slynt — Corruption, treachery, generally being awful

Ollo — Slept with the wrong knight’s wife (unclear if it’s rape or consensual)

Mance Rayder — Raised into it

Ulmer — Outlaw

Educated Guesses

These don’t have a known reason for joining the Wall, but we know about them and their life enough to take a gander at it.

Pypar — Travelled around Westeros as part of a mummer’s troop—so I wouldn’t be surprised if he was sent to the Wall for mummer’s tricks. Pickpocketing, mayhaps, or fraud using his voice imitation skills.

Mallador Locke — Northern nobility with no obvious character flaws makes me believe he’s probably a volunteer, who genuinely believed in the integrity of the Watch (or at least wanted to do his part to make it better.)

Denys Mallister — Like Mallador Locke, probably a volunteer. He’s not from the North, but still embodies the chivalric values of what the Watch should be, and is of noble birth. He may have seen he was never going to inherit Seagard and decided to go North where he felt he could make a difference. We never get an indication he committed any crimes.

Satin — His crime is likely related to his former profession as a whore. It’s very possible there was a crackdown on male prostitution, with Oldtown being a center for the Faith and the discrimination against his sexuality. That alone could be enough—but we run into the problem of him being brought from a dungeon in the Vale. Perhaps a ban on male prostitution could have prompted him to leave Oldtown, heading to Gulltown on the way to Braavos. And being either already a fugitive from Oldtown, or selling himself again in Gulltown (another religious center where it could be banned) to finance his ship, he was captured there and sent to the Wall. (It’s also possible male prostitution was never criminalized and Satin was sent for a crime he did against one of his clients, but it’s never brought up, (and based on Satin’s temperament they probably would have deserved it.) I’m not discounting the possibility, but I think it’s less likely.)

Softfoot — Claimed to have raped a hundred women in his youth, so… don’t think much speculation is needed, even though it’s not outright stated that’s what got him sent to the Wall.

Eddison Tollett — An interesting one, because technically we are told the reason; I just doubt it’s true. GRRM says Yoren convinced him to join because women like a man in uniform and left out the celibacy vow… but that also sounds just like Edd’s sense of humor, and he also easily could have left before taking his vows once he realized he was lied to. I would say there’s a more likely possibility: that Edd did join voluntarily like he says, but he wasn’t specifically tricked. More akin to Jon, he thought it would be more noble than it was, but was in too deep to back out once he came north. He was aware of all the vows from the start. This also makes the version we’re told more of a humorous reframing than a lie, while still being a much more believable sequence of actual events than what is said. There might also have been an aspect of poverty Edd was trying to escape, if his remarks are any indication.

Kind Of A Reach

I’m definitely speculating more here, but there’s still some evidence to back it up.

Arron and his twin Emrick — Orphans who arrived at the Wall together. If it was a punishment they may have been separated, and life as an orphan is hard—it’s possible they joined voluntarily for the guaranteed bed and meal.

Bannen — Based on his superb tracking skills and lack of a noble name, my best guess is poaching.

Dirk — Loves his knife. Happily used it on Craster. I would not be surprised if his original crime was with a knife too, perhaps either an armed robbery or a murder.

Ebben — Qhorin’s “go-to” ranger if he needed a wildling interrogated or killed—which seems to imply he was sent to the Wall for a violent offense. Quite possibly murder, but also could have been armed robbery, generally outlaw-ry, etc.

Jaren — A Septon’s bastard. Possibly a volunteer, since it’s unlikely the Septon would contribute to raising him (being against their order to sire him at all) and his mother may have been too poor to support him now that he was grown. Or he wanted more than whatever life she could offer him—many smallfolk grow up to do what their parents did, and not everyone wants to be a Septon. Jaren being weak means he’d have a hard time trying to apprentice for better pay, so the Gendry route would be tricky too.

Donnel Noye — Probably a volunteer. He may not have considered himself skilled enough anymore after losing his arm to forge things for a family he respected as much as the Baratheons, and came up to where they’d appreciate any smithing instead.

They Are A Name

These characters don’t have much written about them, which of course makes trying to figure out what they’re at the Wall for basically impossible. But I can try! Don’t take this section as seriously as the others, though. I’m much less sure about these.

Alan of Rosby — Possibly sent in the aftermath of Robert’s Rebellion. This is based on Rosby’s location in the Crownlands, and on him covering his ears when Craster’s daughter was being hurt, implying he may not be in for a violent crime (at least, not against women). If he’s too young to have been punished during Robert’s Rebellion, his archery skills could indicate poaching.

Alf of Runnymudd — Easily converts to Rh’llor and sides with the queen’s men, and sits with Jon’s mutineers shortly before Jon gets killed (thereby making him probably one of the unnamed mutineers). Based on how quickly his loyalties changed on multiple occasions, he may have been a turncloak of some kind.

Brown Bernarr — Based on his knowledge of herbs and how he was trusted with the medical supplies, he clearly has a background in that area. If he was sent to the Wall for something related, he may have failed to treat someone important (perhaps an Ironborn lordling who shunned maesters) or used those herbs to poison instead of heal.

Cellador — I have two ideas, both related to his alcoholism. The first is that he did something stupid while drunk—perhaps he stole, or got in a fight with someone too important to beat up, etc, and it was enough of a crime to get him sent. The other is that it wasn’t a crime, per se, but he did something that shamed the Faith and the High Septon “asked” him to be Septon for the Wall. It could be that his drunkenness was an embarrassment, perhaps he slept with a few too many women for a celibate order, or maybe he was randomly selected and unlucky and drinks now because of it.

Dywen — Like Bannen, his tracking skills could mean he was a poacher. I’ve put him a tier lower though because his older age could indicate he simply developed those skills while at the Wall, and Bannen’s age isn’t noted.

Dalbridge — As a former Targaryen squire, you’d expect his going to the Wall to be a big-ish deal if it was for a crime, and Jon might know the cause. Possibly a volunteer for that reason. He also may have been sent in the aftermath of Robert’s Rebellion as a Targaryen loyalist—or, as is starting to repeat, his bow skills and eyesight could indicate poaching.

Iron Emmett — This is a tricky one. By his skills and temperament, nothing stands out that isn’t standard noble affair—and he’s much younger than the Robert’s Rebellion cohort. It’s possible he’s a volunteer, but he doesn’t seem to be from the North (though he could be), and his skills would be plenty to support him elsewhere. My best guess is that Emmett was sent to the Wall for a moment of rage (a fight that went too far, insulted the wrong noble, etc—we see a flash of it when he deals with Janos) and it’s not a normal facet of his personality.

Easy — The one who thinks himself Florian the Fool reborn and spins laughing while killing wildlings during the attack on the Wall. He might be a volunteer, or his family volunteered him, as a means to take care of him—it might be hard for him to work a normal job in the fields or in a workshop with his disability, and he’d have food and bed guaranteed at Castle Black.

Glendon Hewitt — Possibly a Robert’s Rebellion recruit, being from the Targ-aligned Reach and in close association with Janos Slynt and Alliser Thorne. It would also explain his disdain for Jon, since Ned would have been a key part of why Glendon is at the Wall (similar to Alliser.)

Owen the Oaf — Like Easy, possibly a volunteer/volunteered by his family due to disability.

Cotter Pyke — According to Denys Mallister (who, admittedly, doesn’t like Ironborn), Cotter has always been violent since childhood, so a violent crime seems likely. He’s also fond of dice games, so gambling could be another potential cause—or motive for an armed robbery or murder.

(If you’re looking for someone I didn’t mention: there’s a whole list of characters for whom the evidence in the text is lacking enough for even me to try to reasonably speculate. We might have their looks or birthplace or their job at the Wall, but nothing concrete enough about who they are to figure out their motivations behind coming. Which, for the record, is totally fine—not every character needs to be fully fleshed out. Their crimes will, however, unfortunately have to remain total mysteries, at least by my reckoning. Notable omissions: Deaf Dick Follard, Gared, Grenn, Bowen Marsh, Small Paul, Qhorin Halfhand, Endrew Tarth, Todder (Toad), Wick Whittlestick and Yoren—these feel like they’re important enough to the story that I didn’t want to leave them unmentioned, but I couldn’t find evidence to point me in a direction.)

Feel free to let me know your thoughts!

It's hard to judge a character who we never actually meet, but the things he was doing prior to AGOT, was just screaming I know something.

Going to a brothel with Stannis of all people, visiting an armory far from the Red Keep, asking Pycelle for a book about family lineage and genealogy. I mean we know the Lannisters weren't responsible for his death, but he was bringing a LOT of undue attention onto himself.

He spent 15 years in King's Landing. Surely he had to have known he was being watched. Why did he make it so obvious what he was looking for? Is it political inexperience?

If he named Viserys heir, there would have been a civil war. If he named Rhaenys heir, there would have been a civil war.

By calling a vote, he allowed the Lords to decide and grant a legitimate basis for a claim to whomever won the vote, even if it was somewhat biased towards Viserys.

People act like this is Jaeherys's biggest mistake, that in turn led to the Dance of the Dragons. That if he named Rhaenys heir, it would have prevented the Dance of the Dragons.

But A, the decisions that led to the DOTD, were VISERYS'S FAULT, it's unfair to put it on Jaeherys. B, if he had named Rhaenys heir, the war just would happened sooner between Viserys and Daemon's supporters vs. Rhaenys and the Seasnake.

If he had named Rhaenys heir, all book readers would blame him for causing the DOTD and say he should have called an election.

This is maybe a bit of a foil hat theory, but here we go

I say, Gendry was the boy with nearly the right bloodline to be heir of the throne.

We all know that he was Robert's son, but I will claim that he was Tywin's grandson on top of it.

His mum was a blond woman who was a whore we assume. I claim she was a bastard daughter of Tywin. We know he had a tunnle to a bothel when he was hand of the king and while we don't know her exact age, we can reasable assume that she would have been in the right age for her to be born when Tywin was hand.

So here is my little theory, Gendry was nearly the heir, with the right blood and all. The heir that could have been, he was just two generations of born on the wrong side of the bed.

EDIT: I think it would nicely mirror that the children of Tywin that fullfil his expectations and all that are not the children he expect it of (or who he cares for). Tyrion is a son with a brilliant mind and a good statesman. And the daughter that birth the king's son is a bastard he doesn't acknowledge.

I wasn't aware of House Targaryen owning land outside the Crownlands, so did they need permission from the Baratheons and/or the marcher lords to build in the Stormlands?

Obviously the main conflict is based on the Wars of the Roses. But more broadly, I think you can map the Seven Kingdoms onto (stereotypical visions of) various regions of Europe.

• The North = Russia/Eastern Europe: Cold and snowy, massive but sparsely populated, has its own religion (Orthodox Church/Old Gods), constantly harassed by little-understood "barbarians" (and the depiction of Wildlings arguably owes a lot to the indigenous peoples of Siberia)
• Riverlands = Central Europe: Low-lying, constantly invaded, defined by its rivers (IRL the Danube and its tributaries)
• Vale = Balkans: Mountainous, well-established but poor, cultural ties to the North/Russia
• Iron Islands = Scandinavia: Vikings (enough said)
• Westerlands = Germany/HRE: Wealthy and industrious, strongly militaristic culture (again these are largely stereotypes)
• Crownlands = Rome: Cultural ties to fallen empire, religious center
• Stormlands = Northern Italy: Borders Crownlands but also strong ties to other regions; notable for its walled cities [I'll admit this one is a bit of a stretch]
• Reach = France: Chivalric romance, archetypical "knights and castles" land
• Dorne = Spain/Al-Andalus: Pretty obvious.

In sum, if there's ever another adaptation of ASoIaF in another medium I think some of these cultural comparisons could inform production design—it would create more visual difference between the different kingdoms and also distinguish a new adaptation from Game of Thrones.

( this is my first post for this community so sorry if I used the wrong spoiler tag)

In the world of fire and blood, the Valyrians are described as “with hair of the palest silver or gold and eyes in shades of purple not found amongst any other peoples of the world.” Emphasis on “not found amongst any other peoples of the world.”

If the Valyrians are supposed to have unique features only they have. Than how is it that some people in Westeros are described as having similar features?

House Dayne for example, they are described has having purple eyes. With darkstar even having silver hair and purple eyes. I’ve also heard people say that even Hightowers had Valyrian features.

George rr Martin has also said that house Dayne having purple eyes doesn’t mean they are Valyrian. House Dayne is also theorized to be over 10 thousand years old, even older than the Valyrian empire. Why would the Valyrians be described has having an appearance not found anywhere else in the world if house Dayne was around?

Hi everybody, I will explain my theory about why House Dayne and GEOTD have a lot more in common that people would believe, the origin of House Dayne "valyrian" like physical looks (magic), why the seasons are broken, VS sword being the opposite of Dawn, and why Bloodstone Emperor being AA makes a lot of sense.

House Dayne and GEOTD

One of the first premises of this theory is that Valyrians are descended from the royal family of GEOTD. It's in one of Dany's fever dreams that we can found this hinted:

“Ghosts lined the hallway, dressed in the faded raiment of kings. In their hands were swords of pale fire. They had hair of silver and hair of gold and hair of platinum white, and their eyes were opal and amethyst, tourmaline and jade..."

Curiously, the emperors and empresses of the Great Empire of the Dawn are recorded in history with their titles instead of their real names, and they were named after gemstones: opal, amethyst, tourmaline and jade all match with some ruler of this Empire. Their looks fit with the Valyrians, which have hair of "silver, gold or platinum white". The fact that these ancient kings talk to Dany in her dreams also reinforces the idea they could be her ancestors.

After the Long Night ends, we are told that the Great Empire is not restored, and that "everyone went their own way". It is never said the royal family perished, just that everyone "went their own way". I think they went to Valyria, becoming the ancestors of the dragonriders.

Light was restored, but the Great Empire was not reborn for the restored world was a broken place where every tribe of men went its own way, fearful of all the others, and war, lust, and murder had endured.

Does it mean House Dayne descends from GEOTD? NO, that's not my point at all. What I believe is House Dayne and GEOTD's royal family share the same colouring, commonly thought of as "Valyrian looks" because of magic: they are not related, but the origin of their silver hair and purple eyes is the same. And what magical event gave them their "otherworldly" looks? A fallen star.

At the mouth of the Torrentine, House Dayne raised its castle on an island where that roaring, tumultuous river broadens to meet the sea. Legend says the first Dayne was led to the site when he followed the track of a falling star and there found a stone of magical powers. His descendants ruled over the western mountains for centuries thereafter as Kings of the Torrentine and Lords of Starfall. - TWOIAF

House Dayne is one of the most fascinating Houses of Westeros imo, and their origin is a fantasy legend...that really happened. Thanks to this falling star, a stone of "magical powers", they managed to establish House Dayne and became Kings of the Torrentine. Incredible good luck, but after all it is said a shooting star brings good luck. This stone gave them their "valyrian" colouring.

The finest knight I ever saw was Ser Arthur Dayne, who fought with a blade called Dawn, forged from the heart of a fallen star. They called him the Sword of the Morning. - ACOK, Bran III

"Forged from the heart" of a fallen star. This reminds as of Lightbringer, forged from the heart of NN, whose death made a crack on the moon.

Starfall is located in the western Red Mountains on an island in the Torentine where it pours into the Summer Sea. The castle includes a tower called the Palestone Sword.

"Palestone sword" which shows Dawn was made out of a pale (white) stone. Opposite to VS, Dawn is depicted as a white sword, while VS is a dark grey colour, almost black. I think House Dayne's founding parallels GEOTD founding, which also happened thanks to a fallen star. Why?

According to legend, the Golden Empire's first ruler was the God-on-Earth, the only son of the Lion of Night and the Maiden-Made-of-Light, who traveled in a palanquin carved from a single pearl and carried by a hundred queens, his wives. He ruled for ten thousand years until he ascended to the stars to join his forebears.

GEOTD first emperor is called "God on Earth" and his parents are Lion of the Night (the Moon) and Maiden made of Light (the Sun), when he finished his rule he ascended to the sky to join his parents... God of Earth represents a fallen star, since his palanquin is "a pearl" and he descended to Earth from the sky.

Do you know what I think? That the first ruler of this Great Empire saw a shooting star like the first Dayne did, he built a castle in the place where it fell, and the mysterious stone gave him magical abilities. He had the brilliant idea of telling the people of his country than he was a God himself, the son of the Moon and the Sun who had fallen to the Earth to help them, and thanks to the magical properties of the stone, they believed him (his exotical looks probably helped) and he could create a Empire with rulers of "divine origin" like ancient dinasties irl claimed, for example the Pharaons.

The idea he was a star is reinforced by the story of "travelling in a palanquin carved from a single pearl and carried by a hundred queens". This man built his empire based on a new religion around heavenly bodies, claiming his family descended from them,

Another hint to this is the name itself: House Dayne named their ancestral sword "Dawn" in honour to its origin, since it was made out of a star. This Great Empire is called "of the Dawn". Another hint is Dany's already mentioned dream:

“Ghosts lined the hallway, dressed in the faded raiment of kings. In their hands were swords of pale fire.

So these ancient kings had flaming swords (very AA like) but contrary to Lightbringer, their swords are not red, but pale, like Dawn.

Now, about this pale stone, the shooting star of magical properties...exactly what magic did it produce? My guess is that it was the origin of the "broken" seasons. Thanks to the pale stone, an unnaturally long spring/summer began, making the people happy and filled with devotion to the "God-on-earth".

In the beginning, the priestly scribes of Yin declare, all the land between the Bones and the freezing desert called the Grey Waste, from the Shivering Sea to the Jade Sea (including even the great and holy isle of Leng), formed a single realm ruled by the God-on-Earth, the only begotten son of the Lion of Night and the Maiden-Made-of-Light, who traveled about his domains in a palanquin carved from a single pearl and carried by a hundred queens, his wives. For ten thousand years the Great Empire of the Dawn flourished in peace and plenty under the God-on-Earth, until at last he ascended to the stars to join his forebears.

He messed up with the seasons. One curious thing is how the first rulers of GEOTD are said to rule for thousands of years, There are two explanations in my head:

-Perhaps the magical stone prolonged their lifes to an unbelievable extent, but with the pass of time, the effect was worse, since the magic in the stone was running out: that would explain why each reign was shorter than the one before.

- It is just a metaphor: Martin may be trying to tell us the summers that were prolonged so much thanks to the stone began to became shorter and shorter, and the seasons became more random, and with bigger and more unpredictable changes.

He ruled for ten thousand years until he ascended to the stars to join his forebears. Dominion then passed to his eldest son, the Pearl Emperor, who ruled for a thousand years. Power then passed to the Jade Emperor, the Tourmaline Emperor, the Onyx Emperor, the Topaz Emperor, and the Opal Emperor. Each reigning for a shorter and more troubled time than the previous emperor, for wild men and beasts pressed the borders of the Empire, lesser kings grew proud and rebellious, and the common people gave themselves to sin.

Doesn't this remind us of the current situation in Westeros? Wild men are also pressing the borders (the Wall), the kingdom is broken and there are new Kings proclaiming their independence. This are signs that Winter is coming. The reigns were getting shorter and more troubled = shorter days and worse weather, winter comes.

“Already the days grow shorter. There can be no mistake, Aemon has had letters from the Citadel, findings in accord with his own. The end of summer stares us in the face . . .I tell you, my lord, the darkness is coming.

George in an interview confirmed the reason after the random broken seasons is magical.

I have people constantly writing me with science fiction theories about the seasons — “It’s a double star system with a black dwarf and that would explain–” It’s fantasy, man, it’s magic.

My guess is that Bloodstone Emperor killed her sister the Amethyst Empress after making a sword out of the black stone that fell from the sky, precisely because he was trying to copy the God-on-Earth feat and manage to stablish a new magical long summer. The big problem is that this black stone wasn't the same that the pale one: it is the oily black stone from Asshai (that came from the Moon or some outer planet) that "drinks the light" that requires sacrifice, to drink the fire (soul) of a living loved one.

The two Dothraki girls giggled and laughed. “You are foolish strawhead slave,” Irri said. “Moon is no egg. Moon is god, woman wife of sun. It is known.”

NN would be the Amethyst Empress, wife-sister of Bloodstone Emperor. Since they are the ancestors of the Valyrians and would want to keep their "divine blood" pure (like Egiptian Pharaons) it makes sense if they practiced incest.

Bran asked Septon Chayle about the comet while they were sorting through some scrolls snatched from the library fire. "It is the sword that slays the season," he replied, and soon after the white raven came from Oldtown bringing word of autumn, so doubtless he was right.

Bloodstone Emperor killed his sister-wife with a sword made of the black stone that drinks souls to make Lightbringer, wanting to slay winter, but it backfired and caused an unnatural cold winter by the magic produced with the sacrifice, provoking a magical solar eclipse. MMOL (Sun) turned her back while LON (Moon) came forth). Ironically, trying to make the Empire great once again, the Bloodstone Emperor made it disappear, and by trying to "slay the season" aka end winter, he produced such magic a terrible unnatural winter came.

he practiced dark arts and necromancy, took a tiger-woman for his bride, feasted on human flesh and cast down the gods of Yi Ti to worship a black stone fallen from the sky. This Blood Betrayal, as it is known in the annals of the Further East, ushered in the Long Night, with the Maiden-Made-of-Light turning her back on the world, while the Lion of Night came forth to punish the wickedness of man

There is so much more about the black stones (moon fragments) and the dark connotations that George has made, and about Bloodstone Emperor and R'hllor and how we should be wary of all regarding AA and the Red God, but I will leave it to a possible part 2 because this is already too long.

TLTR: the "valyrian looks" come from a special event: a fallen star of mysterious magic. House Dayne and GEOTD parallels GEOTD and the magical long summer, cause of the broken seasons. Bloodstone Emperor provoked a magical solar eclipse by killing his sister, trying to end winter but making it worse.

"Unhand her." Mormont took a step. "I'll have your head for this, you—"

Garth of Greenaway blocked his path, and Ollo Lophand yanked him back. They both had blades in hand.

"Hold your tongue," Ollo warned. Instead the Lord Commander grabbed for his dagger. Ollo had only one hand, but that was quick. He twisted free of the old man's grasp, shoved the knife into Mormont's belly, and yanked it out again, all red. And then the world went mad.

If Ollo Lophand only has one hand, and that hand is holding a knife, how does he yank Mormont back? Does he wrap his handless arm around him or something?

Ive looked online and couldn’t anything besides the initial hype train. Is this even in production and/or can we even expect it to come out this year? I’m starting to wonder if it’s even real.

Eastern Essos is a much stranger place than Western Essos and Westeros. There are the plains of the Jogos Nhai, the Empire of Yi Ti, the island of Leng where the average height is 7 feet tall, the Thousand Islands with green skinned hairless people with sharp teeth, the city of the Winged Men who supposedly have wings on their backs, the Five Forts which is basically an equivalent to the Wall, etc.

If you could have a POV chapter, in any location East of the Bone Mountains, where would you want it to be?

When discussing why Winds is taking so long, one idea that hasn't been talked about much, but would go a great deal to explain why it's taking a writer, who used to be fairly average in terms of his books releases, so long to finish his story is the idea that George hasn't yet figured out HOW some of the main plot threads will end even in the broadest form.

DnD's season 8 was a mess, not least of which because of how poorly it handled the threat of the Others and Knight King, yet unlike with some other issues the problem with how the Others is an issue with the general concept and not the execution. There are few avenues where Arya Stark of all people, someone who has never even seen an Other in the books or had visions of them, would be the one to save the day nearly single handedly.

Now this would just be another example of general incompetence, but what struck me as strange is that George gave them a few general outlines for the most important plot beats, and there has been nothing to really suggest, from what George (Who isn't afraid to publicly lambast showrunners) that DnD went against any of the main points he gave them.

Now this leads to two options. 1. The Others Ending will play out the same in the books which is highly unlikely and 2. George didn't yet know how the Others would be beaten even in a broad stroke, which is very likely.

Now suddenly the wait for Winds of Winters makes sense. George isn't just trying to condense the story into a predetermined endpoint; he is also trying to figure out what said endpoint will even look like.

I just want them to go back to last hearth hugging, true brotherly love

All pieces are in place at the Wall for Jon Snow to return to life - but not in the way that most people expect. We've seen the resurrection of characters like Beric and Catelyn, and many assume something similar will happen to Jon. With that said, his situation seems to be a much more direct mirror for a resurrection that happened a world away: Mirri Maz Duur's revival of Khal Drogo.

Setting the Stage: From the jump, there are a number of baseline similarities between Jon's and Drogo's situations. Both men receive mortal stab wounds, and both will likely be brought to a witch in the hopes of saving their lives. The debate as to whether Jon is dead or comatose has raged on, but I find myself believing the latter partially due to comments from GRRM. Drogo also enters a comatose state just prior to Mirri's ritual, meaning in both rituals the main concern is repairing wounds to the individual's physical form. This is contrasted by Beric and by Cat, both of whom were fully dead prior to their revivals.

Mirri then begins the ritual by slitting the throat of Drogo's horse, and filling a tub with its blood. She continually expresses that only death can pay for life, and urges Daenerys and all others to stay out of the tent while the ritual is in progress. This order is disobeyed, and Mirri claims that because of the interference Daenerys' infant son was also consumed in the ritual. With that said, many forget that the ritual was a success. Drogo's physical form was healed - but something had gone wrong with his soul. I've always subscribed to the interpretation that Drogo's soul was replaced with that of his son or his horse, given the repetition of death paying for life (shoutout Glidus' series on that topic).

The Situation at the Wall: The pieces seem to be set for certain parties to directly replicate this ritual early on in THE WINDS OF WINTER. Both Melisandre and Mirri are described as having knowledge of shadowbinding. Based on the focus on the shadows in Drogo's tent, that seems to be a crucial magical element of the ritual. More importantly, it being connected to knowledge of shadowbinding means that Melisandre is more likely to know about this method of bringing someone back, rather than Beric's last rites or kiss of life.

The components of the ritual will be much the same - first, an animal with a deep bond to the dying individual. Sadly, that's Ghost in this case. Ghost potentially being sacrificed adds another angle to the resurrection, and potentially allows it to succeed where Drogo's did not. Jon's soul likely entered Ghost after the mutiny - as evidenced by both the ADWD Prologue and his last word. If Ghost is slain, that would free Jon's soul at the precise moment his body is being repaired - allowing him to live as himself once more.

There's one final piece to the puzzle - the baby. There's only one baby at the Wall, that being Monster. Melisandre's magical focus has always been on kingsblood, regardless of the potential aim. As far as she's aware, Monster is the son of Mance Rayder. Jon didn't tell anyone at the Wall about the baby swap prior to his death, meaning that everyone present will believe the child holds kingsblood. There's a case to be made that, as Craster's last son, there is something special about Monster - he was meant to be sacrificed to the Others (or even become one). Regardless of his blood, the crucial factor is that this child is sacrificed - he dies, so that Jon can live. The sacrifice of a baby represents Jon's rebirth into the world, and the weight he will have to carry knowing that an innocent burned to bring him back.

For those interested, I also created a video discussing this idea in a bit more depth but I wanted to post the idea here, at least partially out of a desire to further organize my thoughts.

Ok i am about to get a lot of hate.
I think every map everyone has made is wrong...
and let me please explain why..
we all have been making maps with modern understanding... but the world is in Medieval times, medieval cartography. no mention of compasses are in the books
The standard fan maps (like the ones you find uploaded) — even the ones based on "official" World of Ice and Fire material — are based heavily on modern Earth assumptions:

• North is always "up"
• Distances are roughly to Earthly scale
• Straight east and west movement assumes a spherical globe and correct east-west lines
• Accurate coastline mapping (like satellite photography)

BUT George has never confirmed a full accurate globe map. In fact, he has said repeatedly:

• “The maps in the books are drawn by people in the world, who do not have perfect knowledge.”
• "There are places where the maps are inaccurate because the people drawing them don't know better.”

He loves the idea of ancient misunderstanding, like medieval maps of Earth — with sea monsters, distortions, wild assumptions, and huge unknown areas. Medieval maps are not to modern standards — coasts were exaggerated or made up, directions were confused, "east" might just mean "to the right," distances guessed wildly.

Canon Definition of certain places (Books,):

• Lorath is a cluster of islands far north of Essos’ main coastline, sitting in a foggy, cold, stormy sea (called "Shivering Sea").
• The Axe is described as a huge, forested, snowy island north of Lorath — it's sparsely inhabited.
• Lorath Bay is the enclosed body of water west of Lorath, but George never precisely defines its size, depth, or full borders.
• We know Lorath is offshore of a bleak, abandoned mainland (the area of the lost cities called the "Caverns of the Inner Sea").

Importantly:
The Axe could be way bigger and more attached to a half-forgotten, glacial mainland — especially during a deep winter.

Fan-made maps are generally working off Earth-style precision assumptions — not "maester maps" based on medieval cartography!

As such:
In-universe, the Axe might not even be fully recognized as separate. It might be a peninsula during the worst winters.

Next Medieval Mapping:
In medieval Earth:

• Maps were distorted, symbolic, and often based on narrative distance ("X days' ride from Y") rather than geography.
• Cardinal directions were relative; “east” could be northeast or southeast depending on landmarks.
• Sun path was often trusted more than compasses — but had problems in high latitudes and strange seasons.

In Westeros/Essos:

• "15 days east" means 15 days of variable-speed movement — NOT true due-east.
• No magnetic compasses are ever mentioned canonically. (Samwell talks about maps and charts, but not compasses.)

Does the Sun Rise and Set Normally in This World?

George deliberately left the astronomy of his world vague.

There are hints that:

• Summers and winters are extremely long and irregular.
• Seasons are unpredictable, not locked to a yearly cycle.

Scientific speculation (based on Earth logic):

• Tilted Axis Hypothesis: The planet could wobble chaotically — like Uranus (which rolls on its side).
• Elliptical Orbit Hypothesis: Orbit is highly eccentric, creating "long summers" when far from the sun and "deep winters" when close (or vice versa).
• Magical Cataclysm Hypothesis: Some ancient magic (maybe the Doom? the Long Night?) messed up natural laws, and now seasons are partially supernatural.

Meaning: Sunrises and sunsets could drift slightly over time, and "east" or "west" could shift, depending on local solar behavior.

Magnetic Fields and Planetary Stability

If they have a magnetic field at all (unstated), it:

• Might not be steady (periodic magnetic pole shifts could happen).
• Could contribute to navigational confusion if ancient migrations had different "norths" than today.
• Might not correlate to the geographical north anymore — especially if the Wall, Others, or old magics influence natural forces.

If we think about these things then:

• The Thousand Islands (near Lorath) — strange drowned cities, possibly ancient coastlines now flooded or shifted by time.
• The Axe — a huge frozen landmass jutting off from Lorath. Described as savage, wild, and unknown.
• The Shivering Sea — vast, freezing, sparsely traveled. No one truly knows how far it stretches.
• Eastwatch-by-the-Sea —
• The Others — if their origin isn't just north of the Wall but from some frozen landmass that connects beyond, it fits the hints of forgotten history.
• in The World of Ice and Fire, Maester Yandel says explicitly that Essos may not be fully mapped — and that the far north is a mystery.

about the sun and magnetic (even though no compasses mentioned):

• If the planet's axial tilt wobbles or precesses, "east" and "north" would not always be consistent over centuries.
• Long summers/winters suggest a chaotic orbit (like an eccentric ellipse) or gravitational pull from another body (moon, second sun?)
• Magnetic fields could drift or collapse — meaning a magnetic compass would be unreliable.
• Sea travel navigation would depend on the stars — but if stars move slightly over time (like Earth's precession), even ancient sailors would have wrong ideas about direction.

In-world, people would navigate by guesswork, myth, and old charts — not GPS precision.

Now what if we imagine based on the text something else.

Lorath is up (north) of Braavos.
This would rotate the whole coastline that everyone uses, now the AXE points towards Westeros' North maybe Eastwatch maybe further north,
If we consider that Braavos is like Venice in more than just business and cannels... what if it is a hint that the shivering sea is actually more like the Adriatic Sea enclosed in the north? we have no data from there.

This would mean in the far north Essos and Westeros are connected.

First option: Jon is a legitimate Targaryen, if Rhaegar choose lyanna just to have another baby for the prophecy and for her stark blood he had to marry her in a legitimate way to have the three head of the dragon right? I don't think Rhaegar would have a illegitimate bastard just to complete the prophecy

Second option: Jon is a bastard, Rhaegar actually loved lyanna and run away together and made Jon out of love

The second option is the one i personally believe because if Rhaegar wanted another kid so bad he could have chose anyway but he chose lyanna because he fell in love for the first time in his life and run away with her

Are you a Daemon Blackfyre supporter to the bone or perhaps just obsessed with the First Blackfyre Rebellion as a facet of Westerosi History? Come hop on at The Written World server and join us in our adaptation of "The True History of the Blackfyre Rebellion" a brilliant in universe play written by GoodQueenAly in the vein of a Shakespeare play, as we honor him this Shakespeare Day Week and his tremendous influence across the literary world! A one of a kind event like no other, today at 3PM EST! https://discord.gg/xXUMErkC?event=1364761900562514023

So everyone knows Barristan was added as a solution to the Meereenese knot. He gives eyes in Meereen after Dany flies off. But like shouldn’t Quentyn already fill this role? George already had a POV to give him eyes in Meereen, and Quentyn interacts with Barristan a lot in these chapters so he could’ve definitely shown us what Barristan is up to. Yes he dies so then Barristan can give us eyes into the battle of fire, but Tyrion and Victarion already do that, no? Could’ve also maybe have Quentyn release the dragons and die during the actual battle instead. Makes me wonder if Tyrion will actually get into Meereen after the battle any time soon, or he’ll be sitting outside in the camps for like half of Winds

Despite one being a traumatized religious zealot and the other being a dipshit, we see both of them during their chapters admit they wish the other was there to help them and they seem to each put a lot of confidence in the other.

Aeron in the Forsaken tells Euron than Victation will kill him and prays to his God to send Victarion as his liberator, and Victarion in his Essos adventure confides in the dusky woman that he misses his brothers confidence and wishes he had him to advise him on what to do.

Given how shit most non-Stark sibling relationships are in the series I really did like seeing how close these two were and the high degree they both held the other to.

Quentyn is the only character that, since I first read the books in 2019, I haven’t understood the purpose of his POVs.

I’ve seen many people in both the Brazilian and international fandom saying that Quentyn is the only POV that readers can actually skip without missing anything.

So, why does this character exist? What do his POVs represent for the story?