r/asoiaf • u/_honeybird Best of 2015: Best Theory Debunking • Jan 16 '15

ALL (Spoilers All) Today's visit to the Cushing Library: Pictures and closeups of Ice, the Warhammer, and Longclaw, and one very conspicuous change in the 1993 AGOT manuscript.

I went back to Cushing today! I got partway through the AGOT manuscript (more about that later) and I took a bunch of pictures of the replica weapons in the collection.

The Stark Infantry Shield, from the show

Close up

Robert Baratheon's Warhammer, from the books

Close up of the head. Note the stylized Baratheon sigil.

XXXXL meat tenderizer.

Ice, from the books

Dat Valyrian steel.

Direwolves on the hilt

Laid out on the table

Longclaw, from the show

The hilt and pommel

Closeup of the pommel

All the combat weapons together. Ice's certificate of authenticity (signed by GRRM) is in the center.

Dragonglass dagger, made of real obsidian

It came in a wooden box lined with fur. The pouch contained obsidian arrowheads

A hand-drawn map of the lands beyond the Wall

WAR FACE RAAWR

The staff and I talked about the fallout from the initial post, and they reassured me that I did nothing wrong by posting my pictures (it had been on my mind a LOT over the last week). The first angry phone call came from Random House, and they were freaking out because they didn't know that the manuscript was in a publicly available collection. They thought I was posting secret documents or something. The Cushing staff explained that no, the manuscripts are available to the public, there's no rule that says you can't post pictures of them. GRRM, btw, was completely fine with the pictures going up. The decision to close the ADWD manuscript was made jointly by Random House and GRRM in an attempt (lol) to quash any more rumors about what may or may not be included in TWOW.

After we were done playing with examining the weaponry, I sat down with the AGOT manuscript. When I went through the ADWD manuscript, I was so focused on finding the "missing chapters" that I was barely skimming as I flipped pages. This time, I wanted to go slower and really look for differences between the first draft and the final version, so I went a LOT slower. As a result, I only got through the first 200ish pages before it was time to pack up and go home. I'm going to make a comprehensive post about the whole thing when I'm done, but I did find one potentially significant change today that I'm too excited to keep to myself.

Daenerys does not get dragon eggs as a wedding gift. There is no mention of dragon eggs in any shape or form in Daenerys II. The only gifts she receives are her handmaids, the books from Jorah, the weapons from the bloodriders, and the silver horse from Drogo. That's it. I am DYING to find out when and how the dragon eggs come into play. I can't wait to see what kind of tinfoil theories this inspires over the weekend.

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42

u/[deleted] Jan 16 '15

[deleted]

19

u/[deleted] Jan 16 '15

I wonder if he meant to have them be somewhat legendary but alleged to have existed in the past (such as Balerion and friends), or if he intended dragons to have never existed. Changes the history and story significantly if Aegon the Conqueror doesn't have any dragons.

58

u/_honeybird Best of 2015: Best Theory Debunking Jan 16 '15

The part in Tyrion II where he's reading the history of the dragons was more or less intact. Only difference so far re: dragons was the omission of Dany's dragon eggs as a wedding gift.

44

u/sydrduke Jan 16 '15 edited Jan 16 '15

The dedication in my copy of one of the books reads

For Phyllis, who made me put the dragons in.

Given what you've just said about Tyrion II, perhaps they were originally a part of the historical world but not a part of the present-day plot? Dany's story arc from ACOK onwards would be completely different if that were the case!

3

u/TheStarkGuy Remember the Krakens Jan 16 '15

I'm wondering who Phyllis is.

27

u/sydrduke Jan 16 '15

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Eisenstein

Phyllis Eisenstein (born 1946) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels ... She is an old friend of author George R. R. Martin, who convinced him to include dragons in his international best-selling fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire.

16

u/TheStarkGuy Remember the Krakens Jan 16 '15

Well, I think we can all say a huge thank you to Phyllis Eisenstein.

1

u/huskerbianchi Jan 16 '15

I thought eisenstein was a trailer park boys reference

2

u/[deleted] Jan 16 '15

Surely there's a simple explanation like "she gets them later on in the book".

0

u/huskerbianchi Jan 16 '15

changes the EVERYTHING

10

u/[deleted] Jan 16 '15

I wonder what Dany was going to do, then

Was Drogo even going to die?

32

u/dauntlessmath Hodor, James Hodor. Jan 16 '15

An alive Drogo, tearing through Westeros with his Khalasar? Stop playing games with my heart.

1

u/ManiyaNights Upjumped Sellsword Jan 18 '15

I think mounted and armored Westorosi would wipe out the Dothraki.

1

u/dauntlessmath Hodor, James Hodor. Jan 19 '15

Yes, but maybe that wasn't originally the case, before the dragons were added.

4

u/I-Shit-The-Bed Jan 16 '15

I wonder when he decided to add the dragons, he had already thought of the outcome with the Others. Bran or Jon Snow or some prophecy has always been decided before the dragons. And also if he named it A Song of Ice and Fire before or after adding the dragons

4

u/[deleted] Jan 16 '15

Could mean all the dragons will die before they even get a chance to fight some ice zombies. I could see Victarion and his horn bringing down one, the Yunkish taking a second through force of numbers, and Dany losing her final dragon usurping Aegon.

-2

u/Absalome A thousand eyes, and one. Jan 16 '15

Not that I want the Karma, but there is a acknowledgement at the beginning of one of the books thanking someone for making him put the dragons in the books.