Re: Some thoughts about Dance With Dragons (spoilers) - Edit 1
Before modification by Werthead at 16/07/2011 02:31:37 PM
- If wargs are as rare are Bran is told, how is it that one family has four (and possibly more) children of the same generation with at least a portion of that talent?
I took it that warging was very rare whilst the level of magic in the world was low. Now that it is increasing again, warging is becoming more common, hence its sudden emergence in the Stark family.
Have Quaithe's predictions begun to show the cracks of Melisande's? She seemed to predict the arrival of Connington and Aegon in Mereen. In fact, most of the people whose arrival she foretold to Daenerys ever encountered her. Were these just possibilities that never came to pass or did she misinterpret her prophecies and they'll actually encounter each other elsewhere? Or was this an example of Martin's plans changing? I know that he made references to a "Mereenese knot" when discussing the ongoing writing process. I wonder if the original plan was for several of the characters and storylines converge there, only to realize he wrote himself into a corner and had to adjust.
One of the ongoing themes of the series has been that prophecies are not perfect. Rhaego died so the Stallion Who Mounts the World thing never happened. Connington and Aegon were on their way but (thanks to some suggestions by Tyrion) changed their minds and went to Westeros instead (and it may be that Dany meets them in Westeros instead). As for the latter point, GRRM's comments and those by his editor suggest that the very end of the Knot (including, I guess, Victarion joining the frey, Dany returning to Meereen, Tyrion revealing himself and possibly Marwyn showing up) was deferred to Book 6, which by reader consensus (if such a thing is possible at this early stage) appears to have been an 'inadvisable move'.
I also think that Aegon's survival came out of the blue. It seems too good to be real. Might he have been an ace in the hole for Varys & Illyrio in case their plans with Viserys and/or Daenerys fell through, a fake Aegon kept under wraps until the last of the real Targaryens failed?
There is subsantial discussion on this point. If Aegon's been raised from birth to believe he is the king, if the Golden Company believe it and so on, it can't be a last-minute thing (Aegon's been raised for the 17 years since the Rebellion to believe he's the rightful king, it's only been 2-2.5 years since the start of AGoT). In particular, Viserys can't have been expected to stand aside easily, though Varys presumably wouldn't have been above poisoning him or disposing of him if he proved intractable. However, there will be questions over Aegon's legitimacy, purple eyes and silver hair and all (there's too many descendents of Targaryens in the Free Cities, like Aerion Brightflame who is specifically mentioned in this book, making me wonder if he is FakeAegon's real ancestor, assuming he is a fake), whilst Viserys and Daenerys' legitimacy is unquestioned. So I think we need more data on that point.
Speaking of Aegon VI, what is now supposed to be the appeal of Daenerys? Aegon has a better claim.
Daenerys' legitimacy is unquestioned, and she has dragons. Aegon will be dismissed as a fake or imposter by many. By marrying Aegon to Daenerys, Aegon gains legitimacy either way.
He might be capable of having a successor of his own body follow him on the throne, instead of his reign being simply a prologue to the civil war that follows the death of an heirless monarch.
It's generally assumed that Mirri Maz Duur's statement was a prophecy, not an insult, and that Daenerys will be able to bear children again once the terms are met. For example, "The sun setting in the east," is thought to refer to Quentyn Martell dying in the east.
Aegon never knew his older sister
She died when he was a year or so old, so he didn't really know her, no. Unless you mean Daenerys, who is his aunt
Slightly confusing as he is 2 years older than her, but his father Rhaegar was Daenerys' much older brother.Aegon has at least been raised in an organized and educated fashion, not by a spoiled & arrogant brother's reminiscing about a nation he fled as a child.
True. Aegon knows more about Westeros than Dany and Dany's judgement so far has been lacking. However, Aegon is so far proving to be brave, valourous and 'nice', but also a little bit too tractable and dim. He decides to throw out Varys and Illyrio's plan and embark on a dangerous invasion of Westeros with a hugely outnumbered (if very formidable) army without the force-equaliser of Dany's dragons and Unsullied, all on a suggestion of Tyrion's. It's a bold move, but if Dorne doesn't ally with him (and I don't see Doran doing it until he's heard news of Quentyn's death, which will likely take too long to reach him, and until he can withdraw Lady Nym from King's Landing, which I suspect the Lannisters and Tyrells will not permit) he's going to get his arse handed to him by the vastly larger Tyrell armies. Connington is a solid tactician, but between him and Randyll 'MFer' Tarly, I'd bet on the latter every time.