Easily my favourite moments were jon’s moments with quorin halfhand. Making him recite the oath together and they had a genuine and sincere interaction before he died.

Stannis= Agamemnon. Jon Snow= Achilles.

I think what's going to happen is that Stannis will get some victory against the Boltons but won't destroy them completely. Then Jon Snow will come back from the dead and join the battle. The Boltons get defeated for good. However, the North doesn't rally behind Stannis. They support Jon Snow instead who is well, a real Northerner and not a Southerner with a foreign and hostile religion.

Stannis will become incredibly bitter after being rejected once again. I think this will totally break him and lead him to sacrifice Shireen. At this point, either Davos or possibly Brienne will kill Stannis.

It's a great parallel to the Agamemnon/Achilles feud.

During A Clash of Kings reread I found an interesting thing:

Jon I

Donal Noye: Robert was the true steel. Stannis is pure iron, black and hard and strong, yes, but brittle, the way iron gets. He’ll break before he bends. And Renly, that one, he’s copper, bright and shiny, pretty to look at but not worth all that much at the end of the day.

And then the beginning of the next chapter and description of Robb's crown.

Catelyn I

Of gold and silver and gemstones, it had none; bronze and iron were the metals of winter, dark and strong to fight against the cold.

Because I was thinking about the ending of the books.... because if Bran is going to be king won't his age raise questions because he's currently 9? Unless a regency? But a regency after a cataclysm doesn't sound like a great idea? That 5year gap would definitely come in handy right now. So how does one reconcile Brans age?

In the past, GRRM used to bring up his conversation with Tolkien through words. While watching ROP, I got reminded of an ironic pattern in the 2 universes: lotr vs asoiaf.

In lotr, the main villain is a divine (?) entity who seeks to control minds of all living creatures. He easily control animals, for mind control of higher beings, he creates rings.

In asoiaf, the final winner belongs to a family which mind controls animals. And he himself has mind controlled humans (Hodor) and is part of divine entity which is linked ro human sacrifice and can see through past and possibly future and read people's minds.

Is this irony deliberate or a coincidence?

During the conquest, the Watch numbered 10,000 brothers. By the time of the main series, they have less than 1,000 brothers (many of them petty criminals). What caused the Night’s Watch to decline and shrink by such a factor?

During Jaehaerys’ reign, didn’t Alysanne arrange the transfer of the new gift to the Night’s Watch? The lands of the gift were originally given to the Watch by the Starks to sustain them. That would insinuate that the new gift was given to the Watch because the old gift was too small to sustain them anymore. Though I’ve also heard the theory that Alysanne wished to punish the northern lords for continuing the practice of prima nocta.

It also occurred to me that the Watch's best source for new recruits (exiles and prisoners of war) would have decreased drastically after the conquest, as Aegon brought peace to the ever warring seven kingdoms.

That's just what I've thought so far, is there anything else I haven't considered?

The Watch has been around for 8,000 years, as far as we know, and that’s a long time. Sure, they’re been a few odd Kings Beyond the Wall, but most of the time they’d be milling around.

If anything it’s surprising it’s taken so long for them to decline. Their original purpose has faded into myth and their secondary purpose of keeping out wildings out is a small issue to justify a military order with a 700 foot tall wall of ice

Surely, there’d be more attempts at conquering/establishing footholds Beyond the Wall, or enough settlement in the Gift to make it at least less desolate.

But instead they just seem to sit there doing nothing, slowly abandoning their lands.

There's a youtuber called Michael Talks About Stuff, copying a short summary posted about his theory about the wall;

• Inside the Wall is a row of giant weirwood trees
• On each weirwood tree is a person turned into an Other and crucified and bound to a glass candle, frozen in agony where they can't die. The drafts from Feast show Glass Candles were meant to grant immortality adds credence to this.
• The trees then bring water up out of the underground sea and respirate it out, where the magical cold of the Others crucified there freezes it, which is how the Wall can be constantly melting but not get smaller. *The Night's Watch exists so there is a steady stream of souls at the Wall so that their blood feeds the weirwoods and maintains the magic.

I'd go further and propose that The Other the Night’s King mated with was one of those people in the Wall who escaped.

Dany sees these tortured souls in the House of the Undying. Her purpose is to set them free by burning the Heart of Winter with Drogon during The War for the Dawn

The Undying were all around her, blue and cold, whispering as they reached for her, pulling, stroking, tugging at her clothes, touching her with their dry cold hands, twining their fingers through her hair. All the strength had left her limbs. She could not move. Even her heart had ceased to beat. She felt a hand on her bare breast, twisting her nipple. Teeth found the soft skin of her throat. A mouth descended on one eye, licking, sucking, biting . . . Then indigo turned to orange, and whispers turned to screams. Her heart was pounding, racing, the hands and mouths were gone, heat washed over her skin, and Dany blinked at a sudden glare. Perched above her, the dragon spread his wings and tore at the terrible dark heart, ripping the rotten flesh to ribbons, and when his head snapped forward, fire flew from his open jaws, bright and hot.

She could hear the shrieks of the Undying as they burned, their high thin papery voices crying out in tongues long dead. Their flesh was crumbling parchment, their bones dry wood soaked in tallow. They danced as the flames consumed them; they staggered and writhed and spun and raised blazing hands on high, their fingers bright as torches

It's kind of a combination of Evangelion/AoT. What do you think?

So we don't know the exact specific's about Aegon III's parenting and what type of personality he truly had, What we do know is how the children turned out. One wanted to prove his martial ability through a conventional military campaign, and the other was a deeply religious fanatic of the faith of the Seven. We know that he created an environment which his sister-in-law found so foreign that she moved back to Lys

My theory is that the war basically traumatized Aegon, causing him to despise not just dragons but Valyrian civilization, and he raised his children to have the values of Westerosi. Even though the Young Dragon and Baelor were polar opposites of each other, they both embodied the extremes of Westeros rather than anything Valyrian.

Correct me if I am wrong, but it feels like to me I read multiple times that the realm must be united to defeat the long night? The north is still shattered, the south isn't doing much better, and would be conquerors loom. Is there even enough time to get people united before wights come?
I was thinking about all the historical content that inspires grrm, and maybe there could be a King James VI and I kind of story. This king ended up being the heir to three different thrones and united the crown (Scotland, Ireland, and England).
I don't think we currently have a character that could inherit both the north and the south, but perhaps a new child could. A Stark rules the north, a Targaryen rules the south, and a child shared between the two inherits both. I think we have enough spare Starks and Targaryens to make it possible.

To defeat. Cersei is going to win against Tyene.

Please, these Septas are trying to murder me!- Cersei Lannister circa 300 AC

So it just occurred to me that Tyene really is the perfect villain for Cersei to defeat.

Who is Tyene?

Lady Tyene's voice was gentle, and she looked as sweet as summer strawberries. Her mother had been a septa, and Tyene had an air of almost otherworldy innocence about her.

Tyene is the most dangerous Sand Snake. Largely because shes the most innocent and unsuspecting one to the untrained eye. Its why when Lady Nym wants her as an accomplice for her insane assassination plan.

"Tyene. Obara is too loud. Tyene is so sweet and gentle that no man will suspect her. Obara would make Oldtown our father's funeral pyre, but I am not so greedy. Four lives will suffice for me. Lord Tywin's golden twins, as payment for Elia's children. The old lion, for Elia herself. And last of all the little king, for my father."

Of course this innocence is completely false. Tyene is clearly the most cutthroat of the Sand Snakes, and given that Lady Nym planned to murder a 10 year old boy she had never met that says a lot. Both Doran and Areo Hotah genuinely feared that she would kill Doran (her uncle) right then and there.

The captain brought the butt of his longaxe down upon the marble with a thump. "My lady, you presume. Step from the dais, if it please you."

No sooner had she taken her leave than Maester Caleotte hurried to the dais. "My prince, she did not . . . here, let me see your hand." He examined the palm first, then gently turned it upside down to sniff at the back of the prince's fingers. "No, good. That is good. There are no scratches, so . . ."

Indeed Tyene's plan whilst not involving stated murder is just as cruel as Tyrion points out:

"Even a kinslayer is not required to slay all his kin," said Tyrion, wounded. "Queen her, I said. Not kill her." The cheesemonger spooned up cherries. "In Volantis they use a coin with a crown on one face and a death's-head on the other. Yet it is the same coin. To queen her is to kill her. Dorne might rise for Myrcella, but Dorne alone is not enough. If you are as clever as our friend insists, you know this." Tyrion looked at the fat man with new interest. He is right on both counts. To queen her is to kill her.

Even Tyrion at his lowest point considers this plan both insane and cruel. I think that tells you a lot about Tyene's character. Underneath her false innocence is an incredibly poisonous individual.

Tyene doesnt simply use poison as a weapon, she is poison.

No man will suspect her, but Cersei Lannister is not a man.

If AFFC told us anything, its that Cersei Lannister is an incredibly paranoid individual. In AFFC it was to her detriment, she alienated potential allies and ignored growing issues due to this. However coming into Winds at least initially that paranoia will serve her well. And in fact, she was right about one thing in AFFC:

"I need him there. These Dornishmen cannot be trusted. That red snake championed Tyrion, have you forgotten that? I will not leave my daughter to their mercy. And I will not have Loras Tyrell commanding the Kingsguard."

Cersei is wrong about a lot of things, and even more wrong in how she goes about addressing them. But she is right here. The Dornish are not to be trusted.

Cersei also has an almost misandrist bent to her POV too. She often resents and sees the worst in other women regardless of whether they are pretty or ugly, nice or mean. Cersei kind of hates women. She also had a particular dislike of Septa's even before her Walk of Shame:

"The realm is at war. His Grace has need of every man." Cersei did not intend to squander Tommen's strength playing wet nurse to sparrows, or guarding the wrinkled cunts of a thousand sour septas. Half of them are probably praying for a good raping.

Its a safe bet that since her Walk of Shame her opinions towards Septas have not improved for obvious reasons.

So Cersei will immediately suspect and dislike Tyene. Regardless of her otherworldly innocence and her Septa disguise. Because shes Cersei Lannister, and she hates women that arent her. The Queen Narcissist. A large part of the reason she loves Jaime is because to her Jaime is the male version of herself:

Perhaps he would work his spells on the two of us. Would it amuse Your Grace to be a man one night?" If I were a man I would be Jaime, the queen thought. If I were a man I could rule this realm in my own name in place of Tommen's. >"Only if you remained a woman," she said, knowing that was what Taena wanted to hear.

Its funny. Cersei is not a man and resents that fact. Not because she thinks Westeros is wrong in how they treat women, but rather in how they treat Cersei.

But the broken clock will be correct. Tyene's innocence will be a false. Indeed whilst Cersei is no innocent, she has first hand knowledge of true innocence in her son. Tommen.

Tommen helped restore her to herself. He had never been more precious to her than he was that morning, chattering about his kittens as he dribbled honey onto a chunk of hot black bread fresh from the ovens. "Ser Pounce caught a mouse," he told her, "but Lady Whiskers stole it from him." I was never so sweet and innocent, Cersei thought.

Through her own experience, natural paranoia, hatred of Septas and the stark contrast in Tommen Cersei will recognize that Tyene is a threat and stop her.

How it will go down

So Doran has just sent both Tyene and Lady Nym to Kings Landing. Tyene as a Septa and Lady Nym as a council member.

Lady Nym has wanted to assassinate Cersei and Tommen from the moment shes been introduced. Tyene's has no problem killing children and hates the Lannisters. In sending these two, Doran is essentially asking for trouble down the line as they both seek vengeance.

Its really not going to take too long for Cersei and the Sand Snakes to come into conflict. Especially when they see her Trial by combat (likely a Trial by 7) and the freakishly tall, unbeatable Kingsguard that never removes his helmet. They will know Cersei has played them false.

My guess is that some time after this they come after Cersei, Robert Strong (UnGregor) and Tommen. Lady Nym specifically will go after UnGregor and likely find out whats underneath that helmet:

"Tar would have ruined the box," suggested Lady Nym, as Maester Caleotte scurried off. "No one saw the Mountain die, and no one saw his head removed. That troubles me, I confess, but what could the bitch queen hope to accomplish by deceiving us? If Gregor Clegane is alive, soon or late the truth will out. The man was eight feet tall, there is not another like him in all of Westeros. If any such appears again, Cersei Lannister will be exposed as a liar before all the Seven Kingdoms. She would be an utter fool to risk that. What could she hope to gain?"

Spoilers its not Gregor's head under Robert Strong's helmet.

Unfortunately for Lady Nym, UnGregor is beyond her. If shes lucky, she might get some hits in but Frankenstein's monster is not going down to a lesser Snake. Im not 100% on how UnGregor dies, but I dont think its to Lady Nym.

Tyene will go after Cersei and Tommen. However she wont succeed.

Cersei has been extra paranoid around poison and incredibly fearful that Tommen might go the same way.

My son is safe, Cersei told herself. No harm can come to him, not here, not now. Yet every time she looked at Tommen, she saw Joffrey clawing at his throat. And when the boy began to cough the queen's heart stopped beating for a moment. She knocked aside a serving girl in her haste to reach him. "Only a little wine that went down the wrong way," Margaery Tyrell assured her, smiling. She took Tommen's hand in her own and kissed his fingers. "My little love needs to take smaller sips. See, you scared your lady mother half to death."

Im not 100% on how Cersei will ensure Tyene doesnt kill her and Tommen, but I think she will be prepared. And she does have Qyburn with her, a man whos knowledge of healing and poison likely exceeds Tyene's. He is a former maester and actual necromancer after all.

So Tyene will fail too. Dying to Cersei, likely one of her final triumphs before she loses Kings Landing.

Tl;Dr Cersei will come into conflict with Tyene. But I am confident that Cersei will prevail because Cersei is not a man and therefore will not be fooled by Tyene for a second. To be poisoned one must ingest it, but Cersei will recognize Tyene is poison. A broken clock is right twice a day after all, Cersei Coolidge will best the Septas.

Are these terms used or referenced by GRRM himself? Or are they simply fan names that caught on for the anticipated conflicts happening in the different regions?

"Life," Jon repeated bitterly. The armorer could talk about life. He'd had one. He'd only taken the black after he'd lost an arm at the siege of Storm's End. Before that he'd smithed for Stannis Baratheon, the king's brother. He'd seen the Seven Kingdoms from one end to the other; he'd feasted and wenched and fought in a hundred battles. They said it was Donal Noye who'd forged King Robert's warhammer, the one that crushed the life from Rhaegar Targaryen on the Trident. He'd done all the things that Jon would never do, and then when he was old, well past thirty, he'd taken a glancing blow from an axe and the wound had festered until the whole arm had to come off. Only then, crippled, had Donal Noye come to the Wall, when his life was all but over.

I thought that there was no actual fighting during the siege, only starvation and rat-eating. Any ideas?

Heraldic banners had long been a tradition amongst the lords of Westeros, but such had never been used by the dragonlords of old Valyria. When Aegon's knights unfurled his great silken battle standard, with a red threeheaded dragon breathing fire upon a black field, the lords took it for a sign that he was now truly one of them, a worthy high king for Westeros.

The three heads represent Aegon, Visenya, and Rhaenys. But why is house Targaryen’s sigil a red dragon? The dragonlords apparently did not use heraldic banners in Valyria, so it's not as if the red dragon could have been a reference to some older famous Targaryen dragon. And if so, why wouldn't we have been told.

Aegon took the threeheaded dragon as his sigil at the beginning of his conquest. He and/or Visenya/Rhaenys chose red for a reason, but why? Balerion was the prize of House Targaryen, the last living creature in all the world who saw Valyria in its glory. He was black. It's unclear how old the sword Blackfyre is, but whether or not its origin has been retconned in George's mind, it was obviously originally evoking Balerion's black fire. Valyrian steel is smoky black, and the crown Aegon wore was made of it with red rubies set into it.

Does the red just signify the blood in Fire & Blood? Did the Targaryens adopt black and red as common colours, or had they been using them for many decades/centuries already?

The inverted Blackfyre colours always seemed to make more sense for the Targaryens, to essentially take Balerion for their sigil. He was their greatest connection and claim to old Valyrian power. Seeing the black dragon banners would make the lords of Westeros remember Balerion, and what power he displayed during the conquest. Aegon II takes a gold dragon on black for his sigil, to directly reference his own dragon, Sunfyre.

What is the larger meaning behind choosing red, over something like black to reference Balerion?

So I don’t know how known this is, but I just found out and I thought it was cool. Grrm is known to use historical events for his stories, and I was listening to something and found a similarity to how viserys III dies.

In some war between the Persians and the Romans, a Roman general called Marcus licinius Crassus dies in the same way as viserys. He loses a battle and the Persian leader pours molten gold in his mouth “to quench his thirst for wealth”.

Both men were known to be progressive and reformist men in their respective nations for Tsar Alexander II it is his reforms to modernised Russia especially after The Crimean War. While for Quellen he was trying to reform the ways of the ironborn and integrate them with the rest of the Seven Kingdoms by freeing thralls, forbidding most reaving, discouraging salt wives, encouraging marriages with the mainland, and bringing maesters to the Iron Islands. So technically Quellen was also modernised The Iron Islands. Hell he even fought during commanded a hundred longships during the War of the Ninepenny Kings.

Both men also were succeeded by their respective sons who reject reform and prefer conservative/reactionary rule for Tsar Alexander II he was succeeded by Alexander III of Russia while for Quellen he was succeeded by Balon Greyjoy.

1. Traditionally, the way George does these pretty straightforwardly good vs evil conflicts (Oberyn vs Mountain, Starks vs Boltons) is that the 'good' guys lose in absolutely horrifying fashion in the short term but have some kind of usually posthumous victory in the longer term

2. The Maesters probably have to be not outright destroyed, but heavily weakened and thrown into disarray before the dragons make landfall because they would probably very effectively oppose them as they have in the past. If they're too preoccupied with a magical apocalypse to sabotage Daenerys or her dragons, that makes the rest of the story a little smoother.

3. The Hightowers have been an in-universe chekhov's gun for years, and are a much more prominent house both in the story of Westeros and the imagination of the fandom after HotD and F&B. Lots of show onlys who started watching HotD have been wondering, these guys seem incredibly important, where the hell were they during GoT? So, expectations are high for them as a major house debuting late in the story with a lot of buildup and expectations

4. At the same time, Euron is the new plot-driving force of evil in the story, and along with point one we see that they always get what they want in their time in the limelight until their fall. Tywin the political evil gets his red wedding before getting ignobly killed by his own son, the Boltons as a human evil get their revenge on the Starks and dominate Winterfell but are poised for a calamitous fall, Euron the divine evil will find success conquering the Reach before he too is cast down. If he just gets shit on here and runs home with his tail between his legs, the coolest subplot in ASOIAF at the moment will turn into a bad joke. At the same time, if he just rolls over Leyton Hightower and all that wizardry comes to nothing, we can say the same thing.

So, based on all this I think what we'll see is Euron initially winning in Oldtown, destroying the Redwyne Fleet, conquering vast swaths of the Reach, and maybe even burning the Citadel. But the seeds of his fall will be planted by the Hightowers in some form. This is all very vague because magic is very unpredictable and nobody has any idea what kind of magic Leyton and the Mad Maid are cooking, but if anyone has any theories to add I'd love to hear them.

Is probably Illyrio. And I think the Perfumed Seneschal is either the perpetrator or key to one of the treasons Dany will suffer from the House of Undying vision.

The glass candles are burning. Soon comes the pale mare, and after her the others. Kraken and dark flame, lion and griffin, the sun's son and the mummer's dragon. Trust none of them. Remember the Undying. Beware the perfumed seneschal.

So the figure of Quaithe's warnings with the most emphasis is the perfumed seneschal. The others Dany is told not to trust, but she is told to 'beware' the seneschal. Just before that, she tells Dany to 'remember the Undying'. Which leads me to believe that the Perfumed Seneschal is a figure associated with the 'three betrayals you will suffer'.

There are a number of candidates for this warning. However I think the most likely candidate is Illyrio. The others are:

• The Selaesori Qhoran (Fragrant Steward), a trading cog carrying Tyrion Lannister, Jorah Mormont and the red priest Moqorro. Tyrion also nicknames the ship Stinky Steward. Personally I think this couldnt be more of Red Herring if GRRM tried. Not only is it spelled out to us, but it doesnt make sense. Quaithe is already warning Dany of the notable individuals on that ship, why does she need a warning about the sunk ship itself?

• Reznak mo Reznak. Again I think Reznak is another Red Herring. Simply because he is the first person Dany suspects, and more often than not in mysteries the first suspect is wrong. Hes also a kind of minor character so his betrayal wouldnt be particularly impactful to Dany.

• Varys. This is a definite possibility. Varys might be a seneschal, but he serves in a similar-ish capacity. Hes not truly on Dany's side but rather Aegons. However, Dany has never known or trusted Varys. Unlike the show, I dont think we will ever see Varys in the 'right hand man' to Dany capacity because she would never place that kind of trust in him. I think that was Illyrio's role.

What do I mean by the show gave Varys' Illyrio's role?

Exactly that. Like Sansa being combined/given Jeyne Poole's or Aegon's role split between Jon and Cersei, the show combined the characters of Varys and Illyrio for the sake of simplicity. Rather than re-introduce a character that has been absent since season 1, they just had Varys play both Varys role and Illyrios. I dont think we will ever see 'advisor to Queen Dany, Varys' in the books. I think that is Illyrio's role. And I think Varys death, burned by Dany after betraying her for Aegon (Jon), is actually Illyrio's death.

Illyrio is a magister and trader. Its not dissimilar to a seneschal. And here is what Dany has to say about him in her very first chapter:

It was warm and close inside behind the curtains. Dany could smell the stench of Illyrio's pallid flesh through his heavy perfumes.

He he was also offered Master of Coin by Viserys:

"Are we back to that again? You are a persistent little man." Illyrio gave a laugh and slapped his belly. "As you will. The Beggar King swore that I should be his master of coin, and a lordly lord as well. Once he wore his golden crown, I should have my choice of castles … even Casterly Rock, if I desired."

So its possible Dany might even make good on her brothers promise. Elevate Illyrio to Master of Coin. A role that is basically seneschal.

Remember the Undying

So the House of Undying prophecies are somewhat flawed. Flaws I think caused by the abandonment of the Five Year Gap. Dany has not even made it to Westeros yet, and she has already suffered more than 3 Betrayals. However I think the 'three treasons' will be the three most personally meaningful treasons to Dany:

three treasons will you know... once for blood and once for gold and once for love...

And Illyrio the perfumed seneschal will be heavily involved if not the perpetrator of one of them.

Why? Well I think the idea that Illyrio would sellout Dany for gold is most definitely not off the table. He is by no means a Targaryen loyalist. He freely admits he sent Viserys off to his death and expected Dany to die out in the Dothraki Sea. There is a definite case for the 'treason for gold'. As Tyrion points out:

He pointed at Illyrio. "For that matter, why would you? Slavery may be forbidden by the laws of Pentos, yet you have a finger in that trade as well, and maybe a whole hand. And yet you conspire for the dragon queen, and not against her. Why? What do you hope to gain from Queen Daenerys?"

Dany has hurt Illyrio financially. And in fact I suspect Illyrio is already conspiring against her:

"Elephants with stripes?" Griff muttered. "What is that about? Nyessos and Malaquo? Illyrio has paid Triarch Nyessos enough to own him eight times over." "In gold or cheese?" quipped Tyrion.

I think Illyrio has been funding and encouraging Nyessos to send the Volantene fleet against Dany. I think he ultimately hopes that Volantis' threat will prompt Dany to leave Meereen via the Demon Roads and allow Slavers Bay to return to the Slavers. Of course, Illyrio doesnt anticipate the Rhllor slave Rebellion thats brewing and Dany returning with a Dothraki Khalasar.

However while treason for gold is definitely possible, I actually lean towards love.

"She will, or she will not." Illyrio bit the egg in half. "I told you, my little friend, not all that a man does is done for gain. Believe as you wish, but even fat old fools like me have friends, and debts of affection to repay." Liar, thought Tyrion. There is something in this venture worth more to you than coin or castles. "You meet so few men who value friendship over gold these days."

I will not go into the fAegon theories in too much depth. But Illyrio's involvement is perhaps the most puzzling thing whether Aegon is real or fake. I think the reason Illyrio is involved is because Aegon is his son. Or if you believe Aegon is real, Illyrio has come to see Aegon as son-like figure and is living vicariously through him to reclaim his youth:

Perhaps you chanced to glimpse the statue by my pool? Pytho Malanon carved that when I was six-and-ten. A lovely thing, though now I weep to see it."

As for the theories we all know that Dany and Aegon are set for conflict at some point. Aegon is almost certainly the 'mummer's dragon' even if he is real because hes been propped up by Varys, a mummer.

And that is where and why Illyrio will betray Dany. For love. For Aegon. Illyrio will choose Aegon over Dany and conspire against her, leading to his death. And that betrayal will be very meaningful to Dany. Recall her conversation with Jorah in ACOK:

For all her reservations on Illyrio he has been a figure she trusted. The man who gave her the dragon eggs that gave her strength, saved her life and birthed her 3 children. She trusts him:

"My brother and I were guests in Illyrio's manse for half a year. If he meant to sell us, he could have done it then." "He did sell you," Ser Jorah said. "To Khal Drogo." Dany flushed. He had the truth of it, but she did not like the sharpness with which he put it. "Illyrio protected us from the Usurper's knives, and he believed in my brother's cause." "Illyrio believes in no cause but Illyrio. Gluttons are greedy men as a rule, and magisters are devious. Illyrio Mopatis is both. What do you truly know of him?" "I know that he gave me my dragon eggs."

A somewhat ironic conversation given that Jorah essentially betrayed Dany for gold. But even a broken clock can be right. And like show-Varys, Dany will execute him for his treason.

TL;DR The Perfumed Seneschal is probably Illyrio. He is the figure that is most personally meaningful to Dany to betray her. The Seneschal is directly associated with the House of Undying Visions by Quaithe. Illyrio will betray Dany for his love of Aegon. And she will execute him for it.

I read a TWOW outline post where the epilogue has the one true king Stannis burning Shireen to provide a victory against the Others only for the wall to crack with Euron simultaneously blowing the Horn of Winter actually causing the Wall to fall.

However, based on some of the dreams in the book and other theories I’ve read I’m starting to think the Wall’s magic may fail but the Wall will still stand. In Jon’s second to last chapter in ADWD he dreams killing several of his dead friends climbing up the wall (also looking like ice spiders) and the idea of a 700 ft wall just crashing down seems kinda funky.

How do you think the Wall will fall?

Besides Ned and Tywin, if there are two characters who I would've loved to see interact, it would have to be Robert Baratheon and Oberyn Martell. Imagine the tense conversations they'd have regarding Elia'd death and Robert's refusal to do anything about it.....

So Elia Martell was called a princess, but I'm not sure if that's just because she was Dornish and they have special rights, or because she was married to Rhaegar. The fact that the Targs often married their sisters who would be princesses regardless also complicates things. If Rhaegar had been betrothed to Lyanna or Cercei instead of Elia, would they have become princesses?

I'm only wondering because I've been playing the AGOT mod for Crusader Kings 3 and Aemon Targaryen is married to Jocelyn Baratheon. The mod has her titled as a princess and I was wondering if that was proper or not. Sometimes the title nomenclature gets glitched for one reason or another. For instance Jaime was called a prince in one of my games because the mod classifies the Westerlands as a kingdom level title, I guess.

I was pretty surprised that GRRM thought Darkstar was gonna be perceived as a cool badass for cutting a little girl's ear off...like how?

Background

Due to it being the heavy topic of HotD, I thought it would be fun to look at the different characters in the main series that have or could attempt to ride a dragon at some point in the series. While there are some that may argue that there might be different dragons involved in the main story, I disagree and think we will only see Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion (especially since GRRM's recent comments really put a damper on any other dragons being involved). I expect both Rhaegal and Viserion to have numerous people ride them and even more people attempt to do so.

We shall not pretend to any understanding of the bond between dragon and dragonrider; wiser heads have pondered that mystery for centuries. We do know, however, that dragons are not horses, to be ridden by any man who throws a saddle on their back. - Fire & Blood I

Fun fact: GRRM originally had no dragons (thanks Phyllis!, RIP) with Valyrians having fire controlling powers, before adding Dany seemingly getting a single dragon and then expanding to 3.

If interested: The Adding of Dragons to the ASOIAF World: A Named List

Previous Attempts in the Main Series

Even for a son of House Targaryen, there are always dangers in approaching a dragon -Fire & Blood I

Daenerys Targaryen & Drogon

Before she even bonds with Drogon, GRRM seemingly lays the groundwork for what will happen with the other two dragons:

"You … you mean to ride them?"

"One of them. All I know of dragons is what my brother told me when I was a girl, and some I read in books, but it is said that even Aegon the Conqueror never dared mount Vhagar or Meraxes, nor did his sisters ride Balerion the Black Dread. Dragons live longer than men, some for hundreds of years, so Balerion had other riders after Aegon died … but no rider ever flew two dragons." -ADWD, Daenerys VIII

If interested: "No Rider Ever Flew Two Dragons"

before having Daenerys bond with Drogon:

In the smoldering red pits of Drogon's eyes, Dany saw her own reflection. How small she looked, how weak and frail and scared. I cannot let him see my fear. She scrabbled in the sand, pushing against the pitmaster's corpse, and her fingers brushed against the handle of his whip. Touching it made her feel braver. The leather was warm, alive. Drogon roared again, the sound so loud that she almost dropped the whip. His teeth snapped at her.

Dany hit him. "No," she screamed, swinging the lash with all the strength that she had in her. The dragon jerked his head back. "No," she screamed again. "NO!" The barbs raked along his snout. Drogon rose, his wings covering her in shadow. Dany swung the lash at his scaled belly, back and forth until her arm began to ache. His long serpentine neck bent like an archer's bow. With a hisssssss, he spat black fire down at her. Dany darted underneath the flames, swinging the whip and shouting, "No, no, no. Get DOWN!" His answering roar was full of fear and fury, full of pain. His wings beat once, twice …

… and folded. The dragon gave one last hiss and stretched out flat upon his belly. Black blood was flowing from the wound where the spear had pierced him, smoking where it dripped onto the scorched sands. He is fire made flesh, she thought, and so am I.

Daenerys Targaryen vaulted onto the dragon's back, seized the spear, and ripped it out. The point was half-melted, the iron red-hot, glowing. She flung it aside. Drogon twisted under her, his muscles rippling as he gathered his strength. The air was thick with sand. Dany could not see, she could not breathe, she could not think. The black wings cracked like thunder, and suddenly the scarlet sands were falling away beneath her.

Dizzy, Dany closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she glimpsed the Meereenese beneath her through a haze of tears and dust, pouring up the steps and out into the streets.

The lash was still in her hand. She flicked it against Drogon's neck and cried, "Higher!" Her other hand clutched at his scales, her fingers scrabbling for purchase. Drogon's wide black wings beat the air. Dany could feel the heat of him between her thighs. Her heart felt as if it were about to burst. Yes, she thought, yes, now, now, do it, do it, take me, take me, FLY! -ADWD, Daenerys IX

and even though they have bonded, she still doesn't have complete control:

The dragonlords of old Valyria had controlled their mounts with binding spells and sorcerous horns. Daenerys made do with a word and a whip. Mounted on the dragon's back, she oft felt as if she were learning to ride all over again. When she whipped her silver mare on her right flank the mare went left, for a horse's first instinct is to flee from danger. When she laid the whip across Drogon's right side he veered right, for a dragon's first instinct is always to attack.

Sometimes it did not seem to matter where she struck him, though; sometimes he went where he would and took her with him. Neither whip nor words could turn Drogon if he did not wish to be turned. The whip annoyed him more than it hurt him, she had come to see; his scales had grown harder than horn.

And no matter how far the dragon flew each day, come nightfall some instinct drew him home to Dragonstone. His home, not mine. Her home was back in Meereen, with her husband and her lover. That was where she belonged, surely.-ADWD, Daenerys X

• Fun fact: In early drafts GRRM had Drogon picking Daenerys up using his claws and setting her on top of one of the pyramids, but I am assuming the foreshadowing was a little too heavy and it was removed.

Quentyn Martell & Viserion

Quentyn tries a similar approach with Viserion (even being smart enough to bring sheep for the dragon), unfortunately Rhaegal had other plans:

Quentyn let his whip uncoil. “Viserion,” he called, louder this time. He could do this, he would do this, his father had sent him to the far ends of the earth for this, he would not fail him. “VISERION!” He snapped the whip in the air with a crack that echoed off the blackened walls.

The pale head rose. The great gold eyes narrowed. Wisps of smoke spiraled upward from the dragon’s nostrils.

“Down,” the prince commanded. You must not let him smell your fear. “Down, down, down.” He brought the whip around and laid a lash across the dragon’s face. Viserion hissed.

And then a hot wind buffeted him and he heard the sound of leathern wings and the air was full of ash and cinders and a monstrous roar went echoing off the scorched and blackened bricks and he could hear his friends shouting wildly. Gerris was calling out his name, over and over, and the big man was bellowing, "Behind you, behind you, behind you!"

Quentyn turned and threw his left arm across his face to shield his eyes from the furnace wind. Rhaegal, he reminded himself, the green one is Rhaegal.

When he raised his whip, he saw that the lash was burning. His hand as well. All of him, all of him was burning.

Oh, he thought. Then he began to scream. -ADWD, The Dragontamer

Slaver's Bay & The Second Sowing?

As the Battle of Fire unfolds, we have an attempt that is about to take place almost immediately:

Victarion Greyjoy & Rhaegal (likely)

I think the fact that Vic is going to try and claim a dragon is foreshadowed pretty heavily (and his likely failure):

"Take care, priest," Victarion warned him. "There are godly men aboard this ship who would tear out your tongue for speaking such blasphemies. Your red god will have his due, I swear it. My word is iron. Ask any of my men."

The black priest bowed his head. "There is no need. The Lord of Light has shown me your worth, lord Captain. Every night in my fires I glimpse the glory that awaits you."

Those words pleased Victarion Greyjoy mightily, as he told the dusky woman that night. "My brother Balon was a great man," he said, "but I shall do what he could not. The Iron Islands shall be free again, and the Old Way will return. Even Dagon could not do that." Almost a hundred years had passed since Dagon Greyjoy sat the Seastone Chair, but the ironborn still told tales of his raids and battles. In Dagon's day a weak king sat the Iron Throne, his rheumy eyes fixed across the narrow sea where bastards and exiles plotted rebellion. So forth from Pyke Lord Dagon sailed, to make the Sunset Sea his own. "He bearded the lion in his den and tied the direwolf's tail in knots, but even Dagon could not defeat the dragons. But I shall make the dragon queen mine own. She will share my bed and bear me many mighty sons."

and:

Grey skies and strong winds," Moqorro said. "No rain. Behind come the tigers. Ahead awaits your dragon."

Your dragon. Victarion liked the sound of that. -ADWD, Victarion I

and while he is not valyrian, he does have something else up his sleeve:

Bitterly Victarion brooded on the treachery of brothers. Euron's gifts are always poisoned. "The Crow's Eye swore this horn would bind dragons to my will. But how will that serve me if the price is death?"

"Your brother did not sound the horn himself. Nor must you." Moqorro pointed to the band of steel. "Here. 'Blood for fire, fire for blood.' Who blows the hellhorn matters not. The dragons will come to the horn's master. You must claim the horn. With blood."

and:

Victarion seized the dusky woman by the wrist and pulled her to him. “She will do it. Go pray to your red god. Light your fire, and tell me what you see.”

Moqorro’s dark eyes seemed to shine. “I see dragons.” -TWOW, Victarion I

and while he seemingly has 3 thralls set to blow the horn for him (some theories have him doing it himself):

For half a heartbeat he wanted nothing so much as to sound the horn himself.

and Rhaegal is also right there to bond with (or more likely burn) Victarion:

The green beast was circling above the bay, banking and turning as longships and galleys clashed and burned below him -TWOW, Tyrion II

and:

the white dragon had flown back to its lair above Meereen. The green still prowled, soaring in wide circles above the city and the bay on great green wings.

If interested: Dragonbinder: Claiming the Horn & "You must claim the horn. With blood"

Sowing 2.0?

After Victarion's "glory" there could be several other characters that try and give it a shot in Slaver's Bay (after all Rhaegal/Viserion need to get back to Westeros somehow). Victarion/Quentyn's failures leave us with a similar problem that Rhaenyra faced back during the first Dance of the Dragons. A need for riders, but no trueborn valyrians around.

If interested: The Sowing of the Seeds

Brown Ben Plumm and Viserion

GRRM not only brings up Viserion's interest in Brown Ben in ASOS:

Her captains bowed and left her with her handmaids and her dragons. But as Brown Ben was leaving, Viserion spread his pale white wings and flapped lazily at his head. One of the wings buffeted the sellsword in his face. The white dragon landed awkwardly with one foot on the man's head and one on his shoulder, shrieked, and flew off again. "He likes you, Ben," said Dany.

"And well he might." Brown Ben laughed. "I have me a drop of the dragon blood myself, you know." -ASOS, Daenerys V

but repeatedly brings it up in ADWD:

“What, o’ the queen’s little pets?” Brown Ben’s eyes crinkled in amusement. The grizzled captain of the Second Sons was a creature of the free companies, a mongrel with the blood of a dozen different peoples flowing through his veins, but he had always been fond of the dragons, and them of him. -ADWD, Daenerys V

and:

She remembered Ben’s face the last time she had seen it. It was a warm face, a face I trusted. Dark skin and white hair, the broken nose, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. Even the dragons had been fond of old Brown Ben, who liked to boast that he had a drop of dragon blood himself. -ADWD, Daenerys VI

and even has Tyrion bring it up randomly to Ben:

"I know you as well, my lord," said Tyrion. "You're less purple and more brown than the Plumms at home, but unless your name's a lie, you're a westerman, by blood if not by birth. House Plumm is sworn to Casterly Rock, and as it happens I know a bit of its history. Your branch sprouted from a stone spit across the narrow sea, no doubt. A younger son of Viserys Plumm, I'd wager. The queen's dragons were fond of you, were they not?"

That seemed to amuse the sellsword. "Who told you that?"

“No one. Most of the stories you hear about dragons are fodder for fools. Talking dragons, dragons hoarding gold and gems, dragons with four legs and bellies big as elephants, dragons riddling with sphinxes … nonsense, all of it. But there are truths in the old books as well. Not only do I know that the queen’s dragons took to you, but I know why.”-ADWD, Tyrion XI

If interested: The Battle of Fire: The Second Sons & Two Drops: Brown Ben Plumm

Hizdahr zo Loraq

As Dany's husband, he might feel like he has to try if other men are doing so in order to help Dany. That said we do know that in early drafts, Dany mentions demanding Hizdahr ride a dragon:

As they ate, Missandei looked at her with eyes like molten gold and said, "If the Sons of the Harpy lay down their knives for the noble Hizdahr, what will you demand of him for your second gift?"

"I will ask for peace on the waters," Dany said as she nibbled on an olive. "I will tell him to sink the Qartheen fleet, or puff up his cheeks and blow them home."

"And if he should do that too, will you ask him for peace on the land? For peace with Yunkai and New Ghis?"

"I might." She smiled. "Or not. Perhaps I will ask him to sail to Westeros and bring me back the Iron Throne. Or I could send him to Valyria in search of a sorcerer's tomes and magic swords. Or maybe I'll just demand he ride a dragon."

If interested: The 3 Labours of Hizdahr

We also get this while Drogon is in the Pit:

A queer look passed across Hizdahr zo Loraq's long, pale face—part fear, part lust, part rapture. He licked his lips. -ADWD, Daenerys IX

and:

She wondered if Hizdahr was still king. His crown had come from her, could he hold it in her absence? He wanted Drogon dead. I heard him. "Kill it," he screamed, "kill the beast," and the look upon his face was lustful. -ADWD, Daenerys X

If interested: Hizdahr and the Bride of Fire

Daario Naharis

I don't think Daario attempts to ride a dragon, but there is some potential imagery:

Could I love Daario? What would it mean, if I took him into my bed? Would that make him one of the heads of the dragon? -ASOS, Daenerys V

and:

And when they are, who shall ride them? The dragon has three heads, but I have only one. She thought of Daario -ASOS, Daenerys V

Daario seems like the type not to care about valyrian blood (even though I know its theorized he has some):

If her dragons discomfited Daario Naharis, he hid it well. For all the mind he paid them, they might have been three kittens playing with a mouse. -ASOS, Daenerys IV

Tyrion Lannister

GRRM was asked about warging a dragon once, but this question was initially misheard as “a dwarf dragon rider,”:

Q: "Is it possible to warg into a dragon?"

and:

Q: What can you tell us about a warg dragon rider?

and while there is plenty (and I mean plenty) of imagery in the series for Tyrion riding a dragon, I don't think it necessarily requires him to be bonded (as he is small enough to ride with another rider at some point). The reason I mention it here is the similarity to the First Sowing/Mushroom:

The most unlikely of these would-be dragonriders was Mushroom himself, whose Testimony speaks at length of his attempt to mount old Silverwing, judged to be the most docile of the masterless dragons. One of the dwarf’s more amusing tales, it ends with Mushroom running across the ward of Dragonstone with the seat of his pantaloons on fire, and nigh drowning when he leapt into a well to quench the flames. Unlikely, to be sure…but it does provide a droll moment in what was otherwise a ghastly business.

If interested: Wroth of the Dragon: Tyrion's Provocations & Tyrion's Knowledge of Dragonlore

Other Dragons & The Second Dance

While probably no longer the subject of a whole book, GRRM has mentioned that there will be a Second Dance:

Hi, short question. Will we find out more about the Dance of the Dragons in future books?

The first dance or the second? The second will be the subject of a book. The first will be mentioned from time to time, I'm sure. -SSM, Concerning the Dance of the Dragons: 22 November 2003

and while this does not necessarily mean Dany's invasion, I am steadfast in my belief that for any true dance to take place there needs to be actual dragons on either side (not just the human kind).

The dragon has three heads. There are two men in the world who I can trust, if I can find them. I will not be alone then. We will be three against the world, like Aegon and his sisters. -ASOS, Daenerys VI

If interested: Thoughts, Theories and Parallels on The Dance of the Dragons II & Dance of the Dragons II: "New" Foreshadowing?

Young Griff

While Young Griff (the mummer's dragon) was originally en route to Slaver's Bay and may have been a contender in that potential "sowing", his decision to invade Westeros has made him getting a dragon much harder:

Good morrow to you, Auntie. I am your nephew, Aegon, returned from the dead. I've been hiding on a poleboat all my life, but now I've washed the blue dye from my hair and I'd like a dragon, please -ADWD, Tyrion VI

that said, it needs to be noted that all of the knowledge that Tyrion knows about dragons/dragonbonding has been shared with Young Griff:

His other duty was anything but foolish. Duck has his sword, I my quill and parchment. Griff had commanded him to set down all he knew of dragonlore. The task was a formidable one, but the dwarf labored at it every day, scratching away as best he could as he sat cross-legged on the cabin roof. -ADWD, Tyrion IV

Keep in mind how much knowledge he has:

Tyrion had read much and more of dragons through the years. The greater part of those accounts were idle tales and could not be relied on, and the books that Illyrio had provided them were not the ones he might have wished for. What he really wanted was the complete text of The Fires of the Freehold, Galendro's history of Valyria. No complete copy was known to Westeros, however; even the Citadel's lacked twenty-seven scrolls. They must have a library in Old Volantis, surely. I may find a better copy there, if I can find a way inside the Black Walls to the city's heart. -ADWD, Tyrion IV

and:

Did Tyrion ever finish reading the book concerning dragons that he borrowed from Winterfell?
GRRM: Yes. -SSM, Valyria Related Subjects: 01 Jan 2002

That said, as I mentioned above, the logistics are what make this tricky. It would likely require a previous rider of Viserion/Rhaegal to have died (and removed the bond).

If interested: Growth of a Dragon: The Maturation of Young Griff & Tyrion, Dragonlore & the Golden Company

Jon Snow

Similar to Young Griff, the biggest problem here is logistics. That said I am quite confident Jon rides a dragon at some point (easiest way to prove to he realm he has valyrian blood):

"Kings and dragons."

Dragons again. For a moment Jon could almost see them too, coiling in the night, their dark wings outlined against a sea of flame. -ADWD, Jon VIII

and while there is plenty of imagery in the series with Jon/dragons it is worth noting it could be about Jon's blood and not his future dragonbond:

No, these other sails … from farther east, perhaps … one hears queer talk of dragons."

"Would that we had one here. A dragon might warm things up a bit."

"My lord jests. You will forgive me if I do not laugh. We Braavosi are descended from those who fled Valyria and the wroth of its dragonlords. We do not jape of dragons."

No, I suppose not. "My apologies, Lord Tycho." -ADWD, Jon IX

Non-Valyrians & How They Do So

Blood & Other Requirements

A few months back GRRM posted some pretty heavy thoughts on dragons in the series on his notablog. I dove into that/as well as his potential change in announcement for TWoW here.

From all accounts valyrian blood is seemingly a requirement, with Nettles being the only potential previous rider without it. If interested: Nettles: Dragonseed?

With that in mind I think we would need something special to see a character (or tbh if GRRM just wants it to happen he will make it happen) who doesn't have it such as warging/dragonhorn/etc.

Bran Stark (Warging)

As I mentioned above, GRRM was asked previously about a warg dragonrider, but misheard it as "dwarf". I wish he would have answered the question about warging. That said if one of my favorite theories ever is correct (although I disagree with it), then it is possible this is how Nettles bonded with Sheepstealer. If interested: A Nettle is a Leaf

Tyrion Lannister (Bran/see above/Targaryen)

Just spitballing here, but combined with Bran's warging, Tyrion could ride (in addition to sharing a ride):

"Mother, can I go flying with the lady?" the boy king asked. ... And it was said afterward that the little king flew thrice about the summit of the Giant's Lance and landed to find himself a little lord. Thus did Visenya Targaryen bring the Vale of Arryn into her brother's realm. -TWOIAF, The Reign of the Dragons: The Conquest

Euron Greyjoy (Dragonhorn)

While he has seemingly been building up Euron since almost the very beginning, GRRM has changed it A LOT. That said it is worth noting that Euron is the one who seemingly completes that tasks/labors that Dany gives to Hizdahr above:

"I might." She smiled. "Or not. Perhaps I will ask him to sail to Westeros and bring me back the Iron Throne. Or I could send him to Valyria in search of a sorcerer's tomes and magic swords. Or maybe I'll just demand he ride a dragon."

and the actual published version:

Dany folded her hands together. "Words are wind, even words like love and peace. I put more trust in deeds. In my Seven Kingdoms, knights go on quests to prove themselves worthy of the maiden that they love. They seek for magic swords, for chests of gold, for crowns stolen from a dragon's hoard."

but we should note that Euron not only has a dragonhorn, but he also has potentially been to Valyria and has magical armor. If interested: The Crow's Eye's Acquisition of Certain Valuable Items

It would not surprise me (logistics withstanding) if Euron was the true owner of the horn (and had already claimed it with blood, or this upcoming blood sacrifice/summoning is his claim).

If interested: Euron Greyjoy: The Summoning & The Split Greyjoy Plotline

Other Valyrians

Since it seems like Valyrian blood is a likely requirement for bonding with Valyrian dragons, it should also be noted that it is not a guarantee as we have seen. With that in mind, I have compiled a list of all of the current named Valyrian alive in the story that would technically be eligible (but again no guarantee): The Blood of Old Valyria Part I: List of Current Characters

We know that there are other Valyrian in the world ranging from Volantis to Lys, etc.

Descendants of Sarella Targaryen

We know she had children press claims at the Great Council in 101 AC.

If interested: The ~14 Claims of the Great Council of 101 AC

Children of the Bright Prince, etc.

Aerion Brighflame has descendants through his son Maegor (and other potential bastards in Lys). While likely the original "other" valyrian line in the main story (that has been switched to Blackfyre). Aerion's descendants will likely affect the story in some way (Brightfyre, etc.)

If interested: The Original Cloth Dragon: The Sons of the Bright Prince

Other Characters

While there are rumors everywhere about dragons, GRRM's recent comments about the need to eat/breathe/etc really put a damper on any other dragons being alive in the main story. That said there are other minor ways in which a character could technically "ride" (using this term extremely loosely) a dragon that I thought I should mention:

• The Others and Ice Dragons
• Glamoured Dragon Skeleton/Corpse (what Alys Rivers likely did w/ Caraxes' corpse in Fire & Blood)
• Dragonhorn (if the horn is "claimed" by someone other than Victarion/Euron)

TLDR: We currently have 2 dragons without riders in the main series (Rhaegal/Viserion). I expect them both to have multiple riders by the end of the series (with the rider dying and a new rider bonding with them) and even more characters attempt/dying in the attempt to ride them.

What lines and paragraphs make your hair stand up no matter how many times you've read them.

"She rose. May the Lord of Light protect us. She rose."

A Feast for Crows, Brienne VIII

"She grabbed Edwyn by the arm to turn him and went cold all over when she felt the iron rings beneath his silken sleeve"

A Storm of Swords, Catelyn VII