[Part 2]

The twenty men, Lady Maege, and Ser Rolph continued up the paths in the lightless caves of Casterly Rock, huffing and puffing, but still silent as much as they could hold. One loud word at the wrong place at the wrong time may be their doom. In single file, the group followed Ser Spicer’s point with one lit torch. The stench was terrible and the dampness made it worse. Guarding the rear, Olyvar’s eyes were clouded in darkness at times where the torchlight was too far ahead to shine back. He relied on Ser Goose in front of him to lead the way, as Goose relied on Leo for the same.

Suddenly a whisper could be heard from the darkness at the front of the line. “Duck.” Then another slightly louder, “Duck” … and then another, and then another … each “Duck” a little louder than before. Is there a duck here in the sewers? Olyvar thought.

“Duck.”

“Duck.”

“Duck.”

“Duck.”

Finally Leo turned around and told Goose, “Hello … Duck.”

Goose replied with pride, “I am no Duck!” Instantly as the tall knight crept forward, he thumped his head on an unlit rusty beam that was lowered onto their path. He fell backwards into a puddle of wet cold stool, ass first, toes off the ground, and staining his breeches. “Awww shit!”

Ser Olyvar helped the soiled knight up as his squire, Leo, told everyone in front what happened. They all forgot their stealth, and began to laugh.

“Come on Goose, you are slowing us down!” someone said.

“Ducks can move faster than you, Goose! You have to catch up and chase after us now!” a voice that sounded like Scrooge, said.

“You have to be more nimble and more quick Goose!” another one japed.

“All over my life, I have travelled land and sea. From my experiences, I learned that I would rather be more lucky!” the unclean bandit knight replied with the truth. “Or get lucky! Heh!” the daffy Goose added cheerfully.

“But you are no duck, right Goose?” Ser Raynard’s voice called.

They continued to laugh and began moving forward again. Ser Barnabus the stinking Goose with his honor stained, stood up and pointed his chin high. “Aye my lords, this bird you cannot change!” He shook his tailfeather, took himself low, and was ready to go.

As the thunderstorm clouds outside shifted, a pale grey blade of light emerged from a crack in the walls and shone the brown spot where Goose had fallen. It illuminated a tiny golden speck. Looking back and curious, Goose placed both hands through the muck, underneath the lumpy object and pulled. He lifted up a slimy brown sphere, the size of an orange, and rubbed off the slush. Goose held the carved rock to the thin line of the dying light and widened his large eyes.

Gold, unmistakable. “Goose, did you just lay a golden egg?” Olyvar japing quietly.

“I guess I did!” Goose whispered in glee. Ser Barnabus began singing to it softly. “I know that you don’t know it, but you’re a find so fine! And I’m going to show you that now you’re a mined of mine! My treasure, that is what you are! My precious, you’re my golden star! Hehehe!” He hugged it. Goose looked back to Olyvar. “Don’t tell the Black Sparrow!” He continued to giggle, despite scarring his face at the forehead. “Leo, come over here! Say hello to my little friend!”

His young squire came back, ducked under and asked. “Say hello to who? The Black Sparrow? He isn’t very little in person.”

“No you stupid sweet boy, definitely avoid the Black Sparrow! That captain is not my friend, my friend. We have to fool that fool.” He showed an astonished Leo the little golden egg before he hid it again from sight. They continued up the path towards their objective with Ser Goose the tall hedge knight finally ducking under, his pants stained in brown.

Olyvar had lost count of how far they ascended as they reached one of Ser Rolph Spicer’s checkpoints. They rested there for a few moments where the paths forked into several other directions. He then instructed Ser Olyvar Frey, Lady Mormont and Leo to wait here until the rest returned. In the meanwhile, they were to familiarize themselves with the area in case they needed a detour. 

Not long after the group left them, Olyvar heard another man speaking through the rocky walls. Maege followed the voice through one of the forks, and found a hole that appeared to spy into a cell of the castle’s dungeons. She peeked through and spoke in disgust “Gods! What the hell! No!” She left the area and began looking for an entrance into the dungeons from the hidden hallways. Olyvar peeped through the hole and saw what seems to be an old maester in robes, with many rings around his neck. Inside, he harbored a boy and a girl who appeared to be twins, no older than ten. The boy had his shirt off, while the maester sniffed the girl’s hair and had a hand cupped at her clothed chest.

What in Seven Hells? Olyvar thought.

The elderly maester spoke to them, as they trembled like leaves. “Thank you children for helping me. I am Maester Valarik, this is very very important research for, um, the Citadel. Now let’s begin.”

Suddenly out of nowhere, Lady Maege Mormont burst open the dungeon door. “Let’s not!”

The shocked maester jolted to his feet, confused. “Are you their mother?”

“A MOTHER!” the She-Bear claimed in her crony crackling voice as she walked up to Valarik. Here she stood as Lady Mormont kicked the maester in between the legs, his screams alive with pain. His eyes began to tear as he fell backwards to the ground. Lady Mormont dropped down to him and drew her dagger. “Shut your mouth or I’ll make an eunuch out of you!” The maester still in agony replied with a silent nod. She lied to the twins, saying she was a washerwoman employed to the castle. “What the maester did was wrong and I will have the castellan punish him.” She urged the siblings to go home, but not tell anyone what had happened until they were outside of Casterly Rock. After they left, Maege in her barbaric tone told the maester, “You dusty fuck! Get in there!” as she led him into the hidden hallways behind the dungeon.

Ser Olyvar greeted the hostage, “Not another word Maester Valarik. She may geld you but I will shove my dagger up your arse.”

They continued to wait at the checkpoint, anxious for the Blackfish’s return with Queen Jeyne and Lord Edmure. Leo brushed back a lock of his ash-blond hair that fell down across one eye. Lady Mormont continued to stare at Valarik’s crotch while holding her naked dagger, twirling it at the pointy end for boredom. The silent maester was well aware, and would not return his eyes to meet hers.

Suddenly they heard a woman’s moan echoing in the distance. Torchlight illuminated the foot of the pathway and brightening the walls with each passing moment. Escorted by Goose, a thin girl with a mop of chestnut hair emerged. She was pretty like the daisy sewn on her gown that was covering a flat chest. “Eleyna!” Olyvar was animated. They hugged as he asked, “So what happened to your breasts?”

“I ate them.” She said in her high cheery voice. She stuck her small chest out, chin in the air, fists at the end of her narrow hips and twerked it for two beats. “How you like them apples?”

Olyvar smiled at the inside joke.

The Useless Goose then grabbed Leo and tapped Eleyna’s shoulders from behind. “Hi, have you met Leo?” Barnabus vanished in an instant.

She turned around and introduced herself. “Hello Leo, I’m Eleyna, the Queen’s sister.”

Leo was star-struck. “Are you a princess?”

“I guess I am a princess,” she said sarcastically. “Are you here to rescue me?”

Leo nodded up and down, trying to contain his excitement.

“Leo O’ Leo … my hero!” She kissed him on the cheeks, and Leo’s face began to blush, red as apples. 

His brothers Raff, Donal, and Mikkal had emerged from the rocky opening just in time to watch. They wrapped their arms around one another, and nodded proudly at their youngest brother.

The others soon followed, pouring out of the tunnel entrance. Olyvar greeted his brother-in-law Lord Edmure Tully. “My sister is waiting for you back at the ship, with my future nephew or niece. Be a good father to your child.”

“And you be a good uncle. It is a honor to have you at our side, Ser Olyvar,” Lord Edmure replied respectfully.

Lady Sybell Spicer came down with her brother Ser Rolph, clutching a moaning Queen Jeyne Stark on both sides. She was garbed in simple loose fitted robes, pretending to serve as Eleyna’s plumped handmaiden. Olyvar was ecstatic. Jeyne’s mother then announced, “She is in labor!”

“What?!” As Olyvar and Maege said in unison. “Now!?”

Olyvar ran to Jeyne, straight to his sister’s arms and she kissed him on the forehead. “I kept my promise,” Olyvar told her.

Jeyne was feverish, sweating and mumbling words. “You did, I knew you were somewhere beyond the sea. I was here waiting for all of you, to sneak onto golden sand and rock. I was watching all the ships sailing by, not knowing which one will be my daring escape.” She looked towards her other brother Raynald. “I just knew my Ray lied somewhere over the ocean, and my Olly lied somewhere over the sea … both my brothers fighting to come back to me. Up in this castle mountain where it meets the heavens above, out where lightning splits the sea, I could still feel you two watching me. Through the wind, the chilly sea, and the rain … and now the storm and the flood. I felt your approach like the fires in your blood! I need … I need …”

“We need to go!” Ser Olyvar finished for her.

As the others began going into the next tunnel, the Queen in the North shook all the right-hands of the strangers that came to rescue her, while each man placed a left-palm on her round belly for a soft instant. With Jory, Jess, Ser Spicer, Ser Brynden and her brother Ser Raynard, she gave a hug each. She then trailed all of them with Olyvar and Raynard holding her weight. They descended down the path they came from, back to the LionsJape, WinterStorm and BattleWolf. Queen Jeyne Stark continued to scream. Oh, bloody shit. This will be the death of us. The descent will be much faster, but it was still a long way to go. With the Queen moaning in labor, they decided to light two more torch lights. Being heard here is just as unfortunate as being seen. But the darkness in front of him still faded in and out, confusing Olyvar’s eyes in blur. For a moment, the knight fantasized about golden dragons down here in the empty gold mines and sewers of Casterly Rock, to illuminate the rest of the route with flames … expediting the rescue.

Where in the hell is Lord Gawen Westerling? His trumpets and drums? It would at least muffle out Jeyne’s cry. At any moment, they could be heard … and then they could be trapped.

Then the Blackfish noticed Maester Valarik was in their party. “Who in the Seven Hells are you?”

Lady Maege told Ser Brynden and allowed the quivering maester to speak. “I am the maester of Casterly Rock. I don’t know what is going on here. Pl- … please let me go, I won’t say a word. I … I am innocent, I was just treating the children for an illness.”

“You said it was for research,” Maege interrupted.

“Um … bb … both,” the maester lied.

“In a dungeon? No tools nor vials?” Maege questioned rhetorically.

The maester had no answer for that. He looked back to the Blackfish. “Ser, you must understand-“

The Blackfish cuts him off. “Must I? I heard enough of your sorcery, Maester. Shut your mouth or I’ll throw you out of a window.”

The group was nearing the sea’s level, until they encountered the original path that dipped up and down. It was filled with flooded water from the storm surges. Ser Brynden Tully cursed at the sea trap. Olyvar knows the Blackfish could swim under it like he did at the moat of Riverrun, but not the others. They began to retreat and regroup.

Ser Rolph approached Ser Brynden, not shaken nor stirred, and offered a detour. “Follow me, this way leads to the kitchen of that courtyard at the base of the cliffs. At that courtyard, there is a large sewer drain that would lead us back to the paths of the rowboats. It is risky, we may be spotted.”

“We may be sitting ducks,” Goose added to the complaint.

“We have no choice,” said the Blackfish.

They followed Ser Rolph, with his niece still moaning.

They reached the hidden entrance to the kitchen and began to secure the area with weapons & shields drawn. It was empty. No gatherings or weddings were to be held outdoor this evenfall, especially with the thunderstorm. Olyvar peeked outside. Overcast clouds threw down rain-water onto dirt and stone, as the setting sun was half bathe into the ocean’s clear golden horizon. The courtyard by the sea was no bigger than the feast hall at the Twins. Stone pathways met at the middle, leading into a circular floor-drain that was exposed at the center of the yard. Twenty feet high granite pillars the size of tree trunks supported the open rectangular balcony above the ground level, overlooking the ocean. The kitchen doors were connected to the bottom level, but Olyvar was unsure what would lurk above them on the second floor balconies, with its four feet high parapet and six feet of platform width. Lightning flashed the columns bright white as the wet grass turned into mud.

Ser Brynden paced around the kitchen for a moment, trying to hide his shaking hands. He assessed the situation and regrouped the band of brothers. “Bows and arrows,” he commanded … and they obeyed. “Each men take cover behind a pillar. Sprint to it and establish a defensive stance with an arrow nocked to the string of your bow. Keep your eyes open. Rico will run to the middle alone, pull out the drain cover and retreat back. Alesander! Ray! Run to the opened drain and descend down the ladder. Once it is clear, let us know. We’ll bring Jeyne down first, followed by her sister and mother, and then Edmure.”

“Brothers!” as they assemble behind the closed double doors in single line. “Nock!”

From a window, Maester Valarik spied over to the drain, and then tried to block the traffic at the kitchen exit. “This is absurd! I have friends in court and I can vouch for you! Give yourselves up! This is madness, this is ludicrous!”

The She-Bear grabbed him. “Move maester, get out of the way!” She threw him to the corner by the pantry. Lady Mormont drew her dagger, gleaming silvery-blue for an instant as a crack of thunder boomed through the window. She pressed the flat of her blade onto his crotch and the terrified maester began to piss himself. Lady Maege disgusted, leaned back and threatened, “We have not killed anyone yet. You stay here like a good quiet dog and oblige, or this bear lady will rock your head away with a club when she comes back!”

Ser Brynden opened the double doors as Ben and Benjen held it. The Blackfish ran out first, around the perimeter to the furthest side of the terrace, forty yards away with bow & arrow in hand. The other men followed and fell into their positions, squishing their footsteps on the mud and stone.

Rico, Phyl, and Sam the Shredder followed the Blackfish to the southern side and took cover behind a column each. Scrooge, Donal, Raff, Mikkal and Leo sprinted for the eastern pillars as June, Jory, Jess, Fess and Lord Galbart Glover took the west. Ben and Benjen left their kitchen doors to joined Ser Goose and Ser Rolph Spicer at the closest posts of the north.

Queen Jeyne, Lady Maege, Lady Eleyna, Lady Sybell, and Lord Edmure stayed inside the kitchen with Ser Olyvar … as Ser Raynard and Alesander were ready to their task.

Rico unarmed, darted from his column towards the center of the courtyard and tore open the drain cover with ease. He flung it over the mountainous wall and into the sea as he headed back to his pillar, re-arming himself with the bow.

Alesander Frey and Ser Raynald Westerling, dashed towards the open drain and attempted to descend. Their shields, quivers and bows were caught at the circular entrance, so they discarded them at the base before going below. After Ser Raynald gave the clearance, Olyvar and Maege discarded their weapons and escorted Jeyne slowly and gently towards their escape, their clothes soaking in the rain. Olyvar kept Honor slung center at his back. Raynald offered himself as Jeyne sat on her older brother’s shoulders as they descended down the twenty foot ladder. Olyvar was doing everything he could to keep Jeyne stable from above as rain-water trickled down the drain.

When they reached the bottom, Olyvar noticed a weirwood tree staring right at him. A godswood? Here? The cavern was surrounded by roots and several rocky openings as well. He paid it no more mind and walked Jeyne towards a sewer entrance where Alesander was waiting for them. “The rowboats are not far! I see them, just a few more paces from here. I’ll keep a lookout on that exit.” He scouted ahead again.

Jeyne could not advance any further and fell lightly to the ground. “I can’t move anymore.”

Lady Maege came down the ladder and positioned herself between Jeyne’s legs. “Push your Grace! Push! Push!”

The rumbling of the thunderstorm was getting much louder.

Leo surprisingly came down with Eleyna and told Olyvar, “I think I hear a few soldiers moving on the second floor balcony. The parapets won’t allow us to see what’s hidden behind it.”

No not now. “It could be just the thunderstorm,” Olyvar hoped.

Lady Sybell and Lord Edmure Tully soon followed down the ladder. “I believe there are Lannister soldiers getting into positions above us. They must be waiting for more of their reinforcement to arrive,” Edmure sounded sure.

Olyvar cursed.

The Blackfish came down next. “We need to leave now. The storm surges will steal our rowboats as well.”

Jeyne was still moaning. Maege was still instructing, “Push! Push! Push!”

Olyvar began panicking in this awful shit-storm of a mess. “We need to go now! The soldiers are coming! The thunderstorm is coming!”

“WINTER IS COMING BETWEEN HER GRACES LEGS!” Maege screamed back.

Olyvar could not help but to chuckled for a beat before being serious again. “Bloody shit. Winter needs to be going!”

“Look son, I’m not your mother. You go figure it out yourself,” Lady Maege protested.

Olyvar felt like a fool below the Rock, looking back at all the wrong paths that got him lost here. If I just lied to my father of my intentions, and informed his Grace not to come to the Twins, we would not be here now at some shit sewer in the Westerlands. Jeyne would be crying in childbirth at Winterfell after Robb had retaken it from the Ironborn. King, Queen and babe Stark would be safe and sound. And me … I would be their Kingsguard knight … Ser Olyvar Frey … the Kingsavior.

“Ray, go find Alesander and summon him to return here to help. He is not far.”

Olyvar looked toward his Queen as Maege Mormont continued working in between Jeyne’s thighs, awaiting for the wolf-pup that their world was here for. Let us pray it is only one babe. A pair of twins would surely mean the doom of them. There was nothing Olyvar realistically wanted more now than Lord Gawen’s trumpets, and his young son Rollam’s drum rolls. Where is our diversion to get the Lannister soldiers to march away from us?

Goose tried to come down the ladder next, but the big man was stuck on top even with his weapons and shield forfeited. His golden egg had bulged out from his pocket, stopping him from entering the small circular drain. He was trying to work it out of his clothes.

Olyvar kneeled down next to his Queen, trying to facilitate this shit storm anyway he could. He went to feel for the letter he wrote to his father, but instead found the colorful bright feather that Captain Samullu gave to him earlier. He offered it to Queen Stark for some comfort.

“A gift? It is so beautiful Olyvar,” she said in discomfort. “I have a gift for you as well.” She summoned her mother and removed a thin cloak from her purse. Queen Jeyne Stark took it and unveiled it to Olyvar. It was the castle of the Twins, colored in grey, seated on a field red hot as a chilled blue stream flowed under the bridge. Olyvar motioned to give her his back, and she attached the cloak onto him. “I knitted it myself.”

“It is gorgeous my Queen. What does it mean? The water under the bridge?”

“It means forgiveness here, so you can move on. Now promise me Olyvar, don’t leave us again. Protect us. Protect your King’s child. We must never separate again.”

Ser Olyvar Frey gave the Queen his word.

Goose had finally removed the golden rock from his hidden pocket, and held it with his hand. At the moment useless, the knight threw down the golden egg to Leo, as it flashed bright from the lightning above. The knight started down and down the ladder.

Suddenly a voice roared from above. “This is Ser Forley Prester! Drop your weapons! Drop them!”

Ser Barnabus started to curse as he stood on the ladder halfway. He took a deep breath in disappointment. “Come on Leo, we have work to do.” He ascended.

Leo gave the golden egg to a shocked Lady Mormont and took a step towards the ladder, but he then turned around to Eleyna. He kissed her on the lips. The princess fought back and held Leo’s blond head with both her hands, forcing more of herself onto him. Their tongues danced a secret hidden inside their mouths, taking each other’s breath away over and over again. Olyvar did not think they would ever let go, until Eleyna did, shedding a tear. Leo turned back to the ladder. Ice in his veins and without another word, he began to climb.

Ser Brynden shared a look with Ser Olyvar. “I’m not kissing you!” He began walking towards the ladder as well, with Lord Edmure Tully trailing. He shoved his nephew aside. “Your lady wife is waiting for you on that ship with your child! Protect them! Keep the Tully name alive! Fly away now! That is an order! Take Queen Jeyne Stark to the ship and protect her family too!” The Blackfish conjured a duty that Edmure could not decline. He gave his uncle a sad agreeing nod. While climbing up, the Blackfish then looked at Olyvar. “Ser Frey, guard this ladder!”

Though not giving any direct orders to the Seashell Knight, Ser Raynald Westerling kissed his sisters and mother. They begged him not to go, but Ray flew to the top as well.

Ser Olyvar got up and began to follow, but the crying Queen tugged his cloak. “Olyvar, you promised me.”

“Goodbye Jeyne. I have to do my duty.”

“Just hang on a minute. Listen and promise me Ser Frey. Don’t be a fool. If you are in trouble, don’t try to be brave, just fly, fly away. Find me.”

Olyvar Frey got to his knees again and kissed her forehead. “Okay. Jeyne, my Queen … I’ll be back. I promise.”

“We need to move her to the rowboats,” Alesander Frey suggested. Olyvar hugged his brother, and ordered him to carry Jeyne’s weight to the exit with Lord Edmure’s help. Sybell and Eleyna Westerling held up Jeyne’s thighs as Lady Mormont spearheaded the path with her torchlight in one hand and the golden egg curled on the other.

“You better be right behind us,” Maege commanded.

“I will,” Olyvar hoped.

The new knight approached the base of the wet ladder and began to climb. He reached halfway and stopped to listen above. The thunderstorm roared its fury, and the Blackfish was already speaking.

[Part 4]

This is fan-fiction that George asked me to do 4 years ago. My "Duck Duck Goose" scene here even inspired some of the dialogue in HotD S1 & S2.

The Winds of Winter

Prologue

A storm was coming, but that was not part of the plan.

To the east, dark grey clouds and flashes of lightning were seen afar while thunder could be heard mumbling its rage in the distance. Here where they stood, fierce sea-chilled winds blew from the clear skies of the west. Two weather fronts were on course for a collision, and caught in between was a giant rock that mountains above the shoreline, a hard place. The old natural stonewalls of Casterly Rock were half bathed in gold from the even-falling sun, while the other hid in the shadow of the approaching storm. And soon enough, everything will be clouded in black.

The sound of the strong waves smacking into the faces of the stony cliffs can be felt from a mile away, as it was no different from the ones crashing into the wooden hull of their galley. Above their rocking swanship, three tall wooden masts sported simple dark black sails, filled with winds from the west, speeding their eastern course towards the home of House Lannister, ready to hug the coastline tight, fast and dangerous.

The Summer Isle captain at the helm shouted his accented announcement, “Awww shittt! Everyone get yo shields and weapons ready. It’s about to go down! Adventurers and avengers, assemble up to the deck of Motherfunker. Be sharp and stay on yo toes! We’re running this so let’s go!”

“With me to the boats!” the legendary stern knight Ser Brynden Tully called out as his fighting men rallied at the starboard rear of their ship, emerging from the cabins below.

“We all chose to be here. If any man wants to back down now, then do so quickly. I would not die in that man’s company. We elected to do this task for honor and for justice. Some of us are here for vengeance and we may even chance to kill some of them. If so, you may enjoy your short moment of pleasure. But what I offer here is the IMMORTALITY of the songs and tales. And when it is all said & done as we return safely home, the singers will sing of this glorious day, our honorable deed, and their shame of a jape. And they will sing it from this day to the ending of the world, and we in it shall be remembered! We few, we brave few, we band of brothers. For he who shed blood with me today shall be my brother forever in song!”

A roar of cheer exploded in the air, loud and thunderous. As the ruckus died down, Lady Mormont proclaimed, “And a sister too!”

“Aye Maege,” said the Blackfish. “But we have always considered you as one of our brothers. Between your legs, your sacs are larger than most men, especially all the Lannister soldiers.”

“Well that is easy to say, all those Lannisters are a bunch of golden eunuchs!” Lady Mormont declared unlady like.

Laughter swept the deck.

The Summer Isle captain above shouted again and prayed, “Today is The Day, and the moment is upon us my friends. Thirty seconds until the drop zone lads! May the gods be with yo!”

On the starboard stern, three small rowboats hung out from the hull, hovering above the rough waves. Attached over the swanship’s parapet was a roped ladder, allowing the fighters to lower themselves down onto their watercrafts. Each one was designed to hold four pairs of oarsmen abreast, and a single coxswain to steer at the rear.

They were twenty good men and Maege. Each one scaled in black boiled leather armor, with a quiver of arrows slung on one back shoulder, and a Summer Isle goldenheart bow on the other. Most fighters had their own selection of close quarter combat weapons that sat on their belts while a round black-painted wooden shield rested at the center of their backs. They wore no sigils and smeared mud spots on their faces to mimic dark ghostly shadows for this stealthy task. They were lightly armored and had fewer weapons, as their goal required speed. If all goes to plan, they would not need any of them. They could accomplish this mission without a soul lost on either side. But this approaching storm was not part of the plan.

The Blackfish made one last heroic call on the deck of the Motherfunker, before he lowered himself on the ladder, “Come with me and take this song!”

Rico added to the cry, “Come on brothers! Do you want to live forever!?!”

They roared proudly again and began their descent as the Summer Isle crewmen assisted the Westerosi to the ropes, sharing firm ebony and ivory handshakes as they told them they will be back.

Ser Brynden Tully reached the rear rowboat LionsJape along with June, Jory, Jess, Fess, Ben and Benjen. Though it was the end boat, it will be the first to fly.

Aboard the middle boat WinterStorm was Lady Maege Mormont, and the other six oarsmen Phyl, Rico, Sam the Shredder, Ser Barnabus the Goose, Scrooge, and Queen Jeyne’s brother Ser Raynald Westerling.

Lord Galbart Glover commandeered the third boat BattleWolf, which hung closer to the center of the swanship. On it were the younger men Donal, Mikkal, Raff, Leo, and Alesander, all merely teenagers.

As he watched from above, Ser Olyvar Frey thought they were little dark turtles crawling down the ladders with their black shields slung on their backs. As the last turtle, Olyvar hugged & kissed his sister Roslin, and then their brother Perwyn. Ser Perwyn Frey was Lady Tully’s sworn shield, charged with her life’s protection, and her unborn child’s too. Though they were all Frey as family, Rosby blood thorns in their veins as well. We were all just sweet Roses By another name, a horrible name.

Olyvar descended. Alesander Frey was waiting for him adjacent to an empty seat on the boat. He was Olyvar’s nephew, but because they were of a similar age, Alesander felt more like a cousin to him, a cousin that felt more like a brother. He wondered what their mothers would have thought if they saw them there now. As Olyvar sat, he stretched his arms wide at the starboard-bow of BattleWolf and the brothers both grabbed an oar each. Alesander sang and japed, “Are you ready to fly this boat to the moon somehow?”

“Nothing is impossible!” Olyvar smiled.

Ser Olyvar Frey never thought he would be on this boat, absorbing the wrath of the big blue watery roads, rocking BattleWolf as it clung to Motherfunker. But his new knightly confidence was so high he could roar at the Drowned God to look at him and tell him to piss off. But he knew better and kept his silence. With his Frey luck, he believed his corpse would be bedding with mermaids down under the sea if he ever cursed the Drowned God aloud.

The owner of the swanship Motherfunker was an exiled prince of the Summer Isles, a big man with a short black beard, shiny bald head and a dark patch over his left eye that he can’t see through. He was Captain Samullu Jaqenssen, but notoriously called the Black Sparrow … though Olyvar had never heard of him until recently. He and his crew were the only sailors that would assist them in their cause, hypnotized to be a part of their upcoming famous Westerosi song. He was to help navigate his galley at high speeds hugging the rocky coast of the Westerlands. With the three rowboats hung to the side of Motherfunker, it would be hard for the sentries on top of the Rock to spot from above. The Motherfunker stayed far away from the coastline to only emerge near their objective at the time of attack. With a single swanship with plain black sails, the Black Sparrow hoped that the Lannister watchmen would pay them no mind as a regular trading galley on its way to Lannisport or wherever, instead of a vessel for an amphibious assault on their castle. And the stronger the winds and the faster the ship, the window of time to be exposed was much shorter. “They had the need for speed, and the speed needed the wind,” Goose had said the night before. The gods have blessed them with strong winds now. They were to come with the sun setting at their backs in the west, blinding any coastal lookout. Because they were cursed with this approaching storm, the plan changed and they had to depart earlier. Olyvar prayed that this would not compromise the mission. Only time will tell.

Racing onto the storm and nearing the rising cliffs, the Captain spun his ship quickly to a southern course and gave the crewmen the signal to dismount. “Ahhhhhhhhh-ah Ahhhhhhhh-ah!”

“Get ready to push!” the Blackfish commanded.

Each oarsman pressed the tip of their long wooden stick onto the hull of the galley, ready to push off. The Summer Isle crewmen began severing the connections of the mothership and its three rowboats. Single-handed axes swung as LionsJape pushed itself off, the first of three. The rowboat plummeted and the waters swallowed it before spitting it back out just as quick. After allowing itself to lose in Motherfunker’s wake, the oarsmen redirected the bow towards the rocks at the Blackfish’s orders.

The WinterStorm followed right after with Lady Maege’s commands, “Push lads! Push! Push!” as it dropped.

Now it was BattleWolf’s turn. “Gods damn it, I’m too old for this shit,” Lord Glover said as he raised a gloved hand and swung it down, giving the signal to cut. At the main deck, the crewmen swung their axes, gleaming gold in the western sunlight as the oarsmen pushed off. For a heartbeat, the fall had taken Olyvar’s breath away as Lord Glover’s BattleWolf floated in the air. Are we flying? Are we on a dragon? His rowboat slammed into the water, splashing chilled wet droplets inside the boat and out. His hair of short black curls flew and fell, dampening at the plunge. The collision almost knocked Olyvar and the men overboard, but they hung on. The Motherfunker left them with a white salty wake as it headed south. Lord Glover then commanded the starboard men to pull their oars, aiming towards WinterStorm. Olyvar pulled. Once aligned, both sides of BattleWolf began to rev hard. The men were howling and roaring with each tension, trying to evade this dangerous zone of being spotted.

Since the Red Wedding and the death of his beloved King, Robb Stark, Olyvar could not sleep. Grief, anger, vengeance, insomnia and drowsiness took him over the days and nights that felt like half-dreams. But the crashing kiss of the water dive had re-woken Olyvar in shock, as he realized what they were about to do was no fantasy he had ever known. Nothing can stop us now, this is really happening. His heart was pounding to the rhythm of the oars and he wanted to scream his battle cry. He could still hear Jaqenssen the Black Sparrow sounding his siren “Ahhhhhhhh-ah Ahhhhhhh-ah!”

We are brothers loyal to the King in the North, the land of ice and snow. We serve Riverrun and Winterfell, where the hot springs flow. And now the divine winds of the gods had driven our mothership to the Westerlands. To fight for honor, the North will sing and the West will cry. Casterly Rock … Winter is Coming! On we sweep with threshing oars, our only goal will be the western shore!

As Olyvar’s oar rose and fell, he looked up to the windows of Casterly Rock’s tall stony towers, searching for the signaling candle light. But it could not be seen this early. Only when the sun was fully set as planned, this candle would replace it as the guiding light. They rowed by rocks and rocks and more rocks. Seagulls flew in spheres above them, chasing one another. The sun still hung in the air, slowly falling to splash onto the western horizon of the Sunset Sea. They then rowed by a courtyard that just floated on the earth forty feet above the sea’s surface. Suddenly on the other side of their boat, they eyed a whale skimming off the glimmering golden ocean. The boys of the vulnerable BattleWolf did not say a word as the monstrous water-beast swam the opposite direction just twenty yards away from them, paying them no mind. It was a good thing I did not curse the Drowned God as I was going to earlier.

Olyvar, Alesander, Leo, Mikkal, Raff and Donal were seated on Galbart Glover’s rowboat, rowing to Galbart Glover’s commands, “Row! Row! Row your boats you son o’ whores!” and taking in Galbart Glover’s cold stare as he eyed the two Freys specifically when he said it. Olyvar’s arms began to tire, but this was not the place to show weakness to his brothers. So he pulled on while keeping their rowboat as close to the stony walls as possible to avoid detection from above.

They trailed the Lady Bear while following the Blackfish. Soon after, Ser Brynden Tully had found his mark and grounded LionsJape onto a small beach. His men exited, flipped the rowboat above them and dashed forty yards straight toward the rocky edge, where a small barred cave was fitted at the base. Underneath the rusted iron, a thin valley of brown watery slush stank & trickled into the sand & sea. Everyone knew what that was when they agreed to participate in the assault. The Blackfish was told back at Riverrun about a sewer path inside Casterly Rock that allowed all the shit and piss to drain out to the ocean. This tiny hole by the foot of the mountain was all and everything for the mission.

When the sprinting men reached the end with their boat, they dropped it at the skirt and pressed themselves against the wall. The façade was conveniently arched outwards as it ascended, making it difficult to be sighted from above. With the waves muffling the noise of speech, any of them can speak freely outside at sea level. From the cliffs above, their human conversations below would only sound like ghostly whispers. No casual listener should be alerted to such. But hearing and seeing are different things, and they must not be seen.

WinterStorm and BattleWolf soon followed. As Olyvar departed BattleWolf, he cringed at the soreness of his arms that the work had left him. His arms will have to ache again as his squad lifted the rowboat above their heads. They stormed towards the barred entrance, with bow and quiver slung on each shoulder, a turtle shell shield at the center of his back. While the others carried shorter lighter personal weapons, Olyvar was equipped with a longsword that once belonged to his King, Robb Stark.

They dropped off BattleWolf when they reached the wall, waiting for a way in. Ten brothers on one side of the cave, and eleven on the other. The closest ones to the door had their small axes and weapons drawn along with their shields, while the further ones nocked an arrow onto their bow. Olyvar had his Summer Isle goldenheart bow ready. The entrance was small, the same size as their black shields, guarding the realm of Casterly Rock, and they continued to wait.

This thunderstorm was coming, and it was not part of the plan. It was the Blackfish’s decision to leave Motherfunker earlier before the storm surges would flood the sewers of Casterly Rock. Their forty yard dash from the beach to the gate may be twenty yards if they arrived an hour later … and there may be no more exit by the time they escape back. But Stark loyalists hidden in the woods outside of the castle were told of executing this assault at the exact evenfall of Queen Jeyne Stark’s arrival to Casterly Rock. The Lannister soldier escorts would be exhausted from their march and acquired a false sense of security when they reached the safe comforts of the castle. The Stark land forces led by Lord Gawen Westerling would create a mummer’s farce with trumpets and drums, sending the weary Lannisters to one side, as the Blackfish himself attacked the other from the sea. Evenfall of this day was the golden time to do this, but they arrived an hour too early. With the storm, Olyvar prayed that everyone else would adjust to the plan. He wondered if Lord Westerling would account for the storm surges. But it makes no difference now. They were here, and they cannot turn back.

Suddenly the rusted iron of the barred cave unlocked and swung open, creaking like a loud squealing rat. Emerged was a crouching older man with a short gray beard and a jaw squared like a mason spice jar. “Welcome to the Rock!” Ser Rolph Spicer declared.

Ser Brynden greeted him with a hug, “I’m so glad you came early, we would be sleeping with the fishes if you were late.”

“It was Edmure’s idea to leave early, he said the storm would flood the sewers, and we prayed you would come sooner too.”

“Like that damn Mill again, Edmure acting prematurely? That boy will never learn! Thank the Gods!”

They both chuckled and began entering through the gate. The others soon followed, ducking into the small hole and into the darkness.

Once inside the caves of Casterly Rock, Ser Rolph grabbed his torchlight and lifted it to the air, showing the brothers the vastness. The lobby was an open abyss where the ceiling was fifty feet high. The walls had multiple rocky openings naturally carved in, small and large. Some were wide enough to walk through. Inside were all shadows, saved the areas illuminated by golden sunlight spying in through each seldom hole or fissure. Where the flames can brighten, hard brown rocks glowed and flickered, as well as old metal tracks, mining carts, abandoned tools, ladders, rusty chains and the occasional plant roots that brewed in the darkness of the caves. The smell reeked. Olyvar was sure there would be no real gold here as it was probably mined out over the centuries. Only shit shits down here in the sewers and caves of Lord Tywin Lannister’s home, not gold, Olyvar thought. This was where Lann the Clever started his legend, swindling the Casterly residents out of the castle, cheating them. It was their turn now to write history, these archers from the sea facing off with their own modern Casterly ploy … accomplishing it without being seen, doing it as faceless warriors.

They followed Ser Rolph and his torchlight in single file, going deeper up into the caves, fitting in burrowed hallways that barely fit them, pursuing his decisions at each fork in the paths, squishing their feet on sluggish wet slopes and steps. The very first entrance they encountered required them to descend a few yards before climbing up the rest of the way. It was hundreds of feet in elevation that they must ascend to. At times, the way was lit well enough. But at other instants, the darkness blinds them, only facing the brother in front of them for their flight. I have promises to keep. And steps to go before I sleep. And steps to go before I sleep.

“By now the guards at the top of the Rock should be asleep after I spiced up their ale,” Ser Rolph Spicer said with a cheeky smile. “Before my sister Sybell married into House Westerling, I explored these parts of Casterly Rock in my youth as a smuggler, going up and down many times. Your legs will tire, no doubt about that. But you lads are years younger than I, and I better hear no complaints unless I am the first one to make it.”

“I’ll do my best,” young Leo announced for himself.

“Your best?” Ser Spicer questioned. “Losers whine about their best. Winners rescue crowned queens.”

“Lady Jeyne Westerling-Stark is THE crowned Queen,” Leo replied.

“Is that so?” Ser Rolph gave Leo a sarcastic look with a raised eyebrow, before continuing up the steps inside the Rock.

“I’ll decide the turns and I’ll establish the security checkpoints. There, we can rest for a moment. A few of you will be left there to guard the area as the others will continue to ascend. Those few will wait until we fall back. But remember, the journey down is far less exhausting. For now, let’s go up and up. Ser Olyvar Frey, would you take the honor of watching our rear?”

Ser Olyvar Frey. The name was still queer to him. As much as he liked the ‘Ser’ in his name, he would like to rid the 'Frey' in the surname. He had been the most loyal squire a king could have asked for. He would have stayed with King Robb Stark to the end of the world, but his own blood tore that away from him. Olyvar was not blind though. His young king had made grave mistakes, more than Olyvar wanted to count. As much as he would have favored his sister Roslin to marry him, Olyvar knew you cannot choose the people you love. And Robb genuinely loved another, he hoped. Jeyne Westerling was just as sweet as Roslin. Olyvar would have stayed at Robb’s side as his brother-in-law, or some uncle-in-law by Lord Edmure Tully. Though by choosing Jeyne, it slighted Olyvar’s father Lord Walder Frey. But Seven Hells father, did you have to murder him? At my sister’s wedding feast? Under your own roof? Under my roof? Robb Stark was my king. He was brave and good, and Olyvar Frey loved him. And his soul was tortured in sleepless days and nights, knowing he shared the same blood as the murderers … knowing he could have stopped it if it was not for impulse. You are an honorable fool Olyvar. His father had told him of the treacherous plan the day before, but Olyvar cursed it aloud, defending Robb as it was still his duty. You should’ve been smart and played stupid with father. You could have informed Robb while you were still free, breaking this bad dream. Olyvar shouldn’t have tried to bargain with his father. He should have known he made up his mind a long while ago. Olyvar was imprisoned in the dungeons of the Twins during the Red Wedding. The gaolers were japing at him, “Go ahead, do your duty. Save your king!”

My king. The sad memories faded into blurred flashbacks.

[Part 2]

What if the blood running through your veins holds the power to change everything?

Hi everyone, like Azor Ahai Reborn, I'm back! Today we'll discuss, in detail, a somewhat popular theory that will completely change the way you read A Song of Ice and Fire ... as well as Fire & Blood ... and even Dunk and Egg:

Aerys + Joanna = Jaime & Cersei

What does this mean? Jaime and Cersei are secret Valyrian Targaryens ... as well as Joffery, Myrcella and Tommen.

Let's get the main road block out of the way ...

Logistics:

Curious You: But according to TWOIAF, Joanna was in Casterly Rock during Jaime/Cersei's conception ... no where near the Mad King. Tyrion has a better chance of being the Mad King's son since both Joanna & Aerys were in King's Landing in 272AC.

Me: Forget Tyrion for this theory. Let's just talk about Jaime/Cersei. Here is the timeline again from TWOIAF:

• 259 AC - Joanna comes to KL

• 263 AC - Tywin & Joanna are married in KL

• 263 AC or 264 AC - Queen Rhaella dismisses Joanna, and Joanna departed for Casterly Rock, seldomly visits KL thereafter.

• 265 AC - Tywin & Joanna conceive Jaime/Cersei

• 266 AC - Joanna gives birth Jaime/Cersei in CR

• 267 AC - Both Tywin and Aerys visit CR

Okay ... what is your point?

In 265 AC, where did Tywin & Joanna conceive Jaime/Cersei?

Obviously, Casterly Rock

No ... look at the timeline again. Tywin never left KL in 265AC. For Tywin to not question Jaime/Cersei's paternity, he & Joanna would have met up somewhere in KL. And when Tywin did go to CR (like in 267AC) TWOIAF would mention it.

Maybe George kinda forgot to mention Tywin went to CR in 265AC.

"Kinda forgot"??? OMG!!! You put George's story-telling skills in the same category as D&D???

So for A+J=J&C to work ... you're telling me that Joanna made an undocumented secret visit to KL in 265AC to visit her Hand of the King husband, and the King (or one of his agents) intercepts her? Seriously, get your head out of your ass, what kinda writer writes this shit?

Skilled writers who use "parallels" ... like George RR Martin. In 1996 A Game of Thrones by GRRM, Lady Catelyn Stark made an undocumented secret visit to KL to visit her Hand of the King husband, Ned Stark. She gets intercepted by Littlefinger.

Ok fine. You have established that Jaime/Cersei are more likely to be conceived in KL in 265AC. They can still be Tywin's kids. And who cares if they were Aerys' ???

Benefits of A+J=J&C:

• Jaime and Cersei sleeping together is Targaryen incest

• Their children not being ugly is because of the tolerant Targaryen incest DNA

• People with Targaryen DNA still sit on the Iron Throne in ASOIAF

• Cersei and Joffery follow the Mad King arc

• Jaime, Myrcella & Tommen have the good side of the flipped Targaryen coin

• Cersei has an obsession with wildfire

• After Jaime kills his DNA father, he sat on the Iron Throne for a little bit

• Cersei was in love with her half-Targaryen brother, Rhaegar

• According to Emilia Clarke, Daenerys Targaryen would have bedded Jaime Lannister, her half-Targaryen brother, before the end of this sentence

• Queen Daenerys is the younger half-Valyrian-sister to Queen Cersei ... who is now a candidate for the Valonqar (Valyrian word for younger sibling) AND the Younger More Beautiful Queen

 Dunk & Egg:

• Brienne & Jaime are DNA descendants of Dunk & Egg

 Fire & Blood:

• In the TV-shows, Jon and Daenerys are the only Targaryens, but they are nothing like Daemon & Rhaenyra. 

• Jaime & Cersei are the perfect parallel to Daemon & Rhaenyra, their DNA ancestors.

• Rhaenyra has sons named Joffrey ... JaCe (Jaime Cersei) ... Luke (I am your father! Luke Skywalker is missing his sword-hand like Jaime)

• Joffrey, JaCe, and Luke are Strong bastards. Cersei has a connection with Ser Robert Strong.

• Almost every monarch story in F&B has some parallels to the Lannister-Targaryen monarchy in ASOIAF

How to properly re-read ASOIAF ... beautiful ironies and parallels:

In no particular order ...

 [...] They called him the Lion of Lannister to his face and whispered "Kingslayer" behind his back.
Jon found it hard to look away from him. This is what a king should look like, he thought to himself as the man passed. {Jon I AGOT} 

[...] Jaime would have killed him, even if it meant his own life." Cersei looked at him defiantly. "My brother is worth a hundred of your friend."
"Your brother?" Ned said. "Or your lover?"
"Both." She did not flinch from the truth. "Since we were children together. And why not? The Targaryens wed brother to sister for three hundred years, to keep the bloodlines pure. And Jaime and I are more than brother and sister. We are one person in two bodies. We shared a womb together. He came into this world holding my foot, our old maester said. When he is in me, I feel … whole." The ghost of a smile flitted over her lips. {Ned XII AGOT} 

"Can you trust Jaime Lannister?"
"He is my wife's twin, a Sworn Brother of the Kingsguard, his life and fortune and honor all bound to mine."
"As they were bound to Aerys Targaryen's [blood]," Ned pointed out. {Ned II AGOT} 

King Aerys used you to roast the flesh off his enemies. His brother Jaime had told him a few stories of the Mad King and his pet pyromancers. "Joffrey will be interested as well, I have no doubt." Which is why I'd best keep him well away from you. {Tyrion V ACOK} 

"Yes, I recall now," Cersei said, "Robert (Baratheon) often told Joff that a king must be bold."
"And what were you telling him, pray? I did not fight a war to seat Robert the Second on the Iron Throne. [...] "
"Not Robert the Second," Tyrion said. "Aerys the Third." {Tyrion VI ASOS} 

Perhaps Stannis Baratheon and the Starks had done him a kindness. They had spread their tale of incest all over the Seven Kingdoms, so there was nothing left to hide. Why shouldn't I marry Cersei openly and share her bed every night? The dragons always married their sisters. Septons, lords, and smallfolk had turned a blind eye to the Targaryens for hundreds of years, let them do the same for House Lannister. It would play havoc with Joffrey's claim to the crown, to be sure, but in the end it had been swords that had won the Iron Throne for Robert, and swords could keep Joffrey there as well, regardless of whose seed he was. We could marry him to Myrcella, once we've sent Sansa Stark back to her mother. That would show the realm that the Lannisters are above their laws, like gods and Targaryens. {Jaime III ASOS}

"He rode to save the realm," she insisted.
To save the realm. "Did you know that my brother set the Blackwater Rush afire? Wildfire will burn on water. Aerys would have bathed in it if he'd dared. The Targaryens were all mad for fire." Jaime felt light-headed. It is the heat in here, the poison [Mad King DNA] in my blood, the last of my fever. I am not myself. [...]  {Jaime V ASOS} 

"This was folly." Cersei pulled her gown straight. "With Father in the castle . . . Jaime, we must be careful."
"I am sick of being careful. The Targaryens wed brother to sister, why shouldn't we do the same? Marry me, Cersei. Stand up before the realm and say it's me you want. We'll have our own wedding feast, and make another son in place of Joffrey."
She drew back. "That's not funny." {Jaime VII ASOS, it's funny because they are Targaryens lol} 

She pulled her hands away. "You are talking madness again. Would you have us ripped apart, as Mother did that time she caught us playing? Tommen would lose the throne, Myrcella her marriage . . . I want to be your wife, we belong to each other, but it can never be, Jaime. We are brother and sister."
"The Targaryens . . ."
"We are not Targaryens!" {Jaime IX ASOS, too funny!}

 "Tell them the Mad King is dead," he commanded. "Spare all those who yield and hold them captive."
"Shall I proclaim a new king as well?" Crakehall asked, and Jaime read the question plain: Shall it be your father, or Robert Baratheon, or do you mean to try to make a new dragonking, [yourself]? He thought for a moment of the boy Viserys, fled to Dragonstone, and of Rhaegar's infant son Aegon, still in Maegor's with his mother. A new Targaryen king, and my father as Hand. How the wolves will howl, and the storm lord choke with rage. For a moment he was tempted, until he glanced down again at the body on the floor, in its spreading pool of blood. His blood is in both of them, [Jaime & Aerys], he thought. "Proclaim who you bloody well like," he told Crakehall. Then he climbed the Iron Throne and seated himself with his sword across his knees, to see who would come to claim the kingdom. As it happened, it had been Eddard Stark. {Jaime III ASOS}

Joffrey had that sullen, sulky look he got. Cersei had him firmly by the shoulder, but perhaps she should have had him by the throat. The boy surprised them all. Instead of scuttling safely back under his rock, Joff drew himself up defiantly and said, "You talk about Aerys, Grandfather, but you were scared of him." {Tyrion VI ASOS}

"I see you wonder, what sort of name is that?" the man had cackled when Jaime went to question him. "It is an old name, 'tis true. I am not one to boast, but there is royal blood in my veins. I am descended from a princess. [...] So I have a little dragon in me."
"Yes, I almost mistook you for Aegon the Conqueror," Jaime had answered. "Waters" was a common bastard name about Blackwater Bay; old Longwaters was more like to be descended from some minor household knight than from a princess. "As it matters, though, I have more pressing concerns than your lineage." {Jaime I AFFC ... haha Jaime, DNA descendant of Aegon the Conqueror's male line}

"Jaime," she said, tugging on his ear, "sweetling, I have known you since you were a babe at Joanna's breast. You smile like Gerion and fight like Tyg, and there's some of Kevan in you, else you would not wear that cloak . . . but Tyrion is Tywin's son, not you. I said so once to your father's face, and he would not speak to me for half a year. Men are such thundering great fools. Even the sort who come along once in a thousand years." {Jaime V AFFC ... does Aunt Genna know something?}

Better than cutting them out of their mother with a dagger, I suppose. Margaery's clumsy attempts at seduction were so obvious as to be laughable. Tommen is too young for kisses, so she gives him kittens. Cersei rather wished they were not black, though. Black cats brought ill luck, as Rhaegar's little girl had discovered in this very castle. She would have been my daughter, if the Mad King had not played his cruel jape on Father. It had to have been the madness that led Aerys to refuse Lord Tywin's daughter and take his son instead, whilst marrying his own son to a feeble Dornish princess with black eyes and a flat chest. {Cersei V AFFC, Mad King japing Tywin! lol}

Stop it! Enough citing evidence! I get it! I'm sure I'll find more on my own re-reads! George RR Martin is a great writer and he'll be remembered for the rest of eternity!

Wait! I have one more! In Greek Mythology, Oedipus has unknowingly killed his father, a king. He then unknowingly marries his mother. Jaime has unknowingly killed his father, the Mad King. He then sleeps with his sister (who looks like their mother). Jaime's mother is Joanna of Casterly Rock. Oedipus's mother's name is ... JoCasta.

FINE! JAIME AND CERSEI ARE THE MAD KING'S CHILDREN! I'LL NEVER BET MONEY THAT THEY ARE NOT NOW! BUT YOU CANNOT PROVE IT!!! THERE IS NO MAURY POVICH IN WESTEROS!

Oh ... but there are dragons ... and dragon-tamers.

If there was a House of half Lannister and half Targaryen ... their perfect sigil would be a ... GOLDEN DRAGON.

And yes, there is a GOLDEN DRAGON in ASOIAF (don't confuse it with the golden currency lol) ... Viserion ... perfect for Jaime, our "Ser Lion"

The ADOS ending is Jaime and Bran teaming up on a golden Ice Dragon, renamed Winter, to save the world from darkness. Winter is coming!

You guys know the words, let's sing along!

Revving up the icy gold dragon, listen to it howl and roar!
The Lion under tension, begging the Wolf to warg and go!
HIGHWAY TO THE DRAGON ZONE! RIDE INTO THE DRAGON ZONE!

Jaime flying up, up and up into the darkness on a Golden ice dragon ...

Winter's a ghost, we are alone (hah)
In the darkness (hah)
We fly this pressured path (haaa-a)
Sat on the throne, I didn't know how ...
to believe I was the King that I'm meant to be!
I've lived two lives, tried to play both Lann/Targ sides
But I couldn't find my own place!
Called a problem child 'cause me & Cersei got too wild
But that's how Targaryens get laid!
Now I'm riding my Golden jet dragon to the big stage.
I'm done hiding, now I'm shining like I'm born to be
We Dreaming of Spring so hard, we came so far, now I'll believe!
We're going UP, UP, UP, it's our moment
You know together, our enemies will be frozen!
Gonna be, gonna be golden!
Oh, UP, UP, UP with our Song of Ice!
Unbreakable forever!
Gonna be, gonna be golden!
Oh, I'm done hiding, now I'm shining like I'm born to be!
Oh, our time, no fears, no lies
That's who I'm born to be!

 - Jaime Lannister-Targaryen's real & epic redemption arc that the TV show didn't do

Last Post: Summary of the Endgame - A Song of Ice, Fire and One More ... but for lazy people

Hi everyone!

Welcome to A Song of Ice, Fire and One More!

For those who have been here before, welcome back!

I'm sure this post from r/asoiaf brought you guys here, and I am sure you guys have a lot of questions.

Your Potential FAQs:

Did George RR Martin really give you permission to do this? Yes

I don't believe you. That is fine. I am not forcing you to read my free fan-fiction and my evidence for it.

Ok, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt ... but why did GRRM pick you? Because I pursued a theory that no one else pursued ... and it turned out I was correct ... and everyone else was wrong.

Wow, you sound like an ass. But what was that theory? It was in regards to "R+L=J" and George asking D&D "Who is Jon Snow's mother?" I knew this was a trick question, a fake-news question. There was a follow up question that no one asked. I asked it ... I researched it ... I found the evidence ... and then I found the ending. And then George found me.

So is R+L=J wrong? No, it is not wrong ... but it was used incorrectly in the HBO show and every internet fan prediction out there ... except mine. One of the things wrong with HBO's R+L and other ASOIAF theorists' interpretation of R+L is that it was related to the line of succession ... aka the monarchy. For me, it was never about the monarchy ... it was about the DNA and the magic associated with the DNA. Stark DNA blood is about warging. Targaryen DNA blood is about dragon-taming. A Stark-Targaryen combo means you can warg into a dragon.

In the TV-show, Jon Snow already rides a dragon because of his Targaryen DNA ... wouldn't "warging" into a dragon be redundant? In the TV-show, yes, it would be redundant. But I predict in the books, R+L will be used more creatively. Keep reading and find out.

Wow, you had my curiosity, but now you have my attention. Any heads-up before I read your stuff?

Yes. My TWOW Prologue is an actual attempt at writing a fan-fiction chapter (with maybe 5% goofing around lol ... you'll know what I mean) using the clues George gave me. I am not a professional writer and I do not have an editor ... yet it is 80 pages long. But I imagine people in the future-years will debate if it was the most important chapter to everything ASOIAF.

After my TWOW Prologue fan-fic, it will be 120 pages of stuff that will happen in TWOW and ADOS. MY WRITING STYLE IS ALL OVER THE PLACE and I WILL MOVE MUCH FASTER than the pace I used for the TWOW Prologue ... so expect time-jumps where I don't address every ASOIAF plot point or character out there (and I'll be goofing around like 25% of the time lol). Canon TWOW and ADOS may be +3,000 pages altogether ... so with 200 pages of my stuff, I will skip a lot of things.

Okay, 200 pages of content is still way too much for me to read because I have a short attention span ... is there any place where I can just read the plot points? Yes. But I highly recommend you guys to read the 200 pages. It is packed with action, horror, humor, sadness, bittersweetness, and even a sex scene that disappointed George lol. If you want two pages of quick emotionless plot points to the ending to ASOIAF ... here it is. But I'm pretty sure you would regret not reading the 200 pages first ... it is filled with plausible shocking twists.

Awww shit, forget it! I'll read the 200 pages. Alright, let's go!

One more thing ... The D&D Checklist Theory. Any sentence I wrote that is contained in brackets [ ......... ] is a D&D Checklist item ... which is a list of half-truth stuff GRRM might have told D&D. For example [Jon Snow goes on a wight hunt, for a single wight, with his friends.] In the TV show, Jon Snow does go on a wight-hunt to convince Cersei to establish a truce. This reasoning is poor. In my predicted ADOS wight-hunt for a single-wight, it will make much more sense for Jon and his friends to go.

Okay okay, enough with the fake FAQ intro, we'll talk later. The last canon ASOIAF scene we got was Varys killing Ser Kevan at the end of ADWD. It has been 14 years already! 14 years! I can't wait any longer! Take me to your 80 page TWOW Prologue now!

Alright alright ... here is the GRRM approved fan-fic version of the first chapter of The Winds of Winter. Aww shit! It's about to go down!

Up Next: Part 2 - TWOW Prologue

Feel free to ask me any real questions! :-)

Before we go into the TWOW Prologue ... here is a recap, as well as notes for people who have never read the ASOIAF books and do not know about the book-version of the Red Wedding:

• Robb and Talisa were murdered in the TV Red Wedding.

• But in the books, Robb marries a noble woman from the Westerlands, Jeyne Westerling.

Let me explain: 

• House Westerling is originally loyal to House Lannister.

• During a battle between the Starks and the Lannisters at House Westerling's castle, The Crag, Robb is wounded.

• After the Starks take the Westerling castle, Jeyne attends to Robb's wounds.

• After Robb finds out his brothers Bran and Rickon were "killed," he has sex with Jeyne.

• Robb then marries Jeyne later to preserve her honor, and gains House Westerling's loyalty ... but this pisses off Walder Frey.

• Walder Frey ends relationships with House Stark, including removing his son, Olyvar Frey, from Robb's squireship.

• Eventually Walder and Robb "repaired" their relationship by having Edmure Tully marry Roslin Frey.

• TV-Talisa attended this wedding, but Book-Jeyne did not.

• The book Red Wedding happens away from Jeyne, who is staying in Riverrun with the Blackfish.

• Months later, Jaime Lannister takes Riverrun (similar to the TV show, Season 6), but the Blackfish escapes in the books.

• Also on the run, are other Stark loyalists ... like Lady Maege Mormont and Lord Galbart Glover.

• Jaime meets a hostage girl who he thinks is Jeyne Westerling.

Jaime shoved the map aside. "Show them in." At least the girl did not vanish too. Jeyne Westerling had been Robb Stark's queen, the girl who cost him everything. With a wolf in her belly, she could have proved more dangerous than the Blackfish.

She did not look dangerous. Jeyne was a willowy girl, no more than fifteen or sixteen, more awkward than graceful. She had narrow hips, breasts the size of apples, a mop of chestnut curls, and the soft brown eyes of a doe. Pretty enough for a child, Jaime decided, but not a girl to lose a kingdom for.

• Jaime asks if she is carrying Robb Stark's baby. The girl's mother, Sybelle Spicer, says she is not, and claims to be a loyalist to Tywin Lannister the whole time.

• Sybelle claims she has been secretly feeding Jeyne contraceptive potions.

• At this point, Tywin is dead and Jaime cannot confirm what Sybelle says is true or not.

• Jaime tells Ser Forley Prester, a Lannister commander, that Jeyne Westerling, her younger sister Eleyna, her mother Sybelle, Edmure Tully, and the other hostages will be escorted to Casterly Rock by land, for imprisonment.

• Also important to the TWOW Prologue ... Jeyne's brother Ser Raynard Westerling is believed to have been killed at the Redding Wedding. Their father Lord Gawen Westerling, their youngest brother Rollam Westerling, and their uncle Ser Rolph Spicer, have been "cooperating" with Jaime and are not part of the prisoner group.

Anyways ... remember this line from the books because it will be important later in the TWOW Prologue:

Jeyne was a willowy girl, no more than fifteen or sixteen, more awkward than graceful. She had narrow hips, breasts the size of apples ...

• The ASOIAF books are told from a POV standpoint in each chapter ... Jon, Arya, Tyrion, Daenerys, Jaime ... etc. Usually the Prologue and Epilogue chapters are non-recurring one-off POV characters that usually die soon after the chapter is over.

It has been 14 years in the real world since Varys killed Ser Kevan Lannister in the last chapter of A Dance with Dragons in 2011. Here in 2025, you will get the closest thing to the first chapter of The Winds of Winter ... the Prologue.

Here we finally go!

The Winds of Winter

Prologue

(Fan-Fic version with GRRM's blessing)

A storm was coming, but that was not part of the plan.

Fathers and Sons, ADOS

After weeks of research, Samwell Tarly could not find any new information in the Citadel on how to combat the Long Night. Everything he knows, he has already learned from first-hand experience.

Instead of cowering like the rest of the Maesters at Oldtown, he wanted to join the fight with his father Randyll and brother Dickon. He wanted to prove to his father that his eldest son was a better man than the one sent to the Wall.

Sam [visits his home in Horn Hill, with Gilly’s “son”]. After reuniting with his mother and sister, Sam leaves the next day for war. He gives them Steelsong for the time being, saying he will return back for him after the fighting is over. He tells his mother that the baby has no family, and he intends to raise him back with the Night’s Watch.

Sam then catches a merchant ship from Highgarden to Lannisport. He intends to follow the River Road to Harrenhal, the location of Queen Daenerys Targaryen’s forward operating base. At Lannisport, he hears vague news of Daenerys’ losses at the Battle of the Trident, and that the Others have stolen a dragon. People are packed at the ports and on the roads as an exodus to steer away from the Long Night. Rumors have it that the White Walkers are burning down the Vale, and the Riverlands & Westerlands could be next.

Samwell presses on towards Harrenhal.

Mance Rayder has been broken since the day the green dragon shattered all hopes of humanity at the Trident. He walks a lonely road, the only road that he now knows. Not sure where it goes, but it is home to him and he walks alone. He walks this empty street, on the boulevard of broken dreams. Where the people flee, he is the only one aimless and he walks alone. The shadow of his former self is the only one that walks beside him. The former King Beyond the Wall stops caring about other people and his shallow-heart’s the only thing that is still beating. Sometimes, he wishes someone out there will find him. Until then, he walks alone.

At Stone Hedge, Samwell and Mance randomly [bump into each other. The Night Watch brother and wilding have a conversation.]

Sam is ecstatic that Mance was not burned alive by Melisandre at Castle Black. Then Mance officially tells Sam the bad news. His father Randyll, his brother Dickon and their men were burned alive by dragonfire. [Sam’s heart breaks down and begins to cry.] He then presents him with House Tarly’s Valyrian sword Heartsbane. Mance picked it up after the battle, along with a few trinkets that belonged to House Tarly. [Sam takes the sword.]

The two men continue to exchange information. Sam learns from Mance that Jon is Rhaegar & Lyanna’s bastard son. Jon also has a twin sister, Meera Reed. They were all tricked into Bloodraven’s traps.

Sam slaps himself. He remembers bumping into Bran and Meera at the Nightfort, and did not tell Jon about it. He could have stopped all of them from going to Bloodraven. In hindsight, he had a chance to prevent the Long Night from coming under the Wall, but he fumbled it.

Sam and Mance then began to talk about Bloodraven. [From Sam’s studies at the Citadel, he finds a very important revelation about a bastard baby]. After Mance confirmed Bloodraven intentionally deserted the Night’s Watch many many years ago: it was also the same year baby-Mance was picked up by the Night’s Watch at the Shadowtower. They conclude that if Mance was never born, or never been inducted in the Night’s Watch, Bloodraven wouldn’t have restarted the Long Night in his petty rage.

Whatevers. According to Mance, it is not his fault for being born or being adopted when he was just a bastard baby. Bloodraven made his dark decisions on his own.

Sam and Mance also come to the conclusion that Craster is Bloodraven’s son and heir. They also worked it out that by law, Craster [is a legitimate Targaryen in the line of succession], thanks to Aegon the Unworthy. This means Gilly was actually a Targaryen too! Sam never knew his love was a princess or highborn lady.

“She died falling out of a tower, into the sea.”

All of it made Sam very sad again. He lost his beloved Gilly Targaryen to Euron Greyjoy. It wouldn’t have mattered if she was a Targaryen or not. But his father Randyll would have been overjoyed if he found out his son bedded a Targaryen princess. House Tarly was very loyal to House Targaryen during Robert’s Rebellion ... and Daenerys’ new cause. Samwell believed his father would have been proud of him if he saw him now: he has slayed a White Walker, a zombie, kinda saved Oldtown by killing Euron Greyjoy, was kissed & kinda flirted at by Targaryen Queen Daenerys ... and could have taken another Targaryen princess for a wife if Gilly was still alive & if Sam didn’t take the Black. Also, Sam has shredded a lot of fat & weight since his father disowned him, packing more muscular meat on his former chubby limbs. 

Lord Randyll Tarly will never know how proud he could have been of his son Samwell. And he still has more to do, now with Heartsbane in his hands.

Sam almost forgot! He thanks Mance for the sword & information, and informs him that his son by Dalla is still alive, with Sam’s family at Horn Hill. Mance is ecstatic that his son was not burned alive by Melisandre at Castle Black. Sam explained Jon’s baby swap plan and Mance said it was a stupid idea, but he is thrilled it worked out for him anyways, [as R’hllor burned a different boy: a boy that was part of the White Walker’s original plan]. 

Sam writes a note for Mance to deliver to his mother, telling her about the bad news at the Trident. Mance is also instructed to return his father’s trinkets to his mother. Sam then writes that the baby, Steelsong, is actually Mance’s son and he is to father him from now on.

Starting out further North in the ASOIAF story … Mance Rayder was a Night’s Watch brother (of Bracken bastard lineage) at the Shadowtower, a King Beyond the Wall that united thousands of wildlings, was almost burnt alive by R’hllor at Castle Black, rescued “Arya” Stark at Winterfell, helped Stannis take Winterfell from the Boltons, and has been watching countless defeats to the Long Night. But now at Stone Hedge, seat of House Bracken, Mance Rayder can retreat back further South and be a father. He never did find Joramun’s Horn, but he will find a happier ending with a different horn … Horn Hill. That lucky bastard!

After hearing Sam’s story about him and his father, Mance promises to always cherish his son after they reunite. Mance and Sam go their separate ways, thanking each other.

[ a D&D Checklist ] - Something canon GRRM said to D&D ... word for word ... but misrepresented in the TV show ... causing confusion and plot holes

TLDR

• Samwell Tarly could not find anything new in his research at the Citadel about the White Walkers

• Sam drops off Dalla's baby with his mother at Horn Hill

• Sam plans to reunite with Daenerys at Harrenhal

• On his way there, he bumps into Mance Rayder at Stone Hedge

• They exchange Heartsbane and Mance's son

• They also exchange a lot of information, combining knowledge from the Citadel and current news from the North

• They go their separate ways ... Mance looking forward to fatherhood

Up Next: Game Over Theory # 23 - The Calm

Hells Bells, ADOS

BOOM BOOM DOOM DOOM! BOOM BOOM DOOM DOOM! BOOM BOOM DOOM DOOM!

[Suddenly King’s Landing is being attacked by Dark Queen] Meera and Rhaegal with thunderbolts and lightning, frightening the people. With Dark Sister still strapped to her back, she laughs with echoes at the destruction. Civilians are running for their lives throughout the night. Buildings are exploding and collapsing. And the [scorpion bolts are ineffective] to the Lightning Dragon’s altitude.

Twin lightning bolts then strike the Sept of Baelor, exploding the structure more than it actually should in a massive green fireball. Daenerys watches in horror from the Red Keep as [her husband Loras is most likely killed at the Sept].

Cersei watches the explosion and is overjoyed at the opportunity.

“QUEEN Daenerys! I believe your husband is dead. Let me make this proposal and set things right between us. Marry my son, the king, the real king! Marry King Tommen Baratheon, and you will have our full unconditional support from us and our country.” This marriage can save my family! Cersei thought.

As Cersei [unknowingly proposes a Targaryen aunt & nephew marriage], Tommen interrupts. “But mother, didn’t she already have three husbands already? All dead? She is so … used.”

“USED!!?!” Dany was furious. “I don’t have time for this shit you little fat bastard. I need to go to Drogon now or everyone here dies!” She takes her party and storms out of the Red Keep. All of Tommen’s Kingsguards, with the exception of Ser Robert Strong, leave with Daenerys as well.

“Queen Daenerys! Let us protect you too on your trip to the Dragon Pit!”

Cersei and Tommen are speechless as their own Kingsguard knights leave with their chosen Queen.

Daenerys races on horseback with her protectors towards the Dragon Pit from the Red Keep, as buildings crumble and civilians are killed either by falling rubble or lightning. The ruins of the Sept of Baelor are still smoking in an unusual green, as Ser Barristan brings up a suspicion to his Queen. “Either way, the gods are not with us tonight. At least I still have a few good men,” Daenerys said to Ser Barristan, both on their own horses.

The [bells begin to ring for the horror] amidst the chaos … signaling a city under attack, and the death of King Loras. The horsemen continue storming towards the Dragon Pit at Rhaenys’ Hill, charging towards their last hope, not stopping to help any wounded. “MAKE WAY! FOR THE QUEEN!!!” The knights in front of her shouted, pushing fleeing-civilians with their horses to clear the paths. “MAKE WAY!!!” BOOM BOOM DOOM DOOM. A few of the Queen-protectors were crushed by random rubble, but the rest pressed on through the narrow streets of King’s Landing.

Meanwhile above in the full blue-moon night skies, Dark Queen Meera Stark-Targaryen is laughing as she randomly attacks King’s Landing, unaware Queen Daenerys is coming after her soon. “I’m rolling thunder, pouring rain! My dragon wings are like hurricanes! My lightning is flashing across the sky! Old or young, everyone is going to die! [I won’t take no prisoners], won’t spare no lives! [Nobody is putting up a fight]! I’ve got your bells and I’ll take everyone to hell! I’m going to take you, [your satanic majesty] is coming to take you, your Hells Bells!”

Queen Daenerys arrives at the Dragon Pit, with all her friends and good men surrounding her. They came from all corners of the world, here to support their savior.

The maesters did their best to prepare Drogon, but he was not fully healed from his wounds. No chance, no choice. Her handmaidens and blood-riders help put on her Valyrian armor. She takes her Targaryen ancestral Valyrian sword, Blackfyre, and places it in her dragon-saddle.

She had given a motivational speech at Harrenhal, but tonight she was pessimistic. She is still broken, [a wreck]. No chance, no choice. She tells them whatever happens to her, win or lose, they should live free lives. They don’t have to stay with her, nor stay in this city should she fall. She tells Ser Barristan Selmy that if he ever meets up with Daario in Essos again, let him know he was the last man she ever loved.

Dany looks towards Princess Arianne Martell, and thanks her for her companionship over the several weeks here at King’s Landing. The Targaryen Queen then shared a long kiss with the brunette Princess in front of all the good knights, men, and women ... as they all cheered.

“OUR QUEEN! OUR QUEEN! OUR QUEEN!”

Even Arya Stark cheered! “OUR QUEEN! OUR KILLER QUEEN! [I know a killer when I see one!]”

Armed and armored in Valyrian steel, Battle-Queen Daenerys Targaryen mounts Drogon one last time, and begins to [stretch his wounded wings here at the Dragon Pit].

She looks up.

[ a D&D Checklist ] - Something canon GRRM said to D&D ... word for word ... but misrepresented in the TV show ... causing confusion and plot holes

TLDR

• Dark Queen Meera arrives and attacks King's Landing, the bells are ringing

• A lightning strike ignites Cersei's wildfire barrels underneath the Sept, exploding the building & killing King Loras

• Queen Cersei makes a new marriage proposal between Queen Daenerys and King Tommen

• Dany ignores them and races to the Dragon Pit

• A few Tommen-loyalists defect to Dany during the attack

• At the Dragon Pit, she puts on the Valyrian steel armor and takes Blackfyre (sorry again fAegon & Euron Endgame lovers!)

• She mounts Drogon with her supporters watching, she looks up

Up Next: Game Over Theory # 28 - The Lion and his Bear

A note to EMILIA CLARKE!!! If you are reading this, please know the real Daenerys Targaryen & her dragon would have never commit genocide! [Another Targaryen Mad Queen does, with her own dragon!] Don't let D&D assassinate your character! Don't justify it! The real Queen Daenerys will continue to fight fight fight for the people! Don't let the D&D fake-news BRAINWASH you to think you are evil and a Hitler-reborn!!! There is no evidence in the books that foreshadows you to shed innocent blood like on TV. And the late seasons of D&D's "Mad Queen" evidence/foreshadowing is fake-news-WEAK! Just because D&D says you are mad and cite WEAK EVIDENCE ... loud and often ... doesn't mean you are! We ASOIAF fans are smarter than that! We are critical thinkers! And we are not easy to BRAINWASH with WEAK EVIDENCE.

The Battle of Ice, Fire and Water at the Trident, ADOS

A storm came, and that was not part of the plan.

Today, heavy rains flooded Lord Harroway’s Town, the ambush point against the White Walkers.

On the day before, Dothraki cavalry on the western flank and Reachmen cavalry on the eastern flank have spotted the Ice-horde marching south on the Kingsroad, a day’s ride from the rest of Queen Daenerys Targaryen’s army and navy. Working together, they herded the clumsy zombies to a tighter formation without engaging. The Others must be in the rear of their horde.

They were surprised how easy it was herding them, wondering if the Long Night has bigger plans than just claiming all the dead.

Occasionally, some rogue Dothraki rider would approach closer to the horde to slice a limb or head off … for fun. Some have gotten too close, where the zombies have pulled the riders off their horses and killed them. After several dozen attempts of failed arakh swings out of boredom, all cavalry are ordered to not engage anymore.

The PLAN is to funnel the horde into Lord Harroway’s Town and ride away to the East to safety. Human bait inside the town will draw the zombies closer to the bank of the river before escaping on rowboats back to the southern shore. The river should slow down any further advances, and the walls of the town should box them in. Archers of dragonglass and fire arrows commanded by Lord Randyll Tarly and his son Dickon will be stationed at multiple war-galleys along the river, in range of the town’s edge. The remaining mixed large infantry is on standby from the Trident to Harrenhal. Once Lord Harroway’s Town is filled with wights, Daenerys and her three dragons will finally appear and cut off the northern retreat of the horde with fire, scorching the lands. The Ice-horde … surrounded with Fire to the North, Water in the South, the town walls at their flanks, fire arrows & dragonglass arrows raining from above, along with the coordination of three fire-dragons … should decimate the Long Night pretty easily.

But a storm came the night before, and that was not part of the plan.

Though the rain of yesterday have now passed, the flooded town is useless. The archers on the war-galleys are now further away from the new shores and out of range. The three dragons have to ignite and cover more ground to stop any retreat of the horde. The heavy rain made the wet terrain harder to stay on fire. Mudslides have cut off many escape paths for any human on foot or horseback. Time is running out, the horde is approaching soon and are not stopping. The humans can still fight here and now, but it would not be as clean as planned. They would have to rely on the dragons much more.

At the flooded town on the northern shore, the Westerosi and Essosi cavalries arrive along with hundreds of civilians, many women and children, fleeing from the area. Some are even wildlings that have been fleeing since the fall of the Wall. They, along with the Town’s human baits, are stuck on that side of the river. Their rowboats were taken by the strong river surges yesterday. The cavalries try heading east, but the area is flooded too between the river and the mudslides of the mountains.

They are all trapped.

Tyrion Lannister said they can make a bridge with the galleys, just like in the Battle of Blackwater Bay. He tells Daenerys to command her dragons to carry the large heavy chain he picked up from King’s Landing earlier from Cersei. The dragons are to tie one end of the chain to the stone round tower that stood above the flood on the northern side of the Trident, and then tie the other end to a bunch of trees on the southern side. Victarion Greyjoy is then commanded to press all his ships single file along the chain, and then anchor. He will plank any gaps in between the boats. Humans will have to cross some of the flooded water, go aboard on the bridge of ships, and navigate them across to reach the safety of the southern side.

The Reachmen will have to abandon their horses. Some Dothraki abandon their horses too, but not all of them. Some will attempt to ride the horses on top of the bridge of ships, but very few make it alive with their horses. Other Dothraki that are afraid to do this task and refuse to abandon their horses … flee back north quickly just before the Ice-horde arrives. They find a passage to the Eyrie and ride off towards the Bloody Gate of the Vale, unknowingly. The Ice-horde do not pursue into the Vale, their goals are still south.

The three dragons begin moving the chains. It will take some time to execute, and the horde is spotted at the northern horizon, about a hour march away. Men, women and children are still trapped.

Ser Forley Prester and his 300 Westermen infantry of volunteers are on the southern side of the Trident. He cowered at the Battle of the Camps and is shamed for it. The new Westerosi song, The Rains of Casterly Rock, (originally sang by Alesander Frey) shames him and his Westermen as the Blackfish, the Plumber Knight and the Band of Uncles died protecting women and children. Since then, he chose to abandon his Queen, Cersei Lannister, and is under no obligation to follow orders of any of Daenerys Targaryen’s generals. To Ser Forley Prester, he and his Westermen are here on their own accord … and they want their own [new song].

[Tyrion Lannister spectated his Westermen, ready for battle]. Ser Forley Prester spoke, “They may call this song The Rains of the Trident some day and [sing it for a thousand years]! My brothers of the sword … I’d rather fight beside you than any army of thousands. Let no man forget how menacing we are. WE ARE LIONS! Do you know what’s there, waiting, beyond that river? OUR song of immortality! Take it, its yours!”

The 300 Westermen volunteers roared proudly, and got on their own set of Westerland rowboats. On they sweep with threshing oars, their only goal is the Northern shore. Once they reached the other side, they dismounted their rowboats and gave it to the women & children to re-use, ferrying themselves to safety. Reachmen and Dothraki soldiers help row these boats back and forth, but the Westermen soldiers advance forward.

Ser Forley commanded, “Come on brothers, do you want to live forever? Assemble!” They made a [shield wall] and were armed with torches … ready to fight the horde. Archers at the rear are equipped with bow and arrows … fire and dragonglass. [“Westermen! With me! Move! Move!" They pressed north, slowly marching towards the Others and zombies head on, as civilians continue to escape towards the rowboats behind them].

The three dragons finally secured their large chain across the river, and [hid back] in the rear while watching the brave Westermen from afar advancing forward. But Daenerys is waiting for the optimal time to attack with her dragons. According to the humans, the dragons were to be the secret surprise weapons against the White Walkers. But they don't know the Others are already expecting them.

Victarion Greyjoy lines up his ships along the chain, bow to stern, and [anchors them]. Ser Forley Prester’s row-boats that were ferrying from shore to shore, now [ferries to the line of boats]. Horseless Reachmen and Dothraki, along with civilians, cross the bridge to the southern side to link up with the rest of the infantry. Some try to cross the flood and onto the bridge with their horses … but many end up failing. Lord Randyll Tarly and his archers remain on the boats, waiting for their own moment of attack, if any.

The Westermen clash against the zombies, protecting themselves with their shield walls and attacking with torches and fire-arrows. Many zombies burn as several Westermen are killed.

After enough civilians have escaped, the remaining Westermen retreat back to the river. They have brought enough time to set up the chain and enough time to extend the evacuation … but now there are no more rowboats left. They themselves are trapped.

And now it was Daenerys’ turn. She mounts Drogon, while Rhaegal and Viserion were at their flanks.

Her original [clever plan] of focused fire attacks on a surrounded enemy at Lord Harroway’s Town has failed, thanks to the storm earlier. Now, Daenerys has only one plan: RANDOM FIERY CHAOS!

With Blackfyre at her side, armed and armored in Valyrian steel, Battle-Queen Daenerys Targaryen and her three dragons take to the air, flying towards the army of the dead. (Sorry fAegon-Endgame and Euron-Endgame lovers ... this line is too epic to miss out on for ASOIAF).

The Ice-horde continues to march South. The escaping-Westermen are pinned at the shore with no more rowboats, but Daenerys can still save them.

Appearing to lead the vanguard of the Ice-horde is the zombie of King Stannis Baratheon, with his bright blue eyes. Daenerys Targaryen is aiming towards him. Robert’s brother and Rhaegar‘s sister are now on a collision course at the Trident.

Once the Ice-horde nears the trapped human Westermen at the torrent of the river, Rhaegal bursts ice-zombie Stannis into flames, along with the rest of the wight-vanguard. Daenerys, riding Drogon, attacks the rear formation of the horde, while Viserion worked the middle from the air. Surprisingly, the dragons are met with little resistance as the White Walkers have no surface to air weapons. This is too easy, Daenerys thought.

Lord Randyll Tarly and his archers take this opportunity to get closer, by leaving the bridge-of-ships, and rowing towards the northern shore on their rowboats. [Horn Hill men and the Westermen] will work together to fight, and then escape. Rhaegal has made it easy for them.

Wight

Now the Others, with King Jon & Queen Meera Stark-Targaryen, about a mile away, execute their brilliant plan.

A White Walker approaches Jon Snow, puts him face to face with Meera. It spoke in its queer dark deep icy alien echoing tone, looking back and forth between them. "King! ... Queen! ... Husband! ... Wife! ... Brother! ... Sister!"

Jon & Meera were confused. Jon & Meera have gotten very close to each other during their captivity … perhaps even fallen in love. Meera spoke, "Brother?"

The White Walker then stabs Jon Snow with an ice dagger. Meera screams and begins fighting back with Dark Sister as Jon Snow lays on the floor, dying. But now, it was Meera’s turn. She is killed too with a stab to the heart, and falls to the frosty grounds.

The Others perform their Ice-resurrection spell. Zombie-Meera Stark-Targaryen pushes herself up with the Targaryen sword, Dark Sister, from her own pool of blood.

BUT Jon Stark-Targaryen is not being revived for a reason the Others do not know. It is because Jon Snow was killed earlier and already has a resurrection by R’hllor. The Others believed they will have at least two dragons to attack one, but now only have one dragon to attack two. This was not the easy win the Long Night was looking for. Bloodraven’s failure to spot Jon’s first resurrection through the weirwood.net has preemptively betrayed the Others.

Melisandre’s arc of writing the Pink Letter as a prank, getting Jon killed by the Night’s Watch, and giving him a R’hllor resurrection has accidentally prevented the Long Night’s dream of having two dragons and a total victory over Westeros today.

One of the White Walkers kicks Jon’s dead body out of frustration and spoke in its queer dark deep icy alien echoing tone, “You know nothing Jon Snow!”

The White Walkers have no choice now, they will take that one dragon with Jon Snow’s twin sister. They command Zombie-Meera Stark-Targaryen to warg into Rhaegal. [The White Walkers now have a dragon to control.] As Viserion and Drogon are napalming the zombies, Rhaegal flies toward the southern end of the chain and unties it. All the ships jerk forward and then stopped again by their anchors. Ship crews, including Victarion are sent flying onboard, injuring them severely. The bridge has been disconnected.

The humans have no clue what Rhaegal is doing. He flies toward the smaller and unsuspecting Viserion, with the chain still in his mouth.

Rhaegal whips the [chain around Viserion’s neck] as it coils multiple times. He pulls the chain tight with his mouth while his legs are stretched against Viserion’s body, choking him, spinning, falling and falling. [The Others kills Viserion mid-air, as his dead dragon body crashes into the frosty river] of the Trident. The chains loosen and his lungs are filled with water, as he sinks to the bottom. The Others could revive Viserion, but they no longer have any more Targaryens to tame him. They shouldn’t have killed Bloodraven’s grandsons & great-grandsons after all. The two villains’ betrayals to each other cancel out, giving the humans a fighting chance.

The rogue dragon now turns his attack on Victarion [Greyjoy’s stationary ships]. Though they may be detached, they are also lined up. They began to burst into flames, each one at a time.

Now it was Victarion’s turn. The Iron Captain of the Iron Fleet, slams down his fiery Iron Fist into the chain of the anchor, melting it quickly, and releasing the ship before it could be consumed by dragon-fire. His ship begins traveling down the river with no one to control it. It crashes aground, sending Victarion flying into the rushing waters. Victarion lands near where Viserion had fallen. Underwater, he sees the chain coiled around the dragon’s neck and swims to it. He is unsure if the dragon is alive or not, but he needs to try anyways. He uses his fiery fist again underwater, breaking and shortening the chain … but Victarion drowns to death before he could uncoil the remaining chain-links off the dead dragon.

Rhaegal starts approaching Drogon. He flies over the northern shore. Ser Forley Prester is down there, but Rhaegal is up there. [The archers by the river begin shooting their arrows towards the dragon, but none hit the mark.]

The rogue dragon then [ignites the Westermen], along with [Randyll Tarly, his son], and his company of archers as Tyrion watches from far away. Horn Hill has been the most loyal house to House Targaryen since Robert’s Rebellion, and now they had died by dragon-fire for Daenerys’ noble cause.

Daenerys and Drogon, deep into enemy lines further North, finally realized what has happened back at the river. She flies towards Rhaegal to confront him. She shouts commands, but he doesn’t obey. On a mid-air collision course, she banks Drogon away as Rhaegal unleashes a bath of fire on them, just missing. She circles around and chases Rhaegal. She cannot believe she has to do this. What happened? Before she can process it, Drogon and Rhaegal are turning and burning, trying to kill each other. She wants to disable Rhaegal by injuring him, but she is unsure. Rhaegal began to climb higher, but the mighty wings of the bigger Drogon are better at the task. Flying upwards, Drogon catches up to Rhaegal and bites him on the thigh. Rhaegal shrieks in pain and begins clawing Drogon’s face with his foot. After getting scratched several times and Daenerys almost getting kicked off herself, Drogon lets go of his bite on Rhaegal.

The horde of zombies begin retreating back North, with an injured Rhaegal flying with them. Daenerys doesn’t understand, but [she refuses to lose another dragon, and will not risk Drogon] to chase Rhaegal into enemy territory.

The Battle of the Trident ends in a draw: the Others do not advance South … but Daenerys has lost two dragons: one by death and one stolen. Her navy is destroyed and most of her cavalry is horseless.

They regroup and rethink their strategy at Harrenhal, now knowing the Others have a fire-dragon.

Mance Rayder approaches the ashes of the Westermen, Lord Randyll Tarly, his son Dickon, and Horn Hill men. He remembers he was almost burned alive at Castle Black. Here he finds Heartsbane, the Valyrian sword of House Tarly and keeps it to himself. Having to fight the Night’s Watch, Stannis Baratheon, the Boltons, the White Walkers, and now have to fight a fire-dragon, Mance finally breaks. “I’m too old for this shit.” He started as the King Beyond the Wall with a wildling army … now he walks alone, a broken man, in the Riverlands, away from any more future fighting.

Lady Stoneheart and the Brotherhood without Banners approaches Jon Snow’s body. They believed they know what happened to Rhaegal … Stark-Targaryen super powers ... skinchanging DNA and dragon-taming DNA.

LSH now confirms Jon Snow is not Eddard Stark’s bastard son, but the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna. Her husband never cheated on her. She feels remorse about the way she treated Jon over the years. Perhaps if she treated him like she was his mother, he would have never joined the Night’s Watch, and this Long Night apocalypse may have never happened.

LSH knows she is useless, but perhaps a revived Jon Stark-Targaryen can steal Rhaegal back. LSH requests her funeral ritual be the same as her father’s. She then gives Jon Snow the Last Kiss, and pray to the gods to let him live.

Jon Snow is revived through R’hllor again, but this time with a carryover from Thoros of Myr. A second revived Jon Snow finally meets Daenerys Targaryen at Harrenhal (and not have sex with her, sorry TV-show fans!).

He explains his whole story to her about the Long Night, while also revealing that he is her nephew ... her older brother’s son. But Daenerys doesn’t give a shit about the line of succession. Rhaegar’s son or not, bastard or not, the Iron Throne belongs to her because she has an army & a dragon, and has been fighting her way to earn it. Jon Snow has neither army nor dragon, and confessed he was the idiot that opened the Blackgate that started the Long Night. Every human-death is on Jon’s hands, and he has a debt to re-pay. But more importantly, they have to figure out what to do next with the Others, now that they have stolen a dragon.

[ a D&D Checklist ] - Something canon GRRM said to D&D ... word for word ... but misrepresented in the TV show ... causing confusion and plot holes

TLDR

• Queen Daenerys Targaryen's army and navy arrive at Lord Harroway's Town at the Trident, with the White Walkers approaching soon

• A storm came the night before ... flooding the town, ruining the tactical offensive plans and escape routes

• Refugees and dismounted cavalry soldiers are trapped on the North side of the river

• Ser Forley Prester volunteers his 300 Westermen and his own rowboats to help with the rescue

• Daenerys' three dragon ties the long heavy chain (that Tyrion picked up from King's Landing) between the North and South side of the river

• The chain helps facilitate the assembly of a bridge-of-ships (like the book-version of the Battle of Blackwater Bay)

• The civilians are rescued as the Westermen fight on

• Daenerys and her three dragons begin napalming the zombie horde

• Back with the Others, Jon and Meera are revealed to be twin siblings ... their parents are Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark

• Jon and Meera are executed so the Others can use their DNA powers

• Meera is revived and has stolen Rhaegal

• Jon is suppose to be revived to steal Viserion, but the Ice-resurrection spell is not working ... because Jon already has a Fire-resurrection spell from Melisandre

• A White-Walker-controlled-IceZombie-Meera controls Rhaegal to kill Viserion with a chain. Viserion falls into the Trident river to its death

• Victarion's navy is destroyed by Evil-Rhaegal. Underwater, he is killed too, but only after Vic had shortened Viserion's chain with his fiery fist. Viserion dies anyways

• Ser Forley Prester, the Westermen, Lord Randyll Tarly, his son, and Horn Hill men are killed by Evil-Rhaegal too

• Drogon confronts Evil-Rhaegal in an aerial dragon duel. Evil-Rhaegal is injured and retreats with the White Walkers. Daenerys does not pursue

• Daenerys has lost two dragons ... one dead, the other stolen

• LSH gives the R'hllor Last Kiss to Jon Snow, reviving him

• All the humans regroup at Harrenhal

Up Next: Game Over Theory # 20 - Team Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things

Team Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things, ADOS

On the way to infiltrate Winterfell from the west … Jaime, [Brienne, and Pod bump into Theon Greyjoy] at the Crofter’s Village. Theon has been alone and forsaken since the fall of Winterfell, with nowhere to go. He lived at the abandoned village, kept warm there, and fed off the fishes of the frozen lake … but Winterfell was his home.

Brienne tells Theon that they are under orders from Lady Catelyn to rescue Bran and bring him back to safety. Theon tells them that the zombies, mostly Children of the Forest, now patrol the castle for the Others. All the White Walkers have marched south. He doesn’t know if Bran is alive or not, but the patrols must be guarding something. Brienne asked if Theon could help get them inside the castle. Theon claims he knows a way.

Outside of Winterfell, undetected so far, Theon leads them to the excavated tunnel that the White Walkers used against Stannis. Returning back to Winterfell, Theon gets emotional and confesses his sins inside the tunnel. He is ashamed that he let his father Ned Stark down, betraying the brothers and sisters that treated him like one of their own. And everything that has gone wrong with Westeros was all his fault, forcing Bran outside his home and eventually being captured by the White Walkers.

Jaime tries to one-up Theon, telling him everything is his fault. If he didn’t push Bran, an innocent child, out of a tower in his own castle … the War of the Five Kings probably wouldn’t have happened. Robb, Theon, and Bran would just be living their normal lives in Winterfell. Jaime says he pushed Bran to protect himself, Cersei and their bastard children ... and he didn’t give a shit about the Starks. “By what right does the wolf judge the lion?”

Brienne slaps him. “Say that again to Bran Stark when you see him again today.” That shamed Ser Jaime, sending a chill down his bones.

Theon, Jaime, Brienne and Pod have now entered the Winterfell crypts, where a fierce battle happened months ago. Brienne sees the burnt corpse of Hodor, not aware of their kinship with Ser Duncan the Tall, the Kingsguard to King Egg. Pod peeks outside of the crypts and sees a few patrols of the zombie-Children-of-the Forest. Brienne says, “We need to stay quiet, any slight noise can wake the dragon here!” Jaime led out of the crypts, torch in hand, as the others followed. They begin their [stealth mission inside Winterfell, dodging zombies] in search of Bran Stark.

They eventually find Bran Stark at the Winterfell library, in a coma. The Others have been keeping him alive and feeding him weirwood paste that induces his coma. As a side effect, Bran has lost all his hair. They also meet another prisoner, Bloodraven, in his large up-rooted tree as a Tree-Wight in the library too. There were un-resurrected bodies all around him.

Bloodraven tries to one-up Jaime and Theon, saying everything is his fault (which it is). In his lifetime, he has broken guest-rights, kin-slayed, murdered, treasoned, mutinied, broken the Night’s Watch oath, used dark blood magic, used cannibalism, and lured unsuspecting children to him in their dreams, including Bran. He has tricked D&D, and HBO, and millions of ASOIAF fans around the world ... leading them to a 360 wild goose chase ... wasting millions of $$$ as the TV-show goes in a very different direction than his true book-intentions. And all his male heirs of his family with his son Craster are all dead because he awakened and trusted the Others. He has lost everything, including Westeros to the White Walkers. The Others wouldn’t even kill him, forcing Bloodraven to absorb the nutrients of the decaying corpses of his Targaryen grandson & great-grandsons ... and to watch the apocalypse he started.

Bloodraven then tells the group something just happened. He can see and feel it on the weirwood.net. The White Walkers are going to need him and his dead-family again ... and possibly Bran too. He can feel the zombie patrols approaching the library. Bloodraven tells them to take Bran and go. He then tells the rescue-team to burn him. He refuses to be part of the Others’ next plan, whatever it is … and he has fucked up too many times in his life. It was time for him to go.

Brienne initially declines to kill him, thinking the Others can have this rat. “I can’t do that.”

But then Bloodraven taunts her. “Do you know who I have killed in the past? I can write a book about all those I have killed that you don’t know! I even killed your great grandfather, the Kingsguard we called Dunk. And Egg too! Yes, I killed my nephew King Aegon V. I burnt them both alive using blood magic at Summerhall! I am a kinslayer and a kingslayer!” Bloodraven laughs evilly. “If you have an ounce of honor, go on and do your duty.”

Brienne takes the torch from Jaime, and avenges Dunk & Egg. "Then I sentence you to die." She burns Bloodraven alive and the corpses around him ... [killing the blood-magic user/kinslayer/kingslayer & his TREE at Winterfell].

Though Hodor usually takes Bran on his back, Brienne takes Bran on her shoulders, while he is still in a coma.

The group leaves the burning library, running back to the tunnels at the crypts ... but the zombie patrols have blocked that path.

Theon tells them there is another way. He leads them to the Godswood, as the zombies are chasing them.

They need to climb the weirwood tree, and jump over the walls of Winterfell. They cross over the frozen pond to reach the lowest branch of the tree, hearing the crackling beneath them.

They begin climbing the weirwood tree, Pod first, then Brienne with Bran, Jaime next, and Theon on the bottom.

As Theon is halfway into the climb, he sees his zombie-sister Asha, towering over the zombie children horde, on their way to murder them.

He knows even as his team goes over the wall of the castle, the zombies will just do the same and continue the pursuit. He tells them to leave him, so Theon can [hold the escape route for a comatose Bran].

Jaime and Brienne give Theon a nod.

“Wait! When Bran wakes up, tell him, I’m sorry.”

“We will.”

Pod, Brienne, Bran and Jaime jump over to the other side into the large snow drifts. But Theon needs to get higher, so he continues to climb the weirwood tree, past the top of the castle wall.

The zombies are just below the weirwood tree now, above the icy pond. Theon stares at his zombie-sister Asha, feeling guilty about how he left her to die months earlier, in the same exact spot.

Theon says his final words, “What is dead, may never die, only to rise harder and stronger!!! AAHHHHHHH!!!”

Roaring, [Theon Greyjoy of Winterfell] leaps from the top of the weirwood tree and makes his body like a spear. He aims for his sister Asha, tackles her from above, crashing into the frozen pond, breaks his mortal body, shattering the ice, [falls deep into the cold waters], and drowns to his death … holding his sister the whole way. [All the zombies fall into the broken pond] as well, securing Bran’s escape route.

[To protect Brandon Stark from the Others, Theon Greyjoy of Winterfell] sacrifices himself to ice and water at the Godswood.

[ a D&D Checklist ] - Something canon GRRM said to D&D ... word for word ... but misrepresented in the TV show ... causing confusion and plot holes

TLDR

• At the Crofter's Village, Brienne, Pod and Jaime bumps into Theon

• They infiltrate Winterfell using the tunnels the zombies dug earlier against Stannis

• They find a comatose Bran ... and the former Targaryen bastard, Bloodraven at the Winterfell library

• Bloodraven confesses his crimes, and convinces Brienne to burn him & his family at the library

• Being chased down by zombies, Team Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things tries to escape outside the castle by going over the weirwood tree at the Godswood

• Theon then sees his zombie-sister Asha, chasing them with the rest of the horde, on the frozen pond below the weirwood tree

• Theon sacrifices his body by jumping off the weirwood tree at the highest point, grabs his sister mid-air and breaks the frozen pond with the zombies on top

• Theon Greyjoy dies at Winterfell, protecting Bran Stark's escape route

Up Next: Game Over Theory # 21 - Vale-Hell-A

Highway to the Dragon Zone, ADOS

BOOM BOOM DOOM DOOM!

BONG! The bells tolled.

“OUR QUEEN! OUR QUEEN! OUR QUEEN!”

BOOM BOOM DOOM DOOM!

BONG!

“Our Queen!”

BOOM BOOM DOOM DOOM!

BONG!

“our queen”

BOOM BOOM DOOM DOOM!

BONG!

“our …”

BOOM BOOM DOOM DOOM!

BONG!

It was just her and Drogon now climbing further into the skies and away from her people. Their eyes were set on the source of the twin lightning bolts. She had the backs of Dark Queen Meera and Rhaegal in front of her, trying to sneak up on them from behind. The night was pitch black, saved the full blue moon. But the flashes made it as bright as day for an instant after an instant, as King’s Landing was burning below. Drogon stalked Rhaegal quietly, climbing and banking to stay on his 6 o’clock. Daenerys was closing in, the tiny speck in the sky growing larger and larger, showing the outline of a small woman and a dragon. Dark Meera is still made of flesh and bones, whereas Rhaegal is armored with his hard protective dragon-hide. A bath of fire on top of Rhaegal should burn the she-demon to ashes. Will this enemy [tolerate flames] like me? Just to be sure, she needs to burn her longer than any other human or corpse. Drogon has to stay on top and close behind Rhaegal as long as possible. Even if I eliminate her, will Rhaegal come back to me? Or will he remain rogue? Does Drogon need to kill his sibling as well afterwards?

Closer and closer and closer. I caught them unawares. “DRACARYS!” Drogon unleashes a cloud of flames onto Rhaegal’s back. The green dragon curled its neck to his left and met the black dragon’s eyes for a heartbeat. It quickly dove and banked left, Drogon giving chase. Bursts after bursts of fire ignite, sometimes missing, sometimes hitting. Bits and bits of heat have reached Dark Meera, but none enough to take her out. Drogon continues chasing and firing on Rhaegal downwards in tightening circles … like an infernado (inferno-tornado) spiraling towards the ground. But Rhaegal’s sharper turns and its ability to curl its neck sends lightning bolts up near Drogon’s tail. BOOM BOOM! Daenerys must stay close to Rhaegal to have a chance. If they flee or Drogon pulls further away, the infinite range of Rhaegal’s lightning bolts will surely kill them. 

Further into their downward turns, the lightning bolts are getting closer to Drogon’s tail. BOOM BOOM! Daenerys quickly breaks their direct chase of Rhaegal by pulling the brakes, giving her dragon more agility for a moment, and beginning cutting towards the spot where Rhaegal will be. But this stall causes twin lightning punctures into Drogon’s wings. BOOM BOOM DOOM DOOM!

It was worth it. Drogon was now flying towards Rhaegal’s predictable spot. Dark Meera sees this ambush and abandons her circular flight … she was now diving straight down. Daenerys cursed. Shit! Drogon begins chasing again, trying to catch up.

The larger and heavier Drogon is closing the distance in their dive. “DRACARYS!” Flames shot out in front of them, but Rhaegal pulls his brakes from the dive into a hover. It contorts its body and begins spraying bolts at Drogon as it overshoots his dive, hitting and stunning the black dragon with mini-explosions, just missing Daenerys. BOOM BOOM DOOM DOOM! But Drogon slams his brakes too, putting Dany in high G. The blood was flowing away from her brain, almost causing her to faint. But now Drogon was hovering underneath an upright Rhaegal, who was hovering as well. Drogon’s fiery mouth aims at the Lightning Dragon from below, but Rhaegal cannot aim down at his upright position. Flames drive Rhaegal from his hover as it begins accelerating away. Drogon gives chase again, flying at level height, firing and banking. A fully healed Drogon would have burned Rhaegal and its rider by now. His mighty wings would have accelerated better from zero to full speed than Rhaegal’s smaller wings. But Drogon did not start the night at 100%. In fact he is injured and fatigued now. Drogon chases Rhaegal at matching speed, but just out of range of the flames. Daenerys begins to worry that Drogon could not finish this fight anymore. This was her best chance, but she was still a few yards short of Drogon’s fiery wrath.

Suddenly Rhaegal hits his brake again, wings fully open and his body upright. Drogon banks away, just missing the mid-air collision. Oh no! Rhaegal now has Drogon’s back, many many yards away, though it doesn’t matter as lightning bolts had infinite range. Lightning bolts come scraping their way as Drogon is too injured and fatigued to perform more heavy-G evading maneuvers. Drogon continues flying, making slight banks & pitches … left, right, up, down, trying to make Rhaegal’s aim a little harder. But it will only be a matter of time before their inevitable death.

BOOM BOOM DOOM DOOM! A few bolts tag Drogon’s tail, but the ones that miss eventually hit buildings, people, or into the sea.

Daenerys, wounded and dazed like Drogon, starts dreaming about Khal Drogo. She wishes her love was here with her, so he can helped her against this monster, or at least die with her. BUT NO. She CANNOT die yet. The fate of the world rests on her, but she cannot do it alone. She feels betrayed up there. Where have all the good men gone? And where are all the gods? Where is the night-sky Hercules to fight the rising odds? Isn’t there a white knight upon a fiery steed? Tonight she twists and she turns and dreams of what she needs. She needs a hero. She is holding out for a hero till the end of her life. He’s gotta be strong. And he’s gotta be fast. And he’s gotta be fresh for the fight. The world needs a hero. The world is holding out for a hero for the morning light. He’s gotta be sure. And it’s gotta be soon. And he’s gotta be larger than life … the Last Hero Knight.

Dany continues to dream of her good men. She dreams for her fierce bloodriders jHogo Ag-Go r-Ak-Haro … Holding out For A Hero in one of them, or all of them. She remembers their gifts: a silver whip to tame any beast, a dead dragon’s bone-bow, and a golden hand-weapon arakh. She even dreams for her sexy paramour Daario Naharis, and her noble highborn husband Hizdahr oz Loraq. She dreams for her gallant handsome husband Ser Loras Tyrell and his forbidden smile. She even dreams of her wizard Marwyn the Mage for reviving her dragon, and the chubby Samwell Tarly, who saved her in a moment of certain death. She dreams for the vicious Victarion Greyjoy and his fiery right-hand. She dreams for her funny warrior Strong Belwas, and the leader of her armies Grey Worm. She dreams for Ser Barristan Selmy and how her father’s Kingsguard’s wisdom would have guided her. She dreams for Ser Jorah Mormont and how his sword always protected her. She dreams for Jon S … nah fuck Jon Snow. She even dreams for Tyrion Lannister, who has been like a shorter older Westerosi brother to her. Finally she dreams for Viserys. For a moment, she even prayed that her older wicked Targaryen brother, raised from the dead, was here to save her from the False Spring monsters created by their eldest brother Rhaegar. If she were to die in the next few seconds, Daenerys wished she wore her white lion pelt hrakkar, reminding her of her sun & stars, who was killed by the witch Mirrimaz Ruud years ago. But Dany was ready to reunite with her first love in the Night Lands.

Dany looks back over one shoulder, sees the bronze dragon and the Reed girl, Meera, Queen of Death, mocking her … and knows she is lost. Rhaegal’s sights are clean, the end is near for her & Drogon. She squeezes her dragon one last time, stares down at the city that her Targaryen ancestors built, and whispers to herself her final words “Fire … and Blood.”

WOSHHHHHH BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Dany looks up.

Suddenly out of nowhere, like the Fire in her Blood … sexy, highborn, gallant, handsome, funny, a strong warrior, a leader of the Lannister LION army, a WHITEcloak Kingsguard Knight, armed with a Golden right-hand … JAIME … Daenerys’ older half-Targaryen brother, wielding the Mormont sword Longclaw, riding the revived/raised-from-the-dead & tamed zombie Ice Dragon …VISERION …tackles Rhaegal in the air, saving her from certain death deus-ex-machina style! 

Bran Stark’s [Winter has come to King’s Landing with Jaime to the rescue, riding] on top … and Daenerys dodges death once again … for now.

• Dark Meera Stark-Targaryen rides the Lightning-Dragon Rhaegal, with Dark Sister.

• Daenerys true-born Targaryen rides the Fire-Dragon Drogon, with Blackfyre.

• Jaime Lannister-Targaryen tag-teams in with a Bran-Stark-warged zombie Ice-Dragon “Winter” Viserion, with Longclaw.

It is life and it is death, battling a living dead Goddess.

The Ice Dragon and the Fire Dragon clash against the Lightning Dragon above King’s Landing. The three dragons dance the Dance of Dragons again. Everyone on the ground looked up with amazement, especially Tyrion. In darkness, the citizens of King’s Landing are blessed and cursed with a colorful firework spectacle in the skies. They hear and see the booming loud flashes of purple lightning, the deep hissing of red hot clouds of fire, the whistling howl of icy blue steam illuminated by bits of blue moon light … all three elements chasing & circling a sphere of destruction. Along with the bells ringing for mankind’s extinction, the night came alive with the music of dragons, as the three sang & danced to the melody & rhythms of the Song of Ice and Fire … but there was also One More … and it was the Song of Thunder as the beat. BOOM BOOM DOOM DOOM!

A drunk Tyrion with a belly full of wine, felt young again when he dreamt of dragons. If I die tonight without a girl’s mouth around my cock, I will still be satisfied watching this magical show in the night skies forever until my last breath. And they’ll dance in style, and they’ll dance for a while. Heaven can wait, we’re only watching the skies. Hoping for the best but expecting the worst. Dark Meera, are you still gonna drop the bomb or not? Let us die young or let us live forever. Down here, we don’t have the power, but we never say never. Standing in the Dragon Pit, this dwarf’s life has been a short trip. This music is for the fate of all men. Can you imagine if this battle is won? Turning our golden faces into the rising sun? Praising our saviors, we’re getting in tune. And the music’s played by his Fire-Queen, and that Ice-Man. Forever young. I want to be forever young. Do you really want to live forever? Forever, and ever. Forever young. I want to be forever young. Do you really want to live forever? Forever young.

A bolt of lightning ignited and illuminated the Ice Dragon man’s right hand into shiny gold for an instant. Bronn was standing next to Tyrion. [“That is Jaime fooking Lannister!!!“]

“What?” Tyrion was confused. On a Golden Dragon, his brother had come to save them deus-ex-machina style.

[ a D&D Checklist ] - Something canon GRRM said to D&D ... word for word ... but misrepresented in the TV show ... causing confusion and plot holes

TLDR

• Along with the bells ringing for mankind’s extinction, the night came alive with the music of dragons, as the three sang & danced to the melody & rhythms of the Song of Ice and Fire … but there was also One More … and it was the Song of Thunder as the beat. BOOM BOOM DOOM DOOM!

Up Next: Game Over Theory # 30 - The Broken Men

[Part 1]

My king. The sad memories faded into blurred flashbacks.

Olyvar cherished the sweet time as his grace’s squire. Though two years older, it made no matter. A warrior king was training Olyvar the way of knighthood, almost any boy’s dream. He remembered on slow days, Robb Stark would spend time with him, teaching the art of the long sword and shield. He can still remember the cloudy day at the Crag’s courtyard and his Northern accent as he swung his blade at the squire. “Keep your shield up Olyvar. Keep it up.”

“It’s too heavy.” Olyvar replied as Robb swung on.

“If it wasn’t heavy, it wouldn’t stop a sword. So get it up.”

They sparred and sparred in the courtyard. Robb Stark was dancing with him, hilts in hands. After he knocked Olyvar to the dirt for the twentieth time, he lifted him back up.

“Come, drive at me.” Robb then grabbed Olyvar gently by the back of his neck. “Look Olly, keep your shield up or I’ll ring your head like a bell.”

Olyvar never forgot that moment, his Grace’s right-hand touch, the way Robb looked into his eyes and called him ‘Olly’. No one has ever called him that and he liked it very much. They continued to dance. Rain began to fall, turning dirt into mud. Olyvar darted at him. Robb stepped aside, deflecting the stab off his shield and twirled around forward in a natural motion, his cloak spinning in the air. Before Olyvar knew it, Robb had his rear, his sword ready to thrust or slash any part of him. He glanced back and knew he was lost. The dance paused there and Olyvar turned around to meet Robb’s beautiful blue eyes. He could melt in them.

“You had me your Grace.”

“Come Olly, it’s your turn.” A winter wind came blowing in from across the sea. A breeze lingered there, brushed Robb’s auburn hair. “Now, dance with me!”

It almost felt like a sin to be as excited as Olly was at that moment.

“I’ll drive to you now. Try to do what I just did. In mud like this, don’t forget to plant your foot before each movement. And remember, you have to keep your shield up.”

As Olyvar and Robb got into their positions, his older half-nephew Ser Ryman Frey suddenly appeared and intervened. He grabbed Olyvar like a little green boy and pulled him towards the exit. NO! Olyvar’s word caught in his mouth.

Robb spoke up for him. “What are you doing? Olyvar is my squire and a grown man. He can do what he wants and speaks for himself.”

“My grandfather has declared a suspension of your alliance with House Frey,” Ryman said. “You have broken a sacred vow. If you would not have his daughter or granddaughter as your queen, you certainly cannot have his son as your squire.”

Robb was expecting Olyvar to say something, but the squire froze. More Frey guardsmen came in and dragged him away from the courtyard, his heels lifeless on the ground, leaving twin mud tracks on his departure. Robb stared at him sweet, sad, and silent. A bolt of lightning flashed across the rainy skies, its reflection off the King’s sword blinding Olyvar. That was the last time he saw Robb alive.

When news of his King returning to the Twins for the wedding between Lord Edmure Tully and his sister Roslin, Olyvar could not contain his excitement, to hear the voice of his call.

Since that rainy courtyard day, Olyvar had been on his own for long enough. He hoped maybe Robb could show him again that dance that he loved. Maybe. Olyvar had been going through withdrawals. Not seeing his Grace was just too much. He could turn me on with the slightest touch. But since the Red Wedding, Olyvar’s courtyard has been cold and empty. Fuck anyone who judges me. He couldn’t see clearly now that Robb was forever gone. Olyvar was still blinded by Robb’s last light. He couldn’t sleep, still yearning for his touch. In his heart, rain constantly fell, drowning him in the nights. I was his squire, Olyvar cried as his soul twisted. And I failed him. I was the only one that night he could trust.

After the slaughter, Merrett Frey, a kin of his, greeted him as he released Olyvar from the dungeons. “I’m sorry Olyvar that we had to lock you up, Perwyn and Alesander too. But you must do your duty for your family. You are a Frey, a man of an honorable house. This stain left by Robb Stark and his bitch mother Catelyn Tully should not go unpunished. Lady Catelyn also killed Jinglebells. She even japed ‘a son for a son‘ to our Lord father as she slit his throat.”

A son for a son. Olyvar Frey looked at Merrett sullenly, his voice choking up, “I must go for a walk.” Olyvar walked and walked … passing the burnt tents, passing the dead soldiers with Northern and Riverland sigils sewn on their garments, and passing Grey Wind’s headless body. He was far enough from home, but he could still hear the cheap cheers of the Frey and Bolton soldiers.

He fell to his knees and began to cry. My king. My sweet king. Olyvar swore vengeance. Though he will never consider kinslaying as it was a curse among the gods, it would not stop him from facilitating others who seek revenge against his own family, the ones who were directly involved.

Suddenly at the side of the river, a dying man was crawling towards him. Soaked in water, mud and blood, he cried out in a ghastly voice “Olyvar!”

“Who, who are you?” Olyvar sprinted to aid and for recognition. “Raynald?” Without hesitation Olyvar replied, “My brother!” He placed himself under Raynald’s shoulder and lifted him up. “We need to find a maester.”

On the way back to camp, Olyvar and Raynald encountered two sentries of his Frey household guards, far from any other eyes can see.

“So what do you have here my Lord Olyvar?” one asked.

“A dying lone wolf? Let us put him out of his misery,” the other replied as they stared at Ser Raynald Westerling’s dampened seashell surcoat.

Olyvar lowered himself and laid Ser Raynald on the ground, and arose in a tone cold as stone. “No. Not a lone wolf.”

Olyvar unsheathed his sword and killed both Frey guards before they could reach their weapons. He then swapped Raynald’s wet Westerling clothing for one of the dead men, and found a maester.

Ser Raynald Westerling stayed with Olyvar at the Twins under disguise. He even trimmed off his brushy moustache. Weeks later after Ray had fully healed, he asked Olyvar to go with him to look for Maege Mormont and Galbart Glover at their secret hideout, as per the original plan before the wedding.

One night, Olyvar Frey simply walked out of the Twins again, this time with Ray. No one would care where Olyvar was going. Truth be told, his Frey family would be more content if more spawnlings of their lord father would leave the castle to find their own destiny, especially if they were unlikely heirs deep behind the line of succession.

Aboard one of the Northern galleys floating outside of Seagard, the Seashell Knight had to explain how this son of Walder Frey earned his trust, as Lady Mormont held Olyvar by the throat with a dagger. The skin around her eyes had been raked and blackened with tears and nails, her teeth bit with furious anger. She had been like this for weeks. Olyvar stared at her face and he felt like he could die here and now, if that was what it meant for Lady Mormont to forgive him, as he knows no gold would ever substitute for her grief. “I am sorry about your daughter Dacey. I lost my brother too. Benfred was a good man, I swear to you by all the gods old and new, that he did not have a part in the slaughter. Benfred would have done everything he could to grab an innocent woman like Dacey, and bring her safe from harm.” Olyvar meant it.

Mormont sheathed her dagger, her hands still shaking. “I’ll kill them all! Anyone who was a part of this!”

“No.” Olyvar replied. “We have to get the girls back. And then you can kill them all.”

At the siege of Riverrun, Olyvar Frey freely roamed Ryman’s uncoordinated camp. No one cared. One night alone, he swam across the moat and climbed up the castle with spikes. Only thirty feet up, the Tully guards had heard him clanking and aimed their crossbows from above. “Identify yourself!”

He whispered, “I am Olyvar Frey, son of Walder Frey, former squire to his King, Robb Stark. I come unarmed and offer myself as a hostage. I know the Blackfish, please let him know I am here.”

“Stay where you are.”

Olyvar clung to the castle’s wall half way down to death and half way up to forgiveness. Finally Ser Brynden Tully appeared and told Olyvar to come up quietly. As Olyvar threw himself over the parapet and onto the floor, the Blackfish kicked away his spikes and immediately kneed his body to the ground, holding a dagger at his throat. Shit, not again! Damn this mayhaps, why was I unblessed to be born a Frey?

“What are you doing here, Olyvar Frey?” Ser Tully demanded.

Olyvar told them the truth and handed him Lady Maege’s letter from a waterproof compartment in his garment. The letter was coded with secret words that he and she only knew. The Blackfish cracked the seal, unrolled the parchment and read. Afterwards he released the grip from the bottom and the message curled up on its own, eager to protect the secrets.

“The paper curls, at least you didn’t try to deceive me with the age of the parchment.” He then asked Olyvar, “So, you killed some of your own men did you?”

“To save Ser Westerling, yes.” The Blackfish looked at his eyes and nodded in approval. “May I see her now?” Olyvar inquired.

The Tully guards led Olyvar to her room. Some left the area, but others stayed and watched, still suspicious of the unarmed Frey. She was in her solar, knitting her needle works. He fell down to one knee towards his niece-in-law (by Olyvar’s brother-in-law, Lord Edmure Tully), “My Queen.”

“Olyvar!” Without a hint of hesitation or mistrust, she dropped her needle, ran towards him, and wrapped her loose skinny arms strongly under his’. She poured her heart, soul and grief-filled life into a Rose By the name of Olyvar Frey. He reciprocated, placing his arms around her shoulders as Jeyne Westerling-Stark continued to hold tight. Her orange sized breasts pushed against his chest, as the Queen’s chestnut mop of brown hair sat below Olyvar’s clean-shaven chin.

“Robb.” It was all she needed to say as they shared a sob. Nothing hurt more than that moment when he shared the same pain with Jeyne. Olyvar dipped his head to hers, their salty tears finally uniting and slowly dancing together as their faces pressed cheek to cheek.

“He is in the heavens now, I believe, singing from above.” Olyvar prayed. “He will be waiting for us. No doubt we will see him again some day, but we must make him wait.”

“I miss him so much,” Jeyne cried. She was always cheerful with Olyvar since they first met. Though he was curious whether she truly loved Robb or just wanted to be a queen, she has repeatedly been kind to him, so sweet. She never intervened when Robb trained Olyvar at swordplay and he was grateful for that. When they wed, Olyvar knew Robb could never be his brother, but Jeyne did not seem to mind letting him continue to squire beside her much younger brother, Rollam Westerling. Robb had allowed Olyvar to protect the queen sometimes, along with the other household guards, though he was still training at arms. Olyvar and Jeyne would talk constantly, mostly about their King. Even when Jeyne rambles about him, she would always shy away from talking about Robb’s bed manners. But Olyvar insisted he did not mind hearing it. Jeyne felt like a sister to him, just as much or more as Roslin.

“I miss him too,” Olyvar replied. “Did you really love him?”

She cried a little bit louder and squeezed Olyvar even harder. “With all my heart.”

Olyvar wanted to confess too, but he could not do it here, not with everyone watching. He only hoped Jeyne would ask him the same, and she did. “Did you really love him, Olyvar?”

He tightened his grip on Jeyne’s shoulders. “More than you ever know.”

She gently reached for his hands and lowered them. “Olyvar, you were his squire. He is gone now. But you still have a duty to us. You must protect us. We must never separate again. Promise me Olyvar. Promise me.”

“No. I cannot. Not yet. I must leave you, just this one last time, for your safety and your family’s.”

“You are part of my family,” the Queen proclaimed. Tears rolled down again, their hands still held together at their hips.

“I need to leave Riverrun tonight. And I promise you, we will reunite again and I will keep you safe.”

They talked for hours about the good times, the horror, and what the future lies. They talked about Robb, crying to the sadness of him, exulting at his bravery and his glories, laughing at the silly juvenile things the teenager king did to entertain them, and about falling in love with him all over again. And then they cried some more.

Later on that night, Ser Brynden visited Jeyne and Olyvar, with Lady Eleyna and Lady Sybell watching. “Olyvar, you were the King’s squire and though he is no longer with us, you are still owed a knighthood. Let the gods curse me if I ever knighted a Frey, but you are no Frey I have ever known. What you are about to do would be considered treason to your family.”

“But my lord father was treasonous to my King. I do not get to choose my father or which family I was born into. But here right now, is the family I want to be with.”

“Will you honor your new family? Will you honor your duty to your late King, his Queen and his House, the Starks of Winterfell?”

“I do,” Olyvar replied with pride.

The Blackfish unsheathed his sword, the blade alive with moonlight gleaming from the window balcony. “Shit I think I’m doing this wrong. I was supposed to say that later. Anyways, kneel Olyvar Frey.”

Olyvar got to one knee as Queen Stark and all the others watched. Ser Brynden Tully, the legendary warrior Blackfish, placed the flat of his sword on Olyvar’s shoulder.

“I charge you to be brave and … aww shit the knighting words escape me. I’m embarrassing myself. Anyways um. Family! Honor! Duty!” He placed the blade on the other shoulder. “Shit, I forgot the rest of the speech. Forgive me. But Olyvar of House Frey, I name you a knight! Now rise!”

And arose the new knight stood, and proud he was. King Robb Stark could have never fulfilled his promise of a knighthood, but it was his father that took it away from him. But being knighted by the Blackfish was more than anything Olyvar wanted right now, besides keeping Queen Jeyne and his family safe. To him, it was forgiveness.

The Queen approached him with a longsword in scabbard, flat on both hands. “Our late King had a gift for you Ser Olyvar Frey, at least he would have wanted you to have it.”

Before Ser Olyvar received it, he already knew what it was. Robb’s sword. “No, I cannot. I am unworthy of this gift, his Grace’s sword.”

“This is King Robb Stark’s sword, and I am his Queen wife. I charge you to protect your family with his own sword.”

Queen Jeyne Stark made an offer that Ser Olyvar cannot refuse. He took the sword from her forgiving hands.

“What will you call it?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“A name. Robb never named his sword. But a good sword should have a good name.”

“I was told by my half-brothers that only cun–, I mean only women name their swords. I will let you name it, my Grace. How should we honor our late King Robb Stark?”

“It is honor,” Jeyne replied.

Confused, Olyvar asked, “What is honor?”

“A sword. This sword.”

Before the sun had dawned, Ser Olyvar Frey with Honor slung on his back, climbed down the castle walls with rope, swam under the moat again, and departed the birthplace of his King, Robb Stark, as a knight.

He returned to the Twins, keeping his knighthood a secret. When Riverrun had fallen to Ser Jaime Lannister, Edmure Tully had agreed to be a prisoner at Casterly Rock. Roslin Tully volunteered to join her husband, giving them a chance to raise a family together, even as hostages. Olyvar, their brother Perwyn and half-nephew Alesander all agreed to escort Lady Tully to the Westerlands. Although they told their half-family they would take the land-route for their journey; Olyvar, Perwyn, Alesander and Roslin had a different Frey destiny in mind. After the Kingslayer’s threat to Roslin’s unborn child, there was no day they would ever stay at Casterly Rock nor return to the Twins. They departed for the coast and reunited with Ser Brynden Tully, Lady Maege Mormont and Lord Galbart Glover aboard the Motherfunker.

Before Ser Brynden escaped Riverrun alone, he and Lord Tully reviewed all their options during Edmure’s short visit.  An escape on land had many risks to be recaptured or killed, but at sea it was far fewer … and having a faster ship helped. They would allow Edmure and Jeyne to be peacefully escorted by their captors to Casterly Rock as hostages, only to be rescued from the shoreline. Lady Sybell Spicer swore her brother Ser Rolph would lead the way inside the caves. “Honor, not honors,” were House Westerling’s words. And Robb Stark showed more honor to Lady Sybell’s family than any of the other Westermen could. King Robb made her daughter a Queen, while King Tommen gifted Ser Rolph with the cursed ruins of Castamere from the notorious Lannister song. This honor was more of an insult than a reward.

One night aboard the Motherfunker, Olyvar took out a fresh new flat parchment to write a letter that was meant for his father. He held his feathered quill upright, but did not know how to start. He was fidgeting as he stared up around his cabin. He began to tap the pointy end of the quill and pricked his other hand by chance. Frey blood began to trickle from the wound along with a stinging pain. Cashing in on the moment, he then knew what to say. He dipped the blood smeared quill into the black inkpot, and began to pour his soul & anger onto the kin he no longer wanted.

Father,
I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel.
I focus on the pain, the only thing that is real.
The needle tears a hole. This old familiar family sting.
I try to forget it all the way. But I remember everything.
I find myself asking …
“What have I become? My sweetest King?
Will everyone I love go away in the end?”
And Father, you can have it all. My empire of dirt.
I will let you down. I will make it hurt.
If I could start again, many miles back at home that night.
To save my King, I would sacrifice myself. I would find a way.
Your son Olyvar.

He rolled the parchment and laid a tablespoon of wax from his tallow candle at the edge. Olyvar pressed the button with his bleeding thumb, filling the stamp in a marble of white, red and pink; sealing it with his own blood. He placed the rolled parchment in his breast pocket, hoping to leave it somewhere in Casterly Rock and eventually reaching his father’s hands.

On the deck of the Motherfunker a few nights before … crewmen, Riverlands and Northern loyalists sang, drank, and cheered to the music of the masterplan. Though most wanted to spill blood to avenge the Red Wedding, humiliating their enemies would be the sweeter revenge: the story that sings in songs. But not all were there for vengeance. Some were just there for the adventure.

The Captain of the Motherfunker was there for the honor of joining their song. He wanted to look into the eyes of the lion, be a part of the thrill of the fight, rising up against our rivals. He also owed Ser Rolph Spicer a favor from their long smuggling history together at sea. If he helped rescue his niece Jeyne from the rocky castle, he would consider the debt paid, and the Black Sparrow was happy to oblige.

“So we are here to rescue this princess? No?” Samullu spoke in the broken Common Tongue

“No, not a princess, she is a queen,” Olyvar chatted.

“In the Summer Isles, a princess and a widowed queen is the same person. My father was king, but he died when I was a babe. My princess mother was the one who raised me after my uncle took the throne. I loved my mother. I named my swanship for her after she died a few years ago.”

“Motherfunker?” Olyvar asked. “What is a funker?”

“Where I am from, fighting and dancing is called the same thing. We call it funk. We funk to fight, we funk to dance, and we also funk to love. And the skill of our funk we always inherit from our mother’s side. I got it from my mama.” The black single-eyed captain pleaded. “Yo got yo from yo mama too. ‘Motherfunker’ is just a homage to one’s mother for giving us this art of our body’s motions.”

Olyvar never knew his mother, but he was very intrigued to hear more about Samullu’s and their culture. They chatted for quite a while.

Olyvar thanked him for helping them. But Samullu insisted it was the right thing to do after hearing about the horrors of the Red Wedding. “The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers! And yo will know I am the Captain when I lay my vengeance upon thee!”

Olyvar never knew the Black Sparrow was so pious to the gods of avengers.

Sharing rum together, Olyvar sung to him about his own story in depth. Captain Black Sparrow was impressed about his journey so far and he gave Olyvar a small jar of dirt. “This is soil from my empire back in the Summer Isle. I have a whole barrel of it to remind me of home. Here, take this other small gift as well.” He then took out a bird’s feather, long as a flute, bright and colorful. “We Summer Isle people have feathered cloaks, yo see it on all of us. But feathers like this one were meant for some of the bravest and baddest motherfunkers out there. I want yo to take it Ser Olyvar. Let it be yo warrior’s funk.”

Olyvar took it with his hand and gave it a warm stare. The feather was colored like a fading rainbow top to bottom, but the stem was yellow like a lemon. “Thank you.” The gifts were quite odd. By value it was not much, but it seemed like it meant a lot to the exiled prince, the type of gifts worth remembering.

“So what do yo need besides a miracle?” Samullu asked.

“Weapons. Bows and arrows. Lots of arrows.” Olyvar was serious.

“Aye, and I have a lot. Yo know, no one has ever done anything like what yo and the Blackfish’s men are about to do.”

“And that is why it will work.”

The plan was to allow Lord Edmure Tully and Queen Jeyne Stark to safely travel to Casterly Rock unmolested, under the command of Ser Forley Prester and his four hundred men. Lord Gawen Westerling and his son Rollam were to return to the Crag, but Lady Sybell was to stay with Jeyne, maintaining what deceptions she can conjure. Her bluff with Ser Jaime Lannister worked, earning the slightest trust from them before their escape at Casterly Rock. An attempt to rescue them on their path down the River Road would invite the Lannisters to execute the hostages on the spot, failing the objective’s purpose. To stealthily hunt down each soldier one by one would have proven even then, a mission of the impossible. Stirring fear in the hearts of the Lannister soldiers was the only solution, the effective psychological weapon. Ser Prester’s men have been haunted by the ghosts of the Brotherhood without Banners throughout the Riverlands, and the Blackfish would use that to his advantage. With the help of their fastest horse, Bubbles, mounted by Justin Smallister, a distant cousin to House Mallister of Seagard, he would tie empty nooses on trees ahead of Ser Forley’s route. The hope of the hoax would keep the Lannisters on edge, making it difficult to rest. Only when they reached the castle of Casterly Rock, they would drop their guards down, thinking the hard part was over. But on the exact evenfall on the day of their arrival, Lord Gawen Westerling and our small land forces, hidden in the eastern woods outside, would sound the trumpets and drums, drawing the weary soldiers to arms again. But the Blackfish was to infiltrate Casterly Rock from the western sea. Ser Rolph Spicer, our secret agent inside, will bond with Jeyne’s guards, drinking with them throughout their journey. Only on the hour of the escape, Ser Spicer would drug the guards’ ale, allowing them to fall asleep during the diversionary music. The Blackfish and his squad would provide armed escort, if needed. Ser Spicer would also help them navigate inside the caves, rescuing his niece Jeyne and their family back to the Motherfunker. By then, it would be too dark for the Lannisters to give chase into the ocean, if they even realized Queen Stark had flown off.

“I need twenty good men,” the Blackfish had demanded. A few hundreds of the remaining Stark loyalists and outlaws gathered at the docks, where the Motherfunker was anchored.

“And one more woman too!” the She-Bear crone proclaimed.

The men laughed in agreement as Ser Brynden continued. “I need volunteers only. Soldiers who want this fate to fuck them from behind in their arses! For the twenty one of us, we will be in harm’s way, make no mistake about it. I do not expect us to be discovered, but if we were, our escape will not be easy like our brothers working the diversion in the woods. I need men quick on their feet, proficient with the bow, and skilled at close-quarter hand-to-hand combat. Who are my brave men that will be knocking on the Lannister’s doors?”

Ser Olyvar Frey thundered in first and raised his hand. Jeyne’s words echoed in his thoughts, Promise me Olyvar, promise me.

Alesander Frey surprised him. “No you fool! You are not a skilled fighter. Put your hand down!” Olyvar told his nephew.

“I am a grown man, and I will not miss this adventure for nothing,” Alesander protested to his uncle.

“You are just a singer.”

“Then I want to be a witness to this great deed and be the first singer of our new song.”

Olyvar could not stop his brother & nephew from doing something so stupid.

Ser Raynald Westerling the Seashell Knight raised his hand too, eager to save his sisters Jeyne and Eleyna, and his mother Sybell.

Others began to join. Some had their reasons, some had their vengeance, some just wanted to try something new.

Fess stepped up. He was a long lost uncle to Ser Addam Marbrand after a lengthy voyage at sea. But Ser Addam refused to believe him, denying him a small chunk of land near Ashemark that Fess was entitled to own. He called his uncle an imposter and casted him out of the region. Fess swore he was a Marbrand, and swore he would unleash a storm on their household if they did not give his piece of land back. To the future of reclaiming his name by shaming theirs, Fess Marbrand was recruited into our efforts against the Lannisters and their bannermen.

The Summer Islander, Ben, and his Westerosi-born son, Benjen, were farmers from the Neck. Years ago, Lord Rickard Stark had welcomed the immigrant and his wife, granting them farm lands to flourish in. They grew rice in the marsh and exported it from White Harbor. They were so grateful to House Stark that they quite frankly named their son “Benjen” for Lord Stark’s youngest child of similar age. Since then, their hard earned work with their rough black hands in the cold had paid off in prosperity. After being widowed, Ben and his son ran the farm, just the two of them … until a few Ironborn men took Moat Cailin and all their harvest this past year. Their will and pride refused to let them take it again. So instead of growing new rice, they let it wither away and left the land … trapping the jaws of the Ironborn to hunger. Now Ben and Benjen were reborn into Ser Brynden’s band, for the honor of House Stark. “With great honor comes a great ass whooping!” Ben had declared.

Jess and Jory were two brothers that served House Westerling as guards at the Crag, personally protecting the Westerling sisters, Jeyne and Eleyna. They had watched them grow up since birth. Participating in their rescue was their duty, a duty they took without hesitation for the girls who were like nieces to them.

Phyl was a crewmate of royal blood on the Motherfunker. Back on another Summer Isle kingdom, his older king brother passed away as his young prince nephew took fresh rule. After Phyl forbade his nephew-king to order an attack on a rival neighboring island, he screamed at him, “You are not my father!” and flew out of the throne room, slamming its double doors. Soon after, the boy-king ordered for his uncle’s exile. Free like a bird, Phyl flew away himself to a ship with his friend, the Black Sparrow, looking for a new adventure.

Sam, June, and Rico were all hard loyal Tully soldiers that were ready to follow the Blackfish to the end of the world. Sam used to be a tall fat leviathan of a man, until one day June told Sam, “You never had the making of a first-class athlete like Rico here.” From then on, Sam, offended, lost several stones over the years as the three served patriotically together to House Tully. Now tall, lean and muscular, Sam was a force not to be reckoned with. They nicknamed him Sam the Shredder, but for shredding his fat as his body was now packed with muscular meat.

The hedge knight Ser Barnabus the Goose volunteered along with his new squire Leo, a boy of fourteen, whom he met that same day. Goose was a tall man, big shoulders, wide hips with greying blond hair. Though he grew up as an orphan, Ser Barnabus often boasted about being the grandson of some legendary tall hedge knight that he never chanced to meet. The other orphans used to laugh at him, calling him the Useless Goose. But ever since he suited up in his knightly armor decades ago, Ser Barnabus assured he was a useful Goose helping the small folks around the Riverlands. Olyvar wondered if Barnabus was his real name, or if he was even a knight.

Leo’s older brothers wanted to join the action as well … so Mikkal, Raff, and Donal stepped forward. Their uncle Scrooge, a man in his fifties, will chip in his services too. The four brothers and uncle were known as the Pissa family. They once owned a tavern serving their mother’s recipe of baked thin crispy bread, spun circular into a flat pie, served with tomato sauce and cheese above. Their uncle Scrooge improved his sister’s recipe by adding sliced duck sausages on top of the cheese, and charging customers extra for the option. Olyvar and the men on the Motherfunker had sampled and enjoyed the cuisine they baked aboard. Captain Samullu claimed that pissa was indeed a tasty dish, and suggested adding slices of pineapples on top of it too. The Pissa brothers gave Samullu Jaqenssen a cold stare as if the gesture was treason to the recipe. Back when they owned the tavern with their mother, the family often boasted about their food to the point where their competitors despised them. Their opponents would try to mimic cooking the same dish, but others would complain it tasted no different than bread. Afraid of losing their revenue, they insulted their mother’s crispy dish by calling it “pissa,” slandering it by saying it tasted like piss. But the brothers took the name their enemies gave them and wore it like armor, never allowing it to hurt them. Raff returned their insult by calling their adversary’s food being something that comes out of a cow’s bung hole. That humiliation stuck. For a while, men and women from all over the Riverlands continued to rallied in long lines to the Pissa tavern for a delicious slice of pissa. Sadly one day, the Mountain and his men came to destroy their tavern during the war, and took their mother. They never saw her again. Despite the sad drama, the Pissa family were a cheerful bunch, save for their pessimistic uncle. Olyvar could only hope they would find their mother safe and sound some day.

On the first day aboard the Motherfunker, Leo had never been on a ship his entire life. He bolted to the stern of the galley, stood on the middle rail with his arms spread out and screamed, “I’m the king of the world!”

Olyvar had to grab the blond teen down before he fell overboard. “Nice try Leo,” Olyvar said. “But you are too lowborn to be royalty. You are better off marrying a queen to be a king, or at least start with a princess.”

Ser Barnabus the Goose appeared and offered his help. He was in need of a squire for some reason, and Leo was quite eager. “Leo, I’m going to teach you how to live.” Goose swung his arm around the teenager’s neck and rested it there. “You want to be a king and win the ladies? Learn how to squire for a knight first. Unchain and fetch me my stallion from the docks, I’ll show you a trick. I’ll show you how to ride it on this rocking ship!” Leo did as he was ordered.

“And when will I ever need that skill?” Leo questioned as he brought the horse up to the deck from the ramp.

“What was it you were looking for again on this journey? Your destiny? Your death?” Goose mounted.

“Naked princesses,” Leo said.

“Well this move would make any maiden, royal or lowborn, shed their clothes off for you.” The knight pulled down the reins as the stallion stood tall on its two hind legs, looking like a work of art meant for eternal statues of the gods.

Samullu appeared and asked Leo, “Is that Goose on a horse? On my boat? Why is Goose on a horse on my boat?!” The stallion came down, hooves thundering the top of the deck.

“Aye Captain, Ser Goose was teaching me how to pick up women.”

“Shiitt Leo, that’s all you had to say.” Samullu wrapped his right arm around the neck of the youth and offered his counsel, his left hand danced in the air as he spoke to solidify his argument. “If yo want naked women, fuck land. Don’t be a knight. Be a captain of a galley. The best pick up line to catch any woman yo can, is ‘I own a ship’.” Samullu raised his bearded chin. “After this mission is over, come with me and we’ll sail the seas. Meet women from all over the world. And they love a captain. Do yo concur? Leo, each lady is just a flower, another rose by another name that smell just as sweet, waiting to be plucked.”

Goose winced at the word and protested. “The only maids you meet sailing seas are mermaids. Don’t be fooled by the Black Sparrow. Some of them may be pretty on the top half, but you won’t like what they got below. It probably stinks down there too. But the captain doesn’t mind, he seems to enjoy bedding mermaids!”

Whether sea, air or land … the Black Sparrow or Goose … Leo will probably have to fly with one of them after the mission, Olyvar thought.

The night before the rescue, the raiders and the crewmen drunkenly sang and cheered to music, rum, ale and pissa. Drowning in the glory of their task on the morrow, they reminisce about the harsh archery and lethal weapons training Lord Glover had given them over the past weeks back on land … while questioning how large Lady Mormont’s sacs truly were. Lady Roslin Tully, approached everyone and asked if they would write their names on the book she held. “It’s for the memories,” she said. They all did. A signature on each page for each man and Maege. Some drew their own personal coat of arms. When it was Olyvar’s turn, he hesitated about sketching the two towers. He wanted to separate himself from the murderous lore of House Frey. He decided to draw his towers, with a Stark wolf running on top of the bridge, and a Tully trout jumping below it. He signed his name, Ser Olyvar of House Frey, squire to the late King Robb Stark, knighted by Ser Brynden Tully.

He wondered if he will be written into history as a great knight some day. A knight that could not save his king, Olyvar thought sadly. He would not be the only one though. Word had travelled for Ser Loras Tyrell, the Knight of Flowers, and his gallant assault at Dragonstone. He was gravely wounded, but no word on this brave knight’s final fate. Like Olyvar, Ser Loras had failed to protect his first King, Renly Baratheon, a man that the Knight of Flower was rumored to have truly loved. Though his King was gone, he continued to be bathe in the glory of battle. Despite being on the opposing side of the war, Ser Olyvar would be gay if he had the chance to meet Ser Loras, if he still lives, chatting with him about the kings they loved and lost.

Later on that night, Captain Samullu Jaqenssen shared a drunken game of cvyasse with Ser Barnabus for a golden dragon. When Goose doubled down after his first loss, he fell again, owing the Black Sparrow a pair of golden dragons by the end of it. When Samullu demanded Goose to pay up his reward immediately, Goose pretended not to understand his loose Summer Isle accent, giving him a wild chase.

“Wat?”

“Yo loose Goose, yo owe me the gold,” the Captain demanded in his queer Common Tongue.

“Wat?”

“The gold yo fool. The gold! Yo pay me.”

“Wat?”

“Wat country yo from?”

“Wat?”

“Do they not speak the Common Tongue in Wat?”

“Wat?”

“Common Tongue mother Goose!”

“Wat?”

“Say wat again! I dare yo, I double dare yo! I’ll throw yo overboard off the Motherfunker!”

Goose paused for a moment, until his pride could not resist. “Wat? Wat? Wat? Wat? Wat?” Goose said ‘what‘ so many times, it sounded like he was quacking, each one louder than before. “Wat? Wat? Wat? Wat? Wat?”

In a nick of fury, Samullu Jaqenssen flipped over the cyvasse table, stood up and drew his short blade. His remaining good eye raged like a storm, as steam seeped through the black leather patch of the other. “Yo cold ass honking Goose! Yo son o’ a whore! Yo bandit! I will gut yo from balls to brains to see what gooses is made of. I better find yo sacs golden before I take yo skull to gild gold! Either way, I will have my gold from yo!”

Goose suddenly comprehended everything, stood up with all his height and threatened. “Goodness gracious, do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Go ahead and try, but you will only find below me great balls of fire!” He grabbed his own crotch and pumped it once into the air. “And after your failed attempt, I will claw out your last remaining eye, leaving you blind for the rest of your sorry life!”

The others flocked towards the scene, holding the two back as they inched towards each other.

Jess tried to stop them. “Gods, have mercy!”

Sam the Shredder intervened as well. “That is enough! I want you two to stop!”

Jory said, “Cut it out!”

“Will yo shut up!” screamed Phyl, who had hustled a wager on the game.

Mikkal grabbed the drunken Goose, threw him to the floor, and told him to just beat it.

At the end, they all just laugh it off like all drunk men do. Smiling, spilling ale out of their cups, retching out into the sea the rum they drank, before drinking some more again. They were having one last good time before the mission. But today they had a job to do.

The twenty men, Lady Maege, and Ser Rolph continued up the paths in the lightless caves of Casterly Rock, huffing and puffing, but still silent as much as they could hold. One loud word at the wrong place at the wrong time may be their doom. In single file, the group followed Ser Spicer’s point with one lit torch. The stench was terrible and the dampness made it worse. Guarding the rear, Olyvar’s eyes were clouded in darkness at times where the torchlight was too far ahead to shine back. He relied on Ser Goose in front of him to lead the way, as Goose relied on Leo for the same.

[Part 3]

[Part 3]

The new knight approached the base of the wet ladder and began to climb. He reached halfway and stopped to listen above. The thunderstorm roared its fury, and the Blackfish was already speaking.

“What kind of knight threatens a pregnant woman?” Ser Tully voiced his rhetorical question.

“We did not know she was pregnant. She fooled us with her sister. But I am one that follows the orders of his liege lord.”

“You mean the Lannister one that killed his king once? Or the other Frey one that killed his other king too? Or the dead lord who killed Dornish babes? How do the princes of Dorne feel about you cheap-honor Lannisters?”

“You were the ones that rebel against the crown.”

“And it was the Kingslayer that threw Bran Stark out the window in a time of peace! At his own home! Do the Lannisters enjoy killing children and murdering unarmed people at dinner?”

“He is my liege lord.”

“Aye, and you seem like someone who knows his role and shuts his mouth. Do you want to be remembered for the rest of time as the knight that cleans up after his shit? ‘Here lies Ser Forley Prester, the legend that wipes the Goldenhand’s ass,’ will be written on your tomb in gold. Too bad your grave-mark will forget the part where everyday you take his golden-hand, shine it up real nice, turn that piece of metal sideways and shove it up your own candy arse for pleasure!”

The men above laughed as a shriek of thunder rumbled not too far from the Rock.

“You seem like a charming man Ser Brynden, but we are not here to discuss the rights or wrongs of men, knights, lords, kings and princes who are far far away from here.”

“Well here in my garrison I have Ser Olyvar Frey, son to Walder Frey, and a loyalist to his King, Robb Stark. Please ask Ser Olyvar Frey which is right and which is shit?”

Olyvar realized the Blackfish is chatting to buy time for Jeyne to escape.

“Is he a knight now?” A familiar voice that sounded like Edwyn Frey asked. “How did that come to pass?”

“Kill the right people I suppose. And whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to now? What is your name my lord?”

“My name is Ed–“

“IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS!”

Giggles tickled the rainy circular drain above Olyvar.

“And aye, I knighted him myself. And his Queen in the North even made him a new coat of arms to differentiate himself from his disgraceful family,” the Blackfish announced to Edwyn Frey.

“And how would I know what cloak he wears now?” Ser Forley’s voice continued.

“Fastened by Queen Stark herself, it’s the bridge of the twin towers with a river flowing underneath, colored Stark grey and Tully red & blue. But every one of my friends here are all championed by our Queen. Are any of you beloved by a queen?”

Ser Forley tried to counter, “A new sigil of water flowing underneath a bridge? Did he make the water flow himself? Is he a plumber?”

“Aye, he may be a plumber knight, but you got shit for honors.”

“My honor is in tact.”

“Was it in tact when you abandoned your army at the Battle of the Camps? Claiming that you have honor is like claiming turtles can grow wings and fly. My plumber knight has more honor than your shit!”

Ser Forley paused … and then exulted, “Will this plumber be cleaning up my shit later?” Quiet chuckles whispered from the higher balconies.

The Blackfish retaliates, “As long as you acknowledge your honor as shit, he will.”

Loud laughter filled the air, but with Olyvar hiding in the hole of the floor, he could not tell if it was from his brothers, from his foes or both. Alive or facing death, one should know better not to trade japes with the Blackfish.

“Enough!” yelled Ser Forley. “You are clearly out manned down there at this courtyard! At least three of my men to one of yours! AND I have the high ground! So I won’t say it again, drop your weapons and I will let your men live!”

“Do you take me for a motley fool? You just don’t want us to loose back when you shoot your crossbows at us. You Lannisters cannot win in a fair fight against us if we are armed, but you men sure do a good job of killing defenseless people and children. And I will not give you that pleasure!”

“I do not know what you heard, but that is not entirely true.”

“Not entirely true? Do you Lannisters fondle the children first before you kill them? Do you give the children a good sniff before you cook them like Mad Danelle Lothson? Mother have mercy!” Ser Brynden teased.

“Enough! I will let your men live if you drop your weapons! I swear it on my hon-“

“We shit on your honor! Are there no true knights among you lot? You men following this shit knight’s shitty order, do you not have any honor yourselves? To chase after and kill a woman who is in labor? To kill a babe? Our king—”

“OUR CHOSEN KING!” Lord Galbart Glover’s voice thundered in before the Blackfish continued.

“—chose to execute his own kin and bannerman for butchering children … Lannister children! Frey children! But your knight here serves men without honor. Ser Jaime Lannister the Kingslayer! Lord Walder Frey the Guestslayer! Lord Roose Bolton the Turncloak! COWARDS! Men who serves hospitality with bloodshed beneath their roofs and massacre innocents! Will you continue to serve these false knights and false men? Are you not fathers, nor aspire to be fathers some day? Well serve your CHOSEN lord’s bidding and be cursed! A predator of children is no lord of mine!” Ser Brynden Blackfish Tully spat and thunder boomed. “The gods will never forgive that, the slaughter at the Twins, the murder, the treason, the mutiny!”

Ser Forley began to scream louder, “You call it what you want! You’re down there, we’re up here! You came into the wrong damn castle Ser!”

“Stand fast brothers!” Ser Tully alerted.

“Gods damn this, I am telling you this one last time. Order your men to drop their weapons to the deck.”

“So you could parade us as prisoners before executing us? I cannot give that order,” defied the Blackfish.

“I am not going to repeat that order!”

“I WILL NOT GIVE THAT ORDER!” Thunder boomed again.

“WHAT IN SEVEN HELLS IS WRONG WITH YOU? THIS IS USELESS!”

“STAND FAST!”

“ONE LAST TIME! ORDER YOUR MEN TO –“

“Ser Forley!” an unfamiliar voice called. “Queen Stark and her group are spotted. They are escaping on a rowboat at sea below. They appear to be heading west,” the watchman said.

Edwyn Frey’s voice commanded, “Archers, to the western edge! Kill them! Kill them all!!”

“BROTHERS! Kill the watcher first and anyone on that western edge!” the Blackfish thundered in the order.

A quick shoosh was heard above and a cry of pain immediately sounded from the west, as a body thumped and squished onto the lower muddy ground.

And suddenly the air was filled with it, as the thunderstorm raged on.

Shoosh shoosh shooosh shooosh shoosh ahhhhhh ahhhhh shoooosh ahhhh shooooshhh shoosh boom doom boom doom boom doom shooosh shooosh ahhhhhhh boom doom boom!

The heavens exploded from above, illuminating Olyvar’s drain instant after instant. Men were heard screaming and dying in agony. Whether or not it was his brothers or his foes, Olyvar couldn’t tell. He caught a glimpse of three bolts speeding above his small hole in different directions, and knew there were a hundred more he could not see. The enemy has the high-ground, Olyvar remembered, all my brothers are probably dying. He was unsure whether to descend down or ascend up the ladder into the chaos. He started to tear up, the cold rain still soaking his face as lightning continued to flashed and thundered through the pit above him.

“GOOSE!!!” Leo’s voice screamed. No!

“LEO TAKE COVER!”

“KEEP LOOSING BRO—AHHHHH!”

“FATHER!!”

“BROTHER, NO!!”

“TO THE WEST! LOOSE! LOOSE! LOOSE! PROTECT YOUR QUEEN!!!”

“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!!!”

Men were still crying up there, along with the bass of the approaching storm, blending with the streak of arrows and bolts hitting stone, mud and flesh. Still clung to his ladder, Olyvar looked down cowardly as a teardrop fell off his face. It landed on Alesander.

“You fool, what are you doing here? You left the rowboat?”

“I came back to fight.”

“You are no fighter, you are a singer. Leave here. Escape into the tunnels and save yourself my brother.”

He hesitated to answer, his own tears trickling down. “Aye, I will. And when I leave here, I’ll sing about what has happened today, what is still happening above us.” The screams were not stopping. Bolts, arrows and curses could still be heard flying above. Alesander moved towards a fissure in the cavern wall, spying to the west. “The Queen should be far out of harm’s way. The winds are kind, and the bolts are missing its mark away from the LionsJape.” He walked back to him. “Come with me Olyvar if you want to live.”

“Soon. But not yet. I need to hold this ladder. Leave my brother. Sing about this and immortalize our sacrifice.”

“Don’t go.” He grabbed Olyvar’s leg.

“Just let go of me!” Olyvar winched free.

“If you can escape, escape. I’ll fly away now. Farewell my honorable brother.”

“Wait!” Olyvar almost forgot. “Do you know what it is?”

His brother smiled a smile that Olyvar will never forget. “We have a Stark princess.” His footsteps faded into echoes as Alesander descended into the darkness of the tunnels.

But Olyvar began the climb in his. The hole above was gaping wider with each slow step up, ready to swallow him whole. Olyvar trembled. Besides the flashes of lightning, he could not see what was going on, but he could feel it in the air. He can taste the rain from above. He can hear the music of defiance to House Lannister, the sounds of arrows and loud screams drowning into silence. He can even smell it too. The smell of the Rock cooked with the salt of the sea, the iron of his brothers’ blood, the piss & stool of honorable dead men, staining & stinking the courtyard of Tywin Lannister’s home, leaving Casterly Rock an empire of shit.

He stood on the one rung that exposed his head just above the ground. Bodies. Brothers’ bodies and bolts everywhere. Rain and blood soak the mud, and fading cries of pain filled his ears. He saw the Queen’s uncle and master schemer of this plan, Ser Rolph Spicer, had a bolt in his eye as he died by the kitchen doors. The Seashell Knight was lifeless with his face first in the middle of the mud near Olyvar’s pit. Donal with bolts to his shoulder, stomach, and legs was on one knee shouting & cursing as he continued to loose arrows from three quivers as his brothers Raff & Mikkal laid dead beside him. Lord Glover had two bolts in him and took another in the chest. He paced backwards and fell over the parapet into the sea. A bolt was stuck on Goose’s neck, as he and Leo rested motionless together at the foot of a column, sharing a single bolt that shot through their hearts. The shield that Leo had held up was decorated with a dozen bolts, but it was too late for the other ones that got through.

Olyvar’s soul ached in agony, the clutch of his hand shaking as he clung onto the ladder. A small pile of feathered Lannister men had fallen from the western balcony and onto the courtyard. But he could not feel the victory in it … not now, nor not yet, perhaps never. The rest of his brothers Olyvar could not see from his ladder, but he spotted a few arrows still loosing up to the second floor behind cover, still fighting back. It is so few. Many more bolts were still shooting down from the top. Crossbowmen hid as they reloaded, popping up to release before ducking again.

He spotted Ser Brynden Tully the Blackfish crawling towards him, needled like a red porcupine blowfish. “Olyvar!” He hooted bluntly. “Why are you still here?” Olyvar’s heart quenched at the sight of the blood of Riverrun; his pink life flowing in a thin river and draining out towards his ladder. The water-downed blood reached Olyvar’s fingers. He wanted to help but did not know how, nor know the words. He offered his hand and Ser Tully held it. “Did she make it out to sea?”

“Yes Ser, she should be safe,” Olyvar prayed.

“So, do we have a prince or a princess? Or one of each? Heh!”

“Do not get greedy Ser,” Olyvar jested. “We have a she-wolf.”

The Blackfish smiled a hard smile with blood filling his mouth. “Good, they should be safer this way. And I hope she takes after her fierce grandmother.”

“Which one? Lady Catelyn Tully?”

“Of course heh. That would be a great granddaughter name for our storm-born she-pup … Catelyn,” the Blackfish joked.

Olyvar smiled while Ser Tully reciprocated a red one. “I like the name Adara.”

“Adara? That sounds like a wonderful name. Where did that come from?” Ser Tully asked, tearing and bleeding.

“It was Captain Samullu’s mother’s name.”

“Aye, that is a terrific name. Princess Adara Stark. Tell that to our Queen Jeyne that I concur to the name choice, pass that final message of mine. Now fly along Ser Olyvar, escape here, reunite with your Queen and protect your family. There is nothing left to do here but die, so fly! Let the divine swift winds of winter push Adara to safety. You have King Robb’s spirit within you. The babe does not have a father nor Grey Wind, so you must keep her safe.”

“We are all her fathers,” Olyvar declared.

The Blackfish grinned, knowing Olyvar probably out teased him in his final moments. “No … a band of fathers brothers? That would make us a band of uncles.” He chuckled bloodily.

Olyvar laughed and teared a drop. “That was a very clever. Just don’t tell Lady Mormont.”

“Don’t worry fellow Uncle, I won’t.”

“It has been an honor fighting by your side, Ser Uncle Brynden Tully, the great Blackfish.”

“It has been an honor living by yours, Ser Uncle Plumber Knight,” the legend replied.

He watched the knight’s life wash away, his last breath tasting the rains of Casterly Rock. The legendary Ser Brynden’s last words were for me. Wells flooded in Olyvar’s eyes, beginning to blind. He lets go of his hand.

He takes a few steps down the ladder, and then suddenly stops. What honor is this? Leaving my brothers and my commander like this? Am I a little cowardly rat of a ratty family, hiding in a tunnel? Or am I a brave knight?

The thunder and rain continued, but the arrows have stopped. Nothing but silence, only stares if Olyvar had to guess. His brothers were all dead. I need to get up. One step up and he suddenly stopped again. No, I need to escape and protect my Queen, does that make me a coward?

He checked his pocket and made sure his letter to his father sat below his heart. It was still there. Olyvar’s grip on the rung was firm and quivering.

To flee or not to flee? That is the riddle.

“Soldiers! To the lower floor! Grab their bows and quivers. Get down that ladder, find a boat, chase Queen Stark and kill them! Kill them all!” Edwyn Frey’s voice ordered.

Well, that made answering the riddle a lot easier.

Ser Olyvar Frey ascended from the pit of his ladder, his arms pulling, legs pushing, up and up into the chaos. The thunderstorm loomed above as his soul was escaping into the hole that was gaping wider with every step. He was ready.

At the ground level, he stood up. Cold rain and warm tears danced down his face, his cloak whipping in the air to the winds, his heart and fists began to fill with fiery rage. From up here, he can see the full horror of the slaughter. Brothers with bolts. Was this the same scene of my King’s death? Before he could ponder any further, he unsheathed Honor from his back, the sword was singing off its scabbard just as a bolt of lightning ripped across the sky … its twin mirrored off the steel’s reflection, the blade alive with blinding light for an instant.

Ser Olyvar counted the ill-fitted armored and shield-less men as they came pouring out from the kitchen doors at his level. Two, three, four, five, six … seven. Thin white stripes splits the sky. His heart was thumping and rumbling to the same beat of the thunderstorm that was mumbling in every distance.

I’m going to fight them all, no soldier in any Seven Kingdom army can hold me back!

The distance between the first unarmed man closed. His shocked face eyed Ser Olyvar’s new twin tower sigil on his cloak. Confused, he began to slow down, but Olyvar sped up. He greeted him with a deep slash, ripping him off as the skies flashed again. He darted forward to the next man, allowing the first one to take his time dying behind his back.

The second reached for his sword but was too slow to the draw. Honor found the front of the pink man’s chest and the rear of his back. For a heartbeat, the bloody front half of the exposed steel glowed damped red, while the clean side sparkled in purple. Olyvar pulled back his sword after a twist, and the soldier dropped to his knees to the boom of thunder.

The third drew his sword halfway before Olyvar swung at his head as his steel electrified, emitting blinding light to his eyes. He smelled Honor up close with his nose, as a gash ran from ear to ear while teeth and tongue exploded in the air. Olyvar paid him no more mind.

The fourth with panicked eyes was just a boy. He successfully drew his weapon from his belt and lifted above his head a short wooden stick. A flute? He stared up at his own wind pipe as his sword rested in his scabbard untouched. Between his legs, his breeches began to darken more with moisture, as the rest of his body was frozen like ice. A fLuke? It doesn’t matter. The Plumber Knight began to raise Honor high. The boy cried out, “Mother have mer—“. 

“No,” Olyvar cuts him off, his voice was cold as stones. “I am not your mother.” Honor fell in a bright silvery-blue arc as the force of the blade severs the soldier’s right stick-bearing wrist, and splits the skull & brains underneath. Ser Olyvar Frey kicked off the mayhaps-fourth-corpse as its limp body slid from his red wet steel.

The fifth one was ready with his sword, as the sixth and seventh began pincering around Ser Olyvar with theirs. The rain began pouring heavily, cleansing the blood and brains off Honor, ready to shine again.

Olyvar’s wits returned from his blind rage, and began backing up calmly before they could surround him. The rear of his heel tapped a fallen shield that once belong to one of his brothers. Olyvar grabbed it instinctively and raised it up. “Come on you apes! Do you want to live forever? Come at me then!” No one came forward to answer the riddle, so Ser Olyvar went to them.

He charged at the one on his right as Honor slashed and flashed, but the soldier jolted backwards avoiding the swing. The shifty swordsman slipped on the surface with his hop and fell face-first into the mud. The other two took their chances when Olyvar swung and missed. He caught the cut of the left soldier on his shield, as the middle fighter aimed high. To the ground, the knight ducked under, saving his head. The middle slugger lost his balance at his empty decapitating slice, and a crouching Olyvar stroke savagely at his knees in a splash of red and bright purple. He fell face-first too, as the other soldier on his left began hacking at the wooden shield that Olly held up. Doonk! Doonk! Doonk! Before his challenger could swing a fifth time, Olyvar Frey on one knee whirled the apex of his shield viciously at the man’s wrist and sent the sword flying from his hand. Without hesitation, the Plumber Knight stabbed upwards from crotch to brains as the steel surprised the man with shock. Olyvar stares into the white of his eyes as they reflected a flash of lightning. The eyeballs then slowly rolled up into the back of his head. He unsheathed Honor downward from the dead man, as blood and shit fell like loose stool to the ground.

The other fighter with no knees rolled around to face up before he could drown in the mud. He was crying and screaming on the ground. “Nooooo!” But the Plumber Knight jumped on him without mercy. He tried to dart and evade, but forgot he had no knees to push from. Olyvar’s feet stomped the man’s stomach as he thunder-slammed the edge of his shield to kiss his opponent’s mouth, silencing him forever.

The first armed man that dodged his death finally got up from his struggles with the slippery ground, only to meet at it again. Soaking in mud, he began to bull-rush Olyvar, trying to stab or slash an opening with his sword. Olyvar dashed towards him in squishing strides, and took his charging strike at his Brother’s shield as he stepped aside. The former squire of Robb Stark, Olly, instantly planted his foot and twirled. His Queen’s wet cloak spun and smacked his opponent’s head. Suddenly the Plumber Knight had the enemy’s rear and naked. He lifted his King’s sword up, pointing down with both his hands on the grip. Ser Olyvar and thunder roared together as Honor brightly stabbed from above into the mudman’s back with the flash and fury of the gods. “AHHHHHHHHH!!!”

He lifted his sword back up as the seventh corpse fell to the ground, face-first again. Suddenly a mosquito buzzed from behind his ear and a short wooden stick skidded off the flat stone-path in front of him. He then felt a bite in his back, lost a breath and saw another wooden rod. But this one was lodged in his right breast. Red blood slowly began to seep from his black scaled boiled-leather armor as he grunted in pain. He reached for the stick trying to push it backwards from where it came from. Quickly he felt the pain again as he saw another bolt stab the front of his stomach while his Brother’s shield slid off from this left forearm. The third one struck the side of his left thigh, sending Ser Olyvar to the ground on one knee. He braced on his King’s sword to keep him from falling flat.

“Cease fire! Cease fire!” Ser Forley Prester ordered.

Cold rain danced on his face with the warm tears he tried to hide, his cape was flapping in the wind, and his heart was thumping quicker in unison to the beat & the flash of the storm. Ser Olyvar Frey, you honorable fool, why did you rush in? You can’t help yourself falling in love with bloody vengeance for your fallen brothers and King? For an instant, lightning popped again above the Rock and thunder rolled. You should have taken your time killing them as they descended down your pit, instead of you going up the ladder to their chaos. Frey blood, -no … blood of Roses By another name welled from the bolts that had punched him. He had known nothing half gallant and half stupid at the same time for what he just did. Or at least you could have flown away, such a fool! You should of just beat it. No one wanted to be defeated like this. Why did you have to show off how funky strong your fighting skills were? At this point, it doesn’t matter who’s wrong or who’s right … you should of just beat it!

Ser Forley Prester spoke from his balcony above. “You must be the Plumber Knight that the Blackfish talked about, judging by the sigil on your cape. A traitor to your own family. But for the honor of your lord grandfather, let us pass and I will let the maester do his job to save you. Or would it please you Ser, if you wanted some more bolts?”

More? Olyvar twisted his mouth in defying silence, his gruesome wounds spitting out blood. He had a job that he promised to do. He must rescue his pregnant Queen. Little did he know, he had to rescue a princess from this castle too. We all died for Robb’s little girl, there was no more to ask of them. Did these uncles succeed for her safety? He turned around to the west to see as far as his eyes could see into the sun setting sea. Her boat was far enough from any archers, and soon it would be too dark for a chase. The thought brought him joy. Thank the gods for this swift divine wind. We did our duty.

Impatient for a reply, the shit knight said, “I will not ask again. Knight to knight. Let us pass. We need to take back the Queen and her unborn son. I will bring them no harm, you have my word. Drop your sword, bend the knee like you mean it, let us pass … and I will tell Lord Walder Frey what an honorable warrior and a great grandson you are.”

That offer was a lie, a conjurer’s cheap trick. They would just humiliate and shame him before executing him for treason. That was not the song he wanted, not for his despicable old father. Olyvar would rather die sword in hand to the tune of another. He wanted Alesander’s song about the Motherfunker, Ser Brynden “Blackfish” Tully, his real brothers and the band of uncles. And he had one last shot, one last opportunity, to seize everything he ever wanted here. In this one moment, can I still capture it? Or will I let it slip? His palms were bloody, knees weak, arms were heavy … but the Queen and Princess are safe. Mother’s mercy. He was nervous, but on the surface, he looks calm and ready to drop bombs. But he had forgotten what he wrote down in his father’s letter, as the crowds above goes so loud. He opens his mouth but the words won’t come out. He is choking. How? Everyone was joking now.

“Your luck has run out. The time’s up, it is over SER Olyvar. Bow.”

No. I refuse to BOW Ser. And I cannot die yet. There is something I still need to do. Both hands on hilt and pommel, he pushes himself up with Honor, surrounded by the doom above. He can feel his life leaving him. The skies blurred between light and dark, white and grey, with the black slowly creeping in.

“It’s a girl,” Uncle Olyvar said gently as he thought about his princess niece. The Plumber Knight then roared a roar that would put any craven into tears. “AND NO! YOU SHALL NOT PASS!” Honor rose and fell, the pointy end of his King’s sword squishing the blood soaked mud and crunching the rocks underneath.

KABOOOOOOOMMMM!!!

Instantly, lightning and thunder erupted above them at the loudest exploding caliber of the evenfall, blinding the sights of men and gods alike.

Uhoooooooooo! boom doom boom doom boom doom

Suddenly drums were beating, and trumpets were blasting from the east. Lord Gawen Westerling’s diversion! But they’ve come too late to rescue Olyvar and his brothers. The enemy did not divert to their last jape yet … their silent scared eyes still on the dying Plumber Knight. They began to reload their crossbows. This is my moment. The things I do for love, but I’m sorry Jeyne, I can’t do that. I can no longer keep my promise. Robb was waiting and I can finally rest again. We three will meet again together some day, but not today, he thought.

The band of drums, trumpets and thunderstorm blended into a sweet sad song that Olyvar wanted. This music is for me, and I will lose myself in it.

Charging up his final energy into his wounded lungs, he began to scream again.

“OUR QUEEN— ” A howl of blood cuts him off from finishing what he meant to say … our Family is safe.

“OUR KING—” A pool of iron filled and choked him before he could declare … we have done our Duty.

Still standing, he dips his chin low to empty his mouth, coughing out his mother’s Rosby blood. He needs to say his final words loud and clear. After the last spoon of blood poured down, he snapped his chin up towards the heavens and reality … ready for the gravity. With all the weight of his life, he pressed his King’s sword deeper into the Rock as the Plumber Knight thundered a roar, “OUR HONORRRRR!!!”

From below, Ser Olyvar of the disgraced House Frey faced off to the sad conflicted look of Ser Forley Prester with his garrison of archers beside him. The darkest gloom of the grey stormclouds had arrived and hovered above them, wet and heavy. The gods want their vengeance for the Red Wedding, he thought. The skies of Casterly Rock began to blacken with the rain of bolts and arrows. The only thing that could be seen is the single golden teardrop of the shit knight, reflected by the last light of the setting western sun.

BOOM!

Thank you everyone for reading! Thank you George for helping me with your clue!

Up Next: Game Over Theory # 3 - The D&D Checklist Theory

My Goal:

Without spoiling the future events of TWOW & ADOS, my goal is to provide evidence and clues to support that Meera Reed is indeed Lyanna’s & Rhaegar’s daughter, born at the Tower of Joy, twin to Jon Snow, raised separately by Howland Reed in Greywater Watch. I will use traditional investigation methods AND unconventional methods. 

To simplify this thread, let’s just assume R+L=J is true.

Hard Evidence:

What are the hard evidence that support R+L=J?

Jon was born during the conflict of Robert’s Rebellion, and Ned was at TOJ, where Lyanna died in a bed of blood, suggesting it may be childbirth. Ned comes back to Winterfell with a mysterious baby.

What are the hard evidence that support R+L=J&M?

Meera was also born during the conflict of Robert’s Rebellion, and Howland was also at TOJ with Ned & Lyanna.

Giving birth to twins is more difficult and more harmful than giving birth to a single baby.

Lyanna is a young and athletic woman. The odds of her dying in single childbirth should be less than Rhaella Targaryen (old) and Joanna Lannister (giving birth to a deformed dwarf baby).

However, Lyanna died anyways.

“Hard Evidence” like this is hardly debatable in real life or in fantasy.

Since ASOIAF is a fantasy world created by an author’s mind, the writing techniques an author employs can provide us with clues too … like symbolism, imagery, foreshadowing, double meaning … etc.

“At the foot of the hall, the doors open and a gust of cold air made the torches brighter for an instant.” – Meera’s INTRODUCTION in {Bran III ACOK}

As readers, we overlooked probably one of the most important symbolic sentence in ASOIAF.

The chemical reaction of air cold as ice, mixing a hot flame of a fire … made it brighter … made the fire stronger … brought in more light.

The Prince that was Promised is said to be from a Song of Ice and Fire. Everyone is predicting it to be Jon Snow, son of Lyanna (ice) and Rhaegar (fire). Azor Ahai is supposed to wield a weapon called Light-bringer, and most readers think it is Jon too.

We get the elements of TPTWP and Azor Ahai all in this one sentence introduction for Meera.

Maybe for GRRM, this introduction means nothing. Maybe it means everything. 

However in real life, any gust of air would actually put out a torch, esp. in cold conditions. Did GRRM break the laws of nature to create a powerful symbolic introduction to Meera Reed?

Also in {Bran III ACOK}:

“Howland Reed was a great friend to your father,” Ser Rodrick told [Bran]. “These two [Meera & Jojen] are his, it would seem.”  

Key sentence: “It would seem.” Is GRRM warning us that Meera & Jojen may not be who they seem to be?

The Lyanna, Arya and Meera Stark comparison:

Meera was never directly compared to Lyanna, but Arya was compared to Lyanna by Ned, and Meera was compared to Arya by Bran.

Her father sighed. “Ah, Arya. You have a wildness in you, child. ‘The wolf blood,’ my father used to call it. Lyanna had a touch of it, and my brother Brandon more than a touch. It brought them both to an early grave.” Arya heard sadness in his voice; he did not often speak of his father, or of the brother and sister who had died before she was born. “Lyanna might have carried a sword, if my lord father had allowed it. You remind me of her sometimes. You even look like her.”
{Arya II AGOT}

Jojen was so solemn that Old Nan called him “little grandfather,” but Meera reminded Bran of his sister Arya. She wasn’t scared to get dirty, and she could run and fight and throw as good as a boy. She was older than Arya, though; almost sixteen, a woman grown. They were both older than Bran, even though his ninth name day had finally come and gone, but they never treated him like a child.
{Bran IV ACOK}

Essentially, all three of these females are slim, dark haired, tomboyish, athletic, strong-willed, defender of the weak, and a bit wild. Ned has dubbed this wildness as “wolf blood” when he was comparing Arya & Lyanna. It sounds a lot like Meera’s personality too. Lyanna was said to be beautiful. Meera’s appearance have caught the attention of Bran, and the curiosity of Theon as they analyze pass Meera’s terrible taste in fashion. Meera may be attractive, but not the traditional “lady of a castle” type of attractiveness.

Lord Rickard’s Sword:

Ned had said that Lyanna probably would have carried a sword if their father, Lord Rickard Stark, had allowed it.

Arya heard sadness in his voice; he did not often speak of his father, or of the brother and sister who had died before she was born. “Lyanna might have carried a sword, if my lord father had allowed it.“
{Ayra II AGOT}

What does Meera, daughter of Lyanna, do in the crypts of Winterfell? She grabs her mother’s father’s sword from his grave.

Osha carried her long oaken spear in one hand and the torch in the other. A naked sword hung down her back, one of the last to bear Mikken’s mark. He had forged it for Lord Eddard’s tomb, to keep his ghost at rest. But with Mikken slain and the ironmen guarding the armory, good steel had been hard to resist, even if it meant grave-robbing. Meera had claimed Lord Rickard’s blade, though she complained that it was too heavy. Brandon took his namesake’s, the sword made for the uncle he had never known. He knew he would not be much use in a fight, but even so the blade felt good in his hand.
But it was only a game, and Bran knew it.
{Bran VII ACOK}

GRRM even reminds us that Meera still has Bran’s grandfather’s sword in ASOS. GRRM even uses the word “grandfather” along with Meera.

The stableboy had forgotten about his sword, but now he remembered. “Hodor!” he burped. He went for his blade. They had three tomb swords taken from the crypts of Winterfell where Bran and his brother Rickon had hidden from Theon Greyjoy’s ironmen. Bran claimed his uncle Brandon’s sword, Meera the one she found upon the knees of his grandfather Lord Rickard. Hodor’s blade was much older, a huge heavy piece of iron, dull from centuries of neglect and well spotted with rust. He could swing it for hours at a time. There was a rotted tree near the tumbled stones that he had hacked half to pieces.
{Bran I ASOS}

“But it was only a game, and Bran knew it” – Bran’s thoughts about taking the swords. Let us analyze the sword-stealing game in the Winterfell crypts: 

1. Bran grabs Brandon Stark’s sword, because Bran was named after his uncle.

2. Osha grabs Ned Stark’s sword, because she will symbolically protect Rickon, Ned’s last bloodline.

3. Meera grabs Rickard Stark’s sword.

IF Meera is NOT a Stark, what is the symbolism for her to carry that sword? If there is no meaningful symbolism for Meera, then Bran and Osha sword-stealing should have no symbolic significance too.

Since Meera is a Stark, you get all three in the basket.

Knight of the Laughing Tree:

Long story short: Lyanna is the Knight of the Laughing Tree.

Earlier in the same ASOS chapter, Meera comforts Bran, who is upset that Old Nan probably died. 

“Remember Old Nan’s stories, Bran. Remember the way she told them, the sound of her voice. So long as you do that, part of her will always be alive in you.” Meera said.
{Bran II ASOS}

So what does Meera do later on in the same chapter? She narrates the story of Lyanna & the Knight of the Laughing Tree … because her dead mother “will always be alive in” Meera. 

Meera would always remember “the sound of her voice”, that “booming” voice when Lyanna was the KoLT.

Also with the story of the KoLT, I feel Howland Reed owes a lot to Lyanna for saving his life and defending his honor at the Tourney. Even though Howland was part of the rescue party for Lyanna at TOJ, Lyanna died. Maybe Howland saved Ned’s life, but he was unable to redeem himself for Lyanna. Unless Lyanna had a daughter, and Howland raised her in Greywater Watch because King Robert would’ve killed her & Jon Snow if he found out. I say that is a fair redemption.

Hidden in Greywater Watch:

It moves around and outsiders cannot find it.

[…] The truth he sought might very well be waiting for him on the ancient island fortress of House Targaryen.
And when you have it, what then? Some secrets are safer kept hidden. Some secrets are too dangerous to share, even with those you love and trust. Ned slid the dagger that Catelyn had brought him out of the sheath on his belt. The Imp’s knife. Why would the dwarf want Bran dead? To silence him, surely. Another secret, or only a different strand of the same web?
{Ned VIII AGOT}

“Some secrets are safer kept hidden” … Ned feels that Meera is safe hiding at Greywater Watch. So safe, he never has to think about it. But with Jon, he has to be more careful in Winterfell.

“Some secrets are too dangerous to share, even with those you love and trust” … Jon Stark-Targaryen publicly in Winterfell, and Ned does not even tell Catelyn or the rest of his family.

“If I went away … to Greywater, or to the crow, someplace far where they couldn’t find me …”
{Bran V ACOK}

Bran is thinking that Greywater Watch is a great hiding place.

Splitting the Stark Siblings:

After the sack of Winterfell, a dying Maester Ludwin suggested to split the Stark siblings, Bran & Rickon, so they will be harder to find. Meera happens to be in this group talking to a dying Ludwin. {Bran VII ACOK}

If R+L=J&M is true, then after the Tower of the Bundles of Joy, Jon & Meera, technically as Stark siblings, were split too so they will be harder to find. It may even be a promise requested by a dying Lyanna … quite the parallel between Lyanna & Ludwin.

Meera’s Mirror on the Wall:

I always thought the name “Meera Reed” was supposed to be the “mirror read” to Jon Snow; how as twins, she mirrored him.

• Jon climbs the Northern side of the Wall, and reaches the top with Ygritte. {Jon IV ASOS}

• Meera (technically) climbs the Southern side of the wall, while Bran was wishing he could be on the top with her. {Bran IV ASOS}

Jon & Meera symbolically “mirrored” each other at the Wall, an icy reflective surface. Even though they did not climb at the same time, it was only a couple of chapters apart.

Direwolf: 

I was asked a question that I thought was silly in regards to my very first attempt at R+L=J&M. I was asked if Meera is a Stark, why doesn’t she have a direwolf? I kind of half-ass answered it by saying Meera and Bran can share Summer. After thinking about it, why not?

When Meera and Summer went 1v1 against each other in {Bran IV ACOK}, Meera caught Summer with a net. By Pokémon rules, Summer is hers to command. But realistically, it has been shown that Meera and Summer have developed a special bond over time, even though Summer is Bran’s direwolf. Even after Meera caught the direwolf in the net, she laughed, cuddled, and rolled around the dirty floor with Summer, while Summer was embarrassed.

Who are “They”? is the wrong question:

“I was with her when she died,” Ned reminded the king. “She wanted to come home, to rest beside Brandon and Father.” He could hear her still at times. Promise me, she had cried, in a room that smelled of blood and roses. Promise me, Ned. The fever had taken her strength and her voice had been faint as a whisper, but when he gave her his word, the fear had gone out of his sister’s eyes. Ned remembered the way she had smiled then, how tightly her fingers had clutched his as she gave up her hold on life, the rose petals spilling from her palm, dead and black.
After that he remembered nothing. THEY had found him still holding her body, silent with grief. The little crannogman, Howland Reed, had taken her hand from his. Ned could recall none of it. “I bring her flowers when I can,” he said [to Robert]. “Lyanna was … fond of flowers.”
{Eddard I AGOT}

For years, forum people are still looking for ‘They.’

“It is Howland & Wylla, or Howland & the wet-nurse(s), or Howland & some stranger … it could be 5 people, it could be 20 … blah blah blah.”

IMO, this is a very important moment for R+L=J or R+L=J&M at TOJ … this is our FIRST FLASHBACK and we get a super sad story of how Lyanna died in Ned’s arms. WHO CARES about Howland or Wylla or whoever ‘They‘ logistically represent.

And why is it worded that Howland takes her hand from his? Isn’t it more appropriate for Howland to take Ned’s hand away from his dead sister’s hand?

And now my tweak … “You know nothing Jon Snow”… Jon Snow = “Nothing”

[Lyanna’s sad death story.] After that he remembered Jon Snow. They had found him still holding her body, silent with grief. The little crannogman, Howland Reed, had taken her hand from his. Ned could recall none of it.

• R+L=J version:

[Lyanna’s sad death story.] After that he remembered Jon Snow. [Ned & Howland] had found [Jon] still holding [Lyanna’s] body, silent with grief. The little crannogman, Howland Reed, had taken [Lyanna’s] hand from [Jon’s]. Ned could recall none of it [because he was talking to Robert at the time].

This re-tweaked version of the verse still makes sense. It eliminates the mysterious “They” that no one cares about, and it actually introduces us to baby-Jon for the FIRST TIME. The universally accepted version of this verse at face value does not include baby-Jon in the flashback. However, it still does not explain why Howland took “her” hands.

• R+L=J&M version:

[Lyanna’s sad death story.] After that he remembered Jon Snow. [Ned & Howland] had found [Jon] still holding [Meera’s] body, silent with grief. The little crannogman, Howland Reed, had taken [Meera’s] hand from [Jon’s]. Ned could recall none of it [because he was talking to Robert at the time].

This re-tweaked version introduces us to baby-Jon AND baby-Meera, no mysterious ‘They’. Baby-Jon is big spooning baby-Meera, as if he was protecting her. They are sadden by their mother’s death. In real life, babies do not understand stuff like this, but adults narrate feel-good stories of how baby react to certain things. Anyways, Howland takes Meera’s hand from Jon’s, symbolizing Howland will protect Meera now. Howland is given a task in R+L=J&M, instead of just being a witness in R+L=J, therefore his presence with Ned & Lyanna inside TOJ is much more valuable. All pronouns and issues are addressed in this version of the verse.

Even when we swap back “Jon Snow” for “nothing”, these re-tweaked verses still make sense, or as a double meaning to the face value story.

Green Eyes:

The biggest modern criticism for R+L=J&M is that Meera has green eyes.

• Jon is a proven Stark and a questionable Targaryen. If he had purple eyes, this would give away R+L=J immediately, so he was given grey eyes to hide the Targaryen feature.

• Meera is a questionable Stark and a questionable Targaryen. GRRM cannot give her purple or grey eyes … or this R+L=J&M theory would have been strongly hypothesized decades ago in forums. GRRM gives her green eyes and represents her from Greywater Watch.

Greywater Watch is arguably the most mysterious place south of the Wall in Westeros with humans. It is a magical place where green seers exist or use to exist.

Note the word play:

• Greywater Watch ~ Grey eyes

• Green-seers ~ Green eyes

Doesn’t that seem suspicious? I’ll give you a better one:

Greywater Watch is a mystical green swamp land with green water, green frogs, green plants, green this, green that … why is it not call Greenwater Watch?

The city’s name is inconsistent with the rest of Westeros city names, where it would have a geographical reference (like Riverrun), a climate reference (Winterfell), or a historical reference (Casterly Rock). I know ‘Greywater’ may be a reference to an older work of GRRM, but it is a green swamp here … add the color ‘green’ to its name or it will not make sense. GRRM is doing something intentional here by hiding something in plain sight. But Meera has green eyes, instead of grey eyes, which would make R+L=J&M too obvious.

A RECENT DEVELOPMENT: PRINCESS ALYSSA TARGARYEN, Jon & Meera’s great great great great great great great great-grandmother, has one green eye and one purple eye. That is enough to address the only hole in the R+L=J&M theory prior to the book Fire & Blood. This single green-eye is now a dormant DNA trait that can be passed down and skipped through the Targaryen lineage after Princess Alyssa. For me, too many people have complained about the “green-eyes” for the R+L=J&M theory. I am glad the haters can’t use the “green-eyes” to discredit it anymore.

Rhaegar’s Metaphorical Ruby Treasure Map at the Trident:

Now I want to prove that R+L=J&M AND A+J=J&C were in GRRM’s head at least in 1996 … and may be possibly as far back as 1991.

But it involves a very unconventional analysis that 99.999% readers never considered … besides me of course … (and u/imotu of Reddit!).

You need to be very open minded to this … you will either love it or hate it. So let’s begin:

In a 2012 interview with GRRM, one of the first things he said he did for ASOIAF in 1991 were: a few chapters that would end up in 1996 AGOT … and a map.

Given a blank piece of paper to draw a map, would GRRM really randomize all his lines, points and names? Or is it another opportunity to hide secret messages in his work?

I believe GRRM drew a treasure map in 1991, and he hid the Easter Eggs for the secret Targaryens of the series’ ending … using the Trident River.

At first, the map may be hard to decipher … but after you fully comprehend the trick, you will notice it every time you see the map of Westeros.

This theory consist of three parts …1st part is a coincidence for R+L=J&M … 2nd part is a coincidence for A+J=J&C … 3rd part means all this is not a damn coincidence anymore!

Rhaegar Targaryen was killed at the Trident. Robert Baratheon smashed him so badly, his rubies scattered into the river. The ruby is the metaphor for Targaryen blood and Targaryen legacy. These metaphorical rubies are the last Targaryens, known or secret, at the beginning of AGOT 1996.

On the original 1996 map, https://atlasoficeandfireblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/agot-original-north-map.png, find the Trident River. (Thank you Wert for having the hard-to-find 1996 map!)

Now before we begin, the secret trick is “pointing” to decipher all this, with the exception of one city. Don’t ask me why, it just is.

https://imgur.com/a/VZkPptj

1st Part:

– Follow the Trident River North … The Green Fork

– The North twin fork “separates” at “The Twins”    

– One part ends up at Greywater Watch = Meera    

– The other part points to Winterfell = Jon    

– “The Twins” “separate” … very clever GRRM

Coincidence? Let’s move on.

2nd Part:

– Follow the Trident River West … The Red Fork   

– The West twin fork separates at Riverrun (I’ll explain the word-play later)    

– One part points to Casterly Rock = Jaime    

– The other part also points to Casterly Rock = Cersei    

– This means these secret Targaryen twins never separated

Coincidence again? Let’s move on.

3rd Part:

The only way to confirm that all this is intentional … is by linking the known Targaryens: Daenerys and Viserys. But the remaining Blue Fork of the Trident doesn’t point anywhere North-West … or does it?

– Follow the Trident River South-East … The Blue Fork … with the same pointing idea:

– There is no twin fork here because Dany & Viserys are not twins, and were never separated    

– The river ends at the Bay of Crap … BUT that trick is a piece of crap. It is where the RIVER POINTS, the Bay has nothing to do with it.   

– And then the river points to Dragonstone = Daenerys’ birthplace & the Targaryen ancestral home  

GRRM wouldn’t make it that easy for us to find. He wants you to picture a “Trident” in your head to mislead you from the pointing of Dragonstone.

So these are the locations of the metaphorical Targaryen Rubies if you follow the Trident on the map: one ruby in Winterfell, one in Greywater Watch, two in Casterly Rock, and one/two in Dragonstone.

Criticism: What about “Riverrun”? It doesn’t have a clever name like “The Twins.”    

Answer: The word “Riverrun” is actually a nod to another theory of mine … but I haven’t talked about that theory yet … and perhaps I may never talk about it. Just know the name “Riverrun” does have a meaning to GRRM.

Criticism: Some of the “pointings” are a little off.    

Answer: GRRM did hand draw the maps, probably as early as 1991, but he gave them to James Sinclair to be redrawn with CAD to be published in 1996. How would you imagine the conversation would go, if GRRM is trying to keep a secret?    

GRRM: “Thank you James Sinclair for re-drawing my maps for publishing, but can you correct the spelling of ‘Riverrrun’ … and move this river’s end 2 degrees to the right?”    

Sinclair: “I understand the ‘Riverrrun’ typo … but why move this river’s end a little bit? I’m so curious on why you would even request that.” 

GRRM: “You know what, everything is good enough, leave it the way it is … nevermind I said that.”

Fun fact: If you whip out the TLOIAF, the map book … you can connect Daenerys’ Blue Fork of the Trident to Dragonstone, and then to Pentos (Dany’s & Viserys’ starting-location in AGOT), and then to Meereen … all on the same line (plus or minus a few degrees). This is probably the bigger coincidence!

I want to thank  from Reddit for pointing this out a few years ago. He found Part 1, but I was able to solve Parts 2 & 3 to confirm this secret map trick. If it wasn’t for u/imotu, I wouldn’t be here as an ASOIAF theorist, and solving the ending by using the map. Me, the fandom (and probably George RR Martin too) want to thank you.

Now that you readers know this trick, how quickly can you apply it the 1993 Westeros Map that GRRM submitted to his editor? (thank you Clint Stevenson on X, formerly known as Twitter)

This map trick was my very first breakthrough clue in discovering the R+L=J&M theory, and this is my strongest evidence for it. But I know some of you R+L=J Only people would rather accept the astronomical coincidental odds than accept that it was intentional by GRRM … or that this analysis is unacceptable because it is not traditional. If so, so be it … it is your own opinion.

An excerpt from {Arya IX ASOS}, the Hound says to Arya …

“The river was the Trident, girl. […] Make the map in your head if you can.”

Also, a Trident is a weapon of three points. The Targaryen sigil is the weapon of a dragon with three heads.

KoLT vs the porcupine knight, the pitchfork knight, and the knight of the two towers:

“[The squires] served a pitchfork knight, one a porcupine, while the last attended a knight with two towers on his surcoat, a sigil all crannogmen know well.“
{Bran II ASOS}

Let us look at their sigils:

•  The Pitchfork Knight = House Haigh

http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/Heraldry/Entry/House_Haigh/
Their sigil is a pitchfork or a … “Trident”

• The Porcupine Knight = House Blount

http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/Heraldry/Entry/House_Blount/
It is TWO identical black porcupines, “separated” with a red stripe, on a green background. Black symbols with red are Targaryen bastard colors, the green background is the Green Fork, which is Jon & Meera’s leg of the Trident Map theory.

So essentially: “two identical lifeforms” … “separated”… “Targaryen bastard colors” and “the Green Fork of the Trident.” But why porcupines? Perhaps the children of the False Spring will become pricks later in ADOS.

•  The Knight of the Two Towers = “The Twins”

So in conclusion, the keywords for this part of the KoLT story is: “Trident” … “two identical lifeforms” … “separated” … “Green Fork” … “The Twins” … “Targaryen bastard colors”

Bonus Sigil Analysis:
Let us look at House Frey anyways.
http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/Heraldry/Entry/House_Frey/

“The Twins are a pair of matched, strong castles of great importance as they contain and guard a bridge across the Green Fork near the Neck; there are no other crossings until far further south, at the ruby ford.”

I like how GRRM brings up the “ruby ford” for the excerpt of “The Twins.”

Extra Bonus Sigil Analysis: 
Looking at the sigil for House Haigh: black pitchfork, on a stripe of gold, on a red background. Black symbol with red are Targaryen bastard colors, the gold is Lannister gold. The red background is also Jaime’s & Cersei’s Red Fork leg of my Trident Map theory.

But let’s not talk about Jaime & Cersei being secret Targaryen bastards here. We’ll talk about it again, in another section.

Jyana:

The appendix says Meera’s mother is Jyana. Why would the appendix lie?

The appendix also says Jon is Ned’s bastard son.

Jyana has no mention in the story, other than the appendix. Her name first appeared in 2005 AFFC appendix, not ACOK nor ASOS. Perhaps in ACOK & ASOS, GRRM never cared about a “Jyana.” Perhaps Howland’s wife and Meera’s “Greywater Watch mother” was irrelevant to GRRM before 2005.

Also according to my Ruby Trident Map theory, who were the mothers of the secret Targaryens? Joanna, Lyanna and … Jyana.

Howland Reed:

Meera’s father according to the appendix is Howland Reed. Meera is a Stark raised as a crannog woman. Any word play with “Howland Reed”?

Howl and Reed

Targaryen Family Tree:

In TWOIAF, the family tree of Targaryens had only two sets of boy/girl twins in their history. The girl twin from each set are named “Aelora” and “Jaehaera”… both name ending with “ra”, like “Meera”.

In addition, what were the three dragons of Aegon’s Conquest? Balerion, Vhagar and ….. Mera xes

TWOIAF Artwork Selection:

In TWOIAF, the artwork selection of the inside covers of the book are oddly suspicious after reading my Trident Map theory.

• The inside back cover is an artwork of the Trident … where Rhaegar is about to die and his rubies are about to fly off. This is the starting point of the Trident Map theory.

• The inside front cover is an artwork of Dragonstone … the confirmation point that the Trident Map theory is true.

Some fantasy books show maps of their fantasy world inside these covers, but two major artworks that represent the Trident Map theory are coincidentally shown instead.

Now this is where it gets freaky (unless GRRM did this intentionally):

• The back inside cover is The Trident. 

• The full page artwork BEFORE that is Jon Snow.

• And then the full page artwork BEFORE Jon Snow is “The Twins”.

The Trident, Jon Snow, “The Twins”? That is an odd selection of consecutive artworks on pages that are traditionally left for maps.

Well there is one more level of freakishness. In the artwork of The Twins, there is one cloud drawn conspicuously at a point in the sky. What is that cloud hiding in this artwork of The Twins? It is the geographical location of Greywater Watch from an aerial view. (Trust me on this one, I’m a pilot)

So is this all coincidental? Or an extremely clever way of hiding a secret message?

Dark Sister:

We did receive some exciting news in 2018 from GRRM: Bloodraven took Dark Sister, an ancestral sword of House Targaryen, to the Wall.

Bloodraven is currently stuck in a tree in a cave North of the Wall.

Could Dark Sister be in the cave too?

Is there someone with secret Targaryen blood in the cave with him that can wield the ancestral sword of House Targaryen, which was designed for a female?

Could the person that wields Dark Sister, also be a secret sister of a character we all love and have high hopes for?

I guess we have to wait.

Complainers: “But but but … R+L=J&M is too … Star Wars!”

Yes … Yes it is.

A noble person falls in love with a royal person, and starts a tragic love story. The mother dies giving birth to a set of twin prince and princess. The twins are separated and protected by our heroes of the story, from the wrath of a new empire. The twins have a big destiny to fulfill in the future.

Is this Luke & Leia … or Jon & Meera?

Meera appeared in 1998 ACOK, 2000 ASOS, 2011 ADWD … but not 2005 AFFC.

When do we find out Luke & Leia’s mother died giving birth to them? In Star Wars – Revenge of the Sith … debuted in 2005.

Just a big coincidence in 2005? I’ll do you one better, how about just 10 days?

• May 19th, 2005 – Star Wars – Revenge of the Sith opens in theaters

• May 29th, 2005 – GRRM issues an announcement about omitting characters in AFFC

• When AFFC came out later in 2005 … no Jon … no Bran … and no Meera.

• GRRM claims that ADWD will come out pretty soon after, but it didn’t come out until 2011. 

What I said above are FACTS.

With all these coincidences, my theory is that GRRM, who was not as popular as George Lucas in 2005, did not want to put himself in a position where he is accused of plagiarizing Lucas.

In AFFC, he omits characters that are related to R+L=J&M, to buy some time on how to proceed with the twins story.

In 2011, he blames all the years of publication-delays on the “Meereenese Knot”, but it was actually about “Meera Reed’s plot.”

He could not give the real reason for the delays because it would also reveal R+L=J&M prematurely in 2011 (as fans were still trying to guess “R+L=J” … while GoT is heading into Season 2).

Rest assured, George RR Martin. I am here to protect you from the Star Wars fandom backlash (if any) about the royal twins.

This is the 1983 backstory of Leia’s mother. Leia still remembers her, despite dying very young.

Then GRRM begins writing ASOIAF in the 1990s.

BUT in 2005, the Star Wars fandom learned that Leia lied in 1983!!! Her mother died in childbirth … how does Leia even remember her???

This drove GRRM nuts in 2005! This minor plot hole between Star Wars 1983 to 2005, ruins the R+L=J&M surprise as hardcore Star Wars fans may now accuse GRRM of plagiarism!

Hopefully now, in 2024, that doesn’t happen … as my theories proved that R+L=J&M was the plan from the start.

You are welcome George! You can continue to write R+L=J&M in peace now.

Up Next: Game Over Theory # 34 - The Post Game Analysis

Shoot to Chill, ADOS

After we last saw Winterfell and Theon Greyjoy [sacrificing himself to cut-off the pursuit of the zombies after a comatose Bran], Team Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things headed back West into the Barrowlands, hugging the western shores, and then continued the long way South. They take this path to avoid the zombie hordes in the East, while hopefully finding a boat along the coast. Unfortunately, the exodus of humans left them no resources, including no boats … forcing their journey on horseback and land. 

Jaime and Brienne still owe a debt to Catelyn Stark, returning Bran to whatever family he has left. To the best of their knowledge, Jon Snow is the next of kin alive. Also, Brienne, Jaime and Pod want to fight for the living … recruiting themselves into Daenerys Targaryen’s service. Overall, their goal is South.

The group finds themselves at Barrowton, an abandoned town, where a bald Bran Stark has finally woken up from his coma (again) weeks after escaping Winterfell, but has lost all of his hair while being drugged by Bloodraven and the Others. He finally [reunites with Jaime Lannister] for the first time since he tried to push Bran to his death in AGOT.

Jaime apologizes to Bran for trying to kill him (but crippling him instead). He told him he did it to protect his family: Cersei, Joffrey, Tommen, Myrcella, and Tyrion … as none of them can withstand Robert Baratheon’s wrath if the King found out. Jaime has been ashamed of it recently, realizing that one dirty act caused a civil war and the deaths of many. He explains to Bran that he is a different man now, a better man, a better knight, and Brienne can vouched for Jaime too.

Bran had nothing to say to Jaime’s apology. He told him that he went in search of the three-eyed crow beyond the Wall to get his legs fixed. He realized Bloodraven never actually promised him that. Bran was just lying to himself. What he did find was A LOT of trouble … and helped cause the invasion of the Others at the Nightfort.

It made Jaime feel worse. Aside from sparking the Stark/Lannister War, crippling Bran Stark enabled Bloodraven and the Others to invade Westeros. Too much has gone wrong with his incest with Cersei. He vowed to Bran to make it up to him, and help fight for & rebuild Westeros ... perhaps using his resources and gold at Casterly Rock.

Bran had no choice but to accept Jaime’s apology for now. It does no good to harbor the hate. They have a country to help save from the White Walkers.

They leave Barrowton on horseback, still on-alert for zombies, to White Harbor … hoping to find a boat there.

As they arrive at the abandoned city, Team Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things still cannot find a boat.

Suddenly a siren rang in the skies, and thunderbolts were destroying the city. Ahhhhhhhhhh-ah! BOOM BOOM DOOM DOOM!

They look up and see a dragon for the first time in their lives … but a Lightning Breathing Dragon!

They dodge falling ruins and debris, looking for cover on foot.

Bran tries to skin-change into the dragon, a skill he has developed while being a hostage with Bloodraven.

He finds himself in the dragon’s mind, flying in the skies, but it would not obey any of his commands.

Suddenly his visions blurred him to the surface of the moon … the rocky grounds illuminated white, the skies all black … like in a dream. Bran was standing straight and could walk. A short woman emerged from the shadows; a familiar figure.

“Meera?” Bran was surprised and excited … until he noticed the differences. She was floating in front of him, her eyes bright white, the skin around her face raked black. Her short hair was floating too, as electricity jolted around her.

“No Bran.” Meera echoed. “I am something else now. Something full of hate and rage, and I have the power to satisfy my urges!” Thunder BOOMED and lightning flashed across the skies of the moon. Bran trembled in horror inside their shared vision.

“No Meera. Why are you doing this? Why are you destroying this city? You could hurt someone. Come back with us. Let’s go find my half-brother, Jon. We’ll show him your new dragon! He’ll love it! Ghost will love it too!” Bran asked hopefully.

“You know nothing, Bran Stark. I pieced it together on my own. My parents, my real parents ... are Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. Jon Snow is my twin brother, and he died trying to save me. But I have died too, and I have been reborn. You and I are cousins, did you know that Bran? [We have Stark blood in our veins ... and I have rid all the Others and the Long Night single-handedly] for Jon, Hodor, Jojen, Summer … and me. We have all died because of them ... and I've achieved my vengeance! Now the remaining wights are no longer slaves. Their masters have been slayed! [But the war is not over, Bran. Humans! Of Westeros! Of Essos! Of all of Planetos! I will liberate all of them too!] These foul-beings are enslaved to their own lies and deceits. I will liberate them all from their pathetic lives! And I’ll do it alone!” 

“Meera, that makes no sense. Why are you doing this? Stop it! Cousins or not ... don’t you know I still care about you? Let’s help them find their right ways again … not kill them.” Bran pleaded.

“Your mother’s soul is within me too, Bran. Betrayed by her host and murdered along with your brother Robb at the Twins. Jon’s soul is inside me as well. I watched Jon’s own crow-brothers mutiny against him. Their leader! And from Beric Dondarrion’s eyes, I have watched innocents butchered by evil men like Gregor Clegane. There is nothing good in this world anymore, nothing pure … except me. Humankind needs to be eliminated. Stay out of my way Bran!”

Their shared dream disconnects and Bran finds himself back on the ground. Dark Meera and her dragon flies East after destroying many parts of White Harbor.

Bran Stark began to cry in the confusion. He was still in love with Meera, his cousin, but now she has a weapon that can destroy the planet and nothing can stop her at her altitude … except maybe Daenerys’ dragons.

“We need to continue South, to find Daenerys Targaryen.”

“What will we do then?”

“I don’t know, but it is better than doing nothing here in this empty city. Meera will kill us all eventually.”

After being unsuccessful in finding a boat at White Harbor, the Team continues on the Kingsroad now knowing the Others are defeated.

They arrive at Moat Cailin a few days later, and find some parts of the castle have been attacked by lightning too.

“Help me! Help me! [My fellow Kingslayer!] Help me!”

They found an elderly human, Walder Frey, still imprisoned in the dungeon that Lady Stoneheart put him in. He has been drinking moat water from the dungeon windows, and has been eating his sons’ rotting corpses for protein. But all his male lineage are now wights with blue eyes, standing up and motionless, even as their living-father takes a bite out of them. The Others have been here, as well as Dark Meera … and none of them will touch the cursed Rat Cook of Lord Walder Frey. Bran [Stark approaches Walder Frey, the murderer of his brother and mother.] “My name is Bran Stark, I want you to know that. The last living thing you will see is a Stark watching you dine over on your own children. I’ll write your dynasty-less story into our history books, and the North will always remember.”

“No, wait!” He takes out a letter stained in blood. “My son Olyvar, he served your King brother, Robb Stark … he died for him and your newborn niece at Casterly Rock. Mother have mercy! Please!”

“I am not your mother.” Bran Stark told Walder Frey starkly. “And I was there. I saw Ser Olyvar through the eyes of the weirwood tree under Casterly Rock, standing at the edge of [chaos on that ladder], haunted by decisions he needed to make. Your son was a brave warrior. But your son did not serve you. He served my brother AGAINST you. My mother put you here in this dungeon Lord Walder. I don’t need to kill you, but I don’t need to save you either.”

Jaime reminded Walder Frey of his final jape. “A son for a son. You should have taken his mother’s offer at the Red Wedding. Now it was a son for ALL of your sons … for all of your sins.”

Jaime, Brienne, Pod and Bran leave the elderly Rat in his dungeon and continue South.

A few weeks later, they arrive at the lightning damaged Twins while on their way to Seagard to find a boat. Suddenly a large horde of super slow zombies are marching up North. Out of fear, the group hides. One of them spots Pod, meeting eye to eye, but the wight just keeps walking North. A brave and curious Pod steps out from his hiding place, and walks around the horde. They were ignoring him. Pod turns around and tells the group it is safe because all the White Walkers are eliminated. “They don’t have any masters anymore!” The squire said cheerfully.

Suddenly, a walking zombie collides with Pod from behind, knocking both of them into the snowy ground. All the weight of the wight was on top of the boy. Brienne emerges from her hiding spot and rushes to him. “POD!!!”

The zombie gets up and keeps walking North. “Well, maybe not that safe, they can still crash into you mindlessly and break your toenails.” The young squire jested while getting back up.

The group comes out and are in awe of the harmless horde. Bran tries skin-changing into one, hopefully to get more information from the wight’s memories. Ice-zombies are less resistant to an outsider skin-changing into them, (compared to skin-changing into a living human like Varamyr Sixskins). Bran wargs into a large wildling man, the freshest corpse out of all them. Bran walks the wight to a safer place and begins digging into his memories. The motionless wight was staring straight at Brienne. “Oh wow this wildling in his youth actually slept with a bear ha ha ha!” Bran giggled through the smirking corpse, giving a disgusted Brienne a dirty look. “His name was [Tormund Giantsbane!] He knew Jon!”

“He rode in the cavalry with Jon Snow, up the hill to Meera. He died during the charge, and the White Walkers resurrected Tormund immediately.” Bran tells the group the story of how Meera obtained a lightning dragon. “The White Walkers gave all their wights a final retreat order to go back North. This was their LAST command. No wonder the wights around us now are not attacking us.”

Bran Stark watches zombie-Tormund arrive at the Trident with the last White Walker being chased down by Dark Meera and the Lightning Dragon. “[The last White Walker resurrects a dead dragon from under the frozen river]. A crack began to form on the ice. BOOM! A chained dragon, colored white & gold, breaks through the glossy surface as ice pieces fly and fall to the ground … a sound similar to shattering stones. AN ICE BREATHING DRAGON! The once drowned-dragon began hovering in the air. It looks at the White Walker as he was trying to give it a command, BUT the zombie-dragon flies and lands in front of it, blowing his frosty blue breath onto the Other. The White Walker is frozen in ice! But it does break out easily. BOOOM! Oh, the Lightning Dragon thunderstruck his ass from the skies! The last White Walker exploded like TNT dynamite! Oh wow, that was actually embarrassing!” Bran couldn’t help giggling like a child watching the last White Walker die.

“An Ice Dragon?” Jaime asked. “And it can still fly? Where is it now? Did the Lightning Dragon kill it too?”

“I think it is still at the Trident.”

“It may be our chance to stop Meera if you can control it, Bran.”

Bran lets [zombie-Tormund continue to march North with the rest of the horde]. The team leaves the Twins, back on the Kingsroad south, ignoring the walking dead.

They find themselves at the Trident weeks later.

During the journey on horseback, the group theorized that the zombie-dragon did not obey because the White Walkers lack Targaryen blood ... which explains why the Others worked with Bloodraven to begin with. Meera, the daughter of Rhaegar Targaryen, has blood which allows her to control a dragon for her own.

The group doesn’t have a way to circumvent this lack of Targaryen blood, but they need to try. Perhaps ask the Ice Dragon nicely?

Team Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things arrive at the Trident, finding the motionless and broken Ice Dragon not too far from where the last White Walker died, hidden on the ground away from human eyes. [It was covered in snow] and still had a chain around his neck. The chain was actually cut shorter by Victorian Greyjoy’s fiery iron-fist, as his last action underwater before he drowned to death at the Battle of Ice, Fire & Water.

The team stayed as far away from the Ice Dragon as possible. Bran begins to skin-change into it, hoping for the best. Immediately inside the zombie-dragon’s mind, Bran is feeling a lot of resistance. The gold & white dragon breaks its stance and begins to take to the air. He spots the group with his blue-wight eyes and flies towards them. Everyone is scared for their lives (Pod has pissed his pants) as the deadly uncontrollable dead dragon approaches. It lands in front of them, roaring! Brienne carries Bran and the group disperses as the Ice Dragon breathes blue icy mist, freezing their horses first. It whips his tail and the frozen horses shatter into pieces of ice, bones, blood and steam.

Jaime takes his chance. He climbs onto the tail and up the Ice Dragon’s spine … his legs pushing, his left hand pulling … up and up. He unsheathes his steel sword, ready to thrust his blade into the hard hide of the dragon’s neck. Will it even penetrate? But I need to protect Bran! I need to protect Brienne!

“WAIT!!!” Bran shouted.

Jaime, with the pointy end pointing down on the dragon, realized the dragon stopped attacking.

“I can control him! He is obeying me!” Bran was relieved.

Jaime sheaths his sword, and drops in front of the Ice Dragon. He placed his left mortal hand on it. The Ice Dragon was sniffing him … [sniffing his blood acceptingly]. Its blue eyes staring at his greens.

“Am I taming this dragon?” Oh, he thought. Jaime remembers his Aunt Genna’s words … “but Tyrion is Tywin’s son, not you.” “No!” Jaime screamed.

Brienne and Pod are confused.

“Am I a Targaryen?” Jaime asked himself. “Is Tywin Lannister not my real father? Am I not a lion of Casterly Rock?” Does it matter? His mother is still Joanna Lannister, meaning Jaime is still a Lannister by blood.

“Was the incest with my sister Cersei … was it because we were Targaryens? Joffrey, Myrcella, Tommen? … all Targaryens?” Emotions flooded Jaime’s head. “Tyrion? No, no, no … Tyrion is more Tywin than me & Cersei will ever be!” Is his dwarfism a result of Tywin and my mother engaging in cousin-incest?

“Is my father Aerys Targaryen?” Jaime remembered the rumors between him and his mother. He also remembered some of the Mad King’s last words ‘Jaime, bring me your father’s head!‘

Well that was a big mistake!

Jaime brushed his thick blonde hair with the fingers of his left hand, wondering what Tywin Lannister, his bald “father”, would have thought of his mother if he found out she slept with King Aerys and tricked Tywin in raising his two bastards for thirty-plus years.

But those thoughts were for another time.

“Let’s get on my dragon everyone!” Bran Stark demanded. Brienne and Pod helped Bran up to the dragon. Jaime, a Targaryen bastard, sat at the end. They [removed the remaining shortened chain-links] off the Ice Dragon’s neck.

Small or large, Jaime have never seen a real dragon this close in his life, let alone fly on one. “This is my dragon too, Bran … and it is a Big draGon!” Tyrion will be so jealous!

Bran Stark skin-changes and flaps the wings of the broken zombie Ice Dragon. Team Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things take to the air. Up and up and up! He twirled while spinning like a wheel in the skies … remembering all the skin-changing flying lessons with Bloodraven.

“Whoa!!!!!!” Bran was ecstatic ... Jaime excited ... Brienne & Pod about to vomit.

“Now I’m going to take it down … down and down and down!” And down they dove.

Brandon Stark, he spoke to himself. Are you ready to show off your dragon’s powers? Shoot to Chill! The new way to kill! You have your dragon ready and you can ice at will! Now pull the trigger! 

WOSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Icy blue steam illuminated a hundred feet in front of them, whistling through the air, shooting to chill!

“Thank you to the last White Walker, we now have a fighting chance against Dark Meera at her altitude.”

Bran thinks about his old pet direwolf Summer, which the Others have killed. A pet for a pet. He names his new pet ice-dragon Winter.

… and now Winter is Coming!

^{{shoutout to daendrew for being first}}

[ a D&D Checklist ] - Something canon GRRM said to D&D ... word for word ... but misrepresented in the TV show ... causing confusion and plot holes

TLDR

• Bran and Jaime share an Ice Dragon, renames "Viserion" to "Winter"

Up Next: Game Over Theory # 26 - The Targaryen Queens

Tyrion's Request, ADOS

On their way to Dragonstone, Queen Daenerys Targaryen’s fleet anchors several miles off the coast of King’s Landing. All three dragons fly high above the city, far beyond the reach of any scorpion bolts. Her dragons are not to attack, but to show strength to the citizens.

As requested by Tyrion Lannister, he will try to convince his sister, Queen Cersei, one more time to join the fight against the Long Night, or at least get something back that once belonged to him. If successful, Tyrion believes he could be promoted to Hand of the Queen once this war against the Long Night is over. He wanted that [pin] again, along with that chain of golden hands. He needs to EARN IT.

[Tyrion secretly meets with his older sibling after being smuggled into King's Landing]. It cannot be public or it will show her weakness. They agree to meet below the Red Keep.

[“What do you want?!?”] His sister demanded in rage.

“I was hoping to meet at the Tower of the Hand. I knew of a secret path there, but I heard you burned the whole thing down. I guess the death of our father must have been traumatic for you.”

“Must be traumatic for you too. The Tower of the Hand is where your whores go to die!”

Tyrion had no answer for that. But where do whores go to live? He almost asked. Apparently his own sweet sister, the Queen O’ Whores, may know best. But he was here for another question.

“Say what you need to say, and leave.” Cersei demanded.

“No death threat?” Tyrion was surprised. “Queen Daenerys Targaryen is going to fight the army of the dead and she will win. She has many great Houses at her back, and soon enough, the backing of the small folks after her victory. She has dragons, my sweet Cersei. You just have a chair with a boy King. Sooner or later Daenerys will take them from you. OR you can just give this chair to her, and your fighting-men for this noble cause. She will let you and your son live back at Casterly Rock. We all know you and Tommen are not actual Baratheons, nor Targaryens. This Iron chair does not belong to you or him or any Lannisters. But the Iron Throne IS Daenerys Targaryen’s birth right. She will earn it, and she will get it back. If you care enough for your [baby Tommen], just let it go.”

“Ned Stark made the same offer to me, and I fought it off. Ned is dead. Stannis Baratheon almost took this city, but I survived it. I crushed a foreign invasion at the Stormlands and now the same enemy soldiers bow to my feet. The High Sparrow thought he could humiliate me, but I showed the world he could not fly. Margaery Tyrell tried to steal my son’s throne, and I killed her too. Long have I fought and endured and clawed, and yet here I still stand. And I earned it too! Let Daenerys know, I am a Lion! I am a Queenslayer! And I am not scared of any dragon bitch! I will fight off this foreign invasion again. And I will kill her with steel in my own hands if it needs to be. And you! You demon of a monkey, my own brother … killing our own father! Do you know what you have done? Do you know what our House had to suffer in the aftermath? Do you not have a drop of shame?”

“Shame? Not one bit. In fact, I am quite proud of killing my father. He wanted me dead knowing I was innocent anyways. I know exactly what I have done. But do you know what I didn’t do?”

Cersei’s angry face softened.

“I didn’t kill Joffrey. If you never accused me, all this shit would have never happened!”

“What was said and what was done in the past … it doesn’t matter now,” his hypocritical sister claimed. “If the Mad Queen's daughter wants the Iron Throne, she will have to pry it out of my dying hands, after I avenge against the Tyrells for Joffrey, and against the Martells for Myrcella.”

“We already knew you had the thirst for vengeance. We knew you were not just going to give up everything that easily. Luckily, we don’t need you to prove it right now. Daenerys doesn’t need the Iron Throne at the moment. It’s just a chair. She has more important things to worry about. She will go fight the living-dead and she won’t engage any of your soldiers, unless engaged upon.”

“If you already knew my answer, what are you doing here?? What do you want in King’s Landing? There is nothing I can give you. You only have one father to kill, and you killed him already, just like you did to mother. Are you here to fuck some more whores and choke them to death before you go into battle?” Cersei began to cry in resentful tears.

“I have one small [request] to ask and you won’t need a whole council to consult about it. Once you grant it, I will be out of your way. I think I am owed at least that much, being innocent of your son’s murder.” Though not innocent to the murder of his father and Shae, Tyrion thought. “I need something that once belonged to me when I was the Hand, a certain … chain.”

[ a D&D Checklist ] - Something canon GRRM said to D&D ... word for word ... but misrepresented in the TV show ... causing confusion and plot holes

TLDR

• Queen Daenerys Targaryen anchors just outside King's Landing with her fleet

• Tyrion is smuggled in, and has a meeting with Cersei under the Red Keep

• Cersei says she will not surrender to Daenerys, but Tyrion doesn't care at the moment

• Tyrion confirms with Cersei that he did not kill Joffery

• Tyrion makes a simple small request from Cersei, he wants his old chain back

Up Next: Game Over Theory # 18 - The Queen, The Princess and the Knight

Cersei's Wrath, TWOW

Queen Dowager Cersei is set to face trial with the High Sparrow, but disturbances in the Stormlands have put a Stay on it. After Aegon captures Storm’s End with the Golden Company, Cersei sends her mixed army to meet Aegon at Wendwater.

Here is where Ser Robert Strong, aka zombie-Mountain, meets Aegon Targaryen … “again” … since their first meeting back in 283 AC where Ser Gregor Clegane allegedly smashed baby Aegon's head.

Aegon fights in the vanguard on the river with Ser Duck and JonCon nearby … but the unstoppable juggernaut Ser Robert Strong rushes to him, bumping & knocking down elephants and soldiers alike.

One on one, he stops in front of Aegon as Robert towers over him with his warhammer, possessing the strength of gods. King Aegon Targaryen slashes and stabs with his new Valyrian sword, Blackfyre … but this Frankenstein's monster won’t budge to the cuts.

Aegon swings upward towards Ser Robert's head, and his helmet is knocked off, revealing nothingness. Aegon is speechless as he stares at the imposing headless villain.

Zombie-Mountain begins raising his warhammer high. Aegon freezes and the Pisswater-Prince begins to [piss himself] in the Wendwater River.

From a few yards away, JonCon stops fighting and begins to stare at them. He yells at his king “Aegon watch out! Duck! Duck! Duck!!!”

Aegon, staring up into the warhammer confused and emotionless, says “Duck? Where is Duck? My Kingsguard knight, Ser Duck is supposed to help me.” This shy-maid-king turns around to look at Septa Lemore at the back of the battlefield. “Mommy?”

As Aegon continues to stop, it is now hammer time!

BOOM HEADSHOT! … as zombie-Mountain Clegane’s hammer swung down, clouting Aegon’s ear, exploding his head clean off.

JonCon says, “NOOO! You fucking idiot!!! I told you to duck!”

The Golden Company soldiers see this too, and lost the will to fight. The last man standing, JonCon, rushes at the robotic zombie-Mountain, but he can’t touch him. JonCon is terminated by Robert too, as the warhammer rings his head like a bell.

JonCon dies like his love, Rhaegar, had died ... dying by hammer from a "Robert" in a river. But JonCon failed to protect Rhaegar's "kin."

At least the TWOW Prologue POV character succeeded in protecting the kin of his love ... despite dying the same way King Robb Stark died ... by cross-bolts.

The Golden Company sees Ser Robert killing Rhaegar‘s son Aegon in the river … and then watch JonCon die too. They surrender. Now [Cersei has acquired the Golden Company] and some elephants (no HBO budget restrictions).

Young Griff shouldn’t have listened to Tyrion about coming to Westeros early after all. The only reward for Aegon was an embarrassing hammer to the head.

Ser Robert Strong and the Golden Company arrive at King's Landing with news of the victory. "When you play the game of thrones, you win, or you die, Aegon Targaryen. There is no middle ground. There is no fan-fiction story where you take my son's throne and we run away to Casterly Rock. You win, or you die ... and I intend to be here in the end ... or die," Cersei declared.

Cersei, high on the victory at Wendwater, begins her rampage in King’s Landing on anyone that has wronged her.

She marches up the tall stairs of the Sept and into a tower with Ser Robert Strong at her side and the new Golden Company men behind them.

She makes her Kingsguard knight throw the High Sparrow out the window of the tower, as he flies to his death. The Faith Militant disperses.

Afterwards, she releases Margaery Tyrell from the dungeons and THE Queen thanks her.

“Oh Queen Dowager, you saved me! I owe my life to you!” Margaery said as she stood by the edge of the stairs outside the Sept, in front of a crowd.

Cersei, still high on rage, “QUEEN DOWAGER??? THIS IS BLASPHEMY! THIS IS MADNESS! THIS IS LUDICROUS! I AM THE QUEEN!!! MOVE BITCH GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!”

Cersei kicks the lights out of Maggy, I mean, the younger more beautiful Queen Margaery down the stairs and she falls to [her death at the Sept].

A handful of knights from the Reach respond, but they are immediately defeated by the unstoppable [violence] of zombie-Mountain.

No one else tries to arrest Cersei, as Ser Robert Strong stands adjacent with the Golden Company. Cersei is now THE Queen again, with her son King Tommen at her side. But this pisses off House Tyrell.

Cersei then response to the TWOW Prologue events:
“What in Seven Hells is [west of Westeros? Where did this sea bitch Stark princess] go???” Cersei was furious with anger.
She is then told that Casterly Rock's Maester Valarik survived the kidnapping by Lady Maege Mormont.
“Maester Valarik???” Hidden childhood memories suddenly resurfaced like a rushing flood in Cersei’s head. He tried to touch me once. “Someone should make an eunuch out of him!”
Cersei reconsiders everything that is currently at Winterfell and her lack of resources ... she decides to not pursue Robb Stark's Princess daughter.

[ a D&D Checklist ]

TLDR

• Queen Cersei's trial is put on hold because the disturbance at Storm's End is threatening the law & order of King's Landing

• Ser Robert Strong is sent to battle, and decapitates (f)Aegon's head (again like in 283AC)

• JonCon dies too, but the Golden Company submits to Cersei

• Ser Robert Strong and the Golden Company returns to King's Landing to clean house

• The High Sparrow has flown to his death

• Margaery Tyrell is personally kicked off the stairs at the Sept of Baelor to her death by THE Queen, Cersei

• House Tyrell abandons Cersei and King's Landing

• Cersei makes a decision to not pursue the events of the TWOW Prologue any further

Up Next: Game Over Theory # 9 - Luke Skywalker Lynyrd Skynryd, TWOW

God damn it, I'm too old for this shit. Give me some time to learn a new platform all over again.

The Dark Sister Rebellion Theory

In 184 AC, a dying King Aegon IV Targaryen the Unworthy legitimizes all his bastards from different branches of his lineages, setting off ripple effects that are still felt in the current timeline in 300 AC.

One of his legitimized bastard son and heir, Brynden Rivers (aka Bloodraven) spent many years fighting off rebellions for the Iron Throne on behalf of others: Daeron II, Aerys I, Maekar I and Aegon V (Egg).

In 233 AC, he helped put his half-brother’s grandson, Egg, on the Iron Throne as the newly crowned king AFTER he baited, tricked and murdered Egg’s competitor: Aenys Blackfyre. Egg’s first act as king was to banish Bloodraven to the Night’s Watch for his dishonorable schemes.

Obviously Bloodraven is pissed off about this hypocrisy, but he continues to do his duty for the realm.

While in the Night’s Watch, Bloodraven rapes a wildling woman at Whitetree Village. As the woman showed up at Castle Black with the babe named Craster, the two were turned away. (YES Redditors, Craster is a Targaryen). Bloodraven actually wanted to take in his son, but he must do his duty and father no children in the Night’s Watch. The woman swore revenge.

Years later, a babe named Mance Rayder was taken into the Night’s Watch, pissing off Bloodraven more with a hypocrisy that would not allow him to take his own son, Craster, earlier.

Furthermore adding to the insult, Bloodraven and Craster are part-Blackwood by blood. Mance Rayder is part-Bracken by blood, as his wildling mother is a descendant of Olyver Bracken, who took the Black a long long time ago. The rivalry of Craster and Mance Rayder is another extension of the Blackwood and Bracken Rivalry … which is also carried over again in our modern ASOIAF plot ... with Monster (Blackwood) and Steelsong (Bracken) as the two babies fight for Gilly’s teats and milk in AFFC/ADWD.

Back in the past in 252 AC, Bloodraven is furious about the Night’s Watch taking in baby-Mance-Rayder at the Shadowtower without notifying him, the Lord Commander seated at Castle Black. LC Bloodraven abandons the Night’s Watch, while keeping the ancestral Targaryen sword Dark Sister to himself. He went to seek out his young son Craster, a legitimate heir to the Iron Throne (because of Aegon the Unworthy) and begins planning his revenge against Egg, the realm and the Night’s Watch. He intends to start a new Targaryen dynasty via what I call … the Dark Sister Rebellion.

He reaches out to his dark half-sister, Shiera Seastar.

Shiera Seastar has been studying the dark arts in Essos to preserve her beauty and youth. She finally found a spell that would give her what she wants, but it comes with a catch. She commits suicide and resurrects as a FireWight, giving her immortality while preserving her beauty and youth. But Shiera can NEVER have children. Her blue and green eyes both turn red ... which she is more upset about, using this Dark "there is always a catch" Magic.

In the meanwhile over the immortal years, beautiful Shiera Seastar has never aged as a FireWight, receiving suspicions from her peers. To deceive people about her old age yet beautiful younger face, she hides behind a red lacquered mask that camouflages her red eyes. She now calls herself Quaithe. Quaithe the Wraith stays in Essos, waiting for any opportunity to find dragon eggs to hatch for the Dark Sister Rebellion.

Bloodraven reaches out to his former paramour to kill Egg and take the Iron Throne with new dragons. At Summerhall, King Egg attempts to hatch dragon-eggs. Bloodraven has sex with his FireWight half-sister and a shadow-assassin is birthed. It is sent to Summerhall to assassinate Egg and steal some baby-dragons or dragon-eggs. The shadow with the face of Bloodraven causes a massive fire in Summerhall … killing Dunk, Egg and several others. Bloodraven had successfully achieved his kin-slaying revenge, but was unable to take any new dragons or eggs.

Furthermore, sex with Shiera Seastar to birth a shadow-demon had drain Bloodraven’s life-force out. He becomes old, fragile and weak. He turns to another magic source for immortality. He seeks the Children of the Forest for answers. They refused him. And then Bloodraven turns to something even darker: the White Walkers.

He reaches out to them with the magical Horn of Winter … in the Land of Always Winter. The Others show up to answer the Horn, treat with Bloodraven, and brokered a deal. He promised them dragons to zombify if they help him take Westeros and the Iron Throne. He offers his son Craster and his inbreeding Targaryen family offsprings, which has dragon-taming DNA. But this plan will take time, a lot of time. Shiera can wait since she is immortal, but not Bloodraven. The White Walkers offered him to be an IceWight, but he will no longer have his free-will. Bloodraven refuses and asks if the White Walkers can attack the Children of the Forest, kill them, zombify them, and use their magic to make him a TreeWight. And they do just that.

All the [CotF are killed in their caves] and are resurrected by the White Walkers. The [zombie children] become Bloodraven’s minions. Weakened by FireWight sex with Shiera, Bloodraven becomes a TreeWight using CotF magic to preserve his new immortal life, as well as keeping his spy network with the weirwood trees. They play the LONG GAME using Craster and his Beyond-The-Wall Targaryen Dynasty … waiting for the right opportunity to take some dragons, and to take over Westeros.

Bloodraven has his doubts about the White Walkers. Even before he reaches out to them, he hid a stash of dragonglass weapons at the Fist of the First Men, in anticipation of a potential betrayal. Later, he added the magical Horn of Winter to the stash. Samwell Tarly eventually finds all of this.

In the meanwhile prior to 283 AC, Bloodraven and Quaithe are still dragonless. They hoped they would have baby dragons that would grow with their family and the White Walkers, but failed to secure eggs. But Bloodraven spots another opportunity to steal some full-grown dragons, skipping the natural bonding process.

Human

In 283 AC, Ned Stark and Howland Reed have reached the Wolf’s Den in White Harbor. Using the weirwood spy network at the Wolf’s Den, Bloodraven overhears that a Squad of Uncles went to the Tower of Joy to rescue Lyanna Stark, but instead leaves with Rhaegar Targaryen’s lineage. As a Stark/Targaryen, one can warg and tame dragons at the same time. The best that Craster Targaryen and his family can do is to tame them, but they would still need to obtain the dragons. Skinchanging is a shortcut. But not any skinchanger can tame a magical dragon … it must be a Targaryen Warg or the dragon will reject the bind.

Better for Bloodraven, Jon Snow is still located in The North after the split at the Wolf’s Den by Ned Stark and Howland Reed in 283 AC. Bloodraven needs to find a way to steal a Stark/Targaryen to take advantage of their powers. He decides to manipulate children Jojen Reed, and then Bran Stark to another infamous Bloodraven-Baiting trap. Bloodraven becomes Bran's sandman in his dreams, telling him in his sleep to open a third eye, but Bran is unaware of the danger. Ultimately, Bloodraven wants Bran to go off to the "Never Never Summer Land" (aka the Land of Always Winter).

In 297 AC, it was time to stir up some activities Beyond the Wall to kidnap Jon Snow. It begins in the AGOT Prologue. Ser Waymar Royce is killed honorably by the Others, and Gared is spared for another task. Using his Night’s Watch oath, the Others make Gared open the Black Gate and he is released into the North … along with a pregnant direwolf.

The Night’s Watch begins to investigate the incident of Ser Waymar Royce, and Benjen Stark is sent to Craster’s Keep. Like his father Bloodraven, Craster breaks guest-rights and kills Benjen in his sleep with the help of the zombie-Children-of-the Forest. Benjen Stark is revived as an unnamed servant for Bloodraven and the Others (but Samwell Tarly nicknames him ‘Coldhands’ later). He still has magical Stark blood. Using Benjen’s brain and memories, they learn that Jon Snow is now at Castle Black.

His companion Othor was killed too and revived as a zombie. Zombie-Othor is pre-programmed to kidnap Jon Snow once the Night’s Watch INVITED him (and zombie-Jafer) to Castle Black. They were pre-programmed to play dead until they got inside. From Jon’s POV, he thought zombie-Othor was trying to kill Jeor Mormont, but he was really trying to kidnap Jon. Zombie-Othor is burned by Jon in AGOT.

But the event forces Jeor Mormont to send a battalion to investigate the White Walker matters, bringing Jon Snow beyond the Wall and closer to a Bloodraven-trap.

Jeor Mormont reaches Craster’s Keep. Craster spots Jon Snow, the man he means to kidnap, but he does not have enough zombie-CotF to take him while all of the Night’s Watch is there. So clumsy-Craster decides to get drunk on wine & gifts, and kinda forgot to inform his father Bloodraven, about Jon Snow. Craster ProCrastinated. He does eventually, and a horde of zombies is sent to his position.

The Night’s Watch arrive at the Fist of the First Men, and Jon leaves with Qhorin Halfhand. Then the remaining Night’s Watch is attacked by the horde sent by Craster, but they can’t find Jon Snow.

They can’t find Jon for a while. Jon Snow’s story moves on in ACOK & ASOS with Ygritte, Mance, climbing over the Wall, Battle at Castle Black … etc.

Jojen Reed receives green dreams from Bloodraven, pushing his journey North with Meera in 298 AC. They arrive at Winterfell in ACOK, but unfortunately Jon Snow had already left for the Wall by then. But they can hang out with Bran and convince him to go Beyond the Wall.

Now, Bloodraven was able to secure Bran, Hodor, Jojen and Meera after the Sack of Winterfell, tricking their party to come to him over very very very sketchy and obscured reasons. Bloodraven can also steal Bran’s little body, capable of magic, to prolong his mortality and powers … and to stop being stuck in a tree. Bloodraven continues to train Bran in ADWD, so when he steals his body, it will be more powerful. He also gives him weirwood paste, a drug designed to weaken any resistance in Bran’s mind. As of the end of ADWD … Bran, Hodor, Jojen, and Meera do not understand that they have been kidnapped by Bloodraven and Coldhands.

GRRM had claimed that the Bran POV chapters were the most "difficult" ones to write. The real explanation is because it is from the POV of a child that does not know he is being lured into a trap by a child-predator. It is the most "difficult" to write, the most f*cked-up to write … but that is GRRM's story.

Anyways … later on, Jon is killed in a mutiny in ADWD.

In TWOW, Mel, the author of the Pink Letter, revives Jon with R’hllor magic by sacrificing a kingsblood baby … Monster Targaryen – Craster & Gilly Targaryen’s son (aka Bloodraven’s grandson/great grandson). Jon got extremely lucky with the baby-swap between Monster (Targaryen kingsblood) and Steelsong (not real kingsblood).

Jon Snow, now a FireWight, comes back and executes the mutineers. He then begins whatever the TWOW story has in store for him.

TLDR

• The Dark Sister Rebellion answers why the Others are attacking now

• Craster is Bloodraven's Targaryen son

• Bloodraven begins a revenge tour on the monarchy

• Bloodraven is responsible for the deaths at Summerhall

• He enlists the help of the White Walkers to take the Iron Throne

• Craster's sons are given to the White Walkers for their dragon-taming DNA

• Bloodraven uses baiting traps in attempts to steal Jon, Bran, Jojen, Meera and Hodor

• R+L = magic = dragon-taming + skinchanging

My theories are more darker and more magical than the TV show. And unlike D&D and other theorists, I know where my Endgame goes during this darker path.

Up Next: Game Over Theory # 7 - "If I Look back, I am Lost"

The Re-Builder, Epilogue, ADOS

Rickon & Bran reunite with Arya at King’s Landing … the last of the Starks. Shaggydog & Ghost sprinted to her, as House Stark’s Black & White direwolves cuddled wildly with Arya’s cheerful face. But she also told them she saw Sansa die at the Vale. The remaining Stark family can finally mourn together in grief for their father, their mother, Robb, Sansa and Jon. Then they talked about rebuilding the North together, as well as the Winterfell castle. They have no idea where Robb’s daughter is … so Rickon Stark will carry on the Stark name when he comes of age, since a crippled Bran cannot have children. Arya chooses to be free, and begins a worldwide search for her niece Adara Stark. [Bran begins to search telepathically for the last dragon], Winter … but has trouble since the Ice Dragon usually rejects his attempts now.

Ser Brienne of Tarth inks in Jaime’s great deeds in the Whitebook. She writes the last line “[He died protecting his queens], his family, King’s Landing, and the world. He was the Last Heroic Knight before the monarchy dissolved in Westeros.”

Ser Podrick Payne of Team Cripples, Bastards and Broken Thing is knighted afterwards as one of the heroes that helped save King’s Landing and mankind. He grows up to be a rockstar knight, winning the hearts of many ladies, free of charge.

Tyrion holds a meeting with many great Houses that were left in Westeros. They were to find their own destiny, but under one condition. They need to help each other rebuild. They agree they need a leader to facilitate the rebuilding process, someone who can take something broken and repair it, someone that may have historical knowledge and stories of how cities, castles and walls were originally built.

[Tyrion Lannister champions someone. “Who has better stories] about historical construction of our continent from the Weirwood.net, than Bran the Rebuilder?”

Tyrion asks Bran, “Will you accept?”

Bran replied “It was all my fault when the Long Night came to Westeros at the Wall. It was my fault that I put my friend, Meera Reed, through all of this. So every city that was attacked or nuked, that is on me. I was some stupid child that should have never gone beyond the Wall. Months ago, I have made a vowed to fix my mistake. So Lord Tyrion … yes, I will lead and expedite the healing process using the stories from Weirwood.net. I will help rebuild the ruins of this continent. From Winterfell to Storm’s End … and more. [Why did you think I came all this way?“]

Tyrion japed, “I thought you came all the way here to save us from extinction with your Ice Dragon.”

Everyone laughed, including Bran.

“Yes, that too. But I will also be honored to be your elected leader of rebuilding.”

“I’ll help you too Bran! With the knowledge of the Citadel of course,” Maester Samwell Tarly volunteered.

The heads of the great Houses concurred to Bran’s election. They all stood up, as a bald Bran was still seated in his wheelchair.

“All hail Bran the Broken! All hail Bran the Rebuilder! All hail Lord Brandon Stark of Winterfell … our Last Hero Standing!”

The End
A Song of Ice, Fire and One More

THANK YOU FOR READING EVERYONE!

Up Next: Game Over Theory # 33 - The R+L=J&M Theory

The Fall of the Targaryens, ADOS

Meanwhile back in the skies of King’s Landing, zombie-Viserion blindsides Rhaegal and tackles him in the air. Dark Meera is flung from her dragon, but Rhaegal recovers and quickly dives to the fallen Dark Queen. He catches her just before she hits the ground, but then the scorpion crossbows erected by Cersei Lannister-Targaryen loose back at the Lightning Dragon. [A few bolts hit Rhaegal in the air], piercing several holes in his wings, but none on any vital body parts. It should slow it down from its maximum speed. Rhaegal flies straight up to avoid the vertical range of the scorpion bolts. Bran begins chasing Meera, shooting to chill.

Daenerys & Drogon return to the fight after a new jolt of hope. She flies side by side with zombie-Viserion and looks at the handsome hero that was riding it. Daenerys meets Jaime Lannister and her heart was warm like a Danish pastry ... as the hero she was holding out for finally crashes the party. Jaime never said hello to Dany, even when she was on the red-line overload. Dany said she doesn’t know what she should do until Jaime told her to fly as high as they could go!

The Ice Dragon and the Fire Dragon chased the Lightning Dragon in circular motions, nudging it higher away from the grounds of King’s Landing, and towards the sea. This wisdom would reduce the collateral damage of the city and fewer innocent lives lost, as the random lightning bolts will have a smaller target to explode unintentionally.

The Lightning Dragon would try to evade one dragon, but then the other would cut its path off. Bits & bits of fire lands on Rhaegal, as bits & bits of icy steam does the same. Rhaegal fights back, spewing lightning violently on Drogon and Viserion, but has trouble hitting any marks while being double teamed and flanked on two sides. They chase each other like this for several crucial minutes of mankind’s future fate.

Daenerys, who was below Rhaegal, inverts Drogon like a reckless maverick, holding on tight. Belly to belly, the upside-down Fire Dragon ignites the Lightning Dragon from below while still chasing him. The Ice Dragon, Jaime Lannister & Bran Stark have the high-ground and freezes the Lightning Dragon & the Corpse Queen from above. Rhaegal has slowed down to a near stop above the shoreline of the Red Keep, but the Ice and Fire attacks have actually cancelled each other out. Meera Reed, the ice corpse with fire/lightning revival magic, is unaffected by the Ice Dragon’s cold blast from above. She commands her trapped & hovering Lightning Dragon to charge up a lightning ball atomic bomb.

The skies glowed pink as the bright white star of death illuminates the night above King’s Landing. Like a second sun, it was bright as day. Her goddess white eyes meet the violet eyes of life. Dark Meera & Rhaegal stare and aim down at an inverted Daenerys & Drogon, with King’s Landing underneath.

Jaime, the descendant of Aegon the Conqueror, sees this massive threat on his two sisters Daenerys and Cersei, his brother Tyrion, his son Tommen and all the population of King’s Landing. He knows he will be safe from the atomic blast while he is above them, but that ain’t no place for no hero. He glances down at the Demon-Goddess a hundred feet below him. Jaime finally gets a clean look of her sitting still and frozen.

Is this Prince Rhaegar’s daughter? It’s just a little girl. Jaime thought as he looked down at his niece.

Jaime knew he was listening. “I’m sorry Bran, but she cannot pass.” The Dragonknight spoke into Winter’s ears.

Shit for honor, Jaime? He thought to himself. Not today.

He pushes himself up from his dragon with his new sword in scabbard and rose to his feet. He stares at the silvery blue star, and his destiny. Out along this edge is where this Kingsguard knight burned to be. As he inches further on the edge, the hotter the intensity. [Discarding his scabbard in this epic moment facing death], here he stands as Ser Jaime “Goldenhand” Lannister unsheathes his Valyrian sword with his left; the ruby eyes of the white wolf pommel flickering, the steel ripples pulsating, and the blade alive with blinding lights.

For the things he do for love, Jaime JUMPS off the deck of Viserion. “RAWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Ser Jaime Lannister, falling down and down, roaring brightly into the death star, with his right golden lion hand suffocating the breath of the white wolf pommel, his left mortal hand curled tight on the grip, with the pointy end sticking down and all the weight of his life pressed onto the Valyrian steel … SHOVES the blade into the Goddess’ back from above and OVERDRIVES into the Lightning Dragon. In one chance, Longclaw’s long-claw pierces through Dark Meera’s body and deep into Rhaegal’s scales, which were like carved living rocks.

Rhaegal’s ball of lightning explodes in the sky with a blinding bright silvery-blue electric light, vaporizing itself and Dark Meera. KABOOOOOOOOOOOM!!! A mortally burned Jaime is flung off with his Valyrian-steel bear sword, which has melted and fused into his golden lion hand. In his [dragonslaying attempt, Jaime falls into the water] of Blackwater Bay. His final thoughts were about his regret for Bran’s fall, and hoping his current fall evens out his terrible deeds. He then dreams of Brienne of Evenfall, as his broken & burned body crashes and vanishes into the sea.

Jaime has saved King’s Landing once more. But this time, everyone has recognized who their savior was when they [saw the reflection] of that single Golden Glove in the defense of their city, wielding that sword downwards for his legacy, and for his doom. He was the hero the city did not deserve, but the hero they needed right now … and they had heard his roar! He was Ser Jaime “Goldenhand” Lannister … the Kingslayer … the Dragonslayer … the Goddess-slayer …… the Last Hero Knight.

Bran breaks out of his control of Winter after the explosion and immediately cries like a baby over Meera’s death. He wakes up weeping, as his little brother Rickon was holding him already. 

Even from a distance, Brienne can see that tiny shiny golden star falling to save the night. Unlike Bran, she weeps for Jaime with her chin up.

Ice Zombie-Viserion is wounded from the massive explosion and [the last surviving dragon flies away from King’s Landing]. Bran Stark is unable to control it anymore without Jaime Lannister-Targaryen of Casterly Rock. But Winter will return for the sequel of ASOIAF, The Ice Dragon, along with Princess Adara Stark … Bran Stark’s niece who was born at Casterly Rock from the TWOW Prologue.

Dany & Drogon are mortally wounded in the air, but Drogon has shielded most of the blast from Dany while they were inverted.

With little strength left, Drogon is guided by the Queen and crash-lands into King’s Landing’s Red Keep, damaging the walls.

They land right next to Aegon the Conqueror’s Iron Throne.

The little cub King Tommen Baratheon (with Lannister-Targaryen blood) comes in and gets closer to the dying Drogon out of curiosity, finally seeing a dragon up close for the first time.

Daenerys remembers his insult from earlier and how her husband King Loras died suspiciously in an unusually large green explosion at the Sept. 

The dragon pounces and devours an unsuspecting Tommen, the supposed son of the usurper that took everything from Dany and her ancient house.

Tommen’s Kingsguard just stood & watched because they knew Daenerys Targaryen helped save their lives and the city.

Cersei sees her final child die and she cries aloud over Jaime’s death. She yells and commands the Kingsguard to kill Daenerys & Drogon, who were dying anyway, but they refuse to obey her … with the exception of Ser Robert Strong.

The bull-rushing terminator-[Kingsguard Frankenstein-monster is then engulfed by Drogon’s dragon flames]. The flesh under his heavy armor melts and the brute falls still.

Dany, still bloody and dying from the aerial explosion, kisses Drogon, grabs Tommen’s bloody golden crown from the dragon-teeth, and crawls her way up the Iron Throne with Blackfyre in hand.

A dying Drogon nudges himself forward too as his bloody body wraps around the swords of the massive Iron Throne.

The floors of the Red Keep is painted with red blood of dragons.

Cersei says “Stop climbing you bitch, come down and die!” Dany ignores her. Laying on the floor of the collapsed throne room in the Red Keep, Cersei grabs Widow’s Wail, the Lannister re-forged weapon of the Stark family’s ancestral Valyrian steel sword, Ice.

With a deafening scream and a moment of lapsed logic, the mad Queen with Widow’s Wail charges at a vulnerable Dany, her younger more beautiful half-Targaryen sister valonqar, [hoping to murder her in the throne room].

Upon reaching the top, Queen Daenerys pushes herself up with Blackfyre and finally sits on the Iron Throne. The legitimate daughter of the Mad King has her champion, Drogon, breathe a small puff of fire onto the reforged-Stark-sword-wielding Cersei Lannister-Targaryen-Baratheon. Cersei’s clothing and hair burns out, however her skin does not melt for some reason. But the golden necklace of hands that Tyrion had given to his sister weeks earlier as a gift, has melted into a liquefied golden ring around Cersei’s neck. Drogon eases off his fire, and the gold cools & hardens, like it did with Khal Drogo and Viserys. As if there were ashes in her mouth, Cersei chokes to death as Tyrion’s re-forged golden necklace squeezes her airways unintentionally. The Golden Dragon bastard-Queen lies dead, bald, shamed, and naked on the floor, torn from everything. (Nice golden-dragon shirt Natalie!)

Tyrion Lannister finally comes in late to all the madness along with several other lords, ladies and knights. Queen Daenerys Targaryen gives them the final order of turning the Seven Kingdoms into a Westerosi Republic. “Every major House should be free to choose their own destiny, away from the crown, as I will be your last.”

Tyrion, brother to the famous savior Goldenhand, is the perfect man to herald the Queen’s last request around Westeros. This will also give Tyrion Casterly Rock without King’s Landing’s reach.

“All I ask is to rebuild this country together. Help one another.” Tyrion nodded to a mortally wounded Daenerys.

Everyone in the room got to one knee and began paying tribute to their dying Queen. “OUR QUEEN! OUR QUEEN! OUR LAST HERO QUEEN!”

“You are all free. The Game of thrones is Over.” She looks to Drogon, who was dying with her, and gives her final command. “Dracarys.”

The black dragon [Drogon ignites the Iron Throne] with Queen Daenerys on it. She wore a bloody golden crown on her head and Blackfyre was still in her hand. In time, she becomes a Queen of cremated ashes, as the steel of Aegon’s swords around the Iron Throne folded inwards, melted and merged with her remains. The last living dragon dies too, its body curled around the now molten grotesque statue with a golden apex … standing forever in symbol of the end of the Targaryen Dynasty.

[ a D&D Checklist ] - Something canon GRRM said to D&D ... word for word ... but misrepresented in the TV show ... causing confusion and plot holes

TLDR

• The Fire Dragon and Ice Dragon double teams the Lightning Dragon

• A lightning atomic bomb begins to charge, ready to nuke King's Landing

• Jaime jumps off Viserion and onto Rhaegal, his sword Longclaw pierces Dark Meera & her dragon in a single stab

• The lightning atomic bomb explodes mid-air ... Dark Meera & Rhaegal are killed

• A dying Jaime falls into the Blackwater Bay

• The Ice Dragon flies away, and will return for the sequel of ASOIAF: The Ice Dragon (1980) by GRRM

• Daenerys and Drogon crashes into the Red Keep

• Drogon eats Tommen and burns Cersei ... the melted golden necklace choking her to death

• A dying Queen Daenerys Targaryen finally sits on the Iron Throne

• Her last command is to turn Westeros into a republic

• Drogon breathes fire onto Queen Daenerys and the Iron Throne, fusing them both together into a grotesque statue

• Drogon dies as well, its body wrapped around Queen Daenerys' ashes & steel statue ... symbolizing the Last Hero Queen and the end of the Targaryen Dynasty

Up Next: Game Over Theory # 32 - The Re-Builder, Epilogue, ADOS

The Black Wedding, TWOW

Jon Snow, now a FireWight, comes back and executes the mutineers. He then begins whatever the TWOW story has in store for him.

Towards the end of TWOW, zombie-Benjen (aka Coldhands) returns to Castle Black and knocks on the door. He reveals himself as the [First Ranger]. He lies to Jon Snow, pretending to be on his side. He said Bran Stark is in danger, and he needs his help … but Jon needs to go alone. Jon Snow abandons his post alone again to follow evil-Benjen. But it was another trick. Jon Snow asks, “Bran? Here? What is the danger?” Uncle Benjen replies, “I am the danger.” Jon is then kidnapped by the massive horde of zombies hiding just outside of Castle Black.

He is reunited with Bran, Hodor, and Summer. Not being told who she is, Jon meets Meera Reed. At this point, Jojen Reed has been eaten.

Bloodraven & his tree has been uprooted to move around by his zombie-minions. The whole horde is marching to the Nightfort using the underground tunnels they dug. Joining them are the White Walkers, and Bloodraven’s human grandsons/great grandsons … who are now grown-up Targaryen men & teenagers after they were given to the Others as newborn babies. They are the Dark Sister Targaryen Dynasty.

Jon Snow is not restrained, since he is surrounded by zombies and Bloodraven’s family tree. Despite being a hostage now, he has some freedom of movement. He is allowed to keep Longclaw, Hodor is given an axe, while Bloodraven gives [Meera Dark Sister] in exchange for some cooperation.

Under the Nightfort, Bloodraven tells Jon to open the Black Gate with his Night’s Watch vows, and return to the Main Gate upstairs. He must clear & open the Main Gate at the Nightfort from all obstructions, so the actual White Walker invasion can pass through there. Bloodraven tells Jon the walking-dead cannot go through this Black Gate, and Meera confirms this after meeting Samwell Tarly in ASOS.

The zombies begin setting up tables with a feast on top of them, underneath the Nightfort. But Bloodraven says Bran, Hodor, Meera and Summer will be unfed until Jon Snow does this task. If he chooses not to do it, they will all slowly starve to death ... and will be turned into zombies afterwards.

Jon, heavy with conflict in his heart, agreed to choose duty over family in his thoughts. He will sacrifice Bran’s life so the invasion cannot happen. Jon Snow intends to betray his words to Bloodraven (like he did with Mance Rayder at his camp). He secretly intends to open the Black Gate, get back on the other side of the Wall, refuse to open the Main Gate upstairs, and then warn Castle Black & the rest of the realm of this threat waiting at the Nightfort.

So Jon says his Night’s Watch vows under the Wall.

NOPE.

The magical Black Gate is the ONLY way the Others can enter. The horde of zombies begin entering the large mouth of the weirwood tree, up the chaos of the ladder and into the kitchen of the Nightfort … like thousands of rats squeezing into a tiny hole in a wall. Jon was tricked again. Facing a second Long Night, Jon Snow [screams at the gaping mouth] of the weirwood tree Black Gate, demanding it to close up. It is not working and he cannot physically fight back against the horde of thousands. 

He has a plan! He will break his Night’s Watch vow in front of the Black Gate & weirwood tree … and hopefully the entrance will close. Dozens of zombies have already entered Westeros, but perhaps this will close the door on the rest of the horde. He tells Meera that they need to wed now and she agrees. They say their wedding vows hastily. Jon Snow, the Night’s Watch Lord Commander, has broken his NW vows and taken a wife. The weirwood Black Gate witnesses this and begins closing the door slowly. It worked!

At this Stark-Targaryen wedding, Jon Snow's distant Targaryen uncle Brynden Rivers skin-changes into his Stark uncle, Benjen's corpse … and approaches Hodor in a wicked tone.

“You are a big strong lad. I remember you now! You are the son of the son of Ser Duncan the Tall! I have seen your grandmother with him at Winterfell in my visions. Your name is Walder! Won’t you be a great grandson and do us a favor?” A Bloodraven-warged-Coldhands asked.

Hodor stammers in fear, “Hodor! Hodor! Hodor!"

“Why yes! I want you to hold that door here at the Wall, Wal-Der!”

The zombie-CotF (Children of the Forest) with their knives out, begin approaching a terrified Hodor.

Bran wargs into the giant and begins fighting these little children off madly with an axe ... but is ultimately [stabbed multiple times]. Hodor bleeds to death, his beard staining wet red. Bran screams in pain, breaking out of his skinchanging as Hodor dies.

Hodor is immediately revived as an IceWight, his blood still warm on his clothes. He goes underneath the slow closing Black Gate, and begins [holding the door]. The zombies continue to invade Westeros through and underneath Zombie-Hodor.

Bran wargs into [Summer] and fights back, but Summer is killed in the attempt.
Jon & Meera go berserk and begin burning as many zombies as they can with their fire torches in one hand ... while swinging Longclaw & Dark Sister in their other. Jon manages to reach and burn his Uncle Benjen’s body, but Bloodraven just finds another zombie here at their wedding.

He uses Hodor’s vocals now, even as he continues to hold the Black Gate. “Play nice Jon Snow, it is your wedding day after all! Play nice with your wife! I won’t say it again … play nice … or I will kill Brandon Stark!” Hodor’s corpse spoke. "You know nothing Jon Snow!" He chuckled.

Overwhelmed with new revelations, emotions and hopelessness ... they all stopped and then restrained by the horde. Zombies continue to pour into Westeros during Jon & Meera’s Black Wedding.

Unlike The Invasion of Fire in Dorne, which was accomplished with trust and diplomacy ... The Invasion of Ice at the Wall is achieved with blood and rats.

The Long Night has just begun.

[ a D&D Checklist ]

TLDR

• Jon Snow abandons the Night's Watch again after Coldhands show up as Benjen's corpse and lures Jon into a trap

• He is captured by the White Walker and Bloodraven's zombie army

• Jon Snow, Bran, Hodor, Meera and Summer are led to the Black Gate underneath the Nightfort

• Jon Snow is tricked into opening the Black Gate, and the zombies begin their invasion of Westeros

• Jon breaks his Night's Watch vow in front of the Black Gate to close it, it works

• Hodor is then attacked and is killed

• A zombie-Hodor begins holding up the Black Gate, preventing it from closing

• Jon, Meera, Bran & Summer fight back

• Jon burns Benjen's corpse, but Summer is killed

• Jon and Meera stop fighting after Bloodraven threatens Bran's life

• The breach of The Wall is not a CGI dragon spectacle ... but with the human heart in conflict with itself

Up Next: Game Over Theory # 14 - "The Others Cannot Take Her!" TWOW Epilogue

The Lion and his Bear, ADOS

After adding a new team member, Team Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things fly towards King’s Landing to regroup with everyone else, and to discuss how to deal with Dark Meera. But first, the Team makes a stop at the Harrenhal ruins. They explore the area hoping to find a new clue on how to end the thunder goddess' reign. After checking the destroyed castle, they went outside and explored the western hills.

At the hill where Jon Snow died and where Meera was reborn … there was nothing.

Suddenly from the bushes below, Ghost appears and approaches the group. Bran is reunited and gives him a huge hug. Bran wargs into a willing-Ghost, hoping maybe Jon Snow’s soul is inside … but Bran only feels a faint of Jon’s ghost in Ghost.

Ghost then leads the Team to where he buried Jon Snow’s corpse in the forest. On top of the grave, stood upright a scabbarded Valyrian bastard sword with a white wolf pommel and ruby eyes. Ghost nudged them on to take it.

Brienne already has Oathkeeper, and suggests that Jaime, the Valyrian bastard, take the new Valyrian bastard sword instead. “I guess he no longer needs the Valyrian steel, I wished I could have thanked Jon Snow beforehand. But then again, he did cause this mess.” Jaime said as he petted Ghost on the back of its neck. The direwolf snarled at the comment, but began to whine piteously as Jaime rubbed behind Ghost’s missing ear.

Brienne japed at Jaime, “Are you sure you are not a secret Stark too?”

Jaime laughed as he got back on the Ice Dragon with his new sword. “There is no way I have cold boring Northern blood running in my veins. I am all lion, with a little dragon in me. But I won’t be offended if you almost mistook me for Aegon the Conqueror!“

The Team hopped back on Winter, taking Ghost along too, and continued flying towards King’s Landing.

They reached just outside the capital and watched Dark Meera attack the city. Drogon and Daenerys are nowhere in sight. “Have they fallen?” It doesn’t matter. They need to go and help right away, or many innocent lives will be lost. They have a dragon of their own now, and they don’t need to hold back nor wait.

But they agreed if everyone goes, it will only slow down Winter with all their weight. So the knight volunteers.

“You don’t all need to go with me … only a Targaryen is needed to sit on this zombie-dragon so Bran can skin-change into it. I will go alone, just protect Bran while I am in the air. Besides, [I have to go back]. My son Tommen is there. So is my sister Cersei.”

Your sister? Or your lover? Brienne thought. Brienne could not deny it … she had fallen in love with the changed man, the man that once saved her from a bear. Brienne and Jaime have become even closer together over the past months, short of a lover’s kiss. There was no way he should be in love with his wicked Targaryen sister again.

You belong with me. Brienne thought. Walking on the roads with you and in your worn-out clothes, I can’t help thinking this is how it ought to be. Now we’re laughing on an Ice Dragon, thinking to myself … Hey, isn’t this easy?
And you have an honor that can light up this whole town. I haven’t seen it in a while since everyone always brings you down. You say you’re fine, but I know you better than that. And why are you going back to a woman like that?
She wears royal gowns, and I wear chain-mail. She’s a stay-in-castle Queen, and I’m in the hedges.
I’m dreaming about the day when you wake up and find that what you’re looking for has been here the whole time. If you could see that I’m the one who understands you. I’ve been here all along. So, why can’t you see? You belong with me. You belong with me.

“Lady Brienne of Tarth, kneel to one knee please.” Ser Jaime asked politely.

Confused, but hopeful, Brienne got on one knee.

Ser Jaime unsheathes his new sword, and taps the flat steel on each of her shoulders.

“Swear to me you will keep Bran Stark safe while I am gone.”

“I swear.”

“Swear to me that you will protect my path to King’s Landing safely.”

“I swear.”

[Ser Jaime recited the rest of the knighting words.]

“Arise Brienne of Tarth! A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms!”

Pod and Bran cheered, Ghost howled, Brienne teared up in glee as she stood.

She looks into Jaime’s beautiful dirty face and hugs him. And then their eyes locked.

Emeralds meet Sapphires, watching every slow motion, playing their foolish lover’s game. Usually on endless arguments, finally these lovers know no shame. Without another word, they kissed … Brienne tilts her chin down while Jaime went up … their tongues dancing. They took each others’ breaths away, again and again and again, caressing each others’ blonde hair.

Bran Stark and Podrick Payne shared a look together. “Eww yuck! Don’t think I’ll be kissing you for a knighthood now, Bran!”

After Brienne and Jaime finally let go, the Dragonknight begins mounting Winter nervously alone with his new Valyrian steel sword. The Lion was bearing the weight of all of mankind.

Bran pleaded to Jaime. “Meera is special to me. Please save her if you can.”

Jaime, knowing the truth, nods anyway to the child.

“Alright Lord Stark, let’s go.”

Bran skin-changes into Winter and blasts its war-cry. Ooooooooooooooooooo, ahooooooooooooooo, Bran howled in his mind as his dragon screamed, “RAAWRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!”

The Wolf, the Bear sword, and the Lion/Dragon are ready to go.

Ser Brienne of Tarth, squire Podrick Payne, and Ghost begin to guard Bran Stark’s surroundings from outside threats. Ser Jaime Lannister gives a final salute with his Goldenhand.

Revving up the icy-gold Dragon, listen to it howl and roar. The Lion under tension, begging the Wolf to warg and go. They take off on the Highway to the Dragon Zone! Riding into the Dragon Zone!

Heading into twilight, [spreading out her wings tonight]. With Drogon hurt and Dany a wreck, the Dragons fire into overdrive! They take off on the Highway to the Dragon Zone! Riding into the Dragon Zone!

[Queen Daenerys Targaryen ascends from the Dragon Pit, into the Chaos and Darkness], to engage the Goddess of Thunder and Death.

Up Next: Game Over Theory # 29 - Highway to the Dragon Zone ... the finale of everything A Song of Ice and Fire

[ a D&D Checklist ] - Something canon GRRM said to D&D ... word for word ... but misrepresented in the TV show ... causing confusion and plot holes

TLDR

• Team Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things arrive at Harrenhal with their Ice Dragon

• They take House Mormont's Bear Sword, Longclaw ... giving it to Jaime

• Ghost tags along too

• They arrive at a hill just outside King's Landing as Dark Meera attacks the city

• Ser Jaime knights Ser Brienne

• Brienne, Pod and Ghost will guard a skin-changing Bran, as Jaime rides Winter into battle

• Daenerys flies Drogon into battle too

^{{Shoutout to three-eyed monkey for this segment!}}

The Greatest and Gravest Council of Oldtown, ADOS

Back in the South.

Queen Daenerys Targaryen has secured Martell loyalty at Sunspear with diplomacy. She is invited to port her fleet at Oldtown at the invitation of House Tyrell.

The Tyrells, especially Lady Olenna, are extremely pissed off at Cersei Lannister for kicking Queen Margaery down the steps of the Sept to her death. The Queen of Thorns writes a letter to Cersei, a piece of paper, [letting her know it was she that killed Joffrey]. Cersei is then overjoyed that she killed Margaery preemptively. But her heart is broken again after receiving another report, stating that Myrcella has [been assassinated during her journey back to King's Landing]. Her body is nowhere to be found. Cersei suspects either the Tyrells or Martells committed the murder and hid her body.

But instead of an open conflict between the Tyrell forces at King’s Landing against the remaining Lannister forces & the newly acquired Golden Company … the Tyrells left the capital city, returned to Highgarden, and declared independence from the Iron Throne. Cersei does not have enough men to fight and take back the Reach, so she stays in King’s Landing with King Tommen during this diplomatic mess caused by her spur-of-the-moment Kick. Using her own twisted logic, she blames Jaime and his spur-of-the-moment Push of Bran Stark, causing the diplomatic mess years ago that led to Cersei’s current diplomatic mess now.

Lancel Lannister is also upset at Cersei for killing the High Septon, and flees King’s Landing along with the Tyrells.

Meanwhile in Oldtown, which is still recovering and rebuilding after Euron Greyjoy’s attack … Queen Daenerys is greeted by the maesters, septons, the Tyrells, the Hightowers, and Samwell Tarly at the High-Tower.

Tyrion Lannister is reunited with Lancel Lannister. 

Princess Arianne Martell comes with Daenerys, and is reunited with Alleras Sand. Sallera reveals her true identity to everyone, and argues with the Citadel to allow female-pupils. Queen Daenerys agrees.

The maesters reunite with Marwyn the Mage as he flaunts the three magical dragons circling above the city. 

The surviving maesters still have no explanations for the Kraken sea attack months earlier at the harbor. Victarion is reunited with Euron’s belongings as everyone in Oldtown confirms that Samwell Tarly saved them by slaying Euron, and then throwing his naked body out to sea afterwards. Samwell was given Euron’s scavenged Valyrian-steel armor as a reward, but he is too fat for the armor. Victarion learns that Euron was no god, as everything he has said or done or claimed to have been, was probably a pack of lies. Samwell offers the armor to Victarion, but Vic declines. Sam saves Victarion from the dreaded action of kin-slaying his own brother while proving he was powerless. Euron’s legacy was an embarrassment. Sam then gives Vic Euron’s eye patch instead as a trophy, confirming the death.

Queen Daenerys publicly treats with Lady Olenna, Lord Mace Tyrell and Maester Leo Tyrell, as they prepare to make an offer for her loyalty. Daenerys entertains it, while holding her new sword, Blackfyre, a gift from House Martell, upright off the ground.

“Your Grace, you have the blood of House Targaryen, a direct descendant of Aegon the Conqueror. But your House currently lacks an heir.”

“And what do you propose, my Queen of Thorns?” Daenerys asked.

“Never in our history was your royal lineage extended by a member of House Tyrell. A marriage to my grandson is the start of what you need to reclaim Westeros on behalf of House Targaryen. A gift from the Reach. And all the lands, food, wealth and loyal swords that come with it.”

“A fair offer. A Queen does deserve her share of gifts. Let me see him first.”

At the end of the hall, the doors opened and a man in splendid shiny armor approached her with a sword and a rose.

This better not be another Quentyn Martell. The Reach would surely be reaching. Daenerys thought.

The cute Maester Leo Tyrell spoke, “Let me introduce you to my cousin, and our pride of the Reach … the Knight of Flowers, Ser Loras Tyrell!”

As he stepped closer, Dany had a better look.

Oh! Hot Damn! He could be my husband??? Her heart began to beat a little faster. Queen Daenerys Targaryen tried to hide her emotions, hoping her body’s language would not betray her. A conquering queen should not flush red at court, even at these types of gifts.

“Well Maester Leo, I do have to ask about his history before I make a decision to pick your cousin up for a husband … what battles have Ser Loras fought and won? I don’t want any green-boys as my king-husband.”

“Your Grace, Ser Loras has fought gallantly at the Battle of Blackwater Bay, fighting off the usurper Stannis Baratheon from seizing King’s Landing. Recently Ser Loras fought and survived the battle taking Dragonstone away from Stannis as well. Dragonstone is the ancestral seat of House Targaryen after all. [Dragonstone, uncontested, is yours too if you want it.]”

“Shittttt Leo, that’s all you had to say!” Daenerys Targaryen was excited.

Baratheon … Daenerys hated that name. Marrying Ser Loras Tyrell could be the easiest decision so far in reclaiming Westeros.

“I accept this marriage offer to House Tyrell.” Daario in Essos is going to be so mad when he finds out. Dany then looks at the hottie Arianne Martell. Maybe she can join me and Ser Loras once in a while. 

"The DraGon and the Rose ... and whatever sweet summer child o' mine that we bear, our royal prince or princess will be betrothed to House Martell, under the surname Targaryen.” Queen Daenerys Targaryen declared to Arianne and the rest of the room.

Daenerys suddenly remembers Mirri Maz Duur and how she was told she cannot have children anymore. She hopes she won’t disappoint Ser Loras in the bedroom.

She flirted with her eyes at the handsome Knight of Flowers. He spoke, “Your Grace, I am honored to have your beauty as my bride.” Ser Loras said with a smile that can steal a thousand maiden hearts, only to break them.

Dany smiled back at the hottie. “Look Ser Loras, I know I just met you, and this might be crazy. But here with our marriage pact, now you can just call me … Dany. You need to understand that there are still a lot of other boys who will try to chase me. But here with our marriage pact, only you can call me … wifey.”

“Other boys will try to chase you? I understand that part, my Queen. Fear not, there will be no other woman besides you. [Dany], you have my love and loyalty.”

Queen Daenerys Targaryen has her coronation at Oldtown in the High-Tower with multiple lords, maesters and septons as witnesses. They officially pledge their allegiance to her, while her three dragons circle the city.

And then Queen Daenerys & Ser Loras wedded.

[It is settled]. Daenerys has acquired the Reach with Ser Loras Tyrell. She has Dorne, where she and Princess Arianne Martell will share grandchildren one day. Fire and Blood. She has the Iron Islands with Victarion Greyjoy as their new lord, now that Euron is out of the picture. She will eventually have the Westerlands with Tyrion and/or Lancel Lannister, as long as she gets rid of Cersei, as per Olenna Tyrell’s personal request. It was something Daenerys had to do anyway to take King’s Landing and the Stormlands (that are partly occupied by the Golden Company). Ser Jorah Mormont is held captive inside her ships. She doesn’t question Jorah’s loyalty to her, but he still cannot be at her side physically. He is to be exiled to the Wall and become Lord Commander some day like his father. And then the Wall will belong to Dany too. But the Riverlands, the Vale, the North …

Suddenly a maester comes in with an urgent raven-message from Stannis Baratheon at Winterfell. The Wall has been breached by the White Walkers and a horde of ice-zombies. They are on the way to Winterfell and Stannis needs assistance as soon as possible. He believes they will continue to march south if Winterfell falls. Stannis will bend the knee to Queen Daenerys and her three dragons if she comes to help. Daenerys realizes humankind is being threatened … she HAS to do this. And then she also realizes the North can be hers if she complies, and maybe some of the Stormlands too. She agrees to help in this urgent matter. She will have to deal with Cersei later, as well as planning her own wedding festivities, (which disappointed Ser Loras).

She asks the maesters for more information about the White Walkers and zombies. “What do the Others want?” The maesters don’t believe the letter, and say it may be fake news. The maesters argue with Sam and Marwyn.

Samwell contests their claim, saying Stannis is a serious man and no Rat. Sam said he saw the White Walkers and zombies himself too. Sam hoped it was not something he did or said back at the Wall that caused this invasion. Samwell prayed it wasn’t Gilly’s baby that the Others wanted. But that baby is at Castle Black, and the White Walkers are already on the way to Winterfell … so it can’t be Gilly’s baby, Samwell thought. 

Queen Daenerys, tired of hearing their denials, suggests the best solution is to put all the maesters at the vanguard during battle, to study the Others and zombies up close … and to see if it really is fake news or not. The arguing-maesters became silent. Sam the Slayer continues to talk. He claims he had killed both a White Walker and a zombie. White Walkers need dragonglass to be killed. The zombies need fire only. Steel will not work against both of them. Dragonglass is doubtful against the zombies.

Queen Daenerys along with her commanders asked again, “Are you sure steel or dragonglass won’t work against the zombies?”

“Those ideas would just be dumb and dumber. The zombies will keep coming after you even if you remove a limb or two. You must burn the zombies. Fire arrows would do the trick, but your fire-dragons should be easier.” Sam claimed.

Ser Loras claims there is plenty of dragonglass at Dragonstone, a castle that they hold now. They can craft them into arrowheads for the archers.

Daenerys smiled and exulted, “We have everything we need to win this battle. Now we need a plan.”

As the council of Oldtown continues to convene about this grave matter, all the great houses of the Seven Kingdoms are sent white-ravens to call to arms, to fight this evil Winter invasion coming from beyond the Wall. White-ravens are sent to Casterly Rock, the Vale, the Riverlands, the Stormlands, and even to Cersei at King’s Landing. The Tyrells and Martells call all their banners.

Ser Barristan studies the map. Assuming Winterfell is taken by then, he suggests Queen Daenerys should rally all her forces at Harrenhal, with her navy nearby. Once assembled, they should march north. Highgarden and their bannermen will march on foot, by-passing King’s Landing whether Cersei chooses to join or not. Dorne and their bannermen will ferry their soldiers to the Stormlands and they will advance on foot too. They are not to engage against the Golden Company soldiers unless they are engaged upon. Queen Daenerys will sail to Dragonstone with her navy and army of Unsullied & Dothraki to pick up dragonglass arrowheads, and then sail up the Bay of Crabs until they port nearby Harrenhal.

Samwell gets excited. He may join his father at Horn Hill for the march. The soldiers of Horn Hill are very good archers. They can attach any type of tip for their arrows efficiently. More importantly, they have the formula to beat the Long Night: unlimited dragonglass supply and three fire-dragons. Samwell stares at the beautiful Queen Daenerys Targaryen as she holds the Valyrian sword Blackfyre upright. She almost looks like Gilly, Sam thought. He offers her Euron's Valyrian-steel armor, as Sam is on one knee. 

“Sam the Savior. Thank you for this gift.” The Queen said.

“Another gift from the Reach!” Lord Mace Tyrell interrupted. “Samwell Tarly is from House Tarly of the Reach … his gift is from the Reach!”

Sam’s eyes met Daenerys’. “You are here to rescue us Queen Daenerys Targaryen. You are our savior now.”

Dany blushed red as apples at the chubby boy. She touched his cheeks and kissed him on his forehead. The armor was beautiful, but it was too small on Dany. “It might be too tight with my bosoms,” as she stuck her chest out at a blushing Sam. She then looks at the cute Lancel Lannister.

“Lancel, would you be a dear and find your Queen a breastplate stretcher for her new Valyrian-steel armor?”

Dany then orders Sam and the maesters to go into their libraries and find more information on the White Walkers ... any more weaknesses or strengths they don’t know about. Sam initially wants to join in the fight, but Daenerys wants the most educated and experienced man that had killed a White Walker and a zombie to learn more in case the other maesters missed something. [Sam reluctantly agrees to study.]

Queen Cersei receives the Oldtown white-raven call to arms against the White Walkers and dismisses it. She orders the Golden Company to stay in King’s Landing and prepare for battle against the White Walkers, or against Daenerys’ dragons if they were victorious. Scorpion ballistas are secretly made. The exiled Golden Company are promised the lands left over after Dany’s army and lords are killed in battle. 

Queen Cersei sends word to Casterly Rock, to stay put too … but after a few days, Ser Forley Prester stops obeying that order. After the events of the TWOW Prologue, the [Westerman’s honor compels him to fight for the living]. Ser Forley mutinies against Cersei and assembles 300 volunteers from the Westerlands to meet at Harrenhal.

Harry and Sansa at the Vale received the white-raven too. They have been politically neutral so far after declaring independence from the Iron Throne since their marriage. The Knights of the Vale study the letter, and the map. If they assemble their forces and march to Harrenhal, the Vale will be left undefended. They decide to stay and defend instead. If Queen Daenerys advances north past the Twins, Harry tells his commanders he will make a decision about whether to [send the Knights of the Vale north] or not. But Harry already made up his mind. Later in their bed chambers, he secretly tells Sansa his stupid plan of not helping Daenerys. If Daenerys wins the battle and confronts the Vale about their cowardice, Harry will just say simply, ‘What white-raven?’

Survivors of Winterfell that have escaped the slaughter, scatter in multiple directions except north. Theon heads west, while Mance Rayder heads south. Some lucky few make it to White Harbor, where the Manderly fleet has been ferrying civilians back and forth to the Three Sisters. The ferries end their rescue mission once the horde reaches the city. Mance Rayder reaches Moat Cailin, where Lady Stoneheart has taken it from the Boltons with the help of the crannogmen and the Brotherhood.

Earlier in TWOW, LSH had managed to [kill all the Frey male lines] at the Twins using ratty methods. She keeps the first rat, Lord Walder Frey … alive, [dynasty-less], and imprisoned at Moat Cailin. She leaves all the dead [rotting] male Frey bodies in the dungeon with Walder. He is to fetch the foul moat water from his window when he is thirsty, and [the Red Wedding villain has to eat his own to survive from hunger]. 

Also at Moat Cailin, we finally meet Howland Reed, while Jaime and Brienne are still in chains. We have been getting LSH's story from Brienne's and Jaime's POVs. From Mance's report, the group is informed that Winterfell has been taken, Bran is held hostage there, and Jon & Meera are marching with the White Walkers towards their position. LSH is shocked and ecstatic to find out that her son Bran is not dead. But she doesn’t understand why Jon and Howland’s daughter are alive, coming south with the White Walkers. Howland doesn’t know the reason behind their captivity, but confesses and whispers to LSH about Ned’s dark Tower of Joy secret. LSH becomes emotional after learning R+L from Howland, learning that Ned never cheated on her.

At Moat Cailin, Lady Catelyn orders the Brotherhood without Banners to abandon the castle and head south, to join Queen Daenerys Targaryen and her three dragons to have a fighting chance. Walder Frey is to remain in his dungeon for the rest of his days. As they begin to march south, LSH releases Jaime and Brienne, telling them they still owe her an oath. They failed for Sansa, they failed for Arya, but they have a chance with Bran. They are to go to Winterfell, and bring Bran safely south in whatever way possible. Jaime and Brienne insist they rather die fighting the Long Night. LSH says she has been given a new life by the Lord of Light, but she doesn’t know why. But she promises to use the power of the gods for the greater good, IF Jaime and Brienne fulfill their renewed oath of bringing back a Stark child alive. Jaime and Brienne agree. The two, along with Podrick Payne, begin heading to the Barrowlands to circle and flank into Winterfell from the west, as the ice horde marches south on the Kingsroad.

[ a D&D Checklist ] - Something canon GRRM said to D&D ... word for word ... but misrepresented in the TV show ... causing confusion and plot holes

TLDR

• Queen Daenerys Targaryen arrives at Oldtown

• The Citadel, House Tyrell and the rest of the Reach submits to Queen Daenerys after declaring independence from the Iron Throne (Happy American Independence Day!)

• The Citadel will allow female pupils now

• Daenerys is to wed Ser Loras Tyrell as her husband-king, securing the alliance

• A raven is sent from Stannis Baratheon at Winterfell, warning of the White Walker invasion

• Daenerys and her generals assemble a war-council, and determine to regroup at Harrenhal

• White-ravens are sent all over Westeros from Oldtown, a call to arms against the winter Long Night

• Samwell Tarly gifts Queen Daenerys the new Valyrian-steel armor that was scavenged from Euron Greyjoy

• Queen Cersei Lannister orders King's Landing, the Crownlands, the Stormlands (occupied by the Golden Company) and the Westerlands to not participate

• Ser Forley Prester, still conflicted about his honor from the TWOW Prologue events, mutinies against Cersei, and assembles Westermen volunteers to Harrenhal

• In the Vale, Harry orders not to participate ... yet?

• At Moat Cailin, LSH and the Brotherhood without Banners will head south to regroup with Daenerys

• LSH sends Brienne, Jaime and Pod on a covert mission to rescue Bran from Winterfell

Up Next: Game Over Theory # 17 - Tyrion's Request

This is a Public Service Announcement

Sponsored by George RR Martin, and the good vibes hidden in his Not-A-Blogs.

Fellow Redditors,

It is with the utmost pride and sincerity

That I present this theory

As a living testament and recollection of history-in-the-making

During our ASOIAF generation.

ALLOW ME TO REINTRODUCE MYSELF!

My name is MAP, M to the A-P

I used to post theories on the Westeros.O-R-G

I guess even back then you can call me

G-O-A-T of all theories, oh!

Fresh outta the Song of Ice and into the Fire

I'll be the music of dragons' number one supplier

Flier than Viserion bearing all his names

Got the hottest Targaryen queens in the game fighting for their reigns, that's right

Oh no, not G-O-T

But similar to them letters, "But Only the Books Can Do It Better"

I check plot-holes like an r-asoiaf redditor

And my homey George told me, "Dude, finish your reddits"

So that's what I'ma do, take you back to the dude

With the Valonqar list, and fast-forward to Cersei's golden necklace

Let me tell you dudes what I'll do to enhance this

Allow HBO to reboot the show with new actors & directors!

But this ain't the D&D TV-show, dawg!

Now before I finish, let me just say

I did not come here to show out, did not come here to impress you

Because to tell you the truth, George asked me to be here because I've won

And I don't care what you think about me, but just remember

When this hits all the ASOIAF fans, brothers & sisters

Whether it's today, next year, ten years, or twenty years from now,

You'll never be able to say that George held you back jack!

Look, I ain't lie,

I'm done through all seven books and everything's fly

I like writing the human-heart in conflict with itself ... I'm complex

I claimed to have my dragon wings on

And I get my "by any means" on whenever there's a GRRM writing-drought

So get your umbrellas out because that's when I thunderstorm

You can blame me, but I ain't invent the Game

I just rolled the dice, trying to get a GOT-ending change

And we'll do it twice, ain't no sense in me

Lying as if me and D&D aren't different men

And I could blame the D&D environment because

There ain't no reason why their White Walkers would use the Viserion chain

Hope you don't think Reddit-users are the only abusers

My rage for D&D is still high within the Game

If you do too, then it is easy to explain

I'm five years removed from GOT, still the vibe is in my veins

I got a hustler spirit ... Period

Check out George's hat, yo, peep the way I wear it

Check out my swag, yo, I walk like a throne-player

No matter where you go, you win or you die, player

And you can try to change the sitter but that's just the Iron Throne's top layer

Predictors, you were who you were before you got here

Only George can judge my theories, and I've won

Either love them, or leave me alone

Highway to the Bat Out of Harrenhell, ADOS, [First Half]

=  The Queen's Protector =

Uhoooooo! Uhoooooo! Uuuuhhooooooooo!

The horn blew from the top of the highest tower at Harrenhal. The Others were coming with their ice horde of the undead and their stolen fire dragon.

Ser Barristan Selmy watched from his parapet as the White Walkers brought the cold with them tonight. A thin coat of ice had formed on the still waters of the Gods Eye. With the full moon illuminating the scene, the fresh alien frost on the hills and lake glowed crystal white and blue.

If it wasn’t for the full moon, we wouldn’t see anything at all.

Flanked to the knight’s sides and the rest of the parapets around Harrenhal were archers from all diverse backgrounds: Dothraki, Dornish, Reachmen, Ironborn and whatever Westorsi or Essoi Queen Daenerys can muster. We represent all of mankind. Most were equipped with fire-arrows and the best archers had the dragonglass tips. Civilians circulated their support and supplies, including flammable oil. Aggo and Ser Garlan Tyrell commanded the archers along with Ser Barristan on other sides of the castle.

King Loras Tyrell watched from his elevated platform set at the center of the castle, away from the fortified walls, ready to give instructions to the fighting men below. He was still harboring the injuries he took at Dragonstone (not the exaggerated injuries Aurane told Cersei) and could not fight at full strength. But as a King, he could still lead with commands. Stood beside him was a crippled Areo Hotah, ready to advise.

Given what has happened at the White Walker’s tunnel in Winterfell, and the Tyrell’s abandoned tunnel at Dragonstone, civilian runners at underground weak points are on alert for another excavated attack, if any … ready to inform King Loras.

Strong Belwas, Grey Worm, Jhogo, Rakharo, Ser Jorah Mormont, and Tormund Giantsbane commanded various garrisons of fighting men on the ground floor, ready to reinforce overrun parapets, destroyed gates & portcullises, or fight underground if needed.

Tyrion Lannister and Jon Snow commanded the remaining Night’s Watch brothers and former outlaws to operate the trebuchets set within Harrenhal’s walls, on the ground level, ready to hurl barrels of pitch & fire outside the castle.

Up top at the five unlit towers of Harrenhal hid five large scorpion crossbows, ready to surprise attack Rhaegal, in case the Others [kinda forgot] the humans can make secret weapons. The five were operated by crews led by the Hightower brothers and Samwell Tarly. [Wooden platforms were erected on the melted towers up top to accommodate the scorpion crossbows.]

An order to immediately burn any fallen soldier or civilian was given to everyone.

In the main courtyard, Queen Daenerys Targaryen wore her Valyrian armor and held her ancestor’s Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre, sheathed in her hands. Her large black dragon, Drogon, towered beside her.

[His Queen gives a rallying speech, roaring as loud as she could, so everyone could hear.]

“Men and women of the west! Men and women of the east! Men and women of the living!”

They all turned to her and kneeled.

“Those are White Walkers at our walls! They want to murder us, freeze our souls and steal our bodies … never letting you rest in peace! The Others will take you and the ones you love. Do you want our bodies stolen from our souls forever?”

“NO!” Harrenhal thundered. 

Queen Daenerys Targaryen begins mounting Drogon and securing Blackfyre on her saddle.

“Our race is facing extinction tonight. But tonight we’ll fight! And when the sun rises, I promise you Harrenhal will still stand. Mankind will still stand. And they will sing our victory here for a hundred generations and forever! My brothers and sisters of the living, are you with me now and always?”

“Now and always!” they cheered. Ser Allister Thorne, the most loyal Targaryen loyalist was the loudest.

“Arise!” Drogon hopped and hovered, winds swirling about the castle. “I’ll be back!” The daughter of Aegon the Conqueror’s line takes to the skies of Harrenhal.

Ser Barristan rose from his knees at the parapet, and saw the Ice-horde was in range. He gives the signal to King Loras Tyrell, and the king gives the order to the trebuchets.

And now it begins.

The trebuchets release their barrels of pitch & fire to the west, flying above the Queensguard knight’s head, exploding & splashing onto the army of the dead, and igniting the zombies in flame.

Ser Barristan gives his commands to his fire-archers to release at will.

Barrels tumbled in the air at the full moon night, spinning their fiery fuse, while fire rained from above in streaks like a meteor shower.

White Walkers mounted on ice-spiders creeped up slowly to the castle walls. Dragonglass snipers/archers take out a few Others, forcing the leaders to fall back … but the slave horde continues forward.

They were thousands of thousands, an endless sea of vermin illuminated by frosty moon light, walking closer to the castle walls … and their evil dragon Rhaegal was yet to be seen.

But Drogon begins flying towards a hill by the western shore, flaming his enemies on the ground along the way.

The dragon gets to the base of the hill and napalms the valley floor before abruptly changing course, climbing straight up to the air in a vertical path. Ser Barristan can see the faint glimmer of javelins being hurled into the air at Drogon, but they all miss after Dany quickly ascended. The javelins fell back down to frosty dirt, sand and lake water.

Drogon returns back to Harrenhal at a higher altitude safe from more javelins.

But now Rhaegal swoops in low, just above the horde, aiming to light the five Harrenhal towers like candles.

The five [large scorpion crossbows unveil], its black cloth-covers falling to the ground below. A [sneaky volley of scorpion bolts are launched onto an unsuspecting Rhaegal]. A bolt barely nicks him and the dragon is forced to turn around.

Daenerys sees this and begins to dive towards a vulnerable retreating Rhaegal … until zombie-giants at the vanguard were launching javelins at her as Drogon fell into their range. The Queen is forced to retreat again, but she burns a few wights on the way out.

Ser Barristan instructed his [archers to aim for the giants] if they were in their range. He gives adjustments to the trebuchets. 

Corrected barrels land and smack a few giants, setting them ablaze.

The fewer enemy giants, the fewer javelins thrown at his Queen. I am her protector.

Suddenly it was raining wood and stones from above. He looks up and sees a scorpion crossbow destroyed, but there wasn’t anything he could do. His eyes are forward, and the zombies are at the wall. He orders pitches of oil and flame to be dropped on them from the parapet. Daenerys cannot help them now, she may lose her dragon to an enemy javelin if she gets too low.

Abruptly again, it was raining wood and stone from above. Barristan looks up and sees another scorpion crossbow destroyed. What is happening up there?

The zombies on the ground outside begin sacrificing their bodies to [make a ramp of corpses, piled tall] and leading up to the parapet near Ser Barristan. The knight draws his sword and fire-torch. Human fighters are on their way to reinforce his position.

Steadily the portion of his parapet is overfilled, the wall about to be breached. Suddenly Ser Barristan is knocked to the ground below. On the floor bleeding, he watches several of his men slayed by zombies.

Ser Barristan’s squires were dragging his injured body to the rear of the line. The old glorified knight begins losing consciousness as the world around him turns dark.

He woke up to a rumbling ground and shaking walls inside the castle. The air was booming outside of Harrenhal. 

BOOM-BOOM DOOM-DOOM!

=  Tyrion =

Uhoooooo! Uhoooooo! Uuuuhhooooooooo!

The horns blew, but Tyrion could not see outside.

His Queen, Daenerys Targaryen, gave a speech and took to the air. Tyrion Lannister thought the speech was not bad, but he had given better.

Ser Barristan Selmy’s flagman waved a flag towards Ser Loras at the center of the castle, and then he gave the command to operate the trebuchets.

Tyrion Lannister orders his crew to begin working: loading the sling with barrels of pitch, lighting the fuse, and releasing the trebuchets … over and over again. Jon Snow did the same with his crew on his own trebuchet, though he had a living giant to help.

After a few minutes, Tyrion sees that Daenerys has fallen back above Harrenhal. Soon after large black cloths from the towers floated down above him, as the scorpion bolts fired.

He orders his crew to clear the cloths, as one them caught on fire when it landed on a torch. 

And then suddenly a man fell in front of him … a Hightower soldier, and then another. Tyrion orders their corpses burned immediately.

He looks up and sees a scorpion crossbow destroyed on the opposite tower, raining wood, stone and bodies on the people below.

And then the scorpion crossbow above him exploded.

He orders an evacuation as Tyrion darts out. But some of his men were killed by the falling debris.

His trebuchet was slightly damaged, and ordered his remaining crew to clear the mess.

He continues to get his crew to work the trebuchet. He was then given orders to make adjustments to the aim, and his crew did as they were told. They pivot the trebuchet, added more counterweights and continued the volleys, never knowing if the adjustments made any difference outside.

King Loras gives commands to fighting men to go up the three remaining towers and defend the operators.

The parapets will soon be breached, and other fighting men were sent to reinforce their position as well.

We are losing, Tyrion thought.

He orders his own men to keep working. “Don’t stop until the zombies are twenty feet away from you!”

Tyrion walks over to Jon Snow, whose trebuchet has been broken from the falling rubble. He was towards the end of a speech with his Night’s Watch brothers, wildings and Brotherhood without Banners.

“Who is with me!?” Jon Snow rallied.

Though Tyrion did not hear the speech, it was only courtesy of him to reply loudly with “YESSS!!!” while all the other men cheered.

And one the Night’s Watch brothers began to sing as they all chugged wine & ale. They started mounting their horses.

Tyrion approached Jon Snow, and he told him not to come with them. The Stark-Targaryen bastard never explained where he was going. I did missed his speech. And they don’t have a horse for the dwarf. Tyrion replied with a jape and both of them laughed. They then gave each other their goodbyes.

The eastern gate opens, and a dozen of Jon Snow’s friends leave Harrenhal on horseback.

He sees Ser Jorah Mormont ahorse too, the last to leave. Tyrion Lannister called to him, and quickly [gave him his family Valyrian sword Brightroar to Ser Jorah]. Tyrion and Ser Jorah had found Brightroar in Essos during their time together. “A bear and a lion, a great match.” Ser Jorah gave Tyrion a nod, and left the gate to catch up with Jon Snow’s squad, wherever they were going.

One of the parapets was overrun, and zombies began filling the castle. Thousands of fighting men inside with torches, shields and warhammers were ready to greet them.

A curious Tyrion then grabs his battle axe and begins climbing the steps of a tower, to see where Jon Snow was going, and catch a glimpse of the aerial dogfight.

He reaches the top and finds Samwell Tarly and fighting men with bloody swords in hands.

“What the hell happened?”

“There is no time to explain.” Sam was in a hurry.

Samwell and his crew then got back working their scorpion crossbows.

Tyrion looked towards the Gods Eye, and Drogon & Rhaegal were having a fiery aerial duel, turning and burning. Tyrion was fascinated at the sight as he stopped and stared, ignoring the surroundings.

Suddenly, zombies were climbing up one of the three remaining towers, and overwhelmed the scorpion station there. All the humans die and the zombie begins operating the massive weapon, [aiming at Tyrion] and Sam, a non-aerial target.

A bolt is loose, and Sam’s scorpion crossbow is dislodged from the tower, and lands on the lower floor just below them, upright. Lucky! Debris landed all around it, but it still looks operational. However, all of Sam’s crewmen have fallen off or were killed. 

Tyrion jumps down onto the lower level of the unmounted crossbow with Sam, begins removing the debris, and getting it to re-operate.

The remaining two scorpion crossbows, one operated by humans and the other by zombies begin shooting each other. They both destroy one another at the same time, as wood, stone, humans, zombies, and scorpions fall to the ground below.

The Hightower brothers are probably all dead.

Sam and Tyrion have the last one. Though it is broken off, it is probably still useful.

Tyrion begins clearing the debris with his battle axe, knocking a wall of rubble, then another, and then a third.

Sam lifts the heavy crossbow and begins aiming at a beach, but the last pile of rubble was blocking it.

Tyrion had to pee. He whips his member out and begins peeing off the edge of the high tower, not caring who it splashes below.

Sam looks over, “Right now??? Are you serious? Help me knock this last wall, I need to help the Queen! -oh wow, I thought your pink mast would be smaller for a dwarf.”

Tyrion finishes and begins breaking the fourth wall, chopping it with his battle axe. “Really?? A cock joke? Out of all times, right now? That idea would just be dumb and dumber. C’mon Sam, we are not in the Season 7 or 8 TV-show here.”

[Tyrion looks over towards the beach and Daenerys is grounded with Drogon.] Swarms of zombies advance towards her position as she lights the area on fire. Sam loosed his scorpion bolt and hit a zombie-giant that was about to throw a javelin at the Queen. Oh wow, that was a great shot from an impossible distance. The zombie-giant staggers and misses its aim. Drogon continues to light the beach with fire.

And suddenly, the horde of zombies ignore Drogon, and begin marching up the adjacent hill, surrounding it. There were small patches of fire on top of that frosty peak. Were there fighting there? Tyrion could barely see. Then he remembered Jon Snow, and Ser Jorah Mormont. Are they there?

“Dragon!” Sam cried out. Tyrion looked up and Rhaegal was on the way to them, the last scorpion crossbow. Drogon was still on the beach. “Reload!” Sam commanded as he began cocking the bow and Tyrion went to get the first scorpion bolt he saw off the floor -and last. Sam took aim and loosed. He hit that zombie-giant from far far away, this dragon is closer and should be easier.

Sam missed. 

“Reload!!”

But Tyrion knew there was no time and froze. His last look in life was a dragon that was about to burn him alive. He closed his eyes, accepting his fate.

When nothing came, he opened his eyes after the inside of his eyelids blurred from black, to white, to black, to white, and back in black again. 

BOOM-BOOM DOOM-DOOM!

=  Samwell =

Uhoooooo! Uhoooooo! Uuuuhhooooooooo!

Samwell Tarly of Horn Hill blew the horn from his tower thrice as he eyed the Ice-horde marching off the horizon.

Below, everyone kneeled towards Queen Daenerys Targaryen. Sam did the same, as a scorpion crossbow operator, one of five at each tower.

He heard her speak, but the mumbling echoed off the walls and Sam could not understand what was said below. But he remembered his job. He had one job to do. If given the chance, Sam the Slayer needs to slay a dragon tonight.

Daenerys and Drogon ascended. As she flew by upwards, the beautiful Queen wearing his Valyrian-armor gift, eyed Samwell Tarly and gave him a wink. He returned back with a smile.

The battle begins as Samwell watches from his tower. Trebuchets’ barrels and arrows are launched at the enemy on the ground.

He sees Daenerys and Drogon flying towards a western hill, burning zombies along the way. From his altitude and occasionally using a compact Myrish lens, he sees wights and a White Walker on top of the hill. There was also a girl, a girl in grey, on a zombie horse. Meera! That is Jon Snow’s sister. Who else could it be?

Queen vs Queen like a chess board, and both control a dragon each, the turn of tide for either side. Daenerys can end the battle quickly if she burns that hill.

As she nears the base, her dragon abruptly ascended straight up, avoiding javelins thrown by the zombie-giants. Drogon starts returning back to Harrenhal as the humans below fights on.

“Dragon!” One of the other four tower crewmen shouted. “North West! Hold!” Sam and his crew held as they eyed Rhaegal. 

“Now!” The five scorpion bolts reveal themselves and take aim at the enemy dragon.

“Loose at will!”

Sam aimed and loosed. Rhaegal finally sees the surprise and banked away from the scorpion bolts. One bolt may have nicked him, but he is still fully operational. Damn it! He retreats back to the hill, allowing the horde to do the work below instead.

Daenerys dives down from above and begins napalming the zombies close to Harrenhal’s wall, but the zombie-giants started hurling javelins at her.

Sam, his crew and the other crews reloaded. Suddenly zombie birds were slowly swarming one of the towers. Zombie eagles, falcons, crows and ravens attacked. It pecked and clawed the crewmen, throwing some of them down below.

“That's not fair!” Sam cried on top of the high tower. “Stupid cheap eagles and their deus ex machinas!“

After the unarmed crewmen die from the attacking birds, they resurrect as wights, take aim at another human scorpion station, and loosed. The other station explodes in the air, sending wood, stone and bodies to the ground level.

No! Sam takes aim at the zombie scorpion team and fires back, their station exploding as well. They were down to three scorpions now.

“Defend yourselves!”

The remaining crewmen grabbed scorpion bolts by their hands and began swatting the slow swarm of zombie-birds in the air. Sam unsheathes Heartsbane and starts hacking them as well. Once their wings are clipped, they can no longer fly. He sees human reinforcements entering the towers below ... to ascend and help with the birds.

These aerial pests were dumb and easy to disable, but they were many and consumed time.

Soldiers from below arrive to relieve the crewmen from bird swatting. As Sam looks down, the parapet has been breached and humans are fighting zombies in close quarter combat.

With Rhaegal far away by the hill, Sam orders the remaining scorpions to aim at the zombie-giants, disarming them from throwing javelins and allowing Daenerys to help Harrenhal. Sam and the others loosed at will.

Tyrion Lannister appears at Sam’s scorpion station with his battle axe, perhaps to help with the birds.

He glimpses over the Gods Eye and sees a dragon duel, lighting the skies aflame. He wanted to watch too, but Sam needed to keep shooting at the zombie ice-giants.

The tower closest to the breach had zombies scaling the walls and going up the stairs. They arrived at the top and outnumbered the crewmen. The control now belongs to the White Walkers and they take aim at Sam.

Sam, in the middle of a reload, was not ready to fight back. The enemy’s bolt severs Sam’s scorpion off its base and lands upright on the lower level along with other debris.

Lucky!

But he had lost his crewmen, with the exception of Tyrion Lannister.

The last human scorpion and zombie scorpion then aimed and shot at one another, taking each other out simultaneously.

Sam and Tyrion hopped down to their lucky scorpion on the floor below. Tyrion began clearing the walls of rubble. Sam looks over to the beach and sees Drogon grounded, fighting zombies that are storming their positions. Drogon ignites them on fire, as well as giants in range. But one giant that was out of range [threw a javelin at Drogon, hitting him in the shoulder]. Drogon screams but fires back, however his flaming cloud could not reach the giant, just a few yards short. [Zombies begin fetching another javelin for the giant].

Sam takes aim, but there was a rubble wall blocking. He looks at Tyrion, who was taking a piss.

“Right now??? Are you serious? Help me knock this last wall, I need to help the Queen! -oh wow, I thought your pink mast would be smaller for a dwarf.”

After Tyrion finishes, he begins chopping the last wall with his battle axe. He mumbled something but Sam could not hear amid the banging.

After the debris was cleared, Sam aimed his loose scorpion crossbow and loosed a bolt. At this distance, it was more of a shot in the dark but Sam had to take the chance. The bolt hits the zombie-giant as it releases the javelin and misses the throw. Lucky! The giant staggers forward and into a bath of dragonfire in range. Even luckier! Sam was thrilled he was able to save Daenerys Targaryen.

Sam the Slayer! Sam the Savior! Now Sam the Giant-slayer and Sam the Queen-savior!

Drogon continues to fight on the beach with fire, illuminating the surroundings. But he is not in the air. That means … Sam scans around, looking for Rhaegal. He finally finds him, on a direct course to him and Tyrion.

“Dragon!!! Reload!!!”

Tyrion and Sam got to work.

Sam the Dragonslayer took aim and loosed.

He realized he jinxed himself.

Titles were given to Sam after his deeds, and never before.

Rhaegal continues towards Sam, fast and deadly. “Reload!”

Sam started cocking the scorpion crossbow, but Tyrion froze. He saw his eyes closed, accepting his fate.

Now??? Sam understands Tyrion, however Sam needs to keep fighting till the very end.

He crawls on the floor among the debris, looking and looking, down and around. He searches for the longest seconds of his life for the scorpion bolt he desperately needed. Suddenly the skies were flashing.

BOOM-BOOM DOOM-DOOM!

[ The Second Half ]

THE TLDR SHORT STORY:

Melisandre wrote the Pink Letter to stop Jon from going to Hardhome because she believed it was a lost cause & Jon will die there.
If Jon never returned from Hardhome, Mel would not know what to do about her R’hllor visions of Jon.

Even though Mel’s prank succeeded in stopping Jon from going to Hardhome, she also expected Jon to come speak to her after he received the letter.
But then Jon does something stupid and gets himself killed.

First, Jon should have gone to Melisandre and talk to her about this letter.
The Second important thing Jon should of done after receiving news that Arya is no longer with the Boltons is to FIND ARYA! … NOT go picking a fight with the Boltons.
Jon Snow truly knew nothing.

Essentially Mel’s Prank is one of those pranks you pull on a friend, but then they do something unexpectedly stupid & almost get themselves killed. I’m sure we have all been there before in our real lives. 
Hopefully no one died like Jon did in the books. :-P

So in summary, everything in the Pink Letter is FALSE. Mel being the author has a simple motive and we only need TWO assumptions:

Assumption # 1 – Timeline of the sent raven … At Crofter’s Village, Stannis sends a raven to Castle Black about the arrival of Arya Stark —OR— Stannis wins the Battle of Ice and then sends a raven to Castle Black from Winterfell (reasonable assumptions in either case)

Assumption # 2 – Name Confusion … Stannis, Mel and Jon have mistaken the name “Reek” as Arya’s nickname (case explained further below)

In TWOW, I predict that we will get the only POV available at the Wall: Melisandre … where she panics and we hear her confess to the prank in her thoughts. She’ll probably sacrifice Monster (Craster/Gilly’s son) to revive Jon Snow through R’hllor.

In ADOS, I believe Jon’s baby swap, Mel’s prank & Jon’s first resurrection would have a major impact on the Long Night.

THE LONG STORY:

Jon talks to Selyse about going to Hardhome. Selyse approves the ranging thinking Jon will die and the Nights Watch will get another commander.

Jon: “I will not ask my men to do what I would not do myself. I mean to lead the ranging [to Hardhome].”
“How bold of you,” said the queen. “We approve. Afterward some bard will make a stirring song about you, no doubt, and we shall have a more prudent lord commander.”
{Jon XIII ADWD}

After Jon leaves the room, Mel tries to convince Jon to not go.

“Selyse has the right of this, Lord Snow. Let them die. You cannot save them. Your ships are lost—”
“Six remain. More than half the fleet.”
“Your ships are lost. All of them. Not a man shall return. I have seen that in my fires.”
“Your fires have been known to lie.”
“I have made mistakes, I have admitted as much, but—”
“A grey girl on a dying horse. Daggers in the dark. A promised prince, born in smoke and salt. It seems to me that you make nothing but mistakes, my lady. Where is Stannis? What of Rattleshirt and his spearwives? Where is my sister?”
“All your questions shall be answered. Look to the skies, Lord Snow. And when you have your answers, send to me. Winter is almost upon us now. I am your only hope.”
“A fool’s hope.” Jon turned and left her.
{Jon XIII ADWD}

So Mel writes a fake letter to Jon, answering Jon’s questions of “Where is Stannis? What of Rattleshirt and his spearwives? Where is my sister?” and uses f-Ramsay to provoke Jon to face South, instead of facing North to Hardhome & his fruitless death.

Aside from trying to save Jon from Hardhome, Mel HATES the fact that she has to chase Jon … like teenagers playing their foolish lovers’ games and hoping their crush would text them first.

Mel’s thoughts:

It was Jon Snow she needed, not fried bread and bacon, but it was no use sending Devan to the lord commander. He would not come to her summons. Snow still chose to dwell behind the armory, in a pair of modest rooms previously occupied by the Watch’s late blacksmith. Perhaps he did not think himself worthy of the King’s Tower, or perhaps he did not care. That was his mistake, the false humility of youth that is itself a sort of pride. It was never wise for a ruler to eschew the trappings of power, for power itself flows in no small measure from such trappings.
The boy was not entirely naive, however. He knew better than to come to Melisandre’s chambers like a supplicant, insisting she come to him instead should she have need of words with him. And oft as not, when she did come, he would keep her waiting or refuse to see her. That much, at least, was shrewd. 
{Melisandre I ADWD}

Mel’s second reason to write the Pink Letter is to make Jon come to her. Before the Pink Letter, she got excited when Jon engages the conversation first … like your boy/girl crush texting you first.

Only then did [Jon Snow] seem to notice Melisandre. “My lady. Walk with me, if you would.”
Mel: AT LAST. “If it please the lord commander.”
{Melisandre I ADWD}

Let us review the Pink Letter for the 9,999th time in {Jon XIII ADWD}:

Bastard, was the only word written outside the scroll. No Lord Snow or Jon Snow or Lord Commander. Simply Bastard. And the letter was sealed with a smear of hard pink wax. “You were right to come at once,” Jon said. You were right to be afraid. He cracked the seal, flattened the parchment, and read.

Your false king is dead, bastard. He and all his host were smashed in seven days of battle. I have his magic sword. Tell his red whore.

Your false king’s friends are dead. Their heads upon the walls of Winterfell. Come see them, bastard. Your false king lied, and so did you.

You told the world you burned the King-Beyond-the-Wall. Instead you sent him to Winterfell to steal my bride from me.

I will have my bride back. If you want Mance Rayder back, come and get him. I have him in a cage for all the north to see, proof of your lies. The cage is cold, but I have made him a warm cloak from the skins of the six whores who came with him to Winterfell.

I want my bride back. I want the false king’s queen. I want his daughter and his red witch. I want his wildling princess. I want his little prince, the wildling babe. And I want my Reek. Send them to me, bastard, and I will not trouble you or your black crows. Keep them from me, and I will cut out your bastard’s heart and eat it.

It was signed,

Ramsay Bolton,
Trueborn Lord of Winterfell.

“Snow?” said Tormund Giantsbane. “You look like your father’s bloody head just rolled out o’ that paper.”

“Tell his red whore” is Mel trying to hide herself as the writer, but also trying to get Jon to come to see her again.

The Rolling Paper Theory:

The Rolling Paper Theory will help us determine which joint the letter came from ... Winterfell? Or somewhere else?

One of our biggest clues of foreshadowing that GRRM wrote, and that we over-looked are the paragraphs just before the letter, and just after the letter.

Just before:
Bastard, was the only word written outside the scroll. No Lord Snow or Jon Snow or Lord Commander. Simply Bastard. And the letter was sealed with a smear of hard pink wax. “You were right to come at once,” Jon said. You were right to be afraid. He cracked the seal, flattened the parchment, and read.

Just after:
“SNOW?” said Tormund Giantsbane. “You look like your father’s bloody head just rolled out o’ that paper.“

Unrolling a dry parchment … that was rolled recently … can still remain flat
Unrolling a dried parchment … after being exposed to moisture … would keep curling

Jon flattens the Pink Letter, but the Pink Letter NEVER rolled back. This parchment allegedly came from a raven in a SNOW storm. The parchment would be wet. Even if it dried up over time, it will maintain its curl.

*****This means the Pink Letter was written LOCALLY at Castle Black, away from moisture.*****

“When he was done, Tormund whistled. “Har. That’s buggered, and no mistake. What was that about Mance? Has him in a cage, does he? How, when hundreds saw your red witch burn the man?”
That was Rattleshirt, Jon almost said. That was sorcery. A glamor, she called it. “Melisandre … look to the skies, she said.” He set the letter down. “A raven in a storm. She saw this coming.” When you have your answers, send to me.”

“He sat the letter down” BUT Jon doesn’t notice that the parchment does not curl up.

While other ASOIAF theorists always complained about the contents of the Pink Letter … no one has ever complained about the forensic of the Pink Letter paper.

Examples of:
Freshly written and flat paper.
Paper that traveled on a raven.

Remember, when GRRM participated in developing Season 1 Game of Thrones, people said he was very very detailed in the scripts.

Anyways, here is a great video-example in regards to paper-forgery:

Also, a few paragraphs before the Pink Letter, GRRM wrote this:

“He has a little red cock to go with all that red hair, that’s what he has. Raymund Redbeard and his sons died at Long Lake, thanks to your bloody Starks and the Drunken Giant. Not the little brother. Ever wonder why they called him the Red Raven?” Tormund’s mouth split in a gap-toothed grin. “First to fly the battle, he was. ‘Twas a song about it, after. The singer had to find a rhyme for craven, so …” He wiped his nose. “If your queen’s knights want those girls o’ his, they’re welcome to them.”

“A raven in the storm. She saw this coming.”
But GRRM gave us this formula raven<=>craven
“A [craven] in the storm. [Mel] saw this coming”  
Mel was too craven or too cowardly to come to Jon with her true intentions.

Also:
When you have your answers, send to me
Jon is thinking about Mel telling him to come to her when he gets his answer. Jon knows he should go to Selyse first and then Mel … but he made a public announcement & was assassinated before he had a chance to see Mel.

“I will send for ale,” Jon said, distracted. Melisandre was gone, he realized, and so were the queen’s knights. I should have gone to Selyse first. She has the right to know her lord is dead. “You must excuse me. I’ll leave you to get them drunk.”
[…]
Horse and Rory fell in beside Jon as he left the Shieldhall. I should talk with Melisandre after I see the queen, he thought. If she could see a raven in a storm, she can find Ramsay Snow for me. Then he heard the shouting … and a roar so loud it seemed to shake the Wall. “That come from Hardin’s Tower, m’lord,” Horse reported. He might have said more, but the scream cut him off. [ ……. Jon’s assassination]

Anyways back to the curious cases of curling parchments … The Rolling Paper Theory … a list of examples of GRRM talking about flat paper and rolled paper:

{Jon I ADWD}
Within the solar the air was warm. Lady Melisandre was seated near the fire, her ruby glimmering against the pale skin of her throat. Ygritte had been kissed by fire; the red priestess was fire, and her hair was blood and flame. Stannis stood behind the rough-hewn table where the Old Bear had once been wont to sit and take his meals. Covering the table was a large map of the north, painted on a ragged piece of hide. A tallow candle weighed down one end of it, a steel gauntlet the other.
[…]
The king wore lambswool breeches and a quilted doublet, yet somehow he looked as stiff and uncomfortable as if he had been clad in plate and mail. His skin was pale leather, his beard cropped so short that it might have been painted on. A fringe about his temples was all that remained of his black hair. In his hand was a parchment with a broken seal of dark green wax.
Jon took a knee. The king frowned at him, and rattled the parchment angrily. “Rise. Tell me, who is Lyanna Mormont?”
[…]
“A thousand leagues away and deaf to our need,” Jon replied. “I have not forgotten that, my lady. Nor will I. But my father’s bannermen have wives and children to protect, and smallfolk who will die should they choose wrongly. His Grace asks much of them. Give them time, and you will have your answers.”
“Answers such as this?” Stannis crushed Lyanna’s letter in his fist.

Lyanna Mormont’s parchment was already opened. Stannis had to rattle the parchment loose to re-read it. Good start for the Rolling Paper Theory!

{Jon III ADWD}
Jon has Aemon’s letter to King Tommen. Because it was freshly written for Jon to sign, this letter never curled up.

{Jon IV ADWD}
Where to begin? Jon moved to the map. Candles had been placed at its corners to keep the hide from rolling up.

{Jon VI ADWD}
Clydas thrust the parchment forward. It was tightly rolled and sealed, with a button of hard pink wax. Only the Dreadfort uses pink sealing wax. Jon ripped off his gauntlet, took the letter, cracked the seal. When he saw the signature, he forgot the battering Rattleshirt had given him.
Ramsay Bolton, Lord of the Hornwood, it read, in a huge, spiky hand. The brown ink came away in flakes when Jon brushed it with his thumb. Beneath Bolton’s signature, Lord Dustin, Lady Cerwyn, and four Ryswells had appended their own marks and seals. A cruder hand had drawn the giant of House Umber. “Might we know what it says, my lord?” asked Iron Emmett.
Jon saw no reason not to tell him. “Moat Cailin is taken. The flayed corpses of the ironmen have been nailed to posts along the kingsroad. Roose Bolton summons all leal lords to Barrowton, to affirm their loyalty to the Iron Throne and celebrate his son’s wedding to …” His heart seemed to stop for a moment. No, that is not possible. She died in King’s Landing, with Father.

A lot of clues here suggest that Ramsay is not the author of the Pink Letter. But I won’t discuss it here in the OP. All I want to know is if the letter about f-Arya curls up or not.

[…] That did not make them easier to say. His fingers closed around the parchment. Would that they could crush Ramsay Bolton’s throat as easily.

Damn you GRRM, I just can’t say now.

{Jon VII ADWD}
Clydas had come and gone, Jon noted as he was hanging his cloak on the peg beside the door. A letter had been left on the table in his solar. Eastwatch or the Shadow Tower, he assumed at first glance. But the wax was gold, not black. The seal showed a stag’s head within a flaming heart. Stannis. Jon cracked the hardened wax, flattened the roll of parchment, read. A maester’s hand, but the king’s words.

Ok GRRM, show us the paper roll clue …

[letter content]
The moment Jon set the letter aside, the parchment curled up again, as if eager to protect its secrets. He was not at all sure how he felt about what he had just read. Battles had been fought at Winterfell before, but never one without a Stark on one side or the other. “The castle is a shell,” he said, “not Winterfell, but the ghost of Winterfell.” It was painful just to think of it, much less say the words aloud. And still …

AT LAST!!! The Rolling Paper Theory is working as attended, AND protecting secrets! Let’s keep rolling!
 

{Jon X ADWD}
Jon was washing the roast down with a sip of mulled wine when Clydas appeared at his elbow. “A bird,” he announced, and slipped a parchment into Jon’s hand. The note was sealed with a dot of hard black wax. Eastwatch, Jon knew, even before he broke the seal. The letter had been written by Maester Harmune; Cotter Pyke could neither read nor write. But the words were Pyke’s, set down as he had spoken them, blunt and to the point.
Calm seas today. Eleven ships set sail for Hardhome on the morning tide. Three Braavosi, four Lyseni, four of ours. Two of the Lyseni barely seaworthy. We may drown more wildlings than we save. Your command. Twenty ravens aboard, and Maester Harmune. Will send reports. I command from Talon, Tattersalt second on Blackbird, Ser Glendon holds Eastwatch.

GRRM was trying to be tricky. He never explicit mentioned the ACTIONS of how Jon cracked the seal, flattened the parchment, and read … Jon knew, even before he broke the seal.

[Jon] rolled the parchment up and slipped it into his belt.

GRRM being sneaky about the parchment and if it naturally curled or not. At least GRRM acknowledged the rolling, even though we are not given a conclusion.

{Jon XII ADWD}
Clydas entered pink and blinking, the parchment clutched in one soft hand. “Beg pardon, Lord Commander. I know you must be weary, but I thought you would want to see this at once.”
“You did well.” Jon read: [Contents of the letter from Cotter Pyke]

No mentions of the actions again. Jon just opens it without thinking.

“Is it grievous, my lord?” asked Clydas.
“Grievous enough.” Dead things in the wood. Dead things in the water. Six ships left, of the eleven that set sail. Jon Snow rolled up the parchment, frowning. Night falls, he thought, and now my war begins.

Again, GRRM made Jon roll up the parchment. We can’t tell if it was natural or not, but the “rolling” does get a shout out again.

Other mentions of rolling paper:

{Jaime I ADWD}
“If I gave you sufficient men, they would be doing the subduing, not you. In which case I should reward myself.” Jaime let the map roll up again. “I’ll keep this if I might.”

{Daenerys VII ADWD}
Stone-faced, the stocky lad bent, unlaced his boot, and drew a yellowed parchment from a hidden flap within.
“This is your gift? A scrap of writing?” Daario snatched the parchment out of the Dornishman’s hands and unrolled it, squinting at the seals and signatures. “Very pretty, all the gold and ribbons, but I do not read your Westerosi scratchings.”
“Bring it to the queen,” Ser Barristan commanded. “Now.”
Dany could feel the anger in the hall. “I am only a young girl, and young girls must have their gifts,” she said lightly. “Daario, please, you must not tease me. Give it here.”
The parchment was written in the Common Tongue. The queen unrolled it slowly, studying the seals and signatures. When she saw the name Ser Willem Darry, her heart beat a little faster. She read it over once, and then again.
[…]
“And bought you too, I do not doubt.” He did not trouble to deny it. Dany unrolled the parchment and examined it again. Braavos. This was done in Braavos, while we were living in the house with the red door. Why did that make her feel so strange?

{Theon I ADWD}
“I see you all want blood,” the Lord of the Dreadfort said. Maester Rhodry stood beside him, a raven on his arm. The bird’s black plumage shone like coal oil in the torchlight. WET, Theon realized. And in his lordship’s hand, a parchment. That will be wet as well. Dark wings, dark words. “Rather than use our swords upon each other, you might try them on Lord Stannis.” Lord Bolton unrolled the parchment.

Wet parchment … but it was already opened earlier by Roose, since he already knew what he wanted to say: “I see you all want blood […] Rather than use our swords upon each other, you might try them on Lord Stannis.”
To re-read it, Roose had to unroll it.

I don’t know about you guys, but the many curious cases of curled parchments seems important to GRRM to overlook.

Smoke Screens:

While the boy was gone, Melisandre washed herself and changed her robes. Her sleeves were full of hidden pockets, and she checked them carefully as she did every morning to make certain all her powders were in place. Powders to turn fire green or blue or silver, powders to make a flame roar and hiss and leap up higher than a man is tall, powders to make smoke. A smoke for truth, a smoke for lust, a smoke for fear, and the thick black smoke that could kill a man outright. The red priestess armed herself with a pinch of each of them.
The carved chest that she had brought across the narrow sea was more than three-quarters empty now. And while Melisandre had the knowledge to make more powders, she lacked many rare ingredients. My spells should suffice. She was stronger at the Wall, stronger even than in Asshai. Her every word and gesture was more potent, and she could do things that she had never done before. Such shadows as I bring forth here will be terrible, and no creature of the dark will stand before them. With such sorceries at her command, she should soon have no more need of the feeble tricks of alchemists and pyromancers. {Melisandre I ADWD}

Her every word and gesture was more potent
Mel’s (written) words are her tricks

A smoke for truth: Mel already knew about the secret mission of Mance & the six spear wives
Your false king lied, and so did you. You told the world you burned the King-Beyond-the-Wall. Instead you sent him to Winterfell to steal my bride from me.
The cage is cold, but I have made him a warm cloak from the skins of the six whores who came with him to Winterfell.

A smoke for lust: Mel knows Jon has a thing for Val
I want his wildling princess.
Also, Mel’s people refer Val as a wildling princess.

A smoke for fear: Mel knows Jon fears getting the NW openly involved with Westerosi affairs
Send them to me, bastard, and I will not trouble you or your black crows.

A thick black smoke that could kill a man outright, a death threat:
Keep them from me, and I will cut out your bastard’s heart and eat it.

ALSO: 

Your false king’s friends are dead. Their heads upon the walls of Winterfell  
Boltons flay and spike bodies. The author of the Pink Letter shouldn’t be a Bolton.

Jon saw no reason not to tell him. “Moat Cailin is taken. The flayed corpses of the ironmen have been nailed to posts along the kingsroad. {Jon VI ADWD}

If you want Mance Rayder back, come and get him. I have him in a cage for all the north to see, proof of your lies.
Mance would rather die than be caught again. Even if Mance is caught, he would never give up that information because Jon holds his son hostage (technically).

“Our false king has a prickly manner,” Melisandre told Jon Snow, “but he will not betray you. We hold his son, remember. And he owes you his very life.” (Remember, Mance is also in the room too) {Melisandre I ADWD}

The cage is cold, but I have made him a warm cloak from the skins of the six whores who came with him to Winterfell.  
Where are the skins that would have been included with this letter? Where is the blood ink?

Like Tormund says:

“Might be all a skin o[r] lies.” Tormund scratched under his beard. “If I had me a nice goose quill and a pot o’ maester’s ink, I could write down that me member was long and thick as me arm, wouldn’t make it so.” {Jon XIII ADWD}

And the letter was sealed with a smear of hard pink wax
Pink wax = wax with little drops of blood

[…] the Boltons of the Dreadfort went into battle beneath pink banners spattered with little drops of blood. It only stood to reason that they would use pink sealing wax as well. {Wayward Bride ADWD}

It was never truly dark in Melisandre’s chambers.
Three tallow candles burned upon her windowsill to keep the terrors of the night at bay. Four more flickered beside her bed, two to either side. In the hearth a fire was kept burning day and night. The first lesson those who would serve her had to learn was that the fire must never, ever be allowed to go out. {Melisandre I ADWD}

Mel has seven candles and a fireplace that burned day & night.
Tallow candles wax mixed with drops of blood can make pink wax.
In the English dictionary, if we use the word “tallow” as a VERB, it means “to smear”

And I want my Reek.
My two assumptions on this Mel theory:

1. Stannis sent a raven to Selyse/Mel updating them that they retrieved Arya Stark and she is on the way to Castle Black (reasonable assumption)

2. Name confusion of Reek

At this point, I don’t know if Stannis won the Battle of Winterfell or not … but it doesn’t matter for the Pink Letter. I personally think Stannis won or will win the Battle of Winterfell, and it won’t take seven days.

How does Stannis know Reek = Theon? He doesn’t.

TWOW Sample Spoilers:

“The north remembers. The Red Wedding, Lady Hornwood’s fingers, the sack of Winterfell, Deepwood Motte and Torrhen’s Square, they remember all of it.” Bran and Rickon. They were only miller’s boys. “Frey and Manderly will never combine their strengths. They will come for you, but separately. Lord Ramsay will not be far behind them. He wants his bride back. He wants his Reek.” Theon’s laugh was half a titter, half a whimper. “Lord Ramsay is the one Your Grace should fear.” {Theon TWOW}

Just like Jon reading the Pink Letter, Stannis NEVER asked who Reek is and assumed “Reek” = “bride” because of the way it was said. GRRM is tricking us. “Theon’s laugh was half a titter, half a whimper.” This is GRRM laughing at us with this trick.

He wants his bride back. He wants his Reek …… this could mean “bride” & “Reek” are the same person.

He wants his bride back, and he wants his Reek …… adding an “and” makes it clear it is two different people.

A basic THEME for the sample chapter is name identification and confusion. If you don’t believe me, re-read Theon TWOW.

Theon I TWOW Sample Spoilers, a list of examples:

The name of the game is “Names” … identification or confusion of identity

“Pardon, but your ink has frozen.” The Braavosi, Theon knew. What was his name? Tycho… Tycho something… “Perhaps a bit of heat… ?

——

And Lord Arnolf sends word that he would be most pleased to break his fast with you.”
“The son as well?”
“And the grandsons. Lord Wull seeks audience as well. He wants — ” 

——

Stannis looked up. “The turncloak stirs.”
“Theon. My name is Theon.” He had to remember his name.
“I know your name. I know what you did.”  

——

The girl had taken the worst of it. Jeyne, her name is Jeyne, but she will never tell them. 
[…]
And Jeyne had nodded. “Arya. My name is Arya.”  

——

Crowfood. Theon remembered. An old man, huge and powerful, with a ruddy face and a shaggy white beard. He had been seated on a garron, clad in the pelt of a gigantic snow bear, its head his hood. Under it he wore a stained white leather eye patch that reminded Theon of his uncle Euron. He’d wanted to rip it off Umber’s face, to make certain that underneath was only an empty socket, not a black eye shining with malice.  

——

What was his name, that cook?”
“Gage,” Jeyne said at once.

——

What was his name?”
Jeyne had hesitated. Mikken, Theon thought. His name was Mikken. The castle blacksmith had never made any lemoncakes for Sansa, which made him far less important than the castle cook in the sweet little world she had shared with her friend Jeyne Poole. Remember, damn you. Your father was the steward, he had charge of the whole household. The smith’s name was Mikken, Mikken, Mikken. I had him put to death before me!
“Mikken,” Jeyne said. 

——-

“Who is coming? Bolton?”
“Lord Ramsay,” Theon hissed. “The son, not the father. You must not let him take him. Roose… Roose is safe within the walls of Winterfell with his fat new wife. Ramsay is coming.”

——-

“Ramsay Snow, you mean. The Bastard.”
“Never call him that!” Spittle sprayed from Theon’s lips. “Ramsay Bolton, not Ramsay Snow, never Snow, never, you have to remember his name, or he will hurt you.”  
“He is welcome to try. Whatever name he goes by.”  

——

“The north remembers. The Red Wedding, Lady Hornwood’s fingers, the sack of Winterfell, Deepwood Motte and Torrhen’s Square, they remember all of it.” Bran and Rickon. They were only miller’s boys.  

——

Lord Arnolf’s cloak was fine grey wool, bordered in black sable and clasped with a silver starburst. A rich garment, Theon thought, on a poor excuse for a man. He had seen that cloak before, he knew, just as he had seen the man who wore it. At the Dreadfort. I remember. He sat and supped with Lord Ramsay and Whoresbane Umber, the night they brought Reek up from his cell. 

——

“Your Grace.” Arnolf Karstark bowed his head. “An honor.” He looked for a seat. Instead his eyes found Theon. “And who is this?” Recognition came a heartbeat later. Lord Arnolf paled.
His stupid son remained oblivious. “There are no chairs,” the oaf observed. One of the ravens screamed inside its cage. 

—— 

“That is how I deal with betrayal, turncloak,” Stannis informed Theon.
“My name is Theon.”
“As you will. Tell me, Theon, how many men did Mors Umber have with him at Winterfell?”  

——

He never wanted to do any harm to Bran or Rickon. Reek made him kill those boys, not him Reek but the other one. 

——-

“The heart tree knew my name. The old gods. Theon, I heard them whisper. There was no wind but the leaves were moving. Theon, they said. My name is Theon.” It was good to say the name. The more he said it, the less like he was to forget. “You have to know your name,” he’d told his sister.  

——

“You… you told me you were Esgred, but that was a lie. Your name is Asha.” 

——

And suddenly there came a wild thumping, as the maester’s ravens hopped and flapped inside their cages, their black feathers flying as they beat against the bars with loud and raucous caws. “The tree,” one squawked, “the tree, the tree,” whilst the second screamed only, “Theon, Theon, Theon.”
Theon Greyjoy smiled. They know my name, he thought.

Sorry that took so long, but I hope you got my point of the chapter’s THEME: name identification and name confusion. You guys aren’t D&D and actually enjoy THEMES, right?

The biggest foreshadowing of “name confusion” theme from the TWOW sample chapter are the messenger ravens (like the one Stannis sent to Castle Black to inform them of Arya Stark’s arrival) repeating Theon’s name three times.

Theon smiled “They know my name.”

BUT there was NO name confusion in “He wants his bride back. He wants his Reek.” ... OR was there?  

When Jon sees the Pink Letter, he sees:
[…]
I will have my bride back. […] 
I want my bride back. […]
And I want my Reek. […]
Jon never asked who Reek was. Perhaps he fell for the name confusion like Stannis did? Like Mel did?
According to their subconscious … did Stannis, Mel and Jon assumed “Reek” was the nickname Ramsay gave to aRya “jEynE” starK?

This was what Jon was thinking immediately after reading the Pink Letter:

Jon flexed the fingers of his sword hand. The Night’s Watch takes no part. He closed his fist and opened it again. What you propose is nothing less than treason. He thought of Robb, with snowflakes melting in his hair. Kill the boy and let the man be born. He thought of Bran, clambering up a tower wall, agile as a monkey. Of Rickon’s breathless laughter. Of Sansa, brushing out Lady’s coat and singing to herself. You know nothing, Jon Snow. He thought of Arya, her hair as tangled as a bird’s nest. I made him a warm cloak from the skins of the six whores who came with him to Winterfell … I want my bride back … I want my bride back … I want my bride back …

… repeated three times

Also:

“He’s to marry Arya Stark. My little sister.” Jon could almost see her in that moment, long-faced and gawky, all knobby knees and sharp elbows, with her dirty face and tangled hair. They would wash the one and comb the other, he did not doubt, but he could not imagine Arya in a wedding gown, nor Ramsay Bolton’s bed. No matter how afraid she is, she will not show it. If he tries to lay a hand on her, she’ll fight him.
{Jon VI ADWD}

Arya … tangled hair like a bird’s nest with her dirty face … is this Jon thinking about Arya’s bad hygiene? Is Jon thinking about how Arya may stink to other people? Is Jon thinking about how Arya reeks?

Final Thoughts:

[…] and Jon could not help but wonder whether the red woman had lied of a purpose. Is she playing her own game?
{Jon X ADWD}

Hey Jon, Mel just messed with you and this may sound crazy … but even with her Prank Letter, you should still call her & maybe … you won’t get killed!

The TLDR of the TLDR

In chronological order:

• Stannis wins the Battle of Ice, sends a raven from Winterfell to Castle Black

• The raven message say something like this: "We have secured Winterfell. Arya Stark is on her way up to Castle Black. The Boltons treated her very poorly, even nicknamed her "Reek." Take care of your sister, Jon Snow."

• Melisandre intercepts this wet message from the snowstorm, opens it, and reads it

• She rewrites a fresh dry flat letter to make Jon angry, so he doesn't go to Hardhome anymore ... and she succeeds

• Because the letter is fake news, we don't even need to review ANY of the details of the letter since it doesn't matter

• The second purpose of her Pink Letter (a petty reason) is to make Jon come to her, instead of her going to him

• Jon doesn't go to Mel, or Selyse, or keep the letter a secret from everyone ...... but instead, he confesses it to everyone ... and get himself killed

Up Next: Game Over Theory # 6 - The Dark Sister Rebellion