shymaid I may have gone too far down that hole. LOL I'm going to back up a bit and digest your last post and I'll respond.
Those things are known to happen from time to time. Haha, I've walked down plenty of holes of that kind!
The Ned kidnapped me these past two days, as taking notes on our KGs without checking which chapters they turn up in, ended in a mini Ned-read. Interesting ideas followed of course, but not sure it is really tied to this subject or not.
This is our most mysterious of our three Kingsguards, but as his arc is the shortest one it's the first to finish. So I'll make a post on my findings on him so far.
What we know of this Kingsguard isn't much, he's more or less a blank slate. We know he's from the Vale and has little kin to be found; his family's arms is three bronze spearheads on white, a bronze border embattled, which is interesting. We know very little of this house, but the sigil might suggest that they go back a long way. He was brought to King's Landing by Jon Arryn and recieved his white cloak by Robert, when we don't know. They didn't love him, though, we are told. Neither did the other Kingsguards warm to him, nor the smallfolk who prefered to cheer other competitors in the lists in spite of his indoubted prowess. Ser Barristand is reported to have said that «the man had no friend but his sword and no life but duty»; this is supposed to be the ideal Kingsguard life, but it was not said fully in praise. The imagery that surrounds him is eerily tied to death. From Clash:
"Your Grace," Ser Boros said when they were ushered inside by another of the Kingsguard, Ser Mandon of the curiously dead face, "I've brought the girl."
Sansa IV
In the chilly white raiment of the Kingsguard, Ser Mandon Moore looked like a corpse in a shroud. "Her Grace left orders, the council in session is not to be disturbed." ... "I know the man." Ser Mandon's eyes were pale grey, oddly flat and lifeless. Tyrion I
Ser Mandon Moore took the place to his right, flames shimmering against the white enamel of his armor, his dead eyes shining passionlessly through his helm. ... At the ram his big red reared but the black stallion leapt the obstacle smoothly and Ser Mandon flashed past him, death in snow-white silk. Tyrion XIV
Ser Mandon. He saw the dead empty eyes, the reaching hand, the green fire shining against the white enamel plate. ... Jaime had always said that Ser Mandon was the most dangerous of the Kingsguard, because his dead empty eyes gave no hint to his intentions. Tyrion XV
Interestingly enough, Tyrion thinks of himself as a ghost when venturing out of his room for the first time after being injured. Or perhaps a whight? It did take my mind to the white shadows beyond the Wall.
Another interesting part in his arc is how he left Sansa during the riot after Myrcella was dispatched to Dorne. Moore was her sword that day, but when all hell broke loose he followed the king and left Sansa to her own defences. One could say he took up the responsibility for the king, when Joffrey practically let go of his own sword by sending Sandor into the mob, but he also ignored his stated orders that was to protect Sansa. A murky situation, that is up to the reader to interpret for the most part, but also an interesting and rare look into Mandon's mind.
The Battle, the betrayel
I would like to take a deeper look at Tyrion's chapters (XIII and XIV) from the Battle of the Blackwater, as there is some interesting imagery there.
The Imp was mounted on a red stallion, armored more plainly than the king in battle gear that made him look like a little boy dressed up in his father's clothes. But there was nothing childish about the battle-axe slung below his shield. Ser Mandon Moore rode at his side, white steel icy bright. When Tyrion saw her he turned his horse her way. "Lady Sansa," he called from the saddle, "surely my sister has asked you to join the other highborn ladies in Maegor's?"
Sansa V
Here we get one of our interesting red stallions; his weapon of choice is an axe, which is one of our black shadows. Ser Mandon is clearly under orders to fight by his side during this battle, as he does. The battle from Tyrion's POV is started after the wildfire is ignited, and combined with his axe this reminds me of the wars with the CotF all those years ago, and most notably when the Andals came as they have axe symbology.
A gash above one eye had sent a wash of blood down across the Hound's old burn scars, masking half his face.
...
The blood on Clegane's face glistened red, but his eyes showed white.
...
Where the Hound's face was not sticky with blood, it was pale as milk.
The imagery we get for Sandor here is red and white, which take my mind to the weirwoods, strengthened by his fear of fire; but also to Jaqen H'ghar with his half red half white hair.
His big red stallion wore crinet and chamfron. Crimson silk draped his hindquarters, over a coat of mail. The high saddle was gilded. Podrik Payne handed up helm and shield, heavy oak emblazoned with a golden hand on red, surrounded by small golden lions. He walked his horse in a circle, looking at the little force of men. Only a handful had responded to his command, no more than twenty. They sat their horses with eyes as white as the Hound's. He looked contemptuously at the others, the knights and sellswords who had ridden with Clegane. "They say I'm half a man," he said. "What does that make the lot of you?"
Of course his colors are red and gold; what I find most interesting his his shield that reminds me of a counterpoint to the Gardners green hand on white. Not a direct opposition, but close enough I think. I will give Ser Mandon his due that he backs up Tyrion's orders for another sortie outside the gates in this scene, though it's probably more pragmatic than standing by him. In the end, Tyrion is able to shame Sandor's men into joining him outside.
The slot in his helm limited Tyrion's vision to what was before him, but when he turned his head he saw three galleys beached on the tourney grounds, and a fourth, larger than the others, standing well out into the river, firing barrels of burning pitch from a catapult. "Wedge," Tyrion commanded as his men streamed out of the sally port. They formed up in spearhead, with him at the point. Ser Mandon Moore took the place to his right, flames shimmering against the white enamel of his armor, his dead eyes shining passionlessly through his helm. He rode a coal-black horse barded all in white, with the pure white shield of the Kingsguard strapped to his arm. On the left, Tyrion was surprised to see Podrick Payne, a sword in his hand. "You're too young," he said at once. "Go back."
Previously, in Sansa V, Ser Mandon's armor was compared to ice, and here that is paired up with fire – fire and ice. His horse is also interesting. While I guess it's a bit much for the Kingsguards all to have white horses all the time, it seems like the choice in scenes like this is deliberate; that our white shadow is mounted on a black horse is an interesting image.
Some views on the actions of our white shadows during the battle (sorry for the long quote...):
Ser Mandon dropped the point of his lance at the last possible instant, and drove Joffrey's banner through the chest of a man in a studded jerkin, lifting him full off his feet before the shaft snapped. ... At the ram his big red reared but the black stallion leapt the obstacle smoothly and Ser Mandon flashed past him, death in snow-white silk. His sword sheared off limbs, cracked heads, broke shields asunder—though few enough of the enemy had made it across the river with shields intact. Tyrion urged his mount over the ram. Their foes were fleeing. ... They had dispersed the men on the battering ram, but he could see fighting all along the riverfront. Ser Balon Swann's men, most like, or Lancel's, trying to throw the enemy back into the water as they swarmed ashore off the burning ships. "We'll ride for the Mud Gate," he commanded. Ser Mandon shouted, "The Mud Gate!" And they were off again. "King's Landing!" his men cried raggedly, and "Halfman! Halfman!" He wondered who had taught them that. Through the steel and padding of his helm, he heard anguished screams, the hungry crackle of flame, the shuddering of warhorns, and the brazen blast of trumpets. Fire was everywhere. Gods be good, no wonder the Hound was frightened. It's the flames he fears . . . ... A man-at-arms grabbed the bridle of his horse and thrust at Tyrion's face with a dagger. He knocked the blade aside and buried the axe in the nape of the man's neck. As he was wresting it free, a blaze of white appeared at the edge of his vision. Tyrion turned, thinking to find Ser Mandon Moore beside him again, but this was a different white knight. Ser Balon Swann wore the same armor, but his horse trappings bore the battling black-and-white swans of his House. He's more a spotted knight than a white one, Tyrion thought inanely. Every bit of Ser Balon was spattered with gore and smudged by smoke. He raised his mace to point downriver. Bits of brain and bone clung to its head. "My lord, look." Tyrion swung his horse about to peer down the Blackwater. The current still flowed black and strong beneath, but the surface was a roil of blood and flame. The sky was red and orange and garish green. "What?" he said. Then he saw. Hundreds of Stannis Baratheon's boldest were doing just that. Tyrion saw one great fool of a knight trying to ride across, urging a terrified horse over gunwales and oars, across tilting decks slick with blood and crackling with green fire. We made them a bloody bridge, he thought in dismay. Parts of the bridge were sinking and other parts were afire and the whole thing was creaking and shifting and like to burst asunder at any moment, but that did not seem to stop them. "Those are brave men," he told Ser Balon in admiration. "Let's go kill them." He led them through the guttering fires and the soot and ash of the riverfront, pounding down a long stone quay with his own men and Ser Balon's behind him. Ser Mandon fell in with them, his shield a ragged ruin. Smoke and cinders swirled through the air, and the foe broke before their charge, throwing themselves back into the water, knocking over other men as they fought to climb up. The foot of the bridge was a half-sunken enemy galley with Dragonsbane painted on her prow, her bottom ripped out by one of the sunken hulks Tyrion had placed between the quays. A spearman wearing the red crab badge of House Celtigar drove the point of his weapon up through the chest of Balon Swann's horse before he could dismount, spilling the knight from the saddle. Tyrion hacked at the man's head as he flashed by, and by then it was too late to rein up. His stallion leapt from the end of the quay and over a splintered gunwale, landing with a splash and a scream in ankle-deep water. Tyrion's axe went spinning, followed by Tyrion himself, and the deck rose up to give him a wet smack. Madness followed. His horse had broken a leg and was screaming horribly. Somehow he managed to draw his dagger, and slit the poor creature's throat. The blood gushed out in a scarlet fountain, drenching his arms and chest. He found his feet again and lurched to the rail, and then he was fighting, staggering and splashing across crooked decks awash with water. Men came at him. Some he killed, some he wounded, and some went away, but always there were more. He lost his knife and gained a broken spear, he could not have said how. He clutched it and stabbed, shrieking curses. Men ran from him and he ran after them, clambering up over the rail to the next ship and then the next. His two white shadows were always with him; Balon Swann and Mandon Moore, beautiful in their pale plate. Surrounded by a circle of Velaryon spearmen, they fought back to back; they made battle as graceful as a dance.
Here it seems Tyrion got separated form his white shadows, and where the action turns in a weird direction.
His own killing was a clumsy thing. He stabbed one man in the kidney when his back was turned, and grabbed another by the leg and upended him into the river. Arrows hissed past his head and clattered off his armor; one lodged between shoulder and breastplate, but he never felt it. A naked man fell from the sky and landed on the deck, body bursting like a melon dropped from a tower. His blood spattered through the slit of Tyrion's helm. Stones began to plummet down, crashing through the decks and turning men to pulp, until the whole bridge gave a shudder and twisted violently underfoot, knocking him sideways. ... "MY LORD! TAKE MY HAND! MY LORD TYRION!" There on the deck of the next ship, across a widening gulf of black water, stood Ser Mandon Moore, a hand extended. Yellow and green fire shone against the white of his armor, and his lobstered gauntlet was sticky with blood, but Tyrion reached for it all the same, wishing his arms were longer. It was only at the very last, as their fingers brushed across the gap, that something niggled at him . . . Ser Mandon was holding out his left hand, why . . . Was that why he reeled backward, or did he see the sword after all? He would never know. The point slashed just beneath his eyes, and he felt its cold hard touch and then a blaze of pain. His head spun around as if he'd been slapped. The shock of the cold water was a second slap more jolting than the first. He flailed for something to grab on to, knowing that once he went down he was not like to come back up. Somehow his hand found the splintered end of a broken oar. Clutching it tight as a desperate lover, he shinnied up foot by foot. His eyes were full of water, his mouth was full of blood, and his head throbbed horribly. Gods give me strength to reach the deck . . . There was nothing else, only the oar, the water, the deck. Finally he rolled over the side and lay breathless and exhausted, flat on his back. Balls of green and orange flame crackled overhead, leaving streaks between the stars. He had a moment to think how pretty it was before Ser Mandon blocked out the view. The knight was a white steel shadow, his eyes shining darkly behind his helm. Tyrion had no more strength than a rag doll. Ser Mandon put the point of his sword to the hollow of his throat and curled both hands around the hilt. And suddenly he lurched to the left, staggering into the rail. Wood split, and Ser Mandon Moore vanished with a shout and a splash. An instant later, the hulls came slamming together again, so hard the deck seemed to jump. Then someone was kneeling over him. "Jaime?" he croaked, almost choking on the blood that filled his mouth. Who else would save him, if not his brother? "Be still, my lord, you're hurt bad." A boy's voice, that makes no sense, thought Tyrion. It sounded almost like Pod.
Where Ser Balon is at this moment, or why he seemingly left, we don't know. All we have is this turn of events. With hints of that old battle between the CotF and humans, is this in play here? Is it tied to the opposition of fire and ice, represented by Tyrion and Mandon respectively? Does the yellow and green flames reflected in Mandon's arnor have some symbolic value? I don't know at this point, but I do find it interesting. Also, before the battle, Tyrion did light a candle to the Stranger for himself... Mayhaps he almost got his prayer answered...
Where Ser Mandon's hands curled around the hilt, reminds me of this little thing from Sansa V:
She was climbing the dais when she saw the man standing in the shadows by the back wall. He wore a long hauberk of oiled black mail, and held his sword before him: her father's greatsword, Ice, near as tall as he was. Its point rested on the floor, and his hard bony fingers curled around the crossguard on either side of the grip.
Ilyn Payne is another figure that has rather much imagery as Death Incarnate, so I did find this similarity interesting.
While I don't intend to start a discussion on Mandon's motivations in trying to kill Tyrion, I'm not sure if that can be ignored in the question of the white shadows. My thinking here is more to put down some points that could have affected him, and so possibly shed som light on our other white shadows. Mandon is mentioned three times in Storm; twice by Tyrion in his quest for more information (pun partly intended), and breefly by Jamie after he returns to King's Landing. Both times Tyrion thinks Mandon had no reason to dislike him, that he hadn't done anything to him. That in it self makes me question it. His first chapter starts with Mandon refusing him entry to the small council, and Tyrion reacting by showing off his clansman and telling him how Bronn killed Ser Vardis Egen. As we here learns that Mandon is from the Vale, he might not see so lightly on Tyrion using the clansmen as he did – they are the arch enemy he grew up with. Also he might have been closer to Vardis than we know, perhaps even his squire back in the day. We don't know, but I don't rule it out. Lastly, Tyrion did have a somewhat antagonsitic relationship with several of the Kingsguards; he did scold Mandon for dropping his responsibility for Sansa as mentioned before. A more popular line of thinking is that Mandon was bought by someone, Littlefinger being mostly regarded as his paymaster. This also includes that he placed Mandon in there via Lysa in the first place, but honestly we don't know when Arryn brought him; it could be shortly after the rebellion when Littlefinger is less likely to wield that much power. But that doesn't mean he couldn't have bought him later. So what I take from this is that Mandon might have had his own reasons to do what he did, or he might have been payed to do it, or both. A thing to have in mind for the others.
Sidenote reaction: Wow, I never thought about that! Speaking of Qhorin's bones, Rattleshirt took some of them after he was boiled. ( ) What became of them...?
Not boiled, burned . We're not told, but my guess is that they became part of Rattleshirt's shirt.
Sidenote reaction: Wow, I never thought about that! Speaking of Qhorin's bones, Rattleshirt took some of them after he was boiled. ( ) What became of them...?
Not boiled, burned . We're not told, but my guess is that they became part of Rattleshirt's shirt.
That's right. In any case, it makes me wonder if his bones will be used somehow later on... Extracting information perhaps?
Post by DarkSister1001 on Jul 19, 2018 22:34:30 GMT
shymaid Sorry about the extended hiatus. I got caught up in the books. Imagine that! I'm going to read over what you wrote up about Mandon Moore and get back to you tomorrow.
The blade was Valyrian steel, spell-forged and dark as smoke. Nothing held an edge like Valyrian steel.
shymaid Sorry about the extended hiatus. I got caught up in the books. Imagine that! I'm going to read over what you wrote up about Mandon Moore and get back to you tomorrow.
No worries! I've been quite busy myself lately with little reading time, not to mention during my Barristand reread I was totally kidnapped by that bloody dragon prince Rhaegar!
The imagery we get for Sandor here is red and white, which take my mind to the weirwoods, strengthened by his fear of fire;
This is especially interesting since red and white tend to make us think of the Old Gods & Weirwoods but we could also think of Ice (white) and Fire (red).
Something is nagging at me. The term "white shadow". It describes the Kingsguard, Ghost and mostly the Others.
The Kings/Queensguard:
Tyrion drove into the gap hard on the king's hooves. Bronn kept pace, sword in hand. A jagged rock flew past his head as he rode, and a rotten cabbage exploded against Ser Mandon's shield. To their left, three gold cloaks went down under the surge, and then the crowd was rushing forward, trampling the fallen men. The Hound had vanished behind, though his riderless horse galloped beside them. Tyrion saw Aron Santagar pulled from the saddle, the gold-and-black Baratheon stag torn from his grasp. Ser Balon Swann dropped the Lannister lion to draw his longsword. He slashed right and left as the fallen banner was ripped apart, the thousand ragged pieces swirling away like crimson leaves in a stormwind. In an instant they were gone. Someone staggered in front of Joffrey's horse and shrieked as the king rode him down. Whether it had been man, woman, or child Tyrion could not have said. Joffrey was galloping at his side, whey-faced, with Ser Mandon Moore a white shadow on his left. ACoK, Tyrion IX
Madness followed. His horse had broken a leg and was screaming horribly. Somehow he managed to draw his dagger, and slit the poor creature's throat. The blood gushed out in a scarlet fountain, drenching his arms and chest. He found his feet again and lurched to the rail, and then he was fighting, staggering and splashing across crooked decks awash with water. Men came at him. Some he killed, some he wounded, and some went away, but always there were more. He lost his knife and gained a broken spear, he could not have said how. He clutched it and stabbed, shrieking curses. Men ran from him and he ran after them, clambering up over the rail to the next ship and then the next. His two white shadows were always with him; Balon Swann and Mandon Moore, beautiful in their pale plate. Surrounded by a circle of Velaryon spearmen, they fought back to back; they made battle as graceful as a dance. ACoK, Tyrion XIV
When he raised his head, his eyes were red and raw as open sores. Dany glimpsed Ser Barristan sliding closer, a white shadow at her side. The man approached in a stumbling shuffle, one step and then another, clutching his sack. Is he drunk, or ill? she wondered. There was dirt beneath his cracked yellow fingernails. ADwD, Dany I
Ser Mandon Moore - Brought to KL by Jon Arryn and made a member of the KG by Robert Baratheon, he tried to kill Tyrion during the battle of the blackwater. Not well loved or respected. Ser Balon Swann - He's appeared in all the books. By all accounts he's honest and a "true" knight. He even speaks up for Tyrion. He is tasked with sneaking Myrcella back from Dorne. Ser Barristan Selmy - Served Areys, Robert and Dany. Tried to tell Dany that Ned Stark gave up handship over an argument with Robert regarding her. Loved Ashara Dayne.
Ghost:
"The watch commander tells me I must walk, to keep my blood from freezing, but he never said how fast."
They walked, with Ghost pacing along beside Jon like a white shadow. "I leave on the morrow," Tyrion said.
"I know." Jon sounded strangely sad. AGoT, Tyrion III
Jon donned his cloak and strode outside. He made the rounds of Castle Black each day, visiting the men on watch and hearing their reports first hand, watching Ulmer and his charges at the archery butts, talking with king's men and queen's men alike, walking the ice atop the Wall to have a look at the forest. Ghost padded after him, a white shadow at his side. ADwD, Jon II
Ahead he glimpsed a pale white trunk that could only be a weirwood, crowned with a head of dark red leaves. Jon Snow reached back and pulled Longclaw from his sheath. He looked to right and left, gave Satin and Horse a nod, watched them pass it on to the men beyond. They rushed the grove together, kicking through drifts of old snow with no sound but their breathing. Ghost ran with them, a white shadow at Jon's side. ADwD, Jon VII
The Others:
Will saw movement from the corner of his eye. Pale shapes gliding through the wood. He turned his head, glimpsed a white shadow in the darkness. Then it was gone. Branches stirred gently in the wind, scratching at one another with wooden fingers. Will opened his mouth to call down a warning, and the words seemed to freeze in his throat. Perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps it had only been a bird, a reflection on the snow, some trick of the moonlight. What had he seen, after all? AGoT, Prologue
The Lord Commander reached up to pinch its beak shut, but the raven hopped up on his head, fluttered its wings, and flew across the chamber to light above a window. "Grief and noise," Mormont grumbled. "That's all they're good for, ravens. Why I put up with that pestilential bird … if there was news of Lord Eddard, don't you think I would have sent for you? Bastard or no, you're still his blood. The message concerned Ser Barristan Selmy. It seems he's been removed from the Kingsguard. They gave his place to that black dog Clegane, and now Selmy's wanted for treason. The fools sent some watchmen to seize him, but he slew two of them and escaped." Mormont snorted, leaving no doubt of his view of men who'd send gold cloaks against a knight as renowed as Barristan the Bold. "We have white shadows in the woods and unquiet dead stalking our halls, and a boy sits the Iron Throne," he said in disgust. AGoT, Jon VIII
"What gods?" Jon was remembering that they'd seen no boys in Craster's Keep, nor men either, save Craster himself.
"The cold gods," she said. "The ones in the night. The white shadows." ACoK, Jon III
"We do not ride for the Wall. We ride north, after Mance Rayder and these Others, these white shadows and their wights. We seek them, Gilly. Your babe would not be safe with us." ACoK, Jon III
"Come with me," said Sam. "Maester Aemon's woken up and wants to hear about these dragons. He's talking about bleeding stars and white shadows and dreams and . . . if we could find out more about these dragons, it might help give him ease. Help me." AFfC, Sam III
Kings/Queensguard are protectors. Ghost protects Jon. Can we guess, within reason, that the Others are protecting someone/something?
Sers Moore, Swann and Selmy could technically all be called betrayers. Will Ghost betray Jon? Was there a betrayal with the Others?
KG/QG protect royalty. The Others may have done the same with their Night King (possible brother to the KitN). R+L=J (bastard or not, he'd have kingsblood).
Is it about their purity?
Is there something that these 3 share that helps us better understand the story and possibly the future? Or is it simply the chosen adjectives?
Methinks the Others are protectors of weirwoods. Or at least, I think that's what they were originally.
And regarding Jon's king's blood, he gets that from the Starks. 😎
"I can see it. You have more of the north in you than your brothers."
Something is nagging at me. The term "white shadow". It describes the Kingsguard, Ghost and mostly the Others.
The Kings/Queensguard:
Ser Mandon Moore - Brought to KL by Jon Arryn and made a member of the KG by Robert Baratheon, he tried to kill Tyrion during the battle of the blackwater. Not well loved or respected. Ser Balon Swann - He's appeared in all the books. By all accounts he's honest and a "true" knight. He even speaks up for Tyrion. He is tasked with sneaking Myrcella back from Dorne. Ser Barristan Selmy - Served Areys, Robert and Dany. Tried to tell Dany that Ned Stark gave up handship over an argument with Robert regarding her. Loved Ashara Dayne.
Ghost:
The Others: Kings/Queensguard are protectors. Ghost protects Jon. Can we guess, within reason, that the Others are protecting someone/something?
Sers Moore, Swann and Selmy could technically all be called betrayers. Will Ghost betray Jon? Was there a betrayal with the Others?
KG/QG protect royalty. The Others may have done the same with their Night King (possible brother to the KitN). R+L=J (bastard or not, he'd have kingsblood).
Is it about their purity?
Is there something that these 3 share that helps us better understand the story and possibly the future? Or is it simply the chosen adjectives?
Methinks the Others are protectors of weirwoods. Or at least, I think that's what they were originally.
And regarding Jon's king's blood, he gets that from the Starks. 😎
Protection seems to be the most likely possibility. I'm going to go back through the quotes to see who exactly each White Shadow was protecting at the time they were described as such.
And his Targ blood. I'm like Stannis with a grievance.
The blade was Valyrian steel, spell-forged and dark as smoke. Nothing held an edge like Valyrian steel.
Lol I'm guessing you're on tapatalk. I don't know why, but it shows the Tarth's Role thread no matter what forum link you share. Via other browsers, it directs you to the Guardians thread.
Here's a tinyurl version that should work better for tapatalk: tinyurl.com/y7b3q7ys
"I can see it. You have more of the north in you than your brothers."
Lol I'm guessing you're on tapatalk. I don't know why, but it shows the Tarth's Role thread no matter what forum link you share. Via other browsers, it directs you to the Guardians thread.
Here's a tinyurl version that should work better for tapatalk: tinyurl.com/y7b3q7ys
Lol, yup. I was wondering. I am currently elbow deep in paint, magic erasers and Roy Dotrice. I'll give it a look in a bit.
The blade was Valyrian steel, spell-forged and dark as smoke. Nothing held an edge like Valyrian steel.
This is especially interesting since red and white tend to make us think of the Old Gods & Weirwoods but we could also think of Ice (white) and Fire (red).
I had not heard of that. It would make sense though.
One of the few emotions we see from Mandon is him laughing when Selmy is dismissed.
Read several threads on that with endless discussions on who was his paymaster. The LF angle also has arguments that LF got him the gig in the first place. That would depend on when Mandon joined up, of course, which we don't know.
Was that laughter really feeling? Could just as easy be getting caught up in mob rule. One thing Mandon does show is loyalty to his ultimate boss - the regent. You'd need a lot of authority (or manipulative wit) to break that in him, imo.
Protection seems to be the most likely possibility. I'm going to go back through the quotes to see who exactly each White Shadow was protecting at the time they were described as such.
The thing that stands out with Moore is that he turns on the person he's sworn to protect as he's Tyrion's shield for the battle.