ETA: the Craster/Aerys one is actually a fantastic inverse parallel, now that I look at it more closely.
Two men are party to the abuse of a woman.
Sam, forced into the Night's Watch to distance him from his younger brother and lessen his father's shame, sees this "king", a wildling, the lowest of the low, beat his daughter-wife while the other black cloaks do nothing. Sam concedes to his brothers and regretfully allows it to continue, but eventually helps a daughter-wife escape after the death of this "king". Earlier, he gave her his black cloak to disguise herself as she went to a Stark to plead for help for her unborn child.
Jaime, recruited into the Kingsguard to stay close to his older sister and lessen his father's pride, hears the actual king, a Targaryen, of noble lineage, rape his sister-wife while the other white cloaks do nothing. Jaime concedes to his brothers and regretfully allows it to continue, but eventually helps the sister-wife escape before the death of the king. ***I am going to throw this out there to continue the analogy - my guess is that somewhere, there is a LACK of a white cloak ("but not of the Kingsguard") and a plea to a Stark about a child.
Also: Craster keeps his daughter wives around to impregnate and provide sacrifice for the "gods". Aerys only visited Rhaella after he sacrified a man to the flames- let's guess what the spawn would be for. :::
"Re: Lyanna being taken as hostage - during my last reread I was taken by the chapter in which Jaime pays his visit to Jonos Bracken and Tytos Blackwood. You may recall that he takes a Blackwood boy with him as hostage, but Tytos suggests that he also take Jonos' only daughter as a hostage as well - a maiden that he doted on. Jaime speaks with Jonos and sees his despair at the thought of losing his daughter, so he opts not to take her with him but tells Jonos "Have her at court within the year or [insert threat that I can't remember here]."
It struck me that if Lyanna was indeed the KotLT and Aerys found out, it wouldn't be unreasonable that he would expect some sort of pennace from the Starks - Brandon and Ned are too old to serve as hostages, Benjen is the right age but 3rd in line to Winterfell so not much good as far as hostages go, but Lyanna....the only daughter of Winterfell AND the perpetrator of the act....
So we know that about a year passed between the tourney and her abduction. If the king's order was to have her at court "within the year" and then she chose not to show up, Aerys would have no choice but to send someone to catch her and bring her back. I have trouble reconciling in my head why 1) Rickard/Hoster/etc didn't immediately react to the 'kidnapping' and 2) everyone assumed that she was headed to KL. Is is possible that this was a deal previously worked out between the crown and Rickard?"
We now know from the World Book that Rickard paid a visit to KL in 264....the reason for the visit isn't stated, but apparently it renewed Aerys' interest in the North. Could Rickard have been trying to propose a deal to return the lands of the North to the Starks?
So this meeting was in 264, and Lyanna was born the next year or so - the only daughter of House Stark. That's a big bargaining chip if you're trying to negotiate. Anyway, Rickard returns to the north after this meetup with Aerys, has two more children, and keeps himself holed up in Winterfell until once again returning to KL for the last time after Lyanna's abduction. By the World Book account, Aerys lost interest in the North again in short order, so the Starks would have been fairly isolated and left alone for the next 14-15 years.
However....the tourney at Harrenhal rolls around. All the Stark kids are there, and so is Aerys. Lyanna calls attention to herself as Howland's defender, and possibly as KotLT. Did Lyanna's presence remind Aerys of a bargain he had struck with Rickard 15 years prior, one that he had forgotten until now? Did Rickard possibly agree to give his only daughter to the Targaryens, either as hostage or as payment for lost lands?
A daughter who wouldn't have been born until 2 - 3 years after Rickard's visit? I doubt it. Besides, we're told just exactly the source of Aerys' interest: he wanted to build another Wall far to the North of the current Wall (think of it as an Antonine's Wall to the current Wall's reference to Hadrian's Wall) and expand the Kingdom to include most of the Haunted Forest.
It seems Rickard's primary reason for visiting then was as an advocate for the declining Night's Watch.
It seems Rickard's primary reason for visiting then was as an advocate for the declining Night's Watch.
Where is that specified? Was that in the World Book?
I remembered Aerys' interest in building a new Wall and reclaiming the Gift in the name of the Throne, but I thought he got that harebrained idea after Rickard's visit.
Anyway, the main point of my crackpot post was the "daughter delivered as a hostage" part. It crossed my mind re: Lyanna before, and Lady Dy's post triggered the thought again.
It seems Rickard's primary reason for visiting then was as an advocate for the declining Night's Watch.
Where is that specified? Was that in the World Book?
I remembered Aerys' interest in building a new Wall and reclaiming the Gift in the name of the Throne, but I thought he got that harebrained idea after Rickard's visit.
That was me using deductive reasoning. If Aerys after Rickard's visit is thinking about the Wall etc. after Rickard comes to visit, it should therefore be logical to assume that Rickard's visit pertained to what Aerys was obsessing over at least in some part, after that.
Anyway, the main point of my crackpot post was the "daughter delivered as a hostage" part. It crossed my mind re: Lyanna before, and Lady Dy's post triggered the thought again.
Again, Lyanna isn't born for another 2 - 3 years. And while Rickard could gamble with "any daughter I have" as a potential--one has to keep in mind that Ned is a babe at his mother Lyarra's breast at this point, and Lyarra isn't even pregnant again. My issue is how can Rickard bargain with chips he doesn't have?
When Catelyn "kidnaps" Tyrion, Jaime attacks Ned and slays three of Ned's men, and Ned kills five of his. Robert states these facts to Ned and then says, "Now it ends.” This echoes or parallels Lyanna's kidnapping by and Ned and his men (in his dream) slay 3 Kingsguard, while 5 of Ned's men were dead. Ned is the one that says, "Now it ends" to Ser Arthur Dayne.
Along these same lines: Jory, Ned's trusted captain, is the one who helps Arya when she must drive Nymeria away. And he's at the 3 on 7 fight--a fight in which the loyal, strong fighter is killed--an echo of Arthur?
Reverse echo: Jaime, who wanted to be Arthur Dayne, plays the twisted version of Ned's role. Ned despises him for it, vs. his adulation of Arthur. Pointing once again to why on earth Ned admire Arthur so.
All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors. Oscar Wilde.
It's not really an echo seeing as both events are actually happening simultaneously (or at least within a few months of each other) instead of one event from the past seemingly happening again years later, but two events that mirror each other extremely well are Gregor vs Oberyn, and Sandor vs Beric.
- Both fights were trials by combat, to settle the matter as to whether or not a Clegane had committed murder (Elia/Aegon vs Mycah) - Both Cleganes admit to having killed those people - Both Cleganes were ordered to kill those people by their master who was a Lannister (Tywin vs Joffrey) - Both Cleganes lose the majority of their trial - Both Oberyn and Beric cheat in their trials (Oberyn with poison, Beric with blood magic) - Both Cleganes win their trials - Both Cleganes "die" a bit later, only to be "resurrected" (Gregor as Ser Robert Strong, Sandor as the Gravedigger)
Your lordship lost a son at the Red Wedding. I lost four upon the Blackwater. And why? Because the Lannisters stole the throne. Go to King’s Landing and look on Tommen with your own eyes, if you doubt me. A blind man could see it. What does Stannis offer you? Vengeance. Vengeance for my sons and yours, for your husbands and your fathers and your brothers. Vengeance for your murdered lord, your murdered king, your butchered princes. Vengeance!
Bran saw eyes like green fire, a flash of teeth, fur as black as the pit around them. Maester Luwin yelled and threw up his hands. The torch went flying from his fingers, caromed off the stone face of Brandon Stark, and tumbled to the statue’s feet, the flames licking up his legs. In the drunken shifting torchlight, they saw Luwin struggling with the direwolf, beating at his muzzle with one hand while the jaws closed on the other.
Brandon Stark's statue has flames licking at his feet, when in life it was Rickard who died due to being suspended over a fire
"There were trials. Of a sort. Lord Rickard demanded trial by combat, and the king granted the request. Stark armored himself as for battle, thinking to duel one of the Kingsguard. Me, perhaps. Instead they took him to the throne room and suspended him from the rafters while two of Aerys's pyromancers kindled a blaze beneath him. The king told him that fire was the champion of House Targaryen. So all Lord Rickard needed to do to prove himself innocent of treason was . . . well, not burn.
EDIT: It's also a particular nice echo, because it just struck me that AGOT doesn't actually say that Rickard Stark was burned alive: AGOT says that he was beheaded.
"Do you recall your history, Bran?" the maester said as they walked. "Tell Osha who they were and what they did, if you can." He looked at the passing faces and the tales came back to him. The maester had told him the stories, and Old Nan had made them come alive. "That one is Jon Stark. When the sea raiders landed in the east, he drove them out and built the castle at White Harbor. His son was Rickard Stark, not my father's father but another Rickard, he took the Neck away from the Marsh King and married his daughter. Theon Stark's the real thin one with the long hair and the skinny beard. They called him the 'Hungry Wolf,' because he was always at war. That's a Brandon, the tall one with the dreamy face, he was Brandon the Shipwright, because he loved the sea. His tomb is empty. He tried to sail west across the Sunset Sea and was never seen again. His son was Brandon the Burner, because he put the torch to all his father's ships in grief. There's Rodrik Stark, who won Bear Island in a wrestling match and gave it to the Mormonts. And that's Torrhen Stark, the King Who Knelt. He was the last King in the North and the first Lord of Winterfell, after he yielded to Aegon the Conqueror. Oh, there, he's Cregan Stark. He fought with Prince Aemon once, and the Dragonknight said he'd never faced a finer swordsman." They were almost at the end now, and Bran felt a sadness creeping over him. "And there's my grandfather, Lord Rickard, who was beheaded by Mad King Aerys. His daughter Lyanna and his son Brandon are in the tombs beside him. Not me, another Brandon, my father's brother. They're not supposed to have statues, that's only for the lords and the kings, but my father loved them so much he had them done."
It's only in ACOK when Catelyn is talking to Jaime that we learn that Ned kept it a secret from everybody that Rickard was actually burned alive.
"Answer me this, Lady Stark did your Ned ever tell you the manner of his father’s death? Or his brother’s? “ “They strangled Brandon while his father watched, and then killed Lord Rickard as well.” An ugly tale, and sixteen years old. Why was he asking about it now? “Killed, yes, but how?” “The cord or the axe, I suppose.” Jaime took a swallow, wiped his mouth. “No doubt Ned wished to spare you. His sweet young bride, if not quite a maiden. Well, you wanted truth. Ask me. We made a bargain, I can deny you nothing. Ask.” “Dead is dead.” I do not want to know this.
So it's not only an inversion, but it's also a bit of foreshadowing (due to the inversion( that we will eventually learn that Rickard's death was not what it had been perpetrated to be, and that he was actually burned alive instead of beheaded as Bran was taught.
Your lordship lost a son at the Red Wedding. I lost four upon the Blackwater. And why? Because the Lannisters stole the throne. Go to King’s Landing and look on Tommen with your own eyes, if you doubt me. A blind man could see it. What does Stannis offer you? Vengeance. Vengeance for my sons and yours, for your husbands and your fathers and your brothers. Vengeance for your murdered lord, your murdered king, your butchered princes. Vengeance!
The following passage struck me as significant. Bran is brought down his tower steps by Hodor to the hall and placed in his father's high seat to meet with Tyrion Lannister. Tyrion is with six other men including his two servants and four men of the nights watch. Three direwolves then attack him ripping the arm of his sleeve.
Their eyes found Lannister, or perhaps they caught his scent. Summer began to growl first. Grey Wind picked it up. They padded toward the little man, one from the right and one from the left. “The wolves do not like your smell, Lannister,”Theon Greyjoy commented. “Perhaps it’s time I took my leave,”Tyrion said. He took a step backward …and Shaggydog came out of the shadows behind him, snarling. Lannister recoiled, and Summer lunged at him from the other side. He reeled away, unsteady on his feet, and Grey Wind snapped at his arm, teeth ripping at his sleeve and tearing loose a scrap of cloth. “No!”Bran shouted from the high seat as Lannister’s men reached for their steel. “Summer, here. Summer, to me!”The direwolf heard the voice, glanced at Bran, and again at Lannister. He crept backward, away from the little man, and settled down below Bran’s dangling feet. Robb had been holding his breath. He let it out with a sigh and called, “Grey Wind.”His direwolf moved to him, swift and silent. Now there was only Shaggy dog, rumbling at the small man, his eyes burning like green fire. “Rickon, call him,”Bran shouted to his baby brother, and Rickon remembered himself and screamed, “Home, Shaggy, home now.”The black wolf gave Lannister one final snarl and bounded off to Rickon, who hugged him tightly around the neck.
Why must I always be the isle of crazy alone in an ocean of sensibility? The should to everybody else’s shouldn’t? The I-will to their better-nots?
This is the scene where Nymeria attacks Joffrey attended by Sansa dressed in her best blue silks. It's a long quote, but I was afraid of cutting anything important.
They went more slowly after they had eaten. Joffrey sang for her as they rode, his voice high and sweet and pure. Sansa was a little dizzy from the wine. “Shouldn’t we be starting back?”she asked. “Soon,”Joffrey said. “The battleground is right up ahead, where the river bends. That was where my father killed Rhaegar Targaryen, you know. He smashed in his chest, crunch, right through the armor.”Joffrey swung an imaginary warhammer to show her how it was done. “Then my uncle Jaime killed old Aerys, and my father was king. What’s that sound?”Sansa heard it too, floating through the woods, a kind of wooden clattering, snack snack snack. “I don’t know,”she said. It made her nervous, though. “Joffrey, let’s go back.”“I want to see what it is.”Joffrey turned his horse in the direction of the sounds, and Sansa had no choice but to follow. The noises grew louder and more distinct, the clack of wood on wood, and as they grew closer they heard heavy breathing as well, and now and then a grunt. “Someone’s there,”Sansa said anxiously. She found herself thinking of Lady, wishing the direwolf was with her. “You’re safe with me.”Joffrey drew his Lion’s Tooth from its sheath. The sound of steel on leather made her tremble. “This way,”he said, riding through a stand of trees. Beyond, in a clearing overlooking the river, they came upon a boy and a girl playing at knights. Their swords were wooden sticks, broom handles from the look of them, and they were rushing across the grass, swinging at each other lustily. The boy was years older, a head taller, and much stronger, and he was pressing the attack. The girl, a scrawny thing in soiled leathers, was dodging and managing to get her stick in the way of most of the boy’s blows, but not all. When she tried to lunge at him, he caught her stick with his own, swept it aside, and slid his wood down hard on her fingers. She cried out and lost her weapon. Prince Joffrey laughed. The boy looked around, wide-eyed and startled, and dropped his stick in the grass. The girl glared at them, sucking on her knuckles to take the sting out, and Sansa was horrified. “Arya?”she called out incredulously. “Go away,”Arya shouted back at them, angry tears in her eyes. “What are you doing here? Leave us alone.”Joffrey glanced from Arya to Sansa and back again. “Your sister?”She nodded, blushing. Joffrey examined the boy, an ungainly lad with a coarse, freckled face and thick red hair. “And who are you, boy?”he asked in a commanding tone that took no notice of the fact that the other was a year his senior. “Mycah,”the boy muttered. He recognized the prince and averted his eyes. “M’lord.”“He’s the butcher’s boy,”Sansa said. “He’s my friend,”Arya said sharply. “You leave him alone.”“A butcher’s boy who wants to be a knight, is it?”Joffrey swung down from his mount, sword in hand. “Pick up your sword, butcher’s boy,”he said, his eyes bright with amusement. “Let us see how good you are.”Mycah stood there, frozen with fear. Joffrey walked toward him. “Go on, pick it up. Or do you only fight little girls?”“She ast me to, m’lord,”Mycah said. “She ast me to.”Sansa had only to glance at Arya and see the flush on her sister’s face to know the boy was telling the truth, but Joffrey was in no mood to listen. The wine had made him wild. “Are you going to pick up your sword?”Mycah shook his head. “It’s only a stick, m’lord. It’s not no sword, it’s only a stick.”“And you’re only a butcher’s boy, and no knight.”Joffrey lifted Lion’s Tooth and laid its point on Mycah’s cheek below the eye, as the butcher’s boy stood trembling. “That was my lady’s sister you were hitting, do you know that?”A bright bud of blood blossomed where his sword pressed into Mycah’s flesh, and a slow red line trickled down the boy’s cheek. “Stop it!”Arya screamed. She grabbed up her fallen stick. Sansa was afraid. “Arya, you stay out of this.”“I won’t hurt him …much,”Prince Joffrey told Arya, never taking his eyes off the butcher’s boy. Arya went for him. Sansa slid off her mare, but she was too slow. Arya swung with both hands. There was a loud crack as the wood split against the back of the prince’s head, and then everything happened at once before Sansa’s horrified eyes. Joffrey staggered and whirled around, roaring curses. Mycah ran for the trees as fast as his legs would take him. Arya swung at the prince again, but this time Joffrey caught the blow on Lion’s Tooth and sent her broken stick flying from her hands. The back of his head was all bloody and his eyes were on fire. Sansa was shrieking, “No, no, stop it, stop it, both of you, you’re spoiling it,”but no one was listening. Arya scooped up a rock and hurled it at Joffrey’s head. She hit his horse instead, and the blood bay reared and went galloping off after Mycah. “Stop it, don’t, stop it!”Sansa screamed. Joffrey slashed at Arya with his sword, screaming obscenities, terrible words, filthy words. Arya darted back, frightened now, but Joffrey followed, hounding her toward the woods, backing her up against a tree. Sansa didn’t know what to do. She watched helplessly, almost blind from her tears. Then a grey blur flashed past her, and suddenly Nymeria was there, leaping, jaws closing around Joffrey’s sword arm. The steel fell from his fingers as the wolf knocked him off his feet, and they rolled in the grass, the wolf snarling and ripping at him, the prince shrieking in pain. “Get it off,”he screamed. “Get it off!”Arya’s voice cracked like a whip. “Nymeria!”The direwolf let go of Joffrey and moved to Arya’s side. The prince lay in the grass, whimpering, cradling his mangled arm. His shirt was soaked in blood. Arya said, “She didn’t hurt you …much.”She picked up Lion’s Tooth where it had fallen, and stood over him, holding the sword with both hands. Joffrey made a scared whimpery sound as he looked up at her. “No,”he said, “don’t hurt me. I’ll tell my mother.”“You leave him alone!”Sansa screamed at her sister. Arya whirled and heaved the sword into the air, putting her whole body into the throw. The blue steel flashed in the sun as the sword spun out over the river. It hit the water and vanished with a splash. Joffrey moaned. Arya ran off to her horse, Nymeria loping at her heels. After they had gone, Sansa went to Prince Joffrey. His eyes were closed in pain, his breath ragged. Sansa knelt beside him. “Joffrey,”she sobbed. “Oh, look what they did, look what they did. My poor prince. Don’t be afraid. I’ll ride to the holdfast and bring help for you.”Tenderly she reached out and brushed back his soft blond hair. His eyes snapped open and looked at her, and there was nothing but loathing there, nothing but the vilest contempt. “Then go,”he spit at her. “And don’t touch me.”
Why must I always be the isle of crazy alone in an ocean of sensibility? The should to everybody else’s shouldn’t? The I-will to their better-nots?
Now for the quotes from the Ned Chapter when Arya is found.
“They’ve found her, my lord.” Ned rose quickly. “Our men or Lannister’s?”“It was Jory,” his steward Vayon Poole replied. “She’s not been harmed.”“Thank the gods,” Ned said. His men had been searching for Arya for four days now, but the queen’s men had been out hunting as well. “Where is she? Tell Jory to bring her here at once.”“I am sorry, my lord,” Poole told him. “The guards on the gate were Lannister men, and they informed the queen when Jory brought her in. She’s being taken directly before the king …”“Damn that woman!” Ned said, striding to the door. “Find Sansa and bring her to the audience chamber. Her voice may be needed.” He descended the tower steps in a red rage
The king had appropriated Ser Raymun’s audience chamber, and that was where Ned found them. The room was crowded when he burst in. Too crowded, he thought; left alone, he and Robert might have been able to settle the matter amicably. Robert was slumped in Darry’s high seat at the far end of the room, his face closed and sullen. Cersei Lannister and her son stood beside him. The queen had her hand on Joffrey’s shoulder. Thick silken bandages still covered the boy’s arm.
“Why was I not told that my daughter had been found?”Ned demanded, his voice ringing. “Why was she not brought to me at once?”He spoke to Robert, but it was Cersei Lannister who answered. “How dare you speak to your king in that manner!”At that, the king stirred. “Quiet, woman,”he snapped. He straightened in his seat. “I am sorry, Ned. I never meant to frighten the girl. It seemed best to bring her here and get the business done with quickly.”“And what business is that?”Ned put ice in his voice. The queen stepped forward. “You know full well, Stark. This girl of yours attacked my son. Her and her butcher’s boy. That animal of hers tried to tear his arm off.”“That’s not true,”Arya said loudly. “She just bit him a little. He was hurting Mycah.”“Joff told us what happened,”the queen said. “You and the butcher boy beat him with clubs while you set your wolf on him.”“That’s not how it was,”Arya said, close to tears again. Ned put a hand on her shoulder. “Yes it is!”Prince Joffrey insisted. “They all attacked me, and she threw Lion’s Tooth in the river!”Ned noticed that he did not so much as glance at Arya as he spoke. “Liar!”Arya yelled. “Shut up!”the prince yelled back. “Enough!”the king roared, rising from his seat, his voice thick with irritation. Silence fell. He glowered at Arya through his thick beard. “Now, child, you will tell me what happened. Tell it all, and tell it true. It is a great crime to lie to a king.”Then he looked over at his son. “When she is done, you will have your turn. Until then, hold your tongue.”As Arya began her story, Ned heard the door open behind him. He glanced back and saw Vayon Poole enter with Sansa. They stood quietly at the back of the hall as Arya spoke. When she got to the part where she threw Joffrey’s sword into the middle of the Trident, Renly Baratheon began to laugh. The king bristled. “Ser Barristan, escort my brother from the hall before he chokes.”Lord Renly stifled his laughter. “My brother is too kind. I can find the door myself.”He bowed to Joffrey. “Perchance later you’ll tell me how a nine-year-old girl the size of a wet rat managed to disarm you with a broom handle and throw your sword in the river.”As the door swung shut behind him, Ned heard him say, “Lion’s Tooth,”and guffaw once more. Prince Joffrey was pale as he began his very different version of events. When his son was done talking, the king rose heavily from his seat, looking like a man who wanted to be anywhere but here. “What in all the seven hells am I supposed to make of this? He says one thing, she says another.”
“They were not the only ones present,”Ned said. “Sansa, come here.”Ned had heard her version of the story the night Arya had vanished. He knew the truth. “Tell us what happened.”His eldest daughter stepped forward hesitantly. She was dressed in blue velvets trimmed with white, a silver chain around her neck. Her thick auburn hair had been brushed until it shone. She blinked at her sister, then at the young prince. “I don’t know,”she said tearfully, looking as though she wanted to bolt. “I don’t remember. Everything happened so fast, I didn’t see …”“You rotten!”Arya shrieked. She flew at her sister like an arrow, knocking Sansa down to the ground, pummeling her. “Liar, liar, liar, liar.”“Arya, stop it!”Ned shouted. Jory pulled her off her sister, kicking. Sansa was pale and shaking as Ned lifted her back to her feet. “Are you hurt?”he asked, but she was staring at Arya, and she did not seem to hear.
“The girl is as wild as that filthy animal of hers,”Cersei Lannister said. “Robert, I want her punished.”“Seven hells,”Robert swore. “Cersei, look at her. She’s a child. What would you have me do, whip her through the streets? Damn it, children fight. It’s over. No lasting harm was done.”The queen was furious. “Joff will carry those scars for the rest of his life.”Robert Baratheon looked at his eldest son. “So he will. Perhaps they will teach him a lesson. Ned, see that your daughter is disciplined. I will do the same with my son.”“Gladly, Your Grace,”Ned said with vast relief. Robert started to walk away, but the queen was not done. “And what of the direwolf?”she called after him. “What of the beast that savaged your son?”The king stopped, turned back, frowned. “I’d forgotten about the damned wolf.”Ned could see Arya tense in Jory’s arms. Jory spoke up quickly. “We found no trace of the direwolf, Your Grace.”Robert did not look unhappy. “No? So be it.”The queen raised her voice. “A hundred golden dragons to the man who brings me its skin!”“A costly pelt,”Robert grumbled. “I want no part of this, woman. You can damn well buy your furs with Lannister gold.”The queen regarded him coolly. “I had not thought you so niggardly. The king I’d thought to wed would have laid a wolfskin across my bed before the sun went down.”Robert’s face darkened with anger. “That would be a fine trick, without a wolf.”“We have a wolf,”Cersei Lannister said. Her voice was very quiet, but her green eyes shone with triumph. It took them all a moment to comprehend her words, but when they did, the king shrugged irritably. “As you will. Have Ser Ilyn see to it.”“Robert, you cannot mean this,”Ned protested. The king was in no mood for more argument. “Enough, Ned, I will hear no more. A direwolf is a savage beast. Sooner or later it would have turned on your girl the same way the other did on my son. Get her a dog, she’ll be happier for it.”That was when Sansa finally seemed to comprehend. Her eyes were frightened as they went to her father. “He doesn’t mean Lady, does he?”She saw the truth on his face. “No,”she said. “No, not Lady, Lady didn’t bite anybody, she’s good …”“Lady wasn’t there,”Arya shouted angrily. “You leave her alone!”“Stop them,”Sansa pleaded, “don’t let them do it, please, please, it wasn’t Lady, it was Nymeria, Arya did it, you can’t, it wasn’t Lady, don’t let them hurt Lady, I’ll make her be good, I promise, I promise …”She started to cry. All Ned could do was take her in his arms and hold her while she wept. He looked across the room at Robert. His old friend, closer than any brother. “Please, Robert. For the love you bear me. For the love you bore my sister. Please.”The king looked at them for a long moment, then turned his eyes on his wife. “Damn you, Cersei,”he said with loathing. Ned stood, gently disengaging himself from Sansa’s grasp. All the weariness of the past four days had returned to him. “Do it yourself then, Robert,”he said in a voice cold and sharp as steel. “At least have the courage to do it yourself.”Robert looked at Ned with flat, dead eyes and left without a word, his footsteps heavy as lead. Silence filled the hall. “Where is the direwolf?”Cersei Lannister asked when her husband was gone. Beside her, Prince Joffrey was smiling. “The beast is chained up outside the gatehouse, Your Grace,”Ser Barristan Selmy answered reluctantly. “Send for Ilyn Payne.”“No,”Ned said. “Jory, take the girls back to their rooms and bring me Ice.”The words tasted of bile in his throat, but he forced them out. “If it must be done, I will do it.”Cersei Lannister regarded him suspiciously. “You, Stark? Is this some trick? Why would you do such a thing?”They were all staring at him, but it was Sansa’s look that cut. “She is of the north. She deserves better than a butcher.”He left the room with his eyes burning and his daughter’s wails echoing in his ears, and found the direwolf pup where they chained her. Ned sat beside her for a while. “Lady,”he said, tasting the name. He had never paid much attention to the names the children had picked, but looking at her now, he knew that Sansa had chosen well. She was the smallest of the litter, the prettiest, the most gentle and trusting. She looked at him with bright golden eyes, and he ruffled her thick grey fur. Shortly, Jory brought him Ice. When it was over, he said, “Choose four men and have them take the body north. Bury her at Winterfell.”“All that way?”Jory said, astonished. “All that way,”Ned affirmed. “The Lannister woman shall never have this skin.”
Why must I always be the isle of crazy alone in an ocean of sensibility? The should to everybody else’s shouldn’t? The I-will to their better-nots?
The following passage struck me as significant. Bran is brought down his tower steps by Hodor to the hall and placed in his father's high seat to meet with Tyrion Lannister. Tyrion is with six other men including his two servants and four men of the nights watch. Three direwolves then attack him ripping the arm of his sleeve.
Is this Tyrion's being singled out for his ties to his family? Or is this confirmation that Martin does intend to make Tyrion a danger, an enemy? Summer growls first. Not Grey Wind, the leader. Not Shaggy, the wild wolf. Summer--Bran's. Like Lady growls at Ilyn Payne--so, Tyrion will become an enemy?
This is the scene where Nymeria attacks Joffrey attended by Sansa dressed in her best blue silks. It's a long quote, but I was afraid of cutting anything important.
A reverse echo again? Would a real prince have helped Lyanna? And accepted her help (unlike Joffrey)? Or a knight? Is this a trace of what happened when Lyanna helped Howland? Arya saves Mycah and Sansa tries to bind wounds?
Now for the quotes from the Ned Chapter when Arya is found.
Down tower steps--spiral steps in a tower, no?
No way Robert doesn't know what the truth is. A weak king--so was Aerys. But I'm thinking Robert and Cersei combined might make Aerys.
Who might have "informed" on Lyanna? The idiots she defended Howland from, probably. Is Renly the Arthur, knowing the truth? Renly Whent?
All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors. Oscar Wilde.
I found this one earlier today. I couldn't find anything specifically pointing to it being an echo, but my gut kept telling me that it was. I think that I might know why now. See below the quote for further explanation.
Thorne smiled. “The Bastard wishes to defend his lady love, so we shall make an exercise of it. Rat, Pimple, help our Stone Head here.”Rast and Albett moved to join Halder. “Three of you ought to be sufficient to make Lady Piggy squeal. All you need do is get past the Bastard.”“Stay behind me,”Jon said to the fat boy. Ser Alliser had often sent two foes against him, but never three. He knew he would likely go to sleep bruised and bloody tonight. He braced himself for the assault. Suddenly Pyp was beside him. “Three to two will make for better sport,”the small boy said cheerfully. He dropped his visor and slid out his sword. Before Jon could even think to protest, Grenn had stepped up to make a third. The yard had grown deathly quiet. Jon could feel Ser Alliser’s eyes. “Why are you waiting?”he asked Rast and the others in a voice gone deceptively soft, but it was Jon who moved first. Halder barely got his sword up in time. Jon drove him backward, attacking with every blow, keeping the older boy on the heels. Know your foe, Ser Rodrik had taught him once; Jon knew Halder, brutally strong but short of patience, with no taste for defense. Frustrate him, and he would leave himself open, as certain as sunset. The clang of steel echoed through the yard as the others joined battle around him. Jon blocked a savage cut at his head, the shock of impact running up his arm as the swords crashed together. He slammed a sidestroke into Halder’s ribs, and was rewarded with a muffled grunt of pain. The counterstroke caught Jon on the shoulder. Chainmail crunched, and pain flared up his neck, but for an instant Halder was unbalanced. Jon cut his left leg from under him, and he fell with a curse and a crash. Grenn was standing his ground as Jon had taught him, giving Albett more than he cared for, but Pyp was hard-pressed. Rast had two years and forty pounds on him. Jon stepped up behind him and rang the raper’s helm like a bell. As Rast went reeling, Pyp slid in under his guard, knocked him down, and leveled a blade at his throat. By then Jon had moved on. Facing two swords, Albett backed away. “I yield,”he shouted.
Then, I noticed the following line.
“Grenn’s the ugly one,”Pyp said. Grenn scowled. “You’re uglier than me. At least I don’t have ears like a bat.”
So, here Pip is described as having ears like a bat. Sounds like a comparison to a Whent. Who else joined the fight on Jon's side? Grenn. And what is Grenn's nickname? The Aurochs. Or should I say the White Bull? So we have Jon, defending his "Lady Love" with the help of a Bat and a Bull. Arthur Dayne much? And to make it all the more interesting, the attack on Ser Piggy was ordered by Ser Alliser Thorne. Later on in the same chapter we get this last quote equating Ser Alliser with a eunuch.
The mummer’s boy with the big ears was a born liar with a hundred different voices, and he did not tell his tales so much as live them, playing all the parts as needed, a king one moment and a swineherd the next. When he turned into an alehouse girl or a virgin princess, he used a high falsetto voice that reduced them all to tears of helpless laughter , and his eunuchs were always eerily accurate caricatures of Ser Alliser.
Did three Kingsguard defend Arthur's lady love, Lyanna, from an attack ordered by Varys???
Last Edit: Nov 13, 2015 6:49:37 GMT by Lady Dyanna
Why must I always be the isle of crazy alone in an ocean of sensibility? The should to everybody else’s shouldn’t? The I-will to their better-nots?
Oh, and Sam is bleeding from a head wound. Same as Joffrey had when he was hit from behind by Arya.
The fight lasted less than a minute before the fat boy was on the ground, his whole body shaking as blood leaked through his shattered helm and between his pudgy fingers. “I yield,” he shrilled. “No more, I yield, don’t hit me.” Rast and some of the other boys were laughing.
Why must I always be the isle of crazy alone in an ocean of sensibility? The should to everybody else’s shouldn’t? The I-will to their better-nots?
I found this one earlier today. I couldn't find anything specifically pointing to it being an echo, but my gut kept telling me that it was. I think that I might know why now. See below the quote for further explanation.
Thorne smiled. “The Bastard wishes to defend his lady love, so we shall make an exercise of it. Rat, Pimple, help our Stone Head here.”Rast and Albett moved to join Halder. “Three of you ought to be sufficient to make Lady Piggy squeal. All you need do is get past the Bastard.”“Stay behind me,”Jon said to the fat boy. Ser Alliser had often sent two foes against him, but never three. He knew he would likely go to sleep bruised and bloody tonight. He braced himself for the assault. Suddenly Pyp was beside him. “Three to two will make for better sport,”the small boy said cheerfully. He dropped his visor and slid out his sword. Before Jon could even think to protest, Grenn had stepped up to make a third. The yard had grown deathly quiet. Jon could feel Ser Alliser’s eyes. “Why are you waiting?”he asked Rast and the others in a voice gone deceptively soft, but it was Jon who moved first. Halder barely got his sword up in time. Jon drove him backward, attacking with every blow, keeping the older boy on the heels. Know your foe, Ser Rodrik had taught him once; Jon knew Halder, brutally strong but short of patience, with no taste for defense. Frustrate him, and he would leave himself open, as certain as sunset. The clang of steel echoed through the yard as the others joined battle around him. Jon blocked a savage cut at his head, the shock of impact running up his arm as the swords crashed together. He slammed a sidestroke into Halder’s ribs, and was rewarded with a muffled grunt of pain. The counterstroke caught Jon on the shoulder. Chainmail crunched, and pain flared up his neck, but for an instant Halder was unbalanced. Jon cut his left leg from under him, and he fell with a curse and a crash. Grenn was standing his ground as Jon had taught him, giving Albett more than he cared for, but Pyp was hard-pressed. Rast had two years and forty pounds on him. Jon stepped up behind him and rang the raper’s helm like a bell. As Rast went reeling, Pyp slid in under his guard, knocked him down, and leveled a blade at his throat. By then Jon had moved on. Facing two swords, Albett backed away. “I yield,”he shouted.
Then, I noticed the following line.
“Grenn’s the ugly one,”Pyp said. Grenn scowled. “You’re uglier than me. At least I don’t have ears like a bat.”
So, here Pip is described as having ears like a bat. Sounds like a comparison to a Whent. Who else joined the fight on Jon's side? Grenn. And what is Grenn's nickname? The Aurochs. Or should I say the White Bull? So we have Jon, defending his "Lady Love" with the help of a Bat and a Bull. Arthur Dayne much? And to make it all the more interesting, the attack on Ser Piggy was ordered by Ser Alliser Thorne. Later on in the same chapter we get this last quote equating Ser Alliser with a eunuch.
The mummer’s boy with the big ears was a born liar with a hundred different voices, and he did not tell his tales so much as live them, playing all the parts as needed, a king one moment and a swineherd the next. When he turned into an alehouse girl or a virgin princess, he used a high falsetto voice that reduced them all to tears of helpless laughter , and his eunuchs were always eerily accurate caricatures of Ser Alliser.
Did three Kingsguard defend Arthur's lady love, Lyanna, from an attack ordered by Varys???
Oh man. This is a fantastic catch! Seriously, I think the ALJ essay needs to be updated with this.
I found this one earlier today. I couldn't find anything specifically pointing to it being an echo, but my gut kept telling me that it was. I think that I might know why now. See below the quote for further explanation.
Thorne smiled. “The Bastard wishes to defend his lady love, so we shall make an exercise of it. Rat, Pimple, help our Stone Head here.”Rast and Albett moved to join Halder. “Three of you ought to be sufficient to make Lady Piggy squeal. All you need do is get past the Bastard.”“Stay behind me,”Jon said to the fat boy. Ser Alliser had often sent two foes against him, but never three. He knew he would likely go to sleep bruised and bloody tonight. He braced himself for the assault. Suddenly Pyp was beside him. “Three to two will make for better sport,”the small boy said cheerfully. He dropped his visor and slid out his sword. Before Jon could even think to protest, Grenn had stepped up to make a third. The yard had grown deathly quiet. Jon could feel Ser Alliser’s eyes. “Why are you waiting?”he asked Rast and the others in a voice gone deceptively soft, but it was Jon who moved first. Halder barely got his sword up in time. Jon drove him backward, attacking with every blow, keeping the older boy on the heels. Know your foe, Ser Rodrik had taught him once; Jon knew Halder, brutally strong but short of patience, with no taste for defense. Frustrate him, and he would leave himself open, as certain as sunset. The clang of steel echoed through the yard as the others joined battle around him. Jon blocked a savage cut at his head, the shock of impact running up his arm as the swords crashed together. He slammed a sidestroke into Halder’s ribs, and was rewarded with a muffled grunt of pain. The counterstroke caught Jon on the shoulder. Chainmail crunched, and pain flared up his neck, but for an instant Halder was unbalanced. Jon cut his left leg from under him, and he fell with a curse and a crash. Grenn was standing his ground as Jon had taught him, giving Albett more than he cared for, but Pyp was hard-pressed. Rast had two years and forty pounds on him. Jon stepped up behind him and rang the raper’s helm like a bell. As Rast went reeling, Pyp slid in under his guard, knocked him down, and leveled a blade at his throat. By then Jon had moved on. Facing two swords, Albett backed away. “I yield,”he shouted.
Then, I noticed the following line.
“Grenn’s the ugly one,”Pyp said. Grenn scowled. “You’re uglier than me. At least I don’t have ears like a bat.”
So, here Pip is described as having ears like a bat. Sounds like a comparison to a Whent. Who else joined the fight on Jon's side? Grenn. And what is Grenn's nickname? The Aurochs. Or should I say the White Bull? So we have Jon, defending his "Lady Love" with the help of a Bat and a Bull. Arthur Dayne much? And to make it all the more interesting, the attack on Ser Piggy was ordered by Ser Alliser Thorne. Later on in the same chapter we get this last quote equating Ser Alliser with a eunuch.
The mummer’s boy with the big ears was a born liar with a hundred different voices, and he did not tell his tales so much as live them, playing all the parts as needed, a king one moment and a swineherd the next. When he turned into an alehouse girl or a virgin princess, he used a high falsetto voice that reduced them all to tears of helpless laughter , and his eunuchs were always eerily accurate caricatures of Ser Alliser.
Did three Kingsguard defend Arthur's lady love, Lyanna, from an attack ordered by Varys???
Brilliant Lady Di. Truly. Would love to hear @superunknown5 and snowfyre's thoughts on this.
"I can see it. You have more of the north in you than your brothers."