Post by snowfyre on Jan 25, 2016 13:54:49 GMT
This is a repost of a thread I created on another site back in August of 2014. I haven't updated it (yet), though there are things I'd change or say differently (or add) if I rewrote it today. (And actually... looking over this briefly... I may do that soon.) But generally speaking, it's an idea I like - and I'm willing to stick with it. I still think GRRM's got room in his story to make it work.
(from Aug 2014)
This post was born of the fact that - five books into this saga - it seems credible to me, if not likely, that the three Kingsguard knights (Hightower, Whent, and Dayne) were guarding the tower of joy in order to protect Rhaegar's son, Aegon Targaryen - rather than the son of Lyanna Stark. So, outlining a plausible (acceptable, credible) scenario is the name of the game - and for the sake of credibility and giving Aegon a fair hearing, my suggestion is that Lyanna Stark and Jon Snow should be left out of the argument. I realize that might seem hard for some folks, but what I'm interested in is whether there is a sensible scenario in which Aegon himself could have been present at the tower of joy and, if so, how that might affect our understanding of the larger story.
In ADWD, we are presented with the claim that young Aegon was removed from King's Landing prior to the Sack. If the Aegon/Young Griff storyline is at all creditable, there must be enough space within Martin's narrative framework for the infant's rescue to have occurred. Granted, such "space" may be all we can expect from Martin given the large gaps in information currently available from that piece of his story. But then, that is a problem shared by any theory attempting to reconstruct the events of Robert's Rebellion. All such theories - and particularly theories concerning the Sack and the encounter at the tower of joy - are inherently problematic, simply because we're working with an incomplete set of facts (for now). That said, if it is possible that young Aegon lived, and had been removed from King's Landing by the time Ned rode south "to fight the last battles of the war alone," then the presence of the Kingsguard itself begins to look like a big hint that Aegon could have been at the tower of joy.
My argument here would be that, if the presence and activity of the KG is ultimately justified by the duty to protect a child, then assuming he was alive, the child best positioned for that role would be Aegon Targaryen. Aegon, who we have been told survived the Sack, and who we know was already pegged (by his own father) for the role of "prince that was promised." In other words, if the 3KG were "on assignment" to protect an important child, then either way you slice it - politically or prophetically - Aegon would fit the bill.
So, how does this play out? How could it possibly fit into the narrative as we know it? Here is my suggestion for a plausible* reading of storylines that would allow for the possibility that Aegon was taken from King's Landing to the tower of joy, and ultimately out of Westeros altogether.
Plausible Aegon: A Reconsideration of Storylines
Young Griff tells Tyrion that he was quietly removed from King's Landing by Varys, who provided Princess Elia with an impostor child to take his place (the "Pisswater Prince"). This would have saved young Aegon from murder at the hands of the Lannister men (Gregor Clegane and Amory Lorch), but depending on when he was removed from the city, it would not necessarily have been the Lannisters who posed the greatest threat to the child. I propose that Aegon Targaryen was hidden away well prior to the Sack - in fact, it may have been prior to Rhaegar's departure for the Trident.
Start with the idea that the initial plan could have been to protect Aegon from Mad King Aerys... not from Gregor Clegane. Remember, Aerys had already threatened Elia and her children at least once - holding them as hostages to compel Dornish support in the war. That was right after the Battle of the Bells, before Rhaegar "returned from the south" (or around the same time)... when Aerys sent Lewyn Martell to take command of the Dornish forces that were "coming up the Kingsroad." Later, after Rhaegar's death on the Trident, Aerys would refuse to let Elia and her children leave King's Landing - though he sends his own wife and children to Dragonstone as the Usurper's armies close in on the city. Clearly Aerys' paranoia and mistrust had poisoned him, making him a threat to his grandchildren's lives and safety. Jon Connington later reflects that "by the end, even Rhaegar saw that plain enough."
Given Aerys' increasing madness, it's not hard to imagine Rhaegar taking the precaution of removing his son from the Red Keep prior to riding north into battle. Especially as the alternative seems to have been leaving his heir as the centerpiece of a hostage situation - and win or lose the war, the child would not have been safe from his own grandfather. My guess would be that Rhaegar ordered Varys to make the arrangements after he'd returned to the Red Keep and seen his father's agitated state of mind. He may even have had the opportunity to kiss his son goodbye.
Regarding the question of who, if anyone, would have been privy to this plan - I would say as few as possible. And there are certain parties that I think we could rule out entirely, though under different circumstances we might expect them to have been involved. The Martells for instance. While we might think Sunspear would be a natural ally (the Martells being family and all), I'd expect Rhaegar to have been quite hesitant about involving them in the process of hiding Aegon. And particularly if he had hopes of salvaging any trust or relationship with his father. After all, sending Aegon to Dorne would only confirm the worst of Aerys' paranoia - the very reason for holding his grandchildren hostage was that he believed the Dornish were conspiring behind his back. It's also worth considering whether Aerys' increasing madness had already begun to take its toll on the KG. Remember, Aerys is holding hostages to ensure the loyalty of one of his KG knights (Lewyn Martell)... and by the time of the Trident the senior six all seem rather fine with leaving the King at the Red Keep with only the newest and youngest of their crew (Jaime) to protect him.
Assuming Aegon was removed from King's Landing (and the claim is made in ADWD that he was)... then he was still young enough that he would have needed a wetnurse, especially if he was to be separated from his mother. So, we can safely assume that Aegon would have been accompanied by at least 2 adults - a wetnurse, and a formidable bodyguard that could be trusted with the utmost secrecy. If Aegon made it all the way to the tower of joy, then that would put another woman on the scene (a wetnurse... possibly a midwife, in a pinch). And it's at least possible that Gerold Hightower filled the role of bodyguard.
Why Lord Commander Hightower? Well, the general assumption seems to be that Arthur Dayne and Oswell Whent typically traveled around with Rhaegar wherever he was. Whether or not that was the case, we have no record of either of them in attendance with Rhaegar at the Red Keep. I've read others who've suggested that they were left to guard a certain northman's daughter for the crown prince - and having no desire to pick a fight, I'm sort of fine with that. But Lord Commander Hightower also left King's Landing at some point along the way. Could he have been sent to escort young Aegon to safety? The only text we have that places Hightower at the Red Keep is Jaime's memory of the execution of Rickard and Brandon Stark - so, "close to a year" before the confrontation at the tower. There is no record of Hightower between the Stark roast in the throne room, and the tower of joy. When Jaime recalls the departure of Rhaegar for the Trident, the only other KG he identifies as present are Darry and Selmy. So by the time Rhaegar leaves Jaime at the Red Keep, we know Lewyn Martell had already been sent (by Aerys) to take command of the Dornish forces. We know Darry and Selmy were with Rhaegar. We do not know the whereabouts of Hightower, Dayne, or Whent at that time, but we do know they were not present at the Trident. Assuming Dayne and Whent were otherwise occupied, that would leave Hightower the job of protecting the young prince, and the secret of his journey south.
So Rhaegar sends his son south, away from his grandfather the Mad King... and eventually heads off to war himself and dies. Shortly thereafter, as Robert's forces near the city under Ned's command, Tywin Lannister sacks the city of King's Landing and sends his men into Maegor's Holdfast to murder the Targaryen children. Varys aside - as far as anyone knows at that point in time, young Aegon Targaryen is dead.
Recalling the day Lord Tywin presented the bodies of dead children before Robert in the throne room, Ned himself remembers "Rhaegar's infant son, the red ruin of his skull." Yet assuming that young Aegon escaped the city and was still alive, there is no undisputed evidence in our text that Ned Stark ever laid eyes on young Aegon Targaryen, alive or dead. And so there is no reason to expect that he would have recognized the child by sight if he had seen him. I mention this only to preempt the argument that Ned would have known the child, had Aegon been at the tower of joy when he arrived. And Ned may not have seen the boy, even if he had been there. The role of the Kingsguard includes both the protection of the royal family and the preservation of its secrets. Assuming Aegon lived, his survival would clearly have qualified as a secret - the secret - important enough that the KG would have given their lives to protect it. And that very well could have been the task undertaken by the three KG knights at the tower of joy: to confront and delay Ned Stark and company long enough to ensure that Aegon Targaryen would not be overtaken and discovered. If that was their goal, then it appears they succeeded. And to the extent their success allowed Aegon the that chance - for escape, and for freedom - this scenario would provide additional context to the exchange at the end of Ned's fever dream:
Thoughts?
* It's been pointed out to me that the word "plausible" might be taken to mean "probable." In my use of the word, I merely intend to describe a scenario that is credible or acceptable within the confines of the story Martin has published to date. I edited this OP in an attempt to clarify that point.
(from Aug 2014)
This post was born of the fact that - five books into this saga - it seems credible to me, if not likely, that the three Kingsguard knights (Hightower, Whent, and Dayne) were guarding the tower of joy in order to protect Rhaegar's son, Aegon Targaryen - rather than the son of Lyanna Stark. So, outlining a plausible (acceptable, credible) scenario is the name of the game - and for the sake of credibility and giving Aegon a fair hearing, my suggestion is that Lyanna Stark and Jon Snow should be left out of the argument. I realize that might seem hard for some folks, but what I'm interested in is whether there is a sensible scenario in which Aegon himself could have been present at the tower of joy and, if so, how that might affect our understanding of the larger story.
In ADWD, we are presented with the claim that young Aegon was removed from King's Landing prior to the Sack. If the Aegon/Young Griff storyline is at all creditable, there must be enough space within Martin's narrative framework for the infant's rescue to have occurred. Granted, such "space" may be all we can expect from Martin given the large gaps in information currently available from that piece of his story. But then, that is a problem shared by any theory attempting to reconstruct the events of Robert's Rebellion. All such theories - and particularly theories concerning the Sack and the encounter at the tower of joy - are inherently problematic, simply because we're working with an incomplete set of facts (for now). That said, if it is possible that young Aegon lived, and had been removed from King's Landing by the time Ned rode south "to fight the last battles of the war alone," then the presence of the Kingsguard itself begins to look like a big hint that Aegon could have been at the tower of joy.
My argument here would be that, if the presence and activity of the KG is ultimately justified by the duty to protect a child, then assuming he was alive, the child best positioned for that role would be Aegon Targaryen. Aegon, who we have been told survived the Sack, and who we know was already pegged (by his own father) for the role of "prince that was promised." In other words, if the 3KG were "on assignment" to protect an important child, then either way you slice it - politically or prophetically - Aegon would fit the bill.
So, how does this play out? How could it possibly fit into the narrative as we know it? Here is my suggestion for a plausible* reading of storylines that would allow for the possibility that Aegon was taken from King's Landing to the tower of joy, and ultimately out of Westeros altogether.
Plausible Aegon: A Reconsideration of Storylines
Young Griff tells Tyrion that he was quietly removed from King's Landing by Varys, who provided Princess Elia with an impostor child to take his place (the "Pisswater Prince"). This would have saved young Aegon from murder at the hands of the Lannister men (Gregor Clegane and Amory Lorch), but depending on when he was removed from the city, it would not necessarily have been the Lannisters who posed the greatest threat to the child. I propose that Aegon Targaryen was hidden away well prior to the Sack - in fact, it may have been prior to Rhaegar's departure for the Trident.
Start with the idea that the initial plan could have been to protect Aegon from Mad King Aerys... not from Gregor Clegane. Remember, Aerys had already threatened Elia and her children at least once - holding them as hostages to compel Dornish support in the war. That was right after the Battle of the Bells, before Rhaegar "returned from the south" (or around the same time)... when Aerys sent Lewyn Martell to take command of the Dornish forces that were "coming up the Kingsroad." Later, after Rhaegar's death on the Trident, Aerys would refuse to let Elia and her children leave King's Landing - though he sends his own wife and children to Dragonstone as the Usurper's armies close in on the city. Clearly Aerys' paranoia and mistrust had poisoned him, making him a threat to his grandchildren's lives and safety. Jon Connington later reflects that "by the end, even Rhaegar saw that plain enough."
Given Aerys' increasing madness, it's not hard to imagine Rhaegar taking the precaution of removing his son from the Red Keep prior to riding north into battle. Especially as the alternative seems to have been leaving his heir as the centerpiece of a hostage situation - and win or lose the war, the child would not have been safe from his own grandfather. My guess would be that Rhaegar ordered Varys to make the arrangements after he'd returned to the Red Keep and seen his father's agitated state of mind. He may even have had the opportunity to kiss his son goodbye.
Regarding the question of who, if anyone, would have been privy to this plan - I would say as few as possible. And there are certain parties that I think we could rule out entirely, though under different circumstances we might expect them to have been involved. The Martells for instance. While we might think Sunspear would be a natural ally (the Martells being family and all), I'd expect Rhaegar to have been quite hesitant about involving them in the process of hiding Aegon. And particularly if he had hopes of salvaging any trust or relationship with his father. After all, sending Aegon to Dorne would only confirm the worst of Aerys' paranoia - the very reason for holding his grandchildren hostage was that he believed the Dornish were conspiring behind his back. It's also worth considering whether Aerys' increasing madness had already begun to take its toll on the KG. Remember, Aerys is holding hostages to ensure the loyalty of one of his KG knights (Lewyn Martell)... and by the time of the Trident the senior six all seem rather fine with leaving the King at the Red Keep with only the newest and youngest of their crew (Jaime) to protect him.
Assuming Aegon was removed from King's Landing (and the claim is made in ADWD that he was)... then he was still young enough that he would have needed a wetnurse, especially if he was to be separated from his mother. So, we can safely assume that Aegon would have been accompanied by at least 2 adults - a wetnurse, and a formidable bodyguard that could be trusted with the utmost secrecy. If Aegon made it all the way to the tower of joy, then that would put another woman on the scene (a wetnurse... possibly a midwife, in a pinch). And it's at least possible that Gerold Hightower filled the role of bodyguard.
Why Lord Commander Hightower? Well, the general assumption seems to be that Arthur Dayne and Oswell Whent typically traveled around with Rhaegar wherever he was. Whether or not that was the case, we have no record of either of them in attendance with Rhaegar at the Red Keep. I've read others who've suggested that they were left to guard a certain northman's daughter for the crown prince - and having no desire to pick a fight, I'm sort of fine with that. But Lord Commander Hightower also left King's Landing at some point along the way. Could he have been sent to escort young Aegon to safety? The only text we have that places Hightower at the Red Keep is Jaime's memory of the execution of Rickard and Brandon Stark - so, "close to a year" before the confrontation at the tower. There is no record of Hightower between the Stark roast in the throne room, and the tower of joy. When Jaime recalls the departure of Rhaegar for the Trident, the only other KG he identifies as present are Darry and Selmy. So by the time Rhaegar leaves Jaime at the Red Keep, we know Lewyn Martell had already been sent (by Aerys) to take command of the Dornish forces. We know Darry and Selmy were with Rhaegar. We do not know the whereabouts of Hightower, Dayne, or Whent at that time, but we do know they were not present at the Trident. Assuming Dayne and Whent were otherwise occupied, that would leave Hightower the job of protecting the young prince, and the secret of his journey south.
So Rhaegar sends his son south, away from his grandfather the Mad King... and eventually heads off to war himself and dies. Shortly thereafter, as Robert's forces near the city under Ned's command, Tywin Lannister sacks the city of King's Landing and sends his men into Maegor's Holdfast to murder the Targaryen children. Varys aside - as far as anyone knows at that point in time, young Aegon Targaryen is dead.
Recalling the day Lord Tywin presented the bodies of dead children before Robert in the throne room, Ned himself remembers "Rhaegar's infant son, the red ruin of his skull." Yet assuming that young Aegon escaped the city and was still alive, there is no undisputed evidence in our text that Ned Stark ever laid eyes on young Aegon Targaryen, alive or dead. And so there is no reason to expect that he would have recognized the child by sight if he had seen him. I mention this only to preempt the argument that Ned would have known the child, had Aegon been at the tower of joy when he arrived. And Ned may not have seen the boy, even if he had been there. The role of the Kingsguard includes both the protection of the royal family and the preservation of its secrets. Assuming Aegon lived, his survival would clearly have qualified as a secret - the secret - important enough that the KG would have given their lives to protect it. And that very well could have been the task undertaken by the three KG knights at the tower of joy: to confront and delay Ned Stark and company long enough to ensure that Aegon Targaryen would not be overtaken and discovered. If that was their goal, then it appears they succeeded. And to the extent their success allowed Aegon the that chance - for escape, and for freedom - this scenario would provide additional context to the exchange at the end of Ned's fever dream:
- "And now it begins," said Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning. He unsheathed Dawn and held it with both hands. The blade was pale as milkglass, alive with light.
"No," Ned said with sadness in his voice. "Now it ends."
Thoughts?
* It's been pointed out to me that the word "plausible" might be taken to mean "probable." In my use of the word, I merely intend to describe a scenario that is credible or acceptable within the confines of the story Martin has published to date. I edited this OP in an attempt to clarify that point.
