A Game of Thrones Reread - Part 13

Free Men of Westeros! Lend me your ears! Well, I guess your eyes. Just read the post already, I just babble up here for a paragraph or two anyway. Nothing of note. Move along already!

I don't know if I posted this in awhile, and I'd be surprised if people just jump in on Part 13, but anyway, spoilers for all current Song of Ice and Fire material, this includes the four published novels, and the three Dunk & Egg stories (although I'm pretty sure they won't factor in, but better safe than sorry).

Onward!

DAENERYS

Summary

Ser Jorah was riding beside Dany as they reached the Dothraki sea. It was a vast plain, stretched out as far as the eye could sea, covered with tall blades of grass blowing in the wind. Jorah and Dany had ridden ahead, but now they could hear the rest catching up. Against Illyrio's advice, Viserys had gone with them, but he was miserable. Dany did not wish to hear her brother's complaints, so she told Ser Jorah to tell the group she commanded they wait there. Ser Jorah commented she was beginning to sound like a queen. She corrected him: not a queen, a khaleesi, and then she rode off.

Dany thought back on the times since her wedding. She has ridden hard, and it had taken a physical toll. And her new husband would ignore her all day, but then visit at night and performed his husbandly duty. But after her aching body would fall asleep, she would dream the dragon dream. The dragon was in front of her, covered in blood. And when it breathed fire on her, she embraced the flame and it took away her pain. The next morning she did not hurt so much. She noticed her dragon's eggs, and thought that they felt warm. After the night of her dream, every day seemed easier. As the days passed Dany adopted more and more of the Dothraki way.

As Dany was enjoying herself, Viserys finally caught up to her, and he was furious that she gave him a command. Viserys was disgusted with the way Dany was dressed, she had barefeet, oiled hair, and a painted tunic as the Dothraki wear, while Viserys was still in his city silks and ringmail, all stained and torn from hard travel. As he yelled he reached under her tunic, his fingers digging painfully into her breast, when she pushed him away, hard. Dany knew he would hurt her now, but a loud crack interrupted her thoughts. The rest of the Dothraki had caught up, and Jhogo had wrapped his whip around Viserys' throat. Jhogo asked Dany if she wanted Viserys to be killed, but she said no. Dany looked down at her brother, and wondered if he always had looked so pitiful. Dany ordered that her brother not be hurt, but told them to take his horse. He would walk back to the khalasar. Viserys ordered Ser Jorah to attack Dany himself, but Jorah followed Dany's orders and took Viserys' horse.

As they left Viserys, the reality of what happened hit Dany. She turned to Ser Jorah and told him she hit Viserys, and that she must have woke the dragon.

Ser Jorah snorted. "Can you wake the dead, girl? Your brother Rhaegar was the last dragon, and he died on the Trident. Viserys is less than a shadow of a snake."

 Jorah spoke frankly with Dany, and asked if she wanted to see Viserys sit the throne. She admitted he would not be a good king. Dany says that the common people are waiting his return, that Magister Illyrio said so. Ser Jorah tells her the common people pray for rain, health, and a never-ending summer, it is no matter to them if the high lords "play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace." But they never are. Dany realized that Viserys would never lead them home. Dany thought of home, and now she saw in her mind's eye King's Landing, and the Red Keep, and Dragonstone, and in her mind each of these places had a red door.

Dany arrived at the khalasar and went to her tent. She admired her eggs, and once again thought that one was warm. Just stone, she told herself, it must have been in the sun all day. Dany had her maids prepare a bath, and she asked them about dragons. They told her dragons died long ago, but Dany thought that the last Targaryen dragon died only a century and a half ago, not so long really. She thought maybe there were more dragons in the east.

Magic had died in the west when the Doom fell on Valyria and the Lands of the Long Summer, and neither spell-forged steel nor stormsingers nor dragons could hold it back, but Dany had always heard that the east was different. It was said that manticores prowled the islands of the Jade Sea, that warlocks, and aeromancers practiced their arts openly in Asshai, while shadowbinders and bloodmages worked terrible sorceries in the black of night. Why shouldn't there be dragons too?

 Doreah told Dany that she had been told that dragons came from the moon, that once there were two moons but one came too close to the sun and the heat cracked it, letting loose thousands and thousands of dragons on the world. That one day the remaining moon would wander too close to the sun and the same would happen. The two Dothraki girls laughed, saying that she was foolish, that the Moon is a god, and the wife of sun. "It is known." When the maids made ready to leave, Dany asked Doreah to stay. Doreah had been trained in the pleasure dens of Lys, and Dany would learn from her.

That night when Drogo came, Dany was waiting for him. She led him outside, as all important things must happen under the sky. There was no privacy in the khalasar and they entire camp could see her as she led Drogo away. She undressed him, and as he tried to turn her around she stopped him. This time they would have sex face to face. Drogo was on his back, and this time Dany rode him, and at the moment of his release he called out her name, after she applied all of Doreah's teachings. It was several weeks later, on Dany's fourteenth name day, that her maids informed her she was with child.

My Thoughts

A lot to cover in this chapter, but most importantly we really see Daenerys become a woman before our eyes. She is not the frightened little girl anymore. She dresses like the Dothraki, and while she may not speak their language, she clearly has their ferocity. And through the changing point of view Viserys is different also. Not to say that he truly IS different, as he is exactly the same, but whereas we previously saw him as a bully, now he really does seem more pathetic than threatening. I think that is a tremendous strength of Martin as a writer, to see the same character from the same point of view, and see Viserys completely different. He handles Dany's maturation well. The chapter ends with Dany taking control of her relationship with Drogo, and having sex with him on her own terms, under an open sky for the entire khalasar to see. And of course, this gets her with child, the child that had been prophesied by the Dothraki, as we will soon see. She would give birth to the "stallion that would mount the world." Or she would have, if her baby wasn't killed in the womb. But I do have a theory about that...

First, I want to point out the line I quoted above, that magic disappeared with the Doom of Valyria. We still don't know what the Doom was, but we have learned a few things about Valyria. We know it was a center of magic, and that is where Valyrian steel blades came from. We also know the Targaryens were Valyrian. Now, I may have this wrong, but it seems to me we have three distinct groups of humans on Westeros. "Groups" probably isn't the right word, but I don't know if they are different races, or what. But Westeros was populated by the Children of the Forest (are they humans? I don't know), until the First Men came (the Starks still have the blood of the First Men). Then were the Andals, who conquered most of Westeros, with the exception of the North. The majority of Westeros is of Andal descent. Then came the Targaryens. And, to me at least, the Targaryens were a very different sort. As far as I know, they are the only group we know that came from Valyria. And they are very different in appearance from the rest of the population, with their purple eyes and silver-gold hair, not to mention their ability to tame dragons. We have also seen quite a few Targaryens with the ability to dream prophetically. I would like to expand this theory further, but this is pretty much the extent of my thoughts on it now, but I'll keep an eye on any other mention of their lineage later.

Now, on to the prophetic dreams. Dany had previously dreamed of a dragon, and in it her thighs were covered with blood. In this chapter, she dreams of a dragon covered in blood. The portents seem pretty heavy-handed that Dany will "birth" a dragon. We are also introduced to a couple of myths regarding the origin of dragons. Doreah thinks the moon is an egg, and if it gets too close to the sun it will hatch. The Dothraki think the moon is a woman, and the sun her husband. They could both be right, in a symbolic sense. As the sun would impregnate the moon, which would birth dragons. This also raises the question of just how magical dragons are. Everyone seems to think the dragon eggs Dany has are stone. Are they stone, and they are hatched into dragons through magical forces? I don't believe we've ever seen a "fresh" dragon egg (maybe in one of the Dunk & Egg stories, but I think those eggs were rather old too) so maybe they always look like stone, but I don't think so. We also have the enigmatic comments made later by Maester Aemon regarding dragons being neither male nor female, so where do the eggs come from? Anyway, this is a long-winded way of saying maybe the dragons are actually Dany's children, and they are the Stallions who will Mount the World. I'll bring this up again when the Dothraki women actually give the prophecy.

BRAN

Commentary

Bran watched through his window as Rickon played with the three direwolves. He looked at the wolves, Shaggydog's coat had come in all black and had green eyes, while Summer was silver and smoke with eyes of gold. Summer was smaller than Grey Wind, but Bran thought Summer the smartest of the wolves. Bran felt tears in his eyes, he wanted to be down there too. He said that it was a lie, he can't fly, he can't even run. "All crows are liars." Old Nan said.

Old Nan stayed in Bran's room with him, and Bran was resenting her presence. She was so old, she was called Old Nan even when Brans's father was a boy. She offered to tell Bran a story, but Bran didn't want to hear any stories. He had woken up and the world was different. Everyone he knew was gone, except Robb and Rickon, but Robb had changed. He was the Lord now, and spent his time with Maester Luwin going over the books, or in the yard with Theon Greyjoy practicing. Old Nan offered to tell of Brandon the Builder, who built Winterfell, and some said the Wall as well. Bran said that he liked scary stories.

"Oh, my sweet summer child," Old Nan said quietly, "what do you know of fear? Fear is for the winter, my little lord, when the snows fall a hundred feet deep and the ice wind comes howling out of the north. Fear is for the long night, when the sun hides its face for years at a time, and little children are born and live and die all in darkness while the direwolves grow gaunt and hungry, and the white walkers move through the woods."

The Others, Bran said. Old Nan began to tell the story of the Others, about the first time they came thousands of years ago. They swept over holdfasts and cities, killing entire armies as they rode their pale dead horses leading armies of the slain. They hated anything with warm blood, and killed men, women, or children indiscriminately. At this time it was before the Andals came, and the land was ruled by the First Men, who had taken it from the children of the forest. The last hero decided to seek out and find the children, hoping their ancient magic could succeed where the men had failed. He searched for years, and the Others had his sent, hunting him down with pale white spiders the size of dogs. The door banged open, and Maester Luwin and Hodor entered the room, and informed Bran that there were visitors, and his presence was required. Bran wanted to hear the end of the story, but he was told he could hear it later, Tyrion Lannister was at Winterfell.

Hodor carried Bran to where Robb was greeting Tyrion. Robb and Tyrion were trading barbs, and Robb was making it clear Tyrion was not welcome. Apparently, Tyrion had told Robb that he had business with Bran, and now that Bran was here Robb told him to get on with it. Tyrion asked Bran what he remembers of the day he fell. Bran started to say he never falls, but Maester Luwin interrupted to tell Tyrion that Bran has no memory of the events before his fall. Tyrion told Bran he had a gift for Bran, that he would be able to ride again. He presented Maester Luwin with plans that Tyrion had written for a saddle that Bran could be strapped in to. A horse would need to be trained, so it would respond to verbal commands and touch rather than leg pressure, but Bran would be able to ride again. Tyrion had designed a saddle for himself so that he may ride a horse, and adapted it for Bran.

Robb wanted to know why Tyrion would do this for Bran. Tyrion told Robb that he did it because Jon asked it of him. Just then Rickon burst into the room, with the direwolves behind him. Immediately the wolves stopped and began to growl, advancing on Tyrion. "The wolves do not like your smell," said Theon Greyjoy. Tyrion said he would take his leave, when the three wolves began snapping at him, Grey Wind tearing Tyrion's sleeve. Finally Bran called for Summer. This seemed to shake Robb out of his reverie, and he called Grey Wind. Bran yelled for Rickon to call Shaggydog, which he finally did. As Tyrion prepared to take his leave, Maester Luwin spoke to Robb. Robb apologized to Tyrion for his treatment, and offered to let him stay in Winterfell. Tyrion told Robb to spare him his false courtesies and left.

Hodor brought Bran back to his room where he could sleep. Bran had nightmares of climbing, and of gargoyles that looked like lions. Bran told them he didn't hear, he didn't hear. When he woke back up it was time for dinner. Hodor brought him down where he ate with Robb and Yoren from the Watch. They spoke of Jon Snow, and learned that Benjen was lost beyond the Wall. Bran said that the children would help him, and Maester Luwin told him they were only stories. Yoren said here maybe, but there are all manner of strange things beyond the Wall. Robb brought Bran back up to bed himself, and they sat and talked about Mother and Father. Robb told Bran once Mother came back they would ride out together to meet her, then ride to the wall together, they could have an adventure. Bran heard his brother cry, and reached out to grab his hand.

My Thoughts

These Bran chapters are pretty tough. It's not as bad now, but I remember when I first read them just how depressed they would make me. It would be bad enough losing the use of your legs now, with 21st century science, but in the lands of Westeros? No paved roads, no wheelchairs, no proper medical care. Bran's emotions just come across so strongly. The feeling of usefulness, the feeling of being a different person before he fell, the blunt knowledge that whatever you thought your life would be - all those thoughts are gone now.

Before I get into Old Nan's story, what does everyone think: who is older Old Nan or Maester Aemon? Do you think we'll ever find out?

You know, I completely forgot Old Nan's story about the Others, which was kind of cool. Like reading it for the first time. The first thing I didn't remember or didn't realize, is that during Winter the nights are longer, to the point that it could be night for an entire generation! I didn't remember that detail at all, and that is incredibly scary. No sun for what, 10 years? Longer? I'm guessing the Others only come on the long winters, as the forthcoming winter appears to be. And how about the story? Destroying entire towns, killing men, women, and children, riding dead horses leading armies of the dead. Nothankew. And of course, we don't get the end of the story. The hero seeks the children of the forest, hounded by the Others and their WHITE SPIDERS THE SIZE OF HOUNDS! Jeez, these things aren't scary enough on their own?? I'm assuming the hero did find the children, as, you know, the Others didn't kill all the humans and got put back behind the Wall somehow.

Always interesting to see how other people see Tyrion. Tyrion, true to his word, did fulfill his promise to Jon and did right by Bran. What does everyone think of the wolves reaction to Tyrion? Is it just they could smell the Lannister on him, and they know that the Lannisters hurt Bran? Is it something specific to Tyrion they can sense? Is it something else? I guess I'm thinking it was just the smell of Lannister, but I don't really know.

Again, heartbreaking chapter. Poor broken Bran, and poor Robb shouldering more responsibility than any boy his age should need. And it's only going to get worse.


And that's it for today! I had a lot to say about these chapters, which is fun. The last couple I had to really think about what to put into the My Thoughts section. What did everyone else think?