A Chthonic Mirror of Lannister Ambition The Tree Beneath the Rock The weirwood growing within Casterly Rock’s Stone Garden is one of the most mysterious and underexplored heart trees in Westeros. Unlike Winterfell’s heart tree, which lives in a lush godswood populated by a variety of tree species and other vegetation, beside a dark pool, […]
Introduction Three incidents in A Song of Ice and Fire suggest that fire has more than just physical consequences when used against weirwood trees. These cases are: the very angry weirwood at Harrenhal, the burnt-sacrifice tree of Whitetree Village beyond the Wall, and the destruction of the godswood at Storm’s End by Melisandre. All three […]
Twin Paths of Transgression In part one of this analysis, we examined how Varamyr’s violation of skinchanging taboos granted him greater magical power. This follow-up is not a standalone discussion, so if you haven’t read part one yet, I strongly recommend checking it out first to get the full context. Now, turning our focus […]
Varamyr’s Abominations: Did Breaking Skinchanging Taboos Unlock More Power? What happens when a warg breaks the taboos skinchanging? Varamyr’s story leads to an interesting conclusion. Would you believe his magical prowess actually increased after breaking the very taboos Haggon warned him about? I believe Varamyr’s transgressions were the key to his rise as one of […]
Night’s King, the Bear, and the Maiden Fair Mormont’s interaction with Craster and his seeming tolerance, even apparent understanding for Craster’s practices, not only of incest, but also of sacrificing his sons to cold gods might be a clue to an unspoken ancient relationship. It may also be helpful in figuring out why Mormont […]
Burning human offerings within the Whitetree weirwood is a sacrifice designed to release soul-energy to power the weather magic of the Others, allowing them to create the cold winds and mists they are associated with.
This post examines the possibility of Dalla, queen to Mance Rayder, and her sister Val, the “wildling princess” being daughters of Ned’s late brother Brandon Stark. If so, they are of great importance to the narrative because in the event of an absence of suitable heirs to Winterfell, they (and baby Aemon) can be seen as possible propagators of the Stark line through female inheritance.
Robb Stark will return from the grave as Night’s Silver Wolf King. Find out more on raising Robb Stark.
Long Summers and Long Nights – Extremes of Sand and Snow. tl:dr – Podcast Summary Long Nights and Long Winters? How about the reality of Long Summers and their devastating effects on the planet? Are magically induced extremes of Summer the underlying cause of seasonal irregularity in George Martin’s fantasy world? Have there […]
Fertility Themes, the ultimate Key to a Song of Ice and Fire The fertility of the earth is tied to the seasonal cycle, and the latter, we know, is highly irregular in George Martin’s fantasy world. Why the seasons are asynchronous remains an unsolved mystery within the story. Ice and Fire are extreme forms of […]