Background

Back in 2019 after the series finale of Game of Thrones, GRRM made a blogpost titled "An Ending" in which he discussed the finale, series ending as well as some of the differences between book and show (Butterfly Effect). While mentioning some of the different book characters' fates GRRM referred to Young Griff as "Aegon VI". George obviously isn't intentionally giving away plot points on his blog, but this could have been a small slip of a future plot point (or obviously him just talking about Young Griff in general with no real meaning behind it). In this post I wanted to discuss this SSM, as well as some of the other evidence for Young Griff being named King Aegon VI.

So Spake Martins (SSMs)

Here is the SSM I referenced in which GRRM calls him Aegon VI:

I am working in a very different medium than David and Dan, never forget.   They had six hours for this final season.   I expect these last two books of mine will fill 3000 manuscript pages between them before I’m done… and if more pages and chapters and scenes are needed, I’ll add them.   And of course the butterfly effect will be at work as well; those of you who follow this Not A Blog will know that I’ve been talking about that since season one.   There are characters who never made it onto the screen at all, and others who died in the show but still live in the books… so if nothing else, the readers will learn what happened to Jeyne Poole, Lady Stoneheart, Penny and her pig, Skahaz Shavepate, Arianne Martell, Darkstar, Victarion Greyjoy, Ser Garlan the Gallant, Aegon VI, and a myriad of other characters both great and small that viewers of the show never had the chance to meet.   And yes, there will be unicorns… of a sort… -SSM, An Ending: 20 May 2019

which is interesting as a potential slip, simply because of how GRRM has referred to him previously:

Meanwhile Jhiqui, Aggo, Jhogo, Jeyne Poole, Dalla (and her child) and her sister Val, Princess Arianne Martell, Prince Quentyn Martell, Willas Tyrell, Ser Garlan the Gallant, Lord Wyman Manderly, the Shavepate, the Green Grace, Brown Ben Plumm, the Tattered Prince, Pretty Meris, Bloodbeard, Griff and Young Griff, and many more have never been part of the show, yet remain characters in the books. -SSM, Last Year (Winds of Winter): 1 Jan 2016

and:

The decision was made four/five years ago to eliminate characters like Lady Stoneheart, Quentyn Martell, the Young Griff arc. When you eliminate all those subplots, you simplify things and bring it to an end where it is. -SSM, Joe Interview: Aug 2019

and:

I have legions of secondary characters, not POVs but nonetheless important to the plot, who also figure in the story: Lady Stoneheart, Young Griff, the Tattered Prince, Penny, Brown Ben Plumm, the Shavepate, Marwyn the Mage, Darkstar, Jeyne Westerling.  -SSM, A Winter Garden: 8 July 2022

and worth noting that GRRM is aware of the nickname fAegon:

Ashaya: Like people, I hate when people use the term Faegon, because it’s very spoilery and not necessarily accurate. I just call ’em Young Griff, but that is a term that people use.
Aziz: Yeah. Shortened version of fake Aegon – had you heard that term before?
George: Yes, I have. And it does indicate that they have already made their decision.
Aziz: They’ve taken Tyrion’s hint, like yeah, I dunno about this. -SSM, George RR Martin in Conversation: HOW Interviews GRRM!: 25 Aug 2022

The Mummer's Dragon

While getting shade of the evening induced visions, Dany sees:

Glowing like sunset, a red sword was raised in the hand of a blue-eyed king who cast no shadow. A cloth dragon swayed on poles amidst a cheering crowd. From a smoking tower, a great stone beast took wing, breathing shadow fire. . . . mother of dragons, slayer of lies . . . -ACOK, Daenerys IV

which in the next chapter gets expanded on more:

"A dead man in the prow of a ship, a blue rose, a banquet of blood . . . what does any of it mean, Khaleesi? A mummer's dragon, you said. What is a mummer's dragon, pray?"
"A cloth dragon on poles," Dany explained. "Mummers use them in their follies, to give the heroes something to fight." -ACOK, Daenerys V

and Dany is warned by Quaithe about him:

"No. Hear me, Daenerys Targaryen. The glass candles are burning. Soon comes the pale mare, and after her the others. Kraken and dark flame, lion and griffin, the sun's son and the mummer's dragon. Trust none of them. Remember the Undying. Beware the perfumed seneschal." -ADWD, Daenerys II

this is seen by many readers to be a vision of Young Griff in King's Landing after he rides in to save the day as Varys tells Kevan:

A savior come from across the sea to bind up the wounds of bleeding Westeros.” -ADWD, Epilogue

If interested: The High Sparrow and Young Griff & Young Griff and King's Landing

The Future of the Iron Throne

The boy king, Tommen I currently sits the Iron Throne although his reign probably won't be very long (I argued here, that he will get poisoned by Tyene Sand via the High Sparrow's blessing). It is also possible that his sister Myrcella could be crowned too (although it can be argued she already has been) before her upcoming death (a third golden shroud). Note that Cersei has not physically sat on it yet (except in dreams).

That said we know that GRRM had this to say regarding the Iron Throne:

I know who's gonna be on the throne in the end. I'd better not say. There'll be a few people sitting on it before the answer. -SSM, Emmy Panel: March 2013

If interested: Future Characters on the Iron Throne

TLDR: I expect Young Griff to take King's Landing and be crowned Aegon VI by the High Sparrow (before being defeated by Dany). In 2019, after the series finale of A Game of Thrones, GRRM may have slipped up when he called Young Griff by the name, "Aegon VI". Not in that he is a true Targaryen (he is a Blackfyre/Brightfyre imo) just that he is going to be crowned.

Okay guys, so this is just supposed to be a fun post, im not claiming anything. Just a detail I found that may be funny regarding the blackfyre claim. That being, that if the idea that Daeron is a bastard is true, it still might not mean daemon is the heir. As, there's a possibility, that Balerion Otherys is the heir. I know that his birth is uncertain, but I find it ironic if this were actually true. Plus a little cool that Aegons heir is named Balerion. And that the very concept blackfyres fight for may be a lie as is. It just feels like an ironic twist that fits the story, and it was a fun fact I found and wanted to share.

Again, I dont want to start an argument or claim he was the actual heir or anything like that, so please dont take this that way. Its just a cool little detail.

Baelor loved Daena deeply, but he loved the Seven even more. And so, the more he loved her, the more he feared the desires within himself.
Daena loved Baelor just as deeply, but she was betrayed by the man she loved. And so, the more she loved him, the more her love turned into hatred.

I have to confess, I only recently read a fic about this pairing, but Baelor × Daena is such an intriguing pairing to me. The two of them have so many striking parallels.
1. They both have reason to believe that the other loves someone else
Daena admired Daeron greatly, so much so that many people might think she loved Daeron rather than Baelor.
Baelor, meanwhile, was also greatly admired by Rhaena.
This is not a perfect parallel, of course.
Daeron was more handsome, so it would hardly be surprising if Daena were attracted to him. But Baelor himself was also admired by Rhaena, who was more sensual and alluring than Daena.
Now imagine that Baelor and Daena truly loved one another, yet each believed that the other had someone else in their heart.
Baelor might have thought that Daena loved Daeron.
And Daena might have believed that Baelor loved Rhaena.
There is something deeply tragic about that: two people who love each other, yet neither dares to believe that they are the one truly loved in return.

2. Even their epithets seem strangely parallel
Daena the Defiant.
Baelor the Blessed.
There is something almost poetic in the contrast.
She is the woman who defies.
He is the man who devotes himself completely to the Seven.
She refuses to be bound by the world around her, while he willingly binds himself to his faith.
They almost seem like opposite reflections of one another.

3. Their smiles
Daena has a smile that is described as though it could dare anything.
Baelor, meanwhile, has a beautiful smile.
It is only a small detail, but I find it strangely fitting that the smiles of both characters are singled out in their descriptions.

Events that might support this interpretation
1. Daena wearing white to tempt Baelor.
Daena deliberately wore white to seduce Baelor, which becomes particularly interesting when we consider how desperately he tried to suppress his own desires.

2. Daena could have escaped, yet she always chose to return to the cell where Baelor kept her imprisoned.
She could have fled.
She could have reclaimed her freedom.
Yet she repeatedly chose to return to the very cell where Baelor kept her prisoner.
That makes me wonder whether something stronger than the walls around her was keeping her there.
Perhaps, despite everything, some part of her still longed to be near him.

3. Perhaps Baelor’s decision to help Naerys while keeping his own wife imprisoned only deepened Daena’s resentment.
From Daena’s perspective, that might have felt like another betrayal a cruel reminder that he could show compassion to another woman while denying his own wife her freedom.
Perhaps that only made her love curdle further into bitterness.
And when she finally had the opportunity, Daena raped Baelor.✌️😌
Perhaps it was not simply lust or revenge, but the violent culmination of everything she had been forced to swallow: love, humiliation, jealousy, longing, and rage.

My theory
Just to make this clear, I’m not a Blackfyre stan. “A bastard is a bastard.”
I believe Daena never slept with Aegon IV.
The only man she ever slept with was Baelor.
And I believe Daemon is Baelor’s son.
Part of the reason I believe this is that I think George may deliberately make Baelor the only man Daena ever slept with, so that when the truth is eventually revealed, there can be no real doubt that Daemon is Baelor’s son.
Perhaps Aegon claimed Daemon as his own son because he wanted to torment Daeron to break his spirit and destroy him emotionally until the very last moment of his life.

And perhaps, in his own twisted way, Aegon IV truly loved Naerys.
The tragedy is that Naerys never loved him in return.

Who knows? Perhaps there was even an incident between them reminiscent of Cersei and Robert where Robert called out Lyanna’s name while in bed with Cersei.
Perhaps Naerys, in the same way, once whispered Aemon’s name instead of Aegon’s.
And perhaps that was the moment something inside Aegon broke.
Maybe his hatred of Naerys did not begin with the crown, the court, or even their unhappy marriage.
Maybe it began with the realization that he could possess her body, her title, and her crown but never her heart.

Artist:
Baelor × Daena: jota.s.art | Instagram

Something I haven't discussed very much is who in Westeros could end up supporting Dany when she arrives. Typically the way I've seen the second Dance unfold involves Dany being completely rejected by the Seven Kingdoms either because they don't care about the conflict or are SO in love with fAegon. Considering that Rhaenyra had considerable support during the Dance, I find it unrealistic if Dany received zero support.

NOTE: The Westerlands & Iron Islands won't back her for obvious reasons & the North & Vale are likely to be occupied with different conflicts.

Crownlands

• House Velaryon

• House Stokeworth (via Bronn)

Given the close relations between the Targaryens & Velaryons, I can see either Monterys or Aurane siding with Dany. Stokeworth would back her because Bronn ought to know not to fight against the side with dragons.

Riverlands

• Harrenhall (via Bonifer Hasty)

• House Blackwood ?

• House Mooten ?

Bonifer had a doomed love with Rhaella so he's bound to support her daughter. Though given he is only the castellan with a hundred men it won't be much help for Dany. The Blackwoods have got ties with the Targaryens so Tytos could easily decide to back her. The Mootens remained loyal in the rebellion & its Lord is a coward but if his daughter isn't in Maidenpool then I see him not risking it.

The Reach

• House Tyrell

• House Fossoway

• House Oakheart?

In the event Mace Tyrell dies in his upcoming clash with the Golden Company, I can see the remaining Tyrells’ side with Dany. Garlan's marriage to Leonette would bring in the Fossoways. The Oakhearts would only be if Dany were to go to war with Dorne, & as Arys's death has been blamed on Darkstar I'd like to think his mother would not ally with the Dornish. NOTE: I didn't name the Hightowers, Redwynes, Tarlys or Rowans; just because the Tyrells might back Dany doesn't mean all of their bannermen will.

Stormlands

• House Wylde

• House Morrigen

• House Mertyns

• House Tarth

• House Estermont ?

• House Caron?

• House Baratheon?

The first five Houses have had their castles seized by the Golden Company. As Lady Mertyn clearly dislikes both them & JonCon, I think she speaks for the other lords currently imprisoned in their homes. So I can see them support Dany so she can get rid of their captors. Baratheon & Caron would only happen if Dany legitimised both Edric & Rolland Storm, if she doesn't then they'll be of no help.

Dorne

• House Dayne (via Edric)

As a convert to Rh'llor & Dany hailed his champion, it's easy to see Edric Dayne declare for her. Though there is a chance he'll be a lord in name only & thus unable to rally soldiers to her cause.

If the Targaryens since the time of Aegon the Conqueror to Daenerys: all gathered for a big family brunch. How would it go? Who would get along with one another? Who would be squabbling with one another? And who would the family pray that they never show up?

My answer to the last question are Maegor the Cruel, Aemond the Kinslayer,and Aerion Brightfire

The title is pretty self explanatory what will he look like after he's resurrected?

Before you guys downvote me to hell and call me a delusional Dany stan, I am only looking to have a genuine discussion

NO I am not saying that Daenerys is the MAIN character of the books, but rather the character which the title “The Song of Ice and Fire” is referring to.

Reasons why I think you could argue she is:

- We all know that the most important plot in ASOIAF is the Long Night, and GRRM has already confirmed that “Ice and Fire” refers to Daenerys + her dragons and the White Walkers.

- The entire Targaryen family and history was made primarily as her backstory, and was then branched off into “Fire and Blood.” Daenerys is meant to be the antithesis of house Targaryen, and is the main parallel of Aegon the Conqueror. A lot of Targaryen history is kinda written as a foil to her arc, to show how she is different compared to her ancestors.

- Daenerys has an EXTREME connection to magic and prophecy, I mean if you follow the “Prince that was Promised” prophecy it matches up with her more than any other. (even though I believe the prophecy is more complicated than that). She quite literally brought magic back into the world with the birth of her dragons, which is why the warlocks of Qarth wanted them so badly.

- The House of the Undying visions foreshadow SO many future events, such as Daenerys slaying the lie that is Young Griff’s heritage (The Mummer’s Dragon, Slayer of Lies), the Red Wedding, etc. We also see Daenerys being surrounded by the undead, and Drogon saving her.

- Her story seems so disconnected from the rest, so why would GRRM specifically choose to include the story of a girl all the way at the edge of the world with little connection to the rest of the POVs? Not to mention that as the books go on, she is becoming more and more relevant in almost every other POV.

I feel like no matter what, Daenerys is clearly being set up not to be the ruler of Westeros, but to be the one to see past the lie that is the Iron Throne and probably sacrifice her life to save humanity from the White Walkers. I don’t think she will go mad, but she will take a darker turn and be viewed as an evil usurper to the Westerosi, who will likely hail fAegon as their beloved King who took down Cersei. I also believe that Jon Connington will blow up Kings Landing, and it will be blamed on Daenerys.

What do you think?

Whenever people talk about Sam being brave, they usually bring up the Other, the dragonglass dagger, and the fact that he managed to survive things that would have broken most people.

But I think his finest moment is quietly engineering Jon's election as Lord Commander.

Look at what he's actually dealing with. Cotter Pyke and Denys Mallister are experienced commanders who despise each other. Neither is getting enough votes to win, neither will step aside for the other, and Janos Slynt is gaining ground while they waste time.

Sam walks into this situation with no authority whatsoever.

He figures out that telling either man to support his rival is pointless. So he approaches them separately and presents Jon in completely different terms. To Mallister, Jon is a well-educated young man raised at Winterfell, someone who understands how to deal with lords. To Pyke, he's a proven fighter and a bastard, which is practically a selling point when you're trying to annoy Mallister.

Then Sam lies to both men about whom Stannis intends to appoint if the election fails.

And the remarkable thing is that he's absolutely terrified while doing it.

Randyll Tarly spent years trying to beat courage into Sam because he couldn't imagine a son who didn't command respect through physical strength. Yet here is Sam, frightened out of his mind, doing something that requires an extraordinary understanding of pride, prejudice, and political leverage.

He's not suddenly become fearless. He knows exactly how angry these men could get if they catch him lying, and he goes through with it anyway.

There's also something wonderfully uncomfortable about the morality of it. Sam is deceiving his superiors and manipulating an election. It's not a neat little lesson about honesty triumphing. It's a frightened young man deciding that letting Janos Slynt take command would be worse.

The more I reread that chapter, the more I think Randyll didn't just underestimate his son. He failed to recognize that Sam had the makings of a very capable political leader.

He just wasn't the kind of leader Randyll wanted.

What is or are your favorite party/feast moments in the saga, whenever it is during or after a wedding, a tourney, a ceremony or a simple feast or banquet?

I really enjoyed the Harvest Feast in Bran's second ACOK chapter, which saw the introduction of crucial Northern characters such as one of my personal favorite Wyman Manderly, Mors and Hother Umber and Lady Hornwood and showed a rare insight in Northern politics and also planted several seeds such as the Hornwood succesion crisis as well as the new Northern navy.

The Purple Wedding as well, if because of all the players and fan favorite characters present, Tyrion deducing that Joffrey is the one who ordered Bran's death, the irony of all the gifts given to Joffrey such as Oberyn giving him a scorpion brooch which was surely his way to troll and subtly threaten him and the Lannisters or all the weapons and jouster gifts despite Joffrey being such a cowardly non-fighter and that he would surely have never taken part in a joust because of the risks as well, and Joffrey and Tyrion's confrontations and Joffrey's death.

Hello all! Following AKOTSK, my partner became interested in getting to know the series better along with the deeper lore. We were going through quite the jeopardy phase at the time so I decided to make us a jeopardy game to play so that he can learn and we can have fun at the same time. I've got a lot of material but I'd like to open the floor to more suggestions. I'm looking for question recommendations, category recommendations, answers, if you want to put what value you'd judge it at (100, 200, 300, 400, 500) you are more than welcome. He's quite the beginner so keep that in mind but don't be afraid to challenge us. Anything helps! Hopefully this is fun

So those are your gifts from me, my sweet Sansa . . . Harry, the Eyrie, and Winterfell. That's worth another kiss now, don't you think?

Littlefinger laid out his plan to Sansa. She is to marry Harry, reveal herself to the Lords of the Vale, and then take Winterfell with their support

However, as we've seen repeatedly in this series, plans explained in strenuous detail rarely come to pass. In Sansa's story alone, we have the plan for Tyrion to put a child in her and take the North, as well as the plan for her to marry Willas

So what could go wrong?

Harry the Heir

Near the keep, she ran headlong into Ser Lothor Brune and almost knocked him off his feet. "Harry the Heir? Harry the Arse, I say. He's just some upjumped squire."

The theory that Harry dies in the tourney, which is the literal next chapter in Sansa's storyline, isn't new. He's not especially skilled, yet he's participating in a tourney. You also have this quote from Sansa, who hopes for exactly that after he embarrasses her

And may your horse stumble, Harry the Heir, so you fall on your stupid head in your first tilt.

While this idea is generally accepted, what happens next, however, isn't. A key thing to understand is that everyone expects Sweetrobin to die soon

Petyr arched an eyebrow. "When Robert dies. Our poor brave Sweetrobin is such a sickly boy, it is only a matter of time."

And as far as Jaime is concerned, the consensus is essentially the same

Jaime remembered little Robert from King's Landing, still sucking on his mother's teats at four. "Arryn won't live long enough to breed."

Whether Sweetrobin actually dies or not is irrelevant. What matters is that people expect him to die soon, and they'll act on that presumption

So

• Harry dies at the tourney

• Sweetrobin is expected to die soon

Under these circumstances, what is Littlefinger's next move?

Going North ASAP

Lysa intended for Sansa to marry Sweetrobin. While Sansa cannot currently marry again because her marriage to Tyrion is valid and has not been set aside, the fact that it was unconsummated means it can eventually be annulled. A betrothal to Sweetrobin, while revealing Sansa's identity, would therefore be the fallback option in the event of Harry's death

However, this gives Littlefinger a reason to go to Winterfell and the North ASAP, even with Winter here.

Given Sweetrobin's health, they don't know how much longer he has left. They therefore need to make use of any betrothal to the boy to secure the swords needed to take Winterfell

In universe there a lot of characters who we hear about through their reputation/how they are perceived before we even actually see them on-page. Like Tywin Lannister and Stannis Baratheon in AGOT.

Who do you think is most deserving of/lives up to their reputation. Personally I feel like Stannis has earned his:

Stannis bristled at that. "I defeated your uncle Victarion and his Iron Fleet off Fair Isle, the first time your father crowned himself. I held Storm's End against the power of the Reach for a year, and took Dragonstone from the Targaryens. I smashed Mance Rayder at the Wall, though he had twenty times my numbers. Tell me, turncloak, what battles has the Bastard of Bolton ever won that I should fear him?"

Like love or hate him, Stannis has probably one of the best military records in Westeros. Even Tywin Lannister respects him despite the fact that he smashed at the Blackwater.

And alternatively who is the biggest fraud in the series? Personally I feel like Littlefinger is riding on luck a lot rather than ability.

Catelyn…
And this is canon, too. I didn’t make up or invent any of these words or lines.✌️🦁

He forgot his responsibilities as a father to his children.
He forgot his promises to Cersei.
He forgot his Kingsguard vows to King Tommen.
He forgot his Kingsguard vows to King Aerys.

But he never forgot his oath to Catelyn…

He went so far as to give Brienne his Valyrian steel sword, Oathkeeper, so that she could protect Sansa. And when Brienne told him that she had found Sansa, Jaime was willing to put himself in danger without hesitation.

He may have forgotten so many of his other vows and responsibilities…
but he never forgot the promise he made to Catelyn Stark.

Catelyn is the most important thing in Jaime’s entire life.🤔
Does the Lion want to swallow the Trout?

Artist:
JaimeCat: MathiaArkoniel | DeviantArt

With Oberyn being dead, and Doran being unable of leading armed forces given his poor health, who should be the one(s) to lead Dornish army into war if Dorne gets involved in future conflicts, such as them joining Aegon and Jon Connington's cause against the Lannisters and their allies during The Winds of Winter?

Which Dornish figures could take the mantle of general for Dornish forces?

I certainely don't see the Sand Snakes, despite what they claim and view themselves to be, especially given how poor of a strategist and tactician Obara is (her plan to avenge her father by attacking the Marcher Lords Castles and then Oldtown, out of petty hatred against her birthplace, is perhaps the second worst military plan in the series after Balon's plan of invasion of the North).

Aeroh Hotah is Doran's chief of guards, but him being a foreigner and not a noble disqualify him to be a military leader.

Anders Yronwood, as the head of House Yronwood, and thus Dorne's most powerful Lord after the Martells themselves, and him being close enough to Doran to know about his revenge plans and having been Quentyn's mentor, seems to be the best candidate to me.

If not him, who else could take the mantle?

What if visenya was still a warrior and very badass as she is but instead of being too cold and dark in the book she was able to had much better personality and was able to be warm, soft, loving and kind and fair ? How would that change her marriage with aegon and her view in the kingdom? How would that make difference in meagor life ? Also , in the books do u guys think aneys had genuine loved his brother or was he playing a political game to hold his image and wanting his brother strength?

I'll go first with one of my favorite examples from The World of Ice and Fire:

In Essos, there exists a wall (it's actually a mountain range) that extends across the entire continent, splitting it into two parts like the Wall of Westeros.

They even have their own Night's Watch, but rather than being protected by a dozen deserted castles and a few thousand incels freezing to death, the Bone Mountains offer only three viable passages (for larger groups and armies, while small parties can still make their way through with a proper guide like over at Westeros' Wall), with each passage being protected by a fortress city, 'manned' entirely by a sisterhood of warrior maids, who exclusively walk around with their tits out.

To believe that the stand of the Three Thousand of Qohor put an end to Dothraki dreams of conquest, however, suggests a complacency akin to that of the High King of Sarnor’s when the horselords first came boiling out of the east. Wiser men know that it is only a matter of time until the khalasars unite again under some great khal and turn west once more in search of new conquests.
The Dothraki have oft attempted to extend their power eastward as well, but there they have found the Bone Mountains to be an almost insurmountable obstacle. Those bleak, inhospitable peaks form an immense stone wall between the horselords and the riches of the Further East. Only three passes exist large enough to bring an army through, and athwart those stand the mighty fortress cities Bayasabhad, Samyriana, and Kayakayanaya, defended by tens of thousands of redoubtable female warriors, the last remnants of the great kingdom of Hyrkoon, which once flourished beyond the Bones in what is now known as the Great Sand Sea. Many a khal has died beneath their walls, and still those walls stand inviolate.

They even have their own last hero who is one of like at least half a dozen mythical figures, all claimed to be the same one true Messiah by various cultures who think it was them that saved everybody from the Long Night:

How long the darkness endured no man can say, but all agree that it was only when a great warrior—known variously as Hyrkoon the Hero, Azor Ahai, Yin Tar, Neferion, and Eldric Shadowchaser—arose to give courage to the race of men and lead the virtuous into battle with his blazing sword Lightbringer that the darkness was put to rout, and light and love returned once more to the world.

The lore is actually ridiculous, these bad bitches are said to be some of the fiercest warriors on the entire planet, and they have seemingly been smashing armies beneath their walls for thousands of years, including a bunch of Khals in recent centuries.

It is said that the fortress cities of Bayasabhad, Samyriana, and Kayakayanaya are defended by women out of the belief that those who give birth are the only ones permitted to take life at will. The True Account of Addam of Duskendale’s Journeys, a merchant’s account of his alleged travels in eastern Essos, provides little further insight into these matters, or any others that scholars are interested in, and instead spends most of its time finding ways to remind readers that the warrior women walk about bare-breasted and decorate their cheeks and nipples with ruby studs and iron rings.

But isn't much of the lore in TWOIF, especially in regards to Essos the further you go, highly questionable? This all sounds way too ridiculous to be true!

... you might say.

A hundred merchants and traders were unloading their goods and setting up in stalls when they arrived, yet even so the great market seemed hushed and deserted compared to the teeming bazaars that Dany remembered from Pentos and the other Free Cities. The caravans made their way to Vaes Dothrak from east and west not so much to sell to the Dothraki as to trade with each other, Ser Jorah had explained. The riders let them come and go unmolested, so long as they observed the peace of the sacred city, did not profane the Mother of Mountains or the Womb of the World, and honored the crones of the dosh khaleen with the traditional gifts of salt, silver, and seed. The Dothraki did not truly comprehend this business of buying and selling.
Dany liked the strangeness of the Eastern Market too, with all its queer sights and sounds and smells. She often spent her mornings there, nibbling tree eggs, locust pie, and green noodles, listening to the high ululating voices of the spellsingers, gaping at manticores in silver cages and immense grey elephants and the striped black-and-white horses of the Jogos Nhai. She enjoyed watching all the people too: dark solemn Asshai’i and tall pale Qartheen, the bright-eyed men of Yi Ti in monkey-tail hats, warrior maids from Bayasabhad, Shamyriana, and Kayakayanaya with iron rings in their nipples and rubies in their cheeks, even the dour and frightening Shadow Men, who covered their arms and legs and chests with tattoos and hid their faces behind masks. The Eastern Market was a place of wonder and magic for Dany.

But they are absolutely real, they totally walk around bare-chested, and Dany meets some of them hanging around Vaes Dothrak in Book 1.

I know that, ironically enough, the Dothraki have an entire holy no-PvP city ruled by a sort of guest right, but these Gigastacies are still flaunting their tits in a society where gang-raping foreigners in the streets is not only acceptable, but very explicitily considered 'the polite thing to do', which is absolutely crazy.

Even along these well-traveled routes, crossing the Bones remains grueling and hazardous… and safe passage comes at a price, for on the far side of the mountains stand three mighty fortress cities, last remnants of the once-great Patrimony of Hyrkoon.
[...]
Many accounts inform us that the mountain warriors of Kayakayanaya, Samyriana, and Bayasabhad are all women, daughters of the Great Fathers who rule these cities, where girls learn to ride and climb before they learn to walk, and are schooled in the arts of the bow, the spear, the knife, and the sling from earliest childhood. Lomas Longstrider himself tells us that there are no fiercer fighters on all the earth. As for their brothers, the sons of the Great Fathers, ninety-nine of every hundred are gelded when they reach the age of manhood and live out their lives as eunuchs, serving their cities as scribes, priests, scholars, servants, cooks, farmers, and craftsmen. Only the most promising males, the largest and strongest and most comely, are permitted to mature and breed and become Great Fathers themselves in their turns. Maester Naylin’s Rubies and Iron—named for the penchant of the warrior women to wear iron rings in their nipples and rubies in their cheeks—speculates on the circumstances that led to such strange customs.

Many a Maester even seems to dedicate whole entire books to these amazing warriors maids for some reason, and oh, apparently it's also common belief in Westeros that they snippety-snip 99% of all men in their society, while somehow still ending up being ruled by the remaining 1% pure literal breeding bulls alpha-sigma males, who are required to maintain the peakest of all warrior cultures on Planetos.

Because at the end of the day, they are of course, still w*men. Obviously they can't be in charge, that would be ridiculous.

Before the Dry Times and the coming of the Great Sand Sea, the Jogos Nhai fought many a bloody border war against the Patrimony of Hyrkoon as well, poisoning rivers and wells, burning towns and cities, and carrying off thousands into slavery on the plains, whilst the Hyrkoon for their part were sacrificing tens of thousands of the zorse-riders to their dark and hungry gods.

lol

There seems to be a sort of belief that the realm was "divided in half" in this civil war but the only evidence of this I could find was Dunk's claim in The Sworn Sword and Dunk, bless his soul, is not the sharpest tool in the shed and can't even define the word half. Half the houses? Half the population? This reads more as hype than anything else.

In fact this rebellion was deliberately written as one-sided and overhyped. The Blackfyres were a loud minority. No doubt capable in the military sense but a minority nonetheless.

The biggest giveaway of Blackfyres unpopularity comes from The Sworn Sword and Eustace Osgrey himself:

...if Manfred Lothston had proved true instead of treacherous . . . if storms had not delayed Lord Bracken's sailing with the Myrish crossbowmen...

At least one house betrayed Daemon for Daeron in the event of Redgrass Field. Another important point is the Myrish crossbowmen. Daemon was so desperate by the end that he tried employing foreigners to fight the battle for him. That's another sign he was losing support and the war rapidly. Maybe the realm was at some point divided "in half" but Daemon kept losing more and more support. Lothstons were the last of the houses who betrayed him.

Another point is there was seemingly divisions even amongst Daemon supporters. In the events of The Mystery Knight, Gormon Peake speaks poorly of Bittersteel and says he can't be trusted because he's a bastard. That points to some sort of bad blood which could only he coming from the first rebellion. Ironically enough, some people in Daemon's party were bastardphobic which means they likely didn't see Daemon as such. But it did not stop them from beefing with Daemon's close ally and supporter Bittersteel.

And can't forget Yronwoods. Stony Dornish house. Meaning the marcher lords who supported Daemon have definitely fought against Yronwoods before. Another division. They all probably put aside their differences in this war, in order to get whatever benefits Daemon had promised them. But after a time, cracks probably showed.

Such conflicting ideals can cause friction and poor performance too which is seemingly another thing that happened in the first Blackfyre Rebellion. It's a miracle this faction lasted as long as it did.

There seems to be a belief that Daemon was allegedly close to winning a war when I could find no such evidence of this claim and the fact they were losing support and desperate enough to turn to mercenaries is the antithesis to that belief. The Blackryes had gotten weak and suffered many casualties, enough to push them to gather foreign support.

Also most of the notable houses, from Tyrells to Arryns had declared for Daeron. While Daemon's most notable supporters were House Peake. Which ultimately boils down to this rebellion being very rushed and poorly-planned on Daemon's part. Or rather, Bloodraven ratting him out did put a dent in his plans and prevented better preparations.

(We don't know if Torwyn Greyjoy who also betrayed the Blackfyre cause was from this era as well but that's another traitor for Blackfyres.)

Yes, waiting for George to release those Winds can have this effect even on the most pious of minds.

In the immediate Lannister family while Circei and Tywin hated Tyrion inmediatly Jaime never did so I want to hear why people think that is I mean Jaime also lost his mother just like Circei so why would he not hate Tyrion same as Circei (not saying he should just making the point that the reason Circei hates Tyrion Jaime could also hate him for the same reason but he doesn’t)

I find it fascinating that Jaime always follows Circei’s lead since they were teenagers but hating Tyrion is not something he’s willing to follow her in even though he knows she doesn’t like that he’s nice to Tyrion.

Background

Plenty of the reasons the ASOIAF is what it has become are due to decisions that made in the moment likely seemed like the best course of action. We have the benefit of the perfect vision that hindsight gives us so we are able to look back and complain from our keyboards. The funny thing is, even with hindsight most readers can't even agree on what the perfect course was for steering the ASOIAF rudder. In this post I thought it would be interesting to take a look at what might have been the best way to write the ASOIAF series.

If interested: Dead Branches in the Garden: Abandoned/Changed Plotlines of Ice & Fire

So Spake Martin (SSM)

George said the same thing in not as many words. Basically if it was up to him (and I am sure most authors) they would be able to finish it first:

If I had won 250 million in the lottery back in 1996 you wouldn’t have seen any of these books yet. I wouldn’t have let A Game of Thrones out of the house until I finished the entire story and decided how many volumes it needed to be and where the breaks needed to be. I could be writing The Winds of Winter and have something, and I could change something in A Game of Thrones to lay in the groundwork and make it fit. That is the perfect way to do it. But it is the way that most of us don’t have the luxury to do it. SSM, GamePro Interview: 6 Aug 2003

A Trilogy

When GRRM first started the series, he envisioned it as an "epic trilogy" in a rough outline. There would have been three books (AGoT/ADwD/TWoW) covering the Three Main Events of ASOIAF (War of the Five Kings/Dany's Invasion/War for the Dawn):

When completed, this will be the first volume in what I see as an epic trilogy with the overall title, 'A Song of Ice and Fire

and:

This is going to be (I hope) quite an epic. Epic in its scale, epic in its action, and epic in its length. I see all three volumes as big books, running about 700 to 800 manuscript pages, so things are just barely getting underway in the thirteen chapters I've sent you.

If interested: Changes to GRRM's Original Outline

A 5 Year Gap

As GRRM wrote, he realized he wasn't making much progress from a timing perspective from what he had hoped would be a "Generational Saga" for 5 Central Characters. At one point he hoped to end AGoT with the Red Wedding, but kept expanding the story. As the series grew in the # of books, GRRM decided to insert what would have been a 5 year gap allowing for characters to age, dragons to grow and skill to increase.

As he planned for this 5 year gap, GRRM wrapped up all of the POVs in ASoS with nice ending points: A Quick Look at the End of ASOS and the Setup for the 5 Year Gap.

The Mega Prologue

Since GRRM could find a way to get POV's to Certain Locations such as the Iron Islands/Dorne, GRRM decided at first to open what would have been ADWD with an Iron Islands Prologue and later a single Dornish one (if interested: Thoughts on the Early Versions of the Mega Prologue) before expanding it to what would become an ~250 page monstrosity that had its own individual chapters.

I have ripped apart the idea of my original 250-page prologue for the beginning of A Feast for Crows. I decided it didn’t work as the prologue, but I am not dropping any of it. I am just carrying all those characters through as new viewpoint characters. I needed to continue with those stories, and I thought it wasn’t working to have 250 pages before the reader got to any of the characters he liked from the preceding three books. So, those chapters are still there, but they are now mixed in and around other chapters. Since the Asha Greyjoy and Victarian Greyjoy chapters picked up practically in mid-sentence -SSM, GamePro Interview: 6 Aug 2003

Splitting AFFC/ADWD by Location

As GRRM wrote what he was planning to be ADWD, he ran into a major spacing problem. Instead of rewriting some chapters for what would be a good ending point, he decided to break the book up by location (as he expected ADWD to come out a yearish later).

You were forced, for reasons of length, to split A Feast for Crows into A Feast for Crows and A Dance of Dragons.  Do you feel that worked out okay?
George R. R. Martin:  Yeah.  Well, we won’t know for sure until I finish Dance, but yes, I do think it worked pretty well.  Part of me regrets having to do that.  It would have been something to say for having it all in one book, but it would have been a very long book, and it wouldn’t be out yet.  I mean, you’d be looking at waiting another year or something until I finished it.  So, I think this way worked pretty well.  Of the realistic alternatives I had, I thought it was the best choice.  Not only the split, but the nature of the split, which was dividing it by character rather than simply chopping it in the middle. -SSM, Afterburn SF Interview: 2006

The ADWD Momentum

After finishing ADWD in spring 2011 (slaying Kong), GRRM not only had a ton of material already written for TWoW (~200 pages were finished) as he noted:

Just kicked Aeron Damphair's scraggly arse out of DANCE WITH DRAGONS. He only had the only chapter, and it will work better early in the next book than late in this one. (That's how it looks to me today, anyway. I reserve the right to change my mind).
So DANCE has gotten a smidge shorter. But is still not done.
The good news is that I seem to have written more than a hundred pages of THE WINDS OF WINTER already. -SSM, Dancing: 31 July 2010

and we see on this placard from Cushing. These chapters included Mercy, Arianne I and II, The Forsaken and Alayne.

But he also had a ton of great writing momentum as well (which is extremely important to how he writes, with a focus on individual POVs not the linear story). Instead of continuing to write, he instead went on tour (he only writes from home) for ADWD.

“I was red hot on the book and I put it aside for six months” he says. “I was so into it. I was pushing so hard that I was writing very well. I should have just gone on from there, because I was so into it and it was moving so fast then. But I didn’t because I had to switch gears into the editing phase and then the book tour. The iron does cool off, for me especially.” -SSM, EW Interview: 3 April 2015

Starting a TV Show w/o a Finished Series

One fallacy that should also be brought up is the decision to start Game of Thrones when they did. Season 1 premiered a few months before the publishing of ADWD, in April 2011. This gave GRRM ~ 5 years to finish TWoW before the show would pass him.

GRRM infamously posted about trying to finish the series (and I hate dealing in things that are just rumors but it is rumored he thought he was done but didn't like it and ripped a ton out) before the show surpassed him but was unable.

8-12 Books

As GRRM mentions in the first quote I shared, if it was up to him he wouldn't have published anything until he was done, allowing him to go back and change things early that would foreshadow better, etc.

Due to how GRRM writes (gardener) and the current pacing of the books, this would likely require him to write anywhere from 8-12 books to give the series justice (note that we technically haven't started Act II of his original outline and that AFFC/ADWD are just basically 2/3 of a giant book without the climax).

If interested: With No Constraints, How Big Could the ASOIAF Story End Up? & How there could be 8 books instead of 7

The Butterfly Effect

GRRM brings up the butterfly effect quite often with regards changes made by the show (ex: Mago) and especially HotD (House of the Dragon: Maelor & Butterflies - Did GRRM Get His Way?):

I’ve talked to Dan and Dave about the butterfly effect — you’re familiar with the classic Ray Bradbury short story? A Sound of Thunder. One of my favorites. -SSM, EW Interview: 12 July 2011

but this can also be used with regard to the changes he has made on the series. When he changes something drastically (like the Greyjoy Brothers Three not all going to Slaver's Bay together) it can affect his foreshadowing. This is one reason that while the history and lore have grown as the main series progressed, the visions/dreams are less intentional.

If interested: Time: A River or a Butterfly?

Other Changes

We know that GRRM has other small regrets from the series that might have improved it overall. For instance:

• Not Making the Young Wolf a POV
• Dany vs. Cersei as Rulers
• Killing Off a Character He Regrets

TLDR: There have been numerous points in the writing process of the ASOIAF series, where GRRM made decisions that had lasting impacts on the series' direction. This ranges from the number of books to a 5 year gap, mega prologue and splitting AFFC/ADWD by location. With the benefit of hindsight what do you think are the best/worst decisions and what would you have him do in a perfect world?

The Purple Wedding and it's fallout is massive and that's with things quieted down beforehand because of the Red Wedding. But if the Purple Wedding happens earlier then for one thing the Freys don't do the Red Wedding. I wonder if Bolton might still try something independently, but I doubt it

Then with a power vacuum from Tywin's death I think Littlefinger would switch sides and have Lysa join the war. Also Lysa probably is killed by him because he'll try to win Kat over with the Vale's support and having saved Sansa.

With the Vale on their side all the sudden Robb is in a much better position. He can sail troops from Gulltown to return to the North. The Riverlands will be helped out by the reinforcements from the Vale.

With the Lannister's being less secure because of Robb still being around Dorne will probably be more willing to follow the Sand Snakes into war.

Stannis is probably the biggest wild card. On one hand Robb would want to help the Watch, but he might not be able to in time depending on the timing. If Stannis doesn’t go North then I think he might go South to Dorne. If they worked together then the Lannisters and Tyrells are surrounded by enemies.

But the Dornish do want to put Myarcella on the throne so probably not. But without Tywin, Stannis might be able to get the Stormlands to rise up again.

The possibility I think would be the most interesting would be if Stannis still went North. Robb wouldn't be far behind in helping the Wall and he'd want to make sure Stannis is trying to go after him. Even with them both being as immovable as they are I think they'd come to some sort of agreement out of mutual respect.

Robb couldn't want to betray his bannermen who crowned him, and Stannis won't let them become independent. Though there could be a middle ground. Especially if Bran and Rickon are found to still be alive I think Rickon and Shireen could be betrothed. Similar to how Dorne was brought into the 7 Kingdoms via marriage

Also the Ironborn might try to pivot to the Reach and Westerlands instead of the North but idk. Might depend on what shape Theon is in, and who knows what when

Maybe it's because we haven't gotten Fire and Blood volume II yet, but I fail to see how Daeron II was a good King from the information we do have.
You could argue that Aegon IV ruined his rule from the very beginning, whilst that is true, it still doesn't explain why Daeron II got the epiphet 'The Good'.
As far as we can tell, his reign was plagued by a large Rebellion where 30-40% of the realm rose up against him to crown a literal bastard as King, and the true rulers for a large part of his reign were his son Baelor Breakspear and Bloodraven (who were competent yes).
The only Kings who have managed to rally such a percentage of the realm against them were Maegor I, Aegon II, Aerys II and Joffrey I.
So I fail to see how he was a good King.
Yes one could argue he brought Dorne into the fold, but one also could argue that the foundations for that were laid by Baelor the Blessed and not him.