GAME OF TRONES: JON SNOW IS NOT DEAD. HE WILL LEAD THE ARMY OF WHITE WALKERS.

THE BIRTH OF THE DRAGONS

The prophecies are not to be taken literally. That said, we will take a look at the strong parallel created between Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen, which will also be the focal point of this theory. Both of them are born around the same time, in the aftermath of the Usurper’s bloodshed, and more importantly, in the aftermath of two Targaryen king’s deaths – Aerys and his son and heir Rhaegar. In order to understand and follow this stream of thoughts, we have to go back to two very important events – Blackfyre and Baratheon Rebellion – and read the part of Elio’s and Linda’s text:

“When Daemon Blackfyre rebelled, nearly bringing down the reign of his half-brother (or cousin, depending on who you believed) Daeron the Good, he sent a man by the name of Quickfinger to try and steal away some eggs from the Targaryens, perhaps to serve as a symbol… or perhaps to try and wake them himself, to prove once and for all that he was the true king. After him, his son Daemon II tried to gain an egg and hatch it, believing that his dreams prophesied that a dragon would be born if he did; his plot fizzled, but a dragon was born, in a way, in the form of a more mature and subtle young Prince Aegon Targaryen who would one day be king. As it happens, that particular dragon egg disappeared from Whitewalls, probably falling into the hands of the alleged-sorcerer called Bloodraven, a descendant of Aegon the Unworthy and at the time the Hand of the King. What became of that egg? Its description rather closely matches one of three eggs presented to a certain young Targaryen bride, on the day of her marriage to a certain Dothraki warlord….

Perhaps the most important of these past efforts to raise a dragon, in terms of its impact on the present timeline, was Summerhall. The palatial summer residence of the Targaryens, raised by Daeron the Good at the juncture of Reach, Stormlands, and Dorne as a sign of the peace had brought about, is in the present time a burned-out ruin. “Summerhall” is a name full of tragic connotations in the Seven Kingdoms, all thanks to that dream of dragons. It seems Aegon V the Unlikely, that same young Prince Aegon from years before, attempted to raise one or more dragons only for catastrophe to strike. Aegon died, and his son Prince Duncan the Small, and perhaps also the Lord Commander of his Kingsguard, Ser Duncan the Tall. Jenny of Oldstones, Prince Duncan’s lover or wife, became the subject of a sad song, dancing for her ghosts… and when the ruin came, a kind of dragon was born, the last dragon according to some: Prince Rhaegar. Summerhall marked his birth, and it marked all of his days after that, leading him onto a path he thought was destined.”

Therefore, Aegon V the Unlikely and Rhaegar Targaryen are the  two “dragons” heralded by a tragedy. Why is this important? Many have, as we know, tried to awaken the dragons from stone, and many have failed. This theory argues that a “true dragon” has the ability to do so, but only under the right circumstances. Death of Aegon the Unlikely and his son, and heir, Duncan the Small, enabled the Mad King Aerys to ascend the throne, which lead to familiar sequence of the events that consequently spawned Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow. Therefore, being a “true dragon” is only one condition met. In order to give the birth to a dragon (mythical creature), according to the prophecy, one has to perform a sacrifice under the bleeding star.

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN JON SNOW AND DAENERYS TARGARYEN

Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen are, following this analogy, also “dragons” born amidst a tragedy, from the deaths of Targaryen King/Prince soon to be the King, but this time born around the same time, unlike in earlier examples. Both Jon and Dany are stranded in different parts of the world, going through hell, unable to directly participate in the events taking place in Westeros. However, they are privy to certain events that are of greater importance to the whole picture and end goal: Daenerys is (a) grooming the dragons that have not been seen in centuries and no one believes in; Jon is (a) in the possession of an albino direwolf, a creature also not seen in ages; (b) a warg; and (c) fighting the White Walkers that were not seen in 8000 years and again, creatures, needless to say, no one believes in.

So, the quick summary of the things Daenerys and Jon Snow have in common:

(1) born in the tragedy, within months, probably from the same Targaryen lineage;

(2) unable to participate in current events and cast out by the rest of the Westerosi;

(3) privy to certain events and having the knowledge about certain creatures first hand, something the other Westerosi could only dream of;

(4) they both experienced a certain form of death (will Jon survive is yet to be found out) that had/has the potential of liberating and giving them the confidence needed to grow; and last but not least

(5) they are both “true dragons” born from Aerys/Rhaella’s lineage.

Now for the differences.

(1) The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword

In the Game of Thrones pilot, right after the introduction to the Stark children, we saw Lord Eddard Stark dispatching some Northern justice. In front of his ward Theon, the bastard Jon, and his sons Robb and Bran, Ned took off the head of a Night’s Watchman, a deserter, modeling for the boys exactly what it means to be a Stark, a Warden of the North, and a good leader. “Do you have to?” Catelyn Stark asks to which Ned replies, “He swore an oath” and Ser Rodrik Cassel adds, “Law is law, milady.”

“Don’t look away,” Jon counsels Bran, “father will know.”

Later, Ned checks in with his youngest making sure he understands a pivotal lesson: “The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword.” And as the show echoes this scene over and over we see how Ned’s introduction, as a good and strong leader, reflects on the men and women who continue to strive and fail to take up his mantle.

The scene is echoed a few episodes later in Season 2 when Robb is also faced with a traitor. Robb, we’re meant to believe, does most things right here. He has the law on his side (Lord Karstark killed two young captive Lannister boys without Robb’s permission) and his father’s determined swing. Kinslaying (the Karstarks and the Starks are distant relatives) is frowned upon, but even though Karstark curses Robb –– who was already losing the confidence of his men – it was love, not this execution, that did Robb Stark in. The legacy of the King in the North lives on in the hearts of the people as evidenced by that loyal letter Lyanna Mormont sent Stannis last week.

There was one more near-beheading in Season 2 from the third young man who saw Ned Stark swing his sword in the pilot. That would be a younger Jon Snow who wasn’t quite ready to pick up the Stark mantle when confronted with the wildling Ygritte.

I’m not sure we want to fault him for that, though. His compassion for the wildlings is part of what makes him such a good Lord Commander. In Season 3, in front of the Nightfort, Jon is tasked with cutting the head of a prisoner to prove his loyalty to the Wildlings. He can’t do it. He is not the man who past the sentence. This act of honor almost cost him his life.

Those are our Season 2 and Season 3 parallels, but back in Season 1, Ned’s first act is bookended by his last as the boy king Joffrey has him publicly beheaded. Like Theon Joffrey breaks an oath. He swore to Sansa that her father would be pardoned and sent to The Wall if he confessed. And Ned confessed. The charges against Ned are false so Joffrey doesn’t even had the letter of the law on his side, let alone the spirit of it. Lastly, of course, Joff doesn’t swing the sword himself but has his executioner Ser Ilyn Payne do the job. Joffrey lost the hearts of his people for many reasons, but this moment was certainly one of them. In short, Joffrey is everything Ned is not. But this we already knew.

So what are we to make of Season 5 revisiting this familiar scene? And what are we to make of Dany who may have had the law on her side but had Daario swing the sword instead of doing the dirty work herself? Even worse, she flinched and looked away.

If she meant this moment as a show of strength, it came off as quite the opposite. Dany is used to the dragons being her weapon and her shouts of “Dracarys” being her burly sword arm.

Without her weapons or the conviction to wield them, Dany’s rule is in serious trouble.

But the opposite can be said for Jon. It’s probably not quite fair to draw a direct parallel here. Mossador, Dany’s victim, was a somewhat sympathetic young man whereas Janos Slynt is an absolute weasel. Nonetheless, there was Jon with only a little falter in his swing, slicing his own Valyrian steel sword through the air. He had the law on his side and gave Slynt plenty of opportunity to reconsider before breaking his oath and defying the Lord Commander. He didn’t fail to follow through, as he did with Ygritte, and he didn’t burn Slynt alive in a showy way like Stannis. He did it the old way. The way his father taught him. And in that moment Jon Snow was every inch a Stark, no matter what his birth certificate (or lack thereof) says.

(2) The hero’s journey

Jon Snow is the only character, featured prominently in both the books and the show, whose plot arc so far very much follows the traditions of heroic fantasy. For one thing, he’s a bastard. Sure, he’s the illegitimate son of Ned Stark (or is he), Lord of Winterfell, and was raised with all kinds of perks compared to most people, but his relative isolation is made very clear from the beginning of the series. Catelyn Stark, Ned’s wife, treats him terribly. Due to this, he never eats with his family or attends the parties. He feels alienated from his family. Therefore, eventually, Jon goes to the Wall where he joins the “noble” Night’s Watch. As Ramsay Bolton of all people observed in episode seven, Jon has done very well for himself indeed, rising to great prominence as the lord commander. He was even offered Winterfell itself by Stannis. Though, due to his honor and the vows he gave in front of the Old Gods, Jon heroically turned it down.

In fact, much of Jon’s story has followed the classic hero’s quest. He leaves town and goes on a journey, first to Castle Black, and then out with the expedition into the North. There, he gets cut off from his companions and is taken prisoner, kills his superior Qhorin Halfhand (at Qhorin’s command, so that Jon can infiltrate the Wildlings), confronts supernatural forces in the North, falls in love Ygritte, who turns out to be the love of his life. Later on, he betrays Ygritte in order to remain honorable, and is then elevated to command the defense of Castle Black against a vast force, and is even rescued by the unexpected arrival of the king. Then he puts his own life into jeopardy for the cause he truly believes in – building the first glimmer of an alliance between people who have been warring for centuries. And he succeeds. There he meets the Night’s King, the current leader of the White Walkers, who takes a keen interest in our hero. The show has put a lot of effort in portraying this interest for us. They gave us the glimpse of what we might discover in the upcoming books. White Walkers do not kill Craster’s children and White Walkers have a goal. This goal is not murdering every living creature in the North. If this was the case the short distance between the Night’s King and Jon Snow would not be an issue. No. He observed Jon. He was intrigued by him and yes, he wanted Jon to see it for himself. This of course happened only mere days before his own “brothers” – men he fought for, men he betrayed Yigritte, the woman he loved, for, men he protected, men he trusted – murdered him in cold blood. Among Game of Thrones characters, his alone is the heroic arc.

(3) Political abilities and diplomacy

I think this doesn’t need the further elaboration.

(4) Hypocrisy

Daenerys insists that  “there are no more slaves. There are no more Masters,” and therefore the justice that is inseparable from freedom means meting out the same punishment to a slave striking back as the murderer of an ex-slave. But as Mossador reminds her, is it truly justice to treat both sides in a civil war equally, when one side “lives in the pyramids” and the others in the streets? On top of everything she has men working for her in exchange for food and shelter and no salary. Isn’t this still a form of slavery?

(5) Secret identity

What’s more, Jon may have a secret origin story, concealed even from him, that oft-employed device in speculative fiction (think Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, another hero following the classic quest narrative). The books and show have been very coy about Snow’s parentage, a move that would be pretty anticlimactic if it turned out Ned Stark—violently against his character—had a roll in the hay with some farm girl or serving wench. Fan theories abound, and if any of them are true, it only confirms the sense that he’s one of the true heroes of the series. His ancestry has been concealed from those around him, ready to be revealed at just the right dramatic moment.

DUALITY OF JON SNOW

The Blackfyre pretender had a dream that a dragon would hatch at Whitewalls. Egg turned out to be that dragon… Targaryens are known for dreams such as that. Aegon believed that The Prince That Was Promised would come from Aerys and his sister. In the light of this theory we should see Aegon as a person that knew he had a role to play in fulfilling this prophecy. Then he had a dream that a dragon would hatch at Summerhall. And as it turns out, Rhaegar was born at the night of the Sumerhall Tragedy.

One can assume that Rhaegar also knew or dreamed that Aegon died so he would bring a true dragon into the world. We know Rhaegar always had a special, if not even strange, connection to Summerhall. He also discovered something in the books that made him believe he  needs to be a warrior if he was to fulfill the prophecy. This prophecy foretells the coming of The Prince That Was Promised, who, as we have seen in The House of Undying, was suppose to be his son, Aegon. During that sequence we learned that “The Dragon must have three heads” and therefore it requires a third person, since Rhaegar only had two children? This third person would then, potentially, be Jon Snow. We know that Elia couldn’t bear more children so who is to say that this is not the reason why Rhaegar took Lyanna, started a war, left 3 kings guards at the Tower of Joy to protect Jon and Lyanna, so he would die in peace on the Trident.

Therefore, this theory also posits that Jon Snow is the son(g) of ice and fire (Ice being the House Stark – The North and Fire being the House Targaryen – The South, only two magical houses in Westeros). This is his duality.

The last time we saw Jon Snow was in ADWD where he was repeatedly stabbed by his brothers of the Night’s Watch and is currently presumed dead. However, since no other character in the book witnessed his death, it is safe to say that Jon Snow lives.

The brining back to life can happen in few possible ways:

01. Melisandre will use the Red God to bring him back, much in the same way Thoros brought back Dondarrion, which will take a little piece of Jon’s humanity

02. Melisandre used her magic to glamour Jon Snow making him appear as someone else to the brother’s of the Night’s Watch (Rattleshirt/Mance case). Hardly unlikely for several reasons: the title of the chapter said Jon Snow and not Lord Commander; Jon’s final thoughts wandered of to Arya, Needle and the last thing he told his sister “stick them with the pointy end“. Why would someone who is not Jon think of Arya and Needle during his final moments. Makes little to no sense. Jon Snow was the person who got stabbed.

03. Jon skin changes into Ghost in the nick of time. Considering that Jon will,  in this particular case, be alive for a short period of time (a dead warg that inhabits his animal slowly begins to die out within the animal he warged in) it stands to reason that Jon’s Ghost life will only be temporal, that is until he finds the way to re-enter his human body.

04. Bloodraven planned this all along by warging Mormont’s raven and making sure Jon is elected for Lord Commander, which eventually lead to his death. He was grooming him for command, literally. Also, nice foreshadowing. What the command is we do not know because we don’t know much about Blodraven’s agenda as it is. Does he work for the WW? Does he want to establish the Blackfyre Royal Targaryen line as the revenge against being sent to the Wall? Or he wants something else completely? If so, Jon, being again the bastard son of a Targ fits nicely into this story.

So how will this play out?
There is a debate going on as to who is the ghost from the ADWD chapter “The Ghost of Winterfell”. Some say it is Benjen Stark,  some say it is Theon Greyjoy’s split personality… I say it is twofold. The “Ghost of Winterfell” (as in hooded man who goes around killing Bolton men) is one of the Northerners loyal to the Starks. But. “Ghost of Winterfell” is also Theon, simply because this is his POV chapter.  This means that the title itself foreshadows development of Theon’s character arch that will end in death making Theon another one of Wintefell’s Ghosts. To what end? For one, Theon has suffered enough. Clean death would be a nice way to end his life. And if his death can aid a sorcerer from North of the Wall in resurrecting one of the remaining Stark children, his debt will truly be paid. Bloodraven, with the help of Bran, who’s been communicating with Theon via Weirwood tree (ADWD) and ravens (TWOW), will use Theon’s beheading (suggested to Stannis by Asha in TWOW) as the blood sacrifice and a retribution for Eddard Stark and his boys, to raise Jon from dead.  “There is power in king’s blood” and a reason why the last image Bran Stark saw through Weirwood in ADWD was the blood sacrifice. Death for Life.

I believe it is the fourth possibility because we believe his rebirth amongst smoke (Jon Snow’s smoking wounds) and salt (The Wall is salty and Bowen Marsh’s tears should not be neglected either) will awake a dragon or dragons. Being born amidst the smoke and salt screams the name of Azor Ahai. However, the likely candidate is also Daenerys Targaryen. I will not go into details here since you all already know how and why. Therefore, we have two stung candidates for AA and/or TPTWP. The debate is going on whether or not these are one and the same person. At first I was a strong believer that Jon is TPTWP and Daenerys is AA. Now, I am not so sure. So, let’s go over possibilities.

 

Azor Ahai and The Prince that Was Promised are separate entities.

In this case Daenerys is AA reborn, the champion of Red God and Jon is the Prince That Was Promised, the savior of mankind.

Azor Ahai and The Prince that Was Promised are same entities (one person different names).
In this, more likely, scenario, there are also two possibilities. In one Daneerys is both of these figures. In another Jon is.  However, I hypothesize that Jon is born with the potential of being both. Both what? The last hero that saves the world and a champion of the alleged enemy he needs to fight in order to do so. Stay with me.

In Melisandre’s prophecies she calls for Azor Ahai but all she sees is Snow. This bares both metaphorical and literal meaning. All she sees is Snow as in Jon Snow – this is the allegorical meaning; all she sees is snow as in snow (atmospheric water vapor frozen into ice crystals) – this is the literal meaning that tells us more about the ending scene, as seen in the House of Undying (in the show). Furthermore, in her flames she saw a “wooden face, corpse white, thousand red eyes and a boy with the wolf’s head”, she believes these are the Great Other’s champions. I believe one of these, besides the Bloodraven and Bran Stark, will end up being Jon Snow reborn (Wooden Face – Bran Stark, Thousand Eyes and One – Bloodraven, Boy with the Wolf’s head – Jon Snow)

Again there are two possibilities. All she sees is Snow could mean that Jon is the AA reborn or it could, what I think it does, all she sees is Snow because he defeated her champion. There is a possibility that in the effort to save the life of her champion, Melisandre will create the enemy of her champion, which is precisely the reason why Jon’s identity as a Stark and his dualism matter in the end.

This duality of Jon Snow we are talking about does not reside only in his parent’s lineage (Stark + Targaryen) but is in fact also twofold, which has already been foreshadowed by his unique storyline:

-he was born a bastard but raised as a noble;

-he is the outcast in the Night’s Watch same as everyone else yet he is trained by the master-at-arms unlike everyone else;

-he is the brother of the Night’s Watch yet he became a Wildling too;

-he became the part of the Wildling Bunch when he broke his oath betraying the Night’s Watch yet he betrayed the Wildling Bunch for the oath he gave to the Night’s Watch.

This shows us that he not only can fight for both sides, depending on the context he is found in but also that he follows his own sense of morality and logic.

UPDATE: “He always comes back” is the line Sam Tarly said during the last season. Comes back as what? First time he came back he was a Stark and a bastard boy (after his attempted desertion). Second time he came back he was a Wildling and a boy in love (after his infiltration with the enemy). Third time he came back he was a Brother and a savior of the Wall in the good grace of a King (after the negotiations with Mance). Fourth time he came back he was the Lord Commander and a man who finally saw the Walkers first hand (after Hardhome). Fifth time? He died. So, what is he going to be when he comes back?

 

Many believe that Jon’s sword, the Long Claw, a gift from Jeor Mormont, will at some point and with the right type of sacrifice (not that Jon needs it apparently) become the Lightbringer. What contributes these allegations are Jon’s dreams in which he fights the Others wielding the fiery sword, something which is in direct conflict with the visions Daenerys sees – the Blue-eyed King who casts no shadow holding the fiery sword in his hands.

“Glowing in the sunset, a flaming sword was raised in the hand of a blue-eyed king who cast no shadow.”

 “Burning shafts hissed upward, trailing tongues of fire. Scarecrow brothers tumbled down, black cloaks ablaze. “Snow,” an eagle cried, as foemen scuttled up the ice like spiders. Jon was armored in black ice, but his blade burned red in his fist. As the dead men reached the top of the Wall he sent them down to die again. He slew a greybeard and a beardless boy, a giant, a gaunt man with filed teeth, a girl with thick red hair. Too late he recognized Ygritte. She was gone as quick as she’d appeared.”

” He rose and dressed in darkness, as Mormont’s raven muttered across the room. “Corn,” the bird said, and, “King,” and, “Snow, Jon Snow, Jon Snow.” That was queer. The bird had never said his full name before, as best Jon could recall.”

It is my belief that only one of them, Jon or Daenerys, will, in fact, fight the doom, saving the world from the eternal darkness. And now comes the twist, the doom will, contrary to the popular belief, not come from the White Walkers, but instead from Daenerys Targaryen. And if this is right then Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow will not meet, fall in love and rule Westeros happily ever after, reestablishing the Targaryen lineage like many fans believe, which means that they do not stand for what the Song of Ice and Fire means. That said, the only logical outcome in this set up is that Jon Snow will lead the army of White Walkers (Wildlings, Giants, Children, Direvolves etc.)…and ironically, mirroring the scene from the beginning of season 3, he will fight, to use his own words, “the side that fights for the living” but it in reality the side he will fight for it is the side that fights for the life. In this way we will have a rightful Targaryen fighting a bastard Targaryen, mirroring the Blackfyre Rebellion but on a whole new level.

And how does one fight the dragon?  Well, with another dragon.

THE ICE DRAGON

According to the story there were originally five dragon eggs. Ilyrio Mopatis gave three to Daenerys as a wedding gift. Brynden “Bloodraven” Rivers presumably has another in his possession. The location of the fifth one is unknown (possibly at the bottom of the sea according to Greyjoys). If Bloodraven has the dragon egg, and if Jon Snow is a Targ by blood (bastard or not), this would explain Bloodraven’s interest in Jon Snow, which brings us back to the fourth possible rebirth of Jon Snow in the upcoming book. So far we know that Valyrian blood is somehow tied to the dragons (via bloodmagic), which enables Targaryens to tame them. Starks are descendants of the First Men, able to warg other living entities and bond with direwolves. If Jon Snow is both, and if his rebirth is of any importance, and we believe it is, it is possible that the duality he carries within himself can make him fit for awakening both types of dragons: (1) dragon from stone Melisandre is talking about, which is probably not hidden at the Dragonstone but is instead in Bloodraven’s possession; Euron’s egg, which he claims he tossed into the sea (see Patchface) and (3) the ice dragon.

As for the first type, the best evidence we have is Bloodraven’s particular interest in two particular Stark boys: Jon Snow (via Mormont’s raven) and Bran Stark (via three-eyed raven). This is a tricky part now because we don’t know Bloodraven’s agenda. If he wants Jon dead then everything Bloodraven did has lead Jon to that path except Jon will be reborn. Being the last greenseer he surely knows past, present and future, meaning he will know that Jon will be reborn, therefore, the only conclusion we can draw from this sequence of the events is that Bloodraven needs Jon Snow reborn and in order to be reborn Jon Snow needs to die. Bloodraven is therefore well aware of that especially if he is in the possession of the infamous dragon egg. He needs Jon to literally wake the dragon from stone and he also did promise Bran that he would fly.

Or, Melisandre will do it by accident, like I previously said.

Ice dragons may have never existed except in the fairytales. There is a constellation of stars named the ice dragon to the north. Its blue eyes points north. According to GRRM’s children’s novel titled The Ice Dragon a little girl Adara, the protagonist of the story, is born in the long winter, during which the worst freeze had taken place that anyone could remember. Her mother died giving birth to her. Adara loved the winter and felt attracted to the cold. She preferred to play with snow and ice and ice lizards. Her skin was always cold to the touch. She felt that the ice dragon had always been in her life. When she was four years old she touched the ice dragon for the first time. She rode upon its broad, chilled back for the first time in her fifth year. The people of her town feared the ice dragon. It is said that it is a creature of legend and that no man has ever tamed one. When it flew overhead, it left a desolate cold and frozen land. But Adara was not afraid of the ice dragon, for she was a north, winter child. When she was seven the fiery dragons from the North came and swoop down upon the peaceful farm that is Adara’s home. She and her ice dragon flew towards them and the ice dragon fought the other dragons in order to protect Adara and her family. The ice dragon defeated the fire dragons, but afterwards he was nowhere to be seen, only a pond that had never been there before, a small quiet pool where the water is very cold. After the disappearance of the ice dragon the cold left Adara and she was then finally able to smile, laugh and weep like other little girls.

As for the Westeros and A Song of Ice and Fire saga, until recently we only had few mentions of them and only from Old Nan who used to tell tales of the ice dragon to the Stark children. In the new book about history in Westeros, there is a mention of Ice Dragons that live up North close to the Shivering Sea. According to history and tales, these dragons are twice the size of the fiery dragons and they breathe cold instead of fire. There is no mention of the Valyrians taming ice dragons although they did tame fire-breathing dragons.

Upon the stabbing at the Wall, all Jon could feel was the cold. This might not mean anything but it also can mean several things. It can mean he is simply dying, or that he is feeling the cold consuming his body or he is in his dire wolf  or White Walkers are near. What will happen to his body is also a subject of debates. The Night Watch can burn it, out of the fear that he is not touched by the WW magic or they can throw him into the Ice Crypts beneath the Wall. We believe Jon’s body will end up there where he would eventually “resurrect” being thus symbolically “born” during the cold winter, with his skin cold to touch. Both fire and ice seem a right fit. However, Bran sees only the ice.

Finally he looked north. He saw the Wall shining like blue crystal, and his bastard brother Jon sleeping alone in a cold bed, his skin growing pale and hard as the memory of all warmth fled from him.

Again, following Dany’s analogy from book one/season one, where she was forged in fire, Jon Snow will be forged in ice beneath the Wall, when a new, full grown dragon, made of ice, will come to life from the Wall itself.

Needless to say, I strongly believe the Ice Dragon is part of the Wall a mysterious magical ice block that supposedly can be crumbled to awake “giants” and I believe Jon Snow is the one that will breathe the life in it. Or, more in line with Martin’s overall idea, Jon will become the Ice Dragon. In a metaphorical sense and not as this mythical creature.

OTHERS aka THE WHITE WALKERS

According to the legend the Others first appeared approximately 8,000 years before the War of Conquest, during a winter that lasted a generation in a period of darkness known as the Long Night. A great hero, known in the eastern religion as Azor Ahai, led the war against the Others wielding his sword of fire Lightbringer, driving the Others away. Eventually they were defeated and Bran Stark, known also as Bran the builder, probably as a defense against them, built The Wall (we believe the opposite). The Night’s Watch was established around the same time to stand guard and protect the people of Westeros. In the Westerosi tradition it is believed that Azor Ahai may be the last hero who would be reborn when the White Walkers wake up from their thousand of years long sleep. Or, it is backwards, they wake up when Azor Ahai is born.  Melisandre believes that the Others answer to the Great Other, the God of darkness, cold and death. He is considered the enemy and the opposite of R’hllor, the Lord of Light. Followers of R’hllor believe, unlike many Westerosi, that there are only two gods, R’hllor and the Great Other who wage an eternal war over the fate of the world. I believe that the Gods don’t really exist in this world.

According to the legend Bran the Builder built The Wall as a  defense against the White Walkers, however, since we are scarce on the details believing the opposite – he built it as a defense against humans and as a potential hideout for the awaiting dragon – is hardly a stretch. Not much is known of the White Walkers, their purpose or the agenda. In one interview the writer himself said the fans misunderstand the White Walkers and instead of zombielike horde they are these beautiful elflike creatures made of ice.

In the last battle for the dawn, Azor Ahai pushed White Walkers back, which lead us to the sequence of the events we know now. However, the possible misconception is the purpose of The Wall and the purpose of the Starks, Bran the Builder included. I believe that The Wall is forged as a potential weapon, which will aid the White Walkers in their cause, same as the weapon in the form of dragon eggs awaited for the R’hllor’s champion to be reborn.

While the “stone dragons” are pretty easy to write off (Melisandre could just be misunderstanding fossilized eggs), the “ice dragons” seem to be mentioned too often to discount. If the great battle ends up being the force of fire/dragons/Daenerys versus ice/the White Walkers/Jon Snow, could it be possible that the White Walkers will become Jon Snow’s army and will use the ice dragons to fight for their side? Melisandre is adamant that the Horn of Joramun must never be blown, or disaster will fall… “The Horn of Joramun? No. Call it the Horn of Darkness. If the Wall falls, night falls as well, the long night that never ends. It must not happen, will not happen!” Melisandre is petrified with the possibility of Wall coming down, not because nothing will stand in between the White Walkers and the rest of the realm but because of what comes with this crumble.

Fire, dragonglass and VS blades can easily defeat White Walkers on their own, but if the dragons, controlled and lead by Jon Snow aid them in this cause they will triumph in the end, which explains why Melisandre only sees Snow. She prays for glimpses of Azor Ahai but all she sees is the snow, again, not because Jon Snow is the champion of R’hllor but because Jon Snow will defeat the champion of R’hllor, Daenerys Targaryen, restoring the balance to the world. In other words, by the end most of the mankind will die making the room for the new world to arise, which is precisely what Daenerys saw in the Throne Room.

Melisandre fears this, understandably. But there is something else, or better yet, someone else Melisandre fears too…

PATCHFACE

Patchface was in his youth a clever boy with astonishing wit, however after the accident at sea his mind and body got broken. Able to sing prettily in 4 tongues, the prodigy kid was taken aboard Lord Steffon Baratheon’s Ship. As we now know, everyone aboard the ship got killed including the lord, his lady and over 100 soldiers and sailors. Patchface washed up three days later, his naked skin white, wrinkled, and, the man that found him, Jornmy, swears to his dying day that the FOOL’S SKIN WAS CLAMMY COLD. They had taken him for dead, but then he coughed up water, albeit broken in mind and body; the ordeal had taken his memories, and half his wit. Now he is subject to twitches and trembles and is mostly incoherent. What happened to him during the two days is unknown, but the fisher folk like to say: “a mermaid had taught him to breathe water in return for his seed.”

A brilliant boy was driven mad after 3 days on the bottom of the sea; somewhat similar to the mad Ranger who saw the White Walkers in the beginning of the series. Our guess…he saw the White Walkers army lurking in the depths and went crazy. Here are two quotes:

“In the dark the dead are dancing.”

“I will lead it. We will march into the sea and out again. Under the waves we will ride seahorses, and mermaids will blow seashells to announce our coming, oh, oh, oh. “

“What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger”

Therefore, the Drowned God and The Great Other might actually be the same entity, that is, if they even exist. If this is true then R’lhor is in conflict with The Great Other / The Drowned God and this is something that would nicely explain why Melissandre fears Patchface and constantly sees him in the flames, which also ties in nicely with the idea that Jon Snow is in fact the champion of The Great Other. Everything comes down to religion duality – R’hllor being the destruction and The Great Other being the source of life.

“Under the sea the crows are white as snow”

“Under the sea it snows up, and the rain is dry as bone. I know. I know… “

We hypothesis something is happening at the bottom of the sea…

“Under the sea, the birds have scales for feathers.”

“Under the sea, smoke rises in bubbles, and flames burn green and blue and black,”

White Walkers (made of ice = water) will therefore not come just from Beyond the Wall but from the sea surrounding Westeros too.

But why did the White Walkers decide to “wake up” now? It is my belief that the Starks are tied to the White Walkers via bloodmagic, same way Targaryens are tied to the dragons via bloodmagic. I believe Bran the Builder had something to do with that and I believe he had help from the Children of the Forest. I believe that White Walkers, which are manmade creatures, just like men, have a prophecy they are following. This prophecy foretells the story of a Northern boy born from Bran the Builder’s lineage that will become the only means to saving the North. He will be born at the dawn of House Stark destruction. Therefore, rebirth of dragons is not the White Walker’s concern, especially since we know that during the age of Targaryen rule White Walkers kept silent. Their primarily concern is the extinction of House Stark, family they are tied to via bloodmagic and destined to protect due to the treaty signed several thousands of years ago. Following the idea that the history is, for most part, a fabrication, it is my belief that we were lead to believe White Walkers are this evil zombie horde, when in fact they are not. I am not saying they are the ultimate “good guys” but I am saying that they are not the Orclike evil either. This of course heavily depends on the leader. And, considering everything we have seen so far, who better than Jon Snow?

The new born Jon will not be consumed with rage like many believe. He will simply fight for the North in order to restore the balance. He is a diplomat, first and foremost. And whoever ends up having his on their side is the group we will end up rooting for.

UPDATE: That said, I don’t believe Daenerys Targaryen is the ultimate “evil” either. There is no such thing in this story (except perhaps Joffrey and Ramsay) however, she gave me no reason to trust her judgment or her ruling, political and diplomatic abilities. She is stubborn, proud, short sighted, entitled and cares only about being the Queen regardless of her wish to aid the common people (which she also failed in the Slaver’s Bay). Her speech about breaking the wheel, her hatred towards people in Westeros, her lack of knowledge about this place, her proneness towards casting judgment onto the people and cultures she knows nothing about is astonishing. All these things are what separates her from Jon Snow at the end of the day. Among many other things. And like she said, she is the queen and not the politician. In order for this to work, for peace to take place, a diplomat and a politician with the touch of heroism and integrity is needed. And that is not Daenerys Targaryen.

It is my belief that she will, most likely lose her life in the battle at the Wall, as she has foreseen in her House of Undying prophecies (from the show) and join her family thus getting the happy end she deserves.

P.S. When I say “Jon Snow is a White Walker” I do not mean he will turn old, grey, and have a poor skin complexion. No. I mean he will remain in his human form, with slight changes or no changes at all, due to the fact that he is half a dragon and half a wolf. His heritage is the key…to all things.

NOTE: Daenerys can’t be burned, yes, but GRRM said this is a one-time thing, the magic of dragon birth, which enabled her to stay unharmed. Her resistance to fire doesn’t have to be taken literally and therefore, I wouldn’t be using Jon’s burned arm as a proof for debunking the theory.

P.S. This is just a  theory. It is written for fun. At the end of the day we all like the same story…so no need for rudeness. Relax and enjoy the discussion.

This theory was first published on my previous blog, on 31. of July, 2013.
Monika Ponjavic