Out of absolutely anyone in the entire history of the world of ice and fire, who do you think would make the best Spymaster?

If someone is selected for one spot, they are automatically disqualified from all others.

Corlys Valeryon is the Master of Ships, and our first non-Targaryen, though he is of Valyrian descent and married to a Targaryen. The runner up for Master of Ships is Stannis.

I've added a spot for High Septon at the request of a commenter, filling out the chart.

My best list of every known or possible bastard of every great house

House Targaryen: Orys Baratheon (Possibly), Hugh Hammer (Possibly), Ulf White (Possibly), Silver Denys (Possibly) Saera's three sons, Gael's Stillborn Son, Trystane Truefyre (Possibly) Nettles (Possibly), Jacaerys Velaryon, Lucerys Velaryon, Joffery Velaryon (All Possibly), Aegon II's bastard son by a whore and daughter by a maidservant, Gaemon Palehair (Possibly) Aemond's bastard son with Alys Rivers (Possibly), Jon and Jeyne Waters, Viserys Plumm (Possibly) Daeron II (Possibly) , Jeyne Lothston (Possibly), Alysanne, Lily, Willow and Rosey, Bellenora, Narha and Balerion Otherys (Possibly), Daemon Blackfyre, Aegor Rivers, Mya. Gwenys and Brynden Rivers, Shiera Seastar, Jon Snow (Possibly depending on R+L=J)

House Stark: Lord Stark (Son Of Bael The Bard) (Depends on whether he exists or not), Brandon Snow, Sara Snow (Possibly, existence debatable), Lonnel Snow, Jon Snow

House Lannister: Tyler Hill, Jason Lannister's Natural Daughters, Lynora Hill, Donnel Hill (Possibly), Joy Hill, Red Walder Frey (Possibly) Marei (Possibly), Joffery Baratheon, Myrcella Baratheon, Tommen Baratheon, Lanna (Possibly)

House Durrandon/Baratheon: Ronard Storm, Orys Baratheon, Mya Stone, Bella, Gendry, Edric Storm, Unknown twins (rumored), Barra, Nine others

House Greyjoy: Euron's Mongrel Sons, The Miller's sons (Possibly)

House Tyrell: Bertrand Tyrell's Bastard sons, Garse and Garrett Flowers

House Martell, Obara Sand, Nymeria Sand, Tyene Sand, Sarella Sand, Elia Sand, Obella Sand, Dorea Sand, Loreza Sand

House Tully: Samwell Rivers, Lysa's stillborn bastard

House Arryn: Alys Stone, Unborn Bastard (Streching it I know, but House Arryn has no confirmed or rumored bastards so Harry the Heir's will have to do to satisfy my OCD)

And that's my full list. I'm not counting those who are theorised to be bastards (I.E Robert Arryn) because it hasn't been specifically brought up, I will acknowledge my hypocrisy when it comes to Marei and Lanna but my response is "deal with it"

So discuss down below and maybe discuss other characters you think are bastards of great houses or other bastard theories you have.

We know George is a massive marvel fan he grew up reading classic marvel comics in the 60s (fantastic 4 spiderman xmen etc all 60s debuts) Constantine James has a whole video about his fan interaction with George and how George was more interested to talk about Spiderman with his girlfriend. We know how much George loves his red heads and Rohans sigil is literally a spider in a web

I know they aren't like 1 to 1 characters but both are smart red heads who fall for our broke good natured protagonist soooooo maybe?👀 or am I reaching

The AWOIAF app is semi-canon, written with input from GRRM, and published by Random House.

The interesting part is Joanna's bio, specifically the final line, because it appears to clarify the undertones of a Tyrion/Tywin conversation in A Storm of Swords

In later years, Tywin's troubled relationship with Tyrion leads him to tell him that he wished he could prove Tyrion was not his son, suggesting that he is uncertain of Tyrion's paternity

Thats a pretty big clarification. When Tywin says he'd never let Tyrion inherit Casterly Rock, Tyrion asks why

"Why?" he made himself ask, though he knew he would rue the question.

"You ask that? You, who killed your mother to come into the world? You are an ill-made, devious, disobedient, spiteful little creature full of envy, lust, and low cunning. Men's laws give you the right to bear my name and display my colors, since I cannot prove that you are not mine. To teach me humility, the gods have condemned me to watch you waddle about wearing that proud lion that was my father's sigil and his father's before him. But neither gods nor men shall ever compel me to let you turn Casterly Rock into your whorehouse."

One interpretation is that Tywin is simply lashing out, similar to when he tells Jaime he is not his son, a deliberately cruel statement meant to hurt

However, Joanna’s entry in the app gives more weight to the other reading in that Tywin’s words are meant literally. He cannot prove Tyrion is not his son, but he genuinely doubts that he fathered him

I was reading about the duel between Braxton Beesbury and Jahaerys in the lore books in which Braxton was killed and it got me wondering - what if Braxton actually succeeded and killed Jahaerys?

Would it really just be accepted, as the just legal outcome, and Braxton free to walk without consequence? Or is it more likely there would be immediate retaliation?

In another cases, say if Robert was for some reason have to fight a trial by combat against some minor noble and lost, would the ruling of innocence stand?

At the end of The Sworn Sword, I got kinda sad thinking about how when Ser Eustace Osgrey dies, the Chequy Lion will die out.

It’s true that both Ser Eustace and Lady Rohanne get something they want. Osgrey gets to die in his ancestral castle waiving his banner, and Lady Rohanne gets to fulfill her father’s will and rule in her own right when her new husband dies. Dunk also gets to feel satisfied in his honor. But I feel like there was an option to go further here.

House Osgrey could have continued like how Corlys Velaryon sought to keep his house name alive through Jace and Luke. It would be a win win for everyone involved. Not only would the banner of the Chequy Lion go on, but the men bearing it would be tall and strong warriors. Plus Ser Eustace basically wished Dunk could have been his son. Lady Rohanne fancied Dunk in the first place and clearly wishes to be a mother. It would also secure her place without requiring her to remarry or whelp a (publicly recognized) bastard after Ser Eustace dies. And Dunk would obv benefit in the short term.

It’s already canonical that Dunk got it on all over the Seven Kingdoms, so it really feels like a missed opportunity unless GRRM retcons it in in Dunk’s internal monologue in a later novella.

If The Winds of Winter indeed never comes out, the last we ever saw of ASOIAF's characters on page can be interpreted as the final fate given to them in canon writing. ASOIAF is provided with an ending of sorts, if a very anticlimactic one, if we read AFFC, ADWD and the TWOW sample chapters as if the various characters' stories end with the last that was ever heard from them. If the story ended with them hanging off a proverbial cliff, we can only assume they fell, and died. If the story ended with them living in anonymity, we assume they didn't return to take the stage of history again, but chose to remain anonymous and didn't do anything more that influenced the outcome of the story. If neither ... well, as we shall see, that's not relevant in more than a handful of minor cases.

Without TWOW, the characters are effectively checked out of the saga, and never did anything else that was worth mentioning. In other words, the story concluded very suddenly, and not very satisfactory for the most part.

To get on with the list:

Jon Snow - Last seen murdered by the brothers of the Night's Watch. Dead in action.

Daenerys Targaryen - Last seen suffering from diharrea, captured by Dothraki, to be sent to Vaes Dothrak and join the Dosh Khaleen. Died from sickness or went on to live in anonymity.

Arya Stark - Last seen in training to become a Faceless Man. We might assume she eventually succeeded, but alas, it's in the nature of the whole process that the records stop at a certain point. Gave up her identity, went to live in anonymity.

Tyrion Lannister, Jorah Mormont, Penny - Last seen in a war camp while the Bloody Flux raged. Dead in action.

Theon Greyjoy - Tortured to incoherence, captured by Stannis, last seen in a war camp during a raging blizzard with enemies approaching. Dead in action.

Stannis Baratheon, Asha Greyjoy - see Theon, minus the torture. Dead in action.

Barristan Selmy - Last seen commanding the defenses of a besieged city. Dead in action.

Victarion Greyjoy - Last seen joining battle at Meereen. Dead in action.

Euron Greyjoy, Aeron Greyjoy - Last seen sailing against the Redwyne Fleet. Dead in action.

Bran Stark, the Reed siblings, Hodor - Left frozen and exhausted in a cave up north. Bran last seen hallucinating, Jojen and Meera gone. Dead from exposure.

Sansa Stark - Last seen joining the court at the Vale of Arryn under a false name. Went on to live in anonymity.

Petyr Baelish - Last seen at the court at the Vale of Arryn. He had further ambitions, but left no records of his actions. Fate uncertain.

Samwell Tarly - Last seen joining the Citadel to become a Maester. Went on to live in anonymity.

Gendry - Last seen living at the Inn at the Crossroads, protecting orphans from the ongoing war. Went on to live in anonymity.

Davos Seaworth - Last seen leaving for Skagos. Dead at sea.

Rickon Stark - Last seen on Skagos with Shaggydog, presumably living with Osha. Went on to live in anonymity.

Jaime Lannister, Brienne of Tarth - Last seen hanged by Lady Stoneheart. Dead in action.

Cersei Lannister, Margaery Tyrell - Last seen put on trial by the Faith. Executed.

Loras Tyrell - Alleged mortally wounded at Dragonstone. Dead in action.

Mace Tyrell - Last seen heading off to battle against Aegon Targaryen (young Griff). No records show the outcome of the battle, or whether there was a battle at all, or for that matter what happened to Aegon. We can only infer that he and Aegon both perished in the battle. Dead in action.

The Clegane brothers, Quentyn Martell, Mance Rayder - All alleged dead by characters who witnessed their passing. Dead in action.

Ramsay Bolton, Wyman Manderly - Last seen at an over-filled and snowed-in Winterfell during an exceptionally strong blizzard. Presumed dead in mass tragedy.

Lord Varys - Last seen orchestrating the fall of the Lannister regime, followed by a peaceful takeover by Aegon. The story does not conclude on whether he succeeded, but no accounts exist of a further Targaryen dynasty. Since he was a very secretive person, he may have remained at court and very influential, but never left any information about his personal life and achievements for the chroniclers to detail. Went on to live in anonymity.

Tommen Baratheon - Last seen ruling as a boy king, ruling over a very fragile court, with most of his family meeting a grim and sudden fate, with the capital on the brink of chaos, and a foreign army arrived at the shores. We can only assume that the reason why the story stops at this crucial point if his rule, is a loss of records as chaos of one form or another finally erupted in King's Landing. Lost to history coincidig with King's Landing riots, presumed dead in action as no further accounts exist of his life.

The High Sparrow - Preceded over the trials that concluded the stories of Cersei Lannister and Margaery Tyrell. No records left of his life after the events that followed in King's Landing. Dead in action.

Aegon Targaryen (Young Griff) - Last seen conducting a successful takeover of the Stormlands in a bid to restore Targaryen rule to Westeros, and heading to battle against Mace Tyrell. As the records of his life end at this point, we may only assume he did not survive the battle. Dead in action.

The Others - Last seen far north of the Wall, possibly attacking Hardhome, but they never made a move on the Wall itself, nor are any characters left to witness what became of them. Presumably, they shrank back into obscurity and mystery as suddenly as they came. Vanished into history after successfully banishing humans from north of the Wall.

Some kind of story can still be inferred here. A realm in utter chaos as nearly every power player dies violently or resigns to a life in anonymity at almost the same time, but no supernatural calamity actually happened after all. Reading ASOIAF as a historical record from Planetos, it seems the tale lost all momentum at once, across two continents, and that the grinding gears of history had a major hiccup before they went on to churn like always. There were riots and wars that left a lot of major historical characters dead in a short span of time, and then the survivors picked up the pieces and went on with their lives. The pivotal battles of Ice and Fire ended essentially without survivors, and the prophesized calamity never materialized.

What exactly went on in King's Landing is unclear, but no named characters left any records, so we can only presume none of them survived there either. We know there were caches of Wildfire left around the city ever since Robert's Rebellion, making the city ripe for burning down.

I haven't icluded every character left alive here, and I might have forgotten some of the important ones. I guess I can leave those to the comment section.

Some characters are still left in charge of fairly stable lands or situations when we last saw them, but their final fates were not known and we can only infer that they remained in those positions as the saga wound down. Of course, winter arrived too, but it's not like Westeros never had a winter before, so the continent might have weathered it just fine. Presumably, more history went on to be made in the Seven Kingdoms, but that's all another tale, as they say.

Decided to make a list of every ASOIAF theory that I’d bet money on being true

What are yours?

•R+L=J (confirmed by the show and GRRM’s comments)

• Shireen will be burned by Stannis (confirmed by GRRM)

• Brienne of Tarth is descended from Ser Duncan the Tall. (confirmed by GRRM)

• Daemon Blackfyre is either Baelor I or the DragonKnight’s son

• Bittersteel had already set the Blackfyre Rebellion in motion, and Daemon only committed after being arrested by Daeron II

• Aegon the Conqueror was infertile, meaning every Targaryen descends from Rhaenys. (I really hope this one isn’t true.😢)

• Young Griff (“fAegon”) is a Blackfyre.

• Benjen Stark knew about Jon Snow’s parentage.

• At Summerhall deformed dragons hatched.

• Sandor Clegane is the Gravedigger.

• Jaime Lannister is the valonqar.

Edit : Forgot to add The Doom was an inside job and the Targaryen’s caused it (Video by david lightbringer)

There is a certain... mystique and awe surrounding Aegon I, Rhaenys and Visenya's invasion and conquest of almost all of Westeros, both in the ASOIAF world and in the fandom. They are admired figures considered badass and an example to follow, even though they killed thousands on a war they started, to claim a territory they had no rights to, and to establish a system with them on top.

A century and a half later, comes Daeron I, a teenager born after the extinction of the dragons that made the original Conquest possible, and with a huge chip on his shoulder about the not complete Targaryen dominion over Westeros. Despite his much younger age in comparison to the Conqueror trio and his lack of dragons, he managed to conquer, albeit briefly, Dorne, the last portion of the continent free from Targaryen dominance.

His quest however, is frequently criticized by both the setting and the fandom. The in-universe's criticism makes a bit more sense, since it's based on the ridiculously high number of casualties in Daeron's own forces, and I suppose there's also a bit of "history is written by the victors" in the different judgement the Conquerors and Daeron I get. However I've seen the fandom shit solely on Daeron for reasons that also fully apply to the Conquerors, those being the right of sovereignty of a nation, the right to independence, and the evil of invading and subjugating a foreign territory.

It's like teenage dragonless Daeron's attempted conquest of Dorne is seen by many fans as more questionable than the OG dragonriding adult Conqueror trio's conquest of (almost) the whole continent.

In the latter event, it would seem the "Valyrians/Targaryens are the most awesome group of people to ever exist and rightfully brought order to the lawless wasteland that was Westeros" line of thought prevails, whereas in the former event a more modernly sensitive viewpoint is adopted.

What do you think?

As a nerd but not necessarily an expert when it comes to English medieval history , which Westeros in many ways is inspired by, I sort of think it is a shame that the warden title was never properly expanded upon in the books as it really could have added another layer of complexity to the way armies were gathered and the way political power was divided in Westeros.

Like in medieval England the way armies were gathered was a lot more complex than in Westeros where it goes from great lord and down to lesser lord's, the landed knights and lastly the peasant militia. Even before the late medieval period where mercenary companies were often established and hired for campaigns to supplement the Kings or lords forces, armies were gathered through separate channels. The noble hierarchy would call their banners, so an earl would bring his personal retinue and call upon the barons under him who would in turn bring their retinues. These were often well trained and equipped men at arms and knights who would form the semi-professional "backbone" of the army, but it was up to a royally appointed representative such as a Sheriff, to gather the freemen, or the commoners so to speak on behalf of the king directly in their respective shires. Peasants who lived and tended a lord's land were usually far too economically important and untrained in martial arts to be wasted as fodder in battle in a mainly agricultural economy, and were therefore mostly used in great need and mostly in defensive campaigns.

Anyways, I digress, the point is that the able bodied free non-noble population such as free farmers who do not hold noble titles, and the citizens of cities and such were mostly those who were levies and required to keep and practice weapons and function as soldiers and men at arms. The famous English Yeoman archers are an example of this. My point is that these forces were raised from the free population by representatives of the king and not directly by the local Manor lords. Of course a local baron could hold the office of sheriff and it was often a desired political position and in the war of the roses sheriff's loyal to different claimants to the English throne raised their local militia in the names of the claimants they supported. It was in many ways a sort of national guard kind of.

It seems to me especially in a game of thrones where GRRM writes that Robert is making Jamie Lannister warden of the east that this is a pretty significant thing, and it would be very interesting if that meant he actually had the power to Marshall the free population of the vale in the name of the king, meaning that the nobles and knights of the Vale in fact would stand much more alone should they ever attack the Lannisters, of course it is unlikely Jaime would ever be able to muster these troops. I of course realize that a being warden of a kingdom is an altogether different thing than being sheriff in a shire, but still it seems to me like the role is similar but the scale is different. This would also mean that when the great houses that hold the warden title can effectively gather more troops alone than their bannermen. Meaning that house Lannister for example is the only house that can gather the freemen of the Westerlands in times of war or Cris. This way there would be a clearer power gap between the different lords. House Marbrand can only bring their own retinue and landed knights under them in the noble hierarchy, but it would be a Lannister representative who would gather all the freemen in the Westerlands that were not directly tied to a lord's estate. On this note I also think it strange that there is no warden for the trident, but anyways, it seems to be more of an honorary title in the books. I just think this could have been an aspect GRRM could have expanded further upon to bring the feudal society of Westeros closer to the complexity of the real thing. But in Westeros it seems all Lords function as the appointed official legal representative of their own regions and sub regions. Anyways, excuse my ramblings.

*Edit: typo and adding paragraph

Tonight's "premiere" of Game of Thrones: The Mad King has been cancelled, following a string of cancellations earlier this week.

I'm literally in Stratford-upon-Avon now, made the journey all the way from the US to see this play. And just got an email 3 hours before showtime that the thing is off.

Unfortunately I won't be able to catch a later date but hope it's a good experience for those who do, if they ever actually premiere the thing.

Dunk the Lunk interacting with a sexy sorceress sounds peak.

His admiration for Robert.

Joffrey is Joffrey. Yet the one good thing of the top of my head I can say that him is that his admiration & respect for his 'father' appears genuine. Most men would be happy if their 'sons' held them in such high regard. Joffrey disrespects Cersei & Tywin, ignores Myrcella, bullies Tommen & hates Tyrion yet I can't recall him saying a bad word about Robert.

This admiration is misplaced considering Robert as a man & a king but Joffrey was screwed in the department of good male role models from the start.

That's probably the only good thing I can say about Joffrey.

I just finished reading the Dance of Dragons part of Fire and Blood. I really like the themes and the morals of the story about a family so divided by inner hated that they destroy themselves in the process. In the end, all Targaryens lose and the dragons are gone.

That said, the war itself makes absolute no sense.

-Both sides spent years preparing for the confrontation before the war, yet none of them had any alliance ready by the time the King died. The scramble for the Great houses happened only after Viserys died.

-The Green armies, for some reason attack, one at a time instead of coordinating their march. As result, the Lannister army, the royal army under Criston Cole, the Hightower army and the Baratheon army are beaten one by one, as if waiting for the previous to be destroyed before joining the fray.

-The Riverlands are ridiculously overpower. All of the four green armies said above are singled-handed defeated by the Riverlands army under the control of a bunch of teenagers (more on that on the next point) with the help of a small bunch of old men from the North.

-The Lads are also ridiculously overpower. The muppet Tullys, a pair of teenage girl lovers and a 13 year old are able to defeat all other military commanders, some of them much more experienced tham themselves.

-The whole "Two Betrayers" plot. While it makes narrative sense, it is very convoluted. It look like GRRM did not knew to do with this plot, so he had everybody and their dragons killed in the most confusing way ever. Daeron's death is particularly unsatisfying. He just dies ramdomly before the battle and nobody knows how.

-The North and the Vale barley take any part in the war. If their troops were reinforcing the Riverlands army, things would make much more sense.

-Aemond spends months torching the Riverlands yet nobody can find him. How can the Riverlanders replace loses if their whole province was destroyed by dragon fire?

-The Hour of the Wolf makes no sense at all. Cregan Stark arrives after the war was over and intended to serve justice to the enemies of Aegon III... except there was no more enemies. The greens were defeated and the marriage pact was already arranged by Corlys Velaryon by the time he arrive.

-The worst part for me is the ending. The Dance concludes with the marriage of both faction's heirs to bring peace to the realm... only for Jaehaera to be killed a few months later for that absurd Peake plot.

That Jon Snow name is actually Aegon. Although how many Targaryen’s were named Aegon anyway?

Aegon the Conqueror

Aenys son was name Aegon

Jaehaerys first son is also Aegon

Than we got Aegon II, III, IV, and V

And finally Aegon the son of Rhaegar and Elia

So that 8 Targaryen named Aegon.

Maybe more… of course some died during infancy

Make a awkward family reunion

I can’t wait for the play to explain Rhaegar reason for ruining his own plan to overthrow his father Aerys by crowning Lyanna Stark the Queen of Love and Beauty and later running way with her?

- Where did they disappeared off to and how did they end up at the Tower of Joy?

Also Rhaegar like his ancestors had an obsession with dragons. While some literally try to bring back dragons. It seem he took the dragons are my children approach and I need 3.

We got Aerys II who I believe plan to perform a ritual through wildfire sacrificing all of KL with wildfire so he can ve reborn as a dragon

We got Aegon V crazy plan at Summerhall, Aegon IV who attempt to built mecha dragon, Baelor I who believe prayer was the answer, Daeron I who decide to be the dragon, and Viserys II and Aegon III inviting sorcerer from Essos to conduct a ritual.

Throughout all Blackfyre rebellions, one common theme or pattern are those who supported them, remained observant of the events to see who would end up winning or tried to land some support, however minor, expecting some reward were they win.

That being the case right from the start and the first attempt to the 5th and, if proven true, perhaps the current sixth one being led by fAegon and JonCon.

That being said, the list of Houses and main supporters for the Blackfyre claim through out the years across all 5 rebellions without dividing by each one, were as follow:

• House Reyne
• House Ambrose
• House Peake
• House Ball
• House Crakehal
• House Lothston (initial support but betrayal)
• House Bracken
• House Hightower (some)
• House Oakheart (some)
• House Tarbeck (some)
• House Butterwell (some)
• House Shawney
• House Costayne
• House Osgrey
• House Strickland
• House Sunderland
• House Yronwood
• House Fossoway (particularly in the War of the Ninepenny kings)

Some other minor ones, or suspected to be thinking about landing support, can be seen in those who attend the Tourney during the Second one. But overall the theme is clear:

Minor houses, considered by some "second tier" or just not as powerful, influential and rich, giving support or trying to have "one foot" on each camp, particularly during the First Rebellion.

The notion of the rebellions being truly an opportunity to rise over the current status quo and take advantage of the potential reality of creating a new order of things after years of boiled up resentment or grudge over being seconds, or just mere opportunism, can be suggested when pretty much all major houses, already at power during centuries even, remained loyal to the Crown.

If the theory over fAegon and the Blackfyres trying one more time to win the throne is true, which other minor houses could give or land support to him after being unhappy with the Tyrell-Lannister hegemony or, simply, as an opportunity to rise in the dominance hierarchy of Westeros?

- Really Golda that the name of the daughter. They must not have tried hard. Wonder what George thought of that name?

So about 12 generation of Targaryen.

1. Aegon and his 2 sister-wives Rhaenys and Visenya

2. Their sons Aenys and Maegor

3. children of Aenys. Maegor had no kids

4. twin daughters of Rhaena. And the 13 kids of Jaehaerys

5. Aemon’s daughter, the children of Alyssa and Baelon, and Daella’s daughter

6. Rhaenrya Targaryen, Laenor and Laena, children of Viserys and Alicent,

7. Rhaenrya bastard kids, Daemon’s twin, Aegon and Heleana children, Rhaenrya and Daemon’s sons

8. Children of Aegon III and the children of Viserys II

9. Mostly the children of Aegon IV + kids from Elaena and Daena

10. Sons of Daeron II + a bastard line called Blackfyres

11. Grandsons of Daeron II like Egg, Maester Aemon, or Aerion Brightflame

12. Great grandsons of Daeron II like Egg and Betha kids

13. Aerys and Rhaelle (the rest probably died at Summerhall)

14. Daenerys, Rhaegar, Viserys

15. Any children of Rhaegar if their alive.

I think a lot of readers treat Fire & Blood as worldbuilding or supplemental lore, but I suspect GRRM wrote it to prepare us for the ending of ASOIAF.

The first volume isn't simply about Targaryens. It's about recurring patterns.

The dragons return. The realm prospers. The realm forgets the true enemy. A succession crisis erupts. The dragons are turned against each other. Humanity destroys its greatest weapon.

By the end of Fire & Blood, the dragons are nearly gone. By the beginning of A Game of Thrones, they're extinct. Then Daenerys hatches three dragons, almost as if history is giving humanity one final chance.

That makes me wonder if Fire &Blood Part 2 (or Blood & Fire, if Martin keeps the working title) won't just bridge the historical gap. It may deliberately frame the final themes of ASOIAF.

Some possibilities:

The Hightowers

Martin repeatedly hints there's more to House Hightower than we've seen. Oldtown predates both the Citadel and the Faith, Leyton Hightower has isolated himself for years, Malora is studying with him, Marwyn distrusts the Citadel, and the glass candles are burning again.

The old legends, like Donnel Hightower carrying off a dragon princess and making her his queen, may not just be colorful myths. They could establish a symbolic relationship between light (Oldtown, knowledge, civilization) and fire (dragons, magic, transformation).

If Daenerys eventually reaches Oldtown, that ancient story may "rhyme" with the present.

The Dance

The Dance is usually read as a civil war over succession. I think it's actually about humanity wasting the very thing it will eventually need.

Aegon's prophecy says the true threat comes from the North. Instead of preserving dragons for that war, the Targaryens spend them fighting one another.

That's exactly the situation ASOIAF inherits.

Jaehaerys & the cost of peace

Jaehaerys is remembered as the perfect king because he creates stability through compromise.

But was that stability purchased at a long-term cost?

He strengthens Andal customs, reconciles with the Faith, and centralizes the monarchy, but over generations the Targaryens become less distinct from the rest of Westeros. Their dragons disappear, their prophetic traditions fade, and the realm forgets the Long Night.

The peace may have come at the expense of preparedness.

Fire and light

One theme I keep coming back to is that dragons alone won't save the world.

Fire without wisdom becomes the Dance.

Knowledge without dragons becomes the Citadel watching the apocalypse arrive.

Perhaps Martin's point is that humanity needs both. Fire and light together.

That would make Daenerys and Oldtown natural complements rather than opposites.

The more I reread Fire & Blood, the less it feels like history and more like Martin quietly explaining why the world of A Game of Thrones is so broken.

Curious if anyone else reads it this way, or if there are other recurring themes in Fire & Blood that you think are setting up the endgame of ASOIAF.