#;; LIGHTBRINGER/THE DRAGONS = EXCALIBUR

[jon-sedai]

I have a somewhat insane theory that something will happen to Longclaw in order for Jon to attain Lightbringer. What that “something” is though, I’m not sure. I can’t begin to imagine Longclaw being outright destroyed given how durable Valyrian steel is said to be; not even Balerion’s flames could destroy Blackfyre. But I have this nagging feeling that GRRM might pull the rug from under our (and Jon Snow’s) feet. Maybe the sword doesn’t shatter in the traditional sense, but it fails. Maybe it’s broken metaphorically. Maybe it’s rendered useless against the Others in a way that forces Jon to confront a terrifying truth: the weapon he believed would save him, won’t.

Because I’ve started to notice something, a motif that echoes across fantasy over and over again. The hero’s first sword, his inherited blade, his tether to the past? It never lasts. It’s sometimes lost in battle, shattered in a moment of crisis, or revealed to be inadequate. That sword is a relic of the hero’s former self. A symbol of who he was, not who he is meant to become. And in that loss, something shifts. The hero sheds his old identity and claims a new weapon of destiny — a sword that reflects his true purpose.

This isn’t something I originally considered. But as I was reading The Great Hunt and comparing Rand al’Thor’s character arc to Jon Snow’s, I realized this motif fits them both.

Let me explain.

In The Wheel of Time, Rand al’Thor loses his heron-marked blade — a gift from Tam al’Thor, his adoptive father — when it’s destroyed in battle in Book 2. That sword represents Rand’s old life, the identity he desperately clings to even as prophecy and newfound power begin to transform him. But the destruction of the heron-marked blade does not leave Rand defenseless for the rest of his story. Book 3, The Dragon Reborn, centers around his journey to draw a sword from a literal stone in a very Arthurian fashion. This new weapon is Callandor: a sword that is not a sword, a magic blade of light that marks Rand as the Dragon Reborn. It is the weapon of his fate, and the moment he claims it, there is no turning back. His destiny as the chosen one (and all that comes with it) is set in stone.

Now this motif, of an hero losing one blade to gain a more magical one, isn’t unique to Jordan. Both Jordan and Martin draw heavily from Tolkien and in LoTR, Aragorn inherits the shards of Narsil as Isildur’s heir. Narsil was shattered in battle, and lay in that state until the rightful King of Gondor was ready to claim it once more. Then in RoTK, the elves reforge Narsil into Anduril, “flame of the west”. Only then does Aragorn finally step into his destiny as the prophesied King of Gondor.

But this trope is even older than Tolkien, for he too is drawing from myth. King Arthur — who serves as the blueprint for much of western fantasy — broke his first sword in battle. Afterward, he received the legendary Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake. With Excalibur in hand, Arthur now possessed a weapon worthy of Britain’s true king.

Generally, the first sword’s breaking (or destruction) isn’t failure, but transformation into myth. To be the true hero, one that changes the world, the protagonist must lose the old weapon and the old identity. The real sword only comes when he’s ready to bear its cost.

What does this mean for Jon?

Longclaw symbolizes a rite of passage. It’s a gift from Lord Commander Mormont, who bestows it on Jon the way a lord would pass down a prized heirloom to his chosen heir. It marks Jon as Jeor’s surrogate son, thus becoming a symbol of legacy, duty, and expectation. And it comes at a critical moment: right before Jon crosses the threshold of the Wall at the end of AGOT, and begins his knight’s quest in ACOK.

Much like Tam al’Thor gives Rand his heron-marked blade before Rand leaves the Two Rivers, Jeor gives Jon Longclaw to equip him for his first steps on the hero’s path. It’s a sword meant to shepherd Jon through his transition from a sheltered boy into a man and a leader. It’s the blade of the Lord Commander’s heir, not of the messianic savior. It belongs to the Watcher, not the King.

In literary terms, Longclaw is a threshold talisman, a weapon that represents the hero’s first identity. It’s what he wields as he suffers, learns, and grows. But when the time comes to transcend that identity — to die and be reborn, to reach into the realm of prophecy and flame — that talisman must be left behind. If Jon is to rise as the savior of the living, the king of winter, and the sword of the dawn, he must relinquish the weapon that defined his early journey. Longclaw is noble. It is deeply earned. But it is not the blade of Azor Ahai.

GRRM has already woven myth into the lore of ASOIAF, establishing a clear precedent: the warrior destined to end the Long Night must first lose his sword before he can triumph against the darkness. Even though Jon is gifted Longclaw, a Valyrian steel weapon already imbued with magic, the story hints that it still might not be enough.

“Why do you imagine that they need your help? Are you such a mighty warrior, or do you carry a grumkin in your pocket to magic up your sword?” (Jon IX, AGOT)

This line sounds suspiciously like a reference to the last hero, the legendary warrior who ventured into the cold and darkness in search of the children of the forest — the “grumkins” — to find magic strong enough to fight the Others. Before he could reach them, his sword broke.

“One by one his friends died, and his horse, and finally even his dog, and his sword froze so hard the blade snapped when he tried to use it. And the Others smelled the hot blood in him, and came silent on his trail…” (Bran IV, AGOT)

Here, the loss of the sword is not just physical, it’s symbolic. The last hero must be stripped of everything, sword included, before he can receive the magic that allows him to fulfill his quest. According to Sam, one account of the Long Night claims that the last hero eventually fought the Others with a sword made of “dragonsteel”:

“I found one account of the Long Night that spoke of the last hero slaying Others with a blade of dragonsteel. Supposedly they could not stand against it.” “Dragonsteel?” Jon frowned. “Valyrian steel?” “That was my first thought as well.” (Sam I, AFFC)

This seemingly suggests that Jon already holds the blade destined to defeat the darkness. But as Sam points out throughout that chapter, history that spans millennia loses important parts, or becomes distorted as it’s passed down through generations. What if Jon and Sam are wrong?

What we do know, with certainty, is that the last hero’s original sword failed him. He didn’t begin his quest armed with the weapon that would turn the tide. He had to lose it first. Only then, presumably after reaching the children of the forest, could he return with a weapon strong enough to face the Others. And it’s chilling that in the very first chapter of the entire series, GRRM gives us a dark, foreshadowed reflection of this same arc.

Ser Waymar Royce, the young and arrogant ranger of the Night’s Watch, challenges an Other to single combat. And the result is chilling proof of why the hero needs a “grumkin” in his pocket to “magic up” his sword:

Again and again the swords met, until Will wanted to cover his ears against the strange anguished keening of their clash. Ser Waymar was panting from the effort now, his breath steaming in the moonlight. His blade was white with frost; the Other’s danced with pale blue light. Then Royce’s parry came a beat too late. The pale sword bit through the ringmail beneath his arm. The young lord cried out in pain. Blood welled between the rings. It steamed in the cold, and the droplets seemed red as fire where they touched the snow. Ser Waymar’s fingers brushed his side. His moleskin glove came away soaked with red. The Other said something in a language that Will did not know; his voice was like the cracking of ice on a winter lake, and the words were mocking. Ser Waymar Royce found his fury. “For Robert!” he shouted, and he came up snarling, lifting the frost-covered longsword with both hands and swinging it around in a flat sidearm slash with all his weight behind it. The Other’s parry was almost lazy. When the blades touched, the steel shattered.(Prologue, AGOT)

Waymar is a tragic foil to Jon, a false last hero who fails before his journey even begins. He dies without magic before he succeeds. But Jon? Jon will not. He’s meant to complete the journey. Yet to do so, he must walk the same path: his sword must fail, and he must find a way to reforge it.

Enter Azor Ahai, stage left.

Azor Ahai’s story is also one of failure before triumph. He forged two blades to fight the darkness and both shattered.

“A hundred days and a hundred nights he labored on the third blade, and as it glowed white-hot in the sacred fires, he summoned his wife. ‘Nissa Nissa,’ he said to her, for that was her name, ‘bare your breast, and know that I love you best of all that is in this world.’ She did this thing, why I cannot say, and Azor Ahai thrust the smoking sword through her living heart. It is said that her cry of anguish and ecstasy left a crack across the face of the moon, but her blood and her soul and her strength and her courage all went into the steel. Such is the tale of the forging of Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes. (Davos I, ACOK)

Sacrifice, blood and life’s fire, is what birthed Lightbringer. It was pain willingly offered. Here’s where Jon diverges from the original myth. Jon won’t sacrifice someone else — that’s the antithesis of who he is. His arc has always been sacrificing himself; for duty, for the realm, for the living. So when the time comes to forge his own Lightbringer, Jon will use his own blood. His own will. His own pain. As Beric did:

Unsmiling, Lord Beric laid the edge of his longsword against the palm of his left hand, and drew it slowly down. Blood ran dark from the gash he made, and washed over the steel. And then the sword took fire. (Arya VI, ASOS)

As R’hllor’s chosen, Jon’s resurrection will mark him. His blood will be sacred. And when it is spilled over Longclaw’s broken or failed shards, whether in fire or ritual, that act will transform the weapon. It will be through the reforging of the red sword of heroes — red as blood, red as the dawn — that Jon Snow will rise anew as Azor Ahai Reborn, the champion of light.

[vicky82gargoylesfan]

My Thoughts on the last 3 issues of Gargoyles: Dark Ages

I'm a bit behind so I'm just going to do the last 3 issues together, sorry if it's a bit messy and if i've missed some things out.

Spoilers

The Gargoyles and Humans are helping each other build the castle,  Brother Valdez who is the King's architect is helping them build it. 

The Dragon was pretty cool and It looks like we will see it again in the Gargoyles Quest story. I assume it was still in the caves during the episode Shadows from the Past.

The Dragon doesn't like human and doesn't want them building there home here. It was a pretty cool fight. The Archmage uses a spell on the Dragon, the same one he used on Hudson that gave him a scar.

Alesand becomes best friends with the young Gargoyles and gives them names, Caesar, Alexander, Charlemagne, and Antiope

The Trio and Antiope were pretty cute and still causing trouble. Antiope was pretty knowledgeable, she knew about the Ghost Cage (from Shadows from the Past) and knew about the Dragon and what it could do to Alesand.

I do like Alesand and Antiope but I really shouldn't get too attached as they are no longer around now.

For the first time we see a young Mary, possibly Magus and Nicolas. Did notice young Magus was spying on the Archmage and Angel.

Angel started her lesson with Archmage but first she had to learn how to read. She also went to where the get a flute, while the Dragon was away. I assume this could be Puck's flute and I wonder what's happened to it and if Demona has got it.

Desdemona started her lessons in becoming a warrior-priestess, Sacrifice is teaching her.

We got to see the Illuminati, Peredur fab Ragnal, Fleur and Shari who were calling themselves The Lightbringers.

While the Dragon was occupied, Peredur and Fleur grabbed Excalibur and went back to Carbonek (using a spell) and Brother Valdez went after them. They had to leave Shari behind and so had to find her own way back. Funny enough that Excalibur ends up in a stone Dragon in the episode Pendragon.

The story ends with Shari telling everyone a story.

[oadara]

This might be a bit of a stretch, but seeing as how GRRM likes to incorporate a lot of myths, legends and symbolism into these ASOIAF novels, do you think that Dany's hatching of the dragon eggs could be a nod to the Arthurian 'sword in the stone' legends, seeing as how the eggs were referred to as fossilised stone and the dragons were sometimes referred to as 'flaming swords'?

Hey friend,

This might be out there but I really like it! 

Obviously it’s not an exact parallel to the Arthurian legend of Excalibur, however, I do think there is some merit to it having important similarities with the legend. 

As you note the dragon eggs are described as stone on several occasions. Here are a few examples:

A Game of Thrones - Daenerys II

Magister Illyrio murmured a command, and four burly slaves hurried forward, bearing between them a great cedar chest bound in bronze. When she opened it, she found piles of the finest velvets and damasks the Free Cities could produce … and resting on top, nestled in the soft cloth, three huge eggs. Dany gasped. They were the most beautiful things she had ever seen, each different than the others, patterned in such rich colors that at first she thought they were crusted with jewels, and so large it took both of her hands to hold one. She lifted it delicately, expecting that it would be made of some fine porcelain or delicate enamel, or even blown glass, but it was much heavier than that, as if it were all of solid stone. The surface of the shell was covered with tiny scales, and as she turned the egg between her fingers, they shimmered like polished metal in the light of the setting sun. One egg was a deep green, with burnished bronze flecks that came and went depending on how Dany turned it. Another was pale cream streaked with gold. The last was black, as black as a midnight sea, yet alive with scarlet ripples and swirls. “What are they?” she asked, her voice hushed and full of wonder.

“Dragon’s eggs, from the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai,” said Magister Illyrio. “The eons have turned them to stone, yet still they burn bright with beauty." 

A Game of Thrones - Daenerys III

"I was,” she answered, standing over the dragon’s eggs that Illyrio had given her when she wed. She touched one, the largest of the three, running her hand lightly over the shell. Black-and-scarlet, she thought, like the dragon in my dream. The stone felt strangely warm beneath her fingers … or was she still dreaming? She pulled her hand back nervously.

Stone, she told herself. They are only stone, even Illyrio said so, the dragons are all dead. She put her palm against the black egg, fingers spread gently across the curve of the shell. The stone was warm. Almost hot. “The sun,” Dany whispered. “The sun warmed them as they rode.”

A Game of Thrones - Daenerys IV

Irri fetched the egg with the deep green shell, bronze flecks shining amid its scales as she turned it in her small hands. Dany curled up on her side, pulling the sandsilk cloak across her and cradling the egg in the hollow between her swollen belly and small, tender breasts. She liked to hold them. They were so beautiful, and sometimes just being close to them made her feel stronger, braver, as if somehow she were drawing strength from the stone dragons locked inside.

A Game of Thrones - Daenerys V

For a moment Dany was so shocked she had no words. “My eggs … but they’re mine, Magister Illyrio gave them to me, a bride gift, why would Viserys want … they’re only stones …”

There’re a few more instances in which Dany refers to the eggs as stone but I think the above examples are enough. Then we have the reference to the dragons as a sword, which comes from Xaro Xhao Daxos: 

A Dance with Dragons - Daenerys III

“When your dragons were small they were a wonder. Grown, they are death and devastation, a flaming sword above the world.“

Additionally, I’m of the belief that Drogon is Lightbringer, which adds to the symbolism of the dragons as a sword. 

For Arthur pulling Excalibur from the stone marks the beginning of his quest to become the great King Arthur and in many respects for Daenerys hatching the dragons is the beginning of her quest as queen. In those broad strokes, there is some similarity, although the Arthurian legend (whichever version) ends up being different from the quest in which Dany embarks on. 

Nonetheless, it’s an interesting connection between the two. 

TTFN