#kojja mo

[ffantasmi]

my favorite part of asoiaf lore is the fact everyone in essos looks at the fate of the seven and thinks: wow you all live like this?

[agentrouka-blog]

Since I'm on a GRRM critical bend today, the shallow sex positivity is annoying.

I can't tell if it's on purpose or not, but I suspect at least partly not. And it's usually about erasing fatherhood.

Tormund's little speech about how Ygritte will go to a woods witch for moontea if she doesn't want a child, and Jon's out of the equation? Means nothing when Jon's consent is violated and he can't opt out of sex either. He is the one who doesn't want children in this way.

Wildlings having no prejudice toward "bastardy" means little when Tormund's numerous love children seem to be generally raised by the mothers while they are little. That's a LOT of work for one parent to deal with. But yay, no one calls them a whore, so it's all good?

Chataya's speech about how sex work is treated with respect and veneration in the Summer Isles makes me wonder why she chose to practice it in a place where it is treated with contempt. Where's Alayaya's dad, anyway? Absent too? Irrelevant? What?

Kojja Mo's speech to Samwell about sex without shame would mean a lot more if it was coming from Xhondo, the guy, after spending the night caring for Gilly's infant while his girlfriend was having sex with other people to celebrate life. Instead of the other way around. Not exactly a revolutionary image there.

I can't take any free love utopia seriously that doesn't address men doing their share of childcare, or the emotional relevance of fatherhood as a bond as opposed to a patriarchical conflict, or any of the practicalities involved with material support and inheritance. Sexual freedom doesn't exist without sexual responsibility and where pregnancy is concerned it doesn't end with the option of abortion.

[isefyres-archive]

𝐀 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐅 𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐒

Meredyth Crane known as Merry Crane, is a noblewoman of House Crane. Merry is one of Margaery Tyrell's lady attendants in King's Landing. Merry is part of Lady Margaery's retinue. She often goes hawking with Janna Fossoway and Lady Margaery. Merry is shameless and openly flirtacious with the knights and kingsguard, which leads to Queen Cersei plotting to have the Tyrells fall for false accusations. Canon.

Elmor Tully. Youngest brother to Catelyn, Lysa and Edmure. Elmor was thought to have died in childbirth but had his first breath minutes before being declared. They say because of this, Elmor has a connection with the dead and can feel the aura of things. He was fostered at Raventree before being returned to his brother Edmure. He was taken prisoner after the Red Wedding. Semi-OC.

Artemysia Hotah of Norvos. A Lady informant of Princess Mellario of Norvos, Artemysia's brother is part of the kingsguard in Dorne while her mission there is to inform the Princess of her children and what they are up to. She is also a healer and was the one who saved Princess Myrcella's life. OC.

Ser Terrick Tarbeck. The last of the Tarbecks after the Reyne's Rebellion. Terrick was raised as a "ward" of Casterly Rock and tutored by Tywin Lannister to keep the boy close and manipulate him at ever step. After the death of Ser Arys Oakhart, Terrick is made Princess Myrcella's sworn sword as he travels to Dorne. OC.

Kojja Mo is the daughter of Quhuru Mo, the captain of the Cinnamon Wind. Kojja serves as the translator for the crew of the Cinnamon Wind while Samwell Tarly and Maester Aemon and Gilly travel aboard the ship. Her ship has connections to the Night's Watch. Canon.

Barsena Blackhair is a pit fighter famed in Meereen. Her origin is unknown, but she supports the pit fighting culture of the city. It is said that Barsena has slain every woman she has faced in the fighting pits of Meereen in the last eight years. After being injured by Drogon, Barsena joins the Dothraki as Daenerys' guard and travels to Westeros. Canon.

Haera Banefort. Heir of Banefort, a title in dispute as her father is held captive by the Lannisters. Haera considers her father a traitor and has taken the castle to herself. In retribution, Haera plans to allow the rivermen to take the castle to make their way to Casterly Rock if they ever make they way across the continent. OC.

Ser Brandon Cassel. Nephew of Rodrick Cassel, he was in Essos during business when he found out of the war. Learning his niece, a child, has been named the heir and was taken captive and threatened, Brandon travels back to Westeros and declares for Jon Snow as King in the North when he hears Robb Stark declared him the heir. OC.

[aemontargaryen-bloodraven]

Yes, Sam thought, a drink for dragons. Their cups were empty, so he went over to the cask and filled them once again. The sun was low in the west, he saw, swollen to thrice its proper size. Its ruddy light made Gilly's face seem flushed and red. They drank a cup to Kojja Mo, and one to Dalla's boy, and one to Gilly's babe back on the Wall and after that nothing would do but to drink two cups for Aemon of House Targaryen. - Samwell IV, A Feast For Crows

There are/were two Aemon(s) at the Wall. Jon and Maester Aemon because Jon's true name is Aemon. 😁 That is why two cups for Aemon of House Targaryen.

[kraehenkunst]

I love all of your clothing designs. They're so unique and creative. Will you ever draw Kojja Mo and her father, maybe in their traditional summer islander attire?

If I may say so anon, thats an incredibly big brained character request, thank you!

[kingslayerstew]

Kojja Mo in Ringleader?

wonder if we'll get to see her again...

[asongofsilks]

ASOIAF fancasting –> Beyond Westeros: Gina Torres as Kojja Mo

‘There is the coast of Dorne. Sand and rocks and scorpions, and no good anchorage for hundreds of leagues. You can swim there if you like, and walk to Oldtown. You will need to cross the deep desert and climb some mountains and swim the Torrentine. Or else you could go to Gilly.’

‘You do not understand. Last night we...’

‘... honored your dead, and the gods who made you both. Xhondo did the same. I had the child, else I would have been with him. All you Westerosi make a shame of loving. There is no shame in loving. If your septons say there is, your seven gods must be demons. In the isles we know better. Our gods gave us legs to run with, noses to smell with, hands to touch and feel. What mad cruel god would give a man eyes and tell him he must forever keep them shut, and never look at all the beauty in the world? Only a monster god, a demon of the darkness.’

I know Kojja is supposed to be a full Summer Islander... but I like Gina Torres in this role in my head so much that I’m willing to headcanon her as having slightly mixed blood. After all, her father is a trader and a sailor.

More fancasts from beyond Westeros

[westerosoliviapope]

Scandal Westeros | Feast of the Maiden (Valentine's Day) Kojja Mo & Willas Tyrell

(this is the crackest of crackships, but it came to me when I fancast Joshua Jackson as Willas Tyrell. lmao)

[dwellordream]

Kojja’s love for baby Aemon is so cute... I love her

[talesofmetalandmagic]

A tribute to my favorite characters from A Song Of Ice And Fire that didn’t show up in Game of Thrones. 

Shoreh Agdashloo as Galazza Galare Pigeon Pagonis as Sweets Gaia Weiss as Pretty Meris Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Barsena Blackhair Aissa Maiga as Kojja Mo Riit as Zei Chai Hansen as Satin Tracy Ifeachor as Sarella Sand Karen David as Arianne Martell Elliot Knight as Quentyn Martell Dave Bautista as Strong Belwas Rebecca Ferguson as Wildling Princess Val Hailee Steinfeld as Jeyne Poole Adepero Oduye as Chataya Tiana Parker as Alayaya Kristen Stewart as Dacey Mormont Andrea F. Friedman as Lollys Stokeworth Frieda Pinto as Taena Merryweather of Myr Salem Mitchell as Spotted Sylva Santagar Armando Cabral as Jalabhar Xho Hugh Armitage as Willas Tyrell Sam Claflin as Garlan the Gallant Tyrell Helen Mirren as Alannys Harlaw Georgia Rankin as Penny Phoebe Ryan as Wylla Manderly Kelly Amaujaq Fraser as Alys Karstark Paul-Dylan Ivalu as Sigorn, Maknar of Thenn Zoe Kravitz as Mya Stone Hoyeon Jung as Hagen’s Daughter Luke Youngblood as Marselen

[agameofclothes]

What Kojja Mo would wear, Jean Paul Gaultier

Kojja Mo is a summer islander and the daughter of Quhuru Mo, the captain of the Cinnamon Wind. Kojja is a member of the ship's crew, captains the ship's red archers, and is an expert marksman with her double-curved goldenheart bow.

[gotcasting]

Kojja Mo

Yaya DaCosta - 34 years old, American.

(Accent.)

[rosalinesurvived]

Me, incoherently screaming: SCORPIONS

"I know of this Dorne," said Reznak mo Reznak. "Dorne is sand and scorpions, and bleak red mountains baking in the sun."

Far off to the north, a haze was visible low on the horizon. Kojja pointed at it. "There is the coast of Dorne. Sand and rocks and scorpions, and no good anchorage for hundreds of leagues.

It was at Hellholt where the Dornish had their greatest success against the Targaryens. A bolt from a scorpion pierced the eye of Meraxes, and the great dragon and the queen who rode upon it fell from the sky. 

"Archmaester Rigney once wrote that history is a wheel, for the nature of man is fundamentally unchanging. What has happened before will perforce happen again, he said.

Scorpions. What has happened before will happen again. Dorne is Sand and Scorpions and Spears and a Scorpion will take down a dragon at Hellholt.

[istumpysk]

Operation Stumpy Re-Read

AFFC: Samwell V (Chapter 45)

Thrice longships were sighted by the crow's nest. Two were well astern, however, and the Cinnamon Wind soon outdistanced them. The third appeared near sunset, to cut them off from Whispering Sound. When they saw her oars rising and falling, lashing the copper waters white, Kojja Mo sent her archers to the castles with their great bows of goldenheart that could send a shaft farther and truer than even Dornish yew. She waited till the longship came within two hundred yards before she gave the command to loose. Sam loosed with them, and this time he thought his arrow reached the ship. One volley was all it took. The longship veered south in search of tamer prey.

Samwell and a Summer Islander are shooting arrows again.

In case it matters, Sarella Sand was using a goldenheart bow in the prologue.

+.+.+

"It's very tall," said Gilly.

"Wait until you see the Hightower."

Bizarro jongritte.

+.+.+

Dalla's babe began to cry. Gilly pulled open her tunic and gave the boy her breast. She smiled as he nursed, and stroked his soft brown hair. She has come to love this one as much as the one she left behind, Sam realized. He hoped that the gods would be kind to both of the children.

When he says gods he means George R. R. Martin.

Born-in-battle has a new mommy. Say goodbye to Mance and his sister-in-law, I'm not sure they make it.

+.+.+

"Who would be so mad as to raid this close to Oldtown?"

Xhondo pointed at a half-sunken longship in the shallows. The remnants of a banner drooped from her stern, smoke-stained and ragged. The charge was one Sam had never seen before: a red eye with a black pupil, beneath a black iron crown supported by two crows. "Whose banner is that?" Sam asked. Xhondo only shrugged.

Euron Greyjoy, you little rascal! What am I going to do with you?

+.+.+

"My apologies," the captain said when his inspection was complete. "It grieves me that honest men must suffer such discourtesy, but sooner that than ironmen in Oldtown. Only a fortnight ago some of those bloody bastards captured a Tyroshi merchantman in the straits. They killed her crew, donned their clothes, and used the dyes they found to color their whiskers half a hundred colors. Once inside the walls they meant to set the port ablaze and open a gate from within whilst we fought the fire. Might have worked, but they ran afoul of the Lady of the Tower, and her oarsmaster has a Tyroshi wife. When he saw all the green and purple beards he hailed them in the tongue of Tyrosh, and not one of them had the words to hail him back."

Ironmen dressed like a Tyroshi! How clever.

Wouldn't it be funny to see Euron dressed like a Tyroshi? Imagine Euron wearing Daario's clothing! Hilarious.

+.+.+

"The Hightower must be doing something."

"To be sure. Lord Leyton's locked atop his tower with the Mad Maid, consulting books of spells. Might be he'll raise an army from the deeps. Or not. Baelor's building galleys, Gunthor has charge of the harbor, Garth is training new recruits, and Humfrey's gone to Lys to hire sellsails. If he can winkle a proper fleet out of his whore of a sister, we can start paying back the ironmen with some of their own coin. Till then, the best we can do is guard the sound and wait for the bitch queen in King's Landing to let Lord Paxter off his leash."

Lynesse Hightower shoutout.

Lynesse was awkwardly spotlighted in Catelyn V, ASOS, so I wouldn't be surprised if she became a factor.

As for the rest of the Hightowers, all I can think about is that random story we heard in Jaime's first AFFC chapter.

"Ser Jaime, I have seen terrible things in my time," the old man said. "Wars, battles, murders most foul . . . I was a boy in Oldtown when the grey plague took half the city and three-quarters of the Citadel. Lord Hightower burned every ship in port, closed the gates, and commanded his guards to slay all those who tried to flee, be they men, women, or babes in arms. They killed him when the plague had run its course. On the very day he reopened the port, they dragged him from his horse and slit his throat, and his young son's as well. To this day the ignorant in Oldtown will spit at the sound of his name, but Quenton Hightower did what was needed. Your father was that sort of man as well. A man who did what was needed." - Jaime I, AFFC

+.+.+

The bitterness of the captain's final words shocked Sam as much as the things he said. If King's Landing loses Oldtown and the Arbor, the whole realm will fall to pieces, he thought as he watched the Huntress and her sisters moving off.

Counting on it.

Someone has to assist Oldtown, but who? Cersei, Aegon, Daenerys, or Stannis.

+.+.+

It has to be Horn Hill, Sam finally decided. Once we reach Oldtown I'll hire a wagon and some horses and take her there myself. That way he could make certain of the castle and its garrison, and if any part of what he saw or heard gave him pause, he could just turn around and bring Gilly back to Oldtown.

Probably what happens.

How else is he getting Heartsbane?

+.+.+

Sam used the time to explain his plans to Gilly. "First the Citadel, to present Jon's letters and tell them of Maester Aemon's death. I expect the archmaesters will send a cart for his body.

It's not clear whether this happened.

+.+.+

Then I will arrange for horses and a wagon to take you to my mother at Horn Hill. I will be back as soon as I can, but it may not be until the morrow."

"The morrow," she repeated, and gave him a kiss for luck.

Until the morrow. The morrow.

+.+.+

"How long will you remain in port?"

"Two days, ten days, who can say? However long it takes to empty our holds and fill them again." Kojja grinned. "My father must visit the grey maesters as well. He has books to sell."

Who can say how long they'll stay? Hopefully they're still there on the morrow.

Those books* Sam brought from Castle Black get referenced in almost every single one of his chapters.

*Maester Thomax's Dragonkin, Being a History of House Targaryen from Exile to Apotheosis, with a Consideration of the Life and Death of Dragons.

+.+.+

"Can Gilly stay aboard till I return?"

"Gilly can stay as long as she likes." She poked Sam in the belly with a finger. "She does not eat so much as some."

Gilly's staying aboard until he returns. On the morrow.

+.+.+

The day was damp, so the cobblestones were wet and slippery underfoot, the alleys shrouded in mist and mystery. Sam avoided them as best he could and stayed on the river road that wound along beside the Honeywine through the heart of the old city.

Is that a joke about Samwell avoiding Pate's fate?

+.+.+

The gates of the Citadel were flanked by a pair of towering green sphinxes with the bodies of lions, the wings of eagles, and the tails of serpents. One had a man's face, one a woman's.

Is that a joke about Sarella Sand?

+.+.+

The path divided where the statue of King Daeron the First sat astride his tall stone horse, his sword lifted toward Dorne. A seagull was perched on the Young Dragon's head, and two more on the blade. Sam took the left fork, which ran beside the river. 

If this fork in the road means anything, I'm not the person to tell you.

+.+.+

The man glanced up and did not appear to approve of what he saw. "You smell of novice."

"I hope to be one soon." Sam drew out the letters Jon Snow had given him. "I came from the Wall with Maester Aemon, but he died during the voyage. If I could speak with the Seneschal . . ."

[...]

"How much longer will it be?"

"The Seneschal is an important man."

After minor mentions here and there, this is the first time in the series we're assaulted with the word seneschal.

I'm not done with this thought.

+.+.+

"How could you tell I was of noble birth?"

"The same way you can tell that I'm half Dornish." The statement was delivered with a smile, in a soft Dornish drawl.

Sam fumbled for a penny. "Are you a novice?"

"An acolyte. Alleras, by some called Sphinx."

The name gave Sam a jolt. "The sphinx is the riddle, not the riddler," he blurted. "Do you know what that means?"

"No. Is it a riddle?"

"I wish I knew. I'm Samwell Tarly. Sam."

Could Maester Aemon have meant this Sphinx? It seems likely.

+.+.+

"Well met. And what business does Samwell Tarly have with Archmaester Theobald?"

"Is he the Seneschal?" said Sam, confused. "Maester Aemon said his name was Norren."

"Not for the past two turns. There is a new one every year. They fill the office by lot from amongst the archmaesters, most of whom regard it as a thankless task that takes them away from their true work. This year the black stone was drawn by Archmaester Walgrave, but Walgrave's wits are prone to wander, so Theobald stepped up and said he'd serve his term. He's a gruff man, but a good one. Did you say Maester Aemon?"

Alright, follow me here.

No theories, just thoughts.

Every single year an archmaester serves as Seneschal of the Citadel. I checked the appendix, there's 21 archmaesters at the Citadel.

Despite all his travels, there is a possibility Marwyn has been the Seneschal of the Citadel before.

"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." - Daenerys II, ADWD

Unfortunately, no mention of perfume or any other scent appeared in this chapter. I'm not sold, but we'll keep Marwyn in mind.

+.+.+

"Aemon Targaryen?"

"Once. Most just called him Maester Aemon. He died during our voyage south. How is it that you know of him?"

"How not? He was more than just the oldest living maester. He was the oldest man in Westeros, and lived through more history than Archmaester Perestan has ever learned. He could have told us much and more about his father's reign, and his uncle's. How old was he, do you know?"

"One hundred and two"

Weird she knows about Aemon Targaryen.

Laughing at the thought of Aemon having any good insight on his family.

+.+.+

"What was he doing at sea, at his age?"

Sam chewed on the question for a moment, wondering how much he ought to say. The sphinx is the riddle, not the riddler. Could Maester Aemon have meant this Sphinx? It seemed unlikely. "Lord Commander Snow sent him away to save his life," he began, hesitantly. He spoke awkwardly of King Stannis and Melisandre of Asshai, intending to stop at that, but one thing led to another and he found himself speaking of Mance Rayder and his wildlings, king's blood and dragons, and before he knew what was happening, all the rest came spilling out; the wights at the Fist of First Men, the Other on his dead horse, the murder of the Old Bear at Craster's Keep, Gilly and their flight, Whitetree and Small Paul, Coldhands and the ravens, Jon's becoming lord commander, the Blackbird, Dareon, Braavos, the dragons Xhondo saw in Qarth, the Cinnamon Wind and all that Maester Aemon whispered toward the end. He held back only the secrets that he was sworn to keep, about Bran Stark and his companions and the babes Jon Snow had swapped. "Daenerys is the only hope," he concluded. "Aemon said the Citadel must send her a maester at once, to bring her home to Westeros before it is too late."

Yeah, let's have Samwell Tarly parroting these ideas of Daenerys being The Great White Hope. That won't blow up in his face. Or Dickon's.

+.+.+

"How far do we have to go?"

"Not far. The Isle of Ravens."

They did not need a boat to reach the Isle of Ravens; a weathered wooden drawbridge linked it to the eastern bank. "The Ravenry is the oldest building at the Citadel," Alleras told him, as they crossed over the slow-flowing waters of the Honeywine. "In the Age of Heroes it was supposedly the stronghold of a pirate lord who sat here robbing ships as they came down the river."

They should rename it the Isle of Crow. Hee.

+.+.+

It was cool and dim inside the castle walls. An ancient weirwood filled the yard, as it had since these stones had first been raised. The carved face on its trunk was grown over by the same purple moss that hung heavy from the tree's pale limbs. Half of the branches seemed dead, but elsewhere a few red leaves still rustled, and it was there the ravens liked to perch. The tree was full of them, and there were more in the arched windows overhead, all around the yard. The ground was speckled by their droppings. As they crossed the yard, one flapped overhead and he heard the others quorking to each other. 

We've got eyes on the Citadel.

Not that it matters, Bran doesn't appear to need a tree.

+.+.+

"Samwell. A new novice, come to see the Mage."

"The Citadel is not what it was," complained the blond. "They will take anything these days. Dusky dogs and Dornishmen, pig boys, cripples, cretins, and now a black-clad whale. And here I thought leviathans were grey." A half cape striped in green and gold draped one shoulder. He was very handsome, though his eyes were sly and his mouth cruel.

Sam knew him. "Leo Tyrell."

Yay, the asshole's back.

+.+.+

"Are you still a craven?"

"No," lied Sam. Jon had made it a command. "I went beyond the Wall and fought in battles. They call me Sam the Slayer." He did not know why he said it. The words just tumbled out.

He owned it!

Slayers slay dragons. That's what they do. They're dragonslayers. These are the rules.

I'm working off my own, you know, karma here, because I'm George, and what's he known for? He killed the dragon, you know, come on. Come on, I was almost abolished at one point when the Catholic Church was reviewing all the saints, I was terrified that George would be abolished, because they abolish a lot of fiction, I said George is only known for killing a dragon, how can they keep him in, but they did so, that was, that was good. - George R. R. Martin

George is Sam! It is known.

+.+.+

Marwyn wore a chain of many metals around his bull's neck. Save for that, he looked more like a dockside thug than a maester. His head was too big for his body, and the way it thrust forward from his shoulders, together with that slab of jaw, made him look as if he were about to tear off someone's head. Though short and squat, he was heavy in the chest and shoulders, with a round, rock-hard ale belly straining at the laces of the leather jerkin he wore in place of robes. Bristly white hair sprouted from his ears and nostrils. His brow beetled, his nose had been broken more than once, and sourleaf had stained his teeth a mottled red. He had the biggest hands that Sam had ever seen.

Um.

These are the characters that chew sourleaf:

Chett -> dead.

Emmon Frey -> going to die. duh.

Masha Heddle -> dead.

The pious dwarf -> dead.

Snatch -> sellsword introduced in ADWD.

Yoren -> dead.

Are you noticing a pattern here?

+.+.+

"Call it dragonglass." Archmaester Marwyn glanced at the candle for a moment. "It burns but is not consumed."

"What feeds the flame?" asked Sam.

"What feeds a dragon's fire?" Marwyn seated himself upon a stool. "All Valyrian sorcery was rooted in blood or fire. The sorcerers of the Freehold could see across mountains, seas, and deserts with one of these glass candles. They could enter a man's dreams and give him visions, and speak to one another half a world apart, seated before their candles. Do you think that might be useful, Slayer?"

I hate these stupid candles.

+.+.+

The archmaester peeled a sourleaf off a bale, shoved it in his mouth, and began to chew it.

Oh no.

+.+.+

"Tell me all you told our Dornish sphinx. I know much of it and more, but some small parts may have escaped my notice."

He was not a man to be refused. Sam hesitated a moment, then told his tale again as Marywn, Alleras, and the other novice listened. "Maester Aemon believed that Daenerys Targaryen was the fulfillment of a prophecy . . . her, not Stannis, nor Prince Rhaegar, nor the princeling whose head was dashed against the wall."

That other novice is a Faceless Man, and probably not a huge fan of Valyrians or dragons.

+.+.+

"Born amidst salt and smoke, beneath a bleeding star. I know the prophecy." Marwyn turned his head and spat a gob of red phlegm onto the floor. "Not that I would trust it. Gorghan of Old Ghis once wrote that a prophecy is like a treacherous woman. She takes your member in her mouth, and you moan with the pleasure of it and think, how sweet, how fine, how good this is . . . and then her teeth snap shut and your moans turn to screams. That is the nature of prophecy, said Gorghan. Prophecy will bite your prick off every time." He chewed a bit. "Still . . ."

He seems to be sensible? I don't get Marwyn.

+.+.+

Alleras stepped up next to Sam. "Aemon would have gone to her if he had the strength. He wanted us to send a maester to her, to counsel her and protect her and fetch her safely home."

"Did he?" Archmaester Marwyn shrugged. "Perhaps it's good that he died before he got to Oldtown. Elsewise the grey sheep might have had to kill him, and that would have made the poor old dears wring their wrinkled hands."

"Kill him?" Sam said, shocked. "Why?"

"If I tell you, they may need to kill you too." Marywn smiled a ghastly smile, the juice of the sourleaf running red between his teeth.

Oh dear.

They wouldn't kill Maester Aemon. That's ridiculous. This whole conversation is weird.

+.+.+

"Who do you think killed all the dragons the last time around? Gallant dragonslayers armed with swords?" He spat. "The world the Citadel is building has no place in it for sorcery or prophecy or glass candles, much less for dragons. Ask yourself why Aemon Targaryen was allowed to waste his life upon the Wall, when by rights he should have been raised to archmaester. His blood was why. He could not be trusted. No more than I can."

That's some world class bullshit from Marwyn. The Targaryens clearly destroyed themselves, it wasn't a society of elderly scholars. Surely he knows that. What is going on?

Loving the talk of dragonslayers killing dragons though!

The world the Citadel is building has no place in it for sorcery or prophecy or glass candles, much less for dragons.

If he has a problem with that, why is he there? Why is he encouraging Samwell to forge his chain?

+.+.+

Marwyn glanced at Sam again, and frowned. "You . . . you should stay and forge your chain. If I were you, I would do it quickly. A time will come when you'll be needed on the Wall." He turned to the pasty-faced novice. "Find Slayer a dry cell. He'll sleep here, and help you tend the ravens."

Didn't happen that way on the show, but I believe him.

+.+.+

"B-b-but," Sam sputtered, "the other archmaesters . . . the Seneschal . . . what should I tell them?"

"Tell them how wise and good they are. Tell them that Aemon commanded you to put yourself into their hands. Tell them that you have always dreamed that one day you might be allowed to wear the chain and serve the greater good, that service is the highest honor, and obedience the highest virtue. But say nothing of prophecies or dragons, unless you fancy poison in your porridge." Marwyn snatched a stained leather cloak off a peg near the door and tied it tight. "Sphinx, look after this one."

Am I crazy? This is nonsense, right? I refuse to believe a maester would poison a novice. If that were the case, why would they let Marwyn the Mage serve? Why would there be a Valyrian steel link for expertise in higher mysteries?

Other than Pycelle and Qyburn (who lost his links), I can't think of a single morally corrupt maester in the story, and we've met dozens. Don't even talk to me about Cressen, that was justified, okay? Lol.

Look at the people who hate maesters: Aeron Dam-phair, Qyburn, Cersei Lannister, Barbrey Dustin. That's not the side you want to be on.

+.+.+

"What will you do?" asked Alleras, the Sphinx.

"Get myself to Slaver's Bay, in Aemon's place. The swan ship that delivered Slayer should serve my needs well enough. The grey sheep will send their man on a galley, I don't doubt. With fair winds I should reach her first." 

[...]

"Where has he gone?" asked Sam, bewildered.

"To the docks. The Mage is not a man who believes in wasting time." Alleras smiled.

Finally, here we are.

We can only assume Gilly, Dalla's baby, Aemon's rum corpse, the horn, and the Castle Black books are still on that ship.

It's possible the ship won't set sail until the next day, and there's nothing to worry about.

It's also possible the ship left once impatient Marwyn arrived, forcing Gilly to get off, and spend a rough night alone in Oldtown.

He hoped he still remembered the way to the Citadel. Oldtown was a maze, and he had no time for getting lost.

x

Sam had sent Gilly out to get some, forgetting that the wildling girl had lived her whole life in sight of Craster's Keep and never seen so much as a market town. The stony maze of islands and canals that was Braavos, devoid of grass and trees and teeming with strangers who spoke to her in words she could not understand, frightened her so badly that she lost the map and soon herself. - Samwell III, AFFC

I don't know.

Side note, I never noticed Marwyn predicting the other maesters would send someone too. I wonder who?

+.+.+

"I have a confession. Ours was no chance encounter, Sam. The Mage sent me to snatch you up before you spoke to Theobald. He knew that you were coming."

"How?"

Alleras nodded at the glass candle.

I suppose I can't deny they work, but I loathe most glass candle theories. I don't want to read about Leyton Hightower having a glass candle - it's stupid, and I hate it.

Maybe Quaithe has one. I don't even care.

+.+.+

"There's an empty sleeping cell under mine in the west tower, with steps that lead right up to Walgrave's chambers," said the pasty-faced youth. "If you don't mind the ravens quorking, there's a good view of the Honeywine. Will that serve?"

"I suppose." He had to sleep somewhere.

"I will bring you some woolen coverlets. Stone walls turn cold at night, even here."

"My thanks." There was something about the pale, soft youth that he misliked, but he did not want to seem discourteous, so he added, "My name's not Slayer, truly. I'm Sam. Samwell Tarly."

"I'm Pate," the other said, "like the pig boy."

Prologue Pate! Strange seeing you in the first and last chapter. I thought you died.

How much do we hate Jaqen being anywhere near Samwell? Lots.

I'll trust the process.

Final thoughts:

Friends,

WE DID IT!

-> return to menu <-

[agentrouka-blog]

Thanks for answering the pia question.

I have another one because you're so good at seeing all the layers in any given situation. This one is about Elia's marriage to Rhaegar. The thing is people have argued for years that Elia was Rhaegar's partner in crime due to Dany's HOTU vision but it honestly doesn't make sense. Why would she undermine herself and her own children so thoroughly to the point where she dies a hostage?

Yet GRRM is very careless with Dorne. I know he was working backwards to explain Doran and Oberyn's actions since Elia's murder but it's very haphazard and not as tight as some of his writing tends to be (he doesn't even remember where Oberyn was during the rebellion). He also doesn't emphasis the fact the Dornish are only turning to Viserys and Dany because all the other Houses are part of this large alliance. He doesn't emphasise the threat Varys posed which is why Doran had to be extra cautious. Arianne rarely thinks about Elia. The Dornish political arena is very underwritten even in the supplemental books. We don't even know where they plant their citrus fruits or how they make their famous wine or whether or not that's their own export?

It's sloppy enough that I can't help but worry. GRRM rarely gives Dornish characters the dignity he would give white characters. His idea of a good character of color is one who puts white characters first (see the Kojja Mo). Things could change as Aegon's campaign for the throne continues but still I'm worried about Elia. GRRM called her marriage to Rhaegar complex and as I've said before, he has a habit of making certain situations ambiguous when they could benefit from being straight forward.

He also does the opposite of romanticising Elia. Every other lady in the DLC who GRRM bothers to pay a little attention to is placed on a pedestal. Except Elia and her mother. The details of her murder are laid bare over and over again, different characters insult her 20 years after her death. So on. The only good thing to come from it is that she feels more real, she's not a fairy tale character or a cautionary tale, just a tragedy. She was born premature, she was chronically ill her entire life, she played with Oberyn and the other children in the Water Garden, she left Dorne for the first time at 17 and was very excited, she liked flirting, she loved her brother's jokes, she liked little babies and cooed over Tyrion, she was attacked by the Kingswood Outlaws and may have been assaulted, she brought Dornish ladies to Dragonstone and her court was said to be lively, etc.

Still, a part of me worries. Maybe GRRM didn't care, maybe he focused all his attention on R/L and what it could mean for Jon so he'll write backward to explain where Elia was in all of these things and it might as haphazard as the treatment he gave her brothers.

Hi!

Just logically speaking it makes zero sense for Elia to have supported Rhaegar in his actions past Harrenhal. It goes against every worldly interest she has, and that of the children she so suffered to bring into the world. 

Elia knew about the prophecy but there is no evidence she either believed or approved.

"Aegon," he said to a woman nursing a newborn babe in a great wooden bed. "What better name for a king?"

"Will you make a song for him?" the woman asked.

"He has a song," the man replied. "He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire." He looked up when he said it and his eyes met Dany's, and it seemed as if he saw her standing there beyond the door. "There must be one more," he said, though whether he was speaking to her or the woman in the bed she could not say. "The dragon has three heads." He went to the window seat, picked up a harp, and ran his fingers lightly over its silvery strings. Sweet sadness filled the room as man and wife and babe faded like the morning mist, only the music lingering behind to speed her on her way.  (ACOK, Daenerys IV)

The HOTU vision proves nothing but Rhaegar’s indifference to Elia’s suffering and to his newborn son. She almost died and he can’t be bothered to say something sweet to her song overture? “He is a prophecy baby. There must be one more.” That’s conflict, not complicity.

More reassuringly, if you mistrust GRRM’s handling of Dorne, Elia’s complicity would also greatly upset the narrative balance.

What changes of Elia supported this v. if she didn’t?

If she supported Rhaegar’s plans, then the entire Rhaegar faction at court was a prophecy truther monolith - and every last one dumb as a sack of rocks. They would all share culpability, not just in the “tragic” (read: inevitable) end result, but in the piss poor planning of every step. Would Elia of Dorne really have had nothing to contribute to manage Rhaegar’s PR disasters? He comes off looking bad precisely because he humiliated and abandoned Elia. It would make her not only stupid but utterly useless beyond not opposing him. If they all wanted him to make a third prophecy baby with another woman, you’d think they would all cooperate to make it a success.

If Elia disappears into the ranks of his blind supporters, then Rhaegar’s story loses all tragic conflict. He would not have suddenly turned rogue from a less glamorous but ultimately more successful approach to saving the world from a threat (patience, politics, unite the Realm the hard way). He would not have been lured to make a rash, risky and dishonorable choice for the blinding glamor of prophecy - he would have simply been cheered on by everyone in his entourage, not a conflict in sight. Just a straight line from A to B.

It essentially removes all alternatives to the path he chose. It removes him from the narrative heritage of Aegon V and the Idiocy at Summerhall. The derailment of a promising “descent” from godhood to a monarchy of the people, by a murky prophecy, would be a mere glitch instead of a theme. 

Aegon, Aerys, Rhaegar, Daenerys - promising start but felled by Targaryen hubris. Except not, if Rhaegar was just doing what all his friends thought was a great idea - down the the wife he was harming. It goes from making the wrong choice to just executing his plans in the dumbest way possible.

It would also make Elia the author of her own destruction and a villain by proxy for supporting Rhaegar’s abduction of Lyanna, even her likely rape - all to her own detriment. This sounds nothing like the person she is described to be:

"Princess Elia was a good woman, Your Grace. She was kind and clever, with a gentle heart and a sweet wit. I know the prince was very fond of her." (ADWD, Daenerys IV)

It would turn the entire Dornish plot into an absurdity, because while his methods were exceedingly brutal, it could be argued Tywin was right to make sure none of these imbeciles could ever come back to inherit the Throne and destroy the Realm some more.

It destroys the narrative mirror between Elia and Lyanna, Sansa and Arya - no woman wins under patriarchy, be they conforming or nonconforming. Because Elia would not have been a victim if she was entirely complicit with her own marginalization. It’s worse if Lyanna also went willingly. The theme of rape and abuse, patriarchical oppression, the destruction of innocents along the way of “destiny”, is erased. Instead it’s an entire generation of unbelievable idiots destroying the Realm in harmonious concert for the hell of it all, because the only thing that went wrong was somehow everyone else overreacting to the happy threesome marriage by starting a Rebellion. Oops.

It turns Rhaella into the sole pure victim of Targaryen cruelty within the family, making the cross-generational, anti-Targ-supremacy bond she shared with Elia meaningless. Aerys becomes an aberration rather than Rhaegar’s ugly mirror.

It even removes all meaning from the way Rhaegar’s indifference to Elia is brought up in Dany’s chapters. Questions of love v. duty, around which these stories are framed, are irrelevant because there is no conflict if Elia supports his “love”.

It destroys the narrative balance in every single way.

If Elia is not compllicit, on the other hand:

We have a very clear narrative line criticizing patriarchy, egocentric prophecy-obsession with disregard of all consequences, Targaryen exceptionalism, solving issues with “magic weapons” instead of cooperation, lack of communication, careless parenting, lack of self-reflection... all of that. And it is consistent from Aegon’s Conquest to Dany’s antics in Slaver’s Bay.

We have an actual tragedy in that Rhaegar had a choice to stick with the worldly path and be a decent husband to Elia. Heck, he might have had more than two children by her if he had allowed her to recover properly instead of jumping on her just out of bedrest when he saw a light in the sky. Instead of prioritizing his own interpretation of the prophecy beyond all political and moral considerations, he could have been responsible and considerate. He chose not to do that and ended up destroying everything because he has the same old Targ god complex.

We have a clear mirror of victimization under patriarchy between Elia and Lyanna from two different ends of the spectrum, which both end up looking exactly the same: objectification, rape, death. All of which is echoed in significant arcs, like Jon with the wildlings, Sansa, House Bolton, Asha Greyjoy...

We have actual justification for the entire Dornish arc, which focuses on justice for an Elia who suffered terrible injustice.  Which actually echoes the consistent story of Dornish resistance against Targaryen oppression and invasion. Marriage was what made it work, so the betrayal of that marriage is what breaks it.

We have Aegon choosing the side of his mother over his father by siding with Dorne over Dany, which doesn’t work if his mother was not in conflict with his father. Aegon is literally the last hope spot for a Targaryen monarchy that isn't evil and there needs to be emotional weight and an inner conflict for this guy who came at us in book 5. “My mother was betrayed” is a lot more impactful than “My mother was stupid as a bucket of mud.” Rejecting the Targ god complex is a logical consequence of Rhaegar’s villainy. It would also be the only actually meaningful path for Aegon to take. We don’t need a perfect Targ prince for a dance of dragons over the Iron Throne.  We need a perfect Targ prince to dismantle the idea of Targ perfection from within.

GRRM is sloppy with Dorne, no doubt about it, but he is not sloppy with his own narrative. There is no way he will write Elia as an accessory to Rhaegar’s actions.

[melrosing]

1/2 I don't think we are meant to read Cersei's promiscuity as something more negative than Brienne's virginity. If anything, it is the other way round. GRRM is a 60s/70s hippy, and he views sex as a positive thing. The celibate orders in ASOIAF are all deeply sus. When Sam is hesitant about sleeping with Gilly because of his own body image issues and his conflict about his vows, GRRM has Kojja Mo come in and say "All you Westerosi make a shame of loving. There is no shame in loving."

2/2 Sam and Gilly then have sex, and it is a positive experience. Brienne's virginity is partly caused by the fact that she has only known cruelty from men, and when she *does* lose her virginity (to Jaime) it will be a joyful experience for her. GRRM doesn't view promiscuity as bad, just that sex which makes people miserable as bad (which includes the transactional sex and rapes that Cersei endures). Brienne won't be a virgin forever, so I don't think he sex life is in opposition to Cersei's.

Yeah, good point - I think Brienne's virginity is often treated as almost an inherent trait of hers, rather than simply the result of being a woman who was offered no appealing marital prospects and whose suitors have basically been either dishonest or... outright rapists. And she's just fortunately had the means to fight them or turn them down.

But one of the first things we see her do in ASOS is pay her respects to women who sell sex, so I don't think even Brienne has any illusions about what her virginity represents.