HOUSE STARK
“Winter is Coming.”
The same way Targaryens discovered they can control dragons and to some extent fire that comes with it – calling themselves the blood of the dragons – the Stark family came to the similar conclusion several thousand years before. Starks, being the self proclaimed royal family hailing from the First Men, the oldest humans known to the Westeros are known to have certain magical properties (or at least its founder had), which we are not familiar with yet and which are, in my opinion, purposely hidden from us for this long. What do we know so far?
They can endure colder whether however, they are not completely immune to it but, just like Targaryens, they are able to withstand harsh temperatures with more ease than other humans are. They are able to warg and greenseer; however, just like in the case of Targaryens who are not all able to give birth to a dragon, not every Stark is able to warg or greenseer. They are all deeply connected to the North and the Weirwoods, which we have learned through Bran. And, as seen in the case of almost all of the Stark children they have prophetic dreams, just like some Targaryens do. To sum it up, they are a bit different from the average humans in the sense that they can withstand colder temperatures, can control animals (or turn to one, as shape shifters, depending on how you look at it), can merge with the Weirwoods, view past, present future and have prophetic dreams (not to be confused with greensight).
So what if Bran the Builder saw the future (in the similar way Rhaegar did with The Prince that was Promised Prophecy), and acted upon it in the past, thus securing the wellbeing of the North in the future? It is hardly a stretch.
To repeat myself -not much is known about the White Walkers. And there is a reason for that. You should always keep this in mind. Just as there is a reason for opening this saga with the appearance of the Others after thousands of years and with the Starks, who just happened to stumble upon the pack of six dire wolves (for six Stark children) that haven’t been seen south of the Wall in ages. Needless to say, I see this as the clear emphasis on connection between these two seemingly separate fractions. I have no definite, unmistakable proof for this claim apart from several clues, which were so diligently left by the writer himself. This is why we call it a theory, right? So, instead signing a treaty with a wedding I propose something else.
8000 years in the past the situation is as it follows: The First Men and the Children of the Forest are living in agreement and peace; both fractions believe in the Old Gods, worshiping through Weirwoods until one day a new fraction from another continent, instead of the North, with Azor Ahai as its leader threatens to destroy not only peace but their entire way of living. Unable to fight it and lacking the considerable men power, Children joined forces with the humans and Bran the Builder. Magic was involved and the enemy got defeated. Immediately after the battle is won, the Wall was built and more importantly, the Stark residence, Winterfell. Both allegedly built by Bran the Builder Stark, posses certain magical properties.
The Wall keeps the dead from south of the Wall at all times and likewise those that are not the members of the Night’s Watch from north of the Wall, unless they are guided by a member of the NW, as seen in the case of Sam who took Bran north, using the Oath to open the Black Gate. This is the clear evidence that there was a contingency plan as the Wall was built: a) the Black Gate that can be opened by the member of the NW reciting the Oath and b) the horn of Joramun, which allegedly brings the Wall down. If the Wall was built with the purpose of keeping Men out of North and keeping the White Walkers out of South why would those that built it install the door that leads to the North and create the horn that can bring it down? Unless the Wall was built as either a hideout, for the weapon that is to be used when the time comes as prophesized in the past by Bran the Builder; or as a decoy and the best-kept secret in Westeros whose purpose is to keep guard for the time when prophecy comes to its fruition, or both.
Winterfell, built around the same time and allegedly by the same person is, although not presented as such, equally mysterious. It is a Stark residence, surprisingly warm (due to its location), it is in certain proximity to the Wall (and for a reason) and it hides several mysteries, which are skillfully presented as anything but. One of the mysteries I am talking about is something that I cannot stop thinking about ever since it happened – the snow storm radiating from within the castle during the fifth book. At first glance this might not be a mystery at all but call it a gut feeling or the fact we are talking about ASOIAF I cannot shake the feeling it is and the reason for it is a single observation. There was no storm snow between the Wall and Winterfell nor anywhere around the castle, which brings to mind the only possibly conclusion – the castle radiates the storm from within itself, as a certain defense mechanism, due to the fact there is no Stark at Winterfell (or something else which will be discussed a bit later, or both). And, as we already know “there must always be a Stark at Winterfell”, but conveniently enough we are robbed off as to why, same way how “Starks have mend the Wall for thousands of years” and how conveniently enough as Benjen vanishes into thin air, Jon Snow takes his place at the Wall. I propose that, just like the Wall, Winterfell is also built with the use of the magical properties and the contingency plan, which assumes that if something goes wrong – as the prophecy foretold – and the Starks are faced with a terrible danger and Winterfell is lost or abandoned, the castle starts fending for itself.
Winter is coming are the words we have heard far too many times and, oddly enough, they are the most cryptic house motto that makes little to no sense in the bigger picture. These words do not only mean the harsh times are coming, no, they mean The Starks are coming, same way as Hear me Roar means that if you cross a Lannisters you better be miles away or when Growing Strong hits the nail in the head with the description of just who the Tyrells are. Just like the Fire & Blood, similarly commonplace motto, hints at the Targaryen connection to the dragons, which can only be hatched in fire by the blood of the dragon, the “Winter” is coming hints at Stark connection to the North and whatever lies there. The fact that we are not told as much or that we don’t know as much does not mean it is not possible or true. And this is the long con or the decoy I hinted at earlier in this text. Littlefinger taught us this valuable lesson. The less people know about you, the better. Keep your foes confused. The history is, as we know, written by the winners and what took place at that faithful day is something we have no means of uncovering, but humor me for a second. If the White Walkers were the threat and the enemy to all men, including the Children as we were told, why would one fraction of the Wildlings (also First Men) found themselves on the “wrong side of the Wall”? It is not as if the Wall just magically appeared from space dividing the land in two. And why would the Children retreat into the enemy territory? And if the White Walkers cannot pass the Wall how is it possible that the Night’s King brought his bride to the Nightfort, south of the Wall?!? Too many inconsistencies if you ask me.
It is my belief that this is the best kept secret in Westeros, passed on from a generation to a generation of Starks, a secret that presumably, at one point, fell into oblivion for the sake of its secrecy and the contingency plan to work, or with the untimely death of Lord Rickard. Think of the Starks as guardians and some sorts of Illuminati who are tasked with protecting the secret written on runes (perhaps stored in the crypts of Winterfell) and passed on from generation to generation of Winterfell Lords exclusively. Only now, with the secret being lost as Lord Rickard Stark lost his head in the King’s Landing, the only possible way of uncovering it is either through Bran’s greenseeing or through Jon Snow’s example – as he transforms upon upcoming resurrection and finally walks into the crypts as his dreams foretold.
In my previous theory I hypothesized how Jon Snow can take the control over the White Walkers but the more I think about it the less I am inclined to believe that claim. White Walkers are not so different from men; they are not animals nor demons to be controlled but allies to be guided in the battle. This is the part of my previous theory I still firmly believe in – White Walkers will ally with Northmen lead by Jon Snow, the Stark that will uncover the truth about the best kept secret, and make a pact with the othered race, which I believe was created at the same time the great House Stark came to its existence or the race from which House Stark rose. Together they will defeat the fire blood magic threat (be it from Daenerys or Melisandre and her Red God or both) only if/when “resurrected” Jon unites the North – Starks and their banner men, Night’s Watch, the Wildlings, the Giants, Children of the Forest and the White Walkers – as their new King of Winter, which is, what I believe, the image Daenerys saw in the House of the Undying, which coincides with what Jon saw in his dream:
Glowing like sunset, a red sword was raised in the hand of a blue-eyed king who cast no shadow. (ACOK)
The Blue-Eyed King of the ice Wall, out of which the Blue Winterfell Rose grows, is the mummer’s dragon – Jon Snow – who will betray Daenerys for the North and Winterfell.
Although I might be completely wrong with my claim that Jon Snow is the mummer’s dragon from Quaithe’s prophecy, which also does not really make any difference for this theory, the rest of the sentence I firmly believe in. But before I move onto the next chapter I will give you a brief explanation of this claim.
Soon comes the pale mare, and after her the others, Kraken and dark flame, lion and griffin, the sun’s son and Mummer’s dragon. Trust none of them - Remember the Undying.
Kraken – Victarion Greyjoy; Dark Flame – Moqorro; Lion – Tyrion Lannister; Griffin – Aegon (and Connington); Sun’s son – Quentin Martell; Mummer’s Dragon – Jon Snow. Popular belief says that Griffin is Jon Connington and that Mummer’s Dragon is whichever dragon Varys choses to support, most likely Aegon Targaryen, who could end up being a Blackfyre. To understand this prophecy we must first understand what does the word mummer in this constellation means; is it an actor, is it someone who works from the shadows and is this dragon in fact the false one. Or, is it all of the above. I think it is. And for it to work, both Aegon and Jon fit nicely, with one exception only: Red or Black, a dragon is still a dragon. Bear with me.
In her prophecy Quaithe has made little pairs that fit rather nicely. This begs the question, why would she pair up Tyrion and Connington and leave Aegon out? Wherever Aegon goes, Connington follows. Using the word Griffin is a red herring since, for example, there are two of them – Griff and Young Griff, which is hardly a coincidence. They have also changed their mind, which means they are no longer coming towards her as many believe this is what the prophecy foretells – number of people heading towards Daenerys in Meereen. I read it differently – number of people Daenerys will cross path with sometimes in the future, after she comes back from the Dothraki Sea or perhaps even in Westeros, at some point. All in all it foretells the future events regardless of the space in which it takes place. Back to Connington, isn’t he dying from greyscale? And what threat does he pose on Daenerys, other than working for Aegon? And if the threat comes from Aegon’s supporters why not mention Septa Lemore as well? I hope you understand my point.
Then comes the Sun’s son and Mummer’s dragon. Many argue Varys is the mummer, as this is what he is called, but not only that, he is a master of disguise, a former actor and a supporter of Aegon’s claim. Too many evidence to support this, however, I believe this is not the case. Since I believe Griffin stands for Aegon and his merry band there is no point in repeating the same name twice. This was my starting point. And the more I thought about it the more I was inclined to believe Jon is the false dragon. Bloodraven’s dragon! Bloodraven? Well, Bloodraven is, a man of many faces (literally), thousand eyes and one, master of disguise (since he can literally be anyone due to his magic, wizardry and ability to warg; a man that works from the shadows (literally), playing his long con on Stark brothers, man responsible for the election of Jon Snow, which will (as foreseen) be his downfall and road to unlikely transformation from the bastard to the blue-eyed King; supporter of a Targaryen bastard, the false dragon, not because he is a bastard (like Blackfyres) but because he was, unlike Aegon, raised as their polar opposite, a Stark. People have great expectations of R+L=J. And if this theory turns out to be true, which it probably will, these expectations, considering the context of this saga, are, to put it bluntly, heavily unrealistic. Jon has no aspirations of sitting on the Iron Throne, rule as a Targaryen, or belong to the family that butchered his, as the core of Jon Snow’s character, his very own being, is that he is more of a Stark than any other Stark children. This is his identity. And as weird as this might sound, blood has nothing to do with that because it is not the blood that forms our identity, but the upbringing. Targaryen blood, in his case, is a bonus, for it will enhance the abilities he already has as a Stark warg. Being the product of two most dominant magical houses in ASOIAF will work to his advantage. Just take a look at Bloodraven, half Targaryen, and half Blackwood (First Men), one of the most powerful human beings in Westeros, who chose the Old Gods. Now imagine the capacity of Jon Snow. Yes, the possibilities are endless and exciting. But first, he has to start believing in magic. And what better way to do so if not by coming back from the dead, as the Blue Eyed King or a warg, a greenseer and perhaps the tamer of dragons. This is why he is the false dragon – a dragon by blood but not his identity.
“The Kings of Winter watched him pass with eyes of ice”.
In order to speak about the Kings of Winter I must first say few things about the dragons and George R. R. Martin’s initial plan, which is that he considered having the Targaryens use a pyrotechnic effect to feign dragon powers, but decided on living dragons instead. Why is this important? As two polar opposite houses, Starks and Targaryens are, as mentioned earlier in the text, the only two magical houses in the ASOIAF universe that we know of. Drawing a parallel between the two, this original plan can shed some light onto the intentionally unexplored background of the ruling house in the North. If these two houses were created as counterparts, as I believe they were, then following what we already know about Targaryens, and using it as analogy, can help us get to know the Starks better.
-Their sigil is the three-headed Dragon, Red on Black
-Their House words are “Fire and Blood”
-The phrase “blood of the dragon” refers to typical Targaryen features: silver-gold or platinum hair, violet eyes
-They can tolerate a bit more heat than most ordinary people but they are not immune to fire
-They have premonition-like dreams
-They have the unique ability to control the dragons
-They are called “Dragonlords”
-They are associated with Fire
Now let’s take a look at the House Stark:
-Their sigil is a Dire wolf, (Icy) Grey on White
-Their House words are “Winter is Coming”
-Typical Stark features are dark hair, lean pale face and grey eyes
-They can tolerate a bit more cold than most ordinary people but they are not immune to it
-They have premonition-like dreams
-They have a unique ability to control animals (and perhaps even humans) by the means of warging them, dire wolves in particular
-They are called the “Kings of Winter”
-They are associated with ice
Before the return of the dragons and dire wolves (or the White walkers) both of these houses seemed rather ordinary, interlaced with realism, just like any other house in Westeros. There was nothing extraordinary about them except from the colorful history they heavily relied on (and mythical animals that will appear later on, which begs the question – why aren’t there any lions walking around Casterly Rock?). And then, the magic found its way back. What triggered the return of the magic I do not know but whatever it was one has to be aware of the above numbered traits because with the existence of magic these traits are taking on a whole new meaning creating different dynamics then we were lead to believe at first. What used to be a myth, a story for bedtime, has suddenly become the reality no one could fully grasp, a miracle. And as the term “Dragonlord” took a whole knew meaning with the reappearance of dragons at the end of AGOT, the term “Kings of Winter” (a synonym to Kings in the North or not?) should take a whole knew meaning not only with the reappearance of Dire wolves (which are partly a red herring), but also the White Walkers, who were believed to be sleeping for the past several thousands of years.
The title “Kings of the winter” is mentioned six times in the first book, AGOT:
The first of the other occurrences came from Jon, who remarked that “The old Kings of Winter are down there, sitting on their thrones with stone wolves” in reference to the Winterfell crypts. The second was in the Eddard chapter when he found out Robert had been gravely injured; he was woken from a dream in which he was in front of Lyanna’s statue in the Winterfell crypts: “The Kings of Winter watched him pass with eyes of ice” as if they do not approve. The third was an Arya chapter, in which she thought back to a time when Robb had taken her and the other children down into the crypts: “Bran’s eyes had gotten as big as saucers as he stared at the stone faces of the Kings of Winter”. The fourth was a Bran chapter as he remembered the burial of Lady’s bones: “Beneath the shadow of the First Keep was an ancient lichyard, its headstones spotted with pale lichen, where the old Kings of Winter had laid their faithful servants”. The fifth was an Eddard chapter while he was imprisoned in King’s Landing; he remembered the joke about the King’s Hand that Robert had made: “as the Kings of Winter looked on with cold stone eyes.” The sixth was again a Bran chapter, while he was in the Winterfell crypts with Osha; he referred to the statues as representing the Kings of Winter, and Maester Luwin added “They were the Kings in the North for thousands of years.”
The “King of Winter” title was mentioned three times in ACOK:
The first was in reference to “the ancient crown of the Kings of Winter” having been yielded to Aegon I when Torrhen Stark bent the knee (and it goes on to say that no one knows what Aegon did with the crown). The second was when Jaime Lannister derisively asked Robb, “Did the old Kings of Winter hide behind their mother’s skirts as well?” The third was when Bran, Rickon, and company were leaving Winterfell – he thinks to himself “[…] under the ground the Kings of Winter sit their thrones.”
The title was mentioned twice in ASOS.
The first was in a Catelyn chapter; she thought, “Let the kings of winter have their cold crypt under the earth” (this was the chapter that begins with her recounting her father’s funeral). The second was when Robb explained to Walder Frey why his crown was made out of bronze: “Bronze and iron are stronger than gold and silver. The old Kings of Winter wore such a sword-crown.”
The title was mentioned once in AFFC, but only in the House Stark entry in the appendix. It stated, “The Starks trace their descent from Brandon the Builder and the Kings of Winter.” This is also its only mention in ADWD.
Summarizing these mentions we can draw the following conclusion: the Starks of Winterfell trace their descent (thousands of years in the past) from Bran the Builder and the Kings of Winter, who, with the coming of Targaryens, ceased to be (when Torrhen bent the knee); their ancient crown, made of iron and bronze, hinted to be more resilient (literally and figuratively) than that of the Targaryens (gold and silver) is lost, taken by Targaryens never to be found; Winterfell crypts are their home now, a place from which they “rule” and take watchful guard over the living, never taking their stone cold ice eyes off them, not even for a second.
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