For the same reason that Tywin Lannister burned Tarbeck Hall and drowned Castamere.
Author: stevenattewell
How would a Northern Canal change things for the Three Sisters and the Vale by extension? No more shipwrecking? More shipwrecking?
Probably more opportunities for shipwrecking, but a very powerful institutional incentive to cut it out with the shipwrecking, because eventually someone gets pissed off enough to send a fleet and hang some wreckers.
A book reviewer, who claims personal knowledge of GRRM (and in his defense, he is named in the dedication to one of the books, and a knight mentioned in one of Arianne’s WoW chapters shares his name), asserted that Theon knew Bran & Rickon were not dead & hiding in the crypts. Is this supported in the text in any way, do you think?
Well, Theon knew they weren’t dead, because he knew he’d killed the miller’s boys and passed them off as Bran and Rickon.
However, Theon absolutely did not know that Bran and Rickon were in the crypts, because he was desperate to find them and would have gone looking.
Different Anon, but piggybacking off your remarks about Astapor, what happens to people who are born and raised and/or live in a thin place? It’s been a while since I last read the books, but I get the feeling that it’s something like the psychological equivalent to long-term exposure to low-level radiation.
Have you heard of the Innsmouth Look?
How weird is it that the only institution of higher learning I can recall in the world of Ice & Fire (is there a canon name for the world, like Earth-Sea or Arda? ) is the Citadel in the decidedly less-advanced Westeros. Shouldn’t there be stuff about Westerosi nobles & wealthy commoners sending their sons to study at U of Braavos or Pentos Academy of something?
I’ve always used Planetos for the planet’s name, even though that discomfits some in the fandom.
And yes, there must be institutions of higher education in Essos, given the complexity of their economies, the scale of literacy involved, etc.
You make a strong case in you CBC that Ned didn’t take advantage of the powers of his office, seeing politics through more of a personal lens, but isn’t that more a quirk of the setting? It seems like that’s how people succeed, that no one gets anywhere by their de jure authority. Stannis gets little from his legal claim, he succeeds by winning or by the respect of Davos & the northmen(& the Bank). Robb has to work the north lords. Tywin works the Tyrells, but Cersei’s authority as regent fails.
Counter-argument: Tyrion does make use of the powers of his office.
Why wasn’t Astapor a thin place by the time Dany got there ?
Plenty of suffering, not enough magic. Arguably might be one now, based on Quentyn’s POV.
When Robert was acclaimed King, was this done on the assumption that Rhaenys and Aegon would have to be murdered? Might anyone other than Ned have thought about it and objected?
No, I don’t think that was the assumption. For one thing, when Robert was alive, Aerys II was king and it wasn’t entirely clear what the line of succession was, given Aerys’ vacillation between Rhaegar and Viserys.
I’m sure the more “pragmatic” of the rebels – Roose Bolton, the late lord Frey, etc. – would have counselled ending the Targaryen line violently, but others would have probably gone for either keeping them imprisoned but in a means befitting their station or having them take vows as septons/septas and sending them to remote septries and motherhouses respectively.
If they weren’t going to be killed, having Aegon take the black and marrying Renly or Robert’s eventual heir to Rhaenys would’ve probably been the best (non-murderous) course of action, and it’d be a nice bit of dramatic irony that the descendant of Argella Durandon would be using a descendant of Aegon the Conquerer to shore up political claims.
This muddies the water too much, and risks having a claimant for rebels to attack and restore to their “rightful position.”
-SLAL
Why not wed Rhaenys to Stannis?
And what happens if both Stannis and Robert have sons and the ex-Targaryen loyalists start scheming to put Stannis’ Targ-blooded son on the Iron Throne?
A septa’s oath is a neater solution, imo.
When and why did Barristan learn enough Valyrian to speak and act in Meereen?
Probably as part of his regular education as a nobleman. Evidently Ser Barristan Selmy was more dutiful a pupil than many of his peers.
When Robert was acclaimed King, was this done on the assumption that Rhaenys and Aegon would have to be murdered? Might anyone other than Ned have thought about it and objected?
No, I don’t think that was the assumption. For one thing, when Robert was alive, Aerys II was king and it wasn’t entirely clear what the line of succession was, given Aerys’ vacillation between Rhaegar and Viserys.
I’m sure the more “pragmatic” of the rebels – Roose Bolton, the late lord Frey, etc. – would have counselled ending the Targaryen line violently, but others would have probably gone for either keeping them imprisoned but in a means befitting their station or having them take vows as septons/septas and sending them to remote septries and motherhouses respectively.
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