Winning the Game of Thrones: The Host of Characters and their Agendas by Valerie Frankel Read Free Book Online

Tyrion reveals the dagger wasn’t his – he never bets against Jaime. Tyrion also points out that only an idiot would use his own knife.
    In fact, King Robert won the dagger in that wager and kept it among his many weapons. One assumes he didn’t arrange Bran’s death, though he said in front of his family that it would be a kindness to end Bran’s misery (On the show, Cersei inherits that line.) However, his armory was accessible to all of his household who traveled to Winterfell including the guards and trusted advisors. In Lysa Arryn’s sky cell, Tyrion thinks to himself:
     
If the old Hand had been murdered, it was deftly and subtly done. Men of his age died of sudden illness all the time. In contrast, sending some oaf with a stolen knife after Brandon Stark struck him as unbelievably clumsy. And wasn’t that peculiar, come to think on it. (I:415)
     
    He comes to the conclusion that he’s being used in a conflict that’s bigger than Stark and Lannister, and he also believes Bran and Jon Arryn had different assassins – someone is setting up his family. Even if Littlefinger didn’t arrange the assassin, he set up Catelyn’s attack on the Lannisters. Like the other murderer, Bran’s attacker is revealed in the third book. So on both of these, just wait – it’s coming.
     

    What Does Melisandre Want?
     
“He stands before you,” Melisandre declared, “though you do not have the eyes to see it. Stannis Baratheon is Azor Ahai come again, the warrior of fire.” (III:884)
     
    Clearly she wants Stannis on the throne, or at least is aiming him that way. She seems to think he’s Azor Ahai, the Lightbringer of the prophecy. She also wants to sacrifice those of royal blood to increase her own and possibly Stannis’s power. She’s a fanatic desperate to protect the world from darkness, though she may be misguided about the nature of that darkness…or she may be completely correct.
           One problem is the red priests’ inflexibility: Beloved characters like Jon and Sam are saved by the ravens and Heart Trees of the Old Gods, but Melisandre and Stannis go about burning the ancient groves, contributing, one must assume, to the power of evil in the world.
 
There is no ambiguity about [other gods’] nature among the R’hllor priests. To them, the Others serve R’hllor’s nemesis, the Great Other, reminiscent of the Christian split between God and Satan. The priest Moqorro explicitly says to the Ironborn, “Your Drowned God is a demon. [. . .] He is no more than a thrall of the Other, the dark god whose name must not be spoken” ( A Dance with Dragons ). To the Lord of Light’s followers, all faiths but R’hllor represent the Great Other. [10]
 
    With magic newly returned to the world, Melisandre may be a key player against the Other, or her inflexibility and fanaticism may doom everyone.
    Martin tells us only, “Melisandre has gone to Stannis entirely on her own, and has her own agenda” rather than following the goal of the other red priests. [11] In fact, in the fifth book, the Maegi in Volantis believe Daenerys is the chosen one. What has Melisandre seen? Why does she pursue her own course? Possibilities include the following:
     
1.        She honestly thinks she’s found Azor Ahai and needs him to fight the darkness of the wights that are coming. It wouldn’t be the first vision she’s gotten wrong, as she misnames towers and characters – she sees the images but the meanings are often lost to her.
2.        She has a crush on Stannis and is blinded by love for him, thus she thinks he’s Azor Ahai and wants to have his shadow babies. (This seems unlikely – Stannis is the least charming person imaginable.)
3.        Stannis is her power base while she waits for the conflict of ice and fire or the true hero. Possibly she’s seen in her fires that she’ll be needed in Westeros.
4.        She wants something and being