Y'all have probably gathered that I've chosen not to watch season 6, but I'll dialogue with y'all a couple of weeks because I doubt there'll be any major spoilers in the first 2-3 episodes that I haven't more or less guessed anyway, such as.....
^^^THIS. It doesn't bother me to read that because there are so many things in the books (and some in show as well) that point to the Rubies being associated with illusion. I don't consider what I already know to be a spoiler. Remember rubies are associated with illusion. Which is why the one that gets my vote is of course...
....Mance Rayder, aka Rhaegar Targaryen. "Mance" is still very much alive in the books, although the Boltons claim to have him and spearwives as prisoners in a letter (Whether or not it is to be believed is another thing). In this theory, the man killed at the Ruby Ford was Arthur Dayne posing as Rhaegar, something they were known to have done before. Plus all the Rubies. WHERE IS RHAEGAR'S BODY? IF THERE WAS A FUNERAL PYRE OR SOMETHING INSTEAD, WHY IS NO FUNERAL
EVER MENTIONED? Because there was no body. When the rubies were scattered and somebody eventually took off the armor...ooops....that's not Rhaegar. But it was kept quiet. At the Tower of Joy it was mentioned when THEY found him (Ned). Who is they? Howland Reed, the only person left alive, is not a "they." Someone else was there. Rhaegar? It is the birth of his son, whom he believes is the Prince that was Promised and/or Azor Ahai. Perhaps Dayne was not killed after all, although Ned is saddened by his death. But when did he die? In this theory, it could be Dayne knew he had to die. He was in on Rhaegar's plan and there was no way he could "survive" the war. Some even believe that Mance is not who he seems and is in fact Dayne instead of Rhaegar. Either way, I do not believe Mance is just Mance. He is Rhaegar or Arthur Dayne. I'm fixing to have to go work. Maybe later this week I can gather all the clues as to Mance's true identity and put them in a single coherent post.
My second nomination would be Jojen Reed (aka Howland Reed). This was discussed some in a thread way back:
http://www.elitedawgs.com/showthread...-Thrones/page3
But I'm going to cut and paste the main quote here (from a post I made):
!!!!!SPOILER ALERT - MAY CONTAIN INFO FROM BOOKS NOT SHOWN IN TV SERIES YET OR AT ALL - SPOILER ALERT!!!!!
Okay Bulldragons, put on your tinfoil hats. This is why I theorize that Howland Reed is posing as his "son."
I could probably do this better when I re-read the series to get ready for release of TWOW but here goes. Jojen is odd. It is likewise odd that we haven't seen Howland Reed at all. The country is in turmoil. As close a friend as HR was to Ned, something isn't quite what it seems. I think that Jojen is Howland Reed, not Howland Reed's son. Howland Reed knew that Bran needs to get to the three-eyed crow. He is the one who had the dream of the fall of Winterfell in the book, not Bran. How is Jojen, a 12-13 year old boy teaching Bran how to warg? Jojen himself never alludes to having any warging or actual greenseeing abilities. He just says he has greendreams. The Crannogmen are mysteroius, not a whole lot is known about them. They are known to be small and who knows how they age or how much it shows. They may even be intermingled with Children of the Forest. The area they live in was flooded by the COF in an attempt to cut off the North from the rest of Westeros during their war with the first men. They may not be wargs themselves (The COF aren't) but have a load of ancient knowledge. Meera doesn't seem to have them but then she may not be a crannogman. There is another theory that suggest R+L = J&M!!!! Twins, seperated at birth ala Luke and Leia. Sometimes you can take clues from the tv series to learn things in the books. It's a different medium so you have to present info in different ways. The producers DO know the whole story as told them by GRRM in case of his premature death after all. Meera and Jon look similar in the show. But that's neither here nor there for this theory.
Frequently, Jojen is said to seem older and wiser than a 12-13 year old. He is awfully mature and solemn in general. Every Bran chapter in which Jojen is present, we see this, especially in ACOK and ASOS, although in ADWD he's perhaps more sullen, weary, and sick. Bran notices twice that Old Nan called Jojen "Little Grandfather." This is in ACOK, Bran-4 and in ASOS, Bran-1. Bran refers to JR as "Little Grandfather" in his own thoughts as well. In ASOS, Brand -1, Bran also states that Jojen could scare almost anyone, saying how Meera wasn't scared of anyone, except Jojen. This seems a little off. A 12-13 year old (not named Joffrey Barathister) that could scare anybody? Jojen just doesn't seem like a 12-13 year old boy, not even a mature one. In ACOK, Bran-5, Theon takes Winterfell. Jojen is not afraid as a young boy should be when the "Vikings" come to raid and pillage. Instead his eyes are full of sorrow. He is not afraid, despite their situation. Even knowing this was coming as he did, I would still think a boy would feel somewhat frightened. Jojen exhibits a strange absence of anxiety/fear when meeting the direwolves for the first time. Bran observes this while seeing through Summer's eyes in ACOK, Bran-3. Even as the direwolves are growling and threatening, JR isn't afraid. Meera, the older sibling, is. Jojen once calls Bran a summer child, even though he's only 3-4 years older himself.
Let us look at Meera's constant obedience of Jojen. Meera is the older sibling, about four years IIRC, and yet Jojen's word is law to her. In ASOS, Bran-3, Bran thinks, "Jojen had his way; he always did," after arguing with Meera about having a fire at Queenscrown. In ADWD, Bran-1, Meera obeys Jojen again when she wants to go back with Coldhands to help against the men that the ravens have warned him of. He tells her no in no uncertain terms, and so she doesn't go. Jojen is something more than just Meera's younger brother. Why would she always do what Jojen tells her, unless maybe he's her father?
In ASOS, Bran-2, Meera tells Bran of the knight of the Laughing Tree at the Great Tournament at Harrenhal, where Prince Rhaegar crowns Lyanna as the Queen of Love and Beauty. Ned was there, Howland Reed was there, and he may have been said knight if it wasn't Lyanna in disguise. That whole situation begins the road to the TOJ. Before, during, and after the telling, Jojen is genuinely surprised that Bran never heard this tale from Ned himself. He asks 3 times to clarify that Ned never told the story. Why would he feel this was such an important story for Bran to have been told before? The events in the tale occurred before Jojen would have supposedly born but it seems very important to him personally. Jojen even knows the name AND nickname of a mountain man that rode in the war with his father. Meera, Bran, and Jojen are speaking of the Houses of the Mountains. Bran mentions the Wulls in response to a question asked by Meera about a Wull riding with her father. Jojen says, "Theo Wull," and then, "Buckets, they called him." Jojen knows such specifics about a man that rode with their father during a war that occurred years before he was born? This is a small matter but Meera specifically asks about a man who rode with their father during the war. He may have done great deeds of course but that wasn't her question. Nor was it of a man who was close friends with their father, but someone who only rode with him. It just seems like an oddly specific thing for a son to know.
Jojen should be healthy, young and fit, yet the long grueling journey has the hardest physical toll on him of those in the party. This seems more consistant with a middle aged man. Who knows how much they age in appearance. He could also be using a glamour like the ones Melisandre uses. This could make him appear young. Remember they are reclusive and mysterious. Meera "carries the weapons" but that doesn't mean JR wouldn't use them. Perhaps he does not want to give away his identity by being way too skilled than an awkward preteen boy ought to be. HR/JR saw the fall of Winterfell in a greendream. His known presence would draw attention. Nobody at Winterfell at the time would likely have seen him before. And who the 17 sends their kids to do a man's job. Get them north of the wall? Really? What the heck kind of Dad is that or at least what's he doing that's so all-fired important as to have another gravely important task (to all of their survival against the real enemy) delegated to a couple of kids?
The mystery of Howland Reed's whereabouts has been right under our nose the whole time.
"He who conceals himself is revealed."
Last edited by BulldogBear; 04-21-2014 at 04:36 PM. Reason: Added bold to the spoiler alert
