In The Winds of Winter, that recognition and acknowledgement of her true self will morph into action. Early through her Winds of Winter arc, she’ll bring her mother of dragons persona and vengeance to Khal Jhaqo & the Dothraki. But after she unites a giant khalasar by fire and blood, she’ll turn her dragon’s mercy to Meereen. Nor will her full wrath end at the pyramids of Meereen. Instead, I believe that the city  will be a mere stepping stone to the full expression of the dragon’s mercy.

Aiding Daenerys in her conquest will be new advisers and groups whose personalities and aims look to keep Daenerys’ footing firmly tied to her identity as the mother of dragons.

Filed under ASOIAF Analysis, ASOIAF Meta, ASOIAF Military Analysis, ASOIAF Speculation

Tagged as A Dance with Dragons, A Song of Ice and Fire, Analysis, Daenerys Targaryen, List of A Song of Ice and Fire characters, Targaryen, The Winds of Winter, TWOW, Westeros, Winds of Winter, Yunkai

by bryndenbfish | April 11, 2015 · 7:33 am

All the Spice You’ll Want: An Analysis of the new Winds of Winter Sample Chapter As many of you know, George RR Martin released a new Winds of Winter sample chapter on April 2, 2015 from the perspective of Alayne (Sansa). So, of course we had to analyze it. In this special edition of the Wars and Politics of Ice and Fire podcast, the entire team delves into the chapter and the various plots, themes and characters revolving around the chapter including:

Listen to us at the following places:

Thanks so much for listening and being our And if you’d like to follow along with the podcast, here are the notes that we used when we recorded!

Filed under ASOIAF Character Analysis, ASOIAF Podcast, ASOIAF Political Analysis, ASOIAF Speculation

Tagged as Alayne Stone, Arryn, GRRM, Harry the Heir, Sample Chapter, Sansa Stark, The Winds of Winter, TWOW, Vale, Winds of Winter

by bryndenbfish | August 30, 2014 · 2:36 pm

The History of Westeros: Battle of Ice Part 2

Tagged as A Dance with Dragons, A Song of Ice and Fire, Analysis, Frey, Hosteen Frey, Manderly, Roose Bolton, Stannis Baratheon, The Winds of Winter, TWOW, Westeros, Winds of Winter, Winterfell

by bryndenbfish | April 8, 2014 · 10:05 am

A Dragon Dawn: A Complete Analysis of the Upcoming Battle of Fire, Part 5: The Burning Pyramid

Fair warning: This part and part 6 contain significant Winds of Winter Spoilers. If you’re attempting to read TWOW unspoiled, check back here in a year (hopefully!), and laugh about how wrong I am. “Dawn will be on us soon.”

“A red dawn,” said Jokin of the Stormcrows.

A dragon dawn, thought Ser Barristan. (TWOW, Barristan I)

Artwork by  Mike Capprotti

At the end of A Dance with Dragons, the cords of the Meereenese Knot were chaotically coming together in Meereen. Plague-ridden corpses were flying into Meereen, sellswords were plotting betrayal, Victarion and the Iron Fleet were sailing into battle and two dragons were loose in Meereen. To put it mildly, the situation in and around Meereen was fluid. To add further chaos to the scenario, battle was finally at hand. And it would be a battle that will likely leave tens of thousands dead — and not all of them from sword, spear, arrow or lance.

In this section, I’ll break down the factions on the eve of battle, estimate army sizes and dispersions and then talk about the loyalty of all the factions involved. And then, I’ll go into the battle plans, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the battle plans and then leave this part off moments prior to the start of Barristan’s attack on Yunkai’s lines. In part 6, we’ll jump right into the battle itself, talk about all we know from the sample chapters, speculate on the outcomes and who will lie dead on the battlefield and then finally do a broad “What does the future hold for Meereen and the characters in and around Meereen.”

Spoiler Warning: Previous sections contained spoilers from A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, but just to re-iterate, this section will consist almost entirely of material taken from the sample chapters from The Winds of Winter.

Filed under ASOIAF Military Analysis

Tagged as A Song of Ice and Fire, Barristan Selmy, Daenerys Targaryen, Lannister, List of A Song of Ice and Fire characters, Meereen, The Winds of Winter, TWOW, Tyrion Lannister, Winds of Winter
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