History of Westeros

The Winds of Winter: The Battle of Ice Part 2 (mega spoilers)

In this episode, Ashaya and Aziz are joined by guest Jeff Hartline (Wars and Politics of A Song of Ice and Fire) for this three part series on The Battle of Ice. Here are parts 1 and 3.

The Battle of Ice is coming, and Stannis is ready. He’s confident, he’s experienced, and even the ravens seem to be cheering him on. On the other hand, his army is snowbound and starving while the army the Lord of the Dreadfort has sent against him is fresh, well supplied and better equipped. While Stannis’ force was marching through Westeros’ largest forest during a seemingly endless blizzard, the Boltons, Freys and their allies sat comfortable in Winterfell’s hot spring-fed warmth while Wyman Manderly’s endless stores kept their bellies full.

It would be a mistake, however, to think that the battle hinges on such standard factors. Though better armor and fresher horses surely matter, there is much about the Battle of Ice that requires a somewhat unconventional thought process. A Song of Ice and Fire has seen many battles, but we haven’t seen anything like this.

Part 2

In part 1 we analyzed the politics and power situation in the North, but even the genial and affable Renly knows that will only get us so far.

“The time for talk is done. Now we see who is stronger.”

and so we will. Now comes the time of troops & commanders, now comes morale & strategy, now comes blood and controlled chaos. Now comes the Battle of Ice.

Whatever doubts his lords might nurse, the common men seemed to have faith in their king. Stannis had smashed Mance Rayder’s wildlings at the Wall and cleaned Asha and her ironborn out of Deepwood Motte; he was Robert’s brother, victor in a famous sea battle off Fair Isle, the man who had held Storm’s End all through Robert’s Rebellion. And he bore a hero’s sword, the enchanted blade Lightbringer, whose glow lit up the night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRKK76AgHHA

“Half my army is made up of unbelievers,” Stannis had replied. “I will have no burnings. Pray harder.”

“The map is not the land, my father often said.”

“If I had me a nice goose quill and a pot o’ maester’s ink, I could write down that me member was long and thick as me arm, wouldn’t make it so.”

“Wolves, she thought, they howl like bloody wolves. The war cry of the north.”“

The Winds of Winter: The Battle of Ice Part 1 (mega spoilers)

In this episode, Ashaya and Aziz are joined by guest Jeff Hartline (Wars and Politics of A Song of Ice and Fire) for this three part series on The Battle of Ice. Here are parts 2 and 3.

Part 1 is dedicated to unraveling the complex political situation in the North.  There are Houses with compelled loyalty secretly plotting revenge, while loyal armies face the winds of winter.  Each house of note is discussed, as well as the key players from each side.

In an epic series filled with surprises, plot twists and defiance of convention, there is little we can predict with certainty. One item on that short list is Winter. We knew it was coming…the Starks told us after all. We had glimpses of it throughout the earlier books, especially at and beyond the Wall, but also in dreams that often seemed prophetic. Sure enough, by the end of ADWD, there is a massive, long running storm.

Another certainty in ASOIAF is war. We have certainly not seen the last pitched battle. With those two items in mind…does it follow that we should expect pitched battles in winter?

The Battle of Ice is just that. A struggle in which resources are scarce, the cold is literally enough to kill, and time is on no one’s side. Winter has just begun after all, and we know what the next book is entitled. Before we can Dream of Spring we must brave The Winds of Winter.

The Battle of Ice

Well, not we, them. The armies of two extremely formidable and determined men, Stannis Baratheon and Roose Bolton, facing off while a ridiculous winter storm rages.

This three part series goes beyond a single battle, however. Even our love of detail is not enough to make 3 episodes out of that. We’re dealing with a campaign for the North and it has major implications for the plot and for so many of our favorite characters. In part 1 we’ll explore the motivations and goals of the various players in the North, what they want, which side they’re on, who they want to kill, and how they’ll accomplish any of this without freezing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syFM7936yMs

We are five thousand strong as I write, our numbers swelling every day. And word has come to us that Roose Bolton moves toward Winterfell with all his power, there to wed his bastard to your half sister. He must not be allowed to restore the castle to its former strength. We march against him. Arnolf Karstark and Mors Umber will join us. I will save your sister if I can, and find a better match for her than Ramsay Snow. You and your brothers must hold the Wall until I can return.

Boltons and Freys

He needs an end to this. The castle was too crowded to withstand a long siege, and too many of the lords here were of uncertain loyalty. Fat Wyman Manderly, Whoresbane Umber, the men of House Hornwood and House Tallhart, the Lockes and Flints and Ryswells, all of them were northmen, sworn to House Stark for generations beyond count. It was the girl who held them here, Lord Eddard’s blood, but the girl was just a mummer’s ploy, a lamb in a direwolf’s skin. So why not send the northmen forth to battle Stannis before the farce unraveled? Slaughter in the snow. And every man who falls is one less foe for the Dreadfort.

The Frey men wore the badge of the two towers, those from White Harbor displayed merman and trident. They shouldered through the storm in opposite directions and eyed each other warily as they passed, but no swords were drawn. Not here. It may be different out there in the woods.

Plots: Religion & Magic Part 3 – Weirwood Tour (spoilers)

Weirwood Tour

This episode gives detail on every weirwood in Westeros while adding new theories and background. Apart from the Heart Trees, there’s a lot on Ravens, the Others, the magic of genetics and the weather, the Children of the Forest and the Nightfort. Throughout the tour, Ashaya and Aziz make several predictions and point out some eerie parallels. Be sure to watch our first episode on weirwoods.

The episode features themes of blood and ancestry, as weirwoods tend to be inextricably tied to the surrounding area, both physically and culturally. Given the broad scope of this topic, quite a variety of related subjects come up. Heart tree-murdering Melisandre makes an appearance or two, the Wall is discussed as well as several members of House Stark and some very out of the way places you’ve barely heard of.

We go from Beyond the Wall to the far south, considering not just where the weirwoods are, but where they might have been in the past. Given that there are so many places left unseen in the story, we make educated guesses where other trees might be. This isn’t just about where the trees are, though…the absence of weirwoods can be as conspicuous as the most grotesque Heart Tree face.

Quotes

When they died, they went into the wood, into leaf and limb and root, and the trees remembered. All their songs and spells, their histories and prayers, everything they knew about this world.

Men live their lives trapped in an eternal present, between the mists of memory and the sea of shadow that is all we know of the days to come. Certain moths live their whole lives in a day, yet to them that little span of time must seem as long as years and decades do to us. An oak may live three hundred years, a redwood tree three thousand. A weirwood will live forever if left undisturbed. To them seasons pass in the flutter of a moth’s wing, and past, present, and future are one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzc0Qy229Kk

There were nine, all roughly of the same age and size. Each one had a face carved into it, and no two faces were alike. Some were smiling, some were screaming, some were shouting at him. In the deepening glow their eyes looked black, but in daylight they would be blood-red, Jon knew. Eyes like Ghost’s.

The Winds of Winter: Mercy Preview Chapter (spoilers)

History of Westeros analyzes the fifth pre-release chapter from The Winds of Winter, widely regarded as the best of the bunch. George gives us something that is somehow dark, controversial and satisfying all at the same time. We peel off all the layers to find all the references and details you might have missed. This was released in 2014. You can now listen to our 2021 coverage here. We have also released an audio play production of this chapter!

She woke with a gasp, not knowing who she was, or where. The smell of blood was heavy in her nostrils… or was that her nightmare, lingering? She had dreamed of wolves again, of running through some dark pine forest with a great pack at her hells, hard on the scent of prey.

The Bloody Hand
The Bloody Hand

On stage, Bobono was bargaining with Marro’s sinister Stranger. He had a big voice for such a little man, and he made it ring off the highest rafters now. “Give me the cup,” he told the Stranger, “for I shall drink deep. And if it tastes of gold and lion’s blood, so much the better. As I cannot be the hero, let me be the monster, and lesson them in fear in place of love.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcKfC6F_Wdw

The gods have given me a gift.

The Winds of Winter excerpt on GRRM’s site.
So Spake Martin we mention that talks about Izembaro.

Plots: Religion & Magic Part 2 – Weirwoods (spoilers)

weirwoods gif

History of Westeros delves deep into Heart Trees & Weirwoods. As always, we discuss their history while poring over the details to learn as much as possible. We cover everything from tree dreams to blood sacrifice, the power of stumps, Bran’s visions, the cave of the Three Eyed Crow and an assortment of items made from weirwood… and quite a bit more. It’s such a huge topic we can’t even tease it all! Part 3 of our Weirwoods series is out now, view it here.

A leaf drifted down from above, brushed his brow, and landed in the pool. It floated on the water, red, five-fingered, like a bloody hand.

The weirwood’s bark was white as bone, its leaves dark red, like a thousand bloodstained hands. A face had been carved in the trunk of the great tree, its features long and melancholy, the deep-cut eyes red with dried sap and strangely watchful. They were old, those eyes; older than Winterfell itself. They had seen Brandon the Builder set the first stone, if the tales were true; they had watched the castle’s granite walls rise around them. It was said that the children of the forest had carved the faces in the trees during the dawn centuries before the coming of the First Men across the narrow sea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08izO48s51I

I never knew that northmen made blood sacrifice to their heart trees.

Plots: Religion & Magic Part 1 – The Comet (spoilers)

The Red Comet

History of Westeros’ series on Religion & Magic kicks off with the great red comet, a sign interpreted by many and seen by all. Was it sent by the gods or is it a sign that magic and dragons have returned? Whatever the meaning, there will be blood and fire. Ash and Aziz give an overview of what to expect in the series while asking a bunch of tough questions. Particular attention is paid to parallels between various supernatural elements found throughout the books. Listen to the rest of our Religion & Magic series here. Our YouTube channel is here.

Quotes

The comet’s tail spread across the dawn, a red slash that bled above the crags of Dragonstone like a wound in the pink and purple sky.

Dany looked and saw it, low in the east. The first star was a comet, burning red. Bloodred; fire red; the dragon’s tail. She could not have asked for a stronger sign.

It is my comet, Theon told himself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igVxAJ7t6W4

That night she lay upon her thin blanket on the hard ground, staring up at the great red comet. The comet was splendid and scary all at once. “The Red Sword,” the Bull named it; he claimed it looked like a sword, the blade still red-hot from the forge. When Arya squinted the right way she could see the sword too, only it wasn’t a new sword, it was Ice, her father’s greatsword, all ripply Valyrian steel, and the red was Lord Eddard’s blood on the blade after Ser Ilyn the King’s Justice had cut off his head. Yoren had made her look away when it happened, yet it seemed to her that the comet looked like Ice must have, after.

Bonus: The Hellhorn (spoilers)

This episode contains very mild spoilers for The Winds of Winter, giving us a better understanding of the titular Dragonbinder, the hellhorn with Valyrian glyphs that sounds like hell but can supposedly control dragons. Listen to our complete coverage of The Winds of Winter here.

No mortal man shall sound me and live.

“Probably better to predict chaos and the unexpected.” – Aziz

AH​oo​oo​oo​oo​oo​oo​oo​oo​oo​oo​ooo, the warhorn cried, long and low, a sound to curdle blood. Asha had begun to hate the sound of horns. On Old Wyk her uncle’s hellhorn had blown a death knell for her dreams, and now Hagen was sounding what might well be her last hour on earth. If I must die, I will die with an axe in my hand and a curse upon my lips.

Part I. The Sound: A Scream That Burns.
Part II. The Look: Black, Gold & Valyrian Steel.
Part III. The Origin: Fire and Blood of the Freehold.
Part IV. The Plan: From Slaver’s Bay to the Iron Throne.
Part V. The Predictions: What Comes To Pass When It Sounds?

That night, for the first time, he brought forth the dragon horn that the Crow’s Eye had found amongst the smoking wastes of great Valyria. A twisted thing it was, six feet long from end to end, gleaming black and banded with red gold and dark Valyrian steel. Euron’s hellhorn. Victarion ran his hand along it. The horn was as warm and smooth as the dusky woman’s thighs, and so shiny that he could see a twisted likeness of his own features in its depths. Strange sorcerous writings had been cut into the bands that girded it. “Valyrian glyphs,” Moqorro called them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo428ghIhmI

The Winds of Winter: The Battle of Fire (mega-spoilers)

A huge battle is about to occur in The Winds of Winter where several POV characters have converged into a battle of fire – one with dragons. We break down the relevant spoiler chapters while detailing each of the participants’ motivations and expectations for the conflict. Theories, predictions and plenty of action from the battle of fire itself! Follow our coverage of the Battle of Ice here.

I came for blood, not gold.

“The slavers may shiver when they spy your sails rising from the sea,” he told him. “but once they see you plain they will laugh at their fears. Traders and fishers, that’s all you are. Any man can see that. Let them get close as they like, but keep your men hidden belowdecks until you are ready. Then close, and board them. Free the slaves and feed the slavers to the sea, but take the ships. We will have need of every hull to carry us back home.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWs4kHbVnCk

The iron captain was not seen again that day, but as the hours passed the crew of his Iron Victory reported hearing the sound of wild laughter coming from the captain’s cabin, laughter deep and dark and mad, and when Longwater Pyke and Wulfe One-Eye tried the cabin door they found it barred. Later singing was heard, a strange high wailing song in a tongue the maester said was High Valyrian. That was when the monkeys left the ship, screeching as they leapt into the water.

Barristan I and II
Transcript of Victarion I
Tyrion I
Tyrion II
YouTube: Video of Victarion I (last 9 minutes)

Bonus: The Wit & Wisdom of Stannis Baratheon (spoilers)

Stannis Baratheon

Ash and Aziz delve into the humor and background of Stannis Baratheon, History of Westeros’ pick for the series funniest character. Listening to this episode will not cause the loss of any fingertips, and we’ll swear to that, but we will not be responsible for any shadow-baby related mishaps. We chatter like magpies, and with less sense. You might say we are a couple of trained crows, and we croak at you in turns. Let us prate our words at you!

This was inspired by the Wit and Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister, which you can purchase here, while supporting HoW at the same time! There are forty-something quotes in this episode, so we hope you enjoy the wit and wisdom of Stannis Baratheon.

Robert could piss in a cup and men would call it wine, but I offer them pure cold water and they squint in suspicion and mutter to each other about how queer it tastes.” Stannis ground his teeth. “If someone said I had magicked myself into a boar to kill Robert, likely they would believe that as well.

Repetition is the key to comedy

Quotes

Laws should be made of iron. Not pudding.

“A sacrifice will prove our faith still burns true, Sire,” Clayton Suggs had told the king. And Godry the Giantslayer said, “The old gods of the north have sent this storm upon us. Only R’hllor can end it. We must give him an unbeliever.” “Half my army is made up of unbelievers,” Stannis had replied. “I will have no burnings. Pray harder.”

“The letter… What did your lords make of it, I wonder?”

Stannis snorted. “Celtigar pronounced it admirable. If I showed him the contents of my privy, he would declare that admirable as well.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP2OLtT2FmU

“Her own father got this child on her? We are well rid of her, then. I will not suffer such abominations here. This is not King’s Landing.”

“Do your knucklebones bring you luck?”
“My life’s been good since you hacked them off, your Grace, and it’s four less fingernails to clean.”
“Four *fewer* fingernails to clean”

Repetition is the key to comedy

Bonus: Skagos (spoilers)

Ashaya & Aziz discuss the infamous but mysterious island of Skagos. The Stoneborn are perhaps the most ancient and isolated human culture in Westeros. Through the Skagosi we see glimpses of what the North was like eons ago. Along the way there is discussion of cannibals, unicorns, “dead things in the water”, and a certain young Stark boy. You can find our YouTube channel here.

“…a microcosm of ancient northern civilization, a glimpse of what much of the North was like many centuries & eons ago.” – Aziz

“The island sat at the mouth of the Bay of Seals, massive and mountainous, a stark and forbidding land peopled by savages. They lived in caves and grim mountain fastnesses, Sam had read, and rode great shaggy unicorns to war. Skagos meant “stone” in the Old Tongue. The Skagosi named themselves the stoneborn, but their fellow northmen called them Skaggs and liked them little.

Only a hundred years ago Skagos had risen in rebellion. Their revolt had taken years to quell and claimed the life of the Lord of Winterfell and hundreds of his sworn swords. Some songs said the Skaggs were cannibals; supposedly their warriors ate the hearts and livers of the men they slew. In ancient days, the Skagosi had sailed to the nearby isle of Skane, seized its women, slaughtered its men, and ate them on a pebbled beach in a feast that lasted for a fortnight. Skane remained unpeopled to this day.”

Skagos, the isle of unicorns and cannibals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co3EzG7Rv3o

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