How will a Song of Ice and Fire end?(Theories)

[GenAntilles]

I know HBO and the books shouldn't be compared, but Ned himself is beheaded in King's Landing in the HBO series. You can see his face and everything, I know HBO has its own take on things but thats a big thing and I don't think they'd mess it up. If they wanted a fake beheading for HBO then A) cut out the tongue of the replacement and put a hood over his head and dress him Ned's clothes or B) The actor that played Faramir should've been hired as a plausible replacement I don't quite remember what the book's description is of Ned's death, so if I'm wrong on the book someone plz let me know.

But does HBO know how it will all end? They may have portrayed it as Ned getting beheaded but if come the final book Ned Stark turns out to never have died they'll have to follow that too.

[Archon Patriarch]

In the book and the TV show Arya doesn't see him get beheaded, she looks or is dragged away. I think she does confirm it is him so it's unlikely a switchero although it is still plausible because not many peasants could confirm who he is.

[The Guy With No Imagination]

the executive producers of the show, D.B Weiss and the other buff looking guy, know how the story will end. So if they think it was fine to show Sean bean get beheaded as Ned, then I'm sure Ned is Dead.

And its also a backup in case Gurmy keels over we still know how the journey ends.. that would be bittersweet in the darkest most horrid way his work would end.

[Mount Suribachi]

I'm not... Because that's moronic... It's more likely he goes cold because he's getting stabbed to death and fell in some snow bearing in mind he standing within a few hundred metres of a huge wall of Ice . That's like going Bronze Yohn has "Magic" armor so it probably really is magic and helps fight the others. You're reading into it too much, it simply is him going cold.

Of course if you're right then...well, damn.

But surely its not inconceivable that The Others are at the Wall by now? We know they're heading south as the Wildings flee before them. They were at the Fist of First Men at the start of book 3, they should be able to make it to The Wall by then end of book 5?

[Prophet1331]

But surely its not inconceivable that The Others are at the Wall by now? We know they're heading south as the Wildings flee before them. They were at the Fist of First Men at the start of book 3, they should be able to make it to The Wall by then end of book 5?

And they were attacking the retreating Night's Watch forces and the Wildling army as the tow forces were moving south. Pretty sure there are at least some vanguard Other forces (if you could call it that) around the Wall hunting any remaining wildlings

[Inarus]

the executive producers of the show, D.B Weiss and the other buff looking guy, know how the story will end. So if they think it was fine to show Sean bean get beheaded as Ned, then I'm sure Ned is Dead.

And its also a backup in case Gurmy keels over we still know how the journey ends.. that would be bittersweet in the darkest most horrid way his work would end.

Of course there is the [slim] possibility that someone did what the Faceless Men do best, became Ned (presuming that's possible) and found himself a foot shorter. Typical Varys scheme.

But to continue that slim possibility, where the heck would Ned be now? Skulking under the Red Keep? Doesn't sound likely.

[Emperor of Hell]

He's locked up in a house owned by friends of Varys somewhere in the free cities. Only gets food and water and doesn't even realize he's in the free cities.

Again, highly unlikely...

[Mhaedros]

He could be with Illyrio Mopatis. Tyrion was sent there to secure a Lannister supporting Aegon. Why not Neddy too?

[Archon Patriarch]

Suribachi and everyone else talking about the whitewalkers I'd like to point that the whitewalkers aren't currently understood properly by any of us. It seems likely that they'd be heading south but to me it seems more like they're trudging about randomly in smaller groups, building up strength I guess... I mean they are seen at the Cave with the greenseers so unless their horde is literally spanning the entire Northern continent. Some may be at the wall some at hardhome and some further North. I think they don't have the strength, either magical or mundane to overcome the wall - yet. They are likely to do something in the next book.

[Mount Suribachi]

They've been building up their strength for the last 8000 years

[Archon Patriarch]

Nope, you're wrong my friend. They re-emerge with the Dragon eggs...Kind of... They may have been around for that time but think of it Dark Lord Sauron in between Necromancer/one ring stage. They may be around but are too weak to do anything of note. If they'd been building up the Rangers would've heard about it much soon and the Wildlings would've tried a push over the wall sooner.

[Prophet1331]

So what you're saying is that somehow the Others awakened when they sensed that the balance between fire and ice is threatened (dragons coming back to life) to fight the dragons and the worshipers of fire. It sound good but for some minor problems.

1. Dany receives her eggs some time after the actions of the Other in the prologue. And the wildlings were rallying for some time under Mance.
2. The dragons' births happened even later than that.
3. The Dragon eggs were in the world for a long time.
4. If they swarm when a dragon egg surfaces than why aren't there reports of Others around the wall during the second Blackfyre rebellion?
5. There were living dragons in Westeros for a time but I don't recall mentioning of Others in the period since Aegon's landing and the death of the last dragon.
6.Others and Dragons probably never faced each other in the field because I doubt it any dragon arrived in Westeros prior to Aegon's (they mainly remaining in the east), and there is no reference of Others in Essos. The last route between Essos and Westeros was the Arm of Dorne which broke into the Stepstones when Men invaded the Children of the Forest.
7. The Others were defeated without dragons in the War for the Dawn, and there is no reference (that I remember) from the Children of the Forest about an Other-Dragon relationship.
8. Wildlings were trying to get over the Wall since it was placed there. The reason they are in large numbers now is because Mance led them as did the last King Beyond the Wall before him. It takes so much time between invasions because the Free Folk tend to be too free to follow someone else, regardless of their military skill. I think Mance used their fear about the Others to rally them to him rather than deserting in order to save them and help them.

Most likely Dragons aren't connected directly to the Others. The only reason dragons are useful against Others is because of their fire, but at the same time you can use obsidian and Valyrian blades.

One a side note: Why did the wildlings remain on the other side of the Wall when it was built? The North still had some freedom in it back then and the mountain clans seem to live without care of the ruler of Westeros. There were plenty of other much safer and hospitable places to settle.

[Mhaedros]

Didn't Ygritte tell Jon Snow that the Wildlings awadened the Others by searching for the Horn of Someone in some old tombs? It was in the second or third book.

[Mount Suribachi]

So what you're saying is that somehow the Others awakened when they sensed that the balance between fire and ice is threatened (dragons coming back to life) to fight the dragons and the worshipers of fire. It sound good but for some minor problems.

1. Dany receives her eggs some time after the actions of the Other in the prologue. And the wildlings were rallying for some time under Mance.
2. The dragons' births happened even later than that.
3. The Dragon eggs were in the world for a long time.
4. If they swarm when a dragon egg surfaces than why aren't there reports of Others around the wall during the second Blackfyre rebellion?
5. There were living dragons in Westeros for a time but I don't recall mentioning of Others in the period since Aegon's landing and the death of the last dragon.
6.Others and Dragons probably never faced each other in the field because I doubt it any dragon arrived in Westeros prior to Aegon's (they mainly remaining in the east), and there is no reference of Others in Essos. The last route between Essos and Westeros was the Arm of Dorne which broke into the Stepstones when Men invaded the Children of the Forest.
7. The Others were defeated without dragons in the War for the Dawn, and there is no reference (that I remember) from the Children of the Forest about an Other-Dragon relationship.
8. Wildlings were trying to get over the Wall since it was placed there. The reason they are in large numbers now is because Mance led them as did the last King Beyond the Wall before him. It takes so much time between invasions because the Free Folk tend to be too free to follow someone else, regardless of their military skill. I think Mance used their fear about the Others to rally them to him rather than deserting in order to save them and help them.

Most likely Dragons aren't connected directly to the Others. The only reason dragons are useful against Others is because of their fire, but at the same time you can use obsidian and Valyrian blades.

This

[thespaniard]

perhaps the dragons awakening could be from the others reaching a certain strength. afterall in the title ice does come before fire

[Archon Patriarch]

I realised that Prophet but the point I was making was the Dragons brought most magic back to the world and no I don't mean anything about a balance of title references. Or maybe not them but the comet? Since was it not around before the Dragons? The whitewalkers may have been around but they're weak. If they were actively moving in the last 8000 years they wouldn't be considered a myth by everyone, for whatever reasons their movements had just become active at the start of the books. Only since Mance has taken over did they grow so we know it's a recent thing. Some of them were probably off surviving and hiding somewhere but if they were building up surely the I.E killing thousands of people, the Nights watch would've heard.

I never said the Dragons where anything to do with them as in fighting the others, but they did bring back magic, the maesters candles, the Mages in Qarth and the Red priests all have actual magic now. Thoros could never bring Beric back to life and didn't until either the Comet or Dragons had come. Maybe their defeat at the long night needed 8000 years of loss to get over? I don't think there were dragons in the blackfyre rebellion...

And if the eggs hatched later on maybe being in close proximity to the Valariyan had an effect? I'm just saying the white walkers will probably attack in the next book but aren't at the end of the last and probably not strong enough to get over it - or their attentions are focused on the last human life over the wall. Also that the Dragons have an effect on at least Human magic so maybe their is a correlation with the whitewalkers - No interaction and I doubt they ever have contacted each other but that doesn't mean they don't effect each other.

[Prophet1331]

The dragons' return and the rebirth of magic did come at the same time, but I doubt the dragons themselves held that much power. They can spit fire but that's pretty much all, not influencing power by themselves. Though that is implied in the TV show I think it is kind of weird for a creature to have that much power. More likely the comet was the signal for a timed event , like a prophecy when the Others will make another push at the same time when magic gets popular again and the last dragons come back to life the comet will signal the event taking place ( a big battle between fire and ice).

The first Blackfyres didn't have dragon eggs, but in the last Dunk and Egg book loyalist lords plan the return of one of Blackfyre's sons. They stage a tourney where the prize is a dragon egg (apparently the last one in Westeros). They planned to have the Blackfyre son win the tourney and when he claimed the egg he would start the second rebellion. They were defeated before finishing the plan however and the egg went to the Targaryens who tried to hatch it at Summerhall but only succeeded in burning the castle down with everyone in it and losing the last egg.

So dragon eggs were in Westeros without the Others reacting to them and dragon eggs don't simply hatch by keeping them in fire or burning someone in the same fire with the egg (else the castle and all the people would be dead but the dragon born), there is a special factor that made those eggs hatch for Dany.

[Mount Suribachi]

I realised that Prophet but the point I was making was the Dragons brought most magic back to the world and no I don't mean anything about a balance of title references. Or maybe not them but the comet? Since was it not around before the Dragons?

Oh yeah, its all related - the dragons, the others, the comet, the return of magic - we just don't know the mechanics of it all and which is cause, which is effect.

The whitewalkers may have been around but they're weak. If they were actively moving in the last 8000 years they wouldn't be considered a myth by everyone, for whatever reasons their movements had just become active at the start of the books.

I think its pretty obvious they've been in the Lands of Always Winter, they don't have to have been moving for them to have been active and rebuilding. We don't know what Bran sees in his dream when he looks that far north, but its enough to make him cry. AFAIK no-one has told us anything about TLOAW so far. Why is it no-one knows anything about it?

Based upon things Wildings say, things we find out at Crasters Keep, I think the Others have been probing for at least a few years before they arrive at the start of AGOT.

[Archon Patriarch]

That does seem likely, point well made sir. It's just the why now point we need, that'll probably tell us all we need to know about them.

[Mr.Lannister]

I am sure it will end bad, VERY bad.

EDIT: I noticed how wrong i was just the second i clicked on "Post Quick Reply".
I think it will end in some nice way, every one that has suffered a lot, like our beloved Davos, will have a happy life (Or a quick , painless death)