can we just talk about the bolt-on theory for a sec.
We know almost nothing about the past Boltons. Roose is the oldest Bolton we know, and we don't know how old Roose even is. I think the only reference I have seen made to other Boltons directly related to the current batch was an off hand remark Roose said about his "forebears" not being fools.
Recall the Faceless Men and their methods for disguise. They use the cured skin of other people's faces, and magically fuse these masks to their faces with their own blood. They assume that person's identity, and no one's the wiser.
Bolton is an ancient house. They were bitter rivals to the Starks back when the Starks were Kings in the North. Back when magic was common place, and the Starks were wargs. How did House Bolton survive this feud, against an enemy with superior man power and magic? Recall that the Boltons were known to have worn the skins of their enemies as cloaks, even having a few Stark skins back at the Dreadfort. Well what if this was the Bolton ace in the hole? They have been flaying people since the beginning of written history. Is it such a stretch that they would know some magic art pertaining to human skin? I think this is the ultimate survival technique. About to be captured by Starks? Okay, let me just don my Lord of Winterfell skinsuit and tell them to fuck off! Perhaps what looked like quick thinking on Ramsay's part when he assumed Reek's identity was actually Bolton instinct.
Ramsay is actually central to my next point. Why does Roose stomach Ramsay? By most counts, letting Ramsay continue to be Ramsay is political suicide. Roose's explanation is that Ramsay continues to kill all of Roose's sons, and Roose will not live long enough to see a boy to manhood, which would be devastating for his house. Which is strange. Roose seems to be in perfect health. Why does Roose think he won't live for another twenty years?
I have pondered this a fair amount. An explanation offered by the GNC and its supporters is that Roose doesn't think he will make it out of his current situation in the North. This doesn't strike me as very in line with Roose's character, nor does it make sense that Roose would feel better about letting his Bastard take his lands over a boy lord. If Roose thinks he's doomed, than I'm sure he thinks Ramsay is twice as doomed. No, this doesn't make much sense to me at all.
But what if there was another reason Roose was keeping Ramsay alive? Why did Roose spare Ramsay when he first found out that he had a bastard? Ramsay had his eyes. Roose is keeping Ramsay around, because Roose plans on stealing Ramsay's identity. Roose plans on stealing Ramsay's face.
Why? Because Roose is immortal. How he achieved this, I'm not sure. One theory that I like is that the Bolton line began when the Night's King and an Other had a half human child. That child grew to an adult, but then ceased to age. How could this strange creature continue its existence while living in the world of men? It must pretend. It must be cautious. It must look to live and die and give birth to heirs, like men do. And when it has lived fifty or sixty years, not long enough for it's unlined face and dark hair to draw too much attention, it flays a son with pale, pale eyes, and assumes his identity.
Roose Bolton’s own face was a pale grey mask, with two chips of dirty ice
where his eyes should be. p.487 ADwD
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