#the broken tower

[male-beauty-gifsets]

[comparativetarot]

The Tower. Art by Craig Coss, from Game of Thrones Tarot.

[sepyrianwhispers]

[trinuviel]

Crowned with Fire – True and False Lights in A Song of Ice and Fire (part 1)

I have previous written about the notion of “false light” in ASoIaF in relation to the prophecy of The Prince that was Promised/Azor Ahai.

…we all deceive ourselves, when we want to believe. Melisandre most of all, I think. The sword is wrong, she has to know that … light without heat … an empty glamor … the sword is wrong, and the false light can only lead us deeper into darkness, Sam.” – Maester Aemon to Sam, (AFfC, Samwell IV) 

The inspiration for this meta comes from both from the quote above but also from this one from the novella The Princess and the Queen:

Atop the Hill of Rhaenys, the Dragonpit wore a crown of yellow fire, burning so bright it seemed as if the sun was rising. (The Princess and the Queen) 

There are two things I want to point out in relation to this quote:

There’s a fire burning so bright that it could be mistaken for the sunrise. This is a false light.

Then there’s the image of the crown of fire.

The crown of fire or the burning crown is a piece of imagery that repeated recurs in the text, both in a positive and a negative manner. In this post, I will examine the image of the crown of fire in relation to the notion of a true light.

THE LIGHTHOUSE

The image of the Dragonpit crowned with fire is a striking one – and it made recall another instance where GRRM uses the image of a building crowned with fire, only this time it is a tower:

The challengers trotted back to the south end of the lists to await their foes: Ser Abelar in silver and smoke colors, a stone watchtower on his shield, crowned with fire. (The Hedge Knight)

Ser Abelar belongs to House Hightower. Their sigil is a white tower with a flaming beacon at the top. Their words are We Light the Way. This is an incredibly important detail and it will inform much of my examination of false and true lights in relation to the imagery of burning crowns in the text.

The sigil of House Hightower refers to their ancestral seat in Oldtown: a tower so vast and impressive that it is commonly knowns as The Hightower – and the family is called House Hightower of the Hightower. The family is among the most ancient of Westeros and they are commonly believed to descend from the First Men. During the Age of Heroes, King Uther of the High Tower is said to have commissioned Brandon the Builder, the legendary founder of House Stark, or his son Brandon to build The Hightower.

(Hightower in Oldtown. Art by Ted Nasmith)

And beyond, where the Honeywine widened into Whispering Sound, rose the Hightower, its beacon fires bright against the dawn. From where it stood atop the bluffs of Battle Island, its shadow cut the city like a sword. Those born and raised in Oldtown could tell the time of day by where that shadow fell. Some claimed a man could see all the way to the Wall from the top. (AFfC, Prologue)

This description points pot that The Hightower isn’t just a holdfast of an ancient and powerful House, it is also a lighthouse! The fire that crowns the tower is a beacon that lights the dark until the break of dawn and it guides ships into safe harbor. Compared to image of the Dragonpit crowned by fire, the Hightower crowned with fire is a positive image. Whereas the burning Dragonpit is a uncontrolled, destructive and deceptive fire that only looks like the dawn, the burning beacon of the Hightower is fire harnessed for a constructive purpose: to provide light and safety in the dark. It is the difference between a false light and a true light!

Light is often associated with Truth and it is a symbolic connection that is millennia old in Western thought. Within the universe of GRRM’s world, this symbolic connection is also in play. In the cult of R’hllor, the high priest of the Red Temple in Volantis in not called the Flame of Truth and the Light of Wisdom but I’ve argued elsewhere that the priesthood of R’hllor are blinded by a false light. For them any fire contains the light of truth, whether it is a fire used for visions or a fire used to burn men and women so their purified souls can ascend into the light of R’hllor. The problem with this cult is that they are fanatics and fanatics always stares so hard into the light of a perceived “Truth” that they become blind to everything else.

Too much light blinds the eye and a fire unchecked devours.

However, let’s return to The Hightower and Old Town because the words We Light the Way refers not only to the lighthouse function of House Hightower’s holdfast but also to their role as patrons of learning. King Uthor of the High Tower’s sons King Urrigon and Prince Perrimore the Twisted were integral to the founding of the Citadel and House Hightower has remained patrons of this institution of learning ever since the founding.

Thus, on the symbolic level we have another distinction between a false and a true fire. There’s the false light of prophecy and the fanaticism of the priesthood of R’hllor versus the true light of learning. GRRM has explicitly stated that in his text, prophecy is rarely useful. Instead the meanings are often murky and misleading. That can be incredibly dangerous because if those murky meanings are being mistaken for an absolute truth then it is easy to be lead astray. Melisandre is a good example – her visions are ambigious and hard to read but she places an absolute faith in the prophecy of Azor Ahai reborn, even when she acknowledges that she can read a prophecy wrongly:

“If sometimes I have mistaken a warning for a prophecy or a prophecy for a warning, the fault lies in the reader, not the book.” - Melisandre (ASoS, Davos V)

Likewise, not all scholars are wise and not all of their work leads to the truth of things. However, there’s room for debate and dissent within a scholarly community. A scholar has to be prepared for having his theories and findings contested and he has to provide evidence for his argument. In contrast, there’s not much room for debate or dissent within the cult of R’hllor. That’s the trouble with fanatics: their truth is the only truth.

“I AM THE FIRE THAT BURNS AGAINST THE COLD, THE LIGHT THAT BRINGS THE DAWN”

The imagery of a lighthouse as a beacon against the dark, a guiding light until the break of dawn makes me think of the wows of the Night’s Watch:

"Hear my words, and bear witness to my vow,” they recited, their voices filling the twilit grove. “Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night’s Watch, for this night and all the nights to come.” (AGoT, Jon VI)

Furthermore, the text itself connects The Hightower in the far South with the Wall in the far North:

Some claimed a man could see all the way to the Wall from the top. (AFfC, Prologue)

This is, of course, not the literal truth but the mention of the Wall within a description of the Hightower servers to connect the two edifices in the reader’s mind. Then there’s the legend that the Hightower was built by Brandon the Builder, the same man who is credited with the building of the Wall.

A TOWER CROWNED WITH GOLD

The Hightower is not the only crowned tower in the text. In A Storm of Swords both Bran and Jon comes across a small holdfast called Queenscrown:

“The holdfast has a golden crown, see? He pointed across the lake. You could see patches of gold paint up around the crenellations. “Queen Alysanne slept there, so they painted the merlons gold in her honor.” – Bran Stark to Jojen Reed, (ASoS, Bran III)

This relates the Queenscrown tower indirectly to the Night’s Watch. The journey Queen Alysanne made North was to visit the Night’s Watch and she was so impressed by them that she had more land allotted to the Watch. This is called the New Gift. Queen Alysanne was called the Good Queen and the smallfolk painted the merlons so it would look like the golden crown she wore.

(Bran, Hodor, Meera and Jojen trying to make their way to the holdfast Queenscrown. Art by Michael Komarck)

“It is only a towerhouse. Some little lordling lived there once, with his family and a few sworn men. When raiders came he would light a beacon from the roof. Winterfell has towers three times the size of that.” […] “Men can build a lot higher than this. In Oldtown there’s a tower taller than the Wall.” – Jon Snow to Ygritte (ASoS, Jon V)

Here the Queencrown tower is directly compared to the Hightower in Oldtown. The tower crowned by fire is a beacon that guides or, in this case, warns. However, the connection with the crowned tower as a positive image (a true light) and kingship (golden crown) is an interesting one.

There are plenty of golden crowns in the text – mostly in relation to actual people wearing golden crowns, whether they be kings or pretenders, as well as heraldic sigils with golden crowns. However, there are a few examples where “a golden crown” is used metaphorically. In one of Sansa’s chapters in A Game of Thrones, Joffrey’s blonde hair is described as shining in the sun like a golden crown. Then there’s the “golden crown” that Viserys gets from Khal Drogo:

It had grown so silent in the hall that she could hear the bells in Khal Drogo's hair, chiming softly with each step he took. His bloodriders followed him, like three copper shadows. Daenerys had gone cold all over. "He says you shall have a splendid golden crown that men shall tremble to behold."

When the gold was half-melted and starting to run, Drogo reached into the flames, snatched out the pot. "Crown!" he roared. "Here. A crown for Cart King!" And upended the pot over the head of the man who had been her brother.(AGoT, Daenerys V)

Viserys’ golden crown turned out to be a false crown, one that killed him – and Joffrey’s crown of golden curls is also a deceptive image. It appears in the text right before he reveals his true nature in the confrontation with Arya and Mycah. Furthermore, Joffrey is a false king since he has no claim to the crown of Westeros. Then there’s also the fact that they both men are vicious and abusive men. Joffrey was a terrible king as would Viserys have been.

I am not entirely ready to make a definite conclusion about what the imagery of a tower crowned in gold may signify but I do find the connection an interesting one, especially since Queencrown is also compared to The Hightower, directly in terms of size and indirectly in terms of their function as a beacon of light. So you could argue that the tower crowned in gold in relation to the tower crowned by fire could signify a true king/queen. In that sense, it is interesting that this particular tower makes an appearance in one of Jon’s chapters, considering his hidden heritage. There’s an interesting passage in one of Jon’s chapters:

… a huge bolt of lightning stabbed down from the sky and touched the surface of the lake. For half a heartbeat the world was noonday bright. The clap of thunder was so loud that Ygritte gasped and covered her ears. “Did you look?” Jon asked, as the sound rolled away and the night turned black again. “Did you see?” "Yellow," she said. "Is that what you meant? Some o' them standing stones on top were yellow." "We call them merlons. They were painted gold a long time ago. This is Queenscrown."Across the lake, the tower was black again, a dim shape dimly seen. "A queen lived there?" asked Ygritte.

"A queen stayed there for a night." Old Nan had told him the story, but Maester Luwin had confirmed most of it. "Alysanne, the wife of King Jaehaerys the Conciliator. He's called the Old King because he reigned so long, but he was young when he first came to the Iron Throne. In those days, it was his wont to travel all over the realm. When he came to Winterfell, he brought his queen, six dragons, and half his court. The king had matters to discuss with his Warden of the North, and Alysanne grew bored, so she mounted her dragon Silverwing and flew north to see the Wall. This village was one of the places where she stopped. Afterward the smallfolk painted the top of their holdfast to look like the golden crown she'd worn when she spent the night among them.” (ASoS, Jon V)

The dark of the night is briefly illuminated by lightning, and in that brief flash of light Jon and Ygritte sees the golden crown on the tower, i.e. the merlons painted gold. Jon correctly identifies the tower as Queencrown and tells Ygritte the story of how it came to wear a crown. The story relates to his own ancestors, one of the rare good kings from the Targaryen dynasty: Jaeherys I “the Conciliator” and his sister-wife Good Queen Alysanne. She cared for the smallfolk and he gave the realm its first unified set of laws, among other things. In this sense, the story of Queenscrown links this particular imagery of a golden crown with a positive view of kingship – as opposed to the imagery of the golden crown in relation to Joffrey and Viserys.

THE BURNED TOWER

There is another tower that the text relates to the Lighthouse in Oldtown. However, it is done very subtly through the imagery of a specific passage in A Clash of Kings:

Behind him the broken tower stood, its summit as jagged as a crown where fire had collapsed the upper stories long ago. As the sun moved, the shadow of the tower moved as well, gradually lengthening, a black arm reaching out for Theon Greyjoy. By the time the sun touched the wall, he was in its grasp. (ACoK, Theon VI)

The tower in question is the Broken Tower of Winterfell, also called the Burned Tower. Along with the Godswood and the Crypts, the Broken Tower is one of the most distinct landmarks of Winterfell. It was once the tallest watchtower in Winterfell but it was struck by lightning and the resultant fire cause the top to cave in.

What is so interesting above is not just the image of the tower’s ragged summit resembling a crown but also the image of the tower as a giant sundial, its shadow an arm reaching out for Theon. If we compare this image with the description of the Hightower from A Feast of Crows, you can recognize the striking imagery: 

And beyond, where the Honeywine widened into Whispering Sound, rose the Hightower, its beacon fires bright against the dawn. From where it stood atop the bluffs of Battle Island, its shadow cut the city like a sword. Those born and raised in Oldtown could tell the time of day by where that shadow fell. Some claimed a man could see all the way to the Wall from the top. (AFfC, Prologue)

Here we have the image of the tower as a sundial again but whereas the shadow of the Broken Tower is likened to an arm, the shadow of the Hightower is like a sword.

What does the Broken Tower of Winterfell have to do with this theme of beacons, true lights and golden crowns. The Broken Tower is associated with secrets, lies and truths. It is here that Bran witnesses Cersei and Jaime Lannister having sex. Jaime pushes Bran in order to keep this secret, to maintain the lie that Cersei’s children are Robert Baratheon’s children and not born of incest.

How does this relate to image of the tower as a sundial, which is the associative point between the Hightower and the Broken Tower? The quote from Theon’s chapter comes from a passage where he is trying to bluff himself out of a looming fight with Rodrik Cassel by threatening to hang his daughter Beth. This whole passage is saturated with anxiety on Theon’s part because he feels that he cannot win. The shadow of the tower thus becomes the shadow of the sundial, counting down the time to the moment of truth. Thus, on the basis on such an associative logic, the Broken Tower becomes a symbolic locus for secrets, lies and the countdown to the moment of truth.

This is where this post crosses into the territory of tinfoil. Daenerys Targaryen has several visions in the House of the Undying in Quarth. One of them goes like this: 

Glowing like sunset, a red sword was raised in the hand of a blue-eyed king who cast no shadow. A cloth dragon swayed on poles amidst a cheering crowd. From a smoking tower, a great stone beast took wing, breathing shadow fire. . . . mother of dragons, slayer of lies…  (ACoK, Daenerys IV) 

The imagery of this passage indicates that Dany will uncover three lies (I think that in this context “slayers of lies” doesn’t signify a literal killing). What are the lies that Dany has to uncover? 

The first one most likely relates to Stannis Baratheon – the blue-eyed king with a glowing red-sword. I have previously written about how Melisandre is wrong when she identifies Stannis as Azor Ahai come again and I have also explored the idea that his glowing sword is wrong as well. Here the sword is linked with the sunset rather than the dawn. Stannis’ “Lightbringer” is a false light that leads into the night and not into the dawn. Stannis as AA reborn is the first lie that Dany has to slay. 

The second lie probably relates to fAegon, the young man that Varys claims to be Rhaegar Targaryen’s son and that he has had brought up as the perfect hidden prince. Many readers suspect that fAegon is not who Varys says he is, and Dany’s vision of the cloth dragons, a mummer’s dragon as she calls it, seems to support this theory. 

Then there’s the third (and final) lie: The stone beast that takes wing from a smoking tower, breathing dark flame. I think that this lie represents Jon Snow’s parentage – the stone beast represents his Targaryen heritage and the smoking tower represents the Broken Tower, also called the Burned Tower. Though the Broken Tower mainly features in Bran’s and Theon’s chapters, you could argue that Jon is indirectly present through the symbolism of the crows that live in the tower – and Jon is continually called Crow during his time with the Wildlings. Whether the Broken Tower will play a literal part in the disclosure of Jon’s true parentage remains to be seen – but it’s metaphorical connection with secrets and lies (as well as its burned status) makes it a good candidate for the smoking tower in Dany’s vision. 

In the next installment I’ll taker a closer look at the imagery of the burning crown in relation to the notion of the false light.

[fedonciadale]

-I feel like the tower in Winterfell will come into play again. What happens? Does D maybe see Jon and Sansa there? It would be perfect, let's remember Cersie and Jaime making love there and Bran saw them, and they're foils for Jonsa! Maybe I'm reaching, but my mind is also kinda blown away, lol! What do you think, anyone care to write a meta? I suck at this!

Dear nonny, @thelawyerthatwaspromised recently made a post Jaime/Cersei as foils for Jonsa and how this is reflected in how the scenes were shot (x). Have a look at it! I can remember the following scenes with the Broken Tower:

- Bran seeing Cersei/Jaime

- Catelyn finding Cersei’s hair (which is related to Bran seeing them there)

- Sansa looking at the broken tower and having a talk with Miranda.

- The broken tower was the place where Sansa put the candle to alert Brienne, iirc.

The tower could also be a symbol for the “maiden in the tower”, which is a motif connected to Sansa. We could make theories about what it means that the tower is broken. The maiden broke out of her prison perhaps?

So, if we tinfoil a bit or rather a lot, I could imagine Jon and Sansa being caught at the Broken Tower. It would tie back to the very first episode, it would tie in with the Jaime/Cersei foil and it would also fit with the Miranda scene I think. Miranda was a perverted case of the jealous girl, and this might point towards jealousy and the Broken Tower connected once more. The candle could be picked up again, if Jon and Sansa use a candle. I’m not sure though, if the candle would fit in at all.

Who would see them, though? Would it be friendly eyes? I would argue not, because the Jonsa twist would be needed to further conflict. @thelawyerthatwaspromised thought it might be Jorah, because Jorah would try to undermine Jon and tell Da€nerys about this. Bran would be a nice parallel, but I honestly do not see that happening other than through weirwoodtree-watching. Da€nerys herself might be an option, as you argued?

As much as I would like to see such a scene, I’m not sure, how it would come about. It would mean that Jon and Sansa are already in agreement about meeting there, I think, because if they just want to have a quiet talk, there are many more possibilities. They might want to have a secret meeting which would make sense if they don’t have the feeling that they can talk openly elsewhere in Winterfell. This would mean that there is a lot of tension and mistrust within the halls of Winterfell - a situation I can see coming tbh. It would fit to what Sophie turner said about next season, that not only the fantastic elements, but also the character arcs and conspiracies gain speed in season 8 - although I am reluctant to quote actors’ interviews as evidence.

Hope, that you are satisfied with what I came up just at the top of my tinfoily head! Thanks for the ask!

[fedonciadale]

Why do you think the producers decided to leave Beric and Tormund alive? the last scene was the perfect opportunity to kill them both, but for some reason they survived, I do not think it's just for fanservice. Do you think we will see the kiss of life at some point? I never understood the reason why they decided to reintroduce Beric and Thoros because in truth they never fulfilled anything. Do you think that this is the reason why beric is Still alive? Do you think he Will give this Kiss to

(2) Someone? maybe to sansa? I have read several good metas about the unkiss  and how Sansa could be asleep throughout the battle and that is awoken by that kiss like snow white, There are even paragraphs in the book that could be foreshadowing for that.             

Dear nonny, I deeply regret, that the show left out Lady Stoneheart.... Bookwise Beric gave the kiss of life to Catelyn and he is dead, while Thoros is with Lady Stoneheart. I think that there will be some sort of Red Wedding 2.0 in the books and the Freys will get killed by Stoneheart. I think, in the books Beric and Thoros serve several aims: Beric foreshadows what will happen to Jon after resurrection, Thoros gives a more human face to the followers of Rh’llor - Mellisandre is after all tough to swallow, - and they will bring the arc of revenge/justice to an end, highlighting the difference between both that will make it easier for Arya to choose justice in the end and not revenge. I think that in the books Thoros will desert Lady Stoneheart. 

As for their introduction in the show, I agree, that it was fanservice to a certain degree. On the one hand they needed some people to join Jon on his crackpot mission beyond the wall, and in that respect the altruistic Beric and Thoros were not the worst choice.... In a way better than Gendry - you know, I love Gendry and I was glad to see him again, but him suddenly fighting for the father he never knew? going on a hike beyond the wall when he knew nothing about winter? ... Well, I could rant about the Wight hunt and all the forced bromance and boy bonding all day long, so I’d better stop here.

As for Tormund, I love Tormund in the books and the show as well, even if his is so obviously meant as a comic relief. I suppose he will be canon fodder and it will be heartbreaking if he comes back as a wight. I do believe that his plot armour only holds as long as they don’t think they get more from a WightTormund/Jon figt than from Tormund pining after Brienne.... Which means we may see WightTormund next season.

As for Beric, he does have one lifee to give and it might be the kiss of life, but I’m not sure about that. To me it would be a bit too much if we would see both Jon and Sansa resurrected in the show. The same holds true for Jon being resurrected again. I don’t think this will happen. - although I wouldn’t take bets on it, because ‘it would be bad story telling’ can’t be used as an argument any longer.

On the other hand, there is this foreshadowing about Sansa ‘falling’ and her being unable to remember this. Sansa thinks often about Bran’s fall, there is the chapter in ASOS - the one heavily loaded with Jonsa foreshadowing - where she is suddenly on her knees and doesn’t remember falling. There is the chapter in AFFC with her descent from the Eyrie where she almost falls. There is her descent to freedom when she climbs from the Red Keep to the boat Littlefinger has prepared. Since GRRM goes in threes and Sansa didn’t fall the first two times, she might fall the third time. At least bookwise I think it is plausible that Sansa will fall (mayhaps from the Broken Tower like Bran?) and that it will be a near death experience at the very least. She might fall into a coma. It would be nice, if a kiss woke her. On the other hand, kiss is not necessarily positive in GRRM. There is often the ‘kiss of the blade’ as an euphesmism for killing or hurting. That Sansa remembers the Hound kissing her is probably due to her coding traumatic experiences in a romantic light to cope with them.

So, I think it is possible, that Jon and Sansa meet in the Broken Tower, they are caught. Sansa is thrown from the tower and maybe she’ll wake up to a blade at her throat, which then will bring Ghost or someone else to her rescue - Just speculating into the blue here.... It would mirror Bran’s arc, and if Jon and Sansa are caught at the Broken Tower it would also mirror Jaime/Cersei.

I am convinced that Sansa’s falling will be important, but I don’t really see Beric coming into it, because he shouldn’t be even there any longer, and I can’t see another candidate for giving Sansa a kiss of life - Mellisandre is exiled after all. On the other hand, Mel knows she’ll die in Westeros, so she might be the one to do it. But I think that would be a bit cheap. I hope, they have something better in tow for Beric. If he could inflame the Ice Viserion with this flames, that would be cool.

Thanks for the ask!

[pjbifun]

[hanze-sponha]

Así fue como entré en el mundo roto para encontrar la compañía visionaria del amor.

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