Quellon Greyjoy, The Wise Kraken

To sea, to sea! our wide-winged bark Shall billowy cleave its sunny way, And with its shadow, fleet and dark, Break the caved Tritons' azure day, Like mighty eagle soaring light O'er antelopes on Alpine height. The anchor heaves, the ship swings...

[triteia]

[racefortheironthrone]

How do you think sailors on Planetos navigate the high seas? I would think any star-based navigation is out of the question since it is dependent on reliable records and predictive modeling of the nights sky (that assumes the seasons are still the result of the angle of Planetos' axis in relation to the sun, as IRL). The unreliable seasons also lead me to conclude that trade winds are out of the question and with them any reliablilty on the wind for long distance trade. Love the blog and essays

Glad you liked them!

Well, for the most part, they don’t - most naval travel in Planetos follows the coastlines as opposed to deep sea voyages, although the Summer Islanders are an exception to that rule. 

The seasons are not the result of the angle of the axis, but rather the result of magic. Given the maesters’ intense focus on astronomy and their use of it in trying to detect if not predict the changes in the seasons, for example, I think star-based navigation is quite viable.

And I don’t think the seasons affect the trade winds at all. 

[racefortheironthrone]

Do you have any idea why all of Quellon's children would set themselves to reversing his legacy? An incident in Ironborn history, a real world trend in behavior, something that sheds light on this tragic cultural pivot so enthusiastically embraced by all four of Quellon's sons?

Good statesmen aren’t always good parents.

Children often seek to define themselves against their parents and feudal systems combine that tendency directly to public policy. 

[racefortheironthrone]

How long do you think it would take for Westeros to enter a Renaissance-type period?

Not too long - maybe a hundred years or so. The Free Cities are already there, so Westeros can speed up the process by importing technologies (in the broader sense of the word) from Essos. 

[poorquentyn]

Ya think we'll get even a smidge of sympathy for Euron? Like, Tywin loved Joanna, Victarion knows people laugh at him, Joffrey was a terrified child at the time of his death, etc. Do you think Euron will ever have anything like that, no matter how small?

Nah. This is as close to humanizing Euron as GRRM’s going to get: 

“When I was a boy, I dreamt that I could fly,” he announced. “When I woke, I couldn’t…or so the maester said. But what if he lied?”

That’s Euron’s supervillain origin story, right there. Bloodraven cracked open li’l Euron’s third eye, and he suddenly saw a world in which he could rule everything, on every plane, instead of simply whatever victims were within arm’s reach. Everything he’s done since has been about trying to recapture that high, certain that the maester lied, that Euron Greyjoy can fly.

I mean I guess you could feel a twinge of sympathy for someone that obsessed with a dream they’ll eventually fall short of attaining, but then you remember what that dream is and how Euron intends to make it real…I don’t think there’s any sympathy to be had in Euron’s backstory, just cold clarity. IMO the Crow’s Eye is the new Night’s King, the Bloodstone Emperor come again: the one man who would welcome and instigate the Long Night, and so quite literally put himself beyond humanizing. The spark of Doom, the herald of the apocalypse, the man who sold the world. 

[beegotten]

The thing about Euron is that he’s someone trying to reach for a goal greater than humanity: full godhood. He’s likely spent his life thinking about that initial unveiling of godhood Bloodraven opened him up to and has decided to take his metaphysical status by force.

There might be something sad about young Euron’s trying to attain the full dream that he only got a peek at through Bloodraven. A child given a taste of immense power and spending his life yearning it back. It almost reminds me of young Petyr’s desire for Catelyn back then: wanting something out of reach. 

That being said, what he chose to do with that desire and how he chose to accomplish it, Aeron, Harlon, Robin, Urrigon, Falia Flowers, those slaves he took back home… is utterly horrifying and unworthy of sympathy. Some of this stuff was when he was a child too, so even young Euron was a monster.

Honestly, if Martin tried to humanize Euron, I think that would miss the point of Euron’s character for this important reason: Euron does not want to be human. Fuck being humanized, Euron doesn’t want your human sympathy, he sees your human value as blood price to pave his road to godhood. 

He sees all of humanity as fuel and chattel for his ambition just like the Valyrians once did. He wants to be the Valyrian Empire in one body and soul. He wants to feast on humanity just like the metaphysical (the Others) and secular (Tywin, Liitlefinger, the Great Masters) monsters do.

“I had forgotten what a small and noisy folk they are, my Ironborn. I would bring them dragons, and they shout out for grapes.”

“Grapes are real. A man can gorge himself on grapes. Their juice is sweet, and they make wine. What do dragons make?”

“Woe.”

[poorquentyn]

Sing it from the rooftops: Euron Greyjoy does not want to be human. This is what puts him above and outside every other human villain in the series. He doesn’t want to be in the pirate part of the story, not really; he wants to be in the apocalypse part, rule it in fact, and everyone and everything else is fuel for the fire of his transcendence. A new god shall be born from the graves.

[racefortheironthrone]

Dear maester steven, I was wondering if I could ask you something regarding Deepwood Motte. You mentioned the coast nearby was one of the few places on the west coast of the North where a large number of ships could be held, and this seems right as Asha docked enough ships here for the 1000 Ironborn that took the castle. However, the books describe the coast as being tidal flats, which aren't good for docking ships unless they have been dredged. Did they dock somewhere else on the Bay of Ice?

Ah, I see what the issue is. You’re thinking deepwater ships, whereas the Ironborn primarily use longships which have extremely shallow drafts and a fairly flat bottom. 

Unlike a deepwater ship, which can’t really be beached without some very complicated launching procedures, longships can be hauled up off the beach and pushed out to sea very easily, which is part of the reason they were so suited to hit-and-run riverrine missions when you wanted to go a-viking. 

So a tidal flat is actually ideal for longboats, as you can sail/row them up pretty close to the tide line, portage them if necessary, and the tide makes launching them again super-smooth. Meanwhile, galleys and other ships with long fin keels and deep drafts can’t pursue the longship onto the tidal flat lest they run around. 

[nymerosmartellofsunspear]

asoiaf meme ♕ 12 houses [4/12] ↳House Greyjoy

“hard places breed hard men, and hard men rule the world”

[wisekrxken]

— famous first lines of poetry —

REPOST, do NOT reblog. BOLD the ones that apply to your muse.  

i saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked // tyger tyger, burning bright  // i have done it again. //   do not go gentle into that good night. //  the sea is calm to-night. // let us go then, you and i,  // april is the cruelest month, // pretty women wonder where my secret lies. // there is a place where the sidewalk ends // i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)

two roads diverged in a yellow wood,  //  whose woods these are i think i know // let us twain walk aside from the rest; // once upon a midnight dreary, while i pondered, weak and weary, //   i taught myself to live simply and wisely  // it so happens i am sick of being a man // i wandered lonely as a cloud  //  does it dry up like a raisin in the sun ?  //  o my love is like a red, red rose //  o captain! my captain! our fearful trip is done; // out of the night that covers me // it was many and many a year ago,  //  you may write me down in history //  do not stand at my grave and weep  // some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice.  // hope is the thing with feathers // the wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees, // no man is an island

remember me when i am gone away,  // i met a traveller from an antique land //  ‘twas brillig, and the slithy toves  // this is thy hour o soul, //  when we wear the mask that grins and lies,//  death be not proud, //  and death shall have no dominion.  // laugh, and the world laughs with you; //the art of losing isn’t hard to master;  //  to see a world in a grain of sand  //  is there anybody there? said the traveller // nobody heard him, the dead man, //  that crazed girl improving her music.  // come to me in the silence of the night;  //  where the mind is without fear and the head is held high  //  when you are old and grey and full of sleep,  // in flanders’ fields the poppies blow  //   i thought of you and how you love this beauty //  life, believe, is not a dream  //  it may be misery not to sing at all, // if starry space no limit knows

come live with me and be my love, //  had we but world enough and time, //  my heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains my sense  // bright star, would i were steadfast as thou art– //  thou still unravish’d bride of quietness  //  how do i love thee? let me count the ways.  // heaven is what i cannot reach ! //  my dear, my dear, i know // in visions of the dark night //  shall i compare thee to a summers day? //  break, break, break //  she walks in beauty,  // i had a dream, which was not all a dream. // he clasps the crag with crooked hands. tagged by: no one tagging: nuh-uh

[wisekrxken]

continued from here || @ircnbcrn​

A smile for his granddaughter, the child he had always had smiles for since she threw her first axe. When he thought to the future, it was Asha he thought of, not his son, who understood what was required of the Lord Reaper of Pyke, even though there were dragons in the Greenlands no more. And yet, it weighed heavily on her, as it did with him now, even after five D E C A D E S.

“ You may not believe it, child, but I remember what it was to be young. ” The expectations, the uncertainty - and his father had died young of a winter chill, and there had been none to steer him. He hoped he would live long enough to give his granddaughter, the most P R O M I S I N G of the krakens to come, guidance that would anchor her through her life.

He likes her impertinence, always has - Balon scowled when he said that, but should not a kraken rise to meet the S T O R M ? - and eyes grey like the sea at storm meet hers calmly. “ Such is our lot in life. It is not unlike a mummer’s mask, and you choose when and where to use it. ” Or not - Tywin Lannister had long decided that he would be a Lord and nothing else, and there were times ( after speaking to his eldest son ) when he wondered whether that would be an easier path to take.

[wisekrxken]

IARAINN SAID: when even grandpa is more Gryffindor than you

On a serious note - there’s an element with Quellon where he’s almost a little bit too perfect, even in canon. Like, he’s a warrior! but he respects the Greenlands! but he’s never openly questioned by his bannermen! but he invites maesters! You know? So I feel like the result reflects that in a way, but you also have the idea of him being torn in these different directions, because he’s trying to reconcile all these different parts.

Or it could just be a dumb personality test, idk

[wisekrxken]

hogwarts house percentage breakdown.

repost  ;   don’t  reblog !    take  the  quiz  here.

You Are 38% Gryffindor, 31% Ravenclaw, 20% Slytherin, and 11% Hufflepuff!

Just like Hermione Granger, you were ultimately placed in Gryffindor, but the Sorting Hat seriously considered putting you in Ravenclaw. You are a natural born leader, often taking control of the reins from others whose recklessness or dedication to facts and knowledge clouds their judgment. You are intelligent, but acknowledge that there are more important things in life, and therefore aim to use your intelligence and determination to fight for what you believe to be right.

Your slight compatibility with Slytherin house suggests a determination to succeed, though not at te expense of traits from your more dominant houses.

tagged by :  nah tagging : too lazy

[loumargi]

Sunset Near Land’s End - Thomas Moran

[vintagepales]

[blessedgentle-blog]

vintagepales:

“L'amour ne périt jamais”

[little-avz]

Merman

[wisekrxken]

It had been too long since Quellon had seen all his living sons together. Aeron had grown boisterous, more boisterous than he had expected from his youngest son, and the thought made him smile. Life need not be so stern as Balon would have it – the Greenlanders were not all HERETICS for suggesting that sometimes, life is to be lived, not to be taken from others. Victarion would not approve of that sentiment, of course, but he was a fine lad, strong as an ox ( with about as much brainpower ) and the best second that Balon could ask for. Euron…was trouble, and always had been, even during his birth, which was only achieved after four days of screaming, thinking that his {…} would DIE just as Darna had, in a bed of blood. The maesters had whispered amongst themselves that it was Euron’s birth which had given him his BLOODLUST, his love of reaving, and as much as Quellon would liked to have dismissed the claims as pig swill, even Balon didn’t take so much sheer pleasure out of reaving.

“What news of Asshai, my son? The guardsmen tell me much and more of your exploits in the {Jade Sea}.” Since your own crew cannot.

[blessthemwithsaltstonesteel]

Legend of the Grey King by Rumyana Zarkova 

Blessed by the Drowned God, the Grey King was said to have waged war against the Storm God himself and slain Nagga , the first sea dragon, using its bones to build his hall. Legend has it that he also took a mermaid as his wife and lived for a thousand years.

[goodqueenaly]

House Words Wednesdays: House Harlaw

Welcome back, readers!

I have started a feature on the Tumblr called House Words Wednesdays. Each week, I take a House without known canon or semi-canon words and present what I think could make sense as that House’s motto. You’re free to suggest more as well, if your favored House has not yet been suggested; take a look at this link to see what has already been suggested, and shoot me a tweet or ask through Tumblr if you have another House you’d like to see done.

House Harlaw of Harlaw is probably the strongest of the Iron Islands vassal Houses, ruling over the entirety of the great island of Harlaw. Harlaw is the wealthiest and most densely populated of all the Iron Islands, and the Harlaws have been prominent leaders among the ironborn for thousands of years. They were rock and salt kings in the days before the Iron Islands had a single high king, and were occasionally elected as High Kings at kingsmoots.  Erich V Harlaw conquered Fair Isle in his youth (only to lose it again in his old age), while Erich’s son Harron slew King Gareth II Gardener beneath the walls of Oldtown.

Now, what’s sort of strange about the Harlaws is their sigil. The arms of House Harlaw are a silver scythe on black - not a strange device in itself, but strange insofar as the Iron Islands go. Scythes are farm tools, tools of harvest, but on the Iron Island, farming is considered a hard and unrewarding task, fit only for men captured on raids:

In those days, the ironborn did not work mines; that was labor for the captives brought back from the hostings, and so too the sorry business of farming and tending goats and sheep. (“Theon I”, A Clash of Kings)

The reavers brought more than gold and grain back to the Iron Islands; they brought captives as well, who would henceforth serve their captors as thralls. Amongst the ironborn, only reaving and fishing were considered worthy work for free men. The endless stoop labor of farm and field was suitable only for thralls. (“The Iron Islands”, The World of Ice and Fire)

So in crafting Harlaw words, I wanted to incorporate this seeming disconnect. The Harlaws raise as their sigil not something typically associated with the sea (like the kraken of the Greyjoys, the leviathan of Volmark, or the Sea King’s head of the Greyirons), but something associated with the farm work of thralls. In part, this might reflect the relative wealth and population of Harlaw: if anywhere can support a farming community on the Iron Islands, doubtless it would be Harlaw (rather than, say, bleak Pyke). 

But in a larger way, I wanted to tie back into this Harlaw past, one of leadership and conquest. That’s why I made the Harlaw words Conquest Is Our Harvest. It ties in with the general ironborn thinking - that reaving is an ironborn’s true calling, and that while other men might till the soil and gather fish from the sea, the captains and kings keep themselves in business by conquering others. What Harlaw prides itself on ultimately isn’t its natural wealth (though that’s important) - it’s the power that House Harlaw can bring to the ironborn table, leading men and ships to raid and reave as they please. We see Erich and Harron Harlaw as historial conquerors; Ser Harras, the rare ironborn knight, has proved himself an able conqueror as well, defeating or slaying the seven champions of House Grimm and taking Greyshield. Let the greenlands men till the soil; the ironborn would till the shores for plunder and prizes, harvesting men and treasure as the mainlanders harvested their grain.

Let me know what you think. Next week’s House moves from the Iron Islands to the opposite side of Westeros - a family on the very coast of the Vale.

The Queen Regent (NFriel)