TL;DR the etymology of Azor Ahai suggests he is evil. Azor Ahai was probably the Bloodstone Emperor and caused the Long Night. Euron was body-snatched by Azor Ahai in Valyria. He fulfills all the prophecy better than any other character, and alludes to being much older than he appears once or twice. Euron will take Dawn from Starfall and forge it into Lightbringer. Aeron will actually live for a while because Euron is planning to sacrifice him to awaken a stone dragon later, possibly the same one that attacked Balerion. Euron made his Valyrian steel armor on the spot, and may raise another army of the dead. There may be a larger conspiracy behind his ascension.
CONTAINS TWOW SPOILERS
Etmyology and mythology strongly suggest Azor Ahai is a bad guy who caused the Long Night
GRRM loves Sanskrit names, look at Arya, Asha, Sansa, and Meera. And also, Azor Ahai. Which, as LmL has pointed out, is probably based off of the Asura Ahi, better known as Vritra, from the Vedas.
In the early Vedic religion, Vritra (Sanskrit: वृत्र, vṛtra; Pali: वत्र, vatra lit. 'enveloper') is a serpent or dragon, the personification of drought and adversary of Indra. He identified as an Asura. Vritra was also known in the Vedas as Ahi (Sanskrit: अहि ahi, lit. 'snake'). He appears as a dragon blocking the course of the rivers and is heroically slain by Indra.
Asura Ahi roughly translates to "demon snake" or "demigod snake." The Asura Ahi was a dragon so huge it devoured the sky. Or most of the universe, because Hinduism is metal like that.
SB 6.9.13-17: Like arrows released in the four directions, the demon's body grew, day after day. Tall and blackish, he appeared like a burnt hill and was as lustrous as a bright array of clouds in the evening. The hair on the demon's body and his beard and moustache were the color of melted copper, and his eyes were piercing like the midday sun. He appeared unconquerable, as if holding the three worlds on the points of his blazing trident. Dancing and shouting with a loud voice, he made the entire surface of the earth tremble as if from an earthquake. As he yawned again and again, he seemed to be trying to swallow the whole sky with his mouth, which was as deep as a cave. He seemed to be licking up all the stars in the sky with his tongue and eating the entire universe with his long, sharp teeth. Seeing this gigantic demon, everyone, in great fear, ran here and there in all directions. SB 6.9.18: That very fearful demon, who was actually the son of Tvashta, covered all the planetary systems by dint of austerity. Therefore, he was named Vritra, or one who covers everything.
Causing, presumably, a long night. Notice the blazing weapon too.
One more thing...
Vritra's mother, Danu, who was also the mother of the Dānava race of Asuras, was then attacked and defeated by Indra with his thunderbolt.
Hmmmmmmm…
It kind of seems like the Long Night is probably rooted in Asshai, where the legends of Azor Ahai originate.
Some say as well that the stone of Asshai has a greasy, unpleasant feel to it, that it seems to drink the light, dimming tapers and torches and hearth fires alike. The nights are very black in Asshai, all agree, and even the brightest days of summer are somehow grey and gloomy. -TWOIAF
Note that the Others have never actually darkened the sky by their appearance. They seem to come out when it's dark, they don't bring darkness with them. Asshai meanwhile is supernaturally dark 24/7. Is the story of Azor Ahai just historical revisionism?
Azor Ahai and the Bloodstone Emperor who caused the Long Night are the same person.
When the daughter of the Opal Emperor succeeded him as the Amethyst Empress, her envious younger brother cast her down and slew her, proclaiming himself the Bloodstone Emperor and beginning a reign of terror. He practiced dark arts, torture, and necromancy, enslaved his people, took a tiger-woman for his bride, feasted on human flesh, and cast down the true gods to worship a black stone that had fallen from the sky. (Many scholars count the Bloodstone Emperor as the first High Priest of the sinister Church of Starry Wisdom, which persists to this day in many port cities throughout the known world).
In the annals of the Further East, it was the Blood Betrayal, as his usurpation is named, that ushered in the age of darkness called the Long Night. Despairing of the evil that had been unleashed on earth, the Maiden-Made-of-Light turned her back upon the world, and the Lion of Night came forth in all his wroth to punish the wickedness of men.
This is probably the exact same guy, with his story told from a different perspective. Read more about it from u/Lucifer_Lightbringer here if you want. I find the theory very convincing.
The Others would be kind of a crap villain out of line with what GRRM says he wants from the series, Azor Ahai would be better
We don’t need any more Dark Lords, we don’t need any more, ‘Here are the good guys, they’re in white, there are the bad guys, they’re in black. And also, they’re really ugly, the bad guys. -GRRM
Also, the name of the Others really has some unfortunate implications if they’re going to get nuked to hell by the heroes’ dragons.
Also, also, how would dragons vs a bunch of beings who make their weapons out of ice and command an army of ultra flammable wights even be interesting?
Azor Ahai on the other hand...
A villain is a hero of the other side, as someone said once, and I think there’s a great deal of truth to that, and that’s the interesting thing. In the case of war, that kind of situation, so I think some of that is definitely what I’m aiming at. -GRRM
Daenerys’ HOTU vision and the Azor Ahai prophecy, when taken together, strongly imply Daenerys will have to slay Azor Ahai.
When the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt to wake dragons out of stone. -A Storm of Swords - Davos III
From a smoking tower, a great stone beast took wing, breathing shadow fire. . . . mother of dragons, slayer of lies -A Clash of Kings - Daenerys IV
Euron’s mythological inspiration and Azor Ahai’s matchup perfectly
Euron Greyjoy bears a lot of similarities to Balor the Fomorian, aka Balor the Smiter or Balor Evil-Eye, from Irish mythology. In particular, High Tower and Tory Island are extremely similar to Hightower and Battle Island, the place Euron will be attacking soon and the place where I conjecture Euron will establish a temporary seat of power.
Balor is a monster of drought and blight, strongly associated with “too much summer.” Which makes him extremely similar to Vritra from early Vedic religion.
And like Vritra, Balor was also slain by a Storm God, Lugh. So Azor Ahai and Euron Greyjoy are both strongly influenced by monsters who fill almost exactly the same role, just in two different mythologies.
Euron may actually be possessed by or sharing a body with the Bloodstone Emperor aka Azor Ahai
A smile played across Euron's blue lips. "I am the storm, my lord. The first storm, and the last. I have taken the Silence on longer voyages than this, and ones far more hazardous. Have you forgotten? I have sailed the Smoking Sea and seen Valyria." -A Feast for Crows - The Reaver
Note that he didn’t say he saw the ruins of Valyria. Also, he says he is the first storm, and the last. Would this not be true if he were the reincarnated Bloodstone Emperor, who once brought the Great Empire of the Dawn to its knees, and is now back to unleash chaos again?
He mocks me and he mocks the god. Kinslayer. Blasphemer. Demon in human skin. -The Forsaken, TWOW
No, to make an heir that's worthy of him, I need a different woman. -A Feast for Crows - The Reaver
Who is “him?”
"He may be dead," Esgred agreed, "and if he lives, why, he has spent so long at sea, he'd be half a stranger here. The ironborn would never seat a stranger in the Seastone Chair." -A Clash of Kings - Theon II
Half a stranger, indeed.
I dreamt of a man without a face, waiting on a bridge that swayed and swung. On his shoulder perched a drowned crow with seaweed hanging from his wings. -A Storm of Swords - Arya IV
A drowned crow… if you went into a vision or something in the Smoking Sea, and something took over your body, wouldn’t you be “drowned?” Wouldn’t whatever took your body be “born again amidst smoke and salt?”
Finally, most people think the “man without a face” is a Faceless Man, and that is the most obvious answer. However, the Faceless Men aren’t likely to want to do business with an aspiring dragonlord and slaver like Euron. However…
Most sinister of all the sorcerers of Asshai are the shadowbinders, whose lacquered masks hide their faces from the eyes of gods and men. -TWOIAF
If Azor Ahai was a shadowbinder (as seems likely), he could also be a “man without a face.”
If Euron was possessed by Azor Ahai on the Smoking Sea it would be the most direct fulfillment of the Azor Ahai prophecy possible.
Certainly more direct than Dragonstone, which is only near the sea. "Born again amidst salt and smoke."
Euron is clearly more aware of the eschatalogical significance of what’s going on than most other characters, as he would be if he were Azor Ahai reborn.
"I swore to give you Westeros," the Crow's Eye said when the tumult died away, "and here is your first taste. A morsel, nothing more . . . but we shall feast before the fall of night!" -A Feast for Crows - The Reaver
“The bleeding star bespoke the end,” he said to Aeron. “These are the last days, when the world shall be broken and remade. A new god shall be born from the graves and charnel pits.” -The Forsaken, TWOW
There may be an ancient conspiracy to restore the Great Empire of the Dawn, and Euron’s usurpation of its leadership mirrors the usurpation of the Amethyst Empress by the Bloodstone Emperor.
Let’s talk Quaithe for a second. I will not claim to know who she is. I’m not 100% sure what her loyalties are (although I have a guess). But there is one thing that’s very, very clear: she wants Daenerys to go to Asshai for some reason.
Dany's wrist still tingled where Quaithe had touched her. "Where would you have me go?" she asked.
"To go north, you must journey south. To reach the west, you must go east. To go forward you must go back, and to touch the light you must pass beneath the shadow."
Asshai, Dany thought. She would have me go to Asshai. "Will the Asshai'i give me an army?" she demanded. "Will there be gold for me in Asshai? Will there be ships? What is there in Asshai that I will not find in Qarth?"
"Truth," said the woman in the mask. And bowing, she faded back into the crowd. -A Clash of Kings - Daenerys III
"Remember. To go north, you must journey south. To reach the west, you must go east. To go forward you must go back, and to touch the light you must pass beneath the shadow." "Quaithe?" -A Storm of Swords - Daenerys III
Why? Why does Quaithe insist upon this Asshai trip? My suspicion: there is a conspiracy to secure the restoration of the GEotD and/or Azor Ahai.
”"Dragons and darker things," said Leo. "The grey sheep have closed their eyes, but the mastiff sees the truth. Old powers waken. Shadows stir. An age of wonder and terror will soon be upon us, an age for gods and heroes." -A Feast for Crows - Prologue
Leo isn’t talking about the Others here, he’s talking about the Asshai’i conspiracy that he and Marwyn are in on. Quaithe wanted to deliver Daenerys, the mother of dragons, into their clutches.
This makes much more sense than the idea that Quaithe is just being helpful to Daenerys. I once entertained the idea that Quaithe might be a defector from the conspiracy, but if so, she would just scream into the glass candle “DAENERYS LISTEN TO ME THERE’S A GIANT ANCIENT CONSPIRACY TRYING TO RESTORE THE GREAT EMPIRE OF THE DAWN AND YOU NEED TO COME TO ASSHAI TO STOP THEM!” If there’s a truth that’s so important, why not just say it? Maybe because “the truth” is actually “we're looking for leadership of our global conspiracy and we were thinking you would be perfect for the role.”
Of course, Daenerys didn’t go to Asshai. She went to Slavers Bay, to purchase the Unsullied and liberate slaves. The wrong choice, by Asshai’i standards. But someone did. Somebody who was in Qarth at the same time as Daenerys, who may have heard that the ancient Asshai’i conspiracy was holding auditions for the part of Azor Ahai.
Euron is the only major character besides Melisandre to have been to Asshai and would be readily accepted by the Asshai'i because he conforms to their cultural norms.
The dark city by the Shadow is a city steeped in sorcery. Warlocks, wizards, alchemists, moonsingers, red priests, black alchemists, necromancers, aeromancers, pyromancers, bloodmages, torturers, inquisitors, poisoners, godswives, night-walkers, shapechangers, worshippers of the Black Goat and the Pale Child and the Lion of Night, all find welcome in Asshai-by-the-Shadow, where nothing is forbidden. Here they are free to practice their spells without restraint or censure, conduct their obscene rites, and fornicate with demons if that is their desire. -TWOIAF
If you were to take away a “moral” from the legend of Azor Ahai and the forging of Lightbringer it would be “ends justify means, power > human life.” Which is very much the philosophy that prevails throughout Asshai, a cyberpunk dystopia translated into a sword-and-sorcery setting. It is almost a missed opportunity that we never saw Daenerys go to Asshai because it would be fascinating to see what she would do there. I imagine either turn around immediately or try and burn the place to the ground. Euron though? The city is perfect for him, and vice versa. As a veteran warrior with an extensive background in Essosi magic, assuming he could corroborate his Valyria tale, I can't imagine the Asshai'i saying anything other than "welcome back, chosen one."
Euron Greyjoy is the only major character with access to Dawn, and he has a clear path to forge Lightbringer.
No, Darkstar is not a major character. Anyway, Dawn is maybe the best single base upon which Lightbringer could be made, and Starfall is a short jaunt by ship from Oldtown. Euron could be there in a day or two. Once he has it, his claim to be Azor Ahai reborn will be even stronger.
And I think he has a clear way to forge Lightbringer with it… but I'll discuss that another time.
Euron Greyjoy may have access to a dragon more powerful than Drogon
Euron will probably end up binding Rhaegal in TWOW, judging by his location vis-a-vis the dragon horn. This seems like a problem for the end game, because Drogon could probably kick Rhaegal's ass easily. However there may be a dragon out there that dwarfs Drogon, and Euron probably knows where it is.
”Balerion had wounds as well. That enormous beast, the Black Dread, the most fearsome dragon ever to soar through the skies of Westeros, returned to King’s Landing with half-healed scars that no man recalled ever having seen before, and a jagged rent down his left side almost nine feet long, a gaping red wound from which his blood still dripped, hot and smoking.” -F&B
Yeah, I think Euron is going to ride the Beast of Valyria. By sacrificing Rhaegal along with “king’s blood,” he can wake the stone dragon.
"Your brother's blood," Melisandre said. "A king's blood. Only a king's blood can wake the stone dragon." -A Storm of Swords - Davos IV
Euron definitely has a sacrifice in mind for this one…
“No, I’ll not kill you tonight. A holy man with holy blood. I may have need of that that blood … later. For now, you are condemned to live.” -The Forsaken, TWOW
Aeron’s blood isn’t holy because he’s a priest. Aeron’s blood is holy because it’s Euron’s blood, and Euron aka Azor Ahai aka the Bloodstone Emperor considers himself a god. The use he has for it is to wake the Beast of Valyria. Aeron may actually live for a while then, which means we'll get to witness Oldtown from his POV, improving Sam's odds of survival.
What would this dragon look like? Well I have a theory worth its own post. Suffice it to say this detail…
"Nuncle." She closed the door behind her. "What reading was so urgent that you leave your guests without a host?" "Archmaester Marwyn's Book of Lost Books." He lifted his gaze from the page to study her. "Hotho brought me a copy from Oldtown. He has a daughter he would have me wed." Lord Rodrik tapped the book with a long nail. "See here? Marwyn claims to have found three pages of Signs and Portents, visions written down by the maiden daughter of Aenar Targaryen before the Doom came to Valyria. Does Lanny know that you are here?" -The Kraken's Daughter -AFFC
...is probably important.
This would also give Jon an undead Rhaegal to potentially ride, which is thematically appropriate and also would probably require Jon’s Stark and Targaryen lineage to come into play.
Euron may be able to transmute iron into Valyrian steel
Others have pointed out that it's extremely unlike a random piece of Valyrian steel armor would fit Euron. It's quite possible he didn't find that armor at all: he made it.
Once, aboard the Silence, he hung the lantern from a post and poured them cups of wine. “Drink with me, brother,” he said. That night he wore a shirt of iron scales and a cloak of blood red silk. -The Forsaken, TWOW
As any Skyrim player will tell you, regular iron armor is shit. Why not steel? Well later...
Euron Crow’s Eye stood upon the deck of Silence, clad in a suit of black scale armor like nothing Aeron had ever seen before. Dark as smoke it was, but Euron wore it as easily as if it was the thinnest silk. The scales were edged in red gold, and gleamed and shimmered when they moved. Patterns could be seen within the metal, whorls and glyphs and arcane symbols folded into the steel.
Euron may have transmuted the iron scales into Valyrian steel. How? You probably don't want to know.
Euron may have been born around the time of the Summerhall disaster
This is a bit tinfoily to be sure. But in this tongue in cheek thread it’s noted that Euron could have been born around the time of the Tragedy of Summerhall.
Euron being Azor Ahai explains how he will get the soldiers to be a real threat.
"Benerro has sent forth the word from Volantis. Her coming is the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. From smoke and salt was she born to make the world anew. She is Azor Ahai returned … and her triumph over darkness will bring a summer that will never end … death itself will bend its knee, and all those who die fighting in her cause shall be reborn …" -A Dance with Dragons - Tyrion VI
If Euron, not Daenerys, is Azor Ahai, this strongly implies Euron will be able to raise the dead as fire wights or Qyburn zombies. The Others may go no farther than Winterfell, but Euron will ravage the entire south on his way to meet them with his own undead horde. No part of Westeros will be untouched.
Submitted August 22, 2019 at 04:14PM by GenghisKazoo https://ift.tt/2Noq4Fn
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