red_temple
Boo!
As requested by Trey Greyjoy:
First, I'd like to stress my "crackpot" disclaimer again, as I have no solid factual evidence to back this up, other than "it fits" and there is no real evidence to the contrary. Other than the whole "Ashra Dayne is dead" thing. If you are part of the camp that believes she still lives, and may be wondering what happened to her, here is a theory for you, then.
I believe that Ashra Dayne is Quaithe, the lacquer-masked soothsayer that pops up in Dany's camp from time to time. It fits that if Ashra is not dead, she must be in hiding somewhere. Perhaps her purpose is now to help return the Targs to power, and she is helping as best she can. Obviously, she cannot show herself in public, hence the guise of Quaithe. The reason that I thought of this is I've always been suspicious of Quaithe, being masked, speaking in riddles, etc. She also seems to add value to Dany's cause. So, my questions about her are:
1. Why the mask? The obvious answer is that whatever group/race (can't remember specifics here) she belongs to always wear the masks. I think GRRM offers this up as an alibi for the mask, so we don't suspect her to actually be some other than she really is.
2. Why speak in riddles? If the soothsayer knows what should be done, why not just tell Dany straight up? Speaking in riddles is a common theme in most fantasy, but not common to GRRM if there isn't a clear cut reason for it. So what's the reason for the riddles? If Quaithe wants to help Dany, and she is Ashra as I believe, then she has to be careful not to reveal too much, or risk blowing her cover. If Dany veers off course, Quaithe can just "re-appear" at the appropriate time to nudge Dany in the right direction with another riddle.
3. Of course, this is really just an argument that Quaithe is not really Quaithe. But if Quaithe is not Quaithe, then who can she be? The list of candidates is small when you think about it, and Ashra is the obvious choice for me.
What do you think?
<prepares to dodge flames>
First, I'd like to stress my "crackpot" disclaimer again, as I have no solid factual evidence to back this up, other than "it fits" and there is no real evidence to the contrary. Other than the whole "Ashra Dayne is dead" thing. If you are part of the camp that believes she still lives, and may be wondering what happened to her, here is a theory for you, then.
I believe that Ashra Dayne is Quaithe, the lacquer-masked soothsayer that pops up in Dany's camp from time to time. It fits that if Ashra is not dead, she must be in hiding somewhere. Perhaps her purpose is now to help return the Targs to power, and she is helping as best she can. Obviously, she cannot show herself in public, hence the guise of Quaithe. The reason that I thought of this is I've always been suspicious of Quaithe, being masked, speaking in riddles, etc. She also seems to add value to Dany's cause. So, my questions about her are:
1. Why the mask? The obvious answer is that whatever group/race (can't remember specifics here) she belongs to always wear the masks. I think GRRM offers this up as an alibi for the mask, so we don't suspect her to actually be some other than she really is.
2. Why speak in riddles? If the soothsayer knows what should be done, why not just tell Dany straight up? Speaking in riddles is a common theme in most fantasy, but not common to GRRM if there isn't a clear cut reason for it. So what's the reason for the riddles? If Quaithe wants to help Dany, and she is Ashra as I believe, then she has to be careful not to reveal too much, or risk blowing her cover. If Dany veers off course, Quaithe can just "re-appear" at the appropriate time to nudge Dany in the right direction with another riddle.
3. Of course, this is really just an argument that Quaithe is not really Quaithe. But if Quaithe is not Quaithe, then who can she be? The list of candidates is small when you think about it, and Ashra is the obvious choice for me.
What do you think?
<prepares to dodge flames>
