And the ADWD prologue character is...

[viZion]

Or 1 word, but Boaz is right as usual on the rest. I'm cool with Aegon being alive because its kinda open ended. No direct POV regarding his death, only hearsay.

It would also completely undermine everything that GRRM has written to this point. Why spend so many thousands of pages building up these elaborate characters and situations only to suddenly say, "TA-DA! HERE'S YOUR SAVIOR!"? Let's break it down:

1) Tons of people have died in this book and most of the deaths we learn of through hearsay. It's not a good enough reason for him to come back.

2) As far as I know, there hasn't been a single hint *in the books* about Aegon still being alive. By contrast, there are tons of hints about R + L = J and tons of hints about Renly and Loras having the hots for each other. You can believe these things because GRRM lays the groundwork. The only groundwork for Aegon being alive is some comment he made at some Q & A session. It doesn't count. He has to support it in the books which he has failed to do unless I'm just completely blind to every hint he's made on the subject.

Aegon is dead. Fortunately, I think the people who are still alive in the series can handle things on their own. Just say no to deus ex machinas!

 

[Boaz]

I agree that the goundwork must be laid for Aegon's return to be plausible.

Who would have known what was going on in the Red Keep from the time that Robert Baratheon started winning the war until Tywin Lannister sacked King's Landing?

Varys. If anyone knows or has a solid guess, it's the Spider. If the only way of of the Red Keep and KL was through secret passages, then Elia had to go through Varys.

Jaime. Aerys did not let Jaime hardly out of his sight. Smuggling Aegon out of KL would have been against Aerys' wishes and Jaime has never remembered or dreamed of Aegon, so I don't think Jaime knows.

Pycelle. He convinced Aerys to open his gates to Tywin, so I don't think he'd be in on a plot to allow Aerys' heir to escape. Still, he's fairly well connected.

Barristan. Barristan went with Rhaegar to the Trident. Since Rhaella and Viserys had already left for Dragonstone without Elia and her children, I'd assume switching Aegon came after Barristan left. The only way is if Rhaegar told Elia what to do with Aegon and then told Barristan as some insurance. But if that was true, then I think Barristan would have gone to Aegon instead of Dany or would soon be leading her to him.

Ashara. As a young noble woman of Dorne, Ashara served as one of Elia's lady's in waiting. If Elia feared for Aegon, then giving him to Ashara to take back to Dorne seems to make sense. But Ashara's apparent death leves Aegon's trail cold.

Jon Connington. Jon was best friends with Rhaegar. When Rhaegar disappeared, presumably with Lyanna, Aerys selected Jon to be his Hand and deal with Robert. Jon lost the Battle of the Bells and Aerys banished him. If Ashara and Elia were close and Jon and Rhaegar were close, then Jon might be the one person that Ashara could trust with Aegon's life.

Quaithe, the Shadowbinder, seems to be originally from Westeros. Her face is always hidden. Black, red, brown and blonde hair and black, brown, blue and green eyes are common from Dorne to the Wall. But purple eyes and silver hair, the trademarks of Valyrian blood, are rare. The three houses that I remember having Valyrian blood are the Targaryens, the Velaryons, and the Daynes. There is a theory that Quaithe is actually Ashara... she's looking out for Dany and Aegon.

I know this is a lot of conjecture and usubstantiated speculation. But what if the groundwork is there? What if we are just not making the connections?

Most people dismiss rumor.

In Westeros, Lord Tywin and Queen Cersei refused to listen to Varys' talk of dragons in Qarth. While Alleras and Mollander, two apprentices of Oldtown, seem to be piecing together that a Targaryen return is in the works.

Just like Tywin, I don't wanna be caught with my pants down when the truth emerges, especially if it was foreseeable.

 

[viZion]

The only way that Return of Aegon works is if he turns out to be a character we already know. I believe it cannot work at all if he appears out of nearly nowhere and it's the first time we've gotten to know him in the books.

What's the timing like with Jon actually being Aegon? I believe Jon is actually about a year too young to be Aegon but, hey, he's a ******* and no one knows who his mother is. His true age could easily be lied about and there isn't that much difference between a 16 and 17 old boy.

 

[MIDNIGHT]

oooooh I've always loved Aegon = Jon theorys, but they always seem to get shot down. Apparently the age differences is anywhere from 8 to 18 months. No one knows for sure. However there can be large differences between infants of the same age. Heck, my son was born at 6 lbs and my girlfriends at 11lbs. 10 mnths down the road the 11lb baby looks like a 2 year old and my son like a 10 mnth old. So its easy so mistake the age of an infant. Not to mention children can develop walking and talking at such large intervals its a guess as to how old they are. So yes Jon could be Aegon, its a stretch but not beyond the realm of possibility. Its the, if Lyanna is Jon (Aegon)'s mother, then how or where is Elia's second child. Thats where things get confusing. It is assumed that Aegon is Elia's, so someone must have seen her pregnant and give birth. Unless you try to pass off Jon as Elia's, then all the blood and promises don't make as much sense. Wow I'm really rambling, hopefully you can make some sense out of that.

 

[viZion]

Well, if Jon = Aegon then Lyanna was never pregnant. She would just be the person who Rhaegar gave the baby to for safe keeping. But then how does Jon end up coming out looking like a Stark and not a Targaryen or a Martell? What would Lyanna be dying of if not from the birth of Jon? Yeah, I can see how Jon = Aegon theories would start to break down real fast.

 

[TK-421]

Jon=Aegon. Come on! Although possible, why the hell would Ned do it in the first place.

And what does this have to do with Mr. Sixskins?? Nothing.

 

[DeannaBelle]

Yep, boaz! that's what Ned Stark kept thinking. he kept trying tell everyone (or he should have, anyway) that "Winter is coming, and Spring is the time for you quarrels."