#lodos

LODOS AND HIS FOLLOWERS Artwork by Shen Fei

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

In the previous two posts of a World of Ice And Fire, I recapped the rebellions Aenys faced in his first year as king. The second post was long so I’ll share my thoughts of the events in this post.

Aenys was weak and indecisive. How he can be so surprised over these rebellions? It has been less than forty years since the Targaryens conquered Westeros. A conquest that caused tens of thousands of deaths. There are still survivors of the Conquest alive during Aenys’ reign. We have countries in the real world that were conquered/colonized centuries ago, and there is still much resentment, anger, and bitterness over it. Forty years is nothing in comparison.

Aenys was told to use Quicksilver at Harrenhal and he declined. Dragons are the only deterring force the Targaryens have – if they aren’t going to be used to put down rebellions, what do the opposing forces have to fear? Minus the dragons, the Targaryens are just another Westerosi lord.

Aenys’ sole contribution to resolving these disputes was to send Lord Alyn Stokeworth. Even that decision was multiple choice: sail to the Vale, stay in King’s Landing, pursue Harren the Red.

The Rise of the Dragons mentions Aenys’ resentment of Visenya but he should thank the Old Gods and the New that he had her. Visenya was the one to take decisive action to end these rebellions. Visenya had to be seething at Aenys’ weakness and indecisiveness. Aenys should also be grateful that various lords stayed loyal and took their own initiative to resolve these conflicts.

As to why the four rebellions erupted at that time – I understand why the rebels sensed a weakness – Aegon the Conqueror is dead, Balerion unclaimed, Rhaenys and Meraxes are dead, Aenys is unfit for the throne…but Visenya, Vhagar, and Orys Baratheon are still alive. All three are battle-hardened and took active parts in the conquest. Maegor has shown to be an individual who is not be messed with. Did the rebels assume Aenys wouldn’t allow Visenya to take charge? Does Visenya seem like someone who can be put in the corner. Or did they pull a D&D and simply forget about Visenya, Vhagar, Orys, and Maegor? Visenya and Orys lost a sister to the Conquest, Orys lost his hand in the war with Dorne – there was no way they were going to stand aside and let their dynasty be overthrown.

As for the individual rebellions, I wrote most of my thoughts on Harren the Red post, but I would love to know more about him: actual descendant of Harren the Black, descendant of a survivor of the original Harrenhal staff, a Joker-type spreading anarchy in the Riverlands for fun?

The Vale – Jonos had to seriously resent Ronnel to not only overthrow him but also to murder him. Kinslaying is such a taboo in Westeros that Roose Bolton and Tywin Lannister refuse to commit the crime. Jonos threw Ronnel out the Moon Door without a second thought. Would the Crown have intervened if Jonos simply proclaimed himself the new Lord of the Vale as opposed to the “King of the Mountain and Vale”? Jonos was stupid to rely on the natural defenses of the Eyrie to protect himself as Visenya had already proven that strategy to be useless during the Conquest. Jonos and fellow conspirators must have peed themselves when Maegor and Balerion (!) showed up on their doorstep. I wish we had been told Visenya’s thoughts on the death of Ronnel – the one moment of softness she receives in the entire story is when she takes Ronnel on a dragon ride after securing the Vale’s submission. Sending Maegor and Balerion, along with the execution of the conspirators even after their surrender – could be an indication of Visenya’s anger over the situation.

The Iron Islands – Goren Greyjoy was an intelligent man. He knew he couldn’t battle dragons, but he could put down a crazy drowned priest. In a decisive moment, he ended Lodos Reborn’s rebellion, preventing an invasion from mainland forces, and was able to secure a boon from the Iron Throne. Said boon enabled Goren to expel all Septas and Septons from the Iron Islands. Goren is now vastly elevated in his fellow Ironborns’ esteem as he has now eliminated the hated Faith of the Seven from the Iron Islands. Take that, Lodos!

Dorne – Not surprising that Dorne had the largest rebellion. The Dornish War was less than thirty years ago, and massive atrocities were committed by both sides. The Targaryens must take most of the blame since they started the confrontation with Dorne. Hatred runs deep between the sides. It’s noted that few Dornish lords participated in the rebellion so most of the Vulture Kings’s forces could have been survivors/descendants of the survivors of the Dragon’s Wroth. I imagine if you aren’t a rich Dornish lord, and your home/land/family destroyed by fire-breathing dragons, and you don’t have the resources to rebuild – well, joining a rebellion against the dragon overlords might seem like a great idea.

Was Deria Martell aiding the Vulture King? After all, it was Deria’s father that made peace with Aegon Targaryen, not Deria. Does Deria have more of her grandmother in her than her father? Deria’s grandmother, the Yellow Toad (sorry, I’m blanking on her first name) was defiant to the end. Deria may wish to war against the Targaryens but knows it’s a battle she can’t win, so as the Vulture King rampages, she throws her hands up and says “so sorry, Vulture King bad, wish he would stop” while doing nothing to stop his rebellion?

Orys Baratheon died happily while avenging his most humiliating defeat. Orys’ death left Visenya truly alone – she is now the last of her generation of Targaryens. We don’t receive any details of Orys’ relationship with his sisters, only that he was very close to Aegon. Argella Durrandon Baratheon – did she mourn? Was she relieved to be a widow? Was she still alive at this point?

So many fun characters involved in the Vulture Hunt – “Savage” Sam Tarly, Ellyn “Lady Nightsong” Caron, Harmon “No-Nose” Dondarrion! Would love to know more about these characters. Don’t mess with marcher lords or ladies, they’re crazy!

Por Verana Codina

Váya que nadie estaba preparadx para el segundo round de la temporada más love/hate de todas: la semana del arte en CDMX. Tras un pequeño contratiempo, la feria de arte Material pospuso su fecha de apertura —originalmente agendada en febrero junto con Zona Maco— para finales del mes de abril. Con un cambio de sede, pasaron de un edificio como el Frontón México en la colonia Tabacalera, a una antigua fábrica de textiles ubicada en la Atlampa. Si nos ponemos simplistas, podemos decir que se movieron de un edificio bello e ilustre, a uno ‘feo’ y roto; de una zona céntrica y bonita, a una remota y ‘abandonada’ —o al menos esa era la perspectiva de muchos de los visitantes acostumbrados a la centralización de una ciudad que empieza en la Condesa y termina en la Roma—.

Sen yaklaştıkça