[Note: A lengthy IM conversation between Rania and GRRM. Edited for brevity.]
Tigers14: guess you are not going to tell me about Minisa Whent :)
GeoRR: Does it matter?
Tigers14: minisa? it might, since if she is the sister of of the last lord of harrenhal, than edmure's kid (if he lives long enough to have one) might be the real heir to harrenhal which would give the freys effective control over riverrun, the twins and harrenhal.... and be for all intents and purposes the rulers of the riverlands.
GeoRR: Yes, but the crown has awarded Harrenhal to Littlefinger.
Tigers14: true. but littlefinger doesn't have the men to conquer it does he?
Tigers14: btw, i think that with tywin dead and tyrion on the run, the crown under cersei is going to have trouble
GeoRR: Cersei will have some challenges, certainly
Tigers14: btw, can a marriage be annulled without both parties present? and without sansa revealing who she really is?
GeoRR: no one needs to be present to annul a marriage
Tigers14: how?
GeoRR: but Sansa would need to request it
Tigers14: as sansa?
GeoRR: Well, why would a High Septon consider a request from anyone but the parties involved?
Tigers14: i mean she can't hide who she is. she has to request that her marriage, her being sansa stark, to tyrion lannister be annulled.
Tigers14: which would imply that the High Septon would need to know that Sansa Stark is requesting the annulment of her marriage.
Tigers14: Which would reveal, to a certain extent where Sansa is.
GeoRR: yes indeed
Tigers14: another question, can NW vows be annulled if a person had no idea who he really was when he took them?
GeoRR: who had no idea who he was?
Tigers14: jon
GeoRR: Jon knows who he is. He may not know who his mother is, but that's not the same thing. There are plenty of orphans and bastards in the Watch who don't know who their parents are.
Tigers14: yes. but if jon is the legitimate son of rhaegar and lyanna , he is the king of westeros.
GeoRR: well, you know I am not going to get into any of that
GeoRR: I think I've said enough for tonight.
Two questions. First, any estimated date when the fourth volume will be released?
Depends on when I get it done. Sometime in 2002, most likely.
The second concerns the oaths of the Night Watch, Maesters, King's Guard, silent sisters, etc. Both Robb and Stannis, and presumably Robb's great lords, thought it was possible that Jon could be released form his oaths. Other than the precedent established by Joffrey with Ser Barristan, is there any other past precedent with any of the other organizations were the members swear poverty, celibacy, etc. to be honorably released from their vows? I ask because if the NW has been around for 8000 years, and many great lords and/or their families may have joined (not entirely willing in some cases), there seems to be a lot of potential for "exceptions" to develop as time went on.
Yes, there have been a few other cases, but they have been very rare. Such vows are taken very seriously.
Was just toying with the idea that Lightbringer is the lost Lannister sword. I'm not so bold as to ask you to give away the plot, but could tell me if there is a description of the lost Lannister sword in any of the first three books, or if Melisandre explains how she aquired the sword and from where?
No and no.
Any visits to Australia scheduled in your busy schedule??
Not in the near future, I'm afraid. I was just down there last year, and again the year before. This year I'm going to Germany. Then to Spain in 2001, and to Italy in 2002.
[Note: Oenone asks GRRM about whether Lysa's child was aborted or whether he survived.]
Lysa miscarried a child at Riverrun, yes.
As to whether the child was male... well, Lysa was convinced she was carrying a boy, at least.
I was wondering if you would tell me where Lady Shella Whent is right now. We know that she isn't at Harrenhal, and that she had left Harrenhal before Tywin got there. But where is she? Also, is she the aunt of the Maid /Queen of the Harrenhal tournament? or the Queen of tournament herself? If the former, is she Lady Minisa Whent 's and Ser Oswel Whent's sister?
Lady Shella Whent was the mother of the "fair maid" at the Harrenhal tournament. Ser Oswell Whent would have been her husband's brother, and therefore uncle to the "fair maid."
[Summary: Jeff reports his enjoyment of A Storm of Swords. He specifically mentions the epilogue and its final twist.]
The twist was fun, yes, and I like some of the dialogue... though while I was writing it I almost began to feel sorry for poor, hapless Merrett Muttonhead, who never did have any luck, just as he complained...
But thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you liked the book.
Second, when Ned Stark and Howland Reed returned North from Dorne after the events at the Tower of Joy, etc. were they completely alone during that journey, or were they accompanied by some household guards, etc. for security?
You'll likely learn more about Ned's homecoming in future books. It's a long way from Dorne to Winterfell, a journey of months. More than that I'd rather not reveal just now.
Is there any trade between Westeros and Asshai over the Sunset Sea, or are those uncharted waters?
Over the =Sunset= Sea? No. No one has ever crossed the Sunset Sea to learn what lies on the other side.
Trading ships bound for Asshai go east through the Summer Sea and the Jade Sea, which are connected by the straights at Qarth.
Also, do the Westerosi have the concept of a round world, or do they think it's flat (maybe the maesters know this...)?
Interesting question. I suspect the maesters and more educated classes realize the world is round, but the common folk may still believe in a flat world.
Am I reading things between the lines that aren't really there, but was Rhaegar and Aerys' relationship not all that it could be?
There were definitely tensions between father and son. More will be revealed in future books.
[Summary: Words of praise, particularly for the surprising plot twists.]
Thanks for the kind words. I'm pleased I was able to keep you surprised.
I have six questions; I hope that doesn't overwhelm you. Feel free to take the fifth on any of these.
You keep upping the ante; are you concerned that A Dance With Dragons won't be able to top this one, as this improved on ACOK, and ACOK improved on AGOT?
Yes, of course. In any series like this, you are always concerned about the next book. The last thing you want to do is fumble at the goal line.
Have you started A Dance With Dragons yet?
Well, not the writing, but thinking about it, yes...
If not, do you have any idea when you will?
After worldcon.
Could you reveal any "dead" POV's (like Cat's, Theon's, and Ned's), and maybe the new ones too (Rickon, mayhaps)?
No.
Is it well known that Renly and Loras are gay? (Jaime's comment seems to indicate as much.)
What do you think?
Do you have any idea what Rhaenys and Aegon looked like? (Hair color, eye color, etc.)
Rhaenys looked more like a Martell, Aegon more a Targaryen.
That's it for me. Good luck on the next book...
Thanks.
...Do you study ancient warfare as well as medieval warfare?
Yes, I've always been interested in ancient history. I draw on as many sources as I can.
Your homepage states that you "directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association 1973-1976". I used to be an avid chess player myself (now I mostly play coffee-chess), and I wondered if you still play chess?
Not for many years, I'm afraid. I was a very active player in the 60s and 70s, and at one point had an expert's rating, but that was a long time ago...
I was wondering if you would be kind of enough to tell me which Lord Connington fought the Battle of the Bells? Was it Rhaegar's friend? or his father? The debate seems to arise from the fact that Rhaegar's friend is referred to as Young Lord Connington whereas the Hand who fought and lost the Battle of the Bells was Lord Connington, are they one and the same? Or was the Hand the father of Rhaegar's friend?
It's the same man in all these references.
Aerys initially replaced Lord Tywin with the elderly, amiable Lord Merryweather, a courtier who was famed for throwing lavish feasts and flattering the king shamelessly. When Robert and Ned and Jon Arryn began their rebellion, Merryweather declared them outlaws and sent commands to various lesser lords to deliver them or their heads, but never stirred from King's Landing.
His methods proved largely ineffectual.. so much so that the paranoid king suspected him of deliberately helping Robert through inaction. So he stripped Merryweather of lands, title, and office and sent him into exile, and chose a very different man for Hand -- the young, vigorous Lord Connington, a friend of Rhaegar's who had a great reputation as a warrior.
Connington assembled an army and led it into the field personally... but as you read, his methods were no more successful than Merryweather's had been.
FYI, Parris just got back from Denver, where she printed the long-awaited Baratheon and Lannister t-shirts. They look awesome, if I do say so myself.
I got the first ones hot off the silk screen, and will be wearing mine at worldcon.
Wonderful Moira Peters artwork, as with the earlier Targaryen and Stark designs: the gold Lannister lion on crimson, and the crowned stag of Baratheon black on gold.
Mance's, Sandor's and Gregor's fate wasn't entirely clear to me. Was this your intention...
Oh, yes. I like to leave a few people hanging from cliffs...
Now that Tywin is dead, does this mean that Casterly Rock goes to Cersei as his only eligible child? Or to Kevan?
Cersei has the strongest claim. It is not impossible that the Rock will be a bone of contention among the Lannisters, however.
Neither Robb nor the Night's Watch learned that Dreadfort man had attacked Ser Rodrik and his host at Winterfell, and had burned castle and town. Does this then mean that nobody of Ser Rodrik's host could flee to tell the truth about the role of Ramsay Snow?
Most of the leaders of Ser Rodrik's host were slain, but a good many of the common soldiers survived and have doubtless straggled back to their villages and holdfasts, spreading tales as they go. Of course, the situation was confused enough so that the tales may disagree, even with each other...
We were repeatedly told that Ashara Dayne threw herself into the sea. I wonder how this is known for sure. Was her body ever found?
No.
We know that Roose Bolton had already taken Walda Frey to wife before Robb married Jeyne Westerling. Does this then mean that Walder Frey had already planned to ally himself with Bolton to murder Robb before Robb's marriage betrayal, or was his anger towards Robb and his reasoning towards his own family as to why Robb had to be killed more than just a pretext, and the genuine reason for the Red Wedding?
"What if" questions are impossible to answer with any certainty... knowing old Lord Walder's character, it is likely he would have searched for some way to disentangle himself from a losing cause sooner or later, but his desertion would likely have taken a less savage form. The Red Wedding was motivated by his desire to wash out the dishonor that was done him...
As for Bolton, if you reread all his sections carefully, I think you will see a picture of a man keeping all his options open as long as he could... sniffing the wind, covering his tracks, ready to jump either way... even as late as his supper with Jaime at Harrenhal...
Thanks for all the kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed the book.
First, the resolution of the poisoning of Joff mystified me. If Olenna Tyrell was going to do the actual poisoning, what was the reasoning behind giving Sansa the hairnet? Surely Olenna could have brought in poison herself - I cannot imagine they'd strip search her, or anything. Was the hairnet simply for the benefit of Sansa - to give her hope?
I'll leave you to puzzle this one out by yourself.
Secondly - the introduction of a revived Cat in the epilogue caused some dispute on the board. (BTW, after a few awkward meanderings on what exactly to call this 'revenant', we've dubbed her 'UnCat'. ;o) Some thought it was fine, some thought it cheapens the plot to use this device.
And some, like myself, would withhold judgement, until we see where you're going with this character. My question is whether Cat is exactly the same person now as she was just before her throat was cut (beyond the physical deterioriation, I mean), or whether she has changed.
Death does change a person. No, I do not think Catelyn is as she was, no more than Lord Beric...
And by the way, there will no Catelyn POVs in future volumes, which may tell you something.
Thanks, as ever. Glad you enjoyed the book.
[Note: This is an edited transcript of a conversation between Rania and Mr. Martin, carried out over AOL's Instant Messanger.]
Rania: in the hedge knight, it was said that the KG didn't participatein the tourney becasuse it was agasinst their oaths to fight a prince of the blood. but we know that rhaegar fought against at least ser barristan and ser arthur in tourneys... what changed?
GeoRR: a tourney really isn't a fight... it's sport
Rania: i know. and i understand why baelor didn't worry about the king's guard fighting on areion 's side in the trial by combat. But even before that , the KGs who were at Ashfort said that they wouldnt fight in that tourney because they didnt want to fight against Valarr and Aerion..
GeoRR: well.... ssshhhhh.... but it's pretty plain in Hedge Knight, if you read between the lines, that everyone was bending over backwards to make Valarr look good