#marwyn

[scourge-lover]

Our favorite rare pair Falwyn for Valentine's day! My headcanons for them are used from what little scraps canon gives me.

Falric is the only one with a DECENT appearance outside of the poor appearance of him and Marwyn in the Warcraft 3 cinematic behind Arthas.

his in-game model which is....lacking to say the least. At least we have the manga!

According to Arthas Rise of the Lich King he is older than Marwyn so I headcanon he's been Marwyn's mentor since Marwyn came into military service.

Falric probably never liked children even when he was alive given that BRUTAL comment during his fight. And as he dies he calls out for Marwyn to finish off the adventurers 😢

His voice is deep and commanding in game.

Meanwhile Marwyn's voice is unhinged and manic. I think being killed by Arthas, his beloved friend, snapped something in Marwyn and drove him mad.

Marwyn seemed to take some personal pleasure in Terenas's death which makes me think that he did not like Terenas for some reason.

[yeniayofnymeria]

The True Power of Westeros – Maesters and the Citadel’s Secret Games (Game of Thrones | ASOIAF Lore) + With English (and more) subtitles

Could the greatest secret of Westeros lie not in the sword, but in the quill?

This video explores a power that silently exists behind every castle wall in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire: the Citadel and the Maesters. Are they merely messengers… or the true masters of minds in Westeros?

From Lady Dustin’s harsh words to Marwyn’s glass candles, from Qyburn’s exile to Pate’s Faceless transformation—this video reveals the power network behind the Citadel, their Bene Gesserit-like structures, and their monopoly over knowledge.

🔥 As dragons return, what purpose does silence serve?

📜 Are we living inside a prison woven from rational knowledge?

⚔️ In the invisible war against magic, which side will prevail?

📌 “Was the Citadel the mind of Westeros… or a chained lie?”

🧠 A deep, book-faithful, theory-rich analysis for those who dare to think.

🧠 This channel creates videos that are loyal to the books and grounded in theoretical depth.

🎥 Watch now, leave a comment, and join the discussion!

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[rhaemaya-valwynn]

Sometimes i come up with comedy gold. See I too am a degenerate that ships Falric and Marwyn together, its just that I do the polar opposite of having Falric (whos younger in my fic) be the happy idiot while Marwyn (being older) is the gothic brooding horror.

Falric posing sexually thinking the person entering his room is Marwyn but its Arthas whos coming in for the weekly report he forgot to give and just sees, well: That whole, pose and turn around with a rose in your mouth kinda shit Arthas: "Mmmmm, what a terrible day to have eyes." Falric: -utter devestation as he spins around to see Arthas- "Oh god..." Arthas: "Nope, he's defintely not here right now....turned away from this wretchedness....ANYWAY, I need those reports for the week." Falric: -hurrying to get them, but when handing them over he sheepishly asks- "W-was it that bad?"

Arthas: "Mmmmm, not something I'd do to woe Scillea into bed."

Falric: "...Can I ask what you do?"

Arthas: "...Okay so first you're gonna need to- " -in depth explanation on how to properly woe someone-

-much much later that night-

Marwyn: -comes in to his favorite meal, the place is cleaned up and there's a mug of beer and his favorite book on the bed-

Falric: "Welcome home!"

Marwyn: "Hmmmmmmmm..... Arthas, I thank you for trying to teach him, but I prefer my men pathetic."

Arthas: -in the undead mental link- ".....Okay you freaks, have fun."

[dyannawynnedayne]

Magic User Slapfight: Round .5

Hallyne: art by Joshua Cairos, AWOIAF Page

Marwyn: art by amuelia, AWOIAF Page

BRACKET LINK

[scourge-lover]

These two 😍 😭

Rarepairs and crackships are the best, no discussion that’s just how I feel

[myownsummerhall]

kinda crazy how few dany twow theories seem to take into account that ***an archmaester of the citadel who traveled around the known world and studied in asshai who is known as “the mage” and gives way more credence to magic & the supernatural than any maester*** AND ***a red priest with a dragon’s head staff spitting green flame who makes so-far very accurate predictions in the flames and may possibly be the 2nd most “powerful” red priest in the world with a magic dragon horn near him*** are coming around dany’s orbit. like i think the whole storyline with/around dany in twow is gonna be a lot more than just the political conflicts of the free cities & iron throne claim crisis. magic/prophecies/dragonlore is gonna be just as (and probably more) important to everything imo

[atopvisenyashill]

Hi! There are polarising views on Mirri Maaz Durr in the fandom. What do you think about her character?

A few things-

Mirri innocent

Mirri cool

Mirri damns Dany's status as a savior from the jump

I don't have much patience for this idea that the only thing Mirri teaches Dany is basically that you can have good intentions and it can still go badly. I think that's a very self centered view of what Mirri represents. It's all about how Dany feels and it is completely predicated on the idea that a) Mirri was acting purposefully and vindictivly (no she wasn't) and b) Eroeh literally already fills that role. What Mirri shows us about Dany is that Dany

has a temper she does not have a grasp on, and in fact refuses to get a true handle on

is significantly stronger with magic than most people in Terros are even capable of comprehending

has a tendency to posit herself (and "herself" is Westerosi and Valyrian, not just one or the other) as superior to the cultures around her despite knowing basically nothing about the history of her own culture & homelands, or the people she is associating with

will purposefully ignore and think around her own culpability so long as it means she can keep looking forward instead of looking back to reflect

Mirri, to make a comparison to My Literal Son Bran Stark, I think serves as a Theon Greyjoy type character in Dany's' arc. What she is doing here is showing us that this character who we have associated with goodness and righteousness is completely self deluded on the harm she causes to people "lesser" than her. Mirri, like Theon, is not a willing member of the khalasar but taken by force as a show of strength. Mirri is in many ways grateful (initially) that she is treated not as badly as she could have been by Dany. Mirri wants to be helpful. She wants to be trusted. She wants to survive. And unlike Theon, Mirri has a real and pressing deadline - Drogo says they are going to sell the slaves and Mirri is clearly angling to stay part of the khalasar rather than be sold. As an older woman, as a maegi, as someone part of the Lhazareene who has actually experienced the world outside, she knows what awaits her at the slave markets and she isn't interested in going there. Being a respected and beloved advisor to a khaleesi is surely a safer bet - especially when, right off the bat, she sees Drogo is willing to defer to Dany's judgement even over his bloodriders. Think about Theon becoming close with Robb, dreaming of marrying Sansa - it is simply safer to be in their good graces.

Now think of Robb losing it on Theon for saving Bran in an admittedly risky shot. A sharp rebuke for Theon daring to think that he can act without permission, even to save Bran's life. Think of what Theon says here-

"The noose I wore was not made of hempen rope, that's true enough, but I felt it all the same. And it chafed, Ser Rodrik. It chafed me raw." He had never quite realized that until now, but as the words came spilling out he saw the truth of them. "No harm was ever done you."

Does that sound familiar perhaps?

"I spoke for you," she said, anguished. "I saved you." "Saved me?" The Lhazareen woman spat. "Three riders had taken me, not as a man takes a woman but from behind, as a dog takes a bitch. The fourth was in me when you rode past. How then did you save me? I saw my god's house burn, where I had healed good men beyond counting. My home they burned as well, and in the street I saw piles of heads. I saw the head of a baker who made my bread. I saw the head of a boy I had saved from deadeye fever, only three moons past. I heard children crying as the riders drove them off with their whips. Tell me again what you saved." "Your life." Mirri Maz Duur laughed cruelly. "Look to your khal and see what life is worth, when all the rest is gone."

Theon is expected to be grateful to the family that stole him from his home and is called a turncloak and kinslayer for slaying people that are not and have never been his kin - people who have made it very clear to him that he is not their kin, even the ones who love him. This dynamic is pretty directly responsible for why Theon Acts Like That. But for some reason when Mirri is expected to be grateful to the woman who stole her away from her home she is called everything but a child of god and made to be the aggressor in this situation. She is not. She is reacting to being enslaved.

And Dany not only refuses to engage with her own culpability in Mirri's misery - "if i look back i am lost" is not in fact a triumphant battle cry but the horrified rationalization of a deeply traumatized teenager - in the moment she also refuses to engage it with it later on. She keeps insisting that Mirri was the betrayal for blood (except Mirri never betrayed her!) and is completely unaware to a point that is like, mind boggling naive and dumb on par with Ned's actions re: Robert, when it comes to handling similar issues in Meereen. Why is it okay that the slaves of Meereen raped and killed that boy's family but it's somehow the epitome of evil when Mirri not purposefully kills Rhaego? Is it perhaps because....Dany is a main character and that boy is not? And if that's the only difference than perhaps the narrative purpose Mirri serves is not to show that "even good intentions can go awry" but "dany does not have what it takes to be a leader over a situation as fraught as reconstructing an entire economy after toppling slavery."

It's amazing to me how people can understand that when a woman is killed for the story and growth of a man that's misogyny, that's fridging but when a brown woman is killed for the story and a growth of a white woman, that's somehow not misogyny and not a different form of fridging. But let's stop talking about Dany because it's all anyone ever says about Mirri - which you know, is it's own issue.

Now Mirri specifically.

First of all her name - Maz Duur. I've said it before I do believe Maz Duur means "maester" in the lhazar language (such that it exists - we don't have a lot of information on that) which makes sense as she was trained by a Maester - she names Maester Marwyn as a teacher she met in Asshai. Not only that, but further strengthening the bonds between them, Marwyn is referred to as "Marwyn the Mage" just as Mirri is referred to as a maegi, the Dothraki term for mage. Marwyn is also on his way to Dany the last time we see him to get to her before another maester does. There's a lot of questions there - why is he interested in her? How much of the truth is he telling when he speaks to Sam? And more importantly - will Dany recognize his name from her encounter with Mirri or, perhaps, will Marwyn hear that she was near Lhazar and ask if she encountered Mirri?

But also let's dig into Mirri's first name. Mirri sounds very much like Mary, and Mirri/Mary lives in Lhazar, of a people called the Lhazareene...Lazarus of Bethany or Saint Lazarus was brought back to life by Christ after four days dead, and Nazareth is famously the birthplace of Christ, whose mother was named Mary. People from Nazareth are often called, wait for it, Nazarenes. The Lhazareene also follow The Great Shepherd and believe all are equals in His Great Flock. Which is to say there's a lot of early Christiantiy references here. I think this is very interesting when you take Dany as a sort of corrupted Christ like figure - the corruption starts from the very root, where her Mother Mary is not truly her mother who was turned away from the inn, but rather a magical advisor who Christ enslaves, a mother who turns on Christ because She asks too much, and then is sacrificed by Christ alongside her own only son, Rhaego, to bring forth Lightbringer (note that Lightbringer is another name for the Devil, and if that interests you, definitely read more of maid-with-sunset-in-her-hair on the subject, she has a lot of really good writings on it) in the form of Drogon. You also have Drogo himself, who is several days "not dead" before Dany smothers him, just as Christ spends three days in the tomb before being resurrected.

All of that to say that people get so hostile at the idea that the fandom is "fixated" on Mirri. But we're fixated on her because she is integral to the overreaching narrative. She haunts it, she haunts every step in Essos, the same way Lyanna or Elia do, or the way Lysa haunts the Vale, the way Ned haunts the North. She isn't just a stepping stone in someone else's story. She has her own story, her own purpose in the story, and she has far reaching implications in both life and death.

Secondly - I don't think she actually cursed Dany's womb. IF she did curse it, it was likely a result of Dany going into the tent rather than the speech Mirri gives. Mirri isn't laying some sort of curse in that moment, she's speaking hyperbolically. My oomf here compared it to Renly's bitchy comment to Stannis and I agree there. IF there is some sort of curse on Dany's fertility it's an accidental one. THAT is interesting to me. For one thing, we see a pretty equal amount of accidental or instinctual magic being done as we do purposeful - all the Starklings are doing accidental magic, from their dreams to Bran's skinchanging Hodor, and I would count Dany's blood sacrifice of Mirri as instinctual and accidental as well. We get prophecies that are not only accidental they're unwanted in characters like Daeron the Dreamer, and it seems implied that the Ghost of High Heart doesn't want to be having her prophecies either. So IF Mirri is laying a curse here on accident...I don't particularly care about what it says about Dany's fertility but I do care about what it says about magic in general. Can she herself tell she is doing accidental magic as it happens? Is it similar to my Bran-Theon theory, that both she and Dany are feeding off each other's magic, sort of guiding each other, reacting to each other, on an instinctual level?

Then we have the actual magic she is capable of, which is shadowbinding. Can anyone learn shadowbinding? I know everyone loves to discourse about how "only valyrians can ride dragons" and if anyone else does that goes against how "george writes magic" but well - none of that is true lmao. We see people across cultures do all sorts of magic and we also see some similarities across elements of magic. For example, the shadowbinding happening in the House of the Undying - surely the Qartheen don't have a plethora of Lhazareene heritage. Could it be maybe Ghiscari heritage? But then you look to Melisandre, who does both fire magic and shadowbinding stuff but is not described as having any sort of Qartheen or Ghiscari heritage at all.

I think Mirri leaves more questions in the narrative than she answers! She has a fascinating background thats likely to have implications in the future. I think for a gray character she is very well written, very well handled, but I also think the way she is talked about in fandom is a direct result of the incredibly racist way the Essosi cultures and in particular the Dothraki and Lhazareene are depicted as by George himself. If this fandom is weird and racist about Mirri, it's a direct result from George not giving us any sort of sympathetic POV into these cultures, being unwilling to flesh them out the way he does the Meereenese, and pretty directly positing them as nothing more than stepping stones for Dany's corrupted savior arc. They are the canary in the coal mine, and that's all they're allowed to be, are omens, harbingers, animals, symbols. Despite that, Mirri herself rises to the top, forces her way back into the narrative, and continues to haunt Dany's every action.

[tragedy-peanut-gallery]

Myriah’s willing to do anything for her sons… Even if that means beating a level of Super Marwyn Brothers that they haven’t been able to pass on their BoyGame

Based of course on this iconic photo lol

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

re: being unable to predict twow and maybe being upset it doesn't do what fandom wants it to, were there any things in adwd you remember being surprised by and that went against common fandom interpretation at the time? :3

I'm not quite sure what was common fandom interpretation at the time, since after I finished AFFC in 2005 I tried the westeros.org forums and was extremely repelled by them and their hate for my favorite characters - and indeed, most female characters - and avoided them thereafter. (And somehow I never thought to check the Livejournal communities at the time, alas, which would've been more up my alley.) I did devour worg's Citadel (their pre-wiki, including the So Spake Martin archive) and fanart collection though lol.

But of course I was still surprised by things in ADWD. Like, I had no expectation whatsoever that Bloodraven was still alive, let alone that he was the three-eyed crow. Or heck, that the children of the forest definitely exist and appear on page as actual characters! I did not expect a Varamyr prologue POV in the slightest, or his warg/skinchanger lore reveals. And I did not expect the Aegon reveal at all, though checking the SSMs afterwards (as well as this ancient pre-AFFC FAQ) showed me that some people had been wondering from day 1 if he had survived. And for that matter, Jon Connington's survival was surprising (at least my memory is very good, so the griffin thing and Tyrion's suspicions of him being a Westeros lord had me leaping back to Jaime's conversation with Ronnet), as well as Jon's POV (including his sexual orientation) and the greyscale thing. Oh man, the whole stone men scene was all new fascinating worldbuilding.

As for existing POVs and known plots, I certainly never expected Theon's state as Reek (tortured, yes, but not reduced to that, though I probably should have), or that he would be a POV again, or that I would find his narrative so heartwrenching or that he would become a favorite character. (From reading a bunch of pre-ADWD fanfics, I don't think the fandom expected Ramsay to be so abusive of Jeyne either, but for that I have no idea why.) I was surprised by Cersei's walk of shame, though I probably should have expected some sort of religion-based sexual humiliation. (Actually, I don't think most people expected the returning AFFC POVs because of the book split, though I'm glad GRRM chose to update us on some of its cliffhangers - like, at least Brienne is no longer hanging from a tree!) I did not expect Tyrion's POV and mental state to be so dark, but again, I probably should have. I also didn't expect him to link up with Jorah (I don't recall what I imagined Jorah to do in his exile but not that - maybe lurk around the fringes of Meereen?) or the slavery plot at all.

I think the fandom in general expected more... plot-advancement, I guess, more battles involving KL again, more movement of Dany towards Westeros, though they always have, lol. (There are ACOK-era theories that she'd come to Westeros right away, marry Robb and destroy the Lannisters together, etc.) I'm sure some expected Stannis conquering Winterfell and getting the Boltons out, though at least there they were mostly right, as the battle of ice (as well as the battle of fire) got cut from ADWD last minute. As for plot advancement expectations from me, I personally hoped that Marwyn would reach Dany in ADWD, though considering he leaves at the end of the last chapter of AFFC and the distances involved, I really should have known better. But I did expect to hear at least a little about Rickon, and Davos learning he's on Skagos (and getting sent to retrieve him) was a pleasant semi-resolution there.

Anyway, hope that helps! If/when we get TWOW, despite the fandom doing like 15 years of speculation and theories (not to mention the show), I'm sure there will be plenty of surprises, both positive ones and disappointments, as well as completely unexpected things.

[jozor-johai]

Just a thought about Archmaester Marwyn's motives, maybe...

Archmaester Marwyn is of course infamously mysterious, appearing on-page in only one chapter, and once he finally appears he immediately departs. He gives cryptic warnings and advice to Sam, but the reader is left desperately wondering what to believe and what should be taken as untrustworthy ravings. Amidst all that, readers are left with very little to be sure of when it comes to Marwyn’s actual motives.

He says this of his plans, a brief enough description:

“Get myself to Slaver’s Bay, in Aemon’s place. The swan ship that delivered Slayer should serve my needs well enough. The grey sheep will send their man on a galley, I don’t doubt. With fair winds I should reach her first.”

That's still quite cryptic—sure we knew why Aemon wanted to reach Dany, but does Marwyn have the same reasons? Or even similar ones?

However, there’s a fragment of an idea from an Asha chapter that I think should not go overlooked, and might offer some additional insight into Marwyn’s investment in Daenerys. Asha asks what Rodrik the Reader is reading, and it’s a book by Archmaester Marwyn:

“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?” (AFFC The Kraken’s Daughter)

So shortly we finally meet Marwyn, we learn this: he claims to have found three pages of visions written down by Daenys the Dreamer, who predicted the Doom and saved the Targaryens from destruction.

What might Marwyn have found contained in those pages? Even three pages of such a valuable lost book might be enough motivation and insight to propel Marwyn to act, especially when he claims to have seen much and more besides through his glass candle.

Marwyn claims not to trust prophecy… but perhaps his attitude is affected by these three pages of Signs and Portents.

“Born amidst salt and smoke, beneath a bleeding star. I know the prophecy.” Marwyn turned his head and spat a gob of red phlegm onto the floor. “Not that I would trust it. Gorghan of Old Ghis once wrote that a prophecy is like a treacherous woman. She takes your member in her mouth, and you moan with the pleasure of it and think, how sweet, how fine, how good this is . . . and then her teeth snap shut and your moans turn to screams. That is the nature of prophecy, said Gorghan. Prophecy will bite your prick off every time.” He chewed a bit. “Still . . .”

That “Still…” might hold a lot of weight here.

This is but one of many minor mentions of Marwyn have preceded his appearance, but especially because this detail from Rodrik comes from the same book he finally appears in I think it should be given special attention. I think it’s no accident that GRRM gave us this insight, no matter how brief.

Just making an observation.

[scourge-lover]

Marwyn: I am in charge of this disaster!

Falric: I have a name, you know.

[snow-blower]

❥ MY ASOIAF OC'S

━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━✶━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━✶━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━

KAELITH BOLON

Love Interest - Leo Flowers (present), Jon Snow (slow-burn)

Face Claim - Yennefer of Vengerberg from The Witcher - played by Anya Chalotra.

Kaelith Bolton is the second oldest child of Roose Bolton and Bethany Ryswell. Kaelith is two years younger than her older brother, Domeric. Kaelith, as a child, was sweet and playful, constantly following her brother around like an excited puppy. It wasn't until after his death, along with her mother's, that she changed. She worked to act much alike her father, poised and cold. Kaelyth holds a great hatred for Ramsay Snow, her bastard brother, and such hatred only grows after Roose has the bastard legitimised and names him his true heir.

━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━✶━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━✶━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━

IVELLE WATERS

Love interest - Sansa Stark

Face Claim - Corrine Foxworth from Flowers in the Attic Origin - played by Hannah Dodd.

Ivelle Waters is a bastard born to her whore mother, Marielle Waters and Jaime Lannister. Ivelle carries many of her father's features, which is proven to be dangerous. Fearing for her daughter's safety, especially after the incident with Robert Baratheon's bastards, Marielle sends her daughter to the North, where Ivelle becomes a servant in Winterfell during the Bolton's hold. Ivelle is known as a sweet, dreamy young girl, often found with a nice book when she's not busy with duties.

━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━✶━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━✶━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━

LEO FLOWERS

Love interest - Kaelith Bolton

Face Claim - Francis II from Reign - played by Toby Regbo.

Leo Flowers is the son of an unknown knight and a whore originally from High Garden. Leo grew up in the brothel where his mother worked, up until her sudden passing. He remained there for another year or so before travelling North, where he began working in the brothel in Winter Town. Leo is known for his playful energy and perfect hair, as claimed by Kaelith Bolton, the Lady who seemed to grow attached to him after one night spent together.

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[horizon-verizon]

Something that is rarely mentioned in the context of the maester conspiracy are the suspicious fertility problems among some Targaryen women. I saw people shrug it off as the result of inbreeding, but the Targaryens are quite literally stated to have magical blood and if their genetics worked like the real world genetic does, everyone with any drop of Valyrian blood would be more misshapen than the Habsburgs and be completely infertile by that point, yet Valyria did not collapse due to lack of babies or everyone being disabled. And if that the inbreeding argument truly was the case, then surely most if not all of the Targaryen women would have these issues, yet it’s only a handful of them... at awfully convenient times.

Take Aemma Arryn, for example. She just so happens to die the moment she gives birth to a son Viserys wanted so much (after several miscarriages and one child dying in the cradle, no less) and is immediately replaced by the Faith and Citadel aligned Alicent Hightower, whose machinations start a devastating war, which results in dragons dying out, and with them, magic disappears from the world (just like, per Marwyn, the Citadel wants things to be). Then we get Rhaella, who also has a staggering amount of fertility issues: three miscarriages, two stillbirths, three kids who lived for less than a year. And that is right after Summerhall and the birth of Rhaegar, when the numbers of the Targaryen dynasty were greatly reduced due to the tragedy. Call Aerys mad and paranoid for the precautions he took after Viserys’ birth, and yet it is precisely when the child turns out perfectly fine. Legit, this may be the only thing that Aerys was right to be suspicious about, just that he could not see who was truly to blame.

When Marwyn talks about “who do you think killed all the dragons the last time around”, he may also mean it figuratively, dragons, as in Targaryens.

I don't remember where I said this online, but I mentioned once how the Targaryens really didn't have issues reproducing amongst themselves before the Conquest once you look at their family trees. And there's no legends or stories of how hard it was for their women to birth kids, not even passed down rumors. And i don't think GRRM did this accidentally, either.

Notice how after the dragons are gone, there's hardly a real, stark pattern of Targ women losing their lives in childbirth like there is before the Dance?

So, anon, thanks for bringing this up and I love the point about Aerys and Rhaegar. It's tragically ironic and very likely. Something had to have made Syrax so crazy (not with Joffrey V, afterwards).

[mtgsmash-or-pass]

[marwyn-corbray]

⭑.ᐟ STRATEGIC RETREAT (WITH FLOURISH) ༘⋆

(Starter with @tya-greyjoy-harlaw)

Marwyn had not run. Gods no.

He had made a tactical withdrawal, carried out with all the poise and panache of a Dornish prince at a feast. A calculated retreat with flair. And perhaps, just a touch of well-earned terror.

It had nothing to do with his failed attempt at feigning death by slipping into an empty cask of Arbor red, his lips artfully stained with crushed berries (the effect had been most convincing, thank you very much). No, the cause of his distress lay in something far more dire:

Benjen was gone.

Vanished like mist on the moors.

Marwyn had stormed Benjen’s chambers that morning as was customary, tripping the latch with a spoon (Benji’s locks were shamefully compliant), and landed on the rug with a flourish and a “good morrow, sunshine!” only to be met with… nothing. No muttered cursing. No pillow lobbed at his head. Not even the telltale sigh of a man clinging to sanity by the tips of his ears.

Gone.

And with him, all safety.

Marwyn had scoured the Keep like a man possessed. A few guards had glared. A maid had threatened him with a broom. Most people just asked if he’d finally found Benjen, and could he kindly send the broody bastard back to face the consequences of existing. Apparently Benjen had debts. Of the political, emotional, and probably literal kind.

But Marwyn?
He had more pressing debts.

He was exposed. Naked. Vulnerable. Marwyn the Magnificent, without his wall of muscle, left to wander through the Red Keep like a plump duckling in a den of hawks. Hungry hawks. With daughters.

The Lady Mothers had smelled blood in the water. His blood. His sparkling, fertile, very single blood.

First came the smiles. The polite greetings. Then the invitations to tea. Lady Beryl of House Who-Gives-a-Damn had tried to corner him in the solar. She had three daughters. One of them played the harp. One of them made “very fine embroidery.” The third one blinked at him. On purpose. And not slowly.

He had barely escaped with his life.

Desperate times called for desperate allies. And then, like divine intervention in a very fashionable coat, he saw her.

Tyanna.

It was like the heavens had opened and sung a hymn of salvation in the form of one tiny, formidable, wonderfully married woman.

He leapt from the bushes like a deranged squirrel who had once been a man.
“Tya!” he gasped, flinging himself toward her with wild, windblown hair and a face that said trauma.
“Dearest. Darling. Divine Tya. My love, my light, my lifeline, you must shield me! Not physically, of course, unless you’ve grown a meter since I last saw you, though I wouldn’t doubt you, you’re so radiant! But spiritually, symbolically, emotionally. You must block me with the holy veil of your marriage. For I am being hunted, Tya. Hunted.”

He glanced over his shoulder as though expecting a mother with a cloak and a septon in tow to rise from the shadows.

“Benjen is gone. Gone. Just poof. Like mist. Like a dream. Like my last glass of Arbor red. I broke into his room this morning, as one does, and nothing. Silence. He’s either dead, kidnapped, or being suspiciously competent somewhere and didn’t tell me. Honestly, all three feel like betrayal.”

He pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes, clutching her hand like a man about to deliver a tragic monologue on a windswept cliff.

“And now I’m alone, defenseless. I’ve already dodged two veils, three pastries, and a woman who asked if I’d name my firstborn after her dog. If I don’t find protection soon, I will be wed by sundown, Tya. Wed! And you know I can’t get married. I’m too fragile. I overthink curtains. I once flirted with a man for six months because I liked his horse.”

He pressed the back of his hand to his forehead, already beginning to swoon theatrically.

“I need you. You’re safe. You’re married. You have a husband. Two, in my heart, but one legally. You must tell the others I am off-limits. Or better yet, pretend I’m your cousin. No, your sickly cousin. Your sickly doomed cousin. With a mysterious illness. One that gets worse around maidens.”

His eyes lit up suddenly, as though struck by inspiration.

“Say I faint at the sight of lace.”

A pause. He adjusted his doublet, suddenly solemn.

“…Which, to be fair, is not even a lie.”

Another beat. He dropped his voice to a stage whisper.

“And if you see Benjen, tell him I love him. And that he owes me seven apologies and a meat pie.”

[vivacissimx]

Heyy hope you're well. Ignore this if you want but I'm curious, do you believe in the Maester Conspiracy?

Let me take this step by step. Long post incoming but you asked, so:

WELCOME TO VIVACISSIMX'S CONCLUSIVE POST ON THE MAESTER CONSPIRACY!!!

The Maester Conspiracy is the theory that the maesters of the citadel work in concert with one another to effect certain political ends in line with their longstanding designs for Westeros — including a specific aim to hamper the existence/return of magic via living dragons.

The only dragontamers during the times of Fire & Blood and ASOIAF are Targaryens, so it ties together as: the maesters have sought to limit/manipulate/end Targaryen rule because they are anti-magic for reasons known best to them.

Do I believe in this? Textually it's pretty clear that this phenomenon exists.

FIRST: REASONS THE MAESTER CONSPIRACY IS DEFINITELY ACTUALLY FACTUALLY REAL

ONE: Multiple characters from different backgrounds tell us so.

Pycelle’s breathing was rapid and shallow. “All I did, I did for House Lannister.” A sheen of sweat covered the broad dome of the old man’s brow, and wisps of white hair clung to his wrinkled skin. “Always.. for years... your lord father, ask him, I was ever his true servant... ’twas I who bid Aerys open his gates... ” That took Tyrion by surprise. He had been no more than an ugly boy at Casterly Rock when the city fell. “So the Sack of King’s Landing was your work as well?” “For the realm! Once Rhaegar died, the war was done. Aerys was mad, Viserys too young, Prince Aegon a babe at the breast, but the realm needed a king... I prayed it should be your good father, but Robert was too strong, and Lord Stark moved too swiftly... ” “How many have you betrayed, I wonder? Aerys, Eddard Stark, me... King Robert as well? Lord Arryn, Prince Rhaegar? Where does it begin, Pycelle?”

—ACOK, Tyrion VI + emphasis mine

[Archmaester] Marywn smiled a ghastly smile, the juice of the sourleaf running red between his teeth. “Who do you think killed all the dragons the last time around? Gallant dragonslayers armed with swords?” He spat. “The world the Citadel is building has no place in it for sorcery or prophecy or glass candles, much less for dragons. Ask yourself why Aemon Targaryen was allowed to waste his life upon the Wall, when by rights he should have been raised to archmaester. His blood was why. He could not be trusted. No more than I can.”

—AFFC, Samwell V

Why can't Archmaester Marwyn be trusted? Since it's the same reason Aemon can't be trusted?

"Archmaester Marwyn's Book of Lost Books." [Rodrik Harlaw] 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.

—AFFC, The Kraken's Daughter

His interest in Targaryen prophecy, perhaps? (Aemon is also seen to have said interest, corresponding with Rhaegar Targaryen on the matter.)

[Barbrey Ryswell:] "[Maesters] heal, yes. I never said they were not subtle. They tend to us when we are sick and injured, or distraught over the illness of a parent or a child. Whenever we are weakest and most vulnerable, there they are. Sometimes they heal us, and we are duly grateful. When they fail, they console us in our grief, and we are grateful for that as well. Out of gratitude we give them a place beneath our roof and make them privy to all our shames and secrets, a part of every council. And before too long, the ruler has become the ruled. "That was how it was with Lord Rickard Stark. Maester Walys was his grey rat's name. And isn't it clever how the maesters go by only one name, even those who had two when they first arrived at the Citadel? That way we cannot know who they truly are or where they come from… but if you are dogged enough, you can still find out. Before he forged his chain, Maester Walys had been known as Walys Flowers. Flowers, Hill, Rivers, Snow… we give such names to baseborn children to mark them for what they are, but they are always quick to shed them. Walys Flowers had a Hightower girl for a mother… and an archmaester of the Citadel for a father, it was rumored. The grey rats are not as chaste as they would have us believe. Oldtown maesters are the worst of all. Once he forged his chain, his secret father and his friends wasted no time dispatching him to Winterfell to fill Lord Rickard's ears with poisoned words as sweet as honey. The Tully marriage was his notion, never doubt it, he—"

—ADWD, The Prince of Winterfell

Please note these quotes touch on some of the largest political shifts to occur in Westeros. From germinating the idea of alliances between Great Houses in the mind of Rickard Stark who later betrothed/fostered his children to the Arryns of the Vale, the Tullys of the Riverlands, and the Baratheons of the Stormlands; to the Sack of King's Landing; to the circumstances around the Great Council that named Aegon V the Unlikely as king. I am not saying the Citadel was the sole mastermind behind all of these events, or even that maesters all act as one without their own interests/personalities guiding them... but more on that later.

TWO: The Glass Candle test.

Glass candles are obsidian—dragonglass— candles that apparently only burn when magic (see: dragons) exists in the world. Daenerys Targaryen has been hearing about these glass candles for a while now.

Xaro looked troubled. "And so it was, then. But now? I am less certain. It is said that the glass candles are burning in the house of Urrathon Night-Walker, that have not burned in a hundred years. Ghost grass grows in the Garden of Gehane, phantom tortoises have been seen carrying messages between the windowless houses on Warlock's Way, and all the rats in the city are chewing off their tails.

—ACOK, Daenerys V

Hear me, Daenerys Targaryen. The glass candles are burning. Soon comes the pale mare, and after her the others. Kraken and dark flame, lion and griffin, the sun's son and the mummer's dragon. Trust none of them. Remember the Undying. Beware the perfumed seneschal."

—ADWD, Daenerys II

Read: What Quaithe tells Daenerys here is that because the glass candles are burning, people (powerful, dangerous, with their own designs in mind) are becoming aware of her dragons. It means they're coming and Daenerys needs to be cautious of them.

And who is watching the glass candles?

Armen the Acolyte cleared his throat. “The night before an acolyte says his vows, he must stand a vigil in the vault. No lantern is permitted him, no torch, no lamp, no taper… only a candle of obsidian. He must spend the night in darkness, unless he can light that candle. Some will try. The foolish and the stubborn, those who have made a study of these so-called higher mysteries. Often they cut their fingers, for the ridges on the candles are said to be as sharp as razors. Then, with bloody hands, they must wait upon the dawn, brooding on their failure. Wiser men simply go to sleep, or spend their night in prayer, but every year there are always a few who must try.” “Yes.” Pate had heard the same stories. “But what’s the use of a candle that casts no light?” “It is a lesson,” Armen said, “the last lesson we must learn before we don our maester’s chains.

—AFFC, Prologue (Pate)

So, the Citadel has this tradition that every single guy ever to graduate from their school has to at least be aware of the glass candles, which basically serves the purpose of letting them know whether or not there are dragons in the world. Okay, fine, it's a lesson on failure, sure. What's interesting is that this mystical and compelling lesson on failure can only be as old as the death of the last dragon in 153 AC, otherwise they'd all be able to light the candles. So it began at most 147 years ago.

Notably, for years after the death of the last dragon, various Targaryens attempted to hatch more.

So what is the true purpose of the Glass Candle test? Why would the Citadel have a convenient means of knowing immediately if a new dragon was hatched/magic was returning, despite ostensibly having a Grand Maester on every single Targaryen King's Small Council ever?

What was their investment?

THREE: It aligns with the actions/beliefs of the maesters we see on-page.

Old Cressen might be, yet he was still a maester of the Citadel. “I need no crown but truth,” he told her, removing the fool’s helm from his head. “There are truths in this world that are not taught at Oldtown.” [...] As he sank to his knees, still he shook his head, denying [Melisandre], denying her power, denying her magic, denying her god. And the cowbells peeled in his antlers, singing fool, fool, fool while the red woman looked down on him in pity, the candle flames dancing in her red red eyes.

—ACOK, Prologue (Maester Cressen)

[Maester Luwin:] "Perhaps magic was once a mighty force in the world, but no longer. What little remains is no more than the wisp of smoke that lingers in the air after a great fire has burned out, and even that is fading. Valyria was the last ember, and Valyria is gone. The dragons are no more, the giants are dead, the children of the forest forgotten with all their lore.

—ACOK, Bran IV

Note: Maester Luwin actually has a Valyrian Steel chain and has attempted to do magic but by the end of his Citadel studies, he no longer believed in such. Due to his own failure to harness it, yes, but perhaps also due to his teachings under the archmaesters at the time.

Alleras stepped up next to Sam. "Aemon would have gone to [Daenerys] if he had the strength. He wanted us to send a maester to her, to counsel her and protect her and fetch her safely home." "Did he?" Archmaester Marwyn shrugged. "Perhaps it's good that he died before he got to Oldtown. Elsewise the grey sheep might have had to kill him, and that would have made the poor old dears wring their wrinkled hands."

—AFFC, Samwell V

FOUR: Citadel Maesters are super into dragons in general, perhaps a bit too into them, you be the judge.

In what place, if any, has there been an accumulation of dragonlore? Valyria. The Citadel. Dragonstone. Probably some of the Free Cities as well. Maybe Asshai in the far east.

—So Spake Martin, May 2000 (the Citadel clocking in at #2, technically #1, considering RIPValyria)

[H]e brushed the dirt off Colloquo Votar's Jade Compendium, a thick volume of tales and legends from the east that Maester Aemon had commanded him to find. The book appeared undamaged. Maester Thomax's Dragonkin, Being a History of House Targaryen from Exile to Apotheosis, with a Consideration of the Life and Death of Dragons had not been so fortunate. It had come open as it fell, and a few pages had gotten muddy, including one with a rather nice picture of Balerion the Black Dread done in colored inks. Sam cursed himself for a clumsy oaf

—AFFC, Samwell I

Tyrion had read much and more of dragons through the years. The greater part of those accounts were idle tales and could not be relied on, and the books that Illyrio had provided them were not the ones he might have wished for. What he really wanted was the complete text of The Fires of the Freehold, Galendro's history of Valyria. No complete copy was known to Westeros, however; even the Citadel's lacked twenty-seven scrolls. They must have a library in Old Volantis, surely. I may find a better copy there, if I can find a way inside the Black Walls to the city's heart.

He was less hopeful concerning Septon Barth’s Dragons, Wyrms, and Wyverns: Their Unnatural History. Barth had been a blacksmith’s son who rose to be King’s Hand during the reign of Jaehaerys the Conciliator. His enemies always claimed he was more sorcerer than septon. Baelor the Blessed had ordered all Barth’s writings destroyed when he came to the Iron Throne. Ten years ago, Tyrion had read a fragment of Unnatural History that had eluded the Blessed Baelor, but he doubted that any of Barth’s work had found its way across the narrow sea. And of course there was even less chance of his coming on the fragmentary, anonymous, blood-soaked tome sometimes called Blood and Fire and sometimes The Death of Dragons, the only surviving copy of which was supposedly hidden away in a locked vault beneath the Citadel.

When the Halfmaester appeared on deck, yawning, the dwarf was writing down what he recalled concerning the mating habits of dragons, on which subject Barth, Munkun, and Thomax held markedly divergent views.

—ADWD, Tyrion IV

Maesters who have written on dragons: Munkun, Grand Maester to Aegon III The Dragonbane whose efforts to revive the dragons all failed - he wrote True Telling about the Dance of the Dragons as well; Thomax, unknown time; and Anonymous, who wrote a real banger that the world isn't ready for, apparently. This last one will come into play later.

There is also Truth by Maester Anson, cited in AWOIAF, which is only mentioned insofar as it disagrees with Septon Barth's statement that dragons can switch sex.

So there are at least four books written by maesters on dragons, and more that the Citadel library has collected from the world over!

(The books by Thomax and Anonymous, while both being titled The Death of Dragons, are confirmed not the same.)

There is potentially one more, if the unnamed tome Arianne encounters is unique:

During the daylight hours she would try to read, but the books that they had given her were deadly dull: ponderous old histories and geographies, annotated maps, a dry-as-dust study of the laws of Dorne, The Seven-Pointed Star and Lives of the High Septons, a huge tome about dragons that somehow made them about as interesting as newts.

—AFFC, The Princess in the Tower

In summary: the Citadel's investment in dragons/magic is rigorous, a matter serious enough that they lock knowledge on it away in a vault, in order to take a maester's vows you must undergo a test that disavows magic's existence, there are maesters willing to die to deny arcane arts, potentially maesters willing to kill for that too. To a man, maesters dismiss magic... but are they actively engineering it's downfall?

This is where it gets murky. I myself would say that they take advantage of circumstances to have others do their dirty work. That maesters seek to preserve the status quo but also manipulate it to serve their own ends. Which brings us to the next point

SECOND: HOW THE MAESTER CONSPIRACY FUNCTIONS IN ASOIAF (POSSIBLY)

In ASOIAF timeline, the dragons are all already dead and magic is subdued. As a result, the winters are longer and the summers are shorter, another thing the Citadel is deeply concerned with, being the people who officially announce the changings of the seasons.

As established, we know of Pycelle's involvement in opening King's Landing for Tywin after Rhaegar died — this is where the concept of maester's having differing motives and personal loyalties comes up.

Pycelle is a pretty clear case study, he's both deeply loyal, as a maester of the Citadel, to preserving a nominal peace regardless of the dishonorable & murderous ends required to do so... but he also personally is loyal to Tywin Lannister, who is his ideal ruler.

In a letter to the Citadel, Pycelle wrote that the divisions within the Red Keep [between Aerys and Rhaegar] reminded him uncomfortably of the situation before the Dance of the Dragons a century before, when the enmity between Queen Alicent and Princess Rhaenyra had split the realm in two, to grievous cost

—AWOIAF, The Targaryen Kings: Aerys II

Grand Maester Pycelle cleared his throat, a process that seemed to take some minutes. "My order serves the realm, not the ruler. Once I counseled King Aerys as loyally as I counsel King Robert now, so I bear this girl child of his no ill will. Yet I ask you this—should war come again, how many soldiers will die? How many towns will burn? How many children will be ripped from their mothers to perish on the end of a spear?" He stroked his luxuriant white beard, infinitely sad, infinitely weary. "Is it not wiser, even kinder, that Daenerys Targaryen should die now so that tens of thousands might live?"

—AGOT, Eddard VIII

“For the realm! Once Rhaegar died, the war was done. Aerys was mad, Viserys too young, Prince Aegon a babe at the breast, but the realm needed a king... I prayed it should be your good father, but Robert was too strong, and Lord Stark moved too swiftly... ”

—ACOK, Tyrion VI

We know from the books of the unswerving Pycelle's loyalty to the Lannister and precisely to Lord Tywin. Why this loyalty? Was there any event we don't know yet?

There´s backstory yet to be revealed, certainly, but if you asked Pycelle he would insist that he was acting in the best interests of the realm.

—FORUM: Asshai Chat July 27, 2008

It's possible that Pycelle's advice given to Aerys was personally motivated by his own political beliefs on who was best suited to rule & his acceptance that the war was already over, so he needed to get out on the winning side. GRRM has hinted that there's more to the story.

It's additionally possible that Maester Walys, Rickard Stark's maester born from a Hightower mother and an alleged archmaester father, was advising Rickard on making alliances down south simply because that's what he thought was smart politicking.

However, it's interesting that multiple maesters were involved in arranging the chess board of power in Westeros against House Targaryen, and, now, are shown to be aligned to preserve power in the hands of... the Lannisters. More accurately, I would say they seek to preserve whoever is a) currently in power and b) amenable to a maester's advice and manipulation. More on this when we get to Stannis.

Now, Pycelle is personally loyal to the Lannisters because that is what he thinks is in "the best interests of the realm," but otherwise, maesters in general are invested in preserving the power structure as is, because war disrupts their slowgoing machinations (Marwyn's words: the world the Citadel is building). In fact, as the Lannisters infight throughout ACOK and become unstable, only to be saved by an alliance with the Tyrells, there is a response from the Citadel that indicates they're willing to switch to whoever is the dominant side, it if means protecting their influence.

[T]he Conclave accepted the fact of Pycelle's dismissal and set about choosing his successor. After giving due consideration to Maester Turquin the cordwainer's son and Maester Erreck the hedge knight's bastard, and thereby demonstrating to their own satisfaction that ability counts for more than birth in their order, the Conclave was on the verge of sending us Maester Gormon, a Tyrell of Highgarden. When I told your lord father, he acted at once." The Conclave met in Oldtown behind closed doors, Tyrion knew; its deliberations were supposedly a secret. So Varys has little birds in the Citadel too. "I see. So my father decided to nip the rose before it bloomed." He had to chuckle. "Pycelle is a toad. But better a Lannister toad than a Tyrell toad, no?"

—ASOS, Tyrion II

Before we get into cartoon villain territory, let's caveat that their involvement in the deaths of the dragons and the Targaryens who could potentially hatch them once more does seem to be a one-off for them in terms of puppet-mastering against a monarch, and indeed, they never intended war, preferring to function methodically in the background.

"Be that as it may. My father sat where I sit now when Lord Eddard came to Sisterton. Our maester urged us to send Stark's head to Aerys, to prove our loyalty. It would have meant a rich reward. The Mad King was open-handed with them as pleased him. By then we knew that Jon Arryn had taken Gulltown, though. Robert was the first man to gain the wall, and slew Marq Grafton with his own hand. 'This Baratheon is fearless,' I said. 'He fights the way a king should fight.' Our maester chuckled at me and told us that Prince Rhaegar was certain to defeat this rebel.

—ADWD, Davos I

They maximize their influence — they don't overstep.

On to Stannis.

[Alys Karstark:] "Arnolf [Karstark] is rushing to Winterfell, 'tis true, but only so he might put his dagger in your king's back. He cast his lot with Roose Bolton long ago … for gold, the promise of a pardon, and poor Harry's head. Lord Stannis is marching to a slaughter.

—ADWD, Jon IX

“Y-your Grace, my order is sworn to serve, we…” “I know all about your vows. What I want to know is what was in the letter that you sent to Winterfell. Did you perchance tell Lord Bolton where to find us?” “S-sire.” Round-shouldered Tybald drew himself up proudly. “The rules of my order forbid me to divulge the contents of Lord Arnolf’s letters.”

—TWOW, Unreleased Theon Chapter

Here we have Arnolf Karstark, castellan of Karhold, who pledges to Stannis... but secretly he's actually pledged to Roose Bolton, who is in league with the Lannisters. Together they planned the Red Wedding. The Karstark maester is seen assisting in this plot to see Stannis dead via the Karstark-Bolton-Lannister network.

Does Stannis have his own maester with him? No, Maester Cressen dies in the ACOK Prologue, and his replacement, Pylos, is not mentioned as having accompanied Stannis North. Stannis is far from the influence of the Citadel and has publicly declared his new faith in R'hllor, something for the Citadel/general Westerosi hegemony to worry about, and now we have a maester helping to plot against him...

Once more, it's possible that said maester is simply acting of his own volitions & values. Conveniently in service to House Lannister which currently holds power. However, he's not the only Northern maester to have conflicting loyalties South:

[Wyman Manderly, Lord of White Harbor:] If Stannis wonders that my letters say so little, it is because I dare not even trust my maester. Theomore is all head and no heart. You heard him in my hall. Maesters are supposed to put aside old loyalties when they don their chains, but I cannot forget that Theomore was born a Lannister of Lannisport and claims some distant kinship to the Lannisters of Casterly Rock. Foes and false friends are all around me, Lord Davos.

—ADWD, Davos IV

Something to consider.

THIRD: ADDRESSING THE FERTILITY OF TARGARYEN WOMEN

Let's take it back for a minute. I'm separating this section because a whole bunch of it comes from AWOIAF/Fire & Blood and I know not everyone is super familiar with those, so I'm taking time to explain it fully. A big facet of the Maester Conspiracy has to do with magic and dragons ergo House Targaryen. We have covered the Aerys/Pycelle, Maester Aemon, and Daenerys portions.

But there is a larger relevant point: The miscarriages and stillbirths of Targaryen women.

From AGOT we know that the birth of dragons is tied to blood magic, but specifically, that magic which is performed by Daenerys — a pregnant Targaryen. She has prophetic visions both asleep and awake that lead her to the final hatching of the dragons... and it's the deaths of Rhaego in her womb, Drogo by her hand, and Mirri by her order that facilitate this.

She was lying there, holding the egg, when she felt the child move within her… as if he were reaching out, brother to brother, blood to blood. "You are the dragon," Dany whispered to him, "the true dragon. I know it. I know it." And she smiled, and went to sleep dreaming of home.

—AGOT, Daenerys IV

"You will not hear me scream," Mirri responded as the oil dripped from her hair and soaked her clothing. "I will," Dany said, "but it is not your screams I want, only your life. I remember what you told me. Only death can pay for life."

—AGOT, Daenerys X

So, let's posit that there is some matriarchal link between fertility, motherhood, and births... even of dragons.

The theory here is that maesters, operating under the idea that Targaryen wives's fertility was somehow related to the blood magics/births of dragons, meddled with their pregnancies to prevent said magics/births of dragons.

The reason the maesters may have suspected this? Well according to AGOT and Fire & Blood, at certain times, Targaryen women/wives experienced miscarriages of fetuses that were "monstrous." Dragonlike, some might describe them (some being me, in the following list) — so the contention that the women of House Targaryen were magically involved in literal dragon-birthing does seem possible.

The miscarriages in question:

1A) Maegor Targaryen and Alys Harroway's stillborn: a monster, with twisted limbs, a huge head, and no eyes.

1B) The hatchling born to Alyn Velaryon and Baela Targaryen's daughter Laena: the dragon that wriggled from the egg was a monstrosity, a wingless wyrm, maggot-white and blind

2A) Maegor and Jeyne Westerling's stillborn: a legless and armless creature possessed of both male and female genitalia → eventual death in childbirth

2B) Maester Aemon in AFFC Samwell IV: Dragons are neither male nor female, Barth saw the truth of that, but now one and now the other, as changeable as flame

3A) Maegor and Elinor Costayne's stillborn: a malformed and stillborn child, an eyeless boy born with rudimentary wings

3B) In The Hedge Knight, the last dragon to ever live is described as small with unformed wings

4A) Daemon Targaryen and Laena Velaryon's stillborn: the babe was twisted and malformed, and died within the hour → eventual death in childbirth

4B) Laena's stillbirth unique because it's implied that Rhaenyra's maester, Gerardys, who arrived slightly too late, might have been able to assist in saving Laena's life following the birth — the same way he was able to save Viserys I's hand and life when other maesters couldn't. Thus, incompetence or malice on the part of the present maester might have contributed to Laena's death.

5A) Daemon and Rhaenyra Targaryen's stillborn Visenya, Rhaenyra's early labor brought on by the news of her father's death and her usurpation by Aegon II:

The princess shrieked curses all through her labor, calling down the wrath of the gods upon her half-brothers and their mother, the queen, and detailing the torments she would inflict upon them before she would let them die. She cursed the child inside her too, Mushroom tells us, clawing at her swollen belly as Maester Gerardys and her midwife tried to restrain her and shouting, “Monster, monster, get out, get out, GET OUT!” When the babe at last came forth, she proved indeed a monster: a stillborn girl, twisted and malformed, with a hole in her chest where her heart should have been, and a stubby, scaled tail.

—Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons: The Blacks and the Greens

5B) Rhaenyra's usurpation by Aegon II is a parallel to the usurpation of the Amethyst Empress by her younger brother the Bloodstone Emperor, in the ancient Great Empire of the Dawn. This is said to have been what caused the first Long Night to occur and indeed, after Rhaenyra, we see the dragons die out, magic disappear, summers grow short, and winter grow long.

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. [...] 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.

—AWOIAF, The Bones and Beyond: Yi Ti

6) Naerys Targaryen's multiple miscarriages/stillbirths vs. 2 living children → eventual death in childbirth

7) Rhaella Targaryen's 8 miscarriages/stillbirths/child deaths vs. 3 living children → eventual death in childbirth

8) Daenerys with Rhaego:

"Monstrous," Mirri Maz Duur finished for him. The knight was a powerful man, yet Dany understood in that moment that the maegi was stronger, and crueler, and infinitely more dangerous. "Twisted. I drew him forth myself. He was scaled like a lizard, blind, with the stub of a tail and small leather wings like the wings of a bat. When I touched him, the flesh sloughed off the bone, and inside he was full of graveworms and the stink of corruption. He had been dead for years." Darkness, Dany thought. The terrible darkness sweeping up behind to devour her. If she looked back she was lost. "My son was alive and strong when Ser Jorah carried me into this tent," she said. "I could feel him kicking, fighting to be born."

—AGOT, Daenerys IX

With these in mind, we can ask: why would anyone think these similar descriptions have anything to do with outside interference? Couldn't it just be that Targaryen babies are weird, it's the blood magic and the incest, nothing to see here?

The thing is that all of Maegor's stillborn children (3/6 examples of dragonesque children) were poisoned, by Tyanna of the Tower. Rhaego was also poisoned, by Mirri Maaz Duur's blood magic.

So 4/6 of these hybrid children were born under the influence of some sort of darker magic. This still leaves Rhaenyra and Laena's respective draconic stillbirths. It opens the question of whether poison was involved in those, too. In my personal opinion, it might also intend to raise a question mark on the matrilineage of Targaryen women who birthed children & brought about dragons — a private theory but raised by the idea of Rhaego's description and the concept of him being "dead for years."

That said, the two serious cases I think we can look into here are Naerys and Rhaella's serial miscarriages/stillbirths/child deaths.

Both these women suffered from frail health and abusive circumstances. Naerys was extremely slight and small of stature, it's possible that she simply struggled with the physical toll of pregnancies. Rhaella gave birth for the first time under traumatic circumstances (the burning of Summerhall and deaths of her family) when she was 14 years old, totally reasonable that she'd be permanently affected by that. In fact, these are two women for whom it would not be suspicious should they experience fertility issues. So if there were ever two people who you could get away with pulling this on...

The reasons to consider each more closely —

NAERYS TARGARYEN: Naerys's successful birth of Daeron (later Daeron II) happened the same year the last dragon died. After this, King Aegon III The Dragonbane started attempting to hatch new dragons whereas before he was extremely resistant to dragon-anything. Naerys's miscarriages and stillbirths begin only after attempts to hatch dragons commence — a likely time, if a link between her fertility and future dragons was suspected by bad actors. Her only other living child Daenerys Lateborn is born 17 years later, and in fact is one of a set of twins, the other child dying at birth. So, it's possible that pregnancy was also tampered with, and simply did not succeed on both twins

Counterpoint One: Naerys was not a healthy or robust person, nor did she desire to carry children. They were forced on her by her purposely cruel brother-husband Aegon IV. It's possible she was not poisoned and simply suffered from miscarriages/stillbirths naturally.

Counterpoint Two: Naerys was married to a man who had many mistresses, lovers, bastards, and grasping councilors. It's possible that she was poisoned, but not by maesters, rather by those who sought to gain power by opening up the position of Queen.

RHAELLA TARGARYEN: Aerys and Rhaella were married to one another based on a prophecy by the Ghost of High Heart that through them, The Prince/Princess That Was Promised would be born.

"Why did they wed if they did not love each other?" "Your grandsire commanded it. A woods witch had told him that the prince was promised would be born of their line."

—ADWD, Daenerys IV

"Maester Aemon believed that Daenerys Targaryen was the fulfillment of a prophecy... her, not Stannis, nor Prince Rhaegar, nor the princeling whose head was dashed against the wall." "Born amidst salt and smoke, beneath a bleeding star. I know the prophecy." Marwyn turned his head and spat a gob of red phlegm onto the floor.

—AFFC, Samwell V

Someday the dragons will return. My brother Daeron's dreamed of it, and King Aerys read it in a prophecy. Maybe it will be my egg that hatches. That would be splendid

—The Hedge Knight

The prophecy is known to at least one maester of the Citadel... seems realistic that it would be known to multiple! The prophecy in question regards the birth of the Prince/Princess That Was Promised, the herald who will bring dragons back into the world, and the culmination of House Targaryen. When Rhaella became pregnant and was close to her due date, the King Aegon V had all the Targaryens gather in Summerhall where he intended to attempt to hatch seven dragon eggs (perhaps he also had some suspicion about the connection between the blood magic needed to hatch dragons and Rhaella's imminent potentially prophesized birth?)

… the blood of the dragon gathered in one … … seven eggs, to honor the seven gods, though the king’s own septon had warned … … pyromancers … … wildfire … … ames grew out of control … towering … burned so hot that … … died, but for the valor of the Lord Comman …

—AWOIAF, The Targaryen Kings: Aegon V

This is what remains of the story of Summerhall. Who wrote this note? Maester Corso, of course. Where did he send this letter? The Citadel. Woof. Innocuous on it's own but for the purpose of this post, in line with the idea that the Citadel was keeping a close eye on all things dragon.

The Maester Conspiracy would ask: who is to say what really went wrong at Summerhall? All we know is that Rhaella gave birth there amidst the chaos and then she didn't give birth to a child who lived past a year for 17 years to come. Miscarriages, stillbirths, child deaths... she had them all. Aerys's paranoia grew and grew until Rhaella was completely isolated. It was under these conditions of extreme scrutiny that Rhaella finally had Viserys, and Viserys lived, and then Daenerys was born while isolated on Dragonstone & raised far from maester's influence following.

Here's the point that sticks out though:

"Lannisport was the end of our voyage," Prince Oberyn went on, as Ser Arron Qorgyle helped him into a padded leather tunic and began lacing it up the back. "Were you aware that our mothers knew each other of old?" "They had been at court together as girls, I seem to recall. Companions to Princess Rhaella?"

"Just so. It was my belief that the mothers had cooked up this plot between them.

—ASOS, Tyrion X

The Unnamed Princess of Dorne and Joanna Lannister were both companions to Princess Rhaella. The exact timeline is unclear but it's definite that the Unnamed Princess was older than the other two. She'd given birth to Doran over a decade before Rhaegar was born, although Rhaella was a very young mother (13 or 14). However, they were close enough to cook up 'plots.' It seems realistic that the Unnamed Princess was present earlier in Rhaella's life while Joanna came about later. GRRM is not trustworthy with ages and timelines anyway, so that's a supposition.

All three of these women had the same experience: a firstborn who lived, followed by a long expanse of fertility issues, followed by another successful birth (or more).

"I was the oldest," the prince said, "and yet I am the last. After Mors and Olyvar died in their cradles, I gave up hope of brothers. I was nine when Elia came, a squire in service at Salt Shore. When the raven arrived with word that my mother had been brought to bed a month too soon, I was old enough to understand that meant the child would not live. Even when Lord Gargalen told me that I had a sister, I assured him that she must shortly die. Yet she lived, by the Mother's mercy. And a year later Oberyn arrived, squalling and kicking.

—AFFC, The Captain of the Guard

Doran was nine before his mother had another successful birth after two child deaths. Her manner of death is unknown. Tyrion is likewise nine years younger than Jaime & Cersei. Joanna Lannister's possible fertility issues in the in-between are unknown, but she died in childbirth. Viserys is 17 years younger than Rhaegar (similar to how Daenerys Lateborn is 17 years younger than Daeron II). Rhaella Targaryen died in childbirth. If all three of these women who canonically shared time, meals, chambers, etc together suffered from similar infertility issues and timelines, with Rhaella being the worst affected, can we theorize that there might have been issues of poison at play?

Pycelle was the Grand Maester at the time — we know he was involved in other plots with poison at the center (Robert Baratheon and Jon Arryn most notably), and we also know that Tywin Lannister married for love. So despite his loyalty to Tywin, couldn't it be that Pycelle never expected Tywin to match with his cousin of few advantages, and that Joanna's struggles were perhaps an unintended, unforeseen consequence?

Could this be the additional backstory regarding Pycelle and Tywin that GRRM is referencing?

Counterpoint One: If the maesters were aware of the prophecy and Rhaegar fulfilled it, they shouldn't have continued with Rhaella

Counterpoint Two: The timeline for the various births of Rhaella, Joanna, and Unnamed Princess are all over the place. It's possible that GRRM didn't simply flub the timeline and actually there is no connection between these three women's similar fertility issues.

Counterpoint Three: Rhaella was traumatized from her young birth and Summerhall's tragedy, her fertility issues arose naturally.

All possibilities.

FOURTH: IS ALL OF THIS GOING TO BITE THE CITADEL IN THE ASS SOMEHOW? WHY ARE THEY EVEN DOING THIS? (SPECULATION)

My theory as to the roots of the Maester Conspiracy is threefold:

ONE: The Citadel, like all institutions of higher academia, is not politically neutral and is invested in specific visions for the future. They inherently seek to preserve the status quo which allows them to function and expand their own influence. They are as liable to corruption as any of the other institutions we see (monarchy, knighthood, the Faith, the Night's Watch, the Kingsguard, etc.) and while maesters do not act as one, they do act as an informal web pushing forth specific beliefs and ideals.

TWO: Not all maesters are created equal. Archmaesters and other such influential members of the Citadel are closer to certain truths than others, it's in the handchosen placement of maesters in the ears of specific lords/political players that we see a larger plan.

THREE: The Citadel is aware of prophecies foretelling a second Long Night to come. To combat this, they have long sought to destroy one of the heralds of said disaster, that being dragons. To put it simply: All magic is from the same root / all magic must be destroyed.

That's my theory.

Now, is this going to bite them in the ass? Hahaha of course!

ONE: The Faceless Men are infiltrating the Citadel due to some plan we are not yet privy to. The AFFC Prologue shows us the novice Pate being body snatched by an FM implied to the Jaqen H'ghar — what is he after, though? Potentially the extremely rare book titled The Death of Dragons that is solely kept in some locked basement of the Citadel... which he just acquired a key for?

TWO: Euron Greyjoy is coming to sack Oldtown, and he is obsessed with dragons/arcane arts/doing experiments with pregnant women (back to my point about connecting dragon births and human fertility)... but above all, he is not nice.

THREE: Daenerys Targaryen is coming to Westeros, and she's the Mother of Dragons. The Dragons are here. By focusing on dragons, it's possible the maesters have lost sight of the bigger picture — the incoming Long Night, wights, and Battle for the Dawn.

That was such a long post I fear and way beyond the question you asked. I appreciate it anyway, seeing as I've wanted to get all these thoughts out for a while to organize what I think & what the text itself points to.

To answer your question: Yes I do think the Maester Conspiracy is a real thing! I believe it's been set up mainly insofar as it will guide Samwell Tarly's POVs in Oldtown, the upcoming Euron Greyjoy plotlines, and potentially Arya due to the Faceless Men connect.

Eventually it will bring Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow into play (the latter likely due to the Arya and Sam of it all, which winks to the importance of Jon now having an Oldtown-bred squire in Satin), probably in line with the concept of the Second Dance George has been teasing us about.

Just how it will all play out, though, I couldn't say. We shall have to see. Drink water. Manifest TWOW. Speaking of manifesting...