Samwell at the citadel

[QueenofThrones]

So I was thinking about things this season where I really have no idea what is going to happen, and was wondering if people have any thoughts about what Sam might find out down at the citadel?

I'm just thinking that it has to be something which is important enough that the creators spent all this time sending him rather than letting him chill with Jon and Ed. I love sam and all but I just don't think he himself is important enough (he's not a central player).

So watchers, what do you think? What hidden knowledge will Sam uncover?

[evenwind]

I think Sam is going to discover Jon's true parentage. Right now, there are only two characters that know who he is - Bran Stark and Howland Reed. Or, Jon's half-brother/cousin and someone who has only been in the show in Bran's vision. Why should anybody believe either of them without proof? If there's maybe a marriage decree and some sort of birth announcement in the Citadel's records, then Jon's bloodline can be recognized.

And maybe he'll find the recipe for The World's Best Lemon Cake?

[Tensor the Mage]

In the Library at Castle Black, Stannis told Sam to learn why "dragonglass would kill a White Walker," so perhaps Sam will find better information concerning that topic in the Citadel than he could at Castle Black.

Also,

► Show Spoiler

he could also have the reveal he experiences at the end of the fourth book, concerning Maesters and magic.

Better yet, he could discover the secret which would allow GRRM to finish writing ASoI&F.

[Ginevra]

I'd love for Sam to find:
1. Valyrian steel swords. At the sword panel at the Con, a panelist mentioned that there are 227 Valyrian steel swords in Westeros according to The World of Ice & Fire. Since we only have just over a dozen named swords in Westeros and not even all of these have known locations, perhaps a couple of hundred of these swords were hidden away in a single cache for use during a return of the Others.
2. How to train a dragon. Jon sends Sam to the Citadel specifically to find out all he can about dragons, and so I'd love to see him find the sorcerous spells and the horns referenced in the books.
3. Wall magic. The Horn of Joramun and all that and the spells that go with it.
4. AAR and TPTWP prophecies and answers. This is probably more Bran's role, but I would love for Sam to either discover or be told this part because I think he may be crucial in finding this next bit...
5. How to wake a dragon. AAR will wake dragons from stone. I personally think this will be real stone rather than dragon eggs since the prophecy doesn't say wake dragons from eggs and since waking dragons from eggs is like the most expected thing ever. All of those dragons at Dragonstone would sure come in handy.
6. Realize what fodder the barrowlands are for a wight army. Or perhaps it will be completely the opposite and these corpses will be similar to what is likely to happen in the crypts of Winterfell, where the Kings of the North will likely be led only by a living Stark, Stark by name and blood.
7. Find freaking Marwyn and Alleras!!! These are my favorite minor characters from the books. Goodness gracious, I'd love to see them!!!
8. How to kill an ice dragon. I am loving, loving, loving how popular the theory of ice dragons were at the Con! If the Others kill a dragon, can they raise a wight dragon that spews ice? Or can they capture a live dragon and force dragonglass into its heart in front of some weirwood trees to make an Other dragon?

[Needle]

The promo pics where we clearly see him opertaing on someone (or something) make me wonder if at some point Jon will also give him a Wight or a White Walker to research on, and maybe Sam will discover something new about them

[Flayed Potatoes]

He will learn potions, defense against the dark arts... err.... wrong franchise sorry.

[Ginevra]

He will learn potions, defense against the dark arts... err.... wrong franchise sorry.

Mwahaha! Seriously, I can't get enough of wizarding schools. Hogwarts. Kvothe's university from the Kingkiller Chronicle, which is probably closer to The Citadel. And I'd love to have an entire novel or even series on The Citadel itself with Alleras and Merwyn prominently featured.

The promo pics where we clearly see him opertaing on someone (or something) make me wonder if at some point Jon will also give him a Wight or a White Walker to research on, and maybe Sam will discover something new about them

That would be cool! Dissecting the Others. Ooo, what have we here, Gilly! A bit of dragonglass stuck in the heart.

[Wimsey]

I think Sam is going to discover Jon's true parentage. Right now, there are only two characters that know who he is - Bran Stark and Howland Reed. Or, Jon's half-brother/cousin and someone who has only been in the show in Bran's vision. Why should anybody believe either of them without proof? If there's maybe a marriage decree and some sort of birth announcement in the Citadel's records, then Jon's bloodline can be recognized.

That is what I am expecting him to find: that Rhaegar & Lyanna were legally married. However, I doubt that there will be any information about progeny.

To add to this, my bet is that the source of this information will be Aemon!

1. Valyrian steel swords. At the sword panel at the Con, a panelist mentioned that there are 227 Valyrian steel swords in Westeros according to The World of Ice & Fire.

Isn't World of Ice & Fire largely fan-fiction written by the nutjobs at Westeros.org? If so, then it does not mean much, either for the books or for the show. Regardless, on the show they have mentioned that there are only a dozen or so in Westeros.

[Ginevra]

Isn't World of Ice & Fire largely fan-fiction written by the nutjobs at Westeros.org? If so, then it does not mean much, either for the books or for the show. Regardless, on the show they have mentioned that there are only a dozen or so in Westeros.

George is listed as the primary author so I would consider it canon. Those nutjobs are his BFFs.

Yes, D&D said there were only about 10 of these swords even though there are 14 mentioned by name in the books, and so the show may well be going in a different route. And the books may never bring up the 200 missing swords, either.

[Wimsey]

Yes, D&D said there were only about 10 of these swords even though there are 14 mentioned by name in the books, and so the show may well be going in a different route. And the books may never bring up the 200 missing swords, either.

Hopefully, the resolution to the White Walkers will not involve Valyrian steel, but instead involve major dilemmas for Jon, Daenerys, etc., that basically build upon all of the sorts of dilemmas that they have had throughout the series. I think that one key feature that leaves us in the dark as to what that might involve is why the Walkers came back. This probably is the compliment to the question of why they went away in the first place. We almost certainly will learn that the old Azor Ahai stories are 99 parts fiction for every part truth: after all, one of the recurring themes of this tale is that fairy tales are more propaganda than history. Guessing in advance what the fraction of truth is (and, of course, allowing for the possibility that the truth will be very ironic) means that we really do not know why the Walkers stopped all of those centuries ago, and we do not know why they are back now.

Once we learn that, then we might have some clue as to how that relates to what Jon & Daeny (and Tyrion & Bran & Arya) have been going through. But that is another reason why I think that Sam is going to learn something that will be big for Jon as a person: if he does learn, for example, that he never was a bastard, then he will learn (among other things) that everything he had attributed to himself as being because he was a bastard is based on a lie. This might provide a key seed for how Jon sees the Walkers, although I have no idea exactly how.