So if my theory is even partly right, and Rhaegar really was Azor Ahai reborn, then there is more prophecy to consider. For instance, this little bit about Azor Ahai’s weapon from the ancient books of Asshai:
There will come a day after a long summer when the stars bleed and the cold breath of darkness falls heavy on the world. In this dread hour a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword. And that sword shall be Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, and he who clasps it shall be Azor Ahai come again, and the darkness shall flee before him.”
There was nothing at all distinguishable about Rhaegar’s sword — we don’t even know what it was called. However, I think that Lightbringer isn’t necessarily a sword, but actually a child. And the child just might be Jon Snow.
The stars have bled: the red comet that appears in A Clash of Kings. The cold breath of darkness is falling heavy on the world with the coming of the Others throughout the series. If Jon Snow really is a Targaryen and becomes one of the heads of the dragon then he will pose a real threat to the Others and the darkness shall flee before him.
Those of you who really know your stuff about Azor Ahai will be saying “But wait, what about Nissa Nissa?!” Well, first let me give all of you who are like “Who the hell is Nissa Nissa?” a little backstory. According to the ancient books of Asshai, Azor Ahai didn’t forge Lightbringer on his first try. It took him three tries to make the perfect sword. And on the last try he sacrificed his wife, Nissa Nissa by stabbing the sword through her breast and thus forging the weapon of heroes.
Lyanna Stark was Rhaegar’s Nissa Nissa. After two previous tries (his two first children Aegon and Rhaenys) and after sacrificing one being already (Elia Martell) Rhaegar tried one last time to make the perfect child, this time with the She-Wolf. Well, this time he succeeded in making a healthy, third child but killed the child’s mother in the process.
I truly believe all this about Lyanna being Nissa Nissa and Jon being Lightbringer, but I don’t think that Rhaegar intended to create Lightbringer from the get-go. I think that Rhaegar knew he was Azor Ahai, but also knew that his father was going to get kicked off the throne and that he was going to perish shortly thereafter. I think that what Rhaegar intended was to have the Targaryen family continue after he was gone; he intended to have a reboot of the Targaryen line, so to speak, starting with a very new Aegon the Conqueror.
Was Lyanna Stark Rhaegar’s version of Nissa Nissa?
Art courtesy of: iro-kotori
If you’ve made it this far into the article and you’re reading it in the first place, I trust that you know what Aegon I Targaryen was all about. He was the conqueror and founder of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. He came from ruined Valyria with three dragons and two sister-wives (Rhaenys and Visenya) and made all the kings of Westeros submit and swear fealty to him. He also founded the idea that the dragon should have three heads (him and his sisters) and that is the reason for the Targaryen sigil having three heads.
Rhaegar wanted to bring a new start to the Targaryens and subsequently to Westeros. That’s the reason that he named his kids Aegon and Rhaenys (the names of the first conqueror of Westeros and his favorite sister wife), he was just waiting for a Visenya (the name of Aegon I’s second sister wife) but instead made a Lightbringer.
We also know of Rhaegar’s intentions from a vision Daenerys has when she visits the House of the Undying while in Qarth.
Viserys, was her first thought the next time she paused, but a second glance told her otherwise. The man had her brother’s hair, but he was taller, and his eyes were a dark indigo rather than lilac. “Aegon,” he said to a woman nursing a newborn babe in a great wooden bed. “What better name for a king?”
“Will you make a song for him?” the woman asked.
“He has a song,” the man replied. “He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire.” He looked up when he said it and his eyes met Dany’s, and it seemed as if he saw her standing there beyond the door. “There must be one more,” he said, though whether he was speaking to her or the woman in the bed she could not say. “The dragon has three heads.”
He went to the window seat, picked up a harp, and ran his fingers lightly over its silvery strings. Sweet sadness filled the room as man and wife and babe faded like the morning mist, only the music lingering behind to speed her on her way.”
This passage shows a conversation between Rhaegar and his wife Elia Martell over their newborn, Aegon.
Not only is this a beautiful passage that shows how hopeful and what a visionary Rhaegar was, but it tells us so much more about what Rhaegar thought. He believed that there was a difference between the prophecies regarding Azor Ahai and those regarding The Prince that was Promised, which is still a debated topic today. The Prince that was Promised, as far as we know, is a prophesied hero that will be heralded by a bleeding star and will ward off the darkness. It sounds very similar to the prophecies about Azor Ahai but some believe that The Prince that was Promised is totally different. I’m not going to spoil anything for show watchers, but we get a good bout of information on both prophecies in the fourth book of A Song of Ice and Fire, A Feast for Crows.
Will Jon Snow fulfill the prophecies of Rhaegar Targaryen?
Regardless of what we learn in AFFC, we know that at least Rhaegar didn’t think that they were the same thing. Since we know that he thought he was Azor Ahai, and we have lots of evidence to support that claim, he thought that his son Aegon was The Prince that was Promised. It was also prophesied long ago that The Prince that was Promised would come from the line of Aegon V, Rhaegar’s great-grandfather. Many take this to mean that TPTWP is Rhaegar, but clearly Rhaegar thought it was his son, which is still in line with the prophecy.
So there you have it, Rhaegar was Azor Ahai and his son was TPTWP. But, that seems unsatisfactory somehow. Baby Aegon was killed in the Sack of King’s Landing long before he could ever have the chance to become a warrior and fulfill any prophecies. At least Rhaegar was a martyr and died on the battlefield, that seems a more fitting way for Azor Ahai to be extinguished. Well, I think that Rhaegar was wrong about one crucial detail: which son was The Prince that was Promised. I think that Jon Snow is The Prince that Was Promised and it is his job to ward off the darkness.
Go back to Part 1: Dragon Prince – The Visions and Prophecies of Rhaegar Targaryen.
Go to Part 3: Dragon Prince – The Dragons’ Return.
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