catully:

MAJOR spoilers for all books up to ADWD ahead, so watch out!

These are essentially separate theories, but I’ve a feeling that the more I think of them the more I can make a connection between them.

Bloodraven really horribly evil and is training Bran to become the Great Other that Melisandre foresaw.

This would make sense, especially since Varamyr the Skinchanger’s POV establishes eating the flesh of men while in the body of a beast, as well as taking over the body of a human, is a pretty big no no for all ‘respectable’ skinchangers. Bran has broken both of these rules whilst under the guidance of Bloodraven & co. This also brings to mind the horrific idea that Hodor, unable to communicate his distress, is having to suffer that terror alone and in silence.

The Others and the Children of the Forest are fighting in league with each other against those they consider to be Andal invaders.

This explains why they do not kill Bran, the Reeds etc. The Starks and Northmen have the blood of the First Men, not the Andals. Plus, the Crannogmen are rumoured to be descended from the Children themselves. It also ties in with the first theory, as the Children would support anything, such as the Great Other, that would help them in their quest to rid the seven kingdoms of the Andals. ‘But why would they want to get rid of the Andals?’ I hear you cry. Why would an ancient race want to get rid of invaders who cut down their weirwoods, devalued the spirits of the Old Gods, brought new Gods to their land, and managed to make them almost wholly extinct below the wall? Did you really just ask that?

Jojen Reed was sacrificed to the Old Gods, and Meera possibly was too.

This partly stems from the Jojen Paste theory, but is slightly expanded. During the Bran and Reed chapters in the caves with Bloodraven, and for a while before that, Jojen has seemed dejected and seems to have a sense of something dangerous to come. This could very well have been his own death, and he could have been stopped from having a clear green dream about it by Bloodraven & co.

Conversely, he could have actually dreamed of it, but decided not to tell Bran and Meera outright for whatever reason. Additionally, Bran has a vision of men from long ago making sacrifices to the Old Gods and tasting the blood of said tributes. We have to remember that the Weirwood paste seemed to Bran to be blood at first. Whose blood, though? Well, as the chapter closes we are left with the image of Bran searching for the Reeds. If I remember correctly, he did not find them.

I’ve left the longest theory to the end, lucky you! 

The Maesters are hell bent on ridding the seven kingdoms of all magic and belief in the Old Gods.

Perhaps the Maesters do this by seeking out families with a certain connection to magic, and make sure they lose this connection. There are reasons for this theory, including but not limited to the idea that the Dragons began to get smaller and diminish in power as the Targaryen royals landed in Westeros began to reproduce with people outside of High Valyrian bloodlines. It’s almost certain that these Targaryens employed Maesters in their castles etc, and we know that the Maesters are rumoured to be the driving force behind the eradication of dragons from Westeros. Certainly, all Targaryens can’t have conformed to the incest tradition, or else there would be varying but largely debilitating genetic consequences. In addition, we have the Starks.

Now, it’s kinda impossible for all of Ned and Cat’s kids to be Skinchangers without some kind of genetic heritage, and I doubt the Tullys are connected. After all, the Starks have the blood of the First Men, as do the Wildlings. Skinchangers seem to be much more common beyond the wall. If the Stark family does have a strange connection with the Old Gods and their magic, would the Maesters not want to keep a close eye? Lady Barbrey Dustin states that Lord Rickard’s Maester was the one to put into his head the idea of his sons marrying Southrons. Could this have been an attempt to dilute the bloodline of the First Men?

At some point, Maester Luwin - one of the few Maesters to earn a link studying magic - is chosen by the Conclave to go to Winterfell to be a counselor. Despite his obvious knowledge of the occult, Luwin is almost completely dismissive of all of Old Nan’s stories, as well as ill-disposed towards the Keeping of the Stark children’s direwolves. Luwin is the one voice who constantly advises Ned to leave Winterfell to become the King’s Hand down in King’s Landing.  Was this done to remove that last full blooded First Man of the Stark family from Winterfell? Additionally, Luwin first suggests that Jon be sent to the Wall, which seems to be just one more step on his path to removing the blood of the First Men from Winterfell, and would be especially resonant if we accept the R+L=J theory as fact.

These departures leave Winterfell in the hands of a Tully who is most likely wholly Andal and who follows the reliable and magic-free Seven. Her children are part Andal too, and most follow the Faith of The Seven, or at least some of it. Much easier for old Luwin to control, or so he thinks.

When Winterfell falls to the ironborn, Luwin says: “Ser Rodrik took too many of our men, but I am to blame as much as he is.  I never saw this danger, I never…” to Bran. I realise that he could have simply meant he never foresaw an attack on Winterfell, but it’s possible he meant that encouraging Ned to leave would end in Winterfell’s defeat. Luwin’s death is also quite suspicious. Near to death, he manages to crawl to the Heart Tree. Perhaps it is an apology to the old gods for a life of trying to get rid of them?

 No matter if this theory seems plausible or implausible to you, I think that at this point it would be downright silly not to acknowledge that the Maesters have an ulterior motive other than the wellbeing of the realm. It’s up to us to find out exactly what that is.