Crossposted from r/asoiaf, all credits to u/wildrussy

Introduction

Hello, people of Earth! I am wildrussy, here to bring you the mother of all Patchface theories. I’ve debated many names (“Mermaids and Mayhem”, “Baja Blast”, “Rangers, Riders, and Reavers”, and “Horny Patchface”, to name a few), but I’ve settled on Triple Patchface because, when I talk to my friends about it or think about it internally, it’s the one I keep gravitating back towards.

This theory fits somewhere inside of my Grand Unified Theory of the Dawn, but sits comfortably outside of either of the two main series. It’s probably my single most significant find, so I’ve decided to separate it out and give it its own episode! You don’t necessarily need any prior knowledge about my other theories to understand most of this one (although, it will sometimes help), so feel free to ignore my other work and plow ahead.

Credit to David Lightbringer for his stellar work regarding Dany and the Dragonbinder horn, which I’ll be referencing below.

I’m gonna try to keep this one “short” (lmao, oops) and sweet.

The Three Heads of the Dragon

“He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire.” He looked up when he said it…“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.” - A Clash of Kings - Daenerys IV

When we refer to the “three heads” of the dragon, virtually everybody agrees we’re referring to three prophesized people. I don’t subscribe to theories about the Prince that was Promised being a different person from Azor Ahai, as Marwyn, Aemon, and Melisandre all use the term interchangeably. It is my belief that these three “heads” are three “aspects” of Azor Ahai, or three people who all fit the legend and are equally the “true” Azor Ahai.

Virtually all of the theories along these lines agree that two of the three heads are Daenerys and Jon. So who is the third?

Rhaegar tells us that the Prince who was Promised has a song, and his is the song of ice and fire. Clearly enough, Jon’s is the song of ice, and Dany’s is the song of fire. There’s a symmetry to that; one ice, one fire. How can we add a third person without breaking the symmetry of two?

My theory is that the third head of the dragon is Euron Greyjoy, and his is the song of Silence. Thus, Azor Ahai is three people: one villain, one false hero, and one true hero.

Euron’s role is to bring the apocalypse (if you haven’t read Poor Quentyn’s Eldritch Apocalypse, it’s a good read), Dany’s role is to destroy the forces of evil with fire and blood, and Jon’s role is to broker peace and mend the damage in the aftermath. Or something along those lines.

These three roles roughly fit the three phases of the original Azor Ahai’s life, as I’ve outlined in my Grand Unified Theory.

The ways in which Dany and Jon satisfy the conditions of the prophecy have been outlined dozens of times by other posters, and you can find mountains of evidence collected by them elsewhere. As far as Euron Greyjoy’s preliminary qualifications go:

• He was born again, beneath the bleeding star, amidst salt and smoke (in the smoking sea of Valyria).

• He doesn’t have a burning sword yet, but seems intent on stealing a dragon (I outline why I believe the dragons are Lightbringer in my Eastern Series).

• He intends to sacrifice his lover, Falia, paralleling Nissa Nissa

• The smoking tower from whence a great stone beast takes wing in Dany’s Undying vision is likely the High Tower, and Euron is likely the one who awakens it (although I think this is largely symbolic), potentially pegging Euron to wake dragons from stone.

Jon Snow is currently dead at Castle Black.

Daenerys is in the Dothraki Sea.

Euron Greyjoy is descending upon Oldtown.

Keep all of this in mind as we continue; I believe that all three are each about to have a big cornerstone moment in the Winds of Winter.

The Three Horns

Throughout the narrative, we’ve been slowly introduced to three critical horns:

• Dragonbinder

• The false Horn of Joramun

• The true Horn of Joramun

It won’t be immediately clear why this is relevant, but it’ll make sense later on. Please bear with me, I promise this is all critical.

Dragonbinder, also called the Hellhorn, is an enormous, black horn (seemingly a dragon horn or wyrm horn) banded with Valyrian steel and red gold. There are Valyrian runes that state that no mortal man shall sound the Hellhorn and live (“I am no man!”, shouted Daenerys), and Moqorro claims that any dragon that hears Dragonbinder will obey the horn’s master (which is currently Euron). The other powers of the Hellhorn are mysterious; it’s possible that the horn can also be used to control Firewyrms, since Euron and Euron alone was able to sail the Wyrm-infested smoking sea and collect Valyrian artifacts. We will return to this possibility later. This horn is currently with Victarion Greyjoy, who is seeking out Daenerys.

The false Horn of Joramun is the huge, black horn banded with old gold and covered in the runes of the First Men. The strong resemblance it bears to the Hellhorn leads me to believe it is also a dragon horn, and it was found north of the wall. Setting aside the interesting implications of a dragon horn north of the wall (like, for example, the possibility it was used to summon forth Wyrms at Hardhome), its powers are mysterious. We last saw this horn at Castle Black, where it was burned by Melisandre. Melisandre has been known to fake burnings, so it’s possible that she still has the horn. Barring this, it’s possible that Jon Snow’s corpse has adopted the role of a symbolic horn (he wears Tormund’s gold bands and everything) that will be “blown” when somebody performs the kiss of life on him.

The true Horn of Joramun, also known as the Horn of Winter, is almost certainly the small, cracked, bronze-banded warhorn that Ghost and Jon found at the Fist of the First Men. The Horn of Winter is said to have the power to “wake giants in the earth” (seemingly a medieval description of an earthquake) and bring down the Wall. It’s currently in the possession of Sam, who is in Oldtown.

One horn at Castle Black.

One horn en route to the Dothraki Sea.

One horn at Oldtown.

This places each of the three horns in close proximity to our three “Heroes”.

The Three Horn Blowers

First, a qualification: we are told by Moqorro that the blower matters not, and that the dragon horns will respond to the horn’s master. In some cases, the blower and the master will be the same person, but in every case, I believe Azor Ahai is the master of the horn being blown.

We’ll start with Euron Greyjoy. Moqorro speaks about him in the visions he sees of the threats that facing Daenerys:

“One most of all. A tall and twisted thing with one black eye and ten long arms, sailing on a sea of blood.” - A Dance with Dragons - Tyrion VIII

Euron seems to have an unhealthy obsession with the end of the world:

“The bleeding star bespoke the end,” he said to Aeron. “These are the last days, when the world shall be broken and remade. A new god shall be born from the graves and charnel pits.” Then Euron lifted a great horn to his lips and blew, and dragons and krakens and sphinxes came at his command and bowed before him. “Kneel, brother,” the Crow’s Eye commanded. - The Winds of Winter - The Forsaken

With all of the foreshadowing we’ve received with regards to the Horn of Winter, and Euron’s obsession with bringing the apocalypse, one wonders if Euron intends to bring down the wall.

Add to this the fact that he’s on a path for Oldtown (where the Horn of Winter awaits him), and we have more than an idle wonder.

When the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt to wake dragons out of stone. - A Storm of Swords - Davos III

From a smoking tower, a great stone beast took wing, breathing shadow fire - A Clash of Kings - Daenerys IV

The top of the High Tower is another place of smoke and salt, and Dany’s vision of the stone dragon taking wing from the High Tower speaks to what’s going to happen when Euron arrives in Oldtown. Perhaps it is from the top of the High Tower that Euron will blow the Horn of Joramun and bring the Wall down.

Some claimed a man could see all the way to the Wall from the top. - A Feast for Crows - Prologue

“I saw towers by the sea, submerged beneath a black and bloody tide. That is where the heaviest blow will fall.” - A Dance with Dragons - Melisandre I

Euron turned to face him, his bruised blue lips curled in a half smile. “Perhaps we can fly. All of us. How will we ever know unless we leap from some tall tower?” - A Feast for Crows - The Reaver

Spooky.

Next we have the horn blower at the Wall:

“Give me the boy and I shall wake the stone dragon.” - A Storm of Swords - Davos IV

Here we learn from Melisandre that Azor Ahai does not have to personally wake the stone dragon, and we are reminded that a dragon horn need not be blown by its true master. Waking the stone dragon can have multiple meanings, of course. My theory is that there are three, and the second meaning is related to an old metaphor:

He looked at the stone figures all around them, breathed deep in the chill silence of the crypt. He could feel the eyes of the dead. They were all listening, he knew. And winter was coming. - A Game of Thrones - Eddard I

Stone is cold and dead, and that which is cold and dead is like stone. Can we think of any dead dragons who might be awoken soon?

The flames crackled softly, and in their crackling she heard the whispered name Jon Snow. His long face floated before her, limned in tongues of red and orange, appearing and disappearing again, a shadow half-seen behind a fluttering curtain. Now he was a man, now a wolf, now a man again. But the skulls were here as well, the skulls were all around him. Melisandre had seen his danger before, had tried to warn the boy of it. Enemies all around him, daggers in the dark. - A Dance with Dragons - Melisandre I

It seems all but certain that Jon will be resurrected and is a secret Targaryen. Arguably, Jon constitutes a “stone dragon”, who will be awoken by someone nearby. Perhaps a red priestess?

Judging by Melisandre’s vision, the name of Jon’s direwolf (whom he thought of in his final moments), and the fact that skinchangers will often avoid true death by warging into a companion animal, it also seems likely that Jon will be wearing Ghost’s skin until his resurrection.

It’s possible that Melisandre will awaken Jon by giving him the kiss of life (thus blasting Jon, the symbolic horn). It’s also possible that Melisandre didn’t burn the dragon horn, and will blow that horn to awaken Jon, the stone dragon.

There’s some evidence for this, as horn blowers tend to wear gold bands to symbolize their horn blowing status:

The armbands were old gold, solid and heavy, engraved with the ancient runes of the First Men. Tormund Giantsbane had worn them as long as Jon had known him; they had seemed as much a part of him as his beard. - A Dance with Dragons - Jon XI

All eyes turned toward the sound. It was one of Euron’s mongrels winding the call, a monstrous man with a shaved head. Rings of gold and jade and jet glistened on his arms, and on his broad chest was tattooed some bird of prey, talons dripping blood. - A Feast for Crows - The Drowned Man

Melisandre, for her part, is never seen without her signature ruby necklace:

Around her throat was a red gold choker tighter than any maester’s chain, ornamented with a single great ruby. - A Clash of Kings - Prologue

Jon is in possession of the gold bands that Tormund had, so it’s possible that while Melisandre will blow the horn, Jon is the horn’s true master. Alternatively, the passing of the gold bands may symbolize Jon becoming the horn. These are just speculation, and regardless of either, I believe that Jon’s resurrection will constitute the blowing of the Castle Black horn.

Our last horn blower is Daenerys Targaryen. Remember what I mentioned about horn blowers wearing jewelry that resembles the gold bands of the horn they will blow?

The girl slid the gilded sandals onto her feet, while the old woman fixed the tiara in her hair, and slid golden bracelets crusted with amethysts around her wrists. Last of all came the collar, a heavy golden torc emblazoned with ancient Valyrian glyphs. - A Game of Thrones - Daenerys I

One might think that Daenerys has already fulfilled her part of the prophecy to “wake dragons from stone”, but consider this: there may be a third meaning to the phrase “wake dragons from stone” that involves Dany and the horn.

As “wake giants in the earth” sounds like a medieval description of an earthquake, “wake dragons from stone” is evocative of a volcanic eruption. In fact there’s a great deal of evidence to support the notion of a volcanic eruption in Dany’s future.

“When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east,” said Mirri Maz Duur. “When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. When your womb quickens again, and you bear a living child. Then he will return, and not before.” - A Game of Thrones - Daenerys IX

The Sun rose in the West and set in the East with Quentyn Martell. The Dothraki sea has gone dry:

The grass was paler than she remembered, a wan and sickly green on the verge of going yellow. After that would come brown. The grass was dying. - A Dance with Dragons - Daenerys X

The first two parts have come true; we await a mountain to “blow in the wind like leaves” (a valid description of volcanic ash). There’s even a womb nearby (the Womb of the World) to fulfill the final part of Mirri Maz Duur’s unintended prophecy.

From a logical, real-world perspective, we note that the Mother of Mountains is a lone mountain, not part of a range. Mountains formed through tectonic shifting are part of ranges; lone mountains are almost always formed volcanically.

Considering these four factors, it seems very likely to me that the Mother of Mountains is an inactive volcano.

My belief is that Dany will blow the Hellhorn, and cause the Mother of Mountains to violently erupt (possibly by awakening a Wyrm in the earth) to unite the Dothraki and become the Stallion who Mounts the World. This spectacle will roughly replace the scene from the show in which Dany cows the Dothraki by burning all the Khals in a hut. Arguably, it will serve as a much more convincing reason for the Dothraki to unite behind her (what better symbol of her legitimacy than to have the Mother of Mountains itself herald her?).

There’s even some symbolic evidence that might suggest this will cause a volcanic winter, shrouding the world in darkness:

The wings of the stone dragons cast great black shadows in the light from the nightfire. - A Storm of Swords - Davos VI

Combined with Euron’s efforts to bring down the wall and welcome the Others, this would truly make the formation of a second Long Night complete.

It’s possible that Victarion will blow it in Meereen when Euron is still its master (allowing Euron to steal either Rhaegal or Viserion), but by the time it makes it to Dany’s lips, the horn will be hers. In addition to the volcanic eruption, it will bind Drogon to her.

One horn blown at Castle Black.

One horn blown in the Dothraki sea.

One horn blown from the top of the High Tower.

The Three Seas

I had independently come to the conclusion that each of these events would transpire, but this next part is what made me think that these events are related. It really all comes down to everyone’s favorite prophet: Patchface.

“Under the sea, it snows up,” said the fool, “and the rain is dry as bone. I know, I know, oh, oh, oh.” - A Clash of Kings - Prologue

There are a lot of compelling Patchface theories out there, especially when it comes to the phrase “under the sea”. There’s a pretty compelling theory that “under the sea” is a metaphor about death; when you’re dead, you’re “under the sea”. It makes some sense; Patchface died and was revived (thus journeying “under the sea”).

Taken in the context of what we’ve discussed, Patchface seems to be prophesying Jon Snow’s resurrection. However, seeing as Dany is in the Dothraki Sea, there may be a double-meaning here. When a volcano erupts, the ashes spew into the sky (and thus it snows up), and then rain down (and thus, the rain is dry as bone).

This is the first of many double (and triple) meanings I think are behind the confused ramblings of our mad jester.

“Under the sea, smoke rises in bubbles, and flames burn green and blue and black,” Patchface sang somewhere. “I know, I know, oh, oh, oh.” - A Clash of Kings - Davos I

More rising smoke, and this time, three colors. Green, the color of the Dothraki Sea. Blue, the color of the ocean. And Black, the color of death.

I believe these are our three “seas” Patchface is referring to: Jon in death, Dany in the Dothraki Sea, and Euron in the ocean. Let’s continue:

“Under the sea, the birds have scales for feathers,” he said, clang-a-langing. “I know, I know, oh, oh, oh.” - A Clash of Kings - Prologue

The obvious meaning here seems to be that Drogon roams the skies above the Dothraki Sea. A second meaning stems from the Night’s Watch being called Crows:

Melisandre’s face darkened. “That creature is dangerous. Many a time I have glimpsed him in my flames. Sometimes there are skulls about him, and his lips are red with blood.” - A Dance with Dragons - Jon X

“The maesters may believe what they wish. Ask a woods witch if you would know the truth. The grey death sleeps, only to wake again. The child is not clean!” - A Dance with Dragons - Jon XI

I’m not the first to point this out, but it seems likely that this is foreshadowing a greyscale outbreak at Castle Black (stemming from Shereen, and possibly Patchface). This would constitute the “birds” (crows) having scales for feathers while Jon is dead.

Bonus: if somebody else becomes Lord Commander in the meantime, they would be the 999th Lord Commander. If they then died in the greyscale plague, that would leave Jon to become the 1000th Lord Commander upon his reawakening (to lead the Watch in the apocalypse).

Likewise, Euron “Crow’s Eye” also seems to be wearing scales while at sea. At first, I thought it was just his magnificent Valyrian steel armor, but throughout the entire Forsaken chapter he’s been armoring himself in scales.

That night he wore a shirt of iron scales and a cloak of blood red silk. - The Winds of Winter - The Forsaken

Clad head to heel in scale as dark as onyx, he sat upon a mound of blackened skulls as dwarfs capered round his feet and a forest burned behind him. - The Winds of Winter - The Forsaken

Euron Crow’s Eye stood upon the deck of Silence, clad in a suit of black scale armor like nothing Aeron had ever seen before. - The Winds of Winter - The Forsaken

“Fishes” may be “creatures of the sea”.

“Under the sea, men marry fishes.” Patchface did a little dance step, jingling his bells. “They do, they do, they do.” - A Dance with Dragons - Jon XIII

The Dothraki are inseparable from their horses. Ironborn captains are wed to their ships and the Old Way. Skinchangers are wed to their animals (and are known to merge with them in death).

“The crow, the crow,” Patchface cried when he saw Jon. “Under the sea the crows are white as snow, I know, I know, oh, oh, oh.” - A Dance with Dragons - Jon XI

This seems like another reference to Jon Snow warging into Ghost in death. Beyond that, winter is coming to the Dothraki Sea and Oldtown? It gets a little hard to decipher from here, and my ability to interpret these is by no means perfect.

One sea in death.

One sea in the Eastern Plains.

One sea outside Oldtown.

Now let’s get into the meat of the theory. What comes next is the stuff that convinced me that these three horn-blowing events aren’t just related, but are going to happen concurrently.

The Triple Prophecy

Then the towers by the sea, crumbling as the dark tide came sweeping over them, rising from the depths. Shadows in the shape of skulls, skulls that turned to mist, bodies locked together in lust, writhing and rolling and clawing. Through curtains of fire great winged shadows wheeled against a hard blue sky. - A Dance with Dragons - Melisandre I

Melisandre has already begun to have visions of these events coming together. The coming apocalypse is at hand, as foretold by Patchface in his Triple Prophecy:

Patchface jumped up. “I will lead it!” His bells rang merrily. “We will march into the sea and out again. Under the waves we will ride seahorses, and mermaids will blow seashells to announce our coming, oh, oh, oh.” - A Dance with Dragons - Jon XIII

It’s very easy to see how this metaphor fits into our three scenarios:

Jon Snow will die and be resurrected. While dead, he will live within Ghost, and Melisandre will blow a dragon horn to herald his resurrection.

Daenerys will ride into the Dothraki Sea and out again. While there, she will ride Drogon, and she will blow a great dragon horn to unite the Dothraki and herald her coming as the conqueror, blanketing the world in the volcano’s darkness.

Euron will sail into the ocean and out again. On the sea, he will ride a longship, and he’ll blow the Horn of Winter to bring down the wall and announce the coming apocalypse.

The fact that two independent prophets have foreseen these events together implies to me that they will happen at the same time.

Well, almost at the same time.

Because there’s one more piece of foreshadowing that lends insight into the order in which the horns get blown. Recall, if you will, the Night’s Watch horn signalling system, and imagine the following scenario (in the POV chapter structure):

Melisandre is surrounded by death. Members of the Night’s Watch are dying from a grey plague all around her. In the fires she sees the coming darkness with ever-increasing urgency, and realizes that Snow, not Stannis, is the Prince who was Promised. With her dying breath, she blows the horn, to wake the stone dragon.

One blast, to signal the return of a Ranger.

Daenerys dreams of fire raining from the sky. The visions chant for her to wake the stone dragon, urging her to blow the horn. When the mountains blow in the wind like leaves, comes a voice from a lifetime ago. When your womb quickens again, and you bear a living child. Then he will return, and not before. She looks into the eyes of Drogon. Wake the Dragon. She plants the horn against her lips, and blows. The sound reverberates through the air, through her hands, through her bones. Behind her, she hears a deafening roar as the ground shakes, and the world becomes fire.

Two blasts, to announce a wildling horde approaches.

Samwell stands helpless as the city around him is in flames. The realization came to him too late. He searches desperately through the smoke, but cannot find him. The tower, he thinks, desperately. I saw him climbing the tower. He clambers up the steps, his legs slow and heavy beneath him. Faster, I have to climb faster. He cannot be allowed to blow the horn. Bursting forth from the door he finds Euron, standing at the peak, looking proudly north. He doesn’t even react to Sam’s intrusion; he stands, smiling, one eye black and angry against the dawn, the other eye burning blue. Sam had been so preoccupied with the black eye, he had never noticed its brother. His smiling eye, Sam thinks. It shines, like clear crystal in the morning light. Sam had never seen something so beautiful or terrible. The Kraken brings the horn to his bruised, blue lips, and blows.

Three blasts, to herald the coming of the Others.

Jon awakens in the dark, Melisandre collapses beside him, her neck burning and smoking as her ruby choker glows blindingly bright. He gasps. The air is a cold stranger to him, and his lungs feel clumsy. As he staggers outside, he sees the wall collapsing before him, as darkness begins to envelope the sky.

In the world’s hour of need, a hero emerges from the darkness to lead the righteous in battle.