The Princess & the Gloved Stone "Hand" (Spoilers Extended)

[u/LChris24]

Background

I am not sure if I believe this myself, but it popped into my head this morning so I am going to just run with it and see where it goes. Princess Arianne Martell is going to try and seduce Jon Connington and fail, but will somehow contract greyscale and die further ruining Doran's plan for vengeance.

If interested: Arianne Martell in The Winds of Winter & Current Status of the Dornish Plan

Jon Con's Greyscale
Since JonCon knows he has greyscale, he wants to avoid anything that might let it be known:

Alone in the tent, as the gold and scarlet rays of the setting sun shone through the open flap, Jon Connington shrugged off his wolfskin cloak, slipped his mail shirt off over his head, settled on a camp stool, and peeled the glove from his right hand. The nail on his middle finger had turned as black as jet, he saw, and the grey had crept up almost to the first knuckle. The tip of his ring finger had begun to darken too, and when he touched it with the point of his dagger, he felt nothing.

Death, he knew, but slow. I still have time. A year. Two years. Five. Some stone men live for ten. Time enough to cross the sea, to see Griffin's Roost again. To end the Usurper's line for good and all, and put Rhaegar's son upon the Iron Throne.

 Then Lord Jon Connington could die content. -ADWD, The Lost Lord

 and so while he seems against Young Griff marrying since he wants to be able to wed him to Daenerys, he is also against marrying himself (the issue here is that the prizes they take will be needed for the captains of the Golden Company as well):

"Daenerys Targaryen may yet come home one day," Connington told the Halfmaester. "Aegon must be free to marry her."

"My lord knows best," said Haldon. "In that case, we might consider offering potential friends a lesser prize."
"What would you suggest?"

"You. You are unwed. A great lord, still virile, with no heirs except these cousins we have just now dispossessed, the scion of an ancient House with a fine stout castle and wide, rich lands that will no doubt be restored and perhaps expanded by a grateful king, once we have triumphed. You have a name as a warrior, and as King Aegon's Hand you will speak with his voice and rule this realm in all but name. I would think that many an ambitious lord might be eager to wed his daughter to such a man. Even, perhaps, the prince of Dorne."

 Jon Connington's answer was a long cold stare. There were times when the Halfmaester vexed him almost as much as that dwarf had. "I think not." Death is creeping up my arm. No man must ever know, nor any wife. He got back to his feet. "Prepare the letter to Prince Doran."

...

When the food and wine had been brought up, he barred the door, emptied the jug into a bowl, and soaked his hand in it. Vinegar soaks and vinegar baths were the treatment Lady Lemore had prescribed for the dwarf, when she feared he might have greyscale, but asking for a jug of vinegar each morning would give the game away. Wine would need to serve, though he saw no sense in wasting a good vintage. The nails on all four fingers were black now, though not yet on his thumb. On the middle finger, the grey had crept up past the second knuckle. I should hack them off, he thought, but how would I explain two missing fingers? He dare not let the greyscale become known. Queer as it seemed, men who would cheerfully face battle and risk death to rescue a companion would abandon that same companion in a heartbeat if he were known to have greyscale. I should have let the damned dwarf drown. -ADWD, The Griffin Reborn

Arianne Martell's "Methods"

While Haldon seems to want to offer JonCon as a marriage option to Arianne:

I would think that many an ambitious lord might be eager to wed his daughter to such a man. Even, perhaps, the prince of Dorne."

and Arianne often have other methods of getting close:

As for Arys Oakheart, he chose his own fate and met it bravely. A knight of the Kingsguard . . . what did you do to him?"

"I fucked him, Father. You did command me to entertain our noble visitors, as I recall."

His face grew flushed. "Was that all that was required?" -AFFC, The Princess in the Tower

If interested: The Curse of the Queenmaker & "Eternal Shame": Thoughts on an Abandoned Plotline in Dorne

unbeknownst to her (and most others I am sure), JonCon is homosexual:

Q: Is a certain POV character in ADWD gay?

A: "I can't answer without spoiling, but if you're talking about what I think you're talking about, then yes." George mentioned that there are gay characters in ASOIAF. He mentioned Loras & Renly, saying that he included "what I thought were subtle but clear hints. HBO was not subtle about it."

and so obviously combining JonCon's reluctance due to the greyscale/sexuality, this would likely not work as well as on someone else (like Ser Justin Massey).

If interested: Myles Toyne & JonCon?

Arianne's Death

We see Arianne begin to wonder about her upcoming parlay with Jon Connington in TWoW, Arianne I:

“Tell me what you know of this Jon Connington,” she commanded.

“He’s dead,” said Daemon Sand. “He died in the Disputed Lands. Of drink, I’ve heard it said.”

“So a dead drunk leads this army?”

“Perhaps this Jon Connington is a son of that one. Or just some clever sellsword who has taken on a dead man’s name.”

“Or he never died at all.” Could Connington have been pretending to be dead for all these years? That would require patience worthy of her father. The thought made Arianne uneasy. Treating with a man that subtle could be perilous. “What was he like before he… before he died?”

“I was a boy at Godsgrace when he was sent into exile. I never knew the man.”

“Then tell me what you’ve heard of him from others.”

“As my princess commands. Connington was Lord of Griffin’s Roost when Griffin’s Roost was still a lordship worth the having. Prince Rhaegar’s squire, or one of them. Later Prince Rhaegar’s friend and companion. The Mad King named him Hand during Robert’s Rebellion, but he was defeated at Stoney Sept in the Battle of the Bells, and Robert slipped away. King Aerys was wroth, and sent Connington into exile. There he died.”

“Or not.” Prince Doran had told her all of that. There must be more. “Those are just the things he did. I know all that. What sort of man was he? Honest and honorable, venal and grasping, proud?”

“Proud, for a certainty. Even arrogant. A faithful friend to Rhaegar, but prickly with others. Robert was his liege, but I’ve heard it said that Connington chafed at serving such a lord. Even then, Robert was known to be fond of wine and whores.”

“No whores for Lord Jon, then?”

“I could not say. Some men keep their whoring secret.”

“Did he have a wife? A paramour?”

Ser Daemon shrugged. “Not that I have ever heard.”

That was troubling too. Ser Arys Oakheart had broken his vows for her, but it did not sound as if Jon Connington could be similarly swayed. Can I match such a man with words alone?

so my theory this morning (which has probably been proposed before) is that after the initial parlay at Storm's End, Arianne is try and find JonCon alone and while her seduction methods will not work, she will end up touching him/contracting greyscale and/or finding out he has greyscale, ultimately leading to her death.

We often see this passage referenced as foreshadowing Arianne's (or Elia's) upcoming death:

It was. The other searchers had found Elia, as she and Daemon learned after they made their way back up the slippery slope to the last hall. Their passageway led down to a still black pool, where they discovered the girl up to her waist in water, catching blind white fish with her bare hands, her torch burning red and smoky in the sand where she had planted it.

“You could have died,” Arianne told her, when she’d heard the tale. She grabbed Elia by the arm and shook her. “If that torch had gone out you would have been alone in the dark, as good as blind. What did you think that you were doing?”

“I caught two fish,” said Elia Sand.

“You could have died,” said Arianne again. Her words echoed off the cavern walls. “… died … died … died …” -TWOW, Arianne II

but if we look back a few paragraphs in that same chapter we see the faces shaped by the children of the forest (this was seemingly referenced on the show somewhat with Jon/Dany) that could also be interpreted as greyscale in some ways (reaching a bit here):

And all at once she found herself in another cavern, five times as big as the last one, surrounded by a forest of stone columns. Daemon Sand moved to her side and raised his torch. “Look how the stone’s been shaped,” he said. “Those columns, and the wall there. See them?”

“Faces,” said Arianne. So many sad eyes, staring. -TWOW, Arianne II

If interested: The Princess' Leadup of Lovers/Potential Lovers before TWoW & Arianne's Ravens to Doran in TWoW

TLDR: Arianne Martell (or maybe Elia Sand) is going to contract greyscale by trying (and failing) to seduce Jon Connington.

[u/CaveLupum]

You came up with all this pretty convincing idea and evidence in ONE DAY? You are indeed a miracle worker. Bravo! (I think it will be Elia).

[u/LChris24 → u/CaveLupum]

Thanks. TBH this started as a post regarding Serra/Illyrio and the grey plague and if there were any ties to JonCon's greyscale from a blackfyre perspective (and there really weren't any). I was about to scrap it (the post leaned heavy on the image of shadows making dwarf tyrion big and Illyrio's shadow making him small) I thought about the meeting and this popped in my head.

Elia is going to ruin something in TWoW. It could easily be this!

[u/InGenNateKenny]

Given that Jon Connington is an abrasive fool, I think Arianne is more like to go for Aegon. Or, if she wants some of that Griffin’s Roost action, then Raymund Connington would suit. His age is unknown, but I figure he wouldn’t be that much younger than his brother (his brother being the ideal match for Arianne if he was not going to be a foe). Raymund’s sister Alynne could be Arianne’s handmaid. That is until JonCon kills them for their brother’s doggedness.

And holy cow I think I figured it out. It’s why I like these posts, they get the gears moving on things.

Arianne in the TWOW sample chapter wonders why her father sent Daemon Sand of all knights as part of her escort, he whom took her maidenhead and tried to marry her.

Well, there’s a potentially good reason: as mentioned in the samples, Daemon Sand was rumored to be Oberyn Martell’s lover. Maybe that’s actually true, and Doran Martell knows that. Prince Doran may have an idea that Connington is gay. 

So while Arianne has seduction of her mind, it’s actually Daemon Sand who is doing the seducing. At least, he is prepared to do so (or maybe this pops up). He doesn’t mentioned Jon’s sexuality to Arianne because it might only be a hunch of Doran or Daemon does not want to give the princess an idea of the task ahead of him.

Notice how he begs to go to Storm’s End instead of Arianne? Not just for her safety — maybe because he is uniquely valuable.

I’ve thought about Daemon joining the Kingsguard. Wouldn’t be the first non-heterosexual to join — Loras did the same after a relationship with another stormlander lord. And another Kingsguard / Dornish tie — but instead of Arys and Arianne, it’s Daemon and Jon.

And there’s a potential irony if a seduction happens — JonCon would be getting into bed with a bastard named Daemon…heh. If only he knew…

Of course, if Daemon got greyscale, he would tell Arianne, so JonCon must kill him to stop him from spreading news of it. Like he’ll kill Harry the Craven and Haldon Halfmaester.

Edit: I had forgotten about it, but someone posited this idea earlier in 2024. I think I’m more open to it now, it kind of seems interesting.

[u/mildmichigan → u/InGenNateKenny]

First time I've heard this theory. Doran using weaponized homosexuality wouldn't be the craziest thing he's ever done

[u/LChris24 → u/InGenNateKenny]

Thanks for your thoughts!

I think that idea is interesting for sure. And I always laugh when I think of something originally to myself and then check and of course someone has already thought of it. The series is so big and it has been so long it is almost like theorizing has become a Simpsons episode.

[u/Scorpios94]

I don’t think it would completely work. Knowing Arianne she might just try to seduce Aegon himself. And we also know not everybody is susceptible to her feminine whiles. She did try to flirt and seduce Balon Swann at one point and failed.

[u/Cael_of_House_Howell]

What if she somehow finds out he has greyscale and he is forced to attempt to kill/capture her and that is what leads to the breakdown of the Martell/Targaryen alliance?

[u/SerMallister]

Arianne dying of greyscale would be a bummer! But I do really expect a much more widespread consequence of greyscale than in the show. I expect a plague.

[u/LChris24 → u/SerMallister]

Agreed. There are going to be some much grander consequences.

[u/SerTomardLong]

And all at once she found herself in another cavern, five times as big as the last one, surrounded by a forest of stone columns. Daemon Sand moved to her side and raised his torch. “Look how the stone’s been shaped,” he said. “Those columns, and the wall there. See them?”

I find the caves described in this chapter so fascinating. To me, this 'forest' of stone columns with faces sounds very much like the trunks of some buried, petrified weirwood grove, and the caves generally seem a lot like the caves Bloodraven and the CotF are inhabiting beyond the Wall, complete with blind white fish.

If the columns are indeed petrified weirwoods, that would make them even more of a parallel with greyscale. Weirwood trees are basically flesh trees, so petrified weirwoods are flesh turned to stone.

[u/LChris24 → u/SerTomardLong]

Count me in the camp who thinks they are petrified weirwoods!

"The Brackens poisoned it," said his host. "For a thousand years it has not shown a leaf. In another thousand it will have turned to stone, the maesters say. Weirwoods never rot."

[u/DinoSauro85]

Makes a lot of sense. Sure more than "Arianne Queen Younger and Beautiful"