One of the most beloved characters in George R.R.
Martin’s World of Ice and Fire is Ser Duncan the Tall, commonly known as Dunk from the
“Dunk and Egg” novellas.
It’s not proven, but there are clues to believe that Dunk is an ancestor of both Brienne
of Tarth as well as Hodor.
Maybe even Sandor.
Fun fact.
The “Dunk and Egg” novellas are actually part of a series called “A Knight of the
Seven Kingdoms,” and Game Thrones had an episode with that very title.
In that episode, Ser Duncan the Tall’s descendant, Brienne, was knighted.
“Arise, Brienne of Tarth.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.”
Ser Duncan the Tall claimed to be a knight before the Tourney at Ashford Meadow, but
Dunk might have been lying.
He might not have actually been a knight at the time.
With that said, Ser Duncan the Tall is the definition of a True Knight.
Brave and badass.
Loving and caring.
Chivalrous and above all else selfless.
Case in point, the remnants of a letter by Archmaester Gyldayn suggest that Ser Duncan
the Tall sacrificed his own life to save others at an event known as the Tragedy of Summerhall.
A lot of people died at the Tragedy of Summerhall, including his lifelong friend, Egg, more formally
known as King Aegon V Targaryen.
Thankfully, a few people survived thanks to Dunk.
One of those people was Rhaella Targaryen, a woman who would later become Queen Rhaella
Targaryen.
Rhaella was married to Aerys the Second, otherwise known as the Mad King.
Princess Rhaella gave birth to Rhaegar outside of Summerhall as it burned down.
An argument could be made that Rhaegar eventually became Azor Ahai, or at least, one of the
several Azor Ahai’s.
An argument could also be made that Rhaegar’s son is the Prince That Was Promised.
Jon Snow.
Jon Snow went on to unify some of the free folk and some of the night’s watch as well
as some of the north and some of the Vale.
He also got Daenerys Stormborn on his side, and she herself had formed a coalition of
Dothraki, Unsullied, and others men-at-arms.
If Ser Duncan the Tall had not sacrificed himself to save people such as Rhaella, then
there would be no Rhaegar and no Jon Snow.
In other words, Dunk the Lunk played a part in saving humanity from the White Walkers.
And here’s where it gets interesting.
It is unclear what happened at Summerhall, but evidence suggests that King Aegon V was
trying to hatch dragon eggs.
The evidence also suggests that he might have been using wildfire to hatch those dragon
eggs.
Unfortunately the wildfire got out of control, and thus, the tragedy.
Wildfire is very interesting.
Wildfire cannot be put out with water.
Instead, it burns fiercely until it is no more.
It also seeps into cloth, wood, leather, and even steel.
Thoros of Myr is a great fighter, but an argument could be made that the reason he beat Sandor
Clegane three times in melees was because Thoros lit his sword on fire with wildfire,
and Sandor is afraid of fire.
Thoros also lit his sword on fire with wildfire when he was the first to breach the wall of
Pyke during the Greyjoy Rebellion.
Since wildfire is able to set alight even steel, it is very dangerous.
The pyromancers who create wildfire claim that the only types of fire that are hotter
than wildfire are dragonflame, the fires beneath the earth, and the sun.
The pyromancers also claim that they use magical spells to create wildfire.
The pyromancers are very careful when creating and storing wildfire, and they have a safety
system in place of an accident.
When Tyrion was prepping wildfire in advance of Stannis Baratheon, the Wisdom Hallyne told
him that there are spells on the ceilings.
If the wildfire went up in flame, the ceiling would collapse and the fire would be covered
with sand.
That raises the question: did they take the same precautions at Summerhall?
We know that there was a fire at Summerhall, and we know that pyromancers were there during
the Tragedy.
A reasonable theory is that King Aegon the Fifth was trying to hatch dragon eggs through
the use of wildfire.
In theory, they might have taken similar precautions regarding sand.
The reason that I believe this might be the case is because, many years prior, Ser Duncan
the Tall had a dream.
In some ways, Dunk’s dream was similar to Jamie Lannister’s dream when he was sleeping
on a weirwood stump.
During Jamie’s dream, he was confronted by dead people such as Ser Arthur Dayne, Gerald
Hightower, Jon Darry, Oswell Whent, and Prince Lewyn Martell.
Those five men had been Jamie’s brothers on the Kingsguard, and all five of them were
dead at the time.
Rhaegar was also in that dream.
So Jaime saw dead people in the dream, but he also saw living people such as Cersei and
Brienne.
During Dunk’s dream, he was confronted by Ser Arlan of Pennytree, Baelor Breakspear,
and his son, Prince Valarr.
Three men who were dead at the time.
Dunk also saw the likes of Big Rob the simpleton, Ser Bennis of the Brown Shield, Treb, Wet
Wat, old Lem, red-eyed Pate, and the rest of the Osgrey men all of whom were still alive
at the time.
During this dream, Dunk was digging a deep grave for his late horse, Chestnut.
But then, Ser Bennis of the Brown Shield showed up, and he encouraged Dunk to dig more graves
for the rest of them.
As a result of this dream, Dunk sent them all home so that they wouldn’t get killed
in the upcoming confrontation with Lady Rohanne Webber’s men.
An argument could be made that this dream wasn’t special in any way.
This dream might have just been a reflection of Dunk’s pains, regrets, and fears.
However, the end of this dream was peculiar, considering what happens decades later at
the Tragedy of Summerhall.
Let me know in the comment section if you think that this dream was prophetic or not.
Here is how it ends.
Quote: The spade slipped from Dunk’s hands.
“Egg,” he cried, “run!
We have to run!”
But the sands were giving way beneath their feet.
When the boy tried to scramble from the hole, its crumbling sides gave way and collapsed.
Dunk saw the sands wash over egg, burying him as he opened his mouth to shout.
He tried to fight his way to him, but the sands were rising all around him, pulling
him down into the grave.
It’s worth noting that, not long thereafter, Lady Rohanne gave Dunk a new horse.
A Dornish sand steed whom she had named Flame.
Let’s revisit the end of that dream by replacing the word sand with flame.
Dunk saw the flames wash over egg, burying him as he opened his mouth to shout.
He tried to fight his way to him, but the flames were rising all around him, pulling
him down into the grave.