Death of Lyanna (Alternate Theory)

[Charming Serpent]

It is 7am here eastern and I havent slept in like 20 some odd hours so forgive me if this post is short and perhaps doesn't make sense. I will repost later and with greater detail.

I was laying here about to doze off when a thought randomly popped into my head about Lyanna and her death.

What if she hadn't died in childbirth like everyone thought?

Very few details are given except from what we read from Ned PoV. All that is stated in there is the room smelled of blood and roses, her clothing was spattered with her own gore and that the fever had taked her strength.

I have two alternate theories: (pardon if they have been posted before)

1. Lyanna harmed herself out of grief. Whether that being about the news of Rhaegar or perhaps she had finally learned about her father and brother. She did state how she wished to rest beside them as one of her last comments before she died. Perhaps a botched suicide was the reason for her injuries and fever.

2. Someone at the Tower of Joy was ordered or took it upon themselves to harm her if things went bad. Now that is a stretch considering the Kingsguard that were there, but crazier things have been ordered and happened. AND we don't know if there were any "civilians" present. There is one sentence in AGoT from Ned's 1st PoV that nags me ..

"Ned remembered the way she had smiled then, how tightly her fingers had clutched his as she gave up her hold on life, the rose petals spilling from her palm, dead and black. After that he remebered nothing. They had found him still holding her body, silent with grief."

Who is THEY? We know it was 7 against 3 and only he and Howland survived that fight. So, who is THEY if only Howland was still alive? Someone else was there and that can have major implications concerning many major theories. A caretaker, a wetnurse (Wylla?) etc etc ....

3? One could also throw in there that Lyanna tried to intervene during the Tower of Joy fight and somehow got hurt.

Possible baby Aegon theory and rant:

Either way, it is never stated that a baby is present (yet). We know Ned travels from there to Starfall in Dorne with Dawn in hand and Ashara throws herself into the sea after. Perhaps that is where a baby was being kept. Arthur Dayne WAS Rhaegars closest friend. And though Ned is the paragon of honor per se, it seems odd that he would go all the way to Starfall with Dawn whether he had something with Ashara or not while the war was not offically over and the fact that his sister had just died. (perhaps with a child there or not)

Well, talk amongst yourselves.

[TK-421]

Well, I give you a big "E" for Effort but no passing grade.

Your #1, a botched suicide: No true Stark would ever commit suicide and Lyanna was as true a Stark as Ned.

Your #2, murder: The presence of the Kingsguard and the question "why?" pop up here to say this was unlikely. Unless, it was one of the Kingsguard who did it, but again "why?"

Your #3, an accident during a fight is the more probable and what if the secret Ned has been hiding was that he was responsible for her death, however, I still it is a simple matter of her dying in childbirth.

[Apopas]

Originally Posted by TK-421

Your #1, a botched suicide: No true Stark would ever commit suicide and Lyanna was as true a Stark as Ned.

When someone goes to such a high level of despair so to be able to commit suicide, then names count as nothing. Stark or not she was a young girl and maybe she wasn't as strong in will as we think.
Also, yes, Charming Serpent has a point here. Who is this THEY?

[DeannaBelle]

"They." My grandma talked a lot about "them" for the last year or so before she died....

[Charming Serpent]

LoL DB. Still though, I am quite surprised that while I was gone in the UK that I had no massive responses to this thread. TK, I expected as well as Boaz, Kiwi or Egg, but only seemed to rope one out of the 3 in.

We assume Lyanna died in child birth. I agree with that theory myself, but the ones I offered up do not seem out of the realm of possibility considering GRRM's pechance for throwing things up like that.

Also, seriously..... who are the "They" that Eddard sepaks about?

Speculate please.

[MrWright]

Originally Posted by Charming Serpent

LoL DB. Still though, I am quite surprised that while I was gone in the UK that I had no massive responses to this thread. TK, I expected as well as Boaz, Kiwi or Egg, but only seemed to rope one out of the 3 in.

We assume Lyanna died in child birth. I agree with that theory myself, but the ones I offered up do not seem out of the realm of possibility considering GRRM's pechance for throwing things up like that.

Also, seriously..... who are the "They" that Eddard sepaks about?

Speculate please.

My speculation would be that Howland Reed (who of course is a survivor of the skirmish) and another bannerman who died of his wounds later in the day.

But, then again, it could also mean Dornish peasants who helped tear down the Tower of Joy and build the cairns of the people that died there.

Or...it could have been reinforcements from Robert's army in case there was any trouble.

Lots of speculation...I'm sure it'll be clarified if one of the Stark children (or perhaps Catelyn) talks to Howland Reed.

[Mechaniik]

I think it was just Ned's emotional state - 'they' are Howland Reed