7 Game of Thrones characters who could appear in Dunk and Egg prequel
2. Brynden Rivers, aka Bloodraven
One of the most intriguing figures in all of Westerosi history is Brynden Rivers, also known as Bloodraven. On Game of Thrones, we know him as the Three-Eyed Raven Bran meets beyond the Wall, although how he got there no one knows. Perhaps this show can fill in the blanks.
Bloodraven earned his nickname for the red birthmark on the left side of his face that was shaped like a bird. With albino skin that was sensitive to light, Bloodraven typically donned dark and hooded clothing. He was born in King’s Landing, one of several bastards to King Aegon IV; his siblings included Aegor ‘Bittersteel’ Rivers, Shiera Seastar and Daemon Blackfyre. Bittersteel and Bloodraven hated each other because their mothers came from the rival houses of Blackwood and Bracken respectively. The half-brothers were also both in love with their sister Shiera, who chose Bloodraven.
Aegon IV was a terrible king whose decrees fostered deceit and hatred throughout the realm. His final act as king was to legitimize all of his bastards, which led to the bloody Blackfyre rebellions. Upon Aegon’s death, Daemon Blackfyre took up arms against the trueborn heir Daeron II. Bloodraven remained loyal to Daeron when this first Blackfyre rebellion broke out, using his private longbowmen company the Raven’s Teeth to defeat and kill Daemon alongside his twin sons in the Battle of the Redgrass Field. Bittersteel, who fought with Daemon, culminating in a duel with Bloodraven where the latter lost an eye but the former lost the battle. Bittersteel fled across the Narrow Sea and founded the Golden Company.
Soon after, Bloodraven became the Hand of the King and master of whisperers under his nephew King Aerys I. During this time, Bloodraven effectively ruled the realm alongside his paramour Shiera Seastar, and many of the small folk hated him for his harsh punishments.
Bloodraven uses thousands of spies to collect information on everybody. We see him work in The Mystery Knight, the third Dunk and Egg novella. While attending a tourney at a castle called Whitewalls, Dunk and Egg realize that many of the lords present are supporters of the rebel Blackfyre faction. Eventually a knight named Glendon Ball is forced to joust Daemon II, and he plants the rebel into the ground. After Daemon is defeated, Bloodraven arrives with an army of thousands of men to quash the rebellion before it begins. Daemon meets Bloodraven and demands a one-on-one fight, but Bloodraven just arrests him and the treasonous lords since nobody wanted to support Daemon after he lost the joust.
Bloodraven was also around for the third Blackfyre rebellion, and advocates for the execution of Bittersteel after he is captured. However, the weak Aerys I decides to send Bittersteel to the Wall, which he leaves for Essos.
When another succession crisis hits the realm, Bloodraven callS a great council to pick a new king. Ever the Blackfyre hater, Bloodraven disingenuously invited Aenys Blackfyre to participate in the council only to execute the man once he arrived. After Egg is chosen to become king, his first act is to arrest Bloodraven for his role in Aenys’ death. When Aemon decides to join the Night’s Watch, Bloodraven is among the prisoners sent with him.
Bloodraven is eventually elected the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch and serves in that position for over 10 years. However, he disappearS in a ranging beyond the Wall about 45 years before the events of Game of Thrones. Bran Stark finds him decades later in a cave with weirwoods trees growing in and out of his body. Bloodraven teaches Bran how to use greensight and skin changing-magic, but some think that the old sorcerer’s intentions are malicious.