Conclusion
Lyanna Stark died in childbirth at the Tower of Joy. Her son was Jon Snow. And she made Ned swear an oath to her that he would protect this boy as his own, and would never give up her secret lest they incur the wrath of Robert Baratheon. Only one man besides Ned may know what happened at the Tower of Joy that day- Howland Reed, who was Neds bannerman and the only man along with Ned to survive the battle. The implications of what all of this means for the future of the series could be huge and must wait for my follow-up article, which I hope to share soon. Needless to say I believe that Jon Snow is the physical manifestation of the eponymous Song of Ice and Fire, and that the future of Westeros is inexorably linked to his destiny. There are many other small clues that, for the sake of brevity, I have omitted to mention here (Daenerys' vision in the House of the Undying of a blue flower growing from a chink in a wall of ice could inspire another 1000 words!) but I am happy to discuss these things in the comments below, or on
twitter. Until then my dear friends take care, stay safe with the few you can trust and flee as far from the terrors of the North as you can. It is not that I doubt the strength of your courage, or even the reach of your sword-arms, yet deep in my heart I know you are but the children of summer...
AND WINTER IS COMING...