Part 6
This next post investigates the crime scene of Waymar’s supposed murder and continues my ongoing analysis of the chapter, beginning with the end. Here’s the next passage:
>Royce's body lay facedown in the snow, one arm outflung. The thick sable cloak had been slashed in a dozen places. Lying dead like that, you saw how young he was. A boy.
Martin begins this next passage with Will’s objectification of Ser Waymar Royce, referring to him as a “body”, meaning that Will already assumes that Waymar is dead, which is a point of contention if you’ve been following this series of posts. If Will had not “closed his eyes” or taken a moment to investigate, or if he had shown some respect for what he thought was his fallen brother, he might have been able to determine whether Waymar was truly dead or alive. But, scared, feeling wary, he doesn’t. And so if we take a closer look at the scene…
Every seasoned crime scene investigator understands that the position and location of a body can reveal important clues. In this scenario, Martin has placed Waymar face down, which means that, if Waymar were still alive, he could simply be oblivious to Will's presence. And by obscuring Waymar's face, Martin effectively prevents Will (and us) from discerning his actual state. This could imply a deliberate attempt on Martin's part to conceal the truth about Waymar's condition.
Furthermore, I suspect that Waymar’s body position, possibly resembling someone meditating, likely hasn’t changed much since he initially went to his knees. In yoga, this arrangement is known as Child’s pose. Though vague, the text gives us that Waymar initially went to his knees, possibly sitting back on to his heels, lowerIng his upper body forward so his injured eye ends up in the snow. The text, according to Will, specifically tells us that Waymar’s one arm—likely the one on the side with the injury from his melee—reaches out in front of him, while implicitly suggesting the other lies flat beside his body. This prompts me to contemplate whether the author is drawing a symbolic connection between Waymar's position and the “fallen, like” individuals that Will observes just before the beginning of the chapter. Will's thought about Waymar—“Lying dead like that, you saw how young he was. A boy.”—presents an interesting comparison.(A Child’s pose?)
Next, there’s an important correlation to make, in regards to Waymar’s location. It’s, right next to the hilt of the broken sword he drops. This detail is significant as it bolsters the argument that Waymar has not moved from the spot where he originally went to his knees. Before going to his knees, as a reflex, I think we can reasonably assume, Waymar releases the hilt of his broken sword to cover his “eyes”.
As Will sees blood seeping between the fingers of one hand—suggesting that he is using both hands to cover his eyes—it’s important to note that this act necessitates him to suddenly let go of the broken sword. This point is critical because it indicates that Waymar drops the hilt of his broken sword immediately after it shatters, rather than tossing it away, thus clearly marking the location where he drops to his knees. This implies that Waymar probably never moves throughout what Will interprets as his “cold butchery.” Consequently, this could suggest that Waymar was either assaulted and remained motionless or that he was never assaulted at all. This certainly adds to the shadow of doubt cast by Waymar’s reanimation. If he wasn't attacked, then what were the “watchers” doing during that time?
If it’s true that Waymar was never attacked, and he hasn’t moved from the spot where his blade shattered, then where are the broken fragments? The hundred, or so, brittle shards of crystal that scattered like a rain of needles. What happened to them?
While there’s evidence earlier suggesting that Will heard the “watchers”, as they moved forward, stepping on the shards, the shards now appear to be missing. I believe the sounds the shards made were like sharp icicles breaking. Part 5 in this series explains how I conclude that the “rain of needles” or shards were made of crystal.
For your convenience, here’s the text explaining where Will found the hilt of Waymar’s sword:
>He found what was left of the sword a few feet away, the end splintered and twisted like a tree struck by lightning. Will knelt, looked around warily, and snatched it up. The broken sword would be his proof. Gared would know what to make of it, and if not him, then surely that old bear Mormont or Maester Aemon. Would Gared still be waiting with the horses? He had to hurry.
And here’s when he drops it amongst the rain of needles(Notice the word “eyes” is plural)…
>A scream echoed through the forest night, and the longsword shivered into a hundred brittle pieces, the shards scattering like a rain of needles. Royce went to his knees, shrieking, and covered his eyes. Blood welled between his fingers.
Next, understanding the dozen, or so, slashes in the thick sable cloak:
In a previous post I present compelling evidence that the cloak was already damaged before Waymar’s alleged death. In summary, it had been caught and torn by the young saplings hewn down by Waymar while climbing the slope to the ridge. It’s also worth noting that Will never examines Waymar’s armor for any damage.
In the end, Will never confirms Waymar's death. In reality, it appears quite likely that Waymar is simply nursing his wounds in the snow, when Will arrives. Will mistakenly believes him to be dead. Furthermore, it appears as though Waymar may have never been attacked, and the missing crystal shards might have been gathered up by the “watchers” to be found later by Ghost. But that wouldn’t have taken hours. How long was Will in the tree?