How Arthur Dayne became Sword of the Morning (Game of Thrones)
Vložit
- čas přidán 24. 02. 2022
- Arthur Dayne of the Mad King's kingsguard is the last sword of the morning.
His whole character backstory from A song of Ice and Fire explained
Contact ► whycreatevideos@gmail.com
Twitter ► whycreator
Tower of Joy thumbnail art by - www.deviantart.com/samo94
Ned Stark Tower of Joy fight art by - www.artstation.com/florianbiege
The mad king Aerys Targaryen art by - www.deviantart.com/zgfisher
Ashara Dayne art by - www.deviantart.com/bellabergolts
Dawn sword art by - www.artstation.com/thrax
Starfall art by - hector_ortiz
Winterfell art by - www.artstation.com/fedemusett... - Zábava
Legends has it the white walkers bulit the wall to keep Arthur dayne in South
I seent em do it
😂😂😂
That’s great 😂
yep Makes sense
Lmao
I’d take an Arthur Dayne mini series in a heartbeat.
Half a heartbeat
I feel like Arthur Dayne is basically like a more heroic Lancelot, and Jaime is like an inverted Lancelot with more focus on his flaws.
Yeah. I think the same thing.
Thats actually the best description of Jaime I have ever seen.
@@andrewvasquez7872 Thanks, I think about it a lot
More like King "Arthur"?
Lancelot was more like Jamie both were flawed. Arthur is like galahad everything lancelot couldn't be
This guy's a legend in my eye. Was in one scene in the entirety of the show and gave us the best sword fight in the history of GOT. A force to be reckoned with, Ser Arthur fookin Dayne, the Sword of the Morning!
He should have fought with one sword and not this dual wielding bollocks. One sword, _the_ sword: Dawn. I'll be honest and say I don't specifically remember but I think Ned should have had Ice.
@@orsonlannister9847 Starks don't use Ice in combat.. especially Ned.
It's unfortunate that HOTD will not give us more insight. I really want them to do a Dunk &Egg- Robert's rebellion prequel.
If you like the actor then check out black sails
@@tylerchapman9234 they might depending on the popularity of HOTD
That dual wielding sword display he put on in the show was epic.
Fun fact it was actually the actor who played the night king fought in Arthur daynes place during that fight. I guess apparently he’s an irl sword G
@Silent Man of course
Garbage you own Excalibur yet duel wield?” Lame
If you thought that was epic then imagine him wielding a single great sword that seemed “alive with light”, why the hell would Arthur use 2 swords when he was known as the Sword of the Morning and wielder of Dawn.
I agree the dueling was certainly epic and we should see more of sir Arthur day
Arthur Dayne is truly built different
I would actually love a series revolving around the Kings Guard starting with those who served Aegon The Conqueror. We’d get to see all of the truly amazing battles and duels of Westeros history. We could see The Trident. The Smiling Knight. The sack of Kings Landing and death of The Mad King. So many stories.
Absolutely, there are so many stories from GOT because of RRs writing style.
That would be really really cool That would be really really cool but unfortunately that is what is considered to be good television and that is not something that is gonna be shown in the game of thrones anymore
@@GeoffreyWareHOTD is good
@@GeoffreyWareyup especially cuz Hollywood is a shadow of its former self . All these directors and show runners know how to do nowadays is touch children
Ser Arthur is such a badass. I didnt like that they made him a dual wielder but he did look cool in GOT.
Elden Ring is out so you won't hear from me in a while
Yea me to brother
nerd
Why yes, we are.
Hope its not too long! Your videos make my day.
Thank you for still making this content, it cheers me up 😊
same. currently watching this, air raid sirens blasting in background... this video helps with staying positive.
@@mistset xxxxxx stay strong ❤️
Agreed!
@@mistset Jesus I’m sorry
@@mistset stay safe I hope you guys are ok!
In a perfect world Dawn, Dark Sister and Blackfyre would have been introduced and eventually used in the battle of Winterfell. They could have been introduced via Howland Reed, Bloodraven and the Golden Company respectively. Arya could’ve set needle aside and dual wielded dark sister with the Targaryen dagger.
Arya is a 10 year old girl calm down
@@maxb8749 She’s 18 in season 8.
Dawn isn’t made of Valyrian steel. It probably wouldn’t do much good against the others.
You, a plebian: morning wood
Me, a patrician: sword of the morning
Thank you for making a video of my
favorite character in game of thrones/ ASoIaF. This made my week and made me happy before midterms! 🗡 🌟
Really like your content mate, well spoken, well told. Cheers.
This guy seemed so badass wish we could see more of him
Yeah like it took 3 or 4 seasons to finally see Ser Barriston in action, but it was worth it.
Nice video just one thing I don't think that Ice would have been used to fight Arthur Dayne, it's often described as much too big to be used effectively in battle, it's only really used for rituals and ceremonies.
I love Arthur but my favorite fighter is definitely Cregan Stark, the man Aemon Targaryen said was the best swordsman he ever fought.
Cregan also said the same about Aemon, its hard to determine who's the greatest ever however due to alot of them being centuries apart
Only because he never crossed swords with dayne, and if he did you wouldnt be able to quote him afterward
He never fought anyone though
@@roryjohnston6567 We don't definitively know that though. It's tough to compare recent warriors like Arthur or Barristan to older ones like Aemon or Cregan or Daemon Blackfyre, because there's nobody who ever could have seen warriors from the pre Blackfyre Rebellion era and ones from the Robert's Rebellion era.
Outstanding, exactly why I have all notifications on! ❤️
Arthur Dayne is a very good standout character when compared to the likes of Gregor Clegane, or Joffreys brutal knights in his service
You mean incompetent knights, only balon swan, loras tyrell and jaime lannister is good at swordfightning but loras is on his deathbed and jamie has lost his right hand wich only left balon swan as last good kingsguard
Simply put...this guy had the most epic role ...when you consider screen time + peformance this guy was awesome!!
I bet Arthur Dayne is base of King Arthur with the whole mythical Sword Excalibur but more knight than King. I think the kinguards of Aerys the second era were the best but to bad they serve a shit king. Also do get the idea that If Arthur had a son before joining the kingguard he name him Mordred just a fun thought.
Keep up the awesome work!!
One of the best, if not the best, sword duel I've ever seen. Epic.
Love your content so much!!
Fantastic video as always! Keep it up your channel is awesome!
Great video and tribute to pretty much my favorite character from the series. Ser AD forever!!
One of my favorite characters in the books. The greatest warrior.
The thing I like about Arthur Dayne is the obvious allusion to Lancelot. First Knight of the king, greatest warrior in the land, immaculate public persona (likely hiding salacious secrets regarding the king's woman/women).
He's a key figure in the mystery of Jon's (and Dany's) parentage.
God I love the lor behind this scene with young Ed fighting sir Dayne. Wish the show would of went into more details about Dayne.
Its 'Ned'
Lore
I wish the show ended in a way that made sense instead of rushed and the big pile of pig poo we ended with!
The sword of the morning is most likely an inherited title from the first battle of dawn.
Maybe the Dayne ancestor went on a journey to find something that can win the war against the Wights and their leadership, it lead him to Westeros and to where the castle would be built (meteor crash site).
Feeling the power of the metal he had it forged into the sword. When he saw the sword light up the darkness (caused by the first Long Night) they were in he called it Dawn. Thus goes my theory on the sword, this sword metal being a natural form of Valerian Steel that others wanted to replicate it, thus the origins of Valerian Steel, or so goes my other theory.
In short the hero spoken of in that legend was a Dayne and the fiery sword was Dawn (it most likely works well in conjunction with fire magic when compared to other sword metals, bar Valerian Steel) or would go on to be the foundation of the noble house.
All good heroes journey in their story to find a powerful artefact to win a great victory, the journey also makes sense on it's own, however, the meteor just landing within sight of the Dayne would lend more to it being during the Long Night.
Excellently well put. I thought much the same, and I've heard several theories that "Dawn" in essence was the first "Valyrian" Steel blade, and was a weapon for the first long-winter, and that it was only with dragon's fire via that of the dragonriders of Valyria and magic of the old-age, that the meteoric phenomenon of Dawn steel, could be replicated, and over the years, imbued into the coveted mighty Valyrian steel, now lost and forgotten to the ages and the bygone catastrophy of the doom of Valyria.
That is fine and dandy friend, but it is not the way Martin wrote it. Maybe you should write your own fantasy world. To qualify for being chosen "The Sword of the Morning", is, in fact hereditary, you must be a Dayne to be in the conversation. But that title must be earned, as the OP said. Some times no one in House Dayne is deemed worthy of carrying Dawn, and therefore it stays put, awaiting for the next Sword of the Morning.
@@TheAxon8888 That's what I said. It's passed down to those that are worthy in that line, I think anyone who reads the books knows this.
Ser Gerold was envious of his cousin, he wanted to wield the title and sword, but wasn't worthy of that title or the sword, so it rests at Castle Dayne waiting for the next worthy Dayne.
Ser Selmy says that Ser Arthur with Dawn is most likely undefeatable in single combat. I also believe that the Dayne who wishes to be The Sword of the Morning and Dawn must possess great skill and strength.
So one can assume some Daynes are born to use Dawn, that's why only a Dayne can be Sword of the Morning. Meaning a Dayne with the title Sword of the Morning who carries Dawn will be needed in the coming battle against the wights and white walkers.
I assume the video covered how a Dayne is chosen (it's been a while since I watched this video) so I didn't need to detail how a Dayne is chosen but referenced it is inherited, so I put in a theory about how the first Dayne found Dawn and when.
@@theautisticcreative2619 Fair enough. Thanks for your kind answer and clarification.
Dawn the Lightbringer
Arrthur was only in one scene in got and is still one of my favourite characters
The dual swords thing was silly. Especially when he has one of the most legendary swords in the world from which his title comes. Dawn - wielded by the sword of the morning
What do you mean? It perfectly fits his title - Arthur Dayne, The Sword of the Morning Plus One Sword
@@nicholaskenneth113 I thought it was swords of the morning?
Definitely. I just made a comment like this
It was 7 vs 3 I believe. I personally think that with such skill and circumstances, it's forgivable, if not totally understandable to dual wield in order to help your odds.
I think the producers couldn't figure out how to make a single greatsword look flashy, makes sense because fighting with one just isn't flashy at all.
Yeah he was hands down the best swordsman in Game of Thrones.
We have the Badass then the Sea Snake and now the BLOODY sword of the GODDAMN MORNING !!! The coolness is going through the roof !!! Thanks for the content bro 🙏🏾🖤
Ohhh man I missed this upload 🥲
I'm gonna love this one!
Irresistible fantasy .. God knows how much time fans have invested in analysing and retelling sub-parts of GRRM’s brilliant imaginary lore.
Great video!!!
Jaime struggling against the smiling knight:
Ser Arthur: Take a break kid, you are in for a show 😎
I like the theory that Dawn is magical and "chooses" it's wielder. The other theory is that Dawn imbues its wielder with magical ability like foresight giving them the advantage of seeing their opponents next move. This would make them seem like an unbeatable swordsman and does make sense when you hear the lines about how a characters say the SotM was an excellent swordsman but put Dawn in their hand and they were unbeatable.
It would be cool anyway. I want to see a battle with a Valyrian Steel Sword and Dawn. On the Redgrass field when the two Valyrian swords clashed they said it made otherworldly sounds or whatever.
Wasnt it because dawn was made of out meteor making it the strongest sword? Hence why when he battled the smiling knight his sword was being chipped away hence if arthur had dawn no sword would be able to last long .
Then the sword did not see that dagger coming? Even if it isn't completely canon how else would Sir Arthur Dayne loose?
@@jamesahn9910 we don't really know a lot about it so there are a lot of different theories. It could be something as simple as the sword is just lighter and more durable than all others.
@@jouzu2477 one of the theories is that Howland Reed used whatever magic he might have learned on the Isle of Faces to distract or injure Arthur Dayne which helped Ned finish him off. Ned says that he couldn't have done it without the help of Howland so it could be a possible answer to how they defeated Arthur and the other two Kingsguards.
Just re watched that scene my friend who passed away always said that Arthur was letting ned start win and coulda killed him a few times but didn't. I always thought about that.
czcams.com/video/7UOryLeU86A/video.html this is the scene I'm talking about
While in the show it appears that Arthur could have finished it quicker but it doesn't make sense that the greatest swordsman in the world would throw a fight to the death.
@@tylerchapman9234 right I totally agree
@@tylerchapman9234 maybe the actor was just a better swordsman so it looked like that who knows
He was trying to subdue him cause it was his sister he was guarding.
Arthur Dayne was a fookin legend
Imagine being so good at swordplay the nobles you serve give you what is effectively a lightsaber
Sounds like he belonged in the Age of Heroes
I like the idea of Howland Reed being in love with Arthur's sister and secretly going to live with him in the swamps up north to save her own house from Roberts Wrath. By returning the sword and setting up his story for Jon Snow Ned saves house Dain in the process how could they not equally love and respect each other. Sansa's short sightedness over picking Evil Jofferey instead of a Dain heir or Reed heir I find really interesting. Bet she could wish to have that choice back no matter how the final 2 books play out. I love the intrigue of this part of the story.
Sansa has always been a dumbass. It infuriated me that in the show she was made 'smart' because she went through so much while Tyrion was made the opposite for the exact same reason. D&D are stupid.
@@izzad777 in the books it really shows that by her actions she doomed her father. Basically getting him killed when she ran to the lanisters to tattle on her father about his plan. Before she had any clue what a creature Jofferey was. Eddard just wanted to get as far away from kings landing as possible with his family and she F'd everything up.
In which book she get these choice please can you tell me
Mainly it is from In Deep Geek's theories on his CZcams channel but they add up to the source material in the stories for sure. If you look at Ashara Dayne's storyline it all adds up going all the way back to the mystery knight of the laughing tree in book 3 told by Meera which was where Ashara and Holand Reed met @@Akash-pp1yo
I think this theory makes the most sense. I believe it says that Howland saves Ned from Ser Arthur Dayne? Well what if that means more literally that, since Howland got Ashara pregnant, he talked Arthur down from a bloody finishing fight and instead worked out a deal of some kind. Who knows, maybe Ser Arthur even survived in secret
I don't think Ned fought with ice or even had it with him at the tower of joy. Always thought it was more of a ceremonial blade to him. May be wrong of course but I can't recall any mention of bed fighting with Ice.
I don't think he fought with it either. I think I remember someone saying it was too large and heavy to be used in combat, hence was divided into two by tywin Lannister
As far as I know it was more of an executioners weapon, than a combat piece.
Absolutely true .. I don't remember exactly in which book and where but I'm sure i read that he used a different sword for fighting and in combats
Yeah it's far too heavy, in fact, the Lannisters were actually quite smart to divide it into two other swords. It's disrespectful, sure, but it increases the use of a very rare weapon by a lot and would have meant that the Starks could actually make use of it. Although I wonder, if Ice was so large, who was it made for in the first place? A giant of a man, long forgotten?
He is pretty badass…even without his Uber sweet cosmic sword! 👍🏾
He needs his own book
I, for sure, would read spin-off books about the adventures of Arthur Dayne and Oberyn Martell!
A Paladin, amongst knights.
I think they will make a prequel season of “ Robert’s Rebellion “ I didn’t think they would do “HOTD “or upcoming “Dunk and Egg”
What makes Ser Arthur Dayne so great is that we only get a serving. There's something's that need to be left alone to maintain its impact/power. The Sword of The Morning is one of them.
I hope Dawn is used to destroy the others. Dawn finally bringing an end to the Long Night would be very poetic
I find it a reach to say Ned would have fought Arthur with Ice, its far more ceremonial than that. To my knowledge the books never mention him using it in battle, or any Stark for that matter
Exactly what I was thinking basing it off the size and how Ned said he could barely hold/swing Robert’s war-hammer
I agree. Ice was to valuable to the Starks. And lugging it around all of Westro's would of been brutal.
J imagine if there was a stark that was big enough that could wield it in battle. Just cutting ppl in half left and right like guts in berserk
@@W47689 That would be amazing. But sadly you'd need a Stark to be built like Gregor Clegane to do that, literally superhumanly strong. I think there's only three people in ASOIAF mentioned to have that kind of strength, Gregor, Maelys Blackfyre(who's been dead for decades), and Torgold Tollett(who's been dead for thousands of years).
@@anatoldenevers237 well if look at the books Ned has a hard time lifting Robert's Warhammer even let alone swinging it over his head to execute someone I think there's multiple characters that could potentially wield it I think it's the practicality of it it's as wide as a large man's hand and long wouldn't be much use at all in close settings like indoors or thick woods
Thanks!
wooooahhh
3:00 House Velaryon also has the white hair and purple eyes, but they are also Valyrian descent with the Targaryens. So there are other houses in the seven kingdoms with the trait. The one Baratheon would have had it if it wasn’t for them always having black hair due to the heavy intermarriage between the families.
I don’t think you mentioned it in the video but apologies if I missed it but the title of the sword of the morning and dawn isn’t inherited like other swords you can only wield it if you are seen as worthy.
Thanks for the video, really enjoyable
Sir Arthur Dayne, Imagine keeping a dying girl from her brother and thinking yourself a knight at all.
Arthur Dwayne = Mance Rayder!! If you don’t believe me, reread Jon chapter 28 in ADWD, when Jon fights Rattleshirt (actually Mance glamoured). Has completely changed my whole look on the events of the tower of joy. I can’t take credit for this theory, I learnt it from Order of the Greenhand.
See, the main problem is that Mance already has an entire life history of serving the Watch, deserting, and becoming King Beyond the Wall. Correct me if I'm wrong. So unless he convinced several people to lie or has lived two lives, it's not really possible? Not denying that there's more to Mance and Arthur than it seems though. I'm actually fairly sure they're both alive.
He was slaying with his sword in the mornings. That’s how. What a chad.
Video is amazing but House Dayne's seat named Starfall. Skyfall belongs to House Fowler.
"Skyreach" is house Fowler's seat. "Skyfall" is a james bond movie
@@Sora744 So many skies.
I don't know if Ned actually said anyone died, he said he pulled down the tower to make cairns for each of them. Could be that they don't use their real name anymore and he took Lyanna bones home and the great red horse of Dustin, the horse a sign to his wife that he'll be back and she is playing her part or might not actually know. Dawn was either returned to Starfall or in the Crypts of Winterfell which is why Mance(Arthur) wants to get in, Ashara is Septa Lemore. Also the Varys/Illyrio plot with Young Griff/Jon Connington was done before with Danny and her brother until I think he said or did something that made them worry or question.
This need a show man
I remember I heard some where that HBO is interested in making 5-6 spinoff of THRONES universes 🧐🙄
I hope your wrong because I want to see Robert’s Rebellion and Arthur Dane in his full glory with Dawn
I want to see more of Rhaegar, Arthur Dayne, and a skinny Robert on tv
bruh Gerold sounds like that edgy cousin in the corner of the room during family gatherings.
I have always felt like if Dawn is the sword of the morning then it must have a brother/sister blade called Dusk sword of the evening which may have been lost over time. I would theorize that if the brother/sister soulblades were combined that none could match them.
I would say dusk will be a black meteorite sword.
Why?
Well he did and made himself a legend of wielding and using two sword style ⚔️ and that's a accomplishment very few could ever do
I just watched an interview with Martin where he was talking about the sword Dawn being the sword he would want and he specifically mentioned it being superior to valerian steel.
I think “worthy of wielding Dawn” means a Dayne that is born with the ability to tap into Dawn’s telepathic power.
This power gives the user the ability to see their opponent’s move before it happens.
So they become a Jedi...
🤣
Lol
That dude was a Badass! He was a machine.
I wonder if anyone in the ASOIAF universe ever tried fashioning a sword out of the mysterious oily black stone that dots the world from Westeros to YiTi. I bet a sword made out of that stuff would be fierce.
It about time
Arthur is my favorite
I would like to see the story of sir Arthur Dane and how he became the sort of the morning I'm sure it would be a wonderful show better than season 8
You need to tell the story about how I became the Sword of Mid-Afternoon.
You forget about house velaryean or however you spell it they sometimes have the silver hair and purple eyes you said only house Dayne and house targaryean have those traits
And the Hightowers have the same traits too.
Agree totally with you dual wielding part.it was that quote from Jaime that made the showrunners go for it.to show just how skilled he was as an ambidexter
The actor Luke Roberts duel wielding here portrayed woods rodgers in Black sails
Who did Ser Arthur Dayne defeat? The Smiling Knight is an outlaw robber knight. Arthur Dayne won a few tournaments but no great feats in battle.
God I would love to see an adaptation of this in a Game of Thrones Cinematic and the interactions between Rhaegar and Arthur Dayne and his thoughts while Rhaegar Sings songs.
I wonder if someone can tell me why at 6:03 the map shows King's Landing not besides the Blackwater, is it wrong or am I missing something?
Thanks in advance
1:52 Ice was a ceremonial and executioner sword. He didn't use it in combat
Arthur Dayne is like the Chuck Norris of ASOIAF. Wildfire was invented after Ser Arthur sneezed as a baby.
Bro where have you been?!?!? Lol
Legend has it that Lyanna stark blew sir author off at the tower of joy.
I don't think Ned was wielding Ice at ToJ, it's said several times that Ice was massive, to big to wield in combat and more of a ceremonial piece.
3:10
You forgot about House Velaryon
It’s funny I’ve played as a member in house dayne on ck2.. I definitely became sword of the morning 😂😂
Arthur THE GOAT
Ned never used ICE in combat, it was more of a ceremonial weapon due to its ridiculous size. It is a larger greatsword than regular.
I wish Duncan the Tall had a great sword like Dawn that was wielded by Ser Arthur Dayne.
Any sword fighting game I play I use Arthur Dayne to name my character
Would have been nice if he ditched the second sword to fight Ned just to prove he didn't need it 1vs 1..and put it in the ground like he did at the beginning..and then perhaps had the other guy used it to stab him since he thought they were all dead anyway so he wouldn't have expected it
7:00 So I don’t know who was the narrator in this particular story or how “credible” they are, but does this book somewhat confirm Prince Daemon is a better warrior (or at least swordsman when wielding blackfyre) than Aemon?
Man I feel stupid, this whole time I thought it was sword of the “mourning”
I wish we had more of a back story of him.
Also, I wish more movie and series would get how swords are actually made correct.
You dont melt down steel and "pour a sword into shape". They would break so easily if actually made that way.
Swords are hammered out and the steel folded hundreds times...
I am not a blacksmith but my understanding is that you only hammer and fold steel of lower quality...
@@pacthegreatest Japanese Katanas are folded and hammered out. The amount of fold sometimes can equal out to be over hundreds to possibly thousands of times from my understanding. Japanese swords are some of the highest quality swords on the planet.
Casting ( pouring of molting metal) can create voids and or have the potential to have air bubbles. Making the metal more brittle.
i’m an expert from collecting . Yes folding and hammering just makes it stronger . Japanese would put a clay running the edge of the blade when heat treating , causing just that area by the edge to be harder than rest of the blade (called a hamon ) . The harder the steel the sharper it becomes ( but more brittle) so they only want they hardness around the edge and keep the strength everywhere else . People also folded different kinds of steels together when forging , then would dip it in acid and it creates etched patterns (damascus steel)
I don’t think you mentioned it in the video but apologies if I missed it but the title of the sword of the morning and dawn isn’t inherited like other swords you can only wield it if you are seen as worthy
Actually, the House Celaryon if Drifark are also of Valyrian descent though they were not dragon riders
Arthur Dayne had the makings of a varsity athlete.
HE WAS THE SWORD OF THE MORNING! HE WAS A GREAT DORNISH KNIGHT, AND IN THIS HOUSE, ARTHUR DAYNE IS A HERO, END OF STORY!
I'm really intrigued by the Tower of Joy. It's been a while since I read them but as far as I recall we can only actually be certain of 3 things (assuming we can believe Ned's memories are reliable) from the books. 1. Reed stopped Dayne from Killing Ned. 2. Reed and Ned alone survived. 3. Ned took Dawn back to Starfall.
So, did Reed stop Dayne by killing him or by some non lethal way? If he did kill him was it like in the show, was it more magical or did he stop him with words, not violence? If so did Dayne then sacrifice himself to protect the fiction or is he still alive? If so where is he? North of the Wall?, Essos?, Westeros under an assumed name? Why is Ned held in such high esteem by the Daynes? He could've waited till the war was over before returning Dawn.
Personally, I think Reed convinced/persuaded Dayne, who then died in an act of selfless chivalry to make the fiction plausible. Possibly some magicality/childrenoftheforest malarky was involved as 2 guys cant demolish a stone tower on their own (otherwise there would have been no historical sieges) and we're told that Reed can do strange things with mud and water. Ned and Reed then conspired with House Dayne and Ashara went to The Neck with Reed.
Maybe GRRM will address some of this and have Reed turn up and give us some closure, maybe he's gonna leave us in the dark to endlessly speculate.
I bet your pretty on point here. I think GRRM is going to go a different direction if he finishes the books. Ned, Reed, and Arthur are all honorable to a fault. Even Rahgar was an honorable man. If Robert shows up at the TOJ he is killing everyone including Jon. No way could Ned ever try to explain the situation to Robert without creating major issue between the Starks and Baratheon's. Arthur would have to know Ned would do everything in his power to protect his nephew and take the secrets to his grave. I would be surprised if Arthur and Ned didn't make a plan. Yada yada yada long story short Arthur becomes Manse. Plus no way dose Reed and Ned defeat Arthur and his men in a fair fight and that is the only way Ned fights.
Howl's Moving Castle. Howland Reed and his castle, Greywater Watch, that *moves*. Howl could alter his appearance, so Howland probably can too. God only knows how many times we might have seen him during the story. Great Easter egg.
Howland Reed is definitely some sort of magic user, and a potent one at that. No way he's a red herring. He holds a few critical secrets to resolving the central stories of ASoIaF.