(Theory) How the North Grove could help the Forresters win
I was thinking about the North Grove and how it could help to give the Forresters an edge over their enemies. What if the North Grove is a secret place beyond the Wall where ironwood can be found? Perhaps it is the place where the Forresters got their first ironwood from.
If that's the case, the Forresters can ransom the Ironwood south of the Wall, by threatening to burn it all down to the ground. There was a big plot point when Lady Forrester said something like: "Ironwood doesn't burn easily, but the Forresters have found a way..." They are the only ones who are actually capable of burning the lot of it. And if Gared manages to find the North Grove, they can rebuild their House just like they did hundreds of years ago.
Perhaps that's the only way the Forresters are going to win: by completely destroying themselves and the valuable ironwood, before rising from the ashes again.
Maybe that's why the North Grove must never be lost. It's their safeguard in case everything else is lost...
Comments
I agree, by and large, that the North Grove is most likely either another source of ironwood or is necessary in some other way to restoring Forrester ironwood, should their forests be lost.
However, I doubt they would announce to everyone they were willing to burn it down, and then do it - the thing about holding something hostage is that, once you destroy it, you have no more leverage, and you lose whatever contest you were in - in this case, the Whitehills and Boltons would kill all the Forresters with the full sanction of the crown, as you not only have no value to them anymore, but actively sabotaged the crown's war effort and destroyed what is, in the end, crown property, as it is only Forrester land by virtue of the feudal system. So the family would be branded traitors and killed, not a good thing.
That said, if a fire were to "mysteriously" start, destroying all of the Whitehill's ironwood, well, it must be their fault - after all, they took control of it, yadda yadda. Then the Whitehills would be the ones in trouble - not as much, as it wasn't intentional, but they'd lose the Bolton's sanction to screw with the Forresters, at the very least.
They may not even have to burn down the forest - the Whitehills might manage to clearcut the whole place by being total morons. Or, perhaps the fire might be used to burn down whatever supply the Whitehills have already cut, since having no goods to ship is actually worse than having no trees to cut. Or, what I'm personally hoping for, the Whitehills take over Ironrath, and we burn the Ironwood lodge down around their ears.
Yeah, I feel like that fire will come back.
Exactly. I have a feeling that "burning the ironwood" will play a large part in some upcoming episode. Your thoughts sound very plausible as well. I agree that "buring the lot" would really be a last resort. After doing that, the Forresters would probably have to go into exile. We'll see...
I like this theory. Although, there has to be some magical element about it, otherwise it wouldn't be just a legend. I mean, it's perfectly believable there's a small grove of Ironwood trees north of the wall. People would have no hard time believing that.
Good catch! I think the OP is on to something. With Whitehill seizing all the Ironwood, we probably are going to end up torching it and relying on the secret of whatever the North Grove is.
I also like the idea of Rodrik the Ruined (or whomever is ruling House Forrester) using Scorched Earth tactics to best the Whitehills. It sounds clever.
If you tell Jon Snow about the Grove, he tells of how his grandmother spoke of a place with "ice dragons" and "ironwood trees as tall as the sky". I feel it'll be some kind of endless supply of ironwood that is protected by magic and the Foresters somehow have access to it.
Hmm the name of the last episode is The Ice Dragon, I suppose that assures us of their appearance in the end of the game.
As the Last Episodes Name is The Ice Dragon I'm going to assume that in the North Grove lies a egg of a so called Ice Dragon or a acient one in slumber.
This said, it could even be vital for the TV series. (maybe the Forresters will be at least mentioned as well)
"Iron from ice."
''The North Grove must never be lost''