A Song Of Ice And Fire book series has a ton of characters whose full depths were not translated into the Game Of Thrones TV show. Lord Bloodraven, referred to as the three-Eyed Raven in the TV show, is one such character. In the show, the Three-Eye Raven is simply Bran Stark's mentor in his quest to figure out his Greenseer powers.
In the book, Lord Bloodraven, also known as Brynden River or the Three-Eyed Crow, is a more ambiguous character with his goals and motives not fully revealed yet. He also has one of the more interesting backstories for a character in the series. This article will explain ten important things to know about Lord Bloodraven.
10 Father Was The Worst Targaryen King
Lord Bloodraven's father was King Aegon IV, the worst Targaryen king to reign over Westeros. Some might argue that Aerys II was worse, as his misrule caused the Targaryens to fall out of power. The fact is that Aerys II was a decent king before he went mad. Aegon IV never ruled even decently.
Aegon IV spend more of his time as the king of Westeros trying to bed whoever struck his fancy than trying to put any effort in ruling his kingdom. He also caused a succession crisis by both legitimizing four of his bastard children, which included Bloodraven, and casting doubt of the legitimacy of his heir.
9 Based On Elric Of Melniboné
While George R.R. Martin tends to include shout outs to the works that influence A Song Of Ice and Fire, he tends not to base entire characters on ones from other works. Bloodraven is a close exception with him being heavily based on Elric Of Melniboné from The Elric Saga by Micheal Moorcock.
There are many similarities between these two characters. Both Bloodraven and Elric are albino warriors who have access to great magical powers due to their lineage. They are both a part of a royal family that appears distinct from normal humans thanks to incest. Both men are also willing to commit atrocious acts for the greater "good."
8 Tends To Adopt False Identities
Due to Bloodraven's magical powers and secretive nature, he tends to take on a variety of false identities. In A Song Of Ice And Fire, he appeared to Bran under the moniker of the Three-Eyed Crow. The short story "Mystery Knight" also gives the implication that some of Bloodraven's spies are him using a spell to disguise his distinct appearance.
The reason for Bloodraven's tendency to hide his identity relates to him preferring to operate from the shadows. For him to spy on his and the kingdom's enemies, he prefers to confront them in a manner in which they cannot identify him. His efforts to disguise his identity are aided by Bloodraven's various magical abilities.
7 Appeared In The Hedge Knight Prequel Series
Bloodraven is unique among A Song of Ice And Fire characters in that he plays a major role in both the main series and the Hedge Knight prequel series. As mentioned earlier, Bloodraven appears in the main series as an ancient Greenseer that is secretly mentoring Bran in how to use his power.
In the Hedge Knight series, the reader gets to see Bloodraven at the height of his political power with him serving as Hand of the King for King Aerys I. In the short story Mystery Knight, he appears both under the identity of Manyard Plumm and later appears as himself in effort to prevent Daemon II Blackfyre from trying to start a rebellion against the Targaryens, as pictured here thanks to Chillyravenart.
6 Of Valyrian And First Men Descent
The reason Bloodraven is a powerful Greenseer is a result of him being a mixture between Valyrians and First Men's blood. This is due to Bloodraven being the product of an affair between Aegon IV and Melissa Blackwood, pictured above thanks to art from chillyravenart. With his father being of the Valyrian Targaryen Dynasty and his mother being of the Blackwoods, a noble family descended from the First Men, Bloodraven has a very unique heritage.
As both of his parents come from groups that are heavily tied to magic, it would make sense for Lord Bloodraven to have access to great magical power. This assumption is proven by Bloodraven being one of the most powerful human characters in the series with him mastering glamour style magic, the Greensight, and skin-changing.
5 Implied To Have Mentored Euron Greyjoy
While not outright confirmed by the book, there is an implication that Bran Stark is not the first person that Bloodraven sought to train as his successor. Some of Bran's dream with the Three-Eyed Crow is filled with imagery that implies that Bloodravenn had trained Euron Greyjoy in the Greensight.
There a lot of clues in the texts that lead credence to Euron being a former apprentice of Lord Bloodraven. For one, his sigil is that of a single eye surrounded by two crows. Another reason is he appears to have been aware of his brother's Balon's death when he should not have known about it. He also appears to be one of the few characters aware of magic returning to Westeros.
4 The Name Bloodraven Comes From A Birthmark
The reason that Byrden Rivers is commonly referred to as Lord Bloodraven is due to the sinister reputation he gained during his tenure as Hand of the King. The origin of the nickname, however, comes from his youth to refer to his distinct appearance, as portrayed her thanks to Rae Lavergne.
The nickname of Bloodraven comes from Byrden being born with a distinct wine stain birthmark on the right side of his face that looks like a blood-colored raven to some. Of course, some observers think that the birthmark looks more like a red ink splotch.
3 Was Sent To The Wall By The King, He Helped Gain the Throne
Lord Bloodraven is notable for being the only person in the history of Westeros to have been the Hand of the King and later the Lord Commander of the Night Watch, a role shown here by artist Mike Hallenstein. This unique situation was a result of him being sent to the Wall by King Aegon V for his role in plotting the death of Aenys Blackfyre.
The reason that King Aegon V exiled Bloodraven due to Aenys' death was that Bloodraven promised Aenys that he could peacefully argue his claim to the throne during a council to decide the successor to King Maekor I. In reality, this invitation was a trap set by Bloodraven to have him arrested and executed. Aegon V was offended by Bloodraven's clear violation of hospitality that he had Bloodraven exiled to the Wall.
2 Lives Up To The Rumor Of Being A Sorcerer
Part of Lord Bloodraven's, portrayed here by Bella Bergolts, reputation during his tenure as Hand of the King was that he was a sorcerer who used magic to find out who was plotting against the Targaryen. Unlike some characters who refer to have magical powers like Varys, Bloodraven lives up the rumor.
While it is not known to what extent that Bloodraven used his magical abilities as Hand of the King, there is clear evidence that he did on several occasions. Most importantly, he used skin-changing to spy on Daemon Blackfyre, allowing him to warn King Daeron II of Daemon's plot to seize the throne leading to Daeron being more prepared for the First Blackfyre Rebellion than he should have been.
1 Opposed The Blackfyres
Lord Bloodraven is unique among Aegon IV's legitimized bastards is that he did not support his half brother Daemon Blackfyre's, as shown above by Mike Hallstein, claim to the Throne. This led to Bloodraven being the only bastard son of Aegon IV to fight against the First Blackfyre Rebellion on the side of the Targaryens. Bloodraven would even later appear to be on a personal mission to wipe out all of Daemon's descendants.
Bloodraven's reasons to oppose the Blackfyres, might of simply being that he was more loyal to the Iron Throne than his fellow bastards. There is also the possibility he opposed Daemon Blackfyre due to his right-hand man being his romantic rival Aegon Bittesteel.