Ravens & the word "Die"

For numerous reasons, the ravens in this series can be extremely prophetic. In the past, I've posted about the different names said by ravens, but in this post I thought it would be interesting to focus on each time the ravens say the word "die".

Background

As I mentioned the inspiration for this post came somewhat from the post linked above, but I also was recently discussing one of the (similar) examples below.

Some (somewhat) similar posts if you are interested: White Wings, Dark Words & Animals Screaming During Magical Events

Jon Snow's Death/Assassination/Resurrection

To be honest I never noticed this (in totality) before:

Jon stood tall. He told himself that he would die well; that much he could do, at the least. "I know the penalty for desertion, my lord. I'm not afraid to die."

"Die!" the raven cried.

"Nor live, I hope," Mormont said, cutting his ham with a dagger and feeding a bite to the bird. "You have not deserted—yet. Here you stand. If we beheaded every boy who rode to Mole's Town in the night, only ghosts would guard the Wall. Yet maybe you mean to flee again on the morrow, or a fortnight from now. Is that it? Is that your hope, boy?" -AGOT, Jon IX

The Attack on the Frostfangs

The reader is initially led to believe the attack will come from Mance Rayder:

"Someone will come down out of the Frostfangs, my lord," the ranger said. "If us, all well and good. If not, it will be Mance Rayder, and you sit square in his path. He cannot march south and leave you behind, to follow and harry his rear. He must attack. This is a strong place

"Belike we shall all die, then. Our dying will buy time for our brothers on the Wall. Time to garrison the empty castles and freeze shut the gates, time to summon lords and kings to their aid, time to hone their axes and repair their catapults. Our lives will be coin well spent."

"Die," the raven muttered, pacing along Mormont's shoulders. "Die, die, die, die." The Old Bear sat slumped and silent, as if the burden of speech had grown too heavy for him to bear. But at last he said, "May the gods forgive me. Choose your men." -ACOK, Jon V

and:

"We'll die." That was Maslyn's voice, green with fear.

"Die," screamed Mormont's raven, flapping its black wings. "Die, die, die."

"Many of us," the Old Bear said. "Mayhaps even all of us. But as another Lord Commander said a thousand years ago, that is why they dress us in black. Remember your words, brothers. For we are the swords in the darkness, the watchers on the walls . . ." -ASOS, Prologue

we even get the fakeout with the mutiny plot:

When the shouting died away, once more he heard the sound of the wind picking at the ringwall. The flames swirled and shivered, as if they too were cold, and in the sudden quiet the Old Bear's raven cawed loudly and once again said, "Die."

Clever bird, thought Chett as the officers dismissed them, warning everyone to get a good meal and a long rest tonight. Chett crawled under his furs near the dogs, his head full of things that could go wrong. What if that bloody oath gave one of his a change of heart? Or Small Paul forgot and tried to kill Mormont during the second watch in place of the third? Or Maslyn lost his courage, or someone turned informer, or . . . -ASOS, Prologue

The Dalla/Gilly Baby-switch

Kill the boy, thought Jon. "You will. Else I promise you, the day that they burn Dalla's boy, yours will die as well."

"Die," shrieked the Old Bear's raven. "Die, die, die." - ADWD, Jon II

While it is very possible (or even likely) that this is about Jon Snow, it also could be about an upcoming sacrifice that is meant as a precursor to Stannis' ultimate one.

Ser Alliser Thorne going ranging

We get this when Jon send Alliser out on a ranging (which is one reason why I like my theory linked below):

When he heard the order, Ser Alliser's mouth twisted into a semblance of a smile, but his eyes remained as cold and hard as flint. "So the bastard boy sends me out to die."

"Die," cried Mormont's raven. "Die, die, die."

You are not helping. Jon swatted the bird away. "The bastard boy is sending you out to range. To find our foes and kill them if need be. You are skilled with a blade. You were master-at-arms, here and at Eastwatch." -ADWD, Jon VI

If interested: Alliser Thorne's Destiny: Become a Wight/Try to Kill Jon Snow

Somewhat Similar Quotes

Note: The examples listed below don't fit the post exactly, but I was on a roll and the post was somewhat inspired by one of the quotes below.

• Arianne and/or Elia Sand

“You could have died,” Arianne told her, when she’d heard the tale. She grabbed Elia by the arm and shook her. “If that torch had gone out you would have been alone in the dark, as good as blind. What did you think that you were doing?”

“I caught two fish,” said Elia Sand.

“You could have died,” said Arianne again. Her words echoed off the cavern walls. “… died … died … died …” -TWOW, Arianne II

If interested: Arianne in TWoW & What is Lady Lance Going to Ruin in TWoW?

• How to fight wights

Jon tried to shout, but his voice was gone. Staggering to his feet, he kicked the arm away and snatched the lamp from the Old Bear's fingers. The flame flickered and almost died. "Burn!" the raven cawed. "Burn, burn, burn!" -AGOT, Jon VII

• The Showdown/Sacrifice at the Tree before the Battle of Ice

As you can see, it is coming:

We hold the ground, and that I mean to turn to our advantage.”

“The ground?” said Theon. “What ground? Here? This misbegotten tower? This wretched little village? You have no high ground here, no walls to hide beyond, no natural defenses.”

“Yet.”

“Yet,” both ravens screamed in unison. Then one quorked, and the other muttered, “Tree, tree, tree.” -TWOW, Theon I

and:

The memory left Theon writhing in his chains. “Let me down,” he pleaded. “Just for a little while, then you can hang me up again.” Stannis Baratheon looked up at him, but did not answer. “Tree,” a raven cried. “Tree, tree, tree.”

Then other bird said, “Theon,” clear as day, as Asha came striding through the door.

and:

“Wise. I am sorry for your mother, but I do not spare the lives of turncloaks. This one, especially. He slew two sons of Eddard Stark. Every northman in my service would abandon me if I showed him any clemency. Your brother must die.”

“Then do the deed yourself, Your Grace.” The chill in Asha’s voice made Theon shiver in his chains. “Take him out across the lake to the islet where the weirwood grows, and strike his head off with that sorcerous sword you bear. That is how Eddard Stark would have done it. Theon slew Lord Eddard’s sons. Give him to Lord Eddard’s gods. The old gods of the north. Give him to the tree.”

And suddenly there came a wild thumping, as the maester’s ravens hopped and flapped inside their cages, their black feathers flying as they beat against the bars with loud and raucous caws. “The tree,” one squawked, “the tree, the tree,” whilst the second screamed only, “Theon, Theon, Theon.”

Theon Greyjoy smiled. They know my name, he thought.

• Bran's Monster

Since TWoW is going to be an extremely dark book (especially Bran's plotline), this quote is extremely sinister:

"A monster," Bran said.

The ranger looked at Bran as if the rest of them did not exist. "Your monster, Brandon Stark."

"Yours," the raven echoed, from his shoulder. Outside the door, the ravens in the trees took up the cry, until the night wood echoed to the murderer's song of "Yours, yours, yours." -ADWD, Bran I

Sorry for the tangent: The Isle of Ravens in TWoW

TLDR: A post that got longer than I wanted, but basically when ravens say the word "die" pay attention, as it is usually foreshadowing something pretty big.