Edric Dayne in TWoW

Background

"You have a House?" That was stupid; he was a squire, of course he had a House. "Who are you?"

"My lady?" Ned looked embarrassed. "I'm Edric Dayne, the . . . the Lord of Starfall." -ASOS, Arya VIII

In this post, I thought it would be fun to discuss Lord Beric Dondarrion's squire and the Lord of Starfall, Edric Dayne. I have mentioned before how I thought it was funny that no one in Dorne seems to be missing Edric at all (but I honestly chalk that up to GRRM not being able to come up with everything no matter how talented he is). His unnamed father is the elder brother of Arthur and Ashara.

As Beric Dondarrion was betrothed to Ned's aunt Allyria, he was taken as a page in ~293/294AC:

"He took me for his page when he espoused my aunt." He coughed. "I was seven, but when I turned ten he raised me to squire. I won a prize once, riding at rings." -ASOS, Arya VIII

We meet Ned Dayne in ASOS through Arya's POV as he helps Beric prepare to duel the Hound:

"Ned, help me remove my breastplate."

Arya got goosebumps when Lord Beric said her father's name, but this Ned was only a boy, a fair-haired squire no more than ten or twelve. He stepped up quickly to undo the clasps that fastened the battered steel about the Marcher lord. -ASOS, Arya VI

and:

He doesn't like Ned. The squire seemed nice enough to Arya; maybe a little shy, but good-natured. She had always heard that Dornishmen were small and swarthy, with black hair and small black eyes, but Ned had big blue eyes, so dark that they looked almost purple. And his hair was a pale blond, more ash than honey. -ASOS, Arya VIII

he also fights by Beric's side against the Brave Companions:

She spied Ned too, fighting at the lightning lord's side. It's not fair, he's only a little older than me, they should have let me fight. -ASOS, Arya VII

but also find out that he was "milk brothers" with Jon Snow:

How could Edric Dayne and Jon Snow be milk brothers if they are several years apart in age - 12 and 16 or so? Can a nursemaid really produce milk for so long a stretch, or perhaps did Wylla have a(nother) kid of her own when Edric was born? Or if Edric was lying, and why didn't Arya call him on it?

GRRM: Edric is stretching the term a little... "milk brothers" more usually refers to two infants of different parents who were nursed simultaneously by the same woman, but Jon had long been parted from Wylla's breasts by the time Ned came along. -SSM, Milk Brothers, Dragons and Foreshadowing : 4 Nov 2001

The Name Edric

The name Edric/Edrick is mostly a northern name (I would go as far as to say even a Stark name) as every other character with the name is either a Stark or the bastard of a guy who loved them:

• Edric Stark (son of Cregan)
• Lord Edric Stark (grandson of Alaric)
• King Edrick Stark (Snowbeard)
• Edric Storm (Robert Baratheon's bastard)

That's not even getting into him going by "Ned".

Leaving the Brotherhood

We know very little about the fracturing of the brotherhood after Beric passed on the flame to Lady Stoneheart except that it is broken:

"We were king's men when we began," the man told her, "but king's men must have a king, and we have none. We were brothers too, but now our brotherhood is broken. I do not know who we are, if truth be told, nor where we might be going. I only know the road is dark. The fires have not shown me what lies at its end." -AFFC, Brienne VIII

and that Ned, along with some other members are listed separately in the AFFC Appendix:

{BERIC DONDARRION}, once Lord of Blackhaven, six times slain,

- EDRIC DAYNE, Lord of Starfall, a boy of twelve, Lord Beric's squire,

- THE MAD HUNTSMAN of Stoney Sept, his sometime ally,

- GREENBEARD, a Tyroshi sellsword, his uncertain friend,

- ANGUY THE ARCHER, a bowman from the Dornish Marches,

- MERRIT O' MOONTOWN, WATTY THE MILLER, SWAMPY MEG, JON O' NUTTEN, outlaws in his band, -AFFC, Appendix

LADY STONEHEART, a hooded woman, sometimes called MOTHER MERCY, THE SILENT SISTER, and THE HANGWOMAN,

- LEM, called LEM LEMONCLOAK, a onetime soldier,

- THOROS OF MYR, a red priest,

- HARWIN, son of Hullen, a northman once in service to Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell,

- JACK-BE-LUCKY, a wanted man, short an eye,

- TOM OF SEVENSTREAMS, a singer of dubious report, called TOM SEVENSTRINGS and TOM O'SEVENS,

- LIKELY LUKE, NOTCH, MUDGE, BEARDLESS DICK, outlaws, -AFFC, Appendix

TWoW Storyline

Jokes aside, when TWoW comes out, GRRM has Ned (and whichever other members of the BwB are with him) as a plot twist he could use in numerous different storylines that have a varying degree of likelihood:

Deus ex Machina (The Brotherhood/Lady Stoneheart)

While I do think this is unlikely (primarily due to GRRM's comments on LSH's importance to the plot and the role she plays in TWoW), it is very possible that Edric and other former BwB could save the day as Lady Stoneheart is about to execute Brienne/Jamie.

If interested: The Plotline We Have the Least Info About...

Slaughtered

An even more unlikely idea is that the reason the BwB is broken is because LSH had Ned Dayne killed because well his name is Ned Dayne.

Riverlands Outlaw

Another pretty unlikely idea is that they are still in the Riverlands upholding the previous orders that Beric was following. This would make for even more confusion among the different "Outlaws in the Riverlands". We know that Strongboar is out hunting outlaws, so its possible he could run into Ned as well.

Dornish Plotline

With the Brotherhood fracturing, it is possible that Edric decides to return to Dorne/Starfall. With that in mind, let's remember that currently Obara Sand/Areo Hotah/Balon Swann are chasing Gerold Dayne (cousin) after he tried to kill Myrcella. It is possible that these two plotlines intersect. Especially since Starfall/High Hermitage are somewhat close and the info Ned drops about Wylla, etc. takes place here:

“How do you know about Jon?”

“He is my milk brother.”

“Brother?” Arya did not understand. “But you’re from Dorne. How could you and Jon be blood?”

“Milk brothers. Not blood. My lady mother had no milk when I was little, so Wylla had to nurse me.”

Arya was lost. “Who’s Wylla?”

"Jon Snow’s mother. He never told you? She’s served us for years and years. Since before I was born.” -ASOS, Arya VIII

If interested: The Showdown at High Hermitage

The Sword of the Morning/5 year Gap

While unconfirmed, one potential casualty of the abandonment of the 5 year gap was that young Ned Dayne couldn't grow into a potential Sword of the Morning (unless he is the 12 year old saving the world instead of Bran). It is very possible that Gerold "Darkstar" Dayne has taken Ned's role of bringing Dawn into the main story:

If interested: Dawn (Ancestral Sword of House Dayne) in TWOW & A Thought on Dawn

TLDR: Lord Edric (Ned) Dayne is seemingly no longer a part of the BwB and his story could resume elsewhere in TWoW. It is possible he is dead or still in the Riverlands (deus ex machina for Jamie/Brienne), but due to his place as the current head of House Dayne/Lord of Starfall, he could also pop up in Dorne.