Background

I love posting about Dunk & Egg and since the main series/fire and blood generates most of the discuss, I thought it would be fun to dive into the future of Dunk & Egg with the upcoming show A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms currently underway.

Years ago I made a similar post (Egg I dreamed that I was old) that I plan on expanding in individual posts: Speculating on Dunk & Egg (which was a heavy copy from some of the ideas of u/blackofhairandheart2. Since I already have pretty heavy posts on She Wolves & "The Dornish Adventure" I am just going to link them and skip right to "The Village Hero".

Note: From a timeline perspective the "Dornish Adventure" takes place between The Hedge Knight and The Sworn Sword, then likely #6 (The Village Hero) and then #4 (She Wolves).

#4 The She Wolves of Winterfell (working title)

If interested: What We Know: The She Wolves of Winterfell & Identity of Each of the "She-Wolves of Winterfell

#5 "The Dornish Adventure" (SSM reference)

If interested: The Dunk & Egg - "Dornish Adventure"

#6 The Village Hero

SSM Info

GRRM has mentioned this novella numerous times:

"The She-Wolves of Winterfell" was never meant to be more than a working title. The final title, when I finish the story, will be something different. There's also another Dunk & Egg novella that I've got roughed out in my head, with the working title "The Village Hero." That one takes place in the Riverlands. There's no telling when I will have time to finish either of these, or which one I will write first. I don't expect I will know more until I've delivered THE WINDS OF WINTER. -SSM, Dunk and Egg: 15 April 2014

and:

But I do have notes and fairly specific ideas for a number of them. There's the one set in the north that people have been calling "The She-Wolves of Winterfell," though that will not actually be the title. After that -- or maybe before, if I jump around in time -- there will be "The Village Hero," "The Sellsword," "The Champion," "The Kingsguard," "The Lord Commander," and several more in between. -SSM, How Many Seasons: 19 March 2015

and:

Before we reach the end of the published stories, I will need to find time to write all the other Dunk & Egg novellas that I have planned. There are… gulp… more of them than I had once thought. There’s “The Village Hero” and the Winterfell story, the one with the She-Wolves, and maybe I need to write that Dornish adventure too to slip in between “The Hedge Knight” and “The Sworn Sword,” and after that there are… ah… more. -SSM, A Knight & a Squire

Historical Setting

After Bloodraven (aka Ser Maynard Plumm) and Co squash the Second Blackfyre Rebellion at Whitewalls in 212AC, Dunk & Egg seemingly decide to head north. As they traverse north (Whitewalls is in an unnamed location in the Riverlands) they will likely come across many villages as well as walk deep into the heart of the Blackwood/Bracken Feud.

Let's remember that the feud was reinvigorated in 206 when the Brute of Bracken slew Lord Quentyn Blackwood in a tourney:

The brown tent beneath red stallion could only belong to Ser Otho Bracken, who was called the Brute of Bracken since slaying Lord Quentyn Blackwood three years past during a tourney at King's Landing. Dunk heard that Ser Otho struck so hard with the blunted longaxe that he stove in the visor of Lord Blackwood's helm and the face beneath it. -The Hedge Knight

and also that Otho/The Brute becomes lord:

Lord Bracken is dying slowly on the Trident, and his eldest son perished in the spring. That means Ser Otho must succeed. The Blackwoods will never stomach the Brute of Bracken as a neighbor. It will mean war."

Dunk knew about the ancient enmity between the Blackwoods and the Brackens. "Won't their liege lord force a peace?"

"Alas," said Septon Sefton, "Lord Tully is a boy of eight, surrounded by women. Riverrun will do little, and King Aerys will do less. Unless some maester writes a book about it, the whole matter may escape his royal notice. Lord Rivers is not like to let any Brackens in to see him. Pray recall, our Hand was born half Blackwood. If he acts at all, it will be only to help his cousins bring the Brute to bay. The Mother marked Lord Rivers on the day that he was born, and Bittersteel marked him once again upon the Redgrass Field." -The Sworn Sword

From this point on the feud isn't really mentioned until Aerys II's reign. I would assume that is because this will be our big mention of that time period.

If interested: The Blackwood & Bracken Feud

Location

All we officially know is that it will take place in the Riverlands (and there are numerous named villages in the Riverlands). From ADWD, Jaime I GRRM really seemed to plant some nuggets not only about the feud, but also potentially setting up a future storyline.

We see lots of contested locations between the two houses but one seemingly sticks out:

"The east bank of the Widow's Wash, from Crossbow Ridge to Rutting Meadow, and all the islands in the stream. Grindcorn Mill and Lord's Mill, the ruins of Muddy Hall, the Ravishment, Battle Valley, Oldforge, the villages of Buckle, Blackbuckle, Cairns, and Claypool, and the market town at Mudgrave. Waspwood, Lorgen's Wood, Greenhill, and Barba's Teats. Missy's Teats, the Blackwoods call them, but they were Barba's first. Honeytree and all the hives. Here, I've marked them out if my lord would like a look." He rooted about on a table and produced a parchment map.

Jaime took it with his good hand, but he had to use the gold to open it and hold it flat. “This is a deal of land,” he observed. “You will be increasing your domains by a quarter.”

Bracken’s mouth set stubbornly. “All these lands belonged to Stone Hedge once. The Blackwoods stole them from us.”

“What about this village here, between the Teats?” Jaime tapped the map with a gilded knuckle.

“Pennytree. That was ours once too, but it’s been a royal fief for a hundred years. Leave that out. We ask only for the lands stolen by the Blackwoods. Your lord father promised to restore them to us if we would subdue Lord Tytos for him.”-ADWD, Jaime I

what happened ~100 years ago? Dunk & Egg visited Pennytree. Who else is from Pennytree? Ser Arlan.

Pennytree Info

A village in the riverlands located north of Red Fork in the area that has frequently changed hands between the Blackwoods/Brackens. It is situated near the Widow's Wash between two grassy hills known as the Teats (which the Unworthy took from the Brackens and gave to the Blackwoods once he switched mistresses).

The village got its name from:

Pennytree proved to be a much larger village than he had anticipated. The war had been here too; blackened orchards and the scorched shells of broken houses testified to that. But for every home in ruins three more had been rebuilt. Through the gathering blue dusk Jaime glimpsed fresh thatch upon a score of roofs, and doors made of raw green wood. Between a duck pond and a blacksmith's forge, he came upon the tree that gave the place its name, an oak ancient and tall. Its gnarled roots twisted in and out of the earth like a nest of slow brown serpents, and hundreds of old copper pennies had been nailed to its huge trunk. -ADWD, Jaime I

Ser Arlan

We also know that Ser Arlan (and his previous squire/newphew Roger who was killed on the Redgrass Field) were both from the village, but it should be noted that Dunk has never been there and Ser Arlan rarely spoke of it:

What was he to say? "Ser Duncan of Flea Bottom" did not sound very knightly. He could take Pennytree, but what if they asked him where it was? Dunk had never been to Pennytree, nor had the old man talked much about it. -The Hedge Knight

and:

"I have no home but where I swear my sword." Dunk had never seen Pennytree; he couldn't even say if it was in the Reach. -The Sworn Sword

and:

"I didn't know where it was." Dunk had never seen the old man's Pennytree. Ser Arlan seldom spoke of it, no more than Dunk was wont to speak of Flea Bottom. -The Mystery Knight

Main Series

In A Dance with Dragons, GRRM has Jaime and company camp there (before Jaime goes running off with Brienne):

Jaime recalled Lord Bracken's map. "There's a village between those hills."

"Pennytree," the lad confirmed.

"We'll camp there for the night." If there were villagers about, they might have knowledge of Ser Brynden or the outlaws. "Lord Jonos made some remark about whose teats they were," he recalled to the Blackwood boy as they rode toward the darkening hills and the last light of the day. "The Brackens call them by one name and the Blackwoods by another." -ADWD, Jaime I

but the village is likely full of Brotherhood supporters.

Topics

• Otho Bracken vs The Blackwoods/Bloodraven

As mentioned above, Otho becoming lord could mean war between the two houses. And while Otho could have some Blackfyre allegiances, I have a feeling this story could be on more of a local level:

Dunk knew about the ancient enmity between the Blackwoods and the Brackens. "Won't their liege lord force a peace?"

"Alas," said Septon Sefton, "Lord Tully is a boy of eight, surrounded by women. Riverrun will do little, and King Aerys will do less.

and just how involved is Bloodraven?

• Betha Blackwood

We know very little about Black Betha's early life. She was a spirited/willful woman with dark eyes/hair. She and Egg marry in 220 AC when she is 19 (making her about 11 around this time period). This seems like a good point for GRRM to at least introduce her as a character.

This would also allow GRRM to flip the scrip and instead of Dunk having a love interest (even if Dunk was too much of a lunk to realize Daemon II's blatant attempts) and have Egg have someone he was interested in.

If interested: Ser Duncan the Tall: Future Love Interests & Possible Descendants of Ser Duncan the Tall

• Royal Fief

I find it so interesting that this village became a royal fief around this time (Dunk+Egg showing up and brewing war between the houses). Also the fact that Jonos doesn't even want it back:

“Pennytree. That was ours once too, but it’s been a royal fief for a hundred years. Leave that out. We ask only for the lands stolen by the Blackwoods. -ADWD, Jaime I

• The Blackfyres/Golden Company

Since this is likely mid/late 212 there won't be another Blackfyre rebellion for 7 years (the Third Blackfyre Rebellion occurs in 219AC). that means that the topics could be focused on a more local level (although we may hear news of the Golden Coompany being formed in 212).

• The D&E "Script"

One reason that GRRM probably wants to write She Wolves and the Dornish Adventure next is that they both allow him to continue with the "Dunk and Egg formula" (giant unknown hedge knight shows up with his arrogant but cute squire). As Ser Uthor says in the Mystery Knight, word is getting out who they are. At some point this "formula" will have to change as Egg gets older and their relationship changes (for the good and bad).

• The "Hero"

So far every title of each novella has referred to a role Dunk has played (as well as each of the other upcoming ones GRRM has named). If we continue that and combine everything else above, from a narrative perspective I think that:

a) Dunk and Egg stop by Pennytree because Dunk wants to see it on their way north

b) The village of Pennytree is being treated terribly by the Brute (as Jonos says it belonged to the Brackens at one point) or maybe it belongs to the Blackwoods and the Brute attacks it

c) They call on Dunk to defend them (the Village Hero)

d) Somehow the crown gets involved (royal fief)

• Path to the Next Story

Depending on when GRRM writes this story it will likely have mentions of the upcoming journey to Winterfell, as well as potential seeds for the next story as well (as we have seen in the previous novellas).

• Up Next: "The Sellsword"

When I say up next, I mean in this short series of posts I am going to do on the upcoming D&E novellas that GRRM has at least mentioned. Hopefully sometime in the next couple of days.

If interested: GRRM's "Tentative" Schedule/Plan & List of Characters that could appear in Dunk & Egg and the main series

TLDR: The Village Hero is a planned upcoming novella in the Dunk and Egg series. I tried to gather as much cursory information on the novellas as I could from different sources ranging from SSMs, the main series, and the previous D&E's to put together what the background setting could be for when they likely visit the village of Pennytree that becomes a royal fief during the Braken/Blackwood conflict due to the rise of Lord Otho aka the Brute of Bracken. In the background Egg will likely at least meet his future wife, Queen Betha Blackwood.