Geralt will want to abandon his team to defeat the Crones
He'll give an excuse of being the only one who can truly fight those monsters, but one of his Winter Wolves will follow him, insisting that You Are Not Alone and that he needs them now. The Battle of Blackwater will be even worse for Stannis
The Lannisters not only still have Wildfyre, but now they're bringing gunpowder weaponry into the mix. That's a recipe for disaster no matter how much else the Winter Fury alliance might have. The War of Kings will be much shorter here
Not in the sense that it won't last as long, but in the sense that the way it all plays out will be different. Namely, that with Stannis coming from the far north now, and Renly wishing to parley before doing anything rash, it may be a war of the 3 kings rather than 5. That the Iron Islands, Lannisters, and the grand alliance will be the main combatants, and that with overwhelming fury, Euron's play for power will be wiped out. Asha will be sent on a Suicide Mission to attack Winterfell
Because Euron gets that she'll never accept his rule, and wants her out of the way. But this will backfire as the Stark kids will have to scatter, but in the end win her to their side as a way to preserve her home.Odd as this might seem, both of them are Experienced Protagonist people who fall in with those of good hearts. They then seek to mentor them through their new lives, using powers that are beyond most others imaginations to serve and protect. Never going so far as to kill unless forced to. And showing that through their nobility and honesty, that there's a better way than the old violence and suspicion that surrounds them. Even some of their enemies have Villain Respect for them, and others seek to make them even greater even though all they want is a simple life of helping others. And as paragons for hope, they will bring in a new age that will begin with their legends spreading, and bringing forth a new age of heroism so that Westeros and Essos will never be the same again. Tyrion will be forced into a political marriage again
But this time, it will be to Margeary. That The Mountain will succeed in his mission to capture her and Olenna, and that as part of the political dealing, Tyrion will be forced to wed Marg as a way to bring the Reach under full control, in a similar manner to how he was forced to marry Sansa in Canon. And thus forming the first true crack in his relationship with his father beyond their original feelings. Of course, the wrinkle here might be that Tyrion does find something genuine in marring a political mind like Marg as some fic writers theorize, thus taking the story in wacky but interesting directions. The oath Mott made Geralt swear will come into play later
I suspect the Ironborn will attack Dragonstone while Stannis is still making his way south, putting Gendry in harm's way. And as such, technically breaking his promise to Mott to keep him safe "on the black goat". We'll find out what the penalty for failing such things will be down the line, and it will clue Geralt in that something terrible is going on at the home base. Geralt will have a council of outsiders whom will have the influence to unite the Seven Kingdoms in due time
Namely, that he's going to gain key allies from each region and specialty which while not influential in traditional ways, will serve as his in to uniting the kingdoms alongside Dany and Ciri when the time comes.- The North: The Starks all favor their champion and defender, so any of them, though Arya comes to mind as the biggest outsider of the family.
- The Riverlands: Hadrian Rivers. The Bastard who found the truth first, and is also a liaison to the Children of the Forest and thus handle the ancient history.
- The Westerlands: Tyrion is already Geralt's friend, and they did promise to meet over drinks in time.
- The Reach: Loras. He made his own promises to Geralt to support him, and being the gay knight of flowers is already a bit outsidery even in his high status.
- Due to a case of killed by the mountain, Loras probably won't be his in. Alternative, while hailing from the Stormlands, Brienne has tied her journeys to the Reach, so perhaps the "beauty" of Tarth would be the outsider to use.
- Dorne: Oberyn the lecherous and his legion of girls. 2nd son, first in respect.
- The Stormlands: While Berric already works with them, perhaps Shireen and Gendry might end up being his big supporters here.
- Magic: Bran, the first to receive the mark of the white wolf, destined to become the greenseer to help protect the realm.
- The Iron Islands: Theon, the greenland Ironborn, learning as a protegee under Geralt during the opening expeditions, and growing into the reformist leader their land will need.
- The Vale: ???? Timing Pending. Perhaps Bryden for how long he worked there?
- Perhaps Mya Stone can play into the journey in the future. Another of Robert's bastards in just the right space at the right time.
- The Crownlands: Jon Snow, rightful heir to the throne, born leader of the Night's Watch, destined savior alongside The Last Hero and the Frost Destroyer.
Geralt will fall out of favor mid "book 3"
As they've reach the Storm of Swords section, where everything begins to go wrong mid fight, Geralt will need to have something dramatic happen so that despite all the good he's done for the continent, he'll need to go it in part alone to accomplish something vital but which is dismissed due to the over machinations of going after the Iron Throne. Bloodraven will have Ripple-Proof Memory
And he will not be pleased that he was preparing everyone for the prince who was promised, only for this upstart white wolf to barge in and ruin all his work for Jon and Bran. Brienne and Ciri will do a switcheroo later in the story
The fact that both got an Eye Scream during a challenge might indicate that later down the line, they'll fill in for each other at some point to deceive someone in the process. Roose Bolton will still betray the north
Even if he has nominal loyalties to not die fighting the Crones, he might have a sense of logic to himself that having a replenishing army and allying with the Crones might serve his ambitions better. Especially if he and Ramsay already have secret plans for while Robb's away. There will be a surprise political intrigue arc in Book 4
King's Landing will always be a viper's nest of conflict with Tywin, Cersei, Jamie, Zarim, Varys, Petyr, Pycelle, Euron and Littlefinger all wanting some new influence after they secure their initial position. But the surprise arc will come as a consequence of what's been going on in the the Riverlands. That as a way to try and get more help fighting The Crones or seeking a fallback position, Catelyn will go to appeal to her sister Lysa for help in The Vale. Only this time, she'll have a little help from her daughter Sansa. After all, Sansa did begin to learn the Game of Thrones with Stannis, but will have much more to understand and learn when studying under her mother while dealing with her aunt and cousin. With Alya working Dorne against Oberyn and Doran...
They will call for their war on the Lannisters in a trickier way. Namely, they'll demand that they hand over the traitor to the kingdom, expecting a refusal. And in their refusal, they'll have the pretense to declare DORNISH Independence. But this will all be a screen for their true goals: entreating for a secret alliance with Wilas, so to launch a surprise attack on the lannisters in their securing The Reach. Dany will not have her foreign small council last beyond Slaver's Bay
Their interests are just too far away for that to work. And it will be a way to cut back on the characters and agendas after Syrio and Barristan catch up with her and Ciri. The Brackens will try to attack a portion of the northern army, leading to a Sadistic Choice for Geralt
Geralt's already been struggling to keep his new extending family safe, but he's never felt a need to choose between them due to his Determinator stance on always finding the strength to keep going. Yet I can see a scenario where the Brackens are about to lead an assault on the Winter Wolves and their hangers on, so that Geralt will have to decide to protect one group of friends over another, forcing him to "give up" one group to the cruelty of the Crones. Either Catelyn or Theon will get tortured by the Crone Armies
And during that time, they'll mock one of them for becoming "A woman with a heart of stone" or making them "reek" as their new servant. A cruel twist on how both these foolish yet good intentioned characters were changed for the better by Geralt, and then turned into a parody of their worst selves by his enemies. Brienne and Jamie will still end up encountering each other
Despite their vastly different circumstances and goals, perhaps chasing her caravan through the Riverlands, Jamie and Brienne will come into conflict again, and we'll see Brienne's horrible realization that a fully active Kingslayer can easily overpower the mountain slayer. If Ramsey sacks Winterfell, the Stark children will have to make a decision on what destiny demands of them
Not entirely a WMG, but given their own temperaments, needs, and how Geralt has warped their trajectories, they'll be forced to face the horrid truth that if they all traveled together, they'd all be vulnerable to having them all picked off by the marauding Boltons and their allies. So, despite all the changes, they'll be forced to make a choice on what matters most to them: Safety, Destiny, or Hope.- For Safety, Sansa could always lead them towards The Wall in hopes of sheltering with the Night's Watch. This choice is dependent on whether they think that Jon is back yet, but also on how safe they believe that would actually be amongst the dregs of Westeros.
- For Destiny, this could lead to the siblings fully splitting up again Because Destiny Says So. That Bran will head towards the Far North as his 3 eyed Raven asked, with Meera and Jojen as his escorts with Hodor. That Rickon will again go into hiding thanks to Osha, far away since there are no friendly house leaders in this timeline still in the north. And Sansa might try to head south in a desperate attempt to get help from other houses like the Manderlys before it's too late for the resistance, with Arya alongside since she promised to support her sister.
- For Hope, Sansa will propose they all go to The Vale. That there's a hope that Aunt Lysa will take them all in and they'll work on finding a way to get their help to go after the rogue lords of the north, finally getting The Vale going as a force in the war of the 3 kings.
After the battle of Blackwater Bay, if things go badly, Asha will lead an attack on Dragonstone
While this might seem like a purely bad thing for the other heir of the Iron Islands to be attacking the dark capital of The Good King who is Stannis, it actually will play into her own idea on how to keep things close to the chest to work against Euron. That in the attack, she'll capture Gendry and Shireen, but secretly want to send them away to a safe harbor. Depending on who they decide that is, then her one condition is that when the time is right, QUEEN Shireen will promise to help support her claim to become Lord Reaper of Pyke when the opportunity arises.- Alternatively, they'll be held captive with a promise to arm the Ironborn with Valyrian steel weapons if their dragon forge project has come along far enough.
Ogatto will end up intersecting with Dany's time in Slaver's Bay
As one of the few Dothraki who came to see that their way of life was unsustainable, he would make for a fine unexpected ally if Dany ever felt the need to become Kaleesi of the Green Grass Sea. Plus, given her own temperments, he might see her as the breath of fresh air the world needs to shake up the systems and help the small folk. Even if that does require Fire and Blood to make that happen.