One of the best "Game of Thrones" theories in months has been presented on Reddit by byrd82. The "Golden Hand" theory he wrote down is quite surprising. It may look like a risky speculation, but the more you read on, the more plausible it gets.
Valyrian words
The Redditor noted a bizarre coincidence in four Valyrian words. The Valyrian words for "Lord" and "light" are "aeksion" and "ondos"; the Valyrian words for "gold" and "hand" are "aeksio" and "onos". As you can see, they're extremely similar; moreover, we are told a few times - in the books as well as in the show - that important mistranslations are possible.
Could this weird coincidence suggest that Jaime Lannister, the man with the golden hand, is the savior praised by the red priests?
The Azor Ahai prophecy
According to byrd82 Jaime Lannister may actually be Azor Ahai. The key to the legend of Azor Ahai is his sword, Lightbringer, which is forged in fire and tempered in the heart of his wife, Nissa Nissa. According to the legend, when Azor Ahai forged his sword for the first time, he tempered the blade into water, and the blade broke. During his second attempt at forging the sword, Azor Ahai drove the blade into the heart of a captured lion, but, once more, the steel shattered. The third time the hero drove the blade into his wife's chest and Nissa Nissa's soul, combining itself with the steel, became Lightbringer.
Tempered in water
"Forging a hero’s sword is metaphorical for forging a hero’s character," wrote Byrd82. The first part of the prophecy can be explained using a particular event in Jaime's storyline. Jaime's soul is tempered in water when he confesses the story of the Mad King's assassination. He's in the bath with Brienne of Tarth and after his confession, he passes out and, more than ever, he can be described as a broken man.
Please note that salt and smoke are present in the bath, matching what another piece of the prophecy says about Azor Ahai's return.
The heart of the lion
The Lannisters are the lions of the "Game of Thrones" universe and the captured lion of the prophecy may be Tyrion Lannister. When Tyrion is imprisoned, Jaime pays his brother a visit in the dungeons.
When Jaime releases Tyrion from his cell, he tells him he always knew that Tysha - a girl from Tyrion's past who was brutally raped in front of him after an order from Lord Tywin - was actually Tyrion's first wife. With his confession, Jaime totally breaks Tyrion's heart, the heart of the "captured lion."
Tysha is a relevant character in the books but not in the show. In the TV series, however, Tyrion kills Tywin with two crossbow bolts instead of one: the second shot hits Tywin right in his heart. The lion is killed and, as Cersei clearly tells Jaime, it was a consequence of Jaime's actions.
Nissa Nissa
As you may already guess, according to this theory Nissa Nissa is Cersei. Another sign of Azor Ahai revealing itself is a "bleeding red star.
As a red star is the Faith Militant's symbol, the massacre at the Sept of Baelor could be the "bleeding red star" from the prophecy.
We all know how strong Jamie and Cersei's relationship is. It's because of their secret love that Jaime pushed Bran off the tower in Winterfell and the fight between Starks and Lannisters began. If you consider the Maggy the Frog's prophecy (Cersei will be killed by her younger brother, who could be Jaime as well as Tyrion), the idea of Jaime killing his cruel sister as a final act of his redemption is not that crazy.
According to byrd82, Lightbringer will not be a real sword but "the return of Jaime's sword hand ablaze.".As another fan wrote, in a passage included in "A Storm of Sword" Jaime's hand is described as "flaming": "His hand burned [...] days after, he could still feel the fire lancing up his arm, and his fingers twisting in the flames, the fingers he no longer had,"
Jaime against the White Walkers?
Azor Ahai is the hero who will fight the darkness.
But how Jaime could fight the White Walkers? Byrd82 suggest a different approach to the White Walkers' problem. Jaime always tries to avoid a conflict and we know that the Others are capable of negotiation from the agreement they made with Craster. What if Jaime is going to solve the war through diplomacy?
Although we think this is a risky speculation, we must admit that it's possible that George R.R. Martin will end his book series without the total destruction of one of the parts.
On a final note, we must add that the website "Game of Thrones and Norse Mythology" supports the idea of Jaime Lannister being Azor Ahai. According to the website, Jaime represents Tyr, the one-handed champion of humankind.
