A Song of Ice and Fire” author George RR Martin has given hope to fans that characters who have died in HBO’s “Game of Thrones” will still be alive in his upcoming books. This revived new theories about who the final survivors will be in the saga.

A parting of ways

“The book series and TV adaptation go their separate ways,” Martin said about the difference between the show and the books. “On the screen characters are killed right and left. About twenty of them have died already, which are quite alive to me and will appear in a new book.”

Showrunner David Benioff also said that fans will be very surprised when they read the books after they watch the remaining seasons of the show.

While he did not specify what particular storylines will be changed, he assured that the HBO team and the author both have their own surprises for the fans.

The Seven

Seven seems to be a significant number in “A Song of Ice and Fire” saga. Aside from Westeros being composed of Seven Kingdoms, the show has also tackled the Faith of the Seven, which is the main religion in Westeros. In Season 6, faith played an important role in the politics of King’s Landing as the High Sparrow came to power and put the Tyrells and Cersei away for the crimes they committed.

There is a fan theory about the seven statues in the Great Sept of Baelor which is attributed to the Stark family. According to a fan on Reddit, the father is represented by Ned Stark, Catelyn represents the mother, Robb is the warrior while Sansa is the maiden.

The crone is represented by Bran, as he became the Three Eyed Raven, Arya (faceless man) is the stranger while Rickon is the Smith who will rebuild Winterfell. However, with Ned, Catelyn, Robb and Rickon dead, fans have modified their interpretation of the theory.

Fans now believe that Seven could represent the last seven characters who will survive the ultimate war for the Iron Throne.

A recent Vox report theorized that Jon could actually be the father and Daenerys could be the mother as it is rumored that they will have a child who will represent both ice (Stark) and fire (Targaryen).

In the theory, the crone is still portrayed by Bran and Arya is still the stranger. Gendry, as a blacksmith and the bastard son of Robert Baratheon, is placed as the Smith and Sansa is the maiden of the Seven.

The warrior is now represented by Brienne of Tarth.

With the final season of “Game of Thrones” set for release in 2018 or 2019 and George R.R. Martin’s books still being completed, it is unsure if the fan predictions will happen much like their R+L=J theory, the ice dragon, and Jon Snow’s real name. However, as theories begin to evolve, the road to the finale definitely grows more exciting.