【religious eroticism mary coming】

For the first six seasons of Game of Thrones,religious eroticism mary coming we were all speculating whether R+L=J (even though Sean Bean kind of told us years ago).

But now that the show -- and HBO's sneaky infographic -- have confirmed that Jon Snow is in fact the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, we've got a new theory to fixate on. Is Jon Snow "the prince that was promised" that everyone keeps banging on about?

First, some context:

The show and George R.R. Martin's books have made a big deal about a prophecy concerning a legendary hero known as Azor Ahai, who once defeated the darkness that had covered the world with the help of his flaming sword, Lightbringer.

SEE ALSO: An obsessive breakdown of the first 'Game of Thrones' trailer

According to the followers of R'hllor (including Melisandre and Thoros of Myr), Azor Ahai will someday be reborn as "the prince who was promised," to once again fight the darkness with his burning sword. In this case, we're guessing "the darkness" translates to the White Walkers, who are threatening to plunge the world into an eternal winter, which would admittedly be pretty dark.

We've heard a few variations on the prophecy in Martin's books -- here are a couple from A Clash of Kingsand A Dance with Dragons:

"There will come a day after a long summer when the stars bleed andthe cold breath of darkness falls heavy on the world. In this dread hour a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword. And that sword shall beLightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, and he who clasps it shall be Azor Ahai come again, and the darkness shall flee before him."

"When the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt to wake dragons out of stone."

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You may remember that Melisandre originally believed that Stannis Baratheon was the prince who was promised, which didn't work out so well for anyone involved (especially Stannis' poor daughter, Shireen).

Once Stannis kicked the bucket, the Red Priestess shifted her allegiance to Jon -- who, as the Season 6 finale revealed, was born amidst smoke (thanks to the battle at the Tower of Joy), and salt (his dying mother's tears). The bleeding star could be a reference to Arthur Dayne's sword, named Dawn, which was allegedly "forged from the heart of a fallen star." The blade was covered in blood from the battle and left conspicuously at the end of Lyanna's bed in the finale.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

In the books, Martin even gives a (perhaps too obvious) clue about Jon's apparent destiny, when Melisandre remarks, "I pray for a glimpse of Azor Ahai, andR'hllorshows me onlySnow."

Other Red Priestesses in Volantis, along with Maester Aemon, are convinced that Daenerys is the prophesied hero -- since she literally woke dragons out of stone -- but at this point, there are enough clues to support both interpretations.

Either way, long-suffering Game of Thronesstar Kit Harington is well aware of the speculation once again surrounding his angsty character, and, in short, he DGAF.

SEE ALSO: 'Game of Thrones' showrunners address those spinoff rumors

When the Huffington Post asked Harington to address the rumor that Jon could be the reincarnation of Azor Ahai, he played coy, as usual: "I think you have to wait and see what happens this year, and if we find out anything more about Jon."

But he didn't outright dismiss the idea, instead offering his take on what Jon would think about supposedly being a prophesied savior.

"I think Jon would hate the term ‘The Prince That Was Promised.’ If someone turned to him and said, ‘You’re The Prince That Was Promised,’ he just wouldn’t pay much attention," Harington told HuffPost. "That’s what I love about him, so I don’t really care about it either. You know, I think that’s what’s great about him. He’s got very little ego on him."

Yeah, yeah, we know Jon's super humble -- but can he just team up with Dany and save the world, already? They've only got 13 episodes left to do it in.

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Topics Game Of Thrones