There's A Very Telling Detail In This Game Of Thrones Photo

The return of Game of Thrones is fast approaching, which means that we must put on our magnifying glasses and begin theorizing about the upcoming season. Consider this month (and next month) Game of Thrones pre-season. We're making predictions and organizing our theories so that when the time comes, we're ready for all the bloody Westeros drama.

So, let the over-analysis begin. We commence with a theory, courtesy of the folks on Reddit and a subsequent report on Mashable, about a recent teaser photo from season 7. Released on May 22, the photo shows an all-grown-up Drogon. But the big dragon is but a distraction from the real subject of the photo: two men fighting who appear to be a Dothraki and a Lannister. Upon zooming in on what looks like set dressing for the photo, a keen-eyed redditor noticed that one man looks to be holding a Dothraki weapon. The other appears to be wearing the signature Lannister red.

Here's the original photo:

Now, take a closer look at those soldiers in the far-right corner.

As of season 6 of HBO's fantasy epic, the Lannisters and the Dothraki have yet to encounter each other. The two groups exists in what, until now, seemed like two disparate story lines. The Lannisters hang out in King's Landing. The Dothraki, a nomadic tribe, spend their days in the desert, a full body of water away from the Lannisters.

The meetup of these two folks is a certified Big Deal. The whole show has been building toward this for six seasons. From the beginning, we've been following Daenarys, the Dothraki Queen, who believes she is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. (To be clear: No one is sure who the rightful heir is to that scary-looking throne.) The Lannisters have held control over the throne since Robert Baratheon died in the first season. At the end of the sixth season, Daenarys was headed to King's Landing with a boatload of ships, plotting her official takeover. This photo clue confirms that, come season 7, the epic battle of Queen Daenarys versus Queen Cersei will begin!

The next season doesn't return until July 16, so we have ample time to continue building theories. This is but one clue — there will be more! Keep searching! Keep digging, redditors! All men must die, but before then, they must search for Game of Thrones clues on the internet.