'Winds Of Winter' Release Date: New Book Confirms Fate Of Stannis Baratheon; Spoilers For 'Game Of Thrones' Season 6?

The last season of "Game of Thrones" ended with a lot of cliff-hangers and questionable deaths. For months, fans have speculated if Kit Harrington's character, Jon Snow, is really dead or if he will come alive in the next season of "Game of Thrones." Fans also doubted Stannis Baratheon's final moments as there was no blood seen from Brienne's sword. However, a recent tweet from the editor of Watcher's on the Wall, Sue the Fury, confirmed that Stannis' is indeed dead.

The tweet came with a photo of the book, "Game of Thrones: The Noble Houses of Westeros: Seasons 1-5."

Vanity Fair recalled that the doubts regarding Stannis' death came from his confusing death scene. The photo showed a paragraph in the book that described Stannis' death: "Stannis was killed outside of Winterfell by Brienne of Tarth, who wished to avenge Renly’s death."

In the last season of "Game of Thrones" season five, Stannis was seen leaning on a tree, wounded and defeated from the battle to take over Winterfell. The towering Brienne of Tarth wields her sword while Baratheon says, “Go on, do your duty." At the moment that Brienne swings his sword to kill Stannis, the camera suddenly cuts to show Ramsey Snow pulling a bloody sword from a soldier.

The speculations that Baratheon was not dead corroborated with "Game of Thrones" creator George R.R. Martin's reply to a fan on his live journal, Not A Blog, in August. The fan asked Martin if Stannis is alive or dead. The "Song of Ice and Fire" author answered, "In my books? Alive, beyond a doubt."

However, despite Martin's answer and fans' speculations, there have been many clues in the past suggesting that the Lord of Dragonstone has passed away. In a report from Variety, "Game of Thrones" director David Nutter said, "I think that was basically in the script. Dan and David felt it best not to be gratuitous with that. You really got a sense that Stannis had nothing else to live for. Brienne’s life-long mission had come to an end. It’s a situation in which Stannis was ready to die and prepared to die. It would have been gratuitous."

Last June, the "Game of Thrones" official Twitter account sealed Stannis' faith again when they posted an artwork by Robert M. Ball.

With Stannis gone, is Jon Snow's fate also sealed or will fans see him return alive and kicking in "Game of Thrones" season six?