What triggered the return of "old magic"?

[Menos Grande]

I think the Others and the Dragons came back by the same reason, the profecy has to happen, the battle of Ice and Fire, The Azhor Ahai against the great Other... the battle is profetizied for it to happen we need the oponent, They both came in the longest winter, to fight to the winter endure, or for the summer that will never end.

Probably the "Gods" are fighting, and that is being reflected in earth as magic.

[Free Northman]

Targaryens have been trying to hatch Dragons through various rituals and magic spells for more than 100 years.

Dany was by no means the first to try it. But this time the spells worked, whereas in previous years they only made the Targaryens look like fools.

Clearly, if Dany had tried her same Dragon hatching stunt 50 years earlier, the underlying magic would not have been in place to make it work.

Something changed in the last few decades, which raised the background magic to the extent that Dragons could be hatched again.

It wasn't Dany, it was whatever caused the magic to return. Dany's Dragon hatching was just a result of that.

[Harle The Handsome]

Bloodraven awoke the Others, which had a butterfly effect on everything else. That's my theory anyway.

Doubtful, hasn't Craster been offering his sons for many years? I suspect his sons are the reason the White Walkers have returned. Perhaps this is triggering an escalation in old magics by the gods.

[dollybird]

Magic was never totally gone from the world, in Essos there was magic not as powerful but still, Westeros had almost no magic, but part of that was the Citadel.

I doubt Dragons are the only reason, they are not the unique source of magic in GRRM world

I agree that magic was always around in some form or another. Magic features strongly throughout the entire series and I agree that it was never really gone from the world. It appears in every culture that we have encountered be it witchcraft, sorcery, magic or whatever you want to call it. Specifically magic was not what I was referring to, but more the old ways, old world, old magic is what I ment. It seems that as well as the battle of good vs evil, ice vs fire, north vs south, its like the old world and old ways vs the new world and new ways with the old world having some kind of event triggered awakening.

Its so interesting reading all the posts and some great points are made. I think that @free northman is right about the dragons. Many attempts were made to bring about the return of the dragons. So why only now has someone been successful? The others are coming from north of the wall and I guess born of the ice. The dragons literally were born from the fire. Maybe it is a question of balance between fire and ice. The dragons definitely came about in response to what ever happened north of the wall. I think they are not THE trigger, rather A trigger.

[Free Northman]

Martin revealed a bit about the nature of magic in the Ice and Fire world when he participated in that internet contest where heroes from various fantasy series battled it out for supremacy.

In one death match, Rand al Thor faced Jaime Lannister. Rand won, by basically balefiring Jaime out of existence, or something, but Martin jokingly wrote an alternative version of the match, showing how he believed Jaime could have won.

In it, he basically had Rand try to use the One Power to anihilate Jaime, only for his weaves to fizzle out after a while. Jaime then told Rand how in the Ice and Fire world, magic is a weak force, that is quickly used up in any one area, after which spells become worthless.

In any case, this background magic cyclically increases and decreases in strength. I think the world is just emerging from a cycle of low magic, into one where the background magic increases again, allowing greater use of spells.

[dollybird]

Another thought.....Is there evidence from stories of the first men and the children of the forest of the others?? Perhaps, at some point in the history of Westeros, through magic of some sort, the others were created by someone trying to challenge for power of Westeros, like a zombie army created to eradicate the opposition. The others were eventually quashed and pushed north and the wall was raised to keep them there. As with a lot of knowledge regarding the others and this time, it is lost through the generations and only vague stories remain. The people of the time knew that the others were only temporarily defeated and would eventually come back, perhaps the "ice magic" was weakened, which is why the Starks have always said "winter is coming" and "the prince that was promised", was promised in the event of the return of the others, and it has always been indirectly implied that the others would return.

[mcb]

You guys are trying to chicken/egg this because you don't want to admit dany brought magic back. She hatched dragons, magic came back.

Yes, and she was able to do so because magic suddenly was a real thing again. Your argument is invalid.

[Lord Martin]

Crackpot or not?

Religion and magic are closely intertwined in this world. I think magic was a gift from the Gods, the Lord of Light, The Drowned God, the Old Gods and the Storm God. Then they left the world to its own devices. Humans and other humanoid races (COTF, Giants etc...) use this magic in their times of need. Of course this was long forgotten when the Andals came and the Targaryens.

My theory is that the Maesters have been working for centuries to drive magic from the world. They study it so they can master it and make it subordinate to knowledge. As magic faded, the dragons got smaller and died, wild fire lost its heat and there were fewer and fewer wargs.

But the weakening of magic also reduced whatever barriers were holding the Others at bay. So the Others have risen. The Others are indeed the enemy of the Lord of Light and also the Old Gods, The Drowned God and the Storm God. When their ancient rivals returned, the Gods returned to the world to once again aid humans in their time of need. Hence Red Priests have become more powerful, the red candles are buring, Dragons and Wargs are back etc...

I also think blood and blood lines are important. Certain lines have certain magic in their blood. With the return of Gods, come the return of those blood powers. Starks are warging, Targs are hatching and raising dragons. I suspect there may be a few other houses with powers too. My other side theory is that Areon Damphair will raise a Kraken during one of Euron's naval battles.

Any thoughts?

[Blisscraft]

Change is often seen as "magic." Maybe the trigger for all of this begins with the end of Aerys reign. Jaime's kingslaying maybe the event that starts everything. Or maybe even before, with the Lyanna/Robert?Rhaegar triangle.

Both of these events ultimately usher in a series of powerful changes in Westeros. Yes, the kingdoms seem stable for fourteen years, but are they really? No, there is much plotting and dabbling by the Targs and their allies to re-establish their reign. Many things contribute to the return of magic/or increase in magic, but the biggest catalyst is change.

[BabyMeraxes]

I don't think magic went anywhere, the mass of men just forgot about it/didn't need it. I think hatching the dragons lit the powder keg, but something makes me think that magic had been planning a return for a while. Technically speaking, a lot of it probably has to do with timing (the strange, long summer and the fast approaching winter.) Is there any in text evidence on how long it's been since the last Long Night?

[DoctorSwerve]

Doubtful, hasn't Craster been offering his sons for many years? I suspect his sons are the reason the White Walkers have returned. Perhaps this is triggering an escalation in old magics by the gods.

Bloodraven has likely had tree roots for veins much longer than Craster has been sacrificing his sons.

Bloodraven had to have had a damn good reason to assume his current duties while he was the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. I think that he awoke something dark & sinister in the North which is his vengeance against the world for going from the Hand of the King to a member of the Night's Watch. I feel we will have his motives revealed in the future, not from ASOIAF, but in future installments of Dunk & Egg.

[BlueHighwind]

This is the probably the central mystery of the entire series. Whoever or whatever did it is probably the Final Boss of Ice and Fire. Whatever thing is going on behind the scene might also be responsible for Westeros' bizarre seasonal patterns.

By the way, my guess for the Final Boss: The Red God. I never trusted that creature, whatever it is. Mel always assumes she's fighting for the Light but R'hollor sounds exaclty like an H.P. Lovecraft unimaginable horror. Somebody woke the Red God and that's been throwing the entire world out of balance.

[Rose of Winterfell]

I personally think that Jon Snow's (or Bran's) birth may have triggered the return of the Others, not entirely sure how and I have yet to develop this into a coherent theory :) The sleeping Others sensed the presence of Azor Azai in the north...

Or (crazy theory)--in Robert's Rebellion, so much King's blood (and other blood) was spilled that it caused all kinds of crazy magic sh*t to go down

[DarkSnow]

The cause of the return of magic or the strengthening of its power in Westeros happened before the books. The dragons birth and the Other's return has been caused by this either directly or indirectly. Magic is present in the Egg and Dunk stories when no dragons are believe to be alive, but in the present its influence and power has drastically advanced. GRRM seems to push us into the wrong answer (dragons being the reason the magic back) to keep us predicting what will happen to only reveal we were mislead.

[DoctorSwerve]

The cause of the return of magic or the strengthening of its power in Westeros happened before the books. The dragons birth and the Other's return has been caused by this either directly or indirectly. Magic is present in the Egg and Dunk stories when no dragons are believe to be alive, but in the present its influence and power has drastically advanced. GRRM seems to push us into the wrong answer (dragons being the reason the magic back) to keep us predicting what will happen to only reveal we were mislead.

I think that Bloodraven is the Great Other, however he did not come to this realization until much later in his life. He's basically the anti-christ, and Jon Snow (Azor Ahai) is the christ-figure here to rid the world of evil once and for all.

[DarkSnow]

I think that Bloodraven is the Great Other, however he did not come to this realization until much later in his life. He's basically the anti-christ, and Jon Snow (Azor Ahai) is the christ-figure here to rid the world of evil once and for all.

So what do you think Bran's role will be? I don't think he would side with the Others or against Jon. Bloodraven is a Mysterious character but i think hes misunderstood I could be wrong though

[DoctorSwerve]

So what do you think Bran's role will be? I don't think he would side with the Others or against Jon. Bloodraven is a Mysterious character but i think hes misunderstood I could be wrong though

It's tough to say. Even though I believe that Bloodraven is the Great Other, I don't think that he's immortal. I think that he's indoctrinating/brainwashing Bran in order to continue his legacy. It's much easier to manipulate a child than someone who is older. Perhaps some of the bones that lie in that cave are from other potential reliefs for Bloodraven who didn't pan out, didn't agree with his ideology. Who knows?

[DarkSnow]

It's tough to say. Even though I believe that Bloodraven is the Great Other, I don't think that he's immortal. I think that he's indoctrinating/brainwashing Bran in order to continue his legacy. It's much easier to manipulate a child than someone who is older. Perhaps some of the bones that lie in that cave are from other potential reliefs for Bloodraven who didn't pan out, didn't agree with his ideology. Who knows?

The Red God and The Great Other would be immortal imo. He could be the AA role to the Great other Tho. But... Its a pretty cool idea i can't wait to read WoW and see more of the lands of always winter and Bloodraven's plan.

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

By the way, my guess for the Final Boss: The Red God. I never trusted that creature, whatever it is. Mel always assumes she's fighting for the Light but R'hollor sounds exaclty like an H.P. Lovecraft unimaginable horror. Somebody woke the Red God and that's been throwing the entire world out of balance.

The only way I could see that being the case is if the Red God and the Great Other were just two different aspects of the same being — which is entirely possible. Otherwise, I don't see how the Red God would have influence over ice magic.

[Melifeather]

I'm "blaming" it on the Citadel. They are trying to control Westeros (according to Marwyn), but I think maybe even Marwyn and any of the acolytes following him would then have to share some blame as I think they were experimenting with magical things, because they knew what was going on with the other archmaesters and felt magic was the best weapon to develop. Marwyn had the obsidian/dragonglass candle that he was using to communicate with someone or spy on "things".

I should have read all the posts before posting my own opinion, because I like @Lord Martin's ideas. It's along the same line of thinking as my own, but more elaborated upon.