The CotF and, Well, Everything

[John Suburbs]

I'm going way past mere speculation and into downright daydreaming here, but I keep wonder about the magic the CotF were able to conjure in the past, and what they might still be capable of.

We know they used to be pretty bad ass. They shattered the Arm of Dorne and turned it into the Stepstones. They were instrumental in building the Wall. They fought the First Men to a standstill, despite their use of bronze and horses, and were able to build a peaceful coexistence similar to what they already had with Giants and the Others.

Plus, they have the greensight, the weirwood net and the gift of prophecy, not to mention extremely long lifespans.

So with all that, I'm wondering if they might also be responsible, or least be involved in:

The Doom of Valyria. An earth-shattering event if ever there was one that took place at just about the time the dragon lords, having conquered much of Essos, were starting to make their presence known on Westeros.

The Seasons. Is it just me, or do the long winters and summers only seem to affect Westeros? They aren't mentioned at all in Quarth, Volantis, or anywhere else the story has gone.

Supposedly, there are only a few dozen left, but they were never great in numbers to begin with, so the question is whether they intend to exit the world with a bang or a wimper.

[oursisthefury69]

A weird percentage of people on these forums genuinely believe Valyria was an entirely natural disaster, despite much evidence to the contrary.

I cant see what they'd stand to gain by directly and purposefully prolonging the seasons

The Arm of Dorne is something I believe will be very important to the greater story, as it shows the children opposed men living in Westeros at one point, and possessed the power to keep them away, but chose not too

[Lady Blizzardborn]

What they gain by prolonging the seasons is the possibility of men dying off and thus leaving them alone. During a long summer people get complacent, eat too much, have heart attacks, tempers get short in the hot weather and they might kill each other. The Wot5K began in summer. In the long winters those who aren't prepared could easily freeze or starve.

I don't think they were involved in the Doom of Valyria. I just don't see any evidence for it. The CotF seem to be concerned with Westeros alone. The FM are far more likely to have caused the Doom. CotF could have been behind Hardhome though.

[John Suburbs]

Hardhome is certainly possible. What about Summerhall?

In ADwD, Ser Barriston tells Dany that Jenny of Oldstones dies at Summerhall. She was the one who brought the woods witch to court that predicted the PtwP would rise from union of Aerys and Rhaella. Jenny claimed the witch was a CotF.

It makes sense that if Jenny was at Summerhall, the witch probably was too -- and, btw, that was when Rhaegar was born.