And one the white wolf could no longer sense

[Kienn]

It's argued 3 posts down that Ghost isn't really sensing Summer, just knows he is on the other side of the Wall because he had been there.

But do we have any evidence that they can't sense each other from opposite sides of the wall other than this particular instance?

If it isn't Summer, who is it?

I think the one Ghost cannot sense is quite definitely Grey Wind.

A lot of readers understandably pick up the idea that the Wall blocks skinchanging magics from Jon's PoV when he's disconnected from Ghost, so I've made this argument before...

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So where does the Fallacy about the Wall blocking skinchanging come from?

The quotes that are used as evidence come exclusively from Jon, this is the first hint that it shouldn’t really be trusted(Jon knows nothing) so lets look at these quotes:

Quote [1] Jon SoS

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Jon wondered where Ghost was now. Had he gone to Castle Black, or was he was running with some wolfpack in the woods? He had no sense of the direwolf, not even in his dreams. It made him feel as if part of himself had been cut off. Even with Ygritte sleeping beside him, he felt alone. He did not want to die alone.

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Quote [2] Jon SoS

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Jon sat between two merlons with only a scarecrow for company and watched the Stallion gallop up the sky. Or was it the Horned Lord? He wondered where Ghost was now. He wondered about Ygritte as well, and told himself that way lay madness.

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Quote [3] Jon SoS

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Even beneath the furs, he was cold. Ghost had shared his cell before the ranging, warming it against the chill of night. And in the wild, Ygritte had slept beside him. Both gone now. He had burned Ygritte himself, as he knew she would have wanted, and Ghost... Where are you?

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Quote [4] Samwell SoS

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The warg, I’ve heard them call me. How can I be a warg without a wolf, I ask you?” His mouth twisted. “I don’t even dream of Ghost anymore. All my dreams are of the crypts, of the stone kings on their thrones."

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Quote 1 is the one that is inevitably brought up in topics about the Wall blocking skinchanging magics, and it would be convincing if there was a more diverse set of evidence, such as multiple characters having the same problem. However, if we look at all of Jon’s comments about the situation together we can get a sense of what the real problem is. In quotes 1, 2, and 3 Jon shows that every time he thinks about Ghost while awake, he also thinks about Ygritte. In quote 4 Jon explains that while he’s sleeping he only experiences dreams about Winterfell’s crypts. I won’t go deeply into what the crypt dreams are about but we can see that Jon is very distracted by both Ygritte and this other set of dreams.

Also note that all of these quotes are during the time period after Jon pretends to join the wildlings, and after he further breaks his NW vows by sleeping with Ygritte. Both his thoughts of Ygritte and Winterfell’s crypts can and have been argued to represent an identity crisis for Jon. This identity crisis is directly tied to Ghost since it is Ghost’s reunification with Jon that finally convinces Jon that he belongs to the Old Gods, the gods of the North and the Starks, and that he should decline Stannis’ offer to burn those Gods to take Winterfell.

Essentially, the Wall being between Jon and Ghost during this time period is only a coincidence, which we can confirm by the following

Jon SoS

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Jon took a step toward the tent, thinking of the Horn of Winter, but the shadowcat blocked him, tail lashing. The beast’s nostrils flared, and slaver ran from his curved front teeth. He smells my fear. He missed Ghost more than ever then. The two wolves were behind him, growling.

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Recall that this is while Jon is north of the Wall to parley with Mance. Even during that short period GRRM is specifically pointing out that Jon is still unable to sense Ghost. Compare this with a time before his identity crisis begins, before he kills Qhorin.

Jon CoK

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After that, every night seemed colder than the night before, and more lonely. Ghost was not always with them, but he was never far either. Even when they were apart, Jon sensed his nearness. He was glad for that.

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From what I can find, Jon’s failure to skinchange across the Wall is completely isolated to Jon, and generally isolated to that time period and if anything Jon’s failure to control Ghost at other periods lends further credence to this conclusion. If anyone does have a quote with another skinchanger being blocked by the wall feel free to share.

However, not only do we have this clear pattern for Jon, we also have direct contradictions to the “Wall blocks skinchanging” idea.

Bran SoS

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Sometimes he could sense them, though, as if they were still with him, only hidden from his sight by a boulder or a stand of trees. He could not smell them, nor hear their howls by night, yet he felt their presence at his back... all but the sister they had lost. His tail drooped when he remembered her. Four now, not five. Four and one more, the white who has no voice.

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Here Summer can feel his siblings - "all but the sister they had lost..." This is while Ghost is north of the Wall.

In addition to this we have the following

Jon SoS

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The skinchanger was grey-faced, round-shouldered, and bald, a mouse of a man with a wolfling’s eyes. “Once a horse is broken to the saddle, any man can mount him,” he said in a soft voice. “Once a beast’s been joined to a man, any skinchanger can slip inside and ride him. Orell was withering inside his feathers, so I took the eagle for my own. But the joining works both ways, warg. Orell lives inside me now, whispering how much he hates you. And I can soar above the Wall, and see with eagle eyes.”

“So we know,” said Mance. “We know how few you were, when you stopped the turtle. We know how many came from Eastwatch. We know how your supplies have dwindled. Pitch, oil, arrows, spears. Even your stair is gone, and that cage can only lift so many. We know. And now you know we know.”

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So we have Varamyr himself claiming he can skinchange his eagle above the wall and Mance proving his point with intelligence that would require it.

Thanks for reading!

TLDR:

1) All examples of the Wall supposedly blocking skinchanging magic are limited to Jon.

2) All examples are also limited to the period when Jon is working through an identity crisis.

3) Jon is also unable to sense Ghost when they are both north of the Wall during this identity crisis.

4) We have specific counter-examples of Bran, Jon, and Varamyr skinchanging through the Wall.

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Basically for a couple Jon chapters in a row readers are pummeled with the idea that he can't sense Ghost anymore, and that's right after he crosses the Wall... so it's a common misconception. I think once you step back and look at the other info it's clear that he has a separate problem at that time, and with other characters skinchanging through the Wall just fine... it doesn't block that magic.

[cyberdirectorfreedom]

I'm pretty sure the wolf in question is Summer. He gives a good description of what Shaggy and Nymeria are doing; Shaggy eating the maybe-unicorn, Nymeria howling with her pack. But with Summer, he just mentions that he knows he's north of the Wall. "The grey one who smelled of summer". It could just be a remembered smell, but Ghost can no longer sense Summer, the connection with Summer far less than with the others.

[bemused]

I'm coming in on the side of .. Four remained...and one (of those) he could no longer sense .. ... the grey one who smelled of summer.

At the same time, I don't think the magic in the Wall blocks skinchanging .. but being in the cave of the CoTF might.

The wards on both places might not be exactly the same.

This raises some interesting questions about Ghost and where he is at a given time, of course ... I think there may be some signs that he may be connected in some way to some greenseer, not necessarily Bloodraven (whether all the time, or intermittently, who knows?)

Bran senses the others through Summer , but in Jon's wolf dream he can not only sense Shaggy and Nymeria but "see" something of their location and what they're doing.

ETA: I also wanted to say that there is also the possibility of spells specific to one character.. E.g., with Cold Hands ..though he's wight-like, the same magic that applies to the warding against wights, may not be what keeps him from entering the cave or passing the wall. We haven't met another character exactly like him, nor another wolf like Ghost.

We can suppose the wights could enter at CB because they were inanimate at the time, and because the NW brought them through ( in effect granting permission).. but then maybe Sam should have been able to pass him through...Or it may be that men later carved out the gates at the other castles, creating holes in the magic at those points.. we don't know enough to say for sure...

But if he has some spell laid on him specifically , so, too, could the wolves , if their locations are best kept secret at some time for some reason.

[Isobel Harper]

I think "the one..." is Lady/Sansa.

As we see in Varamyr's Prologue chapter in ADwD, a warg goes into their bond-animal when the warg dies. Similarly, when the bond-animal dies, they also go into their warg.

AGot, Sansa III:
Sansa sat up. "Lady," she whispered. For a moment it was as if the direwolf was there in the room, looking at her with those golden eyes, sad and knowing. She had been dreaming, she realized. Lady was with her, and they were running together, and … and … trying to remember was like trying to catch the rain with her fingers. The dream faded, and Lady was dead again.

Per The Citadel:

• Part of a warg is his wolf, and vice versa.
• Some wargs seem able to sense members of their animal's family by some magical sense, perhaps related to the "third eye" or the unusual nature of the animal and its kindred.
• Skinchangers can always sense one another.
• Skinchangers can lead a "second life" after their body dies, a sweeter and simpler one in which their spirit and mind inhabits the body of their animal. Their memories slowly fade day by day, until eventually the skinchanger is gone

Jon is no longer able to sense Lady/Sansa partly in due to the fact that she is no longer amongst the Old Gods. Wargs can attach to their bond-animals "despite being removed by hundreds of leagues." GRRM states that all of the Stark children are wargs "to a greater or lesser degree ...but the amount of control varies widely." But Sansa is no powerful warg - yet. Now that Sansa is in the Vale where some might worship the Old Gods, i.e. the Royces, she might regain her warging ability.

Or it's possible, since a warg can lead a "second life" inside their bond animal but "[A warg's] memories slowly fade day by day, until eventually the skinchanger is gone," that so too did Lady lead a "second life" inside of Sansa for a time. Jon/Ghost was able to sense her, but now the wolf inside has faded away.

[Valyrian Blade]

It can't be lady because he says "Four remained and one he could not sense"

Grey Wind

Shaggy Dog

Nymeria

Ghost

he could not sense Summer.

[Isobel Harper]

It can't be lady because he says "Four remained and one he could not sense"

Grey Wind

Shaggy Dog

Nymeria

Ghost

he could not sense Summer.

Why Grey Wind? Robb and Grey Wind had died at this point.

[Lyanna<3Rhaegar]

Why Grey Wind? Robb and Grey Wind had died at this point.

:agree:

Grey Wind was definitely not one of the remaining ones...

[grufolo]

I think that plainly "four remained", and one (of them) could not be sensed. So Ghost senses

- himself

- shaggydog

- nymeria

does not sense

- summer

greywind and lady are cooked

[Whitering]

I am with Grey Wind. While Jon has not delved into skinchanging and what it means for him and how it could be useful, it doesn't mean Ghost is ignorant of everything. We've seen already how the Wall doesn't block this. While Ghost can sense his family, it doesn't mean he necessarily knows that the ones he can't sense are dead.

Did Jon ever learn about Lady and when did Jon learn about Rob and Grey Wind compared to when Ghost had this passage?

[Joe Lyon Layden]

Well we don't ever actually see Lady's death in book or series, though the series does give us a little whelp...

I was thinking how badly it would trip out everybody if ned was alive and for that reason alone Martin might do it...only candidate to warg into would be a hidden or freed Lady.

But still it's a stretch.

[Ser Matris]

I am with Grey Wind. While Jon has not delved into skinchanging and what it means for him and how it could be useful, it doesn't mean Ghost is ignorant of everything. We've seen already how the Wall doesn't block this. While Ghost can sense his family, it doesn't mean he necessarily knows that the ones he can't sense are dead.
 
Did Jon ever learn about Lady and when did Jon learn about Rob and Grey Wind compared to when Ghost had this passage?

Later on in the same chapter, Jon says that Ghost knows Grey Wind is dead and that Robb perished with him.

What is interesting is that, while Jon believes that Bran and Rickon are dead, he knows that their wolves are alive based on his own wolf dreams through Ghost. He also knows that Summer rescued him at Queenscrown. So, could the one Ghost isn't able to sense actually be referring to Lady?

[winterfellsedai]

This is funny...just saw it for the first time ever. You did a lot of work for that post about Ghost. Good job.