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The Destruction of Hardhome


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What happened at Hardhome?

 

The mystery as to what happened at Hardhomme has interested readers since it was first described, even more so after the show’s episode. Below I hope to expand on my theory as to what happened to cause the destruction that destroyed what was close to becoming the only true town north of the Wall.

I believe that in order to accurately explain this theory a good background is needed.

 

Braavos:

 

The youngest of the Free Cities, Braavos was built by escaped slaves. From TWOIAF:

 

Braavos was founded by fugitives from a large convoy of slave ships on its way from Valyria to a newly established colony in Sothoryos, who rose in a bloody rebellion, seized control of the ships on which they were being transported, and fled to “the far ends of the earth” to escape their erstwhile masters. Knowing they could be hunted, the salves turned away from their intended destination and sailed north instead of south, seeking a refuge as far from Valyria and her vengeance as could be found

For a long while, however, Braavosi merchant ships carried false charts and practiced an artful deceit when questioned about their home port. Thus, for more than a century, Braavos was known as the Secret City

I believe that the Valyrians decided to look for the escaped slaves and when they heard of a new town being built by “Free Folk” they assumed it was those slaves.

Hardhome:

 

From TWOIAF:

"One night, 600 years ago (about 300 years before Aegon's Landing), Hardhome was destroyed.[2] Something terrible happened that night; the details are uncertain. Its people are said to have been carried off into slavery by slavers from across the Narrow Sea or slaughtered for meat by cannibals out of Skagos, depending on the tale one chooses believe.

 

The homes of the inhabitants of Hardhome were said to have burned with flames so high and hot that the watchers on the Wall far to the south thought that the sun was rising in from the north. Afterwards, ashes rained down on the haunted forest and the Shivering Sea alike for almost half a year.

 

Traders and a ship sent by the Night's Watch to investigate reported only nightmarish devastation where Hardhome had stood, a landscape of charred trees and burned bones, waters choked with swollen corpses and blood-chilling shrieks echoing from the cave mouths that pock the great cliff that looms above the settlement, a cliff where no living man or woman could be found.[3]

 

After that Hardhome was shunned. The wildlings never settled the site again, and rangers roaming north of the Wall told tales of the overgrown ruins of Hardhome being haunted by ghouls, demons, and burning ghosts with an unhealthy taste for blood."

 

Does this sound like a place that was burned by dragonfire? (I would like to add descriptions as to what places like Harrenhall looked like immediately after Balerion’s attack, when I have the time). My theory is that the Valyrians found out about this town being built and assumed it was those escaped slaves.

 

TL DR: Hardhomme was destroyed by Valyrian dragonriders who believed it to be “Braavos” the city built by escaped slaves.

 

I hope to expand on this theory when I have more time, most importantly putting in the timeline. Please let me know what you think and don’t be too harsh, as this is my first attempt at putting one of my theories into writing. Thanks!

 

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See to me it sounds more like a volcanic eruption, or some similar event, perhaps even a precursor to the Doom of Valyria. Also the possibility of the Valyrians somehow mistaking a wildling settlement for Braavos seems far-fetched.

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5 minutes ago, Darion Storm said:

See to me it sounds more like a volcanic eruption, or some similar event, perhaps even a precursor to the Doom of Valyria. Also the possibility of the Valyrians somehow mistaking a wildling settlement for Braavos seems far-fetched.

I think that the common theory is that it was a volcanic eruption, something similiar to the Doom, I was just trying to think outside the box a little bit. 

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On 6/4/2016 at 7:09 PM, King Endymion Targaryen said:

Nice theory.I find these troublesome:

  • There are no records of Valyrians heading so north.We hear only about Essos and Sothoryos.
  • The Night's Watch would notice and write about a dragon invasion

Thanks for the response.

Yep, its definitely not my most fleshed out theory, I definitely need to go back add timeline, etc.

I was just re reading TWOIAF and it made sense to me haha

Always appreciate constructive criticism.

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This week I have myself convinced Hardhome was decimated by a meteor just big enough to rock the foundations there and cause nasty things beneath the ground to surface and become displaced in those caves.   It certainly sounds like a volcano, but we have no known volcanoes in that area.   That sort of event could certainly destroy the area and inhabitants and cause fallout as described.    I'm thinking dragon fire, though certainly an interesting idea, probably wouldn't displace subterranean things.   Of course nothing says anything was actually roused but I fancy them there be wyverns in those caves.  

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Well, the only things known to emerge from deep underground and cause destruction by fire, are firewyrms. And the caves could be the remnants of the tunnels they burrowed to get to the surface after being "awakened".

Are they perhaps the infamous "Sleepers" from the Night's Watch oath?

We already have horns that can summon dragons, horns that can supposedly summon krakens so why not a horn that can summon firewyrms from the Deep?

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It does bear the hallmarks of a volcanic eruption, and a poster has constructed a very strong case for volcanic activity in the North:

Theory: The Cause and Impact of the Breaking; with possible explanations for the Pact, Hardhome's destruction, and the Others' return

 

It's long, but well worth the effort. The Hardhome part is about halfway.

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1 minute ago, Free Northman Reborn said:

But what we don't know is whether volcanism is caused by Firewyrms in Planetos, just like Winter is caused by some magical force associated with magical Ice creatures.

Yes, I believe that in GRRM's universe, natural laws are infused with rational magical laws, so we get a 'double effect'.  I personally don't 'warm' to the idea of wyverns, wyrms or ice dragons in the far north, but it would fit in with my grand theory. My view is that wyrms lived in Valyria because of the hot volcanic microclimate, not the other way round - therefore, they could exist elsewhere where there are live volcanoes. I don't think the actions of creatures affect the ecosystem, however; it's the actions of Men and Men alone (whether with bloodmagic or axes) that does.

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3 hours ago, House Cambodia said:

It does bear the hallmarks of a volcanic eruption, and a poster has constructed a very strong case for volcanic activity in the North:

Theory: The Cause and Impact of the Breaking; with possible explanations for the Pact, Hardhome's destruction, and the Others' return

 

It's long, but well worth the effort. The Hardhome part is about halfway.

Thanks for the shoutout mate!

 

@Darion Storm  @Curled Finger 

There is abundant evidence for the North being heavily volcanic in certain areas. We have the Winterfell springs, Moat Cailin's basalt (an igneous rock which must have been mined somewhere), the mountainous island of Skagos, Thenn (which is almost certainly geothermally heated, leading me to believe that the whole Frostfangs mountain range is volcanic). And the Children of the Forest have to be getting their dragonglass from somewhere.

This, along with some other evidence, lead me to conclude that the destruction of Hardhome was almost certainly due to a volcanic eruption. If you are interested in my reasoning then please check out my theory (it's the top link in my signature).

8 hours ago, aryagonnakill#2 said:

While I don't find this theory crazy, it doesn't explain all the "caves" that are said to "scream".

I cover this in my theory, but long story short I believe the caves are a volcanic formation called lava caves, and the screams are because of the wind blowing through the tunnels.

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