Jump to content

The Others and Wights


Euron III Greyjoy

Recommended Posts

In Jon Snow's second to last ADwD chapter, Jon receives a letter from Cotter Pyke about the "dead things in the water", and whilst this could easily just be sea creatures turned by the Others it got me thinking, can Wights walk under the water? If they could then there is nothing stopping the Others from sending an army of them to the South of Westeros, or even to Essos. 

Whilst thinking about this, I also started wondering if the Others could work a ship. Lets just say that there are Others in Hardhome during the whole "dead things in the water" fiasco, could they in theory steal Cotter Pyke's ships and sail away. It might not be cold enough to travel South yet, but Hardhome is very close to Skagos, so they could go there and turn everyone on the island into Wights. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Others are limited by temperature.  Water melts ice.  I suppose yes, they could take a ship across the waters as long as they sail northward.  But the question is begging to come out.  Why would they do that?  Is there even anything of interest to them across the Narrow Sea.  For that matter, do we even have evidence that they want to attack the opposite side of the wall. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
On 1/17/2019 at 8:09 AM, Euron III Greyjoy said:

In Jon Snow's second to last ADwD chapter, Jon receives a letter from Cotter Pyke about the "dead things in the water", 

This has always been suspicious to me. Why would he say "dead things" instead of "dead people"? It has to be something he doesn't recognise, which makes it very interesting.

 

On 1/17/2019 at 8:09 AM, Euron III Greyjoy said:

Whilst thinking about this, I also started wondering if the Others could work a ship.

Are you asking if the Wight Walkers could handle a ship as opposed to wights? I guess WW would technically have the motor skills to be able to do such a thing, but I don't think they have the experience. And wights don't seem to have any skills outside of very basic/primitive actions so I don't think they would be much help either.

The Wight Walkers are always accompanied by the freezing cold temperatures (that they likely bring with them) but I think it's unrealistic to be able to bring this temperature level with you when you are sailing on a ship, even if slowly. Plus the cold would likely freeze the water into ice, and perhaps stiffen the sails/ropes too?

So while I think it's possible, I think there are so many circumstances preventing it from being a good idea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Mat92 said:

Why would he say "dead things" instead of "dead people"?

Animals are also wightfied. So the Others could also have turned dead fishes, krakens and whales into wights. I'm not saying that's what Pyke is referring to, though. Maybe he just doesn't know what's in the water and prefered to call them "things".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/16/2019 at 7:09 PM, Euron III Greyjoy said:

In Jon Snow's second to last ADwD chapter, Jon receives a letter from Cotter Pyke about the "dead things in the water", and whilst this could easily just be sea creatures turned by the Others it got me thinking, can Wights walk under the water? If they could then there is nothing stopping the Others from sending an army of them to the South of Westeros, or even to Essos. 

Whilst thinking about this, I also started wondering if the Others could work a ship. Lets just say that there are Others in Hardhome during the whole "dead things in the water" fiasco, could they in theory steal Cotter Pyke's ships and sail away. It might not be cold enough to travel South yet, but Hardhome is very close to Skagos, so they could go there and turn everyone on the island into Wights. 

I would expect a massacre of everyone on board before a crew of wights sailed south.

Although, I'm sure the actual Others have the ability.

But as @Samyaza says, do they even want to go overseas? 

The Long Night was felt in Essos so I really don't know. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/16/2019 at 7:09 PM, Euron III Greyjoy said:

"dead things in the water",

Yeah, verra vague.

I mean fire kills wights.

As in Jon's attack on a wight.

Obsidian melts Others/White Walkers.

As in Samwell's attack on mr. puddles.

What is floating in the water?

Bloated corpses?

Creatures killed by volcanic or toxic run off?

I took a short cut and used the wiki. Maybe there is some information in WOIAF that ties the wiki and DwD quote together.

One night, 600 years ago (about 300 years before Aegon's Landing), Hardhome was destroyed. 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. /

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/16/2019 at 7:09 PM, Euron III Greyjoy said:

In Jon Snow's second to last ADwD chapter, Jon receives a letter from Cotter Pyke about the "dead things in the water", and whilst this could easily just be sea creatures turned by the Others it got me thinking, can Wights walk under the water? If they could then there is nothing stopping the Others from sending an army of them to the South of Westeros, or even to Essos. 

Whilst thinking about this, I also started wondering if the Others could work a ship. Lets just say that there are Others in Hardhome during the whole "dead things in the water" fiasco, could they in theory steal Cotter Pyke's ships and sail away. It might not be cold enough to travel South yet, but Hardhome is very close to Skagos, so they could go there and turn everyone on the island into Wights. 

Those who can swim in life should be able to swim as long as the water is cold.  Warm water will cause them to rot fast. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, U. B. Cool said:

Warm water will cause them to rot fast. 

I suspect that wights are magically prevent from rotting, even in warm enviroments. As I replied in another thread:

Quote

The morning NW men found the corpses of Othor and Jafer Flowers was "unnaturally warm", and yet Dywen noted that there was "no corpse stink" and Sam stated "they aren't rotting". And then "the rangers exchanged glances; they could see it was true, every man of them". And both corpses already had unnatural blue eyes, meaning the Others already rose them by that time.

Regarding Jafer Flower's still-moving hand that decomposed in a jar during Alliser Thorne's trip to King's Landing, that jar was filled with vinegar ("His right hand was floating in a jar of vinegar back in Maester Aemon's tower." - AGOT, Jon VII). So, maybe it decomposed due the southern heat, maybe it was a month in contact with the acetic acid of the vinegar.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...