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Why do the Others only attack the Night’s Watch


Podrick_The_Pug

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In on page action we have only seen the Others attack brothers of the Night’s Watch.  They attack Waymar, Will, and Garen in the prologue.  They attack the great ranging at the Fist of the First Men and during the retreat from the Fist.  We are meant to believe that the wilding party that Waymar was tracking were killed by the Others but there is no definitive proof that this is so.  We see wildings that have been turned into wights but again no proof that the Others killed them.  Perhaps they only wight wildlings that are already dead?  Tormund talks about fighting the cold with Jon and he certainly seems a aware of, and afraid of, the Others.  He implies wilding stragglers are killed by the Others but maybe they just die of exposure or disease or whatever (They do live in a harsh environment) and get wighted.  The Others certainly have opportunities to kill Wildlings.  For instance, the group Jon finds at the Weirwood tree grove certainly seem like easy pickings.  Also, when wighted Small Paul attacks Sam and Gilly he also seems much more intent on killing Sam than Gilly.  
So why only kill brothers of the Night’s Watch?  

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Because they are smart. They would the see the nights watch as a bigger threat than the wildlings. Mance and the free folk were doing the job for the others. If the wall falls to the wildlings it will be easier to attack it. The wildlings will definitely man the wall with more numbers but they are not the nights watch. They dont possess the skills of the black brothers. And I very much doubt many will be happy with manning the wall. They’ll likely just raid the richer lands to the south, no matter what mance orders from them. And also if they call for aid from the other realms (which they won’t anyways) no one will come. 

Although we dont know what the others know about Westeros and its politics. It is very possible that the others are aware of how useful the wildlings will be to them and also how easy it will be to breach the wall with wildlings manning it.

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Craster cannot be the only wildling making sacrifices to the Others.  His offerings were just more valued because he is a Stark kin by blood.  There is a connection between the Starks and the Others.  Wildlings need to do something with their unwanted children.  I mean their freewheeling lifestyle have to lead to a lot of unwanted pregnancies.  They were giving enough to keep the Others and the weir trees happy.  Mance came along and being who he is, refused to continue sacrificing.  He was raised by the NW and knew nothing about the culture of human sacrifice.  The Starks, Craster, and the wildlings carried out the rituals in secret over the millennia.  Ned was a different kind of man from his father and must have stopped sacrificing. 

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12 hours ago, FictionIsntReal said:

I think we just know less about their interactions with wildlings. Our intro POV is a watchman, we get two more NW POVs that recur, so we're very focused on the NW.

Agreed. The perspectives of the small folk are rarely heard in the high-born POVs of ASOIAF.

We know the wildlings are scared of the Others, to the point that they surrender their valuables and make common cause with their enemies, the Night's Watch. We also learn through Jon's interactions with Ygritte that the two acceptable ways to dispose of a wildling body are to allow a shadow cat to break the bones or to burn the body. I have not seen it confirmed, but it is implied that these methods prevent the body from being reanimated as a wight.

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There are no POV characters with the wildlings.

And at the wildling village, it's Gilly's baby the wights are after, so that's an attack on her. And I'm assuming that the Others or the wights attacked Craster's Keep after the mutiny since Ollo Lophand and other mutineers left the Keep. There's a mix of wildlings and members of the NW there. One of Craster's wives told Sam that they were coming, the brothers, because she could feel the cold. 

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13 hours ago, Podrick_The_Pug said:

Tormund talks about fighting the cold with Jon and he certainly seems a aware of, and afraid of, the Others.  

This and many more (like cotter pyke's letters from hardhome) make it clear that the white walkers and their undead attack free folk too. This is why wildings united under Mance and want to get thru the wall.

 

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15 hours ago, Podrick_The_Pug said:

In on page action we have only seen the Others attack brothers of the Night’s Watch.  They attack Waymar, Will, and Garen in the prologue.  They attack the great ranging at the Fist of the First Men and during the retreat from the Fist.  We are meant to believe that the wilding party that Waymar was tracking were killed by the Others but there is no definitive proof that this is so.  We see wildings that have been turned into wights but again no proof that the Others killed them.  Perhaps they only wight wildlings that are already dead?  Tormund talks about fighting the cold with Jon and he certainly seems a aware of, and afraid of, the Others.  He implies wilding stragglers are killed by the Others but maybe they just die of exposure or disease or whatever (They do live in a harsh environment) and get wighted.  The Others certainly have opportunities to kill Wildlings.  For instance, the group Jon finds at the Weirwood tree grove certainly seem like easy pickings.  Also, when wighted Small Paul attacks Sam and Gilly he also seems much more intent on killing Sam than Gilly.  
So why only kill brothers of the Night’s Watch?  

While I believe the NW is an institution originating for the sole purpose of containing the Others, for lack of a better intention, I think the Others are "powered" by humanish life force in general.  It seems to be a matter of eat everything you can (Free Folk) while getting rid of as much wilted spinach (NW brothers) as possible.   NW members aren't any more likely to have super nutritional value, but they are the enemy.   We know the Others are not dead and history tells us the NW are the guys who thwarted their original efforts.   Sure, they could be looking for magical blood like the Starks, but they can't seem to get close enough to Winterfell.  Gotta get rid of the border patrol before you get to the promised land, you know?  

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20 hours ago, Podrick_The_Pug said:

In on page action we have only seen the Others attack brothers of the Night’s Watch.  

We've only been there when they attacked the nights watch. We can only see where the PoV are.
That doesnt mean those are the only attacks.

20 hours ago, Podrick_The_Pug said:

They attack Waymar, Will, and Garen in the prologue.  They attack the great ranging at the Fist of the First Men and during the retreat from the Fist.  We are meant to believe that the wilding party that Waymar was tracking were killed by the Others but there is no definitive proof that this is so.  

Well, that kinda depends on your level of required definitive proof.

If you are going to be that over-the-top 'careful', then you can't take what we have seen as proof of them always or only attacking the NW either.  Its just too limited a dataset. 

20 hours ago, Podrick_The_Pug said:

We see wildings that have been turned into wights but again no proof that the Others killed them.  

No 'proof' no. But everything pints in that direction.
There is certainly no proof that they weren't killed by the Others.

20 hours ago, Podrick_The_Pug said:

Perhaps they only wight wildlings that are already dead? 

 

Small Paul died in combat with an Other. So did Waymar Royce.

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The wights had been slow clumsy things, but the Other was light as snow on the wind. It slid away from Paul's axe, armor rippling, and its crystal sword twisted and spun and slipped between the iron rings of Paul's mail, through leather and wool and bone and flesh. It came out his back with a hissssssssssss and Sam heard Paul say, "Oh," as he lost the axe. Impaled, his blood smoking around the sword, the big man tried to reach his killer with his hands and almost had before he fell. The weight of him tore the strange pale sword from the Other's grip.

And came back as a wight.

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There was no time to think or pray or be afraid. Samwell Tarly threw himself forward and plunged the dagger down into Small Paul's back. Half-turned, the wight never saw him coming. The raven gave a shriek and took to the air. "You're dead!" Sam screamed as he stabbed. "You're dead, you're dead." He stabbed and screamed, again and again, tearing huge rents in Paul's heavy black cloak. Shards of dragonglass flew everywhere as the blade shattered on the iron mail beneath the wool.

Are you seriously suggesting that the Others wight-ifiy NW men they kill, but only wight-ify wildlings who died naturally? Just because we haven't had a pov in a wildling-other fight to see a wildling actually die from an Other?

How do you demand that level of proof for one thing while proposing another based on an absence of data?

20 hours ago, Podrick_The_Pug said:

 Tormund talks about fighting the cold with Jon and he certainly seems a aware of, and afraid of, the Others.  He implies wilding stragglers are killed by the Others but maybe they just die of exposure or disease or whatever (They do live in a harsh environment) and get wighted.  

Yes, its possible, even probable, that many of the wildlings die of 'natural' causes and get wight-ified later. Thats why they burn their dead. 
The Others seem happy to take any corpse, whether they killed it directly, through wights, or neither.

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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, 

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By late afternoon the snow was falling steadily, but the river of wildlings had dwindled to a stream. Columns of smoke rose from the trees where their camp had been. "Toregg," Tormund explained. "Burning the dead. Always some who go to sleep and don't wake up. You find them in their tents, them as have tents, curled up and froze. Toregg knows what to do."


 

20 hours ago, Podrick_The_Pug said:

The Others certainly have opportunities to kill Wildlings.  For instance, the group Jon finds at the Weirwood tree grove certainly seem like easy pickings.  Also, when wighted Small Paul attacks Sam and Gilly he also seems much more intent on killing Sam than Gilly.  

Actually he went for Gilly, but Sam distracted him. Then when the horse distracted him from Sam, he went for that.

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Gilly scrabbled backward across the hard dirt floor. The wight turned his head to look at her, but Sam shouted "NO!" and he turned back. The raven on his shoulder ripped a strip of flesh from his pale ruined cheek. Sam held the dagger before him, breathing like a blacksmith's bellows. Across the longhall, Gilly reached the garron. Gods give me courage, Sam prayed. For once, give me a little courage. Just long enough for her to get away.
Small Paul moved toward him. Sam backed off until he came up against a rough log wall. He clutched the dagger with both hands to hold it steady. The wight did not seem to fear the dragonglass. Perhaps he did not know what it was. He moved slowly, but Small Paul had never been quick even when he'd been alive. Behind him, Gilly murmured to calm the garron and tried to urge it toward the door. But the horse must have caught a whiff of the wight's queer cold scent. Suddenly she balked, rearing, her hooves lashing at the frosty air. Paul swung toward the sound, and seemed to lose all interest in Sam.

It seems programmed to deal with threats first. Or maybe heat. Its hard to tell. I'm not sure it matters. Fact is, it went for all three there, the NWman, the wildling woman, and the horse.

What is clear is that the idea that the Others leave the wildlings alone is utter nonsense.

20 hours ago, Podrick_The_Pug said:

So why only kill brothers of the Night’s Watch?  

They don't.  

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On 6/13/2020 at 10:11 PM, Podrick_The_Pug said:

In on page action we have only seen the Others attack brothers of the Night’s Watch.  They attack Waymar, Will, and Garen in the prologue.  They attack the great ranging at the Fist of the First Men and during the retreat from the Fist.  We are meant to believe that the wilding party that Waymar was tracking were killed by the Others but there is no definitive proof that this is so.  We see wildings that have been turned into wights but again no proof that the Others killed them.  Perhaps they only wight wildlings that are already dead?  Tormund talks about fighting the cold with Jon and he certainly seems a aware of, and afraid of, the Others.  He implies wilding stragglers are killed by the Others but maybe they just die of exposure or disease or whatever (They do live in a harsh environment) and get wighted.  The Others certainly have opportunities to kill Wildlings.  For instance, the group Jon finds at the Weirwood tree grove certainly seem like easy pickings.  Also, when wighted Small Paul attacks Sam and Gilly he also seems much more intent on killing Sam than Gilly.  
So why only kill brothers of the Night’s Watch?  

No one reported seeing any Others at the Fist, only wights.

And we don't really know yet that the Others are raising the wights.

Other than that, we have only had two PoV encounters with the Others, and they were both watchmen. So who knows what else they are up to elsewhere?

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2 hours ago, John Suburbs said:

No one reported seeing any Others at the Fist, only wights.

Sam says hi.

Quote

Maslyn screamed for mercy. Why had he suddenly remembered that? It was nothing he wanted to remember. The man had stumbled backward, dropping his sword, pleading, yielding, even yanking off his thick black glove and thrusting it up before him as if it were a gauntlet. He was still shrieking for quarter as the wight lifted him in the air by the throat and near ripped the head off him. The dead have no mercy left in them, and the Others . . . no, I mustn't think of that, don't think, don't remember, just walk, just walk, just walk.

 

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They have not attacked the wall.  And don't forget, Weymar Royce was trespassing when they killed him.  He was on their side of the wall.  The humans could do something really stupid to make the white walkers angry.  Angry enough to make them attack the wall.  It won't be hard.  Bran would do something stupid like try to enter the mind of an Other.  I can see how that might make them hostile towards man.  The renegades also killed a loyal worshiper when they murdered Craster and his family. 

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29 minutes ago, John Suburbs said:

He never says there were any Others at the Fist, just wights. Sure, the dead have no mercy in them, and the Others must be even worse. But he still never saw any at the Fist, and neither did anyone else.

The text I quoted clearly shows that there were also Others at the Fist but they were so terrifying that Sam is trying his best to forget them. If you have a problem with that, I can't help you.

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3 hours ago, Mithras said:

The text I quoted clearly shows that there were also Others at the Fist but they were so terrifying that Sam is trying his best to forget them. If you have a problem with that, I can't help you.

Additionally, Jon's conversation with Mance and Dalla indicates to me that the free folk have been (unsuccessfully) fighting the Others. 

Quote

"Your losses haven't been that heavy."

"Not at your hands." Mance studied Jon's face. "You saw the Fist of the First Men. You know what happened there. You know what we are facing."

"The Others . . ."

"They grow stronger as the days grow shorter and the nights colder. First they kill you, then they send your dead against you. The giants have not been able to stand against them, nor the Thenns, the ice river clans, the Hornfoots."

"Nor you?"

"Nor me." There was anger in that admission, and bitterness too deep for words. "Raymun Redbeard, Bael the Bard, Gendel and Gorne, the Horned Lord, they all came south to conquer, but I've come with my tail between my legs to hide behind your Wall." He touched the horn again. "If I sound the Horn of Winter, the Wall will fall. Or so the songs would have me believe. There are those among my people who want nothing more . . ."

"But once the Wall is fallen," Dalla said, "what will stop the Others?"

Mance gave her a fond smile. "It's a wise woman I've found. A true queen." (ASOS Jon X)

 

On 6/14/2020 at 11:00 AM, Seams said:

We also learn through Jon's interactions with Ygritte that the two acceptable ways to dispose of a wildling body are to allow a shadow cat to break the bones or to burn the body. I have not seen it confirmed, but it is implied that these methods prevent the body from being reanimated as a wight.

Could be that destruction of the bone marrow is key.

Quote

Summer dug up a severed arm, black and covered with hoarfrost, its fingers opening and closing as it pulled itself across the frozen snow. There was still enough meat on it to fill his empty belly, and after that was done he cracked the arm bones for the marrow. Only then did the arm remember it was dead. (ADWD Bran III)

 

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The Others have certainly killed Free Folk, but I think there is a question of whether the Others have attacked them in force / pitched battle.

Most of the attacks from Others and wights we have seen thus far have been against small groups or stragglers - what might fall under the category of skirmish tactics. I don't think this is necessarily because they uninterested in killing Free Folk, but because that was all in Autumn, and I would not expect the Others to have marshalled their full strength before full Winter.

In this respect, the attack on a large encamped force at the Fist of the First Men is possibly anomalous. I do think the Others changed tactics to attack in force on that occasion - it was an opportunity to kill a large number of NW brothers. I think they did that because  despite the  Fist's defenses it is exposed compared to when the brothers are at the Wall.

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21 hours ago, Mithras said:

The text I quoted clearly shows that there were also Others at the Fist but they were so terrifying that Sam is trying his best to forget them. If you have a problem with that, I can't help you.

I can't help you either, because it doesn't show that at all. None of Sam's messages to Castle Black mentions Others, no one else says they saw an Other, just wights, wights and more wights.

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