Coldhands

[Tin Pony]

I personally believe Coldhands is the Night King

[Black Crow]

Coldhands may have been Benjen Stark; it all depends how long ag is "long ago", but I have a sneaking suspicion he may also be a White Walker/White Shadow.

Bear with me...

The women at Crasters know the White Walkers/White Shadows of old and reckon them them (or at least some of them) to be Craster's sons who were given up to the Others as tribute - to serve as Jannissaries. The ones we've seen through the books are sustained by magic - hence the absence of footprints in the snow, and dissolving into a puddle rather than a corpse when stabbed by obsidian. It also appears to be close proximity to this particular magic which re-animates the wights rather than an individual spell as practiced by Red priests. In other words where the White Shadows walk they almost inadvertantly raise up wights in their wake.

This is what appears to happen around Coldhands. On the other hand of course the White Walkers/White Shadows normally only come out at night or in very bad light as in under cover of fog or blizzard, while Coldhands is around in daylight - but is he always muffled up not to conceal his identity but to protect himself from sunlight?

[Shaggydog Stark]

I can't believe so many people believe Cold Hands is Benjen Stark, it's not possible for one simple reason.

Bran would have recognized his own uncle if it was Benjen.

It just doesn't make any sense.

And if you think he somehow warged into a wight, it still doesn't work because:

Bran is a warg and apparently wargs recognize each other as shown in ADwD.

[Black Crow]

Nope, don't reckon him for a Warged Wight. I'm sticking with the White Walker/Shadow, suitably muffled up so's he can go out in the daylight.

[kephv]

I can't believe so many people believe Cold Hands is Benjen Stark, it's not possible for one simple reason.

Bran would have recognized his own uncle if it was Benjen.

It just doesn't make any sense.

And if you think he somehow warged into a white, it still doesn't work because:

Bran is a warg and apparently wargs recognize each other as shown in ADwD.

Not necessarily. His faced was covered and hooded - maybe for that specific purpose of Bran not recognizing him - and his voice is messed up.

I think he's Benjen and I believe the Last Hero story in AGoT, and Bran's lines following that, hint at that being so.

[Shaggydog Stark]

Not necessarily. His faced was covered and hooded - maybe for that specific purpose of Bran not recognizing him - and his voice is messed up.

I think he's Benjen and I believe the Last Hero story in AGoT, and Bran's lines following that, hint at that being so.

Aha, I had forgotten that he was hooded the whole time. I guess it's possible then.

I can't believe I wrote "white" instead of "wight" in that previous post, time to edit!

[Faceless Woman of Braavos]

I think too think Coldhands in Benjen Stark.I think that's why he doesn't bother to hide his face for Sam and Gilly but hides it from Bran. His Stark warging ability totally explains the elk, for me. I agree that he was killed and the greenseer/CotF got to him before the wights, effectivly re animating him but not in the same zombie crazed way. That would explain his inability to cross the wall (not alive), his gentler un-deadness and the singers stating that he'd been dead for a long time...

[GreenHand]

I agree with Tin Pony and Eira.

The most likely is that the Night's King is Coldhands.

Against Benjen Stark as Coldhands:

-- No particular reason to single out Benjen since lot's rangers have disappeared recently (barring Houndini's intriguing theory about Stark blood and vow before the Old Gods...)

-- Bran, I believe, could well have recognized him. Only the lower half of his face was covered and the cowl only *shadowed* his features. But this is open to debate.

-- Nothing in the character's demeanour or choice of words points to him being Benjen. (Correct me?). Usually GRRM drops something subtle for congruence.

-- Coldhands can sense the presence of wights. If he were Benjen would he not have warned the ranging Night's Watch at the Fist of the First Men even if he did leave the cache of dragonglass.

Why the Night's King is more likely

-- Coldhands has intimate knowledge about a hidden aspect of the Nightsfort, the most ancient of the keeps long long abandoned. Coldhands may have served there when it was in use as the Night's King did.

-- As an undead creature he could be any age.

-- The Night's King was a sorcerer, even binding the watchmen to his will. This drastically effects magical effects that might affect his mind, such as wight-creation.

-- The Night's King dealt directly with and/or sacrificed to the Others. This may have affected his "wighthood" or allowed him to use similar necromancy to that of the Others

-- The elk is indicative of the Green Men. The Night's King was only the 13th Lord Commander at a time when the Children of the Forest were still abundant accross Westeros and easy to find (well before the coming of the Andals). As a sorcerer he probably learned magic from the COTF (the great sorcerers of that time) just as the Crannogmen did. The riding of elk is likely widespread feature of the nature-harmonized COTF and a remnents of COTF customs that survived the Andal massacre of COFT & weirwoods with the Green Men. The Night's King comes from that time.

-- If we accept that Coldhands most likely left the cache of dragonglass at the First of the First men (maybe Ghost was actually smelling him on the cloak), then it is the Night's King that would remember the importance of dragonglass (receiving obsidian daggers from the COTF as LC), not the more modern Night's Watchmen.

[GreenHand]

Of course the Last Hero is also a possibility. Could the Night's King in fact be the Last Hero?

Him being repentant for his alliance with the Others, or having been abandoned by the Others and men. They were both alive during the Age of Heroes. It is unlikely people viewed the Night's King as a Hero. But the nameless title "The Last Hero" may reflect how his trrue, birth name was expunged from history.

[GreenHand]

OH, +++..

The text tells of how the Night's King saw a pale woman with blue eyes and fell in love with her, taking her as his queen. This sounds like he fell in love with a wight or a White Walker. In addition to the effects of his sorcery perhaps he was only half-way turned to a wight but excessive contact with his white walker wife.

I.E. he was turn into a undead creature BEFORE he died. In this scenario his black hands are simply because without bloodflow in an undead body blood accumulated and clots thickly in the extremities, perhaps where it's coldest in the body.

[Stark@heart]

I don't think GRRM is going to keep bringing in characters from previous works, like the NK, Last Hero,etc - I'm having an issue with the Three-Eyed Crow being BR - It just doesn't seem fair that to fully understand the story we're reading now, we have to know all these characters from previous works. I think ASOIAF is meant as a stand alone series. On that basis, CH has to be someone we've met through this series of books and the most likely is Benjen. The Stark blood explains why he is working for the Crow instead of being turned into a wright with his companions.

[Bini]

Whoever his identity is or was in "life" (when he had a body that breathed and no cold hands), I believe he is someone who was warging when his body was attacked by an Other and "killed" (I think Bran at some point thinks about would happen in this case as well), and then managed to return to that body, or was returning when killed.

Also I find it strange Bran and the Reeds haven't asked The Three-Eyed Crow who is Coldhands.

[Candor]

I have no real back-up for it but on a recent re-read I considered the possibility of Ser Waymar Royce, who was slain and then "reborn" in the prologue of GoT.

Of the more likely theories I tend to lean towards the Night's King. The elk was part of it, the lore about the Night's King seemed to be more than lore-building, and well, yep. I don't think it being Benjen is impossible, but it does seem "too good to be true."

Alas maybe we'll find out in a few years.

http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Waymar_Royce

[Catastrophe]

He is Stone Snake.

[ghost the direwolf]

What if he is AA? we do not know if AA died after all.

[Serie]

What if he is AA? we do not know if AA died after all.

who's AA please? (I'm not strong with abbreviations sorry :( )

[mor2]

Azor Ahai

[mor2]

Why the Night's King is more likely

-- Coldhands has intimate knowledge about a hidden aspect of the Nightsfort, the most ancient of the keeps long long abandoned. Coldhands may have served there when it was in use as the Night's King did.

-- As an undead creature he could be any age.

-- The Night's King was a sorcerer, even binding the watchmen to his will. This drastically effects magical effects that might affect his mind, such as wight-creation.

-- The Night's King dealt directly with and/or sacrificed to the Others. This may have affected his "wighthood" or allowed him to use similar necromancy to that of the Others

-- The elk is indicative of the Green Men. The Night's King was only the 13th Lord Commander at a time when the Children of the Forest were still abundant accross Westeros and easy to find (well before the coming of the Andals). As a sorcerer he probably learned magic from the COTF (the great sorcerers of that time) just as the Crannogmen did. The riding of elk is likely widespread feature of the nature-harmonized COTF and a remnents of COTF customs that survived the Andal massacre of COFT & weirwoods with the Green Men. The Night's King comes from that time.

-- If we accept that Coldhands most likely left the cache of dragonglass at the First of the First men (maybe Ghost was actually smelling him on the cloak), then it is the Night's King that would remember the importance of dragonglass (receiving obsidian daggers from the COTF as LC), not the more modern Night's Watchmen.

his knowledge is irrelevant. COTF have all that knowledge, from the past and they helped to build the fort and fight the wall.

[Magjee]

At first I thought it was Ben Stark.

But after a re-read it seems likely this may be a much older person.

The elk, the control over birds (this one possibly by the 3EC/Bloodraven), knowing the location of the secret door and the Children of the Forest.

Maybe the Night's King.

[keog]

I think it's Benjen. I don't think CH is controlling or directing the elk (he's just riding it like COTF), or the crows (3EC/Brynden-is doing that).

He's not special because he has 1st men's blood (so do all of the wildlings-and they turn into mindless wights), or because he worships the old gods (once again, so do the wildlings). I think he was reanimated with the purpose of being a guide for Bran to be brought alive to 3EC. 3EC is kind of all seeing, particularly with regard to Weirwoods like the one at the Nightfort.

One of the things CH says when Bran asks him "what kind of monster are you?..." CH says "If i am a monster, I am your monster Brandon Stark." (quoting out of memory from a reread of ADWD, may be slightly off). CH knows who he is, what he is and the part he plays.

My 2 cents.