Winter Fell?

[Brandon of House Mormont]

There are two things Im looking forward to this thread reminded me of. Things my level of anticipation is through the roof on. The first is the reveal as to what lies in the lowest levels of Winterfell's Crypts. I need to know what is down there. Something magical - something natural like a hotspring. Maybe the collapse blocks the path to the caves or underground river that leads north under the wall? No Idea, can not wait. The other was the Sansa stuff talked about early on in here months ago. But I have this vision of the Armies of the Vale coming to the aid of I dont even know who yet - Jon maybe. With all their banners flying and hoisted high above all the others, the White Standard of House Stark and that revelation . I think that moment will be GRRM version of the Battle of Five Armies - "EAGLES! THE EAGLES HAVE COME!"

Agreed, think I'm most excited about characters / houses who have been conspicuously absent. The return of Maege Mormont and (if he's lucky) the Greatjon would be highly significant or uniting the North under a Stark in Winterfell, presumably Jon considering Maege's knowledge of Robb's will. Mind you, with Rickon potentially on his way back and Jon full of knife holes that is perhaps unlikely.

Would love to see Howland Reed return with the Vale armies and the Blackfish, and presumably he is one of only two living people who could verify Jon's legitimacy without the will.

[redriver]

Would you agree on connecting the storm originating from Winterfell to the wall?

There must always be a Stark in Winterfell is a failsafe. If there isn't, the storm is unleashed. And when it reaches the wall, the wall will fall. And then Winter is coming . The Others.

Given how often the Starks rode out to protect the Wall in ASOIAF legend,it seems the Starks viewed the Wall as a primary barrier against the Others, with Winterfell viewed as a secondary,but last resort option.

To me the line about the storm hitting the Wall from the south,though underplayed in the text,is of huge importance-it's not the way things should be,it strikes a discordant note.

So, yes,given that the Winterfell legacy has been nullified by the overthrow of the Starks and the Night's Watch have apparently foresaken their vows,then perhaps the Wall has already been breeched by the Others.And perhaps the arrival of the snowstorm heralded this.

It might help to explain Jon's stabbing too.....

[alienarea]

Given how often the Starks rode out to protect the Wall in ASOIAF legend,it seems the Starks viewed the Wall as a primary barrier against the Others, with Winterfell viewed as a secondary,but last resort option.

To me the line about the storm hitting the Wall from the south,though underplayed in the text,is of huge importance-it's not the way things should be,it strikes a discordant note.

So, yes,given that the Winterfell legacy has been nullified by the overthrow of the Starks and the Night's Watch have apparently foresaken their vows,then perhaps the Wall has already been breeched by the Others.And perhaps the arrival of the snowstorm heralded this.

It might help to explain Jon's stabbing too.....

... he only felt the cold.

[Raptor]

Haven't taken the time to read this whole thread so forgive me if someone already said this...

There's lots of talk about quotes from/about Starks and Northerners. So what about "the North remembers"? I feel like there is something important to that saying as well. Of course it is in reference to Ned's head-nicking and Robb's tragedy, but it may hold significance otherwise.

The Starks and the Northerners are part of a history that goes back to the Age of Heroes. Most notably, they fought off the Others and, in a sense, Winter itself. Maybe "the North remembers" this event as well, and it is an acknowledgement that deep down, the Northerners remember who the true enemy is, and that the Bolton bitchasses are an impediment to fighting that enemy.

Maybe I'm just feeling kind of rightous, because the Starks are my favorite house and Robb was one of my favorite characters. When I hear "the North remembers", i can't help but feel a chill, thinking about what the North will do to those who tried to destroy the Starks.

[LynnS]

This is a great thread, Redriver. Very thought provoking. Some random thoughts that come to my mind reading the premise and the contributions:

- Did the CotF, the greenseers and the old races consider the First Men to be guests in their domain; sharing in the bounty of the land?

- Did the First Men and the Andals break the laws of guest rights by attacking their hosts?

- Did the old races deny board and guest rights by calling on Winter's defenses?

- Does the Pact reflect a capitulation by the violators, a judgement, witnessed by the old gods in their weirwoods? Was justice served? Did the Starks become wards of the old gods and wardens of the north? Was Bran the Builder a ward given to the old gods as surety? What laws do the Starks uphold for the old gods, now forgotten?

When Ned executes Gren; he does so as a proxy for the king's justice. It seems to me that his true role, defined by the Pact, is to act as the god's justice. That lives are not given in blood sacrifice to the weirwoods as a form of worship; instead the old gods are called to attend as witness to their warden's justice. Is the sword ICE symbolic, a reflection of the ice swords carried by the Others?

Did the Pact involve an exchange of blood, Stark to Weirwood and vice versa? Was it a pact written in blood in other words?

Sorry, no answers, just a lot of questions.

[evita mgfs]

redriver
Yes,it certainly started there but I suggest the marriage of Ramsay and "Arya" made it legal and binding in the sight of the old gods.From this moment on Ramsay can call himself the Lord of Winterfell.Until then the Starks were nominally and legally in charge of it.

Theon styled himself Prince of Winterfell but I don't think anyone recognized this,including his own family.Besides throughout his reign,the Stark boys were there.When Ramsay sacked the castle,bringing Theon with him,he left it unclaimed,leaving squatters to move in.

*********************

Arya is replaced by imposter "Jeyne Poole" who is not a true Stark; consequently, the Bolton/Stark alliance is a fraud, and one that demonstrates blasphemy. For instance, Jon Snow tells us in ACoK that according to his father, no man can lie in the presence of a heart tree. LC Mormont readily agrees for he heard the same when he grew up. These instances, combined with Jaqen ordering Arya to swear to the heart tree with her hand in its mouth, speak to the "easy lies" of Ramsay and his puppets Theon and Jeyne.

Fortunately, Bran is present in the godswood: he is in the face on the heart tree, he is controlling or he is a part of the force that is wind that rustles the leaves in the weirwood, saying "Theon"; Bran is the ghostly mists invading the godswood, he is in the murder of ravens, and Bran is part of the grey stone that built WF.

NOW, REDRIVER, BLACK CROW WANTED ME TO CONNECT MY THEORIES WITH YOURS REGARDING THE ADVENT OF THE SNOW COMING FROM WF ITSELF. I am not sure what he is getting at - he gave a hint - the hot waters from the underground hot springs come into play. Is Black Crow trying to get us to think of the logistics of the crypts below the current main floor? Are some dead Starks "popsicles" already, waiting to be freed from the weirwood roots choking them. What do you think?

Since my last visit posting here, I had developed a long analyses involving the Stark kids being empowered by their direwolves. Furthermore, I expand the concept of Bran playing his part as "lord", desperately wishing to do what is right. Case in point, dear Lady Donella Hornwood wins Bran's sympathy. This occurs in ACoK during the harvest feast when all liege lords visited Winterfell to pledge their oaths of allegiance, feast, gossip, dance a jig or a reel, and plan what will be needed for the long night. Bran wants to send out 100 men to protect her from one big-lipped Ramsay Bolton who openly lusts for the Hornwood lands.

By the time ADwD rolls around, it seems that Bran's job as a watcher involves information-gathering, really. Bran may also need to strategize for their group as well. Even though Bran's role as greenseer will be met with numerous challenges, how Bran decides to tackle these problems will be part of what "weighs" his worth - ultimately.

Consider this: Bran watches the "leech" lord through the weirwood, and he recalls telling Lady Hornwood " that Winterfell will remember!" Bran's words of comfort are the result of poor Lady H-wood losing both her only son and her husband in battles recently.

Since then, it has been a topic of conversation - Lady Hornwood is starved to death by Ramsey, and she is so hungry that she chews off some of her fingers. Now - Ramsay's evil mounts. All the evil that he did or does will "return to him" great unpleasantness that will be ironic and karmic in nature.

Anyways. redriver, if you notice anything that I missed, please let me know. Also, if you understand Black Crow's advisement, quoted in Heresy 83, please explain it so that even I can understand it.

With Bran recalling all those whom he witnessed dying the week Theon took WF, the greenseer's "resentment" is rising. Just how can this 'tween manage the horrors he has witnessed?

Yes - no doubt - Bran will seek vengeance, then he will worry about justice. Bran will show no mercy, bur his Summer's warm kiss

against his cheek will cause him to soar.

Regarding the weather and other supernatural forces: Since Bran transforms himself into a mist and into the grey stone walls of WF, Bran achieves one of his heart's desires: "to be invisible"! Likewise, the other Starks who are still alive - along with their wolves - are discovering their powers and boldly exercising them on a small scale.

It appears Arya will have the power to direct and redirect water, to cause geyser-like eruptions, to pollute a pond too long in the sun and overgrown with algae, and so on. Sansa will discover her powers through skinchanging a bird. Rickon is said by Bran to be "as wild as a winter's storm"; Rickon will personify the mysteries of Winter, such as "white outs", varying types of snow/ice spit from the sky, Jon will be ice and fire, or one or the other. Bran will control the roots of trees, the dead bodies, the expression on the weirwood, and much more.

Okay - I am finished. I hope you understand what I was supposed to discuss. If I am totally wrong, let me know so that I can rewrite my response.

[Black Crow]

Alright I'll put it another way:

Are the hot springs coursing through Winterfell intended to keep the Starks toasty warm and comfortable or are they intended to stop the Starks becoming Cold?

I don't have an answer, but rather a lurking feeling that it may be relevant to these theories.

[evita mgfs]

ADDENDUM TO ABOVE:

The fact that WF is literally buried with snow, all but one gate frozen shut bodes ill for Ramsay, Roose, and any other northerner who Bran "sees" while in the heart tree and who Bran determines has violated the laws of hospitality or betrayed House Stark . With the posture of the dead Starks in the crypts with their iron sword resting on their laps, the dead Starks carved in stone communicate that they tolerate no unwelcome guests. In brief, the Boltons are toast.

[evita mgfs]

Alright I'll put it another way:

Are the hot springs coursing through Winterfell intended to keep the Starks toasty warm and comfortable or are they intended to stop the Starks becoming Cold?

I don't have an answer, but rather a lurking feeling that it may be relevant to these theories

:bowdown: :bowdown: Well, when I look at my textual evidences and my assertions, I infer several possibilities. :blushing: Your idea sure took me by surprise - I would never have conceived such a provocative scenario, and once again your contributions are impressive. Your thought process I envy, and I aspire to emulate. :wub:

Naturally, I am speculating - and I must consult with my literary colleague REDRIVER to ascertain if we are of one mind. As you might know, my postings more often than not are "long and verbose". Alack, not so with REDRIVER, a scholar of few words. Although a brilliant poster truly, I understand NOT how he says in one well-written sentence what takes me several paragraphs.

Even though REDRIVER's written communication skills are the polar opposite of my written skills, we will invade each other's personal space during a PM. { :lol: And most happily - I was teasing up to this point!]

First, concerning the "hot springs" - most definitely they serve a purpose . The hot springs have kept many Starks warm over 8000 years, be they alive or dead. Second, Brandon the Builder demonstrates great forethought in the building of Winterfell, including "location, location, location!" The magic in the grey stones of WF assists the circulation of hot water through the walls.

Regarding "the cold" - I defer to Redriver. He may have a "snow angle" up his sleeve. I think this is entirely possible, and again we have the duality of cold and "hot" springs. As an outside note, hot springs smell like rotten eggs and sulpher. In Yellowstone, we visited famous pools, geysers, and spectacular formations on the rock face detailed by the hot water trickling over years and years. Martin writes of similar smells - and the "rotten egg" smell makes me think of a dragon egg! However, I am not sure that Martin actually says "rotten egg".

Martin DOES compare the hot waters to "hot blood" - and WF becomes alive, similar to the weirwood.

I am sorry I did not understand where you were going. :bang: I am not very skilled at "channeling" Martin or "you". :dunno:

[redriver]

So many questions!I'm off out for the night now,so I can only leave some brief remarks.

On the hot springs,they, like the heart tree, were there before Winterfell was built as a defense against winter and Winter.

And yes Evita,I think there may be something the Others want and Jon fears in the Crypts!Not the Kings of Winter,but certainly a dead Stark.

Some less cryptic responses tomorrow......

[Lors]

Hey... First of all hello everyone, Im new in this forum, but I have been a ASOIAF fan for many years.

Once, i dont remember when or where, i read something about the possibility of Ice (stark's sword) bein in fact Azor Ahai's sword, because supposedly Azor Ahai faught and triumphed against The Others, so, perhaps AA was a Stark? and... Couldnt it be the reason that when Tywin melted Ice to create the Lannister swords he gave Jamie and joffrey, the steel couldnt be painted??

Aaaaand..... Couldnt it be that, Joramun horn is the one that Velaryon means to use to call the dragons?

[Beathag]

This is a very interesting theory.

I wonder if the timeline is right for it to overlap with Sansa's snow castle chapter. In that chapter, She notably thinks that it's the *snow* that wakes her up. Afterwards, she has a strange snow religious experience followed by the

single-minded building of snow-Winterfell. If the snow that originally woke her had origins in Winterfell it adds yet another layer to that scene. Maybe Winterfell is calling her home?

A couple quotes from that chapter:

"The castle was all that mattered."

"The snow fell and the castle rose."

"It was the taste of Winterfell." (talking about the snow)

Anyways, it furthers the connection between Winterfell and the snow.

Yes and yes.

The Dwarf of High Heart (or one of the Children) talks of Sansa...the purple serpents in her hair.. "And later I saw that maid again, slaying a savage giant in a castle built of snow." SOS 491 US edition. Sansa's little snow creation of Winterfell was destroyed by Sweet Robin, yelling "I'm a giant." She did rip his doll. But she did not slay Robert or a savage giant "in" a castle built of snow. I believe that Sansa has a role to play in the snow-heaped ruins of Winterfell.

Edit -- did not mean to use that quote twice, thought I was picking another.

[redriver]

Hey... First of all hello everyone, Im new in this forum, but I have been a ASOIAF fan for many years.

Once, i dont remember when or where, i read something about the possibility of Ice (stark's sword) bein in fact Azor Ahai's sword, because supposedly Azor Ahai faught and triumphed against The Others, so, perhaps AA was a Stark? and... Couldnt it be the reason that when Tywin melted Ice to create the Lannister swords he gave Jamie and joffrey, the steel couldnt be painted??

Aaaaand..... Couldnt it be that, Joramun horn is the one that Velaryon means to use to call the dragons?

My speculation here is that the original Ice was given to the Last Hero by the COTF and was made of obsidian.The LH was trying to end the Long Night and defeat the Others and obsidian,as we know,is fatal to them.And Mel tells us that obsidian was called "frozen fire" in Valyrian.

ETA I doubt the COTF spoke Valyrian but perhaps they knew it as something similar in their tongue.

[Mithras]

When old King Edrick Stark had grown too feeble to defend his realm, the Wolf’s Den was captured by slavers from the Stepstones. They would brand their captives with hot irons and break them to the whip before shipping them off across the sea, and these same black stone walls bore witness.

“Then a long cruel winter fell,” said Ser Bartimus. “The White Knife froze hard, and even the firth was icing up. The winds came howling from the north and drove them slavers inside to huddle round their fires, and whilst they warmed themselves the new king come down on them. Brandon Stark this was, Edrick Snowbeard’s great-grandson, him that men called Ice Eyes. He took the Wolf’s Den back, stripped the slavers naked, and gave them to the slaves he’d found chained up in the dungeons. It’s said they hung their entrails in the branches of the heart tree, as an offering to the gods. The old gods, not these new ones from the south. Your Seven don’t know winter, and winter don’t know them.”

“I never knew that northmen made blood sacrifice to their heart trees.”

“There’s much and more you southrons do not know about the north,” Ser Bartimus replied.

I dont know whether this was discussed before (especially in Heresy threads).

Wolf's Den is a truly ancient fortress with a cruel and bloody history. Has anybody noticed how the slavers who captured the Wolf's Den are defeated? Basically Winter came for them.

Brandon Ice Eyes sacrificed the slavers and hang their entrails as offerings to old gods. Was this a thanskgiving to Winter? In the TV show, the Others seem to do the same with the people they kill. Is this a clue? Is the Winter one of the old gods? The wildlings believe the same gods with their souhtron neighbors. Can this also be said for the Others, believing in the same old gods including Winter.

All the mottos of other Houses seem to boost power and courage to the house but the Starks are odd. Or "Winter is coming" is in some way the same as the other mottos? Does it mean "I am the chosen King of Winter, I can summon Winter at my will an no one can stand agains Winter"?

Is this what Bran is trying to say in the Theon gift chapter? That Stannis to make cruel offerings to the old gods so that Bran can use the power of Winter to defeat his enemies, just like his namesake Brandon Ice Eyes did before?

[bemused]

Can't double check right now, but I think Ice Eyes gave the slavers to the ones they had held captive .. They killed the slavers and hung their entrails in the tree.. there's no evidence that Brandon ordered it , or that it was common practice.

[redriver]

I dont know whether this was discussed before (especially in Heresy threads).

Wolf's Den is a truly ancient fortress with a cruel and bloody history. Has anybody noticed how the slavers who captured the Wolf's Den are defeated? Basically Winter came for them.

Brandon Ice Eyes sacrificed the slavers and hang their entrails as offerings to old gods. Was this a thanskgiving to Winter? In the TV show, the Others seem to do the same with the people they kill. Is this a clue? Is the Winter one of the old gods? The wildlings believe the same gods with their souhtron neighbors. Can this also be said for the Others, believing in the same old gods including Winter.

All the mottos of other Houses seem to boost power and courage to the house but the Starks are odd. Or "Winter is coming" is in some way the same as the other mottos? Does it mean "I am the chosen King of Winter, I can summon Winter at my will an no one can stand agains Winter"?

Is this what Bran is trying to say in the Theon gift chapter? That Stannis to make cruel offerings to the old gods so that Bran can use the power of Winter to defeat his enemies, just like his namesake Brandon Ice Eyes did before?

It's strange that this winter fell shortly after King Edrick Stark "had grown too feeble to defend his realm"....

Can't double check right now, but I think Ice Eyes gave the slavers to the ones they had held captive .. They killed the slavers and hung their entrails in the tree.. there's no evidence that Brandon ordered it , or that it was common practice.

...And then his great grandson turns up to sort things out at the Wolfs Den.It suggests there were Who is the Stark in Winterfell issues going on for a while,hence the long cruel winter.

[Mithras]

Theon has a POV called The Prince of Winterfell and we know Bran is the rightful prince of Winterfell. Here is a quote from that POV:

“Theon,” a voice seemed to whisper.

His head snapped up. “Who said that?” All he could see were the trees and the fog that covered them. The voice had been as faint as rustling leaves, as cold as hate. A god’s voice, or a ghost’s.

Remember what Jojen said about the weirwoods:

Maesters will tell you that the weirwoods are sacred to the old gods. The singers believe they are the old gods. When singers die they become part of that godhood.

As a greenseer wed to the trees and a person assumed to be dead, Bran’s voice is both a god’s voice and a ghost’s voice. Bran has many reasons to hate Theon. But the strange thing is the hatred in his voice is very cold. Let us continue with another quote from The Prince of Winterfell.

Once outside the godswood the cold descended on him [Theon] like a ravening wolf and caught him in its teeth. He lowered his head into the wind and made for the Great Hall, hastening after the long line of candles and torches. Ice crunched beneath his boots, and a sudden gust pushed back his hood, as if a ghost had plucked at him with frozen fingers, hungry to gaze upon his face.

It looks like a King of Winter has a business with Theon. Winterfell was full of ghosts for Theon Greyjoy. He thinks that the castle is a ruin.

This was not the castle he remembered from the summer of his youth. This place was scarred and broken, more ruin than redoubt, a haunt of crows and corpses.

Winterfell is haunted by crows and corpses. That is strange because Bloodraven is a crow and Bran is a corpse according to Theon.

Bran thinks that the Winterfell is still alive and belongs to the King of Winter.

The stone is strong, Bran told himself, the roots of the trees go deep, and under the ground the Kings of Winter sit their thrones. So long as those remained, Winterfell remained. It was not dead, just broken. Like me, he thought. I’m not dead either.

Let us remember what happened when the Bolton’s army came to Winterfell to claim the seat of the King of Winter.

By that time, the rest of Bolton’s army had arrived. They raised King Tommen’s stag and lion above the walls of Winterfell as the wind came howling from the north, and below it the flayed man of the Dreadfort.

When the King of Winter goes wroth, the winds come howling from the north.

“Then a long cruel winter fell,” said Ser Bartimus. “The White Knife froze hard, and even the firth was icing up. The winds came howling from the north and drove them slavers inside to huddle round their fires, and whilst they warmed themselves the new king come down on them. Brandon Stark this was, Edrick Snowbeard’s great-grandson, him that men called Ice Eyes. He took the Wolf’s Den back, stripped the slavers naked, and gave them to the slaves he’d found chained up in the dungeons.

I think Bran is the King of Winter now and he is subconsciously using the powers (long forgotten in Winterfell) belonging to the old Kings of Winter. Winter is coming is a warning to all the enemies of the King of Winter. I think it may be possible that only greenseeing Starks assumed the mantle of King of Winter similar to the Sword of the Morning.

[TheSamsa]

I'm FINALLY read the whole Thread! :D
I love the theory of this thread, and all that amazing insights of all the contributors here!

But I am not only here to praise you all, I like to do a little contribution myself ;)
Had my idea pretty early in this thread and kept remembering it to see if it is mentioned, but I can't recall to have read it here before. Oh and forgive my bad wording or the lack of capability to express my thoughts on (virtual) paper.

Even though I have no textual quotes or proof (I lend all my books to my sister) I am only remembering the "facts" I am going to state here. So if it turns out I'm wrong, I am deeply sorry to misremembered something!
Oh and even I do feel highly speculative in some regards it still does feel "right" to me. But now here I'll try my very best:
We all know the tales that Brandon the Builder did construct the Wall, Winterfell and possibly Storm's End.
Also it is known that the Wall and Storm's End do have some magic about them. The Wall deflects the Others and Storm's End is said to be not seizable.
For Winterfell on the other hand I can not remember some specifics if it does has magic properties. But I am very likely to think so that it does. And even if it is just the unique heating system or the godswood inside (wich wasn't touched by Ramsays actions). Also some characters do feel something special in it walls, like Tyrion had a comforting feeling of safety.
So I go under the assumption all do have magic properties all from the same guy, Brandon the Builder.
This could mean all three are magically connected somehow, I sadly have no proof that magic from one person is always linked but it is certainly possible. A hint to that might be that magic overall dwindles or, as in the course of the books, growths.

So Winterfell does not have some enemy deflecting magic, rather some "I feel safe here". Except maybe the crypts which do the opposite, most characters feel to be in a unwelcoming place. So it might be Brandon the Builder thought he didn't need Winterfell to be deflect someone, other than the crypts. But that is actually not my point, it just appeared writing! :D
So this might be the reason Winterfell could be seized by Theon even with a small number of men and later in aCoK Ramsay Snow/Bolton burns down Winterfell, and such an event surely does interfere with the woven magic into Winterfell walls, it might not destroy the existing magic but at least weaken it. This could be shown to the fact that the walls took their damage from the sacking, but the godswood is still very much alive!
It is stated here that Winterfell is described as a living beeing, or at least has some living "tendencies", and living beeings do take some serious damage when burned, this could explain a loss of some magic (or at least alteration of said magic properties) of Winterfell. The comforting is gone: nobody lives there any more.
And as they arrive for the wedding of fArya to Ramsay I say they do defile Winterfell and thus break the rest of magic it had left (or again alter it). And the weather gets worse and worse, kind of the essence of this thread. Might be Winterfells magic downfall has a little contribution to that.

So after Winterfell broke down, it is very much possible (and I think likely) that the magic of the Wall and Storm's End does suffer too! It could've been Brandon the Builders to create a 3 layered defence against the Others. First instance of course the Wall, second is Winterfell and last but not least is Storm's End.
Also from tWoW:

I did not read all chapters released yet, but I am pretty sure I it read in thin thread in a spoiler tag, that (f)Aegon took Storm's End, this could very well only be possible since it magic defence mechanism were weakened by Winterfells downfall!
Also this could result that Storm's End magic was broken too, again it does affect the last remaining magic connection: the Wall. Following my thought and put it in numbers: Only a third of the Walls defence against the Others remains. Probably not enough.

This all contributes to a weakened defence against the Others, and a imminent thread! In Jon's last POV the line "...only felt cold" could be the arriving or foreshadowing of the Others. And their now capability of destroying the Wall, since only a fraction of the original magic defence is intact.


Greetings

[redriver]

I'm FINALLY read the whole Thread! :D

I love the theory of this thread, and all that amazing insights of all the contributors here!

But I am not only here to praise you all, I like to do a little contribution myself ;)

Had my idea pretty early in this thread and kept remembering it to see if it is mentioned, but I can't recall to have read it here before. Oh and forgive my bad wording or the lack of capability to express my thoughts on (virtual) paper.

Even though I have no textual quotes or proof (I lend all my books to my sister) I am only remembering the "facts" I am going to state here. So if it turns out I'm wrong, I am deeply sorry to misremembered something!

Oh and even I do feel highly speculative in some regards it still does feel "right" to me. But now here I'll try my very best:

We all know the tales that Brandon the Builder did construct the Wall, Winterfell and possibly Storm's End.

Also it is known that the Wall and Storm's End do have some magic about them. The Wall deflects the Others and Storm's End is said to be not seizable.

For Winterfell on the other hand I can not remember some specifics if it does has magic properties. But I am very likely to think so that it does. And even if it is just the unique heating system or the godswood inside (wich wasn't touched by Ramsays actions). Also some characters do feel something special in it walls, like Tyrion had a comforting feeling of safety.

So I go under the assumption all do have magic properties all from the same guy, Brandon the Builder.

This could mean all three are magically connected somehow, I sadly have no proof that magic from one person is always linked but it is certainly possible. A hint to that might be that magic overall dwindles or, as in the course of the books, growths.

So Winterfell does not have some enemy deflecting magic, rather some "I feel safe here". Except maybe the crypts which do the opposite, most characters feel to be in a unwelcoming place. So it might be Brandon the Builder thought he didn't need Winterfell to be deflect someone, other than the crypts. But that is actually not my point, it just appeared writing! :D

So this might be the reason Winterfell could be seized by Theon even with a small number of men and later in aCoK Ramsay Snow/Bolton burns down Winterfell, and such an event surely does interfere with the woven magic into Winterfell walls, it might not destroy the existing magic but at least weaken it. This could be shown to the fact that the walls took their damage from the sacking, but the godswood is still very much alive!

It is stated here that Winterfell is described as a living beeing, or at least has some living "tendencies", and living beeings do take some serious damage when burned, this could explain a loss of some magic (or at least alteration of said magic properties) of Winterfell. The comforting is gone: nobody lives there any more.

And as they arrive for the wedding of fArya to Ramsay I say they do defile Winterfell and thus break the rest of magic it had left (or again alter it). And the weather gets worse and worse, kind of the essence of this thread. Might be Winterfells magic downfall has a little contribution to that.

So after Winterfell broke down, it is very much possible (and I think likely) that the magic of the Wall and Storm's End does suffer too! It could've been Brandon the Builders to create a 3 layered defence against the Others. First instance of course the Wall, second is Winterfell and last but not least is Storm's End.

Also from tWoW:

I did not read all chapters released yet, but I am pretty sure I it read in thin thread in a spoiler tag, that (f)Aegon took Storm's End, this could very well only be possible since it magic defence mechanism were weakened by Winterfells downfall!

Also this could result that Storm's End magic was broken too, again it does affect the last remaining magic connection: the Wall. Following my thought and put it in numbers: Only a third of the Walls defence against the Others remains. Probably not enough.

This all contributes to a weakened defence against the Others, and a imminent thread! In Jon's last POV the line "...only felt cold" could be the arriving or foreshadowing of the Others. And their now capability of destroying the Wall, since only a fraction of the original magic defence is intact.

Greetings

There is a line,a very understated sentence that appears only twice in the books-"It was very cold".It appears when the Others are viewed for the first time in the Prologue and again when Mel describes his future assassination to Jon.

I agree with you,the magic that protects Winterfell and the Wall seems to be in tatters.Enter the Others..

[The_other_one]

First post :D

Has anyone considered that there might be an other deep in the crypts of winterfell, that has recently awoken? Hasn't the question been posed that the others may bring the cold and snow. So perhaps the storm originated from winterfell due to this other.

This could bring a new element of danger to the north, perhaps the others have been waiting bidding their time, preparing for the winter to come.

I think I saw a theory that winterfell crypts may have tunnels leading beyond the wall. Perhaps the others are using this?