Do you think that the long night will return? If yes, when and how?

[Archana The Brown Walker]

My personal guess is that it will certainly return. GRRM would not raise such an enigma around the events that are occured (and have occured in the distant past) beyond the wall, then drop that thread completely. That would be like the giant middle finger to the readers.

I think it will return towards the end of TWOW. Either the wall will fall or by some other way. Or can you provide more guesses on how it will return?

[Ice Turtle]

I don't think the Wall has to fall for the long night to return. Others will mess with the weather even without going South.

[Ser Arthyr Dracenstein]

I think this winter may be the next Long Night, unless Jon/Dany/Stannis/whoever can actually defeat the Others for good (or four thousand years).

[The Bastard's Bastard]

It has already begun. Soon the narrow sea will freeze solid and the white walkers march for Essos. For their demise, Daenerys will be waiting there with her dragons.

[Winterz]

Obviously it will happen. The Others were always number one enemies and 5-6 books have been to prepare for their coming. I'm guessing it will start in the end of the TWoW with them crossing the Wall in some way and then the latter book will be all about open-war with them. Even the names of the books confirm it. "Winds of Winter" means that Winter has arrived and "A dream of Spring" means that now that Winter arrived there's wishes for it to pass.

Now if the WW are truly evil we don't really know but I'm sure we'll know all their reasons and cause in TWoW.

[~Shiera Seastar~]

Winter has come, and the long night quickly approaches. Since Westeros had a very long summer, this winter will be long, too, and darkness will cover the entire realm. Lords and Ladies will be hiding in their castles, and common people will be trembling in fear. Silence will fill the nights, while somewhere in the darkness the dead are rising.

Yeah, the long night is definitely coming. When? Probably it will start in the beginning of WOW and will peak at the very end. It will be a dramatic event. People forgot the stories of old, and who will come to tell them the Others do exist? The NW is a forgotten order, and the seven kingdoms do not take the NWs work seriously. The Wall will fall, not necessarily in a literal sense, but the NW will be broken and not much will be there to defend the Wall against the threat beyond it. Soon, Westeros will learn these to their sorrow, and it will too late. They will call for the long lost hero, but he won't come until everything is almost in ruins.

[Ser Wun Wun]

I actually think the series will end during this next Long Night. Like all these dynastic questions (who sits the Iron Throne, will there even be one, etc..) get resolved, but then the survivors still this huge fight with the Others they have to get into and that is where we leave them. It would be a very dark way to end the series.

[The Dragon has three heads]

Is say the long night is cyclic perhaps linked to a celestial event ie the bleeding star. It has happened and will keep happening as long as the others-and what drives them-perhaps a god or a hunger, or genuine hatred of man continues to exist.

[David C. Hunter]

It has already begun. Soon the narrow sea will freeze solid and the white walkers march for Essos. For their demise, Daenerys will be waiting there with her dragons.

Considering that according to the WOIAF snippet that Dragons seem to have troube fighting in the rain, I can't imagine how they will be during the Long Night. Also, the only Dragon is actually big is Drogon. Not to mention, the people of Essos probably fear the Dragons as much as they fear the White Walkers.

If it were so easy for the Dragons to defeat the Winter/White Walkers they would still rule over all of Westeros as they did in ancient times.

I actually think the series will end during this next Long Night. Like all these dynastic questions (who sits the Iron Throne, will there even be one, etc..) get resolved, but then the survivors still this huge fight with the Others they have to get into and that is where we leave them. It would be a very dark way to end the series.

I think that whatever the White Walkers are that their threat will be over(Whatever that means), but regardless the survivors will still have to brave the Long Night together, so I agree with you there. I don't think that their will be an Iron Throne in the end

Is say the long night is cyclic perhaps linked to a celestial event ie the bleeding star. It has happened and will keep happening as long as the others-and what drives them-perhaps a god or a hunger, or genuine hatred of man continues to exist.

I agree with you. Not sure if its hatred or something trivial like that. They may just look at it like a necessity. Anyone who has played Mass Effect knows where Im coming from

[Varysfan]

I think that whatever the White Walkers are that their threat will be over(Whatever that means), but regardless the survivors will still have to brave the Long Night together, so I agree with you there. I don't think that their will be an Iron Throne in the end

I agree that the series will likely be left in a relatively dark place still, happy endings don't really seem grr martins thing, and I also think the w.w will be defeated or at least sent back into hibernation again with the help of the cotf.

Also it seems likely the iron throne will itself be destroyed by the dragons as a symbol of the seven kingdoms turning back into self control. However i think the dragons will eventually be destroyed with the w.w possibly by the same thing?

[TheDarkOne]

It would be interesting if the Others were coming to defend the realm against the Dragons.

The more I think it through, the more I think the series ends with the Others victorious, and Stannis as their king.

[Varysfan]

It would be interesting if the Others were coming to defend the realm against the Dragons.

The more I think it through, the more I think the series ends with the Others victorious, and Stannis as their king.

Are you serious?

[Hodor Frey]

Don't care. King Stannis, Lord of the Others. Lol.

I'm thinking circular time, the Long Night hasn't happened yet, but will soon.

[Archana The Brown Walker]

Another worry that I have is whether there is enough time to establish the Others as the main antagonists AND put them against the dragons for the final battle. Winter has just arrived and currently WW and wights aren't even at the wall yet. Dany isn't to be any closer to westeros than she was at the start of AGOT.

I do have one opinion that differs from the comments above, i don't think Others will ever leave westeros and invade essos. I don't think they have ever been to Essos.

Judging by the pace of events that happened in previous books, I am not sure this can be put into the final two books along with the continuation of the other threads,

1) Others and their wights invade

2) Long night sets in

3) We know more about the Others and their intentions/motivations

4) 7 kingdoms start reacting to the long night

5) Death and darkness everywhere

6) Azor Ahai rises from the ashes of westeros...or something to that effect

7) Dany invades Westeros from the south

8) Final battle begins

When ADWD ended, 7 kingdoms were still engaged in backstabbings, treason etc. all that good stuff. When the long night returns, none of that will be relevant. So not sure where this is all heading towards.

[ObsidiaNPhoenix]

The Long Night has been prophesied throughout the story, and the talk of a long summer being a harbinger to a long winter adds to that. With people from the Night's Watch saying, "I've never felt a chill in my old bones like this" (paraphrased), the LN is certainly arriving. I think the LN will officially come once the Wall falls, because all the magic and protection it provided would break and allow the Others to enter.

[direwolf_of_white_fangs]

I agree with you on this. and I think not only the long night will return but it will reshape the whole westerosi politics / war alliances.

Defending the realm against the others will be priority for friend or foe alike.

[Ded As Ned]

... Dany isn't to be any closer to westeros than she was at the start of AGOT....

Yeah she's actually about twice as far from Westeros now than she was at the beginning of aGoT. My guess is that by the end of WoW, she'll be 4x as far. :cool4:

[The Bastard of Walton]

I think the wall is coming down in the first half of WOW.

[Varysfan]

I think the wall is coming down in the first half of WOW.

Why?

[The Bastard of Walton]

Why?

A massive battle is coming between the people of Westeros & the White Walkers, things have to start taking shape for this to happen.

The Nights watch & Wildlings will be at each others throats over Jon Snow, the wall will be at its most vulnerable state in the early part of the book, the others may simply swarm upon it.

There are at least two horns about that i can remember. One with Victarion, the other with Sam. One of these may be the horn that brings down the wall. I have a feeling it could be Victarions & when Daenerys blows it she accidently brings down the wall. & Sams horn is the one that can control dragons. Just a little flip on that angle.

Just think its going to be by the half way point & by the end its set up when Daenerys lands on Westeros (Im thinking Dorne) for the epic show down we all want to see.