Bran & the Heart of Winter

[Biffyc7]

In A Game of Thrones, during Bran's third POV, which is his first dream about the three-eyed crow, there's a sequence in which he describes seeing Westeros while he's falling to the ground, which also presents actual current events (Catelyn going to King's Landing, Sansa crying after Lady got executed) and the famous three shadow vision (Sandor, Jaime, Gregor). He then looks to Essos, and finally the north.

And he looked past the wall, past endless forests cloaked in snow, past the frozen shore and the great blue-white rivers of ice and the dead plains where nothing grew or lived. North and north and north he looked, to the curtain of light at the end of the world, and then beyond that curtain. He looked deep into the heart of winter, and then he cried out, afraid, and the heat of his tears burned on his cheeks.

What does Bran see there? An army of White Walkers? The Great Other? If he does, how come he doesn't mention it or think about it once in any of the other books?

[Lost Melnibonean]

It's definitely one of the story's big mysteries. Is there one supernatural being controlling the forces of, um, what, darkness, cold, winter? What is the Song of Ice and Fire? Since either would destroy life, I'm guessing the hero(s) will restore some balance???

[Morienthar]

The Other's HQ of some sort I assume,That or as many people say the Great Other(Other Hive Mind like the Brain Bug).

[King of Winters]

I always thought it was a giant blue ball of ice and snow, in a huge blizzard, that looked like a heart.

[winwolf]

GRRM said we where gonna see the land of always winter soo we just gonna have to wait and see:P

[The WolfSpider]

I think that thereligion of the old goods is an elemental religion and the heart of winter is the embodiment of that specific element. R'hllor is called the Heart of Fire and I don't think that's a coincidence. I would suspect there's a heart of shadow as well, maybe a heart of water, earth etc.

[thewingedwolf]

In A Game of Thrones, during Bran's third POV, which is his first dream about the three-eyed crow, there's a sequence in which he describes seeing Westeros while he's falling to the ground, which also presents actual current events (Catelyn going to King's Landing, Sansa crying after Lady got executed) and the famous three shadow vision (Sandor, Jaime, Gregor). He then looks to Essos, and finally the north.

And he looked past the wall, past endless forests cloaked in snow, past the frozen shore and the great blue-white rivers of ice and the dead plains where nothing grew or lived. North and north and north he looked, to the curtain of light at the end of the world, and then beyond that curtain. He looked deep into the heart of winter, and then he cried out, afraid, and the heat of his tears burned on his cheeks.

What does Bran see there? An army of White Walkers? The Great Other? If he does, how come he doesn't mention it or think about it once in any of the other books?

I am not evern sure if Bran himself knows what he sees at that time. Remember that this is before Jojen, before BR and well before Bran starts to learn to control his visions. At this point what he sees is still chaotic and he, himself, does not control what he sees. Therefore I am not sure it this was meant to "be" anything of just a demonstration of how strong Bran's powers really are.

If I had to venture a guess however, I would say that it is something that beyond the Land of Always Winter, what is referred to as a "curtain of light" could be a period of 24h of bright sunlight like something that is seen near the North Pole during summer months and that becomes extremely bright when it reflects against the snow (I am have seen one myself in Northern Quebec and it is impressive).

I don't think it is the Great Other since all other references to "it" in the books implie darkness and night, not light.