Mithras Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 The wights we have seen were always at deep freeze conditions. If they are brought to a warm climate, do you think they start to rot and be disfunctional eventually? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMikes Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 I imagine if they are simply bodies, animated by magic, they probably would rot in warmer climates. But if there is some magic which preserves them beyond the cold then they won't. I don't remember if it happens in the books, but in the show, the Wight they find has no smell at all, as if he hadn't rotted in the slightest. Even in cold conditions a body would break down a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 Sam mentions in AFfC: The Others come when it is cold, most of the tales agree. Or else it gets cold when they come. Since wights are thralls of the Others the same should apply. Wherever they show up, it will be cold already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalalOfDorne Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 I dont know, because if that was true, then regions like Dorne and Oldtown dont have to worry about much, and that could take away from the whole "dangerous mysterious enemy" vibe they give off.That would be quite a sight though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tetrarch42 Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 The cold preserves them I should think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mithras Posted September 16, 2013 Author Share Posted September 16, 2013 I remembered the hand Ser Alliser Thorne brought to KL. The hand was rotten and did not look well. We also saw parts of the wights remain "alive" even if they are dismembered. They were moving as the wolves eat them. One may think that magic leaves the flesh slowly and they rot, or magic never leaves but heat and sun make them rot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Net-Viper X Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Thats right Lamprey, the animated hand Allister took rotted away right in the jar. I think by the time he got to see the king it was nothing but a jar of bones and the king laughed it off.I think all the comments about "the cold preserves" are true, the zombies only stay intact if they are in a cool climate. They are probably basically like a slab of meat, if its frozen it will never rot, and in a cold but not freezing climate the rot will be much slower like meat in the refrigerator. Put a zombie in a hot climate and he will be a mess in just a few days. Thats why the White Walkers wait for a long winter to invade, so their army doesn't rot away before they have a chance to win the war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RKOpanther Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Last chapter in DWD it was snowing in KL and it was still autumn. The long night will reach Dorne and Oldtown. No where is safe in Westeros. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Crow Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 I am fairly certain that they do not rot. The rangers of the Night's Watch noticed that the wight corpses that Sam examined had not shown any signs of decomposing. None magical creatures seem to have a natural aversion to wights, and this seems to include decomposers.I remembered the hand Ser Alliser Thorne brought to KL. The hand was rotten and did not look well. We also saw parts of the wights remain "alive" even if they are dismembered. They were moving as the wolves eat them. One may think that magic leaves the flesh slowly and they rot, or magic never leaves but heat and sun make them rot.It is possible that wights will revert back to normal corpses if they are not within a certain proximity from their masters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mountain Tribesman Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 I suppose that the best guess is that their bodies remain little more than animated cadavers, rotting slowly or not at all in cold climates, and normally in warmer places, such as King's Landing for the hand in the jar borne by Alliser Thorne.None magical creatures seem to have a natural aversion to wights, and this seems to include decomposers.Well, the wolves were eating wights... despite the dogs and horses' aversion to them. Since decomposition bacteria and worms aren't prone to do much thinking, I doubt they'd have any special aversion to wights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mindchap Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Last chapter in DWD it was snowing in KL and it was still autumn. The long night will reach Dorne and Oldtown. No where is safe in Westeros.Winter had fallen, that was what the raven was for, but I agree it will likely reach the deep south. I think Dragonstone will be the only safe place in Westeros. But only if the Wall falls.As for the wights rotting, maybe they decompose normally until they are "recruited" by Others in which case the cold would definitely help preserve them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanF Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Lady Stoneheart seems to have rotted a bit between the first and second times we encounter her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Creighton Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 They rot in the warmth just like the hand did, nothing but bone left. Problem is the Others don't just wait for the cold. The generate it, the real nasty white cold. The climate is magical according to Martin, I would guess the Others have something to do with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Crow Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Well, the wolves were eating wights... despite the dogs and horses' aversion to them. Since decomposition bacteria and worms aren't prone to do much thinking, I doubt they'd have any special aversion to wights. "They . . . they aren't rotting." Sam pointed, his fat finger shaking only a little. "Look, there's . . . there'sno maggots or . . . or . . . worms or anything . . . they've been lying here in the woods, but they . . . theyhaven't been chewed or eaten by animals . . . only Ghost . . . otherwise they're . . . they're . . .""Untouched," Jon said softly. Earlier in the same chapter the Night's watch men also discuss a lack of "corpse stink" which to me denotes a lack of bacterial decomposition. Initially all animals have an aversion to wights. Wolves are more intelligent than worms, and food is scarce beyond the wall. It makes sense that a wolf would overcome its instinctual aversion to the wights to exploit an available food source. I'm not certain if worms or bacteria are capable of making that type of decision. Like you said: they aren't prone to do much thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aceluby Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Lady Stoneheart seems to have rotted a bit between the first and second times we encounter her.She's not a wight...As to the OP, I don't think they do rot as stated above with Sam stating there is no stink or rotting. I don't think it has much to do with the cold if they espected stink and rotting at the wall, so I think they are magically protected from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morienthar Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 If they thaw I think they will,It's probably why burning works too,What ever magic is in them it only works in extreme cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silver Otter Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 I imagine if they are simply bodies, animated by magic, they probably would rot in warmer climates. But if there is some magic which preserves them beyond the cold then they won't. I don't remember if it happens in the books, but in the show, the Wight they find has no smell at all, as if he hadn't rotted in the slightest. Even in cold conditions a body would break down a bit.I think it's more like a magical beef jerky. In ADwD in Bran's chapters it describes Summer eating rotted, fetid meat of wights. I don't think you'd have Shaun of the Dead type zombies but there are no precious bodily fluids so everything gets kind of dry and dusty. They do not decompose as several others have pointed out but they do break down. Whatever the magical animation it seems to enable them to function. I think freeze dried meat that walks, talks, and tries to kill you would be the best real world comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord of Dragonstone Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Alliser's hand rotted while in King's Landing until it was only bone and wasn't able to move on it's own, which greatly reduced the effectiveness of his plea.It does seem somewhat like conflicting information with the first time they're discovered there is no sign of decay.Perhaps the decay-prevention magic only works north of the Wall? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King of Winters Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 As it's said ice preserves, I'd think the wights don't rot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Duncan of Flea Bottom Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Not sure, but so far they were all beyond the wall, I guess the cold preserve them for a long time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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