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Do wights rot eventually?


Mithras

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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's

no maggots or . . . or . . . worms or anything . . . they've been lying here in the woods, but they . . . they

haven'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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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