kings of winter theory part 6 what made the others come back and conclusion

WHAT MADE OTHERS COME BACK

“The oldest histories we have, were written after the Andals came to Westeros. The First Men only left us runes on rocks, so everything we know about the Age of Heroes and the Dawn Age and the Long Night comes from accounts set down by septons thousands of years later. There are archmaesters at the Citadel who question all of it.” (AFFC)



Assuming that they are not the pure evil, horde of zombies, mindless destroyers but an actual culture, what would bring the Others south? I propose the following:

-The murder of the Stark lord and his heir by the Targaryen king

-Their own prophecy of dragons returning to destroy them (via Bran the Builder)

-The decomposing of the oldest iron sword in the Crypts

-The burial of a non-Lord and a female in the crypts (as a sign the prophecy is coming to completion)

-The birth of Jon Snow

-The birth of Daenerys Targaryen

All of these events happened around the same time, or in a short span of time. Some people argued dragons brought them back but this does not fit in the timeline since we know they were active for at least several months before Daenerys Targaryen gave birth to her dragons. With this being said we don’t know how long the Others were active and if they are immortal or very long lived, they probably work on a different time scale. Waymar Royce and his party were probably not the first to encounter them, just the first time a survivor carried word south. I also believe this was done on purpose, so the word of them spreads: We are no longer sleeping. And Winter is Coming. We do know that Mance Rayder started gathering the wildings together well before the encounter in the prologue, suggesting the Others were active well before that. Furthermore, shortly after arriving at Winterfell, King Robert Baratheon visits the crypt with Lord Eddard Stark to pay his respects. During the visit, which happened at the very beginning of the saga, Ned notices that the oldest longswords have rusted away to nothing. One of them, keeping the oldest spirit at bay was gone completely. The eldest one being the tomb of Bran the Builder, coincidence? I think not. My guess, the re-appearance of Others ties with the events surrounding Robert’s Rebellion and the mysterious disappearance of the iron sword tasked with keeping Brandon Stark’s spirit put.

CONCLUSION



If this turns out to be the truth then the words (names, titles, descriptions) surrounding the House Stark would certainly gain a new meaning. Words I am talking about have already been discussed earlier in the text but I will go over them once again:

The title – Kings of Winter,

The castle from which they ruled – Winterfell, i.e. Winter Fell (literal as Starfall, Storms End and so on)

House Words – Winter is coming,

House name – Stark (strong, rigid, as if in death, having a very plain and often cold or empty appearance, absolute, pure, positive, grim and so on)

House blade – Ice (a legacy from the Age of Heroes that predates the sword)

Bonus: Ice eyes – mentioned on several occasions

All of these words date back from the Age of Heroes and from what we know they all go back to the founder of the House Stark – Bran the Builder.



It is my firm belief that the followers of the Seven (septons and maesters) did everything in their power to conceal the truth about the North and over time destroy all the traces of magic. Knowing this would happen, Bran the Builder made a contingency plan that will enable North to fend for itself once the time comes, making sure the magic comes back with or through him. The Wall was built not to keep the Others from the south but to keep the hordes of men from the deep North thus making sure the knowledge of Others falls into oblivion and with it the Secret of Winter and the House Stark. The Kings of Winter (and later on the Lords of Winterfell) were tasked with the protection of this secret making sure it would be transferred orally from one generation to another, constantly staying within the Stark family. Once the sword on Bran’s tomb decomposed his spirit was “released” which has marked the beginning of the prophecy. Whether he is or is not the White Walker we saw in the Oathkeeper (and what a brilliantly ambiguous title – keeping the oath – for the episode that marks the first appearance of White Walker home, rituals and ways of procreating) or his sword was merely a sign of sorts, a shout out to the surviving Others, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that the plan is in motion.



And this is what it comes down to – the question of how one culture and the way of living, be it human or supernatural (Children, Giants, Others and so on) can be saved from the total annihilation and destruction. This is what it comes down too. If I am right Targaryens are not the sole enemy here.



Westeros has turned into a grim place even without Targaryens anywhere about. Boltons have taken the Winterfell. Lannisters and Tyrells backstabbed everyone they could. Lady Stark has turned into a mindless zombie killer. Melisandre is gaining more and more power on behalf of R’hllor. Honor is considered a joking matter. Stark family was butchered continuously for the past 20 years. The Giants and Children are on the verge of extinction. The threat is not from the North and the Others, as many believe, it is from the men with malicious intentions, be it Freys, Boltons, Lannisters or Targaryens. Just take your pick. We are witnessing a distinct decline of civilization, paradoxically. The magic is the only thing that can stop it. But every coin has two sides and when there is “good” magic the “bad” follows. A battle between two sides of magic will split the human race in two, each reflecting the very core of human nature. One will fight out of selfish needs that result in conquering and oppression and the other will fight for the preservation of several races from extinction, culture and the way of life inherent to Westeros (pre-dating Andals and the Faith of Seven). The forces of Ice will aid humans under attack in the battle for their mere existence, and once the battle is won, the Others will retreat North, as if they never existed. That is, until the next threat arises because as long as Winterfell – the home of the ancient Kings of Winter that will relentlessly keep their guard until the end of time – stands, the winter is coming. And North Remembers.