Coldhands

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Coldhands
Zippo514 Coldhands.jpg
Coldhands astride his great elk - Art by Zippo514 ©

Allegiance Three-eyed crow
Books
Coldhands astride his great elk - Art by Marc Fishman ©

Coldhands is a mysterious figure from beyond the Wall. He looks like a wight and has hands black from pooled and congealed blood, but is intelligent and seemingly benign.

Appearance

See also: Images of Coldhands

Coldhands is dressed in the mottled blacks and greys of the Night's Watch with a scarf concealing his face. His hands are black and as cold as ice, and he rides a great elk. A flock of ravens flies under his command.[1] He does not breathe.[2]

Summer does not like the way Coldhands smells - "dead meat, dry blood, a faint whiff of rot. And cold. Cold all over".[2] Though Coldhands is often described as dead, but still alive, his eyes are described as black, in contrast of the light blue of wights and Others. Although he is thin and gaunt, his voice rattles.[2]

Recent Events

A Storm of Swords

Coldhands saves Samwell Tarly, Gilly and her son when they are beset by wights, lost in the haunted forest after fleeing Craster's Keep, addressing Sam as "Brother!"[1] He takes the two under his protection and brings them to the Black Gate of the Nightfort located underneath the Wall. He cannot pass through himself, due to the Wall's magic, but he charges them to bring Bran Stark and his companions whom Coldhands is expecting. He looks and talks as if he was a ranger of the Night's Watch.[3]

A Dance with Dragons

Coldhands guides Bran Stark, Hodor, Meera and Jojen Reed to the last greenseer north of the Wall. Along the way he kills men of the Night's Watch. Bran, having slipped into Summer as a warg, discovers this and confronts him in the abandoned village. They discover that Coldhands is indeed dead, but he continues to refuse to show his face. Unknown to Bran is that the men Coldhands killed were the surviving traitors responsible for the mutiny at Craster's Keep.[2] When his great elk collapses along their journey, Coldhands whispers a blessing in an unknown language and slits the animal's throat; he and Meera butcher the carcass for food.[4]

Coldhands leads Bran and his companions to the cave of the three-eyed crow, but he cannot enter. He fights off wights as they climb to the cave entrance.[4]

Quotes by Coldhands

Coldhands guided Bran Stark, Hodor, Meera and Jojen Reed to the last Greenseer beyond the Wall – Art by Urukki Saki ©

The world believes the boy is dead ... Let his bones lie undisturbed. We want no seekers coming after us. Swear it, Samwell of the Night's Watch. Swear it for the life you owe me.[5]

– Coldhands, to Samwell Tarly


They were foes.[2]

– Coldhands, to Bran Stark, regarding the deserters of the Night's Watch


Once the heart has ceased to beat, a man's blood runs down into his extremities, where it thickens and congeals ... His hands and feet swell up and turn as black as pudding. The rest of him becomes as white as milk.[2]

– Coldhands, to Bran Stark

Quotes about Coldhands

They killed him long ago.[4]

Leaf

See also

References and Notes