Gorne's Way is a mythical route through the caves beyond the Wall that pass beneath the Wall and come out south of it into the Seven Kingdoms.
History
Maester Herryk's History of the Kings-Beyond-the-Wall has a transcription of a wildling song about Gorne and Gendel in which the brothers mediated a dispute between a clan of children of the forest and a family of giants over control of a cave. After discovering the cave was part of a larger system of caverns which extended beneath the Wall, Gendel and Gorne resorted to trickery and convinced both parties to abandon the cave. Maesters are skeptical of the wildling tale, however.[1]
According to stories, Gorne and Gendel were joint Kings-Beyond-the-Wall three thousand years ago. The brother kings led a wildling army along the path beneath the Wall to successfully evade the Night's Watch. However, they were attacked and Gorne was killed by forces from Winterfell when they reached the far side. Wildling legend claims that Gendel attempted to return north of the Wall via the same path, but he did not know it as well as Gorne and became lost in the caves. The descendants of Gendel's folk are said to still be sobbing beneath the hills in their attempts to find a way out.[2]
Recent Events
A Storm of Swords
Ygritte tells Jon Snow about Gorne's Way while they are in a cave near Greyguard.[2]
Quotes
Ygritte: I wanted t'see how deep the cave went. There's a passage goes down further. I followed it a hundred paces before I turned back.
Jon: A dead end?
Ygritte: You know nothing, Jon Snow. It went on and on and on. There are hundreds o' caves in these hills, and down deep they all connect. There's even a way under your Wall. Gorne's Way.[2]
References
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, Ancient History: The Dawn Age.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 26, Jon III.