Feature article/42

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An Other in the forest

The Others are a species of legendary, humanoid beings that exist north beyond the Wall. They are are tall and gaunt, and their flesh is a pale white, while their eyes are bright blue. They wear delicate, reflective, camouflaging armor, which shifts in color with every step. According to legend, the Others came from the Lands of Always Winter thousands of years ago, bringing with them a cold and darkness that lasted a generation: the Long Night. The first men to form the Night's Watch finally defeated the Others, together with the children of the forest, in the Battle for the Dawn, and Wall in the North was built to keep them out. The Others have not been seen since the Long Night ended, and are presently regarded as nothing more than fairy tales used to frighten little children by most.

Also known as white walkers, the Others go lightly on the snow, leaving no prints to mark their passage. They are accompanied by extreme cold, making it painful for humans to breath. White mists also rise when they come. However, they hide from sunlight, emerging only at night and melting away when the skies clear after a storm. They have the ability to do unimaginable things with ice; The swords these superior swordsmen use, are made of ice. Capable of resurrecting the dead, whether human or beast, tales of Others riding the corpses of bears, direwolves, mammoths, horses, and giant ice spiders are told.

Although most of the Seven Kingdoms believe the Others to be a thing of legend, fisherfolk on the shore near Eastwatch-by-the-Sea claim to have glimpsed white walkers on the shore in 298 AC. Read more...