This page is about the historic winter. For other uses, see: The Long Night (disambiguation)

Eight thousand years before the War of the Five Kings, a winter known as the Long Night^[1] descended upon the world, which lasted an entire generation. Thousands starved as the crops and fields lay buried under dozens of feet of snow. In the darkness and cold of the Long Night, the White Walkers descended upon Westeros from the farthest north, the polar regions of the Land of Always Winter, seeking to bring an end to all life and to cover the world in an endless winter.

History[]

Prelude[]

The invasion of Westeros by the First Men and their encroachment into the lands of the Children of the Forest, the natives of Westeros, led to a long period of warfare between the two people for control of the continent. As the Children grew desperate, a group of their greenseers, resorted to dark magic, capturing one of the First Men and turning him into the first of the White Walkers, whose purpose was to protect the Children from the First Men. However, the White Walkers grew beyond their creators' control and became a threat to anyone living, becoming the most feared creatures in the known world. Recognizing the danger, the Children and the First Men reached a peace known as the Pact.

War[]

None knew why the White Walkers came when they did, 2,000 years after the signing of the Pact and 8,000 years before Robert's Rebellion, but they killed all in their path. The White Walkers reanimated the dead as wights to kill the living at their command, and soon the White Walkers and their hordes of undead were sweeping across the continent.^[2][3][4]

Eventually the First Men and the Children of the Forest formed an alliance and rallied to defend themselves in the Battle for the Dawn. The White Walkers were defeated and driven back into the uttermost north, where the far northern lands became known as the Land of Always Winter.

The Wall, a massive fortification standing seven hundred feet high and stretching from one side of the continent to the other, was constructed by the First Men, Children, and giants along the northernmost isthmus of northern Westeros to bar the Walkers' return. Legend says that the Wall was infused with powerful magic spells by the Children of the Forest that prevent the White Walkers from crossing it. The ancient order of the Night's Watch was founded to defend the Wall should the White Walkers return to invade the realms of men once more.^[5]

Aftermath[]

With the passing of the centuries and the coming of the Andals, memory of the Long Night and the Walkers faded into myth. In the present day, most believe the Long Night to be nothing more than a children's story, and the White Walkers, Children of the Forest, and giants nothing more than legends. Belief in them survives only in the North, and even there they are presumed extinct. Certainly, none or very few were seen for the next eight thousand years between their supposed defeat and the time of Robert's Rebellion.

As the War of the Five Kings begins, disturbing reports have come back from the scouts of the Night's Watch saying that, after an abnormally long summer, winter is returning and the White Walkers with it.^[6] There is a danger of another Long Night, but given that the great lords of Westeros are short-sightedly more concerned with their petty power struggles, most have simply ignored the warnings. The situation leaves only the under-supported and under-manned Night's Watch to stand between the White Walkers and the realms of men.^[7]

Game of Thrones: Season 1[]

After Catelyn leaves for King's Landing, Old Nan sits by Bran Stark’s bedside to watch him. She suggests the story of Duncan the Tall and Bran replies that he hates her stories —he prefers the scary ones. She retorts that he is a "sweet summer child" who knows nothing about fear, and tells him that fear is for the winter and for the Long Night, a winter season thousands of years ago that lasted a generation, in which those who didn't freeze to death had to face the White Walkers, who ventured south for the first time and swept through Westeros."^[2]

Game of Thrones: Season 5[]

During Stannis's march to Winterfell, the weather turns for the worse and a snow storm delays his army. In order to better their chances of winning the upcoming battle in the snow which they both saw in the flames, Melisandre tries to convince Stannis to sacrifice more King's blood —this time, Stannis's own daughter, Shireen. Stannis is visibly shocked and disgusted by the suggestion, asking her if she has lost her mind. She insists that Stannis must be the undisputed king when the the Long Night comes, but he rebuffs her and orders her to leave his presence."^[8]

When Lord Commander Jon Snow and the wildling envoy Tormund travel to Hardhome to convince the Free Folk sheltered there to come back with them to Castle Black in order to settle south of the Wall, Jon Snow argues that the Long Night is coming and the dead come with it —and only together they can give the White Walkers a fight, and maybe even beat them back. Snow's words prove immediately prophetic, as during the process of taking the wildlings to the ships the White Walkers arrive with thousands of wights and massacre most of the Free Folk.^[9]

Game of Thrones: Season 7[]

While autopsying the body of Maester Weyland, Archmaester Ebrose tells Sam that despite the widespread skepticism of his colleagues, Ebrose believes that the Long Night cannot be pure fabrication, since numerous unconnected sources all describe similar events. He maintains however, that if another, similar event is about to occur, that Westeros and its inhabitants will find a way to survive it.^[10]

In the books[]

As of the fifth novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Dance with Dragons, very little detail has been given about what actually happened in the Battle for the Dawn. Written history doesn't date back that far (at least in Westeros), so only oral tradition and half-mythical accounts come down to the present. There are vague legends that a single First Man- whom Old Nan refers to in her stories as "the last hero"- unified both the First Men and the Children of the Forest and led them to victory.

Stories about the Long Night are also found in lands far beyond Westeros, though they may not always refer to it as such. The World of Ice and Fire sourcebook explained that several cultures throughout the continent of Essos have their own legends of ancient cataclysms, all of which (supposedly) occurred around the same time as the generation-long winter. Also in these legends, the ways in which the Long Night was overcome all follow similar patterns to what is told in Westeros:

• Descendants of the Rhoynar people - who inhabited the regions of the modern-day Free Cities - claim that the mighty Rhoyne River froze as far south as one of its tributaries, the Selhoru (roughly where Myr and Tyrosh now lie), a claim which the maesters have confirmed with reasonable certainty. The Rhoynar believed that the Long Night only ended when a single hero beseeched Mother Rhoyne, the goddess of the river, along with the minor deities that were her children, to join together and sing a magical song which brought back the dawn.
• In Yi Ti, it is said the Lion of Night - the primary god worshiped in the region - fathered a son on the Maiden-Made-of-Light. Known as God-on-Earth, he was the first emperor of Yi Ti's Great Empire of the Dawn (a semi-mythical civilization that allegedly existed during the Dawn Age before the Long Night). Thousands of years later, a descendant of God-on-Earth known as the Amethyst Empress was usurped and murdered by her own brother, an event known as the Blood Betrayal. This caused the Maiden-Made-of-Light to turn away from humanity in shame, and the Lion of Night came forth in all his wrath to punish mankind's wickedness, inflicting the cold and darkness of the Long Night. According to the stories, the sun hid its face from the world for a lifetime, ashamed at something none could discover, and disaster was only averted by the deeds of a woman with a monkey's tail.
• Stories about the Long Night are even found as far east as Asshai. According to Melisandre, a great darkness descended upon the land, and a hero known as Azor Ahai wielded a flaming sword named Lightbringer in battle against the darkness to win back the dawn. The holy texts of the Lord of Light prophesy that there will come a time when the Long Night will return, and Azor Ahai will be reborn to lead the people of the world to victory once again. This specific legend is apparently widespread across the Further East of Essos, because Azor Ahai is also known as Hyrkoon the Hero, Yin Tar, Neferion, and Eldric Shadowchaser, depending on the region in which the story is told.

References[]

Notes[]

External links[]

• Long Night on A Wiki of Ice and Fire