Valyrians bred dragons for different purposes. Now I can't get Flintstones out of my head. There's a little dragon that's only purpose is to heat the tea kettle and it shrugs at the camera and says, "Hey, it's a living."

"Someday Rhaegar, all this will be yours!" "What, the curtains?"

I think that the Most Cailin stones are SO similar to the oily black stones, but don't usually look oily and don't hurt nature links them to have been built by the same civilization, but weren't corrupted/ cursed. Not sure why, though.

I love that George doesn't feel compelled to share things about his world just so people can know. I love the number of unsolved mysteries of asoiaf, and as tantalizing as it would be to learn some of those secretes, fanservice can be more harmful to a story than it helps, and I think revealing such mysteries would certainly be harmful to the story he's been telling us for the better part of 20 years.

I prefer to believe that the birds are trying to tell him the ending.

To me, Stygai draws a lot of comparison to Summerhall. Perhaps Stygai was the site of whatever ritual the bloodazor ahaiperor performed to plunge the world into darkness.

I am really hyped for anything Dany! Now, Dany blowing dragonbinder is cool af, I really love the fact that you don't shy away from magic in your theories and that's what I want: magic growing exponentially before the end

I like the idea that the Five Forts are a remnant of a melted previous Wall on the other side of the world. Also beards growing real nice.

It's a shame these books won't ever be finished by Martin

The Northorious B.I.G. confirmed name of the 13th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. Amazing stream, all the pirate vibes with Cleo and your outfit

Impact metamorphism is a good explanation for the wealth of gold and gems in Asshai/Shadowlands... if that is the cause. Heck, it couldd still have residual hydrothermal activity if it was a big enough impact... or the impact could have triggered such. Now, not all hydrothermal waters are just hot water. They are often HIGHLY acidic and laden with toxic levels of heavy metals. Don't get me started on the oily black look of radioactive thorianite and uraninite...

Asshai is the most mysterious place. Arya reaching Asshai and exploring this could be thhe most interresting story of them all

When I think of stygai I think of river styx garding the underworld, and kadath is only open via dreams. In fantasy there is often portals to other realms, or dimensions as we would call it. Perhaps the heart of winter really is a land of the dead. Maybe it's like that Wheel of Time show, where they opened a dimensional portal opening way for an eldritch evil like gozer in ghost busters, magnifying the evil within men.

“Nothing else remains…” George giving us some Ozymandias vibes with Moat Cailin 😁

The oily black stone always makes me think of the “pure, concentrated evil” from Time Bandits.

I was born and raised in San Francisco-now I live in the hell scape known as Los Angeles-and I’ve found that your channel really makes me miss home.

Much respect to you from western Canada LML. Really appreciate your insights into the series. Admittedly, I don't listen to many of your streams, I'm a big fan of your old ~20min written and produced videos. Thanks for the great analyses LML, I think you come to the series with a refreshing angle that not only let's people appreciate the intricate plots GRRM sets up, but also the symbolism and metaphor, which I think a lot of other channels overlook.

No I missed my favorite streamer! Good thing I have the power of KZfaq to watch the show as many time as I want.

In case nobody else has clarified, the telepathic pyramids mentioned by Highland Chicken (that are similar to weirwoods) are from GRRM's short story "And Seven Times Never Kill Man." Would definitely recommend you read it. It also features Bakkalon the Pale Child that GRRM reuses in ASOIAF.

Wow - melted ice wall to explain the 5 forts 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶

PRAISE GARTH

Stygai seems like the epicenter of a magical catastrophe. Like there's an open portal to the Abyss or something.

Cheers for answering my query at the end, thoroughly enjoyed the stream ✌️

In regards to the oily toad-stone idol. More than likely the stone may have already been present, but it cannot be assumed that it was. Many ancient civilizations have large carved and un carved monuments that were quarried vast distances away then moved/sailed and hauled into place. Egyptian obelisks, and Stonehenge are two of the most well known.

So many great theories discussed in this vid. From both the chat and from you LML - also drinking game.. take a shot every time Oily Black Stone is mentioned 😆

I like to think that oily black stone isn't what that substance originally looked like, but is rather the result of some particular magical process related to the disasters that have befallen basically every civilisation that is known to have made it. The Great Empire of the Dawn probably wasn't built of oily black stone, its constructions were transmuted to it during the Long Night disaster. I wouldn't be surprised if Valyria post-Doom was also full of oily stone that used to be their fused stone.

I think it's probably not that likely that all the Oily Black Stone came from one place. I also think it's possible that there's multiple causes of it, or at least multiple sources of the same corrupting power that turns it from fused to oily stone. Would the the Great Empire of the Dawn ship all that stone so far away (All the way to Westeros) rather than just using local materials as the base ingredients of their structures? In my opinion the Oily Black Stone probably started out as the Fused Stone or a similar material made with dragons, perhaps mined in blocks from local rock and then constructed into buildings after fusing, rather than moulded like Valyria . After this fusing it would become corrupted. I can see how the GEOTD makes a bunch of fused stone with their dragons, and when massive magical calamities or at least continued magic exposure over time occurs, this eventually corrupts into Oily Black Stone. - Asshai, Stygai -> Stone corrupted by the calamity that created the shadow lands, the moon meteor. - Yeen, Toad Stone -> Maybe also corrupted by the calamity/meteor but also possibly corrupted by long-term magic use on Sothoryos, such as in Gogossos. (Yeen and Asshai are similar not only in design but that they both kill plants and animals so it's probably a mixture of these causes, and the Toad Stone was probably affected more by Gogossos than Yeen was affected by Gogossos.) - Battle Isle fortification -> perhaps corrupted by 8 thousand years of Hightower magic as they dwelt within and then on top of it, or perhaps corrupted by by whatever caused its abandonment - Moat Cailin -> built by GEOTD and then corrupted partially by the partial breaking of the neck which possibly took place _at that location_ - Seastone chair -> Similar design to Toad Stone, perhaps also corrupted by the water magic which was used to flood the neck. They are very close by after all, the seawater around the Iron Islands would have been the water flooding the neck. (When did the Ironborn arrive at the Iron islands? Before or after the Neck was broken? If after, the chair was supposedly right on the beach at that time, in the very water being affected by the Children's magic.) Some other ideas: The Seastone Chair and Toad Stone are similar intricate carvings of Oily Black Stone depicting water-related animals (Kraken, Toad), The Seastone Chair is similar to the Battle Isle fortification in terms of construct and the Battle Isle fortification is similar to Yeen, Asshai and Moat Cailin in architectural style. Therefore there is a high likelyhood that they were made by the GEOTD's dragons and corrupted in similar ways to all end up connected like this despite the massive distances between them. Also, Lovecraft's Toad was made of Basalt, and so is Moat Cailin. Basalt is a Igneous rock formed by the cooling of molten rock, which is also how the Fused Stone is formed, so it seems even more likely that not only is the Oily Black Stone made with dragons but that Moat Cailin is a structure of the GEOTD Furthermore, when the size of Asshai is being described, it draws attention to Oldtown as being able to fit inside, right after talking about the black stone it is made of. Drawing a connection between Asshai and Oldtown specifically (unlike the other cities mentioned, which were given as a general list), makes the similarities between Battle Isle and Asshai even more harsh. It would be so easy to confirm this if we could see Valyria, they made all of their buildings and also their roads of Fused Stone and if it really is corrupting magic that causes it to become Oily then it would certainly be very Oily in Valyria. Anyhoo, that was my idea, your video was great as always! Unrelated note, I always liked the idea that Westeros wrapped around the globe, over the North Pole and there's a whole other side to the continent inaccessible due to the Heart of Winter being in the way. Not evident but a fun idea!

IMHO, another reason Martin wants us to be thinking of these ancient paleo-/megalithic structures on Planetos is that we see things that are not dissimilar on our own planet, which are just as unexplained/inexplicable. For example, and outside of the well-known Stonehenge/Avebury and Egypt's Pyramids and the temples/art in Karnak; I always think of the look of the walls at Sachsayhuaman in Bolivia when I think about ASOIAF's 'fused stone' - walls with massive, smooth stone blocks that still sit so tight a human hair can't be passed between them. Then there are the churches/temples at Lalibela in Ethopia, which look like someone hollowed out bedrock with a giant 3D carving tool. My point is; just like we'll probably never know the 'truth' of the 'primitive' building techniques, Martin wil never give us the 'truth' of the oily black stone and how it came to be. P.S; love ya work. =)

Hey you probably won’t see this but thank you for these deep dives this is what gets me into series. I’ve been eating up your vids while at work or driving and I’m loving it!

The extended mutes are part of the charm. I use the time to praise Garth and try to hold till you unmute!

The end of this stream is so funny 😂😂 thanks David.

Honestly, the "technical difficulties" makes it so much more wholesome lol

Yay, oily black stone stream.

The birds actually did a good job of punctuating the Yeen quote. 😁

Great video lml you got yourself a new fan who's gonna binge watch your entire stock!

I just want to say thank you 🙏🏻 LML for the stream👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻As always, it was awesome, I really appreciate all your videos and the hard work that you invest to create them. You’re the Best on KZfaq to explain the WOIAF, no doubt about it!🙋🏼‍♀️🇨🇦💪🏼😉

You're doing the Old Gods' work!

Yay! Thanks for reading my comment! I really feel like those craters are good evidence of some kind of impact from space. Really enjoyed this stream, thank you!

Channel is growing fast man. Love to see that. I'm sooo late to the party lol been busy but still wanna give thanks. You make my smoke sesh after work that much bettet 😆

This is one of your older videos but I love the birds in the background. It’s very cute

Oh wow, great. The birds are screeching non stop in my headphones. Again…

I was waiting for this :( But I woke up late. Great work! 💛

So many great artists in the ASOIAF community!

“Magically toxic,” or the fact that the oily black stone repels vegetation and animal life might also be GRRM’s version of a radioactive material

Couldn't finish watching live 'cause of a blackout, but here I am!

"Before they exited stage left" Please do keep referencing RUSH, it makes my day.

The shade of the evening drink is black and oily and gets you stoned

I enjoy these scripted episodes much more than the open Q & A ones.

Done just yet. Can't emphasize how fricking awesome this video was concerning deep lore and worldbuilding!

Great Stream!

«We can't see what is under the snow.» Now my head canon is that under the frozen wastes of the north is an ocean of ghostgrass. Once the white walkers are defeated, the world moves into an age of “eternal summer” giving the ghostgrass the conditions it needs to cover the world. The greenseers think they are playing the long game by organizing the reign of Bran, but grass plays the longest game of all. The final scene in the book is the iron throne, and the corpse of Bran, covered in ghostgrass.

The fire crackling, and the birbs in the intro ^^. So homey. Man, oh man! Despite being there live...the things I have missed 😅 Trying to get my nose in a book tonight to catch up a little. (After this. Doih.)

55:30 oh that super mute was fantastic lol

I like the rhaegar reading corner but the artwork is phenomenal. Makes it more dramatic.

I sacrifice this comment to the algorithm gods lol Great stream! Oily black stone is pretty interesting

Lord David "Strong Beard" BEERatheon 💪🧔🍺👑🦌

During the quote about Moat Cailin describing the 3rd tower which looks like it had had a chunk bit out of it by "some great beast"; all I could think was damage from a great beast = dragon meteors! 🐉☄ xx

Personally, I like the idea that the locals built Mote Cailin: When Europeans discovered great Zimbabwe they thought that there was no way that the Africans could have built this because they're "So Primitive", it must have been the Atlantians or the Queen of Sheba or some other such rubbish. You see a similar thing with some of the "alternative archaeology" who for some reason don't want to admit the ancient people from foreign lands were clever and capable architects. People with stone age technology can build great wonders and it seems natural that the racist Westerosi he wouldn't want to think that the Crannogmen where capable or advanced. Given they have Forrest children blood this might have been a capital of a First Men-Children Kingdom. Edit: Also, thinking about it, the first men absolutely did build giant castles like Storms End, Winterfell and most similar of all, The Wall. The wall was built by first men, children of the forest, giants, mammoths and magic out of giant blocks of ice, similar to Mote Cailin but with a different material, and showing that this culture was eminently capable of building a fortress out of megalithic stones.

Possibly the ASOIF topic that intrigues me the most

Ah, the dark and mysterious Far East. My favorite topic, so this stream was a great joy to me! Loved the new image of the Shadowbinders, some of the most intriguing characters to me. 'Most sinister of all', say the maesters, which of course is all hogwash (see: Quaithe). I see them as the brave Eastern equivalent of the Night's Watch's rangers, going into a dangerous land (mind you, we know there are other people living in the Shadowlands). Do you think this Night's Watch of the East of sorts may have been founded by Azor Ahai?

The idea of an ancient meteor strike is such a good one! I wonder - if you were to plot the locations of the oily black stones on a map of Planetos, would you be able to discern a pattern? For instance, would you find a point of entry in the atmosphere above Asshai, followed by a fragmentation as the meteor breaks apart in the atmosphere (thereby spreading chunks of bloodstone meteor across Planetos but concentrating the biggest bang in the immediate impact area)?

Every time I listen to an LML stream I come away with more new thoughts! I was especially taken with the idea that the wierwoods may be an absorbing force, as all trees take into themselves what is around them. If Nissa Nissa was a CotF, perhaps when she was killed she unknowingly unleashed a terrible toxin onto the world. You've also likened Dany to a weirwood, pointing out her birthing of the dragons, lighting her hair on fire, the heartsblood staining her mouth. Dany seems to be especially sensitive at absorbing that which is around her. She also seems to amplify these effects in herself and even in others. I've long thought Dany might be a reincarnation of the original Nissa's soul who has come back to right a wrong (namely her own death, and the effects it caused). If killing a highly magical, precious CotF, someone thought to perhaps be a princess or queen, I can only imagine what that could unleash. It's essentially killing Mother Nature herself, unleashing all kinds of horrors on the world. Plagues, mutations in animals, large scale oceanic death. Likewise, if the oily black stone chair is toxic, we can assume the Iron Throne is as well, just for different reasons. If the IT is toxic due to all the death it has caused, whoever sits upon it may absorb this negativity. If Targs are descendants of Nissa Nissa or the CotF (from eons ago), it may explain why so many of them went "mad" so to speak. They are unknowingly absorbing death, sadness, horror, and pain. There's only so much of that a being can take before it is unleashed. Anyhow, just my own rambling thoughts. I must have pages of these written in my phone because it's so fascinating. As always, adore your content man! Thank you for being here for the fandom!

I love that YT is showing me these vids lately!

solid

Thank you professor David Lightbringer ❤️. It was a stream with many interesting insights and information. Q: It seems like we have two poles of corruption, one in weirwood net and one in Stygai. When the Others defeated what do you think will happen in Stygai?

Honestly I was waiting and hoping you'd bring out one of the birds lol. They're such adorable little stinkers

Re watching this playlist. Damn this content has been excellent. The deep ones stuff is amazing and I’m really into it but Ashai focus just gets me.

Would you ever consider doing a collaboration with Preston Jacobs? Maybe a live discussion on the symbolism of ASOIAF, or something like that?

I'd never roll my eyes at ya, LmL. We all have our own idiosyncrasies. Be easy on yourself. =)

how long do you think the long night was? do you believe the (old nan?) story that there were generations of children who lived and died in darkness? that would imply maybe 50+ years, but that would be an exceptionally long time for there to be no sunlight and life to survive. there's also the fog of history, which would likely have made future storytellers exaggerate the length of the long night. so what do you think? 5, 10, 20, 50 years? it would have bearing on the temporal relationship between the long night magical instigation, meteor impacts, styggai (if that's where a meteor landed), bloodstone emperor, seastone chair (if it's a meteor/corrupted asshai stoned transported to westeros), azor ahai and the war for the dawn

This is why I like the chat replays, I was giggling the whole time you were muted at how earnestly the chat was trying to let you know haha

Valyrian road crews will henceforth be known as The Paved Companions

I loooove that intro music!

It's outrageous! I'm lacking behind three months with your videos and now it seems impossible to get my hands on a copy of Unseen Westeros! Seven hells!

A very good video man

Ready to dig into this one. All about that EotD and OILY BLACK STONE

Hey @davidlightbringer listening to your old live streams are great motivation for household chores! Thought: what if Asshai is meant to be Ankor at its peak? They struggled with food sources before it was abandoned, but their royal coupling are more Targaryen.

Great video. Really enjoyed it. Love this deep lore. All the art work look awesome.

Tool Style, Cool Style. Very Cool Tool Style. 😎👍

I like how focused this one was - really fab research! Multiple LOLs on this Monday for me - stellar ending 😂 You also already know who you really look like dressed in black … 😉

One of your greatest mutes on this one. Even you were impressed by it's length. Always puts a smile on my face. Regardless, you do excellent work. Keep it up!

The shade of evening theory is really compelling. There might have been a black stone city/maze on the broken moon, like in Lovecraft's Dream Cycle.

Thank the gods I needed this 🙏🙌😌

I love watching streams about Asshai and Stygai. My favorite topic, also Winterfell and the Others.

I recently found your channel and I love it man! Thank you

That’s an absolute pisser at the end. Naughty Cleo!! LMAO. Brilliant stuff as usual mate.

I can see you have some Puscifer and Primus in the background and a Tool shirt. 've also discovered that you love AAL too. It seems that you have an execellent taste in music as well as in literature ;)

I'm obsessed with the Shadowlands. I want to know everything.

I'm stuck in a red state in the USA. It means so much to me that you talk about the moon blood, the periods, the birthing process, the rituals and the witchery. George is one of my favorite authors for this reason also. I feel very safe watching you and that is a huge deal to me!! Thank you 🌝💜

I didn't get a chance to listen to the whole stream yet, so you may have already touched on this, but have you read, "And seven times never kill man"? Because there's these ancient technologically advanced pyramids that are made up of some unique type of stone or alloy, or possibly some super strong plastic, that, for whatever the reason, have strange influences on the people around them, seemingly manipulating them to its will Whatever the case, it's a really cool story, definitely a lot of cosmic horror going on, and one of my favorite's of grrm, outside of A song of Ice and fire And it also contains the deity, the Pale Child, which shows up in the house of black and white!

It is said that the darkness of the long night happened because of the wickedness of the empire of the dawn. The lady of light turned her back on the world, or in a sense cursed it to become bathed in shadow. Could this curse also extend to darken the very stone used to build their empire, to never return? It’s like sowing salt in fields, such that their power and wickedness would never rise again. It explains the toxicity across the continents and why it drinks the light.

Maybe an ancient kingdom exploded and pooped all these black oil stones all over the place. It was pretty impressive though how the Egyptian moved stuff because they wet the sand and another old culture used seaweed to move stuff I think.

gorgeous man explains brilliant theories, yes please

So many parts of the world Martin has created feel they're only there for the reader to think about. Places to explore with their imagination only. Like life you won't get the answers to everything. I enjoy stories that do the same.

Didn’t realise the moon was black or not white 🤭 need to check that.

LML has his own rookery lol

What a great stream once again! ❤ You literally fed me ideas for the book series i'm writing. Anyway I have one more question: If Euron is emulating the Bloodstone Emperor (which seems to be the case), Stygai would be important to him. Do you think he went into Stygai, and if he did could we actually get some talk and info about it in TWoW?

isnt blackstone the military contractor ran by betsy devos' brother and is currently buying all the real estate in north america?

You've obviously got great taste in music, man! Love it 🙂

will you do a video on the theory that asoiaf is set in the thousand worlds universe and is a post apocalyptic sci fi world? i know some people don't like that theory (and i understand why) but as a 40k fan the idea of an age of strife catastrophy that transforms advanced colonies into isolated feudal worlds is pretty fun