One of my favorite references about wizards in the whole series is when Arya tells Ned about Varys and Illyrio in AGOT and he says: "A wizard," said Ned, unsmiling. "Did he have a long white beard and tall pointed hat speckled with stars?" Then in ACOK Dany sees this when she meets the Undying Ones "Beyond the doors was a great hall and a splendor of wizards. Some wore sumptuous robes of ermine, ruby velvet, and cloth of gold. Others fancied elaborate armor studded with gemstones, or tall pointed hats speckled with stars" GRRM is such a fantastic writer, it's a great callback. Poor naïve Ned :(

I do like how Milisandre's chapter it seems like she's doing 50% guess work, and she knows it.

What i keep saying over and over again is just how fantastic GRRM is at writing fantasy elements of the story in such a way that it remains utterly realistic and believable. Its never intrusive or absurd or obnoxious. You can be convinced that this story at most times is a true accounting of actual real life history. The blending of medieval lore and fantasy is done perfectly. Not sure how one could pull it off any better then how GRRM has.

Mirri is a complicated case in hindsight she is basically a nuclear physicist teaching Elementary Earth science

Instead of Lady Stoneheart we got Dorne and it was awful.

Melisandre is immune to poison because its a property of her neck gem. In one of the Dany chapters when she is riding with Xaro Xhoan Daxos in a litter, he offers her a necklace with a red gem that is supposed to make you immune to poison through magic. Melisandre has a red gem necklace that she seems to be able to use for other magic but the inclusion of this dany chapter moment is pretty much a direct answer from GRRM. So for Melisandre the red gem makes her immune to poison plus she can do stuff with it we dont understand. Her glamor for instance probably comes through it. The chapter where the fake Mance Ryder (lord of bones) is burning comes to mind. If you read it her gm pulses and glows and she seems strained.

I'd love to see Asshai & the Shadow Lands, I believe wild dragons exist there

Whilst I do certainly enjoy the supernatural in ASOIAF, I don't think we can ignore the author's upbringing in the 60's, and it's idea of unlocking the perceptive power of the subconcious with hallucinogenic drugs and/or autohypnosis brought about by staring into flickering flames. Like Dune, Martin's wizards use little-known chemistry, the latent powers of our own biology, and perhaps the outright supernatural. I also see a tension in ASOIAF between the Eastern heroic tradition of "the power is within you and can be unlocked with training" and the Western notion of the "chosen one", whose power comes from outside them. Perhaps we are all on the Silk Road, caught between East and West.

"To touch the light, Pass beneath the shadow" I think is a reference to the Jungian psychological concept of the shadow. In which case, the shadow isn't a physical or geographical location, but rather a psychological one.

I see what Quaith says more as: “If you cross the sea they will expect it. Attack from another position, one not predicted.”

I love so much how you change your voice when reading the quotes from the books, it makes them sound even more epic.

One of the more convincing things regarding magic in ASOIAF is that the common people in the story are just like us, readers - they find it hard to grasp and understand magic. For example, White Wakers are just a story to scare little children. To them, magic is as strange as it is to people in the real world. Only few claim to understand it, and less than that can wield it. In other words, the magic is truly magical.

Instead of Mocorro we got some random lady who just seemed to disappear after season 6

For whatever reason I think the Ghost of High Heart is one of the most fascinating characters in ASOIAF. Its too bad they didnt include her in the show

You do a good job highlighting the Lovecraftian aspects of the series. Well done, George R.R. Martin. Who knew Lovecraftian horror could mix so well with high fantasty, political drama and science fiction...?

I'v got to agree with you here bro. The mixing of possible explaining elements and never nailing it all the way down keeps the excitement of mystery alive. When a thing like magic in stories gets explained too thoroughly it loses what its meant to embody, which is an endless set of esoteric rules that takes either vast stretches of time or supernatural means in order to learn.

Calling it now, Melisandre’s a Bene Gesserit!

Why does everyone have to be connected? Why does Rey have to be a Skywalker or... Wait, wrong series. Carry on.

Do you think the glass candle thing relates to the conspiracy of the masters surrounding the dragons? They're obviously used by sorcerers to await the day magic of it's kind returns to the world, the masters being so reluctant to embrace the supernatural use it as a way to demonstrate the limits of knowledge, but now the Archmaester of Higher Mysteries knows that dragons have returned.

I'm a molecular biologist but when people ask what I do for a living, I just say Wizard :) Require less explanation.

you should have touched on Benerro, the Red Priest who sent Moqorro to Victarion and can makes flames leap from his fingertips.

You have an amazing grasp of this series. I'm increasingly impressed with your videos; especially the fact that you've command over your own speech cadence.

The Pyromancers could also be mentioned. We were told that they used to be a very powerful guild back when the dragons were still around. After the Dragons vanished their power declined (similar to the Warlocks of Qarth). In A Clash of Kings they tell Tyrion that the spells they use to create wildfire were becoming more effective again, and this is shortly after Daenerys hatches her dragons.

I was rewatching this video today, and I, like you I believe The Ghost of High Heart is a descendant of Leaf, and the mother of Jenny of oldstones. But I got to thinking, if she knew that her daughter was married to the wrong heir, could she have been responsible for the Tragedy of Summerhall? One can only imagine the grief of having to kill your own daughter to save the world.

I think the Hightowers have some sort of magical abilities although that's speculation. The Spicer family with Maggy the Frog had prophecies down pretty well and also there are various clues that make it sem they hit Robb Stark with a love potion to hook him up with Jeyne Westerling. There seems to be some magics going on with the House of Black and White. And every time you mention Shade of the Evening, and it seems to me I'm the only person on the planet that talks about this but you and the other youtube vloggers never respond to me, but again, I like to point out it's made from a black tree and has properties very similar to weirwood paste. Arya recognized weirwood white at the house of Black and White. She left no comment on the black. I'm dead certain this black shade-of-the-evening tree is the black counterpart to weirwood white. And these trees are either cousins or rivals or some such thing with the weirwoods. This yin-and-yang looking tree thing has some significance that that better ASoIaF obsessed minds than mine need to ponder.

I just discovered you like 2 weeks ago and your theories and videos are so amazing!

I agree about the children of the forest not having the best of intentions. I've been saying that since the beginning

Your idea about the daughter of Leaf is brilliant. This is an interesting post. And although I do see Martin's apparent leaning toward a need for balance (ice and fire), I don't think this requires the end of all magic. After all, clairvoyance and light workers of many kinds still exist today, though the darker energies are concerning.

Marwin + stary wisdom + danerys = long night bloodstone emperor founded tCoSW. he begun the long night by slaying the amethyst empress (possibly purple eyed and silver haired) history repeats itself.

Great content as always.

Melisandre says glamor is made of shadow and suggestion, so I suspect it's actually connected to her being a shadowbinder.

I'm really confused right now. When they meet, Bran asks Bloodraven, “are you the three-eyed crow?” and he replies, “a ..... crow? Once, aye. Black of garb and black of blood.” He seems to be referring to him being a Night's Watch brother, not the three-eyed crow......?

Qyburn sure deserved somo analysis onde this topic. Perhaps the Children of the forest as a whole as well, like you did with the warlocks in the house of the undying. Great vid though and analysis, as always.

The children always freaked me out...

I think the ghost id high heart has a connection with bloodraven and as you say the children of the forest. This is such great video thank you for putting in the hard work to make it happen.

I clicked this alert so fast I think I hurt myself

I assumed this would be like a 5-10 minute video but when I noticed it was this long I got so happy xD Great video :)

I really like this video Quinn, it really got me thinking about the way that Martin does portray magic and you couldn't have said it any better for the reason why I like magic in A Song of Ice and Fire, he gives you just enough, keeps it a mystery

This is all so spooky when you think about it all after you bring it together for us.

Well one thing is for sure the shadowlands seem to have the source for a lot of the magic

The Ghost of High Heart is the most impressive and accurate medium we have encountered in ASOIAF. She is the embodiment of the classical term of the hermit prophet in this universe, resembling the prophets of Christian and Hebrew scripture. Even other, somewhat strong Greenseers like Jojen don't measure up to her accuracy. The Weirwood hivemind network mustn't be the only party that grants her the dreams. There seems to be something more at play here.

I'm really starting to get enthralled in your videos. Subbed

I know I've said something to this effect before: I honestly feel that GoT's greatest omission is the cinematic wonder of Victarion and Moqorro

I discovered recently your channel. Gosh, I love it! It's a pleasure listening to you.

Bloodraven is *in a way* linked to the Ghost of HighHeart by latent power (the Dragon Blood is why Aemon isn't an Archmage, blood wgich he shares with the 100&1-eyed) and by their connection to the Children

Your videos are always so creepy

Ahh Quaith, according to the universal theory. Everyone is secretly Quaith, and probably also a secret Targaryen.

Your narrating always brings out the intrigue and importance of the words spoken in the books you cover. From Dune to asoiaf. Always enjoy your videos Ill end by saying magic is in this world we inhabit is real. Just as many in asoiaf dont believe in magic and treat it as an old legend or myth. But magic is real to those who are in a place to know so. Much is occulted in Our reality the dry history we are taught is only a carefully crafted design with an agenda. “Cut a man from his roots and you make him a slave. “ michael tsarion

The wizards in this universe kind of remind me of either hacking or martial arts students. If you treat the Undying like newbs, they suddenly feel super powerful when they can do a little. Then you have the more experience people like Melisandre who can definitely do a lot, but is still frustrated by smacking into barriers. There's no one else at or above her level, so its hard to tell what her level is.

You know after all these years I am STILL not sure if gods are real or all of these visions are from magic itself and all these gods are zealotic people wanting their life has a meaning.

I got that Watchmen trailer that starts with "people wear masks to hide their trauma" as the ad during the Quaithe segment 😂 I think KZfaq is trying to tell us something!

I love learning about magic and it's laws in relation to the world it exists in. How does it work, what can and can't it do, and what are the consequences of it's use? Plus how do the people of the world view and interact with it? Is it something taboo and those who practice it shunned or is it marveled and it's users celebrated? Are there any Magocracies? It's so fasinating to talk about.

And what do we make of Maggy the Frog and to a degree Patchface?

Maquorro serves the citadel at the end of the day. That's Marwin, that's how he knew where the ship was going and more importantly how to heal Victarion Greyjoy using the same magic as Mirri Maz Dur used (whom Marwin knows from Asshai)

Awesome content. I really feel like reading the books now.

Can you please make a playlist of the music you use for your videos? I really could use the fantastical vibes when creative writing

It all comes down to headology

I think Bryndon Rivers was a recognised greenseer early. His mother was Missy Blackwood and despite being a south Ron family they still worshipped the old gods of the First Man (something George mentioned several times in a he books). Also I’ve read a theory that Melisandre is in fact a wildling and possesses greensight too. It was suggested she was captured in a he raid on Hardhome several hundred years ago. And was sold as Lpt Seven to the priests of R’h’ollor. So this provides another connection.

My problem with Melisandra is that she claims to know much more and to be gifted well beyond those in her order, at the same time though, she is wrong time and time again... That, my friend, doesn't seem to be the ways of a superior red priestess to me.... As far as it goes for one having spoke one word and multiple people hear different words, whether it be in a different language or not, I believe GRRM got that from the Bible, that is actually a form of speaking in what we call tongues. So actually that would make sense considering the perpetrator is religious, have it be the Red God, The Old Gods, etc.... I just felt I would share my knowledge and thoughts/opinions, if you're anything like myself I love to learn about things that I may not have prior knowledge or experience with. Awesome job on the video btw. 😀

I know this is a different world but in D&D Melisandre would be a cleric who only channels power from their god.

Great content...but what about Maggie the Frog and her prophesies to Cercei,Aeron Damphair and his Forsaken visions and Patchface and his dark jokes/prophesies?what about the FM and the alchemist ?

The Undying are backdoor vampires. Pyat Pree is their ghoul that they promised to turn if he served them well, or that's how the story goes. I suspect that Euron is on the road to become a vampire - among other things - because he figured out a way to break the Undying's influence, which is probably just propaganda to attract servants and victims. The blue substance they call Shade of the evening? Well, that's their blood alright. That's why they are blue-skinned, the whole tree with dark bark is just a story to appease the Quarthene populace. A floating heart is their weakness? A dead giveaway. Finally their name is the Undying and they never-ever leave their nesting and resting place. If they ever got out of their tower I bet they would turn to ash like that.

your work is absolutely amazing! extremely talented, love everything you do :-)

I agree 100% about the CotF, despite the berating that seems to come automatically if you dare mention the possibility on the forums. They're mankind's oldest enemy, and likely fed Jojen to Bran. It's foolish to think they can be trusted implicitly. Either BR wants to end humanity, which goes against everything we've ever seen him do, or they're hiding things from him. He had no clue what Bran was talking about when asked if he was the 3 eyed crow. That means there's another player in the game powerful enough to hide his existence from BR while being quite active. We're not talking about subtle manipulation. Whoever it is has directly influenced Bran repeatedly. The obvious choice is the Great Other, the only choice most likely. I can't prove it but I believe the Others were once the Wood Dancers who were the warrior class in their society. A group rarely spoken of that seemed to have disappeared a long time ago. They were the elite special forces during the war against mankind, the Fedakyn of Asoiaf, and as you know those types can be fanatical. Exactly the type to sacrifice there very souls by becoming, or at least creating, White Walkers. Can't say for sure that they are the zealots that I assume they are, but it fits perfectly in GRRMs philosophy and writing style to have a small group of extremists become literal monsters in exchange for the power to annihilate their enemies. If I'm right it means the CotF are likely broken into factions and that could explain why BR wasn't alone in guiding Bran. Just occurred to me since we know the CotF have "cousins" around the world there are probably other groups of extremists within their ranks as well. Could it be the ones closest to Asshai became shadowbinders instead of ice monsters. They could live in the areas that only shadowbinders dare to travel. It would explain the wooden masks. I'm positive that wood dancers are shown to wear masks that in hindsight are extremely reminiscent of Quaithes mask. Didn't occur to me until now but damn if that doesn't, at least on the surface, answer alot of questions about Asshai. Shadowbinders would literally have to abandon all humanity to be trained bc the trainers aren't human. Omg that would mean R'hollor vs Great Other is a proxy war between two CotF factions. This deserves a deeper look.

I Think what happened to Varys might explain the real importance of Magic.

It’s not enough to say “magic exists” when it comes to Martin’s writing. Once you establish that fact then you have to ask “what exactly is magic in Martin’s universe”? I think it’s safe to say that he would never truly be interested in a world governed by magic as it would be defined in relation to Merlin. Martin’s magic will have a wizard behind the curtain. A technology. Something practical that has evolved perhaps beyond its originally intended use. The concept of a fantasy world complete with dragons, witches, mysterious forest dwelling elves with unusually long life spans and trees that remember, evolving from a world that we might be able to relate to isn’t completely unique, but in Martin’s hands may find its most powerful expression

I think that the Ruby Mellissandre wears around her neck has power. She turned old when she took it off and when she drank the poison the Ruby pulsed, same as when she birthed the shadow.

its funny how vic calls slavery evil, yet thralldom is basically the same thing, and claiming that no coin was exchanged means nothing. Thralldom=Slavery

Dany's fire-proofing precedes Mirri's spell because of her Targaryean heritage and well...the fate of her life/ internal plot magic. Mirri's spell was necessary to transfer Khal Drogo's life into the three dragons and her death was just incidental.

I always interpreted the "go east to go west" thing as Dany needing to go east to gather an army so that she can successfully conquer westeros once she finnaly goes west, or at least not go west half-cocked.

This is my favorite video so far it has so much information

Qyburn holds Marwin in high respect (both were disowned by the Citadel) so it is likely that he himself knows much about the Blood magic and the "Dark side". Not to mention his "work" on Gregor Clegane...so it seems to me that Stannis is not the only one who has some sort of sorcerer in his retinue, Cersei herself has one.

Marwin has to be apart of the Starry Wisdom

I love how people from the east describe Westeros, puts into perspective how screwed our perceptions of the eastern lands are.

so she saw Renly's death, the crowning of Euron and Lady Stoneheart

I'll say this, I don't think Stannis is Azora Ahai, but Azora Ahai did not save the world alone. So I strongly believe Stannis will stand with Azora Ahai. Maybe he might even, go north and fight the great other as part of Azor Ahai's champions.

Awesome video! I just can't stop being amazed by your incredible content. Subscribed! :D

What about Qyburn? He's definitely doing something weird that seems like necromancy. There was also that Wildling guy that could warg into like anything. Six Skins.

As I watched I did really hope you would bring I Tolkein. Gandalf was a very powerful Maiar (wizard) but most of what he did was just Intellect, politics, charm and pure human grit, effort and perspiration. Dumbledore was a powerful (wizard) but we saw very little of his spells. Off actually magical spell casting, Voldermot seem much more powerful... but we are told Dumbledore was the only wizard he was actually afraid of. Point - I do agree that GRRM handled wizards & Magic beautifully balanced.

Wasn't the Ruby on Mels neck the same type offered to Dany that protects from poison?

I’ve wondered for a long time how GRRM was planning to tie the magic subplots together, it seems like the Gods and mages of the ASOIAF world are playing a game of their own, beyond the understanding of humans.

GRRM made wizards interesting as hell, I think wizards work best when they don't throw fireballs around.

Love your videos. The Dune is awesome! Can you do wheel of time as well?

I prefer the defined magic of Harry Potter more. It is cringe at times, of course. But I enjoy knowing much more than I enjoy feeling intrigued or frightened. If you only enjoy or are scared of something because it is mysterious, then you enjoy or are scared of nothing really. To keep up the mystery you enjoy, I advise you not to finish the story or hope it's never complete. Once you finish it, you'll not like it. No matter what happens or how much it does or doesn't make sense. You'll loathe it. Just let Martin leave stories unfinished and enjoy the mystique. Even though I dread endings, I love definition and substance.

If bran can travel through time, could he have always been the three eyed raven, sending visions and portents to himself?

It would be odd and unlikely Daenerys had to go all the way east and get to Westeros from the Eastern passage literally, good way for her to come into contact with arcane sorcerers and weavers.

I wanted to watch this but since I haven’t read the books yet (I’m still on ACOK) I saw major spoilers for me so yeah... once I finish the books I’ll come back to this

This is perfection. Well done!!

So will the book the winds of winter be about the people fighting the children of the forest and the last book in the series will be about life without dragons and wizards and anything magical just normal life ❤️

One of your best! Amazing!

Bran will become something like Leto, Dune-ishly ruling Westeros for ages, setting everything back in balance, but having to be a tyrant that the ruling and noble classes will hate. He'll have an heir who is the remote descendant of Sansa - again, Dune-ishly.

GRRM just made a good mixture from Druidism, Shamanism, mystisism and the rest of the esoterical things throughout the history. I think that the whole Ice and Fire is not Dragons vs White Walkers, but rather two different sorts of magics. Somehow, since the beginning, the world had been shaped by two main forces that can be tapped by things in it. Life and Death. Probably two sides of the same power. And in Asshai, somehow they practice all of it. But George really makes it both clear and ambigious at the same time, so that we know there's a supernatural thing going on, but also not clear how supernatural it is. The very world itself is dualistic, events sometimes seem extremely random, chaotic and shockingly sudden, but sometimes it seems like they all are entwined and connected, as if they're orchastrated by a more subtle power.

Maybe Bloodraven has connection through Shiera Seastar, she is a sorcerer too and Maggie the Frog, I also think it is Jojen who is the true greenseer not Bran, Jojen has green eyes unlike Bran who has grey eyes

I think George RR Martin’s main point in Game of Thrones is about the fickle nature of destiny. He puts us in this fantasy world where any number of characters seem to be “the chosen one.” We have royal bloodlines, hidden away, mystic visions that seem to be from genuine magical beings, multiple priests and wizards giving advice to characters on their heroes journey… The fans naturally ask “who will be the real chosen one? The knight who is the secret son of a king who rose from the dead? The princess who can ride dragons? The crippled kid who gets sent on a quest by elves to find a magic tree? The girl who travels the world to avenge her father, studying to become the greatest living fighter and learning to shape shift? Anyone of those sound like they could be a good “chosen one hero” as audiences we are trained to look for that. But as the story goes on and on, none of them seem to be what we expected. None of them are actually “good” even the ones who tries end of getting the ones who trust them killed. I think that’s the point. Even in this world of magic, there isn’t really a “chosen one” that’s just the lie people make up when they are writing history. I think that is why the TV Show got bad when they ran out of book, they didn’t understand that.

Melisandre created the Laurel / Yanny video

Even today people who hv an interest in magical thinking (i.e., Wiccans, LARP's, etc..) become familiar with one another because they r attracted to the same kind of events, places, etc... Humans form communities around shared interests & beliefs to reassure ourselves that "we are right & others are wrong". Accepting those that understand we actually have few definitive answers to all our many questions about life & death seems to be harder for humanity than accepting those who simply have opposing MAGICAL theories. 🙃🤔

A minor anachronism that bugs me in the show is how the characters seem so suspicious of witches. Surely in early medieval times, witches were everywhere like doctors for most people (even Caitelyn Stark's "seven gods charm" looks like witchcraft), yet they're all quick to spit at the thought of magic which doesn't seem accurate for the time (assuming it's based on medieval Europe). Meanwhile Melisandre is "the witch" yet in many ways she's more like an Abrahamic Prophet.

Great coverage of the topic!

Whenever I hear “in the Shadowlands beyond Asshai” I think I hear “in the Shadows beyond the Shire” a la LOTR

As of today April 22nd 2021 there is a prequel show that has been greenlit that is going to deal with old Valeria and the element of magic and dragon taming which I think although it is part of the game of thrones lore it is a self-standing show don't be surprised if this one does fantastic they will be a lot more magic and the element of wizardry and sorcery in this show there's been one season of eight episodes already ordered