ASOIAF: Black Stone

A brief history of Black Stone, from the Seastone Chair in the West, to Yeen in the South and Asshai in the East. Based on the series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin.
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[@DrummersHell96]

Kayakayanaya sounds like a good place to go

[@paulliston8561]

GRRM has pointed to many secrets in his writings to at least acknowledge this much, all of the "fused blackstone" was made with dragonfire yet some were made by dragon lords before Valyria was founded. Also, that unlike the Maesters believe, Valyria was not founded by shepards that suddenly learned to tame dragons, but rather by dragon lord exiles who fought against the Bloodstone Emperor and fled from the ancient city of Asshai. Other notable refugees from this conflict and the beginning of the Long Night include the Hightowers and the Daynes. The stone in Asshai (just like Yeen) has become corrupted, from the horrible human sacrifices committed by the Bloodstone Emperor and his servants which caused the Long Night, and that is why the cities are cursed with life unable to grow in anyway. This is also seen in the Seastone chair, as the original worshipers of the drowned god are actually worshipers of the Great Other (Lion of Night) have served the Others (white walkers) during the Long Night. This is mirrored in the current story with Euron Greyjoy, who will ally with the Others to make war on mankind. Thus, the oily Blackstone is corrupted dragonstone. For those who don't realize that dragon riders pre-date Valyria, during the Long Night, heroes in Westros used "dragonsteel" approx. 4,000 years before Valyria rose as an empire, and the base of the Wall is fused dragonstone inset with spell runes of the First Men to keep the Other's at bay.

[@meinkek7896]

Just like our world BlackRock company and ark of covenant. Benben stone.

[@scotandiamapping4549]

GRRM said all this? Where?

[@paulliston8561]

@scotandiamapping4549 his history novel, A World of Ice and Fire

[@scotandiamapping4549]

@@paulliston8561 ah k

[@petsbiology9316]

Too bad none of this was even touched in the tv adaptation 😭

[@rennac3152]

The deep ones could be all over the ocean for all we know, who knows what treasures and secrets they have hidden down there 🦑

[@revanruler6404]

probably protecting r'lyeh

[@nolanstrom260]

"We will march into the sea and out again. Under the waves we will ride seahorses, and mermaids will blow seashells to announce our coming, oh, oh, oh." -Patchface

[@crocodileguy4319]

@@nolanstrom260 that fucking guy is so creepy

[@carlosschwambach9213]

Just recalling that even Melisandre is creeped out by Patchface. And half of Stannis' knigths are terrified of HER.

[@diarradunlap9337]

@@carlosschwambach9213 You KNOW that you are creepy when Melisandre is creeped out by you.

[@josephstalin6286]

So basically Cthulhu shit..

[@hemidas]

Well, GRRM is a Lovecraft fan, so...yeah.

[@josephstalin6286]

Does this mean there's a bunch of malevolent alien gods hiding all over the world of ice and fire? Imagine the implications.

[@themindbowler]

everything might be scifi check out prestion Jacobs channel.

[@ChapterFourBand]

Check out some of Ideas of Ice and Fire's videos for more on that. Really intriguing stuff. Also, hail Supreme Leader Stalin!

[@themindbowler]

at first i was kinda pissed because i hate what they did to thor in marvel just because Josh Whedon is a hard core atheist edge lord. but the why Martian makes it sound that its just natural stuff at some point when you know enough about it really sold me. you know like how fairies and aliens are very similar in folklore, its just a less mystified explanation thats closer to the details

[@kristopherbarker3282]

Here's what I believe. The tree where the Warlocks get Shade of the Evening is the inverse of Weirwoods (Weirwoods have white bark and red leaves, the other has black bark and blue leaves). When Weirwoods die, they petrify. If they are related, I think that the oily black stone is that. It would fit with the parallels (Ice & Fire, Valaryans & White Walkers, ect.) *Disclaimer: This is not my own original theory

[@zakariaali8864]

Yes. I believe this as well. I also came upon another link between them, where the Others and humanity became at odds with each other because they ate the sap from the origins of the two (Tree of Eternal Life, Tree of Knowledge). From the Tree of Knowledge (original Weirwood), mankind gained smithing, magic and architectural knowledge (hence Storm's End, Winterfell, The Eyrie, Asshai, The Hightower, The Five Forts). From the Tree of Eternal Life (original Ironwood?) the others gained eternal life and knowledge of how to raise the dead. Each wish to destroy the other and gain access to the other divine tree, a combination which would allow one to become a god. I think this is how the Bloodstone Wmperor triggered the Long Night, because he saught to fuse the weir woods and iron woods already available to see if he could produce a mix of both (hence the weird trees in Ulthos. The Others, seeing this, retaliated in kind, and so the Long Night came and the rest is history. The Pearl Enperor knew that ultimately, this was a possibility, so he commissioned the construction of the Five Forts. It is also possible that the one who ate from the Tree of Knowledge was the Pearl Emperor's father, the God-On-Earth, which us why he was treated as a god (his nigh-omnipotent knowledge in magic). The other godly beings (The Old Gods) found out and grew weary, hence why they sent the black stone to bring calamity to both humanity and the Others.

[@Samlli]

Bran's gonna become so powerful he's gonna go back in time and see Lovecraftian aliens just chilling out and shitting out oily black stone.

[@lhadzyan7300]

all those eerie ancient and unsettling mysterious dark lands/cities (K´Dath, Asshai, Carcossa, inner forbidden ruins of Leng, Yeen at Sothoryos, unnamed ruins of Ulos nearby Ulthos, Bonetown, Stygai, Novros/Norvos or whatever is the name of the capital city of N´Kai far nothern civilization, the City of Winged Man, the Cities of Blodless Man, the labyrints of Lorath) all seem to have some common background for sure, and more importance from either the past and future of the known world of Planetos more what they seem to have, than a random oddity there

[@kfactor159]

obviously Goerge R Martin is trying to make the greasy black stone like the megalithic ruins we find all over the world. That being the case we will never find out where it came from in the books. it sucks but I think the intention was to have everybody have different theory s like we have about our ancient ruins and never know for sure.

[@serrahighsfinest]

I think it's to show, no matter who we are, the culture we represent, or what we look like..Were connected in some way.

[@MrMarinus18]

I haven't seen many speculation videos though. Usually when you deliberately want to have people speculate they won't do it. People often make theories about things you left out because you feel they are inconsequential.

[@storksforever2000]

Deep Ones homie. Straight Lovecraft.

[@gilgabro420]

Most megalithic structures are well explained when it comes to construction methods. And the similarities are mostly by happenstance, but I agree he is definitely referencing this phenomenon.

[@kevj4584]

@@gilgabro420 great empire of the dawn...

[@darkblood626]

Cthulhu fhtagn!

[@lordwolfus6521]

this guy is the best asoiaf youtuber

[@stax0011]

The Deep Ones are the key to all of it

[@cbktheguy]

Honestly I think this is one of the most interesting mysteries in asoiaf

[@aamirrazak3467]

I love the theory that the Great Empire of the Dawn once had their capital at Asshai, that they built the 5 forts and that the stone they shaped with dragon fire is not oily and greasy, but rather some of it became that way after the long night irradiated it

[@Jhimbo3]

You forgot to mention that Dragonstone (castle) is also made of dragonstone.

[@StinkyGreenBud]

Dragonstone is different than black oily stone though.

[@g.h.christofascist5303]

Aliens anyone???

[@cammyo5931]

Your vids are SO awesomely interesting & interestingly awesome! Since I haven't read the books....yet, you guys come in handy for names, places & overall lore not covered in the show. Love♥ your vids- Appreciate 👏 your work- *Always* a pleasure, Thanx!

[@carriezen8499]

Hi Cammy!! I love the graphic they use here. Very easy to understand. Hope you're having a nice weekend. Maybe I'll see you elsewhere later today!!

[@cammyo5931]

Carriezen8 Carriezen8 Hey there girlie! SotC uploaded 3 vids, 1 on Catelyn, 1 on Jon & 1 on Ned. 😉

[@carriezen8499]

Cammy...I know!! But I didn't watch yet cuz I'm just reading bran chapter now, shge just passed me up today! Lol. They are super short chapters so I'll catch up and watch later today. Make sure you check out kyles next video. I got a patron notification. Its gonna be Awesome!!

[@cammyo5931]

Cool! How do you become a patron?

[@carriezen8499]

Hi cammy, you don't have to be a patron to watch the video, it will be on kyles channel for everyone. Notice said it should be up tofay or tonight i think. But if you want to be a patron of a youtuber channel, they usually put a link in the descriptions underneath their videos and mention it at the end of the videos. You can donate as little as $2 a month or as much as $40 a month, and you can change amount or cancel at any time. You could also go to the Patreon website and type in the name of the channel you want to donate to.

[@thareinpotuhera5255]

"No evidence that dragonriders ever travelled so far west." You really did Rhaenys dirty.

[@TheMockAgenda]

Solid video. I def love hearing about nuanced and more obscure topics in GoT. Always forget stuff like that after reading.

[@lhadzyan7300]

couldn´t be also Stygai and K´Dath done in black stone too? Asshai claims along K´Dath being the most ancient city ever in the world, and both are related with dreadfull living beings and dark cults there, though Asshai is slightly better known than K´Dath. Also both K´Dath and Stygai are feared by the nearby people eventhough themselves are dreadfull feared beings on their own, the Shadowbinders at Asshai and the Shrykes at the land between K´Dath and the Five Fortesses. And as Stygai is a "ghost city" which cannot be seen unless is noon time, remaining in darkness the rest of the time. So in sum they all could be of the same dark stone too (K´Dath is obviously a reference to the unknown, forbidden, cursed, and far-lost Kadath city from Lovecraftian lore, somewhere at an iced isolated and huge cold dessert, pretty much as the Gray Waste near to K´Dath at G.R.R.Martin lore, but that one was build indeed of onyx-obsidian type of cold strong shiny dark stone, and was the realm of the Gods of the Earth and where also the Other/Outer Gods came to interact, pretty much the same as whatever lives in K´Dath.)

[@TraciPeteyforlife]

Still calling nuke fallout on this.

[@Noeton]

Amen, girl. I'd love that.

[@jorgeferdenav]

So... vantablack.

[@Alex.T1]

I'm so glad this video was made. I was actually trying to look into this a few days ago but this is so much easier and much more fun to watch.

[@saysHotdogs]

What if the oily black stone didn’t start off as oily or black but was covered in oxidized radioactive waste leftover from the nuclear Armageddon that destroyed most of the worlds civilizations?

[@aamirrazak3467]

Mande Gianfala I agree i feel like when the Long night befell the great empire of the dawn the stone became irradiated and oily

[@Kyle444shell]

Nice vid! Can you do some more Middle-earth stuff? It's very interesting

[@almotazxaltuwari3978]

please do more ASOIAF videos!!! you guys are hands down THE BEST when it comes to game of thrones content! your videos is interesting from start to finish! wish you guys nothing the best

[@g-rexsaurus794]

dude he has like 100 or so videos on Asoiaf!

[@almotazxaltuwari3978]

i watched them all :(((

[@dams6829]

Maybe the oilly black stone is made from ancient resource spent or mined in places where it was found.

[@blackflagsnroses6013]

It be the work of the Sith!

[@KhukuriGod]

All the black stone sites are Dark Side nexuses. And all the mad gods of Essos and other Sothoryos are Force Ghosts of Siths like Marka Ragnos, Naga Sadow, Exar Kun, Darth Bane, etc. That explains a lot, lol.

[@bigweiner4217]

It could just be the same material is in different places in the world and everyone built their own thing

[@judahmartell4564]

Videos you been doing are very helpful would request one over all creatures through GOT

[@073175176]

Have you ever read The Assassins Apprentice or anything from that story universe? If anyone has, can you tell me if the black stone reminds you of the skill stone

[@HamCubes]

MATTYU YUUU I have been saying that for years! GRRM has done book-cover blurbs for all her books so he certainly is aware of RH/ML/MALO's work. He's given nods to so many writers and stories with character and place names and other allusions, why not the exquisite Realm of the Elderlings?

[@073175176]

didnt know that, thank you

[@ytpman6595]

Why those people have white eyes as Hero Brian

[@mouadchaiabi]

It's Obsidian based though it might not be the only component. They were built during the long night or after it to counter the Others and their armies.

[@AntrozLPs]

Awesome video! I love this part of the Ice and Fire mythos! Can you make a video about the Deep ones?

[@tareqhamarneh3461]

That oily black stones sounds like plastic

[@lukazz434]

Tareq Hamarneh nope plastic is pretty soft. it says harder than steel.or diamond

[@jakubgrzybek6181]

@@lukazz434 you ever stepped on Lego?

[@lukazz434]

@@jakubgrzybek6181 soft as in terms of hardness not stiffness

[@nathanielwowchuk6880]

I think bran went back. Or another green seer and commissioned them long ago for different reasons. Some to defeat the others. And some for reasons still unknown

[@purplexman89]

Doesn't the citadel have black stone base?

[@mitchellhayward6492]

Well, considering the Valyrian Freehold was based off the Roman Empire. And the dragon-lords were the ones who created dragon-stone, Valyrian steel, etc., I think it might be safe to assume that all of these black-stone structures were built by an Empire predating the Valyrians -- like how the Parthian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Akkadian Empire predates the Romans. But an Empire nonetheless consisting of even more ancient dragon-lords. Maybe the differences between the black stone used in these structures could suggest that they were "forged" differently based on the function of what they were building. (To lazy to look into that.) Maybe the variables in this black stone suggest that different Empires each built these structures. Maybe this black stone is supposed to be like a fantasy version of concrete, with various versions having been developed throughout history.

[@TheGamebuzzHD]

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS, Finally, you're the best

[@yarpen26]

"...there is a *40-foot* tall" Continental Europeans give out a collective groan. (That's 12 meters by the way.)

[@AWMK101]

Pointless comment.

[@darthvader0219]

Black stone harder than diamond or steel? Sounds like obsidian from Minecraft!

[@QueenDaenerysTargaryen]

Older civilization? perhaps 🔥🔥🔥

[@grinchmacapagal3154]

Probably the same stone from a space odeyssey 2001 😊

[@kekero540]

I think there was a massive meteor that broke up into small chunks. The main mass of the meteor landed in the sunset sea later becoming the iron islands. The bottom of the ocean will become a 100 feet thick sheet of obsidian glass.

[@left4deadian]

Imagine if the entire planet is basically a necron tomb world.

[@arawn1061]

Maybe there was a betaish valyria based in Asshai?

[@chillguy9971]

Im only curious....all of this lore exists for asoiaf, so does that mean everything we know has been referenced at least once across the books? I know grrm wrote the world of ice and fire, again is all of this (totally awesome) lore beholden to the author for his world or does it actually exist within the books if you can understand what i mean? These videos are so well done and fascinating!

[@CivilizationEx]

Everything in the lore is from the books, either the original novels, the prequel novels, the history books, or the geography book. The author GRRM also has co-authors, Elio García and Linda Antonsson, who help him create this lore.

[@Lennartin]

This could indicate that asoiaf is not in a fantasy, but in a sci-fi setting.

[@mohamedaboelnasr9571]

And also its found in dragon stone fortress

[@comradeskeever1336]

Could you do an Elder Scrolls lore series? That would be awesome!

[@Xob_Driesestig]

Is it just me or is the audio a bit quiet?

[@SHARKVADERS]

73

[@tz53]

The deep ones, the merling creatures, also match the Story Dick Crabb told Brienne and Podrick, the squishers!

[@seandivers1]

real recognizes real

[@jaydenburgher2651]

but the hightowers looks like valyrians

[@EldricDayne]

It was probably the great empire of the dawn who built it, it was built before the long night, before valyria ever existed.

[@EldricDayne]

Btw, there is a theory that Valyrians descent from The Great Empire of the Dawn. They were dragonlords as well, and it was them who built the Five Forts. During the Long Night, they dispersed to different places (Westeros one of them, hence the construction of Hightower's foundation). After some time, Valyria was formed. You can check the channel Westeros History, they have a full video about that.

[@saysHotdogs]

Where does it say that? I know Lynesse Hightower was said to look like Dany but that’s the only one

[@arthas7]

There's black stone stuff beneath winterfell and storms end as well

[@AnishJBhave]

This theory I think may explain the origin of this oily black stone - www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/7gx3j8/spoilers_extended_i_would_bet_money_shade_of_the/

[@alphagamer9505]

i think the black stone comes from the great empire of dawn

[@jamesfede]

Whenever Black Stone comes up, my brain defaults to remembering that GRRM is a Lovecraft nerd through and through - so I've always assumed that Black Stone was another nod to the slimy cyclopean structures found in R'lyeh, Dagon, etc. I figured he would never explain it passed maybe confirming whether or not the Black Stone has to do with the Deep Ones in his setting. (Because that's really the key; you can read Lovecraft and other stories set in the Lovecraftian Setting, but in the end they can only help you understand rather than direct one to one connection. Though there seem to be some of those too, like the Deep and Old Ones existing but way off in the background/prehistory. I wouldn't doubt it if the Others somehow came from GRRthulhu or the like but we'd never know for sure.)

[@jgiledw]

Good job Civ!!

[@CivilizationEx]

Thanks LT :)

[@snowlion2593]

Yeen reminds me of Shadar Logoth from The Wheel of Time series.

[@schocolatvistcruz9092]

Fascinating stories

[@Adam-pt9gx]

Based on its description, it seems like plastic, potentially from a futuristic pre-society, of which asoiaf is a post-apocalyptic society

[@xiongrey19]

What are the sources?

[@CivilizationEx]

The Novels as well as prequel books and the World of Ice and Fire.

[@xiongrey19]

Ahh, Cool!

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

All hail Hypno Toad and Praise Kek

[@901chimera]

I think it was mentioned somewhere that the base of the Wall is also made of that oily black stone as well. But I'm not totally sure of the source.

[@2angies19]

Civilization Ex, do you have any idea of the locations of the black stone created any symbols? If viewed in aerial, what shape or symbol do they make?

[@jinpachibobochan3532]

My own theory about the black stone stuff is that it's simply some strange element occurring in the world of Ice and Fire. I mean, not everything has to be mysterious with an exciting background. Ghost grass is some mutated plant after being exposed to the reality-manipulating magical energies in Stygai or whatever. In a world with magic, some strange things are a must to exist. For me, the Weirwood Trees are created by the kids of the forest for some reason or another. Maybe they serve as some kind of magical batteries for the children of the forest, allowing them to tap into the life force of nature - just like blood mages use the blood of sacrifices to fuel their crazy magic. Well, I simply prefer simplicity. Some mystery is nice and fine, but not everything has to be connected to some grand scheme. Some things simply exist and cease to exist just so.

[@tylerstevens1904]

Is the sound off or is it my computer?

[@ozzyozlo5092]

Are the black stones mentioned in the TV series?

[@ozzyozlo5092]

Is it dragon glass

[@CivilizationEx]

Don't think they talk about it in the show, it's different from dragon glass.

[@gabiedubin]

2:06 lol that also describes mohamed

[@jjtay97able]

first

[@crimsonfucker4167]

Obviously, the early black stone constructions were made with pyromancy with the Valyrians perfecting the art with much hotter fire aka dragon fire.