Origins of Oldtown, the Citadel, & House Hightower - A Song of Ice and Fire - House of the Dragon

[@josephdaniel563]

I have been following various ASOIAF theorists for nearly 7 years now and can confirm that David has been at the forefront of some of the most important & lesser known theories. David is the first person I have heard to go out on a limb and propose the Great Empire of the Dawn theory and many other creators credit LML when speaking about this. David we appreciate you continuing to keep the topic alive and interesting. Wishing you great success!

[@LuciferChapel1987]

Strong agree! He's genuinely done more for my ASOIAF fandom than HBO!

[@theblackfox8920]

"Ah yes, Maester Lightbringer. His work truly was extensive, fanciful and intriguing, but he was clearly mad. It's no wonder The Citadel threw him from the battlements, literally"

[@DavidLightbringer]

"MMMAAAARWWWYYYYYNNnnnnnnnn........" *plop*

[@theblackfox8920]

@DavidLightbringer I was trying to figure out what you'd be screaming on the way down, no doubt something insane and ludicrous

[@TheCinamanic]

He was called 'That Lightbringer Guy" by his foes

[@ThommyofThenn]

The fragmentary notes of a pureile scribe suggest the Conclave tolerated his works for some time. Until whispers began to spread of strange smells and lights emanating from his laboratory at all hours. Some weeks later, from the novices at Quill and Tankard to the dockside sailors, rumours of a sorcerous brew sickening many were traced to selfsame laboratory. The beloved maester proclaimed his innocence, insisting he was close to perfecting the formulae for a magical laxative, said to move even the hardest of bowels within a fortnight. Needless to say, the Conclave was not long in handing down the most sharp of punishments.

[@ThommyofThenn]

​@@TheCinamanicit is said that these fell words are still whispered as parts of arcane rituals beyond the ken of man, deep in the darkest halls of Asshai

[@crd88918]

love oldtown and its ancient mysteries… watching on the stairmaster, climbing the proverbial hightower, as i watch!

[@ThommyofThenn]

Nice symbolism

[@Moosyfate]

Minor thought: since the white of the tower topped by red flame is similar to a weirwood, the fact that it was rebuilt higher and higher is similar to a weirwood growing.

[@kazekagekid]

They also harvested all of the weirwoods south of the neck, excluding the Isle of Faces, while they were monopolizing magic in Westeros and blood libelled the Andals as similar-looking foreigners. ❤

[@facelessdirewlf]

speak that knowledge wordman

[@merkeljohn]

Casterly Rock may be another example of ancient dragon lords using dragons to dig tunnels in rock, inhabited by a people with GEOTD features and an unclear origin. Light hair, gem colored eyes. It also fits as an outpost near a trading hub, near Lannisport. It may also have a lighthouse-like structure on that top.

[@cloverazar5315]

The Lions of the Rock were said to be magical, so if the Casterleys were Garth-descended, it makes perfect sense for the GEOTD (seeing skinchangers) to rock up to the Rock and be like “lol what’s up”. “Winkled it away” indeed

[@RPGDesignatedPaladin]

Thanks!

[@DavidLightbringer]

oh wow, thank you and you're quite welcome!

[@IDKtheBand]

Choice content … as always!

[@ThommyofThenn]

While i might not know the band, i know youre freaking awesome friend!

[@DavidLightbringer]

thank you!!

[@atlantismorrisette8397]

I hope Hightower has elevators cos my ass would not be going up and down all those steps

[@DavidLightbringer]

that's why Leyton never comes down haha

[@atlantismorrisette8397]

@DavidLightbringer he's so real for that 🤣

[@fulviopontarollo2952]

When your back or your knees begin acting up sometimes all one can say is “looks like I live on this floor only from now”

[@atlantismorrisette8397]

I wish I could just live atop a lavish tower reading ancient histories, arcane tomes and possibly dabbling in the occult 🤧

[@joakimbjorkgren3511]

Never skip leg day

[@beevie4081]

I like to think that the words of house Dayne are: "Azor Ahai, Bad Guy"

[@Freakincident]

I have been trying to figure out what battle it’s referring to FOREVER, this makes so much sense. Thanks for all you do

[@rubberduck524]

So early perfect timing to listen as I decorate my green witchy Christmas tree ;)

[@thalmoragent9344]

Oldtown and the Hightowers who built it are the greatest parts of Westeros tbh. Aegon the Conqueror was said to have seen the benefits of a marriage with House Hightower above just about everyone else (save the Velaryons, for obvious and convenient reasons). Hightowers being some ancient, Pre-Valyrian Dragonlord house who fought in the First Long Night has been one of my favorite theories in ASOIAF.

[@williamhermann6635]

I see it differently. I think the Hightowers are the main opposition of dragons in this story. Their castle is built on Battle Isle, a fused black stone fortress undoubtedly forged by dragon flame. Symbolically speaking, building the High Tower here is akin to building on the ashes of one's enemy. Their ancesteal Valyrian steel sword is named Vigilance. Vigilance against what? I believe its vigilance against dragons and their riders. We have the ancient legend of Serwyn of the Mirror Shield slaying a dragon near modern day Oldtown even though theres no written record of dragons being in westeros before Aegon the Conqueror. And then theres their actions leading to Maegor's wrath and later their causing of the Dance of the Dragons. Literally everything given to us about the Hightowers is about opposing dragons. Thats their entire purpose in the story.

[@alonnawood]

This is by far one of my favorite videos you’ve made. Amazing as always 🎉

[@DavidLightbringer]

oh thank you Alonna that means a lot 💚

[@bearert]

The old town citadel has a library of Alexandria vibe ... And we know what happens to the library 😢

[@TheKadanz]

The contents gets moved to a subteranean structure under a sphinx?

[@benwhite9138]

The man himself has blessed us once again

[@robertkulb6640]

Imagine after George is gone that Kevin J Anderson starts cranking out terrible Great Empire of the Dawn prequel novels with characters named Victor Stark and Serenity Dayne.

[@rivermistfae]

Babe, LML's biggest vid of 2024 just dropped! It's Church of Starry Wisdom time! Mysterious Old Gods of Oldtown, please accept this algorithmic offering ✨️🤲🐉

[@dominic3797]

🍿🍿🍿

[@ThommyofThenn]

I wish i had someone to wake up and chatter endlessly about Westeros secret Numenorians about 😢😖 Guess it's off to the Citadel for me!

[@AshtheGreenMan]

Praise Garth

[@cherylbaxter8986]

Always 💨💨🌌

[@downtown_clownybrown]

at first i thought the title was "origins of downtown" and i was worried someone had given up the age old secrets of House Clown

[@lizardbreathh]

😂

[@DeltronZero2020]

Awesome video. So much intrigue in Oldtown and with the Hightowers. Highly anticipating this part of the story to pop off in TWOW and find out what secrets are revealed and which are left to the imaginations of us all. Appreciate the consistent and engaging content.

[@robertkulb6640]

I like to think that the Bloodstone Emperor is based on the real life Roman emperor Elagabalus -who was 14 years old and worshipped a two ton meteorite as a god and was also the high priest of this god’s cult. And that maybe he brought this space stone into what is now Asshai and the stone slowly corrupted both him and the city itself in the same manner as the stone in the Lovecraft story The Colour Out of Space but on a much larger scale.

[@DavidLightbringer]

oh wow that's something to look into!

[@murphyleigh6319]

If the Bloodstone Emperor was inspired by Elagabalus, I would've expected explicit references to the rumors of transgenderism that surround Elagabalus, considering the way GRRM writes history.

[@robertkulb6640]

@ I think that so little is known about the bloodstone emperor that it would be odd if that one detail about him had somehow survived down through thousands of years.

[@voltimand4742]

Ghost grass might be an example of this corruption on the landscape.

[@TheBlueWizardOfWestVirginia]

I'm a lore junkie and I love your long form content immensely

[@lyarrastark6254]

Another fantastic video! Thank you, David. I also appreciate you scheduling Starry Wisdom Sunday for 1:00 PM Pacific Time now. This change allows me to watch your live streams live again since 3:00 PM PST is midnight here in Germany, which is too late for me to start watching.

[@DavidLightbringer]

yeah that was one of the reasons I did the change, so we can catch western Europe at least

[@lyarrastark6254]

@@DavidLightbringer Thank you again. Looking forward to watching you live again.

[@cloverazar5315]

90min flew by like 9. I wasn’t expecting “Euron and Leyton in Cahoots”, but it does make sense. Leyton also has a distinctly unmarried daughter, and King’s Blood

[@stevenhernandeznon-profitf968]

The set up for an awesome ironborn vs Hightower sorcerer duel only to have us swerved into a Saruman style heel turn by the hightowers would be great

[@sommer8337]

Idk how I missed this when it dropped but, damn Ser Lightbringer, you’ve knocked it out of the park again! This video is QUALITY! 💋 chef’s kiss! So entertaining! *jazz hands* 09:40

[@noahh2338]

I've never considered it before, but it's possible that the Daynes could be direct descendants of Azor Ahai, especially if he followed the comet to forge lightbringer, putting him in Westeros when he forges it and the long night falls, to then possibly go north to right his wrongs, or help at least with lightbringer/dawn..which could explain the dayne's valyrian(G.E.O.T.D.) looks even though they're not (technically) valyrian..banger video Lml👍 as always

[@mattfox2716]

Petition to do High Tower videos instead of Iceberg where we get gradually enlightened instead of deeper.

[@lizardbreathh]

Just opened my phone to watch an lml video, perfect timing!

[@Dudewhatno]

I’ve read these books so many times since the 90’s and I just eat this kind of content up.

[@andrewgadberry7884]

One of my absolute favorite topics!

[@BudravenOG]

0:04 it's a slowly burning joint.

[@DavidLightbringer]

the best kine

[@Matatabi6]

The fortified trading outpost was also the main form of Portuguese colonialism. They established fortified trading outposts in west Africa, goa, and coastal Brazil, where the they traded for Brazilwood before they ever began with the sugar plantations

[@dominic3797]

🎉🎉🎉 merry Christmas to all of us, thanks for the massive video Dave 🤘

[@PhishWithASprayCan]

We in here !

[@ThommyofThenn]

Im in this comment section like dragons were in Battle Isle

[@kat1722]

My dogs kennel name is wanderin’ star and I live 5 minutes from a well known henge (and a less well known one) made of stone in England. Roads apail at solstice

[@papermonsoondesign568]

Nothing better than seeing a brand spanking new LML video sparkling in the queue! ✨💫

[@cherylbaxter8986]

Starts at your old place

[@Atinyshark]

The geotd draagon lords left their dragons on battle isle because they burrowed into the tunnels made of oily black stone and it made the dragons sick

[@DavidLightbringer]

I could see that

[@SunnyMcleod]

I've got six hours of driving ahead of me and I am so pumped for this

[@murphyleigh6319]

Another note about Davos Dayne and dragon lord connections - Orys Baratheon, rumored to be the half brother of the Conquerors, who married Argilac's daughter after taking Storm's End, he named his son Davos.

[@Slechy_Lesh]

1:10:53 I love the idea that the black stone is formed of Ice and Fire

[@willybiggs-rj6qt]

i’m a new subscriber. phenomenal video, theories, host, and channel. thank you

[@GreyWasteTim]

Your description of working with molten stone in architecture sounds like bending the elements of Earth, Wind & Fire and that's just the kind of musical reference GRRM would sneak in there.

[@voltimand4742]

The real Song of Ice & Fire is actually "Shining Star" by Earth, Wind and Fire - it is known.

[@tdnstew]

David wearing a “The Town” shirt is incredible. Love from Oakland!

[@hunteratops]

finally getting to start this!

[@martinkrog5943]

Another nice one from the groovy dude Keep up the fine work Cheers : )

[@LuciferChapel1987]

One of my favourite topics! 👏🏻 Bran The Builder's mother was a child of the forest, and his father was Brandon Of The Bloody Blade, who himself was half human and half Green Man (as his father was Garth The Green). Looking a what we know about legendary characters and timeline heresy, I'm convinced that The Corpse Queen AKA The Night's Queen is the daughter of Bran The Builder and his human wife. I believe she also had two younger brothers, one of which was named Brandon, who the the King Of Winter during The Long Night. When Corpse Queen and Azor Ahai (AKA The Bloodstone Emporer AKA The original Night's King) sacrificed their babies to The Others during The Long Night, one of the babies was rescued/ stolen by The Last Hero, who I strongly believe was Eldric Dayne. Eldric escaped The Others and brought the rescued baby and Dawn to Winterfell. The sword became known as Ice for a short time, and the baby grew up to become Brandon The Breaker, who took ice and defeated The Corpse Queen and Azor Ahai, effectively ending The Long Knight. The Corpse Queen remains buried underneath the Winterfell Crypts to this day. That's my head cannon! :) If fans of the TV show want an origin story for their Night King character, I believe that he is Brandon The Breaker, who was transformed into a leader of the White Walkers by the COTF, in order to keep the balance of ice and fire and to form a Pact where the stolen baby is returned to The White Walkers, in the form of their protector, and new King. Just a little extra wrinkle for the TV show fans.

[@DavidLightbringer]

i feel like NQ is very possibly down there

[@Miki-dx4zo]

omg im so excited for this!!

[@SuperStella1111]

GET IN LOSERS DAVID DROPPED ANOTHER MASTERPIECE

[@cmschmidt]

I feel like I got an early Yule gift! Huzzah 🎉🎉 The video was well worth the wait, fantastic job Dave!

[@alannahprestaynofbraavos5759]

Watching now. I just want to know one thing (it's been on my mind recently because I was showing your videos to my brother). When do you sleep? Do you sleep? Love your videos and livestreams!

[@DavidLightbringer]

my sleep is but a rumor haha

[@tomnaumann2104]

Tunnels = lava tubes? Just another possibility. While lava tube in the real world are created as lava cools on the surface but continues to flow and drain in the subsurface, the in-world explanation for multiple tunnels might be multiple instances of using dragons to shape the rock above.

[@stevenferno]

I am listening to the audiobooks for the 10th time and just passed where Jorah mentions that his wife looked like Daenerys and I was imagining that she had to have had similar hair.

[@airwrecka97]

🤯

[@GreyWasteTim]

So a number of things that this video got my brain going on: Great Empire ancestors of Valyrians - one of the yellow emperors of Yi Ti was married to a Valyrian noble woman and kept a dragon at his court. First, this is a cheeky reference to the King in Yellow story "In the Court of the Dragon" but also a Valyrian woman marrying an emperor of Yi Ti, a GEOTD successor state, sets a precedent for other Valyrian marriages to people from that area. Fleeing to an island - the Black Pharaoh Nephren-Ka, the Lovecraft inspiration of Bloodstone Emperor, his original plan before entombing himself was to flee with his followers to an island in the west. Seems Azor Ahai/Bloodstone Emperor may have done the same, landing at Battle Isle or Starfall. Phoenician influence - the controversial Roman Emperor Elagabalus, who also has a lot of Bloodstone Emperor imagery to him, came from what is now Syria. Upon his arrival in Rome some of the controversies surrounding him was his refusal to practice traditional Roman customs, instead dressing in Phoenician style (Phoenician women to be exact) and trying to raise a local religion from his region revering a giant rock to the forefront of Roman religion.

[@DavidLightbringer]

the rock was actually a black meteorite, i found out today after reading a similar comment form someone else about ole Elagabalus. And yes I take that Yi Tish emperor marrying a Valyrian as an attempt to throw-back to the GEOTD. Thanks for watching Tim

[@thelastunicorn6663]

@david lightbringer thank you for another banger!

[@esjay1999]

Praise Garth! 😩🍃

[@ThommyofThenn]

Blessings of the WeirNet upon you

[@NathanSummers11]

THANK YOU FOR UPLOADING ON MY BIRTHDAY!

[@DavidLightbringer]

happy birthday homie!!

[@petergriffn149]

Love it praise Garth algo boost

[@TylarasAlt]

Worth the wait dude!

[@davturley3950]

Yet another amazing video, David. For some reason, I binge your stuff every winter. BTW, some of your newer music reminds me of Hot Rod by Peaches. Not a bad thing to sound like Peaches!

[@D3athL1vin]

a godswood 3d animation into the weirwood net would probably be a cool intro

[@DavidLightbringer]

cool idea...

[@q_qmiki]

"it's not a cult" suuuuuuure

[@DavidLightbringer]

SHUT UP MIKI first rule of Starry Wisdom Cult COME ON

[@q_qmiki]

@@DavidLightbringer IM SORRY i meant "GROUP OF FRIENDS" (also what are we bringing for the potluck at the compoun- i mean house)

[@CancerMage]

59:00 Don't forget the Grey King slew Naga!

[@Icy_Skywalker]

Absolutely steller video Dave! I love your stuff man ❤

[@darksister96]

Awesome video as always Lml! 👏💕The deep lore of the story always gets me sucked in

[@Dreamscape07enjoyer]

Looking fresh David Timberlake, clearly EDM is good for the human skin. Praise Garth

[@Dreamscape07enjoyer]

I think I meant Timberland but fantasied it up… edibles man

[@Dreamscape07enjoyer]

Praise Garth

[@stephenfrank7156]

The oily black stone and labyrinthine tunnels are also featured in several Thousand Worlds stories. I often wonder if those - along with Bakkalon - indicate a larger connection or are simply themes GRRM likes to play with.

[@jgr7487]

GRRM has mentioned that Bran the Builder is a mythical person to whom buildings of forgotten origin are attributed. Maybe Lightbringer is right about these many different projects having been made with the help of Childre of the Forest, not just by the fabled Bran the Builder.

[@serenatargaryen4932]

Amazing video as always! You have been a great inspiration since I found your channel, keep up the great work and can't wait to see more ❤‍🔥

[@zico739]

I love Oldtown. Great stuff as usual.

[@ScadrianGhostblood]

The old town section of the world of asoiaf is one big foreshadowing and a mystery to solve. My theory about the origin of the name "battle isle" is that it's meant to reference the battle that will take place during Euron's invasion. Either as an old prophecy or simply from literally stand point.

[@jdboy2000]

Awesome! Watching now.

[@jsan3743]

I wish my name was Paramour the Twisted. That’s pretty badass.

[@Slechy_Lesh]

21:24 I did think that Jellicoe was a reference to the Cats musical..! But that's a significantly different name. Jellicoe, it seems, is most known as a WW1 naval commander, but I'll have to read up more

[@Slechy_Lesh]

1:16:20

[@NoSageMeadow]

Could it be that the first dragonlords were similar to the Braavosi in that they sought the magic of the Children of the Forest to find a way to shrug off the yoke of their oppressors, perhaps the Ghiscari or some kind of proto-Ghiscari? That would imply a lot in terms of themes.

[@yanvictory2832]

"Children of the Forest" makes me think about the Bastard's names "Snow, Sand, Flowers"... I like to think they are the hybrid children of men and green men. The green men died, their children remained, they came back as the white walkers.

[@theodorsik]

Here we go!!

[@kyleholmes8230]

The Stark crown is the grove of nine and the last hero. Nine iron swords and one bronze. Reminds me of how Donnell Noye says that bonze is weak but pretty and iron is strong but won't bend. Humans are weak and the weirwoods are powerful yet fragile. Just a thought.

[@brettstalling2269]

Literally just started but WOW!!…..you and your beautiful work…❤️❤️❤️

[@theBlundstoneEmperor]

Bruuuuuh at work atm but will be praising garth and settling in to watch as soon as I'm home. Cheers dave I can't wait!

[@merkeljohn]

Ok, made one comment for the collective head-cannon. Here’s a bonus for the algorithm. Video was amazing! Nobody catches more nuance than you, man!

[@jonhauge-evaldsson783]

Starry Wisdom Churches have a scrying towers you say...

[@braydenhooper8277]

I’m wondering how much of Oldtown’s knowledge will be lost/ burned by the Ironborn, given the real life historical precedents of the library in Alexandria’s burning and the sack of Baghdad by the Mongols.

[@Mmu12059]

Gyad damn but I do love videos that tie all the major theories together

[@peterwindhorst5775]

Serwyn once saved Princess Daeryssa from giants Daeryssa is a very Targaryian name. so a Hightower / dane might have a Great Empire of Dawn ancestor...

[@raff1944]

i love the double entendre of “the first hightower was made of wood” yeah ok george they were green men or something, we get it

[@DavidLightbringer]

oh god I sailed right by that one

[@calebsoard1]

Been wanting to see this one!

[@Narrowdark]

perfect content to watch while playing the agot mod for ck3

[@nateristowa6899]

7 great empire of the dawn emporers (not counting the bloodstone emperor who was evil), and 7 gods in the faith of the seven. hmmmm. potential link there?

[@DavidLightbringer]

Yes because the bloodstone emperor is named after the comet, the bleeding star stone, which would be the 8th wanderer when it enters the solar system

[@nateristowa6899]

@DavidLightbringer I'm thinking maybe there's links between the andels and the faith of the seven with the high towers and daynes, assuming the high towers and daynes are secret numenoreans. I envisage that the geotd was noble and just for 7 generations, and in that time they spread West from asshai. Then when the 8th emperor came into power, it was coincidentally the same time tgeotd was starting to colonize westeros. A group similar in concept to tolkiens elf friend numenoreans move West to escape the bloodstone emperor. One "elf friend" group winds up in battle isle, one in Valeria, and 1 becomes the basis for the andals and the faith of the seven.

[@theuncannyval]

I wonder if Gerold Dayne drinks Shade of the Evening, because it’s …Of the Evening

[@AlbatrossMerkur]

I really love you're solo videos ❤

[@CrimsonTemplar2]

Roll that beautiful fused-stone fortress footage!

[@MrOuruboros]

Hi(gh) Man! I have an idea for a video: Tell us the timeline as you see it in chronological order please. Hit all the main events including (but not limited to): The deep ones and other old races, GEOTD, colonisation of westeros, Garth the green, long night, Hammer o/t waters, green zombies, construction of important architecture, etc. In any case, thanks for the awesome video I just watched

[@ThommyofThenn]

I like to think someone will sneak into the Hightower and upon walking onto the top floor veranda, sees there is either a weirwood that has grown up through the centre of the tower. That or at some point a glassbower dragon made a reeeeaaallly long glass candle that also runs the length of the entire tower, being drawn from the "stone" at the bedrock. And the "beacon" at the top is really something weird resultant from the massive glass candle/magic amplification stave that runs all the way up

[@DavidLightbringer]

i was wondering if there was a weirwood on Battle isle too, maybe in the center of the fortress or something. deffo a candle up there

[@petergriffn149]

@@ThommyofThenn 2 of the coolest ideas i’ve ever heard

[@ThommyofThenn]

@@petergriffn149 thank you my fellow lore-hound🤓. One might think with a name like "Oldtown," it might be a dreary place, but ideas like that are just one reason that Oldtown is so cool. I think it's almost as awesome to think about as Volantis or Yeen!

[@havewissmart9602]

Did you see disputed lands' videos on Lorath and of the maesters? She theorizes that the original maesters were slaves(Peremore's pets), which is dark and creepy. And she did connect the mazemakers of Lorath to the battle isle in another video. Since you two are the best asoiaf theorists out there, i often end up trying to mash your theories together. For example, i think its very likely that the iron born may have come from fisher queens( mashing both your ideas together) Its really fun

[@dirtysheepdog]

Love this theory. So easy to believe that the Danes and hightowers could have befriended the children and that once the children were betrayed by azor ahai, the Danes and hightowers would have revolted against the other men that were there

[@Liizardqueen90]

Omg I'm sooo excited 🎉🎉🎉