The House of The Undying Magic Explained

I think this is a reasonable explanation not only of how the house of the undying works as a power source, but also why it mattered to the whole story and why Dany had to go there.
It seems to work toward explaining shade of the evening and the idea of shadow binding makes all of it track pretty well to me. Plus if warlocks make a deal for their power then that also lines up with the idea of shadow binding.

[@gijs741]

Love the tinfoil hats on Viserion and Rhaegal. Good to see both boys do their own research

[@SavagesInMyTown]

lol i was wondering what was on their heads

[@xsqrewfacex]

You win the day kind sir

[@Manterok]

Lmao god damn, I just happened to be on this comment, and looked back to the video to see our sweet boys in their hats lmao

[@xsqrewfacex]

If you ever decide to write something I would gladly read it. Your mind is on fully display with this series. Damn great work

[@michaeltalksaboutstuff]

Thanks! Nothing published yet. I plan to actually finish something at some point and go for it. Might be years, but when I do it will be announced/covered here.

[@Seuspesos]

​@@michaeltalksaboutstuff will it be medieval ?

[@michaeltalksaboutstuff]

@@Seuspesos Yeah the world building I have done is for a medieval feeling fantasy world

[@lucasfisher863]

Do ASOIAF but finish it

[@84rathb]

If like you said in previous videos death at the wall feeds the magic of the wall, the new common recruits might be a downgrade from the nobles and knights they used to receive. Power in king’s blood

[@Varatil]

Love it. Love every part of it. The magic serving the metaphors/emotions. The understanding of the transposition across the world. Adding on: "Shade" is a term for ghost/spirit used in the story. And the shadows of trees bring Shade. Which cools from the heat. Also, freeing the people locked in eternal bondage, who just want the mercy of ☠️, is also exactly what the Kindly Man tells Arya about the origin of their order (of which "Faceless Men of the HoB&W" is but one thing they've been called).

[@aes0p895]

I wonder if Stannis' shadow ever asked him to rinse the smootz of his dishes before it gets dried on.

[@12jalbrandao]

I'm very sold on the idea that the Wall has a well thought out magical mechanism to work. The idea of giant weirwood trees + some sort of icy power would make an ice wall is genius. It would also make perfect sense of the pact between children of the forest and first men. In my mind, Brandon the Builder would have been the one to think and execute this plan, they would have sacrificed giants along the a path that would be the wall (could be volunteers or hunt down), some giant weirwoods would grow with help from the children and they would do some blood magic to humans who would be tied to the trees, as you explained. But I still think it is not the root cause of the long night. There has to be a good enough cause for building this massive thing and it needs to be magical in nature.

[@myaestheticiswitchy]

First of all, just went to say I love your videos and your theories! It's amazing how intricate GRRM'S world truly is. Also, rats in the walls is also a reference to a Lovecraft book of the same name. One of many lovecraftian references in the books ☺️ Also I find the white/red vs black/blue symbolism interesting. I've noticed that the fire magic is often coloured red/black, whereas the ice magic is often blue/white. But the weirwoods and the HOTU seem to have switched that around. Not sure sure if it's relevant at all but it definitely struck me

[@michaeltalksaboutstuff]

that is an interesting catch about the color pair being kinda flipped like that. To me it does work if the leaf is the color of the power source. Blue leaves from the blue shadows at the House of the Undying being sapped as a power source. The red leaves shaped like human hands because the weirwoods drink blood for their power source. Which would mean in the old days of garth the green if they had world trees that didn't drink blood they might have had green leaves when people were doing green magic. Just my random speculation though.

[@albdamned577]

I have a feeling there are multiple ways of becoming like the others, like how there are clearly different kind of wights. It isn't that the design is drastically different, only the source of power. This would be like a gasoline engine vs a diesel engine, they essentially do the same thing differently. The undying of Qarth probably have quasi heart tree thing going on with those blue leaved trees that they get the shade of the evening from. Fire magic may not seem like it has a connecting network like the heart trees but they light and maintain fires. A bigger version of this could be all the lava and magma under the ground.

[@moiz85]

Also the small person who gives Dany the shade of evening drink makes sense as CotF

[@michaeltalksaboutstuff]

That is an interesting thought, those little guys certainly are very weird. Hadn't even considered that

[@umwha]

Yes I believe it was a dwarf that was 2 feet tall which is strange because real dwarves aren’t that small

[@ruthbennett7563]

I always thought it was a “Sandkings” reference to the HotU being a diseased Maw… Love all this fun theorizing!

[@LilBrownieD]

Your thinking is so interesting! Extremely outside the box yet well supported

[@robertrub5503]

I've been cracking out on ur channel. Holy Moly this is good stuff.

[@Michael-eq8th]

This channel switches between brilliant bullseye theories and sloppy fan fiction. I kind of love it though

[@got_glintsp963]

I can’t thank you enough for these videos and your analyses. Wow. Just wow.

[@ganykaliya7811]

What about the possibility that Starks have the blood of the Others? Why do the Kingsguard and Valyrians have parallels to the Others?

[@emrek99205]

"House" is not only a place, but also a heritage, specifically, a people. House Stark, House Bolton, etc. House of the Undying could directly mean that the Others have warged into the warlocks' bodies. The Others and the Warlocks aren't the same being any more than Bran and Hodor are the same being. If the Others' magic is weakening the Warlocks' personality isn't being pushed aside as much and that is why they are able to give descriptions of themselves in their own POV. Question does come up of why the Warlocks are so far away. The Wall and the Tower are no where near each other. Weirwoods don't even exist on that continent. It has to be somewhere of course, but why would GRRM put it so far away? The tower itself might BE a tall Weirwood isolated from the rest, but we've no indication of this or how it could have occurred.

[@BeteBlanc]

I'm not disagreeing, I do like where you're going. I just wanted to present another interpretation based on the mechanics. What is the only thing that doesn't die? So far, the only thing specifically mentioned is a Weirwood. That said, it would make sense if the Undying of Qarth are the Black/Blue trees, in the most specific and literal way. Shadows from the Qarth trees might have put up the Wall by choice. The difference I want to suggest is that it's not strictly speaking a forced imprisonment. They want to end, but the conditions that led to it still exist. What if it's the Wall that's holding back magic? What if they did it to defeat dragons? Why this power would come from north of the Wall I'm not sure. Based on your suggestions, sacrifices became less common when the Nightfort was abandoned. The fall of the Wall during the time the NK might have resulted in the Valyrian dragons. As it grows less power from blood sacrifices gets through. So the Targs had to get closer. Then after the Nightfort was abandoned the power available starts to wane. They inadvertently started the ball rolling for the decline. I think the Wall might block fire magic and weirwood shadows. There's some iron/red, silver/blue corroding symbolism but I'm not entirely sure it helps explain anything.

[@judson8441]

Wow could he e left a comment under any one of the 20 videos I’ve watched in a row, but I am blown away by all these “theories” morsel than I have been on many other lore videos of which I’ve watched countless. Hats off to you sir

[@pearltheboomkin1247]

The shows have Danaerys be the key factor which allows the Night King to march on Westeros. Makes sense that Danaerys had encountered The Others' magic in the East.

[@lumbdame]

I have a theory tying your video together: The Undying have a tower that has passages that you get lost in, same as the passageways in Bran’s caves. The cave passages are being controlled by the COtF dynamically because they are actually the weirwood branches/roots. Which means the tower being built of oily black stone = petrified blue weirwood is also being controlled by the Undying to change its passageways. 😊 also, that’s how the Cotf managed to break off continents in the past - by merely asking the trees

[@FaithAndRepentance]

If the series ever finishes . He may be too busy with his spinoffs. May he live long enough❤

[@jgr7487]

Rats in the walls? Like Lovecraft's Nyarlathotep stories that have rats in the walls, one of which is named Rats in the Wall? There are so many lovecraftian references in ASOIAF. It doesn't make a lot of sense for the ones tied within the Wall to have been locked in the House of the Undying. It looks to be a parallel situation. It may be a way for GRRM to say "this is that in a smaller scale". I think this may be the case because Qarth is one of the oldest cities in Planetos and the 1st Warlocks could have imprisoned the Undying the same way the Greenseers are bounded to the Weirwood trees. Let's not forget that the Children of the Forest used the Green Men as their greenseers before humans got to Westeros, so it's impossible to know for how long humanoids are being bound to those trees. As neither the Undying nor the Green Men are humans, this type of magical battery might be way way older than the Wall. The black trees may be the photo negative version of the Weirwoods, but they may also be a different type of tree that serves the same function.

[@molleh3180]

This is really well-argued. I can be convinced ;)

[@zeroisnine]

So I like parts of the theory (mainly the nature of the religion of the old gods), but the Others being imprisoned or being the victims doesn't make sense to me... because according to you, aren't they mad because of the wall? Their crucified bretheren? But wasn't the wall built to defend against them? So why were the Others waging war against people before the wall? So it just seems very convoluted. Like if the children just made them for war, then aren't they just made war? And if they are like sentient beings, then why did they go to war? I mean, aren't these basically the old gods, i.e. spirits of the weirwoods? So why did the first men and children of the forest go to war agaibst them? Or vice versa? They were keeping to the pact, so why would either side be unhappy? To me it seems more sensible if you just keep to a "the Others are ice zombie monsters," the theory makes more sense. And they are not some oppressed people, they just are a manifestation of the old gods, and the old gods want blood sacrifice.

[@starfishsignal]

Martin also calls the wights "white shadows" -- i see some parallels between the warlocks and their trees and the wights and the trees in westeros

[@waynethompson6667]

Interesting theories. There is so much going on. With all the parallels and foreshadowing, I can see why it takes GRRM forever to write a book. I read the books in between the seasons and I was so intent on catching up with the TV show that I didn’t catch any of the clues. How many times did you have to read the books to come up with these theories??

[@michaeltalksaboutstuff]

I have only ever done a full read through in order of all the books once, but I have re-read the first 3 a few times and lots of random chapters many many times. Most of my theorizing I think has been made stronger by being open minded to fan theories I have heard over the last decade and just kinda keeping a lot of ideas in mind as we go and then letting the evidence from GRRM cut it down to only the most reasonable over time. Less full series re-reads and more search of ice and fire or re-reading specific parts or chapters looking for things.

[@yarro1965]

If you're writing fanfiction then I'm your number 1 fan!

[@MichaelSturgis-g1j]

Your stuff is always on point

[@revotor8142]

You have a brilliant mind and if you aren't correct, George would be wrong for writing it differently.

[@joseSanchez-ej2oh]

SOMEWHERE in the books there must be some allusion, hint, myth rumor or legend that states some connection or communication between westeros and warth around the time of the nights kings But history of that connection would probably have been delayed in westeros

[@laurak1545]

I mean arteries (taking blood from the heart) are red, veins (returning de-oxygenated blood back to the heart) appear blue

[@MORTIFICER]

this is some shadow of the erdtree type duality

[@socketgem1383]

If this were true, could it be that “A Dream of Spring” refers to the others dreaming of the house of the undying.

[@mattfox2716]

Do the Walls of Qarth hint at the Other Trapped in Ice as well? Wanted to get your thoughts on that.

[@simontaylor2143]

One inconsistentcy i can see with this part of the theory is that earlier in the series you suggested that the Others themselves were shadowbound spirits of the weirwoods. Could you rebind something that is already a shadow ?

[@jdsartre9520]

What meaning does this give to Euron's warlocks with tongues cut out in 'The Forsaken'?

[@NawfsideRome]

would Arya in Harranhal being a grey mouse in the walls relate to Dany and the house of the undying??

[@SSquirrel1976]

You mention Dany crucifying people setting things up. Is this just bc it’s a reference to the idea of the people crucified to trees in the wall? Bc Dany choosing to crucify (or burn people alive) at so many points just helps drive home to me that she is not a savior that many want her to be. And not even a terribly good person.

[@mrcsycunningham]

What if the doom of Valyria was what weakened fire magic?

[@ruthbennett7563]

Seeing as we’re explaining improbable tower collapses… How about Ned & the Tower of Joy?

[@arpitsinojia3538]

All this doesn’t explain the happenings in yeen and asshai and the black oily stones

[@Yosya8059]

At the end of the video you said how the Night’s king and his brothers could have been turned into others and bound to the trees. But at the same time the wall already existed. Do you mean they became like a new generation for the new wall? But what happened to the original bound others within the first wall?

[@maesterzen1046]

You should check out crow foods daughter over at disputed lands about shade of the evening trees being poisoned weirwoods from the long night

[@amandamonacoschaub8101]

I have always considered that the black/blue trees were actually the weirwoods roots coming out the other end of the planet, spreading the network. Do you think that could be possible? I feel like it could still tie into your theory!

[@business_casual_rex]

Undying undying undying undying undying undying undying

[@Manterok]

Nah fam, I'm interested! This is good shit!

[@YarPirates-vy7iv]

The weirwood in this video looks so damn smug.

[@tk423b]

Let Brandon Sanderson know about this as he will be writing the last book.

[@dyrstyrer]

We all know George has taken inspiration from different other writers and you got through this video about White shadows and diddent mention the ring wraiths, i thougt it a lot as i listenened to it, there are many simelarities between them and this theory i think

[@GREATESTALLY]

Rat cook? Like ratatouille?

[@bostonmetalclips]

trees give shade 🤓

[@space_orphan]

I love this channel, but man does your vocal cadence become grating after a while. Can you please just try to speak at a more normal, conversational cadence? You don't. Need to drive. Every point. Home like this.

[@justthat4333]

🐝🐝🐝

[@Fuckalope-cm5dk]

Nice

[@warpedwhimsical]

What about the fact that there is a “Heart of Shadow” in Stygai apparently. I always thought the shade was like a second version of the weirwood, like another species in the same genus/family, if this is the case it makes sense it would have its own “Heart” / central hub, similar to the Wall being the weirwood Heart of Winter. This is undoubtedly connected to shadowbinding magic in someway, since the only mages in Asshai willing to travel up the river to the Shadowlands are shadowbinders. But I like the idea of shade trees being weirwood s just fed with a different magic source

[@michaeltalksaboutstuff]

Ohhh heart of shadow is a good call. I had forgotten that was a thing. I do think there is some other magic hinge of the world type power sources out there so it is certainly possible the house of the undying could be related to some other hinge but IMO if its the wall it makes the story tie together nicer.

[@pokeman5000]

Eh I think thats just a world building thing. There are clearly other cultures/lands so they would have their own magic that follows the same principles. Yi Ti has their own Bloodstone star magic deal but we don't really get much else, Sothoryos has Yeen. Stygai is likely just a previously made heart but a long dead version. A gone/forgotten civilization and a ruined heart/city left behind in the shadowlands. Sure there are whispers left but nothing that would directly impact people's lives unless they go out of their way for it. I wouldn't worry about it unless Daenerys flies to Asshai then maybe it would be relevant to the main story.

[@molleh3180]

This is really well-argued. I can be convinced ;)

[@Hero_Of_Old]

"Sounds in the wall. OTHER voices" haha thats so cool, gave me chills. George dropping that foreshadowing right under our noses.

[@connorhinsley6991]

Which given George's propensity for "over-describing" the sounds things make, I'm inclined to believe "other voices" IS attention to detail instead of the opposite.

[@conniesuper9892]

79 sentinels stuck in the wall and the father of one also put inside seems like a hint,as well as the creepy weirwood mouth gate that only opens up for a sworn brother,and Coldhands...thanks for the brain food!Love it!!!

[@ХъюгаНаумова]

I love this whole chain of theories; maybe will even take some of this lore and themes for my D&D campaigns. The only nitpick I currently have is that the Undying Dany sees are unlikely to be Night King and his followers (or rather not the only ones she sees), since among them there is a Carthene-looking woman and apparently a child. We can theorize that their appearance is not correlated with true nature of the spirits, but this would be unlike many other visions in the book. I rather think that individuals she had seen were originally at least somewhat Carthene or tied to Quart in some manner during their lives.

[@michaeltalksaboutstuff]

So I have a general theory I will have to go into later in a video for this. It's based on that thought since making this video that perhaps the woman with blue eyes who seems to be Mel like in a lot of ways wasn't actually an other as she is portrayed but a shadow binder with blue Qarth style magic. This is still just a working theory but if the Night's Queen was a human born and raised in Qarth that might explain it. But would also mean they were doing blue colored magic before her existence so it becomes a chicken and an egg type thing haha So I have more to think about but in general best guesses I have for why she is dressed that way would be the idea could be she was born in Qarth in life, or the shadows cast by the Qarth warlocks take the Qartheen appearance.

[@jessejohnson8365]

 Kieri and the Solanaceae: Nature and Culture in Huichol Mythology Pretty sure this in a way is what George was going for I found this when researching Golden Chalice or golden cup . Because of the flowers that the guy at the wall gives to the girl before murdering her. It's also two different knight sigil with wings. Pretty sure it's this world's golden rose of high garden as well. It also produce fragrance like I think it describes in her visions eminates from the wall. It's also tied to something call The Tree of Wind the others ride the winds that come out of the north. I was trying to find this other thing that explains the lore of this in more detail but this for all the reading necessary is pretty fascinating

[@CNNBlackmailSupport]

Im sold. 100% on board, sir. Youve converted me.

[@connorhinsley6991]

I just rewatched the scene in the show where Varys describes to Tyrion the ritual where he was castrated. I noticed this time, that before he heard the voice in the flames, the flames turned BLUE. I never thought much of it before, so if it were a hint to be caught on a reread/rewatch that his was a sacrifice to the heart of winter, it would certainly be a soyjack moment imo

[@diegobarbosa8105]

i was smiling with dany's tnfoil hat when i saw "look what fun you are having" on the screen LOL

[@jpmzo]

Will Jon and Dany, true heirs to the Iron Throne, die freeing the realm from the Long Night, while Young Griff, Varys' pawn, takes that throne?

[@erlkoenig505]

For now, I still believe that the Undying are just a symbolic stand-in for the others. My main problem is that I don't see other clear connections between Qarth and the Wall. What I clearly see, however, is a connection between Euron and both Qarth and the Wall: He might have disguised as Urrathon Night-Walker an vlearly took the warlocks prisoners, while he might also aim to bring down the wall with Sam's Horn of Winter in Oldtown and/or by stealing one of Dany's dragons, and he might also try to bevome the leader of the Others. But these parallels are indirect and do not link the Wall and Qarth directly.

[@commonpepe2270]

I don't want to be the one to bring up the season that shall not be named, but assuming the whole enslaved Others theory checks out, Arya being involved in killing the Others would perfectly fit the origins of the Faceless Men giving the gift of death to the slaves of Valyria. Makes me wonder if the valyrians had a similar system going on to power their magic.

[@Valkanna.Nublet]

I like the idea but I have a couple of thoughts/questions. In the house of the undying we see them die, or at least that's what we're led to believe happened. So what happens to their bodies in the wall? Do the bodies now die as well, removing the icy presence that will cause the wall to melt, or did the spirits 'dying' simply send them back to the bodies? The other thing is that the description of the undying is "Some were male and some female" yet we only hear about male Others, the ones we see and the ones Craster's wives call 'brothers'. The only exception so far is the Night's Queen, who we are assuming is an Other due to the description but we're not actually told that she is. (Unless my brain is forgetting that bit) So does this scene of the undying mean that there are female others?

[@Oh-Grr]

To further add to this point, the first time the Others appear in the text they are literally described as "white shadows in the darkness", almost like their actual shadows are somewhere else.

[@danielsand7286]

Hi Michael big fan of the stuff you are onto in this channel...haven't heard you mention your thoughts on the round globe of the world...which would mean that the Lands of Always Winter (unmapped) lead into the Grey Waste and far eastern Essos...the others are bounded by the Wall on one side and Five Forts on the other side...this would put Qarth and the house of the undying geographically a lot closer to the wall than they appear on the map which might make it easier to harness the magic because it is not really on the opposite side of the planet. I wonder if you subscribe to this theory because I have never looked into it on a deep level like you but it has always made sense to me, I always took the frozen Gray Waste as a hint

[@kat1722]

in the book theres two stages of talking to the undying, one where theyre all happy and everything is beautiful and then the second when its all dark and gloomy, could this be when theyre asleep and dreaming and then when danny takes the nextt door they 'wake up' and theyre not in their dreamrealm? even if theyre not there physically but its the state of their body/self. it could be the bodies of warlocks and the price of the magic is to give over their bodies for the detatched spirits to take shelter in.

[@jolinefields3460]

Brilliant and fun to explore… who would have been able to get the “seed” in the donation portion like Melisandre used for Stannis…? If it’s something other than Rhlor?

[@judschin1]

Black and (greenish) blue, are the inverted colors of white and red 🤯 13:43

[@lilibetp]

I think that taking down the wall will reset the seasons and fix everything that's been messed up.

[@melissaisloud7404]

How will this relate to Euron and his love of the blue delulu?

[@alyswesthill3562]

This makes so much sense of the hints George is giving us via the rat cook story!!! Love it

[@Caulmare]

Would this not make the paste bran drank not the reed boy but a tree paste . The opposite of the shade of the evening ?

[@Arygo87]

Te old ways theory makes me think of that Mirri Maz Duur line when Drogo dies , she says something along the lines of: see what life is worth when everything else has gone, not sure if it's in the books and i haven't heard/read the books in some time. Daenerys does offer him mercy then goes out (and comes back) in a blaze of glory. If i'm not mistaken she dreams of Drogo in a tent near the wall, he has her child and wants her to stay with him. Did Mirri get Drogo's spirit with the others to make sure Daenerys ends up there ? I don't remember what the books say about Mirri Maz Duur, but perhaps there's some clue ?

[@KeithAGass]

Worth noting that Qarth is famous for being a "Walled" city

[@KoruDesuKa]

Your brain is rad.

[@bc269]

Fantastic theory. Love your videos

[@sunyacharoenying5183]

What if the Nightfort is where the Night King and his traitors are bound and the 74 sentinels are what makes the rest of the wall? Where are the warlocks getting the shade of the evening though? Where is that tree? That would be the tree The Night king would be strapped in to you'd imagine. I think the others are the original consciousness of the trees that want to keep their bodies maybe and the wall is an elaborate setup to keep them alive and powerful. IDK... my mind changes every night. Prob should have watched more than a few videos before thowing suggestions in. Haven't read the books since the last one came out.

[@salvadorrodriguez3798]

If the wolf head king could be seen as a reference for Jon and all the things you said what about the other vision Daenerys´ visions? Any ideas?

[@tiopablo2784]

Deep lore

[@IlyaUshar]

Absolutely love your series, keep it up!