What Happened at Hardhome? | ASOIAF Theory & Game of Thrones

The wildling village of Hardhome met a hard end yet no one seems to know why or how. What did the people of this distant town do to deserve such a fate? In this video, we revisit one of a song of ice and fires greatest mysteries: the destruction of Hardhome. New theories are analyzed and old ones are reconsidered. Just like on Game of Thrones, Hardhome might prove to be a pivotal point in the war to come.
What Happened at Hardhome? | ASOIAF Theory & Game of Thrones
🎥 Chapters
0:00 - Intro
0:28 - A history of Hardhome
1:59 - the Harrowing of Hardhome
3:02 - the Skaggosi Theory
4:44 - the Creatures in the Caves
7:35 -
7:54 - the Rival Faction Theory
10:17 - Legends of Leng
11:11 - the Motives of the Children
16:31 - the Screaming Cave Theories
17:41 - the Dragonlords / Valyria Theory
21:22 - the Volcano Theory
22:23 - the Impact Event Theory
23:54 - the Faceless Men Theory
26:05 - the Curious Case of Maester Wyllis
28:44 - Cotter Pyke, Bran, and Meera
30:18 - Conclusion
30:51 - Outro
🔥 Socials
► Patreon: / kevinpendragon
► TikTok: / kevinpendragon
► Threads: www.threads.net/@kevinpendragon
🎨 Artwork Sources
Hardhome harbor - Unknown
Hardhome - Juan Carlos Barquet
A maester advises his lord - Kerry Barnett for Fantasy Flight Games
Caleotte and the Mountain's skull - Joshua Cairós for Fantasy Flight Games
Man of the Night's Watch guarding the Wall - Patrick McEvoy for Fantasy Flight Games
Burning Village - Unknown
Hardhome on Map - Unknown
Game of Thrones Screencap
Returning to a burned down village - Kenneth Faigh (ArtStation)
Creepy Cave - Unknown
Monster in Cave - Unknown
The Children of The Forest carving faces into the sacred weirwood trees - Chase Stone
Into the Narrowdark book cover - Jim Tierney
A greenseer singing the song of earth - HBO
A child of the forest - Kallielef
Bran Stark and the three-eyed crow - Marc Simonetti
To Green Angel Tower cover art - Michael Whelan
Lady Dustin - Delaney02 (Erin '12)
Tyrion Lannister in the Eyrie's sky cells - Michael Komarck
Jojen Reed - Joel Hustak for Fantasy Flight Games
Weirdwood tree from Game of Thrones (Telltale Games)
Lesser men defied the dragonlords of the Valyrian Freehold at their peril - Magali Villeneuve
The Valyrians enslave the conquered people of Old Ghis - Marc Simonetti
First Battle of Tumbleton - Douglas Wheatley
Silverwing, ridden by Queen Alysanne - Emile Denis
Dawn - Henning Ludvigsen for Fantasy Flight Games
Faceless Man - Colin Boyer for Fantasy Flight Games
Medieval docks - Unknown
Meera, Jojen, Bran and Summer - Jonathan Burton
📕 Chapters Referenced
Arianne ? - the Winds of Winter
Bran III - a Dance with Dragons
Bran II - a Dance with Dragons
The Prince of Winterfell - a Dance with Dragons
Tyrion V - a Game of Thrones
Bran VII - a Game of Thrones
The Targaryen Kings: Aegon II - The World of Ice and Fire
🔈 Music Gravity Sound - "Portal" Mysterious Space Background Music No Copyright
#asongoficeandfire #asoiaf #gameofthrones

[@martezanthony]

“What chu talkin bout, Willis?”

[@kitkat6959]

Lmao

[@christyanmoore5788]

Good times

[@maarekstele2998]

"what chu not talkin bout, willis? Does that...does that work?"

[@captainmaim]

Gary Coleman was the real inspiration for Tyrion.

[@markanthony1004]

Hardhome is still a place that’s described in such a macabre manner. The letter Jon read was just nightmare fuel. The “Dead things” in the water quote was just one of the descriptions that had me thinking the Whites in the books are truly far and away more horrific than the show could ever accomplish

[@jf_kein_k8590]

One theory I saw, was that Hardhome had an outbreak of Greyscale. Those not infected burned everything down and killed infected ones, other infected ones were stuck/hid in the caves and the screams was their agony in pain.

[@Special_Tactics_Force_Unit]

How fast is greyscale supposed to work

[@fissilepear7805]

@@Special_Tactics_Force_Unitbased off the wiki it says greyscale can take years to kill a person afflicted by it but most don’t make it long enough to where it kills them due to the constant pain and agony leading them likely to suicide.

[@OpinionatedChicken59]

But they found bodies of the dead, they would have known if they had grey scale. Also more people would have survived if that was the case, where were the ones who did the killing? I doubt it was one or two people, it would have taken many to kill everywhere and burn the entire place down.

[@tglake2894]

I happened to think as you were describing Silverwing refusing to cross the Wall: What if Silvering *couldn't* cross the Wall, because of the same ward against magic that prevented Coldhands or the Others from crossing the Wall?

[@KevinPendragon]

That's an interesting idea as well!

[@AnarchoCatBoyEthan]

A ward of fire and ice ;)

[@tylorabdnor5562]

Sorry I've only seen the show, but what are Coldhands?

[@argonne8472]

​@tylorabdnor5562 Coldhands is a character. In the books, Benjen Stark doesn't come back like in the show. Instead, it's a new character that is called Coldhands since we aren't sure of his name and he is some sort of undead. Many people have been speculating that Coldhands, just like in the show, is Benjen Stark brought back, but it's circulating that in an interview, GRRM has allegedly said Coldhands isn't Benjen.

[@tylorabdnor5562]

@@argonne8472 OH OK, thanks for the info!

[@jimcrow2802]

Great video! I think the dissapearence of Maester Willis is a nod to Lovecraft who uses this plot device where the character who studied some dark mystery dissapears at the end before being able to share their knowledge. Which i think also points to the "Old Gods" as the responsible ones for the destruction of Hardhome.

[@raesifers]

first off, Hardhome is my absolute favorite mystery in ASOIAF and im glad you out out this video! my little headcanon is that all the caves north of the Wall- the 3 eyed raven's cave, Jon and Ygritte's cave, the caves at hardhome- are all apart of a massive cave system that probably even goes under the wall, as hinted at by the Freefolk. maybe the Children created and warded them as a last safe place from the Others or maybe theyre part of something even older. great video as always!

[@KevinPendragon]

Thanks very much!

[@magister343]

The Dragonlords theory makes a lot more sense if you combine it with the idea that Valyria at this time knew of the existence of Braavos but had not discovered its location yet. They could have destroyed Hardhome believing it to be Braavos.

[@angryjalapeno]

On their way to Hardhome, they would have seen Braavos.

[@HahaDamn]

@@angryjalapenothe whole point is it is shrouded in fog, so no

[@angryjalapeno]

@@HahaDamn They didn't even notice they were passing the Narrow Seas for hours and hours and hours or even days? There is a very obvious climate change between land and sea and between Essos and Hardhome. I'm more likely to believe an asteroid hit.

[@nathanbrady8529]

This. I'm also going to throw out there that Valyrian steel is steel smelted and mixed with dragonglass.

[@williamhermann6635]

​@@nathanbrady8529 Valyrian steel is made with the Targ's house words: fire and blood. Azor Ahai myth in action. Temper the sword through a human heart.

[@trli7117]

Hardhome, Yeen, Leng... there sure are a lot of massacres and disappearances associated with cities near caves.

[@Einwetok]

Martin borrows from a lot of writers, Lovecraft included.

[@borisdorofeev5602]

The Hardhome caves and other underground dwellings felt like bomb shelters. "The sun seeming to rise" event was probably something apocalyptic

[@sabinebirdsong929]

Cave system activity basically always points to COTF in this world

[@ocsjc13]

@@sabinebirdsong929or stone men

[@idantifient]

good vidéo, there's also a theory that it was destroyed by the greyscale, with the "dead things in the water" in the Cotter Pyk's rapport, and in Tyrion's chapter we've already seen that greymen can swim

[@marumae]

I buy your theory over the "Valyria" theory, the Valyrians never did *anything* without announcing it loudly and never trying to hide it as they basically thought themselves unstoppable. So them coming in the night, burning down a town and disappearing without so much as a by your leave? Nah. The Children of thr Forest doing this makes sense.

[@KevinPendragon]

Yea it just doesn't make much sense for the Valyrians to care about such a small settlement that was just getting started.

[@Ashbrash1998]

I like this idea of the Chuldren doing great feats of magic because we already hear of them doing that with them using the Hammer of the waters and wheen greenseers supposedly trying to recreate it but instead creating the boggy neck.

[@richardjessiejohnson9108]

The empress of Leng was committing mass murders on an island. Sounds like sacrifices, made on the isle of faces. Different places I know, but the set up could be the same.

[@momonga1722]

Yes, it is likely all connected to the COTF, you can see there are children in Essos in that one forest that I cant remember the name of, and they might have had something to do with the doom of valyria

[@MWMTEE]

Yeah the underground city of leng sounds like cotf caves

[@williamhermann6635]

​@@momonga1722Iffeqevron

[@randominternetguyoffical]

Nice to come home and see a Hardhome video in the feed!

[@almastidyatlov9641]

I was sceptical at first, but i mist admit that this is quite sound reasoning. Neat video, I'll definitely waych more on this channel!

[@KevinPendragon]

Thanks! New video tomorrow for the spookiest day of the year 👻

[@ratgirl34]

I like this theory. I just have one problem with one point you made about excluding a volcano as a possibility; not all volcanoes erupt, at least not like the ones we are familiar with. A shield volcano is formed by highly viscous lava, its high viscosity means it easily escapes the vent without a violent eruption. I’m not sure how that might affect a plume of smoke, such that the Nights Watch may have seen. But I think if Hardhome were built primarily of wood, which it may have been as initial settlements often were, even KL started out that way, and they had no idea they were living on a volcano, it’s possible they were caught in a literal lava flood. Being close to the ocean, the screaming caves could be water rapidly evaporating in the chambers of the volcano. Maybe the Children used fire to destroy Hardhome. Liquid fire.

[@KevinPendragon]

I've never heard of a shield volcano before. However, I do like the idea that the screams are a natural phenomenon that terrified those that heard it. Waves crashing could cause that. But I have no theory for why the screams have stopped if they were natural. I ultimately lean toward the idea someone was lying

[@ratgirl34]

@@KevinPendragon Yeah, that’s about all I know about them. And who knows if George does/did when he wrote it. You probably are right about someone lying. But maybe sea level or weather would affect the phenomena of the screams. It might be something that’s more likely in the autumn/winter storms of the region, when there’s more water falling through the cracks. Eh, it’s my personal tinfoil anyway.

[@adventwolfbane]

​@KevinPendragon just because it was a natural thing doesn't mean it would be constant. After an eruption the pressure would be going down and the flow would eventually stop. Also after the village was destroyed no one went there anymore so there is no idea if the "screaming" continued.

[@anselbailey-mershon4280]

@@KevinPendragon I'm sure you're familiar with Hawaii. The eruptions can be mild lava flows or more intense. Here's some quick resources: www.usgs.gov/programs/VHP/about-volcanoes www.nps.gov/subjects/caves/lava-caves-or-tubes.htm Note that the Children could still be simply re-igniting a dormant volcano, especially if there is a connection to the Doom and the Fourteen Flames. The caves in the north may be lava tubes. Trees in Hawaii and the Canary Islands have roots that break down into the lava tubes of the islands. Pics in the following article on one of Hawaii's lava tubes you can visit. While volcanic lands are often wastelands in fiction, in the real world they are often quite lush once the more active phases of eruptions subside. There are already trees growing on Maui from the lava flows a couple months ago. www.lonelyplanet.com/news/hawaii-nahaku-thurston-lava-tube-reopened As for the screaming: www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/listen-to-a-volcano-scream-11475582/

[@Ashbrash1998]

Idk about fire mainly because GRRM has made it clear that Essos has the power of fire and that the North in qesteros has the power of ice. Not saying they didn't do something with water or something to make the volcano but they have never really used fire ever. Even the red priests fire magic came from Essos

[@Commanber]

If Bran is in a cave network and Hardhome has a cave network, maybe they are connected?

[@KevinPendragon]

It is possible it was or once was connected

[@tinyjones8454]

I think so too

[@keittykit]

Could be that when Bran, Meera and hopefully Summer escape, they go in deeper instead of out. They go to the deeeeeep parts (under the sea floor? Idk) and emerge at Hardhome?

[@derekcapri8899]

we're talking about two locations that are on other sides of the continent from each other. You could just as easily say Jon and Ygritte's cave was connected to hardhome. You gotta take into account the distance between these places

[@MWMTEE]

@@derekcapri8899all caves are probably connected, probably how white walkers got to essos and grey waste , because we know they didnt cross arm of dorne

[@mohmmedakrot9663]

Big love from Libya

[@Bobson_Dugnutt_Esq]

You deserve an award for your content and your wit-and another for that sly Diff’rent Strokes reference.

[@cernunnos_lives]

Man you nail it here brother. But i do remember "dead things in the water". Thanks for your hard work uploading all of this. I really have this image of their planet being more like Swiss cheese. GRRM really mentions underground rivers and bottomless pits a lot. Almost like you could travel from one continent to another. This is probably how COTF got to Westoros from Essos. They were even on the Iron Islands long before people. And there's a lot of cyclically rise and fall of beings with world ending consequences. Like Assahai ending with a magic apocalypse. It's a nuked India.

[@striker8961]

It might have been Cannibal. I will not elaborate, I categorically refuse.

[@KevinPendragon]

Very well. We will see if that attitude holds up in the black cells. GUARDS 🗣

[@striker8961]

@@KevinPendragon They can rip out my tongue, but the moral high ground will be mine

[@andrewwolfe3137]

Cannibal- an untamed dragon from dragonstone. So named because he ate younger and smaller dragons.

[@Honda-wf6qj]

​@@striker8961why rip out your tongue? We like to hear how good we are as we work....😮and the moral high ground may be yours but the only ground you will not see is the roof of your cell....😮😢😮😢😮

[@striker8961]

@@Honda-wf6qj … dude wtf

[@kragary]

I concede your theory makes the most sense, but I'm still clinging to my pet theory that Hardhome was destroyed by the dragonlords. It's not completely far-fetched: this was during the time when Braavos, founded by escaped slaves from Valyria, was still in hiding. Maybe the dragonlords heard about Hardhome and thought they'd finally found their escaped slaves. Then they descended on the city with a vengeance, except... these were not escaped slaves, these were wildlings and they had skinchangers living in their midst. I'm just really loving the theory that Hardhome was the one time in history when skinchangers took or tried to take control of dragons, with disastrous consequences. Maybe the screams were coming from them, their minds trapped in dragon bodies, or the other way around, from dragon minds trapped in human bodies, seeking in vain shelter and comfort in the volcanic caves their instincts drove them to... And the dragonlords never tried to invade the North again.

[@williamhermann6635]

I think the screams were the cotf dancing and singing like the shadows do in the tent when Marri Maz Durr does her blood ritual with Drogo. COTF just worked some kind of blood ritual and were doing their moon dance like the singers who sing the songs of earth are said to do.

[@darkknight_D]

You should make a video of the similarities between memory, sorrow and thorn and asoiaf, it sounds interesting

[@KevinPendragon]

Stay tuned

[@syed22]

Awesome work bro another amazing video! Please keep it up

[@mrmaat]

Minor nitpick - dragons are not afraid of the lands beyond the wall. The wall itself may be a magical boundary. Flying around it is still a possibility. The CotF theory is plausible. CotF volcanic theory is my personal favorite.

[@richardtabor8686]

This was a lot of fun. Ty!

[@MeeraReads]

100% agree about the Children. I really do need to read the Tad Williams books

[@KevinPendragon]

They are so worth it. There are portions where Williams is describing sigils, Houses, history and even clothing and you can tell where Martin got his ideas from

[@bradwolf07]

There is a theory that the Faceless Men are actually aligned with the Children of the Forest. In that theory is that the Children created the first Faceless Man. I agree with the Children being behind the Hardhome destruction. But I think they may have used the Faceless Men in their efforts (all the knowledge and supplies came from the Children). And I do think that Hardhome being a possible test run for the Doom of Valyria. In any case, Hardhome is a fascinating mystery

[@williamhermann6635]

Yup. The half-weirwood door at the house of black and white, the similarity in skin changing and taking someone's face, the underground facility of the house and black and white is real similar to the underground cities the cotf live in, and Arya tells us it goes even further underground, likely to an underground river like we see in the cave where Bran is. I think the house of black and white is literally a giant weirwood blood sacrifice factory.

[@samwinchester1326]

Nice topic! Looking forward to see it. 😎 I always believed what David Lightbringer (LmL) said about this in his videos

[@KevinPendragon]

Thanks a lot. And as a Buffy fan, Supernatural is next on my list of shows to watch after I finally get through Grimm

[@samwinchester1326]

@KevinPendragon what???? 😭😭😭 how you didn't watched supernatural? Get on it man

[@sabinebirdsong929]

Hey, can you tell me which video of LML's talks about Hardhome?

[@sebastianmunozochoa1485]

I've heard this song in so many SCP videos, but I guess it fits because it's a mysterious event.

[@KevinPendragon]

Good catch. The original idea for this channel was to mimic the SCP organization except with the Bearded Priest of Norvos who "Serve Obey Protect". The idea didn't work out but the song remained and here we are

[@TheMrprobadass]

Great video, thank you!

[@KevinPendragon]

Glad you enjoyed and thank!

[@nickslade7635]

I think this is the most plausible therory, and i really like the bran travelling the caves to hardhome idea

[@syed22]

Great music from lord spiders video, not too loud not to low. Usually that is a big problem but you doing great

[@conorscriv9386]

fairly well spoken hats off to you good sir i'll watch your stuff :)

[@BarryESchwartz]

I think attempting to hatch a dragon egg north of the wall causes a nuclear explosion.

[@tonyoramos1]

The art on your videos is gorgeous

[@TheStreamThatJakeBuilt]

Your use of historical saxon warriors to illustrate people is, welcomed

[@Magicalnora]

love that the algo now knows to play your videos next when I'm in an asioaf hole

[@KevinPendragon]

New video on Halloween 🎃

[@SelphieTheNutter]

I heard a theory that the dragon Lords burned hard home, thinking it was the city of Bravos. They had heard the story that their escaped slaves founded a city to the north, but they could not find it. The theory gos that they didn't find Bravos, but they did find Hardhome, and burnt it to the ground thinking it was Bravos.

[@trillionbones89]

Good thought, but they wouldn't have done it secretly.

[@alexmoes3225]

LML mentioned in a live chat a few nights ago that Hodor will die defend the Black Gate at the Nightfort, no where near Hardhome or Eastwatch. I think this is much more likely than the scenario Dumb&Dumber put on screen which made the Three eyed Crow's cave seem more like a hobbit hole. Aside from that i like this theory. The Children aren't blood thirsty, the Wildlings broke the Pact (by building a city north of the Wall) they reaped what they sowed.

[@KevinPendragon]

This is from a Martin interview: Hodor's death will shake down in the books. George R.R. Martin's plan for the scene involves a sword from the crypts of Winterfell, with Hodor "fighting and killing" attacking enemies. "They did it very physical - 'hold the door' with Hodor's strength," Martin said in Hibberd's oral history of the show. "In the book, Hodor has stolen one of the old swords from the crypt. Bran has been warging into Hodor and practicing with his body, because Bran had been trained in swordplay. So telling Hodor to 'hold the door' is more like 'hold this pass' - defend it when enemies are coming - and Hodor is fighting and killing them. A little different, but the same idea."

[@alexmoes3225]

@KevinPendragon yes more like Gandalf's "You shall not pass!"

[@angryjalapeno]

The Pact did not forbid men from building a city. It forbid men from cutting down the weirwoods. Perhaps the people of Hardhome ran out of normal trees and decided to cut the weirwoods.

[@Ashbrash1998]

​@angryjalapeno Supposedly, but the last was made centuries ago to the point that the Children are.considered myth as well as the Others too. And unless men wrote it down, it would be easily lost to time. But unlike humans, the Children would remember since they are all connected with eachother in a huge mind.

[@atella394]

I'm convinced whatever it was came from those caves, there are people sheltering in them as of DwD and it would be too like George to have their shelter turn into their tomb. I like the children of the forest theory, but I'm not totally sold. I feel like the act fits them but the motivations aren't making sense to me. If the children have this extensive cave network then surely they could have taken similar action against small groups of Andals during their invasion when they were actively cutting down weirwood trees - but we don't hear of it. The children are pretty mysterious, however, so it wouldn't surprise me if they had a reason that we can't guess at without more information. My only other thought is perhaps some kind of blood magic/blood sacrifice was needed and the freefolk of Hardhome were simply a means to an end?

[@williamhermann6635]

We dont hear of any direct conflict between the andals and cotf because the maesters have written the histories as if the cotf went out of existance before the andals arrival. The maesters are hellbent on removing magic from the world which means destroying all traces of the cotf as they were the ones who gave man magic. Anything from the andals or maesters needs to be considered with political intrigue in mind.

[@domhuckle]

Absolutely sound theory

[@lukemclaren4958]

Fantastic

[@KevinPendragon]

Thanks mate

[@blindorize]

most based ASOIAF creator and it's not even close

[@Blake84838]

Wonder if GRRM has indicated there’s still pockets underground all throughout the continent we know dorne has a cave system from the Dornish wars and Arianne remarks on that storm lands cave Elia goes in the twow preview

[@danieldeclue1466]

I personally think that you are right about the culprits being the children of the forest. However, I see no reason why the children we have already met in the story wouldn't be the ones responsible. The mere fact that their caves were littered with a bunch of human bones among others, really makes me think that it may not even be a different group of children that are responsible. Besides, it really adds weight to the theory that the children are not truly trying to help bran. Perhaps hard home was some kind of test run, or perhaps one of the free folk discovered something in the caves that the children did not want them to see

[@Theador6]

Refreshing theory

[@feral7523]

Maybe the cave system up North which seem linked by underground rivers is similar to the Cenotes cave system in Mexico both caused by a meteor impact!

[@MrHws5mp]

I wouldn't write off the dragon theory so fast: 1. Alysanne's dragon refused to fly over _The Wall_ , not The North. It could have been the magic wards in the wall that stopped it, and if she'd been nearer the sea, she could have gone around the end of it, as wildlings sometimes do. 2. There are other reasons that plunder to attack a place. Maybe the wildlings at Hardhome offended the Dragonlords in some way? Perhaps they rudely rebuffed, or even killed, an emissary (THIS. IS. SPARTA!!!) and got a dragon visit for their trouble. Or perhaps a runaway princess fled there or got taken there. With the wildlings' lack of record keeping and the destruction of Valeria's records, the reason could easily be lost to history.

[@valleU]

There were a few theories in the video but could any of them cause as much light as the Night's Watch reported? It's really far from Hardhome to the Wall so whatever happened... must have been huge! I'm not even sure a nuke let alone a dragon would create as much light to create a second dawn...

[@richardtabor8686]

oooooooooohhhhh. Love the Cotter Pike idea, homie. Never put that together.

[@lmm8960]

Apparently there are ice dragons in the north. Could be there are also firewryms. And we know they can tunnel through stone and ice. That’s one idea I have.

[@davidbadillomirete8226]

Maybe they were Fire Wyrms who came from the caves, there is no voolcano on Hardhome that we know of but there are reasons to belive there is one inactive volcano on Skagos

[@AmethystEmpressDivineTarot6589]

OMG!!!!I knew it! I also have and love and study Memory Sorrow and Thorn too🎉❤❤❤❤❤

[@KevinPendragon]

It's a good series !

[@AmethystEmpressDivineTarot6589]

@KevinPendragon Absolutely One of my favorites 😍 ❤️ I have the hard copies, e-books and audios 🤭 I Absolutely love the audible narrator- I should say voice actor. He is wonderful! Do you have a favorite character? I have noticed a lot of parallels between Danerys and Magwyn. I think their stories may end similarly. What do you think? Thank You!

[@KevinPendragon]

There are a lot of parallels between Daenerys and Maegwyn. Their names even seem very familiar. Maegwyn spends the trilogy thinking of her family and guiding her people which is also very similar to Dany. Maegwyn succumbs to madness in the end which could also be Dany's ending. Geloe from MST would be my favorite character if I had to choose. She's a force of nature with a lot of mystery surrounding her.

[@Ashbrash1998]

I can imagine that the Children tried some of their big magic in Hardhome and it backfired, BADLY. Every place we've seen that is considered cursed imo had some bad magic tied to it, like Ruins of Valyria or the Bridge of Dream. Maybe the Children tried a different tactic than the water magic they tried before using the inhabitants of the town. They could have snagged a dragon egh and tried to hatch it and claim it but their ice based magic reacted baldy to the fire magic of Essos so it went haywire amd cursed the place. It may have even been an event that involved the Others. Perhaps a reason why the Others were so quiet or a big reaaon why the Children's numbers went down was because of this disaster. And all the screaming was from all the beings dying, especislly the Children. The screams were their song of death and disaster since they already have a hivemind.

[@ocsjc13]

It was an outbreak of greyscale They lost their minds and the one who didn’t were killed and a fire broke out and the screams were stone men living in the caves screaming because they lost their minds Most logical explanation

[@Wood_969]

Cool

[@sesshowmarumonoke]

It's the magic of the wall that kept Alysanne's dragon from crossing.

[@Loreweavver]

The Doom That Came to Sarnath

[@youngarchaeotech189]

Mystery is the flowerbed from which interest grows. The Doom is honestly one of the few things I hope George never explains in full detail, as it would ruin the frightful mystique of the location.

[@alexandergangaware429]

"Maesters are the knights of the mind" Name a single non-Maester who says this. Maesters say people say this, but Maesters say all sorts of nonsense

[@KevinPendragon]

Maester Luwin says this. It not an unreasonable to believe. It just means maesters fight with their brain and not their brawn (which is true for most)

[@diollinebranderson6553]

​@@KevinPendragonthey also fight with their sausages behind closed doors like master pycelle

[@alexandergangaware429]

@@KevinPendragon Maester Luwin is a maester. Nobody but maesters call maesters "Knights of the Mind." It's the sort of myth liars invent to excuse their lies. I liked the part about Leng

[@Iron-Bridge]

It's a way for these bookish nerdy Maesters to assume some type of masculine quality even though they're a bunch of soft nerds.

[@mohmmedakrot9663]

Hi my brother from another mother long time no see my brother how are you doing

[@KevinPendragon]

Doing good brother. Long time since I last saw you in the comments

[@aprilmae274]

The screaming from the caves was from the CotF dying. Unless it was some kind of "new" phenomenon caused by the "explosion". I just don't feel like the CotF were responsible for Hardhome. I get the feels that the maester realized the danger after he returned to the citadel and so raced back to Hardhome in an attempt to prevent the badness. I also get the feels that Hardhome is what kicks off the white walkers/Others returning in full force at full power and it's connected to the Doom of Valyria somehow. Maybe they {a couple of humans at Hardhome} tried to hatch a dragon egg in the caves {perhaps the CotF did not know or they had the unwitting "help" from 1 or 2} where it was warm/hot...and so opened the door for the return of the Others somehow. Maybe The Others then somehow blow Valyria to High Hell. More likely that was also an accident. An accident caused by a few Valyrians trying to experiment on an Other/white walker/CotF in Valyria. I don't know, it's just the way I read it. The feels I was left with. I get the feeling that neither Hardhome or Valyria was intentional-but they were somehow magically inevitable.

[@Ashbrash1998]

Oh this is such a good theory and it makes sense that if the Children are a part of a hive mind with "songs" screaming could have been a song of their death. Perhaps it was the creation of the Others or maybe they experimented with fire magic and it backfired since their magic comes from ice it's opposite.

[@Void7.4.14]

It's also possible that the upper echelons of Westerosi society didn't want it possible for the wildlings or any ol nobody to travel North and set up shop and grow, it'd undermine their power and reduce their income among other things. In time they could even become so powerful that they decide to invade and take over Westeros, especially if they make alliances with other clans beyond the wall, others in Westeros south of the wall, and/or from other parts of the world. It'd be a nightmare for em. So both Children and humans would have reason to stop it, and that's without the possibility that some wildlings didn't want to see it because for free folk the idea of assimilation and centralized power would be anathema.

[@KevinPendragon]

This is something I hadn't considered. Good idea

[@chables74]

Algormancy!

[@7eddiii]

why wouldnt the children use their normal method of destroying massive amount of land the hammer of water or whatever since hardhome is a port city right next to the water on a peninsula nonetheless it seems like an easy feat so why would they do something completely different from anything weve seen them do before

[@Molusco9]

Not related but, are there any children left south of the wall by the time of the conquest? The dance? The rebellion? Always wondered.

[@Ashbrash1998]

Not that we know of, far as we know the ones we see in the book are the only confirmed ones.

[@sirpepeofhousekek6741]

7:37 is that creepy voice from something, or did you make that up?

[@thisguy8106]

He could've also gotten sick on the journey with something like pnemonia or a heart attack. Just a random death would be fitting.

[@KevinPendragon]

Random death seems most likely

[@mikkelhkkerup7934]

I am not sure, if I have heard or read it before, but we know that the current “Ice”-Valyrian-steel sword our Eddard(Ned) Stark has inherited is circa 600 years old. We also have historical records from the Nights Watch that the destruction of Hardhome happened at around 600 years prior to A Song og Ice and Fire. It might be a coincidence, but perhaps the Starks were given Ice by the Valyrians, either because a group of them destroyed Hardhome, or because they had some knowledge about how to defend humanity from similar threaths like the Others in the future, that requires so-called “Dragon-steel”, which our present day(in story) Samwell Tarly and Jon Snow suspects might actually be Valyrian Steel?

[@Seven_Leaf]

Willis was cooking up some wildfire.

[@debater452]

I personaly don't think it was a Meteor or a Volcanic eruption. This is because those kinds of events are very hard to just ignore. If these actually happaned at least the Nightswatch would have documented the huge explosion that would have happaned so close to them it's pretty hard to ignore. Also the destruction seems to be quite exacarated in the text, since it was probably writen sometime after the event happaned. Also I am quite sceptical of the Children actually having the power to cause Natural disasters, since if they could why didn't they just earthquake every first man settlement, during their war

[@joaquinalvarez5301]

Probably because it requires a great amount of sacrifice for the Cotf to cause large natural disasters

[@debater452]

​@@joaquinalvarez5301So is it worth the sacrifice

[@joaquinalvarez5301]

@@debater452 knowing how man still exist Probably not lol

[@debater452]

@@joaquinalvarez5301 If you have such smalk numbers why would you do it again

[@joshuavincent3515]

I'm not sure about this one. The children respect and love the trees fire would of damaged the forest. And maybe I'm looking to hard into but if the fire was that bright we wouldn't of had corpses instead we would of had chard bones. But I also don't have another idea on what happened. Maybe the children used the water and the fire is something completely different. I believe this because the text says the corpses were bloated. Bodies bloat when water or another fluid gets into it and causes the flesh to expand. Or maybe something with the lord of light, but that idea has no evidence.

[@murderfaery5715]

What about a dragon or sea dragon?

[@KevinPendragon]

17:41 on dragons. As for a sea dragon, I don't think the text has given us enough information on sea dragons/leviathans to make them a possibility. We know they once existed and they may have breathed fire but whether are still out there is undetermined. And to have one suddenly appear and destroy Hardhome would seem almost random

[@nomemories130]

I think it was a test run for the Doom of Valyria

[@KevinPendragon]

But why would slaves kill free folk

[@HighlandChicken]

Fire wyrms probably

[@NotYurAverageJoe]

Idk if everything about the children was true then if Willis found out and started talking at the citadel about it they very well might have forbid him from publishing those findings, and when he tried to go back to do more research, got whacked

[@HahaDamn]

The dragon lords thought it was Braavos?

[@williamhermann6635]

COTF used blood magic to call down an air burst

[@Devilburk]

Why havent i hard of this channel before..

[@KevinPendragon]

The algorithm ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@ErinMcIntyre-cw2qc]

⚓

[@woodslore8537]

What if it's the cabe dwelling beings that woke up and raided the town? They had learned of it and as it grew they watched and waited. Then they struck and feasted on the town. They destroyed it and sacrificed the people to their dark gods.

[@piggy201]

Jeez, the transition sounds are harsh

[@lilibetp]

Sidhe is pronounced shee, like banshee.

[@KevinPendragon]

Yes that is true but it is Sithi in Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn

[@nmoore2586]

HODOR!

[@KevinPendragon]

Hodor?

[@peanuthub5362]

Why was Daenerys able to bring three dragons over the way if dragons are scared of what lies beyond?

[@KevinPendragon]

That only happens on the show. It doesn't happen in the books. Dany isn't even in Westeros in the books (sobs)

[@peanuthub5362]

@KevinPendragon OK cheers I've listened to the books but forgot about that 👌🏼😂

[@conniesuper9892]

I agree with your theory...and their magic went too far.

[@ZorcTheDarkOnex]

I'll do you one better. WHY happened to Hardhome?

[@KevinPendragon]

WHERE happened to Hardhome?

[@kitkat6959]

It was aliens

[@KevinPendragon]

I have a theory it could be bunnies

[@sethozera4246]

100

[@joshwells3782]

Why would the children destroy paet of the earth even maesters dont buy it

[@KevinPendragon]

They didnt destroy the earth. Hardhome is still there. They destroyed the people and the little city the people built

[@linzianna]

Faceless men are assasins not terrorists brah 😅

[@MadMatTom7769]

666

[@jarvisSpearman]

Is this a fellow black nerds voice I’m hearing ?

[@KevinPendragon]

Yes lol

[@StigmaX]

You failed to mention the Taco Bell at Hardhome. My guess is there was a new chalupa and everyone got carried away. Maybe a few got too close to a fire. Anyone who has ever had Taco Bell farts knows how deadly they can be.

[@thearmchairjournalist566]

👌 🧊🔥 📖

[@dceasedbrickfan74]

Write the fu*king book, George.

[@Dragondan1987]

When Martin does everyone a favor and dies, I hope someone finishes the series he abandoned and has Rickon leading a band of Skagos cannibals

[@thebeatleswin1]

Really hate when people just casually drop potential spoilers for shows with no warning. Like “Oh this town got attacked twice in the dance of the dragon, you kmow guys, that thing they are adapting right now? Hope you already knew that or that they don’t show it because fuck you, I wanna mention a dumb theory instead”

[@edsmith2650]

Too many ads, I won’t be subscribing or liking. Chill on the greed

[@KevinPendragon]

"Greed" lmao. I'm not responsible for the ads