The nature of magic to humans, the Others, the Children of the Forest, and the beings that came before the Valyrians: aka It's All Elves (Patreon)

When we look deeply into George R.R. Martin's world of ice and fire, we find an intricate pattern that helps explain many of its mysteries - the existence of three ancient, magical races that mirror classic elven peoples, each tied to fundamental aspects of nature and magic. This isn't simply drawing parallels to fantasy tropes, but rather discovering a hidden framework that explains everything from the Targaryens' inhuman beauty to the Crannogmen's mysterious powers.

Let's start with the Others, known to most readers as the White Walkers. In the books, these beings are described not as the frozen corpses we see in the show, but as ethereally beautiful and terrifying creatures of ice. However, George R.R. Martin had a different idea and origin in mind for them.

According to him, the Others "are strange, beautiful… think, oh… the Sidhe (fairy or elf), something like that… a different sort of life… inhuman, elegant, dangerous."

They move with inhuman grace, possess incredible strength, and command magic so powerful they can raise the dead without even being present. Their magic affects weather patterns across vast distances, and they forge weapons of magical ice that shatter steel. If we look at their descriptions and powers, they mirror what fantasy traditionally calls Dark Elves - beautiful, deadly, ancient beings associated with cold and darkness.

In contrast, we have the Children of the Forest. These small, mysterious beings are deeply connected to nature, possessing powers over beasts and trees, the ability to see through time (greensight), and magic powerful enough to shatter entire landmasses (as they did with the Arm of Dorne). They are long-lived, wise, and deeply tied to the natural world through the weirwood trees. They are, in essence, Martin's version of Wood Elves, though twisted through his darker, more complex lens.

But there's a third group that's easy to miss - the mysterious vanished people who, according to legends from Asshai, taught the Valyrians their dragon-binding magic. These beings, who disappeared from history, seem to represent what fantasy typically calls High Elves or Blood Elves - sophisticated, powerful beings associated with fire magic and ancient knowledge.

The fascinating part is how these three races interacted with humans, creating distinct magical bloodlines that persist to the present day of the story. The clearest example is the Crannogmen of the Neck. These small, mysterious people are heavily implied to have interbred with the Children of the Forest. They share physical characteristics with the Children - their small size, their affinity for nature - and maintain magical abilities like greensight far more commonly than other humans. They live in ways very similar to the Children, deep in swamps where few others venture.

This pattern helps us understand something more controversial - the strange nature of the Valyrians, particularly the Targaryens. Their famous beauty is consistently described as inhuman - their purple eyes, their silver-gold hair, their otherworldly appearance that seems to transcend normal human attractiveness. They possess an innate connection to dragons that no other humans can replicate, and they're resistant to heat and certain diseases in ways that aren't natural. Looking at the Crannogmen example, we can theorize that the Valyrians might represent a similar case of human and elder race interbreeding - in this case, with the mysterious fire-magic teachers who vanished from history.

This explains one of the most puzzling aspects of Valyrian culture - their obsession with blood purity. If they were indeed preserving a hybrid bloodline with magical beings, their fixation on keeping the bloodline pure makes much more sense. Just as the Crannogmen maintained their Children-given traits through isolation, the Valyrians maintained their magical heritage through careful breeding.

The First Men provide our third example of human-elder race interaction. Through their wars and eventual pact with the Children of the Forest, they gained significant magical knowledge and capabilities. Some bloodlines, particularly the Starks, maintained stronger connections to this magical heritage than others. This explains how they were able to build structures like the Wall and Winterfell, which have magical properties that can't be replicated in the present day. A notable thing is that it is rumored in A Song of Ice and Fire that the boltons are descended from the Others and that is highly likely a Stark, then Lord Commander of the Night's Watch bred with the Night Queen, before Bran the Breaker killed him over a decade into his rule of the Nights Watch.

A disturbing pattern emerges when we examine these interactions more closely. Each time humans gain power from these "elven" races, they eventually turn against their teachers. The First Men initially slaughtered the Children and burned their weirwoods before the Pact. The Valyrians seem to have turned against their mysterious teachers, perhaps explaining why these beings vanished from history. This pattern helps explain why the Others might see humanity as an existential threat - they've watched humans repeatedly learn from, then betray and destroy, magical races.

This framework also helps us understand the ebb and flow of magic in Martin's world. In ancient times, when these elder races were at their height, magic itself was stronger. This enhanced power didn't just affect the inherently magical races - it elevated humans as well. The First Men of the Age of Heroes weren't just clever warriors; they were enhanced by the ambient magic of their era. This explains how they could fight against beings as powerful as the Others and the Children of the Forest. They had access to capabilities far beyond what modern humans in the series can achieve.

As these elder races declined - the Others retreating north, the Children nearly going extinct, the mysterious fire-teachers vanishing - magic itself seemed to recede. The Doom of Valyria marked perhaps the last great expression of the old magics, and afterward, even the Targaryens' power seemed to diminish. Their dragons grew smaller, their magical affinity weaker, until even these traces of their inhuman heritage began to fade.

But in the current timeline of A Song of Ice and Fire, we're seeing a resurgence. The Others are returning, bringing their ice magic. Dragons have been reborn, awakening fire magic. The old powers are stirring. Even the green magic of the Children seems to be strengthening, as we see through Bran's developing abilities. This isn't just a random collection of events - it's the return of these ancient magical bloodlines and powers to their former strength.

This tells us something profound about Martin's world: these elven races aren't just background color or fantasy tropes - they're fundamental to how magic itself functions in this universe. Their presence or absence affects the very fabric of supernatural power, influencing everything from the size of dragons to the effectiveness of spells to the power of magical bloodlines.

Understanding this helps explain why certain blood ties are so important in the series, why some families maintain magical abilities while others don't, and why the return of magic seems to be awakening ancient powers in those with the right heritage. It's not just about having the blood of the First Men or being a Targaryen - it's about carrying the traces of these ancient, inhuman bloodlines that were forged when magic was at its height.