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White Walkers
White Walkers, also referred to as the Others, are a mythical race said to have existed during the times of the First Men and Children of the Forest.?Many accounts of their existence are featured in ancient legend.
History
According to the stories, they are said to have first appeared 8,000 years ago in the very north of Westeros during a winter that lasted a generation – the Long Night. In truth however, they were created by the Children of the Forest as a weapon to be used in their ongoing war with the First Men. Somehow, the Children lost control of their creations though, and during the Long Night, the White Walkers marched south, using an army of reanimated corpses to kill anything in their path.
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They were finally stopped during the War for the Dawn, a conflict fought between the White Walkers and an alliance between the Children and the First Men. At the height of this war, a legendary figure known only as the "Last Hero" led an attack that drove the White Walkers back into the far north.
In the aftermath, this hero founded the Night's Watch, ?a military order dedicated to keeping the White Walkers from ever invading again.?
Over millenia that followed, the White Walkers faded into legend, and are now considered by most to be nothing more than the monsters of childrens' stories.
Modern Events
More recently, the White Walkers have again been seen beyond the Wall. The Wildling tribes were the first to encounter them, and began abandoning their settlements to escape south.?Osha, a Wildling taken prisoner by the?Starks, was one such person fleeing the coming invasion.
Will, a member of the?Night’s Watch, described to?Eddard Stark?how he and his fellow brothers were ambushed by a group of White Walkers after discovering a slaughtered village of?Wildlings.?
Another ranging was sent to investigate this matter, led by First Ranger?Benjen Stark. The bodies of two of the members of this group were later found, along with Benjen's abandoned horse.
Following this, and an attack at Castle Black by a reanimated corpse,?Lord Commander Mormont?led several hundred Night's Watch brothers on a Great Ranging beyond the Wall to uncover the truth. This resulted in a disastrous attack by the White Walkers' army at the Fist of the First Men, and nearly the entire expedition is wiped out in the ambush. The White Walkers are encountered again at Hardhome, decimating the Wildling population there as they continue their march south.
Abilities and Army
The White Walkers are impervious to normal weapons, and appear to be magically linked to ice and storms. Their touch can freeze and shatter objects, including steel, and they have exhibited superhuman levels of strength and agility. They wield weapons crafted from ice itself.
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Their army is composed of?wights, corpses of animals and people reanimated by the White Walkers' magic. These have so far included humans, giants, children of the forest, horses, a bear, and most recently, one of Daenerys Targaryen's deceased dragons.?
The only known weaknesses of the White Walkers is dragonglass or Valyrian steel. Being struck by a blade made of either of these materials causes a White Walker to freeze and shatter. Valyrian steel can also resist the freezing effects of a White Walkers' touch and weapons.
Appearance and Culture
White Walkers are humanoid in appearance with glowing blue eyes, and often have thin, white hair. Likewise, their skin is also white, with a corpse-like appearance.?
White Walker practices are largely unknown. They speak in an unknown language that is said to sound like cracking of ice. They are led by a figure known as the Night King, the original White Walker. He, and perhaps others of his kind, have the power to change human children into White Walkers, allowing them to recruit more to their ranks.?