Difference between revisions of "Beyond the Wall"

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{{Quote|North of the [[Wall]], things are different. That's where the [[children of the forest|children]] went, and the [[giants]], and the other old races.{{ref|AGOT|36}}}} - [[Osha]]
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{{Quote|North of the [[Wall]], things are different. That's where the [[children of the forest|children]] went, and the [[giants]], and the other old races.{{ref|AGOT|66}}}} - [[Osha]]
  
 
==References and Notes==
 
==References and Notes==

Revision as of 14:45, 13 May 2014

Lands Beyond the Wall and its major locations (click to zoom)

Beyond the Wall is a generic term referring to the northernmost area of Westeros, that cover the lands north of the Wall. It is populated by the free folk or wildlings.

Geography

The lands beyond the Wall are primarily wild, untamed and uncharted. The climate is harsh and bitter, especially in the far north in the Lands of Always Winter. The region immediately north of the Wall includes the haunted forest, a vast taiga-forest which covers most of the area, extending from the Wall to the furthest lands of Thenn.

While no true roads exist, numerous game trails, paths, and old streambeds, called "ranger roads", are used by the Night's Watch and free folk alike.[1]

The forest extends from the eastern coast to a large mountain chain in the west known as the Frostfangs. The Frostfangs extend an unknown distance to the north and are quite inhospitable. Notable features include the Giant's Stair and the Skirling Pass. The Milkwater, the great river beyond the Wall, has its origins in the Frostfangs. There are rumors that the northern Frostfangs contain hidden valleys, heated by volcanic activity, which are actually the most hospitable regions north of the Wall, and heavily settled by the free folk.

Southwest of the Frostfangs there is a narrow strip of land between the mountains and the Bay of Ice known as the Frozen Shore. Along the east coast is the Antler River, which flows into the Shivering Sea. The easternmost region beyond the Wall is the forested peninsula Storrold's Point, which contains the ruins of the only free folk city, Hardhome. Beyond all of these areas, in the furthest north, is the Land of Always Winter. The haunted forest ends and gives way to these truly polar regions, which are unexplored. The Others are rumored to originate in the depths of the Land of Always Winter.

People

The people inhabiting the land refer to themselves as the "free folk", known by the people of the Seven Kingdoms as "wildlings". The lands beyond the Wall are bitterly cold year round, but many free folk reside there. They are spread out in small villages, and congregate in tribes throughout the northern lands beyond the Wall, from the furthest reaches of the Haunted Forest to the hidden valleys of the Frostfangs and the land of the Thenn.[2]

Some free folk are little more than savage and primitive raiders, but other groups live in small, settled communities and villages. Due to the impracticality of agriculture in the far north, many of them are hunters.

Quotes

Beyond the Wall the monsters live, the giants and the ghouls, the stalking shadows and the dead that walk ... but they cannot pass so long as the Wall stands strong and the men of the Night's Watch are true.[3]

- Old Nan


North of the Wall, things are different. That's where the children went, and the giants, and the other old races.[4]

- Osha

References and Notes