The White Walkers are the leaders of the "wights," an army of ice zombies who appear to be out to end the human race. They are ruled by the Night King.
The White Walkers were a long-extinct race of ice creatures with human features that originated in Westeros' far north. They returned after staying hidden for a very long time, and many sworn brothers of the Night's Watch and numerous wildlings saw them. However, the majority of people who reside south of the Wall consider them to be mere mythical beings.
The White Walkers, who predated the Age of Heroes, were ancient beings who had existed for countless years. They were made from strong, untested magic to guard the Children of the Forest from the First Men, who had been at war with them ever since they had come from Essos. The White Walkers, however, eventually eluded the Children's control and turned into Westeros' most dreaded monsters, posing a threat to all life.
Eight thousand years before Robert's Rebellion, the world endured its longest winter, which lasted a generation. The White Walkers invade Westeros from the Far North during the "Long Night," killing everyone in their path and reanimating the corpses as mindless soldiers for their undead army. Westeros' populace soon realized that unless they banded together, the White Walkers would exterminate them all.
The living won a massive victory and drove the White Walkers far north to the Lands of Always Winter in a conflict known as the Battle for the Dawn. The Wall was set up to prevent their return with the aid of giants and the Children of the Forest. Should the enigmatic threat resurface, the Night's Watch was established to defend the Wall and the realms of men.
Who is the Night King?
The first of the White Walkers was the Night King. He can turn human infants into White Walkers, as we saw with Craster's sons, who were sacrificed to the Night King in return for the safety of Craster and his brood. He also resurrected Viserion, Daenerys' dragon, and rode him down the Wall.
The Night King was once a mortal man who fought the Children of the Forest for a very long time as one of the First Men. The unfortunate man was taken prisoner as the Children were losing the battle, and a small band of greenseers tied him to a heart tree to be used against the First Men. The captive's eyes turned blue, and Leaf, one of the group, plunged a cursed dragonglass dagger into his chest, transforming him into the first of the White Walkers.
Leaf tells Bran Stark that her people developed the White Walkers thousands of years ago when the First Men invaded Westeros and began destroying their sacred trees and killing the Children of the Forest.
The Long Night, however, soon began as the White Walkers rebelled against the people who had created them. Even though the Long Night was ended by the Battle for the Dawn and the First Men and Children triumphed, the Night King survived and fled with the rest of his race to the Lands of Always Winter, where they remained hidden and vanished into legend, only to return someday.
Do White Walkers follow a culture in Game of Thrones?
They did follow a culture; they communicated through Skroth, the language of the White Walkers, which is said to sound like ice breaking, according to author George R.R. Martin. Some of the White Walkers from the show have ice horns that resemble crowns, which suggests they belong to a ruling class. Black armor has always been seen on this particular White Walker form. They are led by the Night King.
In the Game of Thrones television series, Melisandre asserted that the White Walkers worshiped a deity known as the "Great Other," who is essentially the Lord of Light's adversary. Uncertainties surround the Great Other's relationship to the numerous other religious gods that have been discussed so far in this series.
Bran reveals in Season 8 that the Night King desires his destruction because he holds the entirety of human history. Since Bran has been marked, it is obvious that the White Walkers want to eradicate all evidence of the living and their world. The Night King has apparently attempted to pursue other Three-Eyed Ravens for the same reason.
How powerful are The White Walkers?
The White Walkers have a very strong affinity for coldness and ice magic. They can easily throw people tens of feet in the air because they are physically much stronger than humans. The White Walkers have no physical limitations because they are inhuman. As a result, they don't need to eat or drink, and they appear to be resistant to illness, exhaustion, extreme cold, and extreme heat. The White Walkers live forever. They are able to disperse extreme cold wherever they go. The spears and swords used by the White Walkers are made of extraordinary ice crystals.
However, one of their most lethal skills is the ability to raise the dead as their slaves, or "wights." They can make any dead creature come back to life as a wight, including horses, giants, and even dragons. However, if a corpse has been burned, it cannot be revived or be forced into servitude. Once a wight is born, it develops icy blue eyes that resemble those of White Walkers. Wights give their masters unquestioning service.
The White Walkers are revealed to be fire-resistant during the Massacre at Hardhome because of the intense cold that they radiate, which extinguishes any flames nearby. Additionally, they have the ability to freeze ordinary weapons they come into contact with, breaking and splintering them. The White Walkers are impervious to even the most intense dragonfire. Whether they are also resistant to wildfire is unknown.
FAQs
Q. What is a White Walker in the series Game of Thrones?
A. The White Walkers are the ruling class of the ice-zombie-horde risen from the dead known as “Wights.”
Q. Who is the ruler of the White Walkers?
A. White Walkers are ruled by the Night King, who was the first White Walker to have ever walked earth.
Q. Where did the White Walkers come from?
A. White Walkers were created by the Children of the Forest to safeguard themselves from the First Men, though they turned against their creators.
Q. Do White Walkers have any weaknesses?
A. Weapons made of valyrian steel or dragonglass are the only known weaknesses of White Walkers.
