Your Complete Guide to the Mythical Creatures of Game of Thrones

By now, we know that some of the most interesting characters on Game of Thrones aren't humans at all. There's all sorts of magical stuff going down on the show, and there are plenty of creatures you need to know about in order to fully understand what's happening. While we're in this hideous hiatus, educate yourself on all the non-human entities on the show, and why each is important.

01
Giants
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Giants

Giants are a race of gigantic humanoid beings that live in the cold regions north of the Wall. Easily topping 20 feet, giants are enormously strong and speak an old language known as "Mag Nuk." Said to have less intelligence than humans, giants were reputedly forced by Bran the Builder to build the Wall against the White Walkers.

Notable giants include our beloved Wun Wun, who died cruelly at the hands of that bastard, Ramsay Bolton, in the courtyard of Winterfell.

02
Children of the Forest
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Children of the Forest

The original inhabitants of Westeros, the Children of the Forest are a race of elf-like beings that dwell deep in forests and caves. They are very attuned to nature and worship the Old Gods of the Forest. Though they have no formal buildings or shrines, they usually center their worship around Weirwood trees, the distinctive red-leafed trees like the one in the Godswood at Winterfell.

Generally considered extinct, as they have not been seen in 6,000 years, the Children of the Forest are masters of hiding. A recent group lived with the Three-Eyed Raven beyond the Wall, until they were destroyed by wights. It is not currently known whether they are now truly extinct.

In the "The Door" episode, it is shown that the Children of the Forest created White Walkers.

03
White Walkers
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White Walkers

The White Walkers, or Others, are a tall race of humanoid creatures with glowing blue eyes, enormous strength, and the ability to freeze anything into solid ice. They are led by the Night King, a once-human man who was turned into the first White Walker by the Children of the Forest.

White Walkers reside in the frozen lands north of the Wall and have not been seen in the Seven Kingdoms for over 8,000 years. As a result, they are considered extinct, although a few people, like Jon Snow and Samwell Tarly, know otherwise. It is thought that they will invade the Seven Kingdoms when the Long Night falls.

White Walkers are only vulnerable to fire, dragonglass, and Valyrian Steel, and can create armies of undead wights to do their bidding.

04
Wights
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Wights

Wights are reanimated corpses used by White Walkers to do their bidding. They can be either human or animal — White Walkers are particularly fond of horse wights — and do not decay once they have been created. Usually recently deceased, wights have very little in the way of intelligence, and only do as the White Walkers command. Much like their creators, wights have milky blue eyes.

Since they are already dead, wights are impossible to injure, and very difficult to kill. They can only be destroyed by fire, which is why the Free Folk burn corpses so they do not resurrect as wights. It is unknown whether wights are actually sentient.

05
Direwolves
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Direwolves

Although not a mythical creature, strictly speaking, direwolves hold a place of high regard among Northern Westerosi, and are the sigil of House Stark. Said to be highly intelligent, adult direwolves are the size of small horses, and can be very loyal if raised by humans, as is the case of the direwolves adopted by the Stark children.

While they are majestic creatures, direwolves are also dangerous and can easily rip a man to shreds. Direwolves are an endangered species in Westeros, and are not often seen south of the Wall.

06
Wargs
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Wargs

Wargs are people with the ability to see through the eyes of animals and to control their actions. On very rare occasions, it is possible to warg into other humans, although this act often has tragic consequences, as in the heart-rending case of Bran Stark and Hodor.

If a warg's human body dies when he is occupying an animal, as was the case of Orell, the wildling killed by Jon Snow in the season three episode "The Rains of Castamere," his consciousness can live on in that animal, although he will soon forget what it was to be human.

Notable wargs include the aforementioned Orell, who warged into an eagle after his death at the hands of Jon Snow; Bran Stark, who is capable of warging into both humans and animals; and the Three-Eyed Raven, who preferred the use of his eponymous three-eyed bird.

07
Greenseers
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Greenseers

Greenseers are magical beings with the ability to look into the present and future through prophetic dreams known as "green dreams." They are usually found among the Children of the Forest and humans, and are known to have very powerful magic. They seem to have an affinity for Weirwood trees.

Notable Greenseers include the Three-Eyed Raven, Bran Stark, and our dearly departed Jojen Reed.

08
The Three-Eyed Raven
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The Three-Eyed Raven

The Three-Eyed Raven is a powerful greenseer that lives in a Weirwood tree north of the Wall. Gifted with the power to see the present, future, and past, the Three-Eyed Raven monitors and oftentimes influences events happening in Westeros. He is served by the Children of the Forest, and uses a three-eyed raven to spy on the subjects of his interest — hence his name.

The former Three-Eyed Raven was an old man named Brynden. After Brynden was executed by the Night King, however, it is strongly suggested that this role has passed to Bran Stark.

09
Witches
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Witches

Witches are a group of women in Westeros with the ability to command different forms of magic. Some, like Melisandre, are able to raise the dead, create shadow demons, and prolong their lives through the aid of magic talismans. Others, like Maggy the woods witch, can foretell the future. Even more, like Mirri Maz Duur, the witch who felled Khal Drogo, can wield blood magic and use it to exact vengeance on their enemies.

Witch is not necessarily a proper classification, as it encompasses a wide range of women with different magical abilities.

10
Red Priests
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Red Priests

The Red Priests are clergymen and women in the service of the fire god R'hllor, the Lord of Light. Through their faith, they are able to access many supernatural powers, including fire magic, resurrection, foresight, and glamours — the ability to change appearances.

The Red Priests believe that the Lord of Light will send them a warrior known as the Prince That Was Promised to combat the darkness accompanying the imminent Winter. While there are several theories about who exactly that Prince will be, here's our favorite.

11
Dragons
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Dragons

The largest and most dangerous of the mythical creatures, dragons are gigantic winged reptiles with the ability to breathe fire. Once thought to be completely extinct, three members of the species — Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion — were hatched when Queen Daenerys Targaryen took their eggs with her into the funeral pyre of her beloved husband Khal Drogo.

Since then, the dragons have grown into the ultimate weapons of war, conquering entire cities and destroying fleets of ships with ease. Since they can only be ridden by great heroes, we wonder who will ride them in the coming battles . . .