Few sights in Game of Thrones are as chilling as the Night King silently raising his arms while the dead rise around him. This haunting image isn’t just a moment of spectacle—it reveals the terrifying truth behind how the Night King recruits and raises the dead to form his army. Unlike the living who must be convinced or conscripted, the Night King builds his forces with eerie efficiency, turning the fallen into loyal soldiers with a single gesture. But how does this dark magic work, and what are its origins? In this article, we dive deep into the mechanics, mythology, and impact of his undead army.
The Night King’s Origins and Power
The Night King was created by the Children of the Forest as a weapon during their war against the First Men. Through a process involving the insertion of a dragonglass dagger into a man’s heart, he was transformed into the first White Walker. This transformation granted him immortality, enhanced physical abilities, and a connection to dark magic. The Night King’s powers differ from typical necromancy or magic in Westeros in that he has the ability to raise the dead and turn them into wights, mindless undead servants under his control. This gives him a significant advantage in battle, as he can continually replenish his army with fallen enemies.
The Role of Death in the Night King’s Army
Necromancy in the context of the Night King’s power in Game of Thrones involves the manipulation and reanimation of the dead. The Night King possesses the ability to raise deceased humans, animals, and even ancient beings such as the First Man to serve in his army of wights. This power allows him to control the dead and use them as weapons against the living. The process of turning individuals into wights involves the Night King using his magical abilities to resurrect their corpses, essentially bringing them back to a semblance of life. Wights typically have a pale, almost blueish complexion and possess glowing blue eyes. They are relentless and obedient to the Night King’s commands, making them formidable adversaries.
The Process of Raising the Dead
The Night King, the leader of the White Walkers, has the power to raise the dead and turn them into wights, which are mindless soldiers bound to his will. He does not need physical contact to raise the dead, as he can raise fallen soldiers from a distance using his magical abilities. In the show, we have seen the Night King raise fallen soldiers during the Battle of Hardhome and the Battle of Winterfell, demonstrating the extent of his power. The creation of wights involves the Night King raising the dead and turning them into his army of undead soldiers. Once raised, these creatures become part of his army and are completely under his control, serving as his foot soldiers in his quest to conquer Westeros.
The Significance of the Night King’s Army
The Night King’s military strategy revolves around using his army of wights to serve his overall goal of bringing an end to humanity and the living world. The wights, as unrelenting soldiers, play into his military tactics by overwhelming their enemies with sheer numbers and their relentless nature. This allows the Night King to strike fear into the hearts of his opponents and create chaos on the battlefield. Facing an army of undead soldiers has a significant psychological impact on those who encounter them. The wights represent an existential threat to humanity and the living world, as they are not bound by fear, pain, or the need for rest.
The Dark Magic Behind the Night King’s Power
The Children of the Forest played a significant role in the creation of the Night King through their use of dark magic. They created the first White Walker as a weapon against the First Men during the war for the Dawn. By plunging a dragonglass dagger into his heart, they transformed a human into the Night King and imbued him with powerful abilities, including the ability to raise the dead. The icy and cold nature of the Night King’s magic is closely tied to his ability to raise the dead. The connection between the cold and death magic is evident in the way the Night King’s presence brings freezing temperatures and the ability to reanimate corpses as wights.
Conclusion
The Night King recruits and raises the dead to form his army through a dark and powerful magic known as necromancy. This process involves reanimating corpses and turning them into mindless soldiers under his control. The Night King’s ability to raise and control the dead is a terrifying display of his power, and it poses a significant threat to the living in Westeros. In the larger Game of Thrones narrative, the Night King’s army represents a force that is nearly impossible to stop. Their relentless advance and sheer numbers make them a formidable enemy, and the dark magic at work behind their creation only adds to their sinister nature.
