Chapter 57: How to Kill a Magical Creature
"I do not know, but I can offer a guess." Melisandre pursed her lips and winked at Egger. "After all, sitting here is the first White Walker slayer Westeros has seen in a thousand years, is he not?"
As the discussion concluded, the atmosphere had shifted imperceptibly from explosive hostility to something approaching friendly. This old bitch, who had lived for god-knows-how-many years... her ability to steer a conversation was formidable. Egger, unsure of how to respond, simply kept a stiff face. "Cut the chatter and start your guessing."
"Based on the visions I saw and your description of the death process, a White Walker's body likely operates entirely on magic; it is nearly devoid of physical substance," the witch said. "All living things can be killed by physical matter or magic, but there are two ways to achieve something akin to ignoring physical attacks..."
"Immunity to physical damage."
"A new term of yours? It's quite fitting. Animals in nature choose to make their bodies stronger and harder to reach this goal—turtles, for instance, or dragons... they rely on tough shells, scales, or skin to resist external... mmm, physical damage. But gods naturally have other means. The Great Other took the opposite extreme: making the bodies of his servants entirely magical, giving White Walkers a near-total immunity to physical damage. Unless they are utterly flattened and pulverized by overwhelming brute force, they are practically immortal."
"Why do they fear dragonglass?"
"It is not the dragonglass they fear, but the fire-attribute magic contained within it," Melisandre said with a tone of certainty. "This magic is the polar opposite of the attribute within the Great Other's servants; they clash violently, instantly disrupting the ice magic that holds their bodies together, causing them to collapse and disintegrate."
"Is the Lord of Light not the God of Flame? You claim to be His servant—surely you excel in fire magic?"
"In truth, fire magic is all I know," Melisandre admitted. "But unfortunately, if you expect me to head north to the Wall to help you fight White Walkers, I cannot. Not only because I have a more important mission, but... the reality is, I couldn't even handle a single White Walker."
"Are you saying the fire magic you can use doesn't even contain as much magic as a single obsidian dagger?"
"Have you forgotten what I said? The Great Other is the Lord of Light's ancient foe. If his servants could be taken down by any trivial bit of fire magic, this war would have ended a thousand years ago." The witch shook her head. "We just said that a White Walker's body is nearly devoid of physical substance, but 'nearly' is not 'entirely.' If they were merely a ball of magic, any small flame spell could disperse them... that tiny bit of physical matter exists precisely to prevent that."
The woman reached out, her fingers slowly tracing the thin black fabric of Egger's tunic. "If I were willing to pay the price, I could instantly ignite every scrap of cloth on your body. You would be severely burned, and without treatment, you might even die... But if I used this trick against a White Walker, what do you think would happen?"
Egger politely dodged her touch. "It wouldn't catch fire at all?"
"Correct. It wouldn't burn in the slightest." Melisandre withdrew her hand with a smile. "A White Walker's body is shaped entirely by magic, but the outermost layer is a thin shell of ice armor. Ordinary weapons can easily break this ice armor but cannot harm their essence, whereas fire magic threatens them but cannot breach their physical form. Its physical existence ensures that even if it were buried alive in dragonglass or stepped into a sea of fire, it would remain unharmed. Only by damaging the form and injecting fire magic—harming them first to break the stability of their construction and then flooding it with fire-attribute magic—can you destroy them. That is how you killed that White Walker with the obsidian dagger. The hardness and sharpness of the obsidian itself breached the protective surface of its body, and the fire magic within the dragonglass disrupted the stable state of the ice magic inside it, killing it instantly." She paused, adding, "Of course, a sufficiently powerful, destructive fire spell could kill a White Walker directly, but the person capable of casting fire magic of that caliber has yet to be born."
"Then... what about the legends that Valyrian steel can also kill them?"
"Valyrian steel is a misnomer used by the people of Westeros. To be precise, it should be called Valyrian metal. If you ever have the chance to test it with a lodestone, you will see—it contains no iron at all, so naturally, it cannot be called steel. The Valyrians used several rare and precious metals combined with magic to forge this extremely light and resilient substance. I have handled this metal; it is clear that incredibly powerful fire magic was used in the forging process, and even after hundreds of years, magic remnants still linger within it."
"A mixture of metals? You mean Valyrian steel is actually an alloy? Should it be called a Valyrian alloy?"
"An... alloy?" Melisandre frowned in confusion. Why did this Watchman enjoy inventing new words so much? "What you call it is of no consequence; have it your way."
"Understood. To kill a White Walker, the most convenient way is to breach their body and use a substance containing fire-attribute magic to destroy their structural integrity." Egger nodded, then felt a sudden surge of lingering fear. "But if I encounter a White Walker wearing a suit of armor, how are we supposed to kill them then?"
"Generally speaking, armor severely hinders the wearer's movement and spellcasting. Magic is not a very penetrative energy; a caster's clothing should be as simple and light as possible—which is why I never wear undergarments or heavy cloaks. If you forced me into a suit of full plate, the power of my spells would be halved at the very least." A smile that didn't seem feigned touched the corners of Melisandre's mouth. "But there's no guarantee they won't take your advice. My suggestion for that is—go back, use your head, and figure out what to do if that actually happens."
Never wears undergarments? Egger subconsciously lowered his gaze for a split second before quickly snapping it back. Realizing he had spent far too much time here, he stood up. "That was basically a non-answer."
"True enough. My apologies. But when it comes to killing White Walkers, are you not the expert?" Melisandre also rose. "Are you leaving then? Good... I have already cleared the mark that 'demigod' left in your body. The lingering aura of the Lord of Light will ensure He never dares to monitor or harm you again. You are free to do as you wish."
"You cleared one mark just to leave another!" It took Egger a few seconds to process this, and the anger he had managed to suppress flared up again. "What's the point? Neither of you are 'good guys'!"
"Wherever fire exists, the influence of the Lord of Light can reach. With His mark, neither the demigod hostile to the Great Other nor the other servants of the Lord of Light will harm you. As for your concern about me watching you constantly—I can only say I have neither the power nor the inclination." The witch was unfazed by Egger's roar. "This cost me my own magic; consider it an apology for my earlier offense. Believe it or not, as you wish. My only regret is that I lack the power to remove the trace the Great Other left on you. For that, I can only suggest: try your best never to go north of the Wall again."
Egger wanted to demand that Melisandre remove whatever she had done to him, but on second thought, even if she lied and said it was gone, how would he, someone with no sense for magic, ever know? He decided to ask something more practical instead. "But didn't you say the aura the Great Other left on me was very faint? Why could you clear the stronger one but not the weak one?"
"An adult wolf can kill a newborn dragon in one bite, but even so, a dragon is a more powerful lifeform than a wolf. The Great Other is evil, but He is a True God. He has only just awakened from a long slumber and will grow stronger as winter approaches. Meanwhile, that poor demigod facing Him in the North is already past his prime, fading toward death." Melisandre sighed. "The night is dark and full of terrors... Take care of yourself, brother of the Night's Watch. Also, please tell the guard at the door before you leave: we have reached an understanding. This misunderstanding should end; we both have more important things to do, do we not?"
At this point, Egger had no energy left for anger. He stopped at the door, nodded, and pushed it open.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!