Palacký University in Olomouc Philosophical

Planetos

The inhabitants of Westeros and Essos are by the time of A Song of Ice and Fire mostly the Men as well. Different cultures of Men live all around his world, on all of the continents, in the deserts as well as in the never ending winter beyond the Wall. They also speak many languages – next to the Common Tongue of Westeros, for example High Valyrian, Ghiscari or Dothraki. Unlike Tolkien’s languages, these were not created by Martin as whole languages at all, as he confessed he only created few words for each of them that were necessary for the story, saying:

“Tolkien was a philologist, and an Oxford don, and could spend decades laboriously inventing Elvish in all its detail. I, alas, am only a hardworking SF and fantasy novel writer, and I don’t have his gift for languages. That is to say, I have not actually created a Valyrian language. The best I could do was try to sketch in each of the chief tongues of my imaginary world on broad strokes, and give them each their characteristic sounds and spellings.” ⁷³
It is also important to mention, that many of the humans do not believe in the actual existence of the other species. Until they see them with their own eyes the next species remain legends for them.
First of them, the original inhabitants of Westeros – the Children of Forest. They are as small as real children, but dark and beautiful creatures, who live in the caves of deep forests. They cannot work metal, but they are amazing with obsidian (dragonglass) when creating tools and weapons. They wear clothes made of leaves and bark and also can make a bow of weirwood. They believe in the gods of nature, the Old Gods and have their own speech. <sup>74



73</sup> “Yet More Questions,” The Citadel – So Spake Martin, accessed August 15, 2016, http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/1250/.
⁷⁴ Martin, García and Antonsson, The World of Ice and Fire, 5-6.
A little is known about the Giants, since they are almost extinct and live only far to the North. From the reports of the Men of the Watch they are huge and powerful creatures, but simple. They wear no clothes, but have thick fur all over their bodies. They also do not make homes and cannot make tools or weapons. “They remained creatures of the Dawn Age even as the ages passed them by, men grew even more numerous, and the forests were tamed and dwindled.” ⁷⁵
The last known different species – The Others – are the ones that are considered the most unreal among the Westerosi people. The tales describe them as creatures, who come from the frozen Land of Always Winter to bring the cold and darkness and spread it through the world. They are supposed to ride giant ice spiders and dead horses resurrected by them to serve them, just as they resurrect dead men to fight for them. <sup>76




75</sup> Martin, García and Antonsson, The World of Ice and Fire, 5.
⁷⁶ Martin, García and Antonsson, The World of Ice and Fire, 11-12.

5.