4 words from the incredible world of Game of Thrones

Words every Game of Thrones fan should know, now that our watch has ended.

As a show, Game of Thrones garnered a mass following quite similar to that of Harry Potter or Avengers. While its last season has been uniquely disappointing thanks to its lackluster writing, we at BrainGain still believe that a show with such a rich well of characters and lands deserve to be remembered and celebrated. Here are four popular and important words in the Game of Thrones universe to commemorate this massive show coming to an end.

Khaleesi

Khaleesi is royal title given to the wife of the Khal, a Dothraki warlord.The Dothrakis are a nomadic horse-riding tribe similar to the early Mongols. The most prominent Khaleesi in the Game of Thrones universe is Daenerys Targareyn, who is wed to Khal Drogo by her brother in exchange for the Khal’s army. Even after Khal Drogo dies, Daenerys is referred to as Khaleesi by her Dothraki soldiers, and at times her trusted advisors Missandei and Greyworm. However, it is Jorah Mormont, her best friend and the man who loved her as hard as she couldn’t, who unwaveringly calls her Khaleesi till his last breath. Traditionally, widowed Khaleesis retire to the temple of Vaees Dothraki. However, Danerys, with her dragons and unbreakable ambition burns the temple, essentially destroying the tradition.  Shockingly, the correct pronunciation of the word is khal-lay-see, and not khal-ee-see.

Valar Morghulis

This high Valyrian saying means “all men must die.” The phrase is first uttered by Jaqen H’ghar, when he gives Arya a gold coin before splitting ways from her in Westeros. “If the day comes when you must find me again, just give that coin to any man from Braavos and say these words to him: valar morghulis.” he instructs her, knowing that she will travel to Braavos to train under the many-faced god.

After hearing the phrase, Arya Stark repeats it every night, before reciting her list of people to kill. The traditional response to this saying is valar dohaeris, meaning “all men must serve”, presumably the god of death. As Arya trains from the many-faced god, Arya learns to defer the god of death, saying ‘not today’. Interestingly, even Daenerys refuses to submit to the idea of valar morghulis, claiming the while all men must die, she is not one, and therefore will not. 

Warg

A warg is person who is able to inhabit the mind of animals– including humans– see the world through their eyes and control their actions. The ability to warg begins in dreams. It is only over time, with a lot of practice, that a person is able to warg with control and at will. Audiences are first introduced to a warg when Jon Snow executes a wildling called Orell, who wargs into an eagle, his consciousness living on in him.

The most well-known and important warg in the Game of Thrones narrative universe is Brandon Stark. Bran is also the Three-Eyed Raven, with the ability to travel in time. Therefore, he can perhaps warg with a little more precision once he has control over his powers. For example, during the Battle of Winterfell, Bran wargs into a bird to get a better view of the progress of the Night King’s army.

Hodor

For six seasons, the audience of Game of Thrones assumed that Hodor was the name of a ‘simple-minded’ stablehand who later became Brandon Stark’s aide. However, in the heartbreaking scene where said stablehand sacrifices his life to keep Bran from turning into an undead white walker, Game of Thrones fans learn that the truth is something else altogether.

As the Three-Eyed Raven (in training), Bran travels to Hodor’s past and discovers that Hodor’s original name was Wylis. When the wights and white walkers attack the cave Hodor, Bran and their companion Meera are staying in, Bran accidentally wargs into young Wylis, linking present-day Hodor with young stableboy Wylis. As Meera shouts for Hodor to hold the door to protect them from the white walkers, Wylis suffers a seizure from the mental trauma of watching his own death. He starts repeating Meera’s cry to ‘hold the door’, which eventually slurs into Hodor, his name and purpose from that moment.

Love Game of Thrones? Have other important words you want to share? Comment below!

by Anandamayee Singh

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