Is it me, or is Planetos looking more and more like Europe and middle east? I just wanted to suggest one to you before you just dismissed as a herring or a ruse. If Westeros was like UK size and they went and she encountered a lengthy continent like Africa, maybe it would feel like it never ended. Now I want to know what is west of Westeros.
Thought on your moon meteor impact theory: If a large meteor struck the Antarctic ice sheet it would result in a massive global rain storm and a huge increase in the global sea level ~20 to 60 feet. (in the 1st months of the impact winter)
I would love to see a Castlevania-esque animated series exploring the lore of Sothoryos, and places like the Summer Isles, and the Shadow Lands. Go deep into the more horror aspects of ASoIaF
Something I noticed with the map and the locations of the more Neanderthal peoples, it seems to follow a curved line from Ibb, down the bone mountains, to that island and then sothoryos. You mentioned that the island (I don’t remember which one) might have been connected to sothoryos at one point as the ancient continuation of the bone mountains. Going off the recurring themes of ancient planetos, I could see Ibb being the same situation on the northern end. Also, the disaster hunters series has got me looking at every area for signs of ancient meteor impacts 😅 On the dragon lady flying over sothoryos, she didn’t fly down for 3 years, she returned “three years later”, which likely means she flew south for a year and a half, and then took the same amount of time flying back. A bit more believable and survivable. After all, Aerea Targaryen did survive in Valeriya for a year (yes it did eventually kill her, but the worn infection likely happened just before her return) so it’s not too hard to imagine an adult dragon rider surviving for longer in a similarly hostile environment. To me at least.
Square teeth implies that they were vegetarian so I wouldn't put too much stock in them being cannibals or even omnivores. We learn this about wun wun in the Jon chapters. They could be like hippos though where they just kill you and don't eat you. Just a thought. Great video Dave! See you Sunday!
My thoughts exactly... broad flat teeth (like molars) are ideally used for grinding, which implies a heavily plant-based diet... meat-eating is best done with small, sharp teeth, like canines and incisors... and for completeness' sake, the jagged angled surface of bicuspids is best suited for cracking bones to get at marrow, which suggest a scavenging lifestyle (human beings' incorporation of all of these teeth forms indicates that we are biologically omnivores that will mix strategies of foraging, active hunting, and scavenging)
Not exactly, square teeth only imply an ability to chew greenery, but it does not indicate an inability to eat meat, humans have almost no canines but eat meat very well. Big canines are indicative of a creature killing with its teeth, but are not needed to chew meat, in fact every creature who eats meat but does not kill with its teeth have almost no canines since flat teeth are superior at chewing ..well everything, even meat.
@@Anacronian yeah, to be clear, I was speaking in some VERY broad generalities, and in nature there are remarkably few obligate carnivores or obligate herbivores, most animals (even ones we normally call "herbivores" like cows and deer) will absolutely scavenge meat and even eat small animals if an opportunity presents itself and the bigger animal wants more calories... but generally speaking, a single type of tooth in the whole mouth implies a more restrictive/homogenous diet for the animal, compared to a wider range of tooth shapes in broadly omnivorous animals like apes and bears
In regards to the Valerians and Summer Islanders keeping and civilization on Sothoryos a secret, when real life explorers first reached parts of the world they previously hadn't known of, they often kept the location and navigation routes as state secrets. Given the value of having a monopoly on trade and opportunities to exploit or conquer the area without interference or competition from their rivals. For instance when the Portuguese first reached Japan, they kept the knowledge of it's location a secret, and profited from a trade monopoly with Japan for many years. This dynamic is currently being shown in the very good FX series Shogun which Dave has commented on. Given GRRMs knowledge of history and tendency to reference real world history in his books I'd say it's a very plausible theory.
My uncle has been GRRM's gardener for over 10 years and they have become quite friendly. George actually asked my uncle's opinion on Sothoryos in regards to creating an entire book series on it. It is pretty much Africa and the story was going to be a "creation story" about how humans came about. There was going to be references to how an extra-terrestrial lifeform came down and showed the tribal people how to use fire and tools etc. My uncle told him it was a little too similar to "Chariots of the Gods". GRRM decided he was probably right, and actually regretted he included so much about it in The World of Ice and Fire as it had already been published. He is kind of embarrassed about the whole thing. That's why when people bring it up at conventions he changes the subject.
My uncle got his horticulture degree from USC in 1978 and has been George's head groundskeeper for almost 15 years. He doesn''t even care about A song of Ice and Fire, I have to beg him to talk about GRRM.@@Josh-cf7xf
An entire jungle hell continent so hostile no human civilization can survive sounds exactly the type of place the children of the jungle would thrive in. Theyd never be spotted even by dragons as they hide in dark places. Just imagine the amount of dinosaur warging and special magical plants there
Good point! I know there's reports that the inland brindled men are a lot more dangerous than those on the coast; do you think they'd have interacted much or kept to themselves?
There is King Ghidorah and Godzilla sleeping dormant in Sothyoros... valerian people and summer island has no other choice to must keep it top secret, otherwise if they awake... Dragon in westeros are nothing more just like a shrimp crisp 😋😋😋
George should have a fan contest to write the history of places he will never visit in the books, not to become Canon but as a dedication to fans. Like the souls art project that was done a while back
Wow. Another amazing video; your knowledge goes so much deeper than any other channel I've ever seen. Then there's the high quality slick production value, the images (never low res and always super interesting), the hilarious jokes and quips (yours is the only channel I don't skip sponsorship segments), the concise manner of presentation with even-minded scepticism, the cutting edge theories... the way you constantly quote the book, reading quotes and stanzas with their own graphic card... best ASOIAF channel ever. So glad I found you and thank you to you and all Patreons who helped make all this wonderful content.
I think that Naath was originally setled by the ancestors of the summer islanders on their way to the islands after they were driven out of Sothoryos. The Naathi and Summer Islanders have similar physical features like their skin color and tones. Both also practise similar cultural traditions. For example both are very pacifist as the Naathi are complete pacafist and the summer islanders practise heavily ritualised warfare with minimal loss of life. They also have similar gods as the Lord of Harmony seems to be quite similar to the god of love in the summer islands. The reason why the Naathi are so much more isolationist is because they have the butterfly plague which prevents them from being conquered unlike the Summer islanders who had to use military force to defeat pirates in wars to survive and actually pay attention to the outside word unlike the Naathi. The geography also makes, sence Naath is at the middle of the way from Sothoryos to the islands so it makes sence why they would have setled there. Perhaps the reason why the Naathi were able to survive on the island long enough to develope immunity is because they are from a continent know for it's insane disesses
This is awesome! Just wanna say how glad I am you don’t rely on any AI in your videos. I’m seeing a lot of bad ai being used to talk about asoiaf when there’s so many great artists out there :( but you show off so much awesome art!! Thanks for that
I completely agree. David is such a relief for that. No mispronunciation, bad grammer, misspelling. All those things make me question the reasoning in their presentations. David is so reasonable & sensible to follow. Thanks, David!
Dont know if anyone mentioned; but the snake is probably a variation on Titanoboa; the largest known snake to have existed. The crocs are also accurate, likely Sarcosuchus. The apes sound like Gigantopithicus and possibly one of the early hominid species. Honestly that continent sounds like a case of "if the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs and the ice ages had not happened."
David I just found your channel and I don't know how I slept on it for so long. Your videos a ridiculously high quality and you have a serious talent for story telling. Incredible work
My son was thrilled when I got him World Anvil for him for his birthday last month. Glad they are supporting you with my spending❤ Also, so kind of Rhaegar to make the code DAVID. Much easier to spell correctly 😂
@@I_Babeufye, my parents always made fun of me playing games as a child and now they wonder why I don’t tell them stuff from my life or share my passions when I’m a full grown adult
Ser Eustace Hightower's Ship Lady Meredith was damaged in the Sunset Sea, he ahead for the Summer Isles but he was more South than he realized he landed on Coast of Sothoryos. He was stuck there more than 1 year with his crew getting sick or disappearing. Lucky a ship from the Summer Isles were sailing by (I wonder why and where they going) they able flag them down to give them ride to the Summer Isles.
Giant apes that can kill an elephant with one punch. I'm convinced the Green Hell is GRRM's version of Kong Skull Island just as Gogossos is the Island of Dr. Moreau
I'm new here, came from the mention in the Alt Shift X Jo Snow video. I love what you do, I've already seen a handful of your stuff over the last few days and it's really awesome! I just want to suggest something, it would be helpful if you put the book/chapter from which you are reading the excerpts right below the text you're reading. Keept up the good work!
The obvious influence on Sothoryos is King Kong, with the giant apes and distorted fauna of Skull Island. I'm also getting vibes from Conan Doyle's Lost World and the 1961 film version of Jules Verne's Mysterious Island. Ulthos - there's a Lovecraft story, the Cats of Ulthar. Wonder if that's a connection?
In the Lovecraft mythos there is also a god named Ulthar (Uldar, Ultharathotep), who is said to watch over the great old ones. Some great old ones include: Cthulhu, Hastur and Yig
David, you are absolutely the first person I have heard propose this Summer Islander Theory. And I think it should be the standard until we get more information. Excellent video and well done!
The giant white vampire bats sound very much like Desmodus Draculae or rather a fantasy version of this extinct giant "vampire bat" of our world. And the 50ft long snake sounds like Titanoboa, the largest snake to ever live on earth, which was able to reach just about 50ft and was similar to Anacondas.
Speaking of Velociraptor Fantasy Fiction.... if you want some of that, then read the Malazan novels! They have a sentient ancient dinosaur race in the novels, who have sword arms!! Theyre super cool and Stephen Erickson did a phenomenal job writing them, both in their zombified/mumified forms and regular forms in the novels 😊
Well, eusocial dinosaur race. They were like some weird hybrid of predatory dinosaurs and termites with incomprehensible internal politics. Dudes supposedly invented entropy in that cosmology, though that might be BS just like every other bit of ancient lore.
There’s also Gary Garrison’s Eden series that describes the Earth that didn’t have dinosaurs wiped out and they evolved into sentient race while humans independently evolved somewhere in the north and both races eventually clashed
I think Jaenara took a leaf out of Blackadder's book and actually just sailed to France for a few months before coming back and claiming she has a wild adventure
Nice one Dave.👍 Just a thought: perhaps the Summer Islanders aren't from Sothoryos as such, but are from the postulated undiscovered civilisation(s) to the south. If the latter was on another land mass (big island/small continent) rather than connected to Sothoryos, that might shield them from worst of the latter's destructive wildlife and allow civilisation to evolve there with a bit less competetive pressure, much as it has done on the Summer Isles. This might offer another explanation for Jaenara Belaerys' suspiciously long three year "solo" adventure. Perhaps she discovered the southern civilisation and was either held prisoner there or "went native" for a while (fell in love with either the culture or an individual, even) and then returned to Valeria determined to protect the southerners from Valerian expansionism. After all, if a dragon-riding civilisation knew where to fly and had an incentive to go there, it'd soon end up as just another slaves-and-resources mine for their empire. That habit of concealing the existence of the southern civilisation might then have become ingrained in the Summer Islanders, even though it's no longer strictly necessary (and that's only been true for the last 400 years anyway), and even though the southern civilisation might not even still be there.
There's no such thing as going too wild with theories about Sothoryos, that place was made for wild and untamable things, heh heh. I'd even go one step further on your Summer Islander theory and say it's possible they came from even farther away than Sothoryos, using the continent as a jumping off point to get to the Summer Islands. They definitely have the maritime skill to come from some unknown land far to the south and either west or east (or even further south). And unless Sothoryos didn't use to be so hostile to civilization it would make sense if the people who became the Summer Islanders developed somewhere a little more hospitable originally. See, possible to go way further into pure speculation, that's what makes Sothoryos so fun, heh heh
I was led to this channel after listening to David discuss the Lovecraftian influences on ASoIaF on Quinn’s Ideas and started digging in . This video is another fine example of why this channel is becoming my favorite for ASoIaF lore and speculation.
Hey I’m early for once! The green weirwood video got me curious about shade of the evening trees and how they might be related to weirwoods, because I always saw a connection there and thought that shade trees might’ve been the uncorrupted form of weirwood or vice versa. They’re basically a color inverted weirwood (minus the carved faces) and the drink made from their sap has a similar effect to weirwood paste. Though, shade of the evening drink seems to give visions of the future (based on Dany and Aeron’s visions) with the sole exception of Dany setting Rhaegar, while weirwood shows the past (Bran’s visions). Now that we know the weirwoods used to be green, all my ideas about shade of the evening trees are shaken up. I’d love a video on the topic or even just to hear your thoughts on it. I had a more detailed comment on the green weirwood video, but I was late to the party on that video 😅
Yessssss my absolute favorite topics in perhaps all of the books, love any talk about the great empire of the dawn and all there emperors and sothoryos aswell just so strange 👍🏻👍🏻
I'm so glad your channel is growing, I have been watching for years across various accounts. Your content has always been creative and thought provoking.
Every once in a while, I’m like come on David what’s the issue with blah or blah… then you explain your thought and it clicks in my mind, its the dragon riders story this episode haha, love it keep doing your thing!
This is the absolute best channel for all things OBS (oily black stone) related, as well as commentary on the strange world outside of Westeros that GRRM snuck into ASOIAF.
I've been on the hunt for more videos about the World outside of Westeros. TH-cam recommended you and I'd say I'm thoroughly satisfied! Your content is right up my alley.
I always saw the brindled men as being more like australopithicines than any kind of human species, which gave me the notion that the in-universe genus homo evolved in sothoryos and migrated to essos, from whence they diverged into the various species of the world. This seems to be ibbenese, hairy men, humans, and perhaps some of the peoples described in the far east and north. The children of the forest genus is clearly unrelated to any ape lineage (pupil shape, number and type of fingers), and would likely have been native to essos when the first protohumans crossed over from sothoryos. I hadn't noticed that almost a land bridge between sothoryos and essos before, and was immediately reminded of the hammer of the waters. It's just too much like the step stones to ignore, even if both this and the step stones are perfectly normal continent formations. Thus, new theory, children of the forest like beings have been at war with or enslaving humanity since before we'd truly become human yet. Possibly, the more the species evolved, the less susceptible to being skin changed we became, and thus more and more of a threat, until we'd driven them out of essos, followed them into westeros, and were only stopped by the whitewalkers.
Dennis Nedri (aka Newman from Seinfeld) was not the owner of Jurassic Park, he was a disgruntled employee who took a huge bride to steal years work of research and dinosaur embryos. Great video but I expect a full retraction and recut of the video explaining the whole plot of jurassic park. You have been killing it, man!
John Hammond was eaten by the Compys in the book. I will accept your apology here in the comments section though, no need to send me your original opening night premiere Jurassic Park T-shirt that you cherish.
@@DavidLightbringerI've read the books and forgot that, you deserve the shirt. It is dirty with sweat from a 10 year old, but fine, you win! I thought the compys attacking were the intro was from the second book with the girl's family investigating them. EDIT: Credit where credit is due, o7 Dave Lightbanger.
GRRM could go 45 minutes on any topic but he doesn't want to. "Here. Have a morsel or three of unverified maester rumors. Be grateful for it, and that's all you're ever getting." David's job is to shed more light (literally in his username), whereas George is content with providing a 10 watt light bulb and leaving the rest to your imagination.
Wow, what an interesting and well-produced video! The one time that I'm happy with TH-cam's suggested videos, as it helped me find your channel. I appreciate the high-quality video(s) delving into the obscure topics within the Game of Thrones universe. The entertainment value of your video was an easy "10 out of 10, would watch again..." and this is urging me to watch more of your content. Thanks and well done.
I want to tell you, I know how much of an hassle should be to put every single credit of the artwork you use, but as an artist myself I got to say thank you for the effort to give the artist the respect that they deserved, kudos to you bro!
I'd read and heard a theory about how ghosts are "imprints" as it were of the energy of people that are left behind on the environment when a person dies. This theory seems especially understandable when one takes into consideration that the typically most haunted places in our real world are places like prisoner camps and mental asylums, where people suffered cruelly. The theory states that the energy of those suffering people imprints on the world around them as they suffer, and that's why those areas are more haunted; more energy imparted over a lifetime of suffering equals more energy to slowly "bleed out" of the environment as manifestations and activity. Imagining the sensation of going to a ruined Gogossos after five whole millennia of such suffering literally made me shiver and stare at a wall for a minute. That's spine chilling.
Planetos could be so enormous that a continent 3 years, and then some, across and an ocean so large west of westeros no one has crossed it and returned exits, and the egg stealing Lady and dragon rider both just got as far as they could before turning about and going back to Essos. As a world anvil builder, I love this idea.
I know we’re not actually supposed to get the answers to every mystery GRRM has sprinkled throughout his works, but I’ve forgotten JUST how many there are and how rich the delightfully creepy, weird, and just not-quite-right things there are. My ‘tism and ADHD want desperately to hyperfixate, but I can’t or i’ll drive myself nuts 😂😂 Again I’ll say THANK YOU for making these deep dives!
Why do I look forward to the sponsorship ad? Lmao reading Rhaegar was the best idea you’ve had. You can see why GRRM keeps us hooked. The secret was Rhaegar the whole time. 😂
The Summer Islander theory seems sound to me, they have to have come from somewhere and Sothoryos is the closest. The singular map of the world could be explained by a dark age, maybe losing knowledge or map making skills in the process and having to rediscover them. Similar to maybe the minoan culture and some others on greek islands after ther bronze age collapse. It could also be a sign for advances in map making. Like they really got better at it and started with their own homeland and then added as they not only travelled but measured the world.
can't believe I'm early🎉 I've only just started watching your channel it's fantastic!! I have soo many questions about sothoryos my minds been racing about it, making my own little stories & the explorers who never came back😅 your great empire of the dawn series is 🔥🔥 too!!💯 I love mythology so your videos HIT. keep up the amazing work!
Tourism ad: Sothoryos Horror Zoo, like Jurassic Park, but much worse. Experienced adventurers only... because some of the beasties may have human faces and the Brown Bellies like a good chase before breakfast. 😎 Great video, Dave! Exciting and entertaining as always. 👏🤩 J'adore, j'adore!
George said at one point that the masters are biased and even they don't have all the information, basically making them like today's historians and archeologists. Stuff like this is very Graham Hancock to me, and I'm here for it.
Amazing video, one comment. 30:35 "The Ibeneese seem like a thought experiment ... what if some _smart_ Neanderthals survived into modern times and built a civilization?" Neanderthals were just as intelligent and developed as modern humans, they had similar (very high-tech for the time) stone tools, clothes, they buried their dead with flower wreaths, they probably had music and made cave art. So it's entirely possible to imagine a Neanderthal civilization, built by, not "the smart ones" among them, but just Neanderthals generally. They were humans, just like us, and we actually still carry a large portion of their genes.
50 ft long snakes shouldn't be much different from Titanoboas because that's how big Titanoboas used to be. Sothoryos is essentially a Prehistoric Hellhole
the world of asoiaf is like a medieval sci-fi, the way species are described in sothoryos is reminiscent of hg wells the time machine more than the lord of the rings or something more fantasy.
What a great video! Always appreciate these in depth location studies; the world book is great and all, but certainly not as entertaining or enjoyable as a excellent LML vid. Thanks for your hard work, lots of love ♥
I absolutely love the use of artwork to illustrate this video, but it is incredibly funny as someone who has studied Tudor history to see Framlingham castle used to depict a creepy, magical fortress made of oily black stone
Every time i look at the 100k sub count I'm confused and deeply troubled as this is by far the best content about ASOIAF in the world. If GRRM hired you to help him, I'm pretttttyyyy sure we'd have a finished series.
I feel like GRRM couldn't help but be encouraged and motivated if he got to talking to David. His enthusiasm for GRRM's world and the layers he weaves together even makes me want to start writing again.
There’s also that part of Fire and Blood where the Hightower guys trying to chase down Alyssa Farman came back to oldtown and said that the summer islanders “know that hell [Sothoryos] better than they let on I think”
honestly my favourite theory for jaenara belaerys' flight over sothoryos is that, given it's a giant jungle with little-to-no-notable landmarks, she just got lost and spent three years mostly flying in circles. once she figured it out she was so embarassed she just said. jungle goes on forever. don't go check. trust me bro.
I just imagine one day guys like this get hired to write a spinoff on sothoryos. I love the idea that they are keeping stuff secret like Europeans tried to do with Asianand African countries etc. Imagine an invasion of westeros by a sothoryos civilization! We need that spin off asap!
I think in the case of Moat Cailan, you're looking too hard into the rain, making the stone looking oily. It's more likely connected to the Seastone chair, Hightower, Lorath stones.
WorldAnvil, the ultimate world-builder! Get 51% off with code DAVID: worldanvil.com/?c=David
Is it me, or is Planetos looking more and more like Europe and middle east? I just wanted to suggest one to you before you just dismissed as a herring or a ruse. If Westeros was like UK size and they went and she encountered a lengthy continent like Africa, maybe it would feel like it never ended. Now I want to know what is west of Westeros.
Thought on your moon meteor impact theory: If a large meteor struck the Antarctic ice sheet it would result in a massive global rain storm and a huge increase in the global sea level ~20 to 60 feet. (in the 1st months of the impact winter)
Jon snow hair
Dave, do you have any theories on non-human hybrids? Like Children/Deep Ones?
I love how Sothoryos is George’s giant Skull Island-like sandbox to populate with all his Weird Tales influences.
I compare it to lustria from warhammer fantasy, you know, the home of the lizard men and their dinosaur horde😂
I would love to see a Castlevania-esque animated series exploring the lore of Sothoryos, and places like the Summer Isles, and the Shadow Lands. Go deep into the more horror aspects of ASoIaF
@@chheinrich8486 i agree. catachan from warhammer 40K also!
@@antonironstag5085 catachan and lustria are the same if you think about it🤣🤣
@@chheinrich8486>gayhammer
Buying bread from a man with brindles, he was 6’4 and full of muscles. I asked to you speaka my language? He just smiled and gave me a wyvern sandwich
😂🤣😂🤣
I need the rest of this version of Down Under now, heh heh
Outstanding.
You sir/ma'am, have great talent!
What sort of stuffed animal is attached to your leg, good sir?
Something I noticed with the map and the locations of the more Neanderthal peoples, it seems to follow a curved line from Ibb, down the bone mountains, to that island and then sothoryos. You mentioned that the island (I don’t remember which one) might have been connected to sothoryos at one point as the ancient continuation of the bone mountains. Going off the recurring themes of ancient planetos, I could see Ibb being the same situation on the northern end.
Also, the disaster hunters series has got me looking at every area for signs of ancient meteor impacts 😅
On the dragon lady flying over sothoryos, she didn’t fly down for 3 years, she returned “three years later”, which likely means she flew south for a year and a half, and then took the same amount of time flying back. A bit more believable and survivable. After all, Aerea Targaryen did survive in Valeriya for a year (yes it did eventually kill her, but the worn infection likely happened just before her return) so it’s not too hard to imagine an adult dragon rider surviving for longer in a similarly hostile environment. To me at least.
You are wrong, I have proof, *presents proof*
@@menschgebliebeneropper6714 Huh? Did you mean to reply to me? Because IDK what you're referring to.
@@AskMia411 lol I dunno I just typed random stuff cuz I was bored. Don’t mind me 😂😂😂👍
@@menschgebliebeneropper6714 Lol okay, carry on 😄
Square teeth implies that they were vegetarian so I wouldn't put too much stock in them being cannibals or even omnivores. We learn this about wun wun in the Jon chapters. They could be like hippos though where they just kill you and don't eat you. Just a thought. Great video Dave! See you Sunday!
Hippos do eat meat sometimes
Obligate Herbivores are a myth. Most grazing animals will eat small rodents or bird eggs if they can get hold of them.
My thoughts exactly... broad flat teeth (like molars) are ideally used for grinding, which implies a heavily plant-based diet... meat-eating is best done with small, sharp teeth, like canines and incisors... and for completeness' sake, the jagged angled surface of bicuspids is best suited for cracking bones to get at marrow, which suggest a scavenging lifestyle (human beings' incorporation of all of these teeth forms indicates that we are biologically omnivores that will mix strategies of foraging, active hunting, and scavenging)
Not exactly, square teeth only imply an ability to chew greenery, but it does not indicate an inability to eat meat, humans have almost no canines but eat meat very well.
Big canines are indicative of a creature killing with its teeth, but are not needed to chew meat, in fact every creature who eats meat but does not kill with its teeth have almost no canines since flat teeth are superior at chewing ..well everything, even meat.
@@Anacronian yeah, to be clear, I was speaking in some VERY broad generalities, and in nature there are remarkably few obligate carnivores or obligate herbivores, most animals (even ones we normally call "herbivores" like cows and deer) will absolutely scavenge meat and even eat small animals if an opportunity presents itself and the bigger animal wants more calories... but generally speaking, a single type of tooth in the whole mouth implies a more restrictive/homogenous diet for the animal, compared to a wider range of tooth shapes in broadly omnivorous animals like apes and bears
In regards to the Valerians and Summer Islanders keeping and civilization on Sothoryos a secret, when real life explorers first reached parts of the world they previously hadn't known of, they often kept the location and navigation routes as state secrets. Given the value of having a monopoly on trade and opportunities to exploit or conquer the area without interference or competition from their rivals. For instance when the Portuguese first reached Japan, they kept the knowledge of it's location a secret, and profited from a trade monopoly with Japan for many years. This dynamic is currently being shown in the very good FX series Shogun which Dave has commented on. Given GRRMs knowledge of history and tendency to reference real world history in his books I'd say it's a very plausible theory.
yeah it makes sense that he'd simply imply the existence of other lands without actually giving proof, that adds realism
My uncle has been GRRM's gardener for over 10 years and they have become quite friendly. George actually asked my uncle's opinion on Sothoryos in regards to creating an entire book series on it. It is pretty much Africa and the story was going to be a "creation story" about how humans came about. There was going to be references to how an extra-terrestrial lifeform came down and showed the tribal people how to use fire and tools etc. My uncle told him it was a little too similar to "Chariots of the Gods". GRRM decided he was probably right, and actually regretted he included so much about it in The World of Ice and Fire as it had already been published. He is kind of embarrassed about the whole thing. That's why when people bring it up at conventions he changes the subject.
@@ModMax69 Cool! My uncle works at Nintendo.
@@ModMax69my uncle is Biden’s diaper changer.
My uncle got his horticulture degree from USC in 1978 and has been George's head groundskeeper for almost 15 years. He doesn''t even care about A song of Ice and Fire, I have to beg him to talk about GRRM.@@Josh-cf7xf
Damn, a full length produced LML video about Sothoryos at 7am?! Sign me right the fuck up!!! 💜💜💜
Freaking cool, right!?!
An entire jungle hell continent so hostile no human civilization can survive sounds exactly the type of place the children of the jungle would thrive in. Theyd never be spotted even by dragons as they hide in dark places. Just imagine the amount of dinosaur warging and special magical plants there
interesting notion! i hadn't considered that
Good point! I know there's reports that the inland brindled men are a lot more dangerous than those on the coast; do you think they'd have interacted much or kept to themselves?
I want to warg an ankylosaur now.
There is King Ghidorah and Godzilla sleeping dormant in Sothyoros... valerian people and summer island has no other choice to must keep it top secret, otherwise if they awake... Dragon in westeros are nothing more just like a shrimp crisp 😋😋😋
George should have a fan contest to write the history of places he will never visit in the books, not to become Canon but as a dedication to fans. Like the souls art project that was done a while back
I would just make a copy and paste version of lustria from warhammer fantasy, with maya inspired lizardmen that ride all sorts of dinosaurs😂😂😂
@@chheinrich8486bok
In an age of AI art, i really appreciate you using real art as examples and crediting the artists on screen.
now and always!
Can AI really make art though? Or does it just generate images? 🤔
@@Dyundu Regurgitates is a better word
@@DyunduAI does illustration. Art implies thought and intent
@@jamesh7469 No, AI “art” does not illustrate, giving such a title is doing it a courteous defense.
Wow. Another amazing video; your knowledge goes so much deeper than any other channel I've ever seen. Then there's the high quality slick production value, the images (never low res and always super interesting), the hilarious jokes and quips (yours is the only channel I don't skip sponsorship segments), the concise manner of presentation with even-minded scepticism, the cutting edge theories... the way you constantly quote the book, reading quotes and stanzas with their own graphic card... best ASOIAF channel ever. So glad I found you and thank you to you and all Patreons who helped make all this wonderful content.
wow this is such a nice comment! I really appreciate the detailed list of what you like about the channel. cheers
Facts
this exactly sums up why i’ve been obsessed with david’s channel for the last two years!
I think that Naath was originally setled by the ancestors of the summer islanders on their way to the islands after they were driven out of Sothoryos. The Naathi and Summer Islanders have similar physical features like their skin color and tones. Both also practise similar cultural traditions. For example both are very pacifist as the Naathi are complete pacafist and the summer islanders practise heavily ritualised warfare with minimal loss of life. They also have similar gods as the Lord of Harmony seems to be quite similar to the god of love in the summer islands. The reason why the Naathi are so much more isolationist is because they have the butterfly plague which prevents them from being conquered unlike the Summer islanders who had to use military force to defeat pirates in wars to survive and actually pay attention to the outside word unlike the Naathi. The geography also makes, sence Naath is at the middle of the way from Sothoryos to the islands so it makes sence why they would have setled there. Perhaps the reason why the Naathi were able to survive on the island long enough to develope immunity is because they are from a continent know for it's insane disesses
❤
Great theory...David overlooked Naath in his narrative. Perhaps those who could stand the butterfly bites stayed and the rest of the group moved on.
Maybe those who were immune stayed on Naath. While those who weren't, moved on to the Summer Isles.
Thank you for this wonderful video, King! Love your look today 👑
This is awesome! Just wanna say how glad I am you don’t rely on any AI in your videos. I’m seeing a lot of bad ai being used to talk about asoiaf when there’s so many great artists out there :( but you show off so much awesome art!! Thanks for that
yep, AI free zone here, now and always
I completely agree. David is such a relief for that. No mispronunciation, bad grammer, misspelling. All those things make me question the reasoning in their presentations. David is so reasonable & sensible to follow. Thanks, David!
Dont know if anyone mentioned; but the snake is probably a variation on Titanoboa; the largest known snake to have existed.
The crocs are also accurate, likely Sarcosuchus.
The apes sound like Gigantopithicus and possibly one of the early hominid species. Honestly that continent sounds like a case of "if the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs and the ice ages had not happened."
This is exactly what I was thinking during the video.
sothoryos is literally skull island
Sounds like the landmass that Spear and Fang originated from in Primal.
@@slipstreamxr3763 It’s basically that.
What if the Apes are an evolutionary offshoot of Giants?
Love sothoryos, probably my favorite bit of George’s worldbuilding
David I just found your channel and I don't know how I slept on it for so long. Your videos a ridiculously high quality and you have a serious talent for story telling. Incredible work
oh why thank you, and be welcome
Garth be praised. David be thanked.
Absolutely loved the video. The edges of the World of Ice and Fire are always the most interesting facets.
My son was thrilled when I got him World Anvil for him for his birthday last month. Glad they are supporting you with my spending❤
Also, so kind of Rhaegar to make the code DAVID. Much easier to spell correctly 😂
oh wow right on, cool to hear! Thank you!
That'd be such a thoughtful and encouraging gift to get from your parent; what a great idea!
@@I_Babeufye, my parents always made fun of me playing games as a child and now they wonder why I don’t tell them stuff from my life or share my passions when I’m a full grown adult
Ser Eustace Hightower's Ship Lady Meredith was damaged in the Sunset Sea, he ahead for the Summer Isles but he was more South than he realized he landed on Coast of Sothoryos. He was stuck there more than 1 year with his crew getting sick or disappearing. Lucky a ship from the Summer Isles were sailing by (I wonder why and where they going) they able flag them down to give them ride to the Summer Isles.
true I could have mentioned that one! good knowledge! and it just shows that the Summer Islanders maintain contact / visit Sothoryos sometimes
Good morning! Great stuff. Thank you.
Ah, starting the day off with a fresh LML video after watching old livestreams... truly the start of a good day!
Exactly 47 minutes left at work….the seven have blessed me.
Giant apes that can kill an elephant with one punch. I'm convinced the Green Hell is GRRM's version of Kong Skull Island just as Gogossos is the Island of Dr. Moreau
💯💯👍
I'm new here, came from the mention in the Alt Shift X Jo Snow video. I love what you do, I've already seen a handful of your stuff over the last few days and it's really awesome!
I just want to suggest something, it would be helpful if you put the book/chapter from which you are reading the excerpts right below the text you're reading.
Keept up the good work!
Thanks for making an otherwise boring workday more bearable!!!
The obvious influence on Sothoryos is King Kong, with the giant apes and distorted fauna of Skull Island. I'm also getting vibes from Conan Doyle's Lost World and the 1961 film version of Jules Verne's Mysterious Island.
Ulthos - there's a Lovecraft story, the Cats of Ulthar. Wonder if that's a connection?
In the Lovecraft mythos there is also a god named Ulthar (Uldar, Ultharathotep), who is said to watch over the great old ones.
Some great old ones include: Cthulhu, Hastur and Yig
David, you are absolutely the first person I have heard propose this Summer Islander Theory. And I think it should be the standard until we get more information. Excellent video and well done!
The giant white vampire bats sound very much like Desmodus Draculae or rather a fantasy version of this extinct giant "vampire bat" of our world.
And the 50ft long snake sounds like Titanoboa, the largest snake to ever live on earth, which was able to reach just about 50ft and was similar to Anacondas.
Oh man I've been waiting for this one! Can't wait to have my mind blown by some Eldritch dino morphs
Speaking of Velociraptor Fantasy Fiction.... if you want some of that, then read the Malazan novels! They have a sentient ancient dinosaur race in the novels, who have sword arms!! Theyre super cool and Stephen Erickson did a phenomenal job writing them, both in their zombified/mumified forms and regular forms in the novels 😊
You have intrigued me
Well, eusocial dinosaur race. They were like some weird hybrid of predatory dinosaurs and termites with incomprehensible internal politics. Dudes supposedly invented entropy in that cosmology, though that might be BS just like every other bit of ancient lore.
There’s also Gary Garrison’s Eden series that describes the Earth that didn’t have dinosaurs wiped out and they evolved into sentient race while humans independently evolved somewhere in the north and both races eventually clashed
LOVE the Disaster Hunter Series!! Thanks for bringing us great ideas, David :)
Yes! The Disaster Hunters series is fantastic! 🎉
I think Jaenara took a leaf out of Blackadder's book and actually just sailed to France for a few months before coming back and claiming she has a wild adventure
Nice one Dave.👍 Just a thought: perhaps the Summer Islanders aren't from Sothoryos as such, but are from the postulated undiscovered civilisation(s) to the south. If the latter was on another land mass (big island/small continent) rather than connected to Sothoryos, that might shield them from worst of the latter's destructive wildlife and allow civilisation to evolve there with a bit less competetive pressure, much as it has done on the Summer Isles.
This might offer another explanation for Jaenara Belaerys' suspiciously long three year "solo" adventure. Perhaps she discovered the southern civilisation and was either held prisoner there or "went native" for a while (fell in love with either the culture or an individual, even) and then returned to Valeria determined to protect the southerners from Valerian expansionism. After all, if a dragon-riding civilisation knew where to fly and had an incentive to go there, it'd soon end up as just another slaves-and-resources mine for their empire. That habit of concealing the existence of the southern civilisation might then have become ingrained in the Summer Islanders, even though it's no longer strictly necessary (and that's only been true for the last 400 years anyway), and even though the southern civilisation might not even still be there.
Always loved the Sothoryos lore. Thank you
There's no such thing as going too wild with theories about Sothoryos, that place was made for wild and untamable things, heh heh. I'd even go one step further on your Summer Islander theory and say it's possible they came from even farther away than Sothoryos, using the continent as a jumping off point to get to the Summer Islands. They definitely have the maritime skill to come from some unknown land far to the south and either west or east (or even further south). And unless Sothoryos didn't use to be so hostile to civilization it would make sense if the people who became the Summer Islanders developed somewhere a little more hospitable originally.
See, possible to go way further into pure speculation, that's what makes Sothoryos so fun, heh heh
Of all the places in the world of ice and fire, Sothoryos is the place I want to see the most in a spin off show
yoo i needed this, been sick at home and this is perfect to take my mind somewhere else
Same
I was led to this channel after listening to David discuss the Lovecraftian influences on ASoIaF on Quinn’s Ideas and started digging in . This video is another fine example of why this channel is becoming my favorite for ASoIaF lore and speculation.
Hey I’m early for once! The green weirwood video got me curious about shade of the evening trees and how they might be related to weirwoods, because I always saw a connection there and thought that shade trees might’ve been the uncorrupted form of weirwood or vice versa. They’re basically a color inverted weirwood (minus the carved faces) and the drink made from their sap has a similar effect to weirwood paste. Though, shade of the evening drink seems to give visions of the future (based on Dany and Aeron’s visions) with the sole exception of Dany setting Rhaegar, while weirwood shows the past (Bran’s visions).
Now that we know the weirwoods used to be green, all my ideas about shade of the evening trees are shaken up. I’d love a video on the topic or even just to hear your thoughts on it. I had a more detailed comment on the green weirwood video, but I was late to the party on that video 😅
Yessssss my absolute favorite topics in perhaps all of the books, love any talk about the great empire of the dawn and all there emperors and sothoryos aswell just so strange 👍🏻👍🏻
"Lookin at you Robert Jordan" I laughed out loud
What a beautiful thing to wake up to 🎉
I'm so glad your channel is growing, I have been watching for years across various accounts. Your content has always been creative and thought provoking.
Every once in a while, I’m like come on David what’s the issue with blah or blah… then you explain your thought and it clicks in my mind, its the dragon riders story this episode haha, love it keep doing your thing!
This is the absolute best channel for all things OBS (oily black stone) related, as well as commentary on the strange world outside of Westeros that GRRM snuck into ASOIAF.
Maybe sothoryos circles the planet and meets with the lands of always winter🤔
My thoughts too. I made a comment saying the same before scrolling down and finding that you had already posted this theory.
You know when an LML video is less than 5 hours, there's limited lore on the topic
I've been on the hunt for more videos about the World outside of Westeros. TH-cam recommended you and I'd say I'm thoroughly satisfied! Your content is right up my alley.
It’s so funny to me how creative and brilliant GRRM is with his writing and then when it came time to name the continents of his world he just
Sounds like a potential hiding spot! The reputation alone keeps the world far away
I always saw the brindled men as being more like australopithicines than any kind of human species, which gave me the notion that the in-universe genus homo evolved in sothoryos and migrated to essos, from whence they diverged into the various species of the world. This seems to be ibbenese, hairy men, humans, and perhaps some of the peoples described in the far east and north.
The children of the forest genus is clearly unrelated to any ape lineage (pupil shape, number and type of fingers), and would likely have been native to essos when the first protohumans crossed over from sothoryos. I hadn't noticed that almost a land bridge between sothoryos and essos before, and was immediately reminded of the hammer of the waters. It's just too much like the step stones to ignore, even if both this and the step stones are perfectly normal continent formations.
Thus, new theory, children of the forest like beings have been at war with or enslaving humanity since before we'd truly become human yet. Possibly, the more the species evolved, the less susceptible to being skin changed we became, and thus more and more of a threat, until we'd driven them out of essos, followed them into westeros, and were only stopped by the whitewalkers.
Dennis Nedri (aka Newman from Seinfeld) was not the owner of Jurassic Park, he was a disgruntled employee who took a huge bride to steal years work of research and dinosaur embryos. Great video but I expect a full retraction and recut of the video explaining the whole plot of jurassic park. You have been killing it, man!
John Hammond was eaten by the Compys in the book. I will accept your apology here in the comments section though, no need to send me your original opening night premiere Jurassic Park T-shirt that you cherish.
@@DavidLightbringerI've read the books and forgot that, you deserve the shirt. It is dirty with sweat from a 10 year old, but fine, you win! I thought the compys attacking were the intro was from the second book with the girl's family investigating them. EDIT: Credit where credit is due, o7 Dave Lightbanger.
With the exception of maybe GRRM, I dont think theres any one else on the planet who can talk about Sothoryos for 45 minutes
this is what I do hahaha
GRRM could go 45 minutes on any topic but he doesn't want to. "Here. Have a morsel or three of unverified maester rumors. Be grateful for it, and that's all you're ever getting." David's job is to shed more light (literally in his username), whereas George is content with providing a 10 watt light bulb and leaving the rest to your imagination.
I love these kinds of videos. You did a tremendous job going in depth on Sothoryos. Keep up the great work!
I have really bad restless legs so while i try to atleast rest and try to sleep these videos keep me company. Thank you ❤
Wow, what an interesting and well-produced video! The one time that I'm happy with TH-cam's suggested videos, as it helped me find your channel. I appreciate the high-quality video(s) delving into the obscure topics within the Game of Thrones universe. The entertainment value of your video was an easy "10 out of 10, would watch again..." and this is urging me to watch more of your content. Thanks and well done.
hey thanks a lot and welcome to the channel!
This is why you MUST make sure your phone is charging at night! Now I'm having to enjoy it late. Great video!
With all the news of GRRM wanting to do shows about other aspects of his world we may just get more info about Sothoryos
I want to tell you, I know how much of an hassle should be to put every single credit of the artwork you use, but as an artist myself I got to say thank you for the effort to give the artist the respect that they deserved, kudos to you bro!
You are the very BEST of ASOIAF content
I'd read and heard a theory about how ghosts are "imprints" as it were of the energy of people that are left behind on the environment when a person dies. This theory seems especially understandable when one takes into consideration that the typically most haunted places in our real world are places like prisoner camps and mental asylums, where people suffered cruelly. The theory states that the energy of those suffering people imprints on the world around them as they suffer, and that's why those areas are more haunted; more energy imparted over a lifetime of suffering equals more energy to slowly "bleed out" of the environment as manifestations and activity. Imagining the sensation of going to a ruined Gogossos after five whole millennia of such suffering literally made me shiver and stare at a wall for a minute. That's spine chilling.
the way the black wyvens attack sounds like how balerion burned harrenhall.
Planetos could be so enormous that a continent 3 years, and then some, across and an ocean so large west of westeros no one has crossed it and returned exits, and the egg stealing Lady and dragon rider both just got as far as they could before turning about and going back to Essos. As a world anvil builder, I love this idea.
Brindled Men sound like Orcs without tusks
they do a little bit. Just btw, GRRM said his planet is about earth size, maybe a little bigger
@@DavidLightbringer that makes me sad for Planetos, but happy for several of my worlds 😆
i just had a terrible night what a cool thing to keep my mind off it i love sothoryos thank you
I know we’re not actually supposed to get the answers to every mystery GRRM has sprinkled throughout his works, but I’ve forgotten JUST how many there are and how rich the delightfully creepy, weird, and just not-quite-right things there are. My ‘tism and ADHD want desperately to hyperfixate, but I can’t or i’ll drive myself nuts 😂😂
Again I’ll say THANK YOU for making these deep dives!
Why do I look forward to the sponsorship ad? Lmao reading Rhaegar was the best idea you’ve had. You can see why GRRM keeps us hooked. The secret was Rhaegar the whole time. 😂
he's a solid pitch man that's for sure
I love your lives and watch them on the replay everytime but it was these fab produced videos that brought me here. Can't wait to watch this one!
The Summer Islander theory seems sound to me, they have to have come from somewhere and Sothoryos is the closest. The singular map of the world could be explained by a dark age, maybe losing knowledge or map making skills in the process and having to rediscover them. Similar to maybe the minoan culture and some others on greek islands after ther bronze age collapse. It could also be a sign for advances in map making. Like they really got better at it and started with their own homeland and then added as they not only travelled but measured the world.
can't believe I'm early🎉 I've only just started watching your channel it's fantastic!! I have soo many questions about sothoryos my minds been racing about it, making my own little stories & the explorers who never came back😅 your great empire of the dawn series is 🔥🔥 too!!💯 I love mythology so your videos HIT. keep up the amazing work!
I feel so blessed that we got this so early, I listened to it at work. Thanks Dave for a great start to my day.
oh man i’ve always wondered what exactly the heck happened on that continent. this was a fun watch!
More disaster hunters! My favorite series so far (and Sothoryos!?) Much love to ya man!
I came as soon as I saw a new video, hit like and commented. Hope algorythm God is Happy!
Tourism ad: Sothoryos Horror Zoo, like Jurassic Park, but much worse. Experienced adventurers only... because some of the beasties may have human faces and the Brown Bellies like a good chase before breakfast. 😎
Great video, Dave! Exciting and entertaining as always. 👏🤩 J'adore, j'adore!
Greetings from Cyprus! Thanks for another great video
Alright but all jokes aside, I'd read Rhaegar: Velociraptor Hunter
George said at one point that the masters are biased and even they don't have all the information, basically making them like today's historians and archeologists.
Stuff like this is very Graham Hancock to me, and I'm here for it.
he clearly loves playing with that bias and incomplete knowledge. he loves that shit
David my brother you save the day once again. You really are Mr. Lightbringer!
honestly left this channel because I missed THESE types of videos... SO HAPPY YOUR MAKING CONTENT AGAIN BRO
Amazing video, one comment. 30:35 "The Ibeneese seem like a thought experiment ... what if some _smart_ Neanderthals survived into modern times and built a civilization?" Neanderthals were just as intelligent and developed as modern humans, they had similar (very high-tech for the time) stone tools, clothes, they buried their dead with flower wreaths, they probably had music and made cave art. So it's entirely possible to imagine a Neanderthal civilization, built by, not "the smart ones" among them, but just Neanderthals generally. They were humans, just like us, and we actually still carry a large portion of their genes.
50 ft long snakes shouldn't be much different from Titanoboas because that's how big Titanoboas used to be. Sothoryos is essentially a Prehistoric Hellhole
Love this video as all of your videos they are very insightful and provoke a lot of thought. I wonder if we will ever find out what is on all of south
Great vid, maestro :)
Keep it up
Skål 🤘💚
Imagine a GOT: soythoryos tv series. People adventure there and die gruesomely one by one further cementing how dangerous it is. Gimme raptors!
the world of asoiaf is like a medieval sci-fi, the way species are described in sothoryos is reminiscent of hg wells the time machine more than the lord of the rings or something more fantasy.
What a great video!
Always appreciate these in depth location studies; the world book is great and all, but certainly not as entertaining or enjoyable as a excellent LML vid.
Thanks for your hard work, lots of love ♥
Been forever since Iv seen your vids, glad to see the growth in the channel 🤙🏻. I got a lot of catching up to do!
Is it my birthday? This is freaking awesome!!!
I absolutely love the use of artwork to illustrate this video, but it is incredibly funny as someone who has studied Tudor history to see Framlingham castle used to depict a creepy, magical fortress made of oily black stone
haha it worked tho right? I don't know the history so I'm creating entirely unintentional comedy, whatever it is
Omg how did I miss this until now, I'm obsessed with Sothoryos lore let's GOOOOOO
Every time i look at the 100k sub count I'm confused and deeply troubled as this is by far the best content about ASOIAF in the world.
If GRRM hired you to help him, I'm pretttttyyyy sure we'd have a finished series.
I feel like GRRM couldn't help but be encouraged and motivated if he got to talking to David. His enthusiasm for GRRM's world and the layers he weaves together even makes me want to start writing again.
Awesome. So cool 😎 to wake up to this!! ❤😊 thankyou!
Came for the lore, stayed for the spirit fingers.
There’s also that part of Fire and Blood where the Hightower guys trying to chase down Alyssa Farman came back to oldtown and said that the summer islanders “know that hell [Sothoryos] better than they let on I think”
honestly my favourite theory for jaenara belaerys' flight over sothoryos is that, given it's a giant jungle with little-to-no-notable landmarks, she just got lost and spent three years mostly flying in circles. once she figured it out she was so embarassed she just said. jungle goes on forever. don't go check. trust me bro.
This video is the newest wonder of the world! 😁😁😁
I just imagine one day guys like this get hired to write a spinoff on sothoryos. I love the idea that they are keeping stuff secret like Europeans tried to do with Asianand African countries etc.
Imagine an invasion of westeros by a sothoryos civilization! We need that spin off asap!
I think in the case of Moat Cailan, you're looking too hard into the rain, making the stone looking oily. It's more likely connected to the Seastone chair, Hightower, Lorath stones.