Esoterica: German-language Game of Thrones fan film, talking ravens, and more

Today in Game of Thrones fan films, YouTuber ParaLight WorX brings us A Northern Story. This German-language film (with English subtitles) tells the tale of a couple of Stark loyalists—Toryn Manderly and Wendrik Cassel—on their way to the Twins to witness the marriage of Lord Edmure Tully to one of Old Walder Frey’s daughters. The catch: they’re late, and have no idea that the Freys and Boltons turned on their King and slaughtered his army. Check it out:

Directed by Ludwig Bachmann and Jonathan Williams (the latter of whom also wrote it), A Northern Story and is well-done. It reminds me a bit of the Game of Thrones videogame series from Telltale, except here, we get a look at how the soldiers who weren’t at the infamous Red Wedding react when they find out what happened, as opposed to being in the middle of the action.

Also, if you’re a book-reader, you’ll remember that Lord Commander Jeor Mormont had a raven who had a way with human speech. (Its favorite words include “corn,” “snow,” and “die.”) After the Old Bear is murdered by his own men, the raven returns to Castle Black and becomes Jon Snow’s de facto pet bird, talkative as ever. If you thought the idea of a talking raven was fantasy nonsense, it ends up you were wrong, as this video demonstrates:

I’ll admit to having no idea that a raven could mimic a human’s voice so closely. If only the Maesters at the Citadel could train their ravens to relay messages orally, they wouldn’t have to tie those little notes to their legs.

Finally, an ASOIAF-focused YouTube channel called, appropriately enough, ASOIAF, has uploaded several new videos exploring the history and lore behind the series. They’re done in the style of the History and Lore videos on the Game of Thrones home video releases, but cover subjects HBO may not have gotten to yet. Check out this one, on the wildling settlement of Hardhome.