Fact vs fiction: Aging in sci-fi and fantasy
By WiC Staff
Image: Game of Thrones/HBO
Lord Bloodraven — (Game of Thrones) — 125 years old
Ser Brynden Rivers, also known as Lord Bloodraven, is a fictional character from the Game of Thrones universe. He was the bastard son of King Aegon Targaryen IV, often considered one of the worst and most tyrannical of the Targaryen kings.
Brynden Rivers served as Hand of the King and eventually joined the Knights’ Watch. Born in 175 AC, he was presumed dead after he went missing beyond the wall in 252 AC. This would have made him 77 years old, already older than the average person lives to be on Earth.
However, much later in the story, Bran Stark discovers that Brynden Rivers is alive and well, living as the Three-Eyed Raven almost 50 years after his mysterious disappearance. Lord Bloodraven trains Bran as his successor, and at the time of Bran’s succession, Bloodraven is roughly 125 years old.
This is where things start to become a lot more unlikely in terms of our own biological capabilities. The closest we have come is Jeanne Calment, who lived to be 122.
It’s not impossible to hypothesise that there could be people in the world who have lived to be older than Jeanne Calment, and maybe even older than Bloodraven, but currently none have been discovered or verified.