The greenseer

The greenseer is a figure of immense power in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, a skinchanger who has mastered the ability to see through the eyes of the weirwood trees, accessing the memories of the past, present, and future. The last greenseer is a withered, ancient being who dwells in a cave beyond the Wall, connected to the roots of a weirwood throne, and he serves as the mentor to Bran Stark, guiding him to awaken his own latent abilities.

Identity and Nature

The greenseer is a being of immense age and power, described as a "dreamer, wizard, call him what you will" by Coldhands, who serves as his guide. He is also known as the three-eyed crow, a figure who has appeared to Bran in his dreams. The greenseer is physically bound to a weirwood throne, a tangled nest of roots that has grown over and through his withered limbs. His body is skeletal, his clothes rotted, and his skin is white save for a bloody blotch on his neck. A thin white root grows from his empty eye socket, and a spray of dark red leaves sprouts from his skull. He is the last of his kind, a greenseer who has lived beyond his mortal span, sustained by the tree. He tells Bran, "I have been many things, Bran. Now I am as you see me, and now you will understand why I could not come to you… except in dreams." He has watched Bran for a long time, seeing his birth, his first step, and his fall, with "a thousand eyes and one."

Role and Abilities

The greenseer's primary role is to awaken Bran's own greenseer abilities. He explains that Bran's blood makes him a greenseer, but a paste of weirwood seeds is needed to "awaken your gifts and wed you to the trees." After Bran consumes the paste, the greenseer instructs him to slip his skin and go into the roots, to see through the weirwood trees. This allows Bran to witness visions of the past, including his father, Eddard Stark, cleaning Ice in the godswood. The greenseer explains that time is different for a tree than for a man, and that through the weirwoods, one can gaze into the past. He also reveals that the singers of the forest carved eyes into heart trees to awaken them, and those are the first eyes a new greenseer learns to use. The greenseer's own power is vast, but he is limited by his physical form, which is more tree than man. He draws his life from the tree, and does not eat or drink, only sleeping, dreaming, and watching.

Narrative Significance

The greenseer is the culmination of Bran Stark's long journey north. He is the reason Bran was brought beyond the Wall, and the source of the knowledge and power Bran will need to face the coming darkness. The greenseer's cave is a place of safety, warded against the wights and the Others. He is the keeper of ancient knowledge, the memories of the children of the forest and the First Men, stored within the weirwood trees. His existence represents a link to a forgotten age, a time when magic was strong and the old gods held sway. He is a symbol of the power of nature and memory, and his teachings will allow Bran to become a powerful force in the war against the long night.