Greyscale & The Stone Men

"Greyscale & The Stone Men" is part of the Histories & Lore, a special feature in the Blu-ray of Season 5 of Game of Thrones. It is narrated by Anton Lesser as Qyburn.

Synopsis
Qyburn examines the effects of greyscale, the attempts to find a cure and the perception of those who suffer from it.

Summary
Qyburn declares that few afflictions are more feared than greyscale, and far past the pouit of reason. A legend calls it "Prince Garin's Curse", after an ancient eastern prince whom the Valyrians hung in a cage and forced to watch the immolation of his city and people. As the city burned under dragonflame, this prince called on his god for vengeance, and a thick fog of foul humus rose from the Rhoyne to smother the Valyrians with greyscale. But if diseases could be called down by the vengeful there would be no health in the world.

Qyburn theorises that the disease predates the Valyrians entirely, confined to some remote region of Essos, and only spread throughout the world once the Valyrians linked the continent with roads and dragons.

The disease begins as a rash. The afflicted flesh stiffens, calcifies and cracks and assumes the disease's nominal hue. Victims are graciously spared pain, as the disease dulls sensation in the infected limbs. But the disease is insidious and slowly it creeps over the skin and into the organs. Once the infection reaches the brain, feral madness replaces humanity and the transformation to a Stone Man is complete.

There is no consensus on treating it. Some Maesters advocate mustard poltices, vinegar rinses and scalding hot baths. Others claim only three cures: axe, sword and cleaver. Hacking off afflicted parts does sometimes stop the spread of the disease, but not always. Many a man has sacrificed an arm or foot, only to find the other going grey. Those who have been miraculously cured of greyscale are few, and usually were treated to so many treatments that isolating the responsible cure is impossible.

Besides, few Maesters, priests or healers have the courage for such experiments as would prove a cure. Greyscale is highly contagious, being known to spread from even the slightest contact with an infected person. Hence the current of Valyria by the Stone Men, exiled from their homelands at the first sign of the disease. What they do their with their final months or even years, for greyscale is a slow killer, no one knows. No one wants to find out.

Characters

 * Prince Garin the Great

Locations

 * Rhoyne
 * Essos (mentioned)

Events

 * Second Spice War (mentioned)

Organisations

 * Order of Maesters

Races

 * Valyrians (mentioned)

Miscellaneous

 * Greyscale
 * Stone Men
 * Dragons (mentioned)