Leaf

"The First Men called us 'the Children', but we were born long before them."

- Leaf

Leaf is a recurring character in the fourth and fifth seasons. She is a member of the non-human race known as the Children of the Forest.

​Season 4
When Bran Stark and his companions are attacked by wights, they are saved by Leaf, who uses powerful magic to destroy the wights. She tells Meera Reed to leave her brother to die, or else die with him. When Meera reaches the cave Leaf uses her magic and destroys Jojen Reed's body to prevent him from being reanimated. She then explains that the wights cannot follow them into the cave and that she is one of the Children, and finally she leads the group deep into the cave to meet the three-eyed raven.

​In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Leaf is a Child of the Forest in service to the Three-eyed raven. She is described as having nut-brown skin that is dappled like a deer's with paler spots, large ears, large liquid gold and green eyes which are slitted like a cat's eyes. Her hair is a tangle of brown, red and gold, autumn colors, with vines and twigs and withered flowers woven through it. She wears a cloak of leaves. Bran thinks that from far away Leaf looks no older than himself or one of his sisters, but close at hand she seems far older. She has a woman’s voice, high and sweet, with a strange music in it like none Bran has ever heard, and a deep sadness.

Her true name is unknown: it is in the True Tongue of the Children, thus it is very long and also possibly unpronounceable by humans. "Leaf" is a moniker given to her by Bran.

Leaf says that she was born during "the time of the dragon", apparently meaning at some point after Aegon I Targaryen conquered and united the Seven Kingdoms 300 years ago. She is at least two centuries old, because she also says that she secretly walked the world of men for 200 years (observing from the forests) before growing weary and deciding to return home to the hidden cave beyond the Wall.

Leaf does not use any magic to destroy the wights that attack Bran and his companions. She darts between them with a torch in hand, setting them on fire.