Black stone

A black stone fortress on Battle Isle.

"As for the ancient fortress that forms the tower's base, its walls and interiors are all of solid black stone with no hints of joints. Or mortar. And no chisel marks of any kind. We know it predates the tower itself by thousands of years. But who built it? How? And against what?"

―Qyburn

A mysterious black stone was used by unknown builders to construct a fortress on Battle Isle, where the Hightower of Oldtown now stands. Archmaester Quillion links it to the mazemakers of Lorath, while Maester Theron believes it to have been built by the Deep Ones. Other maesters maintain that it is simply dragonstone, a material used by the Valyrian Freehold; supporting this is its lack of joints, mortar, or chisel marks, suggesting the stone was fused by dragonflame. However, the fortress is known to predate the Hightower, and therefore also the Valyrian civilization, by thousands of years.

In the books

In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, black stone is mentioned frequently. In contrast to fused dragonstone, this black stone is often described as oily or greasy. It also appears to be connected to certain oddities in the surrounding environment and the people living near it. Its origins are unknown, and it is found all over the known world:

• Asshai is made almost entirely of this greasy black stone, and it is said that the stone drinks light.
• The Bloodstone Emperor, the last ruler of the Great Empire of the Dawn, is said to have worshiped a black stone that fell from the sky, and forced his people to do the same.
• A statue of a toad on the Isle of Toads is made of a greasy black stone. The inhabitants of the island are said to be fish-like, with webbed appendages.
• The Seastone Chair of the Iron Islands is said to have been carved from a block of oily black stone. Maester Kirth suggests that it was a gift from visitors from across the Sunset Sea.
• The ruined city of Yeen in Sothoryos is seemingly made of the same stone as Asshai, and despite the lush surrounding environment, no plants grow within its walls.

In other cases, there is no mention of the black stone being oily or greasy, but fused akin to the dragonstone of Old Valyria:

• The fortress at the base of the Hightower is a labyrinthine construction of fused black stone. Although similarities with the Valyrian stone has been noted by many maesters, this fortress predates the founding of the Valyrian Freehold by thousands of years.
• The Five Forts on the northeastern border of Yi Ti are made of single-fused black stone. However, these also apparently predate the Valyrian Freehold by several millennia, their construction being attributed to the Pearl Emperor of the Great Empire of the Dawn.

External links

• Black stone on A Wiki of Ice and Fire