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Game of Thrones, the blockbuster HBO show based on George RR Martin's fantasy novels A Song of Ice and Fire, first aired on April 17, 2011 with the premiere episode, Winter Is Coming. The series ran for eight seasons, till 2019.
The action occurs primarily in Westeros though major events also occur in Essos. The nobility contend for dominance over the Iron Throne. In the North, the supernatural threat known as the Others (or White Walkers) becomes increasingly powerful. Overseas, ousted monarchs seek to regain control.
Game of Thrones is renowned for its violent fights and unexpected twists. Its origin, though, goes beyond. It is constructed on millennia of history and mythology.
This is not just background history. It affects the world's cultures, religions, and conflicts directly. One of the most significant early events is between the First Men and the Children of the Forest. The First Men were the earliest humans to come into Westeros. The Children already inhabited it.
Their initial encounter resulted in war. Magic was employed, and there were a lot of deaths. Both sides eventually settled for peace. That peace was labeled the Pact. It's one of the significant occurrences in Westeros' history.
The Pact put an end to centuries of violence. It set the stage for the old gods that were being revered in the North, and it contributed to bringing about future catastrophes, such as the Long Night.
To get an idea of how significant the Pact is, we must examine several things. Who were the Children of the Forest? Why did the Children of the Forest wage war against the First Men? What was the Pact, exactly? What ensued after? How do these occurrences continue to impact the world of Game of Thrones?
Despite Game of Thrones being a fictional world, the concepts are familiar. The story taps into actual history and universal themes — war, peace, survival, and the conflict between nature and civilization.
Who are the Children of the Forest in Game of Thrones?
The Children of the Forest are an ancient race in Westeros. They had inhabited there thousands of years prior to the first humans. They are small and enigmatic, and are strongly connected to nature. They are not human, and have their own language, culture, and powerful magic.
They are strongly linked to weirwood trees — white trees with red leaves and carved faces. These trees are not symbols. The Children use them for religious ceremonies and magic.
Their society is secretive, but we do know that they revere the Old Gods. They were the first ones to carve faces into the weirwoods. They believe in an animistic religion.
The Children are magic masters. Some of them are greenseers. Greenseers can see with the eyes of animals, hear over long distances, and even peek at the past — or the future — through the weirwoods. It is old magic. It is said that they used it to make the White Walkers as a weapon for a desperate war.
They appear quite different from humans. They are smaller than human kids, with nut-brown skin and large golden eyes. Their features are pointed and nearly animal-like. They inhabit forests, constructing dwellings in caves and trees. They are hunter-gatherers. They make weapons of dragonglass, also known as obsidian. That's the same stuff that can kill White Walkers.
By the time of Game of Thrones, the majority of people believe that the Children are gone. Some even question whether they ever lived. Yet their remains are seen through religion, through geography, and through genetics. The Starks, for instance, are assumed to have some very remote lineage from the Children.
The dawn of men in Westeros
Approximately 12,000 years ago, before Game of Thrones, the First Men invaded Westeros. They migrated across a land bridge from Essos, seeking new homes. These humans were larger, more powerful, and much more violent than the Children of the Forest.
As they traversed the continent, they destroyed the forests and settled. Above all, however, they chopped the sacred weirwood trees. To the Children, this was a serious violation. The weirwoods were not simply trees — they were sacred.
The First Men's arrival sparked a centuries-long, bloody war. The Children resisted with potent magic and guerrilla warfare. But the First Men possessed numbers and strength. The wars raged on for centuries. Neither could be defeated. The Children could kill a whole army with magic, but the humans just kept coming.
Cutting down weirwoods made matters even worse. For the Children, it was a profound loss. Those trees were not merely religious icons — they were bound up with their very strength. The war wasn't simply about geography. It became a struggle between civilization and the natural world. That is a theme that recurs throughout the world that George RR Martin created.
The pact: Terms and origins
After all the wars over centuries, both were worn out. The Children were almost annihilated. The First Men could not subdue all the ground. At last, they decided to discuss things. That is how the Pact was formed — a peace agreement that would define Westeros for a thousand years.
The agreement was struck on the Isle of Faces. This island is located in the center of God's Eye Lake. Representatives of both forces met beneath the weirwood trees. They swore upon the Old Gods and presented the conditions:
The First Men received the open ground — the plains and hills.
The Children retained the deep woods.
The First Men promised to cease chopping the weirwoods.
Both sides vowed to cease fighting.
They would respect one another's space and customs.
The First Men embraced the Children's faith as well. They started worshipping the Old Gods — the same faces carved in the trees. That faith still lingers in the North.
The Pact wasn't a handshake. It was cemented in blood and sacrifice. The weirwoods and the Old Gods gave it religious significance. Even today, the Isle of Faces is sacred. It is guarded by the enigmatic Green Men, who protect its secrets.
Aftermath: The age of heroes and the long night
Following the Pact, affairs finally quieted down. This peace ushered in the Age of Heroes — a golden age of legend, ascendant great houses, and prosperity. First Men and Children of the Forest coexisted. Most of Westeros's ancient stories and customs derive from this period.
Peace didn't last forever, though.
About 8,000 years before the time of Game of Thrones, there was a frightful winter. It lasted for a generation. That was the Long Night. It wasn't cold and it brought horrors. The White Walkers arrived and almost wiped out all life.
Legend says the Children created the White Walkers during the war with the First Men. They meant them to be a weapon. However, the plan backfired. The White Walkers turned on the Children and attacked everyone.
In order to survive, the Children and the First Men needed to cooperate once more. They cooperated and defeated the White Walkers in the War of the Dawn. Jointly, they repelled them. Then they constructed the Wall in order to keep the threat out.
That union, forged in desperation, demonstrated how much the two peoples were interdependent. It also demonstrated that the Pact was still relevant, even during the darkest hours.
The destiny of the pact and the aftermath
When the Long Night ended, the Children of the Forest started to vanish. With time, they disappeared too. And what came next were the Andals — new human invaders from Essos. They introduced additional war and another religion: the Faith of the Seven.
The Andals did not honor the old traditions. They chopped more weirwoods and drove the Children further into hiding. The Pact meant nothing to them.
But the North was different.
In the North, descendants of the First Men maintained the old customs. Houses such as the Starks continued to worship the Old Gods. The weirwoods remained holy. Tales of the Children and the Pact survived in Northern legend.
The Pact remains relevant because it resonates with some of the largest themes of Game of Thrones.
First, there is a conflict between nature and civilization. The conflict between the First Men and the Children reveals what it looks like when men encroach too far into the wilderness.
Second, tradition is important. The North's sustained practice of worshipping the Old Gods is evidence of how memory and old ways can endure, even after a thousand years.
Third, there is always a cost of peace. The Pact would have never occurred if both parties hadn't been tired. There was sacrifice and compromise—something we learn repeatedly in Game of Thrones.
And lastly, history repeats itself. Westeros has invasions, wars, and uneasy partnerships aplenty. The Pact was the exception to an otherwise history of war, but even that didn't endure eternally. It's a reminder that peace is so brittle.
The pact in Game of Thrones: Legacy and modern echoes
In Game of Thrones universe, in the North, the Pact exists. It's the only remaining place in which the Old Gods are still followed. The Starks, being Wardens of the North, uphold that tradition. Their godswood at Winterfell is a proof to their strong roots in the old traditions. Their very identity is connected with the First Men and the Children of the Forest.
Bran Stark's story follows this bond one step further.
Bran becomes a greenseer — one with the magical abilities that were once prevalent among the Children. Through his visions, he knows the truth. He sees what the Children truly were. He observes how they made the White Walkers. And he understands the power of the weirwoods.
In the Game of Thrones, Bran is a living proof that the past is still relevant. His abilities connect human history with the Children's magic. His life proves that the Pact's legacy is not lost. It's still creating the future.
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Then come the White Walkers.
Their return is a warning. What the Children did to defeat a war a long time ago almost killed the world. It is a reminder that old decisions have eternal repercussions. The only way to survive at this point is for everyone to unite, just as they did in the first Long Night.
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