Who WAS the Night King before he was turned?

Why knowing who he was may be the key to defeating him ... NOTE: Contains references to both book and show events.

The creation of the Night King, as depicted by HBO's Game of Thrones series.

The Night King, in "The Song of Ice & Fire" was created over 8,000 years ago, before the first Long Night. At that time, the Children of the Forest were in a war with the First Men and, they created the Night King out of desperation to protect their lands and sacred Weirwood trees. But in the creating of the Night King, something went very wrong and, he turned not only on the First Men, but also on his creators - the Children of the Forest. Eventually, the Children of the Forest were forced to make peace with the First Men, and team up with them to drive the Night King and his army back to the Lands of Always Winter, where he has stayed until recent times in Westeros in a series that we know as Game of Thrones on HBO.

After the Night King was driven north, Brandon the Builder established House Stark, the Night's Watch, and built The Wall with the help of giants and the Children of the Forest, in order to keep the Night King and his army out of Westeros permanently. The lore says that magic spells were cast into the wall to further bolster The Wall's defenses for this purpose. That worked quite well, until recently when the Night King acquired a dragon and raised it from the dead, and then used it's un-dead blue fire to break the magic of the wall. Now the Night King is on the march into Westeros south of The Wall, and it seems all hell is about the break loose. What many don't realize is, at the time the Night King was created, there were no Starks, there were no Targaryens - the Valyrian Freehold had not even been established until 3,000 years later. The bulk of humanity was in Essos - east of what we know as Westeros - and the First Men came from there, as did the Valyrians, and the Andals. However, east of Essos, there were the Shadowlands, and south of the Shadowlands (or also known just as The Shadow), was the mystery-filled city of Asshai. Now, according to "A Song of Ice & Fire University" and "A Wiki of Ice & Fire", the First Men came from the grasslands towards the top of the Dothraki Sea, and just below the remnants of what used to be the Silver Sea. Although the exact travels and origins (histories) have been lost, this is what can be pieced together as to the origins of the First Men. What is important to note is, that both the Valyrian bloodline, and the First Men bloodline, can both be traced back to this same area above the Dothraki Sea. That means that both the Starks and the Valyrians (which includes Targaryens} can be traced back to the same First Men origin, as much as it can be traced via book canon. Which brings us to the theory of the origin of the Night King, who most assuredly was a First Man that traveled away from the Dothraki Sea and what was left of the Silver Sea. There seemed to be a time of exodus, and those that left the area probably scattererd not only west, but also east - as shown in the map below. I've marked the known and most probable routes that could have been taken (roughly) by those leaving the grasslands. REFERENCES: http://asoiafuniversity.tumblr.com/post/173105532229/where-did-the-first-men-come-from-i-know-the https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/First_Men

A World of Ice & Fire map - post Doom

NOW HERE IS THE THEORY ABOUT WHO THE NIGHT KING WAS ... From the research I've been doing, I believe that the Children of the Forest didn't snag just any old "ordinary Joe" to turn. I suspect the man they captured and turned was a First Man that traveled to and from either Asshai, or the Shadowlands. I think he was a sorcerer who practiced necromancy, was a powerful greenseer, and may have also been versed in the art of dragon magic and dragon taming. In short, he was among the ancestral bloodline of those from that area of the world, who would eventually conquer and rule what we know as ancient Valyria - a predated Valyrian, if you will, with some of the same bloodlines as Daenerys herself, BEFORE there were ancient Valyrian families. If he was a First Man as well, he could also be of the bloodline of the Starks before there were Starks. I think it is highly likely that he was a First Man with the gift of a greenseer, and traveled to the Shadowlands or Asshai to study their known magic there. (This, of course, would mean that the Starks and Targaryens share a lineage that goes back roughly 8 + thousands years.) It would totally make sense why he has the powers he has now, and why The Children could not control him. I believe this is WHY the Children's magic went wonky when they turned him - earth magic mixing with Asshai/Shadowlands magic probably wasn't compatible or controllable. This could be why the Night King has all these powers - he has powers from two realms of the world, and it will take greater opposing power from two realms of the world to fight him, and destroy him. This is WHY ice and fire had to be brought together to battle the Night King and his army - it requires a counter-balance attack to defeat him. It is my assumption that Bran will be "seeing better" in season 8 of Game of Thrones and, he will be able to root out this information that is crucial to the survival of mankind. And not only about the Night King but, what the ancient rune messages of the First Men say in regards to how they defeated the Night King during the first Long Night. We've seen those rune symbols from the First Men since the beginning of the series but, not even the maesters at the Citadel know how to read them - they must be important if they were carved in stone. But THAT is another story/theory ... REFERENCES: https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Asshai

https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/First_Men

https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Valyrian_Freehold

http://asoiafuniversity.tumblr.com/post/173105532229/where-did-the-first-men-come-from-i-know-the Additional supporting video by "The Order of the Green Hand" on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dJ2RxN5wKQI ~ Valar Dohaeris