There are many theories regarding the reason why the Night King is attacking. Some of them claim that the Night King kills because he is programmed, while others state that the White Walkers are actually good and that they serve as a metaphor for climate change. But here’s the thing. None of these theories explain why the Night King is attacking now, at this particular moment. Why wait thousands of years to attack again, when he could have done it at any point in history? Was there a signal maybe? The Red comet, dragons, the birth of someone with the blood of ice and fire -- the prince that was promised?
The Night King's motivation could be to exact revenge against the Children of The Forest, an idea which I explored in a previous article. Also, he could secretly be the Lord of Light, for all I know, but, what if the real reason is something entirely different? What if the Night King just wants to protect his race? To further explore this idea, I am going to talk about Melisandre and the Lord Of Light religion first.
What is Melisandre up to?
In "Game of Thrones" Season 7 Episode 2, Melisandre told Varys that she was going to Volantis -- the epicenter of the Lord of Light (a.k.a. R'hllor) religion. So, my guess is that Melisandre will talk to Kinvara, the High Priestess of the Red Temple of R'hllor.
The goal will be to recruit as many followers to fight in the Great War. Also, we might see Fiery Hand -- the order of the thousand slaves that guard the Temple.
What is the Lord of Light religion all about?
This religion revolves around two deities: The Lord of Light who represents life and the Great Other, the one whose name can’t be spoken, the ultimate force of death and destruction.
According to the prophecy, a hero named Azor Ahai shall be reborn to claim victory over darkness once again.
As of right now, the followers of R'hllor in Essos believe that Daenerys is Azor Ahai reborn, while Melisandre thinks it's Jon Snow. They claim their god is the champion of life, the one true God, and yet they are burning "non-believers" all the time to please the Lord of Light.
On the other hand, they are calling the Great Other -- who may or may not be the Night King himself -- the god of death and darkness.
What this has to do with the Night King?
Assuming that the Night King is a greenseer and that he can see everything that ever happened, it stands to reason that he is very much aware of the fact that the followers of R'hllor see him as the ultimate threat. After all, the whole point of their religion is to destroy him. So, what if the Night King realized that the best way to defend his race is to attack first? Wouldn't it be ironic if the whole Azor Ahai prophecy was in fact the reason why the White Walkers returned in the first place?
