Game Of Thrones: What Is Greyscale (And Why It Matters)?
7. What Is It?
The closest real world comparison you can make to greyscale is leprosy, what with the social stigma and total skin disfigurement. Greyscale leaves the flesh stiff and dead, stone-like to touch and appearing cracked and flaky. In the books, three different types of the disease are established: The childrens version. This is the infection in its mildest form, and the progress through the victim can be stopped with the right treatment. However, any parts of the skin that have already started to crack and turn into stone will stay that way. The adult version. Greyscale is far more deadly in adults, and is essentially a slow death sentence. The only real way to stop it is to cut off the affected limb, and even that may not be enough. Eventually the victim will probably die, or disfigure into a Stone Man. The Grey Plague. By far the most severe form of the disease, spreading quickly and killing just as fast - except in the person who carries it. For them its a long, slow, painful death with the knowledge that youve turned a bunch of people to stone. How kind. Its not entirely clear how the disease originated, but there is a belief - voiced in the books by Tyrion - that Garin's curse (Garin was a Rhoynish Prince who cursed the Valyrian Dragonlords) is simply greyscale.
NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far.
A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.
