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Under construction, but overall idea should be: mythical weapons have their own mind.
By examining, for instance, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_magical_weapons we find weapons that talk and weapons their master can’t rely on. Sharur is described as ‘enchanted talking mace’. ‘Sharur has the power to fly across vast distances without impediment and communicate with its wielder.’ Any connection with dragons?
‘Sharur's role in the battle is not only as a weapon. It provides crucial intelligence to the hero, acting as an emissary between the god Enlil and Ninurta and relating to him the former's will…’
Hrunting is described as: The iron blade with its ill-boding patterns had been tempered in blood.
Compare with the dragon horn in the books and the Lightbringer legend. Interestingly enough the sword that ‘had never failed the hand of anyone who hefted it in battle’ actually fails when fighting Grendel’s mother. The wiki goes into swords found under magic rocks (remember Arya in Braavos), then describes exchange of swords between warriors. That is a theme significantly present in the books. Jon doesn’t have his sword, till Mormont gives Longclaw to him. Eddard Stark’s weapon goes to Jaime and Breanne. The possession of Conqueror’s sword is a solid reason to start an uprising by an exiled Targaryen. Return to wiki: it suggests that failures of a sword might depend on actions of its previous owner.
‘At first glance, Unferth's sudden act of generosity towards Beowulf appears to have been done for noble reasons.’ – Compare with Jorah being strangely gracious with Longclaw when Jon speaks about it.
‘The reason behind Hrunting's failing against Grendel's Mother has been a point of much scholarly debate.’
Another important connection: monsters in myths often have immunities. Magical weapons are needed to break those immunities. For instance, a Nazgul in TLotR is immune to weapons unless it is a certain blade attuned to him and wielded by a woman. In Ice and Fire, heroes believe that Valyrian steel is effective against White Walkers. In interesting legends, though, weapons sometimes became surprisingly ineffective and understanding how those immunities and their counters came into being becomes an interesting challenger to the reader. In particular, for IaF we might notice the following about the power of Valyrian steel and whether or not it was the reason:
Maybe it is the wielder of the blade and not the blade itself. Both Jon and Sam (who killed a WW on the show) may be characterized as ‘true’.
Or perhaps it is the purpose: both did it not in self-defense or in aggression, but in defense of others. Sam saves Gilly’s baby (on the show) and his friends (in the books). Jon is also fighting to save wildlings and his brothers – not himself.
When a Child of the Forest throws a weapon at White Walker, it proves ineffective. When Meera takes an apparently similar spear with dragonglass, she kills the Walker.
Valyrian Armor:
Euron is strangely decked into full suit of Valyrian armor, which Aeron finds rather inexplicable.
Original publication date: November 1, 2018
The links discussing philosophy of Nietzsche and Schopenhauer in the context of Valyrian steel and its implications for Targaryens and Jon-Jorah-Daenerys are: