The Wall has protected Westeros for eight thousand years. But before Winds of Winter is over, before Game of Thrones season 6 ends, that streak must come to an end. Before A Song of Ice and Fire reaches its conclusion in victory for the forces of humanity (or not), the Wall, man’s greatest achievement, must come down.

Mister Night’s King, Tear Down This Wall

The first four books of A Song of Ice and Fire were about politics, war, and personal relationships. The last three books—starting with Dance—won’t be like that, although those threads will remain. The series is turning into an epic fantasy, which it always was in the background. And that means we can make somewhat better guesses about what’s to come. Besides, it’s basic storytelling. The Others, aka the White Walkers, are the ultimate threat, the true antagonists of a series that doesn’t really have them otherwise.

For that threat to feel real, the Others have to make real progress. Their danger to Westeros must become urgent and immediate—a serious risk of destroying humanity and creating a Long Night that never ends. And the best way for that to happen is for the Wall to fall.

Don’t tell me I’m being outlandish about this: This is an entirely reasonable Winds of Winter prediction. Indeed, the book itself predicts it. The Horn of Joramun, the legendary horn that can bring down the Wall, remains missing—Mance’s is a fake. Yet that Horn is still out there somewhere, the counterpart to Victarion Greyjoy’s dragon horn, a weapon of the forces of fire.

In Game of Thrones season 5, the battle at Hardhome foreshadowed what is to come. Even though the battle isn’t in the books, we know that the Others are amassing their forces. That’s been true since the battle at the Fist of the First Men. They’re coming, eventually. And the Night’s King, or whoever leads the Others in the books, is going to be a formidable foe.

Ultimately, Daenerys and her dragons will save Westeros, or fail in the attempt, dooming the land to eternal darkness. But for that to happen, the Others must seem like the terrible threat that they are. And that means the Wall must fall. And with the weakness of the Night’s Watch, even bolstered by wildlings, that’s not a hard fate to imagine. In Winds of Winter, mankind’s greatest work will come crashing down.