My apologies for asking but can someone explain to me what the heck is iron wood?
And why is the fire blue?
Thanks have a nice day/
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And why is the fire blue?
Thanks have a nice day/
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Ironwood apparently have special properties. Off the top of my head, increased durability/toughness, harder to burn, lighter.
Those advantages make it an incredible material for many things, example being given in the game with the Ironwood shield Ethan showed to Ramsey. Since it is harder to burn it would also be useful for boats, the battle of Blackwater might have turned out differently for instance, if Stannis' fleet was made of ironwood, considering it looked like some sort of Greek fire-like technology.
In short, it's awesome for a shitload of things, which explains why so many people want it.
The fire is blue because apparently, only the Forrester family "knows" of a way to burn the Ironwood easily, I think it's stated when they light up the torches before the funeral in Episode 2. Maybe the chemicals used to light it up have a different composition. Anyway, that's the "why".
Don't think I'm forgetting anything, but I hope other members will bring more precisions if that's the case.
EDIT: If you were asking something like "why is the Ironwood Ironwood, and not just normal wood" then I don't know. I don't think it's ever explained. But maybe, JUST MAYBE, it has something to do with the North Grove, or something in Ironrath's surroundings' soil that makes it that way, maybe we'll learn more on that in the later Episodes.
I'm surprised you've never heard of ironwood before (it is real by the way. It's just very, VERY hard to cut and does not burn worth a damn) I own a piece myself. Never seen a tree of it though.
Ironwood has an important role in the novels: the doors to the fabled Winterfell crypts are made from it.
I don't think ironwood would have saved Stannis' fleet. Ironwood seems to be magical but I'd say that wildfire is stronger magic. It burns practically anything, it can even burn underwater. So I think the Forrester's blue fire is not the only way to burn ironwood, wildfire could do it too.
Is it ever mentioned in the show??
Not as far as I know. The books probably make a couple of references to it like ArthurV said about the crypt doors.
I don't believe it's mentioned on the show, but in the novels, Tyrion uses an ironwood shield during the Battle of the Green Fork. :-)