[Editor's Note: It's time to take another look at the importance of this magical steel, post-Battle of Winterfell.]

In Game of Thrones, magic is used rather sparingly, owing to author George R.R. Martin's tendency to keep the mystical art on the margins in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. So when it does show up -- either in the fantastic flight of fire-breathing dragons, the resurrection powers of the White Walkers and the wights they reanimate, or in the centuries-old staying power of The Wall itself -- magic tends to make a big impression. Using conventional weapons (be they steel swords and armor or massive ballistae) does little against White Walkers or Dragons; the humans of the Known World will need magic on their side if they're to win the day.

Enter Valyrian steel, the mystical metal that forms the most famous blades across Westeros and beyond. Much of it, the metal and the knowledge of how to forge it, has been lost to time and conflict, but a few bits of Valyrian steel are still in play ... and they still have an edge keen enough for cleaving White Walkers and wights alike. No new Valyrian steel has been forged since the secret to the process -- which is presumed to involve dragon-fire and magic -- was lost in the Doom of Valyria, though the blacksmiths of Qohor (and at least one who resided in Volantis) are competent enough to reforge existing blades into new ones.

This is all to say that the existing Valyrian steel blades are extremely important and one of the few offensive weapons capable of defeating the Night King's army. So what's the current status of the known weapons? Read on to find out.

Catspaw Dagger

Ah, the blade that started it all. Way back in Season 1, a catspaw assassin hired to kill a comatose Bran Stark attempted to do the deed using this dagger. No ordinary weapon, despite the very ordinary man wielding it, the blade was forged of Valyrian steel with a dragonbone hilt. That dagger then went on a whirlwind tour of Westeros with an injured Catelyn Stark allowing experts in some of the Seven Kingdoms to examine it with the hopes of getting answers. The blade passed through many hands, though no one wanted to take ownership of it, including Petyr Baelish, Tyrion Lannister, and even Ned Stark himself.

This unnamed blade returned this season, signifying its importance, in "The Spoils of War." Littlefinger gifted it to Bran in Winterfell while retelling the story of its bloody beginning and dodging the question of who it originally belonged to; book readers should have a better angle on its succession of owners. At the moment, Arya is in possession of the cursed blade since Bran gifted it to her; she's already put it to good use during her practice duel with Brienne of Tarth, another wielder of a Valyrian steel blade.

There's more to this dagger though! While studying at the Citadel in Oldtown, Samwell Tarly (yet another owner of a Valyrian steel blade, though an unintended one) happens upon a book that contains a drawing of the dagger in question. The accompanying text briefly describes the ancient Valyrians' process for forging dragonglass into a variety of uses. Yeah, this is definitely going to come in handy.

Update: Well that was an understatement! Arya used this blade in a deft maneuver to kill the Night King, crumbling the wight army and saving the North and the Known World. Nice work, Arya!

Ice

This badass greatsword, the ancestral blade of House Stark, is the first introduction to Valyrian steel for Game of Thrones viewers. Unfortunately, the sword lasted about as long as its wielder, Ned Stark, on the show itself. After Ned lost his head--the deed done with the blade itself--Lannister lout Tywin hired a Volantian blacksmith to reforge the greatsword into two longswords for his family members. (Tywin had long wanted a Valyrian sword of his own for House Lannister which lost its ancestral blade in Valyria.)

One sword went to the soon-to-be one-handed son Jaime Lannister, while the other went to that wretched little shit, Joffrey Baratheon, Tywin's grandson. They did not, however, stay with their intended owners.

Oathkeeper

Oathkeeper, one longsword reforged from the Valyrian steel of Ice, was originally supposed to be a gift from Tywin to Jaime Lannister. When the latter Lion tasked Brienne of Tarth with finding Sansa Stark and keeping her safe from Cersei--protecting Ned Stark's daughter with a version of the family blade, as it were--the blade itself was christened Oathkeeper by the lady knight. It's been used to defeat Sandor Clegane, to execute Stannis Baratheon, and to defend Sansa on more than one occasion. Brienne once tried to return it to Jaime, but to no avail, so it remains with her still today. Besides, he's got his own blade now.

(The practice clash between Brienne and Arya is the first time we've seen Valyrian blades go head to head on the show!)

Widow's Wail

The other blade forged from the Valyrian steel of Ice was the woefully named Widow's Wail, a perfect moniker provided by the infamous King Joffrey. After his death (so sad...), the sword presumably passed to Tommen, as did the royal line of succession. Tommen, however, also met his end soon after (actually sad), so the sword passed to one of the few remaining Lannisters in the realm: Jaime himself.

The sword had been used by Joffrey to hack apart a copy of Maester Kaeth's Lives of Four Kings tome (a wedding present from Tyrion), to unintentionally decapitate some pigeons while slicing open the ceremonial pigeon pie at his own wedding, and was laid upon Joffrey's corpse in the Great Sept of Baelor. Jaime, however, wore it while leading the Lannister-Tarly armies in the sacking of Highgarden, with the late Queen Olenna Tyrell having recognized it and remarked on it just before her death by poison. The Widow's Wail sees combat for the first time against the Dothraki horde and the fury of Drogon at the Battle of Tumbleton / Battle of the Goldroad. It survived Jaime's near-drowning (and his near-being-burnt-to-a-crisp-by-dragon-fire) to see more battles in the future.

Update: It was also used to make Brienne of Tarth a Knight in Season 8 Episode 2, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms"

Heartsbane

Back to the ancestral swords of ancient houses, this well-named beauty belongs to House Tarly, a noble name that was in good shape right up until Season 7 of the series. Randyll Tarly, who betrayed the Tyrells and sided with the Lannisters, recently found himself at the mercy of Daenerys and Drogon. Refusing to trade his honor for his life, Randyll Tarly opted to choose death by dragonfire over bending the knee. Unfortunately for the Tarly House, so did Randyll's well-meaning son, Dickon.

But all is not lost! Before running off to the Citadel, remaining heir Samwell Tarly actually spirited away Heartsbane in the dead of night. Perhaps Randyll never noticed that it went missing (unlikely) or perhaps he finally appreciated that his most disappointing son was finally showing some stones (more likely?); either way, Heartsbane is presumably safely in Sam's hands as he leaves Oldtown since he knows how important Valyrian steel is to defeating the White Walkers. Thus continues the sword's 500+ years in House Tarly's possession.

Update: Sam handed over the fabled sword (partially because he "can't hold it upright") to Jorah Mormont in the Season 8 episode "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," just before the battle against the White Walkers. Sadly, Jorah fell in battle defending Daenerys from wights; the status of the blade remains to be seen.

Longclaw

This one's every bit as complicated as other Valyrian steel lore. Longclaw, the ancestral sword of House Mormont, was wielded by Lord Jeor Mormont until he retired to take the black as commander of the Night's Watch. It was passed to his heir Ser Jorah Mormont ... who then brought shame upon the family name by attempting to sell poachers into slavery; at least he had the good sense to leave the sword behind when he fled in exile. Jeor's sister Lady Maege, then head of House Mormont, returned the sword to him on The Wall before her death in the War of the Five Kings.

Jeor would eventually pass the blade down to Jon Snow after the bastard saved the old bear from a wight. The pommel was remade, however, changed from that of a bear to that of a direwolf. With the resurrected Snow now free of his command of the Night's Watch and in place as the head of House Stark and King in the North, it's presumed that Longclaw will become the new sword of the Stark house ... unless a recently cured and partially redeemed Jorah Mormont or the delightfully assertive Lady Lyanna Mormont have anything to say about it ...

Update: In "Beyond the Wall", Jon offers the sword back to Jorah, but the surviving Mormont heir turns it down.

Dragonglass

You got us! This isn't Valyrian steel, but it's the next best thing when it comes to fighting White Walkers. Luckily (and not coincidentally in the slightest), Sam has stumbled upon ancient texts revealing certain secrets of forging dragonglass weapons and the existence of a dragonglass deposit under Dragonstone, just as Dany's dragons arrive (who can help to forge the material with their magical fire) and as Gendry Baratheon is liberated from his blacksmithing apprenticeship in the Fleabottom section of King's Landing.

But why is that important? Well, Jon Snow's got a lot of work to do in order to mine that dragonglass, but once he does, he's going to need a competent blacksmith around to help turn that material into weaponry. And even if Gendry's dragonglass-smithing skills are no better than the average blacksmith in the North, the fact that he's studied under the master armorer and blacksmith Tobho Mott (who has a bigger role to play in the books than he does on the show) might just come in handy. Perhaps the King in the North will get his hands on some of the remaining Valyrian steel, at least enough to reforge some new weapons ... (Hat tip to Vanity Fair for this theory.)

Others: Forgotten Blades, Maesters Chains and Valyrian Steel Armor

These pieces stem more from the book lore than anything we've seen in the show, but they're fair game for popping up in the last handful of episodes:

• Lady Forlorn, the ancestral sword of House Corbray.
• Blackfyre, the ancestral sword of House Targaryen.
• Dark Sister, a longsword of House Targaryen.
• Brightroar, the ancestral sword of House Lannister.
• Red Rain, belonging to House Drumm of the Iron Islands.

Also, about one percent of Maesters were known to have Valyrian steel links in their chains, signifying their mastery of the "higher mysteries" of magic. Archmaesters also have a ring, rod, and mask made of the metal, though only a cursory understanding of manipulating it.

Here's a weird fact to close out with: Euron Greyjoy even has in his possession a suit of Valyrian steel armor from his excursions into Old Valyria; very rare, indeed!

Big thanks to the Game of Thrones wiki and the Wiki of Ice and Fire for doing the heavy lifting! If we missed any items, big or small, be sure to let us know in the comments!