Maester of the Citadel in the time of Martin's novels, it describes Westeros and the the other
continents viii , their histories, and their cultures and religions.
In true pagan fashion, each realm has it's own distinct religion: Westeros has the Faith of
the Seven (an analogue to Medieval Catholicism, except with a Septune Deity rather than a
Triune); The Rhoynar worship Mother Rhoyne; the Dothraki have the Great Stallion, etc.
Religion is a powerful thing in Martin's universe largely for it's social and institutional role, not
for it's claims to universal truth. Indeed, a world where men worship The Black Goat, Akkalon
the Red Bull, The Great Shepherd, etc., can have very few universal truths.
The dizzying array of deities and modes of worship has a way of preventing any one faith
from being taken too seriously, even by its adherents: the common view on Planetos, ix like that
of the pagan ancients, was that one worshiped the gods that one was raised to worship, and the
rest are to be ignored. Thus, the Faith of the Seven takes a very tolerant view of the worship of
the Old Gods of the North, the Drowned God of the Iron Islands, and the Rhoynish worship
found in Dorne. Though it can have militant orders, the Faith of the Seven is not a crusading
creed. There are no crusading creeds on Planetos.
Except one.
For the Night is Dark, and Full of Terrors.
R'hllor is the Red God, the good god of flame who is the bringer of light and life,
opposed to the Great Other, the god of darkness, ice, and death. x Originating, it seems, in Asshai,
the shadow city at the edge of the known world, red priests and red temples can be found
everywhere. Alone among the faiths of Martin's world, they are totalizing, insisting that all men
can and must serve R'hllor, or the Great Other will triumph. They will preach against other gods,
desecrate their statuary, and burn humans in sacrifice. They practice terrifying arts, as evidenced
by Melisandre of Asshai birthing a shadow assassin to kill Renly Baratheon. The political impact
of this was to win forces to the banner of Stannis Baratheon, Renly's older brother. Stannis has
embraced R'hllor, or at any rate, embraced Melisandre, who sees him as the embodiment of Azor
Ahai, the ancient hero who defeated the Great Other in the Dawn Age.
A messianic prophecy, from a religion of sorcerers who burn children alive. One could be
forgiven for thinking that Martin is telling us something about religion.
R'hllor is a dark god indeed, and he is not the only one. The World of Ice and Fire alludes
to other ancient and terrifying mysteries. Witness this description of the only known city on the
mainland of Sothyros:
Maesters and other scholars alike have puzzled over the greatest enigmas of Sothyros,
the ancient city of Teen. A ruin older than time, built of oily black stone, in massive
blocks so heavy that it would require a dozen elephants to move them, Yeen has remained
a desolation for many thousands of years, yet the jungle that surrounds it on every side
has scarce touched it ("A city so evil that even the jungle will not enter," Nymeria is