Qarth is the greatest city that ever was or ever will be. It is the center of the world, the gate between North and South, the bridge between East and West, ancient beyond memory of man and so magnificent that Saathos the Wise put out his eyes after gazing upon Qarth for the first time, because he knew that all he saw thereafter should look squalid and ugly by comparison. - A Clash of Kings

Forever funny to me that Aegon II's plan to get out of being king was to just sail away and never come back. Aegon what skills do you have that are monetizable?? He'd be homeless and giving handies for money within three months tops

me: literally makes a post complaining about how Certain People will use anything to excuse dany of culpability re: how she sees slavery.

someone on that post: *does exactly the thing i’m complaining about*

@magicalgoateestudentsposts-blog no one is denying that dany had very little control over her life in the very first book. dothraki wives have significantly less power than westerosi ones do, that is true, but saying dany is a slave bc she was a child bride is like saying sansa, aemma, etc are slaves as well. no. it’s a whole different thing bc they have class privilege that offers them potential safety & allies that a random slave like Missandei or Grey Worm will never get. the very concept of child brides in asoiaf is in fact predicated on their class privilege - it’s a really specific way of torturing & controlling noble born women. no one bothers to stop ramsay from torturing jeyne poole bc no one cares about some random northern girl without an important last name. if jeyne hatched dragons, no one would be flocking to her banners they would be attempting to undercut her abilities based on a gendered view of her class status, the same way nettles is treated. dany suffers immensely but she is never an actual slave.

beyond that - “she didn’t have a choice” is the entire point i’m making. she sacks astapor and slaughters freemen as young as twelve then crucified the masters without trying to figure out if the politics in the city had any sort of complexity similar to her own situation. she directly orders the massacre of thousands who were likely in positions similar to her - young people who inherited slaves and didn’t like the fact that they had to participate in the slave trade. young, idealistic, potential allies who are never given the chance to unlearn the harm bc she has them killed. SHE owned slaves. SHE asked drogo to get her the iron throne, knowing it will involve sacking lhazareen villages and selling more slaves. then when her slave had the audacity to resent her treatment, SHE burned that slave alive. SHE refuses to recognize her own role in allowing the slave trade to flourish & how her own experiences in literally owning slaves have informed the way she sees the people around her. like, her best friend SOLD SLAVES and he even points out that moral dilemma to her but she doesn’t reflect on it at all. THAT IS THE PROBLEM. using “she was a slave” as a defense for her actions is what i’m arguing against - she wasn’t a slave but also, if you think a noble girl being forced into marriage is akin to slavery, surely you understand then that dany effectively killed other “noble born slaves” in astapor like her and refuses to admit to it?? if she insists on getting involved in politics & ruling, than she gets criticized for what her actions actually do and not what she wishes she could do, same as robb, same as jace, same as daeron, same as jon, same as every other child military leaders who fundamentally prove that children should not be military leaders bc they are too emotional, reckless, and lacking in self awareness to accurately lead others.

A Game of Thrones, Bran III

He lifted his eyes and saw clear across the narrow sea.

To the Free Cities and the green Dothraki sea and beyond, to Vaes Dothrak under its mountain.

To the fabled lands of the Jade Sea.

To Asshai by the Shadow, where dragons stirred beneath the sunrise.

@salzrand - Still loving that tiger cloak *chef's kiss* I seriously need to go to Qarth's Fashion Week XD New chapter is up! Xo

Humble Oil & Refining Co, 1961

Hi, Maester Steven. Hope you are doing well.

I have a theory on why Lys has a First Magister instead of an Archon like Tyrosh, as would be the custom for a Valyrian colony.

First, I'd like to propose the elctoral system for Archons in general: the freeborn people elect the Archon and the Council of Magisters separately (similar on how we vote for some candidates to the legislative and some others to the executive).

Then, to the theory itself: when Volantis conquered Lys and Myr during the Century of Blood, the First Daughter killed the Archons that governed them. When they rebelled, their rebellion was lead by the Magisters of each city, and, after the cities were freed, instead of going back to the previous electoral system, the Magisters decided that the freeborn would elect them, who in turn would elect one amongst themselves to be a "first among equals", the First Magister (in other words, the people vote for the legislative, who in turn choose the executive).

Basically, I am assuming that both Myr and Lys have First Magisters (we don't know about Myr), the electoral system of the Three Daughters and that the Magisters led the revolt against Volantis during the Century of Blood. But I do think it explains why only Tyrosh has Archons instead of all three.

What do you think?

I think this is an interesting theory, but there are some fundamental problems with it.

As I go into in my essay series on Essosi politics (with a later update because some of the first essays predated the publication of World of Ice and Fire), magisters don't seem to be popularly elected. Rather, they tend to be "chosen from amongst the wealthiest and noblest men of the city." In Norvos, for example, the magisters are selected by the bearded priests, and in Braavos it seems to be a socioeconomic class rather than an elected office. So I think the "magistracy" is much more akin to the senators or equites of Rome, where eligibility comes down to how much money you are recorded as having earned during a census, or they're selected by lottery from among members of that class as was common in Renaissance republics.

Moreover, archons are not popularly elected outside of Volantis. Rather, it is the magisters (usually in council or conclave, but not always) who elect the Archon of Tyrosh, just as they elect the First Magister of Lys, the Prince of Pentos, and the Sealord of Braavos. (My suspicion is that the Myrish also have a Prince, since Craghas Crabfeeder was a prince-admiral of Myr.) The Free Cities are not democratic republics in the modern sense, they are mercantile republics and quite oligarchical in nature.

George R R Martin sitting down to write his lore of Essos

House of the Dragon + Costumes

Rhaena Targaryen’s white, silver & golden dress in Season 01, Episode 06.

I hope it’s okay to reply to someone else’s anonymous question on here but like it’s incredibly funny to me.

The Rhoynar are from Essos too and are equally as POC or not as the Orphans of the Greenblood, if not Salty Dornishmen. They’re described the same as Myrmen:

“The Myrmen are believed by certain maesters to be akin to the Rhoynar, as many of them share the same olive skin and dark hair as the river people, but this supposed link is likely spurious.” - The World of Ice and Fire

That this is notable implies the rest of the Free Cities are different. Meanwhile, Lyseni notably share distincitive ethnic features with Valaryans. The Braavosi have no standard look because it’s a meltingpot of all different peoples. Illyrio Mopatis (Pentosi) has “a huge white belly”. Griff and Young Griff pass as Tyroshi by dying their hair. The fact that noone else from the Free Cities (*Including Norvosi like Areo Hotah and Mellario*) has mentioned ethnic features implies that they’re the same as Westrosi. A charitable reason is it’s not notable to Westrosi characters, a less charitable one would be that GRRM sees white people as default.

Hell, even the Andals are originally from Essos. It’s kinda ironic to say the view of Dorne is Orientalist and at the same time being like “Oh you know that whole continent that vaguely analogous to Eurasia? It’s all Eastern so it’s all pretty much the same place. I’m sure it’s ethnically homogenious”. *Dorne* isn’t even ethnically homogenous.

Honestly, the term POC is completely useless describing actual Earth history until at least the late 15th Century (and tbh the binary view of race is mostly a product of the 19th Century US Democratic Party) let alone the fictional medieval world of ASOIAF, but if the Rhoynar aren’t POC, there’s no way the Norvosi are.

A bath house in Myr

Is the relative non-interference and absence of serious major conflict between the Free Cities and the Seven Kingdoms plausible or a flaw in Martin's worldbuilding? It seems like the Free Cities have had plenty of opportunities with all these succession conflicts in Westeros to play a part in deciding events but just choose not to.

The Lyseni Spring saw extensive intervention. Daeron I's alliance with the Sealord caused the Triarchy to support Dorne. The Iron Bank funds Stannis after Cersei reneges on the Iron Throne's debts. The Free Cities, especially the ones on the west coast, have extensive foreign policy relations with Westeros, as we see when Jaehaerys mediated a treaty between Pentos and Tyrosh (doesn't work out too well for the Prince, but hey, can't win every time). However, I think it's because mostly they're looking to secure economic benefit, and meddling by supporting a candidate causes their rivals to support another, they instead look for beneficial trade relationships rather than meddling overtly.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

“She was so lovely that the lamps seemed to burn brighter when she passed.”

Bellegere Otherys, courtesan in Braavos, also called the Black Pearl.

GRRM, writing literally every character from Essos: and, of course, his name shall end in "o" so that readers know that he's ✨foreign✨

A Game of Thrones, Daenerys I

They had wandered since then, from Braavos to Myr, from Myr to Tyrosh, and on to Qohor and Volantis and Lys, never staying in any one place. Her brother would not allow it.

The Usurper’s hired knives were close behind them, he insisted, though Dany had never seen one.

At first the magisters and archons and merchant princes were pleased to welcome the last Targaryens to their homes and tables, but as the years passed and the Usurper continued to sit upon the Iron Throne, doors closed and their lives grew meaner.

Years past they had been forced to sell their last few treasures, and now even the coin they had gotten from Mother’s crown had gone.

In the alleys and winesinks of Pentos, they called her brother “the beggar king.”

Dany did not want to know what they called her.

Volantio Ālion

Tolȳ Dāerȳ Oktȳti ñāqoso vējot, Volantis Oktion, Jaedo Embri rhaenas harrī Rhoinaroti Qelbro drāñoti hēdrȳ mēro rȳukorzis. Volaena jēmbrot iārza. Volon Therys, Valysar, Sar Mell, Selhorȳs ñāqoso jēmbrot ilzi. Volantio ondor va Selhoro Qelbrannot Rhoinaroti Qelbroti henujemēbas Endiā Qeldlior Rāenion sepār jemēbas. Volantis Belmurtoti Angoliannot mībājor Dāerior Oktion issa se zijot Nopāzmīhoti Geralbro jemaks.