Asshai is a city located on the far side of the explored world from Westeros, in the far south-east of the Essos continent on the Jade Sea. Little is known about it save that it is a great seaport and its people are exotic. Beyond Asshai lies an area known as the Shadow Lands, which are said to lie "under the Shadow". What is casting "the Shadow" is not known, nor is the exact nature of "the Shadow."
Season 1
Ser Jorah Mormont tells Daenerys Targaryen that in the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai there is a form of "ghost grass" which the Dothraki believe will one day swallow all the world.[1]
Ser Jorah suggests to Daenerys that they flee Khal Drogo's khalasar by night so as not to be caught up in the chaos unleashed when he dies. He says there is a port in Asshai they can head to. Daenerys refuses.[2]
Season 2
Melisandre, a fire priestess of the Lord of Light religion who is from Asshai, has converted Stannis Baratheon to her religion and become one of his closest advisers.[3]
At Qarth in the distant east of Essos, Daenerys Targaryen encounters the mysterious woman Quaithe, a shadowbinder from Asshai who is purported to wield magical powers.[4]
In the books
In the Song of Ice and Fire novels, Asshai is said to lie on the far south-eastern shores of the Jade Sea, a body of water far to the east even of the Free Cities and Slaver's Bay. It is located close to an enigmatic area called "the Shadow" or "Shadow Lands", and the city is sometimes known as Asshai-by-the-Shadow. The city is usually traveled to by ship, but it can also be reached overland by a circuitous route. The Dothraki consider the city and surrounding area to be ill-omened. The city is reputed to hold large amounts of arcane lore, including knowledge of dragons.
It is not unusual for a voyage from the Free City of Volantis to Asshai and back to take two years.
According to the TV series official pronunciation guide developed for the cast and crew, "Asshai" is pronounced "Uh-SHY", as opposed to "ASS-high", "Uh-SIGH", etc.
Previews of the The Lands of Ice and Fire, featuring the first canonical-for-the-novels maps of the Asshai region, suggest that Asshai is located almost due south-east of Qarth, on the north-eastern shores of the Jade Sea (which has been completely moved from its location on the HBO map). The "Shadow" may be related to a towering mountain range close to the city. Whether the HBO maps will be changed for Season 3 to reflect these changes is unknown.
See also
References
- ↑ "The Kingsroad"
- ↑ "Baelor"
- ↑ "The Night Lands"
- ↑ "The Ghost of Harrenhal"