Smoking Sea

The Smoking Sea and the ruins of Old Valyria.

"East of Westeros lies the Smoking Sea, where no ship dares sail. There are those who swear it to be demon-haunted. And who's to say they're wrong?"

―Viserys Targaryen

A map showing the location of the Smoking Sea off the coast of Essos.

The Smoking Sea is a body of water located immediately to the south of the Valyrian Peninsula, on the south coast of Essos. It is part of the ocean known as the Summer Sea. The Smoking Sea separates the numerous islands that were formerly part of Valyria from one another and the mainland to the north

History

Season 2

Quaithe of the Shadow Lands inscribes a sailor with apparently magic tattoos. She says these symbols will protect him as his ship must sail within sight of Valyria.

Season 5

After kidnapping Tyrion Lannister in Volantis, Jorah Mormont steals a fishing boat and heads east to Meereen in Slaver's Bay to present him as a gift to Daenerys Targaryen. Jorah takes the boat through the Smoking Sea as a shortcut, and as he explains to Tyrion, because even pirates are afraid to approach the waters around Valyria, so they won't get any trouble from them on that route. Along the way, they are attacked by Stone Men exiled among the ruins.

In the books

In the Song of Ice and Fire novels the Smoking Sea is ill-omened. Its waters are said to bubble and let off foul vapors and mists which can kill sailors outright. The Smoking Sea is a recent phenomenon, formed four hundred years ago during the Doom of Valyria when the peninsula was shattered by a massive series of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

The Smoking Sea is considered cursed and haunted. Most sailors refuse to sail its waters, instead circumnavigating Valyria by taking a wide detour out to sea.

See also

• Smoking Sea on A Wiki of Ice and Fire

References

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