Most sinister of all the sorcerers of Asshai are the shadowbinders, whose lacquered masks hide their faces from the eyes of gods and men. They alone dare to go upriver past the walls of Asshai, into the heart of darkness.
On its way from the Mountains of the Morn to the sea, the Ash runs howling through a narrow cleft in the mountains, between towering cliffs so steep and close that the river is perpetually in shadow, save for a few moments at midday when the sun is at its zenith. In the caves that pockmark the cliffs, demons and dragons and worse make their lairs. The farther from the city one goes, the more hideous and twisted these creatures become … until at last one stands before the doors of the Stygai, the corpse city at the Shadow’s heart, where even the shadowbinders fear to tread. Or so the stories say.
Is there any truth to these grim fables brought back from the end of the earth by singers and sailors and dabblers in sorcery? Who can say? Lomas Longstrider never saw Asshai-by-the-Shadow. Even the Sea Snake never sailed so far. Those who did have not returned to tell us their tales.
Until they do, Asshai and the Shadow Lands and whatever lands and seas might lie beyond them must remain a closed book to wise men and kings alike. There is always more to know, more to see, more to learn. The world is vast and wondrous strange, and there are more things beneath the stars than even the archmaesters of the Citadel can dream.
Asshai-by-the-Shadow. (illustration credit 188)
Dragons reborn? (illustration credit 189)
In the years since I first set pen to parchment, much has changed both in Westeros and beyond. Readers must understand that such a work as this is not the labor of a mere few weeks … or even years. I first set the framework for this history during the peaceful years at the height of good King Robert’s reign, intending to dedicate the volume to Robert and his heirs as a history of the land and the world that they had inherited.
But such was not to be. The death of the noble Hand, Jon Arryn, has unleashed a madness on the land, a madness of pride and violence. The madness has robbed the realm of Robert, and of his fair son and heir Joffrey. Pretenders strive to steal the Iron Throne, and disturbing rumors of dragons reborn trickle in from the east.
In such times of trouble, we must all pray that good King Tommen shall see a long reign, and a just one, to usher us again out of the darkness and into the light.
Double-tap or pinch to zoom in on the image.
illustration credit 190
Double-tap or pinch to zoom in on the image.
illustration credit 191
Double-tap or pinch to zoom in on the image.
illustration credit 192
illustration credit 193
illustration credit 194
The Twins. (illustration credit 195)
Jon Snow and Ghost. (illustration credit 196)
Dragonstone. (illustration credit 197)
Rhaegar Targaryen and Lord Robert Baratheon meeting at the Ruby Ford during the Battle of the Trident. (illustration credit 198)
ART CREDITS
RENÉ AIGNER: ill.120, ill.184, ill.188
RYAN BARGER (Fantasy Flight): ill.31
ARTHUR BOZONNET (Studio Hive): ill.12, ill.19, ill.20, ill.22, ill.57, ill.64, ill.65, ill.77, ill.86, ill.94, ill.116, ill.143, ill.163, ill.172, ill.174, ill.178
JOSÉ DANIEL CABRERA PEÑA: ill.60, ill.75, ill.80, ill.100, ill.150
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JENNIFER DRUMMOND: ill.23, ill.81
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JOHN MCCAMBRIDGE: ill.30, ill.111, ill.134, ill.162, ill.179
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KARLA ORTIZ: ill.47, ill.62, ill.78, ill.87, ill.153
RAHEDIE YUDHA PRADITO (Velvet Engine): ill.38, ill.55, ill.63, ill.69
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PAOLO PUGGIONI: ill.56, ill.85, ill.114, ill.141, ill.171, ill.181
JONATHAN ROBERTS: ill.98, ill.173, ill.175
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JUSTIN SWEET: ill.61, ill.189, ill.196, ill.198
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