Map of the Free Cities

[Werthead]

We heard back in the TV title sequence thread that HO had included the coastline of Essos in the title sequence of GoT. GRRM then confirmed on Livejournal that he had indeed given them a copy of the map he'd prepared for ADWD and the map was - more or less - canon.

Now the map has become public knowledge, due to being released accidentally by a new HBO website devoted to the lore of the show going online accidentally this morning. Other fansites have reposted it so I suppose it does little harm to repost it here, especially since it is not particularly spoilery or indeed complete: it shows the coast but not much beyond it.

Things that spring to mind from the map:

1) Braavos' northerly location tracks with Arya's journey in ASoS and AFFC but seems a bit odd considering Myrcella's journey in ACoK: Tyrion sent her many hundreds of miles to the north out of her way. Still, the protection offered by the Braavosi fleet may have warranted such a move.

2) No Volantis. I'm assuming the lakes that border the Disputed Lands to the east are related to the Rhoyne (the RPG says that the Rhoyne borders the DL to the east) so Volantis must be just off the edge of the map.

3) Myr and Lys's locations. I thought these cities would be much closer, given their tendency to make war on one another every five minutes. I also expected Tyrosh to be further away (and not located on an island, which I don't recall ever being mentioned before). As it stands the two cities are so far away from one another it doesn't seem to make much sense for them to clash every five minutes (and their locations indicate they should be able to carve the DL in half before meeting to fight somewhere in the middle). Tyrosh being in the middle would suggest they would be drawn into the conflicts much more often as well. Btw, can anyone read the body of water off Myr? Looks to me like 'Sea of Myrth'.

4) No Lorath. The island city of Lorath seems to be the embarrassing brother of the Free Cities, as it's barely ever mentioned and now doesn't get on the map. The alternate explanation is that it's off the edge, maybe to the south (past Volantis and offshore?) or maybe off the coast east of Braavos (i.e. on Essos's northern coast). That may make more sense, since it being the most distant Free City (from Westeros's perspective) may explain its relative obscurity. However, all eight of the cities bar Braavos were Valyrian colonies or conquered clients and people fled north from them to found Braavos, which suggests Lorath is further south.

5) No Hills of Andalos. They may be too small to show up on the map though (they should be SE of Pentos).

6) No Norvos or Qohor. This makes more sense, as we can see a big river just curving round the edge of the map east of Pentos. Norvos is on a big river, so it could be there, just off the edge. Qohor is even further east, in the Forest of Qohor on the edge of the Dothraki Sea.

7) The Stepstones. I expected the Stepstones to be far more extensive based on the talk of many islands and lots of hiding places for pirates. Instead there's just ten islands, the largest of which is the one that's appeared on every map since AGoT anyway.

Overall, lots of food for thought, likely to be expanded when the map grows to encompass Vaes Dothrak and Lhazar later on (like the title sequence apparently does). I'm assuming the ADWD map will be larger to show Volantis as well :)

[Datepalm]

Lorath is definitely a mystery. The only person we've ever met from there was Jaquen H;ghar, and he was fake. Maybe that why he chose Lorath for his cover identity though - you never run into anyone else from there.

[The Scabbard Of the Morning]

The Stepstones may have many more tiny islands that just won't show up on a map of this scale.

[lokisnow]

I never had any clue the other continent extended so far north. Any idea where Valyria (is it an island) might be? North of Bravos? would that put it close to the north (is that significant?).

Braavos is Very close to the Fingers. I wonder if the fingers in general are a hub of smuggling activity, which was part of Littlefinger's education and subsequent rise...

Sam's journey from Braavos all the way to OldTown was a very long one. I thought Braavos was further south, where Tyrosh is, Braavos, is barely a quarter of the journey, or less.

The makes it seem that it will be much easier for Arya to get from Braavos back to Westeros and back to the North than I had expected. There is probably a stronger trading route between white Harbor and Braavos than White Harbor and anywhere else. The problem is, if Arya goes straight to the North rather than back to the southron Westeros, how will she reunite with Nymeria, who presumably is still in the South and is unable to get through the Neck.

why aren't there more earthquakes, there's obviously a major fault line running through the Narrow sea that has split these continents apart. :-p

where's the equator at?

[Doom of Valyria]

Wasn't there already a map of that region in AFFC? I don't have my copy handy to check...

[Mandurang]

That is definitely a surprise. I thought the Free Cities were much more clustered together, rather than being so distant as one being on the Wall and another in Sunspear. I did not think Braavos would be so far North, either. I mean, it's great if we have a map, but it does not make much sense to me, given those and the points everyone else raised.

[morbiczer]

That is definitely a surprise. I thought the Free Cities were much more clustered together, rather than being so distant as one being on the Wall and another in Sunspear. I did not think Braavos would be so far North, either.

I too would have thought they are closer to each other, but Braavos is not so far North, certainly not on the same latitude as the Wall. Braavos is as North as the Vale, and the Vale is about in the centre of Westeros given the huge size of the North.

[Mandurang]

I too would have thought they are closer to each other, but Braavos is not so far North, certainly not on the same latitude as the Wall. Braavos is as North as the Vale, and the Vale is about in the centre of Westeros given the huge size of the North.

That's right, I actually thought the map was way more extended than that. It makes much more sense now.

[Dunknegg]

At first glance, the mind makes you think that it is identical in size from top to bottom as all of Westeros, but just think of it as from the Neck down and the locations make a lot more sense. I too would have thought the free cities would have been closer to one another. I suppose that Westeros is more populous(Dothraki/Quartheen excluded) per area than Essos...or at least a lot more detailed so that you see the smaller communities.

[Mandurang]

At first glance, the mind makes you think that it is identical in size from top to bottom as all of Westeros, but just think of it as from the Neck down and the locations make a lot more sense. I too would have thought the free cities would have been closer to one another. I suppose that Westeros is more populous(Dothraki/Quartheen excluded) per area than Essos...or at least a lot more detailed so that you see the smaller communities.

It's more believable than from the Wall, but I mean, from the Twins to Sunspear is still a pretty big distance for cities that seem to share a lot in all respects.

[Hyper]

I never had any clue the other continent extended so far north. Any idea where Valyria (is it an island) might be? North of Bravos? would that put it close to the north (is that significant?).

No, if you look at the ASOS map that included the remains of Valyria, it seems like Valyria is east of Lys (just off the bottom right corner of the map linked to in the first post of the thread).

But that is only my speculation...

[AzureOwl]

Looking at that map I’ve got to say, the Narrow Sea is a lot narrower than I imagined.

[Datepalm]

why aren't there more earthquakes, there's obviously a major fault line running through the Narrow sea that has split these continents apart. :-p

where's the equator at?

Looks like a spreading fault, like the atlantic, so not necessarily earthquakes, I think. If Dorne is at the desert latitudes, then the equator is a good bit firther south. Climatically, we haven't encountered the tropics. Maybe the Summer Isles, with their "Tall trees town".

[Rinso]

Hm. That's not what I imagined. It surprised me that Lys and Tyrosh are located on islands. Also, didn't expect Braavos to be so far up north and Lys so far south, and definately expected the Stepstones archipelago to be more dense with small isles and lagoons. And generally, I expected the Free Cities to be closer to one another (maybe except for Braavos), especially Myr, Tyrosh and Lys given their history of constant warring over the Disputed Lands. I also expect that ADWD is going to have a broader map, covering all the Free Cities.

As for lockesnow's question about where Valyria is, you might check your copy of ASOS. There's a map of the Slaver's Bay region there, and Valyria is right there, just west of Astapor, Meereen and Yunkai, over the Gulf of Grief. So that means it's southeast of the Free Cities. Also, Valyria wasn't an island, it was a peninsula that was shattered by the Doom.

[Thefalconemperor]

Looks like a spreading fault, like the atlantic, so not necessarily earthquakes, I think. If Dorne is at the desert latitudes, then the equator is a good bit firther south. Climatically, we haven't encountered the tropics. Maybe the Summer Isles, with their "Tall trees town".

Fun fact - subtropical highs only generate deserts when the prevailing easterly winds blow from land to sea and have no chance to pick up moisture from the water. In theory, eastern Dorne should be as humid as Miami or Hong Kong, becoming drier to the west until a near desert climate by Oldtown.

[Werthead]

The region mapped on the Slaver's Bay map in ASoS is some distance from the Free Cities. At the end of ASoS Daenerys muses that the Free Cities are 'thousands and thousands of leagues to the west'. Hyperbole and exaggeration, perhaps, but given it's only about 1,000 miles from Meereen to the far western edge of the map, it sounds like there's a lot more territory between the Free Cities and Valyria. Certainly Slaver's Bay isn't immediately adjacent to this map (though previous fan maps seemed to keep bringing this idea up). It'll be interesting to see if the ADWD map covers the territory inbetween or leaves the intervening portion unmapped.

[KAH]

Hm. That's not what I imagined. It surprised me that Lys and Tyrosh are located on islands. Also, didn't expect Braavos to be so far up north and Lys so far south, and definately expected the Stepstones archipelago to be more dense with small isles and lagoons. And generally, I expected the Free Cities to be closer to one another (maybe except for Braavos), especially Myr, Tyrosh and Lys given their history of constant warring over the Disputed Lands.

I think Braavos is about where I expected it, AFAIR, GRRM has indicated it on somewhat the same latitude as Gulltown before.

But the overall feeling of seeing it is still something of a surprise. I think this is due to a couple of factors;

1) We're given a 'modern' style map, with small pinpricks indicating huge Free cities, instead of the usual oldtimer maps.

2) Eventhough we knew Essos to be a huge continent, the category "Free Cities" indicates something more geographically tied together, like the cities of The Hanseatic League. This has led me to picture this part of Essos as a (or several) smaller rump part(s) of Essos jutting out in direction of Westeros, and widening out only further eastwards.

[Padraig]

2) Eventhough we knew Essos to be a huge continent, the category "Free Cities" indicates something more geographically tied together, like the cities of The Hanseatic League. This has led me to picture this part of Essos as a (or several) smaller rump part(s) of Essos jutting out in direction of Westeros, and widening out only further eastwards.

I was thinking of something like a bigger version of Great Britain in relation to Continental Europe. (Might reflect a lack of imagination on my part I suppose :)). I expected the two continents to be close at the Steptones but move away the further north they go. I didn't think the Narrow Sea referred to a very narrow sea between all of southern Westeros and Essos.

I don't think it creates any issues though. While Lys and Myr are relatively far away, presumably the issue is that they have both expanded into the Disputed Lands and that is where they fight. Lys and Myr are a lot closer than Sunspear and Highgarden and they were often fighting too.

Distance wise. I suppose Pentos and Myr are as close as Casterly Rock and Highgarden. That's not that far? And yes, I wonder is there more smaller islands in the Stepstones. I was thinking Florida keys here, which is wrong.

Very interesting.

I mean, from the Twins to Sunspear is still a pretty big distance for cities that seem to share a lot in all respects.

Do they share a lot? I can't recall. They are grouped together but there are mentioned differences.

[Werthead]

For the being-tied-together thing, the only major issue the map creates is that Braavos and Pentos are supposed to be closely allied together and here they are like a thousand miles apart. However, Braavos' isolation on the map explains how it managed to evade Valyrian discovery and conquest for many centuries. I wonder what the significance of the 'Braavosian Coastlands' is? Braavos establishing colony-states down the coast and beginning to turn itself into a greater power?

The oddest thing about the map is the sheer sense of the region being vast and uninhabited. Even taking into account the threat of Dothraki assaults, the entire area is very sparsely-populated compared to Westeros. Sure, each Free City likely has surrounding towns and villages and each Free City is probably bigger than King's Landing, but still, it feels like there should be nation-states, kingdoms and so forth flourishing here. Previous fan maps, which had Tyrosh-Myr-Lys-Volantis (and sometimes Lorath) closely situated to one another, and Pentos not that far to the north, made the area feel a little bit more busy with just a couple of larger uninhabited regions.

[Datepalm]

Fun fact - subtropical highs only generate deserts when the prevailing easterly winds blow from land to sea and have no chance to pick up moisture from the water. In theory, eastern Dorne should be as humid as Miami or Hong Kong, becoming drier to the west until a near desert climate by Oldtown.

Maybe...um...theres no corriolis force because...er...the planet dosen't rotate! The sun circles it instead...er...yeah.

ETA - population density - my go to image of the free cities was Renaissance Italy/eastern meditteranean, so the place definitely looks very sparce. Also, Lys and Tyrosh must be getting their food from somewhere, its hard to imagine major powers on islands that small without some holdings someplace, or its all trade, but then there must be a chain of trading posts, Venice-like, somewhere out there.

OTOH, theres not really a huge amount of big cities on Westeros either, but that means the Free Cities are more like significantly sized independent countries, and simply keep the moniker of "free cities" as a holdover from the days of independence from Valyria.(The enormous disputed lands would seem to suggest this) Becuase if they're not holding all the land in between, someone must be. Or it really is the Dothraki, stripping the land clean, and the cities each just buy safety for their immediate environs.