A glamor is a magical illusion.[1]
Magic
Glamors make the object of the magic appear differently to observers, although the object does not actually change its shape or have the qualities the glamor potrays.[2][1][3] Glamors are strongest when built on a particular object or body part belonging to the person which the illusion will resemble.[1] The object of the glamor wears an item to maintain the spell, such as a ruby[1] or perhaps a moonstone.[4] Sorcerers usually need to study for years before they are able to create a glamor.[5] Glamors can be dismissed by an observant viewer.[3]
Some red priests believe that glamors are made possible through R'hllor, the Lord of Light.[1]
History
Supposedly, Lord Brynden Rivers, Hand of the King to Aerys I Targaryen, could use the dark arts to change his face, though it was just one of many rumors about his powers. During the Second Blackfyre Rebellion, the moonstone-wearing Ser Maynard Plumm might have been a glamored Brynden Rivers.[4]
Recent Events
A Clash of Kings
In a magical ritual outside of Dragonstone's gates, Melisandre, a red priestess, has King Stannis Baratheon draw a longsword from the Mother's burning wooden statue, proclaiming that Stannis is Azor Ahai reborn, wielding Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes.[6]
When Stannis reveals his glowing sword to his brother, Renly Baratheon, Catelyn Stark notices a large ruby in its hilt.[7]
A Storm of Swords
Stannis touches Lightbringer to Davos Seaworth's shoulder when appointing him as his Hand of the King. Davos sees the longsword glowing orange, yellow, and red, and air shimmers around it. Davos does not notice heat, however.[8]
Following the battle beneath the Wall, Stannis draws Lightbringer upon Maester Aemon's request, and Samwell Tarly explains to the blind maester that the sword glows without flame. However, Maester Aemon later notes to Sam that he felt no heat from the sword, even though Sam says the air around it was shimmering. Sam confirms to the maester that the sword's scabbard was not scorched, burnt, or blackened by fire.[9]
A Feast for Crows
When Arya Stark tells the kindly man that Jaqen H'ghar appeared to change his face with magic, he replies that years of study are required to work a glamor.[5]
Because Stannis's sword radiates no heat, only light, the dying Maester Aemon tells Sam it is a false Lightbringer, its glow nothing more than a glamor.[2]
A Dance with Dragons
To spare Mance Rayder from being executed by Stannis, Melisandre glamors the King-Beyond-the-Wall. Mance wears a ruby in an iron fetter and Rattleshirt's bone armor to appear as him, while the Lord of Bones is likewise glamored into appearing as Mance, and executed in his place.[10][1] Lord Commander Jon Snow spars with "Rattleshirt" in the yard of Castle Black, and is shocked by the man's speed and skill, not knowing he is actually Mance.[11] Word reaches the Wall that Jon's sister Arya Stark is to wed Ramsay Bolton at Barrowton.[11] In a private meeting with Jon, Melisandre offers to send "Rattleshirt" to retrieve Arya, but Jon refuses, not trusting the Lord of Bones. Melisandre speaks a magical word to dismiss Mance's glamor, revealing his disguise to make Jon reconsider the offer.[1]
In Braavos, the kindly man explains to Arya Stark that the magic of the Faceless Men is different from glamors, as their magic actually alters the person's appearance and cannot be seen through like a glamor.[3]
Quotes
All sorcery comes at a cost, child. Years of prayer and sacrifice and study are required to work a proper glamor.[5]
—kindly man to Arya Stark
The sword is wrong, she has to know that... light without heat... an empty glamor... the sword is wrong, and the false light can only lead us deeper into darkness.[2]
—Aemon to Samwell Tarly
Mance: The glamor, aye. I feel it when I sleep. Warm against my skin, even through the iron. Soft as a woman's kiss. Your kiss. But sometimes in my dreams it starts to burn, and your lips turn into teeth. Every day I think how easy it would be to pry it out, and every day I don't. Must I wear the bloody bones as well?
Melisandre: The spell is made of shadow and suggestion. Men see what they expect to see.[1]—Mance Rayder and Melisandre
Jon: What sorcery is this?
Melisandre: Call it what you will. Glamor, seeming, illusion. R'hllor is Lord of Light, Jon Snow, and it is given to his servants to weave with it, as others weave with thread.[1]—Jon Snow and Melisandre
The bones remember. The strongest glamors are built of such things. A dead man's boots, a hank of hair, a bag of fingerbones. With whispered words and prayer, a man's shadow can be drawn forth from such and draped about another like a cloak. The wearer's essence does not change, only his seeming.[1]
—Melisandre to Jon Snow
Mummers change their faces with artifice, and sorcerers use glamors, weaving light and shadow and desire to make illusions that trick the eye. These arts you shall learn, but what we do here goes deeper. Wise men can see through artifice, and glamors dissolve before sharp eyes, but the face you are about to don will be as true and solid as that face you were born with.[3]
—kindly man to Arya Stark
This close, there was something queer about the cast of Ser Maynard's features. The longer Dunk looked, the less he seemed to see.[4]
—thoughts of Duncan the Tall
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 31, Melisandre I.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 35, Samwell IV.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 64, The Ugly Little Girl.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Mystery Knight.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 22, Arya II.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 10, Davos I.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 31, Catelyn III.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 36, Davos IV.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 78, Samwell V.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 10, Jon III.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 28, Jon VI.