Stranger (the Seven)
The Stranger is one of the seven aspects of a single deity. Believers of the Faith of the Seven consider their god to be one with seven aspects, as the sept is a single building with seven walls.[1] The Stranger is an exception in that he is viewed in a negative light, with worshippers rarely praying to him.[2][3]
Contents
Culture
- See also: Images of the Stranger
The Stranger represents death and the unknown, and he leads the dead to the other world.[1][4] Whilst referred to as male, he is neither male nor female.[1] The Stranger's face has been described as half-human, concealed beneath a hooded mantle.[5][6] The wooden statue of the Stranger in the sept of Dragonstone is carved to look more animal than human.[7]
Worshippers rarely seek favor from the Stranger or light candles at his altars.[2][8] The Stranger is also rarely sung to in songs, such as the "The Song of the Seven".[3]
Silent sisters are sometimes referred to as the Stranger's wives[9] or his handmaidens.[10] They clothe themselves in grey and keep their faces cowled except for their eyes.[11] Silent sisters traverse the Stranger's Steps within the Great Sept of Baelor.[12]
The House of Black and White in Braavos contains a public shrine with idols of many death gods, though the the shrine of the Stranger is rarely visited.[13] The Faceless Men believe that the Stranger is actually the Many-Faced God.[14]
Sandor Clegane's horse is named Stranger.[15]
History
Queen Rhaenys Targaryen decided upon the rule of six as a form of punishment, omitting a seventh blow because of the Stranger.[16]
The year 54 AC became known as the Year of the Stranger due to the deaths and tragedies that befell House Targaryen and the Seven Kingdoms.[17]
During the Dance of the Dragons, the Shepherd preached about the Stranger to a crowd before the Storming of the Dragonpit.[18]
During the Second Blackfyre Rebellion, Ser Duncan the Tall slew Ser Tommard Heddle before the altar of the Stranger within the sept of Whitewalls.[2]
Recent Events
A Clash of Kings
Catelyn Stark prays at a modest sept in a village near Storm's End. The sept has no statues of the Seven, only rough charcoal drawings to represent them. The Stranger's face is a black oval, a shadow with stars for eyes which makes Catelyn uneasy.[1]
In the royal sept of the Red Keep, Tyrion Lannister lights a candle at the altar of the Warrior for his brother, Ser Jaime Lannister, and then a candle at the Stranger's altar for himself.[19]
Upon entering the royal sept before the Battle of the Blackwater, Sansa Stark sees that there are even a few candle flames dancing below the Stranger’s half-human face. Sansa visits each of the Seven in turn, lighting a candle at each altar.[5]
A Storm of Swords
After the death of King Joffrey I Baratheon, his funeral bier is laid out the Stranger in the royal sept.[20]
A Dance with Dragons
In the House of Black and White, Arya Stark finds a dead young man at the feet of the Stranger.[21]
During her confinement beneath the Great Sept of Baelor, Cersei Lannister prays to all the aspects of the godhead, even the Stranger.[22]
The Winds of Winter
| Warning This information has thus far been released in a sample chapter for The Winds of Winter, and might therefore not be in finalized form. Keep in mind that the content as described below is still subject to change. |
As the second siege of Meereen is resuming, Ser Barristan Selmy prays to all of the Seven, even the Stranger.[23] Tyrion Lannister thinks to himself that the Stranger has mounted his pale mare and is riding toward them with his sword in hand.[24]
In Braavos, Marro portrays the Stranger in a performance of a new play, The Bloody Hand.[25]
Quotes
And the seventh face ... the Stranger was neither male nor female, yet both, ever the outcast, the wanderer from far places, less and more than human, unknown and unknowable.[1]
—Catelyn Stark's thoughts
The Stranger's face was the face of death. Even talking of him made Sam uncomfortable.[3]
—Samwell Tarly's thoughts
When we find the Imp, we will find the Lady Sansa too. She is not dead ... but before I am done with her, I promise you, she will be singing to the Stranger, begging for his kiss.[26]
—Cersei Lannister to the small council
The Stranger waits outside my door and will not be denied.[27]
—Aemon to Samwell Tarly
I thought I was the Warrior and Cersei was the Maid, but all the time she was the Stranger, hiding her true face from my gaze.[6]
—Jaime Lannister's thoughts
All the prayers they had taught her as a girl came back to Cersei in her cell, and she made up new ones as needed, calling on the Mother and the Maiden, on the Father and the Warrior, on the Crone and the Smith. She had even prayed to the Stranger. Any god in a storm.[22]
—Cersei Lannister's thoughts
Red Lamb: I am not afraid. Should I die, I will go before the Great Shepherd of Lhazar, break his crook across my knee, and say to him, 'Why did you make your people lambs, when the world is full of wolves?' Then I will spit into his eye.
Barristan: Well said...but take care that you do not seek death out there, or you will surely find it. The Stranger comes for all of us, but we need not rush into his arms.[23]—The Red Lamb and Barristan Selmy
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 33, Catelyn IV.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Mystery Knight.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 46, Samwell III.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 62, Jaime VII.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 57, Sansa V.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 30, Jaime IV.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 10, Davos I.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 28, Cersei VI.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 4, Brienne I.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 42, Brienne VIII.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 39, Catelyn V.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 8, Jaime I.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 22, Arya II.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 34, Cat Of The Canals.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 47, Arya IX.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, Three Heads Had the Dragon - Governance Under King Aegon I.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, Birth, Death, and Betrayal Under King Jaehaerys Y.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 44, Tyrion X.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 67, Jaime VIII.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 45, The Blind Girl.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 54, Cersei I.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 The Winds of Winter, Barristan I
- ↑ The Winds of Winter, Tyrion II
- ↑ The Winds of Winter, Mercy
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 17, Cersei IV.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 26, Samwell III.