Editing Melisandre (section)

===''A Clash of Kings''===
Melisandre resides at Dragonstone, where she has converted Lady [[Selyse Florent]] to the faith of [[R'hllor]]. She is feared by most of the servants, who call her "the red woman" as they do not dare to say her name.{{Ref|ACOK|Prologue}} Melisandre believes that Stannis fulfills an ancient prophecy from [[Asshai]], and is [[Azor Ahai]] reborn.{{Ref|ACOK|10}} Determined to stop Melisandre's "madness" from spreading beyond Dragonstone, Stannis's [[maester]], [[Cressen]], proposes a toast between himself and Melisandre, using [[Strangler|poisoned wine]]. Melisandre drinks most of the wine and remains unharmed, but Cressen dies drinking the remaining fluid.{{Ref|ACOK|Prologue}}

Although Stannis is not as committed to [[R'hllor]] as his wife and the [[queen's men]] in his court, Melisandre convinces him to burn the statues of [[Faith of the Seven|the Seven]] from the castle sept of Dragonstone in sacrifice to R'hllor.{{Ref|ACOK|10}} Outside of Dragonstone's gates, Melisandre proclaims Stannis to be Azor Ahai reborn and has him pull a burning sword from the fire, declaring it to be the legendary sword [[Lightbringer]].{{Ref|ACOK|10}} He eventually creates a new sigil for himself, the fiery heart of the Lord of Light.{{Ref|ACOK|31}}

In [[King's Landing]], Lord [[Petyr Baelish]] reminds the [[small council]] that some years past, Varys had reported that Selyse had taken up with a [[red priest]]. The councilors decide to use Melisandre's religion and the [[greyscale]] of Princess [[Shireen Baratheon]] to discredit Stannis.{{ref|ACOK|15}}

[[File:Shadow baby birth.jpg|250px|thumb|Melisandre births a [[shadow child|shadow assassin]], by Anja Dalisa ©]]

Stannis's brother [[Renly Baratheon|Renly]], [[Lord of Storm's End]], has also declared himself king, and has gathered the support from most [[stormlanders]] and men from the [[Reach]]. When Stannis sets sail from Dragonstone to [[Siege of Storm's End (299)|besiege Storm's End]], Melisandre accompanies him. She urges Stannis to meet with Renly and give him a last chance to swear his loyalty to Stannis.{{Ref|ASOS|36}} During the meeting, she serves as Stannis's standard bearer.{{Ref|ACOK|31}} Melisandre had previously seen Renly's death in her flames,{{Ref|ACOK|Prologue}} and outside the walls of [[Storm's End]]{{ref|ACOK|42}} she creates a [[shadow child|shadow]] which kills Renly the morning he is to march to battle against Stannis. [[Catelyn Stark]] feels Stannis's presence in Renly's pavilion and blames him for Renly's death.{{Ref|ACOK|33}}

Stannis begins to have terrible nightmares after Renly's death, and only Melisandre can soothe him to sleep.{{ref|ACOK|42}} Although many stormlords join Stannis after Renly's death, some loyal forces continue to hold Storm's End, and Ser [[Loras Tyrell]] returns to [[Bitterbridge]] to take control over sixty thousand men Renly had left behind.{{ref|ACOK|36}}

The castellan of Storm's End, Ser [[Cortnay Penrose]], refuses to yield the castle or his ward, [[Edric Storm]]. Stannis tells Ser [[Davos Seaworth]] that Melisandre has foreseen that Cortnay will die within a day. He also reveals that she has seen Renly smashing Stannis's forces beneath the walls of King's Landing, but Stannis believes that Renly's death has prevented that scenario from happening. At night Stannis has Davos row Melisandre into a tunnel underneath Storm's End, where she births a shadow which Davos recognizes as Stannis's.{{ref|ACOK|42}} Cortnay is then thrown to his death by the shadow,{{ref|AWOIAF|Cortnay Penrose}} though his death is made to look like he jumped from a tower.{{ref|ACOK|44}} After Lord [[Elwood Meadows]] surrenders Storm's End to Stannis,{{ref|ACOK|45}} Melisandre has her king burn the castle's [[godswood at Storm's End|ancient godswood]].{{ref|ACOK|52}}

With Storm's End taken, Stannis is ready to march on King's Landing. By stating that men might say Stannis owes his crown to Melisandre's spells if he allows her to take part in the battle to come, Lord [[Bryce Caron]] convinces Stannis to send Melisandre back to Dragonstone, where she resides while Stannis and his forces fight at the capital.{{Ref|ACOK|58}} Stannis is defeated in the [[Battle of the Blackwater]], however, after the arrival of the armies of Lords [[Tywin Lannister]] and [[Mace Tyrell]].{{ref|ACOK|62}}{{ref|ACOK|65}} Ser [[Garlan Tyrell]], leading Tywin's vanguard,{{ref|ASOS|10}} wears Renly's green armor during the charge of the newcomers,{{ref|ASOS|67}} making Melisandre's vision of Renly in his green armor defeating Stannis's forces underneath the walls of King's Landing{{Ref|ACOK|42}} come true, after a fashion.