Butterfly

Butterflies in the arms of House Mullendore

Butterflies are insects known for their brightly-colored wings.

Characteristics

Naath, the Isle of Butterflies in the Summer Sea, is said to have a hundred varieties of the insect. Some believe that butterfly fever is caused by a specific type of butterfly, with Archmaester Ebrose suggesting a large black-and-white variety with wings as large as a man's hand. Butterflies are active in the day, enjoying the morning dew and the afternoon sun.

Culture

A cloud of black-and-orange butterflies appear in the arms of House Mullendore; Ser Mark Mullendore has been called the butterfly knight.

The Naathi worship the Lord of Harmony, who is said to be attended by swarms of slender maidens with butterfly wings. The wooden hall of the Lord of Harmony in Braavos has windows of leaded glass which show half a hundred kinds of brightly-colored butterflies.

A pillow house in Lys has Naathi girls who wear diaphanous silken gowns and gaily-painted butterfly wings.

History

Before their abduction from Naath, Missandei once found her brother Mossador asleep in their garden with a hundred butterflies crawling on him.

Quotes

The butterfly spirits sacred to their Lord of Harmony protected their isle against those who would do them harm. Many conquerors had sailed on Naath to blood their swords, only to sicken and die. The butterflies do not help them when the slave ships come raiding, though.

—thoughts of Daenerys Targaryen

Whether the butterflies of Naath are true handmaids of the Lord of Harmony, or no more than common insects like their cousins in the Seven Kingdoms, it may well be that the Naathi are not wrong in regarding them as guardians.

—writings of Yandel