The Lord of Light

R'hllor, also known as the Lord of Light, the Heart of Fire, the God of Flame and Shadow, is a prominent god in Essos, with a notable presence in the Stormlands in Westeros, where he is more commonly (and often derisively) known as the red god. His symbol is a fiery heart. Red priests lead prayers to R'hllor at red temples.

The religion of the Lord of Light has been split into two major sects. One sect, Azorian R’hllorism, proclaims that in 300 AC a Long Night began, and in northern Westeros a great war was waged between mankind and the Others, with Azor Ahai being reborn as Beric Dondarrion and defeating the enemy. Orthodox R’hllorites maintain that the Long Night is yet to occur, and that the faithful should remain pious and vigilant.

## Beliefs

The religion is based on a dualistic, manichean view of the world: R'hllor, the god of light, heat, and life, and R'hllor's antithesis the Great Other, the god of ice and death. They are locked in an eternal struggle over the fate of the world; a struggle that, according the ancient prophecies from the books of Asshai, will only end when Azor Ahai, the messianic figure, returns wielding a flaming sword called Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, and raises dragons from stone.

R’hllor is also called the Lord of Light, the Heart of Fire, the God of Flame and Shadow. His nemesis, the Great Other, whose name may not be spoken, is known as the Lord of Darkness, the Soul of Ice, the God of Night and Terror.

Followers of the Lord of Light consider themselves to be slaves of R'hllor. In life they should serve their Lord's will, and then in death they will be cleansed by R'hllor's flames. For this reason, they consider a death by fire to be the purest way to die. It is believed that life is warm and a gift from R'hllor, and upon death a person ascends to the Hall of Light and sits beside their lord.

## Believers

The Lord of Light is worshipped primarily in Essos. R’hllor is worshipped in Asshai and red temples can be found in most of the Free Cities. The red temple in Volantis is exceptionally large, said to be the greatest in all the world. Red Temples can also be found in Dorne, primarily for travelers, and R'hllorism has a presence in the Stormlands as well. Even the Wall in Westeros has followers of Azorian R'hllorism, being considered a holy place for the sect.

Red Priests are the most commonly-seen clergy of the Lord of Light and can be Azorian or Orthodox. They can be male or female, and wear loose robes of red. The slave-priests of the Volantene temple have flames tattooed across their faces, as is the custom in Volantis. They are taught prayers (and spells for the Orthodox), and a rare few are gifted with the ability to see visions in the flames.

## Orthodox R'hllorism

Orthodox R’hllorism is, for the most part, the same religion following the Lord of Light that has been in Essos for centuries. The followers of this sect are mainly found in Volantis, Qohor, Asshai, Lys, Tyrosh, and Myr. With such sites as Asshai and the red temple in Volantis supporting the Orthodoxy, the sect has a large amount of traditional support. The entire faith is lead by the High Priest of the Red Temple of Volantis, who holds the titles of Flame of Truth, Light of Wisdom, First Servant of the Lord of Light, and Slave of R’hllor. The High Priest presides over all major decisions regarding the faith. He also commands an order of exactly one thousand slave warriors at the Red Temple, known as the Fiery Hand.

For Orthodox followers of R’hllor, life is heavily centered around the red temple, ritual prayer, and piety. In Orthodox communities, red priests are considered very important leaders, oftentimes even more so than political leaders. The Orthodox red temples are very exclusive, and new members are almost always either born in, brought in as children, or bought as slaves and converted. This has lead to the sect having trouble spreading, but maintaining a strong and centralized organization and community. A common criticism of the faith of the Lord of Light is that its members practice human sacrifice. This is only true for the Orthodox branch, who believe that sacrificing goals, wealth, life, and more are a way of showing devotion to the Lord of Light and gaining his blessing.

The city of Volantis is staunchly Orthodox as the Red Temple of Volantis and its High Priest would never turn to the very decentralized Azorianism. As for Asshai, they follow Orthodox R'hllorism ashe Asshai'i are so steeped in their ancient traditions and mystical arts that they refuse to change and adapt to a new form of R'hllorism, especially one that finds mysticism to be taboo. In Qohor the Orthodoxy is prevalent as human sacrifice and mysticism from Orthodox R'hllorism is easily accepted by the Qohorik culture, and being on a tributary of the Rhoyne they have more contact with Volantis and in turn the High Priest. Finally, the Three Daughters have an equal amount of Azorian and Orthodox followers as their location and trade brings in red priests from both sects. Additionally, the Daughters are close to Westeros, but also close to Volantis, giving the High Priest considerable influence.

## Azorian R'hllorism

Azorian R’hllorites, so called because they believe Azor Ahai was reborn in the form of Beric Dondarrion, are in many ways very similar to Orthodox R’hllorites to outsiders, but the structure of the religions and way of life for Azorians is different in several key ways. Unlike the Orthodox faith, Azorianism is highly decentralized and has no central leadership. Each red temple and red priest is instead independent of each other, though they will still converse with each other to better understand the faith and practices. Though the Azorians believe Beric Dondarrion was Azor Ahai reborn, they still believe another Long Night will come, but that it will be centuries before that occurs.

While it can be said that most followers of R’hllor are fanatically devoted to their god, Azorian R’hllorites don’t incorporate their faith into their lives as much as Orthodox R’hllorites do. The red temples are important and worship at them is essential (unless none are present), but life doesn’t necessarily have to revolve around them. While Orthodox temples will take in abandoned children and treat their slaves better than most masters would, Azorian temples rarely use slaves and will reach out to help smallfolk regardless of their faith. While human sacrifice is not strictly outlawed in Azorianism, it is considered taboo and largely unnecessary.

Since the Wall and beyond is believed to be the place where the Others were fought in the Long Night, and the original followers who spread Azorianism were from the Night's Watch, Castle Black has become a holy place for the religion. There's a small red temple located there, and its not uncommon for Azorian fanatics to enlist in the Nights Watch.

In Braavos, Azorianism is more commonly followed as the city was the first place where the Black Brothers landed spreading the tale of the Long Night. The lesser use of slaves in Azorianism and the greater religious tolerance is also well regarded by the Braavosi. In Pentos, close contact with Braavos, and the fact that Azor Ahai is proclaimed to have been Westerosi is more acceptable due to their proximity to Westeros. The Stormlander R'hllorites are Azorian since it was Stormlander Black Brothers that spread it there, and Azor Ahai himself was a Stormlander. The Three Daughters have an equal amount of Azorian and Orthodox followers as their location and trade brings in red priests from both sects. Additionally, the Daughters are close to Westeros, but also close to Volantis, giving the High Priest considerable influence.

## Azor Ahai

According to legends from Asshai and the mythos of the religion, Azor Ahai was a great hero, chosen by the Lord of Light to fight a great darkness that covered the land. To do so he forged the Red Sword of Heroes, known as Lightbringer. On his first attempt to forge the sword, he spent thirty days and thirty nights working on it, then tempered the blade in water. The blade shattered, and so he tried again. This time it took him fifty days and fifty nights, and he tempered it by plunging the sword into the heart of a lion. Again, the blade shattered. On his final attempt, Azor Ahai toiled for a hundred days and a hundred nights, and tempered the sword by stabbing his wife in the heart with it. Lightbringer was forged, and Azor Ahai drove back the darkness.

There are ancient books of prophecy in Asshai, dating back to over five thousand years ago, that say Azor Ahai shall be reborn. There are several indicators, according to prophecy, that shall herald his return. He will be born again amidst salt and smoke, after a long summer when the red star bleeds and a cold darkness gathers over the world. Azor Ahai shall then wake dragons from stone, and draw from fire a burning Lightbringer.

## The Schism of the R'hllor Faith

In the early 300s, brothers of the Night’s Watch who had been converted by the red priest Thoros of Myr went to Essos with tales of having fought the Others in what they claimed to have been the Long Night. The first place they landed in was the nearby Free City of Braavos, where the red priests believed what they said and agreed that Beric Dondarrion, who helped to lead the fighting at the Wall, was Azor Ahai reborn. The black brothers knew they needed to inform the other followers of R’hllor of what had happened, and so they travelled to Pentos, Tyrosh, and Myr. A couple of the brothers even went to the Stormlands where some of Stannis Baratheon’s converted followers reside, Azor Ahai reborn had hailed from, and the two black brothers were originally from.

Word of this new soon reached the Red Temple of Volantis. The High Priest and the clergy were skeptical of these reports, as they believed they would have seen the Others and experienced the Long Night if it had truly come again. He quickly contacted the priests in Lys, Myr, Tyrosh, and Qohor and persuaded them of his position. In the Three Daughters, some of the red priests were instead persuaded of the Azorian beliefs, creating a split within those cities themselves. High Priest Benerro began to have his own doubts of what happened and wanted to confirm his ideas, so he sent an emissary, Melisandre, to Asshai to consult with the texts, priests, and flames there. She returned having reported that the Asshai’i and herself believed something happened involving the Others, but that it did not classify as the Long Night and so Azor Ahai must not have been reborn.

As time passed on, the small differences between the two sects of R’hllorism were exaggerated and became traditions. The Orthodoxy retained their traditional practices, and the clergy became more invested in the mystical aspects of the faith as a result of their limited connections with Asshai, and due to a fear that Long Night will come soon. Ever since the High Priest reached out to the Three Daughters and Qohorik red temples during the splitting of the faith, the High Priest became more of a central figure in the Orthodox sect. The Azorian R’hllorites in contrast to the Orthodox had no fears about the Long Night coming anytime soon. This lack of fear gave rise to the Azorians feeling less of a need to be fully invested in the red temples and their faith. Beric Dondarrion’s actions in Westeros with the Brotherhood Without Banners also inspired the Azorian red priests to follow his example and reach out to the common people more than the Orthodox might.

## Practices

The most ubiquitous ritual performed by the red priests is the lighting of the nightfires. At sunset, a fire is lit and the followers will stand around it for an hour. During this time, the followers will pray to R'hllor. Prayers are typically guided by a priest, who will thank R'hllor for the day, and pray for him to return the dawn. The followers will respond to the prayer with their own set of words. Some priests will tend to the fires all night, and additional fires are also lit at sunrise.

After years of training, a red priest may be able to see visions in the flames of a nightfire. It is said that these visions are vague, and infamously hard to interpret, but they are never wrong. They may show a past, or a future. A vision of the future could also be one of a certain future, or just a possible future. Despite the difficulty in interpreting visions, red priests who interpret incorrectly are subject to much criticism.

When a person dies, it is customary for a red priest to perform "the last kiss". The last kiss involves a priest breathing fire down the deceased's mouth, which will then enter the throat and go into the lungs, heart, and soul.

During marriage, a priest says prayers which are answered by guests, in a similar fashion as to the prayers during a nightfire, or before a trial by combat. The bride is brought before the priest and groom by a ditchfire, who asks the bride to identify herself, and then asks who claims her. The pair are asked if they'll share their fire with the other when the night is dark and full of terrors. After these vows, the two leap over the ditchfire together, to emerge as one. Finally, the groom removes the maiden’s cloak and places the bride’s cloak around her shoulders. The ceremony is concluded by a feast.