Braavos

Braavos is the wealthiest and likely the most powerful of the Free Cities. It is located in a lagoon on the northwestern end of Essos, where the narrow sea and the Shivering Sea meet. Braavos is also known as Braavos of the Hundred Isles and the Secret City, a name also attributed to the city Nefer, the last remaining city of N'ghai. Braavos is sometimes referred to as the "bastard daughter of Valyria".

## City

### Location

Nine Free Cities on the continent of Essos:
Pentos, Braavos, Lys, Qohor, Norvos, Myr, Tyrosh, Volantis, Lorath

Braavos sprawls across a hundred islands in a vast lagoon found where the Shivering Sea and the narrow sea come together. The Volantenes are fond of boasting that the hundred isles of Braavos can be dropped and drowned in their own harbor at the mouth of the Rhoyne.

The nearby mainland is mostly marshland, whilst the seaward sides of Braavos are protected by tall, mountainous islands which form a semi-circle around the city, such as Sellagoro's Shield. Firewood is brought in by barge, while pines on the islands surrounding the city are left to act as windbreaks to protect the harbors, and are illegal to cut down.

To enter the lagoon in which Braavos is located, one must pass beneath the Titan of Braavos, a stone fortress in the shape of a huge warrior. The Titan roars every dawn and every sunset, and appears to roar every hour as well, as well as when a ship is approaching. Its roar can be heard across the city, faint, but capable of waking the sleeping city. Just beyond the Titan is located the Arsenal, a vast shipyard where a warship can be built in a day and which is warned by the Titan.

In autumn, Braavos generally knows three types of weather: fog, rain, and freezing rain. However, there are also days that are clear, crisp, and bright. Close to winter, the canals can have ice on them.

There is a stretch of land to the south claimed by Braavos, the Braavosian Coastland. The western coast of Lorath Bay is also under Braavosi control. The Braavosi fleets dominate the seas northwest of Essos, protected by the warlords belonging to the Sealord.

### Drowned Town

The Drowned Town is the eldest part of the city. It is located in an area in the north-west of the city, directly north of the Ragman's Harbor, where the town has fallen into the lagoon and only the domes and towers of the old buildings are visible above the surface of the water. In the higher part of the half-submerged buildings, some of the poorer people still live. The Spotted Cellar is located near the gates to the Drowned Town. There, eel fights are held. East of the Drowned Town, the Gate can be found.

### Ports

Scattered throughout the city are small wharves and landings for fishermen and ferries. Some of the wharves are located below the Drowned Town. Further, the city is served by three main harbors: the Chequy Port, located directly behind the Arsenal, where ships arriving in Braavos have to submit to inspection by the Sealord's customs officers upon arrival in the city; the Purple Harbor, located in the north of the city beneath the towers and domes of the Sealord's Palace, a harbor for Braavosi ships only; and the Ragman's Harbor, also called the Outer Harbor, located in the west of the city, where all foreign ships are allowed to dock. Ragman's is poorer, rougher, dirtier, and noisier than the Purple Harbor.

### Temples

All gods are honored in Braavos, and therefore, there are many temples and shrines to be found in the city. Most of the temples are located on the Isle of the Gods in the center of the city. Amongst them is the Temple of the Moonsingers, who led the original Braavosi refugees to the islands. Theirs is the biggest temple, built of white marble capped with a silvered dome, milk glass windows showing all the phases of the moon, and a pair of marble maidens flanks its gates. Other temples of note are the temple of the Father of Waters, which is rebuilt whenever he takes a new bride, the Temple of the Lord of Light, and the Sept-Beyond-the-Sea, where only Westerosi come to pray. Homage is done to the Many-Faced God at the House of Black and White, the home of the secretive Faceless Men.

Other sites include the shrine of the Weeping Lady of Lys, the Gardens of Gelenei, the wooden hall of the Lord of Harmony, the house of the Great Shepherd, a three-turreted tower honoring Trios, the Stones of the Silent God, the Patternmaker's Maze, the temple of Aquan the Red Bull, and twin temples honoring Semosh and Selloso, and the temple of the Cult of Starry Wisdom. Even gods that have no more followers are honored in a temple called the Holy Refuge or, colloquially, the Warren.

### Establishments

The best inns, alehouses and brothels lie near the Purple Harbor or the Moon Pool. Bravos fight at night at the latter. Healers for hire are found at the House of the Red Hands. The Blue Lantern and the Dome, two mummers' playhouses, are located near the Purple Harbor. Near Ragman's Harbor, one can find the Inn of the Green Eel‎‎, the Black Bargeman, Moroggo's, the Foghouse the Outcast Inn, the House of Seven Lamps, the Satin Palace, the Sailmender and the Cattery, the Happy Port, across from the Mummer's Ship, Pynto's, and beneath the second arch of Nabbo's Bridge lies a winesink, a small, cramped, dirty establishment with barely enough space to fit ten people.

### People

By and large, Braavosi are a kind people, great lovers of song. Wealthy Braavosi dress in charcoal grey, purple, blues so dark that are almost black, and blacks as dark as moonlight. Sword-wielding bravos, in contrast, dress in flamboyant colors. Instead of traveling by horse, the Braavosi use boats. The Braavosi tongue is a bastard version of High Valyrian, and the trade tongue is also spoken among the wharves, docks, and sailor's taverns. The Braavosi calendar is different from that of Westeros.
Braavos is renowned worldwide for its courtesans. Every courtesan has her own barge and servants to work them. Songs are sung about them, and they are showered with gifts from goldsmiths and craftsmen beg for their custom. Additionally, pugnacious bravos fill the city, frequently dueling to display their skill. Visibly wearing a sword at night means that you can be challenged to a fight, but the bravos do not bother anyone who does not wear a sword. Bravos are known to kill each other in the name of courtesans, and some take it as a challenge when another claims that another woman than the Nightingale is the most beautiful woman in the world. The Black Pearl is considered by some to be the most famous courtesan.

Braavosi culture has created a unique form of sword fighting, the water dance. The style is a refined form of fencing in which the practitioner stands sideways and wields a slender blade. The greatest of the bravos call themselves water dancers, and they always duel at night. They take their name from the custom of dueling on the Moon Pool, near the Sealord's Palace.

The ruler of the city is the Sealord, who lives in the Sealord's Palace in the northeast of the city. Instead of hereditary succession, the Sealord, currently Ferrego Antaryon, is chosen by Braavosi magisters and keyholders through a convoluted process, and he serves for life. The selection of his successor can be highly contested and can resort to violence. The Sealord's personal guard is commanded by the First Sword of Braavos. The exact position of the Third Sword is not known. The city watch also patrol the city.

Instead of making farces, Braavosi mummers perform plays of written stories. Braavosi mummers can be found at such playhouses as the Ship, the Gate, the Blue Lantern, and the Dome. Only in Braavos may mummers openly mock authorities such as the Sealord or portray them in humiliating acts without persecution or punishment.

The anniversary of the Uncloaking is celebrated annually. The masked feasts last for ten days, and culminate in the midnight of the tenth day, when the Titan roars and all of the celebrants remove their masks at the same time.

### Economy

Braavos is the wealthiest of the Free Cities, in part due to the wealth and influence of the Iron Bank, they are rivalled in power by Volantis only. The Iron Bank lends money to foreign nations, including the Seven Kingdoms. Braavosi coins are square and made from iron.

During the years when Braavos was as of yet undiscovered, the city prospered. The Braavosi discovered a sea snail similar to those that could be found at Tyrosh, and whose dyes had made the city famous. The snail found by the Braavosi yielded dark purple dye, which the Braavosi used to color the sails of the ships the founders had stolen from the Valyrians. They paint their hulls purple too. At first, Braavos began to trade with Ib, and later the Seven Kingdoms.

Braavos has a seafaring trade culture. Much of the city's early wealth came from the brackish waters of the lagoon. These waters yielded oysters, eels, crabs, crawfish, clams, rays, and many sorts of fish. Braavosi ships paint their hulls purple and their merchant ships sail to many distant lands and bring their trade and wealth back home. One hears of purple sails as far away as Asshai and the islands of the Jade Sea. In the present, Braavos is one of the greatest ports of the world, where all but slavers are allowed to dock. Even ships from Qarth and the Summer Isles come to Braavos to trade.

## History

### Foundation

Unlike the other Free Cities, Braavos was never part of the Valyrian Freehold. The youngest of these cities, Braavos was founded by escaped slaves, fleeing the grasp of the Freehold. The slaves rebelled on their way from Valyria to a new colony in Sothoryos, took control of the ships, and turned north instead of south, travelling as far as they could. According to the histories of Braavos, it was a group of slave women from the lands of Jogos Nhai, the moonsingers, who predicted where shelter could be found. Thus, the slaves travelled to the distant lagoon, hidden away from sight of the dragonlords by the wall of hills covered with pine trees and the fog covering the lagoon. The founders of Braavos risked their lives for freedom, and swore a vow that no one in their city would ever be a slave, thrall, or bondsman. This vow became the First Law of Braavos, and is engraved on the arch spanning the Long Canal.

Some of the fugitives who helped found Braavos hid their valuables in an abandoned iron mine, and the chambers of the mine filled as the city grew. Richer Braavosi began lending their wealth, and thus began the famous Iron Bank of Braavos. The secretive Faceless Men are also connected with Braavos, but the order of assassins are rumored to be even older than the city.

The exact founding date of Braavos is unknown, and the existence of the city was kept secret for a century. While Maester Yandel states that Sealord Uthero Zalyne had sent forth his ships to every corner of the world in order to proclaim the existence and location of Braavos during the Uncloaking (or Unmasking) of Uthero at the 111th festival celebrating the city's founding, the city's location remained hidden for another few centuries. Settlements were paid to the descendants of the former masters of the escaped slaves to compensate for the ships that had been stolen, though the Braavosi refused to pay for the value of the slaves.

At Bitterweed Bay, the Sealord of Braavos sent the last great war fleet of the Kingdom of Sarnor to the bottom.

Harwyn Hoare visited Braavos and other Free Cities before succeeding his father Qhorwyn as King of the Iron Islands.

### After the Doom

During the Century of Blood following the Doom of Valyria, Volantis attempted to take control of Valyria's daughters. The Volantenes managed to take control over Myr and Lys, but when they attempted to take Tyrosh they met with resistance. In the rebellion against Volantis, the Sealord of Braavos sent a hundred warships to the aid of Lys.

During Aegon's Conquest, a dozen Braavosi warships helped the Kingdom of Mountain and Vale in battle against the Targaryen's in the Gullet. During the Sistermen's Rebellion after the Conquest, the north hired a Braavosi fleet to transport Ser Warrick Manderly's host to the Three Sisters. Queen Marla Sunderland was deposed when the fleet came into sight, and her brother Steffon yielded the islands peacefully.