Faith of the Seven

The Faith of the Seven, often simply referred to to as the Faith, is the dominant religion in most of the Seven Kingdoms. Followers of the Faith in the north are rare and are generally not found on the Iron Islands, where the religions of the old gods of the First Men and of the Drowned God respectively are still strong. The gods of the Faith are sometimes known as the new gods to differentiate them from the old gods from the north.

The Faith of the Seven arose among the Andals who lived in the hills of Andalos. The Faith was brought to Westeros when the Andals invaded from Essos thousands of years ago and largely supplanted the local worship of the old gods. Some of the Andal warriors had the seven-pointed star of the Faith carved into their flesh to show their devotion. Although the Andals came late to the Reach, the Hightowers were among the first Westerosi lords to welcome the Andals, considering war bad for trade. Lord Damon Hightower was the first to accept the Faith. To honor the Seven, he constructed the first sept in Oldtown, and six more elsewhere in his realm. Oldtown eventually became the center of the Faith, and the Starry Sept home to the High Septon.

## Organization

The head of the Faith is the High Septon, the Father of the Faithful, the voice of the new gods on earth. A council of the highest ranking septons and septas called the Most Devout elect the High Septon, usually from among their own ranks, although there have been notable exceptions. The septon who is elected gives up his name, as the Faith believes that the High Septon no longer has any need of a man’s name, since he has become the avatar of the gods. Typically, the High Septon wears long white robes and a crown. Septons and Septas from the Most Devout wear robes of cloth-of-silver and crystal coronets.

To differentiate between different holders of the office of High Septon, it is common to refer to them by an epithet that describes their appearance, personality, or background such as "the Fat One." High Septons who have short or unremarkable reigns may be referred to in reference to more notable ones, such as "the One After the Fat One."

The office of High Septon arose in Oldtown in the Reach shortly after House Hightower adopted the Andal faith. The Starry Sept was raised in Oldtown in honor of Septon Robeson, the first High Septon and regent of Oldtown for nearly twenty years. Oldtown remained the center of faith for centuries, until the construction of the Great Sept of Baelor in King's Landing was complete.

## Avatars East and West

In 299 AC, the religious movement known as the Sparrows took over the selection process for choosing a new High Septon. They burst into the Most Devout's meeting chambers in the Great Sept armed with axes and clubs and cowed the Most Devout into electing their leader as the new High Septon. Cersei Lannister attempted to manipulate the so-called High Sparrow, but he proved to be a man of devout faith and iron will. She agreed to repeal the law against holy men bearing arms and return to the Faith the power to conduct trials in return for the forgiveness of a large debt owed to the Faith. Her attempts to use the Faith's new powers to dispose of Margaery Tyrell backfired and led to her own imprisonment and trial before the faith, culminating in her infamouse Walk of Atonement through the streets of King's Landing.

In the year 301 after King Tommen's court had relocated to Casterly Rock, the Queen Regent released a decree in King Tommen's name denouncing the High Sparrow a false avatar of the Seven, elevated by a violent mob rather than the will of the gods. The decree restored the Starry Sept of Oldtown to its previous place of primacy in the Faith and named the current Septon of the Starry Sept as the true High Septon. Both House Tyrell and House Hightower strenuously objected to any effort to move the seat of the Faith to Lannisport.

The High Sparrow continued his reign in King's Landing until 306, dying of pneumonia aggravated by the severe winter weather and his ascetic lifestyle. Lord Jon Connington sent troops to the Great Sept to 'protect the Most Devout from intimidation by the Sparrows.' The new High Septon, known as "the Dornish One" agrees to Lord Connington's stipulation to disband the Faith Militant as his first official act. Aegon's Lord Hand was unafraid to put the fearsome reputation of the Golden Company to good use in suppressing the remnants of the Faith Militant and positioned himself as the villain in the conflict so that Aegon could seem the hero and conciliate the Faith when he returned to the capital.

After the division of the Westeros between two rival royal courts crystallized following the Battle of White Harbor in 307, the division in the Faith followed along the new political boundaries. The bannermen of both kings generally accepted the arguments their respective lieges set forth that their chosen High Septon was the correct one, or at least pretended to do so to prevent any appearance of disloyalty. And while the High Septon of Oldtown and the High Septon of King's Landing have both referred to the 'scandal' of the division of the Faith, neither the Iron Throne nor the Golden Throne have been willing to allow any sort of reconciliation to move forward and risk losing the Faith's endorsement of their reign.