Braavos

Ships

Coin

**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. Additionally, Braavos is sometimes referred to as the bastard daughter of Valyria.

## Layout

### Canals

Braavos is comprised of a hundred islands linked together by small stone bridges spanning the many canals throughout the city. The houses in the humbler regions are tightly packed together, even over the canals.[18] One of the bigger canals is the Canal of Heroes, located closest to the Titan of Braavos, the Chequy Port, and the Arsenal. Multiple bridges cross the Canal of Heroes, and along both sides are rows of statues of deceased Sealords.[ The canal leads directly to the center of the city, where the Isle of the Gods is located. The Green Canal leads from the Palace of Truth to the east side of the lagoon, and the Black Canal can be crossed when traveling to the Ragman's Harbor.

Also of note is the Long Canal, the broadest of the major waterways, leading from the center of the city to the south of the lagoon, where a fishmarket is located. The First Law of Braavos has been engraved in stone on an arch spanning this canal. Along the Long Canal, the Palace of Truth can be found, as well as the tall square towers of the Prestayns to the west and the Antaryons to the east. South of these towers, the large grey aqueduct of the sweetwater river crosses the Long Canal, after the Silty Town is passed on the east side of the canal. Here, the houses are smaller, and less grand.

### 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 House of Black and White, where homage is done to the Many-Faced God, the Temple of the Lord of Light, and the Sept-Beyond-the-Sea, where only Westerosi come to pray.

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.

## Economy

Braavos is the wealthiest and most powerful of the Free Cities along with Volantis, in part due to the wealth and influence of the Iron Bank. 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.