What’s West of Westeros in Game of Thrones?
We all know that the world that George RR Martin created in Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire) is one that is incredibly massive and huge to the point that even Westeros itself is said to be the size of real-life South America. Of course, when we include the eastern continent of Essos, which is larger than Westeros, it becomes clear how huge this fictional world is. But the one topic that hasn’t been talked about a lot is the land west of Westeros. So, what can be found west of Westeros?
No one in the known world of Game of Thrones knows what is west of Westeros because everyone who tried to sail west was never heard of again. It is possible that the west of Westeros would only lead to Essos in the east as the world may only have two continents—Westeros and Essos.
The fact that no one knows what lies west of Westeros past the Sunset Sea is a concept that George RR Martin is yet to explore. But, in Game of Thrones, Arya Stark sought to be the first to see what’s west of Westeros and come back to tell the tale. As such, we are here to talk about what could be west of Westeros, as the possibilities could be quite endless.
What Is West Of Westeros?
George RR Martin really did a fine job in mapping out an entire world in his literary masterpiece, A Song of Ice and Fire, which is the basis for the hit HBO series, Game of Thrones. In fact, Game of Thrones is so popular that it led to the creation of House of the Dragon, a series that has become quite the hit as well. Of course, these shows were able to give justice to the world that Martin created by being able to map out the different lands and cities in what they call the known world.
Of course, the focus of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon is the continent of Westeros, which is a rich continent that has enough land and resources to feed the Seven Kingdoms. Westeros is roughly the size of South America in real life, and that means that this is truly a continent-sized land that houses Seven Kingdoms in total.
What lies east of Westeros are the Free Cities, which are located in the larger continent called Essos. It is also in Essos, where Valyria, the greatest empire the world has ever seen, was located before it got destroyed by a natural catastrophe. The Doom of Valyria was what eventually led the Targaryens to conquer Westeros, which was already inhabited by different lords that fancy themselves as the descendants of the First Men, as they have been there for thousands of years.
But while the histories of Westeros and Essos are quite rich and full of events that helped shape the entire world, the one thing that hasn’t been talked about a lot in both the books and the series is the world that can be found west of Westeros. Basically, the known world in Martin’s literary masterpiece only has two continents—Westeros and Essos—that are separated by a small body of water called the Narrow Sea. But the areas west of Westeros were never really discussed. So, what is West of Westeros?
As of this writing, no one in the known world of Game of Thrones knows what is west of Westeros because this area of the world has never been truly explored or even mapped out. That’s because the Sunset Sea, which is west of Westeros, appears to be much larger than the Narrow Sea. As such, the voyage would take a very long time if someone made the trip to sail west of Westeros and tried to come back.
Nevertheless, the Ironborn, who live in the Iron Islands, which is an island found just off the west coast of Westeros, believe that they came from the people that sailed past the Narrow Sea many years ago. But no one could truly say whether or not that is true.
Of course, the western part of the world is possibly full of mysteries that may lead to the reason why no one knows what is out there. This means that the world of Game of Thrones still has a lot of potentials as far as what could possibly happen and what is out there waiting for people to discover.
Did People Try To Explore West Of Westeros?
Even if no one in the known world knows what can be found west of Westeros, there have been people brave enough to try to explore what can be found there even though they knew that the journey could cost them their life. As such, there have been quite a number of people that tried to make the journey west across the Sunset Sea.
The third book, A Storm of Swords, has a part wherein Bran Stark tells Meera and Jojen Reed a story about one of his ancestors named Brandon the Shipwright. At that time, Brandon was King in the North and was able to sail west of Westeros thousands of years ago. However, he never returned to tell the story of what he found west, as it was presumed that he either died there or stayed there.
Meanwhile, in The World of Ice and Fire, Rhaenys Targaryen, who was one of the sister wives that conquered Westeros together with Aegon the Conqueror, once dreamed that she flew west of Westeros on her dragon, Meraxes, and was able to discover. This doesn’t seem possible because there is no land mass that would have allowed Meraxes to rest during the journey. On top of that, Rhaenys died before she could ever try to make the journey west, as she and her dragon perished during the war against Dorne after the conquest of Westeros.
Then, in Fire and Blood, there was a part wherein one of the women during the reign of Jaehaerys Targaryen actually tried to travel west. This was Elissa Farman, a noblewoman of House Farman. She tried to make the journey from Oldtown on 56 AC on the ship called Sun Chaser.
During her journey west, Elissa was said to have discovered three islands she named after the conquerors of Westeros: Aegon, Rhaenys, and Visenya. After discovering those islands, she continued to sail west on Sun Chaser but was never seen again after that. Nevertheless, there were reports that said that she was found n Asshai, which is a city that can be found near the eastern coast of Essos.
The fact that Elissa’s ship was found on the eastern coast of Essos suggests that the world of Game of Thrones could be round because it would have been very difficult if she had sailed east around Westeros and Essos to reach Asshai after she found the three uninhabited islands west of Westeros.
The possibility is that Elissa actually found land west of the three islands that she found but decided to sail further west from there, only to find herself reaching Essos to confirm that the world is indeed round. Or it could be possible that the west of Westeros is merely Essos because there are only two continents in the world. Nevertheless, Elissa was never seen again, and that means that she couldn’t have told the story of what she saw.
It is possible that the ones that sailed west actually found something there but opted to never return to Westeros again because they loved what they found west of Westeros. Or it could also be possible that they just couldn’t make the journey back.
However, in one of the episodes in season 6 of Game of Thrones, there was a part wherein Arya mentioned how she wanted to sail west. But Lady Crane told her that the edge of the world could be found west of Westeros, and this could present the possibility that the world in Game of Thrones is flat. But Arya never really believed what Lady Crane told her.
What Will Arya Find West Of Westeros?
True enough, Arya Stark didn’t believe in what Lady Crane told her about what’s west of Westeros because she actually decided to take the journey after Bran had been named the new king of the Six Kingdoms and Anya had been proclaimed Queen in the North. Arya rejected the offer to marry into the Baratheon family because she wanted to tread her own path in life, and that’s why she attempted to journey west of Westeros.
Nevertheless, we are not certain what Arya will find west of Westeros because no story has ever been written regarding her expedition. But it is possible that Arya Stark could become as great as the rest of her surviving siblings by being the first to see what is west of Westeros and come back to tell the tale. And Arya seems to be equipped with the skills and determination to do so.
