In Season 6 of Game of Thrones, Arya says she wants to go “west of Westeros”, to
see “The edge of the world”.
West of Westeros is “where all the maps stop” . No one knows what’s beyond the
Sunset Sea.
But some have tried to find out.
One of Arya’s ancestors, Brandon the Shipwright, sailed west ’cross the Sunset Sea – and
he “was never seen again”, his tomb in Winterfell is empty . Some crazy ironborn
on the island of Lonely Light believe there’s a “paradise” in the west, “a land without
winter or want” – but all they’ve ever found is “boundless grey” sea . One of
Daenerys’ ancestors, Queen Rhaenys Targaryen, planned to fly her dragon ’cross the Sea
– but she and her dragon died before she could try.
So the Sunset Sea is a mystery, but there’s one person who went further west than anyone
else.
Two hundred and fifty years ago, Elissa Farman was the daughter of the lord of Fair Isle
– an island off the westerlands, “by the Sunset Sea” . Elissa was kind of like Arya
– a rebellious wild-spirited girl.
She was an archer, and a singer, loved horses and dogs, “but her great love was sailing”.
She spent most of her childhood on ships.
As a teenager, she sailed her own boat, voyaging north to Bear Island, and south to the Arbor.
But her dream was to sail west, and find strange lands beyond the Sunset Sea .
Elissa’s brother Androw married Rhaena Targaryen – a widowed queen of two different kings.
It was weird that a queen would marry into a “minor” family like the Farmans , and
Androw was a pretty unimpressive husband.
Rhaena didn’t seem that into him – she was closer with Elissa.
It’s hinted that Rhaena was gay , and that she and Elissa were in love . So for a year,
Rhaena and Elissa and friends lived on Fair Isle.
They were “the center of court life” , and went on joyrides on Rhaena’s dragon Dreamfyre
. But the Lord of Fair Isle got sick of Rhaena dominating his island, and of her dragon eating
his sheep – so he asked her to leave.
He wanted Elissa to stay and get married . But like Arya, Elissa didn’t want to marry some
lord.
So she left home with Rhaena.
For a month, they mooched off the Lannisters at Casterly Rock, and enjoyed “the hospitality
of the wealthiest house” in Westeros . But it turned out, shockingly, that the Lannisters
were scheming , so Rhaena and co.
left the Rock, and toured the westerlands and riverlands for while . As the young daughter
of a minor noble family, Elissa got to travel across Westeros with her love, the dragon
queen.
But eventually, Rhaena settled on Dragonstone, the Targaryen island . And Elissa wasn’t
happy there – she wanted to build a ship, and return to “her wide western seas”
. Rhaena refused, and their relationship broke down . So Elissa left Dragonstone, and her
the way out, she stole three of Rhaena’s dragon eggs.
Elissa went to Pentos, then Braavos, and sold the eggs to the Sealord of Braavos.
She used the money to build the ship of her dreams – the Sun Chaser , designed for deep
waters and long voyages . Elissa planned to sail west.
The Targaryens, meanwhile, lost their shit.
The theft of their eggs meant that someone outside their family could get dragons, which
is like someone outside your country getting nukes . They hope that without the heat of
Dragonstone, the eggs will “turn to stone” – that way “some spicemonger in Pentos”
will only have “three very costly stones” . Hundreds of years later, in Book 1 of Game
of Thrones, Illyrio Mopatis, a “cheesemonger” in Pentos , gives Daenerys three dragon eggs,
which he says have “turned … to stone” . Three stone eggs from a “monger” in
Pentos.
The language is the same, hinting that Dany’s eggs are the same eggs that Elissa stole hundreds
of years ago.
Daenerys’ whole story might not’ve happened without Elissa Farman.
But author George Martin does say this is meant to be ambiguous, not certain .
But Elissa built her ship, the Sun Chaser.
And from Braavos, she sailed down the narrow sea, dodging pirates, went around Dorne, and
came to Oldtown , the city of the Citadel and the Hightower.
Elissa knew the Targaryens were hunting her, looking for their eggs – but she needed
a crew, people who believed in her mission to find new lands in the west.
Which was difficult, because many people believed that the world just ends in the west, with
“walls of fire and boiling seas”, or “black fogs that [go] on forever”.
But the maesters, and author George Martin, say that the world of Game of Thrones “is
round” like ours . So the west must eventually connect to the far east, to the lands of Yi
Ti and Asshai . A western trade route to these places would be worth a fortune in “silks
and spices”.
But Elissa’s dream was bigger than money.
She believed that the world was “far larger and far stranger than the maesters imagine”
. She envisioned new undiscovered lands in-between Westeros and Essos – with “sundering rivers”
and “plains”, “green islands”, “strange beasts”, and “golden cities” beneath
“strange stars” . Westeros is kinda like Britain , Essos is like Europe and Asia, and
Sothoryos like Africa – so maybe there’s a continent like America.
Elissa hoped to find it.
As she looked for a crew, Eustace and Norman Hightower came to question her – but Elissa
convinced them to join her mission, adding their ships to hers.
She gathered a crew , and just as the Targaryens were closing in, Elissa left Oldtown with
three ships and sailed west . Three years later, one ship returned.
Eustace and his ship came ragged and exhausted back to Oldtown, and Eustace told the story
of Elissa’s voyage.
He said that at first, it was “smooth sailing” . But a month in, they were hit by storms.
Norman’s ship was struck by lightning, and sank – some sailors said they saw a kraken
. But Elissa and Eustace’s ships survived, and they found land – “three small islands”,
“farther to the west” than any known land.
Elissa named the islands Aegon, Visenya and Rhaenys – so Rhaenys Targaryen, who died
before she got to fly west, had an island named for her in the far Sunset Sea.
Elissa explored her new islands, and found new spices, pink fruits , and huge grey lizards
with venomous bites . Elissa wanted to sail further west, to discover more new land.
But Eustace and his crew were scared, and turned back home.
Eustace spent a year stuck on Sothoryos and his crew almost all died, but some Summer
Islanders helped them back to Oldtown.
Go watch our video about Sothoryos and the east.
As for Elissa – she “vanished” to the west, “still searching for … lands beyond
the Sunset Sea”.
She “was never seen again”.
“Except…”
Decades later, a famous mariner called Corlys Velaryon visited Asshai in the far far east.
And there, “he glimpsed an old and … weathered ship that” he said “could only have been
Sun Chaser” , Elissa’s ship.
So maybe Elissa made it all the way across the world.
She coulda seen new lands, and crossed the Americas, before arriving at Asshai from the
east.
And one theory goes further.
In Book 2, Daenerys meets Quaithe, a shadowbinder from Asshai.
And Quaithe says “To go north, you must journey south.
To reach the west, you must go east” – just like Elissa goes west to reach the east.
So some fans speculate that Quaithe is Elissa.
That she learned magic in Asshai, and lengthened her life – just like Melisandre of Asshai
lengthens her life . Maybe Quaithe-lissa helps Daenerys because she reminds her of Rhaena,
the dragon queen Elissa once loved.
The reason why Quaithe comes to Dany in the first place is to see her dragons – the
dragons that hatched from the eggs that Elissa stole . So this is just speculation, but it’s
possible that Elissa Farman still lives as a two-hundred and fifty year old magician
with a cool mask and a love for geography.
It’s also possible that Elissa just died at sea, or on some unknown land.
What we do know is that Elissa rebelled against her family, and loved a dragon queen.
She travelled across Westeros and beyond, following a dream to see sights yet unseen.
And maybe rebellious Arya could do the same.
Like Elissa, she could reject the life that others chose for her.
She could escape the violence and horror that she’s suffered.
Like Elissa, Arya could sail west, chasing the sun.
Of course, circumnavigating the globe takes more than an adventurous spirit.
Naval navigation without modern technology involves a lot of math – geometry, trigonometry,
astronomy.
But people have done it for thousands of years.
The ancient Greeks accurately calculated the size of the earth . Columbus and Magellan
knew the earth was round.
Maybe Elissa Farman did too.
Maybe Elissa Farman used Brilliant.
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at your own pace, with guides and solutions to help you through.
It starts with basic stuff, then more advanced, then… whatever this is
With Brilliant, you can find out.
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Thanks to Patrons Tom Salt, Will Devin, Rebecca Radillo, Katie Balfour, Jennifer, Sarah Hefferin,
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