Melisandre of Asshai is an exceptionally powerful sorceress whose abilities extend far beyond those of a typical Red Priestess, encompassing shadowbinding, glamours, and potent fire magic, with her power seemingly amplified at the Wall.
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How powerful is Melisandre of Ashai?
What is she capable of? And what else
might we see her do? Hi everyone, this
is Robert. Welcome to In DeepgeGeek. On
this channel, we dive deep into the
world of A Song of Ice and Fire as well
as the Lord of the Rings and The
Witcher. Welcome. This is another
collaboration with the wonderful history
of Westeros. Please do check out their
YouTube channel and podcast. There's a
link in the description.
The Lord of Light has many followers,
but only the most skilled among them
become red priests and priestesses.
We've seen them seeing visions in the
flames, bringing people back to life,
and more. Melisandre clearly has all
those abilities. Indeed, she believes
she has learned them beyond the ability
of everyone else in her order. This is
what she thinks when we finally get a
POV chapter from her perspective in A
Dance with Dragons. Melisandre had
practiced her art for years beyond
count, and she had paid the price. There
was no one, not even in her order, who
had her skill at seeing the secrets half
revealed and half concealed within the
sacred flames. Based on what we've seen,
there is no reason to doubt her in this
regard. But what makes her stand out is
that she has learned magics outside the
purview of her religion as well. Unlike
other red priests like Thoros of Mir
Mako the dark flame or even Banero the
high priest at the red temple in
Volantis as far as we know Melisandre is
a shadowbinder trained in Ashai. This is
an easy distinction to miss given that
Ror is the god of flame and shadow.
Nevertheless, it appears that while
there is at least some conceptual
overlap, shadowbinding is a different
style or perhaps even source of magic if
you will. Melisandre learned it in Ashai
instead of from the red temples as far
as we can tell. Melisandre may well
claim that shadows come under the
purview of the lord of light. I suppose
there are no shadows without light, but
still shadow babies seems like
shadowbinder rather than law magic.
Ultimately, however, red priestess and
shadowbinder are just titles. They give
a general idea, and one day I'll do a
video setting out how I think all these
types of magic tie together. But in
reality, most people in Westeros would
just view them as magic and leave it at
that. And to get this out of the way,
yes, Melisandre is an expert in using
showmanship, artifice, and reputation to
enhance or complement her true magical
abilities, but that shouldn't take away
from the fact that she has powers. She
uses powders, for example, which have a
potent effect when burned and inhaled,
and can look impressive, turning flames
different colors and the like. According
to her, she has one for lust, another
for fear, another for truth, and another
that can kill outright. We don't know
which, if any, of these have a magical
origin, but they are certainly powerful.
We've seen a powder for fear used by Mir
Mazdur, incidentally. It drove away
Dany<unk>y's handmmaids, although Dany
herself impressively resisted its
effects. Perhaps the best example is how
Melisandre intimidates nearly everyone
she meets, even those who have never
seen her demonstrate any power at all.
What they've heard about her is
terrifying enough. She knows how
superstitious Westeros is, and makes
great use of it. And of course, those
who meet her are very often struck by
her appearance as well. Both her size,
she stands 6 ft tall, that's over 180
cm, and her beauty. She is stunning but
with an accompanying unnatural red
quality. This is where the power of her
appearance meets the power of rel. She
is almost certainly using glamours to
alter her appearance. This goes well
beyond cosmetics and dressing to
impress. In fact, it goes beyond the
realm of sight as we've also witnessed
her utter a word that is heard
differently by multiple listeners. We've
even seen her fool ghost's senses, which
probably means she can manipulate the
sense of smell as well. So although we
may wish to downplay her power by
pointing to her tricks and misdirection,
even those are supplemented by her
magic. Speaking of, much if not all of
her magic seems to be focused through
the ruby she wears around her throat.
The more powerful the magic, the more
power seems to pass through it, the
brighter it shines, and the more it
burns her. Rubies do not seem to be a
requirement of rel magic, however, as we
don't see any other red priest using
rubies at any point, but rubies can
apparently be used for other magic as
well. Mance Raider is not merely
disguised by a glamour. He is compelled
to do her bidding via the ruby bracelet
on his wrist. We do not know the extent
of this power. How much control does she
really have over him? She probably can't
order him to kill himself, but she can
send him on a very dangerous mission.
Jon observes their ruby's pulse and
union, and when Melisandre removes
Mance's glamour, the ruby darkens. A
brightly shining ruby is therefore a
sign for us to look for, such as the one
Melisandre attached to the hilt of the
sword she claims is Lightbringer. It
blazes brightly, but gives off no heat.
This is a bit curious as she certainly
demonstrates control over heat as her
own body emanates excess heat even at
the wall. She wears no cloak or extra
covering whatsoever. Perhaps glamours
are easier for her than manipulation of
heat and fire. Melisandre also claims
that the battle of the Blackwater would
have had a different result had she been
present. This is perhaps a boast that
she alone would have changed the result,
but she might actually be right. if her
command of fire allows for control over
wildfire. That is a test we have yet to
see. Of course, we did see her in battle
against the free folk when Stannis
launched his sneak attack on the far
side of the wall. There was little fire,
let alone wildfire, but she did emulate
the eagle controlled by Vladimir
Sickskins, who was once bonded to Oral.
It's a rare case where we get the
victim's perspective on it. Varameir
recalls, "One moment he had been soaring
above the wall, his eagle's eyes marking
the movements of the men below. Then the
flames had turned his heart into a
blackened cinder and sent his spirit
screaming back into his own skin. And
for a little while he'd gone mad." A big
question is whether Melisandre can do
this to any being, or was she targeting
the skin changer bond. She doesn't
reflect on the battle at all during her
POV chapter. So, our understanding
remains limited. But by now, it should
be pretty clear that one of the most
impressive things about Melisandre's
magic is its breadth. Fire destruction
magic, glamours, protection from poison,
shadow babies, and of course, the art of
seeing the future or what is far away in
the flames. Melisandre has had mixed
results in this area. Makoro, at least
so far, has provided us with an example
of someone that is particularly skilled
at this. Regardless, Melisandre
undoubtedly has the ability, but she
admits to others and to herself that
seeing the visions is one thing.
Interpreting them correctly is another.
As we read earlier in her POV chapter,
we find her reassuringly self-aware.
Melisandre had practiced her art for
years beyond count, and she had paid the
price. There was no one, even in her
order, who had her skill at seeing the
secrets half-revealed and half concealed
within the sacred flames. Yet now she
could not even seem to find her king. I
pray for a glimpse of Azor Ahai, and Ror
shows me only snow. That may actually be
a matter of her asking the wrong
questions, incidentally, rather than
misinterpreting the vision as usual. She
asked to see Azor Ahai, thinking that
meant Stannis, but saw only snow with a
capital S. Jon Snow. Still, she does
learn a lot from the flames. It's
possible this is how she knew to
surprise Jon Snow with the line, "You
know nothing, Jon Snow." After using her
glamour to appear as a greet to him. How
else could she know what a greet looked
like, let alone anything she had said?
We read that Melisandre looks into the
flames each morning and the first thing
she does is look for danger to her own
self. This is likely how she knew
Maester Cressen would attempt to murder
her with poison. Thus, we must ask the
question, did she take an antidote in
advance? Or was her immunity of
sorceress origin, the ruby at her neck
pulsed when she consumed the poisoned
wine? Perhaps it makes little
difference. Either way, she was saved by
her magic. As an aside, because I
covered this in more depth in another
video, we should note that she does not
need to eat or drink nor sleep. She is
very likely already well beyond the
lifespan of a typical human and surely
is the oldest POV character. So, poison
simply might not affect her at all.
Simply put, she doesn't appear to be a
normal human anymore. Anyway, another
good example of Melisandre using real
power mixed with charlatanism comes in
the case of the king's blood leeches.
She tells Stannis that by saying some
words and throwing three leeches gorged
on Edrictor Storm's blood into the fire,
three kings will die. When those named
three kings do die, Melisandre gains
considerable credibility with King
Stannis, who in turn agrees to burn
Edric Storm. More likely, however, she
foresaw the deaths of Renley, Joffrey,
and Rob in the flames, and then
manufactured a way to claim credit.
Otherwise, are we to believe that the
red wedding was caused by an enchanted
leech or the purple wedding? That would
be power indeed. The case of Renley,
however, while we cannot pin it on a
leech either, we can absolutely accuse
Melisandre and her shadow baby assassin.
And this is very likely where we pivot
from the powers of Ror to that of the
shadowbinders of Ashai. She has sent two
of these shadow baby assassins that we
know of. One to kill Renley and the
other to kill Sir Courtney Penrose.
Catelyn was partial witness to the
former, but Davos got a very close look
at the latter as he was the one to row
her close to Storm's End. She becomes
pregnant in the span of a single day or
so, and her skin shines brightly as the
shadow is born, almost as if the
darkness leaving her allows this
illumination to emerge. We learn that
she sleeps with Stannis to create these
shadows, and it draws some of his life
fire, as she calls it, away. In the case
of Sir Courtourtney, she tells Stannis
she saw his death in the flames, which
convinces Stannis to sleep with her
again, which is what enables her to
create the shadow baby that kills Sir
Courtourtney. Her own version of a
self-fulfilling prophecy, perhaps
deception, seduction, and genuine
sorcery all combined. It should be said
the shadow killed Renley with a sword
that cut through his armor as if it were
cloth and threw Sir Kourtney from a
tower to make it look like suicide.
These are ridiculously powerful shadows.
She thinks about creating more shadows
at the wall as well and believes that
they will be great and terrible because
the wall is what she calls a hinge of
the world, which means quite simply it
makes at least one of her spells more
powerful, if not all of them. The wall
is known to block magic and shades like
the others. That Melisandre is more
powerful there, especially in creating
shadows is surprising in that light. So
why? What is going on there? It's a
compelling question, but one for another
day. Melisandre propositions Davos to
help her create another shadow, but he
declines. She may have had Jon Snow in
mind for that as well. It could explain
why she appeared to him as a greet, his
dead lover. An extremely creepy way to
attract someone, but it's hard to see
another motivation for her doing that.
So, it seems likely we'll see one or
more of her great and terrible shadows.
But who will sleep with her to create
it? And who will it target? Can these
enhanced shadows kill more than one
target? Can they last longer and perhaps
accomplish tasks other than murder?
Could they be sent against the others?
The others are creatures of shadow
themselves and are described as such.
Send a shadow to kill a shadow
perhaps. Going from ice to fire, one
power she seems to believe she has is
the ability to wake dragons from stone.
as per the prophecy of Azor Ahai reborn.
But we know Dany has already
accomplished this and given George R.
Martin has referred to it as miraculous,
we can be sure it won't happen again. So
she may not be able to raise dragons
from stone, but she may be able to raise
a dragon from the dead. That is if you
count Jon Snow as a dragon and dead.
Though Melisandre has never performed
the kiss of life, the fact that Thoros
of Mere raised Beric Dondarrion shows it
is possible for a red priest. However,
Thoros did not expect it to happen. He
had given the kiss a thousand times with
no result. He is unable to explain why
it worked on Beric. It is a courtesy, a
burial tradition of the Lord of Light,
not a ritual with an intended result, at
least until the events of the books.
It's safe to say magic works differently
than it did only a few years prior.
Melisandre may find herself in a similar
position, and that would be an ironic
moment for a woman who exaggerates her
powers to discover that she can
resurrect people without even knowing
it. An enormously powerful ability. The
obvious possibility is for her to use it
on Jon Snow, and presumably it will
work. Or perhaps it will be in an even
more dramatic way, like I suggested in
another video, and she will just claim
the credit. And though we're heading
into the realms of speculation now,
after that, will she still try again to
sleep with him to make another shadow or
two? Would he feel compelled in some way
this time since he'd be in her debt?
Would that even work after he's been
raised from the dead? Crossing multiple
types of sorcery and death does make
this a rather theoretical matter. The
shadow assassins she made with Stannis
both had his face. Davos and Catelyn
both recognized Stannis in their brief
moments as witnesses. Miriam Mazdur,
another shadowbinder, danced with
shadows in her tent when she performed
that spell on Cul Drogo. One of those
shadows had the head of a wolf. We've
seen a man with a wolf's head in the
corpse of Rob Stark. But a shadow baby
fathered by Jon Snow could have a wolf's
visage, too. Especially if Jon enters
ghost to begin his second life, which
would make him even more wolfish. There
are a lot of possibilities here. Though
a lot of mystery remains, deliberately
so by George R. Martin, it's clear that
Melisandre's magical abilities are quite
substantial. Despite her charlatan
tendencies, and perhaps even more so
because she is now based at the wall. A
Song of Ice and Fire is about many
things, but a major theme is power.
Power comes in many forms from political
to personal. But in terms of
supernatural power, Melisandre is
perhaps only matched in the story by
Blood Raven and perhaps eventually Bran.
There are red priests who can perhaps
match her skills attributed to Ror, but
none of the other red priests we know of
are shadowbinders, meaning she has
access to an entire magical discipline
that they do not. So, let's pull all
this together. Melisandre can use
glamours to change the appearance of
people like herself and Mance Raider or
objects like Stannis's Lightbringer. And
these are not just visual manipulations.
We've seen her perform sonic
manipulations and fool the senses of a
direwolf. She can see the future and
most likely the past and present at far
distances in the flames, though has
trouble interpreting what she sees. She
can emulate targets from distance and
birth shadow assassins. She has lived
beyond a normal human's lifespan. is
possibly immune to poison and needs no
food or water or sleep. She can use
rubies in her spells in ways we have
seen no one else do. And this includes
controlling others who wear so-called
slave rubies like the one she gave to
Mance. She might just raise Jon Snow
from the dead. And surely the power of
flame and light is useful against the
others and the armies of the dead, not
to mention the cold itself. Facing down
the cold and darkness is what she has
dedicated her life to. And perhaps
crucially for the next part of the plot,
she does seem to be able to affect some
aspects of the weather, too. She burned
Sir Alistister Florent to death before
heading to the wall, which enabled her
to boost the winds in favor of their
ships. So perhaps she might try to
intervene to help Stannis, whose army
has been snowed into a Coffter's village
by the winter that has descended upon
Winterfell. It is not just a matter of a
bit of snow. The army cannot move, and
soldiers are dying from the cold every
day. Unless something changes, Stannis
will die there. Perhaps that is how and
why Shireen will get burned. Burning Sir
Alistister created some favorable winds.
Might burning a king's daughter at the
wall be enough to turn back winter for a
time. Could she really be that powerful?
Well, don't discount it, particularly
given her apparent willingness to be
hurt herself in the cause of her magic.
In an interesting moment that showed
both her limits and how far she is
willing to go, when she used glamours to
effectively swap Mance and the Lord of
Bones, we read this. They need never
know how difficult it had been or how
much it had cost her. That was a lesson
Melisandre had learned long before
Ashai. The more effortless the sorcery
appears, the more men fear the sorcerer.
When the flames had licked at
Rattleshirt, the ruby at her throat had
grown so hot that she had feared her own
flesh might start to smoke and
blacken. So she does have limits to her
power, not not just her ability to
interpret her visions, for example. But
still, it seems that her greatest tests
are ahead of her. It seems likely that
the White Walkers will be who tests her
the most. That the battle for the dawn
is what will bring her to the maximum
extent of her abilities, perhaps even
beyond. And that may give us the best
answer yet to the question, how powerful
is Melisandre? For now, we can just say
very, and getting more powerful. In
fact, let's give her the last word on the
the
subject. She was stronger at the wall,
stronger even than in a shy. Her every
word and gesture was more potent, and
she could do things that she had never
done before. Such shadows as I bring
forth here will be terrible, and no
them. If you'd like to see more videos
like this, diving deep into the world of
A Song of Ice and Fire, there's a link
to my playlist on the left of your
screen, or to support this channel,
thank you. There's a link to my Patreon
page on the right of your screen. That's
all for this time. Thanks for watching.
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