Flatlands

The Flatlands are the broad, fertile plains of western Essos that lie between the Free City of Pentos and the Velvet Hills, forming the southern marches of the ancient kingdom of Andalos. In A Dance with Dragons, Tyrion Lannister crosses this region in the luxurious litter of Magister Illyrio Mopatis, and the landscape becomes a stage for his cynical observations on the Free Cities' reliance on gold over steel, the ruins of a once-sacred land, and the slow, luxurious pace of a journey that conceals a high-stakes political conspiracy.

Geography and the Journey

The Flatlands are described as open, fertile plains. Tyrion's journey across them is characterized by a deliberate, unhurried pace. The litter is suspended between eight mammoth draft horses, and the party changes teams only thrice a day, halting frequently so Illyrio can relieve himself. Tyrion, itching with impatience, complains that at this speed, Daenerys's dragons will be larger than Aegon the Conqueror's before he can lay eyes on them. The road they travel is a broad stone highway, a Valyrian road that runs straight as a spear to the horizon, a ribbon of fused stone raised above the ground. Tyrion notes that unlike the muddy tracks of the Seven Kingdoms, these roads still endure, unchanging, four centuries after Valyria's Doom. He looks for ruts and cracks but finds only a pile of warm dung deposited by one of the horses, a sight that makes him think of his murdered father, Lord Tywin.

Historical and Thematic Significance

Illyrio informs Tyrion that this is Andalos, the land from which the Andals came. The heart of Hugor's ancient realm lies to the north, but they are passing through its southern marches. Tyrion recites from The Seven-Pointed Star the tale of how the Father set seven stars on the brow of Hugor of the Hill to make a glowing crown. Illyrio is surprised by Tyrion's apparent devotion, but the dwarf explains it was a relic of his boyhood, when he studied the holy books and prayed until he had scabs on his knees, a quest that ended when he fell in love. Tyrion later gazes out at the fields where once the gods had walked and bitterly asks what sort of gods make rats and plagues and dwarfs. The landscape is sparsely populated; Illyrio notes that the Dothraki come this way whenever some khal takes it into his head to gaze upon the sea, and that it is cheaper to buy off foes with food and gifts than to fight them. Tyrion counters with his father's maxim: give gold to a foe and he will just come back for more, but Illyrio retorts that sellswords will not stand against Dothraki screamers, a lesson proved at Qohor.

The Velvet Hills and the Journey's End

Illyrio tells Tyrion that soon their road shall pass into the Velvet Hills, where they will begin their climb toward Ghoyan Drohe, upon the Little Rhoyne. When they finally reach the Velvet Hills, Tyrion is unimpressed, joking that half the whores in Lannisport have bigger breasts than these hills, and that they ought to be called the Velvet Teats. The journey through the Flatlands and the Velvet Hills ends when they reach the site of Ghoyan Drohe, a ruined Rhoynar city hard beside the river, where Tyrion is transferred to the poleboat Shy Maid and meets Griff and Young Griff, setting the stage for the next phase of his journey down the Rhoyne.