Volantis

Volantis, the first daughter of Valyria, is the oldest and most populous of the Nine Free Cities, a sprawling metropolis of immense wealth, stark contrasts, and simmering political and religious tensions. In A Dance with Dragons, it functions as a critical nexus for several major plotlines, a place where exiles, sellswords, and spies converge, and where the fate of the realm is debated in the shadows of its ancient walls.

Geography and Society

Volantis straddles the mouth of the Rhoyne where the river meets the Summer Sea, its two halves joined by the Long Bridge, a massive Valyrian stone span lined with shops and stalls. The city is dominated by the Black Wall, a great oval of fused stone two hundred feet high, raised by the Valyrians. Within this wall dwell the scions of the Old Blood, who can trace their ancestry back to Valyria itself. Outlanders, foreigners, and freedmen are forbidden entry without invitation. The city's population is overwhelmingly composed of slaves, with a ratio of five slaves for every free man, a fact that shapes its entire economy and social structure. The streets are crowded with palanquins, hathays (oxcarts pulled by dwarf elephants), and the great grey elephants of the triarchs, while the air is thick with the smells of fish, flowers, elephant dung, and something dead and rotten. The city's grandeur is marred by decay; ancient wars have depopulated large areas, and parts of Volantis have begun to sink back into the mud, with abandoned buildings and roofless temples overgrown by flowering vines.

Political Structure and the War

Volantis is a freehold, ruled by three triarchs chosen annually from among the noble families of the Old Blood. The city's politics are divided between two factions: the tigers, who favor military conquest, and the elephants, who advocate for trade. At the time of the novel, the triarchs are Malaquo (a tiger), Nyessos, and Doniphos (both elephants). The city is on the brink of war, with the Yunkish envoy Grazdan mo Eraz successfully bribing Nyessos to support a campaign against Daenerys Targaryen in Meereen. The triarchs fear an attack from the Dothraki, and the city's slave soldiers, the tiger cloaks, are a common sight. The Volantene fleet is preparing to sail east to join the siege of Meereen, a move that threatens to tip the balance of power in Slaver's Bay. Tyrion Lannister, traveling with the merchant Illyrio Mopatis, learns of these plans, noting that the elephants and tigers have made common cause against the threat of dragons.

The Red Faith and Social Unrest

Volantis is also a hotbed of religious fervor. The High Priest of the red temple, Benerro, preaches to thousands of slaves and freedmen every night, proclaiming Daenerys Targaryen to be Azor Ahai returned and foretelling that Volantis will burn if the triarchs take up arms against her. His sermons, which include fiery letters in Valyrian glyphs spelling out "Doom" and "Darkness," have led to fighting between his followers and those who worship other gods. The red temple itself is a colossal structure, three times the size of the Great Sept of Baelor, and is guarded by the Fiery Hand, a thousand sacred soldiers. The widow of the waterfront, a powerful freedwoman, notes that R'hllor has more worshipers in the city than all other gods combined, and that half of the tiger cloaks themselves worship the Lord of Light. This religious tension, coupled with the economic power of the slave trade, creates a volatile atmosphere where a slave revolt is a constant threat.

Narrative Significance

Volantis serves as a crucial waypoint for several characters. Tyrion Lannister is brought here as a captive by Ser Jorah Mormont, who intends to deliver him to Daenerys Targaryen. It is here that Tyrion encounters the dwarf girl Penny and learns of the Golden Company's movements. Quentyn Martell and his companions spend twenty days in Volantis, unable to find a ship to Meereen, a delay that underscores the city's role as a bottleneck for travel to the east. The city is also the staging ground for the Golden Company, who are encamped nearby before deciding to sail west to Westeros instead of east to join Daenerys. The city's political and religious turmoil, its reliance on slavery, and its position as a gateway to the east make it a microcosm of the larger conflicts that drive the novel's plot.