The South

The South is a geographical and cultural concept in the world of Westeros, representing a region of warmth, political intrigue, and a different way of life that stands in stark contrast to the cold, honor-bound North. It is the seat of the Iron Throne and the center of the realm's power, but also a place of danger, deception, and moral compromise for those who venture there from the North.

Geography and Climate

The South is defined by its warmer climate and more temperate seasons compared to the harsh, long winters of the North. Robert Baratheon describes it to Eddard Stark as a land of plenty: "In Highgarden there are fields of golden roses that stretch away as far as the eye can see. The fruits are so ripe they explode in your mouth—melons, peaches, fireplums, you've never tasted such sweetness." He speaks of days so hot you can barely move, and towns where "flowers everywhere, the markets bursting with food, the summerwines so cheap and so good that you can get drunk just breathing the air." The South's physical landscape is also distinct from the North's. The godswood at Riverrun, where Catelyn Tully grew up, is described as "a garden, bright and airy, where tall redwoods spread dappled shadows across tinkling streams, birds sang from hidden nests, and the air was spicy with the scent of flowers." This contrasts sharply with the dark, primal godswood of Winterfell, a place of "deep silence and brooding shadows" where the gods have no names. The architecture of the South also differs; King's Landing, the capital, is a sprawling city of "manses and arbors and granaries, brick storehouses and timbered inns and merchant's stalls, taverns and graveyards and brothels, all piled one on another," built on three high hills. The Red Keep itself is a massive fortress of pale red stone, a symbol of the power that resides there.

Cultural and Political Character

The South is the political heart of the Seven Kingdoms, home to the Iron Throne and the royal court in King's Landing. This court is a place of intricate politics, deception, and ambition, a "nest of adders" as Eddard Stark calls it. The culture of the South is more refined and courtly than the North's, with a greater emphasis on chivalry, tournaments, and the Faith of the Seven. The Southron lords are often seen by Northerners as soft, decadent, and untrustworthy. Robert Baratheon, who spent his youth in the Vale of Arryn, tells Ned that the South is full of "flatterers and fools" and that he is "surrounded by flatterers and fools." The South is also where the game of thrones is played most ruthlessly. Cersei Lannister tells Ned, "When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground." This political reality is a constant threat to those from the North, who are often more straightforward and honor-bound. The South is also the seat of the Faith of the Seven, the dominant religion of the realm, which has its own political power and influence.

The South in the Northern Imagination

For the Starks and other Northerners, the South is a distant, often misunderstood, and frequently dangerous place. It is a land of songs and stories, but also of treachery and moral decay. When Jon Snow first sees the Wall, he thinks of it as "the end of the world," a boundary between the familiar North and the unknown South. The Wall itself is a colossal structure, "the largest structure ever built by the hands of man," and it serves as a physical and symbolic barrier between the two regions. The South is also associated with a different kind of history. The crypts of Winterfell hold the tombs of the Kings of Winter, who ruled the North for thousands of years before bending the knee to Aegon the Conqueror. The South, by contrast, is where the Targaryen dragons once flew and where the great castles of the southron lords were built. The journey south is often a one-way trip for Northerners. Eddard Stark's father and brother both died in the South, and Ned himself is warned by Catelyn, "You knew the man," she said. "The king is a stranger to you." The South represents a world of change and danger, a place where the old ways of the North are tested and often found wanting.