The East

The East map for Game of Thrones
The East, © George RR Martin 2012, used with permission

Today we visit the trackless East – land of mystery, off the edge of the known world.

Where Westeros is detailed down to the last inch here the map is almost sketched in by the Maesters – with places such as the Land of the Shrykes, the Cities of the Bloodless Men and the Grey Waste.

The Stone Road and The Red Waste from the Official Maps of A Song of Ice and Fire
The Stone Road and Poison Sea, © George RR Martin 2012, used with permission

This is a map of vibrant colours – from the thick green patchwork farmland of Yi Ti and it’s verdant rainforest, to the purple-black jungle of Ulthos, pink ghost grass of Asshai and the reds of the Bleeding Sea and the Red Waste.

Great Sand Sea from the official maps of Essos
The Great Sand Sea, © George RR Martin 2012, used with permission

The terrain is epic – built on a grander scale than the West. Perhaps this is the natural result of the exaggeration of travelers coming back with tall tales, or perhaps the Bone Mountains really are this large, perhaps the Great Sand Sea could swallow nations.

The Steel Road and Bone Mountains from the Official Map of Essos
The Steel Road, © George RR Martin 2012, used with permission

The roads tell their own story. Three routes penetrate the Bone Mountains – the Steel Road, the Stone Road and the Sand Road. They connect the lands we’re familiar with – the Dothraki Sea, Qarth – with the unknown and exotic lands to the East.

The Sand Road from the official map of essos
The Sand Road, © George RR Martin 2012, used with permission

Finally, far to the East, at the tip of a peninsula dominated by a towering mountain range, and on the edge of the plains of the mysterious Ghost grass, sits Asshai. The ruined city of Stygia is upriver, nestled in the river valley, but Asshai stands alone.

Asshai and the Shadow from the official map of Essos
Asshai and the Shadow, © George RR Martin, 2012, used with permission

This map, along with the others, can be picked up in full size in the Lands of Ice and Fire poster map folio.

11 thoughts on “The East”

    1. I hope so too! But I think we might be staying in continental Essos, and west of the bond mountains for now.

  1. Maybe this is a FAQ, but I notice the biggest difference between your map and others’ is that yours extends past the bone mountains as opposed to most others, which stops at the Jade Sea. Are the other maps wrong? I’m confused about this mysterious Jade Sea.

    I mainly ask because I’m drawing a full sized GoT map inspired by your art as a gift for my girlfriend and I know she’s gonna ask about that.

    Thank you for making this. I’ve learned a lot about drawing maps from this website.

    1. Yes. The other maps are wrong. This was the first map to extend into the East, and is created from George’s hand drawn map of that region. It’s the canon map.

      There’s a slight sophistication that the world of the show and the books are a little different, so HBO maps will always be different.

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