The Azor Ahai prophecy is a crucial part of A Song of Ice & Fire book series by George R.R. Martin, which, for the first several seasons, provided additional context for where the TV adaptation's story might be heading. However, after the TV show caught up to the books, the final seasons diverged with their own stories and plot resolutions, including an almost complete removal of the Azor Ahai prophecy component.
Game of Thrones mentions Azor Ahai and the Prince That Was Promised prophecy on multiple occasions, but it's not nearly as prevalent as it is in the novels. Melisandre mentions the prophecy multiple times, and she connects it to Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, and Stannis Baratheon. Still, the TV show doesn't really stop to provide context as the novels do, and it wouldn't be hard for a viewer to have missed this component altogether. There are a few components to learn about the prophecy before one can really dive into the theories.
What Is The Prophecy Of Azor Ahai?
Azor Ahai Was An Ancient Hero Who Is Said To One Day Be Reborn Again
In the book series, A Clash of Kings is really the novel where the prophetic elements of A Song of Ice & Fire begin to take shape. In Davos' first POV chapter, readers get the first of the original Azor Ahai tale, about an ancient hero who wanted to forge a magical sword called Lightbringer in order to ward off the darkness. To create this weapon, Azor Ahai had to undergo a violent process. Azor Ahai tempered the first variation of Lightbringer in water, and the sword broke. He used the second to kill a lion, causing the steel to shatter.
The survival of Westeros is contingent on this hero's success.
It was on the third attempt, when he drove the blade through his wife's heart, that he was able to create the Red Sword of Heroes. This is a gruesome tale that's ed into legend in the world of A Song of Ice & Fire. The Red Priests of R'hllor, the Lord of Light, push the notion that Azor Ahai will one day be reborn again, wielding Lightbringer after a long summer to defend the innocent against the Long Night. The survival of Westeros is contingent on this hero's success.
Is Azor Ahai Different To The Prince That Was Promised?
The Are Often Used Interchangeably
The phrases Azor Ahai and Prince That Was Promised are used interchangeably throughout A Song of Ice & Fire, and they're essentially the same thing. If there's one difference, it's that Azor Ahai refers to the legendary figure, while the Prince That Was Promised refers to the anticipated reborn version. With that in mind, there are components associated with the Prince That Was Promised that have come from millenniums of expanding on this prophetic notion. Vague criteria are mentioned regarding the Prince That Was Promised, which can be seen below:
- Born amidst salt and smoke beneath a bleeding star.
- Will wake dragons from stone.
- Will pull a sword named Lightbringer from flames, which they will use to combat darkness.
There are a few more important aspects to the Prince That Was Promised. The prophecy is translated from Valyrian, where the word for prince has no gender, suggesting it could be a man or woman. The line "the dragon has three heads" is also mentioned in A Clash of Kings' Daenerys' House of the Undying chapter, which has led many readers to believe there might be three prophetic heroes to ride Dany's three dragons.
Did Game Of Thrones Confirm Azor Ahai?
Game Of Thrones Never Provided A Concrete Answer To This Central Mystery
The popularity of Game of Thrones saw George R.R. Martin's books become widely perceived as low-magic fantasy. While they might be, at least in comparison to an author like Brandon Sanderson's work, magic is still a crucial element in the series. Regardless, the HBO show perpetuated this conception by limiting the fantastical elements of Martin's world with the dilution of prophecy's role in the story. The books have the Azor Ahai prophecy, the Valonqar prophecy, and several characters' dreams to dissect, while the show removed almost all of this.
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Game of Thrones did not confirm who Azor Ahai was, leaving viewers to speculate on the matter. Arguments could be made for Jon, Daenerys, or even Arya, who killed the Night King, but none of them fit cleanly into the notion. Whether this was a thematic decision or simply a fumbled attempt to subvert expectations is unclear, but the TV series offered nothing concrete to suggest any one character is Azor Ahai or the Prince That Was Promised.
Who Will Be Azor Ahai In The Song Of Ice & Fire Books?
Jon, Daenerys, Or No One At All...
It's hard to say exactly who Azor Ahai will be in George R.R. Martin's books until The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring can be read. There are multiple appropriate candidates, like Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen, and practically every other character in the entire series can be attached to the prophecy with a tinfoil hat theory. It's only speculation, but something Game of Thrones might actually have been on the right track with is the idea that the prophecy isn't meant to be solved but instead represents a narrative and thematic element in and of itself.
There might not be an actual Azor Ahai, but rather a bloody path created by people like Melisandre who perpetuate the prophecy for power.
While the cultural phenomenon of GoT saw fans flocking to the internet with advanced theories and resolutions that provided concrete endings to matters like prophecies, it's vital to that Martin's story is anything but concrete. Unlike Tolkien's fantasy, where good triumphs over evil, prophecy in ASOIAF bears more similarity to Frank Herbert's Dune, where prophecies lead to violence and destruction. There might not be an actual Azor Ahai, but rather a bloody path created by people like Melisandre who perpetuate the prophecy for power. The original Azor Ahai story is about a man murdering his wife, after all.
If Game Of Thrones Season 9 Happens, It Needs To Revive A Scrapped George R.R. Martin Plan From 20 Years Ago
If HBO were to ever make Game of Thrones season 9, then an unused idea from A Song of Ice and Fire should be revisited to make the story work.
George R.R. Martin could feasibly make Jon, Daenerys, a combination of the two of them, or any other character in his world Azor Ahai, and there are ways each answer could provide a beautiful ending. This would mean one of the beloved Game of Thrones heroes standing up as the champion of Westeros against the Long Night, raising light in defiance of the darkness. That's a captivating piece of imagery, and there are certainly tones of romanticization in A Song of Ice & Fire, but regarding prophecy, that might not be the story Martin is trying to tell.
Game Of Thrones
- Release Date
- 2011 - 2019-00-00
- Showrunner
- David Benioff, D.B. Weiss
- Directors
- David Nutter, Alan Taylor, D.B. Weiss, David Benioff
Cast
Jon Snow
Isaac Hempstead WrightBrandon Bran Stark
WHERE TO WATCH
- Writers
- D.B. Weiss, George R.R. Martin, David Benioff
- Franchise(s)
- Game of Thrones
- Creator(s)
- David Benioff, D.B. Weiss
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