#24: Melisandre of Asshai
Soon comes the cold, and the night that never ends.
Melisandre was kind of a "meh" character to me for the longest time. "Oh cool, a woman with those powders that change the color of fire from Are You Afraid of the Dark" I'd say. I thought she was just some charlatan playing Stannis for a fool, trying to get between him and Queen Selyse in the hopes that when he takes the Iron Throne she can become queen.
But then she makes his sword glow brighter than the Sun after burning Rattleshirt, and she, like, birthed an assassin shadow, and she likes killing kings because their blood is way powerful and that's when I started to think that maybe I was wrong about Melisandre. Maybe she really does have sick house magic powers.
I really like her chapter in ADwD, too. It kind of humanized her a little bit, and added to her mystique. She only sleeps one hour a night, if that? She kept Devan back because she didn't want Davos to lose all of his sons? She endures intense pain every time she tries to predict the future but hides it effortlessly because she's a supreme badass? Yeah, these are awesome things.
I'd probably have ranked her a little higher if she'd had more than just the one chapter. I'd really like to know more about her and how she got to become the way she is today.
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"SMOKEDOG42O taught me how to feel love, but fetus taught me how to make love." - Pablo Escobar