Background

Early on in the series it seemed possible that the reader was going to get to visit Asshai (and potentially meet Quaithe there) and find "truth". Based on some of GRRM's comments this has likely changed. I thought it would be interesting to explore where this may have been headed, why GRRM may have made changes and what their role in the story may be now.

If interested:

Early Meetings with Quaithe

In ACoK, Dany meets Quaithe near Qarth and later gets this cryptic message:

"To go north, you must journey south. To reach the west, you must go east. To go forward you must go back, and to touch the light you must pass beneath the shadow."
Asshai, Dany thought. She would have me go to Asshai. "Will the Asshai'i give me an army?" she demanded. "Will there be gold for me in Asshai? Will there be ships? What is there in Asshai that I will not find in Qarth?"
"Truth," said the woman in the mask. And bowing, she faded back into the crowd. -ACOK, Daenerys III

which is repeated in ASoS:

She is standing over me. "Who's there?" Dany peered into the darkness. She thought she could see a shadow, the faintest outline of a shape. "What do you want to me?"
"Remember. To go north, you must journey south. To reach the west, you must go east. To go forward you must go back, and to touch the light you must pass beneath the shadow." -ASOS, Daenerys III

with this set to be a generational saga that covered the coming of age of 5 central characters, he may have felt he had plenty of time to get Dany to Asshai at some point while he was writing the first few books.

In what place, if any, has there been an accumulation of dragonlore?
GRRM: Valyria. The Citadel. Dragonstone. Probably some of the Free Cities as well. Maybe Asshai in the far east. -SSM, Dragonlore: 19 May 2000

If interested: Foreshadowing the Original Asshai Plotline

The Five Year Gap

The abandoned 5 year gap would have allowed for the younger characters to age up, dragons to grow, etc. but didn't work for most of the adults. While it is unconfirmed, GRRM may have intended Dany to visit Asshai during this time period, and then reflect/flashback to it. He also made comments that seemed to indicate the existence of traveling east there:

Q: Is there any trade between Westeros and Asshai over the Sunset Sea, or are those uncharted waters?
GRRM: Over the =Sunset= Sea? No. No one has ever crossed the Sunset Sea to learn what lies on the other side.
Trade ships bound for Asshai go east through the Summer Sea and the Jade Sea, which are connected by the straights at Qarth. -SSM, Trade with Asshai: 27 Aug 2000

and:

Is Yi Ti farther east than Asshai/Is there anything known to be east of the Shadowlands?
GRRM: You'll need to wait and see. -SSM, The East: 13 June 2001

If interested: A Quick Look at the End of ASOS and the Setup for the 5 Year Gap

Post 5 Year Gap

After the 5 year gap was abandoned, GRRM made numerous comments stating that a visit to Asshai was unlikely:

I just wanted to ask, what are the chances of finally seeing Asshai/the Shadow in AFFC?
GRRM: Very remote. SSM, Seeing Asshai: 13 January 2003

and was basically asked this exact question at one point:

I am under the strong impression you openly indicated Dany would be traveling east to Asshai and the Shadow lands, possibly to invade Westeros from the other side even... Everyone tells me im wrong, it doesnt fit into the time frame etc etc. Did you or did you not want us to get that impression by a)introudcing Quaithe b)the whole to go west you must go east under the shadow etc etc prophecy... c)Bran saw dragons in Asshai. Perhaps Danys dragons in the future? I doubt real dragons are in Asshai now or the whole magic leaving the world thing wouldnt have happened....
GRRM: Sorry, these answers will need to wait for future books. - SSM, Ibben and Armor: 9 Nov 2002

and:

[Will POVs see any of the places to the east like Yi Ti, Asshai, etc.?]
GRRM: Some, perhaps. I do not subscribe to the theory put forth in THE ROUGH GUIDE TO FANTASYLAND (a swell book, by the way) that eventually the characters must visit every place shown on The Map. -SSM, Eastern Lands: 15 April 2008

and:

Q: Will we see Asshai?
GRRM: Only in flashback and memory, if at all. -SSM, Asshai.com Forum Chat: 27 July 2008

and:

Will we ever see Asshai or the Shadow?
GRRM: You may hear about it and you may get flashback scenes from characters who have been there and you can puzzle it out on the internet. But I don’t know. I may return to write other stories set in this world. -SSM, Redwood City Signing: 27 July 2011

and:

GRRM: “I don’t plan to set any scenes in Asshai – at least not in the present book, but you may find out a little bit about it in future books. We do have one character who’s been there, of course, and that’s Melisandre. So, in the chapters from her thought, you may occasionally have her think back to her time in Asshai.” -SSM, Guadalajara Book Festival: 2 December 2016

Asshai/Volantis

One idea that is theorized is that the Asshai plotline has been replaced by the Volantis plotline. Which if GRRM is having to cut corners would make a bit of sense. One thing worth noting is that while the worship of R'hllor is headquartered in Volantis, at one point GRRM had this to say about Asshai:

R'hllor, the god of Flame and Shadow, worshipped in Asshai and the east, who assumes more importance in A CLASH OF KINGS**.** -SSM, Gods of Westeros: 1998

Quaithe Still Has a Part to Play

While the show may have basically eliminated Quaithe, GRRM confirmed as recently as 2022 that Quaithe still has a part to play in the books:

 I have legions of secondary characters, not POVs but nonetheless important to the plot, who also figure in the story: Lady Stoneheart, Young Griff,  the Tattered Prince, Penny, Brown Ben Plumm, the Shavepate, Marwyn the Mage, Darkstar, Jeyne Westerling.  Some characters you saw in the show are quite different than the versions in the novels.   Yarra Greyjoy is not Asha Greyjoy, and HBO’s Euron Greyjoy is way, way, way, way different from mine.   Quaithe still has a part to play.  So does Rickon Stark.   And poor Jeyne Poole.   And… well, the list is long.    (And all this is part of why WINDS is taking so long.   This is hard, guys).
Oh, and there will be new characters as well.   No new viewpoints, I promise you that, but with all these journeys and battles and scheming to come, inevitably our major players will be encountering new people in lands far and near. -SSM, A Winter Garden: 8 July 2022

Glass Candles

GRRM has mentioned over and over again how much he has struggled with the glass candles. With Quaithe's association with them it would make sense that GRRM has continued to be vague with her:

“What are you doing here? How did you get past my guards?”
“I came another way. Your guards never saw me.”
“If I call out, they will kill you.”
“They will swear to you that I am not here.”
“Are you here?”
"No. Hear me, Daenerys Targaryen. The glass candles are burning. -ADWD, Daenerys III

Beware the Perfumed Seneschal

While Quaithe warns Dany against trusting numerous characters, the only character that Dany is supposed to actually beware of is the perfumed seneschal, whose identity is heavily debated amongst fans (my bet is on someone who technically hasn't arrived to Meereen yet).

"No. Hear me, Daenerys Targaryen. The glass candles are burning. Soon comes the pale mare, and after her the others. Kraken and dark flame, lion and griffin, the sun's son and the mummer's dragon. Trust none of them. Remember the Undying. Beware the perfumed seneschal." -ADWD, Daenerys II

Identity

Most of the theorization for Quaithe tends to center on:

  • Ashara Dayne
  • time traveling Dany
  • Malora Hightower (the Mad Maid)
  • descendant of Shiera Seastar

Truth

Due to changes in plot direction, etc. it seems possible that the certain visions/prophecies have had their meanings change as well. We see that with what GRRM did with Quaithe's warning to Dany changing from "crow and kraken" to "kraken and darkflame". With that in mind it is possible that the "truth" that Quaithe was going to change with Dany has changed as well. There are many things she might need/find truth about:

TLDR: Early on in the series it seemed possible that a reader might get a visit to Asshai by Daenerys (possibly to meet Quaithe). After ASOS/abandoned of the 5 year gap, GRRM basically ruled out this possibility (also possible it was never happening). With GRRM stating that Quaithe still has a role to play, it will be interesting how she is involved in the storyline going forward.

  • I think Dany will still "visit" Asshai, but via a glass candle to keep communing with Quaithe. It's probably the Doylist reason for Marwyn the Mage existing as a character, to help facilitate this.

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    Unfortunately I think this is all we will get:

    GRRM: “I don’t plan to set any scenes in Asshai – at least not in the present book, but you may find out a little bit about it in future books. We do have one character who’s been there, of course, and that’s Melisandre. So, in the chapters from her thought, you may occasionally have her think back to her time in Asshai.” -SSM, Guadalajara Book Festival: 2 December 2016

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    Maybe, though I'm optimistic that his gardening might change this. A glass candle conversation with Quaithe might not really offer much detail of her surroundings. In any case, we're not gonna "physically" see Asshai, that much is certain.

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  • Makes me sad to read. I wish George had written an outline so he wouldn’t have put himself in this mess of foreshadowing

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  • An interesting thing about Qualithe is Dany thinks she is a shadowbinder. And she wears the red lacquer mask.

    Last of the three seekers to depart was Quaithe the shadowbinder. From her Dany received only a warning. "Beware," the woman in the red lacquer mask said.

    Quentyn passes a few shadowbinders.

    Four stories tall, the Merchant's House dominated the docks and wharves and storehouses that surrounded it. Here traders from Oldtown and King's Landing mingled with their counterparts from Braavos and Pentos and Myr, with hairy Ibbenese, pale-skinned voyagers from Qarth, coal-black Summer Islanders in feathered cloaks, even masked shadow-binders from Asshai by the Shadow.

    For reasons I have yet discovered, Melisandre doesn't appear to wear a mask. I wonder if the mask is a requirement or is it not? Or is Melisandre not actually a shadowbinder as she claims.

    She's so far from Asshai, would anyone know if she's not really what she claims? Barristan touches upon this...

    Ser Barristan's suspicions had awakened. "Knighthood is easily claimed this far from Westeros. Are you prepared to defend that boast with sword or lance?"

    And Melisandre earlier compared herself to a knight.

    That made her chuckle. "Oh, good. I am a knight of sorts myself, sweet ser. A champion of light and life."

    As knowledgeable as Maester Aemon is given his access to books such as Jade Compendium, he might realize Melisandre lacks some of the trappings of a shadow-binder. He figured out Lightbringer was just a glamor. Then again, he's blind and might not know she isn't masked.

    Would love to know more about shadow binders from Quaithe's actions just to have something to test Melisandre against. Doesn't seem this is coming.

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  • I disagree with the theory that GRRM initially planned to go to Asshai.

    The only piece of evidence that seems to be invoked is Quaithe's riddle to Dany. But Dany immediately responds that Quaithe wants her to go to Asshai. A main character announcing what they believe they are being asked to do isn't "foreshadowing". It's rather much more likely to be an example of the main character misinterpreting a cryptic prophecy, that instead comes true in a different way.

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  • I do firmly believe that she will sail with Victarion/the Iron Fleet past Asshai and assail the Iron Islands as the first part of her conquest. Maybe she’ll even end up establishing Asha when she meets the warrior daughter of a king whose brothers were eliminated but has the balls to lead her people/rule her ancestral lands (said claim by the Greyjoys being about as young and tenuous as the Targaryen claim of Westeros)

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  • Ooh I’d love to get a flashback to Asshai in a future Melisandre chapter. It makes sense that it hasn’t happened yet, since she only had one chapter and probably doesn’t think about Asshai much. She may have repressed traumatic memories from that time in her life.

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