Ice and fire, snow and sand, Stark and Targaryen, Others/wights and dragons–that’s the dominant binary for the series, obviously. However, water is also a key “element” for the setting in general and the books in particular. The Iron Islands, the Riverlands, Dorne, and the Stormlands are all characterized by their relationship to water. House Greyjoy and House Velaryon and (though less prominently) House Redwyne derive their power from the water. The Rhoynar remain a water-based culture, centuries removed from the Rhoyne. The Rhoyne itself was the locus of an entirely unique form of magic, with water wizards and their giant turtles, and the Bridge sequence shows some of that magic is there still. The smoking seas around Valyria are, apparently, truly full of horrible creatures. Back in the day there were the Deep Ones and remnants of their culture remain to this day, both in that oily black stone architecture and in the legends of the squishers and the merlings. The Drowned God and krakens look set to play a major role courtesy of Euron Greyjoy’s fleet. Download the episode! Our Patreon page at patreon.com/boiledleatheraudiohour. Torrent Our iTunes page. Previous episodes. Podcast RSS feed. Sean’s blog. Stefan’s blog.