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- Melisandre Is A Priestess Of The Lord Of Light
- Melisandre Wears A Necklace To Conceal Her Age
- Melisandre Can Use Magic
In Game of Thrones, there are plenty of characters full of secrets and mysteries. There’s Jaqen H’ghar, one of the Faceless Men of Braavos, whose real identity may never be known. Then there’s the lineage of Jon Snow, which remained a secret for almost the entirety of the TV series. Other characters like the Three-Eyed Raven, the Waif, and the Night King are also mysterious in that not much information is divulged about them.
Then there’s the Red Woman, arguably the most mysterious character in Game of Thrones. The Red Woman, known by her name Melisandre, is a recurring character who does everything in her power to help Stannis Baratheon assume the throne up until his death. It was then that she resurrected Jon Snow and became an advisor to him, believing he was “The Prince That Was Promised.”
Melisandre is a priestess of the Lord of Light, who holds many secrets, keeping herself an extremely puzzling character in Game of Thrones. However, if there’s one secret she lets slip, if only to viewers, it’s that she’s not as young as she appears to be. In addition to the Night King, Melisandre is one of the oldest living characters in Game of Thrones. If Melisandre is over 400 years old, how does she stay so young?
Melisandre Is A Priestess Of The Lord Of Light
First and foremost, Melisandre was a Red Priestess of the Lord of Light. Sure, several people followed the Lord of Light and believed in him in Game of Thrones, but none were as devoted to his cause as Melisandre.
Lord of Light! Come to us in our darkness. We offer you these false gods. Take them and cast your light upon us. For the night is dark and full of terrors.
As a priestess of R’hllor, the Lord of Light, Melisandre believes R’hllor has sent her on a very specific mission to fight in a war to come. Although, being over 400 years old, at the time of becoming a priestess that war was centuries away from happening. If Melisandre lived a mortal life, she wouldn’t be able to fight or have any type of impact in this war that happens hundreds of years in the future from the time that she pledged herself to the Lord of Light.
Since she had a very specific role to play in this war to come, it only makes sense that the Lord of Light would grant her an exceptionally long lifespan and allow her to appear young. This way she would be able to see her part through to the end, which she did.
Melisandre Wears A Necklace To Conceal Her Age
Although being a Red Priestess definitely extended her lifespan, more than just her devotion to the Lord of Light played a factor in her appearance. Melisandre also wore a very large, ruby necklace, which holds great significance.
Throughout the earlier seasons of Game of Thrones, this necklace appeared to be linked to her religion. Anytime Melisandre performed a ritual or magic, the ruby would glow, hinting that it was somehow connected to magic and the Lord of Light. Although much is never revealed about her necklace, viewers do learn the true purpose of the necklace in a later season of Game of Thrones.
In season 6, episode 1, “The Red Woman,” Melisandre takes her necklace off at the very end of the episode, revealing that without her necklace she is an extremely old woman, over 400 years to be exact. The appearance of Melisandre as a young woman has been a ruse to keep her true appearance and age a secret. Not much else is revealed about her necklace or age, but it’s safe to say that the Lord of Light felt it was important to his cause and Melisandre’s journey that she appeared the way she did to others.
Melisandre Can Use Magic
As mentioned earlier, Melisandre can wield magic. She shows this multiple times throughout the series by performing rituals and spells to help Stannis Baratheon on his journey to claim the throne. Much of the magic she uses is controversial or new to people who aren’t familiar with the Lord of Light, but this doesn’t stop Melisandre from using it to achieve her goals.
Being able to wield magic is another factor that weighs into her appearance of being a young woman. Without magic, Melisandre simply wouldn’t have been able to live as long as she did. The magical properties in her ruby necklace, which conceal her age with a glamour, also wouldn’t exist. Although the Lord of Light plays a huge role in Melisandre’s extended life, Melisandre is extremely powerful in her own right as well.
Melisandre comes from Asshai, which is a mysterious city located in Essos, where dark, shadowy magic is more commonly practiced. As such, Melisandre grew up around this dark magic, giving her opportunities to practice it on her own. It was this magic that Melisandre used to kill Renly Baratheon.
Having possession of such dark and dangerous magic makes Melisandre that much more powerful when combined with her devotion to the Lord of Light. Being able to access multiple sources of magic would definitely help Melisandre to imbue her ruby with the glamour that conceals her age. After all, she would need some seriously powerful magic to allow the ruby to continue to work for centuries.
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