Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin clears up some confusion about what Casterly Rock looks like. The Song of Ice and Fire franchise is one known for its many geographic locations, some of the most important being King’s Landing, Winterfell, and The Wall. One of the most famous locations in Martin’s fantasy world, despite it never being visited in his books, is Casterly Rock, the ancestral seat of House Lannister in Westeros. Game of Thrones season 7 showed a glimpse of the castle, though many book readers deemed the depiction to be inaccurate. This, in turn, has led to much confusion about what the location should actually look like.

Now, sensing that confusion, George R.R. Martin took to Twitter to put it to rest. The author, who wrote the books on which Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are based, shared an image of Casterly Rock to show what it should look like, as painted by Ted Nasmith for the 2011 Ice & Fire calendar and also appearing in the 2014 book, The World of Ice & Fire. On the “Not A Blog” portion of his website, Martin shared some additional information about Casterly Rock. Check out the image in his post below:

Will House of the Dragon Season 2 Visit Casterly Rock?

In House of the Dragon season 1, Jason Lannister boasts about Casterly Rock in an attempt to win Rhaenyra Targaryen’s affection. The Lord describes it as “thrice the height of the Hightower in Oldtown” and “taller still than the Wall in the north.” His attempts to woo the young Princess are unsuccessful, though the scene could have set the stage for future events in House of the Dragon and Casterly Rock’s eventual appearance.

House of the Dragon season 2 is expected to broaden the show’s scope to various locations as the Dance of the Dragons kicks off. Martin’s 2018 book Fire & Blood on which House of the Dragon is based mentions that, later in the war, Dalton Greyjoy and his Ironborn allies (who are aligned with Rhaenyra and the Blacks) fail to force entry into the impregnable Casterly Rock, although they do end up sacking Lannisport, which is located less than a mile south. However, it’s unclear if House of the Dragon will actually depict this relatively minor event onscreen, or if it will merely be mentioned.

Whether it’s on House of the Dragon or in the books, Casterly Rock will hopefully be visited again sometime soon to give audiences a true idea of the Lannister’s might. Martin has two more books in his A Song of Ice and Fire saga to go – The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring – and the author’s plan is to have at least one of his viewpoint characters visit the ancestral stronghold of House Lannister, which should reveal more insight into its many mysteries. Until then, audiences will have to settle for the glimpses seen in Game of Thrones season 7 or one of the many depictions by artists.