Finns lejon i Westeros eller i ASOIAFs värld?
Ja, vi hör av en lejon i Westeros är Sandor Clegane berätta för henne om den tid som hans farfar räddade Lord Tytos Lannister från en lejoninna. Observera att denna lejoninna också bor i Westerlands.
"I like dogs better than knights. My father's father was kennelmaster at the Rock. One autumn year, Lord Tytos came between a lioness and her prey. The lioness didn't give a shit that she was Lannister's own sigil. Bitch tore into my lord's horse and would have done for my lord too, but my grandfather came up with the hounds. Three of his dogs died running her off. My grandfather lost a leg, so Lannister paid him for it with lands and a towerhouse, and took his son to squire. The three dogs on our banner are the three that died, in the yellow of autumn grass. A hound will die for you, but never lie to you. And he'll look you straight in the face." He cupped her under the jaw, raising her chin, his fingers pinching her painfully. "And that's more than little birds can do, isn't it? I never got my song."
A Clash of Kings, Sansa II
Det finns flera andra referenser till lejon i The Ice and Fire, men för att nämna en är skogens barn med hjälp av grottlöv mot de första männen.
The hunters among the children—their wood dancers—became their warriors as well, but for all their secret arts of tree and leaf, they could only slow the First Men in their advance. The greenseers employed their arts, and tales say that they could call the beasts of marsh, forest, and air to fight on their behalf: direwolves and monstrous snowbears, cave lions and eagles, mammoths and serpents, and more. But the First Men proved too powerful, and the children are said to have been driven to a desperate act.
The World of Ice and Fire, Ancient History: The Coming of First Men
Det finns också omnämnande av "Hrakkar" en ras av vitt lejon som bor i slätten längs Dothrakisjön.
"Yes, my sun-and-stars," Dany said. Drogo would take his bloodriders and ride in search of hrakkar, the great white lion of the plains. If they returned triumphant, her lord husband's joy would be fierce, and he might be willing to hear her out.
...
The brazier was cold again by the time Khal Drogo returned. Cohollo was leading a packhorse behind him, with the carcass of a great white lion slung across its back. Above, the stars were coming out. The khal laughed as he swung down off his stallion and showed her the scars on his leg where the hrakkar had raked him through his leggings. "I shall make you a cloak of its skin, moon of my life," he swore.
A Game of Thrones, Daenerys VI
Om så är fallet, varför är det House Lannisters sigil?
Det finns ingen uttrycklig omnämnande till varför, men en Lion är en symbol för stor makt och styrka, något som House Lannister tydligt försöker replikera. Tänk också på en av de möjliga berättelserna för hur Lannisters kom till.
Other tellers prefer other versions of the tale. In one, Lann uses the cleft to fill the Rock with mice, rats, and other vermin, thereby driving out the Casterlys. In another, he smuggles a pride of lions inside, and Lord Casterly and his sons are all devoured, after which Lann claims his lordship's wife and daughters for himself. The bawdiest of the stories has Lann stealing in night after night to have his way with the Casterly maidens whilst they sleep. In nine months time, these maids all give birth to golden-haired children whilst still insisting they had never had carnal knowledge of a man.
The World of Ice and Fire, The Westerlands
Det sägs också att Casterly Rock ser ut som en Lejon som mörker börjar krypa in
Casterly Rock, the ancient seat of House Lannister, is no ordinary castle. Although crowned with towers and turrets and watchtowers, with stone walls and oaken gates and iron portcullises guarding its every means of egress, this ancient fortress is in truth a colossal rock beside the Sunset Sea, a rock that some say looks like a lion in repose when the sun sets and the shadows fall.
The World of Ice and Fire, The Westerlands: Casterly Rock
Borde de inte ha valt något djur naturligt för sin geografiska region eller något sådant?
Lejonet är naturligt för Westerlands och är även känt för att ha levt i själva Rocken.
The Rock has been a habitation for men for thousands of years. Before the coming of the First Men it seems likely that the children of the forest and giants made their homes in the great sea-carved caverns at its base. Bears, lions, wolves, and bats have also been known to make their lairs within, along with countless lesser creatures.
The World of Ice and Fire, The Westerlands: Casterly Rock
