Look, let's be honest—the history and culture of the continent of Westeros in Game of Thrones: Kingsroad are driven by three main faiths. There is the nature-worshipping Old Gods, the Faith of the Seven which has firmly established itself as the state religion of the continent, and finally, the foreign faith of R'hllor who worships the god of fire and light. They have coexisted through the tides of time, sometimes casting each other aside, leaving their footprints on every major event unfolding across Westeros.

The Old Gods, a native nature-worshipping faith

The Old Gods are an ancient nature faith originating from the Children of the Forest, the native inhabitants of the continent of Westeros. The First Men who later crossed over to the continent also naturally interacted with the Children of the Forest and were civilized to inherit the faith. The Old Gods have neither a standardized name nor a concrete form. Countless spirits dwelling in all things of nature—such as sheer rocks, leisurely flowing rivers, biting snowy winds, and primeval forests—are the objects of worship.

Among them, the weirwood with its white bark and red leaves is revered as the center of the faith. In particular, a weirwood carved with a human face on its trunk is called a 'heart tree' and treated as sacred. According to the faith, the weirwood was a miraculous medium that remembered all history that took place beneath its gaze. Even to this day, believers of the Old Gods strictly perform momentous oaths like marriages and vows in front of a weirwood.

It is said that the Children of the Forest and their successors were able to peer into the distant past experienced by the weirwood. The game translates this lore into the 'Memory of the Weirwood' content. You interact with a severed weirwood to experience past battles and acquire rewards that serve as stepping stones for growth.

When the Andals invaded the continent, they cut down weirwoods wherever spotted out of fear of the weirwood's surveillance. Due to this carnage, weirwoods mostly vanished in southern Westeros, and the Old Gods faith also sharply declined. Because of this, it is a faith primarily believed in the North and beyond the Wall. Of course, some places where weirwoods continued their veins of energy remain in the south as well. One of them was inside Highgarden, the stronghold of House Tyrell, known as a weirwood that took root at the southernmost tip of the continent.

The biggest feature of the Old Gods faith is that there is no systematic organization. It creates neither a priestly class with authority, nor scriptures recording teachings, nor temples. Believers aim for a simple life that does not go against the order of nature, and seek to listen to the voice of Mother Nature through silence and meditation. You can witness this aspect in the in-game 'Sanctuary' content. A user visiting the sanctuary reflects on the current situation through meditation and shows a glimpse of pondering the path to move forward.

The Faith of the Seven, believing in the seven gods

The Faith of the Seven started from the ethnic religion of the Andals. It flowed into the continent during the Andal invasion and put down roots, now settling comfortably as the state religion sustaining Westeros. The influence the Faith of the Seven has exerted across the history and culture of Westeros is absolute, so much so that the unified nation encompassing the continent is called the 'Seven Kingdoms'.

As the name suggests, the Faith of the Seven worships seven divine aspects. Each aspect is the 'Father, Mother, Warrior, Crone, Smith, Maiden, and Stranger'. Strictly speaking, the explanation that a single god has seven forms is accurate. The story goes that the exact same deity appears in the form of the Father when judging justice, and in the form of the Warrior on the battlefield. The symbols and spheres of dominion of each divine aspect are as follows.

In the doctrines of the Faith of the Seven, the number seven is a sacred symbol. It is melted into the lives of Westerosi residents, ranging from the term 'Seven Kingdoms' referring to the continent, to the septagon star as the symbol of the faith, to strictly limiting the size of the King's Guard, the 'Kingsguard', to seven members. Within the game, you can experience this through sanctuaries built in heptagonal shapes, characters calling upon the 'Seven Gods', or raising the 'Seven Hells' as curses.

Unlike the Old Gods faith which had no formalized church, the Faith of the Seven established a systematic organization and doctrine. Following this, it conducts confessions and marriage sacraments similarly to real-world religions. While the doctrine taboos the divorce of married couples, marriages can be annulled if justifiable reasons are recognized. A representative example is when Tywin Lannister made the childhood marriage of Tyrion Lannister as if it never happened. You can catch a glimpse of stories related to this in the Casterly Rock mystery 'The Song of Children'.

Uniquely, miracles related to religion have never been showcased in the original work either. This is exceptional compared to how the Children of the Forest believing in the Old Gods catch glimpses of past events through weirwoods, or how R'hllor's devotees display powerful fire magic.

R'hllor, the God of Fire and Light

This is a faith worshipping R'hllor, the Lord of Light and Fire, crossing over from Essos. Thanks to the belief that everyone is equal before R'hllor, the faith could rapidly expand its sphere of influence in Essos where slavery is rampant.

It is a religion holding the belief that the world is composed of the struggle between two deities, one of which is R'hllor, the Lord of Fire and Light. The deity standing at the opposite end is called the 'Great Other' and remains unnamed. The Great Other is known as the god governing darkness, coldness, and death. Melisandre, famous as a priestess of R'hllor, claims that the White Walkers are followers of the Great Other.

Originally, its standing within the continent of Westeros was minimal, but Stannis Baratheon has thoroughly trusted the red priestess Melisandre, causing the sphere of influence to expand rapidly. However, a serious rift is occurring between the Faith of the Seven believers and R'hllor believers within Stannis's faction as well. If you progress through the in-game sub-quest 'Soldiers of the King and Queen', you can vividly experience this internal discord.

The main cause of the conflict is largely due to R'hllor rejecting other religions. In the past, the Faith of the Seven partially accepted the Old Gods faith and integrated into the continent. On the other hand, R'hllor recognizes only the Lord of Light and endlessly feuds with people of other religions. Some fanatics show brutal behaviors, driving others as heretics and burning them alive at the stake.

As a reference, there are many powerful magicians and prophets among R'hllor's believers. They are called red priests mainly because they wear red robes and use fire-related magic. In the original television series, Melisandre showcased flashy miracles such as setting soldiers' weapons on fire or creating a wall of fire to block enemies. In the game, the villain 'Iridon' from the Stormlands region serves as a prime representative.