Location from A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
The temple of the Faceless Men in Braavos — a place of quiet death where assassins who can wear any face worship the Many-Faced God and grant the 'gift' of mercy to those who seek it.
The House of Black and White is the headquarters of the most feared assassin guild in the known world, and it operates as a temple rather than a criminal enterprise. The Faceless Men worship death as a single deity wearing many masks — every religion's death god is the same god, they believe, and killing is a sacrament rather than a transaction. Petitioners come to the pool to die peacefully, and wealthy clients pay extraordinary sums to have specific deaths arranged, though the Faceless Men choose which contracts to accept based on their own mysterious criteria. Arya Stark came here seeking the power to kill everyone on her list and was instead taught to become No One — to surrender identity, wear the faces of the dead stored in the vaults below, and serve the Many-Faced God without personal motive. She learned the skills but rejected the philosophy, leaving with abilities that would later save the world. The temple's lower levels contain the Hall of Faces — thousands of harvested faces stored on walls, available to any Faceless Man who has truly given up their own identity.
A windowless stone building on a small island, its doors carved from weirwood (white) and ebony (black). Inside, a central pool of poisoned water offers painless death to any who drink. Alcoves around the walls hold statues of death gods from every religion — the Stranger, the Black Goat, the Lion of Night. Candles burn with a scent that shifts to match each visitor's memories.
Also known as: the House of Black and White, the temple of the Faceless Men, the Many-Faced God's temple