Why Do Targaryens Have Dragon Blood?
Call the Banners! HBO is taking us once more to the world of Westeros.
George R.R Martin's brutal and bloody fantasy that captured the hearts and minds of readers and show watchers is back with a vengeance. While The Game Of Thrones TV show may have ended on a disappointing note, there is much to be excited about the House Of The Dragon.
House of the Dragon takes place around 200 years before we were introduced to Ned Stark, Jon Snow, and Daenerys Targaryen in The Game of Thrones. The show retells Martin's A Song Of Ice And Fire. It's a series of novels featuring the politics of kings, conspiracies of madmen, and adventures across the mysterious and violent land of Westeros.
House of the Dragon cranks it all up to 11 and features the ancestors of Daenerys as the titular protagonists. The show is based on Fire and Blood, another novel by George R.R Martin that details a civil war between the Targaryen family, The Dance of Dragons.
The show is named after the family, whose standard is that of a three-headed dragon. The Targaryens are called "Dragon Lords" by the commoners and minstrels and for a good reason. The family is the only known line of dragon riders in the land. That is their secret of power in Westeros. And it is a secret they jealously guard.
Therefore, we wonder why exactly the Targaryens have this bond with their dragons. The Targaryens and their dragons came from Valyria before it was destroyed under mysterious circumstances. In A World of Ice And Fire, a companion book to the main series, George details the realm and how it worked.
Before the doom, the Targaryens were just one family among many who rode dragons. The origins of this power are mysterious, but there are rumors of magic and dark blood rituals which gave Targaryens this power. So while the Northerners have the blood of The First Men, and Southerners have the blood of Andals, Targaryens may have the blood of Dragons. Again, however, it is likely through magical means.
There are many details in In A World of Ice And Fire that deepen the mystery, but at present, only George knows the details of the dyad between Targaryens and their dragons. Since House Of The Dragon explores this ancient family, we expect it to have the answers we seek.