Jump to content

World of Ice and Fire extract to be available


Recommended Posts

The Durrandons were Storm Kings for thousands of years. Everyone likes to speculate on the links the Starks have to winter and ice magic; the Targaryen's links to fire are obvious. But no one really takes that title Storm King (or later Storm Lord) seriously. Methinks that is a mistake. We should be asking whether Mel used her own power (fueled by the burning of Alister Florent) to affect the winds and seas for Stannis' trip to the Wall, or did she tap Stannis' personal "Storm" magic? Is Stannis sitting in the middle of a snowstorm in Dance for a reason? A topic for a different thread, perhaps.

On the subject of the Valyrians settling on Dragonstone around 300 BC, we should remember that the disaster at Hardhome occurred at roughly the same time. Probably not a coincidence.

This is interesting because someone said this in a thread recently:

Again this would be from the World Book reading. I believe that the Storm King was winning the battle, but the storm let up, and the dragon took to the air, and turned the tide of the battle.

http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/106373-bring-back-house-durrendon-and-the-stormking/?p=5577459

Now, I can't verify that as actually happening. He did say that Orys had black hair despite being of Valyrian descent but it seems clear from this that the famous black hair comes from the Durrandons.

Its possible that they could cause storms unconsciously by stress and anger if this is true. When it seemed like he was winning that subsided and so did the storm. I personally think Mel is all smoke and mirrors beyond getting visions bestowed on her.

Bit off topic, Ibbison from Ibben, but I think that Melisandre's power is the opposite of the magic that roams Westeros; even though she claims to be stronger at the Wall, that doesn't mean she can harness that particular power - she relies on her own religion and abilities, as far as we know. She simply thieves in the vicinity of a great magical hub that is Wall, and which seems to be impartial to the magic of men.

While the Stormkings may be descended from the gods (the idea certainly fits their larger than life attitude), the only magical moment that we can connect to the present story is when Brandon the Builder gives instructions as to the making of Storm's End; we know that the edifice holds the preternatural protection precisely via Melisandre, and she can't do anything about it. Brandon was also claimed to have built the Wall - another magical building, closely tied to old gods. So, old magic of Children of Forest.

There's no storm magic to speak of... Of course, this type of reasoning can bit annoying, sort of high fantasy classification of magic, but I hope you understand what I'm getting at.

You are trying to sciencify magic, to add rules and levels and rationality. I think I am more of an Occam's razor type thinker. This family has crazy unnatural genes, they aren't just larger than life they seem to be the Storm made flesh which is bizarrely convenient for a Storm King and they have a magic castle. All three seem to be coming from one bloodline, the Durrandons, who claim to be descended from a goddess. With all this talk of wolf blood and dragon blood I would not be surprised if there were some blood rituals done by the Durrandon ancestors perhaps in the building of Storm's End. The Children worship nature, they give blood sacrifice to trees, there is some ancient bond between blood and the earth it nourishes? Stannis burning Storm's End's weirwood may be a disaster.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Velaryons are nearly a small branch of House Targaryen, with the huge amount of marriages in the early times.

I suspect that the Dance was not the cause of the Velaryon's fall from power. Alyn Velaryon had to gain wealth when leading the conquest of Dorne, and Daenera being the mother of two kings should also contribute to restore the family's position. I think it was a much more slow, gradual thing, possibly catalized by he effect of choosing bad sides in the Blackfyre rebellions (Daemon Blackfyre was Daenera's grandson) and Robert's Rebellion ending with the destructon of the Targaryen (Velaryon) fleet at Dragonstone.

But Aegon didn't marry Argilac's daughter. So it remains just a matter of right of conquest with no further legitimacy.

I know this is off topic but who is Daenera? I never heard of her... :uhoh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ahh! I forgot that his second wife was a Velaryon! :bang:

I case you haven't heard, thanks to the app, we now also know the wife of Aenys I. She was Alyssa Velaryons.

The sample text of the World Book has told us that the mother of Aegon I, Valaena Velaryon, had a Targaryen mother.

That's all the new info on the Velaryons, IIRC :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always seen it as a little weird that Aegon's children were born post conquest, considering he and sisters might have been married for 10 years then already (if we assume Valyrians marry in their teens, as Westerosi tend to do).

Actually, with Aenys born a few years after the Conquest, and with 2 generations between him and Rhaenys, born in 74 AC, it seems more like Targaryens married/had their first children at the ages of 20 to 25.

I think Maegor and Aenys marrying young was because of political consequences after the Conquest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really hope there will be big family trees in the book and lots of fun facts, I'm exited! Especially about the Targaryen Dynasty and theirs history. It will also be a short novella about Daemon Targaryen in Rogue that will be publicized July 17th 2014, most probably about what happen'd before The Princess and the Queen novella.


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...