Was Quentyn really 'on fire'

[Felipe Fernandes]

So far we have seen two people trying to tame a dragon, Daenerys and Quentyn. We were led to believe that Daenerys succeded and Quentyn failed because he was set on fire by one of the dragons. But did that 'fire' really harmed him?

at the end of aDwD we find out that Daenerys was also set on fire by Drogon, but wasn't harmed. Here's the quote:

aDwD Daenerys X

The fire burned away my hair, but elsewise it did not touch me. It had been the same in Daznak’s Pit

What if it's part of the taming process? The dragons set his new owner on a kind of fire, but not a fire that harms but rather marks the person as the new owner of the dragon.

The event from Quentyn's PoV seemed to be very similar to what Daenarys described: there was fire, but he didn't felt the fire touching him, here's the quote:

aDwD The Dragontamer

When he raised his whip, he saw that the lash was burning. His hand as well. All of him, all of him was burning.

Oh, he thought. Then he began to scream.

It seems to me he can see the fire, but he doesn't feels it. If I'm right, it's just part of the taming process and he actually succeded.

Later on, we see from Barristan's PoV that the man he believes to be Quentyn died three days after the event described in 'The Dragontamer'. But that man was unrecognizable and it could be anyone else who went down there with him (other then his friends). Here's the quotes:

aDwD The Queen's Hand

...the sight of the burned man was too much for even the boldest of them...
...He has no lips...
... the old knight peeled back the coverlet for one last look at Quentyn Martell’s face, or what remained of it. So much of the prince’s flesh had sloughed away that he could see the skull beneath. His eyes were pools of pus...

Also, he confirms that Daenerys was on fire after taming Drogon as well:

aDwD The Queen's Hand

Her hair was afire. I saw that too. She was burning

Later on the same chapter, when Barristan confront's Gerrys and Yronwoods about the events on the pits, they are obviously hiding something from him and do not describe clearly any event after the taming attempt. We also know that they're both good actors who passed themselves as merchants and sellswords in their way to meereen, so they would be able to hide the fact that they know the man dying in Daenerys bed wasn't Quentyn.

I agree that there is no proof that Quentyn wasn't the one dying on that bed. But I believe there is enough evidence for his success for me to consider the possibility of him being alive. What do you think?

[LordStoneheart]

I think the "Targs aren't fireproof" comments will be here in 3... 2... 1...

[Felipe Fernandes]

I never said any Targ was fireproof. What I'm saying is that the fire Drogon fires on Daenerys and Rhaegal fires on Quentyn is a harmless fire that is part of the taming process.

[Flackbish]

_{I think the "Targs aren't fireproof" comments will be here in 3... 2... 1...}

_{Targs aren't fireproof.}

_{I allways assumed there would be more behind Quentyn. He was/is an interesting character. In asoiaf every death has a cause.}

Its too cheap for me that Quentyn only died either for Danys prohecy or to introduce the Martells as Targ-sympathised.

Again there is the "You never die in your own POV"-fact.

I like Quentyn and Party and would be quite happy to see him again.

[fuem]

Spontaneous Combustion was what really killed him

[GallowsKnight]

Severe enough burns aren't painful, as they burn away the nerve sensation.

That said I think Quentyn was doing a decent job of taming, just there happened to be two in the pit. We see in TPAQ basically all you need is a little Valryian blood, a whip and luck.

[The guy from the Vale]

Severe enough burns aren't painful, as they burn away the nerve sensation.

That said I think Quentyn was doing a decent job of taming, just there happened to be two in the pit. We see in TPAQ basically all you need is a little Valryian blood, a whip and luck.

The Valyrian blood is more than a little debatable though, at least in the case of Nettles.

[LordStoneheart]

Oh good. I was wrong about the swarm...

Now, I actually think this would be a good idea if not for the P&tQ and Rogue. I don't recall those saying anything about fire-bonding ritual but it definitely sounds cool.

[JonCon's Red Beard]

Spontaneous Combustion was what really killed him

I shouldn't have laughed with this :lol:

Barristan saw Dany get burn because she actually got burnt, not severely but she lost her hair. Barristan isn't wrong, but not completely accurate.

Quentyn is a different story: he did got burn because he got on fire, all of him and his body, not only part of him. His friends are able to recollect the events of them trying to turn off the fire and they couldn't. And, there aren't other witnesses? I remember some other people who simply fled the place after Rhaegal appeared (I might be misremembering, though).

Also, he got burn by Rhaegal. He was trying to tame Viseryon. So, it wasn't some "training fire". Rhaegal simply saw him and attacked him. Maybe he could have been successful with Viseryon, but Rhaegal didn't agree.

[Talking Hodor]

I think the fact that neither Rhaegal or Viserion currently have a crazy Dornishman on their back screaming, "I'm on a dragon, bitches!" is proof enough that Quentyn is dead and crispy.

[RoamingRonin]

Why would he fake his death? I don't get that. The plot was to steal the dragon and go. If he tamed one of them then he and his companions should be making their way to their ships. It's not like anyone would be trying to stop them.

[Minstral]

The Yronwood Knight was clutching the corpse so tightly that he suffered sever burns himself. I don't think he was faking the grief.

[dbunting]

No doubt he is dead. Who else would that be in the bed? These 3 people don't know anyone in this city. Where would they find a body and be able to burn it so severely without anyone knowing? He saw he was on fire, he screamed...he died.

[aryagonnakill#2]

This is 1 of the theories that keeps popping up and just wont go away. Only Danys hair burnt because only Danys hair got hit by fire, all of Quentyn burnt because all of Quentyn got touched by fire, pretty simple.

[John Suburbs]

To buy into this, you have to accept three possibilities:

1, that Quentyn has some sort of fire immunity/resistance that, if not Targaryen in nature, then comes from being Blood of the Dragon or some other source (I agree with JonCon that since the fire came from Rhaegel, not Viseryon, it likely is not part of the training)

2, that Arch and Drink could not follow Quent out of the pit, either because they were too slow or, as tPatQ showed, dragons only bond with one rider

3, that someone else took a blast of dragon breath so that A&D could say it was Quent when the BBs arrived

If you can accept that, then there is no reason to think Quent was part of the fake because he would have already been gone by the time it happened, and there is no reason to think he would be riding around on a dragon just yet because, as with Dany, even though he can ride, he does not have full control.

[Tyrus Martell]

Rhaegal burned Quentyn to a crisp. There's no conspiracy, no alternate explanation. He's dead, as made clear in the text.

On a side note, I do believe Quentyn might have been successful with the more timid Viserion, but Rhaegal was the danger there. The latter dragon definitely seems more aggressive and dangerous than the former.

[GallowsKnight]

The Valyrian blood is more than a little debatable though, at least in the case of Nettles.

I agree it's debatable in that Nettles or Hugh the Hammer don't have clear Targ features.

That said, Nettles was from Dragonstone, whose population likely has a higher proportion of Valyrian genetics.

The Valryian characteristics don't seem particularly strong (unlike the Baratheon features). Baelor Breakspear looks very Dornish. If R+L is true, Jon looks Northern. Nettles could have been 1/16 Valyrian for example and a mix of Westerosi, Essosi, Ibbenese, Summer Islander etc.

The in-universe belief is one needs "Blood of Dragon", who knows if that's true or not.

My point still stands Quentyn's behaviour in light of the TPAQ, goes from pants-on-head-stupid to courageous and within standard knowledge of Dragon taming.

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

The in-universe belief is one needs "Blood of Dragon", who knows if that's true or not.

My point still stands Quentyn's behaviour in light of the TPAQ, goes from pants-on-head-stupid to courageous and within standard knowledge of Dragon taming.

I actually think some of it is self-fulfilling. There's at least some anecdotal evidence to suggest that attitude and a lack of fear play a role in being able to successfully tame or even approach a dragon. A Targaryen may have been told for his or her entire life that he or she is the blood of the dragon, destined to ride a dragon, going to succeed in riding a dragon, etc. In other words, that can-do attitude is ingrained almost from birth. A non-Targaryen will have been told that only Targaryens can ride dragons, if they try they'll be roasted, whatever.

The result? The Targaryen approaches a dragon without fear, or with substantially less fear, and the non-Targaryen approaches the dragon more fearfully. The Targaryen has the success in taming the dragon, and the non-Targaryen doesn't. And the idea that one must be a Targaryen to ride a dragon is "proved" yet again, and carries on.

Oh, and I think Quentyn is definitely dead. There's no real ambiguity there, I'm afraid.

[John Suburbs]

Rhaegal burned Quentyn to a crisp. There's no conspiracy, no alternate explanation. He's dead, as made clear in the text.

On a side note, I do believe Quentyn might have been successful with the more timid Viserion, but Rhaegal was the danger there. The latter dragon definitely seems more aggressive and dangerous than the former.

Sorry, I forgot to add a fourth thing:

That sometime during this process, someone else was burned to a crisp and that the body was so badly injured that Barristan had no way of knowing it was not Quentyn.