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Septon Barth, Aegon I, Valyrian steel: A mystery unraveled! Myrish looking glasses!


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Hello! In what I would judge to be the most important entry to my Myrish Looking Glasses series, I will explore a theme I’ve been thinking about for years, and yet I haven’t seen anyone make this leap yet. If it has been made, I’m sorry. I’m here to talk about the destiny of the Iron Throne:

It’ll be melted into swords and arrowheads by Tobho Mott.

But to get to that, we must first understand what truly is Valyrian steel.

Valyrian steel is the product of the mages in Valyria. It’s light, sharp, and ungodly expensive. It’s also said to be done by using magic, and secret spells lost on the Doom. I propose a different theory – one that is just as magical, but very much alive today. I believe the Conqueror could forge Valyrian steel – and so can Dany.

(BTW, this series is ALL about quotes. You're warned!)

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The Iron Throne was full of traps for the unwary. The songs said it had taken a thousand blades to make it, heated white-hot in the furnace breath of Balerion the Black Dread. The hammering had taken fifty-nine days. The end of it was this hunched black beast made of razor edges and barbs and ribbons of sharp metal; a chair that could kill a man, and had, if the stories could be believed.

Eddard, AGoT.

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The Iron Throne of Aegon the Conqueror was a tangle of nasty barbs and jagged metal teeth waiting for any fool who tried to sit too comfortably, and the steps made his stunted legs cramp as he climbed up to it, all too aware of what an absurd spectacle he must be. Yet there was one thing to be said for it. It was high.

Tyrion, ACoK.

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“Have you ever seen the Iron Throne? The barbs along the back, the ribbons of twisted steel, the jagged ends of swords and knives all tangled up and melted? It is not a comfortable seat, ser. Aerys cut himself so often men took to calling him King Scab, and Maegor the Cruel was murdered in that chair. By that chair, to hear some tell it. It is not a seat where a man can rest at ease. Ofttimes I wonder why my brothers wanted it so desperately.

Davos, ASoS.

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By the end the Mad King had become so fearful that he would allow no blade in his presence, save for the swords his Kingsguard wore. His beard was matted and unwashed, his hair a silvergold tangle that reached his waist, his fingernails cracked yellow claws nine inches long. Yet still the blades tormented him, the ones he could never escape, the blades of the Iron Throne. His arms and legs were always covered with scabs and half-healed cuts

Jaime, AFfC.

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He was less hopeful concerning Septon Barth’s Dragons, Wyrms, and Wyverns: Their Unnatural History. Barth had been a blacksmith’s son who rose to be King’s Hand during the reign of Jaehaerys the Conciliator. His enemies always claimed he was more sorcerer than septon. Baelor the Blessed had ordered all Barth’s writings destroyed when he came to the Iron Throne

Tyrion, ADwD.

There are a lot of one-liners about the Iron Throne’s sharpness, too, but I won’t list them all. Most of them are made by Cersei, curiously. She even dreams about it swallowing her. Though that is beyond the point. The point here is, what is Valyrian steel?

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The properties of Valyrian steel are well-known, and are the result of both folding iron many times to balance and remove impurities, and the use of spells—or at least arts we do not know—to give unnatural strength to the resulting steel. Those arts are now lost, though the smiths of Qohor claim to still know magics for reworking Valyrian steel without losing its strength or unsurpassed ability to hold an edge. The Valyrian steel blades that remain in the world might number in the thousands, but in the Seven Kingdoms there are only 227 such weapons according to Archmaester Thurgood’s Inventories, some of which have since been lost or have disappeared from the annals of history.

Valyria's Children, TWoIaF.

Valyrian steel is basically a stronger, thinner, lighter, sharper, harder, better, faster, stronger version of regular steel. It was supposedly made with the use of a lot of magics and gimmicks, and can be modified today with the use of spells, though not recreated. Why?

Well, I propose my theory:

Valyrian steel is just regular steel bathed in dragonflame.

Accepting that small sentence as truth explains a lot of our questions about Valyrian steel:

Q: How was Valyrian steel forged back in Valyria?

A: With the use of dragons to melt the steel, and regular armorers to beat it into shape, or maybe the dragons melted the steel all the way through, and the armorers just poured it into the molds.

Q2: What were the “spells” involved?

A2: If there were spells involved, I see them being used for two things: one is imitating a dragon’s flame, perhaps by making a fire burn hotter than the time’s limitations would allow. The other is controlling lava, so it can be used as the stand-in for the dragon’s flame. The wizards of Valyria were said to be fueled by lava that flowed from the Fourteen Flames.

Q3: Did Aegon know this?

A3: Apparently, yes. He ordered his enemies’ swords be gathered and taken back to the Aegonfort, and, as Eddard’s quote shows, he forged the Iron Throne under Balerion’s black flame.

Q4: Who sharpens the Iron Throne?

A4: That is an important question, and the backbone of my theory. No one does. In three hundred years of Targaryen, Baratheon and Lannister reign, no one has sharpened the Iron Throne. At least we are not given a description of the job of “royal sharpener”, and yet, to this day, the Iron Throne can break the skin without effort. Aerys reigned less than twenty years ago, and he cut himself regularly on the barbs of the Iron Throne. 280 years of sharpness, from regular steel picked up in the battlefield.

Q5: What is the difference between the axes of the soldiers of the last Reach king, and their swords?

A5: The axes weren’t taken to the Aegonfort, and therefore remained normal axes, of normal steel. The swords were taken to the Aegonfort and bathed in Balerion’s flame, and now they can stay sharp for centuries.

Q6: Can Dany make Valyrian steel too?

A6: Well, if this theory is correct, yes! We weren’t given a description of a weapon’s state after being melted by one of Dany’s dragons yet, partially because they were very young up until book 5, partially because they haven’t wreaked havoc yet. But they will, in the Battle of Fire. And there we might discover a big secret.

Q7: Is the fact that Balerion was already very old when he forged the Iron Throne important?

A7: This is a crucial detail. If it is, Westeros is just as doomed as before. But I think it isn’t. I believe there are magical properties to any dragon’s flame, and age would just make them more powerful, not necessarily “create” them. What I’m saying is, perhaps a young dragon can’t make Valyrian steel of the same quality as an old one, but theirs will still be better than regular steel.

The Myrish Looking Glasses series is about pointing out things characters have missed from their interactions, but this time, apparently, no one has missed this information. Well, no one except one very important man: Septon Barth.

Welcome to the crazy branch of my theory!

Septon Barth either figured out, or was told by Jaehaerys, that steel + dragon = Valyrian steel. He recorded the process and the spells to work Valyrian steel on his Unnatural History, that Sam or Jaqen H’ghar might get access to now.

This would be the key to making this information matter in the last books. Sam would know where to get a lot of Valyrian steel to make swords and arrowheads, and Tobho Mott could forge them. Is this a stretch? Yes. But hey, if it happens, I called it!

The Iron Throne, as depicted in the World of Ice and Fire, is gigantic, containing more than 1.000 melted swords in it. If it were to be broken down into smaller swords and arrowheads, it would be a gigantic asset on the War for the Dawn.

 

This was the third installment of the Myrish Looking Glasses series! First of all, I want to thank all of you for reading! I also want to apologize for every and any mistakes I make, grammar-wise: English isn't my first language. Let me know if you guys like it, what you agree/disagree with, your thoughts about Valyrian steel and the future of ASOIAF and etc.!  :D 

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It is said that the steel is being folded over and over as you put in one of your quotes so there is more to it than dragonflame I believe, especially since it's basically damascus steel" (which in the real world we still barely know how to replicate).

Plus, if it was dragonflame why didn't Aegon successor use it as well? For three generations they had dragons, so it would be a known fact. And that knowledge would still be recent. I can buy the dragonflame thing, and it makes some sense, but Aegon cannot know about it. If he knew he would have mass produced it and his follower as well. I also have a little bit of trouble to see the dragons waiting in a forge and blowing on all the steel all day long ;).

 

I like the idea that dragons might be involved, but there has to be more to it.


Also I like the Iron Throne as Valyrian steel, but wouldn't people pick up on that? I mean most people recognize Valyrian steel upon first look. Someone would have noticed that as some point, no? Ned had a valyrian sword for example. 

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33 minutes ago, Anton Martell said:

It is said that the steel is being folded over and over as you put in one of your quotes so there is more to it than dragonflame I believe, especially since it's basically damascus steel" (which in the real world we still barely know how to replicate).

Plus, if it was dragonflame why didn't Aegon successor use it as well? For three generations they had dragons, so it would be a known fact. And that knowledge would still be recent. I can buy the dragonflame thing, and it makes some sense, but Aegon cannot know about it. If he knew he would have mass produced it and his follower as well. I also have a little bit of trouble to see the dragons waiting in a forge and blowing on all the steel all day long ;).

 

I like the idea that dragons might be involved, but there has to be more to it.


Also I like the Iron Throne as Valyrian steel, but wouldn't people pick up on that? I mean most people recognize Valyrian steel upon first look. Someone would have noticed that as some point, no? Ned had a valyrian sword for example. 

You make very good points.

Damascus steel is still a mystery to us - but I know nothing about it, other than that. You have the upperhand in Real-world Valyrian steel :) 

The Valyrian steel we see in Ice and Longclaw, I propose, was melted and then forged/molded, as I stated: 

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A: With the use of dragons to melt the steel, and regular armorers to beat it into shape, or maybe the dragons melted the steel all the way through, and the armorers just poured it into the molds.

Aegon might've thought (and rightly so) that this knowledge was likely to f**k things up. Imagine Maegor with an army of Valyrian-armed soldiers? Aegon was a mystery to those that shared his time; for us, 300 years later, even more so. Who knows if he told, or why he didn't?

A dragon wouldn't need "all day long" to melt steel. In fact, I believe one blast could melt through a lot of steel, to the point of liquifying it. A dragon as old as Balerion, I bet it took about two blasts to melt the Iron Throne in place.

I also find it strange that people don't seem to connect the Iron Throne's legendary, unprecedented, inexplicable sharpness to the legendary, unprecedented, inexplicable sharpness of Valyrian steel. But, hey, that's what the Myrish Looking Glasses series is here for! :D 

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While I like this idea I would think that if Aegon the Conqueror had the capacity to make Valryian Steel swords he would have had more made. At least for the KG or favored lords or something.

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20 minutes ago, Lord Wraith said:

While I like this idea I would think that if Aegon the Conqueror had the capacity to make Valryian Steel swords he would have had more made. At least for the KG or favored lords or something.

In real life, the Diamond market actively holds up a big percentage of the mined diamonds to keep the ones on the market at their value. Now, I'm not saying this is what Aegon did. As I said, Aegon is a mystery. What drove that guy? We will never know. Perhaps he didn't want to make more so that his family could value their ancestral swords - Dark Sister and Blackfyre - all the more. Perhaps he knew from his Iron Throne experience that the steel would be Valyrian-like, but would never compare to the real thing. Perhaps he didn't know; perhaps no one knows, and the Valyrian Throne just sits there, waiting for someone to unravel its secrets. 

 

My theory is based on a guy who lived 300 years ago, and with no POV's around him. Talking about motivations will lead to a lot of "if"s and "perhaps"s.

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3 hours ago, WilliamWesterosiWallace said:

Perhaps he knew from his Iron Throne experience that the steel would be Valyrian-like, but would never compare to the real thing.

One of the distinctive features of Valyrian Steel that we've seen is a ripple pattern. Someone would have pointed that out by now if the Iron Throne had it, but no characters ever make a note of it. It's interesting to note that Dawn also shares continual sharpness, despite not being VS.

Either way, the sharpness of the Iron Throne is a good point that you have brought up.

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As to the iron throne being an asset in the next war for the dawn/next long night etc, as in that the swords could be used or whatever, this topic had been covered a few times I think. 

It just brings me back to the Dragonsteel thing. I believe Dragonsteel is basically steel forged in Dragonflame and it can kill the Others, so basically if that is true, then the iron throne is full of weapons that could kill the Others.

And if that's the case, then indeed Dany could (with a smiths help of course) forge more swords with her Dragons flames that could kill others. 

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2 minutes ago, Macgregor of the North said:

As to the iron throne being an asset in the next war for the dawn/next long night etc, as in that the swords could be used or whatever, this topic had been covered a few times I think. 

It just brings me back to the Dragonsteel thing. I believe Dragonsteel is basically steel forged in Dragonflame and it can kill the Others, so basically if that is true, then the iron throne is full of weapons that could kill the Others.

And if that's the case, then indeed Dany could (with a smiths help of course) forge more swords with her Dragons flames that could kill others. 

Is it a big leap to assume that the Valyrians would've known dragonsteel > steel?

Maybe, Tobho Mott lacks two things:

1. A dragon;

2. The knowledge to make dragonsteel shiny and ripply;

Assuming Mott got a dragon, I'm fairly sure he could forge an ugly, black, Valyrian steel sword. He wouldn't be able to make it shiny and ripply, but it'd be strong and light and sharp as thought.

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5 hours ago, Michael Mertyns said:

One of the distinctive features of Valyrian Steel that we've seen is a ripple pattern. Someone would have pointed that out by now if the Iron Throne had it, but no characters ever make a note of it. It's interesting to note that Dawn also shares continual sharpness, despite not being VS.

Either way, the sharpness of the Iron Throne is a good point that you have brought up.

The Iron Throne is described as a "haunched black beast". If what the Iron Throne lacked to be a shiny, ripply Valyrian throne was a skilled blacksmith, than that'd explain Dawn. Dawn could simply be the product of a skilled Blacksmith's craft, a Valyrian steel blade that was beaten and hammered and dyed to the point it almost has a light of its own. Legend adds a lot to history. Robb was said to be able to shapeshift into a werewolf, and that detail will carry on into songs, no doubt. 

The Iron Throne is undeniably sharp, and isn't actively sharpened. The ONLY other steel-like material we've seen on the story that doesn't lose edge is Valyrian steel - but it doesn't matter, because we know what the Iron Throne is made of: 

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Harren and his last sons died in the fires that engulfed his monstrous fortress that night. House Hoare died with him, and so too did the Iron ISlands' hold on the Riverlands. The next day, outside the smoking ruins of Harrenhal, King Aegon accepted en oath of fealty from Edmyn Tully, Lord of Riverrun, and named him Lord Paramount of the Trident. The other riverlords did homage as well - to Aegon as king and to Edmyn Tully as their liege lord. When the ashes had cooled enough to allow men to enter the castle safely, the swords of the fallen, many shattered or melted or twisted into ribbons of steel by dragonfire, were gathered up and sent back to the Aegonfort in wagons.

TWoIaF.

It's normal steel. It's normal, average, regular-ass steel. Why is it still sharp after three hundred years? What makes it dirrefent from any other steel, if not for Balerion's flame and the 59 days of hammering it? 

And there is no way of telling if the Iron Throne was tempered, and in what! Perhaps it wasn't tempered at all; perhaps, it was tempered in water, and the Valyrians used to temper it in blood, or mucus, or lemonwater, or piss, or whatever. Aegon simply melted the swords of his fallen enemies into a terrifying throne. He didn't know it, but he had almos all the ingredients for making Valyrian steel.

 

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Well, supposedly spells went into the making of Valyrian steel -- possibly blood sacrifice, even. We don't have any mention of Aegon I adding spells and blood sacrifice when making the Iron Throne. Of course it's possible that it happened secretly, or that dragonfire just makes all those spells unnecessary. But we don't have any record of dragonfire transforming normal steel into Valyrian steel, and given how many times dragons burnt people in Westeros alone we'd have some record of the transforming abilities of dragonfire by now. All those steel swords on the Field of Fire ... someone would have noticed.

I never bought the Iron Throne = Valyrian Steel idea because I just think someone would have caught on by now if the Iron Throne were made of Valyrian steel. Granted it is a sharp batch of metal, but I always chalked that up to legends about the Iron Throne repelling bad rulers. After all it is a royal throne and in public view. 

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1 hour ago, WilliamWesterosiWallace said:

Is it a big leap to assume that the Valyrians would've known dragonsteel > steel?

Maybe, Tobho Mott lacks two things:

1. A dragon;

2. The knowledge to make dragonsteel shiny and ripply;

Assuming Mott got a dragon, I'm fairly sure he could forge an ugly, black, Valyrian steel sword. He wouldn't be able to make it shiny and ripply, but it'd be strong and light and sharp as thought.

I mean that in essence, the blade the last hero used to slay Others with was just a blade of iron ore smelted with dragonflame= Dragonsteel. The timelines are completely ballsed up in historic records and every bit of it is questioned so this type of blade being around when the long night happened is actually pretty possible. It need not be the Valyrians that crafted the blade either, it could just be the most basic form of it and it is just the dragonflame forging that makes it effective against the Others, which im pretty sure is the direction the books are going. After all, frozen fire/obsidian kills them, why not blades forged with dragon fire?.

I agree that if a smith, lets say Tobho, why not, got a hold of a Dragon, or came into Danys service, then yes i agree that they could create a basic VS blade that may not have the fancy spells like the old VS blades but it would have the most important part of the creation i believe- Dragonflame forging, and i would stake money on such a blade melting Others to puddles quicker than big Sam slayer could eat a pork pie.

 

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3 hours ago, house of dayne said:

Just a minor point...a regular steel sword would maintain its sharp edge indefinitely if its edge is not exposed to wear and tear..no need for a royal shaarpener as the blades would only recieve minimal wear and tear...

Minimal? I'm fairly sure the throne room is cleaned, and the Iron Throne also. Not only that; time and wind and a LOT of butts would wear out anything. And yet it's still sharp. Sure, no swords of the Iron Throne were used in a sword fight in 300 years, but still.

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4 hours ago, rhoynestar said:

Well, supposedly spells went into the making of Valyrian steel -- possibly blood sacrifice, even. We don't have any mention of Aegon I adding spells and blood sacrifice when making the Iron Throne. Of course it's possible that it happened secretly, or that dragonfire just makes all those spells unnecessary. But we don't have any record of dragonfire transforming normal steel into Valyrian steel, and given how many times dragons burnt people in Westeros alone we'd have some record of the transforming abilities of dragonfire by now. All those steel swords on the Field of Fire ... someone would have noticed.

I never bought the Iron Throne = Valyrian Steel idea because I just think someone would have caught on by now if the Iron Throne were made of Valyrian steel. Granted it is a sharp batch of metal, but I always chalked that up to legends about the Iron Throne repelling bad rulers. After all it is a royal throne and in public view. 

Aegon ordered ALL the swords to be taken back to the Aegonfort. TWoIaF describes "wagons" taking the burnt weapons back to Aegon's High Hill. 

We can't know what went into making Valyrian steel. Blood sacrifice? A possibility. Three days of Conga dancing in a circle? Also a possibility. We can't know, because we haven't seen Valyrian steel being made, except the Iron Throne, if my theory is correct. Aegon made it by:

1. Scorching the throne with dragonfire;

2. 59 days of forging.

And the result is a black, bent, unbelievably sharp piece of steel. And a piece of steel this big would be ungodly heavy, would it not? Imagine; a block of steel, made out of more than 1.000 swords...

(science)

According to THIS website, the average weight of a sword is 3.5lb. That, x1000 = 35000lb. or 15.875kg. Fifteen thousand kilograms.

According to THIS website, a 545kg horse can carry 109kg, in average. Meaning, 15.875/109= 145,64. One hundred and forty five horses would be needed to take the throne to its place. 

If we assume the weight of a Valyrian steel sword is half of the weight of a normal one, "only" 72 horses would be needed. 

Probably the Iron Throne was forged in loco, to save the horses. Or maybe a dragon was used in dragging it. Be that as it may. 

(/science)

The Iron Throne isn't just, literally, steel + dragon. It also took 59 days of hammering and forging. That may be why the swords and axes of the slain by dragons in the Dance didn't magically become Valyrian steel. 

Legend alone can't sharpen anything. We need to be critical about things. The Iron Throne "rejects", in general, rulers that are careless when sitting it. Carelessness when sitting the Iron Throne can come from eagerness (Rhaenyra), lack of care/overconfidence (Maegor), carelessness/ not protecting one's self (Aerys). That isn't the throne rejecting someone; that's an idiot that doesn't look closely where he sits.

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About the sharpness of the Iron Throne: it is sharp and cuts you but it's not like it cuts deep. It's like barbed wire for me. And you say that if it's still sharp after 300 years then it's valyrian steel. But go to any museum with old weapons, some of them are still sharp. Go to a place with metal  fences 300 years old that have seen rain etc. it can still be pointy and somewhat sharp. I think you overestimate the sharpness of the Iron Throne. 

 

Valyrian steel would cut much deeper, and has many said: someone would have caught it. Plus your theory is: Dragonflame+steel=Valyrian steel, but the folding and rippling requires skill. And it seems like a long process in some ways. So it can't be as simple as dragonflame only. Otherwise the weapon of anyone burnt by a dragon would suddenly become Valyrian steel. It has to come at the creation of the metal and of the blade. An already formed blade of a certain steel cannot change just through fire, even if it's magic fire. Plus, I don't know the steel melting temperature, nor the temperature of a dragonblast, but it can't be instantaneous, otherwise people would be liquefied, and their bones as well since I think bones are less resistant than metal  against fire (but I might be wrong, I'm no physicist). Plus, you also talks about putting the metal into molds: a sword with liquid metal put into mold is weaker than one being forged from a block of metal. So it can't be this. 

 

I can buy the idea that dragon come into the valyrian steel creation. But the idea that Aegon knows how to do and did not use it a lot and/or didn't transmit it seems a bit ridiculous. Why would you give up a competitive advantage? 


As for dragonsteel, for me it's valyrian steel, which might give credit that dragon in some way can go into the creation of it, but it cannot be the only thing, and the IT cannot be Valyrian steel just because it was dragonflamed.

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14 minutes ago, Anton Martell said:

About the sharpness of the Iron Throne: it is sharp and cuts you but it's not like it cuts deep. It's like barbed wire for me. And you say that if it's still sharp after 300 years then it's valyrian steel. But go to any museum with old weapons, some of them are still sharp. Go to a place with metal  fences 300 years old that have seen rain etc. it can still be pointy and somewhat sharp. I think you overestimate the sharpness of the Iron Throne. 

The IT isn't in a museum. It's used almost everyday, and cleaned almost everyday, I'd wager. It is a piece of steel in use. Try this at home: Take your average knife, and cut your cooking ingredients with it. Soon, you'll see, it'll be somewhat sharp; it'll still be sharp, but not as it was 20 minutes before. Now, clean it, and repeat the process. After the third try, you'll see that you need to actually put an effort into getting cut by that knife. But the Iron Throne has been through this process for three hundred years, and still it cuts effortlessly. Aerys, Rhaenyra, Viserys... Even more than a hundred years after its forging (Viserys), it cut so deep the king lost two fingers. Rhaenyra was "covered with cuts" just from sitting on it. Not throwing herself on it, no. A normal adult, sitting on it. Aerys cut himself regularlyRegularly. Over and over again he cut himself, and likely in the same spots. He'd cut himself, they'd clean the IT, he'd do it again. How did those supposedly avegare swords not become less and less sharp over the years? 

Valyrian steel would cut much deeper, and has many said: someone would have caught it. Plus your theory is: Dragonflame+steel=Valyrian steel, but the folding and rippling requires skill. And it seems like a long process in some ways. So it can't be as simple as dragonflame only. Otherwise the weapon of anyone burnt by a dragon would suddenly become Valyrian steel. It has to come at the creation of the metal and of the blade. An already formed blade of a certain steel cannot change just through fire, even if it's magic fire. Plus, I don't know the steel melting temperature, nor the temperature of a dragonblast, but it can't be instantaneous, otherwise people would be liquefied, and their bones as well since I think bones are less resistant than metal  against fire (but I might be wrong, I'm no physicist). Plus, you also talks about putting the metal into molds: a sword with liquid metal put into mold is weaker than one being forged from a block of metal. So it can't be this. 

That's basically what I argued. Read some of my replies above and you'll see. I agree, Valyrian steel is just dragon+steel, but pretty, ripply Valyrian steel needs a good armorer. 
And people ARE liquified; people's eyes DO run down their faces. Balerion's flame was said to be hot enough to melt stone, whose melting point is 1500C. The average melting point for steel is 1350C. ! ?

Again, we don't know how VS is made. Is it by melting? By forging? By singing "Amazing Grace" to it? We don't know. I propose it's dragon+steel+very good blacksmith to make it look pretty. No magic required (apart from dragon).

I can buy the idea that dragon come into the valyrian steel creation. But the idea that Aegon knows how to do and did not use it a lot and/or didn't transmit it seems a bit ridiculous. Why would you give up a competitive advantage? 

Aegon probably didn't know. If he didn't, it's a f***ing lucky guess to build his throne with such material. If he did and chose to do nothing, it might be a plothole, or it just might be that he was a mysterious man, as described in TWoIaF, and we can't know his thoughts. 
As for dragonsteel, for me it's valyrian steel, which might give credit that dragon in some way can go into the creation of it, but it cannot be the only thing, and the IT cannot be Valyrian steel just because it was dragonflamed.
The IT really can't be Ice/Longclaw just by dragonblast. If so, I give you, half of Westeros would have a scorched Valyrian blade. I propose in this theory that the magic part of the steel IS the dragon. A dragon, blasting normal steel, that is then worked by a professional blacksmith, trained to work this metal, equals a pretty Valyrian steel sword. Tobho Mott says he uses "spells" to reforge it, but that just might be a fancy way of saying he doesn't want people to know how to modify Valyrian steel. Perhaps he can make his furnaces burn at higher temperatures, or he knows just how to hit the metal for it to still be pretty. 

Oh, and about the melting thing: Tywin melted Ice. It was refoged into two, and it is described as "melted down". Perhaps it was broken in two? Sure, perhaps it was. But if we second guess everything, we can grasp at nothing. If we assume pretty Valyrian steel can be melted, cooled down, and still made to look pretty again, then we must give the IT=VS theory some credit. 

 

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@WilliamWesterosiWallace About Tywin melting down Ice - the new blades still have the ripples. Tobho Mott is good, but he doesn't know how to make VS. That suggests to me that the ripples are a distinct property of VS.

While the long term work with dragonfire (and we know dragons are linked with magic) may make the IT special over regular steel, there's definitely a step missing from Aegon's creation.

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I wonder if the secrets for forging Valyrian steel were the things the Dornish threatened to reveal in the mysterious letter to Aegon that caused him to make peace? Sort of like threatening to provide enriched uranium for making nuclear warheads.

This could also tie into the crazy wildfire stockpiles that Aerys stashed around the Red Keep and King's Landing. What if Aegon or one of his successors stockpiled swords and other weapons in secret locations in the castle?

I bet that most folks don't approach the Iron Throne too closely, so it might be possible to hide some of the subtle details that identify Valyrian steel. Maybe the lower steps are even coated with something to disguise the nature of the material from the casual observer.

This theory helps to explain why GRRM wanted to underscore the "true" picture of the throne in AWOIAF, as opposed to the image of the smaller throne that most people have from the tv show. He needs us to understand just how massive it is because the amount of material will be relevant in the climactic battle scenes.

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5 hours ago, WilliamWesterosiWallace said:

Minimal? I'm fairly sure the throne room is cleaned, and the Iron Throne also. Not only that; time and wind and a LOT of butts would wear out anything. And yet it's still sharp. Sure, no swords of the Iron Throne were used in a sword fight in 300 years, but still.

A steel edge will only dull if it comes into contact with a hard edge, like stone or steel...soft flesh or cleaning rags would not affect it at all as steel is much harder...as a chef i keep dozens of knives and i know from experience only repeated contact with a hard surface will dull it..i have a knife that i havent used in a decade thats still razor sharp today..other blades i preserve by never exposing them to chopping motions on cutting boards

A steel edge once set is permanent until contact wears it down..unless the kings were in full plate mail sitting on the throne, i cant imagine how a blade would dull

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5 hours ago, Michael Mertyns said:

@WilliamWesterosiWallace About Tywin melting down Ice - the new blades still have the ripples. Tobho Mott is good, but he doesn't know how to make VS. That suggests to me that the ripples are a distinct property of VS.

While the long term work with dragonfire (and we know dragons are linked with magic) may make the IT special over regular steel, there's definitely a step missing from Aegon's creation.

I covered that on the OP and on some answers along the first page here. Regorfing =/= forging. Perhaps Valyrian Steel is the same if you melt it 1000 times and shape it into 1000 different things - perhaps the very molecules were affected, and all that Tobho Mott is doing is "keeping the ripples". 

2 hours ago, house of dayne said:

A steel edge will only dull if it comes into contact with a hard edge, like stone or steel...soft flesh or cleaning rags would not affect it at all as steel is much harder...as a chef i keep dozens of knives and i know from experience only repeated contact with a hard surface will dull it..i have a knife that i havent used in a decade thats still razor sharp today..other blades i preserve by never exposing them to chopping motions on cutting boards

A steel edge once set is permanent until contact wears it down..unless the kings were in full plate mail sitting on the throne, i cant imagine how a blade would dull

A lot of kings sat on the Iron Throne in full armor, and in a lot of situations. From memory: Rhaenyra had a scale armor when she took the IT; Joffrey after the Battle of the Blackwater; Jaime, then Eddard, then Robert, after the Rebellion. A lot of warrior kings, I bet, sat on the Iron Throne in their full armor, not only in celebratory days but in days of turmoil as well. 

Wouldn't the Iron Throne rust on the parts it most oftenly cut people, then, sir? Because it would have to be cleaned with water, to wash off the blood that probably dried between the cut and the cleaning. Doesn't rust take away the edge? 

 

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