Why Targaryens have actual dragon blood.

[Suzanna Stormborn]

But the horns are Valyrian in origin. Valyrians controlled their dragons with sorcery and horns. Which means these apparently specially-blooded dragonlords were using horns to bind their dragons. Despite having the apparently requisite blood.

Because of the circumstances of Dany's dragon hatching, it may well be the case that she has a special bond with at least 1 of the dragons. And I'd locate the source of this more on her sacrifice and nurturing than a necessary blood relationship. This isn't something I contest. It's more the requirement that only Targs/ Valyrians can ride because they have a monopoly on special magical biology or something.

Oh I see what you're saying, that is interesting. I really dont get what the horn is anyway, how was it first invented?

HMMMM, well I really can't form an opinion on this without more info...... I am also wondering if when the ancient valyrians made the horns, did someone have to die every time it was blown, or could they blow it themselves without dying?

Like, could Dany blow the horn and live?

The ancient Valyrians had human and dragon slaves, the FM started as a response to that. And now Dany is trying to end slavery, so it is hard to compare them to her in the sense of how she is using the dragons.

[Mithras]

I think anyone can ride dragons. The important thing is the ability to hatch dragon eggs at will and I think only the women carrying the blood of the dragon can do that. Valyrian incest is based on this. They wanted to keep the blood of the dragon pure in order to keep the ability to hatch dragon eggs. In addition, the gooses that laid golden eggs stayed in the family. Valyrians used dragons as super weapons. So the critical thing is the production and maintaining of these super weapons. Those who can do it best were the most powerful dragonlord families.

[Suzanna Stormborn]

I think anyone can ride dragons. The important thing is the ability to hatch dragon eggs at will and I think only the women carrying the blood of the dragon can do that. Valyrian incest is based on this. They wanted to keep the blood of the dragon pure in order to keep the ability to hatch dragon eggs. In addition, the gooses that laid golden eggs stayed in the family. Valyrians used dragons as super weapons. So the critical thing is the production and maintaining of these super weapons. Those who can do it best were the most powerful dragonlord families.

Well Ran has basically said in this thread that only Valyrains/Targs can ride dragons.

and there is this, from SOS.

The lords freeholder of Valyria ruled the greater part of the known world; they were sorcerers, great in lore, and alone of all the races of man they had learned to breed dragons and bend them to their will.

But you could be right about only females being able to hatch the eggs, IIRC there were no females at Summerhall??

[The Sleeper]

No I'm not missing the point, I just don't agree with yours.

That the weirwood was around them doesn't mean that they would automatically be wargs. At least in Sansa's case she worshipped the Seven until she left Winterfell. A much better explanation would be that there is indeed something in her blood and that of her siblings that allows them to become wargs. Just like not all people of Valyrian heritage could ride dragons, not all people of First Men heritage can warg.

It doesn't but the old gods are not inert. In this instant we have an actual person who most likely intervened to wake the gift in the Stark children. There is also a distinct pattern to skinchangers. Bloodraven himself hails from the only family south of the Neck who adheres to the old gods and actually has their heart tree as their sigil. (and as it turns out they are related). The Starks have five skinchangers and a greenseer in a single generation. This cannot be only due to genetics. Varamyr neither inherited neither passed on his gift to his children. And we are told that the gift is exceedingly rare.

There is purpose and design behind this and we have even met the captain at the helm. Now Bloodraven himself told Bran that it was his blood that made him a greenseer and yet gave him weirwood paste to eat to wed him to the trees. I don't know the specific mechanics behind this. There is much we don't know. Some things though are clear. The weirwoods are not mere altars. They acted as living repositories for the consciousnesses for dead CotF and since the first men and the Starks had taken up their practices, we can assume that the heart tree in Winterfell acts in the same way for them. i think that over the years the Starks have developed a living relationship with their tree that had remained dormant until Bloodraven jump started it.

In any case there is far more going on here than genetics or worship.

There is no need to quote Martin directly. There is an example in published material. Sunfyre responding to the summons of Aegon II in one occasion in tPatQ from a distance on a single occasion. I have to counter that with Arya's regular nightly hunting sessions with Nymeria from another continent. There is a difference in order of magnitude.

[Ser Creighton]

Yea, the CotF's being relatively humanoid opens the door for intermarriage. But given how we see people tapping into magic via sacrificed blood, I'm more inclined toward the "first sacrifice" hypothesis where everyone who's able to perform magic or has a magic gene originally gained that ability through blood rites. If there's any principle linking all of the magics, I think this would be it-- blood for fire, blood for ice, blood for trees, etc. I think it all comes down to bloodmagic.

The tie that binds, there is a cost. We see it two fold with the Targs, Dany's sacrifices for the dragons, but also the coin flip. Targs intermarry in part to maintain the prophetic gift but it has a cost. Though I have not seen it with skinchangers and greenseers except for Bran who lost his legs. The comment that Bloodraven comes to children who had been really sick. Funny enough he surrounds himself with children. It works for the greenseeing in a way but seems a relatively cheep cost for green dreams. Jojen had a bad fever.

I probably shouldn't use the word "formula" because that's too specific for what Martin's going for.

This is the heart of what really concerns me about the inherent magic debate: On the more clearly human side of the story-- the game of thrones-- we're being sent a message that there's an interplay of blood and the person that makes the man. Blood isn't deterministic.

It seems odd to me, then, and more than a little problematic, if certain groups of people truly were given special blood by the gods. I don't mean the way it was Dany who hatched the eggs or the Starks who can warg, but in terms of there being "chosen" lines from the dawn of men who are inherently superior to the rest. This idea seems in contradiction to the rest of what Martin's stating in terms of power residing in men's beliefs and so forth.

It seems much more thematically aligned if all human control of magic stems with something designed by man, rather than some sort of divine blessing.

Valyrians used to be a people similar to the Lhazarene, overlorded by the Old Ghiscari, if history can be believed. Then, one day, they turned and conquered the Ghiscari; dragons were cited as the tools used for this purpose. Something happened between Valyrians being backwoods animal herders and overthrowing Ghiscari with dragons. One might argue logically that it was specifically the ability for humans to figure out how to harness dragons that made this difference. The question is whether all of a sudden, god gave those people the dragons by giving them special blood or if they did something that then enabled them to hatch or control dragons.

On the humanistic side I would not say it is blood that makes the man. If you are born relatively healthy you may have some gifts, athletic, intelligent. Healthy being no serious detrimental conditions that can effect wither or. Being born into privilege helps of course. That's all perfectly natural, it's the I got free super powers thing because of my blood that bothers me. The name first men doesn't help either.

I agree he seems to contradict himself with the bloodlines being born of chosen race. Though the Starks warging does bother me. We really have not seen a bad side effect from it. Like I said the Targs pay a price. But skinchangers, that seems a relatively powerful gift with no cost. Special power because of your special first man blood.

I also have some questions about the past both Valyrian and First Men. Sheep herders who gained power via dragons, but the cultural change must of been massive given what we are told about that society though it had thousands of years to develop.

The first men on the other hand are said to be a near neolithic people who have early developed proto writing but somehow managed to build Winterfell, Storms End, the Wall and Moat Cailin. You can't really write but you can build a 17 century fantasy fortress with thermogenic heating and plumbing? It doesn't makes sense.

I am hoping that whatever the first men got they learned. As in it seems anyone can learn magic, though skinchanging seems genetic. I also wonder what triggered the Starks magic? There appear to be a lot historical, social, metaphorical contradictions.

Maybe you remember but I seem to remember Martin saying magic was the problem, though I am not sure of that. It may have been about the weather, but it could be related to a theme and we just have not seen the end game.

ETA. The books are full of class warfare, elitism, social instability, segregation (the wildlings) and all of them are shown in a certain light. You even have a race war, which I question very much. Martins theme of grey characters are not always that grey no matter what he says. Gregor, and Ramsey, don't hold to the mold of Tywin, Jaime, Tyrion, Jon, Dany, etc... Even with varying shades of grey. But if I take his word for it, and Nan is accurate the Others are not grey at all and neither are the slave masters. People can apply all the different types of perspective they want but they are not grey in fact the Masters have been portrayed far less grey than in history. They give you some examples of perhaps well treated house slaves that some people tend to associate with all slaves, but that is not the case. The Others though are basically monsters, sorry but when you introduce them as beings that hate all life, want nothing more that to kill and feed babies to Wights. It's hard for me to say hey that's grey. It isn't, it's not even close. And because of characters like Gregor and Ramsey I have no reason to see the as anyting but what they appear to be.

Man can be horrific, but we have really examples of good people though Martin seems to favor everyone going to the dark side in some way. The choice with man and the Others seems to be a bad world or no world at all. Which is not exactly true to life. There were people in history that actually thought about how to make the world a better place. We get some of that but it tends to be a rather self serving society and culture which is true but tends to be over exaggerated. You now the war of the roses didn't happen in 3 years and is less bloody that Westeros.

Anyway, keep up the good posts, you have been on a role lately.

[butterbumps!]

Oh I see what you're saying, that is interesting. I really dont get what the horn is anyway, how was it first invented?

HMMMM, well I really can't form an opinion on this without more info...... I am also wondering if when the ancient valyrians made the horns, did someone have to die every time it was blown, or could they blow it themselves without dying?

Like, could Dany blow the horn and live?

The ancient Valyrians had human and dragon slaves, the FM started as a response to that. And now Dany is trying to end slavery, so it is hard to compare them to her in the sense of how she is using the dragons.

I don't think Dany's ending slavery has anything to do with this. The point I was trying to make is that the people who'd be in possession of the ostensibly right blood to bond with dragons used sorcery and horns. Their blood is seemingly not what formed the bonds with dragons, and/ or there's a method to bind dragons that might not be dependent on having specific blood at all. Dany might be a special case given the circumstances that were extraordinary and nebulous.

I wonder if we should back up though. I've been trying to convey a much broader point about all of this that gets to the craft of the story being told. I think there's a thematic element to this that's missing from the discussion for the most part.

I think magical power and political power work in a similar way in story. This is what I was getting at with this post. My proposition about "genetics" seems a bit silly when we're talking about magical traits being passed on:

In the most basic, abstract terms, what I'm suggesting is that once upon a time, an ordinary human decided to make a blood sacrifice. This split blood tapped into the stream of magic, and this human got himself power. Continued use of magic changed him over time. And his progeny took up magic and that changed them over time. And so on, developing a "magic gene mutation" for lack of a better term. (I know this looks ridiculous, but it kind of makes sense, thematically as well).

But if you substitute the "magic" for political capital, it's pretty much exactly how families begin to dominate: "Once upon a time, an ordinary human decided to take over the nearby village. This spilt blood enabled him to dominate his fellows, and got himself power. Continued use of force earned him more power, and soon he and his progeny were recognized as inherently powerful."

I think there's a similar concept of power deconstruction going on in both the magical and political sides of this. The great Houses aren't powerful because god them made better than the rest; they have power because people believe they have power-- whether through continued domination or something else. And because people believe they have power, future generations start off with all the advantages this power brings over other, lowerborn people.

The idea of divinely-ordained chosen people goes in direct contrast to this major theme Martin's writing. If there were truly people designed by some cosmic divinity that made them inherently special, it would completely undermine everything Martin's telling us about power and the game.

But when you look at this as everyone originally having a shot at performing magic, and that some people became conditioned by it over time, giving them an advantage, though not an exclusive monopoly, it starts bringing both sides of the story (magical and political) together. It further fuses it together when you consider that these people who were able to harness magic sought to hold monopolies on it, reinforcing the belief that they are the only ones capable of performing it, and attributing it to some innate power.

[The Sleeper]

@ Butterbumps

I don't think there is any question that magic is particularly exclusive and there does not seem to be any exclusivity in bloodlines. Apparently a lowly Braavosi prostitue can perform blood magic divinations and Thoros a reject from his family and not particularly spiritual had a knack for it. As to the families that apparently have an affinity for it there doesn't seem to be a single mechanism that can account for everything we see.

I think that in the case of the Targaryens and riding dragons there are many factors involved, starting with entirely mundane means and ending with artifacts like the glass candles and the horn, indicating a progression of knowledge and accumulation of power, not unlike as you mentioned, political power. In the Starks and first men case, there is a whole other species and non-human intelligence involved and the only thing that would make them "special" would be that they came across them. In other words, timing and circumstance, and they built on it.

In short, I don't think that Martin treats magic different than any other asset that his characters might have access to. Because let's face it, having an endless supply of gold stands up to any superpower.

[butterbumps!]

@ Butterbumps

I don't think there is any question that magic is particularly exclusive and there does not seem to be any exclusivity in bloodlines. Apparently a lowly Braavosi prostitue can perform blood magic divinations and Thoros a reject from his family and not particularly spiritual had a knack for it. As to the families that apparently have an affinity for it there doesn't seem to be a single mechanism that can account for everything we see.

I think that in the case of the Targaryens and riding dragons there are many factors involved, starting with entirely mundane means and ending with artifacts like the glass candles and the horn, indicating a progression of knowledge and accumulation of power, not unlike as you mentioned, political power. In the Starks and first men case, there is a whole other species and non-human intelligence involved and the only thing that would make them "special" would be that they came across them. In other words, timing and circumstance, and they built on it.

In short, I don't think that Martin treats magic different than any other asset that his characters might have access to. Because let's face it, having an endless supply of gold stands up to any superpower.

yea, I think we generally agree. About families with a seeming affinity, though, I'm willing to lean toward some sort of magical conditioning that might be passed on. I'm comfortable with that bit of speculation only because we do see people change via magic within the story, so I'm not super troubled by the idea of something like a "mutation forming." I think it's the sort of thing that became a potential genetic advantage for the families, but not an exclusive monopoly for the family in question or necessarily deterministic of ability.

[MoIaF]

It doesn't but the old gods are not inert.

That's debatable. The fact that there are Children and that the Weirwood has special abilities doesn't indicate that there are actual Old Gods. It does indicate that there is magic.

In this instant we have an actual person who most likely intervened to wake the gift in the Stark children. There is also a distinct pattern to skinchangers. Bloodraven himself hails from the only family south of the Neck who adheres to the old gods and actually has their heart tree as their sigil. (and as it turns out they are related). The Starks have five skinchangers and a greenseer in a single generation. This cannot be only due to genetics. Varamyr neither inherited neither passed on his gift to his children. And we are told that the gift is exceedingly rare.

There is purpose and design behind this and we have even met the captain at the helm. Now Bloodraven himself told Bran that it was his blood that made him a greenseer and yet gave him weirwood paste to eat to wed him to the trees. I don't know the specific mechanics behind this. There is much we don't know. Some things though are clear. The weirwoods are not mere altars. They acted as living repositories for the consciousnesses for dead CotF and since the first men and the Starks had taken up their practices, we can assume that the heart tree in Winterfell acts in the same way for them. i think that over the years the Starks have developed a living relationship with their tree that had remained dormant until Bloodraven jump started it.

In any case there is far more going on here than genetics or worship.

Bloodraven, the Starks and V6S have two things in common that we know of, they are all decedents of First Men and they all worship the Old Gods. Now, I don't know about you bunt it seems to me that if there were indeed "all knowing gods" why would they bestow warging abilities on someone like V6S? It's more likely than not that they all have some common genetic ability to warg, skin change or become a greenseer. Random in that no matter what they are or turn out to be they have those abilities, just like plenty of unworthy Valyrians had the ability to bond with dragons.

Bloodraven might have in fact "jump started" the Starks abilities when he sent the direwolves to them, however, you can't jump start something that isn't already there.

There is no need to quote Martin directly. There is an example in published material. Sunfyre responding to the summons of Aegon II in one occasion in tPatQ from a distance on a single occasion. I have to counter that with Arya's regular nightly hunting sessions with Nymeria from another continent. There is a difference in order of magnitude.

Well, I quoted GRRM because you seem to be under the impression that warging is the specialist of special abilities and no other ability can compare to it.

I didn't know this was a competition but I would say that the benefits of these abilities/bonds are equally important and beneficial to the people/animal who are part of them even though they are completely different.

It's nice that Arya was able to warg Nymeria across a continent, isn't it? However, might I remind you that Drogon came to Dany in a dream before he hatch, heck, he came to her before she was ever given the eggs as a gift.

While still a fossilize egg, he came to Dany in a dream the night she contemplated committing suicide and healed her with his dragon fire. Now, that is what I call a bond.

There bond apparently has also some physical connections as when Drogon was pierce with the spear and him and Dany "screamed as one".

As I type this it seems to me that the bond between a rider and her dragon has a bigger spiritual elements with some physical undertones while the warging bond has more physical elements with some spiritual undertones.

ETA

[Mrs_Darcy]

I think anyone can ride dragons. The important thing is the ability to hatch dragon eggs at will and I think only the women carrying the blood of the dragon can do that. Valyrian incest is based on this. They wanted to keep the blood of the dragon pure in order to keep the ability to hatch dragon eggs. In addition, the gooses that laid golden eggs stayed in the family. Valyrians used dragons as super weapons. So the critical thing is the production and maintaining of these super weapons. Those who can do it best were the most powerful dragonlord families.

Do you have "The Princess and the Queen"? I distinctly remember someone on the forum mention that Aegon or Jaehaerys hatched their dragons themselves (Stormcloud and Skykros).

[Knight Of Winter]

I'd be bothered by the idea that Targs are special snowflakes, that they possess god-given or supernatural abilities based on their blood. One thing I like in particular about ASOIAF series is how it empowers people: stuff happens because of people's decision which happen to have consequences, while OTOH prophecies are subverted left and right. Kings have power because their subjects believe so, not because power is god-given. Likewise, to have one family have monopoly over dragon riding due to blood, rather than training and sorcery (both men-made constructs) would be going against one of important themes in Martin's writing.

I've yet to read single event or hint in the series that points out towards possibility that Targ/Valyrian blood is mainly or solely responsible for riding a dragon. Valyrians themselves horns and sorcery to control their dragons. Moqorro also seems to believe horns were the key component in controling dragons. People who read PATQ noted that Nettles bonded with her dragon by feeding him. Dany trained (or failed to train) Viserion, Rhaegal and Drogon with words, food and persistence, not with her blood. That Targs are (almost) the only known dragon-riders should come as no surprise at all - as they found a way to tame/train their dragons and kept their knowledge from others. Dragons got used to them and obeyed them.

After all, people "bond" with animals (like pets or farm animals) all the time in real life. They manage to establish emotional connection an animal responds to. In that regard, dragons show similar behavior to certain species of dogs - who can be quite loyal/protective towards their master(s) and mistrustful/potentially aggressive towards anyone else. That's basic animal psychology, not magic.

[OberynBlackfyre]

Why would this mean dragons should lay human-like creatures?

Magic seems to have a root in blood sacrifice. Dany's dragon eggs were quickened via blood sacrifice. Rhaego's life was transferred into at least one of the dormant eggs. So this shows us that a human baby was magically infused into dragon eggs, that hatched live dragons. The chain is human blood -> the dragon. Not the other way around, as Rhaego died, and therefore, any dragon biology that was transferred to him isn't being passed on.

How does the ability to see the future relate to dragons? Does greensight translate to sharing some literal piece of biology with dragons too? Or perhaps more apropos, do greenseers have sap in their veins? Why is it a necessary conclusion that Valyrian ability stems from a literal possession of dragon biology? I really think it's more likely that both groups of people tapped into magic by putting their own blood sacrifice into totems like the trees and dragons, and over time, harnessed the abilities, passing them down through generations.

I agree with this, however what I am saying is that HUMANS are the ones who are biologically changed from this connection, rather than the other way around. Forces like dragons, fire, weirwoods, greensight, is more powerful than humanity in many ways. Which is is why I would say that whether through blood sacrifice, or through actual sharing of blood, humans are the one who get the "side effects" because all magic IS a sacrifice in someway. For instance, if the bond between Targaryens/Valyrians and Dragons is that of a warg like connection it would somewhat make sense why a lot of them have perished in order to trying to obtain this end. The warg becomes like the animal, if not subdued and controlled within the mind. I don't think Targs may have that filter if they literally have a BLOOD BOND with the dragons. I cited things like dragon dreams, genetic birth defects and such to show how the humans that share this bond are effected strong than the magical source they obtain it from: IE. dragons.

[Suzanna Stormborn]

Do you have "The Princess and the Queen"? I distinctly remember someone on the forum mention that Aegon or Jaehaerys hatched their dragons themselves (Stormcloud and Skykros).

Well there is a difference between regular egg hatching and what Dany did with the fossilized eggs. In PatQ I do not believe a blood sacrifice or walking into the pyre was necessary to hatch an egg. Dany was very unique circumstances, what I believe, when she was starting a new line of dragons.

[Mrs.Grumpy]

Dany's eggs were dead dead, she resurrected them by sacrificing Rhaego. Although it was MMD who did the blood magic.

[Mithras]

Egg might want a soak as well, though the boy looked cool and dry, more dusty than sweaty. He never sweated much. He liked the heat. In Dorne he went about bare-chested, and turned brown as a Dornishman. It is his dragon blood, Dunk told himself. Whoever heard of a sweaty dragon?

Dunk stepped into the tub and eased himself down until the water covered him up to his chin. It was still scalding hot on top, though cooler farther down. He clenched his teeth to keep from yelping. If he did the boy would laugh. Egg liked his bathwater scalding hot.

They filled her bath with hot water brought up from the kitchen and scented it with fragrant oils. The girl pulled the rough cotton tunic over Dany’s head and helped her into the tub. The water was scalding hot, but Daenerys did not flinch or cry out. She liked the heat. It made her feel clean. Besides, her brother had often told her that it was never too hot for a Targaryen. “Ours is the house of the dragon,” he would say. “The fire is in our blood.”

Valyrian blood seems to supply some heat resistance.

Dany's eggs were dead dead, she resurrected them by sacrificing Rhaego. Although it was MMD who did the blood magic.

This is certainly wrong because Dany started to sense the heat released from Drogon’s egg before any of the deaths. And she was the only one able to sense that heat.

[Lady Woodland]

I read earlier up the thread how if you give yourself a cut, then cut the dragon (might be risky) rub the two together to make a blood bond, this is one explanation for the term "Blood of the Dragon" however I have read through the thread & can't find a mention of the one that seems most obvious.

For thousands of years many ancient cultures in particular the Egyptians & the Hindu's peoples regularly ingested blood as a way to purify themselves & believed it gave them special powers & abilities. I know this will gross many people out, but Menstrual blood was particularly prized as this is the only way a human body sheds blood without a wound causing it. A woman's moon blood was considered precious & thought to have magical life giving abilities once it was understood this was the actual life stuff of human beings in it's most simplistic terms. The ancients collected it & mixed it with milk or wine & drank it with enormous ceremony.

It was not until much later in more Patriarchal societies that this became a taboo & menstruating women were shunned. Considering the Egyptians also practiced incest to keep their bloodlines pure the Valyrians who first found the Dragon's may have also followed this ancient practice, or at the very least, they decided at some point to ingest the blood of the dragons they found to give them literal "Blood of the Dragon" this would also explain the incest & emphasise the importance to keep their blood pure. I'm sure Dragon's probably wouldn't menstruate & to stick them to make them bleed would not be fun, so it would have been a rare & precious commodity.

[Suzanna Stormborn]

Egg might want a soak as well, though the boy looked cool and dry, more dusty than sweaty. He never sweated much. He liked the heat. In Dorne he went about bare-chested, and turned brown as a Dornishman. It is his dragon blood, Dunk told himself. Whoever heard of a sweaty dragon?

Dunk stepped into the tub and eased himself down until the water covered him up to his chin. It was still scalding hot on top, though cooler farther down. He clenched his teeth to keep from yelping. If he did the boy would laugh. Egg liked his bathwater scalding hot.

They filled her bath with hot water brought up from the kitchen and scented it with fragrant oils. The girl pulled the rough cotton tunic over Dany’s head and helped her into the tub. The water was scalding hot, but Daenerys did not flinch or cry out. She liked the heat. It made her feel clean. Besides, her brother had often told her that it was never too hot for a Targaryen. “Ours is the house of the dragon,” he would say. “The fire is in our blood.”

Valyrian blood seems to supply some heat resistance.

This is certainly wrong because Dany started to sense the heat released from Drogon’s egg before any of the deaths. And she was the only one able to sense that heat.

Very nicely put :) And exactly my point, they like a bit more heat than ordinary people. That's what GRRM said about Targaryens, and it appears to be true in the novellas and the novels.

[Nictarion]

I'd be bothered by the idea that Targs are special snowflakes, that they possess god-given or supernatural abilities based on their blood.

You mean like the Starks?

[Suzanna Stormborn]

You mean like the Starks?

Yeah that's what I have been advocating for quite some time, Why are the Starks the only ones that can be 'special' in any way?

[Suzanna Stormborn]

That's debatable. The fact that there are Children and that the Weirwood has special abilities doesn't indicate that there are actual Old Gods. It does indicate that there is magic.

Bloodraven, the Starks and V6S have two things in common that we know of, they are all decedents of First Men and they all worship the Old Gods. Now, I don't know about you bunt it seems to me that if there were indeed "all knowing gods" why would they bestow warging abilities on someone like V6S? It's more likely than not that they all have some common genetic ability to warg, skin change or become a greenseer. Random in that no matter what they are or turn out to be they have those abilities, just like plenty of unworthy Valyrians had the ability to bond with dragons.

Bloodraven might have in fact "jump started" the Starks abilities when he sent the direwolves to them, however, you can't jump start something that isn't already there.

Well, I quoted GRRM because you seem to be under the impression that warging is the specialist of special abilities and no other ability can compare to it.

I didn't know this was a competition but I would say that the benefits of these abilities/bonds are equally important and beneficial to the people/animal who are part of them even though they are completely different.

It's nice that Arya was able to warg Nymeria across a continent, isn't it? However, might I remind you that Drogon came to Dany in a dream before he hatch, heck, he came to her before she was ever given the eggs as a gift.

While still a fossilize egg, he came to Dany in a dream the night she contemplated committing suicide and healed her with his dragon fire. Now, that is what I call a bond.

There bond apparently has also some physical connections as when Drogon was pierce with the spear and him and Dany "screamed as one".

As I type this it seems to me that the bond between a rider and her dragon has a bigger spiritual elements with some physical undertones while the warging bond has more physical elements with some spiritual undertones.

ETA

Yes I agree that warging in the North and dragon bonding for the Valyrians are completely separate abilities. They are not in competition with each other. Both have shown us incredible acts between human and animal. Dany is a dragonlord, she met drogon in her dreams well before he was born and he healed her. He comes to her aid when she needs, and he mirrors her thoughts and feelings. She cannot see inside his head, but we know from PatQ that riders can (somehow) at least direct the dragons flying direction, make them do battle, make then breathe fire on command, they dont mind staying in the stables, obviously Dany has not built up that kind of relationship yet, but she is finally on the way at the end of DwD.

Jon can see through ghosts dreams and see how his siblings and their wolves are fairing all over Westeros, and yes Arya can still connect with Nym across the Narrow Sea. All of which are incredible powers. And that does not even get into what Bran can do.

I do not think one is 'better' than the other, they are just different. Fire and Ice, Hot and Cold, Volcano and Glacier.