(SPOILERS) Cannibal is on Skagos

[Edmure's Floppy Fish]

I don't see that as an issue. Skagos has been pretty obviously set up as a place where there COULD be a surviving dragon (or two) without the world knowing about it. I don't think it matters what its name is, or was.

How has it obviously been set up as a place where there could be a dragon in AGOT-ADWD?

[Universal Sword Donor]

How has it obviously been set up as a place where there could be a dragon in AGOT-ADWD?

It hasn't.

[Lady Blizzardborn]

The volcanic soultion is the only way this is viable imo. And we havent heard of volcanoes on skagos.

We haven't heard of ANYTHING on Skagos except cannibals and maybe unicorns (ok and the Skagosi as well). All options are pretty much open on this.

[ChillyPolly]

How has it obviously been set up as a place where there could be a dragon in AGOT-ADWD?

(1) Food supply (unicorns, seals)

(2) Mountainous

(3) Isolated, physically and culturally

(4) Huge

(5) Partly North of the Wall.

Give me one good reason why an entire family of dragons could not live there undetected.

[Stannis's Lawyer]

(1) Food supply (unicorns, seals)

(2) Mountainous

(3) Isolated, physically and culturally

(4) Huge

(5) Partly North of the Wall.

Give me one good reason why an entire family of dragons could not live there undetected.

Because they have been extinct for ages. And because nobody saw them, not even during the Skagosi Rebellion.

[Edmure's Floppy Fish]

(1) Food supply (unicorns, seals)

(2) Mountainous

(3) Isolated, physically and culturally

(4) Huge

(5) Partly North of the Wall.

Give me one good reason why an entire family of dragons could not live there undetected.

This isn't worth a rebuttal...But I can't resist.

Give me one good reason why any writer with a double-digit IQ would write in secret dragons from the past that has not been mentioned once in 5 books is hiding on a cold island that has only been mentioned a few times???

[Universal Sword Donor]

(1) Food supply (unicorns, seals)

(2) Mountainous

(3) Isolated

(4) Huge

(5) Partly North of the Wall.

Give me one good reason why an entire family of dragons could not live there undetected.

The Starks put down a rebellion on Skagos. Dragons are drawn to the sounds of battle (per AWOW sample chapters and PaTQ). If the Stark forces had to put down a rebellion where the lord and hundreds of Stark soldiers died, you can imagine there was either a pretty big battle or several battles. Surely a family of dragons flying around and hunting every day would have put down and eaten a bit.

Plus there hasn't even been a hint of volcanic activity anywhere that would attract them in the first place.

[White Ravens]

Maybe Cannibal has long outlived the average lifespan of dragons because the Skagosi have been feeding him a steady diet of unicorns because, you know, sparkles. And rainbows.

[ChillyPolly]

This isn't worth a rebuttal...But I can't resist.

Give me one good reason why any writer with a double-digit IQ would write in secret dragons from the past that has not been mentioned once in 5 books is hiding on a cold island that has only been mentioned a few times???

You haven't given me one good reason why he would not do so. You have merely insulted anyone who thinks this makes sense, not given any reason why it does not make sense.

[Edmure's Floppy Fish]

You haven't given me one good reason why he would not do so. You have merely insulted anyone who thinks this makes sense, not given any reason why it does not make sense.

No I'm not insulting. And if I have offended you, I apologize.

My reason is, as I stayed before, that he won't write them in because he hasn't foreshadowed it at all, in fact, there hasn't been so much as a hint that there are any dragons on Skag. That would be out of Martins style to put in an old dragon that hasn't been mentioned once.

[ChillyPolly]

The Starks put down a rebellion on Skagos. Dragons are drawn to the sounds of battle (per AWOW sample chapters and PaTQ). If the Stark forces had to put down a rebellion where the lord and hundreds of Stark soldiers died, you can imagine there was either a pretty big battle or several battles. Surely a family of dragons flying around and hunting every day would have put down and eaten a bit.

Did I mention the part where Skagos was HUGE? And MOUNTAINOUS? Yes I did.

We don't even know where this battle took place. Can we really take it as an absolute certainty that a single battle will attract every dragon within 200 miles?

Plus there hasn't even been a hint of volcanic activity anywhere that would attract them in the first place.

Considering that Skagos is HUGE and mountainous, we can hardly rule out volcanic activity. It has LOTS of mountains. One or two may be volcanic.

[Universal Sword Donor]

Did I mention the part where Skagos was HUGE? And MOUNTAINOUS? Yes I did.

We don't even know where this battle took place. Can we really take it as an absolute certainty that a single battle will attract every dragon within 200 miles?

Considering that Skagos is HUGE and mountainous, we can hardly rule out volcanic activity. It has LOTS of mountains. One or two may be volcanic.

I mean I can consider that fire wyrms rule the Valyrian peninsula too. It doesn't make it less ridiculous. Frankly if anything there's more textual support for that since Valyria larger, we know firewryms lived there, and it's completely abandoned.

[ChillyPolly]

I mean I can consider that fire wyrms rule the Valyrian peninsula too. It doesn't make it less ridiculous.

So? What would be ridiculous about firewyrms on the Valyrian peninsula?

Frankly if anything there's more textual support for that since Valyria larger, we know firewryms lived there, and it's completely abandoned.

So? Why cannot there by firewyrms on the Valyrian peninsula?

[Universal Sword Donor]

So? What would be ridiculous about firewyrms on the Valyrian peninsula?

So? Why cannot there by firewyrms on the Valyrian peninsula?

There can. I've just now decided that it's far more likely than your scenario, which you never actually presented any decent reasons for. Considering that the Valyrian peninsula was more or less blown up, with no people and no dragons surviving, I'd find it unlikely for things in the ground to have survived the blast, as that's pretty much the only place it could have come from.

[ChillyPolly]

There can. I've just now decided that it's far more likely than your scenario, which you never actually presented any decent reasons for.

Dude. I'm reading a fantasy novel.

I am told that dragons supposedly went "extinct" in the last 100 years or so. That's like yesterday.

But I am told that dragons live for 200 years.

But those are just the ones bred for battle; there are also, I am told, legends of wise old dragons that live for 1000 years.

Meanwhile, the world is effing HUGE.

And it is set in a quasi-medieval period, when the world WAS still large, and people DID in fact believe all kinds of monster and strange beasts lived on remote islands.

But the Maesters are so narrow-minded they don't even believe there are Others north of the wall. IIRC, the Maesters don't even believe in giants. Or Children of the Forest.

Is it really not supposed occur to me that dragons might NOT be extinct?

[Starkfaithful85]

as far as danys dragons being the source of magic returning to the world, i would like to point out that we see Wights in the prologue of GoT, if the wights are not magic what are they?

[Ser John Snow Tergaryan]

I don't know why people assume that dragons don't fare well in the cold. Is there any text supporting that? We know of dragons who have been to the Wall.

Besides, "cold preserves". At least for Aemon the cold/wall magic extended his lifespan. The same could be said about Bloodraven. They're not really dragons, but it could be a hint. Cannibal could be in a hybernating-like state, waking up to feed only rarely.

Also, we are always hearing about WF hot springs, Hardhome, northern obsidian/dragonglass... There are certainly hints of dragon-related stuff in the North.

[Universal Sword Donor]

Dude. I'm reading a fantasy novel.

I am told that dragons supposedly went "extinct" in the last 100 years or so. That's like yesterday.

But I am told that dragons live for 200 years.

But those are just the ones bred for battle; there are also, I am told, legends of wise old dragons that live for 1000 years.

Meanwhile, the world is effing HUGE.

And it is set in a quasi-medieval period, when the world WAS still large, and people DID in fact believe all kinds of monster and strange beasts lived on remote islands.

But the Maesters are so narrow-minded they don't even believe there are Others north of the wall. IIRC, the Maesters don't even believe in giants. Or Children of the Forest.

Is it really not supposed occur to me that dragons might NOT be extinct?

You're going to actually post a cite for both of those.

And yes, given what we know of dragons and the world (not to mention the fact Dany's dragons are miraculous), on top of it being extremely lazy and bad writing, it's not at all likely.

I suppose you're on board with Cannibal or Sheepstealer being in the far north with ice dragons or chilling out on Sothoryos? They're unexplored and have mountains. Sothoryosis is even warm.

[Universal Sword Donor]

I don't know why people assume that dragons don't fare well in the cold. Is there any text supporting that? We know of dragons who have been to the Wall.

Besides, "cold preserves". At least for Aemon the cold/wall magic extended his lifespan. The same could be said about Bloodraven. They're not really dragons, but it could be a hint. Cannibal could be in a hybernating-like state, waking up to feed only rarely.

Also, we are always hearing about WF hot springs, Hardhome, northern obsidian/dragonglass... There are certainly hints of dragon-related stuff in the North.

We know they don't do well in the rain, and we know they hugely prefer warm, fiery places.

There certainly could have been dragon-related stuff in the North. Absolutely none of that has to do with Skagos. Also where is the northern obsidian? We know the CoTF gave it to the NW, but that's about it.

[messem]

We have no proof that Dany's dragons hatching is the cause of magic returning to the world. I think, in fact, that it's a red herring. The decline of magic was the reason for the decline in dragons, not the other way around.

While this is (according to aryagonnakill#2) already disproven what was the first appearance of a magical creature in the novels? The others in the prologue of aGoT. Long time before the red comet and Dany's dragon eggs. I think as well that the dragons hatching are result a magic. Not the cause for it.