since Targaryens had a lot of strange stillborns...

[Ser Lepus]

I don't think Mirri Maaz Duur was responsible for the deformed baby. It would have been stillborn anyways. But Mirri knew that she was damned no matter what she did, so she decided to go in defiance, rather than begging for her life. Of course, in the end she faltered, but her purpose was to go with a bang.

[Lord Varys]

The Velaryon family tree is tricky. We don't really know whether Daemon was Alyssa's grandfather. He could have been her uncle, with Aethon Velaryon (Alyssa's father, whose name was mentioned in 'The Sons of the Dragon') being Daemon's younger brother. The other Daemon Velaryon, Master of Ships under Maegor (and, presumably, Aenys), most likely was named after the other Daemon, following the latter's death during the Conquest, and may be an elder brother of Alyssa.

Corlys Velaryon, the first Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, cannot reasonably be a brother of Alyssa, as he became Lord Commander only three years after Alyssa's birth in 7 AC. That suggests that Corlys is a younger brother of Aethon Velaryon (or a cousin from a Velaryon cadet branch).

On Daeron's marriage policy:

I've discussed this elsewhere, and I agree that Daeron II also forged/sealed a strategic alliance backing his Dornish policies with the matches he brokered for his sons. However, we have to look at the situation at hand. Aegon IV wanted to drive a nudge between Daeron and his friends in the Stormlands (possibly Lord Dondarrion, Ronnel Penrose, and others there). That strongly suggests that Aegon IV would not have allowed his son to betroth Prince Baelor to Jena Dondarrion (or his other sons to the women they eventually married). Instead, it is very likely that Daeron only brokered the marriages of his own sons after he had ascended to the Iron Throne, when he also decided who his sister Daenerys would marry. Baelor was 14 years when his grandfather died - he is of the same age as Daemon Blackfyre -, and still young enough to be not betrothed to anyone.

Now, we know that Egg's marriage to the daughter of the Lord Blackwood supposedly only occurred because Egg was at the far end of the line of succession, whereas Baelor was Prince of Dragonstone and heir to the Iron Throne. The Blackwoods are a former royal house, but the Dondarrions are just one among many Marcher Lords who are supposedly descended from some guy who brought a message in time to the Storm King. They are either on the same level as the Blackwoods, or even lower - not to mention the Penroses, who aren't even listed as a major lower Stormlands house in many of the lists.

If Egg's marriage had the potential to stir up opposition because the bride came from a lower house, the Dondarrion match clearly would have caused a major opposition, especially among those Lords who did not really like Daeron II, or the greater lords who had hoped to marry their daughters to the Prince of Dragonstone. This could easily be resolved if we go with the assumption that Daeron II picked the brides for his two elder sons from among the extended family of House Targaryen - that is, from the descendants of Rhaena Targaryen's six daughters by Garmund Hightower and the descendants of Baela Targaryen by Alyn Velaryon.

We don't know what happened to Rhaena's daughters, but it easily imaginable that one of them married into a house in the Stormlands - not necessarily House Dondarrion or Penrose - and that Jena Dondarrion, Ronnel Penrose (the second husband of Elaena Targaryen, and most likely a friend of Daeron II), and Aelinor Penrose are all descendants of that daughter.

If we go with the assumption that Daeron II was following the Targaryen incest custom when he chose the brides for his (elder) sons, the opposition would have not been as loud/outspoken as it could have been. Although it is quite likely that Daeron II deliberately chose the Targaryen-Hightower-Stormlands branch of his house rather than another because he wanted to send a sign to the Marcher Lords.

Alys Arryn could be descended from a daughter of Baela and Alyn, or another of the Targaryen-Hightowers - a match between a Hightower girl and an heir to the Vale is easily imaginable.

And even Dyanna could have Targaryen blood - although that's not really necessary - if we assume that either a Dayne heir taken hostage during the Conquest of Dorne fell in love with a daughter (or son) of Alyn's, or a Velaryon-Dayne match was brokered in the wake of Baelor's peace treaty with Dorne. Either directly then, or later when Mariah first came to court/Daeron first visited his future bride in Sunspear. Both would have traveled with retinues etc., and things would have happened...

[BrainFireBob]

Did a post on this a few weeks ago.

Short version: 10th free City experimented with women/animal hybrids.

Maesters theorized that the Valyrians turned wyverns in to dragons.

The dragonlords are firm on having blood of the dragon.

The stillbirths described have dragonlike characteristics- vestigial wings, tails, both genders (dragons flip back and forth) missing limbs (dragons have wings instead of arms).

Proposal: The dragonlords are Dunnwich Horror style hybrids- they appear human and are mostly human, whereas their dragons are their mostly dragon parallel family/siblings. Fits the Lovecraftian theme of WoIaF, explains why the human animal hybrids are worth mentioning, and explains the apparently frequent miscarriages- they are the non-viable hybrids (too dragon). Might even explain part of the inbreeding- dragons need to recognize them, and much like most hybrids, outbreeding might decrease their fertility.

Further thought: Maegor's children are the result of blood magic used to bring him back to life from his "coma"- his seed was dead, only life can pay for life.

Wild thought: This is why Targaryens are burned. They might all have vestigial wings or other "wrong" bits in there.

EDIT: More fun thoughts. the dragon births may need to correspond to living Targaryens. In that case, Cannibal may have been "born" to be Maegar's dragon- he certainly "consumed" a number of his brother's descendents and possible "magically" his own.

[bens]

Why didn't Tyanna herself had children then?

More importantly, Elinor Costayne's stillbirth (a similar deformed monster) appears to have come after Tyanna of the Tower was executed. It's possible that Jeyne Westerling's stillbirth did as well.

[Lord_Pepsi_Cupps]

Proposal: The dragonlords are Dunnwich Horror style hybrids- they appear human and are mostly human, whereas their dragons are their mostly dragon parallel family/siblings. Fits the Lovecraftian theme of WoIaF, explains why the human animal hybrids are worth mentioning, and explains the apparently frequent miscarriages- they are the non-viable hybrids (too dragon). Might even explain part of the inbreeding- dragons need to recognize them, and much like most hybrids, outbreeding might decrease their fertility.

Further thought: Maegor's children are the result of blood magic used to bring him back to life from his "coma"- his seed was dead, only life can pay for life.

I like the Lovecraftian twist, particularly because it takes something that seems quite romantic (the last surviving family of a dead empire, and their special dragons) and turns it into something quite sinister and kind of gross (they literally mixed their blood with dragons at some point, and are literally related to dragons). I wonder if there's a link between Dany's comment that "dragons are not prey" (Drogon's instinct is always to attack), and the reckless/aggressive/"mad" streak many Targs display.

As for Maegor - yes that miraculous recovery does seem to change everything. Most importantly, he was brain dead for almost a month. If he was then brought back using the Red Priest method (perhaps any other magical method as well), he would be another Stoneheart in his mind (more like a shadow of Maegor than Maegor himself - and he would have "died" defending his claim and be focused on that the way Stoneheart is on Robb's murder) but looking completely human because he was never physically dead. This might explain how the weird child turned into a fullblown sadist. It might even explain his obsession with getting an heir: something that the living Maegor would have been focused on, but unMaegor is obsessed with.

[239JMFL34109]

Marwyn mentions how the Citadel took down the dragons some how and how they stuck Aemon on the wall away from everyone. I think they were behind all the stillborns and maybe summerhall too.

[Luddagain]

I have a theory that dragon riding is reverse warging and is indeed very much the same sort of magic but in reverse.

For wargs (shape shifters) the "soul" of the warg human can enter that of the animal with the animal "soul" and human "soul" sharing the same body. Because the human soul is stronger this generally works OK. But what if the animal soul enter the human, and for some reason cannot be controlled by the human. We sort of see this a bit with Rickon, who as a baby seems almost more controlled by his wolf than him controlling the wolf. Bran had guidance and was taught how to control his wolf by Jojen. He was 4 years older in any case.

Now what if the magic of the dragon riders is that they somehow have a gene that allows the Targ mother to carry and nurture the "soul" of the dragon.This dragon "soul" is born with the baby and lives inside the baby Targ just as the human warg "soul" lives inside their wolf or other familiar. If there is NO dragon available then this dragon soul grows inside the Targ and has no place to go. Gradually over time the dragon soul becomes stronger and angrier and thus madness may ensure. Now SOME Targs may be born with a stronger "Dragon control" gene which keeps their inner dragon in control. For example if they have a double dose of the "control" gene (ie CC) they wil pretty much stay sane all their lives, if they have a single dose ie Cc then they may be mostly able to control their dragon soul but go mad after great stress or illness (eg Aerys). Those with no control gene ie cc with be mad from childhood er Aerion and probably Aerys.

BUT if they actually have a live dragon their dragon "soul" can migrate into the dragon and the Targ does not go insane. This is why each Targ baby is given a dragon's egg, in the hope it will hatch and give their inner dragon a home.

This is what Viserys meant by "waking the dragon" ie awakening that angry and cruel dragon soul.

I think this is why the Targs practiced incest - It is the Targ MUMMY that is important because only the mother can nurture those dragon souls.

Targaryan "dragon souls" may pass from Targ to Targ pregnant MOTHER just as the warg "soul" can have a second life in an animal

Now Dany carried her own inner dragon "soul", when Viserys died in her presence his dragon "soul" shifted to Dany, she must also have carried a dragon soul for he unborn baby, perhaps originally her mother's.