Daenerys is the Amethyst Empress Reborn

[Durran Durrandon]

Daenerys is the Amethyst Empress Reborn . . . maybe. At least Euron Greyjoy thinks so.

This matters, because it may explain the true origin and meaning of the prophecy of the Prince that was Promised. Let me explain. This will include TWOIAF spoilers.

From the Yi Ti myth of the Golden Empire of the Dawn:

“The Golden Empire's first ruler was the God-on-Earth, the only son of the Lion of Night and the Maiden-Made-of-Light, who traveled in a palanquin carved from a single pearl and carried by a hundred queens, his wives. He ruled for ten thousand years until he ascended to the stars to join his forebears. Dominion then passed to his eldest son, the Pearl Emperor, who ruled for a thousand years. Power then passed to the Jade Emperor, the Tourmaline Emperor, the Onyx Emperor, the Topaz Emperor, and the Opal Emperor. Each reigning for a shorter and more troubled time than the previous emperor, for wild men and beasts pressed the borders of the Empire, lesser kings grew proud and rebellious, and the common people gave themselves to sin.

When the daughter of the Opal Emperor ascended to power as the Amethyst Empress, her envious brother cast her down and proclaimed himself the Bloodstone Emperor . . .” TWOIAF 712

We are told that the Blood Betrayal led to the Long Night, and of several possible events that lead to the end of the Long Night. “Yet the Great Empire of the Dawn was not reborn, for the restored world was a broken place, weber every tribe of men went their own way. . .” Presumably, some of them went to the territory that would become Valyria, specifically the survivors of the imperial line did, based on the evidence of Daenerys' dreams.

Taking a second look at the line of imperial rulers, we have “Pearl Emperor, who ruled for a thousand years. Power then passed to the Jade Emperor, the Tourmaline Emperor, the Onyx Emperor, the Topaz Emperor, and the Opal Emperor . . . the Amethyst Empress.” The list seems to be a strong, though not perfect match, for the line of rulers Daenerys sees in her miscarriage, fever dream in Game of Thrones:

“Ghosts lined the hallway, dressed in the faded raiment of kings. In their hands were swords of pale fire. They had hair of silver and hair of gold and hair of platinum white, and their eyes were opal and amethyst, tourmaline and jade.” GoT 802

These rulers have hair of silver, gold, and platinum, Valyrian traits. They are Daenerys' ancestors, the Emperors of the Dawn. In her dream, they push her to awaken as the dragon:

“Faster!” the ghosts cried as one, and she screamed and threw herself forward. A great knife of pain ripped down her back, and she felt her skin tear open and smelled the stench of burning blood and saw the shadow of wings. And Daenerys Targaryen flew. “… wake the dragon … ” GoT 802

So, why is it necessary for Daenerys to be the Amethyst Empress Reborn? Why can't she just be the descendant of the rulers of the Empire of the Dawn. Well it isn't really my idea. I got the idea from Euron Greyjoy. When Euron describes Daenerys to Victarion he describes her, saying "her hair is silver-gold, and her eyes are amethyst." (AFfC 454) Amethyst actually doesn't come up that often in the text. We see it only in a couple of places. It shows up in some random descriptions of jewelry, most notably in Sansa’s hair net, but other than that it only appears in the line of rulers in Daenerys' dream and in the line of rulers of the Empire of the Dawn. Even his description of silver-gold hair seems to allude to Daenerys’ dream. His use of amethyst here seems significant, and emphasis is put on the use of the word, when Victarion repeats it in his description of Daenerys in A Dance with Dragons. (778)

It is likely that Euron has gained esoteric knowledge from his journeys to the far East. He found the dragon binding horn, and it has been established that he has drank enough of the of the Shade of the Evening for his lips to have turned blue. It stands to reason that he has experienced visions that have led him to his current course of actions. He has access to information the reader doesn’t and he seems to believe that Daenerys has some value other than her dragons. The dragons he believes he can steal by using the binding horn. His reference to her amethyst eyes is punctuated by this earlier quote. "Who knows more of gods than I? Horse gods and fire gods, gods made of gold with gemstone eyes, gods carved of cedarwood, gods chiseled into mountains, gods of empty air. I know them all." (AFfC 272)

He asks Victarion to bring her back to him to be his bride, for some other purpose. I think he might have other intentions, but that will require more explanation.

If Daenerys is the rebirth of the Amethyst Empress or at least symbolic fulfillment of her interrupted reign, then we have a possible explanation of the of the prophecy of the Prince that was Promised. The descendants of the Empire of the Dawn, possibly the direct descendants of the Amethyst Empress, carried with them the prophecy of her return or the fulfillment of her reign through an ancestor, the Prince that was Promised, or in this case the Princess that was Promised. If the Blood Betrayal caused the Long Night, and by inference, the disruption of the seasons, the restoration of the Amethyst Empress might restore the cosmic order and bring balance to the seasons. This then could be the true meaning of the prophecy carried by those descendants, who settled in the area that would later become Valyria .

I think the text supports the above section of this post quite well. Below, while I will still try to keep my ideas grounded in the text, but I will delve into more speculative territory.

Before I continue, I need to credit Lucifer Means Lightbringer for his idea of the Azor Ahai myth bring rooted in the the astronomical events depicted in the Qartheen moon myth. A full treatment of this can be found here: The Astronomy Behind the Legends of Planetos.

To briefly summarize, This theory holds that a comet returning from its orbit past the sun struck the former second moon.* Thus the sun appears to scorch and break open the moon as in the Qartheen myth. This is interpreted symbolically and Azor Ahai (the sun) thrust Lightbringer (the comet) into the heart of Nissa Nissa (the second moon). In the books, the prophecy of The Prince that was Promised is heavily conflated with the prophecy of Azor Ahai Reborn, because they are both based on myths that are repetitions of astronomical events. In the forging of Lightbringer, Azor Ahai sacrifices Nissa Nissa to temper Lightbringer. I suspect the Bloodstone Emperor sacrificed the Amethyst Empress in a blood magic ritual that parallels the sacrifice of Nissa Nissa, both myths parallel the destruction of the moon. These events are a cosmological disaster that bring upon the Long Night and the unbalanced seasons.

This is a big leap, so it is necessary to look to the text for corroboration. First, Lightbringer can be linked to the Empire of the Dawn through Daenerys' dream. “Ghosts lined the hallway, dressed in the faded raiment of kings. In their hands were swords of pale fire. They had hair of silver and hair of gold and hair of platinum white, and their eyes were opal and amethyst, tourmaline and jade.” (GoT 802) These are Daenerys' ancestors, the Emperors of the Dawn, and they have flaming swords.

The second link comes the Blood Betrayal. After casting down the Amethyst Empress, the Bloodstone emperor began a reign of terror, in which he “practiced dark arts, torture, and necromancy, enslaved his people, took a tiger-woman for his bride, feasted on human flesh, and cast down the true gods to worship a black stone that had fallen from the sky.” (TWOIAF 713) The worship of the black stone that fell from the sky matches what we know about the origins of House Dayne. “Legend says the first Dayne was led to the site when he followed the track of a falling star and there found a stone of magical powers.” (577) In Clash of Kings, Bran recalls Ned telling him about Ser Arthur Dayne, who "fought with a blade called Dawn, forged from the heart of a fallen star. They called him the Sword of the Morning, and he would have killed me but for Howland Reed.” ( 327) Obviously, these could be different fallen stars**, The location of the Dayne's magic stone in Dorne is vastly distant from the known geography of the Empire of the Dawn. Dawn doesn't burst into flames. These are problems. It still seems a stretch that these fallen stars, which stick out in text and seem otherwise out of place in the story, are unrelated, or that the sword Dawn is no way related to the Battle for the Dawn or the Empire of the Dawn. In fact, the Battle for the Dawn is mentioned on CoK 325, just two pages before the description of Dawn on 327.

Each of the rulers in Daenerys' dream holds a flaming sword. It appears as a mark of the rule of the Emperors of the Dawn. The dream indicates the existence of the flaming sword prior to the rule of the Amethyst Empress, before the Long Night, before Azhor Ahai, before Lightbringer. After casting his sister down***, the Bloodstone Emperor needed or desired the sword and it was somehow denied to him. He forged the new sword from the heart of a fallen star**** and used blood magic, sacrificing the Amethyst Empress to temper the blade.

We are told, again in the world book that “it was the Blood Betrayal, as his usurpation is named, that ushered in the age of darkness called the Long Night. . . How long the darkness endured no man can say, but all agree that it was only when a great warrior—known variously as Hyrkoon the Hero, Azor Ahai, Yin Tar, Neferion, and Eldric Shadowchaser—arose to give courage to the race of men and lead the virtuous into battle with his blazing sword Lightbringer that the darkness was put to rout, and light and love returned once more to the world.” (TWOIAF 712-713) What I think is becoming clear is that the Bloodstone Emperor and Azor Ahai are the same person. (Though, I am not sure this is the only possibility. Perhaps Azor Ahai is another close relative of the Amethyst Empress, like just as a random example, a nephew. Or it may be best to not think of Azor Ahai as a real person at all.) Azor Ahai or the Bloodstone Emperor or the Last Hero uses Lightbringer to win the Battle for the Dawn, but this cannot restore the disruption that has caused to the divine cosmic order, when the Bloodstone Emperor usurped the throne and sacrificed his sister, and so the seasons are still out of balance and the threat of the Others remains, until the rebirth of the Amethyst Empress.

*Yes, it is unlikely that a comet could shatter a moon or that the destruction of a moon would not cause a much more total disaster than what occurred during the Long Night. This is however a fantasy novel, not a science fiction novel, I think it helps to think of theses events as astrology, not astronomy. It is also worth noting that the sequence of these events is debatable. I tend to think the sacrifice of the Amethyst Empress cause the celestial events. LmL thinks the celestial events precede the actions of the Bloodstone Emperor. That is not the subject of this essay.

** The shattered moon allows for a good number of them, potentially.

***This is an interesting word choice, that might reference the moon being brought down or destroyed.

****Sam tells us in Dance with Dragons that the Last Hero’s sword is made of dragon steel. And there is quite a bit of speculation as to what dragon steel is. I suspect it come from the meteorites of the cracked moon. “Once there were two moons in the sky, but one wandered too close to the sun and cracked from the heat. A thousand thousand dragons poured forth, and drank the fire of the sun. That is why dragons breathe flame.” (GoT 252)

[Durran Durrandon]

This is my working event sequence:

1. Gemstone Emperors with flaming swords rule GEotD.

2. Blood Betrayal, causes . . ,

3. Azor Ahai (the sun) forges Light Bringer (the comet and cracks moon (Nissa Nissa).

4. Azor Ahai (who is the BSE or a descendent of the Amethyst Empress) travels to Dorne, becomes the Last Hero, forges Lightbringer (Dawn).

5. Last Hero fights Battle for the Dawn and wins.

6. Survivors with prophecy of TPtwP settle in Valyria .

[LmL]

I am moving today and low on time, but great job and I can’t wait to post my thoughts / see what other people think.

Major props to you for being out in front on this idea. My essays wouldn’t have been nearly as good without your crucial input.. heliotrope, Great Empire stuff, Thundarr... Kick ass bro.

[Durran Durrandon]

Thanks, good luck with your move!

[Mrs.Grumpy]

Dont get me wrong but I think you are giving too much credit to a fancy story that we all learned its existence in the world book.

[Han Snow]

Reading...

[LmL]

Dont get me wrong but I think you are giving too much credit to a fancy story that we all learned its existence in the world book.

Disagree 100%. All the stories in the worldbook were already introduced in the main series, if you pay close attention. The worldbook is absolutely meant to shed light on the mysteries of the main series - it's not some coffee table piece. If that's your view then you simply haven't looked at it closely enough.

[LmL]

I know you're "Mrs. Grumpy" so I think we take your remarks well salted - but in that spirit of good humored ribbing, what are you, the fun police? Going around and telling everyone the worldbook is just a bunch of fancy old stories that don't mean anything? Nobody should make theories based on them, we should all just stop?

That's a strange mission to be on, but hey, whatever floats your grumpy boat. I still say you simply need to take a second look at the Worldbook. Your opinion sounds downright silly to those of us who have studied it. No offense, that's just how it sounds. Come on in and join the fun, you can still be Grumpy and say Grumpy things, it's all good.

[Durran Durrandon]

Dont get me wrong but I think you are giving too much credit to a fancy story that we all learned its existence in the world book.

I think it can be difficult to know what to credit in the world book. In the case of Emperors of the Dawn, I think this so closely matches Daenerys' dream that it is hard to dismiss.

[LmL]

Durran, what do you think about the Dayne's and their origins? Amethyst Empress descendents?

[Aslerys]

I had already read it at Lucifer means Lightbringer thread and I got completly gobsmacked! :o

Now it seems obvious to me that the conection between the eyes of the people that Dany sees in her dream and the Dawn Emperors colors can't be just a coincidence! After all GRRM is known and takes a great pride in the symbology and foreshadowing hidden in his works.

And amethysts color shades range from violet to purple like Targ (valirian) eyes so it fits even better.

It seemed to me that you were implying that if Dany is the Amethyst Empress reborn then Jon is the Bloodstone Emperor, Azor Hai aka " the bad guy"?

That is a very interesting theory but my problem with it is that I love both characters and I really don't want them to fight! :D

How do you see things play out this time around?

Great job btw!

[Durran Durrandon]

Durran, what do you think about the Dayne's and their origins? Amethyst Empress descendents?

The short answer is yes. The Day(nes)are descendants of the Dawns. I mean, they have a sword called Dawn and purple eyes. No one has purple eyes unless they are descendants of the Valyrian diaspora, and the Daynes have been in Westeros for far too long to be part of the diaspora.

The long answer is a question. Who? Azor Ahai? The Bloodstone Emperor? Someone else? If Azor Ahai, regardless of whether or not he is the former Bloodstone Emperor or a descendant of the Amethyst Empress, becomes the Last Hero, then it stands to reason that he founds the Night's Watch up north. There is plenty of speculation about the Last Hero being Bran the Builder and the founder of the Stark family, which is problematic, if the last hero also must be the founder of the Daynes. I think this is the area where we still have many questions.

[Durran Durrandon]

It seemed to me that you were implying that if Dany is the Amethyst Empress reborn then Jon is the Bloodstone Emperor, Azor Hai aka " the bad guy"?

If BSE = AA then he was the bad guy, but he also became the champion of the Battle of the Dawn. If I told you that someone was Darth Vader Reborn, your first instinct might be to think that he was bad, unless you stopped to think about the last 20 minutes of Return of the Jedi, when Vader saves his son, kills the dark lord of the galaxy, and dies in peace joining the souls of the past Jedi masters. Similarly, the man whose sin caused the Long Night might have been redeemed by his quest to restore the Dawn.

There was an interesting thread a while back about Jon's ethics and whether he would sacrifice a loved one in the Nissa Nissa sense to forge Lightbringer and save the Dawn. My suspicion is that Jon will find a way to sacrifice himself instead of Daenerys , restoring Daenerys as the Amethyst Empress, and completing the cosmic cycle. . . . maybe. It sounds more like the Jon we know and love,.

[LmL]

If BSE = AA then he was the bad guy, but he also became the champion of the Battle of the Dawn. If I told you that someone was Darth Vader Reborn, your first instinct might be to think that he was bad, unless you stopped to think about the last 20 minutes of Return of the Jedi, when Vader saves his son, kills the dark lord of the galaxy, and dies in peace joining the souls of the past Jedi masters. Similarly, the man whose sin caused the Long Night might have been redeemed by his quest to restore the Dawn.

There was an interesting thread a while back about Jon's ethics and whether he would sacrifice a loved ione n the Nissa Nissa sense to forge Lightbringer and save the Dawn. My suspicion is that Jon will find a way to sacrifice himself instead of Daenerys , restoring Daenerys as the Amethyst Empress, and completing the cosmic cycle. . . . maybe. It sounds more like the Jon we know and love,.

I’m agreeing with all of this, very well put.

[Nozlym]

i have this theory that the Daynes followed azor ahai after the long night.

it is said that they followed a fallen star to where starfall is now, if azor ahai is the sun, that means its a star.

if u think about it, someone who has experienced the nightmare that was the long night up north in westeros, u would

want to get as far from that place as possible. thats y starfall is as south as u can get in westeros.

so they followed azor ahai, and after his death (falling), they became in charg to protect lightbringer his sword Dawn, until he comes again to fulfil the prophecy

they are the caretakers in a way

[Durran Durrandon]

i have this theory that the Daynes followed azor ahai after the long night.

it is said that they followed a fallen star to where starfall is now, if azor ahai is the sun, that means its a star.

if u think about it, someone who has experienced the nightmare that was the long night up north in westeros, u would

want to get as far from that place as possible. thats y starfall is as south as u can get in westeros.

so they followed azor ahai, and after death (falling), they became in charged to protect lightbringer his sword Dawn, until he comes again to fulfil the prophecy

they are the caretakers in a way

so

That's a reasonable theory.

[Aslerys]

If BSE = AA then he was the bad guy, but he also became the champion of the Battle of the Dawn. If I told you that someone was Darth Vader Reborn, your first instinct might be to think that he was bad, unless you stopped to think about the last 20 minutes of Return of the Jedi, when Vader saves his son, kills the dark lord of the galaxy, and dies in peace joining the souls of the past Jedi masters. Similarly, the man whose sin caused the Long Night might have been redeemed by his quest to restore the Dawn.

There was an interesting thread a while back about Jon's ethics and whether he would sacrifice a loved one in the Nissa Nissa sense to forge Lightbringer and save the Dawn. My suspicion is that Jon will find a way to sacrifice himself instead of Daenerys , restoring Daenerys as the Amethyst Empress, and completing the cosmic cycle. . . . maybe. It sounds more like the Jon we know and love,.

When you say that Jon is going to restore Dany as the Amethyst Empress, you mean helping her with his sacrifice to defeat the Others, end the second Long Night and then become Queen (Empress) of Westeros or just the first part ?

I mean, her becoming the Amethyst Empress is going to be solely a "spiritual" thing or is she going to actually ruling Westeros or both?

Either way, I like it! A lot! It's way better than having them killing each other or being killed by the Others or Dany being The Mad Queen! :uhoh:

But I assumed that before he becomes good again, Jon will have to become bad? And maybe Dany too (it seems she is going Fire and Blood all the way in Mereen)?

[NOT A TARG I SWEAR]

Maybe the Cubic Zirconia Empress?

[aryagonnakill#2]

I'm actually really liking this theory. Would you think then that when/if Danaerys kills Aegon for his blood betrayal that the seasons will be restored?

I mean the Blackfyres trying to usurp the rightful Targ line seemingly mirrors the younger brother trying to usurp the Amethyst empress.

[JonCon's Red Beard]

Amazing.... I like this theory.

I have something to add, though.

I think those "ancestor" or Dany aren't exactly Valyrian but those from the Valyrian came from, the ancestors they and the Dayns share in common. I'm very certain they were involved in the events of the Long Night and related, also was Dawn.

I also think fallen stars and comets will play an important part. Yes, a comet could have caused the Long Night. Giving a real event a magical category is something I could see GRRM doing. Just a random thought: I wonder if the comet Rhaegar saw the night Aegon was conceived caused the awakening of magic and the Others in Westeros.

Dont get me wrong but I think you are giving too much credit to a fancy story that we all learned its existence in the world book.

Just because it's in the WB now doesn't mean it won't appear in the next ASOIAF books.

if u think about it, someone who has experienced the nightmare that was the long night up north in westeros, u would

want to get as far from that place as possible. thats y starfall is as south as u can get in westeros.

I agree except for this part. There are places who are much below Starfall. Unless you mean at the time they were there. I don't rememeber now but I think thye are one of the oldest houses, and they are First Men.