Tyrosh Lannister Posted November 12, 2022 Share Posted November 12, 2022 One does not simply walk (or fly) into Sothoryos! Sothoryos is a large continent, covered in jungles, plague-ridden, and largely unexplored. It is home to many deadly diseases, including blood boils, green fever, dancing plague, sweetrot, bronze pate, the Red Death, greyscale, brownleg, wormbone, sailor's bane, pus-eye, and yellowgum. These diseases would quicky kill any man. But not Valyrians as they are no ordinary humans. They are the blood of the dragon. They are at least somewhat resistant to deadly diseases. We see this with Jaenara Belaerys. Jaenara Belaerys, a Valyrian Dragonrider, flew her dragon Terrax into Sothoryos and found only jungle, deserts, and mountains. After three years she returned to the Freehold to report the continent was as large as Essos. Travelling across this wild and highly dangerous continent is not easy. It is extremely difficult and it was a massive feat that she explored it and made it home safe. While travelling across Sothoryos, she had her dragon and potentially weapons to protect her from any monsters. But she was exposed to the diseases that would have killed any ordinary human being. Being high up in the sky on her dragon is safe in a way. However, in these 3 years she had to have landed at many points of time during her journey - to go to the bathroom, to sleep, to hunt/forage and eat, to map the area, making notes/writing journals, explore any ruins or settlements, her dragon needs rest, and more. Because of this she would have been on the ground much longer than she would have been up in the clouds on her dragon. As I said above, she was exposed to all the deadly diseases above, and potentially lots and lots of unknown deadly diseases. But she returned alive - because her dragon blood prevented her from dying from said diseases. Yes, she might have gotten sick, but any other non-valyrian would have died. Furthermore, back in 54 AC, a strange deadly sickness fell over Dragonstone. Rhaena Targaryen was on the island. A lot of women died to it. This deadly disease could be Androw poisoning women with tears of lys showing same symptoms, but tears of Lys is highly expensive so he would not have squandered it on several women - he would only target the closest of Rhaenas companions. He did this on Lianna Velaryon for example. So, we had this deadly disease on dragonstone + androws tears of lys. Rhaena and Lianna were immune to the disease. Even if you dont believe this, then only consider Jaenara's journey. I am not saying Valyrians are immune to all diseases. Some died to Spring Sickness, the pox and such. What I'm saying is the fact that they have some sort of resistance to diseases, the way they are a little resistant to fire/heat. Perhaps their resistance to diseases is stronger than to fire/heat. EDIT: Also, as the years went by, the Targaryens began to marry with non-valyrian houses like the arryns, martells and such. This diluted their dragon blood and lowered their disease-resistance (Pox, spring sickness, diarhoea) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvo the Crow Posted November 12, 2022 Share Posted November 12, 2022 Sickle cell is resistant(or was it immune?) to Malaria(not all, to plasmodium falciparum if I recall), FMF (Familial Mediterranean Fever) gives heightened resistance to Yersinia Pestis but both are things you'd rather prefer not to have. Valyrians may have been under selective pressure for resistance traits against these "common" diseases to develop but that doesn't mean they are superior or anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrosh Lannister Posted November 12, 2022 Author Share Posted November 12, 2022 17 minutes ago, Corvo the Crow said: Sickle cell is resistant(or was it immune?) to Malaria(not all, to plasmodium falciparum if I recall), FMF (Familial Mediterranean Fever) gives heightened resistance to Yersinia Pestis but both are things you'd rather prefer not to have. Valyrians may have been under selective pressure for resistance traits against these "common" diseases to develop but that doesn't mean they are superior or anything. Their blood magic genetic engineering and crossbreeding gave them advantages that other humans do not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Sidious Posted November 12, 2022 Share Posted November 12, 2022 The ancient Valyrians might have practiced Eugenics. They were rulers of a vast territory which required governance. They were exposed to unpredictable environmental conditions, diseases, and other threats. They were an advanced people and naturally would have found ways to address the risks. Valyria itself was built on a rather inhospitable location. The people who can live there must have been physically strong to withstand the heat, smoke, and gases. Even without Eugenics, the conditions would ensure the survival of the. strongest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craving Peaches Posted November 12, 2022 Share Posted November 12, 2022 Given that she was on dragonback, and also the fact that many of the diseases in Sothyros may have been introduced by Valyrian experiments in the first place, I don't think this is enough to claim that they were disease resistant. She would have had minimal exposure at best. 1 hour ago, Tyrosh Lannister said: Furthermore, back in 54 AC, a strange deadly sickness fell over Dragonstone. Rhaena Targaryen was on the island. Her maester and companions all died to it. But she did not. (Lianna Velaryon was murdered using poison, she didn't die to the disease). I thought the 'strange disease' was just poison? The maester realised it wasn't some new disease, just poison, but died before he could inform people. The victims were all Rhaena's friends, and all women. It was Androw poisoning them, not a sickness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrosh Lannister Posted November 12, 2022 Author Share Posted November 12, 2022 12 minutes ago, Craving Peaches said: Given that she was on dragonback, and also the fact that many of the diseases in Sothyros may have been introduced by Valyrian experiments in the first place, I don't think this is enough to claim that they were disease resistant. She would have had minimal exposure at best. I thought the 'strange disease' was just poison? The maester realised it wasn't some new disease, just poison, but died before he could inform people. The victims were all Rhaena's friends, and all women. It was Androw poisoning them, not a sickness. It could be the tears of lys, but that stuff is very expensive. I dont think Androw would have bothered to or afforded to poison lots of women - lots of women did die. He would have only wanted to target Rhaenas 3 closest companions. So we likely had this deadly disease + androws tears of lys showing similar symptoms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrosh Lannister Posted November 12, 2022 Author Share Posted November 12, 2022 38 minutes ago, Darth Sidious said: The ancient Valyrians might have practiced Eugenics. They were rulers of a vast territory which required governance. They were exposed to unpredictable environmental conditions, diseases, and other threats. They were an advanced people and naturally would have found ways to address the risks. Valyria itself was built on a rather inhospitable location. The people who can live there must have been physically strong to withstand the heat, smoke, and gases. Even without Eugenics, the conditions would ensure the survival of the. strongest. Targaryen still births have had dragon scales/tails/wings. They are literally the blood of the dragon. Perhaps this blood is hot enough to destroy disease cells. With this crossbreeding could also be trying to grow dragon wings to fly (city of the winged men - Great Empire of the dawn experiments) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craving Peaches Posted November 12, 2022 Share Posted November 12, 2022 1 hour ago, Tyrosh Lannister said: So we likely had this deadly disease + androws tears of lys showing similar symptoms. I doubt that given only the maester who could identify the poison and Rhaena's female companions died due to the 'illness' also multiple people thought it was the tears of Lys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moiraine Sedai Posted November 12, 2022 Share Posted November 12, 2022 4 hours ago, Tyrosh Lannister said: Their blood magic genetic engineering and crossbreeding gave them advantages that other humans do not. Those brutal human sacrifices to their Weirwoods also gave the Starks an advantage over Roose’s ancestors. Warging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moiraine Sedai Posted November 12, 2022 Share Posted November 12, 2022 Some of the Targaryens possess increased resistance to pathogens and probably poisons. The drugs the maesters were using on the Targaryens would have done more harm to ordinary men. Prince Viserys and his little sister, Princess Daenerys, never got sick. Which is an impossibility given the stress he was under. Queen of Meereen Daenerys was hungry, dehydrated, and bit by insects. She ingested poisoned fruits which caused a miscarriage. Through all that, she’s recovering. And getting stronger as well. Drogon seems confident in his mother’s recovery. The need to tolerate heat is a good quality to have for a dragon rider but it is not an absolute requirement. The seeds did not possess the ability. They were not disease resistant or they would have stood out in their communities. The source of the Targaryen strength and physical endurance is inexplicable for now and George may never tell us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvo the Crow Posted November 12, 2022 Share Posted November 12, 2022 5 hours ago, Tyrosh Lannister said: Their blood magic genetic engineering and crossbreeding gave them advantages that other humans do not. Crossbreeding? With what? Sisters don't count as crossbreeding so sheep? That's all we know of them, they were shepherds and they prefer sisters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craving Peaches Posted November 12, 2022 Share Posted November 12, 2022 14 minutes ago, Moiraine Sedai said: The drugs the maesters were using on the Targaryens would have done more harm to ordinary men. Evidence? 14 minutes ago, Moiraine Sedai said: Prince Viserys and his little sister, Princess Daenerys, never got sick. Daenerys is puking her guts out in the Dothraki sea. 15 minutes ago, Moiraine Sedai said: Targaryen strength and physical endurance is inexplicable It's non-existent. They are just like other people with regards to strength and disease resistance. The only thing they seem to be able to do that other people can't is ride dragons, and even then, it's left ambiguous whether you need Valyrian blood to ride a dragon or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaenara Belarys Posted November 12, 2022 Share Posted November 12, 2022 Ah, thank you, thank you. You're too kind, @Tyrosh Lannister. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrosh Lannister Posted November 12, 2022 Author Share Posted November 12, 2022 5 hours ago, Moiraine Sedai said: Some of the Targaryens possess increased resistance to pathogens and probably poisons. The drugs the maesters were using on the Targaryens would have done more harm to ordinary men. Prince Viserys and his little sister, Princess Daenerys, never got sick. Which is an impossibility given the stress he was under. Queen of Meereen Daenerys was hungry, dehydrated, and bit by insects. She ingested poisoned fruits which caused a miscarriage. Through all that, she’s recovering. And getting stronger as well. Drogon seems confident in his mother’s recovery. The need to tolerate heat is a good quality to have for a dragon rider but it is not an absolute requirement. The seeds did not possess the ability. They were not disease resistant or they would have stood out in their communities. The source of the Targaryen strength and physical endurance is inexplicable for now and George may never tell us. Not to mention she was also walking among those with the pale mare and did not get infected with it. Dragonseeds don't possess the ability because their blood is not pure valyrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrosh Lannister Posted November 12, 2022 Author Share Posted November 12, 2022 5 hours ago, Craving Peaches said: Evidence? Daenerys is puking her guts out in the Dothraki sea. It's non-existent. They are just like other people with regards to strength and disease resistance. The only thing they seem to be able to do that other people can't is ride dragons, and even then, it's left ambiguous whether you need Valyrian blood to ride a dragon or not. She's puking her guts out yes. Because her Valyrian blood is diluted from her ancestors marrying outside the race or family. Although, if it were someone else who had the sickness that dany has they would not only be puking, they would potentially be dead or near death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrosh Lannister Posted November 12, 2022 Author Share Posted November 12, 2022 5 hours ago, Corvo the Crow said: Crossbreeding? With what? Sisters don't count as crossbreeding so sheep? That's all we know of them, they were shepherds and they prefer sisters. Crossbreeding with dragons. Valyrians didn't always marry their sisters. They also married their aunts, and outside the family with other dragonrider families or bloodmage families or their mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moiraine Sedai Posted November 13, 2022 Share Posted November 13, 2022 1 hour ago, Tyrosh Lannister said: Not to mention she was also walking among those with the pale mare and did not get infected with it. Dragonseeds don't possess the ability because their blood is not pure valyrian And the Prince who was promised need this immunity because of where she or he needs to go. Asshai may have deadly infectious diseases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moiraine Sedai Posted November 13, 2022 Share Posted November 13, 2022 7 hours ago, Craving Peaches said: Evidence? Daenerys is puking her guts out in the Dothraki sea. It's non-existent. They are just like other people with regards to strength and disease resistance. The only thing they seem to be able to do that other people can't is ride dragons, and even then, it's left ambiguous whether you need Valyrian blood to ride a dragon or not. Their strong resistance to diseases is known. Viserys never got sick. Little Daenerys never got sick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craving Peaches Posted November 13, 2022 Share Posted November 13, 2022 7 hours ago, Moiraine Sedai said: Their strong resistance to diseases is known. No it's not. 7 hours ago, Moiraine Sedai said: Viserys never got sick. Little Daenerys never got sick. Yes she did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gizzard of Oz Posted November 14, 2022 Share Posted November 14, 2022 The Freehold was a competitive empire where the 40 ruling families were locked in a struggle for power. Resistance to deadly diseases could give the family who has it an advantage. Fire was not the only weapon. They could use poisons, bio terrorisms, and plagues to hurt one another. The prepared family who carry resistance to those types of attacks will have the edge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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