Hatching a Dragon: My Summerhall Theory

[SusieSnow]

As some of you who've read my interpretations of prophecies before know, I hew to the idea that "dragons" in prophecy are not literal dragons, but refer to Targaryens.

We've seen visions unfold this way a couple of times in the Dunk and Egg stories:

1. In "The Hedge Knight," Daeron Targaryen (Egg's brother) has a vision of a large dead red dragon falling on top of Dunk, but he survives. The "red dragon" ends up being Baelor Breakspear, who took a blow to the head in a Trial of Seven.

2. In "The Mystery Knight," a fiddler (Daemon II Blackfyre) tells Dunk that he's seen a dragon hatching out of an egg at Whitewalls. This turns out to be Egg/Aegon V, who comes through a Blackfyre Rebellion with new fierceness and maturity.

In both of these cases, even though the dragons in the visions were actual dragons, when the prophecies unfold, the "dragons" are Targaryens.

Flash forward to Aegon V's reign. Jenny of Oldstones brings the Ghost of High Heart to court. We know that she was the one who told Aegon V that the Prince That Was Promised would come from Aerys and Rhaella's line. Not only does this set up the ASOIAF narrative, it sets a precedent for Aegon holding the woman's visions in high regard and listening to her.

We know that Aegon, Dunk, Duncan the Small and (I presume?) Jenny died in a fire at Summerhall and that the tragedy more than likely had something to do with hatching a dragon's egg. We're told that it was Aegon's decision to let his sons marry for love that culminated in the tragedy (I believe it's referred to as sorcery, fire and treason in varying combinations). I think this is a nod to Duncan the Small (the Prince of Dragonflies) falling in love with Jenny of Oldstones, which caused him to give up his crown for her (why would he have to? question for another time) and inadvertently led to the Ghost of High Heart's presence at court and her visions being taken seriously/literally. When Arya encounters her, the Ghost tells her that she's tasted grief at Summerhall, suggesting that at the very least, she was involved, and might even harbor some culpability.

So what happened? (Edited for clarity because apparently it's not that obvious that this is a theory) I hypothesize that The Ghost of High Heart told Aegon V that she saw a dragon hatching out of Summerhall, maybe even "out of a fire" at Summerhall. Like the earlier examples of dragons in prophecy, this vision would have shown its seer a literal dragon, but not actually referred to one. Having already listened to the Ghost's advice about Rhaella and Aerys' marriage, Aegon again took her at her word — her literal word — and attempted to hatch an actual dragon at Summerhall. It obviously failed, the keep burned to a ruin and a lot of people died.

That same day, Rhaegar was born to Rhaella and had a deep-seated melancholic connection to Summerhall for the rest of his life. Rhaegar was the dragon that hatched out of Summerhall.

Other than being a theory as to how and why the Summerhall tragedy occurred, what does this matter? I think it's threefold: It would be yet another instance of "dragons" in prophecy referring to a Targaryen and not a literal dragon (which I believe has implications for AA/PTWP), it broadly shows the danger of taking any prophecy at literal value, and it further illustrates that when it comes to literal dragons, the Targaryens are unstable and prone to nuttiness, even a saner one like Aegon.

I'm pretty sure that the Dunk and Egg stories will end with the Summerhall tragedy, so this should be either confirmed or debunked in good time. I think it's interesting that, within these novellas, we've already had multiple instances where "dragon" equals "Targaryen." Those instances could be a setup for the Summerhall narrative in this particular set of novellas, as well as a clue as to how to interpret dragon prophecies in the main ASOIAF storyline.

I've been thinking the EXACT same thing! Kudos to Apple Martini for a perfectly written theory.

I've read all of the ASoIaF series, including D&E and TPatQ (all 3 times) and have come to many of the same conclusions. Oops, excuse me, I mean "theories/opinions" (wink). Any reference to dragons being born or that die, consistently turn out to be a human Targaryen and not an actual dragon.

As in the case of the 'Dragon has 3 heads', I think the Dragon is Daenerys and her 3 dragons are the heads. It may seem too obvious, which would cause many to think it not true.... BUT I can totally see GRRM doing that on purpose. He's very sly that way. Sometimes the best way to hide something is in plain site. Seriously... take a look at the Targaryen House sigil: A single Dragon with 3 dragon heads.... the sigil is NOT a Dragon with one wolf head, one stag head, and one lion head. Duh. The Dragon already has 3 heads... Drogon, Viserion, and Rhaegal... done. BUT, other characters could certainly be riders :-)

As for Summerhall, I think Egg (Aegon) probably tried to hatch a dragon egg to fulfill the prophecy, not because he was crazy or anything, but because he took the prophecy literally (as many people tend to do). He was hopeful, but prophecy is a tricky business, and his attempt backfired.

The Dunk & Egg novellas are chronological, so the story is likely to be told down the road.

[Elm Tree]

I really like this theory, but what keeps me wondering is dat Egg is a dragon. It is very likely he can resist fire, just as Dany can. And if that's the case, how did he die in the fire? Sure, something could have fallen onto him, but I think that's the only possibillity of him dying there. They don't run out of oxygen, otherwise Dany would have died in her fire. It's still possible, I know, but I secretly hope he didn't die there.

[Bloodrobin]

I really like this theory, but what keeps me wondering is dat Egg is a dragon. It is very likely he can resist fire, just as Dany can. And if that's the case, how did he die in the fire? Sure, something could have fallen onto him, but I think that's the only possibillity of him dying there. They don't run out of oxygen, otherwise Dany would have died in her fire. It's still possible, I know, but I secretly hope he didn't die there.

Dany can't resist fire. Targaryens are not fire-resistant. They can burn just like other people.

[willofDorne]

I've just read all these posts and it's been brilliant but I just want to throw some of my theories out there.

1. Who is hatched? Of course it's a Targaryen, I am 100% behind AM on that. Why not a descendant of Duncan the Tall and Aegon? These two were very close, as evidenced by Aegon naming his son after him. But how could Duncan possibly tie their blood together? Well, who's most likely to have a few bastards? Daeron the Drunkard! (We know he loves whores, it's the first thing we hear out of his mouth at the inn when we meet him). And we also know he fathered a simpleton daughter. Is it possible Duncan breaks his Kingsguard vow and sleeps with a bastard daughter of Daeron and gets a daughter/son on her?

2. Sorcery... I think we can all agree Wildfire is definitely coming into play here. There was a time when dragon eggs just hatched by being dropped into a cradle with a Targaryen, but that was when many dragons were rampant, and the overall magic-ness of the world was greater. (They've talked about this from time to time, and this is why wildfire is easier to make in Kingslanding, etc)

3. Villainy / Treachery my first thought was Aerion Brightflame because we know he must hate Duncan's blood after Ashford Meadow, but damnit if he didn't already take a swig of Wildfire himself and burn himself to the ground. Luckily, he has a son and it's quite possible this kid has inherited his father's loathing of Duncan and Egg. He makes a surprise visit to Summerhall and witnesses first hand some kind of evil sorcery, a cradle with a baby in it, an egg being washed in Wildfire... this could only lead to a born dragon, and jealousy drives him mad. He goes and gets his own dragon egg, and takes the Wildfire and presents the two to Duncan and Egg in person, demanding his egg be combined somehow with the Wildfire. Duncan and Egg shrug, and pretend not to know what he's talking about, knowing he'd be a terrible person to give a dragon to. Of course, Brightflame's son is not mocked, and combines the two right there, washing over his egg with the Wildfire himself. Being no Maester, an explosion is created, killing everyone almost instantly, but the cradle is a good deal away....

What could also have happened is he found the dragon hatched, but same thing. Not even dragons are immune to an excess of fire and we don't really know if Wildfire and dragon eggs could cause an explosion...but why not.

4. Some person grabs the royal bastard of sorts(the young 1/4 Targaryen) , and hightails it out of there with whatever personal affects he/she can find to remind him/her of the heritage. Unluckily, all this person manages is a shield of little note... one with an oak tree and a certain falling star... this person doesn't get far before realizing the royal bastard really isn't going to be anyone of note, and decides it is best to take him/her to Tarth to be raised as anyone else. Of course, this person's descant would become Brienne of Tarth and give us a lot more credence to her story. Surprisingly this could explain how she so easily finds Jamie at Pennytree for instance, since that could come to her in a Targaryen type dream, linked from her past by this Targaryen dream/power.

5. Even if Brienne's ancestor isn't the this person, she could still be an escapee, because how else could Duncan's shield end up in an armory on Tarth.

6. Brienne also could mount a dragon. It's not likely, but she's got the attitude. I don't know, I could see myself guessing Plumm, Daenerys and her being the 3 dragon riders eventually.

7. Brienne seems to have whole chapters where literally nothing happens, she's not finding the people she needs to find. This could be because the person is her all along, ie: GRRM is telling us that it's her. I'm speaking actually of when she's led on a trip by robber knights and eventually ambushed in the middle of no-where.

8. So what's her destiny? To end the Targaryen line once and for all, possibly. This would mean she'd have to mount a dragon at some point and take down Dany herself, possibly while mad with grief after Dany kills (f)Aegon.

[The Mother of The Others]

I don't think Egg failed. That's probably why this event is being held back till almost the last thing that's revealed. It's seen as a failure because they died and ostensibly nothing came of it. But I'm thinking Egg got exactly what he was seeking from that event. It was an inverse Daenerys pyre. She dropped human lives to awaken dragon eggs; Egg wasted dragon eggs to awaken the mythic quality in his human family's bloodline. He jump started the magic and put them back in the PtwP discussion, loading the gun essentially. That's why Rhaegar felt the burden to continue Egg's work so those deaths wouldn't be in vain. It got him into trouble.

[Mithras]

I have a completely different understanding of hatching of a dragon. I think it is basically a Viserisian way of waking the dragon. First a Targaryen feels terribly afraid but then, something happens and someone wakes the dragon in that Targaryen. So, rage replaces fear and the dragon in that Targaryen hatches.

This is what happened to Egg when he was caught by the traitors and terrified. However, he managed to overcome his fear and hatched as Bloodraven said. He seemed and sounded noticeably different to Dunk.

Dany felt the terror deep after marrying Drogo but after her dreams in which she gave birth to a dragon which burned Viserys, she hatched. The result was the coming to life of Drogon’s egg.

Later, he was bullied by Viserys in Vaes Dothrak and she almost turned back to the little frightened girl. But she reacted and hit Viserys with the bronze medallions, which drew his king’s blood and the result was the coming to life of Rhaegal’s egg.

Finally, she remembered the old feeling of terror when the poisoning attempt took place and she literally said the usurper has woken the dragon. Then, she overcame that fear too and the result was the coming to life of Viserion’s egg.

So, each time they woke the dragon in Dany follwoing the deep fear, a dragon egg responded and came to life.

I think the smoke/dust for fear used by Mel and MMD is a strong ingredient in magic. Perhaps strong human emotions are needed to communicate with the powers/demons or whatever there are.

By coming to life, I mean that the natural hatching process of the dragon eggs started. They need to drink the fire of the sun before breaking out their shells and hot braziers/pyres also work. I don’t think they were petrified age old dragon eggs as Illyrio proclaimed. I think they are Targaryen eggs stolen by Varys. I also have a theory that Viserion’s egg originally belonged to Eleana Targaryen.

ETA: This is why I think Dany named Viserion and Rhaegal wrong!

Rhaegal should have been Viserion because Viserys was the sacrifice in the case of the green egg.

Viserion should have been Rhaegon because Rhaego was the sacrifice in the case of the cream egg.

[ShaggyCat]

What I'm fascinated by is that little scrap of a clue from TWOIAF, the "from the history of Archmaester Gyldayn" bit:

... the blood of the dragon gathered in one...

... seven eggs, to honour the seven gods, though the king's own septon had warned...

... pyromancers...

... wild fire...

... flames grew out of control... towering... burned so hot that...

... died, but for the valor of the Lord Comman....

So that does that tell us?

1. there was a Targaryen family reunion of sorts? We know that Egg + kids + hangers on were there.
   
2. what? What did the Septon warn? That the Seven don't like dragons??
   
3. Pyromancers and wild fire. Always a recipe for disaster, let's be honest...
   
4. Whatever fire was sparked got out of control - the palace was obviously not meant to burn completely
   
5. Someone was rescued from the fire by Dunk.
   

But that's really all we know. TWOIAF claims that "King Aegon grew ever more convinced that only with dragons would he wield sufficient power to make the changes he wished to make in the realm and force the proud and stubborn lords of the Seven Kingdoms to accept his decrees."

Egg wasn't popular the lords and wealthy because he actually gave a shit about the smallfolk, and tried to change laws to improve the lives of everyone. So in many ways Egg's desire for dragons was probably the most noble desire for dragons that the Targaryen's had since the dragons died out - he didn't want to vanquish his opponents in war per se, he just wanted the lords to STFU and let him make things fairer.

So why was his Septon advising against this ritual? Was it foreign magic? Are the Septs involved in the Citadels' anti-magic crusade?

Who was rescued from the fire? Rhaella as she was going into labour? Someone else? The illustration on that page of TWOIAF clearly shows someone helping Rhaella give birth under a tree while Summerhall burns to the ground in the background, so I think we can infer from that that GRRM wanted to indicate that Rhaegar was not yet born when things went to shit at Summerhall. But, like others have noted in this theory - he was the dragon that was awoken at Summerhall, by being born.

God I hope we find out what happened here. Apart from R+L=J and what the hell is the Maester's deal, this is the biggest question I want answered in ASOIAF.

[ShaggyCat]

Hmmm, Jon: Father/leader of men/acted as judge; Tyrion: Smith: constructed saddle for Bran, Chain for Blackwater; Jaime: Warrior for obvious reasons; Dany: Mother; Brienne: Maiden; Melisandre: Crone?

Arya = the Stranger?

[ShaggyCat]

But how else could it be interpreted with the info we have? All I know is some of who died there, the GOHH was there, it was a fire of some kind right?, and it was the same day Rhaegar was born and he had some sad connection to Summerhall. Do we know where Rhaegar was born for sure?

This is what I'm finding challenging with all the Summerhall theories: trying to figure out what we do and don't know.

We definitely do know that:

• there was a fire

• people died

Egg called in a lot of relatives for something

Among the people present were Aegon V, Duncan the Tall (as the sole Kingsguard there), Duncan the Small and his wife Jenny of Oldstones, Jaehaerys and his sister/wife Sheara and their children Aerys & sister/wife Rhaella, who was pregnant with Rhaegar; and Jenny's "woods witch"/the Ghost of High Heart.

Dunk did something heroic to save someone from certain death

Jaehaerys, Aerys, Rhaella, the Ghost of High Heart and Rhaegar survived the disaster

Egg organised some king of dragon hatching ritual against the advice of his Septon

What we think but aren't sure of:

• Dunk died following his rescue effort?

• Egg, Jenny and Duncan the Small died?

Egg was inspired to do the dragon hatching ritual because of someone's vision that a dragon would be hatched at Summerhall on that date

shit went wrong with pyromancers and wild fire

Rhaegar was born outside the burning ruins (source - picture in TWOIAF page 109)

What don't we know:

• WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED

• What ritual was Egg attempting

why did it go so wrong

what was the treason that Barristan Selmy referred to when describing the event to Dany?

MODS - is there a way to merge posts so I can fix up my multiposting faux pas??

[Daendrew]

The secret to hatching dragons are not the Targaryen words.

It's the opposite; the "Blackfyre" words.

Not "fire and blood" but blood and then and only then, fire.

Blood and fire.