Are dragons born of magic or magic born of dragons?

[WhiteWalder]

Not sure if this has been discussed before, but after reading Dany's discussion about where dragons come from, I could not help but wonder if dragons need a source of magic to breed, or do they bring about magic when they are present?

"She had heard that the first dragons had come from the east, from the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai and the islands of the Jade Sea. Perhaps some were still living there, in realms strange and wild.

"Dragons are gone, Khaleesi," Irri said.

"Dead," agreed Jhiqui. "Long and long ago."

Viserys had told her that the last Targaryen dragons had died no more than a century and a half ago, during the reign of Aegon III, who was called the Dragonbane. That did not seem so long ago to Dany. "Everywhere?" she said, disappointed. "Even in the east?" Magic had died in the west when the Doom fell on Valyria and the Lands of the Long Summer, and neither spell-forged steel nor stormsingers nor dragons could hold it back, but Dany had always heard that the east was different. It was said that manticores prowled the islands of the JadeSea, that basilisks infested the jungles of Yi Ti, that spellsingers, warlocks, and aeromancers practiced their arts openly in Asshai, while shadowbinders and bloodmages worked terrible sorceries in the black of night. Why shouldn't there be dragons too?"

I know there is magic in other places without dragons, like the Others, CotF, Rhllor (resurrection), etc. The whole argument is about the magic leaving Valyria after the doom and the dragons dying off. Did the dragons die off because the magic was gone, or did the magic die off because the dragons were gone? Dany makes a good point that if magic is still in the east, then why couldn't there be dragons? Where is the source of magic? I guess this is the whole chicken, egg, and which came first argument, but I would like to see other thoughts.

[Morienthar]

The Dragons died of because Targ Dragon Magic died out....

[mrunderhill]

The Dragons died of because Targ Dragon Magic died out....

Maybe or perhaps Targ magic died out, because the Maesters were killing the dragons. The pyromancers question if dragons have been born, because their spells are working better than ever. That guy in Qarth is suddenly an amazing magician and can make fire ladders, when before he was average.

[Morienthar]

Maybe or perhaps Targ magic died out, because the Maesters were killing the dragons. The pyromancers question if dragons have been born, because their spells are working better than ever. That guy in Qarth is suddenly an amazing magician and can make fire ladders, when before he was average.

My assumption is that was because of the Red Comet.....

[mrunderhill]

My assumption is that was because of the Red Comet.....

They put the red comet down to dragons? It is a chicken and egg situation. Is magic coming back into the world, because of the dragons or has magic coming into the world brought the dragons.

To little information to judge.

[Lion of Judah]

They seemingly go hand in hand somewhat, dragons are magical creatures and their presence enhances the effectiveness/power of magic in the world.

[Corvo Attano]

Dragons amplify magic

[WinterKing]

Or the hatching was only possible because of the return of the magic.The Others appeared before the dragons hatched.

[Ser Greg of House House]

It's unknown.

[nirolo]

It's unknown.

I think this is closer to the truth than anything else.

The Others appear before the dragons hatched, but it seems the Others have been appearing for sometime before the dragons hatched. Yet it is only after the dragons hatched that magical spells become supercharged.

It might be futile to determine which comes first, dragons or magic, considering GRRM has no intention of writing up a chemical formula each time something magical happens.

[Cersei'sSister]

Its Westeros' chicken or the egg.

[The Mother of The Others]

Magic rises like a flooding river, and when the river reaches flood stage its waters rise above a red line marked onto the levy, and that red line reads, "Warning: Dragons Become Sustainable In This World When Magic Reaches This Elevation."

Then, once the dragons are "out and about," they suffuse magic outwards from their being like nuclear radiation which then seeps into everything they touch, fly over, or poop on.

(So, as with "Which came first, the Chicken or the Egg?", the answer here is the same: it doesn't really matter because they're both inextricably part of the cycle.)

[The Great Walrus]

I see them as a kind of measuring stick, ala dragons can only exist when there is a certain level of Magic in the world...