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Commonly Believed Myths


Moon-Pale Maiden

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I wanted to start this thread to discuss some of the commonly believed myths that some readers have about the series. I know some can stray into theories, and crackpottery, but many of these myths come up time and time again because of misinterpretations of the text.

Please chime in with what you believe to be a "commonly believed myth", why you think people misinterpret them, and also why you believe it can't be true.

I'll start with everyone's favorite:

Myth: Targaryens are immune to fire.

This is frequently misinterpreted because of Dany's singular magical experience when walking into Drogo's funeral pyre. All indications show that this was a special case and does not indicate that she is fireproof. Dany herself is misinformed about the Targaryen relationship with fire, because when her own brother is killed by molten gold, she believes it is because he "was no true Dragon".

However, several other notable Targaryens erroneously believed the same thing, and yet died by fire. The fire at Summerhall killed Aegon, for example.

This myth is further propagated by the HBO show, and the HBO wiki even says "Targaryens have some common genetic traits such as silver-white hair. Some members of the family are also immune to the effects of fire, extreme heat, or high temperatures." source: http://gameofthrones...House_Targaryen

When Dany meets Drogon in the pit, she ducks to avoid his flame, so there is no indication that she was immune to it in that example.

Dany likes her water hot, but that also doesn't support immunity to fire.

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I'll add its cousin, "Targaryens are immune to sickness."

Which is why Dany has a fever (that she recognizes, meaning she's had one before) at the end of ADWD, why Daeron II and all his gradnsons died in a plague, why Maekar had caught the pox, why Daeron got the pox off a whore, why Rhaegal was sickly and mentally ill, why Naerys was sickly all her life ... etc.

When evaluating the Targs, look at what has actually happened to them, not what they think about themselves.

ETA: And the HBO Wiki thing makes me think that they too are poorly informed (i.e. the intern who wrote it) or have decided to knowingly go off the reservation. Either way, it has no bearing on the book canon.

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That there are no weirwood heart trees south of The Neck. We only know of one non-wierwood heart tree versus five confirmed wierwood heart trees in the south. (Storms End, Casterly Rock, Harrenhal, Riverrun, and Raventree Hall.)

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When evaluating the Targs, look at what has actually happened to them, not what they think about themselves.

Yes, great point - Aerion Brightflame drank wildfire thinking it would turn him into a dragon, and Jaime believes that the Mad King Aerys thought he would turn into a dragon during the conflagration he had planned for King's Landing.

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Oh, another one: The idea that the Kingsguard would honor a vow made to a dead guy when the living king was miles away and unprotected. Basically a complete misconception of what the Kingsguard oath actually entails.

Especially when it's the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.

I think most would agree the jury's still out on that one.

One dragon with heads heads, one body with three heads. Not three dragons with three heads.

People may say the jury's still out on that one, but it's a myth to me.

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Here's another one that people get confused about:

Myth: All skinchangers are wargs.

Truth: All wargs are skinchangers, but not all skinchangers are wargs.

Wargs describe a special relationship to wolves only.

Bran is a skinchanger and a warg. So was Varamyr Sixskins. So is Jon, even though he only changes skins with Ghost.

However, Borroq with his boar is not a warg, neither is Grisella the Goat woman, or Orell with his eagle.

Edit: people may get confused because we are all guilty (myself included) of using the verb "warging" when describing all sorts of skinchanging. I.E. Arya "warging" the orange tabby.

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Here's another one that people get confused about:

Myth: All skinchangers are wargs.

Truth: All wargs are skinchangers, but not all skinchangers are wargs.

Wargs describe a special relationship to wolves only.

Bran is a skinchanger and a warg. So was Varamyr Sixskins. So is Jon, even though he only changes skins with Ghost.

However, Borroq with his boar is not a warg, neither is Grisella the Goat woman, or Orell with his eagle.

Are all greenseers wargs?

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Here's another one that people get confused about:

Myth: All skinchangers are wargs.

Truth: All wargs are skinchangers, but not all skinchangers are wargs.

Wargs describe a special relationship to wolves only.

Bran is a skinchanger and a warg. So was Varamyr Sixskins. So is Jon, even though he only changes skins with Ghost.

However, Borroq with his boar is not a warg, neither is Grisella the Goat woman, or Orell with his eagle.

This is correct. To clarify, though, I will use warg as a catch-all because it's easier and less clunky of a verb, and I'm sure others do the same. But yes, properly speaking, it's wolves only.

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