What we learned from George R. R. Martin’s new book ‘Fire and Blood’

George R. R. Martin’s new Targaryen history book, Fire and Blood, predates the characters from Game of Thrones by 300 years. But since history often repeats itself, fans have much to learn about the universe from the books most major reveals.

“This is a book that Daenerys might actually benefit from reading,” Martin told Esquire. “Maybe if she understood a few things more about dragons and her own history in Essos, things would have gone a little differently.”

So why don’t we do Dany’s homework for her, and summarize the biggest and most relevant takeaways from Fire and Blood?

Image: bantam,  Doug Wheatley

The origins of Daenerys’ dragon eggs

This one comes with an asterisk because while the summary for Fire and Blood explicitly teases learning the “origin of Daenerys’s three dragon eggs,” Martin later shied away from outright confirmation. But it’s safe to assume he’s being coy.

If you’ll remember, Dany got her fossilized dragon eggs from the mysterious Pentoshi patron Illyrio Mopatis, who claimed they came “from the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai.” Hundreds of years before, though, they were likely the three eggs that Lady Elissa Farman stole from her former lover, Rhaena Targaryen.

In one of the most fascinating new tales from Fire and Blood, Elissa Farman sold these valuable eggs to finance a sailing trip into (still) unknown corners of the world. She sold them to a Braavosi Sealord, who all but confirmed his possession of the eggs when a Targaryen king tried to get them back.

The eggs never hatched because it takes Targaryen blood and other elements for that to happen. So instead, the eggs became a pricey historical artifact that must’ve traded several hands in Essos before returning to the hands of a Targaryen a century after the dragons were believed extinct.

What’s more, these eggs were from a crop of dragons (specifically, Dreamfyre) who were the strongest and biggest to ever live in Westeros. While the dragons in later Targaryen dynasty years grew sickly and small, we can expect Dany’s to grow into beasts that might even rival the biggest on record, Aegon’s Balerion the Black Dread.

Dragons refuse to cross the Wall

As creatures of fire, we can assume that dragons dislike the North. But Fire and Blood was the first time we realized that they may be physically incapable of crossing the Wall.

Queen Alysanne, married to the beloved King Jaehaerys the Conciliator, wrote a letter to her husband describing the extremely concerning and suspicious behavior of her dragon Silverwing when she visited the Night’s Watch:

“Thrice I flew Silverwing high above Castle Black, and thrice I tried to take her north beyond the Wall, but every time she veered back south again and refused to go. Never before has she refused to take me where I wished to go. I laughed about it when I came down again, so the black brothers would not realize anything was amiss, but it troubled me then and it troubles me still.”

This is also in line with a later generation of dragons and Targaryens visiting the North, when Prince Jacaerys visited Winterfell and, “Snow and ice and cold made Vermax ill-tempered.”

And we know: On the show, Daenerys has already taken her dragons beyond the Wall (only for tragedy to strike). But many book fans doubt this whole plotline will exist in the books.

The most important takeaway here is that the magic that rules beyond the Wall has an effect on dragons that are similar to how White Walkers were unable to cross the Wall and march south. Until, that is, the Night King married fire and blood magic through the undead Viserion, seemingly breaking the magical seal protecting the rest of Westeros from his army.

House Baratheon was born of Targaryen dragon blood

Fire and Blood confirms that Baratheon House is actually born from a bastard Targaryen birth. Orys Baratheon was not only the most trusted advisor of the OG Targaryen king Aegon the Conqueror, but also his half-brother. Though his maternal lineage remains murky, it is certain that the blood of Valyria runs strong in Baratheon House.

Targaryen blood matters because it’s directly tied to dragons and magic. So no wonder Melisandre went gaga for the magical power in Gendry’s “Kings Blood,” using it (seemingly successfully) to cast a curse to kill all the other Kings in Season 3. 

Also, remember in Season 1 that Ned kept trying to understand the significance of Jon Arryn’s last words in regards to Robert Baratheon and his kids: “The seed is strong.” 

We all assumed this referred to the fact that those very Lannister-looking kids were not Robert’s trueborn sons. But it could also go much deeper, since “dragonseed” is what the realm calls those bastards born with blood of the dragon. 

All that could mean huge things for Gendry’s role in the end game, since he’s (conveniently) the last Baratheon left alive. But read more on that in our Fire and Blood theory post.

The laws are unclear about if Queens can rule the Seven Kingdoms

Listen, we don’t make the rules, but there’s a lot of sexist ones on display in Fire and Blood — particularly when it comes to the question of succession. Women were never allowed to rule in Westeros before the Targaryen takeover, due to Faith of the Seven. 

But exceptions were made for Targaryens (sort of). This is also true for incest, which was frowned upon by the church until Jaeharys suggested that they add the law of “exceptionalism.” Which is to say that, because Targaryens are dragon-blooded monarchs, the laws that apply to common Westerosi men do not always apply to them.

To return to the question of women rulers of the Seven Kingdoms, Old Valyria was known to be a pretty egalitarian place (sort of). So several times throughout Fire and Blood, a princess is suggested as the ruler — but for some reason or another (sexism, it’s sexism), they find an excuse to keep them from their ascension.

Specifically, there’s the Council of 101 AC, which was held after King Jaeharys died. There, several lords established, “an iron precedent on matters of succession: regardless of seniority, the Iron Throne of Westeros could not pass to a woman, nor through a woman to her male descendants.”

Aside from Jon being senior to Dany anyway, this precedent would likely also complicate her ascendance as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Which we can’t imagine she’ll take well.

But who knows? The Game of Thrones world is entering a time when laws and precedent will be destroyed by the coming battle against the White Walkers.

Daenerys Targaryen’s namesake died of the “Shivers”

While our Dany might’ve been named after various other Daenerys Targaryens who lived before her, Fire and Blood shows us the fate of the very first Daenerys Targaryen on record in Westeros. And it didn’t go well.

Daughter of the second Targaryen King, Jaeharys, Danaerys I was sweet, beautiful, and the “darling” of the realm. That is, until a horrible plague called the Shivers took her suddenly and to the devastation of all.

What’s most curious about Princess Daenerys I and her end is that: 1) She’s not mentioned in previous Targaryen family trees published by Martin (meaning he added her for a specific reason) and, 2) Targaryens are supposed to be impervious to disease:

“There was fire in the blood of the dragon, it was reasoned, a purifying fire that burned out all such plagues.”

Tellingly, the Shivers is the only ailment that does kill them. Born during winter and from “distant lands,” the main symptom is an unshakable cold, which sounds like kryptonite to the dragon blooded. 

We can’t help but read some foreshadowing into the tragic end of Daenerys’ namesake, especially because some speculate that our Dany will eventually become the Night Queen. Aside from just foreshadowing, though, we should remember that fire cannot kill a dragon.

But ice does.

There’s a line of Targaryen blood in Essos

King Jahaerys I had a tough time with his daughters. Aside from young Daenerys dying of a disease, another great tragedy to befall him came with the exiled Princess Saera.

Her dad found out about some pretty unseemly behavior involving her organizing orgies, frequenting whore houses, and terrorizing a person with intellectual disabilities. So Jaeharys sent her off to become a Silent Sister. 

But the rebellious Saera eventually escaped their pious clutches, running to Lys where she became a sex worker. It’s said that she produced a whole brood of Targaryen bastards throughout Essos, later becoming rich as the matron of a famous brothel in Volantis.

There’s no telling what significance this will have now. Martin might just be giving himself room to play around with secret Targaryen dragon blood in Essos. Or, it could even directly tie back to Varys role in Game of Thrones.

Regardless of whether all of this comes back into play, though, the world of ice and fire only gets more fascinating the more we learn about it.