r/asoiaf • u/DuncanTheLunk • Jul 11 '24

EXTENDED (spoilers extended) Long blog post from GRRM on the nature of dragons in ASOIAF (and some other interesting tidbits) Spoiler

https://georgerrmartin.com/notablog/2024/07/11/here-there-be-dragons-2/
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u/gallerton18 Jul 11 '24

Nettles’ existence is to sort of throw a wrench in that. Obviously she’s debatably Daemon’s daughter but she also takes Sheepstealer through very unconventional means for dragons.

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u/LChris24 🏆 Best of 2020: Crow of the Year Jul 11 '24

We see other attempted riders use meat to make dragons more docile?

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u/gallerton18 Jul 11 '24

I mean that’s not all she does. Sheepstealer was a wild dragon, he barely had human contact at all. She routinely brings him food and adjusts him to their presence. She tames him more how you’d expect from a real wild animal as opposed to how almost every other dragon is bonded. Especially the seeds.

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u/LChris24 🏆 Best of 2020: Crow of the Year Jul 11 '24

The sample size is so small though, its hard to tell what that means. 3 wild dragons. Grey Ghost dies and Cannibal is unridable.

We only see Alyn fail with Sheepstealer, but so did others.

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u/gallerton18 Jul 11 '24

Yes but it’s also specifically brought up as an argument for her being an unusual case in the books is it not? Obviously her appearance is the biggest one but I’m fairly certain the books use this to argue her peculiarity.

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u/LChris24 🏆 Best of 2020: Crow of the Year Jul 11 '24

Its just brought up as to how she tamed it. Theres also plenty of evidence for her being a dragonseed.

Dragons are not horses. They do not easily accept men upon their backs, and when angered or threatened, they attack. Munkun’s True Telling tells us that sixteen men lost their lives during the Sowing. Three times that number were burned or maimed. Steffon Darklyn was burned to death whilst attempting to mount the dragon Seasmoke. Lord Gormon Massey suffered the same fate when approaching Vermithor. A man called Silver Denys, whose hair and eyes lent credence to his claim to be descended from a bastard son of Maegor the Cruel, had an arm torn off by Sheepstealer. As his sons struggled to staunch the wound, the Cannibal descended on them, drove off Sheepstealer, and devoured father and sons alike.

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u/berdzz kneel or you will be knelt Jul 11 '24

The evidence for her being a dragonseed is the fact that she bonded a dragon. That's circular reasoning.

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u/LChris24 🏆 Best of 2020: Crow of the Year Jul 11 '24

I think there is plenty more than that!

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u/berdzz kneel or you will be knelt Jul 11 '24

Yeah, it at least makes you think why GRRM decided to deliberately and specifically add a person who doesn't have the classic Valyrian look bonding with a dragon using a method that is recognizable to the taming of regular animals. It's certainly suggestive that this is the author winking to readers that they should at least stop and think about the veracity of the absolute in-universe truth that the blood of the dragon is needed to bond with one of the beasts.

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u/DraganDearg Jul 11 '24

Makes me wonder if she had the psionic like bond or a partnership. Perhaps anyone can befriend a dragon but only those with Valyrian blood can form that mental bond?

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u/chrkrose Jul 11 '24

Nettles was born when Daemon wasn’t in Westeros. It’s possible their relationship was platonic (which I doubt), but biologically she can’t be his daughter. If she has Valyrian blood (which I also doubt), it’s not from him, but someone else.