Annotations from item #46265582:

Dornish Dilly is a member of the Night's Watch.

Recent Events

A Storm of Swords

Dornish Dilly is among the men that Bowen Marsh leaves behind to defend Castle Black. He dies during the attack on Castle Black when a Thenn stabs him between the shoulder blades with a spear after he slips.




Annotations from item #46265583:

Direwolf - by Carlos Palma Cruchaga © Fantasy Flight Games

A wounded direwolf by Tomasz Jedruszek © Fantasy Flight Games

A direwolf is a close relative of the wolf, but larger and stronger. A racing grey direwolf in a white field is the sigil of House Stark.

Contents

Appearance

See also: Images of Direwolves

Direwolves are named after the real world dire wolves, Pleistocene megafauna which were larger than modern wolves but not as large as portrayed in *A Song of Ice & Fire*.

Direwolves can grow larger than ponies and twice the size of large hounds.

Behaviour

Lady and Sansa Stark by Veronica V. Jones © Fantasy Flight Games

Direwolves are efficient solitary hunters and are extremely intelligent.

Like common wolves, direwolves can form a magical bond with a warg.

History

Although it is believed that direwolves and shadowcats hunted the children of the forest,

Direwolves once roamed the north in large packs.

Within the crypt of Winterfell, great stone direwolves sit at the feet of statues depicting the Lords of Winterfell and Kings of Winter from House Stark.

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

Dead direwolf with pups by Veronica V. Jones © Fantasy Flight Games

Robb Stark finds a dead female direwolf with a litter of six pups on the path between Winterfell and the holdfast where Gared was executed. Lord Eddard Stark allows his children to adopt the pups.

Named Direwolves

Quotes

Jon: That's a direwolf. They grow larger than the other kind.
Theon: There's not been a direwolf sighted south of the Wall in two hundred years.

Jon Snow and Theon Greyjoy

A direwolf will rip a man's arm off his shoulder as easily as a dog will kill a rat.

Eddard Stark to Bran Stark

A direwolf is a savage beast. Sooner or later it would have turned on your girl the same way the other did on my son. Get her a dog, she'll be happier for it.

- Robert I Baratheon to Eddard Stark

It's said that direwolves once roamed the north in great packs of a hundred or more, and feared neither man nor mammoth, but that was long ago and in another land.

- Roose Bolton to Qyburn

The gods gave us long lives but not great numbers, lest we overrun the world as deer will overrun a wood where there are no wolves to hunt them. That was in the dawn of days, when our sun was rising. Now it sinks, and this is our long dwindling. The giants are almost gone as well, they who were our bane and our brothers. The great lions of the western hills have been slain, the unicorns are all but gone, the mammoths down to a few hundred. The direwolves will outlast us all, but their time will come as well. In the world that men have made, there is no room for them, or us.

- Leaf to Bran Stark




Annotations from item #46265584:

Dirk is a ranger of the Night's Watch. He takes his name from his favorite weapon, which he silently sharpens every night.

Contents

Recent Events

A Storm of Swords

Dirk is part of the the great ranging, the force that leaves Castle Black in search of wildlings. Dirk is one of the conspirators who intend to kill Lord Commander Jeor Mormont and others. His part in the conspiracy is to kill Blane.

Dirk is among the survivors of the fight at the Fist who retreat to Craster's Keep. Dirk blames Craster when Bannen dies. After members of the Watch insult their host to the point of his attacking them, Dirk slits Craster's throat, killing him during the mutiny at Craster's Keep.

A Feast for Crows

Dirk remains at Craster's Keep after the betrayal, along with a few other former members of the Night's Watch.

A Dance with Dragons

Five traitors are killed by Coldhands and his ravens. Summer, Bran Stark's direwolf, finds the bodies and eats parts of the meat. It is unknown if Dirk is among them.




Annotations from item #46265585:

Disputed Lands

Western Essos and the location of the Disputed Lands

The Disputed Lands is a region of southwestern Essos. It has long been contested between the Free Cities of Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh, often involving skirmishes and small wars.

Contents

History

What is now called the Disputed Lands was once a prosperous region during the era of the Valyrian Freehold.

Ironborn from the Iron Islands have occasionally reaved along the Disputed Lands or served as sellswords or sellsails, such as Harwyn Hoare, for the Free Cities.

The Triarchy of Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh unified the region for over thirty years, but eventually the union eventually tore itself to pieces.

The Golden Company, formed in 212 AC in the aftermath of the First Blackfyre Rebellion,

The Band of Nine allied at the Tree of Crowns in the Disputed Lands in 258 AC

The Tattered Prince fled for the Disputed Lands rather than become Prince of Pentos.

Recent Events

A Dance with Dragons

While anchored off the coast of the Disputed Lands, the *Meadowlark* is attacked by corsairs.

The Golden Company is contracted to fight for Myr in the Disputed Lands, but they break the contract to support Aegon Targaryen.

The Company of the Cat and the Windblown fought against each other in the Disputed Lands a year ago, but they are both hired by Yunkai for the second siege of Meereen.

Victarion Greyjoy leads a portion of the Iron Fleet along the Disputed Lands before resupplying in Volantis.




Annotations from item #46265586:

Dobber is one of the criminals Yoren picked for the Night’s Watch when he cleaned out the dungeons of King’s Landing

Recent Events

A Clash of Kings

Moving north on the kingsroad, the band arrives at an inn with a bathhouse and Dobber is among those in the group who choose to take a bath. A group of gold cloaks carrying an arrest warrant for Gendry catches up with them at the inn. Yoren refuses to hand anyone over and the gold cloaks threaten to use force, prompting Yoren's band to announce their resistance, including Dobber, who comes naked out of the bathhouse asking "Is it a fight?", clutching a dagger that he intends to use as weapon. In the end, the gold cloaks retreat without violence breaking out.

Avoiding the kingsroad after this encounter, the band moves west- and northwards on side roads in the direction of the Gods Eye. One evening, Dobber spots a red glow against the sky, announcing a village that is being burned down.

The band arrives at the eastern side of the river running south from the Gods Eye. They discover a dead soldier in the water and Yoren orders Dobber to search him for stuff worth taking. Dobber finds a leather purse with some coppers and a little hank of blonde hair tied up with a red ribbon. They move north along the river and later that day come across an abandoned cottage, which Dobber, Yoren and Reysen search without finding anything of value. Still later that day, the band arrives at a town on the southern shore of the Gods Eye where Yoren intends to rent a boat for crossing the lake, but the town is deserted as well and no boats can be found. Yoren decides to spend the night in the town's holdfast. Dobber, Gendry and Arry draw kitchen duty that evening and Dobber orders a resentful Arry to pluck fowl.

The holdfast is attacked that night by Ser Amory Lorch and his men and Dobber participates in the defense. When one of Lorch's men climbs the walls, he wrestles him down the catwalk but draws a dagger in his belly in the process and is killed. Lommy Greenhands smashes the other man's head with a stone, hooting about his victory until he realizes that Dobber has died, too.




Annotations from item #46265587:

Dog's Nose is a war galley of the royal fleet in service to Stannis Baratheon. It has one hundred oars.

Recent Events

A Clash of Kings

Dog's Nose is part of Stannis Baratheon's fleet commanded by Ser Imry Florent during the Battle of the Blackwater. It catches fire not long after being engaged by the enemy.




Annotations from item #46265588:

Dolf, known as Dolf son of Holger because of his father, is the father of Shagga son of Dolf and a member of the Stone Crows. It is unknown if Dolf is still alive.




Annotations from item #46265589:

The Dolphin is a ship.

Recent Events

A Dance with Dragons

On the first day of their stay in Volantis, Prince Quentyn Martell, Ser Gerris Drinkwater, and Ser Archibald Yronwood seek passage on the Dolphin to sail to Queen Daenerys Targaryen in Meereen. The master of the Dolphin berates them for wasting his time.




Annotations from item #46265590:

The Dome is a mummers playhouse in Braavos. It is rival to the Gate and the Blue Lantern.

About

The Dome's environs are more fashionable than the Gate's and its offerings are considered subtler and more poetic.

During a performance at the Dome, someone once replaced one of the trick daggers with a real one and a mummer was killed during a performance.

When Izembaro, head of the mummers troupe from the Gate, had first dubbed himself the King of the Mummers, the Dome's mummers were outraged.




Annotations from item #46265591:

Domeric Bolton by Sardag ©

Domeric Bolton was a member of House Bolton, the heir and sole trueborn son and of Lord Roose Bolton and Lady Bethany Bolton.

Contents

Character

According to his father, Lord Roose Bolton, the quiet Domeric read history, played the harp, and was an excellent horseman.

History

Domeric served four years as a page in Barrowton to his aunt,

After returning from the Vale to the Dreadfort, Domeric heard he had a bastard half-brother, Ramsay Snow, and wished to seek him out, against his father's wishes, since he had always wanted a brother of his own. Soon after the visit, Domeric died in 297 AC

Recent Events

A Clash of Kings

Walda Frey promises she will give her new husband, Lord Roose Bolton, new trueborn sons to replace dear Domeric.

A Dance with Dragons

Roose tells Theon Greyjoy about Domeric and his death while they ride through the streets of Barrowton.

Quotes about Domeric

Domeric. A quiet boy, but most accomplished. He served four years as Lady Dustin's page, and three in the Vale as a squire to Lord Redfort. He played the high harp, read histories, and rode like the wind. Horses … the boy was mad for horses, Lady Dustin will tell you. Not even Lord Rickard's daughter could outrace him, and that one was half a horse herself. Redfort said he showed great promise in the lists. A great jouster must be a great horseman first.

Roose Bolton, to Theon Greyjoy

Ramsay killed him. A sickness of the bowels, Maester Uthor says, but I say poison. In the Vale, Domeric had enjoyed the company of Redfort's sons. He wanted a brother by his side, so he rode up the Weeping Water to seek my bastard out. I forbade it, but Domeric was a man grown and thought that he knew better than his father. Now his bones lie beneath the Dreadfort with the bones of his brothers, who died still in the cradle, and I am left with Ramsay. Tell me, my lord … if the kinslayer is accursed, what is a father to do when one son slays another?

Roose Bolton, to Theon Greyjoy

Once he had heard Skinner say that the Bastard had killed his trueborn brother, but he had never dared to believe it. He could be wrong. Brothers die sometimes, it does not mean that they were killed.

- thoughts of Theon Greyjoy

Family




Annotations from item #46265592:

Donal Noye is an armorer, smith, and steward of the Night's Watch..

Contents

Appearance

See also: Images of Donal Noye

Donal has a big belly and a pinned-up sleeve. His jaws bristle with black stubble.

History

Before he joined the the Night's Watch, Donal was a Baratheon man. He had worked as a smith at Storm's End and made the warhammer for Robert Baratheon which killed Prince Rhaegar Targaryen at the Trident,

Donal left the service of House Baratheon after Robert's Rebellion, having lost an arm during the siege of Storm's End.

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

When Donal sees Jon Snow easily beating his fellow Night's Watch recruits in training, He lectures Jon that the youth does not fight fair. Jon has experience from capable trainers, such as Ser Rodrik Cassel, while the other recruits have little, if any practice. Furthermore, Jon humiliates them by showing how easily he can beat them, making the recruits fear and despise him.

After Lord Commander Jeor Mormont is attacked by wights, he brings the burned longsword Longclaw to Donal's armory for repairs.

A Clash of Kings

Donal wishes his friend Jon well when the youth joins the great ranging beyond the Wall.

A Storm of Swords

Donal Noye – by Brittmartin ©

Donal is one of the few people to remain at Castle Black. When Jon escapes Styr's wildlings and runs to Castle Black to warn of the coming assault, Donal is concerned that Jon had deserted. However, he ends up trusting the boy and brings him to Maester Aemon for treatment of his wounds and to begin preparing for the defense of the Wall. Despite having only one arm, Donal carries Jon without difficulty up the stairs and holds Jon down when Aemon cuts out the arrow piercing him.

The remaining men of the Night's Watch at Castle Black retreat to the King's Tower, because the other buildings are not defensible. Donal, taking command, sends warning to Mole's Town and offers the villagers refuge in the King's Tower if they help defend it.

During the attack on Castle Black, the attacking Thenns manage to claim the stairs despite severe losses and the remaining men of the Night's Watch flee to the Wall. Donal, having prepared for this by drenching the last landings with oil, has burning arrows fired, and the attacking Thenns perish to a man.

Donal then leads the defense against Mance Rayder's vast army north of the Wall. The wildlings have no ladders to climb the Wall, so they attack the gate. When Mag Mar Tun Doh Weg begins to break it, Donal gives command of the Wall to Jon and leaves with a few men to save the gate. Donal succeeds in stopping the wildlings at the gate, at the cost of his life and those of the men with him. Jon later finds that Mag crushed Donal's spine and that Donal impaled his sword in the giant's throat.

When the Night's Watch is on the brink of defeat, Stannis Baratheon appears with his army and defeats the wildlings. According to Stannis, if the wildlings had already taken the Wall this may not have been possible.

A Dance with Dragons

Because Stannis is residing in the King's Tower, Jon Snow, now Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, moves into Donal's modest room with a narrow bed behind Castle Black's armory. The smith's possessions include a silver drinking cup, six pennies and a copper star, a niello brooch with a broken clasp, and a musty brocade doublet with the stag of House Baratheon.

Quotes by Donal

Robert was the true steel. Stannis is pure iron, black and hard and strong, yes, but brittle, the way iron gets. He'll break before he bends. And Renly, that one, he's copper, bright and shiny, pretty to look at but not worth all that much at the end of the day.

- Donal to Jon Snow

The Watch is not what it was. Too few honest men to keep the rogues in line.

- Donal to Aemon

Donal: Jon, you have the Wall till I return.

Jon: My lord?

Donal: Lord? I'm a blacksmith. I said, the Wall is yours.

- Donal Noye to Jon Snow

Quotes about Donal

The armorer could talk about life. He'd had one. He'd only taken the black after he'd lost an arm at the siege of Storm's End. Before that he'd smithed for Stannis Baratheon, the king's brother. He'd seen the Seven Kingdoms from one end to the other; he'd feasted and wenched and fought in a hundred battles. They said it was Donal Noye who'd forged King Robert's warhammer, the one that crushed the life from Rhaegar Targaryen on the Trident. He'd done all the things that Jon would never do, and then when he was old, well past thirty, he'd taken a glancing blow from an axe and the wound had festered until the whole arm had to come off. Only then, crippled, had Donal Noye come to the Wall, when his life was all but over.

- Jon Snow's thoughts

Tormund: Some great lord was he, this Donal Noye? One of your shiny knights in their steel smallclothes?

Jon: A blacksmith. He only had one arm.

Tormund: A one-armed smith slew Mag the Mighty? Har! That must o' been a fight to see. Mance will make a song of it, see if he don't ... To Donal Noye, and Mag the Mighty.

Tormund and Jon Snow

His treasures were his tools, and the swords and knives he made. His life was at the forge.

Jon Snow's thoughts

Noye made my first sword for me, and Robert's warhammer as well. Had the god seen fit to spare him, he would have made a better Lord Commander for your order than any of these fools who are squabbling over it now.

Stannis Baratheon to Jon Snow




Annotations from item #46265593:

Donel Greyjoy was a member of House Greyjoy, the third son of Lord Quellon Greyjoy and his first wife, Lady Stonetree. He died as an infant.

Family




Annotations from item #46265594:

Donella Manderly,

Contents

Appearance

See also: Images of Donella Hornwood

After the death of her husband and son, Donella is a pale husk of a woman, her features etched with grief. She thinks that all the beauty she once had has long gone, while Rodrik Cassel considers her gentle and not uncomely for her years.

Recent Events

art by sir-heartsalot

A Game of Thrones

Lord Halys Hornwood is killed in the Battle of the Green Fork, while his heir, Daryn, is killed by Ser Jaime Lannister in the Battle of the Whispering Wood.[*citation needed*]

A Clash of Kings

With no direct heir after Daryn's death, Hornwood poses a possible threat to the peace in King Robb Stark's realm as many parties have started competing for Lady Donella's lands, most notably houses Umber, Manderly and Tallhart, with the Karstarks, (unspecified) Flints, Glovers and Boltons as likely other contenders. In this context, Lady Donella has already received a couple of marriage proposals, although she is still in grief and beyond her childbearing years.

Lady Donella learns that the Ramsay Snow, the Bastard of Bolton, is massing men at the Dreadfort. Since the Boltons' lands are bordering hers, this raises Lady Donella's suspicions about his intentions. When she sends someone to ask him about them, he replies that no Bolton would be questioned by a woman. She loathes that Ramsay acts like he is a trueborn Bolton.

The future of House Hornwood becomes a major issue at the harvest feast in Winterfell when several houses, in meetings with Rodrik Cassel, Maester Luwin and Bran Stark, betray their aspirations to bring Hornwood under their control and ask for King Robb's support. Lady Donella's cousin, Wyman Manderly, is first in this, proposing that he or his son Wendel could marry her.

When Lady Donella arrives, she brings only six men-at-arms in dusty clothes with her. On Luwin's urging, she promises that she will store a fourth of her harvest for winter in the future instead of a fifth as she has done until now. She is alarmed that Ramsay Snow might be hungry for her lands, referring to stories she heard about his slyness and cruelty. Rodrik promises her she will be safe because of the dire retribution that would await Ramsay if he were to go after her.

Rodrik brings up the idea that in time she should marry again, but she is not impressed with any of her suitors. Mors Umber is older than her father and she describes him as a drunken brute, while she considers her cousin Wyman Manderly too fat. However, she is ready to marry again if King Robb commands it and hints that Rodrik himself would be a suitable candidate.

Mors Umber asks for leave to wed Donella, referring to the fact that his nephew, Greatjon Umber, is King Robb's strong righthand man. Luwin, knowing about Donella's disdain for the man, points out that she is still grieving, to which Mors makes the crude suggestion that he could chase away her grief with his manhood.

On her return to Hornwood from the harvest feast, Lady Donella is seized by Ramsay Snow and forcibly married to him that night. Lord Manderly then seizes her castle to protect her holdings from the Boltons.

A Dance with Dragons

Within the crypts of Winterfell, Lady Barbrey Dustin tells Theon Greyjoy that the Hornwood men who are at Winterfell for Ramsay's wedding and its upcoming siege have not forgotten how Ramsay treated Lady Donella.

Family

Quotes

We are very sorry for all you have suffered, my lady. Winterfell will remember.

- Bran Stark to Donella




Annotations from item #46265595:

Doniphos Paenymion is one of the current ruling triarchs of the Free City of Volantis.

Recent Events

A Dance with Dragons

Doniphos, like the other two triarchs, is up for re-election and many believe he is unlikely to be re-elected. Doniphos is one of the few who does not wish war between Volantis and Daenerys Targaryen, Queen of Meereen. According to Qavo Nogarys, Doniphos will not be returned as triarch as the city of Volantis thirsts for war.




Annotations from item #46265596:

Septon Meribald, donkey, Dog, Brienne and her companions by the mudflats - by Pojypojy ©

Donkey is a small donkey belonging to Septon Meribald. The donkey’s name is never mentioned.

Recent Events

A Feast for Crows

The donkey travels with Septon Meribald, Dog, Brienne of Tarth, and her companions through the riverlands.

Meribald leads the donkey on the path of faith to the Quiet Isle while he probes the way ahead with his quarterstaff. Brienne follows behind, taking care to keep close to the line of prints left by the dog, the donkey, and the holy man.[*citation needed*]

Later, when the group arrives at the inn at the crossroads, Podrick Payne and some boys unpack the donkey and carry in the salt cod, mutton, vegetables, nuts, and wheels of cheese.[*citation needed*]




Annotations from item #46265597:

The name Donnel can refer to the following characters:

Characters

Locations




Annotations from item #46265598:

Lord Donnel Arryn was a member of House Arryn and the Lord of the Eyrie during the reign of King Daeron II Targaryen, whom he staunchly supported during the First Blackfyre Rebellion.

History

When Daemon I Blackfyre declared himself the true king in Westeros and sought to overthrow his half-brother King Daeron II, Lord Donnel called his banners in support of King Daeron and marched his army to the Redgrass Field in support. Donnel lead the vanguard, which was on the verge of being overwhelmed by the Blackfyre forces until the arrival of Ser Gwayne Corbray with reinforcements.

Donnel was still Lord of the Eyrie during the Great Spring Sickness, where he ordered the Vale sealed off, preventing the illness from spreading into the kingdom.




Annotations from item #46265599:

Donnel Drumm is the son of Lord Dunstan Drumm. He is a captain of note among the ironborn.

Contents

Recent Events

A Feast for Crows

Donnel is one of his father's champions at the kingsmoot.

Family




Annotations from item #46265600:

Donnel Flint, also known as Black Donnel Flint, is the son and heir of Lord Torghen Flint, the clan chief of the first Flints. Donnel has a half-brother, Artos.

Recent Events

A Dance with Dragons

Donnel and his half-brother Artos march with Stannis Baratheon upon Winterfell.




Annotations from item #46265601:

Ser Donnel Haigh is a knight of House Haigh. The second son of Ser Leslyn Haigh and Perriane Frey, Donnel has two brothers, Ser Harys and Alyn.

Contents

History

Donnel has been beaten many times in tourneys by Sandor Clegane, who almost killed him in a mêlée.

Recent Events

A Storm of Swords

Ser Donnel is introduced to Lady Catelyn Stark at the Twins on the eve of Lord Edmure Tully's wedding.

While traveling to the Twins, Sandor Clegane and Arya Stark encounter Donnel and his outriders.

A Feast for Crows

When news of the raid on Saltpans reaches the Twins, Donnel rides with his brother, Ser Harys Haigh, and their cousin, Ser Arwood Frey, to the town with a small force to investigate. There they find Ser Quincy Cox sitting behind his walls and Saltpans in ashes.

Family




Annotations from item #46265602:

Donnel Hill, known as Sweet Donnel, is a steward of the Night's Watch and is the squire of Ser Mallador Locke. He claims to be a bastard of the Lannisters.

Contents

Character and Appearance

Donnel has white teeth, fat red lips and yellow hair worn in a tumble down to his shoulders.

Recent Events

A Storm of Swords

Donnel is part of the great ranging, the force that leaves Castle Black in search of the wildlings. He is one of the conspirators who intend to kill Lord Commander Jeor Mormont and several other brothers, and is tasked with cutting the horse tethers with Clubfoot Karl. disrupts their plan, however.

Donnel is among the men who make it back to Craster's Keep. He knocks one of Craster's wives to the floor when she attacks him during a mutiny.

A Dance with Dragons

When Melisandre is burning "Mance Rayder" at Castle Black, Lord Commander Jon Snow has Donnel, Ulmer, Garth Greyfeather, and Bearded Ben shoot arrows at the burning man to end his suffering.




Annotations from item #46265603:

Ser Donnel Locke is a knight of House Locke.

Contents

Recent Events

A Clash of Kings

At some point, Donnel is captured by Lannister forces. He is offered along with Lord Medger Cerwyn in a trade for Tion Frey by Tyrion Lannister.

A Storm of Swords

At some point, Donnel is released from captivity. He attends the wedding of Lord Edmure Tully to Lady Roslin Frey at the Twins. He is among those nobles killed during the Red Wedding, getting hit with crossbow bolts.




Annotations from item #46265604:

Ser Donnel Swann is a knight of House Swann and the eldest son and heir of Gulian Swann, Lord of Stonehelm.

Contents

Recent Events

A Clash of Kings

Donnel gives his support to Renly Baratheon at the beginning of the War of the Five Kings.

Donnel fights in the Battle of the Blackwater. He becomes wounded and yields to Ser Elwood Harte. He is ransomed afterwards and bends the knee to King Joffrey I Baratheon.

A Storm of Swords

During the first meeting of the new Kingsguard, Lord Commander Jaime Lannister mockingly calls Donnel *"Ser Donnel the Constant"* to his younger brother, Balon Swann, and suggests he add a weathervane to his shield. Jaime asks Balon how the latter will react when Donnel decides to swear fealthy to a fifth king, and Balon will have to chose between the king he has sworn to protect and his own blood, citing how he once faced the same decision.

Quotes about Donnel

Renly, Stannis, Joffrey, Tommen how did he come to omit Balon Greyjoy and Robb Stark? He might have been the first knight in the realm to swear fealty to all six kings.

- Jaime Lannister

Family




Annotations from item #46265605:

Ser Donnel Waynwood is a knight of House Waynwood. The second son of Lady Anya Waynwood, Lady of Ironoaks. His squire is Sandor Frey.

Contents

Appearance

Homely and earnest, he has a wide nose and thick brown hair.

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

Ser Donnel leads the sortie from the Bloody Gate that saves Lady Catelyn Stark's party in the Mountains of the Moon.

A Clash of Kings

Donnel has replaced Ser Brynden Tully as the new Knight of the Gate at the Bloody Gate.

Family




Annotations from item #46265606:

Ser Donnel of Duskendale was a member of the Kingsguard during the reign of Daeron II Targaryen.

Appearance

He had red hair and a red beard.

History

At the tourney at Maidenpool in 207 AC, Ser Donnel was overthrown by Ser Humfrey Hardyng in the lists.

In 209 AC, Ser Donnel, along with his two fellow brothers of the Kingsguard, Ser Roland Crakehall and Ser Willem Wylde, escorted the Targaryen princes to the tourney at Ashford Meadow. The three of them fought on the side of Prince Aerion Targaryen during the Trial of seven. He slew Ser Humfrey Beesbury during the trial.




Annotations from item #46265607:

Donnelwood is a village in the riverlands.

Recent Events

A Storm of Swords

Donnelwood is attacked by forces of House Lannister during the War of the Five Kings.




Annotations from item #46265608:

Donnis is a member of the guard at Winterfell.

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

After practicing in the yard, Tommen Baratheon and Bran Stark are helped out of their armor by Lew and Donnis.




Annotations from item #46265609:

Lord Donnor Saltcliffe is one of the Lords of Saltcliffe and the head of House Saltcliffe.

Recent Events

A Feast for Crows

Lord Donnor was one of Euron Greyjoy's champions at the kingsmoot.




Annotations from item #46265610:

Donnor Stark was Lord of Winterfell and head of House Stark. He was the eldest son of Lord Beron Stark. He had four younger brothers (Willam, Artos, Errold and Rodrik and two younger sisters (Berena and Alysanne). As Donnor died without issue, his brother Willam inherited Winterfell after Donnor's death.

Donnor is buried in the crypts of Winterfell.

Family




Annotations from item #46265611:

Ser Dontos Hollard is a knight from House Hollard, at court in King's Landing.

Contents

Appearance and Character

See also: Images of Dontos Hollard

Dontos is a portly, average-looking man. He has blotchy skin

History

Dontos is the only surviving member of House Hollard. House Hollard was a close ally and vassal of House Darklyn. As a result of the Defiance of Duskendale, both houses were destroyed and their blood exterminated. Only young Dontos was spared because Ser Barristan Selmy asked for clemency. As Barristan had rescued the king during the Defiance, Aerys II Targaryen granted his wish.

Young Dontos was taken to King's Landing to serve as a squire. He never returned to Duskendale.

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

Ser Dontos is at court in King's Landing after King Joffrey Baratheon's ascension to the throne. When Sansa Stark comes to plead mercy for her father, Dontos starts to hail her but is warned away.

A Clash of Kings

Tony Way as Dontos Hollard in *Game of Thrones*

Intending to ride in the tourney for King Joffrey's 13th Name Day, Dontos's first match is against Lothor Brune. However, Dontos is too drunk, arriving in the lists naked except for his breastplate and helm. King Joffrey Baratheon takes this as a personal insult, and commands that Dontos be put to death via drowning in a cask of wine. However, the pleading of Sansa Stark saves his life, and Dontos is stripped of his knighthood and made a fool in motley instead.

Dontos is secretly contacted by Petyr Baelish, who had learned from Lothor Brune how Sansa had saved Dontos's life, and knew he would make an ideal catspaw.

Sansa continues to meet Dontos in the godswood often during her captivity. During the battle of the Blackwater, Dontos serves as a fool in the Queen's Ballroom in Maegor's Holdfast, attempting to entertain the ladies taking shelter there.

A Storm of Swords

Sansa tells Ser Dontos of the Tyrell plot to marry her to Willas Tyrell, saying she will no longer need his help to escape, and Dontos warns her not to trust the Tyrells.

Sansa continues to meet Dontos secretly in the godswood every night,

Ser Dontos escapes the Red Keep with Sansa and delivers her to Petyr Baelish, who had been waiting for them on a ship in Blackwater Bay. Once Sansa has been rowed out and delivered onto the ship, Dontos asks for his payment of 10,000 golden dragons, as promised by Petyr. Instead, Petyr orders Dontos killed. Three men step onto the gunwale, raise their crossbows, and fire. One bolt takes Dontos in the chest, while the others rip into his throat and belly. When it is done, Ser Lothor Brune tosses a torch on top of the corpse, burying the secret with the drunkard. Petyr justifies the murder to Sansa by claiming that once Dontos had spent his gold, he would have sold the information he had about her to another party. He also tells her that he was the one behind Dontos's actions the entire time.

A Feast for Crows

Brienne of Tarth, who has sworn to find and save Sansa Stark, learns that Dontos Hollard disappeared from King's Landing at the same time Sansa did, and decides he must have helped her escape. She searches for Sansa and Dontos, asking travelers if they have seen a highborn maid of three-and-ten with blue eyes and auburn hair, accompanied by a portly man who may be dressed as a fool or a knight.

At Duskendale, Brienne speaks to the maester of the Dun Fort, who tells her of the Defiance of Duskendale and the destruction of all of House Hollard except for Dontos. The maester tells her Dontos never returned to Duskendale, and that if he did help murder King Joffrey, he feels he would hide anywhere but Duskendale. Later, an hour's travel north of Duskendale, Brienne sees the ruins of a Hollard castle, and thinks Dontos may have been born there.

Quotes by Dontos

Dontos Hollard: I lose. Fetch me some wine.
Joffrey Baratheon: A cask from the cellars! I'll see him drowned in it.

I know it's queer, but... all those years I was a knight, I was truly a fool, and now that I am a fool I think... I think I may find it in me to be a knight again, sweet lady. And all because of you... your grace, your courage. You saved me, not only from Joffrey, but from myself.

The singers say there was another fool once who was the greatest knight of all... Sweet lady, I would be your Florian.

We're delivered, sweetling! They came up the roseroad and along the riverbank, through all the fields Stannis had burned, the ashes puffing up around their boots and turning all their armor grey, but oh! the banners must have been bright, the golden rose and golden lion and all the others, the Marbrand tree and the Rowan, Tarly's huntsman and Redwyne's grapes and Lady Oakheart's leaf. All the westermen, all the power of Highgarden and Casterly Rock! Lord Tywin himself had their right wing on the north side of the river, with Randyll Tarly commanding the center and Mace Tyrell the left, but the vanguard won the fight. They plunged through Stannis like a lance through a pumpkin, every man of them howling like some demon in steel. And do you know who led the vanguard? Do you? Do you? Do you? It was Lord Renly! Lord Renly in his green armor, with the fires shimmering off his golden antlers! Lord Renly with his tall spear in his hand! They say he killed Ser Guyard Morrigen himself in single combat, and a dozen other great knights as well. It was Renly, it was Renly, it was Renly! Oh! the banners, darling Sansa! Oh! to be a knight!

Quotes about Dontos

A skin of wine with legs.

—Petyr Baelish

A sot, and no man's friend.

—Petyr Baelish

A bag of dragons buys a man's silence for a while, but a well-placed quarrel buys it forever.

—Petyr Baelish

Family




Annotations from item #46265612:

Donyse is a septa of the Faith of the Seven in service at King's Landing.

Recent Events

A Storm of Swords

Donyse helps Brienne of Tarth find good clothing that fits her when she arrives in King's Landing.




Annotations from item #46265613:

Doom of Valyria

The Doom of Valyria, often called the Doom, followed the disaster.

Contents

Foreshadowing

Twelve years before the Doom, Lord Aenar Targaryen's maiden daughter, Daenys the Dreamer, had a powerful prophetic dream along with visions that Valyria would be destroyed.

The Doom

The Doom

On the day of the Doom, every hill for five hundred miles exploded, filling the air with ash and smoke and fire, which killed even dragons. Earthquakes destroyed palaces, temples, and towns, while lakes boiled or turned to acid. The Fourteen Flames, the fiery mountains of Valyria, sent molten rock a thousand feet into the air, and red clouds rained down dragonglass. The cataclysm fragmented the Valyrian peninsula surrounding Valyria into numerous smaller islands and creating the Smoking Sea between them.

It is commonly believed that the Doom was a natural calamity caused by the eruption of the Fourteen Flames, although some septons believe the polytheistic Valyrians delved too deep to the seven hells. Alternatively, Septon Barth and some maesters believe that Valyrian spells controlling the Fourteen Flames faltered. Other explanations include the curse of Garin the Great, the fire of R'hllor, or infighting dragonlords assassinating fire mages.

Aftermath

Much of Essos fell into chaos after the Doom. During the Century of Blood, the Volantenes unsuccessfully considered themselves the heirs to Valyria, often waging war against other Free Cities.

Some dragonlords in Lys and Tyrosh survived the Doom, but they were soon killed along with their dragons.

Many of Valyria's secrets, such as magic,

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

As she walks into the entry hall of Drogo's manse in Pentos, Daenerys Targaryen notices a mosaic of colored glass depicting the Doom of Valyria.

A Storm of Swords

At the wedding feast of King Joffrey I Baratheon, Collio Quaynis sings a haunting High Valyrian ballad of two lovers dying amidst the Doom.

A Feast for Crows

Euron Greyjoy claims to have reaved all over the world during his exile, including a trip to the feared ruins of Valyria. During the kingsmoot he claims to have found the dragon horn among the smoking ruins that were Valyria, where no man has dared to walk but him.

A Dance with Dragons

While in Meereen the merchant prince Xaro Xhoan Daxos gifts Daenerys a tapestry that has been in his family vaults since before the Doom that took Valyria. The old tapestry depicts the Valyrian peninsula before its destruction.

When the *Selaesori Qhoran* sails east near the coast of Valyria, Tyrion Lannister sees a dull red glow lighting the sky.

Ralf the Limper's squadron of Iron Fleet ships are driven near blighted Valyria by storms while sailing to Slaver's Bay.

Quotes

Valar morghulis was how they said it in Valyria of old. All men must die. And the Doom came and proved it true.

- Oberyn Martell to Tyrion Lannister

Every man there knew that the Doom still ruled Valyria. The very sea there boiled and smoked, and the land was overrun with demons. It was said that any sailor who so much as glimpsed the fiery mountains of Valyria rising above the waves would soon die a dreadful death, yet the Crow's Eye had been there, and returned.

- thoughts of Victarion Greyjoy

The proudest city in all the world was gone in an instant, its fabled empire vanished in a day, the Lands of the Long Summer scorched and drowned and blighted.

- thoughts of Tyrion Lannister

Storms. Three big storms, and foul winds between. Red winds out of Valyria that smelled of ash and brimstone, and black winds that drove us toward that blighted shore. This voyage was cursed from the first.

- Ralf the Limper to Victarion Greyjoy

Behind the Scenes

George R. R. Martin's inspirations for the Doom include the legend of Atlantis and the fall of Rome,

See Also




Annotations from item #46265614:

Doquu is the southernmost island of the Summer Islands. It is located in the Summer Sea south of Xon and Jhala.




Annotations from item #46265615:

Prince Doran Nymeros Martell, also known simply as Doran Martell, is the head of House Martell, the Prince of Dorne, and the Lord of Sunspear. Married to Lady Mellario, of the Free City of Norvos, he has three children: Arianne, Quentyn, and Trystane. He's also the elder brother of Elia and Oberyn Martell. In the television adaptation *Game of Thrones*, he is played by Alexander Siddig.

Contents

Character and Appearance

See also: Images of Doran Martell

In his early fifties, Doran is a cautious, pensive, and subtle man.

While his bannermen might consider him weak,

Because of the early deaths of his siblings Olyvar and Mors, the multiple miscarriages his mother suffered, and the difference in age with his surviving siblings, Elia and Oberyn, Doran was raised alone. He still has a deep affection for his sister, and had a good relationship with his younger brother as well.

History

Early life

Doran was the first born child of his parents, and thus heir to his mother, the Princess of Dorne. For years, he was an only child, as his mother had several miscarriages.

As a young man, Doran took a tour through the Free Cities. He visited Volantis and next went to Norvos, where he met his future wife, Lady Mellario.

An unknown amount of time after his siblings had traveled to find suitable marriage candidates, Doran's brother Oberyn fought in a duel with Lord Edgar Yronwood. Due to Oberyn's high birth and young age, the two men had agreed to duel until first blood. Both men were injured, but when Oberyn's cuts healed, and Lord Edgar's festered, eventually resulting in his death, it was whispered Oberyn had fought with a poisoned blade.

Prince of Dorne

Doran's sister Elia Martell was betrothed to Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen in early 279 AC, and wed him a year later.

However, Rhaegar died at the battle of the Trident,

Prince Doran Martell holding a half-peeled blood orange, by Tommy Arnold ©.

However, Doran desired revenge for the deaths of Elia and her children as well, and for this purpose, worked closely together with his brother Oberyn for years, planning on destroying all that Lord Tywin Lannister holds dear, before killing him as well.

Doran also sent his son Quentyn, born in 281 AC,

While he had planned to tell Arianne about her betrothal to the last Targaryen heir when she was sixteen, he decided to keep the secret from her due to her spirited and willful nature.

Doran eventually became afflicted with gout. In 298 AC, when still capable of walking, albeit with a stick, Doran moved from Sunspear to the Water Gardens. Two years later, however, Doran's gout has become far worse, and he is no longer able to walk, but instead is usually confined to a wheelchair. Not wanting his enemies to know how feeble he has grown, he remained at the Water Gardens, where he is far away from curious eyes.

Recent Events

Prince Doran, by Jacqui Davis ©.

A Game of Thrones

After Joffrey I Baratheon has been crowned king, Doran Martell and his sons are summoned to court at King's Landing to swear fealty to the Iron Throne.

A Clash of Kings

Renly Baratheon assumes that House Martell will support him during the War of the Five Kings,

A Storm of Swords

Because his health does not permit him to travel, Doran sends his younger brother Prince Oberyn to King's Landing to claim the small council seat he had been promised and attend King Joffrey's wedding to Lady Margaery Tyrell.

A Feast for Crows

After Oberyn dies during Tyrion Lannister's trial by battle,

A Dance with Dragons

Prince Doran in contemplation, by Raymond Bonilla ©.

Doran has his bannermen delay Ser Balon Swann of the Kingsguard, sent by Dowager Queen Cersei Lannister, due to Myrcella's injuries after Arianne's failed plot.

Ser Balon states that Cersei wishes him to bring Princess Myrcella back to King's Landing to visit her brother, King Tommen I Baratheon. Doran is invited to fill the vacant Dornish seat on the small council, while Prince Trystane is invited to see the city and befriend the young king. When Doran suggests that traveling by ship may be easier, this unnerves Ser Balon, who states that a voyage by sea would be too dangerous. Doran agrees he is probably right.

In a private chamber, Doran Martell reveals to Tyene, Obara, Nymeria, Areo Hotah and his daughter that Cersei's invitation is an ambush. According to a friend at the court of King’s Landing, the party would be ambushed by brigands shouting "halfman" in the Kingswood, and Trystane would be killed in the attack. Afterwards, Ser Balon would falsely claim that he saw Tyrion Lannister. The revelation of this plan shocks the elder three daughters of Oberyn.

Doran says he had been dubious of the plot himself until Ser Balon Swann confirmed his suspicions, by trying to persuade him to avoid a voyage by ship (which would have disrupted all of Cersei's arrangements). Obara, Nymeria, and Tyene are enraged, but Doran will not allow them to harm Ser Balon or his companions as they are under the protection of the guest right.

To stop this scheme from coming to fruition, Doran has Ser Balon brought to Myrcella, allowing him to find out about her injuries by Ser Gerold Dayne.

While Doran waits for word from his son, Prince Quentyn, he hears news that a fleet of ships are sailing from Lys to Westeros.

The Winds of Winter

Doran has received a letter from Lord Jon Connington, stating that his sister Elia's son, Aegon Targaryen, survived the sack of King's Landing, and has returned to Westeros after all these years to reclaim the Iron Throne. Doran sends Arianne to the stormlands to meet Aegon and Connington.

Quotes by Doran

Prince Doran Martell, by Mathia Arkoniel ©.

Words are like arrows, Arianne. Once loosed, you cannot call them back.

– Doran to Arianne Martell

I have worked at the downfall of Tywin Lannister since the day they told me of Elia and her children.

– Doran to Arianne Martell

I am not blind, nor deaf. I know you all believe me weak, frightened, feeble. Your father knew me better. Oberyn was ever the viper. Deadly, dangerous, unpredictable. No man dared tread on him. I was the grass. Pleasant, complaisant, sweet-smelling, swaying with every breeze. Who fears to walk upon the grass? But it is the grass that hides the viper from his enemies and shelters him until he strikes.

– Doran to the Sand Snakes

Quotes about Doran

Doran is a cautious man, a reasoned man, subtle, deliberate, even indolent to a degree. He is a man who weighs the consequences of every word and every action.

Tywin Lannister to Tyrion Lannister

Your father keeps his secrets well, Prince Quentyn. Too well, I fear.

Barristan Selmy to Quentyn Martell

Your father married for love, it's said. How much joy has he had of that?

Gerris Drinkwater to Quentyn Martell

Doran plays to win, whether at cyvasse or the game of thrones.

George R. R. Martin

Family tree




Annotations from item #46265616:

Dorcas is a servant of House Lannister in King's Landing. She is big.

Recent Events

A Feast for Crows

Dorcas becomes Queen Cersei's chief servant after Senelle was sent away. Cersei thinks Dorcas as clumsy and not as competent as her previous servant.

Dorcas blushes when Cersei orders him to fetch Ser Osney Kettleblack, when Taena of Myr enquires why, Cersei says Dorcas fancies Her Osney. Taena states it's because of Osney scars which make him look dangerous, danger excites women.




Annotations from item #46265617:

Ser Dorden the Dour is a knight in the service of King Stannis Baratheon. He is one of the queen's men.

Recent Events

A Dance with Dragons

Dorden stays with Queen Selyse at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, when Stannis goes to take Deepwood Motte. When Selyse leaves Eastwatch to go to the Nightfort, he accompanies her to Castle Black.




Annotations from item #46265618:

Dorea Sand is the thirdborn bastard daughter of Prince Oberyn Martell and his paramour Ellaria Sand. She is one of the famous 'Sand Snakes'.

Contents

Recent Events

A Feast for Crows

Dorea Sand in the Water Gardens © Fantasy Flight Games

After the death of Prince Oberyn, Dorea and her sisters are taken into custody. Dorea, her mother and her sisters are all sent to the Water Gardens, where Dorea walks around knocking oranges off the trees using her morningstar.

The Winds of Winter

Dorea remains at the Water Gardens while her mother travels with her sister Loreza to Hellholt, seat of House Uller.

Family




Annotations from item #46265619:

Doreah is a Lysene handmaiden to Daenerys Targaryen. In the television adaptation *Game of Thrones* she is played by Roxanne McKee.

Contents

Appearance

See also: Images of Doreah

Doreah has fair hair and blue eyes.

History

Magister Illyrio found Doreah in a pleasure house in Lys. Viserys Targaryen bedded her while he was a guest at Illyrio's manse.

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

Doreah, Irri, and Jhiqui, are given to Daenerys Targaryen as wedding gifts to serve as her handmaidens.

A Clash of Kings

After Drogo's death, Daenerys takes what remains of her *khalasar* and marches out into the red waste in search of a safe place. On the march, Doreah dies of a wasting disease.

Quotes

"Once there were two moons in the sky, but one wandered too close to the sun and cracked from the heat. A thousand thousand dragons poured forth, and drunk the fire of the sun. That is why dragons breathe flame."

- Doreah's tale to Dany




Annotations from item #46265620:

Lord Dorian Hightower was a head of House Hightower and Lord of Oldtown during the Andal invasion of the Reach. He welcomed the Andals and set aside his wife of twenty years and the mother of his children to take an Andal princess as wife.




Annotations from item #46265621:

Dormand Darry was the head of House Darry and Lord of Darry during the reign of King Maegor I Targaryen.

History

After Maegor exterminated House Harroway in 44 AC, he divided up the Harroway holdings among his remaining supporters. Harrenhal was granted to House Towers, Lord Harroway's Town was given to Lord Alton Butterwell, and the rest of the Harroway holdings were given to Lord Dormand.




Annotations from item #46265622:

Dormund is a son of Tormund. He has a deep voice.

Contents

Recent Events

A Storm of Swords

Dormund, together with his father Tormund, brother Toregg, and sister Munda, and others join Ygritte when she sings *The Last of the Giants.*

A Dance with Dragons

Tormund reveals to Jon Snow that Dormund was cut down during the battle beneath the Wall by a knight under Stannis Baratheon who had moths on his shield.

Notes

  1. Presumably Richard Horpe, a knight of House Horpe in Stannis's service whose sigil depicts three death's head moths.



Annotations from item #46265623:

Lady Dorna Swyft is the daughter of Ser Harys Swyft and wife of Ser Kevan Lannister. They have four children together.

Contents

Appearance

According to Cersei Lannister, she is chinless, chicken-legged and flat-chested.

History

When Dorna was younger, her father borrowed large sums of money from Lord Tytos Lannister. After the War of the Ninepenny Kings, the young heir of Casterly Rock, Ser Tywin Lannister demanded that all those who took loans from House Lannister had to repay them immediately, those unable to do so instead had to surrender a family member as a hostage until their debt was settled.

Ser Harys unable to pay at the time, handed Dorna over to the custody of Ser Kevan Lannister. The two were eventually married.

Recent Events

A Dance with Dragons

Ser Kevan recalls Dorna as a gentle soul, never comfortable except at home with friends and kin around her. She had done well by their children, dreamed of having grandchildren, was devout and prayed seven times a day, loved needlework and flowers. Kevan thinks of her before his death.

Family




Annotations from item #46265624:

Dorne location on Westeros

Dorne is the large peninsula which makes up the southernmost part of Westeros, and is one of the constituent regions of the Seven Kingdoms. The lords of the ruling House Nymeros Martell style themselves "Prince" and "Princess" in the Rhoynish fashion.

The Martells rule from their capital, Sunspear, outside of which sprawls the shadow city. Notable houses include Allyrion, Blackmont, Dayne, Fowler, Jordayne, Qorgyle, Santagar, Toland, Uller, Vaith, Wyl, and Yronwood.

Contents

Geography

See also: Images of Dorne

Map of Dorne with its major strongholds

Dorne is the hottest region of Westeros. The region is rocky, mountainous, arid and dry, and features the only desert on the continent. Dorne is bordered by the Sea of Dorne to the north, the islands known as the Stepstones to the east, and the Summer Sea to the south. Stretched between them is the mountain range known as the Red Mountains, which separates Dorne from the stormlands to the north and the Reach to the northwest and west. There are two major passes, the Boneway and the Prince's Pass, which go through the Red Mountains to the Dornish Marches of the stormlands. The Prince's Pass leads to Nightsong, while the Boneway leads to Summerhall., are located in southeastern Dorne.

Most of Dorne south of the Red Mountains is an arid wasteland. Eastern Dorne largely consists of dry, stony soil ill-suited for agriculture, while western Dorne contains deserts of red and white sand.

Sun stroke in the sands of Dorne by Jarreau Wimberly © Fantasy Flight Games

Dorne's rivers provide some fertile lands and even during a long summer there is enough rain and other supplies of water to keep Dorne habitable.

The southern coast is some four hundred leagues long. It is ridden with cliffs, whirlpools, and hidden shoals, with few safe landings.

According to George R. R. Martin, Dorne is partially inspired by Wales, Spain, and Palestine.

People

Salty Dornishman by Jon Bosco © Fantasy Flight Games

Main article: Dornishmen

Dorne is the least populous of the Seven Kingdoms.

Dorne contains septs for the Faith of the Seven and red temples for followers of R'hllor.

Economy

A blood orange grove in Dorne by Sarah Morris © Fantasy Flight Games

Harvesting oranges in Dorne © Fantasy Flight Games

Dorne provides many exotic products which are uncommon in the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. These products include olives,

The Dornish produce their own wines, often called "Dornish reds".

Fabled are the sand steeds bred by the Dornish. These horses are slim and swift, with elegant heads, long necks, and flowing manes.

Dornish yew is used to make bows.

In Sunspear's shadow city, numerous bazaars can be found.

Military strength

A phalanx of House Martell spearmen by Diego Gisbert © Fantasy Flight Games

The Martells are believed to be able to raise fifty thousand soldiers, both by Dornishmen

In the time before the Andals, King Ferris Fowler led ten thousand men against King Garth VII Gardener, during the Golden Reign.

Dorne has had no strength at sea since Princess Nymeria of the Rhoynar burned her ten thousand ships a thousand years ago.

History

Dawn Age

A desolate canyon in Dorne. Illustrated by Franz Miklis. © Fantasy Flight Games.

During the Dawn Age, the children of the forest referred to desolate Dorne as the Empty Land.

First Men

The First Men settled Westeros by crossing the land bridge across the narrow sea called the Arm of Dorne. During their great war with the First Men, the children of the forest allegedly broke the Arm with the hammer of the waters in an attempt to stop them coming.

First Men houses who established themselves as prominent kings included House Dayne, the Kings of the Torrentine; House Fowler, the Kings of Stone and Sky; and House Yronwood, the Bloodroyals who styled themselves High King of Dorne. A rival High King of Dorne was also chosen from a dozen houses along the Greenblood.

Dorne has had a violent history, particularly with the houses of the Red Mountains, who lived by raiding across the borders into the Dornish Marches, feuding with each other endlessly. The various Dornish kings, the Kings of the Reach, and the Storm Kings fought border wars beyond count and made countless raids across mountains and marches even when at peace, leading to their great enmity.

Andal Adventurers

During the Andal invasion of Westeros, most Andals avoided Dorne, aside from adventurers such as the Ullers, Qorgyles, and Vaiths. The Allyrions, Jordaynes, and Santagars also established their own realms. The Martells defeated two First Men houses, the Wades and Shells, claiming territory near the mouth of the Greenblood.

House Nymeros Martell

Sunspear, the seat of House Martell by Tomasz Jedruszek © Fantasy Flight Games

Centuries ago, Dorne was a coalition of First Men and Andal petty kings and lords, with no ruler strong enough to seize control of the entire region. Seven hundred years ago, as its ruler.

While the monarchs from the rest of Westeros used the title "king", the new rulers of Dorne used the Rhoynish title "prince" instead. Although no longer kings, the Yronwoods, the second most powerful house in Dorne, continued to call themselves "the Bloodroyal".

The Rhoynar brought their own gods with them to Dorne, but they have largely disappeared in favor of the Faith of the Seven. Nevertheless, many Rhoynish customs, including inheritance regardless of gender, have been absorbed into Dornish society.

House Targaryen

Dornish knights by Tomasz Jedruszek © Fantasy Flight Games

A luxurious villa in Dorne. © Fantasy Flight Games

Three centuries ago, Aegon I Targaryen claimed the Seven Kingdoms and invaded Westeros. During Aegon's Conquest, he subjugated each of the Westerosi monarchs one by one, except Dorne. One of Aegon's sisters, Rhaenys Targaryen, flew on her dragon, Meraxes, above the Dornishmen guarding the Prince's Pass, but each Dornish castle she visited was abandoned. When she came to Sunspear, she was met by Meria Martell, Princess of Dorne, who warned that the Targaryens would face peril if they attacked Dorne.

In 4 AC, however, Aegon the Conqueror announced another campaign, which became the First Dornish War. Whereas other kings and lords had taken to the field against Aegon, or clustered in castles, the Dornish refused to give open battle and allow Aegon to deploy his dragons. Instead, they turned to ambush and raids, striking quickly and then slipping back into the desert or through the mountain passes, where even the dragons could not find them. Aegon's younger sister-wife, Queen Rhaenys, participated in this war, which eventually lead to her death. Meraxes was also killed, being hit in the eye by a scorpion at the Hellholt.

Despite Dornish independence, House Targaryen continued to claim the Iron Throne's control over the land as part of the Seven Kingdoms. It is said that even Dorne was upset by the death of the Conciliator, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, in 103 AC.

In 110 AC, Dorne joined the Triarchy in the war against Prince Daemon Targaryen for control of the Stepstones.

The Conquest of Dorne

Main article: conquest of Dorne

In 157 AC, shortly after his ascension, King Daeron I Targaryen began to plan his invasion of Dorne, intent on "[completing] the Conquest". Daeron attacked Dorne with three separate hosts; One led by Lord Lyonel Tyrell, which marched through the Prince's Pass, entering Dorne at the western end of the Red Mountains; One led by Alyn Velaryon, who came by sea; And one by the Targaryen king himself, which came through the Boneway. Within a year, the Targaryen armies arrived at the gates of Sunspear and battled their way through the shadow city. In 158 AC, the Prince of Dorne and forty of the most powerful Dornish lords bent their knees in the Submission of Sunspear. continued to rebel against Targaryen rule.

Lord Lyonel was eventually murdered at Sandstone, the seat of House Qorgyle, and within a fortnight the Targaryen conquest was undone. was captured, and a fifty yielded.

With Daeron's death, the conquest of Dorne came to an end.

Unifying the Seven Kingdoms

The throne of Dorne - by Marc Simonetti ©

With the death of his brother, the Iron Throne passed to King Baelor I Targaryen, whose first act as king was to grant pardon to the Dornish hostages. Baelor walked barefoot from King's Landing to Sunspear, personally escorting the hostages (who rode on fine horses) back home. The Prince of Dorne and Baelor came to an agreement regarding a peace. As part of the terms of the agreement, Baelor agreed to betroth his young cousin Daeron to Princess Mariah Martell, the eldest child of the Prince of Dorne. As both were still young children, the marriage took place later during Baelor's reign.

Prince Daeron's father, King Aegon IV Targaryen, a veteran of Daeron I's conquest of Dorne, planned to launch an unprovoked war against Dorne. In 174 AC, he made his attempt. He turned to the pyromancers of the ancient Guild of Alchemists to built "dragons" of his own design, wood-and-iron monstrosities fitted with pumps that shot jets of wildfire. Aegon wanted to drag them through the Boneway, but they never came that far. All seven burned down in the kingswood. Likewise, the huge fleet Aegon IV had constructed for his invasion never reached Dorne either, but instead was broken and scattered by storms on route to Dorne.

Prince Daeron inherited the Iron Throne in 184 AC, and ascended the Iron Throne as King Daeron II Targaryen. One of his earliest significant acts after assuming the throne was to begin negotiations to unify Dorne under Targaryen rule. Negotiations lasted two years, but eventually Daeron and his good-brother, Prince Maron Martell, now the ruling Prince of Dorne, reached an agreement. Maron was betrothed to Daeron's younger sister, Daenerys. When they were wed in King's Landing in 187 AC, Prince Maron knelt before the Iron Throne and swore his oaths of fealty, placing Dorne under Targaryen rule.

Due to the peacefully negotiated unification, the Martells were allowed to continue using the title Prince of Dorne, unlike their lordly counterparts in the rest of the Seven Kingdoms.

During the First Blackfyre Rebellion, Prince Baelor Targaryen, the eldest son of King Daeron II and Queen Mariah, commanded a host from Dorne and the stormlands,

Recent History

The Dornishmen closed their borders and successfully prevented the Great Spring Sickness from reaching Dorne.

The mother of Doran Martell had served at the Targaryen court as a lady-in-waiting to Princess Rhaella TargaryenTemplate:ReF prior to inheriting the rule to Dorne..

Robert's Rebellion

When Rhaegar disappeared with Lyanna Stark in 282 AC, not long after Aegon's birth, it started a chain of events leading to Robert's Rebellion,

However, Rhaegar died at the Battle of the Trident,

After lifting the siege of Storm's End, Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell travelled to the Red Mountains of Dorne to liberate his sister Lyanna, who apparently was held at the tower of joy. There, Eddard and his six companions battled three knights of the Kingsguard: Arthur Dayne, Oswell Whent, and Lord Commander Gerold Hightower. Eddard and his friend Howland Reed were the only survivors.

Furious after King Robert I Baratheon proved to be accepting of the deaths of Elia and her children,

Texts about Dornish history include *Ten Thousand Ships* and *The Loves of Queen Nymeria*.

Recent Events

A Clash of Kings

Oberyn Martell and Ellaria Sand by Drazenka Kimpel © Fantasy Flight Games

The acting Hand of the King, Tyrion Lannister, sends Princess Myrcella Baratheon to Sunspear to gain House Martell as an ally for House Baratheon of King's Landing.

A Storm of Swords

Doran Martell, Prince of Dorne, remains at Sunspear because of his health. His younger brother, Prince Oberyn Martell, leads a Dornish retinue to King's Landing to take Doran's place on the small council.

A Feast for Crows

Tower Captain by Aaron Miller © Fantasy Flight Games

Oberyn's daughters, the Sand Snakes, demand vengeance for their father and want to lead the angry Dornish against the Baratheons, Lannisters, and Tyrells. Oberyn's cautious brother, Prince Doran, has the Sand Snakes seized, however.

Doran's daughter, Princess Arianne Martell, plots to crown Myrcella and place her on the Iron Throne, since Myrcella is older than her brother, King Tommen I Baratheon. With the exception of Darkstar, Arianne and her fellow conspirators are taken into custody.

Later, Doran reveals to Arianne there was a secret marriage pact to wed her to the exiled Prince Viserys Targaryen and her brother, Prince Quentyn Martell, to Viserys's sister, Princess Daenerys Targaryen.

A Dance with Dragons

Doran sends Obara Sand with Ser Balon Swann to apprehend Darkstar, while Tyene Sand and Nymeria Sand are sent to King's Landing.

Quentyn travels across Essos to Daenerys, now the Queen of Meereen. Daenerys rejects him,

The Winds of Winter

Arianne departs Sunspear on a mission from her father to discover the truth about the supposed Aegon Targaryen. Dornish hosts are massed in the Prince's Pass and the Boneway.

Houses

House Allyrion of Godsgrace
House Blackmont of Blackmont
House Briar
House Brook
House Brownhill
House Dalt of Lemonwood.
House Dayne of High Hermitage
House Dayne of Starfall
House Drinkwater
House Dryland of Hellgate Hall
House Fowler of Skyreach
House Gargalen of Salt Shore
House Holt
House Hull
House Jordayne of the Tor
House Ladybright
House Lake
House Manwoody of Kingsgrave
House Martell of Sunspear
House Qorgyle of Sandstone
House Santagar of Spottswood
House Shell
House Toland of Ghost Hill
House Uller of the Hellholt
House Vaith of Vaith
House Wade
House Wells
House Wyl of Wyl
House Yronwood of Yronwood

Quotes

You may burn us, my lady ... but you will not bend us, break us, or make us bow. This is Dorne. You are not wanted here. Return at your peril.

Meria Martell to Rhaenys Targaryen

The Martells would not commit to actual battle unless Dorne itself was attacked, and Stannis was not so great a fool. Though some of his bannermen may be, Tyrion reflected.

- thoughts of Tyrion Lannister

When good King Daeron wed Princess Myriah and brought us into his kingdom, it was agreed that Dornish law would always rule in Dorne.

- Arianne Martell to Arys Oakheart

Like Dornish food and Dornish law, Dornish speech was spiced with the flavors of the Rhoyne, but a man could comprehend it.

- thoughts of Tyrion Lannister

Dorne had seemed a queer place to him as well when first he came here with his own princess, many years ago. The bearded priests had drilled him on the Common Speech of Westeros before they sent him forth, but the Dornishmen all spoke too quickly for him to understand. Dornish women were lewd, Dornish wine was sour, and Dornish food was full of queer hot spices. And the Dornish sun was hotter than the pale, wan sun of Norvos, glaring down from a blue sky day after day.

– thoughts of Areo Hotah

Dorne is sand and scorpions, and bleak red mountains baking in the sun.

- Reznak mo Reznak to Skahaz mo Kandaq

He did not conquer here. Elsewhere he burned his foes, him and his sisters, but here we melted away before them, leaving only stone and sand for them to burn. And round and round the dragons went, snapping at their tails for want of any other food, till they were tied in knots.

- Valena Toland to Daemon Sand

Dorne is a very special land, with a slightly different cultural basis than the rest of Westeros… it was politically apart for a long time, it was also culturally apart because of the Rhoynar and the traditions they brought, but they didn't influence the rest of Westeros so much.

- George R. R. Martin




Annotations from item #46265625:

The Dornish Marches - by Rene Aigner ©

Dornish Marches

The stormlands and the location of the Dornish Marches

Dornish Marches

The Reach and the location of the Dornish Marches

The Dornish Marches is an area of southern Westeros in the border region between the stormlands, the Reach, and Dorne. The marches are predominantly in the southwestern stormlands and extend east to the Sea of Dorne.

Contents

Geography

The hundreds of leagues of the marches consist of grassland, moors, and plains, with a portion of the Red Mountains to the east.

The marcher lords of the stormlands have a very strong martial tradition and have formidable castles, as they defended against Dornish incursions for thousands of years.

Marcher houses include House Caron of Nightsong,

The Kingdom of the Reach included western marches from Horn Hill to Nightsong,

History

For over a thousand years the marches were common battlegrounds between the stormlands, the Reach and Dorne until the last century, when Dorne joined the Seven Kingdoms. Having been conquered by the Storm Kings, it serves as an effective buffer zone between the old enemies.

Dornishmen with histories of fighting the marcher lords include the Blackmonts of Blackmont, the Fowlers of Skyreach, the Manwoodys of Kingsgrave, the Wyls of Wyl, and the Yronwoods of Yronwood.

During Aegon's Conquest, Dornish parties raided across the marches.

Qoren Martell, Prince of Dorne, refused to involve Dorne in the Dance of the Dragons. Once his daughter Aliandra became Princess of Dorne, however, she encouraged her bannermen to gain her favor by raiding the marches.

After Dorne joined the Seven Kingdoms peacefully, King Daeron II Targaryen raised Summerhall in the Dornish Marches. Resentment by the marcher lords toward the Dornish influence at Daeron's court was one of the causes of the First Blackfyre Rebellion.

King Maekar I Targaryen was slain fighting a rebellious lord on the Dornish Marches

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

Anguy, a commoner from the marches, wins the archery competition at the Hand's tourney.

A Clash of Kings

The acting Hand of the King, Tyrion Lannister, sends Princess Myrcella Baratheon to Dorne in hopes of repairing relations with Sunspear. As another concession, he offers several castles in the Marches to Dorne.

A Storm of Swords

Tom of Sevenstreams tells Arya Stark that the only songs that Anguy knows are marcher ballads, every one of them a hundred verses long.

A Feast for Crows

Doran denies Obara Sand's request to allow her and Nymeria Sand to take the hosts from the Prince's Pass and the Boneway to attack the marcher lords and then Oldtown.

A Dance with Dragons

Ser Barristan Selmy considers himself to be a man of the Dornish Marches.




Annotations from item #46265626:

Arianne Martell by John Matson © Fantasy Flight Games

Dornishmen are the natives of Dorne in the southernmost part of Westeros. They have a reputation for hot-bloodedness and sexual licentiousness. of noble origin are given the surname Sand.

Contents

Ethnicity

Salty Dornishman by Jon Bosco © Fantasy Flight Games

In Dorne, the descent from the Rhoynar is strongest. The Rhoynar were a slender people with smooth olive skin, black hair and dark eyes. Their impact on the Dornish gene pool is strongest along the coast, and grows faint farther inland. Dornishmen with more Andal and First Men blood are larger and fairer than those with more Rhoynish blood.

According to King Daeron I Targaryen's observations during his wars in Dorne, there are three groups of Dornishmen:

Additionally, a fourth, smaller group exists. The orphans of the Greenblood are pure Rhoynar who ply the Greenblood in poleboats. Despite attempts by the Red Princes to extirpate it by outlawing it, they are said to still speak the Rhoynish language discretely.

Arya Stark, a northern girl, grew up being told that all Dornishmen are small and swarthy, with black hair and small black eyes.

Culture

An assassin in Dorne, by Igor Kieryluk © Fantasy Flight Games

Dornish culture has First Men and Andal origins, but is also strongly influenced by the mass immigration of the Rhoynar who settled in Dorne during the Rhoynar migration. Their influence can be observed in many Dornish customs,

Furthermore, views on bastardy are milder in Dorne compared to the rest of Westeros. Especially when a child is born to a paramour, the Dornish are not greatly concerned if a child is born in wedlock or out of it.

Language

The Dornish speak the Common Tongue, as does the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. But unlike in the other kingdoms, their speech is marked by the influences of the language of the Rhoynar.

Religion

The Dornish primarily follow the Faith of the Seven,

Fashion

A spy within the walls of Sunspear by Lauren Cannon © Fantasy Flight Games

The Dornish climate favors loose, layered robes.

Dornish armor is heavily enameled and inlaid with burnished copper, shining silver, and soft red gold,

When crossing the deserts of Dorne during daytime, veils are used to keep the sands out of their faces.

Culinary arts

Dornish prefer spicy food.

Military

A desert raider atop a sand steed by Diego Gisbert Llorens © Fantasy Flight Games

Dornishmen prefer round metal shields, spears, short throwing spears or double-curved bows.

Fabled are the Dornish sand steeds. These horses are slim and swift, with elegant heads, long necks, and flowing manes.

The least populous of the Seven Kingdoms,

The Dornish have not been a seafaring culture since Princess Nymeria's burning of her ships,

History

The Dornish have often fought across the Red Mountains and the Dornish Marches with the Reach and the stormlands.

Recent Events

A Storm of Swords

Secret Schemes by Cristi Balanescu © Fantasy Flight Games

Prince Oberyn Martell leads a party of three hundred Dornishmen from throughout Dorne to King's Landing.

A Feast for Crows

Seeking vengeance for their father's death, the elder Sand Snakes want to raise Dorne in rebellion.

Behind the Scenes

George R. R. Martin has acknowledged that historical influences for Dorne include Palestine, Spain, and Wales.

Quotes

The Dornishmen burn to avenge Elia and her children.

- Viserys Targaryen to Daenerys Targaryen

Dornishmen and Highgardeners had never had great love for one another; over the centuries, they had fought border wars beyond count, and raided back and forth across mountains and marches even when at peace.

- thoughts of Tyrion Lannister

Of late the king had been repeating little jests about the Dornish that he'd picked up from Mace Tyrell's men-at-arms. How many Dornishmen does it take to shoe a horse? Nine. One to do the shoeing, and eight to lift the horse up. Somehow Tyrion did not think Doran Martell would find that amusing.

- thoughts of Tyrion Lannister

How many Dornishmen does it take to start a war? he asked himself. Only one.

- thoughts of Tyrion Lannister

Arya: Dornishmen lie, don't they?
Anguy: They're famous for it. Of course, they say the same of us marchers, so there you are.

- Arya Stark and Anguy

Dornishmen fight best at home, so I say let us hone our spears and wait. When the Lannisters and the Tyrells come down on us, we shall bleed them in the passes and bury them beneath the blowing sands, as we have a hundred times before.

- Tyene Sand to Doran Martell

Remember, she is Dornish. In the Reach men said it was the food that made Dornishmen so hot-tempered and their women so wild and wanton. Fiery peppers and strange spices heat the blood, she cannot help herself.

- thoughts of Arys Oakheart

Dornishmen are notoriously stubborn, Your Grace. Prince Quentyn's forebears fought your own for the better part of two hundred years.

- Barristan Selmy to Daenerys Targaryen

All Dornishmen were snakes, and the Martells were the worst of them.

- thoughts of Cersei Lannister




Annotations from item #46265627:

Doro Golathis was a Norvoshi historian. He stated there are remnants of Rhoynish outposts in Andalos.




Annotations from item #46265628:

Dorren Stark was a King in the North and head of House Stark before the War of Conquest.

History

He is mentioned in an account of the Night's Watch. During his rule the Night's Watch fought giants and traded with the children of the forest.




Annotations from item #46265629:

The dosh khaleen are a group of Dothraki crones that live in Vaes Dothrak. They are all former *khaleesis, the wives of *khals that have died. They are the only permanent residents of Vaes Dothrak. They enjoy great honor and status amongst the Dothraki and serve as seers foretelling the future and interpreting omens for the Dothraki. They are served by eunuchs.

The prospective wives of khals must be presented to the dosh khaleen for acceptance.

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

The dosh khaleen declare that the son of Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo will be the stallion who mounts the world, a great conqueror whose coming is long foretold in Dothraki prophecies.




Annotations from item #46265630:

Doshi was a Dothraki woman and the mother of Khal Mengo, who united all Dothraki under his command during the Century of Blood. She was a purported witch queen.

History

Mengo compelled all other Dothraki to accept his rule at Doshi's consel.




Annotations from item #46265631:

Dosk is a trading village near Standfast in the Reach. It once fell under the dominion of House Osgrey, but the power of the house diminished over the years and the incomes of the village were given to someone else.




Annotations from item #46265632:

The Dothraki people are a culture of nomadic warriors in Essos who range across the vast grasslands of the Dothraki sea in hordes known as *khalasars*.

Contents

Appearance

The Dothraki Khal Drogo by Rene Aigner©.

Dothraki typically have a copper-toned skin and dark almond eyes,

Both men and women might wear painted leather vests over bare chests and horsehair leggings cinched by bronze medallion belts,

Being accustomed to riding horses every entire day, Dothraki warriors walk with a bowlegged swagger on the ground.

The Dothraki clean themselves using sand to scrub them.

Culture & customs

Khalasars

Main article: Khalasar

Dothraki live in hordes called khalasars. Their chieftains are called khals, while the wife of a khal is known as a khaleesi.

Khalasars keep two sorts of healers. The first are barren women who practice their healing with herbs, potions, and spells, and eunuch slaves, who use knives, needles, and fire.

Social status

The Dothraki consider riding a horse as a basic marker of social status. A khal who cannot ride cannot rule.

Although some are respected, women have a lower social status than men. For example, the bloodriders of a khal will not allow themselves to be commanded by his khaleesi.

Most of all, the Dothraki follow strength. Should a khal die without an adult heir, his kos (bloodriders) will fight among themselves to take the place of the fallen khal. In the case that the khal does have a child khalakka (heir), the khalakka will be killed so as not to be a rival.

Religion

The Dothraki worship a horse god.

Language

Main article: Dothraki language

The Dothraki have their own language. It is known to be a rough, harsh language.

Economy

The Dothraki neither buy nor sell

Trade is allowed in the sacred city Vaes Dothrak, where, by the leave of the *dosh khaleen*, merchants and traders gather to exchange goods and gold,

The Free Cities (like Myr, Pentos, and Norvos) and the slave cities in Slaver's Bay deal carefully with the Dothraki. The rulers of the cities give lavishly to every khal who passes with his khalasar, feasting them and giving them gifts, so the khalasar will pass on without sacking then city.

Culinary customs

The Dothraki eat horseflesh, which they prefer to beef and pork.

Structures

A Dothraki camp as depicted in HBO's TV series *Game of Thrones*.

The Dothraki do not build.

Vaes Dothrak

The sacred city of Vaes Dothrak is the only city the Dothraki have. – although this does not entirely prevent murders within the city.

Vaes Dothrak is located in the shadow of the Mother of Mountains,

Marriage, sexual relations, and childbirth

See also: Marriage

Among the Dothraki, weddings occur beneath the open sky. The ceremony might last the entire day, during which the guest's feast, drink, dance, and fight. The Dothraki mate like the animals in their heads. There is no privacy in the khalasar. During the wedding feast, women dance to drums, while warriors may take them before the watching khalasar freely. If two men take the same woman, they fight to the death. A wedding without at least three deaths is seen as a dull affair.

Polygamy is practiced among the Dothraki; At least the Dothraki khals Jommo

Pregnant women are expected to ride on horseback almost up to the moment of birth,

A pregnant khaleesi might participate in the stallion heart ceremony, although it is unknown under what circumstances the ceremony occurs. During the ceremony, the khaleesi will attempt to consume the heart of a stallion under the supervision of the *dosh khaleen*. Due to the prohibition on bearing steel in Vaes Dothrak, the mother must tear apart the stallion's heart with her bare teeth and fingernails. If she eats the entire heart, she will bear a son who is strong and swift and fearless; if she chokes on the blood or retches up the flesh, the omens are less favorable — the child might be stillborn, weak, deformed or female.

Death

The Dothraki believe that the stars in the sky are horses made of fire, and that the starry sky is a great herd of fiery horses racing across the sky.

At least a khal is given a funeral pyre after he dies.

Ancient traditions of the Dothraki demand that a khal’s bloodriders die with him, riding the night lands by his side. When a khal is killed by an enemy, his bloodriders live only long enough to avenge him.

The Dothraki believe it is bad luck to touch the body of a dead man whom they have not personally killed themselves.

Military

Dothraki outriders gallop towards a disturbance with weapons drawn - by Tomasz Jedruszek. © Fantasy Flight Games

The Dothraki are nomadic warriors; they ride better than any Westerosi knight.

The Dothraki ride on small, flat saddles with short stirrups.

Miscellaneous beliefs and superstitions

The Dothraki hate and fear the sea and the ships in it, as they mistrust all water their horses do not drink. They refer to the sea as “the poison water"

Dothraki believe that anything of importance in a man's life must take place beneath the open sky.

Ancient prophecy of the Dothraki predicts that one day the khal of all khals will rise, called the stallion who mounts the world. This khal is prophecised to unite the Dothraki into a single khalasar and ride to the ends of the earth, making everyone on the world his herd.

The Dothraki believe that someday ghost grass will cover the world, and then all life will end.

The number thirteen is considered to be a bad number.

Bloodmagic is forbidden amongst the Dothraki.

When the gods are gone from a certain place, according to the Dothraki, evil ghosts feast by night. The Dothraki feel it best to shun such places.

History

The ancestors of the Dothraki came from the lands beyond the Bone Mountains in the Further East, leaving behind the bones that give the Bone Mountains their name.

The nomadic Dothraki do not have a tradition of settlements. To make a house a thousand years ago, they dug a hole in the ground and covered it with a woven grass roof.

Ruined cities and regions ring the vast plains of the Dothraki sea, including the Kingdom of Sarnor, the Kingdom of the Ifequevron, the upper Skahazadhan, and the red waste.

Books and scrolls about the Dothraki

Quotes

I shall fear the Dothraki the day they teach their horses to run on water.

Eddard Stark, to Robert I Baratheon

The Dothraki follow only the strong.

Jorah Mormont, to Daenerys Targaryen

Godless savages.

– the owner of the *Lord Faro's Belly*

The Dothraki were wise where horses were concerned, but could be utter fools about much else.

– thoughts of Daenerys Targaryen

The Dothraki are not fond of towns, you will know this even in Westeros.

Illyrio Mopatis, to Tyrion Lannister

The horselords come, we give them gifts, the horselords go.

Qavo Nogarys, to Haldon

Behind the Scenes

George R.R. Martin has stated that the Dothraki were fashioned as an amalgam of a number of steppe and plains cultures. "*Mongols and Huns, certainly, but also Alans, Sioux, Cheyenne, and various other Amerindian tribes... seasoned with a dash of pure fantasy. So any resemblance to Arabs or Turks is coincidental. Well, except to the extent that the Turks were also originally horsemen of the steppes, not unlike the Alans, Huns, and the rest.*"

Notes

  1. Similar to kaszanka
  2. Similar to the Central Asian drink kumýs



Annotations from item #46265633:

The Dothraki language, is the language of the Dothraki, the indigenous nomadic horse people that roam the Dothraki Sea. It is known to be a rough, harsh language.

Contents

Language

Dothraki is the language spoken by the Dothraki, the indigenous nomadic horse people. Only few terms and translations are known from this language, as George R.R. Martin has not developed the actual language. On the developing of languages for A Song of Ice and Fire, the author stated:

"I don't have a whole imaginary language in my desk here, the way Tolkien did."

Tolkien was a philologist, and an Oxford don, and could spend decades laboriously inventing Elvish in all its detail. I, alas, am only a hardworking SF and fantasy novel, and I don't have his gift for languages. That is to say, I have not actually created a Valyrian language. The best I could do was try to sketch in each of the chief tongues of my imaginary world in broad strokes, and give them each their characteristic sounds and spellings.

George R. R. Martin

HBO's TV series *Game of Thrones*, on the other hand, has developed an actual spoken Dothraki language. This language takes cues from the known Dothraki words used in the published material, and expands greatly upon it.

Known terms and titles

A *khal* is the leader of a *khalasar, a nomadic horde of Dothraki. A *Khal's wife is called a *khaleesi, and his heir is known as a *khalakka.

When a khal dies, his khaleesi joins the *dosh khaleen* in the only true city the Dothraki have, Vaes Dothrak.

Dothraki use the terms "it is known" frequently. It is unknown whether these expressions are commonly used amongst the Dothraki.

Known translations

Several names of cities, lands and others are described in the published material:

HBO’s Game of Thrones

The Dothraki language was as used in the TV series has fully been developed by David J. Peterson, a member of the Language Creation Society, for HBO's Game of Thrones. Inspiration was drawn from George R.R. Martin's description of the language, as well as from several real-life languages such as Russian, Turkish, Estonian, Inuktitut and Swahili.

The Dothraki language was developed under two restrictions. The language needed to match the terms used in the books, as well, it needed to be easy to pronounce or learn by the actors. These two constraints were an influence on the grammar and phonology of the Dothraki language developed for HBO.

As of September 2011, the languages comprised 3163 words, though not all of these words are publicly known.




Annotations from item #46265634:

The Dothraki sea's location on the continent of Essos

Dothraki traveling through the Dothraki sea in *Game of Thrones*

Grass that grows thick and taller than a man's head in *Game of Thrones*

The Dothraki sea equestrian people, who constantly battle each other and raid surrounding lands.

Contents

History

The region is also known as the Haunted Lands and the Great Desolation after the dozens of ruins of the cities destroyed and nations conquered by the Dothraki. Before the Century of Blood, it was referred to as the grasslands and is considered by Maester Yandel as the birthplace of civilization, where the first true towns arose beside the banks of the Sarne and its myriad vassal streams.

The histories of those days are lost, for these "kingdoms of the grass" rose and fell before the invention of writing. Only legends and tales survive, including those of the realm of the Fisher Queens beside the inland Silver Sea, the savage Hairy Men, the lost city of Lyber, the woods walkers in the forests on the shores of the Shivering Sea, and, to the east, the kingdoms of the centaurs.

Some maesters believe the First Men originated on the grasslands before beginning the migration that took them to the Arm of Dorne. The Andals may too have arisen in the fertile fields south of the Silver Sea. What is known, however, is that these lands were the home of peoples such as the Cymmeri, the Zoqora, and the Gipps in the central grasslands, the Qaathi to the southeast, and the Tagaez Fen.

Overview

Its only inhabited city, Vaes Dothrak, lies at the heart of the sea, and is home and heart to the Dothraki people and culture. Save for Vaes Dothrak and some Valyrian roads in the west near the Forest of Qohor, there are no other surviving roads, hills, or cities, leaving an ocean of unbroken rippling grass, for which the Dothraki sea is named.

Over a hundred types of grass grow on the plains, often growing thick and taller than a man's head and from afar look like a sea, as it rolls like waves in the breeze.*.

Geography

Located in the inland of Essos, east of the Free Cities, the Dothraki sea begins in the west at the Forest of Qohor. To the north it overlaps the ruined Kingdom of Sarnor, Kingdom of Omber, and the forested Kingdom of the Ifequevron. The Dothraki sea extends eastward to the Bone Mountains and the Krazaaj Zasqa and as far southeast as the desert wasteland called the red waste.

To the south the Dothraki sea is bounded by the Painted Mountains, Slaver's Bay, and the Skahazadhan. South of the river is Lhazar, which is often raided by the Dothraki. The Dothraki sea is so immense it can support more than two dozen *khalasars*, each riding its own circuit and taking what is needed from the land as they go.

A single massive mountain is located in the region, the Mother of Mountains, which rises at the heart of the Dothraki sea, at the city of Vaes Dothrak. Nearby is the lake called the Womb of the World.

Ruins

Vaes Dothrak is the only inhabited settlement of the Dothraki sea. Ruined settlements in or near the Dothraki sea include several in the Kingdom of Sarnor:

In the west is Vaes Khadokh, originally a colony of the Valyrian Freehold. To the north-east in the vicinity of the Kingdom of the Ifequevron are Vaes Leisi and Vaes Aresak.

Vaes Diaf is an isolated ruined Ghiscari city in the central Dothraki lands. Ghiscari ruins by the Skahazadhan along the southern Dothraki sea are:

At the eastern extremity of the Dothraki sea where it meets the Bone Mountains are:

South-east of the Dothraki sea in the red waste are four cities of the Qaathi given Dothraki names:

Chapters that take place in the Dothraki sea

Quotes

The frightened child who sheltered in my manse died on the Dothraki sea, and was reborn in blood and fire.

Illyrio Mopatis to Tyrion Lannister

Where is this Dothraki sea? I will sail the Iron Fleet across it and find the queen wherever she may be.

- Victarion Greyjoy to a fisherman, upon hearing of Daenerys Targaryen's disappearance into the Dothraki sea




Annotations from item #46265635:

Douquor’s Pit is a fighting pit in Astapor.

Recent Events

A Storm of Swords

In Astapor, when Daenerys Targaryen is inspecting the Unsullied soldiers that she is considering purchasing, Kraznys mo Nakloz asks her if she wishes to view their fighting pits. Kraznys tells her that Douquor's Pit has a "fine folly" scheduled for the evening – a bear and three small boys. One boy is to be rolled in honey, one in blood and one in rotting fish. Dany can wager on which the bear will eat first. Dany declines the invitation.




Annotations from item #46265636:

Dove is a Myrish cog. It is renamed Shrike after its capture by the Iron Fleet.

Recent Events

A Dance with Dragons

Sailing out of Myr, Dove and its cargo of Myrish lace, carpets, and sweet green wines are captured by the Iron Fleet near Slaver's Bay. The Dove reports of things Victarion Greyjoy already knows, such as Dothraki horsemen along the Rhoyne and the Golden Company upon the march.

The ship is added to the fleet and renamed Shrike by Victarion, who also takes the captain's Myrish eye. Victarion opts to keep its crew for ransom, reasoning that they are neither slaves nor slavers, but valuable free Myrmen and seasoned sailors.




Annotations from item #46265637:

Downdelving is the seat of House Goodbrother of Downdelving, a cadet branch of House Goodbrother. It is located on the island of Great Wyk.

Recent Events

A Feast for Crows

Greydon Goodbrother is sent by his father Lord Gorold Goodbrother to inform their cousins at Downdelving, Crow Spike Keep and Corpse Lake of King Balon Greyjoy's death.




Annotations from item #46265638:

Draconys is a city founded by the Valyrian Freehold. Although rich and glorious, it did not have self-rule and was instead governed by men and women sent from Valyria to rule in the name of the Freehold..

The exact location of Draconys has not been revealed yet. Draconys may be one of the unnamed ruined cities seen in the Valyrian peninsula in *The Lands of Ice and Fire*.




Annotations from item #46265639:

This article is about the creature. For the unit of money, see Currency.

Daenerys Targaryen and Drogon in Daznak's Pit by Marc Simonetti ©

Dragons are magical creatures, which existed on the continents of Westeros and Essos, but are considered to have been extinct for almost one hundred and fifty years. The only remaining traces of the dragons are skeletal remains and dragon eggs which are thought to have turned to stone.

Dragons are depicted in the sigils of Houses Blackfyre, Targaryen, Toland, Vance of Atranta, Vance of Wayfarer's Rest, and Willum.

Contents

Appearance

Daenerys Targaryen and Drogon in *Game of Thrones*

See also: Images of Dragons

Dragons are scaled,* artwork shows them with four legs and a detached pair of wings.

Dragons have strong jaws,

The polished skulls of the Targaryen dragons look like glittering onyx, and their teeth like curved daggers of black diamond. Dragonbones are black due to their high iron content.

Sea dragons in the Sunset Sea and ice dragons in the Shivering Sea are recalled in legends and folklore, but scholars have no proof of their existence.

Characteristics

Dragon skulls in the Red Keep cellars by Kim Pope

It is said that dragons are fire made flesh.

Dragonbone is as strong as steel, but lighter and far more flexible.

The lifespan of dragons is many times that of a human.

Dragons are believed to be intrinsically tied to magic in the world. Since the death of the last dragon in 153 AC, summers grew shorter and the winters colder and crueler,

Dragonbone has been used to make brooches,

Reproduction

Historians, like Septon Barth, Grand Maester Munkun, and Maester Thomax, hold markedly divergent views on the mating habits of dragons.

Dragons believed to be female, e.g., Syrax,

Traditionally, Targaryen princes received a dragon's egg in their cradle, allowing them to bond with the dragons as soon as the eggs hatched.

Dragonriders

See also: Dragonrider

Aegon the Conqueror upon Balerion, the Black Dread, by Jordi Gonzalez ©

Dragons are intelligent creatures

Once a dragon has bonded with a rider, that dragon will not allow anyone else to mount it while its rider lives, no matter how familiar said person might be to the dragon,

A dragon might to be able to sense when its current rider is in distress or has died. This is implied in the case of the dragon Dreamfyre, who, despite being locked and chained in the Dragonpit, is said to have sensed when her rider Helaena Targaryen committed suicide in Maegor's Holdfast, at the other side of King's Landing.

History

Ancient Dragons

Dragonlords from the Valyrian Freehold by Magali Villeneuve in *The World of Ice and Fire*

In Barth's *Unnatural History*, the septon considered several legends regarding the origins of dragons. The Valyrians claimed that dragons sprang forth from the Fourteen Flames, a ring of volcanoes on the Valyrian peninsula.

Dragons populated most of the known world in ages past,

In Westeros, Ser Galladon of Morne is said to have slain a dragon with the Just Maid,

Valyrian Freehold

The Valyrians mastered the art of raising dragons and used them as weapons of war to carve out a massive empire, the Valyrian Freehold.

The Valyrians used dragons to conquer the Old Empire of Ghis in the Ghiscari wars,

After the Doom of Valyria, however, the only dragons known to have survived were five dragons on Dragonstone. They belonged to House Targaryen, who had brought them from Valyria when they went into exile. Four of these dragons eventually died on Dragonstone, leaving only Balerion. However, the other dragons left eggs behind, and from these hatched Vhagar and Meraxes.

The Targaryen Dragons

Balerion makes short work of Aegon Targaryen and Quicksilver during the Battle Beneath the Gods Eye, as depicted by Michael Komarck in *The World of Ice and Fire*

House Targaryen used Balerion, Vhagar, and Meraxes in their Wars of Conquest against the Seven Kingdoms. They were instrumental in the burning of Harrenhal and the Field of Fire, and the threat of dragons led to the submissions of Torrhen Stark and Sharra Arryn.

Many dragons were hatched after Aegon's Conquest. During Aegon I's reign, "half a dozen" hatchlings were born on Dragonstone. One of the first was Quicksilver, hatched in 7 AC, who bonded with Aegon I's elder son and heir, Aenys. Another two hatched during the first year of Aenys's reign in 38 AC.

Over the course of one hundred and fifty years the Targaryens rode their dragons as a symbol of their power. King Jaehaerys I Targaryen took six dragons with him to the north to visit the Warden of the North. These included Jaehaerys on Vermithor, Queen Alysanne on Silverwing, and four other currently-unknown dragons.

Balerion finally died of old age in 94 AC, late in the reign of Jaehaerys I.

By 129 AC, on the eve of civil war between Rhaenyra and Aegon II, there were twenty living dragons. were hatchlings not yet big enough to ride.

There were also three wild dragons living on Dragonstone which had never been successfully claimed by any rider: Grey Ghost, Sheepstealer, and the Cannibal. Sheepstealer hatched when Jaehaerys I was still young, and the Cannibal was even older (none knew for certain when it had hatched), and thus they were also quite large by the time of the Dance of the Dragons, while Grey Ghost was a younger and smaller beast. Not every hatchling lived to maturity, however, as seen with Rhaena of Pentos, whose hatchling only lived a matter of hours.

Extinction and Revival

Dragons in flight by Tomasz Jedruszek © Fantasy Flight Games

By the end of the reign of King Viserys I Targaryen, twenty dragons were alive. The majority of these died during the civil war called the Dance of the Dragons, which began in 129 AC and would last until mid 131 AC.

By the end of the Dance in 131 AC, only four dragons remained alive: Sheepstealer, the Cannibal, and Silverwing, who had been born years before the war, and the dragon Morning, which had hatched during the war.

The Targaryens also had a collection of nineteen dragons skulls of various sizes and ages that they displayed on the walls of the throne room in the Red Keep. Some of these were thousands of years old.

After their extinction, the only remnants of dragons were their skulls

Many futile attempts were made to revive dragons. Aegon III Targaryen, known as the Dragonbane, had nine mages cross the narrow sea to use their magics in attempt to hatch remaining dragon eggs.

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

Daenerys Targaryen manages to hatch three dragons—Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion—in her husband Drogo's funeral pyre when she steps into the fire while they lay inside it. With Daenerys's exchange of life for life, the first three dragons in over a hundred years are born in the Dothraki sea.

A Clash of Kings

In King's Landing Wisdom Hallyne, a pyromancer of the Alchemists' Guild, tells Tyrion Lannister that their spells are more effective than usual, and wonders if there are any dragons around, as Wisdom Pollitor had once told him that magic had begun to go out of the world the day the last dragon died.

The warlocks of Qarth attempt to kill Daenerys and claim her dragons, but she survives and the House of the Undying is destroyed.

A Storm of Swords

Daenerys uses her dragons to conquer Astapor.

During a small council meeting Varys reports that sailors back from the Jade Sea report that a three-headed dragon has hatched in Qarth, and is the wonder of that city. Lord Tywin Lannister dismisses the report.

A Feast for Crows

The small council of Queen Regent Cersei Lannister discounts rumors of dragons from Essos.

Maester Aemon discusses dragons with Samwell Tarly.

A Dance with Dragons

Daenerys encloses Rhaegal and Viserion within the dragon pit of Meereen's Great Pyramid after the death of Hazzea, although Drogon remains free.

Rhaegal and Viserion are freed from the Great Pyramid during Quentyn Martell's ill-fated attempt to tame a dragon.

Known Dragons

Of unknown or uncertain chronology:

Known Dragon Eggs

Dragon eggs in *Game of Thrones*

Main article: Dragon egg

Depending on how one reads a statement in *The Mystery Knight*, it might be possible that Princesses Rhae and Daella Targaryen had been gifted dragon eggs as well.

Books and scrolls about dragons

Quotes

Daenerys Targaryen, the Unburnt, by Michael Komarck ©

For the first time in hundreds of years, the night came alive with the music of dragons.

—thoughts of Daenerys Targaryen

Dragons are fire made flesh, and fire is power.

Quaithe to Daenerys Targaryen

The last dragon in Westeros was the last dragon. That is well known.

Armen to Alleras

The grief and glory of my house.

Aemon Targaryen to Samwell Tarly

Once a man has seen a dragon in flight, let him stay at home and tend his garden in content, someone had written once, for this wide world has no greater wonder.

—thoughts of Tyrion Lannister

All I know of dragons is what my brother told me when I was a girl, and some I read in books, but it is said that even Aegon the Conquerer never dared mount Vhagar or Meraxes, nor did his sisters mount Balerion the Black Dread. Dragons live longer than men, some for hundreds of years, so Balerion had other riders after Aegon died ... but no rider ever flew two dragons.

Daenerys Targaryen to Quentyn Martell

Death comes out of a dragon's mouth, but death does not go in that way.

—writings of Barth

We shall not pretend to any understanding of the bond between dragon and dragonrider; wiser heads have pondered that mystery for centuries. We do know however, that dragons are not horses, to be ridden by any man who throws a saddle on their back.

—writings of Gyldayn

Who can know the heart of a dragon?

—writings of Gyldayn

There are no more dragons known to exist... but this is a medieval period, and large parts of the world are still terra incognita, so there are always tales of dragon sightings in far off mysterious places. The maesters tend to discount those.

George R. R. Martin

Behind the Scenes

The writer Phyllis Eisenstein convinced George R. R. Martin to add dragons to *A Game of Thrones. Martin dedicated *A Storm of Swords to Eisenstein.

Notes

  1. Although the year of birth of Meraxes is not known, she is known to have hatched some point after Lord Aenar Targaryen arrived with his household on Dragonstone in 126 BC (*The World of Ice & Fire, The Reign of the Dragons: The Conquest). That means she might have been born as early as the year of House Targaryen's arrival. Meraxes's death in 10 AC, however, makes it impossible for her to have been older at the time of her death than Vhagar, who died at the age of a hundred and eighty-one, had been when she died. Regardless of the fact that Meraxes died at a younger age, her skull was larger than Vhagar's (A Game of Thrones*, Tyrion II).



Annotations from item #46265640:

Dragon's breath is a dark red flower that grows in Westeros. The godswood in the Red Keep contains dragon's breath.




Annotations from item #46265641:

© Fantasy Flight Games

The Dragon Gate is one of the seven gates that surround the huge walls of King's Landing. It is located at the northern corner of the city's wall near Rhaenys's Hill. The kingsroad enters King's Landing through the Dragon Gate.

Contents

History

In the reign of Maegor I Targaryen, Maegor had his own wife and queen; Alys Harroway tortured to death and executed. Following her death, Alys body was cut into seven parts and mounted on spikes above each of the seven gates of the city, one of which was above the Dragon Gate.

During the Dance of the Dragons, a massive riot broke out in the city. The captains of the Old Gate and Dragon Gate managed to sally out and restore some semblance of order to the streets north and east of Rhaenys's Hill.

Recent Events

A Feast for Crows

The commander of the Dragon Gate, Humfrey Waters, is named the new commander of the City Watch of King's Landing.




Annotations from item #46265642:

© Fantasy Flight Games

© Mike S Miller

Dragon dreams affect those with the blood of the dragon, who are known to have premonition-like dream ability - they are no ordinary dreams. They often involve dragons but not always.

Dragon dreams appear to have haunted those with the blood of the dragon throughout the generations; some more than others.

Members of House Targaryen and House Blackfyre have had these dreams.

Contents

Cases

Daenys The Dreamer

When Daenys Targaryen was still a maiden,

Daenerys Targaryen

Daenerys Targaryen has dragon dreams preceding the birth of her three dragons. She dreams of a black dragon prior to her wedding day:

Viserys was hitting her, hurting her. She was naked, clumsy with fear. She ran from him, but her body seemed thick and ungainly. He struck her again. She stumbled and fell. He struck her again. She stumbled and fell. “You woke the dragon,” he screamed as he kicked her. “You woke the dragon, you woke the dragon.” Her thighs were slick with blood. She closed her eyes and whimpered. As if in answer, there was a hideous ripping sound and the crackling of some great fire. When she looked again Viserys was gone, great columns of flame rose all around, and in the midst of them was the dragon. It turned its great head slowly. When its molten eyes found hers, she woke, shaking and covered with a fine sweat.

Newly wedded, when she is despairing in the Dothraki Sea, and feeling that she cannot go on, she dreams of a black dragon.

There was only her and the dragon. Its scales were black as night, wet and slick with blood. Her blood, Dany sensed. Its eyes were pools of molten magma, and when it opened its mouth, the flame came roaring out in a hot jet. She could hear it singing to her. She opened her arms to the fire, embraced it, let it swallow her whole, let it cleanse her cleanse her and temper her and scour her clean. She could feel her flesh sear and blacken and slough away, could feel her blood boil and turn to steam, and yet there was no pain. She felt strong and new and fierce.

After the birth of her three dragons, Daenerys Targaryen seems to no longer be dreaming of the black dragon, but she is plagued by other dreams and visions.

The night before the sack of Astapor, aboard the *Balerion*, Daenerys Targaryen has what may be a prophetic dream that may involve the Others:

That night she dreamt she was Rhaegar, riding to the Trident. But she was mounted on a dragon, not a horse. When she saw the Usurper’s rebel host across the river they were armored all in ice, but she bathed them in dragonfire and they melted away like dew and turned the Trident into a torrent. Some small part of her knew that she was dreaming, but another part exulted. This is how it was meant to be. The other was a nightmare, and I have only now awakened.

As Queen of Meereen she chains Viserion and Rhaegal in the darkness of the Great Pyramid's pit and Drogon is lost to her in the Dothraki Sea. She is finding herself vexed by nightmares, and her dreams have changed, no longer offering her succour:

Beneath her coverlets she tossed and turned, dreaming that Hizdahr was kissing her … but his lips were blue and bruised, and when he thrust himself inside her, his manhood was cold as ice.

Maester Aemon

Maester Aemon tells Samwell Tarly:

I see them in my dreams, Sam. I see a red star bleeding in the sky. I still remember red. I see their shadows on the snow, hear the crack of leathern wings, feel their hot breath. My brothers dreamed of dragons too, and their dreams killed them, every one.

As he weakens he spends more time sleeping. Sometimes he would call for Sam, insisting that he had to tell him something, but he would often forget what he meant to say by the time Sam arrived. Even when he did recall his talk was all a jumble. He spoke of dreams and never named the dreamer, of a glass candle that could not be lit and eggs that would not hatch. He said the sphinx was the riddle, not the riddler. He asked Sam to read for him from a book by Septon Barth, whose writings had been burned during the reign of Baelor the Blessed. Once he woke up weeping, wailing:

the dragon must have three heads…but I am too old to be one of them. I should be with her, showing her the way, but my body has betrayed me.

He mentions "the prophecy" and his "brother’s dream" to Sam - but does not mention what prophecy or which brother to Sam, or what the dream entailed.

Daeron Targaryen

Prince Daeron Targaryen told Dunk about a dream he had. A great red dragon would fall on Ser Duncan, dead, but the knight would walk off alive. He said he did not know what it meant, but that his dreams came true and that he was scared of Dunk. The dream turned out to be metaphorical, referring to the death of Prince Baelor Targaryen.

Prince Aegon Targaryen mentions another dream of Daeron's:

"I'm not stupid, ser. Someday the dragons will return. My brother Daeron's dreamed of it, and King Aerys read it in a prophecy. Maybe it will be my egg that hatches. That would be splendid."

Daemon II Blackfyre

Daemon II Blackfyre, in the guise of 'John the Fiddler', talks to Duncan, saying that he recognized him on the road. Duncan had appeared to him in a dream in which Duncan wore the all-white armor of the Kingsguard. The Fiddler says his dreams always come true, as he dreamt his brothers dead once and also a dragon hatching from an egg at Whitewalls.

Quotes

There have always been Targaryens who dreamed of things to come, since long before the Conquest.

- Brynden Rivers, to Duncan and Aegon Targaryen




Annotations from item #46265643:

Drogon's black dragon egg in the flames of Khal Drogo's funeral pyre. Art by Julepe. ©FFG

Princess Elaena Targaryen, holding a dragon's egg that matches the color of her hair. Art by Amok©

A dragon egg is an egg laid by a dragon, as a means of reproduction.

Contents

About

See also: Images of dragon eggs

Dragon eggs come in various colors. Judging from the color of Daenerys Targaryen's dragons, the coloring of the eggshell appears to indicate the coloring of the dragon within.

Dragons have been known to lay eggs in a clutch of up to at least five, Whether an egg has to be fertilized by a male dragon in order to hatch is not known.

There were dragon hatcheries on the island of Dragonstone under the Dragonmont volcano, where many eggs and young hatchling dragons could be found.

When a new member of House Targaryen was born, it was traditional to place a dragon egg in their cradle. If the dragon hatched, it was considered a sign that the baby was a true Targaryen.

The last Targaryen dragon laid a clutch of five eggs.

Fossilized dragon eggs are more precious than rubies.

Attempts to hatch dragon eggs

After the extinction of their dragons in 153 AC, the Targaryens made numerous attempts to hatch the dragon eggs left behind. King Aegon III Targaryen, the Dragonsbane, sent away for nine mages from Essos at his Hand Viserys's suggestion. However, the attempt to use their magic to kindle a clutch of eggs proved both a debacle and a failure.

Daenerys's dragon eggs

Dany holding a dragon egg. Art by Katherine Dinger, ©FFG

Daenerys Targaryen receives three fossilized dragon eggs from Magister Illyrio Mopatis as a wedding gift. According to Illyrio, the eggs are from the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai, and they have turned to stone over eons of time.

To Daenerys, the eggs are huge, and are the most beautiful things she has ever seen. They are patterned in such rich colors that at first she thinks they are crusted in jewels, and so large that it takes both of her hands to hold one. When Dany lifts one, she expects it to be made of some fine porcelain or delicate enamel or even blown glass, but it is much heavier than that, as if it were all of solid stone. The surface of the shell is covered with tiny scales, and as she turns the egg between her fingers, it shimmers like polished metal in the light of the setting sun.

The eggs are beautiful colors. One egg is a deep green, with burnished bronze flecks that comes and goes depending on how Dany turns it. Another egg is pale cream streaked with gold. The last egg is black as the midnight sea, yet alive with scarlet ripples and swirls.

Dany feels heat from her dragon eggs, where others feel only cold.

Dragons known to have laid eggs

Mushroom, a court fool during the reigns of Viserys I, Aegon II, Rhaenyra and Aegon III, claims in *The Testimony of Mushroom* that the dragon Vermax left a clutch of eggs somewhere in the crypts of Winterfell at the start of the Dance of the Dragons. However, there is no official record that Vermax ever laid a single egg, suggesting the dragon was male, and maesters feel that the wild claim of Mushroom is baseless, typical for his Testimony.

Known dragon eggs

Depending on how one reads a statement in The Mystery Knight, it might be possible that Princesses Rhae and Daella Targaryen had been gifted dragon eggs as well.

The Rogue Prince

Prince Daemon Targaryen presented his concubine Mysaria with a dragon egg after she became pregnant, but King Viserys I Targaryen commanded him to return the egg and return to his wife, or else be attainted as a traitor. Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen's three sons by Laenor Velaryon were each given a dragon egg while in the cradle, by royal decree; those who believed the boys' father truly was Ser Harwin Strong whispered that the eggs would never hatch, but they all did, and the boys became dragonriders. Prince Aemond Targaryen rejected the "stupid" eggs and "puny" hatchlings of Dragonstone, for the great dragon Vhagar. Dragon eggs were placed in the cradles of Prince Aegon the Younger, Prince Viserys, Prince Jaehaerys, Princess Jaehaera, and Prince Maelor Targaryen.

The Princess and the Queen

At the start of the Dance of the Dragons civil war, the greens faction's two-year-old Prince Maelor Targaryen possessed a dragon egg, as did the blacks faction's Prince Viserys. The blacks's Rhaena Targaryen was given an egg from Syrax's recent clutch prior to the civil war, and brought three dragon's eggs with her to the Vale, where she prayed nightly for their hatching.

When Prince Viserys was taken captive off of the *Gay Abandon*, he hid his dragon egg. It is not known what happened to the egg.

The Sworn Sword

It is revealed that the thief Quickfinger was caught with stolen dragon eggs during the First Blackfyre Rebellion.

The Mystery Knight

Prince Aegon "Egg" Targaryen tells Ser Duncan the Tall that he and his brothers were all gifted dragon eggs while in the cradle. He tells Dunk that there is a prophecy that the dragons will return, and that he and his brother Aemon would often pretend that their eggs would be the ones to hatch.

A tourney at Whitewalls is held to celebrate the wedding of Lord Ambrose Butterwell to the daughter of Lord Frey. The victor's prize is to be a dragon egg, which had been granted to Lord Butterwell's grandfather by King Aegon IV Targaryen. In truth, the wedding and tourney is an attempt to secretly foment the Second Blackfyre Rebellion in the name of Daemon II Blackfyre, who had dreamed that a dragon would be born at Whitewalls. The tourney was rigged so that Daemon would win the dragon egg, but it goes missing before his last joust, and Ser Glendon Ball is framed for the theft. After the defeat of the attempted rebellion, Hand of the King Brynden Rivers informs Dunk the egg was in fact taken by an agent of his who crawled up the privy shaft of the castle to take the egg from its guarded chamber, and that the egg is now safe.

A Game of Thrones

Daenerys Targaryen placing her dragon eggs on Drogo's funeral pyre. Art by Felicia Cano, © Fantasy Flight Games

At Daenerys Targaryen's wedding to Khal Drogo, Magister Illyrio Mopatis gives her a gift of three fossilized dragon's eggs.

A Storm of Swords

On Dragonstone, Melisandre tells King Stannis Baratheon that only king's blood can wake the stone dragon. Stannis grinds his teeth and replies,

The dragons are done. The Targaryens tried to bring them back half a dozen times. And made fools of themselves, or corpses.

Later on, Queen Selyse tries to persuade Stannis that he needs dragons to take the kingdom. Stannis has heard enough talk of stone dragons, and reminds her,

Nine mages crossed the sea to hatch Aegon the Third's cache of eggs. Baelor the Blessed prayed over his for half a year. Aegon the Fourth built dragons of wood and iron. Aerion Brightflame drank wildfire to transform himself. The mages failed, King Baelor's prayers went unanswered, the wooden dragons burned, and Prince Aerion died screaming.

A Feast for Crows

At the Wall, Samwell Tarly ponders that there were dragons at the Wall two hundred years earlier. Sam thinks about Queen Alysanne Targaryen who had visited Castle Black on her dragon, and Jaehaerys, her king, who had come after her on his own. Sam wonders to himself, *"could Silverwing have left an egg behind? Or had Stannis found an egg on Dragonstone? Even if he has an egg, how can he hope to quicken it?"* He recalls that Baelor I Targaryen had prayed over his eggs, the other Targaryens had sought to hatch theirs with sorcery, but all they got for it was farce and tragedy.

Lord Hallyne, of the Alchemists' Guild, asks Queen Regent Cersei Lannister that his pyromancers be allowed to hatch any dragon's eggs that might turn up upon Dragonstone, now that the isle is safely back in royal hands. Cersei remarks that if any such eggs remain, Stannis Baratheon would have sold them to pay for his rebellion. She refrains from saying that the plan is mad. Ever since the last Targaryen dragon had died, all such attempts to hatch dragon eggs had ended in death, disaster, or disgrace.

Euron Greyjoy claims to have held a dragon's egg in his hand. A Myrish wizard swore he could hatch it if Euron gave him a year and all the gold that he required. When Euron grew bored with the wizard's excuses, he slew him, even though it had not yet been a year. When Victarion Greyjoy asks Euron to show him the egg, he tells him that he threw it in the sea during one of his dark moods.

A Dance with Dragons

According to Lord Mace Tyrell, his son Ser Loras Tyrell and his men searched every inch of Dragonstone, but did not find any gold, gems, or any sign of the fabled hoard of dragon eggs. Lord Regent Kevan Lannister privately doubts Mace's protestations.

Quotes

Daenerys Targaryen, with her three dragon eggs. Art by Algesiras.

Dragon's eggs, from the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai. The eons have turned them to stone, yet still they burn bright with beauty.

—Magister Illyrio Mopatis

Bring my eggs.

Daenerys Targaryen's command to her handmaidens

If he'd known they were like to hatch, he'd would have sat on them himself.

—Ser Jorah Mormont to Daenerys Targaryen, on Illyrio Mopatis's gift of dragon eggs to her

Someday the dragons will return. My brother Daeron's dreamed of it, and King Aerys read it in a prophecy. Maybe it will be my egg that hatches. That would be splendid.

Egg, to Dunk