The Night King Riding Viserion Destroys the Wall

The Night King Riding Viserion Destroys the Wall

In most fictions during epic struggles between good and evil blue light (usually emanating from a weapon such as magical sword or staff) stands for goodness and purity, whereas red light symbolizes evil and all that is bad. In the series Game of Thrones however, the reverse is employed. Blue light (which is the breath of transformed Viserion) stands for death and destruction whereas red stands for blood and life. 

Viserion in the service of Night King

Young Drogo Dragon

In the final two episodes of GOT’s seventh season, we saw the demise of one of the dragons, Viserion, his carcass plunging into the icy depths.

Later still, in the lookout post on the wall we saw Beric and Tormund peer into the distance. 

Then came the highly anticipated and dreaded scene of the dead soldiers marching out of the woods, led by White Walkers on creepy horses.

“Run!” Tormund cries out and we hold our breath.

Suddenly we are startled by the appearance of the dragon, the newly blue-eyed Viserion, flapping badly battered wings. The Night King is riding Viserion, which feels like an affront; so does the uncomfortable sensation of watching the beloved dragon breathing devastating blue flame on the Wall.

The solid wall of ice begins to crumble with great clouds of smoke. 

Truly, the anticipated dread was manifest, when Viserion now in the service of the Night King, decimated the defensive wall that stood as the key stumbling block between the lands of the living and the undead army.

Then came the invading Army of the Dead marching unimpeded south; how many will be turned into white walkers? 

How many of the beloved characters will fall? Ugg. The Long Night will be upon them and us also as we wait with dread and anticipation for the outcome. 

Though there’s been no official word just yet, Game of Thrones Season 8 is currently slated to return in late 2018 or early 2019. Outside of the intriguing internal politics, the romance and the epic wars between the living armies, we also expect to see the dragons pitted against each other and the tragic scenarios’ brother against a brother. Add the elements of surprise to this; it should be an interesting season.

See You Then!

Fin

The Dreadnought Dragon of Game of Thrones

The Dreadnought Dragon of Game of Thrones

In any given war the opposing armies use every means within their power to gain the advantage. It so happens that in GOT, Daenerys Targaryen has three Dragons. We watched them hatching from stone eggs then growing to adulthood, so in the interim we grew rather fond of these magnificent, mystical creatures: the Dragons.

The Dragon was used in the surprise offensive on the Lannister army in Season 7, Episode 4 “The Spoils of War”. The show's largest battle sequence even surpassed in might last year's Battle of the Bastards. 

No one blames Daenerys for losing her patience and for her retaliation. Infuriated, she set on to rectify the Tyrion’s ill-advised strategies that cost her land, crucial allies and manpower.

No longer the nice girl, she shall punish the enemy. 

“To pursue an advantage and take an opportunity does not allow the error of a moment of breath. It is too early to act and instant earlier and too late to act and instant later.” Sun Tzu

Meanwhile, for a time our senses were lulled by the Lannister Army’s march, flush from its Highgarden victory, wagons laden with the golden spoils of war and much needed provisions. We listened to the quips between Jaime and Bronn with the striking red landscape as the backdrop, foreshadowing the terrible devastation to come. 

Then our ears picked up thundering horses’ hoofs hammering the ground. Next, our eyes caught the sight of a huge Drogon slicing through the air. Daenerys riding Drogon flew off the screen as hoards of charging Dothraki waving their weaponry and doing acrobatics on horseback as they swept across the land in a deadly wave. 

Pardon me for stating the obvious but the scene was very much reminiscent of past movies of cowboys and Indians, only in this instance the Indians aka Dothraki were to be the victors.

Yes indeed, Daenerys Targaryen unleashed the wrath of the Dragon on them... It was a truly a powerful thing to see. Did you expect otherwise?

The might of Drogon lending assistance to the cavalry, succeeded within minutes in the total rout of the entire Lannister army. Countless men and beasts were slaughtered by the hoards of Dothraki or burned to a crisp by the fiery breath of Drogon. 

Strangely enough this proved to be a better strategy on the part of Daenerys Targaryen since it resulted in greater gain against the Lannister force, certainly far more so than it would have been had she opted to assail the walled capital King’s landing instead.

This brings to mind the saying: “Do not attack the enemy on contestable ground.”

Meanwhile there is a sure foreshadowing of future problems to come: In King’s Landing, in the North, and with the Unsullied trapped in Casterly Rock. All of these face a shortage of supplies while awaiting the sure onset of the long winter and the impending attack of the Whitewalkers.

But I digress...coming back to the use of Dragons as serious weaponry. War necessitates the use of all formidable weapons to secure victory and all wars are a terrible bane for all humanity and civilization. Unfortunately throughout history mankind, always the aggressor, has resorted to war instead of diplomatic channels to resolve conflicts. Men are guilty of this terrible scourge. However, when it comes to living creatures like the Dragons and horses used in war, we are left in a quandary.

When Jamie bid Bronn to fetch Qyburns’ Scorpion, and later still Bronn took aim, undoubtedly many hearts quivered, fearing the worse for Drogon. For expectedly with Daenerys, being one of the major stars riding him, she would not perish. But would Drogon?

Relief set in to see, even though we’re not sure how badly Drogon was wounded, that the noble creature still had enough strength left in him to breath fire at that crucial moment and save Daenerys from Jaime’s attack. Jaime was, in turn, saved by Bronn, in case you are wondering. 

There is hint in the air however, predicting a far worse outcome for the Dragons.

Though there's no proven and concrete way to kill a dragon, there are a few ways that Dragons may possibly be killed. This based on knowledge from the books and the show.

In the story of Urrax and Serwyn of the Mirror Shield, Serwyn kills the dragon Urrax with a spear through the eye. The spear Cersei shot at Balerion's skull was through the eye. Meraxes, one of the great dragons used by Aegon the Conqueror to conquer Westeros, was killed by an iron bolt to the eye from a scorpion, a weapon similar to that Qyburn made. 

Qyburn's device could therefore work on Daenerys‘dragons, but they need to be better marksmen as a live dragon’s flight is swift. They can manoeuvre through the air while simultaneously unleashing the deadly breath of fire on the target with devastating results.

The Dance of the Dragons was a civil war between two Targaryens fighting for the Iron Throne, about 170 years before the events of "Game of Thrones." During this major war Dragons fought each other on opposing sides. Subsequently, there were many casualties of Dragons.

After Aegon III (who had deep seated hatred for the dragons) defeated his half-sister, Rhaenyra, he put the remaining dragons in chains and locked them up. These captive dragons grew weak and within a span of few years all perished. It is important to note however that Daenerys had locked up Rhaegal and Viserion in Meereen. But they survived their ordeal. So captivity was not the culprit, but, as rumoured, Aegon III or the maesters may have poisoned the captive dragons.

Then again, it’s important to note that the maesters at the Citadel in Oldtown (where Samwell Tarly is training) were totally adverse to magic, it can even be claimed that they despised it. 

Also, in the books, Euron Greyjoy has Dragonbinder. Valyrian glyphs on the horn read, "I am Dragonbinder ... No mortal man should sound me and live ... Blood for fire, fire for blood." Now this Dragonbinder (also known as the Hellhorn because it is a large dragon horn) is supposed to enable one to control dragons. It is said that anyone who blows the horn will die but any dragons that hear it will be compelled to obey the horn's master. We’ll have to see if this will be introduced into the HBO series.

The already despised influential character and an ally to Cersei Euron Greyjoy, could use this Dragonbinder, while escaping that certain death, to turn Daenerys ‘s dragons on each other. Indeed, it will be a feat that will put him in the limelight. 

Rest easy however; I think some if not all will survive to fight against the Whitewalkers. Fire and Ice... Isn’t that what was promised all along?

If, perchance, the Dragons do not survive or are altered, here are some possible dreaded futures:

Hope for the best 

Fin

A Pair of Fibbers

A Pair of Fibbers

Once upon a time at a countryside village, there were two best friends called Nero and Simon, who lived in two ramshackle houses in close proximity to each other. They were also the youngest of their many siblings and so they often were ignored. Being of similar temperament and preferring idleness to mundane daily chores, the co-conspirators Nero and Simon never failed to sneak off each and every day to some prearranged point to partake in some wildly imaginative adventures.

One such place was the nearby lake, a sizeable watercourse, with snaking shorelines, sometimes hidden with tall bulrushes, which extended for miles and miles. As the two friends both loved fibbing and being quite adept at swimming, they often chose to frolic at the unfrequented segment of this large lake.

This part once had plenty of fish but presently, if there were any fish there at all, they swam undisturbed and secure amidst the miasma of tall underwater weeds. Sometime prior some fishermen had been ensnared by this thick underwater vegetation and consequently drowned at this very spot. As others followed suit and corpses piled up the legend quickly spread about a vengeful Dragon King. This deterred many trespassers. This Dragon King was furious, as he had been cast down from the Heavens for some infractions and forced to take up residence in this insignificant lake 

Having wild and lively imaginations Nero and Simon were frequently drawn to this place and often made it their fun pastime to go on a quest to vanquish colossal monsters lurking in some shadows and deep recesses of the water.

As an added amusement each also fashioned wild claims just to see if they could hoodwink the other.

On this particular day, having snuck off again to seek another adventure, Nero and Simon eventually took refuge from the burning rays of the midday sun in the shade of a huge tree. Nero was drawing some imaginary lines in the ground when, finding the piece of meat he’d put in his pocket earlier on that morning, suddenly looked up and said:

“You know what, Simon? I was just thinking. This shade is well and good here but, hmm, thus far everything you and I had said, and you know it too, is all malarkey. Why don’t we cool off and wash out all this nonsense stuffing up our mind? But the lake waters are not so good here; do you dare go to that forbidden spot?”

“I’m no coward, lead on!” Simon jumped to his feet. 

Nero reached the spot first and, without hesitation, dove in. When he finally emerged from the water he sported a big wide grin on his face and, producing the meat, settled down in a shady spot and began to chew on it.

Simon quickly picked himself up from where he’d collapsed panting from the exertion. Reminded of his growling stomach, he wanted the same. Looking wistful at the yummy morsel, he licked his chops and asked: “Where did you get that meat?”

“Oh, this?” Nero smiled. “ The Dragon King was holding a feast and when he learned that I was going to wash away my nonsense, highly pleased, he ordered his servant to present me with this delectable peace. Oh, my word!” He licked his lips. “Wow, this meat is truly heavenly; wow, its soo delicious it must be slice of dragon’s liver. You know, from the ones that displease His Highness."

“I want some too! I too am deserving of such a reward.” Simon immediately removed his sweat soaked clothes and dove into the water. But he dived in so fast that he smashed his head against a deep rock. He emerged with a trail of blood streaming down his forehead.

“What happened?” Nero asked with concern. “How on earth did you hurt your head?”

Not wanting to admit defeat, Simon shook his head and grumbled: “The Dragon King was angry because I was tardy and beat me over the head with a drumstick. The pain is unbearable."



The End.

Baby Dragon’s Breath

Baby Dragon’s Breath

It was a dreary afternoon with gray earth and gray vegetation matching the gray sky. He was so used to staying indoors after the long cold winter. But yesterday was the Spring Equinox and ideally, this would be the time the buds would wake up.

“I need some fresh air,” He admonished himself for his laziness. He slammed the lid down on the notebook, fetched a toque and parka and headed outdoors. The cold air instantly filled his lungs but it still was refreshing. He strolled aimlessly about following the snaking somewhat muddy paths. He stopped once or twice, under bare trees and looked up to study the naked gray branches and the shy buds that remained hesitant to emerge. 

“Don’t blame you.” He mumbled under his breath. But just a little while longer and all will be warm, sunny and bright. “Patience,” he whispered into the air watching the pattern his cold breath took. He then abruptly turned and walked away with his long strides now leading him towards his favorite spot, the pond nearby. Further along as the seasons rolled by with spring emerging into summer, this place would be bustling with life. The bulrushes would compete with lush grasses, wildflowers and some planted flowers. Then the bare branches of the trees would be covered in blooms. Those blooms would turn into luscious crimson red berries, poisonous to man but a treat to the visiting birds. Then the air will be filled with the contented happy songs of chirping. Meanwhile the frogs would contribute their baritone croaking to the high chirp of the crickets in nature’s delightful cacophony.

He mustn’t forget the odd turtle or two and, of course.... “Ducks!!!!” There was one particular pair that without fail always returned to this pond. Sociable, they did not mind sharing space with the other newcomers. 

He climbed the few shallow steps and soon he was standing in the centre spot of the wooden bridge trying desperately to see anything remotely resembling spring.

“There!” His interest was drawn to the melting of the ice at the edge cluttered with gray debris and the rocks decked with moldy decorations, remnants of the long oppressive winter months. Those odd shapes on the gray rocks long at last peeked out from the oppressive ice. 

The cool gusts suddenly rose up and thrashed his face. He buttoned his jacket up higher and pulled down his toque, and then smiled looking at the wonderful ripples on the pond. He was reminded of the Zen sand sculptures, so perfect and rhythmic were the ripples. Though the air was crisp, he was oblivious to the cold now observing this harmonious, endless flow of wavelets. The “Water level was lower than usual” he pondered as he studied the chunks of ice desperately clinging to the shore. 

Suddenly his attention was drawn to the unusual rock, resembling the head of a Dragon, poking out in the centre of the pond. Yes, he reflected. It’s true, not all Dragons are fire breeders. Weren’t there Dragons residing in clouds and water, responsible for storms, rain and wind?

“Who’s to say? “ He shrugged and continued to watch the poking rock resembling a baby dragon’s head, laying low, quietly observing him while its shallow breaths created the steady ripples on the water. 

Enjoy the Video 

The End.