The Descent Was Steep And Rocky, But Dany Rode Fearlessly, And The Joy And The Danger Of It Were A Song

The descent was steep and rocky, but Dany rode fearlessly, and the joy and the danger of it were a song in her heart. All her life Viserys had told her she was a princess, but not until she rode her silver had Daenerys Targaryen ever felt like one.

At first it had not come easy. The khalasar had broken camp the morning after her wedding, moving east toward Vaes Dothrak, and by the third day Dany thought she was going to die. Saddle sores opened on her bottom, hideous and bloody. Her thighs were chafed raw, her hands blistered from the reins, the muscles of her legs and back so wracked with pain that she could scarcely sit. By the time dusk fell, her handmaids would need to help her down from her mount.

Even the nights brought no relief. […] Drogo would come to her tent and wake her in the dark, to ride her as relentlessly as he rode his stallion. He always took her from behind, Dothraki fashion, for which Dany was grateful; that way her lord husband could not see the tears that wet her face, and she could use her pillow to muffle her cries of pain. When he was done, he would close his eyes and begin to snore softly and Dany would lie beside him, her body bruised and sore, hurting too much for sleep.

Day followed day, and night followed night, until Dany knew she could not endure a moment longer. She would kill herself rather than go on, she decided one night …

Yet when she slept that night, she dreamt the dragon dream again. Viserys was not in it this time. 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 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.

And the next day, strangely, she did not seem to hurt quite so much. It was as if the gods had heard her and taken pity. […] From that hour onward, each day was easier than the one before it. Her legs grew stronger; her blisters burst and her hands grew callused; her soft thighs toughened, supple as leather.

As the riding became less an ordeal, Dany began to notice the beauties of the land around her. […] She still ached after a long day’s riding, yet somehow the pain had a sweetness to it now, and each morning she came willingly to her saddle, eager to know what wonders waited for her in the lands ahead.

SNOWSTORM SUMMER 2022 ↳ A Game of Thrones and A Dance With Dragons Parallel

“Please, please, Viserys, I don’t want to, I want to go home.” - Daenerys I, A Game of Thrones 

Bring her home, Mance. I saved your son from Melisandre, and now I am about to save four thousand of your free folk. You owe me this one little girl. - Jon XI, A Dance With Dragons

“I’d let his whole khalasar f-ck you if need be, sweet sister, all forty thousand men, and their horses too if that was what it took to get my army. - Daenerys I, A Game of Thrones 

Would she still have that little sword he’d had Mikken forge for her? Stick them with the pointy end, he’d told her. Wisdom for her wedding night if half of what he heard of Ramsay Snow was true. - Jon XI, A Dance With Dragons

FIRE & BLOOD

i also have to say that AGoT’s last line being “…and for the first time in hundreds of years, the night came alive with the music of dragons.” really sold the series for me. first because i just think it’s a beautiful line. also, it’s a huge Oh Shit moment. like this is clearly a big thing that is going to change the world. also ofc the Parallels with the prologue, where the Others have returned…ice and fire, always….

but more importantly it’s such a strong statement on the themes of hope and rebirth. dany walked into drogo’s pyre thinking she had lost everything—she has no brother, no husband, no son. and she rises out of it with dragons. her new children. and a new purpose in life…she goes through a lot of character growth throughout all of AGoT, but walking into the pyre and emerging unscathed changes her…she no longer views her destiny as being the sister/wife/mother of a man who will restore the throne or whatever. she’s going to do that herself now….lots of thoughts and feelings

arya stark appreciation month - day 28: parallels with other characters  → both arya and dany lose their hair at the end of a game of thrones (arya’s is cut off, dany’s is burned off)

As the blade flashed toward her face, Arya threw herself backward, kicking wildly, wrenching her head from side to side, but he had her by the hair, so strong, she could feel her scalp tearing, and on her lips the salt taste of tears.

~

The Lannister guardsmen on the gate were stopping everyone, but Yoren called one by name and their wagons were waved through. No one spared Arya a glance. They were looking for a highborn girl, daughter of the King’s Hand, not for a skinny boy with his hair chopped off.

~

When the fire died at last and the ground became cool enough to walk upon, Ser Jorah Mormont found her amidst the ashes, surrounded by blackened logs and bits of glowing ember and the burnt bones of man and woman and stallion. She was naked, covered with soot, her clothes turned to ash, her beautiful hair all crisped away … yet she was unhurt.

~

Her hair had burned away in Drogo’s pyre, so her handmaids garbed her in the skin of the hrakkar Drogo had slain, the white lion of the Dothraki sea.

The gods have heard my prayer. “Unsullied!” Dany galloped before them, her silver-gold braid flying behind her, her bell chiming with every stride. “Slay the Good Masters, slay the soldiers, slay every man who wears a tokar or holds a whip, but harm no child under twelve, and strike the chains off every slave you see.” She raised the harpy’s fingers in the air … and then she flung the scourge aside. “Freedom!” she sang out. “Dracarys! Dracarys!” “Dracarys!” they shouted back, the sweetest word she’d ever heard. “Dracarys! Dracarys!” And all around them slavers ran and sobbed and begged and died, and the dusty air was filled with spears and fire. – A Storm of Swords

Daenerys Targaryen, A Song of Ice and Fire 2021 Calendar by Sam Hogg