Talk:Meraxes

It turns out that Google Books has already digitized the "Dangerous Women" anthology which includes The Princess and the Queen. If you google "Dangerous Women" with proper names from the narrative, excerpts pop up on google search which shouldn't be publicly available yet.

One of these does confirm that dear God, the Dornish actually managed to kill Meraxes.

"Some claimed a crossbowman put an iron bolt through his eye, but this version seems suspiciously similar to the way Meraxes met her end, long ago in Dorne." 

So yes, Meraxes was killed by sustained crossbow fire which managed to penetrate its eyes. Crossbows have greater force behind them than longbows. Also, note that this confirms that historians consider Meraxes to be female: dragons actually shift gender as the needs of the species require (like certain kinds of amphibians); later generations thought this was a myth, though others debated that it was not. The point is that the Maester allegedly writing The Princess and the Queen doesn't think dragons can switch gender; so their only basis for calling a dragon "she" is the ones who are confirmed to have laid eggs. Which is good: I'd have been worried if ALL subsequent dragons were the progeny of only Vhagar and Balerion. Still...crud, the Dornish. It's like taking down a living god.--The Dragon Demands (talk) 08:46, November 1, 2013 (UTC)

Page 705 - "Ser Criston returned to White Sword Tower and sent his brothers of the Kingsguard to summon the members of the king's small council. It was the hour of the owl ..." [This is part of the opening preview given at Tor.com, to give a sense of how far apart subsequent events on later pages are]

Page 707 - "“If we do this,” Grand Maester Orwyle cautioned the council, “it must surely lead to war. The princess will not meekly stand aside, and she has dragons."

Page 712 - "“As an instrument of conquest, however, our army leaves somewhat to be desired,” Prince Daemon observed sourly. A dozen lesser lords, bannermen and..."

Page 712 - "with white, yet fierce and fearless as she had been at two-and-twenty—a woman sometimes known among the smallfolk as “The Queen Who Never Was"..."

Page 713 - "Prince Daemon had good reason to hope that the Maid of the Vale might bring the Eyrie to their side as well. Aegon would surely seek the support of Pyke, he judged; only the Iron Islands could hope to match the strength of House Velaryon at sea. But the ironmen were..."

Page 720 - "At that Lord Borros [Baratheon] grew uneasy. “Not here,” he grumbled. “He came an envoy. I want no blood shed beneath my roof.” So his guards put themselves between the princelings and escorted Lucerys Velaryon from the Round Hall, back to the castle yard where his dragon Arrax was..."

Page 726 - "Mindful of the promise he had made to the Maiden of the Vale, Jace ordered Prince Joffrey to fly to Gulltown with Tyraxes. Munkun suggests that Jace's desire to..."

Page 726 - "the seeds Jacaerys Velaryon had planted on his flight north had begun to bear fruit, and men were gathering at White Harbor, Winterfell, Barrowton, Sisterton, Gulltown, and the Gates of the Moon. Should they join their strength with that of the ..."

Page 727 - "Rhaena, the thirteen-year-old daughter of Prince Daemon by Laena Ve- laryon, was chosen to accompany him. Known as Rhaena of Pentos, for the city of her birth, she was no dragonrider, her hatchling having died some years before, but she brought three dragon's eggs..."

Page 731 - "When Prince Jacaerys swept down upon a line of Lysene galleys on Vermax, a rain of spears and arrows rose up to meet him. The sailors of the Triarchy had faced dragons before whilst warring against Prince Daemon in the Stepstones. No man could fault their courage; they were..."

Page 731 - "When the ship heeled over and sank, Vermax sank with her. It is said that Jacaerys Velaryon leapt free and clung..."

Page 735 - "One by one, the dragons made their descent. Sheepstealer lighted atop Visenya's Hill, Silverwing and Vermithor on the Hill of Rhaenys, outside the Dragonpit."

Page 744 - "The Sea Snake proposed to let the Faith take charge of Queen Alicent and Queen Helaena, so that they might spend the re- mainder of their lives in prayer and..."

Page 744 - "Flying Tessarion ahead of the main column, Prince Daeron had proved invaluable as a scout, warning Lord Ormund of enemy movements and entrenchments."

page 755 - "Daemon left his own chains dangling. Caraxes hissed again, filling the air with flame, and Vhagar answered with a roar. As one the two dragons leapt into the sky. Prince Daemon took Caraxes up swiftly, lashing him with a steel-tipped whip..."

page 755 - "Up and up she soared, searching for Caraxes as Alys Rivers watched from atop Kingspyre Tower in Harrenhal below. The attack came sudden as a thunderbolt."

Page 755 - "In his hand was Dark Sister, the sword of Queen Visenya. As Aemond One-Eye looked up in terror, fumbling with the chains that bound him to his saddle. Daemon ripped off his nephew's helm and drove the sword down into his blind eye..."

Page 761 - "By the time they reached the Hill of Rhaenys, their numbers had doubled. High atop Aegon's High Hill across the city, the Queen watched the attack unfold from..."

Page 764 - "It was the seventh blow, the Stranger's blow, that slew the dragon, crashing through scale and bones into the beast's brain. Morghul, it is written, was slain by the"

Page 774 - "Seasmoke was first to die, when Vermithor locked his teeth into his neck and ripped his head off. Afterward the bronze dragon tried to take flight with his prize still..."

Page 774 - "After a moment he collapsed and died. Tessarion, the Blue Queen, lasted until sunset. Thrice she tried to regain the sky, and thrice failed. By late afternoon she..."

Page 774 - "One remained: Silverwing, Good Queen Alysanne's mount in days of old, had taken to the sky as the carnage began, circling the battlefield for hours, soaring on."

Page 774 - "Helaena's daughter, Jaehaera, could be made his own ward, and in due time married to Prince Aegon the Younger, binding the two halves of House Targaryen"