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SPOILER WARNING
This page includes content relating to the Dance of the Dragons, and therefore contains potential spoilers for future seasons of House of the Dragon, as revealed in George R.R. Martin's writings. Anyone wishing to remain completely spoiler free for this prequel series should avoid any pages displaying this tag. |
"The Death of Kings"[3] is the fourteenth short of the fourth season of Histories & Lore. It is the seventy-third short of the series overall. It was released on February 17, 2015 in Game of Thrones: The Complete Fourth Season. It was narrated by Conleth Hill as Varys and written by Dave Hill.
Premise[]
Varys tracks the lives and all too common deaths of the Kings of Westeros over the years, proving that the Iron Throne is truly an uncomfortable seat to hold.[3]
Narration[]
Varys: The maesters tell us that Aegon came to Westeros with fire and blood, and hammered six kingdoms into one. The fire he undoubtedly brought, as the Kings of the Rock, Reach, and Iron Islands learned.
But blood has never been in short supply here, ever since the First Men carried a crown into Westeros. This First King united his people against the Children of the Forest and is supposedly buried in the North, a victim of a war he started. The first ruler of this land and the first to die on his throne. But not nearly the last.
For thousands of years afterwards, a thousand kings rose and fell, dying in their beds, in their battles, in their guards' and mistresses' arms.
The Age of Heroes sounds pretty until you realize what makes a hero: killing the enemies of his king. And to a king, there is no greater enemy than other kings. The Starks and Boltons, the Gardeners and Storm Kings, the Ironborn, and everyone else.
Even the mighty Targaryens were not immune from shortened reigns. Aegon's own son, Maegor the Cruel, was killed by the very Iron Throne his father had forged if you believe the tales. If you don't, then perhaps "the Cruel" is not a wise name for a king to earn.
Daeron, First of His Name, tried to finish his ancestors' work and bring Dorne into the fold. For his efforts, he lost sixty thousand men and his own life of eighteen years.
During the great Targaryen civil war known as "the Dance of the Dragons," a king and queen each vied for the throne, dividing their house and its dragons against each other. Eventually, the queen was fed to her rival's dragon while her son watched, and the victorious king soon died of his own wounds.
By the war's end, King's Landing was smashed, cities razed and sacked never to be rebuilt, and dragons had faded from this world.
Decades later, Aegon the Unworthy legitimized all of his bastards on his deathbed. Inevitably, the greatest of these, Daemon Blackfyre, declared himself the rightful heir and ignited yet another war for the crown.
After much bloodshed, Daemon was killed by an alliance of his half-brothers on the Redgrass Field. All the same, his descendants continued to threaten the Targaryens until half a century later, when Barristan the Bold slew Maelys the Monstrous on the Stepstones, extinguishing Daemon's line.
Given such an illustrious history, need we be so shocked by regicide?
A war of five kings can end only one way. With the death of four. Yet even in times of peace, a wise ruler knows that when men bend the knee to a king, too often, they rise holding daggers.
Appearances[]
Individuals[]
- King Aegon I Targaryen, the "Conqueror" (mentioned)
- King Loren I Lannister (mentioned indirectly)
- King Mern IX Gardener (mentioned indirectly)
- King Harren Hoare (mentioned indirectly)
- The First King
- King Maegor Targaryen, the "Cruel"
- King Daeron I Targaryen, the "Young Dragon"
- Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (mentioned indirectly)
- King Aegon II Targaryen (mentioned indirectly)
- King Aegon III Targaryen (mentioned indirectly)
- King Aegon IV Targaryen, the "Unworthy" (mentioned)
- King Daemon Blackfyre
- Brynden Rivers (unnamed)
- King Daeron II Targaryen (mentioned indirectly)
- Ser Barristan Selmy, the "Bold"
- King Maelys Blackfyre, the "Monstrous"
Houses[]
- House Stark (mentioned)
- House Bolton (mentioned)
- House Gardener (mentioned)
- House Durrandon (mentioned indirectly)
- House Targaryen
- House Blackfyre
Locations[]
Events[]
- War of the First Men and the Children of the Forest
- Conquest of Dorne (unnamed)
- Dance of the Dragons
- Blackfyre Rebellion (unnamed)
- War of the Ninepenny Kings (unnamed)
- War of the Five Kings
Races[]
- First Men
- Children of the Forest
- Ironborn (mentioned)
Titles[]
- King in the North (crown)
- King of the Iron Islands (Driftwood crown)
- King of the Mountain and the Vale (Falcon crown)
- King of the Reach (crown)
- Storm King (crown)
- King of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men (Aegon I's crown)
Miscellaneous[]
Cast[]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Cian Gaffney (July 15, 2014). Game of Thrones Season 4 DVD/Blu-ray Release Date Confirmed. HBO Watch. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
- ↑ Histories & Lore: Season 4, Short 14: "The Death of Kings" (2015).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Game of Thrones: The Complete Fourth Season (2015).
- ↑ Vanessa Cole (July 22, 2017). Game of Thrones writer Dave Hill gives a behind the scenes look at the creative process. Watchers on the Wall. Retrieved December 15, 2023.