Wiki of Westeros

Dragon S02E01 Blood for blood. Fire to fire. House of the Dragon: Season 2 will premiere in June 2024.

READ MORE

Wiki of Westeros
Register
Advertisement
Wiki of Westeros
This page is about the prophecy. For other uses, see: A Song of Ice and Fire (disambiguation)
KOTNS Targaryen dagger

A Valyrian steel dagger bears an inscription of the prophecy, in Valyrian glyphs only revealed in extreme heat.

"Our histories, they tell us that Aegon looked across the Blackwater from Dragonstone, saw a rich land ripe for the capture. But ambition alone is not what drove him to conquest. It was a dream. And just as Daenys foresaw the end of Valyria, Aegon foresaw the end of the world of men. 'Tis to begin with a terrible winter, gusting out of the distant north. Aegon saw absolute darkness riding on those winds, and whatever dwells within will destroy the world of the living."
―Viserys I Targaryen[src]

"The Song of Ice and Fire"[1] is the name Aegon the Conqueror gave to a dragon dream he had prior to his conquest.

History[]

Background[]

While ruling from Dragonstone, Aegon Targaryen experienced a prophetic dream in which he foresaw the return of the White Walkers and the Great War. He took this to mean that to counter the threat, a Targaryen must unite and rule the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.[1] On a Valyrian steel dagger, he inscribed: "From my blood will come the Prince That Was Promised, and his will be the Song of Ice and Fire."[2][a]

House of the Dragon: Season 1[]

After deciding to name his daughter Rhaenyra heir to the Iron Throne, King Viserys I Targaryen tells her the prophecy and makes her promise to keep it secret. According to Viserys, the secret has been passed down from king to heir since Aegon's time.[1]

Viserys shows Rhaenyra the dagger, heated in a burning brazier, relating to its history and previous owners. Rhaenyra examines the red-hot dagger, and reads the hidden message aloud.[2]

Rhaenyra visits her father, whose health has severely deteriorated. She reminds him of the conversation they had about Aegon's dream; she fears that by naming her his heir, he divided the realm, instead of holding it unified against a common foe. Later, when Viserys is near death, he tells Alicent (mistaking her for Rhaenyra) that Aegon's dream is true, and that she is the one who must unite the realm against the cold and the dark.[3] Alicent takes this to mean that he wishes for their son Aegon to inherit the throne.[4]

Rhaenyra tells Daemon about "The Song of Ice and Fire," the coming war against the darkness in the North, the Conqueror's dream, that Viserys shared it with her when he named her his heir. Daemon dismisses that, stating that his brother was a slave to his omens and portents, anything to make his feckless reign appear to have purpose.[5]

Game of Thrones: Season 8[]

Samwell Tarly names a book written by Archmaester Ebrose A Song of Ice and Fire.[6]

In the books[]

In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the meaning of the eponymous term "song of ice and fire" is unclear. Like in the TV-continuity, the song of ice and fire is said to belong to the prince that was promised. Prior to the release of House of the Dragon, George R.R. Martin hinted in interviews that Aegon foresaw the return of the white walkers and then conquered the Seven Kingdoms, but he did not specifically link it to the song of ice and fire.

When Meera and Jojen Reed swear allegiance to Winterfell and Bran Stark, they swear by "ice and fire."

When Daenerys is in the House of the Undying, she has a vision of Rhaegar Targaryen and his wife Elia Martell, who is nursing their son Aegon. She hears Rhaegar say "He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire" (almost the same words inscribed on the dagger in the show). He then looks directly into Daenerys's eyes and says "There must be one more. The dragon has three heads" (A Clash of Kings, Daenerys IV); this part of Rhaegar's enigmatic words has not been included in the references to the prophecy in the show.

Daenerys later asks Jorah what the term "song of ice and fire" might mean, to which Jorah replies "It's no song I've ever heard."

Maester Yandel wrote a history book titled The World of Ice & Fire (the in-universe counterpart to the real book written by Elio García and Linda Antonsson with George R.R. Martin).

References[]

Notes[]

  1. In the episode, Rhaenyra omits the word "will" from the prophecy. According to David J. Peterson, the correct translation is "From my blood will come the Prince That Was Promised."

External links[]

Advertisement