The Dance of Dragons was a civil war that took place in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, approximately 150 years before the events depicted in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. The conflict was fought between two key claimants to the Iron Throne, who were each supported by different factions within the realm.
The Targaryen dynasty had ruled over most of Westeros for nearly three centuries at this point, since a Valyrian conqueror named Aegon I Targaryen arrived with his dragons and conquered six out of seven kingdoms on mainland Westeros. Immediately prior to the Dance, King Viserys I died without settling on an heir; his death led to political turmoil as various claimants emerged.
The two primary figures involved in the conflict were:
– Rhaenyra Targaryen: Viserys’ daughter from his first marriage (who’d been originally designated heir), whose mother had been disinherited when he re-married her stepmother.
– Aegon II Targaryen: one of Viserys’ younger brothers – many suspect his mother Alicent Hightower pushed him forward for succession instead of Rhaenyra.
Various other lords joined up behind each faction based on loyalty, power calculations or ideology (for instance, many dragonriders inclined towards supporting Rhaeynra due to her familiarity with dragon management). The resulting war lasted several years and devastated much of Westeros.
So Who Survived?
Before we answer that question more precisely than “other than all but one dragon,” some quick facts about what happened during this epic bloodbath:
– Both sides savaged each other: everywhere there were hideous twists like skinned men riddled with arrows sewn together into blankets or flayed bodies splayed across castle walls.
– Wherever possible nobility turned themselves against siblings or close relatives,
For example, Rhaenyra’s husband Prince Daemon Turnedcloak was blamed for erasing Green’s power and seized by her own people which eventually diminished their morale.
– For most of the conflict, both armies were largely evenly matched in strength. The two major battles fought between them (the Battle on the Honeywine and the Battle at Rook’s Rest) were bloody stalemates that mainly ended with one side running out of soldiers rather than anyone emerging triumphant.
– Eventually Aegon gained upper hand aided by his favorite dragon Sunfyre. He directly assaulted enemy castles showing no mercy even to commonfolk lodged inside.
Here are some characters who managed to survive this brutal battle between the two Targaryen factions:
1. Corlys Velaryon: Lord Admiral of Westeros before being rewarded as “The Sea Snake”, a member of Rhaeynra faction and primarily responsible for sea-borne forces.
2. Ser Harwin Strong: Considerable Toll Keeper of royal family army hiding beneath thrall collar network eventually siding with Greens courtesy endowment from King Aegon II i.e castle.”
3. Tommen Baratheon – one orphaned survivor offered salvation via hidden tunnel existing under Maester Gyldayn.
4.Ser Arryk & Erryk Cargyll : Fierce competitive twins divided among opposite sides emerged victoriously yet succumbed due so ailment suffered during aerial fight each other over God’s Eye Lake.
Conversely there are characters that were not lucky enough such as:
1.Daemon Waters -killed single handedly by Blood & Cheese, assassins sent by conspirational forces backing greens
2.Raezalor Targaryen- uncle of Rheynera supporting green cause[ failed miserably while commanding naval take-over].
3.Nettles -bastard rider nurturing Sheepstealer remained fugitive despite continuous claim regarding existence due to extensive hunting initiated by Queen Helaena targeting her survival.
4.Quentin Leipyne- Royce of Dorne responsible for raising small dothraki army in favour of Targaryen led faction who was left with no option than surrender whilst failing miserably and later executed.
Overall, many characters from both the Green and Black forces perished during the violence that engulfed Westeros during the Dance of Dragons. While some survived by being clever and others simply got lucky, it’s clear that this conflict laid waste to large parts of a once-thriving realm, eventually losing over half-dozen dragons contributing further deterioration amongst people.
The Dance of Dragons: A Civil War for the Iron Throne in Westeros
150 years before the events depicted in George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, a devastating civil war took place in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, known as The Dance of Dragons. This conflict was fought between two key claimants to the Iron Throne, each being supported by different factions within the realm.
At that point in time, the Targaryen dynasty had ruled over most of Westeros for almost three centuries since their arrival with dragons from Valyria. King Viserys I’s death without settling on an heir led to political turmoil as various claimants emerged.
The two primary figures involved were Rhaenyra Targaryen (Viserys’ daughter) and Aegon II Targaryen (one of Viserys’ younger brothers). Many suspect his mother, Alicent Hightower, pushed him forward for succession instead of Rhaenyra. Various other lords joined behind each faction based on loyalty or power calculations. For instance, many dragonriders inclined towards supporting Rhaeynra due to her familiarity with dragon management.
The resulting war lasted several years and devastated much of Westeros; both sides savaged each other at every opportunity possible leading to bizarre twists such as skinned men sewn together into blankets or flayed bodies splayed across castle walls. Nobility turned against siblings or close relatives wherever possible; Prince Daemon Turnedcloak was blamed for erasing Green’s power and later seized by his own people that diminished their morale drastically.Highly competitive twins Ser Arryk & Erryk Cargyll emerged victoriously yet succumbed due so ailment suffered during aerial fight arguing over God’s Eye Lake.Reduced armies led ultimately to stalemates including Battle on Honeywine as well asthe battle at Rook’s Rest,till King Aegon II eventually gained upper hand aided by his favorite dragon Sunfyre. He showed no mercy even to the commonfolk lodged inside enemy castles he directly assaulted.
Numerous characters, both from the Greens and Blacks faction, perished during this civil war for claiming hold on Iron throne. Nonetheless some survived either by being clever or were simply lucky, yet it’s clear that this conflict laid waste to large parts of a once-thriving realm, losing over half-dozen dragons contributing further deterioration amongst people.
Here are some notable survivors:
1. Corlys Velaryon: Lord Admiral of Westeros before being rewarded as “The Sea Snake”, a member of Rhaeynra faction primarily responsible for sea-borne forces.
2. Ser Harwin Strong: Considerable Toll Keeper of royal family army hiding beneath thrall collar network ultimately turning at Advantage towards greens courtesy grant from King Aegon II i.e castle”
3.Tommen Baratheon – one orphaned survivor offered salvation via hidden tunnel existing under Maester Gyldayn.
4.Ser Arryk & Erryk Cargyll : Fierce competitive twins divided among opposite sides emerged victoriously yet succumbed due so ailment suffered during aerial fight each other over God’s Eye Lake.
In contrast, here are few who met their fate in Dance Of Dragons:
1.Daemon Waters -: Assassinated single-handedly by Blood & Cheese sent by conspirational forces backing greens
2.Raezalor Targaryen- Uncle of Rheynera supporting green cause failed miserably whilst commanding naval take-over].
3.Nettles -bastard rider nurturing Sheepstealer remained fugitive despite continuous claim regarding existence citing extensive hunting led by Queen Helaena targeting her survival.
4.Quentin Leipyne- Royce of Dorne responsible for raising small dothraki army in favor of Targaryen-led faction who was left with no option than surrender under extreme circumstances and later executed.
The Dance of Dragons was a devastating period for Westeros characterized by political turmoil, bloodshed and death. While it did result in the eventual succession of one claimant to the Iron Throne, it also laid waste to large parts of the realm and forever changed the course of history for all those who lived through this chaotic period.