George R.R. Martin has spent years building a set of rules around dragons in Game of Thrones. Then he threw them out for Daenerys Targaryen, and nobody bothered to tell him. The result is a dragon queen who breaks the rules of Westeros, and the story explains exactly how.
Martin’s Original Rules for Dragons
At the start of A Storm of Swords, Martin dedicated the novel to Phyllis Eisenstein, a fantasy writer who convinced him to include dragons in the Song of Ice and Fire books. Martin later told Kevin Smith that he originally considered making Targaryens pyromancers instead of dragonriders. The books went the other way, and the show House of the Dragon now features 16 different dragons, each with unique designs and personalities.
But Martin has always been careful about how dragons work. There is a distinct difference between House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones when it comes to Targaryen dragonriders. The rule is simple: a rider can only control one dragon, no more, no less.
The Exceptions to the Rule
Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) is the exception. Throughout history, Targaryens often tamed dragons by confronting them, like Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) did with Vhagar. They also placed dragon eggs in the cradles of newborn babies, creating an instant bond the moment the hatchlings emerged.
Daenerys poses a different case. Her dragon eggs are hundreds of years old, supposedly fossilized. But when she walks into the burning funeral pyre at the end of Season 1, she emerges with three newborn dragons. That means Daenerys shares a maternal bond with three dragons instead of one.
There is a catch. Daenerys can no longer give birth to a human child, an unprecedented situation unlike any other Targaryen in history.
The Targaryen Methods
The story notes that Targaryens have historically used two methods to tame dragons:
- Confronting a dragon directly, as Aemond did with Vhagar
- Placing an egg in the cradle of a newborn baby, creating an instant bond
Both methods produce one bond per rider.
Daenerys’s Unusual Case
Daenerys produces three bonds at once. She did not confront a dragon or place an egg in a cradle. She walked into a funeral pyre and emerged with three newborn dragons.
That makes her situation unprecedented. No other Targaryen in history has shared a maternal bond with three dragons, and no other Targaryen has been unable to give birth to a human child.
Comparing the Two Approaches
| Method | Result |
|---|---|
| Confronting a dragon | One bond per rider |
| Placing an egg in a cradle | One bond per rider |
| Walking into a funeral pyre | Three bonds at once |
What This Means for the Story
Martin built the rules, then he broke them for the character he wanted to matter most. Daenerys Targaryen shares a maternal bond with three dragons while the rest of Westeros follows the rules.
The story is a reminder that Martin writes rules and then breaks them. He dedicated A Storm of Swords to Phyllis Eisenstein, the writer who convinced him to include dragons. He considered making Targaryens pyromancers. He established a strict set of rules for Westeros’s most powerful house.
Then he gave Daenerys three dragons.
That is the whole story in one sentence.
The Final Word
The story is a fun one, and it is worth reading for anyone who wants to understand why Daenerys Targaryen shares a maternal bond with three dragons while the rest of Westeros follows the rules. The rules exist, and they are enforced.
Daenerys just happens to be the one person whose circumstances produced three bonds instead of one.
The story is a reminder that the rules of Westeros are meant to be broken. Just not by everyone.
See the video the story is built around at Collider.
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