House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 3 just teased the origin of dragons, thousands of years before Game of Thrones and Daenerys Targaryen — and the show offers further support for one prominent theory of how they came to be. SPOILERS ahead for House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 3. Although dragons are a massive part of the Game of Thrones spinoff, it doesn’t focus much on their history, mostly because they’ve been around for a long time before the Targaryen civil war. Indeed, the Dance of the Dragons is the beginning of the end for the creatures. As such, HOTD is more of an explanation for why they’re gone when Game of Thrones opens than it is an exploration of their deeper lore.
However, House of the Dragon does work in a nod to the dragons’ background in “Rhaenyra Triumphant.” It’s one viewers may not even notice on an initial watch. They’ll be more focused on Rhaenyra’s struggles, as this mention comes in the middle of yet another frustration for her character. Yet taking a closer look at her conversation with the High Septon, there’s a clear reference to a theory from the Song of Ice and Fire universe. It’s one that’s probable, and it’d make for another intriguing spinoff.
One of the many challenges Rhaenyra Targaryen faces upon returning to the Red Keep is the fact that the High Septon refuses to anoint her. He uses the fact that no one has seen Aegon II’s remains as his reasoning, but when Rhaenyra pushes her favor with the gods, the High Septon is still resistant. He tells her that his gods “do not deal in dragons,” calling them a “profane magic created in darkness and pride and lust for power, for impunity.” It doesn’t solve the mystery of where the ASOIAF universe’s dragons come from, exactly, but it hints that dark magic is involved.
It’s one of the few allusions we get to dragons’ origins on-screen, and his words are in line with certain accounts from the books. George R.R. Martin never confirms where dragons come from, but in-universe, there are theories about the subject. As most accounts of the creatures only go back a few hundred years, it’s hard to tell which of these hypotheses is based in truth. The High Septon’s beliefs support the speculation of another member of the Faith, and it does fit with Daenerys’ journey in Game of Thrones.
House of the Dragon‘s High Septon clearly believes dragons are the result of blood magic, and that’s a theory that hails from a man named Septon Barth. Barth serves as Hand of the King and advisor to King Jaehaerys I Targaryen — the ruler before King Viserys I and Vermithor’s former rider — and he’s mentioned a few times in the main ASOIAF books. His writings and legacy are known, as three separate characters reference him. However, Tyrion reveals that most of his work was destroyed during King Baelor I Targaryen’s reign. Specifically, Tyrion remembers a book dubbed Dragons, Wyrms, and Wyverns: Their Unnatural History. He suspects parts of it survived, but he doesn’t know where to find them.
Martin elaborates slightly on Septon Barth’s book in The World of Ice & Fire, mentioning that the septon “speculated that the bloodmages of Valyria used wyvern stock to create dragons.” Immediately after, Martin notes this isn’t widely accepted, as dragons are said to have existed before Valyria. And another theory about the dragons’ origin suggests the people of Valyria found them in the chain of volcanoes called the Fourteen Flames. They thought the dragons originated from there, so there’s definitely some disagreement about the creatures’ history.
Barth’s theory does seem likely, though, as he has a habit of hitting on truth given what we know of his writings. This Reddit thread breaks down some of the reasons many fans deem him “always right,” including his prediction of the Targaryens’ downfall and the Prince That Was Promised prophecy. Daenerys seemingly uses blood magic to hatch her eggs, and the red priestesses support her, so the idea that magic is involved in the dragons’ creation does add up. It’s not confirmed, but there’s a good case for it. It’d certainly make for an interesting spinoff.
The High Septon’s words in House of the Dragon add fuel to the idea that dragons came from blood magic, even though the man is likely repeating what he’s heard elsewhere. We can’t draw any definitive conclusions from this Season 3 line, but it raises one of Game of Thrones‘ most interesting mysteries all over again. It’s a reminder of how little we really know about Valyria and dragons, and those things would make for a fascinating spinoff. It’d need Martin’s creative involvement to work, but it’d be able to provide answers on this topic — and potentially be able to work its way toward one of Westeros’ most mysterious tragedies, the Doom of Valyria.
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