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What Are Ice Dragons And Where Are They Found?
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What Does Game of Thrones Lore Say About Ice Dragons?
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Viserion’s Reanimation: Did He Become An Ice Dragon?
Game of Thrones is a low fantasy series, and therefore magical events, mythical heroes, the Darkness of the Great Other, fantasy objects, and creatures are often viewed as outlandish by characters who suppose they live in a somewhat normal world. After the fall, Bran Stark is terrified to hear Old Nan’s description of the winter and the Long Night. She is able to strike fear into his heart because the boy of ten knows nothing about the Long Night and the coming of the White Walkers or the associated legendary creatures.
Old Nan mentions the White Walkers’ “pale spiders,” are as big as hounds. The ice-human Walkers rode across cities and towns on these legendary spider creatures, also known as Ice Spiders in Game of Thrones lore. Though Old Nan doesn’t mention ice dragons on Thrones, something about them piques the interest.
What Are Ice Dragons And Where Are They Found?
Ice dragons are found to the north of Essos, roaming the oceanic region known as the Shivering Sea. The vast region, covered by nothing but ice and snow, known as the White Waste borders the Shivering Sea in the North. To the west of the Shivering Sea is Northeastern Westeros, and to the south is the Narrow Sea. Being a Frigid Sea, and hence deathly cold, the Shivering Sea is by and large unexplored. The marine life of the Shivering Sea includes mostly whales, including the largest known creatures – the Leviathans, which surpass even dragons in size.
The legendary dragons that roam the Shivering Sea exceed the dragons of Old Valyria in size. It is said that these mythical creatures are made of living ice, and have translucent wings, pale blue eyes, and an icy breath. More mythical creatures whose names are associated with the Shivering Sea include ice giants, and pale mermaids bearing black scales on their lower bodies. Old Nan, who entertained Lord Eddard Stark’s children with all kinds of tales, says ice dragons have “very cold” breaths as they breathe cold instead of fire.
What Does Game of Thrones Lore Say About Ice Dragons?
Jon Snow thinks walking down the road beneath the Wall is like entering “the Gullet of an ice dragon.” In George R. R. Martin’s A Storm of Swords and A Dance with Dragons, Jon thinks of ice dragons during his time at the edge of the world. He’s aware of their existence as he was raised in Winterfell, and thus aware of many of Old Nan’s stories. The woman talked about all kinds of things, from dreadful winters, and cold and dead creatures, to the glorious Ser Duncan the Tall, and the Long Night.
Viserion’s Reanimation: Did He Become An Ice Dragon?
Daenerys’ dragon – Viserion is martyred in Game of Thrones season 7, episode 6 “Beyond the Wall” at the titular location, and he crashes into the frozen lake on the ground. The Night King achieves this task by hurling an icicle spear directly at him as he is too distracted by the Wights on the ground. Viserion is burning thousands of Wights on Daenerys Targaryen’s rescue mission beyond the Wall. The Wights pull Viserion’s body from the frozen lake, and the Night King reanimates him as an Undead dragon.
Viserion isn’t technically among the ice dragons that live in the Shivering Sea, or the White Waste in Game of Thrones lore. Best described as an Undead dragon, Viserion becomes one of the Others, post the far-fetched Game of Thrones‘ “Beyond the Wall” episode. Daenerys mourns his death and learns of his fate through Bran Stark in Game of Thrones season 8, episode 1 “Winterfell.”
The Night King has your dragon. He’s one of them now. The Wall has fallen. The dead march south.
Viserion makes it possible for the Night King, the White Walkers, and the Army of the Dead to enter the Kingdom of the North. His blue breath or blue fire burns down the Wall at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, and that’s how the Dead breach the other side of the Wall and march south.
The debate is about whether Viserion is one of the Night King’s lieutenants or a Wight dragon (like the White Walkers’ Wight-horses), or a Wight. Bran Stark, or the Three-Eyed Raven describes him as “one of them” on Game of Thrones. This could very well mean that he’s either a Wight dragon or the dragon version of a White Walker. The show left Viserion’s classification and characteristics unclear, but he’s more sapient than the terrifying creatures – the Wights, who are renowned for their lack of agency, and exhibit rudimentary levels of intelligence. Viserion’s place in the Night King’s legion was more important than any White Walker or the horde of Wights that were directed to Winterfell in Game of Thrones.
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