Age of Heroes: What stories should HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel tell?

12. The Freehold of Valyria

What it is: Arguably the mightiest empire the world of Ice and Fire has ever seen, Valyria is the home of the dragonlords, a group of powerful families. The Targaryens were among them. It is likely but unconfirmed if all of these families rode and bred dragons. Valyria ruled over vast parts of Essos, including what would eventually become the Free Cities, and even small parts of Westeros like Dragonstone.

Why it could be awesome: This would be a great opportunity to have dragons in the show, which would bring in the viewers. Valyria might also provide something like a counterpart to the Others/White Walkers, representing the fire to their ice. The ultimate fate of the Others and the dragons may be linked; their origins could be, as well.

Why it could be terrible: Valyria may be something that works better if we only ever get brief glimpses of it. A city and an empire full of dragons and sorcery could be too much. More importantly, the more of Essos the show gives us, the more it threatens to become overextended and incoherent. The Age of Heroes is an era of Westerosi history, and there is little intercontinental contact during that time. And the glory days of Valyria hadn’t even begun at this point, anyway — at least, not if we can trust the histories available.

How likely we are to get it: 90% (but probably only insofar as it relates to the origins of the Others)

Next: Meet the Heroes from the Age of Heroes

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