WiC Reads: Fire & Blood

3) Three Heads Had the Dragon – Governance Under King Aegon I

The proverbial three-headedness of the dragon still haunts A Song of Ice and Fire readers by the time we get to A Game of Thrones. At this point in history, the three heads are, obviously, Aegon and his sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, although Rhaenys is far less important than the other two in this chapter. It is not the only connection we get here to ASOIAF. There is also a reference to Dragonstone as a place whose “salt air always smelled of smoke and brimstone.” I can’t help but read that and think of the phrase “born amidst salt and smoke,” and I am sure many will have made the same connection.

In this chapter, we see Aegon properly change Westeros, going beyond turning some kings into lords and deposing others. The most important of those changes is probably the King’s Peace that puts an end to lords and knights raising arms against each other. Quarrels are now to be brought before the king or the respective liege lord.

Again, both the Faith and the Citadel play important roles. Aegon makes extensive use of the maesters and their knowledge, most likely because there are a lack of alternatives, and creates the office of Grand Maester, which looks weak in ASOIAF, but is somewhat different here, mask and all. He also exempts all “holy men and women of the Faith, and all their lands and possessions” from taxation. Both of these Oldtown-based institutions are clearly gaining a lot from Aegon’s Conquest.

We are also warned of a darker side to Visenya that we will undoubtedly see more of very soon. For now, she creates the Kingsguard and models their vows after those of the Night’s Watch, which shows a deep knowledge of the newly created realm and its more remote areas, and probably an interest in and knowledge of the importance of the Night’s Watch and their mission.