Highlights
- The most notable houses in Game of Thrones are House Lannister, House Stark, and House Targaryen, each with their distinct house words.
- House Targaryen's motto, "Fire and Blood," reflects their history of using dragons to conquer and unite the Seven Kingdoms, but Dorne remained an exception to their rule.
- Daenerys Targaryen embodies the Targaryen way of life, claiming her heritage and using her dragons to fulfill their house words, which sometimes leads to destruction but also brings about periods of peace and prosperity.
The most notable houses in HBO's Game of Thrones include House Lannister, House Stark, and House Targaryen, and each of them has distinct house words. The Starks, based in the North of Westeros, say the ominous words, "Winter Is Coming" to hold their actions and priorities in check. House Targaryen's words, "Fire and Blood" differ in nuance as Aegon used his dragons to unite the Seven Six Kingdoms into one realm. After King Torrhen Stark bent the knee to him, his dearest sister-wife, Rhaenys flew to Dorne on Meraxes to bring it under the fold of the realm. She found the castles of Vaith and Godsgrace abandoned, but met the eighty-year-old ruling Princess of Dorne, Meria Martell at Sunspear who refused to surrender.
Meria asked the Targaryen to return, saying, "I will not fight you, nor will I kneel to you. Dorne has no king. Tell your brother that." Rhaenys, in return, threatened her with her house words, "I shall, but we will come again Princess, and the next time we shall come with fire and blood." Dorne remained the only unconquered kingdom where the Targaryen motto of "Fire and Blood" failed to yield any result. The Principality did eventually become a part of the realm, not through Fire and Blood but through the marriage of Princess Daenerys Targaryen to Prince Maron Martell. While Dorne remains an exception to the rule, HBO's Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon bear witness to House Targaryen's wrath.
House Targaryen's Words
Westeros is home to many Noble Houses, each with members who have influenced some of the biggest events in history but the Targaryens are unlike the rest of them. They were the only dragonlords who survived the Doom of Valyria as their patriarch, Aenar moved to the island of Dragonstone. Not only did the Targaryens rule Westeros for nearly 300 years, but they also brought dragons to the continent. Members of the illustrious House Targaryen claim that they have the blood of the dragon. As depicted in HBO's House of the Dragon, the Targaryens are a force to be reckoned with, and although most of them were gone at the beginning of Game of Thrones, few who survived Robert's Rebellion had a long-lasting impact on Westeros.
The Mad King's daughter, Daenerys Targaryen is the biggest example in this direction. She took pride in her heritage, family values and called herself "the Dragon's Daughter" and "the Blood of Old Valyria." Game of Thrones dedicates the season 1 finale to House Targaryen's words. The episode is monumental because it marks the birth of dragons, otherwise known to be dead for centuries. Towards the end of Game of Thrones season 1, episode 10 "Fire and Blood," Daenerys offers her Khalasar the choice to leave or stand with her as she sets out to break the wheel. "I am Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen of the Blood of Old Valyria. I am the dragon's daughter. And I swear to you, that those who would harm you will die screaming," she exclaims. She sits in the fire of Khal Drago's funeral pyre with her three dragon eggs and hatches them into living dragons.
In Game of Thrones season 2, episode 4, "Garden of Bones," Daenerys makes a big speech about the Targaryen wrath when Qartheen refuse to receive her or let her starving people through their gates. "When my dragons are grown, we will take back what was stolen from me and destroy those who wronged me. We will lay waste to armies and burn cities to the ground. Turn us away, and we will burn you first," she says. After she's done, one of the Thirteen Qartheen rulers, the Spice King comments that she speaks like a true Targaryen, in that, she intends to live up to her House words. Daenerys' tongue is undeniably fire, and she does lay waste to cities, and burn her enemies (later innocents) in the show.
The Targaryen Way Of Life
Daenerys makes similar threats on and off in her journey. In Game of Thrones season 2, episode 6 "The Old Gods and the New," she asks the Spice King for ships, but when he refuses, she threatens him with Fire and Blood. "I will take what is mine. With Fire and Blood, I will take it." These words serve as a perfect callback to the philosophy of her exalted ancestors who seized the Seven Kingdoms. That being said, the Targaryens brought more than death and destruction to the table. While yes, war situations inevitably led to violence, and they had to use their dragons in the Conquest and later, to maintain their grip on Westeros, the Targaryen monarchs were also known for ushering in eras of peace and prosperity.
As for Daenerys, having dragon dreams before the birth of her three dragons, speaking of breaking the wheel, and burning women, men, and children after the fall of the Red Keep in the Game of Thrones penultimate episode - "The Bells" are facets of her House words. Alternatively, "Fire and Blood" is also used to denote the resolute Targaryens such as Jon Snow, Maester Aemon, and Viserys I Targaryen in Game of Thrones lore. They were influential in the history of Westeros in their own right. Jon united the Free Folk with Northerners, Maester Aemon served the Night's Watch, and Viserys I parted with tradition and named a girl heir. The Targaryens who are the focus of HBO's House of the Dragon are just as enigmatic, mystical, and ferocious as their dragons and their House words.