1 00:01:01,811 --> 00:01:05,147 VISERYS: This world wasn't always so small and petty. 2 00:01:05,982 --> 00:01:10,277 Thousands of years ago, while the rest of men prayed to gods, 3 00:01:10,361 --> 00:01:12,404 the Valyrians became them. 4 00:01:13,490 --> 00:01:15,616 Through magic or sheer will, 5 00:01:15,700 --> 00:01:19,369 they mastered the greatest creatures in history. 6 00:01:19,829 --> 00:01:24,833 A horse grants man dominion over the land, a ship, over the sea. 7 00:01:25,168 --> 00:01:31,507 But dragons gave us the sky, and everything, and everyone beneath it. 8 00:01:33,051 --> 00:01:37,054 At its height, my ancestors ruled the known world. 9 00:01:37,305 --> 00:01:40,182 Whatever parts we didn't weren't worth knowing. 10 00:01:40,892 --> 00:01:45,437 Our capital of Valyria shamed the magnificent cities of the east, 11 00:01:45,522 --> 00:01:50,359 for hammers and chisels were no match for dragonfire and sorcery. 12 00:01:51,152 --> 00:01:56,490 It was a city and an empire built to last until the end of time. 13 00:01:57,992 --> 00:01:59,326 It didn't. 14 00:02:00,286 --> 00:02:03,747 Four hundred years ago, the Doom fell on Valyria. 15 00:02:03,832 --> 00:02:05,749 Mountains cracked open like eggs. 16 00:02:05,834 --> 00:02:07,626 Lakes and rivers boiled. 17 00:02:07,710 --> 00:02:11,547 Fountains of fire, ash and smoke spewed from the ground, 18 00:02:11,631 --> 00:02:16,844 so high and so hot that even dragons burned in flight. 19 00:02:17,637 --> 00:02:22,015 The land splintered, and the angry sea rushed in. 20 00:02:22,100 --> 00:02:27,479 In hours, the greatest city in history became history. 21 00:02:28,398 --> 00:02:33,235 But my ancestors didn't burn or drown with the rest of their race. 22 00:02:33,319 --> 00:02:38,157 Twelve years before the Doom, despite the sneers of his rivals, 23 00:02:38,241 --> 00:02:42,286 Aenar Targaryen abandoned the capital with his family. 24 00:02:42,996 --> 00:02:48,041 Legends claim that his daughter foresaw the destruction of the city in a dream. 25 00:02:48,126 --> 00:02:51,378 More likely, Aenar met with some mishap at court 26 00:02:51,462 --> 00:02:54,131 and chose exile over execution. 27 00:02:54,716 --> 00:03:00,721 He and House Targaryen slinked away to a dreary, remote, godforsaken island. 28 00:03:01,723 --> 00:03:03,599 Forsaken no longer. 29 00:03:04,934 --> 00:03:07,519 With arts now lost to the world, 30 00:03:07,604 --> 00:03:11,440 we transformed a tiny outpost into Dragonstone, 31 00:03:11,691 --> 00:03:14,526 a fortress fit for the last dragonlords. 32 00:03:15,528 --> 00:03:20,407 Then Aenar's descendants settled into it like a tomb for their lost homeland. 33 00:03:21,659 --> 00:03:23,327 Until Aegon. 34 00:03:23,995 --> 00:03:25,704 When he looked east, 35 00:03:25,788 --> 00:03:29,791 he saw the past, old, tired, dead. 36 00:03:30,877 --> 00:03:32,544 But when he looked west, 37 00:03:33,129 --> 00:03:35,088 he saw the future, 38 00:03:35,173 --> 00:03:38,926 gold in the ground, gold in the fields, 39 00:03:39,010 --> 00:03:42,012 and no dragons in the sky but his. 40 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:47,309 He and his sisters Rhaenys and Visenya flew over the great continent, 41 00:03:47,393 --> 00:03:50,395 ostensibly visitors to a strange land. 42 00:03:50,980 --> 00:03:52,898 But when Aegon returned, 43 00:03:52,982 --> 00:03:58,028 he ordered construction of a massive table carved in the shape of Westeros, 44 00:03:58,112 --> 00:04:01,281 with all the notable rivers and mountains that they had seen. 45 00:04:02,075 --> 00:04:05,244 A personal map of the Seven Kingdoms, 46 00:04:05,328 --> 00:04:09,498 then ruled by seven squabbling families. 47 00:04:09,999 --> 00:04:14,670 House Durrandon held the Stormlands from their seat at Storm's End, 48 00:04:14,754 --> 00:04:17,089 due south of Dragonstone. 49 00:04:17,173 --> 00:04:22,094 House Hoare of the Iron Islands had also conquered and enslaved the Riverlands, 50 00:04:22,178 --> 00:04:24,096 and ruled them from Harrenhal, 51 00:04:24,180 --> 00:04:27,975 a monstrous castle rising on the shore of the Gods Eye. 52 00:04:28,601 --> 00:04:31,937 House Stark held the frozen wasteland of the North, 53 00:04:32,021 --> 00:04:35,107 the oldest, largest and emptiest of the kingdoms. 54 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:37,693 House Lannister held the Westerlands, 55 00:04:37,777 --> 00:04:41,154 the wealthiest kingdom, thanks to their gold mines. 56 00:04:41,781 --> 00:04:43,699 House Gardener held the Reach, 57 00:04:43,783 --> 00:04:46,827 the second wealthiest kingdom, thanks to their crops. 58 00:04:47,245 --> 00:04:51,290 House Arryn held the Vale, or rather the Vale held them. 59 00:04:51,374 --> 00:04:54,334 The mountains were impassable except through the Bloody Gate, 60 00:04:54,419 --> 00:04:56,253 which had never been taken. 61 00:04:56,504 --> 00:04:59,923 House Martell held the deserts of Dorne, 62 00:05:00,008 --> 00:05:02,676 probably because no one else wanted them. 63 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:05,887 Together, the Seven Kingdoms made Westeros, 64 00:05:05,972 --> 00:05:07,973 a realm that wasn't yet a realm, 65 00:05:08,057 --> 00:05:12,561 ruled by great families who didn't know what greatness was. 66 00:05:12,687 --> 00:05:14,229 Aegon would teach them. 67 00:05:24,866 --> 00:05:28,201 VARYS: Though House Durrandon titled themselves "Storm Kings," 68 00:05:28,286 --> 00:05:30,454 they were little more than gusts. 69 00:05:30,538 --> 00:05:33,582 Their kingdom in the Stormlands had been doddering to its end 70 00:05:33,666 --> 00:05:35,167 for the past few centuries, 71 00:05:35,251 --> 00:05:37,336 helped along by other houses, 72 00:05:37,420 --> 00:05:39,338 most of all by House Hoare, 73 00:05:39,422 --> 00:05:42,424 who were nearly finished with the monstrous castle of Harrenhal, 74 00:05:43,009 --> 00:05:47,012 too large and too costly a seat to rule only the Riverlands. 75 00:05:47,263 --> 00:05:51,391 King Argilac knew where the ironborn would soon turn. 76 00:05:51,476 --> 00:05:53,352 You'd think a king who wanted to keep his crown 77 00:05:53,436 --> 00:05:56,438 would be wary of a man with fire-breathing monsters, 78 00:05:56,522 --> 00:06:00,400 but King Argilac Durrandon wasn't called "the Arrogant" for nothing. 79 00:06:00,985 --> 00:06:03,195 Determined to arrest his family's decline, 80 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:05,030 he sent an envoy to Dragonstone 81 00:06:05,114 --> 00:06:09,117 to enlist Aegon Targaryen and his dragons against his enemies. 82 00:06:09,494 --> 00:06:13,080 In exchange, Argilac offered lands he didn't have 83 00:06:13,164 --> 00:06:15,123 and a wife Aegon didn't need, 84 00:06:15,208 --> 00:06:20,629 for, as the Valyrians did, Aegon had wed his elder sister, Visenya. 85 00:06:20,755 --> 00:06:25,133 Then, as the Valyrians didn't, he took the younger Rhaenys as well. 86 00:06:25,218 --> 00:06:27,886 Two sisters, two wives. 87 00:06:27,970 --> 00:06:31,139 Perhaps that's why he was so keen to get off Dragonstone. 88 00:06:31,849 --> 00:06:34,893 Aegon countered Argilac with courtesy. 89 00:06:34,977 --> 00:06:36,728 He sent his own envoy requesting 90 00:06:36,813 --> 00:06:41,483 that Princess Durrandon's hand be given instead to Aegon's closest friend, 91 00:06:41,609 --> 00:06:44,903 and rumored half-brother, Orys Baratheon. 92 00:06:44,987 --> 00:06:47,823 Argilac answered with a box and a note, 93 00:06:47,907 --> 00:06:51,326 "These are the only hands your bastard shall have of me." 94 00:06:51,702 --> 00:06:55,831 Inside the box were the hands of Aegon's envoy. 95 00:06:55,915 --> 00:06:58,959 How long had Aegon been waiting for such a pretext? 96 00:06:59,377 --> 00:07:01,545 As his army prepared to sail, 97 00:07:01,629 --> 00:07:05,340 ravens flew to every great lord of the Seven Kingdoms. 98 00:07:05,591 --> 00:07:07,259 All bore the same message. 99 00:07:07,343 --> 00:07:11,304 From this day forth, there would be but one king in Westeros. 100 00:07:11,681 --> 00:07:14,433 Those who bent the knee to Aegon of House Targaryen 101 00:07:14,517 --> 00:07:16,351 would keep their lands and titles. 102 00:07:17,019 --> 00:07:18,979 Those who took up arms against him 103 00:07:19,063 --> 00:07:22,399 would be thrown down, humbled and destroyed. 104 00:07:22,817 --> 00:07:24,693 Poor old Argilac. 105 00:07:24,777 --> 00:07:27,529 He couldn't even match Aegon in arrogance. 106 00:07:27,655 --> 00:07:30,157 Aegon landed at the mouth of the Blackwater River 107 00:07:30,241 --> 00:07:32,492 and raised a primitive "Aegonfort" 108 00:07:32,577 --> 00:07:36,204 in the disputed land between Harren's and Argilac's kingdoms, 109 00:07:36,289 --> 00:07:38,999 so that neither could decide whose problem he was. 110 00:07:39,542 --> 00:07:42,210 Adopting the customs of the Seven Kingdoms, 111 00:07:42,336 --> 00:07:44,087 Aegon unfurled his own banner 112 00:07:44,172 --> 00:07:48,175 with a red three-headed dragon breathing fire upon a black field. 113 00:07:48,426 --> 00:07:53,138 Visenya crowned him with a ruby-studded circlet of Valyrian steel, 114 00:07:53,222 --> 00:07:54,681 while Rhaenys hailed him as 115 00:07:54,765 --> 00:07:58,768 the first high king the continent had seen since the Dawn Age. 116 00:07:59,020 --> 00:08:01,646 As his lords and the gathered locals cheered him, 117 00:08:01,731 --> 00:08:05,108 Aegon named his loyal friends to a "Small Council" 118 00:08:05,193 --> 00:08:10,071 led by Orys Baratheon, whom he called, "My strong right hand." 119 00:08:10,531 --> 00:08:11,823 The title stuck, 120 00:08:11,908 --> 00:08:14,868 and a bastard became the first Hand of the King. 121 00:08:16,329 --> 00:08:21,541 But for now, Aegon's kingdom contained only a rocky island and a handful of fields. 122 00:08:21,626 --> 00:08:26,713 The other kings had larger armies, ships, castles and thousands of years of rule. 123 00:08:26,797 --> 00:08:28,840 But Aegon had dragons. 124 00:08:28,925 --> 00:08:33,261 He had chosen for the words of his house, "Fire and blood." 125 00:08:33,638 --> 00:08:38,725 Before he was done, the rivers, fields and skies would turn red. 126 00:08:49,779 --> 00:08:52,197 EURON: Harren of House Hoare inherited a kingdom 127 00:08:52,281 --> 00:08:55,534 that stretched from the Iron Islands to the Trident, 128 00:08:55,618 --> 00:09:00,580 too great a kingdom to rule from a castle as shitty as Pyke. 129 00:09:00,665 --> 00:09:02,707 For 40 years, his ironborn 130 00:09:02,792 --> 00:09:04,102 - plundered the Riverlands - (METAL CLANKING) 131 00:09:04,126 --> 00:09:09,130 for stone, timber and slaves to build a seat worthy of him. 132 00:09:09,966 --> 00:09:14,386 Legend has it that masons laid the final stone in Harrenhal 133 00:09:14,470 --> 00:09:18,223 on the very day that Aegon landed in Westeros. 134 00:09:18,641 --> 00:09:21,726 Could've been a divine omen. 135 00:09:21,811 --> 00:09:26,982 Could've been the masons wanted to fuck off before the dragons got there. 136 00:09:27,650 --> 00:09:29,693 They weren't the only ones. 137 00:09:30,069 --> 00:09:31,695 At Aegon's approach, 138 00:09:31,779 --> 00:09:36,074 Harren's riverlords revolted, led by House Tully. 139 00:09:36,158 --> 00:09:37,784 I doubt Harren noticed. 140 00:09:38,494 --> 00:09:42,163 Harrenhal could repel an army of a million men. 141 00:09:42,248 --> 00:09:44,791 No ladder could summit its walls, 142 00:09:44,875 --> 00:09:47,085 and no ram could shatter them. 143 00:09:47,253 --> 00:09:51,256 The castle was as impregnable as an old maid's cunt. 144 00:09:51,632 --> 00:09:56,177 Harren shut his gates around himself, his sons, and his ironborn, 145 00:09:56,262 --> 00:10:00,599 and waited for Aegon's army to drain back into the muck. 146 00:10:01,017 --> 00:10:05,979 When Aegon finally saw the monstrous castle, he asked for parley. 147 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:08,148 Harren granted it. 148 00:10:08,608 --> 00:10:12,611 Valyria had been the greatest empire the world had ever seen. 149 00:10:13,321 --> 00:10:15,989 Harren wanted to piss on its ashes. 150 00:10:17,575 --> 00:10:21,745 AEGON: "Yield now, and you may remain as Lord of the Iron Islands. 151 00:10:22,455 --> 00:10:26,791 "Yield now, and your sons will live to rule after you. 152 00:10:27,418 --> 00:10:30,629 "You see my army outside your walls. 153 00:10:30,713 --> 00:10:33,214 "You see my dragons." 154 00:10:34,050 --> 00:10:37,260 HARREN: "What is outside my walls is of no concern. 155 00:10:37,345 --> 00:10:39,387 "Those walls are strong and thick." 156 00:10:40,431 --> 00:10:41,973 AEGON: "Dragons fly." 157 00:10:42,350 --> 00:10:43,892 (HARREN LAUGHS DERISIVELY) 158 00:10:43,976 --> 00:10:46,311 HARREN: "But stone doesn't burn." 159 00:10:46,771 --> 00:10:50,774 AEGON: "When the sun sets, your line shall end." 160 00:10:52,068 --> 00:10:54,986 EURON: Harren spat and returned to his castle. 161 00:10:55,071 --> 00:10:58,948 Once inside, he promised lands, riches and Tully's daughters 162 00:10:59,033 --> 00:11:02,619 to whoever could bring down Aegon or his dragon. 163 00:11:02,703 --> 00:11:05,288 As the sun sank below the horizon, 164 00:11:05,373 --> 00:11:08,708 all of Harren's men patrolled the battlements, 165 00:11:08,793 --> 00:11:11,961 hearing wings in every gust of wind. 166 00:11:12,463 --> 00:11:15,507 But the moon rose, and sank, 167 00:11:15,591 --> 00:11:17,634 and no dragon appeared. 168 00:11:18,552 --> 00:11:20,970 VISERYS: While the ironborn were ringing the battlements, 169 00:11:21,055 --> 00:11:25,183 Aegon drove his dragon Balerion higher and higher in the night sky 170 00:11:25,267 --> 00:11:29,312 so that even the great castle of Harrenhal looked like an anthill below them. 171 00:11:29,689 --> 00:11:34,401 Then they plunged straight into the castle, well inside the guarded walls. 172 00:11:34,777 --> 00:11:38,738 The five towers of Harrenhal reached towards Aegon like a hand. 173 00:11:38,823 --> 00:11:43,284 Balerion opened his mouth and bathed all the fingers in flame. 174 00:11:43,619 --> 00:11:48,415 EURON: Harren was right, stone doesn't burn, but men do, 175 00:11:48,499 --> 00:11:51,334 even when they're ironborn. (SNIGGERS) 176 00:11:52,253 --> 00:11:55,755 The dragon blasted my ancestors into ash 177 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:58,842 that choked the survivors when they screamed. 178 00:11:58,968 --> 00:12:02,804 Harren's soldiers leapt from the battlements and died. 179 00:12:02,888 --> 00:12:05,724 They huddled against the walls and died. 180 00:12:05,808 --> 00:12:09,811 They fled across the yard and died. 181 00:12:10,020 --> 00:12:13,982 Harren and his sons took shelter inside the castle. 182 00:12:14,066 --> 00:12:16,192 The stone didn't burn, 183 00:12:16,277 --> 00:12:21,656 but as Balerion blasted it with fire, it glowed white-hot. 184 00:12:21,782 --> 00:12:22,991 (LAUGHS DERISIVELY) 185 00:12:23,534 --> 00:12:28,413 The world's greatest castle became the world's greatest oven, 186 00:12:28,497 --> 00:12:31,666 baking the last of House Hoare within it. 187 00:12:32,668 --> 00:12:34,419 VISERYS: Outside the castle walls, 188 00:12:34,503 --> 00:12:37,756 the towers of Harrenhal glowed red against the night 189 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:41,676 and began to twist and melt like five huge candles 190 00:12:41,761 --> 00:12:45,847 with liquid stone trickling down their sides like wax. 191 00:12:46,182 --> 00:12:49,350 The next morning, Aegon forged a new Riverlands. 192 00:12:50,102 --> 00:12:54,439 He named the rebel Edmyn Tully as his Lord Paramount of the Trident, 193 00:12:54,523 --> 00:12:58,443 and had the other riverlords swear him fealty as their new liege. 194 00:12:58,527 --> 00:13:02,363 For centuries, House Hoare had terrorized the Riverlands. 195 00:13:02,490 --> 00:13:04,032 Under House Tully, 196 00:13:04,116 --> 00:13:07,786 the Riverlands would at last return to peace and prosperity. 197 00:13:08,496 --> 00:13:11,581 After the castle cooled enough to allow men inside, 198 00:13:11,665 --> 00:13:15,293 Aegon ventured into the ruin he'd made of Harrenhal. 199 00:13:15,377 --> 00:13:18,963 He saw the ashen bodies, the scorched stone 200 00:13:19,048 --> 00:13:22,383 and the mangled and melted swords of his former enemies. 201 00:13:23,052 --> 00:13:24,302 To his men's confusion, 202 00:13:24,386 --> 00:13:28,723 he ordered these useless swords collected and sent to his Aegonfort. 203 00:13:40,319 --> 00:13:43,988 VARYS: While Aegon marched on Harrenhal after his coronation, 204 00:13:44,073 --> 00:13:49,118 Orys Baratheon had taken most of his forces, and his Queen Rhaenys with her dragon, 205 00:13:49,203 --> 00:13:51,955 south to deal with the excuse for the invasion, 206 00:13:52,039 --> 00:13:55,542 Argilac the Arrogant, King of the Stormlands. 207 00:13:55,626 --> 00:13:57,919 Argilac had his seat at Storm's End, 208 00:13:58,003 --> 00:14:02,173 a castle considered the most impregnable in Westeros after Harrenhal. 209 00:14:02,466 --> 00:14:06,636 Argilac may have been arrogant, but he wasn't stupid or a coward. 210 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:10,932 His lords advised him to shut his gates and wait out the siege, 211 00:14:11,016 --> 00:14:13,351 but he'd heard what had happened at Harrenhal 212 00:14:13,435 --> 00:14:17,605 and refused to die a suckling pig cooked in his own castle. 213 00:14:17,815 --> 00:14:22,193 He would meet victory or defeat the same way, with sword in hand. 214 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:27,156 He called his banners and marched to meet Orys Baratheon in the field. 215 00:14:27,825 --> 00:14:30,577 Thanks to Rhaenys' dragon, Meraxes, 216 00:14:30,661 --> 00:14:34,205 Orys knew Argilac was coming, how many men he had, 217 00:14:34,290 --> 00:14:35,999 and how fast he marched. 218 00:14:36,292 --> 00:14:41,296 So Orys simply seized the high ground and dug in on the hills to wait for Argilac. 219 00:14:42,006 --> 00:14:43,464 As the two armies approached, 220 00:14:43,549 --> 00:14:47,010 the wind rose to meet them, and the rain poured from the sky, 221 00:14:47,094 --> 00:14:51,556 a gale which would give the battle its name, "the Last Storm." 222 00:14:52,016 --> 00:14:56,728 King Argilac's lords urged him to wait for the weather to die down, 223 00:14:56,812 --> 00:14:58,897 but the Storm King saw that the rain 224 00:14:58,981 --> 00:15:02,984 was blowing into the faces of the Baratheon men on their hills, 225 00:15:03,068 --> 00:15:07,280 and Argilac outnumbered the Baratheon host two-to-one, 226 00:15:07,364 --> 00:15:10,700 with four times as many knights and heavy horse. 227 00:15:11,535 --> 00:15:13,369 Argilac attacked. 228 00:15:13,871 --> 00:15:17,749 Three times Argilac led his knights against the Baratheon line, 229 00:15:17,833 --> 00:15:21,836 but the hills were steep and the rain had beat the earth to mud. 230 00:15:22,504 --> 00:15:24,785 - The warhorses foundered and slipped, - (SWORDS CLANKING) 231 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:26,674 and the charges collapsed. 232 00:15:27,051 --> 00:15:28,718 The battle seemed lost 233 00:15:28,844 --> 00:15:31,512 until Argilac ordered his spearmen up the hill. 234 00:15:32,222 --> 00:15:36,059 Blinded by the rain, the Baratheons didn't see them until it was too late. 235 00:15:36,185 --> 00:15:40,229 - One hill fell, then another, and another, - (MEN YELLING AND GRUNTING) 236 00:15:40,314 --> 00:15:43,650 until only one remained in the Baratheon center. 237 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:46,486 If Argilac could break through there, 238 00:15:46,570 --> 00:15:50,281 he could split the invading army and flank both halves. 239 00:15:50,366 --> 00:15:53,701 Argilac and his men charged, and the Baratheon line broke... 240 00:15:54,870 --> 00:15:58,206 Revealing Queen Rhaenys and Meraxes. 241 00:15:58,916 --> 00:16:02,919 Argilac's vanguard burst into flame, and his men panicked. 242 00:16:03,003 --> 00:16:05,338 - The victory charge fell into chaos, - (HORSES WHINNYING) 243 00:16:05,422 --> 00:16:08,174 and Argilac himself was thrown from his horse. 244 00:16:08,384 --> 00:16:10,301 But he didn't yield. 245 00:16:10,386 --> 00:16:12,470 When Orys Baratheon arrived, 246 00:16:12,554 --> 00:16:15,473 he found the old king holding off half a dozen men, 247 00:16:15,557 --> 00:16:17,976 another half-dozen dead at his feet. 248 00:16:18,644 --> 00:16:21,437 Orys dismounted to meet the king on equal footing 249 00:16:21,522 --> 00:16:25,066 and offered Argilac one final chance to yield. 250 00:16:25,484 --> 00:16:27,652 Argilac cursed him instead. 251 00:16:28,070 --> 00:16:30,113 As the storm raged around them, 252 00:16:30,197 --> 00:16:33,032 the grizzled old warrior and the bearded upstart 253 00:16:33,117 --> 00:16:35,284 fought for life and kingdom. 254 00:16:35,995 --> 00:16:39,330 - In the end, Argilac got his wish. - (SWORDS CLANKING) 255 00:16:39,415 --> 00:16:41,791 He died, sword in hand. 256 00:16:42,793 --> 00:16:45,420 As word of Argilac's death spread, 257 00:16:45,546 --> 00:16:48,881 his lords and knights threw down their swords and fled. 258 00:16:49,174 --> 00:16:54,220 Orys and his vanguard rode to Storm's End to claim Argilac's castle for Aegon 259 00:16:54,304 --> 00:16:57,140 only to find the gates barred and the walls manned. 260 00:16:57,683 --> 00:17:00,560 Argilac's daughter had assumed his crown, 261 00:17:00,644 --> 00:17:04,689 and the new Storm Queen was as fond of yielding as her father. 262 00:17:05,399 --> 00:17:10,069 She declared that Orys would win only bones, blood and ashes here. 263 00:17:10,612 --> 00:17:12,697 But her men were weaker than her, 264 00:17:12,781 --> 00:17:16,659 and that night Orys found Argilac's daughter delivered, 265 00:17:16,744 --> 00:17:19,579 gagged, chained and naked to his camp. 266 00:17:20,164 --> 00:17:23,458 Argilac had refused to give Orys her hand. 267 00:17:23,542 --> 00:17:26,210 Now, Orys could have any part of her he wished. 268 00:17:26,420 --> 00:17:28,504 But Orys unchained the girl, 269 00:17:28,589 --> 00:17:32,258 wrapped his cloak around her and poured her a glass of wine. 270 00:17:32,801 --> 00:17:36,846 He told her he would take the arms, banner and words of House Durrandon, 271 00:17:36,930 --> 00:17:40,058 to honor her father's courage in the Last Storm. 272 00:17:40,142 --> 00:17:43,644 Conveniently, Orys had none of his own to discard first. 273 00:17:44,229 --> 00:17:47,732 The crowned stag became the sigil of House Baratheon, 274 00:17:47,816 --> 00:17:50,151 and Storm's End their seat. 275 00:17:50,486 --> 00:17:53,029 Argilac's daughter would even remain in her home, 276 00:17:53,113 --> 00:17:55,990 though as a lady instead of a princess. 277 00:17:56,533 --> 00:17:59,410 The Stormlands were now Aegon's, 278 00:17:59,495 --> 00:18:03,498 and as tribute, Aegon demanded the swords of the men Orys had defeated. 279 00:18:04,249 --> 00:18:07,418 For what purpose, Orys didn't know. 280 00:18:20,349 --> 00:18:23,226 JAIME: Aegon now ruled two of the Seven Kingdoms, 281 00:18:23,310 --> 00:18:26,646 but he would no longer be able to take the rest piecemeal. 282 00:18:26,730 --> 00:18:29,273 For the first time in thousands of years, 283 00:18:29,358 --> 00:18:33,361 the kings put aside their squabbles and joined forces against a common enemy. 284 00:18:33,946 --> 00:18:36,239 My ancestor, King Loren of House Lannister, 285 00:18:36,323 --> 00:18:39,325 was head of the wealthiest family in the Seven Kingdoms. 286 00:18:39,535 --> 00:18:43,955 When King Loren joined his forces to Mern of House Gardener, King of the Reach, 287 00:18:44,039 --> 00:18:46,874 they had the mightiest army in history, 288 00:18:46,959 --> 00:18:51,295 a so-called "iron fist" to break the would-be conqueror. 289 00:18:51,713 --> 00:18:54,966 But while an iron fist can smash a man's face in battle, 290 00:18:55,050 --> 00:18:58,052 you'd look silly hunting birds or beasts with it, 291 00:18:58,554 --> 00:19:01,222 and Aegon had a creature that was both. 292 00:19:01,765 --> 00:19:05,226 The kings had never even seen a dragon, let alone fought one. 293 00:19:05,310 --> 00:19:07,478 They had fought each other for thousands of years, 294 00:19:07,563 --> 00:19:10,565 and victory always went to the larger army. 295 00:19:10,899 --> 00:19:15,236 Surely a force five times that of Aegon's could manage one dragon... 296 00:19:16,113 --> 00:19:18,489 But Aegon arrived with three. 297 00:19:19,741 --> 00:19:22,702 Still, the Lannisters and Gardeners hoped for victory. 298 00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:27,456 The battlefield they chose was a wide plain with firm ground and clear skies. 299 00:19:27,541 --> 00:19:30,209 Perfect for archers and mounted cavalry. 300 00:19:30,711 --> 00:19:34,714 But neither of the kings spared a thought for why the ground was firm. 301 00:19:34,798 --> 00:19:36,382 There had been no rain for a fortnight, 302 00:19:36,466 --> 00:19:39,302 which meant all the wheat and grass on it were bone-dry. 303 00:19:40,095 --> 00:19:41,762 - Perfect for dragons. - (HOOVES THUDDING) 304 00:19:42,598 --> 00:19:43,890 At first, the kings looked like 305 00:19:43,974 --> 00:19:45,774 - they would emerge victorious. - (HORN BLOWS) 306 00:19:46,268 --> 00:19:49,312 When the horn blew for battle, their armies swept around Aegon's flanks 307 00:19:49,396 --> 00:19:52,523 and their iron fist of mounted knights smashed through his center 308 00:19:52,608 --> 00:19:54,609 before the dragons could even enter the fray. 309 00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:59,739 But then Aegon and his sisters took flight and unleashed their dragons 310 00:19:59,823 --> 00:20:03,534 not on the soldiers, but on the dry fields all around them. 311 00:20:04,369 --> 00:20:06,704 - The iron fist unclenched - (MEN SCREAMING) 312 00:20:06,788 --> 00:20:09,373 - and became a hand outstretched for mercy. - (HORSE WHINNIES) 313 00:20:10,584 --> 00:20:12,919 As Aegon promised, he had none. 314 00:20:14,129 --> 00:20:18,299 More than 4,000 men died in the fires, another 1,000 escaping them. 315 00:20:18,383 --> 00:20:20,760 Tens of thousands returned home as monsters, 316 00:20:20,844 --> 00:20:23,387 burned and scarred beyond recognition. 317 00:20:23,472 --> 00:20:25,973 House Gardener never returned at all. 318 00:20:26,058 --> 00:20:30,770 The "Field of Fire," as the singers call it, claimed the last of the Gardener line, 319 00:20:30,854 --> 00:20:32,855 and House Tyrell rose in their stead 320 00:20:32,940 --> 00:20:35,274 as Lords of the Reach and Wardens of the South. 321 00:20:35,984 --> 00:20:38,152 As for my illustrious ancestor, 322 00:20:38,237 --> 00:20:40,404 when King Loren saw the battle was lost, 323 00:20:40,489 --> 00:20:43,407 he rode through a wall of flame and smoke to safety... 324 00:20:43,492 --> 00:20:46,786 Or at least to a heroic capture a day later, 325 00:20:46,870 --> 00:20:49,705 where he laid his sword before Aegon and knelt. 326 00:20:50,332 --> 00:20:54,252 Aegon, true to his word, spared him and confirmed House Lannister 327 00:20:54,336 --> 00:20:57,505 as Lords of Casterly Rock and Wardens of the West. 328 00:20:58,048 --> 00:20:59,257 Why wouldn't he? 329 00:20:59,341 --> 00:21:04,345 A Lannister always pays his debts, and now we owed our lives to the crown. 330 00:21:05,097 --> 00:21:07,932 That was worth centuries of subservience, at least. 331 00:21:08,809 --> 00:21:13,020 Besides, Aegon had a fetish for collecting swords, not heads. 332 00:21:13,855 --> 00:21:17,108 He added Loren's to the pile his men had retrieved from the Field of Fire 333 00:21:17,192 --> 00:21:19,402 and sent them back to the Aegonfort. 334 00:21:32,541 --> 00:21:34,750 SANSA: With most of the South in Aegon's hands, 335 00:21:34,835 --> 00:21:38,546 the best chance to throw back the Conqueror now lay with the North, 336 00:21:39,047 --> 00:21:41,215 if we cared enough to try. 337 00:21:41,383 --> 00:21:42,967 Unlike our southern rivals, 338 00:21:43,051 --> 00:21:46,387 the Stark Kings of Winter didn't forge the North into one kingdom 339 00:21:46,471 --> 00:21:48,431 for glory or gold, 340 00:21:48,515 --> 00:21:51,517 there is little of either here, but to survive. 341 00:21:52,144 --> 00:21:53,185 Alone in Westeros, 342 00:21:53,270 --> 00:21:57,648 the North remembered when worse than dragons laid waste to armies. 343 00:21:58,150 --> 00:21:59,525 Thousands of years ago, 344 00:21:59,609 --> 00:22:03,612 the sun set on the realms of men and the Long Night began. 345 00:22:04,281 --> 00:22:07,950 A new race emerged from the ice and snow, the White Walkers. 346 00:22:08,035 --> 00:22:12,496 They demanded no crown, offered no terms, spared no life, 347 00:22:12,581 --> 00:22:14,081 and the dead marched with them. 348 00:22:14,416 --> 00:22:19,420 With humanity facing extinction, a Stark sought out the Children of the Forest, 349 00:22:19,504 --> 00:22:21,672 the most ancient beings in Westeros, 350 00:22:21,757 --> 00:22:24,800 and convinced them to ally with the men they'd once fought. 351 00:22:25,552 --> 00:22:30,056 Together the two races pushed the Walkers back into the Land of Always Winter 352 00:22:30,140 --> 00:22:33,434 and sealed it off from the Seven Kingdoms with the Wall, 353 00:22:33,518 --> 00:22:39,315 300 miles of ice, stone and earth rising nearly 700 feet tall. 354 00:22:39,858 --> 00:22:42,693 To guard it, they established the Night's Watch, 355 00:22:42,778 --> 00:22:45,988 a brotherhood sworn to defend the living from the dead, 356 00:22:46,073 --> 00:22:49,033 whose vows erase both titles and crimes. 357 00:22:49,618 --> 00:22:54,205 VISERYS: After the Long Night, the North tried to forget it belonged to the continent, 358 00:22:54,289 --> 00:22:57,833 perhaps through pride, perhaps through sheer ignorance. 359 00:22:58,001 --> 00:22:59,835 You never can tell with the North. 360 00:23:00,462 --> 00:23:03,381 But as news of Aegon's dragons spread, 361 00:23:03,465 --> 00:23:08,552 Torrhen Stark, the King of Winter, knew he couldn't forget Westeros any longer 362 00:23:09,054 --> 00:23:11,555 and summoned his lords to Winterfell. 363 00:23:12,265 --> 00:23:14,558 Many fools shrugged off the threat 364 00:23:14,643 --> 00:23:18,854 while the rest placed wagers on how long the South would take to burn. 365 00:23:19,189 --> 00:23:22,775 Torrhen silenced them with a command to assemble their armies 366 00:23:22,859 --> 00:23:26,070 and descend from the North in force. 367 00:23:26,321 --> 00:23:30,074 SANSA: As the kings of the Rock and the Reach burned on the Field of Fire, 368 00:23:30,158 --> 00:23:32,785 the greatest Northern force since the Long Night 369 00:23:32,869 --> 00:23:34,912 crossed the Neck into the Riverlands. 370 00:23:35,622 --> 00:23:37,832 But when King Torrhen arrived at the Trident, 371 00:23:37,916 --> 00:23:40,418 he saw on the opposing riverbank 372 00:23:40,502 --> 00:23:43,879 the combined strength of all Aegon's conquered kingdoms. 373 00:23:44,506 --> 00:23:50,177 A force larger than Torrhen's own by half, and with three dragons. 374 00:23:50,804 --> 00:23:53,264 VISERYS: That night, King Torrhen called a conference 375 00:23:53,348 --> 00:23:55,683 of all his lords and advisers. 376 00:23:55,767 --> 00:24:00,354 Some wanted to fight, and trust Northern valor to carry the day, 377 00:24:00,439 --> 00:24:02,481 and burn on the Trident. 378 00:24:02,774 --> 00:24:06,152 The wisest of them wanted to withdraw to Moat Cailin, 379 00:24:06,236 --> 00:24:11,449 the fortress which had thrown back every southern invasion, and burn there. 380 00:24:11,700 --> 00:24:16,745 One suicidal lord even wanted to ambush Aegon's camp in the dark 381 00:24:16,830 --> 00:24:21,834 and kill the dragons as they slept, or at the very least their riders. 382 00:24:22,043 --> 00:24:25,212 Hard to tell what would've been his fate. 383 00:24:25,297 --> 00:24:28,841 Burning, beheading, dismemberment? 384 00:24:29,426 --> 00:24:31,093 Perhaps all three. 385 00:24:31,386 --> 00:24:33,762 SANSA: My ancestor listened to their counsel, 386 00:24:33,847 --> 00:24:35,575 - and in the morning crossed the Trident - (HOOVES THUDDING) 387 00:24:35,599 --> 00:24:37,391 under a flag of parley. 388 00:24:37,476 --> 00:24:42,021 Then King Torrhen of House Stark laid his ancient crown at Aegon's feet, 389 00:24:42,105 --> 00:24:45,608 and was named Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North... 390 00:24:46,651 --> 00:24:48,569 VISERYS: And the King Who Knelt. 391 00:24:49,196 --> 00:24:50,404 SANSA: He had no choice, 392 00:24:50,489 --> 00:24:55,326 and thanks to him our soldiers returned to their homes whole and unharmed. 393 00:24:56,161 --> 00:25:00,164 The swords that Aegon took from them were not twisted, burnt or mangled. 394 00:25:00,999 --> 00:25:01,999 VISERYS: Yet. 395 00:25:13,428 --> 00:25:17,014 LITTLEFINGER: The Vale of Arryn was the last of the great kingdoms left. 396 00:25:17,098 --> 00:25:18,682 Old and proud, 397 00:25:18,767 --> 00:25:22,353 House Arryn did what they always did in times of strife. 398 00:25:22,437 --> 00:25:25,940 They shut the Bloody Gate, sealing off the Vale. 399 00:25:26,274 --> 00:25:30,486 Then the Queen-Regent Sharra of House Arryn retreated with her son, 400 00:25:30,570 --> 00:25:35,908 the boy king Ronnel, into the Eyrie, their family's impregnable fortress. 401 00:25:36,284 --> 00:25:40,913 From the top of their mountain, they could look down on Westeros far below, 402 00:25:40,997 --> 00:25:44,041 its problems hidden beneath the clouds. 403 00:25:44,459 --> 00:25:47,294 But one day Queen Sharra entered the outer courtyard 404 00:25:47,379 --> 00:25:50,548 to find her young son sitting on the knee of Visenya Targaryen, 405 00:25:50,632 --> 00:25:53,676 - and ogling her dragon, Vhagar, beside her. - (VHAGAR GROWLING SOFTLY) 406 00:25:54,219 --> 00:25:56,845 Just as he'd ask for another cake at dinner, 407 00:25:56,930 --> 00:26:01,642 little King Ronnel asked his mother if he could go flying on the nice lady's dragon. 408 00:26:02,102 --> 00:26:04,144 Visenya smiled at Sharra. 409 00:26:04,646 --> 00:26:07,648 So, Sharra imagined, did Vhagar. 410 00:26:08,858 --> 00:26:10,359 Remembering her manners, 411 00:26:10,443 --> 00:26:14,363 Sharra asked if she could have Visenya brought some wine or food, 412 00:26:14,447 --> 00:26:16,824 she must be tired after such a long flight. 413 00:26:17,325 --> 00:26:19,159 But Visenya demurred. 414 00:26:19,369 --> 00:26:23,414 Bored with his mother's pleasantries, Ronnel demanded an answer. 415 00:26:24,207 --> 00:26:25,499 Poor boy. 416 00:26:25,584 --> 00:26:28,252 He didn't even understand the question. 417 00:26:28,837 --> 00:26:33,591 Sharra hesitated for a moment, then asked Visenya, as a mother, 418 00:26:33,675 --> 00:26:35,342 if it were safe for the boy. 419 00:26:35,802 --> 00:26:37,970 Visenya assured her it was. 420 00:26:38,847 --> 00:26:41,348 What choice did Sharra have? 421 00:26:41,808 --> 00:26:44,018 Whilst her son circled the castle, 422 00:26:44,102 --> 00:26:47,938 she collected his little ringlet, her own regent's coronet, 423 00:26:48,023 --> 00:26:50,899 and the ancient Falcon Crown of Mountain and Vale, 424 00:26:50,984 --> 00:26:53,694 which the Arryns had worn for thousands of years. 425 00:26:54,571 --> 00:26:59,241 Ronnel had taken to the sky as a king, but he landed as a lordling. 426 00:26:59,326 --> 00:27:01,285 Perhaps he considered his ancient rights 427 00:27:01,369 --> 00:27:05,706 a fair trade for a few minutes of flight, as a little boy would. 428 00:27:05,957 --> 00:27:11,211 More likely he didn't even notice the three crowns at Visenya's feet, 429 00:27:11,296 --> 00:27:14,840 or recognize the swords of his garrison beside them. 430 00:27:28,146 --> 00:27:31,023 VISERYS: The heads of Westeros had bowed to Aegon, 431 00:27:31,107 --> 00:27:33,859 but its heart still beat free. 432 00:27:33,943 --> 00:27:37,446 Oldtown, the center of the Faith of the Seven. 433 00:27:38,073 --> 00:27:42,117 There dwelt the High Septon, the Father of the Faithful, 434 00:27:42,202 --> 00:27:44,953 who commanded the obedience of all Westeros, 435 00:27:45,038 --> 00:27:48,540 save the savages of the North and their Old Gods. 436 00:27:49,417 --> 00:27:51,377 When Aegon had landed in Westeros, 437 00:27:51,461 --> 00:27:54,463 the High Septon had locked himself in the Starry Sept 438 00:27:54,547 --> 00:27:57,591 and fasted for seven days and seven nights, 439 00:27:57,676 --> 00:27:59,843 one for each of his gods. 440 00:28:00,178 --> 00:28:03,806 All he received for his trouble was the divine wisdom 441 00:28:03,890 --> 00:28:08,852 that if Oldtown took up arms against the Dragon, the city would burn, 442 00:28:08,937 --> 00:28:11,188 faithful and faithless alike. 443 00:28:11,856 --> 00:28:14,358 After the submission of House Stark, 444 00:28:14,442 --> 00:28:18,779 Aegon marched towards Oldtown, steeling himself for another battle. 445 00:28:19,447 --> 00:28:23,450 But he found the gates open, with the High Septon welcoming him. 446 00:28:24,452 --> 00:28:29,248 The pious fool even had the arrogance to grant what Aegon had already won, 447 00:28:29,332 --> 00:28:34,211 and anointed the last Valyrian as "Aegon of House Targaryen, 448 00:28:34,295 --> 00:28:38,173 "First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, 449 00:28:38,258 --> 00:28:42,428 "Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm." 450 00:28:42,721 --> 00:28:47,391 As if titles meant anything to a man before whom time itself now bowed. 451 00:28:47,976 --> 00:28:53,147 The maesters would hence divide all history into "Before" and "After Conquest." 452 00:28:55,191 --> 00:28:59,570 Most expected Aegon to stay and make Oldtown his seat, 453 00:28:59,654 --> 00:29:04,950 but soon after his coronation, Aegon returned to the mouth of the Blackwater River 454 00:29:05,034 --> 00:29:07,369 where he had first set foot on Westeros. 455 00:29:08,329 --> 00:29:12,166 A small town had since sprouted around his primitive fort. 456 00:29:12,917 --> 00:29:17,337 To honor their new master, the locals dubbed it King's Landing, 457 00:29:17,505 --> 00:29:19,631 though it looked more fit for a hedge knight, 458 00:29:19,716 --> 00:29:22,760 with wooden palisades, muddy streets 459 00:29:22,844 --> 00:29:27,681 and piles of mangled swords carted in from every corner of the conquest. 460 00:29:28,516 --> 00:29:32,770 But when Aegon made it his court, wood became stone. 461 00:29:32,854 --> 00:29:35,689 Black mud was buried beneath a Red Keep. 462 00:29:35,774 --> 00:29:40,611 And the collected swords of Aegon's foes were blasted by dragonfire, 463 00:29:40,695 --> 00:29:43,655 and became a seat fit for the Conqueror 464 00:29:43,740 --> 00:29:46,784 and the greatest dynasty this world has ever known. 465 00:29:47,702 --> 00:29:49,369 House Targaryen. 466 00:29:49,621 --> 00:29:50,954 My family. 467 00:29:51,539 --> 00:29:53,373 My throne. 468 00:29:54,751 --> 00:29:56,126 Or so it should've been. 469 00:30:08,807 --> 00:30:13,227 VARYS: But while Aegon titled himself "Lord of the Seven Kingdoms," 470 00:30:13,311 --> 00:30:16,021 in reality he held only six. 471 00:30:16,105 --> 00:30:19,525 The seventh, Dorne, had never knelt. 472 00:30:20,109 --> 00:30:23,779 Visenya had flown into the Vale and returned with its crown. 473 00:30:23,863 --> 00:30:25,364 Mimicking her sister, 474 00:30:25,448 --> 00:30:29,535 Rhaenys had flown over the enemy force holding the passes into Dorne, 475 00:30:29,661 --> 00:30:34,832 and landed in the castle of its ruling lady, Princess Meria of House Martell. 476 00:30:34,999 --> 00:30:39,294 Meria was 80 years old, fat, bald and blind. 477 00:30:39,379 --> 00:30:44,258 Behind her back, many sniggered at her as the "Yellow Toad of Dorne." 478 00:30:44,342 --> 00:30:47,052 The beautiful Rhaenys probably thought as much when they met. 479 00:30:47,303 --> 00:30:50,514 She demanded Princess Meria kneel to her brother Aegon, 480 00:30:50,598 --> 00:30:53,809 though she allowed that on account of Meria's age and health, 481 00:30:53,893 --> 00:30:56,103 a simple vow of submission would do. 482 00:30:56,813 --> 00:31:00,983 But the Princess told the Queen that the Targaryens weren't wanted in Dorne, 483 00:31:01,067 --> 00:31:05,779 and no Martell would ever bow, bend or break no matter how badly they burned. 484 00:31:06,573 --> 00:31:08,657 Rhaenys could have mounted her dragon right then 485 00:31:08,741 --> 00:31:13,203 and roasted Meria in the castle as her brother had done at Harrenhal. 486 00:31:13,288 --> 00:31:15,873 But whatever she saw in Meria's eyes 487 00:31:15,957 --> 00:31:18,375 scared her right back to King's Landing, 488 00:31:18,459 --> 00:31:20,836 with her dragon's tail between its legs. 489 00:31:21,838 --> 00:31:23,839 After Aegon's coronation, 490 00:31:23,923 --> 00:31:27,134 Rhaenys returned to Dorne with Aegon and Visenya 491 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:29,261 and their dragons. 492 00:31:29,679 --> 00:31:34,266 But no armies met them in the field, and no lords defied them in their castles. 493 00:31:34,350 --> 00:31:38,186 As the dragons approached, Dorne simply emptied. 494 00:31:38,813 --> 00:31:42,900 House Martell had learned from Harrenhal and the Field of Fire. 495 00:31:42,984 --> 00:31:45,235 The dragons were unbeatable in battle, 496 00:31:45,320 --> 00:31:47,029 but wars were more than battles. 497 00:31:47,780 --> 00:31:50,782 Unopposed, Aegon claimed Dorne for his own. 498 00:31:50,867 --> 00:31:53,243 But as soon as he returned to King's Landing, 499 00:31:53,328 --> 00:31:58,332 his castellans were hurled off towers, and his royal garrison vanished in the desert, 500 00:31:58,416 --> 00:32:00,292 never to be seen again. 501 00:32:00,543 --> 00:32:05,547 Except, perhaps, when the winds change and the sands cough up old bones and armor. 502 00:32:06,257 --> 00:32:08,550 Rhaenys returned on Meraxes, 503 00:32:08,635 --> 00:32:12,429 intent on revenging herself against Meria Martell. 504 00:32:12,513 --> 00:32:14,681 But Dorne was no longer empty. 505 00:32:15,058 --> 00:32:17,643 The Dornish kept Meria's promise, 506 00:32:17,727 --> 00:32:21,021 and fought even while burning under dragonflame. 507 00:32:21,689 --> 00:32:22,856 And they won. 508 00:32:23,608 --> 00:32:28,111 One day a bolt pierced the eye of Meraxes and knocked the dragon out of the sky. 509 00:32:28,821 --> 00:32:33,659 House Martell remained unbroken, unlike the unfortunate Rhaenys. 510 00:32:34,369 --> 00:32:39,957 In their wrath, Aegon and Visenya set flame to every castle and city but Sunspear, 511 00:32:40,041 --> 00:32:42,376 trying to turn the people against House Martell. 512 00:32:42,794 --> 00:32:44,962 But the Dornish stayed loyal, 513 00:32:45,046 --> 00:32:47,673 and when Aegon returned to King's Landing, 514 00:32:47,757 --> 00:32:51,510 he found assassins waiting for him in the streets of his own capital. 515 00:32:51,594 --> 00:32:56,640 If not for Visenya, the Conqueror would not have enjoyed his Conquest for very long. 516 00:32:56,724 --> 00:32:59,601 From then on, the king and his family would be guarded 517 00:32:59,686 --> 00:33:04,314 by the seven greatest knights in the realm, the Kingsguard. 518 00:33:04,983 --> 00:33:09,653 When Meria died in her sleep, her weak and tired son sued for peace. 519 00:33:10,196 --> 00:33:15,742 But old Meria had exhausted Aegon as well, and he granted the request. 520 00:33:15,827 --> 00:33:19,454 The Targaryens still wanted Dorne, and eventually they would have it, 521 00:33:19,539 --> 00:33:21,373 but not at the point of a sword. 522 00:33:21,457 --> 00:33:25,335 They would buy it the same way great lords buy anything... 523 00:33:25,420 --> 00:33:26,420 With a daughter. 524 00:33:37,515 --> 00:33:41,685 VISERYS: After the Conquest, when men looked up, they saw dragons. 525 00:33:41,769 --> 00:33:44,521 Nobles learned to keep their eyes down, 526 00:33:44,605 --> 00:33:47,816 but the gods weren't used to sharing the heavens. 527 00:33:47,900 --> 00:33:52,821 When Aegon died, the High Septon led the Faith and its army in revolt, 528 00:33:52,905 --> 00:33:56,116 claiming that the Valyrian tradition of wedding brother to sister 529 00:33:56,200 --> 00:33:58,660 was an abomination in the eyes of the Seven. 530 00:33:58,745 --> 00:34:03,081 Though no one could explain where the divine Mother and Father had come from. 531 00:34:03,624 --> 00:34:09,004 My ancestor Maegor the Wise, or Maegor the Cruel, as men slander him, 532 00:34:09,672 --> 00:34:12,924 put a bounty on the head of every militant priest, 533 00:34:13,009 --> 00:34:16,887 and miraculously the Faith soon returned to the septs. 534 00:34:17,305 --> 00:34:21,016 With Dorne in the fold, and the Faith put in its place, 535 00:34:21,100 --> 00:34:24,269 none in Westeros were left to oppose my family, 536 00:34:24,687 --> 00:34:27,230 so we started opposing each other. 537 00:34:27,315 --> 00:34:28,482 In the Dance of Dragons, 538 00:34:28,566 --> 00:34:32,110 a Targaryen Princess tried to steal her brother's throne. 539 00:34:32,487 --> 00:34:36,239 Thanks to her stupidity, most of our dragons died, 540 00:34:36,324 --> 00:34:39,367 though one thankfully ate her before it did. 541 00:34:39,952 --> 00:34:44,331 But even without our dragons, we were still the blood of Old Valyria, 542 00:34:44,999 --> 00:34:47,292 which proved just as dangerous. 543 00:34:47,376 --> 00:34:49,669 One of my foolish ancestors didn't see 544 00:34:49,754 --> 00:34:53,298 what separated his bastards from our family proper, 545 00:34:53,382 --> 00:34:55,592 and legitimized them all on his deathbed. 546 00:34:56,385 --> 00:34:58,428 Adopting the name Blackfyre, 547 00:34:58,513 --> 00:35:03,183 the bastards proved their nature and tried to seize their father's kingdom. 548 00:35:03,726 --> 00:35:06,353 When they failed, their sons tried. 549 00:35:06,437 --> 00:35:09,147 When the sons failed, their grandsons tried. 550 00:35:09,232 --> 00:35:12,776 Until finally Ser Barristan the Bold, knight of the Kingsguard, 551 00:35:12,860 --> 00:35:16,780 slew Maelys the Monstrous in the War of the Ninepenny Kings, 552 00:35:16,864 --> 00:35:19,241 ending the last of the Blackfyre line. 553 00:35:20,076 --> 00:35:24,621 Ultimately, without our dragons and with our blood diluted by commoners, 554 00:35:24,705 --> 00:35:28,375 we failed to see the greatest threat growing under our noses. 555 00:35:29,585 --> 00:35:31,044 JAIME: As the saying goes, 556 00:35:31,129 --> 00:35:34,631 "Every time a Targaryen is born, the gods flip a coin." 557 00:35:35,716 --> 00:35:38,218 They must've dropped the one for King Aerys, 558 00:35:38,302 --> 00:35:41,805 for at first he seemed to have dodged the family madness. 559 00:35:41,973 --> 00:35:44,975 But as he grew older, he began to see conspirators everywhere, 560 00:35:45,059 --> 00:35:47,769 and where there were none, he worked to create them. 561 00:35:48,062 --> 00:35:50,939 As one of his Kingsguard, I saw firsthand 562 00:35:51,023 --> 00:35:54,901 that a king who couldn't rule his own mind couldn't rule seven kingdoms. 563 00:35:55,278 --> 00:35:56,403 We endured his reign 564 00:35:56,487 --> 00:35:58,989 because we hoped his son Rhaegar would right the realm 565 00:35:59,073 --> 00:36:00,407 when he ascended to the throne. 566 00:36:01,242 --> 00:36:03,910 But then Rhaegar proved as mad as his father 567 00:36:03,995 --> 00:36:06,746 and snatched Lyanna Stark, daughter of the Warden of the North, 568 00:36:06,831 --> 00:36:09,833 and betrothed to Robert Baratheon, Lord of the Stormlands. 569 00:36:10,084 --> 00:36:14,171 When Lyanna's father and eldest brother demanded justice, 570 00:36:14,255 --> 00:36:16,375 - the Mad King obliged, - (AERYS LAUGHING INSIDIOUSLY) 571 00:36:16,424 --> 00:36:18,592 laughing as he dispensed it. 572 00:36:19,802 --> 00:36:21,887 VARYS: Unsatisfied with only two murders, 573 00:36:21,971 --> 00:36:25,348 the Mad King then ordered Jon Arryn, Lord of the Vale, 574 00:36:25,433 --> 00:36:29,936 to execute his two wards, Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark. 575 00:36:30,730 --> 00:36:33,899 Instead, Jon Arryn raised the Vale in revolt. 576 00:36:34,275 --> 00:36:38,028 Ned Stark slipped past royalist sentries and raised the North, 577 00:36:38,112 --> 00:36:43,867 and Robert won three battles in a single day to unite the Stormlands behind him, 578 00:36:43,951 --> 00:36:47,454 only to be defeated by a royalist army and forced to flee, 579 00:36:47,955 --> 00:36:50,790 leaving his home of Storm's End besieged. 580 00:36:51,876 --> 00:36:54,252 SANSA: The Hand of the King finally cornered Robert 581 00:36:54,337 --> 00:36:55,962 in the town of the Stoney Sept 582 00:36:56,047 --> 00:36:57,881 and sent his soldiers door-to-door 583 00:36:57,965 --> 00:36:59,765 - searching for the rebel leader. - (KNOCKING) 584 00:37:00,134 --> 00:37:03,261 But the villagers hated the Mad King and loved Robert, 585 00:37:03,346 --> 00:37:05,722 and kept him one step ahead of the soldiers. 586 00:37:05,932 --> 00:37:08,266 Until only one refuge remained. 587 00:37:08,935 --> 00:37:12,604 As the soldiers closed in, all the town bells rang out. 588 00:37:13,314 --> 00:37:14,833 - (BELLS TOLLING) - Hearing of Robert's plight, 589 00:37:14,857 --> 00:37:17,317 our father and Jon Arryn had rushed to the Riverlands 590 00:37:17,443 --> 00:37:21,279 and enlisted our grandfather, Hoster Tully, to help them. 591 00:37:21,489 --> 00:37:24,658 Together they routed the Hand's army and rescued Robert. 592 00:37:25,493 --> 00:37:27,827 To celebrate and cement the Tully alliance, 593 00:37:27,912 --> 00:37:32,123 our father wed our mother, Catelyn, and Jon Arryn took our Aunt Lysa. 594 00:37:33,084 --> 00:37:37,003 Only a fortnight later, both men rushed back into the field, 595 00:37:37,255 --> 00:37:39,339 for the dragon had finally woken. 596 00:37:40,633 --> 00:37:43,969 VISERYS: While my father's servants were losing my father's kingdoms, 597 00:37:44,053 --> 00:37:47,097 my brother Rhaegar had been cooped up with his... 598 00:37:47,556 --> 00:37:49,057 Mistress? Whore? 599 00:37:49,475 --> 00:37:52,310 Whatever else, I'd call her a distraction. 600 00:37:52,395 --> 00:37:56,564 But now Rhaegar came to his senses and returned to King's Landing. 601 00:37:57,149 --> 00:38:00,235 He persuaded our father to summon his estranged friend, 602 00:38:00,319 --> 00:38:04,698 Lord Tywin Lannister, the richest and most powerful lord in the realm. 603 00:38:05,366 --> 00:38:07,951 - Rhaegar himself would lead the royal army - (HOOVES THUDDING) 604 00:38:08,035 --> 00:38:09,869 against the usurper, Robert. 605 00:38:10,162 --> 00:38:12,372 - (SWORD SWISHES) - On the banks of the Trident, 606 00:38:12,456 --> 00:38:15,875 my brother fought the man whose wife he'd stolen, 607 00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:18,962 and who fought to steal his birthright in return. 608 00:38:20,464 --> 00:38:23,633 In the end, Robert wanted it more. 609 00:38:24,093 --> 00:38:26,970 His hammer shattered my brother's armor 610 00:38:27,054 --> 00:38:30,724 and its rubies fell into the river like raindrops, 611 00:38:30,808 --> 00:38:32,142 vanishing in the current. 612 00:38:33,394 --> 00:38:38,398 VARYS: With Rhaegar's defeat, nothing stood between Robert and King's Landing. 613 00:38:39,150 --> 00:38:41,735 Imagine the King's surprise a fortnight later 614 00:38:41,819 --> 00:38:45,822 when he saw not stags, but lions outside his gates. 615 00:38:46,615 --> 00:38:49,075 His former Hand, Tywin Lannister, 616 00:38:49,160 --> 00:38:52,787 had come to the capital with a force even Robert couldn't match, 617 00:38:52,872 --> 00:38:54,581 claiming to be loyal to the king. 618 00:38:55,249 --> 00:38:59,627 Trusting what he wanted to believe, Aerys ordered the gates opened, 619 00:38:59,712 --> 00:39:01,963 and the Lannister forces dutifully began 620 00:39:02,048 --> 00:39:06,885 to rape, pillage and murder the king's actual loyal subjects. 621 00:39:07,345 --> 00:39:11,306 When Eddard Stark finally arrived at the capital with Robert's army, 622 00:39:11,390 --> 00:39:14,684 he found Lannister banners hanging over the sacked city, 623 00:39:14,769 --> 00:39:17,812 Targaryen corpses littering its streets, 624 00:39:18,064 --> 00:39:21,107 and Ser Jaime Lannister sitting on the Iron Throne. 625 00:39:21,817 --> 00:39:24,402 Below him, the Mad King Aerys, 626 00:39:24,487 --> 00:39:28,990 whom Ser Jaime had sworn to guard, lay in a pool of his own blood 627 00:39:29,075 --> 00:39:31,743 from a sword thrust through his back. 628 00:39:32,411 --> 00:39:35,663 Lord Eddard might've thanked Ser Jaime for doing the realm a favor, 629 00:39:36,290 --> 00:39:38,291 but honorable as he was, 630 00:39:38,376 --> 00:39:41,544 Lord Eddard condemned Ser Jaime as a Kingslayer, 631 00:39:42,213 --> 00:39:44,005 a name he would never escape. 632 00:39:45,841 --> 00:39:47,634 JAIME: Unlike Lord Eddard, 633 00:39:47,718 --> 00:39:51,679 Robert appreciated my contribution to his glorious victory. 634 00:39:52,139 --> 00:39:55,141 He pardoned me for my crime, and even kept me on his Kingsguard 635 00:39:55,226 --> 00:39:56,935 beside Ser Barristan Selmy, 636 00:39:57,019 --> 00:39:59,729 who'd been wounded at the Trident fighting for Rhaegar. 637 00:40:00,147 --> 00:40:04,067 True, both of us had failed to protect our Targaryen charges, 638 00:40:04,151 --> 00:40:07,153 but perhaps that's what Robert liked most about us. 639 00:40:07,905 --> 00:40:09,364 When my father presented Robert 640 00:40:09,448 --> 00:40:12,075 with the bodies of Rhaegar's wife and two children, 641 00:40:12,159 --> 00:40:14,911 Ned Stark hiked up his skirts and demanded 642 00:40:14,995 --> 00:40:17,330 Robert send their killer to Dorne, and me to the Wall. 643 00:40:18,165 --> 00:40:20,291 But I saw what Ned couldn't. 644 00:40:21,127 --> 00:40:23,503 Robert was ashamed of the bodies, 645 00:40:24,338 --> 00:40:26,881 and more ashamed of his relief. 646 00:40:27,925 --> 00:40:32,720 He knew that Rhaegar's heirs had to die or his throne would never be safe, 647 00:40:32,805 --> 00:40:35,849 but glorious heroes didn't kill children. 648 00:40:36,892 --> 00:40:39,727 They simply didn't punish their murderers. 649 00:40:40,688 --> 00:40:43,690 VISERYS: No doubt I would've suffered a similar fate, 650 00:40:43,774 --> 00:40:47,777 but my father had wisely sent me and my pregnant mother to Dragonstone. 651 00:40:48,446 --> 00:40:53,074 When the usurper heroically sent men to kill me and my newborn sister 652 00:40:53,159 --> 00:40:55,160 to protect his stolen throne, 653 00:40:55,244 --> 00:40:58,788 a loyal knight smuggled us across the Narrow Sea to Essos. 654 00:40:59,582 --> 00:41:01,875 And so the last dragons of Valyria, 655 00:41:01,959 --> 00:41:03,960 heirs to the greatest dynasty 656 00:41:04,044 --> 00:41:08,173 from the greatest civilization this world has ever known, 657 00:41:08,257 --> 00:41:12,427 slept in sewers and foraged for scraps in alleyways, 658 00:41:12,511 --> 00:41:15,263 one step ahead of the usurper's knives 659 00:41:15,347 --> 00:41:19,517 and one step behind the whispers of his spymaster Varys. 660 00:41:20,102 --> 00:41:22,145 But we won't run forever. 661 00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:25,690 One day I'll return to my kingdoms with an army, 662 00:41:25,774 --> 00:41:27,650 take back my throne, 663 00:41:27,735 --> 00:41:31,905 and repay all traitors with the only coin my family knows. 664 00:41:32,823 --> 00:41:35,658 Fire and blood.