Of Dragons and Wolves: The Parallel Journey of Dany & Bran 2

Magic in the World of Ice and Fire is not structured, it’s not controlled by a universal set of rules, magic it seems, is of an organic nature. Martin once said of the events of Dany’s pyre that: “The whole point of the scene in A Game of Thrones where Daenerys hatches the dragons is that she makes the magic up as she goes along; she is someone who really might do anything. I wanted magic to be something barely under control and half instinctive–not the John W. Campbell version with magic as the science and technology of other sorts of world, that works by simple and understandable rules.” As we see with Dany’s Lovecraft-esque adventure through the House of the Undying and Bran’s exploration of the Children’s cave give us an interesting insight into the different kinds of magic within ASOIAF, but it also shows us how similar these “branches” of magic are. In the first section of the essay we will look at these two shared experiences and what they have in common and what can they tell us about magic in ASOIAF.

As with most fantasies Martin doesn’t shy away from prophesies of great heroes that will save the world one day. Two of the most prominent prophecies are those of Azor Ahai and The Last Hero. In this section of the essay we’ll be exploring the similarities both Dany and Bran share with these mythical heroes. We aren’t making any judgments about whether either of these character will actually take on these roles, that we believe won’t be something we’ll know until the end of the series, and even then it might not be as clear cut as some expect. Nonetheless we’ll rude down through the different parts of prophecy and see how Dany and Bran fit into them.

The Place of Magic

Both the House of the Undying and the Children’s cave have a lot of mystery to them, there is a lot we don’t understand, however, we have learned a bit from both these places. Both of these locations give us a brief insight into the more mythological and fantastical aspects of ASOIAF. Both the Undying and the Children are in the twilight of their existence, the days where the Children roamed the earth and the Undying lived in amazing spender have long gone, now all that remain is the shadow of those times.

The Places

As Dany is arriving she gives us a describes of the facade of House of the Undying she tells us:


A fading palace whose glory days are now gone, its crumbling infrastructure mimics the decaying interior:


The Undying are reaching the end of their time, however, they still hold on to life awaiting someone (Dany) to awaken them from their preservation. We can imagine that Dany was not the only person to step into the HOTU, yet her ability to perform the magic that hatched the dragons probably represents a life force the Undying had no yet come across, at least not in a long time. As they tell her, that they had been waiting for her for a thousand years.

Now, let’s look at how Bran describes the Children’s cave:


The Children’s cave has been around a long time, thousands of Children have lived and died there and only their bones remain. We hear from Leaf that the vast network of caves is so large that there are still places left unexplored. The Children have cast spells around the entrance of the cave to protect them from the Wights. There is also a lot of darkness in the caves, the light only lasts as long as the fire burns.

Comparing the two places we have a palace a “manmade” structure as the home of the Undying while on the other hand the Children’s cave is a natural structure of the earth which the Children inhabit. While the HOTU is decaying away the only signs that we have of the Children living in the caves are the bones of all those that came before them.

Drink from the cup of Ice, drink from the cup of Fire

Both Dany and Bran are asked to drink substances that will allow them to experience the visions they are about to be presented with. The substances are made by the black and blue trees surrounding the HOTU and weirwood bark and leaves . Dany described the trees around the HOTU as:


The description of these trees is almost the exact opposite of the white bark, red leaves of the weirwood trees. Most likely these two trees are counterparts of one another. While Dany is given shades of the evening to drink, Bran is given a weirwood paste made of the bark and leaves of the tree. Let’s look at how each one of the describes the taste:

Dany


Bran:



Notice how the taste is initially bitter or spoiled but as they continue to drink the flavor improves becoming sweeter and tasting like honey and then the taste transforms in to the things they loved or the memories that brought them happiness, Drogo’s seed or the last kiss his mother gave him.

The drinks awaken memories and feelings within them which is in part what they are about to experience. So, these two trees that appear for all intent and purpose to be counterparts of one another have a very similar taste and from what we’ll later see effect on its drinkers.

Time at a stand-still

The passing of time is noticeable in both places but there is also seems to be a slowing of time in each place. The Undying seem to be preserved in stasis awaiting their awakening while the Children live long lives some still extend their lives further through their bonding with the weirwood trees.

Pyat Pree tells Dany:


While Bloodraven tell Bran:


We can see by both these quotes that there is a connection in the magic, however, different it may be. The Undying, the weirwood trees and the Children have long existed in this world; the men who now occupy it have been there but seconds of its long history. We can extrapolate from this that the magic of ASOIAF is ancient indeed.

As a speculation we wager that the magic of ASOIF has a common root from which different factions draw their magic. There are many similarities that can’t be attributed to mere coincidence. Like the blue leaf tree and the weirwood there must be a common core from where these both sprang.

Life Preserved

As we’ve been discussing even as time is passing them by the Undying and the Children have lived a long time in this world. As we discover there is a strange similarity in the preservation of the Undying and that of Bloodravel and the Children/Singer bonded to the weirwood trees:

While exploring the caves inside Hodor, Bran stubbles upon a chamber:


And when Dany finally enters the chamber of the Undying she sees:


These two groups seemed to both be in some sort of stasis, the Singers seem to be extending their lives by the magic they draw from the weirwood tree, much like Bloodrave; the Undying on the other hand seem to be drawing their magic from a rotting blue heart at the center of their chamber. The Children once again depend on nature to extend their lives, while the Undying, however, are searching for a different sort of life force:


They wanted and needed whatever life force Dany has, they grab at her anxiously trying to consume the fire and life within her. Unlike the Children the Undying seem to need the life force of a person, preferably a person with inner magic.

Hot and Cold

Another contrast in Dany and Bran’s experience is the difference in the environment that they encounter while Bran is able to find warmth in the Children’s cave, Dany only finds an ice cold welcome.

Bran says about the caves:


Compare that to Dany’s experience in the HOTU:


Then indigo turned to orange, and whispers turned to screams. Her heart was pounding, racing, the hands and mouths were gone, heat washed over her skin, and Dany blinked at a sudden glare. Perched above her, the dragon spread his wings and tore at the terrible dark heart, ripping the rotten flesh to ribbons, and when his head snapped forward, fire flew from his open jaws, bright and hot. She could hear the shrieks of the Undying as they burned, their high thin papery voices crying out in tongues long dead. Their flesh was crumbling parchment, their bones dry wood soaked in tallow”

It’s an interesting juxtaposition we have with Dany and Bran here. While Dany is very representative of fire, Bran is usually associated with ice; however, there is a more earthly feel to the magic of the children from what we have seen. Dany’s experience with the Undying in contrast is definitely of an icy nature. It’s an obvious leap to see the similarities of the Undying with those of the Others, blue, cold, ice, death. Bran on the other hand encounters worth, comfort and care.

Songs That They Sing

Dany and Bran have experienced the songs of nature. When Bran was still in a coma Robb told his mother that Bran needed to hear the wolves sing (when the wolves where howling outside his window). Then the night that Dany contemplated taking her own life after her marriage to khal Drogo a dragon appears to her in her dreams and sings to hear, healing her with his fire. Here once again we see the music being performed by both the Undying and the Children.

Dany hears:


While Bran hears:


Although they both were treated to music, it was not for the same purpose. While the Children and their Singer sang as part of their rituals, the Undying used their music to try and trick Dany into taking the wrong turn, they used their music to try and deceive her. Music and magic also seem to go hand in hand in ASOIAF, another example of this is Mirri Maz Duur’a chanting while casting her spell in Drogo’s tent.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

* The visions that both Dany (the first visions that she sees) and Bran receive go from nearest to the present to the past.

* When Dany enters the first chamber of the Undying she passes through a weirwood and ebony set of doors. While Bran see the see that “All the color is gone, Bran realized suddenly. The world was black soil and white wood.”

* Even as they see these black and white places each places has another dominant color. For Bran it is the color red, Bloodraven’s red eye and red scare, the red leaves of the weirwood trees (above ground) the blood stew fed to them by the Children and the red laces weirwood paste that he is fed. For Dany it is the color blue, she drinks the blue shades of the evening, the Undying are blue shadows, and the corrupted heart of the Undying is also blue.

Now let us look at the mythological associations Dany and Bran share with the in universe prophecies.


*Disclaimer this part of the essay isn’t meant to say Dan is Azor Ahai or Bran is the Last Hero reborn. We are simply comparing how GRRM has influenced both characters arcs from mythical tales in Planetos

Mythology plays a large role in the World of Ice and Fire, additionally it plays a very large part of both Bran and Dany’s arcs. From Old Nan’s bed time stories, to strange tales from the East, Dany and Bran’s share the common thread of having their arcs resemble many of the characteristics of these mythologies.

The Two Heroes

In A Song of Ice and Fire, we learn about two ancient heroes, whose myths are legendary: one is called the Last Hero and the other called Azor Ahai. Both heroes are known for have done something heroic during the Long Night that helped bring back the light of day. Whether both heroes are different representations of one hero is up for debate that, however, won’t be what we’ll be focusing on. The main focus is on how GRRM writes Dany and Bran’s arc similarly in the sense that many of the events in their journey are parallels to these mythical heroes.

Azor Ahai and Daenerys


This is the tale of Azor Ahai which was told to Davos in A Clash of Kings. Dany has several parallels to this story, we will analyze those sections of the myth that relate most closely with the events that have taken place in day’s arc.

Three Tries is the Charm

One of the main themes in Azor Ahai’s story is that it took three tries for him to achieve his goal of forging Lightbringer. This theme of “three tries being the charm” is heavily used in Dany’s arc in A Song of Ice and Fire.

After Dany woke from her coma dream, she remembered that she needed something but could not say what. In the end it took three attempts by her to obtain what she needed, one of her dragon eggs.

First


Second


Third


Like Azor Ahai’s three attempts to forge Lightbringer, it takes three attempts for her to obtain her dragon eggs. GRRM wrote Dany’s arc to be heavily associated with the number three, this cannot be a coincidence, we believe.

The same theme is also used again when Dany considers that the eggs might be alive.

She first tries to hatch the dragons after Drogon appeared to her in her second dragon dream, when he healed her with his dragon fire. When she woke up she went to the egg whose color resembled that dragon she had seen and realized that it was warm to her touch. The second attempt was when she put the eggs in the brazier, however, this did not lead to the dragon eggs hatching. The third and final attempt was the actual funeral pyre where she was finally able hatch the dragon eggs in accordance with the theme of thee tries.

Sacrifice of a Loved One

Sacrifice is an important elements of the mythology of Azor Ahai. In order forge Lightbringer he had to sacrifice the person he loved most in the world. This same theme of sacrifice is seen in Dany’s arc as well. In order to hatch the dragons she had to sacrifice the things she loved the most.

Dany loses both her son Rhaego and her husband Khal Drogo, magic in the World of Ice and Fire is not without a price, as Mirri once told Dany, only death can pay for life.

Rhaego sacrifice occurs whiles Dany has her fever dream and interestingly the author writes it similarly to how Nissa Nissa was sacrificed, which again indicates that we are meant to compare these two events.


Drogo’s sacrifice may have occurred at the pyre, or when Dany suffocated him or during the spell Mirri performed. Either way the conclusion is still the same, which is that he as well as Rhaego was sacrificed just like Nissa Nissa.

Lightbringer

In the story of Azor Ahai, his sacrifices in order to save the world where done in order for him to obtain the means to end the Long Night, the means in this instance was the forgiving of Lightbringer. In Dany’s case her sacrifices lead to the birth of her three dragons. The description of Lightbring is very similar to that of the dragons. In the Jade Compendium we are given a story of the deeds of Azor Ahai, the descriptions is very similar to Dany’s actions in Astapor. The story of Azor Ahai reads:


Drogon’s actions in Astapor:


Now, let us look at the dragons as a sword. In Meereen while Dany is talking to Xaro he tells her:


In a conversation with Davos, Stannis explains to him why dragons are better than a sword:


Dany’s tale is not done yet and although we can find more similarities between Dany’s story and that of Azor ahai, these examples should be sufficient enough in showing that there are strong parallels between Dany’s arc and Azor Ahai’s story.

The Last Hero


Just like Dany, Bran’s arc also has influences from a mythical hero. Many of the themes that occur in the Last Hero story also occur in Bran’s story.

The Loss of Friends and Family

Perhaps the main theme in the Last Hero’s story is that he in the end is literally the last hero. He loses all his friends and companies and yet he manages to stay alive left alone to try and find an end to the Long Night.

Bran’s arc is not complete yet, however, the theme of losing his companions seems to be where his story is heading. We see it with Jojen growing sullenness and sadness.

Bran’s story starts as an innocent young boy, who s surrounded by a loving family. However, as his story progresses he begins to lose the people he loves little by little. First his father and sisters leave Winterfell and then his bastard brother goes to the Wall. Then his older brother Robb also goes South. Eventually his father dies and so do many of his father’s men, men whom Bran new having grown up around the.

Then his Master and guardian, Maester Luwin dies. Finally, he is forced to let his younger brother depart from him for his brothers safety, leaving Bran with only the Reed children and Hodor as companions. In A Dance with Dragons we see how Jojen begins to distance himself from everyone and when Bran comes back from one of his lessons in his final scene, Meera and Jojen are nowhere to be found. Like the Last Hero, Bran and his companions go to the far North, along with a dog, which in this case is represented by Bran dire wolf Summer. Perhaps in the end Bran will also be the last of his companions to survive.

Children of the Forest

According to Bran, Old Nan’s stories always ends with the Children of the Forest playing an important role in the Last Hero’s rescue. However, we don’t know exactly how the Children were able to help the Last Hero.

Like the Last Hero Bran is rescue from the Wights attacks by the Children. It seem as these parallels continue that we might be able to deduce how the Children originally helped the Last Hero end the Long Night.
The Truth in Myths

In an interesting parallel at the beginning of Dany and Bran’s stories they both hear myths which in time they will both verify to be true. In AGOT Dany is told thetale of how dragons first came to be and how they will return, the tale is told to her by her handmaiden Doreah. Bran hears from the Wilding captive at Winterfell, Osha, that the Children of the Forest still exist, beyond the Wall.

As the story progresses Dany goes on the hatch the stone eggs and Bran goes on to find the Children of the Forrest. Showing that although these myths contain a lot of fantastical elements to them they also may contain a kernel of truth.

Discussion

A good question to ask is what GRRM is trying to accomplish by infusing both Dany and Bran’s arcs with similarities to these mythical heroes. Does he want us to simply draw a line from the mythical heroes to the characters themselves. Or perhaps he wants us to look at the nature of what makes a person a hero. Neither Dany nor Bran are purposely setting out to be heroes, yet their actions, Dany’s more so than Bran’s are heroic in nature.

Conclusion

From their magical encounters with the Undying and the Children of the Forrest to their similarities to mythical heroes, we are allowed once again to see through Dany and Bran’s eyes a side of ASOIAF that is still for the most part a mystery to us all. These small glimpses into the magical elements of the story gives is the opportunity to see where the overall story will be heading. As GRRM has told us the elements of magical will become more prominent as the story continues and we have a small taste of what to expect.