Nettles' Bloodline in Game of Thrones and Dunk & Egg

In House of the Dragon, the Targaryen obsession with Valyrian bloodlines, similarly seen in Illyrio’s praise of Daenerys’s “silver-gold hair” and “purple eyes,” underscores George R.R. Martin’s broader narrative: a centuries-long quest to preserve dragonseed genetics. This theme, central to the Dance of the Dragons, Aegon IV’s reign, Dunk and Egg, and Daenerys’s arc in The Winds of Winter, reveals a patriarchal Westeros where powerful men seek women as vessels for sacred bloodlines. The video explores this through Nettles, a dragonseed whose story challenges and redefines Valyrian destiny. Nettles, a brown-skinned, non-Valyrian-looking dragonrider, tames Sheepstealer during the Dance of the Dragons (129 AC). Her murky ties to Daemon Targaryen—possibly his daughter or lover—spark scandal and debate: Is she a true dragonseed or a survivor who bonded with a dragon through cunning? Accused of treason by Rhaenyra, Nettles flees to the Vale in 130 AC, where she transforms from fugitive to myth. As the “fire-witch” worshiped by the Burned Men, her dragon’s flames shape their rituals, cementing her godlike status. The video proposes Nettles birthed a child in the Vale, likely Daemon’s or Jacaerys Velaryon’s, with Valyrian traits—silver hair, pale skin—marking it as a “holy grail,” a sacred bloodline echoing Arthurian legend. This child, guarded by the mysterious House Hersy at Newkeep, bears the “winged chalice” sigil Tyrion notes in Game of Thrones. House Hersy, likened to the Knights Templar, protects this heretical Targaryen heir, defying the Dance’s outcome. The “heresy” lies in Nettles, a commoner, birthing a true dragon heir, challenging Valyrian purity myths. Nettles’s legacy blends Valyrian fire with western mythology, mirroring Mary Magdalene’s role in The Da Vinci Code as a bearer of divine lineage. Her story, omitted in House of the Dragon to George R.R. Martin’s dismay, hints at enduring influence, potentially linking to Ser Arlan of Pennytree in Dunk and Egg. Through Nettles, Martin explores genetics, power, and heresy, making her a pivotal figure in Westeros’s dragonseed saga. ASOIAF / Septa Shaena