In a new featurette shared in advance of House of the Dragon, author George RR Martin has introduced the new players of the upcoming series. In the 5-minute-long clip, Martin shares the history of Westeros set some time after the conquest of Aegon the Conqueror and three hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones.
Speaking about the series, which is based on the civil war depicted in his work Dance of Dragons, Martin said, “The story of House of the Dragon is a story about very flawed human beings, capable of doing good things, capable of doing monstrous things, capable of courage, and capable of cowardice. These are the kind of characters I love the most.” The author continued, “Jaehaerys Targaryen, the old king who was the fourth Targaryen to rule over Westeros was only fourteen when he ascended the throne and ruled for fifty-five years. It was a very peaceful time in the history of Westeros. It was a time of prosperity and King’s Landing really grew enormously. It was a good time.”
Coming to the times the show is set in, Martin introduced the main players, revealing, “Viserys I, who is the heir that was chosen by the Great Council when Jaehaerys passes away, he takes over and he is now reigning over the seven Kingdoms. There were a lot of Targaryens at that point and you can see how the seeds of war are sometimes planted in a time of peace.” Further adding, “People die and the sons take over for fathers of lords. They don’t necessarily think they are bound by their father’s allegiances or decisions or vows so little by little the seeds are spreading.”
Making a comparison with the original series the author revealed, “Game of Thrones focused on Starks and Lannisters. For House of the Dragon, Targeryns themselves, are at the center. Further, elaborating on the history of the Hightowers, Martin said,
In terms of the history of Westeros, the Hightowers are the oldest. They’ve been there for thousands of years. Their seat of power is Old Town, which was for many thousands of years the biggest city in Westeros. They are a very rich house, Old Town is wealthy from trade mostly. And in the center of it is the High Tower, from which Hightowers take their name.
Further adding, “Lord Hightower is in Old Town from where he is ruling the domains in the city. But his younger brother Otto is the Hand of the King when the story opens, same position we see Ned Stark play to Robert at the beginning of Game of Thrones.” Next comes the house Velaryon, the author tells,
The Velaroyns were also a house from the Freehold of Valyria. The mightiest empire in at least the west, in my world. And they arrived in Westeros before the Targaryens. They were not dragon lords however they were seafarers. At that time the Freehold of Valyria depended a lot on its trade and it was a good position to dominate trade from all the kingdoms of Westeros and other places from the north. So they moved for reasons of trade and wealth.
Introducing the main characters from house Velaryon and their relationship with Targaryens, he revealed, “Corlys Velaryon is Lord Admiral and Masters of Ship like his grandfather of the same name. So since Aegon’s conquest, the Velaryons have been very high in the council of House Targaryen. And after all his voyages he married Rhaenys Targaryen, the queen who never was.” Speaking of the Dragon power Martin reveals, “Dragons are really formidable and can really turn the tide of a battle. It flies, it’s difficult to hit, and it breathes fire. So the Dragons and fear of Dragons were one of the things that made the Targaryens very secure in their power.”
House of the Dragon is set to premiere on August 21. Check out the new featurette below