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Silverwing is a major character in the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series. She is a silver-colored dragon of House Targaryen, who was originally the dragon mount of Queen Alysanne Targaryen, the sister-wife of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, until Alysanne's death in 100 AC.
After being riderless for many years, she became the mount of the Dragonseed Ulf the White during the Dance of the Dragons but after Ulf was poisoned in the late stages of the war, Silverwing eventually became a wild dragon and came to reside at Red Lake in the Reach during the regency of King Aegon III Targaryen and eventually died during the Broken King's reign.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
According to legend, Silverwing hatched from her egg in 36 AC when it was placed in Alysanne Targaryen's crib by her eldest sister Princess Rhaena Targaryen, the eldest child of King Aegon I Targaryen, famously known as Aegon the Conqueror, who had conquered nearly all of Westeros and established the Targaryen Dynasty.
In 42 AC during the Faith Militant Uprising, after King Aenys I Targaryen died, a few days after he had suffered from a collapse, Silverwing used her flames to cremate his body, with Vermithor and Quicksilver adding their own flames to the pyre, during the king's funeral, which was attended by his widowed wife Queen Alyssa Velaryon, who sang a dirge in his memory, with their children, Princess Alysanne and her brother Prince Jaehaerys, being present.
In 44 AC during the brutal reign of King Maegor I Targaryen, Alyssa and her children were kept as hostages at Dragonstone by Dowager Queen Visenya Targaryen, Maegor's mother and the older sister-wife of his father Aegon the Conqueror. After Visenya passed away from natural causes and chaos broke out at Dragonstone in the wake of her passing, Silverwing and Vermithor escaped from the island with Alyssa, Alysanne, and Jaehaerys.
A few years later in 48 AC, Silverwing accepted Princess Alysanne as her rider. On that same year, as most of the realm have now begun rebelling against Maegor the Cruel, Prince Jaehaerys received the support of House Baratheon and Lord Rogar Baratheon, who also rebelled against Maegor and had declared Jaehaerys as the rightful king. As Alysanne stood by her brother's side, Rogar declared that while Maegor only has one dragon (which is Balerion the Black Dread), Jaehaerys has two dragons, as while Alysanne has Silverwing, Prince Jaehaerys has Vermithor. They would eventually be joined by Princess Rhaena, who had escaped King's Landing with her daughter Princess Aerea, on her dragon Dreamfyre. After King Maegor mysteriously died, Alysanne flew Silverwing together with Jaehaerys on Vermithor and Rhaena on Dreamfyre so that Jaehaerys could claim the Iron Throne. During the wedding between Lord Rogar and Dowager Queen Alyssa Velaryon, in what is famously known as the Golden Wedding, King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne impressed the guests when they arrived at the wedding on their dragons,
Silverwing fanning the flames of the Hightower with her wings.
A year later, Silverwing flew Alysanne to Dragonstone, where she and the newly-crowned King Jaehaerys wed in secrecy without the consent of their mother and Lord Rogar, who had become Jaehaerys' Hand of the King. Throughout the young king's minority, Silverwing and Vermithor had taken refuge in Dragonstone. During King Jaehaerys' long reign, while he would spend much of his time as a guest of lords and holding audiences in towns and villages, he would always be accompanied by Queen Alysanne and Silverwing, who would fly beside him and Vermithor as they make their royal progress. A few years later in 54 AC, Silverwing flew Alysanne to Oldtown to attend the funeral of the High Septon/"High Lickspittle", who had been a puppet of Maegor the Cruel during his reign and had been greatly despised by the Faith Militant for he had never spoken a word against Maegor and his incestous marriages. Alysanne and her dragon flew atop the Hightower, the seat of House Hightower, where Silverwing fanned the tower's flames with her wings, making all of Oldtown gasp.
In 58 AC, as King Jaehaerys was unable to accompany her on a planned royal progress, due to being preoccupied with his duties in King's Landing at that time, Alysanne and her retinue went on ahead and she flew Silverwing to the North, which is governed by House Stark. They first visited White Harbor, which is governed by House Manderly, a noble house loyal to the Starks. Tens of thousands of smallfolk there came over to see the queen and her dragon. While they cheered for Alysanne they were in awe and terror at the sight of Silverwing. They next stopped at Winterfell, the ancestral seat of House Stark, where they were received by Lord Alaric Stark and his sons. As Alaric remembered the burning of Harrenhal by Aegon the Conqueror during the Targaryen conquest of Westeros, he wearily refused to allow Silverwing within his walls, though Alysanne used her charm to convince him to approach Silverwing, albeit warily.
Queen Alysanne Targaryen flying Silverwing to the Wall.
Growing impatient over Jaehaerys' delayed arrival, Queen Alysanne and Silverwing went to the Wall, even stopping by House Umber's seat of Last Hearth and several smaller keeps along the way. At the Wall, the brothers of the Night's Watch were in awe at the sight of Silverwing but Queen Alysanne noted that her dragon doesn't like the wall, as when she tried to fly her over the colossal structure, the she-dragon would hiss and snap at the chilly gust of wind coming from the other side. Alysanne tried on several occasions to get Silverwing to go beyond the Wall, but the dragon would veer south every time. She wrote to her brother regarding this issue, noting of how troubled she is over Silverwing's refusal to fly south, despite always previously obeying her commands. She eventually returned to Winterfell, where she reunites with King Jaehaerys, and together they flew to Torrhen's Square and Barrowton before returning to King's Landing.
Alysanne later flew Silverwing to the Eeyrie, the ancestral seat of House Arryn, where she stayed with her daughter Princess Daella Targaryen, who had written to her that she is pregnant and as she was frightened she asked her mother to go to the Vale. Alysanne had arrived three months before her daughter was due to give birth. Though she had a long, difficult labor, Daella gave birth to her only child Aemma Arryn only to then die from childbed fever at the age of eighteen. In 92 AC, following the loss of their eldest son Prince Aemon, Alysanne got into a quarrel with her husband over passing over his niece Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Aemon's only child, in favor of his second eldest son Prince Baelon in the line of succession. This argument became known in history as the Second Quarrel, following their First Quarrel regarding their self-exiled daughter Princess Saera. After their fight, the queen departed King's Landing on Silverwing to reside on Dragonstone. She remained separated for two years until she reconciled with King Jaehaerys in 94 AC, with help from their daughter Septon Maegelle (formerly Princess Maegelle Targaryen). Despite their reconciliation, the couple never reached an accord regarding the succession.
A year later, Silverwing flew her rider one last time to Dragonstone, as she could no longer bear to live in King's Landing and the Red Keep, after she had lost her daughter Princess Gael Targaryen, her most favored daughter, who tragically committed suicide after giving birth to a stillborn son. Due to her ailing health, Queen Alysanne wept as she climbed down from her dragon, as it caused her great pain. After spending her happiest days on the island, with even her husband joining with her as he could, Queen Alysanne eventually died in 100 AC from wasting illness, leaving Silverwing riderless.
Dance of the Dragons[]
Following Alysanne's passing, Silverwing made her lair in one of the smoking caverns from the Dragonmont, a volcano on Dragonstone. She remained there, riderless, until 129 AC, where at that time a bloody civil war had been instigated, which is well-known as the Dance of the Dragons, where two warring political factions known as the Blacks and the Greens fought each other for control of the Iron Throne. Following the death of Princess Rhaenys and her dragon Meleys, whom both were killed fighting King Aegon II Targaryen and his brother Prince Aemond Targaryen at Rook's Rest, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon, the eldest son and heir of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen sought to gain more dragon riders to support his mother's claim to the Iron Throne, as she had been the heir of her late father King Viserys I Targaryen, though her half-brother Aegon II took the throne from her.
As there are many riderless dragons on Dragonstone, with Silverwing among them, Jacaerys made a call to men by promising knighthood and wealth to any who could master a dragon, which attracted many living on the island, such as common sailors, scullions, mummers, and men-at-arms. This also extends to Dragonstone's own household and even one of Rhaenyra's own Queensguard, Ser Steffon Darklyn. In his Testimony, court fool Mushroom claimed to have made an attempt to ride Silverwing, who is considered to be the most docile of all the riderless dragons. This is an unlikely, but amusing, story as it concluded with Mushroom himself running across the ward of Dragonstone with his pants alight and he leapt into a well to put out the flames, though he nearly drowned in the process.
Out of all the dragons that killed many who made attempts to ride them, Silverwing is the only one not described to have killed any man who had attempted to ride her. She eventually accepted a second rider in local man-at-arms Ulf the White. Ulf flew Silverwing to aid other Prince Jacaerys and other Dragonseeds and their respective dragons against an Essosi fleet sent by the Triarchy during the Battle of the Gullet, one of the bloodiest sea battles in history. Later, when King's Landing fell to Rhaenyra and the Blacks, Ulf landed Silvewing on Rhaenys' Hill just outside the Dragonpit, where the she-dragon made another lair before flying off into battle.
First Battle of Tumbleton[]
Silverwing and Vermithor burning Tumbleton.
Queen Rhaenyra sent Ulf and another Dragonseed Hugh Hammer, and their respective dragons to the market town of Tumbleton to defend it from the army of House Hightower, which is being led by Lord Ormund Hightower and who is aided by Prince Daeron Targaryen and his dragon Tessarion. After holding off the Greens, the Blacks were initially confident of victory as Tessarion is a small dragon, being smaller than both Silverwing and Vermithor combined, that is until Ulf and Hugh suddenly changed sides and betray the Blacks for the Greens. Turning on Tumbleton, Silverwing and Vermithor (along with Prince Daeron and Tessarion) unleashed their flames on the town, leaving mass-destruction in their wake while thousands burned to death or drowned in the Mander as they tried to escape. Hugh and Ulf's betrayal ultimately led to the brutal sack of Tumbleton, in which the Greens forces went out of control and committed numerous appalling and savage atrocities during the chaos.
Following the battle, Ulf and his dragon remained in Tumbleton with the Hightower forces, with Silverwing being kept unchained and she was allowed to fly and hunt freely.
Second Battle of Tumbleton[]
It was claimed by singers that Silverwing attempted the now-dead Vermithor's wing with her snout.
Later during the night, as Tumbleton was attacked a second time by the Blacks, who were led by Ser Addam Velaryon atop his dragon Seasmoke, they took the Greens by surprise with a night-time attack. Though Ulf was drunkenly asleep at that time, Silverwing nevertheless took the sky during the battle, where at one point a crossbowman launched a bolt at the she-dragon. Rather than join in the fight alongside Vermithor and Tessarion, she avoided direct conflict and instead circled Tumbleton for hours. She wouldn't descend until after the next day after the sun had set, and Silverwing landed amongst the bodies of Vermithor and Tessarion, whom both died in the battle.
According to singers, Silverwing attempted to lift Vermithor's wing on three occasions, though this was dismissed by Archmaester Gyladyn, who considered that it is most likely to have been a fable. When the sun rose again, Silverwing began to fly listlessly across the field, where she fed on the burned carcasses of men and animals. After Ulf the White was poisoned by Ser Hobert Hightower with poisoned wine, Silverwing is once again riderless, and she would not take another rider again for the rest of her life.
Later life[]
Following Ulf's death, Lord Unwin Peake attempted to look for a dragon rider by offering 1,000 gold dragons to any knight of nobility who could successfully claim Silverwing as part of a campaign to retake King's landing, which had fallen during the Moon of the Three Kings and following Rhaenyra's flight from the capital. Three men tried to claim the she-dragon but Silverwing killed two of them while the third changed his mind and withdrew.
As the Dance of the Dragons neared its end and eventually concluded, Silverwing is amongst the four dragons to have survived the civil war (with the other three being the Cannibal, Sheepstealer, and the hatchling Morning). During the regency of the recently crowned King Aegon III Targaryen, Silverwing, despite being accustomed to men, became wild and came to reside at a cave at Red Lake northwest of the Reach, where she made a new lair and she continued to reside there during Aegon's regency. While planning for the young king to go on a royal progress, the Hand of the King Lord Torrhen Manderly planned to have Aegon avoid going to Red lake, due to knowing of the boy's distaste for dragons. By the time of Aegon III's reign, Silverwing died between 136 and 153 AC, and it is unknown if her skull was hung in the Red Keep amongst the other dragon skulls.
Gallery[]
