“As Daenerys Targaryen rose to her feet, her black hissed, pale smoke venting from its mouth and nostrils. The other two pulled away from her breasts and added their voices to the call, translucent wings unfolding and stirring the air, and for the first time in hundreds of years, the night came alive with the music of dragons.”
Daenerys has come a long way since her first meeting with Khal Drogo. The trials she endured while at his side - and after his death - have shaped her into a powerful, outspoken, fearless woman. She believes she cannot feel the agony she felt when she lost her first love, Drogo, and their child, Rhaego, again. In her mind, she has overcome the absolute worst; therefore it is no surprise that she charges forward without fear and without hesitation only heeding the advice of those around her occasionally (and only if the advice pleases her). She is a true Stormborn now and her sights are set on ruling all of the Seven Kingdoms - something her ancestor did long ago.
"Why ask for truth when you close your ears to it?" - Ser Barristan Selmy
However while it is true that she can be downright rash at times - or, perhaps, brash is a better word, Daenerys has the intellect and wit to escape tight corners. She and Viserys were given the best education that could be acquired while they were in hiding - and Daenerys has not forgotten those crucial lessons. An example of her displaying her wit happened when she released the Unsullied and kept her precious Dragon (Drogon) in the process. She knew well that no one else could control her Dragons but her, yet she kept that important piece of information from her enemies. They paid for that mistake with their lives as they were baked in Drogon's fires. Furthermore, she also kept the fact that she is trilingual from them. While they spoke in Valyrian, she pretended to not understand them when, in fact, she understood every word.
In their own way, her children (i.e. her Dragons) give her even more confidence to charge forward and take what she desires as she makes her way to the throne of ultimate power. With her confidence comes sass, wit, charm and a fiery passion that seems to burn to her very core. But there are more than a few occasions where those traits seem to bring her more ill will - and trouble - than good. (For example when she determined where the khalasar should travel and they got lost in the desert.) Yet, thus far, she has evaded the shadowy arms of death.
"Keep walking. If I look back I am lost."
Even so there is a certain naiveté to Daenerys. She is young (by both book and series standards) and her cockiness blinds her to the dangers around her. Without her retainers like Ser Jorah, she would have succumbed to poison (thanks to Robert Baratheon) or worse. Yet she doesn't give them enough credit nor does she realize that her loneliness since Khal Drogo's death could be used against her. By choosing one of her trusted handmaidens as a lover (for a short while), she thought to avoid said danger, yet she knows she doesn't have time for love - no matter how much her heart might yearn for it. There is a softer woman behind the shield of steel she has fashioned around herself. If someone were to pierce it, she might be rendered vulnerable. Yet she remains blind to that possibility - certain that the worst is behind her - and that, in turn, has become her weakest attribute.
"I know that she spent her childhood in exile, impoverished, living on dreams and schemes, running from one city to the next, always fearful, never safe, friendless but for a brother who was by all accounts half-mad...a brother who sold her maidenhood to the Dothraki for the promise of an army. I know that somewhere upon the grass, her dragons hatched, and so did she. I know she is proud. How not? What else was left her but pride? I know she is strong. How not? The Dothraki despise weakness. If Daenerys had been weak, she would have perished with Viserys. I know she is fierce. Astapor, Yunkai and Meereen are proof enough of that. She has survived assassins and conspiracies and fell sorceries, grieved for a brother and a husband and a son, trod the cities of the slavers to dust beneath her dainty sandalled feet." - Tyrion Lannister
She cannot imagine failure - nor does she plan for it. However the pride she desperately hangs onto - and her vision of reigning over all of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros - are oftentimes balanced by her good heart. Ser Jorah Mormont comments on more than one occasion that she will be a great ruler because she can empathize with her people. In that way, she isn't above them - she is one of them. The slaves of the various cities certainly seem to agree with him after she frees them of their shackles - as do the Unsullied. She has the iron will of a conqueror, but at her heart, she is a mother. She does not sit idly while others suffer needlessly and she does not shy away from seeing justice done - no matter the consequences that may befall her for doing so in the future.
The world Daenerys envisions is one where right and wrong are clearly labeled (for example if someone owns slaves, they are clearly in the wrong). Punishment will be meted out for all offenses swiftly and every man, woman and child shall be free. She knows well what it feels like to be in a cage - and to be abused (thanks to Viserys). While she will always love her brother and thank him for his protection in her early years, she knows to her core that she will be a better ruler than he could ever hope to be.
"This Mother of Dragons, this Breaker of Chains, is above all a rescuer." - Tyrion Lannister
For the pain and fear she has endured at the hands of Robert Baratheon, Viserys Targaryen and those that sought to aid the Baratheons (and/or Lannisters), Daenerys reaches out and offers those in similar positions solace. She is not a Queen who rules by fear; she would rather be loved and respected. However, as her journey lengthens, she is beginning to realize that she cannot gain the love of everyone.
There will be betrayals - three of them - and a hard road ahead. But she promises herself that she will be strong - she will endure. She will not forget what Khal Drogo and the Dothraki taught her. Weakness is not acceptable and rulers, in times of crisis, must learn to stand alone in a sea of doubt. For her children, she will do so; for her brothers, she will do so; for her mother and father, she will do so; for herself, she will do so. There is nowhere to go except forward - even if she must leave fire and blood in her wake.
Daenerys Targaryen | A Song of Ice and Fire | Reserved | Part 2
Daenerys has come a long way since her first meeting with Khal Drogo. The trials she endured while at his side - and after his death - have shaped her into a powerful, outspoken, fearless woman. She believes she cannot feel the agony she felt when she lost her first love, Drogo, and their child, Rhaego, again. In her mind, she has overcome the absolute worst; therefore it is no surprise that she charges forward without fear and without hesitation only heeding the advice of those around her occasionally (and only if the advice pleases her). She is a true Stormborn now and her sights are set on ruling all of the Seven Kingdoms - something her ancestor did long ago.
However while it is true that she can be downright rash at times - or, perhaps, brash is a better word, Daenerys has the intellect and wit to escape tight corners. She and Viserys were given the best education that could be acquired while they were in hiding - and Daenerys has not forgotten those crucial lessons. An example of her displaying her wit happened when she released the Unsullied and kept her precious Dragon (Drogon) in the process. She knew well that no one else could control her Dragons but her, yet she kept that important piece of information from her enemies. They paid for that mistake with their lives as they were baked in Drogon's fires. Furthermore, she also kept the fact that she is trilingual from them. While they spoke in Valyrian, she pretended to not understand them when, in fact, she understood every word.
In their own way, her children (i.e. her Dragons) give her even more confidence to charge forward and take what she desires as she makes her way to the throne of ultimate power. With her confidence comes sass, wit, charm and a fiery passion that seems to burn to her very core. But there are more than a few occasions where those traits seem to bring her more ill will - and trouble - than good. (For example when she determined where the khalasar should travel and they got lost in the desert.) Yet, thus far, she has evaded the shadowy arms of death.
Even so there is a certain naiveté to Daenerys. She is young (by both book and series standards) and her cockiness blinds her to the dangers around her. Without her retainers like Ser Jorah, she would have succumbed to poison (thanks to Robert Baratheon) or worse. Yet she doesn't give them enough credit nor does she realize that her loneliness since Khal Drogo's death could be used against her. By choosing one of her trusted handmaidens as a lover (for a short while), she thought to avoid said danger, yet she knows she doesn't have time for love - no matter how much her heart might yearn for it. There is a softer woman behind the shield of steel she has fashioned around herself. If someone were to pierce it, she might be rendered vulnerable. Yet she remains blind to that possibility - certain that the worst is behind her - and that, in turn, has become her weakest attribute.
She cannot imagine failure - nor does she plan for it. However the pride she desperately hangs onto - and her vision of reigning over all of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros - are oftentimes balanced by her good heart. Ser Jorah Mormont comments on more than one occasion that she will be a great ruler because she can empathize with her people. In that way, she isn't above them - she is one of them. The slaves of the various cities certainly seem to agree with him after she frees them of their shackles - as do the Unsullied. She has the iron will of a conqueror, but at her heart, she is a mother. She does not sit idly while others suffer needlessly and she does not shy away from seeing justice done - no matter the consequences that may befall her for doing so in the future.
The world Daenerys envisions is one where right and wrong are clearly labeled (for example if someone owns slaves, they are clearly in the wrong). Punishment will be meted out for all offenses swiftly and every man, woman and child shall be free. She knows well what it feels like to be in a cage - and to be abused (thanks to Viserys). While she will always love her brother and thank him for his protection in her early years, she knows to her core that she will be a better ruler than he could ever hope to be.
For the pain and fear she has endured at the hands of Robert Baratheon, Viserys Targaryen and those that sought to aid the Baratheons (and/or Lannisters), Daenerys reaches out and offers those in similar positions solace. She is not a Queen who rules by fear; she would rather be loved and respected. However, as her journey lengthens, she is beginning to realize that she cannot gain the love of everyone.
There will be betrayals - three of them - and a hard road ahead. But she promises herself that she will be strong - she will endure. She will not forget what Khal Drogo and the Dothraki taught her. Weakness is not acceptable and rulers, in times of crisis, must learn to stand alone in a sea of doubt. For her children, she will do so; for her brothers, she will do so; for her mother and father, she will do so; for herself, she will do so. There is nowhere to go except forward - even if she must leave fire and blood in her wake.