The Doom of Valyria is referenced in both Game of Thrones and its prequel House of the Dragon. While Game of Thrones season 5, episode 5, "Kill the Boy," shows Tyrion and Ser Jorah sailing through the ruins of Valyria, Viserys Targaryen in House of the Dragon season 1, episode 2 "The Rogue Prince" reminisces about the might of the Valyrian civilization. He explains the workings of Old Valyria to Alicent Hightower through a recreated scale model that looks majestic from every angle. The Game of Thrones franchise has neither shied away from paying tribute to the glory of Old Valyria nor from talking about its fall.

The Valyrian Freehold was ruled by its dragonlords who tamed and rode the dragons. Sorcery was common in Valyria and it was rooted in fire and blood. The bloodmages worked their magic in a building called the Anogrion. The geographical boundaries of the Valyrian Freehold stretched far and wide, thousands of miles along the coasts of Essos and expanded into the far western coastal regions. HBO's House of the Dragon makes mention of the fact that the Valyrian dragonlords lived at the Volcanic Face which was closest to the source of their magic and power. With over a thousand dragons and an incredibly large naval force, the Valyrian Freehold reigned as the finest civilization the world had ever seen.

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Daenys The Dreamer's Prophetic Dream Of The Doom

Viserys I Targaryen and Alicent Hightower in front of the model city of Old Valyria in House of the Dragon.

Game of Thrones lore is not bereft of prophecies, visions, and dreams. The Targaryens who were among the forty noble families in Old Valyria have had a long history of dragon dreams and prophetic visions. Emilia Clarke's Daenerys Targaryen entered the House of the Undying in Game of Thrones season 2, episode 10 "Valar Morghulis," and saw herself walking into the destroyed Red Keep. As she slowly approached the Iron Throne, she was perturbed to discover it was covered in dust falling from the skies above. In another vision, she watched herself unite with her dead husband, Khal Drogo and their son, Rhaego.

Similarly, King Viserys I dreamt of his newborn male babe born wearing Aegon's crown. House of the Dragon season 1, episode 1, "The Heirs of the Dragon," is home to the chilling revelation of Aegon's dream. Towards the end of the episode, Viserys reveals that Aegon the Conqueror was compelled to take the Seven Kingdoms because he foresaw the threat coming from the distant North that would destroy the world of the living. Aegon and the subsequent Targaryen rulers believed that a Targaryen was to be seated on the Iron Throne to keep the Realm united against the cold and the dark.

But much before Aegon's Conquest, there existed another Targaryen who saved her House from the Doom and she goes by the name, Daenys the Dreamer. She was Aenar Targaryen's daughter who had a powerful prophetic dream and visions about the Valyrian cataclysm twelve years before it actually took place. She warned her father about it and thanks to her, Aenar sold his landholdings in the Valyrian peninsula and relocated his family, wealth, slaves and five dragons to the Island called Dragonstone. One of Aenar's dragons, Balerion, was ridden by Aegon the Conqueror during his Conquest.

The Doom Paved Way For The Targaryen Conquest Of Seven Kingdoms

Tyrion Lannister and Ser Jorah sailing through the ruins of Valyria in Game of Thrones.

Four hundred years before Game of Thrones' War of the Five Kings, a cataclysmic disaster obliterated the Valyrian Freehold in a single day. While an explicit cause hasn't been established, it is strongly believed that the Doom was caused by a chain of volcanic eruptions known as the Fourteen Fires. The eruptions not only decimated Old Valyria but also shattered the surrounding Valyrian peninsula. It is also theorized that Valyrian magic was the inadvertent cause of the destruction. The destruction was exacerbated by the corresponding earthquakes that caused the ocean to sweep in and led to the creation of the Smoking Sea.

The Doom decimated the finest works of the Valyrian civilization such as its historic records, technology, dragon breeding lore, spells, and knowledge. The power vacuum led to several wars of dominance known as the Century of Blood. This period of anarchy was marked by the surviving colonies towards the west and east trying to reassert their independence. The Volantenes unsuccessfully tried to reform the empire and establish its rule. The Dothraki (who were crucial to Daenerys Targaryen's arc on Game of Thrones) conquered many lands surrounding the Dothraki Sea. Although not directly, the Doom of Valyria paved way for the conquest of the Seven Kingdoms.

The Targaryens and their five dragons escaped to Dragonstone and by the time of Aegon's Conquest, they had set a strong establishment on the island. The Conquest took place about a century later in 102 BC after the Doom. Aegon and his sister-wives' dragons played a key part in the war. Together with Balerion, Vhagar and Meraxes, the Targaryen siblings won key battles such as Field of Fire and forced Westeros' lords into submission. While Daenys the Dreamer foresaw the Doom (as mentioned by Viserys in House of the Dragon), her descendant, Daenerys Targaryen saved the world of the living through her dragons in Game of Thrones' Battle of Winterfell.

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