#dragonslaying

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Happy St. George's Day, everyone. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

May you have the strength required to slay any great dragon in your life, be it mental illness, sickness, or any other hardships.

June 15, 2022

I just finished reading the short story Dragonslaying by Shen Yingying (trans. Emily Xueni Jin) from this collection of Chinese SFF by female and nonbinary authors. The story Dragonslaying is about a female doctor witnessing the “surgery” of turning a jiaoren’s tail into a set of legs. Jiaoren are beautiful merfolk found in Chinese folklore, and in this story are being sold to the rich and powerful as concubines or entertainers.

Shen Yingying writes a thought-provoking and sometimes horrifying story on humanity and exploitation.

Well, it’s definitely there. 

As far as my very superficial impression goes, dogs/hounds have a running theme of being loyal servants to cruel masters, with the decided option of turning on them. Also, rape.

Take the Hound. He’s a loyal Lannister lackey, doesn’t hesitate to assault Sansa, abandons Joffrey in battle.

Jon, the night after being coerced into a sexual relationship with Ygritte and being super ashamed of enjoying it physically, compares himself to a dog. He eventually escapes, which is framed as a “betrayal”. 

Ramsey’s “girls” are his loyal, vicious tools, named after girls he hunted and murdered. There is no doubt in my mind that they will be the ones to kill and eat Ramsey, eventually.

The General mood between dogs and direwolves is not great. 

Ghost confronts a “black mongrel bitch with yellow eyes” over his honeyed chicken under the table. 

Lady grrrrr’d at Sandor Clegane.

Ghost does not get along with the wildling hounds, even though they are part wolf.

The Hound keeps referring to Arya as a she-wolf and there is lots of dog and wolf tension in their conversations.

Septon Meribald’s companion Dog has killed a dozen wolves.

Nymeria has killed a dozen wolfhounds, among many other dogs.

probably more

Now, the thing I find interesting is that the sigil of House Clegane is three black hounds on a yellow field, which is oddly reminiscent of the three-headed dragon of House Targaryen. 

The dragonlords of old Valyria had controlled their mounts with binding spells and sorcerous horns. Daenerys made do with a word and a whip. (ADWD, Daenerys X)

We already know Dany has trouble controlling her “children”. What if dragons are, in their own way, like hounds. Bound to Targaryen/Valyrian blood in a volatile bond of badly aged blood magic, capable of betraying their master. 

The lioness didn't give a shit that she was Lannister's own sigil. (ACOK, Sansa II)

So if the hound-dragon v. wolf image holds, it gives us a glimpse into tense conflict, force and invasion, but also the potential for betrayal between a hound-dragon and its mistress. Now that traitorous hound-dragon might be a literal one or a Jon Snow one. Or both. Or more.

Gregor Clegane turned Ser Robert the Strong is a pretty obvious Khal Drogo turned Drogon kind of hound-dragon. Loyal to his mistress.

Sandor of the burn-scarred face is more murky. If he’s a Jon-avatar, it’s clear he’ll help House Stark because of contrasting but significant bonds to Sansa and Arya. If there’s a dragon to represent him, I can’t yet guess which one. 

Aegon “Young Griff” Martell-Targaryen and his merry connection to his dragon-slaying ancestral family is bound to figure into this, as well. Gregor WAS brought down by Oberyn Martell with a poison spear. Quentyn confronted the dragons. He is about to meet up with Arianne and Elia Sand. Sarella Sand is lurking in the wings near Sam the Slayer. It’s a Dragon Doom Squad.

Ned killed Lady. Someone is going to betray a dragon by using their bond, too, probably.

I bet there’s much more to this. But I’m off to lunch now.