Dragonstone
Ancient seat of House Targaryen — an island fastness in Blackwater Bay
- House
- House Targaryen
- Region
- Blackwater Bay, the Crownlands
- Raised by
- Shaped by the dragonlords of Valyria with fire and sorcery
- Age
- Valyria's westernmost outpost, older than the Conquest
The stones themselves
Dragonstone is the last work of the Valyrian Freehold left standing in Westeros, an island citadel of fused black stone raised beneath the smoking mountain called the Dragonmont. Where lesser masons cut and stacked, the dragonlords shaped: the walls and towers are worked into the likenesses of dragons — wings for battlements, tails for stairs, claws and gargoyles brooding from every height — by a sorcery that died with Valyria. From this seat the Targaryens ruled a century before Aegon ever looked west, and from it he sailed to conquer.
Famous halls and features
The Chamber of the Painted Table
A round room holding a great table carved and painted in the likeness of Westeros, where Aegon laid his plans of conquest and every Targaryen since has brooded over the realm entire.
The Stone Drum
The central keep, named for the way the thick walls seem to boom like a drum in a storm, holding the Aegon High Hall at its heart.
The Dragonmont
The live volcano that looms over the island, in whose warm caverns the Targaryen dragons once nested — the reason a Valyrian outpost stood here at all.
Sieges and history
Where the story of Dragonstone touches the great chronicle of the realm — follow each thread back into the timeline.
A legend of Dragonstone
It is said the dragonlords raised Dragonstone not with hammer and chisel but with fire and spells, softening the stone like candle-wax and shaping it to their will, and that the mountain was chosen for the visions its smoke gave to those who could read them. Daenys the Dreamer, whose foretelling of the Doom saved her house, is the proof the Targaryens offer. The maesters, who mistrust prophecy, note only that the family which fled Valyria was the one that lived.
Beyond the chronicle's edge
Who lately keeps Dragonstone, and what fires burn on its shore, belongs to readers further along the tale.
Te rozstaje wymieniają śmierci, zakończenia i drogi, którymi w książkach jeszcze nie podążono. Odsłoń je tylko, jeśli znasz obie drogi — albo jeśli nie boisz się wiedzieć.
Common questions
Who built Dragonstone?
Dragonstone was built by the dragonlords of the Valyrian Freehold as their westernmost outpost, using their fire-and-sorcery masonry to shape its black stone into dragon forms. It later became the Targaryen seat before the Conquest of Westeros.
Why did Aegon the Conqueror launch his conquest from Dragonstone?
Dragonstone was the Targaryen seat, an island stronghold in Blackwater Bay within striking distance of the mainland. Aegon planned his invasion at its Painted Table and sailed from Dragonstone to land at the mouth of the Blackwater.
What is the Painted Table?
The Painted Table is a huge table on Dragonstone carved and painted into a map of Westeros. Aegon the Conqueror had it made to plan his campaign, and it remains a symbol of Targaryen ambition to rule the whole realm.
Why does Dragonstone look like it's made of dragons?
Valyrian builders shaped the castle's fused black stone into dragon imagery — wings, tails, and gargoyles — using techniques lost after the Doom of Valyria. The result is a fortress that appears carved into living dragons.