Dragonstone

## Island of Dragonstone

Dragonstone is a volcanic island at the mouth of Blackwater Bay, created by the active volcano, Dragonmont. The island is damp and dreary. The castle of Dragonstone is a small fortress located on the face of the volcano. Outside its walls sits a small fishing village on the stormy coast. Beneath Dragonmont are rich deposits of dragonglass. There is much obsidian seen in the old tunnels beneath the mountain, found in chunks and boulders. The greater part of it is black, but there is some green obsidian as well, some red, even purple.

Through the dalliances of many Targaryen lords and princes over the years, many of the smallfolk of the island are descendants of that dynasty, and are known as dragonseeds.

Dragonstone, though old and strong, commands the allegiance of only a few lesser lords whose islands are too thinly populated to provide any great numbers of troops, although they have some naval strength. A short distance west of Dragonstone is the island of Driftmark, which is the seat of House Velaryon, a Valyrian house and historically a naval power. Other houses sworn to Dragonstone include Celtigar of Claw Isle, who are also of Valyrian descent, Seaworth of Cape Wrath, Bar Emmon of Sharp Point, and Sunglass of Sweetport Sound. At least two members of House Blackberry serve at Dragonstone.

## Castle of Dragonstone

The ancient fortress of Dragonstone was built using advanced Valyrian techniques of masonry that were lost in the Doom, causing it to look unique among all the castles in Westeros. The citadel of Dragonstone is wrought all of black stone (the "stones of hell", if the old tales are true), its towers carved into the shapes of dragons, and 1,000 gargoyles carved into various shapes serve as brooding crenellations along the three curtain walls. When Maester Cressen first came to Dragonstone the army of grotesques had made him uneasy, but as the years passed he grew used to them, and in his old age he came to think of the 12-foot-tall hellhound and wyvern on his windswept balcony as old friends.

The design of the castle is very dragon-oriented. Small dragons frame gates and dragon claws hold torches. A pair of great wings cover the armory and smithy, and tails form archways and staircases.

### Stone Drum

The Stone Drum is the central keep of Dragonstone, named as such because of the booming sound made by the powerful winds during storms. Cells in the dungeons beneath the citadel are warmer than they ought to be, but as dank as one might expect for an isle such as Dragonstone. It is said that there are shafts and secret stairs leading further below into the heart of the Dragonmont. The Stone Drum is connected to the dungeon tower by a high stone bridge that arches over emptiness.

### Chamber of the Painted Table

The Chamber of the Painted Table, located on the top floor of the Stone Drum, is a round room, with four tall windows, overlooking the north, south, east and west. It holds a large table, carved and painted in the form of a detailed map of Westeros. Here, Aegon the Conqueror planned for the invasion of Westeros. The Painted Table is more than fifty feet long: roughly twenty-five feet wide at its widest point and four feet at its thinnest. At the precise location of Dragonstone is a raised seat that allows the occupant to view the entire map.

### Great Hall

The Great Hall is carved in the shape of a huge dragon lying on its belly; its doors are set in the mouth and those entering pass through its mouth. The kitchens resemble a curled up dragon where the smoke and heat vented through its nostrils.

### Aegon's Garden

Aegon's Garden is a garden near the arch of the Dragon's Tail. Within its confines grow tall trees on every side, as well as wild roses. Cranberries grow in a boggy spot. Aegon's Garden has a pleasant pine scent.
Windwyrm is one of the towers of Dragonstone. It is shaped like a dragon and arches into the sky, screaming defiantly.

### Sea Dragon Tower

Sea Dragon Tower is shaped like a dragon at peace, facing the sea. The maester's chambers lie in this tower, below the rookery. The stairs of the tower are narrow and twisting. Going down the stairs of the Sea Dragon Tower, one must then cross the gallery, pass through both the middle and inner walls with their gargoyles and black iron gates, and climb even more steps to reach the Chamber of the Painted Table.

### The Sept

The sept contains carved statues of the seven aspects of the Faith of the Seven's god. The Crone has pearl eyes, the Father a gilded beard, and the Stranger looks more animal than human. They had been carved from the masts of the ships that carried the first Targaryens to Dragonstone, and many layers of paint and varnish had been applied to them over the centuries. The sept has several altars and stained glass as well. It is said that Aegon the Conqueror knelt to pray in Dragonstone's sept the night before he sailed to conquer the Seven Kingdoms. This may be apocryphal, as Aegon only publicly converted when he reached Oldtown during his invasion - the sept could have been constructed after that fact.

## History

Two centuries before the Doom, Valyrians took possession of the island and built a castle upon it, which became the westernmost outpost of the Valyrian Freehold. The castle towers were shaped by Valyrian magic to look like dragons, giving it the name Dragonstone.

Twelve years prior to the Doom, Aenar Targaryen, the head of House Targaryen, relocated his family, their five dragons, and all their wealth to Dragonstone, because of the visions of his maiden daughter Daenys. In Valyria their rivals saw the Targaryen flight to bleak Dragonstone as an act of cowardly surrender. Four of the dragons brought from Valyria eventually died on Dragonstone, leaving only Balerion. However, two ‎eggs hatched and Vhagar and Meraxes were born.