Beneath the volcanic peaks of the Fourteen Flames in southeastern Essos, the nomadic Valyrians had lived beside searing magma for generations. No one truly knew why they could live so freely in an environment everyone else shunned.
Their tents dotted the sulfurous haze, their sheep grazed on grass nourished by volcanic ash, and their herders carved idols from obsidian to worship the god of raging fire beneath the earth. Perhaps their faith in fire had allowed them to survive in such surroundings.
Then, one stormy night, a young shepherd named Daemon chased a stray lamb and fell into a seething cavern-there lay three dragon eggs, their shells patterned like flowing lava.
For the first time, the Valyrians realized that the creatures of legend were real. The tribal elders offered blood sacrifices, pushing great numbers of their people into the magma and praying that the gods would grant them the power to tame dragons.
When the Three Young Dragons hatched, the endless flames made their bodies swell rapidly. Their cries split the rocks, and their outspread wings could cover more than half the cavern.
At first, the Valyrians tried to bind them with chains and spells, only to suffer a deadly backlash on the night of a blood moon. More than thirty dragon tamers were reduced to charred bones. Only Daemon's sister Visenya, who slit her wrist and bathed the dragons' bodies in her blood, miraculously won their acceptance.
"Dragons are the souls of flame. Only blood and fire can speak to them. Let future generations remember: Blood and Fire Share One Source!"
Visenya's maxim became the starting point of Valyrian civilization. They no longer feared the volcanoes, instead using geothermal heat to hatch dragon eggs and magma to forge weapons. From the mineral veins of the Fourteen Flames, a silver-gray