Who Are The Bloodstone Emperor & Amethyst Empress, & What Do They Have To Do With ASOIAF & HotD?

The Great Empire of the Dawn is the origin story of Azor Ahai, but the tale of this ancient civilization is a fascinating one. The Bloodstone Emperor's blood betrayal of his sister, the Amethyst Empress, is a classic story that could hold much deeper meaning in the story at large. What does this narrative of familial betrayal have to do with ASOIAF, HotD, and the entire world of ice and fire?

00:00 The Great Empire Of The Dawn
01:14 The Tale Of The Blood Betrayal
03:46 What Was The Great Empire Of The Dawn The Origin Of?
10:09 What Does It All Mean?
12:48 Outro

[constantinetranos]

The most intriguing aspect of the Bloostone Emperor and the Amethyst Empress in my opinion is that it is a reversal of Azor Ahai and Nissa Nissa story. One is a blood betrayal that caused the Long Night, the other is a blood sucrifice that ended the Long Night.

[cyberpunkalphamale]

Entire story is about genetic engineering. The Valyrian dragonlords were 'lab created' as weapons alongside the dragons.

[urielleyva]

I always thought that the legend of all those emperors that ruled for hundreds of years each is really about different dynasties that ruled over the empire of the dawn; and now after watching this video I think that the valyrians, just like the Targaryens after them, where just the ones that survived the cataclysm that their empire was responsible for.

[santygarrido]

I absolutely love the creepy magic of a song of ice and fire, it feels unnatural, misterious and dangerous, and yet it still has similarities to other's works magic sistems so you have some idea of what we're reading about.

[hwest]

Euron Greyjoy would be most similar to the Bloodstone Emperor in the current story I would think, messing around with dark magic. The Ironborn also have a black stone artifact. Definitely interesting to think about with the Hightowers and Targaryens in HoTD

[-AwaleAbdi-]

Off-topic but I always found it cool how George plays on historical periods in the real world with the groups that inhabit Westeros. The children and giants are the Stone Age, the First Men are the Bronze Age, the Andals are the Iron Age, and the Targaryens symbolize a sort of middle ages (i.e. William the Conqueror).

[bronwyncoleman]

A book or tv series based on the Amethyst Empress and Bloodstone Emperor is something I'd be HIGHLY keen to read/watch 👀

[theduxabides]

Bloodstone and Amethyst are ABSOLUTELY Azor Ahai and Nissa Nissa; if I had to bet, going off some of what Company of the Cat has discussed in her videos, Bloodstone probably tried to draw on the magic of a comet similar to the red one to create dragons, using Nissa Nissa as the sacrifice. Unfortunately, the Children of the Forest's calling on the Hammer of the Waters affected the moon's orbit, and The Comet struck the moon in what was effectively a lunar eclipse, thus giving us the Qarthene legend of how dragons came to be and giving us the Long Night. The first of the Andals probably arrived in Westeros shortly thereafter, and started shit with the Children, resulting in the Others; realizing how badly they'd fucked up, the Children helped the Last Hero unite the First Men and the first of the Andals in Westeros, to defeat the Others.

TL;DR Killing your wife is bad, m'kay?

[tarvoc]

I'm actually surprised you didn't address this, but I find it really interesting how _similar_ the Bloodstone Emperor and Azor Ahai are. They're both great human leaders during the Long Night who killed a woman close to them in a bid for power (does the term "sister-wife" ring any bells here?) and who are connected to the beginning and the end of the Long Night respectively. And those probably aren't even the only parallels.

[PinkGrapefruit]

I definitely agree that the information about the Great Empire of the Dawn is meant to be a further clue to the history that created ASOIAF's world as we know it. The series itself calls back so many times to the ancient history of Westeros and of the world at large (the Age of Heroes being the supposed origin of many of the great houses, the Long Night, Azor Ahai, the Night's King and Corpse Queen, the Pact, etc.). And of course we have the perennial mysteries of why the seasons are so strange, what the Others are and what they want, what's up with the weirwoods, why is magic returning to the world... GRRM clearly has a very large-scale story he is telling not merely across a variety of characters and locations in the present day but also deep into this world's history. Really enjoyed your analysis, especially the idea that the Starks/Hightowers and Targaryens might reflect opposite sides of an ancient conflict.

[NoSageMeadow]

I always like your videos about ASOIAF. Excited for this one.

[sofiekaterina]

Ahh yes this is one of my favourite things to speculate about in ASOIAF!!!

Definitely agree there’s a connection and the Daynes and Hightowers have something to with it (I think the Sword of the Morning and the rock which the light tower is built on are big clues). But idk how much of my own thoughts had to do with refugees from a potential civil war between the Amethyst Empress and Bloodstone Emperor and instead maybe explorers looking for new land to settle.

I think even the Starks originating from TGEOTD - although it wasn’t until someone pointed out Pearl I think as their “stone” that I managed to go, maybe? - might explain some of the pre-Andal and pre-Targ stories legends about the family and the North.

[NotoriousMinion]

Oh hell yes this is my favorite topic by far in ASOIAF. Love the mythology in this series, and this one in particular is absolutely central. Stoked to finish watching this.

[Janary]

Do I even read asoiaf? No.
Will I watch, comment, and like this hill's alive video? Yes.

[arianweneverett]

While I find this idea intriguing, I believe the timeline is too great for the First Men to come from YiTi. The distance is too great and there is plenty of land that wasn't under the Bloodstone Emperor and whatever horrors he was unleashing on the world to go straight to Westeros. Why not settle in what would become the Dothraki Sea or the Free Cities before going all the way to the edge of the world?

Personally, my theory on the Bloodstone Emperor and Amethyst Empress is that this was the very first human sacrifice for the purposes of blood magic in history, with the Bloodstone Emperor's reign bein a massive expansion of the practice. Blood magic is a form of violence, and GRRM is serious about his passivism in is writing. I believe that blood magic is an allegory for the justification of war and violence. It promises peace and prosperity for a powerful few at the ultimate cost for others, usually the most vulnerable. From Melisandre, to the Faceless Men, to the Children of the Forest and Jojen paste, that's what is really being offered.

[komal]

i have been fascinated with the city of Asshai and it's destruction into a toxic waste due to some ancient events. So similar to the foreboding invasion of Others. And then i watched videos on Stygai and Dvid lightbringer's videos on all of this (including recent stream). It looks tinfoil but it's pretty plausible and foreshadowing done right.

[greatwarden]

An interesting thing about the Bloodstone Emperor is that he worshipped a black stone that fell from the sky and was said to be the first high priest of the church of starry wisdom.

Unless the bloodstone drank blood, calling a black stone a "blood" stone only makes sense if it was associated with black blood. Lots of things in Westeros have black blood: dragons, Beric Dondarion, Melisandre, corpses, and Lady Stoneheart.

One of my ASOIAF theories is that blood is a useful conduit of souls when practicing blood magic. If its correct, it may be that the bloodstone was a rock that contained the blood/soul of something that fell from the sky.

Whose blood? It's complete speculation but the Great Empire of the Dawn was started when two opposing entities (the Lady Made of Light and the Lion of Night) got married (i.e., reached an accord). Maybe the blood betrayal was Night's attempt to unbalance an eons-old stalemate. The legend does say that during the blood betrayal the Maiden Made of Light turned from the world and the Lion of Night came forth to "punish the wickedness of men". Balance was only restored with Light's bringer.

Light and Night, Fire and Ice. Maybe the central premise of ASOIAF is not a war between opposing forces but instead a struggle to restore balance.

[Emma]

Another interesting aspect connection between them all are the colors when it comes to the Amethyst Empress and Bloodstone Emperor. Amethyst is of course a shade of purple, like the eyes of most Valyrians and sometimes the Dayne’s. And bloodstone is usually a mix of red, green, a little black (and sometimes brownish?) The main colors of House Targaryen are red and black, House Hightower is known for their green, and houses like the Starks typically have brown hair.

[princeali]

Is it a stretch to think the name Valyria might be the name of the Amethyst Empress?

[ninjadolphin]

Not going to lie people like David lightbringer over really got me woke on the importance of the great Empire of the Dawn and I really wonder if we're ever going to actually get any confirmation about it.