#nettles and sheepstealer

[ride-thedragon]

THE MANY WAYS TO TAME A DRAGON : BY NETTLES.

Find time in the day to be with them.

Keep up with certain rituals.

Know that there will be rumours.

Accept their little gifts.

Know that they'll protect you.

And by then, you should have claimed a dragon.

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

The Maiden, the Mother and the Crone: a study on Nettles

Nettles, the Maiden

In ASOIAF, the maiden represents innocence and chasity. Now, like all the other faces of the faith of the seven, the maiden is represented through various characters, with one of them being Nettles. With her upbringing being unknown, all that is known about Nettles’ childhood and sexual experience are speculations made based on her class, race and gender. She is not granted the privilege of innocence the noble women in Westeros are given.

Despite the authors of fire and blood, and the people in-universe accusing her of promiscuity, Nettles’ connection to the maiden has almost nothing to do with sex, but is rather an exploration of the war amongst the noble houses of Westeros, and the fault of legitimacy as it pertains to Targaryens.

The Claiming of Sheepstealer

According to the accounts in Fire and Blood, Nettles claims the wild-dragon Sheepstealer by feeding him freshly slaughtered sheep everyday until he came to accept her as his mount. In various cultures, religions and art pieces, sheep are used to represent innocence and purity. Sheep are also generally defenseless against harm, and are likely to die from panic if even frightened.

How this relates to Nettles and the maiden:

The account of the events we get in ASOIAF, always comes from nobility. We do not get the POV of anyone of low birth, but, we don’t need their POV to know that the smallfolk are always at the mercy of the people that rule over them. They are always the first and largest casualties in wars that are usually insignificant to them and their well-being. Nettles being of low birth means that she’s lived most of her life unprotected, and at risk of being a means to ends for the schemes of a lord or lady, or even a prince. Nettles being of low birth means that she’s a sheep in a realm ruled by dragons.

By becoming the rider of Sheepstealer, Nettles becomes exposed to life of the nobility in Westeros, in the most devastating way, war.

Nettles, the Mother

Motherhood in Westeros

The loss of innocence for the women of ASOIAF is usually synonymous with the loss of their virginity. Sex isn’t typically done for their pleasure, but rather the fulfilling of their marital duties by providing their husbands with an heir. Their value as women is based on their fertility, so a child sired in marriage is often the sole form of agency and protection women in Westeros get.

GRRM frequently uses metaphors to explore the loss of innocence, like Jaime being cut by Ser Arthur Dayne during his knighting, or Jaime witnessing the death of Brandon and Rickard Stark, or Sansa experiencing her first period, etc. For Nettles, her loss of innocence is written in a way that parallels the optics of motherhood in Westeros.

When Nettles claimed Sheepstealer, she was granted individuality. She is no longer a mere sheep in the field, she has an identity, the Unlikely Dragon-Rider. She is granted protection and value, much like the wives of the lords of Westeros are given, after providing their husbands with a son. When Rhaenyra calls for her head, Lord Mooton, Ser Florian, and Maester Norren all saw it as an unjustly request. If she hadn’t claimed Sheepstealer, if she still remained as a nameless, baseborn girl, she would’ve been killed, swiftly.

Nettles, the Crone

The Dance of the Dragons was the most deadly war fought in Westeros, as it was headlined by dragon-riders. Most of the participants wound up dead by the end of it, with their cause lost in grief. There are many events that led to the dance of the dragons, but at its core, it was a war fought over the legitimacy of House Targaryen. Nettles is one of the few people who survived it, and her dragon is one of the last to be seen or heard of before Daenerys Targaryen’s hatching of Rhaegal, Viserion and Drogon.

Masculinity and Legitimacy in Westeros

The conquest of Westeros by Aegon and his two sister-wives, Rhaenys and Visenya, was only possible with the dragons of Old Valyria. The legitimacy of the Targaryen dynasty relies on blood quantum,i.e.,having the blood of the dragon, and being able to ride one. All the Targaryen kings, from Aegon, straight down to Viserys, were dragon riders, and that played a part in their kingship.

Kings in Westeros are the ultimate male figures, followed by knights, maesters and lords. Looking at these archetypes and their specific roles,- kings and lords protect the realm, knights defend the innocent, maesters share their wisdom with youth-, Nettles fulfills all of them during the Dance.

The Black Ram

After the Dance, Nettles is worshipped as a fire witch by the mountain clans of the Vale. According to the accounts in fire and blood, the youths would bring her gifts and return as men with burns to show that they faced the dragon woman in her lair. Nettles in this instance is being used as a rite of passage and symbol of the loss of innocence, as well as wisdom, paralleling the relationship between her and Sheepstealer.

Through Sheepstealer she becomes a warrior and a protector of the realm, and she defends Rhaenyra’s claim like any knight would. Who best to act as a rite of passage but the woman who has played in every archetype they aspire to be?

Before her departure from Maidenpool, and one her last recorded appearances, Nettles feeds her dragon Sheepstealer, a black ram. She’d slit its throat herself, and the animal’s blood was said to have stained her leather clothing. The black ram is often associated with wisdom, discernment, sacrifice and guidance. In most cultures, it represents different gods and goddesses of war, fertility and royalty. She started her story as an innocent sheep, ignorant of the spoils of war, and ends as the black ram, the epitome of wisdom.

And to close: Nettles isn’t confirmed to be of royal blood, but she is embodiment of House Targaryen’s ideology of being gods amongst men.

[qyburnsghost]

Not Hugh Hammer having a fucking wife, kids, house and side plot but they had no time for Nettles, who actually has a canon plot with a beginning, middle, and end and it involves one or more main characters so no extra time will be wasted like this fucking turn cloak.

[boguskitten]

Nettles & Sheepstealer

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

The Folio Society presents an illustrated collector’s edition of Fire & Blood

George R. R. Martin’s Fire and Blood, the prequel to A Game of Thrones, joins the Folio series. Explore the Targaryen dynasty with beautiful illustrations, detailed maps, sigils and family trees. A must-have for Westeros fans. ​ Coming 28 January 2025. What’s that in the distance? Is it the brush of dragon’s wings against the clouds? Queen Daenerys’s family tree is a rich one, filled with over 300 years-worth of rulers of the seven kingdoms. In Fire and Blood, George R.R. Martin dissects the Targaryen family’s history through the eyes of Archmaester Gyldayn. ​ This is the ultimate book for fans of the original series; it provides rich context of the family responsible for the world of Westeros as we know it. Plus, there are dragons, and lots of them! Artist Audrey Benjaminsen has captured the Targaryen family like no one else. Her illustrations jump from the page – the absentness in Area’s eyes upon returning with Balerion, the madness in Rhaenyra as she sits on the Iron Throne. This is the definitive edition of a definitive story, one that would surely sit in the library of the Citadel for centuries to come.  ​ PRODUCTION DETAILS Bound in three-quarter blocked cloth with a printed and blocked cloth front board ​ Set in Vendetta with Esmeralda as display ​ 616 pages  ​ 4 full-page and 1 double-page spread colour illustrations ​ Prints 2 colour throughout in black and gold with illustrated chapter openings ​ Printed endpapers ​ Coloured tops ​ Blocked and printed slipcase ​ Additional colour illustration inside slipcase ​ Sized at 10˝ x 6¾˝  ​ Printed in Italy​ UK £110, US/Canada $150, elsewhere £125

[meerabanerjee]

Rhaena Targaryen and Morning 💕

[wyattabernathyus]

Nettles & Sheepstealer

[ironlily1413]

Nettles and Sheepstealer

I think Nettles is Daemon's daughter. What do you think?

[ride-thedragon]

NETTLES AND RHAENYRA, CHARACTER FOILS.

Because I'm not an English teacher

So the question is, How is Nettles Rhaenyra's foil?

1. Appearance .

Rhaenyra is a pretty standard Valyrian beauty. Silver locks, purple eyes, quite pretty, later on in life we get the change that she didn't lose the wait after giving birth to her kids and becùase of misogyny, her beauty has faded. Features like her long hair worn in the style of Visenya and so on are also mentioned. It's giving the Realm's delight in a real sense (not the weird sense).

Nettles, on the other hand, is juxtaposed as 'ugly'. She's brown, is skinny, has crooked teeth, a nose scar, and has short hair.

The maesters like to play to damn much, basically. But they are described as almost exact opposites. Short and long hair, skinny and fat, white and brown skin, purple and brown eyes, etc.

The narrative purpose is to ultimately show their different upbringing and places in this society.

2. Status

Rhaenyra is shown to be the princess, heir to the throne and queen throughout the book. No matter what happens with her, the security and privilege she has almost always goes over what other women have. Her only real threat is the men (and book Alicent) who have personal stake in her not ascending her throne. She's also entirely spoilt as princess and heir by her father and more so her uncle.

Nettles, on the other hand, is introduced to us as an orphan from Driftmark. We're told she could've been a thief and a sex worker by the time we met her. She has no name, lands, titles, or family that we are presented with in the narrative and her backstory for better or less is a patchwork of what her life was possibly like on Driftmark.

Unlike Rhaenyra, we don't follow every salacious rumour and really don't know much about her past.

3. Dragons

Rhaenyra’s dragon Syrax was a cradle egg hatched to her, a Targaryen custom. She's also the youngest dragonrider at 7 I believe.

Nettles claims her dragon at no older than 16 years old. He is a wild dragon (a distinction given to hatched Targaryen dragons that haven't been riden and live away from the keep) and slaughters many before she claims him.

4. Virtue

The notion of virtue in asoiaf is extremely complex, especially with these two women and the vastly different backgrounds. But virginity and speculation also develops both their characterizations in the narrative.

Rhaenyra allegedly "sleeps" with Daemon to practise what she wants to do with Criston (she's 15-). In the show, it becomes obvious that she almost sleeps with Daemon and officially sleeps with Criston. Either way, promiscuity and naivety are written into her character. The only point of conflict is who is involved with what happened in these instances less than what happened. Later on her promiscuity is brought up when Ser Harwin Strong is said to be the father of her first three children.

On the other hand, Nettles' sexual promiscuity is given to her in the narrative. The claims of her being a whore or sleeping around with shepherds are claims made by men who don't know what she was doing at that time. Men who made similar claims about Rhaenyra and their involvement in her loss of virtue as well. Where these stories differ is in Maidenpool, where the assumption of promiscuity is given a different voice.

This time, maids are alluding to an inappropriately close relationship between Daemon and Nettles (yet again, he finds himself here).

5. Daemon

Speak of the devil, and he will appear.

His dynamic is important to these women and their place in the narrative. Saving one dooms the other, leaving with one isolated the other. His decisions ultimately affect one while benefiting the other.

The cruellest example of this dynamic is him letting Nettles go after being the reason she is trapped in the narrative and ultimately dooming Rhaenyra by choosing to kill Aemond instead of going back to her.

His dynamic with both was also comparable with gift giving and quality time and even inappropriate relationship he developed with both of them, notably around similar ages. ( Both these relationships have significant power imbalances).

Between them both, his affection to one affects the other detrimentally.

6. Jace

Specifically in reference to his death, it's notable that within the narrative, while Nettles is described as crying by herself in response to his death, Rhaenyra is hardened by it.

Also, as symbols for legitimacy and legacy, Jace is the reason Nettles is recognised as a dragonseed, and Rhaenyra's line is secured as her first born, but in his absence, Nettles is delegitimised and said to be not a dragonseed. Around that time, Rhaenyra is beginning to be questioned by all the men around her as well, whereas before, Jace was a notable voice in decisions.

7. Dragons in the End.

They both meet their 'end' in the narrative with Dragons. Rhaenyra is killed by her brother's dragon Sunfyre burns and eats her, killing her in front of her son.

Nettles, however, escapes the narrative on dragonback, with the stories that follow explicitly explaining how dragon fire protects her and leads her to become a deity for the burned men.

8. Children

In the narrative, Nettles has no children. Children would explicitly be a burden in her described circumstances as a mouth to feed and someone else to care for. Effectively, children would trap Nettles in a cycle of poverty and inability to experience ethe freedom presented in the narrative.

Rhaenyra is expected to have children to secure her legacy and reign. Children, especially sons, would be her greatest benefit to ensure her ascension to the throne. They are her biggest strategy and losses throughout the war because of that reason.

This dynamic carries out to a head with the death decree for Nettles. The possibility that she would have a child by Daemon is a definitive reason that her 'treason' calls for her head. A child would give her a claimant but also be proof of infidelity by Daemon. It would be a slight to Rhaenyra’s pride and grief as she at this point has lost 4 children during the war.

9. Loyalty of men

This is one of the most interesting for me because the disloyalty of men for Rhaenyra meant the loyalty of men to Nettles. When the Mootons decide not to kill her, they are traitors to Rhaenyra. When Daemon lets her leave, he's a traitor to Rhaenyra. When Corlys stands up for both her and Addam, he's treated like a traitor. Furthermore, the Mootons turn to Aegon’s side directly after because they did not obey her for two reasons, Nettles being accused and sentenced without trial, and Rhaenyra wanting them to break guest right.

Within the narrative, at that point, loyalty to Rhaenyra was a sentence on Nettles' life, and loyalty to Nettles was treason to Rhaenyra.

Conclusion.

In other ways, like the impact of their legacy, the symbols of their identity (dragons), other ways that their narratives with Daemon (the stories) play out and so on juxtapose these women against each other in the narrative. Age and innocence in both a meta and narrative sense also play into Nettles being a foil for Rhaenyra’s character. Personally I think the reason ts written that way is for Nettles to cause a Stark difference in behaviour with men like Daemon and the Mootons as well as to show the contrast of what is expected and what is to be done and what actually happens.

Hope this helps 🩷🤎

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

There are a few things/ideas about Nettles that I’m obsessed with.

- Nettles as a subversion of the Faith of the Seven, (I’ve already made a post on her as the mother, the maiden and the crone, but someone pointed out that she’s also the subversion of the Stranger)

- The black ram she feeds Sheepstealer before her last recorded appearance, in contrast to sheep she fed him in her first appearance. Why this matters: sheep represent innocence and purity, and the ram represents royalty and wisdom. (Gonna make a longer post about this)

- The Hanged Man tarot card in relation to her and Daemon. The Upright Hanged Man symbolizes pause, surrender and letting go, and the Reversed Hanged Msn symbolizes delays, resistance, stalling, and indecision. All of these ideas are apart of Nettles and Daemon’s relationship.

- The way she is worshipped by the mountain clans as a measure of masculinity, (which is a big deal because Westeros is misogynistic)

[warp-speed]

My quick Nettles appreciation look book. She goes from versatile work wear to fancy dragon rider uniform.

I might clean this up later. Disregard the lack of and floating hands

[tragedy-peanut-gallery]

Sometimes friendship is a teenage girl with her minecraft grass block dragon

[evagreen-stories]

Honestly, I'm DEVASTATED they've completely cut Nettles and are doing this whole Rhaena x Sheepstealer thing.

Not just because that means we will most likely never see Morning but because Nettles was such an important part of the story. Not just because of the battles she fought but because of her crucial role in Daemon and Aemonds battle and deaths.

Believe what you want, whether she was Daemon's lover or bastard daughter, it was Rhaenyra growing so paranoid after the two dragonseeds changed sides and ordering the ASSASSINATION of that young woman that pushed Daemon to go on that su*cide mission after Aemond.

With Nettles needing to flee and Daemon realising Rhaenyra doesn't trust him anymore and is willing to go after him/his lover/his daughter, he was willing to sacrifice himself and his dragon while bringing down Aemond & Vhagar.

Had it not been for that, the whole story would have been totally different. Perhaps the war would have raged on for far longer as well.

At this point it feels like they won't even do Rhaenyra's paranoia arch and her demise. That they won't have her order Addams arrest, imprison Corlys, order the assassination of Nettles, etc.

It feels like they've turned her into an empowered, always rational, never doing any wrong feminist-icon while her book version was SO much different.

That's what I liked so much about the books and the entire GoT/HotD universe; that there are no good people, only bad people and worse ones.

"Choose your favourite war criminal" type of stuff. That's totally missing from this show, in my opinion. It's all too black and white. It's almost... boring at this point.

At this point, I hold little hope for the rest of this show to get much better. Even George has (indirectly) spoken out against this change.

[vesper-the-solitaire]

Morning

#JusticeforMorning

Brutally cut from House of the Dragon along with Nettles (the real dragonrider from Sheepstealer, a "butterfly effect" character who was cut for very obvious reasons for those who have read F&B), Morning is Rhaena Targaryen's real dragon. A she-dragon pink and black colored, she hatched in the Vale during the last months of the war, from one of the eggs entrusted to Rhaena by Rhaenyra and laid by Syrax (it is assumed that the "father" was Caraxes).

She grew to rideable size within a few years, and is the last known healthy dragon born, and as result Rhaena is the last known dragonrider until Daenerys Targaryen managed to ride Drogon, about a century and a half later.

[lavenderinoz]

Nettles with the dragon Sheepstealer - Art by ertacaltinoz

[qyburnsghost]

GRRM hates fan fiction,right?

So I know he must be in complete despair that he give away his rights to Fire & Blood only to have its creators use his world, characters, plots, lore to make it the most expensive poorly made fan fiction ever.