What is the doom of Valyria? The cataclysm behind Game of Thrones’ greatest mystery

Before Westeros was laced with greedy Lannisters, silver-haired Targaryens, and the honorable Starks, before there ever was Game of Thrones, there was Valyria. It was a majestic civilization that was so powerful that they practically invented world domination and exotic pets that could turn an army into crispy chicken within seconds.

Valyrian civilization had dragon lords, sorcerors, and active volcanoes; it was the epitome of fire and blood. But just like all good things come to an end, so did Old Valyria. One fateful day, all the grandeur and royalty vanished in an apocalyptic tragedy that left the world shaking, and the future maesters searching for answers.

The Doom of Valyria is one of George R.R. Martin's most intriguing mysteries. If there is something that Game of Thrones fans want to see right after they see Daenerys come back to life, it is to know what happened to Valyria. How does a powerful society with sorcerers and dragons fall apart? Let's find out.

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What is the doom of Valyria? Game of Thrones' biggest mystery

Before we get to the end, let's start at the beginning. Game of Thrones only showed the ruins of Old Valyria, and only remembered it as a past civilization that was doomed years ago. But what was Valyria like? What were the people like? How did they live, and what caused their deaths? Today, all these questions will be answered.

Valyria: The Kingdom of Dreams

Long before Westeros became a nesting ground for scheming kingdoms, and Essos was riddled with the Dothraki and slave owners, there was a mysterious peninsula boiling on top of deadly volcanoes. The place was called Valyria. The earliest Valyrians were shepherds who had no idea they were living on top of a powder keg and a nest of fire-breathing beasts.

When some of the shepherds stumbled upon dragons in the volcanic mountains, instead of doing the sane thing of running away, they decided to tame them. The crazy part is that it worked. They rode them and became an instant hit in society.

Once the Valyrians realized what power they held, they started to make full use of it. The dragons, combined with their sorcerers, helped them conquer neighboring lands, enslave entire populations, and build an empire that went on to be known as the Valyrian Freehold.

The sorcerers were so advanced that they forged the most indestructible sword of all time, the Valyrian steel sword. If you have watched Game of Thrones, then you have already seen how easily the Valyrian steel sword slices the White Walkers like tomatoes.

In its heyday, Valyria was far ahead of any other nation in its time and was even more advanced than many of the kingdoms in Game of Thrones. It had glittering cities, sky-high pyramids, and roads smoother than any pricy silk. It was a dream if you were a dragonlord or a nightmare if you were a slave.

The Doom of Valyria

So, how does an empire with dragons and magicians turn into folklore? Simple, pride, and geology. Whether it's real life or fiction, one fact stands true everywhere: pride is a spiritual cancer, and volcanoes are land cancer. Both phenomena killed the Valyrian civilization. The ashes of whom could be seen in Game of Thrones.

When a mighty beast will annihilate on your command, and you possess the highest knowledge of sorcery, you are bound to develop some level of pride. That's what got the Valyrians. Once two or three of their ideas clicked, they decided to keep testing their luck.

They dug deep into the pits of the Earth to fuel their creations, expanded their cities, and did every magical experiment ever (Mother Gothel might have been a Valyrian). What the Valyrians didn't realize was that volcanoes, dragon fire, and magic experiments don't go well together. If you put all these together, the result is something that Oppenheimer knows best about (maybe he was Valyrian too).

One fateful day, the Valyrians were enjoying a hot summer day and started to panic when the heat was rising abnormally. The infamous Fourteen Fire - the chain of volcanoes under Valyria erupted simultaneously. Rivers of lava flooded the cities, and the toxic ash covered the sun for months, but the misery didn't stop.

Next came the earthquakes that shook the already crumbling ground, sinking the lands into the pits of the Earth and sending everyone to meet the Seven Gods. What was left was the Smoking Sea that no one dared to cross, unless they were Jorah Mormont.

The Rise of the Targaryens

The Targaryens rose from the ashes of Valyria; among all the dragonlords, they were the only family that survived the Doom. How? Well, it had nothing to do with their shiny silver hair reflecting all the heat. Instead, before everything went down (literally) in Valyria, they had already moved to Dragonstone.

Some say their psychic abilities had already foreseen the Doom, others say they had a knack for finding good real estate deals. In reality, it was Daenys Targaryen, aka Daenys the Dreamer, who was the daughter of Aenar Targaryen and had a prophetic dream about the Doom 12 years before the actual event. She convinced her family to move to Dragonstone.

With Valyria gone, the Targaryens had the only supply of dragons in the world. Then, a century later, Aegon the Conqueror used his remaining dragons to conquer Westeros and forged the infamous Iron Throne. Thus, the destruction of Valyria was a catalyst in the formation of one of the greatest stories ever told, Game of Thrones.

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Despite all the efforts from the maesters in Game of Thrones, the actual root cause of the Doom is not known. Was it the volcanoes? A magical experiment gone wrong, or a Dragon gone rogue? No one knows for sure. Thanks a lot, Martin. The only thing good that came out of the Doom was the creation of city-states like Braavos, Lys, and Volantis.

The Doom explains why Valyrian steel is scarce, why the rebirth of dragons in Game of Thrones by Daenerys was such a big deal, and why the Targaryens take pride in their heritage.