Ravens

Ravens are the means by which distant rulers and commanders exchange urgent news and negotiate during the Dance of the Dragons. Their flights connect separated strongholds, but the messages they carry do not guarantee a response: at Duskendale, the absence of an answer leaves Queen Rhaenyra waiting, while later ravens help secure an accord and gather support for peace.

Messages and Delays

At Duskendale, Queen Rhaenyra ordered Lady Darklyn’s maester to contact Grand Maester Gerardys on Dragonstone and request a ship to take her home. The town chronicles report that three ravens flew, but days passed without a ship or a reply. The silence deepened the queen’s suspicions about Gerardys’s loyalty. The episode makes the raven’s role consequential without establishing why the message went unanswered: the urgent request was sent, but its intended result did not follow.

Offers and Agreements

After Queen Rhaenyra’s death, King Aegon sent ravens to Driftmark offering House Velaryon a pardon if Alyn Velaryon would come to Dragonstone and swear allegiance. Until a reply arrived, Aegon considered a sea crossing too dangerous in the presence of the Velaryon fleet. The messages were therefore more than announcements; the unanswered offer held up the king’s return to King’s Landing.

Ravens also carried word of the accord reached between Corlys Velaryon and Queen Alicent. After Corlys pledged his loyalty and received a royal pardon and his former place on the small council, ravens were sent to Driftmark and Dragonstone to announce the settlement. Their dispatch came at a critical moment: Alyn was gathering ships to attack Dragonstone, while Aegon was preparing to execute Lady Baela.

Peace Across the Realm

In the aftermath, Corlys’s peace offers produced a wider exchange. The narrative describes ravens returning one by one with answers, beginning with Casterly Rock, where Lady Johanna agreed to the Sea Snake’s terms. The image of messages returning contrasts with the unanswered request at Duskendale: ravens do not themselves make peace, but they carry the proposals and replies through which divided houses can choose whether to continue the war or negotiate.