#Amethyst Empress

[meerabanerjee]

The voices (Rhaenyra and Amethyst Empress parallels) got me so good this time fanart was produced 😯

[jacaela]

art: meerabanerjee

When the daughter of the Opal Emperor succeeded him as the Amethyst Empress, her envious younger brother cast her down and slew her, proclaiming himself the Bloodstone Emperor and beginning a reign of terror. In the annals of the Further East, it was the Blood Betrayal, as his usurpation is named, that ushered in the age of darkness called the Long Night. Despairing of the evil that had been unleashed on earth, the Maiden-Made-of-Light turned her back upon the world, and the Lion of Night came forth in all his wroth to punish the wickedness of men.

The challenges he faced were daunting, for winter had descended upon Westeros and would endure for four long years, a winter as cold and bleak as any in the history of the Seven Kingdoms. Late that year, a dreadful contagion swept across the Three Sisters. The Winter Fever, as it was called, killed half the population of Sisterton. The surviving half, believing that the disease had come to their shores on a whaler from the Port of Ibben, rose up and butchered every Ibbenese sailor they could lay hands on, setting fire to their ships. It made no matter. Whether or not the fever had been born in the dark forests of Ib and brought to Westeros by a whaler, as the Sistermen believed, it was assuredly moving from port to port. White Harbor, Gulltown, Maidenpool, and Duskendale had been afflicted, each in turn; there were reports that Braavos was being ravaged as well. ...a threat far worse than any “witch queen” descended on the city. For on the third day of 133 AC, Winter Fever arrived in King’s Landing. The summers have been shorter since the last dragon died, and the winters longer and crueler.

The brother usurped his sister and started a bloody war against her, and this led to a long night.

The brother usurped his sister (during Rhaenyra's lifetime Westeros witnessed a 'dragon-boom'), and this led to the extinction of dragons.

Daenerys brought dragons back to life and will end the long night.

[salialenart]

Amethyst Empress

“The Amethyst Empress was legendary and last ruler of the mythic Great Empire of the Dawn. She succeeded her father, the Opal Emperor but was cast down and slain by her envious younger brother the Bloodstone Emperor. According to the annals of the Further East, it was the Blood Betrayal, as his usurpation was named, that ushered in the Long Night.”

[reignof-fyre]

Women in the asoiaf world are so important to magic and there's so much evidence of it and everyone is seemingly willfully blind when it's right there that the murder and kinslaying of thr Amethyst Empress was the catalyst for the Long Night and the Usurpation of Rhaenyra Targaryen, the rightful queen, was the cause of the dragons dying and it was daenys the Dreamer who saved the Targaryens through her dragon dreams and ensured their survival and it was Daenerys Targaryen, the rightful heir of the Targaryen Dynasty, that brought dragons back to life like its right there throughout the history of this world that women are so fundamentally important to magic and everyone is out here crying about it when in grrms own words it's significant and important!!!! Listen people!!

[cbswonder]

Rhaenyra Targaryen/Amethyst empress

Aegon Targaryen/Bloodstone Emperor

[branwyn-the-half-witch]

Comparative Mythologies of the Long Night: Part One – Blood Betrayal

(posted alongside the twitter threads of the same title)

‘...the fact that some cataclysm took place many thousands of years ago seems certain’

A series of threads examining the myths of the first Long Night, and what it may tell us about the next.

In World of Ice and Fire (WOIAF) we learned that the Long Night was not merely a Westerosi story, but an apocalyptic event that impacted the entire Known World. That it was the same event is undeniable, because the stories share common threads; darkness, and unrelenting cold.

These threads will examine the origins of the Long Night, the stories of the heroes that fought against it, and will examine the parallels that exist with the main series (ASOIAF) in order to determine whether we can learn anything from these nebulous, uncertain legends.

We have one primary story for the origins of the Long Night, which comes to us from the Great Empire of the Dawn, the ancient predecessor of Yi Ti; this was a vast land ruled by the descendants of the God-on-Earth, only son of the Lion of Night and the Maiden-Made-of-Light.

These rulers, associated with specific gemstones, ruled a vast but increasingly troubled and sinful realm for thousands of years until the throne passed to the Amethyst Empress; however, the younger brother of this first Empress usurped the throne, with deadly consequences.

This ‘Blood Betrayal’ is explicitly cited as ushering in the Long Night. Examine how the Bloodstone Emperor’s reign is described; note that he is highlighted as practising specifically necromancy and slavery, and as having cast down the true gods. All hallmarks of the Others.

As an aside, this is the only mention we have of ‘the sinister Church of Starry Wisdom’ still found in port cities. This is a HP Lovecraft reference (‘The Haunter of the Dark’, specifically) where a cult of the same name worship ‘Nyarlathotep’, an outlier in Lovecraftian mythos because he is upon the earth, alive, and can take the form of a tall man. Unlike the detached, unfathomable horrors of Lovecraft’s other monstrosities, Nyarlathotep is deliberately cruel and openly beguiles and propagandises cults into existence to serve his goals.

Sound like anyone we know? The parallels between how Nyarlathotep functions and is described and Euron ‘when men see my sails they pray’ Greyjoy is quite striking, and the fact that the ASOIAF version of this cult is found in port cities serves to underline the parallel further.

GRRM seems enamoured with examining this kind of figure; one who operates by twisting both the physical and metaphysical into propaganda to serve privately hellish and disturbing goals, whose strength is more intellectual than physical, whose weapons are first and foremost the evil men are already willing to do. The Bloodstone Emperor, the Night’s King, Euron, pre-tree Bloodraven (and possibly even post-tree), the Undying; even Mel is a play on this theme insomuch as her reputation; only her inner thoughts reveal that there is more mortal than monster in her.

It’s important to hold to GRRM’s propensity for echoing his themes, heroes AND his villains throughout the world-building, because he’s writing a Song, and so both harmony and leitmotif are crucial.

(Your obligatory ‘Lovecraft-was-a-massive-racist-so-bear-that-in-mind’ note)

The Long Night is framed explicitly as an act of divine retribution; note the symbolism again that the ‘light’ deity turns her face away, and ‘night’ is the punishment wreaked upon the world. It is worth considering that, as above, the world was in a state of decay prior to the Blood Betrayal; this event is analogous to a great many divine cataclysms throughout our own legends, that come following an inciting horror after a long time of mortal hubris and moral decay. As with the fall of Babel, the Long Night leaves the world a broken and divided place.

The world was saved from the Long Night, and the sun returned. But it was not redeemed, and the Maiden-Made-of-Light still has her faced turned away. Evidence of this is shown in the malformed seasons; WOIAF gives us two knowledgable sources, sound, but untrusted by the Citadel. Septon Barth attributes the strange seasons to a magical matter, and one Maester Nicol contends that the seasons were once of regular length and reliable constancy, of which the only evidence were the most ancient of tales – those likely to pre-date the Long Night.

So what can this origin story tell us? Well, it has all of the hallmarks of GRRM’s main series and interlinks two of his cardinal sins; kinslaying and usurpation – most particularly of a rightful female ruler. Targaryen history is sown with usurpations of the House’s women, from the very beginning, reaching a climax with the Dance, and descending into a long nadir where the dragons die out and Targaryen women lose the last ember of escape available to them. I shall speak later of the notion of blood debts being imposed on the innocent to pay for the survival of all humankind, so make a note of that theme occurring in such a primal level here, in the construction of the mythos, and so all-encompassing that the whole world suffers for the actions of one man – and remember that in relation to Targaryen women specifically.

Within ASOIAF itself, the Red Wedding is such a horrific spiritual crime, it reverberates through time and space to touch far-flung dreamers. It has much the same feeling as this mythic betrayal, which I would be unsurprised to learn also involved the breaking of guest-right.

It is perhaps evocative of the described moral decay that led the GEOTD to be thrown down in the first place, that made it seemingly deserving of the scourge that would come to ruin the world. The Others are already on the march by that point in the story, of course, but much of the War of the Five Kings phase of the books does little to dissuade the reader from the belief that the world is due a massive paradigm shift, as lightning striking the tower. When the world is so unfairly and brutally structured, apocalypse becomes a necessity.

This concludes Part One. Part Two concerns the most famous name from our roster of heroes, and their famous sword.

[kataraavatara]

“uhm actually the amethyst empress parallel isn’t a thing because rhaenyra was a bad person and bad politician and the dance was actually about how bad she was and about all Targaryens are evil and-”

come ON. The narrative parallel isn’t about the nitty gritty details and never has been, and there’s no reason the Dance can’t impart more than one message.

The Amethyst Empress gets like, two sentences. There is no personality, no actions attributed to her other than succeeding her father and being overthrown. Maybe she had bastards too, maybe she was mean, maybe she was cruel, likely she didn’t exist. We just don’t know. It’s a very sparse story. But just…look:

Elder sister (Rhaenyra/Amethyst Empress) usurped by younger brother (Aegon II/Bloodstone Emperor), bringing on catastrophic magical consequences (Death of the dragons & Targaryen decline/ First Long Night).

If this wasn’t an intentional decision on George’s part meant to draw comparisons, why not an Amethyst Emperor? All the previous rulers had been male, making the Amethyst Empress an outlier that draws the reader’s attention.

So…what’s the point if not to be a Rhaenyra parallel? As in like, please tell me. I haven’t a clue.

and a fun one: I’ve also seen (don’t remember the originator) the theory that Amethyst = Rhaenyra, because Amethysts are purple, which is red + blue…Targaryen Red + Arryn Blue…Rhaenyra. Bloodstone = Aegon II because Bloodstones are typically red and…you guessed it…green…

(also brown but pls don’t ruin my fun rock theories :((( )

[rhaenin-time]

Is it verging on tinfoil hat territory to laugh about how the egg Aegon II failed to hatch after murdering Rhaenyra was purple?

Or could it be an... easter egg?

[acewithapencil]

HOTD opening Sigil redesigns: Baela, rhaena (after morning hatches), laena, Rhaenys, daemon, rhaenyra

We haven’t seen officially seen Rhaenys yet but this is my vision. I know they considered dark sister for daemon, and they should’ve gone with it. I did the tiara of the amethyst empress for Rhaenyra since her story and the dance is similar to the amethyst empress and the blood betrayal.

Edit: I mixed up the amethyst empress and the empress of leng in terms of whose tiara daemon gave rhaenyra 😅 but I stand by it we could’ve had it be an amethyst empress reference for her personal opening sigil

[coldraindropsss]

Amethyst Empress, Bloodstone Emperor, Tiger-woman

[lizzie-queenofmeigas]

The Dance of the Dragons caused the Long Night

Everyone should watch this video.

[kiren-a]

“victim”

[thesims4asoiaf]

~Ts4 Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon/ ASOIAF Lookbook +CC Links~ Blood Betrayal/The Long Night

•YITISH MYTHOLOGY•

As always, they are both available in the gallery! EA ID: FaePorcelain

skin

Amethyst Empress

Hair/headdress, dress, nails, hand tattoos, fingertips, eyelids, eyeliner, eyeshadow, cheeks, pores, blush, eyebrows, eyelashes, eyes 2, lipstick, rings, necklace, nosemask 1 2, earrings, teeth, boots

Bloodstone Emperor

Hair, floating acc, eyes, eyebrow, eyeliner, under eyebags, pores, cheeks, eyelids, mask, crown, outfit, boots, fingertips, rings, blush, necklace, lipstick, nosemask, ears, eyeshadow, face tattoo, teeth, skintone

[swallowtail-ageha]

Rhaenyra and aegon the ii/amethyst empress and bloodstone empereor parallels btw. If you even care

[lemonhemlock]

I have seen some TB stans say that Amethyst empress and Bloodstone emperor are parallels to Rhaenyra and Aegon II respectively. Do you think there's any merit to this?

You can draw parallels between anything and still come up with something and, as such, some people take it way too far. I'm sure I can find similarities between a rock and an apple, it doesn't mean the two are thematically linked. The act of killing the Amethyst Empress supposedly lead to the Long Night, a cataclysmic event for the whole planet. Aegon II killing Rhaenyra is hardly that dramatic, lol. The one thing they have in common is gender and birth order - not succession laws. The Bloodstone Emperor is also steeped in Lovecraftian symbolism which is absolutely missing from Aegon II's portrayal.

[athzhowakar]

The Betrayal of Blood: The New Heir

❇️ Place: Yi Ti

❇️ Period: The Great Empire of the Dawn

❇️ ‘The Betrayal of Blood’ is a Tumblr series on the Amethyst Empress, the Bloodstone Emperor and the First Long Night.

❇️ Summary:

Chapter 1 : The New Heir

The Opal Emperor has declared the name of his heir.

“Heavy is the head that wears the crown.”

The crown princess was standing in the palace garden and plucking a flower when she heard some footsteps.

“Brother,” she said to the man who had just arrived.

“It is quite unusual to find you here. Generally, you stay in your manor and write scriptures or read books. Why are you here today?” the man asked.

The crown princess said, “It felt like the flowers called out to me. Tell me Brother, what brings you here?”

The prince replied, “I came to congratulate you, Sister.”

“Thank you, Brother,” she replied. “You lifted the burden off my shoulders with your words," she added.

The prince asked, “What kind of burden do you talk about?”

“The burden of loneliness,” she replied. She wore the flower that she had plucked, on her hair and continued, “When Royal Father declared me as his heir, I had thought that you would harbour sour feelings towards me. I had assumed that you would leave me alone among my friends and foes to fend for myself.”

“You speak of friends and foes, and then you speak of loneliness,” he said. “But Sister, how would my departure make you lonely if you have friends?”

The crown princess sighed.

She said, “Brother, in the court, it takes very little time for friends to turn into foes. You however, are my brother. We came from the same womb.”

She approached the prince and caressed his face. “We belong together. That is why, you must stay with me. You must protect me from the backstabbers and help me to rule,” she said.

The prince smiled and said to her, “I will. What good will come of a brother's sword if it cannot be wielded in his sister's service?”

“I am glad that you think so,” the crown princess replied.

The eyes of the crown princess went to a nearby tree. “Look! Mistletoe is covering that tree,” she said.

The prince replied, “I see. The tree was kind enough to let mistletoe grow on it. Now, it is only a matter of time before it is killed by the mistletoe.”

The crown princess said, “I will ask the gardener to remove the mistletoe.”

“Let it be, Sister,” the prince said, holding her hand. “The stronger being feeds on the weaker being. Let us not interfere with the laws of nature. Let the mistletoe grow and feed on the tree as it desires.”

“You want me to let the mistletoe kill the tree?” the crown princess asked.

“Every tree has to die one day,” the prince replied.

“If you insist, I will let it be this way,” the crown princess said.

The prince looked at her and said, “Men and trees are alike. Some die of old age, some die of plagues, some die of hunger and some by sword. There are also others who die just like that tree because they were too blind to see that they had sheltered a mistletoe.”

“You are right,” the crown princess replied.