King's Blood: Sacrifice & Rituals

Words are wind, but blood is power. -The Forsaken

I tried typing this up a few ways, including just using linked posts for background, but I felt this subject was best discussed with all the info presented in its entirety. This post is about the involvement of king's blood in sacrifice, rituals, resurrections, etc.

If interested: The Blood of Old Valyria Part V: How to Build a Dragon

Background

The power of king's blood is something that is often discussed, with some people dismissing it outright and others adamant about its power. While I agree that there probably aren't hard and fast rules on it (GRRM uses it as he sees fit, and it doesn't make complete sense at time), we must acknowledge its appearance in numerous of the major sacrifices and it could show that the old adage is indeed true "that which is perceived as real is real in its consequences".

Sacrifice (Death Paying for Life & All Magic having a Cost) is a major theme in this series.

Early Mentions

The term "King's Blood" or "Kingsblood" is first mentioned early in AGoT:

For centuries the Targaryens had married brother to sister, since Aegon the Conqueror had taken his sisters to bride. The line must be kept pure, Viserys had told her a thousand times; theirs was the kingsblood, the golden blood of old Valyria, the blood of the dragon. Dragons did not mate with the beasts of the field, and Targaryens did not mingle their blood with that of lesser men. Yet now Viserys schemed to sell her to a stranger, a barbarian. -AGOT, Daenerys I

and:

"I was still mounted. I rode the length of the hall in silence, between the long rows of dragon skulls. It felt as though they were watching me, somehow. I stopped in front of the throne, looking up at him. His golden sword was across his legs, its edge red with a king's blood. My men were filling the room behind me. Lannister's men drew back. I never said a word. I looked at him seated there on the throne, and I waited. At last Jaime laughed and got up. He took off his helm, and he said to me, 'Have no fear, Stark. I was only keeping it warm for our friend Robert. It's not a very comfortable seat, I'm afraid.'" -AGOT, Eddard II

Examples

But the potential power associated with it doesn't show up until later.

Daenerys

During her hatching ritual in addition to eggs/fire/sacrifice Dany's ritual involves potential king's blood from:

• Drogo
• Rhaego
• Daenerys

Summerhall

This talk of a stone dragon . . . madness, I tell you, sheer madness. Did we learn nothing from Aerion Brightfire, from the nine mages, from the alchemists? Did we learn nothing from Summerhall? No good has ever come from these dreams of dragons -ASOS, Davos III

While what exactly happened at the Tragedy of Summerhall, is unconfirmed, all indications point to a failed dragon hatching ritual. While we don't know if Egg was actually planning to make a sacrifice, the confirmed characters with king's blood at Summerhall:

• Aegon V (Egg) Targaryen (deceased)
• Prince Duncan (the Small) Targaryen (deceased)
• Rhaella Targaryen (survived)
• Rhaegar Targaryen (survived)

There is also quite a long list of potential attendees (see above post).

Weirwood Sacrifice

We don't get a ton of information on what goes into the sacrifice to weirwood trees, so it is unconfirmed if king's blood is officially part of anything in this type of ritual/sacrifice.

Then, as he watched, a bearded man forced a captive down onto his knees before the heart tree. A white-haired woman stepped toward them through a drift of dark red leaves, a bronze sickle in her hand.

"No," said Bran, "no, don't," but they could not hear him, no more than his father had. The woman grabbed the captive by the hair, hooked the sickle round his throat, and slashed. And through the mist of centuries the broken boy could only watch as the man's feet drummed against the earth … but as his life flowed out of him in a red tide, Brandon Stark could taste the blood.

That said, due to Bran's ability to use the different trees (and his king's blood), there are so many different ways to approach this. We do know that the Children of the Forest use similar magic and that they resorted to sacrifice at times.

If interested: All Magic Has a Cost: A Focus on the Weirwoods/"Northern Magic" & The Origins of the Stark Warging Powers

Euron

As Euron prepares for the Battle of Blood (aka his giant blood sacrifice), he has not only gathered "holy blood":

The Crow’s Eye pressed the dagger in a little deeper, and Aeron felt blood trickling down his neck. “If your Drowned God did not smite me for killing three brothers, why should he bestir himself for the fourth? Because you are his priest?”

He stepped back and sheathed his dagger. “No, I’ll not kill you tonight. A holy man with holy blood. I may have need of that that blood … later. For now, you are condemned to live.”

A holy man with holy blood*,* Aeron thought when his brother had climbed back onto the deck.

He mocks me and he mocks the god. Kinslayer. Blasphemer. Demon in human skin. That night he prayed for his brother’s death. It was in the second dungeon that the other holy men began to appear to share his torments. Three wore the robes of septons of the green lands, and one the red raiment of a priest of R’hllor. The last was hardly recognizable as a man. -The Forsaken

which goes into a whole tangent (Euron and the holy men, dead gods in visions, etc.) but lets stick to King's blood which is the focus of this post. With regards to king's blood, Euron has prepared to be sacrificed:

He beckoned, and two of his bastard sons dragged the woman forward and bound her to the prow on the other side of the figurehead. Naked as the mouthless maiden, her smooth belly just beginning to swell with the child she was carrying, her cheeks red with tears, she did not struggle as the boys tightened her bonds. Her hair hung down in front of her face, but Aeron knew her all the same.

“Falia Flowers,” he called. “Have courage, girl! All this will be over soon, and we will feast together in the Drowned God’s watery halls

• Aeron (The Damphair) Greyjoy
• Falia Flowers' bastard
• Euron's sons aboard the Silence

If interested: "Wyrms" await you, Aeron & Euron Greyjoy: The Summoning & Dragonbinder: Claiming the Horn

Maelys Blackfyre

From u/gsteff's trip to the Cushing Library, we found out about another potential failed ritual involving king's blood:

"He slew his only son, a boy of four," the lad answered.

"No man is as monstrous as the kinslayer."

It seemed to Tyrion that Haldon's eyes flicked toward him, just for an instant. "Why would he do that?" he asked.

"The Blackfyres owned three treasures, of which the greatest was a clutch of dragon's eggs. Maelys wanted a dragon to carry him to the Iron Throne, but the eggs were old and dead. When Samarrro Saan made him a gift of some old Valyrian scrolls, Maelys read that king's blood could wake dragons out of stone, so he gave Baenor his firstborn to the fire. The rite failed, though. The eggs did not hatch."

The Three Treasures of the Blackfyres

Stannis

We get plenty of other plotlines involving it, but king's blood is most mentioned with regards to the theme of sacrifice/waking the stone dragon in Stannis' plotline. This storyline has been building and building to a climax where Stannis makes the ultimate sacrifice.

If interested: The Cost: Stannis' Ultimate Sacrifice

While it is foreshadowing the Red Wedding here, we see the concept of king's blood early and often in this plotline:

When the fool saw Davos, he jerked to a sudden halt, the bells on his antlered tin helmet going ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling. Hopping from one foot to the other, he sang, "Fool's blood, king's blood, blood on the maiden's thigh, but chains for the guests and chains for the bridegroom, aye aye aye." Shireen almost caught him then, but at the last instant he hopped over a patch of bracken and vanished among the trees. The princess was right behind him. The sight of them made Davos smile. -ASOS, Davos II

• Edric Storm

as we see the early part focuses on Edric Storm:

Stannis waved a hand, dismissing his concern. "It is a chill, no more. He coughs, he shivers, he has a fever. Maester Pylos will soon set him right. By himself the boy is nought, you understand, but in his veins flows my brother's blood. There is power in a king's blood, she says." -ASOS, Davos IV

and:

"Your brother's blood," Melisandre said. "A king's blood. Only a king's blood can wake the stone dragon." -ASOS, Davos IV

leading to the whole 3 leaches and Balon/Robb/Joffrey thing (that Melisandre likely just saw in a vision):

Melisandre bowed her head stiffly, and said, "As my king commands." Reaching up her left sleeve with her right hand, she flung a handful of powder into the brazier. The coals roared. As pale flames writhed atop them, the red woman retrieved the silver dish and brought it to the king. Davos watched her lift the lid. Beneath were three large black leeches, fat with blood.

The boy's blood, Davos knew. A king's blood. -ASOS, Davos IV

and:

"Where is the greatness in a baseborn child?"

"He has kings' blood in his veins. You have seen what even a little of that blood could do—"

"I saw you burn some leeches." -ASOS, Davos V

but slowly Stannis starts to give way to the idea of the need for this sacrifice:

Melisandre put her hand on the king's arm. "The Lord of Light cherishes the innocent. There is no sacrifice more precious. From his king's blood and his untainted fire, a dragon shall be born." -ASOS, Davos IV

so as one of Robert's seven known bastards, Edric is scurried away to Lys to save him from the flames:

"A king's son, with the power of kingsblood in his veins." Melisandre's ruby glowed like a red star at her throat. "Do you think you've saved this boy, Onion Knight? When the long night falls, Edric Storm shall die with the rest, wherever he is hidden. Your own sons as well. Darkness and cold will cover the earth. You meddle in matters you do not understand." -ASOS, Davos VI

• Mance/Monster

If interested: Does Mel Burn Monster?

After Stannis' victory at the Wall, the topic of Mance's king's blood comes up frequently:

"Pyp should learn to hold his tongue. I have heard the same from others. King's blood, to wake a dragon. Where Melisandre thinks to find a sleeping dragon, no one is quite sure. It's nonsense. Mance's blood is no more royal than mine own. He has never worn a crown nor sat a throne. He's a brigand, nothing more. There's no power in brigand's blood." -AFFC, Samwell I

and there is another reason that Jon sends Aemon away:

"His life will be at risk. I am aware of that, Sam, but the risk is greater here**. Stannis knows who Aemon is. If the red woman requires king's blood for her spells** . . ." -AFFC, Samwell I/ADWD, Jon II

and:

"Your son has no king's blood. Melisandre gains nothing by giving him to the fire. Stannis wants the free folk to fight for him, he will not burn an innocent without good cause. Your boy will be safe. I will find a wet nurse for him and he'll be raised here at Castle Black under my protection. -ADWD, Jon II

and:

"Refuse, and the boy will burn. Not on the morrow, nor the day after … but soon, whenever Melisandre needs to wake a dragon or raise a wind or work some other spell requiring king's blood. Mance will be ash and bone by then, so she will claim his son for the fire, and Stannis will not deny her. If you do not take the boy away, she will burn him." -ADWD, Jon II

and:

"Or else she might have burned him. The red woman." Even here, a thousand leagues from the Wall, Gilly was reluctant to say Lady Melisandre's name aloud. "She wanted king's blood for her fires. Val knew she did. Lord Snow too. That was why they made me take Dalla's babe away and leave my own behind in his place. Maester Aemon went to sleep and didn't wake up, but if he had stayed, she would have burned him." -AFFC, Samwell IV

and:

"Lord Commander Snow sent him away to save his life," he began, hesitantly. He spoke awkwardly of King Stannis and Melisandre of Asshai, intending to stop at that, but one thing led to another and he found himself speaking of Mance Rayder and his wildlings, king's blood and dragons, and before he knew what was happening, all the rest came spilling out; -AFFC, Samwell V

later Mance (Rattleshirt) is burned:

The sword glowed red and yellow and orange, alive with light. Jon had seen the show before … but not like this, never before like this. Lightbringer was the sun made steel. When Stannis raised the blade above his head, men had to turn their heads or cover their eyes. Horses shied, and one threw his rider. The blaze in the fire pit seemed to shrink before this storm of light, like a small dog cowering before a larger one. The Wall itself turned red and pink and orange, as waves of color danced across the ice. Is this the power of king's blood? -ADWD, Jon III

If interested: Shadows on the Wall & Melisandre: Stannis/Jon and their Shadows

• Gerrick Kingsblood

Worth noting that one of the wildlings who has sworn fealty to Stannis goes by Gerrick Kingsblood, even though he descends from the wildling king's craven younger brother.

• The Showdown at the Tree

"The king? Or you?" Suggs snorted his contempt. "Scheme all you like, Massey. She'll still be for the fire, her and her king's blood. There's power in king's blood, the red woman used to say. Power to please our lord."

"Let R'hllor be content with the four we just sent him." -ADWD, The Sacrifice

While Stannis has converted to R'hllor, it seems like the situation in the Crofters Village has Stannis potentially sacrificing to the Old Gods and Rhllor. Each of the options has king's blood:

• Theon Greyjoy
• Asha Greyjoy (seemingly survives due to the info in the Asha Fragment)
• Arnolf Karstark (has king's blood through relation to Starks)

If interested: The Showdown at the Tree: The Karstark Replacement Theory

• Shireen Baratheon

Shireen's death is the climax of all of this,

It wasn't easy for me. I didn't want to give away my books. It's not easy to talk about the end of my books. Every character has a different end. I told them who would be on the Iron Throne, and I told them some big twists like Hodor and 'hold the door,' and Stannis's decision to burn his daughter. We didn't get to everybody by any means. Especially the minor characters, who may have very different endings." -SSM, Screenrant Article: 10 October 2020

and:

Burning dead children had ceased to trouble Jon Snow; live ones were another matter. Two kings to wake the dragon. The father first and then the son, so both die kings. The words had been murmured by one of the queen's men as Maester Aemon had cleaned his wounds. Jon had tried to dismiss them as his fever talking. Aemon had demurred. "There is power in a king's blood," the old maester had warned, "and better men than Stannis have done worse things than this." The king can be harsh and unforgiving, aye, but a babe still on the breast? Only a monster would give a living child to the flames. -ADWD, Jon I

Final Thoughts

• All the sacrificing to "different gods" is really just involving different "elements" (earth/fire/water) with your king's blood and sacrifice.
• All three of Dany/Euron/Stannis seemingly sacrifice their own (king's blood) child for magic
• Stannis and Euron's attempts in TWoW to summon a dragon/fantastic beats are extremely similar

TLDR: A long post that touches on the use of king's blood (while also going off on a few tangents) in numerous of the historic and upcoming sacrifices in the series. While GRRM does not have set rules for magic like some other series, the use of king's blood is at a minimum real in the consequences for our series as we see numerous characters sacrificed due to the belief in this power.