George R.R. Martin talks dragons, Targaryen fire and blood magic; and a closer look at HOTD’s dragons!

HBO Max just released a curious featurette in which George R.R. Martin expounds on his view of how magic works best in fantasy universes; the fire and blood magic practiced by the Valyrians; and more. Also: lots of new dragon footage!

“The Valyrians, while practicing their blood magic and their fire magic, noticed that it didn’t matter whether you pronounced the words of the spell right, whether you made the correct sacrifice to the correct god. All of that may have had some importance, but one of the big things was who you are, and what is your relationship, particularly, to the dragons,” Martin explains. “They are creatures of fire. They breath fire. Fire doesn’t harm them as easily as it would us. And there’s something very magical about the fire.”

George’s magic lesson was accompanied by some new dragon footage, particularly of Princess Rhaenyra’s Syrax and Laenor Velaryon’s Seasmoke. We’ve glimpsed most of these shots before, but they’re extended in this video. Of course, they’re best experienced in motion, but here are a few screen-captured highlights:

So, are you excited for all these dragons? What about these hints we may see Targaryens practicing fire magic and blood magic? Well, we’ll have our answers soon enough, as House of the Dragon begins tomorrow!