VEIL OF FIRE
GAME OF THRONES INSPIRED ROLEPLAY
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PRE-DOOM TIMELINE:
600 b.D. - THE DOOM OF OLD VALYRIA
THE AGE OF FACTURE, DISSENT, AND CONTINGENCY:
(CIRCA 600– THE DOOM OF VALYRIA.)
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The final phase is defined by internal collapse rather than external resistance. The Freehold still holds vast territory, but unity among the dragonlords erodes into rivalry, factionalism, and magical conflict. New foundations increasingly reflect dissent, withdrawal, or specialization rather than coordinated imperial ambition.
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Western holdings such as Dragonstone originate in this context. Once conceived as forward seats of conquest, they become failsafes, reserve garrisons, and testing grounds as Valyria turns inward. Lesser houses migrate outward. Religious dissidents found cities. Infrastructure persists, but purpose fractures.
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By the time House Targaryen departs Valyria, the Freehold is no longer expanding. It is hedging against its own destruction, even if it cannot yet admit it.
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​CIRCA 600 B.D., THE FREE CITY OF NORVOS IS ESTABLISHED:
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During this period, the city of Norvos emerged in the wake of a religious schism within the Valyrian Freehold. Dissidents who found the Freehold’s tolerance of many faiths intolerable departed to establish a theocracy governed by bearded priests, where the “true faith” would be practiced without compromise. In this, Norvos followed a pattern seen also in Qohor and Lorath, cities shaped not by Valyrian conquest, but by those who rejected Valyria’s pluralism as a form of corruption.
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CIRCA 700 B.D. THE FREE CITY OF QOHOR IS ESTABLISHED:
The earliest settlement at Qohor began as a lumber camp along the edge of the Forest of Qohor, exploiting the dense woods that bordered the Rhoyne’s eastern reaches. Over time, this outpost grew as settlers arrived who were drawn less by trade than by belief.
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Qohor was colonized by worshippers of the Black Goat, religious dissidents who departed Valyria in rejection of the Freehold’s tolerance of many gods. Seeking a place where their faith would stand unchallenged, they established a city ordered by sacrifice and devotion, shaping Qohor into a theocratic state whose identity was defined as much by what it refused as by what it embraced.
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​The following cultural developments are recorded to illustrate the uneven reach and growing instability of the Valyrian Freehold’s authority. Some arose directly from Valyrian influence, whether through conquest, settlement, or displacement. Others emerged more obliquely, their origins obscured by fragmentary records and conflicting traditions. Together, they reflect a world increasingly shaped by Valyria’s presence, yet never fully ordered by it.​​​​
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INDEPENDENT DEVELOPMENT: ​ESSOS
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CIRCA 500 B.D. THE CITY OF BRAAVOS IS ESTABLISHED:
Unlike the other Free Cities, Braavos was never part of the Valyrian Freehold. The youngest of these cities, it was founded by escaped slaves who fled the reach of Valyrian power. According to Braavosi histories, these men and women rebelled aboard ships bound from Valyria to a new colony in Sothoryos, seized control of the vessels, and turned north, traveling as far from their former masters as the seas would allow.
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Tradition holds that a group of slave women from the lands of the Jogos Nhai, known as the moonsingers, foretold where refuge might be found. Guided by this prophecy, the fugitives reached a distant lagoon concealed by fog and encircled by pine-covered hills, hidden from the sight of dragonlords. There, they founded a city upon a vow. No man, woman, or child within Braavos would ever be a slave, thrall, or bondsman. This oath became the First Law of Braavos, later engraved upon the arch spanning the Long Canal, and it has endured as the city’s defining principle.​
INDEPENDENT DEVELOPMENT: WESTEROS
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DATE UNKNOWN: TRADE WITH OLDTOWN IS ESTABLISHED
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Fragmentary accounts suggest that contact between the Valyrian peninsula and the western lands across the narrow sea predates the rise of the Freehold, as it is later remembered. Though no continuous record survives, some maesters have noted foreign influence in the earliest foundations of Oldtown, particularly in the fused black stone base of the Hightower upon Battle Isle. While often compared to Valyrian construction, the structure differs in form and purpose, and its true origin remains disputed. A handful of early writers go further. Jellicoe records a tradition that Valyrian sailors reached Oldtown in distant ages and traded with elder peoples long before the coming of the First Men, though no corroborating evidence endures. Septon Barth likewise claimed that Valyrians crossed the narrow sea guided by prophecy, believing that the Doom of Man would one day arise from the lands beyond. Such accounts, preserved only in fragments and citations, were never incorporated into the dominant histories of Westeros and were later treated with skepticism or silence. More tangible evidence of Valyrian contact survives within the Citadel itself. One green and three black glass candles are said to have been brought to Oldtown from Valyria a thousand years before the Doom. According to tradition, when these candles burned, Valyrian sorcerers could see across mountains, seas, and deserts, send dreams and visions, and speak with one another across great distances. Whether these powers were real or exaggerated, the presence of the candles stands as proof that Valyrian knowledge reached Westeros by means other than fire and conquest.
INDEPENDENT DEVELOPMENT: DRAGONSTONE
In the final centuries of the Valyrian Freehold, when rivalries among dragonlords grew increasingly bitter and the unity of the Freehold frayed, the dragonlord Manar Qohmaereon turned his attention westward. Where others sought advantage through intrigue or open conflict, Qohmaereon pursued distance. The island later known as Dragonstone was raised not as a colony of the Freehold, but as a sovereign undertaking, a redoubt fashioned to stand apart from Valyrian politics while retaining all that defined Valyrian power. Its position at the edge of the Narrow Sea, facing lands yet unconquered, offered isolation, control of sea lanes, and the possibility of dominion beyond the reach of rival dragonlords.
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The construction of Dragonstone did not begin with dragons alone. In advance of the fortress itself, lesser Valyrian houses were dispatched to establish the foundations upon which the project depended. Among these were the ancestors of Houses Velaryon and Celtigar, seafaring families of Valyrian blood who lacked dragons but possessed ships, retainers, and the ability to move quietly beyond the Freehold’s immediate gaze. Through trade, naval patrols, and the securing of islands and anchorages, they established supply routes and forward positions in Westeros, enabling the transport of stone, labor, and provisions necessary for Dragonstone’s raising. In this way, the western project of Manar Qohmaereon took shape not as a sudden arrival, but as a gradual encroachment, its purpose clear to those within Valyria, and invisible to those who would later inherit the tale.
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CIRCA 500-200 B.D., HOUSE VELARYON IS FOUNDED:
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House Velaryon traces its origins in Westeros to the western undertaking of the dragonlord Manar Qohmaereon, whose project required mastery of sea and supply as much as fire and stone. Chosen for their maritime skill and Valyrian lineage, the Velaryons were dispatched ahead of the main works to secure anchorages and shipping lanes in the Narrow Sea. They established themselves upon Driftmark, an island well-positioned within the Gullet, from which they could control the movement of goods and vessels bound for the rising fortress on Dragonstone. Though never dragonriders, the Velaryons became indispensable to the western project. Their fleets transported stone, timber, provisions, and labor across the Narrow Sea, maintaining the lifeline that allowed Dragonstone to be raised and sustained. Over time, their logistical role hardened into lordship, their temporary presence becoming permanent as the needs of supply gave way to settlement. Later Velaryon histories would speak of ancient lineage and noble pacts, yet their true power lay not in myth, but in the quiet command of the seas that made Valyrian ambition possible at the edge of the world.
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BEFORE 212 B.D., HOUSE CELTIAR IS FOUNDED:
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House Celtigar emerged in Westeros as part of the same western undertaking that gave rise to Dragonstone, though their function differed markedly from that of the Velaryons. Under the authority of the dragonlord Manar Qohmaereon, the Celtigars were tasked not with movement and trade, but with holding ground. They established themselves upon Claw Isle, off the coast of Crackclaw Point, a position that allowed close oversight of the approaches to Dragonstone while remaining separate from its immediate shadow. From this vantage, they controlled anchorages, storage, and the safeguarding of supplies moving through the Narrow Sea. ​Like the Velaryons, the Celtigars possessed Valyrian blood but no dragons, and their authority rested not in fire but in order. They oversaw stockpiles, enforced discipline among retainers and laborers, and ensured that the flow of materials feeding Dragonstone was neither interrupted nor observed more widely than intended. Their role required patience rather than ambition, and their rewards were measured in permanence rather than renown. In time, what began as stewardship hardened into lordship, and House Celtigar endured as a quiet but essential pillar of Valyrian presence in Westeros, closer to the fortress than the sea, and bound to it by function long before oath.
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CIRCA 212 B.D., THE FORTRESS OF DRAGONSTONE IS ESTABLISHED:
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By 212 B.D., the fortress upon the island thereafter known as Dragonstone was brought to completion under the authority of the dragonlord Manar Qohmaereon. Conceived as a forward seat of Valyrian power, Dragonstone was intended to serve as the foundation for future conquest beyond the Narrow Sea. Its placement, scale, and construction speak to ambitions that reached well beyond trade or observation, marking it as a fortress built to command rather than merely endure. Yet the years that followed did not unfold as its builders had intended. As rivalries among the dragonlord families of the Freehold deepened into open hostility, the Qohmaereon house became increasingly entangled in the internal conflicts of Valyria. Resources were drawn back toward the peninsula, alliances fractured, and the unity required to project power westward dissolved. In this climate, Dragonstone’s purpose shifted. Deprived of the full force that conquest demanded, it was instead maintained as a reserve garrison: defended, administered, and provisioned, but never unleashed. ​Though shaped by Valyrian sorcery, Dragonstone housed no dragons during this period. Its strength lay in disciplined soldiers, resident mages, and a hierarchy capable of governing the island and managing the flow of trade through the Narrow Sea. Revenues were collected, smallfolk administered, and fleets coordinated, ensuring that the fortress remained profitable and secure, if dormant. It stood ready for a future that Valyria could no longer agree upon, a blade forged and sheathed in the same breath. Within the Qohmaereon household, Dragonstone also served a dynastic function. Younger sons and lesser kin were sent west to govern the fortress, gaining experience in command and administration far from the intrigues of the Freehold’s heart. In this way, Dragonstone became both a proving ground and a place of exile, its governors entrusted with authority but removed from the central struggle for power. It was into this uncertain inheritance that Aenar Targaryen later arrived. Whether as a lesser ally familiar with the inner workings of the Qohmaereon project, or as an opportunist who recognized its value when others were too consumed by Valyria’s feuds to defend it, remains a matter of dispute. That House Targaryen, long counted among the least of the dragonlord families, emerged as Dragonstone’s final master is not proof of foresight alone, but of timing. When Valyria tore itself apart, Dragonstone waited, and the one who claimed it would shape what came after.
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12 B.D., THE MIGRATION OF THE TARGARYENS TO WESTEROS:
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​Twelve years before the Doom, Aenar Targaryen removed his household from Valyria and sailed west to Dragonstone. Valyrian tradition holds that this decision followed a prophetic vision experienced by his maiden daughter, Daenys the Dreamer, who foresaw the destruction of Valyria in fire and ruin. Persuaded by her warnings, Aenar gathered his kin, retainers, and possessions and departed the Freehold with five dragons, abandoning lands and titles held in Valyria itself. Among the dragonlords, this act was widely regarded as an admission of fear, and House Targaryen was thereafter spoken of as craven, its withdrawal taken as proof of its lesser standing. From an Essosi perspective, however, the flight of House Targaryen appears less singular than later histories suggest. By this time, Dragonstone already existed as a functioning stronghold, raised decades earlier under Valyrian authority and maintained as a reserve garrison amid the Freehold’s growing internal strife. Whether Aenar acted as a minor ally privy to the fortress’s purpose, or as an opportunist who recognized its value when others were too consumed by Valyria’s rivalries to defend it, remains uncertain. What is clear is that House Targaryen did not flee into the unknown, but into a prepared seat of power, one shaped by Valyrian hands and suited to dragonlords who could no longer rely upon the Freehold to endure. By this time, Freehold records indicate that House Qohmaereon’s fortunes had collapsed amid factional violence, failed alliances, and the quiet removal of rivals. By the time Aenar Targaryen reached Dragonstone, the line that had first raised the fortress no longer held it, whether extinguished by Valyrian hands or erased in the chaos that followed. That their fall left so little trace in is consistent with the Freehold’s final years, when houses vanished without record and memory itself became a casualty of power. The absence of resistance upon House Targaryen’s arrival, within Westrosi accounts, has been attributed to abandonment, yet Essosi accounts suggest a darker conclusion. When Aenar reached Dragonstone with his dragons and retainers, the fortress was still administered by a standing garrison, loyal not to him but to the remnants of Qohmaereon authority. These administrators and lesser Qohmaereon kin did not survive the transition: their removal was swift and absolute, and thereafter omitted from later accounts. In the aftermath, the lesser Valyrian houses long tied to the fortress, House Celtigar and House Velaryon, were folded under Targaryen authority, their prior obligations recast as fealty. That this violent consolidation would later be remembered as peaceful inheritance speaks less to the nature of the event than to who remained to record it.