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Balon Greyjoy’s rogue younger brother, Euron, appears late on the scene, more specifically inGame of Thronesseason 6, episode 2 “Home.” He is belligerent and lacks the mannerisms and etiquette that a master sailor of his repute should possess. He doesn’t have a long talk with his brother, but cuts to the chase and declares he has come for the Salt Throne.
Balon, who had utilized the political instability created by Robert Baratheon’s passing to rebel against the throne, is pushed by Euron off the swaying rope bridge that connects one Pyke tower to another.At the Kingsmoot, Balon’s daughter, the warrior, and captain, Yara is snubbed and Euron is chosen king. With Euron’s arc,Game of Thronestakes a departure from lore, and the prime object that is missing from his arc and the show’s canon is Dragonbinder.
Euron Greyjoy’s Big Plans With Dragonbinder
Game Of Thrones Vs. A Feast For Crows
InGame of Thronesseason 6, episode 5, “The Door,” Euron says he plans to rebuild an enormous Iron Fleet and to be an ally to Daenerys Targaryen:
And across the sea, there is a person who hates the great lords of Westeros just as much as we do. Someone with a large army, three large dragons, and no husband. I’m going to build that fleet, and I’m going to “gallivant” right over and give it to Daenerys Targaryen…
While Euron is drowned in the sea (part of the act of crowning), Theon and Yara manage to flee with a few loyalists and his best ships. Dragged ashore, Euron coughs up water, and the driftwood crown is placed on his head. He says he wants his niece, Yara, and nephew, Theon, dead. However, the brother-sister duo gets to Daenerys first, and Euron joins forces with Cersei Lannister. At the Kingsmoot, Euron doesn’t whip out the magical horn - Dragonbinder as he does inGeorge R.R. Martin’sA Feast for Crows.
In Martin’s fourth novel inA Song of Ice and Fireseries, Euron unveils Dragonbinder at the more nuanced Kingsmoot ceremony on Old Wyk and announces his plans with the dragon horn:
The dragonlords of old sounded such horns, before the Doom devoured them. With this horn, ironmen, I can bind dragons to my will.
Although he proudly claims he found it while sailing the Smoking Sea - a rather haunted body of water to the south of the Valyrian Peninsula, his claim is countered by a semi-canon source that states that he seized the dragon horn fromfour Warlocks from Qarthwho were on a hunt for Daenerys Targaryen after the destruction of their House of the Undying. Dragonbinder, nonetheless, paves the way for Euron to be elected as the new King of the Isles and the North.
Dragonbinder produces a loud noise that silences every Ironborn at Old Wyk, andGame of Throneslore draws its analogy to “the screaming of a thousand souls.” Exposure to Dragonbinder’s toot is extremely unpleasant and causes discomfort and pain to those around. Furthermore, Martin’sA Feast for Crowsadds that a man aboard Euron’s galley, named Cragorn, dies when he toots Dragonbinder. Also known as the hellhorn, Cragorn develops lip blisters and collapses shortly after.
What Is Dragonbinder?
Dragonbinder is undoubtedly among the most powerful magical objects in lore, and it draws parallels with another from theGame of Thronesuniverse -Joramun’s horn aka the Horn of Winter. Martin’sA Feast for Crowsstates that Euron comes through with his promise of restoring the lost pride of the Iron Islanders by promising them to conquer Westeros with dragons.
As for the physical description of Dragonbinder,Game of Throneslore mentions it is fashioned out of the horn of a giant dragon. It is six feet (1.83 meters) long, shiny with a gleam of black, and embellished with red gold and Valyrian steel bands that bear Valyrian glyphs and undecipherable writing. It’s smooth and warm to touch, and when given a toot, the Valyrian markings change color - from “red-hot” to “white-hot.”
Why Did Game Of Thrones Cut Dragonbinder?
Cragorn succumbs to the injuries from blowing Dragonbinder and Euron claims that his lungs experienced an inflammatory reaction upon blowing the hellhorn. He adds that when a maester cut him to study why he passed, his lungs were charred and black. While Joramun’s Horn is never found and associated withThrones' mythical hero - Joramun the King-Beyond-the-Wall, Euron presentedDragonbinder to the Ironborn. He entrusts the hellhorn to his brother, Victarion Greyjoy, inA Dance with Dragons, and orders him to bring Daenerys and her dragons to him.
As a consequence of truncated plot lines, both Dragonbinder and Joramun’s Horn were missing fromGame of Thrones. Given the HBO show adapted Euron quite differently - an unhinged, deviously comical man, bestowing Dragonbinder upon him would have proved to be a huge imposition upon a poorly written character.
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones, based on the Song of Ice and Fire book series by George R.R. Martin, tells the sprawling story of warring families in Westeros. This includes the Starks, the Lannisters, the Baratheons, and the Targaryens. Along with human conflicts, Westeros is also threatened by the re-emergence of dragons, and an undead enemy from beyond the Wall.
