The Fourteen Flames
The Fourteen Flames was a vast volcanic mountain range that used to cover the Valyrian peninsula, but these peaks were more than just mountains – they were intimately tied to the rise and fall of Valyria itself.
The Valyrian Cradle
Originally a humble people, Valyria’s fate was transformed when its dragon-ridden volcanic peaks, the Fourteen Flames, were found by daring Valyrians. From taming fire lizards to forging a giant empire across much of Essos, the Fourteen Flames became integral to Valyria.
Beneath the Peaks
Beneath the Fourteen Flames lay stupendous wealth in the form of various minerals: iron, copper, gold, silver, and tin, all of which helped fuel the ambitious activities of the Freehold.
But this mining came at a great cost. In the fiery, dark conditions within the mines below the mountains, untold slaves lost their lives.
Dragon Bonds
It is believed that there was a strong link between the Fourteen Flames and the fire lizards themselves, and the Valyrian lore tied the creatures that allowed them to dominate Essos to their home amongst the flames - though whether fire-lizards are actually native to the fourteen flames remains debatable.
The Mines of Valyria
Miles below the mountains, mines were carved into the volcanic rock.
These underground workings were often deadly - full of heat, noxious gases, lava pools and bubbling hot springs - and they are even sometimes said to contain fire worms in their deepest reaches.
Yet the Valyrians kept digging.
The Doom of Valyria
The tale of the Fourteen Flames reaches a fitting conclusion in The Doom of Valyria. Thirteen of the fourteen volcanos erupted simultaneously during one terrible day, tearing the ground and inundating Valyria under fire and rock, reducing the island to ash and brimstone and in its place leaving the newly named Smoking Sea.
What Happened?
There is no consensus as to why the disaster occurred, although it is generally theorised to have been an incredible natural event, as the Fourteen Flames erupted simultaneously at an unprecedented scale - a geological and volcanic catastrophe. Valyrian magic could be to blame too - possibly as an experiment gone wrong that unearthed an unseen horror deep beneath the surface of the earth. We’ll never know, which makes the legend of the Fourteen Flames even more alluring.
After the Doom
Even After the destruction of the center of theValyrian Empire, there was always an edge of danger around the Fourteen Flames.
Several peaks probably remained active, and others had been swallowed up by the sea to create the Smoking Sea. The legacy of danger was compounded by stories of lights flaring from the peaks and smoke seen rising from the landscape which once was home to the empire they had helped birth.
The Sixteen Flames Significance
The Fourteem flames signify more than just a mountain range; they represent the contradictory sides of Valyria - its incredible ascendance, powered by fire and dragon-wings and its precipitous fall, born from the very same flames that birthed such great power.
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