They called it "zīrtys perzys" which translated to “frozen fire” in Valyrian and eastern tales tell of how their dragons would thaw the stone with dragonflame until it became molten and malleable. The Valyrians were familiar with dragonglass long before they came to Westeros. The page contains a drawing of the Valyrian steel dagger: While reading, Sam lingers on a page detailing the use of dragonglass to decorate weapons. The book Samwell Tarly reads includes the same (or a similar) dagger. During a conversation with Littlefinger, in which he tries to persuade Ned to make peace with the Lannisters, Ned disdainfully says "with the people who tried to murder my boy" and puts the dagger on the desk, to make a point.Īfter betraying Ned, Littlefinger takes the blade for himself.Īt the Citadel, in Oldtown, Samwell Tarly studies a book about the Long Night. Īfterward, Eddard Stark keeps the blade with him. After he is kidnapped, Tyrion denies that, but Catelyn does not believe him. Varys and Littlefinger both examine the blade, to which Littlefinger claims that the dagger originally belonged to him, and he lost it in a bet to Tyrion. They conclude, in view of the weapon's materials (a dragonbone hilt and a Valyrian steel blade) that whoever had ordered the attack and armed the catspaw must be very wealthy.Ĭatelyn resolves to carry the blade to her husband in King's Landing to investigate further. The attempt is thwarted by Bran's mother Catelyn, and his direwolf, Summer.įollowing this incident, Catelyn shows the dagger to Maester Luwin, Ser Rodrik Cassel, Robb, and Theon. The dagger is carried by the assassin who attempted to kill Bran as he lays in a coma at Winterfell, following his fall from a tower.
It would be rather nice to close the series with a bit of macabre symmetry.The Valyrian steel dagger is in the possession of Viserys I Targaryen and Alicent Hightower. On second thought, perhaps it was Cersei who was behind that fateful failed assassination her motive is solid (to ensure Bran’s silence and hide Joffrey's true heritage), and she’s certainly the type to murder a small child. The future role of the Valyrian Steel dagger is unknown, but hopefully, Arya will soon find a way to insert it inside Cersei Lannister. Clearly, his White Walker generals were utterly useless as bodyguards perhaps that’s the downside of using Craster’s incredibly inbred babies to breed White Walker soldiers. Of course, Arya eventually uses the dagger to take down the Night King, destroying his entire army in one efficient stab, though it’s unclear how exactly she managed to sneak up on him. It’s a great foreshadow to the outcome of the Battle of Winterfell, and possibly, a clue to the importance of the dagger to the ancient nobility of Westeros. While studying, Sam happens to linger on a page detailing the use of dragonglass to forge weapons, the page also features a prominent drawing of the Valyrian Steel dagger. Meanwhile, over at the Citadel, Samwell Tarly studies a book about the Long Night, the ancient victory over the White Walkers. Later, Arya uses the dagger to spar with Brienne of Tarth, and she uses the “dagger drop” move which will later prove so effective against the Night King. It isn’t quite clear, but it seems likely that the dagger was Littlefinger’s all along, and that he was behind the assassination attempt, though this has never been confirmed his motivation is a little murky. But Arya’s first use of the Valyrian Steel blade is to slice open Littlefinger’s throat, a most cathartic killing.