Game of Thrones:
The Prince that was Promised is the legendary saviour that was supposed to save the realm of the living by vanquishing the Night King and his army of the dead and prevent the Long Night from swallowing the world. The Prince that was Promised is supposedly the Azor Ahai of the world, who will wield a legendary sword of fire called Lightbringer as the Avatar of the Lord of Light, and will fight the champion of the Other, the enemy of the Lord of Light, to save everyone. That is what the Red Priests and Priestesses have been screaming at the top of their lungs in the Game of Thrones universe since time immemorial. Chief amongst them being Melisandre, the Red Woman even managed to convince the entire army of Storm Lands that Stannis Baratheon was the Azor Ahai and was destined to protect the world.
While that turned out to be untrue, many theories started making the rounds as to the true Azor Ahai. Some said it was Jon Snow while other claimed it was Daenerys Targaryen. Some even claimed it was Samwell Tarly who was the destined saviour of the human race. It turned out that the one who would kill the Night King was Arya Stark, but she was not the Azor Ahai. So the ball is still rolling. Who was the true Prince that was Promised?? Who was the Azor Ahai, the wielder of the Red Sword of Heroes? Presenting – This Game of Thrones theory finally reveals the true PRINCE THAT WAS PROMISED!!!
SPOILER ALERT: Major Spoilers for Game of Thrones up ahead. Enter at your own risk….
What is the Azor Ahai prophecy?
In the books of A Song of Ice and Fire series, Melisandre reveals the prophecy regarding a champion of the Lord of Light who will grace the world with his illuminating presence and vanquish the darkness back to the shadows. This champion will be called the Azor Ahai – the Prince that was promised. The full prophecy goes something like this:
“There will come a day after a long summer when the stars bleed and the cold breath of darkness falls heavy on the world. In this dread hour, a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword. And that sword shall be Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, and he who clasps it shall be Azor Ahai come again, and the darkness shall flee before him.”
So basically, what the prophecy entails is that the champion of the Lord of light will be burnt amidst blistering smoke and salt and will come after a long summer to guard the world against the dangers of the Other, the Lord of Darkness and Shadows.
‘The Other’ can actually be interpreted in a number of ways. In the Game of Thrones Universe there are actually religions in the far corners of the continent of Essos that worship the Other. The Church of Starry Wisdom, a prominent religion that originated from Yi Ti is rumoured to worship a malevolent deity that has a very strong resemblance to the Other. Some other sources claim that the Other is not a God but the Night King himself. While that is a debate for another day, we all can agree on the fact that the “Long Summer” in the prophecy is nothing but the last seven seasons of Game of Thrones. It was the time the Azor Ahai grew up to become the champion with the strength to fight the evil forces of the Other.
Who is the true Prince that was Promised??
The Game of Thrones universe is basically built on a cesspool of prophecies and legends. And that is what makes it so interesting. Some of the theories turned out to be pure shenanigans. Some actually came true. The most important prophecy amongst them all though was the prophecy of the Prince that was Promised. And that is something Game of Thrones has yet to provide us with an answer to. The Azor Ahai was supposed to be a mythical hero that would save the world from the coming darkness. No one was ‘mythic’ enough to fill those shoes. Or is it that the show hinted at the true Azor Ahai but we were the ones who missed it? The true Prince who was Promised might actually have been revealed and it is not who you think it is.
It cannot be Samwell Tarly. It most certainly is not Daenerys Targaryen. Arya Stark does not actually fill that title pretty well on multiple criteria so we will count her out. Jon Snow and Stannis Baratheon are both disqualified. The true heir to the throne of the Azor Ahai is none of these people. In fact, the Azor Ahai is not even a human being. The True Azor Ahai is –
Drogon, the last living Dragon.
Why couldn’t Arya Stark be the Azor Ahai?
It was not Jon Snow or Daenerys Targaryen or even Samwell Tarly that killed the Night King. It was Arya Stark that did the job. When the Night King wanted to kill her brother Brandon Stark aka Bran the Three Eyed Raven, it was Arya Stark that came to her rescue. Does that mean she was the Azor Ahai? Well, to be precise – NO. Arya does fulfil bits and pieces of the prophecy but she does not even cover half the tracks to even be considered as a candidate for Azor Ahai.
Just think about this for a moment. Drogon is the last surviving dragon in all the Seven Kingdoms and whatever lies beyond in the known world of Game of Thrones. The Azor Ahai was supposed to be born out of “smoke and salt”. That is how Drogon hatched. It was in the final moments of season 1 that the funeral pyre Drogon’s egg was placed in hatched to reveal a baby dragon inside. Drogon is also bigger and stronger than the other two Dragons under Daenerys’ command. A Woods’ Witch revealed in a sub-plot story in the books that the Azor Ahai, the Prince that was Promised will be somehow related to Aerys II. Daenerys Targaryen considers her dragons her own children and since she is related to Aerys II by blood, there is also an established connection between Drogon and Aerys II. Moreover, the flaming sword in the prophecy aka Lightbringer could be nothing but Drogon’s breath! It is sharp enough to cut through swathes of the dead in one swing. It certainly was sharper than any sword to ever exist in the Game of Thrones universe. Since the prophecy is written in Valyrian and Drogon is a remnant of the great Valyrian Freehold, he certainly fits the bill.
How legit is it?
The theory holds water depending on how you view the prophecy. Drogon was one of many who fought against the Night King and his army but he was not the one that struck the killing blow. So he was not the one who vanquished the Other. But prophecies can be tricky. You may think that it means something but it actually could mean something entirely else.
In the Game of Thrones Universe, the Night King has not nearly killed enough to dethrone the one thing that has led to even more death and destruction, of levels unforeseeable and unimaginable. The true evil of Westeros is not the dead. It is something over which hundreds of thousands or probably even millions, of people have lost their lives pointlessly. The true evil in Westeros is – the Iron Throne. The lust for King’s Landing and the control over the rich Seven Kingdoms was enough to drive Kings and Queen into going crazy and committing unforgivable crimes against humanity. What Drogon did when he decimated King’s Landing and destroyed the Iron Throne by melting it into a pulp with his fiery breath was halt the endless cycle of violence that had gripped the continent of Westeros since centuries. In a way, Drogon, as the Azor Ahai, did save the world from being engulfed in darkness. He saved the world from itself.
