Mechanical "dragons" were siege engines built by the Alchemists' Guild under orders of King Aegon IV Targaryen, to replace the extinct dragons of House Targaryen.[1]
History
Like many other Targaryen kings after the Dance of the Dragons, Aegon was obsessed with regaining dragons. However, instead of trying to resurrect the dead dragons of his ancestors, Aegon turned to the pyromancers and commanded them to "build me dragons". The Guild built seven wood-and-iron monstrous engines, fitted with pumps that shot jets of wildfire. Though the "dragons" might have been useful in a siege, instead Aegon ordered these devices dragged to the Boneway to initiate an invasion of Dorne in 174 AC. The king's plan lacked any tactical sense, as the Boneway was too steep for the lumbering constructs. The man-made dragons did not even get that far, due to instability of wildfire and the difficulty of moving the massive siege engines. All seven were consumed by fire in the kingswood; hundreds of men operating them burned alive inside them and a quarter of the kingswood went up in flames. Aegon, after this humiliation, never spoke of conquering Dorne again.[1]
Quotes
Archibald: Fire and water don't mix, and that's a fact. You get a good cookfire lit, blazing away nice, then it starts to piss down rain and next thing your wood is sodden and your flames are dead.
Gerris: Dragons are not made of wood, Arch.
Archibald: Some are. That old King Aegon, the randy one, he built wooden dragons to conquer us. That ended bad, though.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aegon IV.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 68, The Dragontamer.