Fire & Blood

“Words are wind”(178) is a motif that reflects the importance of managing reputation, of balancing words and action, and of persuasion in maintaining political power. The phrase first appears when Jaehaerys refused to take rebel lords’ words alone to ensure their loyalty. He punished the lords by taking their children as wards/hostages and seizing their lands and money. As a ruler who used his power effectively, he backed up his words with action.

Jaehaerys kept his power because he understood the importance of reputation to legitimize rule. He sent the Seven Speakers on a tour to create popular support for the Doctrine of Exceptionalism because ‘[w]ords are wind…but wind can fan a fire” (191). The “fire” was populist or religious outrage over incestuous marriage, which stirred a generation of smallfolk and septons to revolt. The Shepherd later capitalized on words to fuel an uprising against Targaryen power. Words are not just wind then. They destroyed the legitimacy of the Doctrine of Exceptionalism, one of the underpinnings of House Targaryen’s right to rule.

Mushroom’s use of the phrase highlights the soft power of women. Mushroom remarked that “[w]ords are wind…but a strong wind can topple mighty oaks, and the whispering of pretty girls can change the destiny of kingdom” (588-589).