



Need your Game of Thrones fix?

HBO just released a new animated short, entitled “Conquest & Rebellion: An Animated History of the Seven Kingdoms,” just weeks after the epic Season 7 finale. The entire series will be included in the U.S. Blu-ray and DVD December 12 and for digital download September 25.

The first episode details the history of House Targaryen and why the family left Essos for Westeros.

If the narrator sounds familiar, that’s because it’s Harry Lloyd, aka Viserys Targaryen, the late brother of Daenerys Targaryen.

The short illustrates the cataclysmic Doom of Valryria, which took place 400 years before the events of Game of Thrones. The catastrophic event destroyed the capital city of Old Valyria and wiped out all its inhabitants, save for the Targaryens.

In the Song of Ice and Fire books, Aenar Targaryen fled Valyria after his daughter Daenys Targaryen had a prophetic vision of the Doom. They established an outpost at Dragonstone (the location played a significant part in Season 7, as Daenerys’ place of birth and command center).

Aenar’s descendant Aegon (the first of many) conquered the Seven Kingdoms from Dragonstone, with the help of dragons, beasts — and weapons — unseen in Westeros.

Interestingly, the above clip details the other prominent Houses at the time of Aegon’s War of Conquest: House Durrandon (a predecessor to House Baratheon), House Hoare (of which House Greyjoy was a vassal), House Stark, House Lannister, House Gardener (from which House Tyrell sprung), and House Arryn.

Of those, only Targaryen, Stark and Lannister hold any real power by Season 7.

Will history repeat itself with House Targaryen conquering the others in Season 8? Or will they rally against the invasion of The Night King and his undead army?

Learn more about House Targaryen by watching the video above or checking out the Game of Thrones Fan Community.