Warning: This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon episode 6 and the Fire & Blood book.
In House of the Dragon, Larys Strong chose his own sigil instead of using the traditional symbol of House Strong, and Larys representing himself with the firefly points to the character’s larger role in Dance of the Dragons. Just like in Game of Thrones, the greatest and most powerful Westerosi houses in House of the Dragon use unique visual representations of their respective family histories and claims to nobility. These symbols are intended to inspire loyalty, radiate power, or intimidate others. For viewers at home, more is revealed about the characters who wear, venerate, destroy, or replace these historic sigils. Larys’ choice to use a firefly rather than his family’s original sigil speaks volumes about where the character is headed. This is especially true as Larys became the sole living member of House Strong after he orchestrated the deaths of his father Lyonel and his brother Harwin in House of the Dragon season 1, episode 6, “The Princess and the Queen.”
House Strong’s traditional coat of arms is a tripartite composed of winding vertical lines of blue, red, and green – laid over a white field. This represents the three forks or main branches of the Trident in the riverlands. It is a reminder that House Strong not only hails from the riverlands and are descended from the blood of the First Men, but also that their main seat is Harrenhal, which is both the largest and most cursed castle in the continent.
House of the Dragon‘s Larys Strong eschewing this traditional sigil in favor of a firefly shows how Larys intends to carve his own path – independent of the noble house from which he hails. Curiously, the book on which the show is based, Fire & Blood, makes no reference to fireflies. This underscores how House of the Dragon reveals parts of the House Targaryen family history which were missed by the skeptical maester-historians who wrote Fire & Blood and other accounts of Westeros’ past kings.
Why Did Larys Strong Choose The Firefly As His Personal Sigil?
Larys Strong grew up in Harrenhal, a fortress located on the northern shore of the Gods Eye lake south of the Trident, a marshy area with streams, grassy fields, and old forests – the perfect place for fireflies to thrive in Westeros. Larys likely encountered fireflies during his childhood on the shores of the Gods Eye lake, or elsewhere in the riverlands. That said, it doesn’t seem like Larys chose the firefly for nostalgia’s sake.
House of the Dragon has established that Larys closely studies nature, and this fascination likely began when he was very young. While the rest of the realm looked up in fear and awe of every dragon in House of the Dragon, Larys looked to his surroundings instead, grounded and focused on the things he could actually touch, observe, or control. It’s viable that Larys deduced from observation how fireflies flash their lights as a discrete form of communication, and how their lights can flash in sync with every firefly in the area. Given Larys’ knowledge of indigenous flora and fauna, he’s also likely aware that the humble firefly is a pollinator that’s essential to the native ecosystem, or how fireflies are avoided by predators because of their taste. The behavior and nature of fireflies are highly similar to how Larys maintains an effective and completely clandestine information network, how Larys avoids predators despite being in plain sight, and how Larys sees his personal role in the realm. No other animal more perfectly represents Larys than the firefly from his native riverlands.
How Larys’ Firefly Connects To House Hightower
As revealed in the House of the Dragon episode 6 ending, Larys was one of the first lords to answer Alicent Hightower’s call for support amid the Dance of the Dragons, and this relationship is underscored by the similarity between Larys and House Hightower’s respective sigils. Like House Hightower’s coat of arms – a stone white watchtower crowned with a great beacon of fire – Larys’ firefly also represents a light in the darkness, but is also a much more discrete signal or beacon which better fits Larys’ means and expertise. While House Hightower raises its noble sigil on painted banners for all the realm to see their power and wealth, only those who walk in the shadows with Larys are privy to his fireflies and their signals in the dark.
Larys’ Firefly Sigil Makes Him Even More Like Littlefinger And Varys
Larys Strong replacing his family’s sigil with a firefly is highly reminiscent of two other prominent spies who also built their careers in and around King’s Landing and the Iron Throne: Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish and Lord Varys. Similar to how Larys turned his back on House Strong but established himself with a sigil that’s still native to the riverlands, Littlefinger eschewed the sigil of humble House Baelish in favor of a mockingbird native to the Vale, and both are the results of Larys and Littlefinger’s respective ambition. Meanwhile, Varys earned his “spider” moniker from how he spins his web of intelligence and lays traps across the continent and beyond, which is echoed in how Larys’ fireflies secretly signal each other in the dark – with both insect metaphors representing their seemingly supernatural ability to find sensitive information and move mountains without being noticed.
In fact, House of the Dragon giving Larys a firefly sigil may also be connected to the theory about Larys being a greenseer as well as Aegon’s dream or prophecy. As the scion of House Strong, the blood of the First Men runs in Larys’ veins, which could mean that he hears the whispers of the Old Gods and the Children of the Forest as a greenseer – someone who can see events across space and time. Fireflies – signs of a healthy ecosystem – could symbolize Larys’ ties to the Old Gods, and like the Targaryens, Larys could also be motivated by prophetic dreams of a coming unnatural darkness. After all, like dragonfire in the night, fireflies also inspire hope when they light up in the dark.
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