As well described in the George Martin books and we already saw in Game of Thrones, the Targaryens are physically characterized by hair so blond that it almost appears white. This could actually happen in real life. However, what does not seem so plausible is the appearance of Lord Corlys Velaryonone of the characters of The House of the Dragon, whose silver hair contrasts with his black skin. Her kinship with the Targaryens could explain the hair if we stick to fantasy novels. But if we focus on genetics and real life, it seems strange that these two traits could coincide in the same person. However, just because it’s weird doesn’t mean it’s impossible. In fact, in the Solomon Islands there is an indigenous group whose members, known as Melanesiansare characterized precisely by including a not insignificant percentage of blondes with black skin.
It is important to note that they are not albinos. Albino people from black-skinned families also exist, but they don’t have black skin. It would be impossible, since they do not harbor melanin in their cells. Their story is very worrying, since in Africa they are considered a bad omen, so they are often abandoned by their families. But they have nothing to do with the Melanesians. They still maintain black skin, despite their blonde hair, so they do not lack melanin.
His case has drawn the attention of many scientists for years, although it was a group of researchers from Stanford University who found the key in 2012. Its appearance is due to a very specific mutation in a gene involved in pigmentation. Who knows? Perhaps that is the case with Lord Corlys in the house of the dragon.
The mutation of black people with blonde hair
When scientists from Stanford University traveled to the Solomon Islands, to the area of the MelanesianThey were very surprised with what they saw. As reported to livescience one of them, Sean Myles, observing the children playing on the beach, they saw that a fairly high number of them had black skin and blonde hair. Specifically, it is estimated that between 5% and 10% of Melanesians have this appearance.
But they needed to know why. Therefore, they took saliva samples from 85 islanders, 43 blondes and 42 brunettes, and analyzed them for differences. Thus, they saw that a mutation in a single gene could explain 46.4% of the variation in their hair. The gene is called TYRP1 and it has the instructions for the synthesis of a protein involved in pigmentation. And the result seems to be a very different pigmentation in the skin and in the hair.
But there was something that caught the attention of these scientists. And it is that this mutation not found in the analyzed genomes of Europeans. One would think that he would have been brought there from Europe in colonial movements in the past. That would explain the blond hair. However, it seemed more like a mutation that arose independently in the Melanesian population and for some reason persisted there.
Lord Corlys’ appearance in ‘House of the Dragon’
lord corlys belongs to the Velaryon house of Mercaderiva. It is a very old breed of Valyria who came to Westeros even before the Targaryens themselves. Their lives were separated by the Curse of Valyria, a natural cataclysm that devastated the city.
The families who lived there were saved thanks to the daughter of Lord Aenar Targaryen, Daenys the dreamer. Twelve years before the incident, the young Ella had a dream predicting what would happen. So her family fled to Rock Dragon, where it was later installed. The rest of the Valyrian families, including the Velaryons themselves, populated other nearby islands of the narrow sea. Thus, their families separated, but they could not escape a kinship for which they have some common traits. Specifically, in the books they are described as silver hair and violet eyeslike the Targaryens. Of course, they are also described as having white skin, or at least it is taken for granted. All the illustrations that have been made of lord corlys before the presentation of the series he was shown as a white man.
Possibly responsible for The House of the Dragon They would like to include some diversity in the story. And while there may be people who are bothered, it’s not a bad idea. In fact, it’s not even unreasonable. After all, flying on a dragon is impossible, but being black with blonde hair is not. In the Solomon Islands is the proof.