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The Conqueror Trinity: Balerion, Vhagar And Meraxes
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Syrax
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Sunfyre
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Meleys
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Dreamfyre
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Vermithor And Silverwing
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Vermax
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Tyraxes
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Seasmoke
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Arrax
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The Three Wild Dragons Of Dragonstone
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The Three Targaryen Dragons On Game of Thrones
Dragons and dragon lore are revered by the Game of Thrones fandom, thanks to George R. R. Martin’s incredible world-building. The beasts of the erstwhile glorious Valyrian Freehold occupy a central position in the Universe and greatly influence the show’s key characters. Daenerys Targaryen’s arc in Game of Thrones is intertwined with her three dragons, and so are the fortunes of the mighty Targaryens in House of the Dragon.
Dragons are considered extinct at the beginning of Game of Thrones – a show that roughly takes place 167 years after the end of the Dance of the Dragons. The civil war that nearly decimated House Targaryen, i.e., the Dance of the Dragons, had a devastating impact on the Targaryen dragons. Things change when Daenerys hatches three petrified dragon eggs and begins a new chapter for House Targaryen. The HBO adaptations – Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are enough to gain an accurate and deep understanding of the Targaryen and the wild dragons, and the circumstances due to which they went extinct.
The Conqueror Trinity: Balerion, Vhagar And Meraxes
Vhagar Outlives Balerion And Meraxes
Aegon and his sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, were capable, but the fact remains that the Targaryen trio were able to conquer most of Westeros because they had dragons. Aegon rode Balerion the Black Dread, Visenya rode Vhagar and Rhaenys rode Meraxes during and after the Conquest. The she-dragon, Vhagar, outlives Balerion and Meraxes.
The written records state that Balerion was hatched in or before 114 BC in Valyria, and is one among the five dragons that the Targaryen patriarch, Aenar the Exile, brought to Dragonstone. He went to war alongside Aegon and was pivotal in the Targaryen victories at Harrenhal and the Field of Fire. He grew sluggish with time and passed away in 94 AC. His skull is seen in both televised adaptations. Balerion has his shrine surrounded by candles in House of the Dragon, while it lies in the cellars of the Red Keep in Thrones. Cersei Lannister tells Qyburn that Robert had the skulls removed (but not destroyed) from the throne room after he usurped the Targaryens.
They were his trophies. He couldn’t keep them around, they made him look small.
Aemond Targaryen’s Vhagar inspires terror in House of the Dragon. She is also a major deterrent to Rhaenyra’s party striking King’s Landing. Vhagar dies in combat with Daemon’s Caraxes over the Gods Eye Lake in the Dance, while Queen Rhaenys’ Meraxes is killed much earlier in lore. The Targaryens fail to devise a counter strategy for the Dornish guerrilla warfare in the conquest of Dorne. Their armies fail, dragons breathe fire in vain, and finally in 10 AC at Hellholt, a Scorpion iron bolt pierces Meraxes in the eye. The Targaryen assault in the First Dornish War, led by Rhaenys, marks the end of Rhaenys and Meraxes.
Syrax
Syrax is one of the most important dragons in House of the Dragon as she is Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen’s mount. Rhaenyra named her after a Valyrian goddess and remained her sole rider. As seen in House of the Dragon, all dragons and their Dragonriders share a special bond, and Rhaenyra and Syrax are no exception.
Between Rhaenyra and Syrax, the latter is the first one to die in the large-scale, violent event known as the Storming of the Dragonpit. Although chained at the time, Syrax is let loose by Rhaenyra’s youngest son from Laenor (actually Ser Harwin Strong), Prince Joffrey Velaryon, to fly to the Dragonpit. She immediately rejects Joffrey’s command and the Prince is killed in the sudden fall. Syrax then flies alone to the pit and is mortally injured in the aftermath of the chaos and fighting.
Sunfyre
Being King Aegon II’s mount, the golden-pink Sunfyre is just as important as Syrax in the Dance of the Dragons lore. Sunfyre, once the most beautiful dragon in the Seven Kingdoms, is later known by the pejorative nickname – “a great golden fire-breathing chicken” because he is grievously wounded in the battle with Meleys.
Sunfyre fights Princess Rhaenys’ Meleys at Rook’s Rest and endures body disfigurement, losing half of his wing in the fight. Unable to fly, and away from King’s Landing and his master, Sunfyre hides in the woods and caves of Crackclaw Point. He eventually reunites with Aegon II at Dragonstone. Sunfyre receives more injuries in his battle with Lady Baela Targaryen’s Moondancer at Dragonstone. He eliminates the wild dragon – the Grey Ghost, kills Moondancer in a fight, and devours Grand Maester Gerardys and Rhaenyra Targaryen at Aegon’s command. Sunfyre’s death is caused by mortal wounds on his neck and belly and the loss of his right eye.
Meleys
Also known as the Red Queen, Princess Rhaenys’ Meleys is conspicuous by the scarlet of her scales in House of the Dragon. As a team, Rhaenys and Meleys are a formidable combination but suffer a defeat at Rook’s Rest. Meleys loses against Sunfyre and Vhagar in the skies of Rook’s Rest in the Crownlands. That said, the duo go out with a bang, and burn Criston Cole’s soldiers before they are ambushed. They also injure Sunfyre and Aegon, and Vhagar is the only dragon that rises unharmed. Meleys meets her end at Rook’s Rest due to a fatal fall.
Dreamfyre
Aegon II describes Dreamfyre’s master, Queen Helaena Targaryen, as “an enduring mystery” and rightly so in House of the Dragon season 2, episode 1 “Blood and Cheese.” Helaena’s Dreamfyre is a pale blue she-dragon that made it to the screen in House of the Dragon Season 1. First ridden by Princess Rhaena and later by Queen Helaena Targaryen, Dreamfyre is said to have hatched before or in 32 AC. She earns a special place in lore because she was the mount of Aegon the Conqueror’s first grandchild, i.e., Princess Rhaena. Dreamfyre bonded with Helaena in the second century of the Targaryen rule of Westeros.
The she-dragon bent her neck to female riders both times and laid so many clutches of eggs that it set the tongue of a Begging Brother on Fair Isle wagging. The gruesome Blood and Cheese plot which made it to House of the Dragon Season 2’s premiere, has a bearing on Helaena and Dreamfyre’s relationship. Helaena bids goodbye to the dragon saddle and her mount is rendered riderless in the Dragonpit. Dreamfyre is killed later in the Dance during the Storming of the Dragonpit. She manages to break free of her chains and fight back the violent mob but is struck in the eye with a crossbow bolt. Dreamfyre tries to take flight but crashes into the Dragonpit’s great dome. Half of the structure collapses, Dreamfyre dies, and scores are wounded on the ground.
Vermithor And Silverwing
The Bronze Fury is going to be an asset in House of the Dragon. Daemon explains towards the end of Season 1 that King Jaehaerys’ Vermithor and Queen Alysanne’s Silverwing reside riderless on the Dragonmont. The Blacks are looking to get them over to their side, and if successful, will attain an advantage over the enemy.
Vermithor and Silverwing are among the oldest and largest Targaryen dragons. Vermithor was hatched in 34 AC while the latter in 36 AC from the dragon eggs placed in the cradles of Jaehaerys and Alysanne by their older sister Rhaena. Both these dragons are crucial to the Sowing of the Seeds plot and will be ridden by the Dragonseeds, Hugh the Hammer, and Ulf the White, respectively. Vermithor, Seasmoke, and Tessarion die in the Second Battle of Tumbleton, while Silverwing is one of the four surviving dragons of the Dance.
Vermax
Vermax flies his rider, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon, to the Vale and the Kingdom of the North and back in HBO’s House of the Dragon. The prince bonds with the hatchling quickly and takes him to the epic naval battle fought in the Gullet in lore where they breathe their last.
A young dragon, Vermax, deals a blow to the Triarchy’s fleet in the Gullet but is hit by a crossbow bolt, possibly because of flying at a lower altitude. There is a slightly different version of Vermax’s end, and some accounts claim that he was pulled down by a grapnel and burned to death on a ship below. Either way, Vermax and Jacaerys bow out in the Battle of the Gullet.
Tyraxes
Prince Jacaerys’ younger brother, Joffrey Velaryon, owns Tyraxes in lore as well as in the show. His stepfather, Daemon Targaryen, brings up Tyraxes while tallying the dragons on the opposing sides.
“…Your sons have Vermax, Arrax, and Tyraxes,” he is heard saying.
Tyraxes is yet to make it to House of the Dragon, but since the Storming of the Dragonpit plotline lies in the future of the show, the young dragon will most likely make it. The dragon is killed in the mayhem and chaos caused by the Shepherd’s mob at the Dragonpit of King’s Landing. Tyraxes, who resided in the pit, strangulated himself with his chains during the riots.
Seasmoke
Laenor Velaryon’s Seasmoke is one of the most formidable dragons in lore and House of the Dragon. He has demonstrated his battle prowess in trying to secure the strategically important Stepstones against the Free Cities.
The silver-grey Seasmoke fought in the joint military engagement of House Velaryon and Daemon Targaryen to free the Stepstones from the control of the Triarchy. The dragon lies riderless on Driftmark in the aftermath of Laenor Velaryon faking his death plot and makes a comeback in House of the Dragon season 2, episode 2 “Rhaenyra the Cruel.” The shipwright Addam of Hull sees him and takes his notice. He is likely to take him to war on behalf of Queen Rhaenyra. Seasmoke and Addam meet their end in the Second Battle of Tumbleton along with Vermithor and Tessarion.
Arrax
Arrax and his rider Lucerys Velaryon bowed out at the end of House of the Dragon Season 1 when chased by Vhagar at Aemond Targaryen’s behest. Both dragons went out of control in the ensuing Fight Above the Shipbreaker Bay and Vhagar chomped down on Arrax and Luce.
Arrax was among the nimble dragons of House Targaryen. He became the first casualty of the Dance of the Dragons and his and Luce’s untimely deaths kicked off the war for the Iron Throne.
The Three Wild Dragons Of Dragonstone
The Three Wild Dragons of Dragonstone are briefly mentioned by Daemon Targaryen at Rhaenyra’s war council in House of the Dragon season 1, episode 10 “The Black Queen.” The Cannibal, Sheepstealer, and Grey Ghost are yet to make it to the screen, and mastering them is a real task, given their description in lore.
The Cannibal eats his kind, while Sheepstealer likes mutton and the Grey Ghost lives in the clouds. The Cannibal and the Grey Ghost remain riderless while Sheepstealer is tamed by a young woman named Nettles in lore. House of the Dragon has highly likely scraped out Sheepstealer’s plotline. The Cannibal and Sheepstealer survive the Dance, while Aegon II’s Sunfyre devours the Grey Ghost in lore.
The Three Targaryen Dragons On Game of Thrones
House Targaryen is in ruins at the beginning of Game of Thrones. The Mad King was deposed by the tripartite alliance of the Starks, the Arryns, and the Baratheons, and later joined by the Tullys. He was killed by his own Kingsguard – Jaime Lannister, and the only known survivors of his House are his son, Viserys, and daughter, Daenerys. The siblings are across the Narrow Sea in Pentos, and Daenerys, in particular, is given an arc. She hatches three petrified dragon eggs into dragons whom she names after her oldest deceased brother – Rhaegar, the one she grew up with – Viserys, and her deceased husband – Drogo. Game of Thrones season 1, episode 10 is aptly named “Fire and Blood,” and it shows the fresh widow, Daenerys, rising from the ashes of Drogo’s funeral pyre with nothing but three baby dragons clinging on to her. She earns the names “the Unburnt” and “the Mother of Dragons.”
The birth of Rhaegal, Viserion, and Drogon is pretty much the reason Daenerys believes she was destined to conquer the Seven Kingdoms. She restores the dragons in the skies and learns to take up the reins.
Viserion
Viserion’s death takes place beyond the Wall when Daenerys flies off with all of her dragons to rescue Jon Snow and his Wight hunting party. The cream-and-gold dragon sets fire to hundreds of Wights but the Night King hurls an ice spear at him. It strikes his throat, and he screeches.
Viserion comes crashing down and eventually becomes the Night King’s slave. He is an ice dragon by the end of this rescue mission and the Night King uses his blue flame to destroy the Wall and enter the North. Viserion, the White Walkers, and the Wights are shattered into shards of ice when Arya plunges the Valyrian steel dagger into the Night King’s chest during the Battle of Winterfell’s climactic moment.
Rhaegal
The green-and-bronze Rhaegal is Jon Snow’s mount in the Battle of Winterfell. In contrast to Viserion, he dies an untimely and meaningless death at the hands of Euron Greyjoy. Rhaegal fights in the Battle of Winterfell and thereafter accompanies a portion of her mother’s party to Dragonstone to aid in taking the Iron Throne.
Rhaegal is struck thrice by the dragon-killing Scorpion bolts and plunges into the waters below, leaving Daenerys shocked at the unfortunate turn of events.
Drogon
The dragon with red-and-black markings, Drogon, outlives his brothers in Game of Thrones. He is Daenerys Targaryen’s mount from the beginning until the very end. He is part of major Game of Thrones battles, the Liberation of Slaver’s Bay, Winterfell, and King’s Landing to name a few. Drogon spares his mother’s murderer, Jon Snow, but destroys the seat that was the root cause of it all. He melts the Iron Throne because his mother falls prey to the insatiable thirst for power.
Drogon flies away with Daenerys’ dead body towards the end of Game of Thrones and is last spotted flying east.
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