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Old Age
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Dragon-Killing Scorpions
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Dragon Warfare And Cannibalism
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Poisoning
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Ice spear
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Riots
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Grapnel
The Game of Thrones universe demonstrates that dragons aren’t invincible. They inspire fear, are a deterrent, and strike terror through cities and towns but do not live forever. George R. R. Martin’s works describe dragons as serpentine, flying, and fire-breathing creatures that conduce to the prosperity of the Dragonlords of Old Valyria, the might of the Freehold, and more recently, that of the ruling House Targaryen of Westeros.
Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is low fantasy and dragons are an element of it. Their creation, the aftermath of their extinction, and eventual restoration are viewed in conjunction with magic. The dragons were a strong factor behind the strength and power of Valyria’s crème de la crème – the Dragonlords and the Bloodmages. The Targaryens were able to conquer most of Westeros because they had dragons. They relied on a strong dragon deterrent, and after the death of the Last Dragon, attained a weaker position vis-à-vis the nobility. As seen in the examples below, dragons do not live forever, they stop growing and are no longer able to survive due to old age.
Old Age
Balerion Passed Away Due To Old Age
King Viserys’ mount, Balerion the Black Dread, or simply, the Black Dread, died an old dragon in 94 AC. He was the oldest and the largest of the dragon trinity on the Westerosi mainland, and one of the five originals that flew with Aenar the Exile to Dragonstone.
Born in or before 114 AC in the Valyrian Freehold, Balerion was Aegon’s mount during and after the Conquest. As explained by King Viserys Targaryen in House of the Dragon – Season 1, the Black Dread was the last living creature to have seen the Freehold before the Doom. His subsequent riders were Maegor the Cruel, Aerea, and Viserys. Balerion had become sluggish by 75 AC, when Viserys’ mother, Princess Alyssa Targaryen, visited him in the Dragonpit intending to claim him. Much to his disappointment, Viserys got to sit on the dragon’s saddle a few times and Balerion died a little less than a year ago.
Dragon-Killing Scorpions
Meraxes And Rhaegal Died By Scorpion Bolts
In the original – Game of Thrones, Cersei’s right-hand man, Qyburn, unveiled the dragon-killing Scorpions made by the finest artilleters and blacksmiths of the city, designed to counter Daenerys’ threat. Now, Scorpions have become the commonplace of the prequel – House of the Dragon Season 2, given House Targaryen has loosed adult dragons on both sides. The Dance of the Dragons fueled the manufacture of Scorpions in King’s Landing to thwart Rhaenyra’s threats, and the Dragonseed and smith, Hugh, labors day and night to produce them in greater numbers.
Scorpions are long-range weapons raised on a platform that launch bolts that can easily pierce dragons’ necks, bellies, or even eyes and brains. The Dornish brought down Rhaenys and Meraxes with a Scorpion bolt back during the First Dornish War. The Martells loaded their ships with Scorpions in lore, as do the Greens in House of the Dragon. Euron Greyjoy’s fleet killed Rhaegal using a Scorpion in Game of Thrones, while Daenerys and Drogon destroyed the ones mounted on the ramparts of the Red Keep in the Battle of King’s Landing.
Dragon Warfare And Cannibalism
The Dance Of The Dragons Is A War Between Dragons
Dragons do kill their kind, either in combat or by cannibalism, and Fire & Blood lore has examples of both. Meleys, for example, wounds Aegon’s Sunfyre at Rook’s Rest, and Vhagar Meleys by her neck. Back in House of the Dragon – Season 1, Aemond commands Vhagar to chase Lucerys and Arrax above Shipbreaker Bay. This midair chase went out of hand and neither Dragonriders had control over their dragons. The epic dance between a nimble dragon and the largest dragon in the Seven Kingdoms was proof of Viserys’ statement:
The idea that we control the dragons is an illusion. They’re a power man should never have trifled with.
More dragons will die in combat as the Dance of the Dragons progresses. Similarly, the wild dragon – the Cannibal, feeds on dead and baby dragons as well as dragon eggs.
Poisoning
The Last Dragon’s Death
In 153 AC, the frail, stunted the Last Dragon, born at a time when Rhaenyra and Daemon’s son, Aegon III, sat on the Iron Throne. Her name is not known, most likely because they were insignificant to King Aegon the Younger. He’d resented dragons after witnessing his mother getting embroiled in the war between dragons and especially after watching his half-uncle, Aegon the Elder, feed her to Sunfyre. Aegon hated the very sight of dragons, even though most of them were gone by the time he ascended the Iron Throne. Some people made up rumors that Aegon poisoned the Last Dragon, while it is likely that she failed to survive.
People henceforth recognized Aegon by the name Dragonbane because the Last Dragon’s death was a period of momentous change in the Seven Kingdoms. The Targaryens henceforth were looked upon as ordinary people, no different from the lords that they ruled over.
Ice spear
The Night King Hurled An Ice Spear At Viserion
In Game of Thrones season 7, episode 6 “Beyond the Wall,” Viserion was killed in the titular location, thanks to Daenerys’ lack of foresight. She flew beyond the Wall with all three of her dragons to rescue Jon Snow and his Wight hunting party.
While Daenerys’ dragons burned Wights by the hundreds, the Night King used Viserion’s distraction to his advantage and struck him with an ice spear. Viserion let out a loud cry and dropped into the frozen lake below. His brothers screeched in mourning and flew away. The Night King reanimated Viserion into an Undead dragon and used him as his mount in the Great War.
Riots
The Storming Of The Dragonpit Marked The End Of Five Dragons
The Storming of the Dragonpit falls in the later stages of the Dance of the Dragons, and it marked the end of the Targaryen dragons chained inside the pit. Shrykos, Morghul, Tyraxes, and Dreamfyre were killed in mob violence, sparked by the Begging Brother Shepherd.
The Shepherd’s army stormed into the Dragonpit and attacked four dragons, while Rhaenyra’s son, Joffrey Velaryon, used the Queen’s mount Syrax to fly from the Red Keep’s stable to the Dragonpit. This event occurred during the Riot’s of King’s Landing, specifically after Queen Helaena threw herself out the window in Maegor’s Holdfast. The four chained dragons fought with all their might but were slain. Dreamfyre even managed to break free but couldn’t escape the rioters. Syrax threw Joffrey off, flew to the Dragonpit, and was killed in the aftermath.
Grapnel
Vermax Was Purportedly Pulled Down By A Grapnel
Rhaenyra’s heir, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon, rode a young dragon in the Dance of the Dragons who, according to most accounts, died while flying a little too low at the Gullet. Vermax fought the Triarchy in the battle and burned its galleys one after the other until he crashed into one.
Some accounts claim the Triarchy shot a crossbow bolt at Vermax, while others say he was pulled down by a grapnel. Either way, both these accounts are believable, as Vermax was nimble, and the Gullet was his first battle.
The last two episodes of House of the Dragon air on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.
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