The fourth episode of House of the Dragon, aired on Sunday (7), finally gave rise to the so-called Dance of the Dragons, one of the most surprising and bloody conflicts in the history of the fantasy land of Westeros.
As in Fire & Blood, the original book by George R.R. Martin on which the series is based, the episode features the first casualty for the Blacks, allies of Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy): the death of Rhaenys (Eve Best) and her dragon Meleys.
For those who do not know, or do not know the original story of the books, the conflict of the Dance of the Dragons was one of the most violent. In addition to the deaths of civilians and especially members of the Targaryen family, even her dragons succumbed, becoming extinct: only centuries later, in Game of Thrones, the dragon eggs were given to Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke). The House of the Dragon revealed that these eggs had been hidden by Rhaenyra herself, who had already predicted unprecedented deaths for the dynasty.
Dragons in House of the Dragon are depicted as protectors of certain members of House Targaryen, but also as powerful weapons. According to the story, they emerged during the Valyrian Empire, the only people who managed to tame the creatures, and were almost extinct after a catastrophic volcanic eruption known as the Doom of Valyria that instantly killed most of the dragons.
The last survivors flew to Dragonstone, a distant island where a noble Valyrian family, the Targaryens, lived and settled, joining House Targaryen and transforming it into a power, endowed with great strength and political power.
The surviving dragons belonged to Aegon I the Conqueror and his sisters and wives, Rhaenys and Visenya (we now know that the Targaryens have no problem with incest). They were: Balerion, Meraxes, and Vhagar.
A veteran and instrumental in establishing strength and rule at the beginning of the Targaryen dynasty, he was considered the greatest dragon in the world. He was ridden by Aegon I, then by King Maegor I (Aegon’s son), and much later by King Viserys I. Known as the Black Terror, Balerion died before the House of the Dragon began: his skull adorns a room in the castle, in the Red Keep, on an altar filled with candles.
Ridden by Rhaenys Targaryen I (sister of Aegon I the Conqueror), Meraxes was larger than Vhagar and smaller than Balerion. Like his brothers, he was used by Aegon during the War of Conquest, which left the king with six kingdoms, missing only Dorne. The battle for the kingdom led to the First Dornish War and the deaths of Meraxes and his rider, Rhaenys.
Female, Vhagar is the longest-lived dragon in Westeros. She was ridden by Visenya (sister of Aegon I the Conqueror) during the War of Conquest and survived alongside Balerion. The creature was also tamed by Lady Laena Velaryon, Prince Baelon Targaryen (son of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen and grandson of Aegon I), and Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell).
It is with Prince Aemond, at the end of the Dance of the Dragons, that Vhagar dies after fighting with Daemon and his dragon, Caraxes.
Ridden by Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), Caraxes is the second largest dragon alive at the time of House of the Dragon, as well as one of the oldest: he is the generation after Vhagar. In addition to Daemon, he was also ridden by Aemon Targaryen (his uncle).
The creature died within hours of the conflict with Vhagar, sparking the Dance of the Dragons.
Rhaenyra Targaryen’s famous golden dragon was ridden only by the heir of King Viserys I. Named after its sole owner, Syrax was not considered the largest, but was not the smallest of the Targaryen dragons either, and was one of the dragons that laid the most eggs.
The details of Syrax’s death are unclear, but it is known that Rhaenyra’s dragon died during the invasion of the Dragonpit, a popular uprising during the Dance of the Dragons.
Known as the Red Dragon (or Red Queen), Meleys was also one of the oldest dragons, as well as the fourth largest at the time. It was ridden by Princess Alyssa Targaryen during the reign of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen and later by Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (the queen who never was). A female, the dragon was one of the first losses for the Blacks during the Dance of the Dragons, as was Rhaenys.
Known as Golden, this is the dragon that accompanies Aegon II Targaryen. Young and ridden only by the king, he is considered one of the most beautiful and the sixth largest of the age. After several battles during the Dance of the Dragons, mainly with Moondancer (of Lady Baela Targaryen), the dragon becomes very weak and ends up dying at the end of the conflict. According to the story The Princess and the Queen, by George R. R. Martin, Aegon II cries when the dragon leaves.
Ridden by Prince Lucerys Velaryon (or Luke, second son of Princess Rhaenyra and her first husband, Ser Laenor Velaryon), Arrax was young and swift, but much smaller than Vhagar. Like his rider, the dragon was the first major death in House of the Dragon, sparking the Targaryen civil war. Arrax was devoured by Vhagar.
Also from the younger era, Vermax was the dragon ridden exclusively by Prince Jacaerys Velaryon, firstborn of Rhaenyra and Laenor Velaryon. They are the ones who fly to the North, at the Queen’s request, to speak with Lord Cregan Stark, at Winterfell (scene from the 4th episode of House of the Dragon).
Both Prince Jacaerys (also called Jace) and Vermax suffer during the Battle in the Ravine (a naval battle), which occurs as a result of the Dance of the Dragons. It is not entirely clear how they died, but both fell into the sea and disappeared.
Seasmoke was a pale grey dragon ridden by Ser Laenor Velaryon (son of Lord Corlys Velaryon and Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, and Rhaenyra’s first husband). Upon his death (his departure from Westeros, in the series adaptation) he was left to live wild on Dragonstone.
During the Dance of the Dragons, Addam de Casco, bastard of House Velaryon, was the only one who managed to tame Seasmoke, after being imprisoned in the Dragonpit (Rhaenyra believed him to be a traitor). The dragon died during the Second Battle of Tumbleton, in a fight with Tessarion and Vermithor.
The Bronze Fury, as he was called, Vermithor was the third largest dragon of the age, behind only Balerion and Vhagar. He was ridden by King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, grandfather of Viserys I Targaryen, father of Rhaenyra and Aegon II. He was considered one of the most fearsome and savage of all dragons.
After King Jaehaerys I, only Hugh Hammer, a bastard of a blacksmith, managed to tame Vermithor. They flew together on behalf of the Blacks and fought during the First Battle of Tumbleton. However, Hammer betrayed the queen and sided with the greens in the Second Battle of Tumbleton, where he was killed after an attack by Addam de Casco with Seasmoke on Hightower’s troops.
Even without a rider, Vermithor attacked Seasmoke and killed him in the conflict. Despite his victory, however, he also ended up dying from his wounds. Tessarion, caught in the fight, also perished.
Known as the Blue Queen for breathing blue fire, Tessarion was ridden by Daeron Targaryen (younger brother of King Aegon II). As explained in the previous paragraphs, the dragon, who at the time of the Dance of the Dragons fought on the side of the Greens, died during a clash with Vermithor and Seasmoke, in the Second Battle of Tumbleton.
Silver WingShe was the female dragon of Queen Alysanne Targaryen, sister and wife of King Jaehaerys I. She was docile and friendly and was Vermithor’s mating pair. After Alysanne, only Ulf the White, a bastard who was later knighted by Queen Rhaenyra, managed to mount her.
The knight, however, like Hugh Hammer (the tamer of Vermithor), betrayed Viserys I’s successor and also died after joining the Greens (but poisoned by a Hightower). Silver Wingwas one of four dragons still alive at the end of the Dance. She went feral after the deaths of Vermithor, Seasmoke, and Tessarion, and probably spent her final days on an island in the Red Lake: there are no details of her end.
Ridden by Princess Rhaena Targaryen, granddaughter of Aegon the Conqueror, and later by Princess Helaena Targaryen (sister and wife of Aegon II), Dreamfyre was the third largest dragon in the Dance. She died during the attack on the Dragonpit, but was the only one who could break free from her chains and, single-handedly, kill more men than the three dragons trapped with her combined.
Small but very fast, Moondancer was a young dragon ridden only by Lady Baela Targaryen. She died while she and her rider were trying to escape during the fall of Dragonstone (when Aegon II took the castle). They fight Aegon II and his dragon, Sunfyre.
Although reports state that Moondancer performed well and was much more agile than Sunfyre, she was no match for his size and weight, and died devoured by the king’s dragon (Sunfyre died days later, given the severity of his wounds).
Morning was born at the end of the Dance of the Dragons and belonged to Lady Rhaena Targaryen, daughter of Prince Daemon and Lady Laena Velaryon (she was the twin sister of Baela Targaryen). The books do not explain her end, but it is believed that the dragon died a few years after the Dance of the Dragons, shortly before the last dragon, which was mentioned as a stunted creature (as was not the case with Morning, and it was concluded that she had suffered before).
*It should be noted that all knights who were not Targaryens, but who tamed a dragon, were ‘dragonseeds’: a term used to describe bastards of Valyrian origin.
There are, of course, even more dragons that have not yet been revealed by the series, as they depend on the progression of the story. That’s just how it is. of Joffrey Velaryon, Rhaenyra’s son with her first husband, Laenor Velaryon – the creature dies in the attack on the Dragonpit – and young male dragon bonded to King Aegon III Targaryen (who ascends to the Iron Throne after the Dance of the Dragons, at age 10).
There were also dragons that were never ridden, but which the book speaks of. This is the case, for example, of Gray Ghost, AND Wild dragons never rode or claimed.
Among those dismantled there was also the dragons that belong to Princess Jaehaera Targaryen and her twin brother Jaehaerys Targaryen — Jaehaerys, eldest son and heir of King Aegon II, was mistakenly murdered at the start of the Dance of the Dragons by order of Daemon Targaryen, who had vowed revenge for the death of his son with Rhaenyra, Lucerys. Both dragons died during the civil war, after the populace attacked the Dragonpit.
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Source: Olhar Digital
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