Everything we know about Sunfyre in House of the Dragon

House of the Dragon Season 2 will give us the debut of the most beautiful dragon during the Dance of the Dragons. The dragon in question is Sunfyre the Golden, the mount of King Aegon II Targaryen. Sunfyre was conspicuously absent from Season 1 except for a few brief shots. He will arrive with a bang early on in Season 2, participating in a major battle. Here is everything we know about Sunfyre the Golden.

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Who is Sunfyre the Golden?

Credits: Lucian Tumani

Sunfyre was a fairly young dragon and the mount of King Aegon II Targaryen. He had gleaming gold scales that glistened like beaten gold when touched by sunlight. His wings were a pale shade of pink, and even the flames he breathed had a dazzling golden hue.

His egg hatched in Dragonstone sometime before the birth of Tessarion, Prince Daeron’s dragon. Still a young boy, Prince Aegon bonded with the hatchling dragon during this era.

The historian Archmaester Gyldayn described Sunfyre as the most beautiful dragon in the world. When the Dance of the Dragons began, King Aegon changed his sigil from red to golden, reflecting Sunfyre’s radiant coloring.

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During The Battle of Rook’s Rest

Credits: Jordi Gonzalez Escamilla

The Battle of Rook’s Rest was the first significant battle in which Sunfyre participated. Ser Criston Cole led Princess Rhaenys and her dragon Meleys into a trap. As Rhaenys and Meleys attacked Ser Criston’s troops with dragonfire, Aegon and Aemond ambushed them, riding on Sunfyre and Vhagar.

The three dragons fought a deadly battle a thousand feet in the air. Meleys managed to bite down on Sunfyre’s neck, but Vhagar flew into them, causing all three dragons to crash into the ground. Vhagar alone managed to survive unscathed.

Meleys, however, died from the impact. Sunfyre survived but at the cost of having one of his wings half torn from his body. Aegon suffered heavy injuries as well and was transported to King’s Landing to recover.

Sunfyre remained at Rook’s Rest because he could no longer fly. He was too heavy to move by any other means, so Ser Criston appointed men to guard him while he recuperated.

Sunfyre began to feed on the burned carcasses of soldiers on the battlefield. Once he devoured them all, Cole’s men fed him with calves and sheep.

During this time, the Lord of Maidenpool, Walys Mooton, attacked Rook’s Rest in an attempt to take the castle for the Blacks. After taking the castle from King Aegon II’s forces, he led his bravest men to slay Sunfyre.

The soldiers only enraged Sunfyre, who fought them with his tail and flames. In the process, he killed a large majority of the attackers, including Lord Mooton himself.

Within a fortnight of the attack, Sunfyre managed to escape from the castle. Though his wing had healed at an awkward angle, he had recovered enough to be able to fly again.

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During the Fall of King’s Landing

Credits: RudolfHima

During the fall of King’s Landing, King Aegon II escaped the capital and hid in a remote fishing village on the isle of Dragonstone. According to various sources, Sunfyre hid in the woods of Crackclaw Point before flying towards Dragonstone.

Archmaester Gyldayn theorized that Sunfyre had a primal instinct to return to his birthplace or that he had the urge to rejoin King Aegon. Others claimed that Sunfyre could feel Aegon II’s urgent need for him and responded accordingly.

King Aegon received reports from sailors on the ship Nessaria of two dragons fighting, one of whom had golden scales.

The partially devoured corpse of the wild dragon Grey Ghost was found near the Dragonmont, an active volcano on the island of Dragonstone. The castellan of Dragonstone, Ser Robert Quince, assumed that the wild dragon known as the Cannibal killed Grey Ghost.

Intrigued by the mention of golden scales, King Aegon sent a search party to investigate. The party found Sunfyre in a hidden lair on Dragonmont.

After reuniting, King Aegon flew on Sunfyre daily, slowly regaining strength. Meanwhile, his allies sought supporters to take the castle of Dragonstone back from Rhaenyra.

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During the Fall of Dragonstone

Credits: Constantine Sekeris

The Greens managed to take the castle back in a battle called The Fall of Dragonstone. However, Lady Baela Targaryen avoided capture and reached her dragon, Moondancer.

As King Aegon flew to the castle on a still-injured Sunfyre, Baela and Moondancer attacked the two. Being much smaller and faster than Sunfyre, Moondancer managed to attack Sunfyre’s injured wing.

However, Sunfyre blinded the younger dragon with a blast of his golden flames. The two dragons crashed into the ground, where Sunfyre killed Moondancer.

King Aegon broke both his legs in the tussle, but the Greens captured Lady Baela and took her prisoner. Sunfyre lost an eye and sustained wounds all over his body, losing the ability to fly completely.

He devoured Moondancer’s body and remained in the yard where he had fallen, later feeding on slaughtered sheep. Aegon had Rhaenyra’s Grand Maester, Gerardys, strangled and disemboweled, feeding his legs and innards to Sunfyre.

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Sunfyre’s Death and Legacy

Credits: Lucian Tumani

When King Aegon captured Rhaenyra at Dragonstone, some accounts say that she laughed when she saw the crippled Sunfyre. When a dagger pricked Rhaenyra, the smell of her blood roused Sunfyre.

Sunfyre then blasted Rhaenyra with his flames and closed his jaws on her arm and shoulder. He devoured her entire body in six bites, only leaving her left leg below the shin.

King Aegon hoped that Sunfyre would recover from his wounds, but instead, the dragon grew weaker and passed away. In sorrow and anger, King Aegon called for Baela’s execution, as her dragon Moondancer had caused Sunfyre’s death.

Others convinced him to spare Baela’s life. When King Aegon went to King’s Landing to rule, he called for dragon eggs from Dragonstone, hoping to hatch “a new Sunfyre, prouder and fiercer than the last.” Unfortunately, he was not able to hatch any of them.

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