Getting Ready for House of The Dragon : Meet The Dragons – Part 1

Ever since HBO has announced the beginning of production of House of The Dragon, fans all over the world have been on their toes. And they should be, it is the first prequel series to have received the green flag after all. With just a year left in the official release of the upcoming show, it’s time we get on the hype train. House of The Dragon shows promise, and there’s one factor it will greatly improve on Game of Thrones, that is the number of dragons. For the next few days, here at Wiki of Thrones, you’ll find information about various dragons, that might appear on the prequel series. If we missed your favourite dragon, do not worry, leave a comment below and we’ll cover your beloved beast in the next issue!

Today’s post covers the 3 dreadful beasts who were used to conquer most of Westeros. House Targaryen used Balerion, Vhagar, and Meraxes in their Wars of Conquest against the Seven Kingdoms. Let’s take a deeper dive into each of their stories.

1. Balerion :

Balerion, called the Black Dread, was ridden by King Aegon I Targaryen during the Conquest, alongside his sister Queen Visenya’s Vhagar, and his sister Queen Rhaenys’s Meraxes. His scales and wings were black. His fire was black, sometimes with swirls of red. At his full strength, his flames were powerful enough to melt steel and stone, and fuse sand into glass.

Aegon the Conqueror rides atop Balerion, as depicted by Jordi Gonzalez Escamilla in The World of Ice & Fire

Balerion was the largest of all the Targaryen dragons since Aegon’s Conquest. His wingspan was so large that his shadow could cover entire towns when he flew overhead. His teeth were as long as the longest swords, and his jaws were large enough to swallow even woolly mammoths whole. Balerion was willful, and not a beast to trifle with.

Balerion was named after an ancient god of the Valyrian Freehold. He was born in Valyria, and was one of the few survivors of the Doom of Valyria. King Aegon I Targaryen claimed Balerion sometime before he married his sisters Visenya and Rhaenys. After settling the wars in the Disputed Lands using Balerion, Aegon set his eyes to conquer the seven kingdoms. Balerion’s flames were used to take down the formidable castle of Harrenhal. His dragonfire burned so hot that the towers of Harrenhal went up like candles.

At the end of the war, Balerion helped to forge the Iron Throne by melting the swords of Aegon’s fallen enemies. Balerion died of old age in 94 AC during the reign of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, around two hundred years old. Other known riders of the dragon were King Maegor I Targaryen, Princess Aerea Targaryen and Prince Viserys Targaryen.

Balerion might appear in one of the flashback scenes on House of The Dragon.

2. Vhagar :

Vhagar was a she-dragon ridden by Queen Visenya Targaryen during Aegon’s Conquest. She was named after one of the gods of Old Valyria. The description of Vhagar’s appearance and her flames are not available in the books. However, the artist commissioned for the 2021 A Song of Ice and Fire Calendar, Sam Hogg, asked for clarification from George R. R. Martin’s team and was told Vhagar was bronze with greenish-blue highlights and bright green eyes.

Aemond and Vhagar kill Lucerys and Arrax, illustrated by Chase Stone

Tyrion Lannister once said Vhagar was large enough that one could ride a horse down her gullet. It is said that Vhagar’s breath was so hot that it could melt a knight’s armour and cook him inside.

Vhagar hatched from a dragon egg on Dragonstone during the Century of Blood. By the time of the Dance of the Dragons, Vhagar was the oldest and largest of the dragons in Westeros, almost as large as Balerion. Her roar was so powerful that it could shake the very foundations of Storm’s End. No living dragon could match her for size or ferocity.

Visenya claimed Vhagar sometime before she married her brother, Aegon. She burned the ships of the Arryn fleet during Aegon’s conquest using Vhagar’s flames. When King Aegon I died in 37 AC, Vhagar supplied the flames to light the fire of his funeral pyre. Visenya died on Dragonstone in 44 AC. Vhagar remained unridden for twenty-nine years during the reign of King Jaehaerys, until Lady Laena Velaryon claimed her. After Laena, Vhagar’s next and final rider was Aemond Targaryen. She died along with Aemond during her last fight with Caraxes, Daemon Targaryen’s dragon in 130 AC.

Vhagar will play a key role in House of The Dragon, and hence is sure to appear.

3. Meraxes :

Meraxes was a she-dragon ridden by Queen Rhaenys Targaryen during Aegon’s Conquest. The dragon was named after one of the gods of Old Valyria. Meraxes was larger than Vhagar but smaller than Balerion. She could swallow horses whole. She had golden eyes and silver scales. Meraxes was claimed by Rhaenys Targaryen sometime before she married her brother, Aegon. She was hatched from an egg around the same time as Vhagar.

Rhaenys Targaryen and Meraxes, by Alexandra Boshevska

During Aegon’s conquest, at the Battle of the Last Storm, the wind and rain forced them to stay grounded, but even on the ground Meraxes slew many. She engulfed Argilac’s vanguard and the knights of his personal guard in dragonflame.

The First Dornish War began in 4 AC. Queen Rhaenys led the first assault on Dorne, seizing Dornish seats as she approached Sunspear. On one unfortunate day In 10 AC at Hellholt, an iron bolt from a scorpion went straight through Meraxes’ eye, during the siege. She destroyed the castle’s highest tower and part of the curtain wall as she fell from the sky. It is not known whether Queen Rhaenys survived the fall, but some say she was crushed to death.

After their deaths, Visenya and Aegon burned every Dornish stronghold at least once during a two-year period known as the Dragon’s Wroth.

Meraxes might appear on House of The Dragon in one of the flashback scenes.

Which other dragons do you think should appear on House of The Dragon? Tell us which other dragons you’d like to read about in the next article segment in the comments below!

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