When George R. R. Martin began writing his A Song of Ice and Fire novels, he initially had no plans to include dragons until he was convinced by his friend Phyllis Eisenstein. Now, they are arguably the most iconic thing about his series, thanks to their position as mounts for the Valyrian Empire and its descendants in House Targaryen. Once HBO concluded their adaptation of Martin’s works, Game of Thrones, it was thus natural that their prequel show, House of the Dragon, would be set when House Targaryen was at its apex in terms of members and dragons, all of which came crashing down in the civil war called The Dance of the Dragons.
Dragons can grow to formidable sizes thanks to a combination of age, the ability to roam free, ample food supplies, and other factors unknown to us. As we all await Season 3 (and hope that it won’t yank our chains like Season 2 did), it’s as good a time as any to look over the mighty titans of the skies and see the accomplishments of their largest members. For this list, we will only be looking at dragons who were alive during the Dance of the Dragons, so apologies to you Drogon and Balerion fans.
10
Sunfyre
No dragon in recorded history is as beautiful as Sunfyre. This majestic golden beast was hatched from an egg given to King Aegon II Targaryen (Ty Tennant and Tom Glynn-Carney) as a child, and the two have been inseparable ever since. When the civil war broke out, Aegon changed the Targaryen dragon on his banner from red to gold, in honor of Sunfyre.
While far from the largest or oldest dragon in the Dance, Sunfyre eclipses many of the dragons on the side of the Blacks, such as Vermax and Moondancer, though he lacks combat experience. This was demonstrated during the Battle of Rook’s Rest, where he and Aegon were horribly outmatched against Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best) and her dragon, Meleys. Still, the golden dragon put up a valiant fight and even did what he could to protect Aegon when the two of them were sent plummeting to the ground.
9
Seasmoke
The Targaryens were not the only Valyrian family to survive the empire’s doom: House Velaryon and Celtigar also came from the empire, but were not dragon riders. However, the Velaryons often intermarried with the Targaryens, as was the case with Corlys Velaryion (Steve Toussaint) and Rhaenys, allowing their children to claim dragons of their own. Their son, Ser Laenor (Matthew Carver, Theo Nate, and John Macmillan), claimed Seasmoke, a swift gray dragon whom he rode into battle in the Stepstones.
Seasmoke’s size is comparable to the size of Daenerys Targaryen’s (Emilia Clarke) dragons at the end of Game of Thrones, and his time in the Stepstones has made him a deadly combatant on land or in the sky. He also demonstrates that dragons have quite a bit of say when it comes to choosing their new riders. In Seasmoke’s case, he chased down Laenor’s bastard brother, Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty), which shows that there’s more to bonding with a dragon than being of “true” Valyrian blood.
8
Syrax
Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen’s (Milly Alcock and Emma D’arcy) dragon, Syrax, is named after one of the old gods of Valyria. In her youth, Rhaenyra flew Syrax at every chance she could get, and now that she is older and has new responsibilities, her flights on Syrax have taken on more symbolic significance. Syrax also joined Rhaenyra as a mother, laying several clutches of eggs, three of which are strongly implied to be the ones eventually hatched by Daenerys.
Syrax may not have the same level of combat experience as other dragons, but her size and time spent in the air could make up for this should the time come. She has proven herself to be fearless when she has flown Rhaenyra to meet with dragons of equal or greater size, such as meeting Addam of Hull with Seasmoke, or staring down Caraxes when Rhaenyra helped pacify her uncle, Prince Daemon (Matt Smith). Combined with her and Rhaenyra’s bonds of motherhood, Syrax could be quite the potent example of a sleeping giant.
7
Meleys
Known as the Red Queen, Meleys was first claimed by Rhaenyra’s grandmother, Princess Alyssa (Emeline Lambert), until she died of complications during childbirth before Daemon was old enough to know her. Daemon later tried to claim Meleys as his dragon, but she rejected him for Rhaenys. The Red Queen was known for being quick on the wing and in sync with her rider’s thoughts, making for a deadly combination.
Meleys’ only on-screen battle sadly ended with her death, but the Red Queen more than lived up to her reputation. She delivered fierce wounds to both Sunfyre and Vhagar at Rook’s Rest, and if she’d been fighting one dragon instead of two, there’s a good chance she would have survived. Though even in death, she strikes a fierce wound against the Greens, as Ser Criston Cole’s (Fabien Frankel) attempt to use her head as a show of strength instead tells the people of King’s Landing that dragons can be killed.
6
Caraxes
For his vicious and cunning disposition shown even from a young age, Caraxes was nicknamed The Blood Wyrm and has spent decades showing why he deserves that title. He was first ridden by the eldest son of the old king Jaehaerys I Targaryen (Michael Carter), and then claimed by his nephew, Daemon. By the time of the Dance, Caraxes had accumulated a wealth of combat experience, thanks in large part to Daemon’s numerous invasions of the Stepstones.
Caraxes is the most visually striking of the dragons thanks to his elongated neck, giving him a serpentine appearance. He and Daemon are perhaps the perfect rider-dragon duo, as they’re both wild, deadly, and unpredictable, which makes for a powerful foe. Other dragons might be bigger than him, but this bond, paired with his experience at war, set Caraxes up to potentially be the deadliest dragon available to the Blacks.
5
Dreamfyre
One of the first dragons born from the Targaryens’ original three, Dreamfyre was first claimed by Aegon I’s eldest grandchild, Rhaena, who flew on her during her time in exile following the defeat of her uncle, Maegor I “The Cruel” Targaryen. She remained riderless for a time until being claimed by Queen Helaena Targaryen (Evie Allen and Phia Saban). However, Helaena only claimed her as a formality and only rides her when necessary.
Dreamfyre has decades on the likes of Syrax and Caraxes, meaning that her size alone makes her a formidable and fierce dragon. The main thing holding her back would be her rider, as Helaena has stated that she won’t ride Dreamfyre to war. Thus, it’s likely she will remain within the bowels of the Dragonpit, but should anyone be foolish enough to seek her out, they’ll meet their end in fire and blood.
4
Sheepstealer
Many dragons dwell on the volcanic island of Dragonstone, some of whom have never known riders. One of these dragons earned the name Sheepstealer due to his fondness for sheep. For some reason, the dragon has left Dragonstone and made a new lair in the Vale of Arryn and was last seen being tracked by Lady Rhaena Targaryen (Eva Ossei-Gerning and Phoebe Campbell).
It’s hard to judge Sheepstealer’s size based on his very limited appearance, but it can be assumed he is either the same size as Dreamfyre or slightly bigger due to his time in the wild. His appearance also reflects this, being more weathered and feral. Rhaena will likely claim him for Season 3, which has left fans of the books rather cross because it eliminates his real rider, a mysterious young woman named Nettles.
3
Silverwing
Another dragon from the second generation, the aptly named Silverwing, was the mount of Jaehaerys’ beloved sister-wife, Queen Alysane, and mated with Jaehaerys’ dragon, Vermithor. Alysane loved flying her during processions around the kingdom, but refused to fly north of the Wall when Alysane visited the Night’s Watch. After her death, Silverwing was left riderless until a Targaryen bastard named Ulf White (Tom Bennett), who claimed to be Alysane’s grandson by Raenyra’s paternal grandfather, stumbled into her lair.
Silverwing is a truly breathtaking creature, with her silver scales, elongated neck, and unique head shape, she looks like the fitting mount for a queen. She is another dragon that has not seen war, but given how effectively she flew with Ulf over King’s Landing, she is still quite nimble despite her age. Her meeting with Ulf showed how tender she can be towards those she likes, but her size and age mean that, when she does show her anger, it will be terrible to behold.
2
Vermithor
Called the Bronze Fury, Vermithor was hatched by King Jaehaerys among the second generation of Targaryen dragons, and by the time Jaehaerys died, he was abnormally large for his age. With the old king’s passing, Vermithor carved a lair for himself deep in the dark depths of Dragonstone, but was stirred to action by Daemon on the eve of war. When Rhaenyra brought numerous Targaryen bastards to Vermithor, he massacred and devoured almost all of them before settling on a blacksmith named Hugh (Kieran Bew).
At almost 100 years old, Vermithor is a gargantuan mass of fire, fangs, and fury. The way he moves and holds himself feels more like a living force of nature, completely unstoppable and uncaring for any pain he does, and is a phenomenal success of the CGI artists. His feast on the commoners was just him playing with his food, so one can only imagine the level of destruction he can let loose when angered.
1
Vhagar
When Aegon I and his sister-wives conquered Westeros, his elder sister, Queen Visenya, rode the smallest of the three dragons, Vhagar. By the time of the Dance, Vhagar is not only the oldest living dragon, but has also grown to the same size as Balerion the Black Dread was during the conquest. Unfortunately for everyone in Westeros, she is currently bonded to Prince Aemond Targaryen (Leo Ashton and Ewan Mitchell), who has no qualms about using Vhagar to cause as much destruction as possible.
Vhagar truly looks like a creature from an ancient world, giving her a unique and fearsome design compared to the younger dragons. Age has done nothing to stop her, and while she might not be as fast in her golden years, Vhagar has become adept at ambushing her opponents to kill them with a well-placed bite to the neck. Vhagar perfectly encapsulates everything you want to see in an ancient dragon, and while the Blacks have found riders for dragons big enough to challenge her, it’s still not a guarantee that they can kill Vhagar, and even less certain if they can do it without sacrifice.
