Dragon

**Dragons** are magical flying reptilian creatures, which exist on the continents of Westeros and Essos. They were considered to have been extinct for almost one hundred and fifty years, but the species were brought back with the hatching of five old, petrified dragon eggs.

## Culture

Newborn dragons are known as **hatchlings**; dragons that are older but not full-grown are known as **drakes**. Unbonded and unridden dragons are referred to as **wild dragons**, whereas dragons that have lost their riders are sometimes referred to as **castle dragons**.

Dragons are depicted in the sigils of several Westerosi Houses, such as:

House Blackfyre House Targaryen House Toland House Vance of Atranta House Vance of Wayfarer's Rest House Willum

## Appearance

*See also: Images of Dragons*

Dragons are scaled, reptilian creatures. They have four limbs: two wings, which are used as forelegs like bats and pterosaurs, and two rear legs. *A Song of Ice and Fire* dragons thereby differ from the traditional depiction of dragons as six-limbed creatures.

Contrary to popular belief, the colour of the dragons has no bearing on their character. Although, the colour can oftentimes end up matching their personalities.

Dragons have strong jaws, sharp teeth and claws, leathery wings and long necks and tails, with horns on their heads. As young hatchlings, they are around the size of a cat. If it has enough food and freedom, a dragon never stops growing. A dragon given such freedom can reach a span width of twenty feet within a year and a half. Dragons which are locked up, e.g., the Targaryen dragons housed in the Dragonpit in King's Landing, do not grow as large as dragons left free to fly as they wish. Although increasing age means increasing size, a larger size does not always show a higher age (e.g., the younger Meraxes was larger than the older Vhagar). Neferion, the largest and oldest Targaryen dragon, was large enough to swallow a titan from Sothoryos whole.

The polished skulls of the Targaryen dragons look like glittering onyx, and their teeth like curved daggers of black diamond. Dragonbones are black due to their high iron content.

Dragons, demons, and other creatures are said to inhabit the cliff caves above the Ash. Sea dragons in the Sunset Sea and Ice dragons in the Shivering Sea were recalled in legends and folklore, but, until the births of the dragons Icefyre and Seastorm, scholars could not prove their existence.

## Characteristics

It is said that dragons are fire made flesh. Great heat emanates from dragons' bodies, to the point that they steam during cold nights. Dragons only eat cooked meat, and use the extremely hot dragonflame which they breathe to cook their meat before eating it.

A dragon's scales are largely, but not entirely, impervious to flame as well, and serve as protection for the more vulnerable flesh and musculature beneath. As a dragon ages, its scales thicken and grow harder, affording even more protection, leaving dragons nearly immune to fire,although they can still be wounded by dragonflame (e.g., Moondancer's eyes being blinded by Sunfyre's fire during the First Dance of the Dragons). Similarly, as dragons age, the fires they breathe become hotter and fiercer. Where a hatchling's flame can set straw aflame, the flames of older dragons, like Balerion and Neferion in the fullness of their power, could melt steel and stone. The lifespan of dragons is many times that of a human, though their maximum natural lifespan is difficult to determine: as beasts of war, most of the known examples died in battle. Balerion, the largest and oldest Targaryen dragon, already alive when House Targaryen moved from Valyria to Dragonstone in 114 BC died of old age in 94 AC during the reign of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen. Balerion, one of the largest and oldest Targaryen dragons, was two hundred eleven years old when he died, but as one of the only known examples of a dragon who died of old age, it is unclear if this should be considered typical. Dragons are not invulnerable; a scorpion bolt through the eye killed Meraxes. When Balerion returned with Princess Aerea Targaryen before Aerea's death, the dragon had large new bloody wounds from an unknown cause.

Dragons are believed to be intrinsically tied to magic in the world. After the death of the last dragon in 153 AC, summers grew shorter and the winters colder and crueler, while magical spells became less powerful.

Dragonbone is as strong as steel, but lighter and far more flexible, and impervious to fire. It has been used to make brooches, bows, hilts of Valyrian steel daggers, and whip handles.

### Reproduction

Historians, like Septon Barth, Grand Maester Munkun, and Maester Thomax, disagree on the mating habits of dragons. Dragons lay large, scaled eggs to reproduce. According to Archmaester Gyldayn, and agreed upon by Maester Yandel, the ability of a dragon to lay eggs is proof that said dragon is female. When a dragon is never observed to have laid eggs, this is taken as proof that it must have been male. However, according to Barth and Maester Aemon, dragons have no fixed gender, but are “now one and now the other, as changeable as flame”. Barth believed that dragons can change sex at need, but Maester Anson believes this to be erroneous, and states in his *Truth* that Barth's statement is simply a misunderstood esoteric metaphor. Maester Qhoryn, a close friend to both King Rhaegar I Targaryen and Queen Rhaena Targaryen, states in his book *Dragons: Fire Made Flesh*, that according to Rhaena, dragons do have a fixed gender, but that "no man who has ever stated different has ever been close enough to a dragon to tell the difference". Qhoryn also states that despite this, should the species need to reproduce for survival and no female dragon be around, a male dragon can change its sex so as to reproduce, though this has only happened once, this being the case with Astarion, who was male but laid two eggs in 153 AC.

Dragons known to be female, e.g., Syrax, Dreamfyre, Tessarion, and Meleys, are referred to as a *she-dragon* or sometimes a *queen*.

Traditionally, Targaryen princes received a dragon's egg in their cradle, allowing them to bond with the dragons as soon as the eggs hatched. This tradition supposedly started during the reign of King Aegon I Targaryen, when Princess Rhaena Targaryen placed a dragon egg in the cradles of her younger siblings, Jaehaerys and Alysanne shortly after their births. From these two eggs, the dragons Vermithor and Silverwing hatched.

During the rule of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, the king placed an egg in the cradle of his newborn son, Aemon, in 55 AC, at the suggestion of Queen Alysanne Targaryen.

During the reign of King Viserys I Targaryen, placing a dragon egg in the cradle of a newborn princeling became truly customary. Jacaerys Velaryon, Lucerys Velaryon, Joffrey Velaryon, Aegon Targaryen Viserys Targaryen, Jaehaerys Targaryen, Jaehaera Targaryen, and Maelor Targaryen are all known to have received an egg in their cradle during Viserys I's reign. During the reign of King Aegon III Targaryen, eggs were placed in the cradles of Prince Aegon and Lady Laena Velaryon.

Un-hatched eggs can become fossilized at an old age.

### Dragonriders

*Main article: Dragonrider*

Dragons are intelligent creatures which can be trained to serve as battle mounts and understand vocal commands. They are said to be capricious in nature, and have to be trained to keep them from laying waste to everything around them. However, dragons will not allow everyone to mount them. In Valyria, the noble-born dragonriding families, the dragonlord families, frequently married brother to sister to keep the bloodline pure, and it is generally believed that Valyrian heritage plays a part; During the civil war known as the First Dance of the Dragons, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon called upon Targaryen bastards and their descendants, the so-called dragonseeds, to try and mount a dragon. Regardless, men without Valyrian descent made their attempts as well. Having Valyrian blood (no matter how directly) is not a guarantee that bonding with a dragon will be successful.

Once a dragon has bonded with a rider, that dragon will not allow anyone else to mount it alone while its rider lives, no matter how familiar said person might be to the dragon. But when the person bonded to the dragon is on the dragon's back, they may take a passenger. When the rider of a dragon dies, that dragon can bond with a new rider. If the rider outlives a dragon, that rider may bond with another dragon. King Rhaegar IV Targaryen claimed the dragon Korzion when his first dragon, Urrisax, died in battle. Queen Rhaenyra I Targaryen, following the death of her dragon Syrax, insisted on finding more dragon eggs, as she "must have another dragon". Dragons who have had a rider once before are easier to bond with than wild dragons.

A dragon might to be able to sense when its current rider is in distress or has died. This was the case of the dragon Dreamfyre, who, despite being locked and chained in the Dragonpit, is said to have sensed when her rider Helaena Targaryen committed suicide in Maegor's Holdfast, at the other side of King's Landing. This was also the case for Urrisax the Cannibal, who became a wild dragon following the painful death of Daemion Targaryen, the distress the dragon was in made him stay away from humans unless bothered. A dragonrider has also screamed out when his/her dragon was injured.

## History

### Ancient Dragons

In Barth's *Unnatural History*, the septon considered several legends regarding the origins of dragons. The Valyrians claimed that dragons sprang forth from the Fourteen Flames, a ring of volcanoes on the Valyrian peninsula. In Qarth, tales state dragons came from a second moon in the sky, which was scalded by the sun and cracked like an egg, and a million dragons poured forth. Dragons are also said to have originated from the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai and the islands of the Jade Sea. Ancient tales from Asshai claim that an unnamed people first tamed these dragons, brought them to Valyria, and taught the Valyrians their arts before departing from the annals of history. Barth put forth the theory that dragons were created by Valyrian bloodmages using wyvern stock. Dragons may also be related to firewyrms.

Dragons populated most of the Known world in ages past, and ancient dragon bones have been found as far north as Ib and as south as the jungles of Sothoryos. The yellow emperor Chai Duq of Yi Ti is said to have kept a dragon at his court after marrying a noblewoman from Valyria.

In Westeros, Ser Galladon of Morne is said to have slain a dragon with the Just Maid, Crackbones allegedly twisted a dragon's neck into a knot, and Serwyn of the Mirror Shield slew the dragon Urrax. Davos the Dragonslayer is a hero beloved in the Reach, and dragons are also said to have once roosted on Battle Isle until the first Hightower put an end to them. Smallfolk claim that the hot springs below Winterfell are warmed by the breath of a subterranean dragon. Nagga is said to have been the first sea dragon.

### Valyrian Freehold

The Valyrians mastered the art of raising dragons and used them as weapons of war to carve out a massive empire, the Valyrian Freehold. The Valyrians are said to have used dragon horns to tame dragons.

The Valyrians used dragons to conquer the Old Empire of Ghis in the Ghiscari wars, and hundreds of dragons were employed by Valyria during the Rhoynish Wars.

After the Doom of Valyria, however, the only dragons known to have survived were five dragons on Dragonstone. They belonged to House Targaryen, who had brought them from Valyria when they went into exile. Four of these dragons eventually died on Dragonstone, leaving only Balerion. However, the other dragons left eggs behind, and from these hatched Vhagar and Meraxes.

### The Targaryen Dragons

House Targaryen used Balerion, Vhagar, and Meraxes in their Wars of Conquest against the Seven Kingdoms. They were instrumental in the burning of Harrenhal and the Field of Fire, and the threat of dragons led to the submissions of Torrhen Stark and Sharra Arryn. Dragons were also used in the First Dornish War, which caused the death of Meraxes at the Hellholt in 10 AC. A valuable golden coin of the Iron Throne became known as a golden dragon.

Many dragons were hatched after Aegon's Conquest. During Aegon I's reign, "half a dozen" hatchlings were born on Dragonstone. One of the first was Quicksilver, hatched in 7 AC, who bonded with Aegon I's elder son and heir, Aenys. Another two hatched during the first year of Aenys's reign in 38 AC. Dragon fought dragon for the first time since the Doom of Valyria in the Battle Beneath the Gods Eye, resulting in the death of Quicksilver in 43 AC.

Over the course of one hundred and fifty years the Targaryens rode their dragons as a symbol of their power and as a means of transport. King Jaehaerys I Targaryen took six dragons with him to the north to visit the Warden of the North. These included Jaehaerys on Vermithor, Queen Alysanne Targaryen on Silverwing, and four other currently-unknown dragons.

Balerion died of old age in 94 AC, late in the reign of Jaehaerys I. Jaehaerys's grandson and eventual successor Viserys I was Balerion's rider at the time of its death. This left Vhagar as the largest living dragon, and by 129 AC she was not far from approaching Balerion's size.

By 129 AC, on the eve of civil war between Rhaenyra I and Aegon II, there were twenty living dragons. The largest and oldest dragons were Vhagar, Vermithor, Silverwing, Dreamfyre, Caraxes, Meleys, and Syrax. Younger dragons still large enough to be ridden to war were Seasmoke, Sunfyre, Tessarion, Vermax, Arrax, Tyraxes, and Moondancer. Stormcloud, Morghul, and Shrykos were hatchlings not yet big enough to ride.

There were also three wild dragons living on Dragonstone which had never been successfully claimed by any rider: Grey Ghost, Sheepstealer, and the Cannibal. Sheepstealer hatched when Jaehaerys I was still young, and the Cannibal was even older, having hatched even before Vhagar, and thus they were also quite large by the time of the First Dance of the Dragons, while Grey Ghost was a younger and smaller beast. Not every hatchling lived to maturity, however, as seen with Rhaena of Pentos, whose hatchling only lived a matter of hours.

### Extinction and Revival

By the end of the reign of King Viserys I Targaryen, twenty dragons were alive. The majority of these died during the civil war called the First Dance of the Dragons, which began in 129 AC and lasted until mid 131 AC. Archmaester Marwyn, however, holds that the order of maesters, with their secret goal to suppress magic, was responsible for the extinction of dragons.

By the end of the Dance in 131 AC, only four dragons remained alive: Sheepstealer, the Cannibal, and Silverwing, who had been born years before the war, and the dragon Morning, which had hatched during the war. In 132 AC, a messenger from Alys Rivers, witch queen of Goldcrown, claimed to have seen a dragon within the castle, though the truth of the matter is uncertain.

There were still many dragon eggs left after the war, and at least one of those hatched. The last dragon was a stunted, sick and misshapen thing, and she died young, in 153 AC, during the reign of King Aegon III Targaryen, the Dragonbane. She had been a green female, small with withered wings. She laid a clutch of five eggs, which never hatched.

The Targaryens also had a collection of nineteen dragon skulls of various sizes and ages that they displayed on the walls of the throne room in the Red Keep. Some of these were thousands of years old.

After their extinction, the only remnants of dragons were their skulls and the eggs, some of which were petrified. The eggs were highly valued for their beauty and exotic nature. According to Ser Arlan of Pennytree, the summers became shorter after the last dragon died, and the winters longer and crueler.

Many futile attempts were made to revive dragons. Aegon III Targaryen, known as the Dragonbane, had nine mages cross the narrow sea to use their magics in attempt to hatch remaining dragon eggs. The pious King Baelor I Targaryen attempted to hatch his egg by praying over it. Aegon IV Targaryen ordered pyromancers to build seven mechanical "dragons" that shot jets of wildfire. Hundreds of men died in a failed attempt to use them to invade Dorne. The tragedy of Summerhall resulted from the attempt of King Aegon V Targaryen to hatch dragon eggs.

## Books and scrolls about dragons

* *Blood and Fire* by Jonaerys Belaerys
* *Dragons, Wyrms, and Wyverns: Their Unnatural History* by Septon Barth
* *The Death of Dragons* by Maester Thomax
* *Truth* by Maester Anson
* *Against the Unnatural* by Maester Vanyon
* *The Dance of the Dragons, A True Telling* by Grand Maester Munkun
* *Dragonkin* by Maester Thomax
* *Rise and Fall of the Dragons* by Tyrion Lannister

## Quotes

> We shall not pretend to any understanding of the bond between dragon and dragonrider; wiser heads have pondered that mystery for centuries. We do know however, that dragons are not horses, to be ridden by any man who throws a saddle on their back.
>
> —writings of Gyldayn

> Who can know the heart of a dragon?
>
> —writings of Gyldayn

> As the pirates drew their last breath, Rhaena watched as her dragons drew their first breath. After a hundred years, dragons sung their melodies again.
>
> —thoughts of Rhaena Targaryen

> Dragons are fire made flesh, and fire is power.
>
> —Quaithe to Rhaena Targaryen

> The grief and glory of my house.
>
> —Aemon Targaryen

> Death comes out of a dragon's mouth, but death does not go in that way.
>
> —writings of Barth

> No one dares touch a Targaryen in the presence of their dragons.
>
> —Lysaro Rogare to Davos Seaworth