Dragon

## Dragons

"*Her dragon burned a thousand wagon; Qyburn's scorpion fired bolts bigger than you, they couldn't stop it; and she has* three *of them. This isn't a war we can win.*"
―Jamie Lannister to Cersei Lannister[src]
**Dragons** were semi-sentient magical creatures and reptiles native to Valyria. However, after the Doom of Valyria, the only dragons remaining were those brought to Westeros by House Targaryen. Dragons were large, flying, and fire-breathing reptiles that served as the personal mounts and companions of the dragonlord families, as well as weapons of war.

Dragons were said to be fire made flesh and are closely related to the magic of the world. The magic of the world was strongest when dragons were alive, winters were shorter and summers longer. Some maesters feared that, were the dragons to ever go extinct, winters might become harsher and crueler.

## Biology and appearance

Dragons were scaled, flying, and serpentine reptilian creatures of magical origin. They had four limbs: two wings, which could function as forelimbs (like bats or pterosaurs), and two rear legs. Dragons had strong jaws, sharp teeth and claws, leathery wings, and long necks and tails. They also had horns on their heads and webbed frills down their spine.

Newborn dragons hatched and were about the size of a house cat, but they grew quickly and, if given enough food and open space to roam, would not stop growing for as long as they lived. Dragons with such freedom could reach a size and wingspan of twenty feet within a year and a half. However, dragons who were sequestered and locked up often stopped growing and were unable to reach their full size. However, age did not correlate to size. A younger dragon could easily surpass the size of an older dragon.

The bones of a dragon were like glittering onyx (a mixture of black and white) and their teeth resembled black diamonds. This black coloration to their skeletal system was likely due to high iron content. The scales of a dragon were mostly impervious to flames and acted like a powerful armor, able to reflect arrows, but venerable (in some places) to spears. However, dragons scales thickened with age, giving them heavier protection against such weapons and making them practically invulnerable to fire other than dragon fire. The bodies of dragons emanated great heat, causing them to produce steam from their bodies on cold nights.

Dragons were highly intelligent creatures. They could understand spoken commands and could, with training, become mounts capable of being used for transportation and battle. They were, however, capricious and needed to be trained to prevent them from laying waste to everything around them. Dragons had to bond with their riders, and it was believed that one needed the blood of one of the dragonlord families of Valyria to bond with a dragon. Once bonded, a dragon would not allow another rider to bond with it until its rider died, and no rider ever sat two dragons, especially not a dragon belonging to another rider.

### Reproduction

The mechanics of dragon reproduction remain a mystery, even to those who breed them. Even maesters disputed how exactly dragons mate. Some argued that dragons who lay eggs were female, while others argued that dragons had no fixed biological sex, rather they were "as changeable as flame."

Regardless, dragons laid scaled eggs the color of the dragon within. They hatched near sources of extreme heat, such as the volcano found on Dragonstone. However, some would fail to hatch and turn to stone. Fossilized dragon eggs could hatch through the use of blood magic.

## Dragons in the world

Dragons were extinct in Essos following the Doom of Valyria. The remaining dragon population existed in Westeros, living primarily on the island of Dragonstone, as well as in King's Landing, where they served as mounts for some members of House Targaryen.

Dragon bone—which was strong as steel but lighter, more flexible, and impervious to fire—was often made into brooches, bows, the hilts of Valyrian steel daggers, and whip handles. Likewise, fossilized dragon eggs were worth more than rubies and could be sold for vast amounts of money.

## Trivia

* The dragons of *A Song of Ice and Fire* more closely resemble wyverns. Real world mythological dragons, particularly European dragons, have six limbs: two wings, two forelegs, and two rear legs. George R. R. Martin decided on this depiction because no animals in nature evolved with the traits of a typical European dragon (i.e., six limbs) and he wanted something more plausible.

## Sources

* *A Game of Thrones*
* *A Clash of Kings*
* *A Storm of Swords*
* *A Feast for Crows*
* *A Dance with Dragons*
* *Fire and Blood*
* *The World of Ice and Fire*

## Notes and references

**Notes:**

1. ↑ Balerion's size is never definitively given. However, Drogon at the end of Season 7 is stated to have the wingspan of about two orcas put together. Overall, he is about the size of a Boeing 747.

**References:**

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *The Rogue Prince, or, a King's Brother*, by George R. R. Martin
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 *A Clash of Kings*, by George R. R. Martin
3. ↑ George R. R. Martin: Awards, Awards (July 15th, 2016) Comment July 15, 2016
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 COMIC-CON (NEW YORK CITY, NY; FEBRUARY 23-25), George R. R. Martin
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 *The Princess and the Queen, or, the Blacks and the Greens*, by George R. R. Martin
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 *A Dance with Dragons*, By George R. R. Martin
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 *Game of Thrones* television show depiction
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 *A Storm of Swords*, by George R. R. Martin
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 *A Game of Thrones*, by George R. R. Martin
10. ↑ Interview with the Dragon
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 *The World of Ice and Fire*, by George R. R. Martin
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 *A Feast for Crows*, by George R. R. Martin
13. ↑ *Fire and Blood*, by George R. R. Martin