Dragonrider

A dragonrider is a person whose mount is a dragon. Dragonriders could be found among the dragonlord families in the Valyrian Freehold, when the Freehold was still strong. The Targaryens were one of these dragonlord families, although far from the most powerful, and were the last known dragonriders to survive the Doom of Valyria and its aftermath.

## About

Queen Alysanne Targaryen riding her dragon Silverwing . © Green Ronin Publishing
Dragons are intelligent creatures who 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.

The dragonlords of Valyria controlled their mounts with binding spells and sorcerous horns. The Targaryen dragonriders have used commands and whips to direct their dragons. The effect of a whip on a dragon is the opposite of that of a horse: when the dragon is whipped on its right side it veers right, since a dragon's first instinct is to attack.

Dragonriders usually ride their dragons using special saddles. Chains attached to the saddle are fastened to the rider's belt, for security. However, a rider could leave their chains dangling, if they wish. A dragonrider may also ride without a saddle, their legs around the dragon's back or neck.

A person may become a dragonrider at any age, much like horses and their riders; some when they are very young, some as teenagers, some not until adulthood. To ride a dragon, a person has to bond with the dragon. Once the dragon and the rider have bonded, 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. For example, when Rhaenyra Targaryen's son Joffrey Velaryon attempted to mount her dragon Syrax, Syrax shrugged him off mid-flight, causing him to fall to his death. However, dragons are willing to accept another person upon their backs as long their own rider has also mounted. Queen Visenya Targaryen gave a ride to young Lord Ronnel Arryn upon her dragon Vhagar. A century later, Vhagar allowed Alys Rivers to ride behind her current rider, Prince Aemond Targaryen.

It is generally believed that Valyrian heritage plays a part in being able to bond with a dragon. In the Valyrian Freehold, the dragonlord families frequently married brother to sister to keep the bloodline pure, and during the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon called upon Targaryen bastards and their descendants, the so-called "dragonseeds", to try and mount one of the six riderless dragons on Dragonstone. Still, people with no known or uncertain Valyrian descent also made attempts to claim dragons during that time. Nevertheless, the possession of Valyrian blood (no matter how direct) is not a guarantee that bonding with a dragon will be successful.

At some point, it became custom among members of House Targaryen to ensure bonding with dragons by placing unhatched dragon eggs in the cradles of their children. Whilst the dragons still lived, most of these eggs hatched. Even after the death of the last dragon in 153 AC this custom continued, though none of the eggs hatched.

The lifespan of a dragon is significantly longer than the lifespan of its rider. When the rider of a dragon dies, that dragon can bond with a new rider. Dragons who have been ridden before, and thus are more accustomed to the presence of men, might be more willing to accept a new rider than wild dragons who had grown to adulthood without having ever been ridden. Only a few known dragonriders have outlived their dragons. No rider has ever ridden two dragons, but the possibility exists that they could have. When Prince Viserys Targaryen's dragon Balerion died, according to George R. R. Martin, *"[Viserys] did not take a second dragon"*, leaving the possibility that, had Viserys desired a new dragon, he could have attempted to claim one. Additionally, following the death of her dragon Syrax, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen insisted on traveling to Dragonstone to find dragon eggs, as she felt she must have another dragon. Also, after the death of his dragon Sunfyre, King Aegon II Targaryen planned to hatch a dragon egg to claim a new mount.

## Known dragonriders

Although the dragons in question were too young to be ridden, Princess Jaehaera and Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen had bonded to their dragons, Morghul and Shrykos, respectively.

## History

The first Ser Artys Arryn was said to have ridden upon a huge falcon, but Archmaester Perestan suggests that this possibly was a distorted memory of dragonriders seen from afar.

The escaped slaves who founded Braavos in a distant lagoon believed that the frequent fogs in the lagoon would help hide them from the eyes of the dragonriders flying overhead.

Most of the dragonlords, the noble dragonriding families of the Valyrian Freehold, had been at Valyria when the Doom occurred; None of them survived. Some dragonriders had been in Tyrosh and Lys at the time of the Doom, but they were killed with their dragons in the upheaval that followed. The dragonrider Aurion, who had been at Qohor, led an army to Valyria to reestablish the Valyrian Freehold, but disappeared with his army and dragon. This made the Targaryens the only dragonriders to survive, as they had relocated from the Freehold to Dragonstone near the Seven Kingdoms twelve years before.