Targaryen Dragons

[Grievous]

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS (from tWoIAF, tPatQ, tRP and GoT) !!!

I'm re-posting (originally from here) some of my notes on the dragons, based on what information we have. The dragon in the lists below are in rough, guestimated seniority order.

Originally, the Targaryens had five dragons when they came to Dragonstone. Four died, leaving only Balerion, but two more eggs hatched.

Balerion, Black Dread, black coloring, ridden by Aegon I, Maegor I and Viserys I, died in 94.

Meraxes, she-dragon, ridden by Rhaenys and died at Hellholt in 10 AC.

Vhagar, ridden by Visenya, Laena and Aemond, hatched in -51 AC and died in 130 AC (181 years old).

Quicksilver, ridden by Aenys I and Aegon (Aenys' son). Died in 43 AC in Battle Beneath Gods Eye.

Vermithor, Bronze Fury, bronze coloring, male, ridden by Jaeharys I and Hugh the Hammer, unridden in between. During the Dance, of all the dragons in Westeros, only Vhagar was older and larger. Died in 130 AC, at Tumbleton.

Dreamfyre, she-dragon, ridden by Rhaena (Jaeharys I's sister) and Helaena. Died in the Dragonpit during the Dance.

Silverwing, ridden by Alysanne and Ulf the White. No specific mention of being unridden in between like Vermithor. Death unknown.

When Jaeharys and Alysanne visited the North, they came with 6 dragons, indicating that there at least that many. This probably included Balerion, Vhagar, Vermithor, Dreamfyre and Silverwing, but we're left guessing. This list suggests the last would Meleys, but it could very well be an unknown dragon.

Meleys, Red Queen, red coloring, she-dragon, ridden by Rhaenys, no stranger to battle. Died in 129 AC, at Rook's Rest.

Caraxes, ridden by Daemon. Died in 130 AC, at God's Eye.

Seasmoke, silver-grey coloring, ridden by Laenor Velaryon and Addam of Hull. Died in 130 AC, at Tumbleton.

Syrax, yellow coloring, she dragon, ridden by Rhaenyra. Died in the Dragonpit during the Dance.

Sunfyre, the Golden, golden coloring, male, ridden by Aegon II. Died in 130 AC, at Dragonstone.

Tessarion, Blue Queen, cobalt/copper coloring, she-dragon, ridden by Daeron. Died in 130 AC, at Tumbleton.

Vermax, male, ridden by Jacaerys Velaryon, possibly from a clutch by Syrax. Died in 130 AC, at the Gullet.

Arrax, ridden by Lucerys Velaryon, possibly from a clutch by Syrax. Died in 129 AC, at Storm's End.

Tyraxes, ridden by Joffrey Velaryon, possibly from a clutch by Syrax. Died in the Dragonpit during the Dance.

Moondancer, pale green coloring with pearl crest/horns, she-dragon, mount of Baela Velaryon, only soon to be large enough to bear her, possibly from a clutch by Syrax. Died in 130 AC, at Dragonstone.

Stormcloud, mount of Aegon the Younger, not yet ridden. Died in 129, at Dragonstone.

Morghul, bound to Jaehara, but never ridden, a fledgeling. Died in the Dragonpit during the Dance.

Shrykos, she-dragon, bound to Jaeharys, but never ridden, a fledgeling. Died in the Dragonpit during the Dance.

Next, I'm listing the wild dragons in a separate list, but in assumed age order between them.

Cannibal, black coloring, never claimed nor ridden by any man. Death unknown.

Sheepstealer, mud brown coloring, ridden by Nettles, vicious and ill-tempered. Born when Jaeharys I was young. Fate unknown.

Grey Ghost, never claimed nor ridden by any man, notably shy. Died in 130 AC, at Dragonstone.

So, all in all 23 known historical Targaryen dragons. Then there's Daenyrys' dragons in the current era.

Drogon, black coloring

Rhaegal, green/bronze coloring

Viserion, pale cream coloring with gold crest/horns

Lastly, I'd like to look at the few Targaryens without known dragons and my speculation for which dragons they could have ridden:

The sons of Jaeharys I, Aemon (died in 92 AC) and Baelon (died in 101 AC):

- most likely Balerion and Vhagar, or even Dreamfyre, but could also be Meleys or maybe Caraxes, or an entirely unknown dragon.

- Aemon is the eldest son of Jaeharys and thus it might seem logical that he rode the oldest and/or most powerful dragon available. The oldest would be Balerion, but Vhagar also seems a possibility.

- If Viserys took over the reins of Balerion after Aemon's death, he would have been 15 at the time.

- Laena (a grandchild of Aemon) was born a one year after Aemon's death and rode Vhagar.

- It is unlikely either Aemon or Baelon rode Meleys. Aemon died in 92 AC, while Rhaenys was born in 74 AC. This would make her 18 when she would have tamed Meleys if the dragon had been ridden by Aemon, which is quite old. She would be older still if Meleys was ridden by Baelon.

- Daemon was born in 81 AC and rode Caraxes. He was 11 when Aemon was out of the picture and 20 when Baelon died. It does seem likely Caraxes was only ridden by Daemon, however.

There's a few more Targaryens who could've ridden or been destined for dragons that we don't know much about, such as Jaeharys' and Alysanne's sisters and Rhaenyra's two older brothers (though the latter died in their infancy, so they would not have ridden any, but their eggs might perhaps have gone on to others).

Also, we have to account for the one reputed unmentioned dragon in tPatQ. It could be a whole new dragon, either previously ridden by someone on the list above or a newly hatched one. Alternatively, it could be one of the older dragons, just not mentioned in the story.

Anyway, I'd love comments and analysis.

[Nictarion]

You forgot Sheepstealer, the Grey Ghost, and the Cannibal.

And Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion.

[PrimeRhaegar]

and we don't know the names of the other 4 that came with balerion from valyria.

[Grievous]

You forgot Sheepstealer, the Grey Ghost, and the Cannibal.

And Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion.

Ack yes, I added the rest of them in!

[Fire Eater]

Quicksilver was ridden by Aenys not Aerys. I believe Caraxes was red given his nickname "The Blood Wyrm."

[Lady Beyond the Wall]

Should it be posted which ones are alive at the end of TPatQ, or is that strictly for the spoiler thread?

[Rhaenys_Targaryen]

I guess it can be added when and how a dragon dies... Either just mention that the post contains spoilers, or put it under spoiler tags.

[Grievous]

Further edits done and with that, a few thoughts. I'm not sure which of the pair Caraxes or Syrax is older (or I guess they could be from the same clutch). Also, I'm wondering if the number of dragons actually matches somehow with the number of Targaryens (don't know how bastards would fit in). Doesn't seem to be far from that, however. The coloring probably follows some pattern which might help understand who descends from whom.

[TheCrannogDweller]

Further edits done and with that, a few thoughts. I'm not sure which of the pair Caraxes or Syrax is older (or I guess they could be from the same clutch). Also, I'm wondering if the number of dragons actually matches somehow with the number of Targaryens (don't know how bastards would fit in). Doesn't seem to be far from that, however. The coloring probably follows some pattern which might help understand who descends from whom.

Caraxes should be older, because Daemon is older than Rhaenyra and "Syrax was the queen’s dragon. She had never known another rider."

[fireicemaiden]

There is also mention of Urraxes on the Citadel site: http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/FAQ/Entry/Which_are_the_dragons_that_have_been_named%C2'>

[Lost Melnibonean]

Very nice, Grievous.

[History of Westeros]

This is very well done. Let's see if we can group them by generations.

Here's a stab from memory, some of these will be wrong out of the gate:

Gen 1 - Before the Doom

Balerion

4 others, all died before conquest

Gen 2 - Pre-Conquest

Meraxes

Vhagar

Gen 3 - Aenys/Maegor

Quicksilver

?

From "Sons of the Dragon, we know none of the other dragons were worthy of Maegor except Balerion. The "other" dragons at this point are entirely unknown unless one of the Gen 4/5 dragons belongs here. So we probably need one or two more here.

Gen 4 - Jaehaerys/Alysanne/Rhaena

Vermithor

Silverwing

(Cannibal)

Dreamfyre

Gen 5 - Aemon/Baelon

(Sheepstealer?)

Gen 6 - Viserys/Rhaenys/Daemon/Laenor

Caraxes - Likely older as descriptions make him seem much older than Seasmoke, but younger than Vermithor. mid-late Gen 4 maybe?

Meleys - Likely older as well for same reasons, and should be older than Caraxes. Gen 3 maybe?

Seasmoke

Tessarion - described as similar in age to Seasmoke, so perhaps she belongs here. Could be younger.

Gen 7 - Rhaenyra

Syrax

Gen 8 - Aegon II/Jacaerys/Lucerys/Baela

Sunfyre (kinda Gen 7.5)

Vermax

Arrax

Gen 9 - Joffrey/J-twins/Aegon III

Tyraxes

Stormcloud

Morghul

Shrykos

Some of these generations are a bit arbitrary, it might work better if we try to actually estimate the ages, but this will help to frame things.

[History of Westeros]

I'm thinking Meraxes was born before Vhagar because Meraxes' skull is bigger than Vhagar's, and Vhagar lived like 110 years past Meraxes' death. Perhaps Meraxes was just a bigger dragon in general, but 110 is a huge gap so I think we should be assuming that Meraxes was born towards the beginning the the Targaryen era on Dragonstone.

So that would mean Meraxes was ridden before Rhaenys, perhaps more than once, but Visenya could've been the first to ride Vhagar.

Since Visenya was born before Aegon, that would mean the sequence probably went something like this:

- Meraxes born, ridden by ?

- Visenya born, given egg, hatches Vhagar.

- Balerion's rider dies (probably Aegon's father Daemon, possibly his grandfather Aerys or one of Daemon's older brothers. Any number of unnamed women are possible too, I think)

- Aegon is born and eventually bonds with Balerion.

- Meraxes' rider dies (this could easily happen before either of the last two events, as Aegon would still choose Balerion over Meraxes if both were available). Can't think of a way to accurately guess who this rider is.

- Rhaenys is born and eventually bonds with Meraxes.

- Conquest, etc

[Grievous]

Yeah, good point about the note from Sons of the Dragon. Maegor bonded with Balerion after Aegon died in 37 AC because none of the other dragons were worthy of him. The phrasing of Maegor's choice to wait suggests there were more around, so possibly already Vermithor, Silverwing and/or Cannibal from those we know in addition to the already ridden Quicksilver and Vhagar.

In fact, Vermithor is pretty sure to be already alive (if the list is at all correct regarding the ages), but he was likely to be already taken by Jaeharys (and young). Let's say Jaeharys was around 75 when he died, so he would have been born around 28 (making him 14 when Maegor took the throne). Alysanne and Silverwing are probably not far behind.

Because those two were taken this also feels like a good place to insert a possible as of yet unknown dragon who would be old enough to be possibly chosen by Maegor (who might turn out to be the mount of Targaryens down the line, such as Viserys I). That way Maegor would actually reject, instead of just not getting dibs.

I get the vibe Cannibal might be Balerion's get. Well, they're both black (and badass). Is he one of the ones Maegor rejected, or is he born during his era? I think either would be fitting. I'm still left wondering if the dragons match up with Targaryens somehow.

Hadn't really thought about pre-Aegon riders for the original trio, hmm.

[Stannis Eats No Peaches]

Great post, thanks. I do find it odd that Meraxes was larger than Vhagar, though, as HoW says above, Vhagar outlived Meraxes by about 100 years.

[TheCrannogDweller]

I'm thinking Meraxes was born before Vhagar because Meraxes' skull is bigger than Vhagar's...

There seems to be some inconsistency about their sizes here. From TPATQ:

Vhagar, the greatest of the Targaryen dragons since the passing of Balerion the Black Dread, had counted one hundred eighty-one years upon the earth.

Or does that comparison not take Meraxes into account because she died before Balerion?

I agree about the age relation though. The wiki says that at the time of the conquest, Meraxes was bigger than Vhagar and smaller than Balerion. That seems to indicate that age-wise she was also between the two.

[Stannis Eats No Peaches]

There seems to be some inconsistency about their sizes here. From TPATQ:

Or does that comparison not take Meraxes into account because she died before Balerion?

I agree about the age relation though. The wiki says that at the time of the conquest, Meraxes was bigger than Vhagar and smaller than Balerion. That seems to indicate that age-wise she was also between the two.

Tyrion notes that Meraxes' skull is bigger than Vhagar's. Paraphrasing, "...you could have ridden a horse down Vhagar's throat, though you would not have ridden out again. Meraxes was larger still..."

[TheCrannogDweller]

Tyrion notes that Meraxes' skull is bigger than Vhagar's. Paraphrasing, "...you could have ridden a horse down Vhagar's throat, though you would not have ridden out again. Meraxes was larger still..."

That's really weird.

Meraxes couldn't have been more than 112 years old during the Conquest, because we know she was born on Dragonstone.

Rhaenyra seems to have been killed in Dorne, along with Meraxes. Assuming that this happened before her son's death in 42 (when according to the wiki she would've been around 70 years old), that means that Meraxes had a lifespan of around 160 years. And that's being generous.

Vhagar died at 181.

Ah, well, I guess age isn't the only thing that determines a dragon's size.

[Stannis Eats No Peaches]

That's really weird.

Meraxes couldn't have been more than 112 years old during the Conquest, because we know she was born on Dragonstone.

Rhaenyra seems to have been killed in Dorne, along with Meraxes. Assuming that this happened before her son's death in 42 (when according to the wiki she would've been around 70 years old), that means that Meraxes had a lifespan of around 160 years. And that's being generous.

Vhagar died at 181.

Ah, well, I guess age isn't the only thing that determines a dragon's size.

Perhaps Vhagar spent more time in the dragon pit, which slowed his growth?

[History of Westeros]

That's really weird.

Meraxes couldn't have been more than 112 years old during the Conquest, because we know she was born on Dragonstone.

Rhaenyra seems to have been killed in Dorne, along with Meraxes. Assuming that this happened before her son's death in 42 (when according to the wiki she would've been around 70 years old), that means that Meraxes had a lifespan of around 160 years. And that's being generous.

Vhagar died at 181.

Ah, well, I guess age isn't the only thing that determines a dragon's size.

I forgot that Vhagar was exactly 181, so we know that Visenya was probably not her first rider, because Visenya was supposedly born 29 years before the Conquest, making her 22 years younger than Vhagar. Visenya probably didn't try to ride Vhagar until she was... 10-12? That puts Vhagar at ~33 years old.

So Vhagar was either wild or more likely ridden by someone of her father Aerion's generation. Aerion himself is possible.

Meraxes could be no more than ~50 years older than Vhagar, it seems. I like SENP's regarding the Dragonpit accounting for the extra difference along with the idea that Meraxes was also quite big.