Editor's note: The below article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Episodes 1-6.It’s safe to say that there is much more dragon content coming from HBO. Although Game of Thrones fans had to wait until Season 5 to see Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) ride a dragon, the House of the Dragon pilot “Heirs of the Dragon” opened with a sweeping shot of one of Westeros’ winged creatures flying through King’s Landing indicating that we would be seeing our fair share of dragons and dragon riders.
House of the Dragon is set approximately two centuries before the events of Game of Thrones when House Targaryen ruled the Seven Kingdoms with an iron fist. King Viserys I (Paddy Considine) plans to pass his throne to his male heir, but when his wife dies and he is without a male heir he makes the decision to choose his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy/Milly Alcock), as his successor. A woman has never reigned on the Iron Throne and when Viserys' decision to remarry to Rhaenyra's best friend Alicent (Olivia Cooke/Emily Carey) leads to him fathering two sons, the belief of which of his children should rule comes into question.
Considering that House of the Dragon is about the family conflict within House Targaryen, there are bound to be many dragons in the series, with the showrunners promising seventeen dragons in total. Here’s a guide to all the flying beasts that we've seen so far.
Syrax
House of the Dragon opens by giving us exactly what we wanted to see: Rhaenyra riding her yellow-scaled dragon Syrax over the city as she flies to the dragon pit in King's Landing. Named after a Valyrian goddess, Syrax has been Rhaenyra’s loyal companion since she was a child, a dragon that was hatched from the egg that was placed in her crib. Based on their age, it doesn’t seem like either Rhaenyra or Syrax has seen much action yet. That is bound to change when Rhaenyra’s rule is contested.
We haven't seen Syrax show off her full combat abilities quite yet. Rhaenyra allows her dragon to cremate the bodies of both her mother and infant brother, but she finally gets to ride her with a purpose when she confronts Daemon (Matt Smith) in Dragonstone. With her there, she is able to prevent bloodshed and talk Daemon into giving the dragon egg that he stole, originally intended for Rhaenyra's younger brother, back to her.
Caraxes
Unlike his niece, Daemon has seen his fair share of bloodshed already. Knighted at a young age and given Dark Sister, his Valyrian sword, Daemon was dubbed King of the Narrow Sea for his victory at the Stepstones. Caraxes is his giant, red-scaled dragon who Daemon keeps in the Red Keep. Caraxes, first ridden by Daemon's uncle Aemon, is a slightly deformed dragon in the series. He has an unsually long neck and wings on his hind legs as well, this earned him the nickname “Blood Wyrm.”
Like his owner, Caraxes is itching for a fight. He aids Daemon as they intimidate Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) in Dragonstone. When Daemon leads the battle against the pirates in the Stepstones, he uses Caraxes to rain fire down upon Craghas Drahar's (Daniel Scott-Smith) forces.
Vhagar
Vhagar’s first appearance in the series was highly anticipated by readers of George R.R. Martin’s novels. At over a century old, Vhagar is one of the oldest and the largest dragon living at the time of House of the Dragon. Vhagar was first ridden by the Queen Visenya Targaryen, one of Aegon the Conquerer's sister wives. After her, Vhagar was ridden by Viserys' father, Baelon. After Baelon, Vhagar went for some time without being ridden, and it wasn't clear where he was.
It isn't until Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell) that Vhagar finds his third rider. She traveled to Pentos with Daemon after their marriage and the two of them showed off their dragons to the locals, who looked up in wonder. We saw Laena's tragic end in Episode 6, where, instead of suffer through the trials of an impossible labor that might leave her dead, she goes to Vhagar and demands that he kill her with his dragon fire. Fire & Blood readers will know that Vhagar was ridden one more time after this, by Alicent's son Aemond, who claimed Vhagar as his own. It's safe to say that with Vhagar's massive size – eventually growing as large as Balerion during the conquest – that this dragon is a true threat.
Balerion
“The Heirs of the Dragon” ends with a prophetic message that Viserys delivers to his daughter. Since she is now the heir to the Iron Throne, Rhaenyra must hear about the A Song of Ice and Fire prophecy that predicts a long winter and a Targaryen on the throne. This prophecy is derived from a visionary dream by their ancestor, Aegon Targaryen. Viserys and Rhaenyra stand underneath the massive skull of Aegon’s dragon, Balerion.
Aegon the Conqueror wasn’t just the Targaryen King that united the warring clans of Westeros. HIs family was the only dragon riding family from Old Valyria to survive the Doom (thanks to one of their prophetic dreamers), bringing dragons to Westeros and creating the legacy that Rhaenyra is now a part of and eventually, Daenerys will be a part of. Balerion was passed down by multiple generations of Targaryens. Maegor the Cruel rode him next, then Aerea Targaryen (whose death has to be one of the most bone-chilling deaths ever), before passing on to Aerea's cousin Viserys I, who became Balerion's last rider. By the time Balerion was passed down to Viserys, he was quite old and could no longer fly far distances. He died not long after Viserys claimed him.
Also referred to as “The Black Dread,” Balerion’s wingspan would cover an entire town. In his prime, Balerion was far larger than Game of Thrones’ Drogon or and only the fully grown Vhagar will match him in size. Balerion was the last dragon descended from Old Valyria before it was destroyed in a volcanic blast. Although Balerion has been long dead by the time of House of the Dragon, this isn’t the first time that his hulking skull has appeared on-screen. In Game of Thrones, a young Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) stumbles upon the skeleton when she explores the underground of King’s Landing.
Meleys
Also known as the “Red Queen,” Meleys is the loyal dragon of Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best). Her red body has several copper strips across it. Before Rhaenys, the Red Queen was ridden by Viserys and Daemon's mother, Alyssa, who often took both of her sons on dragonback for rides as babies, strapped to her chest. When Alyssa died, Meleys was claimed by Rhaenys. Once a contender for the Iron Throne, Rhaenys was denied her claim by the Westeros council, who chose to elect Viserys I as the next King. Rhaenys rides Meleys to King's Landing from Driftmark for her son, Laenor’s (Theo Nate), wedding ceremony in “We Light The Way.” In Fire & Blood, Meleys is described as being one of the swiftest dragons in Westeros.
Seasmoke
Like its rider, Seasmoke is a younger and more nimble dragon. Laenor rides Seasmoke alongside his mother as he prepares for his wedding to Rhaenyra. Despite their youth, Seasmoke and Laenor both gain combat experience when they save Daemon during the Battle of the Stepstones in “Second of His Name.” Seasmoke is described as a pale silver-colored dragon.
Moondancer
Although Moondancer has yet to appear in House of the Dragon, we know through the scenes of Daemon and his family in Pentos that Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia) is a dragon rider. Moondancer is Baela's dragon, and in the TV series. the dragon is born to her. In Fire & Blood, Moondancer is pale green colored. Moondancer only ever is ridden by Baela.
Vermax
Vermax is bonded to Rhaenyra's son, Jacerys (Leo Hart). We see him as a young dragon in Episode 6 where Jacaerys is learning to command him. In Fire & Blood, rumors persisted that Jacaerys was a bastard child (which is prove to be true in the show) and therefore his egg would never hatch. But, born with the blood of the dragon, Vermax's egg does indeed hatch and grows large enough to ride once Jacaerys comes of age.
Dreamfyre
Although Dreamfyre has not been claimed, we see a glimpse of her in the Dragon Pits in Episode 6. She is the dragon that Aemond approaches, who breathes fire at him. Before this, she was ridden by Rhaena Targaryen, King Jaehaerys' oldest sister. In Fire & Blood, the blue dragon eventually is claimed by Princess Helaena Targaryen (Evie Allen), the second-eldest child of Viserys and Alicent. Helaena bonds with Dreamfyre, who is said to be the mother of several other dragons. A theory persists that Dreamfyre is actually the mother to the eggs that would eventually hatch and become Drogon, Viserion, and Rhaegal.
Sunfyre
Although we don't see Sunfyre, one of the dragonkeepers mentions Aegon II's (Ty Tennant) dragon. Sunfyre is a golden dragon, and in Fire & Blood he is considered a beautiful looking dragon who breathed golden flames. Aegon will go on to ride Sunfyre into battle during the Dance of Dragons.
House of the Dragon premieres new episodes every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.