HBO
‘House of the Dragon’ will show off two of the most powerful beasts in the series, each on a different side
The Dance of Dragons will face off the beasts of both sides of the Targaryen family in the succession war for the Iron Throne
They were not the only dragon riders, but the Targaryens brought the reptiles to Westeros after the fall of Old Valyria. Since the time of Aegon The Conqueror. the first king of their dynasty — a history that will be narrated in another new spin-off—his successors reigned uninterruptedly for centuries. In ‘House of the Dragon’, the series produced by HBO, the war is between members of the same family. A battle for succession between two contenders who will do everything to sit on the Iron Throne. It is almost as if two powers launched nuclear bombs at each other, only in the ‘Game of Thrones’ universe what spreads is a wave of dragon fire. At this time there are two truly powerful dragons, but they both fought on different sides, which ones are they?
The largest and oldest dragon had died years ago. Balerion, the Black Terror, was one of the creatures that flew over Westeros on the back of Aegon I Targaryen, so it passed several generations among princes and princesses of the house. Viserys, Rhaenyra’s father, was its last rider since the reptile died sometime after he got him. His skull decorates the Throne Room, so now, after the death of the beast, Vhagar and Caraxes are the most experienced and lethal creatures in all of Westeros.
Two protagonists for the Dance of the Dragons
Caraxes was already an experienced battle dragon long before Daemon Targaryen rode him during the Dance of the Dragons. It was red, with an elongated neck, not as old as Vhagar, which was said to have been twice the size. Its first rider was Aemon Targaryen, one of the sons of King Jaehaerys I. While he was pecking some goats, the prince was surprised, his neck pierced by a ballista bolt. It wasn’t until years later that Daemon claimed him and he became Caraxes’ second rider. Married to his niece Rhaenyra Targaryen, Daemon is loyal to the queen’s cause in the war of succession.
Once, Caraxes and Vhagar had fought together on the backs of their respective riders. However, in the Dance of the Dragons conflict, they find themselves face to face, on different sides. Aemond Targaryen manages to claim it for himself and stars in one of the triggers of the war. The situation was already close to civil war when the Green faction proclaimed Aegon I king of Westeros instead of Rhaenyra, the rightful successor. With everything, the point of no return occurs when Vhagar disobeys Aemond and kills Arrax and his rider, Lucerys, son of Rhaenyra. Vhagar is the only dragon left from the time of conquest, hence its gigantic size.
The second season of ‘House of the Dragon’ will premiere on June 17 in Max and promises battles to a much larger scale than those of the first season.