The House of the Dragon Season 1 finale brought a new dragon to the game, and HBO finally revealed which dragon it was in case fans were wondering. After discovering that the Greens had established Aegon II on the throne shortly after the death of King Viserys, the Blacks rally around Rhaenyra as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. As the conflict approaches, the blacks gaze upon their human and dragon friends.
We see him in an attention-grabbing scene when Daemon sings a lullaby in High Valyrian and walks towards a dragon, which was clearly not Caraxes, Daemon’s mount. However, this dragon looked much bigger and was not very familiar or related to Daemon Targaryen. Fans can easily understand that this dragon has never been shown in House of the Dragon before, and obviously the dragon will play a major role. So, let’s take a look at who this dragon was and how important it will be for the future of the series.
Vermithor, second largest dragon after Aemond Targaryen’s Vhagar
Vermithor and Daemon in House of the Dragon Season Finale
According to George RR Martin’s Fire and Blood, on which House of the Dragon is based, Vermithor, called the Bronze Fury, is almost 100 years old. Vhagar, the beast currently ridden by Aegon’s brother Aemond Targaryen for the Greens, is the single largest dragon in Westeros. But, more crucial to the episode, Vermithor is the dragon that was once ridden by the benign King Jaehaerys I Targaryen.
Vermithor is a beast, sure, but he also has the makings of a political ploy. Otto Hightower tries to persuade Rhaenyra in the finale that she would never be recognized as queen since “every symbol of legitimacy” belongs to Aegon II. Alicent’s eldest son with King Viserys bears the crown and name of Aegon the Conqueror, the Blackfyre sword and the Valyrian steel dagger of Viserys. Vermithor, in addition to donning the crown of Viserys, would be Rhaenyra’s mark of authority, especially since the dragon hasn’t taken a rider since Jaehaerys’ death.
Vermithor’s Fate According to Fire and Blood (book spoiler alert)
Depiction of Vermithor from the book Fire & Blood
Who could ride Vermithor is the question. According to Fire and Blood, such an honor will go to a blacksmith called Ser Hugh Hammer.
According to the novel, Rhaenyra’s son, Prince Jacaerys, arrives to give wealth, titles, and territories to anyone who can ride a dragon to increase the number of Dragonriders. This ties into the notion of dragon seeds, which are essentially the bastard children of the Targaryens – though that’s more complicated. Dragon seeds were once a common practice for the lord or king of a country to bed a short bride on her wedding night, sometimes leading to bastard children. It was more honored in Dragonstone since the lower folk considered the addition of Targaryen blood to their bloodlines an honor.
Vermithor’s appearance appears to foretell Ser Hugh’s entry into House of the Dragon season 2. It remains to be seen how this will all play out since showrunner Ryan Condal often alludes to the show as setting the record straight. in Fire and Blood.
