Dragons



Dragons are creatures that once existed on the continents of Westeros and Essos, but until recently were considered to have been extinct for over a century and a half.

The only remaining trace of the dragons were the stones which were reported to have once been dragon eggs, though these claims were questionable, and the skulls of the great Targaryen dragons which are stored in the vaults below the Red Keep of King's Landing.

However, Daenerys Targaryen succeeded in hatching three of these stone dragon eggs using "fire and blood", meaning that there are now three dragons in the world once again.

Season 1
In the ﻿series the dragon species is established as having been extinct for many years. The only thing left of the race are petrified dragon eggs, which are used as decoration, and the bones which are used for weapon crafting. According to one legend, dragons originated from a second moon that hatched when it drifted too close to the sun. This is mostly dismissed as a simple myth.

They remain the sigil of House Targaryen, who were known to have a special affinity with the creatures. Even a Targaryen like Daenerys who knows nothing of her true heritage feels a connection with the relics of the ancient animals. She appears to feel a connection with the eggs; causing her to develop a curiosity about the race and the possibility that there may still be living dragons.

Daenerys Targaryen is given three petrified dragon eggs as a gift for her wedding to Khal Drogo. The three eggs are black, green and yellow and are initially in poor condition; covered in grime and looking more like stones than egg-like.

Daenerys has started caring for the eggs and they have become more rich in color. She also keeps them in a chest surrounded with lit candles, day and night and is drawn to them.

Arya stumbles upon the massive skull of one of the Targaryen dragons while chasing a cat in the vaults. She hides in the mouth of the skull and overhears the plotting of Ilyrio and Varys. Daenerys continues to experiment with her eggs. She briefly places one of the eggs into a fire pit in an attempt to hatch it, but the egg remains unhatched. She removes the egg from the fire with her bare hands, but remains unhurt.

Daenerys Targaryen places the eggs on the funeral pyre of her husband after smothering him with a pillow. She also straps the witch Mirri Maz Duur to the pyre. She then lights the pyre, and walks into it, with all her followers believing her to be dead. In the morning however, she is found with three dragons, a white-peach colored dragon by her feet, a green one in her arms, and a black dragon clinging on her shoulder that later screeches and flaps its wings.

Season 2
Daenerys tries unsuccessfully to feed her dragons meat. She is unclear what she is doing wrong. Later, in Qarth, she realises that they will only eat cooked meat. She coaxes them into recognising the Valyrian command, "Dracarys," to breath fire, so they can cook their own food.

The dragons are later stolen by the warlocks of Qarth and hidden in the House of the Undying. The warlocks and Xaro Xhoan Daxos carry out a coup to seize control of the city in the wake of the theft. Pyat Pree invites Daenerys to come to the House of the Undying and be reunited with her 'babies'.

Description
The Dragons of Westeros and Essos are Wyverns as seen so far. The have long serpentine bodies, with two short legs and large bat-like wings. Dragons have long necks, withs horns running down there neck and backs all the way there tails. They have medium sized jaws, and are born with teeth. Their heads have long horns on its back and sides of its jaws. A dragons' skin and wing colors vary from dragon to dragon, thus far, three different color patterns have been seen:

1. Black with red highlights

2. Green with bronze highlights

3. Cream with gold highlights

Dragons are born about the size of a small cat, and grow thoughout their entire lives. It is currently unknow how long before they reach maturity, or become adults. Dragons diet consists thus far entirely of meat, which must be cooked before eaten. Even from a young age, dragons can breath fire a considerable distance, Daenerys's dragons could all spit fire several metters far countinously to burn a tagert, for this reason, even baby dragons are extremely dangerous. Dragon fire is said to be much hotter than regular fire, and can easily melt steel and even stone. Dragons can fly, although it is not yet know at which age they first begin or if they need guidance to acomplish this.

Dragons can be tamed, Aegon the Conqueror managed to tame three dragons and mount them, although it is unknow if the process to tame them still exists due to thier long absence. Dragons can be taught vocal commands as well, even at a young age, Daenerys taught her dragons the command to spit fire with the word 'Drackariss' meaning dragonfire in High Valyrian. Dragons also are capable of developing a close bond with humans who raise them.

Known historical dragons

 * Balerion, the Black Dread, the largest dragon known, was more than 200 years old when he died. Aegon the Conqueror's steed during the War of Conquest. Allegedly the Iron Throne was forged in his breath. His skull is stored in the Red Keep.
 * Meraxes, the dragon of Aegon I's sister-wife Rhaenys. His skull is stored in the Red Keep.
 * Vhagar, the dragon of Aegon I's sister-wife Visenya. His skull is stored in the Red Keep.
 * Silverwing, the dragon of Queen Alysanne Targaryen, the sister-wife of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen. Alysanne rode Silverwing to Winterfell on a royal visit and, on a whim, then flew him all the way to the Wall to visit the Night's Watch.
 * Vermithrax, mentioned by Viserys Targaryen as the name of one of the dragons whose skull is stored in the Red Keep.
 * Ghiscar, mentioned by Viserys Targaryen as the name of one of the dragons whose skull is stored in the Red Keep. Apparently named after the Ghiscar region.
 * Valrion - mentioned by Viserys Targaryen as the name of one of the dragons whose skull is stored in the Red Keep.
 * Esovius - mentioned by Viserys Targaryen as the name of one of the dragons whose skull is stored in the Red Keep.
 * Archonae - mentioned by Viserys Targaryen as the name of one of the dragons whose skull is stored in the Red Keep.

Daenerys Targaryen's dragons

 * Drogon - Black with red highlights. Larger than its brothers.
 * Rhaegal - Green with bronze highlights.
 * Viserion - Creamy white, with gold highlights.

In the books
In the Song of Ice and Fire novels, dragons are described as four-limbed creatures (two legs and two wings with foreclaws). They are native to the continent of Essos, and were found in significant numbers some five thousand years ago on the Valyrian Peninsula. The people of Valyria tamed the dragons and used them as steeds and weapons of war. Using dragons they forged a vast empire spanning most of the continent until the event known as the Doom destroyed the empire and eliminated most of the dragons. The only dragons known to have survived were the three dragons belonging to House Targaryen, which used them to conquer the Seven Kingdoms.

The Targaryens kept their dragons in Westeros for approximately 130 years. The most Targaryen dragons that ever lived seems to have been nineteen, given that this is the number of dragon skulls stored by the Targaryens in the Red Keep (barring the possibility that one's skeleton was never recovered). They probably weren't all alive at the same time. Most of them were killed in the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of Dragons, which occurred 130 years after the Targaryen Conquest and 170 years before Robert's Rebellion. Balerion and presumably the other two original Targaryen dragons died before the Dance of Dragons. The few surviving dragons were weak and sickly, with the last dragon (a stunted creature not much bigger than a large dog) dying during the reign of King Aegon III Targaryen, the Dragonbane. The last dragons left behind several eggs, which never hatched. These eggs were later destroyed or lost to the vagaries of history. As a result, dragons are now considered to be extinct.

According to Valyrian records, dragons hatch small, about the size of an average dog, but grow larger and larger as their appetites expand. A dragon never stops growing as long as it remains fed. Dragons could live to be over 200 years old, and it is said that Balerion the Black Dread, one of Aegon I's dragons, was so huge by the time he died he could swallow an aurochs whole. Dragons could breathe fire and were ferociously strong. However, they were also vulnerable to sustained arrow fire from the ground, to poison and to attacks from other dragons. While extremely powerful, they were not outright invincible, and given their rarity and the large expense in rearing them Aegon was reluctant to commit all of his dragons to a single battle, for fear that they might be overwhelmed through greater numbers and killed. Thus, Aegon took a calculated risk when he fielded all three of his dragons for the first and only time at the climactic Field of Fire, the battle which secured his conquest. The art of taming and commanding dragons enough to ride is almost unknown aside from a few exceedingly rare books.

Dragons, like certain species of lizards, can shift gender and have no fixed sex: they can shift back and forth as the needs of the species require for reproduction. However, they are usually referred to as male.

In the books Daenerys eggs are one of the few remaining testaments to the dragon race and are gifted to her has a wedding present from Illyrio. Despite being told the eggs are petrified Daenerys claims to be able to feel heat coming from the eggs. She also has dreams of a large black dragon (Its coloring matching one of her eggs) attempting to communicate with her, and when her dragons are born, she is closest to Black Dragon hatchling. Daenerys has three Dragon babies, a green dragon, a white one, and a black one. She names the green one Rhaegal, after her brother Rhaegar. she names the white one Viserion, after her other brother Viserys, and she names the most aggresive and largest of her dragons, the black one, Drogon, in memory of her dead Husband.