Editor’s notice: The beneath accommodates spoilers for the Season 1 finale of House of the Dragon.House of the Dragon‘s Season 1 finale was jam-packed with dragons, not all of which we have seen earlier than. Though the overwhelming visage of Vhagar was closely at play within the remaining scenes, she is not with out some severe competitors. Knowing that conflict with the Greens would require each out there dragonrider for his spouse’s trigger, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) descends into the tunnels of the Dragonmont. This huge volcano is the landmass that created the island the place Dragonstone would ultimately be constructed by the Valyrian Freehold. The immense quantity of warmth from the caverns made it a beloved nesting place of many dragons through the years, together with the bronze-scaled creature Daemon encountered inside: Vermithor, the Bronze Beast and beloved mount of the late King Jaehaerys the Conciliator (Michael Carter).
Though we noticed King Jaehaerys Targaryen himself within the opening moments of House of the Dragon‘s pilot, Vermithor was absent from these preliminary scenes. At the time of the Dance of the Dragons, Vermithor is the second-largest dragon alive behind Vhagar, and is shut to at least one hundred years previous. As such an previous creature, he is skilled a protracted lifetime of occasions and undertakings, and his presence was very important to King Jaehaerys’ reign of peace and the continued dominance of the Targaryen Dynasty. But what is that this creature’s historical past? What has he been by means of in his near-century of life? Suffice it to say, fairly a bit. Though he could not have been by means of the War of Conquest like Vhagar, Vermithor nonetheless lower his enamel a lot in his time.
The History of Vermithor Under King Jaehaerys
Much of what we all know of Vermithor comes from George R.R. Martin‘s Fire & Blood. Vermithor’s particular 12 months of start is undetermined in keeping with canonical sources, but it surely’s believed to be a while after the start of the long run King Jaehaerys, who was born 34 years after Aegon the Conquerer’s takeover of Westeros. Jaehaerys’ sister Rhaena Targaryen positioned Vermithor’s egg in his crib after his start, and the 2 had been inseparable from that second onward. The Conqueror himself would die three years after Jaehaerys was born, resulting in the reign of Jaehaerys’ father Aenys I Targaryen. While Vermithor and Jaehaerys had been each nonetheless fairly small, the Faith of the Seven rose in rebel in opposition to the Iron Throne in protest of House Targaryen’s follow of incestuous marriage. Most of Westeros stood behind the Faith, and the stress of holding the realm collectively prompted King Aenys to fall unwell and die in 42 AC (After Conquest).
The loss of life of King Aenys led Dowager Queen Visenya Targaryen to take to the skies on Vhagar to search out her son Maegor, who had served as Aenys’ Hand of the King. However, Maegor had forged apart his spouse Ceryse Hightower and married Lady Alys Harroway, which the Faith had thought of fornication and an affront to the realm. King Aenys offered Maegor with a alternative: break off his marriage to Alys or be banished. Maegor, ever the obstinate brute, selected exile whereas stating “the strictures of the Faith don’t rule the blood of the dragon.” Maegor took Alys and flew to Pentos atop Balerion the Black Dread, who Maegor had claimed after Aegon the Conquerer’s loss of life. Visenya visited her son in exile and introduced him again to Westeros, the place he instantly claimed the Iron Throne regardless of his older brother (additionally named Aegon) being the inheritor by legal guidelines of inheritance.
Maegor’s rule was considered one of tyranny, incomes him the nickname “Maegor the Cruel.” He instantly took Balerion to the skies and stomped out the rebel of the Faith with dragonfire. Maegor took many wives in defiance of the Faith, and was infamous for his brutality in direction of them in addition to the Lords of Westeros and the smallfolk. Those who voiced objections to Maegor had been usually beheaded with the Valyrian Steel sword Blackfyre, or worse, had been disposed of by Balerion. Visenya Targaryen took Jaehaerys, his sister, and his mom hostage on Dragonstone, and Maegor quickly killed his older brother Aegon in battle. Fortunately, Visenya died of pure causes on Dragonstone, and Jaehaerys and his household had been in a position to flee Dragonstone together with their dragons. In response, Maegor tortured and murdered Jaehaerys’ holder brother Viserys, making Jaehaerys the oldest dwelling inheritor to the Iron Throne, and the most important problem to Maegor’s rule.
This second of windfall would see the state of the realm lastly flip in opposition to Maegor the Cruel. Though the bloodthirsty king disinherited Jaehaerys, the Lords Paramount of Westeros had had sufficient. Jaehaerys put ahead his declare to the Iron Throne, and numerous banners flocked to his facet in an try to overthrow Maegor. War was looming in Westeros, and although Vermithor had grown huge by the point Jaehaerys claimed him as a rider, the Bronze Beast was no match for Balerion. However, conflict would by no means come to cross, as Maegor was quickly found lifeless upon the Iron Throne, skewered by means of the throat and elsewhere by the numerous blades that comprised the excessive seat. Balerion was and not using a rider, making Maegor’s suspicious loss of life the opportune time to grab King’s Landing. Jaehaerys flew atop Vermithor to the capital whereas Lord Rogar Baratheon marched his troopers in direction of town. Maegor’s few supporters fled or had been imprisoned, and Jaehaerys was anointed King of the Seven Kingdoms on the age of 14.
Jaehaerys’ Peace and the Fourth Dornish War
Much of Jaehaerys’ reign was considered one of diplomacy and compromise. He usually ventured throughout the realm to talk with varied lords on issues of state, and he and his spouse Alysanne had been beloved by the smallfolk. While some kings had sought to journey with massive hosts of troopers and retainers, Jaehaerys saved his circle small as he traveled to alleviate the burden that his procession introduced upon the Lords of Westeros. Some nervous for the protection of the younger king, to which he replied “I don’t have to ring myself about with swords as long as I experience Vermithor.” Despite being a sight of worry for some, Lords massive and small in addition to washerwomen and stableboys usually cheered on the sight of Vermithor’s bronze scales and tan wings within the sky, as they knew their beloved king was arriving. However, no reign is ideal, and Vermithor noticed his share of battle throughout his rider’s reign.
Well into Jaehaerys’ reign, in 83 AC, a self-proclaimed Dornish monarch referred to as the Vulture King started raiding the Stormlands. Though he was no true Prince of Dorne, the Vulture King nonetheless commanded lots of of brigands, robbers, and cutthroats to raze the countryside. Furthermore, Lord Borys Baratheon, who had grown disillusioned along with his brother Rogar, the Lord of Storm’s End, rode alongside the Vulture King and assisted his warriors. The Vulture King struck swiftly and silently, inflicting chaos within the Stormlands earlier than retreating into the mountains, laying ambushes for any pursuers. This was removed from the open rebel Dorne had waged in opposition to the Iron Throne in years previous, however King Jaehaerys had refused to let these acts of barbarism stand. Atop Vermithor and alongside along with his sons and their dragons, Jaehaerys flew into the mountains between Dorne and the Stormlands and burned the Vulture King’s camps to ashes. The upstart insurgent was later captured and dispatched by Lord Rogar Baratheon himself.
Vermithor’s expertise in opposition to Dorne would proceed when Prince Morion Martell tried to invade the Stormlands himself, slighted by his late father’s inaction to help the Vulture King. Prince Morion loaded his troopers into ships supplied by pirates of the Stepstones in addition to sailors from Myr. They started heading for Cape Wrath to take House Baratheon and the Iron Throne unaware. Jaehaerys took to the skies on Vermithor as soon as once more alongside along with his sons and utterly incinerated the Dornish fleet at sea. Not a single Dornishmen noticed the shores of Cape Wrath, and the battle was ended and not using a single loss for the Iron Throne, an accomplishment not even Aegon the Conqueror had completed. The “Fourth Dornish War” had taken Prince Morion virtually a 12 months to arrange for and was concluded in a single day.
Vermithor and the Dance of the Dragons
The remaining years of Jaehaerys’ reign had been peaceable however filled with household tragedy, because the Old King’s heirs perished one after the other, and his two dwelling kids had been disowned. In 101 AC, Jaehaerys referred to as a Great Council of Lords Paramount to convene on his successor, which we see within the pilot of House of the Dragon. Though there have been many claimants, it was determined that Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine) can be named inheritor to the Iron Throne. Two years later, the ailing King Jaehaerys would die in his mattress, ending an period of prosperity that lasted 55 years, and the realm mourned for his or her king. None possible mourned greater than Vermithor, who refused to take a rider after Jaehaerys’ loss of life and flew to Dragonstone, dwelling in solitude inside a lair within the Dragonmont through the reign of King Viserys.
With Viserys gone and the Dance of the Dragons at hand, Daemon Targaryen seeks to search out Vermithor a rider to help his spouse Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) declare to the Iron Throne. As the second-largest and second-oldest dwelling dragon in existence, the Bronze Beast can be an extremely invaluable asset to Rhaenyra and her supporters. No doubt that many in Westeros keep in mind Vermithor fondly and see him because the final dwelling embodiment of King Jaehaerys’ legacy, additional standing as an emblem of legitimacy for Rhaenyra. The elder bronze-scaled dragon will likely be extremely very important within the battles to return, and watchers must wait till Season 2 to see if Vermithor is prepared to take a brand new rider, and who they is likely to be.
All episodes of House of the Dragon Season 1 are actually out there to stream on HBO Max.