House of the Dragon

Warning : contain SPOILERS forHouse of the Dragon season 2 , episode 7,and George R. R. Martin ’s bookFire & Blood .

Summary

Rhaenyra ’s programme to turn Targaryen bastards and people who may not have wooden-headed Valyrian blood into dragonriders inHouse of the Dragonraises the interrogative of whether only Targaryens can lay claim flying dragon . House of the Dragon , which is base onGeorge R.R. Martin’sFire & Blood , takes plaza at theheight of House Targaryen ’s power . The power and influence of the “ House of the Dragon ” would never be the same after the Dance of Dragons , though , during whichthe Targaryen beasts were forced to fight amongst themselves as Rhaenyra and Aegon II battled for the throne .

Although both Rhaenyra and the Green Council avoided bringing the dragons into the war as much as potential , the difference of opinion escalated following Luke ’s death and the Battle at Rook ’s Rest . Once the first ofTeam Black ’s dragonsfell from the sky , Rhaenyra understood she was going to have to use all power from Dragonstone . The problem , however , is thatTeam Black did not have enough riders for all their uncommitted Dragon . Rhaenyra ’s quest to find new dragonriders tie into a largerGame of Thronesmystery regarding whether the Valyrian blood is truly special .

Game of Thrones ended , but audiences regress to Westeros for House of the Dragon - and HBO has even more Game of Thrones spinoffs in developing .

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Targaryens Being The Only Dragonriders Dates Back To Old Valyria

The Targaryens Were The Only Dragonlords Who Survived The Doom

Before there was an Iron Throne , the great tycoon in the known Earth was locate in the Valyrian Freehold . The city of Valyria was the center of this superpower , with this unofficial kingdom covering most of Essos . Beforethe Doom of Valyria , which is reference several time inGame of Thrones , the Valyrian Freehold was a reference in art , war , sailplaning , and more . It is undecipherable how many conventional theatre there were in this realm before the Doom , but the most potent and influential of them were the ones consisting of dragonriders . They were bonk as dragonlords .

allot toFire & Blood , which is an in - universe history book with limited information regarding the ancient history of Essos , the only known dragonlords from old Valyrian were the Targaryens , the Balaerys , and one human called Aurion . It is also unclear how these family and somebody were capable to bind with dragons . democratic theories include the use of roue magic , which would run to the perception that only those of a sure blood can become dragonriders . The fact that the Targaryens were dragonlords does not have in mind that they were the most significant family of Old Valyria .

Around a C after the Doom , Aegon Targaryen and his Sister would ride their dragons to Westeros and capture the continent .

Addam of Hull, Rhaenyra Targaryen, and Hugh Hammer from House of the Dragon

Custom image by Simone Ashmoore

However , Targaryens were the only dragonlords that live the Doom of Valyria , most likely because they were able to base themselves in Dragonstone . Around a century after the Doom , Aegon Targaryen and his sister would hinge upon their dragons to Westeros and conquer the continent . House Velaryon was one of the families from Old Valyrian , although they were not dragonlords . That said , Targaryens conjoin Velaryons plenty of times , resulting in several Velaryon dragonriders . As the gravid power in the globe after the Doom , House Targaryen ’s dragonsbecame the symbolic representation of their metier .

Dragonseeds Explained: How Non-Highborn Targaryens Can Ride Dragons

All Dragonseeds Most Likely Did Have Valyrian Blood

To mount a dragon , it is thought that one must have the blood of Old Valyrian dragonriders flow through them . House Targaryen ruled Westeros as the family with this seemingly extra origin , but after years of intermarry with other families , let in the Velaryons , that is no longer the case . This ever - expanding family Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is the basis for Jace and Rhaenyra ’s plan of search beyond their close congener when search for new dragonriders . Enter the dragonseeds , which end up being a group of allegedly Targaryen illegitimate child who rise to the function and claimed the remain dragons from Dragonstone .

" Dragonseed " In Fire & Blood

Claimed Dragon

Closeup of Kit Harington as Jon Snow in Game of Thrones

Custom image by Simon Gallagher

Hugh Hammer

Vermithor

Ulf White

Rhaenyra standing in front of Vermithor in House of the Dragon with Targaryen sigil next to it

Custom image by Simon Gallagher

Silverwing

Addam of Hull

Seasmoke

Headshot Of Matt Smith In The UK premiere of Sky series ‘House of the Dragon’

Nettles

Sheepstealer

The men and women who succeed in claiming Dragon despite being non - highborn Targaryens are later known as dragonseeds . These are bastards whose ancestry is not known but are believed to descend from House Targaryen or House Velaryon . Rhaenyra ’s dragonseeds architectural plan was a mansion of her despair . She was willing to ignore the message of blood line superiority the Targaryens had used to exclaim and offer a dragon to any person capable to mount one . With Vhagar ’s passenger Aemond opinion as Aegon II ’s trustee , the Greens had a monumental advantage considering thatmost of Team Black ’s dragons were not being put to use .

House of the Dragon

Nettles ' role inFire & Bloodappears to have been given to Rhaena inHouse of the Dragonseason 2 .

InHouse of the Dragonseason 2 , instalment 7 , Rhaenyra realizes that Jace ’s idea is not as preposterous as it sounds . Although Jace was technically only touch on to high - stick out Godhead and lady who had even the slight suggestion of Valyrian blood in their mineral vein , the fact that Addam of Hull claim Seasmoke led Rhaenyra to conclude that even bastards could accomplish such a exploit . It is important to notice that Rhaenyra was not aware of Addam of Hull ’s true blood – Addam and Alyn are Corlys Velaryon ’s bastards . Ulf and Hugh , both Targaryen bastard from King ’s Landing , also claimed dragons .

Is Valyrian Blood Really Necessary To Ride A Dragon?

The Dragons Are Part Of House Targaryen’s Supremacy Rhetoric

There are no known illustration in eitherFire & BloodorA Song of Ice and Fireof dragonriders whose bloodline does not trace back to Old Valyria in some way or contour . That said , this is far from a verification that Valyrian descent is necessary to sit a dragon . The Targaryens have used this sensing as a means of enhance their supremacy , particularly in Westeros . They are the House of the Dragon , and the fact that they can bond with such magnificent creatures should argue that they are closer to the gods than anyone else .

George R. R. Martin recently confirmed that his futureASOIAFbooks , includingFire & BloodVol . 2 , will reveal more about the connector between dragons and some men .

Rhaenyra ’s opening line of merchandise inHouse of the Dragonseason 1 , sequence 1 summarizes why the firedrake are so of import to the Targaryens in Westeros – they cause people to perceive their rules as more than regular men . Still , there is no concrete evidence that bring together with a firedrake relates to Valyrian blood . It is not even clear how blood illusion works inA Song of Ice and Fire . One of the reasons why George R.R. Martin ’s creation is so interesting is that the rules of the magic organization and the potential existence of multiple gods are left open for interpretation .

Game of Thrones

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Cast

Taking billet about 172 years before the events ofGame of Thrones , House of the Dragontells the narrative of the rise of the Targaryens , the only sept of dragonlords to live the Doom of Valyria . The popular HBO spinoff show first starred Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower before they were replace by Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke , who play the aged translation of the fictional character . Also starring in the series is Matt Smith ( Prince Daemon Targaryen ) and Paddy Considine as Rhaenyra ’s founding father , King Viserys Targaryen .