People’s fascination with Game of Thrones is constantly influenced by dragons. One of its best features is how the legendary beast is portrayed, and any battle involving dragons is one that no one wants to miss.
Numerous dragons of all sizes are featured in House of the Dragon, including the enormous Vhagar and the little Vermax in the pivotal battle that concludes Season 1. At the beginning of the series, the latter is the largest and oldest dragon in Westeros; however, Balerion, the Black Dread, was formerly a larger and longer-living dragon.
Although we only see his deteriorating skull after he has passed away in both episodes, this dragon was so significant that the Seven Kingdoms’ history is entwined with his own.
Balerion was transformed into the Black Dread by Aegon the Conqueror and Maegor the Cruel.
The War of Conquest is the start of the Seven Kingdoms’ history as a single entity. Aegon the Conqueror rode Balerion with his sister-wives, Rhaenys, who rode Meraxes, and Visenya, who rode Vhagar, according to a well-known story found in A Song of Ice and Fire.
Together, they overthrew and united the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, establishing House Targaryen’s dominion, symbolized by their three dragons. This was the period when Balerion gained the moniker “the Black Dread,” owing to his formidable strength and black scales.
At the Battle of the Field of Fire, his and Aegon’s plans were in charge of defeating Harrenhal and removing House Gardener from power in the Reach. Furthermore, Torrhen Stark, the final King of the North before the Conquest, bowed to House Targaryen because of Balerion’s threat.
Following the unification and peace of the Seven Kingdoms, Aegon used the swords of his foes to create the Iron Throne, which was melted and fused by Balerion’s powerful dragonfire. When Rhaenys and Meraxes were slain in the First Dornish War, Aegon would also ride Balerion into battle.
Following the death of Aegon the Conqueror, Aenys I, his successor, succeeded to the Iron Throne. However, through a cunning plot by Visenya, Prince Maegor, her son with Aegon, assumed the throne instead of Aenys I.
Despite his aggressive and vicious nature, Maegor had not claimed any dragons, believing them all to be unworthy of him. Rather, he was drawn to Balerion, which he managed to seize. Maegor’s despotic rule was enforced by Balerion, who terrorized and destroyed the Seven Kingdoms.
Maegor and Balerion together brutally put a stop to several uprisings, ranging from the Vale of Arryn’s declaration of independence during Aenys I’s reign to the Faith Militant’s revolt while Maegor was already in power.
Maegor had multiple wives and was polyamorous, yet he had no heirs, which diminished his claim to the Iron Throne. Prince Aegon, the heir to Aenys I, who was dubbed “the Uncrowned” after having his kingship taken from him, posed the biggest threat.
At the Battle Beneath God’s Eye, he and his dragon Quicksilver engaged Maegor and Balerion, giving Maegor greater space to impose his despotic rule over the kingdom. He gradually lost influence as people in Westeros grew tired of him, and one morning he was discovered dead, seated on the Iron Throne.
