Great Dragon

Biodata

Power Progression

Great Dragons develop through growth, training, magical nourishment, and bloodline evolution. The documented changes below concern individual dragons or groups rather than a single species-wide advancement 241 267 540.

Origins and History

Valyrian Origins

House Targaryen’s books describe the first Great Dragons as creations of Blood Magic, produced by fusing a volcanic Fire-Breathing Insect with a Wyvern. Quicksilver’s insectlike, streamlined anatomy is suggested as a possible reason for his unusually abundant dragonfire 6.

Danyla later experiences a different origin image in a dream: crystals pierce shepherds, whose bodies develop wings and reptilian eyes before the first Great Dragon roars amid the Fourteen Flames. A voice declares that dragons were “stolen with blood and fire.” The passage presents this as a dream revelation, not an independently verified account 438.

An account of Valyria’s rise states that its earliest adult dragons struggled to grow beyond fifteen or twenty meters. Conquest brought new techniques and magical traditions, while repeated blood magic and sacrificial arts strengthened dragon bloodlines and widened the power differences between dragonlord houses 449.

Targaryen Expansion

House Targaryen traditionally places a dragon egg in each newborn child’s cradle, although hatching is not guaranteed. Danyla’s own pinkish-white cradle egg remains unhatched despite daily warming 1.

Under Danyla’s care, previously confined dragons recover their health and resume rapid growth. By the flight toward Oldtown, the four dragons she rescued from the Dragonpit have regained normal health 108.

The population continues expanding through new hatchings and unusual bloodlines. Twenty-five Great Dragons eventually break free of their riders’ control and fly toward Old Valyria. By 127, the remaining Targaryen population reaches 119, while four ancient eggs from Asshai remain unhatched 516 539.

Appearance and Biology

Physical Variation

• Conventional anatomy: Scaled bodies, membranous wings, horns, claws, and long tails; the number of wing digits varies with bloodline 1 258 498.
• Size: Hatchlings can be less than a meter long, while exceptionally developed adults exceed 150 meters 258 551.
• Coloration: Recorded colors include black, blue, red, bronze, gold, green, gray-white, and pink-purple, often with contrasting wings or metallic markings 164 302 499.
• Combat-oriented builds: Dreamfyre, Seasmoke, and Little Balerion have wolfish heads and enormous horns. Aposos has especially tough scales, powerful claws, and extensive body spikes 34 164 251.
• Specialized anatomy: Quicksilver has an unusually long neck; Himolos has an oversized head and teeth; Cannibal has an underbite with exposed tusks; Ragnax has tail blades capable of piercing dragon scales 6 164 456 499.
• Exceptional forms: The dragon resembling Yinglong has four legs and two pairs of flame-feather wings, unlike conventional Great Dragons 524.

Growth, Healing, and Aging

• Continued growth: Great Dragons can keep growing as long as they remain alive, although food supply, bloodline, confinement, and surrounding magic affect the rate 241 267 427.
• Increasing appetite: Larger dragons require more food. Adults often sleep to conserve energy when food is scarce, slowing their growth 267.
• Powerful healing: Injuries can heal with tougher, thicker scales. Seasmoke’s damaged wings and scales recover in roughly half a month with abundant livestock to eat 156 241.
• Aging symptoms: Old Vhagar develops loose skin and shedding scales. Regular dragonstone forging slows her decline and helps restore muscle firmness 302.
• Bloodline rejuvenation: Heart of Winter energy firms Dreamfyre’s body and strengthens her teeth, claws, and horns; later evolution leaves her without visible signs of age 302 540.

Diet and Reproduction

• Diet: Great Dragons eat livestock, fish, large marine animals, magical beasts, and sometimes humans 24 34 122 202 267.
• Food preparation: Roasted prey is common, but they also consume raw, energy-rich creatures. Rafa notably eats a sea monster raw during the Stepstones battle 286 459.
• Cannibalism: Cannibal eats young dragons and dragon eggs 15 156.
• Egg care varies: Saewan describes parental care as uncommon, but Amoros actively incubates and raises her offspring, while Sheepstealer incubates five gray-white eggs 156 302 569.
• Incubation varies: Lann Lyon’s and Ityla’s eggs take nine years to hatch. Danyla suggests that longer incubation may indicate greater potential 539.

Behavior and Intelligence

Great Dragons are highly intelligent, but their temperaments differ markedly. Grey Ghost is cautious and timid, Syrax is naturally gentle, and Cannibal is cunning and vicious. Danyla’s sustained training makes Dreamfyre more tolerant of nonhostile people and other dragons 22 23 164.

They form a natural hierarchy through flight, roaring, and fighting. Dreamfyre holds the highest position among Danyla’s dragons and eats first when Danyla is absent. Territorial dragons defend their lairs, sometimes using cave echoes to make their warning roars sound more intimidating 38 110.

Their bonds can include affection, grief, courtship, and active cooperation. Vhagar mourns Baelon at his funeral, while Myracis and Quicksilver eventually become an awkward pair of lovers after repeated fighting and rejected food offerings 6 466.

Some exceptional dragons communicate through consciousness. Rafa can transmit humanlike speech, which the mutated Myracis can also understand. Bevivest is more intelligent than his rider Baelon and largely directs their daily work together 377 494.

Abilities and Skills

Dragonfire

Dragonfire differs in color, heat, range, and secondary effects between individuals 119 499.

• Destruction: Powerful flames melt iron weapons, burn fortifications, and devastate towns and fleets 119 398 412.
• Scorching smoke: Grey Ghost’s and Myracis’s fire can ignite people who avoid the direct flame 119.
• Explosive projection: Myracis develops attacks resembling antiaircraft fire, combining long range with considerable explosive force 551.
• Exceptional heat: Rafa, Dreamfyre, and Myracis reach dragonfire temperatures of four to five thousand degrees before further sacrificial amplification 561.
• Magical forging: Dragonfire provides the heat needed to shape Valyrian steel equipment and participates in dragonstone production 50 216.

Flight and Physical Combat

Flight allows Great Dragons to evade surface-bound enemies, maneuver around fortifications, and coordinate attacks on much larger prey 193 457.

• Natural weapons: Jaws, claws, horns, tails, and body spikes can tear wings, crush heads, and penetrate flesh 24 251 456.
• Training: Regular hunting and deliberate practice improve fighting instincts, speed, and threat recognition 33 58 108.
• Coordinated attacks: Dragon Warriors direct formations and combined assaults. Danyla uses a hexagonal formation against wyverns 457.
• Specialized movement: Slender dragons can grapple opponents with their necks, bodies, or tails; Quicksilver anchors himself to an enemy’s back while attacking its wing 334 456.

Magical Absorption and Evolution

Great Dragons strengthen themselves through several distinct sources of magical nourishment 122 241 457.

• Weirwood links: Danyla connects dragons to weirwoods, allowing them to draw on accumulated environmental magic 241.
• Blood sacrifice: Sacrificial spells transfer the power of victims’ souls and bodies to dragons 122.
• Magical prey: Consuming sea monsters, dragons, and other supernatural creatures can enhance bloodlines or confer resistance; eating wyvern flesh gives Regosern strong resistance to its venom 456 457.
• Environmental surges: The Long Night’s dense magic rapidly strengthens dragons. On Lorath, volcanic and weirwood processes produce exceptionally pure energy that strengthens Sol 548 595.
• Wind manipulation: Hogras and Skeld manipulate wind-aspected magic, extending the coverage and effectiveness of their attacks 460 475.

Rider Bonds and Dragon Dreams

Strong bonds permit emotional awareness, mental communication, and magical cooperation 4 10 80.

• Emotional response: Dreamfyre senses Danyla’s anger and intervenes during her confrontation with nobles 10.
• Dream manifestations: Dreamfyre appears as a vast flame-formed dragon within Danyla’s dream realm 4.
• Magical reinforcement: Danyla channels power and chants spells to strengthen her dragons during combat 193 587.
• Blood recognition: Danyla states that Great Dragons recognize Targaryen blood; Seasmoke independently seeks out and accepts Saewan 156 303.
• Limits of control: Twenty-five dragons ignore their riders and depart for Old Valyria, demonstrating that a riding bond does not ensure absolute obedience 516.

Vulnerabilities

• Eyes: Danyla identifies the eyes as the principal weakness. Historical accounts attribute almost every dragon killed by ordinary people to an arrow through the eye 58.
• Head exposure: Dragons resist fire, but their heads and eyes remain vulnerable to concentrated dragonfire 334.
• Young bodies: Arrows and spears wound young dragons during the Red Mountains campaign; advanced Triarchy ballistae can fatally injure dragons that have not reached adulthood 283 319.
• Specialized weapons: Danyla’s dragon-sinew ballistae can pierce dragon scales, unlike the ordinary giant crossbows she tests 128.
• Restraints: Special-alloy chains withstand temperatures above two or three thousand degrees; attempting to melt them would heat them enough to fatally injure the restrained dragon 66.
• Dangerous prey: Wyvern venom and the sharp teeth of Smoking Sea giant rabbits can injure dragons despite their defenses 456 531.

Relationship with Human Society

Ownership and Governance

• Targaryen ownership: Danyla asserts that all Great Dragons belong to House Targaryen, rejecting the idea that hatching an egg automatically grants ownership of its dragon 303.
• Dragonkeepers: They tend and restrain dragons, traditionally regarding them as sacred creatures rather than beasts for menial labor 25 58.
• Great Dragon Code: Begun under Jaehaerys, the code regulates dragon management, Dragon Warrior conduct, and Dragonkeeper loyalty 496.
• Unauthorized combat: Dragonriders who initiate forbidden battles face the combined opposition of other Dragon Warriors. Punishments can include loss of riding rights and years of confinement for their dragons 70 495.

Military and Civilian Uses

• Warfare and deterrence: Dragons destroy armies, cities, and fleets. Their peaceful presence alone is enough to intimidate assembled nobles at the Fighting Arena 385 412 501.
• Guardianship: Danyla presents controlled dragons as protectors, deliberately encouraging reverence rather than simple terror 80.
• Construction: Dragons transport dragonstone, forge roads, and assist quarry production 58 451 494.
• Funeral rites: Dragons perform cremations at Holy Flame Towers and other designated sites, gaining benefits from the work 216 494.
• Monster hunting: Danyla assigns dragons to sea-monster hunts and campaigns beyond the Wall 569.

Fear, Worship, and Opposition

Wild dragons pose a direct danger to people and livestock. Dragonstone residents learn to seek cover immediately at a dragon’s approach, since crowds attract attention and wild dragons may eat humans 24.

Danyla attempts to counter indiscriminate fear by letting children safely approach Dreamfyre. Elsewhere, hostility produces organized resistance: the Thirteen Acorns Organization explicitly seeks to kill dragons. Some dragons instead acquire religious followings, including Seasmoke, revered by islanders as a guardian deity of the Narrow Sea 80 237 499.

Notable Great Dragons