Dragons are among the most powerful creatures in Game of Thrones. However, they can also find themselves in dangerous situations. The story of a Targaryen and her winged beast could be the stuff of a horror movie.
Which duo is it about? At the time of Game of Thrones, the dragons were nearly extinct. About 300 years earlier, however, things were quite different. Here lived the most powerful Targaryen dragon of all time: Balerion, the Black Dread. His fire was black and his wings were so large that he reportedly darkened entire cities when he flew over them.
Balerion was the dragon of Aegon I. Targaryen, who conquered almost all of Westeros on the back of the beast. After his death, the dragon went to Aegon’s younger son Maegor. After this one also passed away, Balerion lingered for several years without a rider on Dragonstone. It was then that a 12-year-old princess managed to steal him: Aerea Targaryen.
Who was Aerea? The Targaryen princess was descended from Aegon’s eldest son and theoretically had a legitimate claim to the Iron Throne. But unfortunately, she was a girl. Therefore, her mother took her to Dragonstone, where Aerea grew up to be a wild and angry child. She desperately wanted to leave the island. But her mother did not allow it.
So Aerea seized what was perhaps the smartest but also the craziest escape opportunity ever: She stole the legendary dragon Balerion and made her way off. For over a year, the two were missing without a trace. Then they suddenly reappeared. But fate had not been kind to them.
A mighty monster lurks in Valyria
Where were the two? To this day, it remains a mystery what exactly happened to Aerea and Balerion. No one is quite sure where they actually were. There was no trace of them in Westeros. Since a huge dragon is not exactly inconspicuous, one can assume they left the continent.
The most plausible theory is likely this: Aerea could not properly tame the mighty dragon. Balerion took the lead and returned to the place where he was born: Valyria. The once heart of the Valyrian Empire is now an uninhabitable and gloomy wasteland of ruins. There are not only active volcanoes but also mystical demons and deadly diseases. Spending an entire year in ancient Valyria is anything but pleasant.
What happened to Balerion? You might think that such a powerful creature as Balerion would have nothing to fear in Valyria. However, that is not the case. Even the Black Dread himself was badly injured on this journey: When he returned, he was covered in half-healed scars. Moreover, there was a gaping wound on his side almost three meters wide, from which fresh, smoking blood was still flowing.
As we know from Game of Thrones, it’s not exactly easy to injure a dragon. What kind of monster could torment Balerion so badly remains a mystery to this day. However, there are some interesting theories.
What hurt Balerion? Many fans suspect that Balerion might have encountered another of his kind. As there used to be a lot of dragons in Valyria, that does not seem unlikely. Especially wild dragons can be extremely dangerous and aggressive. Even towards other dragons.
Some even suspect that it could be a very specific dragon (e.g., via quora.com). In Valyria, there was a dragon lord named Aurion. He was one of the few dragon lords who survived. He gathered an army and wanted to claim Valyria for himself as a self-proclaimed emperor. But Aurion, along with his dragon and army, vanished without a trace. This dragon could have survived all these years. Against Balerion, he would have surely defended his territory fiercely.
Alternatively, it is of course also possible that Balerion encountered creatures unknown to us. There are, for example, rumors of fireworms: fire-breathing creatures without wings that can effortlessly burrow through stone. They are said to reach an enormous size. Thus, Balerion could be facing a serious opponent.
The dreadful fate of the princess
What happened to Aerea? Even worse than Balerion, Princess Aerea fared. When she returned to Westeros, she hung half-conscious on Balerion’s back. She was a complete wreck: emaciated, with bloody eyes and only covered in rags. Desperately, they tried to save her, but unfortunately in vain. She died just a day later.
The official cause of death was reported as fever. But that is quite an understatement. Aerea was said to be burning with heat so intense that it could be felt through armor. She was literally burning from the inside out. And in this heat, something seemed to dwell. A kind of parasite that moved under her skin. Time and again, the thing tried to break free – to separate itself from its host.
When Aerea finally died, the parasites could be removed from her body. One was as long as an arm. It may also have been fireworms. However, nothing more is known. An illustration of this horrific event is available at “A Wiki of Ice and Fire”.
What happened next? Due to this incident, people became very afraid of the horrors in Valyria. To prevent the spread of similar parasites, everyone who had even set foot in the old ruined city was executed.
Balerion’s fate was not particularly cheerful either. He survived his injuries. However, he was the first dragon ever to be locked away in the freshly built dragon pit. This is quite detrimental to the development of wild beasts and ultimately led to the dragons gradually declining. We can see this, for example, in House of the Dragon. How powerful the dragons in the spinoff are, you can find out in the ranking here at MeinMMO: House of the Dragon: The 10 most powerful dragons in the power ranking.
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