Who Is the Dragon That Daemon Sings to in the 'House of the Dragon' Finale?

House of the Dragon’s Season 1 finale was jam-packed with dragons, not all of which we’ve seen before. Though the overwhelming visage of Vhagar was heavily at play in the final scenes, she isn’t without some serious competition. Knowing that war with the Greens will require every available dragonrider for his wife’s cause, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) descends into the tunnels of the Dragonmont. This massive volcano is the landmass that created the island where Dragonstone would eventually be constructed by the Valyrian Freehold. The immense amount of heat from the caverns made it a beloved nesting place of many dragons over the years, including the bronze-scaled creature Daemon encountered within: Vermithor, the Bronze Beast and beloved mount of the late King Jaehaerys the Conciliator (Michael Carter).

Though we saw King Jaehaerys Targaryen himself in the opening moments of House of the Dragon’s pilot, Vermithor was absent from these initial scenes. At the time of the Dance of the Dragons, Vermithor is the second-largest dragon alive behind Vhagar, and is close to one hundred years old. As such an old creature, he’s experienced a long lifetime of events and undertakings, and his presence was vital to King Jaehaerys’ reign of peace and the continued dominance of the Targaryen Dynasty. But what is this creature’s history? What has he been through in his near-century of life? Suffice it to say, quite a bit. Though he may not have been through the War of Conquest like Vhagar, Vermithor still cut his teeth plenty in his time.

The History of Vermithor Under King Jaehaerys

Much of what we know of Vermithor comes from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood. Vermithor’s specific year of birth is undetermined according to canonical sources, but it’s believed to be some time after the birth of the future King Jaehaerys, who was born 34 years after Aegon the Conquerer’s takeover of Westeros. Jaehaerys’ sister Rhaena Targaryen placed Vermithor’s egg in his crib after his birth, and the two were inseparable from that moment onward. The Conqueror himself would die three years after Jaehaerys was born, leading to the reign of Jaehaerys’ father Aenys I Targaryen. While Vermithor and Jaehaerys were both still quite small, the Faith of the Seven rose in rebellion against the Iron Throne in protest of House Targaryen’s practice of incestuous marriage. Most of Westeros stood behind the Faith, and the stress of holding the realm together caused King Aenys to fall ill and die in 42 AC (After Conquest).

The death of King Aenys led Dowager Queen Visenya Targaryen to take to the skies on Vhagar to find her son Maegor, who had served as Aenys’ Hand of the King. However, Maegor had cast aside his wife Ceryse Hightower and married Lady Alys Harroway, which the Faith had considered fornication and an affront to the realm. King Aenys presented Maegor with a choice: break off his marriage to Alys or be banished. Maegor, ever the obstinate brute, chose exile while stating “the strictures of the Faith do not 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 death. Visenya visited her son in exile and brought him back to Westeros, where he immediately claimed the Iron Throne despite his older brother (also named Aegon) being the heir by laws of inheritance.

Maegor’s rule was one of tyranny, earning him the nickname “Maegor the Cruel.” He immediately took Balerion to the skies and stomped out the rebellion of the Faith with dragonfire. Maegor took many wives in defiance of the Faith, and was notorious for his brutality towards them as well as the Lords of Westeros and the smallfolk. Those who voiced objections to Maegor were often beheaded with the Valyrian Steel sword Blackfyre, or worse, were disposed of by Balerion. Visenya Targaryen took Jaehaerys, his sister, and his mother hostage on Dragonstone, and Maegor soon killed his older brother Aegon in battle. Fortunately, Visenya died of natural causes on Dragonstone, and Jaehaerys and his family were able to flee Dragonstone along with their dragons. In response, Maegor tortured and murdered Jaehaerys’ holder brother Viserys, making Jaehaerys the oldest living heir to the Iron Throne, and the largest challenge to Maegor’s rule.

This moment of providence would see the state of the realm finally turn against Maegor the Cruel. Though the bloodthirsty king disinherited Jaehaerys, the Lords Paramount of Westeros had had enough. Jaehaerys put forward his claim to the Iron Throne, and countless banners flocked to his side in an attempt to overthrow Maegor. War was looming in Westeros, and though Vermithor had grown massive by the time Jaehaerys claimed him as a rider, the Bronze Beast was no match for Balerion. However, war would never come to pass, as Maegor was soon discovered dead upon the Iron Throne, skewered through the throat and elsewhere by the many blades that comprised the high seat. Balerion was without a rider, making Maegor’s suspicious death the opportune time to seize King’s Landing. Jaehaerys flew atop Vermithor to the capital while Lord Rogar Baratheon marched his soldiers towards the city. Maegor’s few supporters fled or were imprisoned, and Jaehaerys was anointed King of the Seven Kingdoms at the age of 14.

Jaehaerys’ Peace and the Fourth Dornish War

Much of Jaehaerys’ reign was one of diplomacy and compromise. He often ventured across the realm to speak with various lords on matters of state, and he and his wife Alysanne were beloved by the smallfolk. While some kings had sought to travel with large hosts of soldiers and retainers, Jaehaerys kept his circle small as he traveled to alleviate the burden that his procession brought upon the Lords of Westeros. Some worried for the safety of the young king, to which he replied “I do not need to ring myself about with swords so long as I ride Vermithor.” Despite being a sight of fear for some, Lords large and small as well as washerwomen and stableboys often cheered at the sight of Vermithor’s bronze scales and tan wings in the sky, as they knew their beloved king was arriving. However, no reign is perfect, and Vermithor saw his share of battle during his rider’s reign.

Well into Jaehaerys’ reign, in 83 AC, a self-proclaimed Dornish monarch known as the Vulture King began raiding the Stormlands. Though he was no true Prince of Dorne, the Vulture King still commanded hundreds of brigands, robbers, and cutthroats to raze the countryside. Furthermore, Lord Borys Baratheon, who had grown disillusioned 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, causing chaos in the Stormlands before retreating into the mountains, laying ambushes for any pursuers. This was far from the open rebellion Dorne had waged against the Iron Throne in years past, but King Jaehaerys had refused to let these acts of barbarism stand. Atop Vermithor and 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 rebel was later captured and dispatched by Lord Rogar Baratheon himself.

Vermithor’s experience against Dorne would continue when Prince Morion Martell attempted to invade the Stormlands himself, slighted by his late father’s inaction to support the Vulture King. Prince Morion loaded his soldiers into ships provided by pirates of the Stepstones as well as sailors from Myr. They began heading for Cape Wrath to take House Baratheon and the Iron Throne unaware. Jaehaerys took to the skies on Vermithor once again along with his sons and completely incinerated the Dornish fleet at sea. Not a single Dornishmen saw the shores of Cape Wrath, and the conflict was ended without a single loss for the Iron Throne, an accomplishment not even Aegon the Conqueror had accomplished. The “Fourth Dornish War” had taken Prince Morion almost a year to prepare for and was concluded in a single day.