Warning: This guide contains major spoilers for House of the Dragon Seasons 1, 2 and 3. A separate section covers later events from Fire & Blood.
House of the Dragon begins with the Targaryens commanding more dragons than any family has possessed since the Doom of Valyria. Three seasons later, the skies are considerably emptier.
These dragons are not interchangeable fire-breathing weapons. Each has a recognisable build, temperament and relationship with its rider. Vhagar is an ancient veteran who sometimes seems to regard commands as polite suggestions. Caraxes is a flying red nightmare. Sunfyre, despite everything surrounding Aegon, shares one of the most affectionate human-dragon bonds in the series.
Season 3 pushes those relationships into new territory. Dragons disobey their riders, turn against former allies and attack one another through instinct rather than political allegiance. Humans may call it the Dance of the Dragons. From the dragons’ perspective, it increasingly resembles being dragged into someone else’s family argument.
Every House of the Dragon Dragon at a Glance
| Dragon | Rider or riders | Allegiance | Status after Season 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Syrax | Rhaenyra Targaryen | Team Black | Alive |
| Caraxes | Daemon Targaryen | Team Black | Alive |
| Vhagar | Aemond Targaryen | Team Green | Alive, whereabouts uncertain |
| Sunfyre | Aegon II Targaryen | Team Green | Alive and flying again |
| Meleys | Rhaenys Targaryen | Team Black | Dead |
| Seasmoke | Laenor Velaryon, Addam of Hull | Team Black | Alive |
| Vermax | Jacaerys Velaryon | Team Black | Dead |
| Arrax | Lucerys Velaryon | Team Black | Dead |
| Tyraxes | Joffrey Velaryon | Team Black | Alive |
| Moondancer | Baela Targaryen | Team Black | Alive |
| Stormcloud | Aegon the Younger | Team Black | Unclear in the television series |
| Vermithor | Jaehaerys I, Hugh Hammer | Nominally Team Black | Alive |
| Silverwing | Alysanne Targaryen, Ulf White | Ulf’s allegiance is unstable | Alive |
| Dreamfyre | Helaena Targaryen | Formerly Team Green | Alive but riderless |
| Tessarion | Daeron Targaryen | Team Green | Fate uncertain after Tumbleton |
| Sheepstealer | Rhaena Targaryen | Unaligned | Severely wounded |
| Grey Ghost | None | Wild | Not introduced on screen |
| Cannibal | None | Wild | Not introduced on screen |
| Balerion | Viserys I and earlier riders | None during the Dance | Dead before the series |
What Changed in Season 3?
Season 3 dramatically rearranges the balance of dragon power.
Jacaerys and Vermax are killed during the Battle of the Gullet. Rhaena claims Sheepstealer, replacing Nettles as the wild dragon’s rider in the television continuity. Aegon reunites with a recovered Sunfyre, while Ulf uses Silverwing to betray Rhaenyra’s forces at Tumbleton.
The series also makes dragon control a central issue. Sheepstealer, Syrax, Caraxes, Moondancer and Seasmoke become involved in a chaotic confrontation that their riders struggle to stop. The message is becoming difficult to miss: bonding with a dragon does not make someone its pilot.
Syrax
Rider: Rhaenyra Targaryen
Colour: Yellow-gold
Allegiance: Team Black
Status after Season 3: Alive
Syrax has been bonded to Rhaenyra since the queen was young. She is large, powerful and fiercely responsive to her rider’s emotions, although she lacks the combat experience of Caraxes or Vhagar.
Throughout the first two seasons, Syrax serves largely as a symbol of Rhaenyra’s legitimacy. Season 3 places her in more aggressive situations as Rhaenyra becomes increasingly willing to use dragon power to enforce her claim.
During the confrontation with Sheepstealer, Syrax reacts instinctively alongside the other Dragonstone dragons. Rhaenyra cannot immediately force her to disengage. It is another reminder that a dragon bond involves influence rather than perfect control.
Season 3 position: Syrax survives and remains one of Rhaenyra’s most important dragons.
Fate in Fire & Blood: Syrax dies during the storming of the Dragonpit in King’s Landing. The book gives conflicting accounts of exactly how she is killed.
Caraxes
Riders: Prince Aemon Targaryen, later Daemon Targaryen
Nickname: The Blood Wyrm
Colour: Red
Allegiance: Team Black
Status after Season 3: Alive
Caraxes is long, lean and serpentine, with an unusually narrow body and neck. His appearance is immediately recognisable, as is the rather alarming sound he makes.
He is one of the most experienced war dragons alive. Before bonding with Daemon, he was ridden by Prince Aemon Targaryen. Under Daemon, he fought extensively in the Stepstones and later became central to the Riverlands campaign.
At Tumbleton, Daemon uses Caraxes against the town’s defences before withdrawing as the battle collapses into indiscriminate destruction.
Caraxes also takes part in the attack on Sheepstealer. When Daemon commands him to kill the wounded dragon, Caraxes appears willing to obey, although Sheepstealer’s death is not confirmed by the end of the season.
Season 3 position: Alive and still bonded to Daemon.
Fate in Fire & Blood: Caraxes kills Vhagar during the Battle Above the Gods Eye but suffers mortal wounds. He crawls from the lake before dying on its shore.
Vhagar
Former riders: Visenya Targaryen, Baelon Targaryen and Laena Velaryon
Current rider: Aemond Targaryen
Colour: Bronze-green
Allegiance: Team Green
Status after Season 3: Alive, but separated from Aemond
Vhagar is the largest living dragon and the last surviving creature to have fought during Aegon’s Conquest.
Her size gives her immense strength, but she lacks the agility of younger dragons. Aemond uses concealment and surprise to compensate, most devastatingly at Rook’s Rest.
In Season 1, Vhagar kills Lucerys and Arrax after ignoring Aemond’s order to stop. In Season 2, she ambushes and kills Meleys. These incidents establish her as the most dangerous dragon in the war, although not necessarily the most obedient.
Season 3 ends with Aemond separated from Vhagar. After Aegon and Sunfyre confront him at Harrenhal, Aegon orders his brother to locate her.
Season 3 position: Alive, with her precise location left unresolved.
Fate in Fire & Blood: Vhagar dies fighting Caraxes above the Gods Eye. She crashes into the lake with Aemond still attached to her saddle.
Sunfyre
Rider: Aegon II Targaryen
Colour: Gold with pink wing membranes
Allegiance: Team Green
Status after Season 3: Alive and capable of flight
Sunfyre is described as the most beautiful dragon of his age. His golden scales reflect the sunlight, giving Aegon an appropriately magnificent symbol of kingship.
At Rook’s Rest, Sunfyre is badly injured while fighting Meleys. Vhagar’s intervention saves Aegon but adds to the devastation, leaving both king and dragon broken.
Season 3 reveals that Sunfyre survived. His recovery parallels Aegon’s own painful return, and their reunion restores something the deposed king had almost completely lost: confidence.
Aegon later uses Sunfyre to burn his enemies before confronting Aemond at Harrenhal. Aemond expects Vhagar when he hears a dragon approaching. Instead, he finds the brother and dragon he believed dead. Awkward, particularly after trying to kill both of them.
Season 3 position: Alive, reunited with Aegon and once again able to fly.
Fate in Fire & Blood: Sunfyre later fights Grey Ghost and Moondancer. He survives both encounters but eventually dies from his accumulated wounds.
Meleys
Former rider: Alyssa Targaryen
Final rider: Rhaenys Targaryen
Nickname: The Red Queen
Colour: Scarlet
Allegiance: Team Black
Status: Killed in Season 2
Meleys is one of the fastest and most experienced dragons involved in the Dance.
Rhaenys rides her to Rook’s Rest, where Meleys inflicts severe injuries on Sunfyre. She might have defeated Aegon’s dragon had Vhagar not joined the battle.
Vhagar eventually crushes Meleys’ neck. Before falling, Meleys looks back at Rhaenys, who chooses to remain with her. It is one of the series’ most affecting deaths because the scene allows the bond between rider and dragon to carry the emotional weight.
Meleys’ severed head is later paraded through King’s Landing. The display is intended as a Green victory, but it also proves to the smallfolk that dragons can be killed.
Seasmoke
Riders: Laenor Velaryon, later Addam of Hull
Colour: Pale silver-grey
Allegiance: Team Black
Status after Season 3: Alive
Seasmoke first appears as Laenor Velaryon’s dragon during the fighting in the Stepstones.
After Laenor abandons Westeros, Seasmoke remains on Dragonstone without a rider. Season 2 complicates the accepted rules of dragon bonding because Laenor is still alive in the television continuity when Seasmoke chooses Addam of Hull.
Addam does not force the bond. Seasmoke actively hunts him down and makes the decision himself, which must rank among the more terrifying recruitment processes in Westeros.
In Season 3, Seasmoke continues to serve Rhaenyra through Addam. He becomes involved in the attack on Sheepstealer and later remains part of the queen’s depleted but still dangerous dragon force.
Season 3 position: Alive and bonded to Addam.
Fate in Fire & Blood: Seasmoke dies at the Second Battle of Tumbleton while fighting Vermithor. Addam also dies during the battle.
Vermax
Rider: Jacaerys Velaryon
Colour: Green
Allegiance: Team Black
Status: Killed in Season 3
Vermax is bonded to Rhaenyra’s eldest son, Jacaerys. The dragon grows alongside him but remains young and relatively inexperienced when the civil war begins.
During the Battle of the Gullet, Jace and Baela fly to support the Velaryon fleet. Rhaena arrives on Sheepstealer, but the wild dragon becomes uncontrollable and attacks ships and dragons indiscriminately.
Vermax flies dangerously low during the chaos and is struck by a heavy projectile. He crashes into the sea and dies. Jace escapes the saddle but is killed by enemy missiles before he can be rescued.
The sequence deliberately echoes Lucerys and Arrax’s deaths. Both of Rhaenyra’s elder sons are killed after riders lose control of the dragons around them.
Arrax
Rider: Lucerys Velaryon
Colour: Pearlescent white
Allegiance: Team Black
Status: Killed in Season 1
Arrax is a young, agile dragon, but he is tiny beside Vhagar.
After leaving Storm’s End during a violent storm, Lucerys is pursued by Aemond. Arrax panics and breathes fire at Vhagar despite Luke ordering him not to attack.
Vhagar retaliates, killing both Arrax and Lucerys with a single bite. Aemond’s expression makes it clear that murder was not his original intention, although chasing a frightened teenager with the largest dragon in the world was never a particularly responsible opening move.
Tyraxes
Rider: Joffrey Velaryon
Allegiance: Team Black
Status after Season 3: Alive
Tyraxes is bonded to Joffrey Velaryon, Rhaenyra’s youngest Velaryon son.
Both dragon and rider remain too young to participate meaningfully in the early war. By the end of Season 3, Joffrey has become more politically important following the deaths of Lucerys and Jacaerys.
Tyraxes has not yet been tested in battle.
Fate in Fire & Blood: Tyraxes is trapped and killed during the storming of the Dragonpit.
Moondancer
Rider: Baela Targaryen
Colour: Pale green
Allegiance: Team Black
Status after Season 3: Alive
Moondancer is smaller than the great war dragons but exceptionally quick and agile. Baela uses her for patrols and reconnaissance before joining the Battle of the Gullet.
During Season 3, Moondancer becomes involved in the confrontation with Sheepstealer alongside Syrax, Caraxes and Seasmoke. As with the other dragons, instinct overwhelms the rider’s ability to control the encounter.
Baela and Moondancer survive the season.
Fate in Fire & Blood: Moondancer fights Sunfyre on Dragonstone. She dies after severely wounding him, while Baela survives with serious burns.
Stormcloud
Rider: Aegon the Younger
Allegiance: Team Black
Status after Season 3: Unclear in the television adaptation
In Fire & Blood, Stormcloud is the young dragon of Rhaenyra and Daemon’s son Aegon.
Stormcloud plays a vital part in the book’s version of the Battle of the Gullet, carrying the young prince back to Dragonstone after the ship transporting him is captured.
The television adaptation handles the battle differently and does not give Stormcloud the same clear role. His position in the series therefore remains less defined than in the source material.
Fate in Fire & Blood: Stormcloud reaches Dragonstone despite being struck by numerous arrows. He dies shortly after delivering Aegon to safety.
Vermithor
Former rider: King Jaehaerys I Targaryen
Current rider: Hugh Hammer
Nickname: The Bronze Fury
Colour: Bronze
Allegiance: Nominally Team Black
Status after Season 3: Alive
Vermithor is the second-largest living dragon after Vhagar. He was previously ridden by Jaehaerys the Conciliator and remained riderless after the king’s death.
During the Red Sowing, Vermithor kills many of the dragonseeds presented to him before accepting Hugh Hammer. Hugh’s composure and willingness to face the dragon distinguish him from those attempting to flee.
Vermithor gives Rhaenyra the heavy war dragon she desperately needs, but Hugh’s increasingly complicated loyalties make him a dangerous asset.
At Tumbleton, Hugh suffers a devastating personal loss as the battle collapses around him. By the finale, his future loyalty is uncertain.
Season 3 position: Alive and still bonded to Hugh.
Fate in Fire & Blood: Vermithor dies during the Second Battle of Tumbleton after fighting Seasmoke and Tessarion.
Silverwing
Former rider: Queen Alysanne Targaryen
Current rider: Ulf White
Colour: Silver
Allegiance: Effectively independent by the end of Season 3
Status after Season 3: Alive
Silverwing was previously ridden by Queen Alysanne. She was closely bonded with Vermithor, often coiling beside him while their riders lived.
Ulf White claims Silverwing during the Red Sowing after stumbling into her cavern. His success is part courage, part luck and part proof that dragons make their own choices.
In Season 3, Ulf becomes increasingly resentful of his treatment by Rhaenyra’s court. He secretly collaborates with the Greens at Tumbleton, then turns Silverwing’s flames against soldiers from both factions.
His attack transforms a battle into a massacre and demonstrates the central weakness in Rhaenyra’s dragonseed strategy. Giving a man a dragon does not automatically give him discipline, loyalty or even a particularly firm grasp of the plan.
Season 3 position: Alive and bonded to Ulf, whose allegiance has become dangerously fluid.
Fate in Fire & Blood: Silverwing survives the Dance. Following Ulf’s death, she becomes wild and eventually settles near Red Lake.
Dreamfyre
Former rider: Rhaena Targaryen
Final rider: Helaena Targaryen
Colour: Pale blue and silver
Allegiance: Team Green
Status after Season 3: Alive but riderless
Dreamfyre is one of the oldest dragons in King’s Landing. She was previously ridden by Rhaena Targaryen before bonding with Helaena.
Helaena has no desire to use Dreamfyre in battle. When Aemond attempts to force her into the war, she refuses. Her resistance leaves the Greens with a powerful dragon they cannot practically deploy.
Helaena dies at the end of Season 3, leaving Dreamfyre without a rider.
Season 3 position: Alive and riderless within the Dragonpit.
Fate in Fire & Blood: Dreamfyre dies during the storming of the Dragonpit. Her attempt to escape causes part of the structure to collapse upon her.
Tessarion
Rider: Daeron Targaryen
Nickname: The Blue Queen
Colour: Cobalt blue with copper details
Allegiance: Team Green
Status after Season 3: Uncertain
Tessarion is ridden by Daeron Targaryen, the youngest son of Viserys and Alicent. Daeron was raised in Oldtown and enters the war alongside the Hightower host.
Smaller than Vhagar or Vermithor, Tessarion is nevertheless swift, effective and capable of transforming a conventional battle.
Season 3 finally brings Daeron and Tessarion into the conflict. Both are caught in the destruction surrounding Tumbleton, but the finale deliberately leaves Daeron’s fate unclear.
Season 3 position: Uncertain following the Battle of Tumbleton.
Fate in Fire & Blood: Tessarion is mortally wounded during the Second Battle of Tumbleton and later killed by archers as an act of mercy.
Sheepstealer
Rider in the television series: Rhaena Targaryen
Rider in Fire & Blood: Nettles
Colour: Muddy brown
Allegiance: Unaligned
Status after Season 3: Severely wounded
Sheepstealer is a wild dragon from Dragonstone that later ranges through the Vale. He earned his name through a long and apparently enthusiastic career of stealing livestock.
The television adaptation gives Sheepstealer to Rhaena Targaryen, removing Nettles from this part of the story. Rhaena succeeds in bonding with him, but claiming a wild dragon and controlling one in battle prove to be very different challenges.
At the Battle of the Gullet, Sheepstealer panics and attacks ships and other dragons. The resulting chaos contributes directly to the deaths of Jacaerys and Vermax.
Later, the Dragonstone dragons turn upon Sheepstealer. Syrax, Caraxes, Moondancer and Seasmoke attack him while their riders struggle to regain control. Daemon orders Caraxes to kill the wounded dragon, but Sheepstealer’s death is not conclusively shown.
Season 3 position: Badly wounded, with his survival left unresolved.
Fate in Fire & Blood: Sheepstealer and Nettles escape into the Mountains of the Moon and disappear from recorded history.
Grey Ghost
Rider: None
Colour: Pale grey-white
Status in the television series: Not introduced
Grey Ghost is one of the wild dragons living around Dragonstone in Fire & Blood. Shy and elusive, he avoids people and feeds mainly on fish.
The television series has not introduced him through Season 3 and may have removed him from the adaptation.
Fate in Fire & Blood: Grey Ghost is killed by Sunfyre on Dragonstone.
Cannibal
Rider: None
Colour: Black with green eyes
Status in the television series: Not introduced
Cannibal is the largest and most feared of Dragonstone’s wild dragons. He preys upon smaller dragons, hatchlings and dragon remains.
Several hopeful riders attempt to claim him during the Dance. None succeeds, which feels like an outcome that could have been predicted from his name.
Like Grey Ghost, Cannibal has not been properly introduced in the television series through Season 3.
Fate in Fire & Blood: Cannibal survives the Dance and eventually disappears from the historical record.
Balerion the Black Dread
Notable riders: Aegon the Conqueror, Maegor I and Viserys I
Colour: Black
Status: Dead before Season 1
Balerion does not live during the main events of House of the Dragon, but his legacy is everywhere.
He carried Aegon the Conqueror, burned Harrenhal and helped forge the Iron Throne. His enormous skull is kept beneath the Red Keep, where Viserys tells Rhaenyra about Aegon’s prophecy.
Viserys became Balerion’s final rider but flew him only once. The dragon died peacefully in 94 AC, making him one of the few creatures in this guide to avoid being torn apart during an airborne family disagreement.
Which Dragons Die in Seasons 1 to 3?
By the end of Season 3, the following dragon deaths have been confirmed:
| Dragon | Season | Cause of death |
|---|---|---|
| Arrax | Season 1 | Killed by Vhagar above Shipbreaker Bay |
| Meleys | Season 2 | Killed by Vhagar at Rook’s Rest |
| Vermax | Season 3 | Brought down during the Battle of the Gullet |
Sheepstealer is severely wounded in Season 3, but his death is not confirmed. Tessarion’s condition following Tumbleton is also uncertain.
Sunfyre, widely believed dead after Rook’s Rest, is revealed to have survived.
Who Rides Sheepstealer in House of the Dragon?
Rhaena Targaryen rides Sheepstealer in the television series.
This is a major departure from Fire & Blood, where a dragonseed named Nettles patiently gains Sheepstealer’s trust by bringing him freshly slaughtered sheep.
Season 3 confirms that the series has transferred much of Nettles’ story to Rhaena. The change keeps the storyline within the Targaryen family but alters Sheepstealer’s part in the Battle of the Gullet and his relationship with Daemon.
Which Side Has the Most Dragons After Season 3?
Team Black still possesses the larger theoretical dragon force:
- Syrax
- Caraxes
- Seasmoke
- Moondancer
- Vermithor
- Silverwing
- Tyraxes
- Stormcloud, depending on how the series develops him
However, that list gives a misleading impression of unity. Ulf has betrayed Rhaenyra, Hugh’s loyalty is strained and the dragons themselves have shown that they may attack one another without permission.
Team Green can still call upon:
- Vhagar
- Sunfyre
- Tessarion, if she survived Tumbleton
- Dreamfyre, although Helaena’s death leaves her riderless
Rhaenyra has more dragons on paper. Aegon and Aemond have fewer, but Vhagar and the recovered Sunfyre remain formidable. The real issue is no longer simply how many dragons each side owns. It is whether anyone can still control them.
Which Is the Largest Dragon?
Vhagar is the largest living dragon in House of the Dragon.
Vermithor is the second largest, followed by other mature dragons including Dreamfyre, Silverwing, Caraxes and Syrax.
Balerion was larger than any of them at his peak, but he died before the series began.
Can Anyone with Targaryen Blood Ride a Dragon?
Valyrian ancestry appears to improve a person’s chances, but it does not guarantee success.
Ser Steffon Darklyn has distant Targaryen ancestry and is killed attempting to claim Seasmoke. Rhaena possesses strong Targaryen heritage but struggles for years without a dragon. Addam, Hugh and Ulf all come from less certain or socially accepted bloodlines, yet dragons accept them.
The series also raises a more uncomfortable possibility: the idea that only Targaryens can ride dragons may be partly political mythology designed to preserve the family’s authority.
Whatever the truth, the dragon chooses. The prospective rider merely hopes not to be set on fire during the interview.
Do Dragonriders Completely Control Their Dragons?
No. Seasons 1 to 3 repeatedly show that the bond has limits.
Arrax attacks Vhagar against Lucerys’ command. Vhagar kills Arrax after Aemond orders her to stop. Sheepstealer loses control during the Battle of the Gullet, while several Dragonstone dragons later attack Sheepstealer through territorial instinct.
A rider can communicate with, direct and influence a dragon. That is not the same as controlling every reaction.
Season 3 makes this distinction central to the story. The Targaryens believe dragons are the source of their authority, but their power depends upon creatures that possess instincts and intentions of their own.
The Real Cost of the Dance
The Dance of the Dragons is usually described as a war between Aegon II and Rhaenyra. By the end of Season 3, it has become something broader and uglier.
Dragons are being killed, maimed and turned against creatures with which they once shared territory. Riders who barely understand their bonds are handed enough power to erase towns. Battles become impossible to contain once the dragons enter them.
That is the cruel irony at the centre of the story. House Targaryen built its rule upon dragons, then used those same dragons to dismantle its own supremacy.
The humans continue arguing over which claimant deserves the throne. The dragons keep paying for it.
