Talk: Dragon

New info

I have noticed this new piece of info at the citadel:

Since the last dragon died, summers are believed to be shorter and winters longer and harsher (THK: 465)

Is this just a passing comment or an observation that might shed a some light on the magical nature of the seasons? --Mor 12:45, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

Probably the second option. I just checked and this is an accurate citation from Legends I. I also noticed that the decadence of the Dragons happens very shortly after the Dance of the Dragons; the war ended in 131 AL, and the last, frankly mishappen dragon died sometime between 147 AL and 157 AL, leaving Aegon III enough time to send nine mages to try and hatch his eggs across the sea (see ASOS, Davos IV). That suggests that Aegon might believe that something in Westeros was anathema to the Dragons. I believe the inner conflict among the Targaryens is somehow tied to and in some sense a cause of the trouble the dragons had after that. Maybe there is a reason why the three original dragons of the Targaryens only met in battle once during the whole conquest - they are way too sensitive to conflict with each other. LuisDantas 00:21, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

Some considerations coming mainly from AGOT, Chapter 13 (Tyrion 2)

Some interesting, easily overlooked pieces of info (mainly from that chapter):

• There are nineteen dragon skulls in King's Landing, all of them supposedly from Targaryen dragons.
• The oldest one is over three thousand years old and therefore predates Aegon's Landing by well over two millenia; it seems that not all of those skulls are of dragons that actually died after the Landing.
• Two of those nineteen, presumably the youngest, are no bigger than those of a mastiff.
• Three of those skulls are noticeably bigger than any other. Tyrion believes them to be those of Balerion, Meraxes and Vaghar, but I don't know how he could be certain.
• According to Daenerys' first chapter in ASOS, Balerion died when he was around 200 years old. He was probably hatched at Dragonstone.
• Vhagar lived at least until the Dance of Dragons in 129 AL, but he is not mentioned as a decisive factor in that conflict. We know that Balerion died no later than 103 AL, and it is probably safe to assume that Meraxes would be mentioned had he participated in the Dance as well.

My interpretation is that at least one of the nineteen skulls actually came from Dragonstone as an ancient relic already (and probably from Valyria before that). The assumption that all nineteen had lived in Westeros at some point after Aegon's Landing is misguided.

So, leaving aside Urrax, whose chronology makes his very existence a matter of dubious legend, we have five named dragons (including Silverwing and Syrax) in all before Daenerys suceeded in hatching her eggs. We know that Jaeharys I employed six dragons at the same time at one point, so there is at least one other whose name is so far unknown but that was battle-worthy. We also know that at least the latest two were small and mishappen.

Either Tyrion was mistaken about the age of the oldest skull, or we end up with a minimum of eight dragons that lived in Westeros after the Landing, and a maximum of eighteen.

It also seems to me that the decadence of Westerosi dragons was in fact fairly quick. The last dragon was born no more than thirty years after the death of Vhagar (since we know he was alive in 129 AL and that he last dragon was alive during the childhood of Ser Arlan of Pennytree, circa 160 AL), yet the gulf that separated their respective capabilities was impressive. It is even possible Jaeharys' six were the only dragons that were ever battleworthy in Westeros, and the other eleven skulls are all ancient relics or foreign acquisitions. LuisDantas 05:48, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

"Dragons are essentially immune to fire"

I light of the picture of a burning dragon in the worldbook and info like this from the novellas: "A dragon’s scales are largely (though not entirely) impervious to flame; they protect the more vulnerable flesh and musculature beneath. As a dragon ages, its scales thicken and grow harder, affording even more protection" I think this line should be changed/expanded on.--RumHam 16:19, 10 December 2014 (UTC)

I've changed it so the following

A dragon's scales are mostly, though not entirely, impervious to fire, protecting the more vulnerable flesh and muscles underneath. This "sort of" makes dragons immune to fire, though, younger dragons are damaged by fire more easily than older dragons, as the scales of a dragon grow thicker and harden when the dragon ages. At the same time, as the dragon grows older, its flames become hotter and fiercer. Where a hatchling's flame can set straw aflame, dragons, like Balerion and Vhagar in the fullness of their power, could (and did) melt steel and stone.}

Feel free to make a change when you feel it necessary --Rhaenys_Targaryen 20:25, 10 December 2014 (UTC)