Dragon

Dragons are the legendary fire-breathing creatures of House Targaryen, the blood of the dragon. In A Dance with Dragons, they are the central pillar of Daenerys Targaryen's power and the primary symbol of her claim to the Iron Throne. Yet they are also an uncontrollable force, embodying the profound tension between her desire for peaceful rule and the inherently violent, destructive nature of her heritage. The three dragons—Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion—are not mere weapons but living beings with their own wills, growing larger and more dangerous as the story progresses, and their presence shapes every political and military calculation in Meereen and beyond.

The Dragons' Nature and Growth

Daenerys's dragons were born from the funeral pyre of Khal Drogo, emerging from stone eggs that had been considered petrified for centuries. By the time of A Dance with Dragons, they have grown from hatchlings into formidable beasts. Drogon, the largest and most aggressive, is described as having scales as black as night, eyes like pits of fire, and a wingspan of twenty feet. Rhaegal is green and bronze, while Viserion is cream and gold. Their growth is directly tied to their freedom and feeding; as Tyrion Lannister observes, dragons never stop growing if they have enough food and space. This creates a critical problem for Daenerys: the more they eat, the larger they grow, and the larger they grow, the more they need to eat. Their appetites have already led to the death of a child, Hazzea, a four-year-old girl killed by Drogon, an event that haunts Daenerys and forces her to chain Rhaegal and Viserion in a dark pit beneath the Great Pyramid of Meereen. This imprisonment, however, only makes them more savage and wild, a direct contradiction of the freedom she champions.

The Dragons and Daenerys's Rule

The dragons are the source of Daenerys's military might and her greatest political liability. They enabled her conquest of Astapor, Yunkai, and Meereen, but their uncontrollable nature undermines her efforts to establish a stable, peaceful rule. The Yunkish slavers and their allies, including the fleets of Qarth and New Ghis, blockade Meereen specifically because they fear the dragons. The Sons of the Harpy, a resistance movement within the city, use the dragons' destructive potential as propaganda to turn the Meereenese against their foreign queen. Daenerys's decision to chain her dragons is a direct response to the death of Hazzea, a sacrifice of her power for the sake of peace. This act is deeply symbolic: it represents her attempt to suppress the fire-and-blood nature of her own house in favor of a more measured, diplomatic approach. The dragons' imprisonment, however, is a constant reminder of the cost of that peace and the fragility of her control.

The Dragons as a Symbol of Identity and Destiny

Beyond their practical role, dragons are the defining symbol of Targaryen identity. Daenerys is repeatedly called the "Mother of Dragons," a title that is both a source of pride and a burden. The dragons are not just pets or weapons; they are extensions of her own being, fire made flesh. This connection is most powerfully demonstrated in the fighting pits of Daznak's Pit, where Drogon, wounded and enraged, descends into the arena. Daenerys, defying all advice, approaches him, uses a whip to assert dominance, and then mounts him, flying away from Meereen. This act is a literal and figurative rebirth: she abandons her role as the queen of Meereen, her tokar, and her carefully constructed peace to embrace her identity as a dragonrider. The flight is both an escape and a return to her fundamental nature. The other two dragons, Rhaegal and Viserion, remain chained in the pit, a constant source of danger and a symbol of the unresolved conflict between Daenerys's desire for control and the wild, untamable power she commands.

The Dragons as a Prize and a Threat to Others

The dragons are not only central to Daenerys's story but also the object of desire and fear for other major characters. Tyrion Lannister, traveling to Meereen, is fascinated by the possibility of dragons, seeing them as the ultimate game-changer in the war for Westeros. He even writes down all he knows of dragonlore for the exiled prince Aegon. Quentyn Martell, the Dornish prince, attempts to steal one of the chained dragons, Rhaegal, in a desperate bid to win Daenerys's hand and prove his worth. This attempt ends in catastrophic failure: Rhaegal and Viserion break free, killing several of Quentyn's men and engulfing the prince himself in dragonflame, leading to his agonizing death. This event demonstrates the folly of treating dragons as mere tools or prizes to be won. Meanwhile, Victarion Greyjoy sails for Meereen with a magical dragon horn, Dragonbinder, intending to claim the dragons for himself, a plan that promises further bloodshed. The dragons are thus a magnet for ambition and a source of death for those who underestimate their power.

The Dragons and the Future of the Narrative

By the end of A Dance with Dragons, the fate of the dragons is in flux. Drogon has flown Daenerys into the Dothraki sea, where she is found by a khalasar, her future uncertain. Rhaegal and Viserion have escaped their chains and are now loose in Meereen, terrorizing the city and killing indiscriminately. The peace Daenerys sacrificed so much to achieve has shattered. The dragons, once chained in an attempt to control them, are now free and wild, a direct consequence of the queen's absence. Their presence over Meereen is a constant threat, and their ultimate allegiance—whether they will return to Daenerys, be claimed by another, or remain wild beasts—is the central unresolved question of the narrative. They are the embodiment of the series' central theme: power is a double-edged sword, and the attempt to control it can be as destructive as the power itself.