Founding of the Dragonkeepers

The Founding of the Dragonkeepers created a permanent guard for the Targaryen dragons, turning the prevention of another royal dragon’s escape into an explicit, realm-wide duty. The order was established after Aerea Targaryen’s flight on Balerion and applied to dragons wherever they were kept, not only those housed in the Dragonpit on Rhaenys’s Hill.

The danger that prompted the order

Aerea’s escape on Balerion supplied the immediate precedent for the new safeguards. The king’s decree was intended to ensure there would be no repetition: the dragons were to be guarded night and day, regardless of where they laired. Its scope therefore reached beyond a single dragon or enclosure, making constant watch the governing principle of royal dragon custody.

The founding followed a period of heightened concern about Valyria. Septon Barth’s account of Aerea’s fate ended in private papers, and it is likely that he discussed his suspicions with Jaehaerys Targaryen. Later that year, the king forbade ships suspected of visiting the Valyrian islands or sailing the Smoking Sea from landing in the Seven Kingdoms, and prohibited his subjects from visiting Valyria under pain of death. The Dragonkeepers were established not long thereafter, as another precaution associated with the dangers revealed by Aerea’s disappearance and return.

The dragons under guard

Balerion was the first Targaryen dragon housed in the Dragonpit. Its long, brick-lined tunnels had been sunk deep into the hillside and fashioned to resemble caves; they were five times as large as the lairs on Dragonstone. Three younger dragons soon joined Balerion beneath the Hill of Rhaenys.

The dragons were not all kept together. Vermithor and Silverwing remained at the Red Keep, close to their riders. The king’s order expressly covered dragons wherever they laired, so the new watch was not limited to the Dragonpit or to dragons gathered in one place. The rule connected their varied housing arrangements to a single requirement: continuous guarding.

The new order

The Dragonkeepers were created as a distinct order of guards for this purpose and numbered seventy-seven. Their uniform made them recognizable: they wore gleaming black armor and helmets crested with a row of dragon scales, which continued in diminishing size down their backs.

The founding thus paired a practical security measure with a visible institution. Dragons might occupy different lairs and remain near different riders, but their protection became the responsibility of a dedicated body whose distinctive armor marked its service. The order’s defining duty was constant vigilance, imposed in direct response to the possibility that a dragon could again carry a member of the royal family beyond the king’s control.