Rhaena Targaryen's first flight on Morning

Rhaena Targaryen’s first flight on Morning was the first sight of a dragon over King’s Landing since the Dance, and a public sign that dragons had returned to the skies above the capital. What began as one cautious circuit soon became a journey to Dragonstone, where Rhaena declared that dragons and their riders were more welcome.

A Dragon Returns to the Capital

During the first quarter of 135 AC, the people of King’s Landing woke on the third day of the third moon to see a dragon above the city. Rhaena, then nineteen, was riding Morning for the first time. The sight carried particular weight because no dragon had flown over the capital since the dark days of the Dance.

From First Circuit to Longer Flights

On that first day, Rhaena circled the city once before returning to the Dragonpit on Rhaenys’s Hill. She grew bolder with each passing day, flying farther as she became accustomed to riding Morning. The account presents this progression through concrete changes in distance: a single circuit gave way to increasingly extended flights.

The Flight to Dragonstone

Rhaena landed Morning inside the Red Keep only once. Prince Viserys Targaryen tried, without success, to persuade the king to come and watch his sister fly; Queen Daenaera Velaryon, by contrast, was delighted by Morning and was heard to say that she wanted a dragon of her own. Shortly afterward, Rhaena carried Morning across Blackwater Bay to Dragonstone, saying, “Dragons and those who ride them are more welcome.” Her journey thus moved beyond the capital and toward a place where dragonriders were welcomed.