New Dragons And Their Dragonriders In House Of The Dragon Season 2

Highlights

• House of the Dragon season 2 will focus on the war of succession between Rhaenyra and Aegon, which deepens the divide between the Greens and the Blacks.
• New characters will be introduced in the upcoming season, including Ulf the White who will ride Silverwing, and Baela Targaryen who will ride Moondancer.
• Vermithor, Morning, Sunfyre, and Tyraxes are other dragons that will play significant roles in the upcoming season, with each having their own dragonrider and storyline.

Dragon warfare will take center stage in House of the Dragonseason 2. The war of succession between kin, Rhaenyra Targaryen and her younger half-brother, Aegon, deepens a geographical divide. The realm is split between two factions, namely the Greens and the Blacks, each of which will take their dragons to war.

According to Daemon’s rough count in House of the Dragon,“Dragonstone has thirteen to [the Greens’] four.” The Blacks have lost Arrax and will seek people who can master riderless dragons. New dragons will appear in the show’s canon and these beasts, in particular, are highly likely to have Dragonriders.

6 Silverwing

Dragonrider: Ulf the White

• Daemon Targaryen Mentions Silverwing In “The Black Queen”

At Rhaenyra’s war council, Daemon says that Silverwing is among the unclaimed dragons that dwell on the Dragonmont. The she-dragon used to be Alysanne, Jaehaerys’ wife’s, mount. According to lore, Rhaena Targaryen placed a dragon’s egg in her sister Alysanne’s cradle, from which Silverwing was hatched. Alysanne last flew Silverwing in 93 AC, and the she-dragon has since lived in her lair on Dragonmont.

At the outset of the Dance of the Dragons, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon and the Blacks realize they are in dire need of dragonriders. A man named Ulf the White answers the Prince’s call to claim a riderless beast to be taken into the war. A man-at-arms, Ulf, will master and take Silverwing to the naval battle known as the Battle of the Gullet in lore. Ulf is a Dragonseed in House of the Dragon and actor Tom Bennett will portray the character in the upcoming season.

5 Moondancer

Dragonrider: Baela Targaryen

• Daemon Targaryen Mentions Moondancer In “The Black Queen”

In the show’s canon, Daemon drops the name – Moondancer:

Baela has Moondancer.

The duo, Baela and Moondancer, appeared in the House of the Dragon season 2 teaser trailer, in a snippet that sees the young Targaryen-Velaryon raging on dragonback. Moondancer is a she-dragon, having a pale green slender body with pearl-white horns, wingbones, and crest.

While Moondancer is certainly not as big as Aemond’s Vhagar or Daemon’s Caraxes, she is quick, unlike them. Her maneuverability will prove to be an asset, should Baela take her to battle in House of the Dragon season 2.

4 Vermithor

Dragonrider: Hugh Hammer

• Vermithor Briefly Appeared In “The Black Queen”

Also known as the Bronze Fury, Vermithor spends his days in his lair at Dragonmont. Daemon pays him a brief visit in the show and sings to him in High Valyrian. He undoubtedly plays with his life by entering Vermithor’s lair, but the truth is, that the beast was once ridden by his grandfather, King Jaehaerys I, who gave him the Valyrian steel sword – Dark Sister. Vermithor bridges Daemon and Rhaenyra to House Targaryen’s glorious past.

Although Vermithor hasn’t reached Vhagar or the dead Balerion’s size, it is larger than Syrax, Caraxes, Meleys, and dwarfs Vermax and Moondancer. Hugh Hammer is to claim Vermithor (as he does in lore), and the beast will be an asset to the Blacks. Hugh (played by Kieran Bew in House of the Dragon) will ride Vermithor into the Battle of the Gullet.

3 Morning

Dragonrider: Rhaena Targaryen

• Princess Rhaena Targaryen Rides Morning In Lore

The younger of the two daughters born to Daemon Targaryen and Laena Velaryon, Rhaena remains without a dragon, per House of the Dragon season 1. Baela has Moondancer, but Rhaena’s egg doesn’t hatch in the show. When Laena watches Rhaena keep her dragon egg near the fireplace in an attempt to hatch it, she comforts her, saying:

There is more than one way to bind yourself to a dragon. I was without one until I was 15 years old, and now I ride Vhagar, the largest in the world. You have a harder road. Baela’s dragon was born to her. But if you wish to be a rider, you must claim that right. Your father will tell you the same.

The she-dragon, Morning, hatches from Syrax’s clutch during the Dance of the Dragons in lore, meaning she has a good chance of making it to House of the Dragon. Morning belongs to Rhaena, but she is too young to be taken into battle. She will survive the Dance of the Dragons, as will her only known rider.

2 Sunfyre

Dragonrider: Aegon II

• Sunfyre Barely Gets Screen Time In Season 1

Viserys’ firstborn male child from Alicent Hightower, Aegon II, has Sunfyre in lore (and the show), while his sister-wife, Helaena, has Dreamfyre. Their brother, Aemond, claims Laena’s Vhagar immediately after her funeral, and the three siblings fly away from Driftmark. Sunfyre isn’t shown up close, but Dreamfyre breathes fire at Aemond when he meets her in the caverns of the Dragonpit.

Archmaester Gyldayn describes the pink and golden Sunfyre as the most beautiful of all dragons. The usurper’s mount is due to make an appearance in House of the Dragon season 2, but the duo will be injured in the Battle at Rook’s Rest. Sunfyre loses half a wing and Aegon II suffers dragonfire burns. Aegon recovers in King’s Landing, and Sunfyre resides near Rook’s Rest.

1 Tyraxes

Dragonrider: Joffrey Velaryon

• Daemon Targaryen Mentions Tyraxes In “The Black Queen”

Joffrey is Rhaenyra’s last son from her marriage to Laenor Velaryon but fathered by Ser Harwin of House Strong. His mount, as Daemon mentions in House of the Dragon finale episode, is Tyraxes:

Your sons have Vermax, Arrax and Tyraxes.

Joffrey, in lore, asks his mother’s permission to take Tyraxes into combat, but she refuses. Later during the Dance of the Dragons, Joffrey and his cousin, Rhaena, are sent to the Vale of Arryn to be wards of Rhaenyra’s cousin, Lady Jeyne Arryn. Joffrey and Tyraxes return after the Fall of King’s Landing and the beast makes a lair in the Dragonpit. Given Tyraxes’ size and Joffrey’s age, it is highly unlikely that the duo will take any part in combat in the upcoming season.

House of the Dragon season 2 returns to HBO in early summer 2024.