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The Conqueror's dragon, Balerion, more famously known as the Black Dread, was among the five dragons Aenar Targaryen brought to Dragonstone from Old Valyria. He was also among the three dragons of the Targaryen siblings, the other two being, Visenya's Vhagar and Rhaenys' Meraxes. Aegon the First of His Name rode the Black Dread during the Conquest and used his dragonfire to burn countless Westerosi during pivotal events such as the Field of Fire and the Burning of Harrenhal. Balerion's skull features in HBO's House of the Dragon as well as the original series, Game of Thrones.
According to Thrones, Robert I Baratheon had the dragon skulls removed from the Throne Room and preserved in the cellars of the Red Keep. The late king could have easily had them destroyed after winning his war, but he chose not to. While Balerion's skull serves as a grandeur of the bygone Targaryen era in Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon and lore have a few things to say about Balerion and his death.
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What Did Balerion Look Like?
Aegon's Balerion was the largest dragon among the three serpentine beasts that he and his sister-wives rode. Game of Thrones lore states that his scales and wings were black. Furthermore, his dragonfire was typically black, but less commonly, swirls of red flames were spotted as well. The massive dragon was renowned for its wingspan that would cast shadows over towns. Legend says that his flames had the heat that could melt steel and stone (seen in the case of Harrenhal), and turn sand into glass. His teeth were a formidable size, reaching the size of swords.
Balerion's Journey: From Valyria To Westeros
Balerion was born in Valyria, and named after an ancient Valyrian deity. Before living with Aenar Targaryen and his exiled household on Dragonstone, he'd already seen the pinnacle of civilization, which was the Valyrian Freehold. In House of the Dragon season 1, episode 1 "The Heirs of the Dragon," Viserys tells Rhaenyra:
Balerion was the last living creature to have seen Old Valyria before the Doom. Its greatness and its flaws.
Balerion's wrath was a major deterrent to any opposition that Aegon met in the Conquest. Like, for example, in the case of the Kingdom of the North, King Torrhen Stark submitted to Aegon and his dragons to save his people. In other events of the Conquest, Balerion's fire decimated the male line of the King of the Isles and the Rivers - Harren Hoare, and razed his gigantic castle, Harrenhal, to the ground. Additionally, Balerion's fire shaped the future of the Seven Kingdoms by uniting them into one political unit, and it is precisely why Game of Thrones lore states that Aegon brought Fire and Blood to Westeros.
Balerion And Maegor
Qyburn takes Cersei Lannister down to the cellars of the Red Keep in Game of Thrones season 7, episode 2 "Stormborn," to unveil the dragon-killing Scorpion that he's had the weapon manufacturers and the blacksmiths of King's Landing design. He demonstrates the Scorpion's lethality using Balerion's skull.
Balerion the Dread, the beast that Aegon rode across the sea. His flames forged the Iron Throne and brought the Seven Kingdoms to heal.
What Cersei's right-hand man, Qyburn, implies is that Balerion's threat proved a deterrent in many stages during the Conquest and later when the Targaryens consolidated their rule. As for healing the former warring kingdoms, once he was coronated, he proved to be a just and amiable ruler and left his sister-wives in charge of day-to-day affairs. However, the same cannot be said about Balerion's other rider, Maegor the Cruel, who was Aegon's second-born son from his eldest sister-wife.
The third Targaryen to sit the Iron Throne, Maegor was no more than a cruel usurper. He deprived his nephew, i.e., King Aenys' son, Aegon of his birthright, and caused war and grief in the realm using the Black Dread. He also waged a full-scale war with the militant order of the Faith, torched the Sept of Remembrance with Balerion's flames, and burned men in a battle at the Great Fork of the Blackwater. Other known riders of the Black Dread in Game of Thrones lore are Princess Aerea Targaryen and Prince Viserys Targaryen.
How Did Balerion Die?
Game of Thrones lore says that by 93 AC, Balerion stopped growing, and was near his death. The beast was no longer in his prime when Prince Viserys claimed him. Balerion, who could once blot out the sun, could barely fly the distance between King's Landing and Dragonstone during Viserys' time. In Game of Thrones' "Stormborn," Qyburn tries to destroy the myth of invulnerability that is usually associated with Balerion:
Powerful. But not invincible.
Qyburn requests Cersei pull the Scorpion's lever, which makes a crack in Balerion's vulnerable skull remains. What Qyburn fails to take into account is that Balerion was an invincible beast during his prime. While Meraxes was shot down using a Scorpion bolt at Hellholt, the former simply died of old age in 94 AC, during the rule of the Old King, Jaehaerys I Targaryen. He was over two hundred years old at the time and thus was fatigued and incapable of riding into battle. In the aftermath of Balerion's death, the she-dragon, Vhagar, who is Aemond's mount in House of the Dragon, took his place as the largest dragon in the Seven Kingdoms.
House of the Dragon
House of the Dragon is HBO's prequel series to Game of Thrones. Set hundreds of years earlier, the show follows the inner machinations and rivalries of the Targaryen royal family. The show was created by Ryan Condal and George R.R. Martin, and stars Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy, Rhys Ifans, and Olivia Cooke.
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