WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for House of the Dragon’s season 1 finale and George R.R. Martin’s book, Fire & Blood.Daemon Targaryen’s count of the Black party’s dragon power isn’t entirely accurate, as a few of House of the Dragon’s riders won’t be flying into battle. Even before Rhaenyra decided to declare war against the Greens, Daemon assesses that they already have the upper hand in terms of dragons. In addition to setting up six new dragons in House of the Dragon’s future, Daemon lists the creatures already claimed and ridden by the Black party: Syrax (Rhaenyra), Caraxes (Daemon), Meleys (Rhaenys), Vermax (Jacaerys), Arrax (Lucerys), Tyraxes (Joffrey), and Moondancer (Baela).
Daemon’s list theoretically gives Rhaenyra’s army seven dragons in battle, but this assessment of their current power is overestimated. While Rhaenyra and Syrax would be one of the Blacks’ most significant sources of battle power, the Queen only rides her in the Dance of the Dragons on one occasion. When Rhaenyra and Daemon finally take King’s Landing from Aegon, she rides in on Syrax, but there’s very little resistance in the siege. While Syrax is still an important asset for protecting Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon, she isn’t a major factor in the Blacks’ overall war strategy. On the contrary, Baela’s young dragon Moondancer sees more direct battle action than Queen Rhaenyra and Syrax.
How Many Of The Blacks’ Dragons Actually Fight In The War
In reality, Daemon’s count of the Blacks’ war-ready dragons should only be at about five, as Syrax and Tyraxes aren’t involved in any significant battles. Additionally, Lucerys and Arrax’s deaths in House of the Dragon’s season 1 finale place their dragon count at only four. Still, the Green party possesses the catastrophic power of Aemond’s dragon Vhagar and Aegon’s relatively large dragon Sunfyre, with Helaena never riding Dreamfyre in the war. Considering how easily the battle-hardened Vhagar killed the young Arrax, the Blacks can’t rely on Jacaerys and Baela’s smaller dragons to take on Aemond in battle.
Does Rhaenyra’s Army Find More Dragonriders? What Daemon Is Setting Up
At the end of House of the Dragon season 1, Rhaenyra’s army still has a substantial amount of dragons, but they require new riders to mount the wild or unclaimed creatures on Dragonstone. According to George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood book, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon accomplishes this by calling for men to attempt to master the Blacks’ riderless dragons. Known as “The Sowing,” four individuals are successful in this endeavor, most of whom claim to be Targaryen or Velaryon bastards. The Blacks’ new dragonriders are referred to as the “dragonseeds,” with this group being made up of Hugh Hammer (claiming Vermithor), Ulf White (claiming Silverwing), Addam of Hull (claiming Seasmoke), and Nettles (claiming Sheepstealer).
The Sowing will most likely occur in House of the Dragon season 2 as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen prepares for her assault on King’s Landing. By this time, Rhaenyra had lost Rhaenys and Meleys as well as Lucerys and Arrax, so taming the large dragons on Dragonstone was vital to her war strategy. Upon gaining the four new dragons and their riders, Rhaenyra’s power grows significantly higher than Aegon, allowing her to successfully take the Iron Throne.
