There is a lot of interesting mythology surrounding the Dragonkeepers, an order within the House of the Dragon that looks after the Targaryen dragons. In Season 2 Episode 7, Rhaenyra summons forth commoners of Valyrian descent to participate in an event known as the Sowing of the Seeds to form a link with the wild dragons that reside in Dragonstone’s caverns.
The episode highlights how quickly the Sowing becomes violent when Vermithor kills off potential riders. Still, there’s also a fascinating underlying plot regarding dragons’ role in Westerosi civilization.
The dragons, a symbol that sets the royal family of House Targaryen apart from the ordinary people and other noble houses of Westeros, carry the weight of the realm’s history and reign.
The exclusivity associated with riding dragons is a significant part of this. When Rhaenyra makes them available to the general public, it’s a decision that subverts this exclusivity and carries significant weight. Jacaerys Velaryon’s challenge and the Dragonkeepers’ refusal to participate in the Sowing further intensify the weight of this decision.
1. What is the Origin Of The Dragonkeepers?
Princess Aerea Targaryen flew off with Balerion the Black Dread decades before House of the Dragon. She was missing from the continent for over a year.
To stop such thievery in the future, her uncle, King Jaehaerys I, established the Dragonkeepers as a command to shepherd the beasts in King’s Landing upon her ultimate return and death. The Dragonkeepers, numbering in the dozens, were now charged with guarding the dragons of the Targaryen clan.
This indicates that the Dragonkeepers are well-established and very set in their ways, having existed for almost a century.
In the book, they’re described as men who wear black suits of armor decorated with dragon scales, so the TV version is quite different. House of the Dragon’s Dragonkeepers wear light robes and have shaved heads, giving them a monk-like look. The show’s version also carry dragon glass daggers and wields long staffs instead of swords like in the book.
2. What The Dragonkeepers Do & How?
The Dragonkeepers’ primary goal is to sustain the Targaryen dragons, which they accomplish in various ways. They guard the dragonpit in King’s Landing, keeping any potential threats or thieves from entering.
At one point in Fire & Blood, they even prevent Princess Saera Targaryen from entering. They also kept an eye on the young Princess Viserra Targaryen, who brought lads to the dragons and offered sex to anyone willing to put his head in a dragon’s mouth.
This demonstrates their commitment to their job, even when a Targaryen orders them differently.
House of the Dragon reinforces the idea that Dragonkeepers follow a code and are more than merely servants of the royal palace. They are born into their positions and raised to carry out their responsibilities, which they appear to regard as spiritual.
The Dragonkeepers in “The Red Sowing” reinforce that the royal Targaryen line has a divine right to the dragons and that commoners should not underestimate their strength.
The Dragonkeepers are trained to converse with dragons and speak High Valyrian.
When their Targaryen rider wants to mount the dragons, they probably help feed and awaken them. Anyone who wants to play House of the Dragon faces a great degree of danger because it’s not unreasonable to assume that some of the dragons aren’t very pleasant to deal with. Given the high level of risk involved, it makes it reasonable that they would be extreme about their work and subscribe to Targaryen exceptionalism.
3. What Happens To The Dragonkeepers?
There were no Dragonkeepers by the time of Game of Thrones, but there were also no dragons in Westeros for over a century, and the Targaryen dynasty was overthrown. So, they disappeared sometime between House of the Dragon and the original show.
The event that likely consumes the vast majority of them is the Storming of the Dragonpit, which occurs during riots in King’s Landing later in the Dance after Rhaenyra has retaken King’s Landing.
Numerous commoners are killed when they attempt to kill the dragons at King’s Landing during the Storming of the Dragonpit.
The Dragonkeepers, who use the dragons’ assistance to repel the mob, are among those who perish. Numerous human lives are lost, but in the process, several dragons regretfully pass away. No doubt, it will be among the most tragic scenes in House of the Dragon.
4. About House Of The Dragon
House of the Dragon is the prequel series to HBO’s blockbuster Game of Thrones based on George R. R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood.
Set three hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon will show Westeros under the Targaryen family’s rule before the dragons went extinct. It will follow the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil war between siblings Aegon II and Rhaenyra, who fought for the throne after the death of their father, Viserys I.
Directed by Ryan Condall and Miguel Sapochnik, the show stars Paddy Considine as Viserys I Targaryen, Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Craney as Aegon II Targaryen, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon, Eve Best as Rhaenys Velaryon, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, Fabien Frankel as Criston Cole, and Graham McTavish.
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