Immediately after Laena’s death, young Aemond ventures to bond with her dragon, the great Vhagar. Once this is discovered, accusations of him “stealing” Vhagar are hurled at him, and the ordeal ends with him losing an eye.
Most folks will agree that a gigantic dragon such as Vhagar would not accept any odd, unqualified rider. So, why did Vhagar choose to bond with Aemond?
Bonding with a dragon isn’t an exact science, but as an intelligent creature, Vhagar must’ve recognized that Aemond is brave, capable, and worthy of riding her. Aemond also comes from the bloodline of Baelon Targaryen, Vhagar’s previous rider.
Taming a beast such as Vhagar is no small feat at all. Let’s see why Vhagar accepted a new rider and what that means for Aemond.
Bonding with a Dragon Goes Two Ways
As I said above, claiming a dragon is not a step-by-step formula that will always succeed. Both Aemond and Rhaena were initially unable to claim dragons despite coming from families that had dragon rider blood in them.
Most Targaryen children are designated a dragon egg at birth. But there’s no guarantee of it ever hatching (as seen in Rhaena’s case) or that once hatched, the dragon will bond with its “owner.”
As with Jacaerys’ case, we have also witnessed that unclaimed dragons don’t always easily give in to a new rider. He had to visit his dragon Vermax multiple times, speak to him in High Valyrian and feed him some meals. Even then, you’ll notice that Vermax was being held in chains until it was confirmed that he had accepted Jace as his rider.
This brings us to why Vhagar accepted an untrained Aemond in the first place. Vhagar has lived a long life, first serving as the mount of Visenya Targaryen (Aegon the Conqueror’s sister-wife).
Her long life also means she has seen all her riders perish, and having to recently kill Laena must’ve taken a hard toll on her. At the same time, Aemond too is going through a lot of sensitive feelings after being constantly bullied by his brother and nephews. It is possible their collective grief sealed their bond.
When Aemond first approaches Vhagar, the dragon is ready to attack him if needed. Despite being scared, Aemond persists daringly and gives Vhagar the command, “Dohaerās, Vhagar! Lykirī,” which translates to “Serve, Vhargar! Calm.”
At this point, we have to trust that Vhagar chose Aemond as her next rider only after judging both the situation and Aemond’s personality and abilities. Plus, young, tiny Aemond survived that rollercoaster of a ride on Vhagar’s back—that has to count for something!
While tensions were high due to Aemond “stealing” Vhagar, it is simply not possible to make a dragon as gigantic and powerful as Vhagar do something she does not want to. Dragons are also not passed down as inheritance, so even though Vhagar was Laena’s dragon, her children did not really have first dibs on them.
Aemond claiming Vhagar is certainly a big win for Alicent. Before this, her side of the Greens only had two dragons in their camp. In contrast, Rhaenyra and her banner of the Blacks have five dragons in total.
With a beast like Vhagar, the largest dragon alive during their time, the Targaryen civil war has become more of a fair match for the Greens. Let’s see just exactly how Vhagar will cause a dent in Rhaenyra’s cause.
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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