Every Vhagar Rider in House of the Dragon Ranked by Power

It has always been reiterated in Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon that Aegon the Conqueror was able to conquer Westeros in a matter of two years because of the strength of his dragons. While it may be true that he was the leader of House Targaryen and was the one that mounted Balerion the Black Dread, the biggest and strongest dragon in the history of Westeros, his sister wives also mounted their own dragons and helped him conquer the continent.

One of the dragons that Aegon’s sisters rode to Westeros was Vhagar, who is nicknamed the Queen of All Dragons. At that time, Vhagar was the smallest of the three dragons that conquered Westeros. But because she outlived Meraxes and was able to live a lifespan close to that of Balerion’s, she became the second-biggest dragon in history. Also, because Vhagar lived for a long time, she also had numerous riders, and that’s what we’re here to talk about.

How Many People Have Ridden Vhagar?

There have been a lot of different dragonriders in the history of Westeros and George RR Martin’s writings, but only a few dragons were able to become so legendary that they were often described with superlatives in the history books. The one dragon that often stands out when it comes to its legendary status is Balerion the Black Dread due to its enormous size and black flames. Of course, Balerion was the dragon that Aegon rode when he conquered Westeros.

But Aegon and Balerion were not alone in their conquest because they had help in the form of Aegon’s sister wives that also rode their own dragons. One such dragon is Vhagar, who is often remembered due to her legendary status as the only dragon that was able to live past the first century of the Targaryen dynasty. In fact, Vhagar was so old that she nearly reached 200 years old and was almost as old as Balerion before the Black Dread died due to natural causes.

The fact that Vhagar was very old meant that she had her fair share of dragonriders. That’s because a single dragon can have multiple dragonriders throughout its lifetime but is only willing to bond with one dragonrider at a time. So, how many people have ridden Vhagar?

Throughout her long history, Vhagar has had four dragonriders. Most of these dragonriders were able to spend several years as Vhagar’s riders. And that could be due to the fact that being the rider of Vhagar meant that the dragonrider should be a strong and capable rider that could survive any kind of battle.

Every Vhagar Rider Ranked By Power

Now that we know that there are four dragonriders that were able to claim Vhagar during their lifetime, let’s rank them all by power.

4. Lady Laena Velaryon

Lady Laena Velaryon was the third person to claim Vhagar as her dragonrider. This was the most peaceful time in Vhagar’s life as Laena didn’t engage in any major wars or battles during her time as the dragon’s rider. As such, we don’t know the full extent of Laena’s capacity as a dragonrider because she died quite early and was never able to showcase her might with Vhagar.

It was during this time that Vhagar was able to rest as a dragon mount. She was already quite old but was still the strongest out of all of the dragons in Westeros. Throughout her time as Laena’s mount, they mostly spent their days together flying in the Free Cities to entertain different crowds. And Laena also spent a lot of time flying not only with Daemon and Caraxes but also with Rhaenyra and Syrax.

3. Prince Baelon Targaryen

After 29 years of being unridden due to the death of Visenya, Vhagar finally found a new dragonrider in the form of Prince Baelon Targaryen, who is the father of Viserys and Daemon. He claimed Vhagar upon reaching knighthood. At that time, he was yet to become the heir to the Iron Throne because his older brother still lived. 

Baelon was Vhagar’s dragonrider during King Jaehaerys’s long reign, which was actually quite peaceful. Still, Baelon engaged in battles during the time when the Dornishmen tried to launch an invasion on King’s Landing. As such, Baelon rode on Vhagar and flew alongside Vermithor and Caraxes to burn the Dornish Fleet that attempted to invade their kingdom. Prince Baelon, however, passed away in 101 AC, as Vhagar was once again without a rider after enjoying her time with Baelon for nearly three decades.

2. Prince Aemond Targaryen 

Prince Aemond Targaryen was the last one to ever ride Vhagar as he claimed her after Lady Laena Velaryon’s death. At that time, Vhagar was already the oldest and biggest dragon in Westeros and was unmatched in terms of her strength and fury. That’s why Aemond was arguably the biggest asset that the Greens had during the Dance of the Dragons, as almost no other dragon and dragonrider duo could match this combination.

During the Dance of the Dragons, Aemond spent a lot of time burning the Riverlands while he was on Vhagar, as he and his dragon terrorized the kingdom while Rhaenyra was the one occupying the Iron Throne. That was what forced Rhaenyra to send Daemon and Caraxes to battle the huge dragon and its rider.

In what was called the Battle Above the Gods Eye, Aemond and Daemon had an epic clash that was considered to be the best battle during the Dance of the Dragons. Despite the fact that Caraxes was smaller than Vhagar, it was nimbler and faster and was just as ferocious. On top of that, Daemon was the more experienced fighter. 

As Caraxes and Vhagar were entangled with one another, Daemon made a final leap of fate to pierce Dark Sister through Aemond’s eye as the two riders and the dragons crashed into the Gods Eye. Years later, Aemond’s body washed up at shore together with Vhagar’s carcass, as that was the final battle that the legendary dragon ever engaged in.

1. Queen Visenya Targaryen

Queen Visenya Targaryen is a legendary figure in the history of the Seven Kingdoms because of the fact that she was one of the three Targaryens that conquered Westeros using the strength of their three dragons. She was the first person to ever ride Vhagar, as she claimed the dragon before the events of Aegon’s Conquest. That’s why, by the time the Targaryens conquered Westeros, Vhagar was already a full-grown adult dragon.

Visenya was also the one that wielded Dark Sister, which is the same slender long sword that Prince Daemon Targaryen uses in House of the Dragon. She was an excellent dragonrider throughout her time as she became a veteran of many battles during Aegon’s Conquest. And Visenya and Vhagar were so great that they didn’t even need to engage in battles, as the mere sight of the dragon already forced their opponents to surrender and bend to the mercy of the Targaryens.

Throughout her entire lifetime, Visenya was Vhagar’s dragonrider, and that’s why it took a long time for Vhagar to accept a new rider. The next rider that rode Vhagar was Prince Baelon, who became the dragon’s rider 29 years after Visenya’s death. That meant that the bond between Vhagar and Visenya was stronger than any bond that the dragon had with any of its riders.