What Did Aemond Say to Vhagar in High Valyrian? Translated & Explained
Aemond Targaryen is the second son and third child of Queen Alicent Hightower and King Viserys I. He played an important role in the event called the Dance of Dragons aka the Targaryen civil war. In the war, he took his mother’s side, making him a part of the “greens”. Aemond’s greatest contribution to the war was the fact that he had an incredibly powerful dragon Vhagar by his side. The story of how he managed to tame Vhagar is amazing as the dragon itself, but he did use special Valyrian words to gain control over her. Let’s see what did Aemond say to Vhagar in High Valyrian.
Aemond said “Dohaerās, Vhagar! Lykir!,” to Vhagar. In episode 7 of the first season of the House of the Dragon TV series on HBO, we see Aemond speak four words in High Valerian to the dragon Vhagar: “Dohaerās, Vhagar! Lykir!,” and later he southed the command “Soves!” which translated into English means: “Serve, Vhagar! Calm down!” and the command “Fly!”.
Vhagar is the biggest living dragon at this point in history. She is s dragon that used to belong to Lady Laena Velaryon, but when she died, Vhagar lost her rider. After Lady Laena’s funeral, Aemond took his chance and claimed Vhagar for himself. In this article, we will translate and explain what Aemond said to Vhagar in High Valarian. Be careful, this article contains spoilers for all past and future events in House of Dragon and the Dance of Dragons.
What did Aemond say to Vhagar in High Valyrian?
Things are heating up in the House of Dragon TV series. We are slowly meeting all the important players and dragon riders that will take part in the Targaryen civil war, and one of the most interesting characters is Aemond Targaryen. In earlier episodes of the first season of House of Dragons, we saw Aemond getting bullied by his brother Aegon Targaryen, and cousins Jacaerys and Lucerys Velaryon because he doesn’t have a dragon. They decide to put wings on a pig and tease Aemond for not claiming a dragon.
Later, Aemond showed how determined he is to claim a dragon, when he entered the Dragonpit, and almost got “burned”. After his aunt Lady Leana’s funeral, Aemond bravely decided to try to claim the monstrously big Vhagar.
Aemond approaches the dragon while she is laying on the beach, and he speaks to her in High Valyrian. High Valyrian is the last connection Targaryens’ have to Valyria, and we see how important it is to Daemon and Rhaenyra Targaryen, for example. Plus, High Valyrian is the language dragon responds to. Aemond shouts “Dohaerās, Vhagar! Lykirī”. Translated “dohaerās” means “serve,” and “lykirī” means “calm down.” Basically, he was commanding Vhagar to submit to him, and be calm.
Vhagar reluctantly let him climb on her. Then he shouted the command “Soves!” which is High Valyrian for “fly” or ”go”, Vhagar listens to him and takes flight. Even though it looks like Aemond will fall, he holds onto the drag- and just like that Vhagar is now his dragon.
What does Aemond claiming Vhagar mean?
It was hard not to notice how happy was Otto Hightower when he found out claimed Aemond, his grandchild, has claimed the biggest dragon living. This is a significant power-up for the “greens”. The “greens” are those who support Queen Alicent Hightower’s claim that her son Aegon Targaryen should succeed her husband, King Viserys I, on the Iron Throne instead of Rhaenyra. In the sixth episode of the first season, we saw Princess Helaena Targaryen foreshadow the events we see happen in the next episode.
She says that Aemond will have to lose his eye to claim a dragon, and that is exactly what happens. When late Leana’s daughters see that Aemond is approaching Vhagar, they call their cousins Jacaerys and Lucerys Velaryon to help them stop Aemond. After Aemond comes back to the castle, they fight, and Lucerys stabs Aemond in the eye.
After those events, we see the results of the chain reaction Aemon’s ambitions put into motion. His mother, Alicent Hightower, is absolutely enraged with his son’s injury and demands restitution, demanding an eye for an eye.
Also, during the argument, the parentage of Rhaenyra’s sons comes into question, and now we see that King Viserys will always support his daughter’s claims and be on her side, no matter how obvious the truth is. Queen Alicent pulls the Catspaw Dagger on Rhaenyra, and for the first time the perfect facade, which she has been captivating over the years, comes crumbling down.
In the end, Alicent is reassured by her father, the Hand of the King, that what she did just showed that she will stop at nothing to defend her own and to do what is right. Otto Hightower also points out that Aemond claims Vhagar “is worth a thousand times the price he paid.”
In one of the last scenes of the episode, we see the “greens” leaving Driftmark by boat and the dragons that we will be on their side flying close by. This is another brilliant way this series is subtlety forming the picture of the two opposing sides in the oncoming Dance of the Dragons- the “black” aka Rhaenyra’s side, and the “greens” aka Alicent’s side. This is event is proof of how important dragons are in this story, and how one dragon can change everything.
