Who Are the Wild Dragons in Fire & Blood? (& Can They Be Ridden)

In the upcoming Dance of the Dragons in House of the Dragon, the wild dragons are going to be important to the storyline because of the fact that they live on Dragonstone, which is controlled by Rhaenyra’s Black faction. Of course, there is a good reason why the Blacks are excited about the wild dragons, as the dragons are the most powerful weapons in the world. So, who are the wild dragons in Fire & Blood?

The wild dragons are the dragons that have never been ridden before and are allowed to roam in the wild, as they are not receptive to bonding with any dragonrider. These wild dragons are the Cannibal, Sheepstealer, and Grey Ghost. However, Sheepstealer eventually bonded with Nettles.

Wild dragons are quite rare, considering that the Targaryens usually have dragon eggs bonded with babies. Nevertheless, the fact that wild dragons exist is proof that not all dragons are willing to bond with the Targaryens or are receptive to getting ridden. Now, with that said, let’s look at the wild dragons that exist in the world of Fire & Blood.

Who Are The Wild Dragons In Fire & Blood?

There is no doubt that the most powerful weapons in the world during the time of House of the Dragons are the dragons, as they are capable of destroying entire armies in mere minutes. On top of that, Aegon the Conqueror basically conquered an entire continent in two years using the strength of three full-grown dragons. And that means that the dragons are going to be front and center during the Dance of the Dragons, which is the upcoming Targaryen civil war that would pit one dragon against another.

While we do know that the Greens currently have three dragons in Vhagar, Sunfyre, and Dreamfyre, we also know that the Blacks control Dragonstone, which is the home of the dragons. That means that, on top of the dragons that the Blacks already have, there are also dragons that have no riders but are kept in Dragonstone. Of course, there are also the wild dragons. So, what are who are the wild dragons?

The wild dragons are the dragons that are not kept in the dragonpit and are allowed to roam the world free. They are also dragons that have never been ridden before and are not particularly receptive to bonding with dragonriders. And in the known world, there were three wild dragons that lived in Dragonstone.

Among the three wild dragons, the youngest and smallest was Grey Ghost, who was aptly named because of his grey-white color and pale appearance. On top of that, Grey Ghost was a particularly shy dragon that tried to stay away from people as much as possible. That was probably the reason why he was called “Grey Ghost,” as he was like a ghost in the sense that he tried to stay away from places with plenty of people.

In the book, Grey Ghost was killed by Sunfyre when Aegon II escaped King’s Landing to get to Dragonstone in secret. Sunfyre fought Grey Ghost and killed the wild dragon, as it was initially believed that its death was caused by another wild dragon.

The second wild dragon is Sheepstealer, who is the second-largest among the wild dragons and is actually one of the bigger dragons during the time of the Dance of the Dragons. Sheepstealer was named as such because it favored the taste of mutton. That was why Sheepstealer often visited the different settlements all over Dragonstone, as that allowed it to steal sheep from the smallfolk.

In the book, Sheepstealer was claimed by a simple girl named Nettles, who fed the dragon sheep every single day until it grew accustomed to her presence. After that, she eventually claimed Sheepstealer, who was willing enough to allow her to become its dragonrider.

The oldest and most mysterious out of all of the dragons living in Dragonstone as a wild dragon was the Cannibal, who was the largest out of all of them and could actually be the biggest dragon in the world outside of Vhagar. Of course, the Cannibal is aptly named due to the fact that it had a particular taste for dragon eggs and smaller dragons, regardless of whether or not they may be adults or juveniles.

There are a lot of different things that are unknown about the Cannibal, but the fact is that he was a lot larger than Sheepstealer, who was quite large as well. That means that there is no doubt that the Cannibal is older than Sheepstealer, who was born 34 years after Aegon’s Conquest.

Considering that the Cannibal was larger and older than Sheepstealer, he might have been born before Aegon’s Conquest. There are also those who believe that the Cannibal may have already been in Dragonstone before the Targaryens settled there. And that could explain why he is so antagonistic against the Targaryen dragons, as he might have come from a different lineage of dragons that lived in Dragonstone before the time of the Targaryens.

The Cannibal was one of the four adult dragons that survived the Dance of the Dragons. He and Sheepstealer both lived through the entire Targaryen civil war but eventually disappeared from the face of the world, as no one knows where they went. As such, there is a good possibility that the Cannibal continued to live up to the time of Game of Thrones.

Can The Wild Dragons Be Ridden?

As mentioned, the reason why the wild dragons are called wild is the fact that they were allowed to roam the wild as dragons that have never been ridden before. But that doesn’t mean that they cannot be ridden.

The fact is that the wild dragons are still similar to the other dragons but are simply just more difficult to bond with. One case in point is Sheepstealer, who other people thought was impossible to bond with until Nettles eventually became its rider by giving it sheep every day.

Of course, certain dragons might have different reasons for not wanting to bond with riders. Grey Ghost, for example, is particularly shy around people and tries to stay away from them as much as possible.

Then there’s the Cannibal, who is so mysterious that no one understands why he never bonded with riders. It is possible that no one tried to claim the Cannibal due to its ferocious nature. But there is also a good chance that, as mentioned, he came from a different dragon lineage that is not related to the Targaryen dragons.

If that is the case, then Cannibal might have come from a long line of wild dragons that have never been ridden before. That could explain why no one ever bonded with the Cannibal or actually tried to bond with him.