As the Targaryen civil war reaches a fever pitch on House of the Dragon, fans have begun counting the forces on both sides. Rhaenyra’s (Emma D'Arcy) army is already down one dragon after the shocking battle at Rook's Rest. King Aegon II’s (Tom Glynn-Carney) outlook doesn’t look much better. But if Rhaeynra is going to match the might of Aemond’s (Ewan Mitchell) dragon, Vhagar, she may have to look beyond her collection of beasts so far.
Back in the season 1 finale, Daemon (Matt Smith) introduced audiences to Vermithor. Traveling deep below Dragonstone, Rhaenyra’s uncle-husband found the dragon and sang him a song to wake him from his slumber. Vermithor is a massive beast from the time of Jaehaerys Targaryen’s reign, according to George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood. Since the old king’s death, he has lived unclaimed in the caves of Dragonstone below an active volcano. As Jace mentions to Rhaenyra in season 2, episode 5, Vermithor is ripe for the taking. Vhagar is still the larger dragon—so Aemond maintains the advantage—but Vermithor would pose as a significant addition to Rhaenyra’s dragon army.
In Fire & Blood, there are five other wild dragons at Rhaenyra’s home base: Seasmoke, Silverwing, Sheepstealer, Cannibal, and Grey Ghost. (My compliments to Mr. Martin for those amazing names.) We won’t spoil how each creature plays into House of the Dragon’s future, but suffice it to say that a bunch of untamed dragons could easily change the tides of war.
As we head into the rest of season 2, is it finally time for Vermithor to return? Plus, who will ride him? There are a couple of dragonless characters floating about on House of the Dragon, but that’s all I’ll say for now. All we can hope moving forward is that the Battle at Rook’s Rest is merely a prelude to the fearsome war to come.
