Who is Vermithor, the dragon Daemon sings to in House of the Dragon?
Here, there be dragons... and dragons... and more dragons. Daemon Targaryen sure was up to stuff in the House of the Dragon season 1 finale — good, bad, and chaotic. I don’t even know if I can get into the whole not being present for his wife while she was in labour thing, because that was not great. Or the choking his wife thing. Or the murdering his first wife thing! All very bad! But one of the strangest things (using the word “strangest” very specifically here instead of, IDK, “most problematic” or "straight-up evil") he did was start singing in High Valyrian to a dragon we’ve never seen before.
If you haven't read Fire & Blood, the book that this series is more or less based on, that scene came out of friggin' nowhere. What’s the deal with Vermithor on House of the Dragon? Daemon’s side mission sets up a major potential plotline for House of the Dragon season 2. Here's everything you need to know, because this dragon will most definitely be on your screen again this season.
Who is Vermithor?
Vermithor was previously ridden by King Jaehaerys Targaryen, who sat on the Iron Throne immediately before Rhaenyra’s dad, King Viserys Targaryen. (True Westeros feminists are not Jaehaerys fans, BTW, because he chose Vis to be king over his badass eldest daughter Rhaenys.)
He’s been chilling on Dragonstone since Jaehaerys died about 30ish years before the season one finale. He is the second biggest dragon alive at this time in Westeros, next to Aemond’s big gurl dragon Vhagar, and also one of the oldest.
Where is Vermithor?
This is especially important going into season two. Dragonstone is the Targaryen seat, a.k.a. headquarters, where Rhaenyra, Daemon, and their children live in House of the Dragon. It's also where Daenerys set up shop in the final seasons of Game of Thrones.
Vermithor and another unclaimed dragon called Silverwing are chilling out, maxing, and relaxing in Dragonmont – which is a volcano. This is good news for fans of Team Black. They have extra dragons at their disposal should one of them die in battle. The other faction in this war, the Greens, has far fewer dragons and would have to pull off a major Ocean's Eleven heist to get Vermithor and/or Silverwing on their side.
What was Daemon doing with Vermithor?
It did give former West End star Matt Smith a chance to dust off his singing chops… but what was the point? Was he doing a spell? Was he trying to upgrade his dragon and bond with this one instead? That’s rude to his dragon, Caraxes. Also rude, or maybe just ironic, that Daemon is so nice to this dragon, called the “bronze fury,” when he himself called his first wife the “bronze bitch.”
Based on what happens in Fire & Blood, my best guess is that he’s seeing if Vermithor is down to come out of retirement and either fight for the Blacks or breed younger dragons who can go to war. We’ll see this season.
What happens to Vermithor in the book?
[Spoilers, obviously!] According to Fire & Blood, during the Dance of the Dragons, Vermithor gets a new rider named Hugh, a bastard and blacksmith local to Dragonstone. This is part of an event known as the Sowing, the Red Sowing, or the Sowing of the Seeds, depending on who you talk to in Westeros.
At a low point during the civil war that begins with King Viserys’s death and really kicks off when Prince Lucerys Velaryon (aka Luke) is killed, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon (aka Jace) puts out a call for Targaryen bastards, or “dragonseeds,” to claim a dragon and join the fight.
In exchange, potential dragon riders were offered titles, land, and money. (Having your own dragon has also got to be a good perk.) What happened next was like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Sword in the Stone, and The Hunger Games combined. Many tried to bond with the dragons, many died and/or suffered severe burns, and a lucky few succeeded.
Hugh, one of the winners, must have Targaryen blood somewhere because the old dragon allowed him to mount and take him into battle. But Hugh becomes power-hungry, starts calling himself Hugh Hammer or Lord Hammer, and attempts to do a coup and crown himself king. Both he and Vermithor are ultimately killed in battle – but that might not happen until House of the Dragon season 3, for all we know. So this dragon does have a part to play in the drama to come…but maybe not in the way you expected.
Kinda feels like Daemon should have let Vermithor enjoy his nap and avoid the drama.
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