The latest episode of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, “The Red Dragon and the Gold,” delivered the dragon-on-dragon action many fans craved, culminating in the fiery Battle of Rook’s Rest. It begs the question: where does this aerial clash rank among the greatest dragon battles ever depicted? While films like REIGN OF FIRE might boast sheer numbers of dragons filling the sky, the Rook’s Rest battle offered a visceral, impactful dragon fight that truly resonated.
Dragons, creatures of myth and legend, capture our imaginations across cultures. Though absent from our real-world history, echoes of dragon-like beings resonate in folklore globally. Some speculate that dinosaur fossil discoveries might have fueled these ancient tales. Regardless of their origin, dragons have become a cornerstone of the fantasy genre for centuries, holding a special place in the hearts of readers and storytellers alike.
Personally, dragons have always fascinated me. Ironically, I’m even named after a dragonslayer, St. George. Yet, despite this namesake, my fascination with dragons predates even A GAME OF THRONES. Stories like “The Ice Dragon” and “The Way of Cross and Dragon” were early explorations of these magnificent beasts in my writing.
Across cultures, dragon interpretations vary wildly. Chinese dragons, for instance, are often depicted without wings, symbols of good fortune rather than fire-breathing terror. Western dragons, conversely, traditionally embody fire and destruction. Modern fantasy has embraced this spectrum, presenting dragons in diverse ways. Consider the dragons of ERAGON or HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON – vastly different from the more complex, and often dangerous, dragons in A Song of Fire and Ice. Toothless, from How to Train Your Dragon, is even designed to be endearing.
Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon
Tolkien’s dragons in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit predominantly serve as forces of evil, aligned with Morgoth and Sauron, akin to his orcs and trolls. Friendly dragons were not part of Tolkien’s vision. However, his dragons possessed intelligence, exemplified by Smaug who engages in dialogue and famously hoards a vast treasure, a classic dragon trait. Smaug’s attachment to his gold, upon which he slumbers for decades, is a defining characteristic.
Smaug the Dragon from The Hobbit
Before the CGI rendition of Smaug, Vermithrax Pejorative from the film DRAGONSLAYER stood as a pinnacle of on-screen dragon depiction. Vermithrax, with its two legs and two wings, was a terrifying, fire-breathing predator, focused on flight and destruction, devoid of human speech or gold lust. This dragon served as a significant inspiration for many dragon enthusiasts.
Vermithrax Pejorative from Dragonslayer
On the other end of the spectrum, we find the dragon from DRAGONHEART, voiced by Sean Connery. This dragon is portrayed as a benevolent, four-legged, talking creature who befriends the hero. While perhaps heartwarming, it represents a less compelling dragon archetype, residing in what many consider a less impactful film.
In crafting A SONG OF ICE & FIRE, my aim was to fuse the enchanting elements of epic fantasy with the gritty realism found in historical fiction. Magic exists in Westeros, but it is less prevalent than in many fantasy worlds. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, also relatively low on overt magic, served as a touchstone. I wanted Westeros to feel grounded, echoing the historical weight of the Crusades, the Hundred Years’ War, and the Wars of the Roses, alongside the fantastical elements reminiscent of Tolkien’s hobbits and magical rings.
Dragons were essential to this vision, partly inspired by my late friend Phyllis Eisenstein, a remarkable fantasy and science fiction author. However, I wanted my dragons to possess a sense of believability within their fantastical context. Their design was carefully considered. Flight and fire-breathing were non-negotiable, core dragon attributes. My dragons are designed with two legs, never four, and two substantial wings. Crucially, the wings function as forelegs. Many fantasy dragons suffer from impractically small wings that would never allow for flight. Four-legged dragons, in my view, belong solely to the realm of heraldry. No creature in Earth’s history has ever possessed six limbs. Birds, bats, and pterodactyls all adhere to the two legs and two wings structure.
The confusion surrounding dragon leg count often stems from medieval heraldry. Initially, both two-legged and four-legged dragons appeared on coats of arms. Over time, as heraldic practices standardized, heralds began distinguishing between four-legged beasts, labeling them “dragons,” and their two-legged counterparts, termed “wyverns.” Of course, neither creature existed outside of legend, making this distinction somewhat arbitrary. Medieval heralds were not known for their zoological accuracy, even with real-world animals. Their depictions of seahorses, for example, are quite telling.
However, dragons and wyverns are real within Westeros. Therefore, Westerosi heraldry has no such excuse for inaccuracy. The Targaryen sigil in my books correctly features a two-legged dragon. Why would anyone in Westeros depict a four-legged dragon when they could observe the real creatures and count their limbs? My wyverns also have two legs, differing from dragons mainly in size, coloration, and their inability to breathe fire. It’s worth noting that while the Targaryen sigil has the correct number of legs, it’s not entirely anatomically precise. The wings are undersized compared to the body, and the three heads are purely symbolic, representing Aegon the Conqueror and his sisters.
Interestingly, the Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon series have presented inconsistent heraldry. GAME OF THRONES largely used the correct two-legged sigil for its first four seasons and much of the fifth. However, inconsistencies arose later, with four-legged dragons appearing on Daenerys’s fleet sails. It seems someone made an error, perhaps misinterpreting heraldic guides. HOUSE OF THE DRAGON opted for consistency with later GAME OF THRONES depictions but unfortunately chose the incorrect four-legged sigil. This prompted my internal (and perhaps external) cries of “no, no, no!” These extra, inaccurate legs have even crept onto book covers, despite my objections.
RIGHT
Correct Targaryen Sigil with two legs
WRONG
Incorrect Targaryen Sigil with four legs
Valyrian dragons diverge from dragons like Smaug, Toothless, and Vermithrax in other key aspects.
My dragons do not possess the power of speech. They are intelligent, but fundamentally beasts.
They form bonds with certain individuals, a connection explored in greater detail in THE WINDS OF WINTER, A DREAM OF SPRING, and to some extent in FIRE & BLOOD. Septon Barth’s writings offer insights into this phenomenon. Like wolves, bears, and lions, dragons can be trained but never fully tamed. They retain a wildness and inherent danger. Each dragon possesses a unique personality, often mirroring the traits of their riders due to the profound bond they share. Material wealth, like gold and gems, holds no intrinsic value for them, unless perhaps their rider is consumed by such desires.
Dragons require sustenance. They need water, though they lack gills. They must breathe air; they are not aquatic creatures. While Smaug is depicted sleeping for sixty years beneath the Lonely Mountain, Valyrian dragons cannot endure such prolonged dormancy. They are creatures of fire, and fire demands oxygen. A dragon might snatch a fish from the ocean surface, but prolonged submersion would lead to drowning, just like any other land animal.
My dragons are predators, carnivores with a preference for well-cooked meat, naturally. They hunt and defend territories, establishing lairs. As creatures of the sky, they favor mountainous peaks, volcanic mountains being particularly appealing. These are creatures of fire, ill-suited to damp, cold caverns often depicted as dragon lairs in other fantasies. Man-made structures like the Dragonstone stables, the towers of Valyria, and the Dragonpit of King’s Landing are acceptable dwelling places, often convenient for receiving provided meals. Otherwise, young dragons will seek out their own lairs and fiercely protect them.
Dragons are creatures of the sky, capable of vast journeys, traversing mountains and plains. However, they are not nomadic. During Valyria’s height, forty dragon-riding families controlled hundreds of dragons. Yet, aside from the Targaryens, these families remained close to the Valyrian Freehold and the Lands of the Long Summer. Occasional visits to Volantis or other colonies might occur, but permanent relocation was rare. If dragons were nomadic, they would have overrun Essos, and the Doom would have only eliminated a fraction of them. Similarly, Westerosi dragons rarely stray far from Dragonstone. Otherwise, after three centuries, dragons would populate the entire realm, with every noble house possessing some. The three wild dragons mentioned in FIRE & BLOOD lair on Dragonstone. Others reside in the Dragonpit of King’s Landing or deep within Dragonmont. While Luke and Jace fly Arrax and Vermax to Storm’s End and Winterfell, respectively, these dragons would not have undertaken such journeys independently, except under extraordinary circumstances. You won’t find dragons randomly hunting in the riverlands, the Reach, the Vale, or roaming the north or Dorne.
Fantasy, even with its magical elements, needs to be grounded in internal consistency. It’s not a free pass to disregard established rules. Smaug and Toothless, while both dragons, should never be conflated. Ignoring established canon within a fictional world weakens its believability, causing it to crumble like tissue paper.
Current Mood: thoughtful
Tags: a song of ice and fire, canon, dragons, fire & blood
