Did you catch the latest episode of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, “The Red Dragon and the Gold”? Many viewers were eagerly anticipating more action, and this episode certainly delivered with the spectacular Battle of Rook’s Rest. The clash of dragons in the sky was a breathtaking moment, prompting the question: has there ever been a dragon battle quite like it on screen?
While films like REIGN OF FIRE might boast scenes with a larger number of dragons filling the sky, the sheer intensity and narrative weight of the dragon fight in HOUSE OF THE DRAGON feels unparalleled. The creators truly rose to the occasion, presenting a dragon duel that resonates deeply. And speaking of dragons…
Of course, dragons exist firmly in the realm of myth. In our reality, these magnificent creatures are confined to stories and legends found across various cultures. Some theories suggest that dragon myths were inspired by the discovery of dinosaur bones, unearthed by farmers. Regardless of their origin, dragons have become a cornerstone of fantasy literature for centuries, captivating imaginations worldwide. They’ve certainly held a special place in my own imagination for as long as I can remember.
Interestingly, my own namesake, St. George, is famously known as a dragonslayer. The fact that St. George remains a saint even through revisions of sainthood suggests dragons might even have a certain level of, shall we say, papal acceptance? Long before A GAME OF THRONES, I was crafting my own dragon stories, with works like “The Ice Dragon” and “The Way of Cross and Dragon” among my earlier explorations of these mythical beasts.
Dragon lore is incredibly diverse across cultures. Chinese dragons, for instance, are typically depicted without wings and are associated with good fortune, not fire. Traditional Western dragons, however, are often linked to fire and destruction. Modern fantasy has played with these tropes extensively, resulting in dragons of all kinds. Consider the dragons in ERAGON or the charming Toothless from HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON – vastly different from the dragons you find in A Song of Ice and Fire.
Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon
Tolkien’s dragons in The Lord of the Rings universe, like Smaug, were unequivocally evil, serving the dark forces of Morgoth and Sauron. They were portrayed as creatures akin to orcs and trolls. Tolkien didn’t create benevolent dragons. However, his dragons were intelligent, with Smaug being a prime example – he speaks and possesses a vast hoard of gold, a classic dragon characteristic, upon which he famously slumbers for decades.
Smaug from The Hobbit
Before Peter Jackson’s rendition of Smaug, many dragon enthusiasts considered Vermithrax Pejorative from DRAGONSLAYER to be the pinnacle of cinematic dragons. Vermithrax, with two legs and two wings, embodies danger, breathes fire, and flies, yet is devoid of human speech or gold hoarding tendencies – a significant source of inspiration for dragon lovers.
Vermithrax Pejorative from Dragonslayer
On the other end of the spectrum, we have the dragon from DRAGONHEART (voiced by Sean Connery). This dragon is depicted as fat, four-legged, talking, and ultimately a benevolent character who befriends the hero. In my opinion, it’s a far less compelling dragon in a considerably weaker film. Bah, indeed.
The Dragons of A Song of Ice and Fire: Grounded Fantasy
In crafting A Song of Ice & Fire, my aim was to fuse the wonder of epic fantasy with the stark realities found in the best historical fiction. Magic exists in my world, but it’s less pervasive than in many fantasy settings. (Tolkien’s Middle-earth, similarly, operated on a relatively low-magic scale, a model I admired). I wanted Westeros to feel real, drawing inspiration from historical periods like the Crusades, the Hundred Years’ War, and the Wars of the Roses, as much as from Tolkien’s realm of hobbits and magic rings.
Dragons were always going to be a part of this world, partly inspired by my dear friend, the late Phyllis Eisenstein, a brilliant fantasy and science fiction writer. However, I was determined to make my dragons as grounded and believable as fantastical creatures could be. I invested considerable thought into their design. They fly and breathe fire – these traits felt essential. Crucially, they possess two legs (never four). The wings are large and function as forelimbs. Many fantasy dragons are depicted with comically small wings that would never realistically 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 pteranodons all have two legs and two wings – the wings are the forelegs.
The Two-Legged Dragon Debate: Heraldry vs. Zoology
Much of the confusion surrounding dragon leg count stems from medieval heraldry. Initially, both two-legged and four-legged dragons appeared on shields and banners. Over time, as heraldry became more standardized, heralds began distinguishing between four-legged “dragons” and two-legged “wyverns”. Of course, no one had actually seen either creature; both were mythical. This distinction was somewhat arbitrary, and medieval heralds weren’t exactly known for their zoological accuracy, even with real animals. Just look at their depictions of seahorses!
However, dragons and wyverns do exist in Westeros (wyverns are found in Sothoryos). Therefore, Westerosi heralds have no such excuse for inaccuracy. In my books, the Targaryen sigil rightfully depicts 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 are also two-legged, differing from dragons primarily 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 accurate. The wings are disproportionately small, and of course, no dragon has three heads. The three heads are purely symbolic, representing Aegon the Conqueror and his two sisters).
Sigil Accuracy: A Point of Contention
The television adaptations, GAME OF THRONES and HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, have had a somewhat inconsistent track record with dragon sigil accuracy. GAME OF THRONES initially used the correct two-legged sigil for the first four seasons and much of the fifth. However, inconsistencies arose later, with four-legged dragons appearing on Dany’s fleet sails. Perhaps someone consulted a heraldry book and only grasped a superficial understanding, leading to the error. Years later, HOUSE OF THE DRAGON opted for heraldic consistency with GAME OF THRONES, unfortunately choosing the incorrect four-legged sigil. This prompted much internal (and perhaps external) screaming from my end. These erroneous four-legged dragons have even infiltrated book covers, despite my strenuous objections.
The Correct Targaryen Sigil (Two Legs):
Correct Two-Legged Targaryen Sigil
The Incorrect Targaryen Sigil (Four Legs):
Incorrect Four-Legged Targaryen Sigil
Beyond Legs and Sigils: The Nature of Valyrian Dragons
Valyrian dragons, central to A Song of Ice and Fire, also differ from dragons like Smaug, Toothless, and Vermithrax in other fundamental ways.
My dragons do not speak. While they possess considerable intelligence, they remain beasts.
They form bonds with humans, specifically dragonriders. The intricacies of this bond, its origins, and mechanics, will be explored in greater detail in THE WINDS OF WINTER, A DREAM OF SPRING, and to some extent in FIRE & BLOOD. (Septon Barth, in my lore, understood much of it). Like wolves, bears, and lions, dragons can be trained but never fully tamed. They retain a wildness and inherent danger. Individual dragons have distinct personalities, often mirroring the traits of their riders due to the unique bond they share. Unlike stereotypical dragons, they have no inherent desire for gold or jewels, no more than a tiger would, unless perhaps their rider was obsessed with such things, and even then, it would be a reflected, not intrinsic, desire.
Dragon Biology and Behavior
Dragons require sustenance. They need food and water, just like any living creature, though they lack gills and cannot breathe underwater. While Smaug might have slumbered for sixty years beneath the Lonely Mountain, Valyrian dragons are different. They are creatures of fire, and fire requires oxygen. A dragon might briefly dip into the ocean to snatch a fish, but they would quickly resurface. Prolonged submersion would lead to drowning, just like any other land-based animal.
In terms of diet, my dragons are predators, carnivores with a preference for well-done meat, presumably. They can and will hunt their own prey, and they are highly territorial. They establish lairs, favoring mountainous regions and volcanic peaks. As creatures of fire, they are drawn to heat, not cold, damp caverns often depicted as dragon homes in other fantasy works. Man-made structures, like the Dragonstables of Dragonstone, the towers of Valyrian Freehold, and the Dragonpit of King’s Landing, are acceptable lairs – often with the added benefit of humans providing food. Young dragons, if lacking such options, will seek out their own lairs and defend them fiercely.
Dragons are creatures of the sky. They are capable of flight, traversing mountains and plains, covering vast distances. However, they are not inherently nomadic. During the height of Valyria, forty dragon-riding families controlled hundreds of dragons, yet they primarily remained close to the Freehold and the Lands of the Long Summer. While a dragonrider might visit or even settle in colonies like Volantis for a time, permanent dispersal was rare. Consider this: if dragons were naturally nomadic, they would have overrun Essos, and the Doom of Valyria would have only eliminated a fraction of their population. Similarly, the dragons of Westeros rarely stray far from Dragonstone. Otherwise, after three centuries, dragons would be commonplace throughout the realm, with every noble house possessing a few. The three wild dragons mentioned in Fire & Blood lair on Dragonstone. Others reside in the Dragonpit of King’s Landing or deep caverns beneath the Dragonmont. While characters like Luke and Jace fly their dragons to Storm’s End and Winterfell, respectively, these are journeys undertaken with riders. Dragons would not spontaneously embark on such flights without specific motivation. You won’t find dragons randomly hunting in the riverlands, the Reach, the Vale, or roaming the northlands or mountains of Dorne.
Ultimately, effective fantasy world-building requires grounding and internal consistency. It’s not a free pass to arbitrary creation. Smaug and Toothless are both dragons, but they are distinct entities within their own established canons. Ignoring canon undermines the integrity of a created world, causing it to unravel like tissue paper.
Current Mood: thoughtful
