The dragons of A Song of Ice and Fire are beautiful, dangerous creatures. While many of the dragons are described with references to jewels and precious metals, they’re also used as weapons of mass destruction, capable of destroying whole armies and conquering continents with their fiery fury.
While this list will mainly focus on the dragons appearing prior to the events of A Song of Ice and Fire, this information may be important with news that the Game of Thrones prequel series is set to focus on George RR Martin’s Fire and Blood, a history of the Targaryen Dynasty.
Sunfyre
Sunfyre is considered to be one of the most beautiful dragons to have ever existed, with the dragon having golden scales that gleamed in the sun, as well as a beautiful golden fire that allow Sunfyre to be both formidable and beautiful.
Despite being one of the most eye catching dragons of all time, Sunfyre would meet his end during the Dance of the Dragons. A battle with another dragon would leave Sunfyre wounded and he would eventually succumb to these wounds.
Vermax
Vermax was a young dragon that was the steed of Jacaerys Valeryon, while the dragon had great potential and continued to grow larger and larger across the years, it would ultimately reach a strange and mysterious death.
Much like several other dragons on this list, Vermax would meet his end during the Dance of the Dragons. Vermax, along with his rider, would mysteriously crash into the sea during the Battle in the Gullet.
Quicksilver
Quicksilver was the steed of Aegon Targaryen, after initially bonding with Aenys Targaryen. Despite being only a quarter the size of Balerion, the dragon gained a reputation for its pale fiery breath.
The dragon would ultimately meet its end in the Battle Beneath the Gods Eye, with Quicksilver being brutally attacked in the sky by Balerion the Black Dread. Balerion ripped off one of Quicksilver’s wings, causing the dragon to plummet to the ground.
Silverwing
Silverwing was the steed of the legendary Queen Alysanne Targaryen, who is remembered for having a huge impact on Westerosi politics, especially with regard to the north. Queen Alysanne flew Silverwing to the Wall, where she resonated with the bravery of the Night’s Watch.
As a result, the King at the time ended up sending more men and even extended the Gift (an area of land around the Wall owned and governed by the Night’s Watch). Silverwing famously refused to fly beyond the Wall, hinting at the magic and danger beyond the Wall.
Drogon
Drogon is Daenerys Targaryen’s biggest and most aggressive dragon. In the books, the dragon is still yet to be fully grown but still manages to wreak havoc on the area surrounding Meereen, showing that he is bound to be a huge cog in any future invasion of Westeros.
Many even believe that Drogon is Balerion the Black Dread reborn, showing that Drogon has a huge destiny in place for him.
Vermithor
Vermithor was the third largest dragon of all time, growing to an intimidating size and helping enforce the Targaryen rule over Westeros with his rider, Jaehaerys Targaryen 1st and then under Hugh Hammer.
While Vermithor was an impressive dragon, he was slain during the devastating Targaryen civil war, the Dance of the Dragons. The civil war between House Targaryen and its bastard sect, House Blackfyre would severely reduce the Targaryen's power over Westeros.
Meraxes
Meraxes was the steed of Rhaenys Targaryen and, as a result, participated in Aegon’s Conquest, helping Aegon the Conqueror and his legendary Balerion the Black Dread invade Westeros and rule over the Seven Kingdoms.
Despite the legendary status of this dragon, Meraxes was killed by a ballista bolt in what many called a ‘million to one’ shot. While the show seemed to believe that it is fairly easy to hit a dragon with a ballista and kill it, this is far from the case in the books.
Caraxes
Caraxes was the legendary steed of Daemon Targaryen. Despite being around half the size of Vhagar, the dragon was able to defeat the gigantic Vhagar during the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons.
While Caraxes was able to defeat Vhagar in battle, dragon combat is very dangerous and often results in both dragons going down, as happened with Caraxes.
Vhagar
Vhagar was the steed of both Visenya Targaryen and Aemond Targaryen. In addition to being the second largest dragon of all time, Vhagar also participated in both Aegon’s Conquest and the Dance of the Dragons, showing the longevity of the dragon.
While the dragon was the second largest of all time, Vhagar would not survive the Dance of the Dragons. Vhagar was killed in the conflict by Daemon Targaryen and his dragon Caraxes.
Balerion The Black Dread
Balerion the Black Dread was the steed of Aegon the Conqueror, helping the future King of Westeros to conquer the Seven Kingdoms and even forge the Iron Throne that would become the main seat of the kings to follow in his place.
Balerion easily deserves to top this list, with the dragon having a fearsome reputation for being both gigantic and incredibly devastating. Perhaps his most iconic moment came during the invasion of Westeros. Harren the Black was the ruler of the Riverlands, during Aegon’s Conquest he retreated into Harrenhal, believing that its high stone walls would protect him from Aegon. However, Balerion flew above the walls and roasted the king in his own castle.