Balerion

Balerion the Black Dread was the largest and most powerful dragon ever recorded in the history of A Song of Ice and Fire, a creature born in the heart of Valyria before the catastrophic Doom of Valyria. As one of the last living beings to have seen the Valyrian Freehold at its height, Balerion embodied the lost might of that civilization. He was brought to Dragonstone in 114 BC by Aenar Targaryen during the Targaryen exile, at which time he was still young—no larger than a horse. Of the five dragons that accompanied the Targaryens from Valyria, Balerion was the only one to survive into the era of conquest, outliving the others across the violent Century of Blood.

In appearance, Balerion was a creature of overwhelming presence and terror. His scales were black as night, his wings vast enough to swallow towns in shadow, and his eyes burned with deep red intensity. His fire was among the hottest ever recorded, capable of melting stone and steel alike—an ability demonstrated most famously at Harrenhal, where his flames twisted massive towers into molten ruin. His teeth were said to be as long as swords, and his jaws large enough to swallow mammoths whole. Even centuries after his death, his skull remained so vast that a horse could ride down its throat, a detail often cited to emphasize his unmatched size among all known dragons in Westeros and Valyria.

Balerion’s rise to dominance is inseparable from his bond with Aegon I Targaryen. Though first claimed by Daenys the Dreamer and later ridden by Aerion Targaryen, it was Aegon who transformed Balerion into the ultimate weapon of conquest. During Aegon's Conquest, Balerion played a decisive role in nearly every major engagement. He burned the forces of House Mooton and House Darklyn, destroyed fleets, and most notably brought about the fall of Harrenhal, ending the line of Harren Hoare in a single night of dragonfire. At the Field of Fire, Balerion flew alongside Vhagar and Meraxes, unleashing devastation upon the combined Lannister-Gardener army and securing the submission of the Reach and the Westerlands. Following the conquest, Balerion’s flames were used to forge the Iron Throne, physically shaping the symbol of Targaryen rule.

After Aegon’s death, Balerion was claimed by Maegor I Targaryen, under whom he continued to serve as an instrument of fear and destruction. During the Faith Militant Uprising, Balerion burned the Sept of Remembrance, killing hundreds, and later fought in the Battle Beneath the Gods Eye. There, he faced the younger dragon Quicksilver, ridden by Aegon the Uncrowned. The encounter was brutally one-sided; Balerion seized Quicksilver in his jaws, tore off a wing, and sent both dragon and rider falling to their deaths, emerging from the battle unscathed. This moment further cemented his reputation as the most dominant dragon of his age.

One of the most mysterious chapters in Balerion’s history occurred in 54 AC, when he was taken by the young Aerea Targaryen and vanished for over a year. When Balerion returned to King’s Landing in 56 AC, both dragon and rider bore signs of something far more terrifying than any battle. Aerea was dying, her body infested with horrific, heat-loving parasites, while Balerion himself carried severe wounds—a massive jagged tear nearly nine feet long, along with other scars that no known creature in Westeros could have inflicted. The prevailing belief is that Balerion returned to the ruins of Valyria, where something ancient and powerful was capable of injuring even the Black Dread. The exact nature of this encounter remains one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in Targaryen and Valyrian history.

By the time Balerion was claimed by Viserys I Targaryen in 93 AC, he was ancient and in decline. Though once capable of reshaping kingdoms, he could only manage a few short flights before returning to rest. In 94 AC, Balerion died of old age in the Dragonpit at King’s Landing, bringing an end to the last living creature that had seen Valyria before the Doom. His skull was preserved among the remains of other dragons in the Red Keep, where it stood as the largest of them all, later moved to the cellars during the reign of Robert Baratheon.

Balerion’s legacy endures as the ultimate benchmark for dragon power in the world of Westeros. No dragon before or after has matched his size, destructive capability, or historical impact. He was not merely a weapon of war, but the living embodiment of Valyria’s lost supremacy. Even centuries later, comparisons are drawn between Balerion and Drogon, the dragon of Daenerys Targaryen, whose black scales and ferocity echo those of the Black Dread. Yet while Drogon may resemble him, Balerion remains singular—a creature forged in a world that no longer exists, and a reminder that the true power of Valyria was never fully carried to Westeros.