Aegon the Conqueror. Not only is that an imposing combo of name and title, it is also a legacy a whole realm aspires to live up to. His shadow lingered dark and heavy on the shoulders of nearly every Targaryen in House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, from King Viserys (Paddy Considine) to Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) — who, officially, even had the same name as the founding father of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.
The latest episode of House of the Dragon brought a very important mention to Aegon's life. During his courtship of Lady Laena Velaryon (Nova Fouellis-Mosé), King Viserys had to deal with the questions of a 12-year-old girl more interested in epic tales of old than the prospect of being queen of Westeros — as she should, given that she is, well, only 12 years old. One of those questions brought the revelation that Viserys was the last rider of Balerion, the Black Dread, whose place in legend is assured as the dragon mount of Aegon the Conqueror himself. Aegon's dragons are so important that Balerion's skull was neatly kept in the Red Keep until the days of King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy), the person responsible for ending the Targaryen dynasty. He ended their line, but their legacy turned out even more difficult to erase.
Before jumping on the back of the dragons, it's important to know about the Conquest itself, though. Despite his being the name that appears the most on history books ("history remembers names", let's not forget), Aegon didn't conquer Westeros by himself. He did it with invaluable help of his sisters, who were also his wives, following the Targaryen tradition of inbreeding to keep their bloodline "pure." Their names were Rhaenys and Visenya, and their mounts were Meraxes and Vhagar, respectively.
For those with sharp ears, Vhagar was also mentioned on the last episode of House of the Dragon, when Lady Laena asked King Viserys if he knew the dragon's whereabouts. That will be an important piece of information for the Dance of Dragons, the civil war between Targaryens that will take place a few years ahead of where the show is currently at. Now, let's have a look at what happened to Balerion, Meraxes and Vhagar, as well as their riders.
Balerion
Balerion is perhaps the dragon we know the best. During Game of Thrones, we've seen his name thrown around in comparisons made with Drogon, the chief dragon of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), as both were black and brought fear to the hearts of their enemies. They both had intimidating nicknames, drawing reference from their pitch black scales: Balerion, the Black Dread, and Drogon, the Winged Shadow. Balerion, however, was twice as large as Drogon, as it's known that, with the passing of time and their decaying population, dragons were growing smaller.
Another important detail about Balerion is that he was the last creature to ever see Valyria in its prime. He was one of five dragons brought by Valyrian Lord Aenar Targaryen to Dragonstone when he fled to survive the Doom of Valyria. Eventually, he would be claimed by Aegon, who turned his attention to conquering Westeros with his sister-wives.
The Conquest wasn't an easy feat, but the presence of dragons made everything a little more simple for the Targaryen trio. Some important moments worthy of mention are the burning of Harrenhal (in which Balerion's flame melted even the thick stone of which the stronghold was made), the battle of the Field of Fire (in which the Targaryens subdued the Reach and burned more than 4,000 men alive), the kneeling of Torrhen Stark, who, after learning about the events of the Field of Fire, and decided to bend the knee. The Iron Throne itself was forged using the swords of Aegon's rivals, molten together by Balerion's fire.
On 37 AC, Balerion lost his first master with the death of Aegon. Dragons are known to live much longer than humans, so he went on to serve other riders, all Targaryens, including King Maegor the Cruel, Princess Aerea and, eventually, then-Prince Viserys. He was Balerion's last rider, when the dragon had already become slow and sluggish. He died of old age in 94 AC, during King Jaehaerys' reign. Viserys never bonded with another dragon, which is one of the reasons he is seen as weak by his political adversaries.
Meraxes
Meraxes was the female dragon of Queen Rhaenys Targaryen, youngest sister-wife to King Aegon. Her eyes were golden, and her scales were silver. She was big enough to swallow a horse whole and was bigger than Vhagar, but still smaller than Balerion. Of the three Targaryen siblings, Rhaenys was the one who loved to fly the most, rumored to have spent more time on dragonback than Aegon and Visenya combined.
Rhaenys and Meraxes were instrumental in the subduing of the Stormlands during Aegon's Conquest of Westeros. Afterwards, she went took part in the Field of Fire with her two siblings and went to the Riverlands, too, where Torrhen Stark bent the knee to Aegon. Later, she would travel to Dorne to discuss their surrender. Instead, she found mostly empty castles, with the only person there being elderly Princess Meria Martell, who told her Dorne would neither surrender, not fight. Rhaenys warned her that the Targaryens would return.
And return they did. In 4 AC began the First Dornish War, Aegon's attempt at conquering Dorne. The conflict went on for another nine years, but, in 10 AC, a battle in Hellholt would prove to be the demise of Rhaenys and Meraxes. A bolt from a scorpion shot from land pierce the dragon's eye, killing her instantly. Meraxes fell from the sky, but took with her most of the castle they were trying to conquer. Rhaenys was lost as well. The war would last until 13 AC, with the Targaryens withdrawing from Dorne.
Vhagar
Visenya and Vhagar are the last of the Targaryen conqueror siblings. Visenya was the oldest of the three, while Vhagar was the smallest of their dragons. Which isn't to say she was small: the novel A Game of Thrones, Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) mentions that she was big enought that one could ride a horse down her gullet. She is also the longest living dragon of the three, to the point where she took part in the Dance of Dragons itself.
The duo won the battle in the waters off Gulltown during Aegon's Conquest, then meeting the siblings in order to take part on the Field of Fire. After that, she went on to conquer the Vale, where Dowager Queen Sharra Arryn bent knee after her son, King Ronnel, asked her to ride on the dragon's back - and he rode three times. Lucky lad. Visenya and Vhagar also took part on the First Dornish War, which didn't end well for the Targaryens.
After Aegon's death, King Aenys ascended to the Iron Throne. He was the son of Aegon and Rhaenys, and named his first son, Prince Aegon, his heir. Visenya was livid and, when Aenys died, went on to get her own son with the Conqueror, Prince Maegor, to put him in the Iron Throne.
In 44 AC, Visenya died, leaving Vhagar without a rider for 29 years. During King Jaehaerys' reign, young Prince Baelon bonded with her and became her rider until he died in 101 AC. Vhagar's next rider would not be a Targaryen. In fact, it would be the very same Lady Laena Velaryon, who kept asking King Viserys about the dragons whereabouts in last episode of House of the Dragon. She would marry Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), and they would often fly along Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock).
In 120 AC, though, Laena died, and Vhagar, who was almost as big as Balerion by the time of the Conquest, was claimed by Prince Aemond Targaryen, the youngest son of King Viserys and Lady Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey). By then, the Dance of Dragons had begun, and that posted Vhagar on the side of the Greens (the faction aligned with his brother, King Aegon II) against the Blacks (who supported Rhaenyra's claim to the Iron Throne). They even slayed Prince Lucerys Velaryon, Rhaenyra's son, and his dragon, Arrax. Aemond then earned the nickname Kinslayer.
Some time later, Aemond would identify his uncle Daemon as the biggest threat to the Greens. Their enmity would be resolved in the Battle Above God's Eye, in which all dragons and dragonriders would perish. Vhagar was 181 years old when she died.
