Who is Vermithor? Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon episode 10. The Targaryen family civil war has begun, and Rhaenyra Targaryen and her half-brother Aegon II are on the hunt for allies. While Aegon’s diplomatic efforts seem to have won around the great houses of Westeros, Rhaenyra has other plans.
Through her husband, Daemon Targaryen, Rhaenyra plans on recruiting several new and powerful dragons to her side. The most powerful of these is Vermithor, and we’ve seen Daemon singing to the beast as he tries to calm it, but who is Vermithor?
Who is Vermithor?
Vermithor, also known as the Bronze Fury, was an enormous and powerful male dragon who the great King Jaehaerys once rode.
He was a genuinely colossal beast, with only Balerion the Black Dread and Vhagar growing larger than him and he dwarves medium-sized dragons like Syrax. It also seemed to be the mate of the she-dragon Silverwing.
Vermithor’s early life
While Vermithor’s exact lineage is unknown. Based on his age, we can presume that he’s a direct ancestor of Balerion, Vhagar, or Meraxes and may even have been part of the first generation of dragons born after Aegon the Conqueror claimed Westeros for his own.
At some point in his life, Jaehaerys claimed Vermithor for himself, and he was the king’s personal mount until he died. After Jaehaerys passed away, no one claimed Vermithor, and the great drake made his home on Dragonstone, eventually settling in a vast cave under the Targaryen castle.
Vermithor during the Dance of the Dragons
In the fantasy series, we see Daemon trying to recruit Vermithor to Rhaenyra Targaryen’s side, and we know from the books he’ll be successful and a major player in House of the Dragon season 2. Several Dragonseeds — Targaryen bastards — were brought before Vermithor, but the great bronze dragon refused to bond with them and instead burned them alive.
Eventually, a seed known as Hugh Hammer managed to tame Vermithor and bring the dragon into the war effort. Hugh and Vermithor fought in the Battle in the Gullet and the first Battle of Tumbleton, but the bastard son had ambitions beyond serving Rhaenyra.
He eventually betrayed his Queen, taking Vermithor with him, and sided with the Greens. His betrayal didn’t stop there, however. Hugh finally declared himself king after Rhaenyra fled King’s Landing and used Vermithor to back up his claims.
This attempted coup didn’t go well for Hugh, and he was eventually murdered before the second Battle of Tumbleton. Vermithor was left riderless, and in the ensuing battle, the dragon fought with Seasmoke and Tessarion.
In the fight, Vermithor managed to kill Seasmoke, but its wings were ruined, and it died while attempting to fly away. According to legend, Silverwing sought out Vermithor’s remains and tried to rouse her mate from his eternal sleep but was obviously unable to.
If you love the TV series House of the Dragons, check out our guide to the best Game of Thrones characters, or if you want to know more about the key players in the Dance of the Dragons, we have guides to Larys Strong, Alicent Hightower, King Viserys Targaryen, White Worm, and Otto Hightower, some of the most important House of the Dragon characters.
If you want to know more about what’s next for Westeros, we’ve also got guides looking into the history of Daenerys Targaryen and the chances of a Game of Thrones season 9. Finally, you can learn what the Game of Thrones cast has been up to since the show ended.
Our sister site Wargamer also has a guide to the best Game of Thrones board games if you want to play this deadly political game for yourself.