There is no doubt that Vhagar was the largest known dragon in the world during the time of the Dance of the Dragons, and we’ve also seen just how mighty she is in a fight as she knows how to use her size and experience to her advantage. But the fact is that Vhagar won’t get to live past the Targaryen civil war, which took the lives of almost all of the dragons in the world. So, how does Vhagar die in Fire & Blood?
Vhagar dies in a fight against Daemon Targaryen and Caraxes. During the fight, Caraxes closed its jaws on Vhagar’s neck as Daemon leaped from him to plunge his sword straight into Aemond’s eye. All four of them crashed into the Gods Eye Lake. The bodies of Aemond and Vhagar washed up on shore years later.
As large as Vhagar may be, the size of the dragon isn’t always what determines the outcome of a fight, as Caraxes proved to be capable of taking down the massive dragon. Of course, there were plenty of things that went into this fight, especially when it came to the experiences of their dragonriders. Now, with that said, let’s take a better look at how Vhagar died in Fire & Blood.
What Happened To Vhagar In Fire & Blood?
Out of all of the dragons that we’ve seen in House of the Dragon so far, the one that people in the Seven Kingdoms revere the most is Vhagar because she is the only survivor out of the three dragons that Aegon the Conqueror and his sisters used to conquer Westeros. On top of that, Vhagar is also regarded as the biggest and strongest known dragon in the world due to the fact that she is also the oldest known dragon.
As such, when Prince Aemond Targaryen lost his eye to Prince Lucerys Velaryon after he had acquired Vhagar, he was more than happy to have sacrificed only one eye to obtain the largest dragon in the world. Even Otto Hightower thought that the eye that Aemond lost was more than enough payment for winning Vhagar over to their side.
It was indeed true that Vhagar was a great asset on the side of the Greens, as this was displayed in the season 1 finale of House of the Dragon when Vhagar was able to fly faster than the smaller Arrax and killed both Lucerys and his dragon with a single munch. While this was understandable because Arrax is so small compared to Vhagar, the fact is that this dragon could easily do that to almost all of the other dragons in the world, as there is no doubting the sheer size and strength that she possessed.
That was why, during the Dance of the Dragons in the , Vhagar was seen as the most dangerous asset that the Greens had because she could turn the tide of battle in an instant. After killing Luke and Arrax, Vhagar was also strong enough to kill Princess Rhaenys Targaryen and her dragon Meleys in an ambush. While Meleys and Sunfyre were locked together, Vhagar rammed Rhaenys’s dragon and killed her when it crashed into the ground.
During the time when Princess Rhaenyra was preparing to attack King’s Landing, Aemond thought that it was best to attack Prince Daemon in Harrenhal because he believed that he was the biggest threat on the side of the Blacks. He took Vhagar and a large army with him there, only to find out that Daemon had rendezvoused with Rhaenyra to help her take King’s Landing. After that, instead of joining with the other Green forces, Aemond decided to burn the Black settlements in the Riverlands using Vhagar.
While Vhagar was burning the Riverlands, Rhaenyra decided to send Daemon and Nettles, who both had two of the biggest and strongest dragons, to search for Aemond and his dragon. But Nettles had to leave in the middle of the search for Aemond because she was suspected of being Daemon’s lover. As such, Daemon had to challenge Aemond all by himself as he constantly called for the younger prince to answer his call for 14 days.
On the 14thday, Aemond finally decided to answer Daemon’s challenge, as he came to Harrenhal on Vhagar’s back. This was what commenced a battle between the two strongest dragons and dragonriders in the Dance of the Dragons. Of course, this was also arguably the most epic battle in the Targaryen civil war.
How Did Vhagar Die In Fire & Blood?
Both Aemond and Daemon flew on their dragons above the Gods Eye Lake near Harrenhal, as they commenced a fight that historians eventually dubbed the Battle Above the Gods Eye, as two of the strongest dragonriders and their dragons fought for their lives at this moment.
While Vhagar was twice the size of Daemon’s dragon, Caraxes was leaner and more mobile than the larger and heavier dragon. This allowed Daemon to fly Caraxes in a manner that allowed him to outmaneuver the huge dragon.
Because Daemon was more skilled and had the experience of fighting in an actual war, he was able to maneuver Caraxes well enough such that his dragon locked its jaws around Vhagar’s massive neck. They were about to slam into the lake as Daemon leaped from his saddle to pierce his Valyrian Steel sword, Dark Sister, right through Aemond’s blind eye.
The four of them crashed into the Gods Eye Lake, as Caraxes was the only one to swim out of the lake alive. However, he died shortly after making his way to the shore. Years later, the bodies of both Aemond and Vhagar were found on the shore. It was suspected that Vhagar, at the age of 181 years, died immediately upon impact when it crashed into the lake.
