Description

Balerion, called the Black Dread, was a dragon of House Targaryen. He was ridden by King Aegon I Targaryen during the Conquest, alongside his sister Queen Visenya's Vhagar, and his sister Queen Rhaenys's Meraxes. Other known riders of Balerion were King Maegor I Targaryen, Princess Aerea Targaryen and Prince Viserys Targaryen. Balerion died of old age in 94 AC during the reign of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, around two hundred years old.

Balerion's scales and wings were black. His fire was black, sometimes with swirls of red. When he was in the fullness of his power, his flames could melt steel and stone, and fuse sand into glass.

Balerion, the largest of all Targaryen dragons after Aegon's Conquest, had a wingspan so vast that his shadow could enshroud entire towns when he flew overhead. His teeth were sword-length, and his jaws could devour an entire aurochs or one of the hairy mammoths known to wander the frigid wastes beyond the Port of Ibben. By 93 AC, Balerion had ceased to grow, and had become lethargic, lumbering, and difficult to rouse. When Prince Viserys Targaryen claimed the dragon that year, Balerion struggled to lift off the ground. Prince Viserys was convinced that the dragon lacked the strength to fly from King's Landing to Dragonstone. Balerion was a strong-willed creature and not one to be taken lightly.

Balerion was named after an ancient god of the Valyrian Freehold. He was born in Valyria, and was one of the five dragons Aenar Targaryen brought with him when he fled to Dragonstone to survive the Doom of Valyria. After the other four of Aenar's dragons died, Balerion became the last creature to have seen the Freehold in its prime.