Description

Meraxes was a she-dragon of House Targaryen. She was ridden by Queen Rhaenys Targaryen during Aegon's Conquest, alongside King Aegon the Conqueror's Balerion and their sister Queen Visenya's Vhagar. Meraxes was named for one of the gods of Old Valyria. Meraxes was larger than Vhagar but smaller than Balerion. Meraxes could swallow horses whole. Meraxes had golden eyes and silver scales.

Meraxes was named after a deity from the Valyrian Freehold. She hatched from an egg on Dragonstone during the Century of Blood. At some point, Rhaenys Targaryen claimed Meraxes. Before marrying her brother Aegon, Rhaenys demonstrated her dragonriding skills by riding Meraxes. Rhaenys had a passion for flying and spent more time on her dragon than her siblings combined. She even expressed her desire to fly Meraxes across the Sunset Sea to explore the unknown lands on the western shores.

When Aegon first arrived in Westeros and launched his conquest, he sent his sisters to capture the nearest castles. Rhaenys and Meraxes easily secured the submission of Rosby without any resistance. Later, they joined Orys Baratheon in his mission to defeat Argilac Durrandon, the last Storm King. Due to the severe weather conditions during the Battle of the Last Storm, they were unable to fly, but even on the ground, Meraxes wreaked havoc, burning many soldiers with her dragonfire, including Argilac's vanguard and the knights of his personal guard.

In 4 AC, Aegon began the First Dornish War to conquer the kingdom. Rhaenys led the first assault on Dorne, capturing various Dornish strongholds on her way to Sunspear. She also burned the Planky Town to the ground while riding Meraxes. However, during a battle at Hellholt in 10 AC, an iron bolt from a scorpion pierced Meraxes's eye, causing both Rhaenys and the dragon to plummet to the ground. As Meraxes thrashed in pain, she destroyed the highest tower of the castle and part of the curtain wall. It is unclear whether Rhaenys survived the fall. Some claim she fell to her death after losing her seat, while others believe she was crushed to death by Meraxes in the castle yard.

After Rhaenys and Meraxes died, Visenya and Aegon spent two years burning every Dornish stronghold (except Sunspear and its shadow city), which became known as the Dragon's Wroth. Eventually, a peace delegation returned Meraxes's skull to Aegon. However, even decades later, the remaining bones were still left in the open field at Hellholt.

Meraxes's skull was among eighteen other Targaryen dragon skulls that were displayed on the wall in the Red Keep's throne room. However, after Robert's Rebellion, King Robert I Baratheon had them removed from the throne room and stored in a damp cellar. When Tyrion Lannister visited the capital in 284 AC for his sister's wedding to Robert, he saw the skulls, including Meraxes's, in the cellar. Years later, in 298 AC, Arya Stark came across the dragon skulls while passing through the Red Keep's cellars.