Description

Sunfyre, also known as Sunfyre the Golden, was a male dragon ridden by King Aegon II Targaryen. The three-headed Targaryen dragon in the arms of Aegon was made golden to honor Sunfyre.

Sunfyre had gleaming gold scales, which shone like beaten gold in the sunlight, and pale pink wing membranes. His flames were golden as well. According to Archmaester Gyldayn, Sunfyre was the most beautiful dragon ever seen in the known world. Huge and heavy, the splendid Sunfyre was a formidable fighter despite his youth.

During the war, Ser Criston Cole, who served as Aegon's Hand of the King, devised a plan to capture Princess Rhaenys Targaryen and her dragon, Meleys, at the battle in Rook's Rest. While Meleys was destroying Criston's army, Aegon and his brother Prince Aemond arrived on their own dragons, Sunfyre and Vhagar, and engaged in a battle that resulted in all three dragons falling to the ground. Aegon was badly injured and taken to King's Landing, while Sunfyre, too injured to fly, remained near Rook's Rest and was fed by Criston's men.

During the fall of King's Landing to Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen's forces, Lord Larys Strong aided King Aegon II Targaryen in escaping the capital. The king sought refuge in a remote fishing village on Dragonstone. Sunfyre, on the other hand, was said to have hidden in the piney woods and caves of Crackclaw Point before eventually making his way to Dragonstone. Some speculated that Sunfyre's primal instincts led him back to his birthplace or a desire to reunite with Aegon II. However, Mushroom claimed that due to Sunfyre's inability to fly, the dragon was referred to as a 'great golden fire-breathing chicken'.

When Rhaenyra Targaryen arrived at Dragonstone with Violande in the tenth moon of 130 AC, she was taken captive by Ser Alfred Broome and the greens. Rhaenyra found humor in the sight of the crippled Sunfyre, but Aegon chose to have his half-sister fed to the dragon. According to legend, Sunfyre only reacted to Rhaenyra after her breast was pricked with a dagger by Alfred, and the smell of her blood aroused the dragon. Sunfyre then breathed flames on her before biting off her arm and shoulder in six pieces, leaving only her left leg below the shin. Prince Aegon the Younger witnessed his mother's brutal death, and Elinda Massey is said to have gouged out her eyes in horror. Initially, King Aegon II hoped that Sunfyre might recover enough to fly again, but the dragon grew weaker and refused to eat. Eventually, he died from his injuries on the ninth day of the twelfth moon of 130 AC. Although Aegon ordered the execution of captive Baela Targaryen, he later spared her life to avoid angering House Velaryon, despite weeping for the loss of his mother.