The Dreadnought Dragon of Game of Thrones
In any given war the opposing armies use every means within their power to gain the advantage. It so happens that in GOT, Daenerys Targaryen has three Dragons. We watched them hatching from stone eggs then growing to adulthood, so in the interim we grew rather fond of these magnificent, mystical creatures: the Dragons.
The Dragon was used in the surprise offensive on the Lannister army in Season 7, Episode 4 “The Spoils of War”. The show's largest battle sequence even surpassed in might last year's Battle of the Bastards.
No one blames Daenerys for losing her patience and for her retaliation. Infuriated, she set on to rectify the Tyrion’s ill-advised strategies that cost her land, crucial allies and manpower.
No longer the nice girl, she shall punish the enemy.
“To pursue an advantage and take an opportunity does not allow the error of a moment of breath. It is too early to act and instant earlier and too late to act and instant later.” Sun Tzu
Meanwhile, for a time our senses were lulled by the Lannister Army’s march, flush from its Highgarden victory, wagons laden with the golden spoils of war and much needed provisions. We listened to the quips between Jaime and Bronn with the striking red landscape as the backdrop, foreshadowing the terrible devastation to come.
Then our ears picked up thundering horses’ hoofs hammering the ground. Next, our eyes caught the sight of a huge Drogon slicing through the air. Daenerys riding Drogon flew off the screen as hoards of charging Dothraki waving their weaponry and doing acrobatics on horseback as they swept across the land in a deadly wave.
Pardon me for stating the obvious but the scene was very much reminiscent of past movies of cowboys and Indians, only in this instance the Indians aka Dothraki were to be the victors.
Yes indeed, Daenerys Targaryen unleashed the wrath of the Dragon on them... It was a truly a powerful thing to see. Did you expect otherwise?
The might of Drogon lending assistance to the cavalry, succeeded within minutes in the total rout of the entire Lannister army. Countless men and beasts were slaughtered by the hoards of Dothraki or burned to a crisp by the fiery breath of Drogon.
Strangely enough this proved to be a better strategy on the part of Daenerys Targaryen since it resulted in greater gain against the Lannister force, certainly far more so than it would have been had she opted to assail the walled capital King’s landing instead.
This brings to mind the saying: “Do not attack the enemy on contestable ground.”
Meanwhile there is a sure foreshadowing of future problems to come: In King’s Landing, in the North, and with the Unsullied trapped in Casterly Rock. All of these face a shortage of supplies while awaiting the sure onset of the long winter and the impending attack of the Whitewalkers.
But I digress...coming back to the use of Dragons as serious weaponry. War necessitates the use of all formidable weapons to secure victory and all wars are a terrible bane for all humanity and civilization. Unfortunately throughout history mankind, always the aggressor, has resorted to war instead of diplomatic channels to resolve conflicts. Men are guilty of this terrible scourge. However, when it comes to living creatures like the Dragons and horses used in war, we are left in a quandary.
When Jamie bid Bronn to fetch Qyburns’ Scorpion, and later still Bronn took aim, undoubtedly many hearts quivered, fearing the worse for Drogon. For expectedly with Daenerys, being one of the major stars riding him, she would not perish. But would Drogon?
Relief set in to see, even though we’re not sure how badly Drogon was wounded, that the noble creature still had enough strength left in him to breath fire at that crucial moment and save Daenerys from Jaime’s attack. Jaime was, in turn, saved by Bronn, in case you are wondering.
There is hint in the air however, predicting a far worse outcome for the Dragons.
Though there's no proven and concrete way to kill a dragon, there are a few ways that Dragons may possibly be killed. This based on knowledge from the books and the show.
In the story of Urrax and Serwyn of the Mirror Shield, Serwyn kills the dragon Urrax with a spear through the eye. The spear Cersei shot at Balerion's skull was through the eye. Meraxes, one of the great dragons used by Aegon the Conqueror to conquer Westeros, was killed by an iron bolt to the eye from a scorpion, a weapon similar to that Qyburn made.
Qyburn's device could therefore work on Daenerys‘dragons, but they need to be better marksmen as a live dragon’s flight is swift. They can manoeuvre through the air while simultaneously unleashing the deadly breath of fire on the target with devastating results.
The Dance of the Dragons was a civil war between two Targaryens fighting for the Iron Throne, about 170 years before the events of "Game of Thrones." During this major war Dragons fought each other on opposing sides. Subsequently, there were many casualties of Dragons.
After Aegon III (who had deep seated hatred for the dragons) defeated his half-sister, Rhaenyra, he put the remaining dragons in chains and locked them up. These captive dragons grew weak and within a span of few years all perished. It is important to note however that Daenerys had locked up Rhaegal and Viserion in Meereen. But they survived their ordeal. So captivity was not the culprit, but, as rumoured, Aegon III or the maesters may have poisoned the captive dragons.
Then again, it’s important to note that the maesters at the Citadel in Oldtown (where Samwell Tarly is training) were totally adverse to magic, it can even be claimed that they despised it.
Also, in the books, Euron Greyjoy has Dragonbinder. Valyrian glyphs on the horn read, "I am Dragonbinder ... No mortal man should sound me and live ... Blood for fire, fire for blood." Now this Dragonbinder (also known as the Hellhorn because it is a large dragon horn) is supposed to enable one to control dragons. It is said that anyone who blows the horn will die but any dragons that hear it will be compelled to obey the horn's master. We’ll have to see if this will be introduced into the HBO series.
The already despised influential character and an ally to Cersei Euron Greyjoy, could use this Dragonbinder, while escaping that certain death, to turn Daenerys ‘s dragons on each other. Indeed, it will be a feat that will put him in the limelight.
Rest easy however; I think some if not all will survive to fight against the Whitewalkers. Fire and Ice... Isn’t that what was promised all along?
If, perchance, the Dragons do not survive or are altered, here are some possible dreaded futures:
Hope for the best
Fin
