Summary
At the beginning of HBO’sHouse of the Dragon, Rhaenyra Targaryen narrates the progress her House made in the last hundred years, since the days of the Conquest. At their zenith, the Targaryens have the ownership of ten fully-grown dragons. The then ruler, the Old King Jaehaerys is succeeded by his grandson, and Rhaenyra’s father, Viserys to the Iron Throne. His second marriage to Alicent Hightower splits House Targaryen into two factions and leads to a civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. This conflict is the focal point of HBO’sHouse of the Dragonand as the name suggests, dragon warfare will dominate this Dance. While the Greens' Prince Aemond Targaryen rides the largest living dragon in the Seven Kingdoms, King Aegon II rides Sunfyre and Helaena has Dreamfyre. The Blacks have Syrax, Caraxes, Meleys, Vermax, Tyraxes, and Moondancer.
Since the Greens and the Blacks are taking their dragons to war, it means the act of eliminating the rival beasts both the factions will be paramount. This brings back into focus the Dragon-Killing Scorpions that featured in the original,Game of Thrones.Cersei’s ally, Euron Greyjoy shoots aScorpion bolt at Daenerys' Rhaegaland sends him crashing into the sea. The long-range artillery weapons, Scorpions resemble mounted crossbows. Their bolts carry high-speed velocities that can puncture the skulls and scales of dragons. They are portable and can be operated either by a small group of soldiers or a single person.
RELATED:House Of The Dragon: What is the Biggest Dragon?
The First Dornish War
Aegon was successful in forging a realm from six independent kingdoms, but the Principality of Dorne continued to be independent. Rhaenys flew on dragonback to seek the subjugation of the Dornish, but the latter remained true to their House Words - “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken.” She warned the ruler, Princess Meria Martell that she would be back with “Fire and Blood” and left. This is where the Scorpion comes into the picture. During the First Dornish War, the Dornishmen eliminated the double whammy ofthe Targaryen colonizer, Queen Rhaenys, and her dragon, Meraxes using a Scorpion bolt.
At Hellholt, a bolt from a Scorpion pierced Meraxes' eye, thereby plummeting the she-dragon and her rider to their deaths. Meraxes fell from the skies, just as Daenerys' Rhaegal did inGame of Thrones. That said, there exist conflicting reports about Rhaenys' death, and it’s unknown whether she survived the fall. Some accounts claim that Rhaenys was crushed under the weight of her dragon and others claim that she was captured by the Ullers and given a slow death. Against this backdrop, the learned statesman fromGame of Thrones, Lord Tywin Lannister wanted to use the Dornish to fight Daenerys and her three dragons. Tywin knew that only the Dornish managed to resistAegon Targaryen and his dragons, and therefore he would need their help in the future.
Scorpions In Game of Thrones
InGame of Thronesseason 7, episode 2 “Stormborn,” Daenerys is in Dragonstone, ready to strike Cersei and the Lannister army. Besides Cersei’s use of propaganda and fearmongering, her Hand, Qyburn takes her down to the cellars of the Red Keep where the dragon skulls are stored. He shows her the skull of Balerion the Black Dread and describes the dead beast as “powerful but not invincible.” Qyburn informs her one of Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons was wounded by spears inthe fighting pits of Meereenand therein lies his inspiration for designing the Scorpion.
The finest artilleters and blacksmiths in King’s Landing have been laboring day and night, Your Grace. If you’d kindly pull that lever.
Cersei does as requested, and shoots a bolt from the Scorpion through Balerion’s skull. The Lannisters end up using this Scorpion inthe Battle of the Goldroadwhen Daenerys and her Dothraki ambush the combined Lannister-Tarly forces returning from the Sack of Highgarden.Game of Thronesseason 7, episode 4 “The Spoils of War,” sees Daenerys and Drogon strike the Lannister-Tarly field army and while she’s burning the enemy, Jaime Lannister sends Bronn to load Qyburn’s dragon-killing Scorpion. Bronn fires the first bolt, but it misses Daenerys by a few feet. The second pierces Drogon in the right shoulder, but he manages to land. Wounded, the raging dragon destroys the Scorpion and Daenerys proceeds to remove the bolt from her dragon’s neck. Later on inThrones, Euron Greyjoy easily brings down Rhaegal with Scorpion bolts. As such, the ballistae will undoubtedly play a very important role in the upcoming season of HBO’sHouse of the Dragon.
House of the Dragonseason 1, episode 10 “The Black Queen,” ended with the deaths of Prince Lucerys Velaryon and his dragon, Arrax. They were chased midair by Aemond Targaryen during a raging storm over Shipbreaker Bay. By the end of this bullying sequence, Aemond completely lost control of Vhagar and failed to restrain her. The she-dragon killed Lucerys and Arrax and sent their bodies into the waters of the Bay. Given the ferocious nature of the serpentine beasts, the warring factions will try to eliminate them to tilt the balance in their favor. The dragons inHouse of the Dragonwill go to warin the upcoming season.
MORE:House Of The Dragon: Alicent And Rhaenyra’s Rivalry, Explained
