The Creature that Wounded Balerion Explained Game of Thrones House of the Dragon ASOIAF Lore

The Creature that Wounded Balerion Explained A song of ice and fire/Game of Thrones/ House of the dragon Lore
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[@blazeblade761]

It is most likely fire worms, but I love the idea that aurions dragon survived and fought balerion

[@thalmoragent9344]

Would've been dope... but I imagine we'll never see his Dragon again, it must've been around it's later natural lifespan at this point. Likely long dead, before Balerion died

[@fallenaeon7084]

Considering that there is magic within the ruins of Valyria, my guess is that not only Aurion's dragon survived but had also grown more powerful and given a longer lifespan by the lingering magic of Valyria's ruins hence wounding Balerion.

[@DrDoom931]

@fallenaeon7084 Was more than likely MUCH larger than Balerion too, because of the magic aspect

[@ogiebear8484]

@@fallenaeon7084this is what I thought of too

[@mesa577]

​@@fallenaeon7084if it was alive it would match or be larger than balerion and fights with equal dragons don't end with a scratch.

[@mortanos8938]

The Game of Thrones universe just never gets boring.

[@roselewis9580]

NEVER AT ALL

[@CharmagnCody-mw6zr]

I know! And then like when I think I've heard of everything some new shhh pops up! It's literally THE BEST!!!!!

[@dranzerjetli5126]

Now this shit is way more interesting

[@bh3855]

Which is why GRRM will never see heaven for abandoning it.

[@mortanos8938]

@@bh3855 First of all, he already is in Hell thanks to all the hassling fans. Whhen you get to that age you need more time for yourself for all sorts of reasons, especially to forage in the brain for a story worth telling. All those clueless whiners who keep harassing him should try it out themselves and they will see the detritus they come up with. Good ideas can not simply be set upon from 9 to 5, unless ofcourse you just want the mediocre money making garbage that waters down the quality of once great works such as what Disney is doing with star wars. You should be thanking Martin for all the work he has done and still is doing.

[@chukwuebukaopene7716]

Aerea's condition after returning is so damn frightening 🤧

[@Headshot1st]

I honestly want to see that see how they manage the fire worms and maybe backstory if and how the dragons were created (if at all)

[@jay-1800]

So bad that Barth and Benifer agreed never to speak of everything they saw and burned the remains before her mother Rhaena could see her.

[@Ruosteinenknight]

It spooked king Jaeherys so much, that he ordered ever evidence of this to be destroyed and gave a decree the ruins of old valyria are in permanent quarantine under penalty of death. And any ships that have visited the ruins are to barred entry to Westeros. And Jaeherys was pushover. Whatever scared him must've been something very terrible indeed. Said ban has held and only two people have violated it: Gereon Lannister and Euron Greyjoy(alledgedly). Volantis has tried to organize and expedition to Valyria, but after they dissapeared without a trace, no one in Essos has ever tried that again.

[@TheAndyRose]

@@Ruosteinenknightdid she return on Balerion already dead with the fire worms eating her alive ? Or was she already dead in that condition and Balerion brought her home ?

[@MadMatTom7769]

@@TheAndyRose The worst thing is, she was still alive, if I remember right she died when the maester put her in cold water...

[@gothic3theageofwar565]

The theory of Emperor Aurion’s “corrupted” demonic dragon is a lot cooler than Fire wyrms honestly

[@nickthompson7542]

Agreed. I never once considered that but it would be awesome

[@fairshareofdrownedsouls]

Which is why I am grateful for George for not revealing the true answer: It's a cool mystery. George is very self aware of this: When Jaime is at Pennytree, he thinks: 'I wonder why there are so many pennies stuck to this tree. I bet the boy [Hoster Blackwood] knows.' But instead of asking, Jaime thinks something like: 'No, I won't ask, it would spoil the mystery.' Annoying for the fans, but also a nod from George: You can ask me, but it would ruin your enjoyment of the deeper mystery of the story. Since the answer will either be plainer than expected: - Balerion fought an adult Firewyrm (Probably). Or mind-blowing, but it is no longer exciting because you know: - Balerion fought Emperor Aurion's corrupted demon dragon.

[@eliburry-schnepp6012]

I don't think it's either. Something awful was unleashed by the Doom, and I don't think it's anything that we've seen before

[@smokingirishman7820]

​@@fairshareofdrownedsouls You helped me understand something I couldn't grasp until now I fundamentally crave answers to questions and as such have studied history, mathematics, science and politics and when I hear of a great mystery my mind wants figure it out but your mind and maybe the majority of people are far more satisfied by the mystery itself. I'm started to see why schools were worthless for so many as well

[@carefree17]

​@@fairshareofdrownedsoulsmysteries are boring. I like getting to know and explore stuff.

[@TaksAndKins]

Calling Balerion refusing to recognise Aerea's control and disappearing with a princess his "year abroad" is absolutely hilarious. He was just a college student broadening his horizons

[@RLucas3000]

During which he definitely experimented with his sexuality (lol)

[@thelordpenguin2390]

He did listen to her, just wanted to go “home” to kings landing, but Balerion thought of “home” as Valyria

[@jadespiral4673]

@@thelordpenguin2390 yeah, i mean he was defo bonded with her considering he carried her half dead body back to kings landing

[@_justinblizzle]

@@jadespiral4673it was the least he could do after putting her life in danger 😅

[@ivantheterrible7696]

​@@_justinblizzle he didn't just "put her life in danger", the parasites cooked her from the inside out. He straight up got her killed.

[@alejandronunez5110]

Imagine something so goddamn big and mighty that it could wound Balerion more than hundreds of battles,scary Af.

[@blaxpoitation8528]

With a 9ft wound, no less. There are more terrifying creatures than dragons in the world of ASoIF

[@keychain3039]

​@@blaxpoitation8528either its wild or its wild and mutated from whatever happened to valyria

[@ickyfist]

It's easy to imagine. He's not even that crazy from old valyrian standards. Even Euron's horn is noted to be from a dragon that was significantly bigger than balerion and that's just some shit he found among ruins.

[@alejandronunez5110]

@@ickyfist goddamn,Gods know what's out there.

[@MrFredstt]

@@ickyfist I wonder how that worked though? It's said when Viserys rode Balerion he was so old and tired that he barely had the stamina to fly for long. So, if Old Valyria had larger dragons how did they manage it?

[@jimmiehissong]

They really need to just make an animated series starting from the beginning and go through all of history in Westeros and surrounding areas. I’ll give you my monies now lol

[@jasonrist6582]

Do it yourself and get that $$

[@GhANeC]

Yeah you do it, go through the stress and pressure of making like 40 seasons at least, covering “everything”, knowing that even if you worked yourself stiff you could never keep such a relentless, bitchy, insufferable fan base ever happy.

[@jimmiehissong]

@@jasonrist6582 im not that dedicated lol

[@jimmiehissong]

@@GhANeC i’ll leave it up to the professionals and people with more ambition than I lol

[@GhANeC]

@@jimmiehissong or less sense or sanity than you 😄

[@virothyr]

I find it sad of balerion tried to help aerea but misunderstanding happened when aerea said she wanted to go home and balerion thought it meant his home, Valyria

[@edward9232]

Dragons were never meant to be contained. I'm sure he hated it

[@Random_UserName4269]

@@edward9232it doesn’t seem like they hate it at all. They aren’t forced into it, and they refuse when they want to. It’s clearly symbiotic for some reason.

[@petrstanovsky7648]

Interesting, but I just think she wasn't powerfull enough for him so he just took her with him, but then change his mind and save her, as Drogon with Daenerys.

[@MattyBGettingMoney]

That's not how it works sorry

[@8Hshan]

@@edward9232 I think dragons were never meant to EXIST naturally, and are rather a product of blood magic. And they likely need magic to hatch. They were PRODUCED to be contained, and they hatch to be contained.

[@melkhiordarkfell4354]

It is funny to remember that the Targaryen's were only a minor noble house in Old Valyria so imagining what kind of power, magic and Valyrian Steel the greatest houses had, I'm picturing a dragon riding knight, clad head to toe in pure Valyrian Steel armour, with flaming sword a dragon to put any seen in Westeros to shame.

[@LouisKing995]

I don’t really buy them being all that much bigger than the black dread though. He was already ludicrously big. To be like much larger than him would be a city-sized dragon and that just dumb.

[@K1ngAlexander]

@@LouisKing995so who wounded his wing?

[@LouisKing995]

@@K1ngAlexander Who knows dude, but if it was something city-sized then it would have done more than wound his wing wouldn’t it ?

[@freedom43774]

​@@LouisKing995lol lotr dragon are big as a mountain 😂

[@freedom43774]

​@@LouisKing995if them not having a bigger dragon than targary it will be so dumb lol..

[@mrbad9171]

I never thought of the emperor of Valyria before imagine how badass he was

[@Marc_Araujo]

He wasn't actually an emperor. He was in Qohor when the Doom happened. After the Doom, he named himself "Emperor" and took his dragon and a few thousand men to claim what was left but was never seen again.

[@DrDoom931]

@@Marc_Araujo Lol he took 30k, not a "few thousand"

[@Marc_Araujo]

@@DrDoom931 Didn't remember the number off the top of my head. Regardless, the outcome was the same...they were never seen or heard from again.

[@mrbad9171]

@@Marc_Araujo Are these details in the novels or in the world of ice and fire

[@Marc_Araujo]

@@mrbad9171 World of Ice and Fire

[@yourdaddy9964]

I wish they would do a cartoon version of the whole thing

[@ObsidianLazarus]

An animated version of asoiaf would be better because you dont have to worry about cgi and actors aging past there roll

[@biscaynesupercars]

It would be great if done properly. Maybe in anime style

[@gamesquadtv1600]

They were supposed to do that with Yi-TI I think it still may be on the table it was called the golden empire or something like that

[@mgs_4k198]

Read the comics. Next best thing

[@gamesquadtv1600]

@@mgs_4k198 they have comics?? Oh shit I’m missing out plz tell me

[@majorismight]

I just love how much depth there is to this universe. Eastern essos is so interesting and mysterious!

[@TheV8Pumpkin]

Ik! And the craziest part is this world is also a sphere like ours! Eastern most Essos (Ashaii) has been loosely said to have missing ships docked/crashed on it that went too far West

[@majorismight]

@@TheV8PumpkinWell then Arya will there no? I wonder if we can get a series for that.

[@TheGoodTheBadTheRowdy]

I kinda also want to see a japanese animated version.The art and styles are beautiful!

[@TheV8Pumpkin]

@@majorismight i think we were supposed to get a show for her called Nymeria or something? Idk a lot of them got canceled sadly the Seasnake was supposed to be the big world exploring show

[@Random_UserName4269]

You mean The Chin Empire? It’s so funny how obvious it is to find the corresponding real life versions of everything he wrote in the book.

[@elisastaniscia]

the story of balerion and aerea is probably one of my fave mysteries in the whole asoiaf universe

[@loreramble]

I love it but I also want at least some further answers regarding it. It is just far to intriguing.

[@guppiegirl7670]

@@loreramblethey could use her year abroad as another spin off, like HOTD. She could be traversing what’s left of old Valyria, maybe she goes to the south, maybe she simply flies by old valirya at the end. The could have her do anything, give a lot of lore, or none. She is a blank canvas.

[@flickrebeat8936]

Same

[@marcbartuschka6372]

It might also be something even more supernatural. It is said that "deamons" are in Valyria, and we have no idea what that might mean exactly. Maybe it was one of them.

[@TheMattsem]

I'm not sure there's demons they're basically slaves human Camaros made from blood magic

[@360entertainment2]

Kind of makes me want a series of horror stories set in the ASOIAF series about shipwrecked Survivors slowly realizing they’re in Valyria and have to survive!

[@RoadKamelot2nd]

The creatures which had infested Aerea were definitely not fire Wyrms. They had human faces. We are very likely talking about daemons. The creature that infested her was obviously sentient enough to keep her alive to be a host for the creatures septon Bart saw.

[@TheTrollingMaster-xr9el]

@@RoadKamelot2ndF&B describes them as having faces but it’s never specified that the faces were human.

[@AnarexicSumo]

@@RoadKamelot2ndThere are tons of real world parasites that keep their host alive to brood but have no sentience at all…

[@jeffjefferson2853]

I love how somewhere out there is a monster capable of harming the most powerful creature in the series, and we'll probably never know who or what it was. Lore mysteries like this are some of my favorite things about the fantasy genre

[@JoshTheHoffman]

The Ice wyverns/dragons are rumored to be quite massive. Then there is that massive Forest continent who knows what's in the deeper parts of the forest there. the shadow lands probably have some crazy shit too.

[@Elrewin59]

Nah I hate it. I wanna knoooowww

[@zgama6511]

Would much rather a series exploring the old valyria than either shows that we got 😂 what we got was good sure but imagine what we could of got with the addition of horrific dark magic apparently strong enough to harm the strongest dragon to ever live?

[@salbro2715]

@@zgama6511 Balerion is not the strogest dragon ever lived lol. Its clearly said in the books that house Targeriyen was one of the small dragon houses during the doom. They also had the smallest Dragon. The only reason they survived is because of Aegon's mothers vision and the doom destroying all the powerful Dragons and their houses. So yeah its pretty normal if a dragon somehow managed the doom itd probably be bigger than Balerion.

[@zgama6511]

@@salbro2715 well I haven't read the books only watched a bunch of lore videos and the shows either way balerion dies so big he couldn't even fly anymore. I know that was a mix of the old age and going back to old valyria but it's still worth noting he was so big he could no longer fly. Either way I'm not wrong balerion is the biggest and strongest dragon we've seen/heard about just bc the Targaryens were a small dragon house doesn't mean that balerion was considered small by any means they brought him to westeros when he was still young and he just kept growing from what I remember. Maybe they do get bigger in old valyria but we haven't been shown that and probably never will bc that show would be too interesting I guess they'd rather tell stories about Rhaenyra instead of how they came to westeros. (House of the dragon is really good don't get me wrong would just prefer a show about the doom or old valyria instead) Vahgr, however it's spelled, is literally the size of a city and balerion is said to be bigger than that so at a certain point what do these things eat? I know it's a fantasy series but it's also one based in realism if dragons just naturally got bigger than balerion in old valyria then what did they eat? The only thing close to their size is themselves especially in westeros so are they cannibalistic like most creatures in nature or is there somehow a way for them to get a them sized meal? As cool as the idea of bigger dragons are I think balerion was the exception for house Targaryen and even if bigger ones do exist or did exist there's still the issue with food for them and I just struggle to see how they would have eaten at that size.

[@curtcoeurdelion]

In 2005 George R.R. Martin was at a fan convention and promised to write an essay about what happened to Balerio back in Valyria. The following year he delivered the first two pages of an introduction and has since then promised to end that essay by 2048, but if interrupted at least by 2062. So we have just to be patient and we will get all the answers soon!

[@marine47ncaa25]

This part of the books was creepy as hell. Just the unknown (and known) about the condition of the princess & Balerion were deeply disturbing.

[@goldfishy999]

Aurion's dragon must be a fkking beast to injure Balerion.

[@DrDoom931]

​@@frazieromondi9331A 9ft scratch that smoked and never healed for the rest of his life. Some sctrach huh?

[@goldfishy999]

@@DrDoom931 bro you look like someone who dont even know what the soiaf is so please stop spamming literally anything in the comment section

[@johnozzmond9728]

​@@frazieromondi9331less so Vhagar, Vhagar was nearly as large as Balerion. Balerion would probably still win a fight, but he'd likely take some serious injuries in the process

[@anelealbert497]

​@@johnozzmond9728and yet, Caraxes KILLED HER! WOW! fierce champion Caraxes was. 🔋

[@mappingshaman5280]

​@@frazieromondi9331vhagar would definitely do more damage to balerion than a 9 ft scratch. She would lose fo sho but she'd go down kicking.

[@toshiarichardson9627]

Guessing maybe she was taken by a fyrewyrm, and it implanted young ones inside her, then Balerion found her and fought for her, rescuing her and bringing her home hoping someone could help her.....

[@boromirfernandes4324]

she probably just drank some microworm water

[@eliburry-schnepp6012]

I highly doubt it was anything that mundane. If a man like Barth was convinced it was some kind of Lovecraftian god then I doubt it's any kind of known creature that did that to her.

[@toshiarichardson9627]

@@eliburry-schnepp6012 only George R.R. Martin knows for sure......

[@Leo.de99]

@@toshiarichardson9627I don’t think even he knows lol

[@pontuslagerqvist4630]

What do u mean HE CREATED THE LORE​@@Leo.de99

[@operatingthetan9058]

The Lore to A Song of Ice and Fire is absolutely insane.

[@fairshareofdrownedsouls]

Just wait until you realise how insane real life lore is. Real life lore makes ASOIAF lore look like a single sentence written on a page. Real life lore is like a billion libraries, full of books, stacked next to and on top of each other, covering the entire globe until it reaches space.

[@operatingthetan9058]

@@fairshareofdrownedsouls that’s wild, I’ll have to check out some of that. Would you like to see my Dylan Klebold Impression in person?

[@catxborsuq1]

Balerion died when he was near 200, and in years prior to that (by the time the mother of Viserys - his final rider - thought about claiming hi) he was described as slow and drowzy. The dragon of Aurion would be have been about that age at the time Balerion went to Valyria. I doubt it would pose a threat to the Black Dread then

[@ericlayton8888]

True, but Balerion didn’t necessarily lose the fight - he just picked up a major injury. So maybe Aurion’s dragon was slow and dozy and indeed ended up losing, doesn’t mean he couldn’t have gotten some licks in

[@mrbiscuits001]

That could very well have been due to the injuries he sustained and also the fact that he was the first dragon to be chained in the DragonPit. After nearly 200 years of free roaming it would’ve been a shock to his body.

[@darellmawitjere]

Remember The main reason why Balerion was Weak on his older age because he was Growing in Westeros. but Aurion Dragon was Born & Raise in Valirya it make him more stronger than Targaryen dragon

[@godoflightning5030]

One of the weekend dragons you have to remeber there were 40 dragon lord families and the targaryens were at the bottom or close to it they had five dragons compared to the over 1000 dragons in Valyria so I’m betting other dragons are stronger and they were chained constantly which while growing as dragons do would mess up there bones and other effects making it harder to do anything so it makes sense they would get slower and weaker they did not have freedom and were not hunting it’s like changing a wolf to a dog one is ruthless and active the other is not near as ruthless or active when they are no longer free or hunting on their own

[@DDDxxxDDDxxxDDD]

Viserys himself was the final rider of Balerion.

[@amberklaire9419]

I wonder... how big was Balerion compared to the other Valyrian dragons? Surely he wasn't the biggest of the dragons, just the biggest to survive the doom outside of Valyria.

[@jay-1800]

During early A clash of kings while Dany is otw to Qarth they find dragon bones in the red waste. The skull was big enough for a couple mounted riders to stand in its jaw

[@FathersUnited-fu]

Yep. & Targaryens were a low class household. Crazy right.

[@adamantiiispencespence4012]

​@@jay-1800and Balerion was so big as to swallow a carriage or an aurochs whole. Balerion is bigger.

[@camerongooch9606]

Belarion was but a wrymling at the time of the targaryen exodus to dragon stone 12 years before the doom, 112 years later aegon started the conquest with balerion being around 130 during the conquest a prime dragon by all accounts, roughly the same age as vermathor in ADOD. By his death at 208 in 94 AC he was so big he could barely fly, and wouldn't even rise. This almost 200 years after Valaria and as we know magic began to fade away from planatos after the doom means that's probably a dragons max size post valeria. However during the height of their powers I reckon there were dragons even bigger then balerion. With the upper families not only having more dragons probably multiple dozens but also vastly larger dragons as well.

[@arunakoyanbron8927]

Targaryens were middle class in the valyrian freehold. Their dragons were big but nothing infront of the top power valyrian clans' mounts. It's like comparing a Honda to a Rolls Royce

[@picknicchietti]

I love how you intricately describe it, and then right at the end, “…it may have also just been firewyrms” 😂😂

[@camerongooch9606]

Its also possible that they flew to sothorys the "African " continent to the far south. There is almost nothing known about that place other then tribal cannibals and gigantic lizards live in the forests. The further from westerns you get the more unknown the world becomes.

[@dylanthedinosaurking4009]

I heard that place possibly contained gigantic dinosaur like creatures but take that with a grain of salt🤷‍♂️

[@johnniesalomon1942]

The lore book (can't remember it's name, but I have the special edition) suggest that the southern continent is home to gigantic wyverns and apes, that are as big as building. But as you said, there is almost nothing that is known about it, since it was explored by men only on one occasion, in which the explorers barely started on it's north shore and all of them died or ran away shortly after.

[@thegrayrider7022]

Two impossibly large dragons, blotting out the sun and spewing fire at one another. What an epic event to imagine, let alone witness

[@velsync9226]

Bro we need a whole 8 seasons of Targaryen’s only

[@dranzerjetli5126]

Need a lost continent arc like hunter x hunter one

[@VColossalV]

in Old Valyria the Targaryen's were only a minor house, so if the series was about that era then it wouldn't focus on them.

[@SirBallsDeepOfHouseManthrust]

I remember reading that even Balerion was a rather small and weak dragon compared to the greatest ones that lived in old Valyria. It could have just been a random dragon that somehow was still kicking around in the peninsula.

[@nahortesfaldet2313]

Could have been fire wyrms, other dragons, radioactive mutants, shadow spawn, demons, other monsters, we'll never know, and it will never be explained

[@NexusGameEnt]

They ran into a fkin Eldritch deity

[@Sulufy]

Multiple creatures because he also had scars that were healed. So something attacked them, they survived and healed up then were attacked by something else.

[@jenniferc9002]

As a person who hasn’t read the books, I am always marveling at the world Martin has crafted with each new book fact shared.

[@abyrupus]

If you're interested in the world, read the book The World of Ice and Fire which has details about exotic far-off locations.

[@youllmakeit]

Imagine riding with a nuke. Imagine getting hit so hard that it does that to you. Even at the top, being cautious is extremely necessary.

[@os44881616]

*The SELF-STYLED emperor of valyria

[@manasmurali4143]

Damn, GOT lore is so more dope than just Jon Snow and the Seven Kingdoms

[@u.v.s.5583]

Balerion got drunk and flew in a sharp edge of a cliff. It was nothing, just a flesh wound.

[@stew-03]

Bro got shitfaced

[@vvt-4467]

whaaat? it is not fan theory. In Fire & Blood Barth and many other evidence suggests that Balerion brought Aerea to Valyria. And the creature to be suspected to wound Balerion was a Firewyrm that could grow humongous size in comparison to Dragons.

[@goldfishy999]

Imagine what Aurion's dragon would look like

[@danielhughes5932]

It wasn't much older than balerion. Remember big B was born in valyria before the doom. He couldn't have been older than balerion got to otherwise he would've been famous for it but i guess that still gives him like a 180 year range so maybe your right that would make him possibly close to 300 vs balerions 160ish at the time But chances are they were much closer in age

[@goldfishy999]

@@danielhughes5932 you are quite a fan

[@AC-hj9tv]

Bro ran into OJ Simpson fr

[@lukethegoldenminecart1297]

If it was Aurion's dragon the fact that Balerion came back alive implies he may have killed it. That is a fight I would watch

[@paulettemann4107]

But of course..The Black Dread made it back with his rider. There may have been a battle, yes.. but Balerion obviously was at least powerful enough to be partially victorious, at least enough to escape.

[@cristianlopez6801]

If only GRRM gave more details about Valyria. Supposedly the Targaryens were one of the weaker families in Valyria so you wonder if that also means they had the weaker dragons or not.

[@BrandonnPhm2140]

“All that for a drop of blood 🩸 “.

[@Charlz100]

Everyone: what could have done this..😱😱 Balerion: you should see the other guy

[@ProffezerSuggonDeeznutz]

Aera and balerion were tight. He saw aeria in trouble with fire wryms and saved her. She ended up dying with the worms inside her.

[@clarenceboone2972]

Now this is a story I want to see

[@AssasiCraftYogUscus]

Aurion's expedition to Valyria would make a good mini series

[@pebblesramirez9290]

Considering how HUMONGOUS Balerion was.…a 9 ft wound was a scratch

[@shilo2972]

What if he went to valyria but nothing was there so the dragon flew south to the southern continent and well we all heard stories of the crazy stuff though, right?

[@jay-1800]

Maybe but valyrians have explored the southern continent on dragon back and returned unscathed so it’s hard to say

[@shilo2972]

@jaredwat8478 actually only one supposedly has and the southern continent is verrrry dangerous.

[@jay-1800]

@@shilo2972 it reminds me of how the earth was like millions of years ago with higher CO2 levels and temperatures resulting in bigger flora and fauna. Old Ghis,Valyria,and even Nymeria tried establishing colonies on the southern continent to varying degrees of success/failure. It seems like the deeper you go into the continent the more dangerous it does become. Yeen is really interesting with its oily black stone and the fact Nymeria’s colony there vanished. It kinda gives Roanoke vibes.

[@shilo2972]

@jaredwat8478 yeah it does. I mean, there are supposedly even animals there that could be the equivalent to dinosaurs. Would loooove for the more mysterious and mythical side of the grrm world to be explored, but heard a few times he doesn't plan to ever do that. Which would make some sense considering it'd take away some of the mystery of the world.

[@darellmawitjere]

Balerion will literaly dead if he try to Going in Sothoryos because there is A Kingkong who can kill Elephant with single punch+ can throw massive rock like a living catapult.

[@truthseeker1905]

What if Aurions dragon did live and now is the cannibal! They have all the same traits and he would be huge just like the cannibal

[@shaidanwheel6199]

Cannibal never left dragonstone

[@keedoopop4900]

Baleron would be a pup compaired to the other valyrian families dragons

[@redbearzy2456]

ye i feel like ppl tend to forget that the targaryens are one of the weaker families

[@adamantiiispencespence4012]

​@@redbearzy2456though of lower standing but even Valyria they ranked among the 40 Families and were particularly notable as dragon breeders. So no Balerion's likely a very big boy by all dragon standards.

[@mrbiscuits001]

@@adamantiiispencespence4012 they were minor by Valryrian standards. F&B states they were far from having any say in the politics of Valyria or something like that. There were 1000 dragons or more in Valyria, the Targaryens had 5 of those. They were a dragon lord family, but not a powerful Valryian family.

[@reedOsama]

@@mrbiscuits001 You didn't counter his point about them being notable dragon breeders

[@mrbiscuits001]

@@reedOsama I didn’t need to? They weren’t powerful and were minor in Valyria dragonlord or not. Valyria was all about “dragonlord competing with dragonlord for supremacy”. Between the 40 dragonlord families were 1000 dragons and the targaryens had 5. It they tried to do anything another more powerful family could just send a bunch of dragons to take them out in the sky.

[@ProfWollhoven]

Like a wise man once said: "There is always a bigger dragon."

[@tonixxinot3199]

Just like caraxes

[@edwardtebai1546]

Aerea didn't claim belerion she mounted him but she couldn't control him

[@Wafflelover344]

From what I understand of lore, the Cannibal is bigger than even the black dread. It's just no one could ever tame him. Imagine a dragon that eats other dragons for sustenance

[@gundamfacts]

problem is, the Cannibal was NEVER said to be bigger than neither Balerion, Vaghar, or or Vermithor, nor even older. The theory that he MAY be older is one of the origins the smallfolks of Dragonstone give him, but that the fanbase has now extrapolated into "Cannibal is the biggest and strongest bastard out there". The Cannibal is a mean cannibalistic bastard that prey on other dragon eggs and young dragons, yes, but he was never described as this uber powerful dragon that demolish and eat adult dragons

[@paulusillyriusiudathaddaio2530]

@@gundamfacts Yeah, repeating the same stuff by everyone which lacks any kind of basis in Fire and Blood is annoying at this point and makes Cannibal less interesting in my opinion. Fans made him into 400 years old 2x Balerion size beast devouring dragons left and right while in the books its only said hes mature, large of size, has tendency to consume dragon eggs, hatchlings and young of his own kind and was never tamed by anyone in living memory.

[@jaqjynx]

I’d love GRRM to write a short story on what happened to Aerea and Balerion in that year. It’s once of the most fascinating parts of Fire and Blood.

[@EDITSS429]

Perhaps he mess with ankalagon the black😂

[@joejones5157]

Ankalagon was speculated to be as large as mountains, as when he was defeated, he fell on the towers thorogodrim I believe it was, which was described as being three giant towers across a mountain range, Belarion was big, but he would be a snack to Ankalagon

[@im2arrogant118]

Well Ancalagon would be to Balerion what Balerion would be to a cat. He might breathe him in by accident. 😂😂

[@imanthaoshadha2168]

Interesting as hell 🔥

[@ruhalfoyls]

Maybe they went to low on a open ocean and it was a waterdragon. The parasites might have been picked up before or after (before could be the reason to fly low to lessen the wind so to put less strain on her body. Or after could be they got careless got wounded and were forced to take a break on in a bad location.

[@BernardoPC117]

Interesting, based on what came out of Aerea "slimy, unspeakable things made out of heat and fire" I always imagined something more supernatural like the shadow demon that came out of Melisandre.

[@danielrobinson6204]

I hope we get to see this on screen at some point. Just randomly seeing Balerion’s skull throughout the series gives me chills.

[@jagnoorsangha3911]

Fire wryms

[@jessmontgomery3454]

My personal answer.. is why not both 😈 fireworms and an ancient dread dragon 😮

[@evalramman7502]

Either scenario is fascinating. And, a more unsettling possibility is one where some sorcerers (presumably) are living in the ruins of Valyria.

[@OmegaLogos]

It’s funny that no one seems to consider that, yes, Balerion was wounded, but he probably straight up killed whatever did it. Considering that he not only managed to fly back to King’s landing, but also brought Aérea back. Which means he either waited for her to climb up on his back, or carefully snatched her up in a talon. Both take time and it’s likely not something he could have done in a battle for his life.

[@xModerax]

Mfer got drunk and flew into a mountain

[@goldfishy999]

I wonder what did Aerea saw?

[@darellmawitjere]

One word. The Horror

[@sozinscomet1316]

@@darellmawitjere But those are two words .-.

[@FRMJD1996]

Honestly, I like imagining that it was neither a Firewyrm, nor Aurion's Dragon, but just simply one of the myriad of unknown horrors that have come to call The Doom their home. Don't get me wrong, I do also love that The Doom is the home of Firewyrms and Aurion's Dragon, but leaving it up to the mind to wonder and devolve infinitely at, "Well what the fuck else lies within the ruin of Valyria😨" makes it so much more terrifying.

[@windygrass9807]

Meanwhile Balerion simply slipped from a cliff and get cut from some sharp rocks.

[@SapphireSolstice67]

Balerion is not the largest Targaryen dragon “ever”. Only the biggest after the doom. Who knows how big the dragons of valaryia were. The dragon horn Euron has seems to have belonged to a dragon much bigger than Balerion.

[@LouisKing995]

I think it’s pretty absurd to imagine dragons much bigger than him though. He was absolutely gigantic

[@SapphireSolstice67]

@@LouisKing995 Yeah they would be Titans. And are we supposed to believe one single person could ride, control and use them as a weapon of war. And the empire expanded until it covered like a third of the known world. It sounds crazy. But it’s all canon.

[@LouisKing995]

@@SapphireSolstice67 It is absolutely not canon that there were dragons much larger than Balerion, that is pure fan theory.

[@SapphireSolstice67]

@@LouisKing995 “Moqorro was a man of monstrous size - big-bellied, broad-shouldered, towering - but even in his grasp the horn looked huge. “My brother found this thing on Valyria,” Victarion told the thralls. “Think how big the dragon must’ve been to bear two of these upon his head. Bigger than Vhagar or Meraxes, bigger than Balerion the Black Dread.”” - Victarion I

[@LouisKing995]

@@SapphireSolstice67 Victarion never saw Balerion, that is hardly proof of anything

[@roguecrow998]

This guy is a fookin legend , love you shorts king 👑✨

[@hunniboop1]

"Our boy"😂

[@Grav3s07]

He's not wrong

[@the8ofspades888]

Aerea taking after her definitely-not-step-mom Elissa and peacing out into the unknown

[@mtgspanglish731]

Is the life span of dragons ever determined on Asoiaf?

[@darellmawitjere]

250+ In Balerion Case but for Dragon who live during on Valirya it will be more than that.

[@cameronmoore2713]

That creature was actually your angry Latina mother and she was wielding a chancla. Balerion is lucky to have escaped with his life.

[@wynonasbigbrowndragon6121]

Definitely the biggest, "WTF" from that book. Nobody was allowed back to Valyria after that

[@Mvdgh]

I feel like realistically there would be dragons still in Valyria I mean if not one of the older dragons there had to have been at least an egg somewhere in the city that would most likely hatch from the heat. I wonder if there were any dragons hatched from the doom and left to live in a charred wasteland

[@guppiegirl7670]

I wonder if, maybe somewhere below the surface horrors- there lives some semblance of civilization remaining. Maybe that’s where she was for the year. Maybe the firewyrms are the ‘radiation’ turned dragon eggs.

[@Mvdgh]

@@guppiegirl7670 Ive never thought of it that way. I mean personally I feel like the dragons themselves have a deeper level of communication than we understand and even they could be capable of fostering a civilization amongst each other. I think it would be incredible to get more context and lore on old Valeria in and after its prime

[@TheTruthIsGonnaHurt]

*Fire Wyrm is the logical answer.* Nobody, not a single person, has seen a Wild Dragon flying around. However, Fire Wyrms can’t fly, live underground, and stay localized to hot locations like Volcanoes. So a Fire Wyrm surrounded by water is essential trapped on Valeria - which is why you won’t see it, unless you are stupid enough to go to Valeria. Which Aerea was.

[@Takahashi_Takeda]

My thoughts exactly, Balerion was probably ambushed by very large Firewyrms which ended up with him being severely wounded and Aerea burnt to crisp. The Emperor's dragon theory is cool, but highly unlikely.

[@helllo9764]

​@@Takahashi_Takeda what about the worms in Aerea then they were said to have faces and we're crawling inside of her eating her away. It was said that her temperature was becoming hotter and hotter so they put her in water which killed her☠️

[@randymarshislorde]

I want to specifically mention this: Balerion is absolutely NOT the most powerful creature in ASOIAF, he's not even the biggest dragon. He is only ever called the biggest dragon that was ever controlled by the Targaryens.

[@Axel_Crimson]

Yeah just the biggest and most powerful dragon in the Targaryen's house. And the biggest since the Doom of Valyria. Then that means there was dragons bigger than him and more powerful. That's even more crazy to realize if they were there

[@jimboslice6367]

Aurion died. And Euron is lying about going to Valyria. Nobody can go there and survive long The same thing that killed Aerea is what injured Balerion. Fire wyrms

[@ashenwalker4622]

I believe it might of been just a f'd up giant parasite or something else very creepy. I would love G. R. Martin to write a book about adventurers going to old valaria

[@Savage-nv6wr]

Was Aurion's dragon bigger than Balerion ?

[@dineshbalu6107]

Most definitely bro. That was a Given...

[@mrbiscuits001]

We don’t know, but it’s possible

[@darellmawitjere]

It was.

[@mrbiscuits001]

@@darellmawitjere we don’t know for certain.

[@nicksmithnutmilk]

When they fought ? Yes . That's probably the only reason Balerion defeated that dragon But when Balerion got older and bigger ? I doubt it . That fight was like 60 years before his death so no

[@Glyvenator]

No real information was ever given other than Aerea cooked from inside and no relief could be granted. Whatever was big enough or powerful enough to wound Balerion in that way was deliberately left void of explanation. The mystery makes it fun.

[@IAmBrandonSkinner]

Bro said "our boy" like we could just casually mount The Black Dread lol

[@GhullieUser]

See now THIS is a setting they should make a show of. Discovering the mysteries of old Valeria

[@jacquelynbujtas3632]

Balerion: "you should see the other guy"

[@XRyanK]

Noway there werent bigger dragons in the Valerian empire at its peak.

[@ishusingh1196]

The song of ice and fire universe is just so amazing

[@vladimirhalaj2787]

I would love to see a movie about Aerea and Beleruon fighting Aurion and his Dragon in Valyria!

[@mzhyde803]

Balerion is the most... The Cannibal: Am i a joke to you?

[@jimboslice6367]

Balerion>Cannibal

[@Fictionfactory555]

Dragons came from ancient valerian sorcerers combining fire worms, and Wyverns to make dragons using blood magic and it actually makes a lot of sense because Wyverns are giant predatory lizards that can fly and fire worms are huge fire breathing beasts and you put the two together and you get a giant flying lizard that breathes fire and the dragon blood with their own that’s why they say theirs is the blood of the dragon

[@mctwist13]

Aerea’s story was short but is one of the most impactful in the book. The way the maester describes it is terrifying and they never say what happened. She just exploded from worms from god knows where.

[@mineralgrey8332]

All ima say is that Martin needs to finish the story and tie everything together once and for all

[@gingerknop2960]

This is when Valerian was still small

[@sehajmahajan4683]

remember balerion returned alive. In all likelihood, whatever hurt him, didn’t survive. Balerion OP

[@bizarrebravo9874]

To be honest, with how massive Balerion was ( at least based on his skull in HOTD ) a nine foot long wound would only be a cut to him.

[@laurelsilberman5705]

Aerea’s death was so disturbing even in the brief description offered in the source material that it truly sent a shiver down my spine. Just…..😰

[@livelyosprey]

I’d imagine some of the dragons in old Valeria were far afar bigger than balerion ever got

[@PawThunder]

Can you link the sources?

[@TheSixStringGuy]

This would make one badass MMO Universe

[@frankfarmer102]

If it were Aurion, I love the idea that it were his Dragon and the idea that he became a Doom Wraith and that is what happened to him and Aerea.

[@ands3227]

I’m imagining a very large fire wyrm that’s about the size of the black dread.