'House Of The Dragon': The Surprisingly Sweet Moment In 3x06 That Has Deep Ties To Targaryen History

WARNING! SPOILERS for House of The Dragon 3x06, 'Faceless Men'.

As the Dance of the Dragons climbs ever closer toward what is certain to be a heartbraking climax in House of The Dragon's penultimate third season, we are seeing an increasing number of horrific moments onscreen, including the sudden death of Ser Criston Cole, and Gwayne Hightower's slaughter of Baratheon assassins to save the life of his nephew, Prince Daeron Targaryen, and (perhaps less enthusiastically) cousin, Lord Ormund Hightower.

However, in the midst of the horrors, one sweet moment melted fans' hearts. Ser Hugh Hammer arrived to relieve Ser Ulf the White of his vigil over the Hightower-occupied town of Tumbleton, and as the pair aired their grievances over the current situation, their dragons, Vermithor and Silverwing, shared a happy nuzzle of greeting. The Dragons' fondness for one another makes perfect sense if you know they are in fact legacy dragons in Targaryen history.

The Royal First Riders of Vermithor and Silverwing

When Prince Jaehaerys was born, a dragon egg was placed in his cradle, as was Targaryen custom, and this egg hatched into Vermithor, later named the Bronze Fury. The cradle-egg of his younger sister, Princess Alysanne, hatched Silverwing.

Jaehaerys was just 14 years old when he was crowned King, coming to the throne after the realm had suffered years of hardship of his uncle King Maegor the Cruel, with his Mother the Dowager Queen Alyssa to serve as regent until he came of age. As is not unusual among Targaryens, Jaehaerys and Alysanne fell in love. However, as the incestuous marriage of Jahaerys's elder siblings Aegon and Rhaena had caused an uprising of the Faith some years previous, Queen Alyssa made plans to wed Alysanne to Orryn Baratheon.

Overhearing the plans, Alysanne informed Jaehaerys, and the pair fled to Dragonstone upon Vermithor and Silverwing. They wed in secret, remaining on Dragonstone for the remainder of Jaehaerys's regency. When they eventually returned to King's Landing, Jaehaerys and Alysanne used a combination charm offensive and the quiet threat of their dragons to fend off any objections to their union.

Over the course of King Jaehaerys's long reign, he and Queen Alysanne regularly toured the Kingdom on their dragons. Jaehaerys, with Vermithor's power behind him, eventually earned the title of Jaehaerys the Wise. When the royal couple visited The North, Silverwing refused to fly beyond The Wall, an early warning of the Whitewalkers waiting beyond.

Vermithor and Silverwing did not move into the Dragonpit when it was complete, instead remaining at the Red Keep, close to their riders. The two dragons often slept coiled together, with historical records naming them as a possible mated pair. Eggs laid by Silverwing were likely fathered by Vermithor, but which if any dragons were descended from this pairing is uncertain.

During The Reign of King Viserys

Following the death of Queen Alysanne in 100 AC, Silverwing left King's Landing, returning to Dragonstone and nesting there within the Dragonmont. Vermithor followed her three years later after the death of King Jaehaerys.

While unbonded dragons are generally less safe around humans than bonded ones, the Dragonkeepers of Dragonstone named Silverwing as one of the most docile around humans, while Vermithor was tolerant so long as one didn't vex him. This is probably why Daemon Targaryen only received a warning shot when visiting Vermithor in House of The Dragon's season one finale, and how his daughter Rhaena Targaryen's offscreen attempts to claim a dragon did not end in her death.

Both Vermithor and Silverwing remain riderless through the reign of King Viserys I, mostly because anyone 'officially' eligible to make a claim either already has a dragon, is too young to claim one, or in the case of King Viserys himself, his dragon had died and he never wanted to claim another.

Claimed by the Dragonseeds

When the Dance of Dragons began to heat up, Queen Rhaenyra faced a problem. While the number of mature, rideable dragons residing on Dragonstone outnumbered those available in King's Landing's Dragonpit, she does not have enough riders to be able to make use of them. After an attempt to have a noble with a distant Targaryen relative claim a dragon fails spectacularly, Rhaenyra is at a loss.. until Addam of Hull, the Bastard son of Lord Corlys Velaryon, claims, or more accurately is claimed by, Seasmoke, a dragon formerly ridden by his half-brother, Ser Laenor Velaryon.

This sparks an idea to invite Targaryen Bastards, also known as Dragonseeds, to Dragonstone for the chance to claim a dragon. This event was known as the Sowing of the Seeds. While many Dragonseeds died, two emerged victorious.

Hugh Hammer, a Blacksmith from King's Landing, successfully claimed Vermithor. While not confirmed in the book Fire & Blood, House of The Dragon heavily implies that Hugh is the son of Princess Saera Targaryen, the estranged daughter of King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne, who ran away to the free cities, eventually becoming the owner of a Brothel. This adds weight to his claiming Vermithor, as despite being bastard-born, he is the grandson of the dragon's previous rider.

During the Sowing, Tavern-frequenter Ulf White stumbles into Silverwing's den, and to the surprise of many, she accepts him as her rider. Ulf claims to be a son of the late Prince Baelon, and therefore a half-brother to Viserys I and Prince Daemon. He is also a Grandson of King Jaehaerys, and Silverwing's previous rider, Queen Alysanne.

Unlike other dragons, whose previous relationships were torn apart by having riders on opposite sides of the war, Vermithor and Silverwing's bond was able to endure, as Hugh and Ulf were often paired for missions. Songs claim that when Vermithor died (without spoiling how exactly this happens), Silverwing mournfully tries to wake him.

Their brief bonding moment in 3x06 reminds fans that the dragons have stakes in what is to come. They can love, and feel loss. Sadly, unlike the humans, the dragons do not get a say in how any of it happens, being turned into little but tools of war.

It is one of the biggest mistakes the Targaryen dynasty ever makes.