Vermithor; The Bronze Fury’s Birth and Riders Till End
Vermithor, also known as “the Bronze Fury,” was a male dragon that King Jaehaerys I Targaryen used to ride. Vermithor had “great tan wings” and was a bronze dragon. In 48 AC, Vermithor was already a big dragon. Only Balerion and Vhagar were bigger. Vermithor was almost 100 years old when the Dance of the Dragons occurred.
A fearsome animal, Vermithor. By the rule of Aegon II, Targaryen Vermithor had grown accustomed to men and had a former rider. As a result, Targaryen Vermithor was more tolerant of human presence. As a pair, Vermithor and Silverwing often crept.
Jaehaerys I Targaryen | The First Rider
Legend has it that Vermithor hatches from a dragon egg that his sister Rhaena put in Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen’s cradle in 34 AD.
In the year 42 AD, at Dragonstone, Vermithor, Quicksilver, and Silverwing all added their flames to the burial fire of King Aenys I Targaryen.
They were held hostage by Dowager Queen Visenya Targaryen on Dragonstone in 44 AC. Their names were Jaehaerys, Alysanne, and Alyssa Velaryon. After Visenya died naturally that year, there was chaos on the island. Jaehaerys, Alysanne, Alyssa, Jaehaerys’s dragon Vermithor and Alysanne’s dragon Silverwing all left.
By 48 AC, when Prince Jaehaerys claimed the Iron Throne, Vermithor had already taken him on as a servant. It had been nine days since King Maegor I Targaryen’s death, and Jaehaerys flew to King’s Landing on Vermithor to claim the throne.
During his rule, Jaehaerys I and Queen Alysanne Targaryen, who was his sister-wife, took six dragons to Winterfell. Alysanne got bored and flew her dragon Silverwing north to the Wall. Jaehaerys then flew Vermithor after her.
When Jaehaerys died in 103 AC, Vermithor lost his steed. During the rule of King Viserys I Targaryen, who succeeded Jaehaerys, Vermithor did not have a new mount. During this time, Vermithor stayed on the island of Dragonstone and made his home in one of the Dragonmont’s smoke caves.
Hugh Hammer | The Second Rider
The Dance of the Dragons began in 129 AC, and Prince Jacaerys Velaryon thought that his mother’s group needed more Dragonriders. A lot of men tried to claim a dragon as their own. Lord Gormon Massey tried to talk to Vermithor, but the dragon killed him by setting him on fire.
Vermithor ultimately bowed his head to Hugh Hammer, a blacksmith’s bastard. Hugh rode Vermithor to the Battle in the Gullet. Vermithor, Silverwing, Sheepstealer, Vermax, and Seasmoke attacked the 90 boats flying the flags of the Three Daughters.
Hugh set Vermithor down on the Hill of Rhaenys, away from the Dragonpit, when Rhaenyra Targaryen‘s forces took over King’s Landing. Vermithor built a home in the Dragonpit before taking off to fight. During the first fight at Tumbleton, Hugh rode Vermithor into Battle.
Hugh and Ulf the White, another dragonseed, had claimed Silverwing. But they betrayed Rhaenyra and joined Aegon II Targaryen. For Tumbleton, Vermithor, Silverwing, and Tessarion, the dragon of Prince Daeron, Aegon II’s brother, let loose their flames, and the town was burned down badly.
The Hightower host stayed at Tumbleton, and Hugh stayed with Vermithor. Hugh Hammer, who was riding the oldest and biggest living dragon, chose to become king because Aegon II was missing and Prince Aemond Targaryen had died. He did this to get the crown he sought.
A group of 4,000 men lead by Addam Velaryon on the dragon Seasmoke attacked the Hightower forces at Tumbleton at night during the Second Battle of Tumbleton. They caught them by surprise. Hugh tried to jump on Vermithor, but one of the Caltrops, Jon Roxton, stopped him and killed him with his Orphan-Maker Valyrian steel sword.
Two hundred knights tried to kill Vermithor, who was now without a horse and half-asleep on the ground. They tried and failed and died. Vermithor ran away and attacked everyone around him. He was hurt and angry. He grabbed a knight trying to escape and burned Lords Piper and Deddings, their squires, slaves, and sworn shields.
Seasmoke hit Vermithor from above, even though he was only twenty feet above the field. The two dragons rolled across the field but were so knotted that neither could get away. Lord Benjicot Blackwood said that Seasmoke couldn’t keep up with Vermithor because the bigger dragon was too big and heavy.
If Tessarion hadn’t joined the fight, Lord Blackwood thought Vermithor would have ripped Seasmoke apart. They fought until one of them died.
Seasmoke was killed when Vermithor put his teeth into his neck and tore off his head. When he tried to fly away with his prey still in his mouth, his wings were torn, and he couldn’t support the weight. He fell down and died after a moment.
People say that Silverwing, who had taken to the sky when the fight started, came down to land next to the dead dragons after dark. Afterwards, the singer said that she used her nose three times to try to lift Vermithor’s wing and make him fly again. Most likely, this is a story, says Archmaester Gyldayn. Vermithor and Seasmoke’s bodies were put on display at the remade Tumbleton as a tourist draw.