Daemon’s dragon, Caraxes, has a long and storied history as a dangerous creature that fought in many wars and was once ridden by another Targaryen.
Warning! This article contains major spoilers for House of the Dragon season 1 and the book Fire & Blood!Caraxes has a history and had another rider before the events of House of the Dragon. Known as the “Blood Wyrm” for his red coloring and long, snake-like neck, Caraxes is the mount of Daemon Targaryen in the HBO series House of the Dragon. Caraxes and his rider are the most formidable pair flying over Westeros during the events of the Dance of Dragons. Only Vhagar is substantially larger, yet Caraxes is powerful enough to take on any other dragons that may be slightly above his weight class, including Vermithor and The Cannibal. What he lacks in size, Caraxes more than makes up for in quickness and ferocity.
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Daemon Targaryen rides Caraxes throughout House of the Dragon season 1, after which he and his mount are preparing for war with the greens. During the War for the Stepstones, viewers of the show see just how dangerous a dragon as powerful as Caraxes can be on the battlefield. Even an army of archers is not enough to take down the dragon and the only defense is to hide. Caraxes is a terrifying veteran of many wars across Westeros before the events of House of the Dragon, and his history is a violent one even for dragons. As the book Fire & Blood reveals, Caraxes’s life is a never-ending battle.
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Caraxes Before House Of The Dragon
Caraxes was born during the reign of King Jaehaerys, some 48 years after Aegon’s conquest. He was a part of the third generation of dragons that had been born on Dragonstone that include Syrax and Dreamfyre. He is a relatively young dragon compared to the others of his stature in House of the Dragon, such as the powerful Vhagar and Vermithor. From the start, the Blood Wyrm gained a reputation among the Dragonkeepers who considered him the most dangerous of all the dragons in the Dragonpit. This fearsome reputation and his unsettling appearance make Caraxes a memorable beast for the people of Westeros used to the beauty of other dragons.
The first major battle Caraxes took part in was the Fourth Dornish War. The Martells — who don’t appear in House of the Dragon season 1 — led the fighting in this conflict. The Dornish planned to invade with a naval armada but were surprised by the arrival of Vhagar, Vermithor, and Caraxes, the three strongest dragons in Westeros. The entire fleet was destroyed without a single Targaryen loss, a feat not even done by Aegon and his dragons during the Conquest. In his very first outing as a tool of war, Caraxes proved he could fight alongside the same dragon who helped conquer the Seven Kingdoms.
Who Rode Caraxes Before Daemon?
Caraxes only had one other rider before Daemon Targaryen. Well before the events of House of the Dragon, Caraxes was claimed at a young age by Prince Aemon Targaryen, the third child and firstborn son of King Jaehaerys. Prince Aemon was a studious, chivalrous son who was cautious around dragons but still ended up bonding with the most fearsome in the dragonpit at the time. Aemon was not as dangerous a warrior as Caraxes’s eventual rider, and he preferred to fly around a peaceful Westeros under Targaryen rule with his siblings’ dragons, Meleys and Vhagar. However, whenever there was a need for war, Aemon and Caraxes were ready.
The second major battle that Aemon and Caraxes took part in was a civil war known as the Myrish Bloodbath. A war between factions in the city of Myr led to exiles invading Tarth. In response, a young Corlys Velaryon led the Velaryon navy against the invaders alongside Aemon and Caraxes. The defeat of the invaders should have been simple, but upon landing on the island, Aemon became the victim of a hidden archer and died with an arrow to the throat. Aemon’s quick death should be a sobering reminder to Daemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon that while his dragon may be nigh invulnerable, he is far from invincible.
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What Happens To Caraxes During The Dance Of Dragons
House of the Dragon season 1, episode 10, “The Black Queen,” ends with the opening moments of the Dance of Dragons when Aemond and Vhagar murder Lucerys and Arrax over Storm’s End. With the civil war beginning between the greens and the blacks, Fire & Blood describes Daemon as the leader of the blacks and Caraxes as their most powerful weapon. Caraxes and his rider lead the armies of the blacks to battle in the Riverlands while other allies siege King’s Landing and march to Oldtown to fight the armies of the Reach. Despite sharing an impatient and reckless nature, Daemon and Caraxes remain a threat no army can stop.
Eventually, House of the Dragon’s civil war becomes a stalemate as the factions go back and forth committing treasons, betrayals, and atrocities against one another. It starts to look like Daemon has no interest in actually winning the war and prefers to live at Harrenhal and burn the Riverlands to the ground. He ultimately challenges Aemond and Vhagar to a battle that sees Caraxes’s wings torn off and belly opened by the larger dragon, but the Blood Wyrm latches onto Vhagar’s neck and drowns them both in the Gods Eye. After decades of battles, mutually assured destruction with the greatest dragon alive is a fitting end for Caraxes.
