Where Was House Velaryon During Game of Thrones? (2024)

House of the Dragon has crossed the Season 2 midway point, with the fourth episode highlighting an epic dragon battle. While House Targaryen remains front and center, the Velaryons want to play an even more important supporting role. After the shocking events in the Season 1 finale, the Dragonlord family is completely divided, and the Dance of the Dragons looms. House Velaryon will be especially important to Rhaenyra Targaryen, especially now after the presumed death of Rhaenys Velaryon.

Characters like Lord Corlys Velaryon may not feel as eager to support Rhaenyra's claim as before, and she will have to do everything in her power to maintain balance. That said, the outcome of the Dance of the Dragons will explain House Velaryon's non-existence during Game of Thrones. House Velaryon shares origins with the Targaryens, who came from Old Valyria. That said, the military power (but mostly dragons) they brought to Westeros made them undeniably important. Still, even the noble house of Driftmark couldn't shake the Dance's effects.

Updated on July 15, 2024, by Ajay Aravind: House Velaryon suffered a massive blow during the events of House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 4, "The Red Dragon and the Gold." Fans are still arguing about the actions Rhaenys should have taken, but the outcome remains the same as in the source material, Fire & Blood. Although the Velaryons have been weakened, their roles in the coming episodes will decide the path forward for everyone involved. As such, we've updated this article with some more relevant information about House Velaryon.

House Velaryon Was The First Valyrian Family To Settle In Westeros

Even before House Targaryen settled in Dragonstone as its ancestral seat, the Velaryons founded their own in Driftmark as a trading outpost between the now-devastated Valyria and the then-less influential kingdoms of Westeros. The timeline remains unclear, but legends state that the Driftwood Throne was a gift from the Merling King, a divine entity around the Narrow Sea. That said, neither House Targaryen nor House Velaryon originally had any interest in ruling Westeros.

Six generations after the arrival of the Targaryens in Westeros, there was a marriage between Lord Aerion Targaryen and Lady Valaena Velaryon — who had a Targaryen mother. Aerion and Valaena's union resulted in the births of three children, Aegon, Visenya, and Rhaenys, who would later conquer the continent. Aegon the Conqueror was part-Velaryon, so it wasn't surprising that he allied with his maternal grandfather's family. The two Houses were thus interlocked for centuries before the Dance of the Dragons.

Aside from the overlapping House Velaryon and Targaryen family tree in House of the Dragon, the seafaring house's roots follow the latter as far back as Old Valyria on the neighboring continent of Essos. Due to not being a Dragonlord family, House Velaryon didn't rank among the highest ruling families during the height of the Valyrian Freehold but was still important to its success. As emphasized by characters like Corlys Velaryon — the Lord of Driftmark and Master of the Tides — the noble house was a pivotal piece of Westeros' economic health, and that was no different in the Valyrian Freehold some ages earlier.

In House of the Dragon, the power and respect that Valyrian descent commands across the continent is still significant, as these bloodlines have spent generations bending the political and military dynamics of Westeros in their image. During the era of Game of Thrones nearly 200 years later, the Targaryens being nearly extinct serves as a backdrop for the plot, meaning Valyrian blood holds far less reverence. But in the context of House of the Dragon, supporting role or otherwise, the Velaryon family in this Game of Thrones prequel maintains a level of influence that isn't far behind House Targaryen.

The Velaryons' Prominence Stems From Wealth and Naval Strength

Prominent Velaryon figures during House of the Dragon:

• Corlys Velaryon (Lord of the Tides and Master of Driftmark)
• Rhaenys Targaryen (Princess of the Targaryen dynasty, Lady of Driftmark, and dragonrider)
• Jacaerys Velaryon (Prince of the Targaryen and Velaryon dynasties, and dragonrider)
• Joffrey Velaryon (Prince of the Targaryen and Velaryon dynasties, current heir of Driftmark, and dragonrider)

As the years passed, House Velaryon developed its seafaring practices until it became the definitive maritime power across Westeros and Essos. Once both Houses Velaryon and Targaryen were forced to react to the Doom of Valyria's aftermath — the volcanic phenomenon that destroyed the city — that power became even more invaluable. With the old world powerhouse decimated, Aegon's Conquest swept Westeros so the sole surviving Dragonlord family could establish its dominance.

It's one of the most influential pieces of history in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire — books or TV canon. But as powerful as Aegon I Targaryen, his sisters, and their trio of dragons were, the latter effectively being medieval weapons of mass destruction, they couldn't hold political power alone. Since the famous Velaryon Fleet comprised almost half of the continent's warships, they became House Targaryen's Master of Ships, which then became a role traditionally held by a Velaryon in King's Landing. The other half of House Velaryon's greatest political asset — wealth — would become even more important with the rise of Lord Corlys Velaryon.

Played by actor Steve Toussaint in House of the Dragon, Corlys Velaryon is the figurehead who catapulted his house's prominence. Also known as the "Sea Snake" for his eponymous ship, Corlys embarked on his famous nine voyages worldwide to bring previously unimaginable treasures back to Westeros. This cemented House Velaryon's status as the richest family on the continent and one of its Great Houses, with a level of wealth that would even make the rich House Lannister blush. The Houses Targaryen and Velaryon were already known to intermarry, but Corlys' meteoric rise led to a particularly esteemed marriage to Princess Rhaenys Targaryen. It's a far cry from what audiences see in Game of Thrones where, ironically, the Lannisters have replaced them as the realm's dominant economic power.

When the Targaryen's Mainstream Prominence Died, House Velaryon Mostly Followed

Notable members of House Velaryon in A Song of Ice and Fire:

• Lord Monford Velaryon (Lord of the Tides, Master of Driftmark, supporter of Lord Stannis Baratheon's claim to the throne)
• Monterys Velaryon (Lord of the Tides, Master of Driftmark)
• Aurane Waters (Grand Admiral of King's Landing's small council, bastard brother of Lord Monford)

House Velaryon would also be heavily impacted by the grueling Dance of the Dragons that House of the Dragon Season 2 has just entered. The Dance of the Dragons had no real winners, weakening all parties involved until few others aside from Corlys were left alive in House Velaryon. When Aegon III Targaryen — Princess Rhaenyra's fourth son — assumed the throne, Corlys was appointed as one of his regents, with the family he had left being his granddaughters (Baela and Rhaena Targaryen) and grandsons. With so few prominent House Velaryon representatives left, its influence waned over the decades alongside House Targaryen. Though not as dramatically as the "fall from grace" that the Targaryens would experience, this war over the Iron Throne's succession would see the Velaryons dwindle in both number and headcount, effects which would ripple into the timeframe of Game of Thrones.

It wouldn't be long after the Dance that Corlys would die, with his successor Alyn Velaryon seeing the house lose its riches to the Rogare Bank operating in the Free City of Lys off the coast of Essos. Fans of Game of Thrones can't be blamed for not realizing that House Velaryon still existed in the show, as they've been relegated to a minor house. Author George R. R. Martin's flagship novels wouldn't mention much more of them either. During the timeframe of Game of Thrones Season 2, Monford Velaryon was the head of the house and supported Lord Stannis Baratheon's claim to the Iron Throne during the War of the Five Kings. However, Monford died in the Battle of Blackwater Bay, where Tyrion Lannister essentially won the fight for his cruel and cowardly nephew. Lord Monford's young son Monterys Velaryon would succeed him as Master of Driftmark.

Aside from Monford's role and death in the Battle of the Blackwater, House Velaryon's most significant contributions to the books include the Aurane Waters' imprisonment in King's Landing — Monford's bastard brother and Master of Ships — during A Clash of Kings. He's later appointed to King Tommen I Baratheon's small council as Grand Admiral and has since escaped to the Steptones. House Velaryon's lack of presence can be traced back to the event that also slowly ruined the Targaryens. Even so, they're arguably better off than House Targaryen, as they haven't been killed off to near extinction. In season 2, House of the Dragon continues to portray the seafaring house when its powers were still great in Westeros. But the inevitable outcome of the Dance of the Dragons will make their family's complete lack of screen time in Game of Thrones abundantly clear.

House of the Dragon

TV-MA

Drama

Action

Adventure

Fantasy

Two centuries before the events ofA Game of Thrones,House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone.

Release Date

August 21, 2022

Cast

Jefferson Hall , Eve Best , David Horovitch , Paddy Considine , Ryan Corr , Bill Paterson , Fabien Frankel , Graham McTavish , Olivia Cooke , Gavin Spokes , Sonoya Mizuno , Steve Toussaint , Matt Smith , Matthew Needham , Rhys Ifans , Emma D'Arcy , Milly Alco*ck

Franchise

Game of Thrones

Characters By

George R. R. Martin

Story By

George R. R. Martin

Number of Episodes

10

Network

HBO Max

Streaming Service(s)

Max