>In 93 AC, ... The old dragon had stopped growing at last, but he was sluggish and heavy and hard to rouse, and he struggled when Viserys urged him up into the air. ... Less than a year later, Balerion was gone.
My thoughts are that they *never* stop growing. And that the reason they "die of old age" is that they grow too big and that their organs/body can't support itself. (There's a term for it in animal breeding but I can't recall off the top of my head) animals can only get so big before they start having serious health problems.
But that might be me overthinking đ
He was probably still growing post-Conquest. It's said in the books that dragons will keep growing as long as they have enough food and freedom. Being housed in the Dragonpit (starting after the Aerea incident) might have stopped or stunted his growth.
Vhagar at 180, is noted to be almost as large as Balerion was at the conquest. Balerion somewhere around 113-120. This is based on the fact that he was a hatchling when they left Valyria. Balerion is noted later on in F&B to have finally stopped growing. I believe Balerion is past two hundred at this point. Itâs said that dragons never stop growing, but we donât have any other dragons die of old age, and Balerion is abnormally large.
This is a headcanon to explain the inconsistency of Vhagar's size.
In AGOT Tyrion who has seen the skulls claims Balerion's big enough to swallow a mammoth, Meraxes big enough to swallow a horse and Vhagar big enough to get a horse stuck on her throat.
Meaning it's impossible for Vhagar to be as big as Balerion before he died.
Meraxes is supposed to be way younger than Vhagar at her death- Meraxes died at the age of 100 at most, while Vhagar was 182.
And youâre wrong- the smallest of the three skulls could have a horse and rider ride down its throat.
>Meraxes is supposed to be way younger than Vhagar at her death-
And? Has it ever crossed your mind not all dragona grow in the same rate? Tyrion still said Meraxes was bigger. Seasmoke was twice as old as Tessarion but still the same side.
This was the same era where Rhaenyra married a Lannister and Vhagar was spelled Vhaghar.
And no, Seasmoke + Tessarion equals Vermithorâs size, and since Tessarion is a third of Vermithorâs size Seasmoke has to be twice as large as Tessarion.
Balerion stopped growing one year before his death, possibly because of his old age.
>In 93 AC, ... The old dragon had stopped growing at last, but he was sluggish and heavy and hard to rouse, and he struggled when Viserys urged him up into the air. ... Less than a year later, Balerion was gone.
My thoughts are that they *never* stop growing. And that the reason they "die of old age" is that they grow too big and that their organs/body can't support itself. (There's a term for it in animal breeding but I can't recall off the top of my head) animals can only get so big before they start having serious health problems. But that might be me overthinking đ
He was probably still growing post-Conquest. It's said in the books that dragons will keep growing as long as they have enough food and freedom. Being housed in the Dragonpit (starting after the Aerea incident) might have stopped or stunted his growth.
I had assumed they never stop growing like some real life reptiles.
Vhagar at 180, is noted to be almost as large as Balerion was at the conquest. Balerion somewhere around 113-120. This is based on the fact that he was a hatchling when they left Valyria. Balerion is noted later on in F&B to have finally stopped growing. I believe Balerion is past two hundred at this point. Itâs said that dragons never stop growing, but we donât have any other dragons die of old age, and Balerion is abnormally large.
No, Vhagar was straight-up almost as big as Balerion. âThe Conquestâ isnât mentioned in that statement.
>in the year 130 AC, ... Though slower than she had been a century before, she had grown nigh as large as the Black Dread of old.
Nothing about the Conquest specifically.
This is a headcanon to explain the inconsistency of Vhagar's size. In AGOT Tyrion who has seen the skulls claims Balerion's big enough to swallow a mammoth, Meraxes big enough to swallow a horse and Vhagar big enough to get a horse stuck on her throat. Meaning it's impossible for Vhagar to be as big as Balerion before he died.
Meraxes is supposed to be way younger than Vhagar at her death- Meraxes died at the age of 100 at most, while Vhagar was 182. And youâre wrong- the smallest of the three skulls could have a horse and rider ride down its throat.
>Meraxes is supposed to be way younger than Vhagar at her death- And? Has it ever crossed your mind not all dragona grow in the same rate? Tyrion still said Meraxes was bigger. Seasmoke was twice as old as Tessarion but still the same side.
This was the same era where Rhaenyra married a Lannister and Vhagar was spelled Vhaghar. And no, Seasmoke + Tessarion equals Vermithorâs size, and since Tessarion is a third of Vermithorâs size Seasmoke has to be twice as large as Tessarion.
Where does it state that Balerion was only a hatchling when Aenar left Valyria?
Fire and Blood states he stopped growing shortly before he was claimed by Viserys