House of Dragon Houses and Character Guides

Until the end game of Thrones, most fans had developed an encyclopedic knowledge of the various noble houses, who ruled them, where they were based, and with whom they were allied. But with house of the dragon instead of 200 years ago game of Thronesthose of us who have decided to skip reading George RR Martin Fire & Blood pretty much start from scratch. There are a few familiar houses in the mix – most obviously House Targaryen – but for the most part house of the dragon is populated by houses we didn’t see game of Thrones. And even the well-known houses are completely populated by new characters.

To help you stay on top of the various houses – and how they fit into the ongoing political schemes and war ahead – we’ll be updating this house and character guide throughout the season.

[Ed. note: The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon episode 4.]

House Targaryen

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“Fire and Blood”
The Royal House of Westeros. Their ancestral home is Dragonstone, although they exclude King’s Landing. Her sigil is a red three-headed dragon over a black field.

The entire show revolves around House Targaryen, so this is probably the one house you don’t need help to stay straight on (or at least we hope). We’ll go through the bullet points here anyway, just in case.

When house of the dragon begins, Viserys I Targaryen is King of Westeros after a Great Council voted for him to succeed his grandfather Jaehaerys. After the death of his wife Aemma Arryn and their newborn son Baelon, Viserys Targaryen made his daughter Rhaenyra his heir, ousting his brother Daemon Targaryen from the line of succession. Viserys later decides to marry Alicent Hightower, with whom he has a son Aegon, creating a succession crisis that sparks the first Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons.

House Targaryen are pure-blood Valyrians, and Viserys forms a political alliance with one of the few other Valyrian houses, Velaryon, when he orders Rhaenrya to marry their second cousin, Laenor Velaryon.

House Hightower

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“We light the way”
The rulers of Oldtown, where the citadel is located. They are loyal to House Tyrell of Highgarden. Her sigil is a white tower crowned with flames on a gray field.

Of all the newly prominent homes in house of the dragon, Hightower is one of the main ones to keep an eye on. The house is headed by Lord Hobert Hightower, whose younger brother Ser Otto was the Hand of King Viserys I Targaryen for much of his reign. It is Otto who encourages his daughter Alicent to approach the king after the death of his wife Aemma, leading to the marriage of Alicent and Viserys and their son Aegon. However, as a result of Otto’s behind-the-scenes machinations, Viserys releases Otto as his Hand.

Otto also has a son, Ser Gwayne Hightower, who competed in the Tournament of Heirs in the series premiere.

Hightower is loyal to House Tyrell, but they also have several vassals of their own: Bulwer, Costayne, Cuy, and Beesbury, whose Lord Lyman serves as Mintmaster of Viserys.

House Velaryon

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“The Old, the True, the Brave”
The rulers of Driftmark, an island in Blackwater Bay. Their seat is High Tide, an island castle off the coast of Driftmark. Her sigil is a silver seahorse over a field of aquamarine.

House Velaryon is one of the oldest (and most prosperous) Houses in Westeros, with a Valyrian bloodline as old as House Targaryen – as its current lord, Corlys “the Sea Serpent”, Viserys fondly reminds. The Velaryons are a Valyrian house native to the Valyrian Peninsula of Essos. Corlys is married to Viserys’ cousin, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, nicknamed the “Queen That Never Was” after being passed over as Jaehaerys’ heir. Together, Corlys and Rhaenys have two children, Laena and Laenor. Although not a member of House Targaryen, Laenor is the rider of the Targaryen-bred dragon Seasmoke.

Also known as Lord of the Tides, Corlys served as captain of the ships of Viserys and commands the royal fleet. His younger brother, Ser Vaemond Velaryon, serves as the commander of the Velaryon Navy. However, after Viserys declined to marry 12-year-old Laena in favor of Alicent Hightower, Corlys left his post on the King’s Council and allied with Daemon Targaryen in the war against the Triarchy. After the war, Viserys decides to marry Rhaenyra to Laenor in order to negotiate a political alliance with House Velaryon, which by then had taken over the Stepstones.

house strong

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A riverland noble house loyal to House Tully. Their seat is the Harrenhal. Her seal is a triad of blue, red, and green converging around a fist on a white field.

House Strong is ruled by Lord Lyonel Strong, who serves as Master of Laws of Viserys. His youngest son is Larys Strong and the eldest is Ser Harwin Strong, often called Breakbones and known as the strongest man in the Seven Kingdoms.

The seat of House Strong is Harrenhal, where Jaehaerys I Targaryen’s assembly was held to choose an heir. But between Harrenhal’s alleged curse and the fact that the seat of House Whent was held, when game of Thrones began, things are already looking up for House Strong’s future house of the dragon.

House Kohl

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Steward of House Dondarrion in Blackhaven, a castle in the Dornish Marches. Her seal consists of ten black circles on a red field.

We met the handsome Ser Criston Cole in the series premiere when he defeated Daemon Targaryen in the Tournament of Inheritance – a defeat made even more acute by the fact that Cole is of ordinary birth. Criston’s father is the steward of the Lord of Blackhaven, but although technically called a noble house, the House of Cole is widely despised in noble society because of its ‘low-born’ status. Cole’s Dornish lineage probably doesn’t help either.

During her service in the Kingsguard, Criston becomes very close to Rhaenyra and the two consummate their relationship before her engagement to Laenor.

House Westerling

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A noble house of the Westerlands loyal to House Lannister. Your seat is the Crag.

Ser Harrold Westerling is a longtime member of the Kingsguard who began his service under the rule of Jaehaerys. He currently serves as a sworn shield for Rhaenyra Targaryen. in the game of Thrones, the only time House Westerling showed up was when they gave up their seat to Robb Stark. However, in the Song of Ice and Fire books, this house played a much more important role as Robb married Jeyne Westerling and not Talisa Maegyr like he did in the series.

House Lannister

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“Hear me roar!”
The Rulers of the Westlands. Their seat is Casterly Rock. Her seal is a golden lion on a crimson field.

house of the dragon has given us another pair of Lannister twins this season: Tyland and Jason, who thankfully aren’t in an illicit incestuous relationship. As worthy members of one of the Great Houses of Westeros, both men hold important roles in the kingdom. After Corlys Velaryon left King’s Landing to fight in the War of the Steppingstones, Ser Tyland took over as captain of the ships. His brother Jason serves as Lord of Casterly Rock. During the royal hunt on Prince Aegon’s second name day, Jason attempted to win Rhaenyra’s hand but was immediately stopped.

This season also saw brief appearances from two other Lannisters. The twins were joined on the royal hunt by their widowed mother, Ceira, and Brett, a relative whose exact connection to the family is unknown.