In House of the Dragon season 2, episode 7, Aemond flies Vhagar from King’s Landing to Dragonstone rather quickly, raising questions about the distance between the two locations. The short geographical distance between the Blacks and the Greens’ seats of power has played into the drama all season. The navy and dragon threat of Dragonstone and Driftmark has threatened King’s Landing with a naval blockade, and the land armies and power of the Greens have prevented the Blacks from establishing a foothold in Westeros.
The ending of “The Red Sowing” sees Aemond Targaryen give chase to Ulf on his newly bonded dragon, Silverwing. He mounts Vhagar somewhere outside the Red Keep, then flies the dragon across Blackwater Bay in what seems like only moments. Of course, the scene cuts away, trimming down what would likely be a decent amount of dragon-flying travel time, but the nature of the cuts implies a shorter distance than many might’ve expected. Dragonstone isn’t far from King’s Landing on the map, but without a reference for distance, it’s hard to discern how close it is.
Dragonstone Is Approximately 400 Miles/643 KM From King’s Landing
Using The Wall’s Length, Rough Estimates Of Distance Can Be Determined
The maps of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire series and occasional details about how far X location is to Y location can provide context for the maps, assuming it’s drawn to scale. Any system of measuring distance relies heavily on estimation from various points of context. Using the length of the Wall (300 miles/482 km long) as a unit of measurement to determine distance on published maps of Westeros, various other distances can be determined. This would make the distance between King’s Landing and Dragonstone roughly 400 miles/643 km.
How Fast Did Aemond Fly To King’s Landing & What Speeds Can Dragons Reach?
Using Raven Speed As A Reference, Dragon Speed Can Be Estimated
How fast dragons fly is another measurement that’s difficult to determine accurately. For the purpose of the story, they’re often simply as fast as they’re needed to be for George R.R. Martin or HBO. For example, in Fire & Blood, a trip from King’s Landing to Oldtown is described as requiring two stopping points for resting overnight. Oppositely, in Game of Thrones season 7, Daenerys flies from Dragonstone to an unmarked location beyond the Wall in less than one evening.
Jacaerys Velaryon states that dragons are faster than ravens, though this varies by the dragon. If a raven generally flies between 25-40 mph, a dragon could potentially fly around 35-50 on average, with increased speeds in high-pressure situations, maybe reaching 75-100. It seems like it would take at least four hours to fly from King’s Landing to Dragonstone, and Vhagar is likely one of the slower dragons in House of the Dragon. However, without concrete facts, it’s hard to say for sure what the exact timeline would look like.