Khal Drogo

WHO IS KHAL DROGO?

Khal Drogo was a wealthy and powerful Dothraki chieftain or khal, the son of Bharbo. Before he was thirty, Drogo led the largest khalasar in the Dothraki Sea, with forty thousand warriors, and had never been defeated. He owned a palace in Vaes Dothrak and a nine-towered mansion in Pentos, given as gifts to appease him and avert the wrath of his khalasar. He married Daenerys Targaryen, promising to invade Westeros in her name, but died before the invasion could begin.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Pseudonym(s): Great Knight Great Khal Titles: Khalakka Lime Allegiance: Khalasar of Khal Drogo Race: Dothraki Culture: Dothraki Born: circa 267 AD Dothraki Sea, Essos Died: early 299 AD Dothraki Sea, Essos Death: Suffocated with a pillow by Daenerys Targaryen in a mercy killing after being left in a vegetative state by Mirri Maz Duur pet: A Red Stallion

FAMILY

Father: Bharbo Spouse: Daenerys Targaryen Child(ren): Rhaego(stillborn)

APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER

Like most Dothraki, Drogo has copper-colored skin, thick black hair, and almond-shaped eyes the color of onyx. Tall and muscular, he moves gracefully like a panther. The khal has a long, black mustache, and he ties his thick mustache with rings of gold and bronze. A long black braid, scented with oils and decorated with small silver or gold bells, hangs down to his thighs, symbolizing his status among the Dothraki as an undefeated warlord. Daenerys Targaryen thinks Drogo has a hard, cruel face when she is introduced to him. A skilled warrior, the khal can be both tender and protective. The bare-chested Drogo wears horsehide breeches and painted vests, with his favorite vest being old and faded. He has a heavy belt of solid gold medallions and a wide belt with heavy medallions of silver, gold, and bronze. The khal wields an arakh, a whip, and a dragonbone bow. Drogo's favorite horse is a lean red stallion, unnamed, as it is not Dothraki custom to give individual names to animals. Drogo has a wooden feast hall with wooden walls and a silken roof in the Dothraki holy city of Vaes Dothrak. He also owns a nine-towered mansion in Pentos, given to him by the city's ruling magisters as part of his policy of bribing the Dothraki not to sack the Free City. Cohollo, Qotho, and Haggo serve Drogo as bloodriders.

HISTORY

Drogo's father was Khal Bharbo. Cohollo was betrothed to the khalakka, or prince, when Drogo was still a child, and he saved young Drogo's life from mercenaries on one occasion. Bharbo gave his son a whip when Drogo reached adulthood. At the age of thirty, Drogo leads a khalasar of forty thousand warriors, the largest in the Dothraki sea. The khal has never been defeated in battle. He gives Jhogo a tall gray stallion.

RECENT EVENTS - GAME OF THRONES

Magister Illyrio Mopatis, serving as patron to the exiled Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen, arranges a marriage between Princess Daenerys and Khal Drogo during one of Drogo's visits to Pentos. In exchange for his bride, Drogo is to provide ten thousand Dothraki warriors for his brother's campaign to retake the Iron Throne. The wedding takes place in traditional Dothraki style, with Drogo's entire khalasar gathering in a field outside Pentos for a day-long feast, punctuated by several deadly fights and couples having outdoor sexual intercourse. In keeping with tradition, Drogo's bloodriders offer fine weapons—a whip, an arakh, and a dragonbone bow—to the new khaleesi, who then gives them to her husband. Drogo's own gift to his bride is a magnificent silver mare. When they set out to consummate the marriage, Daenerys is terrified of her betrothed and expects to be raped. Despite his fierce reputation, however, Drogo proves to be a surprisingly attentive lover. Although he and Dany do not share a common language, he establishes that he understands the word "no" and then begins to touch her gently, attempting to arouse her. He does not begin having sexual relations with her until Dany expresses her approval and initiates it. Drogo initially ignores Daenerys while his khalasar rides to Vaes Dothrak, only visiting the uncomfortable girl in her tent at night to roughly copulate with her. After Daenerys has a dragon dream, however, she gradually becomes more confident. Daenerys's new role as khaleesi frees her from her abusive brother's control. After learning seduction techniques from Doreah, Daenerys initiates sex with Drogo outside her tent, impressing the khal. [12] As Daenerys's new role as khaleesi takes her out of her abusive brother's control, Daenerys learns from Jhiqui that she is pregnant.

GAME OF THRONES

As Daenerys learns to speak the Dothraki language, Drogo begins to learn the Common Tongue of Westeros, albeit with a thick accent. Drogo affectionately addresses Daenerys as "moon of my life", while she calls him "my sun and stars". After Daenerys eats a stallion's heart in front of the dosh khaleen of Vaes Dothrak, she and Drogo have sex in the Womb of the World. The dosh khaleen proclaim that Drogo and Daenerys' unborn son, Rhaego, will be the stallion who will mount the world, a leader prophesied in Dothraki legend. Unlike Daenerys, Viserys displays nothing but contempt for Dothraki culture and grows increasingly impatient for the aid Khal Drogo had promised him. A drunken Viserys breaks the ancient taboo against bloodshed in Vaes Dothrak by drawing his blade and threatening the lives of Daenerys and her unborn child, demanding her crown. Announcing that Viserys will have the golden crown he deserves, Drogo circumvents the prohibition against bloodshed in the holy city by first melting Drogo's belt of gold medallions and then tipping the pot of molten gold over Viserys's head, killing him. Drogo and his bloodriders hunt a hrakkar. It scratches Drogo through his leggings, leaving scars on his leg. He returns to Vaes Dothrak with the carcass slung over a packhorse. Drogo has little interest in invading Westeros, a land that contains nothing in particular that the Dothraki desire and is located across the narrow sea they have always feared. However, he reconsiders after a wineseller attempts to poison Daenerys in the Western Market and claim the bounty from King Robert I Baratheon. Enraged by the attempted murder of his wife, Drogo reaffirms his commitment to conquer the Seven Kingdoms for her and place his son on the throne of his ancestors.

GAME OF THRONES

Drogo sacks several cities in Lhazar to capture slaves to trade for warships that will carry his horde across the sea. While in Lhazar, Drogo's khalasar defeats Khal Ogo's rival khalasar. Drogo is struck in the arm by an arrow, and one of Ogo's bloodriders cuts off Drogo's left nipple, leaving a patch of bloody skin. Drogo kills the bloodrider and then Ogo himself. Although he does not understand or share her objections to the traditional Dothraki practices of raping and enslaving conquered peoples, Drogo supports Daenerys when she orders her warriors to stop raping the Lhazareen, delighted by his wife's growing courage. Although Drogo is unconcerned about his seemingly minor wound, Daenerys convinces him to let Mirri Maz Duur, a Lhazareen maegi she had rescued, make a poultice for him. The poultice itches, however, and Drogo rips it off, causing the wound to become infected. Drogo's condition deteriorates until he falls from his horse, a symbolic event in Dothraki culture that indicates he is no longer fit to lead. As Drogo lies near death, Daenerys convinces Mirri to use her blood magic to preserve his life by sacrificing his stallion. Alarmed by the ceremony, Drogo's bloodriders attempt to intervene, but are defeated by Daenerys's khalasar and Ser Jorah. [13] The maegi betrays Daenerys in revenge for the attack on their village, and the ritual leaves Drogo in a catatonic state while causing Rhaego to die in Daenerys's womb. Drogo's khalasar disbands, with Pono and Jhaqo leading the largest of the twelve new hosts. Daenerys bathes Drogo, takes him out into the night, and fails in her attempt to awaken him. Realizing that Drogo will never return to his former self, Dany smothers him with a pillow.

GAME OF THRONES

Drogo and his treasures are piled on a funeral pyre, and Daenerys places the three petrified dragon eggs given to her by Illyrio over Drogo's body. Daenerys burns Drogo on the platform along with a bound Mirri Maz Duur. Daenerys steps into the conflagration as the platform burns and collapses. The flames magically exchange life for life, killing the maegi and hatching three small dragons, leaving Daenerys unharmed.

THE FURY OF KINGS

Daenerys names her black dragon hatchling Drogon in honor of her late husband. She uses the skin of the hrakkar killed by Drogo as a hooded cloak. In Vaes Tolorro, after talking to Ser Jorah Mormont about some of his past and his second wife, Lynesse Hightower, Daenerys realizes that the knight desires her. Daenerys realizes that she does not feel the same way about Jorah and compares him unfavorably to Drogo. Daenerys dreams of Drogo and their first ride together on the night they were married. In the dream, it is not horses they ride, but dragons.

THE STORM OF SWORDS

Recalling Drogo's fate, Daenerys insists that Strong Belwas be treated for his cut after fighting Oznak zo Pahl outside Meereen.

THE DANCE OF THE DRAGONS

Now Queen of Meereen, Daenerys continues to wear the lion skin given to her by Drogo.[16] Before her wedding to Hizdahr zo Loraq, Daenerys recalls her first night with Drogo.

PERSONALITY

In battle, Drogo is known for his savagery, brutality, and lack of remorse or regret for his opponents. The fearsome khal was never defeated in combat, and so his braid hung down below his waist. In fact, Drogo was ruthless in battle and highly skilled, capable of killing an armed man in seconds, with his bare hands. Initially, he had no problem with rape, slavery, or murder, but every action he takes is out of his devotion to the Dothraki and reclaiming what is his. He is fearless to the point of recklessness - when Mago holds an arakh to his chest, he does not react, merely approaching his opponent, deepening the wound, showing his courage and contempt for his opponent, before openly disarming himself and overtaking the effectively disarmed Dothraki, though the wound eventually causes his irreverent death.