The Dance of the Dragons derives its name from the beasts (dragons) that were particularly hard-hit and perished in the battles, one after another. Alternatively, it also refers to battles and macro conflicts between members of House Targaryen, who were centuries into the practice of using dragons as symbols in their representation or simply calling themselves dragons. Fought between the opposing camps in the name of Queen Rhaenyra and her younger half-brother, Aegon II Targaryen, the Dance of the Dragons quickly catapulted from a family conflict into a realm-wide war.