Ruling for 12 years, Aerys I was a bookish and scholarly monarch, who spent his time
studying ancient scrolls, leaving the realm to be governed by his uncle Brynden Rivers,
named Hand of the King.
Even his wife Aelinor Penrose was of no interest to him, with some claiming they never consummated
the marriage.
Believing that perhaps he simply disliked her, his advisors urged him to put aside the
marriage and choose another wife, but he refused, staying true to the woman he continued to
ignore.
In the year 212 AC, violence erupted, when Lord Dagon Greyjoy started raiding the western
coast, while in the Riverlands, House Peake conspired with Daemon Blackfyre II to gather
support for the Second Blackfyre Rebellion, but their efforts were thwarted by the hedge
knight Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg, also known as Aegon Targaryen, nephew
to the king.
For reasons not yet known, Aegor Rivers and his warriors did not join the Second Blackyre
Rebellion, instead focusing their attention on preparing Daemon’s younger brother Haegon
for the crown.
Several years later in 219 AC, Bittersteel felt the time was right and launched the Third
Blackfyre Rebellion, invading Westeros with the Golden Company.
Though the king was not a warrior, his brother Prince Maekar and nephews Aerion Brightflame
and Aegon Targaryen led their forces alongside the Hand of the King Brynden Rivers, who once
again fought a duel with his hated half brother.
Though the fighting was savage, in the end the Loyalist forces were victorious, resulting
in the death of Haegon Blackfyre who was dishonourably killed after surrendering and the arrest of
Aegor Rivers, who was dragged before the King in the capital.
Both Bloodraven and Brightflame advocated for his execution, but Aerys chose to be merciful
and exiled him to the Night’s Watch.
Yet the Golden Company remained free and loyal to Bittersteel and so they attacked the ship
carrying their leader to the Wall, and brought him back to Tyrosh where he crowned Haegon’s
son Daemon Blackfyre III as the true king of Westeros.
Since King Aerys had no children of his own, his brother Rhaegel was named heir until his
death in 215 AC, when he choked on lamprey pie.
Rhaegel’s son Aelor was next in line but he died in an accident involving his sister-wife
Aelora, who was so distraught by the loss she went mad and later killed herself.
And so when the king died of illness in 221 AC, the throne passed to his youngest brother
Maekar, a strong willed warrior who kept Bloodraven as Hand of the King.
Married to Dyanna Dayne, the couple had 4 sons, yet even so the succession proved problematic,
with the eldest child Aerion Brightflame so mad he died drinking wildfire, while Daeron
the Drunken died of the pox, contracted from a prostitute.
Their third son Aemon, was both wise and good hearted but he became a Maester and thus renounced
his inheritance, leaving only Aegon Targaryen, the 4th son of a 4th son, known as the boy
Egg who squired for Ser Duncan the Tall.
Despite being a warrior, Maekar ruled for 12 years in relative peace, until House Peake
rebelled in 233 AC.
Having supported House Blackfyre, they were stripped of lands and incomes, leading them
to take up arms in Peake Uprising which ended with the Storming of Starpike.
Ever the warrior, Maekar led the royal forces to victory but died in the fighting, leaving
the throne to his youngest son Aegon V, known as the Unlikely, a man with a unique history
unlike any other member of House Targaryen, beginning his adventures at the age of 9 when
he attended the Tourney of Ashford Meadow in 209 AC and there deceived Ser Duncan the
Tall into believing he was a common boy, in order to serve as the knight’s squire.
However the ruse was soon revealed when Ser Duncan defended the honor of Tansell Too Tall
who was being harassed by Aegon’s elder brother Aerion Brightflame.
The confrontation then led to a trial by seven, where each man gathered 6 allies to join him
in battle.
Though Aerion’s father Maekar and brother Daeron fought for him, the heir to the throne
Baelor Breakspear saw the injustice of the situation and joined Ser Duncan the Tall,
helping him achieve victory.
Unfortunately Prince Baelor died from the wounds he suffered at the hands of his brother
Maekar, but even so Ser Duncan was allowed to keep Aegon as his squire, on the condition
he continued to shave his head and hide his true identity.
By serving under a hedge knight, Aegon travelled across the continent and lived amongst the
small folk of the realm, coming to understand the poverty and challenges they endured.
In time, he became an expert warrior and a king, but never forgot the lessons of his
youth, and spent his reign fighting for the rights of the common people.
Yet these efforts which made him beloved by the poor, led to anger and hatred from the
nobility, who felt he threatened their authority.
Yet if any truly wished to do him harm, they would need to go through Ser Duncan the Tall,
who was made Lord commander of the kingsguard, remaining a close friend and advisor to the
ruler for the rest of their lives.
Becoming king at the age of 33, Aegon’s reign showed much promise, yet it unfortunately
began with a scandal, as his first action was to banish the former Hand of the King
Brynden Rivers to the Night’s Watch.
Due to the death of so many heirs under Maekar I, a great council was called to determine
the next king which ultimately chose Aegon the Unlikely.
However one of the claimants who asked for an audience was Aenys Blackfyre, the last
living son of Daemon Blackfyre, who wanted to take a peaceful approach to claiming the
Iron throne.
Though he was promised safe passage, Bloodraven broke his word and had the man killed, much
to the relief of many noble lords.
Yet this action also meant that the Iron Throne could not be trusted, and so the new king
Aegon V had no choice but to exile his great uncle.
Three years later in 236 AC Aegor Rivers made his last attempt to invade Westeros, landing
on Masseys Hook with Daemon Blackfyre III and the Golden Company.
However the Fourth Blackfyre Rebellion ended quickly with their defeat at the Battle of
Wendwater Bridge, where Ser Duncan the Tall slew Daemon Blackfyre in single combat, though
Bittersteel once again survived and retreated across the Narrow Sea.
Aegor Rivers then died a few years later, fighting in the Disputed Lands, but even on
his deathbed refused to give up, ordering that the Golden Company boil the flesh from
his skull, dip in gold and carry it as their banner when they finally take the Iron Throne.
Back in the capital, despite proving himself a good man and valiant warrior, Aegon faced
heavy backlash from the nobility who opposed his many reforms.
Having married Betha Blackwood who gave him 5 children, Aegon decided to marry their sons
and daughter to important families throughout the realm, thereby winning him key allies
his fight for the common people.
Yet all his plans were ruined when his children refused to cooperate and in the end his problems
only grew worse.
His eldest son Duncan the Small abandoned his betrothal to House Baratheon and even
renounced his position as heir to the throne, in order to marry the common girl Jenny of
Oldstones, an act so insulting it led the Stormlands into a rebellion.
Aegon’s second son Jaehaerys and daughter Shaera, inspired by their elder brother’s
courage, left behind their arranged marriages to Houses Tully and Tyrell, so they might
wed each other in secret ceremony.
Even the youngest son Daeron disobeyed his father’s wishes, forsaking his betrothal
to House Redwyne to remain unwed for the rest of his life as he preferred the companionship
of a man.
Only the youngest child Rhaelle did as she was told, marrying into House Baratheon to
help bring peace after the rebellion.
After 26 years of rule, Aegon the V travelled to Summerhall in 259AC alongside his family
and friends, hoping to perform a ritual which might hatch dragon eggs , but instead created
a fire do devastating it destroyed the castle and killed the King, Prince Duncan the Small,
Ser Duncan the Tall, and many others.
Fortunately some few survived, possibly due to the heroics of the Lord Commander, including
Rhaella Targaryen, granddaughter of the king and her son Rhaegar, born that very day.
With the King dead, his son and heir Jaehaerys II inherited the throne, and while he was
physically weak and sickly, he ruled well and was thought to be a good leader.
Having married his sister Shaera, they had a son named Aerys and a daughter Rhaella,
wedding them to each other because of a prophecy proclaimed by a woods witch, who said the
Prince who was promised would be born of their line.
Though Jaehaerys II reigned for only 3 years, he faced a potential invasion in 260 AC, when
a group of pirates and merchants allied with Maelys the Monstrous Blackfyre, leader of
the Golden Company.
Basing themselves on the stepstones, the Hand of the King Ormund Baratheon led a pre-emptive
strike, leading to the 5th Blackfyre Rebellion, which saw a young Baristan Selmy cut a bloody
path through the enemy to slay Maelys in single combat, thereby ending the male line of House
Blackfyre.
Dying of a sudden illness in 262 AC, the throne passed to the king’s only son Aerys II,
a young man who showed promise in his early days, naming his friend Tywin Lannister as
Hand of the King and together bringing about 12 years of peace and prosperity for the Seven
Kingdoms.
Yet as time passed it became clear Aerys was a fool always making grand plans he was unable
to complete.
These failures were then amplified by the respect everyone had for Tywin Lannister,
leading him to resent the Hand, treating him with cruelty and disdain, until he felt no
choice but to resign from his position.
With his mental health already starting to decline, Aerys went through terrible bouts
of depression when his wife had a number of stillbirths and miscarriages.
As his insanity grew, he became obsessed with Wildfire and burning his enemies alive, befriending
pyromancers and filling his court with men of the Alchemist’s guild.
Unfortunately his sister-wife suffered more than anyone, and was regularly raped, beaten
and emotionally abused.
Yet inspite of the Mad King’s many mistakes, it was his son Rhaegar who lit the spark which
doomed their House, when he became Champion at the Tourney of Harrenhal, only to name
Lord Robert Baratheon’s betrothed Lyanna Stark as the Queen of Love and Beauty, ignoring
his own wife Elia Martell, thereby publically insulting House Baratheon, Stark and Martell
in a single action.
Rhaegar and Lyanna later disappear together, leaving most to believe she was kidnapped
and being raped in the south.
Outraged by her disappearance, Lyanna’s brother Brandon Stark, rode to King’s Landing
demanding justice, but instead the Mad King ordered that both he and his father be tortured
and killed.
In response Houses Baratheon, Stark, Arryn and later Tully rose in rebellion, culminating
in the Battle of the Trident, where Robert Baratheon slew Rhaegar Targaryen in single
combat.
With rebel victory all but assured, House Lannister sacked King’s Landing, killing
King Aerys, Elia Martell and her children Rhaenys and Aegon, allowing for Robert Baratheon
to take the Iron throne, claiming legitimacy through his Grandmother Rhaelle Targaryen.
Meanwhile the Mad King’s wife Rhaella was on Dragonstone where she died giving birth
to their daughter Daenerys, who was taken to Essos by the loyalilst Ser Willem Darry,
alongside her brother Viserys, the boy would spent the rest of his life trying to gather
support to reclaim the Throne of their father.
Though the Beggar King died without accomplishment, in a confrontation with the Dothraki, by 300
AC, his sister Daenerys, the last known Targaryen, hatched 3 dragons, and began a campaign of
conquest in slaver’s bay, becoming Queen of Meereen, all the while waiting for the
day she would take her army and dragons to Westeros.
Yet as she waged war in the east, another possible Targaryen emerged with a young man
claiming to be Aegon, son of Rhaegar, who was smuggled away as a baby and therefore
survived sack of king’s landing.
A good hearted warrior with the loyalty of the golden company, Aegon invaded the Stormlands
during the reign of Tommen Baratheon, the boy king engulfed in a terrible civil war.
Yet there are some who say Aegon is actually a Blackfyre descended from the female line,
who was told he was a Targaryen to give him legitimacy.