After thousands of years ruling over a vast territory in Essos, the Valyrian Freehold
suffered a terrible disaster in 114BC, likely resulting from the eruption of the 14 Flames,
the chain of volcanoes where they first discovered the dragons which made them so successful
in battle.
Yet while the Doom of Valyria destroyed their cities and government, some few Dragon Lords
survived, fortunate to be away from their homeland at the time.
Among these survivors were the Targaryens of Dragonstone, a minor noble family who left
the Valyrian Penninusla 12 years before the Doom, when Daenys the Dreamer, a daughter
of their house had a vision of the future, convincing her father to move them far away.
As a result, the Targaryens continued on ruling over a small island in the narrow sea, becoming
one of the last families in all the known world to possess dragons and dragonriders.
For over a century, the Targaryens remained on their island, watching as Essos descended
into chaos and war, with the Dothraki plundering their way through the east, while the Free
Cities battled for supremacy in the west.
During this time 4 of their 5 dragons died, leaving only Belarion the Black Dread, however
2 new hatchlings were also born, in Vhagar and Meraxes.
Things started to change however, when young Aegon Targaryen succeeded as head of their
House, at last choosing to use flex considerable might by involving themselves in the wars
of nearby Essos.
As the oldest and largest of the Free Cities, Volantis believed themselves to be the rightful
heirs of Valyria and began expanding their territory, and so Aegon Targaryen assisted
those resisting Volantene aggression by mounting his dragon Belarion and burning an a fleet
sent against Lys.
With the Volantene wars over, and the Free Cities left in relative peace, Aegon turned
his attention west, preparing for the invasion of Westeros.
Despite his people’s history in Essos, it was the western continent which called to
Aegon, even constructing an elaborately carved table with a detailed map of Westeros more
than 50 feet long and 25 feet wide.
Yet while Aegon considered the entire continent one territory for him to conquer and rule,
Westeros at the time was separated into seven distinct kingdoms, with Torrhen Stark ruling
over the Kingdom of the North, young Ronnel Arryn ruling over the Kingdom of Mountain
and Vale with his mother Sharra acting as Regent, Harren Hoare ruling the Kingdom of
the Isles and the Rivers, Loren I Lannister ruling the Kingdom of the Rock, Mern IX Gardener
ruling the Kingdom of the Reach, Argilac Durrandon ruling the Kingdom of the Storm and elderly
Meria Martell ruling as Princess of Dorne.
For years, these realms competed and warred against each other, with divisions and rivalries
creating a situation where some were eager to ally themselves to a powerful family like
the Targaryens if it meant gaining an advantage over their traditional enemies.
Such was the case when the Storm King Argilac Durandon proposed a marriage between Aegon
and his daughter, offering a portion of his lands in exchange for help in battle against
King Harren of the Isles and Rivers.
However Aegon rejected the proposal and instead offered the hand of his best friend and possible
half brother Orys Baratheon, which King Argilac took as an insult.
And so he cut off the hands of the envoy who delivered the message and sent them to the
Targaryens, with a note that read “These are the only hands your bastard shall have
of me.”
With hostilities escalating, Aegon took council with his sister-wives Rhaenys and Visenya,
as well as his bannermen from House Velaryon, Celtigar and Massey, deciding to at last begin
their invasion of Westeros.
Sending ravens to all the major houses of the continent, they demanded submission to
House Targaryen in exchange for being allowed to keep their lands and positions of authority.
Though some sent counter-proposals, the terms were largely rejected by the 7 kingdoms.
Aegon then gathered together an army of less than 1600 soldiers in addition to the dragons
Belarion, Meraxes and Vhagar, landing their host next to three hills at the mouth of Blackwater
Rush.
Establishing the Aegonfort, their mission was off to an encouraging start with a pair
of easy victories resulting from Rhaenys securing the peaceful surrender of House Rosby, while
Visenya did the same with House Stokeworth.
Slowly growing the size of their army, their first true battle was against House Darklyn
of Duskendale and the Mootons of Maidenpool, who joined together and raised an army of
3000 men.
Although they outnumbered the Targaryens, their soldiers were unable to withstand an
onslaught of dragonfire, resulting in the death of both Lords Darklyn and Mooton, leaving
their successors no choice but to surrender.
With their territory quickly expanding, Rhaenys and Visenya placed a Valyrian steel circlet
inlaid with rubies upon Aegon’s head, crowning him as King of Westeros.
Continuing on with their war of conquest, the campaign for the Vale soon began, with
Daemon Velaryon sailing the Targaryen fleet to take Gulltown, supported in the air by
Visenya flying upon Vhagar.
However they found strong opposition from the Arryn fleet, bolstered by a dozen braavosi
warships, who ultimately won the battle by successfully repelling the invasion force
and killing their commander Daemon Velaryon.
Yet even in defeat the Targaryen Dragonlords were dangerous, with Visenya going on to burn
the victorious enemy fleet before retreating.
Even so, the invasion of the Vale was momentarily halted, though it was only the beginning of
their problems as they soon faced rebellion within their own borders as the Isles of the
three sisters declared independence.
Meanwhile, King Aegon led his warriors to conquer the Isles and rivers, marching upon
King Harren of Harrenhal, whose armies were soon defeated in the Battle of the Reeds but
won a victory at the Wiling Willows, when 2 of Harren’s sons successfully led a raid
on the Targaryen camp.
Yet as the victors were sailing their boats back home, Belarion the Blackdread fell upon
them, killing the king’s sons.
Unfortunately for Harren the Black, his years of cruel leadership now caught up with him,
as his bannermen refused to answer his summons, instead organizing a rebellion under Edmyn
Tully, who chose to ally with the Targaryens and assist them in defeating the hated king.
Believing his massive fortress to be impregnable, Harren refused to surrender despite the odds
against him, and so Aegon unleashed a storm of dragonfire in the burning of Harrenhal,
killing the King and his remaining sons to end their family line.
To reward his allegiance to House Targaryen, Edmyn Tully was named Lord Paramount of the
Trident, while the Iron Islands were left in chaos for a time, as Aegon focused on conquering
the rest of the mainland.
South of the Aegonfort, Orys Baratheon marched upon the Kingdom of the Storm, supported in
the air by Rhaenys flying atop meraxes.
With Argilac Durrandon still furious over Aegon’s rejection of his daughter, no peaceful
resolution was possible and so the Storm King called his banners, gathering together a substantial
force which in turn left his realm vulnerable to attacks from pirates and Dornish raiders.
Though the Stormlands won an early victory, killing a thousand targaryen men at Wendwater,
Rhaenys set the forest on fire as the enemy departed, burning many of their warriors including
one of three noble lords who led the mission.
Yet the true battle for the realm came during the Last Storm, when King Argilac, outnumbering
the enemy 2 to 1, charged valiantly into the Targaryen ranks, eventually breaking through
their center, only to find Meraxes waiting on the other end to rain dragonfire upon them.
Yet even after being thrown from a horse and seeing his men killed, Argilac refused to
submit, fighting and dying in a final duel against Orys Baratheon.
With her father dead, Argilac’s daughter Argella retreated into Storm’s End and declared
herself the Storm Queen, but she was soon betrayed by her own men, who delivered her
to the Targaryen camp.
As new Lord of the Stormlands, Orys decided to embrace the legacy of the Durrandons by
marrying Argella and adopting their sigil as well as their words to form House Baratheon.
Having started to encounter serious resistance among the realms of Westeros, Visenya was
pleased to accept the peaceful surrender of Crackclaw point, which immediately submitted
to House Targaryen.
In appreciation, Visenya promised that they would serve as direct vassals to the King,
in what came to be known as the Crownlands.
As the invasion continued, the Targaryen army prepared to face their greatest challenge
yet, with King Mern Gardener IX of the Reach and Loren Lannister of the Rock, allying together
to raise an army of 55,000 men.
Engaging at what came to be known as the field of fire, the Targaryen dragons devastated
the enemy, burning over 4000 men including the King of the Reach and his sons.
With another thousand killed in the fighting, the Westerosi army was swiftly defeated, and
so King Loren surrendered to House Targaryen.
Aegon then decided to leave House Lannister as the Lords of the Westerlands while House
Tyrell, formerly a house of stewards, was given the Lordship of the reach, to reward
them for peacefully surrendering Highgarden after the Field of Fire.
Though the Targaryen wanted to continue conquering the south, they were forced to make their
way north, when King Torrhen Stark of Winterfell marched 30 000 men into the Riverlands.
Despite being outnumbered by the Targaryen host, many Northmen wished to attack, including
the King’s bastard half-brother Brandon Snow, who volunteered to sneak into the enemy
camp and assassinate the dragons.
However King Torrhen had heard the stories about what happened at Harrenhal and the Field
of Fire, and chose to save his people from slaughter by sending Brandon with a party
of Maesters to negotiate the terms of their surrender.
Although he lost his crown, Torrhen was named Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North,
remembered by many as the King who knelt.
One by one the realms of Westeros were falling to House Targaryen, but in the Kingdom of
Mountain and vale, the Regent Shara Arryn resolved to keep their independence, making
bold plans for the defense of her son’s throne by marching an army to the Bloody Gate,
strengthening their defenses at Gulltown, and tripling the garrison that upon the giant’s
lance, who guarded the path towards the Eyrie.
Shara also sent a peace proposal, offering to marry Aegon if he would name Ronnel his
heir, but the offer was refused, and so she continued to prepare for an invasion.
But no soldiers were sent, as Visenya could simply bypass all of their defenses by flying
atop Vhagar to land directly within the inner courtyard of the eyrie.
And so it was that Shara Arryn found her beloved son Ronnel sitting upon Visenya’s lap, eagerly
wanting to fly the dragon.
Although the young king did not understand the implicit threat, the reality was made
clear to Shara, who saw how vulnerable they really were to Dragonlords.
And so after Visenya flew the boy around the mountain 3 times, the Vale formally submitted
to the Targaryens, with Ronnel Arryn named Lord of the Vale and warden of the East.
Looking towards the South, Rhaenys flew atop her dragon Meraxes to the realm of Dorne,
only to find their castles and towns abandoned or else populated with only women and children.
When she arrived at sunspear, it too was abandoned, save for Meria Martell, the elderly Princess
of Dorne who remained behind to warn Rhaenys that Dorne would never submit, saying,
"You may burn us, my lady, but you will not bend us, break us, or make us bow.
This is Dorne.
You are not wanted here.
Return at your peril."
Following this confrontation, Dorne was left in peace for a time, until the rest of the
Targaryen campaign was completed.
Though most of the reach supported their King Mern Gardener IX as he prepared to fight the
Targaryens, the powerful and influencial House Hightower of Old Town did not join them, as
the High Septon of the Faith of the Seven, advised them not to fight against the dragonlords.
When Aegon first landed on the mainland, the High Septon locked himself in the Starry sept
for 7 days and nights, until he had a vision where the Crone revealed that their city would
burn if they opposed the invaders.
And so after the defeat of the Gardener King and submission of highgarden, the Hightowers
rode out to meet the Targaryens, and surrendered Old Town without a fight.
As a result Aegon was formally crowned king of Westeros by the High Septon in 1 AC, and
the Hightowers kept their Lordship of the city.
With most of the mainland conquered, Aegon turned his attention to the Iron Islands which
had been in a state of civil war since the death of King Harren the Black.
Putting an end to the violence, Aegon forced them to choose a new leader, resulting in
the selection of Vickon Greyjoy as Lord of the Ironborn.
With six of the seven kingdoms of Westeros under Targaryen rule, the city of King’s
Landing was established around the Aegonfort, where they built the Iron Throne, a monstrous
chair forged by blacksmiths from the melted swords of defeated enemies.
However, by the end of the war, Aegon’s conquest was incomplete, as Dorne remained
independent.
And so in 4AC the Targaryens launched the First Dornish War, organizing a full scale
invasion of the territory, but it ultimately ended in failure and the death of Queen Rhaenys
and her dragon, forcing Aegon the Conqueror to recognize Dornish sovereignty.