Ruling over the continent of Westeros for nearly 300 years, House Targaryen were the
heirs of legacy dating back thousands of years to the Age of Valyria, when mighty Dragonlords
conquered nearly all of Essos, west of the bone mountains.
As a result of this ancestry and the tradition of marrying within their own family, the children
of House Targaryen often shared a number of physical traits such as pale skin, silver-gold
hair, purple eyes and a resistance to heat, though they were not immune to fire.
Some even possessed the ability to bond with dragons or could see glimpses of the future
though prophetic visions.
Though the Valyrian Dragonlords and their descendants conquered much of the known world,
legends say they began as simple sheepherders in the Valyrian peninsula, who discovered
Dragons living near the chain of Volcanoes they called the 14 flames.
Over time they bonded with the creatures, and became skilled in the magical arts, founding
the Valyrian Freehold, to be ruled the 40 wealthiest and most influential families.
Considered a minor house among these Aristocratic elite, the Targaryens gained a reputation
for cowardice in 126 BC, when they suddenly sold all their property and moved their people,
slaves and dragons west.
However the truth was that Daenys the Dreamer, the daughter of their patriarch, had a vision
foreseeing a great tragedy that would destroy the Valyrian Penninsula.
Trusting her prophecy, Aenar Targaryen moved his entire household to the far western island
of Dragonstone and as a result were the only ruling family to survive the Doom of Valyria
which struck 12 years later in 114BC.
Although the exact origin of the tragic event is not known, it is believed the 14 flames
erupted, destroying their cities and the Penninsula.
Following the Doom, Essos descended into a period of chaos and war known as the Century
of Blood, with the now independent cities of the former freehold struggling against
each other for supremacy, while Dothraki horselords ravaged central essos.
Meanwhile on Dragonstone the Targaryens and their 5 dragons survived, as did their allies
in House Velaryon of Driftmark and House Celtigar of Claw Isle, both of Valyrian ancestry, working
together to become a major power in the narrow sea, controlling trade with the threat of
dragonfire.
But they did not attempt to conquer the lands of Old Valyria, instead focusing on prospering
as Lords of Dragonstone.
After the death of Aenar Targaryen, he was succeeded by his son Gaemon the Glorious who,
in keeping with the Valyrian tradition of incest, married his sister Daenys the Dreamer.
Gaemon was succeeded by his son Aegon who married his sister Elaena and produced two
sons.
The elder brother Maegon inherited the Lordship and ruled for a time, before it passed to
his younger brother Aerys and then his 3 sons, Aelyx, Baelon and Daemion.
Daemion was then succeeded by his son Aerion, who married Valaena Velaryon and had three
children, naming them Visenya, Aegon and Rhaenys.
Aerion was then succeeded by Aegon, who married both of his sisters.
Though the Targaryens brought 5 dragons from Valyria, 4 died in the ensuing years and so
Aegon took the last of them, known as Belarion the Black Dread as his own, while his sister-wives
took Vhagar and Meraxes, 2 more recently hatched creatures born on Dragonstone.
After a century of isolating themselves from the chaos in Essos, Aegon Targaryen at last
decided to intervene, joining an alliance to stop Volantene expansion, and doing his
part by burning an enemy fleet sent against the city of Lys.
With the Volantene wars over, and the Free Cities left in relative peace, the ambitious
Aegon Targaryen turned his attention west, and began preparing for the invasion of Westeros.
Despite his people’s history in Essos, it was the western continent which called to
Aegon, causing him to order to construction of 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 rule, Westeros at
the time was separated into seven distinct realms, known as the Kingdom of the North,
the Kingdom of Mountain and Vale, the Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers, the Kingdom of
the Rock, the Kingdom of the Reach, and Dorne.
Joined by his sister-wives Rhaenys and Visenya, their dragons Belarion, Meraxes and Vhagar,
and less than 1600 soldiers from Houses Velaryon, Celtigar and Massey, the Targaryens began
their invasion of Westeros in 2 BC, landing at the mouth of Blackwater Rush where they
built the Aegonfort.
As they started expanding their territory, Rhaenys and Visenya placed a Valyrian steel
circlet inlaid with rubies upon Aegon’s head, crowning him King of Westeros.
Their first major conquest came when they defeated the Kingdom of Isles and Rivers,
killing king Harren the Black and the last of House Hoare in the Burning of Harrenhall.
The riverlands were then given to House Tully, a noble family of ancient blood who sided
with the Targaryens.
Next fell the Kingdom of the Storm, when King Argilac Durrandon was slain in a battlefield
duel with Orys Baratheon, the best friend and rumoured bastard brother of Aegon Targaryen.
Made the new Lord of the Stormlands, Orys embraced the Durrandon legacy by marrying
the deceased king’s daughter Argella and adopting their sigil as well as their words
to form House Baratheon.
The Targaryens then conquered both the Kingdoms of the Rock and Reach, by defeating an army
of 55000 in the Field of Fire.
After the battle, King Loren of House Lannister surrendered and was made Lord of the Westerlands
while King Mern Gardener IX and his sons were killed in the fighting, leaving Aegon to name
Harlen Tyrell as Lord of the reach, the Steward of Highgarden who surrendered the castle peacefully.
Though the northmen were ready to fight for their independence, raising an army of 30,000,
King Torrhen Stark knew they could not win and so decided to save his people by bending
the knee and surrendering his crown.
Though Aegon named Torrhen Stark as Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, he was
forever remembered as the King who knelt.
Rather than send an army to fight for the Kingdom of Mountain and Vale, Visenya flew
her dragon Vhagar directly into the courtyard of the eerie.
By the time Lady Shara Arryn arrived, she found her beloved son Ronnel sitting upon
Visenya’s lap, eagerly wanting to fly on the dragon.
Understanding the implicit threat, the Vale surrendered to the Targaryens, and after being
flown around the mountain 3 times, Ronnel Arryn was named Lord of the Vale and warden
of the East.
Though they conquering nearly the entire continent, the Targaryens were unable to defeat Dorne,
with the elderly Princess Meria Martell warning Rhaenys, that
"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."
Despite this setback Aegon was formally crowned king of Westeros by the High Septon in 1 AC,
afterwhich he went to the Iron Islands and had them name their own Lord, choosing Vickon
of House Greyjoy, an ancient noble family who once ruled as kings.
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 from the melted swords of defeated enemies.
Yet it was not enough for Aegon who wanted to complete his conquest, launching the First
Dornish War in 4AC.
Yet rather than defending their lands by meeting the invaders in battle, the Dornish employed
a more longterm strategy, withdrawing from nearly every engagement, abandoning towns
and castles whenever an enemy army approached.
As a result the Targaryen quickly captured Sunspear and many other holdings, leading
them to declare victory and start withdrawing troops.
Yet once the main army was gone, the Dornish immediately began their counter offensive,
with Meria Martell re-emerging to take power in Sunspear.
Having quickly lost control of dorne, King Aegon mounted his dragon Belarion the Black
Dread, and flew south, burning a great number of castles in retaliation.
Yet rather than instilling fear, it only escalated the conflict further.
During a campaign to burn Starfall, skyreach and Hellholt, Queen Rhaenys and Meraxes were
brought down by scorpion fire, leaving Aegon so enraged he went on another rampage, burning
nearly every Dornish stronghold he could find.
With the war dragging out several attempts were made on the life of King Aegon, leading
Queen Visenya to form the Kingsguard in 10 AC, modelling their vows after those of the
night’s watch, preventing them from holding lands, titles or being wed.
The war continued on for 3 more years until the death of the elderly Princess Meria Martell,
when her son Prince Nymor sent a mysterious letter to Aegon in King’s Landing.
Although its contents remain unknown, Aegon burned the message after reading it, and the
next morning withdrew his troops from Dorne.
Despite the hostilities between their people, this peace lasted for the rest of Aegon’s
reign, and the king even remained on good terms with Prince Nymor’s daughter Deria
Martell, visiting sunspear in 23AC alongside his eldest son Aenys, for what was called
a feast of friendship.