Born the illegitimate son of King Aegon IV and his 6th mistress Melissa Blackwood in
175 AC, Brynden Rivers developed a distinctive look among his siblings, with pale white skin,
long white hair, red eyes and a wine-stain birthmark on his neck and cheek, which many
came to believe resembled a raven drawn in blood. And while Bloodraven, was not as tall
or muscular as his many male siblings, he proved a valiant warrior, wielding the Valyrian
steel sword Dark Sister and developed into an expert archer, eventually commanding his
own company of bowman known as Raven’s Teeth. Despite his illegitimacy, he maintained good
relations with the Targaryen Court in King’s Landing, yet he became the bitterest of enemies
to his own half brother Aegor Rivers, with animosity and resentment built into their
relationship from the very beginning. Aegor, was the son of King Aegon’s 5th mistress
Barba Bracken, who had been sent away from King’s Landing in a scandal, replaced by
Melissa Blackwood, a woman of a rival house and the mother of Brynden Rivers. Melissa
was so well liked by the court, that even after she was replaced by a 7th mistress,
her son bloodraven was allowed to remain in King’s Landing.
Aegor’s resentment only grew when he became infatuated with his half sister Shierra Seastar,
only to see her develop a relationship with Brynden Rivers.
The animosity between the two would grow over time leading to a lifelong hatred that would
have drastic repercussions for all of Westeros. In 184 AC, King Aegon IV made a final decree
on his deathbed, legitimizing all of his bastard children, a drastic proclamation, that would
raise questions about the succession and open the door to rebellion.
Brynden Rivers, one of King Aegon’s Great Bastards, now a legitimate son of the former
king, would come to serve the heir, his half brother King Daeron II, taking up a seat on
his small council. And when the realm fractured and went to war, with Daemon of House Blackfyre,
another of the legitimized bastards of Aegon IV, rebelled against the crown, declaring
himself king and the rightful heir to the iron throne, Bloodraven remained loyal to
House Targaryen. At the Battle of the Redgrass field, he lost an eye fighting his hated brother
Aegor Rivers, also known as Bittersteel, who had sided with House Blackfyre. Yet despite
his injury, Bloodraven was able to lead Raven’s Teeth in capturing an area known as Weeping
Ridge, and from rained a barrage of arrows down on Daemon Blackfyre and his son's, killing
them and ending the First Blackfyre Rebellion. For this action, Brynden was labelled a kinslayer,
adding to his already sinister reputation, with many believing he was a sorcerer and
spymaster. A song was even composed about him, called A Thousand Eyes and One, referring
to his one good eye and the thousand eyes of his many informants.
Although Daemon Blackfyre was defeated, Aegor Rivers survived, escaping with Daemon’s
surviving children to Essos, where they would prepare for their next attempt to replace
House Targaryen with House Blackfyre. In 209 AC, Brynden Rivers was named Hand of
the King under his nephew King Aerys I and would serve for many years facing a number
of devastating challenges. The first major crisis would be great spring
sickness which killed Aerys father king daeron II and thousands of others. With King’s
Landing suffering the worst of the illness, seeing 4 of every 10 residents killed by the
plague. In response, Bloodraven ordered that the bodies of dead be gathered in the Dragon
Pit and burned with wildfire until the sickness at last receded in 210 AC.
Yet even as the illness abated, another crisis emerged, when King’s Landing and much of
the surrounding area suffered a terrible drought, causing many farmers to abandon their work
and seek refuge in other parts of the continent. Bloodraven ordered that the farmers stay on
their lands, but few obeyed, and the mass migration of people increased banditry and
theft on the roads. In 211 AC Dagon Greyjoy and his ironborn fleet
began raiding the western coast, attacking various sites in the reach. The Starks of
the North gathered their banners in response determined to defend their coastline, while
the Lannisters of the Westerlands constructed a fleet to repel their forces.
In the capital, Bloodraven had his own worries, knowing that Aegor Rivers and his Blackfyre
rebels were in Tyrosh, eager to invade from the east and capture the throne.
Although many suffered during Dagons raids, the Targaryens eventually got involved and
the Ironborn retreated to their islands. In the same year the riverlands faced war,
with House Blackwood threatening to go to war with their traditional enemies in House
Bracken. Many wished for the Hand of the King to intervene, but because his mother was a
Blackwood, the Bracken’s believed he would not be a fair arbiter.
Yet even during all these challenges, Bloodraven proved focused on what he considered the greatest
threat facing the realm. Learning that Daemon Blackfyre II was at the Tournament of Whitewalls,
gathering support for a second blackfyre rebellion, he marched to the event with an army, and
swiftly arrested the man, defeating his rebellion before it began.
Years later in 219 AC a third Blackfyre rebellion would see Aegor the Golden Company invade
the continent to proclaim Daemon Targaryen’s fourth son Haegon as the true king of Westeros.
The war would see Brynden Rivers once again fighting in single combat against Bittersteel
his hated halfbrother, but in the end, House Blackfyre was again defeated, with Aegor Rivers
arrested, and the would be King Haegon killed. Although Bloodraven advocated execution for
the rebel leader, but he was overruled by King Aerys I, who sparred his life and banished
him to the night’s watch. Yet the Golden Company remained free and loyal
to Bittersteel and House Blackfyre, and so they attacked the ship carrying their leader
to the Wall, and rescued him, taking him to Tyrosh where he crowned Haegon’s son Daemon
Blackfyre III as the true king of Westeros, biding his time for another invasion.
In 233AC Brynden Rivers called for a great council to decide the matter of succession
following the death of Maekar I. Aenys Blackfyre, the fifth son of Daemon Blackfyre I, reached
out to King’s Landing from across the narrow sea and peacefully made his claim to the throne.
Seeing an opportunity to deal another blow to his hated enemies, Bloodraven extended
an invitation to the man promising safe entrance into King’s Landing so he might argue his
case before the great council. Yet the hand of the king had no intention of honoring that
decree and as soon as Aenys entered the city he was arrested and killed. Aegon V would
inherit the throne and in order to protect the reputation of the crown, his first act
as King would be to arrest Brynden Rivers for murder.
Bloodraven was then given the option of joining the night’s watch and so later that years
sailed to the wall, along with 200 men who would join the watch to serve as his honor
guard, some of them veterans of Raven’s Teeth.
In 239 Brynden became Lord Commander and served for many years, until disappearing in 252,
having gone out on a ranging beyond the wall and never returned.
For over 60 years his fate would remain a mystery to the people of westeros, until young
Brandon Stark began to receive visions from a mysterious 3 eyed crow, and travelled North
of the wall with a number of companions, finding the man once known as bloodraven, as an old
decrepit man, living with the children of the forest, watching the events of the south
through his greenseer magic. Brynden Rivers was the 3 eyed Crow, and he claimed to want
to pass his knowledge onto bran, teaching him to become one of the most powerful beings in the world.