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The maesters are an order of scholars, healers, messengers, and scientists. They educate new students at the Citadel, which is located in Oldtown, a city in the Reach. House Hightower was integral in the Citadel's foundation, and continues to patronize the order. As advisers to the Westerosi nobility, the maesters have largely supplanted the Alchemists' Guild.[1] They are sometimes called "the knights of the mind."[2]

Organization

Novices and Acolytes

Students who start their education at the Citadel are known as novices. Once they have earned a link for their chain, they become acolytes.[3] Most acolytes treat novices as if they are slow-witted.[3] Acolytes train at letters at the Scribe's Hearth,[4] and can be hired by Oldtowners to read their letters or write their wills.[5] When an acolyte is prepared to take his vows and become a maester, he is placed in a completely dark room with one of the Citadel's glass candles, made of razor-sharp obsidian. He must stay in that room for the entire night in darkness, unless he is able to light the candle. The tradition serves as a lesson about truth and learning.[3]

Students who violate the rules of the Citadel can be ordered confined to their rooms by the maesters.[6] They can also receive more physical punishments. For example, for stealing from the kitchens, rectors might place them in stocks at the Seneschal's Court, where acolytes may throw rotten vegetables at them.[5]

Maesters

Maesters are scholars and healers who have completed their training at the Citadel. They can be sent by the Citadel to serve at the holding of a lord throughout the Seven Kingdoms. Maesters are only found in castles;[7] if a lord does not have a maester in his service, he is seen as unimportant.[8] Aegon I Targaryen and his sister wives each had a maester during the Conquest, and as king Aegon had as many as six serving him, separate from the Grand Maester.[9] A lord has to pay the Citadel for a maester's service,[10] and smallfolk believe that maesters are unwilling to help them.[7]

Maesters wear a collar, which is supposed to remind him of the realm he serves.[11] When he completes his education and takes his vows, a maester puts aside his House name.[12] Although he is supposed to be loyal to the seat to which he is assigned, regardless of the changes in control of that holding,[13] old allegiances or loyalties might continue linger.[8]

Archmaesters

Archmaesters are maesters who have demonstrated mastery of a particular subject. They receive a mask, ring, and rod in the metal corresponding to the link of the maester's chain which signifies their expertise on the topic.[3] Archmaesters teach the students at the Citadel in their subject of expertise, and they judge whether a novice or an acolyte has shown enough knowledge on their subject to receive a link for their chain.[3]

Archmaesters have the right to sit on the Conclave, a council which elects the Grand Maester[14] and determines when the seasons change.[15][16] The meetings of the Conclave are conducted behind closed doors at the Citadel.[14]

Each archmaester is said to carry a heavy, black iron key that will open most of the doors in the Citadel. They keep them close on their person, or hide them well.[6]

Grand Maesters

The office of Grand Maester was created in 5 AC by Aegon I Targaryen, who asked for an archmaester to advise him on governing the Seven Kingdoms.[9] Sworn to serve the whole realm,[17] the Grand Maester sits on the king's small council and acts as one of the royal advisers.[18] As the Citadel's representative at the royal court of the king on the Iron Throne[19] the Grand Maester is elected by the Conclave, and only the Conclave can unmake him again, although several Grand Maesters have died violently. King Maegor I Targaryen executed three Grand Maesters during his reign[14]—Gawen, Myros, and Desmond[20]—while Aegon II Targaryen had Grand Maester Gerardys fed to his dragon Sunfyre.[14] Grand Maester Hareth was executed as well, on grounds of treason.[21][14]

Although the Conclave puts effort into demonstrating their consideration of ability before birth, this is generally a pretense, as family status often affects their final choice for Grand Maester.[14]

More than forty men have served the Iron Throne as Grand Maester.[22] Grand Maesters are generally older men. Kaeth was chosen as Grand Maester at the age of eighty, Ellendor at almost ninety, and Merion at the age of sixty-six. After all three died within a short time span, King Aegon V Targaryen suggested to the Conclave that a younger man might be better. As such, Pycelle, aged forty-two, was raised to the office.[23]

The Grand Maester wears many interwoven maester chains to indicate his high office, but these do not reflect his true studies.[citation needed] Gems are woven into the chains.[18]

Seneschal

The governance of the Citadel is held by the Seneschal, who is chosen from among the archmaesters. A new Seneschal is appointed annually. Because the archmaesters tend to see the office as a thankless task, as it takes them away from their true work, the Seneschal is selected by lot, with the one who draws the black stone taking on the office.[5] When the archmaester who draws the black stone is not capable of fulfilling his duties as Seneschal, another archmaester might volunteer to serve his term instead.[5]

Practices

Education

Boys and young men from all over Westeros come to study, learn, and forge their chains at the Citadel.[24] There is no age requirement,[25] and despite the prejudice of the archmaesters to status of birth, males of every social status are allowed to forge their chain. As such, baseborns (e.g., Pate),[3] bastards (e.g., Walys)[8], younger children of lords, and even royalty (e.g., Prince Oberyn Martell,[21] and Princes Aemon[12] and Vaegon Targaryen)[26] can study together at the Citadel.

Novices and acolytes are educated together. Archmaesters give open lectures, which the students can attend at will. Once a student believes he has sufficient knowledge on a particular subject, he can go before an archmaester to demonstrate his knowledge. If the archmaester judges the student's knowledge to be proficient, he awards him with a link of a metal reflecting the topic.[6]

Not all who start their studies will complete their chain. Oldtown is full of aging novices and acolytes who have never started their chains, or never finished forging them.[25] Others leave the Citadel before completing their chain on purpose. Gunthor Hightower studied for several years at the Citadel,[5] although it is not known whether he earned any links while there. Both Lord Lyonel Strong,[27] and Prince Oberyn Martell[21] left the Citadel after forging six links. Some students learn only something about healing, and may become barbers, serving smallfolk with leeches, setting broken bones, and shaving and cutting their hair.[6]

It is not known how long a student generally takes to forge a chain. Maester Yandel earned his first link in 285 AC and completed his chain in 292 AC, at the age of twenty,[4] while Aemon, who took several more years to forge his chain,[N 1] took his maester's vows at the age of nineteen.[28] The speed at which a student earns his links differs between each student. While some might take a year per link (e.g., Armen),[3] exceptional students might earn as many as three links within a year (e.g., Alleras),[6] possibly even more.[N 2]

Citadel

Students are educated at the Citadel, a complex of buildings found in Oldtown. The Citadel is financed by the lords who pay for having a maester in their service, and from certain taxes that the Citadel collects at Oldtown.[10]

Maester's vows

When an acolyte has completed his chain, he can swear a maester's vows. The night before, the acolytes must stand a vigil in a vault with a black glass candle. The acolytes are not allowed any other source of light, and has to spend the night in total darkness unless he can light the candle.[6]

When an acolyte of noble birth takes his vows and dons his chain, he puts aside his House name.[12] He swears sacred vows, promising to hold no lands or lordships,[29] and to be celibate.[30]

Maester's serving in the Night's Watch on the Wall are doubly sworn, and uphold both the maester's vows and the oaths of the Night's Watch[31]

Subjects of knowledge and tasks

The order of maesters are sometimes called the knights of the mind.[2] Numerous subjects are taught at the Citadel. They include history, healing, herblore, the speech of ravens, the building of castles, navigating by the stars, the measurement of days and the marking of seasons.[2] Maesters have performed autopsies for centuries to better understand the workings of the human body.[32][33] They have observed that highborn girls get their first period at a younger age than lower born girls, and that very young mothers tend to have a significantly higher rate of death in childbirth.[34] They make star maps,[35] monitor temperature variations and the march of the seasons, so they can advise on what to plant and when to expect a harvest,[36] and measure the length of the days, as to determine the change of the seasons.[15] When the Conclave has decreed that the seasons have indeed changed, the Citadel sends out white ravens to the lords of Westeros, to herald the changing of the seasons.[15]

Maesters advise their lords on the operation of their households and lands.[37][38] Some lords trust their maesters to open and read letters, and to convey their contents to them. Others prefer to do so for themselves.[39] Maesters can be tasked with writing letters for their lords as well, and might be trusted to read and write the letters of those lords who are illiterate.[8] They are in charge of the ravens used as messengers. Although most ravens can only be trained to fly to one castle, a few can be trained to distinguish between two, and rarely even more.[40] Maesters assist in childbirth,[37] treat illnesses,[21] and teach children arithmetic, geometry, language, and history.[2][13][41][42]

Even among the maesters who have earned a Valyrian link, representing the higher mysteries,[43] there are those who believe that, though magic might have once been a mighty force in the world, it no longer is. They describe Valyria as the "last ember" of magic, which went out with the Doom.[43] Most archmaesters do not care much for ideas concerning occult matters.[44] The rare archmaester who does (e.g., Marwyn)[6] can expect it to impact his reputation. It is said that all those who study the higher mysteries try their own hands at sorcery eventually, but always fail.[43]

Some subjects are forbidden in the Citadel, including cutting open living people,[33] or practicing necromancy.[45]

Chain

A maester can be recognized by the chain he wears around his neck. The collar is intended to remind a maester of the realm he serves.[11] The links of the chain can be made of every metal known to man.[18] By earning their links, students "forge" their chain. Note, "forge" is metaphorical; though they do study metals at the Citadel, maesters do not necessarily train as blacksmiths.[46] Maesters never remove their chain, not even when sleeping,[11] and it is considered a great shame for a maester to surrender his chain.[47] The Citadel can decide to strip a maester of his chain, thereby exiling him from the Citadel. This is done as a punishment for cutting open living people,[33] or practicing necromancy.[45] There may be other reasons the Citadel could strip a maester of their chain. It is unknown how many links one must earn to become a maester but it is known that you do not have to have every possible link, since for instance only on in a hundred maesters has a Valyrian steel link.[43] It is known that it has to be more then nine links since the acolyte Lorcas has earned nine but is not yet elligible to become a maester.[48]

According to George R. R. Martin, it is possible to earn multiple links of the same metal. Multiple links of the same metal on a maester's chain signifies the expertise of the maester on the subject.[49] The metals of which a student can earn links for their chain include:

black iron,[18] signifying ravenry[43][3]

brass[18]

bronze,[11][18] signifying astronomy or astrology[N 3] or perhaps history[N 4]

copper,[11][3][18][48] signifying history[N 5]

electrum[48]

yellow gold,[48] either this or red gold signify's the study of money and accounts,[11] or sums and numbers[43]

red gold,[18] either this or yellow gold signify's the study of money and accounts,[11] or sums and numbers[43]

iron,[18] signifying warcraft[11]

lead[11][3][18]

pewter[3]

platinum[18]

silver,[18] signifying medicine, healing, and the functions of the body[43][11][3]

steel[18]

tin[11][3][18]

Valyrian steel, signifying the higher mysteries[43]

While there are only fifteen known links, and thus fifteen known subjects of expertise taught at the Citadel, there are twenty-one known current archmaesters of the Citadel, for only eight of whom a specialty is known.[48] It is currently unknown if each of these archmaesters are specialized in a separate subject, or whether multiple archmaesters can be specialized in the same subject. However the fact that Maester Gormon takes Archmaester Walgrave's place in judging those attempting for the ravencraft link,[6] but is not a Archmaester himself is a strong indication that there can only be one Archmaester per subject.

Only one maester in a hundred holds a link of Valyrian steel.[43]

History

Although the origin of the Citadel is disputed, the Hightowers are considered to have been instrumental in its founding,[48] as most accounts credit its foundation to Prince Peremore the Twisted, the second son of King Uthor of the High Tower. The curious Peremore invited numerous scholars, including wise men, teachers, priests, healers, singers, wizards, alchemists, and sorcerors, to Oldtown. After Peremore's death, his brother, King Urrigon, granted land alongside the Honeywine to "Peremore's pets", who developed the tract into the maesters' Citadel.[24]

Before the Doom of Valyria, maesters and archmaesters often traveled to the Freehold of Valyria, searching for answers to the many questions they had.[24]

In recent centuries, the maesters of the Citadel have supplanted the once powerful Alchemists' Guild through most of the Seven Kingdoms.[1] In 54 AC, Queen Alysanne Targaryen unsuccessfully advised the Conclave to accept highborn girls into the Citadel.[50]

Archmaester Marwyn believes that the Citadel is behind the deaths of the last Targaryen dragons, because of a conspiracy against magic and prophecy.[5]

When the red comet appears, the maesters are among the first to notice.[35][15]

The Conclave gathers to consider the reports and measurements made by maesters all over the Seven Kingdoms. Based on that information, they declare the summer is over, and send out white ravens to herald the changing of the seasons.[15][16]

Acting as Hand of the King, Tyrion Lannister has Grand Maester Pycelle thrown into the dungeons of the Red Keep as punishment for betraying his confidential information to Queen Regent Cersei Lannister.[51]

Recent Events

A Clash of Kings

A Storm of Swords

Accepting Pycelle's dismissal, the Conclave gathers to discuss who his successor should be. After pretending to consider two lowborn maesters, the Conclave comes close to electing Maester Gormon, who had been born a Tyrell of Highgarden. Thanks to the presence of his little birds at the Citadel, Lord Varys learns of this, and warns Lord Tywin Lannister, the Hand of the King. To prevent the Tyrells from gaining more influence at court, Tywin immediately restores Pycelle to his office.[14]

A Feast for Crows

At the Citadel, the novice Pate steals a black key which supposedly opens every door in the Citadel. He trades the key with the Alchemist for a golden dragon. However, the Alchemist kills him,[6] and assumes Pate's appearance and identity.[5]

Jon Snow, the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, sends his sworn brother Samwell Tarly to Oldtown to train at the Citadel and become a maester. Aemon, the maester of Castle Black, is send with Samwell, but following a long period of illness dies, shortly before they reach Oldtown.[52][47] After hearing Aemon's interpretation of a prophecy, Archmaester Marwyn decides to travel to Slaver's Bay to reach Daenerys Targaryen.[5]

A Dance with Dragons

Lady Barbrey Dustin expresses her distrust of maesters to Theon Greyjoy, and refers to them as "grey rats".[8]

Following the fall of Cersei, Grand Maester Pycelle successfully seizes control of King Tommen I Baratheon and the small council. He offers Ser Kevan Lannister the regency. Together, they attempt to restore the damage done by Cersei and to mend the Lannister-Tyrell alliance that supports Tommen's hold on the Iron Throne. When he sees they are going to succeed, Varys, the former master of whisperers, assassinates both Pycelle and Kevan.[53]

Early life

Aegon the Conqueror, by Magali Villeneuve in The World of Ice & Fire

Aegon was born on Dragonstone[11] in 27 BC to Lord Aerion Targaryen and Lady Valaena Velaryon. He had an older sister, Visenya, and a younger sister, Rhaenys. According to Valyrian and Targaryen tradition, Aegon married within the family; however, instead of taking only one sister to wife, as had been common, he married both of them. It is believed that he married Visenya out of duty—because as his elder sister he needed to wed her to secure his succession—but he married Rhaenys out of love. Aegon had claimed the dragon Balerion for his own prior to his marriage.[4]

When Pentos and Tyrosh asked Aegon for his aid in their struggle against Volantis, Aegon, Lord of Dragonstone, flew to Pentos atop of Balerion to meet with the Prince of Pentos and the city's magisters. Aegon next flew to Lys, where he burned a Volantene fleet before it could attempt to invade the city. Shortly after, Aegon returned to Dragonstone.[12]

The Conquest

Main article: Aegon's Conquest

As the Century of Blood came to an end, Aegon's interest in Westeros grew. He had previously visited the Citadel of Oldtown and the Arbor in the Kingdom of the Reach with his elder sister Visenya, and he might also have visited Lannisport in the Kingdom of the Rock.[4] He had a huge wooden table made, cut in the shape of Westeros with a map of the seven kingdoms of Westeros painted upon the surface. No borders were painted upon the Painted Table, however, as Aegon believed it should be one realm instead of seven.[13]

The Storm King, Argilac Durrandon, reached out to Aegon, proposing a marriage between Aegon and his only daughter, Princess Argella. All the lands east of the Gods Eye from the Trident to the Blackwater Rush were offered as her dowry, although the lands did not belong to Argilac. His offer was an attempt to create a buffer between his own kingdom and that of Harren Hoare, King of the Isles and the Rivers. Aegon spurned the offer, stating he had no need of a third wife, and instead offered his close friend and rumored bastard half-brother, Orys Baratheon, as Argella's husband instead, in return for lands. Insulted, Argilac cut off the hands of Aegon's envoy and sent those back to Dragonstone, upon which Aegon called his councilors together. After six days of consulting, Aegon sent forth ravens to every lord in Westeros, declaring his claim to the throne.[4]

Aegon landed with his army on the eastern coast of Westeros at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush, where he constructed the wooden Aegonfort. Houses Rosby and Stokeworth surrendered to his sisters quickly, and Houses Darklyn and Mooton were quickly defeated in Aegon's first test. Before defeated lords gathered to the new Aegonfort, Aegon was crowned with a Valyrian steel circlet by Visenya and hailed as King of All Westeros by Rhaenys. He also displayed the three-headed dragon symbol of House Targaryen for the first time.[14]

The Targaryen siblings departed the Aegonfort, with Aegon marching northwest into the riverlands to confront Harren Hoare. Edmyn Tully, Lord of Riverrun, declared for Aegon and led the riverlords in revolt against the ruling ironborn. When Harren refused to yield Harrenhal, Aegon attacked the gigantic new castle with Balerion, and House Hoare was extinguished with the burning of Harrenhal. The next day Aegon named Edmyn as Lord Paramount of the Trident.[14] Meanwhile, Rhaenys and Orys defeated the Durrandons in the Last Storm, while Visenya fought the Arryns and secured Crackclaw Point.[14]

After regathering at Stoney Sept, the Targaryen siblings advanced against the larger host of the Two Kings. The Targaryen dragons (Balerion, Meraxes, and Vhagar) allowed Aegon to achieve a great victory at the Field of Fire, which resulted in the death of Mern IX Gardener, King of the Reach, and the surrender of Loren I Lannister, King of the Rock. Aegon then marched for Highgarden, where he named Harlan Tyrell as Lord Paramount of the Mander after the castle's surrender. The Targaryens again reunited to face the host of Torrhen Stark, King in the North, but Torrhen chose to kneel to Aegon along the Trident instead of fighting a battle.[14]

Visenya returned to the Vale, where she achieved the surrender of the Arryns, while Rhaenys flew to Dorne in an unsuccessful mission to the Martells. Aegon, meanwhile, marched to Oldtown, which was surrendered to him by Lord Manfred Hightower upon the advice of the High Septon. Within the Starry Sept, the High Septon declared Aegon to be King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm.[14]

Early Reign

Aegon chose to date the beginning of his reign from the day the High Septon anointed him in Oldtown.[15] Rather than ruling from Oldtown or Dragonstone, Aegon chose to make his seat King's Landing, the new settlement growing around the Aegonfort. He also took the swords of his defeated enemies, forging them into the Iron Throne. Aegon also began what would become known as the small council, as well as that of the Hand of the King, with Lord Orys Baratheon becoming his first Hand.[4] Aegon's first established law was the King's Peace, which forbid conflict in the realm without the leave of the Iron Throne. Aegon treated the defeated lords with respect and allowed each region to retain its own laws and customs and for the lords to retain both the right of pit and gallows and the first night. Aegon often travelled the realm with six maesters who educated him on each region's local customs and history.[16]

During Aegon's Conquest, the lords of the Three Sisters had declared their independence and crowned Lady Marla Sunderland as their queen. Following his coronation at Oldtown, King Aegon commanded Lord Torrhen Stark, the new Warden of the North, to end the rebellion, and he sent Queen Visenya Targaryen on Vhagar to accompany the northern army led by Ser Warrick Manderly. At the sight of them, the Sistermen abandoned their queen and installed her younger brother, Steffon, as their new lord. Steffon soon bent the knee, swore his fealty to House Arryn, and re-entered the King's Peace, ending the rebellion of the Sistermen's Rebellion.[17]

In 2 AC, Aegon turned his attention to the Iron Islands, where the ironborn had been fighting for two years over the kingship. Leading the invasion of the Iron Islands by several war fleets, Aegon landed on Great Wyk with Balerion to deal with the contenders.[17] Aegon personally cut down Qhorin Volmark with Blackfyre, while the priest-king Lodos walked into the sea, drowning himself. The other contenders quickly bent the knee. Aegon ignored the suggestions of making the ironborn vassals to the Tullys of Riverrun or the Lannisters of Casterly Rock, as well as the suggestion to exterminate the ironborn by dragonflame. Instead, Aegon allowed the ironborn to name their own lord paramount, for which the ironborn chose Vickon Greyjoy as Lord of the Iron Islands.[18]

First Dornish War

Main article: First Dornish War

Aegon with his sister-queens Visenya (left) and Rhaenys (right), by Amok ©

In 3 AC Aegon turned his attention back on Dorne, the only kingdom remaining unconquered. He first decided to try and bring Dorne under the rule of the Iron Throne through diplomacy, after a year of negotiations and no progress to show for it though, Aegon decided to take Dorne by force of arms.[16] In 4 AC Aegon launched a new invasion, continuing the Wars of Conquest. Though initially the conquest of Dorne seemed to succeed, it unraveled quickly and the First Dornish War prolonged and lasted for nine years, and knew many deaths and tragedies.

One of these tragedies was the capture and mutilation of Aegon's friend and Hand of the King, Lord Orys Baratheon, by the Wyl of Wyl. Following his release from two years of captivity, Orys returned home lacking a swordhand, as did the men who had been taken captive with him. Aegon, intent on revenge, released his dragons and burned the castles of the defiant Dornish lords.

The greatest loss Aegon faced was the death of Queen Rhaenys Targaryen at Hellholt in 10 AC, when Meraxes fell from the sky (with Rhaenys upon her back) after a shot from a scorpion took the dragon in the eye. The two years that followed are known as the Dragon's Wroth, as Aegon's wrath after Rhaenys's death knew no bounds.[19]

Aegon and Visenya placed bounties on the heads of Dornish lords after Rhaenys's death and in turn the Dornish put bounties on the Targaryens. Aegon was attacked three times, with his guards saving his life twice.[17] Visenya also defended her brother twice with Dark Sister,[16] with one occasion occurring in 10 AC.[20] This led to the forming of the elite royal bodyguard known as the Kingsguard, with Visenya personally choosing the men herself.[16]

The attempted conquest of Dorne was called to an end in 13 AC, after a visit from Princess Deria Martell, the daughter of Nymor Martell, the ruling Prince of Dorne. Deria brought the skull of Meraxes and a letter with her, which was given to Aegon. After reading the letter, Aegon flew on Balerion to Dragonstone. He returned the next day, and agreed to a peace between Dorne and the Seven Kingdoms.[19]

Aegon kept good relations with Princess Deria. He visited Sunspear with his eldest son, Prince Aenys, in 23 AC to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the peace between the Iron Throne and Dorne.[7]

Further Reign

Aegon upon Balerion, by Jordi Gonzalez ©

The remaining twenty-four years of Aegon's reign were peaceful, so much that the last two decades of his reign were later called the Dragon's Peace, by the maesters of the Citadel.[17] He spent much of his time consolidating his power by traveling throughout the Seven Kingdoms and building his capital at King's Landing.[5] Aegon devoted half of every year to making these royal progresses.[21] During his rule he tread carefully with the Faith of the Seven, so they would not oppose him.[22] Aegon built a grand sept on Visenya's Hill and agreed to the construction of an even grander one known as the Sept of Remembrance on Rhaenys's Hill.[5]

King's Landing initially lacked walls, and the likely reason is that the Targaryens likely believed no one would attack a city which housed dragons. However, when he learned about a pirate fleet sacking Tall Trees Town in the Summer Isles in 19 AC, Aegon came to the realization that he and Visenya were not always in the city. As such, he ordered the construction of massive walls to be built around the city. Construction began in 20 AC and was completed in 26 AC.[5]

After Aegon celebrated his sixtieth name day in 33 AC, the royal progresses continued, but were now made by his son Aenys and his wife Alyssa, while the aging king remained at home. By this point late in his reign, Aegon decided that the ramshackle Aegonfort was not a suitable seat for a king, so the structure was torn to the ground in 35 AC. Aegon moved his family and court back to Dragonstone, while he commanded the construction of what would later be called the Red Keep. Visenya was placed in charge of the building of the Red Keep, and it was rumored that Aegon had done this so that he would not have to suffer her presence on Dragonstone.[5] The Iron Throne remained at the build site instead of Dragonstone, since it was too heavy to be moved.[23]

The Sons of the Dragon

In 7 AC, Aegon became a father for the first time, when his younger sister-wife Rhaenys gave birth to a son: Aenys. However, Aenys was a sickly boy, and Rhaenys's death in 10 AC shattered him. Aegon grew desperate, and there were worries about whether or not Aenys would even live. As Aenys had troubled health, there were rumors that he had been fathered by a singer instead of Aegon. However, when Aenys bonded with his dragon Quicksilver, his health improved, and the rumors faded away.[23][6]

As Visenya by then had not gotten pregnant yet, some believed she was barren, and during the times when Aenys's health was still troubled it was rumored at court that Aegon might take another wife. Although Aegon refused to speak his mind on the matter, many lord and knights brought their young daughters to court. In 11 AC, Queen Visenya announced her pregnancy, and the next year she gave birth to Aegon's second son, Maegor.[7]

Aegon raised Aenys at King's Landing, and took him with him on his progressions. Occasionally, he let Aenys train with his Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre. Lacking daughters, he married Aenys to a cousin, Lady Alyssa Velaryon, the daughter of his master of ships, in 22 AC. Aenys would have six children with Alyssa, five of whom were born during Aegon's reign.[5][23][6]

Death

In 33 AC, Aegon made his final progress throughout Westeros,[23] during which he visited Winterfell.[5] Afterwards, Prince Aenys and his wife Alyssa made the progresses in Aegon's stead.[7]

In 37 AC on Dragonstone, while telling his two eldest grandsons Aegon and Viserys the tales of his conquest at the Painted Table, Aegon died from a stroke at the age of sixty-four.[5] Aegon was cremated on Dragonstone, and his funeral pyre was set aflame by Vhagar.[5] Blackfyre was burned along with him, but later retrieved from the pyre by Maegor.[7]

Legacy

Although Aegon's reign had largely been peaceful, many of his subjects desired to go back to the days of old, when there were still seven kingdoms. Others wanted vengeance for the deaths of their loved ones in wars, and yet others saw the Targaryens as abominations.[6] Because of this, the tumultuous reigns of both Aenys I and Maegor I were filled with battles and chaos.[7]

Because Aegon had wielded Blackfyre, possession of the Valyrian steel sword has been seen as granting legitimacy to its subsequent holders.[7][24]

The Red Keep is situated atop Aegon's High Hill in King's Landing.[25]

The Conqueror's Two Wives is a play about the royal siblings.[26]

History

Early life

Born in 29 BC[1] on the island Dragonstone,[4] Visenya was the eldest child of Lord Aerion Targaryen and Lady Valaena Velaryon. Her two younger siblings, Aegon and Rhaenys, were born within a few years following her birth.[2] Since young age, Visenya trained together with Aegon at arms, and she became a skilled warrior.[3]

As expected, Visenya was wed to her brother Aegon following Valyrian custom. However, Aegon took their younger sister as a wife as well. People claimed that he had wed Visenya out of duty, and Rhaenys out of desire. Prior to her wedding, Visenya became a dragonrider, having bonded with the dragon Vhagar.[3]

In her youth Visenya was reported to have visited the Citadel of Oldtown and Lord Redwyne of the Arbor together with her brother Aegon.[3]

The Conquest

Visenya (left) with her brother Aegon I and younger sister Rhaenys, by Amok ©

When Aegon's Conquest of the Seven Kingdoms began, Visenya sailed with her siblings from Dragonstone. While Aegon began construction of the Aegonfort, Visenya subdued House Stokeworth by setting ablaze the roofs of Stokeworth. After the defeat of House Darklyn in Aegon's first test, Visenya claimed the riches of Duskendale, swelling the coffers of House Targaryen. Having conquered a dozen houses and secured the mouth of the Blackwater, Aegon was crowned king at the Aegonfort. Visenya, now queen, placed a Valyrian steel circlet on Aegon's head while their sister Rhaenys hailed him as the new King of All Westeros. Following the coronation, Visenya accompanied the Targaryen fleet to Gulltown and the Vale of Arryn. When the Arryn fleet sunk a third of the Targaryen ships and captured many more in a battle in the waters off Gulltown, Visenya descended from the sky upon Vhagar, burning their ships.[3]

Next, Visenya was sent to Crackclaw Point by Aegon. The local lords had learned of the death of Harren Hoare, King of the Isles and the Rivers, at the burning of Harrenhal by Aegon, so the Crackclaws submitted quickly to Visenya, swearing oaths of fealty. Visenya took them as her own men, and from that day forth the lords owed their loyalty directly to the Iron Throne.[3][5]

Visenya met Rhaenys, Aegon, and the Targaryen host at Stoney Sept, from where they raced south. There, they met the combined hosts of the Reach and the westerlands in battle. Visenya and her siblings fought from dragonback, setting the dry grasses and stands of wheat on the battlefield afire. With more than four thousand men dead from the fire, and tens of thousands wounded by the flames, the battle became known as the Field of Fire. Mern IX Gardener, King of the Reach, died in battle while Loren I Lannister, King of the Rock fled, giving the Targaryens the victory.[3] According to legend, Visenya thanked the gods that Loren had ridden forth to face the Targaryens when she saw Casterly Rock, as she believed that dragonflame would not have been able to dishearten the Lannister king if he had remained inside the Rock.[6]

Visenya had taken an arrow in the shoulder during the Field of Fire, but soon recovered. Following the surrender of King Loren, the three Targaryen siblings parted ways once more, but met soon again at the banks of the Trident, where they awaited the host of Torrhen Stark, King in the North. After Torrhen bent the knee, Visenya parted from her siblings and returned to the Vale, where House Arryn had strengthened their defenses. A strong host had been positioned at the Bloody Gate, and the garrisons of Stone, Snow, and Sky had been tripled. However, Visenya bypassed these hosts by flying up to the Eyrie upon Vhagar's back. She landed in the courtyard, where she was met by Ronnel Arryn, the young King of Mountain and Vale. Ronnel's regent and mother, Lady Sharra Arryn, surrendered the Eyrie to Visenya.[3]

First Dornish War

Visenya riding Vhagar into battle.

Visenya fought alongside her siblings in the First Dornish War, which lasted from 4 AC to 13 AC. After Rhaenys died in Dorne in 10 AC, Visenya and Aegon, grief-stricken at her death, set every castle, keep, and holdfast in Dorne ablaze at least once, with the exception of Sunspear and its shadow city.

They also placed bounties on the heads of the Dornish lords. Although half a dozen and more of those lords were killed by assassins, only two of the killers lived to collect their reward. In retaliation, the Dornish lords hired catspaws themselves.[7][8] Visenya and her escort were once attacked in King's Landing, and she cut down the last would-be assassin down herself with Dark Sister.[9] Visenya also twice wielded her longsword to defend her brother,[10] with one occasion occurring in 10 AC.[8] When Aegon argued that his guards were still sufficient for his protection, Visenya drew Dark Sister. Before his guards could react, she had cut Aegon's cheek, pointing out to him that his guards were slow and lazy.[10] This event led to the birth of the Kingsguard. Visenya modeled the vows of the Kingsguard upon the vows of the Night's Watch, and she selected the first seven members herself.[8]

In 13 AC, Deria Martell, Princess of Dorne, arrived in King's Landing in 13 AC with a delegation to discuss peace. With her, she brought the skull of Rhaenys's dragon, Meraxes, which was ill-received by Visenya. Deria and Aegon eventually reached an agreement, striking a peace which ended the war.[7]

Motherhood

Visenya with Dark Sister, by Bella Bergolts ©

The day-to-day governance of the realm was often left in the charge of Visenya and Rhaenys, and Aegon's councilors.[8]

Rhaenys's death in Dorne in 10 AC shattered the health of her son Aenys, and people began to doubt as to whether he would live. As Visenya had not yet gotten pregnant by Aegon despite more than a decade of marriage, some had come to believe that she was barren, and even went as far as to suggest to Aegon that he should take a new wife. Although many young women were presented to Aegon, he refused to voice his opinion on the matter. In 11 AC, Visenya announced she was pregnant with a son, and the next year, she gave birth to Aegon's second son, Maegor[11] on Dragonstone.[12] Visenya raised Maegor on Dragonstone, and gave him her Valyrian steel sword, Dark Sister, as a nameday present when the boy turned thirteen.[11]

In 23 AC, Aenys's first child, Princess Rhaena, was born. Shortly after Maegor turned twelve, Visenya proposed a betrothal between her son Maegor and Rhaena, to settle the issue of the royal succession, as Rhaena's birth had sparked the discussion about who was next in line behind Aenys: his own daughter, or his brother.[11] However, the High Septon protested, and suggested his own niece, Lady Ceryse Hightower, as a bride for the young prince instead.[13][14]

Visenya's relationship with Aegon, which had never been a warm one, grew more distant. When Aegon in 35 AC had the Aegonfort torn down so they could start building the Red Keep, Visenya was left in charge of the construction. In his histories, Archmaester Gyldayn states that it was suggested at court that Aegon had left Visenya at King's Landing so that he would not have to endure her presence on Dragonstone.[8]

Reign of Aenys

When Aegon died, both Visenya and Maegor were present as his body was cremated and Aenys I Targaryen was crowned. Aenys gifted Maegor with Blackfyre saying he was more fit to wield it. Visenya Targaryen voiced the opinion that Aenys was unfit to rule, claiming that, by giving Blackfyre to Maegor, Aenys had admitted that he lacked the strength to rule.[11]

In 39 AC, Visenya's son Maegor shocked the realm by taking a second wife and married Alys Harroway. For lack of a septon, Visenya officiated the Valyrian wedding ceremony. The outrage that followed resulted in Maegor being sent into exile.[13] Visenya was present the next year at the wedding of Princess Rhaena to Prince Aegon. At the feast that followed the ceremony, King Aenys named Aegon Prince of Dragonstone, a title which had previously belonged to Maegor. Visenya left the feast in protest and returned to Dragonstone upon Vhagar. Singers claim that the moon turned red as they passed it.[11]

When King Aenys abandoned King's Landing at the start of the Faith Militant uprising and fled to Dragonstone, Visenya counseled him to burn down the Starry Sept in Oldtown and the Sept of Remembrance in King's Landing. Aenys, incapable of making a firm decision, instead fell ill and chose not to heed her counsel. Visenya took over his care and for a time his health improved. Aenys suffered a collapse when he learned his son Aegon and daughter Rhaena were besieged in Crakehall, and he died three days later.[13] As soon as Aenys was buried, Visenya then mounted Vhagar and flew to Pentos to retrieve her son Maegor from exile.[14]

Reign of Maegor

Queen Visenya, by Elia Fernandez ©

With Visenya's aid, Maegor claimed the Iron Throne. Visenya accompanied him to King's Landing, where she challenged anyone who denied Maegor's right to rule, which resulted in a trial of seven between Maegor and the Warrior's Sons. Though severely injured, Maegor was the only survivor.[14]

In 42 AC, Visenya flew to Driftmark upon Vhagar to convince Aenys's widow, Dowager Queen Alyssa Velaryon, to leave her father's castle to where she had fled after her husband's death. At the royal court, it was said that Maegor's Hand of the King and council members enacted his will but did not have his ear - but instead, he was ruled by three queens: his mother Visenya, his paramour and second wife Alys Harroway, and his new third bride, the Pentoshi spymaster Tyanna of the Tower, a rumored sorceress. Visenya came to distrust Tyanna and a rivalry developed between them.[11]

In 43 AC Visenya aided her son against those who refused his royal summons. Mounted upon her dragon Vhagar, she burned the seats of several houses in the riverlands, as once she had burned castles in Dorne: House Blanetree, Terrick, Deddings, Lychester, and Wayn.[N 1] Next Visenya and Maegor turned towards Oldtown, threatening to incinerate the Starry Sept in response to the High Septon's condemnation of her sons polygamous marriages. When the High Septon suddenly died, Lord Martyn Hightower opened the city's gates, saving Oldtown from the fire. Visenya watched as the new High Septon anointed her son as king.[15][11]

After Maegor's victory in the Battle Beneath the Gods Eye, Visenya persuaded her son to spare the lives of several highborn rebels. After Prince Aegon's death, Visenya held Alyssa and her two youngest children, Jaehaerys and Alysanne, as her wards on Dragonstone.[11]

By 44 AC - despite being healthy enough to ride her dragon to battle the year before - Visenya had grown thin and haggard, as the flesh had "melted" from her bones.[11] Visenya died that same year while Maegor was on campaign. Upon her death, Alyssa and her two children slipped away from the castle in the confusion, taking Visenya's Valyrian steel sword Dark Sister with them.[11][14]

Visenya was cremated as per Targaryen custom. Her bones and ashes were interred beside those of her brother, King Aegon I Targaryen.[11][N 2]

Legacy

After Visenya's death, it was suggested that she had caused King Aenys I Targaryen's sudden death, causing some to call her a kinslayer and kingslayer.[13]

Elissa Farman gave the names Aegon, Rhaenys, and Visenya to islands she found in the Sunset Sea.[16]

The Great Sept of Baelor sits on Visenya's Hill in King's Landing.[17]

The Conqueror's Two Wives is a play about the royal siblings.[18]

History

Early life

Rhaenys was born on the island Dragonstone[2] to Aerion Targaryen, Lord of Dragonstone, and his wife, Lady Valaena Velaryon. She had two older siblings: Visenya and Aegon. Although according to Valyrian marriage customs Aegon was expected to marry his eldest sister, Visenya, he took both his sisters to wife. People claimed that Aegon wed Visenya out of duty and Rhaenys out of desire. Prior to her wedding, Rhaenys became a dragonrider, having bonded with the dragon Meraxes.[6]

Aegon's Conquest

Rhaenys with her siblings Aegon (middle) and Visenya (left), by Amok

When Aegon's Conquest of the Seven Kingdoms began, Rhaenys sailed with her siblings from Dragonstone. While Aegon began construction of the Aegonfort, Rhaenys flew on Meraxes to Rosby, which yielded peacefully. After having conquered a dozen houses, Aegon was crowned king. Rhaenys, now queen, hailed him as, "Aegon, First of his Name, King of All Westeros, and Shield of His People" after Visenya placed a Valyrian steel circlet on Aegon's head.[6]

Within days of Aegon's coronation, the Targaryen armies were sent out again. Rhaenys, upon Meraxes, accompanied Orys Baratheon and the greater part of the Targaryen host on their way to Storm's End in the stormlands. As they were crossing the Wendwater, the Targaryen host came under attack by the forces of Lords Errol, Fell, and Buckler. More than a thousand men were cut down before the attackers faded back into the trees. Rhaenys answered by unleashing Meraxes upon them. As a wall of dragonflame swept through the woods, the trees turned into torches. Lord Errol died, but Lords Fell and Buckler survived to send word to Storm's End. Argilac Durrandon, the Storm King, having heard of the death of Harren Hoare, King of the Isles and the Rivers, in the burning of Harrenhal, decided to march from Storm's End to meet the Targaryen host on the field, refusing to burn in his castle as Harren had. Rhaenys, on Meraxes, witnessed how he departed from Storm's End, and returned to the Targaryen host with a report on Argilac's numbers and dispositions.[6]

A fierce storm began at the start of the battle, which became known as the Last Storm. The Durrandon host charge thrice during the battle. The third time, they were able to break through the Baratheon center, but next found themselves face to face with Rhaenys and Meraxes. The knights of Argilac's personal guard, and Dickon Morrigen and the Bastard of Blackhaven, commanding the vanguard, were engulfed in dragonflame. The warhorses fled in terror, chaos ensued, and Orys slew Argilac in single combat. With the Storm King dead, Rhaenys accompanied the host to Storm's End, and flew upon Meraxes into the castle to parley with Argilac's daughter and heir, Argella Durrandon. Although Argella refused to surrender the castle, the garrison eventually yielded both Argella and Storm's End to Orys.[6]

Rhaenys met Visenya, Aegon, and the Targaryen host at Stoney Sept, from where they raced south to face the combined hosts of the Reach and the westerlands, under the command of Loren I Lannister, King of the Rock, and Mern IX Gardener, King of the Reach. Rhaenys and her siblings fought from dragonback, setting the dry grasses and stands of wheat on the battlefield afire. With more than four thousand men dead from the fire, and tens of thousands wounded by the flames, the battle became known as the Field of Fire. Mern died in battle and Loren fled, giving the Targaryens the victory.[6]

Following Loren's surrender, the three Targaryen siblings parted ways once more, but met soon again at the banks of the Trident, where they awaited the host of Torrhen Stark, King in the North. After Torrhen bend the knee, Rhaenys parted from her siblings and traveled to Dorne. She flew over the Red Mountains of Dorne, ignoring the Dornish spearmen at the Prince's Pass, and landed at Vaith. She found the castle empty and abandoned, while only women, children, and old men remained in the town located next to the castle. Rhaenys next flew to Godsgrace, the seat of House Allyrion, and the Planky Town, but there too, the men and lords were away. Rhaenys eventually arrived at Sunspear, where only the eighty-year-old Meria Martell, Princess of Dorne, remained. Meria told Rhaenys to inform Aegon that Dorne would neither fight nor kneel, and would have no king. Rhaenys warned Meria that the Targaryens would return, and departed Sunspear, leaving Dorne the only unconquered Kingdom.[6]

Reign of the Dragon

Rhaenys Targaryen, by Feliche ©.

Following Aegon's coronation at Oldtown by the High Septon, Rhaenys, Aegon, and Visenya took residence at the Aegonfort in King's Landing. Aegon often left the day-to-day governance of the realm in the charge of Rhaenys and Visenya, and his councilors. She was responsible for the rule of six, established by Rhaenys while Aegon was on a progress. This law declared that only six blows were allowed to be struck by a husband to his wife as punishment for her infidelity; one blow for each of the Seven, save the Stranger. As the cause of her rule had been a husband who had struck his unfaithful wife a hundred times, causing her death, the queen declared that the man had struck his wife unlawfully ninety-four of those times, and the dead woman's brothers were allowed to punish the husband equally.[4] In addition, Rhaenys urged Aegon to make it unlawful for the ironborn to steal women throughout the Seven Kingdoms.[7]

During the early years of her brother's reign, Rhaenys often aided Aegon in his efforts to win the respect of his vassals and the smallfolk. The smallfolk were a special concern for Rhaenys. She was fond of singers and bards as well.[4] She also arranged marriages between far-flung houses.[4] Among these marriages was the marriage of the daughter of Lord Torrhen Stark to Ronnel Arryn, the Lord of the Eyrie.[8][9] However, letters can be found at the Citadel which suggest that Torrhen only agreed to this match after much protest, and that his sons, who did not agree with the Targaryen rule, had refused to attend the wedding.[8]

It was said at court that Aegon spent ten nights with Rhaenys for every night he spent with Visenya. On the nights that Aegon was not with her, Rhaenys surrounded herself with comely young men. It was rumored that she also entertained some in her bedchambers.[6] Rhaenys gave birth to Aegon's eldest son, Aenys, in 7 AC. However, Aenys was weak and sickly as a young child;[10] he cried often and refused to nurse from wet nurses, nursing only at his mother's breast. This caused rumors that he had not been fathered by Aegon, but possibly by one of the singers and mummers Rhaenys associated with.[11][10] The rumors would persist until after Rhaenys's death.

First Dornish War

In 4 AC, Aegon I began the First Dornish War. Rhaenys led the first assault on Dorne, seizing castles and burning the Planky Town while approaching Sunspear. However, the Dornish lords once again refused to give open battle, and abandoned their seats. When Rhaenys and Aegon eventually reached Sunspear, Meria Martell, Princess of Dorne, as well as most others, had fled. Rhaenys and Aegon gathered the few courtiers and functionaries who had remained behind and, declaring themselves victorious, proclaimed that Dorne fell under the rule of the Iron Throne.

Rhaenys and Aegon returned to King's Landing, leaving Lord Jon Rosby as Sunspear's castellan while giving Lord Harlan Tyrell the charge of a host to fight the last revolts. However, they had barely reached the capital when the Dornish revolted, leading to the deaths of Jon, killed by Meria at Sunspear, and Harlan, who vanished with his army while marching to Sunspear to retake the castle in 5 AC.[12]. Entire garrisons were put to the sword, and the knights in charge were slowly tortured to death.[13]

The next few years of the war became more and more violent. The Targaryens returned to Dorne to unleash their dragons, and the Dornish responded with fire of their own. In 10 AC, at Hellholt a bolt from a scorpion pierced Meraxes through the eye. The dragon fell from the sky with Rhaenys on its back, destroying half the castle. It is not certain whether Rhaenys outlived Meraxes. There are those who say that Rhaenys lost her seat and fell to her death, while others claim that Rhaenys was crushed to death beneath Meraxes in the castle yard. A few accounts claim that Rhaenys survived the fall and died a slow death, being tortured by the Ullers. Due to the uncertainty about Rhaenys's exact death, history records that she died in 10 AC at Hellholt in Dorne. Her body was never returned to King's Landing.[13]

Legacy

Rhaenys's son Aenys was three years old when she died. Always weak and sickly, the death of his mother shattered the boy, and there were doubts as to whether he would live. He even went back to crawling around as if he were a baby.[11] However, when Aenys was given the hatchling dragon Quicksilver, his condition quickly improved, and "as the dragon grew, so too did Aenys". Additionally, bonding with the dragon ended the rumors that he had not been fathered by Aegon.[10]

The two years that followed Rhaenys's death were later dubbed the years of the Dragon's Wroth. Grief-stricken at the death of their sister, Aegon and Visenya set every castle, keep, and holdfast in Dorne ablaze at least once, with the exception of Sunspear and its shadow city, and placed bounties on the heads of the Dornish lords. The war would last until 13 AC.[13]

Although a grand sept had already been constructed on Visenya's Hill in King's Landing, the Sept of Remembrance was later built on the Hill of Rhaenys as a memorial to the queen.[4]

Elissa Farman gave the names Aegon, Rhaenys, and Visenya to islands she found in the Sunset Sea.[14]

Queen Rhaenys was a Velaryon ship named after either Aegon's sister-queen Rhaenys or Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, the so-called Queen Who Never Was.[15]

The Conqueror's Two Wives is a play about the royal siblings.[16]

History

Youth

In 11 AC, Queen Visenya Targaryen announced that she was pregnant with a son. That son, Maegor, was born the next year,[1] on Dragonstone.[3] As a babe, he was a big and healthy child; almost twice as heavy as his half-brother Aenys had been. Maegor and Aenys were not close as children; Maegor was raised by his mother on Dragonstone, and in time became known as the "Prince on Dragonstone". He received his first sword at the age of three, and took to swordplay at once. He supposedly immediately butchered a cat with the sword, although some doubt the truth of this tale. Regardless, when Maegor was eight, he stabbed to death a palfrey which had kicked him, and slashed half the face off the stableboy who came running towards the animal's screams. Maegor was trained at arms by Ser Gawen Corbray, the master-at-arms of Dragonstone. He became a squire at the age of eight. By the age of twelve, he was already unhorsing boys four and five years his elder in the lists and battering seasoned men-at-arms into submission in the castle yard,[1] and by the age of thirteen he was already defeating hardened knights in mêlées.[6] His mother gave him her Valyrian steel sword, Dark Sister, as a nameday present when Maegor turned thirteen in 25 AC. Despite the fact that there were several dragon hatchlings on Dragonstone, Maegor never claimed a dragon of his own. When his good-sister Alyssa Velaryon teased him that he was afraid of dragons, Maegor scowled and replied that only one was worthy of him.[1]

Maegor's brother Aenys had married Lady Alyssa Velaryon in 22 AC,[1][8] and their daughter Rhaena was born the next year. After Rhaena's birth, the issue arose as to whether Maegor would fall behind her in the line of succession. In 23 AC,[N 1] shortly after Maegor had turned eleven, Queen Visenya suggested a betrothal between Rhaena and Maegor to settle the succession issue, but both Rhaena's parents and the High Septon protested.[1] Instead, Maegor was betrothed to the High Septon's niece, Lady Ceryse Hightower, whom he married in 25 AC at the Starry Sept in Oldtown in a ceremony presided over by the High Septon himself.[1][6] Though Maegor boasted that he had conceived a child on his wedding night, the marriage remained barren.[1][6]

Maegor had more success in his military accomplishments. In 28 AC, he won renown a tourney by defeating three knights of the Kingsguard in the joust, and next winning the mêlée. He was knighted by his father, King Aegon I, at the age of sixteen, making his the youngest knight in the realm at the time.[6] In both 29 AC and 30 AC Maegor assisted the master of ships, Lord Aethan Velaryon, and the Hand of the King, Ser Osmund Strong, in two campaigns against the pirate king Sargoso Saan in the Stepstones, and in 31 AC defeated the Giant of the Trident.[1]

Hand and exile

Prince Maegor, the Hand of the King.

In 37 AC, Maegor's father, King Aegon I, died, and his half-brother Aenys ascended the throne as King Aenys I Targaryen. Admitting to all assembled at Aegon I's funeral pyre that he was not nearly the warrior his half-brother was, Aenys presented Maegor with Aegon's Valyrian steel blade, Blackfyre, proclaiming they would rule together.[1]

After Aegon I's death, Maegor finally claimed a dragon, his father's mount, Balerion who Maegor had long coveted as his own. Shortly after Aenys's ascension to the throne, several rebellions broke out. In the Vale of Arryn, Jonos Arryn rose against his brother, Lord Ronnel, imprisoning him and his family. Although he arrived too late to rescue Lord Ronnel, Maegor personally crushed this rebellion, flying on Balerion to the Eyrie. Hoping Maegor would show them mercy, Jonos's followers threw Jonos through the Moon Door. Nonetheless, Maegor had all of them hanged.[1] To replace Lord Alyn Stokeworth, who had died fighting another rebel, King Aenys I named Maegor as his new Hand of the King to reward him for his service, an office Maegor held for two years.[1][8]

Even though they had been married since 25 AC, Maegor and Ceryse still had no children by 39 AC. In 39 AC, Maegor suddenly announced that Ceryse was barren and that he had taken another wife, Lady Alys Harroway. Unable to convince the septon at Dragonstone to perform the wedding, Maegor and Alys had been wed in a Valyrian wedding ceremony led by Dowager Queen Visenya Targaryen. This marriage angered many. Maegor quarreled bitterly with his brother, King Aenys, while Ceryse's brother, Lord Martyn Hightower, demanded that Maegor set Alys aside. The High Septon denounced the marriage as sin and fornication and called Alys "this whore of Harroway." Many of the pious lords in the realm began to follow his example, openly referring to Alys as "Maegor's Whore". Maegor remained defiant, however, citing that his father had taken two wives as well, claiming that the strictures of the Faith did not rule the blood of the dragon.[1]

Feeling he had no other option,[8] Aenys furiously gave Maegor a choice: set Alys aside or go into exile for five years. Maegor chose the latter option and in 40 AC left for Pentos with Alys and Balerion. He also took the sword Blackfyre with him, refusing Aenys's request to leave the sword behind.[1] Septon Murmison replaced Maegor as Hand. And in 41 AC, Aenys named his eldest son, Prince Aegon, Prince of Dragonstone.[1][8]

Claiming the throne

King Maegor on the back of Balerion, destroys the Sept of Remembrance, as depicted by Jordi Gonzalez Escamilla in The World of Ice & Fire.

The Faith rose in rebellion against King Aenys I in 41 AC. Early next year, Aenys died on Dragonstone while his eldest daughter and son, Rhaena and Aegon, were besieged at Crakehall.[8] After Aenys was burned and buried, Visenya flew to Pentos on the back of her dragon, Vhagar, to bring Maegor back to Westeros.[1][6]

Although Aenys's son Aegon was the heir to the Iron Throne, Maegor claimed the throne immediately upon his return. He was crowned at Dragonstone with the Valyrian steel crown of his father, King Aegon I, instead of Aenys's ornate one. Grand Maester Gawen protested Maegor's coronation, stating that by all the laws of inheritance, the crown should pass to Aegon. Maegor beheaded Gawen with Blackfyre,[1][6] making Gawen the first of three Grand Maesters who would be executed during Maegor's reign,[9] and ending contention against Maegor's ascension.[6]

Maegor next left for King's Landing, where the Faith had seized the Sept of Remembrance on Rhaenys's Hill. Maegor flew to the city on Balerion and planted his banner on Visenya's Hill to rally men to his side. His mother, Dowager Queen Visenya, challenged those who questioned her son's right to rule to prove themselves. Ser Damon Morrigen, the Grand Captain of the Warrior's Sons, came forth. Maegor quickly decided to settle the matter with swords, and Damon demanded a trial of seven, to which Maegor agreed.[1][6]

Maegor had no knights of the Kingsguard with him, as Aenys had taken them to Dragonstone when he fled the capital, so Maegor turned to the crowd and asked who would stand with him. At first, most turned away or pretended they did not hear until a common man-at-arms named Dick Bean stepped forward. Ser Bernarr Brune was the next offering to stand beside the king. Shamed by Dick Bean's display of courage and Brune's words, several knights came forward, from whom Maegor chose his last four champions: Ser Bramm of Blackhull, Ser Rayford Rosby, Ser Guy Lothston, and Lord Lucifer Massey. Together they faced seven of the Warrior's Sons, led by Ser Damon Morrigen, their Grand Captain. Maegor was the only survivor of the trial, but took a blow to the head and collapsed just as the last Warrior's Son died. The king was carried off the field by his mother and his supporters and confined to bed where he lay in a deep coma. At the Sept of Remembrance, the Warrior Son's debated, prayed and argued about their course. Some felt that Maegor must be accepted as king, since the God's had blessed him with victory; others insisted that they were bound by oath to follow the High Septon and fight on. On the twenty-eighth day of Maegor's coma, Queen Alys Harroway returned from Pentos, bringing with her Tyanna of the Tower. Tyanna took over Maegor's care. On the thirtieth day since the trial, the king woke.[6][1]

Tyranny

When he woke from his coma, Maegor mounted his dragon Balerion and flew to Rhaenys's Hill. During the burning of the Sept of Remembrance his archers killed all those who attempted to flee the inferno.[1] That same year, Maegor's forces achieved a victory over the Faith Militant in a battle at Stonebridge, and later in a battle at the Great Fork of the Blackwater.[1] Maegor personally fought in the latter battle, burning men on Balerion's back.[6] Following these two victories, Maegor declared his intent to marry again, taking Tyanna of the Tower as his third wife. Grand Maester Myros objected, stating that Maegor's "one true wife" awaited him at the Hightower, for which Maegor beheaded him with Blackfyre. Maegor wed Tyanna on the Hill of Rhaenys, surrounded by the remains of the Warrior's Sons who had died there. It was said Maegor had to execute a dozen septons before finding one willing to perform the ceremony. At Oldtown the High Septon loudly denounced "the abomination and his whores", while Ceryse continued to insist that she was Maegor's only lawful queen.[1]

Construction of the Red Keep, which had begun in 35 AC, continued under Maegor's reign. In early 43 AC, named Lord Lucas Harroway, the father of his wife Alys, as his new Hand of the King, leaving the administration of the kingdom in his hands while Maegor personally took charge of the construction of the Red Keep. He focused on constructing secret passages and tunnels built through the depths of Aegon's High Hill and commanded the construction of a fortified castle within the castle, which would become known as Maegor's Holdfast.[1][6] He also ordered four levels of dungeons constructed, and had the fourth level build specifically for torment.[10]

As the Faith continued to resist his rule,[1] Maegor raised a set of laws which forbade holy men from carrying arms,[11][12] and punished lords who spoke out against the suppression of the Faith.[13] In response, the High Septon commanded Maegor to present himself in Oldtown and beg the forgiveness of the gods for his sins and cruelties. Still focused on the Red Keep's construction, Maegor allowed this resistance to go on for half a year, until his mother mounted her dragon Vhagar and burned the seats of several houses in the Reach in one single night. Maegor flew Balerion to the westerlands, burning the seats of houses who had defied his royal summons.[1]

Next Maegor and Visenya turned towards Oldtown, threatening to incinerate the Starry Sept in response to the High Septon's condemnation of his polygamous marriages. When the High Septon suddenly died, Lord Martyn Hightower opened the city's gates, saving Oldtown from the fire.[14] The new High Septon was a more passive man, who anointed Maegor upon his arrival at the Starry Sept and did not lift a finger as the Warrior's Sons at Oldtown were either sent to the Wall or executed by Maegor. Maegor remained at Oldtown for half a year, presiding over the trials personally.[1] Adding to his earlier laws, he now placed bounties on the heads of those faithful who remained defiant: a gold dragon was given for the scalp of a Warrior's Sons and a silver stag for the scalp of a Poor Fellow.[1][15]

(From top to bottom) Lady Ceryse Hightower, Tyanna of the Tower and Lady Alys Harroway - As depicted by Magali Villeneuve in The World of Ice & Fire.

While at Oldtown, Maegor reconciled with Queen Ceryse Hightower. They celebrated their reunion with a great feast and had a second consummation. Afterwards, Ceryse returned to King's Landing.[1]

Maegor and Balerion make short work of Aegon the Uncrowned and Quicksilver during the Battle Beneath the Gods Eye, as depicted by Michael Komarck in The World of Ice & Fire.

Late that same year, Prince Aegon, Aenys I's Prince of Dragonstone, announced his claim to the Iron Throne. Supported by several lords of the westerlands and riverlands, Aegon marched at the head of an army of fifteen thousand men. Still at Oldtown, Maegor was warned by Queen Tyanna, his mistress of whisperers, that House Baratheon, House Arryn, House Stark, and House Lannister were considering to join Aegon's cause if he could prove he could prevail. Maegor set forth from Oldtown, ordering his loyal lords to swarm Aegon's host from all sides. In the Battle Beneath the Gods Eye the forces clashed, and Aegon's rebellion came to an end when Maegor slew him and his dragon, Quicksilver. Afterwards Maegor was known as "Maegor the Cruel" and a kinslayer throughout the realm.[1][6]

By 44 AC, Maegor had made Aenys's widow, Dowager Queen Alyssa Velaryon, and her youngest two children, Jaehaerys and Alysanne, his mother's wards on Dragonstone, while summoning her son Viserys to court, making him his personal squire. Still without an heir of his own body, Maegor visited one of his three wives every night. When Queen Alys announced that she was pregnant that year,[N 2] she was confined to her bed. However, she went into labor only three months later, and gave birth to a monstrosity, eyeless and twisted. Convinced the child could not be his, Maegor had everyone involved in the birth executed, sparing only Alys's two sisters Jeyne and Hanna. It is said Maegor was seated on the Iron Throne with the head of Grand Maester Desmond in his hand when Queen Tyanna approached him, claiming that the child had been fathered by a secret affair of Alys, who had been desperate to give the king a son and so had slept with men of confirmed fertility. Tyanna provided a list of names as proof. Under torture, all but two of the twenty men confessed to their crime. Maegor had Alys dragged from her bed and given to Tyanna for torture. All Harroways at King's Landing, including Maegor's Hand, Lord Lucas Harroway, were killed, with Alys's death the worst one of all.[1][6] Maegor then departed the capital and marched on Harrenhal, killing its entire garrison, along with every person with even a single drop of Harroway blood. Next, he marched to Lord Harroway's Town on the Trident and did the same there.[1] With House Harroway extinct, Maegor held a melee in Lord Harroway's Town with Harrenhal the prize. Though gravely wounded, Ser Walton Towers was the victor and House Towers was granted the ruined castle.[16] Walton died soon after of his wounds and was succeeded by his eldest son, Jordan.[1] Lord Jordan remained a staunch supporter of King Maegor till his death and even named his youngest son after the king.[17][18]

When he returned to King's Landing, Maegor learned that his mother, Dowager Queen Visenya, had died. The news devastated Maegor, as she had been his strongest supporter. Aenys I Targaryen's wife, Dowager Queen Alyssa Velaryon, had escaped from Dragonstone during the resulting chaos, taking her two youngest children, Jaehaerys and Alysanne, and the Valyrian sword Dark Sister with her. In response, Maegor had her eldest surviving son, Prince Viserys, arrested and tortured. Viserys died after nine days of questioning by Queen Tyanna. His mutilated body was left in the courtyard for a fortnight in an unsuccessful attempt to force Alyssa to return.[1][6]

In 45 AC, Maegor saw the Red Keep completed.[6] In celebration Maegor threw a feast for those who had taken part in the construction, engorging the workers with wines and sweetmeats as well as whores from the cities finest brothels. But after three days of revelry, Maegor had them all put to death in order to protect the secrets of the castle. Their bones were interred beneath the castle they had built.[6][19][20][21] Maegor next ordered the construction of the Dragonpit for the Targaryen dragons at the site of the ruined Sept of Remembrance on Rhaenys's Hill. However, his treatment of the construction workers of the Red Keep caused all workers to flee the city, leaving the king forced to use prisoners from the dungeons for the construction instead.[6]

Maegor's first wife, Queen Ceryse Hightower, suddenly fell ill and died shortly after the Red Keep had been completed. A rumor was spread that she had said a shrewish remark that affronted Maegor, after which he had ordered Ser Owen Bush of the Kingsguard to remove her tongue. People claimed that Ceryse had struggled so fiercely that Ser Owens knife slipped and he accidentally slashed her throat. Though the story was never proven and most historians insist it was slander concocted by the king's enemies, it was widely believed at the time.[1][6]

In late 45 AC, Maegor took the field again. In the great wood south of the Blackwater, Maegor hunted down the Poor Fellows who had taken refuge, and ordered the rebel Poxy Jeyne Poore to be burned alive. Although Poor Fellows and peasants attempted to prevent the execution, Maegor had all the would-be rescuers slaughtered.[1] The following year, Maegor returned to King's Landing with two thousand skulls of Poor Fellows and Warrior's Sons. However, it was widely believed that many of the victims had been innocent smallfolk who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.[1][6] King Maegor's waging of his war was ruinously expensive, exhausting the royal treasury. Maegor's Master of Coin, Lord Alton Butterwell continuously raised taxes and imposed new ones and when these measures failed, Maegor demanded a tribute of gold from the high lords. Day by day, the Seven Kingdoms turned against its king, as both smallfolk and lords began to despise him for his many cruelties.[1][22][6]

The Black Brides

(From top to bottom) Lady Elinor Costayne, Lady Jeyne Westerling and Princess Rhaena Targaryen, the three Black Brides - As depicted by Magali Villeneuve in The World of Ice & Fire.

By early 47 AC, Maegor still had no heirs, and had stopped sleeping with Queen Tyanna. Maegor's counselors agreed that he needed to wed again, and multiple suggestions were made. Grand Maester Benifer suggested Clarisse Dayne, the Lady of Starfall. Maegor's master of coin, Alton Butterwell suggested his widowed sister, a woman of proven fertility. Maegor's Hand, Lord Edwell Celtigar, suggested his two young daughters. Lord Velaryon of Driftmark suggested Maegor's niece, Princess Rhaena, to unite their claims and strengthen the royal bloodline. Maegor eventually decided to marry a woman of proven fertility, and to take three wives, in order to triple his chances of getting a son. He agreed that one of those wives should be his niece, in order to weaken any claim her younger siblings might put forth. And so, in 47 AC, Maegor wed Lady Elinor Costayne, Lady Jeyne Westerling, and Princess Rhaena in a single ceremony. All three women had been widowed through Maegor's actions or wars, and became known as the Black Brides. He named Aerea, the eldest of Rhaena's two daughters by her deceased brother, Aegon, as his heir, disinheriting Rhaena's brother, Prince Jaehaerys, while sending Rhaena's other daughter, Rhaella, to Oldtown to be raised as a septa. Half a year after the wedding, Lady Jeyne was announced to be pregnant. Not long after, Lady Elinor became pregnant as well. Three months before her due-date, however, Queen Jeyne went into labor, and gave birth to a stillborn child who was legless and armless and had both male and female genitals. Jeyne died not long after. People began to whisper that Maegor was cursed, and that the gods would never grant him a living son. Maegor himself, however, had Queen Tyanna seized and deliver to the dungeons, where she confessed to having poisoned both Alys's child as Jeyne's, even before the torturers began. She promised that Elinor would birth a similar stillborn monster. After her confession, Maegor executed Tyanna himself, but her promise came true two months later, when Elinor went into labor in early 48 AC and birthed an eyeless child with small wings.[1][6]

Downfall

King Maegor was found dead on the Iron Throne.

By 48 AC Maegor's tyranny could no longer be borne by the realm. At Storm's End Aenys I's last surviving son, Prince Jaehaerys, put forth his claim to the throne, supported by Lord Rogar Baratheon, who was named Protector of the Realm and Hand of the King by the prince. Jaehaerys had two dragons on his side, his own mount Vermithor and his sister's mount Silverwing, against Maegor's Balerion.[1][6][23] Learning of her brother's claim, Queen Rhaena Targaryen fled from Maegor in the night, escaping on her dragon Dreamfyre with the Valyrian blade Blackfyre, and her daughter, Princess Aerea, adding a third dragon to her brothers cause. Upon discovering Rhaena's disappearance, Maegor sent a rider to Oldtown commanding House Hightower to behead Princess Rhaella as punishment for her mother's betrayal. Lord Hightower refused and imprisoned the messenger instead. Lord Edwell Celtigar resigned his position as Hand and returned to Claw Isle and Grand Maester Benifer secretly escaped on a ship to Pentos. Ser Olyver Bracken and Ser Raymund Mallery, two of Maegor's Kingsguard, also deserted him. Lord Daemon Velaryon, the admiral of the royal fleet, was the first of the great lords to forsake Maegor, taking the royal fleet with him, and many other lords followed his example. The great houses of Lannister, Tyrell, and Arryn came out against Maegor and in the riverlands House Tully gave support to Septon Moon and Ser Joffrey Doggett, the leaders of the Poor Fellows.[1][6]

Maegor called his banners in response, but few answered, giving Maegor an army of barely four thousand soldiers. Despite this, Maegor refused to surrender. When Lord Hayford suggested that Maegor abdicate and take the black instead, Maegor ordered him beheaded and continued his war council with Lord Hayford's head mounted on a lance behind the Iron Throne.[1][6] At the end of the war council, Maegor remained behind alone in the throne room to brood. He was found dead the next morning by Queen Elinor, seated on the Iron Throne with his robes covered in blood and his wrists slashed. A spike from one of the swords on the throne behind him was impaled through the back of his neck. How Maegor died was never discovered. Some say he had been killed by Queen Elinor, others that he had been killed by a knight of his own Kingsguard. Yet others say he had been killed by a builder who escaped the slaughter three years earlier and desired revenge, and many believe that Maegor had been killed by the throne itself. Others believe that Maegor killed himself by opening his wrists on the blades of the Iron Throne.[1][6][24]

Legacy

Maegor ruled for six years and sixty-six days and died without issue. He was succeeded by his nephew, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, the youngest son of the late King Aenys I. The Faith Militant uprising only ended during Jaehaerys' reign.[15][12] Jaehaerys agreed to pardon all those of the Faith who would set their swords aside,[15] though he also deprived the Faith of the right to hold trials.[11]

During the Great Council of 101 AC, a strapping red-haired man-at-arms, who claimed to be a bastard of Maegor, put forth his claim to the Iron Throne. His only proof was his mother, an aged innkeep's daughter who said she had once been raped by Maegor. The lords believed the claim of rape, but not that it had impregnated her.[5]

Decades later, during the Dance of the Dragons, Silver Denys claimed to be descended from a bastard son of Maegor, but he was mutilated by the dragon Sheepstealer and slain with his sons by the Cannibal when trying to claim a dragon.[25] Ser Otto Hightower believed that Prince Daemon Targaryen would be a second Maegor the Cruel if he would ever ascend to the throne,[5] and at the start of the civil war his daughter Alicent claimed that Daemon would be "as cruel and unforgiving as Maegor ever was" as king consort.[26] Daemon's wife, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, came to be considered a grasping, cruel, vindictive woman, and was dubbed "King Maegor with teats" by a wit in King's Landing. "Maegor's teats" was a common curse amongst Kingslanders for a hundred years thereafter.[27]

In 232 AC, a son was born to Aerion Targaryen and Daenora Targaryen, and Aerion gave him the ominous name of Maegor.[28][29]

Small Council under Maegor I

Although the small council was officially formed only during the reign of Maegor's successor, Maegor had counselors filling numerous positions of the later small council. Additionally, Maegor is the first Targaryen monarch known to have had a spy mistress in his employment.

History

Origin

Balerion was named after an ancient god of the Valyrian Freehold.[3] He was born in Valyria, and was one of the five dragons Aenar Targaryen brought with him when he fled to Dragonstone to survive the Doom of Valyria.[17][12] After the other four of Aenar's dragons died, Balerion became the last creature to have seen the Freehold in its prime.

Aegon the Conqueror

Balerion was eventually claimed by Lord Aegon Targaryen, some time before he married his sisters Visenya and Rhaenys.[12] Aegon became involved in the wars in the Disputed Lands when Pentos and Tyrosh approached him, inviting him to join a grand alliance against Volantis, and he chose to heed their call. Mounting Balerion, he flew east to meet the Prince of Pentos and the magisters of the Free City, then flew to Lys in time to set ablaze a Volantene fleet trying to take the city.[17][18]

Balerion and workers help forge the Iron Throne, as depicted by Donato Giancola.

Afterwards, Aegon turned his attention to conquering the Seven Kingdoms, during which he flew on Balerion. Aegon descended on Lords Mooton and Darklyn, killing both of them during Aegon's first test. After the ironborn victory at the Wailing Willows, Balerion burned the victors on the Gods Eye.[11] Next, Aegon took Balerion to Harrenhal, where Harren Hoare, King of the Isles and the Rivers, had taken refuge in his formidable fortress. When Harren the Black had not yielded by sunset, Aegon took Balerion high up and descended inside the castle walls, putting the new castle to flame. Balerion's dragonfire burned so hot that the towers of Harrenhal went up like candles, melting and twisting into the shapes they retain to this day. King Harren and his remaining sons all perished, ending the line of House Hoare.[12] The men of Crackclaw Point quickly surrendered to Visenya after learning of the burning of Harrenhal.[19]

Aegon next rode Balerion in the Field of Fire, besides his sisters on Vhagar and Meraxes. Between the three dragons, four thousand men were burned to death, including Mern IX Gardener, King of the Reach, resulting in Targaryen victory.[1][12] When Aegon learned that Torrhen Stark, King in the North, had crossed the Neck and was leading an army into the riverlands, he raced ahead of his army on Balerion to meet the threat. When the Targaryen host was encamped at one side of the Trident and the northern host on the other side, Torrhen's bastard brother, Brandon Snow, offered to assassinate the sleeping dragons. Recalling the destruction the three dragons had caused at the Field of Fire, Torrhen instead submitted to Aegon.[12] After Aegon was crowned by the High Septon, he was cheered by tens of thousands of onlookers as he flew on Balerion through the streets of Oldtown.[11]

According to song, at the end of the war Balerion helped to forge the Iron Throne by melting the swords of Aegon's fallen enemies.[20] In 2 AC, Aegon flew his dragon to the Iron Islands to end the succession struggle among the ironborn.[21]

Aegon flew Balerion during the First Dornish War, finding Sunspear abandoned when he arrived. Dorne rose in rebellion after he departed, however, and Lord Orys Baratheon was mutilated by the Wyl of Wyl. Aegon retaliated by burning several of House Wyl's keeps, and the king later attacked Sandstone, Vaith, and the Hellholt with the aid of Visenya. Aegon burned Skyreach after House Fowler attacked Nightsong. During the two years of the Dragon's Wroth following the death of Rhaenys Targaryen, each Dornish castle (with the exception of Sunspear) was burned multiple times by the vengeful Aegon and Visenya.[21]

King Aegon made frequent royal progresses throughout the Seven Kingdoms. Besides allowing the new monarch to learn more about his subjects, the sight of Balerion during these visits also helped to prevent rebellion.[22]

Maegor the Cruel

King Maegor I Targaryen and Balerion burn the Sept of Remembrance, by Jordi Gonzalez for The World of Ice & Fire.

After the death of King Aegon I Targaryen, Balerion was claimed by his younger son, Prince Maegor, who had long coveted his father's mount, and had not claimed another dragon because he considered all others unworthy. After Jonos Arryn imprisoned his brother Ronnel, Lord of the Eyrie, and declared himself independent of the Iron Throne, Maegor rode the Black Dread to the Vale of Arryn and put down his rebellion.[5][4]

When Maegor was exiled to Pentos as punishment for his polygamous marriage, he took Balerion with him. After the death of his elder brother, King Aenys I, Maegor flew back to Westeros on Balerion to claim the Iron Throne.[5]

During the Faith Militant uprising, King Maegor used Balerion in the burning of the Sept of Remembrance and in the battle at the Great Fork of the Blackwater Rush.[5] In the westerlands, the king burned the seats of Houses Broome, Doggett, Falwell, and Lorch.[5] Maegor threatened to attack Oldtown as well, but the city opened its gates to the king after the unexpected death of the High Septon.[5]

In the Battle Beneath the Gods Eye, Maegor used Balerion to kill his nephew Prince Aegon and his dragon Quicksilver.[23] After the completion of the Red Keep, Maegor began construction of the Dragonpit to house Balerion, Vhagar, and other dragons.[5]

After Maegor's death, Balerion returned to Dragonstone.[16]

Princess Aerea

In late 54 AC, Princess Aerea Targaryen claimed Balerion from the yard of Dragonstone one morning. They disappeared and went missing for more than a year. King Jaehaerys I Targaryen sent expeditions to try and locate Balerion and the young princess, and the master of coin, Rego Draz, offered a reward for any information on their whereabouts, but none came forward that were credible. Balerion was the largest living dragon in the world, but there were no sightings of the dragon anywhere. Septon Barth believed that the lack of sightings suggested that Balerion was no longer in Westeros. Rhaena Targaryen departed on Dreamfyre to search for Balerion and her missing daughter.[6]

Balerion returned to King's Landing in 56 AC, descending into the courtyard of the Red Keep with Aerea barely clinging to him. The princess was severely ill, and died soon after. Barth's accounts describe wounds and half-healed scars on Balerion. The dragon bore a huge jagged rent down his left side, almost nine feet long, and fresh blood still dripped from the wound, hot and smoking. Barth speculated that, when Aerea claimed Balerion, she was unable to bend the dragon to her will, and instead the dragon had taken her to the place he had been born, Valyria. Shortly thereafter, Balerion became the first dragon to be housed in the Dragonpit, where he was guarded by the Dragonkeepers.[16]

Further life

Prince Baelon Targaryen smacked Balerion on his snout the first time the boy entered the Dragonpit.[16] When Princess Alyssa Targaryen came to the Dragonpit to claim a dragon of her own in 75 AC, the Dragonkeepers persuaded her not to try and claim Balerion, insisting that the dragon had become old and slow, suggesting to her that she would much more prefer a faster dragon.[15]

The last rider of Balerion was Prince Viserys Targaryen, who entered the Dragonpit to claim the dragon in 93 AC. Balerion was hard to rouse, and struggled when Viserys urged him into the sky. They flew around King's Landing three times, although Viserys later confided to his father that he had originally intended to fly Balerion to Dragonstone. However, fearing the dragon lacked the strength to do so, Viserys had opted otherwise.[15]

Balerion died in 94 AC,[7] less than a year after Viserys claimed him as his mount.[15]

Legacy

Princess Rhaenys Targaryen named her black kitten after Balerion, and the girl often pretended that her cat was actually the Black Dread.[24]

Along with eighteen[1] other Targaryen dragon skulls, Balerion's skull hung on a wall in the Red Keep's throne room.[25][26] After Robert's Rebellion, King Robert I Baratheon had the skulls removed from the throne room and stored them in a dank cellar. In 284 AC, when Tyrion Lannister visited the capital for the wedding of his sister Cersei to Robert, he observed the skulls in the cellar, including Balerion's.[1]

There is a picture of Balerion the Black Dread, done in colored inks, in the book Dragonkin, Being a History of House Targaryen from Exile to Apotheosis, with a Consideration of the Life and Death of Dragons, written by Maester Thomax.[27]

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

Arya Stark encounters the skull of Balerion the Black Dread, by Justin Sweet for The World of Ice & Fire.

Arya Stark encounters the skulls of the Targaryen dragons while passing through the Red Keep's cellars.[28][29]

A Clash of Kings

Aggo compares Drogo, the largest of Daenerys Targaryen's recently-hatched dragons, to Balerion.[3] Daenerys has the three ships sent to her by Illyrio Mopatis renamed Vhagar, Meraxes, and Balerion, to tell the world that dragons have returned.[30]

A Storm of Swords

Tyrion Lannister finds Shae standing nude within the jaws of Balerion or Vhagar in the Red Keep's cellar, her dress draped over a black tooth.[31]

Known riders

King Aegon I Targaryen

King Maegor I Targaryen

Princess Aerea Targaryen

Prince Viserys Targaryen