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House Targaryen: The Abridged Works of Maester Jon

Remful

First Lieutenant
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House Targaryen:
The Abridged Works of Maester Jon

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The following is an abridged collection of the Masterworks of Maester Jon, formerly of House Umber, on the Reigns and Lives of the Kings, Queens and Notable Peoples of Westeros from 282 AC until the year 600 AC, which the respected scholar completed in the year 725 AC. Beginning with the last days of the reign of Aerys II Targaryen and carrying on until just under two centuries ago, 600 AC. Whilst Maester Jon tried to avoid political bias in his sources, the writer must admit that there is a high chance of at least some bias given the length of time that has passed since the events described.


Whilst respected, Maester Jon’s original language was blunt and inelegant, likely due to his Northern heritage. So I, Olyvar of Nightsong have made the appropriate changes. The information remains the same, however.


Regardless, I do hope it serves its purpose and conveys the information herein in an easily understandable manner.


-Olyvar of Nightsong

 
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Book 1: Silver Prince, Pained Prince, Scholar Prince, Promised Prince
Book 1: Silver Prince, Pained Prince, Scholar Prince, Promised Prince
The first of Maester Jon’s Masterworks. This particular work focuses on the reigns of King’s Rhaegar I, Aegon VI, Maegor II and Jaehaerys III, all of House Targaryen. It covers the First Baratheon Uprising, the Expeditions of Aegon VI, the Great Summer Sickness, the Return of the Dragons, the War for the Dawn, the Night King’s Kiss, The Long Spring and the events that led to the Second Dance of Dragons.


Maester Jon completed this particular work in 710 AC.
 
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Rhaegar I Targaryen
Rhaegar I Targaryen
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Reigned: 283AC - 319AC

Spouses: Ellia Martell/Lyanna Stark
Children: Rhaenys Targaryen, Aegon Targaryen, Visenya Targaryen

Rhaegar I Targaryen, son of the Mad King Aerys II Targaryen, is perhaps one of the more controversial Monarchs to sit on the Iron Throne. As a Prince, he was wildly popular. An experienced, and near unrivaled tourney knight, famously winning Lord Walter Whent’s Tourney in 281AC, where he crowned Lyanna Stark as his ‘Queen of Love and Beauty’, doing so over his own wife, Ellia Martell of Dorne. This predictably caused scandal, so much so that Princess Ellia even started using separate apartments on Dragonstone to avoid him. She need not have bothered. Early the following year, Rhaegar absconded with Lyanna, vanishing into the Dornish mountains.

Lyanna’s brother, Brandon Stark, marched south to King’s Landing, demanding the return of his sister and the death or exile or Rhaegar. Considering this to be a threat, Aerys had him imprisoned and called his father Rickard Stark, to the capital. Rickard was arrested and demanded Trial by Combat. What followed still haunts the memories of both the North and the Capital to this day.

Thus, in late 282AC, Lord Robert Baratheon, aided by Lords Arryn, Stark and Tully, declared war upon King Aerys II. Prince Rhaegar remained in Dorne, in his ‘Tower of Joy’ with Lady Lyanna. It was only in mid 283AC, when he received news that his father was dead did Rhaegar come out of hiding. Leading the Royalist forces to victory in the Second Battle at Summerhall, the now King Rhaegar then marched onto Nightsong, where he crushed the remainder of the Baratheon Loyalists in the Stormlands, leaving Mace Tyrell to besiege Storm’s End.
Rhaegar then led his forces up to Dyre Den, where Lord Jon Arryn was slain. The Westerlands had remained neutral during the war but after defeat at the Battle of Dyre Den, Tywin Lannister saw that the Rebels cause was doomed. He marched on Riverrun, and forced Hoster Tully to surrender. Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon were defeated at the Trident, and the War was over. Blame for Aerys II’s death fell on Ser Jaime Lannister, who was removed from the Kingsguard and banished, although he later returned, albeit confined to the Westerlands. He brought with him a bastard son, Joffrey Redclaw, founder of that future Great House.

House Connington has raised up as the Lords Paramount of the Stormlands, whereas House Darry got the Riverlands and House Grafton was raised as such in the Vale, but only after House Arryn declared independence after the Rebellion. Sadly for House Arryn, most of their forces died during the Baratheon Uprising, so their rebellion was a short one, and likely doomed from the start. The North was only spared great punishment by the insistence of Queen Lyanna, although their taxes were increased by half for a decade. Said tax financed the rebuilding of Summerhall.

Whilst the start of his reign was strong and glorious, Rhaegar soon turned his attention to the prophecy to which he is most attributed, that of the ‘Prince that was Promised’. Once more under the guidance of the Hand of the King, Tywin Lannister, Westeros soon returned to the peace it enjoyed under the Mad King and Lord Tywin.

The King was mostly absent, obsessing over his new daughter, Princess Visenya. His brother, Prince Viserys, took up holy vows, serving as the Septon of Driftmark for two-and-fifty years. When Lord Eddard Stark died of the Flu in 286AC, Rhaegar was suspected of killing him. It was Lady Regent Catelyn Stark that avoided another Uprising akin to that of the Arryns. The move was not popular with the Northman, nor was Rhaegar’s apathy on the matter. Queen Lyanna even went with Queen Ellia to Dorne when the latter went to visit her brother, Prince Doran. But her reaction paled to that of Robert Baratheon. His friend and mentor were dead, so he deserted from the Night’s Watch, and travelled far to the North. When next he was seen, he was Magnar of the Thenns and King-Beyond-the-Wall.

Rhaegar’s continued inaction in dealing with him when Magnar Robert attacked the Wall did little to mend his relationship with Queen Lyanna, who is said to have led the Crownlands army in person. Robb Stark, Lord Paramount of the North and Queen Lyanna’s nephew was borderline treasonous in his contempt for the King, and was only spared punishment when both Queen Lyanna and Queen Ellia stepped in.

His grandchildren were born within a few short months of one another, after which he exiled his daughters to Summerhall, and forbade their brother-husband from seeing them, as in his words: ‘Their part in the prophecy is over.’. He is known to have tried to seize the children so as to raise them himself in King’s Landing, and demanded that his daughter Visenya renamed her son Jaehaerys, instead of Maegor but she refused, stating that it was high time someone tried to remove the stain from the name. What followed was the only recorded time Rhaegar ever struck one of his children, but it did enough. From that point on, Princess (Later Queen) Visenya would never speak to or communicate with her father again. It is not even known if she attended her mother’s funeral so as to avoid him, though most sources claim she did not, such was the level of her enmity.

And when Maegor and Helaena were of age, Rhaegar forced them into marriage, like he had done with their parents. After Princess Helaena gave birth to their son, Jaehaerys, she, like her mother, was sent to Summerhall. Rhaegar was reportedly happy with the boy, stating “I finally have my Promised Prince.”

Rhaegar I’s end was not a glorious one in battle, nor a sombre one surrounded by family. After being declared incapable by his son Aegon, he was confined to his rooms. His wives were both dead, their remains on their way back to their respective homelands by Aegon’s decree instead of resting in what Rhaegar had planned to be their shared tomb. Completely alone and hated by his family, Rhaegar starved himself, and died on the 18th day of the Eighth Moon, 319AC at the age of 60. He intended to leave the Throne to his great-grandson, Jaehaerys, with his brother Septon Viserys as regent. Thankfully, said intention was ignored.

Whilst the danger he believed would come eventually did during his grandson’s reign, and was defeated by the young Prince Jaehaerys, Rhaegar I did a great deal of damage to the Monarchy, to the point where the calls for an Elected Monarchy were prevalent until well into Jaehaerys III’s reign.

Notable People:
Robert Baratheon: The former Lord of the Stormlands and later Magnar of the Wildlings, Robert, son of Steffon, tried to seize the Iron Throne. When said attempted failed, he was sent to the Wall, but later abandoned it and became the Magnar of the Wildlings.

Joffrey Redclaw: The legitimised bastard son of Jaime Lannister, The Kingslayer. Joffrey succeeded his father in 308AC, and would rule for four short years before his uncle Tyrion overthrew him. For seven years, he lived in a small cell, before he was blinded and finally beheaded. There are some that claim that Joffrey was in fact the son of Lord Jaime and his own sister, Cersei. But this is likely slander.

Brynden Tully: The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard from 304 AC until his death a year later. The Blackfish led the Royal Armies against Robert Baratheon during the Second Baratheon Rebellion in 304 AC alongside Queen Lyanna Stark.

Harlan Heathcliff: A lowborn squire that would serve as a squire to Rhaegar I and Aegon VI. During the reign of the latter, he would join the Kingsguard. During the reign of King Maegor II, he would rise to the rank of Lord Commander, and even the Hand of the King for a few months. He was one of the so-called ‘Knights of Winter’ that would perish during the Second Long Night.

Kingsguard at the end of Rhaegar I Targaryen’s reign:
Ser Parmen Crane, Lord Commander
Ser Raymond Rykker
Ser Jonnel Stark
Ser Clarent Crakehall
Ser Lucion Lannister
Ser Malcolm Branfield
Ser Manfryd Frey
 
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Glad to see you back in action, Remful :) Also a bit surprised I didn't spot this when it was first posted.

Rhaegar may have triumphed in this timeline, but it his victory seems to have been bittersweet in the long run, with his obsession with the Prince That Was Promised turning to borderline madness in his old age. A very sad end to such a promising youth.

And as for his rival:

Robert Baratheon: The former Lord of the Stormlands and later Magnar of the Wildlings, Robert, son of Steffon, tried to seize the Iron Throne. When said attempted failed, he was sent to the Wall, but later abandoned it and became the Magnar of the Wildlings.

Somehow I think that this, in the end, is ultimately the life Robert would have preferred, had he not become King of Westeros. He certainly has the temperament for a Wildling overlord :p
 
Aegon VI Targaryen

Aegon VI Targaryen
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Reigned: 319AC - 332AC

Spouses: Rhaenys/Visenya Targaryen
Children: Helaena Targaryen, Maegor Targaryen



Aegon the Sixth’s life was not a happy one. The only son of Rhaegar I Targaryen and his first wife, Queen Ellia Martell, and brother-husband to both of his sisters, Rhaenys and Visenya. His relationship with his father was strong as a child, but when he turned twelve namedays old, something changed. His father changed, and not for the better. Proclaiming that his prior statements were wrong, and that Aegon was not the ‘Prince-That-Was-Promised’, Rhaegar I all but cut off contact from his son. Aegon squired for Ser Arthur Dayne, a Sword of the Morning for two years, and then Lord Orbert Clegane of Castamere for another two after Ser Arthur’s death.

His father named him as the official Regent in early 319AC in an attempt to bridge the distance between them, and as a gift commemorating the birth of Aegon’s grandson, Jaehaerys, and in all likelihood, an attempt to quell his rage at the house arrest of his daughter Helaena, at Summerhall. As history would prove, it didn’t. Aegon rallied the support of the council, including the Hand, High Septon and Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, and had Rhaegar I Targaryen declared incapable of rule. As Prince Regent, he sent the remains of Rhaegar’s wives to their respective homelands, even leading Queen Lyanna’s honour guard himself. He was at Harrenhal on the return trip when he received news that his father was dead. His first act was simple, lifting the house arrest of his daughter.

He was crowned with Aegon I’s own crown, kept as a prize by House Qorgyle since the death of King Daeron I Targaryen.

During his time as Prince of Dragonstone, he befriended two former members of the Golden Company, Jon Mudd and John Lothston, and invited them back to Westeros, where as King, he helped them establish themselves once more. In fact, House Mudd would rise to the Lord Paramountcy of the Trident after the Conflagration of the Riverlands, the succession war between House’s Darry and Tully that lasted from 324AC until 327AC. King Aegon elevated the Mudds to leadership, under the belief that a loyal bannerman was more trustworthy than a child of a disloyal one.

Barely a year later, in 328AC, Elys Grafton, Lord Paramount of the Vale, declared himself King of the Mountain and Vale. As the last ‘Loyalist’ House in the Vale, this betrayal hurt Aegon deeply. Monford Velaryon led the attack on Gulltown, and Lady Shirei Mudd attacked the Bloody Gate. The rebellion ended at the Battle of Ruthermont, with the capture of King Elys and death of his brother, Ser Rodrik. To repay their loyalty, and as no Houses were ‘loyal’ in his eyes, he appointed House Velaryon as Lords Paramount of the Vale.

In the Reach, House Tyrell was overthrown by House Hightower due to the former converting to the Faith of Trios, that strange faith native to Tyrosh. When House Tyell protested to Aegon, he offered to restore them to power only if they returned to the Faith. They refused, and the Hightower’s retained power.

He is today known best for his Expeditions around the world, as far afield as Qarth if the journals he wrote are truthful. He found many, many treasures on these expeditions, even finding a dragon egg which he granted to his grandson.

It was on his third expedition, to Old Ghis, that he found the ancestral Valyrian blade of his family, Blackfyre. It would not be the only lost Valyrian Steel Sword discovered during Aegon’s time on the throne, for the Lannister’s discovered their own, Brightroar, despite the many, many men it supposedly cost them.

Aegon VI died on the nine-and-twentieth day of the twelfth moon 332AC, due to injuries sustained in battle against Septon Owen, a rebel Septon that tried to put restore the faith to power. He was succeeded by his son, Maegor II Targaryen.


Barely a moon later, the dragons returned.



Notable People:

Ma’aq, son of Maiwand: Where Tywin Lannister had Gregor Clegane, Tyrion Lannister had Ma’aq. An exile of the Jogos Nhai, he rode a zorse, the native striped steed of his people. He was a good strategist, and the terror of the West for a number of decades.

Ser Ardrian Longwaters: When King Aegon VI Targaryen left the capital to go on his expeditions, he often left his lifelong friend, Ser Ardrian Longwaters, as Lord Regent in his stead. Whilst impressive when dealing with matters of state, with regards to matters of war he often handed control over to the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, first Malcolm Branfield, and then Manfryd Frey.

Septon Owen: A radical Septon hailing from Weeping Town. He called for the High Septon to be installed on the Iron Throne. His following grew quickly, although was mostly comprised of peasants and untrained boys. Very few annointed knights joined his cause. Despite this, Septon Owen managed to cause the death of his great adversary, the King, even if he did not live long enough to see it.



Kingsguard of the end of Reign
Ser Manfryd Frey, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard
Ser Harlan Heathcliff
Ser Raymond Rykker
Ser Edmyn Fowler
Ser Qyle Martell
Ser Clarent Crakehall
Ser Petyr Sand
 
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Maegor II Targaryen
Maegor II Targaryen
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Reigned: 332 AC - 341AC

Spouses: Helaena Targaryen
Children:Jaehaerys Targaryen, Bellegere Otherys (rumoured)



Maegor II Targaryen, nicknamed ‘The Scholar King’ and ‘The Cheerful Dragon’, was known for his pleasant nature, martial skill and love of literature and theatre. His reign was just nine years long, and yet it was one of the most eventful periods of Targaryen rule for decades.

Whereas his father resented King Rhaegar, Maegor avoided his grandfather entirely, opting to travel to Braavos at the age of four-and-ten and wait out his grandfather’s reign. It is here that he was rumoured to have had an affair with Bellonara Otherys, the Black Pearl of Braavos, and was in fact the secret father to her daughter, Bellegere, a future Black Pearl in her own right. It cannot be overstated that this was never proven, however.


He was a talented tourney knight in his youth, even winning the Great Tourney of Kings Landing in 322AC, when he was but seven-and-ten. He named his wife, Helaena, as Queen of Love and Beauty. Their relationship was not a close one (due to the rumour that Queen Helaena preferred the company of women), but the Queen was Maegor’s closest advisor, even sitting on his small council for his entire reign as such.


When he became King, and after an appropriate period of mourning, Maegor II Targaryen hosted seven days of feasting and partying. A great tourney was also held, with Ser Manfryd Martin taking the final victory in the joust.


However, all this joy and happiness would come to a crashing halt, due to the four year terror that was The Great Summer Sickness. The same illness that plagued the reign of Daeron II Targaryen had returned to devastate Westeros once more. For four years, starting in 334AC until 338AC, the disease ravaged the continent. Whilst the number of dead cannot be known, it is said that the dead outnumbered the living in Oldtown and Lannisport. Maegor ordered that each city and town quarantine themselves, and let the sickness run its course. Whilst he would face mass protest and minor uprisings, Maegor’s actions likely saved a great many lives, and whilst it would take half a century, ‘Maegor’ would become a more commonly used name in the Targaryen family.


The worst hit by the sickness, surprisingly, was the Iron Isles. House Greyjoy barricaded themselves in their castle at Pyke, until an alliance of Goodbrother and Codd overthrew them. Houses Volmark and Orkwood rose to fight them. The ‘War of Salt and Steel’ lasted from 334AC until 339AC, and resulted in House Goodbrother rising to rule the Iron Isles.


But despite all of this, perhaps the most impactful event that occurred during his reign occurred at the very start of his reign, the return of the dragons. Before Maegor was even coronated, his son Jaehaerys hatched one from the egg he was granted from King Aegon VI. He named the she-dragon ‘Sintharia’, later known as “Sintharia the Suneater” due to her size.


His last public act was to knight and appoint Ser Brienne of Tarth to the Kingsguard, in 341AC, the first (and so far, only) woman to have served in the White Cloaks. Barely a moon’s turn later, he was dead, at the age of just forty. The cause was never fully established, but is theorised to have been poison, likely the plot of Lords angry with his actions during the Great Summer Sickness.


The same day that King Maegor died, the White Raven’s flew, marking the end of a fifteen year summer.


And with a long summer, came a long winter...

Notable People:

Lysa II Tully: Coming to rule Riverrun at the age of seven after the death of her grandmother and namesake, Mad Lady Lysa, the younger Lysa she widely considered the most beautiful woman in Westeros in her youth. She was known for her loyalty to the newly appointed Great House of the Riverlands, House Mudd.

Ser Ossifer Slynt: Commander of the Gold Cloaks, Ser Ossifer Slynt was known for being utterly devoted to upholding the law, and staunchly incorruptible. His four daughters would set the stage for House Slynt’s rise to greater prominence, and his brother would go on to be High Septon during the War for the Dawn.





Kingsguard of the end of Reign
Ser Harlan Heathcliff, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard
Ser Brienne of Tarth
Ser Rhaegar Grell
Ser Tywin Hill
Ser Eldric Pryor
Ser Edmyn Fowler
Ser Harron Harlaw


Please note: These Kingsguard are often referred to as ‘The Knights of Winter’. By the end of the War for the Dawn, only Ser Harron Harlaw would yet live.
 
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By the end of the War for the Dawn, only Ser Harron Harlaw would yet live.

Well, that's a bit ominous. At least the Iron Throne has dragons now to help even the odds...
 
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Glad to see someone bring a good legacy to the name of Maegor. Shame that Rhaegar turned out to be such an asshole though. Looking forward to the War for the Dawn.
 
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THE WAR FOR THE DAWN: 345AC - 352AC

THE WAR FOR THE DAWN
345AC - 352AC



The War for the Dawn, being the war between the Kingdom of the Iron Throne and the Others, was a conflict that occurred early in the reign of His Grace, Jaehaerys Targaryen, Third of his Name, known as Jaehaerys the Great, that supposedly saved humanity (although most Maesters agree that the situation was likely not so dire.).


It was midyear of 345AC that the word came from the Night’s Watch and its Lord-Commander, Olyvar Wyl. The Wildlings had come south, following their Magnaress, Hemlock Baratheon, last of her ‘Royal Line’, and were even willing to make peace with the Night’s Watch in exchange for safety. The Lady of the North, Jocelyn Stark, later known as ‘The Hammer of Winter’ went to meet with them, and when Magnaress Hemlock showed her ‘proof’ of the return of the Others, it is said that Lady Stark’s hair turned white from shock, despite her young age of nine-and-ten. She sent word to King’s Landing, along with her Husband, Cregard Glover, to request aid.


The King, having been tutored by some of the believers of his Great-Grandfather Rhaegar’s ‘prophecy’, and so called his Armies to amass at Moat Cailin. Even the Ironborn under House Goodbrother answered the call. But House Hightower, under Lord Quentyn Hightower, refused the call, believing it to be a trick. When he died in 348AC, however, his son Normund Hightower would lead the armies of the Reach to aid his King.


Queen Tyanna Redclaw acted as regent of the Kingdom whilst her husband was at war. Ser Harron Harlaw remained with her, and was thus spared the fate of his sworn brothers. Ser Harron had to put down many riots, and even an attempt to dispose the King by Dylan Rykker, Lord of Duskendale.


The first battle of the war was at Hardhome, with the forces of Westeros winning a resounding victory. However, it was then that the massive army divided into seven smaller armies, likely in an effort to find the Night’s King more effectively. This single blunder would take years to repair.


The largest disaster of the War went down in history as The Fall of the Fist’. Thousands of soldiers, including a Kingsguard, Ser Brienne of Tarth, died by ambush. Her body was only recovered fifty years later, and was received back in King’s Landing with an Honor Guard of both Black Brothers and Wildlings, who had sung songs of the warrior woman since her death.


Sadly, in the seven years of War, many more Kingsguard would die, and many now famous figures would join them.


The Lord Commander, Ser Harlan Heathcliff, died alongside the last Magnaress of the Wildlings in the desperate retreat from the Haunted Forest, which would later claim the life of Ser Rhaegar Grell due to the injuries he suffered. Ser Walder Whent, Ser Tyrion Spicer and Ser Harys Hersy died at Ruddy Hall, igniting barrels of wildfire at decimate the mass forces of the Wights and Walkers. Ser Lyle Vikary fell with his sworn brothers Ser Otto Osgrey and Ser Marq Webber at the Second Battle of Hardhome. Ser Eldric Pryor and Ser Edmyn Fowler fell together at Whitetree, when it burned. Ser Arthur Celtigar earned his place in history by holding Eastwatch for a full sennight with few men and little resources. Ser Argilac ‘the Bold’ Caron is said to have fought and died by the Night King’s own hand. Ser Tywin Hill died buying time for the Nights Watch to close the gates of Castle Black. Ser Roland Royce is said to have slain four Walkers before he too fell to the Nights King. Ser Mace Swann died at the Shadow Tower with a contingent of Stormlanders, inspiring the now beloved song ‘Noble Three Hundred’.


The turning point of the war was in 348AC, when the dragon, Sintharia, was grown, that Jaehaerys III Targaryen managed to begin to turn the tide. From atop the beast that would become The Suneater, he forced the Others back from the North, and into the Lands-Beyond-The-Wall. The first major victory was the ‘Battle of Winterfell’ in mid 348. It was a young Eddard Whitehill, a boy of just three-and-ten, that rallied the forces of the living. During, it was he that unfurled the Royal Banner over the castle when the battle lines wavered, rallying the men to push onwards. He would, in time, become a Kingsguard.


It would take four more years of bloodshed and war before the ’Duel at the Nightfort’ in 452AC, where King Jaehaerys, wielding Blackfyre, fought the Night's King. During their climactic battle, the King took a wound and was forced to pull back. His loyal knights and friends Ser Edmure Arryn and Ser Bryce Darry interceded, and fought on, and eventually both would fall buying time for King Jaehaerys III to kill the Nights King from behind, thus ending the war.


The anniversary of the King’s victory is still celebrated each year on the Sixteenth Day of the Eighth Moon, as the ‘Feast of Night’s Fall’.
 
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A bloody struggle there; fighting Beyond the Wall is rarely fun, and only gets worse when fighting off the White Walkers. Still, the consequences for defeat would have been dire indeed.

And the Last Stag of the Wildlings falls in battle -- I think Bobby B would consider that a good way for his progeny to go out.
 
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Jaehaerys III Targaryen
Jaehaerys III Targaryen

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Reigned: 341 AC - 389AC
Spouses: Tyanna Redclaw
Children: Aegon Targaryen, Naerys Targaryen, Elaena Targaryen, Visenya Targaryen, Maegelle Targaryen, Aelor and Aelora Targaryen, Aurion Fyreblood.



The Prince-That-Was-Promised. The Father of Dragons. The Winterbane. The Dawnbringer. The Great Dragon. All epithets attributed to King Jaehaerys Targaryen, Third of his Name, the Twenty-First Ruler of the Kingdom of the Iron Throne. For good reason. He is of course remembered as the King that beat back the Others, and won the War for the Dawn and ushered in ‘The Long Peace’.


How can one sum up such a life with mere parchment and ink? Born near the end of his Great-Grandsire’s reign, Jaehaerys was raised by a mix of King Rhaegar’s loyalists and those of his Grandfather, King Aegon VI. He was faced with the genuine believe that he was destined to save mankind on the one hand, and that he was simply going to be another King, albeit one that brought back the dragons, on the other.


It was at the age of three-and-ten that those that those remained loyal to King Rhaegar’s beliefs gained a large amount of support for their cause, because Jaehaerys hatched a dragon, whom he named Sintharia. The she-dragon rarely left her Master’s side in her early years, apparently enjoying perching on Jaehaerys’ shoulder. When he was born, dragons had been gone for one hundred and seventy-nine years. By the time he died in 389AC, there were seven dragons in the world.


In 337AC, at the age of eight-and-ten, he married Tyanna Redclaw, the daughter of the last Lannister to rule the Westerlands, Lady Lyene Lannister, and her Lord Husband, Joffrey Redclaw the Younger. She was known as an intelligent woman, and was entrusted as Regent of the Realm during the War for the Dawn.


Of course, it is hard to write of Jaehaerys III without mentioning the War for the Dawn. As detailed further in the previous entry, it was the seven year conflict between the Kingdom of the Iron Throne and ‘The Others’. It took the deaths of many good men and destruction of most of the settlements Beyond-The-Wall, but the Iron Throne eventually proved victorious (for further details, please see previous entry). The winter would continue for another five years, and is often referred to as ‘The Night King’s Kiss’.


In 358AC, Drad Kingsblood, a King-Beyond-The-Wall, led an attack on Eastwatch-By-The-Sea. The Lady of the North, Jocelyn Stark, earned her epithet as ‘The Hammer of Winter’ by completely annihilating the Wildling forces. She went further, spending two years Beyond-The-Wall destroying every Wildling Camp she came across. King Jaehaerys allowed her to do so, as the North had suffered far more during the Night King’s Kiss than the other regions of Westeros.


Instead, the King spent many years on progress after progress, spending a great deal of gold on rebuilding works across the nation. He also used his daughters in marriage to unite the great families of Westeros. The heirs of Redclaw, Velaryon and Connington all married Princesses (Visenya, Maegelle and Naerys respectively). He named the first Prince of Summerhall since the time of King Maekar, in 371AC, Aelor, who married his twin sister, Aelora.


The only blemish on the King’s character was his siring of a bastard son, the future Aurion Fyreblood. It was during a Royal Progress in 368AC that would lead to the man’s birth.

When Prince Aelor of Summerhall died in a tourney accident in 384AC. Jaehaerys, in consultation with his heir, Aegon, granted Aurion the seat of Summerhall, forming House Fyreblood of Summerhall. Unlike the Blackfyre’s before them however, the Fyreblood’s are known for their near fanatical loyalty to their Targaryen cousins, serving as members of the Small Council, or Kingsguard, or even Queens and Consorts throughout the years. Aurion took for his sigil a single headed black dragon on a dark red field. According to some accounts, it was meant to represent and honor Sintharia, his father’s dragon.


After his Queen died in 388AC, he took to wearing black clothing and Maekar’s Crown. King Jaehaerys III Targaryen would die just shy of a year later, in the library of the Red Keep. He had seen seventy name days. So ended the reign of one of the greatest Kings of the Iron Throne.


He was succeeded by his son, Aegon, the so-called ‘Jealous Dragon’. It is a sad fact to acknowledge, but Jaehaerys’ actions, in marrying his daughters to Great Lords, in hatching the dragons, in showing the world what House Targaryen was capable of, he had sown the first seeds that would lead to the Second Dance of the Dragons.


Kingsguard of the end of Reign

Ser Triston Mullendore, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard
Ser Eddard Whitehill
Ser Olyvar Erenford
Ser Tommen Bourney
Ser Dickon Rykker
Ser Edmund Yronwood
 
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in marrying his daughters to Great Lords, in hatching the dragons, in showing the world what House Targaryen was capable of, he had sown the first seeds that would lead to the Second Dance of the Dragons.

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Pictured: Westeros, whenever Dance of the Dragons II drops.
 
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Book 2: The Long Peace
Book 2: The Long Peace
The second of Maester Jon’s Masterworks. This particular work focuses on the reigns of those Kings of the Long Peace period other than Jaehaerys III: Aegon VII, Haegon I, Valarr I, Maegor III and Aenys II, all of House Targaryen, and ending with Daemon I Targaryen's betrayal of Aenys II's designated heiress, Visenya, and his plunging the continent into the Second Dance of Dragons.

Maester Jon completed this particular work in 714 AC.
 
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The Great Houses of Westeros: 400AC
The Great Houses of Westeros: 400AC

In the century after the death of Aerys II Targaryen, the Kingdom of the Iron Throne had changed immeasurably. Only two of the Great Families, House Stark of the North and House Nymeros Martell of Dorne, had held onto their rank of Lords Paramount. All the other Paramount families from the time of Aegon the Conqueror had fallen from power.

The reigning Monarch in 400AC was Aegon VII Targaryen, although he would be dead barely a year later.

The following are the Great Houses of Westeros at the start of the ‘Long Peace’ Period.



Dorne: House Nymeros Martell of Sunspear

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Since the reign of the Mad King, Dorne and the Martell’s have remained distant from the rest of the Kingdom, content to enjoy the peaceful, almost lazy reigns of four Princesses. However, towards the end of the 300’s, they faced unrest from Lady Alia Dayne, Lady of Starfall, who saw their reigns as self-absorbed and ineffective.


The North: House Stark of Winterfell

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Holding their position due to the intervention of Queen Lyanna Stark, wife of Rhaegar I Targaryen, the Stark’s of Winterfell faced with one of the most turbulent periods of their long history. From the short reign of Eddard Stark, the debauched reign of his son, Robb and the short and bloody reign of Robb’s son Andrey. Then from 334AC until 402AC, the North was ruled by ‘She-Wolves’ alone.


The Westerlands: House Redclaw of Casterly Rock

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Coming to rule the West by virtue of marriage alone, the Redclaw’s were the youngest Great House in 400AC. They faced continuous unrest from their Lannister cousins. But they remained amongst House Targaryen’s most loyal supporters. Their most famous member was Tyanna Redclaw, Queen-Regent during the War for the Dawn.


The Stormlands: House Connington of Griffin’s Roost

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Loyalists of Rhaegar I Targaryen, and staunch believers of his prophecy. The most famous, or rather infamous Conningtons of this period of history were Lady Paramount Rylla Connington and her grandson, Lorent Connington, the White Griffon. The former is remembered for her harshness in legal judgements, and the latter is remembered for trying to emulate his Targaryen overlords by marrying his relatives to one another.


The Reach: House Hightower of the Hightower

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The Hightower’s, like the Goodbrother’s, have perhaps the shakiest claims to their respective Lord Paramountcies, as they took control by force. In the Hightower’s case, it was the conversion of Willas Tyrell (the Younger) to the Tyroshi Trios faith and rallied them to unseat them. Aegon VII Targaryen allowed them to hold onto power after most of the Reach Lords through their support behind them. They remain loyal, despite internal, familial struggles.


The Vale: House Velaryon of the Eyrie

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A curious addition to the Great Houses, the Velaryon’s had long since been amongst the staunchest of allies even before they had been elevated to the Lord Paramountcy after the Grafton Rebellion. The Velaryon Lords of the Vale have, historically, lived long lives. They maintain Driftmark, their ancestral seat, as a Summer home, or a place to retire to for their Knightly family members.


Their rule was relatively stable, but was not without grumbling from what Arryn’s remained.


The Trident: House Mudd of Oldstones

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In the history of the Riverlands, few can still claim a history longer than that of House Mudd. Once amongst the greatest of River Kings, then sellswords and hedge knights, then entirely by chance, friends to a King-To-Be (Aegon VI), to the Lords of Oldstones and finally Lords Paramount of the Trident.

It was the Riverlands Civil War (324AC - 327AC), between Houses Darry and Tully at resulted them gaining such power. King Aegon, given his close friendship with Lord Jon Mudd, granted his daughter, Shirei as the Lady Paramount of the Trident. She famously led the Siege of the Bloody Gate during the Grafton Rebellion.


Mudd rule once again quieted the Riverlands, and they too remain some of House Targaryen’s most staunchly loyal vassals.


The Iron Isles: House Goodbrother of Hammerhorn

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Like the Hightowers, the Goodbrother claim on the Iron Isles is shaky to say the least. During Maegor II Targaryen’s reign, and the Great Summer Sickness, the Greyjoy’s barricaded themselves within their castle on Pyke. Allied with House Codd, the Goodbrother’s launched their homeland into what is now known as the ‘War of Salt and Steel’.


Curiously, out of all the Great Houses, House Goodbrother would produce the most members of the Kingsguard.
 
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Some curious names among the Lords Paramount. Interesting to hear that the Goodbrothers have provided so many Kingsguard; have they converted to the Seven, by chance, or do they remain faithful to the Drowned God?
 
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Some curious names among the Lords Paramount. Interesting to hear that the Goodbrothers have provided so many Kingsguard; have they converted to the Seven, by chance, or do they remain faithful to the Drowned God?

Half and half. One branch of the Goodbrothers (the main one) are still followers of the Drowned God, but the smaller branches have converted to the Seven.
 
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