Fire & Blood

Aegon I was the founder of the Targaryen dynasty and the son of Valyrian nobles who escaped the Doom of Valyria. Fire and Blood is a historical narrative with a focus on recounting events and the decisions of those involved with those events. As a result, most of Aegon’s characterization comes through his actions, with some occasional lines of dialogue thrown in. Those lines are usually formal in diction, and they are frequently aphorisms about power and conquest. For example, Aegon says, “It is better to forestall rebellions than to put them down’’ (42), which explains his motivation for spending more time traveling his realm than ruling in King’s Landing. There is not much personality in these aphorisms. Aegon the Conqueror is an archetype of a successful king in Gyldayn’s world rather than a dynamic character who changes in response to the events around him.

Martin also characterizes Aegon the Conqueror through his name and his actions. Aegon is a conqueror who consolidates his power by wielding fire against Harren the Black and thousands of his opponents at the Field of Fire. He is a killer. In the world of Westeros and with the hindsight of history, this kind of violence made him a winner, so Gyldayn rationalizes it. Aegon is not just a killer for the sake of political power. Sometimes his motivations are personal. Gyldayn describes the war against Dorne after Rhaenys dies there as “the Dragon’s Wroth” (35); Gyldayn implies that the first war with Dorne ended because the king was moved by fear that his son would be assassinated or even by an emotional plea from Dorne to end the war. The explanations that some of Gyldayn’s sources come up with for Aegon’s reversal in policy include witchcraft; Aegon bled after reading the letter. This implies that there is something unseemly about emotion-driven decisions in a ruler. While much of Gyldayn’s characterization burnishes Aegon’s reputation as a historical figure, episodes like these show Aegon was more than that lionized figure.

Husband and brother of Alysanne Targaryen and son of Alyssa Baratheon, Jaehaerys was king of Westeros during one of its golden ages. Martin describes Jaehaerys as “the darling of the smallfolk and great lords alike from Oldtown to the Wall” (146) and as “personable and handsome” (152). Jaehaerys ascended to the throne after Maegor; his ability to use symbols of power and reputation effectively, as well as his ability to balance words and war, struck a sharp contrast with Maegor’s approach to rule.

Jaehaerys’s early life was shaped by the collapse of Targaryen rule resulting from Aenys’s weakness and the uproar over the marriage of Aegon and Rhaena. When Jaehaerys finally ascended to the throne, he was young but already knew the appearance of strength was just as important as actual strength. He circled the city three times, in a symbolic reminder that he meant to rule wisely as Aegon the Conqueror, the first Targaryen ruler to circle the city in this way. His first pivotal act of defiance during the regency—marrying Alysanne despite the opposition of the Faith of the Seven and his councilors—was kept secret to manage public perception of the young couple. His use of the Seven Speakers to shift public opinion around his incestuous marriage is further proof of his understanding of the importance of reputation.

While past kings were content to err on the side of action or words, Jaehaerys studied both history and arms to prepare for becoming king; wars were infrequent during his early reign. He uses bargaining instead of war to install a High Septon more favorable to the Doctrine of Exceptionalism. Gyldayn presents Jaehaerys in glowing terms, likely because he has accepted too easily the work Jaehaerys did to rehabilitate the reputation of the Targaryens. If Jaehaerys has any flaw, it is that he did not manage his relationships with his wife and many children effectively, leading to the Dance of the Dragons.

Viserys I was the son of Baelon and Alyssa Targaryen. Viserys appears in the narrative as a baby who laughed when his mother took him on a dragon the first time. He grew into a man with a sunny disposition. Gyldayn describes him as a man who was “generous, amiable [in] nature, and [who] was well loved by his lords and smallfolk alike” (352). As the political context shifted around Viserys, Gyldayn also shifts his characterization of Viserys. Viserys was both amiable and “anxious to please” (361); his agreeability was a flaw that made him incapable of acting decisively and confronting the brewing conflict over the succession. His fear of conflict also made him slow to react to political threats like the pirates in the Stepstones; with Daemon as a foil, he was seen as a weak, indecisive king.

Martin relies on the symbol of the Iron Throne to comment on who Viserys was in his later years. He was a diminished man who received so many cuts as he made foolish decisions on the Iron Throne that he had to rule from bed, leaving Otto Hightower to usurp his royal power. His poor reading of Westeros’s appetite for a female monarch was one of the major causes of the Dance of the Dragons. While many Targaryens ruled through fear and violence, Viserys was on the opposite end of that spectrum. Martin uses the civil war that comes after his death to show that being a good ruler requires balancing the need to be liked with the need to be feared.

Aegon II was the son of Viserys I and Alicent Hightower. Martin characterizes Aegon as exhibiting the worse impulses of the Targaryens from an early age. The author includes portrayals of him drinking throughout his reign, which Gyldayn presents as a character flaw indicating a lack of restraint. Aegon II’s quick temper led him to take actions that damaged him politically, such as when he fired Otto as his Hand. Aegon II preferred violence over Otto’s diplomacy. Aegon was also vengeful. He killed Rhaenyra in front of her children by dragon fire.

In the latter part of his reign, Aegon suffered from severe burns he sustained fighting in the Dance of the Dragons. These physical wounds made him incapable of ruling for a time, but when he returned to rule, he was even more motivated by vengeance and given to violence. The measure of how unfit his violent temper made him for rule in Gyldayn’s account is that many people connived to assassinate him. His reign and end show that while violence may be a means to getting power, it is not enough to sustain power.

Rhaenyra was the daughter of Viserys I and Aemma of House Arryn; she was one of the only women to rule in her own right in Westeros, but that reign was short and disputed from the start, mostly because she was a woman. Martin describes Rhaenyra as a child who claimed her dragon early but whose sexual appetites during adolescence were so out of line with gender expectations in Westeros that they destabilized her reign before it ever began. Gyldayn uses accounts from Mushroom and other sources to show that as a young woman, Rhaenyra was impulsive and promiscuous, traits that were tolerable in male Targaryens but not in female Targaryens.

Like other failed Targaryen rulers, Rhaenyra lacked restraint. Martin chooses to use changes brought to her body by multiple childbirths as characterization and motivation. He writes that by 20, she had “grown stout and thick of waist,” which “only served to deepen her resentment of her stepmother, Queen Alicent, who remained slender and graceful at half again her age” (377). Gyldayn presents Rhaenyra’s feelings here as petty, but appearance is an important asset for women in the patriarchal, feudal Westerosi society. Rhaenyra was again overcome with emotions that interfered with her ability to govern when her sadness over the death of her son prevented her from coming to the aid of allies. Her paranoia lost her the support of important allies like Corlys Velaryon as well. Her flaws and the resulting Dance of the Dragons is a commentary on women and power in the world of Westeros.

Aegon III was the son of Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen. Aegon’s identity was shaped early on by the conflict between Rhaenyra and Alicent over who would be Viserys I’s heir. Unlike his older brothers, Aegon had purple hair and eyes, marking him as a Targaryen through both the maternal and paternal lines. His early identity was to be proof of Rhaenyra’s legitimacy to rule. His life was scarred from the beginning by the Dance, however. He watched his mother die before his eyes and saw what he believed was the death of his young brother.

These events transformed him into a man who was so traumatized that Gyldayn and other chroniclers describe him as “the Broken King” (711). His brokenness was not just the result of trauma. While his mother and other heirs had the opportunity to learn about leadership from their Hands and parents, Aegon III was stymied each time he attempted to exercise authority during his regency. When he attended meetings of the small council, Unwin Peake, his Hand and head of the regent’s council, openly ridiculed him in front of others. With Viserys beside him, Aegon finally had the will to assert himself during Unwin’s attempted palace coup. The last vision of Aegon III is of him rudely dismissing his Hand and the regents because he wants to assert himself as king, despite his inexperience. His actions in this final scene imply that he will be an ineffective ruler unable to maintain power.

Daemon Targaryen was the brother of Viserys I. Martin describes him as having the typical coloring of Targaryens and, as he enters adulthood, being “a hot-tempered and quarrelsome young man” whose first major move as an adult was to assemble a fighting force to defend Viserys I’s claim to the throne (348). Daemon got close to the throne but never claimed it. Because he believed he should be king, he groomed and seduced Rhaenyra, which undercut her claim. His one great strength in support of the king and legitimate heirs was that he was a great fighter. He temporarily subdued pirates in the Stepstones, whipped the City Watch into a fighting force that showed up repeatedly to defend King’s Landing, and thought strategically enough that he secured Harrenhal for Rhaenyra during the Dance of the Dragons.

Corlys Velaryon was the husband of Rhaenys Targaryen and the scion of House Velaryon, long associated with the sea and of more ancient lineage than the Targaryens. His ambition and curiosity motivated him to become one of the great explorers of the world beyond Westeros.

Like many figures, his ambitions were thwarted because he was not a Targaryen. His best hopes of gaining royal power came with marriage to Rhaenys and when Rhaenyra gave birth to Jacaerys and Lucerys, ostensibly his grandsons. Unfortunately for him, claims based on connections to women failed because Westeros was a patriarchal society. His defining acts later in the novel were betrayals. He turned against several rulers as soon as it became obvious they could not hold on to their power.

Maegor Targaryen fits the archetype of a Targaryen ruler who relied on violence and dragons to seize and maintain power. He was the son of Aegon the Conqueror, but his most important early influence was his mother Visenya, who gave him a blade when he was just three. He learned early on that his skills in fighting made people fear him, and no one checked him when he practiced violence because he was a Targaryen. When he came of age, jealousy became his major motivation. He envied his brother Aenys his crown and his heirs, leading him to take drastic actions such as marrying multiple women.

When he finally gained the throne, it was through shocking acts of violence against his own family, including the killing of his nephews Aegon and Viserys. His reign demonstrated the limit of violence as a means of keeping power. Because of his reputation as a kinslayer, he was unable to keep the loyalty and love of those around him. Gyldayn claims that Maegor died of supernatural means when the Iron Throne killed him because of his unfitness to rule.

The “fool” (jester) of House Targaryen for many generations, Mushroom is an important source for Gyldayn because he witnessed firsthand many of the events recounted in Fire and Blood. Despite his presence at these events, Mushroom is an unreliable source because of his penchant for salacious details and his obvious bias toward the figures he favors. His irreverence when it comes to powerful people makes him a contrasting and contradictory source to the official chroniclers, who show deference to the powerful.

Son of Rhaenys and Aegon the Conqueror, Aenys was a short-lived king who lost his power because he was indecisive and did not have the skills of a warrior. Gyldayn describes Aenys as “small and sickly at birth” (51), a description that foreshadows the slight man and king he became. He looked like an old man although he was only 35 when he died. Westerosi were accustomed to kings who came to power in their teens, so bias against age and disability damaged him. Aenys also misunderstood the power of charm. His subjects and the nobles liked him, but people did not see him as a ruler. Aenys’s inability to rule effectively is another example of what happens when leaders fail to balance power and focus on reputation. 

Also a sister of Aegon the Conqueror, Visenya was the equal of her brother after the Conquest. Martin writes that she “was as much a warrior as Aegon himself, as comfortable in ringmail as in silk,” and had “harsh, austere beauty” that reflected her Valyrian heritage (8-9). Visenya was a foil to her sister because she relied more heavily on force and intimidation to shore up the power of the Targaryens. She left her mark on how the Targaryens ruled by instituting the Kingsguard, the creation of which acknowledged that the Targaryens are a hostile force that seized Westeros through military might. After her husband’s death, her major motivation was making sure that Maegor, her son, gained the throne. Gyldayn includes vague hints that Visenya may have used covert forms of violence such as poison to outlive her four siblings. Insinuations like these are frequent in Gyldayn’s writing because of his fundamental distrust of women who exercise authority.

Sister of Aegon the Conqueror, Rhaenys Targaryen was one of two powerful Targaryen rulers who were women, alongside her sister. Like her brother, Rhaenys was a conqueror who used her dragon as a tool to help subjugate Westeros. She played an even greater role in securing the Targaryens’ power in peacetime because she used the arts, patronage, and marriage to enact Aegon’s efforts to make Westeros see Targaryens as Westerosi. Under her patronage, Aegon’s Conquest was “made glorious” (47) instead of violent.

The son of Rhaenyra and Daemon, Viserys II was the brother and Hand of King Aegon III. During the Dance of the Dragons, the two young brothers sailed to Essos to wait out the war, but their ship was captured by allies to the Greens. Long believed dead, Viserys came of age in Lys and later married Larra of the powerful House Rogare. During Aegon III’s reign, Viserys and Larra returned to Westeros, but after numerous controversies including House Rogare, Larra left her husband. Around that time, Viserys served as Aegon III’s Hand, advising the monarch during his difficult final years.

Alysanne was the sister and wife of Jaehaerys I. As a young woman, Alysanne seized greater control over her life by eloping with her brother, despite the possible political consequences of being in an incestuous marriage. The unity of purpose that she and her brother-husband had in their relationship made Westeros more secure after a period of instability caused by wars of succession. Although she did not rule in her own right, she used soft power—charm, an understanding of human emotion, and messaging—to strengthen the Targaryen’s hold on power in Westeros.

Alicent was the second wife of Viserys I and mother of Aegon II, Aemond, Helaena, and Daeron. She was the leader of the Greens, so named because she was a Hightower whose house color is green. Her primary motivation was to secure her Aegon II’s path to the throne after the death of Viserys I. Like Rhaenyra, she fostered much of the ill will between their children, leading to the Dance of the Dragons. She lost all of her sons but Aegon III in the Dance of the Dragons, leading her to become a force for vengeance over peace in the aftermath of the war. Alicent died of the Winter Fever.

Larra was a member of House Rogare, an influential banking family of the Free City of Lys. Its influence extended to Westeros when Viserys II married Larra. Larra briefly had some power as Viserys’s wife, but her adherence to her Lysene traditions and possible influence with Aegon III led to accusations of sorcery and undue influence on the financial affairs of Westeros. She survives attacks on her house to become the mother of Aegon IV. The rapid rise and fall of House Rogare show the hatred of foreigners in Westeros.

Aemond Targaryen was the second son of Viserys I and Alicent Hightower. The hostilities between the Green and Black factions became even more heated when Rhaenyra’s son Lucerys stabbed Aemond in the eye when they were boys. Aemond’s thirst for vengeance led to one of the inciting incidents of the Dance of the Dragons—his killing of Lucerys. A warrior on dragon back, Aemond died during the Dance of Dragons.

Elissa began as a daughter of House Farman in Fair Isle, where Rhaena Targaryen sheltered during the war with the Faith of the Seven. Elissa’s affair with Rhaena changed her life when she followed Rhaena to Westeros later. Despite her close relationship with Rhaena, Elissa felt constrained by life on Dragonstone. Betrayal—stealing three dragon eggs to sell—was the price for her freedom. Using the funds from the eggs, Elissa transformed herself into Alys Westhill, one of the only recorded female explorers in Westerosi history. No one knows her fate beyond stories about her heading farther west during her journeys of exploration; her story contrasts sharply with those of male Velaryon explorers. The lack of more material on her shows the influence of patriarchy on Gyldayn and Westeros in general.

Cregan, Lord of Winterfell, sided with the Blacks during the Dance of the Dragons. A stern, rigid man, Stark served as the Hand to Aegon III during “the Hour of the Wolf,” a period of unrest in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of Aegon II. His uncompromising values were apparent when he sentenced both Greens and Blacks for the role in the death of Aegon II. He returned home to Winterfell once he satisfied his sense of right and wrong.

The last titled member of the Strongs, castellans, and later lords at Harrenhal, Larys was a shrewd, Machiavellian character who used betrayal, poison, and rumors to help the Greens during the Dance of the Dragons. In Westerosi society, one’s outer appearance was considered to be a reflection of one’s moral character. Larys’s limb difference on one of his feet thus became an important symbol of his amorality in the world Martin creates. Larys died when Cregan Stark sentenced him for breaking his oath by participating in the assassination of Aegon II.

Scion of Casterly Rock, Tyland was one of the founding members of the Green council during the Dance of the Dragons. He initially served as treasurer. His spending of royal funds led to the need for increased taxes, which damaged Aegon II’s popularity with the smallfolk and merchants. He survived torture during Rhaenyra’s brief reign and emerged with wounds that so repelled observers that he went about in a hood. Smallfolk accused him of witchcraft. Like Larys, he suffered from the Westerosi assumption that physical appearance and bodies represented character. He died of the Winter Fever.