Aerys Targaryen
Aerys Targaryen, the second of his name, is the brother, husband, and king of Queen Rhaella Targaryen. Together they spawned two children, Prince Rhaegar and Prince Viserys. In his youth, Aerys was charming, generous, handsome and resolute, although somewhat quick to anger. As he grew older, he became increasingly jealous, suspicious and cruel, prone to furious outbursts. When he was still a prince, Aerys had developed a crush on Joanna Lannister, who was to marry her cousin Tywin. Aerys was present at their wedding and drank too much during the feast, leading to him joking that it was a great pity that the lord's right to the "first night" had been abolished and took certain liberties during the bedding. It is said that Tywin did not forget Aerys' behavior. Aerys was married to his sister Rhaella in accordance with the family tradition of dynastic incest. The marriage was arranged by their grandfather the king, who was motivated by a prophecy that he interpreted to mean the prince that was promised would be born of the line between Aerys and Rhaella. There was no fondness between the two siblings.
In 259AC, Rhaella gave birth to their first born son and heir, Prince Rhaegar. He was "born in blood and grief" during the disaster known as the Tragedy of Summerhall, which killed King Aegon V, his heir Prince Duncan, and many others. Aerys' father Jaehaerys ruled for only three years before passing away, and Aerys became King Aerys II. Aerys and Rhaella would later have a second son, Prince Viserys. Aerys' reign as king began in 262 AL with great promise. Over the peaceful first dozen years, the realm recovered from the tragic events at Summerhall, growing strong and prosperous. However, problems would arise that eventually transformed the character of Aerys' reign into something very different. Under his father and grandfather, the royal court at King's Landing had grown stuffy and conservative, filled with hide bound old men. Aerys brought sweeping changes, replacing many prominent officials with younger faces. Impressed by the ruthlessness of the young Lord Tywin Lannister in dealing with rebellion against Casterly Rock, he named Tywin as the King's Hand. However, the relationship between Aerys and Tywin was always uneasy. Eventually, Aerys came to regret his choice for Hand as the popular rumor became so well-known and so widely respected that it was Tywin, not Aerys, who truly ruled the realm. When Lord Tywin's captain of the guard, Ser Ilyn Payne uttered this boast, he lost his tongue at Aerys' command for the insult. Jealous of the respect and fear accorded to Tywin, Aerys resolved to rely less on his Hand. In 276AC, Lord Tywin staged a tourney at Lannisport in the king's honor. There he proposed a marriage between his daughter Cersei Lannister and Prince Rhaegar. However, Aerys' fear of Tywin's power and ambition led him to reject the offer rudely, saying "You are my most able servant, Tywin, but a man does not marry his heir to his servant's daughter" The tourney ended without a final feast and Aerys departed in a chilly atmosphere. Tywin would not forget the insult. Lord Denys Darklyn of Duskendale, possibly influenced by his Myrish wife Serala, withheld port taxes from the crown. Eager to demonstrate his ability to handle the situation without the help of his Hand, Aerys decided to settle the issue personally, a decision that would backfire horribly, taking a small force that included only one Kingsguard knight, Ser Barristan Selmy. Aerys personally marched to Duskendale to arrest and execute Lord Denys. Denys however, panicked and took the Aerys as a prisoner. Lord Tywin was left to resolve the crisis himself, amassing an army and laying siege to the town in what became known as the Defiance of Duskendale. The situation remained in a stalemate for six months, with Denys threatening to execute the king at the first sign that Tywin intended to storm the town. Finally, Ser Barristan Selmy of the Kingsguard staged a daring infiltration and managed to rescue the king. Lord Denys immediately surrendered and begged for mercy, but in his fury Aerys had him immediately beheaded. His rage still not sated, the king ordered House Darklyn utterly destroyed, along with House Hollard, which had sided with them. Every last member of both families was tortured at excruciating length before being burned alive, with the sole exception of the child Dontos Hollard, who was spared only at Ser Barristan's pleading. Ser Barristan later developed doubts about his actions at Duskendale, wondering whether Aerys' death in Lord Denys' dungeon and Prince Rhaegar's ascent to the throne would not have spared the Seven Kingdoms a lot of grief. The Defiance of Duskendale marked the beginning of Aerys' descent into madness. Deeply shaken by his imprisonment, he refused to leave the Red Keep for many years afterwards. His jealous and suspicious nature deepened into paranoia and eventually outright delusions, seeing evidence of treachery everywhere. The king no longer trusted his wife or his heir, and especially not his Hand, all of whom he perceived as having gladly. abandoned him to rot away in Duskendale. Hearing word of Varys' talents as an information broker from across the narrow sea, he appointed the eunuch his Master of Whisperers, believing that only a foreigner with no competing loyalties in Westeros could be trusted to alert him of potential threats. Aerys grew brutal, capricious and increasingly fascinated with fire, especially the highly flammable substance known as wildfire. Aerys began to use wildfire for executing alleged traitors. The procedures aroused him, and while he and his wife had slept in separate chambers for some years and avoided each other by day as well, Aerys would always claim his marriage rights after such an execution by fire, brutally abusing his wife in bed. Aerys' relations with Lord Tywin deteriorated rapidly. The situation was exacerbated by Aerys' well-known lust for Tywin's wife, Joanna Lannister. Although Tywin had continued his hope for a marriage between Cersei and Prince Rhaegar after Aerys' insult at Lannisport, two years later Aerys chose to tie Dorne more closely to the Iron Throne by marrying Rhaegar to Elia Martell. Later, Aerys appointed Tywin's eldest son Jaime as the youngest knight ever to join the Kingsguard. Both Tywin and Jaime came to believe that Aerys had intended this not as an honor but a slight to House Lannister, meant to deprive Tywin of his heir and allow Aerys to hold Jaime hostage for his father's loyalty. Furious, Tywin found a thin pretext to resign his position and returned to Casterly Rock. Aerys appointed as his replacement Lord Owen Merryweather, an amiable but not especially competent old man whose main qualifications as Hand were his willingness to throw lavish feasts and offer the king constant flattery. Aerys' distrust eventually turned against his own son, Prince Rhaegar, who had become wary of his father's behavior. The first time Aerys finally left the Red Keep again would be to attend the Tourney at Harrenhal in 281AL. He did so only at the urging of Varys, who claimed Prince Rhaegar planned to use the tournament as a pretext to recruit lords with the intent of taking his father's throne. A mystery knight, the Knight of the Laughing Tree, competed in the tournament. Certain the knight had concealed his identity because he was an enemy of the crown, Aerys ordered Rhaegar to discover his identity. Rhaegar went on to win the tournament, but no evidence was found. Some time afterward, Prince Rhaegar disappeared with Lyanna Stark, apparently having kidnapped her. Her eldest brother Lord Brandon Stark rode to King's Landing with several friends when word of his sister's disappearance reached him and upon arriving at the Red Keep, Brandon roared for Rhaegar to "come out and die." As it turned out, Rhaegar was not present, but Aerys was. The king had Brandon and his companions arrested on charges of conspiring against the life of the crown prince, demanding that their fathers present themselves at court to answer for their sons' crimes. When they did so, Aerys had them all executed without trial. Lord Rickard Stark was burned alive by wildfire as Brandon watched, strapped into a torture device that was believed to have strangle himself in his struggles to save his father. His paranoia still unsatisfied, the king ordered Lord Jon Arryn to send him the heads of his two wards, Eddard Stark and Lyanna's fiancée Robert Baratheon, both of whom he believed to be guilty of participating in a conspiracy on account of their ties with House Stark. Jon Arryn refused, and the king's brutal acts triggered a chain of events that would become known as the War of the Usurper to Targaryen loyalists and Robert's Rebellion to those who fought on the rebel side. House Arryn, House Stark, House Baratheon and House Tully all rebelled against the Iron Throne, uniting behind the claim of Robert Baratheon, who was descended from royal blood through his grandmother Rhaelle Targaryen, Aerys' aunt. |
Rhaella Targaryen
Rhaella Targaryen is the sister, wife, and queen of King Aerys II Targaryen. Together they spawned two children, Prince Rhaegar and Prince Viserys. In her youth Rhaella was in love with a knight prior to the her official betrothal to her brother, Prince Aerys. The knight was none other then the common born Ser Bonifer Hasty. Ser Bonifer wore Rhaella's favor and won a tournament where he named Rhaella queen of love and beauty. The pair had a passionate but ultimately doomed love, as Ser Bonifer was of too low birth to be seriously considered as a suitor for a Targaryen princess.
When Rhaella was a princess, her ladies-in-waiting included Lady Joanna Lannister and Lady Martell {The mother of Prince Doran Martell}. At the command of her father, King Jaehaerys II, Rhaella married her brother Aerys at some time before 259AC. Jaehaerys was influenced by a woods witch brought to court by Jenny of Oldstones, who prophesied that the prince that was promised would be born from their line. There was no fondness between Aerys and Rhaella on the day of their wedding. On the same day, her grandfather and his eldest son perished in the Tragedy at Summerhall. King Jaehaerys became King and Aerys became crown prince. That very night Rhaella gave birth to their first child, Rhaegar. In later years, as Aerys' insanity began to set in, he grew sexually abusive toward Rhaella. He developed a sexual fetish for fire and death, only sleeping with Rhaella after he had executed someone by burning them. Queen Rhaella attended the tourney at Harrenhal by demand of her husband, whom suspected Rhaegar of plotting against him. Rhaegar feared for the safety of his family and pardoned her to negotiate a deal to take Rhaenys away from King's Landing, away from the King. Rhaella followed this by routing to Riverrun with the King close by, and successfully brokering a deal with the Tullys to wed their heir Lord Edmure to her granddaughter Princess Rhaenys. After the execution of Lord Rickard Stark, Rhaella assisted Ashara Dayne, by helping conceal a supposedly deceased Lord Brandon Stark in the dungeons, to the King's unawares. This was done to spite him after he had raped her the night of the execution. |
Rhaegar Targaryen
Prince Rhaegar Targaryen {Born 259 AC} is the eldest son of King Aerys II Targaryen and Queen Rhaella. He is heir to the Iron Throne. Rhaegar married the Princess of Dorne, Elia Martell. Together, the pair spawned two children, Rhaenys and Aegon VI. Rhaegar is exceedingly intelligent and excelled at anything he put his mind to. He is considered to be a talented musician and skilled knight. While well loved by the people, Rhaegar is rather quiet, private and bookish. He was deeply affected by "the shadow of Summerhall", because he was "born in grief" and was considered melancholic at times. As a child he read obsessively, to the point that jests were made about his habits. He became a noted warrior later in life, although he did not initially seem inclined to martial habits. However, he became motivated to excel in this field, apparently by something he read {Prophecy}.
At 17, Rhaegar was knighted, and from all reports grew into a highly skilled and capable fighter, always distinguishing himself well at tournaments. Rhaegar's squires were Myles Mooton and Ser Richard Lonmouth, and after he knighted them they remained close companions. Lord Jon Connington is a good friend to Rhaegar too, but Rhaegar's closest and oldest friend is Ser Arthur Dayne. When Rhaegar was born the Targaryenbloodline had decreased, and once he came of age, there was no one of that bloodline available for him to marry. To try and rectify this matter, King Aerys, when he was not quite so mad, had sent his first cousin, Steffon Baratheon, to seek a bride for Prince Rhaegar, who had no sisters to wed. The problem that Steffon found when looking for Valyrian blood in Essos was not that there were none with it left, but that he could not find any appropriate females of noble-enough birth. Aerys once refused Tywin's offer at the tourney of Lannisport to betroth Cersei to Rhaegar. Later, Rhaegar married the Dornish princess Elia Martell, with whom he had two children: a daughter, Rhaenys, and a son, Aegon Targaryen. Elia, due to her delicate health, was bed- ridden for half a year after giving birth to Rhaenys and nearly died giving birth to Aegon, after which the maesters told Rhaegar she would be unable to have any more children. Maester Aemon, whom Rhaegar corresponded with via raven messages, remembers that Rhaegar erroneously believed his child Aegon to be the prince that was promised. Rhaegar attended the tourney at Harrenhal with his wife and daughter in companionship. However, Aerys did so as well, only at the urging of Varys, who claimed Prince Rhaegar planned to use the tournament as a pretext to recruit lords with the intent of taking his father's throne. During the Tourney at Harrenhal, Rhaegar Targaryen seemed unstoppable and even defeated Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning. A mystery knight, the Knight of the Laughing Tree, competed in the tournament too. Certain the knight had concealed his identity because he was an enemy of the crown, Aerys ordered Rhaegar to discover his identity. Rhaegar went on to win the tournament, but no evidence was found, instead he took the winter rose crown for the queen of love and beauty and revealed his interest in Lyanna Stark by passing over his wife, the Princess Elia of Dorne, and setting it in Lyanna's lap. A year later, Rhaegar apparently abducted Lyanna, for reasons unknown. Her eldest brother, Lord Brandon Stark, rode to King's Landing with several friends when word of his sister's disappearance reached him and upon arriving at the Red Keep, Brandon roared for Rhaegar to "come out and die." As it turned out, Rhaegar was not present, but Aerys was. The king had Brandon and his companions arrested on charges of conspiring against the life of the crown prince, demanding that their fathers present themselves at court to answer for their sons' crimes. When they did so, Aerys had them all executed without trial. Lord Rickard Stark was burned alive by wildfire as Brandon watched, strapped into a torture device that was believed to have strangle himself in his struggles to save his father. These circumstances ultimately triggered Robert's Rebellion. |
Elia Martell
Elia Martell {Born 257 AC} is the princess of Dorne. She is the only sister to Prince Doran, Mors, Olyvar and Oberyn. She is married to the crown prince, Rhaegar Targaryen. Together, the pair conceived two children, Rhaenys and Aegon VI. Princess Elia is known to be a good woman, kind and clever, with a gentle heart and a sweet wit. Prince Rhaegar is known to be very fond of her. During her youth, she was very close to her younger brother, Oberyn Martell. When Elia became old enough to marry, her mother arranged a number of suitors to come to Dorne. Mostly due to the behaviour of her brother Oberyn, Elia rejected them all. Her mother, who was good friends with Lady Joanna Lannister, invited Oberyn and Elia to Casterly Rock with the idea of marrying one or both of them to Lady Joanna's twin children, Cersei and Jaime. On the way, the Martell siblings stopped at Starfall, the Arbor, Oldtown, the Shield Islands, and Crakehall, but Casterly Rock was the true destination.
Unfortunately, during the Martells' journey, Joanna died giving birth to Tyrion Lannister, and when the Martells arrived Lord Tywin Lannister was unreceptive to the proposal. He told them that Cersei was meant for Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. When Elia's mother asked for Jaime, Tywin instead offered her Tyrion, which the Martells took as an insult. Elia's mother was able to arrange her marriage to the crown prince, Rhaegar Targaryen. Rhaegar and Elia had two children together, Rhaenys and Aegon. Their marriage, though not romanticized, seemed happy, although Elia's health, which had always been problematic, remained fragile. Elia was once bedridden after giving birth to Rhaenys and nearly died giving birth to Aegon, after which the maesters told Rhaegar she would be unable to have any more children. Elia attended the prestigious Tourney at Harrenhal, but it would not go down as a pleasant experience for her. As such, Elia's husband, Rhaegar, met Lyanna Stark and apparently became infatuated with her. He won the tourney and crowned her Queen of Love and Beauty, passing over Elia in the process. A year later, Rhaegar was reported to have abducted Lyanna, and this event sparked Robert's Rebellion. |
Rhaenys Targaryen
Rhaenys Targaryen II, is the daughter of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Princess Elia Martell. Rhaenys was known as being a runt in her youth, especially with her small black kitten that she named Balerion, after the great black dragon of Aegon I. She is often described as having the looks of her mother and wittiness of her father. As time dragged on Rhaenys showed signs of maturity, even beyond her years. Due to growing insanity King Aerys II, Rhaegar has now attempted to betrothed her to a high born lord. This may be due to safety concerns on the her father's part. With her mother, Elia, being in frail health most of the time, Rhaenys has now shared a more emphatic relationship with her father. Rhaegar has described Rhaenys as his inspiration, often sharing bonding moments together with her. Rhaenys attended the Tourney at Harrenhal, where she accompanied Lord Edmure Tully to the Tower of Ghosts. She also was seen at the masquerade ball, in which she danced with Ser Richard Lonmouth.
When she returned home, Queen Rhaella announced that Rhaenys would be wed to Lord Edmure Tully, heir to Riverrun. Rhaenys seemed quite content with the news, however the welfare of her Mother overshadowed the betrothal. After receiving news of her father's actions, abducting Lyanna Stark, Rhaenys locked herself in her chambers for weeks. She barely eat and refused to see anyone that came by, until one day when she was summoned by the King to witness the executions of Rickard and Brandon Stark. Rhaenys was left traumatized by such a grotesque murder, that the afterthought of Lord Rickard cooking in his armor caused her to be easily distraught, shaky and horrid. Thereafter, Rhaenys constantly slept in her father's bed to feel safe in his absence. After the execution of Lord Rickard Stark, Queen Rhaella assisted Ashara Dayne by helping conceal a supposedly deceased Lord Brandon Stark in the dungeons, to the King's unawares. This was done to spite him after he had raped her the night of the execution. Rhaenys is one of three people to know of Brandon's true faith, after Ashara informed her before leaving for Dorne. |