100 years after Aegon’s Landing, the 7 Kingdoms were strong and unified under King Viserys
Targaryen I, who ruled for 14 years. Yet despite the prosperity of his reign, peace ended with
his passing. Almost immediately after his death, factions
which had lain dormant for years, emerged with a fury, forcing the realms of westeros
into civil war. The Dance of the Dragons, was upon them.
For years there had been uncertainty regarding the succession. It had already been established
that male heirs were to inherit the throne, since the precedent set by King Jaehaerys
I and the great council of 101AC. But King Viserys had complicated matters by
naming his daughter and sole surviving child by his first wife Aemma Arryn, as his heir.
Throughout his reign he brought her into meetings of the high counsel where she learned how
to rule. Rhaenyra who was beloved by the realm from
an early age, soon acquired a number of powerful supporters who pledged themselves to her cause
in 105 AC. And swore to see her crowned as Queen upon her father’s death.
All was well for the Princess and the Kingdom until her mother Aemma died and her father
married once again, to Lady Alicent Hightower in 106 AC. They said the princess and the
queen began on friendly terms, but the relationship inevitably soured.
The Queen was young and healthy, giving birth to 4 children, 3 of which were males, the
eldest of which she was eager to see crowned after her husband.
There was Aegon, later called Aegon the Elder and Aegon the Usurper, there daughter Helaena,
the second son Aemond and their youngest Daeron Targaryen. And while the King remained adamant,
that Rhaenyra was to succeed him, Queen Alicent began to work behind the scenes, gathering
support for her son Aegon. This brought forth one of the greatest rivalries Westeros had
ever seen. For while the war of words was being waged in the names of Princess Rhaenyra
and Prince Aegon. The true combatants, and leaders of the factions, were Rhaenyra and
Queen Alicent. Nowhere was the division more clear than at
the a great tourney held in King’s Landing in 111 AC, when Princess Rhaenyra wore a beautiful
black gown and the Queen donned one of green. Giving a name to the rivalry and emerging
factions the blacks and the greens. In 129 AC, King Viserys died in his sleep
at the age of 52. And Upon learning of his death, Queen Alicent called for a meeting
of the small council and laid bare her intentions to crown her son as king. Nearly all agreed
and pledged themselves to Aegon’s cause, leaving only Old Lord Beesbury, the master
of coin, opposed. He accused the conspirators of stealing Rhaenyra’s crown and would not
stand for it. As a result Ser Criston Cole, champion to Queen Alicent, murdered the man
in cold blood. Historical accounts differ on the method of his death, with some saying
Ser Cole slit his throat, while others claim he was thrown from a window.
After his passing however, the battle lines were plainly drawn and war was coming to Westeros.
When word reached the island of Dragonstone, a pregnant Princess Rhaenyra was enraged,
screaming curses at her usurper brother, and the puppet master queen. The anger sent her
into early labor with her 4th child, causing a stillbirth and as she saw it the death of
her only daughter.
And so the Blacks crowned Queen Rhaenyra, while the Greens crowned King Aegon II, and
both factions called forth their allies for battle.
Rhaenyra assembled the black council, which included her 3 children from her first marriage,
Jacerys, Lucerys and Joffrey Velaryon. As well as her current husband, and uncle “the
Rogue Prince” Daemon Targaryon. Other notable figures at the meeting included the dragonrider
Princess Rhaenys and her husband the infamous Corlys Velaryon.
Together they forged a plan to rally support from the realms, including those that had
once sworn to uphold Rhaenyra’s rights as heir to the throne.
Prince Daemon, rode his dragon Caraxes to conquer Harrenhal, taking the fortress without
a fight and establishing a base of operations. While Jacaerys rode Vermax to the Vale and
North, successfully gaining House Arryn, Manderly, Borrell and Sunderland to their side. Even
allying with House Stark of Winterfell in the Pact of Fire and Ice, where a daughter
of House Targaryen was promised to the Starks. And while this was promising news for their
faction, their good fortune ran dry in the final mission, which saw Lucerys, second son
of Rhaenyra riding the dragon Arrax to the Stormlands seeking an ally in Lord Borros
Baratheon. Unfortunately Aemond Targaryen, brother of
King Aegon was already there, riding the great dragon Vhagar. Though Lord Borros prevented
an immediate battle, he allowed Aemond to pursue Aegon in the air upon his departure.
The result was a short and brutal fight, which saw both Lucerys and his dragon killed.
In retribution, Prince Daemon contacted his friends in King’s Landing, and arranged
for a former guard known as blood and a rat catcher named Cheese, to infiltrate the Red
Keep, capturing Queen Helaena, wife of Aegon II, to choose which of her 3 sons would die.
She chose the youngest child, hoping he would be too young to understand what was happening.
But the assassin’s instead killed Prince Jaehaerys, the eldest son and heir of the
King. With the war intensifying, the realm was divided
and nowhere was that more evident than within the Reach. While the mighty Houses Hightower
and Redwyne stood with King Aegon, the Tarlys, Rowans, Grimms and many others had sided with
Rhaenyra. House Tyrell, seeing its territory fractured, chose to remain neutral.
Seeing his sister’s forces making progress against him, King Aegon dismissed his Hand
of the King, choosing the famous ser criston cole as his replacement.
Ser cole took a much more aggressive approach to the war, beginning with the sacking of
Duskendale and the battle at Rook’s Rest, where dragonriders from both sides engaged
in the skies above. Princess Rhaenys riding her dragon Meleys,
taking on King Aegon atop Sunfyre and Prince Aemond atop Vhagar. All three became intertwined
in the fighting, with only Vhagar and Aemond emerging unscathed. Rhaenys and Meleys were
dead, while both King Aegon and Sunfyre were badly injured, taken back to King’s Landing
for treatment. Aegon’s forces proved victorious that day
but the King would suffer for many months, becoming addicted to Milk of the Poppy for
his pain. In his absence, his brother Aemond assumed the leadership of their faction, being
declared Lord Protector of the realm. In response to these tragic events, Rheanyra’s
faction elevated Corlys Velaryon to Hand of the Queen, and Prince Jacaerys organized an
investigation into the Dragonseeds, children who had some measure of Targaryen blood, possibly
through a distant relative or illegitimate parentage. By seeking out these individuals
he hoped to match some of them to their 6 riderless dragons.
Though many died in the attempt, four new dragonriders were found. Hugh Hammer riding
Vermithor. Ulf the White riding Silverwing. Addam of Hull riding Seasmoke (who was legitimized
as a true born son of House Velaryon and named heir to Driftmark). And a girl named Nettles
riding Sheepstealer As the battles continued to rage across the
continent, the casualties mounted. Prince Jacaerys, heir to Queen Rhaenyra would die
in the Battle of the Gullet, while young Prince Viserys was captured by a Lysene Admiral leaving
only Prince Aegon to escape the fighting. At the battle of the Honeywine, the forces
of King Aegon in the reach were nearly defeated, only to be rescued by the King’s youngest
brother Daeron the Daring, flying atop his dragon Tessarion to bring them victory.
The Green’s would win another victory at the Battle of the Red Fork, which saw Prince
Aemond and Ser Criston Cole leading an army into the Riverlands to retake Harrenhal.
But the Green advance was halted at the Battle by the Lakshore, where the Blacks utterly
crushed the opposing forces. Further, with most of the Green faction’s
armies in the Riverlands, King’s Landing was vulnerable, and so Queen Rhaenyra and
Prince Daemon Targaryen gathered their forces and took the capital city in less than a day.
The Ironborn had also declared for the Blacks, and were raiding the western coast, concentrating
on the green supporters of the Westerlands. The Greens, now in disarray and on the defensive,
saw Criston Cole leading their army south while Prince Aemond mounted Vhagar and burned
the Riverlands from the sky. But this path of destruction allowed for Black supporters
to hide themselves in the ruins and wreckage, awaiting the Green forces who were ambushed
in their journey south and utterly destroyed in what came to be known as the Butcher’s
Ball. And saw the death of Ser Criston cole Then came the First Battle of Tumbleton, where
the Black forces were set to once again defeat the Greens, but instead saw 2 of the Dragonseeds,
in High Hammer and Ulf the White, betray Queen Rhaenyra, joining the Greens and winning the
battle for their faction. When Rhaenyra learned of this treachery she
called for the arrest of the 2 remaining dragonseeds, despite their apparent loyalty. However both
were able to escape capture, with Corlys Velaryon arrested for warning Addam of the charges.
And while the Blacks were now in chaos, their leadership in disarray, the Green were not
much better, with the bulk of their forces leaderless, and their newest Dragonriders
abusing their authority, many deserted the deteriorating army.
Yet some hope for the Greens remained, in their enemy’s stronghold of Dragonstone.
After Rhaenyra captured King’s Landing, loyal Green supporter Lord Larys Strong, smuggled
a still injured King Aegon out of the city, taking him in secret to Dragonstone, where
the kIng’s dragon Sunfyre eventually found them. There they rallied many to turn against
the Queen’s forces, and took Dragonstone killing the dragon moondancer in the fighting
and capturing it’s rider, Prince Daemon’s daughter Baela.
Further north, the Dragonseed Nettles rode off upon Sheepstealer when she learned the
Queen had turned against her. While Prince Daemon flew Caraxes to Harrenhal, announcing
an open challenge to Prince Aemond who arrived several days later. The two dragonriders engaged
in the Battle above the god’s eye, interlocking their mounts and crashing into the lake. Some
say that in the final moments of the fighing, Prince Daemon leaped from his dragon’s back
stabbing Prince Aemond through his empty eye socket before they crashed. Both dragons were
found dead as was Prince Aemond, still with the sword Dark Sister through his eye. And
while most assumed Daemon Targaryen died as well, his body was never found.
Back in King’s Landing, the forces of Corlys Velaryon abandoned Rhaenyra when they learned
of their leader’s arrest. The chaos of the situation and loss of so many troops led to
a revolt from the Small folk who stormed the city Dragonpit killing off the remaining Dragons
in King’s Landing. Queen Helaena, wife of Aegon II would die during the fighting, supposedly
having thrown herself from a tower window. While Rhaenyra’s son Joffrey died attempting
to mount Syrax, his mother’s dragon, in an attempt to save his own. With the city
having turned against her and her force all but withered away, Queen Rhaenyra fled the
capital and travelled to Duskendale. Over in the Reach, the fighting continued
with the Second Battle of Tumbleton, which saw the green army defeated by Addam of Hull
and 4000 soldiers loyal to the Blacks. Though Addam had been targeted for arrest, he longed
to prove his loyalty to the Queen and his family. And so returned from exile with an
army and won the Blacks a victory. However both Addam and his dragon Seasmoke were killed
in the fighting, along with Prince Daeron and Hugh hammer of the Greens, as well as
the dragons Vermithor and Tessarion. Although Silverwing and Ulf the White survived the
battle, Ulf was later killed by his own men who turned against him.
In the crownlands, Rhaenyra found her forces waning, and planned to take ship to Braavos
with her son Aegon the younger. But when they stopped at Dragonstone, unaware Green forces
had taken the islands, Rhaenyra was captured and killed, fed to King Aegon’s dragon Sunfyre.
while her son watched in horror. With Rhaenyra dead, the Green’s took the
advantage, and Lord Borros Baratheon captured King’s Landing for Aegon, who in turn promised
to marry the Baratheon Lord’s daughter. However the war was not over. Despite the
death of the Queen, her forces continued the struggle, refusing to bow to the usurper king.
And so when Lord Borros led their forces to the Riverlands, hoping to take back the territory,
they were met with fierce resistance at the Battle of the Kingsroad, and were utterly
defeat, with the Baratheon Lord dying in the fighting.
Now with King Aegon’s forces weak and his position vulnerable, Lord Cregan Stark and
his savage Northmen marched South with a massive army, still loyal to Queen Rhaenyra.
With defeat all but certain, King Aegon was advised to surrender, but he refused, unwilling
to step down from the throne. Fearing the wrath of the Northmen warriors headed their
way, the King’s wine was poisoned and he died before the Starkmen even reached the
city. The identity of his assassin would never be discovered, though 22 people would be arrested,
many executed as possible suspects. With both faction leaders now dead, Queen
Rhaenyra’s last known surviving son, Aegon the younger was crown King Aegon the III.
Lord Cregan Stark then forced the boy to name him Hand of the King, so he could oversee
a number of trials and executions, punishing those that were suspected of killing Aegon
II, and robbing the Northern Lord of his vengeance. After the execution were completed, Lord Stark
resigned his position and returned to Winterfell, leaving a great number of his Northern warriors
in the south, which would cause further chaos for years to come.
The War was at last over, and both factions were devastated. While on the surface, the
Blacks appear to have been victorious, with a son of Rhaenyra assuming the throne, the
truth was that the Dance of the Dragons had crippled the Targaryen dynasty, with nearly
all of their dragons and dragonriders dying in the fighting. And while Aegon III, later
known as Aegon the Dragonbane, largely restored peace to the continent, marrying Aegon II’s
daughter Jaehaera, he proved unsuccessful in the breeding of dragons, seeing the fiery
beasts become extinct during his reign. Diminishing Targaryen influence and power for many years to come.