Aegon Targaryen

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

The Conquest

  As the Century of Blood came to an end, Aegon's interest in Westeros grew. He had previously visited the Citadel of Oldtown and the Arbor in the Kingdom of the Reach with his elder sister Visenya, and he might also have visited Lannisport in the Kingdom of the Rock. He had a huge wooden table made, cut in the shape of Westeros with a map of the seven kingdoms of Westeros painted upon the surface. No borders were painted upon the Painted Table, however, as Aegon believed it should be one realm instead of seven.   The Storm King, Argilac Durrandon, reached out to Aegon, proposing a marriage between Aegon and his only daughter, Princess Argella. All the lands east of the Gods Eye from the Trident to the Blackwater Rush were offered as her dowry, although the lands did not belong to Argilac. His offer was an attempt to create a buffer between his own kingdom and that of Harren Hoare, King of the Isles and the Rivers. Aegon spurned the offer, stating he had no need of a third wife, and instead offered his close friend and rumored bastard half-brother, Orys Baratheon, as Argella's husband instead, in return for all the lands surrounding the Blackwater Bay, including those possessed by Argilac. Insulted, Argilac cut off the hands of Aegon's envoy and sent those back to Dragonstone, upon which Aegon called his councilors together. After six days of consulting, Aegon sent forth ravens to every lord in Westeros, declaring his claim to the throne.   Aegon landed with his army on the eastern coast of Westeros at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush, where he constructed the wooden Aegonfort. Houses Rosby and Stokeworth surrendered to his sisters quickly, and Houses Darklyn and Mooton were quickly defeated in Aegon's first test. Before defeated lords gathered to the new Aegonfort, Aegon was crowned with a Valyrian steel circlet by Visenya and hailed as King of All Westeros by Rhaenys. He also displayed the three-headed dragon symbol of House Targaryen for the first time.   The Targaryen siblings departed the Aegonfort, with Aegon marching northwest into the riverlands to confront Harren Hoare. Edmyn Tully, Lord of Riverrun, declared for Aegon and led the riverlords in revolt against the ruling ironborn. When Harren refused to yield Harrenhal, Aegon attacked the gigantic new castle with Balerion, and House Hoare was extinguished with the burning of Harrenhal. The next day Aegon named Edmyn as Lord Paramount of the Trident. Meanwhile, Rhaenys and Orys defeated the Durrandons in the Last Storm, while Visenya fought the Arryns and secured Crackclaw Point.   After regathering at Stoney Sept, the Targaryen siblings advanced against the larger host of the Two Kings. The Targaryen dragons (Balerion, Meraxes, and Vhagar) allowed Aegon to achieve a great victory at the Field of Fire, which resulted in the death of Mern IX Gardener, King of the Reach, and the surrender of Loren I Lannister, King of the Rock. Aegon then marched for Highgarden, where he named Harlan Tyrell as Lord Paramount of the Mander after the castle's surrender. The Targaryens again reunited to face the host of Torrhen Stark, King in the North, but Torrhen chose to kneel to Aegon along the Trident instead of fighting a battle.   Visenya returned to the Vale, where she achieved the surrender of the Arryns, while Rhaenys flew to Dorne in an unsuccessful mission to the Martells. Aegon, meanwhile, marched to Oldtown, which was surrendered to him by Lord Manfred Hightower upon the advice of the High Septon. Within the Starry Sept, the High Septon declared Aegon to be King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm.  

Early Reign

  Aegon chose to date the beginning of his reign from the day the High Septon anointed him in Oldtown. Rather than ruling from Oldtown or Dragonstone, Aegon chose to make his seat King's Landing, the new settlement growing around the Aegonfort. He also took the swords of his defeated enemies, forging them into the Iron Throne. Aegon also began what would become known as the small council, as well as that of the Hand of the King, with Lord Orys Baratheon becoming his first Hand. Aegon's first established law was the King's Peace, which forbid conflict in the realm without the leave of the Iron Throne. Aegon treated the defeated lords with respect and allowed each region to retain its own laws and customs and for the lords to retain both the right of pit and gallows and the first night. Aegon often travelled the realm with six maesters who educated him on each region's local customs and history.   During Aegon's Conquest, the lords of the Three Sisters had declared their independence and crowned Lady Marla Sunderland as their queen. Following his coronation at Oldtown, King Aegon commanded Lord Torrhen Stark, the new Warden of the North, to end the rebellion, and he sent Queen Visenya Targaryen on Vhagar to accompany the northern army led by Ser Warrick Manderly. At the sight of them, the Sistermen abandoned their queen and installed her younger brother, Steffon, as their new lord. Steffon soon bent the knee, swore his fealty to House Arryn, and re-entered the King's Peace, ending the rebellion of the Sistermen's Rebellion.   In 2 AC, Aegon turned his attention to the Iron Islands, where the ironborn had been fighting for two years over the kingship. Leading the invasion of the Iron Islands by several war fleets, Aegon landed on Great Wyk with Balerion to deal with the contenders. Aegon personally cut down Gordon Redhand, brother to Lord Drumm with Blackfyre, while the hopeful priest-king Rickon walked into the sea, drowning himself rather than face steel or fire. The other contenders quickly bent the knee. Aegon ignored the suggestions of making the ironborn vassals to the Tullys of Riverrun or the Lannisters of Casterly Rock, as well as the suggestion to exterminate the ironborn by dragonflame. Instead, Aegon allowed the ironborn to name their own lord paramount, for which the ironborn chose Vickon Greyjoy as Lord of the Iron Islands, whose first act as Lord of the Iron Islands was to attempt to assassinate Aegon when prompted to bend his knee. Vickon Greyjoy was slain by Lord Edmyn Tully, and many others who moved in support of Vickon were slain by others present. For the Greyjoy's betrayal Aegon is said to have, as he boarded Baleron "rethought" the suggestion to subject the islands to the rule of the Riverlands. After all. The King of the Riverlands had been Ironborn, it seemed only sensible to try it the other way round.  

First Dornish War

  In 3 AC Aegon turned his attention back on Dorne, the only kingdom remaining unconquered. He first decided to try and bring Dorne under the rule of the Iron Throne through diplomacy, after a year of negotiations and no progress to show for it though, Aegon decided to take Dorne by force of arms. In 4 AC Aegon launched a new invasion, continuing the Wars of Conquest. Though initially the conquest of Dorne seemed to succeed, it unraveled quickly and the First Dornish War prolonged and lasted for nine years, and knew many deaths and tragedies.   One of these tragedies was the capture and mutilation of Aegon's friend and Hand of the King, Lord Orys Baratheon, by the Wyl of Wyl. Following his release from two years of captivity, Orys returned home lacking a swordhand, as did the men who had been taken captive with him. Aegon, intent on revenge, released his dragons and burned the castles of the defiant Dornish lords.   The greatest loss Aegon faced was the death of Queen Rhaenys Targaryen at Hellholt in 10 AC, when Meraxes fell from the sky with Rhaenys upon her back after a shot from a scorpion took the dragon in the eye. The two years that followed are known as the Dragon's Wroth, as Aegon's wrath after Rhaenys's death knew no bounds.   Aegon and Visenya placed bounties on the heads of Dornish lords after Rhaenys's death and in turn the Dornish put bounties on the Targaryens. Aegon was attacked three times, with his guards saving his life twice. Visenya also defended her brother twice with Dark Sister, with one occasion occurring in 10 AC. This led to the forming of the elite royal bodyguard known as the Kingsguard, with Visenya personally choosing the men herself.   The attempted conquest of Dorne was called to an end in 13 AC, after a visit from Princess Sabina Martell, the daughter of Nymor Martell, the ruling Prince of Dorne. Sabina brought the skull of Meraxes and a letter with her, which was given to Aegon. After reading the letter, Aegon flew on Balerion to Dragonstone. He returned the next day, and though he agreed to a peace between Dorne and the Seven Kingdoms, every guard, and common born member of the Dornish delegation were killed with Aegon stating “You returned the bones of the wrong dragon, so I shall keep some bones of Dorne to seal the peace.” The Dornish nobility were seen safely to the Boneway by men of house Targaryen before being left to return to Sunspear on their own.   Aegon kept in communication with Prince Nymor over the next decade. In 23 AC Aegon refused an invitation to Sunspear celebrate the tenth anniversary of the peace between the Iron Throne and Dorne which is said to have effectively ended the diplomacy between them.  

Further Reign

  The remaining twenty-four years of Aegon's reign were peaceful, so much that the last two decades of his reign were later called the Dragon's Peace, by the maesters of the Citadel. He spent much of his time consolidating his power by traveling throughout the Seven Kingdoms and building his capital at King's Landing. Aegon devoted half of every year to making these royal progresses. During his rule he tread carefully with the Faith of the Seven, so they would not oppose him. Aegon built a grand sept on Visenya's Hill and agreed to the construction of an even grander one known as the Sept of Remembrance on Rhaenys's Hill.   King's Landing initially lacked walls, and the likely reason is that the Targaryens likely believed no one would attack a city which housed dragons. However, when he learned about a pirate fleet sacking Tall Trees Town in the Summer Isles in 19 AC, Aegon came to the realization that he and Visenya were not always in the city. As such, he ordered the construction of massive walls to be built around the city. Construction began in 20 AC and was completed in 26 AC.   After the year 33 AC, the royal progresses continued, but were now made by his son Aelyx and his wife Alys, while the aging king remained at home. By this point late in his reign, Aegon decided that the ramshackle Aegonfort was not a suitable seat for a king, so the structure was torn to the ground in 35 AC. Aegon moved his family and court back to Dragonstone, while he commanded the construction of what would later be called the Red Keep. Visenya was placed in charge of the building of the Red Keep, and it was rumored that Aegon had done this so that he would not have to suffer her presence on Dragonstone. The Iron Throne remained at the build site instead of Dragonstone, since it was too heavy to be moved.  

The Sons of the Dragon

In 5 AC, Aegon became a father for the first time, when his younger sister-wife Rhaenys gave birth to a son: Aelyx. A sickly baby, there were rumors that he had been fathered by a singer instead of Aegon; even though, once Aelyx bonded with his dragon Quicksilver, his health improved and the rumors faded away.   However, Rhaenys's death in 10 AC shattered the boy. Aegon grew desperate, and there were worries about whether or not Aelyx would even live. As Visenya by then had not gotten pregnant yet, some believed she was barren, and during the times when Aelyx's health was still troubled it was rumored at court that Aegon might take another wife. Although Aegon refused to speak his mind on the matter, many lord and knights brought their young daughters to court. In 11 AC, Queen Visenya announced her pregnancy, and the next year she gave birth to Aegon's second son, Baelon.   Aegon raised Aelyx at King's Landing, and took him with him on his progressions. Occasionally, he let Aelyx train with his Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre. Lacking daughters, he married Aelyx to a cousin, Lady Alys Velaryon, the daughter of his master of ships, in 18 AC. Aelyx would have six children with Alys, five of whom were born during Aegon's reign.  

Death

In 33 AC, Aegon made his final progress throughout Westeros, during which he visited Winterfell. Afterwards, Prince Aelyx and his wife Alyssa made the progresses in Aegon's stead.   In 37 AC on Dragonstone, while telling his two eldest grandsons Vaenor and Gaemon the tales of his conquest at the Painted Table, Aegon died from a stroke at the age of sixty-three. Aegon was cremated on Dragonstone, and his funeral pyre was set aflame by Vhagar. Blackfyre was burned along with him, but later retrieved from the pyre by Baelon.  

Legacy

Although Aegon's reign had largely been peaceful, many of his subjects desired to go back to the days of old, when there were still seven kingdoms. Others wanted vengeance for the deaths of their loved ones in wars, and yet others saw the Targaryens as abominations. Because of this, the tumultuous reigns of both Aelyx I and Baelon I were filled with battles and chaos.   Because Aegon had wielded Blackfyre, possession of the Valyrian steel sword has been seen as granting legitimacy to its subsequent holders.   The Red Keep is situated atop Aegon's High Hill in King's Landing.   The Conqueror's Two Wives is a play about the royal siblings.  

Quotes by Aegon

 

"When the sun sets, your line shall end."

— Aegon to Harren Hoare

 

"A king should never sit easy."

— Aegon to his armorers

 

Quotes about Aegon

 

"On the seventh day, a cloud of ravens burst from the towers of Dragonstone to bring Lord Aegon's word to the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. To the seven kings they flew, to the Citadel of Oldtown, to lords both great and small. All carried the same message: from this day forth there would be but one king in Westeros. Those who bent the knee to Aegon of House Targaryen would keep their lands and titles. Those who took up arms against him would be thrown down, humbled, and destroyed."

— Writings of Gyldayn

 

"Aegon the Conqueror brought fire and blood to Westeros, but afterward he gave them peace, prosperity, and justice. And when that fire is done burning and your blood has stained the ground. So shall I."

— King Baelon I Targaryen when challenged by the Warrior's Sons as the Sept of Remebrance burned.

 

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