Daeron Targaryen

## Daeron I Targaryen

Daeron Targaryen, the First of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm

## Physical description

### Eye color

*Unknown*

**King Daeron I Targaryen** briefly known as **"the Young Dragon",** was Lord of the Seven Kingdoms from 157 to 201AC. He was famous for conquering and subsequently losing Dorne, as well as defeating his cousin Aegon Targaryen during the Blackwater Rebellion.

## History

### The Young Dragon

As a youth, Daeron Targaryen was the picture of royalty and knighthood both. Handsome, bold, daring, and charismatic, his bravery on the battlefield was known throughout the Seven Kingdoms, and never questioned.

Faced with the question of continued Dornish independence, Daeron long felt that it represented an unfinished chapter in the history of House Targaryen. Upon his ascension to the Throne, the Young Dragon could not be dissuaded - calling upon his councilors and studying the advances of those who had gone before, eighteen-year old Daeron Targaryen set out to finish what Aegon the Conqueror had begun.

After a year of warring and the deaths of ten thousand men, Daeron at last realized his long-time dream, and united the continent of Westeros for the very first time. The Prince of Dorne did him fealty, and a two score Dornish lords bent the knee. To all, it looked like a successful conquest - but it was not to last a half-decade.

### The Dornish Revolt

Sparking with a murder in the early months of 161AC, three years after Daeron's alleged conquest, the Dornish Revolt was one of the most catastrophic events in Westerosi history, costing the lives of more than fifty thousand men, including Tyrells, Oakhearts, Baratheons, and one Targaryen. Across the desert region lords and commonfolk alike cast out or slew their overseers, undoing Daeron's year of labour in a fortnight.

The young king, desperate to retain the peace he had so dearly paid for, sent his brother Baelor south to Dorne along with five of the Kingsguard, to try and negotiate some sort of peace. During a meeting in the Prince's Pass, Baelor and all five of his guardians were murdered under a banner of peace.

The act of defiance and treachery sent waves of shock and outrage through Westeros - but none were so sorely affected as Daeron himself. Torn by guilt, loss, and the shame of his conquest undone, the Young Dragon at last yielded to his councilors. The King who Conquered Dorne turned his eyes away from the south, leaving the people below the Red Mountains to their own devices.

### The Conqueror Reigns

With these first few years of Daeron's rule marked by brilliant heights and horrid depths, the young King found himself hesitant. Sixty-thousand souls had already given their lives for his cause, all within five years of his reign. Such losses were hard to comprehend - but they weighed upon the youth greatly.

Daeron turned away from rule and combat both for a time, retreating within the Red Keep in search of some sort of peace. He found it there, in the form of his newly widowed wife and sister, Daena Targaryen, as well as the High Septon - a close friend of his late brother. Daeron spent much of his time with both of these figures, albeit in different capacities; in time, the King would come to trust the High Septon greatly, a relationship that would bring parts of the realm much sorrow. It was at the High Septon's urging that King Daeron began construction of the Great Sept of Baelor, named in honour of his late brother, and funded by a tax imposed upon the heathen regions of the Seven Kingdoms. This tax would greatly distance the North and Iron Islands from the crown, further dividing Daeron's support in the Seven Kingdoms, though he still found great acclaim in both the Riverlands and the Vale.

As the years passed, Daeron proved to be a ruler of average skill, though he far prefered leaving the actual decisions to his council. The losses during the Revolt made him hesitant in many things, second guessing himself and his choices both. Many of his vassals urged the King to avenge the death of his brother, and retake Dorne just as he did before. King Daeron, however, refused, and as time went on this constant refusal would mar the king's reign with fire and blood.

### Black Dragons, and Red

*Main Article: The Blackwater Rebellion*

Daeron had won himself enemies in the Reach, Stormlands, and North, his pursuit of peace and piety isolating those who did not agree with his values. His cousin, Aegon Targaryen, exploited these differences, as well as the charisma of himself and his sons, to begin a populist revolt in 187AC that sought to place him upon the Iron Throne. The Blackwater Rebellion, also known as Aegon's Rebellion and - derisively - the Lecher's Lark, saw the continent of Westeros divided in two, warring with itself from the far reaches of the North to very shadow of the Red Mountains.

Eventually King Daeron would emerge victorious, defeating his cousin in the Battle of Blackbridge and discovering his body days later, hung upon a tree by soldiers unknown. Rather than pursue the remainder of the army or bring his forces to bear on those vassals who had betrayed him, Daeron showed a surprising degree of mercy, calling for an immediate end to all hostilities.

### The Twilight Years

It is said that the light in Daeron's eye had long been lacking before the Rebellion, but somehow having a proper war restored it. For a time the King was young again, every inch the vibrant, charismatic youth who had marched an army into the desert and emerged a conqueror. Daeron was largely merciful on the rebels, increasing taxes on the worst of the offenders and sending some thirty lords and nobles to the Wall, including Prince Aegon's son, Aelor Targaryen. This act of mercy once again angered many; the war had been bitter and in many regions hard fought, the rebels emerging victorious in both the Reach and Stormlands. Many loyalists saw his punishments too soft - while those amoung the rebels saw them as yet too harsh, and accepted them them bitterly.

The following years would see many events - the Ironborn Invasion of the North, also called the Kraken's Conquest, as well as the completion of both the Great Sept of Baelor and the fortified castle of Summerhall. The Dragonhunt, that catastrophic chase that saw the beast Cannibal driven from Dragonstone to Dorne, would be the last major event in King Daeron's rule. By the turn of the century the King was old and ill - and by the first moon of 201AC, King Daeron had passed.

## Family

* Aegon III Targaryen
* m. Daenaera Velaryon
	+ ****Daeron I Targaryen****
	+ m. Daena Targaryen
		- Aenys Targaryen
			* Jaehaerys Targaryen
			* Baelon Targaryen
			* Vaella Targaryen
			* Helaena Targaryen
		- Maekar Targaryen
	+ Rhaena Targaryen
	+ Elaena Targaryen
	+ m. Ossifer Plumm
		- Viserys Plumm
	+ m. Ronnel Penrose
		- House Penrose
	+ Baelor Targaryen
	+ Daena Targaryen
	+ m. **Daeron Targaryen**