Three years after Jon Snow killing Daenerys Targaryen, which was one of the most shocking things to happen on the show, HBO has brought us back to Westeros with a new Game of Thrones prequel series.
On August 21, 2022, the long-awaited first episode of House of the Dragon finally aired, bringing George R. R. Martin’s magic back to TV screens.
The House of the Dragon series will be about the once-powerful Targaryen Dynasty and set up the violent fight between brothers over the right to the Iron Throne.
Fans of Game of Thrones are excited, and so are people who have never seen it before. The show takes place about 200 years before the events in GOT. Let’s talk about one of the most talked-about and complicated Targaryen families by revealing the truth about Daemon and Daenerys.
Daemon Targaryen
How does Daemon Targaryen know Daenerys?
To put it simply, Daemon Targaryen is Daenerys’s distant uncle. However, it is clear to everyone that the Targaryen family is messier than most because of a long line of incestuous ancestors.
The famous British actor Paddy Considine plays King Viserys I Targaryen in the TV show. He has a younger brother named Daemon Targaryen. Viserys likes his daughter from his first marriage, Princess Rhanenyra.
So, Daemon falls in love with his niece Rhaenyra, and when their spouses die, they get married. Later, during the Dance of the Dragons, Daemon becomes a well-known supporter of his wife’s claim to the throne, making him a key figure.
The couple had three children: Aegon the younger, Viserys, and Visenya, who died before she was born. And Viserys is the link between Daemon and Daenerys, even though there are many years between them.
Dragons and riding them must be another similarity. When Daenerys, the Khaleesi, said the word “Dracarys,” everyone went crazy. Daemon Targaryen was also a brave fighter and a person who rode dragons. He has a red-scaled dragon named Caraxes. This dragon is also known as the Blood Wyrm.
The secrets about the Targaryen family tree and Daemon Targaryen’s children
“The gods toss a coin every time a new Targaryen is born”
In the history of Game of Thrones, there have been many different Targaryens. When Game of Thrones started, the Targaryen family had been away from the Iron Throne for three hundred years. Only Danaerys and Viserys were left to claim their birthright.
Even so, the different monarchs who came before them left a lasting mark on the important houses as they competed in the Game of Thrones, making the history and power of House Targaryen very important for Westeros.
Under the leadership of King Aegon Targaryen, the clan of dragon-riders, the noble Targaryen family became the first ruling house of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. They ruled for almost 300 years. People knew that, in order to keep their blood pure, they married cousins and siblings.
The time gap between House of Dragon and Game of Thrones (GOT)
House of the Dragon comes before Game of Thrones, so you don’t have to have seen it to enjoy it. So, the spin-pff has no direct effect on any Game of Thrones events; in fact, it has the opposite effect. In fact, it’s perfect for anyone who has put Game of Thrones on their list of things to do because they can now start with House of the Dragon and easily continue with Game of Thrones. That makes me happy even more.
About 200 years before the events of GOT, House of the Dragon begins. The 100-year-old Targaryen Dynasty is at its peak now that the royal family is in charge of 10 fully grown dragons.
Aegon the Conqueror, the first Aegon Targaryen, united all of Westeros. Daenerys Targaryen’s ultimate downfall in the GOT season finale happened halfway up the family tree, where House of the Dragon is.
Early years
Daemon was born in 81 AC, when his grandfather, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, was in power. He was the second son of Prince Baelon Targaryen and his sister-wife, Princess Alyssa Targaryen. He had an older brother named Viserys and a younger brother named Aegon who died when he was a child. Alyssa took Daemon flying on Meleys about two weeks after he was born. Daemon was a free spirit and liked to try new things when he was young.
King Jaehaerys I Targaryen gave Daemon Dark Sister when he was sixteen and made him a knight.
Daemon married Lady Rhea Royce, the heir to Runestone, in the year 97 AC, but he didn’t like her or the Vale of Arryn. He called his wife his “bronze bitch.” During the Great Council of 101 AC, Daemon backed Prince Viserys’s claim because it would make Daemon the heir after his brother. When it was said that Lord Corlys Velaryon was getting a fleet ready to defend his son Laenor Velaryon’s rights, Daemon put together a small army of sworn swords and men-at-arms.
Daemon Targaryen
Viserys I’s early rule
In the tournament for King Viserys I’s coronation in 104 AC, Ser Criston Cole beat Daemon twice, first in the melee and then in the joust. Daemon asked his brother to break up with Rhea Royce, but his brother said no. Daemon was master of coins for a short time, from 103 to 104 AC, and then master of laws for the next six months. Governance, on the other hand, was boring to Daemon, and the prince’s attitude made him a rival of Ser Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King. Ser Otto could not stand Daemon’s presence and had asked King Viserys to take him off the small council.
Daemon was put in charge of the King’s Landing City Watch, where he did well and stayed for two years, much to Otto’s dismay. With 2,000 men under his command, he became stronger than ever.
Many of the regular members of the City Watch were loyal to Daemon, and he helped them get better weapons and gear. He gave each man a golden coat, so people started calling the guards “the gold cloaks.” Crime went down a lot when Daemon was in charge. This was probably because he liked giving thieves and swindlers harsh punishments.
Daemon got a bad name in the stews and brothels of Flea Bottom, where he was known by every thief, prostitute, and gambler. He met a prostitute named Mysaria, who was called Misery by the people who didn’t like her. Daemon called himself “Prince of the City,” but the people of King’s Landing called him “Lord Flea Bottom.”
Daemon thought of himself as Viserys’s heir because Viserys didn’t have any living sons. He wanted to be called Prince of Dragonstone, but the king wouldn’t let him. Otto Hightower also didn’t want Daemon to follow Viserys, so he suggested that Viserys’s daughter, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, be named heir. Viserys didn’t talk about inheritance because he thought that a future son would take care of it.
Viserys’s first wife, Aemma Arryn, died when she gave birth to Viserys’s second son, Baelon Targaryen. Viserys’s first son had died in his crib. But Baelon died just one day after he was born. On the Street of Silk, Daemon was seen getting drunk and making jokes about the “heir for a day.” When Viserys heard about this, he was very upset. In response to his brother’s lack of gratitude, the angry king made Rhaenyra the heir and Princess of Dragonstone. The angry Daemon quit the Gold Cloaks and flew to Dragonstone with Mysaria on Caraxes. He missed Rhaenyra’s ceremony in the Red Keep because he was no longer with the Gold Cloaks.
Daemon got his lover, Mysaria, pregnant while they were living on Dragonstone. He wanted to give her a dragon egg as a gift, but Viserys was angry and told Daemon to give the egg back and go back to Rhea in the Vale. Daemon sent Mysaria to Lys, but the ship Mysaria was on got caught in a storm in the narrow sea, and she lost the baby. This made Daemon hate his brother even more.
The Stepstones Are Taken
In 106 AC, Daemon and Corlys Velaryon, Lord of the Tides, joined forces to fight a private war for the Stepstones. Daemon wanted his own kingdom, and Corlys wanted to get rid of the Triarchy’s control over the Stepstones. While Corlys took care of the Velaryon fleet, Daemon led an army of adventurers and second sons from the air on his dragon, Caraxes.
Daemon’s enemies included Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh, and in 108 AC, he killed Craghas Drahar. After taking over all but two of the islands, Daemon became King of the Stepstones and the Narrow Sea in the year 109 AC. Corlys the Sea Snake gave him the crown. Racallio Ryndoon led a huge fleet sent by the Triarchy to take back the isles, and Dorne joined the alliance against Daemon.
Go back to court
In The World of Ice and Fire, the artist Chase Stone shows how Daemon gives his crown to his brother, King Viserys I Targaryen.
Daemon got tired of running his small kingdom, so in 111 AC, during the tournament that gave the greens and the blacks their names, he went back to the capital, King’s Landing. He made peace with Viserys I Targaryen by giving him the crown of the Stepstones. Viserys I Targaryen was glad to see his brother come back, and he gave Daemon a place on the small council.
Daemon, on the other hand, had not changed because of age or being in exile. He joined the City Watch again and met up with old friends. He also went back to the brothels on the Street of Silk. Daemon didn’t like Viserys’s second wife, Queen Alicent Hightower, or her children, who had moved him further down the line of succession. Daemon spent hours with his niece, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. He told her how beautiful she was, told her stories about his adventures, took her hawking, and made fun of her stepmother, Alicent, and her greens. Daemon gave her books, pearls, silks, and the jade tiara that the Empress of Leng used to wear. Daemon and Rhaenyra often flew their dragons, Caraxes and Syrax, to Dragonstone.
Six months after Daemon came back, the brothers fought again. Grand Maester Runciter talked about an unnamed fight, and other people said that Alicent wanted Daemon to leave. Septon Eustace said that Daemon had seduced Rhaenyra and taken her virginity before her sixteenth name day. He also said that Ser Arryk Cargyll of the Kingsguard had found the two of them. In Eustace’s story, Rhaenyra tells Daemon how much she loves him. Instead, the infamous Mushroom said that Daemon had been teaching the girl, who was supposedly in love with her champion, Ser Criston Cole of the Kingsguard, how to seduce him. Rhaenyra tried to talk to Criston, but he turned her down. Lord of Harrenhal Lyonel Strong told Viserys, who was very angry, that Daemon should be put to death for treason. Eustace, on the other hand, reminded the council that killing a relative was bad, so Daemon was sent away instead. Daemon went back to Bloodstone in the Stepstones and started fighting again over his land that was mostly empty.
Second wedding
In 115 AC, Rhea Royce, Daemon’s wife, died when she fell off a horse. Daemon left the Stepstones and flew to the Vale of Arryn. He tried to take Runestone, which had been Rhea’s seat, but House Royce said no. Lady Jeyne Arryn sent Daemon away from the Vale. He went to Driftmark, where he saw the beautiful daughter of his friend Lord Corlys, Laena Velaryon. He asked the Sea Snake for her hand in marriage. Laena was already engaged to the son of a dead Sealord of Braavos, but Daemon and Dark Sister killed the Braavosi in a duel. Singers say Daemon fell in love with Laena the moment he saw her, but others say he married into the powerful House Velaryon to stop his own fall from power, since he was far down the line of succession and had made a lot of enemies on his travels.
Daemon and Laena left Westeros for Essos because King Viserys I Targaryen didn’t agree to their marriage. Mushroom says they went to the ruins of Valyria, but more reliable sources say they went on a tour of the Free Cities and went to Pentos, Volantis, Qohor, and Norvos. They went back to Pentos for a while, where Laena told them she was pregnant. In 116 AC, their daughters Baela and Rhaena were born there.
The family went back to Driftmark when the twins were six months old. Daemon wrote to his brother and asked for permission to bring his daughters to court to get a blessing from the king. The small council told the king to say no, but Viserys told Grand Maester Mellos, “Daemon is now a dad. He will be different.”
Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, who was Laena’s daughter, married Ser Laenor Velaryon, who was Laena’s brother. Rhaenrya didn’t like her stepmother, Queen Alicent Hightower, but she liked Laena. She and Laena often flew on their dragons together. Rhaenyra married off her two oldest sons, Jacaerys Velaryon and Lucerys Velaryon, to Baela and Rhaena with the approval of King Viserys.
In 120 AC, the Year of the Red Spring, Laena died while trying to give birth to a son who also died. Ser Qarl Correy, who was with Laenor, killed him in Spicetown later that year. Mushroom says that Daemon paid Qarl to kill Laenor, so Mushroom thinks that Daemon set up Laenor’s death. In the year 120 AC, Lyonel Strong, Lord of Harrenhal, and Ser Harwin, his son and heir, died in a fire at Harrenhal. Some people thought that Harwin Breakbones was the real father of Rhaenyra’s children with Laenor, Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey Velaryon. Because of this, Septon Eustace thought that Daemon could be responsible for the mysterious fire.