Aelyx Targaryen is the son of Aelarys Targaryen, and the last dragonrider. He is considered by many to be the true King of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.
Appearance[]
Classically Valyrian, Aelyx has the fine platinum-grey hair and deep lilac eyes of many Targaryens before him.
Having trained from a young age to be capable in combat with a range of weapons, he has maintained an athletic physique since his youth.
History[]
Born into the world in the fourth moon of 366AC, mere minutes before his younger twin Maekar, Aelyx was the first of Aelarys Targaryen’s children. The brothers grew, growing taller, stronger, more aware of their place in the world as the known world’s last lingering Targaryens, until one day, Aelarys Targaryen would respond to a sudden shout of surprise to find Aelyx and Viserion soaring through the humid Essosi evening air, as Maekar cheered and applauded. More so than before, it was seen that the two dragons, man and beast had a deep, unmatched mystic connection that would rival even that between the twins. Although Viserion remained undeniably Aelyx’s for the remaining duration of its life, there would a rare few occasions when Maekar himself would too ride upon the great beast’s back, although his times in the sky would always result in a lingering sense of sadness and disappointment, knowing that he would never truly have a dragon of his own. With the passing of time, Maekar showed less and less desire to ride and fly, focusing instead firmly on the ground, and the men and horses upon it.
Even at a young age, Aelyx understood that he should not be defined solely as a dragonrider, and sought be respected by the men following his House, not just feared as many of the Valyrian dragonlords had been in years gone by. Training with sword, shield, lance and bow, Aelyx’s skill was recognised, and he was bestowed Blackfyre upon his father Aelarys’ death in the twelfth moon of 382AC. With the Valyrian steel bastard sword in his possession, Aelyx found himself near unrivalled, and would go onto to defeat many notable warriors, most markedly King Alaric Baratheon, called The Arrogant.
Less than a year later, in the sixth moon of 383AC, the Volantene Triach Goranesso Dynahran, a tiger who had lead the city to prosperity through the expansion of Volantis’ domain, proclaimed himself greater than a tiger, instead declaring himself a dragon, and began to model himself on the Dragonlords of Old Valyria from whom the Dynahrans claimed unbroken descent. Through him the borders of Volantis had spread north, encompassing Selhorys at the confluence of the Selhoru and the lower Rhoyne, and further, reaching near Dagger Lake and the ancient ruined Rhonyar city of Chroyane, and as a result very few opposed his decree, those of which were executed publically by burning, after which no further challenges arose. When his northern conquests were met with steadfast opposition by the Qohorik, Goranesso looked west instead, eyeing the lands so frequently contested by the Three Daughters. Over the next year and a half, the Dragon of Volantis would progressive claim the land between his city and the Daughters, a territory that at its peak encompassed near a third of the western portion of Essos. On the second year anniversary of his ascent, Goranesso returned to Volantis to reside over the execution of several notable military and political prisoners, amongst them the Tyroshi Archon’s own brother. As the procession began, Aelyx, having heard tales of the Triach’s fraudulent claims of dragonlordship, landed atop the great black walls surrounding the oldest part of the city. Declaring loudly that Goranesso was no dragonlord, Aelyx uttered Dracarys, and Viserion engulfed the Volantene in flame, ending his despotism over the city and Essos. In reward, Aelyx was offered the hand of the Archon of Tyroshi’s daughter in marriage, which he accepted, understanding that the strength of the Tyroshi fleet would be an invaluable asset for his forthcoming intentions.
In 390AC, near sixty years after the rebellion led by his grandfather Rhaegar Targaryen, Aelyx led the Targaryens once again to Westeros to claim their rightful place upon the Iron Throne, followed by thousands of men hailing from Tyrosh and Myr, legions of Unsullied warriors, as well more than a dozen sellsword companies, including the Silver Guild, Company of the Cat, Stormbreakers, The Legion of the Jade Dagger and at their head, The Golden Company.
His leadership brings them great success, Crakeclaw point and Massey’s Hook falling almost simultaneously to Aelyx and Maekar’s split forces. With the majority of Westeros looking south, to the invasion of Dorne by the pirate-lord Saathos Saan, supporting in turn by the fleets of Tyrosh and Myr, the dragons subdue much of the Northern Crownlands, with Houses Celtigar, Brune, Hardy and Pyne bending the knee in quick succession. As Maekar’s forces continue to pierce deeper into the Crownlands and onwards into the Reach, Aelyx’s eyes look to the west, to Harrenhal and Riverrun. Hearing of a Baratheon army, bolstered by men of House Frey and its vassals amassing at Darry, Aelyx marches his troops towards the castle. Learning that the army is supposedly headed by King Alaric Baratheon himself, Aelyx unleashes Viserion, setting the plentiful crop yield ablaze as bright dragonfire spilled from the beast. In the surmounting chaos, the Targaryen light cavalry decimate King Alaric the Arrogant’s army, whom attempts a courageous, but futile counter attack. Locating the King upon the burning battlefield, Aelyx dived from high above the smoke suddenly, the jaws of Viserion locking tightly around the torso of the defeated monarch. It is said that the King’s horse rode on with the bottom half of its master still in place until succumbing to the smoke and fumes. The slaughter would become known as the Battle of Smoke and Sorrow, and reminded Westeros that the Targaryens were still a force to be reckoned with.
Initially meeting little resistance from the Riverlords, Aelyx pushes through to the border of the Westerlands, eager to secure the wealth of gold and silver within the mines beyond. Finding himself at a stalemate with the steadfast Lord Lefford, backed by Lord Robin Royce, Aelyx becomes tied up at the Golden Tooth for near three moons.
After finding that his twin Maekar was experiencing similar resistance during and following the Battle of Ashford, fate finally started to turn upon the dragons. Their fleet had been destroyed by the combined might of the Royal and Redwyne fleets in the South, resulting in the capture of their younger brother Jacaerys, and Lord Vance of Wayfarer’s Rest continued to plague their supply routes, attacking and pillaging suddenly, before disappearing once again into the terrain. Retreating from the Ashford, Maekar is goaded by Lord Footly, and is beaten to King’s Landing by Beron Baratheon as he sacks Tumbleton instead. Shortly after, a collaboration of Manderly and Whitehill dubbed ‘The Frostborn’ sweep down from the North, quelling any Targaryen support and strength that still lingered.
Maekar retreated to the remaining Targaryen strength in the Crownland and resolves to take the city, demanding their immediate surrender as the forces of the dragon encircled the capital. Following the subsequent refusal, Maekar quickly dispatched the hastily prepared forces led by Lord Commander Hightower, slaying the White Cloak himself, much to the dismay of the surviving residents of the city. Pushing further towards the great walls, the Targaryen forces slowly whittled away the remaining defenders, until little more than a last shield wall remained. As victory seemed to be in sight. However, Alyn Baratheon, having rushed away from the bulk of his host to come to cousin Beron’s aid, struck at the dragon’s rear, attempting to crush the Targaryen force against the shields and spears of the city’s defenders. Despite this, it was only when a third force, headed by Lord Lannister that Maekar truly realised his fate, eventually falling to Alyn Baratheon’s spiked warhammer.
Aelyx in turn found himself routed, falling back to Maidenpool, to reassess, regroup and recover what he could. As Aelyx planned and plotted with his close advisors, still somewhat uncertain of his brother’s fate, the armies of his enemies, many of which had called him King mere moons prior, closed in on the hill upon which the castle sat. From high atop Jonquil’s Tower, Aelyx watched as the town was slowly but deliberately surrounded, the start of a brief but tense siege of the city. He would continue to watch for the following weeks, with increasing curiosity, watching for weaknesses, hints at what his besiegers planned next. The creation and positioning of siege weapons came at little surprise to him, but when the first catapult fired, he found himself a little mystified, initially at least. The projectile was neither particularly large nor vicious, and in a moment of sudden horror, Aelyx leapt atop the cream-scaled back of his dragon, riding down to where the body had landed, broken and mangled by the landing, but still undoubtedly Maekar. Lifting the shattered shell of his brother onto Viserion as to hide what remained of him from the men that had fought tirelessly for his cause over the past moons, Aelyx rode once again to the top of the tower of Maidenpool castle, before reading the ultimatum pinned into Maekar’s flesh. Understanding and accepting, not wanting to lose yet another brother, Aelyx and the remainder of his troops left the same night, accompanied by his newly released younger brother, aboard ships bound for Braavos, knowing that it was better to survive, then give up in despair.
Timeline[]
366AC (Fourth Moon) - Aelyx Targaryen and his younger twin Maekar are born.
369AC (Seventh Moon) - Aenya Targaryen is born.
370AC (Sixth Moon) - Jacaerys Targaryen is born.
379AC (Fourth Moon) - Aelyx rides Viserion for the first time.
382AC (Twelfth Moon) - Blackfyre, the ancestral sword of House Targaryen, is given to Aelyx when his father Aelarys dies.
385AC (Sixth Moon) - Aelyx dispatches Goranesso Dynahran, the self-proclaimed Dragon of Volantis, and marries the Archon of Tyrosh’s daughter shortly afterwards.
386AC (Third Moon) - Aelyx’s first born son, Rhaegon, is born.
387AC (Ninth Moon) - Naehra Targaryen, Aelyx’s first daughter, is born.
390AC - The Third Targaryen Rebellion, in which Aelyx, Maekar and Jacaerys invade Westeros with a substantial force comprised of sellswords, Unsullied and the Tyroshi and Myrish fleets. They have great successes until the realm unites against them, reaching an apex with Maekar’s death at the hands of Alyn Baratheon, and Targaryen withdrawal from Westeros.
391AC - Once the remainder of his forces are clear of Westeros, Aelyx returns to Storm’s End in an attempt to reap revenge for his fallen twin, ultimately resulting in the death of his dragon Viserion. Dragonless, he flees back to Essos.
392AC - Tirina of Tyrosh gives birth to the last of Aelyx’s children, a set of twins, a girl named Daenerys and a boy whom he calls Maekar.
Family[]
Recent Events[]
Following the events of the Third Targaryen Rebellion, Aelyx finds himself dragonless in Essos. He and his loyalists are currently located near Volantis.
- (379AC) A young Aelyx and Osmund Massey go hunting for Rhoynar pirates.
- Aelyx calls a meeting of his small council following the news of the death of King Axel Baratheon.
- Aelyx goes to meet the Triachy of Volantis in hope of gaining their support.
- Aelyx spars with members of the Golden Company.
- Aelyx holds a second council meeting during which he outlies his plans for the immediate future.
- Aelyx recruits more men to the Golden Company.
- Following a second meeting with the Triarchy, Aelyx strikes a deal.
- After being approached by a Westerosi claiming alligence to House Targaryen, Aelyx tests his newest recruits.
- The Battle of Volantis
- Aelyx resolves an ultication between two rival sellsword companies, recruiting both of them.
- After gaining the spoils of his time in Volantis, Aelyx starts his move for Westeros.
- As the forces of House Targaryen start to move from Volantis, he send his captains do some final recuitment of other companies in the area.
- Aelyx parleys with Dickon Manwoody, Commander of the Long Lances, in the Disputed Lands.
Supporting characters[]
- Rhaegon Targaryen - First born son of Aelyx.
- Daevos Firewater (Head of House Longwaters) - Lifelong loyalist of House Targaryen and the current Master of Ships upon Aelyx's council.
- Members of Aelyx's Dragonguard.