House Targaryen

House Targaryen is a noble family of Valyrian descent that escaped the Doom. They lived for centuries on the island of Dragonstone until Aegon the Conqueror and his sisters rode their dragons in the conquest of the Seven Kingdoms. House Targaryen ruled as the Kings on the Iron Throne and the Great House of the crownlands for nearly 300 years, until their ouster in Robert's Rebellion. Their seats were the Red Keep in the capital city of King's Landing, the island castle of Dragonstone, and the summer residence of Summerhall.

Currently their seat is in Volantis, headed by the God-Emperor Daeron Targaryen.

The Iron Throne
House Targaryen was one of the forty ancient noble houses known as dragonlords who ruled the Valyrian Freehold, a great empire spanning most of the eastern continent. The Targaryens were one of the few families to survive the doom of Valyria thanks to relocating their dragons and family to the island of Dragonstone.

A hundred years after the Doom, Aegon Targeyen set forth from Dragonstone with his sister/wives Rhaenys and Visenya, their dragons, and a small force, landing at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush and beginning the Wars of Conquest. During his campaigns, Aegon was anointed king by the High Septon in Oldtown, leading to the unification of the Seven Kingdoms under Targaryen rule from the Iron Throne, starting a dynasty that lasted nearly 300 years. The area where the Targaryens began their conquest became the site of their new capital, King's Landing. Dragonstone was used as the seat of the heir to the throne.

The Targaryens would rule the Kingdom of the Iron Throne for nearly three centuries, before being removed from power during Robert's Rebellion as they were cast down by House Baratheon and its allies.

300 AC - Reunification
With no Tyrion to persuade the young Aegon otherwise, Jon Connington’s plan remained the same. With the Golden Company gathered in Volantis, Aegon Targaryen was unveiled in front of his men, and crowned Aegon Vi Targaryen. The ancestral sword, Blackfyre, was taken out of hiding, and handed it to him. Since Bittersteel had refused the sword to Daemon II Blackfyre, the blade had been kept by the Captain-Generals, until it could be claimed by a worthy Blackfyre. While the Black Dragons were long dead, with House Targaryen in exile now, concessions were happily made. Varys had, as well, procured the crown of Maekar I; no one was entirely sure how, and as usual, the Spymaster did not reveal his secrets. Volantis was deeply ired by this, especially with their feud against Queen Daenerys, yet could do little. With a King at their helm once more, the Golden Company set sail to Meereen.

The voyage was far from peaceful. A storm, appearing from seemingly nowhere out of the tempestuous skies of Old Valyria lashed the fleet, to tragic results. Some ships were smashed by the pounding waves; amongst the casualties were Ser Jon Connington and Varys. Bereft of his two most trusted advisors, and his ‘father’, Aegon fell into a deep depression, barely able to talk to Queen Daenerys once he arrived; an arrival far from peaceful as well.

Queen Daenerys, while pleased with the arrival of nearly ten thousand of the finest soldiers in Essos, was not so happy with the man at their helm. Daenerys understood fully what Rhaegar’s son meant; her claim could well be perceived as invalid, even if she did argue that she held the dragons, and was Queen by right of conquest. Fortunately, an accord was reached. Daenerys married her nephew, and both stood as monarchs together. Aegon bonded the dragon Rhaegal, developing a close bond with the dragon named for the father he never knew. The King was still recovering from the loss of Jon, and many thought the way he relied upon his dragon, how he spent most of his time with the beast, rather than actual people. Certainly, Aegon did not stray often near his wife’s bed, an empty place often filled by Daario Naharis. Ser Rolly Duckfield was placed in the Queensguard and Captain-General Harry Strickland being invited onto the Small Council.

301 AC - Fire and Blood
However, the storm clouds were still gathering over Queen Daenerys’ rule in Meereen. Astapor and Yunkai had fallen, and while she developed plans to return to Westeros, somehow, the coalition against her grew. With Varys dead, there was little she could do to anticipate the knives in the dark. The first blow was likely the worst; in the dead of night, Balerion was fed poison. As large as he was, the dragon was still young, and enough was given that the beast died screaming and thrashing, much to the anguish of his mother. Alarm bells were sounded when it was realised that some had disappeared; Daario and Hizdahr had fled in the night, it seemed, and the perpetrators could not have been clearer.

Vengeance was swift and merciless. Any voices of mercy were quickly quieted as Daenerys took to the sky on Viserion. The pyramids of Meereen were set aflame, the nobility of the city burning alive; man, woman, and child. Unsullied ensured no one left the roaring blazes that quickly became funeral pyres.

That was enough to start the brewing war. With cries of overthrowing the murderous Mad Queen, and the King who could but sit and watch, the coalition launched itself at Meereen. Volantis, Matarys, Qarth, New Ghis, Yunkai, Astapor, all their forces gathered to oust the Mad Queen. Their armies were vast, and within it, treason confirmed. The Second Sons had swelled in equipment and size, and Hizdahr commanded forces of mostly Ghiscari; the next King of Meereen was obvious.

However, the coalition did not have dragons.

Ignoring calls to simply retreat to Westeros as was offered, Daenerys was determined to fight. No longer for the people; but for vengeance. Young as they were, Viserion and Rhaegal had grown in size, and the King and Queen arose into the sky, leading their sortie against the grand force arrayed against them. The battle was bloody; dragons roaring in the sky, forces clashing against each other. The fighting went long into the night, the battlefield lit by the flames of the furious dragons avenging their brother.

Morning came upon a broken field. Both armies had been ground down, and no clear winner could be seen. Only thousands upon thousands dead. Lord Commander Barristan Selmy had recklessly thrown his life away, taking down warrior after warrior before falling under a hail of blows. Many whispered he had thrown his life away to not serve another Mad King. Daenerys struck at Daario and Hizdahr herself, ensuring both died slowly, screaming, in dragonfire. Her arrogance was not unpunished, however. Viserion was almost killed from under her, before Rhaegal swept in, taking the blow. Aegon’s only anchor finally stripped away from him. The Unsullied had not retreated, dying to the last.

Finally, Daenerys realised she couldn’t win. So, gathering her army, she retreated, west. Taking what supplies she could from the city, the Golden Company marched, leaving Meereen and her Freedmen to the mercy of the Coalition. With Hizdahr dead, there was no need to keep the city. It was butchered to the last, razed, and levelled. A warning.

302/313 AC - The Time of Trials
The demon road was the only option open to Daenerys after the battle. With Aegon in shock, and Barristan, Strickland, Daario, Hizdahr, all dead, and the new Lord Commander Rolly Duckfield quiet with his King, the Queen was alone. With no advisors she could trust, all Daenerys could do was follow the demon road to Volantis. It was a hard trail; the name was not unearned. For the battered Golden Company, even more men were lost to the hazards of the road as it passed the shadow of Old Valyria. It survived, as it always had, and with her last dragon, after a year of gruelling travel, Daenerys stumbled into Volantis.

As expected, she was met with an army Volantis had gathered as she prepared to camp outside of the city. However, now Meereen was no longer an issue, it seemed as if Volantis had less interest in ending the Mad Queen. Fortunately, someone had arrived to help deal with the tension; Tyrion Lannister.

The dwarf had been in exile in Essos at this point, having fled from Westeros after his father disinherited him. Meeting with the Queen, hardened and despondent, Tyrion weaved his charm and managed to impress her. Promising he could defuse the situation with Volantis, Tyrion was given a chance to meet with the representatives of the Triarchs. And disarm he did. Reassuring the Triarch she meant no harm, and they could expect a situation similar to how the Blackfyres came to Essos, the Triarchs accepted Daenerys in Volantis; if not warmly, and certainly never within the Black Walls, her rights aside. The thawing of relationships was important, if few could see it at the time. The first to offer his greetings to Daenerys was Volisso Maegyr, son of the recently deceased Triarch Malaquo, and much more warm to the Queen.

For his service, Tyrion was named Hand of the King; Daenerys finally had someone who could advise her properly, who she could trust. Tyrion would always desire the Rock, of course, and his Lannister descendants would continue this faction within her court. Tyrion was not the only Westerosi exile to join Daenerys; fleeing from the war in the Iron Isles, before the Golden Company set off on its first new contract that same year, Victarion Greyjoy arrived in Volantis, with the parts of the Iron Fleet had followed him. The Lord met with Daenerys, and swore fealty, serving as her admiral and Lord Reaper.

The next few years were, in comparison, uneventuful. Daenerys walked the place of Bittersteel, growing the Golden Company back to its strength, taking contracts to earn wealth and keep the company honed and busy. Always there was talk of returning, planning the invasion. And always, it came to nothing. Daenerys remained morose, bitter, and Aegon slipped more and more into his depression. They had children, however. Rhaenys came first, dying as a sickly child in 306; depressing her parents further. Maekar was next, then Naerys, and finally Baelor. The year Baelor was born, the Golden Company had stopped for rest in Volon Therys, welcomed by the First there. An illness had struck from the port; nothing major, yet Aegon caught it, and the King simply gave up, succumbing to the disease.

 

314/321 AC - Sinking
Daenerys was once again, left alone. While Aegon had been too depressed, cocooned in his own misery, the King and Queen had shared that together, a tentative bond formed. Besides, he was a memory of home. His death hit Daenerys harder than she had expected, and even after the funeral, and the year and day of mourning, she did not leave Volon Therys. The Golden Company still took contracts, but it was rarer, the Dragon Queen no longer overseeing them. Prince Maekar was allowed to ruin wild; a naive, foolish, boy, his vices clearer than his virtues. Much to the frustration of men like Tyrion, who wanted to at least be doing something, a lethargy came over the court. It was broken, at least, in 320, when the affair between the Queen and Lord Victarion came to a head. Old as he was, the Greyjoy had lost much, as she had, and the pair of them cracked, a night of passion for two broken people. Out of that, Andrik Pyke was born the very same year. It seemed, however, to finally break Daenerys. As the year came to a close, she was found in her bath, the water bloody, her wrists slit. The Queen was merely seven and thirty. 

Maekar II, the Boy King in mind as well as body, was thrust to the forefront of rulership. As easily controlled as expected, he moved the Court to Volantis on Tyrion’s suggestion. However, the King turned out to be as dismal as people feared; spending more money than should’ve been possible, befriending ruffians, disgracing himself to the Volantene nobles. Even his younger brother Baelor, merely nine, was disgusted. It caught up, of course, as it always did. Maekar was found dead in an alley late into 321 AC, knifed in a gambling dispute. Tyrion had those responsibile disappear; undoubtedly grusomely. Baelor was swiftly crowned Baelor II, at the age of nine. Maekar’s crown didn’t even fit. 

322/330 AC - A Lannister Always Pays his Debts
 With only Victarion Greyjoy and the Captain-General in positions of power apart from him, both uninterested in politics, Hand of the King Tyrion Lannister found himself in an interesting position. He knew he was getting old; fortunately, he had children, so considered himself succesful in that front at least. However, now he was Regent, with a position that seemed dire. Fortunately, Tyrion had always been a smart man. Many in Volantis saw an opportunity, as well. To take this young boy, this dragon rider, under their wing. To make him Volantene. The Hand took this opprtunity, opening talks with Volisso again. While the Golden Company stayed outside the Black Walls, Baelor was allowed to live within, with kew members of his court, in a small palace. He was raised jointly by Tyrion, who taught him of Westeros, continued to teach him his duty; and by Volisso. A Tiger, a general, and a Commander. Both were important teachers to Baelor, and he befriended Volisso’s son; Vhalaso, a boy near his own age, and more promise than any of them. His duty done, Tyrion would die in 330 AC, leaving a young Baelor II as King; but King with a foothold, at least.

 

331/346 AC - The Great Game
On the death of his father, Everan Lannister was immediately made Hand by the young Baelor. A strategist, much like a Commander as Baelor was, the two of them worked hard along with the Maegyrs on expanding the Targaryen position. A matter of investing the funding of the Golden Company, and the Reavings led by the few Ironborn ships with them, even with Victarion dead, and his bastard son being raised by them as his heir. 

It was a slow progress, not helped by Baelor’s brusqueness and stubborn refusal to move from Westerosi values. His sister-wife helped; Queen Naerys was a charming, diplomatic, woman, who swiftly became the darling of the Volatene court. Enough, certainly to assist the House in expanding their influence and friendships through the other nobles, helped by Baelor’s positon as a Dragonrider, as well as their businessess and funds throughout Volantis, and the Free Cities as a whole. By the time of young Daeron, Baelor’s son, going to serve 

Continued in the Timeline of Daeron III.