House Targaryen

House Targaryen of Dragonstone is a noble family of Valyrian descent that escaped the Doom. They lived for centuries on the island of Dragonstone until Aegon Targaryen and his sisters rode their dragons to his conquest of the Seven Kingdoms. House Targaryen rules as the kings of Westeros for nearly 300 years, until their ouster in the 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 Summerhal. After the Reign of the Usurper, Aegon Targaryen came into rule as King, beside his Aunt and Queen, Daenerys Targaryen.

The Targaryen has since ruled for nearly two hundred and fourty years unbroken.

Culture
House Targaryen's sigil is a three-headed dragon breathing flames, red on black. The three-headed dragon represents Aegon the Conquerer and his two sister, Rhaenys and Visenya. Their house words are "Fire and Blood." Although the Targaryen Kings took their seat at King's Landing, the place where Aegon and his army first landed in Westeros and made their first fort, Dragonstone remained the traditional seeat of the heir to the throne.

House Targaryen historyically followed the gods of Valyria. Sometime before the conquest of the Seven Kingdoms, the Targaryens abandoned the Valyrian gods and converted to the Faith of the Seven, the predominant religion in Westeros. However, they continued to follow the Valyrian practice of incestuous marriage, wedding brother to sister, cousin to cousin, uncle to niece and aunt to nephew, holding themselves apart from and above the noble Westerosi families.

Deceased Targaryens are traditionally cremated.

Traits
The phrase "blood of the dragon" refers to what are considered typical Targaryen features - silvery-gold(or platinum) hair and violet eyes. The Targaryens can tolerate a bit more heat than most ordinary people, though they are by no means immune to fire.

Another trait typical to Targaryens, and one that was passed on to the cadet branch, House Blackfyre, was the ability to have premonition-like dreams. Before the Doom, a noble in



 Valyria called Aenar Targaryen had a maiden daughter who visions moved him to relocate his family to Dragonstone, twelve years before the Doom. Her visions were written down and published in a book called Signs and Portents, which is now lost.

Probably due to their incestuous practices, the Targaryens are prone to madness. King Jahaerys II said that with the birth of a new Targaryen, the gods tossed a coin to decide whether the child would be a genius or lunatic.

History after the War of the Five Kings
House Targaryen was reinstated as the rulers of Westeros after the The Reign of the Usurper, a tyrranical eighteen year rule of Robert Baratheon and his sons. The line continued on, unchallenged for over a hundred years until the second dance of the dragons in 425 AL.

In the Dance of the Dragons, Aemon Targaryen's rule was challenged by a great bastard, of whom claimed the Throne was more his than Aemon's. The disputes eventually led into a massive battle between six dragons. It is unknown how many died, but there are a reported two after the battle. The civil war ended a year after it began, in White Harbor, where Aemon Targaryen's dragon, Vagar, burned the rival claimant to death.

During the war of the Free Cities in 530 AL, it was king Maegor II Targaryen who led his host against that of Myr in an event that was called the red rivers. Maegor defeated them quickly and with ease, while the Martells of Dorne destroyed the Lysene force, and the Starks destroyed the Tyroshi force.

Members of House Targaryen in 554 AL

 * King Maegor II Targaryen
 * Queen Daena Targaryen
 * Rhaenys Targaryen, daughter of Maegor and Daena
 * Aerion Targaryen, daughter of Maegor and Daena's older sister.







