Rhaenyra I Targaryen

Queen Rhaenyra I Targaryen, cheered as  'the Realm's Delight'  when she was young and later called  'the Black Queen'  or simply  'the Black', was the first-born child of King Viserys I Targaryen. Rhaenyra was King Viserys I's only living child by his first wife, Queen Aemma of House Arryn. At the age of eight she was made her father's heir and grew up expecting to become the first ruling Queen of Westeros. Rhaenyra was a dragonrider whose mount was Syrax.

Her claim to the Iron Throne was challenged by her younger half-brother, Aegon Targaryen (later referred to as 'the Usurper'), sparking the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, in which she prevailed and ended male primogeniture in royal succession. She was the mother of King Aegon II Targaryen, as well as the heroes Prince Jacerys Velaryon ‘the Dragonheart’, Prince Lucerys Velaryon ‘the True’, Prince Joffrey Velaryon ‘the Brave’, and Prince Viserys Targaryen ‘the Valiant’. She was the paternal grandmother of Baela Targaryen, Aegon III Targaryen and Jaehaerys II Targaryen, and is the paternal great-grandmother of the current monarch, Daenaerys I Targaryen.

Rhaenyra's personal sigil was the normal Targaryen heraldry (a three-headed red dragon on a black field), quartered with the moon-and-falcon sigil of House Arryn (for her mother Aemma Arryn), and the silver seahorse on sea green of House Velaryon (for her first husband Laenor Velaryon, as well as for the Velaryons in general, who were among her major supporters). During the Dance, her faction used her personal heraldry as their battle-flag. After her victory, she became known as ‘The Black’, or ‘The Black Queen’, both for the name of her faction, and for her wrath towards those that had opposed her.

All modern Targaryens can trace heritage to Rhaenyra, through either her son Aegon or her son Viserys.

Early Life
Born in 97 AC, Rhaenyra was the only living child of King Viserys I Targaryen by his first wife, Lady Aemma of House Arryn. Rhaenyra became a dragonrider at the age of seven, when she flew into the sky on the back of a young dragon, whom she named Syrax. A year later, when she was eight, Rhaenyra became a cupbearer for her father, serving him at the table, at tourneys, and at court. From that point onward, King Viserys was seldom seen without Rhaenyra.

At a young age, Rhaenyra became enamored with her uncle, Prince Daemon Targaryen. The roguish prince often brought her exotic gifts from his trips across the narrow sea. During the tourney for King Viserys I's accession, Ser Criston Cole won the melee by disarming Daemon. The knight granted the victor's laurel to Rhaenyra and asked the seven-year-old girl for her favor in the lists. Rhaenyra became smitten with Criston when he joined the Kingsguard in 105 AC, calling him her white knight, and Viserys allowed the charming knight to become Rhaenyra's personal shield and protector. From that moment on, Cole always wore Rhaenyra's favor in the lists and protected the girl during public events.

Late in 105 AC, Rhaenyra's mother, Aemma, died birthing Rhaenyra's second brother, Prince Baelon, who died a day later. King Viserys then proclaimed Rhaenyra his heir, having all the lords of the Seven Kingdoms swear fealty to her, promising to honor and defend her rights of succession. In addition, Rhaenyra was named Princess of Dragonstone.

King Viserys remarried in 106 AC, to Lady Alicent Hightower, and stepmother and stepdaughter initially got along well. That changed when Alicent birthed the king two sons, Aegon in 107 AC and Aemond in 110 AC, yet Viserys did not proclaim either boy his heir. People continued to ask Viserys about the succession, though Viserys was unwilling to discuss it. Ser Otto Hightower, Alicent's father and Viserys's Hand, was sent away from court for pushing the issue too much. But even after he left, clearly two parties formed at court: the party of the Queen, and the party of the Princess.

In 111 AC, a great tourney was held at King's Landing on the fifth anniversary of King Viserys's marriage to Queen Alicent. At the opening feast, the queen wore a green gown, whilst Princess Rhaenyra dressed dramatically in Targaryen red and black. Note was taken, and thereafter it became the custom to refer to 'Greens' and 'Blacks' when talking of the queen's party and the party of the princess, respectively. The blacks had greater success in the tourney as Criston, wearing Rhaenyra's favor, unhorsed all of the queen's champions, including two of her cousins and her youngest brother, Ser Gwayne Hightower.

According to the accounts of Septon Eustace, prior to her turning sixteen, Rhaenyra lost her virginity to her uncle, Prince Daemon, after he seduced her. The account of the fool Mushroom is more scandalous, however, claiming that Daemon gave Rhaenyra lessons on how to seduce and please a man, lessons in which Mushroom insists he took part as well. Mushroom's account differs from Eustace's account, in that Mushroom claims Rhaenyra remained a virgin during these lessons. According to Mushroom, Rhaenyra received those lessons from Daemon because she was in love with Criston Cole, and she wanted him to see her as a woman. Whichever account is true, (Grand Maester Runciter simply claims that the two brothers quarreled), King Viserys sent his brother into exile.

Princess of Dragonstone
At the age of sixteen, in 113 AC, Rhaenyra took possession of Dragonstone. She had been courted by many lords and nobles who sought her hand and her favor. The sons of Lords Blackwood and Bracken had dueled over the Princess of Dragonstone when she visited the Trident in 112 AC, and the so-called Fool Frey asked for her hand in marriage. The twin knights Jason and Tyland Lannister wooed her at Casterly Rock, and she was also courted by the sons of Lords Oakheart, Tarly, Tully, and Tyrell. Ser Harwin Strong, the son of Lord Lyonel Strong, also courted the princess. King Viserys I Targaryen considered wedding his daughter to the Prince of Dorne to bring Dorne into the Seven Kingdoms, while Queen Alicent Hightower pondered a marriage between Rhaenyra and her eldest son, Prince Aegon Targaryen.

Rhaenyra instead married Ser Laenor Velaryon in 114 AC, though it took Viserys's threat of removing her status as heir to the Iron Throne to convince her to accept the marriage, as Rhaenyra did not feel the need to marry a man with interests like Laenor's. The princess was reported to have stated that 'My half brothers would be more to his taste', to her father. Laenor's closest friend, Ser Joffrey Lonmouth, was mortally wounded by Ser Criston Cole during the wedding tourney. Laenor chose to spend most of his time at High Tide, while his wife preferred to remain at court. Rhaenyra was fond of Laenor's sister, Lady Laena Velaryon, who had wed Prince Daemon Targaryen after the death of his first wife, Lady Rhea Royce.

Laenor and Rhaenyra had three sons together: Princes Jacaerys 'Jace', Lucerys 'Luke', and Joffrey 'Joff' Velaryon. All were near adulthood and had dragons of their own when Rhaenyra's father, Viserys I, died. It was rumored that those sons of Rhaenyra's were actually fathered by her lover, Harwin Strong, called 'Breakbones', as all three were born with brown hair, though Laenor and Rhaenyra both had light silver/gold hair. The true parentage of Rhaenyra's three eldest children is still unclear.

The siblings Laenor and Laena Velaryon both died in 120 AC, as did Rhaenyra's alleged lover, Breakbones. Rhaenyra then secretly married her uncle, Prince Daemon, the most experienced warrior of his time, at Dragonstone. Septon Eustace claimed the two had wed in secret to prevent Viserys from prohibiting the marriage, while Mushroom suggested that Daemon, aged thirty-nine, had already impregnated the princess, who was then twenty-three. The news of their wedding caused a great scandal at the court of King's Landing and made Rhaenyra's father livid. It took some time before Viserys and Daemon reconciled. Rhaenyra's other sons, Princes Aegon and Viserys Targaryen, were fathered by Daemon.

After King Viserys cut his left hand to the bone after stumbling against the Iron Throne, Rhaenyra sent her own maester, Gerardys, to treat her father's wounds.

Dance of the Dragons
Rhaenyra was the designated heir of her father, King Viserys I Targaryen, who desired that she succeed him. Viserys's intent had been confirmed by a proclamation of his will. When Viserys died in 129 AC, however, Ser Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, and Ser Criston Cole, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard and possibly the former lover of Rhaenyra, defied the king's will and instead crowned Rhaenyra's half-brother, Queen Alicent Hightower's son Aegon Targaryen, who was ten years younger. This brought about the Targaryen civil war, known as the Dance of the Dragons, in which dragonriders fought each other. During the war, Rhaenyra rode her dragon, Syrax.

At the time of her father's death, Rhaenyra was on Dragonstone awaiting the birth of her sixth child. The greens in King's Landing ensured that the news of the Viserys's death did not reach her until her own supporters in the Red Keep were dead or imprisoned and Aegon II's coronation had already occurred. When news reached Rhaenyra, she went into a black fury and went into early labor, producing a deformed, stillborn daughter, Visenya. Rhaenyra blamed this tragedy on the enemies who had stolen her crown. Rhaenyra had a hastily-arranged coronation of her own. The arrival of Ser Steffon Darklyn of the Kingsguard on Dragonstone, accompanied by some other supporters, was therefore celebrated, as they brought with them the crown worn by Jaehaerys I and Viserys. Rhaenyra was crowned with her father's crown by her husband and uncle, Prince Daemon Targaryen.

To gain more support to take the throne from her brother, Rhaenyra sent her son Jace on his dragon to treat with the Arryns, Manderlys, and Starks, and her son Luke to treat with Lord Borros Baratheon at Storm's End. Luke's mission was thought to be the safer journey, but he arrived at Storm's End to find Queen Alicent's younger son Aemond already there. Aemond, riding Vhagar, killed Luke over Shipbreaker Bay as he attempted to leave after failing to gain Lord Borros' allegiance. The news of Luke's death devastated his mother.

Rhaenyra took the capital and sat in the throne for roughly half a year. Upon taking the city, Rhaenyra insisted on claiming her father's seat, and so she climbed the Iron Throne and accepted pleas of forgiveness and loyalty from those in the Red Keep all throughout the night. Although Rhaenyra was dressed in armor, Septon Eustace claimed that those present witnessed the throne leaving several cuts on her legs and left hand. The dripping blood was taken as a sign that the throne had rejected her; her days as ruler would be few. Eustace further claims that Rhaenyra would continuously cut herself more frequently when she sat on the Iron Throne and became more stout from gluttony during her time in King's Landing.

Those living in King's Landing initially welcomed Rhaenyra's return as a ruler, for they had always had little love for Aegon II Targaryen and his brother Aemond. Rhaenyra once in power sent knights inquisitor to pursue those who had helped Aegon escape the capital, the spikes of the gates started to be filled with more and more heads each day and although the late king Viserys I Targaryen had left the treasure vaults full of gold upon his death, the treasury was completely empty by the time Rhaenyra had taken the city, for the greens had sent three quarters of the gold away for safekeeping and spent the rest prior to the fall of the capital. Rhaenyra was in desperate need of coin, Lord Bartimos Celtigar, her new master of coin placed new taxes on the populace that increased day by day. The smallfolk slowly started to turn against her, and eventually named her "King Maegor with teats." The term Maegor's Teats became a common curse in King's Landing for a hundred years thereafter.

After hearing of the Two Betrayers, Rhaenyra grew paranoid and declared the two remaining dragonseeds, Ser Addam Velaryon and the girl Nettles both traitors, a decision with disastrous consequences. Rhaenyra's Hand, Lord Corlys Velaryon, who had named Addam his heir, alerted Addam in time for the knight to flee upon the back of the dragon Seasmoke. This led to the arrest of Corlys, which caused the fleet of House Velaryon to abandon Rhaenyra's cause.

In order to have the girl Nettles killed, Queen Rhaenyra had sent a letter to Lord Manfryd Mooton, commanding him to kill the girl. Lord Mooton refused, as Nettles was under the protection of guest right. He feared Prince Daemon would kill them if they followed Rhaenyra's orders, but saw there was no winning option, since refusing to obey Rhaenyra's order would make him a traitor to the crown. Insisting that kings Viserys I and Jaehaerys I would never have asked such a thing, Manfryd decided to change his allegiance to Aegon, after Nettles and Daemon had left his roof.

A massive riot soon sprang up in King's Landing, after the suicide of Helaena Targaryen who was beloved of the small folk. Many said she was killed on Rhaenyra's orders. The fact that this story was so easily believed, showed how much the city had turned against Rhaenyra. The riots soon escalated to the storming of the Dragonpit, and the death of her son Joffrey Velaryon.

After this, Rhaenyra planned to flee King’s Landing, and in the aftermath of the deaths of all her other children she refused to let Aegon out of her sight. However, word reached her of the Dance at Dragonstone, and young Princess Baela’s sacrifice, and the death of her half-brother. Emboldened by this victory, and word that relief was coming, Rhaenyra shut herself and Aegon into Maegor’s Holdfast. Withstanding the remainder of the chaos, and Boros Baratheon, the Black Queen was eventually liberated by Cregan Stark the group of young Riverlords known as ‘the Lads’. Upon her victory, she had all mentions of her half-brother as a king struck down, declaring he had never been more than a usurper, and so he would be forever remembered as Aegon ‘the Usurper’.

The Reign of the Black Queen
Rhaenyra’s true reign began with blood. Men and women alike were brought before her to face justice. First to die was the young Trystane ‘Trufyre’, who had dared sit the throne whilst she tok shelter in Maegor’s Holdfast, the boy was tortured for his insolence, then hung. Next came the trial of the so called ‘Cunny King’, Gaemon Palehair. His mother and her Dornish lover found themselves hung, but upon Prince Aegon’s interjection on the grounds that the young boy reminded of his lost brother, Viserys, Rhaenyra decided to spare the boy. Instead Gaemon would be sent to the wall, where he would grow to become a storied ranger out of the Shadow Tower.

Then came the nobles. Turncloaks, betrayers, one and all they found themselves victims to Cregan Stark’s justice, all but one. Larys Strong, the Clubfoot, begged for his life in exchange for his fealty, and most importantly, one of her sons. Rhaenyra, said to have gripped the throne so tightly a blade sliced one of her fingers to the bone, demanded the last Strong explain himself. He revealed his knowledge of the young prince viserys’ survival in Lys, and that he could secure his release, if funds were acquired.

Rhaenyra secured all the wealth needed, draining the coffers of House Hightower and Lannister to do so, and set out to retrieve the boy. It took years of negotiations, but in the end, the young prince would be returned to his mother with bride and child in tow.

One soul never found their way to the headsman’s block, nor the noose, Corlys Velaryon. The Sea Snake was found dead in his cell, stabbed to death. Rhaenyra insisted it was the act of those still loyal to the greens, and had several men executed for it, but many suspected her. Her explanation persuaded Rhaena Targaryen, but not the legitimized Alyn Velaryon, who decried her as a murderer. When the Clubfoot’s men cam for Alyn to silence him, they found him long gone, vanished for a time.

Her reign for a time, was quiet as the realm licked its wounds. She was incredibly overbearing towards her sons, prompting young Prince Viserys to run away, eventually finding his way to Red Lake in order to tame the dragon Silverwing, and eventually leading Aegon to take up permanent residence on Dragonstone.

It was through seven years of small conflicts, and small joys that Rahenyra ruled. She dispatched both the dragons of her house in full only once in order to pacify the Vale, though she threatened the use of them often, and became bitter towards the creatures over time. The source of this bitterness came from that which crawled out from the egg meant to birth Syrax' replacement, which rather than a healthy hatchling, birthed a shrieking, wingless, eyeless wyrm, which tore flesh from her fingers before being dispatched by Ser Marston Waters. The wound quickly became infected, and like her father before her, she lost several fingers to amputation.

She suffered greatly through her rule, and took to wearing armor on the throne less to present herself as imposing, but to protect her from an ever growing number of cuts from its spurns, though she refused to ever hold court anywhere aside from her throne. Her few joys were the grandchildren given to her by Aegon, and her regular demeaning of Princess Jaehaerea, whom the Black Queen loathed.

It was in 137 that the end of the Black Queen's reign began with The Witch's War, which not only saw the death of the dragon Morning, but also the wedge between herself and her son's widened, Viserys wroth she had not allowed him to take Silverwing to aid and confined him to his room, and Aegon equally so as she had him likewise confined to Dragonstone. It was said that when Prince Daemon's sword, Dark Sister was finally laid in her lap, a solitary tear rolled down the queens face as she declared the blade 'cursed'.

Death
In the next year, it was all but over. When the Cannibal left Dragonstone on it's terrible rampage, the queen was too slow to stop her valiant son Viserys from facing the challenge. She had been preoccupied with her newly born, and first, granddaughter, Naerys, and so Viserys had fled. The Last Dance followed, and when word reached her of not only the death of both dragons, but of another of her sons, the queen collapsed. Despite rumors that she died instantly, the Black Queen languished for days, dying mere hours before Aegon arrived to comfort her. Rather than be showed to his mother's bedside, Aegon was instead showed to the sept, and coronated as Aegon Targaryen, Second of his Name.

Legacy
As the victor of the Dance of the Dragons, Rhaenyra I is remembered either as a fearless reclaimer or a malicious usurper, depending on which House is asked, and whether or not they were historically a Black or a Green (Of course, the latter is now quite treasonous indeed). Rhaenyra is easily mentioned in the same breath as other great kings like Aegon the Dragon, and she has the distinction of being the architect of the modern Targaryen dynasty, for every single living Targaryen can trace ancestry to her.

Appearance
Rhaenyra had her family's Valyrian looks, wearing her silver-gold hair in a long braid in the manner of Queen Visenya Targaryen. Beautiful as a child, Rhaenyra was later declared by her uncle, Prince Daemon Targaryen, to be the most beautiful maiden in all the Seven Kingdoms. Rhaenyra never lost weight gained from pregnancies, and she had grown stout and thick of waist at the age of twenty after her third pregnancy.

Rhaenyra always dressed richly, favoring purple and maroon velvets and golden Myrish lace in intricate patterns. Her bodice often glittered with pearls and diamonds, and there were always rings on her fingers. Whenever she was anxious, she would turn them compulsively, round and round.

After her victory in the Dance of the Dragons, Rhaenyra favoured either the crown of Aegon the Conqueror or Jaehaerys the Conciliator.

Personality
Rhaenyra was proud and stubborn, and there was a certain petulance to her. Though she could be charming, Rhaenyra was quick to anger and never forgot a slight.