Daemon Targaryen

Daemon Targaryen was a prince of the Targaryen dynasty in George R.R. Martin's fictional history, Fire & Blood. He was the younger brother of King Viserys I and the grandson of Jaehaerys I. Known as the Rogue Prince, he cultivated a reputation for violence, extravagance, and defiance. He wielded Dark Sister, the Valyrian steel sword long associated with Targaryen warriors, and rode Caraxes, a huge red dragon called the Blood Wyrm. His early offices in King's Landing included commander of the City Watch and master of laws, but he repeatedly clashed with Viserys and was removed from court amid controversy. Daemon married Rhea Royce, heir to Runestone in the Vale, yet their union was notably unhappy and produced no children. After Rhea's death, he married Laena Velaryon, daughter of the powerful sea lord Corlys Velaryon and Princess Rhaenys. Their marriage connected him to House Velaryon and produced twin daughters, Baela and Rhaena. Daemon and Laena lived for a time in Pentos, where he continued flying Caraxes. Laena died after a failed childbirth, choosing dragonfire rather than the maester's proposed surgical effort to save her. Daemon later returned to Westeros and wed his niece, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, strengthening her disputed claim. When Viserys died in 129 AC, Rhaenyra and her half-brother Aegon II became rival monarchs in the civil war remembered as the Dance of the Dragons. Daemon served as Rhaenyra's husband, chief military figure, and one of the blacks' most formidable dragonriders. He helped secure Harrenhal, whose lord surrendered without resistance, and used its strategic position to threaten the riverlands. At Rook's Rest, the dragon Meleys was killed alongside Princess Rhaenys by Aegon II and his brother Aemond, riding Sunfyre and Vhagar. Daemon later sought Aemond, his dangerous one-eyed nephew, for a final confrontation over the Gods Eye lake itself. In the battle above the Gods Eye, Daemon and Aemond fought atop Caraxes and Vhagar. Daemon leapt from his saddle onto Vhagar and drove Dark Sister through Aemond's remaining eye. The dragons crashed into the lake; Daemon's body was never recovered, while Aemond's corpse remained fastened to Vhagar's saddle, the sword still lodged in his skull. Caraxes survived the fall briefly, dragged himself from the water, and died on the shore. Daemon's death removed a decisive black commander, but Rhaenyra's cause was fragmented by war, grief, and political mistrust. His story combines family succession, dragon warfare, and the dynasty's self-destruction.