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Mar 20

Daenerys, Rhaegar and Aegon the Conqueror: Parallels and all connections in book canon

It is no secret that Daenerys is the face and the main representative of her House and that she shares many parallels with her ancestors, both big and minor. However, the following meta discusses the narrative connections and parallels between Dany and Rhaegar as well as parallels both of them share with Aegon the Conqueror. Personally, I find them some of the most important and interesting ones, as well as kind of overlooked by many readers, despite their importance for the whole series.

Let’s start with the connection between Daenerys and Rhaegar. I think it’s pretty obvious how strongly, intentionally and positively they’re connected in canon, but I would like to highlight it once again.

Rhaegar & Daenerys

He is the family member, a dead pre-series character, who is mentioned in Dany’s POVs the most and, obviously, the most important role he plays in ASOIAF is in her arc.

Dany looks up to Rhaegar in moments of distress many times, seeking courage and/or making important decisions.

“Death?” Dany wrapped her arms around herself protectively, rocked back and forth on her heels. “My death?” She told herself she would die for him, if she must. She was the blood of the dragon, she would not be afraid. Her brother Rhaegar had died for the woman he loved. (AGOT, Daenerys VIII)

“[...] My gallant knights of Westeros, an informer and a turncloak. My brother would have hanged you both.” Viserys would have, anyway. She did not know what Rhaegar would have done. (ASOS, Daenerys VI)

If I look back I am lost, Dany told herself the next morning as she entered Astapor through the harbor gates. She dared not remind herself how small and insignificant her following truly was, or she would lose all courage. […] I ought to have a banner sewn, she thought as she led her tattered band up along Astapor’s meandering river. She closed her eyes to imagine how it would look: all flowing black silk, and on it the red three-headed dragon of Targaryen, breathing golden flames. A banner such as Rhaegar might have borne. (ASOS, Daenerys III)

That night her handmaids brought her lamb, […]. She could eat none of it. Did Rhaegar ever grow so weary? she wondered. Did Aegon, after his conquest? (ASOS, Daenerys VI)

Dany mounted her silver. She could feel her heart thumping in her chest. She felt desperately afraid. Was this what my brother would have done? She wondered if Prince Rhaegar had been this anxious when he saw the Usurper’s host formed up across the Trident with all their banners floating on the wind. (ASOS, Daenerys III)

Interesting to note how in this chapter, during the fall of Astapor, Dany not only seeks courage in Rhaegar’s figure when she is “desperately afraid”, but also equates her crucial battle to Rhaegar’s one. It becomes even more obvious when you look at her last thought before turning back to Kraznys mo Nakloz and finally making the first move, risking basically everything.

It is time to cross the Trident, Dany thought, as she wheeled and rode her silver back. (ASOS, Daenerys III)

But, unlike Rhaegar, she won her crucial battle.

Rhaegar’s fate is used as a warning to Dany.

“There is more of Rhaegar in you, I think, but even Rhaegar could be slain. Robert proved that on the Trident, with no more than a warhammer. Even dragons can die.” (ACOK, Daenerys II)

“[…] At the Trident, those brave men Viserys spoke of who died beneath our dragon banners — did they give their lives because they believed in Rhaegar’s cause, or because they had been bought and paid for?” Dany turned to Mormont, crossed her arms, and waited for an answer. “My queen,” the big man said slowly, “all you say is true. But Rhaegar lost on the Trident. He lost the battle, he lost the war, he lost the kingdom, and he lost his life. His blood swirled downriver with the rubies from his breastplate, and Robert the Usurper rode over his corpse to steal the Iron Throne. Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, Rhaegar fought honorably. And Rhaegar died.” (ASOS, Daenerys II)

However, it is important to note that the last scene happened right before the fall of Astapor and is a part of the narrative not only comparing Dany to Rhaegar but also their own important battles, the crucial one of the Rebellion and the crucial one that started Dany’s abolishment of slavery. The warning didn’t come true, Dany won and lived unlike Rhaegar, which is also a part of anti-parallels of Dany not only with her eldest brother but also with her other ancestors, succeeding where they failed.

[For that reason, I find the possibility of Dany dying young in battle before having any real time to improve lives of Westerosi people, the same way Rhaegar did, not likely at all, especially in the light of narrative comparison between the Trident and the War for the Dawn that we are going to mention later]

The narrative repeatedly parallels them through Dany’s own words when she uses Rhaegar as a figure worth of looking up to, “role model”-like one, in her arguments with her advisors what she should and should not do.

In ASOS, Dany argues with Jorah against buying an army of slaves.

“Viserys would have bought as many Unsullied as he had the coin for. But you once said I was like Rhaegar…” […] “Prince Rhaegar led free men into battle, not slaves. Whitebeard said he dubbed his squires himself, and made many other knights as well.” “There was no higher honor than to receive your knighthood from the Prince of Dragonstone.” “Tell me, then—when he touched a man on the shoulder with his sword, what did he say? ‘Go forth and kill the weak’? Or ‘Go forth and defend them’? At the Trident, those brave men Viserys spoke of who died beneath our dragon banners—did they give their lives because they believed in Rhaegar’s cause, or because they had been bought and paid for?” Dany turned to Mormont, crossed her arms, and waited for an answer. (ASOS, Daenerys II)

In ADWD, Dany tries to persuade Barristan that she really needs an unwanted arranged marriage with Hizdahr zo Loraq, the idea he doesn’t approve of.

[…] “You saw my brother Rhaegar wed. Tell me, did he wed for love or duty?” The old knight hesitated. “Princess Elia was a good woman, Your Grace. She was kind and clever, with a gentle heart and a sweet wit. I know the prince was very fond of her.” Fond, thought Dany. The word spoke volumes. I could become fond of Hizdahr zo Loraq, in time. Perhaps. Ser Barristan went on. “I saw your father and your mother wed as well. Forgive me, but there was no fondness there, and the realm paid dearly for that, my queen.” (ADWD, Daenerys IV)

Important to note how once again it is Rhaegar who plays the biggest role in Dany’s arc, not Aerys, for whose sins some readers desperately want Dany to apologize for or misinterpret text to insist she is his parallel, not his foil. Aerys doesn’t play that big of a role for Dany, especially in comparison to Rhaegar, and in fact Aerys is paralleled to Viserys and both of them are foils to Dany and Rhaegar. Not to mention how passionate GRRM is about Cersei/Aerys parallels and an undeniable fact that Cersei and Dany are intentional foils as well (X1, X2). It is Rhaegar’s wedding she asks Barristan about, not even her parents’. Actually, the marriage of Aerys and Rhaella is something Barristan brings up first by himself as it can be seen from the quote above.

Both have a “love vs duty” kind of a situation, with their partners being contrasted in the text on purpose.

Many elements of Dany’s arc can find their parallels and anti-parallels in Rhaegar’s story. As it was discussed above, Dany won her “Trident” in ASOS and lived unlike Rhaegar. In ADWD, we see how narrative compares Hizdahr/Dany/Daario situation to the Elia/Rhaegar/Lyanna one. While they obviously have their important differences, it is undeniable how Dany and Rhaegar are paralleled purposefully in these “love vs duty” situations.

“And if [Hizdahr] does not fail? What will Your Grace do then?” “Her duty.” The word felt cold upon her tongue. “You saw my brother Rhaegar wed. Tell me, did he wed for love or duty?” The old knight hesitated. “Princess Elia was a good woman, Your Grace. She was kind and clever, with a gentle heart and a sweet wit. I know the prince was very fond of her.” Fond, thought Dany. The word spoke volumes. I could become fond of Hizdahr zo Loraq, in time. Perhaps. (ADWD, Daenerys IV)

[…] Daenerys Targaryen eased herself onto the chair’s plush velvet seat, and Hizdahr zo Loraq went to his knees, unlaced her sandals, and washed her feet whilst fifty eunuchs sang and ten thousand eyes looked on. He has gentle hands, she mused, as warm fragrant oils ran between her toes. If he has a gentle heart as well, I may grow fond of him in time. (ADWD, Daenerys VII)

[…] inside her was some foolish little girl who could not help but look about for Daario. If he loved you, he would come and carry you off at swordpoint, as Rhaegar carried off his northern girl, the girl in her insisted, but the queen knew that was folly. (ADWD, Daenerys VII)

Daenerys Targaryen loved her captain, but that was the girl in her, not the queen. Prince Rhaegar loved his Lady Lyanna, and thousands died for it. (ADWD, The Kingbreaker)

She found herself thinking of Meereen, of Daario, her love, and Hizdahr, her husband, of Irri and Jhiqui and sweet Missandei, Ser Barristan and Reznak and Skahaz Shavepate. (ADWD, Daenerys X)

However, Dany and Rhaegar made different decisions and both paid for them. While we still do not know details about what exactly happened with Rhaegar and Lyanna’s elopement, canon text strongly suggests the interpretation of him choosing Lyanna out of love, the choice he died for. [Even though I think it is not an absolutely fair judgement since their elopement alone didn’t start the Rebellion where Rhaegar died fighting the most important battle, and GRRM confirmed that himself]

“Her brother Rhaegar battling the Usurper in the bloody waters of the Trident and dying for the woman he loved.” (AGOT, Daenerys I)

“She was the blood of the dragon, she would not be afraid. Her brother Rhaegar had died for the woman he loved.” (AGOT, Daenerys VIII)

“Prince Rhaegar loved his Lady Lyanna, and thousands died for it.” (ADWD, The Kingbreaker)

Rubies flew like drops of blood from the chest of a dying prince, and he sank to his knees in the water and with his last breath murmured a woman’s name… (ACOK, Daenerys IV)

“Leading a large host to the Trident, Rhaegar met Robert in battle. Dueling on horseback in the fording of the river, Rhaegar was killed after giving Robert a serious wound. He would die with Lyanna’s name on his lips.” (The World of Ice and Fire App, approved of and filled with extra information by GRRM)

Dany, on the contrary, chose duty, yet marrying Hizdahr was a mistake for several reasons (even though Dany’s motivations were completely selfless and compassionate) that eventually led to the assassination attempt that Hizdahr most likely was a part of. Unlike Rhaegar, she survives once again, however.

“What of Hizdahr? He is still her consort. Her king. Her husband.” “Her poisoner.” Is he? “Where is your proof?” “The crown he wears is proof enough. The throne he sits. Open your eyes, old man. That is all he needed from Daenerys, all he ever wanted. Once he had it, why share the rule?” Why indeed? It had been so hot down in the pit. He could still see the air shimmering above the scarlet sands, smell the blood spilling from the men who’d died for their amusement. And he could still hear Hizdahr, urging his queen to try the honeyed locusts. Those are very tasty… sweet and hot… yet he never touched so much as one himself… (ADWD, The Queensguard)

“You urged the queen to try the locusts. I heard you.” “I thought she might enjoy them.” Hizdahr retreated another step. “Hot and sweet at once.” “Hot and sweet and poisoned. With mine own ears I heard you commanding the men in the pit to kill Drogon. Shouting at them.” Hizdahr licked his lips. “The beast devoured Barsena’s flesh. Dragons prey on men. It was killing, burning…” “… burning men who meant harm to your queen. Harpy’s Sons, as like as not. Your friends.” “Not my friends.” “You say that, yet when you told them to stop killing they obeyed. Why would they do that if you were not one of them?” Hizdahr shook his head. This time he did not answer. (ADWD, The Kingbreaker)

She wondered if Hizdahr was still king. His crown had come from her, could he hold it in her absence? He wanted Drogon dead. I heard him. “Kill it,” he screamed, “kill the beast,” and the look upon his face was lustful. And Strong Belwas had been on his knees, heaving and shuddering. Poison. It had to be poison. The honeyed locusts. Hizdahr urged them on me, but Belwas ate them all. She had made Hizdahr her king, taken him into her bed, opened the fighting pits for him, he had no reason to want her dead. Yet who else could it have been? (ADWD, Daenerys X)

As one of the fandom friends pointed out to me, another interesting detail there is how certain symbols and details overlap in both Rhaegar and Dany’s “love or duty” struggles.

“Only if you do the same.” He kissed her. [Daario’s] hair smelled of blood and smoke and horse, and his mouth was hard and hot on hers. Dany trembled in his arms. (ADWD, Daenerys VI)

“And if [Hizdahr] does not fail? What will Your Grace do then?” “Her duty.” The word felt cold upon her tongue. “You saw my brother Rhaegar wed. Tell me, did he wed for love or duty?” (ADWD, Daenerys IV)

[…] Beneath her coverlets [Dany] tossed and turned, dreaming that Hizdahr was kissing her… but his lips were blue and bruised, and when he thrust himself inside her, his manhood was cold as ice. She sat up with her hair disheveled and the bedclothes atangle. […] (ADWD, Daenerys VII)

“[…] I mean... Fire is love, fire is passion, fire is sexual ardor and all of these things. Ice is betrayal, ice is revenge, ice is… you know, that kind of cold inhumanity and all that stuff is being played out in the books.” (GRRM, in one of his interviews)

And yet, in Rhaegar’s case things are subverted once again. His “partner for love” was Lyanna Stark from the cold North, whose house is associated with cold and winter, while his “partner for duty” was Elia Martell from hot Dorne, whose house is associated with sun and heat.

Dany is directly compared to Rhaegar in the text several times.

“I am not Viserys.” “No,” he admitted. “There is more of Rhaegar in you, I think, but even Rhaegar could be slain. Robert proved that on the Trident, with no more than a warhammer. Even dragons can die.” “Dragons die.” She stood on her toes to kiss him lightly on an unshaven cheek. “But so do dragonslayers.” (ACOK, Daenerys II)

“Viserys would have bought as many Unsullied as he had the coin for. But you once said I was like Rhaegar…” (ASOS, Daenerys II)

Moreover, she is complemented by being compared to Rhaegar and/or receives these comparisons after doing kind, good, honourable things, e.g. stopping the rape of women, or after impressive achievements, like coming up with a successful battle plan by herself.

The knight gave her a curious look. “You are your brother’s sister, in truth.” “Viserys?” She did not understand. “No,” he answered. “Rhaegar.” (AGOT, Daenerys VII, right after she stopped the massive rape of women after the attack on the Lhazareen village by the Dothraki, an unexpected action that put Dany herself at risk)

[…] She smiled. “To be sure, I am only a young girl and know little of war. What do you think, my lords?” “I think you are Rhaegar Targaryen’s sister,” Ser Jorah said with a rueful half smile. “Aye,” said Arstan Whitebeard, “and a queen as well.” (ASOS, Daenerys IV, after coming up with an impressive battle plan of conquering Yunkai that was absolutely successful and was supported by all her adult male commanders and advisors, all the while being a girl of 15 years old without a formal education)

Afterward, Ser Barristan told her that her brother Rhaegar would have been proud of her. Dany remembered the words Ser Jorah had spoken at Astapor: Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, Rhaegar fought honorably. And Rhaegar died. (ADWD, Daenerys V, after forbidding torture and refusing to take even more hostages from all the ruling families of Meereen, taking the risk again; however, Dany does understand where this path may lead her as we see from her recalling this old comparison-warning)

Both are tied to the prophecy and thus the main magical plot of the series.

Rhaegar was considered to be TPTWP in his youth and very much likely decided to become a warrior, because he thought fighting the end of the world was his duty. There were several signs strong enough to have maester Aemon and later Rhaegar himself believing in this theory for a long time, until other circumstances came up. There’s a lot I could say on the matter, but let’s not diverge from the main point: Rhaegar was aware of the Long Night coming and intended to take action to save people from it.

[…] “As a young boy, the Prince of Dragonstone was bookish to a fault. He was reading so early that men said Queen Rhaella must have swallowed some books and a candle whilst he was in her womb. Rhaegar took no interest in the play of other children. The maesters were awed by his wits, but his father’s knights would jest sourly that Baelor the Blessed had been born again. Until one day Prince Rhaegar found something in his scrolls that changed him. No one knows what it might have been, only that the boy suddenly appeared early one morning in the yard as the knights were donning their steel. He walked up to Ser Willem Darry, the master-at-arms, and said, ‘I will require sword and armor. It seems I must be a warrior.’” (ASOS, Daenerys I)

[…] “No one ever looked for a girl,” [Aemon] said. “It was a prince that was promised, not a princess. Rhaegar, I thought… the smoke was from the fire that devoured Summerhall on the day of his birth, the salt from the tears shed for those who died. He shared my belief when he was young, but later he became persuaded that it was his own son who fulfilled the prophecy, for a comet had been seen above King's Landing on the night Aegon was conceived, and Rhaegar was certain the bleeding star had to be a comet. What fools we were, who thought ourselves so wise! The error crept in from the translation. Dragons are neither male nor female, Barth saw the truth of that, but now one and now the other, as changeable as flame. The language misled us all for a thousand years. Daenerys is the one, born amidst salt and smoke. The dragons prove it.” Just talking of her seemed to make him stronger. “I must go to her. I must. Would that I was even ten years younger.” (AFFC, Samwell IV)

However, it is not Rhaegar but Daenerys who is the promised savior, which maester Aemon realized at the end of his life. Rhaegar was definitely right about one thing, though. “The bleeding star” was indeed a comet, just a different one, one of the many signs pointing at Dany being TPTWP/AA.

Although their magical tie does not end here.

Dany first hears about TPTWP in her visions through Rhaegar’s mouth.

“He has a song,” the man replied. “He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire.” He looked up when he said it and his eyes met Dany’s, and it seemed as if he saw her standing there beyond the door. “There must be one more,” he said, though whether he was speaking to her or the woman in the bed she could not say. “The dragon has three heads.” He went to the window seat, picked up a harp, and ran his fingers lightly over its silvery strings. Sweet sadness filled the room as man and wife and babe faded like the morning mist, only the music lingering behind to speed her on her way. (ACOK, Daenerys IV)

Dany could not let it go. “His is the song of ice and fire, my brother said. I’m certain it was my brother. Not Viserys, Rhaegar. He had a harp with silver strings.” Ser Jorah’s frown deepened until his eyebrows came together. “Prince Rhaegar played such a harp,” he conceded. “You saw him?” (ACOK, Daenerys V)

Dany still has a long way ahead of her with finding out about the prophecy and her own role in this, but she already has enough hints, including this and other visions we are going to talk about next.

Dany dreams of both being Rhaegar on the Trident and fighting the Others in the War for the Dawn.

That night she dreamt that she was Rhaegar, riding to the Trident. But she was mounted on a dragon, not a horse. When she saw the Usurper’s rebel host across the river they were armored all in ice, but she bathed them in dragonfire and they melted away like dew and turned the Trident into a torrent. Some small part of her knew that she was dreaming, but another part exulted. This is how it was meant to be. The other was a nightmare, and I have only now awakened. (ASOS, Daenerys III)

As we can see, it is not only a part of Dany’s arc in ASOS using Rhaegar and the Trident as a metaphor for her own war against the slavery. It is a very straightforward foreshadowing for Dany’s greatest battle in all of the series, the War for the Dawn, directly paralleling Rhaegar (who was thought to be TPTWP) to Dany (the real TPTWP/AA and the dragonrider she’s become in ADWD) and his foe and foil Robert Baratheon to the main enemy aka the Others.

Funnily enough, it is not the first vision that basically says “Dany = Rhaegar = the hero he was supposed to be”.

Right before the climax of her arc in AGOT with fulfilling a part of the prophecy (waking dragons out of stone) readers haven’t even been told yet, Dany had visions full of crucial foreshadowing and symbols, one of which is of Rhaegar.

And saw her brother Rhaegar, mounted on a stallion as black as his armor. Fire glimmered red through the narrow eye slit of his helm. “The last dragon,” Ser Jorah’s voice whispered faintly. “The last, the last.” Dany lifted his polished black visor. The face within was her own. (AGOT, Daenerys IX)

Even before ASOS Rhaegar played an important role in Dany’s arc that vividly shows us what Dany’s role truly is as well as her development. We came from this in the beginning of AGOT:

“Oh, yes,” Viserys said darkly. “He has tried, Illyrio, I promise you that. His hired knives follow us everywhere. I am the last dragon, and he will not sleep easy while I live.” (AGOT, Daenerys I)

Through this:

“I hit him,” she said, wonder in her voice. Now that it was over, it seemed like some strange dream that she had dreamed. “Ser Jorah, do you think… he’ll be so angry when [Viserys] gets back…” [Dany] shivered. “I woke the dragon, didn’t I?” Ser Jorah snorted. “Can you wake the dead, girl? Your brother Rhaegar was the last dragon, and he died on the Trident. Viserys is less than the shadow of a snake.” (AGOT, Daenerys III)

Finally, to this:

Ser Jorah Mormont drew her aside as the sun was creeping toward its zenith. “Princess… ” he began. “Why do you call me that?” Dany challenged him. “My brother Viserys was your king, was he not?” “He was, my lady.” “Viserys is dead. I am his heir, the last blood of House Targaryen. Whatever was his is mine now.” “My… queen,” Ser Jorah said, going to one knee. (AGOT, Daenerys X)

Rhaegar was supposed to be the king and the last dragon, but after his death Dany really fulfilled this role, not Viserys. Moreover, this part of her vision is interesting not only because of the direct statement “Dany = Rhaegar = The last dragon” (aka the mighty last hope of House Targaryen), but also for the fact how much this vision overlaps with her dream in ACOK we’ve discussed above.

That night she dreamt that she was Rhaegar, riding to the Trident. But she was mounted on a dragon, not a horse. When she saw the Usurper's rebel host across the river they were armored all in ice, but she bathed them in dragonfire and they melted away like dew and turned the Trident into a torrent. Some small part of her knew that she was dreaming, but another part exulted. This is how it was meant to be. The other was a nightmare, and I have only now awakened. (ASOS, Daenerys III)

In both cases she is Rhaegar ready for battle, but the difference is that she is mounted on a black dragon, not a black horse, and her final war is the War for the Dawn, the one Rhaegar once thought would be his. This could lead us to think that if only he won on the Trident and lived, like Dany did twice in the Slaver’s Bay (and will do again being “the child of three” that she is), maybe he would’ve been the one to fight the Long Night. But the canon already told us that it is not “how it was meant to be”.

Honorary mentions: other curious details that solidify positive and strong connection between Dany and Rhaegar.

a) “Rhaegar’s sister”

Ser Barristan went to one knee before her. “My queen, your realm has need of you. You are not wanted here, but in Westeros men will flock to your banners by the thousands, great lords and noble knights. ‘She is come,’ they will shout to one another, in glad voices. ‘Prince Rhaegar’s sister has come home at last.’” (ADWD, Daenerys III)

“No,” said Alleras. “It was Prince Rhaegar’s young son Aegon whose head was dashed against the wall by the Lion of Lannister's brave men. We speak of Rhaegar’s sister, born on Dragonstone before its fall. The one they called Daenerys.” “The Stormborn. I recall her now.” Mollander lifted his tankard high, sloshing the cider that remained. “Here’s to her!” He gulped, slammed his empty tankard down, belched, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Where’s Rosey? Our rightful queen deserves another round of cider, wouldn’t you say?” (AFFC, Prologue)

“By now the lion surely has the dragon’s scent,” said one of the Coles, “but Cersei’s attentions will be fixed upon Meereen and this other queen. She knows nothing of our prince. Once we land and raise our banners, many and more will flock to join us.” “Some,” allowed Homeless Harry, “not many. Rhaegar’s sister has dragons. Rhaegar’s son does not. We do not have the strength to take the realm without Daenerys and her army. Her Unsullied.” (ADWD, The Lost Lord)

[…] “I was seven when Elia died. They say I held her daughter Rhaenys once, when I was too young to remember. Aegon will be a stranger to me, whether true or false.” The princess paused. “We looked for Rhaegar's sister, not his son.” Her father had confided in Ser Daemon when he chose him as his daughter’s shield; with him at least she could speak freely. “I would sooner it were Quentyn who’d returned.” (TWOW, Arianne I)

As we can see, Dany is known as “Rhaegar’s sister” to many different people across Westeros and/or of Westerosi origin, no matter who they are (highborn and low) and what they’re after (nothing at all or Dany’s dragons and army). The narrative clearly aims for it to be a positive thing, which removes Dany from the fanon “the Mad King’s daughter” idea of her story arc in Westeros, to associate her with the positive aspects of House Targaryen’s legacy through Rhaegar (“greatness”), not their ruin, which culminated in the disastrous rule of Aerys II (“madness”).

b) Longing for the family members they could never meet

The text often comments on Rhaegar and his melancholy, said to be an effect of the tragic circumstances of his birth in Summerhall.

“Perhaps so, Your Grace.” Whitebeard paused a moment. “But I am not certain it was in Rhaegar to be happy.” “You make him sound so sour,” Dany protested. “Not sour, no, but… there was a melancholy to Prince Rhaegar, a sense…” The old man hesitated again. “Say it,” she urged. “A sense…?” “… of doom. He was born in grief, my queen, and that shadow hung over him all his days.” Viserys had spoken of Rhaegar’s birth only once. Perhaps the tale saddened him too much. “It was the shadow of Summerhall that haunted him, was it not?” “Yes. And yet Summerhall was the place the prince loved best. He would go there from time to time, with only his harp for company. Even the knights of the Kingsguard did not attend him there. He liked to sleep in the ruined hall, beneath the moon and stars, and whenever he came back he would bring a song. When you heard him play his high harp with the silver strings and sing of twilights and tears and the death of kings, you could not but feel that he was singing of himself and those he loved.” (ASOS, Daenerys IV)

Seventeen and new to knighthood, Rhaegar Targaryen had worn black plate over golden ringmail when he cantered onto the lists. Long streamers of red and gold and orange silk had floated behind his helm, like flames. Two of her uncles fell before his lance, along with a dozen of her father’s finest jousters, the flower of the west. By night the prince played his silver harp and made her weep. When she had been presented to him, Cersei had almost drowned in the depths of his sad purple eyes. He has been wounded, she recalled thinking, but I will mend his hurt when we are wed. Next to Rhaegar, even her beautiful Jaime had seemed no more than a callow boy. […] (AFFC, Cersei V)

[…] Prince Rhaegar was returning from Dorne, and he and his escort had lingered here a fortnight. He was so young then, and I was younger. Boys, the both of us. At the welcoming feast, the prince had taken up his silver-stringed harp and played for them. A song of love and doom, Jon Connington recalled, and every woman in the hall was weeping when he put down the harp. Not the men, of course. Particularly not his own father, whose only love was land. Lord Armond Connington spent the entire evening trying to win the prince to his side in his dispute with Lord Morrigen. (ADWD, The Griffin Reborn)

Rhaegar was probably affected by the grief of his parents, Aerys and Rhaella, as those who could actually remember everyone who had died in Summerhall, even going as far as naming their children after lost family members (all of whom didn’t survive infancy if they lived at all). However, I do think this speculation can coexist with another: Rhaegar most likely couldn’t really mourn people that he’d never met. It could be interpreted as yet another link to Dany, the real “last dragon”, that terribly wishes she could know the family members who’d died before she was even born, especially Rhaegar himself.

Her father had been slain before she was born, and her splendid brother Rhaegar as well. Her mother had died bringing her into the world while the storm screamed outside. (ACOK, Daenerys I)

[…] She beckoned Whitebeard closer. “Did you ever meet my royal father?” King Aerys II had died before his daughter was born. […] “Did you know my brother Rhaegar as well?” (ASOS, Daenerys I)

“Swords win battles,” Ser Jorah said bluntly. “And Prince Rhaegar knew how to use one.” Dany turned back to the squire. “I know little of Rhaegar. Only the tales Viserys told, and he was a little boy when our brother died. What was he truly like?” The old man considered a moment. “Able. That above all. Determined, deliberate, dutiful, single-minded. There is a tale told of him… but doubtless Ser Jorah knows it as well.” (ASOS, Daenerys I)

“I cannot sleep when men are dying for me, Whitebeard,” she said. “Tell me more of my brother Rhaegar, if you would. I liked the tale you told me on the ship, of how he decided that he must be a warrior.” (ASOS, Daenerys IV)

[...] “One day. One day you must tell me all. The good and the bad.There is some good to be said of my father, surely?” “There is, Your Grace. Of him, and those who came before him. Your grandfather Jaehaerys and his brother, their father Aegon, your mother… and Rhaegar. Him most of all.” “I wish I could have known him.” Her voice was wistful. “I wish he could have known you,” the old knight said. “When you are ready, I will tell you all.” (ASOS, Daenerys VI)

Additionally, it’s important to note how Dany had only Viserys to tell her tales of their dead family members, and Rhaegar had Aerys (since Rhaella was isolated on the King’s orders, thus most likely unable to spend a lot of time with Rhaegar as he was growing up). With the parallels and similarities between Viserys and Aerys, it paints a very interesting picture (more on this here).

c) Dany names two of her children after Rhaegar.

“As swift as the wind he rides, and behind him his khalasar covers the earth, men without number, with arakhs shining in their hands like blades of razor grass. Fierce as a storm this prince will be. His enemies will tremble before him, and their wives will weep tears of blood and rend their flesh in grief. The bells in his hair will sing his coming, and the milk men in the stone tents will fear his name.” The old woman trembled and looked at Dany almost as if she were afraid. “The prince is riding, and he shall be the stallion who mounts the world.” “The stallion who mounts the world!” the onlookers cried in echo, until the night rang to the sound of their voices. The one-eyed crone peered at Dany. “What shall he be called, the stallion who mounts the world?” She stood to answer. “He shall be called Rhaego,” she said, using the words that Jhiqui had taught her. Her hands touched the swell beneath her breasts protectively as a roar went up from the Dothraki. “Rhaego,” they screamed. “Rhaego, Rhaego, Rhaego!” (AGOT, Daenerys V)

“What is meaning, name Rhaego?” Khal Drogo asked as they walked, using the Common Tongue of the Seven Kingdoms. She had been teaching him a few words when she could. Drogo was quick to learn when he put his mind to it, though his accent was so thick and barbarous that neither Ser Jorah nor Viserys could understand a word he said. “My brother Rhaegar was a fierce warrior, my sun-and-stars,” she told him. “He died before I was born. Ser Jorah says that he was the last of the dragons.” (AGOT, Daenerys V)

Very interestingly, her firstborn that Dany named after Rhaegar, “the last of the dragons”, was thought to be a child of the prophecy, The Stallion Who Mounts The World. Yet, he died and we know that it is Dany who is actually the last dragon and The Stallion, just like she is TPTWP/AA.

The Dothraki looked at her hatchlings uneasily. The largest of her three was shiny black, his scales slashed with streaks of vivid scarlet to match his wings and horns. “Khaleesi,” Aggo murmured, “there sits Balerion, come again.” “It may be as you say, blood of my blood,” Dany replied gravely, “but he shall have a new name for this new life. I would name them all for those the gods have taken. The green one shall be Rhaegal, for my valiant brother who died on the green banks of the Trident. The cream-and-gold I call Viserion. Viserys was cruel and weak and frightened, yet he was my brother still. His dragon will do what he could not.” (ACOK, Daenerys I)

Additionally, I would like to mention that since there’s enough foreshadowing for Dany to have another child, it is also likely she’ll name them after Rhaegar, too. And this child will live by the rule of three presented in her arc, solidifying once again the positive connection between Rhaegar and Dany.

* * *

Now, before moving to the connection between not only Rhaegar and Dany but also Aegon the Conqueror, let’s take a look at this.

There is an interesting pattern among all members of Targaryen dynasty named Aegon.

Aegon I Targaryen, called Aegon the Conqueror, first Targaryen king. Died at the age of 64.

Aegon Targaryen, later known as Aegon the Uncrowned, eldest son and heir of King Aenys I Targaryen. Died at the age of 17.

Aegon Targaryen, eldest son, firstborn child and would-be-heir of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen. Died after three days after being born. (Alysanne blamed his early birth and subsequent death on the women who had attacked her at Maidenpool).

Aegon Targaryen, youngest son of Prince Baelon and Princess Alyssa Targaryen. Died not reaching his first nameday.

Aegon II Targaryen, called Aegon the Usurper, sixth Targaryen king. Died aged 24.

Aegon III Targaryen, called Aegon the Dragonbane, seventh Targaryen king. Died aged 36.

Aegon IV Targaryen, called Aegon the Unworthy, eleventh Targaryen king. Died aged 49.

Aegon V Targaryen, called Aegon the Unlikely, fifteenth Targaryen king. Died aged 59.

Aegon Targaryen, son of King Aerys II Targaryen and Queen Rhaella. Died the next year after being born.

[Aegon Targaryen, Lord of Dragonstone and the son of Daenys the Dreamer and Gaemon the Glorious, wasn’t included in the list since he lived before Targaryen royal dynasty was established, and we don’t know anything about him except for his position in the family tree of House Targaryen. The only fact that could be interpreted as interesting is that he was the son of THE Daenys]

Have you noticed, too? All Aegons that were born after Aegon the Conqueror didn’t reach his age. Moreover, you can see another pattern there. Every Aegon that didn’t become king died young. Every Aegon that didn’t become king is either a dead infant or a murdered heir, sometimes both. And Aegons that DID become kings have the little pattern of their own, too. Just look at odd numbered Aegons and then at even numbered ones, both of which can be counted among the worst monarchs Westeros ever had. And kings that lived the longest in this list are the most notable, the first king Aegon and the last.

[Funny how the name of Aegon VI is connected to all of this. He is both a dead infant and a murdered heir, but also an even numbered king Aegon that can be considered a bad ruler and/or a usurper]

Aegons of House Targaryen have only two options: a king or death. Aegon’s name is a legacy to live up to since the first king Aegon who built the dynasty is forever remembered as THE Dragon. He is portrayed as the embodiment of a good ruler you need to look up to. And he is the character both Dany and Rhaegar are strongly connected to as well.

[It should not be forgotten, however, that Aegon III and Aegon V are not completely irrelevant themselves. Dany obviously shares a lot with Egg (X1, X2, X3), and with Aegon III as well (X1, X2). Even Rhaegar has some connections to Aegon III (X). But they don’t outshine the huge presence of Aegon I that has been chosen to be the focus of this meta]

Aegon I & Rhaegar

Both are known as “the (first) dragon” and “the last dragon”

“The Aegon who would be known to history as Aegon the Conqueror and Aegon the Dragon was born on Dragonstone in 27 BC.”

Even historical periods of his reign are named accordingly.

“The long reign of King Aegon I Targaryen (1 AC–37 AC) was by and large a peaceful one… in his later years, especially. But before the Dragon’s Peace, as the last two decades of his kingship were later called by the maesters of the Citadel, came the Dragon’s wars, the last of which was as cruel and bloody a conflict as any ever fought in Westeros.”

“The true circumstances of her demise will likely never be known, but Rhaenys Targaryen, sister and wife to King Aegon I, perished at the Hellholt in Dorne in the 10th year After the Conquest. The next two years were the years of the Dragon’s Wroth. Every castle in Dorne was burned thrice over, as Balerion and Vhagar returned time and time again. The sands around the Hellholt were fused into glass in places, so hot was Balerion’s fiery breath.”

Even his sons, both kings, and his sisters-wives, the queens, are referred to as “the Dragon’s sons” and “the Dragon’s sisters”.

“Yet even as Aenys was receiving the blessing of the Father of the Faithful, others were casting doubt on his fitness to sit the Iron Throne. Westeros required a warrior, they whispered to one another, and Maegor was plainly the stronger of the Dragon’s two sons.”

“Though none doubted that Aegon Targaryen was the final authority in all matters relating to the governance of the realm, his sisters Visenya and Rhaenys remained his partners in power throughout his reign. Save perhaps for Good Queen Alysanne, the wife of King Jaehaerys I, no other queen in the history of the Seven Kingdoms ever exercised as much influence over policy as the Dragon’s sisters. It was the king’s custom to bring one of his queens with him wherever he traveled, whilst the other remained at Dragonstone or King’s Landing, oft as not seated on the Iron Throne, ruling on whatever matters came before her.” (Fire & Blood)

The powerful name of “the dragon” surrounds Rhaegar as well.

Ser Jorah snorted. “Can you wake the dead, girl? Your brother Rhaegar was the last dragon, and he died on the Trident. Viserys is less than the shadow of a snake.” (AGOT, Daenerys III)

“No,” he admitted. “There is more of Rhaegar in you, I think, but even Rhaegar could be slain. Robert proved that on the Trident, with no more than a warhammer. Even dragons can die.” (ACOK, Daenerys II)

“Soon I must return to the feast to toast my friends of Frey,” Manderly continued. “They watch me, ser. Day and night their eyes are on me, noses sniffing for some whiff of treachery. You saw them, the arrogant Ser Jared and his nephew Rhaegar, that smirking worm who wears a dragon’s name.” (ADWD, Davos IV)

Both were notable leaders, respected by different kinds of men and beloved by smallfolk.

“When Queen Visenya placed a Valyrian steel circlet, studded with rubies, on her brother’s head and Queen Rhaenys hailed him as, “Aegon, First of His Name, King of All Westeros, and Shield of His People,” the dragons roared and the lords and knights sent up a cheer… but the smallfolk, the fishermen and fieldhands and goodwives, shouted loudest of all.”

“[Aegon’s] commanding presence drew men to his banners […]”

“Only a handful of lords had been present for Aegon’s first coronation at the mouth of the Blackwater, but hundreds were on hand to witness his second, and tens of thousands cheered him afterward in the streets of Oldtown as he rode through the city on Balerion’s back.”

“It was King Aegon’s intent to continue his march south […], but whilst at Highgarden word of a new challenge came to his ears. Torrhen Stark, King in the North, had crossed the Neck and entered the riverlands, leading an army of savage northmen thirty thousand strong. Aegon at once started north to meet him, racing ahead of his army on the wings of Balerion, the Black Dread. He sent word to his two queens as well, and to all the lords and knights who had bent the knee to him after Harrenhal and the Field of Fire. When Torrhen Stark reached the banks of the Trident, he found a host half again the size of his own awaiting him south of the river. Riverlords, westermen, stormlanders, men of the Reach… all had come. And above their camp Balerion, Meraxes, and Vhagar prowled the sky in ever-widening circles.” (Fire & Blood)

“She was ten when she finally saw her prince in the flesh, at the tourney her lord father had thrown to welcome King Aerys to the west. […] the cheers of the smallfolk had echoed off Casterly Rock like rolling thunder. They cheered Father twice as loudly as they cheered the king, the queen recalled, but only half as loudly as they cheered Prince Rhaegar.” (AFFC, Cersei V)

“When the day comes that you raise your banners, half of Westeros will be with you,” Whitebeard promised. “Your brother Rhaegar is still remembered, with great love.” (ASOS, Daenerys II)

“Prince Rhaegar led free men into battle, not slaves. Whitebeard said he dubbed his squires himself, and made many other knights as well.” “There was no higher honor than to receive your knighthood from the Prince of Dragonstone.” (ASOS, Daenerys II)

“… we bow only to our own lords, and the king. The true king, not Robert and his ilk.” He spat. “There was Crabbs and Brunes and Boggses with Prince Rhaegar on the Trident, and in the Kingsguard too. A Hardy, a Cave, a Pyne, and three Crabbs, Clement and Rupert and Clarence the Short. Six foot tall, he was, but short compared to the real Ser Clarence. We’re all good dragon men, up Crackclaw way.” (AFFC, Brienne IV)

“The Darrys and Rygers and Mootons had sworn oaths to Riverrun as well, yet they had fought with Rhaegar Targaryen on the Trident […]” (AGOT, Catelyn V)

“He had known Jon Connington, slightly—a proud youth, the most headstrong of the gaggle of young lordlings who had gathered around Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, competing for his royal favor.” (ADWD, Epilogue)

“[…] If he had not gone into Duskendale to rescue Aerys from Lord Darklyn’s dungeons, the king might well have died there as Tywin Lannister sacked the town. Then Prince Rhaegar would have ascended the Iron Throne, mayhaps to heal the realm. Duskendale had been his finest hour, yet the memory tasted bitter on his tongue. It was his failures that haunted him at night, though. Jaehaerys, Aerys, Robert. Three dead kings. Rhaegar, who would have been a finer king than any of them.” (ADWD, The Queensguard)

Even people who don’t really have a reason to think or speak respectfully of Rhaegar still do.

“Once Rhaegar died, the war was done.” (Pycelle, an old Lannister loyalist, ACOK, Tyrion VI)

He stuffed the bread into his mouth, chewed, swallowed. “I had the Freys to supper. One sat just where you’re sitting now. Rhaegar, he named himself. I almost laughed right in his face.” (Godric Borrell, an Arryn bannerman, ADWD, Davos I)

Ser Jorah snorted. “Can you wake the dead, girl? Your brother Rhaegar was the last dragon, and he died on the Trident. Viserys is less than the shadow of a snake.” (Jorah Mormont, a former Stark bannerman who fought against Targaryen loyalists during the Rebellion, AGOT, Daenerys III)

“The stench of death was growing stronger, despite the scented candles. The smell reminded Jaime Lannister of the pass below the Golden Tooth, where he had won a glorious victory in the first days of the war. On the morning after the battle, the crows had feasted on victors and vanquished alike, as once they had feasted on Rhaegar Targaryen after the Trident. How much can a crown be worth, when a crow can dine upon a king?” (Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer who literally murdered Aerys II, AFFC, Jaime I)

For despite his crimes, Prince Rhaegar was no coward. (The World of Ice and Fire, in-world written by maester Yandel, with a purpose to appease Robert Baratheon and his legal heirs, the biasness that was specifically explained here)

Littlefinger shook the rain from his hair and laughed. “Now I see. Lord Arryn learned that His Grace [Robert Baratheon] had filled the bellies of some whores and fishwives, and for that he had to be silenced. Small wonder. Allow a man like that to live, and next he's like to blurt out that the sun rises in the east.” There was no answer Ned Stark could give to that but a frown. For the first time in years, he found himself remembering Rhaegar Targaryen. He wondered if Rhaegar had frequented brothels; somehow he thought not. (literally Ned Stark, one of the leaders of the Robert’s Rebellion and Robert’s most trusted ally and friend, whose sister Rhaegar allegedly kidnapped and raped, but what a weight this line actually has in Ned’s arc is a whole other story, AGOT, Eddard IX)

And in the beginning of the War of the Five Kings, as soon as Robert Baratheon dropped dead and the shit started breaking (resulting in total failure of Baratheon regime), look who people remembered about, even after 15 years of Robert’s reign, the man who hated Rhaegar the most.

“One wine-sodden taleteller even claimed that Rhaegar Targaryen had returned from the dead and was marshaling a vast host of ancient heroes on Dragonstone to reclaim his father’s throne.” (AGOT, Bran VI)

Ser Kevan did as he was bid. Lord Tywin unrolled the leather, smoothing it flat. “Jaime has left us in a bad way. Roose Bolton and the remnants of his host are north of us. Our enemies hold the Twins and Moat Cailin. Robb Stark sits to the west, so we cannot retreat to Lannisport and the Rock unless we choose to give battle. Jaime is taken, and his army for all purposes has ceased to exist. Thoros of Myr and Beric Dondarrion continue to plague our foraging parties. To our east we have the Arryns, Stannis Baratheon sits on Dragonstone, and in the south Highgarden and Storm's End are calling their banners.” Tyrion smiled crookedly. “Take heart, Father. At least Rhaegar Targaryen is still dead.” (AGOT, Tyrion IX)

Both were private in nature, so there’s not much known about them as people, and consequently both are considered to be enigmatic figures.

“Aegon Targaryen himself, strangely, was as much an enigma to his contemporaries as to us.” (Fire & Blood)

“It was said that no man ever knew Prince Rhaegar, truly.” (ASOS, Daenerys I)

Both had a childhood friend, the only person they were really close with.

Ironically, it’s Orys Baratheon for Aegon, a man who founded House Baratheon, Aegon’s rumored half-brother, and Arthur Dayne for Rhaegar, also kin through Maekar I and Dyanna Dayne’s marriage. But it is Robert Baratheon who killed Rhaegar, his third cousin and Orys’s descendant, his narrative foil (X1, X2). Orys was the first Hand of the King, and Robert was a usurper, the first Baratheon king whose dynasty quickly went down after his death.

“The Lord of Dragonstone countered with an offer of his own. […] The pact would be sealed by the marriage of Argilac’s daughter to Orys Baratheon, Lord Aegon’s childhood friend and champion.”

“His commanding presence drew men to his banners, yet [Aegon] had no close friends, save Orys Baratheon, the companion of his youth.”

“And Orys Baratheon [Aegon] proclaimed to be “my shield, my stalwart, my strong right hand.” Thus Baratheon is reckoned by the maesters the first King’s Hand.” (Fire & Blood)

“[…] Myles Mooton was Prince Rhaegar’s squire, and Richard Lonmouth after him. When they won their spurs, he knighted them himself, and they remained his close companions. Young Lord Connington was dear to the prince as well, but his oldest friend was Arthur Dayne.” “The Sword of the Morning!” said Dany, delighted. “Viserys used to talk about his wondrous white blade. He said Ser Arthur was the only knight in the realm who was our brother’s peer.” (ASOS, Daenerys I)

“The Red Keep had its secrets too. Even Rhaegar. The Prince of Dragonstone had never trusted him as he had trusted Arthur Dayne. Harrenhal was proof of that. The year of the false spring.” (ADWD, The Kingbreaker)

“But the most formidable of all Rhaegar’s friends and allies in King’s Landing was surely Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning.” (TWOIAF)

Curious to note how both Orys and Arthur can be called honorable men, both on battlefield…

“Yet still Argilac continued to battle. When Orys Baratheon came down the muddy hill with his own men, he found the old king holding off half a dozen men, with as many corpses at his feet. “Stand aside,” Baratheon commanded. He dismounted, so as to meet the king on equal footing, and offered the Storm King one last chance to yield. Argilac cursed him instead. And so they fought, the old warrior king with his streaming white hair and Aegon’s fierce, black-bearded Hand. Each man took a wound from the other, it was said, but in the end the last of the Durrandon got his wish, and died with a sword in his hand and a curse on his lips.” (Fire & Blood)

“[…] And he’d held his own against the Smiling Knight, though it was Ser Arthur who slew him. What a fight that was, and what a foe. The Smiling Knight was a madman, cruelty and chivalry all jumbled up together, but he did not know the meaning of fear. And Dayne, with Dawn in hand… The outlaw’s longsword had so many notches by the end that Ser Arthur had stopped to let him fetch a new one. “It’s that white sword of yours I want,” the robber knight told him as they resumed, though he was bleeding from a dozen wounds by then. “Then you shall have it, ser,” the Sword of the Morning replied, and made an end of it.” (ASOS, Jaime VIII)

… and outside of it.

“[…] Argilac’s daughter Argella barred her gates at the approach of Orys Baratheon and the Targaryen host, and declared herself the Storm Queen. Rather than bend the knee, the defenders of Storm’s End would die to the last man, she promised […] but the soldiers of the garrison proved less eager to die. That night they raised a peace banner, threw open the castle gate, and delivered Lady Argella gagged, chained, and naked to the camp of Orys Baratheon. It is said that Baratheon unchained her with his own hands, wrapped his cloak around her, poured her wine, and spoke to her gently, telling her of her father’s courage and the manner of his death. And afterward, to honor the fallen king, he took the arms and words of the Durrandon for his own. The crowned stag became his sigil, Storm’s End became his seat, and Lady Argella his wife.” (Fire & Blood)

“Good luck getting answers then,” said Jaime. “If you want their help, you need to make them love you. That was how Arthur Dayne did it, when we rode against the Kingswood Brotherhood. He paid the smallfolk for the food we ate, brought their grievances to King Aerys, expanded the grazing lands around their villages, even won them the right to fell a certain number of trees each year and take a few of the king’s deer during the autumn. The forest folk had looked to Toyne to defend them, but Ser Arthur did more for them than the Brotherhood could ever hope to do, and won them to our side. After that, the rest was easy.” (AFFC, Jaime IV)

Both are associated with only two women in their lives.

“Aegon Targaryen spurned the Storm King’s proposal. He had two wives, he pointed out; he did not need a third.”

“Women were drawn to him, but Aegon remained ever faithful to his sisters.” (Fire & Blood)

“Early in the year 279 AC, Rhaegar Targaryen, Prince of Dragonstone, was formally betrothed to Princess Elia Martell, the delicate young sister of Doran Martell, Prince of Dorne. They were wed the following year, in a lavish ceremony at the Great Sept of Baelor in King’s Landing […]” (TWOIAF)

“Rhaegar had chosen Lyanna Stark of Winterfell.” (ADWD, The Kingbreaker)

“For the first time in years, [Ned Stark] found himself remembering Rhaegar Targaryen. He wondered if Rhaegar had frequented brothels; somehow he thought not.” (AGOT, Eddard IX)

Both had a wife “for duty” who is older than them, married/had an affair “for love” with a woman younger than them and had a son from each.

“Aegon had two trueborn siblings; an elder sister, Visenya, and a younger sister, Rhaenys. It had long been the custom amongst the dragonlords of Valyria to wed brother to sister, to keep the bloodlines pure, but Aegon took both his sisters to bride. By tradition, he would have been expected to wed only his older sister, Visenya; the inclusion of Rhaenys as a second wife was unusual, though not without precedent. It was said by some that Aegon wed Visenya out of duty and Rhaenys out of desire.” (Fire & Blood)

“Yet despite these rumors, observers at court could not fail to note that the king spent ten nights with Rhaenys for every night with Visenya.” (Fire & Blood)

“Her duty.” The word felt cold upon her tongue. “You saw my brother Rhaegar wed. Tell me, did he wed for love or duty?” The old knight hesitated. “Princess Elia was a good woman, Your Grace. She was kind and clever, with a gentle heart and a sweet wit. I know the prince was very fond of her.” Fond, thought Dany. The word spoke volumes. I could become fond of Hizdahr zo Loraq, in time. Perhaps. (ADWD, Daenerys IV)

“Elia was eventually betrothed to Prince Rhaegar. Oberyn Martell later claims this was his mother’s revenge for Lord Tywin’s slight. Elia and Rhaegar’s relations were amiable, but it was not a love match.” (The World of Ice and Fire App)

“Her brother Rhaegar battling the Usurper in the bloody waters of the Trident and dying for the woman he loved.” (AGOT, Daenerys I)

“She was the blood of the dragon, she would not be afraid. Her brother Rhaegar had died for the woman he loved.” (AGOT, Daenerys VIII)

“Prince Rhaegar loved his Lady Lyanna, and thousands died for it.” (ADWD, The Kingbreaker)

However, it is also interesting to note other similarities between characters of Visenya/Aegon/Rhaenys and Elia/Rhaegar/Lyanna. Aegon’s woman “for love” was younger Rhaenys, lady-like, delicate beauty with “a gentle heart”, while a wife “for duty” was older Visenya, a “harsh beauty” who wielded a sword. For Rhaegar it was reversed: younger and fierce Lyanna, “a wild beauty” who carried a sword, was “for love”, while older Elia, “a good and gracious lady” with a “delicate beauty”, was “for duty”. The text even contrasts them in the similar way, emphasizing it.

“Visenya, eldest of the three siblings, was as much a warrior as Aegon himself, as comfortable in ringmail as in silk. She carried the Valyrian longsword Dark Sister, and was skilled in its use, having trained beside her brother since childhood. Though possessed of the silver-gold hair and purple eyes of Valyria, hers was a harsh, austere beauty. Even those who loved her best found Visenya stern, serious, and unforgiving; some said that she played with poisons and dabbled in dark sorceries.” (Fire & Blood)

“Ah, Arya. You have a wildness in you, child. ‘The wolf blood,’ my father used to call it. Lyanna had a touch of it, and my brother Brandon more than a touch. It brought them both to an early grave.” Arya heard sadness in his voice; he did not often speak of his father, or of the brother and sister who had died before she was born. “Lyanna might have carried a sword, if my lord father had allowed it. You remind me of her sometimes. You even look like her.” (AGOT, Arya II)

“They shoved him down every time he tried to rise, and kicked him when he curled up on the ground. But then they heard a roar. ‘That’s my father’s man you’re kicking,’ howled the she-wolf.” “A wolf on four legs, or two?” “Two,” said Meera. “The she-wolf laid into the squires with a tourney sword, scattering them all.” (ASOS, Bran II)

“[…] Now two children danced across the godswood, hooting at one another as they dueled with broken branches. The girl was the older and taller of the two. Arya! Bran thought eagerly, as he watched her leap up onto a rock and cut at the boy. But that couldn’t be right. If the girl was Arya, the boy was Bran himself, and he had never worn his hair so long. And Arya never beat me playing swords, the way that girl is beating him. She slashed the boy across his thigh, so hard that his leg went out from under him and he fell into the pool and began to splash and shout. “You be quiet, stupid,” the girl said, tossing her own branch aside. “It’s just water. Do you want Old Nan to hear and run tell Father?” She knelt and pulled her brother from the pool, but before she got him out again, the two of them were gone.” (ADWD, Bran III)

“The northern girl had a wild beauty, as he recalled […]”. (ADWD, Epilogue)

“Lyanna was beautiful,” Arya said, startled. Everybody said so. It was not a thing that was ever said of Arya. “She was,” Eddard Stark agreed, “beautiful, and willful, and dead before her time.” (AGOT, Arya II)

“You never knew Lyanna as I did, Robert,” Ned told him. “You saw her beauty, but not the iron underneath.” (AGOT, Eddard VII)

“[…] The Princess Elia was a good and gracious lady, though her health was ever delicate.” (ASOS, Daenerys IV)

“Princess Elia was a good woman, Your Grace. She was kind and clever, with a gentle heart and a sweet wit.” (ADWD, Daenerys IV)

Rhaenys, youngest of the three Targaryens, was all her sister was not, playful, curious, impulsive, given to flights of fancy. No true warrior, Rhaenys loved music, dancing, and poetry, and supported many a singer, mummer, and puppeteer. (Fire & Blood)

The crowning of the Stark girl, who was by all reports a wild and boyish young thing with none of the Princess Elia’s delicate beauty, could only have been meant to win the allegiance of Winterfell to Prince Rhaegar’s cause, Symond Staunton suggested to the king. (TWOIAF)

Ironically, it is Rhaenys who died the first out of the Conqueror Trio, but it is Lyanna who died the last among the key characters of the Rebellion.

Both were notable warriors, but did not enjoy fighting.

“Armed with the Valyrian steel blade Blackfyre, [Aegon] was counted amongst the greatest warriors of his age, yet he took no pleasure in feats of arms, and never rode in tourney or melee. His mount was Balerion the Black Dread, but he flew only to battle or to travel swiftly across land and sea.” (Fire & Blood)

“Prince Rhaegar’s prowess was unquestioned, but he seldom entered the lists. He never loved the song of swords the way that Robert did, or Jaime Lannister. It was something he had to do, a task the world had set him. He did it well, for he did everything well. That was his nature. But he took no joy in it. Men said that he loved his harp much better than his lance.” (ASOS, Daenerys IV)

Both preferred castles they were born at (Dragonstone and Summerhall respectively) to the stronghold of Targaryen royal dynasty in the King’s Landing, Aegonfort/Red Keep.

“The Aegon who would be known to history as Aegon the Conqueror and Aegon the Dragon was born on Dragonstone in 27 BC.” (Fire & Blood)

“Though Aegon had designated King’s Landing as his royal seat and installed the Iron Throne in the Aegonfort’s smoky longhall, he spent no more than a quarter of his time there. Full as many of his days and nights were spent on Dragonstone, the island citadel of his forebears. The castle below the Dragonmont had ten times the room of the Aegonfort, with considerably more comfort, safety, and history. The Conqueror was once heard to say that he even loved the scent of Dragonstone, where the salt air always smelled of smoke and brimstone. Aegon spent roughly half the year at his two seats, dividing his time between them.” (Fire & Blood)

Viserys had spoken of Rhaegar’s birth only once. Perhaps the tale saddened him too much. “It was the shadow of Summerhall that haunted him, was it not?” “Yes. And yet Summerhall was the place the prince loved best. He would go there from time to time, with only his harp for company. Even the knights of the Kingsguard did not attend him there. He liked to sleep in the ruined hall, beneath the moon and stars, and whenever he came back he would bring a song. When you heard him play his high harp with the silver strings and sing of twilights and tears and the death of kings, you could not but feel that he was singing of himself and those he loved.” (ASOS, Daenerys IV)

Both were aware of the prophecy and meant to take measures against the upcoming doom.

A common myth, oft heard amongst the ignorant, claims that Aegon Targaryen had never set foot upon the soil of Westeros until the day he set sail to conquer it, but this cannot be truth. Years before that sailing, the Painted Table had been carved and decorated at Lord Aegon’s command; a massive slab of wood, some fifty feet long, carved in the shape of Westeros, and painted to show all the woods and rivers and towns and castles of the Seven Kingdoms. Plainly, Aegon’s interest in Westeros long predated the events that drove him to war. As well, there are reliable reports of Aegon and his sister Visenya visiting the Citadel of Oldtown in their youth, and hawking on the Arbor as guests of Lord Redwyne. He may have visited Lannisport as well; accounts differ. (Fire & Blood)

Aegon finally decided to take over Westeros and unify the Seven Kingdoms that existed at the time under one rule. There is a lot of speculation that in some sense he saw what was coming 300 years later, and wanted to unify the Seven Kingdoms to be better prepared for the threat that he eventually saw coming from the north – the threat that we are dealing with in A Song of Ice and Fire. (GRRM on Balerion & Aegon)

Daenerys is connected and paralleled with both of them, she is basically an heir to both Rhaegar and Aegon, and it is thanks to her arc, one of the key figures in ASOIAF, that their presence in the story as pre-series dead characters is so strong and actually matters.

“That night her handmaids brought her lamb, with a salad of raisins and carrots soaked in wine, and a hot flaky bread dripping with honey. She could eat none of it. Did Rhaegar ever grow so weary? [Dany] wondered. Did Aegon, after his conquest?” (ASOS, Daenerys VI)

Aegon I & Daenerys

Naturally, the fandom has discussed this topic before multiple times since one of the most important parallels connect Dany with Aegon the Conqueror. So, this part of the meta is designed to be a compilation of them rather than a revelation of any previously unnoticed facts.

Similarly to what she does with Rhaegar’s figure, Dany seeks courage and strength in Aegon’s name in the moments of distress and/or difficult situations several times, as well as using it to her advantage when she needs to establish/defend her position.

“So she sat in her wedding silks, nursing a cup of honeyed wine, afraid to eat, talking silently to herself. I am blood of the dragon, she told herself. I am Daenerys Stormborn, Princess of Dragonstone, of the blood and seed of Aegon the Conqueror.” (AGOT, Daenerys II)

“[…] Dany called the Dothraki around her. Fewer than a hundred were left. How many had Aegon started with? she wondered. It did not matter. “You will be my khalasar,” she told them. “I see the faces of slaves. I free you. Take off your collars. Go if you wish, no one shall harm you. If you stay, it will be as brothers and sisters, husbands and wives.” The black eyes watched her, wary, expressionless. “I see the children, women, the wrinkled faces of the aged. I was a child yesterday. Today I am a woman. Tomorrow I will be old. To each of you I say, give me your hands and your hearts, and there will always be a place for you.” (AGOT, Daenerys X)

She lifted her head. “And I am Daenerys Stormborn, Daenerys of House Targaryen, of the blood of Aegon the Conqueror and Maegor the Cruel and old Valyria before them. I am the dragon’s daughter, and I swear to you, these men will die screaming. Now bring me to Khal Drogo.” (AGOT, Daenerys IX)

Dany knew she would take more than a hundred, if she took any at all. “Remind your Good Master of who I am. Remind him that I am Daenerys Stormborn, Mother of Dragons, the Unburnt, trueborn queen of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. My blood is the blood of Aegon the Conqueror, and of old Valyria before him.” (ASOS, Daenerys II)

Dany is an Aegon-like figure even in details, e.g. an only daughter with two brothers VS an only son with two sisters, both born on Dragonstone.

“[Dany] had been born on Dragonstone nine moons after their flight, while a raging summer storm threatened to rip the island fastness apart.” (AGOT, Daenerys I)

“The Aegon who would be known to history as Aegon the Conqueror and Aegon the Dragon was born on Dragonstone in 27 BC.” (Fire & Blood)

Curiously, Dany’s siblings are Rhaegar (the elder) and Viserys (the younger), while Aegon’s are Rhaenys (the younger) and Visenya (the elder). Not to mention some other minor connections between them.

“Prince Rhaegar was returning from Dorne, and he and his escort had lingered here a fortnight. He was so young then, and I was younger. Boys, the both of us. At the welcoming feast, the prince had taken up his silver-stringed harp and played for them. A song of love and doom, Jon Connington recalled, and every woman in the hall was weeping when he put down the harp.” (ADWD, The Griffin Reborn)

There aren’t such clear connections between Visenya and Viserys as we can see with Rhaenys and Rhaegar. However, despite being completely different characters, we can say that both Visenya and Viserys are contrasted with their respective siblings. Not to mention that generally Viserys is indeed the “darker”/harsher sibling out of the three.

“Yet there was darkness in Visenya Targaryen. To most of the world, she presented the grim face of a warrior, stern and unforgiving. Even her beauty had an edge to it, her admirers said. The oldest of the three heads of the dragon, Visenya was to outlive both of her siblings, and it was rumored that in her later years, when she could no longer wield a sword, she delved into the dark arts, mixing poisons and casting malign spells. Some even suggest that she might have been a kinslayer and a kingslayer, though no proof has ever been offered to support such calumnies.” (Fire & Blood)

“She had been born on Dragonstone nine moons after their flight, while a raging summer storm threatened to rip the island fastness apart. […] Her mother had died birthing her, and for that her brother Viserys had never forgiven her.” (AGOT, Daenerys I)

“When Viserys sold their mother’s crown, the last joy had gone from him, leaving only rage.” (ASOS, Daenerys III)

Both have a “love vs duty” kind of situation, with their partners being contrasted in the text on purpose.

“Yet despite these rumors, observers at court could not fail to note that the king spent ten nights with Rhaenys for every night with Visenya.” (Fire & Blood)

“Hizdahr is not the husband you would have chosen for me.” “It is not my place to choose your husband.” “It is not,” she agreed, “but it is important to me that you should understand. My people are bleeding. Dying. A queen belongs not to herself, but to the realm. Marriage or carnage, those are my choices. A wedding or a war.” (ADWD, Daenerys IV)

“And if [Hizdahr] does not fail? What will Your Grace do then?” “Her duty.” The word felt cold upon her tongue. (ADWD, Daenerys IV)

[Daenerys] loves Daario. He had seen it in her eyes when she looked at him, heard it in her voice when she spoke of him. (ADWD, The Kingbreaker)

As the world darkened, Dany settled in and closed her eyes, but sleep refused to come. The night was cold, the ground hard, her belly empty. She found herself thinking of Meereen, of Daario, her love, and Hizdahr, her husband, of Irri and Jhiqui and sweet Missandei, Ser Barristan and Reznak and Skahaz Shavepate. (ADWD, Daenerys X)

The carcass was too heavy for him to bear back to his lair, so Drogon consumed his kill there, tearing at the charred flesh as the grasses burned around them, the air thick with drifting smoke and the smell of burnt horsehair. Dany, starved, slid off his back and ate with him, ripping chunks of smoking meat from the dead horse with bare, burned hands. In Meereen I was a queen in silk, nibbling on stuffed dates and honeyed lamb, she remembered. What would my noble husband think if he could see me now? Hizdahr would be horrified, no doubt. But Daario… Daario would laugh, carve off a hunk of horsemeat with his arakh, and squat down to eat beside her. (ADWD, Daenerys X)

However, we also know that neither Hizdahr nor Daario are Dany’s final suitors. Another connection there lies with the fact that the text strongly suggests the following: if anyone in the books is going to have two spouses at once, then it will be Dany.

The dragon has three heads. There are two men in the world who I can trust, if I can find them. I will not be alone then. We will be three against the world, like Aegon and his sisters. (ASOS, Daenerys VI)

“Your Grace,” [Jorah] conceded, “the dragon has three heads, remember? You have wondered at that, ever since you heard it from the warlocks in the House of Dust. Well, here’s your meaning: Balerion, Meraxes, and Vhagar, ridden by Aegon, Rhaenys, and Visenya. The three-headed dragon of House Targaryen — three dragons, and three riders.” “Yes,” said Dany, “but my brothers are dead.” “Rhaenys and Visenya were Aegon’s wives as well as his sisters. You have no brothers, but you can take husbands. And I tell you truly, Daenerys, there is no man in all the world who will ever be half so true to you as me.” (ASOS, Daenerys I)

“When Brown Ben left, she lay back on her cushions. “If you were grown,” she told Drogon, scratching him between the horns, “I’d fly you over the walls and melt that harpy down to slag.” But it would be years before her dragons were large enough to ride. And when they are, who shall ride them? The dragon has three heads, but I have only one. She thought of Daario. If ever there was a man who could rape a woman with his eyes…” (ASOS, Daenerys V)

Ser Jorah would be angry, she knew, but he was the one who’d said she had to take two husbands. Perhaps I should marry them both and be done with it. (ASOS, Daenerys V)

“The dragon has three heads,” Dany said when they were on the final flight. “My marriage need not be the end of all your hopes. I know why you are here.” “For you,” said Quentyn, all awkward gallantry. (ADWD, Daenerys VIII)

Dany is directly connected to Aegon in this sense. She is not Rhaenys or Visenya, she is not one of the wives to a man. She is Aegon, in the heart of the powerful trio with other two supporting her, the leader. However, since this topic is strongly connected to “The dragon has three heads” narrative, it will be discussed more in detail later. For now, I can just say that, no matter what duty brings her after Hizdahr, Dany is guaranteed to have a third husband “for love” in the end:

…three heads has the dragon… […] three mounts must you ride… one to bed and one to dread and one to love… […] (ACOK, Daenerys IV)

[…] Her silver was trotting through the grass, to a darkling stream beneath a sea of stars. A corpse stood at the prow of a ship, eyes bright in his dead face, grey lips smiling sadly. A blue flower grew from a chink in a wall of ice, and filled the air with sweetness. …mother of dragons, bride of fire… (ACOK, Daenerys IV)

Dany is the first dragonrider in a more than a hundred of years, and her mount is directly compared to Aegon’s mount, Balerion.

“From there the skulls ranged upward in size to the three great monsters of song and story, the dragons that Aegon Targaryen and his sisters had unleashed on the Seven Kingdoms of old. The singers had given them the names of gods: Balerion, Meraxes, Vhaghar. Tyrion had stood between their gaping jaws, wordless and awed. You could have ridden a horse down Vhaghar’s gullet, although you would not have ridden it out again. Meraxes was even bigger. And the greatest of them, Balerion, the Black Dread, could have swallowed an aurochs whole, or even one of the hairy mammoths said to roam the cold wastes beyond the Port of Ibben.” (AGOT, Tyrion II)

“[…] Recall, if you will, that Balerion was the largest and oldest of the three dragons that King Aegon and his sisters rode to conquest.” (Fire & Blood)

“Aegon’s dragons were named for the gods of Old Valyria,” she told her bloodriders one morning after a long night's journey. “Visenya’s dragon was Vhagar, Rhaenys had Meraxes, and Aegon rode Balerion, the Black Dread. It was said that Vhagar’s breath was so hot that it could melt a knight’s armor and cook the man inside, that Meraxes swallowed horses whole, and Balerion… his fire was as black as his scales, his wings so vast that whole towns were swallowed up in their shadow when he passed overhead.” The Dothraki looked at her hatchlings uneasily. The largest of her three was shiny black, his scales slashed with streaks of vivid scarlet to match his wings and horns. “Khaleesi,” Aggo murmured, “there sits Balerion, come again.” (ACOK, Daenerys I)

Above them all the dragon turned, dark against the sun. His scales were black, his eyes and horns and spinal plates blood red. Ever the largest of her three, in the wild Drogon had grown larger still. His wings stretched twenty feet from tip to tip, black as jet. He flapped them once as he swept back above the sands, and the sound was like a clap of thunder. The boar raised his head, snorting… and flame engulfed him, black fire shot with red. Dany felt the wash of heat thirty feet away. The beast’s dying scream sounded almost human. Drogon landed on the carcass and sank his claws into the smoking flesh. As he began to feed, he made no distinction between Barsena and the boar. (ADWD, Daenerys IX)

As the last light of the sun faded, Black Harren’s men stared into the gathering darkness, clutching their spears and crossbows. When no dragon appeared, some may have thought that Aegon’s threats had been hollow. But Aegon Targaryen took Balerion up high, through the clouds, up and up until the dragon was no bigger than a fly upon the moon. Only then did he descend, well inside the castle walls. On wings as black as pitch Balerion plunged through the night, and when the great towers of Harrenhal appeared beneath him, the dragon roared his fury and bathed them in black fire, shot through with swirls of red. (Fire & Blood)

Viserion's tail lashed sideways, thumping the trunk of the tree so hard that a pear came tumbling down to land at Dany's feet. His wings unfolded, and he half flew, half hopped onto the parapet. He grows, she thought as he launched himself into the sky. They are all three growing. Soon they will be large enough to bear my weight. Then she would fly as Aegon the Conqueror had flown, up and up, until Meereen was so small that she could blot it out with her thumb. (ADWD, Daenerys I)

Ser Barristan knew no more of dragons than the tales every child hears, but he knew Targaryens. Daenerys had been riding that dragon, as Aegon had once ridden Balerion of old. (ADWD, The Queensguard)

Another interesting detail is that Balerion was the oldest dragon in the whole world after the Doom of Valyria, while Drogon is the youngest among his siblings, thus the youngest one in the whole world since there are no other dragons except Dany’s.

All three siblings had shown themselves to be dragonlords before they wed. Of the five dragons who had flown with Aenar the Exile from Valyria, only one survived to Aegon’s day: the great beast called Balerion, the Black Dread. The dragons Vhagar and Meraxes were younger, hatched on Dragonstone itself. (Fire & Blood)

“Only one answer makes sense. Recall, if you will, that Balerion was the largest and oldest of the three dragons that King Aegon and his sisters rode to conquest. Vhagar and Meraxes had hatched on Dragonstone. Balerion alone had come to the island with Aenar the Exile and Daenys the Dreamer, the youngest of the five dragons they brought with them. The older dragons had died during the intervening years, but Balerion lived on, growing ever larger, fiercer, and more willful. If we discount the tales of certain sorcerers and mountebanks (as we should), he is mayhaps the only living creature in the world that knew Valyria before the Doom.” (Fire & Blood)

She heard a crack, the sound of shattering stone. […] And something else came crashing down, bouncing and rolling, to land at her feet; a chunk of curved rock, pale and veined with gold, broken and smoking. The roaring filled the world, yet dimly through the firefall Dany heard women shriek and children cry out in wonder. Only death can pay for life. And there came a second crack, loud and sharp as thunder, and the smoke stirred and whirled around her and the pyre shifted, the logs exploding as the fire touched their secret hearts. […] With a belch of flame and smoke that reached thirty feet into the sky, the pyre collapsed and came down around her. Unafraid, Dany stepped forward into the firestorm, calling to her children. The third crack was as loud and sharp as the breaking of the world. (AGOT, Daenerys X)

It is clear that Viserion was the first one to hatch, Rhaegal the second and the last one was definitely Drogon. Dany’s dragons are even mentioned in the order of their birth in the following scene, basically their first appearance.

The cream-and-gold dragon was suckling at her left breast, the green-and-bronze at the right. Her arms cradled them close. The black-and-scarlet beast was draped across her shoulders, its long sinuous neck coiled under her chin. When it saw Jorah, it raised its head and looked at him with eyes as red as coals. (AGOT, Daenerys X)

“The dragon has three heads”

It is not just a motto Targaryens live by, it is wisdom passed from one generation to the next that has meaning and importance behind it. Since it is confirmed that Aegon the Conqueror and his sisters united Westeros because they knew about the Long Night, we can confidently speculate that these words carry magical meaning as well (Dany learns it from her visions in the House of the Undying), similarly to “There must always be a Stark in Winterfell”, bearing grave importance to the main magical plot of the whole series.

“He has a song,” the man replied. “He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire.” He looked up when he said it and his eyes met Dany's, and it seemed as if he saw her standing there beyond the door. “There must be one more,” he said, though whether he was speaking to her or the woman in the bed she could not say. “The dragon has three heads.” He went to the window seat, picked up a harp, and ran his fingers lightly over its silvery strings. Sweet sadness filled the room as man and wife and babe faded like the morning mist, only the music lingering behind to speed her on her way. (ACOK, Daenerys IV)

…three heads has the dragon… the ghost chorus yammered inside her skull with never a lip moving, never a breath stirring the still blue air. …mother of dragons… child of storm… The whispers became a swirling song. …three fires must you light… one for life and one for death and one to love… Her own heart was beating in unison to the one that floated before her, blue and corrupt… three mounts must you ride… one to bed and one to dread and one to love… The voices were growing louder, she realized, and it seemed her heart was slowing, and even her breath. …three treasons will you know… once for blood and once for gold and once for love… (ACOK, Daenerys IV)

“Your Grace,” he conceded, “the dragon has three heads, remember? You have wondered at that, ever since you heard it from the warlocks in the House of Dust. Well, here’s your meaning: Balerion, Meraxes, and Vhagar, ridden by Aegon, Rhaenys, and Visenya. The three-headed dragon of House Targaryen — three dragons, and three riders.” (ASOS, Daenerys I)

As we can see from the quote above, the meaning is pretty clear: three heads = three dragonriders, who can fight the Others and bring the fire of life to save humanity, parallel to the Conqueror Trio. And Dany is obviously in the center, “the main head”, the rider of the biggest dragon, “Balerion come again”. Moreover, Viserion and Rhaegal also resemble Rhaenys’s and Visenya’s mounts respectively.

[…] Rosby yielded to Rhaenys and golden-eyed Meraxes without a fight. (Fire & Blood)

[…] Within days of his coronation, Aegon’s armies were on the march again. The greater part of his host crossed the Blackwater Rush, making south for Storm’s End under the command of Orys Baratheon. Queen Rhaenys accompanied him, astride Meraxes of the golden eyes and silver scales. (Fire & Blood)

He sent me poisoned wine, yet I live and he is gone. “What was the manner of his death?” On her shoulder, pale Viserion flapped wings the color of cream, stirring the air. (ACOK, Daenerys II)

Her captains bowed and left her with her handmaids and her dragons. But as Brown Ben was leaving, Viserion spread his pale white wings and flapped lazily at his head. One of the wings buffeted the sellsword in his face. The white dragon landed awkwardly with one foot on the man's head and one on his shoulder, shrieked, and flew off again. “He likes you, Ben,” said Dany. (ASOS, Daenerys V)

Viserion sensed her disquiet. The white dragon lay coiled around a pear tree, his head resting on his tail. When Dany passed his eyes came open, two pools of molten gold. His horns were gold as well, and the scales that ran down his back from head to tail. “You’re lazy,” she told him, scratching under his jaw. His scales were hot to the touch, like armor left too long in the sun. Dragons are fire made flesh. She had read that in one of the books Ser Jorah had given her as a wedding gift. […] (ADWD, Daenerys I)

And we’ve just woken [Viserion]. [Quentyn] could see what looked like some huge white serpent uncoiling inside the wall, up where it curved to become the ceiling. More ash went drifting downward, and a bit of crumbling brick fell away. The serpent resolved itself into a neck and tail, and then the dragon’s long horned head appeared, his eyes glowing in the dark like golden coals. His wings rattled, stretching. (ADWD, The Dragontamer)

Quentyn wrenched free of Gerris’s grip. “Viserion,” he called. The white one is Viserion. For half a heartbeat he was afraid he’d gotten it wrong. “Viserion,” he called again, fumbling for the whip hanging from his belt. She cowed the black one with a whip. I need to do the same. The dragon knew his name. His head turned, and his gaze lingered on the Dornish prince for three long heartbeats. Pale fires burned behind the shining black daggers of his teeth. His eyes were lakes of molten gold, and smoke rose from his nostrils. (ADWD, The Dragontamer)

“It may be as you say, blood of my blood,” Dany replied gravely, “but he shall have a new name for this new life. I would name them all for those the gods have taken. The green one shall be Rhaegal, for my valiant brother who died on the green banks of the Trident. The cream-and-gold I call Viserion. Viserys was cruel and weak and frightened, yet he was my brother still. His dragon will do what he could not.” (ACOK, Daenerys I)

“Drogon is hunting.” He did not need to hear the rest. “The white one is Viserion, the green is Rhaegal. I named them for my brothers.” Her voice echoed off the scorched stone walls. It sounded small — a girl's voice, not the voice of a queen and conqueror, nor the glad voice of a new-made bride. (ADWD, Daenerys VIII)

Viserion’s scales were the color of fresh cream, his horns, wing bones, and spinal crest a dark gold that flashed bright as metal in the sun. Rhaegal was made of the green of summer and the bronze of fall. They soared above the ships in wide circles, higher and higher, each trying to climb above the other. (ASOS, Daenerys I)

“I mean to sail to Westeros, and drink the wine of vengeance from the skull of the Usurper.” She scratched Rhaegal under one eye, and his jade-green wings unfolded for a moment, stirring the still air in the palanquin. (ACOK, Daenerys III)

She found Rhaegal asleep beside the pool, a green and bronze coil basking in the sun. (ASOS, Daenerys VI)

Two eyes rose up before him. Bronze, they were, brighter than polished shields, glowing with their own heat, burning behind a veil of smoke rising from the dragon’s nostrils. The light of Quentyn’s torch washed over scales of dark green, the green of moss in the deep woods at dusk, just before the last light fades. Then the dragon opened its mouth, and light and heat washed over them. Behind a fence of sharp black teeth he glimpsed the furnace glow, the shimmer of a sleeping fire a hundred times brighter than his torch. The dragon’s head was larger than a horse’s, and the neck stretched on and on, uncoiling like some great green serpent as the head rose, until those two glowing bronze eyes were staring down at him. Green, the prince thought, his scales are green. “Rhaegal,” he said. His voice caught in his throat, and what came out was a broken croak. Frog, he thought, I am turning into Frog again. “The food,” he croaked, remembering. “Bring the food.” (ADWD, The Dragontamer)

And we know from Sam Hogg, an artist of the 2021 A Song of Ice and Fire Calendar, who asked GRRM’s team to clarify Vhagar’s colouring, that Vhagar was “bronze with greenish blue highlights” and had “bright green eyes”. (source)

So, there are the connections we end up with.

The Conqueror Trio: Visenya – Aegon – Rhaenys

Dany’s dragons: Viserion – Drogon – Rhaegal

Viserion is the eldest, like Visenya, yet, as we already know, Drogon is the youngest unlike Aegon’s mount Balerion and like Dany, who is the youngest among her siblings and who will probably be the youngest out of the three dragonriders in the current era. Moreover, despite having purposefully similar names, Viserion resembles Rhaenys’s Meraxes and Rhaegal resembles Visenya’s Vhagar.

Considering these facts, it’s even more curious to note Viserion and Rhaegal’s personalities.

Behind the carved wooden door of the captain’s cabin, her dragons were restless. Drogon raised his head and screamed, pale smoke venting from his nostrils, and Viserion flapped at her and tried to perch on her shoulder, as he had when he was smaller. “No,” Dany said, trying to shrug him off gently. “You’re too big for that now, sweetling.” But the dragon coiled his white and gold tail around one arm and dug black claws into the fabric of her sleeve, clinging tightly. Helpless, she sank into Groleo's great leather chair, giggling. (ASOS, Daenerys II)

“Yunkai will have war,” Dany told Whitebeard inside the pavilion. Irri and Jhiqui had covered the floor with carpets while Missandei lit a stick of incense to sweeten the dusty air. Drogon and Rhaegal were asleep atop some cushions, curled about each other, but Viserion perched on the edge of her empty bath. “Missandei, what language will these Yunkai’i speak, Valyrian?” (ASOS, Daenerys IV)

Her captains bowed and left her with her handmaids and her dragons. But as Brown Ben was leaving, Viserion spread his pale white wings and flapped lazily at his head. One of the wings buffeted the sellsword in his face. The white dragon landed awkwardly with one foot on the man’s head and one on his shoulder, shrieked, and flew off again. “He likes you, Ben,” said Dany. (ASOS, Daenerys V)

The dragon came down between the Dornishmen and the door with a roar that would have sent a hundred lions running. His head moved side to side as he inspected the intruders—Dornishmen, Windblown, Caggo. Last and longest the beast stared at Pretty Meris, sniffing. The woman, Quentyn realized. [Viserion] knows that she is female. He is looking for Daenerys. He wants his mother and does not understand why she’s not here. (ADWD, The Dragontamer)

Across the tent, Rhaegal unfolded green wings to flap and flutter a half foot before thumping to the carpet. When he landed, his tail lashed back and forth in fury, and he raised his head and screamed. […] (ACOK, Daenerys I)

She stroked Rhaegal. The green dragon closed his teeth around the meat of her hand and nipped hard. […] (ACOK, Daenerys III)

Drogon moved quicker than a striking cobra. Flame roared from his mouth, orange and scarlet and black, searing the meat before it began to fall. As his sharp black teeth snapped shut around it, Rhaegal’s head darted close, as if to steal the prize from his brother’s jaws, but Drogon swallowed and screamed, and the smaller green dragon could only hiss in frustration. “Stop that, Rhaegal,” Dany said in annoyance, giving his head a swat. “You had the last one. I'll have no greedy dragons.” She smiled at Ser Jorah. “I won't need to char their meat over a brazier any longer.” (ASOS, Daenerys I)

When Rhaegal roared, a gout of yellow flame turned darkness into day for half a heartbeat. The fire licked along the walls, and Dany felt the heat upon her face, like the blast from an oven. Across the pit, Viserion's wings unfolded, stirring the stale air. He tried to fly to her, but the chains snapped taut as he rose and slammed him down onto his belly. Links as big as a man's fist bound his feet to the floor. The iron collar about his neck was fastened to the wall behind him. Rhaegal wore matching chains. In the light of Selmy's lantern, his scales gleamed like jade. Smoke rose from between his teeth. […] (ADWD, Daenerys II)

Viserion’s claws scrabbled against the stones, and the huge chains rattled as he tried to make his way to her again. When he could not, he gave a roar, twisted his head back as far as he was able, and spat golden flame at the wall behind him. How soon till his fire burns hot enough to crack stone and melt iron? Once, not long ago, he had ridden on her shoulder, his tail coiled round her arm. Once she had fed him morsels of charred meat from her own hand. He had been the first chained up. Daenerys had led him to the pit herself and shut him up inside with several oxen. Once he had gorged himself he grew drowsy. They had chained him whilst he slept. Rhaegal had been harder. Perhaps he could hear his brother raging in the pit, despite the walls of brick and stone between them. In the end, they had to cover him with a net of heavy iron chain as he basked on her terrace, and he fought so fiercely that it had taken three days to carry him down the servants’ steps, twisting and snapping. Six men had been burned in the struggle. (ADWD, Daenerys II)

Ser Barristan went out onto the terrace. The rain had stopped, though a wall of slate-grey clouds hid the setting sun as it made its descent into Slaver’s Bay. A few wisps of smoke still rose from the blackened stones of Hazdar, twisted like ribbons by the wind. Far off to the east, beyond the city walls, he saw pale wings moving above a distant line of hills. Viserion. Hunting, mayhaps, or flying just to fly. He wondered where Rhaegal was. Thus far the green dragon had shown himself to be more dangerous than the white. (ADWD, The Queen’s Hand)

Viserion resembles Rhaenys’s Meraxes and is generally “a gentler baby”, greatly affectionate towards Dany, always seeking to be by her side, even friendly to other people if Dany herself is there. Rhaegal resembles Visenya’s Vhagar and can be described as “a meaner one”, harsher, more prone to pick a fight, “more dangerous”.

Which leads us to the reasonable speculation that the other two dragonriders will be a Rhaenys-like figure, riding Viserion, and a Visenya-like figure, riding Rhaegal, to Dany’s “Aegon”, who already claimed Drogon, completing this beautiful set of overlapping parallels.

A topic who exactly is going to be new “Rhaenys” and “Visenya” to support Dany and help her save the world is extremely interesting and deserves its own post, so it will not be discussed in this meta any further. My personal speculation includes Jon and Tyrion for several reasons, such as these: X. It is not the point of this post, however, so the only thing I would like to bring up is that the relationships between Dany and other two “heads of the dragon” are very likely to be similar to the ones Aegon shared with Rhaenys and Visenya, as we can see from the quotes above concerning their parallels in suitors, be it romance or marriages of convenience.

The narrative explicitly compares Dany to Aegon many times favorably, be it through her own mouth or other characters’, to the point of literally saying “Dany is Aegon the Conqueror”.

“[…] Thankfully, I have Ser Jorah and my bloodriders. And my dragons, never forget. In time, the dragons would be her most formidable guardians, just as they had been for Aegon the Conqueror and his sisters three hundred years ago. Just now, though, they brought her more danger than protection. In all the world there were but three living dragons, and those were hers; they were a wonder, and a terror, and beyond price.” (ASOS, Daenerys I)

“[…] When she was dressed, Missandei brought her a polished silver glass so she could see how she looked. Dany stared at herself in silence. Is this the face of a conqueror? So far as she could tell, she still looked like a little girl. No one was calling her Daenerys the Conqueror yet, but perhaps they would. Aegon the Conqueror had won Westeros with three dragons, but she had taken Meereen with sewer rats and a wooden cock, in less than a day. (ASOS, Daenerys VI)

“On that we can agree,” Ser Kevan said, “but the girl is of the blood of Aegon the Conqueror, and I do not think she will be content to remain in Meereen forever. If she should reach these shores and join her strength to Lord Connington and this prince of his, feigned or no… we must destroy Connington and his pretender now, before Daenerys Stormborn can come west.” (ADWD, Epilogue)

“Must?” Tyrion made a tsking sound. “That is not a word queens like to hear. You are her perfect prince, agreed, bright and bold and comely as any maid could wish. Daenerys Targaryen is no maid, however. She is the widow of a Dothraki khal, a mother of dragons and sacker of cities, Aegon the Conqueror with teats. She may not prove as willing as you wish.” (ADWD, Tyrion VI)

Please note how often these moments tend to compare Dany’s achievements to Aegon’s. There are other characters who compare their campaigns to the Conquest, e.g. Stannis, yet we know for sure that Dany is the one who is the most successful, winning with lesser resources than Aegon, despite the fact that she was in a far more difficult position than him. (X)

No one was calling her Daenerys the Conqueror yet, but perhaps they would. Aegon the Conqueror had won Westeros with three dragons, but she had taken Meereen with sewer rats and a wooden cock, in less than a day. (ASOS, Daenerys VI)

Accounts differ on how many swords set sail from Dragonstone with Aegon and his sisters. Some say three thousand; others number them only in the hundreds. This modest Targaryen host put ashore at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush, on the northern bank where three wooded hills rose above a small fishing village. (Fire & Blood)

Not to mention the fact that Dany raised to her power from basically nothing, with many enemies and obstacles in her way, while Aegon the Conqueror was secure in his position of the Lord of Dragonstone. He was free to travel peacefully, was a rider to a huge and grown Balerion (a formidable force from day one, not a baby that needed protection while also painting a target on his human’s back) with sister-wives riding big and grown dragons themselves.

The dwarf shrugged. “I know that she spent her childhood in exile, impoverished, living on dreams and schemes, running from one city to the next, always fearful, never safe, friendless but for a brother who was by all accounts half-mad… a brother who sold her maidenhood to the Dothraki for the promise of an army. I know that somewhere out upon the grass her dragons hatched, and so did she. I know she is proud. How not? What else was left her but pride? I know she is strong. How not? The Dothraki despise weakness. If Daenerys had been weak, she would have perished with Viserys. I know she is fierce. Astapor, Yunkai, and Meereen are proof enough of that. She has crossed the grasslands and the red waste, survived assassins and conspiracies and fell sorceries, grieved for a brother and a husband and a son, trod the cities of the slavers to dust beneath her dainty sandaled feet. Now, how do you suppose this queen will react when you turn up with your begging bowl in hand and say, ‘Good morrow to you, Auntie. I am your nephew, Aegon, returned from the dead. I’ve been hiding on a poleboat all my life, but now I’ve washed the blue dye from my hair and I’d like a dragon, please… and oh, did I mention, my claim to the Iron Throne is stronger than your own?’” (ADWD, Tyrion VI)

But the most outstanding parallels and similarities can be seen when we compare Dany and Aegon as rulers.

In GRRM’s own words, both are commanding and charismatic leaders…

AEGON I. Aegon the Conquerer. The prototypical Targaryen. A warrior, tall, powerful, broad shouldered. Very charismatic and commanding. Should be shown in his battle armor, perhaps a shirt of black scales, greaves, gauntlets, a flowing cloak. His sword in hand (Blackfyre, a Valyrian steel blade). His hair cut short, no longer than the bottom of his ears. His crown is a simple circle of Valyrian steel set with big square-cut rubies. (So Spake Martin – Targaryen Kings)

Dany is very difficult role. She starts out vulnerable and scared, but blooms on the Dothraki sea, and becomes a powerful leader by book’s end. It’s no secret that HBO’s Dany will start out older than Dany does in the book; that was a change that had to be made, if we wanted to keep the sex scenes, and David and Dan and I were all agreed that the sex scenes were essential. Tamzin can play much younger than her actual age (as she does when playing Katheryn) and her sex scenes on THE TUDORS were as hot as anything I’ve ever seen on TV. In her readings, she showed Dany’s other side as well, commanding and charismatic after Drogo’s death. I think she’ll be marvelous. (Not a Blog)

… but over the course of their conquests they have gotten tired of war and started striving for peace.

“The long reign of King Aegon I Targaryen (1 AC–37 AC) was by and large a peaceful one… in his later years, especially.”

“The king was weary of war, all men agreed, but granting the Dornishmen peace without submission would be tantamount to saying that his beloved sister Rhaenys had died in vain, that all the blood and death had been for naught.”

“Aegon I Targaryen was a warrior of renown, the greatest Conqueror in the history of Westeros, yet many believe his most significant accomplishments came during times of peace.”

Aegon’s chief concern was peace. Before the Conquest, wars between the realms of Westeros were common. Hardly a year passed without someone fighting someone somewhere. Even in those kingdoms said to be at peace, neighboring lords oft settled their disputes at swordpoint. Aegon’s accession put an end to much of that. Petty lords and landed knights were now expected to take their disputes to their liege lords and abide by their judgments. Arguments between the great houses of the realm were adjudicated by the Crown. “The first law of the land shall be the King’s Peace,” King Aegon decreed, “and any lord who goes to war without my leave shall be considered a rebel and an enemy of the Iron Throne.”

Sixteen Targaryens followed Aegon the Dragon to the Iron Throne, before the dynasty was at last toppled in Robert’s Rebellion. They numbered amongst them wise men and foolish, cruel men and kind, good men and evil. Yet if the dragon kings are considered solely on the basis of their legacies, the laws and institutions and improvements they left behind, the name of King Aegon I belongs near the top of the list, in peace as well as war. (Fire & Blood)

That morning she summoned her captains and commanders to the garden, rather than descending to the audience chamber. “Aegon the Conqueror brought fire and blood to Westeros, but afterward he gave them peace, prosperity, and justice. But all I have brought to Slaver’s Bay is death and ruin. I have been more khal than queen, smashing and plundering, then moving on.” […] “Meereen is not Westeros, Your Grace.” “But how can I rule seven kingdoms if I cannot rule a single city?” He had no answer to that. Dany turned away from them, to gaze out over the city once again. “My children need time to heal and learn. My dragons need time to grow and test their wings. And I need the same. I will not let this city go the way of Astapor. I will not let the harpy of Yunkai chain up those I’ve freed all over again.” She turned back to look at their faces. “I will not march.” “What will you do then, Khaleesi?” asked Rakharo. “Stay,” she said. “Rule. And be a queen.” (ASOS, Daenerys VI)

I am still at war, Dany realized, only now I am fighting shadows. She had hoped for a respite from the killing, for some time to build and heal. (ADWD, Daenerys I)

Dany speared a chunk of lamb, took a bite from it, chewed slowly. “Tell me, can this king puff his cheeks up and blow Xaro’s galleys back to Qarth? Can he clap his hands and break the siege of Astapor? Can he put food in the bellies of my children and bring peace back to my streets?” (ADWD, Daenerys IV)

Hizdahr arched an eyebrow. “The only dragons that I know are yours, and magic swords are even scarcer. I will gladly bring you rings and crowns and chests of gold if that is your desire.” “Peace is my desire. You say that you can help me end the nightly slaughter in my streets. I say do it. Put an end to this shadow war, my lord. That is your quest. Give me ninety days and ninety nights without a murder, and I will know that you are worthy of a throne. Can you do that?” (ADWD, Daenerys IV)

“That one?” Daario chuckled. “Why not Grey Worm, if you want a eunuch in your bed? Do you want a king?” I want you. “I want peace. I gave Hizdahr ninety days to end the killings. If he does, I will take him for a husband.” (ADWD, Daenerys IV)

“If I send the Brazen Beasts into the pyramids, it will mean open war inside the city. I have to trust in Hizdahr. I have to hope for peace.” Dany held the parchment above a candle and watched the names go up in flame, while Skahaz glowered at her. (ADWD, Daenerys V)

Hizdahr will bring me peace. He must. (ADWD, Daenerys VII)

“So we pray. I want to plant my olive trees and see them fruit.” Does it matter that Hizdahr’s kisses do not please me? Peace will please me. Am I a queen or just a woman? (ADWD, Daenerys VII)

“It is such a long way,” she complained. “I was tired, Jorah. I was weary of war. I wanted to rest, to laugh, to plant trees and see them grow. I am only a young girl.” (ADWD, Daenerys X)

Curiously enough, aside from getting tired of wars, there are more connections and similarities between Aegon’s conquest of Westeros and Dany’s conquest of Slaver’s Bay.

They both start their campaigns with just a few people and three dragons.

[…] Dany called the Dothraki around her. Fewer than a hundred were left. How many had Aegon started with? she wondered. It did not matter. (AGOT, Daenerys X)

She dare not turn north onto the vast ocean of grass they called the Dothraki sea. The first khalasar they met would swallow up her ragged band, slaying the warriors and slaving the rest. The lands of the Lamb Men south of the river were likewise closed to them. They were too few to defend themselves even against that unwarlike folk, and the Lhazareen had small reason to love them. She might have struck downriver for the ports at Meereen and Yunkai and Astapor, but Rakharo warned her that Pono's khalasar had ridden that way, driving thousands of captives before them to sell in the flesh marts that festered like open sores on the shores of Slaver's Bay. “Why should I fear Pono?” Dany objected. “He was Drogo’s ko, and always spoke me gently.” “Ko Pono spoke you gently,” Ser Jorah Mormont said. “Khal Pono will kill you. He was the first to abandon Drogo. Ten thousand warriors went with him. You have a hundred.” No, Dany thought. I have four. The rest are women, old sick men, and boys whose hair has never been braided. “I have the dragons,” she pointed out. “Hatchlings,” Ser Jorah said. (ACOK, Daenerys I)

Some might argue that Slaver’s Bay is not almost all of Westeros (save for Dorne and the lands beyond the Wall), but we also must keep in mind that Dany was in a much more disadvantageous position than Aegon I, as it was discussed above and can be clearly seen from the provided quotes here.

They got rid of oppressive rulers with the help of the oppressed.

No king in Westeros was more feared than Black Harren, whose cruelty had become legendary all through the Seven Kingdoms. (TWOIAF)

Yet these were but minor vexations compared to what befell Harren the Black. Though House Hoare had ruled the riverlands for three generations, the men of the Trident had no love for their ironborn overlords. Harren the Black had driven thousands to their deaths in the building of his great castle of Harrenhal, plundering the riverlands for materials, and beggaring lords and smallfolk alike with his appetite for gold. So now the riverlands rose against him, led by Lord Edmyn Tully of Riverrun. Summoned to the defense of Harrenhal, Tully declared for House Targaryen instead, raised the dragon banner over his castle, and rode forth with his knights and archers to join his strength to Aegon’s. His defiance gave heart to the other riverlords. One by one, the lords of the Trident renounced Harren and declared for Aegon the Dragon. Blackwoods, Mallisters, Vances, Brackens, Pipers, Freys, Strongs… summoning their levies, they descended on Harrenhal. (Fire & Blood)

Dany had wanted to lead the attack herself, but to a man her captains said that would be madness, and her captains never agreed on anything. Instead she remained in the rear, sitting atop her silver in a long shirt of mail. She heard the city fall from half a league away, though, when the defenders’ shouts of defiance changed to cries of fear. Her dragons had roared as one in that moment, filling the night with flame. The slaves are rising, she knew at once. My sewer rats have gnawed off their chains. When the last resistance had been crushed by the Unsullied and the sack had run its course, Dany entered her city. The dead were heaped so high before the broken gate that it took her freedmen near an hour to make a path for her silver. Joso’s Cock and the great wooden turtle that had protected it, covered with horsehides, lay abandoned within. She rode past burned buildings and broken windows, through brick streets where the gutters were choked with the stiff and swollen dead. Cheering slaves lifted bloodstained hands to her as she went by, and called her “Mother.” (ASOS, Daenerys VI)

Of course, Dany’s cause is more sympathetic. She is freeing enslaved people, while Westerosi have the slavery banned for thousands of years, long before the Targaryen Conquest. However, the canon text directly compares slaves in the East to the lives of commonfolk in the West and states that they’re not that different in fact.

Tyrion did not dispute him. The most insidious thing about bondage was how easy it was to grow accustomed to it. The life of most slaves was not all that different from the life of a serving man at Casterly Rock, it seemed to him. True, some slaveowners and their overseers were brutal and cruel, but the same was true of some Westerosi lords and their stewards and bailiffs. Most of the Yunkai'i treated their chattels decently enough, so long as they did their jobs and caused no trouble… and this old man in his rusted collar, with his fierce loyalty to Lord Wobblecheeks, his owner, was not at all atypical. (ADWD, Tyrion XI)

They respect cultures of the lands they’ve conquered and listen to advice of local people they have made a part of their councils.

[…] During the Conquest, Aegon and his sisters each had a maester serving them, and afterward the king sometimes employed as many as half a dozen to deal with all the matters brought before him. But the wisest and most learned men in the Seven Kingdoms were the archmaesters of the Citadel, each of them the supreme authority in one of the great disciplines. In 5 AC, King Aegon, feeling that the realm might benefit from such wisdom, asked the Conclave to send him one of their own number to advise and consult with him on all matters relating to the governance of the realm. Thus was the office of Grand Maester created, at King Aegon’s request. (Fire & Blood)

[Aegon] is known to have consulted often with his various Grand Maesters, and his own household maesters as well. On matters relating to taxation, debts, and incomes, he sought the advice of his masters of coin. Though he kept one septon at King’s Landing and another at Dragonstone, the king more oft wrote to the High Septon of Oldtown on religious issues, and always made a point of visiting the Starry Sept during his yearly circuit. (Fire & Blood)

Each of the conquered kingdoms had its own laws and traditions. King Aegon did little to interfere with those. (Fire & Blood)

The reconciliation of the Seven Kingdoms to Targaryen rule was the keystone of Aegon I’s policies as king. To this end, he made great efforts to include men (and even a few women) from every part of the realm in his court and councils. (Fire & Blood)

Rylona Rhee had played the harp as sweetly as the Maiden. When she had been a slave in Yunkai, she had played for every highborn family in the city. In Meereen she had become a leader amongst the Yunkish freedmen, their voice in Dany’s councils. (ADWD, Daenerys II)

Late that afternoon Admiral Groleo and Ser Barristan returned from their inspection of the galleys. Dany assembled her council to hear them. Grey Worm was there for the Unsullied, Skahaz mo Kandaq for the Brazen Beasts. In the absence of her bloodriders, a wizened jaqqa rhan called Rommo, squint-eyed and bowlegged, came to speak for her Dothraki. Her freedmen were represented by the captains of the three companies she had formed—Mollono Yos Dob of the Stalwart Shields, Symon Stripeback of the Free Brothers, Marselen of the Mother's Men. Reznak mo Reznak hovered at the queen's elbow, and Strong Belwas stood behind her with his huge arms crossed. Dany would not lack for counsel. (ADWD, Daenerys III)

They even adapt to the customs of the people they rule…

Heraldic banners had long been a tradition amongst the lords of Westeros, but such had never been used by the dragonlords of old Valyria. When Aegon’s knights unfurled his great silken battle standard, with a red three-headed dragon breathing fire upon a black field, the lords took it for a sign that he was now truly one of them, a worthy high king for Westeros. When Queen Visenya placed a Valyrian steel circlet, studded with rubies, on her brother’s head and Queen Rhaenys hailed him as, “Aegon, First of His Name, King of All Westeros, and Shield of His People,” the dragons roared and the lords and knights sent up a cheer… but the smallfolk, the fishermen and fieldhands and goodwives, shouted loudest of all. (Fire & Blood)

Aegon made no reply. Instead he summoned his friends, bannermen, and principal allies to attend him on Dragonstone. Their numbers were small. The Velaryons of Driftmark were sworn to House Targaryen, as were the Celtigars of Claw Isle. From Massey’s Hook came Lord Bar Emmon of Sharp Point and Lord Massey of Stonedance, both sworn to Storm’s End, but with closer ties to Dragonstone. Lord Aegon and his sisters took counsel with them, and visited the castle sept to pray to the Seven of Westeros as well, though he had never before been accounted a pious man. (Fire & Blood)

Three days later, in the Starry Sept, His High Holiness himself anointed Aegon with the seven oils, placed a crown upon his head, and proclaimed him Aegon of House Targaryen, the First of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm. (“Seven Kingdoms” was the style used, though Dorne had not submitted. Nor would it, for more than a century to come.) Only a handful of lords had been present for Aegon’s first coronation at the mouth of the Blackwater, but hundreds were on hand to witness his second, and tens of thousands cheered him afterward in the streets of Oldtown as he rode through the city on Balerion’s back. Amongst those at Aegon’s second coronation were the maesters and archmaesters of the Citadel. Perhaps for that reason, it was this coronation, rather than the Aegonfort crowning on the day of Aegon’s landing, that became fixed as the start of Aegon’s reign. (Fire & Blood)

If the Milk Men thought her such a savage, she would dress the part for them. When she went to the stables, she wore faded sandsilk pants and woven grass sandals. Her small breasts moved freely beneath a painted Dothraki vest, and a curved dagger hung from her medallion belt. Jhiqui had braided her hair Dothraki fashion, and fastened a silver bell to the end of the braid. “I have won no victories,” she tried telling her handmaid when the bell tinkled softly. Jhiqui disagreed. “You burned the maegi in their house of dust and sent their souls to hell.” That was Drogon’s victory, not mine, Dany wanted to say, but she held her tongue. The Dothraki would esteem her all the more for a few bells in her hair. She chimed as she mounted her silver mare, and again with every stride, but neither Ser Jorah nor her bloodriders made mention of it. To guard her people and her dragons in her absence, she chose Rakharo. Jhogo and Aggo would ride with her to the waterfront. (ACOK, Daenerys V)

The garment was a clumsy thing, a long loose shapeless sheet that had to be wound around her hips and under an arm and over a shoulder, its dangling fringes carefully layered and displayed. Wound too loose, it was like to fall off; wound too tight, it would tangle, trip, and bind. Even wound properly, the tokar required its wearer to hold it in place with the left hand. Walking in a tokar demanded small, mincing steps and exquisite balance, lest one tread upon those heavy trailing fringes. It was not a garment meant for any man who had to work. The tokar was a master’s garment, a sign of wealth and power. Dany had wanted to ban the tokar when she took Meereen, but her advisors had convinced her otherwise. “The Mother of Dragons must don the tokar or be forever hated,” warned the Green Grace, Galazza Galare. “In the wools of Westeros or a gown of Myrish lace, Your Radiance shall forever remain a stranger amongst us, a grotesque outlander, a barbarian conqueror. Meereen’s queen must be a lady of Old Ghis.” Brown Ben Plumm, the captain of the Second Sons, had put it more succinctly. “Man wants to be the king o’ the rabbits, he best wear a pair o’ floppy ears.” (ADWD, Daenerys I)

… but also make the same mistakes.

Each of the conquered kingdoms had its own laws and traditions. King Aegon did little to interfere with those. He allowed his lords to continue to rule much as they always had, with all the same powers and prerogatives. The laws of inheritance and succession remained unchanged, the existing feudal structures were confirmed, lords both great and small retained the power of pit and gallows on their own land, and the privilege of the first night wherever that custom had formerly prevailed. King Aegon also issued decrees regularizing customs, duties, and taxes throughout the realm, whereas previously every port and every petty lord had been free to exact however much they could from tenants, smallfolk, and merchants. He also proclaimed that the holy men and women of the Faith, and all their lands and possessions, were to be exempt from taxation, and affirmed the right of the Faith’s own courts to try and sentence any septon, Sworn Brother, or holy sister accused of malfeasance. Though not himself a godly man, the first Targaryen king always took care to court the support of the Faith and the High Septon of Oldtown. (Fire & Blood)

The hall rang to Yunkish laughter, Yunkish songs, Yunkish prayers. Dancers danced; musicians played queer tunes with bells and squeaks and bladders; singers sang ancient love songs in the incomprehensible tongue of Old Ghis. Wine flowed—not the thin pale stuff of Slaver’s Bay but rich sweet vintages from the Arbor and dreamwine from Qarth, flavored with strange spices. The Yunkai’i had come at King Hizdahr’s invitation, to sign the peace and witness the rebirth of Meereen’s far-famed fighting pits. Her noble husband had opened the Great Pyramid to fete them. I hate this, thought Daenerys Targaryen. How did this happen, that I am drinking and smiling with men I’d sooner flay? (ADWD, Daenerys VIII)

Their respect to foreign customs and willingness to show it is undeniable, and I believe both Dany and Aegon had the best of intentions, not to mention how accepting certain customs was definitely a good decision. However, it is worth pointing out that, in my opinion, they made the same mistake, after being convinced by their advisors. As Dany shouldn’t have accepted tokar (symbolizing that she was compromising way too much with the nobility, aka the slavers in ADWD) and allowing to reopen the fighting pits, Aegon shouldn’t have compromised so much with the nobility and the Faith in Westeros, something that brought a lot of problems for Targaryens later. The main difference here is that, while Aegon left this problem for his successors to deal with, Dany swiftly realized hers at the end of ADWD and will correct it herself in the following books. (X)

They are open to hear everyone and give their people opportunity to be heard.

“It is better to forestall rebellions than to put them down,” Aegon famously said, when asked the reason for his journeys. A glimpse of the king in all his power, mounted on Balerion the Black Dread and attended by hundreds of knights glittering in silk and steel, did much to instill loyalty in restless lords. The smallfolk needed to see their kings and queens from time to time as well, the king added, and know that they might have the chance to lay their grievances and concerns before him. And so they did. Much of every royal progress was given over to feasts and balls and hunts and hawking, as every lord attempted to outdo the others in splendor and hospitality, but Aegon also made a point of holding court wherever he might travel, whether from a dais in some great lord’s castle or a mossy stone in a farmer’s field. Six maesters traveled with him, to answer any questions he might have on local law, customs, and history, and to make note of such decrees and judgments as His Grace might hand down. A lord should know the land he rules, the Conqueror later told his son Aenys, and through his travels Aegon learned much and more about the Seven Kingdoms and its peoples. (Fire & Blood)

“A queen must listen to all,” she reminded him. “The highborn and the low, the strong and the weak, the noble and the venal. One voice may speak you false, but in many there is always truth to be found.” (ASOS, Daenerys I)

“I call that madness, not courage,” said Arstan Whitebeard, when the solemn little scribe was done. He tapped the end of his hardwood staff against the bricks, tap tap, as if to tell his displeasure. The old man had not wanted to sail to Astapor; nor did he favor buying this slave army. A queen should hear all sides before reaching a decision. That was why Dany had brought him with her to the Plaza of Pride, not to keep her safe. (ASOS, Daenerys II)

Whitebeard bowed his head. “Your Grace, I did not mean to give offense.” “Only lies offend me, never honest counsel.” Dany patted Arstan’s spotted hand to reassure him. “I have a dragon’s temper, that’s all. You must not let it frighten you.” (ASOS, Daenerys II)

They dragged him out feet first, leaving several broken teeth and a trail of blood behind. Dany would gladly have sent the rest of the petitioners away… but she was still their queen, so she heard them out and did her best to give them justice. (ADWD, Daenerys III)

“Your Grace, may I speak frankly?” “Always.” (ADWD, Daenerys IV, Ser Barristan and Dany speaking)

They are conscious of the weight of their responsibility as rulers…

He sat high upon the immense ancient seat of Aegon the Conqueror, an ironwork monstrosity of spikes and jagged edges and grotesquely twisted metal. It was, as Robert had warned him, a hellishly uncomfortable chair, and never more so than now, with his shattered leg throbbing more sharply every minute. The metal beneath him had grown harder by the hour, and the fanged steel behind made it impossible to lean back. A king should never sit easy, Aegon the Conqueror had said, when he commanded his armorers to forge a great seat from the swords laid down by his enemies. Damn Aegon for his arrogance, Ned thought sullenly, and damn Robert and his hunting as well. (AGOT, Eddard XI)

[…] Irri fetched her crown, wrought in the shape of the three-headed dragon of her House. Its coils were gold, its wings silver, its three heads ivory, onyx, and jade. Dany’s neck and shoulders would be stiff and sore from the weight of it before the day was done. A crown should not sit easy on the head. (ADWD, Daenerys I)

… and strive to bring justice to their people.

Aegon I Targaryen was a warrior of renown, the greatest Conqueror in the history of Westeros, yet many believe his most significant accomplishments came during times of peace. The Iron Throne was forged with fire and steel and terror, it is said, but once the throne had cooled, it became the seat of justice for all Westeros. (Fire & Blood)

“I was alone for a long time, Jorah. All alone but for my brother. I was such a small scared thing. Viserys should have protected me, but instead he hurt me and scared me worse. He shouldn’t have done that. He wasn’t just my brother, he was my king. Why do the gods make kings and queens, if not to protect the ones who can’t protect themselves?” “Some kings make themselves. Robert did.” “He was no true king,” Dany said scornfully. “He did no justice. Justice… that’s what kings are for.” (ASOS, Daenerys III)

Both are respectful to their guests, guaranteeing their safety despite everything.

Prince Nymor’s peace proposals encountered strong opposition in King’s Landing. Queen Visenya was hard set against them. “No peace without submission,” she declared, and her friends on the king’s council echoed her words. Orys Baratheon, who had grown bent and bitter in his later years, argued for sending Princess Deria back to her father less a hand. Lord Oakheart sent a raven, suggesting that the Dornish girl be sold into “the meanest brothel in King’s Landing, till every beggar in the city has had his pleasure of her.” Aegon Targaryen dismissed all such proposals; Princess Deria had come as an envoy under a banner of peace and would suffer no harm under his roof, he vowed. The king was weary of war, all men agreed, but granting the Dornishmen peace without submission would be tantamount to saying that his beloved sister Rhaenys had died in vain, that all the blood and death had been for naught. The lords of his small council further cautioned that any such peace could be seen as a sign of weakness and might encourage fresh rebellions, which would then need to be put down. Aegon knew that the Reach, the stormlands, and the marches had suffered grievously during the fighting, and would neither forgive nor forget. Even in King’s Landing, the king dared not let the Dornish outside the Aegonfort without a strong escort, for fear that the smallfolk of the city would tear them to pieces. For all these reasons, Grand Maester Lucan wrote later, the king was on the point of refusing the Dornish proposals and continuing the war. (Fire & Blood)

“Enough,” Daenerys said. “Prince Quentyn has crossed half the world to offer me his gift, I will not have him treated with discourtesy.” She turned to the Dornishmen. “Would that you had come a year ago. I am pledged to wed the noble Hizdahr zo Loraq.” (ADWD, Daenerys VII)

Ser Barristan let Reznak’s oily words wash over him. His years in the Kingsguard had taught him the trick of listening without hearing, especially useful when the speaker was intent on proving that words were truly wind. Back at the rear of the hall, he spied the Dornish princeling and his two companions. They should not have come. Martell does not realize his danger. Daenerys was his only friend at this court, and she is gone. […] (ADWD, The Discarded Knight)

I swore no oath to Dorne, Ser Barristan told himself. But Lewyn Martell had been his Sworn Brother, back in the days when the bonds between the Kingsguard still went deep. I could not help Prince Lewyn on the Trident, but I can help his nephew now. Martell was dancing in a vipers’ nest, and he did not even see the snakes. His continued presence, even after Daenerys had given herself to another before the eyes of gods and men, would provoke any husband, and Quentyn no longer had the queen to shield him from Hizdahr’s wroth. (ADWD, The Discarded Knight)

Quentyn Martell nodded in agreement. “A prince does well to think before he acts. This king… I do not know what to think of him. The queen warned me against him as well, true, but…” “She warned you?” Selmy frowned. “Why are you still here?” (ADWD, The Discarded Knight)

In both examples, it is a member of House Martell sent to speak to them. In both cases, Aegon’s and Dany’s respective courts are highly volatile to Martell guests for several reasons. Both Aegon and Dany do everything in their power to keep them safe. Quentyn’s eventual demise, obviously, is a consequence of his own actions, not following her warnings and even going as far as trying to steal one of her dragons in her absence.

They inspire both respect and fear, achieving the balance that other rulers, like Maegor or Aenys, lacked.

His Grace was trading Visenya’s Hill for Visenya herself. On Dragonstone the Queen Dowager famously greeted him with, “You are a fool and a weakling, nephew. Do you think any man would ever have dared speak so to your father? You have a dragon. Use him. Fly to Oldtown and make this Starry Sept another Harrenhal. Or give me leave, and let me roast this pious fool for you.” Aenys would not hear of it. Instead he sent the Queen Dowager to her chambers in Sea Dragon Tower and ordered her to remain there. (Fire & Blood)

“One guardsman amongst forty. All waiting for the empty tabard on the throne to speak the command so we might cut down Bloodbeard and the rest. Do you think the Yunkai'i would ever have dared present Daenerys with the head of her hostage?” No, thought Selmy. “Hizdahr seemed distraught.” (ADWD, The Kingbreaker)

Aenys, Aegon’s heir, was not enough to command the same respect as the Conqueror did. Likewise, no one else in Dany’s court, including her own consort Hizdahr, was enough to hold everything together as her presence did. Additionally, both Aenys and Hizdahr can be considered weak rulers, doing a poor job of filling the shoes left after Aegon and Dany.

King Aenys knew these rebels had to be put down, but seemed unable to decide where to begin. Grand Maester Gawen wrote that the king could not comprehend why this was happening. […] (Fire & Blood)

Aenys Targaryen was infamous for his indecision, yet here, faced with the fury of the Faith, he stiffened and grew stubborn. The Dowager Queen Visenya advised him that he had but two choices; he must abandon the marriage and find new matches for his son and daughter or mount his dragon, Quicksilver, to fly to Oldtown to burn the Starry Sept down around the High Septon’s head. King Aenys did neither. Instead he simply persisted. (Fire & Blood)

Ser Barristan glanced toward the throne. He had served so many kings, he could not help but imagine how they might have reacted to this provocation. Aerys would have flinched away in horror, likely cutting himself on the barbs of the Iron Throne, then shrieked at his swordsmen to cut the Yunkishmen to pieces. Robert would have shouted for his hammer to repay Bloodbeard in kind. Even Jaehaerys, reckoned weak by many, would have ordered the arrest of Bloodbeard and the Yunkish slavers. Hizdahr sat frozen, a man transfixed. Reznak set the head on a satin pillow at the king’s feet, then scampered away, his mouth twisted up in a moue of distaste. Ser Barristan could smell the seneschal’s heavy floral perfume from several yards away. […] “This,” King Hizdahr said at last, “this is not … we are not pleased, this… what is the meaning of this… this…” (ADWD, The Discarded Knight)

Gerris Drinkwater laughed. “Should we be frightened of Hizdahr zo Loraq? You saw him just now. He quailed before the Yunkishmen. They sent him a head, and he did nothing.” (ADWD, The Discarded Knight)

We all know how GRRM treated Aenys/Maegor era to demonstrate that extremes could never rule successfully. Balance is a must. Aegon’s name is strongly connected to the narrative of this “what a ruler should be” picture. And we already know that Dany is capable of maintaining this balance.

[…] King Aenys sought always to please; when faced with difficulties, he would answer with soft words, whereas Maegor’s reply was ever steel and fire. Grand Maester Gawen wrote that Aenys trusted everyone, Maegor no one. The king was easily influenced, Gawen observed, swaying this way and that like a reed in the wind, like as not to heed whichever counsellor last had his ear. Prince Maegor, on the other hand, was rigid as an iron rod, unyielding, unbending. (Fire & Blood)

[…] “It seems to me that a queen who trusts no one is as foolish as a queen who trusts everyone. Every man I take into my service is a risk, I understand that, but how am I to win the Seven Kingdoms without such risks? Am I to conquer Westeros with one exile knight and three Dothraki bloodriders?” (ASOS, Daenerys I)

* * *

As it can be seen above, Dany, Rhaegar and Aegon the Conqueror all have tight connections to each other, which cannot be anything but deliberate and careful work of the author. All three of them are integrated into the main magical plot of the series, they have plenty of other important connections, be it in personality, symbolism or motifs.

Though it must be said that, despite carrying the most significance, Rhaegar and Aegon the Conqueror are not the only ancestors that Dany is strongly connected to. Dany has parallels with Aegon V and Aegon III (X), as well as many other historical Targaryens.

The lengthy and detailed history of House Targaryen is so rich that a lot of references to many characters of the current era can be found. Such details, however, are only minor. The main point of House Targaryen is to provide a background for Dany first and foremost. She is one of the key characters and she is the one who has the most connections to her ancestors narratively. And all pre-series Targaryens that actually matter hold such relevance only because of Dany. They were written to serve as narrative tools to expand and enrich Dany’s storyline.

For example,

The cheers of the crowd were said to be deafening, but King Aerys did not join them. Far from being proud and pleased by his heir’s skill at arms, His Grace saw it as a threat. Lords Chelsted and Staunton inflamed his suspicions further, declaring that Prince Rhaegar had entered the lists to curry favor with the commons and remind the assembled lords that he was a puissant warrior, a true heir to Aegon the Conqueror. (TWOIAF)

The lords at the time of the tourney at Harrenhal came up with the idea that Rhaegar meant to remind the realm who was the real heir to the throne, calling him “a true heir to Aegon the Conqueror”. But, as we already know, Rhaegar isn’t “a true heir to Aegon the Conqueror”, he isn’t “the last dragon”, the last hope of House Targaryen and the one prophesied to do what Aegon meant to do, to save the world from the Others. Rhaegar died, and Dany is fated to do what he couldn’t.

Or this example,

Drogo’s braid was black as midnight and heavy with scented oil, hung with tiny bells that rang softly as he moved. It swung well past his belt, below even his buttocks, the end of it brushing against the back of his thighs. “You see how long it is?” Viserys said. “When Dothraki are defeated in combat, they cut off their braids in disgrace, so the world will know their shame. Khal Drogo has never lost a fight. He is Aegon the Dragonlord come again, and you will be his queen.” (AGOT, Daenerys I)

Dany’s story began with meeting her future husband, Drogo, while Viserys proclaimed him to be “Aegon the Dragonlord come again”, with Dany being good enough only to be his wife. In any other fantasy story, it is indeed could’ve been true, with the main male character being the classical hero, and the best any female character could hope for would be to become his love interest. But we know how this goes in ASOIAF. Drogo dies, and Dany fulfils the prophecy, proving that she is The Prince That Was Promised, Azor Ahai and The Stallion Who Mounts The World. Her, not her brothers, a husband or a son. She is not only another coming of Aegon the Conqueror, she is more. She is everything Aegon could’ve thought himself to be, the real saviour that will do what he couldn’t, uniting the world and saving humanity (X).

Yes, Dany is the dragon, the last dragon, but most importantly, she’s the Mother of Dragons. She fulfils her ancestors’ unfinished story, stepping onto the path they left behind, but she also brings rebirth to House Targaryen, reviving its greatness and cleansing its shortcomings in fire (e.g., how she realized her mistake of compromising too much with the slavers after taming Drogon, becoming the first dragonrider in more than a century and getting her hair burnt, symbolizing this rebirth, or how she achieved what so many ancestors of her had wanted, waking dragons from stone, while also going through symbolical rebirth with her hair burning away). Dany is all her ancestors prophetic dreams coming true, she is a personalization of Targaryen women finally getting justice (X), she is an embodiment of all good things Targaryens ever stood for and making it better.

Thus, it is important to understand. To misinterpret Rhaegar or Aegon the Conqueror means to misinterpret Dany. To misinterpret House Targaryen means to misinterpret Dany.

And to misinterpret Dany means to misinterpret A Song of Ice and Fire.

GRRM: Well, of course, the two outlying ones — the things going on north of the Wall, and Daenerys Targaryen on the other continent with her dragons — are of course the ice and fire, of the title, “A Song of Ice and Fire.”