Hi butterfly! There's a lot of discussion about Young Griff not being Rhaegar's son. Has someone considered YG as a descendant of Maegor, the son of Aerion and Daenora? I don't have real proof except for his Targ look, so this is mere speculation, just a crazy idea. Let's say that YG is a descendant of Maegor, how would that affect his claim to the throne as Aerion was older than Aegon V? Or would he have no real claim, since his ancestor was skipped in the succession?
Hey! And yeah, there’s an “Aegon Brightfire” theory that proposes he’s a descendant of Aerion “Brightflame” Targaryen. (Either through Maegor or through a bastard Aerion might have had when he was in Lys.) The theory might suggest he’s Blackfyre on one side and Brightflame on the other, I don’t recall the exact details, but you can probably google it to find out more. (Though IIRC it’s speculated because of Moqorro’s vision of dragons “bright and dark”.)
If the young man who thinks he’s Aegon Targaryen were a descendant of Prince Maegor, he would have a better claim to the throne than if he were a descendant of Daemon Blackfyre (which is the most common and likely theory). The infant Maegor was bypassed in the Targaryen succession via the decision of the Great Council of 233AC that chose Aegon V, not disinherited. (Just as Robb’s will bypasses Sansa by legitimizing Jon, it doesn’t disinherit her.) Maegor’s descendants would still have a claim after the descendants of King Aegon V (including the Baratheons), but before the other descendants of King Maekar (as those would all be female-line, including the possible descendants of Aegon’s sisters). And the claim would have far more precedent over the Blackfyres, those descended from the legitimized bastard of Aegon IV. (Although the basis for the Blackfyre claim is the allegation that King Daeron II was not the son of Aegon IV at all but rather his brother’s bastard, so they wouldn’t care about any order of Maekar’s heirs.)
Though personally, I don’t think Maegor Brightflame had any descendants at all because he was the one who caused the ceremony at Summerhall to go bad – or if he did have any children, they were all in attendance at Summerhall and didn’t survive. (The Tragedy at Summerhall is an excellent method of GRRM’s to write Targaryens out of the narrative.) I don’t think much of the Brightfire theory in general, IMO it distracts from the thematic and historical points that are far more present in the Aegon Blackfyre theory, especially the Golden Company’s loyalty to him. Thematically, Aerion and his legacy are much more centered around Dunk and Egg, beginning in The Hedge Knight and ending in the story tentatively titled “Summerhall”. It’s not necessary to bring him into current ASOIAF. Hope that helps!
