King Maegor II: 84 AC - 144 AC

Maegor Targaryen was born in the year 84 AC, to Baelon 'the Brave' and Alyssa Targaryen. He was the youngest of their four children, and was subject to Prince Daemon's bullying all throughout his childhood. When he was three years of age, he became ill with a sickness that his maester said he was not likely to survive - he did, however. He rode the dragon Wolfbane, a giant angry and old beast, from a young age, and the two would often be found in the fields of the Crownlands together. Anyone who dared to disturb them would be met with Wolfbane's roar, and they were inseperable.He graduated as a Lord's squire with an excellent taste for tactics, received his knighthood, and was reknowned as a masterful swordsman. However, his missing hand, who some say he lost to Prince Daemon, or lost during a fall from Wolfbane, or even had lost to his illness as a babe, held him back in battle.He served his father well, living in the Red Keep while Baelon served as Hand of the King. It is said that the sixteen year old Maegor had his first kiss during his father's tenure as Hand with a common Kingslander girl. When Baelon died suddenly of a ruptured belly in 101 AC, it is known that Prince Maegor wept for days on end.He continued to serve his brother King Viserys' court until his brother's death, and took no wife and had no children. He coveted the title of Prince of Dragonstone alongside his brother Prince Daemon, if only to prevent Daemon becoming King, but both were denied being named the heir as Viserys was convinced he would have a son. While Daemon served as the Commander of the City Watch, Maegor's and Daemon's rivalry grew stronger. Although he wished for the title himself, he was happy when Princess Rhaenyra was named as Viserys' heir instead of Daemon.When Rhaenyra and Daemon married without Viserys' knowledge after the death of her husband, Laenor Valryon, in 120 AC, Maegor was as shocked as anyone. He began to vehemently oppose Rhaenyra's becoming heir.When the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons broke out after Viserys' death in 129 AC, he sided with King Aegon II, despising the thought of Daemon as King of the Seven Kingdoms and ruling it as the voice in Rhaenys's ear. His first part of the war was in the Battle of Brindlewood, where the force he lead was ambushed by Lord Jaremy of the Whispers - he unleashed Wolfbane upon the enemy soldiers, torching most of them - however, they received backup from Rhaenyra herself. Maegor and Wolfbane clashed with Nettles and Sheepstealer in a brutal dragon dance above the skies of Brindlewood, but Sheepstealer proved to be no match for Wolfbane, who ripped off his head and sent Nettles flying to the ground atop his lifeless body - she survived, however. Rhaenyra herself, who watched the dragons dance, flew to meet Maegor and Wolfbane. Maegor immediately took Wolfbane to battle with Syrax and Rhaenyra, determined to end the war before it had barely begun.Hugh Hammer lead a pre-emptive attack on Wolfbane, and rode Vermithor straight into the dragon, who after a brief duel, killed Vermithor and allowed the forces below to take Hugh hostage. Rhaenyra and Syrax clashed with Wolfbane at the same time - and Syrax met the same fate, although it managed to inflict a wound upon Wolfbane, and Maegor was hurt too. Rhaenyra managed to escape unharmed, however, despite the death of her dragon, and Maegor was forced to retreat, allowing her to win the battle.Maegor scored a victory over 13,000 Knights of the Vale in the Battle of Clinton. He also proceeded to relieve the siege of Rosby against the forces of Willem Tarth, where he captured the wounded Michael Ashenhearth. He also received the news that Sunfyre had killed the dragon Meleys.It was on the morning of the turn of the year into 130 that Wolfbane and Caraxes met in a duel, ridden by their riders - Daemon and Maegor finally clashed in the war, during the Battle of Wendwater. Wolfbane, at first, was winning, grievously wounding Caraxes, and the dragon was almost killed. However, he pulled back, going in for a second attack, where he bit into the throat of Wolfbane, where the dragon already had a hurting wound from Syrax, and snapped its neck while it was distracted by the pain, killing the beast after it had lived for possibly as long as the Seven Kingdoms themselves. Maegor survived the plummet, and was seen to be weeping over the corpse of Wolfbane, having to be pulled away from the body as his soldiers began their retreat from the losing battle. His maester scolded him for not treating his wounds early enough, although nothing ever came of them. Some say it was in this moment that Maegor made it his mission to kill Daemon, rather than just undermine him.Daemon and Caraxes proceeded to kill Sunfyre after King Aegon engaged him in a dragon duel. Sunfyre was left as a corpse, and King Aegon became a mangled mess, and although escaping the battle, he died of his wounds some weeks later. King Jaehaerys, aged just seven, was a weak ruler, and King's Landing was besieged by Borros Baratheon some weeks after he was crowned.Maegor rode home, and allowed Eglantine Massey to collect her husband's, Michael Ashenhearth, dead body - she stayed with Maegor long after, however, and they became lovers, and he married her. It wasn't long before she was with child - the Princess Jaehaera.King Jaehaerys surrendered to Rhaenyra after he was captured by Borros Baratheon. She imprisoned Maegor - not one for sitting around, he demanded a trial by combat, and fought in it personally, against Ser Lorent Marbrand, a member of Rhaenyra's Kingsguard. The fight had barely begun when Maegor pierced Lorent's heart with a sword. He tamed the dragon Dreamfyre after Helaena Targaryen, its rider, died.He was back in King's Landing before long, however, as he attended Queen Rhaenyra's coronation. Here, he challenged his brother Daemon to a duel - without dragons, just swords. Daemon proved to be Maegor's match in a fight, with the two dealing equal damage to eachother, even despite Maegor having just one hand. Eventually, Maegor managed to knock Daemon onto the ground, and Daemon laughed and yielded - Maegor didn't consider for it even a second, muttering a simple 'no' as he stared into Daemon's eyes, and cut his throat with his sword, leaving the entire realm in shock at what he had just done. Maegor hadn't cared, he was just glad his brother, his rival, and the murderer of his lifelong friend and dragon was dead.After he returned home, he set about pressing his claim to the Iron Throne. Rhaenyra named her son, Lucerys Velaryon, as her heir - Maegor refused to allow her to pass the Iron Throne to someone who wasn't a Targaryen. After having already witnessed and experienced the tyranny of Queen Rhaenyra, who had executed the Prince Jaehaerys for his simple crime of being King for a mere week, the Vale, the Trident, and the North joined him. He presented Rhaenyra with his threats in late 131 AC, who promptly responded with a declaration of war. Lord Paramount Loren Lannister of the Westerlands joined the other realms in their war to see Maegor on the throne, although he was the only extra hand Maegor had been blessed with, besides the support of the common people. Maegor headed straight for King's Landing while Rhaenyra was more concerned about the northern onslaught, and rode to meet their armies in the Trident, hoping that the dragons left stationed at King's Landing would slay Dreamfyre and Maegor. However, the dragonless Queen suffered an injury in battle with Tully forces during the Battle of Harrenhal, and was forced to stay in King's Landing.With Loren Lannister holding back the forces of The Stormlands, and issuing a threat to Lord Paramount Lyonel Tyrell in order to keep The Reach neutral, Maegor lay siege to King's Landing as soon as he arrived, where he clashed with Lucerys Velaryon, who rode the dragon Arrax. Arrax, a young dragon aged just sixteen, was easily slain by Dreamfyre. Moondancer, practically an infant at six years of age, was ridden by Baela Targaryen, was also slain in the fighting, and Baela went down with her dragon, being crushed under its weight as it hit the ground. Some began to spread rumours that Maegor was left dissatisfied with the death of Daemon, and could only satiate his bloodlust by killing Daemon's children, too.It was mid 132 AC when Maegor stormed King's Landing, and the Red Keep, where he captured Queen Rhaenyra and forced her to surrender. The lords who had sided with her in the war only had familial hostages taken, but Queen Rhaenyra herself was fed to Dreamfyre, denying her of the traditional Targaryen cremation. She was not even given a funeral afterwards.Prince Aerys was born a year later. Even in his young age, it is known that Maegor had wished Aerys would inherit the throne, and even wished that Maelys' sickness would take him in the night. Indeed, in the year of 134 AC, young Prince Maelys died in his cradle. There was only a small, private funeral for him, much to Queen Eglantine Massey's chagrin. She wept at the funeral, while Maegor appeared to be bursting to leave. The boy was cremated, which was more than Queen Rhaenyra had been allowed, however.In his older age, Maegor's long hair began to recede back across his scalp, and he was forced to cut it. Instead, he grew a long beard. As well, he lost the more precise mobility he once had, and his one handedness made it even more difficult to move. Because of this, he began to cut himself on the Iron Throne while he sat down to hold court, which many of his own vassals viewed as the throne judging him unworthy to rule. However, his reign was peaceful, and greedy lords heeded his words when he told them to put aside their claims and rivalries. He never went to war with anyone ever again, although truth be told Westeros might not have been able to handle it - the recovery of the Crownlands from the Dances of the Dragons was long and hardly even complete, and was made much more difficult by the coming of winter. While not exactly a people person, or a King for the common folk, his rule was looked upon most favourably by lords and smallfolk alike.In 135, in a move of much controversy, Maegor appointed the fourteen year old Prince Aegon Targaryen - a son of the late Queen Rhaenyra and King Daemon - to the Kingsguard, making him the youngest ever to take up the position. The Hand of the King, Ser Maynard Lannister, detested the move, as he had advised against it - Maegor had personally killed Aegon's father in a duel, and fed his mother to a dragon after taking her throne, and surely he could not be trusted to protect the King. Maegor dismissed the claims, however, laughing them off and telling of how great a Kingsguard the young Aegon would make, and spiting the Lannister. Aegon's dragon, Stormdancer, became widely known as the 'Eighth Kingsguard'.Detesting the idea of marrying within the family, even viewing himself as an unholy abomination due to the people he was descended from, he betrothed the young Prince Aerys to Larra Rogare, the daughter of Lysandro Rogare, who owned a bank that dwarfed the Iron Bank in power.An epidemic of Pox spread throughout the lands of The Trident during the year 139 AC, and Maegor visited some of the common folk affected by it, which lifted their spirits. Despite the disease's spread into the Westerlands and Crownlands, King's Landing entered some of its most prosperous days ever. In the later months of 139, Lord Paramount Elmo Tully of the Trident was taken by the Pox - which caused Maegor to drink himself into a stupor on the eve of his death, having been friends with Elmo and promising his grandfather, Grover, he would care for him and make sure he reached an old age just six years earlier. The Pox arrived in King's Landing some weeks later, and King Maegor, scared of the sickness, locked himself and his family within the Red Keep. During the two years he spent in seclusion, Maegor became infirm.Despite his recurring nightmares of the suffering of his people, Maegor refused to open the gates. He was thankful people remembered his earlier exploits, or else he would have been widely considered a craven.He ordered the construction of a refuge in King's Landing when the disease left the city in the early days of 141 AC, but it was much too late. He opened his gates, and was met with the angry roar of the commoners. While the Westerlands had escaped the largest brunt of the suffering of the Pox, grey plague had begun to ravage the lands around Casterly Rock. Many believed the Gods were angry with the death and greed of Aegon, Rhaenyra, and Maegor, and chose to punish the latter with the death of his people during a winter and pox outbreak.The tenth year of Maegor's reign was marked with celebration. He held a grand tourney for all of the realm in King's Landing; it saw the knighting of Rickard Trant, Galfrid Velaryon, and was won by Ser Rolland Templeton. Ser Rolland crowned Queen Eglantine Massey as his Queen of Love and Beauty.Before long, however, in the year 143 AC, the Grey Plague had spread beyond the Westerlands and was ravaging The Reach and the Crownlands. When it came to King's Landing, King Maegor faced his fear of disease and refused to shut the gates. For months, he continued to make public appearances, despite much of his city's populace being deathly ill with the grey plague.In the year 144 AC, King Maegor took himself to bed one day and found himself unable to get back up. Sometimes he hallucinated that he rode Wolfbane once more, or that he was awaking from his sleep in the dragon's embrace as they lay in a field in the Crownlands as the two had done when he was a child. One time, in the presence of his wife and maester, he mumbled and began to weep about how sorry he was for leading Wolfbane into battle against Caraxes and Daemon, knowing full well he would lose, but was blinded by hatred and the pride of his slaying of Syrax and Vermithor. He suffered for weeks, hardly able to move, sometimes sobering from his sickness and grumbling about how he was denied a death in battle and left with this, before he passed. He was aged sixty, and had enjoyed a reign of twelve years - not long, but certainly not the shortest among the Targaryens. His son, King Aerys, took to the Iron Throne, aged just ten.