fleshes out the Tagaryens' past in the world HBO adapted into live-action, but the Velaryons are a similarly important house in Westerosi history. Season 1 of the new prequel series was widely praised for setting the stage for the infamous Dance of the Dragons — the Targaryen civil war that would mark the beginning of the end of the house's golden age — with House Velaryon having a role to play.
Some of the family's key figures have already been introduced going into the highly-anticipated second season this summer, including the Master of Driftmark himself Corlys Velaryon. However, other crucial characters have grown the house's legacy and family tree, including Rhaenys Targaryen — the queen that could have been.
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The Starks were a crucial House in Game of Thrones, and there was much more to them than just Jon Snow and Ned Stark.Perhaps the face of House Velaryon at this point in history and , Corlys Velaryon is dubbed the Master of Driftmark — the family's seat. Along with the House in general, Corlys has been a crucial ally to the Targaryens during their rule over Westeros' Seven Kingdoms. The Velaryons share an ancestral connection to Old Valyria in the neighboring continent of Essos, where both Houses originated.
Given the family's connection to the sea, Corlys was also King Viserys' Master of Ships, demonstrating expertise in commanding their naval fleets in times of war. Lord Corlys would later and further cement their partnership, marrying Princess Rhaenys Targaryen and having two children together — Laena and Laenor Velaryon — as well as being the grandfather of five — Baela and Rhaena Targaryen and Lucerys, Jacaerys, and Joffrey Velaryon. He now serves as a crucial strategic ally for Rhaenyra Targaryen against Aegon II Targaryen's reign in King's Landing.
, but one of the earliest ones depicted in 's timeframe was deciding the "Old King" Jaehaerys I Targaryen's successor. The king fathered many children in his day. However, he outlived them all, leading to the Great Council convening to vote for King Viserys I Targaryen to succeed him — despite Princess Rhaenys Targaryen being his eldest grandchild. This earned her the ironic and condescending moniker the "Queen Who Never Was."
Her husband Corlys remains a staunch supporter of hers at this point of , with their marriage being the rare example of a union of genuine respect and affection for each other.
In addition to expanding the Velaryon-Targaryen partnership with her two children and her five grandchildren, Rhaenys is also the bonded rider of the dragon Meleys "The Red Queen." She also supports her niece Rhaenyra's claim to the Iron Throne within the Black Council.
The younger brother of Lord Corlys, Vaemond Velaryon was the commander of the Velaryon fleet for his brother and house. His personality can be best described as proud — to a fault — especially of his ancient Valyrian heritage. One of the most significant conflicts he was a part of in
Season 1 was the War of the Stepstones where he, his brother, his nephew Laenor, and Prince Daemon Targaryen fought the dreaded Triarchy. This trinity was an alliance between the three Free Cities of Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh from the neighboring continent of Essos.
After Lord Corlys convinced King Viserys of the threat these forces posed, the three led a gruesome 3-year-long war against the Triarchy. Though, Vaemond's most memorable moment in the series is perhaps his violent death. Vaemond was aware that Rhaenyra's three sons weren't biologically Laenor's and actively tried to prevent Prince Lucerys from inheriting Driftmark.
This sentiment came to a boiling point during an audience with King Viserys, when he decries and berates Rhaenyra and her sons, leading to Prince Daemond brutally decapitating him before the king could even issue a punishment.
The youngest child between her and her brother Laenor, Laena Velaryon was the daughter of Corlys and Rhaenys Targaryen. Like other characters in , she would become an indirect casualty of the growing rift within House Targaryen. Laena's parents nearly married her off as a child to her uncle King Viserys I Targaryen in the wake of his wife Aemma's death, but it was the infamous Rogue Prince whom she'd end up marrying years later.
Daemon Targaryen and Laena would marry, move to the Essos city-state of Pentos, and have two children together, Baela and Rhaena Targaryen, but the Velaryon daughter would later die due to childbirth complications, though, she would decide to go out on a dragonrider's terms — by fire. She passed before the Dance of the Dragons would break out and, in life, held the honor of being the legendary dragon Vhagar's rider — who was Visenya's dragon during King Aegon I Targaryen's conquest of Westeros over a century earlier.
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Game of Thrones has many free cities in Essos, from Braavos to Volantis. But what are the stories of the nine free cities in the franchise?Prince Daemon Targaryen is one of the due to his chaotic personality and motivations, earning him the title of the "Rogue Prince." While he's no longer married to the Velaryon family, he still leaves a direct legacy with them through his daughters. Daemon is the late King Viserys I Targaryen's brother, often butting heads with the rest of his court.
He's always held dangerously lofty ambitions for himself and developed a tense romance with his niece Rhaenyra.
However, after she was married to Laenor Velaryon, Daemon would marry Laena. He fathered two Targaryen/Velaryon daughters —Baela and Rhaena. On top of that, he was also the man who killed Vaemond Velaryon, brother to Corlys. After Laena's tragic death, Daemon would take that as his reason to return to Westeros with his daughters, leading him to remarry through Rhaenyra and father two Targaryen sons with her — Viserys and Aegon. Expectedly, he's a stalwart supporter of his new wife's claim to the Iron Throne and is the rider of Caraxes — a fearsome serpentine-like and battle-hardened dragon who matches the Rogue Prince's reputation.
The other child of Lord Corlys Velaryon and Princess Rhaenys Targaryen's marriage arguably fared better than his sister, but Ser Laenor Velaryon also found himself tangled in a courtroom conspiracy. The eldest child of Corlys and Rhaenys, Laenor became the bonded rider of the dragon Seasmoke early in his life, briefly seen in season 1. He was an accomplished knight and participated in the gritty War for the Stepstones alongside his father, Prince Daemon Targaryen, and his uncle Vaemond Velaryon.
Laenor had a secret lover — House Velaryon's knight, Ser Joffrey Lonmouth — but married Princess Rhaenyra to keep up appearances.
It became an open secret, but Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey Velaryon were only his surrogate sons and are Velaryons only in name, as the boys' biological father is Rhaenyra's late lover, Ser Harwin Strong. But when Daemon and Rhaenyra revive their controversial romance and make a play to strengthen her claim to the Iron Throne, the pair faked Laenor's assassination while he flees in self-exile to Essos.
Effectively the focal point of the series, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen is quickly . The daughter of King Viserys I Targaryen and Aemma Targaryen — Arryn by parentage — and dragon rider of Syrax, Rhaenyra was the only living child of this marriage when her mother died of childbirth complications.
She felt neglected most of her childhood due to her father's fixation with finding a male heir to his throne. However, Viserys eventually named her his heir and revealed the secret of Aegon I's dream that a long darkness would sweep the Seven Kingdoms unless a Targaryen kept the realm united.
Naming a female heir to ascend the Iron Throne would become the catalyst for the impending Dance of the Dragons. Similar to Daemon, she's no longer married to House Velaryon after staging Laenor's death, but her sons Jacaerys and Joffrey currently continue that legacy. With the backing of her husband Daemon, her extended family, and the Velaryons, Rhaenyra now leads the Black Council on Dragonstone against the Green Council on King's Landing — led by the Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower and her father Ser Otto — who support Aegon II Targaryen's reign on the Iron Throne.
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Dragons are the most powerful asset a conqueror in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire can have, but Daenerys Targaryen's Drogon isn't the best.The daughters of Laena and Daemon and the granddaughters of Corlys and Rhaenys, Baela and Rhaena had unforgiving childhoods in their own right. Baela Targaryen is the older of the pair, but both witnessed and grieved the death of their mother.
With Daemon having grown numb to his more domestic life on Pentos, the girls also felt neglected by their father. The traumas would continue when their uncle Aemond Targaryen — siding with the Greens— claimed the dragon Vhagar after their mother's funeral and were involved in the fight that led to the prince losing his eye.
Rhaena Targaryen has yet to bond with a dragon of her own, but Baela is currently bonded with the young Moondancer. They're a link between House Targaryen and Velaryon by blood and name. Following the death of their mother, Baela and Rhaena became the wards of Rhaenyra. Naturally, this makes them allies to Rhaenyra's cause against Aegon II's reign.
The biological son of Rhaenyra and Ser Harwin Strong and surrogate son of Laenor, Jacaerys was given the Velaryon name to continue the legacies of both House Targaryen and Velaryon. Like the other children entangled in this conflict of succession, Jacaerys Velaryon is being forced to grow up long before his time. The dragon rider of Vermax, the boy is desperate to mature into the warrior he feels he needs to be for his mother and uncle, but there's always a sense of inexperience and uncertainty in his demeanor.
Alongside his younger brother Lucerys and his cousins Baela and Rhaena, Jacaerys also fought Aemond Targaryen on the night of Laena Velaryon's funeral.
The oldest of Rhaenyra's children, he's also now the half-brother of his Targaryen siblings Aegon and Viserys. Jacaerys should play a greater role in Season 2, as he's currently on a mission on his mother's behalf to meet Cregan Stark in Winterfell to ally.
The other two sons from Rhaenyra and Harwin's not-so-secret relationship, Lucerys and Joffrey Velaryon are among the youngest characters to get swept into this Targaryen civil war. Lucerys Velaryon, in particular, had a grim and key role in
Season 1's latter episodes, beginning with the fight against their young uncle and Prince Aemond Targaryen. He was the one who dealt the decisive blow in blinding Aemond in one eye, leading the vengeful son of Alicent Hightower and the late Viserys to kill Lucerys years later.
While on a mission to Storm's End to try and ally House Baratheon to the Black Council's cause, Lucerys finds that Aemond beat him there. After the unsuccessful meeting with Lord Borros Baratheon, Aemond and Vhagar chase down Lucerys and his dragon Arrax in the sky and kill both of them. Joffrey — the youngest of the Velaryon boys — has at least been given the mercy of being mostly uninvolved in these conflicts.
However, as Season 2 and the Dance of the Dragon looms, that innocence isn't likely to last.
TV-MA
Drama
Action
Adventure
Fantasy
Two centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire and Blood begins with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and recounts the generations of Targaryens. They fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.
Release Date August 21, 2022
Creator George R. R. Martin, Ryan J. Condal
Cast Jefferson Hall , Eve Best , David Horovitch , Paddy Considine , Ryan Corr , Bill Paterson , Fabien Frankel , Graham McTavish , Olivia Cooke , Gavin Spokes , Sonoya Mizuno , Steve Toussaint , Matt Smith , Matthew Needham , Rhys Ifans , Emma D'Arcy , Milly Alcock
Main Genre
Website
Franchise Game of Thrones
Characters By George R. R. Martin
Cinematographer Alejandro Martinez, Catherine Goldschmidt, Pepe Avila del Pino, Fabian Wagner
Distributor Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
Filming Locations Spain, England, Portugal, California
Main Characters Queen Alicent Hightower, Ser Harrold Westerling, Lord Corlys Velaryon, Grand Maester Mellos, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Ser Criston Cole, Lord Lyonel Strong, Ser Otto Hightower, Lord Jason Lannister/Ser Tyland Lannister, King Viserys I Targaryen, Mysaria, Lord Lyman Beesbur, Prince Daemon Targaryen, Ser Harwin Strong, Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, Larys Strong
Production Company Bastard Sword, Cross Plains Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO
Sequel Game of Thrones
Sfx Supervisor Michael Dawson
Story By George R. R. Martin
Number of Episodes 10
