Season 1 episode 1 of House of the Dragon (HoTD) came with a massive plot point not previously known anywhere in the books – that Aegon the conqueror foresaw the coming of the long night. Note Viserys’ quote carefully.
This reveals Aegon knew that something was lurking in the north beyond the wall, but didn’t exactly know what. Viserys categorically avoids mentioning the word “whitewalkers” or “dead” or “Others” which were common words used by many Westerosi to describe the demons of the long night. King Viserys was a big history nerd and surely knew the words. Yet he chose to remain vague and said only the words “whatever dwells” to show that he does not believe in the story of the whitewalkers, but knows that some threat exists.
The white walkers would not appear for another two centuries. In this post we explore the following questions:
- How this secret was passed down from king to heir,
- Times when it almost became lost and how was it found again,
- Who apart from kings and heirs knew about it, and
- How it was finally lost for good
Sons of the Dragon
There are no clear accounts of Aegon the conqueror officially naming an heir. Logically, Aenys was the likely successor to Aegon.
- Aenys was elder to Maegor by five years,
- Aenys stayed close to his father unlike Maegor who mostly stayed at Dragonstone with his mother where Dragonstone was not yet the de-facto seat of the heir, and
- From time to time Aegon allowed Aenys to practice with Blackfyre – Aegon’s sword
So it was no surprise when Aenys proclaimed succession upon Aegon’s death. Aegon would have surely been serious about the succession if he was serious about the prophecy being passed from king to heir. Or maybe every Targaryen at the time simply knew about the prophecy as a family secret.
Aegon was not the only one who conquered Westeros. He was
joined by both his sister-wives – Visenya and Rhaenys. How would he have
convinced them to leave generations of comfort at Dragonstone and conquest a
continent by his side? If Aegon was inspired by his prophetic dream, wouldn’t
the same have been the motivation for his sister-wives?
So maybe Aegon just told Aenys about the prophecy. Or maybe
he told both his sons. Or maybe he told his sister-wives and Visenya told
Maegor when he became king. Or maybe he just told anyone who would listen. But
the secret survived to both Aenys and Maegor. However, Maegor never had
children of his own. He did name princess Aerea as his heir, but her claim to
the throne was never taken seriously.
The Old King
‘Aegon the Dragon and his sisters conquered the Seven Kingdoms (six of them, at least), but it was Jaehaerys the Conciliator who truly made them one.’
-
writings of Umbert, Fire and Blood
It is understandable that Jaehaerys knew about Aegon’s
prophecy.
- Jaehaerys was an old wise king who single-mindedly worked towards improving and uniting the realm,
- Viserys passing down the prophecy to Rhaenyra means at some point old king Jaehaerys passed it down to Viserys at some point
- Jaehaerys took the matter of succession very seriously, knowing mayhaps that the Targaryen secret must not be lost
- He established faith in the Targaryen dynasty – something none of his predecessors had done yet
Jaehaerys was only three years old at the time of his
grandfather king Aegon’s death. So he couldn’t have heard it from the Dragon
himself. Nor would he have heard it from Maegor who despised any children of
his brother Aenys and had named princess Aerea as his heir. So Jaehaerys must
have heard of the prophecy from his elder brothers. Aenys had named Aegon his
heir and had likely told him of the prophecy. But Aegon was killed by Maegor.
The only possibility remains that before dying, Aegon might have anticipated
the coming conflict with Maegor and as a measure of safety, might have shared
the prophecy with his brothers.
Another possibility exists. Aegon and Viserys, both elder
brothers of Jaehaerys were children at the time of Aegon I’s death. Maybe Aegon
did not consider the prophecy to be a “secret” and freely told his grandsons of
the prophecy as he had told his sons and sister-wives. After all, the more
people knew about the coming conflict, the more they would band together.
That’s exactly what Jon Snow did as soon as he came to know of the threat of
the whitewalkers. He didn’t consider it as a “secret”. In fact he rallied as
many people as he could for the coming conflict. Maybe that’s what Aegon the
Conqueror wanted to do. But over the generations, the “prophecy” took the shape
of a “secret.”
This also set a new precedent that naming an obvious heir to
the throne is one of the most important tasks of a Targaryen king, lest the
prophecy be lost during succession. This is also why Jaehaerys understood why
Targaryens could not afford another war for succession. He had already seen
what a Targaryen civil war looked like. It risked the prophecy being lost. A
war also meant that the Targaryens would not be as strong as they needed to be
when the threat from the north finally arrived.
So the secret passed on from Aegon to Jaehaerys with whom it
stayed quietly for the next 50 years.
Prophecy becomes a
Secret
Towards the end of his reign with both his sons dead, old
king Jaehaerys called for a great council where Viserys was named the heir to
the throne. That’s when Viserys learnt about the prophecy. Either Jaeraerys
revealed the prophecy to Viserys as a “secret” or that element was added by
Viserys himself. Perhaps the “wise king” Jaehaerys added the element of secrecy
so that Targaryens would never name multiple heirs to the throne, thus avoiding
a confusion regarding succession for generations to come. But it becomes very
difficult in a dynasty ruling over two centuries to avoid questions of
succession and accidental deaths. At some point, some king (or queen) needed to
establish a better mechanism than the prophecy simply moving from king to heir
by word-of-mouth. It risked the prophecy getting diluted or confused over the
years. Viserys didn’t care about these problems of secrecy or dissipating or getting
misunderstood. He named princess Rhaenyra as his heir and told her of the
prophecy as a “secret.”
The Dance of the
Dragons
The Dance of the Dragons was a turbulent time in the
Targaryen family when the question of succession was in confusion. We know for
a fact that Viserys never named anyone his heir other than Rhaenyra and hence
never passed on the secret to anyone else. So the secret was never passed down
to Aegon II. Then how would the secret be passed on for the next two centuries?
Even though Aegon II ruled after Viserys, his children or heir never ascended
to the throne. The throne eventually went to Rhaenyra’s children. Both her
living sons after the Dance of the Dragons eventually became kings. To protect
the secret, Rhaenyra may have told all her children of the prophecy. Or maybe
just the children she bore with her uncle Daemon whom she loved. Either way,
the secret passed down to Aegon III, his children, Viserys II, and finally to
Aegon IV. Where things went… “unworthy” again.
Aegon the unworthy
Aegon the unworthy did many heinous deeds in his time. But
he named only one heir and never wavered in his decision. Even though in later
years, Aegon IV’s favor may have shifted to his bastard son Daemon Blackfyre
more than his legitimate son Daeron II. But he never officially changed the
succession. Protecting the prophecy, and the secret.
The Prince that was
Promised
The prophecy is not heard of in the books for the next 78
years passing from king to heir through Daeron II, Aerys I, Maekar I, Aegon V,
and then to Jaehaerys II where we see the prophecy again. But by this time, it
has taken a different shape. Rhaegar confirmed that it is still called a “song of ice and fire” as Aegon I had
dreamt. But now it was added with elements of a Prince that was Promised (PtwP).
Also now it is not just a secret passed from king to heir but also finds its
way to some texts.
It appears that the prophecy does not focus as much on the
threat that lurks in the north, but on the part that a good king must be on the
throne when the threat emerges. By this time the Targaryens have also had their
fair share of bad kings, so they know that merely being a Targaryen is not enough. The Targaryen needs to be an able king who
can unite the seven kingdoms and rule well.
By this time, some other Targaryen dreams (or wishes?) seem to have also gotten
incorporated in the prophecy. Jaehaerys II made his children Aerys II and
Rhaella marry each other despite the protests of his king-father Aegon V and
both the children. But Jaehaerys II was stubborn on the match as he has been
foretold that “the prince who was
promised would be born of their line”. Now the prophecy had changed
significantly and makes no mention of a threat of a terrible winter. Or maybe
that’s only what the records tell us. Maybe the prophecy grew to include a
prince who would fight the northern threat in the coming long night. But the
actual prophecy of the long night was still only passed down from king to heir.
And so Jaehaerys II passed down the reign and the prophecy to Aerys II.
Rhaegar
Aerys II named Rhaegar his heir and passed the prophecy to
Rhaegar. Where we meet a very significant deviation in the prophecy. Ser
Barristan Selmy tells Daenaerys that one day Rhaegar was reading a scroll, safter which he said, ‘I will require a sword and armor. It seems
I must be a warrior.’
There are many accounts which mention that Rhaegar did not
like to fight. He loved his silver-stringed harp more than he loved his lance. But
he excelled at anything to which he put his mind. So when he realized he must
become a warrior, he got good at it.
Losing the prophecy
What did Rhaegar find in the scrolls that compelled him to become such a great warrior? Did he believe himself to be the PtwP? There was enough evidence for it.
- Rhaegar was born on the day of the tragedy of Summerhall. The prophecy described the PtwP would be born “amidst smoke and salt”
- He was a fine young man who bore the name of a great dynasty.
But Rhaegar did not know what was the intent of the PtwP. So
he simply prepared himself for any challenge that might appear before him.
Question. Knowing the importance of the Targaryen prophecy
and believing himself to be the PtwP; would Rhargar have risked burning putting
the seven kingdoms in revolt and risking the Targaryen rule simply because he loved Lyanna? Or did he see a greater
purpose behind it? What did Rhaegar know?
We also see that Maester Aemon, Aegon V’s elder brother,
also had some idea of the prophecy. When Rhaegar mentioned the prophecy to Maester
Aemon, the old maester agreed that Rhaegar might be the PtwP. But added that
the dragon must have three heads. Rhaegar did not ignore this as mad rumblings
of an old master, but carried it to the point that he married Lyanna Stark
which eventually started Robert’s rebellion.
The old maester might have known more. At the time of
Robert’s rebellion he wanted to go south and help Rhaegar. Rhaegar might have
revealed the prophecy to Maester Aemon. Or maybe his father Maekar did,
believing him to be a candidate for the throne. Either ways, by the time of
Aerys II’s reign, the PtwP seems to be a prevalent story at least among the
Targaryens.
Later, Rhaegar thought his son Aegon from Elia Martell would
be the PtwP and his would be “the song of
ice and fire,” which tells us that the prophecy of the PtwP is related to
Aegon I’s prophecy of the terrible winter. But he also thought that he needed
another son as “the dragon must have
three heads.” And so he married Lyanna Stark in a secret ceremony to resulting
in the birth of Jon Snow, who did eventually mitigate the threat from the north.
But the secret, if it did exist that far, was lost when Robert’s warhammer fell
on Rhaegar’s chest. And that’s when the prophecy was lost forever.
