King Aegon II Targaryen, was the sixth king of the Targaryen dynasty to sit on the Iron Throne of Westeros.
Appearance and Character[]
He wore armour and wielded swords during the war. He wore the simple circlet of Valyrian steel as worn by his namesake Aegon I. It is said the King cried when his precious dragon, Sunfyre, perished after 9 days of agony. When the death of his little brother, Prince Aemond, reached the King's ear King Aegon ordered for statues of Aemond to be built to honor his little brother.
Aegon didn't want to be king at the start, and only truly persisted in this regard when Criston Cole pointed out that Rhaenyra would exchange Aegon's loyalty by beheading him, his wife and children. Explicitly taking the throne to protect his siblings and his children.
His actions bore fruits as Rhaenyra, his enemy, was executed and is perceived as a usurper even by her own descendants.
As a child, Aegon was said to be a sullen boy but very attractive, resembling his father in his own youth, although Aegon supported a mustache instead of a beard.
Early life[]
King Aegon II was the eldest son of King Viserys I Targaryen. Sunfyre, was considered the most beautiful dragon that ever flew in Westeros.
At age 15, Aegon married his sister Helaena and they had 3 children together, although he was never to loyal to his wife and it was said that he pinched and fondled at serving girl but that could a rumor made by Mushroom. He was a heavy drinker, having a glutton at the table for strongwines and ale. Even as king, he would drink on the throne and used alcohol as a way to drown his fears over the war.
When Viserys I died, Ser Criston Cole of the Kingsguard took the crown of Aegon the Conqueror and placed it on Aegon's head, naming him King Aegon II, King of Westeros and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. Rhaenyra, outraged and furious, claimed the throne herself, taking her father's crown and declaring herself Queen. Thereby, rebelling against the crown.
Reign[]
Aegon II's reign was spent fighting the Dance of Dragons, the bitter civil war between himself and Rhaenyra for the Iron Throne. This was a war fought with armies and with dragons, with the Seven Kingdoms divided down the middle between the two claimants.
His faction, known as the Greens, ruled King's Landing and had the support of Houses Hightower, Lannister, Lefford, Peake, Roxton, Reyne, Swyft, Crakehall, Baratheon, Fossoway, Redwyne and Strong.
Early in the war, Aegon's heir Prince Jaehaerys was murdered in the Red Keep by Blood and Cheese, agents of Prince Daemon's go-between. This causes King Aegon II to be outraged and thus declared war against Rhaenyra. His sister-wife Helaena quickly began to sink into depression and madness whilst he drank more and more which fueled his rage.
Because of his grandfather's delays in waging war, Aegon stripped Ser Otto of the Handship and awarded it to Criston the Kingmaker. Ser Criston immediately took to the offensive. Aegon himself took the field in a trap set by Cole at Rook's Rest, where he and his brother Aemond fought and killed Rhaenys Targaryen. Aegon and his dragon Sunfyre were badly maimed, he suffering burns, his armour melting to his left arm, and broken bones, his ribs and hip. It took him a full year to recover, while his younger brother Aemond ruled in his stead, although never taking title as king, only lord protector and prince regent.
When his half sister Rhaenyra took King's Landing and the Iron Throne in 130AC Larys Strong secreted him away. Disguised as one of the dragonseed smallfolk, Aegon hid on Dragonstone and convinced several blacks to defect and help him take the island. He carried great pain with him for the rest of his life, but refused milk of the poppy because of his experience with it during the recovery from Rook's Rest. Meanwhile, his wife Queen Helaena had ended her grief by suicide, jumping out her chamber window, in the capital. In 130AC, Rhaenyra chose to flee to Dragonstone where she was captured, judged a traitor, and eaten by Aegon's dragon Sunfyre as he and Aegon III watched.
Despite his victory, Aegon II named Rhaenyra's eldest son, who was named Aegon III Targaryen, as his heir. Aegon II had his only daughter Jaehaera marry her cousin Aegon to end the feud between the branches, although killed herself in the same way as her mother did before she could provide him with any heirs.