The kingMaelys I Blackfyre was a descendant of Daemon I Blackfyre, and based on chronology, likely his grandson. He known as Maelys the Monstrous,[1] as it was believed he devoured his twin in the womb, "explaining" the second, small vestigial head on his shoulders.[1] He was the last of the male Blackfyres.
He became a mercenary and claimed Westeros as his birthright. With the help of fellow mercenaries he attempted to take the Iron Throne but was slain by Ser Barristan Selmy.[1]
With his death the male line of House Blackfyre became extinct, because the female line still persists, it is presumed that Maelys may have had a daughter.
Appearance and character[]
Maelys had a grotesquely huge torso and arms. He had a second head sprouting from his neck, no bigger than a child's fist.[1][2] He was inhumanly strong, able to kill a horse with a single punch, and tear a man's head clean off his shoulders. He had a savage nature.[1] His skull was grotesque and malformed.[2]
History[]
Exile in Essos[]
Maelys was the last known descendant of Daemon I Blackfyre. Maelys grew up in exile in Essos. He later killed his cousin, Daemon. Maelys killed Daemon's horse, and then twisted Daemon's head until he tore it from his shoulders. Following Daemon's death, Maelys took command of the Golden Company.[3]
In 258 AC, Maelys gathered with eight other outlaws, gathering at the Tree of Crowns in the Disputed Lands in Essos. There, they formed an alliance called the Band of Nine, promising to aid one another and giving each other kingdoms when they conquer Westeros.[4] While it was believed that the Band would fail in Essos,[4][1] they managed to take and sack Tyrosh and the Stepstones. The Band was realized to be a legitimate threat to the realm, while Maelys stylized himself as King Maelys I Blackfyre.[1]
Fifth Blackfyre rebellion[]
Barristan Selmy just before killing Maelys.
In 260 AC, King Jaehaerys II sent an army to face the Band of Nine in what became known as the War of the Ninepenny Kings, or the Fifth Blackfyre rebellion. The battle was fought exclusively on the Stepstones, and Maelys personally killed Ormund Baratheon, Jaehaerys' Hand of the King.However, when the war was in favor of the Gang of Nine the young Ser Barristan Selmy made his way through the Golden Company on his mount, and reached Maelys himself, against whom he began an epic duel on horseback that culminated in the death of the pretender to the throne.[1][5][6]
Maelys's death caused the Band of Nine to disband, and the end of the War.[1] With Maelys' death, the male line of House Blackfyre was rendered extinct according to Illyrio Mopatis.[5]
Recent Events[]
A Storm of Swords[]
Jaime Lannister reads Barristan Selmy's page in the White Book of the Kingsguard, where it is written that he slew Maelys the Monstrous, last of the Blackfyre Pretenders, in single combat during the War of the Ninepenny Kings.[6]
A Feast for Crows[]
Jaime recalls visiting Riverrun as a boy, ignoring Lysa Tully while begging her uncle Brynden for tales of Maelys the Monstrous and the Ebon Prince.[7]
A Dance with Dragons[]
In Essos, Illyrio Mopatis tells Tyrion Lannister that when Maelys died, the male line of House Blackfyre came to an end. That night, Tyrion has a nightmare where he has two heads, and fights in battle alongside Barristan Selmy and Bittersteel, slaying his father and brother while his second head weeps.[5]
At the camp of the Golden Company, Jon Connington sees that the captain-general's tent is surrounded by a ring of pikes topped with the gilded skulls of previous captain-generals. Maelys' skull is larger than the rest, grotesquely malformed, and below it is a second, fist-sized skull, that of Maelys' nameless twin brother.[2]
Barristan Selmy recalls that King Jaehaerys II Targaryen had granted him the white cloak of the Kingsguard after he slew Maelys Blackfyre during the War of the Ninepenny Kings.[8]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 The World of Ice and Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Jaehaerys II.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 A Dance with Dragons, The Lost Lord.
- ↑ The World of Ice and Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Jaehaerys II.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The World of Ice and Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aegon V.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 A Dance with Dragons, Tyrion II.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 A Storm of Swords, Jaime VIII.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 33, Jaime V.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, The Queensguard.