Summary

‘Fire and Blood’ tells the story of the rise of House Targaryen, an ancient house from the Valyrian Freehold, from Dragonstone to Westeros. It begins with the arrival of the legendary Aegon Targaryen on the westernmost continent of the known world. With a few men and the mighty creatures of fire, known as dragons, Aegon leads a conquest against the different Kings on the continent. Countless lives are lost, and a single man rises and becomes the King of the Andals, the First Men, and the Lord of the Six Kingdoms.

Spoiler Free Summary

‘Fire and Blood’ begins with the departure of House Targaryen from the Vayrian Freehold after Daenys the Dreamer foresaw its destruction. On leaving, rivals of the Targaryens believe they ran away. However, the Doom of Valyria occurs, and all the dragons in the Freehold die, making the Targaryens the only family of dragonlords.

For about one hundred years, the Targaryens indulged in matters from the continent of Essos more than Westeros. However, Aegon Targaryen was born at the end of the Century of Blood.

After getting into an altercation with one of the Kings in Westeros, Aegon decides to lead a conquest to subdue all the Kings on the Western continent. He arrives with his sisters and three dragons, Balerion, Vhagar, and Meraxes. With the might of the dragons, Aegon and his sisters destroy all their enemies and subdue every King, killing or demoting them to the status of lords. By the end of the conquest, Aegon sits on the Iron Throne, victorious. He starts ruling as King, and his reign is peaceful. When he dies, Aenys becomes King.

Though inheriting a peaceful kingdom, Aenys meets a new wave of rebellion as many lords decide they do not want to be under any King. Aenys scrambles to destroy the rebellions. However, he falters until his half-brother, Maegor I Targaryen, steps in. Maegor destroys many rebellions, and for his act, his brother makes him the Hand of the King.

However, Aenys exiles his brother for breaking the sacred laws of marriage. Aenys makes a mistake by breaking the sacred rules of marriage placed by the Faith of the Seven; this leads to a new rebellion from the religious front. On hearing his children are in danger, he has a heart attack and dies.

Maegor returns to King’s Landing and claims the Iron Throne. He enters into a brutal war with the Faith of the Seven and outlaws the Military branch of the Faith. Maegor rules with an iron fist as he kills anyone who opposes him. Most lords later abandon his cause as they deem him too cruel. A short while after the rise of a new claimant to the Iron Throne, Jaehaerys, Maegor dies.

Jaehaerys becomes King, and with the help of Septon Barth, he introduces many reforms into the land. His reign was mostly peaceful, but when his heirs died, succession problems arose. To help solve the problem, Jaehaerys calls the Great Council to order. They choose Viserys Targaryen to become King. For the next 25 years, Viserys rules peacefully. However, he falls into a dilemma as his first wife dies after giving birth to his son; this makes him name his daughter Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, heir to the Iron Throne. 

Viserys marries Alicent Hightower, and she conceives two sons for him. When the King dies, Alicent conspires with the small council and makes her son, Aegon, King; this leads to a brutal civil war that will be popularly termed the Dance of the Dragons.

Westeros bleeds as many wars occur for two years after Aegon II’s coronation, and many of the original conspirators die. Rhaenyra’s son, Aegon, becomes King. He marries Alicent’s daughter, Jaehaera. However, after a tragedy, Aegon III remarries; this time, Daenaera Velaryon.

Plot Summary

Warning – This article contains important details and spoilers

Aegon The Conqueror

‘Fire and Blood’ begins with the departure of the Targaryens from the Valyrian Freehold after Daenys the Dreamer foretells a great destruction ahead. Though mocked by rivals, Aenar Targaryen follows his daughter’s prophecy and takes all he has, including House Targaryen’s dragons, to Dragonstone, the Westernmost outpost of the empire.

Years later, the Doom of Valyria occurs, and all the dragons, alongside their Lords, burn in heat so great that the Peninsula breaks apart. With the destruction of the Freehold, the Targaryens were the only remaining lords from the fallen empire.

For the next hundred years, later tagged the Century of Blood, the Targaryens focus on Essos as they help the Free Cities fight against Volantis. Meanwhile, on the continent of Westeros, the many Andal Kings partake in a brutal struggle for total power. Harren the Black is among such Kings and becomes one of the most hated rulers as he subjects his people to untold hardship over the construction of his giant castle, Harrenhal. 

Fearing attacks from his rivals, King Argilac Durrandon, the Storm King, sends a message to Aegon Targaryen of Dragonstone asking for help in exchange for his daughter. However, Aegon responds with a counteroffer, pointing to the fact that he already had two sister wives, Visenya Targaryen and Rhaenys Targaryen.

The Lord of Dragonstone states Argilac would give up some of his lands and wed his daughter to Orys Baratheon, Aegon’s rumored bastard half-brother. When Argilac learns of the offer, he is pissed, and being a proud man, he cuts off the hands of the envoys sent by Aegon. 

On receiving Argilac’s message, Aegon calls his war council and marches on Westeros.

Conquest of the Seven Kingdoms

Though there is no accurate account of how many men Aegon brings to Westeros, everyone knows he brings his sister-wives alongside three dragons, Balerion the Black Dread, Vhagar, and Meraxes. With the might of the beasts of fire, he leads a campaign throughout the Seven Kingdoms. After winning his first battle, Aegon becomes King, and he names members of his small council. He then marches on Harrenhal. 

On reaching the castle, Harren the Black mocks Aegon, stating that not even the power of the dragons can bring his castle down. Determined and out for blood, Aegon promises Harren he will ensure none of his bloodlines remain. Mounting Balerion, the Lord of Dragonstone, takes to the air and flies so high that he becomes a dot in the sky, then he returns to the Earth with his dragon and fire. Balerion’s fire burns so hot, and though it does not destroy Harrenhal, it kills every inhabitant, including Haren the Red.

Meanwhile, Orys Baratheon leads a battle against Argilac. On reaching the battlefield, the hardened aged Storm King challenges Orys to combat, and he accepts. A brutal fight ensues, and the Storm King fights valiantly to his death; this makes Orys so proud of him, and he later marries his daughter, becoming the Lord of Storm’s End.

Aegon later defeats other Kings, and on seeing the carnage on the Field of Fire, where King Lorren Lannister and Mern Gardener die, King Torrhen Stark kneels to Aegon and becomes Lord of Winterfell. Meanwhile, Rhaenys travels to Dorne and asks for their surrender. However, the Princess of Dorne, Meria Martell, tells her that she would rather see blood flow than kneel to Aegon.

The First Dornish War

On refusing to bow to the Targaryen and their dragons, Aegon leads a massive campaign against Dorne. Though he uses dragons and burns so much of the Dornish lands, he barely kills 100 as the Dornish people retreat. Thinking his campaign is successful, Aegon’s men leave only to be ambushed by Dornish soldiers. Later, Orys Baratheon becomes a prisoner of war, and when he is released, Aegon realizes his sword hand is gone. 

The war gets even more brutal when a scorpion bolt brings down Rhaenys and her dragon, Meraxes. With his wife dead, Aegon goes on a bloodlust rage and maniacally burns everything Dornish. He places bounties on the heads of the different Dornish lords. They also try assassinating him thrice. Visenya states an elite group of bodyguards, known as the kingsguard, should be created.

The Dornish war drags out until Princess Meria dies. Her son becomes Prince and sends an envoy with his daughter to King’s Landing, Aegon’s new city. Though the people are present when the envoy arrives to tell the King to sell the Prince’s daughter to a whore house, he states he will not.

The envoy hands him a letter from the Prince of Dorne, and on reading it, Aegon grips the Iron Throne so tightly that his hands drip blood. The next day, he flies to dragonstone and returns, agreeing to a peace treaty with Dorne. Aegon is anointed in Oldtown by the High Septon and becomes King.

Peace of the Dragon

With Aegon’s Conquest over, the new King begins ruling the Six Kingdoms. His heir, from Rhaenys, Aenys Targaryen, marries Alyssa Velaryon. Visenya gives birth to a son and names him Maegor. He later marries Ceryse Hightower. Though Aenys and his wife have many children, Maegor remains barren and falls down the succession chain; this makes him salty. Thirty-seven years after leading the conquest, Aegon Targaryen dies.

King Aenys; A New World

With the conqueror dead, Aenys becomes King. However, he immediately faces new rebellions. Slow to react, Aenys is dumbfounded by the problems arising, as he thought people loved him. He scrambles to gather his Lord and quench the rebellions rising from the Iron Islands, the Vulture King, Harren the Red, and the Vale.

However, before he makes a complete decision, Maegor flies to the Vale and smashes the rebellion with Balerion. The looming threat on the Iron Islands dies, and as a reward, Aenys allows the ironborn to expel all septons and septas.

Orys Baratheon smashes the Vulture King’s army and removes the limbs of Walter Wyl, the son of the man who took his sword hand. Harren the Red falls to Bernarr Brune, squire of Lord Alys Stokeworth. When Maegor returns, Aenys makes him Hand of the King and names his son, Aegon, the Prince of Dragonstone. Unable to get a child from his first wife, Maegir states he is getting a second one; this makes Faith angry, and Aenys gives him the option of exile, which he chooses.

In a terrible miscalculation, Aenys betroths his son, Aegon, to his daughter, Rhaena; this leads to rebellion by the Faith. A religious war starts as the Faith of the Seven condemns the Crown for indulging in the Valyrian tradition of incest. The Faith Militant rises, and its elite force, the Warrior Sons, leads a campaign against the Iron Throne and its supporters. When Aenys learns that his children, Aegon and Rhaena, were trapped in a castle by followers of the Faith, he slumps and later dies.

Maegor the Cruel

On learning of Aenys’s death, Visenya travels to Pentos and returns with Maegor, who declares himself King. Members of the Warrior Sons arrive to challenge him, and a brutal battle ensues. Though Maegor emerges victorious, he slips into a coma for 27 days. He later wakes up and instantly leads a massive attack against the Warrior Sons, destroying their stronghold.

The war between the Faith and Crown worsens as Maegor outlaws the Faith Militant. He declares destruction on Oldtown, stating the High Septon should recant his stance or watch the city burn. The High Seption holds his ground, and Maegor flies to the city. However, he meets open gates and learns the previous Septon had died. He becomes King. Aegon challenges his uncle to a fight but is instantly ripped apart by Balerion as he is no match for Maegor.

Visenya Targaryen dies, and on learning of her demise, Alyssa flees with her children. On learning of her disappearance, Maegor orders that her son, who was also his heir as he had no children, Viserys, be interrogated. The torture leads to the Prince’s death. Maegor oversees the construction of the Red Keep and kills all the workers after he has treated them to a feast on completing the castle. 

Maegor marries three more women, including Rhaena, to get an heir. People begin believing Maegor has a curse when one of his wives gives birth to a deformed child. However, the King orders an investigation and learns his wife’s father arranged men for her so she could get pregnant. He kills her and later kills his other wife, Tyanna. With his intense brutality, the lords turn against Maegor. He is later found dead on the Iron Throne, and Jaeharys, the last of Aenys’ sons, becomes King.

Jaehaerys the Conciliator

Upon becoming King, Jaehaerys reconciles with the Faith and makes the Warrior Sons’ leader a member of the Kingsguard. However, when his sister, Alysanne Targaryen, learns she will be married off, she meets her brother, who takes her to Dragonstone and marries her with the members of the kingsgaurd as witnesses.

Though the sources of information from the event are not trusted, some said a standoff occurred between the knights of the kingsguards and Rogar Baratheon, the Hand of the King, when he arrived on Dragonstone and learned of what had happened.

Rogar Baratheon marries Jaeharys’s mother, Alyssa, in what is known as the Golden Wedding. He leaves the position of Hand of the King after talking against Jaehaerys. Septon Barth becomes the Hand of the King, and under him, many magnificent changes, including the construction of wells and the abolishing of the Lord’s Right to the First Night, occur.

Jaehaerys later reconciles with Rogar Baratheon. The Shivers arrive, and among the casualties is Daenerys Targaryen, Jaehaerys’s daughter. Though the King’s rule remained peaceful after the shivers, problems arose when his heirs, Aemon and Baelon, died. Jaehaerys then holds a Great Council, and Viserys Targaryen becomes the heir. He becomes King when Jaehaerys dies.

The Dying of the Dragons

Viserys Targaryen becomes King, and though his reign is peaceful, the seeds of a terrible war begin germinating when his wife, Aemma Targaryen, dies. The King names his daughter, Rhaenyra Targaryen, heir, and marries Alicent Hightower, the daughter of Ser Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King. 

Alicent has four children: Aegon Targaryen, Helaena Targaryen, Aemond Targaryen, and Daeron Targaryen. Meanwhile, Rhaenyra married Laenor Velaryon and has three children: Jacaerys Velaryon, Lucerys Velaryon, and Joffrey Velaryon. Rumors spread of Rhaenyra’s children as they have Harwin Strong’s looks.

After an altercation leads to Aemon losing an eye, King Viserys orders Rhaenyra to leave King’s Landing for Dragonstone for peace to reign. After Laenor’s death, Rhaenyra marries her uncle, Prince Daemon Targaryen, and has two living children with him, Aegon and Viserys.

When King Viserys dies, Alicent meets with the small council and Ser Criston Cole. They decide that Alicent’s son, Aegon, should become King. When Rhaenyra learns of their betrayal, she sends letters to the Lords who swore to her ascension.

Lucerys Velaryon, Rhaenyra’s second son, travels to Storm’s End and comes across Aemon Targaryen. The Prince tells Lucerys he will pay for the eye he took from him, and while flying away from Storm’s End, Aemond kills the young boy. When he tells his mother what he has done, she scolds him.

After Lucerys’s death, Daemon Targaryen tells Rhaenyra they will get revenge. HJe then sends assassins who travel into the Red Keep and kill King Aegon II’s oldest son, Jaehaerys. A civil war begins between Rhaenyra’s Blacks and Alicent’s Greens.

The Blacks win the first victories by taking over Harrenhal. An epic dragon battle occurs when Rhaenys, the Queen that Never Was, faces two dragons, Vhagar and Sunfyre. Though outnumbered, she held her ground. By the end of the battle, King Aegon II Targaryen was so injured that everyone doubted his survival.

Eager to get more dragonriders, Jaecaerys Velaryon holds a contest to see who can mount a dragon, and by the end of the event, the blacks gain four extra dragonriders. The Triarchy enters the civil war and fight for the Greens. Though they lose to the Blacks, Jaecaerys dies, making Rhaenyra bloodthirsty.

Aemond Targaryen marches on Harrenhal when he learns of Daemon’s residence at the castle. However, unknown to him, Daemon discovers his plan and flies to King’s Landing. Rhaenyra also travels to the city, and without much fighting, she gains control and becomes Queen.

The bloodiest land battle of the Civil War occurs when the North men, on the Blacks’ side, destroy the Lannisters’ army. Meanwhile, in King’s Landing, Rhaenyra’s master of coin imposes heavy taxes as Alicent had dispersed most of the Iron Throne’s money; this makes people hate her. Eventually, Daemon and Aemon fight in one of the most epic battles of the war, the battle Above the God’s Eye. They both die.

Rhaenyra leaves King’s Landing with her son when a riot occurs. However, King Aegon II arrests and feeds her to Sunfyre. Aegon returns to King’s Landing and continues ruling as King. However, he dies through poison, and Rhaenyra’s son, Aegon, becomes King.

Cregan Stark arrives and arrests the small council members for having a part in Rhaenyra and Aegon II’s death. He sentences many to death, among them Lord Corlys Velaryon. However, the Lord of Driftmark is set free.

Cregan becomes the Hand of the King and begins rebuilding the war-torn Westeros. He borrows money from the Iron Bank of Braavos and reinstalls some taxes put under Rhynaera’s tenure.

Meanwhile, Queen Alicent becomes delusional after almost all her children die. She tells her son’s daughter, Jaehaera Targaryen, the Queen, to kill her husband, Aegon III Targaryen. Alicent and Corlys Velaryon also die. Jaehaera commits suicide, and after her death, Aegon marries Daenaera Velaryon. 

Tyland Lannister becomes the New Hand of the King. However, he dies from Winter Fever. Aegon then makes Thaddeus Rowan the Hand of the King, but he faces torture after an assassination attempt on Aegon and his wife. Viserys, Aegon’s brother, later discovers that Thaddeus was never the main culprit of the assassination attempt. He returns to his former position but leaves office. Aegon starts ruling as King on his sixteenth name day.