Aenar I Targaryen

Aenar I Targaryen is the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and the head of House Targaryen. Crowned as king following the death of his father King Rhaegar I Targaryen during the Summer Sickness, he has ruled these past sixty-three years.

King Aenar married his sister, Queen Helaena Targaryen, and by her had three children; Aenys, Viserys, and Vaella. Following her death, he married Queen Patrice Hightower, and by her had Baelor and Naerys.

History
Aenar Targaryen was born in 320 A.C. to Rhaegar I Targaryen and Olenna Tyrell. A strong and happy child, he grew swiftly, ruling the Red Keep from atop a wooden horse carved for him by his uncle, Baelon. At five years old he was officially named Prince of Dragonstone, and heir to the Iron Throne. In 330AC he witnessed the depature of his grandmother Queen Daenerys Targaryen, watching as she flew away atop her dragon Drogon.

Young Life
Aenar was far too young to fight when the War in the Narrows broke out, though he once again watched as a Targaryen flew away - this time, his father, the king. Rhaegar departed to face his brother in battle, and Aenar remained in King's Landing - where he tamed and mounted the dragon Viserion, becoming its very first rider.

At sixteen Prince Aenar wed his sister, Princess Helaena, in a grand wedding attended by all the lords of the realm. Theirs was a happy union on both their parts, though there are rumors that Helaena, so much like her ancestress Rhaenys, had too much love to contain to but one person. Aenar always turned a blind eye to such affairs on his wife’s part, but did much to quell the rumors through his retainers. Though there is a rumor, old and weathered, that persists to this day that the then Prince Aenar fed a bard to his dragon Viserion after a lewd commentary of his affair with Princess Helaena.

The Incident in the North
When Brandon Stark, later known as Brandon the Black, began to rouse the North in the direction of rebellion, the then Prince Aenar was dispatched to resolve the hostilities. The Intercession in the North ended with both the pacification of the North, and Brandon the Black installed in the Dreadfort. Largely regarded as a mixed victory, it did however show to many that the young prince cared more about peace than he did his pride.

As King
In 344AC, suffering from the effects of the Summer Sickness, King Rhaegar I Targaryen, son of Aegon and Daenerys Stormborn, breathed his very last. Aenar was crowned as his heir and successor, becoming King Aenar I Targaryen, and sitting the Iron Throne.

For a time there was peace and happiness in the realm, for with Rhaegar's death the Summer Sickness seemed to lose its potency. Within a few more years it would disappear for good, but in 346AC, tragedy struck.

Wracked by the pains of labour, Aenar's beloved wife, sister, and queen, Helaena, perished in the childbed giving birth to their third child, Princess Vaella Targaryen. The realm mourned for her deeply, but the pains of her loss would see Aenar indisposed while the events of the Southern Schism rose to a head.

In an effort to end the divide and cool tempers, King Aenar Targaryen took another wife - this time of House Hightower, a woman well-liked by the more pious factions in the Kingdom, and promised to send a child by her to be tutored in the mysteries of the Faith. By Patrice Hightower he would have another two children; the warrior Prince Baelor, and the fair Princess Naerys.

The Bright Years
Beginning in 351AC, Aenar's reign soared to new heights of peace and prosperity. The Mead Summer exemplified this period, so storied and calm were its days, crowned as they were with the splendor of the Blackwater Tourney and the many figures who would one day fill the annals. The coffers of King's Landing, for the first time in years, did not know debt; the exorbitant costs of Summerhall and the abandoned Winter Palace finally being paid off.

The Sons of the King
Aenar, who was ever politically astute, desired to make good use of his children’s marriages to create attachments to the royal family. Notably, however, he gave way to the entreaties of his eldest son, Aenys, when he sought the hand of the beguiling Lenore Blackwood. Originally, he had intended to renew relations with the Lannisters of Casterly Rock. He would rectify this with his second son. With Baelor finding a match was difficult - his mother Patrice continuously fought for a say in the wedding of her only son. In the end he would marry a woman of Storm's End, securing ties to House Baratheon.

Despite these powerful latter marriages, it was Lenore Blackwood who would emerge as a major figure in the reign of King Aenar. More than simply being the Princess of Dragonstone and prospective Queen. She was at the center of a large and terrible scandal that involved many different instances of murder, sabotage, and adultery. Due to political pressures, at the end of the great drama, Aenar I ordered her execution in 367AC.

Prior to the trial Aenar put pressure on the High Septon and the Faith to annul the marriage between Aenys and Lenore, and by royal edict removed their son Maegor from the succession. From then on Maegor was known as Maegor Waters, the Bastard of Dragonstone.

Aenys committed suicide shortly thereafter.

The Latter Days
The tragedy of Prince Aenys hung over King's Landing for many years, darkening the reign of King Aenar. Over time the wounds healed, and slowly the realm returned to what it once was, though the memory of Lenore Blackwood would continue to haunt many.

In 379AC King Aenar organized the Kingswood Tourney, hoping to match the grandeur of past events. Though large and fairly successful, it did not prove as storied as the previous, though it did remind many that the royal family was still strong. A decade later the Hammer Uprising would spark malcontent across the Seven Kingdoms, the long days of peace and plenty forgotten in the wake of more recent hardship.

This, too, passed with time, though the story of Brynden Hammer is still told in taverns and inns. When the Great Famine struck in 392AC, King Aenar's deft handling of the crisis reminded many of the king he had always been.

The War of the Three Thieves
Main Article: The War of the Three Thieves

In 392AC, the Three Kings in the Stepstones aroused the ire of King Aenar, having managed to steal a dragon egg from the depths of the royal palace. The ensuing war would involve the whole of the realm, though Aenar would personally see only the first battle of it - the daring pirate Daarius Ormollen nearly slaying the king and his dragon in combat.

Viserion's wound, though largely healed, has left the beast slower and more violent tempered than it once was. Though Aenar escaped with only minor wounds, his near-death revealed to many that the King's age had at last caught up with him.

Recent Events
With the Scarlet Winter having passed, the recent death of his grandson, Prince Aemon, the King once more finds himself dealing with tragedy. Though a new hand has been chosen, infighting within the royal court, coupled with the king's declining health and advanced age, have visibly wearied the old, wise King.

Family
Main Article: House Targaryen
 * King Rhaegar I Targaryen, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms
 * m. Queen Olenna Tyrell, of House Tyrell
 * King Aenar I Targaryen, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms
 * m. Queen Helaena Targaryen, his sister
 * Prince Aenys Targaryen, the Prince of Dragonstone
 * m. Lady Lenore Blackwood, of House Blackwood
 * Maegor Waters, who was removed from succession
 * Prince Viserys Targaryen, the Prince of Summerhall, then Prince of Dragonstone
 * Lady Gwynesse Lannister, of House Lannister
 * Princess Visaera Targaryen, Princess of Dragonstone
 * m. Prince Aemon Targaryen, Prince of Dragonstone
 * Prince Valerion Targaryen, Maester of the Citadel
 * Princess Rhaena Targaryen
 * Vaella Targaryen, Mistress of Driftmark and Lady of the Tides
 * m. Vaemond Velaryon, Lord of Driftmark and Lord of the Tides
 * House Velaryon
 * m. Queen Patrice Hightower, of House Hightower
 * Prince Baelor Targaryen, the Prince of Summerhall
 * Princess Jaehaera Targaryen
 * Prince Maekar Targaryen, Prince of Summerhall
 * Prince Aegon Targaryen
 * Princess Baela Targaryen
 * Prince Jacaerys Targaryen
 * Princess Naerys Targaryen, a Septa of the Most Devout