![]() ![]() Both the Velaryons and Hightowers subsequently scramble to compete for Viserys's favor, trying to convince him to remarry to a daughter from one of their families: either Rhaenys's daughter Laena Velaryon or Otto's precocious daughter Alicent Hightower. To avoid the risk of his brother making a play for the throne, Viserys controversially goes against the very inheritance principle that crowned him king, by officially naming his daughter Rhaenyra as the new royal heir. The peace of the realm is set on a knife's edge when not long into Viserys's reign, his wife Aemma Arryn dies in childbirth to a stillborn son. His only living child when he ascended the throne was his daughter Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen - but according to the principle of male inheritance that put Viserys on the throne ahead of the Velaryons, his nearest male heir is his younger brother Daemon Targaryen, a dangerous and unpredictable rogue. ![]() Complicating matters is that while Viserys was named heir ahead of Rhaenys due to male preference, Viserys himself has yet to produce a male heir of his own. As the rulers of Oldtown, the realm's second largest city, House Hightower wields a great deal of control over the leadership of the Faith of the Seven. Meanwhile, Viserys's Hand of the King Otto Hightower seeks to expand his own family's power and influence over the royal court from within. House Velaryon have long served as admirals of the Royal Fleet and still wield much strength at sea, and there are still some in the realm (such as House Stark) who at the Great Council wanted Rhaenys's son Laenor Velaryon to be king instead of Viserys. Rhaenys and her husband Corlys Velaryon, the wealthiest man in Westeros, remain bitterly estranged from the royal court due to being passed over. Yet factions are starting to form within Viserys's court that threaten the stability of his reign. Outwardly, the realm has enjoyed a golden age of peace and prosperity for over fifty years, and the Targaryen dynasty is at the height of its power. The story begins a few years later when old King Jaehaerys passes away and King Viserys I ascends the Iron Throne. ![]() At the end of the reign of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, grandson of Aegon the Conqueror, a succession dispute arises between two of his grandchildren, which is resolved when the lords of Westeros assembled at the Great Council of 101 AC select Viserys I Targaryen to be the royal heir ahead of his cousin Rhaenys - even though she had a superior claim, and largely due to her gender. ![]() House Targaryen has reigned as the rulers of Westeros for five generations, and the number of dragons they possess has increased to more than ever before. Season 1 begins approximately 200 years before the War of the Five Kings, and 100 years after the Targaryen Conquest united the Seven Kingdoms. ![]()
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