Daenerys Targaryen
Daenerys Targaryen is a female character who features in A Song of Ice and Fire.
Contents |
Biography
Daenerys Targaryen was a female human born to House Targaryen as the only daughter and youngest child of the 'Mad King' Aerys II Targaryen and his sister-wife Rhaella in the lands of Westeros. Daenerys was conceived during the last month of Robert's Rebellion, the war which ended House Targaryen's reign over the Seven Kingdoms. Shortly thereafter, her mother was sent with the young prince Viserys to the family ancestral seat of Dragonstone to escape the rebel army which was marching towards King's Landing. Daenerys was born nine months after their flight, while a great storm raged above Dragonstone, sinking what remained of the Targaryen fleet; for this reason she was known as 'Daenerys Stormborn'. Her mother died in labor, but not before naming her. The war had been lost shortly after Rhaella had fled the city, after which Robert I Baratheon had claimed the Iron Throne. With Aerys, his eldest son Rhaegar, and Rhaegar's young children Rhaenys and Aegon dead, Daenerys and her older brother Viserys were the only known living Targaryen heirs. As Viserys had been crowned king on Dragonstone by their mother before her death, Daenerys received the title 'Princess of Dragonstone' as Viserys's heir. Robert's brother, Stannis, built a new royal fleet in preparation for an assault on Dragonstone. With the Targaryen fleet destroyed by the storm during which Daenerys had been born, the garrison at Dragonstone were prepared to sell the Targaryen children to Robert. However, before they could act on this plan, Ser Willem Darry and several other loyal retainers took the children from the nursery and smuggled them into exile, sailing to the Braavosian coast. Viserys and Daenerys lived in Braavos in a house with a red door, where Daenerys had her own room, and a lemon tree underneath her window. Willem was old and sickly, but Daenerys remembers that he always treated her kindly. When Daenerys was five years old, Willem fell sick and slowly wasted away. After his death, the servants he had hired stole all they could. The young Targaryens were put out of the house a while after. As they were forced out, Daenerys wept.
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Daenerys was described as having the striking silver-blonde hair and violet eyes typical of House Targaryen, marking her Valyrian heritage. Initially frail and timid, she developed a commanding presence over time, often clad in Dothraki silks, leather battle garments, or flowing gowns suitable for a queen. After acquiring the Unsullied and seizing cities, she often appeared in armor and practical attire, befitting a military commander rather than a courtly noblewoman. She was known by a number of names and titles that included Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, the Mother of Dragons, the 'Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, and as the Breaker of Chains.
Daenerys was shaped by exile and abuse, beginning as timid and subservient to her brother. Over time, she displayed compassion for the oppressed, determination to reclaim her family’s throne, and a fierce willpower that rivaled her ancestors. She often struggled between mercy and ruthlessness, oscillating between acts of deep kindness—such as freeing slaves—and harsh decisions, such as executing those who betrayed her or opposing her reforms. Her character embodied both vulnerability and strength, as she balanced youthful idealism with the burdens of leadership.
Daenerys came to suffer from Targaryen madness of her ancestors that was insanity inherent in her bloodline that manifested after a series of terrible personal losses, grief, and betrayal.
Powers and abilities
Daenerys was human but unique as the last surviving Targaryen heir in Essos and the Mother of Dragons. She demonstrated resilience to heat and fire, though not total invulnerability, surviving her husband’s funeral pyre and hatching her dragons.
Her true strength came from her dragons named Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion whose bond with her allowed her to wield them as weapons of mass destruction.
In addition to this, she was a capable leader, strategist, and linguist, fluent in multiple tongues including High Valyrian and Dothraki. With her armies and dragons, she grew into one of the most formidable claimants to the Iron Throne. (
She was a member of the noble family of House Targaryen of Dragonstone who were of Valyrian descent that once ruled the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. The family sigil was that of three-headed dragon breathing flames that were red on black.
Notes
- Daenerys Targaryen was created by George R. R. Martin's where she featured in the setting of A Song of Ice and Fire.
In other media
Television
- In Game of Thrones, Daenerys Targaryen appeared in the setting of the live-action television series where she was portrayed by actor Emilia Clarke.
Appearances
- A Game of Thrones:
External Links
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