User blog:The Dragon Demands/The History of House Targaryen. Part IV: The Dance of the Dragons

Okay kid, this is where it gets complicated...

The Dance of Dragons is the name given to the devastating civil war between two rival branches of House Targaryen, which lasted for three years from 129 to 131 AL, during which most of the Targaryen dragons were killed. So few dragons survived that they could not maintain a stable breeding population (i.e. maybe two or three). The last dragons were sickly, stunted creatures not much bigger than large dogs, which died only a few years after the Dance ended. Ultimately, the Dance resulted in the believed extinction of the entire species of dragons - for about a century and a half, that is, until Daenerys Targaryen hatched three live dragons.

The events surrounding the Dance with Dragons have only been described vaguely and in passing during the main A Song of Ice and Fire series, but are the focus of the prequel novella titled The Princess and the Queen, released in December 2013. As such, there are still some gaps in our knowledge.

The Great Council of 101 AL
King Jaehaerys I enjoyed a very long and peaceful reign of fifty-five years, from 48 to 103 AL. He ruled alongside his sister-wife Good Queen Alysanne, aided by his skilled Hand of the King, Septon Barth.

Jaehaerys I, however, was the only king in history who was succeeded by his grandson, skipping over his own son. For a long time it was assumed this may have been simply because he lived to such a great age, but there was also lingering suspicion that his son died young. Jaehaerys I's grandson was King Viserys I, who was also in general a good king. He ruled the Seven Kingdoms after a long era of peace and prosperity which continued into his own reign, and he seemed plump and amiable, without behaving gluttonous or self-absorbed.

King Viserys I (r. 103-129 AL)
Viserys I's one fault was in the folly of his remarriage, which would eventually tear apart the realm, though only after his death. Viserys I originally married a woman from House Arryn. The fact that Viserys I didn't marry another Targaryen, as per their incestuous marriage customs, strongly implies that he was not near the head of the line of succession originally. He had two sons with his first wife but they died in infancy, and he had a single daughter with his Arryn wife: Rhaenyra Targaryen. Viserys I's Arryn wife then died, so since Rhaenyra was a little girl she was raised with the assumption that she would be the royal heir.

Viserys I later remarried to Alicent of House Hightower, the rulers of Oldtown, who gave him four children, including three sons and one daughter. Thus the seeds of the Dance of the Dragons were sown. However, Viserys I still publicly declared that Rhaenyra was his heir, and even had the great lords of the realm swear major oaths and sign legal contracts to confirm this.